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

CHAP. XXXV.] TRENT VALLEY OPENING. 433
ner of doubt ;
they were, in his judgment, " destined to effect a
greater social revolution than any invention since the art of
printing was discovered ;
" tending, as they did, to promote the
moral and social welfare, and to advance the political security of
the kingdom, to establish new bonds of connection between Eng-
land and Ireland, and to develop the industrial energies and
resources of both countries. Sir Eobert, in the course of his
speech, invited "the lions of the broad and narrow gauge" to
forget the memory of all former grievances for that day, even
if, unfortunately, they were doomed to be revived again on the
morrow.
Mr. Stephenson, however, was so strongly convinced of the
great mistakes which had been committed of late years—^mis-
takes which had, in no small measure, been encouraged by Sir
Eobert Peel himself, greatly to the damage of railway property,
—that he would not omit the opportunity, as he said, of " giving
him a rub '' on the occasion, and speaking out his mind freely on
the subject of direct lines, steep gradients, and the atmospheric
" humbug, " all of which had at one time been patronized by Sir
Robert, when Premier. In the course of his replj'', he said,
" When I look back to the time when I first projected a locomo-
tive railway in this neighbourhood, I cannot but feel astonished
at the opinions which then prevailed. We were told, even by
celebrated engineers, that it would be impossible ever to estab-
lish railways. Judge, then, how proud must now be the feelings
of one who, foreseeing the results of railways, has risen from
the lower ranks on their success ! I may venture to make a
reference to what the right honourable baronet said relative to
Julius Agricola and a direct line. If Julius Agricola laid down
the most direct lines, it must be recollected that he had no heavy
goods' trains to provide for, and gradients were of no conse-
quence. The line that general took was probably very good
for his troops, where the hills would serve to establish his
watches ; but such lines would be in no way applicable at the
present day, where the road is covered with long goods' trains
propelled by the locomotive. What we require now is a road
with such gradients that locomotives shall be able to carry the
heaviest loads at the least expense. The right honourable bar-
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