138 report — 1877. 



holders, and will for all time necessitate the imposition of otherwise needlessly 

 high fares and rates on passengers and goods in this country. 



Now the rates on goods traffic especially involve — and this must be my'apology for 

 dwelling so long on the subject — a very serious question of national importance, once 

 put in a striking aspect by my enlightened, truly noble, and much-lamented friend, 

 Lord Taunton, who I always thought would have been more adequately appreciated 

 by the public, if even in his time, as compared with Lord Althorp's, the ever- 

 increasing influence of mere oratory, irrespective of political knowledge, statesman- 

 like foresight, and calm judgment (in a word, of wisdom as distinguished from 

 cleverness), had not already begun to obtain an undue ascendency in this country. 

 "While still Mr. Labouchere, he carefully pointed out to the House of Commons 

 that, after we had wisely abolished the customs duties on all exports whatever, 

 and on all imports of raw material, in order to give our manufacturers fair play in 

 their severe competition with foreign rivals, it was essential to protect them from 

 being burdened with unduly heavy import and export duties in the shape of high 

 rates on goods traffic by railway — taxes none the less onerous because they went 

 into the pockets of railway shareholders instead of into the Treasury in relief of 

 general taxation. In fact the influence of high railway rates on commerce is con- 

 siderable. In Belgium, the Government owns and works the railways, and, 

 trusting to their indirectly raising the revenue by increasing the national prosperity, 

 does not seek to make them a source of direct profit. The consequence is, I am 

 assured, that an increasing amount of through traffic is being diverted through 

 Belgium and its ports, the natural course of which would have lain through France 

 but for her high goods rates. 



The sound view with regard to these questions of local public service and supply 

 would seem to be that long ago indicated by Mr. Chadwick — namely, that they 

 should be recognized as, in their nature, monopolies, but, as such, considered to be 

 the property of the public to be alienated in part for a time, or retained in their 

 own hands by the State or local authorities as may seem most for the public advan- 

 tage. That this view is gaining more and more acceptance is evident from the 

 number of municipalities which have already either set up for themselves or have 

 bought from their original proprietors the waterworks and the gasworks of their 

 towns, and are working them for the benefit of the inhabitants. Some have already 

 done this with one or both for many years ; many more are taking steps to do so ; 

 and the Metropolitan Board of Works, who have long only too well verified, by 

 their mismanagement of much of the business entrusted to them, my predictions 

 during the debates on the Bill for their establishment in 1855, have now for some 

 time been wisely contemplating buying up both the water- and gasworks of the 

 Metropolis, and consolidating under one management what now occupies the staffs 

 of a number of companies. The very able report just presented to the House of 

 Commons by the Committee under the efficient Chairmanship of Sir Selwin 

 Ibbetson, after taking evidence for two Sessions on the subject of the fire brigade 

 of the Metropolis, gives, in my opinion, conclusive reasons in favour of its various 

 recommendations — the most material of them being that the Metropolitan Board 

 of Works should purchase all the waterworks within its district, establish a 

 constant supply at high pressure, and place hydrants all over London, putting the 

 duty of extinguishing fires in the hands of the police, with a special superintendent 

 and a special staff to attend particularly to this new branch of police work. 

 Further reflection and inquiry (and I may add, especially, the warning afforded by 

 the working of the Metropolitan Board of "Works) have confirmed me in the 

 impression which I expressed in these terms in this town in 1845 : — " On the 

 whole, it seems to me that the necessary works for similar purposes are best con- 

 structed by individuals or companies — for the action of self-interest will induce 

 them to do it better and more watchfully — with a monopoly granted to them for a 

 certain time on certain terms; after which the works themselves should revert to 

 the town, or become, purchasable by the town for a certain amount : that after- 

 wards they shoidd either be managed by the corporation, or, better still, be let by 

 public auction by the corporation to parties, either with certain fixed condition's 

 attached to them at an annual rent to be decided by competition, or else be let 

 at a fixed rent to whatever party will undertake to guarantee the cheapest and best 

 supply to the town. These systems seem to me to combine to the greatest degree 





