The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-01-08

PATCH" Is LARGER THAN THE COM.
BINED CIRCULATION. OF ALL THE
OTHER DAILY NEWSPAPERS OF THIS
CITY.
RICHMOND AND YORK RIVER
RAILROAD-ANNUA MEETING.
The annual meeting Of the Richmond
and York River railroad was held yester-
day at the depot Of the company in this
city.
B. R. Wexford, Jr., was called to the
chair.
On motion of Mr.. Alexander Dudley, a
committee of three was appointed to ex-
anime proxies. Il. ssaa .s d ssge-fs.. 81
After short absence, the committee
reported that more than quorum Of
shares were represented. assz4s
PRESIDENTS REPORT.
Mr.. Alexander Dudley, president, then
read his annual report to the stockholders
of the company. ! Its length precludes the
publication of the whole report. as.ss
The last annual report was submitted
for the fiscal year ending September 30th,
1864. All the rails belonging to the road,
except-about two miles near this terminal
point, had been taken up and removed by
the military forces Of the United States,
and nearly all the rolling stock had been
sent south of Petersburg, and was then
being run on southern roads in the service
of, the military authorities of the Confede-
rate States; so all transportation on the
road, of freight and passengers, was at once
discontinued, and not resumed during the
continuance of the war. A small force Of
for-o oh orf
time continued at work grading the depot
lots in this city, but being impressed by
military authority to work on fortifcations,
the whole line of the road was then aban-
doned. This abandonment occurred in
1864. This annual report will therefore
necessarily include all the operations Of
the company from that date-say from the
4th of April, 1854, to this the 3Oth Of Sep
tember, lS67-the close of the thirteenth
fiscal year.
The report rehearses the circumstances
under which the road was seized by the
United States Government, and the office
rifed of books and papers. The depot
remained in charge of the military for
several months, and was not surrendered
without considerable difficulty.
Then most embarrassing difficulties pre-
sented themselves. All the rails, except
for about two miles, had been carried off I;
all the depot buildings, bridges, wharves,
and other destructible property of your
company along the line of the road, from
a point some few miles out of Richmond
to West Point, and at that place, had been
utterly destroyed !; the road-bed had been
abandoned for two years, and the remain
ing two-thirds had been greatly damaged.
The President details the measures
taken for reconstruction of the road,
the financial arrangements, and the failure
Of certain contracting parties.
After the work of reconstruction had
been abandoned by the contractors, the
directors took charge of the road, and COM
menced running combined passenger and
freight train over the same between Rich
mond and White House they also placed
a sufficient force of carpenters, then lately
in the employment of the contractors, and
sufficient number of laborers, under the
management Of competent uperintendents,
to complete the Pamunkey River bridge
and the laying of the track to Fish Haul
station, in King William county, one and a
half miles beyond the White House, and
in the direction of West Point.
The bridge was completed in August,
1867, but much still remains to be done to
bring the line to the completeness desired.
This may be done early in the ensuing
spring.
Trains commenced running through to
White House on the 20th day of July, 1867,
but it was not until the 9th day of July,
1867, that any connection by steamer was
made with points beyond on that day the
steamer Mystic was placed on the line be-
tween Norfolk and White House, and COM
menced tri-weekly trips between these
points, stopping at all intermediate land
ings on York river and at Fortress Monroe.
On the 2Sth of August the steamer Admi-
raj was placed on, and commenced trips
between White House and Baltimore. The
receipts from the connections have been
satisfactory. 1t has now been demon
strated to every unprejudiced mind that
this will be the quickest and cheapest
route, both for freight and passengers, be-
tween Richmond and Baltimore and other
northern cities. Another steamboat will
soon be placed on the route.
It is also contemplated to run q steamer
on the York and Mattaponi rivers and
Mobiack bay, which will add much to the
passenger and freight traffic.
Arrangements, it is believed, will be
accomplished by the tin.e the read shall be
completed to West Point, and the Mary
land and Delaware railroad completed to
Oxford, on the eastern shore of Maryland,
to place line of steamers on this line be-
tween these points, and thus open up new
route many hours shorter than any now
existing between Richmond and Philadel-
phia and other northern points. 1t is pro-
bable that line of steamers will be run
ming between Crissfeld, the southern ter
minus of the Delaware railroad, and this
road, thus opening another route to the
north.
Negotiations are in progress looking to
steamship communication with New York
viu the Virginia capes; and it is probable
that it will 60 into operation next year
| To insure the successful establishment
and permanent maintenance of these
steamboat connections will depend, in 9
great measure, upon the early completion
of YOUR road to West Point, and for the
routes vta Oxford and Crissdeld, possibly
its extension to some other. point further
north on the Chesapeake bay or some ol
its tributaries between Yorktown and the
Rappahannock river.
The prospect for accomplishing this re-
suit is now pleasing.
The gauge of the road has been changed
from four feet eight and half inches te
five feet, but before the change was made
application was made to the Directors o.