The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-04-07 00:00:00

[PRICE. FIVEPENCE.

RAILWAY JATELLIGENCE.

GENERAL RESULTS OF THE LATE HALF-YEARLY
MEETINGS OF RAILWAY COMPANIES.
The impression produced by the half-yearly meetings of
the different companies which have been held during the past
two months has been, upon the whole, a favourable one ; but
certainly not to the extent which some sanguine parties anti-
cipoted. A great improvement has been manifested in the
financial position of some of the best managed undertakings,
whilst the traffic on most of the newly and even the partially
opened lines has proved very satisfactory to the sharehold-
ers ; but the slow progress of the works upon some railways,
the completion of which had been long promised, and the ne-
cessity of raising additional capital in a few cases to meet the
increased outlay, have tended to throw a damp upon the
market for railway property, the effect of which will be to
check, for a time at least, the spirit of speculation, and re-
press much of the confidence with which, under other cir-
cumstances, the public would have been inclined to regard it.
We cannot but think that the disappointment felt at the
delay which has taken place is somewhat unreasonable. The
weather has of itself been sufficient to account for the little
progress made upon some lines, and the continued and unex-
ampled pressure upon the money market has induced direct-
ors of other lines to postpone active operations for a season
rather than inconvenience their shareholders by making calls
at a period like the present. Other circumstances too may
have contributed to such a result, which, if detailed, would
convince even the most obstinate objector that at least due
diligence has been used by the 'various managements, and
prudential considerations atone allowed to influence them in
the course which they have liursned.
The worst feature, however, of the
,additional experience
which we have derived in railway matters, is the almost ge-
neral excess of cost of formation over previous estimates,
and the necessity of borrowing money or creating new capi-
tal to which it has given rise. A man who has invested mo-
ney in a line of railway estimated to cost one million sterling,
from the ascertained traffic upon which he calculated to re-
ceive a return of 7 or 8 per cent, is a little staggered when he
finds that an additional £500,000 is required, and very natu-
rally asks whether any additional source of traffic has sprung
up from the earth or dropped from the clouds to pay the in-
terest upon this increased outlay. lie is told, in reply to his
demur, that the extra half-million is " for engines, stations,
and a carrying establishment"—that " improvements have
been made in the line during its •construction"—and a num-
ber of other matters are urged, which, to a plain man, are
not very intelligible or likely to be very satisfactory. He
argues, and with some justice, that Parliament has already
provided a fund—viz., the amount of one-third of the no-
minal capital which companies are empowered to borrow,
and which is considered to be for the especial purpose of pro-
viding the carrying establishment. He points to the evi-
dence of the engineer or engineers before the committees in
Parliament, and to the prospectus and printed reports on the
faith of which he invested his money, and all of which in-
duced the conclusion that the line in which be was embarking
could and would be made for the mere nominal capital. He
points to the published tables of traffic, in which the proba-
ble future revenue is calculated upon the suppOsition that the
railway in question would be made for that sum, and very
naturally, we repeat, he is staggered and dissatisfied when he
finds that it will require, before it can he put in working, an
additional outlay of 50 per cent., or, in some instances, even
•
more.
With all due deference to the professional talents of our
most eminent engineers, we do really think that in their esti-
mates of cost gerierally they, have displayed a want of fore-
sight and correct judgment which would have disgraced a
common road maker. The practice of civil engineering we
have always been led to believe was conducted upon princi-
ples so purely mechanical as to allow an estimate being made
for a railway as correctly in proportion as for a common road
or a piece of ordinary masonry: Accidendal circumstances
may occur, it is true, to warrant an occasional excess—a via-
duct may fall, tunnels may prove a little harder or softer in
material than is desirable, or an embankment may be found
so voracious as to swallow the earth of which it is composed;
but, we say it advisedly, no casual circumstances, no mere
accidents can have producedlthat amazing disproportion be-
tween estimated and actual loss which has at once damaged
the character of the profession and shaken the confidence of
the public in railway investments.
We have, however, one fact derived from past experience
of the working of those very lines in which the greatest ex-
cess of cost has taken place, which is calculated to allay some
portion at least of the disappointment which it has occasioned.
if the calculations of engineers as to expense have been and are
unworthy of confidence as being under the mark, those of
directors as to probable revenue have been equally so. We
would not give a straw for the accuracy of any estimate of
traffic, for we believe that it is as easy to predict what winds .
the Great Western will have on her passage 'across the At-
lantic, as to fix definitely the direction of human intercourse,
its extent, 'and the sources from whence it will flow. The
advantages of the railway system and the extent to which it
will facilitate and multiply--aye, and create—that intercourse
are as yet very imperfectly appreciated ; and much as we re-
gret that, in the present infancy 'of the steam engine as ap-
plied to Lcarnotion, the advantages of cheapness of construc-
tion have been so far lost sight of by those intrusted.with the
making or railrortua, we have little fear that the increase of
travelling will abundantly make up for the loss and disap-
pointment which would otherwise have fallen upon their
shareholders.
A due consideration of this fact that on every railway which
has come into operation the traffic has exceeded considerably
the calculations of its projectors, and is daily increasing,
ought to induce proprietors of those lines which are in course
of formation to persevere and hope for a favourable result in
despite of present appearances. There are, we firmly be-
lieve, few lines of railway which will not ultimately pay a
profit, although by mismanagement the period of their be
ginning to do so may be procrastinated.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.-SATJRDAY.

