At the meeting of
the social Science Congress, held at Dublin in 1861, he said:
"The state of the roads was such as to limit the rate of
travelling to about seven miles an hour, and the passengers were
often obliged to walk up hills. Thus all classes were brought
together, and I have felt much pleasure in believing that the
intercourse thus created tended to inspire the higher classes
with respect and regard for the natural good qualities of the
humbler people, which the latter reciprocated by a becoming
deference and an anxiety to please and oblige. Such a moral
benefit appears to me to be worthy of special notice and
congratulation."
Even when railways were introduced, Bianconi did not resist them,
but welcomed them as "the great civilisers of the age." There
was, in his opinion, room enough for all methods of conveyance in
Ireland. When Captain Thomas Drummond was appointed
Under-Secretary for Ireland in 1835, and afterwards chairman of
the Irish Railway Commission, he had often occasion to confer
with Mr. Bianconi, who gave him every assistance. Mr. Drummond
conceived the greatest respect for Bianconi, and often asked him
how it was that he, a foreigner, should have acquired so
extensive an influence and so distinguished a position in
Ireland?
"The question came upon me," said Bianconi, "by surprise, and I
did not at the time answer it.
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