The Sun.
London, England, 1845-07-28 00:00:00

Ili LA NI) RAIL, A. 0 "

THE HALF-YEARLY GENERAL MEETING.
DERBY, FRIDAY EveeiNea
This afternoon, at two o'clock, the half-yearly general ineeting
of the proprietors of the Midland Railway Company was herd t
the station, Derby.
George Hudson, Esq., the Chairman of the Board of Director',
took the chair.
The Secretary (Mr. Bell) having read the advertisement by
which the meeting had been convened, read the following re'
port :
" The Directors have again the satisfaction of recornrneadinlr
that a dividend be paid of 31 upon each 100/. of the consolidated
stock, 31. upon each 1001. of the perpetual stock, and 21. 3%.,8d.
upon each 100/. of the Birmingham and Derby consolidated
stock. The receipts, including those from the Sheffield and
Rotherham Railway, have exceeded those of the three eor°Ps'
vies in the corresponding half of last year 65,115/. Bs. 6d., arising
from the following sources :—Passengers, 33,8931.; parcels and
i
mails, 2,3021.; cattle, 2,414/. ; merchandise and minerals, `26,r40,
ted
So large and increase in the receipts could not be exPec
without a corresponding addition to the working expenditure; and
when it was recollected that a considerable extra accommodat°
has been afforded, and the speed of the trains accelerated, that ill•
crease will not appear disproportionate. ved
"The carriage, waggon, and engine stock is in a very inane
state, and in a very good working condition. et,
" The increase in the merchandise and mineral departMea
fully equals the expectations of the Directors, bring after the rat"'
of 27i per cent. upon the corresponding half-year.
" Since the last general half-yearly meeting the Directors baso:
arranged for the lease and ultimate junction of the Birmingbaep
and Gloucester, and Bristol and Gloucester Railways, and of th-.
Leicester and Swannington Railway, the Ashby Canal, the O
ham Canal, the Erewash Valley Railway, and jointly with the Nei"
castle and Darlington and the York and North Midland Rail/I'l6
of the Great North of England Railway. • tol
" The agreements fur the Birmingham and Gloucester and 13ro
and Gloucester Railways, the Erewash Railway, and the Grest
North of England Railway, have been confirmed by special gene'"il
meetings. a to
" The Bill for the extension of the line from Nottingham
Leicester, and from Syston to Peterborough, and for the ara'f:
gamation of the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway with the 5"
field and Manchester Railway, have received the royal assent. "
Since the last meeting, Mr. Youle has resigned, and Si, lig •0
Morley has been elected a Director in his place."
net
The CHAlRMAN—Gentlemen, you have just heard the re.
read. It is short, but I trust that it contains such a satisfeel°l
.
statement of facts as will induce you to give it your approbetOatio
In one of the paragraphs of the report, reference is made to toed
increased expense of working the line. It must be remembered
that the expenses of the Sheffield and Rotherham line arc now ,
eluded in those of the Midland line. We are now working see
engines on the Sheffield and Rotherham line, which will in se°,
measure account for the increased expenditure in the locoinotiv;
department. But there is another reason for that increase, In
n.
that has been the demand of the public for an increase of accorat,
dation and increased speed of the trains. Every one who
lately travelled on the Midland line trust have seen the 8";,,
effects of the exertions of our superintendent, than whom a belts,
servant in any company cannot be found. To the carriage delta
ment the directors have turned their serious attention. We have;of
new carriages, and extensively repaired the old ones; but we "'IA.
reasonably hope that in this branch of the expenses there will
rd.
a diminution. We have had an increase in the coach deparliTep
as we have redeemed the pledge which this company gave sr,
they effected a considerable reduction in the incomes of the
ent persons employed by us. Ido not mean to say that the snleb.st
is very large, but it is something added to the expenses of mil
department. We should have felt ashamed of ourselves if we
not taken the very earliest opportunity which the affairs of wed
company would allow of placing those who are being eiloPlYo
around us in a comfortable position. I need hardly refer to t..." 0
I paragraph in the report which alludes to the leasing of the wt),
which have been taken by this company. They have all been snot
milted to you at the special meetings, when the reasons were giv
to you for the course which the directors have thought it auvio,
able to recommend you to pursue. We have, as you are aware'
troduccd to Parliament a Bill for a line from Swinton to Linac,frto
, and also a Bill for a line from Lincoln to Ely, but we have hit""eal
been prevented from giving any evidence respecting them. I should
fby
be unworthy of the position which I hold, and also unwe'stif
of your confidence, if I were now to shrink from h°nbeeeti
and plainly stating to you the position in which we have
a„oe
placed by the House of Commons' Committee in reference to v;3a
two Bills. No person entertains a higher respect for the rale't ta
regulations of Parliament than Ido myself. lam not o°ool
make any observations upon that subject. lam about to hod
to you facts. On the conclusion of the case of the London 01,
York, the Direct Northern, and the Cambridge and Lino°l° ore
way, we appealed to the Committee to permit a line which Waiiire
sidered to be in a great measure a competing line with the Tod,
don and York—to permit the counsel for this line to be bCoorl
This, however, was refused. They refused us a hearitiga.
