THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY ^"SS". 23// 73 73i^8 Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. University of Illinois Library \\m 1 9 SEP -9 I u J J L161— O-1096 RAILWAYS km THE PUBLIC: PROVING THAT FARES FOR ANY DISTANCE OF 1st Class. 2nd Class. siw Class. Is. 6(1. 3cL BY THE OEDINARY TEAINS, OR FOR DISTANClTS UNDER TEN MILES OF 1st Class. _ 2Nn Class. 3kd Class. 4d. Sd. Id. BY THE DISTEIOT TEAINS, WOULD i!E EEMUNEEATIVE TO THE SHAREHOLDERS, BENEFICIAL TO THE PUBLIC, AND' PROFITABLE TO THE STATE. KAPHAEL JBRANDON, F.R.I.B.A., HOH. SEC. Of THE EXEOOIIVE COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL EAILWAV ASSOCIATION. EIGHTH EDITION. 51sJ; THOUSANrii LONDON r PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OP THE NATIONAL RAILWAY ASSOCIATIOxN, 17, Clement's Inn, Strand. WHOLESALE AND BETAIX BT ^y. H. AND L. COLLINGBIDaE, 117 TO l20, ALDERSGATE STREET, CITY, E.C., AND AT THE OFPICE OP THE ASSOCIATION SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS^ IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. 1871. Price One Halfpenyiy, [ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. RAILWAYS AND THE PUBLIC. Tould at once secure a f'-i'^/^tri value tI hofe in authority I appeal on Ire ia nio^t cases now of veij doubtfu v^^^^^^ developing to the utmost ♦he ffrouud of public duty, and the „ jjie certainty of increasing the Ixteft the resources of tl>e countvy as well as upon tt^^ ^ ^ revenue, both directly and w'i"®"*'^ .' „„on the enormously increased convenience above-mentioned grounds, ^^^^^^P^^' ^ '/Sts adoption-and I take this opportu- and advantages all classes would °^tam from its^aop nUy of thanking aU those gentlemen who have ev^^^ ^^^^^^.^^ I, a- have ereatly assisted in disseminating ^'^^ connected with the press who Hons throughout the country f^''^ «^P^"^"Z^^ the length and h^ve lent tleir Powerful aid in making them ^^^^ breadth of the land In ^'f. ^^'^^ ° to Parliament for the year 1865, upon returns furnished by the .^^^^^iq J^g years'.would show more favorab y a^d ventured to predict that those for the f^^^^^^^ has been fully for the correctness of my plan anu g ^"Se 21st of May, 1864. 1 forwarded to the f i4tt^So» W E 01^^^^^^^^^^^^ th^n the Chancello/ of the f <=^«at S thf a^^^^^^^ of Government has detailed in the following pages. Since that time i kingdom, and in been imperatively called to the condition ot "le rauw j ^ p^^. March, '863, a Royal Commission was .ssned o^^^^^^ ^^J^^ uort of this pamphlet 13 to point out the requirem commerce and what they should be-as the g^eat arteries of c'^^^™ maintained with largely Industry of the country-and how they may be f^g ""tion, rendering them at the nereasid convenience to public and profit to t^^^ "xhe eturns provided in com- same time more remunerative to the shareholde^^^^ ^^^.^ j„l,„„,„g pliance with the order of^P^^^^^^^^^ SrS th^t the responsibility for the cor- calculations, and it is t^feiore lu u railway companies, rectness of the figures rests upon he different rwiwy H.^^^^ j^,jy j In a civilized and settled co^^'jyk^^.^f^eans of intercourse between the various loping themselves, the necessrty of effi^^^^^^^^ centres of manufacture and the Port',;^^"'"^'"^!"^ £500,000,000 have been expended estimated. If this be not g'^'^'^f ' ^^^/^ein" for the general use of the nation, in vain. The great highways of ^ country bein to 5 ^^.^^ tr^erse, should neither be left to '^^^ ^^^J'^^.tc^^^^^^ may have formed different nor to the tender meroies of the private c^^^^ ^^j.^ ^ ^hy the parts of them as commercial speculations. J^°ere " independently Sc of the country should be 3"'°^^^^^^^^^^^^ whereas there is of the others, and i° «^°y^=^^^=;PP;'„\°^eommu^^ between all parts of the land every reason for making the me^"; °f ^"^used to be called, were under national equal. The king's highway , as our old roads «se t i„ter.communication authority ; but within less than half a eemury > ^^^^ taken the place of has undergone a complete f^^^^Hf'^'^ ?he property of different companies, the the king's highways. Thesejron roads ar^ the ppy ^ ^^r- special powers granted to ^l^em ^^yj^/^^'^^^^^^^^^ such lands Bs wer porate bodies ; secondly, the powei to p ^J^king their lines; and thirdly, needed for the purposes of making, mamtam^n^^ ^.