When railways first began to supersede coaches, Smith at once availed himself of the new facilities thus afforded in the transit of his newspapers. Up to 1848 no systematic arrangements had been made to supply passengers at the stations with either papers or books. The privilege of satisfying public requirements had not been regarded as possessing any value, and the only idea those who had the right of selling books there put into actual execution was to avoid all risk whatsoever in providing for their possible customers. The result was, of course, very far from satisfactory, and it occurred to Smith, in 1848, to tender for the exclusive right of vending books and papers on the Birmingham Railway. The general satisfaction which this innovation afforded, induced the Directors of other companies to open the way to similar arrangements, and thus the newspaper trade of W. H. Smith and Son (for he had by this time taken his son into partnership), was established at almost every station of importance in the kingdom; but the original cost of organization was enormous, and two or three years elapsed before any actual profit was realised. Soon, of course, at the railway stalls, books as well as papers were vended, and the special requirements of passengers called into being several cheap series of light works of fiction, calculated to while away the tedium of a railway journey. By degrees, too, a circulating library was formed and extended, and, as Smith and Son possessed unparalleled advantages in the way of cheap transit of goods, and in their already-established branches, extending throughout the kingdom wherever the iron horse had previously cleared the way, they were able to supplement Mudie’s Library most efficiently. In 1852 W. H. Smith, senior, first felt the symptoms of a diseased heart, and in 1854 he retired from business altogether, spending the remainder of his days at his country residence at Bournemouth, and here he died on the 28th of July, 1855. Upon Mr. W. H. Smith, son of the founder, the business now devolved, and, while extending its ramifications in all directions, he found time and opportunity to embrace a career of more general utility. Elected by the householders of Westminster as a member of the House of Commons, to the exclusion of Mr. J. S. Mill, he has won the good opinions of all parties by the active part he has always taken in Metropolitan matters, and by the staunchness with which he has defended the privileges of London citizens. The confidence of the public was again expressed in his favour when he was chosen a member of the School Board for London. It is understood that of late years a great part of the management of the business establishment has devolved upon Mr. Lethbridge, the junior member of the firm. As we have already, in our chapter on Mr. Mudie, devoted ourselves especially to the circulating library, we will endeavour here to give only a short account of the newspaper business of W. H. Smith and Son.