RAILWAY INVESTMENT'GUIDE.
HOW TO MAKE MONEY
BY
RAILWAY SHARES;
BEING
A SERIES OF HINTS AND ADVICE
TO
• PARTIES SPECULATING IN THE SHARES
OF
BRITISH, COLONIAL, AND FOREIGN
R AI LWAY S.
BY
ONE OF THE INITIATED,
BEHIND THE SCENES.
LONDON:
G. MANN, 39, G O R N H I L L.
PRICE ONE SHILLING.
LONDON:
PRINTED HT E. COLTER, l7, FENCHURCH STREET.
briHIc 4/<?3
(Cix.pl \yn
Ovctiioo k
THE
KAILWAY INVESTMENT GUIDE.
There are few who have a moderately extensive circle
of acquaintances who have not of late been thrown into
ecstacies of hope, if not of envy or jealousy, by hearing
that one among them has suddenly realised a fortune. So
much has been said of the thousands amassed in a few
weeks by some successful speculation in Railway Shares,
that the public is running mad with the idea—all are
pressing forward eagerly in a vague hope that, what some
have attained may be within their own reach also, and,
without any definite or clear notion of the way in which
it has been acquired, they rush headlong in the same
direction, without due caution or discrimination. There
is, consequently, an immense danger of the pressure
carrying down hundreds, and leaving them to be trampled
to misery and ruin; and it is remarkable that, while
the press sends forth thousands of sheets weekly, urging
them forward, by exhibiting the sudden fluctuations by
which a fortune may be gained or lost in a week or two,
it has, as yet, given them no plain or explicit directions
for their setting forth—there is no hand-book, no guide,
no vade mecum, for them ; and this want—a want which
may be the disappointment, ruin, and beggary of entire
families—is every whit as serious as that of the mariner
who is embarked upon some boiling stream, without a
chart of the shoals, or even a compass to point out the
quarter in which currents and under currents are flowing.
a 2
4
Even tlie newspaper reports, which are designed for those
acquainted with the technical terms, the forms and pro¬
cesses of Railway speculations, are not to be relied on :
some are under the influence of a Board of Directors—
others furnished by interested Engineers—some directed
by Patent Agents, wedded to a particular system, (at¬
mospheric, wooden rails, broad gauge or narrow gauge,
six wheeled or four wheeled),—others dictated by capital¬
ists, whose object it is to decry a particular Line in order
to purchase its shares cheap, or praise it, to sell them
dear. To rescue the public from this chaos of bewilder¬
ment, confusion, and uncertainty—to shew the novice
how to begin—to caution the uninitiated against fraud,
and tell him when and to what extent he may confide—
to explain which is the time to sell and which to buy :
when it is madness and when policy to hold, and when
a trifling sacriflce is prudent—are duties which appear
still left unperformed. In a matter where one thought¬
less and apparently immaterial act may involve frightful
responsibility, too much caution cannot be exercised, too
many enquiries asked, nor too much circumspection used ;
where there are thousands of hubbies, all assimilating, in
outward appearance, so closely to solidity, and substan¬
tiality, it is destruction to meddle with any of them
without advice. One who has been initiated in the
mysteries enveloping the entire system—who has been
behind the scenes, and watched the contrivances and
probed the motives of Railway Concoctors and Railway
Boards, takes upon himself the perhaps ungrateful but
certainly useful task, of aiding, with the results of his
experience, those who venture upon the dangerous path
that leads to wealth, but has an imperceptibly-diverging
branch that winds away also to ruin !
5
Some people,—sceptical, ignorant, conceited, or pre¬
judiced,—will toss their heads in derision, when you tell
them how easily and how rapidly fortunes have been
made; hut it is nevertheless true; and one instance is
well authenticated of an individual having, in a very brief
period, realised half a million sterling by Railway specu¬
lation, while the newspapers assert that Mr. Daniel
Whittle Harvey, the well-known City Police Commis¬
sioner, has gained £30,000 in a fortnight, by his Share
transactions ! Some will say that the losses have been
equal to the gains : this is false, and the general rule is
here suspended, that what one wins, another must lose—
and for this reason ; additional capital, or what represents
capital, has been, as it were, created and diffused, from
nothing. A piece of paper, the allotment, scrip, or
transfer of a share, has a certain value attached to it, by
general consent, and passes current as of that value—
it was given to the first holder—sold by him to the
second—sold, still higher, to a third—and advanced, in a
progressive ratio up to its present holder, who may also
dispose of it at an increased price—so that as the tendency
has been almost invariably upwards, the number of losers,
in proportion to the winners has been but fi-actional.
Thus it is, as few shares have gone down to a discount,
that few persons have lost by their speculations, although
hundreds have gained ; so that Railway investment has in
fact become a lottery (for it very closely resembles one in
the uncertainty of the amount of profit) in which the
chances are reversed, the prizes exceeding the blanks in
number by as much as the latter are usually more
numerous than the former.
There is another peculiarity connected with this system
—that a man possessed of very little capital to commence
with, may at once treble or quadruple it.
