Note 289 — Chapter XV · George Stephenson’s Coal Mines—Appears at Mechanics’ Institutes—His Opinion on Railway Speeds—Atmospheric System—Railway Mania—Visits to Belgium and Spain.

The Marquis of Clanricarde brought under the notice of the House of Lords, in 1845, that one Charles Guernsey, the son of a charwoman, and a clerk in a broker’s office, at 12s. a week, had his name down as a subscriber for shares in the London and York line, for £52,000. Doubtless he had been made useful for the purpose by the brokers, his employers.