ness might afford an insight into the attractive or age, the facility and certainty with which men of motive power that brings together such miraculous congregations of otherwise indifferent men-men who were never before known to forego their dinner, save, perhaps, for the overpowering attractions of a first-rate party speech. Surely Messrs. Sheil and Macaulay ought to be jealous of Messrs. Hudson, Chaplin, Russell, and Strutt! As the reader may, in more senses than one, share the interest thus felt in them, we will proceed to note down a few outlines of the railway potentates in parliament. MR. HUDSON. Mr. George Hudson, the member from Sunderland, and dictator of the railway interest, undeniably holds a most prominent and important place in the house of commons. He has been scarcely two years in parliament; yet he occupies, or rather occupied, a position, side by side with Lord George Bentinck, Lord John Manners, Mr. Disraeli, and others, on the front bench of the opposition, which is usually only held by the leaders of the party. Substantially, indeed, he is recognized as one of the chiefs of that large majority of the conservative party who seceded from Sir Robert Peel when he became a free-trader; and he is treated by all parties in the house as if he held that high post by right. But honors more real and valuable are also enjoyed by him, which are more to his taste than these mere insignia, or formal recognitions, of his power. He also wields an influence which, under all the circumstances, may truly be said to be unparalleled, and which cannot be accounted for by the rules of precedent. Were he treated with as an authority, or recognized even almost as a dictator, on matters connected with railways and their management, or cognate commercial subjects, his success would be admitted to have given him a claim to such consideration. Because, undoubtedly, his whole career shows him to be a man of singular energy, shrewdness, knowledge, and grasp of mind, upon all such topics. But, in fact, Mr. Hudson's sphere of parliamentary action is not limited even to so grand a scene as these subjects afford. He interferes, with increasing activity, in matters wholly beyond the scope of his peculiar pursuits; in questions of national policy; and, whatever opinion the judicious may form of the quality or value of his interference, it is remarkable what deference is paid to him by the oldest members of the house, and by the leading statesmen of the day. Nor is this confined to his serious moods, or when he makes formal speeches. Mr. Hudson, in the fulness of his prosperity and triumph, condescends at times to have playful intervals; and it is no uncommon thing to see him persevere, to the admiration of an obsequious house, in evolutions quite harmless in themselves, and which, in fact, are so many proofs of his utter freedom from false pride or affectation, but which in a less fortunate, powerful, or determined man, would, if not laughed at, or coughed down, be regarded as serious offences. But, in truth, there is no place where success is so worshipped as in the house of commons; and Mr. Hudson has given so many solid proofs of his energy and power, that his very elevated position, although it may be quite anomalous in other respects, is not so surprising. Before we describe Mr. Hudson in his parliamentary capacity, it may not be uninteresting to the reader if we recall a few of the leading facts in the career of this remarkable man-remarkable even as a living illustration of that great characteristic of the conduct, ability, and perseverance, may rise, by legitimate means, to the enjoyment of wealth and honors such as, under the old system of society, could only be attained by those illustrious men who were qualified by their genius to tread the loftiest paths of civil and military glory. We do this, not to gratify a mere appetite for biographical details, but to show that if Mr. Hudson has been what is commonly called "lucky," that luck can only apply to the degree of his success, and that had he been left to his own unaided exertions, he would still have relatively risen high in the scale. Fortune is more liberal and impartial in her gifts of opportunities, than the recipients of her favors are steady or enterprising in seizing on them. It is a common thing to hear detractors of Mr. Hudson exclaim that his success as a railway director is not so remarkable, because he was comparatively a rich man before he began. But, while that may be true as regards the scale and extent of his operations, if we find, from a retrospect of his career, that he displayed the same energy, conduct, ability, perseverance, in a more humble capacity, any position he achieved without external aid becomes the more remarkable in proportion to the difficulties which beset him. Forty-seven years ago, Mr. Hudson came into the world, at the small village of Howsham, near York, his father being the occupant of a small farm there, and although a worthy and honest man, and, moreover, a dignitary in his way, as head constable of the place, still not