UBRARY
BUREAU or RAILWAY ECONOMICS
WASHINGTON. D, C.
REASONS
IN FAVOUR OF
A DIRECT LINE OF RAILROAD
LONDON TO MANCHESTER,
\'.v. , ''■y
LONDON
rUBLlSIISD BY RICHARD AND JOHN EDWARD TAYLOR,
KKD LION COURT, FLEET STREET.
VEaoig*
1846.
PRINTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR,
RED HON COURT FLEET STREET.
g ^ g Q ¡y g
• ' r«
IN FAVOUR OF
A DIRECT LINE OF RAILROAD FROM
LONDON TO MANCHESTER.
§1-
The question of the existence of railroads is one no longer to
be discussed—it is settled by public opinion andpublic wants, and
ratified by parliamentary sanctions. Railroads are no longer to be
regarded as mere private speculations, but as great public con¬
cerns, forming a new but most material element in the progress
and development of commerce, national wealth, and national
resources. " They are the well-spring of intellectual, moral and
political benefits, beyond all measurement and all price,—cre¬
ating such a revolution in the internal trade and resources as no
thinking man can contemplate without being lost in wonder."
Their operation has already effected changes in all departments
of trade, far beyond the contemplation and conception of those
who originated these schemes. This is abundantly proved in the
case of all the great railroads, whose traffic and income have
proved in many cases, within the few years since their establish¬
ment, to be double, treble, or quadruple of that which was con¬
templated on their opening by the original projectors, as may be
seen from the annexed table, taken from the reports of the Lon¬
don and Birmingham and other Railways :—
Comparative Mileage of Passenger-traffic for the Half-years
from the 30th June 1839 till 30th June 1845, on the London
and Birmingham Railway.
Half-year ending No. of Passengers. Miles travelled.
June 30th, 1839 267,144 17,391,035
Dec. 31st, 1839 341,420 22,284,830
June 30th, 1840 327,930 21,675,287
Dec. 31st, 1840 394,688 25,931,163
June 30th, 1841 354,322 23,399,936
Dec. 31st, 1841 413,272 27,156,212
June 30th, 1842 372,532 24,144,243
B
2
RAILWAY PROGRESS.
Half-year ending No. of Passengers. Miles travelled.
Dec. 31st, 1842 407,840 26,563,216
June 30th, 1843 360,784 23,395,261
Dec. 31st, 1843 419,943 26,983,482
June 30th, 1844 371,331 24,664,979
Dec. 31st, 1844 480,637 81,122,185
June 30th, 1845 615,904 38,758,260
Comparative statement of Half-yearly Receipts from all kinds
of Traffic on the London and Birmingham Railway.
Half-year ending ¿é" s. d.
June 30th, 1839 270,241 0 4
Dec. 31st, 1839 343,910 0 9
June 30th, 1840 343,194 7 10
Dec. 31st, 1840 405,040 15 7
June 30th, 1841 382,452 16 1
Dec. 31st, 1841 429,023 3 3
June 30th, 1842 ......... 388,288 7 0
Dec. 31st, 1842 420,958 18 0
June 30th, 1843 385,194 6 9
Dec. 31st, 1843 432,357 7 5
June 30th, 1844 405,768 15 2
Dec. 31st, 1844 450,478 16 5
June 30th, 1845 447,190 17 3
On the Liverpool and Manchester Line, from the year 1831 till
1836, the gross receipts for passengers rose from 43,600/. to
133,901/,; for merchandise, from 21,875/. to 93,184/. ; for coals,
from 218/. to 7550/. Total, from 65,693/. to 234,635/.; profits,
from 30,314/. to 85,053/. ; and dividend, from to 10/. per cent.
" It is a singular fact (says Porter, in his Progress of the Nation,
vol. ii. p. 65), that of all the railways constructed and contem¬
plated up to the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester line,
not one was undertaken with a view to the conveyance of pas¬
sengers. In the prospectus published by the projectors of that
work, it was indeed held out as probable, that one half of the
number of persons then travelling by coaches between the two
towns might avail themselves of the railway in consideration
of the lower rate for which they could be conveyed, and the
directors expected to realize an income of ,£20,000 from that
source ; but the chief inducement held out to subscribers was
the conveyance of raw cotton, manufactured goods, coals and
cattle. . . 1 • . Hitherto it has been found in tieurly every case,
when a railroad adapted for carrying passengers has been
brought into operation, that the amount of travelling between
the two extremities of the line has been quadrupled."
RAILWAY PRINCIPLES.
3
The inefficiency therefore of the first conception to meet the
increased and increasing wants of the community is obvious; the
projectors devised schemes to meet one want, but which fail to meet
a greater. The development of the wants and resources of the
nation, and the profit realized, have led to an incredible number
of ill-regulated and incongruous schemes, many of whicb, as tbe
event has proved, never could have been seriously intended to
proceed beyond tbe limits of the Stock Exchange. The conse¬
quent necessity is obvious of Parliament being guided by some
great national principles in deciding upon the propriety of sanc¬
tioning such immense expenditure, in testing the claims and
pretensions of the various schemes, both with a view to meet the
real necessity of the case, to supply the wants of the public, and
to guard against the frightful consequences of that spirit of gam¬
bling and speculation which results from wild, impracticable, or
useless schemes.
These principles would seem to be a well-established necessity—
•practicability—substantial purpose of the promoters—their capa¬
bility of realizing the project, and carrying it on so as to meet the
convenience of the public—to facilitate commerce—to multiply
means of intercourse—to offer fair prospects of reasonable but not
excessive remuneration—and to guard against the dangers of acci¬
dent and monopoly—the greatest public good with the smallest
amount of individual injury.
§2.
The principle being already fully recognised, that Railroads
are in future to constitute the ordinary and established modes
of communication between the different parts of the kingdom,
and the value of time and distance being relatively enhanced,
it becomes a matter of obvious necessity that the shortest lines
of communication should be opened up in all directions ; and
nothing can be more fallacious than the often-repeated attempt
to shoAv that existing means of communication are sufficient,
because only a few miles or an hour is to be gained by a new
project.
The prime necessity is the ready communication of all the
districts of the kingdom with the capital : London must be re¬
garded as the heart from which the impulse proceeds, that sets
in motion the whole organization of the empire, and the system
B 2
4
DIRECT COMMUNICATION.
of arteries and veins diffuse and circulate the great principles of
life and action throughout the whole social machine.
The natural condition of this healthy social life is a direct
communication between the heart and the extremities—London
and each of the great towns, which form the grand tributaries.
This is the only method of placing all our important branches of
trade and manufactures upon an equal footing : these trades and
manufactures are, generally speaking, so circumstanced as to be
in fact localized,—each represented by its own particular town and
district. Cotton,—hardware,—cutlery,—hosiery,—porcelain,—
pottery,—silk—has each its own centre ; besides the mineral and
natural products of the kingdom,—tin,—iron,—coals,—lead,—
stone, &c., and the universally-diffused products of agriculture
and pasturage. The interest of each must and will finally be
guarded and represented in the various means of access and con¬
veyance to the great mart where all these products are exchanged
and concentrated ; for access and means of conveyance will and
have become elements of vast importance in trade itself,—produc¬
tion being useless without markets, and the facility and cheapness
of access to those markets being very important elements of suc¬
cess or the contrary.
There ought therefore to be no favoured trade or district, but
facilities afforded commensurate to the well-established wants of
each. Iron ought not to obstruct cotton ; nor cotton, silk ; nor
silk, woollens : lace and ribbons should be on a footing ; pottery
and porcelain have equal advantages : no one great branch of
manufacture or commerce ought to be dependent upon those
who are engaged in any other, as far as the extension and ap¬
plication of this principle are practicable. It will be obvious
therefore that Manchester,—Birmingham,—Sheffield,—Worces¬
ter,—Leicester, &c., should each, as far as possible, have its own
direct channel, under the regulation of those who are most im¬
mediately concerned in the respective productions of these and
other places. The same reasons adduced in favour of the con¬
struction of a railroad to Birmingham apply with double force
in favour of a direct Line to Manchester ; and the very pre¬
amble of their Bill, and the evidence in favour of it, may be used
mutatis mutandis in favour of the Direct Manchester *.