^^^^ to charge tolls, not above eertam amounts^or th^^^ expended, and they had full tolls they were to obtain .'^^^'F^t.eon e and carriages of their own, or, DOwers to work the Imes by p aeing tnereoneug s p„ Ff they so pleased, to lease the ° ^^'^^^^Te colaS ^"'^'''^ what plea these powers were g^^^^ed to the pnvate compa government to the first instance simply as road makers, " " a pa ^^^^^^^ g^j^ see that the plant of the general «>rnmerce ana m y commence- arranged and efficiently maintained, ajense ot th,s 7 committee ment of railways, to an examination of «y,„=^^Xl„ them to proceed. This exami- hefore powers were granted to the cornpany to « P ^as always the ;S;.S;:;ort:d %\^!rL\,Zr^:ul of a r..ly m. and as the projectors of a line were unable to obtain the land on which it was to be constructed withou the powers granted by Parliament, their i?nW object was to prove that the line was of gfeat convenience, if not of absolute necessity, to the public. Parliament, moreover, at first evinced anxiety to secure to the public every conceivable advantage, and further applying to the railway system a principle of the patent laws, seeured to itselt the power of purchasing the railways after a certain term of years. The Eecurmg of this right is a recognition of the duty of Government to mamtain the efficiency ot the great highways. 2. u Up to the present time the returns made for railway investments have not been at all such as might have been expected from capital so laid out, and year by year, as the profits have become less, the low prices at which all railway shares have been quoted, show that investments in such undertakings are not regarded with favour, and a glance at the share lists will justify the conclusion that the railways oi the kingdom might all be acquired at a very large discount off their aggregate outlay. For the advantage of the shareholders and the public, I propose that Government should take the management and ownership of the railways in the United Kingdom. That this statement may not appear too startling at first sight, it is necessary to add that Buch transfer to the State would not require any money payment on the part ot tne Government; it would simply undertake to guarantee to the shareholders a better 7^ and more secure interest on their shares, &c., in fact, it would create a new govern- !l ment stock, which would necessarily be more saleable and more secure than the present railway shares, dividing the stock of the different railways in such proportion as would fairly represent their several values. After paying interest on these bonds, shares, &c, any surplus profits should be applied to the further improvement of the system, such as providing sleeping carriages, introducing refreshment, saloon carnages, and other conveniences for the through traffic ; in the extending of the facilities of communication, and providing separate sets of rails for the goods tTaffac where needed. Any further surplus would, of course, like the profits of the General Post Office, be placed in the national purse, and be applied to the reduction of taxation. Without uniting all the railways in the Kingdom, no considerable savmg can be made, and the system cannot be developed as it ought to he; the interests are national and the management to be effective must be national also. The mere fact of amalgamating all the railways would result in enormous yearly gains; these were estimated by Mr. Charles Stewart, who was for 20 years secretary to ^h^JLondon and North Western Railway, at 10 per cent, on the gross receipts, or £4 000,000. 