6·41 square miles in the United Kingdom, 4·36 ” ” England and Wales, as compared with 10·42 ” ” France, 9·38 ” ” Germany,[54] 4·2 ” ” Belgium, 7·82 ” ” Holland.
It further appears from official statistics that the capital outlay for every 1,000 inhabitants has been
£22,287 in the United Kingdom. 24,512 ” England and Wales, 13,977 ” France, 10,593 ” Germany, 11,365 ” Belgium, 7,252 ” Holland.
[54] NOTE.--The figures relating to the capital, revenue and working expenses of the German Railways have been taken from the “Statistische Nachrichten von den Eisenbahnen des Vereins Deutscher Eisenbahn-Verwaltungen,” which differ in some respects from those contained in statements obtained after going to press from the Department of the German State Railways; the latter giving the revenue for the working year 1884-5 as £50,735,165, the expenses as £29,057,889, or 57·27 per cent. of the receipts. The balance would yield a return of 4·51 per cent.
WORKING OF ENGLISH AND CONTINENTAL RAILWAYS--COMPARATIVE FACILITIES AFFORDED BY THEM.
So much for the strikingly different modes in which the English and continental railways have been constructed; the one system a history of unaided private enterprise, the other a history of a policy pursued by great States with the resources of Imperial Exchequers, and with English experience as a guide. Had railways in this country received the same assistance as foreign lines, the cost and working expenses being the same, the demand that the former should have rates as low as the latter would not be unreasonable. But a comparison of the facilities afforded here and on the Continent to trades and production will not be unfavourable to the English companies. It will be seen that, in the words of the late Professor Stanley Jevons, “Taking all circumstances into account, England and Wales are better supplied with railways than any other country in the world,” whether we have regard to extent or efficiency.
In the first place, it is well known that the time occupied in the conveyance of goods is less in this country than on foreign railways. In France, for instance, the time allowed by the orders of the Minister of Public Works, before forwarding for the purpose of loading, is one day; for the transit of goods over a distance of 93 miles, there is another clear day--making two days; and for a distance of 170 miles, three days, exclusive of the time necessary for collection and delivery. In other words, traffic delivered at a station on a Monday, must be at the disposal of the consignee on the Thursday morning following at any station within 150 kilometres (93 miles) distant from the sending station. If the goods have to be “delivered to domicile”--that is, at the consignee’s residence or place of business--the time allowed by the tariff for delivery is one day--that is, in the case supposed, they must be “delivered to domicile” during the Thursday. No doubt, goods requiring speedy transit can be forwarded by _grande vitesse_ (ordinary passenger train), a service which is equivalent in respect of speed to a large portion of the goods trains in England. But the rates charged for conveyance by _grande vitesse_ in France are about three times as much as the highest class rate by goods train.