The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-18 00:00:00

SOUTH YORKSHIRE.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held at
Sheffield yesterday, Dr. Dymond in the chair.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report,
expressed his regret at the small amount of the dividend,
which he attributed entirely to the general commercial dis-
tress. In the passenger traffic there was, as compared with
the corresponding half-year of 1857, a decrease of £245, in
merchandise a decrease of £6lB, .in the receipts from the
navigation a decrease of £3,311. The item of debenture
interest had been increased by £1,600. The gross receipts
from mineral traffic had been £6,632 more than in the cor-
responding half-year cf 1857, and this would have afflirded
an additional 1 per cent. dividend, but for the loss in other
items of traffic, owing to the depression in trade and the
increase in debenture interest, amounting together to £5,954.
The directors had appointed Mr. English, from the Great
Western, as traffic manager uf this company, and they hoped
that from his experience they would obtain an increase of
their traffic.

Mr. BARTOLOMEIV, in reply to Mr. Ironside, explained
that the reduction in the rates of their navigation was only
upon a small po:tion of the traffic. Its effect during the
last four weeks had been that their total receipts from that
source were £3,730, as against £4,300 for the same period
of last year.
Mr. luoNsIDE said it had come to his knowledge that a
firm in Hull had undertaken to convey goods from Hull to
6litlnekl for nothino.. One Sheffield house who previously
paid same firm Is. per tu, amounting to £3OO a-year,
now had their goods conveyed for nothing. How was this
done? 'The answer was that it was understood that this
company were cheated out of their river dues and the boat-
me% out of their freight by false weights.
The CHAIRMAN said that upon certain goods a reduction
had been made, but he did not see how it was po,sible for
that statement to be correct.

Mr. IRONSIDE said it might not he possible, but it was,
nevertheless, a fact, that goods were forwarded from Hull
to Sheffield by the navigation for nothing. He went on to
complain of the had management of the railway, the trains
being frequently an hour behind time.
The CHAIRMAN said this was only the case when they
bad to wait for other companies' trains meeting theirs.
The adoption of the report was then carried.
The CHAIRMAN moved the declaration of 4 per cent.
dividend on the guaranteed, and 21 per cent. ou ungua-
ranteed stock.

Mr. IRONSIDE asked whether this dividend had been
bond fide and honestly earned. lie put the question
because the Manchester and Sheffield Company had declared
a dividend o❑ their preference stock without making known
to the shareholders that 23,000/. which went towards paying
it was not comings, but a loan from the Great Northern.
The CHAIRMAN Could assure Mr. Ironside most faithfully
that this dividend had been fairly earned by the company;
and the motion was duly seconded and carried.
The CHAIRMAN next moved a resolution authorising the
directors to raise capital fur an extension of the company's
line from Thorne to Kcadby. Ile explained that the pro-
posed extension would be made or, their own land, along the
side of their -navigation, and would not cost more than
£3,000 a-mile. The project was laid before the shareholders
at a special meetine. in July. The extension of the line
from Donevster to Thorne had already yielded 5 per cent.
upon the outlay, and the rich district of the Isle of Axholtne,
which this further extension would traverse, weuld, Le had
no doubt, be still further remunerative.
Mr. P. E. FISHER hoped the judgment of the directors
on this point was sounder than that exercised when they
invested £25,000 in the Anglo-French Packet Company.
The CHAIRMAN said the expenditure of the £23,000 had
produced this company a net revenue of £3,000 to £4,000
a-year on coal conveyed to Grimsby.
After some further explanation, the resolution was agreed
to unanimously.
A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the proceed-
ings.