The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-03-19 00:00:00

LIVERPO.L STANDARD.

RAILWAY AFFAIRS.

At the half-yearly meeting of the Lancaster and Car-
lisle Company, a dividend, at the rate of 41 per cent. per
annum, was declared, and a resolution passed deprecatory
of Lord Granville's Audit Bill.

At the half-yearly meeting of the Chester and Holy-
head Company, the report of the directors, which shows
a small profit of about £2,000 on the total working of the
line, was adopted, and the bill authorising the amalgams •
tion with the London and North-western Company ap-
proved._

THE BRITANNIA TUBULAR BRIDGE.—It was expected
that this wonderful structure would be opened for general
traffic on or about the 15th ; but it has been postponed
till a very early day in the ensuing month, when Prince
Albert and the 'Prince of Wales are to be present—their
royal highnesses coming down from London on a visit for
the purpose to Sir Bulkeley Williams.

. -
EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW RAILWAY.—The twenty-
fourth half-yearly general meeting of this company was
held at Glasgow on Tuesday. The directors' report was
agreed to, after a discussion. A dividend of 3 per cent.
was resolved upon. A motion for the running of two
trains from each terminus on Sundays was, after consi-
derable discussion, negatived by a very large majority.
A PASSENGER TRAIN ON FIRE.—As the train from
Leeds was on its way through the tunnel to Bradford, on
Tuesday, the top of a second-class carriage was set on fire
by a cinder from the engine. As soon as the accident was
discovered, and the train clear of the tunnel, through
which it was passing at the time, it was stopped, and the
fire speedily extinguished. Little damage was done.—
Wakefield Journal.

PLAIN TALKING.-At the South-Eastern Railway
meeting, last week, a resolution was carried that the
directors should by ballot reduce their number to nine •,
on which one of them, Mr. Thompson, said that he would
not be ousted by any such side-wind.—Mr. Levy : Then
you mean to say you won't go out without you are kicked
out ?—Mr. Thompson: Exactly so.—Mr. Levy : Then
we must kick you out. (Laughter.)
At the half-yearly meeting of the South-Eastern Com-
pany, a dividend of 9s. for original shares, and in propor-
tion on the other shares, was declared, leaving a balance
of upwards of £16,000 to be carried to account, inde-
pendently of a reserve of £lB,OOO made to meet the
deterioration of permanent way. The salary of the
auditors was fixed at £lOO per annum each ; certain
shares consolidated into stock ; and the Reading, Guild-
ford, and Reigate lease approved.
THE RETORT COURTEOUS.-At the recent half-yearly
meeting of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Com-
pany, where a resolution was carried for raising a sum of
£200,000, to enable the directors to redeem a portion of
the stock of another company,—the Wilsontown, Mon
ningside, and Coltness' on which an 8 per cent. dividend
had been guaranteed by the former,—a shareholder,
indignant at the job, angrily exclaimed that it was robbing
Peter to pay Paul. " Excuse me, sir," said another
shareholder, it's quite otherwise ;" and turning towards
the chairman, Peter Blackburn, Esq., with a significant
look, he added, "
ewe all know that it is only robbing
Paul to pay Peter. As it was notorious that the chair-
man and some of his friends were the principal holders of
the Wilsontown shares .entitled to the guaranteed divi-
dend, or to a premium of £75 per cent., if redeemed, the
meeting was convulsed with laughter, in which those who
had the best of the joke heartily joined.

RAlLway Arffir BILL.—A draught of the bill framed
by the representatives of the shareholders appointed at
the various railway meetings to consider a measure on the
audit.question and other matters, now sitting in London,
has just been printed. Its chief provisions are that each
company, at its first half-yearly meeting, in 1851, and
each year thereafter, shall elect five shareholders as an
audit committee, who are to recommend two persons,
whe need not be shareholders, to act as auditors for the
ensuing twelve months. The members of the audit com-
mittee are to hold the same qualification as directors, and
are to be wholly unconnected with any contracts or official
appointments from the company, and they are also not to
be selected from any partners, clerks, or relatives by blood
in the first degree, of any of the directors or persons em-
ployed by the company. The members of these com-
mittees are to be eligible for re-election, but the auditors
are not to be re-eligible. The directors henceforth are
not to vote on the nomination of auditors, or as a proxy
on the nomination of directors. The auditors are to em-
ploy a competent accountant with a salary. The rezular
half-yearly report and accounts and scheme for dividend,
together with the auditors' report, are to be sent to the
shareholders seven days before each meeting. Any twenty
or more shareholders, holding a tenth of the capital of the
company, may require the last half-yearly accounts to be
submitted to a special auditor to be appointed by them.
Printed lists of shareholders are to be prepared half-
yearly, and to be sold at a reasonable price, the names of
such persons as are qualified to act as directors being dis-
tinguished by some mark. Names of candidates for the
direction, or for the office of auditor, are to be transmitted
to the shareholders seven days before each election.
Proxies are not to be distributed either by the directors or
any other parties at the expense of the company. Direc-
tors in arrear of any call for three months are to go out of
office, and to be ineligible for re-election until after some
general meeting of the company. The power of re-elect-
ing directors at any meeting at which such directors may
go out by rotation is never to be exercised in favour of
more than one of such retiring directors. Shareholders
to have the power of removing directors at any special
meeting for the purpose, and also of redwing the num-
ber, the minimum being five. The remuneration of the
secretary and treasurer of each company to be hereafter
fixed by the shareholders. Directors are not to fill up
casual vacancies in the board. The act to come into
operation on the Ist of January next.—An executive com-
mittee, consisting of the following gentlemen, has been
appointed to carry the bill through parliament, namely—
For London and North-western, Mr. Ewart and Mr.
James ; South-western, Mr. Baker ; Eastern Counties,
Mr. Martin ; Great Western, Mr. Norris ; York, New-
castle, and Berwick, Mr. Douglas ; Midland, Mr. Pope ;
Lancashire and Yorkshire, Mr. Mellor.—A deputation
from the committee waited on Lord Stanley on Monday
last, to request him to take charge of the bill.