The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-11-20 00:00:00

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.
I hope you trill pardon the liberty I so frequently take of
addressing you, but 1 canne't sufTe'r my property to be at-
tacked publicly by men who are either ignorantly or malici-
ously led with impunity. To notice every diabolical and ma-
lignant slander thrown at the Great Western Railway and
its Managers would be an endless task, so numerous are the
inventions of the enemy, and so ready is a part of the press,
(called hireling,) to insert them. The vile calumnies which
the Railwas, Times (ranch better .-knowe br Ike familiar ap-
pellation.of the "London Story Teller") bas from time to
time vomited forth to serve interested purposes, by codes
vouriag to excite hatred towards the directors and Mr.
Brunel, has led many to believe!, that that journal receives
its principal support from Liverpool or Bristol. Indeed, so
ninny of the charges made against the Great Western Rail-
way in the leading articles of that journal, and so many
also under the pretended signatt.re ors° and so, bear such a
strict analogy to the general conversation and calumnies
heard on 'change, that no doubt can be entertained of the
surmise being correct, and that they emanate from a certain
set of speculators in this town, who, although respectable as
regards wealth, yet condescend to publish that which they
know to be false, for the purpose of amassing it. A railway
journal was long found to he a necessary desideratum by the
scientific railway sharks, (called speculators,) for the pur-
pose of satisfying their rapacity, by preying upon the fears of
the weak and timid by fictitious reports of exaggerated dis-
asters, or fancied prospects of success. Expediency has
caused this journal to be published in London, and that its
ramifications might be complete, a letter-box has been opened
in Liverpool, for the purpose of transmitting (free of postage)
all railway communications- from this ueighbourhood.
'should be -sorry to denounce any railway publication if I
could but see that its object was to disseminate truth in lieu
of error; and to endeavour bylaudable means to protect the_
innocent holriernf shares firm getti-nK into the jaws of fhe
Railway Shark; but I am compelled to say of the above
journal that it does not participate in the character of being
one of the best public instructors upon railway matters.
If the editor of the Railway Timex be (as be professes to be)
really a disinterested adviser, why is he so anxious to heap
abuse and misrepresentation continually upon the Great
Western alone? If he be the pure and disinterested advo-
cate for elucidating all that is good and bad in railways for
the advantage of the public, why not favour the public occa-
sionally with his editorial opinions upon the cost, manage-
ment, income, &e, of some of the other great lines formed
and in a state of formation? There are many that have and
will cost more than the Great Western, but of these we never
hear a word, which clearly shows that he has little to do with
principles of honour, but those of profit; and that he is not
an inquirer after truth, but seeks how to confound it. Re-
cently the editor informed the. public that "he was some-
thing more than a proprietor" in the Great Western : if so,
he certainly could furnish something like an authority for
nut basely attempt to blacken the Great
his assertions, and
Western Railway with such silly sarcasms as " Brunel's
Whistle," " Whimsey," " Prodigy," &c. If the Great
Western is to be assailed, let it be with facts anti real argu-
ment, not with unsupported assertion and sophistry. I am
clearly of opinion, that if half the charges made by the Rail-
way Timex against the Great Western were capable of proof,.
they would be named with date and place to prove their
authority; and so long as this proof be wanting, the only
conclusion every honest. sensible, and unbiassed man can
come to is, that the Railway Times contains more falsehood
than truth, and that Mr. Brunel, with the directors, have
shewn their good sense by nut taking the Slightest notice of
the vile attacks upon them. There is no necessity for our
local opinioni being expressed in London papers it is,
therefore, pleasing to observe, that your valuable paper is
approximating in utility to a respectable Liverpool Railway
Times, from the valuable information it contains, and the
liberal manner in which its columns are thrown open for
free discussion. It is rather extraordinary that Liverpool,
long ere this, has never had a journal devoted entirely to
railway statistics. Lancashire holds considerably more ail-
way shares than any two comities in England, and why not,
have one ? It might be edited and conducted upon princi-
ples of honour and integrity; and if a few gentlemen ac-
quainted with the arts and sciences could be prevailed upon
to become its active supporters and correspondent!, its pages
no doubt would become the organ of communication and
discussion upon railway matters in general, anti more parti-
cularly such as are interesting tee the good old town of Liver-
pool. Besides, seeing one's name in print occasionally would
have the effect of creating a national emulation, and the Lz•
verpool Railway Tht ould very soon become a depository for
thoughts of solid information and instruct iou upon railways.
