The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-26 00:00:00

THE SUNDAY TRAINS
QUESTION.
At tho tact Edinburgh Town Council the discussion of
this much agitated and important question,-as rEgards
free public cenvenience and right, and the intolerance,
en a stnall scale, of a ludicrous railway tyranny, was in.
traduced by
Mr. C. B. Tarr, who brought forward the motion of
which he had given notice at last meeting. He said—l
feel perfectly confident that the moderate extent which
the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway afforded of tra-
velling on Sunday never would, with the exception of a
very few of our Scottish towns, have created the slightest
observation in any other city or town in Europe. lam
no Sunday traveller myself ; but I have occasionally
tray; Iled on that day, and I must say that I do not envy
that man who, being obliged to travel on that day,
cannot by observation and reflection improve his mind
and profitably occupy his time. The rich man is com-
paratively independent of the privilege of travelling on
Sunday ; but I maintain that every man who uses a
vehicle of any description on Sunday is equally guilty of
committing a breach of the Sabbath as the man who
travels by a railroad.— (Hear, hear.) May we not say
to those directors who so scrupulously compel Sabbath
observance on those who may have a legitimate reason
for spending an hour or two in travelling on the
Sunday, "Ye hypocrites, why do ye not first take
the beam out of your own eye before attempting to
take the mote out of your neighbour's eye" if it be true
that about one hundred of the railway clerks were em-
pb.yed on the boeks of the company from ten o'clock in
the morning till a late hour in the evening.—(Hear.)
Since the council gave their former deliverance on this
subject, a document has been issued by the directors,
which proves that we can have uo hepo of making any
impression on the four gentlemen on whom the controul
has unfortunately been devolvad by their colleagues, ex-
cept by the adoption of some such decided measures as
that at which my motion aims. In the face of the fact
that their proceeding has not received the support of any
responsible or representative public body in Scotland,
with the doubtful and chance exception of the town
council of Dundee, these four gentlemen declare that
they have the support of public opinion. The process
by which they arrive at this conclusion is by comparing
the number of signatures to the memorials on each side
of the question. In this way the petitition of some congre
gation in a distant part of the country, who have not one
particle of interest or of knowledge regarding the ques-
tion—(A laugh)—is reckoned by these four gentlemen
as several hundred times more worthy of attention
than the memorial signed by your Lordship on behalf of
this council, which, by the confession of Dr. Candlish
himself, fairly represents on this question the opinion of
the Scottish metropolis.—(]Near, hear.) I have every
proper respect for Kirk Sessions and Presbyteries so
long as they keep within their own sphere ; but when
they would assume more than the functions of a legis-
lature by laying restraints on personal liberty, it be-
comes the duty, especially of a body like this council, to
make a stand. In fact, the whole of this controversy
has arisen from certain leaders in these church courts

having become proprietors and directors, with the sole
view of conducting the railway according to their own
theological opinions ; which is the same thing as com-

