4!0 Mr. Gray on Land 



liutc to L'le imjMovoraoiit ol'ourfishcfii'R, 

 as Hcll as to Uie estHblishineiit of now 

 ones. 'I'his tuancli of internal com- 

 merce requires nior.t pjirticular altcn- 

 \t.n\, on account of its forming a nursery 

 lor seamen. 



Tlie iiiliabif in(s of London ininht be 

 rt'gnlarl} suiiplied witli coals on reason- 

 able terms, (were tiieir markets tlirown 

 open to the free conifielition of trade,) 

 iiist(?ad of labouring under tlie most abo- 

 niiiiuble extortion, as they jiow do. The 

 many disadvantages attending the coal- 

 trade in London are sufllciently appa- 

 rent, in {h(! expense of vessels, seaman's 

 wages, protracted vojages. insurance, 

 tonnage-dues, liglit-dues, &c. ; and it 

 should also be remembered, that vessels 

 in this trade generally, I believe, return 

 ti'oni liundon in ballast ; whereas eoal- 

 wagguns, coming to London on rail- 

 VI ujs, might obtain loading, on return, 

 to all the populous districts through 

 whicli they might pass. One gang of 

 coal-waggons, carrying the full freight 

 of a Vessel, might be forwaided from 

 Newcastle to London in three days, by 

 the simple expense of one steam-engine; 

 but the manifold benefits which the 

 measure v/ould throw open to the gcne- 

 ialcon:niercc of London, and throughout 

 the interior of the country, can only be 

 justly a|)precialed when they become 

 known and understood. 



It remains only to know the exact 

 amount of capital retjuired lor the rail- 

 way, in order to show the feasibility of 

 tills sohenie ; and on this head, if we 

 reckon each single railway at 2000/. per 

 mile, and allow two railways lor vehi- 

 cles going down, and two railways for 

 those returning, tlie whole sum per 

 luilc would be 8000/. ; in order, how- 

 ever, to guard against contingent ex- 

 penses, let the sum be stated at 12,000/. 

 jH-rmile; and this, I think, the most 

 experienced engineers and surveyors 

 will allow to be the very extent. The 

 distance between London and New- 

 castle, in a direct line, will be about 

 200 miles, which, at 12,000/. per mile, 

 (cost of the railway,) will amount to 

 2,400,000/. Taking, for a calculation, 

 the number of chaldrons of coals con- 

 sumed aiunially in London to ;>e two mil- 

 lions, and reckoning the toll per railway 

 at 5«. only per chaldron for the whole 

 distance, from Newcastle to London, 

 this branch of commeree alone would 

 yield a revenue of 500,000/. to the pro- 

 prietors of the railway ; without taking 

 into account the numerous daily vehicles 



Stcam-Cvnveyancc. [June 1, 



(,! every deacriptton for tlw; conveyance 

 of persons, and of merchandize of every 

 kind. 



There are not less tiian 10,000 stcam- 

 cngin?3 employed daily in this country, 

 but not one is yet applied to our itdand 

 convcyasice ; the many attempts made 

 to improve still further oar steam- 

 engine, instead of a d»e application of 

 its jiresent commanding power to the 

 pur|>ose now recommended, must, one 

 would hope, in time disturb the lethar- 

 gic slumbers of the pubiic, who are 

 hourly smarting under the most oppres- 

 sive tax upon the conveyance of per- 

 sons and merchandise. 



As a permanently improving source 

 of revenue to our capitalists, this plan 

 would have no parallid : the diurnal re- 

 turns, at the most moderate toll upon 

 each vehicle, would annually produce 

 many millions; indeed no limits can be 

 jissigned to the increase of wealth which 

 this change in our inland conveyance 

 might produce. There is no branch of 

 agriculture, no branch of commerce or 

 of arts, but would partake of its endless 

 prosperity. In sujiport of this state- 

 ment, it is merely necessary to remark 

 here, that one steam-engine, on an im- 

 proved railway, would draw from Lon- 

 don to Ldinburgh three stage-coaches 

 (each carrying twice the luggage and 

 number of passengers of ordinary 

 coaches,) in thirty hours, which now 

 rcfjuire three hundred horses and at 

 least fifty hours time, for the perform- 

 ance of the journey. 



For further information, I beg to 

 refer to the fourth edition of my "Ob- 

 servations on a General Iron-Kailway," 

 (containing plates and maps illustrative 

 of the plan,) published by Messrs. 

 Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, Pater- 

 noster-row. 



If a pnblic meeting were convened 

 by the wealthy merchants and capi- 

 talists of the metropolis, in order to 

 canvass the relative properties of this 

 scheme, the example would soon be 

 followed in the manufacturing districts 

 and principal cities; and the many mil- 

 lions now annually squandered away 

 in purchasing and feeding unnecessary 

 horses, might be divided by the holders 

 of shares in a General Iron-Railway 

 Company, and the numerous branch 

 companies which would be established 

 throughout the United Kingdom. 



Thomas Gr/iY. 



NotlingJiam ; May I, 1824. 



For 



