The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-20 00:00:00

Total traffic receipts (excluding cartage)

Maintenance of way
Locomotive power
Carriage and waggon department
Coaching traffic charges
Goods traffic charges (excluding cartage)
General charges
Law and Parliamentary charges ..
Rates and taxes
Government duty
Toll to the South Eastern Railway Company

£22,954
47,999
11,640
38,029
10,111
4,580
328

14,715
11,542
507

Total working expenses and renewals (excluding
cartage)
Cartage 7,960

Total
Distinguishing the ordinary expenses from the
amount expended in renewals and additions, and
from the cartage, the general result of the compa
rison with the corresponding half-year of 1858 w"
stand thus :

Half Year Ending
June 30, June 30,
1858. 1859.
Ordinary expenses £133,582 .... £150,284
Renewals and additions

Total expenses (excluding
cartage) ..
s. d. s. d.
Per train per mile
Per cent. on traffic receipts 431 •• .. 461
Cartage 6,991 .. . . 7,960

Total £152,847 .... £170,365
Although there has been an increase in the total
amount of working expenses, the cost per train per
mile has been considerably reduced. The increase
arises from several eauses. First, from the outlay
incurred in working the West-end line, and from
the fact that this outlay, so far as regards the local
traffic, was not included as expenditure in the cor-
responding half-year, inasmuch as the allowance
received from the West-end Company for such
service was applied in reduction of working ex-
penses. This method of appropriation has been
altered, as stated in the last report ; the allow-
ance will be found at the credit of revenue, and
that sum must be taken into account in order
to obtain a fair comparison. Secondly, from the
larger number of miles worked over, namely,
the West-end line from Wandsworth to Pimlico,
and the Lewes and Uckfield line. Thirdly, from
heavy repairs done to a large number of the loco •
motive engines purchased in 1847 and 1848, which
required and have received extensive renewals. The
working expenses have also, to a small extent, been
increased by the competition which has been forced
upon the company ; but, looking to the general re-
sult, especially to the new traffic thus attracted to
the line, and to the publicity given to the Brighton
route to Portsmouth and the isle of Wight, it can-
not be sail to have operated prejudicially against
this company.
The Parliamentary proceedings of the session are
drawing to a conclusion. The company's bill has
passed the committee of the House cf Lords. The
two bills promoted for a line from Leatherhead to
Dorking were rejected by the committee of the
House of Commons, as was also that omote by
the Portsmouth Company with a view pr
to relieving
themselves from the restrictions imposed upon them
by their act of last year. The bill containing per-
missive powers for the lease to the South-Western
Company of the Portsmouth Railway, or for the
amalgamation of those two companies, has received
the sanction of the legislature. The directors regret
that the differences which have unfortunately arisen
with the South-Western Co aipany are still unad-
justed. The purchase of the Battersea to Norwood
portion of the West-end of London and Crystal
Palace Railway was sanctioned at the special meet-
ing held on the 9th of May last, and it has accord-
ingly been proceeded with, and takes e.ifflebct from
the
mittlesdt
teJutltyle, and resolutions reerseoaltuintigont
delivered to the West-end of Londoshnewls andtoc 1
Ccert3asub
ael
Palace shareholders in exchange for their shares in
undertaking.ee
mp oers
th the
eproprietors
that
tn
severalthe
lastsehr
connect some of then were infOrmed
metropolitan promoted
ra ilwNav
yi tshwa viewith tht
eo
Victoria Station; one of these, an extension of the
West London Railway, embracing all that is requi-
site, has been selected as the most desirable, and the
bill authorising its construction has passed the com-
mittee of the House of Commons and will be laid before
the special
accompanyingmeeting. The line is shown on a plan
the re port. There are also two short
branches, forming junctions with the South-Western
Railway at the Falcon-bridge Junction Station, and
with the West•end line at Wandsworth•common.
The directors have agreed, subject to the assent of
the shareholders, to join the London and North-
Western, the Great 'Western, and South-Western
Companies, in providing the necessary capital. The
estimated outlay is £300,000, and the proportion to
be contributed by this company is £50,000, or
£75,000 in case the Great Western Company do not
elect
.to capitalisd their guaranteed annual contri-
bution. In connexion with this now matured
scheme for the admission of the North-Western and
the Great Western Compani2s into the Victoria
Station, the directors have under their considera-
tion the desirability of possessing themselves of the
whole of that property, so that a general terminus
may be erected more suitable for the requirements
of all, and free from the inconvenience and compli-
cation attending the working of separate and inde-
pendent stations; and they are glad to have it in
their power to inform the proprietors that, subject
to their sanction, they have entered into an arrange-
ment with the directors of the Victoria Station and
Pimlico Railway, the result of which will be that
the whole of that undertaking will intimately be
vested in this company. Agreements are in pro-
gress with the North-Western and Great Western
Companies for the use by them of the requisite por-
tion of the West-end line and of the Victoria Sta-
tion and Pimlico Railway.
A bill is now before parliament, promoted by in-
dependent parties, for a line from the Mid-Sussex
Railway at Petworth to Midhurst. The directors
have entered upon arrangements with the promo-
ters analogous to those concluded as regards the
other portion of the Mid-Sussex Railway. The bill
has passed the House of Commons, and will be laid
before the shareholders at the special meeting, as
required by the standing orders of the House of
' Lords. The bill for a line from Norwood to Streat-
ham was rejected by the committee of the House
of Commons, but there having been some misap-
prehension, efforts are being made to obtain a re-
, committal of the bill, with a view to its becoming
law during the present session. The directors have
every expectation that these efforts will be attended
with success.
. The net amount at the credit of the revenue ac-

