I had long cherished the hope that when, in the course of time, I sought to retire from the active duties of railway management, I might, perhaps, be promoted to a seat on the Board of the Company. Presumptuous though the thought may have been, I had the justification that it was not discouraged by some of my Directors, to whom, in the intimacy of after dinner talk, I sometimes broached the subject. But I little imagined the change would come as soon as it did. I had fancied that my managerial activities would continue until I attained the usual age for retirement—three score years and five. On this I had more or less reckoned, but
“There’s a divinity that shapes our endsRough hew them how we will,”
“There’s a divinity that shapes our endsRough hew them how we will,”
and it came to pass that at sixty-one I exchanged my busy life for a life of comparative ease. And this is how it came about. A vacancy on the Board of Directors unexpectedly occurred in October, 1912, while I was in Paris on my way home from a holiday in Switzerland and Italy. I there received a letter informing me that the Board would offer me the vacant seat if it really was my wish to retire so soon. Not a moment did I hesitate. Such an opportunity might never come again; so like a prudent man, I “grasped the skirts of happy chance,” and the 5th day of November, 1912, saw me duly installed as a Director of the Company which I had served as Manager forclose upon twenty-two years. It was an early age, perhaps, to retire from that active life to which I had been accustomed, but as Doctor Johnson says, “No man is obliged to do as much as he can do. A man is to have a part of his life to himself.” I made the plunge and have never since regretted it. It has given me more leisure for pursuits I love, and time has never hung heavy on my hands. On the contrary, I have found the days and hours all too short. Coincident with this change came a piece of good fortune of which I could not have availed myself had not this alteration in my circumstances taken place. Whilst in Paris I heard that Mr. Lewis Harcourt (now Viscount Harcourt), then Colonial Secretary, had expressed a wish to see me as I passed through London, and on the 28th of October, I had an interview with him at his office in the House of Commons. There was a vacancy, he informed me, on the recently appointed Dominions’ Royal Commission, occasioned by the resignation of Sir Charles Owens, late General Manager of the London and South-Western Railway, and a railway man was wanted to fill his place. I had been mentioned to him; would I accept the position? It involved, he said, a good deal of work and much travelling—voyages to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and Newfoundland. Two years, he expected, would enable the whole of the work to be done, and about twelve months’ absence from England, perhaps rather more, but not in continuous months, would be necessary. It was a great honor to be asked, and I had no hesitation in telling him that as I was on the eve of being freed from regular active work, I would be more than happy to undertake the duty, but—“But what?” he inquired. I was but very recently married, I said, and how could I leave my wife to go to the other side of the globe alone? No need to do that, said he; your wife can accompany you; other ladies are going too. Then I gratefully accepted the offer, and with high delight, for would I not see more of the great world, and accomplish useful public work at the same time. Duty and pleasure would go hand in hand. I need not hide the fact that it was one of my then Directors, now my colleague, and always my friend, Sir Walter Nugent, Baronet (then a Member of Parliament), who, having been spoken to on the subject, was the first to mention my name to Mr. Harcourt.
Soon after my retirement from the position of Manager of the Midland,my colleagues of the Irish railway service, joined by the Managers of certain steamship companies that were closely associated with the railways of Ireland, entertained me to a farewell dinner. Mr. James Cowie, Secretary and Manager of the Belfast and Northern Counties Section of the Midland Railway of England (Edward John Cotton’s old line), presided at the banquet, which took place in Dublin on the 9th of January, 1913. It was a large gathering, a happy occasion, though tinged inevitably with regrets. Warm-hearted friends surrounded me, glad that one of their number, having elected to retire, should be able to do so in health and strength, and with such a smiling prospect before him.
When I became a Midland Director, Mr. Nugent was no longer Chairman of the Board. He had been called hence, after only a few days’ illness at the Company’s Hotel at Mallaranny, near Achill Island, where, in January, 1912, he had gone for a change. In him the company lost a faithful guardian and I a valued friend. He was succeeded by Major H. C. Cusack (the Deputy Chairman), who is still the Chairman of the Company. A country gentleman of simple tastes and studious habits, Major Cusack, though fond of country life, devotes the greater part of his time to business, especially to the affairs of the Midland and of an important Bank of which he is the Deputy-Chairman. The happy possessor of an equable temperament and great assiduity he accomplishes a considerable amount of work with remarkable ease. For his many estimable qualities he is greatly liked.
On the 14th of November I made mydébutas a Dominions’ Royal Commissioner, at the then headquarters of the Commission, Scotland House, Westminster. Soon the Commissioners were to start on their travels, and were at that time holding public sittings and taking evidence.
This is a narrative of railway life at home, not of Imperial matters abroad, and it is therefore clearly my duty not to wander too far from my theme; nevertheless my readers will perhaps forgive me if in my next chapter I give some account of the Commission and its doings. The fact that I was placed on the Commission chiefly because I was a railway man is, after all, some excuse for my doing so.
