The
Chairman and most of the Board were a little aghast at what appeared, to
a small company that had only recently emerged from straitened
circumstances, a very large order. But Lord Pirrie came to the rescue,
strongly supported my proposal and commended the thoroughness with which
I had tackled the subject. The day was won, the carriages secure, and
the order for their construction was placed with a firm in Birmingham.
This expenditure was the precursor of further large outlays, for it was
soon seen that the prospects of the company warranted a bold course.
I may, I am sure, be pardoned if I quote here some words from the report
of Sir James Allport's Commission on Irish Public Works. It is dated 4th
January, 1888. I had then been less than three years with the County
Down, and so could claim but a modicum of the praise it contains, and my
modesty, therefore, need not be alarmed. The words are: "_The history of
the Belfast and County Down Company is sufficient to show how greatly
both shareholders and the public may benefit from the infusion into the
management of business qualities. In that case a board of business men
have in ten years raised the dividend on the ordinary stock from nil to
5.
Pages:
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173