The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-01 00:00:00

LONDON, CHATHAM, AND DOVER

The half-yearly general meeting of this company
was held yesterday at the Grosvenor Hotel, Pimlico
—Lord Sondes in the chair.

The report, an abstract of which has appeared in
7 he Sun, was taken as read.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the re-
port, said he thought it was satisfactory. The traffic
was increasing considerably, and during the past
half year 5,123,038 passengers were conveyed over
their lines, showing an increase of 759,374 as com-
pared with the number carried in the corresponding
half of 1864. There was every prospect, therefore,
of a greatly increased traffic when the delays and
obstructions to their operations NI ere removed, and
they were enabled to run the trains over the new
bridge in and out of the Victoria station with facility
and without the hindrance they had so long suffered
from. Their traffic had been greatly impeded by
other companies in the neighbourhood of London,
but in the course of a few months some of those
obstructions to their traffic would be removed. They
were in hopes that two lines of way over their new
bridge across the Thames into the Victoria station
would be opened in June next. There was a pros-
pect of having a new line from their railway at
Beckenham to Brighton, which if constructed would
bring a large traffic over their metropolitan lines.
Lord llARnis, deputy-chairman, seconded the
motion. He said the directors felt very much dis-
appointed in not being able to submit abetter account
of their traffic. Their anticipations bad been based
on the completion of their system of lines which,
owing to various unforeseen circumstances, had been
seriously retarded. Had their system of lines been
completed 12 months ago, as they intended, the
traffic would have now presented a much more satis-
factory result. The opening of the link line to a
junction with the Metropolitan Company's railway
had been delayed until the Ist of January, although
it was ready for traffic on the Ist of September last.
They trusted that they would soon have a consider-
able traffic in coals and merchandise from the Great
Northern Railway over the link line to their lines
south of the Thames. They had been assured that
the four lines of way over the new bridge into the
Victoria station would be ready for traffic in
August next. It was their desire to work the traffic
in a most efficient, punctual, and satisfactory manner.
The great delays to which thei► traffic had been sub-
jected had greatly retarded its development, and
they had suffered accordingly ; but on the com-
pletion of their various junctions and additional
lines of way they would be able to run their
trains with facility and punctuality. He then ad-
verted to the great advantages the public would de-
rive from the construction of the proposed new line
to Brighton in connection with their metropolitan
lines.

Alderman WlLsox, of Brighton, contended that
the proposed line to that place would never pay,
and that it was not wanted.
Mr. HAirrurDGE remarked that as all their lines
were so costly they could not expect them to pay
for many years to come. At present the receipts
yielded a profit of 1 per cent. all the year round.
He estimated they would require about seven times
the present traffic to pay 5 per cent. all round on
their capital.
Mr. HoLnovo, a director, explained that the cost
of the lines was considerably less than Mr. Hart-
ridge had estimated them. They had been driven
to a very large expenditure by the opposition and
obstructions of neighbouring companies, but they
would soon surmount all these obstacles by the
completion of their system, and in consequence by
a largely increased traffic over all their lines. (Hear,
hear.) The company's metropolitan extensions
would derive an unmixed benefit by the proposed
line if made to Brighton. Sooner or later, on pub-
lic grounds, he believed that line would be con-
structed.

Mr. M'GAREL, who, it appeared, had nearly
£lOO,OOO preference and other stocks in the com-
pany, said he could not see why some of the share-
holders should so strenuously endeavour to damage
the property.
Mr. BILLINGS was quite contented to wait for the
completion of the company's lines ; their traffic was
choked at present by the Brighton company. It
was well known there were obstructions to the traffic
at various points which would be removed in the
course of a few months, and then, he believed, a
very different state of things would exist.
After some observations by Mr. SHAW and other
shareholders,

Mr. FORBES, the general manager, explained that,
owing to leasing the Sevenoaks and Sheerness lines,
instead of being paid for working them, made a
difference in the accounts of £4,500 against the
company, there was an increase of £l,OOO in the
rent of the Victoria station, so that he considered
the company had arrived at the maximum of their
burdens ; and, as the traffic was increasing on these
and other lines worked by the company, the surplus
would in future tend to increase the ,net receipts of
the Chatham Company. Then there was to come
the South-Western traffic to the Ludgate-station,i
the Great Northern coal and goods traffic over their
lines, a new traffic to the Chatham dockyards, and,
above all, the removal of existing obstructions to
their metropolitan and other traffic. All these things
would tend to increase the company's revenue.
Millions of capital had been expended by them on
works and land which were now unproductive, but
would not be so when their lines were completed.
The traffic on the general undertaking in 1863 had
averaged £5,300 a week, in 1864 £6,100 a week,
and in 1865 £B,OOO a week. Things were not going
to remain stationary, but would, like traffic on other
lines, go on increasing. At present the Continental
traffic amounted to £400,000 a year, of which they
got 35 per cent., but next year it would probably
amount to £500,000 in consequence of the Paris
Exhibition, their proportion then would be 39 per
cent., and in 1870, under their agreement with the
South-Eastern Company, they would have 50 per
cent. of the Continental traffic. This time next
year the company would be in a very different posi-
tion to what it was at present. Yesterday the Great
Northern passed a goods train over the link line to
the company's main line at Beckenham ; and he had
just received a telegram stating that Colonel Yol-
land, the Government inspector, had approved the
portion of their line from Loughborough-road to the
Elephant and Castle. He hoped they would not
expect much this current half-year, but he had no
doubt the second half of this year would show a great
improvement.

Sir MORTON PETO remarked, as to the completion
of the works, that none of the recent widenings of
the line could be commenced before November last,
and that some of them were now completed. As to
the Victoria-bridge, it would be completed in 14
months from the time the works were commenced,
so that there had been no want of energy in the di-
rectors or the contractors. They were all fully im-
pressed with the importance to the traffic of com-
pleting the works. When it was considered that
the company were only able to run one train in 25
minutes instead of one train in every five minutes,
they could form some idea of the disadvantages
under which the traffic was conducted on their me-
tropolitan lines. He had no doubt whatever that
the works referred to would be completed by the
time specified.

Mr. SURGEY thought there could be no doubt that
when all the lines were completed the traffic would