* See Appendix A.
LONDON AND MANCHESTER.
5
Nothing can be more obvious than that, in a military and po¬
litical point of view, it would be extremely unwise to bave only
one great Line connecting the capital with the vast and populous
district of which Manchester is the centre ; or for the govern¬
ment of the country to place itself, under any circumstances, at
the mercy of any single company whatsoever.
§3.
Thèse principles being indisputable, they apply with peculiar
force to the case of London and Manchester,—the two largest
townsinthekingdom.—Their size is not even the main element;—
but the amount of their intercourse in passengers, trade and transit
of goods.—Manchester has grown in population, wealth and im¬
portance, at a rate greater than any other town in the kingdom :
this increase goes on at an accelerated pace, and no limits can be
fixed to its extension. The productions of its looms and mills
form indisputably the largest and most important branch of our
national industry, commerce and wealth, and therefore its manu¬
facturers are entitled to every consideration, and have the best-
founded claims, not merely on the protection, but on the foster¬
ing care of the great national council. The problem as to pro¬
tected interests or free trade has no longer to be solved. And
the avowed declarations of «the present Government as to the
future commercial policy of the nation have given the death-blow
to a vicious principle long since exploded in theory, but still sup¬
ported in practice by large and influential bodies, who profit, or
think they profit, by the restrictions and shackles imposed upon
freedom of trade, which involves freedom of communication. The
continued and increasing wealth and prosperity of this country
absolutely depend upon the development of its commerce and
manufactures, for which it has pre-eminent and incomparable
advantages in its geographical position, its noble harbours, its
mineral wealth, its vast marine, mechanical skill, and inexhausti¬
ble capital.
This is the destiny of the nation, which it has created and
will fulfil. In as far as the public and its organs feel the force of
these principles and co-operate in their sound, judicious and
practical development, success is certain, and nothing can cou n-
6
MANCHESTER PRODUCTION.
teract or disturb its progress, except party interests and poli¬
tical factions.
The immense population, resources, and industrial activity
of Manchester and its neighbourhood, render the question of
Railway communication and its facilities one of extraordinary
importance.
" Within a circle of fifteen or twenty miles radius round
Manchester, a population of upwards of a million and a
half are concentrated, who are almost without exception
either actively engaged in, or directly dependent upon, the
great staple manufacture of cotton. The whole of this di¬
strict may, in fact, be considered as one vast workshop,
where production is constantly going forward on a scale
hitherto unparalleled in the history of human industry,
" The immense importation of cotton wool, which in the
year 1844 reached the amount of 646,874,816 lbs., is prin¬
cipally consumed in this district, where, by the aid of ma¬
chinery, it is spun, woven, bleached, printed, and in an in¬
credibly short time again exported to all parts of the world.
"The exports of cotton manufactures during the year
1843, the latest as to which detailed accounts are published,
reached the following amounts : viz.—
Yards.
Declared Value.
White or plain cottons
Printed or dyed cottons ...
Hosiery and small wares ...
Twist and yarn lbs.
562,575,205
356,065,000
140,321,176
£8,024,287
7,144,177
1,085,536
7,193,971
Í23,447,971
of whieh by far the larger portion is furnished by the great
Lancashire district which we are now considering.
" Large as this production may appear, there is nothing
in the present aspect of things that should induce us to be¬
lieve that it has attained or even approached its utippst
limit, On the contrary, evpry year contributes some im¬
provement in machinery, or other permanent addition tq
the manufacturing capabilities of the district, which tends
to cheapen and stimulate production, and notwithstanding
temporary fluctuations and reverses, to accelerate tfle pro¬
gress of those branches of industry by which the popula-;
COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGES.
7
tion and resources of Lancashire have been nearly tripled
during the last forty years.
Among such permanent causes of increased manufac¬
turing capability must be reckoned improvements in the
means of communication effected by the introduction of
Railways, Many circumstances have combined to render
time an element of great and increasing importance in most
of the operations connected with manufactures and foreign
trade. By the establishment of lines of steam-ships to
America, the East and West Indies, the Levant, the North
of Europe, and almost every point which affords an outlet
for our manufactures, combined with the acceleration of
communication by Railways in this and foreign countries,
the period within which orders can be transmitted and re¬
turned has been greatly reduced, while by the great im¬
provements in machinery and in the different processes of
manufacture, the time in which such orders can be executed
has been equally shortened. The effect has been to intro¬
duce a considerable alteration in the old system, under
which large quantities of manufactured goods were pro¬
duced and forwarded a considerable time beforehand in an¬
ticipation of the probable demand of particular seasons and
markets, involving a risk which is no longer necessary.
The advantages of this change to all parties are obvious,
both in the saving of interest on capital locked up in goods
manufactured for some time previously to their sale, and
still more in reducing the risk of fluctuations and loss
arising from miscalculations as to tire probable nature and
extent of demand in pistant markets, Even with a view to
following the fluctuations of taste anfl fashion in foreign
markets, it often becomes exceedingly important to hasten
by even a day the execution of an order ; and whepe, as in
the case of the North of Rnrope, the communications are
interrupted for a season by ice or other cuusps, the peces-
sity for despatch is often equally urgent.
" Under these circumstances, it has become a matter of
the utmost importance to every manufacturing town and
district to participate in the advantages of Railway com¬
munication, without which they pre placed at a manifest
8
INCREASE OF TRADE.
disadvantage as compared with other seats of the same
branches of industry, which are provided with lines of Rail¬
way. In fact, under the increasing pressure of competi¬
tion, it may be considered that the possession of good Rail¬
way communication has become almost as much a matter
of necessity as the adoption of the most improved machi¬
nery, to enable a manufacturing community to contend on
equal terms with its rivals, and to maintain its footing."—
Report of the Railway Department, ^c. on communication in
Lancashire, Sçc., April \Gth, 1845.
" What England has done for civilized Europe, Lanca¬
shire has done for England. In proportion as the industrial
arts penetrated England, so did they converge towards
Manchester as their centre. Manchester spun and wove
their wool before the rise of the cotton manufacture ; and
under one form or other this town has been, since the fif¬
teenth century, the manufacturing metropolis of the United
Kingdom
"In 1792 the imports into England of cotton wool were
less than 30,000,000 lbs. ; the products of the manufacture
were estimated at from £3,200,000 to £4,000,000, and oc¬
cupied less than 100,000 hands The men of Man¬
chester conduct operations upon the most gigantic scale,
such as the imagination can scarcely embrace. There is a
spinning-mill in Manchester which employs 1500 hands,
and it has been asserted that another house in the same
town exports annually 30,000 bales of yarn and woollen
goods weighing 15,000 tons, and pays upwards of £30,000
for freights to the port where they are shipped
" In 176O the eo^on manufacture, concentrated in Lanca¬
shire, occupied 40^00 hands, for the most part weavers.
Twenty years later, notwithstanding the progress which this
manufacture had made, Manchester numbered only 50,000
inhabitants. In 1800 the productive force in this industrial
town did not employ more than thirty-two engines, equal in
all to 430 horse-power.
" The progress of production in Lancashire explains the
progress of population. Whilst the number of inhabitants
for the county increased from 300,000 to 1,660,000, and for
POPULATION.
9
Manchester from 40,000 to 306,000, the manufacture of
cotton in the kingdom increased from 3,000,000 lbs. to
600,000,000 lbs. ; and notudthstanding the continual re¬
duction of price, the value of the products increased from
£800,000 to £36,000,000 sterling. At the present day
Lancashire possesses three-fifths of the establishments de¬
voted to the spinning and weaving of cotton ; and there are
more than a hundred factories in the town of Manchester
alone.
