Autobiography of Sir John Rennie, F.R.S 45

Autobiography of Sir John Rennie, F.R.S 45

complained of. Mr. Telford went over, prepared a plan, and carried it

into effect, much to the satisfaction of the Swedish Government. During

Count Platen’s visit to England, Mr. Telford brought him to Lynn, where

we met as engineers of the Eau Brink Drainage and Navigation, and we

explained to him the whole of the Eau Brink Works, with which he was

much pleased. He was a very superior person, grave and dignified, with

great intelligence, and of easy, affable manners. The Mayor of Lynn

being informed by Mr. Telford of his visit, called upon him, and being

introduced, invited him, in the name of the Corporation, to one of their

civic dinners, which he accepted. He had, however, brought no dress suit

with him, and indeed was perfectly indifferent about it, and would have

gone to the mayor’s feast in his travelling costume, which, to say the

least, was very rough. Telford consulted me about it, and we both agreed

that the Count could not attend the dinner without the usual evening

dress costume. Upon this being delicately explained by Mr. Telford, he

took the hint and sent for a tailor, who in the course of a couple of

days equipped him properly. The greatest attention was of course paid to

him by all the company.

 

To return to my subject. As time went on, the money market got in such

a bad state--no end of failures--that nothing could be done with the

Swedish railway, and I began to think all my money and labour would be

thrown away. The period for which Count Rosen’s concession was granted

had elapsed, and it was very doubtful whether it would be renewed at all,

but it certainly would not in any case be to the extent of the original

concession, which comprised the whole kingdom.

 

Fortunately, however, in 1852, confidence in the money market had been

restored, and we received a renewal of the concession for so much of the

line as extended between the Lakes Malari and Werner, with a branch to

the iron mines of Nora from Orebro, which was as valuable as any part

of the line; and the Government gave a guarantee of 4 per cent, on the

amount of capital required, namely, 420,000_l._, with power to raise

167,000_l._ more. The line was very easy, and Mr. Burge, the contractor,

agreed to complete it for that sum. A company was accordingly formed, the

capital was immediately subscribed, and the shares went to a premium.

I went over to Sweden again; appointed Mr. Watson resident engineer,

and the works began and proceeded very well for one year; unfortunately

the chairman and leading man on the committee was the notorious John

Sadlier, M.P., who afterwards made away with himself near Jack Straw’s

tavern, Hampstead Heath, when the whole of his proceedings were made

public; and, amongst others, his mismanagement of the Swedish railway.

What became of the money I never could make out, for I never could

account for above 60,000_l._ as having been expended on the works and

land combined; but it is certain that accounts far beyond that were

presented to me by the directors for my certificate, which they were

obliged to get before they could be passed by the Government, though

I never would give the certificate, because they kept everything back

from me; and finding that matters were going on in such a discreditable

manner, I felt that with any regard for my character I could no longer

remain their engineer. I therefore resigned at once, and fortunate it

was that I did so, for I afterwards was informed that they had not only

spent the whole 420,000_l._, but also 167,000_l._ of debentures, and had

issued 167,000_l._ more without authority; so that in round numbers they

had expended about 700,000_l._, and had not completed 50 miles of single

line, which required nothing more than surface formation, and one or two

short lengths of embankment and cutting scarcely exceeding 20 feet high;

for which 6000_l._ per mile complete was ample. In fact, there never was

a good affair so completely mismanaged, not to use much stronger terms.

The consequence was that after Sadlier’s death the whole came out, and

everyone laid the blame upon him. The particulars I do not know, and

thank God I got clear of it in good time, finding that it was impossible

to remain with honour. I never would certify the accounts the directors

presented to me, because I believed that at the least they were in error,

if not something worse. All I did was to certify to the contractor, Mr.

Burge (who, as I knew, behaved very honestly), to the extent, I think,

of 25,000_l._ or 30,000_l._ Thus this fine concern went to the dogs from

sheer mismanagement, to speak mildly, and the shares, which had stood

at a premium, were worth nothing; whereas in the hands of any sensible,

honest body of directors, the line ought to have been completed for the

estimate, and would have paid well. The Swedish Government could not with

justice pay any guarantee when no part of the line had been completed and

no satisfactory accounts rendered; and I have reason to believe that they

were so disgusted with the way in which this railway had been mismanaged

by the Board that they would have nothing further to do with English or

any other companies, but determined to make all the rest of the lines

themselves--which I understand they have done--and that the cost did not

exceed my estimate of 5000_l._ to 6000_l._ per mile, including stations

and rolling stock.

 

I had previously examined several other parts of Sweden, and in November,

1850, I had gone there, undertaking to deliver on my way a confidential

letter from Count Reventlow, the Danish Ambassador in London, to the

Minister of Foreign Affairs at Copenhagen. We went by Hamburg and

Kiel, for at this time war was again expected to break out between

Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark, and both parties were watching one

another with the greatest anxiety.

