The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-22 00:00:00

RAILWAY

INTELLIGENCE.

NORTH BRITISH.

The chairman of this company, Mr. Richard
Hodgson, has issued a circular to the shareholders
explaining the course he and the board had adopted
in the interests of the company, with a view to esta-
blish the Waverley route portion of the undertak-
ing. No sooner was the route from Edinburgh to
Carlisle opened throughout than every possible
obstruction was thrown in the way of its use.
Through rates, through invoices, and through car-
riages were refused; traffic consigned to it was di-
verted systematically to the rival line ; and after
upwards of £1,068,000 had been spent upon it (in-
dependently of the cost of the Border Counties Rail-
way to Hexhani), it was doomed to be a dead weight
cn the company's hands, unless it could be forced
into recognition by those companies who ought to
have been, and he believed now would be, competi-
tors for its favour. It became therefore a necessity
to establish a system of trains, in point of quality
and cost, in excess of even the natural requirements
of the traffic, if fairly encouraged by foreign com-
panies, and greatly in excess of the traffic acquired;
and hence from the first an inordinate amount of
workingexpenses in all departments was incurred in
the unequal struggle of competition. But this would
have worked a cure; traffic was thus attracted in
spite of the unfair obstructions in its way—the com-
petition did becomeformidable; and then the notable
device was adopted of crushing the growing influence
of the Waverley route by the exercise of a power
under the Clearing-house Act, to place every shilling
of its earnings in connection with the forbidden
traffic in suspense. The North British could not be
prevented from carrying, but they were not to re-
ceive a penny of the freight; the only escape from
this tyranny being to leave the Clearing-house as a
company altogether, and thus give a colour and ex-
cuse to the refusal of through rates. But the North
British directors were not intimidated ; they deter-
mined to obtain, by the establishment of steamboat
communication with Liverpool and other places, the
participation in through traffic, which they knew to
be essential to the remunerative working of the west-
ern part of their system; and although this also en-
tailed an expenditure in working traffic, unjustifiable
in other circumstances, they did not hesitate to incur
it, as a means of upholding the existence of the Wa-
verley route, well knowing that if the traffic were
once lost it never could be regained. Further, the
object in view, however important, could not be
realised without a corresponding series of trains
north of the Forth, under IN orth British control,
and likewise in character, speed, and consequently
in expense, superior to what would have sufficed un-
der less exceptional circumstances. The Midland
Company handsomely seconded the efforts of the
North British, but in competition with the Caledo-
nian and the London and North Western, it was
absolutely indispensable that the natural imperfec-
tions of the ferry route between England and the
north of Scotland should be balanced by extra effi-
ciency of service in other respects. He had endea-
voured to establish, first, that the Border Union line
being once constructed, it was absolutely necessary
to make it effective for the purposes of through
traffic between England and Scotland ; and,
secondly, that to do this with anything like an ordi-
nary rate of working expenses was impossible. The
only alternatives were to place a portion of the ex-
penditure in suspense, or debit it at once to capital.
The Border Union Railway was opened on the Ist
July, 1862 ; its struggle for independence termi-
nated successfully on the 28th July, 1866. He ex-
plained that the effect of these efforts and the course
adopted had been to place in suspense account
£200,000. He held that, under the circumstances,
the extraordinary outlay in establishing the right of
the Waverley route was just as much a portion of
original or capital expenditure as the construction
of the line itself. He proposed that this sum
in suspense should be dealt with by setting it against
the value of the company's surplus property not
actually used for railway purposes—the value of
which was estimated at upwards of £200,000, and
as from time to time portions of this property were
sold off to apply the proceeds in liquidation pro tanto
of the debt in suspense. In conclusion, he felt
bound to place his seat at the board in the hands of
the shareholders, expressing his sincere belief that
a year's patience would prove that the company's
affairs were no subject for despondency, and that
the objects of the policy of the last ten years having
been attained, and the lavish expenditure in Parlia-
mentary contests at an end, every half-year would
show an improvement.