GEO. STEPHENSON AND RAILROADS.

North Otago Times, Volume XI, Issue 347, 18 September 1868, Page 2

GEO. STEPHENSON AND RAILROADS.

A lecture on the above Bubject was delivered, in accordance with announcement, by J. Hislop, Esq., at the Mechanics' Institute on Tuesday evening. His Worship the Mayor, who occupied the chair, introduced the lecturer, stating that he need scarcely remind the audience that that gentleman was now on his annual tour of in-pection, and during his stay in Oamaru he had been good enough to offer to deliTer a lecture, the principal object of which was to assist the funds of the Mechanics' Institute. Mr Hislop was always ready to lend his valuable aid to kindred causes, and he had no doubt that they would now spend an hour or two very pleasantly and profitably in listening to his lectuic. Mr Hislop, who on coming forward was greeted with applause, said that about two yoara ago he had delivered a lecture in the adjoining building on the subject of " Roads and Travelling," and on that occasion ho had brought down its history to the beginning of tho present century. About that time the discoveries of Tclfourd and Macadam brought about a wonderful change in road-inakiug. They had set themselves to the study of how it was possible to diminish friction ; and Macadam, in 1816 — about 50 years ago — discovered that tho best way of making a solid and even road was by spreading over it layers of broken granite or whinstone. This plan soon bec.vne generally adopted throughout the United Kingdom and on the Continent, and produced a revolution in travelling almost as great as was subsequently made by the adaptation of steam. To give some idea of what had been gained by Macadam's discovery, the lecturer stated that there were at the present time in Great Britain 30,000 miles of turnpiko road and 120,000 miles of parish or district roads, making altogether 150,000 miles, the annual cost of the maintenance of which, was about 3^ million pounds, or about L24 per mile. Concurrently with improvements in road-making, improvements were made in road vehicles, the celebrated Palmer about tho end of last century introducing the mail coach, and soon travelling became so general that the road was one continued scene of animation and exciteiiient. The stage coach was as great an improvement upon tho old-fabhioned waggon as the railway fflr^Hf'ilSe&HRRP tf)° R^ifiWifctMK 1 tffuf'Vncreas early in the century a writer noted as a wonderful fact that 1S72 persons actually travelled between London and York in one year ! in 1837 licenses were granted to 3026 stage coaches (about 1500 of which run from London) and 103 mail coaches, and the number of travellers had increased to 2,000,000. The English stages were the wonder of the world ; in no other country wns there such promptitude and celerity of transit. Stage coaches and stage waggons had, however, in their turn passed away in favor of steam, and except in very out-of-the-way places they were now in the United Kingdom but things of the past, and thirty yeats hence in Otago a similar change might be looked for — the j Cobb and Co.s, Chaplin and Co.s, and the Ned ! Devines, Youngs, and Frank Rutherfords, the noted whips of the day, would have become mere matters of history, and would have to give way in favor of iron roads and iron horses. " Who first invented railways ?" was as much an unsolved problem as the question — " Who invented st9am navigation ?" The truth was that no one person did these things ; they were each the result of the labors and discoveries of many, each contributing his mite, but it was an ascertained fact that the world was not indebted for these discoveries to schools of philosophy, but to comparatively obscure and humble individuals. Carriage by rail was the invention of the coal carriers of Northumberland and Durham, who laid down wooden tramways for tho conveyance of coal from the pit to the port. Flanges were first invented by Roger North, about 200 years ago, but were first placed upon the rail instead of as now upon the wheels of the carriage. About the year 1745 a small railway was made in the neighborhood of Edinburgh, traces of which can be seen, and a portion of this line formed an artillery position at the battle of Prestonpans. The first rails were of wood, then came the laying down of thin plates of iron upon wooden rails, and then cast iron rails. Canals were long used as the piincipal means of transport, and the introduction of railways encountered very serious opposition from canal proprietors and others interested in canals. The first railway authorised by Act of Parliament was tho Surrey, in 1805, and from that time the number of lines rapidly increased, 5 being authorised in 1805, 10 in 1810, 16 in 1815, 20 in 1820, and 32 in 1825. In 1820, the Stockton and Darlington railway was opened from the coal mines at Darlington to the wharfs on the Tees, and coal at ouco fell from 18s to 2s. 6d. per ton. Shortly after the opening of this line, two passenger vehicles were placed upon it, eaoh capable of carrying 26 persons ; these carriages had no springs, and tho usual speed was 10 miles per hour, and, the lino being nearly level, that speed was gained almost without exertion by the single horse used to draw the train, and much surprise and delight was felt thereat, and at tho smooth and equable motion of the carriages. At first tho line consisted of but a single pair of rails, and the fare for passengers was 2d. per mile inside, and Id. per mile outside tho Jcars ; yet, in the first year the line was open for passenger traffic, L500 was derived from this source alone ; and it was the marvel of the neighborhood that intercourse and trade seemed to riae out of nothing. The next railway of importance was the Liverpool and Manchester, a distance of 31 miles, and now many minds were occupied in devising schemes for the substitution of steam for horse-power. James Watt was the first to prove the practicability of steam as a motive power for fixed engines. Dr Roberi son first entertained the idea of applying steam-power to carriages, and spoke about it to Watt, who in turn spoke of it to his friend Murdoch, who succeeded in making a model engine which ran round his room. In Edinburgh, Symington made a similar discovery during the same year. In 1802, Richard Prefect took out a patent for a locomotive, but the universal belief was that a steam engine could not be made to draw any great weight, or to ascend a moderate incline, except with cogged wheels, working into corresponding cogs upon the rail.s In the year 1811, Mr Blackett, a coal proprietor near Newcastle, proved that an engine could, by mere weight and friction, draw a heavy load up a moderate incline. This was a great atep in advance, and now all that remained was to secure power and speed. Here George Stephenson appears upon tho scene.