pulsorily regu!ating the Sunday movements of the in-
habitants of the most populous districts of Scotland. In
the document I have referred to, these four gentlemen
complain of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway having
been selected as the battle-field of this question. The
selection was entirely their own. The question had
been brought by certain rigid Sabbatarians before the
shareholders again and again, and the largest number of
votes ever given in favour of the motion for shutting the
railway on Sundae, was fifty-six shares, held by about
a dozen individuals. Now, here was the question de-
cided year after year—the Sunday trains in operation; and
not a word of complaint from the public. At this stage
the four gentlemen to whom I have alluded purchased
shares in the railway. On the 19th of August last, up
to which day the list of shareholders was corrected,
not one the four directors whose votes have stopped
the Sunday trains held a single share.—(Hear, hear.)
They now only hold as many shares as qualify them
as directors, and there can be no doubt bought those
shares for the sole purpose of attempting to stop the
Sunday trains, which purpose they have been accidently
enabled to accomplish by a crisis in the affairs of the
company to which I need not refer ; and after all this
they turn round upon us and deprecate their railway
being made the " battle-ground of the question."—
(Hear, hear.) The part taken by the press affords a
strong refutation of the bold assertion of the directors
that public opinion supports them. Almost the only
papers that have given them any support are the three
or four which are thirled to the Free Kirk—(a laugh)
—and which can hardly be looked on as ordinary,
newspapers, being maintained for a specific purpose
and being directly under the control of clerical com-
mittees. Laying these three or four aside, the only paper
in Scotland that supports director& granny is one of
Tory politics, in our own city ; another, which had at
first given them a modified support, having since aban-
doned the field. In Glasgow (with one exception, of the
class already alluded to) the directors have not, in the
press, a single supporter. In England, also, I may add,
they have been almost unanimously condemned. And
the loudest in condemnation have been those papers
usually called religious. It would be needless to point
out the bearing of these facts on the monstrous assertion
of the directors that they are supported by public opinion.
(Hear, hear.) It is evident that men who resort to such
unscrupulous devices, both in action and speech, need
not be dealt with very tenderly. I cannot see that my
motion goes in the least beyond the exigences of the
case.—(Hear, hear.) The railway company are ap-
plying to Parliament for extended powers, including
the power to take possession of private properties,
and to monopolise the means -of transit in new dis-
tricts; and the plea, of course, on which they make
this application is the public benefit and conve•
nience. I cannot see how any man can deny that in such
a case we have a right to tell Parliament that the com-
pany have failed in their duty as regards the powers
they already possess, and that they should therefore re-
ceive no further powers till they exhibit a determination
to make a better use of them.—(Hear, hear.) The
council have already memorialised the directors of the
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway on this subject, and
have been civilly told that the memorial will receive the
attention it justly deserves; but I conceive we must now
make use of such means as are fairly in our power
for the purpose of bringing them to reason. If, as I
maintain to be the case, this company has violated the
compact virtually made with Parliament, in procuring
their sanction to the Bill for making the railway, are
we not justified, when this company makes another ap-
plication to Parliament for additional powers, in taking
steps to enforce the fulfilment of their compact? Before
the opening of the railway, the public had the benefit
of the mail coaches between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Now, wken the mail is carried by steam, these directors
say, "We will carry the bags, but we will prohibit the
persons." Had they ventured to tell Parliament, when
they were applying for their Bill, that, as soon as they
had a monopoly of the read, they would shut it up en-
tirely every Sunday, the proposition would have been
scouted; indeed, so preposterous does it appear, that no
one could think of introducing a clause to provide against
it.—(Hear, hear.) Now, however, that the absurdity
has been perpetrated, our proper course is to take mea-
sures, when these directors appear before Parliament
again, to call the attention of the Legislature to the
manner in which they have abused the powers forme' ly
given to them, and to insist that they shall first fulfil
their engagement to the public before further powers
are granted. What precise measure should be taken it
is necessary to prescribe. It may be best to remit to the
Lord Provost's Committee to adopt such measures as
they consider advisable.—(Applause.) I beg, therefore,
to submit to the Council the following motion :—" That
the Town Council should oppose any Bill brought into
Parliament by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
Company till they accommodate the public by restoring
the means of conveyance on Sundays, to the same mo-
derate extent as they enjoyed previous to the late reso-

