TOM ROBERTSON, MORE ABOUT LIGHT RAILWAYS, AND THE INLAND TRANSIT OF
CATTLE
By his friends and intimates he was called _Tom_, and mere acquaintances
even usually spoke of him as _Tom Robertson_. Rarely was he designated
_Thomas_. A man who is known so familiarly is generally a good fellow,
and Tom Robertson was no exception, though he possessed some pretty
strong qualities, and was particularly fond of getting his own way.
In his early days at the Great Northern, sundry skirmishes at the
Clearing House had taken place between him and me, which for a time
produced a certain amount of estrangement, but we afterwards became
excellent friends and saw a good deal of each other. He was no longer a
_general manager_, having given up that post for another which was
pressed upon him--the post of Chairman of the Irish Board of Works. It
was certainly unusual, unheard of one might say, in those days, for an
important government office to be conferred upon a railway official,
though now it would excite but little surprise. The Government it was
thought contemplated something in the shape of a railway policy in
Ireland, and had spotted Robertson as the man for the job; it was
certainly said that someone in high authority, taken greatly by his
sturdy independence, his unconventional ways, and his enormous energy,
had determined to try the novel experiment which such an appointment
meant. I do not think that Robertson himself ever really enjoyed the
change. He liked variety it is true, but governmental ways were not, he
often said, his ways, and he seemed to lack the capacity to easily adapt
himself to new grooves. Unconventional he certainly was, and never in
London even would he wear a tall hat or a tail coat; nor could he ever be
persuaded to attend a levee or any State function whatever. He usually
dressed in roughish tweeds, with trousers unfashionably wide, and a
flaming necktie competing with his bright red cheeks, which contrasted
strongly with his dark hair and beard. He was, however, a strong manly
fellow, with a great deal of determination mingled with good humour.
Usually in high spirits, he often displayed a boyish playfulness that
resembled the gambols of a big good-natured dog. He was musical too, and
would sing _Annie Laurie_ for you at any time, accompanying himself on
the piano. To practical joking he was rather addicted, and once I was
his reluctant accomplice, but am glad to say it was the last time I ever
engaged in such rude pleasantry. I can write of him now the more freely
that he is no longer of this world. Excessive energy hastened his death.
In 1901 he went to India to investigate for the Government the railways
there, and to report upon them. It was a big task, occupied him a long
time, and I am told he worked and lived there as though he were in his
native temperate zone. His restless energy was due I should say to
superabundant vitality. Once, when he and I were in London together, on
some railway business, we took a stroll after dinner (it was summertime)
and during a pause in our conversation he surprised me by exclaiming:
"Tatlow, I'm a restless beggar. I'd like to have a jolly good row with
somebody." "Get married," said I. This tickled him greatly and restored
his good humour. He lived and died a bachelor nevertheless.
In 1896 the _Railways (Ireland) Act_ was passed, and with it Robertson
had much to do. Its purpose ran: "To facilitate the construction of
Railways and the Establishment of other means of Communication in
Ireland, and for other purposes incidental thereto." It provided for
further advances by the Treasury, under prescribed conditions, for
constructing railways and for establishing lines of steamers, coaches,
etc., which were shown to be necessary for the development of the
resources of any district, where owing to the circumstances of such
district, they could not be made without government assistance. It also
authorised the construction and maintenance, as part of such railways, of
any pier, quay or jetty. This little Act, which consisted of thirteen
sections (I wonder he did not think the number unlucky), was Robertson's
particular pet. Concerning its clauses, from the time they were first
drafted, many a talk we had together over a cup of tea with, to use his
own expression, "a wee drappie in't." I may have hinted as much, but do
not think I have mentioned before that he was a Scotchman and a
Highlander.
In the same year was passed the _Light Railways Act_, an Act which
applied to Great Britain only. Ireland had already had her share (some
thought more than her share) of light railway legislation, with its
accompanying doles in the shape of easy loans and free gifts, whilst
England and Scotland had been left in the cold. It was their turn now;
but as this Act, and the subject of light railways generally, formed the
substance of a paper which I prepared and read in 1900 before the
International Railway Congress at Paris, and of which I shall speak later
on, I will pass it now without more comment.
