9 * DECEPTION UNMASKED. TWO LETTERS TO THE INHABITANTS OF YEOVIL, THE RAILWAY QUESTION, (in reply to letters by “a townsman,” and MR. J. T. V1NING.) BY WILLIAM BIDE. YEOVIL: PRINTED BY TRENCHARD & WHITBY. Slflf 13 3 4*3L Gr 1-5 is TO THE INHABITANTS OF YEOVIL. Fellow Townsmen, \ •l t &> <4 CP rO A bill addressed to you, (but in my opinion, not in the most respectful manner,) signed “ A Townsman,” having been extensively circulated, commenting on some, and contradicting other of the remarks I made in my Letter of the 16 th in- stant, has induced me to offer a few observations in reply. I hesitated if I should notice the pro- duction of an anonymous writer, and this is the only time I shall do so ; for you are aware how easy it is to disguise the truth under such a signa- ture ! I agree with “ Townsman” that the Railway question should be “ fairly and dispassionately “ considered by you, uninfluenced by party mo- “ tives,” and I recommend him to lose sight of his own small party, consisting of himself, some dozen or less of Shareholders and Officers, and a few Hangers on ! Let him forget personal inter- est ! — he will then see through another medium, and be able to call things by their proper names. As to myself, I own no party, but the whole ' A r ; Q 4 Town of Yeovil, rich and poor. I defy my op- ponent to say that I have any other motive than the well being of my neighbours, and had the South Western Company brought us the solid and sterling advantages proffered by its rival, it should have received my humble support ; but notwithstanding “ Townsman’s” contradiction, [ have again to tell you most emphatically, that the South Western scheme is, in its main features, similar to the rejected of last year. He says also, that they have “ shewn no contempt for your “ opinions and wishes, but on the contrary have “ every way consulted them.” You can judge if this be true ! Compare the Maps and Plans of last year with the present ones, and you will at once see that he was trying to deceive you ! I assure you again most positively, that “ Townsman’s” main line goes, as I described be- fore, through Stoford, with the main Station near the Stoford Factory . Still to mystify you, he says “ there is to be no drop line.” I place him then in this dilemma : either you must go to the Stoford Station on a drop, (or branch, if this name please him better,) or you must find your way there as you can, and if too late for the train, have the pleasure to wait for another. I am in- clined, for once, to believe my friend, that the drop will not be made, and you know the alternative ! Thinking he has deluded you, he adds a long paragraph containing a number of assertions ; but which I can call by no more appropriate name than “ moonshine.” Try them yourselves by the test of the Stoford line, and the Yeovil drop, and I am sure you will find them so. What he states about charges, is on a par with his other asser- tions. I fully abide by my first statement, and 5 am prepared to give any person that will ask me, the most satisfactory proof. What does he mean by “ a fair and free com- “ petition ?” He knows well, that only one Company can have the line to Exeter. If the South Western line be carried, the other must certainly be lost ; but if the Great Western broad gauge line be carried, the Stoford line is gone for ever ! Where then is this boasted com- petition ? It can only exist in the heated imagi- nation of my friend. It is well ascertained by all who have watched the working of the Railway system, that competition is a word almost un- known, even in the North of England, where lines of necessity are more numerous ! How then can it possibly flourish in the West? I might expect to gain as much by any competition that it is possible to attain as my opponent ; but I have not the motive for trying to mislead you with words having no meaning. I have not been long enough in London learn- ing the merits of the Ramsgate, Dover, and Brighton lines ; you must therefore excuse our travelling so far together. I presume my “ Towns- man” has an idea of spending his summer months at one of those fashionable watering places, and wishes to go there on the narrow gauge, and this is the great advantage that “ can never be offered “ by its rival.” He is on very good terms* with himself, and fancies the Town, with the West of England, should be at his disposal ! Prodigious, indeed ! Call to your recollection, that the Great Western Company first brought a Railway to Yeovil ! Call also to your recollection who bar- tered away every claim to this