RAILWAY PROPERTY IN 1855.

. Dividend on Original Shares for 1833, percent. Have to pay on Prefer- enee Shares, percent. Have taken Leases 0 Lines at percent. Amount paid on Original Shares. Present Value of Original Shares.

Aberdeen .

Bristol and Exeter Caledonian

Chester and Holyhead

East Anglian Eastern Counties • Eastern Union East Lancashire Edinburgh and Glasgow Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee Glasgow and South-Western Great Northern Great Southern and Western of Ire- land Gieat Western Lancashire and Yorkshire Lancaster and Carlisle London and Blackwell London and Brighton London and North-Western rn London and South-Western Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln- shire.

Midland Midland Great Western of Ireland Newcastle and Carlisle Norfolk North British North-Eastern—Berwick o Leeds

. York

North London

Oxford,- Worcester, and Wolver-

hampton

Scottish Central Scottish Midland Shropshire Union

South-Eastern Stockton and Darlington nil 41 3 nil nil 21 Os. 31 21 nil 31 4 41

23 1

4 7 3i

41 41 2s. 6d.

3 5 5 2i nil 31 nil

21

4 nil 5 31 23 3 9 6-7 4 •

441

6-7 5-6 6 6 4 5 41-5 6

.31-31 4-5-84

41-6 5-6 5 7 5-6 4-41-6 4-5-51 6 4

91

6 5 41 5-6 6

)

j' 4 5

4

4-6 8 5 4}-5 100 100 100 50 100 20 100 100 100 100 100 100

100

100 100 50 £i1 6 3 100 100 100 100 100 50 100 100 100 100 50 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 25 221

80 54. 1l 11

9 — 691 514 18 81 88

102

53 77 701 6

'l

83

231 64 481 — 43 284 68 121 45 -

23 102 731 43. 57 35

The above table contains thirty-six of the principal railways. The first column shows what amount of dividends the holders of Original Shares have received during the }ear: in seven•cases; nothing ; in the rest the amount has varied from 2s. 6d. to 9/. per 'cent. The second coin= represents at what rates the Companies raised money When in difficulties by the issue of 4' Preference" or " Guaranteed " Shares ; the rate varies from 31 to 8 per cent : the Great has a string of claimants for Preference dividends varying from n up to 8 per cent. The third column exhibits the rates at which certain Companies have taken leases of contiguous lines : thus, the Eastern Counties, which last year paid 2/. 17s. 6d. per cent to the holders of Ot • al Shares, lass leases of two lines at 51. and 61. per cent respectively. o further elucidate the construction of the table, one item may be given in its particulars—it will not be uninstructive. Last year, the Great West- ern, on its Stock of 8,200,460/., paid 21 per cent ; before this distribution could be made, the interest on Debentures had to be met, and the holders of Preference and Guaranteed Shares had to be paid at the following rates—

Stour Valley Guaranteed per cent. Birmingham Guaranteed Stock Chester Guaranteed Shares 31 Convertible and Redeeniable Shares, 4 and 4i Irredeemable 4 Berks and Hants Extension 5 Redeemable Preference • 5 Birmingham Preference 8 Chester Preference • 5 and 8 The shareholders of the Wilts and. Somerset and of Gloucester and Dean Forest, had also to be paid 4 per cent, for which they had leased their lines to the Great Western. No wonder that the original shareholders got but 2} per cent.

The fourth column shows the nominal value of the Original Shares, or of the "Stock " into which small shares have been consolidated ; and the fifth records the last selling-price in the year 1855, when there has been a trans- action-in London recently. It will be observed, that of the thirty-six railways the shares of only four are at or above par,—the Great Southern and Western of Ireland; Lancaster and Carlisle, Scottish Central, and Stockton and Darlington.