" Manchester, like a diligent spider, is placed in the
centre of the web, and sends forth roads and railways to¬
wards its auxiliaries, formerly villages but now towns, which
serve as outposts to the grand centre of industry. The
Leeds Railway connects Manchester with Oldham, which
contains 60,000 inhabitants ; also with Bury, Rochdale and
Halifax, each of which numbers from 24,000 to 26,000
souls ; the Bolton Railway connects it with Bolton, Preston
and Chorley, which together have more than a hundred
factories and 114,000 inhabitants. On the Sheffield Line
a few minutes suffice to reach the establishments of Staly-
bridge, Ashton, Dukinfield and Hyde, peopled by more
than 80,000 inhabitants ; the Birmingham Line incorpo¬
rates with it, so to speak, the 50,000 inhabitants of Stock¬
port; and that of Liverpool connects it with Wigan and
Warrington. Thus we have fifteen or sixteen seats of in¬
dustry forming this grand constellation.
" Manchester and the district around, within the distance
of about twelve miles, contains upwards of 1,000,000 of
inhabitants, [of which Manchester and Salford numbered in
1841 only 310,592]. A circle drawn around Manchester at
the distance of an hour's ride, embraces a larger population
than a similar circle drawn round London."—Manchester in
1844, by Hons. Leon Faucher.
In addition to these most interesting and valuable statistics,
compiled and digested by a foreign inquirer, it may be added
that other manufacturing towns and districts of vast import¬
ance have also their wants to be supplied by the readiest and
best means of communication with the metropolis ; and that in
some cases, as in that of Macclesfield and its important silk
10
PRESENT IRREGULARITIES.
manufiictures, in which the raw material is to be conveyed from
Rnd the manufactured product to be conveyed hack to the me¬
tropolis, the question of facility, expedition and cheapness of
intercourse is one of life and death to its interests. When it is
considerad that above 4000 hands are employed in the manu¬
factories of the Messrs. Brocklehurst alone, and the competition
which this branch of our manufactures has to sustain against
the skill and energy of other countries, now still further to be
tested by the removal of all protecting duties, it is surely in¬
cumbent on the Legislature to do everything in its power to
enable those engaged in this important branch of manufacture to
sustain the competition to which they are exposed, and on the
maintenance of which so many depend for their daily bread.
§4.
The necessity of a Direct Line between Manchester, as the
great centre of production of the most important of our manu¬
factures, and London, the great centre not only of our own com¬
merce, but of that of the whole world, is established by the
general principles already stated, and confirmed by the insuf¬
ficiency of the present means of transit and intercourse to meet
the increased demand without unnecessary expense, great risk
from accident, and the danger of a growing and permanent
monopoly.
It is now sufficiently notorious that the accumulated traffic
upon the London and Birmingham and Birmingham and Man¬
chester Lines both prevents the possibility of regularity and is
productive of considerable danger. The loudest and strongest
complaints on this subject are made by the manufacturers both
of Birmingham and Manchester ; and the Company has been
positively obliged to refuse the heavier descriptions of traffic
altogether, This has been and is the case with the conveyance
of the vast products of the coal-fields of the Midland Counties,
which would afford an inexhaustible supply qf tfiis great neces¬
sary of life to the metropolis and the intermediate towns, and
greatly' diminish its price, and with the conveyance of both live
and dead stock to the London markets. The trains are now
frequently of such vast size as to render it impossible for tfie
Company to keep time. These facts can be abundantly esta-
DANGERS FROM INEFFICIENCY.
11
blished, even by the testimony of their own admissions and de¬
clarations,
It is surely not meet that the great manufacturers of Man¬
chester and traders of London should he unnecessarily depen¬
dent upon an indirect line of communication when they have it
in their power to provide and support a direct one that they
should pay n greater sum for the transit of their goods thnn thay
are able to carry them for themselves;—that they should he at the
mercy of any company, however respectable, as to the time, post,
and expedition pf their intercourse.
Looking at the sphject therefore as a great national question,
—as affecting the first principles of trade and commerce, of
public protection and individual wealth, they conceive their
claims to a Direct Line to he placed upon an immoveable basis,
when they shall have proved the existence of the difficulties,
dangers and fears to which they have referred, and shown
their own capability of executing and successfully conducting
the plan which they propose for their own and the public
advantage,
In the very last report of the meeting of the Proprietors of
the London and Birmingham Railway, there is an important
remark in the Chairman's address bearing upon this point.
Mr. Cvfisthwaite.—" There was one subject upon which the
public mind was at present very sensitive, and whicb ho had
hoped would have been alluded to by the Chairman. He meant
the accidents which had recently occurred; one of them near
that spot, He kpew that this was not the place to discuss such
a subject, &c.
" The Chairman hoped he need not formally assure the
meeting, that the Directors had given and would give this matter
their naost anxious attention. The reduction of their charges
had led to an immense increase pf traffic ; and though he believed
that nobody was in fault, still if the additional stock of engines,
which was expected, had come to hand, the causes, he thought, pf
such an occurrence would have been to a great degree pbvjated."
Tbe same observation applies to the case of another of the
Lipes composing tfiis grand federation—the Birmingham and
Manchester, At tbe very last meeting, held in Manchester in
the course of this month, complaints were made of the irregu-
12
WANT OF PUNCTUALITY.
larlties in time which took place upon the Line, in reply to which
the Chairman observed : " He thought there had been grounds
for complaint of want of punctuality, but the Directors could
not create a great locomotive establishment in a moment, or
produce engines ad libitum. Till a late period the London and
Birmingham and the Grand Junction Companies did not shine
conspicuous for low rates for goods or fares for passengers ; it
being a question with them whether a reduction of the rates and
fares would produce an increased traffic equal to the increased
cost involved. The reduction was made ; it produced an enor¬
mous accession of traffic, much larger than was ever contemplated
as possible, and consequently in all these Lines, as on the Man¬
chester and Birmingham, there was now a great deficiency of
locomotive power, and the Directors could not do all that the
public required."—Macclesfield Courier, Jan. 17, 1846.
This proves both that cheap prices bring an immense increase
of traffic, and that the London and Birmingham Railway, as well
as the Manchester and Birmingham, is deficient in engine-power
to meet the demand with safety to the public. What would be
the case if all the projected lines converged into theirs !
§5.
The promoters of the London and Manchester Railway have
no wish to speak with any disrespect whatever either of the Di¬
rectors or proprietors of the London and Birmingham Line, on
which they are now solely dependent for their intercourse with
Manchester, but to discuss the question at issue upon just, can¬
did, and well-established facts and principles.
They deeply regret, in fact, that the discussion should not
have been allowed to proceed simply upon its merits, and that,
without provocation, the Chairman of the London and Birming¬
ham Railway should have gone out of his way to] impugn their
proposed application, and to hazard such observations as those
that follow, quoted from the authorized report of his speech at
the very last meeting of the great proprietary over whose inter¬
ests he presides.
" There is another paragraph in the Grand Junction Report
to which I wish briefly to refer, and I will take the figures as
they are given, not supposing that a Company like the Grand
LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM PROJECTS. 13
Junction would misrepresent the facts. The result is most im¬
portant in considering the probability of a line being carried out
from Manchester to London. The Grand Junction Directors
state, that the whole of the direct traffic between Manchester
and London in the last half-year fell short of 17,000Z. Now,
Gentlemen, I feel exceedingly obliged to the Directors of the
Grand Junction for calling attention to such a fact. Only
17,000/. traffic between London and Manchester last half-year,
and yet two Direct Manchester and London Lines are adver¬
tised ! This is what they have to fight for with us and the
Grand Junction Company. This fact is material, because in
the City of London there are people of remarkably intelligent
minds and of business habits, who have connected themselves
with these Manchester lines. It is morally impossible that these
persons should be acquainted with the fact brought forward by
the Grand Junction Company, though I believe not intended to
be thus used. I am delighted to find that the men of business with
whom I have the pleasure of being associated in the City, should
know that 34,000/. a-year is what they are fighting for ; and
\ even that they will not get, for we shall have as short a line ;
there will be but a mile and a half difference between them, and
with better gradients than on any of the new Manchester lines
proposed.''
