AY HENRY DEANE. 
with limited capital, they would begin in the same way as 
originally, and the lines would be first laid down in the 
cheapest style. These facts should be kept in view when 
making our western connections for which there is an 
urgent need. They can be built in such a way as to be 
cheap at first, but to be capable of being strengthened up 
and improved afterwards. 
Break of Gauge and Unification.—A few words must be 
devoted to the break of gauge question, for although so 
much has been said and written in the past, there still 
remains much to be said, and it will be so till the unification 
of the gauges is consummated. Perhaps it would not be 
out of place to put on record here a few facts setting forth 
the circumstances under which the discrepancy in the 
gauges has arisen. If reference is made to a lecture I 
delivered before the Sydney University Engineering Society 
in 1902, there will be found a short account of the early 
history of the introduction of railways in this State and of 
the gauge question. With regard to the latter the principal 
facts are as follows:—In 1848 it was decided that the 
future Australian gauge should be 4 feet 8 inches. In 1850 
Mr. Sheilds who had been appointed as engineer to the 
recently formed Sydney Railway Co. urged the adoption of 
the Irish gauge 5 feet 3inches. This was approved by the 
Home Government and became the legal gauge for Australia. 
Mr. Wallace, Engineer-in-Chief in succession to Mr. Shields, 
favoured a gauge of 4 feet 85 inches, and this was passed 
in the New South Wales Legislature, and the Bill dealing 
with the matter was sent home for Royal approval. On 
receipt of it Karl Grey the Secretary for State, wrote out 
to Governor Fitzroy and urged the objections there were 
to adopting a different gauge, the result being that a 
reversion to the gauge of 5 feet 3 inches was attempted, 
and would have passed but that the company pointed out 
that they had already counted on the 4 feet 84 inch gauge 