lution of the directors to put an entire stop to Sunday
travelling."
Mr. A. ROBERTSON said he had great pleasure iu
seconding the motion of Mr. Tait. Every day brought
new facts before the public connected with the atrocious
conduct of these four directors.—(Hear, hear.) It was a
fact quite notorious, that some of these very individuals
who had se shamefully deprived the poor man of all
opportunity either of visiting his friends, or of attending
worship in some of the neighbouring churches, rode
several miles in their carriages en the Sundays. By de-
priving the hard-wrought mechanic
Sunday .
of the opportunity
of enjoying himself on the innocent and
healthful recreation, they had inflicted a serious injury
o f thendl a :Ida.
universal execration would g
on the community, and hehadhenordaoiisiebdt tahaatianssthotuht of
and a laugh.) Hehad
—(Hear,
been told by many influ-
ential
greatly Sunday
diminished,trai
em
ential parties behe throughoutar, the lel
no
gn
and bearing, in this respect, on one locality, he had
lengthgi
nagn dto breadth
Liverpool
council a letter from Mr. List, the able superintendent
dthriut-tikseinlineeesst naendencinrinimeeneehmatein Leon.
ian. The letter was
of the county police for Mid-Loth
much pleasure in bringing under the attention of the
d to the
effect
t e
written at the urgent request of Dr. Renton, who was
anxious to ascertain some information in regard
effect which the running of Sunday trains had on Sat).
bath desecration in this district. Mr. List's letter was
as foßows :
" County Police-office, County-buildings,
Edinburgh, Dec. 10, 1846.
" Dear Sir,—ln answer to yours, I beg to give you
the following intbrmation. In doing so, I have no doubt
that I shall be condemned by some; but as I am per-
fectly convinced that much crime arises through drunken-
ness, I think every exertion ought to be used towards
weaning the labouring class from frequenting the dram
shops,aonnld
Mondayfacilities
morning afforded
until those
Saturdaywho are
night
to frwnfresh air and recreation, and thus endeavour to prevent
them desecrating the Sabbath by
driving them into
dram shops. Of two evils,
most assuredly choose the
immured
to getin
least.
" Previous to last summer I always found it necessary
to have two extra constables on duty at dock's Lodge,
during the Sunday afternoons and evenings, for the
purpose of maintaining order, owing to the number of
people that frequented the public-houses in that imps 3.
diate neighbourhood—there being no less than nine
such houses all within the circumference of a quarter
of a mile, Fighting and breaches of the peace were of
weekly occurrence; in fact, on many occasions, the road
at the barracks and alone. to Meadowbank had more the
appearance of a fair-day than the Sabbath. Last
summer I found no occasion to have any extra con-
stables at Jock's Lodge, the public-houses being less fre-
quented, and no breaches of the peace committed. The
same applies all around Edinburgh. The sergeant at
Musselburgh reports that he saw no increase at the
public-houses in his district, neither did he see more
drunkenness than on former occasions.

It is quite true that the Sunday trains lead many
from the town churches; but it is equally true that

many attend churches in the country, with their aged
parents, who were never able to do so before. Son* of
these places of worship arc those they attended in
childhood.

" I have often contrasted Edinburgh and Glasgow
with London, Liverpool and Birmingham. In the two
former places there is scarcely any opportunity afforded
the labouring classes to see the beauteous works of na-
ture in the country ; but ample facility to waste their
time in public-houses, become drunkards, outcasts, and
ult.mately food for the police. On many occasions I
have walked and rode about Edinburgh and the suburbs,
on a Sunday evening, and counted no less than 60,
70, and 80, and on one occasion 125 intoxicated persons,
in my perambulations of about three hours. Now, look-
ing at the latter places on a Sunday evening, you may
nee hundreds returning from the country—some with
their wives and families—and scarcely one amongst
them the least intoxicated. Surely there must be some-
thing wrong.

"ru conclusion, I beg to say that I am as anxious as
any one for the proper observance of the Sabbath, but I
do think the present agitation on the subject by a por-
tion of the religious part of the community, will not in
any way tend towards the improvement of the labouring
class.

"I remain, dear Sir, yours truly,
"• A. J. LIST.
" Superintendent of County Police."

