The Express.
London, England, 1847-02-05 00:00:00

timated that the trunk of the railway would ail tuitola di v iden I
on 75(1 0001 of 6) per cent ; but *seaming that the real expen-
diture 'would be 1,00.1.0001 e live per rent. was the probable
dividend If her Majesty'd novo meat coin. is and lent
them two-thirds of emir capital at 3) per cent., the maul.
would be that the 324,000). Aare capital already expended
would love a fair and early prosreet of a dividend of 8 per
cent. The effect of Awl n course would este that the shares
of that company, instead of "wing dead in the market, instead
of beir.g at a deemed of 162,0001., would ilawantly rise to
a premium, and the tended proprietary and tinsntry of Ire-
land, now unable to meet the tales upon them, would be
enabled to get rid of their shares at a premium, and employ
the money so obtained in the improvement of their
estate., end in giving employment to the peup'e of
Ireland. eo that hie proin.ition would have • double
effect; it would at once s t t.. work IV. immense number of
perams, and it would enable the land. at proprietors who
were nee sh areheld. to in the t make um of,
mow y Gar the improve.nent of their eetate s and the employ.;
ewer of the people. Ile heal a letter from Lord Glongnll,
stating that he knew railway compley wnich, if they hod
money, ware prepared to employ 16,010 man. (Hear, hear.)
In the countia e of Nekenne, Limerick, and Waterford, the
expenditure in test du haired, al ntult r tee resentment 104-
evens had Wee at he rate of 4,01.11. per mopth far the last
three menthe, with every peuspeet of these demands being
continued—(cries of "hear, hear " I—and there was this
additienel ohj. etioat to ouch expenditure, that it we.
for useless aid unproductive wore,. the only result
of which was to obstruct the public communication..
A murk itataleace heal. within the last three days, come over
the government, and they had allowed money to be advanced
on the earkt•wurke of railways on the security of present-
ment,. Ile taoataht the course he proposed, namely, to ad-
vance money on the security of railways, would be much
better than on the security of laud. The proposal to lend
money te ',Reties on the security of land was made in 1839,
and when first brought f rward was carries by a majority.
hut her Majesty's gossrement would not assent to
He ceneial. real this a wrong course, and the result
ehowed that he was right in coning to such a
canclusioa ; for while the lands aloaguale of which
railways d were increaaed in value to the
a•nount of 1,0001. per cent., the laud aloog the old
channels of communication remained stationary. While he
was upon the subject of the r always in the southern &writhe
of Ireland, it was only fair to state that the Waterford and
Limerick Iteilersy Com)sany were prepared to employ
16,000 men upon their works. But he would ate refer to
an application made by the chairman of the Great Southern
and We-seen Railway Company to the late government.
On the twenty-second of May last year, Mr. 0. Carr,
as chairman of the company, addressed • letter
to
Sir R rt Peel, in which he stated that, 'after
conetilting the contractors, be f nand that, if they were ac-
commodated with • that of 500,0001 , they woula undertake
tea gave sunultenene employment to many thousands of
persons in different portions of the line. If this offer of the
Great Southern anal Westin' Company to employ 50,000
labourers bad been accepted, there would not now he the
netheity of paying halt the expenses of the parochial pre-
set:mews for the maintenance of the Irish poor, at least as
regarded the seven counties through which that railway was
to pass. He had receive a az communication from Mr. Dorgan,
the great co 'tractor in Ireland, who, having contracted for
300 miles of railway, was prevented from proceeding with
102 miles, partly from being unable to get possession of the
land, but palely else from want of money. This gentleman
said that nn obtaining the money required he could the next
day put into employment 30,000 men. (Hear, hear.) It
might, however, be slid, that his (Lord G. Bentinck'a) pro-
posal would only affect them counties through whien the
railroads passed. Taking the 1,340 miles of railway for
which bills were pawed in 184.5 and 1846, and the railways
which had been previously sanctioned, it appeared that there
were only 4 counties in Ireland which would not be traversed
by those lines—vie. Galway, Mayo, Sligo, and Roscommon.
But parliamentary sanction was already being sought for
an extension line from Athlone to Gal way,which would tea.
Terse one end of Roscommon and run throu,h the centre of
Galway, a line which he heal been assured lay Mr. Biddulph,
who had been employed (as was understood) by Mr. Ste-
phenson, was of the greatest importance to the welfare of the
Gauntry, and would pay 5 per cent. on the capital laid out.
It could not be doebted that if this measure were to pass,
when there should be a lane is course of construction which
would pass through the iron, coal, and limestone districts of
Slign, opening up a communication with iron mines,
which, according to the report of the railway com-
missioners, was of the finest al. scription, but which
could not now be worked fur want of railway communica
lion—it could not be doubted that a line for which them
was a bill now before parliament would be carried to Cavan,
and there would then not be a single county in Ireland
which was not traversed by railways. Acts of parliament
had already passed empowering companies to complete 1-421
miles of railway; there were before the house at that moment
hills for 150 miles more ; and he hid broil assured that lines
which would certainly be undertaken would cover 268 miles.
