The Sun.
London, England, 1846-03-21 00:00:00

the same advantage and the same benefit as were ex-
tended to other projectors during the last session.
And, my Lords, I cannot therefore go the length
of the Noble Lord on the cross benches (Lord Redes-
dale), when he holds out a hope that no such proceed-
ings as the promoters in question pray for will be per-
mitted. Bei, at the same time. lam quite ready to say,
that where it can be avoided, Parliament should
Dot sanction this mode of proceeding. It would, how
a most inconvenient course ;
eavriedrlibliii'e.levsetii(t)ntiibbre abe
course very disadvantageous to
the public interests- if this Parliament say that they will
not entertain a scheme, merely because it cores before
them precisely in the form in which it left Parliament
the pc-ceding year. My Lords, I believe .that there are
scarcely any schemes of this description which are not
capable of some alterati,..n and improvement—(Herr,
hear)—a,A I think it is not dealing fairly with the public
interests it we resolve that no alteration, however desir-
able, shall Oct- place for the better carrying tint of the
promoters' projects.—(ll ar, hear.) I think it is not just
for this Ilou-e to say that, because an alteration or an
improvement is made in a Bill in progress through Par
liainent, they shall therefore forfeit all the advantages to
which they would be otherwise entitled. My Lords, I
have no doubt that similar cases to • the present must
arise—(dear)—and I only trust that Parliament will
g've their full and careful consideration to this matter—
(iler.r) —and that if any course does present itst If by
which j :sticli can be done to the partias, and at the
same lima to the public, I hope lour Lordships will
adopt it.—( Hear.)
Lord BEAUMONT— I am certainly of opinion that
if your Lordship di,fer proceeding with this Bill for
nctr reasons as have been all..ded to, and if your Lord.
s...ips continue re.it iving these objecd,ms, you Kill never
have a road frlnk J.e.uolon t 4.1 York. Such obit-atoll,
may be continitliWbrotight foreard, and the Bill may
vo•er fuss in co3sequence of the delays which may take
pl ,ce.
1 he petitions w(re ordered to lic on the table.

RAILWAYS.
The follow•irg is a complete report of thesprech of Mr.
Morrison in moving fur a Committee on the sabject of

railway.

Mr. MORRISON, in bringing forward the motion of
which he had given notice, respecting railways, said that
as he found there was to be no opposition offered to the
proposition, he should probably best consult the wishes
of the House by not entering upon the subject at such
length as he might otherwise have been induced to do.
At the same time he trusted he might be permitted to
occupy a few moments in stating generally what were
the leading oljects of his motion. He considered that
the experience of the last year, not only in Eng-
land, but the other countries of Europe, had been
most important, as it had shown that the develop-

ment of traffic had gone on in a way not to hare been an•
ticipated by the most sanguine; and he proposed to show
by the Committee ho was about to move for that the sys-
tem of cheap fires had every where been most advantageous
and profitable, and that the companies hadnot been injured
but bpt:efited by that system. lie also proposed to
inquire to what extent it was practicable, by some
e,t rat regulations, to relieve the Committees from thp
w i ht of business with which they were at present
oppressed. Lat-tly, he proposed to bring More the
Committee the important subject of granting of leases.
The railway system had been recently introduced,
and had pr,gra-ssed with such rapidity. that there bait
been little time to give to the whole subject a calm con-

suieration; but in the course of the pastyear it had been
found, not (rely in this country but in others—in Bel-
gium, France, and America—that there had been a re-
markable inclea-e of traffic, and to a certain degree an
nniform incre.ase. Our experience was yet inadequate
to det, mine what the exact ratio of that increase was
1 kely to be. Tiest it must increase with the wealth and
opulation of the country there could be no doubt, and to
that must be added the progression or increase of busi
tiers caused by the railways themselves; but, looking to
all the circumstances, the supposition might be risked
that the traffic on the great lines, bet seen towns of large
Population, went! double itself in ten or fifteen years.
Should such he the opinion of the House, it would proba-
idy think it necessary to reserve to itself the right of re-
vising the tares at periods considerably under twenty
years apart.—(Hear.) One of the most important subjects
which c old engage the attention of the Committee would
be the effect of the reduction of fares, as [moved wherever
the sys em has been attempted in increasing the
:raffic, toed in some, if not in most cases, of
improving instead of diminishing the revenue. The
scale of charges most productive might depend upset the

more or leas vary ing circumstances of each paiticula
case, but it appeared evident to him that the settle mos
,elvantageous to all parties was tnuch lower than any hing
Hear, hear.) rie
Belgium would at no
sufficient here. It was
hithertoidr:otbelievedawntt)
a e e
that
mt attempted phe
thet
the
thought
i at in
etesh s
chargedisr country,_(e(euei
coil)
l
adjudicated in France
the fares fixed for passengers had been, for the first,
second,
ti)mg reas
inpse,aron
or 661 b.
i6l6,hlinbr
ed.tocritl,a,istiwsr.gi rt
ahe
gs peaentcot ive ea ley 74, arid 5
allowancecen-
,lo'
of thirty
person, these rates
being somewhat proportiouate to lid., Ifi., and id., in-
cluding the 10 per cent. additional tax to Government.
Now these lines were known to be highly prosperous,
and to stand at considerable premiums—a success which
he had never been able to account for on any other
ground than the lowness of the fares. Let it not be
forgotten that France presented
per square mile than
r manufactures were small wh, n
far fewer advailtages
than our own country in respect to railway enterprise.
their foreign trade more limited
raeiee:si. longer
ame number of people they were
evf7not iess
so numerous, nor so
d
line of rail than we needed.
denselyoTcos
toub)hmrl
teisghp:
aeap dtrotepht
opoue
el
tsloaotuatpoyiporoepundndl
ryoss:t,yl
theinatel
Then, with respect to the conduct of railway business,
he thought that Hon. Members would acknowledge that
the attempt of last year had been a failure.—(Hear,
hear.) Had he gone fully into the subject, he might
have endeavoured to show how stranee and contradic-
tory had been the different decisions arrived st by the
Committees—(Hear, hear)—and how various bad been
the rates fixed for passengers and goods, ranging from
a penny to fourpence per mile. In one instance he had
been told that with respect to so impertant an article as
coal, the difference of charge for carriage between one
line supply ing Manchester and another line was 250 per
cent. If such dispa,rity as this prevailed it must be in-
jurious, and surely much advantage would be derived
from such great variations being hereafter corrected by
some general regulation. With respect to the subject of
leases, it was a m Ater which rather concerned the !louse
and the country than the railway companies. It would be
I fbr the House to consider a hether the practice of grant•
' ins leases for termivableperiods, instead din perpetuity,