6
In all these cases there is a possibility, if not a proba¬
bility, of loss, which will no doubt increase as the rage
spreads itself, and encourages, by its indiscriminate reck¬
lessness, the formation of fictitious companies ; but at the
present moment, it must be admitted that the chances of
success are infinitely greater, from the causes we have
described. Of the numerous projects for railway com¬
munication, now engaging public attention, it would be
perfect madness to believe that a tithe can be carried out
successfully—or that many were ever intended to be
carried out. Yet even on the bubble companies consider¬
able sums have already been realised, not only by the
projectors, but by those not in their plans or secrets;
the shares have obtained a character in the market—a
prejudice is industriously got up in favor of them by the
most ingenious practices, (by newspaper puffs, plausible
prospectuses, high-sounding names, intricate statistics,
bearing the appearance of correctness, and promising well,
by emissaries being sent into the market anxiously en¬
quiring for these shares, when they know there is no one
who can sell)—they rise and pass from hand to hand with
a constant advance of price, while the progress of enquiry
in the House of Commons Committee Room is so tardy that
there is ample time for them to be transferred some score
of times removed from their first holder. And then, when
the decision does come, it is tortured into a construction
that leaves it uncertain and neither entirely pro nor contra
—or perhaps the consideration is postponed till next Ses¬
sion—or it is proposed to amalgamate with some other
then under examination—so that no sudden fall in the
price of the shares takes place : they are either buoyed
up by hope, or gradually let down, as it were, by slow
conviction, and the loss is not so heavy upon any indi¬
vidual holder, as to deter him from trying his fortune once
7
more. It is all this—the spectacle of large sums being
realised, and none but nominal losses incurred, (a spectacle
not ideal, but real, so far as it has gone at present)—that
encourages the public and tempts them on. How long
this state of things may last—when it may take a sudden,
and perhaps, a ruinous, turn—whether it may not continue
as it is at present—all these are not subjects for our con¬
sideration, neither are we soothsayers enough to deal with
them. More confident people than ourselves have ven¬
tured to predict a repetition of the panic of 1825, but we
can only reply that in that period of speculation, there were
no alternate flatnesses and revivals as there are at present
—features of more permanent and legitimate operations.
Then, when the cloud came, it did not pass away, but
burst in one loud and terrific thunder-clap, spreading
destruction far and wide—now a dullness sometimes comes
upon the market, hut it is merely a temporary one, created
by external circumstances, and such as transpires in the
ordinary and regular transactions in the funds. There is
no indication of a panic—no appearance of any general
and contagious alarm, or of an universal anxiety to sell—
what one is desirous of selling, another is as ready to buy.
It was not thus in 1825: the failure of one scheme, and
the appearance of a larger body of sellers than usual,
became the signal for a headlong, ruinous, fatal crush—an
unconditional and reckless sale " at any price." Thus
there appears a different feature about the present system
of speculation, that renders it difficult to calculate from
any indications that it has given, how long it may last, and
fallacious to predict, by comparison with " the great
panic," what will be the result.
Thus much preliminary ; our readers will perhaps be
impatient to arrive at that part which shall instruct them
8
how to proceed in share transactions ; and having said all
that is necessary, and nothing more than was called for, by
way of introduction to the subject, we shall at once
proceed to describe the process by which such extensive
sums have been realised of late.
There are two distinct classes interested in this subject—
the capitalist, who is looking out for some profitable per¬
manent investment for his money, and the speculator who
seeks present and immediate profit: to the first it is of
importance that the scheme in which he is interested be
carried out and prove successful and remunerative,—to
the last it matters not, so long as the idea is kept up for
a few weeks that the project will be profitable. The
former of these classes would do well before he invests
his money, to ascertain the character of the place the
Railway is proposed to lead to—the attractions which it
has for the travelfing public, whether in point of business
or pleasure—the commercial importance of the towns
which it connects, and the districts it passes through ; and
on these particulars to calculate the prboable amount
of traffic. He should also ascertain the nature of the
country—that it is not so hilly as to require the use of
tunnels, nor so marshy as to require viaducts—that the
land over which the fine is intended to pass be not par¬
ticularly dear or valuable ; but above all, let him assure
himself that the Company is neither a bubble got up for
the purpose of selling worthless shares, nor a job to give
some set of Directors, Engineers, Lawyers, or Secretaries,
emolument. The mere speculator only enquires into the
names and standing of the Directors—not so much because
an influential fist gives an appearance of respectability
and bona fides to the scheme, as on account of its ensuring
a ready sale and good prices for the shares. Up to a
9
certain date after the first notification of the project, the
Directors are open to receive applications for shares,* and
those of parties who are supposed to want them as an
actual investment are preferred. It is necessary that the
applicant should give the name of some party of credit in
the city who can speak to his respectability ; and the
referee is in the interval between the application and the
allotment of the Shares, generally visited by a servant of
the Company, or by its Solicitor, and asked whether he
knows the writer and believes him to be responsible for the
amount of the deposit—more minute details are very rarely
asked ; and, as the referee is of course not answerable for
any defalcation of the applicant, this practice, intended
as a sanatory precaution, has become little more than a
matter of form. If the answer be satisfactory, the appli¬
cant receives, in the course of a week or two, a letter,
informing him that a number of shares, (usually smaller
than that applied for), has been put into his name. This
is called " a letter of allotment," to which is affixed a
form of receipt to be signed by the Bankers of the
Company, on the payment of the first deposit, (limited
to 5s. fer Share), on or before a prescribed date,—
usually a week or fortnight after the issuing of the Shares.
