The Sun.
London, England, 1866-04-19 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

SMYRNA AND CASSABA.
The half-yearly general meeting of this company
was held yesterday at the office, Adelaide-place,
London-bridge ; Mr. J. W. Larking in the chair.
Ms. CAPE, the secretary, read the report, which
congratulated the shareholders on the opening of
the entire railway, which thelengineer had reported
was properly and substantially constructed, and that
the limited amount of rolling stock which it was
considered prudent only in the first instance to pro-
vide had been placed on the line in good condition.
The directors felt it due to the contractor, Mr. E.
Price, to record their high appreciation of the energy
and faithfulness with which he had carried out in
every respect his contract with the companY• The
concession was dated 23d January, 1864, the works
were commenced on the 19th April, 1864, and the
whole line was in work on 22d of January last. The
passenger traffic for the first week ending 28th of
January amounted to £533, or £8 14s. Bd. per mile,
and went on increasing up to the week ending 25th
of March, when it amounted to £822, or £l3 9s. 4d.
pqr mile. On the 15th of March the carriage of
goods commenced, and for the week ending the 18th
of March amounted to £203, and for the week end-
ing the 25th of March the goods amounted to £2OO,
making the total traffic receipts for those two weeks
£873 and £1,022 respectively, the average of the
two weeks being £l5 10s. per mile per week, at
about the worst season of the year for traffic. The
passenger traffic had already reached the amount
which it was estimated it would realise at this season
of the year, and it was still rapidly increasing. As
regarded the goods traffic, when the existing carry-
ing trade was diverted, as it would shortly be, from
the road to the railway and developed, the receipts
from the goods traffic would also be fully equal to
the revenue which was expected from that source.
The prospect of a large amount of traffic pointed to
the expediency of an addition to the rolling stock.
The share capital was £520,000 in ordinary shares
and 1280,000 inipreference shares, together £BOO,OOO.
In December, 1861, the directors were authorised to
take up on loan £130,000, and to create and issue
bonds for that amount bearing interest at 8 per cent.,
being repayable in five years, and to keep in reserve
£130,000 of the preference shares to meet the bonds
as they arrived at maturity. The bonds were '
created and issued, and the preference shares kept
in reserve accordingly. Those funds were sufficient
to meet all demands for the completion and fur-
nishing of the line in accordance with Mr.
Price's contract, leaving a balance of about
£5,440 to the credit of the coinpany. It was now
proposed to authorise the directors to borrow a fur-
ther sum of £lOO,OOO, making, with the former
powers, a total borrowing authority of £230,000.
The £lOO,OOO would be required for purchasing
additional rolling stock and paying the contractor
a portion of the balance due to him in cash
in lieu of shares. The proposed debentures would
bear interest at the rate of 8 per cent. per annum,
payable half yearly, be issued at £B7 10s., and be
redeemed in 11 years from July 1, 1867, at par, by
annual drawings. The company had the option,
for a limited period, of taking over a concession
granted to Mr. Price, for extensions of the line to
Philadelphia and Bounnarbashy. The report of
Mr. Austen, the engineer, stated that the official
acceptance of the line was daily expected, which
would render the Government thereafter respon-
sible for the annual net revenue of £40,000.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, congratulated the shareholders on the open-
ing of the line throughout, and on, the prospects of
the traffic. Theirs was the first railway opened
throughout in Turkey. For the admirable and rapid
manner in which Mr. Price had constructed the
works it was their duty to assist him as much as
possible by raising the proposed capital.
The report and balance-sheet were then adopted.
Mr. BuncuELL remarked that it was a Turkish
railway carried out by English enterprise. He
thought it very desirable that English enterprise
should develope the resources of Turkey. In con-
structing their railway they had been entirely suc-
cessful, and of all things for improving the condi-
tion of Turkey there was nothing equal to railways,
and if judiciously carried out they could not fai
to prove successful. lle had taken some pains to
compare the traffic on their line with that on the
Smyrna and Aidin line, opened in Sept., 1862, of
which 48 miles were in operation, and had cost
about £17,000 a mile, while the Cassaba line, 61
miles long, opened on January 22 last, had cost
1'3,000 a mile. He found that the traffic receipts
on the Smyrna and Aidin line on March 22,
1863, amounted to £245, or £5 per mile per
week, while the traffic on their line for the week
ending the 18th of March last amounted to £872,
or £l4 per mile per week, and for the week ending
the 25th of March to £1,022, or £l6 15s. per mile
per week ; the average of the two weeks was £947,
or £lslos. per mile per week, against £267, or £5
ss. per mile per week on the Smyrna and Aidinline
in the corresponding period of 1863. On a com-
parison of traffic for the weeks ending the 4th and
11th of March last on the Smyrna and Aidin,
amounting to £5lO, it appeared that the average was
£676 for the week, against £255 in 1863, or nearly
treble the amount of the latter. The traffic on the
Smyrna and Aidin line had greatly increased, and
would still further increase on its opening through-
out to Aidin ; and, therefore, they might fairly ex-
pect the traffic on the Cassaba line to treble its pre-
sent amount in a similar period. They had the
guarantee of £40,000 a year net profits by the
Turkish Government, but he thought the traffic on
the railway would yield the company a much larger
profit than the amount of the guarantee. • Ile con-
cluded by moving a formal resolution, authorising
the directors to create and issue £lOO,OOO in deben-
tures on the terms stated in the report.
Mr. SIMPSON seconded the motion, and it was
carried.

Mr. J• Ball waa appointed an auditor of the corn
pant•

Re3olutions were passed. authorising the directors
to exercise the option of taking over the concession
for extensions of the line, and to make certain verbal
alterations in the articles of association, which latter
would require confirmation.
The proceedings then terminated.

undertake the mission, and left for Rio by the mail
of the 9th inst., armed with the amplest powers. In
the meantime the promising state of th-3 k cal traffic
must impress the Provincial Chamb3r of Pernam-
buco with the great importance of all those ques-
tions being taken up by that body, as affecting the
commercial interests of the province in a greater
degree than they affect those of the company. The
line, the works, and rolling stock were in good con-
dition. Mr. Mann, the company's manager, con-
tinued to maintain his conviction that the traffic
would this year yield a gross surplus of not less than
£50,000, and that the want of sufficient rolling
stock had become now a crying evil calling for im-
mediate redress. The clear net balance of revenue,
after all deductions, for the year ending the 31st of
December last, was £12,533, against £894 for the
year preceding. In addition to the amount divisible
out of the half-year's guarantee there was a suffi-
cient sum in hand, from the accumulations of the
surplus of previous half-years, to warrant the direc-
tors in recommending for the past half-year a divi-
dend at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum.