222 RAILWAY RATES AND CONDITIONS 



Although in 1883 the Government had assented to Chambers 

 of Agriculture being given a locus standi before Parliamentary 

 Committees, they did not give effect to their assent until, 

 on 9th July, 1884, Sir Bernhard Samuelson carried a motion 

 in the House of Commons by 94 votes to 84 to amend the 

 Standing Orders in this direction. Although Sir Bernhard 

 sat on their side of the House, the Government opposed the 

 motion, and it was, of course, also objected to by various 

 defenders of the then existing practice of private Bill 

 legislation. 



At the instance of Lord Henniker, a somewhat similar 

 Standing Order was agreed to by the House of Lords, but it 

 differed from that of the Commons in that it applied only to 

 opposition to any proposed new rates. 



1885. 



The Railway Committee instituted this year a regular 

 campaign against a number of private railway Bills which 

 proposed to legalise new charges beyond the fixed maximum 

 rates in respect of " station terminals." Every local Chamber 

 was advised to petition Parliament to reject these proposals, 

 and to request their respective members to vote against 

 the second reading of the Bills. Other Associations took 

 alarm, and a general Committee of Members of both Houses 

 of Parliament was formed by Lord Henniker in order to 

 concentrate opposition from all parties to the railway pro- 

 posals, and three of the Chamber's representatives were put 

 on the Executive of this Committee. On 31st March the 

 Railway Committee reported to the Council that the action 

 taken in opposition to the railway Bills had resulted in a 

 statement being made in the House of Commons by the 

 President of the Board of Trade, in which he suggested that 

 the Bills should not be proceeded with, but that a Commission 

 should be appointed to inquire how far the Bills provided a 

 satisfactory settlement, and if they did not, in what way 

 they should be modified. At the same time, Mr. Chamber- 

 lain was asked by Mr. Paget if the question of preferential 

 rates would be included in this inquiry, when the former 



