The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-11 00:00:00

GREAT WESTERN OF CANADA.

The half-yearly general meeting of this company
was held yesterday at the London Tavern ; Mr.
Alderman Dakin.in the chair.
Mr. B. BAKER, the secretary, having read the
notice convening the meeting, the report, an ab-
stract of which has appealed in The Sun, was taken
as read.

The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the re-
port, said the receipts on capital account during
the past half-year amounted to £73,702, which was
derived from the call on the new shares, making the
total receipts to the 31st of January last £5,342,384.
The total expenditure amounted to £5,341,253, in-
cluding £137,689 expended during the past half-
year. He thought the auditors had taken a wise
course in their observations on the accounts.
They showed that the total amount raised on shares
was £3,458,795, leaving a margin of share capital
to raise of £1,842,570; and that £1,209,900 had
been raised on mortgage bonds, leaving a margin of
£1,440,785 unexercised, so that there were further
powers to raise a very large amount if it should ever
be necessary, and it was evident that the powers to
raise money on shares and bonds had not been ex-
ceeded in any respect. Although power to raise so
large an amount of capital still remained, the direc-
tors had no intention of calling up money for the
future, unless to provide for carrying increased
traffic, but not for extensions or branches, and thus
they intended to keep the capital account as far as
possible closed. (Hear, hear.) The only outlay of
capital upon extensions was for the Petrolia branch,
on which the directors were authorised in May,
1862. to expend £lO,OOO, and in respect of Which
they had paid only £10,038 iu the past half-year
for a line to the oil district of five miles in length,
including land, rails, and buildings. They believed
that it was a very profitable outlay. The line was
opened on the 17th of January last, and during the
first month it was open the traffic on it amounted
to £l,OOO. There was also a timber traffic on this
short line. The laying of the third rail and the
establishment of the car-ferryboat had enabled them
to keep their through traffic. The proprietors had
voted £150,000 for laying down the third rail to
accommodate the narrow gauge carriages and wag-
gons of the' American lines. The third line was
opened on the lst of January last, and 1145,817
had been expended upon it. The engineer, Mr.
Reid, had estimated the cost of it at £153,083, but
some additional sidings would be required. He
thought it greatly to the credit of the engineer that
the expenditure had been, and would be, within the
estimate. The American companies interested in
the third rail had agreed to pay to the Great