This " Bankers' Receipt," as it is called, is afterwards
exchanged for " Scrip " at the offices of the Company, at
which time the party in whose name the Shares were
granted, is required to sign the deeds agreeing to conform
to the rules and regulations of the Company, to pay the
" calls" (that is the further instalments of the amount of
each Share), on demand, and so on. If tire Scheme be a
plausible one, the Letters of Allotment themselves may
be sold in the Stock Exchange, (the market for Shares),
* See Form of Application in the Appendix.
B
10
through any Stock-broker in the large towns, " at a
premium."—that is to say, for a sum of money jaer Share
over and above the actual amount of deposit to be paid.
Even before the Letters of Allotment are issued, bargains
are frequently made between the jobbers to buy or sell a
certain number of Shares at a fixed premium, with the
chance of profit or loss, according as the Shares should
come out at a higher or lower rate than has been con¬
tracted for ; the folly of this practice is obvious, for when
the Directors of the embryo Company see the prospects of
a large premium, they of course retain a larger number of
Shares among themselves, and allot a smaller number to
the public. As no transfer can be recognised until the
Shares are actually issued, this sale of Allotment Letters
is, of course, professedly unknown to them, and they con¬
sequently require the holder of the Allotment Letter to
sign the deeds, and by that act he becomes established as
the responsible holder of the Shares.
It should have been remarked, en passant, that to
expedite and facilitate calculations, the premiums are
usually expressed in the fractional parts of a pound, as
eighths, sixteenths, and sometimes thirty-seconds, and the
prices quoted are usually those of the premium, irrespec¬
tive of the amount of deposits paid. Thus, when Shares
are said to be saleable at | premium, their price is Is. 6d.,
in addition to the deposit which has been paid, and, when
the price is quoted at |, and £2 has been paid upon each
Share, the sum for which it is saleable is, in point of fact,
£2 12i. 6(¿. Now, with this explanation, it will be obvious
that the party who has had certain Shares allotted to him,
which rise to a premium, (as they almost invariably do, at
least for a time), has the whole of that premium for his
profit. By this means, persons possessing only sufficient
11
capital to pay the nominal deposit, may more than double
it in a day, if they have but sufficient influence or credit,
or a sufficiently respectable referee, to procure shares ;
but this very lucrative course has a heavy drawback in the
responsibility which it entails ; unless a special covenant
be introduced into the deed of settlement to the contrary,
the party who, in the first instance received the Shares, is
responsible, not only to the extent of his subscription,*
but for any and all liabilities the Company may contract,
and, at at any future time, may be singled out by each
individual creditor or by the body of creditors, and sued
for the amount of his or their respective or united claims !
The only way, then, to avoid this responsibility, is to
buy the Shares after the deeds have been signed, and
although the extent as well as the all but certainty of
profits are reduced, and the premium has to be paid for
them, in addition to the amount of deposit paid, those
who have something to lose will not consider the extra
money thrown away when it protects them from an
unknown and never ending responsibility. This branch
of dealing in Shares, (that is to say, buying Shares when
they are at a low price or heavy discount and selling them
at a higher price or lighter discount), is conducted in two
ways, technically called " for cash " and " for the account."
The former means for immediate delivery of the Shares
and payment of the price-—the latter implies that the
settlement is to stand over until the immediately ensuing
" account day," which is usually fixed and universally
observed, at the middle and end of each month. Thus,
while Shares may be bought for cash, and then sold either
* The amount of a Shareholder's subscription is that of the Shares which
he holds. Thus, if he possess ten " Hundred Pound Shares," though no
more than £5 is paid ux:>on each, he is reckoned as a subscriber of £1000.
12
for cash or for the account, those purchased for the account
can only be sold for the account, as they are not delivered
until the day of settlement arrives.
In further elucidation of the technicalities of the busi¬
ness, we may here at once explain that when Shares can
only be bought for a sum in addition to the deposit paid
on each, they are said to he "at a premium," to the
amount of that sum, and not of that and the deposit
united—when they are to be bought for the deposit paid
upon them, they are said to be " at par"—and, when the
price is below that of the deposit, they are termed " at a
discount," the extent of the discount being the difference
between the price and the deposit. To illustrate this with
examples : Shares which are selling at, say, £1 7s. 6d.,
(£1 being the deposit, and 7s. 6d. the premium), are said
to be " at I premium "—Shares on which we will suppose
JOs. deposit to have been paid and which are saleable
for 10s., are said to be "at par"—and Shares on which
the deposit paid amounts to (for instance), 10s., but the
present price of which is only 7s. 6d., are said to be at
I discount! In the quotations of prices, the purchaser
or seller will be pu2zled by such expressions as " ^ to J
premium," or " | to | discount," &c. This obscure phrase¬
ology is meant to convey that the Shares may be sold at
I premium or bought at a ^ or sold at | discount, and
bought at I as the case may he,—the difference between
the lower sale and higher purchase price being the acknow¬
ledged and avowed profit (or, as it is termed, " turn of the
market"), of the jobber on the market whom the brokers
sell to or buy of.
