The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-28 00:00:00

,VSPAPER

Railway and Other Companies.,

-1-11-4
IMPERIAL MkXICAN, - -AtZ)
The second ordinary meeting; of tl ij coruaily
was held yesterday at the London ;ravern ; Mr. R.
W. Crawford, M.P., in the chair.
The report, an abstract of which has appeared in
The bun, was taken as read.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, said it would have been very satisfactory if
they had not been burdened with disappointments in
financial matters. The progress of the works was
very satisfactory, and so was the amount of traffic
that came upon their line. They had just received
advices from Mexico to the effect that the whole of
the arrears due to the company and of interest on
the whole of the sum for 1866 would be immediately
available to the company, amounting to $600,000.
They had also a grant of 15 per cent. out of the
Customs duty, three-fourths of which had been
tliattiregonood paymentfaith
did wasnot
mpaakide i nt
to
them on
onFthroni that account
always go hand in hand with ability to pay, and so
they had suffered on that account. The Govern-
ment had, however, authorised the company's offi-
cers to call on the Custom-house authorities for the
money due, which would aid the works and go to-
wards the capital of the company, and for interest,
so that altogether they were in as good a position as
they could expect to be under the circumstances. He
believed the arrangements under which they would
receive the $600,000 would be strictly carried out.
The report as to the traffic on the line was very
satisfactory. With regard to the railway itself, they
were bound to acknowledge the extraordinary
rapidity with which it had been carried out by the
contractors. The whole of the line coloured blue on
the map at the upper part of the railway was finished
ready for the working stock, and, in addition to
that, the line coloured black on the lower part was
opened for traffic, and the result of working it had
exceeded the anticipations of their agents. The
external traffic to Mexico was very considerable,
and the population of that place was about 500,000.
The national beverage was neither beer nor wine,
but prepared from the juice of a plant. Every day
an immense quantity of this liquor was brought into
Mexico, and they had every reason to believe that it
would soon be brought over the railway, instead of
by the ordinary route. The external commerce came
from Vera Cruz, to which there were six lines of
steamers running, and the commerce must be large
to keep those steamers employed. This was borne
out by the traffic on the railway being £3si per mile
per week, and in the first three months of the year
£4Bf per mile per week ; which any one acquainted
with railways would perceive was very satisfactory.
At the same time there was a very large quantity
of goods carried along the ordinary routes, bat
when they had sufficient rolling stock the railway
would gradually absorb the greater part of it.
The through traffic alone would be an ample justi-
fication for the outlay, and its development was
a very valuable traffic to look forward to. He then
adverted to two suburban lines out of Mexico be-
longing to the company of four miles each, which
would soon be united by a short junction line and
worked as one ; the traffic was at present on them
over £4O per mile per week. They had recently
purchased one of those lines, and the traffic already
fully justified the amount of the purchase-money ;
there was, in fact, a kind of metropolitan traffic
upon those lines which would increase. The sum
actually needed by the company at the present time
to complete the line and to get locomotive stock on
it was £300,000, and, in addition to this, they owed
a debt to capitalists who had assisted the company
in London and in Mexico exceeding £200,000, for
which the company had given security, and what-
ever might be the rate of interest the company would
have to pay for the additional money they required
to finish the line would be more than amply covered
by the traffic on the railway. (Hear, hear.) It
might interest them to know that the expenditure of
the company on the line from the junction at Puebla
to Mexico was more than £BOO,OOO, of which
£390,000 was the cost of the rails, &c., and their
transport from Vera Cruz. They had expended
from the middle point of the line near the junction
of the Puebla braach to Pasco del Mancha £550,000.
Those sums bad been paid out of the funds of the
company and sums received in Mexico, so that the
amount represented by debentures would be amply
secured. The amount of unpaid calls was very in-
considerable. The shareholders had the option of
paying up the last call. of £7 per share in three in-
stalments. Some had paid it up in full, and others
were in course of payment, leaving only about
£25,000 to be paid. The shareholders had, there-
fore, fairly responded to the call, and on the whole
he thought the affairs of the company were satis-
factory.

A shareholder thought the directors could show
ample security for the £300,000 they now required
to finish the works.

The report was adopted, and a vote of thanks to
he chairman concluded the proceedings.

GREAT NORTH OF SCOTLAND.

Wharncliffe meetings were held on Monday by
the Keith and Dufftown ; the Banff, Macduff, and
Turriff ; the Alford Valley, the Aberdeen and Mir-
riff, the Formartine and Buchan, and the Moray-
shire Railway Companies, at which formal resolu-
tions were passed approving a Bill authorising the
amalgamation of those companies with the Great
North of Scotland Railway Company.