The Express.
London, England, 1847-02-12 00:00:00

found it impossibleto concur in the sugger iOll. (Hear, hear.)
Such veto would, in his opinion, be an usurpation of the
functions of psrliament, and besides a Vrong opinion from
the commienonen would be quite sufficient for all useful
purposes. (Hear, hear.) Another p. jot of considerable ins-
portancewh)ch he had had under consideration was, whether
railway promoters should have their powers in perpetuity,
Of only for a term of years. The latter practice prevailed in
Fmmee, but then the lines were oriainally laid down by go
veemesent, and subsequently leased to companies, while here
they were originally projected by private epeculators. Be-
sides, all
nose great lines in this country had already been
granted in perpetuity, and the question was only 119 to future
railways, which must be merely branches connecting the
great lines he had mentioned. Under these circumstanceihe
was afraid that any limitation of tenure would not ffilly
create great jealousy, but would limit their means of
interfering in other ways. He therefore should not have
any proposal of this kind to make to the house. (Hear.)
Anothe: question which had also been mentioned was, how
far it might be desirable in granting new lines to limit the
amount of interest to be taken by railway shareholders. If
a plan of that kind were adopted, it would be difficult to
avoid evasion, and there would be the still more obvious ob-
jection, that, instead of giving an inducement to economy and
good management, inducement would be held out to Ws
and waste away the profits in useless expenses and
places. (Hear, hear.) He was of opinion that any
attempt to limit the rate of interest would be
beginning at the wrong end. The point in his
opinion fur legislative interference was the tolls and fares to
be charged to the public. (Hear, hear.) It was the busi-
nem of the legis'ature to see that the public were properly
served, and if consistently with that a company succeeded in
making their Inc profitable, so much the better. (Hear.)
With 'aspect to tolls, he proposed that as at present they
should be regulated by parliament, with this alteration, that
they should only be granted for terms of years. It was ius-
rossible to foresee how future improvements might affect the
reasonableness of tolls, and therefore he proposed to limit
the grant of tolls to ten years. (Hear, hear.) When he
proposed to limit them to ten yearn, he did not mean that at
the expiration of that term parliament should be prepar.ol
arbitrarily to change the tons, but he thought that they
should be revised on the principle on which they had been
originally granted, that was, with a view to the present cir-
cumstances of the line, the traffic, and the public interest.
Ile spoke only of new railways ; whether on ex-
isting lines there should be revision was another
question. This question became the more urgent because
during last session a great many bills had been paned, in
which the power of revision was given. There was another
class of acts which was not subject to revision, but at the
same time when the companies holding them applied to par-
liament for new powers, parliament might make whatever
conditions it thought necessary. This was the course which
bad been taken respecting the cheats trains, on the sugges-
tion of the right hon. member for T imworth. The course
he (Mr. Struts) proposed to adopt was, that when the rail-
way commissioners reported on the tolls and fares of a new
line, they should also report en the maximum tolls ar.d tares
on the existing lines of the company applying for the
bill. (Hear, hear.) It would then be for parliament to
; consider whether the grant of the new powers should not be
ace.impanied by a revision of the existing tolls. He also
proposed that for the future the tolls and tares on a railway
should not be allowed without due notice to the com.nis-
sioners and the public. Hr had heard of one company
which lately raised its fares, all at once and without notice,
so that actually persons coming down with their fares in
their hands, were suddenly informed that fares had risen ;
and when they had not the additional money were, of course,
disappointed of their journey. Ile thought this moat in-
convenient and improper, and that no such change
should be made without due notice. (Hear, hear.) He
also proposed. that compaoies, in notifying alterations
to the commissioners, might give their reasons if they thought
fit. His reaaon for this was that the commissioners might
make au annual report to parliament, stating the various
alterations in fares and tolls, and any irregularity which
might have occurred during the year, calling the special
attention of parliament to cases of abuse, and recommend-
ing increase of public accommodation by new lints or other-
wise. (Hear, hear.) He came to another qua stion of con-
riderable importance—he meant the charges to the Post-
office. The mode in which the charge for the mails was
at present regulated was this : The Post-office could
claim the services of the railway, hut the remune-
ration was settled by arbitration. He thought this
very inconvenient, and that it was most desirable
that a clear and distinct arrangement should be made.
It was also pr bible that increased accommodation might be
required by the Poet-office from time to time, and when
further services were required he should say they might be
reasonably expected to he performed at a proportionably re-
duced rate. It was probable that the commissioner', after
consultation with the post- ffice authorities, might be able to
furnish the promoters of the railway with a specification of
the services required beforehand, so that the scale of terms
upon which it 'mould be furnished might be is in the
bill, and the commissioners be enabled to report upon it, in
the same way as they would report upon the scale of tolls.
