The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-24 00:00:00

WIMBLEDON AND DORKING.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held at the
offices, Great George-street, yesterday—Mr. Grissell

In the chair.

The report said : The shareholders will find in
the engineer's report an account of the present state of
the works. Had a due amount of energy been used during
the more than usually favourable weather of the past half-
year, the undertaking would have been much nearer com-
pletion. The directors are doing their best to get the rate
of progress accelerated during the current half-year. In
consequence of the unexpected opposition of the South-
Western Railway Company to the further progress of the
bill for amalgamating the Epsom and Leatherhead Com-
pany with this company, that measure was withdrawn. The
directors regret they were constrained to take this step, as,
in their opinion, hadlegislative sanction been given to that
bill, it would, by introducing one management, have sim-
plified the working of both lines, and promoted thereby
economy of management and the convenience of the public.
The South-Western Railway Company having inserted in a
bill which they promoted this year in Parliament a clause
altering the scale of voting in the company, your directors
opposed the same in the'House of Commons' committee, and
succeeded in obtaining the rejection of the clause, and in
other respects the amendment of the bill. At the special
meeting which will follow the ordinary meeting, an agree-
ment with the South-Western Railway Company for work-
ing the line at 45 per cent. on the gross earnings, and
embodying other arrangements between the companies, will
be submitted for the approval of the shareholders."
The engineers' repert said :—" I regret to say that since
my last report the earthworks have progressed so slowly as
to disappoint the expectations I had formed of completing
the line in the summer of this year. I had hoped that dur-
ing this summer the contractor would have made up far lost
time in the winter, but owing to the want of material and
the scarcity of labourers, the summer has passed without
much work having been done. Little more than one-half.
of the earthwork has been removed ; although most of the
masonry and the heavy bridge approaches are nearly com-
pleted. Since there is no ballast on the line, the permanent
way is not far advanced, there being only 21 miles of single
line laid. Notwithstanding the strongest remoustranees
made by himself and Mr. Crosse against the want of pro-
gress with these works, no sufficient effort has been made
by the contractor, and there is no remedy for this evil that
I can suggest, except that of putting on more men in the
name of the company, but at the contractor's expense, cr to
enforce the penalties for &lay in the execution of the con-
tract. Since the summer traffic will not be available, per-
haps the latter remedy will be the best. The line could be
finished in three or four months, but if matters proceed as
they have done during this summer it will not be brought
to a close till the spring of next year."
The accounts show the total receipts to have been £51,377
lle., nad the expenditure £49,317 Ss. ld., showing a
balance in hand of X 2,060 7s. 11d.

The CHAIRMAN in this case, as in that of the previous
meeting, complained of the delay which had taken place in
the execution of zke works, for which he held the contractors
solely responsible. The excuse of not being able to get
labour he was not disposed to give credence to. The
contractor bad comraunicated to the engineer that he had
been over the works, and bad determined so to increase his
staff that the works should be completed by November.
Mr. Brassey had been engaged in such large works abroad
or elsewhere that this line appeared to have escaped his
notice and left in the hands of persons who appeared only
to consider what they could make out of the line without
regard to the time at which it could be completed. At
an early meeting of the board the directors would take the
promise of Mr. Brassey into consideration, to see what
course should be pursued.
Is reply to a question from Sir Walter Farquhar,
The CHAIRMAN said that, when the line was completed,
there would be difficulty with regard to the working of the
line under the agreement with the South-Western Com-
pany.

After some conversation, in which it was argued that no
arrangements should be entered into between the Brighton
and the Epsom and Leatherbead lines which would in any
way interfere with the traffic going to the West-end of
London,
The report was adopted, the retiring directors re-elected,
and the meeting made special, when the agreement with
the South-Western Company was approved.
A vote of thanks to the chairman closed the proceedings.