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Celebrity appearance fees: How much do they charge?
Ever want to hire a celebrity to speak at your company dinner or your birthday party? Take a look at how much they charge. I got quite a kick out of this. Courtesy of All American Speakers. Find out how much your celebrity will cost?


Lance Armstrong, cycling champion, cancer survivor - 200,001 and up
Jerry Seinfeld, comedian - $200,001 and up
Larry the Cable Guy, comedian - $200,001 and up (he's more then Anderson Cooper!)
Alex Rodriguez, all-star MLB player, New York Yankees $50,001 to $100,000
Anderson Cooper, CNN anchor - $50,001 to $100,000
Conan O'Brien, talk show host - $100,001 to $200,000
Jessica Simpson, singer and actress - $100,001 to $200,000
Anna Kournikova, tennis player - $50,001 to $100,000
Allen Iverson, NBA all-star - $50,001 to $100,000

Curt Schilling, former MLB all-star pitcher - $30,001 to $50,000
A.C. Green, ex-NBA player $10,001 to $20,000 -
Amanda Beard, Olympic swimmer - $10,001 to $20,000
Grant Fuhr, former NHL all-star $5,001 to $10,000

Jared Dreyer, Mortgage Guru and model $50 to $100






RBC Survey Results.


Now on to some REAL business.


RBC recently published their annual Homeownership survey. Below are a few highlights that pertain to BC.


An overwhelming majority of Canadians (90 per cent) are confident about real estate in Canada as an investment and 85 per cent feel that they are doing a good or excellent job of paying down their mortgage, according to the 18th Annual RBC Homeownership Study. Almost three-quarters of Canadians (73 per cent) believe that they or their family are well-positioned to weather a housing drop.
"Canadians believe in the long-term benefits of owning a home including the value it can provide, both personally and as a long term investment," said Marcia Moffat, RBC head of home equity financing. "Last year's survey showed that people were looking to buy ahead of rising costs. This year marks a return to more normal levels of purchase intentions and recent housing data reflects this move to a more balanced market."

British Columbia: Interest in buying a home has remained steady in B.C. with 29 per cent of residents likely to buy a home in the next two years. B.C. leads the country in looking to buy a new home (30 per cent) rather than resale (70 per cent) and one third (34 per cent) of British Columbians are most concerned with home prices increasing, the most in Canada.

We're here to help.

Jared Dreyer
Your Mortgage Professional
604 649-5991
www.dreyergroup.ca
jared@dreyergroup.ca


________________________________________
About Dreyer Group Smiles

Dreyer Group Smiles is a program dedicated to giving to facilities that provide safe and transitional housing to children and youth in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. By providing funds to these programs, Dreyer Group will make a meaningful difference to kids who otherwise may not have a roof over their heads, or hope for a bright future.
Dreyer Group hopes to expand this effort through their clients and business partners. In addition, they plan to raise additional funds through annual events and corporate fundraising initiatives. Dreyer Group is working closely with the Salvation Army to allocate these funds to the children and shelters.


About Dreyer Group Mortgages, A Member of the VERICO Brokers Network

As a senior mortgage consulting team with extensive experience in the financial services industry and thousands of happy clients throughout the Lower Mainland, we understand what it takes to build long-term relationships through service and expertise. As an independent brokerage, we are not restricted to one financial institutions mortgage options. We provide the best range of financing solutions by accessing over 40 lenders and hundreds of products coast-to-coast.

Each VERICO member is an independently owned and operated business.
Copywrite © 2008


3.85% 5 Year Fixed Mortgage Rate

2.20% 5 Year Variable Rate

Email me now with the next person you know that needs financing

Email me now if you want to see how much you can save on your existing mortgage.

All rates quoted are on approved credit.



Dreyer Group Mortgages Voted BEST MORTGAGE BROKER 2010, Surrey, North Delta, White Rock, South Surrey by NOW Newspaper Readers. Many thanks to our valued clients and partners for voting for us!


