Fri 26 Apr 1839
Half Yearly General Meeting. Tonnage £3332 10s 8d. Balance after wages, etc, £2711 5s 4d. Dividend of £13 10s declared.
Committee for next year: Dr Darke, Mr G H A Beard, Mr William Cosham, Mr T Croome, Mr Frederick Eycott, Mr George Wathen, Mr Richard Martin, Mr John Holbrow, Mr Robert Hughes, Mr Henry Wyatt, MrP H Fisher, Mr J I Fisher, Mr Samuel Fisher.
Clauses for protection of Navigation not included in Bristol & Gloucestershire Railway Bill. Solicitor’s agent to confer with Mr Brunel and prepare petition to House of Commons. Steps approved. Mr Brunel and Mr Osborne refused to admit clauses without exception to liability. Exception admitted.
Clerk to offer to pay half Messrs Marshall’s bill without prejudice.
Cranage on stone at Dudbridge Wharf: 1 ton 3d per ton, 2 tons 4d per ton, 3 tons 6d per ton, 4 tons 9d per ton. Above 4 tons 1s per ton.
Rent of Gas Company reduced by cost of gas lighting provided.
Paving stone brought for Commissioners of town of Stroud passed free of tonnage to this date. In future proper tonnage on paving stone to be paid.
At a General half Yearly Meeting of the Proprietors of the Stroudwater Navigation held at the George Inn Stroud on Wednesday the 24^th day of April 1839
John Holbrow Esq^r in the Chair.
The minutes of the last General Meeting were read & confirmed.
The several Books and Accounts of the Company were produced (as directed by Act of Parliament) and were examined & confirmed.
It appears by the Accounts that the sum of £3332..10..8 has been received for Tonnage, etc, from the 14^th day of October last to the 13^th day of April Instant, a part of which has been applied towards the payment of Wages disbursments, etc, and that there remains in the Treasurers Hands (after paying the last Dividend) the sum of £2711..5..4. Ordered that a Dividend of Thirteen pounds and Ten shillings be paid on each Share by the Treasurer on the first day of May next; and that our Clerk Do transmit circular Letters to all the proprietors to inform them that they may draw upon the Treasurer or apply to him for payment of the same.
The following Gentlemen are appointed a Committee for the ensuing Year, Viz:
D^r Darke, John Holbrow, G H A Beard, Robert Hughes, W^m Cosham, Henry Wyatt, T C Croome, P H Fisher, Fred Eycott, J F Fisher, George Wathen, Sam^l Fisher, Richard Martin.
The Solicitors to the Bristol & Gloucestershire Railway Bill not having inserted therein the Clauses intended for the protection of the Stroudwater Navigation, nor having agreed to the same, we returned them to our Solicitors, Mess^rs Fisher as promised, with M^r Brunalls Remarks thereon, And our Solicitors having therefore employed their Agent in Town to wait on and confer with M^r Brunall & the parliamentary Agents to the Bill thereon, and having prepared a Petition form the Company to the House of Commons (to which the Clerk has affixed the Common Seal of the Company) in order to the Company's being heard by Counsel in Committee, if needful; And having been obliged to employ a Counsel of Parliamentary agent on the part of this company:-
Ordered that the steps our Solicitors have taken thereon be approved, and that they do persevere in their endeavouring to get proper protecting Clauses introduced into the said Bill.
Our Solicitors having reported on discussing the Clauses with M^r Brunall & M^r Osborne (Solicitors to the Bill) yesterday they refused to admit them without the introduction of the following exception to their liability, in damages, (viz:)
"other than such as may happen or be occasioned by or in consequence of any neglect or want of due or ordinary care on the part of the Agents of the said Company of Proprietors of the said Navigation or parties using the same."
Ordered that the introduction of the above Exception be admitted.
A letter form Mess^rs Marshall & Sons in reply to the letter to them from our Clerk (in pursuance of the direction of the last Committee) being read:
Ordered that our Clerk do offer to pay half of this Bill, without prejudice, in case the offer be not accepted.
Ordered that the following Charges for Carriage on Stone at Dudbridge Wharf be hereafter made, viz:
A Stone weighing 1 Ton to pay 3^d per Ton
,, ,, 2 Tons ,, 4^d ,,
,, ,, 3 Tons ,, 4^d ,,
,, ,, 4 Tons ,, 9^d ,,
& all Stone above four Tons - 1^s/- per Ton.
Application having been made from the Gas Company requesting an allowance be made from the Claim of the Company to their full annual Rent a/c to this date, so as to reduce the same to the amount of the counter claim of the Gas Company for Gas Light at the Wharf up to this date also,
Ordered that in consequence of the low state of the Funds of the Gas Company (as urged by the Bridge who made the application) the application be acceded to and mutual receipts be given between the two Companies.
The Clerk of the Company having allowed the Paving Stone brought for the Commissioners of he Town of Stroud to pass free of Tonnage up to this period, instead of limiting the same to the stone required for the _original_ paving of the Town (as was intended by the order made in this respect:-)
Ordered that the allowance hitherto made be confirmed, but that in future the proper tonnage on paving stone be charged.
Ordered that Tonnage be charged on all Road Stone brought up the Canal for the use of the Town of Stroud.