Now as regards the chances of gain or loss, we will enter
into a brief statement to shew the nature of the circum¬
stances by which they are regulated. It will already be
13
understood, from what has gone before, that the largest
profit, (though it be linked to a heavy responsibility) is to
he gained by " writing," or applying in the first instance
for Shares ; and the smaller and less certain, though ulti¬
mately more secure course, is to buy them at second hand.
In both these cases alike, the probabilities of profit are that
the price may be raised by (1st.), a decision of the Parlia¬
mentary Committee in favor of the particular Line which
the Shares represent, or of some Line on similar princi¬
ples—(2nd.), by the withdrawal or defeat of any opposing
or competing Line or Lines—(3rd.), by the appearance in
the market of an excess of buyers over sellers, (which is
immediately taken up as an indication that some secret has
oozed out in favor of the Line)—(4th.), by the union,
combination, or co-operation of some approved or popular
Line, or the accession of fi'esh and influential names to the
Direction. The chances of loss are that, after the Shares
have been bought, something of a reverse nature may occur
to lower the premium or increase the discount, as the case
may be.
The only recognised markets for the purchase and sale
of Shares are the Stock Exchanges of London, Dublin,
Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, &c., on which none but
members can transact business but through Brokers.* For
the satisfaction of both parties, it is advisable to give the
Brokers plain and explicit instructions, for this reason ; a
party calls upon his Broker and enquires the price of
certain Shares which he is anxious to buy or sell—the
Broker goes to the Exchange, or, as it is called " the
House," to ascertain—and while he is returning and the
seller or buyer is receiving his report, a number of those
* See page 24, for the addresses of respectable Stock and Share Brokers
in the various Provincial Towns, &c.
12
for cash or for the account, those purchased for the account
can only be sold for the account, as they are not delivered
until the day of settlement arrives.
In further elucidation of the technicalities of the busi¬
ness, we may here at once explain that when Shares can
only he bought for a sum in addition to the deposit paid
on each, they are said to be " at a premium," to the
amount of that sum, and not of that and the deposit
united—when they are to be bought for the deposit paid
upon them, they are said to be " at par"—and, when the
price is below that of the deposit, they are termed " at a
discount," the extent of the discount being the difference
between the price and the deposit. To illustrate this with
examples: Shares which are selling at, say, £1 7s. 6d.,
(£1 being the deposit, and 7s. 6d. the premium), are said
to be " at f premium "—Shares on which we will suppose
10s. deposit to have been paid and which are saleable
for 10s., are said to be "at par"—and Shares on which
the deposit paid amounts to (for instance), 10s., but the
present price of which is only 7s. 6d., are said to be at
I discount! In the quotations of prices, the purchaser
or seller will be puzzled by such expressions as " 5 to 5
premium," or " | to 5 discount," &c. This obscure phrase¬
ology is meant to convey that the Shares may be sold at
I premium or bought at a ç or sold at | discount, and
bought at I as the case may be,—the difference between
the lower sale and higher purchase price being the acknow¬
ledged and avowed profit (or, as it is termed, " turn of the
market"), of the jobber on the market whom the brokers
sell to or buy of.
Now as regards the chances of gain or loss, we will enter
into a brief statement to shew the nature of the circum¬
stances by which they are regulated. It will already be
13
understood, from what has gone before, that the largest
profit, (though it he linked to a heavy responsibility) is to
be gained by " writing," or applying in the first instance
for Shares ; and the smaller and less certain, though ulti¬
mately more secure course, is to buy them at second hand.
In both these cases alike, the probabilities of profit are that
the price may be raised by (1st.), a decision of the Parlia¬
mentary Committee in favor of the particnlar Line which
the Shares represent, or of some Line on similar princi¬
ples—(2nd.), by the withdrawal or defeat of any opposing
or competing Line or Lines—(3rd.), by the appearance in
the market of an excess of buyers over sellers, (which is
immediately taken up as an indication that some secret has
oozed out in favor of the Line)—(4th.), by the union,
combination, or co-operation of some approved or popular
Line, or the accession of fresh and influential names to the
Direction. The chances of loss are that, after the Shares
have been bought, something of a reverse nature may occur
to lower the premium or increase the discount, as the case
may be.
The only recognised markets for the purchase and sale
of Shares are the Stock Exchanges of London, Dublin,
Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, &c., on which none but
members can transact business but through Brokers.* For
the satisfaction of both parties, it is advisable to give the
Brokers plain and explicit instructions, for this reason ; a
party calls upon his Broker and enquires the price of
certain Shares which he is anxious to buy or sell—the
Broker goes to the Exchange, or, as it is called " the
House," to ascertain—and while he is returning and the
seller or buyer is receiving his report, a number of those
* See page 24, for the addresses of respectable Stock and Share Brokers
in the various Provincial Towns, &c.