Dreyer Group Smiles
When you do business with Dreyer Group, a portion of every mortgage funded goes towards providing safe housing for children and youth. Thank you for your support.




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ABOUT JARED

Jared has built his business based on a passion and commitment for delivering exceptional client service. He has provided superior financing solutions to thousands of happy clients over the past 18 years.

As a Government Relations Committee Member of the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP), Board Member and Director of the Mortgage Broker Association of BC (MBABC) for the past 2 years, Chairing the Education and Public Relations Committee, Board Member of the VERICO National Advisory Council and Director of the Mortgage Brokers Institute of BC (MBIBC), Jared works diligently to accomplish positive change within the mortgage industry.

Jared also sits on the Board of the White Rock South Surrey Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Vancouver Board of Trade.

A strong believer in community, Jared has been very active in setting up business partnership programs for local business as well as giving initiatives to children’s’ charities locally and throughout the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver.

Becoming Unbeatable- By Joe Stumpf

Here is a great blog from my coach Joe Stumpf on overcoming and never giving up.

Enjoy, Jared

Learn To Be Unbeatable
Mar 08, 2011

The most important single quality that you can develop in your lifetime is the quality of becoming “unbeatable!”


Learn To Be Unbeatable


A few weeks ago, I sat with the VP of Marketing in an interview with a candidate to be responsible for our Office Coaching Program.
The candidate had an excellent education from a fine college. He was extremely well dressed, physically fit, handsome and articulate. On the outside, he appeared to be everything that the company would want in an employee who could be groomed for higher responsibility.


After the interview, my VP turned to me and asked, “What do you think?”

I said, “He would not be good for the job.”

The VP of Marketing was a bit shocked and asked, “Why?”

I said, “He has all the qualities we would desire but one.

His life has been far to easy up till now.


He has not yet learned to overcome; he has not learned to be unbeatable.”
I knew the role would require tremendous internal strength, resilience and unbeatable determination to overcome obstacles and difficulties to succeed in our competitive marketplace.


He had not yet developed the spirit of being unbeatable because he had not had anything to overcome, yet!


During the last 30 years, I have learned the way that I can predict with 95% probability a person success is; Do they have the ability to overcome difficulties, adversities, obstacles and setbacks because it is the most valuable quality that you can develop.


I call it the "Unbeatable Spirit" – and once you commit to it, it will enable you to use all of your other strengths and gifts to the utmost.


The wonderful thing is that, the more unbeatable you become the easier it is to bounce back from defeat and disappointment, which results in you becoming stronger and stronger and even more unbeatable.


retweet3 CommentsPosted by Joe Stumpf

Love, Leisure and Rowing - The Pleasures of a Railway Clerk in Kingston in 1878

As the last blog post that I wrote on the diary of Sam Fay generated so much interest, I thought I’d just do a general piece about it as it is not a something that could be published (at only 47 pages long). However, it is probably one of the few examples of a personal diary from the late Victorian period that is just a record of everyday events. Apart from one important set of entries pertaining to a major event in the history of the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR), the contents to the author must have been quite mundane. Yet, for the social historian it is a fascinating insight into the lives of individuals who, like you and I, were just trying to go about their lives.

But first, a little bit about Sam Fay, one of Britain’s great railwaymen. He was born in Hamble-le-rice in Hampshire in 1856 to Joshua Fay, a farmer. He went to Blenheim House School in Fareham, and because his farther had contacts within the L&SWR’s Audit Office, joined the company as a junior clerk at Itchen Abbas station in 1872. After moving around various stations in 1876 he was posted to Kingston, and after some time there he was moved into the Traffic Superintendent’s office in 1884 as second clerk. Soon he was promoted to Chief Clerk and was eventually removed to the Storekeeper’s Department, becoming the Storekeepers Assistant in 1891.[2] He resigned a year later take up the post of General Manager on the ailing Midland and South Western Junction Railway. After turning the company around, was appointed the L&SWR’s Superintendent of the Line in 1899, staying only three years before becoming General Manager of the Great Central Railway (GCR) in 1901. He retired from the post in 1922. In his time at the GCR, he had also been deputy of the Railway Executive Committee (REC), that run Britain’s Railways in World War One, and in 1917 was appointed Director of Movements for the War Office.[3] For more information, read the Wikipedia page, however, for now, let us go back to 1878 when Fay was working at Kingston.

