The Sun.
London, England, 1866-02-03 00:00:00

HAMMERSMITH AND CITY.

The half-yearly meeting was held yesterday at
the Paddington Station ; Mr. Foakes in the chair.
The report stated that the directors recommended
that a dividend at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum
be declared for the half-year on the original stock,
and on the 5 per cent. preference stock of the com-
pany. The Great Western Railway Company had
introduced a clause in the company's Bill now be-
fore Parliament to dissolve this company, and should
the Bill pass the Hammersmith and City Company
would cease to have a separate corporation, and the
dividends would henceforward be paid direct by the
purchasing companies, without the intervention of
the present Board. The directors hoped that the
formal transfer of the company would be effected
before the next half-yearly meeting, in which case
the services of the auditors would no longer be re-
quired.
The report of the directors was adopted, the re-
tiring directors were re-elected, and a vote of thanks
to the chairman concluded the proceedings.

CALEDONIAN, NORTH BRITISH, AND GLASGOW

SOUTH-WESTERN.

A meeting of shareholders in these companies was
held on Wednesday, at Glasgow, to receive a report
from the committee of shareholders appointed on the
21st of December last, to confer with the directors
Mr. J. Hozier in the chair.

Mr. M'Kenzie read the report, which stated that
conferences between the committee and directors of
each of the above companies had taken place. The
committee urged, in a friendly spirit, the views of
the shareholders respecting the numerous bills pro-
moted in Parliament by the three companies. The
committee had no desire to benefit one company at
the expense of the others, and they hoped that the
directors of the different companies would see the
necessity of forthwith meeting each other in a
conciliatory spirit, and endeavour by mutual
concession to give effect to the resolutions of the
shareholders, the object of which was to prevent
the contests in Parliament and save the enormous
expenditure of capital which the continued promo-
tion of the schemes of those three companies would
involve. Several interviews had since taken place
between the boards of the different companies,
and the result had been to induce the withdrawal to
a certain extent of the several schemes. The com-
mittee believed that the result of their exertions was
that the Caledonian board, who had lodged 11 bills,
requiring a share:capital of £4,995,000,had proposed
to withdraw eight bills, and to reduce the new capi-
tal required to £770,000, provided the other com-
panies would do likewise. The North British board
proposed out of 12 bills, requiring £4,358,584 share
capital, to withdraw eight and part of two other
bills,reducing the required new capital to £2,478,584.
The Glasgow and South-Western board likewise
proposed, out of four bills requiring £1,877,000
share capital, to withdraw two bills entirely, and
portions of two other bills, so as to reduce the
amount of new share capital required to £197,000.
Thus it would seem that while the proposed addi-
tion to capital had been much diminished, the large
sum of £3,445,584 would still be required for the
schemes remaining to be promoted by the three
companies. The committee, while they felt. that a
reduction in the estimated expenditure ou new
schemes of £7,785,000, if honestly carried out, was
matter of congratulation as well for directors as for
shareholders, were still impressed with the import-
ance of urging further compliance with the resolu-
tions come to by the shareholders on the 21st
December last, that all the bills of the session re-
quiring additional capital on new works should be
abandoned at least for a year, and that as far as
practicable the progress of works authorised in last
session should for a time be suspended. The com-