RAILWAY COMMUXICATIOX. 471 . 
existence of a means of communication between the passengers 
and guard is made imperative on all railways by the legislature^ 
a method will straightway be found of complying* with the 
law ; but as long as no such law exists_, so long shall we be 
treated to tales of insuperable diiEculties, and be told that no 
practicable and unobjectionable plan of effecting the object 
has yet been discovered. In shorty those w’ho are anxious on 
the subject may rest assured that immediately the Board of 
Trade discard the motto ‘‘Dolce far nieiite/’ in their dealings 
with railways_, and refuse any longer to accept spun moonshine 
as an excuse for doing nothing, all difficulties will vanish, and 
the public will at once obtain that increase in the safety of 
travelling by railway which has been so long withheld under 
various flimsy and ridiculous pretences. 
We further venture to predict that when this time arrives, 
scarcely any two railways will adopt identically the same 
arrangements, whilst but little difference will be found to 
exist in the comparative efficiency of each. All will be re- 
quired to fulfil certain recognized conditions, yet the methods 
had recourse to for attaining the prescribed ends will vary 
within certain limits in their details. In the United States 
the means of communication employed is of the simplest — 
not to say rudest — kind; but no complaints are heard of its 
insufficiency. A central cord, in communication with an 
alarm-bell on the engine, traverses the whole extent of the 
train, just below the roofs of the carriages within easy reach 
of any passenger who chooses to rise from his seat. Yet the 
power possessed by every individual of signalling to the guard 
to stop — if practicable without danger — is not found to be 
abused, nor attended with practical inconvenience. No im- 
pediment exists to prevent the same primitive plan being 
adopted on English railways ; but we are inclined to believe 
the power of commanding a wider range of signals, bestowed 
by the use of electro-magnetism, will eventually secure it the 
preference, especially as the conditions for obtaining a dur- 
able and permanent battery power are now so well known, 
and all the attendant circumstances connected with its use so 
thoroughly understood, that the facility of its application, its 
manageability, and, above all, its non-liability to derangement 
with ordinary care, leave nothing to be desired. In short, 
never was the old proverb, “ Where there is a will there is a 
way,^^ more applicable than to the present question. 
One of the first points that presents itself in determining* 
how the desideratum sought is to be practically attained is the 
question of approximating the ends of the foot-boards of the 
carriages, so as to enable the guard to traverse the train 
throughout its whole extent. If this is not to be adopted,. 
