Railways and the State 287 



been pursued, and the interests which have grown up under 

 it, the difficulties of laying down any fixed policy for the future 

 arc very formidable." 



The words in this extract which I have put in italics, 

 representing, as they do, the views of a Joint Committee of the 

 House of Lords and of the House of Commons, justify, I would 

 suggest, much of the criticism in which I have here ventured 

 to indulge. 



Among the conclusions at which the Committee arrived were 

 the following : 



" Past amalgamations have not brought with them the evils 

 which were anticipated." 



" Competition between railways exists only to a limited 

 extent, and cannot be maintained by legislation." 



" Combination between railway companies is increasing 

 and is likely to increase, whether by amalgamation or other- 

 wise." 



" It is impossible to lay down any general rules determining 

 the limits or the character of future amalgamations." 



In support of their views in regard to the first of these 

 conclusions, the Committee pointed especially to the North- 

 Eastern and the Great Eastern Railway Companies, each of 

 which had so far pursued a policy of amalgamation that the 

 report speaks of the former as " pervading and possessing one 

 of the wealthiest and most important districts of the King- 

 dom," and of the latter as having " almost exclusive pos- 

 session of the principal centres to which it extends." 



The Committee did not suggest that either of these com- 

 panies had abused its powers, or taken undue advantage 

 of such " monopoly " as it had secured in the districts con- 

 cerned. In fact, of the North-Eastern Railway they said : 

 " That railway, or system of railways, is composed of thirty- 

 seven lines, several of which formerly competed with each 

 other. Before their amalgamation they had, generally speak- 

 ing, high rates and fares and low dividends. The system is now 

 the most complete monopoly in the United Kingdom . . . and 

 it has the lowest fares and the highest dividends of any 

 English railway." As for the Great Eastern, instead of abusing 

 their " almost exclusive possession " of the Eastern Counties, 

 everyone knows that the Company have won for themselves 

 the credit of pioneering the movement for offering exception- 