They cannot but feel the value of the compliment paid by the
Chairman to their intelligence, but are unwilling to accept it at
the expense of their undertaking. They cannot regard this at¬
tack upon themselves and their project as sound either in spirit
or argument. The Chairman cautiously avoids pledging him¬
self to the accuracy of the computation respecting the amount of
traffic between London and Manchester direct; but makes a
cat's-paw of some incidental remark {not to be thus used) of the
Directors of the Grand Junction Company, his allies in the
combat,—no doubt most impartially and disinterestedly made,
—to congratulate his proprietary, or to throw ridicule on the
schemes of those whose intelligence he compliments.
Suppose it were true, that they are only fighting with this Go¬
liath for 34,000/. a-year, surely it is not worth the trouble of a
Company revelling in an income of above 1,500,000/. sterling
per annum !! to fight for such a pittance as 34,000/. a-year. They
14
MONOPOLIES.
might suffer others to pick up this crumb from their table, and
he satisfied with the superfluity which remainsi
If great interests were not at stake, such assertions might be
safely left to their own refutation, or used as mere topics of ridi¬
cule 5 but the quarter from which they proceed entitles them to
direct and positive contradiction, and calls for the declaration,
that they either spring from gross ignorance of the facts, or are
a bold attempt to impose upon the public credulity.
There is, however, a great principle at issue. Monopolies
in their very nature mean the interest of a class or individual
at the expense of the public interest and convenience. Whether
Such monopolies arise, as they formerly did, from royal favour,
or as they do now, from parliamentary sanction, or from the
inconvenience or perhaps impossibility of competition, the prin¬
ciple and the effect are precisely the same. The exclusive pri¬
vilege of selling salt or tobacco, or tea or coffee, or any other
article of luxury or necessity, by means of a royal patent or par¬
liamentary grant, is avoW'edly a bonus conferred for the mainte¬
nance, reward, or enrichment of some favoured individual or
class, to the detriment of all who consume, and who are obliged to
pay two, three, or perhaps twenty times the price at which such
articles could be purchased in the course of legitimate commerce.
The idea of enriching or favouring individuals at the expense of
the public is one long since exploded in this country, and needs
no argument to prove its injustice or impolicy.
There are however monopolies of a different character, whose
principles and effects are not so obvious and yet just as certain.
These are monopolies founded upon the concentration of vast
wealth, means, and influence to the working out of some great
manufacture or method of conveyance or transit upon a scale
which defies individual competition, deters opposition founded
even upon the same principle as the monopoly itself, and which
involve the interest of so many individuals and bodies in their
continued success, as to command a power of resistance in and
out of Parliament against which it is extremely difficult for any
opponents to contend.
Such is precisely that of the great English Railroad Companies;
individual competition in any form is entirely out of the question.
Appeals to Parliament against such bodies are almost fruitless,
COMPETITION.
15
and concessions when extorted or conferred in anticipation of
parliamentary interference or the public impatience are almost
always more apparent than real, and attended with inconveniertces
and drawbacks which greatly diminish their value. This has been
remarkably the case in the working out of the parliamentary pro¬
vision fot the protection of the poor, by obliging all Railtoads to
send trains at least once in the day at a price not exceeding a
penny a mile, &d.
The Directors of the London and Birmingham Railway natu¬
rally employ all the means in their power to strengthen their
influence, and propose to invade Parliament itself. The Chair¬
man of the Company at the last meeting of Proprietors, in ask¬
ing the sanction of the body for the increase of the number of
Directors to twenty-four, pithily observes, " If the resolution
were agreed to, it was the intention of the Directors to increase
their Parliamentary force (their Parliamentary force !!!), as
there were several Members of the House willing to join them."
This is a new era in Parliamentary tactics ; and we shall, no
doubt, soon see the new force suitably organized, with theie
proper uniform, ticketed and labeled in an appropriate fashion.
" Existing Railroads (it has been well observed) can and ought
to have no preference except in as far as their interests and those
of the public coincide. The claim might have some feasibility in
a case in which a great public good had been effected without
adequate remuneration ; but where remuneration has been enoT-
mous, such a claim is preposterous, and has all the worst features
of the worst monopoly."—Railway Department Report, Feb. 24,
1845, p. 1.
The only real competition therefore, and the only protection
to the public, is the construction of a new, independent line,
wherever the amount of traffic and intercourse justifies a com¬
pany in forming, and Parliament in sanctioning such a pro¬
ceeding. Notwithstanding all the difficulties which beset the
commencement of the grand scheme of Railroads, difficulties
which were so ably and resolutely surmounted by the Directors
and Engineers of the earlier Lines, for which they are entitled
to the public gratitude, and from the removal of which they have
reaped an ample reward, the calculations of the projectors haVe
been so far exceeded, that the London and Birmingham Line is
16
REDUCTION OF PRICE.
by no means equal, with all its resources and improvements, ade¬
quately to meet the increased and increasing traffic. The number
of trains is by far too great for safety, and the reason of the great
majority of accidents which have taken place on Railroads is to
be attributed to this source.
The immense and unexpected results of the Railroad traffic in
the case of the line between London and Birmingham have
enabled the Company to divide a profit far exceeding any reason¬
able return for capital, to realise great sums, and to apply their
extra resources to the discouragement of all competition, by
purchasing rival schemes, constructing branch lines, contesting
applications to Parliament, and promoting various plans of co¬
operation or extension, which all serve to give and preserve to
them the monopoly of the traffic, and to accumulate vast wealth
to the disadvantage or detriment of the public. These vast re¬
sults afford in themselves the very best proof that the Company
is overpaid, that cheapness of conveyance has not reached its
minimum, or even approached it, and confirm beyond question
the calculation of the promoters of the Manchester Direct, that
material reductions in price, saving in time, convenience in tra¬
velling and other advantages are yet to be realized. The London
and Birmingham and other Railways, after having up till this
time maintained the impossibility of making any further reduc¬
tions, now find reductions very practicable, and to prepare for
the contest, have actually made very considerable reductions in
their fares. If the coming shadow of a competing line can pro¬
duce such a beneficial effect to the public, what may not the sub¬
stance be expected to realize.
The monopoly prices were kept up by the London and Bir¬
mingham Company till the project of Remington's line was pub¬
lished in 1844, on which they immediately reduced their fares;
as the probability of competition increased, they continued to
make further reductions in 1845 ; and again a still further reduc¬
tion at the commencement of the present year. The same state¬
ment applies to the cases of the Grand Junction and the Man¬
chester and Birmingham, which now constitute the grand alliance.
And all these reductions without any diminution of their income,
showing conclusively the extent to which the public has hitherto
suffered and must eontinue to suffer from sueh monopolies.
PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC.
17
These points are conclusively established by the reports of
the London and Birmingham Line itselfj and the calculation as
to estimate of costs. The first estimate of costs, as stated in the
circular dated London, April 7th, 1830, was 1,500,000/., and
when this estimate was afterwards raised to 2,000,000/., a large
body of subscribers to the scheme petitioned against the passing
of the bill. Full details on these points are, however, contained
in the evidence given before the Committee of the House of
Lords both on costs and traffic, and which, when compared with
the present amount, as seen in the tables already given, are
proofs of the truth of the remark*.
The great principle of due protection to the interests of the
public is clearly and specifically stated in the Report of the
Railway Department of the Board of Trade on the Manchester
and Leeds district.
" In every case we have endeavoured to keep steadily in
view the attainment of the greatest amount of public ad¬
vantage. We have not recognized the existence of any¬
thing like a vested right in existing Companies to be pro¬
tected from the same description of competition which they
have themselves inflicted on canals and other existing modes
of communication. Beyond, perhaps, a bare preference, in
cases of absolute equality, due to the interests of share¬
holders, who themselves constitute a portion of the public,
we have not considered that an existing Railway Company
could claim any preference over other parties proposing to
effect the same objects, beyond that which might result
from an identification of interest with the public.
