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

RAILWAY BILLS.

On Monday, in Lord Redesdale's Committee,
House of Lords, the Bradford, Eccleshill, and Idle
Bill, to raise £65,000 by shares and £21,600 by
loan, to make a railway from Bradford to Idle,
was passed.

In Room B, House of Lords (Standing Order
Committee), the London and North-Western (New
Works,&e.) Bill, to raise £1,500,000 by shares and
£500,000 by loan, was heard and adjourned. The
following Bills were passed :—Great Yarmouth
Fish Wharves and Tramways ; the Severn Junc-
tion, to make two branch railways ; the Wrexham,
Mold, and Connah's Quay (Extensions), to raise
£lOO,OOO by shares and £33,300 by loan, to make
four railways; the Wrexham, Mold, and Connah's
Quay (Additional Powers), to raise £200,000 by
shares and £66,600 by loan, to make six railways ;
the Great Northern (Barnet Branch Abandonment) ;
the Metropolitan and St. John's Wood (Capital),
to raise £200,000 by shares, and £66,000 by loan ;
the Harborne, the Crofthead, and Kilnarnook Ex-
tension, to make two railways, the Leven and East
of Fife ; and the Whitby, liedear, and Middles-
borough Union, to raise £250,000 by shares, and
£83,300 by loan.

In the House of Commons. Group IA. —The
• London, Chatham, and Dover Railway, various
powers (recommitted) Bill was passed.
In group 3; the South-Eastern and London, Chat-
ham, and Dover (London, Lewes, and Brighton)
Bill was again heard and adjourned.
In group 14, the Midland (Ashby and Nuneaton,
&c.) and the London and•North-Western and Mid-
land Counties Coal Fields were heard and adjourned.

Group 18.—The Caledonian and Scottish North-
Eastern (Amalgamation) Bill was further heard and
adjourned.
Group 18A.—The preamble of the Caledonian
(Edinburgh Station) Bill, to raise £250,000 by
shares and £83,300 by loan, was proved. The Cale-
donian (Corstorphine Junction) was adjourned.
Group 19.—The Caledonian (Lanarkshire, &c.,
Branches) was heard and adjourned.

PENINSUSAR AND ORIENTAL STEAM NAVI-
GATION

The half-yearly meeting of this company was
held yesterday, at the offices, Leadenhall-street ;
Mr. .1.1. Anderson in the chair.

Mr. C. W. Howell, the secretary, read the re- I
port, which stated that Messrs. Scott and Co., of j
Greenock, having completely repaired the hull of
the Columbian, and having also agreed to fit the
vessel with new and more powerful machinery, the
board had entered into an agreement for the repur-
chase of this vessel on favourable terms. Looking
to e necessity of maintaining the company's fleet in
a thoroughly efficient condition, as well for the exe-
cution of the postal services as to meet the increas-
ing quirements of commercial traffic, the directors
had purchased the following
1,284 tons, 250-horse thepowerv;ssels : The Avoca,
Malacca, 1,700
tons, 300-horse power and the Sunda, 1,700 tons,
300-horse power. All those vesselsuwileda' e m a forward
state, and would be completed in about
two
The steamtug Salida, built for the Aden station, had
been completed, and left for her destination on the
19th inst. The repairs and refit of the China and
Ceylon had been completed, and both vessels had
been brought into active service again with Very
shtisfactory results: The.Candia was receiving new
bOilers and a thorough refit at Calcutta, and the
Nubia was to enter upon active service on the 20th
inst., after undergoing similar repairs at Bombay.
The directors greatly regretted the loss of the Jeddo,
from striking on the Choul Cader reef, near Bom-
bay, on the evening of the 2d of February last. The
°Orapany's superintendent had been able to remove
machvaluable property from the wreck ; but this
fortune would probably create a charge of not
less than £6
the year. 0,000 on the underwriting account for
The. circumstances of the case had been
re
estigated at Bombay, and the directors
we so
ryinvrY to add that the con;mander„who had
served the company
default for neglectiwneuthfor 16 years, had been in
01 le
I_4l use of the lead. The
Select Committee
toll:se of Commons for the
purpose of inquiring into
practical working of
uic and post
the present system of telegraphic
orsandhadthaelrecagodasraily;
raupications between this
Indies was still sitting ; the att.
nteryet
responded to every request from its members
information relative to the operations of the co f"
pang, and had submitted evidence tending ra-
ts to correct
. many erroneous impressions which had obtained
currency on points relating to the proper execution
of the mail services, and otherwise affecting the inte-
- rests of the proprietors. The forthcoming report of
the committee would probably contain recommenda-
tions for considerable changes in the existing lines, and
the director's would be'ready as on former occasions to
undertake, public services on terms based on an equit-
able considerationof the claims of the community and
the interests of the shareholders. The purchase of
• the vessels referred to had rendered a call of £5
on the new shares necessary, and it was not im-
probable a fiuther call might be required towards the
end of thoyear: The operations of the half-year had

