16 AUGUST 1873, Page 3

It appears from a correspondence now published by the Treasury

that Mr. Gladstone was in June making great efforts to secure to the poor greater advantages from the Railways. He appears to have informed the Railway Companies' Association that he was prepared to give up the passenger duty on third-class carriages, provided that the Railways reduced their charge to a penny a mile for all trains, that they should grant return tickets, and that no charge should be made for fractions of a mile. The Railway Association declined, but Mr. Gladstone persisted, and has apparently now directed the publication of the correspondence.