Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1882-01-19
HoN. JAMES BUCHANAN.
THE FATHER OF RAILWAYS.

From London Society.
In 1917 Edward Pease, in the face
of strong opposition, appealed to the
public to assist him in forming com
pany for the promotion of railway
between Stockton and the West Auck-
land coal field; but the public fought
shy of the project, and if it had not
been that Mr.. Pease's own family and
immediate friends had embarked in
the enterprise with him, the title of
"the father of railways" which was
subsequently given to Mr.. Pease,
would in all probability have had to be
shifted on to some later protector. But
Edward Pease, when once he had Ia.
ken thing in hand, and made up his
mind that it was expedient and prac.
ticable was not given to with.
drawing from it; so, before he had
ever seen George Stephenson, he had
made his application to parliament for
sanction TO his scheme, and would have
had his railway in course Of forma.
ton but for the duke of Cleveland's
powerful objection that the proposed
line would pass too near one ofhls fox
covers. Parliament in those days was
stronger on the side of the fox hunters
than on that of the railway promoters; /;
and no wonder, remembering the apa-
thy, if not open hostility, of the COM
mercial classes-the people who were
destined TO derive the greatest benefit
from the project. The duke of Cleve-
land therefore, succeeded in getting his
brother peers TO throw out the railway
bill in 1918; but in the following year,
when Mr.. Pease had chalked out
new route for his line bsLween Stock
ton and Darlington, steering clear of
the dukes cover parliament was in
duced to accept the scheme. In 1921,
when the royal assent had made the
bill law, the work of construction was
proceeded with, 1t was at this stage
that George Stephenson came over
from killiugworth to Darlington and
tried to interest the good Quaker in
his new machine, the steam horse.
Up to this point the protector of the
first railway had had no idea of pro-
viding any motive power other than
horse the rails were his leading fea-
ture; the locomotive had not even been
thought of in connection with the
Stockton and Darlington scheme.
When Stephenson waited upon Mr..
Pease, however, and, in that North
umbrian dialect which never left him,
sought Mr.. Pease's adoption of the
new engine for the new line, and when
Mr.. Pease promised to run over TO
KillingwOrlh to see Georges locomo-
tive for himself, the first link in the
mighty railway chain, which was
thereafter stretched over all the coun.
tries of the world, was forged. Mr.
Pease went, saw the engine. approved
Of it, aud from that time the Stockton
and Darlington railroad projec; began
to assume, in the eyes of onlookers, a
more chimerical aspect than ever. Ed.
ward Pease became convert to the
locomotive. and an amended act of
parliament was obtained in 1928. EN-.
powering the company to employ To-
comotives on their lines, under certain
restrictions. From that time the in
terests of Edward Pease and George
Stephenson were in great measure
identical. Mr.. Pease assisted Stephen.
son--now appointed the engineer of
the new line at n salary of $500 a
year-to found his locomotive factory
at New Castle, and in many other ways
helped on the mighty movement which
both lived to see extended with so
much benefit to human progress, into
every centre of industry throughout
the kingdom.