RAILROAD BILLS IN THE PRESENT SESSION. (Hansard, 18 May 1847)

§ The CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER
then rose to move the appointment of a Select Committee— To consider whether it is expedient that any measures should be adopted for suspending further proceedings in all or any of the Railroad Bills in the present Session, and for enabling the parties, under certain conditions, to proceed with the same in a future Session of Parliament; and also, whether it is advisable that any future provisions should be made in the Standing Orders of this House relative to Bills for the construction of Railroads; and to report their opinion thereupon to the House from time to time. He apprehended there would be no opposition to this resolution. He had been in communication with various parties connected with the railway interest on the subject, and found that they had no objection to the proposal, and therefore he did not think it necessary for him to trouble the House with any statement in moving its adoption. It would be observed that he had worded the resolution in very general terms. With respect to the first point, namely, as to suspending further proceed- 1063 ings on Railway Bills in the present Session, his own view was that a permissive power only should be given to parties to suspend proceedings at a certain stage, and to proceed with the same in a future Session; but he had not thought it necessary to limit the reference to the Committee to this point, but had left it quite general. With reference to the second point, as to whether it were advisable that any further provisions should be made in the Standing Orders relative to the Railway Bills, he thought it right that some further securities should be taken to provide that none but bonâ fide concerns should be admitted to the chance of obtaining Parliamentary powers. He thought it no less for the advantage of railways than of the public that some further regulations should, be made on this subject. He begged, therefore, to move the resolution of which he had given notice.

MR. HODGSON HINDE
said, he was not prepared to give the acquiescence which the right hon. Gentleman seemed to expect would be so generally accorded to the Motion; but, before he noticed his objections to the Motion itself, he had to complain of the short notice which had been given to the House on a subject of so much importance. In the case of a Motion which affected capital, proposed to be invested in railways to the extent of 100,000,000l., he thought that an interval of one or two days should have been allowed to hon. Members to prepare an Amendment, if they thought proper. He approached the subject under great disadvantage; but he had so strong a feeling on it that he did not think he should be doing his duty if he did not move an Amendment, and take the sense of the House upon it. The right hon. Gentleman said he had brought forward the Motion after consultation with several gentlemen deeply interested in railroads. He believed he knew who those gentlemen were; he believed they were three gentlemen largely connected with railways, whose names were on this Committee, and, as their interest obviously was to have as many new schemes strangled as possible, he could easily understand how they should have so readily approved of this Motion. To consult them on the subject was like consulting the wolves as to what was good for the sheep. If the object of the Chancellor of the Exchequer was to prevent the undue expenditure of capital on railroads within a certain period, he could have no difficulty 1064 in acceding to his Amendment. The right hon. Gentleman had said that his own view was, that it should only be made permissive to railway companies who were soliciting Bills to suspend their proceedings till another Session; but that he did not think it right to limit his reference to that. But why not? If he had so limited it, perhaps the hon. Gentlemen referred to would not so willingly have acceded to the Motion. He had no objection to the latter part of the Motion which referred to Standing Orders, but he proposed that the first branch of the Motion should be omitted, for the purpose of substituting the following words:— That a Select Committee be appointed to inquire whether it be expedient that any restrictions should be imposed on the construction of Railways which may be authorized in the present Session, so as to prevent the absorption at one time of an inconvenient amount of capital in these undertakings.

§ The CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER
was understood to say, that, as the hon. Member appeared to have the same object in view that he himself had, he hoped the hon. Member would not press his Amendment.