14
particular Shares may have come into the market or been
drawn from it, and the price may have fallen or risen
considerably—so sudden, rapid, and extensive are the
fluctuations, and so impossible is it to calculate, with any
degree of certainty, on what a quarter of an hour may
bring forth. We witnessed an instance only the other day,
in which a gentleman desirous of selling some Shares in a
Company in which he had lost his confidence, resorted to
his Broker and was highly delighted to hear that their
price was still within an eighth of what he had paid for
them and, contented to lose 2s. Qd. a share, so that he but
got rid of them, he instructed the Broker to sell them at
that price. In a few minutes he was disappointed to hear
from him that they were no longer saleable so high, but
that they had fallen anotlier eighth. After some hesita¬
tion, the client consented to make this additional sacrifice,
but again his Broker returned, unsuccessful—they had
fallen in the interim of his absence, still lower. He now
urgently advised the unfortunate holder to let him sell
them at once, as they appeared becoming, from some cause
which had not yet transpired, rapidly unpopular. This
was agreed to ; but in the time which had been lost in
consultation, the secret had escaped,—the Line was dis¬
approved of,—and the bubble burst. The price fell fright¬
fully—fresh sellers, terrified at the prospect, poured into
the market, and reduced it lower and lower every minute,
and the Shares were left in our friend's hands, valueless
and unsaleable.
To guard against such a catastrophe as this, it is best to
give the Broker a discretionary range, naming a limit, and
leaving it to his best judgment and exertions, for his
reputation's sake, to do his best—to tell him, in short, " If
such and such Shares are saleable higher than such and
15
such a price, and not lower than so much, sell so many
for me,"—or, "if they are below such a price, and not
above such a price, buy so many "—the limits, of course,
to be regulated by your own judgment as to what you can
afford to sell or buy them for, suited however to the
criterion afforded by " Wettenhalfs Share List," which is
the official report of the London Stock Exchange, or by
the list of any other market with which you may be trans¬
acting the business.
On the other hand, to give the Broker unconditional
powers of purchase or sale is imprudent, as regards your
own interest, (because he may have some Shares on hand
which it is his interest to get rid of, and in other ways, make
a tool of his too confiding client, though no respectable
Broker would be capable of such an act), and unfair to
him, because it gives him an unpleasant and perplexing
responsibility. " Buy for me so many Shares in any con¬
cern when you think I may make a profit, and as often as
you see an opportunity," is an instruction which we have
often heard delivered, and which is of by far too wide a
latitude. Depend upon it, if he knew what might be cal¬
culated upon as " sure to rise," he would be a jobber and
not a Broker—he would turn his knowledge to his own
advantage, and not act as a mere agent. Having said this,
it will not be expected that we shall attempt or presume to
say which Lines will give a profit to the investor and which
a loss. As far, however, as general distinctions go, and
without presuming to be oracular or infallible, we should
look with the greatest favor upon the Shares of the Broad
Gauge,* and of the Atmospheric Lines, not so much
♦ The competition between the Broad and Narrow Gauge systems has
made those terms more heard than understood : it may therefore be as well
to explain their import. The " Broad Gauge," is a width of seven feet
16
because we consider them particularly preferable in point
of economy, expedition or security, but because the weight
of influence, (which is much heavier than merit), appears to
incline towards them.
All that we have said in the foregoing pages, applies
equally to British and to Foreign Railways, except that
the latter are subject to the approval of their national
Legislatures, who enquire into their respective merits, on
much the same plan as the " Committees of Five " which
are now working in sections* in our British Parliament.
The preceding remarks, then, being sufficient to give an
insight into the mode of doing business, we may now pass
to the department of necessary forms, &c., which will
serve to throw additional light upon it.
NOTE.
Since the early part of these observations were written,
the schemes for Railway communication have been multi¬
plied to such an extent that much inconvenience is likely
to arise from the confusion of similarly named projects, and
it has become necessary to warn the public, when there
are two proposals on foot for Railways passing over the
same ground or uniting the same towns, to make a strict
and close enquiry as to which is the genuine one, and
which has the best prospects, as many bubble Companies
between the rails—the " Narrow Gauge," a width of only four feet, nine
inches. The latter, is the old and working system, defended by Stephenson
and his school,—the former, a new invention of Brunei.
♦ In explanation of the system of Parliamentary investigation, it may here
be remarked that each of the House of Commons " Sections," has a particular
district allotted to it, and enquires into all projects for Railways in that
district.
17
have taken advantage of the popularity of certain Lines, to
put forth a prospectus under a title which might easily be
mistaken for the bonâ-fide one. At the same time, as
there are several genuine schemes having the same general
designation, (more especially among the Foreign Lines), it
is but fair to exempt them from suspicion, by explaining
that in the London market, there are at the present
moment two sets of Shares known as " The Great Northern
of France," which are respectively called, by way of dis¬
tinction, after their promoters, the one " Laiitte's Line,"
the other " Rosamel's"—three " Paris and Lyons," dis¬
tinguished respectively as " Lafitte's," " Calons," and " The
Great" Lines,— three "Paris and Strasburg," namely
"Ganneron's" Company, "Aymard's," and "Compte de
I'Este's" (sometimes called " Easthope's,") and two " Tours
and Nantes," namely, " Mackenzie's," and " Lefebvres."
—all of which are perfectly genuine schemes.
APPENDIX.
A.
form of application for railway shares.
" To the Directors of the Railway Company.
