The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-22 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMEN T.
HOUSE OF COMMONS, March 20.
RAILWAY FARES.

Mr. MORISON, in putting the resolutions of
which he had given notice, thought that the House
and the country were satisfied that the railway system
was permanently established in the country. It was
needless to refer to the great advantages possessed
by this system over the old plan of communica-
tion. It was not only advantageous to the
trade and commerce of the country that greater fa-
cilities should be obtained between the great depots
for merchandise, but it was in many cases a
matter of absolute necessity. Little had
been done for it as yet, comparatively with
what might be expected, as men of science applied
their talents to the subject of improved methods of
propelling locomotives, whether on the atmospheric
principle or some other. Already, however, the poor
and their families were enabled to enjoy one of the
most useful of luxuries at comparatively a small cost.
But it was to the commercial classes of every degree
that railroads were more particularly serviceable.
The manufacturer had thus the opportunity of com-
municating in a much shorter time with those who
purchased from him, and of transmitting the articles
which he produced at a much smaller cost, which was
to him precisely the same as an improvement in ma-
chinery, inasmuch as whatever diminished the cost of
transit must have the same effect as that which dimi-
nished the cost of production. He could do with
much less stock, and therefore to him it was equi-
valent to so much additional capital ; and both
this diminished cost of production (as it might be
called) and diminished call for capital must be
for the immediate advantage of the public.
No class, perhaps, would benefit more than the farmers
by lowering the cost of railway travelling. They
would be able to go through the country, and in that
way see the improvements which were being made in
agriculture. The farmers of the west of England, where
agriculture was not so well understood as in Norfolk,
Lincoln, and the north of England, might visit those
counties, and observe the various means of improve-
ment which were applied to the cultivation of
the land. Why was it that in one part of the country
he was found so much less advanced than in another ?
Only because he was not in the habit of travelling
from home, and observing the modes of cultivation
adopted by other farmers. It was clear that
there must be cheap conveyance to induce the
farmer to become a traveller to any consider-
able extent. Unless the fares were lowered, the
labourers could not possibly avail themselves of
the benefits of railway travelling, but in a short
time he hoped to see the fares lowered to a half-
penny per passenger per mile.—(Hear, hear.) In
that case they would be enabled to leave those parts
of the country where wages were low, and go to those
places where labour was permanently high, or
where there was a temporary demand for it.
Fuel and provisions would be cheapened con-
siderably where they were now dear. But the
large towns would benefit even more than the
country from an increase of railway traffic. He
knew of many instances where articles had thus been
brought from a distance to towns better and cheaper
than w hen the supply was drawn from the surround-
ing district. One case he would just mention to the
House. Previous to the introduction of railways the
consumption of fish at Manchester was comparatively
small, but Captain Lawes had induced the railway
proprietors to reduce the charge of transit, and got
the fishermen on the coast to sell all the fish they could
take at one regular price, whether the catch was great
or small, and the result was, that the best cod was re-
duced from Bd. or ls. per pound to 10. or 2d., plac-
ing it within the reach of artisans, and the demand
had so risen as to keep a head of the supply. The
former consumption of 3i tons a-week had within the
last year given place to one of 80 tons ; and the under-
taking answered extremely well to all parties con-
cerned.—(Bear, hear.) Ihe inhabitants of towns
would also derive great benefit in the articles of coal,
stone, and other heavy things.—(Hear, hear.)
If agriculture were to be improved, it must be by a
mixture of the soils; and there was no reason why
lime and other heavy materials should not thus be
transported from one district to another at a halfpenny
a ton per mile.—(Hear, hear.) Extraordinary pro-
gress had been made in railroads already ; though the
thing itself was but of yesterday. There was scarcely
a railroad in existence which had not almost entirely
superseded the coaches and waggons. The canals,
too, were almost deprived of their whole traffic, and,
except where they were peculiarly circumstanced in
point of local advantages, they would almost cease.
To be of any use they must become the property of
the railroads, and be auxiliary to them.—(Hear, hear.)
The effect upon the coasting trade was already con-
siderable, and would be greater still in regard to
the transport of coal and other heavy articles. But
there was to be noticed also the diminished opposition
to railroads : formerly landowners opposed them, but
now they were anxious to have the benefit of them close
to their estates, and were becoming liberal shareholders.
