The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-09 00:00:00

THE SUN,7IONDOIki, THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 9, 1860.
LYTTTC,Tr

LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN
RAILIV.4

HALF-YEARLY MEETING—THIS DAY.
The ordinary half-yearly meeting of the share-
holders in this company was held this day, at the
offices of the company at the Waterloo Station.
The chair was occupied by Mr. Mangles, chair.
man of the board of directors.
The usual routine business having been trans•
acted, and the directors' half-yearly report, which
has already appeared in the Sun, having been
taken as read,
The CHAIRMAN, in moving its adoption, said,
with an increased dividend experience had shown
that there was no difficulty in the directors of such
a company in carrying a meeting with them. This
company, he was happy to say, was not an excep-
tion to that rule, and if the shareholders would
listen to him for a short time he would prove to
them that the prospects of the South-Western Rail-
way were good, and the property of the share.
holders wore safe. The hon, gentleman then pro-
ceeded to touch upon the financial position of
the company, and remarked that as the com-
petition with the Brighton Company had ceased,
the directors had fair reason to anticipate that the
year 18(30 would show a large increase over that of
1859. He had great satisfaction in stating the
satisfactory progress of peaceful arrangements with
the Bristol and Exeter and the South Devon lines,
and it was but due on his part to state that through
the negotiations the directors of the South Western
had been met in a most fair and honourable man-
ner, and had the pleasure to state that the plans with
those companies had been agreed ul.on. While he
was on that point he was anxious that the
public and the Great Western Rail way might
be informed, through the press, that the
directors of the South-Western were ready at any
moment to enter into peaceful arrangements with
them for an interchange of traffic. The present
year bids fair to be most prosperous for the com-
pany, for, comparing the receipts for the first five
weeks with those of the corresponding weeks of
1859—after deducting the expenses—show an in-
crease of £l,OOO per week. (Hear, hear.) The
attention of the directors having been called to
the additional wear and tear of the line, in
consequence of the increased traffic, they have
resolved at once to relay all such part■ of the
line were necessary with additional sleepers and
fish-joint rails. The repairs to the rolling stock
had been fully maintained during the past year at
the expense of revenue, and much of the older por-
tion of it has been converted from first to second
or third-class carriages, the result had proved the
wisdom of the steF. The heavy works at Gilling-
ham tunnel had delayed the further opening of the
Shrewsbury and Yeovil line to Yeovil, but the di-
rectors now confidently expect that the line would
be opened throughout in the month of April next.
The traffic over that part of the line already finished
was perfectly satisfactory, and he felt that it would
be still more remunerative. Before he would resume
his seat he would just allude to the Government
duty, rates, and taxes on railway property, which
were gradually increasing. He thought it a great
hardship and injustice that railway property should
be subjected to such unjust demands ; and if those
gentlemen present, who happened to be members
of Parliament, would turn their attention and give a
serious thought to those increasing demands on rail-
way property, with a view to ascertain whether they
could not be stopped or greatly reduced, they would
render a great service to all holders of railway
property. Notwithstanding the slightly diminished
dividend ho thought on the whole their position
was satisfactory, and that the company s tood in a
good and wholesome position. (Hear, hoar.)
The motion of the chairman having been seconded
a desultory discussion followed.