standing very high in the agricultural scale. Like Mr. Cobden, Mr. Hudson's early destiny seemed likely to chain him to the plough, but the death of his father, when he was only six years old, prevented that plan from being carried out; and although the informant from whom we derive these particulars loses sight of him for some eight years or so, there is reason to suppose that he was duly engaged cramming that amount of learning and pudding which is vouchsafed to Young Yorkshire. At the end of that period his friends apprenticed him to a draper at York, who was not long in discovering that in his young assistant he had one to whom life was a reality and a serious business-a task, a labor, a duty. Application, good conduct, and perseverance, when they are spontaneously developed at so early an age as fourteen or fifteen, seldom fail to produce lasting fruits; and so it was with young Hudson. Even thus early, much of his after character developed itself, and he exhibited many of those peculiarities which now distinguish him from all men of his class. As is the oak so was the acorn. He is described as energetic and active to a degree that commanded the respect as well as the liking of his superiors; but, on the other hand, he was so unpolished, peremptory, and brusque in his manners, as to excite attention even in a place where such characters abound. And, as if to make up for his brusquerie, which was no doubt an inveterate habit of which he was scarcely conscious, his politeness was alarming in its contrast. But if it was awkward and clumsy in its rough eagerness, it was also marked by a laughable simplicity. He was as energetic in his amiable as in his rougher moods. If he gave his orders to an errand-boy with the same rough peremptoriness that in after years conveyed the railway dictator's will to some non-amalgamating line, he would unfold a roll of linen to some fair and favored customer with the same profusion of courtesy, the same incoherent professions, the same short, heavy duckings and bowings, with which he will now apologize to the chancellor of the exchequer, after having pertinaciously plagued him for ten minutes about what has, perhaps, arisen from some mistake of his own, but maintained with his accustomed self-relying determination. He was also remarkably pious in this early part of his life, and, although now, we understand, a member of the Church of England, he was then a member of the Wesleyan body. one has had occasion to see, at some time or other, what prominency a pushing, bustling, energetic, talkative man, may attain in provincial party struggles, to the exclusion even of those whose position would give them a more legitimate influence. It was not long before Mr. Hudson became in his own person a striking example of this facility. Entitled, as a rich citizen of York, to take part in the politics of the city, it was not long before his extraordinary activity and determination of character placed him among the local leaders. His indomitable spirit and singular powers of organization gained him an ascendancy with the conservatives, who were at that time in special want of some fearless man to help them to make head against the calamities threatened and produced by the dreaded reform bill. Within three years after his last accession of wealth, he became the head of that party in York-no one well knew how or why. As in after cases in his career, he determined to be the leader, and there was scarcely any one to question his will. And he had not long directed their councils, ere he established by his services so strong a claim on their gratitude, that there was less reason or disposition to question his right than ever. Napoleon-like, he cemented his throne by victories. The best proof at once of his services, and of the gratitude of those whom he served, was his being soon after (in January, 1836) elected an alderman of York; and, in November, 1837, lord-mayor of that city, which office he has filled not once only, but also a second and a third time. Having thus succeeded, on the smaller stage of a provincial city, in rendering himself one of the most, if not the most, important political personage of the place, it is the less surprising that, when afterwards removed to the higher sphere of the house of commons, he should have been actuated by the same ambition, or that he should so far have succeeded in it as to be the chosen counsellor of the soi-disant leaders of the protectionist opposition. His apprenticeship over, Mr. Hudson, according to our informant, determined to start for London, trusting to his energy for his future fortune. He was immediately offered by his employers a share in their business, so necessary had his valuable qualities made him to them. This is a strong corroborative proof that Mr. Hudson is not indebted to mere luck for his subsequent eminence. Let no one sneer because the elevation we here record was from the comparatively humble position of an assistant behind a counter, to the higher post of master in a mere linen-drapery concern in a provincial town. The first