Cork, Galway, Sligo and other places.  It was a sort of triumphal march, for our friends, and they were many, warmly welcomed on Irish soil the great English Q.C. who had routed the enemy.  Littler enjoyed it immensely, and was charmed with Irish warmth and Irish ways.  Full of good humour and good nature himself, with a lively wit, and an easy unaffected manner, he gained new friends to our cause, and increased the zeal of old ones.  He was a charming companion, a keen observer and interested in everything he saw and everybody he met.

Before the next session arrived my company determined upon a bold course, and decided to themselves lodge a Bill to acquire the Waterford and Limerick line.  There was much to be said for this.  With the Waterford and Limerick in our hands the competition, which the public loved, would continue, whilst in the hands of the Great Southern monopoly would prevail.  That we would command much public support seemed certain.  So in the following year three Bills were presented to Parliament, viz.:—­

   Midland Great Western
   Great Southern and Western and Waterford and Limerick
   Great Southern and Western and Waterford and Central Ireland

That Parliament regarded these proposals as being of more than ordinary importance is clear from the fact that it referred the three Bills to a Joint Select Committee of both Houses—­Lords and Commons—­describing them as “The Railways (Ireland) Amalgamation Bills.”  An experienced and able chairman was appointed in the person of Lord Spencer.

On the 18th of May the proceedings opened.  Day by day every inch of ground was stubbornly fought, and on the 12th of July the decision of the Committee was announced.  After the presentation of the Great Southern case our Bill was heard and all the opposition.  One of the most effective witnesses for the Great Southern was Sir George (then Mr.) Gibb, general manager of the North-Eastern, the only big railway in the country that enjoyed a district to itself.  His role was to persuade the Committee that railway monopoly, contrary to accepted belief, was a boon and a blessing, and well he fulfilled his part.

My examination did not take place until July 6th, after nearly all other witnesses had been heard.  Mr. Littler intentionally kept me back, which was a great advantage to me, as when placed in the box I had practically heard what everybody else had said, and the last word, as every woman knows, is not to be despised.  Littler took me through my “proof.”  I had spent the whole of the previous Sunday with him at his house at Palmer’s Green and we had gone through it together most carefully.  He attached great importance to my direct evidence, and we underlined the parts I was to be particularly strong upon.  That I had taken great pains to prepare complete and accurate evidence I need scarcely say, for, as I have stated before, if there is any kind of work