For the first time in the history of the British Empire a Royal Commission was appointed on which sat representatives of the United Kingdom side by side with representatives of the self-governing Dominions. This Commission consisted of eleven members—six representing Great Britain and Ireland and five (one each) the Dominions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, and Newfoundland. The Commission came into being in April, 1912. It was the outcome of a Resolution of the Imperial Conference of 1911. The members of that Conference and of others which preceded it had warmly expressed the opinion that the time had arrived for drawing closer the bonds of Empire; that with the increase in facilities for communication and intercourse there had developed a deepened sense of common aims and ideals and a recognition of common interests and purposes; and that questions were arising affecting not only Imperial trade and commerce but also the many other inter-relations of the Dominions and the Mother Country which clamantly called for closer attention and consideration. The time at the command of the Conference was found to be too short for such a purpose, and it was to study problems thus arising, and to make practical recommendations that our Commission was appointed.
The individuals forming the Commission were, first and foremost, Lord D’Abernon (then Sir Edgar Vincent). He was our Chairman, the biggestman of us all; ex-banker, financial expert, accomplished linguist; a sportsman whose horse last year won the Irish St. Leger; an Admirable Crichton; an excellent Chairman. Then came Sir Alfred Bateman, retired high official of the Board of Trade, a master of statistics and unequalled in experience of Commissions and Conferences. He was our Chairman in Canada and Newfoundland and a most capable Chairman he made. Sir Rider Haggard, novelist, ranked third; a master of fact as well as of fiction; a high Imperialist, and versed both theoretically and practically in agriculture and forestry. Next came Sir William (then Mr.) Lorimer of Glasgow, a man of great business experience, an expert authority in all matters appertaining to iron and steel and in fact all metals and minerals. He was Chairman of the North British Locomotive Company and of the Steel Company of Scotland, also a Director of my old company, the Glasgow and South-Western Railway. Then Mr. Tom Garnett (christened Tom), an expert in the textile trade of Lancashire, owning and operating a spinning mill in Clitheroe; a good business man as well as a student of “high politics,” a scholar and a gentleman. Of the last and least, my humble self, I need not speak, as with him the reader is well acquainted.
Canada’s representative was the Right Honorable Sir George Foster, Minister of Trade and Commerce, steeped in matters of State, experienced in affairs, a keen politician and a gifted orator.
Australia selected as her representative Mr. Donald Campbell, a clever man, well read and of varied attainments, sometime journalist, editor, lawyer, Member of Parliament, and I don’t know what else.
The Honorable Sir (then Mr.) J. R. Sinclair was New Zealand’s excellent choice. A barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of his country, he had retired from practice but was actively engaged in various commercial and educational concerns and was a member of the Legislative Council of New Zealand.
South Africa’s member was, first, Sir Richard Solomon, High Commissioner for the Union of South Africa in London. He died in November, 1913, when Sir Jan Langerman took his place. Sir Jan was an expert in mining, ex-President of the Rand Chamber of Mines, and ex-Managing Director of the Robinson Group, also a Member of the Legislative Assemblyof South Africa. Keen and clever in business and a polished man of the world, he was a valuable addition to the Commission.
Lastly, Newfoundland was represented by the Honorable Edgar (now Sir Edgar) Bowring, President and Managing Director of a large firm of steamship owners. He was experienced in the North Atlantic trade, in seal, whale and cod fishing and other Newfoundland industries. He was also a member of the Newfoundland Legislative Council.
Such were the members of the Commission. All endowed with sound common sense and some gifted with imagination.
Shortly stated the main business of the Commission was to inquire into and report upon:—
(a) The natural resources of the five self-governing Dominions and the best means of developing these resources
(b) The trade of these parts of the Empire with the United Kingdom, each other, and the rest of the world
(c) Their requirements, and those of the United Kingdom, in the matter of food and raw materials, together with the available sources of supply
The Commission was also empowered to make recommendations and suggest methods, consistent with then existing fiscal policy, by which the trade of each of the self-governing Dominions with the others, and with the United Kingdom, could be improved and extended.
Mr. E. J. Harding, C.M.G., was our Secretary. An Oxford man of distinction, a member of the permanent staff of the Colonial Office, studious, enthusiastic, energetic, of rare temper, tact and patience, he was all such a Commission could desire. He and three or four assistants, with local officers selected by the Governments in each of the Dominions, one and all most capable men, formed a Secretariat that served us well.
The Commission started operations by taking evidence in London in the autumn of 1912, but its main work lay in the Dominions, and on the 10th of January, 1913, we sailed for Australia and New Zealand, touching at Fremantle (Western Australia), Adelaide (South Australia), Melbourne (Victoria), and Hobart (Tasmania) on our way.