steps in life are, to one of humble origin, the most difficult; and it often bespeaks much higher qualities of mind, that a person so situated shall clear away these early obstructions, than that he shall afterwards succeed more brilliantly on a grander stage, after the way has become smoothed before him. In the one case, everything is perilled, and all the faculties of the mind, all qualities, the temper, disposition, principles, are exposed to the severest trial: in the other, it is a question of the extent and power of the intellect. Of course, many hundreds of apprentices have, before Mr. Hudson, been "taken into the master's firm," and have never developed in after life into railway kings, or anything else but plodding, respectable citizens. But that truism does not preclude us from striving to trace in this early evidence of Mr. Hudson's ability to force himself upwards, the germ of his subsequent extraordinary energy, perseverance, and success. Fortune favored, soon after, his honest Let us now return to him in his capacity as a exertions. The chief partner (a Mr. Bell) retired; man of business. In the year 1833 he was the and the firm was carried on in the name of Nichol- originator, and for a long time afterwards the son and Hudson. By the time the latter was manager, of the York Banking Company, a jointtwenty-seven years of age, he had already become, stock concern, which, unlike so many provincial by his own exertions and prudence, a man of suffi- companies of the kind, did not ruin its shareholders, cient means to be considered, for a provincial trades- but, on the contrary (and chiefly through Mr. Hudman, a very wealthy man. At this juncture, a son's excellent management) withstood all shocks rich, but distant relative of his-one Matthew Bot- to its credit, and became a "paying" concern. trill-died, and most unexpectedly left to Mr. Hudson a fortune of 30,000l. Thus, by the double result of his own hard work, and the caprice of one who was said to have left his own nearer kin unprovided for, was Mr. Hudson provided with the means of enjoying a luxurious retirement for the remainder of his days. And most men would, assuredly, have considered that they could not do better than drink of the cup thus held forth. But Mr. Hudson was made of different stuff. The same qualities which had raised him in so few years from the position of a humble and moneyless farmer's son an orphan-to his present comparative eminence, spurred him on still further. From this first successful venture in speculation, he soon after launched forth into one of greater magnitude and risk, but which proved the foundation of his subsequent splendid fortune. It is observable of all Mr. Hudson's public undertakings, that however they may have contributed to fill his own pockets, they have all been calculated, more or less, to benefit the city of York, to which he was so much indebted for his early prosperity. Of the York and North Midland railway he was one of the early promoters. He entered into it with his accustomed vigor, and gave full scope in its support to his sanguine temperament. He took shares very largely in the line, and was soon appointed chairman of the board If it be possible to trace in the preceding facts of directors. Here, as in every other phase of his the germ of that enterprise and aptitude for business life, he soon obtained an absolute ascendancy. He which afterwards enabled Mr. Hudson to produce did just as he liked; and what he likes is to do such astonishing results in the railway world, the things well. Although the shares fell to a frightsubsequent events of his life, ere he became a pub-ful discount, he was not discouraged he bought lic character, will also, in some measure, account them up from the panic-stricken holders; and his for that passion for politics, and more especially for courage and foresight were rewarded by their beultra-toryism, which has given rise to the anoma- coming afterwards of enormous value. And, it lous portion of his parliamentary functions. Every should be added, that his perseverance is said to : at any price below. Good by!" And the visitor was left to measure the breadth of the imperial back, bending over a batch of papers which had been that moment brought in; but with the subsequent compensation of a handsome sum in premiums on the shares ho bought. have been in opposition to the great body of the | tiently or politely, but with sundry fidgettings and shareholders and the directors. But so it ever is. gruntings, to your story, gave you your answer The strong-minded man not only sees, but wills, in a few brief monosyllables, turned his back, took and works his end. up the affair that came next, and-you were shown The success of his manœuvres with the York and out. He is quite an Abernethy in his way of treatNorth Midland soon led to his becoming the chair-ing those who go to him with their complaints or man of other lines, and ultimately to the adoption their cases, their inventions or suggestions. His of his amalgamating schemes, and of that system experience and clear