" Considering the subject in this point of view, it appears
to us that, as a general rule, the most important point for
the interests of the public, is to secure the best permanent
lines of Railway communication for the country at large and
for the wants of the district. To sanction an inferior or
unnecessarily circuitous line proposed by an existing Com¬
pany, or to reject one of decided public and local advantage,
proposed by a new Company, for the sake of any terms that
could be offered by an existing Company, would, in our
* See Appendix B.
c
18
NECESSITY FOR NEW LINES.
opinion, be, except under peculiar circumstances, unfair
towards the local interests thus sacrificed, and unwise as
regards the general and permanent interests of the public.
The fair remedy,—the wholesome remedy,—is a competing
Trunk Line, direct, which leaves Birmingham its own just and
reasonable claim to an immediate communication with the me¬
tropolis, and does no more than place Manchester on the same
proper footing.
§6.
There is obviously no means of fair competition or of securing
tbe public interest, except by proceeding on the general prin¬
ciples already stated, and in the application of these principles
to the construction of a direct trunk line from London to Man¬
chester. The period has now arrived when this question must
be fully met. The extraordinary number of schemes before the
public, and especially in the form of branch and continuation
lines, raises a question of vast public importance in its results.
It will be obvious at the first glance, that if the scheme of
branch, extension, or auxiliary Railroads is allowed to proceed
much further, the effect will be in the highest degree unfavour¬
able to the commerce of the country and the interests of the
public. Indirect communications will be established in cases in
which direct communications are now practicable,—the time
and cost of transit increased ; above all, a monopoly irremedia¬
bly saddled upon the country. It requires only a glance at the
map, at the lines existing and projected, to see that all those are
the results of a great scheme of concentration, with a view to
draw the whole currents of transit from the north-west of En¬
gland and the great manufacturing districts into one stream.
As long as there is only one trunk line into London from those
districts, all the branches, extensions and tributaries are com¬
pletely in the power of the great line to which they converge,
and by means of which alone they can reach the great terminus
and object towards which all these streams flow. Such a line
can effectually dictate its own terms, establish its own times, and
would soon be able to defy all competition whatever. It will have
secured the interests of so many individuals, the traffic of so
many towns, and the command of such an enormous capital,
LIST OF LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM SCHEMES. 19
that resistance would become hopeless, and no remedy remain
but direct parliamentary interference.
That this is no exaggerated or overdrawn picture, we have
only to refer to the addresses of the Chairman of the London
and Birmingham Railway at the two last half-yearly meetings
of Proprietors, when plans in all respects bearing out these
remarks are put forward and declared to be in immediate and
active preparation,-—all plans of competition denounced, the
principle of monopoly fairly avowed, and immense means, ari¬
sing from the profits of their trade, applied for its realization.
At the twenty-third half-yearly meeting of the London ano'
Birmingham Railway Company, February 12, 1845, it appears
by the report that the Company were immediately interested in
the following various lines in progress {a.) or projected (6.).
[a.) Warwick and Leamington ; Northampton and Peter¬
borough ; Lancaster and Carlisle ; Chester and Holyhead.
(6.) Tring, Worcester and Dudley, and Rugby and Oxford ;
Trent Valley ; Bedford and Bletchley ; Dunstable and Leighton.
With a view of obtaining the most direct line between London
and Manchester, overtures are reported to have been made to
the Company, and to have been accepted by them, from the—
1. Manchester and Birmingham.
2. Churnet Valley.
3. Trent Valley.
And no less a sum is reported to have been disbursed in con¬
nection with these lines, existing or projected, independently of
the London and Birmingham itself, than 200,922/. 16s. \0d. for
the half-year from June 30 to December 31, 1844 ; and 331,505/.
9s. 7d. from December 31, 1844, to June 30, 1845.
The Chairman, in his speech to the meeting, when speaking of
the Board of Trade, says, "they may also have considered that,
situated as Railways now are in this country, the best course
that can be chalked out for the public and for the proprietors of
these Railways, is that of a well-regulated monopoly. . . . Follow¬
ing up the idea (of obtaining a direct Communication between
London and Manchester), and under the sanction of the Board of
Trade, we have ventui-ed to enter upon a more extensive field of
action than you have generally been inclined to give Us credit
for; we have thought that the time was come when it was ad-
c 2
20
MEANS OF SECURING MONOPOLY.
visable that Manchester and London should be put in direct
communication with each other. We had proposals made to us
by the Trent Valley and Churnet Valley Companies ; and before
we conclude our business today, it will be my duty to propose
to you resolutions, by which the eventual amalgamation of two
of these lines with our own, and the perpetual leasing of the
other, shall be earried into effect."
"There was one circumstance to which he had omitted to call
attention, namely, the great convenience which woidd result to
the public from having the London and Birmingham, the Man¬
chester and Birmingham, the Trent and Churnet Valley Rail¬
ways all under one management. The boon thus secured to the
public would be very great, as it was evident that with four di¬
stinct and independent boards there must have been great diffi¬
culty in securing harmonious working." ....
The Chairman, in his address at the twenty-fourth half-yearly
meeting of the Proprietors of the London and Birmingham
Railway, held on the 7th of August 1845, says,—
" Gentlemen, the iron masters might fight against us on the
principle of competition : but what are we to say, when we find
existing Railway Companies—the Great Western and the Grand
Junction—acting on the same principle? In these cases also
time alone can show whether they have acted wisely or not ; but
assuredly it was a course of conduct on the part of these two
Companies which could not have been contemplated by us.
When we look at the conduct of the Great Western in their own
district, what do we find? We find them taking advantage of
circumstances to tie up, by a bond, the only existing interest in
the district capable of offering opposition,— I allude to the ar¬
rangement whereby the South Western Company are precluded
from carrying any lines into the district at present occupied by
the Great Western Company. After such proceedings, the
principle of competition is certainly a strange one to be acted
on in that quarter. Then, Gentlemen, with regard to the other
public body which has been arrayed against us—I allude to the
Grand J unction—certainly in the case of the Crewe Line they
adopted a very opposite principle ; they purchased the Crewe
Line the very instant it was constructed, for the purpose of
shutting out competition with themselves."
OF DEFEATING OPPOSITION.
21
All this proves that these and all sueh public bodies will vin¬
dicate monopoly or competition, high or low fares, or any other
scheme, according as it affects the immediate interests at stake.
" Gentlemen, while we do not forget our duty to the public, it
is our duty also, as far as possible, to protect your interests ;
and with that view it is the intention of your Directors, in the
course of the ensuing year, and in conjunction with influential
parties in various districts of the country, to bring forward
several projects whicb, we think, will not only materially tend
to the defence of your own Line, hut add considerably to your
resources We propose to make a branch line from Watford,
by St. Albans to Luton. We propose to carry our Line from
Northampton to Banbury, probably in connection with a Com¬
pany of considerable influence in that part of the country : but
at any rate it is the intention of your Directors to bring the
traffic from Banbury to tbat part of our Line,—I mean to Blis-
worth. We propose to extend the Warwick and Leamington
branch from Coventry to Nuneaton, connecting it in that way
with the Trent Valley Railway. These are comparatively short
Lines ; but we have more extensive projects in contemplation.
