The Express.
London, England, 1849-10-30 00:00:00

' ablation to remedy the wont, there is so much hope
that it eight to induce shareholders to bold on, if
possible' and to wait the result. And this is what
rational and solvent men are deice. Weak holders
mast, of course, give way; and the esenneue
depreciation in the value of railway stock
involves. we fear, an amount of encoded in-
solvency that may overtake the eduntry ere a
rise in prices can rectifi it. Bit notwithstand-
ing real sales, ficition sic, eneesied insolvency,
anspeesies of dividends, and reduced Mae returns,
there is everyressoa to hops that the worst is known;
sad "wiles at their worst dings most mend."
Already, now that the cholera plague is stayed
railway trifle begin to creep up; and though thi
extent of mileage cm most hen represented by the
treat returns is biennia& the extennons of most of
the great lines are now nearly. finished. Some
of the trunk lines will yet, it is true, have to
sooninter the opposition of lines that will here-
after compete with them which t 7.0 now in pro-
gress of coestrectiou and approaching completion;
but, on the other band, these new lines will not de-
pend principally on the traffic which they can attract
from the old lines for their revenue; on the contrary,
their chief traffic most, it is obvious from a glance at
the map. be derived from the new countries which
'hey will open up to railway accommodation. And,
by this opting up, they will inertias the general
locomotion of the kingdom. Thee, fee example, the
opening. from London to York, of the Great Northern
Railway may withdraw from the North-Wiren put
of the traffic which it now enjoys ; but it will to a great
extent compensate the North-Western for this loss by
sending on to it a new source of pecfit to be derived
from the wealth the Great Northern must bring to
light in the South Yorkshire oosl fields, and in the
increased value it will give—nay, has already given,
to agricultural produce in Lincolnshire. In competing
lines there will generally be found a principle of
compensation and of mutual devtlepmenr.
Nor can it reasonably be apprehended that the
trade, the locomotion, and the transit of merchandise
of this country, have reached their maximum. The
more retinal supposition is, that they are yet sus-
ceptible of a very great increase. If the agri-
culture of the empire can rise superior to free imports,
it must b' by increased production; increased produc-
ti-n is only to be achieved by improved cultivation ;
and improved cultivation involves augmented demand
for labour and better wages. What an impetus then
will increased agricultural production give to railway
traffic ! The augmented produce will have to be
carried into the manufacturing districts; and thole
districts in return will send back increasing supplies
of clothing. Nor is this an imaginary picture. The
process is now going on, and may be peen in Lincoln-
shire. Scarcely has that fine county been penetrated
by railways, than the invading lines are literally op-
pressed by its produce ; and great as are the supplies of
grain which Lincolnshire is sending into the manatee-
luring districts, they would be largely increased, had
the calculations (usually sanguine) of the companies
interested in their conveyance at all reached the
realities of the case. Lincolnshire has, by means of
railways, and within a few mouths after their comple-
tion, found new markets; sod ir, in exchange, fur-
nishing new markets And this is the natural ten-
dency of railways: it may be interrupted or sus-
pended by accidental circumstances; but there can be
no rational fear that railway traffic will permanently
fall off. _ .

There is, too, comfort and assurance in the hope
that means may be found to diminish the expense of
railway transit. The average of that expense is pro-
bably not far short of 50 per cent. of the gross re-
ceipts—an amount which appears perfectly enor-
mous. In the lines over which Mr. HUDSON pre-
sided, it is only reasonable to infer, that where
so much roguery and robbery prevailed, there
was, in addition, much internal mismanagement, aug-
menting the cost of transit. Now one of the Bret
taste to be applied to their new management, will be
a reduction of this cost. There are two modes in
which its reduction may be tried : one is by having
the rulllng stock of a first-rate character kept in &st-
raw order; the other is by reduction ot speed. Cr eap
transit with an inferior rolling stock is an impossi-
bility. The better the engines, the better the car-
riage', the sounder the rail., the better the servants
and officials, the cheaper will be the cost of transit ;
for such is the wear and tear of railway travelling,
that nothing can exceed the expense of inferior stock.
Now railway shareholders ought never, in their
anxiety for curn nt dividends, to luse right of this
principle of true economy; and when they do, rail-
say directorates ought to have tl:e mange to enforce
it, despite all opposition.
Riilway companies, with inferior rolling stocks,
might perhaps keep the cast of transit down, by
lowering their rate of speed. But, it is obvious, unless
a coma redaction of speed be resorted to, any excep-
tional reduction of speed will tell on the gross
receipts of the line making the experiment. It
is, however, quit- possible, perhaps it is even more
than probable, that there will be a reduction in the
number of daily trains, run generally without any
reduction of speed; unlese, indeed, parliament shall
think it right to revise railway fares.
This question of fares is, in truth, the great diffi-
cult!' ot railway policy. That the public are deeply
interested in railway companies yielding a reason-
able dividend, is a self-evident proposition; tor, un-
less they are remunerative, railway conveyance can
be neither safe norspeedy, neither sufficientnor. regular.
And if experience prove that it is not.paesibleto reduce
substantially the cost of railway trans', the question of
railway fares will sooner or later have to be re zoneidered
by the legislature. We have not, probably, at pre sent
sufficient materials or adequate experience to decide
the problem whether the cost of railway transit can be
much reduced ; but hitherto railway locomotion has, itis
generally believed, beenvery ex, ravagantly conducted.
And another year or two will either have so conside-
rably raducal its cost as to have raised dividends by
means of economy ; or it will have resolved the
question of remuneration into one of sufficiency of
fares. . _ _

