The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-07 00:00:00

RAILWAY .INTELLIGENCE.

LANCASTER iND CARLISLE

The half-yearly meeting of this company was
held on Friday at Lancaster, Mr. E. W. Hassell in
the chair.
The report of the directors stated that there was
a balance available for division of £112,500, out of
which the directors recommended a dividend to be
paid at the rate of 9 per cent. per annum, which,
with the proportion payable to the Lancaster and
Preston and to the Kendal and 'Windermere Rail-
way Companies, and the interest on Loans, would
require £107,155 ; and, after carrying a further sum
to the renewal fund of £4,300, there would remain
a balance of £1,044. The state of the traffic on the
line continued satisfactory. The working of the
line by their own locomotive engines continue
satisfactory. The opening of the Lune Valley line
next year would render it expedient to provide
passenger carriages. Advantage had been taken
of the application to Parliament with respect to the
Morecambe branch to seek power to alter the line
of approach to the Carlisle station, so as to avoid an
objectionable level crossing of a public road close
to the city of Carlisle. In the same bill power was
sought to amalgamate more effectually the Lancas-
ter and Preston and Kendal and Windermere Com-
panies with the Lancaster and Carlisle Company.
The statement of accounts, an abstract of which
has appeared in The Sun, was taken as read.
The CHAIRMAN remarked that a dividend of 9

per cent. excused him from making any lenitile;ed
observations on the success of the line. There

was a falling off in the passenger traffic com-
pared with the corresponding half-year in 1858.
The amalgamation of the Kendal and Windermere
had been undoubtedly beneficial to both companies.
With respect to Sunday trains a considerable
pressure had been put upon the directors.
He and several of his brother directors were ex-
ceedingly averse, from conscieNtious motives, to
anything approaching to what they considered a
desecration of the Sabbath ; at the same time, what
must of necessity be done on a Sunday could not
be considered wrong. The trains were run clear
of the hours of Divine service, and so that their
servants should not be derived of necessary rest on
the Sunday. With respect to the works on the
Lune Valley line, some little difficulty had been
met with at the large viaduct near Lowgill on
account of the wetness of the season and the diffi-
culty of getting a solid foundation on some soft
ground where the water came in. This had, how-
ever, since been obviated, and the works would now

make rapid progress. With respect to the Moi.el
canabe branch, their object was to carry the Dur-
' ham coal to the sea by the nearest route ; and,
though they had some difference of opinion with
the Midland Company, they hoped to make a
beneficial arrangement for both companies. The
Lancaster and Carlisle were anxious to be on the
best terms with the Midland and also with their
old allies, the London and North-Western. It was
one of the first duties of railway directors to culti-
vate terms of amity with adjoining companies.
(Hear, hear.)
The motion for the adoption of the report having
been seconded,
Mr. HOWITT expressed himself satisfied with the
Sunday train arrangement. He noticed that they
had £8,618 chnrged for maintenance of way during
the last half-year, and they had only added £4,300
to the renewal fund. He hoped they were not pay-
ing a larger dividend than they had earned.
The CHAIRMAN explained that they were not
paying_ out of capital, but paying out of funds
which were intended for the specific purpose of
preventing the necessity of decreasing the dividend.
The SECRETARY said that the sum of £8,616 was
paid out of revenue. _ _ _

Mr. CROSSFIELD said he was somewhat disap•
pointed when he considered the handsome surplus
over 9 per cent. last time. They had to look to the
future. They could not expect, for instance, that
it would only cost £7O per engine every year. He
observed they were about to expend capital in a
supply of their own carriages; and they were going
to spend money upon an hotel. In the prospect of
increased expense, they should try as much as they
could to keep their capital account down.
Mr. GREGG asked if they were not going into a
new business in having an hotel ? He was aware
that some of the large railways had a number of
hotels. They had kept clear of subsidiary lines,
but now there was the Little North Western, the
Port Patrick, the South Durham, the Morecambe
line, and the Lowgill branch. Were they not de-
parting from their old safe system ?
The CHAIRMAN explained that they were keep-
ing down capital as much as they could. As to
carriages of their own, when they got the Lune
Valley line it would be absolutely necessary to
have them, for they would have to interchang.i
with the Midland. As to the hotel, when the
promises opposite to where they now sat came into
the market it was thought most desirable to pur-
chase them. As to the Lune Valley line, he thought
it would pay considerably more than the interest
of the money expended on it. The Morecambe
branch was needful to bring the South Durham
coal by way of Tebay to the nearest seaport. On
this subject they were anxious to have some
arrangement with the Midland, and use their
harbour; otherwise the Durhain people would pro-
bably take their coal down the Eden-valley line.
Mr. GILLow expressed his confident expectation
that when the Port Patrick, the South Durham, a
line from Hawick, and the Lune Valley line were
all in operation, the Lancaster and Carlisle would
not stop short of paying 15 per cent.
The report and the dividend were then agreed
to, and the proceedings concluded with a vote of
thanks to the chairman and directors.