Gentlemen,
I request that you will allot me Shares
in the above undertaking, and I hereby agree to accept
that or any smaller number of Shares which you may
assign to me, and to pay the deposit on the same and sign
the Subscribers' Agreement, when called upon so to do.
I am. Gentlemen,
Your obedient Servant,
Name
Address
Profession
Reference
Address of Referee
Date
[Some Companies have a prescribed form of their own,
which they require to be strictly followed, but the above is
that generally adopted.]
B.
A List of Railway Publications calculated to
assist parties investing capital.
The Railway Investment Guide, published at 17, Fen-
church-street.
The Railway Shareholders' Manual, by J. Tuck, pub¬
lished at the Railway Times OíRce, and by Effingham
Wilson, Royal Exchange.
The Iron Times, daily, at 112, Fleet-street.
The Railway Times, weekly, at 122, Fleet-street.
Bradshaw's Railway Gazette, weekly, at 59, Fleet-street.
19
The Railway Record, edited by John Robertson, M,A.,
weekly, at 177, Fleet-street.
Herapath's Railway Journal, weekly, at 3, Red Lion-
court. Fleet-street.
The Railway Chronicle, weekly, at Wellington-street,
North.
The Railway Herald, twice a week, at Welhngton-street,
North.
The Railway Express, weekly, at Wellington-street.
The Railway Register, edited by Hyde Clark, monthly,
published by Weale, High Holborn.
The Railway Directory, (giving the addresses of parties
connected with Failways), published at the Office of the
Railway Times.
Railway Maps, published by Wyld, Charing Cross ;
Tuck, Fleet-street ; and Crutchley, Fleet-street.
Railway Time Tables, published by Bradshaw, Fleet-
street; Thomas, Finch-lane, &c.
Besides these, there are journals especially devoted to
Railway news in the provinces and Dublin, and the Journal
des Chemins de Fer, in Paris.
C.
Rules for calculating the price of Railway Shares.
A series of Tables has lately been published by a
member of the London Stock Exchange, giving the value
of Railway Shares at the different prices, from to £\Qper
Share. Those who have not the assistance of this very
useful manual, will find the calculation materially shortened
by employing decimals, instead of the usual system. We
therefore append a list of the decimals of each of the frac¬
tional parts of a pound, with the rule for applying them :—
1
4
ZT -25
8
=z -125
1
TB"
zz -0625
9
TB"
ZZ '5625
1
2
= -5
3
8
= -375
3
T7
:z: '1875
1
TBT
= -6875
3
4
-75
5
8
= -625
A
zz -3125
1 3
TB"
= -8125
1
8
= -875
A
= -4375
1 5
TB"
= -9375
1
3 2
= -03125
9
3 2
= -28125
1 7
32
= -53125
2 5
3 2
= -78125
3
37
= '09375
1 1
3 2
== -34375
1 9
3 2
= -59375
IX
3 2
= -84375
5
3 2
= -15625
1 3
3 2
= -40625
2 1
3 2
= -65625
2 9
3 2
= '90625
-i-
3 2
= -21875
1 5
3 2
= -46875
2 3
3 2
= -71875
3 1
3 2
= '96875
20
The rule, being simple multiplication of decimal, will not
require to be illustrated by more than one example ;—■
Twenty-five Shares on which £2 deposit has been paid,
at premium ?
2-3125
25
115625
46250
£57-8125 = £57 16s. 3d.
D.
A List of genuine Railway Schemes at present
acknowledged by, and in favor on, the Stock
Exchange :—
English,
NAME OF RAILWAY.
Number
of Shares.
Amount of
Share.
Paid Up.
£
s.
d.
£
s.
d.
Birmingham and Gloucester ....
9,500
100
0
0
100
0
0
Ditto (new)
10,000
25
0
0
17
10
0
Birmingham and Oxford Junction
30,000
20
0
0
2
0
0
Brighton, Lewes, and Hastings ..
9,500
50
0
0
20
0
0
Bristol and Exeter
15,000
100
0
0
70
0
0
Bristol and Gloucester
6,640
50
0
0
30
0
0
Cambridge and Lincoln
50,000
25
0
0
1
10
0
Chester and Holyhead
4-2,000
50
0
0
10
0
0
Churnet Valley
50,000
20
0
0
2
0
0
Coventry, Bed worth, & Nuneaton.
4,800
25
0
0
1
5
0
Coventry and Leicester
15,000
25
0
0
1
5
0
Diss, Beccles, and Yarmouth ....
10,000
25
0
0
1
10
0
Direct Norwich
35,000
20
0
0
1
0
0
Eastern Counties (old)
56,000
14
16
0
Ditto (perpetual 5 p. ct. No. 1.)
144,000
6
13
4
6
13
4
Ditto ( ditto No. 2.)
144,000
6
13
4
0
13
4
Eastern Union
4,000
50
0
0
15
0
0
Ely and Bedford
10,800
25
0
0
1
5
0
Grand Junction
10,918
100
0
0
100
0
0
Ditto (half shares) ....
10,918
50
0
0
50
0
0
Ditto {quarter do.) ....
10,918
25
0
0
25
0
0
21
NAMK OF RAILWAY.
Number
of Shares.
Amount of
Share.
Paid Up.
£
s.
d.
£
s.
d.
