The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-11-29 00:00:00

'.:lr ,f.oariari). O3lserVer.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1873.

A HINT TO RAILWAY COMPANIES
FROM THE BOARD OF TRADE.

In the month of January, 1865, Her Ma. I
jesty addressed a letter to the chairmen of
the ditiereat Railway Boards in the United
Kingdom, calling attention to the large
number of accidents reported upon their
lines, and reminding them of the enormous
revonsibility which had been assumed by
railway companies, seeing that they had
monopolised almost the whole of the carry-
ing power of the country. A remonstrance
coming from such a quarter could not fail
to attract notice, and it was remarked at the
time that after the publication of the Queen's
letter the casualties upon ourpines were con-
siderably far less than they had previously
been. But it is nearly nine years ago, and
the Sovereign's expostnlation of that day
would appear to have had its force dead-
ened by the lapse of time. Certainly, with-
in the last four months, railway accidents
have crowded thick and fast upon us, and
scarcely a day now passes in which a casu-
alty of some kind has not to be recorded.
Under these circumstances the warning
voice which has been uttered by the Board
of Tram.h.• a ill not, have come upon the VIM II try
by surprise. The railway companies are
told that it is their buty to take care that
the permanent way, the rolling stock, and
the station and siding accommodation are
kept up to the requirements of the ever-ill-
creasing traffic; that the officials are suffi-
cient in number and quality for the work to
be done; and that pains should be taken to
test, without undue delay, every reasonable
invention aud expedient devised for the
purpose of preventing danger. With the
enunciation of such views as these, there
are few who will not agree, and we shall
very likely hear more about them at the
half-yearly meetings of the railway com-
panies which will shortly conic on- It is
manifest, from the language of the Board of
Trade, that they have grave doubts whether
everything possible is done for the security
and convenience of railway travellers. An-
other subject referred to in the circular will
command the sympathy of thousands, and
that is the frequent unpunetuality of pas-
senger trains. Well might the Board of
Trade speak of the "inconvenience, vexa-
tion, and loss," arising from this cause.
There was a day when the phrase railway
punctuality " was full ef meaning, and when
it was as true as the rise and fall of the tide,
or the unerring flight of time itself. But it
has now become so obsolete that it is a com-
mon occurrence to see upon the railway
time-bills notices to the effect that the com-
pany will not be responsible for any loss or
inconvenience which may ensue from the
non-arrival of the trains at the specified
times. If this be really the state of the law, .
the sooner responsibility of this kind is
fastened upon the companies, the better the
public will be satisfied. Now, more than any
period;in our national history, time is money,
and there is a growing sense of dissatisfac-
tion at the irritating delays which take place
on our lines. The Board of Trade, while
admitting that some efforts have been made
by the companies for the accommodation of
the public, yet emphatically declare that
=,,.Y for life and limb—which ougbt to be
a paramount oo3eet-1....., hacm c ffi -
ciently secured, The Government, there.
fore, reserve their own liberty to consider
the expediency of legislation upon any part
of this important question—a hint which
the companies might well take before worse
terms are imposed upon them. There is no
mistaking what the Board of Trade mean
when they use such language as this. If
Boards of Directors will not take adequate
precautions for the protection of their pas-
sengers, the Government will take the work
out of their hands.