1 believe it would be more, but in making my calculations I will assume his estimate ? to be correct. It may be well here to explain very briefly how this important annual 1 saving could be efi^ected. In the first place the mluable services of nearly 4,500 ^ directors could be dispensed with, and they would be replaced hj one central board ^ but amalgamation would also tell strongly in the saving of other expenses : ior > instance, stocks of rails, sleepers, chairs, and other necessaries for permanent way, > stock and plant in repairing shops, rolling stock, staffs of employes, all the expensive J and complex machinery of the clearing house, separate accounts diverse and often i contradictory systems of control, and a large proportion of legal and parlianientary V expenses-which latter alone amounted to more than £19,000 a month during the i six years 1861 to 18G6— might all by judicious management be reduced and simpli- fied so as to form large items of saving. Again, towns which possess two three, and even more competing stations, with their separate staffs, could, if the railways were amalgamated, be equally well and often more conveniently served than at present by one, and a great saving would thereby necessarily be effected. Another great advan- tage that would accrue to the country, both as regards convenience and economy by the Government having the management of the railways, would be^ that each _ station would become the central point for the Post Office, with all its various ^ branches, including the telegraph. Space will not allow of my enlarging on thp many other economies that would be effected by a central and well-directed system o of nianagement. I have, however, I think, mentioned enough to show that Mr. ^ Stewart's estimate is a most moderate one. Further important savings would be J eflfected by the Government guarantee of the interest on Debenture Loans, &c., ^ which would be equivalent to at least li per cent., equal to a gain of more than f £1,500,000 per annum. . , 1. i, ij „ ^ fi^oj- «.onf ' Having shown that it would be beneficial to the shareholders, and that great C savings would follow from the State becoming possessed of the railways, it remains r to be shown how the public may be benefitted ; of course the benefit to them would ^ be the possibility of travelling at greatly reduced fares and ^^^^^ this is qui^^^ possible I demonstrate by the following comparative table of fares (abridgecj fxou\ the work of my friend Mr, Edwards) charged in this country and abroad "i QQO 4 For a distance of 100 English Miles. JEufflisli CoDipciuics — 1st cl. 2nd cl. 3rd cl. 4th cl. I& Q . 9. d. s. d. s. d. 15 3. . 16 10 . . 8*4*. . S' 4* 1 0 10 . . 16 8 . . 12 6 . . 8 4 3. Great Northern . . ) 0 18 4 . . 13 4 . .84. . 8 4 5. North Western . . ) Foreign Companies — , . None. 0 14 4 . 10 9 . . 7 11 . 0 11 1 . 8 4 . .42. 2 6 Foreign State Lines — 8. North Germanj(new 0 10 5 . . 7 4 . .42. .21 9. South Germany .... 0 10 9 . . 7 3 . .49, , . None. 0 4 6 .. 3 0 . .23. , . None. These are the average fares. These are > the maximum , fares. But my project goes far beyond even the advantages enjoyed on the Continent. What I desire, and feel confident to be quite practicable, is the establishment of uniform fares, irrespective of distance, which would enable a passenger to travel one journey in any direction, and of any distance by the ordinary trains for One Shilling Sixpence Threepence First Class. Second Class. Third Class. The general summary shows that during the year 1867* passenger trains to the number of 3,924,624 ran over 74,886,409 miles, carried (exclusive of the season ticket holders), 287,688,113 passengers, and produced £15,346,981. This gives an average of rather more than 19 miles, and 73 passengers for each train, the average fare paid by each passenger not being a season ticket holder a little more than Is. The cost of working the trains will be seen by the following statistics, extracted from the parliamentary returns. " The total working expenses, comprising the maintenance of way and works, locomotive power (including stationary engines), repairs, and renewals of carriages and waggons, traffic charges, (coaching and merchandise), rates and taxes, government duty, compensation for personal injury, &c., compensation for damage and loss of goods, legal and parliamentary expenses, and miscellaneous working expenditure not included in the foregoing, amounted in the year 1867 to £19,848,952." This was for goods as well as passenger traflac. It must be remarked that the former are much the more expensive, as being of extreme weight, and requiring the employment of large numbers of porters at all the sidings and termini for the