In connection with the Earl of Warwick, and in conjunction
with the Midland Company, we propose continuing our Line
from Hampton to Warwick and Leamington, and thence to
Banbury ; and it is probable that some other may carry it to
Cheltenham. With the sanction of the Duke of Buckingham,
and the support of all the leading interests of the country,
we mean to bring the Line from Banbury via Brackley, to Buck¬
ingham, Aylesbury and Missenden, into our Line again between
Watford and Harrow. These measures will, we believe, cover
the flanks of our Line on both sides, and will of themselves prove
a source of considerable emolument. We have likewise formed
a connection with that most important body in the district, the
Birmingham Canal Company, and in conjunction with them and
the Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, Dudley, and Birmingham
Company, we propose forming a Direct Line from Birmingham
to Wolverhampton, almost I may say on the banks of the canal ;
and through this arrangement a great portion of the mineral
traffic of South Staffordshire will still flow into the hands of the
London and Birmingham Company. Gentlemen, there is an-
22
OVERCHARGED LINE.
other short Line to which I omitted to call your attention in
connexion with the Buckinghamshire projects,—I mean a line
from Wolverton in connexion with the branch to Bedford by
Buckingham and Bicester to Oxford."
But what is now the fact ?—The London and Birmingham, the
Grand Junction, and the Manchester and Birmingham, themselves
quondam rivals or enemies, have now become friends, and en¬
tered into an alliance to engross and monopolize the traffic of
the most important towns in the kingdom ;—receiving at this
moment an income of above £30,000 per week.
Let the public only cast their eyes upon the advertisement in
the Times of the 29th of this month (January 1846), and they
will form some idea of the vast projects of this immense mono¬
polizing company. Twenty-two bills in a single session ! Why
we shall soon want a parliament to do nothing else but Birming¬
ham Railway business * !
When to all this we add the immense number of Lines which
converge at Birmingham, and the flood of traffic poured in at
Rugby and elsewhere, we are presented with the details of a gi¬
gantic scheme of monopoly hitherto unparalleled, and which, if
once allowed to be established, will prove irremediable. Railways
are now, in fact, become the highways of the country, and the
principle of their treatment should be precisely the same as that
by which highways were guided. If matters be allowed to proceed
a little further, there will be neither king's highway, nor queen's
highway, but the highway of the London and Birmingham Com¬
pany. " The salutary dread of competition can never stir the
activity or ruffie the repose of the railway monopolist, who finds
himself in a moment invested with a despotic power, to which
the best interests of society must succiimb The main
avenues throughout the country cease to be the property of the
state, and are handed over to the absolute possession of mono¬
polists placed beyond the reach of rivalry or control." " They
are enabled to establish a monopoly in the most extensive sense,
and to keep the intercourse of the country entirely at their con¬
trol." The Directors of the London and Manchester Company
are desirous of not overstating the case, and therefore rely for
the confirmation of these statements on the avowed and pub-
* See Appendix C.
ADVANTAGES OF A THROUGH LINE.
23
lished declarations of those who, they think, have gone out of
their way to proclaim themselves to the world as their oppo¬
nents, and the opponents of the public at large.
§7.
If then a direct line to Manchester rests upon a solid founda¬
tion,—if it would be in accordance with the great principles
which ought to guide legislation,—if it be for the interests of
the public,—of London and Manchester,—and a fair concession
to the claims of those concerned in the trade of these two vast
towns,—-there are other correlative benefits which will confer
upon it advanages by no means trivial.
This will be an extensive line, uniting the two greatest masses
of collective population and emporta of trade in England, under
the direction of one body through its whole course ; and subject,
therefore, to none of those inconveniencies, delays, disappoint¬
ments, risks of loss in transferring baggage, which are not
merely incidental but necessary when great lines are uttder dif¬
ferent Directors—often competitors, sometimes rivals,—or when
it is necessary to transport passengers, luggage, goods from one
terminus to another ; to pack and repack ; to make new arrange¬
ments for tickets; and all those multifarious inconveniences
which attend such arrangements. The lines are parcelled out
in detail, there are contrary or even conflicting interests, and
the public is always the sufferer in time, cost and convenience.
" The safety of the public requires that upon every Railway
there should be one system of management, under one superin¬
tending authority, which should have the power of making and
of enforcing all regulations necessary for the protection of pas¬
sengers, and for duly conducting and maintaining this new mode
of communication.
" The monopolies on every side acknowledged to exist, and
necessarily so, are at present sought to be transferred ; and as
they were conferred by Parliament under a misapprehension of
the effect which they woidd produce, now that they are again
brought before the Legislature, a certain revision of the facts
bearing on each case seems to be desirable, in order to ascertain
how far the interests of the Public as well as of the Proprietors
of the respective Railways are likely to be affected, before sane-
24
AMALGAMATION.
tioning measures of such importance as the proposed amalga¬
mations."
" It is evident that to allow amalgamation may, in many cases,
be to sanction and confirm monopoly, and to hand over import¬
ant interests and districts to the control of a single company.
" Even with the most stringent securities that could be de¬
vised, we must not conceal from ourselves that the amalgamation
of powerful Railway Companies is calculated to deprive the
Public of a great proportion of those checks which have hitherto
operated most powerfully in protecting them against the evils
incidental to monopoly. The principal of such checks has been
the fear of new and competing lines, and the chance of seeing
such lines brought forward has often depended very much on
the existence of neighbouring Companies in a state of indepen¬
dence and often of rivalry. In fact one of the principal motives
to amalgamation among existing Bailway Companies has been
to obtain mutual security against competing lines or branches ;
and without great precaution there is reason to fear that the
effect of allowing such amalgamations might often be either to
impede the formation of new Railways when they were really
required, or to make the interests of existing Railway Compa¬
nies, rather than those of the district to be accommodated, the
conditions by which the direction of such new lines was deter¬
mined."—Report of the Railway Department of the Board of
Trade on proposed amalgamations of Railways.
The Manchester and London Direct is a line proved to be
practicable by the surveys, embracing a new line of country,
traversing England from north-west to south-east, and affording
a direct communication M'ith London, to several towns of im¬
portance ; and a strong evidence of the want is, the number of
lines projected to meet this-want in detail, as the London and
Bedford, Bedford and Leicester, Leicester and Birmingham-,
Leicester and Macclesfield, Churnet Valley, Tean and Dove,
and others.
§ 8.
The Direct London and Manchester line will be seen by re¬
ference to the list of the Provisional Committee, Directors, and
PAYMENT OF DEPOSITS.
25
Houses pledged to its support, to be promoted by a class of
persons such as those to whom reference has already been made.
These lists contain few if any names of persons not immediately
interested in trade, and in the particular trade which the line is
intended to facilitate. It is, therefore, in all respects a bond fide
undertaking, a point of no small importance in these times of
rash speculation. Its directors and promoters consist of persons
directly interested in its wise, prudent and economical construc¬
tion and administration, and not of those who are mere specu¬
lators for the sake of a profitable traffic in shares.
§9.
The remark in the former paragraph is fully substantiated by
the fact that the whole of the payments required by Act of Par¬
liament have been made, and a sum instantly raised of nearly
half a million sterling, the greatest sum ever deposited by any
similar Company for a similar purpose. This proves that the
promoters are not only convinced of the expediency and neces¬
sity of such a line, but prepared to carry out the project with
zeal ; that they are willing to stake their reputation and means
on its success, and are confident of not only meeting with a
reasonable return for their capital and of promoting their legiti¬
mate trade, but of furnishing great facilities to the public by
providing them with cheap and expeditious means of transit.
If therefore economy, expedition, safety and extended accom¬
modation be real benefits to trade,—if the interests of the public
are to be really consulted, and not those of monopolizing com¬
panies,—if additional facilities for the transit of goods and the
conveyance of passengers are to be given, in order more effi¬
ciently to compete with the increasing exertions of foreign na¬
tions,—if the latest improvements in the construction and work¬
ing of railways are to be adopted, and a legitimate weight given
to the claims of those who seek for the advancement of national
commerce and wealth,—the force of evidence in favour of the
construction of a great Trunk Line from London to Manchester
appears to be irresistible and conclusive.
26
EVIDENCE.
APPENDIX.
A.
Minutes of Evidence.—Committee of the House of Lords on the
London and Birmingham Railway Bill.
