The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-10 00:00:00

HULL, SEPT. 9.

STOCK EXCIIANGIL —The sales are—Hull and Selby, 103
—Ditto, Half Shares, 23—York and North Midland Exten-
sion, 283/4—Eristern Union Extension, 3%—Great Grimsby
and Sheffield, Quarter Shares,s%—Grimsby Dock Extension,
81/2—North Wales, 4%—Armagh, Coleraine, and Portrubh,
2% —Cam bridge and Lincoln, 414—Derby and Gainsborough,
575. 6d. p.—Direct Northern, 3%—East Lincolnshire, 514—
East Coast, 314—Fleetwood, Preston, and West Riding, 33/4
—Glasgow and Dumfries, 2%4—Goole Doncaster, Sheffield,
3—Grand Union, 31,6—Lancashire, Yorkshire, and
North Eastern, 70s. pm.—Leicester and Bedford, 41.45. 6d.—
Leicester and Birmingham, 2%—London and Birmingham
Extension, 2%—London and York, 7—Nottingham and
Boston, 3%—Nottingham and Mansfield, 4A—North West-
ern, 7—North Staffordshire, 6—Rugby and Huntingdon, 3%
—Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction, 9—Shrewsbury and
Trent Union, 4%—Wakefield and Bradford, 6%—West York-
shire, 161/—York and Carlisle, s%—Yorkshire and Glasgow
Union, 4,2.

SHEFFIELD, SEPT. 9.
STOCK EXCIIANGE.—The sales are—Midland, 401. Shares,
26—Preston and Wyre, 451/,—Sheffield and Manchester,
Quarter Shares, No. 1, 21—York and North Midland Exten-
sion, 2634—Cambridge and Lincoln, 4%—East Lincolnshire,
514—Goole and Doncaster, 33/4—Grimsby and Sheffield,
Quarter Shares, 53/4—Grimsby Railway and Dock Ex-
tension, 9%—Grand Union (Nottingham to Lynn), 34-
-London and Windsor, 355. Nottingham and Mansfield,
s—North Western, 7—Sheffield and Lincolnshire. 84—
Wakefield and Harrogate, 41% p.—York and Carlisle, 5%
—Orleans, Tours, and Bordeaux, 14A.

YORK, SEPT. §,

STOCK EXCHANGE.—The sales are—Eastern Union Exten •
sion, 334—Midland, New. 25%—York and North Midlarid
Extension, 2814—Caledonian Extension, 3%—Grand Union,
3%—Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction, Quarter Shares,
WA—Leicester and Bedford, 4%—London and York, 7
Manchester, Buxton, &c., Ml—North Staffordshire, 57/8—
North Western, 7—Welsh Midland, 4%—York and Car-
lisle, 5%.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

LONDON AND CROYDON.

A half-yearly general meeting of the Proprietors of
this Company was held yesterday, at the London-bridge
Station, William Arthur Wilkinson, Esq., in the chair.
The usual formalities having been gone through the
Secretary read the following report—
The receipts on your railway, between London and Croydon,
have increased about 57 per cent. upon those of the corre-
sponding half year, and the tolls about 8 per cent. upon those
of the same period. The expenditure has, however, also been
greater, particularly in the locomotive department, in conse-
quence chiefly, of the discontinuance of the joint working of
the three companies.
The Proprietors are aware that in the autumn of last year
the South-Eastern Company announced their intention of pro-
moting new lines in Kent, which would have the effect of di-
verting the traffic of that Company from the Croydon Railway.
The South-Eastern Directors having likewise repudiated an
agreement entered into with this Company, with a view to the
protection of its interests, your Directors had no alternative but
to submit to Parliament, under your sanction, in the hot ses-
sion, those schemes in connexion with the Croydon Railway
which led to the late severe contest.
With respect to your Parliamentary proceedings, although
not attended with immediate success, your Directors are pleased
to observe that your situation has been improved by
the results of the session. You have succeeded in defeat-
ing the various schemes promoted by other parties
which were opposed to your interests, namely—the
Wandsworth and Epsom branches of the Brighton and South-
Western Companies, and the Reigate and Dorking branch of
the former Company. The main schemes of the South-
Eastern Company were, as you know, thrown out on standing
' orders. One portion of your plan, that for the accommodation
of North Kent, was reported against in common with the scheme
Of the North Kent Company—the other, for extending accom-
modation to the south-eastern parts of Kent, including the
only direct line to Maidstone proposed in Parliament, failed
from the inability of the Committee to consider its merits, at
the then late period of the session. The Croydon Enlarge-
ment Bill alone has received the royal assent.

Under these circumstances your Directors have felt it to be
their duty, in compliance with the terms of the resolution
passed at the late general meeting, to limit the sum to be
raised upon the new shares to 11. 13s. 4d. per share as therein
stipulated ; and they have accordingly made a final call of 1/.
per share, and provided for the registration of eight of these
shares for one Croydon share of 201., likewise in accordance
with the terms of the resolution.