loading and removal of their entire freight. I will, however, for the sake of simplicity, consider that they all cost the same proportion. The number of trains run, for the joint traffic, was '6, 32 8,490 ; the average cost per train was therefore £3 2s. 8Jd. Here then we have certain data to calculate upon. We know the number of passengers conveyed throughout the last year* for which the returns are reliable, what it cost to convey them, and what they produced ; we know also what a prac- tical man (connected during 20 years with one of the most important and best managed lines in the kingdom) considered would be the reduction in the cost of management if all the lines were amalgamated, and also what saving would ensue from the Government guarantee of the interest on the Debenture Loans, &c. The use of railways and the good they have eflPected for the travelling community may be judged of by the fact that the number of travellers is now at least tenfold that of the best period of the old coaching days. Two deductioHS may be drawn from this fact — the first that, it is not only desirable, but highly important to increase the facilities of transit ; and the second, that the more these facilities are provided, the more persons are induced to avail themselves thereof. There is no doubt that we can travel now with a speed and security — I may even add, with a cheapness — unknown in the coaching days ;but it is equally clear to me, that what has been accomplished for the benefit of travellers falls far short of what might be done were the system of railways carried out in harmony; as witness how in numerous cases the companies who cannot agree to work together for the public good make passengers the victim of their quarrels by refusing to run trains so as to * This is the last year that we have any reliable information upon which to base oui* calculations ; no general summary was published for 1868 on account of the incompleteness of the returns, and that for 18^9 (either by accident or design), was so grossly incorrect as to be almost worthless. carry them on when they reach a joint station, and so compel them to waste hours ot precious time. Witness also the marvellous discomfort of some of the second class carriages, cunningly devised to drive travellers into the first class, but quite as fre- quently resulting in sending them into the third; and witness the studied incon- veniences thrown in the way of the third class passengers, by running their trains at such times as to compel them either to continue their journey in a higher class, or to spend a night in a strange town. Notwithstanding these inconveniences and the very insufficient accommodation grudgingly set apart for the use of the despised third class passengers, they are, as will be seen by the following table, by fa? the largest contributors to the receipts— , »i i c 10/,, 3 St Class. 2nd Class. 3rd Class. 1867. £3,979,501. £4,936,416. £6,482,064. lin!^p'irnnVf!fl'il''ii-'"i^^* ^^'^ naturally be imagined that the facilities for travel- TlJlf I 'If '^'^'^ passengers were greater than to either of the superior classes whereas the verp reverse is the case. First and second class passenger'^ can travel by every train, at their option, not so the third ; their trains are few and fa" ^k«7w-n' ^°5*'VM°' ""r" '° '"^^'"^ third class carriages attached t iZ} r'.^''^ "^^f of passenger,* who is thereby vexatiously forced eTther to waste his time, or spend more money to travel in a saperior class. iWm^we,, other examples throughout the whole country might be cited to show that the supporters of the railways are the most ungeneromly treated and veT n t"^ f ^"""'h ^"^'^^ to be the oldest railway mana^e^ could forfhr,v'r?'* at a public meetingf that the companies have done all they .M^h ^ ""'f. passenger ;j»o»%_but, if so, the sooner managers with hofderrd%le;tc!'°'*'"' the better it will be for the rail4 S In order to arrange the question of fares, several elements have to be talcpn infn the"v t n ' 'Tr'''- ^P^^-^ '^'''''^ 'he trains are driven7and the distances thf ini.r™ ^'?PP«g ; because, by taking long distances ak not stopp ng a are ^ll ™'nnf '?"i,'".'''