part of the country, and who broke their agreement when self-interest 6 prompted, and you will remember that the South Western Company having once sold you , may at any time do so again ! The Great Western Company never said Yeovil did not want a line, — they always thought Yeovil wanted good lines , and have proposed them. Only think if my opponent could have offered such, and the other the drop, how furious would have been his indignation, how loud his denunciations ! “Townsman’* tries to mystify you again about Castle Cary ; but this is a tender subject for him, and I wonder at his boldness in drawing so largely on your gullibility ! Every one must know that if the “ South Western Scheme is rejected ’’ the Great Western will pass. Having then the London and Exeter line through Yeovil, the Great Western Company, not only would not want another, but they would use every effort to prevent the Castle Cary line to Taunton being made. Reverse the picture, and “he that runs may read”! Suppose the Stoford line passed, would the Great Western then take all their Western traffic round by way of 1 Bristol, or would they give it ail up to their opponents at Exeter ? They would do neither one nor the other ; but would be compelled in self defence to adopt the short line from Castle Cary to Taunton, and thus get a direct line from Exeter to London and in “Townsman’s” words “Yeovil would be thrown overboard.” This is no ideal picture but a stern reality, and is almost as sure to follow the passing the South Western line, as effect follows cause ! Ponder this over my friends in the most serious manner : for it is of trial importance to Traders , Innkeepers and others 9 and its consequences must be felt, more or less, by every inhabitant of the Town . I freely grant 7 that this is not a national but a Yeovil question. If therefore you will not look after your own interests, who will do so for you ? I believe I have now answered every part of “ Townsman’s” letter, his main statements are at variance with truth. I wish he had stuck more to facts and dealt less in mystification; but as it comes, so I take it. I owe him no ill will ; he had his duty to perform for his employers, for which doubtless he is well-paid ! Perhaps he has performed it in the best way he thought suited to such a bad cause . I now leave him in your hands and you well know why he has witheld his real name. If he will come forward boldly and ask for a public meeting , then in your presence I will argue this question with him , and you shall decide between us, and though he may have ten times more talent, and twenty times the powers of language that I possess, yet I will not fear the result , conscious that he is doubly armed whose cause is just. I again subscribe myself. Fellow Townsmen, With the greatest and most sincere respect, Very faithfully your’s, WILLIAM BIDE. Yeovil, February 20th, 1847. 8 TO THE INHABITANTS OF YEOVIL. Fellow Townsmen, Since writing my reply to “ Townsman,” Mr. Vining’s letter of the same date has been handed to me, and I feel bound to state that a greater piece of deception , or a more highly coloured picture than he has drawn, I have never witnessed, even from Mr, Vining\ He writes as the paid Agent of the South "Western Company, and no doubt you will soon learn what reliance can be placed on his statements ! You all know, that a pleader, lor his fee, can make the blackest case appear fair and comely; but the jury are told what reliance to place on Counsels’ statements ; and I tell you to take nothing as a fact that is told you by any special pleader, but judge for yourselves ! The few plain observations I addressed to you before seem to have created much consternation in the enemy's camp ; hence the hold unscru- pulous attempts to write them down. Mr. Vining must have been driven very closely up, to admit that the main line is a Stoford one, with the station as I described. 