The Sun.
London, England, 1845-04-07 00:00:00

time at which the subject would be brought forward, but
he would take care that the parties should have full op-
portunities of considering it.
The Bishop of DURHAM presented several petitions
praying that Parliament would adopt some plan to pre-
vent the use or intoxicating liquors.
Lord BROUGHAM presented several petitions against
the grant to the College of Maynooth. The Noble Lord
could not agree to the prayer of those petitions.
RAILWAYS. _ _ .

The NOBLE and LEARNED LORD then moved for the
following returns with respect to railways, on which he
said it was his intention to found a motion, provided the
information which he expected to receive should be given

him :
First—The number of railway Bills passed in the last
ten sessions, distinguishing those passed in each session.
Of course to this, observed the Noble Lord, there will be

no objection.—(A laugh.)
Secondly—The number of railway Bills now pending
in Parliament. To this there could be no objection.
Thirdly—The number of railway Bills upon which the
Board of Trade had reported favourably. To this there
could be no objection.—( A laugh.)
Fourthly—The amount paid by the subscribers on
the shares of the railway Bills that had passed. To this
there could be no objection.—(A laugh.)
Fifthly and lastly—The amount of the sums divided
in shares authorised by Act of Parliament. His reason
for calling attention to these circumstances was
that he was one of those who regarded with
the greatest possible alarm, the present frenzy
into which the community, as well those with
capital and credit as those inspired with the
love of gambling in shares, had fallen. The effect
of this was likely to prove exceedingly alarm-
ing to the credit as well as the resources of this country,
and when he looked back to what happened in the
years 1825 and 1826, the only period in our history
in his opinion which could at all be compared with
the present, when the then Government, through the
Earl of Liverpool, feeling impressed with some alarm
at what was then going forward, deemed it to be
their public duty, through the Noble Earl in his
place m Parliament, to warn the community and
their fellow-subjects against the course in which
they were then heedlessly entering upon. The warning
which the Noble Earl gave concluded with this notice,
which he had no doubt whatever the present Govern-
ment were equally prepared to give—" That come
what might, and happen what would in the
result of these speculations, the speculators were
to look to their own resources, and not to
look to any assistance, or any relief whatever, from
the existing Government, and of this they now gave
them a fair and timely warning." When the crash came,
which happened in March, 1826, the Noble Earl
referring to what he had said in the previous year, re-
minded the speculators of the warning—the fair and
timely warning—which be had given them; and the Noble
Earl at that time stated that there was no wonder that a
pecuniary crisis—that a mercantile convulsion had taken
place, when it was known that in consequence of these
joint-stock companies in the year before, namely in
1825, there bad been withdrawn no less a sum than
seventeen millions sterling from the ordinary sources of
speculation, and the ordinary sources of commercial
employment of the country. Now, he (Lord
Brougham) had lately seen a calculation from one of the
most eminent railway brokers at present in this country,
whose name he should decline to mention, though it would
give great credit to his calculation, but he declined to
mention it, because his calculation might be deemed in-
vidious by the speculators, and thus lay him open to
opprobrium. But his statement was, that if after the
240 Railway Bills which were now in Parliament were
agreed to, only in the course of three years' time instead of
seventeen millions sterling being withdrawn from the
ordinary sources of commercial employment, there
would be required for the purposes of these railways
no less a sum than 130 millions sterling. He need not
remind their Lordships that he was opposed to any undue
Parliamentary interference with the employment of the
capital, or the labour of the country ; but it was quite a
different thing in the case of these railways. It was
quite a different thing when Government held out encou-
ragements to this spirit of speculation by granting Acts of
Parliament to confer the most extraordinary powers upon
speculators, and without which powers none of these
speculations would probably be undertaken. When he
mentioned to their Lordships some occurrences which had
lately taken place in the country, he thought
their Lordships would agree with him that ,these
powers were really extraordinary. In the case of a gen-
tleman who occupied a very ancient mansion, a railway
Company wished :to take five acres of his ground,
and when the gentleman asked the Company what
they intended to give him for the land, he was told
that he would learn after the Company had got their
Bill. The gentleman then replied that he should with-
hold his consent from the railway, but the promoters
told him that they did not want his consent, as the
railway had been favourably reported upon by the
Board of Trade, and it would be the worse for him. In
another case, where a gentleman, whose family had held
the same estate from the time of Elizabeth, remonstrated
with the promoters of a railway going within a certain
distance of his house, he was threatened that if he objected
to it the railway should pass through his kitchen garden.
Under these circumstances he deemed it his duty to
bring the matter before the House. He deprecated any-
thing like discussion, but still he thought from the
amount of capital engaged, and the immensity of
the interests involved, that it should be brought under
the notice of their Lordships. He was not inclined to
find fault with the Board of Trade ; their business was
not to select schemes—they had only to decide on the
respective merits of one railway and another, and as-
certain which was likely most to conduce to the
public convenience. But he did think that this
gambling in railway shares ought to have
some check. The French, he knew, had taken this
matter, and out of a number of railways which had been
proposed for their discussion, they selected the small
number of only eight or twelve for the jurisdiction of
their Legislature. He did not wish to opeose railway
schemes, for his object was not:only the commercial con-
venience of the country, bat he had also a regard for the
pecuniary interests. He, therefore, hoped their Lordships
would not oppose the returns for which he had moved.
The Earl of DALHOUSIE said that with respect to
the number of the schemes which had been sub-
mitted to the Board of Trade, and the number of
reports which the Board had made upon them
he was quite ready to satisfy his Noble and Learned
Friend ; but with regard to the prices of shares and the
amount of dividends which had been paid on the several
lines, he was not quite so ready to throw light upon
the subject. These could doubtless be obtained,
and if their Lordships pressed for these, he should
feel it his duty to lay them before the House,
as perfectly as the circumstances would admit. With
respect to the amount of capital likely to be engaged in
these schemes, he thought the informant of his Noble
Friend had far outrun the amount. There had been
schemes submitted to their consideration for the sanction
of Parliament to the extent of 7,490 miles, requiring
capital to the amount of 140,000,0002 to 150,000,000/.
But it was not to be supposed that these should all be
carried into effect. He knew that much deception,
whether intentional or not was not fot for him to say,
was carried on by the Provisional Committees ; and as
one rather singular instance, a gentleman with whom
he was acquainted bad been requested to act on the
Provisional Committee of a Railway. The shares were
not quite at a premium, and he thought it better one
day to go to the office to ascertain whether the
line had been surveyed. He learned that they
had surveyed one end of the line, and the other
end of the line, but the intermediate part had never
been looked at at all. But in the portion which had
been 'surveyed, he found, that the line passed within
forty yards of a certain place, and upon a little inquiry
he learned, that that house was his own.
He should remind his Noble Friend, that with
regard to compensation the landowner had the
option of having their adjudication made either by a
jury or by arbitrators, so that if any one thought
that a member of the jury for voting the value of his
land wits a railway proprietor, he could choose an arbi-
trator whom he knew had no interest in any such
concerns.
Lord A.SIIBIJRTON said that he thought it was ne-
cessary that this gambling in railway shares should be
put an end to. His Noble Friend the President of the
Board of Trade, who reminded him that the
140,000,0001. or 150,000,0001. should be necessary to
make ad those railways, would not be called for
in less than three or four years. Yet, notwithstanding,
it would occasion such a call for iron as would increase
its value fully 3001. per cent., and materially to affect
the general commercial requirements for that metal, if
not cause a very serious inconvenience to the country at
arge.
The question was then put that the motion be agreed
as, which was carried.
INCOME-TAX.

