REGULATION OF RAILWAYS.

AMONG the House of Commons papers delivered this week—rema- nets of the last session, a huge folio of 600 pages attests the in- dustry of the Committee which sat on Railways. The number of facts collected and presented to the public in the Second Report,* is enormous. In the index an attempt at classification is made ; but the evidence is so various as almost to defy arrangement, The Report itself displays little method, and is not very satisfactory The Committee appear sensible of its deficiencies, and assign some reasons for their inability to direct the Legislature in dealing with the important subject of their inquiries— The difficulty of arriving at a satisfitctory conclusion upon several of the points which have been submitted to the investigation of your Committee, has arisen from the recent origin of railway communication, from the rapidity of its growth, and from the variety of unexpected results consequent upon so great a change in the internal communications of the country; while the large amount of capital invested in these speculations, and a strong disinclination to interfere hastily with undertakings of such national importance, have sup- plied additional reasons for inducing great caution before offering the opinions which your Committee feel disposed to express."

The revival of the Committee next session is advised; but, in the meanwhile, it was deemed necessary to offer certain " recommen- dations to the house without delay." The session having been closed, however, soon after the Report was presented, no opportu- nity was afforded to Parliament to act "without delay " upon the suggestions tendered ; and it is pretty certain that another Session will elapse before any thing is done. But enough is stated to show the necessity of early interference for the protection of public interests. We lay comparatively little stress upon the no- torious facts, noticed in the Report, that the easy transfer of shares fteilitates jobbing, and that the expenditure almost invariably ex- ceeds the estimates; for these are matters on which speculators are or ought to be well-intbrnted, and the community at large need little trouble themselves : but it is most material that these gigantic companies should not establish monopolies and impose their own terms on the travelling public in virtue of privileges in- tended for the general advantage. On this point the Committee observe- " It will be found. to be the opinion of seine of the witnesses, that the in- terests of the Railway Companies and of the public can never be at variance ; and that the managers of these great establishments, acting with an enlight- ened view of their own interests, will always have a due regard to the general advantage of the community. A inure strict investigation has, however, shown that this assumption is not without exceptions : a main object which the di- rectors of a company must have in view, is to obtain a good return for the capital expended—While it is the primary interest of the public that the inter- course should be regularly maintained with the greatest safety, speed, and eco- nomy. To certain extent it is undoubtedly for the advantage of the com- pany to satisfy the wishes and supply the wants of the community, especially on those lines where other means ot communication vet exist and maintain a competition, althou,gb feeble, against these powerful establishments. But eases have already arisen in which the interests of private cowponies and of the etbhe have been 'blind to be opposed to each oiler; and it appears probable that, m proportion all this new system shall supersede other modes of travelling, Other inconvenient consequences will ensue, unless some authority be este-

* Ordered to be printed, 9th August 1S39.

bllshed to watch over and protect the interests of the public. The fear of a rival line may, in some instances, be a check upon the conduct of a company; but there are few districts in which the public will have any opportunity of se- lection, and obvious and serious difficulties must arise in carrying this means of control into execution."

The Leeds and Selby Company raised their fares : the number of passengers within a certain period fell off to the extent of 12,000, but the profit of the company was increased by 1,300/. The same result followed increase of fares and diminution of passengers on the Manchester and Bolton and the Dundee and Newtyle Rail- ways.

The Committee found, that as respects the carriage of heavy merchandise and of parcels, checks ought to be put on the exac- tions of the Railway Companies; but the manner how puzzled them. Indeed, on almost every important point they are at a loss what to recommend-

" Until the great lines of communication between distant parts of the country shall be more generally completed, and the public wants and demands

for the conveyance of goods and parcels more extensively known, it will be dif- limit to decide in what way the interests of the public can be best protected, under the practical monopoly which will be then established."

The use of common termini, and of portions of the same line by different companies, the Committee cannot sanction ; though Parliament has permitted it, especially in the cases of the Green- wich, Croydon, Brighton, and Dover Companies. Schemes for obviating dangerous collisions are alluded to ; but the Committee " do not feel it to be within their province to express any opinion" as to their feasibility or propriety.

On minor matters, such as the advantages of good fencing, the danger of crossing public ways, and the necessity of carefully arranging the "switches," sensible but obvious and commonplace remarks are offered. The insufficient control exercised by com- panies over their servants, and the extensive powers included in the privilege of making their own by-laws, attracted much of the Committee's attention— "At present, it appears that the directors of any railway have the power of making by-laws, which regulate the conduct, not only of their own servants but of all persons travelling on their road. These companies, therefore, pos- sess very extensive and very arbitrary powers ; and in some cases these laws need not receive the sanction of any supervising authority, while by seine more recent Railway Acts it is required that they shall be sanctioned either by the Judges at Assize, or by the Magistrates at Quarter-sessions."

Against the powerful combination of Railway Companies the disunited and casual efforts of the public would avail little ; and therefore the Committee suggest the appointment by Parliament of a Superintending Board, of which the President and Vice-Pre- sident of the Board of Trade should be members, assisted by one or two Engineer officers of rank and experience. But the powers of this Board would not be very extensive-

" It should not interfere with any proposed railway before the act of incor- poration had passed; nor should it be authorized to control or regulate the tvorks of any railway during their progress, except in cases where the company might apply for the opinion or the sanction of the Board.. Your Committee, however, are inclined. to recommend that no new railr2 should be opened for the conveyance of passengers until an inspection had been made under the

sanction of the Board; who, if dissatisfied with the condition and. state of the railroad, should have the power of adopting legal proceedings on behalf of the public. It should possess no authority to lay down rules for the government of railway companies, but should have conferred on it a control over those regulations, to which the public may be subjected by the exercise of the exten- sive powers now vested in such companies by their respective acts; nor should

any by-laws have the force of law without the previous sanction of this Board.

"All complaints on the part of the public arising from the powers exercised by these companies should be addres3ed to this Board; who might in the first instance, if they should think fit, represent to the directors any dagger or inconvenience arising from the state of the road, or from improper arrange- ments on the part of the company, or from misconduct on the part of their

servants; and, if such arrangements should be disregarded, might be empowered to take legal proceeding,s at the public expense. This Board, moreover, would be the fit tribunal of arbitration in all matters of dispute between connecting lines."

The Committee cannot venture to propose the establishment o. such a Board as they describe, until the subject shall have under- gone further examination ; but they are satisfied that some super- intending authority is needed for "the purpose of protecting the weak against the strong, and counteracting the evils incident to monopoly." Such are the leading points of the Report ; the tenons of which, we doubt not, accords with the opinion of the public generally. There is a growing impression that these gigantic companies are disposed to abuse their powers and require the control of superior authority. Redress tbr neglect and positive injury from them, is almost hopeless. Under the old rules of the road, a person had the choice of different conveyances : if ill-used by the Wonder, he could travel from London to Birmingham by the Tally-ho. Now he must take the Railway, or submit to great inconvenience. It has happened within the last fortnight, that a parcel sent from our own office one afternoon, and which ought to have been delivered in Liverpool, by the Birmingham and Liverpool Railway, the next morning, according to time undertaking of the Company's officers at the Golden Cross receiving-house, did not reach its destination till the day after—very much to the annoyance of the parties inter- ested. But what cared the mammoth company for that? have they not a monopoly ? We are satisfied that public opinion will sanction strong mea- sures by Parliament for the security of society against the abuse of privileges conferred by imprudent legislation. Parliament is bound to see "no quid detrimenti respublica capiat "—that railways do not become a nuisance.