ed question of railway
rates." Certainly he did much towards the ultimate settlement of the
matter. Mr. Grierson was, perhaps, the ablest witness before
Parliamentary Committees the railway service ever had, which is saying
much. A leading counsel, during the luncheon interval, once said to him,
"We feel small when we are cross-examining you. You know all about the
business, and we can only touch the fringe of it." The great secret of
Mr. Grierson's success was his mastery of, and scrupulous regard for,
facts and his straightforwardness. Of his book he himself said, "My
conclusions may be disputed, but no one shall dispute the facts on which
they are based."

The committee recommended that Parliament, when authorising new lines, or
extending the powers of existing companies, should have its attention
drawn by some public authority to the proposed, and in the case of
existing companies, to the existing rates and fares. They also
recommended that one uniform classification of merchandise be established
by law; that the Court of Railway Commissioners be made permanent; and
that the amalgamation of Irish Railways be promoted and facilitated. Thus
the great inquiry ended; but public agitation did not cease. One or two
attempts at legislation followed, but from one cause or another, fell
through; and it was not until 1888 that the subject was seriously tackled
by Parliament. In that year the _Railway and Canal Traffic Act_, of
which I shall later on have something to say, was passed.

On the appearance of the Report in 1882, it was recognised in railway
circles that something _must_ happen regarding the eternal rates
question, and the companies began to prepare themselves as best they
could. It fell upon me to examine the many Acts of Parliament of the
Glasgow and South-Western Railway, to collate the provisions relating to
tolls, charges and maximum powers, to compare those powers with actual
rates, to work out cost of terminal service, and to draw up a revised
proposed scale of maximum conveyance rates and terminal charges. Deeply
interesting work it was, and led, not very many years afterwards, to
unexpected promotion, which I valued much, and about which I shall have
more to say.

In the year 1880 a Scotch branch of the Railway Benevolent Institution
was established. Mr. Wainwright was made its chairman, and I was
appointed secretary. He and I had for some time urged upon the Board in
London the desirabil