The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-13 00:00:00

CALEDONIAN -1?;11L TV.tt Y.

The half-yearly general meeting of this company
was held at Glasgow on Tuesday last—Mr. T. Sal-
keld, chairman of the company, presiding.
The CHAIRMAN said—At a period when many railway
companies are declaring a smaller dividend than before,
owing to the deficient harvest of last year, which caused a
very large exportation of gold—and also on account of the
civil war in America, which has injuriously affected many
branches of trade in this country—it is gratifying to your
directors to meet you en this occasion, and to be able to re-
commend a dividend at the rate of five per cent. on the
ordinary stock of the company. (Applause.) Not-
withstanding the disturbing causes to which I have
referred, our receipts ,have been £16,000 more
than during the corresponding period of last
year, and although our expenses have increased
by £7,300, we are still enabled to offer you what I am sure
you must consider a very fair dividend. (Applause.) Our
expenses have, no doubt, been increased to some degree by
the great severity of the past winter, but considering the
high and exposed ground over which we pass, we have not
suffered so much as might have been expectei, or even as
other railways seem to have done, though situated in less
exposed localities than ours. I attribute this circumstance
in a great measure to the care that has been paid in late
years to the permanent ways, and to the great attention
and care which our officers have bestowed in selecting for
ballast material that imbibes a less amount of moisture,
and which is consequently less disturbed by atmospheric
variations than a softer or more porous material would be.
Ten or eleven years ago the ordinary stock of this company
was selling in the market in Glasgow at £l4. (A Voice :
" From £l2 to £13.") Well, from £l2 to £l3. Now the
same stock is selling at £lO7 or £lOB, a gratifying proof of
the vitality of the railway, and of the vast resources of the
district through which it passes, and which resources, I
am happy to say, are capable of still further development.
With the exception of the Amalgamation Bill, all the bills
for which we applied to Parliament last session have been
obtained ; and when the works authorised by these bill
have been executed, I feel confident that the value of the
property of this company will be greatly increased. I re-
gret exceedingly the loss of the Amalgamation Bill, be-
cause the more I study that question, the more I feel con-
vinced of the advantages that would result from it, not
only to the three companies interested in it, but also to the
trade and the general public. The directors were also
satisfied that the more the question was ventilated the
sooner the Amalgamation Bill would be obtained. The
directors of this company, however, did not at first feel
themselves justified in incurring the expense of a re-
newed agitation during last session of Parliament ; but
the directors of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Company,
being of opinion that the expense in connection
with the bill need not exceed £3,000, if the bill was prose-
cuted immediately, when all the briefs were still ready,
and much of the evidence was prepared, undertook to pay
the whole expenditure which might exceed £3,000. This
offer was considered so good by the directors of the Caledo-
nian Railway Company that it was acceded to. We felt
that if we failed in getting the bill a great step would be
gained in advance, and our expenses have during last ses-
sion been limited to our proportion of the £3,000. Though
we failed in obtaining the bill, yet we know that great pro-
gress has been made in this matter, and that the inhabitants
of Edinburgh and Glasgow are becoming aware, that when
the Amalgamation Bill is carried, the fares between these
cities will be greatly reduced, as then the companies will be
enabled to make those reductions in the expense of working
by which they could afford to reduce the fares to an exten t
they otherwise would be unable to do. In 1860 nearly every
trader on the line was opposed to the amalgamation; but in
the last session of Parliament there was scarcely a trader on
the line but was in favour of it, cr at least was not an active
opponent. Inthe last session of Parliament a bill was passed
chiefly through the exertions of Lord Kinnaird, which ren-
ders railway debentures transferable by simple endorse-
ment. I believe, when that question is better understood, it
will be for the advantage of railways, as these endorsements
will become favourable investments. In the last paragraph -
of the report the directors take upon themselves to ask you
to erect a school and schoolmaster's house at Carstairs, for
the benefit of the children of the workmen at the railway.
Most of you who travel on the line will be aware that Car-
stairs is the point where the Edinburgh and Glasgow
branches meet, and where the various trains are arranged
previous to going south. It is therefore necessary to main-
tain a large staff of workmen at Carstairs. A great many
children belonging to the workmen have very inadequate
means for obtaining for themselves the advantages of an
elementary education ; and I believe it is both for the bene-
fit of ourselves and of society to afford some means of
giving an elementary education to the children of those in
oar employment. (Applause.) I am very glad to hear
this suggestion seems to meet with your approval. The
directors, however, ware prepared to withdraw that para-
graph, if there was any reluctance to agree to it, and to
introduce it in the shape of a substantive resolution, or post-
pone it to a future period. (Hear.) Mr. Salkeld concluded
by moving the adoption of the first resolution.
Mr. MEIKLEM asked why the same reduced fares for re-
turn journeys were not allowed to parties travelling from
Scotland to London that were granted to those who travelled
north from London ? He said the company were infringing
the Divine law in not granting to their workmen the entire
rest of the Sabbath ; and referred to the evils which, he
said, resulted in England from employing railway servants
on that day. He also made some remarks regarding the
proposed schools.