In New Zealand we travelled through the island from south to north, staying in that beautiful country for nearly a month, and holding sittings in the principal cities. One sitting we held in the train—a record surely for a Royal Commission. Easter intervening, we indulged in a few days’ holiday in the wonderful Rotorua district, where we enjoyed its hot springs, its geysers, its rivers, its lakes and its Maori villages. Returning to Sydney, we travelled northwards to Queensland and there entered seriously upon our Australian duties, holding sittings at Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Perth. In Queensland we penetrated north as far as Bundaberg, Gladstone, Rockhampton and Mount Morgan. In the other States tours were made through the irrigation areas of New South Wales and Victoria, and visits paid to the mines at Broken Hill (New South Wales), the Zeehan district and Mount Lyall (Tasmania); Iron Knob (South Australia), and Kalgoorlie (Western Australia). Some of our party penetrated to remoter parts of Australia such as Cairns (Northern Queensland), Condobolin (west of New South Wales), and Oodnadatta (Central Australia), still the furthest point of railway extension toward the great Northern Territory.
To Tasmania we were able to devote a few days, taking evidence and enjoying its wonderful beauty.
Finally, we left Australia on the 9th of June, four months after our first landing on its sunny shores.
On arriving home it was determined that for the remainder of the year 1913 we should remain in England and take further evidence in London.
We resumed our travels in January, 1914, when we left for South Africa. There we held a number of sittings, taking evidence at Capetown, Oudtshoorn, Port Elizabeth, East London, Kimberley, Bloemfontein, Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg. Our journeys to these various places were so planned as to involve our travelling over most of the principal railway lines of the Union, so that we were able to see a considerable portion of its beautiful scenery as well as its great mining and pastoral industries. Our work finished, most of us returned direct to England, but some were able to penetrate northwards into Rhodesia, and return by way of the East Coast of Africa.
It was our intention, after taking further evidence in London, to proceedto Canada and Newfoundland, and to return home before the winter began, when we looked forward to making our Final Report. This intention we partially fulfilled, as in July, 1914, we sailed from Liverpool, and after exchanging steamers at Rimouski, landed at St. John’s, Newfoundland. There we stayed for a few days whilst the crisis in Europe deepened. We then travelled through the island by railway and crossed to the Maritime Provinces of Canada. On that fatal day in August on which war broke out we were in Nova Scotia. A few days after, the British Government, considering that under such conditions we could not finish our work in Canada, called us home. In common with many of our countrymen we indulged in the hope that the duration of the war would be a matter of months and not of years, and that we should be able to resume our work in Canada in the autumn of 1915. But this was not to be. However, in 1916, the Governments represented on the Commission came to the conclusion that the completion of our work ought not to be longer delayed, and accordingly, in August, 1916, we sailed again to Canada.
In the Maritime Provinces of Canada, in 1914, we visited Sydney, Cape Breton, Halifax, the Annapolis Valley and Digby in Nova Scotia; St. John, Fredericton and Moncton in New Brunswick, and Charlottetown in Prince Edward Island.
In 1916 the resumption of our Canadian work began at Montreal. Thereafter, the great mining districts of Northern Ontario engaged our attention, where, amongst other valuable products of the earth, nickel, silver and gold abound. From Ontario we travelled westward to Prince Rupert on the British Columbian coast, holding sittings at Saskatoon, Edmonton and Prince Rupert. We then proceeded by steamer, through glorious scenery, southward to Victoria, Vancouver Island. At Victoria and also at Vancouver we took evidence. From Vancouver we journeyed eastwards by the Canadian Pacific Railway over the Rockies, breaking our journey and holding sittings at Vernon, in the Okanagan Valley, at Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec, devoting several days each to many of these places. Whilst in British Columbia we also visited the lower part of the Okanagan Valley, and whilst in the prairie provinces stopped at Medicine Hat (where the gas lamps burn day and night because it would cost more inwages than the cost of the gas to employ a man to turn them out). In Ontario we visited North Bay, Fort William, Port Arthur, Guelph and Niagara Falls. In addition some of us travelled through the mining districts of British Columbia, and also inspected the asbestos mines at Thetford, in the Province of Quebec.
This is the bald outline of our long and interesting journeys, which by land and sea comprehended some 70,000 miles. How bald it is I keenly feel, and it would afford me more pleasure than I can tell to give some account of our wonderful experiences—of the delight of sailing in southern seas; of the vast regions of the mainland of Australia; of the marvels of its tropical parts; of the entrancing beauty of New Zealand and Tasmania; of the wonders of Canada, the variety of its natural productions, its magnificent wheat-growing areas; of the charm of South Africa with its glorious climate and its beautiful rolling veldt. What a memory it all is! Tranquil seas, starlit nights, the Southern Cross, noble forests, glorious mountains, mighty rivers, boundless plains; young vigorous communities under sunny skies, with limitless space in which to expand. I should love to enlarge on these things, but a sense of proportion and propriety restrains my pen.