9 You will now know what to think of “ Towns- man” ! Bear in mind, I fully adhere to all the observations I have made about this drop line, and I refer you to them. You can now say whether you will be contented with this acknow- ledged drop from Stoford to Yeovil ! Will you not spurn it from you with the contempt it merits? If you do not, then I do not know you. As to all \\iefine promises made by Mr. Vining and Mr. Chaplin about the trains all stopping to w ait for the Yeovil “ droppingg, &c.,” they are not worth more than the paper on which they are written. Should they, unfortunately, get their line, long before the five years are expired in which it is stated it wdll be made, they might again sell the country , or Mr. Chaplin might be no longer a Director, and with the then certainty of a branch from Castle Cary to Taunton, w hich is stated would throw you “ overboard,” what sort of a line can it be supposed they w ould then lay down for Yeovil ? You will remember, that Mr. Yining being ignorant of the fact, or forgetting that the South - ampton and Dorchester w r as a South Western line, at the public meeting last year, gave a very pretty description of it, — he described it as the worst in all its features , that could any where be found. Can you doubt then, with the certainty of the broad gauge traffie being diverted from this Town to Castle Cary, and with Yeovil throwm “ overboard,” that their Stoford line w T ould be such another thing , as the Southampton and Dorchester ? And even upon this “ cheap and dirty” system, with their diminished traffic, they must charge at an extravagant rate to pay for working it. I freely pass ever all the personal 10 remarks about my narrow views, my geographical knowledge, &c, as it may be that the West of England in Mr. Vining’ s opinion comprises the district around Salisbury and Southampton, and the narrow gauge lines he speaks of, North and South of Exeter, may be confined to his own imagination. He thinks that I know nothing ; I cannot be offended, for he has paid you all a similar compliment ; but with my short sighted- ness , l have seen through some of the deep schemes of Mr. Vining, perhaps to his annoyance, and I fully believe that they will be still more and more seen through. In contra-distinction to his views, I call the whole country, West of the Wilts, Somerset, and Wey- mouth Railway ; or all between that line and the Lands End in Cornwall, as pre-eminently the West of England, and in which the broad gauge prevails. The break of gauge, therefore, which the Stoford Line would cause, must, both in a national and local point of view, be very objectionable. This then, instead of being a “ supporting feature” is a direct condemnation of the scheme. Mr. Vining states “ it is a fact that you may “ now travel from London to Leeds, or to the end “ of the Railways in that direction, in the same “ Carriage, and there can be no doubt that when “ the narrow gauge lines shall be completed, we “ shall be enabled, without any change whatever, to “ proceed to any part of the Country.” Now in this Gentleman’s own language, I unhesitatingly tell him “ that is not the fact'' Every Railway traveller knows it is not. Either Mr. Vining, as usual, is here drawing very largely on your supposed ignorance, or he himself “ evidently knows “ very little about the practical working of Railways 11 “ or Railway trains ” I presume he has never travelled on any other than the Great Western and South Western lines, or he has learnt very little by it. I never heard a more ridiculous assertion, than that a person will he able to travel to any part of England in the same carriage l Does he suppose that a person is to have an engine and train entirely to himself, to travel when, and where he likes ? But whether or not he thinks so, it proves clearly that Mr. Vining, although a great declaimer “ knows very little about the practical working of Railways or Railway trains ” Again, he writes, “ There is to be a branch from “ this main line at Bradford to join the Exeter, “ Yeovil, and Dorchester line, at Stoford , near the “ Factory, so as for the through trains to pass on “ to the road-side station , and wait the arrival of “ the Yeovil train.” Perhaps, among many strange assertions, this is the most extraordinary ! the middle portion of a main line of Railway is here called a branch , the main station a “ road-side “ station ! !” I will not insult your common sense by making any comment on this absurdity. Referring to the rates, Mr. Vining quotes from me “ all the line and stations ,” and then goes on to say “ will not be rated in the parish of Barwick.’’ I have never said that “ all the line and stations “ would be rated in the parish of Barwick but I did say “ the line and station (of course, mean- ing the 66 main line ” and u main station,” ) would be rated in another parish. If there is to be any drop line from Stoford to Yeovil, which appears to be a doubtful question, then, of course, the small part of that drop line which is in Yeovil, with the small drop station will be rated to this parish, but no more ! You are then told that the 12 stations are rated, not according to the “ number “ of trains,” and J might add, not according to the turning round of the weather cock ; one is just as certain as the other ; but, perhaps Mr. Vining is particularly anxious to impress upon you, that if the trains on this drop line should be few , still you would have the rates ; he then states, “ the Yeovil station , therefore, for so large a dis- “ trict, will, no doubt, be a very important one, “ and rated accordingly.” Now, if this means anything, it must be that the main station will be an important one, which is to be, not at Yeovil , but at Stoford ! Mr. Vining, after quoting some of my objec- tions to the drop line, says “fortunately these ills, “ and the objections slightly glanced at by Mr. “ Bide, with the numerous others that exist only “ in his lucubrations, (for he would be puzzled “ indeed to pen another,) are only imaginary* — “ painted by the obscure view of one who evi- “ deutly knows very little about the practical “ working of Railways, or Railway trains.” Now, in proof of another objection, (which Mr. Vining may, if he please, also call imaginary ,) I assert that all the traffic, both passengers and goods, coming from the South, or the other side of his proposed Stoford line , would, of course, go to the Stoford station ; whereas, if the main station had been in Yeovil, the whole of this traffic must have come here also ! What think you of this, Traders, Innkeepers, &c. ? All the traffic from the other side of the line will be thus cut off entirely from Yeovil ! And this is not all ; for the same will happen in respect of all traffic on this side of the line that may be as near, or almost as near , to the main station as the drop one ! so that this drop line 13 will keep away from Yeovil nearly all the traffic, both passengers and goods of the surrounding district ! What think you of this, Traders, Inn- keepers, &c. ? You cannot imagine that all this traffic being kept out of the Town, will make money plentiful , or trade good ! There is still another objection, and, I dont think, I should be puzzled to find more. It is, that in conse- quence of the main train stopping at Stoford , many passengers will never come into the Town , that would do so if the main station were at Yeovil ! These then, are fatal objections , to which, add those I have before named, and you will be able to judge something of your losses, and perhaps, a little of the inconvenience a drop line must occasion, and if ever this evil should come upon you, you will then, perhaps, think of one, who, notwithstanding u his obscure views f gave you good warning ! Oppose then this drop line. Tradesmen, Innkeepers, and all other Inhabitants of Yeovil, with all your might ! Mr. Vining’s contradictions are all on a par ; but I maintain every one of my former, and present arguments, and will just give you a specimen that you may see his candour . He says “ by the ex- “ press trains, first class passengers are charged “ alike on both lines, the second class by the “ Great Western, 2s. less than by the South West- “ ern, on a distance of 78 miles.’’ Now I happen to know that first class passengers can, with a return ticket, travel from Exeter to London, and back again, a distance of nearly four hundred miles , for £3. 6s. 8 d., whilst on his inferior line, v with less speed, a person could not travel by ex- press train the same number of miles for less than Live Pounds ; a lesser distance in the same pro- 14 portion ; and in the second class carriage, the con- trast is still more favourable to the Great Western. He flatly contradicts me, with regard to charges for goods and is again himself in error . He says ei the South Western Company convey parcels up “ to 281bs. weight, from Southampton to London, “ a distance of 78 miles for Is., up to 561bs. for “ 1 s. 6d., up to 1121bs. for 2s.” Now I can con- vince any one, not already aware of the fact, that the Great Western Company take goods 1 52 miles at Is. for 1121bs! [See extracts from their respec- tive Tables of charges annexed.