His was an
eminently practical mind, and, being so, he did not rest satisfied with
reflections and speculations upon the plan he had conceived. He took
counsel with men who were the most eminent, both for scientific and
practical knowledge, with regard to the construction of railways. Among
them, of course, was Robert Stephenson. The result of his conference
with those gentlemen was, that two engineers of acknowledged ability
were despatched by him to Ireland, to examine and report upon the whole
question of Irish railways.
Lord George, reflecting upon the perilous state of England in 1841-2,
came to the conclusion that it was the vast employment afforded by
railway enterprize which relieved the pauperism of those years; a
pauperism so great, that it was enough to create alarm, and almost
dismay, in the breasts of English statesmen. There were at that time a
million and a-half of people upon the rates: between eighty and ninety
thousand able-bodied men within the walls of the Workhouses, and four
hundred thousand able-bodied men receiving outdoor relief. It seemed to
him that this pauperism was not only relieved, but was actually changed
into affluence and prosperity by the vast employment which the railway
works, then rapidly springing into existence, afforded.
Pages:
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561