In all the Dominions we were received with the warmest of welcomes and most generous hospitality—governments, municipalities and corporations vieing with each other in doing us honor, whilst private individuals loaded us with kindness. It was clear that our mission was popular, and clear too that affection for the old country was warm and lively. I cannot attempt to narrate all that was done for us—banquets, receptions, excursions, garden parties, concerts—time and space will not allow. But I cannot be altogether silent about the splendid special train which the South African Government placed at our disposal from the time we left Capetown until we reached Johannesburg, which (taking evidence at the various places on the way) occupied several weeks. This sumptuous train consisted of dining car, sleeping cars and parlour car, was liberally staffed and provisioned; with a skilfulchef, polite and attentive waiters and attendants. It was practically our hotel during those forty days or more.
In Australia and New Zealand, more than once, the various governments provided us with special cars or special trains to visit their remoter districtswith the greatest possible comfort. The same was the case in Newfoundland, whilst the Canadian Government lent to us a steamer—theEarl Grey—for our journey from Rimouski to Newfoundland, which since has done good service for the Allied cause in the war.
In Canada we travelled from Montreal to Prince Rupert, some 3,000 miles, in a handsome and most commodious car kindly lent to us by Sir Daniel Mann, one of the founders of the Canadian Northern Railway. It, too, was our home and hotel during the ten days which that journey occupied. The longest passenger vehicle I had ever seen, it had ample kitchen, dining room, sitting room, sleeping and “observation” accommodation for us all, with an excellent bathroom and the luxury of a shower bath.
On all our journeys to and from the Dominions, and in all our expeditions by sea or by land, my wife accompanied me. She was an excellent traveller. There is considerable difference in our years; but, as Dickens has said: “There can be no disparity in marriage save unsuitability of mind and purpose.” The only lady who accompanied the Commission everywhere, she was sometimes called “The Lady Commissioner.” One must not praise one’s own, but this much I may say: Her Irish wit and bright unselfish ways made her, everywhere and always, a welcome addition to the Commission party.
After November, 1916, we held no more public sittings, took no further evidence, but sat down at Spencer House (one of the many stately London residences lent by their owners to the Government during the war) and there, in its ballroom, industriously worked out our Final Report. This, of course, reviewed the whole subject of our inquiry and embodied our final conclusions and recommendations. To the credit of the Commission be it said, these conclusions and recommendations were entirely unanimous, as also were those in each of our Interim Reports, published in connection with the Dominions separately.
In this Final Report the subject of railways was not included. Railways of course formed part of our inquiry, but they were dealt with in our Interim Reports.
To a large extent railways were more a matter of domestic than of Imperial concern, but as the development of the resources of the Dominionsdepended greatly upon the adequacy of railway transit, the subject came within the province of our inquiry. I will not trouble the reader with statistics (which can be readily obtained elsewhere) beyond the following statement which represented, at the time we made our investigations, the railway mileage and the population in each Dominion compared with the United Kingdom:—
Miles of Population. Number ofRailway. Inhabitantsper Mile ofRailway.Canada 35,600 8,075,000 280Australia 18,000 4,500,000 250South Africa 8,800 1,300,000{207a}150{207b}New Zealand 2,900 1,052,000 370Newfoundland 800 250,000 320United Kingdom 23,500 46,000,000 1,950
It is clear that railway construction has not been neglected in the Dominions, and that, measured by population, the mileage is considerable. Speaking generally, the Dominion railways are highly efficient and serve their purpose well. Extensions were being projected and many were in course of construction for the further development of natural resources and of trade and commerce.
In Australia the railways, with the exception of certain lines belonging to the Commonwealth, are owned and worked by the several States. We found them paying full interest on the cost of construction, and sound assets of the country. The cost of working was, however, greatly increasing, due mainly to increase of salaries and wages. How this stands since the war I do not know; but that expenses have further advanced goes without saying. An important railway witness whom we examined expressed the opinion that increased expenditure could be recouped by increased rates. Perhaps that is still true. If it is, the railways of Australia are happier than most of the railways in Ireland.
The railways of New Zealand belong to and are worked by the Government. For many years the Government, looking upon the railways as an adjunct to the settlement and development of the country, only expected them to return 3 per cent. interest on the capital expended. In 1909 this policy, however, was modified, 3¾ to 4 per cent. being then regarded as a proper result, and this result was accomplished. Water power in New Zealand is so abundant that the adoption of electricity for railway working has been engaging the attention of the Government. Many, well qualified to judge, were satisfied that it would prove more economical than steam locomotion.
In both Australia and New Zealand, borrowing for railway construction had been by means of general loans raised for all kinds of Government expenditure. We came to the conclusion that if loans for reproductive works, such as railways, had been segregated from others, it would have helped the raising of capital, and probably secured easier terms.
The construction of railways in Canada has, in recent years, proceeded at a rapid pace. We found that the mileage had doubled since the beginning of the present century, due, to a large extent, to the construction of two new Trans-Continental lines. The grain-growing districts of the prairie provinces, south of latitude 54 degrees, are now covered with a network of railways, and British Columbia has three through routes to Eastern Canada.
