The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-04-30 00:00:00

April 30, 1844.

RAILWAY INTELLIGE Cg.

DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF RAILWAY PROPERTY

An' article appeared, with this heading, in the first
number of a new .periodical, " the Railway Chronicle,"
Which has just been started und,r able management,
and we quote it here, in the first place to enable a youth-
ful aspirant to public favour to make the acquaintance of
those interested in railway matters in this I .cality ; and in
the next, beeause it affords a kind of text upcu which we
Can found a few remarks of our own upon the same sub-
ject--
" THE DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF RAILWAY PRO-
rlivry.,

- ,
le" eevery property brings with it duties as well as rightsi
retie the general reproace of the holders of some kindo
kr-PPerty that they exercise, to the uttermost, all their
rights, while their duties, , being forgotten, are neglected
and
A
Pass into disuetude. To the duties of railway prol-1
Prietoegt the public has always been sensitively alive.
failures iti speed, regularity, economy, safety, are culled
I'4ll care by the public censor, 'set in a note book, conned
ti,y rote, to cast into the teeth' of the great ' railway olio.;
Iltpolists." But then their rights—what are they ?
-aigilW Who ever heard of the rights of railway pro-
prietors? . Rights! Why these monstrous monopolists—
these millionaires—these speculators—what rights have
they ?' They have the rig ,
ht to be abused, to be found
fault with, to be 1-gislated upon to be set upon by boards
dtrade and select committees—to 'carry her Mejesty,r
's
mails for nothing—to carry a peasantry in coaches, f)
less money than the cost, and less than half of what it costs
them to walk,—in short, to lo as the public choose !
_Well, and their pay—surely these public servants should
oe paid their hire—have they not a right to their wages, to
compensate for loans and ri-ks, and expended money and
ti
me and toil, and all this service ?—they may surely have
eir hire and a reasonable profit upon their work ?
Well, we must think about that—we will consider of it.'
' If they are to be paid at all, we must see that at least
they are not too well paid.' Be it so.
its den let the rights of railway property be'considered !
utis being already so well understood. And first let
Mikra
us in being
who these great railway proprietors are, and
authors of have
done fur the public. Are they.not the
y ..
---e' of the very greatest boons ever conferred
ky enterprise and -commerce, industry, and so-
bscial advanc skill, upon
y . ement. Have they not carried through,. to a
,PY issue, oneof - inventions of modern
times— the greatest
and carried it through in the face of difficulty, dia.-
epuragement, and vast unpopularity ?
" Let us see • what has hitherto been the general ex-
pression of public feeling towards railways. The inventor
6f a new art was deified by the Greeks and Romans. Are
We to advocate an npotheos s of tire great projectors and
constructors of railways? There seems little fear, tottet
Present temper of pubic opinion, of our perpetrating tha
r
folly. Never, perhaps. were such great enterprises
achieved with so little aid front public opinion.
" While the experiment was doubtful, the attempt was
were arid denounced by all
derided by all who indifferent,..fi h
Its objects were assailed by set :.
who were prejudiced.
interests, and its resources devoured by
-rapacious claims
from those whose aid was required, or whose newrality
kid to be purchased. From the first survey to the final
completion of the line,
'difficulties of all kinds met the pro.
opposition. The public
jictors—local hostility, corporate _
()-
looked on; and if it took part, it was with- their ouP
afforded no nents;—the legislature, the government, . .
effec-
tual aid. The promoters fought their way, step by step ,
and were received as if, instead of preparing for the court-
trY the greatest boon it has received in modern times,
gha:d- been conspiring to deface and impoverish it.
, to general, (for. the instances of better judgment
wa
vtere to
exceptions,) was the temper with which rail-
y projects were met in the first stage of their national
existence. Lamentable enough ! but not unnatural. It is
the Price which those must be ready to pay who attempt
ittthing at once great and new. But surely it entitles
them to enjoY their rewatd, when, in sp-te of these ob-
trtaeles their have conquered
energy and perseverance success.
~ o
~ Their efforts had, indeed, been successful ; the inven-
tune was found to surpass belief, and the country saw it-
self enriched by benefits which the moat sanguine of the
Projectors had not dared to promiee. A rapidity of tran-
sit almost miraculous ; a reduction of expense quite unex-
ampled , system and uniform tariffs, substituted for irre-
watrY and vulgar extortion :—and.with all this a safety
ell only the silliest panic could dispute) hitherto un-
known •
•t, 1 in PUblic travelling. These bs
on-
incalculable, culable, notorious:—experienced :—experienced bye every one every
day. Under any circumstances, they surely deserved a
lzlarge reward : a larger, if the real difficulty of the task had
r troubled by needless hindrances. And how was this
l_e
earrd bestowed ? By an universal outcry, so loud and
ondeat, that one might have thought it had been raised
the _ll°,,orice some great flagons' enormity. The directors,
"ts,ineers the proprietors, the managers of railways
Itere tines ' mortifi ..tloned, and lectured, and worried on every side.
ed
while It • met), who wanted courage to share in the work,
was full of risk—men of habit. averse to eve ways
'—men of rank and wealth, accustomed to command
erever th-y travelled, and impatient of all reguletions-
-13
ciperseded rivals who covered their anger with pretences
tbePnlic care—liberaleewhose wisdom lay in repeating.
woe '-ra"s of ' monol .Iy." competition,' and similar
hubbub
cis without id weakofallclasses whom the
eas—ttro
alarmed • to have their nostrums
tried, or , —inventors, eager
late • •