^ °^ "P or exchanging paSers tiLTL^ diminished which, together with the advantage to travellers of m! bv^iih r-'P'^'r'/ ''^ destination, are good reasons for increasing the fares by uch trains. Three principal considerations influence most of the trave Hne on he Turnev "°T„ °V^^^'"'°g',*e convenience enjoyed, and the time expendel Dort««f''^r,^» r- To .the mercantile or professional man, cost is, so to say, unim- rXr^XtLl^ consideration. To a very large body of travellers the frequent v th.v w 'l. ^ '^l^^^' """'^ P''^''^ *° P^^^^ 'be more ^.^^ '^'^ whereas, those rich persons who travel simplv for pleasure 8tudy convenience and time more than cost. To suit all these it wonll appear desirable to have three descriptions of trains (in add tion to wha I shaU afterwards term district or local trains) to be called Vm, and The .^^rm would represent the Irish mail, the limited mai , and others of Hke distanc.?of' fr'' '^''y "^''^ ^""i ^^^O"^ class passengers and run nilcc -1 i ""^ *° """^^ ^' a s'^etch ; for these trains, which would necessan y be somewhat exclusive, the fares might be fixed at 10s iJt class and carrv all """^ "^''T"- '^^'"^ ^^out 35 m les an ho^r carry all three classes, and stop at intervals of from 10 to 50 miles, at fares of 4s 2s and Is. for anyj distance. The ordinmy trains would run from 20 to 25 milp^nn hour, carry all three classes, serving all stations along ^he Tne! except where a district or local service existed, at fares ot Is., 6d., and 3d. for anv Snee Th^ local or district trains would be established for all llrge cen res of i^habUant; tLi?- range varying with the requirements of the locality up to 10 miks afd the fares hv these trains for any distance would be 4d., 2d., and Id., thu" all clLses^ would ll ZToT^tn •"'f'^ """'t ^''^P'y 'han at present. The'pfofes^Lalr^an would be able to travel his two or three hundred miles for 10s. or 5s^ according to the class he selected, and yet the speed of the trains would enable him to returlthe same dav To a large body of travellers, to whom cost might be an object as we 1 as ?tae the (ho J ^7'^he found equally advantageous, and the oldinar^ Trains woSd suit • 1 iNational Association, May 23rd, 1870 thatof passengersUuggage,&c If a person^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^ ^^^^ &c., IS nearly V, t thprpfore take credit for that amount. above named, was charged for. J ^''Xj^^^^^^^^ ia the parliamentary return tickets issued and used, nor of the numbers con^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ of the compaiative numbers of ^"f second class seas ^^^^^ making my calculations as to '^e Pjo^abl^^^^ own conclusions herein propose3,I am driven m a great measu^^^^^^^^^^ y ^^^^ ZtATl^^^^^^^^ the increase in Ul^^^S'SS^^^^^^^^ - - and comparing the two results. 9R7 688 113, exclusive of season n million. li.p™., .1 6.. Sd. ...tage ^SoM Fast 2s. un ' » Jv^^^ tcA " 2 700,000 108 „ Ordinary " 150 „ District 108' Ordinary os. 6d. i;25o;ooo „. £8,700,000 288 millions. 1,000,000 50,000 1st cl. yearly tickets at £20 1 000,000 100,000 2nd cl. » at 410 • • £10,700,000 ,. „ 4,000,000 Saving, by amalgamation 1 500 000 Do. by Government guarantee • • 3'ooo',000 Luggage Receipts * • 572!3o8 Receipt from Mails • * ' . £19,772,358 Actual Receipts from these sources in 1867 Il,^d6,m Leaving a balance of £1,836,724 * AvaUable hy 9JI trains, for any distance. 7 and that to a very large extent, and it is equally certain that they could be carried with scarcely any perceptible increase of cost, as many of the trams run now w;tli almost empty carriages; even in Germany, where the trains are more crowded than in England, only 27 per cent.