*] To contrast the Great Western line with the Southwestern, is like comparing the noble Race Horse with the common Hack ! The best line in England with one generally acknowledged to be the worst! All must admit that the magnificent line of the Great Western can, and does compete with, and (as I have shewn in many instances) fairly beats its rival ; whilst for speed, comfort, and regularity, scarcely any comparison can be made between them. Every one who has travelled on both lines well knows how to appreciate Mr. Vining’s remarks on the ordinary trains, and will be able to judge of other parts of his statements by his candour here. The honor and respectability of the Great Western Company are too well establish- ed to suffer by any remarks coming from such a quarter. Mr. Vining, quotes again from me “ we have a “ right to expect, and we do expect, that every “ line passing from Salisbury to Exeter, shall “ come direct to the Town,' 1 he then says is “ there no deception here ? Was the little mono- “ syllable to intended to be through?" What a shabby insinuation is this, purposely got up 15 by himself as an excuse for his line not com- ing direct to the Town ! He follows up the insinuation with 44 Mr. Bide’s reasoning is to “ that effect; ” but I say, it has no such effect. It is simply for a main line to come to the Town with a main Station. We all know there cannot be a Station at every door, although you might almost fancy that something of the kind was pro- mised you in London . To be serious, there can be but one Station in a place to which the line must come. If after passing the Station, it were possible to run through our Streets, it would only be a nuisance. It follows then, that, after hav- ing served its intended purpose, the sooner it gets out of our way the better ; so that the little mono- syllable TO was not intended to he THROUGH; but you will see “ THROUGH ” the motives for such misrepresentations , and deception will he again unmasked ! I ask you, is it reasonable to suppose that almost the whole trade of the Town of Yeovil and its neighbourhood , including Woolstaplers , Dealers , $c., $c., (not holding South Western Shares,) who are so largely interested in procuring the best and cheapest mode of transit for goods, should be utterly lost to their own interest f Do you think none of us can even consider what will best answer our purpose but that Mr. Vining must think for us ? It will be impossible for you to come to this conclusion. The alterna- tive is that we are right in our opinions but that he, being a paid agent, is unable to see other interests than his own . Remember there is this very simple difference ! He has everything to gain from his line ! We have everything to gain from having the best lines, and everything 16 to lose from having a bad one ! Whose opinion then i« disinterested ? Whose opinion is worth having? You have, on the one hand, persons whose self-interest compels them to think for themselves, whose interest is one and the same with that of the whole Town of Yeovil, and on the other, the Advocate with his fee ! Finally, as I said to “ Townsman,’’ so I say to Mr. Vining, I owe him no ill will: he had his duty to perform, and no doubt with such a had case , has treated it in the way he thought best. I shall not shrink from publicly meeting him and “ Townsman,” (be they two persons or one,) to discuss this question on public grounds, and I think that a sight of my first letter will convince any candid person that I attacked the proposed STO- FORD LINE and the DECEPTIVE DROP, without any personal allusions . If I have been driven to a different course, it has been in self defence. I now leave the question in your hands, being quite satisfied that you will come to a sound decision. I again subscribe myself. Fellow Townsmen, With the greatest and most sincere respect, Your’s very faithfully, WILLIAM BIDE. Yeovil , February 22nd , 1847. * GREAT WESTERN Charges for Goods per Ton. From London to ) Bridgwater ( the f 1st class. 2nd class. 3rd class. 4th class. 5th class, nearest point toL£l. 0 0 £1. 5 6 £1. 10 0 £1. 18 6 £2. 5 0 Yeovil) 152 miles 3 LONDON AND SOUTH WESTERN From London to Southampton 7.8 miles. ^ 1st ( t 12s. class. 2nd class. 3 d. 15s. 6d. charges for Goods per Ton. 3rd class. Packages. Special. 18s. 9d. £1.0 0 £2. ..ft 0 “ DECEPTION UNMASKED.” A THIRD AND FOURTH LETTER TO THE INHABITANTS OF YEOVIL, ON THE RAILWAY QUESTION, BY WILLIAM BIDE, MAR C H , 1 8 4 7. YEOVIL : PRINTED BY TRENCHARD AND WHITBY. TO THE INHABITANTS OF YEOVIL. Fellow Townsmen. I was told by a knowing person of the South Western party, that when Mr. Vining’s second letter came out, I was to be completely written down, and all but annihilated ! At length, it has appeared, and I am happy to say, that I still exist, and with the correctness of my former views still more confirmed ; but if this gentleman has not gone along way towards writing himself d own, I am very much deceived, and, to borrow his own expression, the South Western Company may now well exclaim “ save us from our friends for, if their cause cannot be maintained elsewhere , on different grounds, and in a very different man- ner, that Company can have but little chance of success ! It was not my intention to trouble you again on this subject ; hut being one of the Railway committee, appointed by you, to watch over your interests, and having entered on this contest, I feel it my duty again to “ unmask” a few mere ol Mr. Vining’s deceptions ! 