The Sun.
London, England, 1851-09-19 00:00:00

FRIDAY

they had now to divide their profits. if they had
earned the 25,000/. in the last half-year which had
keen earned in the current half-year, he believed that
they would now have been able to declare a 105. divi.
dend also. Mr. Smith said they bad wasted their
money in buying a large working stock. Now, the
fact was that their rolling stock was smaller, in pro-
portion to their mileage, than that of any ether com-
pany in the kingdom, and that they had not had a •
single carriage or engine built that was not abso-
lutely necessary for the traffic. And he said, further,
that they must have another addition to their coal-
trucks and goods-waggons, cr they could not derive
the benefit of the traffic of the districts through which
their lines passed. That was an undoueresd fact...
He would repeat that the capital account of the
company would be virtually closed on the 31st of IL
January, 1852 ; and if any further capital was to
be hereafter raised, the proprietors would exercise ft
their indisputable right of refusing or sanctioning
it, as they saw fit. It had been asked why they
had expended their reserved fund, which was in-
tended for deterioration, in the purchase of new car-
riages. The directors had thought that the best way
of replacing that deterioration was by ord, ring a
number of new carriages. With regard to the calls
which were not paid up, he trusted that, after the in-
timation made in the report, it would not be neces-
sary for the board to take legal proceedings against
any proprietor who was in arrear. The state of the
company's affairs generally he had adverted to already,
but there were one or two points, which had been
touched upon by Mr. Levy and others, to which he
would briefly refer. And, first, as to the allusion to
tho friends of his in Liverpool and Lancashire. Th •
r
action had been as independent of him as if he had
never been in existence, and whether they had bought '4"
or sold shares he could not tell, unless he refetared to
i et
the transfer book, in looking over which be was not
zE
in the habit of amusing himself, except it was to see
that it was correctly kept. But a large proportion of
the stock was held in Lancashire, and comments on
sanguine statements of his were quite as likely to be
made in that quarter as they were on the part of any
proprietor present. Mr. Levy wished that he and
the chairman of the Brighton Company shou4d not
amuse themselves in firing powder and shot at the
expense of the proprietors; but he had the best
authority for believing that their rivals had offered
to carry the officers connected with the Great
Exhibition for nothing at all. And when,
therefore, the City of Paris asked the South-
Eastern Company for how much they would
agree to carry so many gentlemen by a particular train
for a particular occasion, they had thought k right to
offer to do it at half price. Tile Corporation of Paris
took 250 tickets for the officers connected with the
Great Exhibition, and that number not being suffi-
cient, the company had sent 100 more free, which the
Commissary of Paris gave the proper parties who had
been invited to the Paris banquet. Nine hundred and
fifty persons in till went over to the festivities, with
3,000 packages of luggage, and .the whole were dis-
patched in half an hour's time—a tiling quite unpre-
cedented in railway movements. Then as to the
Reading, Guildford, and Reigate agreement, that he
could assure them bad never been a very favourite
object of his. It was entered into at a time when
greater competition existed than at present; and
thee was then a pressure put upon the directors by
gentlemen in that room, not only for a lease of the
Reading, Guildford, and Reigate line, but also for
entering into an agreement with the Brighton com-
pany which would have left the South-Eastern pro-
prietors on every occasion subsequent to it without
any dividend at all. Nothing was more popular et the „
time than a 7 per cent. lease of the Brighton Railway,
and if they had not made a good bargain of the Read-
ing, Guildford, and Reigate, let them be thankful that
they had not fallen deeper into the slough, or hung raa
themselves with a lease of the Pkighton lines at a
guarantee of 7 per cent. per annum.—(Hear, hear.) I_l
The returns an the Reading line had been very blue, -,.
because the South-Western Company, which had en.
tered into an agreement with the Reading Company, e.,/
would not give the South-Eastern Company the "'-'1
benefit of that agreement as the lessees of the Read-
ing line ; and the consequence was great competition
as to the fares. As regarded the reading and Guild-
ford traffic they would be happy to conclude an
agreement similar to the agreement with respect jp
the Hastings and St. Leonard's traffic ; and he
trusted that the day was not far distant when suchp_
amicable arrangement would be brought about; but
if that result could not be secured until a much
greater reduction of fares bad taken place it could not
be helped. It was a mistake to say they were carrying
goods on the Reading and Guildford line at a loss;
they obtained a small profit, and he thought the busi-
ness would increase. No company hada better terminus
than the South- Eastern' and their goods station .at
Bricklayer's Arms was better than the Great Western's
at Paddington. Mr, Smith's resolution was tantamount
to a vote of censure on the board ; and as the directors,
as well as the proprietors, all felt disappointment at
the present falling off in the dividend, he trusted Mr.
Smith would see that his resolution, as a mere ex-
pression of disappointment, was quite unnecessary.
It' the hoard could have penetrated into futurity that
disappointment would not have occurred ; but be
hoped the company had now seen its worst days.
Mr. Cl2oos—You have told us that before, Mr.
Chairman.
Mr. LEVY—WeII, let us try him once more.
Mr. SMITU said he had never intended to move a
vote of censure on the board ; but as his motion
appeared to be generally distateful, he would not
press it.

Mr. Smith's motion was accordingly withdrawn ;
and the resolution for declaring the dividend was
carried nem. con.

- The CHAIRMAN said the business was now con-
cluded, and he trusted that at their next meeting, in
spite of his bad character as a prophet, that all would
look more cheerful and prosperous.
Thanks were then voted to the chairman and direc-
tors, on the motion of Mr. S➢IITH, and the meeting
separated.