on the lists of new companies as subscribers for sums ranging from 291,000l. downwards! The projectors of new lines even came to boast of their parliamentary strength, and of the number of votes which they could command in "the House." The influence which landowners had formerly brought to bear upon Parliament in resisting railways when called for by the public necessities, was now employed to carry measures of a far different kind, originated by cupidity, knavery, and folly. But these gentlemen had discovered by this time that railways were as a golden mine to them. They sat at railway boards, sometimes selling to themselves their own land at their own price, and paying themselves with the money of the unfortunate shareholders. Others used the railway mania as a convenient and, to themselves, comparatively inexpensive mode of purchasing constituencies. It was strongly suspected that honourable members adopted what Yankee legislators call "log-rolling," that is, "You help me to roll my log, and I help you to roll yours." At all events, it is matter of fact, that, through parliamentary influence, many utterly ruinous branches and extensions projected during the mania, calculated only to benefit the inhabitants of a few miserable old boroughs, accidentally omitted from schedule A, were authorised in the memorable sessions of 1844 and 1845.

Mr. Stephenson was anxiously entreated to lend his name to prospectuses during the railway mania; but he invariably refused. Had he been less scrupulous, he might, without any trouble, have thus earned an enormous income; but he had no desire to accumulate a fortune without labour and without honour. He himself never speculated in shares. When he was satisfied as to the merits of any line, he subscribed for a certain amount of capital in the undertaking, and held on, neither buying nor selling. At a time when the shares in most of the lines in which he held, were selling at high pre

miums, some sagacious friends, foreseeing the inevitable panic, urged him to realise. His answer was, "No: 1 subscribed for those shares to hold during my life-time, not to speculate with." Thus, all the railway stock that he had subscribed for continued in his possession until his death, although much of it by that time had become greatly depreciated in value in consequence of the over-speculation in railways. In 1844 and 1845 he conscientiously stood aloof, and endeavoured, but in vain, to deter those who were imperilling the system which he had so laboriously worked out from engaging in rash and worthless schemes.

At a dinner of the Leeds and Bradford directors at Ben Rydding in October, 1844, before the mania had reached its height, he warned those present against railway speculation. It was, he said, like walking upon a piece of ice with shallows and deeps; the shallows were frozen over, and they would carry, but it required great caution to get over the deeps. He was satisfied that in the course of the next year many would step on places not strong enough to carry them, and would get into the deeps; they would be taking shares, and afterwards be unable to pay the calls upon them. Yorkshiremen were reckoned clever men, and his advice to them was, to stick together and promote communication in their own neighbourhood,—not to go abroad with their speculations. If any had done so, he advised them to get their money back as fast as they could, for if they did not they would not get it at all. He informed the company, at the same time, of his earliest holding of railway shares; it was in the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and the number he held was three

"a very large capital for him to possess at the time." But a Stockton friend was anxious to possess a share, and he sold him one at a premium of 33s. ; he supposed he had been about the first man in England to sell a railway share at a premium.

During 1845, his son's offices in George Street, Westminster, were crowded with persons of various conditions seeking interviews, and presented very much the appearance of the levee of a minister of state. The Railway King, surrounded by an admiring group of followers, was often a prominent feature there; and a still more interesting person, in the estimation of many, was George Stephenson, dressed in black, his coat of somewhat old-fashioned cut, with square pockets in the tails. He wore a white neckcloth, and a large bunch of seals was suspended from his watch-ribbon. Altogether, he presented an appearance of health, intelligence, and good humour, that rejoiced one to look upon in that sordid, selfish, and eventually ruinous saturnalia of railway speculation.

Being still the consulting engineer for several of the older companies, he necessarily appeared before Parliament in support of their branches and extensions. In 1845 his name was associated with that of his son as the engineer for the Southport and Preston Junction. In the same session he gave evidence in favour of the Syston and Peterborough branch of the Midland Railway; but his principal attention was confined to the promotion of the line from Newcastle to Berwick, in which he had never ceased to take the deepest interest. At the same time he was engaged in examining and reporting upon certain foreign lines of considerable importance.

Powers were granted by Parliament, in 1845, to construct not less than 2883 miles of new railways in Britain, at an expenditure of about forty-four millions sterling! Yet the mania was not appeased; for in the following session of 1846 applications were made to Parliament for powers to raise 389,000,000l. sterling for the construction of further lines; and powers were actually conceded for forming 4790 miles (including 60 miles of tunnels), at a cost of about 120,000,000Z.

sterling!* During this session, Mr. Stephenson appeared as engineer for only one new line - the Buxton, Macclesfield, Congleton, and Crewe Railway; and for three branch lines in connection with existing companies, for which he had long acted as engineer. During the same session, all the leading professional men were fully occupied, some of them appearing as consulting engineers for upwards of thirty lines each!

The course adopted by Parliament in dealing with the multitude of railway bills applied for during the prevalence of the mania, was as irrational as it proved to be unfortunate. The want of foresight displayed by both Houses in obstructing the railway system so long as it was based upon sound commercial principles, was only equalled by the fatal facility with which they subsequently granted railway projects based on the wildest speculation. Parliament interposed no check, laid down no principle, furnished no guidance, for the conduct of railway projectors, but left every company to select its own locality, determine its own line, and fix its own gauge. No regard was paid to the claims of existing companies, which had already expended so large an amount in the formation of useful railways. Speculators were left at full liberty to project and carry out lines almost parallel with theirs. In 1844, Lord Dalhousie, who then presided at the Board of Trade, endeavoured, in a series of able reports, to give a proper direction to legislation on the subject of railways; but in vain. Both Houses viewed with jealousy any interference with the powers of the committees; Lord Dalhousie's recommendations were entirely disregarded, and an unlimited scope was afforded to competition for railway bills. A powerful stimulus was thus given to the existing spirit of speculation,

*On the 17th November, 1845, Mr. Spackman published a list of the lines projected (many of which were not afterwards prosecuted), from which it appeared that there were then 620 new railway projects before the public, requiring a capital of 563,203,000l.

which rose to a fearful height in 1845, turning nearly the whole nation into gamblers.

66

The House of Commons became thoroughly influenced by the prevailing excitement; and even the Board of Trade itself began to favour the views of the fast school of engineers. In the "Report on the Lines projected in the Manchester and Leeds District," they promulgated some remarkable views respecting gradients, declaring themselves in favour of the "undulating system." Thus they cited the case of the Lickey incline on the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway, as a conclusive proof that a gradient of 1 in 37 for a length of two miles may be worked by the aid of an engine constructed for the purpose, without serious inconvenience to an extensive traffic;"- that "gradients of from 1 in 50 to 1 in 100 are perfectly practicable to the ordinary locomotive engine, with moderate loads; "- that lines of an undulating character, “which have gradients of 1 in 70 or 1 in 80 distributed over them in short lengths, may be positively better lines, i. e., more susceptible of cheap and expeditious working, than others which have nothing steeper than 1 in 100 or 1 in 120!" They concluded by reporting in favour of the line which exhibited the most gradients, and the sharpest curves, chiefly on the ground that it could be constructed for less

money.

Sir Robert Peel took occasion, when speaking in favour of the continuance of the Railways Department of the Board of Trade, to advert to this Report in the House of Commons on the 4th of March following, as containing "a novel and highly important view on the subject of gradients, which, he was certain, never could have been taken by any Committee of the House of Commons, however intelligent;" and he might have added, that the more intelligent, the less likely they were to arrive at any such conclusions. When Mr. Ste

* Dated the 4th February, 1845.