CHAP. XVII. 



THE KAILWAY MANIA. 



373 



1838 and 1839 only five new railway companies ob-| 

 tained Acts of incorporation. In 1840, not a single! 

 Act was passed ; and in 1841, only a branch of 5| miles \ 

 in length was authorized, which was not carried out. - 

 The next two sessions were equally quiet ; and it was 

 not until 1844, that the tide of railway enterprise sud- 

 denly rose again, and in the following year burst all 

 bounds, breaking out in the wildest fury of speculation, j 



The extension of railways had, up to the year 1844, 

 been mainly effected by men of the commercial classes, 

 and the shareholders in them principally belonged to 

 the manufacturing districts, the capitalists of the me- 

 tropolis as yet holding aloof, and prophesying disaster 

 to all concerned in railway projects. 1 The Stock Ex- 

 change looked askance upon them, and it was with 

 difficulty that respectable brokers could be found to do 

 business in the shares. But when the lugubrious antici- 

 pations of the City men were found to be so entirely 

 falsified by the results when, after the lapse of years, 

 it was ascertained that railway traffic rapidly increased 

 and dividends steadily improved a change came over 

 the spirit of the London capitalists. They then invested 

 largely in railways, the shares in which became a lead- 

 ing branch of business on the Stock Exchange, and the 

 prices of some rose to nearly double their original 

 value. 



A stimulus was thus given to the projection of further 

 lines, the shares in most of which came out at a premium, 

 and became the subject of immediate traffic. A reckless 

 spirit of gambling set in, which completely changed the 

 character and objects of railway enterprise. The public 

 outside the Stock Exchange became also infected, and 

 many persons utterly ignorant of railways, knowing 



1 The leading " City men " looked 

 with great suspicion on the first rail- 

 way projects, having no faith in their 

 success. In 1835, the solicitorship of 

 the Brighton Railway (then projected) 



was" offered to a city firm of high 

 standing, and refused, one of the 

 partners assigning as a reason, that 

 " the coaches would drive the railway 

 trains off the road in a month ! " 