* of the available carriage space is occupied. Lest I should complicate this brief treatise, I will not enter upon calculations respecting the goods traffic. Doubtless, it would increase under a somewhat similar system of rates, but I do not think it would be likely to increase in the same pro- portion as the passenger traffic. A bale of goods, an ox, or a sheep, performs but one or two journeys; whereas a passenger travels day after day. An increased goods traffic, moreover, though producing increased profits, necessitates some considerable increase of expenses, in the employment of porters, storage room, &c., while the passengers, provided with their tickets beforehand, simply require to be conveyed from station to station. ^ j. ^ - The only case at all similar that can be quoted in favour of Government taking the conduct of the railways, is that of the Post Office, with its various branches, including the telegraph, all of great benefit to the public and financial successes ; though this is not quite an analogous case, letters requiring much more than being simply carried from place to place : they have to be collected, sorted, examined, weighed, stamped, placed in their proper bag, re-stamped at the end of their journey, and. delivered at their address ; whereas, a passenger, provided with a ticket before- hand, places himself in the train, and leaves it at his own expense; so that the comparison is all in favour of railway amalgamation by the Government. Again, the proposed reduction in the fares is much less violent than was the reduction m the rates for postage, when the uniform charge of one penny for a letter to any part of the kingdom was suggested, the average charge for a letter was 8f d. ; the existing average fare paid now by a railway passenger is only about Is. Ireland is now quite alive to the advantage it would derive by Government purchasing the railways, and at least four important deputations have been received by the Lord-Lieutenant urging that course. Several useful reforms have been advocated with regard to the management of railways, and it would be unfair to their authors not to make mention of them : thus Mr. H. B. Sheridan, M.P., has conferred an immense benefit on all travellers by the introduction of smoking carriages to every train ; and Mr. S. Plimsoll, M.P., deserves the especial thanks of all for his proposal to carry out in this country the comforts that are enjoyed in Germany, where even third class carriages are well warmed in winter, and, though his proposal in the House of Commons was first received with that ridicule which is the only weapon the opponents of progress can oppose to its advocates, if he only perseveres in his public spirited endeavours, he will be certain to achieve success. All these improvements are but the forerunners of more important reforms. Our railways are now virtually monopolies : there can be no competition against them, but the monopoly secured to them was only granted for the public good, and the same powers that granted it to the companies can and will deprive them of it, if requisite, for the benefit of the nation. Before concluding, I must not omit to make mention of a most valuable statisti- cal pamphlet recently published by my friend Mr. Frederic Yeats Edwards, entitled " GovERT^MENT Eailway KEFOBMS,"t to which I have already had occasion to allude, and which I heartily recommend to the attention of all interested in this important subject. . 1 ^ . In conclusion, I appeal to all who may read these pages, and particularly to shareholders of railway property, to assist the National Railway Association in realizing the adoption of the proposed scheme. Without a general and active co-operation so comprehensive and desirable a benefit cannot be attained. Every member of the community is interested in this subject. All, therefore, should aid actively in the accomplishment of a great national benefit. Vast and important changes, noiv recognised to be of universal advantage, have been eff^ected only by the energetic purpose of advanced thinkers supported by the aid and contributions of the masses. The National Railway Association seeks therefore to enrol thousands ^ on its list of members, and, by the force of public opinion, thus represented, its object must be attained. Any information desired will be furnished on application to RAPHAEL BRANDON, Hon. Sec , 1 7, Clement's Inn, Strand, 1 7 h March, 1871. London, W.C, * Statistics of North German State railways, t Price One Penny, to be had wholesale and retail of W. H. & L. CoUingridge, 117 to 120, Aiders- gate Street, City, B.C., and at the Office of the Association, 17, Clement's Inn, Strand, W.C. 17, CLEMENT^S INN, STRAND, LONDON. ^EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. A. K. CAMPBELL