Mr. James's embarrassments increased, and he was unable to shake himself free from them. He was confined for many months in the Queen's Bench Prison, during which time this indefatigable railway propagandist wrote an essay illustrative of the advantages of direct inland communication by a line of engine railroad between London, Brighton, and Portsmouth. Meanwhile the Liverpool and Manchester scheme seemed to have fallen to the ground. But it only slept. When its promoters found that they could no longer rely on Mr. James's services, they determined to employ another engineer. Mr. Sandars had by this time visited George Stephenson at Killingworth, and, like all who came within reach of his personal influence, was charmed with him at first sight. The energy which he had displayed in carrying on the works of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, now approaching completion; his readiness to face difficulties, and his practical ability in overcoming them; the enthusiasm which he displayed on the subject of railways and railway locomotion, concurred in satisfying Mr. Sandars that he was, of all men, the best calculated to help forward the undertaking at this juncture; and having, on his return to Liverpool, reported this opinion to the committee, they approved his recommendation, and George Stephenson was unanimously appointed engineer of the projected railway. On the 25th of May, 1824, Mr. Sandars wrote to Mr. James as follows: "I think it right to inform you that the committee have engaged your friend George Stephenson. We expect him here in a few days. The subscription-list for £300,000 is filled, and the Manchester gentlemen have conceded to us the entire management. I very much regret that, by delays and promises, you have forfeited the confidence of the subscribers. I can not help it. I fear now that you will only have the fame of being connected with the commencement of this undertaking." It will be observed that Mr. Sandars had held to his original purpose with great determination and perseverance, and he gradually succeeded in enlisting on his side an increasing number of influential merchants and manufacturers both at Liverpool and Manchester. Early in 1824 he published a pamphlet, in which he strongly urged the great losses and interruptions to the trade of the district by the delays in the forwarding of merchandise; and in the same year he had a Public Declaration drawn up, and signed by upward of 150 of the principal merchants of Liverpool, setting forth that they considered "the present establishments for the transport of goods quite inadequate, and that a new line of conveyance has become absolutely necessary to conduct the increasing trade of the country with speed, certainty, and economy."