would not allow us to state our case--a right never denied io,:eo
English court.—(Cries of "Shame, shame.") After the declogiit
had been given yesterday morning by the Committee, We the be'
it was a fitting opportunity to test—l will not say the fairness' ifs
cause that would be casting something like an imputation a° the
Committee—we thought it a fair opportunity, then, to te't the
principle, if principle it could be called, upon Which, pre'
Committee acted in coming to their decision. We ha- tho
motet' a line from Milford to Doncaster, and a Bill for dare
line we believed was an unopposed Bill. We lhertraied
proposed to the Committee to take this Bill, being an unc),P. 001
one first. As soon as we made the application, up got th,e;:l;g:'
for the London arid York line, and said, " We oppose t",
Mr. Austin, who appeared for us, said, " How can you °P,,r-e'neeP
as the Committee will not allow us to oppose you ? .„aya°
mile! with the York and North Midland for twelve miles, s:e 10
refuse to hear us; hew then can you claim to oppose us *"i:itte€
come before the Committee ?" One member of the C°°l,, &log
itnniediately said, " But the Bill is not before us." We Were:otel?
us, of course, excessively surprised at this, and we ilatn
produced the reference from the House, and we of cours°o facts,
that the Bill had been referred to the Committee; se that, had
the Committee have come to a decision without knowing wha it is
been referred to them. There is no exaggeration in tbisieit
really and truly the case. The Committee, of course, ;der it.
position in which we were placed, and retired to coos'..4oe
After being away some time they returned into the Cool;oberit
room. And what was the reason the gentlemen, then'
t o.
of the Committee, gave • for not proceeding with opP°r-
and for giving the London and York Comparl, ants was,:
trinity of being heard against us? Why, they said that -ang fto""
competing line with the branch of the London and York
Doncaster to Wakefield. Could any set of men conceive
suchsd
reason ? But such were the expedients which these gentler°t dig'
recourse to. Under these circumstances we felt that the 10° fool
nifled course for us to pursue would be to withdraw at tmee, th,
the Committee altogether. We determined net to interfere l_oof
passing of the clauses, although it must be known that then'onol
in which the London and York line will come into the etas'
York will endanger the safety of the public. We felt that 00'er
no chalice of being heard before such a Committee, and weol; sod
fore directed Mr. Austin to protest, on behalf of the I°_,„enft
North Midland: Company, and the Eastern Counties Cewsroott
against the course the Committee had taken. He viaivesti°
however, allowed to do so. No one who has ever seen AD,' esll
before Committees of the House of Commons will say that mittenor
those Committees with anything like disrespect. The Colato gee
would not allow him to open his mouth. He did manage ei
the words " I protest" out, and then the Committee bolted fr°, hest
:
room.—(Laughter.) On their return they said they could Irioteo,
Mr. Austin. Surely no precedent in the annals of Farn psn.,l
can be found for such proceedings as these. We are a
representing thirty millions of capital, and I trust that the,r rhel
of Commons will see that justice is done to us. I trust tn't oeve
will fairly meet the appeal which we intend to make to the° otrsia,
endeavoured to state everything that is true, and I will arretlo:
the feelings which rise in my breast. I have stated ev`v," do"
fairly, and I leave you to judge whether the decision of the
;, 136';
and York Company is worth a rap.—(Cheers). I am quaeir all
fled that those Hon. Gentlemen who promote the l'w.,,dieyel
York line will be the first to vote, when the question e— ortie;
fore Parliament, that a hearing be given to the opposing'lls'
We could have shown the Committee that our line wouldo ut
the
saved a million and a half of money in its construction.
gins via;
real fact is, the Committee gave us no opportunitY.
heard. They were in the most breathless haste to r o,re
preamble of the London and York Bill, and the? wover,
breathless haste to report the Bill to the House. I, Ain', ,
firmly believe that the House will send them back
order that the opposing parties may be heard. our
pass
is justice; we wish to have an opportunity of stating ",
to the Committee, and if this be refused, it will be a alcid-ea $lO
infliction. How can such a decision as that on the 11,
York Bill ever stand, given in the way it has been ? one
point of fact, only come to by two of the Committee•
st tee °ce;
tleman refused to vote at all, and the other voted eZa'h s,
cision. This great question was therefore decided bY100,,, IP
in the meeting—" By nobody.")—(Laughter.) I katee.