The enterprise of the principal Canadian railway companies is remarkable. They own and operate not only railways, but also hotels, ferry services, grain elevators, lake and coast steamers, as well as Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific steamers. One company also has irrigation works, and ready-made farms for settlers in the prairie provinces. But Canada lies so near to us, and in the British Press its railways receive such constant attention, that I need not descant further upon them.
In South Africa, with the exception of about 500 miles mainly in the Cape Province, the railways are all Government owned, and are worked as one unified system. The Act of Union (1909) prescribed that the railways and the harbours (which are also Government owned and worked) were to be administered on business principles, and that the total earnings should not exceed the necessary expenditure for working and for interest on capital. Whenever they did, reductions in the rates, or the provision ofgreater facilities, were to restore the balance. This provision also had the effect of preventing the imposition of taxation upon the community by means of railway rates. The Act contained another practical clause, designed to block the construction of lines from political considerations. Any line constructed contrary to the advice of the Railway Board, if it resulted in loss, the loss was to be a charge, not upon the general railway revenue, but upon the Consolidated Fund—a useful “brake,” which I have no doubt has often pulled up hasty and impetuous politicians.
South African railways enjoy one great advantage—cheap coal for their engines. In 1913 the average cost at the pit’s mouth was 4s. 11½d. per ton.
The railways of Newfoundland have had a chequered history. Now they are Government property, worked by a private company under a 50 years’ lease, which dates from 1901, and under that lease no rent is paid. As the capital expenditure (about £3,000,000) averages less than £4,000 per mile, it may be conceived that the railway system of Newfoundland is not of an extravagant character, and in my humble opinion, the country deserves something much better. In our fourth report (on Newfoundland) we stated: “It must also be said that the state of the permanent way does not conduce to speedy or comfortable travelling.”
The gauges of the Dominions’ railways are very varied. In Australia there are three—5ft. 3in., 4ft. 8½in. and 3ft. 6in., with some 300 miles or so of less than 3ft. 6in. The Commonwealth has for some time been considering the conversion of the lines into one standard gauge, the British gauge of 4ft. 8½in. being favoured. The cost of this conversion naturally increases the longer action is deferred, and in any case would be very great. It was officially estimated at the time of our visit at £37,000,000.
New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Newfoundland are each the happy possessor of one gauge only. In Canada it is the British gauge of 4ft. 8½in., and in New Zealand, South Africa and Newfoundland, 3ft. 6in.
Our Final Report was signed on the 21st of February, 1917, and published as a Blue Book in the usual way, but, what is rarely done with any Blue Book, it was also published in handy book-form, bound in cloth, at the popular price of 1s. 6d. Blue Books do sometimes contain matter of general interest, are sometimes well written and readable, and would bemore read if presented to the public in a handy form such as we succeeded in publishing.
The main purposes of the Commission I have already briefly stated. They embraced many subjects for inquiry and study, of which the following are the most important, and regarding each of which it may be appropriate to say a word or two:—
We ascertained and compiled in detail, tables of the Imports and Exports, distinguishing Trade with (a) the United Kingdom, (b) the other parts of the Empire, and (c) with foreign countries. The figures showed the need there was for an Imperial trade policy, which should lead to British manufacturers and merchants cultivating more the Dominion markets, and utilising more the vast resources of raw materials which the Dominions possess. We found that a detailed examination of existing conditions, and practical and definite proposals for the removal of difficulties, were required.
In regard to agricultural matters we gathered and published much information, finding that in one part or other of the Dominions all animals and almost every crop flourished that are needed by man, that if the products of the more tropical parts of the Empire were taken into account, the Empire could meet more than its own needs; and that if men existed in sufficient numbers in our Dominions, there was scarcely any limit to the external trade they could do. In this part of our Inquiry we found to what a considerable extent people concentrated in large cities to the detriment of the country districts. “Back to the land” is a question there of as much if not greater moment than in the Mother Country. The mineral resources of the Dominions, like the agricultural, provided us with a big subject. In every Province or State, by oral evidence, by official statistics, by discussion with Government geologists, officials of the Mines Departments and others, we gathered a large amount of valuable information. The volumes of printed evidence give full particulars of this and other subjects. The mineral deposits of Canada especially are varied in character and large in respect both of quantity and value—gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, coal,iron, asbestos, natural gas, petroleum, peat, gypsum—all are found in unstinted quantity. Nor are the other Dominions deficient. The goldfields of Australia are historic, and the silver, lead and zinc mines of Broken Hill deserve particular mention. In South Africa gold and diamonds are plentiful; and Newfoundland has wonderful deposits of iron ore.
In forests and fish the Dominions abound, and possess enormous possibilities of extended trade.