The Marquis of N ORMAN BY stated it was
his intention, at a future time, to move for leave
to bring in a Bill to give the right of voting
to all persons paying the income-tax. He did this, be-
lieving that now the income-tax would become per-
petual. He should lay this Bill on the table of the
House in the course of the present session, and should
be guided by circumstances in taking further steps.
(LEFT SITTING.)

The HilousOesijatStEo-dßa°AylFattlFvCoAu°.yr osililclillock? N 2.
senSteevde,ral petitions on private Bills having been pre-
thMionr.s, iLOnCelKudHinAgßtThopsreesfernotmedthae lia.orlgioewnhuig ac in
mbpelroef pe-
s,
favour of the Caledonian Railway:—From the town
councils of Greenock, Port Glasgow, Montrose, Peter-
head, Banff, Elgin, Nairn, Dingwall, and Lanark—from
the inhabitants of Port Glasgow, Inverness, Montrose,
Brechen, Forfar, Banff, Stonehaven, Laurencekirk, and
Forres—from the Citamber of Commerce of Greenock—
and from the inhabitants of the following parishes in
wil
Lanarkshire
pass:
Bga and de Dsaury
tmn IhfrFi
Crawford,geptusonsi htndi
ba:rnemithrough:t:oint whichtw,Cmai
Dutir tnlroi
gslnlot;h,CseHdrc line
::
Car-
stairs, Craw-
ford-John, ar idr-s
Johnstone,oLhan i
An
Carmichael,pp
Hod-
dam, Annan,Kirkpatrick Fleming, Middlebip, Wamphray,
Kirkpatrick Juxta, and Gretna.
CALEDONIAN RAILWAY.
Mr. MACAULAY presented a petition, signed by
upwards of 25,000 of the inhabitants of Edinburgh, in
favour of the Caledonian Railway.
GREENWICH COLLIERY RAILWAY.
Mr. HODGSON HINDE said he had to intreat the
attention of the House to a few observations he had to
make in reference to this Bill. He would endeavour to
explain in as few words as possible the great injury and
injustice that would be done to g great many parties
if this Bill should be suffered to pass through
the House without attentiAn bein called to many
circumstances connected with 119 wished