346 



F A R IM E R S ' REGISTER. 



[No. 6 



a few days past an additional portion has been 

 completed, and passengers and produce are now 

 conveyed on tiie road to Chesterfield in Caro- 

 line county, about half the distance to Fredericks- 

 burg. The board entertain no doubt that by the 

 first of August the road will be opened to the de- 

 pot near the Bowling Green, and confidently anti- 

 cipate its entiiv, completion to Fredcncksburg in 

 the course of November. 



The advanced state of the work of course 

 makes it necessary to call rapidly on the stock- 

 holders. Belbre the date of the last annual meet- 

 ing onl}^ ;§25 a share had been required. Since 

 then tJie board by a resolution of the 1st of Sep- 

 tember, called for ig;25 a share, payable in instal- 

 ments of $5 each, on the 10th of each of the en- 

 suing five months. On the 8th March, a iurthcr 

 call was made of fplO a share, in two instal- 

 ments, payable on the 15th of the two succeeding 

 months. And by a late resolution of the 26th of 

 May, the residue of the capital stock, being -940 

 on each share, has been required to be paid at the 

 following times, to wit : $5 on the 20lh of June, 

 15th of July, 10th of August, 1st of September, 

 October, November, December and Januar3^ 

 The punctuality of the stockholders, hitherto al- 

 most without exception, furnishes an assurance 

 that the late call will be punctually met. As how- 

 ever it will be desirable that the amounts called 

 for should be received even earlier than they have 

 been asked, the board have determined to allow to 

 stockholders who may anticipate their instal- 

 ments, interest on the amounts advanced by them 

 until the periods when the same would be paya- 

 ble. 



Since the last annual meeting, the Board of 

 Public Works has subscribed to the stock of this 

 company for the amount authorized and required 

 by the Act of Assembly, passed January 23d, 

 1835, and upon the terms and conditions specified 

 in that act ; and the Board has accepted the sub- 

 scription so far as it was authorized to accept it. 

 To obviate all dfficulty arising out of the circum- 

 stances of the subscriptions by the individuals ex- 

 ceeding three-fifths of the capital stock by forty- 

 eight shares, an act of Assemby was passed on 

 the 23d of March, 1836, declarinnr that the sub- 

 scription by the Board of Public Works should be 

 considered as a subscription for forty-eight shares 

 less than two-fifths of the capital stock : that is to 

 say, should be considered a subscrij)tion for 2752 

 shares, and relinquishing all claim of the Com- 

 monwealth to any greater number of the existing 

 shares. By the terms of the act which authof- 

 ized the subscription, the Commonwealth was not 

 to be called on tor more than ."§110,000, during the 

 year 1835, nor more than .^ 120,000 during the 

 year 1836. Consequently, there will be a sum of 

 $45,200 on account of the Commonwealth's sub- 

 scription, which cannot be received until after the 

 first of January next. As before that time the 

 whole line to Fredericksburg will have been com- 

 pleted, and the whole capital wanted — the Presi- 

 dent and Directors think it probable that it will be- 

 come expedient during the year to make a tempo- 

 rary loan. From the good standing and credit of 

 the company, they entertain no doubt at present 

 that any amount which may be required, could be 

 obtained on a mere resolution of the board. But 

 to guard against any difliculty in this respect, it 

 might perhaps be advisable for the stockholders to 



authorize the board to make a loan, and give a lien 

 on property, if found necessary or expedient, for 

 the payment of the sum borrowed, and its inter- 

 est. 



An account of the disbursements of monej'', 

 since the last annual meeting, has been made out 

 according to the charter, and will accompany this 

 report. The "^I'reasurer has also been directed to 

 prepare statements showing the amount of reve- 

 nue received each month since any portion of the 

 road has been in use, and the source whence de- 

 rived, whether for stage passengers, local passen- 

 gers or li'eight. Such statements, it was thought, 

 the stockholders would probably desire to have 

 printed along with this report for their use. 



From these statements it will appear that from 

 the first 26 miles of the road the receipts during 

 the last month were about ,S3300. It is believed, 

 that on the portion of the road now in use, being 

 as belbre mentioned about one halfj tliey n>ay be 

 moderately estimated for the remainder of the 

 year at .^4300 a month, or ,^51,600 per annum. 

 Estimating the expenses of transportation and re- 

 pairs at 50 per cent, of the gross receipts of the 

 company, a proportion v.'hich the experience of 

 the Petersburg and Roanoke Company shows to 

 be abundantly sufficient, a nett profit will remain 

 to the stockholders on their present business equal 

 to an interest of between 7 and 8 per cent, on the 

 cost of the first half of the road. 



The anticipation at the last annual meeting that 

 it Vv'ould be in the power of the board, if deemed 

 expedient, to declare a divideml to the stockhol- 

 ders in little more than twelve months from that 

 time, may now be considered as realized. It has 

 occurred to the board, that it would probably best 

 suit those stockholders in this company who are 

 also stockholders in the State Banks, to receive 

 their dividends from this company at other periods 

 than January and July. They contemplate de- 

 claring the first dividend on or before the 1st day 

 of November next, and thereafter semi-annually. 



The first dividend, though at the rate before 

 mentioned on the cost of that portron of the road 

 which shall have produced it, will be nominally 

 small per share. It will however be not less than 

 ,^2 on each share. Probably it will be more. 



The board now feel that they hazard nothing 

 in saying to the stockholders that their expecta- 

 tions of productiveness fi-om the work, at the time 

 it was embarked in, will be more than realized ; 

 that instead of a dividend of 8 or 9 per cent, a year 

 on the cost of the road, at the expiration of the 

 first twelve months fi-om the period of its comple- 

 tion, one of 10 per cent, may be confidently reck- 

 oned on. 



Gratifying as those results arc, the prospects of 

 the company are still more fiattering. It was 

 mentioned in the last annual report that a branch 

 rail road had been projected ii-om the neighbor- 

 hood of Taylorsville to the south-west mountain. 

 An act incorporating a company for the purpose 

 of making the road, was passed at the last ses- 

 sion of the legislature. The board entertaining 

 the opinion that the construction of this road 

 would add larirely to both the trade and travel of 

 the road committed to their charge, deemed it ad- 

 visable to aid so liir as they could in f(>rwarding 

 the object. Believing that nothing could be done 

 better calculated to advance the measure than a 

 declaration of the course which would be pursued 



