320 
Chandler—Early American Railways. 
assisted private means, and that therefore the state must neces¬ 
sarily give aid. In spite of the business depression, new roads 
were being constantly projected, one being contemplated to ex¬ 
tend from Boston to Lake Champlain. But the Boston and 
Lowell met with special opposition from various sources. Not 
only did the promoters of the through line to the Hudson op¬ 
pose all local roads, as tending to absorb money needed for their 
own enterprise, but the Middlesex Canal, with its line of boats 
before mentioned, was a powerful opponent, claiming that its 
own charter gave it a monopoly of transportation over its line. 
This claim, however, the Legislature disallowed; and apparently 
the road would have secured its charter at this session but for 
the reappearance of the desire for a monopoly on the part of its 
projectors, who claimed that without some security of that sort 
it would be impossible to obtain the means necessary for con¬ 
struction. They therefore sought a provision in their charter, 
that no other railroad running from Boston and passing within 
five miles of the Lowell terminus of the proposed road should 
be allowed for a period of forty years. In return for this grant 
they offered to accept a provision that at the end of every four 
years the Legislature might so reduce their tolls as to prevent 
their income from rising above ten per cent, per annum, and 
also another clause giving power to the state to purchase the 
road at the end of ten years by the payment of its cost and ten 
per cent, per annum less the income already received. The 
Legislature refused to grant the charter; but, before the ensu¬ 
ing June session, efficient influences were apparently brought 
into play; and on the first day of that session the act of incor¬ 
poration was again presented, referred to a special committee 
under the chairmanship of the member from Lowell presenting 
the bill, and very speedily was enacted, changed only by short¬ 
ening the forty years of monopoly provided by the bill of six 
months before to a term of thirty years. One peculiarity of the 
charter was a power granted the company to establish toll gates 
upon the road, a provision seeming to contemplate a public high¬ 
way upon which private carriages could pass by payment of toll. 
But during the delay in obtaining the charter the estimated ex¬ 
penses of construction had largely increased, and stock amount- 
