The Sun.
London, England, 1860-06-21 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

LONDON, CHATHAM., AND DOVER.
A special general meeting of the proprietors of
this company was held yesterday at the company's
" office, 2, Moorgate-street, for the purpose of sub.
mitting the following bills, now pending in Parlia-
ment, viz.:—The London, Chatham, and Dover
Railway (Metropolitan Extension) Bill—being a
bill for enabling the company to extend their rail-
way communication to the metropolis, and for other
purposes connected with their undertaking ; the
London, Chatham, and Dover Railway (Capital Ar-
rangements) Bill—being a bill for the creation of
capital stock and debenture stock of the company;
and the West End of London and Crystal Palace
Railway Bill—being a bill for the transfer of the
Farnborough Extension Railway to the London,
Chatham, and Dover Company, and for the dissolu-
tion of the West End of London and Crystal Palace
Railway Company. The chair was taken by Lord
Sondes. _

The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings, said
the first resolution they would be called upon to con-
sider had reference to the Metropolitan Extension
Bill, and he hoped that it would be approved of
without opposition, as this was one of the most im-
portant bills they had had before them since their
line had been formed—it gave them what they had
long wanted, a free and independent line the whole
way into London. (Hear, hear.) The plan, after
almost unprecedented examination, had passed the
committee of the House of Commons, as he was in-
formed, unanimously, and it was absolutely neces-
sary, as he believed, for the company to have such
a communication as would be established by it. The
bill was now tefore the House of Lords. The
Chairman concluded by moving a resolution express-
ing approval of it.
Mr. HILTON seconded the motion.
Replying to a Proprietor,
Mr. HOLROYD said the committee were satisfied
that the capital provided for would be sufficient to
carry out the undertaking, though a great deal of
evidence was given to the contrary.
Mr. HARTRIDGE thought Mr. Burke, for the
company, before the committee, had made the best
of a bad case—bad, not in regard to the prospects
afforded by such an undertaking, but in regard to
the arrangements proposed. So far as he could per-
ceive, the whole authorised capital of the London,
Chatham, and Dover, the West End Extension, and
the Farnborough Extension, taking the authorised
borrowing powers into account, could only amount
to £4,280,000, and as their accounts only showed an
issued capital of £1,260,000, they had befoie them
the prospect of raising £3,000,000. He must say
some arrangement satisfactory to the directors had
been made in excess of this £1,260,000, but he
should like to know how the necessary capital was
to be raised.

Mr. HOLROYD said a very large sum of money
had been raised since the last repoli, and he might
say that almost the whole of the authorised capital
of £2,000,000 had been raised. So that there would
be no difficulty in regard to their financial position,
and the original line from Bickley to Dover
would be completed by the end of the year. But
this new line was entirely dependent upon its own
merits. Capital, which was at present authorised
to be raised, was chargeable upon this part of the
line alone, and the main objection raised to the
scheme was that they would get such an enormous
traffic that they would not be able to accommodate
it. The directors had not gone into this without
considering the prospects of raising the capital;
they had communicated with gentlemen of large
means in the city of London, and with their brokers,
and had been assured by them that they were pre-
pared to find a large proportion of the capital, and
they had no doubt that the remainder would be
forthcoming when the act was obtained.
The resolution was adopted unanimously.
Mr. HOLROYD explained in regard to the second
bill that the general capital authorised to be raised
under it, exclusive of the Western Extension, was
£1,580,000, and for the Western Extension,
£390,000. The bill was approved of.
With regard to the other bill for the transfer of
the Farnborough Eitension Railway to the London,
Chatham, and Dover Railway Company, and for the
dissolution of the West End of London and Crystal
Palace Railway C Anpany,
Mr. HOLROYD stated that the company had agreed
to purchase the portion of the West End and Crys-
tal Palace Railway lying to the eastward of the
Brighton line, the Brighton Company having pur-
chased the portion to the west of their line. This
gave to the Chatham and Dover Company a line of
their own from the Brighton line to the Dover line,
with the exception of a short line of a mile and a
half between Bromley and Bickley, in regard to
which they had an agreement to pay a proportion
of the fares. It had been originally intended to
abandon the Farnborough extension, but as the
landowners held that a pledge had been given, the
directors, having taken the line of the Crystal
Palace Company with all their obligations, felt
bound to carry out that undertaking. It was a line
which might be made at a small expense, and one