Page:EB1911 - Volume 27.djvu/628



The construction of railways (especially in ) was undertaken originally by a vast number of small companies, each under separate acts of. But it was soon discovered that there could be neither harmonious nor profitable working of a great many systems, and this led to a series of amalgamations (see under ; ; ).

The number of passengers carried per mile in was but before ten more years were past the number of passengers had not only increased in proportion with the opening of new  lines, but more than doubled per mile, and, instead of being under, had in come to be near. In the number of passengers carried per mile of  was ; in it was ; and in it was over.

The two following tables illustrate the further development of railways in the United Kingdom:—


 * Excluding season-ticket holders, whose number in was ; in, ; and in and  alone, in, ; in ,.

In the next table further details are given for :—

In the percentage of working expenses to total receipts was in  and,  in  and  in.

Tramways.—An act passed in to facilitate the construction of throughout the country marks the beginning of their modern development. It led to the laying down of “street ” in many large s. According to a return laid before the in the session of, the total length of  authorized by  up to the th of June  was m., and the total length opened for traffic m., comprising m. of double lines and m. of single lines. On the th of June there were in the United Kingdom   undertakings with m. of line belonging to local authorities, while  with m. of line belonged to other than local authorities. The capital expenditure on the former amounted to £, on the latter to £.

The development of in the United Kingdom, as shown by the mileage open, the paid-up capital, gross receipts, working expenses and number of passengers carried, has been as follows:—

.—The following publications relating to the United Kingdom are issued annually in (unless otherwise stated): Finance Accounts; Financial Estimates; Return showing Revenue and Expenditure (England, Scotland and Ireland); National Debt Accounts; National Debt during  Years; Local Taxation Returns; Army Estimates; Army Accounts; Army List (quarterly); Navy Estimates; Navy List (quarterly); Royal Commission an Agriculture, Reports ; Mineral Statistics; Reports of Inspectors of Mines; Reports on Factories and Workshops; Reports of Inspectors of Fisheries; Return of Fish conveyed inland by rail; Statement of the Trade of the United Kingdom; Statement of the Shipping and Navigation of the United Kingdom; Report of the Postmaster-General. Vital statistics: Reports of the registrars-general respectively for England, for (Edinburgh), for  (Dublin); Census Reports (decennial,, &c.), ditto; Education: Reports of the Board of Education for England and Wales; Report of the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland; Report of the Committee of Council on Education in Scotland; Electoral Statistics (London, ); Statistical Tables relating to Emigration and Immigration; Judicial Statistics of England and Wales, of Scotland, of Ireland; Local Government Reports, ditto; Statistical Abstract for the United Kingdom; in which the most important statistics are summarized for each of the fifteen years preceding the year of issue. Among books may be mentioned the following: Sir W. R. Anson, The Law and Custom of Constitution (vols., nd ed., Oxford, ); W. J. Ashley (edited by), British Industries (London, ); E. G. Boutmy, Le Développement de la constitution et de la société politique en Angleterre (nd ed., Paris, ). Of this there is an English translation (from st ed.)