Mr. WEatirss said, he begged to inform the Council
that on Sunday, tnt 15th ult., the first day on which the
railway trains were stopped between Edinburgh and
Glasgow, no less than 241 carriages of a private kind
drove up to the various places of public worship ; and
if the day had happened to be wet. which it was not, it
was not unlikely but that this number would have been
considerably greater.—(Hear, hear.) They had no he-
sitation in saying that not fewer than 400 horses, and as
many servants, coachmen, &c., were employed in con-
nexion with these carriages.
Bailie MACK said he regretted exceedingly that Mr.
Tait should have expended his maiden speech at the
council board in suppoit of the motion which he had laid
on the table. The motion he (Bailie Mack) held, with
great deference, was not only irreligious but highly
tyrannical. First of all, and speaking in a financial
point of view, if this motion was carried into effect, it
might be necessary to involve the corporation in a large
sum of money, expended in Parliament, opposing the
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Bills. Now, as he
understood the motion, it proposed that the council
should, in an ultra vires manner, apply the funds of the
city's creditors and of the community to oppose those
bills. But, apart altogether from that, he held it
to be a most tyrannical proceeding towards those gen-
tlemen. What was the state of the case ? The old di-
rectors introduced the running of Sunday trains—a
thing which was very little to their credit, seeing that
they did it in opposition to the wishes of upwards of
100,000 of their fellow citizens. Having, in the face of
that opposition, set agoing, and carried on Sunday trains,
until such time as the public, most unquestionably, were
roused to the enormity of the crime—(A laugh)—then
these gentlemen were ousted, they were turned out, and
very properly so ; and they were succeeded by gentle-
men equally respectable, he was sure they would all ad-
mit—by gentlemen who feared God and had respect to
his commandments—(Mr. A. Robertson—" I don't be-
lieve it")—and who, besides, had respect to the statute
law of the country. He did not mean to go over the law
of the case, as he had done so on the last occasion the
subject was before them ; but he. submitted that these
gentlemen were doing nothing contrary to the law.—
(Hear, hear.) What right had the council to go to Par-
liament to oppose them ?—what right had the council
to hold this in krrorent over them ? He did not go the
length of some of his frienth as to the powers of a rail-
way ; but he contended that they were only bound to
keep it open on lawful days.—(Mr. Robertson—" Every
day.") He maintained that they were bound to keep it
open on lawful days ; but if his friend (Mr. Robertson)
ayere of a different opinion, was he taking a manly
course ? Let him apply for a suspension and interdict
against the resolutions of directors, or let him raise an
action of declarator in the Court of Session to find out
whether the directors were acting contrary to law, and
bound to open the railway on Sunday hereafter. Then
he (Bailie Mack) would understand it ; but it was
a cowardly proceeding to hold this motion over the heads
of the directors. He repeated that it was not a manly
way to bring this question to a final issue, to do it by
threatening opposition in Parliament. It these gentle.
men were wrung, they were amenable to the laws of the
country ; and let those members who had spoken in sup
port of this motion resort to the law for redress. Bailie
Mack then, at great length, referred to movements that
had taken place in London for opening the Post office on
Sunda) s, but which was frustrated by the religious feel-
ing of the community. He read one of the memorials
which had been presented to the Treasury on that occa-
sion, by some of the tradesmen of London to show the
high estheation in which they regarded the Sabbath. He
then read a portion of the report of the Parliamentary
Committee on Sabbath observance to a similar effect ; as
also a memorial which had been presented to the direc-
tors of the South Eastern Steam Packet Company sail-
ing from Folkestone tor Boulogne, by the engineer of
that company, who set forth, in such a strong light,
the disadvantages and immorality which resulted from
Sabbath sailing, that the directors gave it up. He con-
cluded by moving, as an amendment, the previous ques-
tion.
Mr. CUSHNIE seconded the amendment.

