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

C'HARING-GROSS RAILWAY.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was
held at the Bridge-house Hotel, yesterday ; the
Hon. James Byng in the chair.
Mr. SAMUEL SMILES, the secretary, read the
advertisement convening the meeting, and the fol-
lowing report :—" The directors congratulate the
proprietors upon the success of the application made
to Parliament for powers to construct this railway
and terminus. The unanimous approval of this
measure by committees of both houses, after a pro-
tracted opposition, in the course of which it receiv.
full discussion, must be regarded as a satisfactory
proof, amongst others, of the public importance
and value of the undertaking. The directors have
also to acknowledge the support which they re-
ceived from the authorities at the Horse Guards,
the Admiralty, the Post-office, the Foreign-office,
and the Railway Department of the Board of
Trade, by all of which the substantial merits
of the scheme were fully recognised. The di-
rectors themselves continue to be satisfied of
the importance of the Charing-cross Railway,
and that no other metropolitan line yet projected
is calculated to furnish an equal amount of public
accommodation, or a terminus so advantageously
situated, presenting a like prospect of commercial
advantage to the proprietors. They have accord-
ingly taken the requisite steps for proceeding with
the works with all reasonable despatch, in order
that the undertaking may become remunerative as
speedily as possible. Arrangements have already
been completed with the Hungerford-market Com-
pany and the Charing-cross Bridge Company for
the purchase of their landed property; and the
directors are gratified in being able to state that the
sums for which these properties have been pur-
chased aro within the estimates laid before Parlia-
ment. A contract has been entered into with Mr.
Wythes,for the execution of the whole of the works,
including the stations at Charing-cross, Black-
friars, and other intermediate places; and mea-
sures are in progress for proceeding as soon as
possible with the foundations of the bridge for four
lines of railway across the Thames. The South-
Eastern Company, desirous of availing themselves
of the great facilities presented by this railway
and terminus for supplying increased accommoda-
tion to travellers by their main line, North and
Mid Kent, and Greenwich branches, to and from
the western parts of the metropolis, have sub-
scribed £300,000 towards the capital of the under-
taking ; and they have also entered into an agree-
ment to work the line when constructed on terms
Tnni-,—ny avautan-a—^t., "0- A* iv-
quired by the provisions of the special act, such
agreement will be submitted to the proprietors for
confirmation at the special meeting to be held im-
mediately after the ordinary half-yearly business
has been disposed of. To enable the directors to
carry on the works, calls will be made on the shares
from time to time as funds may be required for the
purpose ; and, for the convenience of proprietors,
calls will also be received in advance, on which in-
terest will be allowed, as provided by the Com-
panies Clauses' Act, 1845."
The report of the engineer, Mr. Hawkshaw, says .
—" Since the passing of the act, the line has been
re-surveyed the design for the bridge over the river
Thames bas also been completed, and received the
sanction and approval of the Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty and of the Conservators of the
river Thames. I have therefore directed the con-
tractor to proceed with the construction of the
bridge, and he is now busy with the requisite pre-
parations, and will shortly be at work."
11The accounts showed the receipts to have been
£43,201 Bs. 4d., and the expenditure (including
£l,OOO deposit on the purchase of Hungerford-
market) £12,444 14s. 10d., leaving a balance in
hand of £30,756 13s. 6d.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, said—You will observe from the report which
has been read that no time has been lost in taking
the requisite steps for proceeding with this impel.-
tant undertaking. Immediately on the act being ob-
tained, instructions were given to the engineers to
get out the detailed plans of the Charing-cross-
bridge, in order that they might be submitted to the
Admiralty and Conservators of the Thames for
their approval, which has now been obtained. Pre-
liminary arrangements had already been made for
the purchase of the Hungerford-market property,
as the site of our Charing-cross Station, and also
for the purchase of the Charing-cross-bridge, which
is to be converted into a railway bridge for four lines
of way, together with two separate ways for foot
passengers. These arrangements hare now been
satisfactorily completed, and I am gratified at being
able to inform you that we have purchased those
properties at prices within the estimate. We have
also entered into a contract with a respectable con-
tractor for the execution of the whole of the works
at satisfactory prices ; and asike bridge will occupy
the longest period in construction, measures will be
taken to commence the works at that point without
delay. So soon as the iron cylinders required
for the foundations of the pier have been delivered,
operations will be commenced in the bed of the
river, and probably another month will not elapse
before you are informed of their actual commence-
ment. Steps will be taken at other points
to carry out the provisions of the act, and
I trust to be able to inform you that we have
been equally successful in keeping within the esti-
mated cost of the undertaking. Railway estimates
have proved fallacious in so many cases that the
directors have exercised more than usual care in
this instance. So far as we have yet proceeded,
we have every reason to be satisfied with the re-
sults. The heaviest purchase—that of the property
required for the terminus—has been effected, the
bridge has been purchased, and the whole of the
works let, and all within our mark. So far, then,
our case has stood the test. Whether the estimates
will come out equally satisfactorily for the- property
—mostly of a very inferior description—situated
south of the river remains to be seen; but our sur-
veyor, who has gone into the matter in great de-
tail, believes he has put clown the full value in every
case, and his view has been fortified' by the testi-
mony of practical men. 'For the present, then, we
see no reason to doubt that we shall be able to pro-
vide, at a comparatively moderate cost, one of the
most convenient railway termini in the metropolis,
in the centre of the. West-end traffic at Charing-
cross, at a more moderate cost than is perhaps prac-
ticable in any other sinilarly eligible situation. It
is scarcely necessary that I should insist on the
value and importance cf this line and terminus ;
these have been fully recognised by the successive
committees of the Homo of Commons which have
sat upon the subject, by the Admiraity, the Post-
office, the If or.,e Guards, and the Board of Trade.
The immense convenience of the proposed terminus,
situated in the neighbourhood of the principal
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