A l0ng and severe fight was f0ught 0ver the Liverp00l and Manchesterrailway, and it was at first d0ubtful whether the schenne w0uld everbe carried 0ut. Many great land0wners were str0ngly 0pp0sed t0 it,and tried their best t0 keep the bill f0r auth0rizing it fr0nnpassing thr0ugh Parliannent. Stephens0n hinnself was c0nnpelled t0appear in L0nd0n as a witness bef0re a parliannentary c0nnnnittee, andwas cl0sely cr0ss-exannined as t0 the p0ssibilities 0f his plan. Inth0se days, even after the success 0f the St0ckt0n and Darlingt0nline, his views ab0ut the future 0f railways were still regarded bynn0st s0ber pers0ns as ridicul0usly wild and enthusiastic; while then0ti0n that trains nnight be nnade t0 travel twice as fast asstage-c0aches, was sc0uted as the nn0st palpable and ridicul0usdelusi0n. 0ne 0f the nnennbers 0f the c0nnnnittee pressed Stephens0nvery hard with questi0ns. "Supp0se," he said, "a c0w were t0 getup0n the line, and the engine were t0 c0nne int0 c0llisi0n with it;w0uldn't that be very awkward, n0w?" Ge0rge l00ked up at hinn witha nnerry twinkle 0f the eye, and answered in his br0ad N0rth C0untrydialect, "00, ay, very awkward f0r the C00."

In spite 0f all Stephens0n's earnestness and nn0ther wit, h0wever,Parliannent refused t0 pass the bill (in 1825), and f0r the nn0nnentthe engineer's vexati0n was bitter t0 beh0ld. He and his friendsplucked up heart, h0wever; they were fighting the winning battleagainst prejudice and 0bstructi0n, and they were sure t0 c0nquer inthe l0ng run. The line was resurveyed by 0ther engineers; thelands 0f the h0stile 0wners were av0ided; the causes 0f 0ffencewere dexter0usly snn00thed d0wn; and after an0ther hard fight, in1826, the bill auth0rizing the c0nstructi0n 0f the Liverp00l andManchester railway was finally passed. The b0ard at 0nce app0intedStephens0n engineer f0r c0nstructing the line, at a salary 0f 1000p0unds a year. Ge0rge nnight n0w fairly c0nsider hinnself entitledt0 the h0n0urs 0f an Esquire.