Fay was in love. Frances Ann Farbrother, or ‘Trottie’ as Fay called her, being the object of his affections. He wrote on the Sunday 10^th January that ‘I seem to love her more and more, not so passionately perhaps, but with a purer, holier love than of yore.’[4] Evidently, by 1878, Frances was part of Fay’s fantasies about the future; ‘in sober moments,’ he commented ‘my thoughts plan out my future, they make me chief clerk at some good station with my darling Trottie, in charge of a small country station and eventually of a large one – “man proposes but God disposes.”’[5]

They had been courting for some time, and by May they were engaged. However, this was seemingly behind his family’s back. A diary entry about a potential visit to his family in Hampshire, states that he had sent a letter to his father asking whether he was allowed to bring Frances with him. He wrote, ‘he [father] does not know Trottie and I are engaged, the result will be a row.’[6] It is clear that there was something amiss in Victorian society against engagements occurring without the family being aware. His father wrote back that Trottie was welcome to visit and stay as long as she wished. Indeed, his mother ‘will also be delighted to meet my friend.’ Evidently, until it was official in the eyes of the family, a friend was all Frances would be.[7] Ultimately, Fay’s fears about the secrecy of his engagement seem to be unfounded, and it is clear that Frances was soon absorbed as part of the family. When the visit finally came in early June ‘Trottie got on first rate with all of them.’[8]

Sport was one of Fay’s great loves. I have written in this blog about football amongst railwaymen, however, it seems that Fay was a regular player of an early version Rugby Football. On the 16^th January he played against the Clarendon Club at Kingston, who ‘got one try the best of us.’ Indeed, Fay was ‘ducedly knocked about, a good kick in the shins, a bloody nose and various knocks and ugly tumbles.’[9]On the 16^th March he played against Kings College and ‘beat them by one goal and a try.’[10] Yet, ‘Football,’ as he called was not as important to Fay as rowing, a love affair that was started on 20^th March when he was elected a member of Kingston rowing club.[11] Once elected, this seemingly consumed his free time, ‘Trottie doesn’t like this rowing business because it keeps me away from her rather late.’[12] However, rowing was seemingly done by most of the clerical staff at the station, including Osborne, a fellow Clerk,[13] and Mr Petit, the Station Agent.[14] Thus, it may have been a social norm that members of the salaried staff at Kingston joined the rowing club. Once rowing, Fay competed in regattas against his fellows at the club,[15] as well as against teams from others.[16] In the winter, when things were more sedate, ice skating was the order of the day. And on Christmas Day Fay and Walter, Frances’ brother, went skating in Bushy Park.[17]

Entertainment beyond sport did not seem to be a great part of Fay’s life, probably because of the lack of theatres or music halls in Kingston at the time. On the 12^th February did Fay and Frances go to the ‘Drill Hall,’[18] whatever that was. However, London seemed to be where Fay went to be entertained. In August he went with someone called John for some ‘music’ in London, after which he had some ‘lager beer and a glass of good wine at a House on the Strand where they keep it on draught.’[19] Two days later, he visited the Criterion Theatre, with John and Walter, and saw ‘Pink Dominos,’ which he ‘enjoyed very much.’[20] This was followed by a tip with Frances to the Alhambra Theatre which he did not find so agreeable.[21] In mid-November the fair came to Kingston and on the evening of the 13^th Fay strolled around with his fellow clerk, Osborne. It seems this caused a disagreement with Frances who wished to go. In his diary Fay commented that he did not take her because ‘I do not consider it a proper place for females to go.’[22] What it was about the fair that led Fay to this conclusion is unknown. However, what this entry does reflect is the trend that shines through in the diary, that Frances’ social life was very much tied to that of Fay’s and that she had little say in her social activities. Thus, the diary reveals the patriarchal nature of Victorian society and the social positions that men and women were expected to take at the time.