Mr. CROSS asked if it was the case that a 30 years' agree-
ment had been entered into between the three companies
for the working of their lines ?

The CHAIRMAN said no such agreement had been com-
pleted, but it was the anxious desire of their directors, and
he believed of the other companies, that such an agreement
should be completed, and negotiations for this object were
in train. With respect to the Sabbath question, he had
repeatedly replied that they did not do any work upon
Sabbath that could be possibly avoided. (Applause.) With
regard to providing elementary instruction for the children
of their workmen, when he said that in no part of her Ma-
jesty's dominions were the advantages of education more
appreciated than in Scotland, he did not require to say more
on the subject. (Applause.) He was reminded that they
only intended to erect the building ; the parents would be
required to pay for the education of the children themselves.
With respect to the return tickets, if the inhabitants of
Glasgow and Edinburgh had the same inducements to go
south which the English had in coming to see the beautiful
scenery of this country, probably the same reduced rates
would be adopted. It was the object of the directors to
divert the English from going to the Continent by holding
out an inducement to them to come to Scotland. But there
was no necessity for lowering the fares between this and
London, because there was not the same attraction to
travel thera as to travel from London to Scotland. For
this reason the fares were cheaper from London to here.
'1 he report was unanimously adopted.
The three retiring directors—Mr. Daniel Ainslie, Mr.
John Ross, jun., and Mr. Robert Towers—were re-elected .

The board were authorised to re-b-jrrow upon mortgage,
on the security of their undertaking, the sum of £20,000,
borrowed on the special security of the Lesmahagow
branches, when and so often as that sum was paid off.

A vote of thanks to the ehairman closed the proceedings.

THE BUILDERS' STRIKE.—A special meeting of
the Master Builders' Association was held yesterday at the
Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen-street, Lincoln's , nn-
fields, for the purpose of taking into consideration the
position of the trade, in consequence of the recent move-
ment of the operative masons in calling off all their men
from th , country werkq of the Londe t hour employers.
There were not more than twelve members present out of
the twenty -five London firms who pay by the hour, amongst
whom the principal were—Mr. Myers, sen., Mr. J. Myers,
Mr. G. Smith, Mr. J. Lucas, and Mr. J. Trol ope. The
Press were excluded, and the Secretary, Mr. Wales, on
application being made to him to furnish the result of the
meeting, stated that it was a private one, and that he was
not permitted to give any information of its proceedings.
The meeting lasted about two hours, and it may be pre-
sumed, from information being refused, its decision, it any
was come to, was not of a conciliatory nature, or one likely
to put an end to the struggle. The men, in the meantime,
are tepidly leaving the country jobs, nearly all of which
are now at a standstill.
SERIOUS ACCIDENT AT A QUARRY.—On Tuesday
morning, as Mr. D.
the road
.Evans, agent for Andrews' cattle food,
was walking al
at the top of Rownham-hill,
near Bristol, ho was suddenly struck on the head and ren-
dered insensible. Upon being found in that state some time
afterwards, it was discovered that he had received a fracture
of the skull. At first it was supposed that he had been as-
saulted by some person for the purpose of plundering him ;
butiteppears that a number of men were engaged blasting
for road metal, and it is supposed that just at the moment
when the blast was fired the unfortunate man had been
going along the road, and a stone striking him in the fore-
head had caused the injuries which he received. There can
be little doubt that had the poor man not been seen soon
after the accident, and had medical aid not been speedily
rendered, he would, in all probability, have lost his life by
the occurrence.— Western Daily Tress,