The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-24 00:00:00

ISLE OF WIGHT.

A Wharncliffe meeting of this company was held
yesterday at Great George-street, Westminster, Mr.
Huish in the chair, to consider a bill for making a
railway :and central station and erecting slaugh-
terhouses at Ryde, in the Isle of Wight.

The CHAIRMAN, in moving a resolution approving
the bill, stated that it was promoted by indepen-
dent parties connected with the pier interest, old
and new, in Ryde.

The motion was adopted, and the meeting sepa-
rated.

LONDON, WORCESTER, AND SOUTH WALES.

A Wharncliffe meeting of this company was held
yesterday at Westminster-chambers, Sir C. Brough-
ton in the chair.

The C lIAIRMAN said the two bills which he had to
submit to the meeting were for enabling the com-
pany to make deviations and alterations in their
authorised railway, and for making a railway from
Worcester to Tenbttry, to be called the Team Val-
ley Railway. Re moved a resolution expressing
approval of the bills.

The motion was agreed to, and the meetin
rated.

EASTERN BENGAL.

Yesterday the half-yearly meeting of this cora_
pany was held at the London, Tavern—Mr. J. L.
Leith in the chair.

----
The report, an abstract of which has appeared in
The Sun, was taken as read.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, said the undertaking was steadily progree..
sing. The receipts for the half-year ending Dec. last
showed an increase over those of the corresponding
half of 1864. They were fortunate in being able to
show such a result, considering the failure of the
111? and rice crops in Bengal. It was on the jute
The larger they depended for the merchandise they carried.
in tehlearkerraproportion .of the passenger traffic was
conse and fourth classes, who had suffered in
citience of theod poverty among them caused by
the want of the
this there ihiladarY
supplies of food. Notwith-
standingbeen a considerable increase
over the corresponding
uTeedioci t.hat carriage of last year. They
bad not this
which gave them 42 that
of opium
general traffic had expandedniOhe Past Year, yet the
leave no reasonable doubt thastlich all
extent as to
during the current half-year net
rvenue they would earn
to pay a dividend of 5 per cent. onei sufficient
net receipts of the corresponding h The
halt! capital.
were £24,652. The gross receipts duiZr of 1864
period which were not in the report were , the same
up to Dec.,
1865, 624,725r5., and the working expenses
wer
339,949r5., showing theprofits at 284,776r5., again:t
236,204r5. of the corresponding half-year ending,
Dec., 1861, and the gross earnings in 1864, up to
the end of Dec., were 509,811r5., and those to Dec.,
1865, were 624,725r5., showing an increase in the
latter of 114,914 m, or 22.5 per cent. When the
feeder roads which Government had not made were
made they must expect an increase in that traffic.
With regard to the receipts per train mile, they had
in the half-year ending Jan., 1865, Bs., and on Dec.
31, 1865, 75., so that they had, taking the correspond-
ing half-year in 1864, made a great advance. They
wished to increase their terminal convenience 112 Cal-

RAILWAY BILLS.