JOHNSTON, Esq., F.R.S., Chairman, Heatherley, near Wokingham. RAPHAEL BRANDON, Esq., F.R.LB.A., Hon. Sec, 17, Clement's Inn, Strand. FREDERIC YEATS EDWARDS, Esq., 42, Hampstead Hill Gardens. T. HORREX, Esq., Connaught Square. H. T. HUMPHREYS, Esq., Clifford's Inn. JOHN IMRAY, Esq., M.A., C.E., 28, Great George Street, S.W. REV. E. PETAVEL, D.D., Brixton Hill. C. P. PRITCHARD, Esq., New Square, Gray's Inn. GEORGE FREDERIC SATCHELL, Esq., 37, Norfolk Street, Strand. OBJECTS OF THE ASSOCIATION. Cheapness and Unifoemity of Fares* Issue op General Tickets available on all Lines, at any Date. Re-arrangement op Tjiappic, with a view to Increased Convenience AND Safety. Security of Railway Property, by placing it under Statis Guarantee. Consolidation of Railway Management. ^ The National Railway Association is established for the purpose of collecting and diffusing information, receiving suggestions, and publicly discussing questions bearing on these impor- tant objects. It will apply its resources to vigorous constitutional agitation in favour of the schemes originated by their Hon. Secretary, or such modifications thereof as may be deemed advisable. While one of its main objects is the improvement and security of railway property, so far as shareholders and creditors are concerned, it seeks, in the interests of the nation at large to develop agriculture and commerce, to secure cheapness, convenience, and safety in transit and inter- communication, and to place directly under public control a system in which every member of the public is vitally interested. The Railway Lines of the United Kingdom now extend over (on the 1st of Jan., 1870) about 15,145 miles, and represent an outlay exceeding 525 millions sterling. More than 300 millions of persons travel annually by those lines (without including the season ticket holders), at an average fare of about lid. each, and some 150 millions of tons of goods and 15 millions of live stock are conveyed by them every year. The gross annual receipts amounted in 1369 to £42,695,927 sterling, nearly one-half of which sum is absorbed in working expenses. The net returns have for the last few years been decreasing slowly but surely, notwithstanding the continued increase of population, resources, and traffic, till in 1868 they were reduced to an average of somewhat less than 4 per cent, on the total capital expended. The complaints of loss and ruin on the part of the shareholders and creditors, and of high fares, bad accommodation, delay, and danger on the part of the public, are loud and universal. The whole control of this vast system is vested in nearly 500 practically irresponsible Boards, ^yho have no common principles of action, and who have too frequently sacrificed to compe- tition and antagonism the interests of shareholders and the convenience of the public. It is believed that, under consolidated and responsible management, the evils now complained of would be remedied, and that greatly increased accommodation would be secured to the public at reduced rates, while enlarged and secure profits would be guaranteed to railway proprietors. To carry out the objects of the Association, railway shareholders and the public generally are requested to aid the movement by enrolling themselves as Subscribers. The expenditure being limited to the fund in hand, no pecuniary liability is incurred by any Member of the Association. A subscriber of one shilling per annum to be a Member of the Association. This small sum, '* only one penny a month" can be raised by every working man in the kingdom, and will not be felt by any, though becoming— when multiplied by thousands— the potent means of arming for the struggle an Association all of whose members are working gratuitously for the attainment of fhQ greatest boon of the age— a RAILWAY REFORM BILL. JS'ame Address ;■. M. i'^,. ?in ^ ^ „ . Annual Subscription £ ■ s. d. ^ Donation,. i. £ s. d. •May be forwarded in stamps if under 5s., or if abovd thrtt amount by Post- office Order (East Strand Office), to the Hon. Sec, Raphael Bjeiandon, 17, Clement's Inn, Strand, London, W.O; Tear this slip off and forward by post. 1 OF THE UNIVERSITy OP ILLINOIS OF THE UNiVERSITY 0MUIN0I8