The Sun.
London, England, 1867-02-07 00:00:00

METROPOLITAN.

The half-yearly general meeting of this company
was held yesterday in the London Tavern ; Mr. J.
Parson in the chair.

The report, an abstract of which has appeared in
The Sun, was taken as read.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the re-
port, said the traffic receipts on the line for the past
half-year amounted to £107,295 against £72,441 for
the corresponding half of 1865, showing an increase
of £34,854, or 48 per cent. That was satisfactory,
considering the prevalence of cholpra and the de-
pression of trade. The traffic receipts for the year
1866 amounted to £210,242, against £141,513 in
the previous year, showing an increase of 168,729.
In the year 1866 4i miles of line were open for
traffic, against 34 miles in 1865, and the net receipts
amounted to £125,683 in 1866„ against £86,008 in
1865, showing au increase of £39,675, which was
a greater increase than any other railway could
boast of. The increase in the present year averaged
about 1500 per week, and lie 11 ad no doubt what-
ever that they would be able to maintain that in-
crease during the year without any new source of
traffic coming into play, so that they might look
forward to an increase of £26,000 in the receipts of
1867 over those of 1866, and that would be earned
without adding a corresponding increase to the ex-
penses. They ran the same number of trains in
1866 as they did in 1865, and it would not be neces-
sary to increase the number of trains for 1867, so
the additional £26,000 would be nearly all net pro-
fit. There had been an increase in the expenses of
£5,000, which was attributable to renewals. Their
narrow-gauge lines had been relaid with steel lines
instead of iron rails; which would result in a smaller
cost for maintenance. They had had to repair the
carriages, to renew doors, windows, Sce, and also the

indiarubber bags for gas, owing to the constant tear
and wear. The increase in the rates and taxes was
12,000, that item being £7,000 against £5,000. Ile
thought their taxation ought to be reduced, as it
was, in fact, a steam omnibus company, the Go-
vernment having taken off the. tolls for the General
Omnibus Company, amounting, he believed, to
£96,000 a year, and bad reduced the mileage duty
from ld. to 4-d. .per mile by the omnibuses. In
1860 the company purchased for offices the resi-
dence of the late Mr. Brunel, for which they gave
£6OO ; they had recently sold it to the Crown for
£6,000, and .the difference was carried as profit to
the revenue account. (Hear, hear.) 'The net profit
earned on their railway in the year 1863 amounted
to £58,078 ; in the year 1864 to £70,775; in the
year 1865 to £86,008; and in 1866 to £125,683.
The capital expended in 1863, on which they had to
pay interest and dividend, was £1,124,350, and in
1866, £2,482,500, of which £382,500, was unpro-
ductive, but when it became productive it would be
a relief to them. They had been forced to extend
their lines with a view to protect their property and
accommodate the public. The line from Paddington
to Farringdon-street was first made at a cost of
£1,500,000 ; the line had subsequently been ex-
tended to Finsbury-circus, and during the first year
the extension was opened for traffic it realised a net
profit of £40,000, on two lines of rails, which was
an earnest of what it would do when the four lines
of rails come into profitable operation by the Great
Western, the Midland and Great Northern Rail-
way Companies running over the other two lines.
He then entered into a statement with a view to
show that the interest on the capital expended on
the Finsbury extension during the construction had
been provided by Mr. Kelk, the contractor, while
the net traffic on the open portion of the Metropo-
litan line paid all the interest and dividends on the
capital expended on it. Since the opening of the
Finsbury Extension the net traffic paid interest and
dividend on its cost. He then explained how the 6
per cent. interest was being provided by the con-
tractor during the construction of the Western Ex-
tension Line, and when opened there could be no
doubt that the net traffic on it would provide the
interest and dividend on its cost. Of the new capi-
tal (£450,000) for widening the line, the interest
on £382,000 of it was now actually charged to re-
venue, although it was entirely unproductive; but
when the work was finished it would yield them a
grand addition to their revenue. It included two
other lines between King's-cross and Farringdon-
street, and a branch line. to accommodate the
traffic of the Great Northern, the London, Chat-
ham, and Dover, the Midland, and the Great Wes-
tern, for which tolls would be received. The com-
pany would also receive rents for station accommo-
dation at Finsbury. The Great Western alone
would pay them £25,000 a year, which would
commence some time before the end of the year,
after obtaining possession of certain land near
Smithfield. The Great Western would have half
the space under the dead-meat market at Smith-
field for goods traffic, and hoists for the de-
livery of provisions to the market above at all
times, without unpacking or transshipment, which
would give them a great advantage. All those
things would add to the resources and receipts
of the Metropolitan Railway Company, and enable
them to pay good dividends. He then explained that
the proposed assistance to the St. John's-wood
branch of £lOO,OOO on preference shares to finish
the line, upon which £200,000 had already been ex-
pended, would amply repay the Metropolitan Com-
pany by the additional traffic (£30,000 a year) it
would bring over the main line.

Mr. GILP I N, M.P., seconded the motion for the
adoption of the report, which was carried unani-
mously ; and dini•lends at the rate of 5 per cent.
per a:!nurn on the preference stock, and 7 per cent.
per annum on the ordinary stock and shares of the
company were declared, payable on 15th inst. The
retiring directors, Mr. Alderman Hale, Mr. Scott,
and Mr. A. C. Sheriff, m.r., were re-elected, and
also Mr. B. J. Armstrong, the retiring auditor.
The proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks
to the chairman.