ded without judgment and without discrimination; it was a
scramble for Bills, in which the most unscrupulous were the most
successful.

Amongst the many ill effects of the mania, one of the worst was that it
introduced a low tone of morality into railway transactions. The bad
spirit which had been evoked by it unhappily extended to the commercial
classes, and many of the most flagrant swindles of recent times had their
origin in the year 1845. Those who had suddenly gained large sums
without labour, and also without honour, were too ready to enter upon
courses of the wildest extravagance; and a false style of living shortly
arose, the poisonous influence of which extended through all classes.
Men began to look upon railways as instruments to job with. Persons,
sometimes possessing information respecting railways, but more frequently
possessing none, got upon boards for the purpose of promoting their
individual objects, often in a very unscrupulous manner; landowners, to
promote branch lines through their property; speculators in shares, to
trade upon the exclusive information which they obtained; whilst some
directors were appointed through the influence mainly of solicitors,
contractors, or engineers, who used them as tools to serve their own
ends. In this way the unfortunate proprietors were, in many cases,
betrayed, and their property was shamefully squandered, much to the
discredit of the railway system.

While the mania was at its height in England, railways were also being
extended abroad, and George Stephenson was requested on several occasions
to give the benefit of his advice to the directors of foreign
undertakings. One of the most agreeable of these excursions was to
Belgium in 1845. His special object was to examine the proposed line of
the Sambre and Meuse Railway, for which a concession had been granted by
the Belgian legislature. Arrived on the ground, he went carefully over
the entire length of the proposed line, to Convins, the Forest of
Ardennes, and Rocroi, across the French frontier; examining the bearings
of the coal-field, the slate and marble quarries, and the numerous
iron-mines in existence between the Sambre and the Meuse, as well as
carefully exploring the ravines which extended through the district, in
order to satisfy himself that the best possible route had been selected.
Mr. Stephenson was delighted with the novelty of the journey, the beauty
of the scenery, and the industry of the