The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-02 00:00:00

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offer to carry the mails from Castle
fast for £12,600 per annum, beil
which the Mails were at present carr
Carlisle.
The report was adopted.
Provost GUTHRIE made some suggestions for the
acceleration of the through trains and the improve-
ment of the steamboat service, which were well re-
ceived, and, a resolution declaring a dividend at the
rate of 1 per cent. having been adopted, the pro-
ceedings terminated.

PI; ICE .... 4d.
STAMPED sd.

RAILWAY AND OTHER COMPANIES.

EAST GLOUCESTERSHIRE.

The fifth half-yearly meeting of this company was
held at Cheltenham on Saturday; Sir W. Russell,
ILP., in the chair.
MC CHAIRMAN stated that, owing to a variety of
adverse circumstances, the directors had not been
able to realise their expectation of proceeding with
the works to the extent they had hoped to do at the
last meeting. In the bill that they promoted in the
last session of Parliamyt they endeavoured to get
authority for the lidland to work the East Glouces-
tershire, and to remove the obstacles that were raised

thereto under the Great Western and West Midland
Amalgamation Act of 1863. In these particulars
they were unsuccessful ; but by the bill obtained
they would be enabled to effect a considerable sav-
ing in making some portions of the line. During
the progress of the bill a communication was received
from the Great Western directors with a view to an
amicable arrangement. They were told this could'
not be done without the sanction of the Midland
directors, to whom the East Gloucestershire were
pledged by former agreements. They consented,
however, to the opening of negotiations, and hoped
on the return of Mr. Gooch, the chairman, that a
meeting of the representatives of the three companies
would take place, and some joint arrangement for
making and working the line might be come to.
Pending these negotiations it would be necessary to
go to Parliament in the ensuing session for a bill to
extend the time for the purchase of land and con-
struction of works. Contracts had been !entered
into for the purchase of a considerable portion of the
land required for the line, especially the loop line
through Cheltenham ; £15,000 had been expended
in the purchase of land, and only about £3OO had
been spent in law expenses. He concluded by
moving the adoption of the report.
Mr. RAYMOND seconded the motion.
In reply to questions,
The CHAIRMAN said that each call when paid up
would realise £21,860. There was unpaid on the
first call £2,600 ; and on the second call, £ll,OOO.
The whole of this, however, was not actually due, a
considerable portion being as against shareholders
from whom land had been purchased. The only
deviations to be made from the original plan were
at Withington, and between Lechlade and Witney ;
in all other respects, and in the approach of the
line to Cheltenham, through Badgworth, Leek-
hampton, and Charlton, the original plan would be
adhered to.
The report was then adopted.
A resolution authorising the directors to take such
measures as might be deemed advisable for carry-
ing into effect the recommendations contained in
the report was unanimously carried.
Sir M. W. Hicks-Beach, M.P., Mr. W. Strick-
land, and Mr. H. Akers, the retiring directors, were
re-elected, and Mr. G. C. Ring was re-elected
auditor.

The proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks
to the chairman.

GREAT NORTH OF SCOTLAND.
The report. of the directors states that the receipts
for traffic in the past half-year ending the 31st of

July amounted to £40,814 ; for rents and supply of
plant to other companies, to £2,872 ; for dividends
from other companies, to £4,953 ; and for interest
from other companies to £3,034, making the total
revenue for the half-year £51,673. The working

expenditure amounted to £22,595, and the interest
on loans t0£15,808, together £38,403, leaving, with
£53 from the preceding half-year, a balance of
£13,323. Out of this was deducted £7,954 for divi-
dend on the 4f per cent. new shares at the rate of
£3 Gs. per cent. per annum for the half-year, and
£5,312 for dividend on the 5 per cent. consolidated
preference stock, at the rate of £3 13s. per cent.
per annum, leaving a balance of £57. Deferred
dividend warrants would be issued to the holders
of the 5 per cent. consolidated preference stock for
the difference between the dividend at the rate of

£3 13s. per cent. per annum, and £5 per cent. per
annum, amounting in the half-year to £1,965.
The decrease in the company's net revenue for
the half-year as compared with the corresponding
period last year was attributable to the falling
off in cattle, grain, and coal traffic, and to
the excessive rates of interest payable on the com-
pany's open debt. The decrease in those three
items of traffic amounted to £3,454 and the excess
of interest over 5 per cent. on the open debt to
£2,455, making together £5,909. But for those
exceptional causes the revenue would have been
sufficient not only for the full dividend on the 5 per
cent. consolidated preference stock and the 4i per
cent. new shares, but also for a dividend at the rate
of 1 per cent. on the company's B shares. Besides
the direct loss occasioned by the existence of the
cattle plague, a large indirect loss had been sus-
tained, particularly by the suspension throughout
the entire district of the usual cattle markets, which
formerly yielded a larger passenger traffic to the
company. These markets had been resumed
within . the last few days. The general goods
and parcel traffic had experienced an increase
of £B4l, and the general passenger traffic of £232
in the half-year. The large amount of the com-
pany's open debt had, from time to time, received
the special consideration of the directors, who felt
that they could not too strongly urge upon the
shareholders the importance of their co-operating
with the board in the necessary measures for its
early liquidation. The readiest means for the at-
tainment of this object seem to be the sale of the
shares held by the company in the Deeside lines, and
of the Formantine and Buchan preference shares.
The Deeside shares were originally acquired for de-

fensive purposes ; but, in consequence of the lease
of the Deeside lines having been confirmed by the
Amalgamation Act, the necessity for retaining the
shares no longer existed, and the board recom-
mended their immediate sale. They were gua-
ranteed in dividends at the rate of 7f per cent. and
3i per cent. per annum respectively under the pro-
visions of the lease. The directors had no hesita-
tion in recommending both the Deeside and the
Formantine and Buchan shares as safe and eligible
investments to the shareholders on such terms as
would yield a fair return. The proceedings
would enable the company to ranee their open
debt by nearly £300,000, and so render thkeeint.
independent of the fluctuations of the money
ne • Intoarope-
The Company's Amalgamation Act came
ration on Aug. 1 last. The Caledr ItEib
e Scottish
Company, by its amalgamation
noww
established iu
Innailway
North Eastern Company,
Aberdeen ; and the Denburnwr oint
auction line and
d be completed early
un j
station would, it was expecte ,
s ttoheek
sc company's
opened for traffic on Aug.
and Highland lilies was
account to July 31 showed that
1 last. The capital
lines, and i 331559 in
bee'n esxhiLeensdeadndon
£1,230,564 had
together £1,964,123. The traffic
companies, making
receipts per train mile amouutel to ss. Id. and the
-king expenses to 2s. 40.

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