The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-15 00:00:00

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY-
CHEAP EXCURSION to WEYMOUTH, Diprchester,
&c.—On SATURDAY, August 25, an EXCURSION TRAIN
will leave Paddington at 3.30 p.m., and Reading at 3.40 p.m.,
for Chippenham, Melksham, Trowbridge, Westbury, and
Promo (lares,l6s. and 65.), Yeovil (11s. and 7s), Dorchester and
Weymouth (128. and Bs.) Returning on TUESDAY, August
28, from Weymouth at 7 a.m. .

BAILW AY INTELLIGENCE':

MIDLAND.

The half-yearly meeting was held yesterday at
Derby—Mr. S. Beale, M.P., in the chair. An ab-
stract of the report has appeared in The Snn.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, said he had only a few remarks to make
upon the accounts, which he believed were clear
and explicit, and from the communications he had
received he thought they were satisfactory. The
result of the six months' hard work had been a
large increase ofitraffic ; but of that amount about
£6,000 or £7,000 was exceptional, and arose from
the fact of there being an extra day in the half
year. The goods traffic had largely increased—
about £2,000 a week, or £50,000 in the half year;
there was also a great increase in the coal traffic,
which arose, in all probability, from the continued
cold weather. To the items under the head
" charges" he would call the attention of the pro-
prietors more in detail, because he wished to con-
vince them that the dividend had been fairly earned,
and to thoroughly satisfy the proprietors on that
head, because it was most desirable that they should
never be eating into the substance of their property,
but that the line was, as it ought to be, in a better
state at the end than at the commencement of the
half year. Upon maintenance and repair of per-
manent way they had spent £20,000 more than in
the previous half year; in part that increased ex-
penditure had been rendered necessary in conse-
quence of the bad state of the weather and. the
greater wear upon the road. A plan had also been
followed which had been adopted some time since
of repairing wooden bridges with stone or iron as
circumstances might require. Revenue had also
borne the cost of new buildings, extensions of sid-
ings, &c., so that it could not be said that the pro-
prietors were getting a dividend by pinching the
repairs of the road, or by adding necessary expen-
diture to the account of capital. The locomotive
power had not been increased anything like in
proportion to the amount of work done; there had
been 500,000 more miles run, and 25 additional
engines at work night and day; and the circum-
stance of their being able to do all this work was
the best proof of the accuracy of the reports which
had from time to time been made by Mr. Kirtley.
He might notice, too, that in doing that additional
work they had had less complaints on the subject of
detentions than they had ever had before. They
had expended considerable sums out of the revenue
in the purchase of horses, vans, tarpaulins, &c., and
as under their new management more stock of that
kind would be required they were prepared to apply
another £5,000 from revenue for that purpose. In
fact he had no hesitation in saying that they had
made revenue suffer for the benefit of capital. Some
years since they incurred a large expenditure in
making their line commensurate to its work. In
doing so they created a suspense debt, which it was
agreed should be paid off in five years and a-half.
He was happy to say that this would be cleared off
within four years of the time the obligation was
contracted. (Hear, hear.) He mentioned these
facts in order to show that the property was in a
sound state, and that the shareholders were entitled
to every shilling it was proposed to divide. They
were working in harmony with other companies ;
there was less spirit of aggression among railway
companies than formerly existed ; they were all
getting richer, and, he supposed, more Conservative.
There should be a free interchange of traffic be-
tween different companies, and the more of that
sort of thing there existed the better it would it be
for themselves and the public. An arrangement,
which had for some time existed between Messrs.
Pickford and Company and Messrs. Chaplin and
Horne and this company had been brought to a
close, its continuance being incompatible with the
agency which those firms had with the London and
North-Western Company ; but no unfriendly feeling
existed, and in the towns where the interests of the
two companies did not clash both the firms named
would still continue their connexion with the Mid-
land
Company. As to the future, he might state the
opinion of the board, that so far as they could see
there was nothing to indicate anything else than
the steady and progressive improvement of Mid-
land property. He had never predicted very great
results, bat that which had taken place had ex-
ceeded his most sanguine expectations. Too much
of prosperity was not desirable; they must tame
care not to be led by it to make too many new lines,
and thereby to increase capital, but they must at
the same time take care that no adverse interests
crept in to punish them. (Hear.) It would be as
dangerous to altogether refuse to make extensions
on the one hand as to be excited into their con-
struction by prosperity on the other. It was their
duty to consult both the public wants and their
own interests carefully and cautiously. He con-
cluded by moving the adoption of the report.
Mr. HUTCHINSON, the Deputy-Chairman, se-
conded the motion. _ _ _

A PROPRIETOR asked whether those shareholders
who held the 41 per cent. Preference Stock, and
through inadvertence neglected to concert it into
original stock, might now remedy the error.
The CHAIRMAN replied that the time for conver-
sion was restricted to the 29th of June last, and that
the shareholders had no power to alter the law by
the extension of the time.
The motion for the adoption of the report was
then carried unanimously.
Resolutions were next submitted declaring a
dividend of £3 ss. per cent. upon the old stock, and
upon the other stocks as recommended in the report.
Votes were next taken for the expenditure of
various sums on account of new works.
Resolutions were also passed converting certain
shares which had been fully paid up into Midland
mortgage preference shares • also the £6 preference
shares paid up into an irredeemable 41 per cent.
preference stock ; and for the conversion of deben-
tures to the amount of one million into a 4 per cent.
preference stock.
The meeting was then made special, and the di-
rectors were empowered to raise a further capital of
£930,000, by the issue of 160,000 new shares of £6
4s. each pro rata, one to the holder of every £lOO
original stock, and to rank therewith. The first
call on these shares of £1 4s. was to be made on the
Ist of October.
A cordial vote of thanks was passed to the chair-
man and directors, which concluded the proceed-
ings.

was
Mr. J. N.
held yesterday at the London Tavern ;
Daniell in the chair.
The half-yearly meeting mANeeptinßgLoAf ethKisWcAomlipLa.ny
•
on of the Theile s
report, an
aasntaakhesntraacstreoafd w. h ieh has appeared
in T
The CHAIRMAN, in moving. the adoption
report, said the propositions therein mentioned,
when carried out, would go far towards establish-
ing a new traffic on the line. The
passenger traffic,
as a whole, had been as good as circumstances
would permit. The great difficulty had been to get
a goods traffic on their line, and after long and con-
siderable exertions, the directors had succeeded in
getting one or tiro companies to use their line for
goods traffic to the river and the city. He wis
glad to say that other great railway companies
were following the example, and adopting the
means of sending goods traffic over the railway to
all the docks, with the exception of the St. Katha-
rine Docks. Goods stations for those companies
were being erected on the line, and the station for
the Great Northern Railway Company would be
ready in a fortnight. They had obtained powers
to make a branch line to the London Docks, a
goods station for the Midland Railway Company
and other, works, for which they would receive in-
terest on the money expended, and also a rent for
the space occupied. The new capital would be
raised on shares issued at a discount, so as to give
a sufficient inducement to the proprietors to find
the necessary capital for the completion of the pro-