The Sun.
London, England, 1866-04-11 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 1.1, 1866,

1862, to the 10th of April, 1865, was to the end of
the lease. The company having obtained an Act
of Parliame.ut to capitalise all its debts in 1862,
issued debentures in lieu thereof, the yearly interest
on which abElorbed, together with the very trifling
office expenses, all the rent received. The third,
from the
.10th of April, 1865, gave the result
of the working of the railway, at which date the
lease terminated and the line reverted to the com-
pany. The rent payable under the terms of the
lease granted for seven years by the Public Works
Loan Ccmmissioners to Mr. W. M'Cormick, and
which expired ,on the 10th of April, 1865, was
£8,500 per annum for the first two years and
£lO,OOO for each subsequent year. At the expiration of
the term the lease was relinquished, owing to the
loss the Belfast Northern Counties Railway Com-
pany, who had taken a sub lease from Mr. M'Cor-
mick, stated they had sustained under its terms.
This, the directors regretted to say, the subsequent
working proved, as the net proceeds for the year
ending April 10, 1866, could not be estimated above
£B,OOO. Still the traffic showed upwards of £9OO
increase for the six months ending Dec. 31st over
the corresponding period of the preceding year. On
the railway reverting to the company the directors
entered into a working arrangement with the Bel-
fast and Northern Counties Company on terms
which were considered fair, but as a clause in the
agreement enabled its discontinuance at any three
months' notice, it was always in the power of the
directors to terminate it should any change be con-
sidered desirable. From June 30, 1862, to the ter-
mination of the lease the rental was absorbed in
paying the interest on the various classes of deben-
-1 tures, all of which was regularly met to the 10th
July last ; but owing to the condition of the rail-
way at the termination of the lease the directors
were forced to expend the greater part of the traffic
balances in the renewal absolutely required ; in con-
sequence of which the interest on the B, C, and D
debentures for the six months ending Jan. 10th last
was not paid. The directors had not lost sight of
the possibility of turning the reclamation powers of
the company to some advantage. The expenditure
on capital account amounted to £653,593, leaving a
balance of £1,694. The revenue account from April
10th last to Dec. 31st showed that £13,364 had
been received, and £18,691 expended, leaving a bal-
ance of £5,327 against revenue.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, said that since the expiration of the lease 12
months ago the directors had appropriated certain
sums out of revenue to repair the fences in several
places, and put the line in a workable state. Having
no funds to resuscitate the reclamation powers of
the company, the directors had opened communi-
cation with the Irish Society, with a view to their
assuming the right of reclamation granted to the
company. If the proposition should result in a
feasible arrangement, it would be laid before the
proprietors for their approval.
Mr. LAVER, in reply to a question, stated that the
terms for working the line were about 2s. per mile
for a certain number of train miles, and at a lower
rate for a greater number of miles. The terms were
about equal to 50 per cent. of the gross receipts.
The company had no plant to work the line. The
rolling stock had been sold years ago, and there re-
mained on that account about £5,000 due to the
company, for which they held £19,000 of D deben-
tures as security. The full interest on all the de-
bentures of the company was £9,700 a year.
The report was adopted, and a vote of thanks to
the chairman concluded the proceedings.