Great Grimsby and Sheffield ....
12,000
50
0
0
2
15
0
Great North of England
10,000
100
0
0
100
0
0
Great Western
25,000
100
0
0
80
0
0
Ditto (half shares) ....
25,000
50
0
0
50
0
0
Ditto (fifths),
37,500
20
0
0
20
0
0
Harwich
20,000
10
0
0
1
0
0
Hull and Gainsborough
12,000
25
0
0
1
7
6
Hull and Selby
8,000
50
0
0
50
0
0
Ditto (quarter shares) ..
8,000
12
10
0
12
10
0
Kendal and Windermere
5,000
25
0
0
1
10
0
Kentish Coast
18,000
25
0
0
1
7
6
Lancaster and Carlisle. . ..
16,000
50
0
0
20
0
0
Liverpool and Manchester
5,100
100
0
0
100
0
0
Ditto (half shares)
7,968
50
0
0
50
0
0
Ditto (quarter do.)
11,475
25
0
0
25
0
0
London and Birmingham
4,125,000
Stock.
100
0
0
Ditto (thirds). .
41,250
32
0
0
2
0
0
Ditto (quarters)
54,450
25
0
0
2
0
0
London and Blackwall .. .
48,000
Averatre.
16
13
4
London and Brighton
36,000
50
0
0
50
0
0
London and Croydon
33,000
Average.
13
15
9
Ditto (5 per cent.)
33,000
9
0
0
6
0
0
London and Greenwich
43,077
Average.
12
15
4
Ditto (preference)
11,136
Ditto
18
17
2
London and Southampton
46,200
Ditto
41
6
10
London and York
90,000
50
0
0
2
10
0
London and Windsor ....
20,000
25
0
0
1
0
0
Lynn and Ely
8,000
25
0
0
2
10
0
Manchester and Leeds
13,000
100
0
0
73
0
0
Ditto (half shares)
13,000
50
0
0
32
0
0
Ditto (quarter do.)
13,000
25
0
0
2
0
0
Ditto (sixteenths)
22,750
6
5
0
3
5
0
Manchester and Birmingham....
30,000
40
0
0
40
0
0
Midland
4,155,400
Stock.
100
0
0
Ditto (fifths)
12,500
20
0
0
2
0
0
Newcastle & Darlington Junction.
20,000
25
0
0
25
0
0
Newcastle and Berwick ....
20,000
25
0
0
1
10
0
Newark and Sheffield
24,000
25
0
0
1
10
0
North British
36,000
25
0
0
12
10
0
Northern and Eastern.. ..
10,256
50
0
0
45
0
0
Ditto (scrip) ....
3,136
50
0
0
30
0
0
Ditto (quarter shares)
12,208
12
10
0
12
10
0
North Kent
30,000
50
0
0
2
15
0
North Wales
12,000
25
0
0
1
5
0
22
NAME OF EAILWAT.
Number
of Shares.
Amount of
Share,
Paid Up.
£
s.
d.
£
s.
d.
Norwich and Brandon
19,000
20
0
0
12
0
0
Preston and Wyre
2,600
50
0
0
50
0
0
Rugby, Worcester, and Tring ..
125,000
20
0
0
1
0
0
Sheffield and Manchester
7,000
100
0
0
95
0
0
Ditto (quarter shares)
18,000
25
0
0
8
0
0
Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton,
Dudley, and Birmingham ....
18,000
50
0
0
2
10
0
South Devon
22,000
50
0
0
15
0
0
South Eastern
55,000
Averag
33
2
4
Ditto (new issue at £32, No. 1.)
28,000
50
0
0
8
0
0
Ditto ^ditto£33 6s. 8d., No. 2.)
42,000
50
0
0
7
0
0
Staffordshire and Shropshire ....
7,000
50
0
0
2
15
0
South Wales
50,000
50
0
0
2
10
0
Trent Valley
45,000
20
0
0
2
0
0
West London, (old)
7,500
20
0
0
20
0
0
West Cornwall
9,000
20
0
0
1
5
0
West Yorkshire
20,000
50
0
0
2
15
0
Wilts, Somerset, and Weymouth
30,000
50
0
0
2
10
0
Yarmouth and Norwich
7,500
20
0
0
20
0
0
York and North Midland ......
6,700
50
0
0
50
0
0
Ditto (half shares).. ..
6,700
25
0
0
25
0
0
Ditto (Scarboro' branch)
10,100
25
0
0
25
0
0
Ditto (Extension)....
25,300
25
0
0
1
5
0
Scotch.
Caledonian
Edinburgh and Glasgow..
Ditto (quarter
Inverness and Elgin
Scottish Midland
Irish.
Armagh, Coleraine, and Portrush
Cork and Waterford
Dublin and Belfast Junction ....
Dublin, Belfast, and Coleraine ..
Dublin and Galway
Dublin and Mullinger
Dublin and Enniskilling
Great Southern and Western....