Railway companies as a body have hitherto, it meet
be admitted, acted fairly by the public on the point of
fires; for it is little known, that while ths legislature
has apparently fixed a maximum of fares, the clause
in most railway companies' ewe, whereby the maxi-
mum is enacted, are so carelessly drawn, that no-
thing could be easier than to evade it. The clause
in question certainly limits the fares to be taken ;
but it, in most cases, it concludes with this remarkable
proviso " Provided also, that nothing herein con-
tained shall be construed to prevent the company
from charging any reasonable runs for the roe e such
engines and carriages fin espress trains." Bo that,
after providing the compulsory parliamentary trains,
railway companies need only call all other trains
"express trams" to enable them to increase their
fares beyond the maximum inter,ded by parliament.
And it is to tl'eir credit that, in th• extr, miry of their
fortune:, they have not availed themselves of the care-
lessness of the legislature.
Without, however, offering an opinion on the ques-
tion of railway faros, it is impossible not to recollect
that the present rates were fixed by p Element very
much on the assumption that all the great trunk
lines would yield 10 per cent. divide nth'; that this
usamption was encouraged by the large dividends
which m..ny of them were then f, ai.dulently de-
clsrieg ; and that on this assumption the legislature
beguiled the public into an extemt t.f railway invest-
ment which is as unparalleled in amount ea it is at
present in worthlessness end clepreciation.

COLLISION Aso Loos or LIPS. —On Sunday a
fatal cohiden aciaal about Liao miles north-east of
Haack, H •ed. emasetunata teener. nee took plum be-
tween the barque Mot, a large American r.-.eel, and tte
brig Oreyrtnund from Amen.= to Eater, heavily laden. It
appears y sighted sash titter at about 3 o clock, the
weather somewhat hazy. when ahortly atter, by some mis-
management, tho y came Is annual with fiarful force, the
American barque rutting the brig dovoo to ohs water's edge,
and tyro png away both masts. She sank almost lamed
Moly. only a potties of the mew having time to map* ea
bo of the barrier, the remainder were eith-r kitled below,
K were carried do.• by the sinking vessel and perished.
ATTEMPTED ROBBERY AND CAPTURE OP THE
Butatata.—On Sunday evening last a daring attempt was
mom to mb 'he bows of Wt C,ry, E q., 11, Commercial-
reed, Lambeth. Part of t•-• !.ally had gme It chinch,
leaving only Mr. and Kim Cory in the dining ro,m, and the
footman below stairs. The fr,txt do, r was heard gently to
open, and soma pers.n entered the how,. Mr. Cony ruse
from his seat and rushed to the hall, where he eucauntered a
fellow w,.0 was already bolt-way woo the plane. Is an
instant the 'hide' was piniorld by Mr. Corr, oho is 70
years of age, as is the graver& nee. Frightmied and cver-
come, he *tamarind out. " Do. to Mr. William, live here r'
Getting bet. sett the burglar and tt.e door the t,ld it: =men
collo d lustily for the p .bee, who moo made thew 'Nome-
once, end urn searching the intruder di.eavirei epos him
no les. than nine skeleton keys, one of abut exactly Sited
the door. He was immediately conveyed to the statism
hoses.