This subject received our earnest attention. We considered that the various Governments of the Empire should take steps to secure the development and utilisation of their natural wealth on a well considered scheme, and that to do this, a preliminary survey was needed of the relation between Empire production and Empire requirements. No such survey, as far as we knew, had yet been undertaken, but in theMemorandum and Tables relating to the Food and Raw Material Requirements of the United Kingdom, which we submitted to His Majesty in 1915, the Commission had made an effort, not without some measure of success, in this direction. We regarded it as vital that the Empire’s supplies of raw material and commodities essential to its safety should be, as far as possible, independent of outside control, and made suggestions which aimed at effecting this object. We recommended that the survey mentioned above should be made by an Imperial Development Board, which should be entrusted with the whole subject.
We dwelt on the importance of securing to all parts of the Empire adequate facilities for scientific research in connection with the development of their natural resources; and, in connection with this, made certain recommendations as regards the Imperial Institute, for the purpose of increasing its efficiency and usefulness.
To this important matter we devoted much time and thought, not only in London, but in each of the Dominions as well, obtaining much valuableevidence and personally examining the circumstances and conditions that prevailed. No Imperial question, we considered, could be of greater importance than this. We made many recommendations, some of which have already been adopted, whilst the remainder are coming into great prominence now that the war is over. In the past we found no effort had been made to regulate emigration from the United Kingdom, and we proposed the establishment of a Central Emigration Authority. The surplus of females in the United Kingdom, increased unfortunately by the war, will probably result in many young women seeking their fortune overseas, and we urged increased facilities and better regulations for their migration, showing how best we considered they could be given.
To this subject, which embraced sea transport, harbours, waterways, mail communications, postal rates, freight rates, etc., we devoted considerable time, calling attention in particular to an aspect of the question never, so far as I know, investigated before, viz., the urgency of constructing deep harbours suited for the deep draught vessels which alone can carry on cheap and rapid transport. We made recommendations as to the improvements immediately necessary on the great trade routes, and urged that future schemes should be submitted to an Imperial Development Board.
In the far distant Dominions, cable communication is a matter of great importance to the community; and increased facilities and cheaper rates are much desired. Some of the recommendations we made to this end have since been adopted.
This presented a large field for inquiry; and, after much investigation, we made recommendations on Trade Intelligence; Trade Commissioners and Correspondents; Consular Service; Improvements in Statistics; Conference of United Kingdom and Dominion Statisticians; and other matters, all of which we considered were of practical necessity.
Lastly, the need of creating anImperial Development Boardengaged ourserious attention. Early in our Inquiry we had been impressed with the necessity for the appointment of some board or body whose constant duty it should be to consider questions affecting Imperial trade and development, from the point of view of the interests of the whole Empire. We took some evidence on the subject, discussed it with leading men in the Dominions, gave the question much thought, and finally recommended the establishment of a new Imperial Development Board, which should include not only representatives of the United Kingdom and all the Dominions, but also of India, the Crown Colonies and the Protectorates. In the course of our work we had been much impressed with the inadequacy of existing organisations to deal promptly and efficiently with such matters as the following:—
Telegraphic, cable and shipping communications between the various portions of the Empire
Inter-Imperial mail services and postal rates
The development of harbours and waterways on the great routes of commerce to meet Imperial requirements
Migration as a factor in Empire development and trade
Legislation affecting the mechanism of trade, such as that on patents, companies, copyright, weights and measures, etc.
The application and better utilisation of capital raised in the United Kingdom and other parts of the Empire, towards promoting the development of the Empire’s resources
The systematic dissemination throughout the Empire of news bearing upon Imperial questions and interests
The preparation and publication of Imperial statistics
Better organisation for handling and for disposal of the produce of various parts of the Empire
These, and subjects of a similar nature, we considered should be assigned to the proposed Board as its ordinary work; and to the duty of advising the Governments on these matters would be added that of collecting the necessary particulars bearing upon them, involving research not only into the conditions prevailing in the Empire, but into the methods of rival trading countries.
To a large Board we were opposed. We suggested that members shouldbe required to give their whole time to the work, and that representation of the various parts of the Empire might be as follows:—
United Kingdom, India, Crown Colonies and Protectorates 7Canada 1Australia 1New Zealand 1South Africa 1Newfoundland 1___12___
Such is a brief summary of our Mission, our Report, and our Recommendations.
Whilst we were impressed by the vast extent and infinite variety of the Empire domain we were also touched by the sentiment which held together its widely scattered parts. Without this sentiment, and without loyalty to the Crown and Mother Country, what, we often thought, would happen?
The war has taught us much as to the unity of the Empire. Peace, we may be sure, will bring its own lessons, perhaps its own dangers, in its train. To strengthen the bonds so loosely yet so finely drawn must henceforth be the constant duty of the Statesmen of the Empire. The governing machinery requires overhauling, demands adjustment to the needs of the various sections of the Empire, and to the throbbing anxiety of each to share in the duties and responsibilities of Empire Government and Development.
