ivers, who never knew whether he was before or behind them;
and thus general vigilance became the rule of all. By these and various
other means the business of the concern was admirably done, and the
carrying trade of the country was brought to as high a state of
perfection as was compatible with the then state of the roads and
canals.

When all this had been accomplished, the disturbing influence of
railways began. "I see mischief in these confounded iron roads," said
the Duke of Bridgewater. But the time for railways had arrived, and they
could not be postponed. The first railroads were used for the conveyance
of coals from the pits to the seaside, where they were shipped for
London. Then it was proposed that they should be laid for the conveyance
of goods from town to town; and the largest traffic being in Lancashire,
one of the first railways was constructed between Liverpool and
Manchester, from which towns they were afterwards constructed in all
directions throughout the country.

Had Mr. Baxendale resisted the new means of conveyance, he would, before
long, have been driven off the road. But he clearly foresaw the ultimate
triumph of the railway system; and he went with it, instead of against
it. He relieved the Liverpool and Manchester Company of a great deal of
trouble, by undertaking to manage their goods' traffic and by collecting
and delivering it at both towns. Then, when the railways from Warrington
to Birmingham and from Birmingham to London were projected, he gave
evidence before the committees of Parliament, in proof of the estimated
traffic. And when the lines were made, he transferred the goods from his
carrying vans to the railway. He thus became a great railway carrier,
collecting and delivering goods in all the cities and towns served by
the railways which had by that time become established.

He also became a large shareholder in railways. His status in the
South-Eastern line was so great, that he was invited to become chairman
of the company. He was instrumental, in conjunction with the late Sir
William Cubitt, in pushing on the line to Dover. But the Dover Harbour
Board being found too stingy in giving accommodation to the traffic, and
too grasping in their charges for harbour dues, Mr. Baxendale at once
proceeded, on his own responsibility, to purchase Folkestone Harbour as
the port of the South-Eastern Company. He next proceeded to get up the
Boulogne and Amiens Railway, which was for the mo