The Sun.
London, England, 1851-08-16 00:00:00

LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN.
RMLWAY.

The usual half-yearlygenf;n:i meeting of the proprie-
tera of the London and North-Western Railway was
:sold yesterday at the Euston-square Swion; Dir. G.
Je Glyn, Al-Pe Chairman of the Board of Directors,
The advertisement convening the meeting having been
.esad, the minutes of the previous meeting were con-
firmed; after which
The CHAIIistIAN addressed the proprietors as follows:
—Gentlemen, before we proceed to read the report
perhaps you will allow me rather more than the usual
amount, of your indulgence on the present occasion,
because I feel that the circumstances under which your
execrative body meet you to-day are fraught with a con-
siderable degree of difficulty, and I might almost
sey we have arrived at a sort of crisis in the history of
railway affairs. And I feel, gentlemen, that though it
is only our duty at all times to fairly communicate, and
openly declare to you everything in connexion with
the management of the undertaking, yet under the ex-
isting
circumatauctse in which railway property is placed,
it is more than ever incumbent on us to detail to you,
and make you acquainted with the policy which has
dictated our line of proceeding, and either to receive from
you that confirmation which we expect to receive at your
hands, or that we should learn from you in what respect
you differ from us therein.—(ffeer.) These are not the
times, gentlemen, in which there ought to be the
slightest reserve between the executive body and the
proprietors in the management of this large undertaking.
--(Llear, hear.) But before I enter on the important
subjects. which force themselves on our consideration to-
day, I am anxious to say a word or two in reference to the
accounts which have been transmitted to you, and I du ao
were particularly, because I certainly have been very con-
siderably surprised to find that thew accounts when they
were sent among the proprietors. and placed before the
Public, have not produced that ktiect in the minds of the
People which I thought they were calculated to do. So
fsr from thinking the accounts are discreditable accounts.
I am inclined to think they are the best ever presented
to you yet. You mutt bear in mind that at these half-
yearly meetings we have always had recourse to the re-
serve fund for preserving the equality of your dividends.
The very principle on which you advocated a reserve
fund was that we might equelise the dividends as far
as we could by keeping in hand a certain amount of re-
serve to make up the difference between the two half-
years. Therefore, it is not a matter of surprise to us
that we have been obliged to do that which we have
hitherto done, more especially this half-year, paying as
we do a larger amount of dividend -thee
in the corresponding half-year ; it is not I
say a matter of surprise to tie that we have had re-
course to the reserve fund to meet the dividend on the
present occesi in. I must confess, however, that it ap-
peared to me that, perhaps, the accounts might cause
acme disappointment, because the receipts were no
quite so large as some persons might have anticipated.n
The receipts are, nevertheless, very lame. d have
largely increased; and let the proprietors reflect for one
moment that the receipts arising from the Great Exhi-
bition traffic, and which we have now received so
largely, do not operate in the accounts trom the com-
mencement of the half-year. In point of fact, the only
advantage derived in this respect in the half-year ex-
tends simply over one month. I beg again to call your
attention to another fact, because it proceeds as much
from you as from us, that this half-year, according to a
vote—and in my opinion a most righteous vote—the
capital account has been closed as far as pos-j
Bible. We have charged against revenue every J
item that can at any time come against
revenue, although we have entertained a doubt whether,
in the administration of the affairs of this great concern,
what is technically calliel in the City balancing the ca-
pital account, and never laying out more capital,
could be practically carried out ,e yet there
are such instances, and in regard to certain
points we have closed the capital account. Every-
thing has gone against revenue—the lawyer's bill
has gone against revenue—every variety of item which
hitherto it has been the practice of every railway com-
pany to charge direc.ly against revenue and capital has
been charged to revenue. I might detail a variety of
items, but I will not occupy your time by doing so, as
they are patent to you all. I may mention in connexion
with this point that in preparing for the Exhibition
traffic we were necessarily obliged to undergo
a larger outlay this half-year than in the corresponding
half-year, in regard to locomotives, carriages, &c.
Therefore, I think, if you truly and fairly consider the
accounts, you may take heart, and be satisfied not only
that the directors have paid the greatest attntion to every
item and particular contained in them, but that they
present a most favourable result on the working of the
last half-year.—(Hear, hear.) We have followed your
instructions implicitly with regard to a very considerable
amount of outlay necessary for the great traffic that
was anticipated from the Exhibition. We have not
charged these items of expense against capital, but we
have charged them according to the principle laid down
by you, against revenue spread over a certain number of
years. We have also rigidly followed your instructions
with regard to another head of expenditure. According
ro the vote passed in February in the preceding year, we
have limited ourselves to a sum under the

