Railways and the State 269 



" The Committee entertain the opinion that the announce- 

 ment of an intention on the part of Parliament to sift with 

 care the particulars of railway schemes, to associate them 

 with the public interest (in the cases of all future schemes and 

 of all subsisting companies which may voluntarily accede to 

 such an arrangement). . . will produce very beneficial effects 

 in deterring parties from the attempt to entrap the public 

 by dishonest projects, in securing railway projects against 

 the shocks to which in periods of great commercial excitement 

 it must otherwise be liable from such causes," etc. 



Praiseworthy as was the design thus put forward by Mr 

 Gladstone's Committee, it failed to bring about the results 

 anticipated. 



In accordance with the recommendations made, a special 

 department of the Board of Trade, under the direction of 

 Lord Dalhousie, was created, in August, 1844, to inquire 

 into and report to Parliament on all new railway schemes and 

 Bills, with a view to guiding the Private Bill Committees of 

 both Houses. The special department was more especially 

 to report as to the positive and comparative advantages to 

 the public of any Bills proposed for the construction of com- 

 peting lines. 



A great deal was hoped for from this new arrangement, and 

 the decisions of the department as to which of the schemes 

 then being promoted they would recommend for first con- 

 sideration by Parliament were keenly awaited. 



The expansion of the railway system had, by this time, 

 proceeded so far that by the end of 1843 Parliament had 

 authorised the construction of 2390 miles of railway, of which 

 2036 miles were then open for traffic. The capital of these 

 lines was 82,800,000, and of this amount about 66,000,000 

 had been raised. A good deal of wild speculation in 1836-7 

 had been followed by a reaction, and the railway market was 

 still depressed in 1843 ; but in 1844 interest in railway enter- 

 prise was greatly stimulated by the announcement that the 

 Liverpool and Manchester, the Grand Junction, the London 

 and Birmingham and the York and Midland were paying 

 dividends of from ten to twelve per cent each, and that the 

 Stockton and Darlington was paying fifteen per cent. The 

 shares in existing companies rose in value, a number of new 

 companies were formed, and companies already operating 



