The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-04 00:00:00

been explained. The gain of power in the half-
power runs was owing to the conditions of the tide
being reversed—the two runs, 1 and 3, being made
to the westward on the greatest force of tide, and
the return runs, 2 and 4, on the lesser force ; not in
true, but in disproportiouable strengths. Whether
this theory is right or wrong the subject is quite
important enough to demand careful investigation.
Some trials were made in turning circles at full and
half power, but they were wholly of an unimportant
nature in every respect.

The iron ship Minotaur, 34, Capt. James G.
Goodenough, flag of Rear-Admiral Warren, C. 8.,
commanding the Channel Squadron, with her ar-
mour-plated consorts, the iron screw steamship
Achilles, 26, Capt. Edward W. Vandttart ; the
iron ship Bellerophon, 11, Captain Reginald J. J.
G. Macdonald ; the ship Lord Clyde, 23, Capt.
IL3derick 13.3 w, C. 8., and the corvette Pallas, 6,
Capt. Matthew Connolly, which left Portland at
4,30 a.m. on Monday, hove in sight at Plymouth
at 2 p.m. the same day, and shortly after entered
the Sound.

'The paddle-wheel steam frigate Valorous, 16,
Capt. Charles C. Forsyth, recently returned from
the Cape Station, is now alongside the dockyard,
Devonport, where she will be dismantled and stripped.
Her crew will be paid off in a few days.
The following appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty :—Sub-Lieut. Thomas T. A.
Smith, to the Rodney ; Henry B. Callander, mid-
shipman, to the Terrible; William Ball, engineer,
to the Medusa ; John T. Kelly, engineer, to the
Liffey ; and William Oates, second class assist.-en-
gincer, to the Liffey.

nvlway and other Companies.

NORTII BRITISH.

A meeting of shareholders in the Carlisle and Sil-
loth Bay Dock and Railway section of this company
was held at Carlisle yesterday, for the purpose of
considering what effect the new Act of the North
British Company would have upon the Silloth pro-
prietary. Mr. J. D. Carr in the chair.
A statement was read which had been prepared
by Mr. John Irving, one of the Silloth directors,
who in the interests of the company had watched the
progress through Parliament of the North British
Railway Bill (Carlisle deviation), by which powers
were sought to create a pre-preference stock
amounting to £1,875,625, bearing interest not ex-
ceeding 5} per cent., in order to enable the com-
pany to discharge the whole of its obligations. That
bill, he said, having passed the House of Commons
unopposed, .was opposed in the Lords by parties de-
sirous of issuing £9,000,000 of ordinary stock at
£2O, equivalent to 80 per cent. discount, instead of
a pre-preference as sanctioned by the shareholders
at their Wharncliffe meeting. An alternative pro-
posal was also made for creating preference stock,
ranking next in order after the existing preferences.
With reference to those proposals the Right
Honourable W. E. Gladstone, a witness in
favour of the bill, gave evidence that "to raise
preference stock placed at the bottom of the list
would be by far the worst plan of the two," and
" would not be equitable to the ordinary share-
holders, because it would throw upon them the
whole burden created by the difficuities, although
they only formed one-third of the governing and
managing body of the company. Mr. Stirling,
chairman of the company, when under cross-exa-
mination, agreed with the view that preference
shareholders having voting power had an equal re-
sponsibility with the ordinary. shareholders ; and
that the scheme of raising ordinary stock would be
to throw the whole burden upon the ordinary share-
holders who were in the minority, for the results of
a policy which was the work of the majority who
were to bear no share of it. The Lord.!' Com- j
mittee decided against the creation of a preferep—i
stock of £1,875,625, but gave other powers rPalicing
the amount to £1,05),000. Mr Jrvi ,g contended
that however hardly the creati.n -or a permanent
stock at an enorulT:sly high rate of interest might
bear um, the ordinary shareholders, its pressure
;Yr much more unjust upon the Silloth proprietary
who bad no voice in the management, inasmuch as
their interest was entirely dependent upon upon the
dividend declared on the ordinary North British
shares.

After hearing the statement read the meeting ad-
journed till tile 15th inst.

GREENOCK AND AYRSIIIRE.

The half-yearly general meeting of this company
was held on Thursday in Glasgow ; Provost Grieve
in the chair.

The reportstated that £287,210 had been received
on ctpital account, and i.291;G86 expended, leaving
£4,476 due to the bank. A joint arrangement had
been made with the Caledonian Company and the
Greenock Harbour Trustees, with reference to the
position of both railway companies at the Albert
Harbour and access thereto, and the agreement had
been confirmed by the Greenock Harbour Act, 1867.
Messrs. Forman and Al'eall, the engineers, stated
in their report that a large quantity of work had
been done. The first tunnel from the Greenock cud
of the hue —and which was the longest —was nearly
completed, and the other tunnels were well advanced.
The Cartsburn- and Bridge of Weir viad•_tcts would
be finished in a few weeks. The piers of the large
viaduct over Devol's Glen were nearly erected, and
the arch stones were ready fur this work. The
bridges and culverts, with few exceptions, were
finished. About 70 per cent. of the excavations on
the Bridge of Weir contract had been made, and
there had been about 160,000 yards of rock pnd
earth removed on the Greenock contract.

The CIIAIMAN moved the adopti ni of the report.
He said that an arrangement still remained to be
made between the Ayrshire Company and the liar-
bour Trustees in regard to the approach to their
mineral station, and he believed that there would be
little delay in coining to an arrangement that would
meet the views of both parties. The engineers bad
informed him that in the course of next summer
they hoped the line would be in full operation. He
need not say how much the opening of the line
would conduce to the progress of Greenock.. They
would then have two independent lines, one leading
t•o the coal mines of Ayrshire, and the other to those
of Lanarkshire. • They would thus have a most
wholesome competition, from which the port would
no doubt receive a great benefit. They would have
also two independent lines leading into England,
which was of very great importance. It appeared
to him that 'the effect of the Ayrshire line would be
to increase the prosperity and importance of
G reenock.

