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.
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