The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-15 00:00:00

GREAT NORTH OF SCOTLAND.

The report of the directors states that the revenue
.of the company
dratim ,
rar rt in andid Brnuelohn as now amalgamated with the For-
,
n itheAlbforddTo and Turriff,alley,th theelive-
y ande o
the Aberdeen
to nStrathspey Banff, Macduff, and Turriff Extension, the Keith and
D n ffw
rovßonaioll3vaoyf
theCo pmpeassniiedso.
including alsoand
fivthee
m oot
lines leased to the company,
this was deducted the working and
amounted t
other
eo
rr
et
xh
pe
ehna:ef s-
year ending 31st of January ,
amounting to £41,328 ; last to £79,113. From
interest on debentures an
b
the °rents of the Deeside
railways and Oldmeldr
u md d
or
ba
on:
tho, r £e 5s
t, 20
o6kB, ; ando tBhBe,
leaving £17,428. From this was deducted the in-
terest on floating debt,
£9,035 ; the interest on the
(th e aovoesrtg ionfg
the 6
perunfinished
cent.),
£9,035 ficaint .),
s hed
works
eo
goaorfatnhteDd dividend Denburn
Junction Railway, £2,672 ;
the
ocacn ood t. theongueauraooltdeendielddriuvimdeod preferenceat
stock, the
rate f£ 1
3:1
the Formartine and Buchan
ordinary stock, £796, leaving, with £57 from the
preceding half-year, a disposable balance of £4,672.
Various circumstances had combined
to produce the
unfavourable result exhibited by the present accounts.
The snow-storms of December and January, which
occasioned a net loss to the company of upwards of
£5,000, the excess of interest over 5
per cent. pay-
able on the floating debt, on bills, discount •
lls &c.,
amounted to nearly £2,000 ; and the course now
recommended by the directors, and ad
opted for the
first time, of debiting revenue with interest on un-
finished works, instead of, as formerly,debiting
capital, occasioned a further charge against revenue
of £2,672. Those items together amounted to nearly
£lO,OOO. The board believed that the debiting of
revenue with all interests on unproductive as well as
productive expenditure would ultimately prove most
conducive to the permanent interests of the com-
pany. The whole amount, £2,672, charged in this
way on the present accounts was applicable to the
company's subscription to the Denburn line and
joint station at Aberdeen, now rapidly approaching
completion. The company's liabilities in connexion
with those works was limited to £lOB,OOO, the
balance being payable by the Caledonian Company.
The board recommended that no part of the dis-
posable balance be at present divided, but that the
whole be carried to the credit of the current half-
year, ending 31st of July next. The directors hoped
and believed that the fortunes of the line had now
reached their lowest point, and that a gradual im-
provement might at length be looked for. De-
ferred dividend warrants would be issued to the
holders of the Five per Cent. Consolidated Prefe-
rence Stock, for dividend at that rate. The work-
ing expenses exceeded those of the corresponding
half-year by £1,600, of which £451 was due to the
recent advance on the price of coal for locomotive
purposes, £5OO for clearing the line of snow, and
£5OO for the use of three miles of the Highland
Company's line and joint station at Boat of Garten
Junction, Strathspey. All opposition had been
withdrawn from the company's bill for the creation
of preference stock, the creditors of the company'
having agreed to restrict the interest on their deb