Sir A. ORR seconded the motion for the adoption
of the report, which was agreed to.
Mr. Neil Robson and Mr. J. Morton were re-
elected directors ; and Mr. D. Johnstone was re-
clected an auditor.

A vote of thanks to the ellairmaa coneludel the
proceedings.

WATEnrORD AND LI3IEIZICK.

Th 3 half-yeatly general meeting of this company
was held on Friday at Waterford ; Mr. W. Mal-
cornson in the chair.

The report, an abstract of which has appeared in
The Sun, was taken as read.
The CuAtuNAN, in moving its adoption, said it
was a pleasure to the directors to meet the share-
holders with an increaze in the receipts from nearly
every branch of traffic ; and though, front the in-
creased expens?s of working and interest charges,
this surplu:t was largely absorbed, it was a satisfac-
tion to see a continued vitality in their traffic.
They were aware of the movement, in which the
directora had taken twa-:h interest, to induce the
Government to purchase the entire, of the railways
of Irami at fair prices. Per himself he believed
that their doing so could be made the means of
much good to the country. He had no fear as to
the action of the executive if all Irish railways would
be true to their trusts, and if their furnished ac-
counts should be found correct and useful. And
though they might be called by some a bankrupt
interest, he believed it would be found, with but
very few exceptions, that all the lines were paying
their working expenses, and would be paying an
their interest charges, had the pritnary legislation
for niiways only allowed an irredeemablAebenture
Should Government not purchase, he trusted
that they would act on the suggestion of the Royal

The CHAIRMAN, iu moving the adoption of the
report, s lid he met them on tlrat occasion with
mixed feelings of pleasure and regret—with plea-
sure because the directors were enabled to present
them with a moderate dividend out of former re-
serves of net revenue, and regret that they were not
able to present them with a dividend out of the ope-
rations of the past half year. In 1860 they had
passed through a simijar period of trial and diffi-
culty, with this distinction that they had no reserve
to fall back on, and were greatly in debt. On this
occasion they bad ample funds, and were out of
debt ; it showed the wisdom of laying by a reserve
fund for times of difficulty, to insure them some re-
turn on their capital. No doubt they had all read
the report, as be had, most carefully, and he believed
there never was a more truthful document published
of the affairs of a company. Great credit was due
to the general manager, Mr. Church, for the facts
he had thus placed before the proprietors, as it would
enable them to see the difficulties with which the
board had to contend during the past half year. By
the skill of the general manager their position had
been improved, they had reduced the number of
opposition omnibuses from 67 in the corresponding
period of last year to 26 in June last, the result of
this was an addition to their receipts of £5,000.
They had reduced the number of unprofitable omni-
buses by 16. They had not only saved £5,120 by
ceasing to run those unprofitable omnibuses, but had
added to their working stock. They had carried this
out by having a higher standard of working horses,
by which their efficiency would be prolonged. They
had adopted also a system of training the horses for
the very heavy work of passing over the stones of
London. Mr. Church had made a saving of £2,200
in the wages of those employed on the unproduc-
tive omnibuses. Under the head of omnibus main-
tenance everything required was obtained by public
tender and contract on the best terms. The prin-
cipal features in their report as affecting their re-
ceipts and expenditure were the state of the weather
and the price cf provender. They had received
£26,000 less in the past half-year, owing chiefly to
the state of the weather. A wet day made a diffe-
rence in their receipts of £3OO or £4OO, which was
a very large sum to lose. The provender for the
horses had cot them £24,990 more than the corres-
ponding half of 1865, making a difference of
£51,000, in their net receipts, but this was a matter
beyond their control. The general manager bad
devised a mans by which a better check was kept
on the conductors, by compelling them to mark on
a paper the fares received. lie had also requested
the shareholders, when riding in the omnibuses, to
assist him in carrying out that arrangement, which
would be beneficial to all. The proposed dividend
would come out of accumulated profits. He consi-
dered the past half-year as an exceptional one, and
it formed no criterion of what they might expect in
future half-years. He had no doubt they would
.zn,--tet again with eialliDg faces at 7d declare
',as before out of the net earnings of each half-yeL..ll
They had invested one of their reserve funds in
Consols, and if they realized that investment now
they would make a profit of £3,000, and by placing
the reserve on equally safe security they would
realize a larger income from the investment. He
concluded by moving the adoption of the report,
and that a dividend of 2s. per share, being at the
rate of 5 per cent. per annum, be declared payable
on and after the 10th inst.
Mr. T. LULHAM, a director, seconded the motion.

Mr. S. lIERAPATII thought that under the cir-
cumstances of bad weather and depression of trade
the report was very satisfactory, and there was no-
thing at present to shake confidence in the vitality
of the undertaking or in the future prospects of the
company.

Mr. HALL congratulated the shareholders on
having a report that showed them the real position
in which they stood. lie felt much obliged to the
directors for having induced them to set aside a por-
tion of the profits in previous half-years as a reserve
to meet a case like the present, when they had made
no profit to divide as in the past half year.
Mr. NODES complained of the management at
considerable length, and concluded by moving•that
the meeting be adjourned, and that a committee of
investigation be appointed with full powers to
examine and report on the affairs of the company
ou the 31st October next.

Mr. HEDGCOCK seconded the motion. After a long
discussion it was negatived, and the motion of the
chairman was carried.

The directors were authorised to invest the reserve
funds in home or colonial Government Securities or
in East India guaranteed railway stocks or deben-
tures ; and the proceedings concluded with thanks
to the chairman and directors.