The Bill for a line from Epsom to Portsmouth, in which you
are so much interested, after a most searching investigation for
six weeks before a Committee of the House of Commons, and
a unanimous report in its favour, by a Committee of the House
of Lords, was, on that report being brought up to the House,
recommitted on a point of form, by a majority of two, which
the presence if two Noble Lords, Members of the Com-
mittee, who were unfortunately absent, would have prevented;
and this recommittal, at the extreme end of the session, has
had the effect of a postponement to another year. The Bill,
however, is understood to be entitled to all the privileges in
such cases provided by the regulations of last session, and the
Directors trust that very shortly after the opening of the next
session it will have passed into a law. There never was, per-
haps, a measure which relied so entirely upon its own merits
for defence against the extraordinary and various kinds of oppo-
sition to which it has been subjected.
It is the intention of the Directors forthwith to distribute to
the Proprietors the shares in this undertaking held by the
Croydon Company.
Your Directors congratulate you upon the successful demon-
stration of the atmospheric system on your line. This demon-
stration has been delayed much beyond the time which
was anticipated, and the delay has been occasioned,
by the novelty of the apparatus, the desire to effect
' all possible improvements, and the adaptation of these
improvements to your peculiar position. The result, however,
so far as it has gone, has been highly satisfactory, and the ex •
periments which have been already tried upon its power and
tractability, have surpassed the expectations of your Directors,
although they had previously. formed a high estimate of the
system, from what they had .witnessed upon the Dalkey line,
where it has been so long in operation.
Your Directors anticipate that this success will entitle you to
a preference, before Parliament, in respect of any schemes
which they may find it desirable to promote for your benefit,
provided those schemes are likewise well arranged for the
public advantage. Of such a character they trust are the
Kentish schemes, as now projected, which are in their
opinion so devised as to afford the greatest possible
public accommodation, at the least possible cost. Your
Directors have found it necessary, with a view to the success
of these measures entirely to remodel the lines and reconstitute
the plan upon which they were promoted in the last session of
Parliament, and in order to give the strongest assurance to the
county that they shall be int.ependently carried out, to divest
them to a certain extent of their dependance upon the Croydon
Company. They propose, therefore, to raise a separate fund for
the execution of these schemes, which shall be distinct from the
funds of the Croydon Company—but the share of which shall be
distributed in the largest proportion among the Proprietors of
that Company, as some compensation for the pre-emption to
which they have entitled themselves by the outlay already in-
curred, and the efforts made in the prosecution of this object.
A Provisional Committee, composed of sonic of the chief land-
owners in the county, will be appointed to act for the conduct
of the Bill, in conjunction with your Directors.
The works on the Epsom line are in active progress, the
whole is under contract, and will, as your Directors trust, be
ready to open in the course of next summer.
Your Directors observe that several schemes have been
lately proposed for affording a west-end terminus to the lines
converging at London-bridge, and with the promoters of one
of these lines they have taken measures to place themselves in
communication. Various other schemes, more or less calcu-
lated to benefit the railway, have been likewise pressed upon
the attention of your Directors, but none of them are as y et in
a sufficiently forward state to be more publicly noticed.
The Profit and Loss Account shows a balance of 15,768/.
ss. 10d., out of which your Directors recommend a dividend of
seven shillings per share to be made on 44,400 shares.
The CHAIRMAN then moved that the report be re-
ceived and adopted ; in doing which he stated he would,
according to usual custom, make a few remarks. He
congratulated them on the improved aspect of the Com-
pany's affairs, the receipts for the present half-year
being fifty-seven per cent. greater than the cor-
responding period of last year, and the tolls eight
per cent. more. The expenses, had, however, been also
higher. The dividend proposed, though still small,
was an improvement, and he had no doubt it would go
on progressing till ultimately it would be a full remune-
ration for the 'capital invested. The dividend was an in-
crease of 40 per cent. on that of last year.—(Applause.)
He would now glance at the business of the bygone year
in regard to their proceedings in Parliament. He re-
gretted they had not been so successful as he could have
wished, still it was a consolation neither had been their
opponents. Upon the whole he did not think they had
suffered in their position by the contest, the most of
the schemes by which they had been threatened
having been defeated, thrown out in Committee, or aban-
doned. It behoved them, however, to look actively to
the future, as some of the unsuccessful schemes of last
session were being brought before the public in a
modified form. He alluded to the North project,
and that supported by the Eastern Counties Com.
pany. The Hon. Gentleman having referred to the
report, showing the necessity of the measure as a means
of raising capital to carry out their extension, so as to
defeat their opponents, went into the progress of the at-
mospheric principle, in connexion with their line. Every
step, so far as they had gone, was entirely satisfactory.
Several private experiments had been made, but as the
engine-power was not as yet under full command, they
had not ventured on a public exhibition. Whenever
all was perfected it was the intention of the
Directors to invite the Shareholders to the first
public experiment on the line. As many Share-
hol,lers, however, present, perhaps, would not be
able to attend then, a special train had been provided to
run along the line immediately on the termination of
their proceedings. He was quite persuaded that the
atmospheric principle, when in full operation, would
enable them materially to reduce their charges to
the public, while. it would prove highly profitable
to the proprietors. Mr. Samuda, the engineer, had
furnished them with a report of his proceedings, which
he would read. The Hon. Chairman then read the
rerort which was to the effect that the works had pro-
gressed in the most satisfactory manner, and were now
nearly completed, and that the recent experiments had
been completly successful. Having dwelt at some length
on the superiority of the atmospheric principle
over the one in ordinary use, and at the opposition and
bigotry with which it had been met, the Hon. Chair-
man concluded his address by pointing out on a large
map the proposed extensions, being one to Gravesend
and another connecting Maidstone, Dover, and Canter-
bury with London—both to be on the atmospheric
system.
A PROPRIETOR asked what was the capital proposed
for the new lines in Kent ?

aa, VW
The CHAIRMAN-2,500P01.
A SHAREHOLDER asked if there was sufficient capital
in hand to carry out the proposed extensions ?
The CHAIRMAN answered in the affirmative.
To questions from Proprietors,
The CHAIRMAN said that he could not positively affirm
when the Epsom line would be open, and he did not wish
to give any Pledge on the subject; neither could he say when