Western the expense of laying it, £20,550, which
would go to the credit of the outlay in laying
that rail ; and he thought it was an earnest of
what the New York Central and Michigan Cen-
tral Companies would do in promoting the
through-traffic over the new rail. They had carried
£39,634 traffic over the narrow gauge since the Ist
of(January. The car-ferry-boat could convey trucks
weighing 280 tons with facility from rail to rail, as a
continuation of the railway, and had capacity for car-
rying on the largest probable amount of traffic. Her
power enabled her to convey 240 cars per day of 12
hours, and 221 cars had been taken across by her in
12 hours. The third rail and the car-ferry-boat bad
been constructed within the estimated cost, and
might be considered a success. Since the Ist of
January to the 24th of March, 1865, amounted to
‘'63,862 ; from the Ist of January to the 23d of
March, 1866, to £105,721, the largest they, ever had
previously ; and from the Ist of January to the 22d
of March, 1867, to £108,693, so that it was £45,000
more than in 1865, and £3,000 more than in 1866.
There was every probability of developing a pas-
senger traffic along the new route, as they could now
convey goods from Chicago to New York in six Jays
instead of in eight or nine days as formerly. The
gross receipts on the company's lines for the past
half-year amounted to £331,513, against £387,039
in the corresponding half of the preceding year,
which was the largest traffic the railway ever had,
showing a decrease of £55,525, but as compared
with the corresponding periods of 1865, 1864, and
1863, being £312,720, £301,634, and £309,304 re-
spectively, there was an increase in the receipts of
the past half-year. As to the loss or diminution of
traffic in the half-year ending the 31st of January,
1867, of £55,525, as compared with the same half
ending the 31st of January, • 1866, it amounted to
19 per cent. of the gross receipts, while on the
Michigan Southern and New York Central the de-
crease amounted to 20 per cent. each, and on
another American line to 37 per cent., so that the
diminution of traffic during that period was less on
the Great Western of Canada than on other lines.
The falling off in the conveyance of live stock
was very considerable, but now the traffic was
again returning to them. The loss on American
currency was £48,228, against £73,316 for
the corresponding half in January, 1866. The
conversion of American currency averaged
142 during the past half-year, while the average
price of gold was 1421-, showing that their interests
had been well attended to. From January, 1862, to
January, 1867, the company bad lost by conversion
of American currency, in the aggregate, £532,000,
but they hoped that the charge for conversion would
in future continue to decrease. They hoped that
losses from fire would also be much less ; there was
now remaining £11,136 to be charged against the
three next half-years for losses by fire. The
directors had taken steps to prevent such losses in
future. They bad insured in three Canadian offices
to the amount of $184,000, and in eight English
offices to the amount of $503,000, making together
$687,000, at a cost of $14,487 per annum. The
engineer had estimated the cost of maintenance and
renewals at £35,000, but in the past half-year they
amounted to £39,682, being £4,682 in excess of his
estimate. The directors rather encouraged an error
on the right side in keeping up the road in perfect
condition. (Hear.) During the 11 half-years in
which the extensive renewals of the line were being
made the cost of maintenance averaged £18,524,
and the cost of renewals £30,193, making the
average cost £48,717 for each half-year. In the
past half-year the expenditure amounted, as he had
before stated, to £39,862, which was £9,000 less
than in 11 half-years. The maintenance and re-
newals of way averaged about £277 per mile per
annum, which was much less than on some of the
principal lines in England. The arrangements with
the Commercial Bank of Canada had bees nearly
concluded, all claims against the Great Western
Company had been withdrawn ; the Detroit and
Milwaukie Railway Company had agreed to set
aside a sinking fund of $lOO,OOO a year to redeem
the claims of the bank ou that company. In the
meantime it was agreed to issue bonds so as to satisfy
that and other claims against the company. Having
described in detail the arrangements with the Com-
mercial Bank fur the settlement of their claim on
the Detroit and Milwaukie Railway, he said that
in future the Commercial Bank would be ae
ally to the Great Western in that matter, and
a friend instead of an enemy. The Detroit
and Milwaukie Railway in the past 61 years had
received from traffic on the line $7,524,562, and
expended in working $1,541,369, leaving $2,983,195
to meet interest and other claims. The gross receipts
for the past year amounted, on the Detroit and Mil-
waukie line, to £340,935, and the working expenses
to £210,443, leaving a net revenue of £130,492, of
which £78,753 was absorbed in the payment of in-
terest, leaving £51,741 net. When the claim of the
Commercial Bank was settled the affairs of the De-
troit Company would be placed on a sound footing,
the operation of the third rail would be to develope
the through traffic, and considering that the divi-
I, dend for the past year averaged 4-4- per cent., he
I thought they might look hopefully to the future.
i
He then alluded to a deputation from the Grand
Trunk Company, and hoped it would result in a
peaceful and harmonious working of the two compa-
nies for the benefit of the proprietors of each company.
Mr. HOYES seconded the motion for the adoption
of the report, and the declaration of a dividend at
the rate of 3i per cent. per annum for the past half-
year, free of income tax, payable on the Ist May.
Mr. SWINYARD, the general manager, in reply to
a question, stated that the third rail made the com-
pany's line available to 12,000 cars of the American
lines, and would secure to shippers a continuous
route from the west to the seaboard without any in-
termediate transhipment.
Mr. NEWMARCII was glad to hear that the whole
railway policy of Canada was likely to be altered.
At present it was a policy of extreme antagonism.
The Grand Trunk Company were disposed to act
liberally and fairly towards the Great Western of
Canada, and he trusted that some good would re-
sult from a conference on the subject between the
two boards. The two traffic managers were also in
London, and he trusted that every facility would
be given to bring matters to a satisfactory conclu-
sion. The Great Western Company had a capital
of £5,000,000, and the Grand Trunk a capital of
£15,000,000, all consisting of British capital. It
was therefore of vast importance to all concerned
that the best possible return should be secured on
that capital to both companies by friendly and har-
monious traffic arrangement. He did not propose
any fusion or amalgamation of the two companies,
but that they should remain distinct companies as
to capital and so forth. He thought it possible for
them to make such an agreement as would work
beneficially for both companies, and enable them to
interchange and forward traffic where necessary,
thereby saving the present waste that was now going
on, and enable both to reduce expenditure. They
should avoid in future all injurious competition, and
work for the benefit of themselves and the public.
The confederation of the provinces in British North
America was no longer a project, but an accom-
plished fact. The Imperial Parliament would assist
them to complete railway communication, and there-
fore the time had arrived when the Great Western and
Grand Trunk Companies should consider how they
could best promote the interests of the proprietors,
by altering the present state of things.
Mr. VlLLEsorsistTsupposed that the Grand Trunk
Company wanted the use of the Great Western
c rolling stock, as they had not enough to work their
own line. If the Great Western allowed their
must
take iug stock to go over the Grauk Trunk, they
take care to get it back again, or it would be kept
for the benefit of the latter company.
The CHAIRSIAN said he was glad to hear the
friendly feeling expressed by Mr. Newmarch on be-
half of the Grand Trunk Company, and could only
say that the Great Western Company were desirous
of working in harmony. He begged to remind Mr.
Newmarch that on the 9th March, 1866, au agree-
ment for that purpose was come to in Canada, and
signed at Montreal by Mr. Brydges and Mr. Swin-
yard, the general managers of both companies, for
harmonious working at equal rates and so fort] r ;
but that agreement was thrown over by the Board
in London, and so the matter stoo . ever duce.
Mr. atIITEIDGE thought that as the ma,nagere wad

Boards of both companies were now in London, there
was nothing whatever to prevent them dealing with
the whole question and in a proper manner.
Colonel EVELYN said the whole thing lay in a
nutshell ; the Grand Trunk were deficient of rolling
stock, and the line was in such bad order that a
verdict of manslaughter had been given against the
manager in Canada. It was not to the advantage
of the Great Western to reduce the fares, or ►,o send
their rolling stock over such a line as the Grand
Trunk.

The motion for the adoption of the report and
declaration of the dividend was then carried unani-

mously.

After some observations by Mr. GODFREY as to
having a more detailed statement of accounts, the
proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks to the
chairman and directors, and to Mr. Swinyard, the
general manager.