The year 1917 terminated our Dominions’ Commission work and brought to a close the fiftieth year of my railway life. As if to mark the occasion, Dame Fortune gave me a pleasant surprise, and what it was I will now relate.
In an earlier chapter I have spoken of the Letterkenny to Burtonport Railway (in North-West Donegal), with the early stages of which, in 1897, I had something to do. Now, in 1917, twenty years later, I was to become still more intimately acquainted with it, and, in an unexpected but practical way, concerned in its domestic affairs.
Though the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company, which worked the Burtonport line, was a railway of only 14½ miles in extent, it was entrusted with the working of no less than 85 other miles, 50 of which consisted of the Burtonport railway—a condition of things quite unique: the tail wagging the dog!
The total capital expenditure on the whole of the 100 miles of line worked by the Lough Swilly Company amounted to £727,000. Of this sum about £500,000, or 68 per cent., was money provided out of Government funds. The ordinary stock of the Lough Swilly Company was the exceedingly small sum of £50,330, upon which for twenty years a dividend of 7 per cent. had been regularly paid.
The Burtonport line was opened for traffic in 1903. From the first, its management, to say the least, was faulty and illiberal. So early in itshistory as 1905 an inquiry into its working was found to be necessary, and I was asked by the Board of Works to undertake the inquiry. I did so, and I had to report unfavourably, for “facts are chiels that winna ding.” For some time after my report things went on fairly well, but only for a time. The Board of Works were, by Act of Parliament, custodians of the public interest in the matter of this and other similar railways, and a long-suffering and patient body they were. From time to time they complained, protested, adjured, threatened; sometimes with effect, sometimes without. Years rolled on and matters grew worse. Loud public complaints arose; the patience of the Board of Works exhausted itself, and a climax was reached.
The Railways Ireland Act, 1896, provides that where any railway, constructed under that Act, or under other Irish Light Railway Act, had been aided out of moneys provided by Parliament, the Board of Works might, at any time, appoint “a fit person to inspect and report upon the condition of the undertaking and the working, maintenance and development of the same,” and if such “fit person” reported that the undertaking was “not efficiently worked, maintained and developed” the Privy Council might then make an Order appointing a manager or receiver of the undertaking, with such powers as should be specified in the Order. The powers thus given are, it will be observed, certainly drastic.
In April, 1917, Sir George Stevenson, K.C.B., the Chairman of the Board of Works, asked me would I make such an inquiry for them into the Burtonport line, and, considering myself a “fit person,” I gladly answeredYes. Sir George Stevenson was Tom Robertson’s successor, though not his immediate successor, as another George (Sir George Holmes) came between. He (the reigning Chairman) was, in 1892, appointed a Commissioner of the Board of Works; and in 1913 he attained the position of Chairman; and the chair it is generally conceded has never been better filled. He has the advantage of continuous experience of Treasury business since 1886, and possesses an exceptional knowledge of all matters, local and otherwise, affecting the development of State Railways in Ireland.
My inquiry I may, I am sure, without immodesty, say was thorough and complete. On the 7th of May I presented my report. The facts which I found were such that only one conclusion was possible—the line was notin good condition; was not and had not been efficiently worked, maintained or developed. I will not harrow my readers with a description of its condition. One little quotation from the summing up in my report will suffice to indicate the state of affairs, and, to the imaginative mind, present a picture of the whole. “Everything has for years past been allowed to run down; the direction and management have been characterised by extreme parsimony; and the disabled condition of the engines is undoubtedly due to lack of proper upkeep, which must have been going on for years. The state of the permanent way shows a want of proper maintenance; and the condition of the stations, buildings and of the carriages speaks of neglect.”
In fairness, I ought to say that the direction and management responsible for these things are not the direction and management that exist to-day.
Mr. Henry Hunt, the present General Manager of the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Company, was appointed to that position in September, 1916. He came from the Great Central Railway. This is what I said about him in my report: “He is a good railway man, capable and experienced. He has assumed and exercises an authority which none of his predecessors possessed, and is keen to do all he can to improve matters and develop the railway.” Further acquaintance with Mr. Hunt has more than confirmed my high opinion of him.
In due time my report was submitted to the Privy Council, which august body, after hearing all that was to be said on the subject by the Lough Swilly Railway Company and others, made an Order which is the first of its kind—an Order which, for a period of two years, took out of the hands of the Lough Swilly Railway Directors the management of the Burtonport Railway, and placed it in the hands of Mr. Hunt, subject to my supervision. The Order said: “Henry Hunt, at present the General Manager of the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company, is hereby appointed Manager of the said undertaking of the said railway under and subject to the supervision of Mr. Joseph Tatlow, Director of the Midland Great Western Railway Company of Ireland.” Then followed various clauses defining the duties and authority with which Mr. Hunt, as Manager, was invested.
