Stephenson and Losh were naturally desirous of enlisting James's good services on behalf of their patent locomotive, for as yet it had proved comparatively unproductive. They believed that he might be able so to advocate it in influential quarters as to insure its more extensive adoption, and with that object they proposed to give him an interest in the patent. Accordingly, they entered into an agreement by which they assigned to him one fourth of any profits which might be derived from the use of the patent locomotive on any railways constructed south of a line drawn across England from Liverpool to Hull. The arrangement, however, led to no beneficial results. Mr. James endeavored to introduce the engine on the Moreton-on-Marsh Railway, but it was opposed by the engineer of the line, and the attempt failed. He next urged that a locomotive should be sent for trial upon the Merstham tram-road; but, anxious though Stephenson was as to its extended employment, he was too cautious to risk an experiment which might bring discredit upon the engine; and the Merstham Road being only laid with cast-iron plates which would not bear its weight, the invitation was declined.
The first survey made of the Liverpool and Manchester line having been found very imperfect, it was determined to have a second and more complete one made in the following year. Robert Stephenson, though then a lad of only nineteen, had already obtained some practical knowledge of surveying, having been engaged on the preliminary survey of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in the previous year, and he was sent over to Liverpool by his father to give Mr. James such assistance as he could. Robert Stephenson was present with Mr. James on the occasion on which he tried to lay out the line across Chat Moss—a proceeding which was not only difficult, but dangerous. The Moss was very wet at the time, and only its edges could be ventured on. Mr. James was a heavy, thick-set man; and one day, when endeavoring to obtain a stand for his theodolite, he felt himself suddenly sinking. He immediately threw himself down, and rolled over and over until he reached firm ground again, in a sad mess. Other attempts which he subsequently made to advance into the Moss for the same purpose were abandoned for the same reason—the want of a solid stand for the theodolite.
As Mr. James proceeded with his survey, he found a host of opponents springing up in all directions, some of whom he conciliated by deviations, but others refused to be conciliated on any terms. Among these last were Lords Derby and Wilton, Mr. Bradshaw, and the Strafford family. The proposed line passed through their lands, and, regarding it as a nuisance, without the slightest compensating advantage to them, they determined to oppose it at every stage. Their agents drove the surveyors off their land; the farmers set men at the gates armed with pitchforks to resist their progress; and the survey proceeded with great difficulty. Mr. James endeavored to avoid Lord Derby's Knowsley estate, but as he had received instructions from Messrs. Ewart and Gladstone to lay out the line so as to enable it to be extended to the docks, he found it difficult to accomplish this object and at the same time avert the hostility of the noble lord. The only large land-owners who gave the scheme their support were Mr. Legh and Mr. Wyrley Birch, who not only subscribed for shares, but attended several public meetings, and spoke in favor of the proposed railroad. Public opinion was, however, beginning to be roused, and the canal companies began at length to feel alarmed.
"At Manchester," Mr. James wrote to Mr. Sandars, "the subject engages all men's thoughts, and it is curious as well as amusing to hear their conjectures. The canal companies (southward) are alive to their danger. I have been the object of their persecution and hate; they would immolate me if they could; but if I can die the death of Samson, by pulling away the pillars, I am content to die with these Philistines. Be assured, my dear sir, that not a moment shall be lost, nor shall my attention for a day be diverted from this concern, which increases in importance every hour, as well as in the certainty of ultimate success."
Mr. James was one of the most enthusiastic of men, especially about railways and locomotives. He believed, with Thomas Gray, who brought out his book about this time, that railways were yet to become the great high roads of civilization. The speculative character of the man may be inferred from the following passage in one of his letters to Mr. Sandars, written from London:
"Every Parliamentary friend I have seen—and I have many of both houses—eulogizes our plan, and they are particularly anxious that engines should be introduced in the south. I am now negotiating about the Wandsworth Railroad. A fortune is to be made by buying the shares, and introducing the engine system upon it. I am confident capital will treble itself in two years. I do not choose to publish my views here, and I wish to God some of our Liverpool friends would take this advantage. I have bought some shares, but my capital is locked up in unproductive lands and mines."
As the survey of the Liverpool and Manchester line proceeded, Mr. James's funds fell short, and he was under the necessity of applying to Mr. Sandars and his friends from time to time for farther contributions. It was also necessary for him to attend to his business as a surveyor in other parts of the country, and he was at such times under the necessity of leaving the work to be done by his assistants. Thus the survey was necessarily imperfect, and when the time arrived for lodging the plans, it was found that they were practically worthless. Mr. James's pecuniary difficulties had also reached their climax. "The surveys and plans," he wrote to Mr. Sandars, "can't be completed, I see, till the end of the week. With illness, anguish of mind, and inexpressible distress, I perceive I must sink if I wait any longer; and, in short, I have so neglected the suit in Chancery I named to you, that if I do not put in an answer I shall be outlawed."
Mr. James's embarrassments increased, and he was unable to shake himself free from them. He was confined for many months in the Queen's Bench Prison, during which time this indefatigable railway propagandist wrote an essay illustrative of the advantages of direct inland communication by a line of engine railroad between London, Brighton, and Portsmouth. Meanwhile the Liverpool and Manchester scheme seemed to have fallen to the ground. But it only slept. When its promoters found that they could no longer rely on Mr. James's services, they determined to employ another engineer.
Mr. Sandars had by this time visited George Stephenson at Killingworth, and, like all who came within reach of his personal influence, was charmed with him at first sight. The energy which he had displayed in carrying on the works of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, now approaching completion; his readiness to face difficulties, and his practical ability in overcoming them; the enthusiasm which he displayed on the subject of railways and railway locomotion, concurred in satisfying Mr. Sandars that he was, of all men, the best calculated to help forward the undertaking at this juncture; and having, on his return to Liverpool, reported this opinion to the committee, they approved his recommendation, and George Stephenson was unanimously appointed engineer of the projected railway. On the 25th of May, 1824, Mr. Sandars wrote to Mr. James as follows:
"I think it right to inform you that the committee have engaged your friend George Stephenson. We expect him here in a few days. The subscription-list for £300,000 is filled, and the Manchester gentlemen have conceded to us the entire management. I very much regret that, by delays and promises, you have forfeited the confidence of the subscribers. I can not help it. I fear now that you will only have the fame of being connected with the commencement of this undertaking."