The lecturer now proceeded to give a most interesting biographical account of this remarkable man, tracing his gradual upward progress — from the little cow-boy., at 2d. a-day to the world-renowned and wealthy engineer. Stephenson's father, Robert-— or " Old Bob," as he was familiarly called — Was employed as a fireman on a pit-engino at a neighboring coal mine, and, earning only 12s. per week, was unable to give his children any education whatever, his second son, George, reaching his 18fch year before he was able to write his own name. As showing the energy of the future great engineer, the lecturer told an anecdote of his early days. When quite a little boy, " Geordie" went with his sister to the market town to purchase a bonnet. He accompanied her to the draper's shop, where the lassie found a " chip" just to her miud, but alas ! had not sufficient funds by 15d. to obtain the coveted article. Leaving the shop with a sad heart, she was about to set out for home without the longed-for bonnet, when G-eordic, bidding his sister wait, declared he would soon get the money, and darted away into the throng. Hours and hours the sister waited, but Geordie came not, and at last, when the people were beginning to seek their homes and evening was wearing late, she began to be distressed with fears lest her brother Bhould have been run over or come by some harm, when lo ! ho appeared, all in a glow and out of breath with running, and exclaimed — " I hae gotten the siller, Jennie," and put the 15d. into her hand. She replied—" But hoo hae ye gotten it, Geordie ?" " Oh," he replied, " by hauding the gentlement's horses." The bonnet was, of course, bought, and the happy pair wended their way homeward in the highest spirits. The lecturer then gave a very interesting account of the early struggles of this wonderful man ; how, at tho ago of 18 he put himself to a night school to lrarn to read and write, supplementing his scanty weekly earnings by mending the shoes of his follow workmen ; his highest achievment in this line being tho soling of the shoes of his sweetheart, Fanny Henderson — of which he was so proud, that it is recorded of him that he went to kirk with the precious articles in his pocket, taking them out every few yards to have a look at them and congratulating himself upon the capital job he had made. HiB mnrriago with iTanny, the birth of his son Bobert, and tho death of bis young wife, were severally touched upon ; and his praiseworthy anxiety to give his son Robert a good education, sending him first to an academy at Newcastle, and afterwards to the Edinburgh University; and how the brave and energetic man earned the wherewithal to do- this by making lasts for the shoemakers, and cutting out the pitmen's clothe*, after his day's work was done, were also brought before the audience in a most interesting manner. Then his invention of the safety lamp, — for although this was ascribed to Sir Humphrey Davy, the lecturer stated that a lamp made by Stephenson, on a similar principle, had been in use before Sir Humphrey's lamp was invented, and Stephenson was subsequently presented with a purse of L1000 at Newcastle, in recognition of his life-saving invention, and with, to him, a far more grateful tribute — a silver watch, subscribed for amone; the colliers themselves. Stephenson's diligent study of the engine upon which he woiked, his model engines, &c, his gradual rise to tho position of a first-class workman, and his growing reputation as an enginewnght, were all detailed in a raosl interesting manner ; his inspection of an engine at Lord Ravensworth's, at Killingworth ; his pointing out many possible improvements, and his constructing an engine embracing all these improvements, to that nobleman's order, were all told ; and how the great engineer was employed in 1823, to lay out the new Stockton and Darlington Railway, which was opened in 1825, and upon -which Stephenson drove an engine (manufactured by himself and son, for they were now in partnership) and a train of 38 carriages at a spued of 12 miles an hour, and the almost prophetic announcement of his belief, made by Stophenson on this occasion, that ere long the railway wo aid supersede all other modes of travelling, and become the frreat highway for tho King and .nil his subjects. Tlu % n came tho history of the Manchester and Liverpool line, authorised by an Act of Parliament, in March, 1825, and the tremendous opposition brought, to bear against the railwaj system. Pamphlets wore written that horses would be of no use, and that 8,000,000 acres of land used for growiug oats would have to return to a state of nature ; homesteads would bo burnt by the sparks from the engines, cows would be prevented grazing, and henfa from laying, and all soita of absurd arguments were made use of — somewhat on a par with the proposition of honest Johu Cresset, in 1745, that no coach should be allowed to run more than once a week, to be drawn by more than four horses, or at a speed greater than nine miles per hour. The lecturor then proceeded to give a history of tho construction of tho line by Stephenson — the manner in which the great engineering difficulty presented by Chatmoss was ovorcome, and the per-manent-way carried across it at a cost of L28,000, which an emiuent engineer of the day had estimated at L270.000 ; the offering of a L500 prize when the line was near completion, for the best locomotive, fulfilling certain conditions as to weight, price, &c, and which -was gained by the Messrs Stephenson for their engine, Rocket, against four other competitors — it being the only engine which reached the minimum speed of twelve miles an hour, and was worked up to a speed of 29 miles. The opening of the line, with a train of 8 locomotives and 28 carriages, conveying the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, Mr Huskisson, and 600 others, tho leading engine being driven by George Stephenson, tho accident by which Mr Huskisson lost his life, the conveyance of the wounded man upon Stephenson's engine, the Northumbrian, a distance of 15 miles in 23 minutes, wero all told in the most interesting manner, and the lecturer then proceeded to give a history of the wonderful development of railways from that time forward. Stephenson lived to see a speed of 40 miles per hour reached. In 1830 he retired from the more active duties of his profession ; he became the guest of kings, ho was offered knighthood by Sir Robert Peel, but steadily declined the honor. In 1815 he visited Belgium, to advise King Leopold and his ministers as to a system of railways in that country, aud was invested with the order of Leopold. He died full of honors, and was buried in the Church of Chesterfield, where a simple tablet marks his resting-place. Several monuments have since been erected to his memory, tho handsomest of which is that at Newcastle- underLyne, where there iB a statuo of Ihe great engineer, having at the four corners of the base figures of a pitman, a mechanic, an engine-driver, and a platelayer. Situated in the spot most frequented by working men, it is a lasting evidenco of the value of perseverance, and an incentive to earnest effort on the part of each of the busy thousands who look upon it. Mr Hislop then gave some most interesting statistics, as to the cost of railways in tho United Kingdom ; the Brighton railway was one of the cheapest, having cost L4800 per mile, while the Blackwall had cost L14.400 per mile. Tho parliamentary expenses had at one time been enormous, the solicitor's bill for the South-Eastern Railwuy being contained in 10,000 folios, and amounting to L24O.O0O. It was said that L50,000,000 had been unnecessarily squandered on Biitish Railways. The average cost of a double lino was about L12,000 per mile, of a single line about one-fourth less. Tho Scotch railways generally had been the most cheaply constructed, probably because they had been more carefully watched over, being undertaken by landed proprietors who had a direct interest in them. The Peebles Railway, for instance, a distancp of nineteen miles, had cost L95.000, and paid six per cent, upon its ordinary and five per cent, on its preference shares — a good rate of interest for the Home country. The railway system might be said to have passed through the " grand and costly pha^e," and he (the lecturer) believed that the " frugal and economical phase" was now on the eve of development. Having read an extract fiom an article in the " Saturday Review," with reference to tho recent discovery of the practicability of traversing uneven surfaces, crossing hills and mountains, by steam, as exhibited in the railway over Mount Cenis, Mr Hislop concluded a most able and interesting lecture by advising caution as to the introduction of railways into Otago, bo as not to anticipate the requirements of the country, and by pointing out the valuable lessons to be drawn from the contemplation of the untiring energy and industry of the great man to whom the present railway system is due A vote of thanks, moved by Mr Ashcroft (who expressed an opinion that railways would be requirod

