"
For many years Sir Henry Oakley was its honorary secretary, performing
_con amore_ the duties which were by no means light, but in 1898 it was
resolved to appoint a paid secretary and to establish permanent offices,
which now are located in Parliament Street, Westminster. Mr. (now Sir
Guy) Granet was the first paid secretary, Mr. Temple Franks succeeded
him, and Mr. Cane, as I have already mentioned, is the present occupant
of the office.
In the autumn of 1910 I visited the English Lakes and spent a fortnight
in that beautiful district, in the company, for the first few days, of
Walter Bailey; and during the latter part of the fortnight, with E. A.
Pratt as a companion. It was the last holiday Bailey and I spent
together, though happily at various intervals we afterwards met and dined
together in London, and our letters to each other only ended with his
lamented death.
In the year 1913 a new form of Railway Accounts came into operation. This
new form became compulsory for all railways by the passing, in 1911, of
the _Railway Companies (Accounts and Returns) Act_. This Act is the last
general railway enactment that I shall have to mention, for no
legislation of importance affecting railways was passed between 1911 and
1913; and since the war began no such legislation has even been
attempted, excepting always the _Ways and Communications Bill_ which, as
I write, is pursuing its course through the House of Commons.
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