Preamble.—" Whereas the making a railway, with proper
works and conveniences connected therewith, for the carriage of
passengers, goods and merchandise from London to Birmingham,
will prove of great publie advantage, by opening an additional,
cheap, certain and expeditious communication between the Me¬
tropolis, the Port of London, and the large manufacturing town
and neighbourhood of Birmingham ; and will at the same time
facilitate the means of transit and trafiie for passengers, goods
and merchandise between these places and the adjacent districts
and the several intermediate towns and places."
Extracts from Evidence given before the Committee of the
Lords.
1st. General utility of the Railway.
4th. Practical effects of Railways already constructed and in
operation,
Commerce.
A (1). London merchants examined ; F. Barry, H. Helmsley,
F. Barnes, J. Dillon.
Summary,
Mr, Barry proves the great advantages of certain and quick
communication for shippers to foreign markets, and of the re¬
moval of the delays incident to the freezing of canals, cleansing
the same and other casualties, from which both manufacturers
and merchants sutfered great inconvenience.
EVIDENCE.
27
18. Would the construction of a railroad between London
and Birmingham materially benefit the commerce of this port ?
All despatch and facility must of necessity benefit the port.
Almost all the manufactures sent to Germany, the North of
Europe and Russia, must of necessity travel eastward, and every
facility for bringing them to London would be a great ad¬
vantage.
19. The losses and disappointments which you mentioned be¬
fore would of course be obviated?
In the course of the season many vessels take their departure
for the Baltic, and if the manufacturers are thrown out two or
three days, they are thrown out the whole wdnter, for the Baltic
is frozen up and they are frozen in ; three or four days make all
the alteration.
23. During the time (of the canals being shut by frost) there
is a cessation of supply ?
Many of the articles will not bear the expense of long car¬
riage; the season operates in some measure on land-carriage,
but not so effectually as on water. Many articles will not bear
the expense, such as iron bars, and so on ; we must bring them
by water, or we cannot export them at all.
24. In those cases you are obliged to wait till the canals are
open?
In point of fact, the value of the articles is so small that they
cannot bear the expense.
Mr. Helmsley establishes the same principles respecting glass,
and proves that a I'ailroad would be an immense saving in time,
as well as of breakage and capital.
Mr. Frederick Barnes the same, respecting hardware.
Mr. John Dillon the same, respecting the Coventry and Man¬
chester trade :—
12. From experience, you have no hesitation in stating that
the railroad would be an imnjense gain to your trade and to
trade generally ?
I have no hesitation in saying the gain to our trade, and to
trade generally, would be very great.
Birmingham merchants,^—^Messrs, Oliver Mason, Edward
Tilsley Moore, Richard Purkess Westall, Thomas Badger, esta¬
blish, by clear evidence, the vast advantage tq them as maimfac-
28
EVIDENCE,
turers of an expeditious intercourse to and from London, and
on similar grounds. And all that is true respecting Birmingham
in their evidence applies with double force to Manchester.
Class A (2).—Agriculture.
Messrs. W. M. Warner, C. Whitworth, J. Sharp, R. Atten-
borough, and W. Kay, establish, by their evidence, the immense
advantage to agriculturists, and consequently the increase in
the value of land, from the facilities of railroad communication.
They prove that it would enable them to send to market a better
supply, of superior quality, with greater convenience and at
smaller cost, and thus materially benefit both producer and con¬
sumer.
Class A (3).—Travelling and Carriage of Goods.
Messrs. C. Mason and H. Cheetham prove, by their evidence,
the advantages which would accrue from saving of expense in
travelling and carriage of goods.
1. Mr. Cheetham,—Are you a cotton-manufacturer in the
neighbourhood of Manchester ?—I am.
2. Are you well acquainted with Manchester and the neigh¬
bouring towns ?—I am.
20. According to the effects of the Manchester and Liverpool
line, do you anticipate that great benefit will accrue to Man¬
chester from a saving of six hours' communication between
London and Manchester?—Yes; and also from the reduction
of expense. Between Liverpool and Manchester, it has been a
reduction to me of 150Z. per annum on the conveyance of cotton
alone. To the Manchester spinner there has been a consider¬
able reduction on the article of coal, as much as 2s. per ton, or
20 per cent.
Class A (4).—Conveyance of Bullion, Mails, Troops and
Military stores.
Messrs. J. Marshall, J. Moss, H. Cheetham, A. Godby, and
Lieut.-Gen. Sir J. W. Gordon, K.C.B., prove the great ad¬
vantages which would result from railroads to manufacturers,
traders, bankers and the Government, from the great facilities
in the transmission of money, papers, and in cases of need, of
troops and military stores.
EVIDENCE.
29
B.
Class B.—Estimate of Costs.
Mr. Robert Stephenson.
25. Have you considered the cost which would be necessary
to effect this work ?—I have.
111. Is the whole aggregate of (the) items (of expense)
2,205,352/.?—It is.
112. In works of this description is it usual to put a consi¬
derable amount for contingencies ?—Usually ten per cent.
113. Have you added to this a sum exceeding ten per cent.?
—The amount of contingencies at ten per cent, would be 205,000/.
I have put it at 294,648/. Altogether 2,500,000/.
390. Do you conceive that in 112 miles, where you will not
only carry passengers, but sheep and pigs and people are to be
allowed to come on from all sorts of side places, that two lines
can be enough ?—I am quite sure about that.
391. What makes you sure about it ?—It is possible to carry
more goods and do more business on two lines of railroad, than
there is any probability of coming between London and Bir¬
mingham.
Class C.—Estimate of Traffic,
Capt. C. Richard Moorsom.
1. Have you made a calculation of the number of persons
travelling by coach on the roads near the proposed Railroad ?—
I have.
2. Founded on the Stamp-office returns?—Founded on the
Stamp-office list of licensed coaches.
The result of Captain Moorsom's calculation was, that
the number of miles likely to be travelled on the Railroad
would amount to 569,808 miles per week, = 29,630,016
miles per annum ; and that at an average calculation of 2d.
per head, the gross annual income of the Railway from
passengers only, who now go by public conveyances,
would be 249,916/. 16s.
30
EVIDENCE.
Mr. Creed, Secretary to the London and Birmingham Railway.
2. Have you examined the information and evidence sug¬
gested by Messrs. Hart, Holman, Shackel, Partridge, Atten-
borough and Warner, of the traffic on the road by coaches, post¬
ing, canal-boats, &c. ?—Yes.
3. What do you caleulate that the eonveyance of the different
artieles and persons would amount to at Railroad prices ?—At
Railroad prices it would amount to 244,858/. 8s. lOi/.
4. Is that calculation made on the prices inserted in the Sche¬
dule of tolls to be taken by the proposed Act ?—It is.
5. Have you looked at Captain Moorsom's calculation as to
the coach-traffic of passengers by Railroad priees?—I have.
6. How mueh is that?—249,916/. 16s.
12. Have you examined the evidence given by Messrs. Earle,
Moss and Booth, relative to the increase of traffic on the Liver¬
pool and Manchester Line?—Yes, I have.
13. Taking this evidenee as your data, what do you calculate
would be the increased traffic on the proposed line of Railroad ?
—Mr. Booth states that the increase has been in the ratio as to
passengers of 1200 to 450; it may be assumed therefore that
the number of passengers by the London and Birmingham
Line would be doubled.
14. Then you take it in a less proportion than the actual
increase ?—Mr. Booth's statement is nearly in the proportion of
3 to 1. I have taken it as 2 to 1.
15. Upon that assumed increase on the actual calculated
traffic of goods, passengers and pareels, what do you make the
aggregate amount of revenue derived from these sources?—
738,692/. Os. lOd.
Mr. Peter Lecount.
1. Have you made yourself acquainted with the traffic in the
great roads between London and Birmingham ?—I have,
14. Will you have the goodness to look at this paper, and tell
me whether that contains the result of your ealculation ?—It
does.