vote which you thee gave us. The effect of all
this variety of items charged against revenue is begin-
Ling to be felt on the working expenses of the line. I
can assure you, and I do so without much fear, that we
are ready to submit our accounts to any inspection, and
to allow them to bear comparison with the working
eharges of any other company similarly placed.—
(Cheers.) I use the words similarly placed, because I
dad that, with some rare exceptions, there are no com-
panies similarly placed.—(Haar, hear.) We have now
arrived at that stage of existence when I am
• morally convinced that if we are to have fair play with
regard to our own business traffic and receipts, it is ne-
cessary that other companies should close their capital
accounts.—(Cheers.) As long as that source is open to
enable others to carry on expensive and harassing Par-
liamentary attacks— (Hear, hear)—so long as that
source is opea for a variety of other kinds of
expenditure which has hitherto been very much
charged to it, it is impossible for any old este-
bliseirl company to he at equal odds with them.
- Our law expenses may appear somewhat large. I don't
deny they are large, and I won't hold out any expecta-
tion that they will be smaller while these Parliamentary
contests are going on.—(Hear, hear.) Therefore, with
regard to these points, I do hope you will not evince
that kind of feeling which I confess I was very much
surprised to find prevail in other quarters re-
specting the accounts. There is a point in
connexion with the closing of the capital account, to
which I have had the honour of several times drawing
your attention—l allude to the necessary accommoda-
tion for our goods traffic; but lam happy to say—in-
deed, I almost made a promise to you on the bet occa-
sion—that I am now able to announce to you a plan
which, when carried out, will allow ns also to close that
head in the capital account—(Hear, hear)—and
having done that, then I believe you may luck at
the capital account in connexion with the main line, and
there will not remain a single item of expenditure
which is not brought under your cognizance. The pro-
prietors will also bear me out in this remark, that no
railway company carrying on an enormous business can
entirely close its capital account; but this we are prepared
to do—if any great accession of expenditure is required
we will consider it the bounden duty of the executive to
be ready to state the nature of the expenditure and the
advantages likely to accrue from it, and which it will be
for you, not for us, to vote the necessary money.—
(Cheers.) You are doubtless aware of the enormous in-
crease in the goods business, and probably have antici-
pated that it has put us to great inconvenience in
consequence of the want of accommodation at
the Camden station. We, therefore, thought that
for the more economical and speedy dispatch of
business we should see whether it were possible
to carry on a considerable portion of the goods business
in the city of London.—(ll,-ar.) That plan has had
ray eye now for a considerable time, and I have great
pleasure in stating that we are now enabled to carry it
into effect. We have acquired, as you will see from the
report, a large apace, which will allow us to carry on that
description of business in the very heart of the city of
London. lam also enabled to states teat there will he a
continuoas railway communication. lam not going to
speculate on the saving which we will make by this ac-
commodaion, but th-re can be no doubt it wid be very
considerable, wutked as the traffic will be under the
the present exptrieneed agents. But I am
agency of
quite willing to mike this bargain —if you do not
like the project I will undertake it, and I am quite
certain there never was a surer fortune fur a
roan in prospect, then undertaking that which is now in
our power for the aeu?intnqd-ttion of the goods business
of this company. We have had, as I said before, an
allusion t i the lawyer's bill; there has been a good deal to
do in Parliament this year. We had no Bill of our own,
but there was one 13111 ifs
which we were very much inte-
rested—a Bill for four-and-a-half mites of new railway,
connecting the North-Western with the Southseis
estern
railway, and the other railways south of the Thsmea,
'which has been succesiful.—(flear.) This I think will
be a most important adjunct t i our system.—(Hear.)
tact it will bring our line in connexion with the railways
south of the Thames, and the ports connected with those
railways, and you will all, as mercantile men,
ltPereciate this advantage.—(Cheers.) But if we did
b'z't promote any Bills, a considerable deal of
tees
bID
was occupied in Oosino' Bills. The
tooe'etils which we were called upon on principle
amiell°r were the Bills of the Great Western Company
an.nuirien_blrewsbury and Birmingham Company, for
usi„gg Powersi for using our station in Birmingham,
in the whole' lines from that station. I don't think,
eh
experience, aurae of my Parliamentary and railway
at empt as
theetver met with such an extraordinary
=cable for ita hcZns;:--(llear, hear.) It was ad-
to avail themsovessa for they, in fact, sought
and a considerable amount cif our own capital,
at Birmingham and the linwe
have
paid for the station
mselvsersunning there—
they sought to avail the
of. our capital, land, and
station, orf the purpose of
a competition
in the project in-
against ourselves.—(Llear.) Tbhetitnning
volved in the two Bids which Were
liarnent. The object was not introduced to Par-
evraentratulatt.e
eta rapidly by the members of the
Coat
quire
been, but it was
us it might have
seen, and the result was that both projrcu, were
rejected by Parliament.—(Loud cheers.) These
are the only Parliamentary proceedings of any conse.
(Vence that we have had, but they were very tedious
successful.--(Hear, hear.)
R'ad very long, though very
.1 wish it was in my power to report to you that our re-
Istione with all our neighbours are on the footing
I should wish them to be. In connexion with
the Midland Company, we are carrying on a very
serious contest with the Great Northern Company- We
have submitted to the arbitration of a very eminent in-
dividual, Mr. Gladstone, certain points in connexion
with our differences with that company, and I wish that
that reference was allowed to be made more general