234 STEPHENSON AND CROPPER. CHAP. XII. 



By the end of 1828 the directors found they had ex- 

 pended 460,000/. on the works, and that they were still 

 far from completion. They looked at the loss of interest 

 on this large investment, and began to grumble at the 

 delay. They desired to see their capital becoming 

 productive; and in the spring of 1829 they urged the 

 engineer to push on the works with increased vigour. Mr. 

 Cropper, one of the directors, who took an active interest 

 in their progress, said to Stephenson one day, " Now, 

 George, thou must get on with the railway, and have it 

 finished without further delay : thou must really have it 

 ready for opening by the first day of January next.'' 

 " Consider the heavy character of the works, sir, and 

 how much we have been delayed by the want of money, 

 not to speak of the wetness of the weather : it is im- 

 possible." " Impossible ! " rejoined Cropper ; " I wish 

 I could get Napoleon to thee he would tell thee there 

 is no such word as ' impossible ' in the vocabulary." 

 " Tush ! " exclaimed Stephenson, with warmth ; " don't 

 speak to me about Napoleon ! Give me men, money, 

 and materials, and I will do what Napoleon could' nt do 

 drive a railroad from Liverpool to Manchester over 

 Chat Moss ! " And truly the formation of a high road 

 over that bottomless bog was, apparently, a far more 

 difficult task than the hewing even of Napoleon's far- 

 famed road across the Simplon. 



The directors had more than once been embarrassed 

 iby want of funds to meet the heavy expenditure. The 

 jcountry had scarcely yet recovered from the general 

 (panic and crash of 1825 : and it was with difficulty that 

 the calls could be raised from the shareholders. A loan 

 of 100,000/. was obtained from the Exchequer Loan 

 Commissioners in 1826; and in 1829 an Act was 

 passed enabling the company to raise further capital, 

 to provide working plant for the railway. Two Acts 

 were also obtained during the progress of the works, 



