The life of George Stephenson, railway engineer - Lighthouse ...

CHAP, xixiii.] JOOKNEYS INTO BELGIUM AND SPAIN. 405
CHAPTER XXXIII.
ME. Stephenson's connection with foreign railways.
JOURNEYS INTO BELGIUM AND SPAIN.
Leopold, King of the Belgians, was the first European mon-
arch who discovered the powerfiil instrumentality of railways in
developing the industrial resources of a nation. Having resided
in England during the infancy of our railway enterprises, he had
personally inspected the lines in operation, and satisfied himself
of their decided superiority over all known modes of transit. He
therefore determined at the earhest possible period to adopt them
as the great highroads of his new kingdom.
Belgium had scarcely escaped from the throes of her revolu-
tion, and Leopold had only been a short time called to the
throne, when by his command the first project of a Belgian railway
was laid before him. It was a modest project it is true, a
single line from Antwerp to Liege, requiring a capital of only
400,000^. But small though it was, his ministers even feared
that the project was too ambitious, and that the king was about
to embark his government in an enterprise beyond his strength.
There was as yet only the experiment of the Liverpool and
Manchester passenger railway to justify him ;
but in his opinion
that had been complete and decisive.
The bill for the Antwerp and Liege line struggled with diffi-
culty through the Chambers, and it became law in 1834. Be-
fore the measure received legislative sanction, the plan had been
enlarged, and powers were taken to construct an almost entire
system of lines embracing the principal districts of Belgium
connecting Brussels with all the chief cities, and extending from
Ostend eastward to the Prussian frontier, and from Antwerp
southward to the French frontier. The total extent of railway
;