insight make him impatient of of uniform working, which, however it may affect details-he cuts off the most anxious applicant or the public interest, has at least proved beneficial to the most convincing statement with a " Yes!" or the proprietors. As in more glorious pursuits, suc-a "No!" or a "That won't do!" and, having got cess brought with it a prestige. To have won one so much distilled from the royal lips, the sooner you battle bears the conqueror far on his way towards abscond the better. A gentleman called on him one winning a second: his own men are inspired with day with an introduction from an old friend. His a new courage, his enemies with an unwonted fear. invention was a most important one, but it had So with Mr. Hudson. Railway boards entered into already received the royal attention, and his majesty brisk competition to have him for their chairman, had decided against it. But the letter of the old and the public had faith in his measures. A hint friend did not weigh as light. The applicant, at that "Hudson" was going to "take up" such- first received with brusque pomposity, soon saw the and-such a line, would send the shares up in the rotund visage illumined by a smile, the rotund permarket with magical buoyancy. Partly by the son painfully bending in an effort, not a bow. He singular confidence he had created, and partly by was beginning his story, and had got as far as the the vigor and excellence of his management, the name of his invention, when he was stopped with advent of the" Railway King," as he was now an "Ah! I know all about that. It will never do. called, was the sure harbinger of prosperity. Excuse me; I can't waste my time on it. But When the addition of his name to the direction of Tom says you are a partickler friend of his : a line was the signal for hundreds of thousands of mind what I say go down into the city and buy pounds to change hands, or for the property he so as many shares as you can; get in the and patronized to become enhanced in value almost to the extent of millions, it is not surprising that Mr. Hudson should himself have amassed enormous sums of money. Every period has its peculiar speculative channel. Fortunes are made and lost at one time in the funds, at others in mines, at others by contracts. The present age is signalized by en- An amusing story is told of him, which illusterprise in railways; and Mr. Hudson has been the trates the quaint abruptness of his mode of address. most fortunate of all those who have profited by During one of his years of office as lord-mayor of the national fever. He was thus able to thrive York, the annual meeting of the British Association himself, and yet to scatter fortunes around as an for the Advancement of Science was held in that oak drops acorns. We have heard amusing stories city; and at the close of the proceedings, it was of the dictatorial style of his treaties with suppliant the desire of the corporation to invite the most discompanies, and the gigantic self-confidence implied tinguished visitors and scientific professors to a dinin his demands. Of that which was to be created ner-the Right Honorable George Hudson, being, by his fiat, he always secured the control of the of course, the mouth-piece of their courteous intenlion's share. Thus it was well to be near George tions. It happened, however, that in the course of Hudson when the crumbs fell from the royal table. the proceedings of the meeting, the "advancement We are told that he never forgot his friends. of science" had been somewhat impeded by some Many a rich manor of shares at, or to be at, a pre- rather unscientific misunderstandings. During mium, was parcelled out among his followers, the many years past, we need scarcely remind our readonly condition of service being a friendly vote, if ers, that time-honored pride and recreation of the necessary, at a general meeting. But to those out ultra-orthodox of all creed, the odium theologicum, of whose embarrassed affairs all this wealth, for has been for a time supplanted in some pious breasts themselves and others, was to be created, the tone by another source of spiritual warfare; as modern assumed by this saviour of bankrupt railroad com- inquirers and hardy reasoners have made progress panies was amusingly dictatorial. It was the old in one particular branch of physical science. The nursery saying, Open your mouth and shut your old odium has been fairly superseded and driven eyes, and see what God will send you!" Woe to out of the field of controversy by another kind of those who demurred, or desired independent action! hatred, which may be called the odium geo-logicum. They were left inexorably in the lurch. But, let The city of York, too, is rather dangerous ground Mr. Hudson have his own way, do his bidding wil- for the introduction of any such subjects; for we lingly and well, and you were rewarded, not only need not observe that the worthy dean of the diowith the royal smiles, but also with more solid advan- cese, Dr. Cockburn, has acquired a widely-extended tages. The amount of influence and patronage