The total number of miles therefore was 1940, and he would
leave a margin of 200 miles for railways which mightbe disal-
lowed. Now, in introdueine that measure, it was not his wide
moire Any prtiwaitinn, ei'her in hostility or in rivalry to the
government of his noble friend. (Hear, and laughter.) He
awaked the house pubbely private', he pledged his
honour to his noble friend, that they (tile noble lord and his
perry )*ought no advantage for themselves by the carry Mg of
that measure. Ile had hoped that hon. members would
all come to the consideration of it as if it were a great
private bill, anal they had all been selec'ed as members of a
committee. The measure itself originated as far back
as September twat. at the house of his honourable friend
Sir Jobs Tyrrell. (A. laugh.) Although the bill
will drawn up in November, until he gave notice
of the measure in that house, with the exception of his hon.
friend t h e member for Harwich (Maier Bereeford) " whn," said
the noble lord, "is in all our conlidences,"—(alaugh)—with
the exception of his hon. friend the member for Harwich,
they had not confided their secret to any Irish member, or
to any gentleman connected with Irish railways or with
Irish property. (Hear, hear.) As the measure was one
calling upon England to make a large advance of money, he
thought at would be only becomiag that no jury should
sit upon it bat one coneistang exclusively of English mem-
bers, and he trusted that Irish gentlemen would not think
that he exercises! a discourteous discretion when he forbore
I. consult them before he introduced the measure to
the house. (Hem.) He felt, too, that a. there was a great
clamour raised by every preposition for the benefit of Ire-
lanai, it was more consistent with the dignity of Irish nestle-
men, and with their true interests, that the measure should
be above the suspicion of being what was called "an Irish
job." (Hear.) It might be said that the measure was
more favourable to Insh railroads and to Irish proprietors
than that which the parties themselves had proposed.
Atter the best consideration, his friends were of opitkon
that, though the measure proposed by Irish gentlemen
might lead to the completion of the best lines, yet
it would not have the effect which they (the
noble lord and his friends) desired, namely, that
of stimulating the prompt and profitable employment of
the people. (Hear, hear.) His right hon. friend (Mr.
Hudson), who had never meddled with any railway enter-
prise which had not been crowned with success. was of
opinion that the plan in question was not suited to the
exigencies of the cam. The London and Birmingham rail-
way had employed 100 men a mile for four consecutive years.
That line was far more expensive than the Irish lines, which
it was estimated would costl6,oool.a mile. The estirnateof Mr.
Stephenson was, that taking one line with another throughout
Ireland, to execute the whole of them would require the
services of sixty men a mile for four consecutive years ;
1,600 miles of railway thus giving eminent employment for
that period to 90,000 men upon the earth-works. It was
also estimated that employment would be given to six arti-
ficers and others for every mile, or 9,000 more in all. To
this must be added the l'act,which was taught by experience,
that when a railway passed through any county, there were
fences to be made, fields to be squared, drains and
water courses to he cut, and new roads anal approaches to be
constructed ; all which must require nix more men for each
mi.e, making the total 108,000. There were other rais' cel-
Janson, employments to which the expenditure of so large a
gum of money would give rise ; and there were many who
thought that what he proposed would have the effect of
giving occopationto an extent which would represent 650,000
of the population. If by a measure which cost the country
nothing, they could for four years give good wages to
6.50,000 of the population, it must be admitted that he (Lord
U. Bentinck) went a great way in &misting his noble
friend to curry out his New Poor-law Amendment Act.
(Hear, bear.) But not only did he propose to give employ-
ment to the poor but also to provide for their comforts.
There had been inserted in the bill clauses obliging compa-
nies to see that the contractors paid the wages cf the
labourers once a week in herd cash; and it was provided
that if the contractor or sub contractor should fail to fulfil
that condition from Saturday to Monday, there should be a
summary process enabling the labouring man to recover
double wages. (Hear.) It was further proposed that comps-
Mee should be required to conetruct decent and suitable dwell-
ings for the labourers before any work could be commenced.
The report of the committee showed that it was vela to
think of improving the morals unless they commenced by
improving the social condition of the people. He now
came to connater what would be the effect of the coo-
etesetion of railways upon Ireland generally- and here
he might appeal to a well-known individual, Mr. Smith, of
Ikansten, man impartial witness. Hon. members might
suppose that if Mr. Smith. of Deanston, were asked " what
would be the most beneficial mode of app lying labour to Ire-
land with a view to agricultural improvement," he would
have answered at once " the drainage of the lands." But
this fait was, that when a question of that nature was pro-
posed to lie. Smith, of Deaneton. before a committee of that
house, his answer at once was " the construction of railways."
(Hear, hear.) Mr. Smith, of Deawaten, said still mom. -He
declared it to be his opinion that the improvement of land to
the extent of one mile on each side a railway, would, in the
event of Reconstruction, pay the cost of making the railway.
Mr. Smith cited a practical illustration. Ile laid that the land
adjsceat to the Ealinburgh and Glasgow Railway had been
let, previously to the construction of that line, at se. per
acre, but that since the line was formed it had fetched 3.5 e.
to 455. per acre. He (Lord G. Bentinek) calculated that,
in 26 years, the land of Ireland would be improved by the
construction of 1,500 miles of railway, no lees than to the
extent of 23,300,625/. (Hear, hear.) But this was not the
only direct advantage which railways would secure. By
employieg labourers upon the works of no utility which were
commenced last August, by spoiling roads where they were
made, and making new reads where they were compara-
tively little wanted, the government were, in fact, imposing
an additional burden on the county this of Ireland, for the
• repair and maintenance of the roads which were altered and
extended. Now, whilst his (Lord 0. Dentiack's)
plan would relieve the destitute poor of the country
evithout entailing pecuniary sacrifice, it would also
• relieve the county ems ; for every acre of
land turned into railway would contribute at a greatly tri-
sected rate to the roil' rates of tho parish. (Hear, hear.)
Hat agaiat—he mild hold out to limo interested is rha