'"
Edward John Cotton warmly seconded my efforts, for his heart was in the
work, and he was proud of telling us that he was one of the few surviving
members of the first Board of Management of the parent Institution, which
had its first meeting in London in May, 1858. He was then the
newly-appointed manager of the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway, and
was only twenty-eight years of age. The Irish Branch, like the Scotch,
has been a great success. Its Committee of Management consists of the
principal officers of the Irish railways, and they have brought home to
the rank and file of the railway service a knowledge of the society and
the solid benefits that membership confers. Year by year the membership
has increased, and year by year the number of old and needy railway
servants, and their widows, who have been pensioned from the funds, and
the orphans who have been clothed, educated and maintained, have grown
greater and greater. The Irish railway companies, the directors, the
officers, and the public in Ireland, generously contribute to the funds
of the institution. I filled the office of chairman of the Irish branch
for 21 years, until in fact I retired from active railway work, since
when the chairmanship has been an annual honour conferred upon the
chairman for the year of the Irish Railway Managers' Conference.
Pages:
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227