At Robertson's request I appeared as a witness this year for the Great
Northern Railway, before Committees of both Houses of Parliament, in
connection with a Bill which sought powers to construct an extension of
the Donegal railway from Strabane to Londonderry. Robertson himself did
not give evidence in the case. Before the Committees sat he had left the
Great Northern for the Board of Works, and Henry Plews, his successor,
represented the Great Northern Railway. The proposed line was in direct
competition with the Great Northern, and they sought my aid in opposing
it. Certainly there was no need for two railways, but Parliament thought
otherwise and passed the Bill. Indeed Parliament is not free from blame
for many unnecessary duplicated lines throughout the kingdom.
_Competition_ was for long its fetish; now it is _unification_, and
(blessed word!) _co-ordination_. Strange how men are taken with fine
words and phrases, and what slaves they are to shibboleths! Before the
House of Commons Committee which sat on this Bill I had the pleasure, for
the first time, of being examined by Balfour Browne. He was leader in
the case for the Great Northern, and I met him also in consultations
which took place. Since then I have crossed swords with him too, and
always I must confess with keen enjoyment. His knowledge of railway
matters was so remarkable, his mind so practiced, alert, and luminous,
that it was rare excitement to undergo cross-examination at his hands. In
his book, _Forty Years at the Bar_, he himself says: "I have not had many
opportunities of giving evidence, but I confess that when I have been
called as a witness I have enjoyed myself." Well, I can say that I have
had many such opportunities, and can truthfully declare that I have
enjoyed them all.
A few weeks holiday in Holland, Cologne, the Rhine and Frankfort, with
some days on the homeward journey in Brussels, all in company of my dear
delightful friend, Walter Bailey, complete the annals of this year,
except that I recall a little arbitration case in which I was engaged. It
was during the summer, in July I think. The Grand Canal (not the canal
which belongs to the Midland and is called the Royal) is a waterway which
traverses 340 miles of country. Not that it is all canal proper, some of
it being canalised river and loughs; but 154 miles are canal pure and
simple, the undisputed property of the Grand Canal Company. On a part of
the river Barrow which is canalised, an accident happened, and a trader's
barge was sunk and goods seriously damaged. Dispute arose as to
liability, and I was called on to arbitrate. To view the scene of the
disaster was a pleasant necessity, and the then manager of the company
(Mr. Kirkland) suggested making a sort of picnic of the occasion; so one
morning we left the train at Carlow, from whence a good stout horse
towed, at a steady trot, a comfortable boat for twenty miles or so to the
_locus_ of the accident. We were a party of four, not to mention the
hamper. It was delightfully wooded scenery through which we passed, and
a snug little spot where we lunched. After lunch and the arbitration
proceedings had been despatched, our Pegasus towed us back.
I must return again to Robertson, the Board of Works, and light railways.
Preliminary to the authorisation of light railways in Ireland, the
legislation which had been passed concerning them required that the Board
of Works should appoint fit and proper persons to make public inquiry
regarding the merits of proposed lines, as to engineering, finance,
construction, the favour or objection with which they were regarded by
landowners and others, the amount of capital required, the assistance
that would be given by landowners, local authorities and others towards
their construction, and their merit generally from all points of view;
such fit persons after they had done all this, to report to the Board of
Works. In 1897 Robertson thought that "Joseph Tatlow of Dublin, and
William Roberts of Inverness, were fit and proper persons" for conducting
the necessary inquiry concerning a proposed light railway in north-west
Donegal, from Letterkenny to Burtonport, a distance of 50 miles. William
Roberts was the Engineer of the Highland Railway of Scotland, a capable,
energetic, practical man, and a canny Scot. This line was promoted by
the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company. Roberts and I gladly
undertook the work. We held public meetings, which were largely attended
(for it was an event in Donegal) in Letterkenny, Falcarragh and
Burtonport, examined nearly fifty witnesses, and heard a great variety of
evidence.
