The Directors of the Midland Railwayintend to call an immediate
meeting of shareholders to explain their demand for 5,000,000/., and Mr. E. Baines writes in the Times a good letter about them. He was for years a member of the audit committee, and testifies that, in the Midland, expenses belonging to revenue are really charged to it, and not to capital— an immense point. The officers of the railway themselves invest in its stock. But Mr. Baines thinks the directors are infected with the disease of ambition, and have commenced too many undertakings at once. He would, therefore, finish every work nearly finished, so as to transfer some four and a half millions of capital from the unproductive to the productive side, but would otherwise lighten the ship by post- poning farceur:Deuced works—particularly the Carlisle and Settle line—till better times, that is, always if Parliament will permit the postponement. Mr. Baines's is a really sensible letter, if his figures are correct it will materially affect the shareholders' action, and we trust the directors will not only confirm, but demonstrate, his statement about revenue and capital. There is the real point always in every line.
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