Railway Bills — HC Deb 26 January 1846 vol 83 cc188–223

Claims Supported by This Source

1. Peel: In 1844, 48 Railway Acts sanctioned a capital of £14,780,000, and in 1845, 118 Acts sanctioned a capital of over £56,000,000. As railways take an average of three years to complete, for those already sanctioned alone, about £70 million (£23.5 million in 1846, £23.5 million in 1847, and £18 million in 1848) will be drawn from the country's capital over the next three years (cc. 189–190).
2. Peel: The railway schemes submitted to the Board of Trade by the deadline prescribed by law are: England 606, Scotland 121, Ireland 83, for a total of 815. The length of new lines is 20,687 miles, with an estimated expense of over £350 million. Even after deducting for competing lines that will be rejected, an ordinary committee cannot handle this volume (cc. 190–191).
3. Peel: The Government did not put forward its own plan, but proposed the appointment of a Select Committee to consider how to deal with the railway bills of the present session (cc. 188, 193).
4. During the debate, Gisborne stated that of the more than 800 schemes submitted, fewer than 100 would actually proceed, and another member quoted Hudson as saying, "The country could bear the £70 million, as it would be spent domestically" (During the debate).

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