Liverpool and Manchester have a direct interest in the pre-
servation, advancement, and improvement of railways; and
lean just fancy a publication in which the intelligent holders
of shares for heveximent take upon iheinselvest that part of the
Liverpool Railway Timex illustrative of fair. dealing, and
shassintt t-lie advantages to be derived from steady honesty;
then the holders. of scrip hold upon speculation, Ueda,. or
time Isargaiui iiap}pen thernsel'yes- the parto.f developing
railway trickery 'add •VtiVti'aieti is all its parts, next the is s

and out's of a sharebroker's office (dealers on their own ea
count) might probably be made familiar, by some expelled
clerk, one or two who have failed in the trade. It such'
work could be established here, the cause of truth and justice
would have many advantages in combatting misrepresents'
tion and calumny; and a stay would also be put upon Liver:
pot opinions being throe n into a London Railway Tim";
it
would also familiarize and make us all so tutimatety se;
quahrted with every,- thing connected with railways, that v:h
should hear of few being fleeced, and fewer becoming
upon no capital. A trading man is an hononr to, and suppert
of society, but I am no advocate for trading upon chicauerY;
but ,unshaken integrity between man and man, grouodeu
upon real capital. If were to consult my own inclinatioo,r,
I should probably feel disposed to enter into an expose tt
railway trickery; but being more charitably disposed (I"
present) from a conscieutious opinion, that the pun;' eircuts
of the malignant vilifiers of the Great Western will tweet
front the public that odium which the deliberate slauderet "d
jusilv.ments. I refrain from doing this. I regret to fin
that Hr. Hoyes has no better regard for himself than to cos'
tinue his reckless and futile attempts (through the Rsi/a4
Times) upon the character of Mr. Brunel, and my 1"1Y fur
hint is magnified, from his being accounted tube an able and
intelligent man, whose ~ply vexation appears to he, the 'I"-
fulfilment of an insatiable priale, in the expulsion of an ho'
nuurable and talented man. It is commotily reported that
t
the party of whom Mr. Hoyes is the leader, intend, by a inn-„miserable act, (it is said they are subdividing their sluices `,,1
increase their votes,) to attempt the expulsion of Mr. Brunt
on the 20th of next month. Mr. Hoyes, certainly, is "",.
unsupported in his object, for take the writer of a let,tei
signed G.C., in last week's Railway Times, to be a pupil
his; the latter having ventured to intrude himself upon the
notice of the public as a calculating boy, under the minO'!"-
sion of rendering a most valuable piece of information
"the future prospects and return of the Great Western Katy
way." Without the slightest desire of putting my labouis,'"
competition with G. C., or any other calculator upon the
return of the Great Western, or any other railway, still I°,l
consider myself justified, from the arithmetic I sin posaesseh
of, and being a shareholder, to correct, if possible, that whici,
appears to nee to be the emanation of a vitiated mind, de,e,,
out for the purpose of assisting the conspiracy for bringt
into disgrace a body of men (and an undertaking) nlun
labours and integrity may be r died upon with saki'', %
whose characters will bear comparison with any body in t,
"-
kingdom. Notwithstanding the Great Western directors are
some of the first commercial and best educated men t"
found, yet G. C. labours disingenuously to show that they "re
as a railway board the most childish and most devoid of oad"
mon sense (1 may here remark, that it only requires a gue,
mathematical education, joined with good common sen:j
and a little experience, to be an engineer; and to be a P,
director. nothing more is' required than real honesty in dec.
ding upon matters submitted by the engkeer for considera-
tion) of any other railway board in ...,I.'nglatid, either great ('.
small. Such are G. C.'s opinions of the Great Western
di-
rectors; let us review the context of his letter. Ficstr,b.t:
considers " what return are the proprietors likely to troll
under the present management. Secondly, that the aciea
amount of revenue fur 4 :tomtits to Maidenhead from passes'
yens has been about £29,700; and that the nett revenue
(after deducting expenses) of the whole line, admitting the
income for the 22 mats as a data for calculation, bd
ill li
front passengers £l9OO per mile. Thirdly, that the f
revenue of the • Great Western will yield a dividend of
£4 4s. 6d. per cent, upon passengers. Fourthly, that the
road will cost £45,000 per mile, and the incidental' exPeeseir
will be 50 per cent, upon the gross income; and that otah e 4
companies are able to borrow money nn bond at 3/
per cent.' whilst the Great Western is paying 5 per cent. d
that the Grand Junction, or any other line execute
with economy, with such a revenue, would yield a dividend
of 10 per cent."—When men take upon themselves to Oli'it,
lish errors, they should at least how a disposition to ochlb
the whole truth, without which a man becomes guilty of fre
t,
varication, and the crime of injuring his neighbour wiLue7
grounds may be laid to his charge. So it is with the pi int. -
a
part of the foregoing remarks of G. C. Sonic are takes' froa°
time directors' own report, some (essential parts) are take,n
0
from his own imagination, and, taking them as a whole,
are intuitively led to pronounce them as intended to Pr':
duce a false impression upon the minds of the proprielurit
against the meeting to take place on the 20th of ne%
month. It is an error fur G. C. to say that the Great
Western will cost £45,000 per mile. The directors s"y.
