The Sun.
London, England, 1866-02-16 00:00:00

Railway and other Companies.

LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN.

The half-yearly general meeting of this company
was held yesterday at the Waterloo-road ; Captain
Mangles in the chair.
Mr. F. Clarke, the seeretary, having read the
notice convening the meeting, the report, an abstract
of which hasappeared in The Sun, was taken asread.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, said it would have been more agreeable to
the directors if they could have recommended the
proprietors an increased dividend. Still, he thought,
under the circumstances, the maintenance of the
same dividend for the past year, as they had had
since 1862, inclusive, was not an unsatisfactory re-
sult, especially as they had to work several new
lines that had come into operation, but the traffic
on which had notyet been developed. The constant
object of the directors would be, while supplying
the requisite lines, to increase the traffic receipts so
as to keep pace with the increase of capital. At the
same time they felt it their duty to discountenance
the increase of capital as much as possible. They
could not disguise from the proprietors the adroit-
ness with which new lines were being placed on the
map, especially in the metropolitan district, by
other companies. He then referred to the balance-
sheet, which showed, as regarded capital account,
that the company had expended £519,390 during
the past half-year. They had now 148 stations,
and, in consequence of the inereasing traffic they
had continually to provide additional station and
other accommodation at various places on their sys-
tem, and to build goods warehouses. He held in his
hand a list of payments in the half-year, amounting
to £226,730 for land and new works on 39 lines be-
longing to the company. One of the largest items
was £31,178 expended on the original line, of which
£4,860 was for land, £8,653 for the goods-shed at
Nine Elms, £1,500 for a retaining wall, £ll,OOO
for fish-joints, heavy rails, and other items, all very
good things in their way, but rendered necessary
to meet the requirements of an increased traffic.
He could give all the various items if they wished
to have them, but he would not further detain them
on that point. The gross revenue had shown an
increase of £37,238 over that of the same half in
1864, and the gross traffic in the year 1865, as com-
pared with that of 1864, showed an increase of
£67,500. The traffic for the first six weeks of the
present year showed an increase of £B,OOO over that
for the same period of last year. The traffic depart-
ment showed an increase in the expenses of £19,612.
This arose from opening new stations, increased
wages, additional signalmen, and other expenses in
the establishment of the block system of telegraph
signalling from station to station, which he hoped

would tend to prevent accidents. The report of Mr.
Beattie, their locomotive engineer, informed them
that 206,100 additional train miles had been run
during the half-year, the rate per mile being 9.85 d.
as compared with 10.23 d. for the corresponding
period of 1864, which he thought was very satisfac-
tory, and he believed that there were very few rail-
way companies able to keep that charge so low. The
increased mileage was principally caused by the
opening of the Andover and Redbridge, the Alton
and Winchester, the Waterloo and London-bridge
service, the Thames Valley, and other lines. They
were working a great number of lines upon which
the traffic had not been developed. They had been
constructing new carriages to increase the comfort
of the passengers. The new carriages were lighter
and neater than the other carriages, and were as i
nearly perfect as could be. The works of doubling'
the Salisbury and Yeovil and a portion of the Bas-
ingstoke and Salisbury were progressing satisfac-
torily. The Salisbury and Yeovil Company had
announced a dividend at the rate of 6 per cent. per
annum for the past half-year, and taking that declared
in the preceding half-year gave 51 per cent. for the
past year. The South-Western Company were
shareholders of more than half that line, so that they
participated in benefits of the increased dividends.
The Southampton and Netley Railway was a subur-
ban line to Southampton, but it would be a paying
line when extended to Havant, which would open a
communication to Brighton. The Clapham June-

tion line would be opened on the Ist of March,
which would give them access via the London,Chat-

ham, and Dover Railway to the Ludgate-hill station.
The Tooting and Merton line had been let to Mr.
Brassey below the estimate of the engineer, and a
good deal of the land had been purchased. He then
alluded to the bills promoted by the company in the

present session, which the report stated were few in
number and inconsiderable in extent, and he trusted

these lines would amply meet the requirements for

which they were intended. A number of schemes

had been promoted for the purpose of invading the
districts served by the company, especially at King-

ston and Richmond. He hoped that some stop would
be put to such projects, many of them being absurd
and uncalled for. Their renewal of way account had

been gradually reduced from £84,000 in 1862 to
£49,587 in the past half-year, and would continue

to be further reduced. In 1864 they paid £30,000

for compensation, and in 1865 £25,000 ; he trusted
that in future they would be able to keep that item
within a fair compass. The block system of signal-
ling and the mode of communicating between the
passengers and guardswould tend in future to reduce
not only the loss of life, but the loss of money.
The Hon. R. H. DUTTON, M.P., seconded the
motion for the adoption of the report.
After a discussion on financial matters, items of
account, and the probable increase of interest on

loans,
Mr. SCOTT, the general manager, in reply to a
question, stated that they bad succeeied in perfect-
ing a method of signalling between passengers and

guards, which was in operation in the express trains
between London and Exeter, by which the guards
and engine-driver could be communicated with.
They had repeatedly tried experiments on it, but had

no occasion to use it, and it was found to act exceed-

ingly well. The sabject had been under the conside-
ration of a committee of railway managers for two
_ _

years, and he believed the system adopted on the por-
tion he had mentioned of the South-Western Rail-
way was the only successful plan. Some of the
northern companies ►were doubtful as to how it

could be worked at junctions, where additional car-

,
riages were usually added to a train. The experi-
ments on this subject would be closed by the
committee at the end of the present year, when a
final report would be issued. Pending that report
the South-Western Company had no intention of

increasing that system of signalling until the
general result of all the experiments was known.

Resolutions were passed unanimously adopting
the report and statement of accounts, declaring a
dividend at the rate of 5i per cent. per annum for
the past half-year on the ordinary stock of the

company (less income-tax), ax)payable on the Ist of
March ; re-electing Mr. E. J. Hutchins and Mr.
H. C. Lacy, the retiring directors, and also Mr. A.
Ileyes, the retiring auditor ; authorising the direc-
tors to take such steps in respect to various bills now
before Parliament as to them might appear most
conducive to the interests of the company ;
giving and also
them power to proceed with the company's
bills in Parliament.
The meeting was then made special, and the di-
rectors were authorised to lease for 150 years, from
the Ist of January, 1864
Southampton to the Im , a certain piece of land at
rent of £750 per annu m.perial Hotel Company, at a
The proceedings concluded with the best thanks
of the meeting to the chairman and directors.