Dr. RENTON said, in place t,f a speech, which he had
not prepared, and which, after the full discussion the
subject had received from the board, would be an inflic-
tion on the patience of its members, in the same way as
the abolition of the Sabbath train itself has been upon
the patience of the public—he would simply read an ex-
tract from the Act of Parliament, 7 and 8 of Victoria,
chap. 85, sect. 10, respecting the purchase of railways
by the Legislature, which enacts, as regards all rail-
ways having Sunday trains, "It will be imperative
thst the company shall provide comfortable covered
fourth-class carriages, stopping at all the stations, to run
for ld. per mile."—(Hear, hear.) The Act of Parlia-
ment recognises the principle of Sunday trains, to be
run at a very moderate rate, on certain conditions most
favourable to the working classes, but it does not make it
imperative for railways to run Sunday trains. This must
be a matter of arrangement to be made by the board of
directors of every company.—(Hear, hear.) He hoped,
therefore, that the pressure of public opinion upon the
Edinburgh and Glasgow board will render an application
to Parliament unnecessary, by making them feel the
very unenviable poiition in which they have placed
themselves by the late compact they have entered into.
It was, to say, the least of it, a most unholy alliance.
The same outcry had now been raised against the Sab-
bath trains that was formerly so loudly extended against
Sunday funerals. It was then said that these funerals,
with hearses, provided for the poor, would lead to dis-
order, tumult, and desecration; in place of these the very
opposite effects had resulted, namely, peace,
order, and
the greatest decorum, without the slightest detriment to
religion and morality. Exactly similar beneficial con-
sequences had accompanied the running of the railway
trains.—(Hear.)
After a few words from Mr. WHYTE in support of the
amendment, and some remarks from Mr. FA.LICNER in
favour of Mr, Tait's motion,
Mr. Dicx said he had no doubt whatever, when this
matter was formerly before the council about supporting
the motion of Mr. Falkner, that the Sunday trains should
be continued ; but he confessed that he had some doubts as
to the propriety of opposing bills which the railway com-
pany had introduced into Parliament for entering upon
undertakings that were intended for the public benefit,
merely because the directors refused to annul the t eso-
lution to which they had come to as to the running of
Sunday trains.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. CLARK said—Without expressing any opinion on
the motion now before the council, I could have wished
that Mr. Tait would have allowed the directors of the
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Company time to re-
consider more fully the position in which the inhabitants
of these important cities have been placed by their shut-
ting up all intercourse between them for nearly thirty
cotisecutive hours of every week. I think if the council
were to move at present in the matter they may after-
wards have cauoe for regret, from the fact that a portion
of the directors of that board left the matter in the hands
of those who were more immediately located and eon-
neet.-d with, and supposed to be cognisant of, the feelings
and opinions or the inhabitants of Scotland. seeing that
after an appeal has been made to the public opinion they
find that matters are much in accordance with their own
views instead of what was represented to them, when
they deputed their colleagues to make such arrange-
ments as would prove acceptable to the inha-
bitants of Scotland in reference to a commu-
nication between these cities on the Sabbath-day.
As I have now good authority for stating that the
line of' neutrality which the English directors have
hitherto adopted shall not longer be continued—(Hear,
hear)—and that the original facilities enjoyed by the
public will shortly be restored, therefore, in my opinion,
any application to the Legislature is unnecessary, the
more so, that the power exists within the Board it-elf to
rectify the injustice which the community has sustained,
in consequence of the infringement made on their civil
rights and privileges, of which they have been
deprived by the unlooked for, and I had almost said sur-
reptitious movement, on the part of a mere local portion
of the Board.

Mr. BLYTH and Mr. STOTT followed in support of the
motion, and pointed out the inconsistency of many of
the individuals who joined in the Sabbath desecration
cry by travelling in their own coaches, while they
would not allow the, railway to be open to the working
man for purposes of necessity and mercy.
Bailie DUNCAN had regarded this question as a different
question from that which had been discussed at a previous
meeting. lie held that they were not discussing whether
it was a right and proper thing for those railway
directors to run a morning and an evening train on the
Sundays or not; but they were there on a motion calling
upon
them to go to Parliament and oppose this railway
company in reference. to any Bill which they might see
it right to introduce into Parliament. Now he thought
with Mr. Clark, that this motion was premature. The
gentlemen who were in charge of the railway might get
a little breathing space to consider the matter, and it
was possible enough, if they saw such demonstrations of
opinion of the enlightened opposition of this country as
had been alluded to, that they might be induced to re-
store matters to their former condition. He was much
pleased to receive from a gentleman connected with the
railway company the motion on which the Sunday trains
had hitherto been running ; and he would take the
liberty of reading it. It was adopted in February,
1642, and was to the effect, that trains should be dis-
patched morning and evening, at such hours as should
allow the servants of the company, and those travelling,
with the trains, an opportunity of attending divine ser-
vice. He was not aware, when the discussion took
place, of the precise terms of this motion, but he had
since ascertained, upon what he considered good au-
thority, that this motion had not always been acted up
to. He had been told that the number of individuals
' leaving Glasgow and coming to Edinburgh, was small