The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-02-02
The Story Of George Hudson, the
Railway King.
From the London Times. Dec. Is.1


[From the London Times, Dec. 1871
We have to record to-day the death
of one whose name has been long used
to point the moral ofvaulting ambition
andunstable fortune. Anewgeneration
has arisen since George Hudson was the
railway king, Those towhom his face,
and figure and voice were familiar,
who added to the crush at his enter
tainments, and listened to or retailed
the anecdotes respecting him, are to
be found only among the middle-aged
members of the House of Commons or
the most seasoned frequenters of Lon
don society. There was time when
not to know him was to argue ones
self unknown now he is only tradi-
ton. It often happens that q man
who who has been famous in the past
energies from long obscurity in the
newspaper paragraph which annOun-
ces his death. The first impulse is 10
exclaim, Has he really been alive all
this tine?' Some such thought will
occur to many who remember the
George Hudson of old times, what he
did and what was done for him, his
wealth, his grandeur and his fall. His
social preceded his political disappear
ance. He was member for Sunder-
land for years after he ceased to be
Railway King, the arbitrator of capt.
talists and the companion of the great.
His power eliminated at the time of
the great railway mania in 1855.
He was then dethroned, like so many
other sovereigns, in the revolutionary
period which began in 1913. His
wealth, enormously exaggerated by re-
port, has passed away, and short
time since subscription was raised to
buy an annuity for him. The judg-
ment of the world on his moral con-
duct was such that his social and finan-
cial influence passed away also. Had
it not been SO he might have made an
other fortune To the last he was en-
ergetic and enterprising, even to au-
dacity. To the last no scheme would
have deferred him by its difficulty, no
speculation by its danger. But after
his great fall, he was obliged to con-
tent himself with an obscure and limi-
tied field. At one time he was q good
deal abroad, and was understood to be
concerned in Continental enterprises.
From the sequel we must assume that
so far as he was concerned, they were
unsuccessful. The first tide in his af-
fairs led on to fortune, but he was af-
| forwards stranded, and neither ne nor
his schemes could float. A quarter of
a century ago, he turned all he touch
ed to gold in after years his name
was enough to wither the prospectus
on which it was printed. The world
which blindly trusted him, which
cringed to him and flattered him,
avenged itself by excessive and savage
reprobation. It's anger and contempt
were increased by the discovery that
he had really nothing left See how
ill-gotten gains vanishn exclaimed
those moralists after the events. Had
he managed to keep one or two hun
bred thousand pounds, he would not
have been so guilty. What man can
hold, the world assumes that he has a
right to hold. Besides, his credit as a
successful man would then hare stood
its ground, and success covers null
titude Of sins. It would be ridiculous
to apologize for him, and to deny his
faults merely because he is dead but
1t is fair to notice that to the last he
| had warm friends, and that these were
among the men who knew him longest
and best.
The history OF the railway enter
prise in England is strange one.
| This country has the honor of giving
birth to that famous invention which
has revolutionized the habits Of men
and the relations of kingdoms. No
change in the history Of the world is
greater than the change which was ef-
fected when George Stephenson's loco
motive first ran upon rails with passen-
gers behind it. Yet, for many years
| this great discovery was but little appli-
edin the country that produced it. In
the United States it was seized upon at
once, and in a rough way the Ameri-
cans intersected all the Northeastern
States with railways. Here there was
a tremendous conservative influence
against it. England was too beautiful
a country to be cut up by iron combi-
nations. Railways would ruin the
coaching interest, annillilate our I'M
riyalled breed OF horses, put an end to
hunting and other country sports, pro-
duce democratic mixture Of classes,
poison the air and destroy vegetation
by the noxious eliiuvia of the locomo-
tives. Almost every nobleman and
gentleman was ready to oppose the
construction of any such works in his
neighborhood, unless, indeed, he was
enormously compensated for the land
taken, and then his scruples vanished
wonderfully. Our seats of learning
and chief schools protested energeti-
cally against the sacrilage of bringing
q railroad within miles of them. The
consequence was, for ten years after
the principle was scientifically demon
strated the advance was small some
main lines we're authorized, but be-
yond this all was tinid, tentative and
feeble. 1t is characteristic of the Eng
fish people that, though they are slow
to adopt new thing, their activity
and enthusiasm are wonderful when
they do take 10 it at last. So it was
with railways. It was suddenly dis
| covered that we were neglecting the
most important discovery Of the age
and let our American rivals get before
us. Then came the railway mania.
The country was quiet and prosperous !;
there was a good deal of money to in
vest, and it all went in railways. The
soundness of the policy which Sir Rob
ert Peel supported with all the weight
of his influence has been seriously
questioned. He decided on free trade
in railway enterprise-that is to say,
unlimited competition between projec-
tors and companies, fierce Parliamen-
tary battles, useless branches, suicidal
rivalry in traffic, and all that chiefly
marks the railway system of England
up to the present day. Undoubtedly
the non-interference ofGovernment al
lowed the activity of spectators full
play, and England obtained complete
series of railways at an earlier period
than would otherwise have been the
case. The advantage thus obtained
over the Continental nations has been,
no doubt, most important. But at
what cost all this was done, Consid-
er the sums wasted in British railways,
and Judge whether it can be said that
the system adds to our reputation as
prudent and business-hke people.
George Hudson was Tie creature of
such system he made the best OF It,
and turned it to account for himself
and the nation. II is impossible TO
deny that he did great things to de-