he reputation by his many manful battlings against too has from time to time wielded is enormous. If you speculative professors who would bring their antecalled on him—and to go to him for no adequate diluvian relics and profane speculations thereon to cause were worse than to enter a lion's den at bear against the buttresses of the faith and the feeding time, without food-you found him im-church. Imminent was the danger of exploding mersed in a multitudinous sea of papers-estimates, them, when some of these gentlemen came and evidence, correspondence-surrounded by clerks, giving audience to deputations, or members of parliament, or engineers. He affected, or required, a lofty economy of time. Your business must be ready cut and dried. He listened, not always pa 6. perpetrated their grave theorizing even within sound of the cathedral bells! A spark was enough, and local history tells that the disturbance was terrific. What it must have been may be guessed from the fact, that when the time came for the corporation to invite some of the belligerent professors, a grave | sual powers of calculation, seem to have constituted difficulty arose because such had been the personali- the force of Mr. Hudson's genius for management. ties that it was impossible for the geologists to meet They have obtained for him a sway over railway each other at the dinner. Which side was to give directors and shareholders throughout the kingdom way? Many were the suggestions and proposals, as thoroughly imperial as any that Napoleon ever in the hope that some mutual arrangement might be exercised over prostrate nations. It is worthy of made. But who would attempt, or could effect, a record, too, that Mr. Hudson has always asserted reconciliation under such circumstances? Not Mr. the independence of his order. To some he may Hudson. With his usual determination, he cut the have seemed to be a tuft-hunter; but we believe Gordian knot at once; for he brought the affair to that the balance has been on the other side, and a close in a summary way, when officially communi- that the mammon worshippers have precluded him cating with the opposite parties, by saying, with from the dangerous and seductive opportunity. If characteristic straightforwardness, "Why, gentle- anything, Mr. Hudson carries this pride of class men, I'm really very sorry, gentlemen, the affair too far. So proud is he of having sprung from can't be arranged, gentlemen; but,"-smiling and the people, and of having been the architect of his bowing," the fact is, gentlemen, I've talked the own fortune, that he occasionally allows his indething over with the corporation, and—we've decided pendence to degenerate into something approaching for Moses and the dean!" to rudeness and arrogance. His early brusquerie But although the brusquerie which made him a is by no means dead. He more often cows and "character" when behind a counter at York, mayabashes, than convinces, those with whom he does have developed into dictatorial habits in the railway not agree, and by so much weakens the foundation patentate; although he may be more feared and of his own power, should a run of ill-luck ever disliked than beloved, even by those who have bene- fall upon him. fited by his exertions, one thing must be admitted by all-that he must be a man of no ordinary energy, ability, and power of organization, to have risen to so unparalleled a height of power and influence, when he has had to compete with some of the most intelligent men this country, preeminent in the development of men with a genius for commerce, has yet produced. From a farmer's son he has become a member of parliament, a leader of party, a millionnaire, a magistrate in Yorkshire and Durham, and the holder of extensive landed property in different parts of the kingdom. Mr. Hudson's parliamentary career, although it has been quite as remarkable for good fortune as his railway life, does not present the same solid guarantees of permanent success and influence. Elected for Sunderland in August, 1845, he gave Sir Robert Peel a qualified support on his first entrance into parliament; but, on the repeal of the corn-laws being announced, he became one of the right honorable baronet's most determined opponents. This brought him into direct relations, offensive and defensive, with the protectionist party; and when Lord George Bentinck determined to seize on the Mr. Hudson represents, in his own person, in leadership of the opposition, after Sir Robert Peel's exaggeration, the merits, the faults, and the chief downfall, Mr. Hudson was to be seen sitting by characteristics of the important class to which he his side. Such alliances are not new in principle. belongs. Such able, successful, and powerful per- Aristocracy wanted the substantial aid of wealth sons, elevate the character of the man of business and power, and wealth and power were not sorry almost to a level with that of the man of genius. to have the countenance of aristocracy. So Lord Indeed, a man may have a genius which takes that George became "my noble friend" to Mr. Hudson, particular