DEAR SIR,
The present ridiculous and alarming mania for Railway projects throughout England, induces me to believe, that, unless Parliament shall in some degree retrace its steps, and not give so much facility to the passing of Railway Bills, that they will ere long be as great nuisances, and perhaps not less ruinous, than many of the 1825 bubbles. To be sure, the money is spent in England: this circumstance, and the employment given to the labouring classes, are the only features to recommend them. The error, which the Legislature has committed in respect to these schemes, consists in passing the Railway Bills with what are called the compulsory clauses, that is, compelling the Landowners to sell at a price to be assessed by a Jury; this you will observe is a proceeding which ought never to be resorted to by Parliament on any other ground than that of the public service requiring the sacrifice. The doctrine of compelling a man to part with his property is doubtless sound in any case, where a portion of the private property of an individual is requisite for the public service; as, where the Government should want it for the building of Barracks, Custom Houses for the collection of the revenue, or any other Government purpose, nothing is more clear than that in such cases the individual right must give way. But the extension of this principle to Railway projects is not only a mis-application of it, but a very great injustice to the individual ; for, although the subscribers to some of the companies are numerous, they are in fact all of them established for the benefit of a set of speculators; and no body can deny that ; as far as the individuals comprising such companies are concerned, they are seeking their own individual advantage, which indeed they openly declare in all their Prospectuses where lain is the avowed inducement, and it is impossible to believe that any one of those men troubles his head about the interests of the public. Recent experience has shown us, that there is no difficulty in getting half a dozen or ten partizans, from any part of the country, to state before the Committees of both Houses of Parliament that, in THEIR opinion, these Railway undertakings will be a public benefit; thus they obtain the Act, and, although I have attended many of these Committees, I am sorry to say that I have never yet seen the subject fairly handled in opposition. The effect of all this is, that the Landowners have their estates cut in pieces in all directions under thin pretext of a public purpose, while it in truth has nothing to do with the public, but is wholly for the private advantage of the speculators; by these means however they contrive to take from the Landowner, against his inclination, as much of his property as they consider necessary for , their purpose, without any regard for the feelings of the party, or to the local situation of the. property, and without intending the least good to the public. This is a species of injustice, which will never be put a stop to, until the Legislature refuses to pass the Bills containing the. compulsory clauses, and leaves the Companies to make their own terms with the landowners, which was uniformly the practice, until within these late years, in the Mining Districts; where the workers of collieries were in the habit of agreeing for their way leaves, on payment of yearly rents to the parties over whose lands they passed ; thus giving to every one the just and reasonable value of his property and its locality.
I beg to suggest, that the Legislature might easily put the public spirit of these Railway. projectors to the test, by resolving that, in all cases where the compulsory clauses are required, and the undertakings are put forward on public grounds, the Companies shall agree to a clause being inserted in their Bills, by which it shall be expressly provided, that the produce of the undertaking shall be applied in the first place to the repayment of the capital subscribed, with interest thereon at a given rate per cent., and, as soon as the whole cost shall he so redeemed, that the Railway shall become- the property- of the public, free from rates beyond the payment of expences. This you will perceive would put the public Railways on precisely the same footing as the Turnpike Roads ; if however this reasonable provision was inserted, I venture to predict, that we should find very few subscribers from the neighbourhood of the Royal Exchange.
From the numerous Notices of intended Applications for Railway Bills during the approaching Session of Parliament, it is quite clear that the whole subject must be fully re-considered in all its bearings; indeed its importance must impose upon the Government some decisive line of conduct in respect to it. If the whole Kingdom is to be traversed by Railways laid down by Companies for their own emolument, it is quite clear that the Turnpike Trusts will be rendered comparatively unproductive, and the present Creditors of the Roads will be robbed, if they do not receive adequate compensation. Is it, therefore, reasonable that a new species of Turnpike should take away the property of those Creditors without indemnity? Let the Railways take upon themselves the existing Turnpike Debts, and put themselves on the same terms of redemption, and thus avoid this act of violence.
Again, if we have one Main Line of Railway from London to Edinburgh, and it shall be divided into separate Companies,-say, one from London to Stamford, another from thence to York, a third from York to Newcastle, and a fourth from the latter place to Edinburgh,-what a glorious conglomeration and clashing of interests we shall have as to the charges ; and what will become of the Duties on Coaches, Carriages, Post Horses, and the enormous Capital at present embarked in these Establishments.
Depend upon it all these and very many other considerations, will require the vigilant attention of Government ;-and, if the same quantity of Hay, Oats, and Straw, should not be consumed by Horses so employed, the surplus of Agricultural produce, already grievously large, will become trebled ; these are also very serious matters for reflection.
It is downright nonsense to suppose that these Railway Companies are intended for any public benefit-why, I should be glad to ask, if any man can deny that Tea, Coffee, and Sugar are not, at the present period, considered articles of absolute necessity, as food for the people of England? Well then, it follows of course, that any plan, which shall cause these articles to be supplied at a cheaper rate than they now are, would be a public benefit ; and does any man in his senses entertain a doubt, but that I could find twenty or thirty Tea Dealers and Grocers from Newcastle and in London, who would go before Parliament and state, that, if a numerous company with a large capital was established, they could afford to sell all these articles at two thirds of the prices they now bring, these same twenty or thirty Tea Dealers and Grocers would, with as little difficulty, swear that the whole extent of Buildings from Ridley's Bank to the corner of Dean Street, in Newcastle upon Tyne, were particularly well adapted for being converted into such an Emporium of Tea, Coffee, and Sugar; and that these Buildings were absolutely necessary for its establishment, the compulsory clauses might, with as much propriety, be applied to Ridley's Bank, the Barber's Shop, and Lister's Plate Shop, for the purposes of such a Company of Tea Dealers, as they could be to the middle of any man's Field for the purpose of a Company of Railway Speculators.
I am, dear Sir, yours truly,
JOHN GREGSON.
Durham, January 27th, 1836.