it will cost less than £40,000 per mile.' It is au err"'
for him to say that other railway companies can burrog
money at 3;..ti and 4 per cent. If so, why did be not naive
them? There is an absolute Want of" camdtrur througt"
ont G. C.'s letter, and the words from passengers upon
gm are placed so ambiguously, that a superficial reader!"
apt to pass the real meaning. G. C. never once alludes
the expected revenue from merchandize, cattle, coal, &C.,
as
proved be6o-e parliament, which admits of both his calcu.a
Lions anti his pulicy.being impugned. It is sufficient, there`
fore, for my present purpose to show that no one who
anxious to calumniate the Great Western, could possibly
come to the same conclusions as G. C., 1. e., that it will never
make au ample return for the capital laid out. To do this
will only require one of G. C.'s own admissions to show tbat
lt
the Great Western railway has little to fear from such pure
assailants, and also that he knows very little of comparative
estimated, and much less of truth. The next time G. C.
tacks the Great Western, whether by himself or in conjui...,c
tion with others, let me advise him to use diffetent weapon' „,
instead of slander and falsehood, demonstrate with truth,c.in
tice, and judgment. If the actual income from the dire,..t.,e
own report fur fi,ur months, upon the fractional pait t t_i"to
line to Maidenhead (22 miles) be £29,7oo—that is equal
£B9.loo—per annum for the 22 miles—now
If 22 miles get 1:89.100, what will 117 miles ..... —.£473,85°
Add revenue, as proved before parliament, arising
Zrol,
heal cattle, merchandize, &c.
Deduct for every incidental charge 40 per cent. upon
the gross income (though it is believed it will be
304,456
less)
Amount disposable fur dividends £456, W
Suppose the capital to consist of £3,250,000, of shares
paid up, on which a dividend of eleven per cent.
is paid
Suppose the capital to consist of £1,500,000 of bonds 75000
bearing interest at 5 per cent.
Suppose for additional expenditure or carried to re- 24,191!
serve fund
•
694
£456,
If
The 'abOve result differs from G. C.'s very materially'
it be wrong, I shall be glad to acknowledge it ; if it be
I hope G. C. will make restitution. The above can "'old
.
a criterion, for I see no reason why the Great Weston-
wbee
nut look for the same prospective decrease as other lines, 5 1,35
completed. The traffic in passengers upon the 22 int'ed yet
exceeded that of any other railway in the kingdom, `Vest Of
out offitrty-six coaches miming out of Loudon to the
„;tero.
England, only ten run as yet upon the Great !deeolble
G. C.'s calculations appear to have cost him cons' oe
labour though to me they appear to be of little or n° asst
the public, except to mislead, yet he thinks he has been
t.
liberal in allowing the whole line (as he states) the ',Veire is
sults as the fractional part of twenty-two miles. Great
not one generous thought in G. C.'s valuation- of. the Great
Western, and I think he may rest assured that the ,i,Ol-
- 5
Western proprietors are generally men of ton Blue. -'actions
nation and discernment than to be led astray by cal" „n the
and conclusions grounded as G. C.'s appear to be uP—apon
very worst of motives. It would be an invidious occuP but
to draw comparisons of income with other great li°,es'voirt
the Great Western with its future property, or eet.'!,,,hott,
will bear comparison with either the London and Birm,"!rioft
Liverpool and Manchester, or the Grand Junction, bas ore
in mind that the latter line can scarcely be said to b_eciosi
than one-half made, and that at some future period i,
ernt Otte
almost double their present capital by au indepenu
into Liverpool.
I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, pge.
WM. WATCH, Sus itiowL
Liverpool, Nov. 17, 1838.