The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-16 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

METROPOLITAN DISTRICT.

The third half-yearly meeting of this company was
held yesterday at the London Tavern—the Earl of
Devon in the chair.
The report stated that from the large proportion
a property already acquired, the state of the nego-
tiations for the remainder, and the progress of the
works they might feel confident that the original
estimates of property and works would not be ex-
ceeded, and that in 18 months from the present time
the whole of the railway westward of Westminster-
bridge would be opened for public traffic. The direc-
tors had every reason to confirm the accuracy of
those statements, and to express their conviction
that the early realisation of the prospects held out
in the original prospectus might be fully expected.
The success of this undertaking was there based on
the fact that the traffic on the existing Metropoli-
tan Railway being sufficient to pay 7 per cent., and
the cost per mile of the district railway between
Kensington and Cannon-street not exceeding that
of the Metropolitan line from Paddington to Moor-
gate-street, the question was narrowed to this—viz.,
whether on the complete opening of the line (until
which time the guarantee of £6 per cent. interest
continued in force) the traffic per mile on the line of
the District Railway by Westminster and the Strand
would not, at least, equal that on the line of the
Aletropolitan Railway, via th e New-road. Everything
that had since occurred had tended to strengthen
those anticipations. A large increase in the traffic
per mile on the Metropolitan Railway had already
taken place since the opening of the extension to
Moorgate-street, and it was becoming daily more
evident that the traffic on the Inner Circle would
only be limited by its capacity to carry it. The re-
jection by the House of Commons, without a divi-
sion, of the Mid-London Railway Bill on the second
reading afforded proof that Parliament was deter-
mined to uphold the decision of the joint committee
of both houses, by which the district line was se-
lected as the one best adapted in conjunction with
the Metropolitan Railway for carrying out the great
scheme of railway communication designed to com-
plete the Inner Circle, and to bring the western
parts of London in communication with the city.
The most harmonious relations continued to prevail
between this Board and that of the Metropolitan
Railway Company, and a joint committee had been
appointed, with a view to insure convenient and
economical arrangements during construction, and
to prepare for working the two lines to the best
advantagelas one system. The engineers, Mr. J.
Fowler, engineer-in-chief, and Mr. T. M. Johnson,
stated in their report that great exertions had been
made to obtain possession of the property required for
the works from the junction with the West London
Railway and from the joint-station at Kensington
to the Thames embankment at Westminster, and in
about four months there was no reason to doubt the
contractors would be in possession of every part.
The works of the railway and stations were already
in operation at twelve different places, which number
would now be increased almost weekly. The brick-
work:and/ironwork at Blackfriars-bridge in connec-
tion with the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway
had been completed, and near to Cannon-street a
portion of the Metropolitan District Railway, which
might have been a source of inconvenience to the
South-Eastern Railway Company, if delayed, was
in a forward state. The works of the Thames Em-
bankment were not yet sufficiently advanced to per-
mit a commencement of the railway works, but if
due diligence was exercised by the contractors of the
Board of Works, and reasonable facilities weregiven
to the company's contractors, this portion of the
Metropolitan District Railway would not occasion
delay or inconvenience, either to the railway or the
Thames Embankment works. The capital account
showed £1,191,350 had been received, and £618,299
expended, leaving a balance of £543,051.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, said he hoped the shareholders considered it
satisfactory. It was believed that the cost of the
line in progress would not exceed the estimate, and
the directors had no doubt that it would be com-
pleted in 18 months. It was difficult to over esti-
mate the importance of the communication through
the districts their line would accommodate. There
could be no doubt they would have a large and re-
munerative traffic. As each section of the line was
opened the traffic over the whole would increase, as
had been the case after the opening of the Metro-
politan Extension line to Finsbury. From the ex-
perience of the past they might feel they were in
possession of a property that would become highly
remunerative. The Inner Circle Railway had re-
ceived the approval of three successive Parliamen-
tary committees, and the House of Commons had
recently withdrawn its sanction from the Mid-Lon-
don scheme. The subject of providing dwellings
for the labouring classes in lieu of those unavoidably
removed by railways and other improvements had
occupied considerable attention, and he trusted that
the interference with the abodes of the labouring
classes would be more than compensated for by the
large amount of railway accommodation intended
for them, together with cheap fares to and from
the various places. Associations had been formed
for providing suitable dwellings for the labouring
classes, in which several of the officers and directors
of the company had taken shares, and that showed
they were not insensible to the wants of the labour-
ing classes, nor were they unwilling to supply every
facility to remedy the want of a suitable provision
in that respect.
Mr. A. C. SHERRIFF, M.P., seconded the motion
for the adoption of the report.
A Shareholder wished to know how many shares
were in the hands of the contractor, in order to en-
able him to form an opinion as to how many more
shares were to be:thrown on the market to depreciate
the shareholders' property. lie perceived that no
interest was allowed on cash balances, and wished
for an explanation.

Mr. BAXTER, the solicitor, explained that the
contractors paid interest at 6 per cent. on the whole
of the paid-up capital during construction, and, of
course, the interest on cash balances belonged to
them, and did not come into the general account.
Mr. FOWLER, the engineer-in-chief, stated that
every point had been carefully considered before the
contract was entered into, with a view to secure the
interest of the shareholders. He explained, in reply
to a question, that every effort would be made to
come to some definite arrangement, so as to enable
them to carry out the works along the Thames Em-
bankment, and thus prevent the great scandal of
having the works delayed. A space was to have
been left along the.embankment for the works of
the railway until they were completed, but it ap-
peared there was some difficulty in doing that in
consequence of want of space for materials. The
present contract extended from Kensington to Can-
non-street, and arrangements would be made for
earryjg out the remainder of the line from Cannon-
street to Tower-hill.
Mr.'SIIERRIFF stated that the directors never paid
any portion of the contract price in shares. If the
contractor held shares, it showed his confidence in
the undertaking
but they formed no part of the
cost of theundertaking,
Mr. FOWLER Said e whole of the contract was
for puments in cash.
It was stated that the contractor held 200 shares,
but he bad paid for them like other shareholders.
The report
._
was then unanimously adopted,
and
extent,
the directors were authorised to
exerciselne bor-
rowing powers of the company to the Tull
The proceedings concluded with a vote f thanks
to the chairman and directors.

MIDLAND AND SOUTH-WESTERN JUNCTION.
The half-yearly meeting was held yesterday at
the offices, Old Palace-yard, Westminster; Mr.W.
L. Beale in the chair.
The report stated that since the last meeting the
agreements between the company and the Midland
Railway Company for subscribing to and working
their railway had been dilly sealed by the two com-
panies and exchanged, and the Midland Company
bad, in pursuance thereof and of the power con-
tained in the company's act of incorporation, paid
the sum of £15,000 towards the capital of the un-
dertaking. Arrangements had been made for the
construction of the railway, including purchase of
land,
for a sum within the share and borrowing