Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/199

* GKEAT BRITAIN. 173 GREAT BRITAIN. rated by steam, 14 miles in lenj,'th, was opened for passenger tratHe from Stockton to Darlington. t>team, however, had previously been used in the hauling of coal at the mines. The first important railway line in the world, that from Liverpool to Manchester, was opened in 1830, George Stephenson had charge of the construction on both these roads. The success of the new system of transportation being demonstrated, in a few years it spread into eveiy part of England, The traffic at once was extensive, and almost all the lines were originally laid with two or more tracks. Though differing at first in gauge, a universal gauge (1,435 meters) has been estab- lished. The mileage for the United Kingdom in 1850 was 6620; in 1870, 15.540; and in 1900, 21,855 miles. Of the last amount. 15,187 miles were in England and Wales, and 3485 in Scot- land. London is the great focal point for all the principal lines. The increase in the number of passengers conveyed is indicated in the following table : YEAH England and Wales Scotland Ireland 1862 162.4.37,000 640.669,000 721.114,000 992,425,000 17,610,000 45.9.")0,0ll0 75.21.^1.000 122.201.000 10.430.000 1880 17.2r>'.>.000 1890 21.413.000 1900 27,64'J.OUO The enormous increase was -largely confined to third-class passengers, which, for the United Kingdom, amounted in 1900 to 1,038,873,000. Since 1880 there has been an actual decrease in the numlier of first-class passengers, and only a small increase in the number of second-class passengers. Between 1880 and 1900 the freight tonnage for the United Kingdom increased over 80 per cent., the larger part of the increase being made in the last decade of that period. The com- bined capital of all the railways greatly exceeds the national debt in amount. There are many small lines, but these are nearly all operated by one of the eleven large companies which control almost the entire mileage of Great Britain. Of these, the Great Western has the greatest mile- age; the largest tonnage of goods is booked by the Xorth Eastern ; and the largest number of passengers is carried by the Great Eastern. Parliament recognizes "nothing in the nature of a vested interest as attaching to railways," and privileges granted may be withdrawn when they cease to be consistent with the general advantage. No official step has been taken toward Govern- ment ownership. A railway commission of three members has final decision in questions of fact that arise in the administration of the railways. Their decisions on questions of law are subject to appeal. Curiously enough, the tramways, which, as we have seen, antedate the railway, went into disuse when the railways developed, and it was only about 1870 that they were successfully reinstated in the form of street railways, on the model of the American system. They have not yet become nearly so common as in the United States, car- riage transportation still being mainly depended upon in the cities. In 1900 the mileage of tram- waj's in England and Wales was 933 ; in Scot- land, 107; and in Ireland, 137 miles, about half of the above total mileage belonging to local au- thorities. The necessity for some means of rapid transit to meet the needs of agricultural and otiier interests not served by the regular system of railway transportation resulted in the con- struction of light railways during the last years of the nineteenth century. In 1900 seventy-one apjjlications for permits to construct such lines were approved by the Board of Trade. The greater part of these lines were modeled after the ordinary railway, while the remainder were nearer to the type of the American interurban street railways. Great Britain has highly efficient postal and telegraph services, both of which are in the hands of the Government. The postal system was revo- lutionized by legislative acts of 1837 and 1839, the penny postage for letters being established in the latter year. Following this change, the an- nual number of letters carried per head of the population for the United Kingdom increased from 4 in 1839 to 8 in 1840, 31 in 1870, and 57 in 1901. For England and Wales in the last year the figure per head was 62, for Scotland 47, and for Ireland 32. The revenue from the postal service exceeds the expenditure by nearly £4,000,000 annually. A parcel post, run in connection with the post-office system, has largely supplanted private express com- panies in the carrying of light packages. Postal savings banks and a system of life insurance are connected with the postal system. (See heading Samngs Banks.) During the years from 18G8 to 1870 the Government assumed the owner- ship and control of all telegraph lines in the United Kingdom, and made them a part of the post-office system. The charges were greatly re- duced, with a consequent enormous increase in the number of messages sent. Telegi-nms may be sent to any part of the United Kingdom for F>d. for the first twelve words, and 1 halfpenny for each additional word. The telegraph service creates a slight deficit each year. The Government has al-so developed the policy of purchasing and controlling as a part of the post-office system the telephone lines of the coun- try. In 1892 Parliament made the first appro- priation for the purchase of the lines, and by 1897 all the main lines had been acquired ; but a private company still had a monopoly of the local or town lines. In 1899 the Government began to compete with the lines inside the to^^-ns, and licenses are now required of new companies specifying that the Government may purchase the line at the expiration of the license, thus pre- paring the way for the nationalization of all telephone lines in the near future. Great Britain is connected with Ireland by a large number of submarine cables, and thence by five lines with America. The cables to the Continent of Europe include one each to Norway, Denmark, and The Hague, and two each to Germany and France. Commerce. The industrial supremacy which Great Britain has so long enjoyed has probably been more manifest in its commercial aspect than in any other. No interests excite greater solici- tude on the part of British statesmen, or exercise a greater influence on the policy of the country, than the commercial. In the words of Mr. Cham- berlain, "commerce is the greatest of all political interests," and the iirst aim of the Government should be to "increase our trade and to settle it on a firm foundation." The protection and expansion of trade are the hopes of the English manufacturer, and are the secret of England's policy of colonial expansion and zeal in main-