The Sun.
London, England, 1845-08-07 00:00:00

rabtrbt tif wog 4

SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clock.

LO NDON AND BIRMINGHAM
RAILWAY.—(THIS DAY.)
a ale twenty-fourth half-yearly general meeting of the
'Jirectors and Shareholders of the London and Birm:ag •
ham Railway Company took place this day, at the Eul-
toa.square terminus, for the purpose of receiving the
report of the Directors, and for other general business
'connected with the Company. There was a large nal-n-
-uer of the Directors and Proprietors present.
The portrait of the Chairman of the Company, Mr.
Ginn, which was voted at the last half-yearly meeting,
"as:placed in the large room of the Company.
e. G. Glynn, Esq., took the chair shortly after twelve.
The Secretary, Mr. CREED, having read the advertise-
Itlent calling the meeting, and the usual formal business
'of the Company having been gone through,
lie
CHAIRMAN proceeded to address the meeting.
° Was extremely anxious not to occupy the time of the
Company
by going through the statements of the
accounts because it happened upon the present occasion
Lam there was a great press of business to be disposed
q before the meeting adjourned. Those who looked to
the accounts would see the result with satisfaction. The
which he wished more particularly to call the
ttte,latio.n of the Proprietors were. the recent proceedings
Parliament. It would be in the recollection of the
• •
proprietors that several Bills had received the sanction
nr
s."' the last meeting—the Tring and Worcester, the West
17, °don, the Bedlord, the Dunstable and the Trent Val-
i• Of those Bills, the West London, the Bedford, the
%nstable, and the Trent Valley had received the Royal
ant. Those Bills were of extreme importance to the
sr h„ and Birmingham Railway, more especially the
ILtitt Valley. The Company, however, he admitted,
eh"' felt a severe blow in the loss of the Bill with refer-
tos the Tring and Worcester line. .He (the Chair-
- tilltn), however, could not consider that they had lost
at Bill in consequence of the superiority of their
?Plants' line. Ile believed the real cause of their
thire was the principle of competition, which, for the
Ittinse Parliament had adopted in direct contradiction
to various
various resolutions of the House of Commons, and
their own legislative Act of the previous session. lie
did not find fault with their opponents, the ironmasters
Staffordshire, for the coarse they had adopted.
sisueY doubtless thought they were acting for their
s-n interests, hut he believed that experience had
h'°Wtl them the reverse. Ile could not, however, but
„„Press his surprise at the conduct of some of their other
gaud he
alluded to the Great Western and the
,hen
Junction Companies. The first company had
%,`"en advantage of circumstances to tie up by bond rail-
s ItY3 in their own districts from carrying any line in
einpetition with them ; and the Grand Junction had
acted in a way that their Directors had not antici-
bat d
e • But the contest was over, and he hoped with
t all angry feeling. Ile believed, if they all went on
arg their duty to the public, there was enough and to
40.i1e for all of thein.—(lleifr, hear.) It was, however,
.14
aw, A
"nty of the Directors of that Company to watch
.ythe interests of the Proprietors, and that they
were determined to do. Acting upon that principle, it
•klis their intention, in the course of the next year, to
ligfor ward several projects that had had their origin
*Qv desire
on the part of the Directors to increase the
aeurcesP of theli ey Compa
ntendnyed to and
propose, the emoluments
th the future
of the
fraction
e i,i,ntors i
of the i'roprietars, making a branch railway
°Ol
;o Watford, by St. Alban's, to Luton. They proposed
to carry a line from Northampton to Banbury.
\sv 'Y proposed also to connect the Leamington and
atlviek line with Coventry and Nuneaton, and by that
l;lails to connect it with the Trent Valley line.
ae:, had also in view exten,ive projects in eon-
isr' on with Warwick and Buckinghamshire. They
W;Posed to continue the line from Hampton to
ae, iek and Leamington, and thence to Banbury ;
e believed that the same Company would carry it
ish
Cheltenham. They proposed also to carry the
lino Aylesbury, Brackley, Missenden, into their own
ae at Harrow. Now, these lines, he believed, would be
to tai;)nrce of considerable profit and emolument
Provrietors.—(llear, hear.) In addition to this
kist•T„had formed a connexion with the Birmingham
lvss-4 Company, with the intention of forming a rail-
As's "nnecting Birmingham with Wolverhampton and
theShrewsbury and Wolverhampton line. And, although
tar! had lost the South Staffordshire Bill, the Proprie-
etsriwsould see that this arrangement would ensure, if
tsfie° out, the great bulk of the mineral traffic of South
ill4shire flowing into the Birmingham line. In short,
the ad very little doubt that this line would bring upon
Ikt"ldon and Birmingham line the whole traffic of that
tsi the country, because they inteaded_ to carry that
11lie,sest out by another line up the Stour Valley. Another
Istlial",gich they proposed was from Wolverton to Buck-
)? Jitb,t, connexion- withi a branch from Wolverton,
stlpsltanghain, to B .es.ter and Oxford. He was
.01 15
k. lied inform. the Proprietors that the Directors con-
neo: t,) cultivate their connexion with the North
as qlshire line. Indeed, he believed he might
lay that
the Company hart not lost, notwithstand-
esis`qeir defeat in Parliament, any connexion, not
etas the nexion of Lord Ward.—(Hear, hear.)
s
.Vl,th the desire of the Directors to seek peace in every
doi;i1; 411(1 he could assure the Proprietors that they had
jt 411 in their power to promote it.—(dear, hear.)
isso as right that he should now call the aention of the