4 I am glad to find we differ only on public ground’s, I should much regret didering privately with any one. and as we are both become “ public property ” we must submit to our public acts being 46 severely 44 scrutinized ; ” but in criticising Mr. Vining’s public acts, I will not descend, as he has done, to the meanness of making garbled extracts ! I will not omit words , for the purpose of putting a different meaning on his sentences ! I will not pretend to assume that he has said one thing , knowing he has said another , with a different meaning ! I will not resort to any course so dishonest, feeling assured that I shall convince you of the truth of my statements, without having recourse to such devices ! In the opening paragraph of Mr. Vining’s let- ter, I find the following very modest statement, (in reply to mine,) which I transcribe, that you may see how truly his promise is performed ! He writes, 44 I shall, however, confine myself to the 44 duty of exposing and refuting his errors ; for the 44 cause I am advocating is too strong in itself to 44 need high colouring or deception. These were 44 not the characteristics of my last letter, and they 44 shall not be of this !” I think I must have con- vinced every person open to conviction, that his first letter was made up of highly coloured state- ments and deception, and I have no doubt of shew T - ing his second letter to be, if possible, more deceptive than the other. The first deception lunmaslc , is the attempt to make it appear that my 44 self-interest” prevented my forming a disinterested opinion ! If you will refer to my last letter, pages 15 and 16, you will see that so far from my speaking of myself only, I was speaking of 44 almost the whole trade of the 0 f< Town of Yeovil and its neighbourhood, (not “ holding South Western shares,”) and stated, that the nt interest, (not mine,) was one and the same with the whole Town of Yeovil, and that, they having so much at stake, their opinions, ( not mine,) of the rival lines must be disinterested. You will easily see through the motive for thus mis-stating my observations. Mr. Vining then says, “ for his comfort let me “ tell him that more than three-fourths of the “ wealth, the talent, and the respectability “ of Yeovil are opposed to his opinions !” From past experience, I wonder he had not said “ that « J but, as I said before, it has been absorbed, and the balance now in hand, after paying a dividend of 42s. 6d. per share, is under | but we have nevertheless felt, gentlemen, that the increase of traffic upon which we may fairly calculate for the current half-year is sufficient to justify us in recommending for your adoption the customary dividend simply because we have the Richmond returns to benefit us this half-year , (hear, hear.) We shall, too, on the 1st of March, have the line from Bishopstoke to Salisbury opened for passenger traffic. Gentlemen, there are also other grounds for satisfaction in connection with the lowering ot the fares. We are just about commencing another parliamentary campaign, — one of our bills being set down for committee, I believe, for the 4th of March. You have here the strongest arguments in sup- port of the broad gauge. You have the Great Western Company successfully competing with its rival and in many instances charging less for the carriage of goods. You are aware of the very superior speed , comfort , and economy of their express trains. You have the full benefit of double journey tickets, with the express and or- dinary trains. Their resources are not only un- 52 impaired but they have large balances in hand to meet a further reduction of their charges, and to effect which they have now a bill before Parli- ament. Whilst you know that the South West- ern Company to carry out their “ Parliamentary 44 tactics” are obliged to admit that their balances are absorbed, and that they can only hope to pay their dividends out of the profits their branches may produce, and therefore with no prospect of lowei\ but as I humbly submit to you, every pros- pect of higher fares. I remain, Fellow Townsmen, With the greatest and most sincere respect, Your’s ever faithfully, WILLIAM BIDE. Yeovil, March 11th, 1847. 4 Trenchard & Whitby, Printers, Yeovil.