 

Schleswig-Holstein is not a rich country by any means, although there

are apparently some substantial farmers. The country is generally

flat, with here and there some gentle eminences, with patches of fir

trees; but there are some extensive mosses which might be reclaimed

and converted into valuable land if properly drained. These mosses

in many cases rest upon a bed of marl, which upon being dug up and

mixed with the peat forms most valuable manure. We saw many examples

of this in the fens of Lincolnshire, and in the north of Denmark. I

have been informed upon credible authority that there are vast tracts

of moss lands lying upon marl, and small lakes which might easily be

drained and become most fertile; and it is to be hoped that the Danish

Government will find the means of reclaiming them, as they will well

repay the expense. Rendsburg, through which we passed, is a little town,

well fortified, and may be made much stronger. Kiel, situated upon a

splendid bay in the Baltic, is the university of Holstein, and a very

neat little thriving town, with prettily wooded environs. From here we

proceeded to Schleswig, the capital of the province, its inhabitants

being partly Germans and partly Danes; in the northern part of Schleswig

the inhabitants are wholly Danes. The town of Schleswig is about 12

miles from the Baltic; it is well built, surrounded with a very pretty

fertile country, well cultivated, and diversified with wood. There is

a good deal of agricultural traffic with the surrounding country, and

the place appeared very thriving and prosperous. We arrived there about

six o’clock in the evening, about two hours after dark, and it began to

feel very cold. We got to a very comfortable inn, and were dining, or

rather had finished our dinner, when the waiter entered with a quiet,

mysterious air, and said, or rather whispered, that a gentleman wished to

speak to me. Knowing no one in the place, I could not conceive what he

meant; he, however, repeated the whisper in my ear in the same mysterious

manner. When I told him to show the stranger in, there was no person in

the room but my friend, Mr. William Sim, afterwards the solicitor to

the Swedish Railway Company, who had accompanied me. Immediately after

the waiter’s departure the door opened, and in came a gentleman muffled

up to the eyes in a blue military cloak. He cautiously shut the door,

then uncovered his face, and looking stealthily round, and observing

nobody but Sim and myself, advanced at once to the table, threw off his

cloak, took off his cap, and saluted me as a naval officer. I motioned

him to be seated, which he courteously declined, and addressing himself

to me, said that he had been informed that I was the English gentleman

who had brought despatches of importance from Count Reventlow to the

Danish Government, and that he was a Danish naval officer, and had been

sent by the commanding officer of Alsen to request that I would deliver

up my despatches to him, as it was of the utmost consequence that they

should be delivered to the Danish Government as soon as possible. I

told him that I was perfectly unacquainted with him, and that I could

not do so without a personal conference with the General commanding at

Alsen, because these despatches had been confided to me by the Danish

Minister in London, and as a point of honour I could not deliver them

to any but an accredited officer of the Government. He then said that

if I would be at Dussel, opposite to Alsen, the following morning, at

eight o’clock, the General would have a boat ready to take me over to the

island, and would have a war steamer in readiness to take me to Kosoa,

where I could readily get to Copenhagen. I accordingly agreed to be at

Dussel the following morning at eight o’clock. The officer, who was a

perfect gentleman, then muffled himself up in his cloak, and requesting

that we should say nothing about his arrival, quietly left the room. Sim

and myself ordered a carriage with four horses to be ready the following

morning at six o’clock, paid our bill, and went to bed. During the night

there had been a very heavy fall of snow, and when we started there

was some difficulty in moving forward. We were therefore obliged to

take extra horses, and passing by the now celebrated heights of Dussel,

reached the shore opposite the island of Alsen precisely at the time

appointed, where we found a boat with four oars ready to take us across

the Sound (which was about half a mile wide); here we were received

by the General in full uniform. I then delivered him the despatches,

for which he felt very much obliged, and we went on board a small war

steamer, which got under way immediately, and landed us at Kosoa, not far

from Copenhagen, where we slept. Next day we examined the cathedral at

Roskeld, and reached Copenhagen in the evening.

 

When I first visited Sweden, a vast quantity of brandy distilled from

potatoes was consumed; so much so, that the country was, to a certain

extent, demoralized, and drunkenness was very common; and the farther

north you went, the worse it was. The Government therefore determined to

take every means in its power to suppress it. Heavy duties were imposed

on potato brandy; and since that time, I am glad to hear that drunkenness

has considerably abated. The Swedes are an excellent, open-hearted,

gallant, and generous people, and most amiable and hospitable. I was

treated with the greatest kindness by them, for which I shall always

feel grateful. Christmas is a general holiday throughout the country

for a month, commencing with Christmas Eve. During that time, scarcely

any business is done. There is nothing but visiting and social parties

from morning to night; and it requires a strong stomach and head to go

through that festive ordeal without feeling the worse for it. When once

entered the house, you cannot refuse to accept their kind and profuse

hospitality. As a specimen, whenever a marriage takes place, the bride

not only appears before her friends, but the house is thrown open to the

public, and everybody is at liberty to enter and pay his respects to

the bride and bridegroom, who receive all comers in full-dress bridal

costume; and refreshments of all kinds are in great profusion. When I

was there a marriage took place between two noble families, to which

I was invited. The bride and bridegroom were both young, and bride