§ Lord Seymour moved for leave to bring in a bill to establish, for certain purposes, a board of superintendence of railways. Having been engaged, during three Sessions, in a committee which inquired into various matters connected with railway travelling, many inconveniences and evils had been brought to his knowledge, as existing in the present mode of managing those great undertakings. These, he believed, were more owing to the neglect of the Legislature, when legislating on the subject of those great modes of communication, than to any fault attributable to the parties connected with railways. Still he thought it was not too late to remedy some of those evils, and he was therefore anxious to bring forward a bill having that for its object. The chief points of his bill were the establishing of a board of superintendence in connexion with the Board of Trade, which should be authorised to call for all accounts, financial and statistical, connected with railways, and thereby supply that information so much wanted in that House, which would enable them to know how far those great powers which the Legislature had given to the railway companies had been used for the benefit of the public. With respect to the bye-laws of all the companies, he proposed that all bye-laws and regulations in which the public were interested should be submitted to this board for its approval. He proposed further that this department should have the power to enforce all the Acts of Parliament which had any reference to railways, since many cases had been brought to his notice in which it was stated that the railway companies had not acted according to the enactments which they had themselves obtained from Parliament. There was one other point to which he would advert, which was, that he proposed to give the new board the power of sending an inspector to any railway, either previous or subsequent to its opening, in order, if any accidents should have occurred, or should be likely to occur, the board might have 895 the opportunity of remonstrating with the directors, and be the means of having the railroad made safe. These were the chief points in the bill. He did not think it necessary to say more, but would leave the question for further explanation when the bill should be before the House.
§ Leave given.