shape; and if it be one of the signs of and that gentleman became right honorable ditto to genius that it arises to the call, and adapts itself to Lord George. All old ideas have been so comthe wants, of particular ages or periods of human pletely overturned during the session, that the house existence, why, assuredly, we must not refuse to grew accustomed to the novelty; and Mr. Hudson place in the category that spirit of enterprise, and now kept, as a politician, the seat and the position that singular power of combination, which stimulate which were originally accorded to him as the great and perfect the development in the service of hu- railway potentate of the day. Upon railway subman improvement, the extraordinary scientific ac- jects he is listened to by all parties with respect, tivity, and the determination to subjugate physical because he is known to have a right to express his agencies, that have marked the present age. The opinions. Here, in fact, he is a positive authority. individual who learns to place himself in the van of His decision, pro or con, on a measure connected his contemporaries, even in so common-place a pur-with railway management, is almost law. But on suit as the management of railroads, is entitled to questions of a political or more general nature, it is honor and distinction so far as he excels them. He not probable that he will retain his supremacy, so may be, in comparison with men of acknowledged soon as parties shall have formed themselves in the attainments, illiterate, and devoid of those intellect- new parliament. There are so many members who ual and personal graces which are usually so pow- are far better qualified to speak or to take the lead, erful a charm in men of genius; but it is not enough that Mr. Hudson will, no doubt, with his usual good to break the totality of such a character in frag-sense, leave the field to them. ments, and impute specific deficiencies. It must Mr. Hudson is not at all qualified to shine as a be regarded as a whole, and credit must be given for that positive mental power which enables its possessor, otherwise, perhaps, deficient, to work out such result. Mr. Hudson's triumphs can be very easily accounted for; but that does not detract from their merit. An indomitable will, a determined perseverance, and a disposition to bear down all obstacles—to consider all opponents (while opponents) as enemies, and to treat them as suchthese qualities, seconded by excellent habits of business, considerable practical knowledge, and unu speaker. True, indeed, to the proud simplicity of his character, he makes no pretension to do so. Nature has not fitted him for such displays. He is of extra-aldermanic bulk; his frame is naturally broad and massive, with a tendency to develop every way but upwards. He is scarcely of the middle height, and very rotund; but his chest is broad and well thrown out, and, although ungainly, and even clumsy, in his figure and movements, he is strong, active, and muscular. He walks with great effort, his large arms swinging vigorously to gone; yet, should it fail, they might be great sufferers if they broke up their establishment. Mr. Chaplin, however, had a full foresight of the result, and, influenced by his judgment, they disposed of almost the whole stock, coaches, horses, &c., reserving only so much as was necessary to enable them to contract for the railway omnibuses and the branch coaches. Having thus turned the greater part of his property (which was considerable) into money, the next question with Mr. Chaplin was what he should do with it. An active mind like his was not prepared for retirement, and there appeared no pursuit congenial with that which he was about to give up. What does the reader think he did? He adopted a course not very usual, but strongly indicative of great strength of mind. With his property "realized," and placed in safety in such a shape that it could be immediately demanded, he left England, peremptorily closing up all avenues by which any business communication could reach him, and went for six weeks into the heart of Switzerland, there to cogitate in silence and solitude over his future prospects and proceedings. aid the difficult action of his legs, yet he gets over the ground more rapidly than the average of men. It seems as if the same determined will sways his body that reigns over his mind, for the more he grows in size, and the more he has to carry about with him, the more active he seems to be. His head is a formidable looking engine; it is as round and stern-looking as a forty-two pounder. In fitting it on the body, the formality of a neck has been dispensed with. The face carries a whole battery; the eyes quick and piercing, the mouth firm, and characteristic of resolution. The whole aspect is far removed from the ideal standard of Caucasian beauty, but it is stamped with power. Looking at the honorable gentleman when he is speaking, ready primed and loaded to the muzzle with facts and assertions, while the resolute will gleams from those keen eyes, you are not surprised