Stephenson's opinion was that the
Irish lines would require no more than sixty men a mile for four
consecutive years. Fifteen hundred miles of railway would thus give
constant employment for four consecutive years to 90,000 men on the
earth works and line alone; but quarrymen, artificers, etc., would give
six men more a mile--9,000 men; making fences for securing fields, etc.,
9,000 more--in all, 108,000; a number representing 550,000 persons.
4. The labourers were specially cared for in the bill. They were to be
paid weekly in cash, and decent, suitable dwellings were to be
constructed for them along each line.
5. As to the manner in which the money was to be raised, Lord George did
not call for a single penny out of the Imperial Exchequer; all he asked
was, that the Government of England would pledge its credit to borrow
for Ireland the required sum, for which Ireland had full and abundant
security to give. The L16,000,000 was not to be raised at once; the loan
was to be spread over four years, at the rate of L1,000,000 a quarter.
The objection was put forward that the raising of this sum would oppress
the money market, but Lord George pointed to the experience they had,
with regard to the loan of the L20,000,000, for the slave-owners, which
proved that such would not be the case.
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