The railway bills introduced this Session, but al-
ready withdrawn, comprise the following :—The
Axholme and Marshland, the Channel Piers and
Ferry, the Gravesend and Farningham, the Hamp-
stead, Holloway, and Kingsland, the Hull, West
Yorkshire, and Lancashire, the Kilburn, the Maccles-
field, Buxton, and Sheffield, the Midland and Great
Western Junction, the-Metropolitan (station con-
necting lines No. 1), the Manchester and North
Lancashire, the Melton, Loughborough, and Ashby-
de-la-Zouch, the Penzance and St. Just, the Shrews-
bury and Potteries (extensions), the Waterloo and
Whitehall (extension to Newington Butts), the
'Barnet, Hendon, Hampstead, and London, the
Caledonian (Glasgow lines), Caledonian (Greenock
and Gourock), the Caledonian (Stonehouse and
Galston), the Downs Dock and Canterbury Junc-
tion, the Epsom Downs, the Rosherville, the Wy-
combe, Marlow, and Uxbridge, the Bangor and
Llanberis Direct, the Caledonian (extension to
Largs), the Caledonian (works at Dundee), the
Callington and Central Cornwall, the Fareham and
Netley, the Monnow Valley, the Rostrevor Exten-
sion, the Sedbergh and Hawes, the South Stafford-
shire and London, the Vale of Llangollen, the Ban-
bridge Extension, the Brighton Pneumatic, the
Brecon and Merthyr Tydvil Junction (capital), the
Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton, the Glasgow
Union and Suburban, Glasgow and South-Western
(Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Junction), the Great
Northern and Manchester and Sheffield (Haxey and
Goole), the Grangemouth, the Mistley, Thorpe, and
Walton, the Navan and Kingscourt (Castleblaney
extension), the Newry and Greenore, the North
Surrey, the Bishop's Castle, the Newry and Ar-
magh, the Pontypool, Caerleon, and Newport, the
St. tride's Bay, the Tyne Valley, theWensum Val-
ley Extension, the Blyth Valley, the Brecon and
Merthyr Tydvil Junction (amalgamations), the
Caledonian (Kilsyth branches), the Caledonian
(Edinburgh and Larbert Junction and branches),
the Cambrian (Docks, &c.), the Clapham and Lon-
don-bridge, the Cray Valley; the Great Northern
(Hertford to Stevenage), the Havant, the City,
Kingston, and Richmond, the Hambleford and
Droxford, the Holloway and Metropolitan Junc-
tion, the Holywell Port, the Middlesborough, Stock-
ton, and Billingham, the Midland and South Wales
Junction, the South-Western and North British
Junction, the Tyne, Wear, and Tees, the Wolve-z-
-hampton and Bridgnorth, the Worksop and Don-
caster, the Dublin, Rathmines, Rathgar, and Rath-
gachan, the W olverhamton and Walsall, the Shef-
field Buxton, and Liverpool, the Calcutta and
South-Eastern, the Skipton and Ilkley, the Stock-
bridge, the Devon and Somerset (Amendment of
Acts), the Calne, the Bristol and North Somerset
(Southern Extension), the Cambrian (Steamboats),
the Hampstead, Highgate, and Charing-cross, the
London, Bucks, and Gloucestershire Junction, the
Neath and Brecon, Central Wales, &c. (Amalga-
mation), the Great Eastern, Great Northern, and
Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, the Great
Great Northern and Great Eastern Arrangements
(Spalding to Lincoln), the Manchester, Sheffield,
and Lincolnshire and Great Eastern, the Maryport
and Carlisle, the Miss and Tewkesbury, the Wilt-
shire, the Andover, ltadstock, and Bristol, the
Cambrian (Amalgamation), the Castle Cary and
Langport, the Salisbury and Dorset Junction, and
the Ely Valley. In all 91 bills thus appear to
have been withdrawn out of 417 deposited,
leaving 323 for consideration. Of these the follow-
ing have already failed in their passage through
Parliament :—The Wimbledon, the Great Western
and Brentford, the Mid-London, the London and
Worthing Direct, the London, Chatham, and Dover
(new lines), the Croydon Direct, the London,
Brighton, and South Coast (Surrey lines), the Lon-
don, Croydon, and Caterham Junction,. the Cleve-
don and Portishead, the Hadlow, the Sandown and
Newport (Isle of Wight), the Ardrishaig and Loch
Awe, the Birkenhead and Liverpool Junction, the
Birkenhead and Liverpool, the Bristol and North
Somerset, the Bristol Port Extension, the Cork
Harbour and Curraghbinny Extension, the Craven
Junction; the Crystal Palace and South London
Junction, the Devon and Cornwall, the Devon and
Somerset (Deviations), the London Railways Gas,
the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire (spuri-
ous Bill), the North and South Wiltshire, the North
Wales, Birkenhead, and Liverpool, the Rochester
Docks (Railways), the Sirhowy (Extension), the
Skipton and Warfdale, the Somerset and Dorset
and Bristol and North Somerset, the Swansea Ge-
neral Station and Hotel, the Tavistock, and Gun-
nislake, the Wrexham, Mold, and Connah's Quay,
the Balham and Clapham, the Metropolitan and
Epsom, the Swansea and Canal Transfer, the
Brecon and Merthyr Tydvil (northern lines), the
City and London Bridge ; the Croydon, Mitcham,
and Kingston ; the Potter's Bar, Barnet, and Hen-
don Junction ; and the Bromley, Farnborough, and
West Wickham. We have thus a total of 43 Bills
rejected, leaving 280 Bills still pending. Last
year 276 Bills received the royal assent.