it is very difficult to meet the decision of a CornrWaaillo
have heard that it is perfectly hopeless to contend ;it° goal,
decision; but I think it would be unbecoming in t,hich
of Commons to sanction such a principle as that "so; I',lio
involved in this decision. The House will never d° poD
ir they should, their decision will not carry with of 0 '
Inn
feeling or public opinion. I will say nothing more oPij'all
London and York line now. I have often given myupon it, and the opinion which I gave six or eig—tolte°,-0
ago has been confirmed by the evidence which has been rt of er
fore the Committee. We shall take our stand in auPPo. wiol'
position which we now occupy. It is the most anaWusse befOtt
myself and colleagues that during the time that must elsPoilifi eto
f
Parliament re-assembles for us to use every means t° readf
position.—(Cheers.) I am not an alarmist, but always C epiel f
OC o
meet any difficulty that may arise. Our Company now avarol
very high position, and Ido believe that nothing will ebse
the Gall
injure its power of usefulness to the public. These are or
ce,t
vetions which I have to offer to you. I may have ancltern ieval'aj
and strongly, but I feel that we have suffered a great ere 1",0
and that we have not been fairly treated. I now beg to
d
r°
the report of the Directors he received and adopted, an. that ",oa
say that I shall be happy to give any further informatiolto
be required of me. The Hon. Gentleman sat down am
eolf'
cheers.
The resolution having been seconded, was carried
u° ahe WI of
The CHAIRMAN said there was another subject whichaieriel
to bring before the meeting. They were aware that f"'"of- the 'lOO,
had a gentleman in their service who acted as manageri,et•-adceeS
but who left them at a time when his doing so ifi celieseor
siderable inconvenience upon them. Himself and a,,:a VP, eve
had duly considered how this vacancy should be „eying ;et
they had come to the determination that instead ertb"e corrilot
general manager it was better to have two heads of for the ov
and coaching department, and having tried this eloned lost toot
four months, they had found that it had workulf° ot
mirably. Those two gentlemen had very proPel „g
poitnee
of
some two or three of his colleagues should Ma emantit note
attending in Derby once in every week, and act as ae
the rev- ae
management, taking upon themselves moat at. 140/4„eri
sibility which originally attached to the manager' the ,rieJ
thought they were indebted to these gentlemen :I poen ear`
efficient manlier in which the business of the line bad toe Dire:hese
on. He, therefore, wished the meeting to authoriay_cratang. tied
to et aside annually the sum of 5001. for ran:Poor/Iw('
gentlemen; and he might here state that the gent.:ebiefloat
acted on this committee were his friends, Mr. 11" off
alorgatroyd, and Mr. Lewis. the de' the
Ew,
The proposition was seconded by Mr. Jowl dotes'
chairman. The resolution was then unanimously A
cOl4.
meeting.
c.P014- inte
TESTIMONIAL TO MR. GEORGE ST-- his
.400
The CHAIRMAN said at the last meeting he intirna"'"ositieri, 00 ta
tion to bring forward on the present occasion a Pr°_l) teetiolen ta"
was received with the utmost kindness, relating troe; to a3rngeard,
Mr. George Stephenson. He was now PrePa to v°te solati;
sum which he thought it necessary to ask theme d
the re
_tooOta
the testimonial.—(Hear, hear.) He would rea r two re, o,i .
he intended to move, and then make one °AO
upon it. It was to the effect that this comanYD"adingtooeiS
tire York and North Midland, the Newcastle ;„g
landtribut"— tror cacti
son, F.,ingof a!,a,tio"
the Newcastle and Berwick Companies, in con
on P eel
the erection of a statue to George Stephen
bridge over the Tyne at Newcastle, and the preset:deep oblitri,
of plate to that gentlemen, in testimony of tt,
whole e,oo"e oir•
which the above companies, in connexion with leeaateeator._ COre.
were under to that eminent person, and that theama, maniboi
thorised to subscribe the sum of 3,000/. On pcs'jenti cOn:
pany towards the above purpose. The Hon:4: ctephens_ol,le EPe
passed a high eulogium on the character of. 1,,1nl woolde vtel
eluded by saying, he hoped that his testitme 06)1
means of stimulating young, unaertaa Profess
ngaia- ,o
Mr. George Stephenson to attempt similar France.
_vete_
Mr. Stephenson been connected with France.;
with ",sit Mown a
loin as ea
son, he would have been covereo...boe throed etoOria,„
which the Government of that country la
allowed to Pr° ,r, gi
men engaged.in h ki
hint ; but Mr. George Stephemon had been
_gthis aeon., fhe
his unvarymg course without the Governmett °Lawn. teach '',_ata tri
theta
Let them tic
him any mark of their approbation.
vet-meta that if they did not know how to