been on the whole satisfactory, but,
owing to the
high and increasing prices of coals, w , ,
the
, &c.
directors were unable on the present, casion to
recommend any addition to th enuesiti,el-thaax.lf-yearly
dividend of 31 per cent., free of ieu
The Cnanu in moving the adoption of the
report, stated that he need not trespass on their
time much more than a few moments. The Select
Committee of the House of Commons had been en-
gaged in their inquiry relating to the telegraphic
and postal communication between this country and
India. The directors had given every information,
and during his absence in Egypt the company had
been well represented by their able and worthy
secretary, who had prepared a clear and useful
statement for the committee on the postal service,
which did him a great deal of credit. He thought
that some of the members had commenced the in-
quiry with certain views which on examination they
probably found were very different to the facts. He
thought the shareholders would feel very much
obliged to the secretary when they saw the blue-
book for the clear manner in which lie had stated
their case. He then adverted to the progress of
certain matters in Egypt. On his recent visit to
that country his reception by the Viceroy as repre-
senting the company was very friendly. That ex-
pression was not in words only, but in affording
the company facilities for its business. At the port
of Alexandria, which was very crowded, they had
convenient premises granted them. The Pasha had
given them a coal depot convenient to the railway.
He had ceded a new line of railway to Suez, which
was shorter than the other, and almost entirely
level, over which the company would be able to send
their coals at about half the present cost. At the
port of Suez there was a repairing dock construct-
ing by French contractors for the Pasha, and would
be opened in a very short time as a repairing estab-
lishment. The Pasha was also reclaiming a plot of
ground as a landing wharf at Suez. The roads at
present were about five miles from the town.
Ile hoped to be able to report more at the next
iiieeting on that point. He then explained the
great advantages to Egypt of the present mode
of succession in a direct line, so that the -Pasha was
deeply interested in the prosperity of the coun-
try, and not as formerly, having only a life interest,
and but little inducement to develope the resources
of the country.

Mr. HADOW seconded the motion for the adop-
tion of the report.

Admiral COFFIN, in alluding to the loss of the
Jeddo, thought the regulations of the company were
not sufficiently definite and stringent. He made
some suggestions for that purpose.
The CHAIRMAN, in reply to those and other ob-
servations, said the directors had already provided
in their regulatioas and instructions to commanders
for every point the gallant Admiral had mentioned,
and he thought the Admiralty would do well to
adopt those regulations in her Majesty's service.
The company had above 60 ships, and navigated
about 1,500,000 miles a year. He thought they must
expect something like the loss of a ship every year.
They had been their own underwriters for 20 years,
and the usual rate of insurance was six guineas per
cent. The whole of their losses to the end of the
past half-year only amount to 255. per cent., which
showed on the whole how carefully their ships had
been managed.
Admiral HALL explained that the directors were
very particular about the ships' logs in the case of
any loss whatever ; the instructions with regard to
using the lead and other precautions were ample,
and ought never to be neglected.
In reply to questions it was stated that there were
constant complaints as to the Australian postal
service, but under the circumstances it was carried
out as well as it could be. The navigation to Aus-
tralia was difficult, and everything had been done
to make it better. He hoped the shareholders would
make a point of getting a copy of the Blue-book on
the postal service, when issued, in which they would
see the whole matter fully explained.
The report was unanimously adopted, a dividend
of 31 per cent. for the half-year ending March 31
last was declared payable on the 25th inst., and the
proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks to the
chairman and directors.