Socialising with others, whether it was with Frances, Fay’s friends, fellow club-members or relatives, was a big part of his life. It is clear that he did a lot of walking with people, ‘went for a walk round Surbiton with Trottie in the afternoon to Ham Church.’[23] Indeed, it seems a lot of this ‘walking’ took place in the local area and included Ham, Surbiton, and the local tourist attraction of Hampton Court. ‘For a walk with Trottie to Hampton Court in the afternoon, got caught in a snow storm, it also blew a hurricane and as we came over Bushy Park it nearly blew us off our legs.’[24] In October Fay ‘went up to Uncles in the evening sung a few hymns, smoked a cigar or two done a glass of whisky and home to bed.’[25]

However, aside from these leisurely activities there were parties to attend. In May Mrs Gardiner of the Adelaide Inn in Teddington (a pub I have frequented many a time) got married to Mr Craddock, a grocer from Kingston market place. Fay rather annoyed Frances by having several dances at the reception with ‘Miss Tilbury, Miss Hall, Miss Louie Gardiner and Miss Dawn.’ Indeed, it seems that she was most annoyed by Fay ‘doing a step with young Gardiner.’ However, things were soon smoothed over as they ‘had a stroll around the garden with the Old Lady [Frances] about midnight.’[26] In late October it was the rowing club dinner hosted by the Mayor of Kingston and the menu was quite special; ‘turbot and oyster sauce, then stewed eels, turkey and sausages, a leg of fowl, a half a partridge, then some hare, jelly, cheese and celery, finishing with desert; a bottle of Hock, 2 quart bottles of pale ale, 2 bottles of champagne between the four of us.’ Indeed this was accompanied by some ‘speeches and songs’ to what Fay called a very ‘select party.’[27] Celebration, of major events or just parties, was clearly a part of the social life of a railway clerk.

I think sometimes we are quick to see the Victorians, especially what would be termed ‘respectable individuals,’ as being very stoic and boring. While from the diary it is clear that Sam Fay worked very hard at his job, it is also evident that he had a very rich life in Kingston engaging in sport, entertainment, tourism, leisure and love. Indeed, I have not included everything that Fay did in 1878 as this would double the length of this post. Overall, Fay never seemed to complain about his life and remained positive about what was in his future. In many ways, Sam Fay was just like you or I, trying to get on in the world, trying to be happy and having a good time as he went.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Fay

[2] The National Archives [TNA], RAIL 411/492, Clerical staff character book No. 2, 1838 – 1919, p.711