Another reason in support of his argument was, that
the expense of constructing a railway was much less
now than formerly ; for instance, an old line of rail-
way which cost, say 60,0001., might now be constructed
for 10,000/. or 12,0001. Then again, the expense
of working the lines was much less now than
what it was some years ago, and the expense of main-
taining what was called the permanent way was now
almost reduced to a certainty. There were parties to
be found who would undertake contracts to keep the
lines in repair at a specified sum for a num-
ber of years, and he could, therefore, see
no objection to his motion on the subject,
for every day brought reductions in this respect.
The whole expense of driving an entire train was
f4und to be not more than the expense of posting
with a pair of horses used to be—namely, 2s. a mile,
and in some cases it was considerably less. The
maintenance of the way, again, was now reduced to a
certainty. In fact, there was enough ascertained to
enable the Board of Trade (and they might have been
quite as usefully thus employed as in some instances
they had been) to give to the public a table showing
what, according to circumstances as the traffic varied,
would be a remunerating price—whether seven or
eight per cent. interest on the capital, for example ; it
would be a great assistance to Committees in fixing
the fares. Railroads were altogether a commercial
speculation, and perhaps the most sure and certain of
alit speculations; the results could be calculated with
nf uch more confidence than in the case of a bank, or
iron or other works, because the great numbers
enabled an average to be depended upon in the traffic.
This was of great importance; as a mercantile specu-
lation they were become about the safest thing to em-
bark money in.—(Hear.) They provided for a want
that was perpetually existing ; people must travel, and
therefore the return for the money laid out might be
caleulated pretty surely beforehand.—(Hear, hear.)
All parties connected with railroads agreed that the
advantages were only just beginning to be reaped.
1\44 long since the railway was considered as intended
almost exclusively for the conveyance of passengers,
but it had been of late applied to merchandise,
including minerals, and was daily more and more
thus made use of. But its power to accommodate the
public had never yet been fully tested. The expense
wbuld be very little increased, though the number of
trains should be raised from 10 to 20, or even 40.
There would be the same fixed expense, interest of
money, stations, and so forth; it would merely be the
employment of so many additional persons, and the
use of so much more fuel ; and that was a trifle. The
expense of the locomotive power in the carriage of
goods was only about three-eighths of a penny per
ton per mile ; it could be done at a profit on all goods
at a halfpenny a ton.—(Hear.) The whole subject,
then, deserved to be considered ; it ought not to be left to
the Board of Trade along with a thousand other things.
Railroads were the safest sort of speculation, and their
capabilities to accommodate the public had not yet
been fairly tested. The whole question must come
before them at a future time. 'With regard to rail-
roads, their construction and management had now
become a great national question. They had scientific
power, and the command of iron, more than any
other nation, and ought to construct railroads more
cheaply than any other country. Yet, instead of
having the cheapest and best railways, they were
likely, unless something more effectual was done, to
have the dearest line than any.—( Hear, hear.) Taking
population and wealth together, this country was the
most densely peopled in the world. France had
taken advantage of their experience and their
mistakes ; and there were many things in which
they might copy from the French.—(Hear, hear.)
lie (Mr. Morison) would not dwell upon the Belgian
line, because it would be said that that was a Govern-
ment undertaking, though he thought that no answer
at all; the average fares upon it were about ld., Id.,
and id. per mile, but it could be worked much cheaper
than at present, for it was used by the Government
as the means of patronage.—(Hear, hear.) But he
would take the Orleans Railway. The French had
borrowed our experienced, and taken advantage of
our mistakes, and there was much that might be
copied by us with advantage. The Orleans line
was the model which the French intended to
adopt in all their proposed railways. The tariff
was about 1 id., ld., and Id., for the three classes •
10, and 5 centimes per kilometre. Ours
was very generally 3d., 2d., and ld. Now surely
under our circumstances, 2d., and I.d:
would be quite an ample remuneration for most of
the new lines; and he himself believed, that a lid.,
ld., and id., would be the common charge by and by,
if proper measures were taken by the House for in-
suring to the public the full benefit to which they
were entitled.—(Hear, hear.) It was remarkable,
that we had gone on enacting tolls to be levied in
every Railway Bill from the very first down to the
end of last session, copying probably from the Canal
Bills, forgetting that the canal proprietors were always
the mere owners of the canal, and not carriers. Those
tolls had never been levied, and, in fact, they could
not. If a person were to claim the right of using any