214 THE BILL LOST. CHAP. XI. 



project exists is gone." After further personal abuse of 

 Mr. Stephenson, whose evidence he spoke of as " trash 

 and confusion," he closed the case of the canal companies 

 on the 30th of May. Mr. Adam replied for the pro- 

 moters, recapitulating the principal points of their case, 

 and vindicating Mr. Stephenson and the evidence which 

 he had given before the Committee. 



The Committee then divided on the preamble, which 

 was carried by a majority of only one thirty-seven 

 voting for it, and thirty-six against it. The clauses 

 were next considered, and on a division the first clause, 

 empowering the Company to make the railway, was 

 lost by a majority of nineteen to thirteen. In like 

 manner, the next clause, empowering the Company to 

 take land, was lost ; on which Mr. Adam, on the part 

 of the promoters, withdrew the bill. 



Thus ended this memorable contest, which had ex- 

 tended over two months carried on throughout with 

 great pertinacity and skill, especially on the part of the 

 opposition, who left no stone unturned to defeat the 

 measure. The want of a third line of communication 

 between Liverpool and Manchester had been clearly 

 proved ; but the engineering evidence in support of the 

 proposed railway having been thrown almost entirely 

 upon Stephenson, who fought this, the most important 

 part of the battle, single-handed, was not brought out so 

 clearly as it would have been had he secured more efficient 

 engineering assistance which he was not able to do, as 

 the principal engineers of that day were against the 

 locomotive railway. The obstacles thrown in the way 

 of the survey by the landowners and canal companies, 

 by which the plans were rendered exceedingly imper- 

 fect, also tended in a great measure to defeat the bill. 



Mr. Grooch says the rejection of the bill was probably 

 the most severe trial George Stephenson underwent in 

 the course of his whole life. The circumstances con- 

 nected with the defeat of the measure, the errors in the 



