The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-16 00:00:00

that additional traffic always required additional
outlay to obtain it. However, the increase of
£79,337 in traffic had only cost the company 311
per cent. to obtain it, while the working expenses
on the whole receipts of the half-year had been
about 401 per cent. The directors had great hopes
that the rate of dividend now proposed would be
maintained or improved upon for the future. It
was not often that railway directors could point to
any special acts of theirs showing the benefit of
their superintendence, or for which they were in
a position to ask for the shareholders' acknow-
ledgments, but on this occasion he thought they
were fairly entitled to do so. Recollecting
that this company was the first, if not the only
company, at the present time, to relieve
the cost of working by consuming coal, and
consuming coal only iknowing that this alteration
took place after a series of experiments by able and
scientific men, the directors had attended to the
subject for many months, and at a very small ex-
pence all the old working stock had been altered to
meet the requirements of the change from coke to
coal. By comparison with the year 1856 or any
other period when coal was not adopted, it showed
a saving on the half-year of £13,000 or £14,000;
he thought it would be admitted that in this respect,
at all events, the directors had not been inattentive
to the interests of the company. (Hear, hear.) The
expense of the permanent wayshowed a diminution,
the line was in as good order probably as any in
the kingdom, and it was only natural that the share-
holders for the future should enjoy the advantage of
their liberal allowance for expenditure on this ac-
count in years past. He feared that the saving in
the item of general charges was more apparent than
real. He regretted that the legal and Parliamentary
charges should be so large, not only in this but in
all railway companies ; but so long as it appeared
their duty, which he did not see how they could
escape, to watch with the greatest vigilance all rival
schemes before Parliament which might seriously
affect their interests ; so long as they were subject
to applications to Parliament all along their line,
by corporate bodies and others, for Water Bills, or
Improvement Bills, or other bills, which might
seriously affect them in rating, and so long as they
were compelled to go before the tribunal which Par-
liament had appointed—the most expensive in the
kingdom—he really could not anticipate a material
reduction in these expenses, The fault was in the
Legislature, and not in the Railway Boards of the
kingdom. The amounts paid for compensation
showed a reduction of £3,139. In more senses than
one, they must feel gratified that this was the case.
A distinguished railway authority, Mr. Watkin,
had proved at one of the Sheffield Company's meet-
ings, that the risk of railway travelling was very
much exaggerated. In that opinion he (the chair-
man) agreed. He was not quite sure that Mr.
Watkin 's arguments did not show that of all
places in which a man could place himself for secu-
rity, a seat he a first-class carriage was the
one he should select. Taking the number of peo-
ple travelling down Market-street, Manchester,
and the accidents occurring to them from vehicles,
sign-boards, or chimney-pots, he (the chairman)
maintained that there were fewer people injured
on this line in proportion to the number of pas-
sengers than there were pedestrians in Market-
street. (Cheers.) Very little was heard of these ;
a stretcher carried them to the Infirmary, and a
paragraph iu the newspapers disposed of them for
the future; while, if a railway company had the
misfortune to injure any one, of course large claims
were made against them, although ships might
sink with 500 passengers on board, for which not
the smallest shadow of a claim was made against
the owners. Many complaints had been made
against this company for defending their interests
in law courts against extraordinary claims believed
to be false ones. No claim for compensation was
ever made to this board that was not referred to
a committee composed of men as humane in their
judgment "on these subjects as any in the kingdom,
and, if a choice had to be made in the interests of
the claimants, he believed no tribunal could be
found more actuated by a desire to meet all the
exigencies of the case. But claims were made
which by no means represented the injuries sus-
tained, and which put it entirely beyond their
power to deal with them, except through an Eng-
lish jury. If he were to mention the singular in-
stances of recovery after a verdict for large da-
mages, the shareholders would be very much sur-
prised. He confessed he had never • seen yet a
remedy proposed so successful in restoring an in-
jured person to health as a good heavy compensa-
tion paid by a railway company. (Cheers.) After
some great disaster these remarks might have been
looked upon with distrust, but he made them at
the present favourable moment, hoping that for the
future the directors would never be supposed to
have rejected claims except on what appeared to
them sufficient grounds for rejection. (Hear.) The
directors had exerted themselves to prevent any,
future difficulties with other companies, but he re-
gretted that the Great Northern, with whom they
had been on the most friendly terms, as with all
others, had proposed a scheme seriously prejudicial
to them. They had done their utmost by the offer
of favourable terms to induce the Great Northern to
continue running over this company's line from
Doncaster to Wakefield (the cost of which was
chiefly in the interest and incurred at the request
of the Great Northern), and he had no doubt Par-
liament would approve, as on three former occa-
sions, their reasons for opposition. (Hear.)
Mr. W. STUART seconded the resolution, which
was adopted.
The various guaranteed dividends were then de-
clared, and a dividend at the rate of 6 per cent. per
annum on the original stock, after which the re-
tiring directors were re-elected.
A long discussion took place on the election of an
auditor, the contest being between Mr. Evans (the
retiring auditor) and Mr. Wrigley. For the latter
there appeared 72 votes, and for the former 68. A
poll was demanded on behalf of Mr. Evans, which
would be kept open till noon on Saturday, and the
result would be made known on Monday.
The meeting having been made special, the East
Lancashire Preference Fifth Shares, 1857, were for-
mally converted into a 5 per cent, preference stock
of this company; and the proceedings ended with a
vote of thanks to the chairman.