Part 10 (2/2)
”Yes, madam,” was the reply, ”It would, as you say, be very nice to travel about for nothing, _if ere not paid for it_ But you see,” he reineers are like the cabman's horse The cabh to eat?' inquired a benevolent lady passenger 'Oh yes, ive him lots o' victuals to eat, only, you see, he hasn't any tiineer; he has lots of pleasure of all kinds, only he has not any time to take it”
AN ACCOMMODATING CONTRACTOR
One railway of soested with their fears of exceeding the estimates, and so a shrewd man of business, a contractor, ie, a man with a mind contracted to profit and a keen eye to discern the paths of profit, called on the through the process of sub-contracting, had obtained a glilories And thus he relieved the directors fro to make the railway complete in all its parts, buy the land at the coe the station-clerks at the conclusion, with all the staff coin business off-hand But the latter condition-the staff and clerks-being sie, the directors kept that trouble in their own hands
Our contractor loouarantee against responsibilities, backed by sufficient sureties, so the matter ithout delay handed over to him, and he knehat to do with it
-_Roads and Rails_, by W B Ada a anecdote is related of a coet into the sayle and Northu The three chatted familiarly until the train stopped at Alnwick Junction, where the Duke of Northuot out, and was met by a train of flunkeys and servants
”That reat swell,” said the ”co coyle, ”he is the Duke of Northumberland” ”Bless my soul!” exclaimed the ”commercial” ”And to think that he should have been so condescending to two little snobs like us!”
THE GREAT RAILWAY MANIA DAY
Never had there occurred, in the history of joint-stock enterprise, such another day as the 30th of November, 1845 It was the day on which a ht, to be followed by a collapse terrible tosuccessful, and the old coh terms, rival lines which threatened to interfere with their profits Both of these circue the concoction of new sche for profitable e out for e works; and there are always sche moneyless men ready to trade on the folly of others
Thus the bankers and capitalists illing to supply the capital; the engineers, surveyors, architects, contractors, builders, solicitors, barristers, and Parliaers; while, too often, cunning sches This was especially the case in 1845, when plans for new railere brought forward literally by hundreds, and with a recklessness perfectly marvellous
By an enactment in force at that time, it was necessary, for the prosecution of any railway scheme in Parliament, that a mass of documents should be deposited with the Board of Trade, on or before the 30th of Nove year The reat that there could not be found surveyors enough to prepare the plans and sections in time Advertise enor of this kind of skill Surveyors and architects fro men at home were tempted to break the articles into which they had entered with their masters; and others were seduced froineers Sixty persons in the employain enorhts in various parts of England between property-owners ere determined that their land should not be entered upon for the purpose of railway surveying, and surveyors who knew that the schemes of their companies would be frustrated unless the surveys were made and the plans deposited by the 30th of November To attain this end, force, fraud, and bribery were freely made use of The 30th of November, 1845, fell on a Sunday; but it was no Sunday at the office near the Board of Trade Vehicles were driving up during the whole of the day, with agents and clerks bringing plans and sections In country districts, as the day approached, and on the reater request than even at race-ti at full speed to the nearest railway station On the Great Western Railway an express train was hired by the agents of one new scheine broke down; the train came to a stand-still at Maidenhead, and, in this state, was run into by another express train hired by the agents of a rival project; the opposite parties barely escaped with their lives, but contrived to reach London at the last moment On this eventful Sunday there were no fewer than ten of these express trains on the Great Western Railway, and eighteen on the Eastern Counties! One railway company was unable to deposit its papers because another coh suraphic printer, and horses were killed indocuments before the fraud was discovered In soraphic stones were stolen; and in one instance the printer was bribed, by a large sum, not to finish in proper tiht over four hundred lithographic printers froium, and even then, and with these, all the work ordered could not be executed Soraphed, the rest being filled up by hand However executed, the probleht on the 30th of Noveuineas a mile were in one instance paid for post-horses One express train steamed up to London 118 miles in an hour-and-a-half, nearly 80refused an express train to the proet up a e an express train to convey it to London; they did so, and the plans and sections came _in the hearse_, with solicitors and surveyors as mourners!
Copies of many of the documents had to be deposited with the clerks of the peace of the counties to which the schemes severally related, as well as with the Board of Trade; and at soe scenes occurred on the Sunday At Preston, the doors of the office were not opened, as the officials considered the orders which had been issued to keep open on that particular Sunday, to apply only to the Board of Trade; but a crowd of law agents and surveyors assembled, broke the s, and threw their plans and sections into the office At the Board of Trade, extra clerks were employed on that day, and all went pretty s A rule was laid down for receiving the plans and sections, hearing a feords of explanation froth the work accumulated ents arrived in greater number than the entrance hall could hold The anxiety was somewhat allayed by an announce before the clock struck twelve should be deeents bore the familiar name of Ser to enter and speak concerning some scheme, the name of which was not announced, in rushed several persons, of whoht Mr Sent arrived while the clock was striking twelve, and was ad horses drove up; three agents rushed out, and finding the door closed, rang furiously at the bell; no sooner did a policeents threw their bundles of plans and sections through the half-opened door into the hall; but this was not permitted, and the policeman threw the docuents were nearly maddened with vexation; for they had arrived in London froood time, and had been driven about Pimlico hither and thither, by a post-boy who did not, or would not, know the way to the office of the Board of Trade
The _Ties to an elaborate analysis, by Mr spackht forward in 1845 ”There were no less than 620 in nu an (hypothetical) expenditure of 560 one further than issuing prospectuses
More than 500 of the scheht before Parliament; and 272 of these became Acts of Parliament in 1846-to the ruin of thousands who had afterwards to find the ements into which they had so rashly entered
-_Chambers's Book of Days_
PARODY UPON THE RAILWAY MANIA