He proposed also that there should he a limit as to time in
respect to the scale of charges fur their services as in the
case of tolls, but as the venation of the circumstances upon
which such scale would be fixed would be perhaps greater
and more frequent than in regard to tolls, he thought
there could be no objection to make the limit in this
case five years. The next question he would touch
upon was one of considerable importance—that of punc-
tuality of trains—next to the question of fares, he knew of
no one connected with the management of railway* of
greater moment. He heard often from gentlemen connected
with railways that the local traffic constituted the graver
part of the receipts, and the traffic must depend much upon
punctuality, which was of much greater consequence even
than speed. It was obvious, however, that they could not
provide for this by direct legislation, or by imposing penal-
tiee—they could meet it only by publicity and bnnging
public opinion to bear upon the subject. He proposed,
therefore, that all railway companies should be required to
keep at such stations as the commissioners should point out
a register of the time of arrival and departure of every
train. Such an account, he believed, was already kept by the
railway companies for their own purposes, so that the regu-
lation would impose little or no additional trouble upon
them, and in osder to check such returns, he proposed
that they should be suspended in some public
part of the office for a given time, and after-
wards forwarded to the commissioners who should make
an annual return of the punctuality of each line, accom-
panied with such remarks as might appear necessary as to
the safety and convenience of the public resulting from it.
Then with regard to the cheap or parliamentary trams, es the
law now stood, every railway company was required to run
once a-day, at such hour as shouts be approved by the com-
missioners, a covered train, provided with seats, at a charge
of one penny a mile per passenger • and it was also required
that such train should travel at a speed of not less than twelve
miles an hour. He did not propose any change in the speed
of these trains ; but at present the railways fulfilled the
requirements of this law, by running these trains at twenty
or thirty miles an hour over some parts of the line
and then either stopping altogether for some time,
or travelling at a very slow rate so as to make
the average speed twelve miles an hour. Now this was not
a fair mode of proceeding, nor could he believe that this was
the mode in which the legislature intended the proviso in
question to be carried out (Hear, hear.) And he proposed
that not only the time of ranting but of arrival at the station
and the duration of stoppers should be regulated to the esti*.
faction et the ocouis (Hear, bear.) Another point
11.081101.110.1.11. At present the commission-
ers Me import/ belatmllsee in this matter, but he proposed
to phillito i Oda bill that the number to be carried in each
=*WI be determined and inscribed on the outside
ferriage, and that the company should be liable to a
Clitif that number was exceeded. lie also proposed
henever these carriages travelled by night, they
should have a light inside. He came next to the
question of disputes between railway companies—that
was in cases where in consequence of differences between
companies whose lines ran into each other the public con-
venience was not consulted—as in the case of one railway
Wring. to Met with second char trains, the second class
hoionsildtother uniting
.with it. At present the commis-
dwell ht Matters involving the public safety, might make
evehillimo which were binding upon the companies. He
thodgbilhe best mode of dealing with this matter to adopt
the words in this respect of the present law, but extending
the power to those capes of bad arrangement which occa-
sioned inconvenience to the public. For the repression of
oaten. ere riot arising from the congregation of a
lop tomboy of men in any district employed
is antalracting a railway, he believed in Scotland
thothatiff had power when any such distort:mai was a pre-
bead to send a sufficient number of psleseewetaWestO
prawn the peace, and to charge the taper' upon the
-rcompany. He proposed to give a simAaepeMalt itk
eaWritry, and, upon complaint made by two amiltlealli
et tae linnet, the commissioners might art snit It
of Oho as, in the opinion of the magebates might be
tontooll,,, to be employed in reproniaget,ng the
wean on_ Ilk moony. There were sow ether mbar
means inhi' lb la the bill, as breleve, the omen
of new Non, the giving facilities for carrel t=
an laillioxy stores, upon which ha did not
its now to detain the house. (Hear.) But then
was caos point of some importance he would refer to—
he praponed that the government should have the power of
calling hr returns from time to time from every railway
company, so as to inform themselves of all matters upon
which they might require information, and that they should
have the power of testing such returns by a reference to the
books of the company. (Hear.) A questics hod baan
asked the ether day by the hen. and gallant wisaltse he
Lincoln (Col. Sibthorp) whether in this bill it waneg
to give powers for obtaining compensation to the
relations of persons who might be killed by
on railways for the loss so sustained. The hon. and gallant
gentleman was not perhaps aware that by a recent alteration
of the law—Lord Campbell's act of last year—the surviving
relatives of persons killed by accident, bad power to sue for
compensation. He did not propose soy additional legisla-
tion on this subject; first, because he thought it was de-
sirable to see how that act worked, and, secondly, because
he thought the law in this respect should be general, and
not confined to railway accidents. He did not propose this
bill as a complete measure. It must be obvious that a mea-
-1 sure of this character Gould not be complete in the first in-
scenes. (Hear.) They must expect that increased experience
I would afford the means for further improvements hereafter,
parliament, he but should the measure, as he hoped it would, receive the
lathe° ettationfgParlawlia, tothat th the public, without
improve
being • emus in nu any way to the railway companiea (Hear,
hear.) He would now move for leave to bring
in the ill.
Mr. AGLIONBY complimented the right hon. gentle-
man upon the dear and lucid statement with whims he had
introduced his measure, and congratulated the house and
the public upon the manner in which the right hon. gen-
rr man had commenced the discharge of the important duties
of his dike. There wee one regulation ke would suggest wht-h