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Fay

[4] Bill Fay Collection [BFC], Sam Fay Diary, 10^th January 1878

[5] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 11^th March 1878

[6] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 16^th May 1878

[7] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 22^nd May 1878

[8] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 7^th June 1878

[9] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 16^th January 1878

[10] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 16^th March 1878

[11] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 20^th March 1878

[12] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 7^th May 1878

[13] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 12^th June 1878

[14] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 4^th April 1879

[15] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 3^rd July 1878

[16] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 1^st August 1878

[17] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 25^th December 1878

[18] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 12^th March 1878

[19] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 27^th August 1878

[20] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 29^th August 1878

[21] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 28^th October 1878

[22] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 13^th November 1878

[23] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 10^th January 1878

[24] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 24^th March 1878

[25] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 6^th October 1878

[26] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 13^th May 1878

[27] BFC, Sam Fay Diary, 30^th October 1878

Victorian Railway Employees Complaining About Victorian Railway Employees

Having been employed in a number of different workplaces over the years, the one constant that I have encountered is that those individuals that I work with will, invariably, talk about their colleagues. This is part of the natural ebb and flow of the office, factory or anywhere else where Homo sapiens toil. Therefore, it is unsurprising that the Victorian railway employer did the same, complaining about other employees’ behind their backs. Evidence of this day to day activity is hard to find, however, the diary of Sam Fay (shown), which records his life as a clerk on the London and South Western Railway at Kingston Station between 1878 and 1881, details the many occasions when railway workers got irritated by their co-workers. Furthermore, on reviewing the diary, it has brought home to me that in some respects that the people of the 19^th century were just like us.

While I presume complaints were made by railway employees against their direct superiors, the senior management seem to come in for a rough time in the diary. On the 5^th of April 1878 Fay took a stroll to Teddington Station to see the staff there.[1] Shortly before changes had occurred in the Telegraph Department and it's head, Mr Blake, had been replaced by a newcomer Mr Goldstone. Clearly, Blake had run his department in quite a relaxed manner. On arrival Fay had a ‘jaw’ with Goddard, a fellow clerk who was of a similar seniority to him having been with the company the same amount of time.[2] Goddard stated that the clerks were giving Mr Goldstone a bad name. Apparently, he was ‘too sharp to please them and has no favourites like old Blake had.’ Yet, even though Fay had heard the complaints of Goddard, Fay’s assessment of the situation was that Goldstone was the ‘right man in the right place.’[3] Clearly, he did not agree with his colleague’s assessment.

Indeed, at the same point Fay’s career was advancing and was becoming General Manager of the North and South West Junction Railway, in 1892,[4] Goddard was still at Teddington, and was reprimanded for being ‘short in his cash’ to the tune of £36 4s 2d. As a result, he was moved from the station to the Nine Elms Goods Depot.[5] Perhaps, Goddard’s issue in 1878 was that he was no longer the favourite of his superior, an arrangement which previously had hid his own mediocre performance under Blake. Indeed, this factor may have held his career back in later years as Fay’s advanced.

Mr Jacomb had been the L&SWR’s Chief Resident Engineer since 1870, and his remit covered the maintenance of the line and buildings.[6] But, working in a different department to the Kingston Station staff, who were in the Traffic Department, he would have had his own agenda regarding just when and where repairs and alterations were required. Thus, when the Station Agent at Kingston, Petit, stopped Jacomb’s men doing what Fay (and presumably Petit) thought was ‘a lot of unnecessary work,’ the Chief Engineer complained about him. The result was an inter-departmental controversy, for which Fay had to write ‘down three sheets of foolscap to Mr Scott about the affair.’[7] Clearly, inter-departmental resentment and complaining was alive and well.

Yet, it wasn’t only superiors that were in the firing line, and Fay had a run in with one of his colleagues in May 1878. The W.H. Smith bookstall at Kingston was staffed by a man named Compton. Whether this meant that he was employed by the L&SWR or Smiths is unknown. Presumably to save on his own costs, on the 6^th of May, Compton travelled with four persons from Waterloo to Kingston using used tickets he had obtained from the Kingston booking office.[8] Fay, and a fellow Clerk, Osborne, who has been working at the station since 1875,[9] reported this to Mr Pettit. Petit, naturally took action and forced Compton to pay the fares. Fay recorded that Compton thought ‘it a very shabby action on our part, he has circulated a yarn of his own about the town saying nothing of the crew and tickets he had with him, we shall not, I presume, be on speaking terms for some time over it.’[10] Of course, I am only getting Fay’s side of the story on this. However, it is unlikely that this would be the sort of thing that he would make up.

