RESOLUTION. (Hansard, 22 April 1864)

§ THE EARL OF DERBY
said, the attention of their Lordships had been so often called by himself and others to the great amount of distress and suffering entailed upon the middle and lower classes of the metropolis by the extensive displacements consequent on public improvements and railway enterprise, that in introducing the Motion of which he had given notice he should only think it necessary to trouble their Lordships with very few observations. A further inducement to brevity presented itself, as from communications held with the noble Lord the Postmaster General on the part of the Board of Trade, and the noble Lord the Chairman of Committees, he believed they both concurred in the appropriateness of the remedy he proposed to apply. There were certain classes of the metropolis who suffered peculiarly from these displacements, to whom nevertheless no compensation could be given. Small tradesmen and shop-keepers, for instance, being removed from the positions they had long occupied, were frequently unable to find in the neighbourhood any place suitable for the purposes of their business, and were, therefore, obliged to break up their connection and sacrifice their trade prospects. Workmen and artisans, again, were dependent for their daily bread upon proximity to the scene of their labours; and in taking steps to diminish the inconvenience under which they laboured it might even be possible to extend to them some other advantages. In these days nearness did not depend merely upon distance between one place and another; the time occupied in the transit and the convenience of the journey entered largely into the calculation. On a recent occasion he had presented a petition from one of the large parishes of London, praying that all new Railway Companies should be compelled to make provision for the labouring people who were displaced by the removal of their houses for the construction of the railways; and for this purpose they prayed the House to pass a measure causing all railways having termini in London to run at least one train morning and evening, bringing persons into town in time for their work, and taking them back again upon its completion at such rates as would enable them to live in the country and yet to attend to their work 1489 in town. The expenses of such a journey would be repaid to the working classes by the difference between the cost of lodgings in the country and in town; their families would enjoy the almost inestimable advantage of pure air contrasted with that which they had to breathe in crowded rooms in London, and workmen themselves would at any rate be able to sleep out of town and to spend Sunday and a good portion of Saturday there, a boon which the better classes so greatly enjoyed. Inconveniences were inseparable from suburban residence, but in this case he believed they would be more than balanced by the advantages attendant on the plan. On a former occasion he mentioned to their Lordships that the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway— a line which seemed to run from everywhere to anywhere — had voluntarily adopted the principle embodied in his Motion, and had consented to a clause pledging themselves to run trains morning and evening at no higher charge than 1s. per week, being at the rate of 1d. per journey. He was not then aware that a direct precedent existed for the plan he was about to submit; and, as it was rather difficult to lay down precise rules on such a subject in a Resolution of a general character, he proposed to refer, by way of example, to the Act passed in 1861, in which the principle was recognized. That Act had reference to the North London Railway, and was entitled the 24 & 25 Vict. c. 196, s. 45. The Companies were at all times after the passing of the Act, Sundays, Christmas Days, and Good Fridays alone excepted, to run a train every morning and evening between Liverpool Street and Kingsland, not later than seven a.m., or earlier than six p.m., at such hours as might prove most convenient to the working classes, and at prices not exceeding one penny per passage for each journey. And the Act very judiciously provided that, in case of any complaint being made of the want of proper facilities, the Board of Trade from time to time; should have power to fix and regulate the hours of starting. There was a further provision, which was only a matter of justice to the railway company, and if for a continuous period of a certain duration the railway authorities should be able to show that less than 100 passengers on an average had been conveyed by such trains, the company, on proof of that fact to the satisfaction of the Board, might obtain 1490 their assent to discontinue the trains; but the Board were to be at liberty to order their resumption whenever they thought proper. Such a clause as that introduced into every Metropolitan Railway Bill would accomplish the object which he had in view. He, therefore, asked the House to pass a Sessional Order requiring that it should be an instruction to the Committee on every Bill providing for the construction of any new railway within the metropolis; and this their Lordships would see applied as well to the extensions of existing railways as to novel undertakings, to insert in the Bill provisions analogous to those contained in the North London Railway Act, 24 & 25 Vict. c. 196, s. 45, for the purpose of securing to the labouring classes a cheap transit to and from their labour by a morning and evening train, with such modifications as may appear to be required by the circumstances of each case. That Resolution laid down a principle which should guide the Committee, and the Committee would be able to specify within what limits, and to what distances, it would be for the public convenience that the regulations affecting these trains should extend. He hoped that in the end this proposal would not prove disadvantageous to the railway companies; but even if it entailed upon them some degree of loss, the sacrifice was not too great to require at their hands, seeing what immense sacrifices had been imposed for their convenience upon large classes in the metropolis having no power to protect themselves. The noble Earl concluded by moving a Resolution.

§ LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEY
said, that when the intention of the noble Earl was made known to him, he communicated with the Board of Trade, and was informed that they had no objection to the proposal. He thought it very desirable that the principle should be made to apply to extensions of existing lines, as well as to new lines coming into the metropolis, otherwise it would be practically inoperative, inasmuch 1491 as he thought it very improbable that many new lines would seek for power to enter London. It was extremely important that these provisions should be placed under the supervision of the Board of Trade, both in regard to the hours of the trains and the power to discontinue them under certain circumstances. He had heard that the inconvenience represented by the noble Earl had been felt to some extent in Paris, and that provision had been made for securing to the labouring class the means of cheap access to the city, and had been found to work exceedingly well.

§ THE EARL OF ELLENBOROUGH
said, that the working man usually began his day's work at six, and it would be necessary the train should run at an hour which would enable him to be at his work at the usual time.

§ THE EARL OF DERBY
said, it would be better to leave the regulation of the hours to the Board of Trade.

§ EARL GREY
thought that the arrangement ought to be carried into effect on metropolitan lines, even if they did not come to Parliament for an extension of powers.

§ THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY
agreed as to the desirability of the morning and evening trains proposed by the noble Earl, but the great difficulty they had to contend with in the matter was in providing residences. At present, there were no residences suited to this class of the community in close proximity to railway stations, but the Society for Improving the Dwellings of the Labouring Classes had under their consideration plans for building large blocks of model houses suited to their wants. The difficulty was not so much in the cost of the land or the erection of the houses, as in the objection raised by the labouring people themselves. Their Lordships knew that the metropolis was grievously over-crowded, and he could not see how the evil was to be effectually encountered. There was an immigration of 60,000 into London every year, which largely increased the evil. When the more provident families now living in the metropolis were asked whether they would like to reside in these model buildings out of town, they objected, for this reason— that some members of their families went out as charwomen, and others to nurse the children of persons superior in position to themselves; if, however, they went down the line to live in these houses, they would all be on the same level, and they would 1492 lose many opportunities of making up their wages which they now enjoyed. These were the objections raised by almost every woman in the humbler ranks to whom he had spoken on this subject. It was, however, most desirable that the present experiment should be made. The 60,000 persons who immigrated into London had not yet formed the connections which those long resident in the metropolis had made, and it would be a great inducement to them to stop at some of these villages on the line of railway if they could find good house accommodation and railway facilities for going to and from their work. It would be necessary, he thought, to have two morning and two evening trains. A working man might be too late for his morning train, and if there were no chance of getting another, he would not be able to get to his day's work, and would lose his day's wages. The experiment was very well worth trying, and he trusted that all who could help in providing good house accommodation, either in single houses or blocks of houses, would come forward and assist in the work.