count is £115,955, out of which the directors re-
commend the payment of a dividend of 21 per cent.
for the half-year, amounting to £115,464, leaving a
balance to the credit of the current half-year of
£491.

One of the auditors, Mr. John Chapman, has ten-
dered his resignation, by reason of other more press-
ing engagements, and jt remains with the proprie-
tors to accept it, and to fill up the vacancy at the
present meeting, should they see fit to do so. The
directors next in rotation to retire at the first half-
yearly meeting in 1860 are Mr. William Coning-
ham, M.P., and Mr. Peter Northall Laurie.

ADVERTISING COLUMNS.

Yesterday afternoon a numerous deputation from
the various metropolitan vestries and district boards,
accompanied by Lord Fermoy and Mr. Edwin
James, the members for the borough of Maryle-
bone, waited upon the Right Hon. Sir G. C. Lewis,
at the Home-office, for the purpose of protesting
against the bill introduced by Mr. Cowper, arising
from the erection of the " Illuminated Indica-
tor" at Hyde-park-corner, having for its object " to
restrict the erection of permanent structures in the
carriage-ways of the metropolis," and to urge the
Government to give its opposition to such measure.
Lord FERMOY, in introducing the deputation,
observed that it represented the public boards of
most of the leading metropolitan parishes, and they
felt that the bill introduced by Mr. Cowper was
not only an attempt to infringe upon and restrict
the local powers they enjoyed, but that it was in
direct violation of the principles of the Metropolis
Local Management Act. It was felt that, because
one local board had thought proper to sanction the
erection of an advertising column, to bring in a bill
restricting all the other public boards from the
power of placing up erections, however useful, was
an act of public injustice, and ought to be resisted.
In the borough he (the noble lord) had the honour
to represent the local boards had positively refused
to allow these illuminated advertising columns to
be erected, and therefore there was no necessity to
apply this act to them. The metropolitan parishes
were exceedingly jealous of this interference with
their local powers ; as it was; if this measure passed,
it was the thin end of the wedge leading to centrali-
sation. (Hear, hear.)
Sir G. Q. LEWlS—having been further addressed
by Mr. C. Carr, from Marylebone, Mr. Beal, of St.
James's, Mr. Robins, of Paddington, and deputies
from the Holborn, Stra ,:d, and other district boards,
to the same effect—observed that he could well
und,..,rstand the very natural and very proper jeal-
ousy with which the metropolitan parishes viewed
any attempt to interfere with their local powers.
He had no desire to give his sanction to the raw
sure which had a tendency towards that which
they appeared to apprehend, namely, centralit3a-
tion. At the same time, however, he could 110,
view this subject as one of the purely parochial
character which the deputation seemed to imply
It was one which he thought involved a question
of the public rights, and the public travelling
through the public highways of :this metropolis
had a right to be protected. He had some doubts
as to the necessity of this bill, as he could not find,
that by act of parliament any parish had the legal
power of causing the erection of these advertising
columns. It would thus be his first point to.ascer-
tain if they had the legal right to do so. At al;
events, it would have been better for the vestry °'
St. George's to have removed the column at Hyde:
park-corner, and thus have prevented the subject
coming before parliament. He would give the sub"
sect his best consideration.