Also, there is a case of Fay simply not liking someone. On Monday 17^th January 1881 he wrote in his diary that he had heard that Wright, who was based at Fulwell, was about to be dismissed. Presumably through nosiness, Fay wrote to the General Manager’s office to ascertain if this was true.[11] Goffe, one of the General Manager’s clerks,[12] wrote back stating that this was not the case. Fay for some reason thought this was unfortunate. The reason he disliked Wright is unknown. However, given that it is known that Fay was a stickler for good management and efficiency, I suspect it was because he perceived Wright to be inefficient.

While Fay did, on occasion, praise his colleagues, the majority of the comments on the quality of others’ work were negative. Thus, these case studies show that while the setting is very different to any modern workplace, the Victorian railway worker had the same complaints about the actions and efficiency of fellow workers as many of us do today.

--------------------

[1] Bill Fay Collection [BFC], Sam Fay’s Diary, 5^th April 1878.

[2] The National Archives [TNA], RAIL 411/492, Clerical staff character book No. 2, 1838 – 1919, p.254

[3] BFC, Sam Fay’s Diary, 5^th April 1878.

[4] TNA, ZPER 11/22, South Western Gazette, March 1905, p.9

[5] TNA, RAIL 411/492, Clerical staff character book No. 2, 1838 – 1919, p.254

[6] TNA, ZPER 11/6, South Western Gazette, June 1887, p.90-91

[7] BFC, Sam Fay’s Diary, 28^th May 1878

[8] BFC, Sam Fay’s Diary, 6^th May 1878.

[9] TNA, RAIL 411/492, Clerical staff character book No. 2, 1838 – 1919, p.456

[10] BFC, Sam Fay’s Diary, 6^th May 1878.

[11] BFC, Sam Fay’s Diary, 17^th January 1881

[12] TNA, RAIL 411/492, Clerical staff character book No. 2, 1838 – 1919, p.234

Direction Of Canadian Mortgage Rates

We are seeing a new direction in interest rates or maybe it is what always happens? We are now seeing the fixed rates drop lower again as the price of oil, gold rise up. This setting up for another year of up/down fixed rates and some minor increase in the prime rate. This is what has been happening since i have been in the business 17 years ago. The rates go up and they go down depending on many nurmous factors. The main two factors to follow in my opinion is the price of oil and the unemployment numbers in Canada and the US. Those can give you some insight on what direction rates will be heading in the next 90-120 days. Outside of that time frame, is a guess and of course this is subject to change at anytime.

English Shareholders, Scottish Passengers and Stopping Trains for God in 1846

Interestingly, the running of trains on Sunday in England and Wales was more common in the industry’s formative years. Indeed, Simmons stated that in 1887 20.1% of the nation’s railways were closed to passengers on Sunday, yet in 1847 this figure had only been 2.6%.[1] In 1847, the Board of Trade requested that every railway company in Britain submit a return detailing the number of Sunday trains that they ran. The result was that the 55 British railway companies (not including Irish companies) ran 530 scheduled services on ‘the Sabbath.’

However, within this sample there was a very distinct difference in practice between Scottish railway companies and those located south of the border. Of the 55 railway companies in the sample 38 were based in England and Wales (69%). However, these companies ran 514 of the Sunday trains listed (97%), leaving only 16 trains operating in Scotland. It could be argued that this was because many of the Scottish railway companies were smaller in size. Indeed, the Scottish companies that did run Sunday trains were amongst the largest in the country. For example, the North British railway company ran 6 trains. Yet, with such a small number of trains running, comparative to the size of the network, it can only be concluded that there was some unique reason for the difference in operating levels on Sundays in Scotland.[2]

The case of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway (E&GR), listed on parliamentary papers as running 4 mail trains only on Sunday, is an interesting case that perhaps reveals why in many cases trains were not run. When the line was opened in February 1842 the company immediately put on morning and evening trains on Sunday. These conveyed 1000s of passengers each day but were scheduled to avoid the hours when worship was undertaken.[3]