But the hearing of evidence was by no means all we did. It was our duty
to examine the route, and determine if it were the best practicable route
(keeping steadily in view that the available funds were limited in
amount), scrutinise and criticise the estimates, consider the stations to
be provided, inquire as to the probable traffic and working expenses, and
inform ourselves thoroughly on all the aspects and merits of the case. We
drove some 240 miles, not of course by motor car (motors were not common
then) but with stout Irish horses, and inspected the country well. After
we presented our report, certain procedure followed; the Baronies
guaranteed interest on 5,000 pounds of the capital; the government gave
the rest (some 313,000 pounds) as a free grant; an Order in Council was
passed, and the line was made and opened for traffic in 1903. It has
more than verified all predictions as to its usefulness, and has proved a
blessing to north-west Donegal. My relations with the line by no means
ended with the inquiry, and more about it will later on appear in this
authentic history.
In the same year, 1897, with G. P. Culverwell, the engineer of my old
railway, the Belfast and County Down, as co-adjutor, I was entrusted by
Robertson with a similar inquiry concerning the Buncrana to Carndonagh
line (18 miles in length) also in Donegal, and also promoted by the
Londonderry and Lough Swilly Company. It was a smaller affair than the
Burtonport line, but involved similar pleasant and interesting work. This
line was also constructed and was opened in 1901.
Pleasant times, Joseph Tatlow, you seem to have had, and much variety and
diversion; but what of your own railway and your duties to it? Well,
these Parliamentary proceedings, arbitration cases, and light railway
adventures were, after all, only interludes, and I can conscientiously
say that the Midland line and its needs and interests were never
neglected. I am one of those who always believed that everything which
served to enlarge experience and mature judgment made a man more
competent for his daily work.
In July a Departmental Committee was appointed by the Board of
Agriculture "To inquire into and Report upon the Inland Transit of
Cattle." The Committee numbered ten, Sir Wm. Hart Dyke, M.P., being
chairman. Three other M.P.s were members of the Committee, one being
that redoubtable champion of the cattle trade and chairman of the Irish
Cattle Trades Association, Mr. William Field. Two railway
representatives were amongst the ten, one of them, Sir William Birt,
general manager of the Great Eastern Railway; the other the Honourable
Richard Nugent, a director of the Midland Great Western Railway, the
latter having considerable experience of the cattle trade and of cattle
transit in Ireland. He was no bad judge himself of a beast. He farmed
in County Galway, and farming in the west of Ireland meant the raising of
cattle, though nowadays some tillage is also done. He loved attending
cattle fairs, and more than once turned me out of bed before the break of
day to accompany him to a fair green, much to my discomfiture; but so
great was _his_ enjoyment, and so pleasant and lively his company that I
believe I thanked him on each occasion for bringing me out.
Sir William Hart Dyke did not act as chairman of the Committee; in fact
he was prevented by illness from attending any meeting after the first,
and in his absence the chair was taken by Mr. Parker Smith, M.P.
The scope of the inquiry included Great Britain and Ireland; but, as the
Committee stated in their report, "In Ireland the proportional importance
of the cattle trade is much the greater," and that no doubt was why they
examined in Dublin 42 witnesses against about half that number in
England.
Plews, Colhoun and I gave evidence for the Irish railways, supplemented
with testimony on matters of detail by some of our subordinates. My
railway (the Midland) being, relatively at any rate, the principal cattle-
carrying line in Ireland, it was agreed that I should give the greater
part of the evidence and appear first. The railway companies, of course,
came on after the public witnesses had had their say.
The Committee in their report made some useful recommendations both for
Great Britain and Ireland, not only in regard to the transit of cattle by
railway, but also in reference to public supervision at fairs;
accommodation and inspection at ports; the licensing of drovers;
dishorning of young cattle, etc. With respect to railway transit the
recommendations were directed principally to control and accommodation at
stations; pens and loading banks; improvement in cattle trucks; and rest,
food and water.
It is but fair to the railway companies to say that for some years
previous to the inquiry they had been making constant and steady
improvements in these matters, and I believe the Irish Department of
Agriculture, which was established by Act of Parliament in 1899, and in
which are vested the powers and functions of the Privy Council in regard
to live stock, with some added powers as well, would, were they appealed
to now, bear testimony to the good work of the Irish railways in regard
to the "Inland Transit of Cattle."