Londonderry and Coleraine
Londonderry and Enniskilling
Newry and Enniskilling
36,000
50
0
0
5
0
0
18,000
50
0
0
50
0
0
18,000
12
10
0
12
10
0
15,000
20
0
0
1
0
0
12,000
25
0
0
1
10
0
24,000
25
0
0 1
7
6
40,000
25
0
0
1
10
0
19,000
50
0
0
2
10
0
12,300
50
0
0
2
10
0
21,600
50
0
0
2
10
0
15,000
50
0
0
2
10
0
17,000
50
0
0
2
10
0
20,000
50
0 0
10
0
0
10,000
50
0
0
2
10
0
10,000
50
0
0
2
10
0
50
0
0
2
10
0
23
Foreign,
NAME OF EAILWAY.
Bologne and Amiens
Bordeaux and Toulouse
Bordeaux Toulouse, and Cette
Dijon and Mulhouse
Great North of France (Lafitte's)
Ditto (Rosamel's)....
Great Paris and Lyons
Louvain and Jemappes
Lyons and Avignon
Namur and Liege
Orleans, Tours, and Bordeaux ..
Orleans and Vierzons
Over Yssel (Holland)
Paris and Lyons (Lafitte's)
Ditto (Ganneron's) ..
Ditto (Galon's)
Paris and Strasburg (Ganneron's)
Ditto (Compe de l'Esté)..
Sambre and Meuse
Tours and Nantes (Mackenzie's)
Verona and Ancona
Number
of Shares.
75,000
130,000
31,000
Amount of
Share.
Paid Up.
£
s.
d.
£
s.
d.
20
0
0
6
0
0
20
0
0
2
0
0
20
0
0
2
0
0
20
0
0
2
0
0
20
0
0
4
0
0
20
0
0
2
0
0
20
0
0
2
0
0
20
0
0
4
0
0
20
0
0
2
0
0
20
0
0
2
10
0
20
0
0
4
0
0
20
6
0
6
0
0
20
0
0
4
3
4
20
0
0
2
0
0
20
0
0
2
0
0
20
0
0
2
0
0
20
0
0
2
0
0
2
0
0
20
0
0
4
0
0
20
0
0
2
0
0
1
0
0
It is not professed that the foregoing list contains a tithe
of the shares which have been, and are, in the market ; but
it is merely a table of those principally dealt in, designed
to afford at a glance the particulars of the most popular.
In addition to those enumerated in this table, there are
railways projected for Flanders, Belgium, Sweden, Sar¬
dinia, America, &c. &c. besides those proposed for our
colonies in India, the West Indies, Jersey, &c. which it
would inconveniently swell this list to enumerate, especially
as the particulars of their shares, the deposits paid, &c, are
less frequently required than those we have specified.
ADVERTISEMENTS.
Established 1835.
(^OLLINSON AND FLINT, Share Brokers—Offices, Bowlalley-lane,
Hull. ^
Joseph CLARK, Jun., share Broker and General Agent,—18, High-
street. Southampton.
'J'HOMAS WREN, Stock and Share, Broker—Preston.
ANTHONY ATKINSON, Stock and Share Broker—47, Grainger-
street. Central Exchange, (South Entrance) Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Al^lLLlAM MARSHALL, Stock and Share Broker, & General Agent—
5, Town Hall-buildings, Manchester.
Established 1841.
'^PHOMAS SANFORD, Share Broker—Offices, 3, Musgrave-alley,
High-street, Exeter.
C^AMUEL C0LL1NS0N, Share Broker—Smithy-row, Nottingham.
J OHN WELLS & Co., Stock and Share Brokers—Royal Bank-
buildings, Sweeting-street. Liverpool.
1^1 R. JOSEPH MORTON, Share Broker, (Member of the Stock Ex-
change Association). 10. St. Mary's Gate, Manchester.
J^HOMAS BOARDMAN, Stock and Share Broker — King-street,
Blackburn.
W. GRAVES. Stock and Share Broker—Town Hall-buildings,
Manchester.
Estarlished 18,34.
jyj^R. W. FORDYCE, Share Broker—15, Grey-street, Newcastle-on
Tynej
gMlTH AND PERFECT, Share Brokers — 4, Bond-street, Leeds.
CHARLES O'NEILL, Jun., & Co., Stock and Share Brokers—15,
^ St. Ann's-square, Manchester.
J^RADY & STANIFORTH, Share Brokers—11, Manor-street, Hull.
OTEPHEN ROBERT CATTLEY, Stock and Share Broker —Office
Davygate, York.
(Agent for the Imperial Fire and Life Insurance Companies, London.)
TJAYNE and FREER, Stock and Share Brokers—Advertiser Office,
Leicester.
^yiLLIAM FARRER, Share and Stock Broker—Ripon.
1CRANC1S STAMP, Stock and Share Broker, and Auctioneer—12,
Market-place. Hull.
Stock Exchange and Railway Share Agency,
No. 9, Charing Cross.
TV/TESSRS. BAUGHAN & Co., having a perfect knowledge of all the
financial arrrangements of Foreign States, and the existing condition
and probable results of Railway Shares, are enabled to furnish detailed
information and data, which may be relied upon, to all parties seeking
permanent investments. Messrs. B. & Co. buy and sell English and Foreign
R.ailw.ay Shares of every description at the different prices of the day.
N.B.—The Lists of Prices kept at the Offices.
*»* Office Hours, from 10 till 5.
E. Coi.yeb, Printer, 17, Fpnrliurch-street,London.