Yet, this policy, which was seemingly an unusual occurrence amongst the Scottish railway companies, soon displeased the shareholders of the company. Indeed, at the first shareholder’s meeting of the company after the line had opened on the 24^th February 1842, much of it was consumed by debate over the Sunday trains. Indeed, the chairman, Mr Leadbetter, stated that he had received 203 memorials against the running of trains on that day from reverends, church groups and private individuals.[4] Yet, for all their campaigning, the memorialists failed to change company policy on this occasion. Subsequently, at every meeting of the proprietors of the E&GR thereafter, those against Sunday trains proposed motions to stop them.

All of these motions failed. However, in 1846 the shareholders of the company took a different approach. The English shareholders forced out the directors of the company and replaced them with some of their number who approved of shutting the railway on Sundays.[5] As had become usual, at the January 1846 meeting one of the shareholders, Sir Andrew Agnew, proposed a motion: “That no work be done on this railway on the Lord’s Day according to the Fourth Commandment of the moral law.” This was supported after memorials were presented by many individuals, including a Mr Blackadder who presented two from the Scottish Observance Committee and the Free Church of Scotland.[6] Once again the vote failed.

However, between then and August E&GR shareholders opposed to Sabbath running mobilised. At a meeting at a company’s headquarters on August 24th, the holders of 2000 shares met to discuss the management and direction of the company. While there were many issues to deal with, such as failed amalgamation attempts with other companies and the profitability of the company, Sunday running was a key issue. The events of the meeting were summed up in the words of the Daily News after the event. The English shareholders had ‘crossed the border in person [having previously voted by proxy], attacked the directors in their city of Glasgow, overthrown the old dynasty and installed themselves on the vacant throne.’

To the dismay of the Daily News the first act of the new directors was not to improve the company’s operation, but to stop Sunday trains.[7] This, clearly had a detrimental effect on the company’s profits. In Parliament in 1849 Joseph Locke, the noted railway engineer and at that point M.P. for Honiton, stated that the ‘New directors came in… [and] closed the railway on Sunday. And thus the Sabbath party, though a small fraction of the entire proprietary, succeeded in their object, and those who obtained power had managed to reduce the dividends below what they were before.’[8]

Furthermore, the stopping of Sunday trains was against the wishes of the travelling public. The Liverpool Mercury reported that many of the people who used them ‘consider it the “unkindest cut of all” and that the public were ‘resolved to resist the resolution’ that ordered the trains to be abandoned. Indeed, it was stated by the paper that the Sunday running was of worth, in that it brought many individuals to church and that the trains’ use was not for recreation but the promotion of religious activity.[9] Indeed, in February 1847, the Earl of Lincoln presented a petition to the House of Commons from the people of Linlithgow against the ceasing of Sunday running.[10]But, this did not succeed, and the E&G had train-free Sundays for decades after.

The interesting thing about this case is that it was the English proprietors, who could use Sunday trains in their own country, who stopped them in Scotland. The reason for this hypocrisy was alluded to in the Railway Chronicle of January 1847. Discussing the E&GR case it stated that ‘the English public demands Sunday trains, the Scotch rejects them.’ Indeed, it suggested that the halting of Sunday trains was because of the fact that Scotland was ‘pre-eminently a religious nation.’[11] Indeed, the fact that this was a factor in the English delegation of E&GR shareholder’s decision was reinforced by a letter from them to the rest of the proprietors in March 1847.[12]

Therefore, this was a case of stereotyping combined with religious fervour, which had almost universally negative effect. A few very vocal and religiously active English shareholders forced on the Scottish travelling public a change which they thought they wanted. Yet, clearly the shareholders held a view of the Scottish passenger’s religiosity that wasn’t in line with reality, as the stoppage of Sunday trains was against the actual wishes of the E&GR customers. Furthermore, these shareholders allowed their religious fervour to override any considerations about the profitability and performance of the company, stopping the Sunday trains which were profitable. Indeed, it is quite possible that the English shareholders’ actions may even been borne of some frustration amongst the shareholders at not being able to change the state of Sunday trains in England and Wales.

