It is now a commonplace to post in the nearest pillar-box a batch of letters, some to addresses in the same town, others to provincial towns and villages, to Scotland, Ireland and far distant Colonies, each of them being conveyed to their destination, near or far, for the modest sum of one penny, by the speediest mode of locomotion that steam and electricity can provide. In order that travellers may have the advantage of that speed and regularity which is a feature of the Royal Mail, passengers and goods have always been carried by the Mail—formerly by the coach, now by the train. But whereas the mails are carried at the same price for any distance, the charges for passengers, and for goods which exceed the regulation size and weight permitted for the “Parcels Post,” vary according to the distance travelled, and as to goods also according to their nature or quality, with the result that for the greater part of our population long journeys are luxuries which can only be undertaken in cases of life and death, and not always then; the rates for carriage of goods by fast train are mostly prohibitive, and even by goods train for long distances are so great as to seriously restrict the traffic.
If mail trains can carry mails, with parcels up to 7 lbs. in weight at the same price for any distance, why cannot all trains carry passengers and goods of any size and weight at the same price for any distance? The answer is that they can, and it is the object of this pamphlet to prove not only that it is possible financially, but that, with the small uniform fares and rates indicated on the title page, sufficient revenue can be obtained to pay working expenses, and provide the sum required to purchase the whole of the existing railway undertakings at their full market price, or such a price as willing vendors would be ready to accept.
This, then, is “A Business Proposition” for all concerned; in other words, the magnificent net-work of railways in the United Kingdom, with all that is included in their undertakings, may be acquired by the nation at such a price as will make it worth the while of the present Companies and their shareholders to sell, and as the result to give the nation the benefit of speedy and efficient transport at the nominal fares and rates mentioned. It will, indeed, be a “Revolution,” but one of the most beneficial that can befall a nation.
The Royal Mail is an institution of which the nation is justly proud. How much more will it be so of an institution which will include the Royal Mail, namely, Royal Railways.
CHAPTER I.
THE SCHEME.
This is the scheme proposed:—
The whole of the existing undertakings of all the Railway Companies in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland will be acquired by purchase on some such terms as are set out at the end of this pamphlet and vested in the Government. The whole system will be amalgamated with the General Post Office and form one of the Departments of State, of which the Postmaster-General for the time being will be the head, and probably adopt the style of “Minister of Transport,” who will be a Member of the Cabinet. It will be expressly enacted that any profit made by the combined services shall be used only for increasing their efficiency, for payment of purchase money, or in reduction of fares and rates charged for the services, and in no case for general revenue of the country. There shall also be no prohibition of competition by private enterprise.[1]