that one discharge of that stern artillery should be enough to scatter whole boards of railway directors, or put dissentient shareholders to irrecoverable rout. He speaks in volleys, with a thick utterance, and as though the voice had to be pumped up from cavernous recesses, and he primes and loads after each discharge. His words are just those that come first, chiefly monosyllabic, and not always marshalled by the best grammatical discipline; but although he seems to speak with difficulty, and almost to blunder, yet he succeeds in making himself thoroughly understood. His plain, practical sense, the evident result of hard thinking and reasoning, is much esteemed; but he would secure and retain a more solid and lasting influence if he would avoid, except in cases of ex-faction to the company. Perhaps the reader need treme necessity, the higher walks of politics, and select, in preference, subjects which he treats as a master, and on which, among the multitude of pretenders in parliament, his experience and strong mental powers would render his opinion invaluable. MR. CHAPLIN. It is a matter of public notoriety that Mr. Chaplin rose to be one of the largest coach proprietors in the kingdom. To give some idea of the magnitude of his establishment, which grew from small beginnings, it is only necessary to observe, that he and his partners were, prior to the opening of the North-Western Railway, proprietors of sixty-four coaches, and one thousand five hundred horses; and that the annual return of this business produced upwards of £500,000 per annum. The mind that could successfully manage such an establishment, combining as it necessarily did the utmost complication and minuteness of arrangement, must have been of no ordinary calibre; but it is well known that Mr. Chaplin not only conducted it with unparalleled success, but, as connected with it, became the proprietor of many first-rate hotels, and head of the firm of Chaplin and Horne-a carrying trade, which, with the exception of Pickford's, is the largest and most prosperous in the kingdom. The only other fact in the life of Mr. Chaplin that is worth recording, would seem to mark a naturally superior mind. When the railway system first consolidated itself, and gave evidences to observant minds of the wonderful revolution it was to create, Mr. Chaplin's firm had enormous capital embarked in the coaching and carrying trade. Men were at that time by no means agreed as to the success of the new agent of locomotion. However hopeful it might seem as a speculation, investments were made with the utmost caution. Messrs. Chaplin and Horne, however, were in a very peculiar position. If it succeeded, their occupation was He came to a conclusion which turned out most fortunate for him. He returned to England, and embarked a very large sum in the South-Western Railway Company. He soon became a director, and, his intelligence and ability being speedily recognized, he was appointed deputy-chairman. On Sir John Easthope's retirement from the office of chairman, in 1842, Mr. Chaplin was elected to that post, which he has continued to fill with the utmost satis not be told, that to have filled such a situation successfully during a period of railway struggling, involving almost as much statesmanship and diplomatic skill as the conduct of the affairs of great nations, is no slight evidence of ability. Mr. Chaplin's policy has always been held to be eminently "safe" if he did not aim at such grand coups as Mr. Glyn or Mr. Russell, he, at least, avoided their attendant anxieties; and it is even now doubtful whether the steady, though moderate success of the South-Western line as a speculation is not preferable, in the long run, to the more triumphant but more hazardous preeminence of the North-Western or the Great-Western. Mr. Chaplin is director of several other railways, English and foreign. In 1845, Mr. Chaplin was elected sheriff of London and Middlesex, an honor which his station and probity fully entitled him to, and which his conduct, while holding the shrievalty, fully justified. His exertions in connection with one or two other civic functionaries, to effect a reform in prison discipline, will not soon be forgotten by those who had witnessed his unflagging energy in the cause of benevolence. Mr. Chaplin's parliamentary service has been as yet but brief. It was not until 1847 that he was elected for Salisbury, making, with Mr. Hudson and Mr. Russell, the third railway chairman sent to parliament for the special protection of railway interests. His chief speech was on Lord George Bentinck's Irish railway bill. He acquitted himself with great ability, and exhibited those qualities which are calculated to secure for men of his class the permanent respect of the house. There is no affectation of style or of fine speaking; but he talks like one thoroughly acquainted with his subject, which he treats in a clear, plain, practical way, with a pervading evidence of sound common sense. When all the chief railways shall be represented in parliament, and the real battle commences among |