18. Did you also ascertain the tonnage on the canal?—I did.
LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM ADVERTISEMENT. 31
The result of Mr. Lecount's calculation was, that the ex¬
pense of conveyance of the passengers or goods on the line
between London and Birmingham, and Birmingham and
London, amounted to 1,326,143/. by the present means, and
that the same transit would be effected by Railroad for
793,407/., besides the saving of time.
Messrs. J. Förster, J. Pease, T. Lee, H. Earle, J. Moss,
and H. Booth, clearly and satisfactorily established, that in
all cases Railways had largely contributed to facility of
communication, economy in travelling, and to a decided
increase in the value of land.
c.
London and Birmingham Railway.
Notice is hereby given, that a Special General Meeting of the
Proprietors of this Company will be held at the Euston Station,
London, on Friday, the 13th day of February now next ensuing,
at twelve o'clock, when the drafts of the undermentioned Bills
proposed to be introduced into Parliament in the next session
will be submitted to the Proprietors for their approval, under
which Bills it is proposed to authorize the London and Birming¬
ham Railway Company either to construct, or to become the
proprietors of, or to contribute towards the formation of the
Railways therein mentioned ; that is to say,^
Three bills to authorize the construction of railways from the
London and Birmingham Railway : one of such railways from
or near the Harrow station to Aylesbury ; another thereof from
or near the Tring station to Banbury ; another thereof from or
near the Bletchley station to the city of Oxford.
Three bills to authorize the construction of railways from the
London and Birmingham Railway : one thereof from or near the
Hampton station to Banbury ; another thereof from or near the
said Hampton station to join the Birmingham and Gloucester
Railway, in the parish of Ashchurch, in the county of Gloucester ;
and another thereof from or near the Weedon station to the city
of Worcester, with a branch to the town of Alcester,
A bill for making a railway from the London and Birming-
32 LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM ADVERTISEMENT.
ham Railway, at Coventry, to join the Line of the Trent Valley
Railway in the parish of Nuneaton.
A bill for making a railway from the London and Birming¬
ham Railway, in the parish of Weedon Beek, to join the Blis-
worth and Peterborough Railway in the parish of Hardingstone.
A bill for extending the Line of the Coventry and Leamington
Branch of the London and Birmingham Railway to the town of
Leamington Priors.
A bill to authorize the extension of the London and Birming¬
ham Railway to Navigation-street, in the town of Birmingham.
A bill for making a railway from the London and Birmingham
Railway at Rugby to the town of Leamington.
A bill or bills for making a railway from the London and Bir¬
mingham Railway, in the parish of Aston juxta Birmingham, to
the Grand Junction Railway, in the parish of Bushbury, in the
county of Stafford, with branches to Dudley.
And another railway, from and out of the last-mentioned rail¬
way, at or near Smethwiek, in the parish of Harborne, in the
county of Stafford, to Stourport, in the county of Worcester,
with branches to Netherton and Oldbury.
And also to authorize certain arrangements between the Lon¬
don and Birmingham Railway Company, and the Company of
Proprietors of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, with refer¬
ence to the purchase, or leasing, or use of the said navigations,
A bill for making a railway from the parish of Dudley to the
town of Hales Owen.
A bill or bills to authorize and empower the union and con¬
solidation into one undertaking of the London and Birmingham
Railway, the Grand Junction Railway, and the Manchester and
Birmingham Railway ; or for effecting such amalgamation sepa¬
rately between the London and Birmingham and Grand Junc¬
tion Railway Companies, and the London and Birmingham, and
Manchester and Birmingham Railway Companies respectively.
A bill for making a railway from or near the Blisworth station,
on the London and Birmingham Railway, to the towns of Ban¬
bury and Cheltenham.
A bill for making a branch railway from the London and Bir¬
mingham Railway, at or near Rugby, to the town of Stamford.
A bill for making a branch railway from the London and Bir-
LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM ADVERTISEMENT.
33
mingham Railway, at or near Wolverton, to the town of Newport
Pagnell, and thence to join the line of the Bedford and London
and Birmingham Railway.
A bill to authorize the purchase of the Aylesbury Railway.
A bill for making a branch railway from the London and
Birmingham Railway, at or near Watford, to St. Albans and
Dunstable, wdth a branch to Luton.
A bill for making certain alterations in the line of the West
London Railway, and extend the same to the river Thames.
A bill to empower the London and Birmingham Railway
Company to enlarge their stations near Euston-square, and at
Camden town, in the county of Middlesex.
A bill for extending the line of the London and Birmingham
Railway, from Camden-town to Farringdon-street, in the City of
London.
The Chair will be taken at Twelve o'clock precisely.
Dated this 2nd day of January, 1846.
GEO. CARR GLYN, Chairman, "i of the Board
JOSH. FRED. LEDSHAM, Deputy-Chairman,J of Directors.
By order. RICHARD CREED, Secretary.
D.
To the Honourable the Board of Trade.
The undersigned Merchants, Traders, and others, residing in the
Cities of London and Westminster, beg respectfully to
submit to your Honourable Board, the following Memo¬
rial in favour of the construction of a Direct Railway
from London to Manchester.
They submit.
That Railways have now become the highways of the Country.
That Direct Railways from London to the larger Towns and
Cities have received the approval and sanction of the best judges
and highest authorities in the Empire.
That the Line from London to Birmingham w as established
as being a direct Line.
D
34
MEMORIAL TO THE
That the necessity for a direct Line from London to Man¬
chester is more evident.
That one, and that an indirect Line from London to the ma¬
nufacturing districts, is insufficient for the wants of the Country.
That additional Lines are wanting for the purposes of com¬
merce.
That two Lines are indispensable for public objects and the
purposes of Government for the carriage of stores, the transport
of troops, and for objects of police and justice.
That to allow but one Line, with cross Lines only to Towns
on each side of that Line, is arbitrary, and will occasion gi-eat
and unnecessary expense, and that the delay will operate yet
more injuriously to other Towns and Districts.
That the tendency of this restriction is to perpetuate Mono¬
poly : that the partial Monopoly which has been already created
is oppressive now, and when extended, will become odious and
intolerable.
That the mere suggestion of a Direct Line to Manchester has
already caused an increased attention to the wants and the con¬
venience of the public.
That two main Lines from London, northward, will create
wholesome competition, increase the attention of the Directors
of each to the safety of the public—to their convenience—to
civility from the officers—to cheapness—to speed—and to punc¬
tuality.
That London, the emporium of commerce, and Manchester,
the emporium of the greatest manufactures of the Country, may
fairly claim to have a separate and direct means of communi¬
cation.
That the cotton and silk trades of Manchester, Macclesfield,
Leeds, Congleton, and their neighbourhoods, would be greatly
benefited by a Direct Line to London.
That a Railroad to Manchester would lead direct to Liverpool,
the sea-port of our manufactiu'es.
That it would also shorten and economize the route to Ireland,
to Scotland, and generally to the northern parts of the Empire.
That it would promote a cheaper and speedier communication
with Sheffield, and with the woollen districts of Yorkshire.
^That it would open to the Metropolis the important hose ma-
BOARD OF TRADE.
35
nufactures of Leicester, Hinckley, Derby, and Nottingham—the
lace manufactures of the latter Town—and the straw trade of
Luton and its neighbourhood.
That it would furnish supplies from the inexhaustible coal¬
field of the Midland Counties.
That Agriculture would share its benefits with Commerce.
That, passing through the counties of Middlesex, Hertford,
Bedford, Northampton, Leicester, Derby, Cheshire, Stafford and
Lancaster, and b}' or near the towns of Barnet, St. Alban's,
Luton, Bedford, Wellingboro, Kettering, Harborough, Leicester,
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Burton, Uttoxeter, Cbeadle, Leek, Maccles¬
field, and Stockport, this Line would open to them, at small
cost, the London and other Markets for straw, hay, corn, live
and dead stock, as well as all productions of a more perishable
nature, which cannot now be forwarded for want of means of
speedy conveyance.
THE END.
Printed by Richard and John E. Taylor, Red Lion Court, Deet Stre*»'"