-----------------------

[1] Simmons, Jack, The Victorian Railway, (London, 1991), p.286

[2] House of Commons Parliamentary Papers [HCCP] 1847 (167) Railways. Copy of all regulations of every railway company on the subject to travelling on Sunday.

[3] Hansard, HC Deb 25 April 1849 vol 104 cc831-48, http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1849/apr/25/sunday-travelling-on-railways

[4] Caledonian Mercury, Thursday, February 24, 1842; Issue 19053

[5] Liverpool Mercury, Friday, October 30, 1846; Issue 1852

[6] Caledonian Mercury, Thursday, February 26, 1846; Issue 19549

[7] Daily News, Wednesday, October 28, 1846; Issue 129

[8] Hansard, HC Deb 25 April 1849 vol 104 cc831-48, http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1849/apr/25/sunday-travelling-on-railways

[9] Liverpool Mercury, Friday, October 30, 1846; Issue 1852

[10] Dundee Courier, Tuesday, February 23, 1847; pg.1

[11]The Railway Chronicle, reprinted in, The Bury and Norwich Post, and East Anglian , Wednesday, January 13, 1847; Issue 3368

[12] Glasgow Herald, Monday, March 1, 1847; Issue 4600.

[13] Simmons, The Victorian Railway, p.287

Press Release On Canadian Mortgage Changes

(1888PressRelease) March 01, 2011 - Vancouver BC - Announced in January, the Canadian Mortgage Insurance program changes are fast coming into effect. These new Mortgage Insurance changes may effect home buyers in Canada.

Summary of Changes:
Maximum amortization is decreasing down from 35 years to 30 years.
Maximum Equity Take out is decreasing from 90% to 85%.
Canadians will no longer be able to secure a line of credit on their homes if the loan-to-value is under 80% on insured lines only.

The Canadian Credit Center (CCC) spoke with Jared Dreyer, Accredited Mortgage Professional and President of VERICO Dreyer Group Mortgages Vancouver. He says "I have been getting numerous emails and calls regarding the new mortgage regulations coming into effect March 18th, 2011. While they don't effect everyone, a short conversation and getting pre-approved should protect you against the changes". Dreyer adds, "Anyone considering Refinancing, Purchasing a New Property, or Making ANY Changes to their mortgage should call their mortgage broker now".

Jared Dreyer commented further on how these Canadian Mortgage Insurance Changes may affect home buyers in Canada.

CCC: Does the mortgage for either a purchase or a refinance have to close by March 18th.
Jared Dreyer: "No, it has to be a firm contract and approved before March 18th, however it can close after."

CCC: If I have a pre-approval but have not found a home before March 18th, how does this affect me?
Jared Dreyer: "It has to be a firm contract in place before the 18th, however it can close after the 18th."

CCC: If I have a 40-year amortization and when it comes up for renewal will I get a 30-year amortization or 35- year?
Jared Dreyer: "You will get a 35-year amortization."

CCC: What if I am in a 35-year amortization and would like to refinance some other debt into my mortgage?
Jared Dreyer: "If you get it approved before March 18th a 35 year amortization will be available, after the 18th it will be a 30 year amortization."

CCC: I'm thinking of porting my mortgage over to another home I've bought as I've sold mine, what happens?
Jared Dreyer: "Each lender seems to have a different policy on this, if you are thinking of selling and porting your mortgage please let me know and I will find out."

Remember that until you apply to a lender and receive a pre-approval, you will not avoid these changes.

For more information on these changes and if they will effect you, Contact the independent Vancouver mortgage team of Dreyer Group Mortgages 1-800-687-9020 or go online www.dreyermortgages.ca

Deadline March 18th, 2011

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