CHARGE OF EMBEZZLEMENT.
On Saturday, Abraham Ward Collard, late a clerk in the
employment of Messrs. Daniel and Thomas Willis, was again
placed at the bar of the Police-court, (having been remanded
from Saturday week,) to answer a charge of embezzlement.
Mr. Wood appeared on the part of the prosecutors, and the
prisoner was defended by Mr. Davenport. Mr. John Nichol-
son; of the firm of Messrs. Joseph Green and Co., merchants,
of No. 8, Mersey-chambers, proved, that, a few days pre-
vious to the 18th of September last year, the prisoner called
at his office to know if there was not an old account due to
Messrs. Willis. Witness replied, yes, and expressed some
surprise that it had not been sent in before. He brought
the account in a day or two, and witness, after making a de-
duction, directed his clerk, on the 18th, to pay it. Gusta-
vus Clark, cashier to Messrs. Green and Co., proved that he
had paid the account, £4l 2s. 5d., but he could not recollect
whether it was to the prisoner; he paid it; however, to the
person who signed a receipt for it. Mr. Daniel Willis
proved that there was an account due from Mr. Nicholson,
and that the prisoner was not authorized to collect any
money. Mr. Thomas Willis proved the same facts, and
further, that the receipt was in the handwriting of the pri-
soner. Henry Hesaltine, late cashier to Messrs. 'Willis, was
next called, and stated, that the prisoner had never accounted
to him for any money received from Mr. Nicholson. In the
cross-examination of this witness, it appeared, that he had
absented himself from his employment for about five weeks,
in consequence of owing a balance to his employers, and
that, during that period, he had had many interviews with
the prisoner, to whom he had paid about £4O on account of
salary, although he had received orders to the contrary from
Mr. Willis. This was in December last. He was positive,
however, that the prisoner had not accounted to him for Mr.
Nicholson's account. After some consultation with Mr.
Booth, Mr. Rushton said, he should think it his duty to
give further consideration to the case before he signed the de-
positions, and that they should have his mature opinion by
Monday or Tuesday. Mr. Wood stated, that, owing to the
absence of one witness and the illness of another, he was
not prepared to proceed with two other cases against the
prisoner to-day. Mr. Rushton ultimately ordered him to
be brought up again on Monday, at two o'clock.
YESTERDAY.
REMANDED CASE.
Yesterday, Collard was brought up for re-examination,
when Mr. Wood stated he had additional evidence to produce
confirmatory of that given by Mr. Hesaltine. Mr. Cheveley,
'corresponding clerk of Mr. Willis, was then called ; he
stated that during the absence of Mr. Hesaltine, it was his
duty to be cash-keeper, and that, on entering upon that duty,
he looked to the contract-book with the intention of collecting
cash for office purposes, and observed an account for brandy
due from Mr. Nicholson. He mentioned it to the prisoner,
and expressed his surprise that it had not been paid before ;
he also expressed some doubt whether or not the account had
been settled, in which Collard concurred. The prisoner
took an account from the drawer due by Mr. Penny, and said
he thought witness could get that if he called for it. Witness
then went to Mr. Penny, and got it. This made him not so
anxious to inquire about Mr. Nieholson's bill, which he de-
ferred, expecting Mr. Haseltine to return in a day or two.
Mr. Rushton said that this evidence certainly confirmed
the account previously given. It brought to the prisoner
the knowledge of the debt being outstanding, and the tact
that he concurred with Mr. Cheveley, in a doubt as to whe-
ther payment had been made of an account which he had
previously received.
The former depositions having • been read over, Mr.
Cheveley was again called. He said that the prisoner gave
him Mr. Penny's account on the same or the following day
to that on which the conversation respecting Mr. Nicholson's-
account took place. He should have objected to the pri-
soner receiving money without orders from him, as he had
been appointed by-Mr. D. Willis the recipient of all monies.
This was the whole of the evidence in the case. The
prisoner, having been cautioned by Mr. Rushton, declined
saying anything at present, and was committed for trial.
The witnesses were then severally bound over to appear
and give evidence against the prisoner, at his trial.
Mr. Wood said that he was ready to go on with another
charge against the prisoner ; but that two of the witnesses
were absent ; one, John Ford, was at the Chester Assizes,
and was expected to return in the course of the day. How-
ever, he could go on with the case to a certain extent. This
(the wine case) presented two or three aspects, and it was
not improbable that the feature it would assume would be
that of embezzlement. This would probably do away with
admitting the prisoner to bail. 7
Mr. Rushton said that if he (Mr. N't ond) could not perfect
the case he had better not go on with it, and that he must
give the prisoner the benefit of bail. The prisoner was
then ordered to enter into his own recognizances for £l5O,
and find two sureties of £75 each, of which he was to give 24
hours' notice. _ . _

W-C)-Oilclesired that the notice of bail should be ex-
tended beyond 24 hours.
Mr. Rushton said he could not grant this request, and the
examination then closed.

FAT HEIFER.—A line three year old heifer, of the short
horned breed, fed by Robert Jaques, Esq., of Eastby, was
slaughtered this week, by Mr. B. Blenkiron, of Richmond,
which weighed before it was killed, 102 st. 71b.—Leeds In-
telligencer.
Dr. Spittal, of Glasgow, while riding on, the Dalmarnoch-
road, last Tuesday, on a visit to a patient, was thrown from
his horse, through the animal taking fright. He soon after-
wards died of concussion of the brain.

Sundays, Ho&days, ,s.e,

Cambridge Lent Term ends
Oxford Lent Term ands.
Palm Sunday.

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