The Sun.
London, England, 1866-02-07 00:00:00

CENTRAL ARGENTINE.

The second ordinary meeting of this company was
held yesterday at the office, Gracechurch-street----
Mr. J. Hagan in the chair.

Mr. Woolcott, the secretary, having read the no-
tice convening the meeting, the report, an abstract
of which has appeared in The Sun, was take' as read.
The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the re-
port, said that the balance sheet to the 31st Dec.
showed that£42s,ooo had been called up on the shares,
and that a further call of £2 per share had been
made on the 15th of January on the 50,000 shares,
making together £525,000 called up to the present
time, of which only £5,142 was outstanding, and of
this amount £3,590 was due on the last call. This
showed that their shares were well held. They would
have to go on making the calls, as the board was
anxious to push on the construction of the works as
rapidly as possible. Seventy-two vessels had taken
out 30,000 tons of rails to Rosario, and the progress
made with laying them was about two miles per
week, so that about the end of the summer half the
length of the line would be completed. They would
have a large instalment of traffic on opening to that
point from the adjacent provinces. They had
secured the services as general manager of Mr. R.
Ogilvie, who had bad considerable railway experi-
ence, and was otherwise well qualified for that im-
portant position. The trade at the port of Rosario
had greatly increased since the commencement of
the railway, which, when completed, would, from its
central position, accommodate 11 out of the 14 pro-
vinces in the Republic, and he thought the railway
must therefore be a success.

Mr. H. BROCKETT, deputy-chairman, seconded
the motion for the adoption of the report, and in
doing so congratulated the shareholders on the posi-
tion of the company and the progress of the works.
From late accounts it appeared that 40 miles of line
had been completed, and by allowing the same rate
of progress he had no doubt that 70 miles in length
of permanent way were now completed ; and it was
probable that the line would be extended to Frailey
Muerto, 124 miles from Rosario, in the course of
next summer, when the line would be opened for pas-
sengers and goods traffic. The materials for 115 miles
of permanent way had been shipped, and, he believed,
had arrived; and a further quantity of materials for
20 or 30 miles more would shortly be sent out. They
continued to receive most favourable accounts as to
the construction and prospects of the railway. The
Government had given th,ine a large piece of landwith
a river frontage of 3,300 feet for the terminal station
at Rosario, where vessels could come alongside, and
discharge and ship their cargoes close to the rail-
way. The value of the exports and imports of Rosario
had increased from £744,000 in 1864 to £1,026,000
in 1865, showing an inereaae of £281,000.
The report was then unanimously adopted.

The retiring directors, Mr. E. Johnson, Mr. A. S.
Kennard, and Mr. E. W. Nix were re-elected ; and
also Mr. R. P. Harding and Mr. W. T. Linford,
the retiring auditors.

On the motion of the CHAIRMAN to authorise the
directors to take the necessary steps to sell, let on
lease, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of the lands, a
discussion ensued, in the course of which it was
stated that the company had not yet obtained legal
possession of the lands from the Government, that
the whole would be 900,000 acres, and that Messrs.
Brassey and Co., the contractors, would be entitled
under the contract to a moiety of those lands, and
the company to the other moiety.

Lord ABINGER, in seconding the motion respect-
ing the disposal of the lands, pointed out the way in
which he thought the whole business with regard to
the lands should be conducted and managed abroad.
The motion was adopted, and the directors were
authorised to raise £lO,OOO on debentures for de-
veloping the resources of the lands granted to the
company.

The proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks
to the chairman and directors.

TELEGRAPH TO INDIA (LIMITED).
The fifth ordinary general 'meting of this com-
pany was held yesterday at the office, Moorgate-
street ; Sir Macdonald Stephenson in the chair.
Mr. Mayo, the Secretary, having read the notice
convening the meeting, the report, an abstract of
which has appeared in The Sun, was taken as read.
The CHAIRMAN said they had met solely to sanc-
tion the payment of a dividend at the rate of 5 per
cent. per annum, free of income-tax, out of the half-
year's revenue from their Egyptian land line. The
directors had availed themselves of the opportunity
of reassuring the shareholders that their exertions
would not be slackened to accomplish, as they con-
fidently expected they would eventually, the great
object of the undertaking to connect this country by
an independent line with India, and in doing so, to
take care that the shareholders' interests were pro-
tected, and their individual wishes consulted. The di-
rectors had been encouraged and confirmed in their
policy by the assurance of high mercantile authorities
of its soundness and of the support it would un-
doubtedly receive at their hands when the time arrived
for a renewed effort to be made, with all the advan-
tage which past experience had furnished for their
guidance. Like steam navigation, and railways, sub-
marine telegraphs must pass through their several
phases, and it was fortunate that among the many
eminent men connected with those works, as en-
gineers, electricians, and manufacturers, there existed
a resolute determination that in this respect at least
England should not abandon her post in the van of
civilisation and commercial enterprise. He then moved
that the report and statement of accounts be approved
and adopted, and that a dividend at the rate of 5 per
cent. per annum, free of income-tax, for the half year
ending on the 31st of December be paid on the 15th
instant.

Mr. BLYTII seconded the motion.
Mr. Small complained that the shares were at a
discount, and that they would be greatly improved
in value if steps were taken to reduce the nominal
value of the shares from £2 to £1 each.

Mr. BILLINGS said the directors had had a great
received nothing, and
hd ee al
wishedof wo
to know
fwhether some remuneration could
not be voted to them out of their funds.
o r which

The motion was then carried unanimously.
The CHAIRMAN said, with reference to the sug-
gestions of Mr. Smith, the directors had consulted
Messrs. Freshfields, their solicitors, who told them
that the objections to these suggestions were so great
that they could not recommend the directors to adopt
that course. He thought that before the next meet-
ing the directors would be in a position to give them
some information as to what should be done.
The retiring directors, Mr. F. C. Gaussen, Mr.
J. F. Leith, and Mr. C. L. Peel were re-elected ;
and also Mr. J. A. Franklin, the retiring auditor,
voting him 15 guineas for past services.

Mr. SMITH proposed a resolution to carry out his
views, which was seconded, but aftersome explana-
tions the motion was withdrawn, and the proceed-
ings concluded with a vote of thanks to the chair-
man and directors.

THE CATTLE PLAGUE.---At the meeting of Con-
vocation to-day, the Archbishop of Canterbury stated that
he had received a letter from the Home Secretary, declin-
ing to fix a day of national humiliation for the cattle plague.
THEFT BY A MAIL GUARD.—At the High Court
of Justiciary on Monday, Henry Orphoot Swanston, the
mail guard who was apprehended in October last for the
theft of letters containing money and stamps, while in the
execution of his duty on the Caledonian Railway, was, on
pleading guilty to several of the charges agaiust sen-
tenced to Aye year penal kervitude.