§ LORD MONTEAGLE, after presenting two petitions from Sheffield and another place, praying for an inquiry into the causes of the depreciation of railway property, observed, that taking the following most important and most successful lines—the Great Western, the North Western, the South Western, the Manchester and Leeds, the Midland, and the York and North Midland—he found that the average price of shares on the 11th of August, 1845, showed a premium of 116¾ per cent on the 1st of January, 1850, a discount of 36l, being a depreciation of 153 per cent. The price of 100l. nominal stock on the former day was 216l. 15s.; on the latter, 63l, 5s., a depreciation of 153l. 10s, It might be asked whether the holder was still receiving his full dividends; but not so—the dividend fell in the same period from 7¾ per cent to 3½. The weekly traffic fell also from an average of 63l. per mile to 45l. 10s. Such was the enormous and ruinous depreciation of this property—a depreciation not altogether attributable to the mere pecuniary state of these concerns, but also to the want of confidence in the management, and in the truth of the accounts. This, he believed, was very mainly attributable to the want of a proper 7 system of independent audit, on which not only the shareholders but the public at large would rely. This the House of Lords had felt, and the two last Sessions had endeavoured to supply the deficiency. This want of an audit led to much of the abuse and misapplication of capital, of which the public had a right to complain. In the absence of a good system of audit, it behoved Parliament to be cautious what Bills they should pass. Above sixty railroads were already applied for in the present Session. Of these it was probable that several were for increased capital and extension of powers. Could such Bills be passed in cases where former privileges had been misused? It was his wish to guard the House against this risk. It was most important that Parliament, which was in a certain degree a trustee for the public, should know, when railway companies came before them, whether there had been malversation or not, and whether it was fit that they should have further powers. He wished to bring before them in every case the means of forming a judgment on this point. He had therefore to move—
That ten days at the least before the second reading of any private Bill for making, improving, abandoning, or in any other way affecting or varying any railway, or for creating, incorporating, or affecting the powers vested in any railway company, or for the amalgamation of any railway company, or in any other way touching the same, there be delivered, at the office of the Clerk of the Parliaments, for the use of this House, copies of the balance sheets of every such company for the years 1848 and 1849, as required to be kept by the 8th as 9th Victoria, cap. 16, or by any Act incorporating such company; together with copies of the schemes for dividend on which dividends shall have been declared during the years 1848 and 1849, under sections 120, 121 of the said Act of the 8th & 9th Victoria, cap. 16, or under any other Act incorporating the company; and a statement of the amount of dividends declared in pursuance of such schemes, and the dates at which such schemes were agreed to, and the dividends declared.
§ Motion agreed to.