in Otago earlier than the lecturer seemed to think), and seconded by Mr Booth, was tendered to the lecturer by the chairman, His "Worship observing that Mr Hislop had stronger claims upon the gratitude of the audience than the giving of the highly-interest-ing and instructive lecture to which they had just listened, as Otago owed much to him in connection with her splendid educational system ; and the Government subsidy to the Mechanics' Institutes was, ho thought, almost entirely due to the exertions of Mr Hislop. Mr Hislop, in Returning thanks, disclaimed the credit of the Otago educational system, which waa due in a great measure to the people themselves. The people of Otago were determined to have a thorough educatidnal system, and he had great pleasure in assisting the Government and people in carrying it out. He had been under eeveral successive Governments in Otago, and had always found the Superintendent anrl members of the Government warm supporters of the cause of education. He had a warm feeling towards Mechanics' Institutes. He owed all his success in lifo to tho lessons he attended many years ago at the Mochanics' Institute of Edinburgh, then called the School of Arts. Tho lecturer moved a vote of thanks to the chair, and, in seconding, Mr Ashcroft took tho opportunity of stating that the Institute was greatly indebted to Mr Shrimski, who had collected upwards of L50 for its funds, enabling the Committee to pay about 7s. 6cL in tho £ upon its debts. Ho believed the remainder would be soon raised, and called upon tho working classes to take an active part in this Institute, principally founded for their benefit. Ho also announced that the debating class would meet on Monday even* ing, and hoped that all who mtended to join would bo present. The meeting then broke up.