The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-18 00:00:00

BRAMPTON AND LONGTOWN.

The first ordinary meeting of this company was
held at Brampton, Cumberland, on Tuesday ; Mr.
J. Dacre in the chair.

The CHAIRMAN announced that the directors had
decided on recommending that the meeting be ad-
journed for two months. Individually his course
would be to retire from the direction. He should
abstain from entering into any details that might
be unpleasant. He confessed that what he had
read and what he had seen at the late meeting of
the North British Company had given him such a
horror of railways that it would take a long time
to get over it.

Mr. SHAW, solicitor, seconded the motion for the
adjournment of the meeting. There were on the
list 1,044 shares, 230 of which were subscribed by
persons who had been connected with the applica-
tion
for the Acts, leaving £8,140 subscribed in the
district. The North British and Glasgow and South
Western Companies had each power to subscribe
£30,000 ; but the North British under existing cir-
cumstances had declined to proceed further with
the matter; and no application had yet been made
to the Glasgow and South-Western. He had re-
ceived a protest from a number of the local share-
holders, stating that they had put down their
names for shares upon the representation that one
or other of the adjacent companies would lend sup-
port, and if this representation were not fulfilled
they wished to withdraw. He urged that it was
too soon to turn the cold shoulder to the scheme till
the Glasgow and South-Western had been written to.
The Citatr.3lAN inquired who were the original
promoters of the line.

Mr. SHAW replied that he was first seen by
Messrs. Niwmo and Macnay, the engineers who had
surveyed the line.

The CHAIIMAN— Then it is in common parlance
a " contractor's" line.
The meeting adjourned for five weeks.

MELBOURNE AND HOBSON'S BAY UNITED.

The half-yearly general meeting of this company
was held in Melbourne on the 7th of August ; Mr.
A. Sutherland in the chair.

The report, an abstract of which has appeared in
The Sun, was taken as read.

On the motion of the CHAIRMAN the report was
adopted, and a dividend at the rate of 10 per cent.
per annum was declared. It was stated that a de-
putation from Kew had waited upon the directors for
the purpose of inducing them to make a line to that
place. The gradients were severe, the estimated cost
£24,000, and the length one mile and a quarter. lie
thought the extension line to Kew might be made if
persons interested in the district would subscribe a
certain portion of the capital.

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

The traffic returns on the company's line, 17 miles
in lengtk, amounted for the five weeks ending the
23d of August to £11,479, against £11,287 for the
corresponding five weeks of 1865, showing an in-
crease of £192.

UNIVERSAL PRIVATE TELEGRAPH.
A general meeting of this company was held yes-
terday at their offices, Adelaide-street, Strand ; Mr.
J. Mellor in the chair.

The report stated the income for the half year
ending 30th June last amounted from all sources
to £7,798 as against £6,074 for the corresponding
half of 1865. The ordinary working expenses dur-
ing the half year amounted to 4302, which, with
£2,092 as the cost of efficiently restoring the o
com-
pany's plant from the effects of the snow storm f
January 11, amounted to £6,394. A net balance
of only £2,368 remained for the payment of
ce
divi-
dend, which the directors proposed to appropriate
inliquidation of the liabilities of the company in lieu
of making further calls. The sum of £4,481 had
been expended on capital account during the half
year. The directors having had an experience of
two and a half years of the working of
the agreement with Professor IVheatstone,
felt that its conditions were so onerous upon
the capital of the proprietors that they had de-
cided not to increase the expenditure on capital
account, but to meet the present liabilities of the
company out of revenue as it accrued. They were
bound by the present agreement with the Professor
to allot to him £2,700 stock out of every £19,000
called up, besides his royalties and profits upon in-
struments. A large proportion of the capital hitherto
raised had been expended on open wire work, which
was free from all claims for patent right, but which,
by an oversight in settling the agreement with the
Professor, he claimed as if he held a patent for the
erection of such open wires. The Cantyre line was
now in full operation, but the results, so far, were
not of the satisfactory nature the directors were led
to expect, but they trusted its further development
would be remunerative. The directors were giving
their best attention to a more economical working
of the company's service, as well as to the increase
of the revenue.

The CHAIRMAN said that on examination into the
company's affairs it had been found that.lines had
been erected where they were not required, and cal-
culations were entered into which turned out entirely
fallacious, while there were large expenses in various
parts of England which brought them in a very
small return. They altered the system of letting
wires, and determined
to do no more work unless
specially ordered.
had been systematically The instructions of their board
cally disregarded, and although
more capital was being called up every half-year,
a worse they
were in
position, and, instead of im-
proving, ey got Worse,
were compelled to
abide by an agreement Which, if if he had known to
exist in the form it did, h
would have
from having anything to do with the company
abstained
commercial affair. They rnPany as a
were subscribit
hope of getting a dividend. Ho assured them that
nothing should be wanting on his part to bring about
a proper state of things. The past six months had
been an absolute loss, and taking into consideration
the storm of January they had suffered a serious
less. It was quite true that the concern had been
improperly conducted, and there had been gross
mismanagement; but he believed that now they had
made a change things would go on more smoothly.
The motion for the adoption of the report was
then put to the meeting, when
Mr. MACEENZIE moved an amendment to the
effect that the meeting stand adjourned, and the
report and statement of accounts be not received,
and a committee be appointed. On behalf of Pro-
fessor Wheatstone he stated that the chairman mis-
represented the condition of the agreement existing
between the profcssor and the company, by assert-