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

THE SUNDAY TRAINS
QUESTION.
At the last Edinburgh Town Council the discussion of
this much agitated and important question, as regards
free public convenience and right, and the intolerance,
en a small scale, of a ludicrous railway tyranny, was in-
troduced by
Mr. C. B. TAIT, 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
e
very few of our Scottish towns, have created the slightest
observation in any other city or town in Europe. I am
no Sunday traveller myself ; but I have occasionally
travelled on that day, and I must say that I do not envy
that man who, being obliged to travel on that day,
:annot by observation and reflection improve his mind
end 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.—(Elear, 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 travailing 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-
peiyed on the books 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 no hope of making any
impression on the four gentlemen on whom the controul
has unfortunately been devolved by their colleagues, ex-
cept by the adoption of some such decided measures as
that at which my motion aims. In the fare 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 aide
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.—(Hear, 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'cting 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 aout
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 held 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 accompli,h 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 hold 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 supp irts directors) tyranny 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 f Jen 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.—(llear, hear.) The railway company are ap-
plying to Parliament for extended powers, including
the power to take possession of private properties,
aid 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-, when the mail is carried by steam, these directors
say, "We sill 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 road, 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
ir.—(Elsa;, hear.) Now, however, that the absurdity
has been perpetrated. our proper course is to take mea-
sures, when these directors appear before Parliament
agate, to call the attention of the Legislature to the
manner in which they have abused the powers formeilv
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 coniiiier 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 in
seconding the motion of Mr. Tait. Every day brought
new facts before the pudic connected with the atrocious
conduct of these f iur directors.—(Hear, hear.) It was a
fact quite notorious, that some of these very individuals
who had so shamefully deprived the poor man of all
opportunity either of visiting his friends, cr of attending
worship in some of the neighbouring churches, rode
several miles in their carriages en tho Sundays. By de-
priving the hard-wrought mechanic of the opportunity
of enjoying himself on the Sunday in innocent and
healthful recreation, they had inflicted a serious injury
on the community, and he had no doubt that a shout of
universal execration would be raised against them
throughout
hear addutthe length and breadth of the land.--(Hear,
a laugh.) He had been told by many influ-
ential parties belonging to Liverpool and Manchester,
that since the commencement of the Sunday trains,
drunkenness and crime had been greatly diminished,
and bearing, in this respect, on one locality, he had
much pleasure in bringing under the attention of the
council a letter from Mr. List, the able superintendent
of the county police for Mid-Lothian. The letter was
written at the urgent request of Dr. Renton, who was
anxious to ascertain some information in regard to the
effect which the running of Sunday trains had on Seib
-
bath desecration in this district. Mr. List's letter was
as follows :

" County Police-office, County-buildings,
Edinburgh, Dec. 10, 1846.
" Dear Sir,—ln answer to yours, I beg to give you
the following information. 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, and facilities afforded those who are immured in
town from Monday morning until Saturday night to get
fresh 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
least.

_
"Previous to last summer I always found it necessary
to have two extra constables on duty at Jock'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 irpriv:-
diate neilzhbourhood—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
wet kly occurrence; in fact, on many occasions, the road
tat the barracks and along to Meaduwbank had more the
aprearance of a fair-day than the Sabbath. Last
summer I
found no occasion to have any extra con-
Jock's Lodge, the public-houses being less ire•
stalks at
no breaches of t.he peace cornnaitted. The
quEnted, and.
all around Edinburgh. The sergeant at
same applies
Mthselburgh reports. that he saw no increase at the
his district, neither did he see more
pubic-houses in
drunkenness than on former occasions.
s equally true that
"It is quite true that
.the Sunday trains lead many
but
from the town churches, it i

Wilts and Dorset Banking Company, SalilsbYuerrAygetV'l.
West Riding Union Banking Conipany, Hud-
dersfield
Whitchurch and Ellesmere Banking Company, 6,531
Whitchurch
Worcester City and County Banking Company,
Worcester . .
York Union Banking Company, Y0rk............ 65,3
York City and County Banking Company, York 89,2251 0
Yorkshire Banking Company, Leeds ........... 119,471
P. DEANS, Registrar efßank Returns.
Stamps and Taxes, Dceember 19, 1346.

WOK by ROBERT .1. VITLVERWELL. M.D. IWO
One Shilling e3r.h. by Dont Owl awl Aixpento

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