weslitietors to some other Points which, attlthough they
ia .7e nut very material to the interests the Company,
1,27 as desirable he should advert to, in forder that the
siti-9Pricetors should keep themselves right with the
bi • He. alluded
weeks ago in the la to a declaration made some
*h.ifnegull
narriienagrudie,viat °use of Lords by the Marquis
which he stated that it would be a
mingharn Raiirs -° see how far the London and Bir-
he pu "Y Company had kept their faith with
blic Intl whether,
.
for the sake of increasing their
dividends:they had not increased their charges.—(Hear,
N
that. that he would appeal to the greatest enemy
Company had, whether the engagements that
bees been made on the part of the Company had not
their
carried out to the very letter—that after
Would
r'sti;h had reached a certain extent, they
the_ reduce_ their fares ? The charge made against
esesuis.nof increasing their rates for the purpose of in-
creasing g their dividends was not founded on fact, and he
char' any one to prove it. He now came to another
alo Jo, made the night before last in the House of Com-
tlsiti:! KS to the proceedings of the Company in re-
asesln3 their general business. That charge
15z„,.7 111 consequence of a statement made by a
and
Lord in the House of Commons, and the
aati t.a. 6f that charge was, that the London
heitsyairminghain Company had used engines. to propel
s ams, and that had taken place especially in the
thPlhourhood Weedon. Now be (the Chairman)
aslitight that before such a charge bad been brought
Waetiii'llairy ought to have taken place as to whether it
qn,,rtle or not. On the part of the Directors of the
fersir,h and Birmingham Corn pany, he denied it in the most
Rt lemanner possible, and he asserted that so far;as it redre-
them, the charge was utterly false and groundless.
ss rthat charge had been made inquiries had been set
tlist,°°.t by the Directors, and it was upon the result of
open inquiries that he founded the strong and uaequi-
viheesdenial he had given to the charge. He felt con
tips Qt. that the Noble Lord who had made the accusa-
.ind been misled, as far as it regarded the Bir-
g"ana
b,. and London Company. There was no instance,
liirt:L'eved, of any of the trains of the London and
114,1111'g:ham Company being propelled in the way stated.
sec tt wan the instruction of the Directors to all their
ltss4nts that such a course should not be adopted unless
'tates special circumstances. As he had before
' since the change had been •
made, inquiries had
ths instituted and he could assure the Proprietors and
'eciil34bhe that no instance of the kind referred to had
tilts, that All he had to express a hope for
arse
the refutation he had thus given
therse charge, would be made as public as the
110 t 6e itself had been. That Company bad certainly
rss .een.
jade ""I'ved much favour from Parliament.—(Hear.)
Ihtislteaeilf, they did not desire it—(hear, hear)—but they
I. %or justice.— (Cheers.) They had a pledge from
s`spesndstene that justice should be done them with
'titassi" to the law of rating. But, notwith-
liisseg that pledge, another session had passed,
a at Which they bad got nothing ; and the
0",?otl IV, with respect to that subject, just where it
C.,l'aii,s'"ve. The law with respect to rating operated
41143' companies with great oppression; indeed, he
hne otil'ost said it sanctioned robbery.—(Hear, hear.)
: *sae'. Points to which he bad now to advert were,
ti; ord-„, happy to say, of a more pleasant nature.
Qs,e,r to provide for their: engagements with
topsh-lhead Company anti the Trent Valley
20/-Y, the Directors proposed that the creation
and
,shares should be ordered.—(Hear, hear.)
'lnd it °llld give to each share of 100/. one share of 201.,
ii,gottisiwas Proposed that the dividends from those shares
s-iihieete,"heence on the Ist of October next ; of course
a-sst kids° the charge of deduction of 5 per cent. on calls
Ores And it was also int oaded with respect to those
s-61-eessstt' make that reservation according to the
nt With the Birmingham and Manchester Corn-
Z.share-"nat was, that they should have the full amount
bsireess,sa3 if the amalgamation bad taken place. The
i'teters had
that Company, he could assure the Pro-
t9tne nad no wish whatever not to come to
111:),itt cao4',,,icable arrangement with the Grand June-
' he,'"„ PanY notwithstanding the statements that
tilvllltt co ‘4 put forth at the last meeting of
sarcilighlllllll. He believed that he bad now gone
a-vert the Whole of the topics he had intended to
ltictorg ' and he hoped, in conclusion, that the Pro-
iv"vse sitw°9ld not consider that the Company was in a
been
half...nation than when the Directors met them at the
clef •YearlY meeting, notwithstanding that they had
• The eated in several instanc(Cheers.)
SecaVraar then read the following
The REPORT.
crease °Perations of the last half-year exhibit a great in-
side af tr
lsrableamsboth in passengers and goods, and a consi-
ar, ces ef receipt over the corresponding half-year
o es, bts_ otwithstanding the large reductions which have
,'4.6kaiti a:ell:lade in the Company's fares and rates, amounting
Per rt?,(4.the passengers' fares of all classes, irons
thege ,atue 01 1844, to 1-8181 in 1845 ; and on the
istatB4" of goods of all classes, per ton, from 2.916 d. per
as!'e total i° 2.530 d. in 1845.
411:r18t }'664 X 79
of passengers is 38,758,260 in 1845,
9 in 1844, being an increase of 57.143 per
6,925 e total .
as47s.ss,= mileage of goods is 9,350,718 tons, against
r di ,_eing au increase of 31.933 per cent.
elpt for the gross or-
Y traffic for 1845, is... £447,190
1544, is... 405,768

Increase

£41,422

The char *e on the traffic for
1845, • 1844, is ..................... xi09f32:3:1223

111 oh* Increate to charge
of charge 113 in the locomotive depart'