The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-20 00:00:00

The report of the directors te,
Steam Company (Limited), to be.
first half-yearly general meeting, of thcf-
,ns.,
after expressing the deep sorrow of tfte • ,
poarftessuetenhhte loss of their late lamented e
man, Mr. W. Wilberforce Bird, gees een tra"
say that in their last report the directoi:s
e
ctfshioentrnot
thtnegotiationehaedecllenotxdostei grantnn extension
noal
ndvui
ttththhohetrtheihdte:
ieesHrisel,
ccoohtn a.rArvEs
companya.
et atroei..ara_
India Come
pany
mated
eamwp trg
repebdacee Companyoahrf
na tn d encouragementacknowledged
enterprise.
This
ah si
swomuledr
negotiationtms a
of
f tht
the
brieflyhappy
ina
s beingfollows
110
iavbs oTshaey thatorie
Oriental
thael Hon.lnla nEaTtostlnrtrae
Stearn
scle
solicited. Company
undertake
put ofth thee
tw coo
sntceeasms
each of which shall be capable of carryin;da,
years,
eoeamnr
stp,
upon the Indus every year for a period of t n
very large cargo on a light draft of water or
1,000 men should troops require to be ca.rried.
The maximum cost of two such trains set to worlc
in India your directors have ascertained will not
exceed 50,000'. ; and the Steam Company e nig tg As
t hat its vessels shall ply through a distance of 20,630-
miles per annum between such points of the IrAcit,,_
and its tributaries as it shall find expedient, Nat the
upper terminus will not be bele Moultan, The
steam vessels are to call at the termini ofany railways
on their route to pick up goods and passengers, aild
the Steam Company is to carry for the Hono ur-
able East India Company troops or stores to the
extent of 10,000/. worth of freight per annum,
charged at the same rate as subsist in the Govern-
ment steamers on the Ganges, and which have en-
abled private companies upon that river to return
a profit from 20 to 40 per cent. The East Indiet
Company in consideration of the establishment of
Isuch vessels under the arrangements stated above,
engages to pay to the Oriental Inland Steam Com-
pany a sum of 5,0001. a year for ten years, which
will begin to accrue so soon as the vessels are
started in India ; and should the profits of the un-
dertaking from all sources fall under 10 per cent.
per annum—not from mismanagement on the part
of the Steam Company, but from the number of •
vessels placed upon the river exceeding the i.e.:-
quirements of the trade—then, in such case, +„be •
Steam Company is released from the obligation to
put additional vessels on the river every year until
a profit of 10 per cer.t. is again attained. This
concession is, therefore, tantamount to a 10 per
cent. guarantee upon the 50,0001., which is the esti-
mated maximum'outlaythat the company will have
to make togivethe undertaking a trial ; an i to this
outlay the company may limit themselves shoed
the profits not exceed 10 per cent. No part of the
sum paid annually by the Honourable East India
Company under the arrangement is liable to be
repaid out of the excess of profits over 10 per cent.,
but the annual payments go in all cases to increase
e rSears, such
In
profits whatever they may be. The directors
consider these terms to be very much superior to a
a s guarantee
been
ee of 5
grantedper cent.
to
the case of every undertaking returning over 5 per
cent., the ordinary 5 per cent. guarantee is a
merely nominal concession, and does not add to
the railways
tm ofiti
the profits at all ; whereas, if the profits fall
short of 5 per cent. the sum advanced under the
guarantee, to make them up to that amount, has
afterwards to be paid out of any excess of profits
over 5 per cent., which may subsequently accrue.
The directors consider that a profit of 5 per cent.
is an adequate return upon any Indian undertak-
ing, and the delays and interference incident to the
working of the existing guarantee system under
which the railways are placed, has been found in
practice to be of the most paralysing and mischiev-
ous character. Under the arrangement concluded
by the directors, there can be no interference on
the part of the Indian authorities with the working
or management of the company ;and even on thesup-
position that the vessels made no profit=, a return of
10 per cent. upon the capital' called up, to give
the undertaking a trial, is insured for ten years.
At the end of that time it is calculated that the de-
preciation fund will have accumulated to such an
amount as to have replaced die original capital.
There can be no profits in any enterprise in steam
navigation until the charges for insurance and de-
preciation are met, bes'cles the ordinary current
expenses for working and repairs ; and in thai pro-
spectus the annual charge for depreciation is set
down at 10 per cent. on the capital, which, by
its accumulation, will fully reproduce the origi-
nal capital in 10 years. The directors trust that
these terms, which will give you a minimum return
upon your capital of 10 per cent. for ten years,
and, at the end of that time, ensure the repro-
duction of such capital intact, will be considered
satisfactory by you, especially since this advantage
is altogether additional to the inducements held out
in the prospectus, which had reference wholly to
the intrinsic merits of the undertaking, and in which
the acquisition of a grant from the Hon. East India
Company is not contemplated at all. The directors
had applied to the Hon. East India Company for
terms of encouragement before the prospectus was
issued ; but they did not consider any such extra-
neous aid to be a proper basis on which the pros-
pects of such an undertaking should be rested, and
they considered that the undertaking should
present sufficient inducements from its owls
merits to - enlist public support. They have,
nevertheless, not been insensible to the advan-
tages of such a concession from the Hon. Ea ,t India
Company as they have now succeeded in obtaining,
feeling satisfied that, in the public estimation, such
a recognition of the enterprise would give to it a
security and authority such as it would not other-
wise he considered to possess ; and, would, in fact,
be necessary to enable the undertaking to be prac-
tically carried out. Applications for the shares
not yet disposed of will be received in this country
up to the Bth of September, and, in the allotments
a preference will be given to the existing holders.
The directors now propose to make the first call to
enter into contracts for the construction of vessels,
and at as early a period as is convenient to issue
the share certificates. They will use every effort
to have vessels set to work in India with the least
possible delay."