The Sun.
London, England, 1839-04-30 00:00:00

TURNPIKE TRUSTS

COMMITTEE, HOUSE OF COMMONS.

MONDAY APRIL 29.
The Committee met at one o'clock. Mr. Mackinnon in
the Chair.
The CHAIRMAN said there were three subjects of inquiry
which he would recommend to the consideration of the
Committee,—first, whether the monopoly usurped by the
r;,ilroads was the cause of the distress complained of by the
Truster s ? whether any legislative remedy could be pro-
vided? and whether the public had not in their own hands
means for counter-actin., the evil. In the year 1831,
a Committee, of which' he was a Member, reported
that steam carriage upon common roads was fully ea-
tabli.died as regarded practicability, safety, and eco-
nomy, However, at that time the Trustees of the
Turnpike roads could not be made to understand their own
intere;ts, and instead of encouraging steam•carriages,
wi.ich would have enabled them to compete successfully
vvit,ll railways, they laid on such heavy tolls on steam car-
riages as rendered th it mode. of conveyance upon common
rods utterly impracticable. On one line of road they
raised the tolls from 63. charged to four-horse coaches to
31. for a steam-carriage. In fact, they realised 113°,
fable of the man who killed the goose -for the sake 0'
the egg.
Mr. Gray, cf Earl-street, Blackfriars, Mr. Levy, s
farmer of Turrpike-tolls to the amount of 100,0001. pet
annum, Mr. Bignold, Clerk to the Trustees of the New-
cross-roads. Surrey, and Sir Henry Parnell, gave evicleeFie
.
to chew that all the lines of road parallel to existing roll
ways were injured to an alarming extent. Mouth
Mr. Shearnian, proprietor of the Bull and
Inn and Coach Offices, gave similar evideooncci
and stated that he himself haat lost upwards of 7, .
in vainly endeavouring to compete with the Loa:
don and Birmingham railway. He attributed a great Parr
of his loss to the conduct of the Directors, who would not
allow him to send passengers and parcels by their traias•
The other railway companies had given him every
After the examination of several other witnesses, With
respect to the state of the Trusts,
The Cearamaar said, the Committee had now sufficiee,
evidence that the monopoly of the railways. bad broil:
the direct roads of the country into a state of decay. ti.,
he thought proper to examine tome witnesses who were ,id
attendance, from whom he believed, the Committee aerie
elicit facts to enable the public to contend in a very tuft;
facility.:
out manner, with the railway monopoly. lie would brat
call Colonel Maceroni, whom he had requested to atten.;
with otln r gentlemen, who were conversant with the age
ject cf steam conveyance on common roads.
Colonel Maceroni, was first induced to consider the soh'
ject of steam locomotion, by his assisting Mr. Gurney, whop
plans he found at length, to be utterly hopeless. HIV
carefully examined the qualities of various steam boilers
cea
ic
contrived one, of which the efficiency has been fully Pe,va,
in various journies, which had been daily made to Njilithe
sor, Harrow, NiTatferd, Edgeware, and other places in 40
vicinity of London, at a rate averaging from 16 to 24111"

per hour.
The Marquis of Tweeddale, Captain Fitzgerald' l‘aefl.
Leitch Ritchie, Mr. Alexander Gordon, Mr. Hul10n: 1110
and Mr. Concannen, stated that they had travelled ion Ye-it
lonel Maceroni's steam-carriage on the softest and
roads in England, and they were satisfied that stesoll-4,
riage conveyance, by means of Colonel Maceroni's "1,,
was capable of maintaining the common roads and succe9
fully competing with the Railway monopoly.
The Committee then adjourned. •