, idle m to regn-
at teast purchased—busy men anxico.is .
.t,:, —en, ivantini, to be employed—all joined in the
el.y ""e Parliament became suddenly full of zeal, and
the government itself, stepping in to meddle where it had
not learned how to mend, after standing aloof when it
aolght have done ' dto sanction the general
Ste good, seemed
have
Of this, however, a part which was but tern-
easily_porarvsoon yielded to time :—a part, merely absurd, was
exploded by obvious proot counter attacks mutu-
'now remains, may be referred to two principal heads—the
disposition of men in power to interfere with whatever
they feel to be important ; and the common jealousy which
is provoked by success."
, We must suggest that, in these remarks, our new con-
;,emporary goes too far, although in many of them we
perfectly coincide. We admit fully the' justice of the
•claim of railway proprietors to protection of their 'pro-
,perty, arid a fair profit to compensate for the ri-ks which
-they have incurred ; and we Should be the first to de-
nounce any tinkering interference, by government or any
-other authority, with their regulations, except upon very
'strong grounds. But whilst we• thus recognise " the
rights" of railway property, we have also a strong opinion
with respect h the nature of its " duties," and greatly
suspect that they are not, in general, very satisfactorily
perfi.rmed. We have given to powerful companies a
InC:"IY' or at all events
a Seam monopoly, which en-
retu thetato levy from the public large revenues ; :and in
the . lran Seat for this w' have a right to demand for the-public
r
ness. possible amount of accommodation and cheap-
it Ina
...Le Ybe questionable how far we can now interfere
-ii Le' c°wPanies already formed, to reduce extortionate
‘Ctiloar'gp• Even as regards these, however, we are not
in tilY,,isq much hound to non-interference as the writer
evi-eree 'Lail/volt Chronicle would have us infer. It was
10 [lily in the contemplation of parliament, whilst pass-
eatstayY of the bills under which existing railway inter-
tain ii.rrF grown up, to restrict their profits within
itt_ceor-_.
0 a .et : e
id. ' anei when we see such restrictions got 'ld _ f
ghat B—wind—such as the creation of new shares, half-
. . es, &c—in order to enaele proprietors to enjoey Auviden '
for SI ' S rarger than the spirit of their acts presciib d
them, we are inclined to say that such railways are not
Performitig their " duties" to the public, and ought to be -kriettle to do a,l. With respect to new schemes there can
vl.no hesitation in applyiti to them very stringent pro-
Alons to insure moderate charges and accommodation.
In bells now, or in future to be brought before perils-
trt.ent, every care should he taken that, after the payment
0f a fair interest for capital and risk, any surplus of re-
tceipts ought to be met by a reduction of rates. We can-
het depend upon the effects of competition to bring down
rates of railway companies, for in nine ca,es out of
ten a railway once formed becomes a close monopoly,
from the very hopelessness of such competition, being suc-
cessful.
_ We understand that'the applications for shares in the
Glasgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle Railway, now greatly
exceed the amount of ea petal to be disposed of.
A line of eteatners ie to be out on herween Brigfol and
Newport, in connexitmth the Great Western Railway.
A vessel will ply daily. ere
BRICKLAYER'S ARMS BRANCH.—This line which
abuts upon the Old Keet road, near Swan-street, and
. which was projected by the South Eastern (London and
Dover) and Croyden Railway Companies, to furnish them
jointly with a West End Tea inicus, will shortly open.
THE JUNCTION RAILWAY.—This railway was opened
'on Saturday last, after which day all the Liverpool trains
'arrive and depart from the commodious station at Hunt's
'Bank t the station in Water-street only being used for
,goods.—Manchester Courier.
IThe Wexford and Kildare, or South Eastern Railway,
14 connexion with the Dublin and Cashel, capitalX6oo,ooo,
1.18 been taken up by all the monied interest in the local-
;:_te!I through which it will run. Mr: Brunel has planner
.mAniProved harbour at Wexford, which, in conjunction
at' the South Wales railway, will enable the London
to he delivered at Wexford in less than 15 hours.
The ,1,„,,w41( FROM PARIS TO THE MEDITERRANEAN...."
ll:liste;rl,' de Per Beige says, that the proposal by the
f,2,1e0.0V0 grant fifty-four millions of francs, about
rarie te-13;. for the establishment of the railway from the
, Yonne 3" ; that it will take the valleys of the Seine,
lOr 1844, and A.rmencon ; four millions may be granted
NENIT
Baultd ten for 1845.
der/tend thalßug OYER THE MENAI STRAITS.—We un-
Menai .14_,_,‘ the landed proprietors in the vicinity of the
that it i..r,`lue oppose the passage of the railway, and
/till '
bo_t! erefore probable the passage across the Straits Volee e,,e,to be made at the Britannia Rock, and will bri-
be ti;;`b,'east, two arches of 350 feet span. This will
llceeiireee-'°,!! gigantic railway work ever undertaken.—
, rhe - "ronic/e.
aio capital
sons sterli of British railways now exceeds sixty mil-
antnun. srg, and yields a revenue of SIX millions per
tatructed
_Nearly 2,000 miles of railway are already con-
aa,,,,,Td it' operation, and the proposals of the present
,_ailf to th all session will have the effect of adding one-
"al of thesee extent of this productive property. The capi-
_, c
railways has now become a great National
lion 41'18 held, in larger or smaller quantities, by indi-
go: and -:erY rank of life, and of every variety of poei-
there% or in caPation, to whom it affords a productive
crea-,g in gh.crume• As a security, this stock is every day
lines--Irig i 4" aCter Yuen investment, it is every day in-
by n retative v Everextension of the present
ej,crasestatee'los of brancles over the face of the c 'unto,'
triteire seetes"e 'tability and value of this stock. Indeed,
putllalPly,
a.to.be little doubt that railway pronerty will,
le
f(l._ ttain the same
nose— r,,....., permanence and value as the
''''""lcaY Chronicle.