cutta, and they had intended to have sidings attached a robbery, which was immediately made good out of
to the canal, in order that they
. OssoRNE said he was co-operating with Mr.
might ship more the reser!e,
teppard with a view to establish the new company.
goods to the river, and they would then be enabled Mr.
hthadearforyrmteeraslybeofenTh
carried fro
bmy. thewa t
et tea
If by any means they could preserve the goodwill
,aandidswttecths wouldw.hich S
then be carried by their line. They were. buildin_
g it would be of great value to those who subscribed
stores also for receiving goods and exporAni-
g them. to the new company. The £200,000 a year would
The steamboat service had beenwo:king favourably, be worth having. He had no information to give
and they brought from v calms parts of India goods them as to the affairs of the company. They were
on their railway whir.;n, otherwise could not reach at present in the hands of Messrs. Coleman, Tur-
them. quand, and Youngs, and so soon as a statement
The report vas adopted, and a vote of thanks to could be prepared it would be submitted by the
the chairman terminated the proceedings, liquidators to the shareholders.
--- Several shareholders asked for more information
to enable them to decide as to what course they
should pursue.

Mr. HOARE said he would go and ask the liqui-
dators any question the shareholders wished
answered. He knew that it had been a most suc-
cessful business, and Mr. Gurney had told him a
short time before the business stopped that he pro-
posed the dividend should be 7 per cent., that
£50,000 should be paid off for goodwill, and after
'that to put aside a very considerable reserve. But
the pressure of depositors put an end to the possi-
bility of going on, and he felt certain that no more
information as to their affairs could be obtained at
present. [A Voice—" Why not reorganise the old
company "] He thought that was utterly impos-
sible. Mr. Gurney was ready to assist them if a
strong company could be formed for the purpose
mentioned.
After some further observations,
Mr. SEER said he had come up from the country
that morning, and felt much obliged to Mr. Hoare
and other gentlemen for their suggestions, but his
view was that if £lO or £l5 a share were wanted to
resuscitate the company he was sure it would be
forthcoming, and he for one would gladly pay it.
(Hear, hear.) The concern was only stranded, and
it only required sufficient capital to float it again.
(Loud and continued cheers.) He then moved that
in the present state of their information it was not
expedient to launch a new company.
The motion was seconded.
Mr. SHEPPARD said he had anticipated that view,
and had prepared a resolution for that purpose, but,
after reading it, Mr. Seer said he preferred his own
resolution.
Mr. KINGSCOTE said he had told Mr. Sheppard
that he did not know what was hanging over them,
but thought it quite possible to revive the business.
The subscribed capital of the company was
£5,000,000, of which £1,500,000 had been paid up,
leaving £3,500,000 to call up. The liabilities were
£20,000,000, of which £12,000,000 were on call
and notice, and £8,000,000 on deposit of securities.
They had taken over £2,800,000 from the original
firm, secured in various ways, £500,000 of which
could be realised in six months, and £500,000 more
in 12 months, consisting of £300,000 liabilities of
public companies, and £200,000 on ships, &c.,
making £1,000,000 realizable in one year. He pro-
posed that a call of £5 a share should be made,
which would give them £500,000, and they would
realise £500,000 out of the other assets, making
another £1,000,000. He proposed that they should
immediately raise £2,000,000 on loan for one or
two years, and, with a view to carry on the business,
to make a further call of £2 10s. per share. This
would give them £250,000. The shareholders had
given £500,000 for the goodwill, they had
£.2,800,000 dead weight to meet and realise, and
they had no capital to do it with. They were
£1,300,000 worse than nothing, so that with the
first difficulty they must fall. It was silly to go on
in that way, and perfectly natural that such a result
should follow. They had £2,800,000 locked up to
begin with. By getting a few leading bankers to
manage their affairs and take matters in hand, with
something like what he proposed, they might go on
again and preserve their property, but if they did
not do that perhaps £lO or £l5 a share would have
to be paid to wind-up the concern, while, on the
other hand, it would require only a call of £7 10s.
to revive the business and to go on.
Mr. CROSBIE thought it much better to call up
£lO a share at once to start the old business than to
start a new company. (Cheers.) They had no
business in the Court of Chancery ; the directors
should have made calls—even raise new capital on
preference shares rather than remain as they were.
(Cheers.)
A very long discussion then ensued, and various
propositions were made, which resulted in a resolu-
tion to the effect that the meeting be adjourned to
enable Mr. Kingscote to select a committee of seven
shareholders, including himself as chairman, to make
inquiries and take such steps as might be expedient
for resuscitating the company, five to be a quorum,
and to report the result as soon as possible.
It was agreed that no member of the Stock Ex-
change would be placed on the committee.
Thanks were voted to Mr. Hoare and Mr. Shep-
pialerddifroeretthoresir
to exertions,call a
and resolutionofthe
companyrequestingas
t
soon as possible was carried unanimously.
meeting
The proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks
ito the chairman.