This appointment, to supervise, under the Privy Council, the management of the Burtonport line, was the pleasant surprise which Dame Fortune brought me in my fiftieth year of railway work.
The duties of the office began on the 1st of July, 1917, and the two years prescribed have expired; but Mr. Hunt’s management and my supervision have, by Privy Council Order, been extended for a further period. My story may not go beyond fifty years, but this I may say, that what Hunt and I were able to accomplish in the first six months of our novelrégimewas an augury of what we have accomplished since, and that a grateful public throughout the district of North-West Donegal, which the Burtonport Railway serves, does not stint its praise. Trains are punctual now, engines do not break down, carriages are comfortable, goods traffic is well worked, and delays are exceptional. Much has been done, more would have been done but for difficulties due to the war, and a good deal still remains to be done.
In North-West Donegal, some two years ago, the idea of writing this book was conceived, and with North-West Donegal its pages close. As I lay down my pen, some words which I used in my opening chapter recur to my mind. I then expressed the hope that, in spite of all its drawbacks, my story, if faithfully told, might not be entirely devoid of interest, and now that I have finished my task, I humbly trust that the hope then expressed has been attended with some measure of success, and that my purpose has not altogether failed.
Accidents Compensation Act, 184652Accounts, form of railway53,193Acts of Parliament, general railway49Acworth, W M145,166,183Advertisements on railway stations66Alcorn, J., Great Southern & Western Railway137Allerton, Lord109Allport Commission, 188791,93,107,109Allport, Sir James15,22,35,39,76,77Analysis of railway accounts59Anderson, Alexander, surfaceman poet79Andrews, Thomas, and theTitanic101Andrews, Thomas, Right Honorable100,109,111Apollo Belvidera24“Appeal unto Cæsar”22Arbitration, my first case99Ardglass Light Railway108Aspinall, Sir John181,183Athenry and Ennis Junction, railway rates and charges, Order Confirmation Act, 1892138Athenry and Ennis Railway121,134,155Atmospheric railways195Atock, Martin119,126,127Austria, Empress of125
Bailey, Walter99,151,193,194Bailie, the, Glasgow61,79Baillie, G L110“Balfours Act”—Light railways, Ireland107Ballinasloe Fair125Barrington, Croker179,190Bateman, Sir Alfred, K.C.M.G.201“Battle of the Gauges”52Beach, Sir Michael Hicks142Beaux77,98Belfast and County Down Railway91,94Belgium, a tour in113Benedict, a youthful25Benefit Society, Midland Great Western Railway130“Bigg’s General Railway Acts”48Birt, Sir William153Block working106Board of Trade inquiry as to railway rates104Board of Trade, the139Bowring, the Hon Sir Edgar202Boyhood, pleasures and amusements7Boyhood, Schoolmaster “Jessie”9Bridge Street Station, Glasgow47,66Brother to a baronet45Browne, Balfour, K.C150,155,159,160,180Buchanan Street Station, Glasgow40Buncrana to Carndonagh Railway152Burns, Mr. John (Lord Inverclyde)73,133Burtonport Railway152,215Bushe, Seymour155,159Butterley Tunnel, the29Butterworth, Sir Alexander105
Caledonian Railway Stores Superintendent32,44Cambuslang, our lodgings at42,43Campbell, Donald201Campbell, the Right Hon. Sir James, Baronet, Lord Chancellor of Ireland180Cane, Arthur B192Carlyle, Thomas80Carriages, four-wheeled5Carriages, second-class, abolition of38Carriers’ Act, the 183049“Champagne Charley” coats19Charles Lamb, “plumb pudding”49Cheap Trains Act, 188389City of Dublin Junction Railway120City of Glasgow Bank, failure of76Clerks in office, Derby23Colhoun, R G137,153Collier, Dr.110Committee Rooms, Westminster135,136Committee, Select, 184050Companies Clauses Act, 184551Competitive traffic65Concealed bed, a40Connemara129,173Constantinople162Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, 187888Continuous brakes, a trial of, at Newark87Continuous Brakes Act, 187887,106Conveyance of Mails, Railways, Act, 183850Cook, Thomas, & Son170Cooper, David68Cork, Blackrock & Passage Railway170Cotton, Edward John97,98,115,122Country walks18,30Cowie, James199Cromford Canal and Butterley Tunnel28Culverwell, G P152Curtsey, the18Cusack, Major H C175,199Cusack, Sir Ralph113,116,117,118,119,129,136,138,175Cynicus42,43,78,126
D’Abernon, Lord200Dan Godfrey’s band62Dargan, William124Delicate health5,17,21,91,181Dent, Charles174Derby, General Manager’s Office57Dickens, Charles8,17,30Dickie, David65Directors, railway34Directorship, my first194Diseases of Animals Act, 1894144Drudgery of the desk29Dublin & Kingstown Railway, opposition to195Dublin & South Eastern Railway157Dundreary whiskers19Dunoon, bazaar at42