The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-13 00:00:00

EDINBURGH AND BATHGATE.

The half-yearly meeting was held at Edinburgh
on Friday ; Mr. T. Hill in the chair.

The report narrated the proceedings in the nego-
tiation with the North British Railway Company
(the lessees) for amalgamation, and stated that the
bill was lost through the opposition of a section of
the North British directors and shareholders. The
Bathgate directors had found it necessary to oppose
the North British Wishaw Bill, which would have
enabled the latter to divert traffic from their line,
and the bill had been unanimously thrown out by
the committee. The directors, while regretting the
want of success in the amalgamation, believed they
had not overrated the value of their line, and that
eventually they would get even better terms. The
directors relied with confidence on the increasing
traffic of the line, consequent on the rapid develop-
ment of the mineral districts. The usual diiidend
of ss. 6d. per share was recommended.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, said he was sorry they should have had to
oppose the Wishaw Bill, which would have been a
mutual advantage. He thought it was for the
North British Railway Company now to come to
them, and the directors would be ready to meet
them on mutually favourable terms.
The report was unanimously approved.

BELFAST AND NORTHERN COUNTIES.

The half-yearly general meeting of this company
was held on Monday at Belfast—Mr. R. Grimshaw
in the chair.

The report was taken as read.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, stated that the dividend, at the rate of 4 per
cent. per annum for the past half-year, which they
recommended the shareholders to declare, exceeded
that ofathe corresponding half of last year by a half
per cent. He regretted that two casualties had oc-
curred on the line, otherwise they would have had a
more satisfactory state of things. The directors
thought it better to write off half the expenses con-
nected with those accidents at once, and to charge
the balance to the summer half-year, than to distri-
bute the loss over a period extending to some dis-
tant time.

Mr. E. 11'NEILL seconded the motion, and it was
carried.

The CHAIRMAN then proposed that a dividend at
the rate of 4 per cent. per annum be declared on
£16,000 preference shares under the act 1858 ; at
the rate of 41 per cent. per annum on £73,600 pre-
ference shares under acts 1860 and 1864 ; and on
the ordinary £5O shares at the rate of 4 per cent.
per annum for the past half-year.
Mr. J. CRAMISE seconded the motion.

A long discussion ensued in reference to the acci-
dents that had occurred on the line, in the course of
which the resolution approving the dividends was
unanimously adopted. The sum of £2OO was voted
to the directors for their services. The retiring
directors were re-elected and also the retiring audi-
tor. The proceedings concluded with a vote of
thanks to the chairman and directors.

GREAT SOUTHERN AND WESTERN.

The half -yearly meeting of this company was held
on Saturday in Dublin—Mr. W. Houghton in the
chair.

The report was unanimously adopted.
A dividend at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum
was then declared on the original stock of the com-
pany.

Lord Cloncurry, Judge Longfield, Lieut.-Col.
Thompson, and Mr. Hardy were re-elected direc-
tors, and Mr. Haughton auditor of the company.
On the motion of Captain LINDSAY, seconded by
Mr. George Ryan, D.L., Mr. L. J. Macdonnell was
elected auditor, in room of the late Alderman
Atkinson.

The meeting was then made special, when reso-
lutions were adopted, in compliance with clauses in
certain Acts, 1866, approving the purchase of the
Cork, Youghal, and Queenstown Railway, and the
proposal for the formatiOn of a junction between the
latter rail way and the Great Southern and Western
Railway ; and also for enabling the company to
subscribe £13,000 to the Parsonstown and Portumna
Railway.