386 



GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, UNITED KINGDOM OF. 



the year ending March 31, 1888, there were de- 

 livered in the United Kingdom 1,512,200,000 

 letters, 188,800,000 post-cards, 389,500,000 

 books and circulars, 152,300,000 newspapers, 

 and 36,732,000 parcels. There were 8,351 

 post-office savings-banks in 1886, with 3,731,- 

 421 open accounts, amounting to 50,874,330. 

 The deposits made in 1880 were 15,696,852, 

 against 15,034,694 in 1885. There were 3,- 

 043,161 open accounts in England and Wales, 

 139,681 in Scotland, and 158,848 in Ireland on 

 Dec. 31, 1887. The total amount standing to 

 the credit of all open accounts was 53,974,- 

 005. The regulations of the savings-banks, 

 which were twenty -seven years old, were 

 amended by an act of Parliament which went 

 into force in 1888. The main purpose of the act 

 was originally to increase the limit of deposits 

 allowed in a single year from 30 to 50 ; yet 

 this provision was abandoned on account of the 

 opposition of the banking element in the House 

 of Commons. The transfer of deposits from the 

 name of one depositor to that of another is 

 made easier, restrictions on payments to cred- 

 itors, assignees, or relatives of deceased depos- 

 itors are removed, and the general indemnity 

 enjoyed by the post-office authorities is modi- 

 tied and the Post-master General made liable 

 for payments made to the wrong person in 

 cases of fraud in which the depositor is not 

 implicated. Another act of Parliament passed 

 during the session does practically abolish the 

 limit of 30, for it permits a depositor who has 

 reached that limit to have the whole or a part 

 of the 30 to be invested in consols, which pay 

 3 per cent, interest, whereas the savings-banks 

 give only 2^ per cent. The depositor is not al- 

 lowed, however, to invest more than 100 in 

 any one year or 300 in all. The author of 

 the bill hopes that it will lead to millions of 

 people becoming interested in Government se- 

 curities, as in France, instead of the few thou- 

 sands who are now holders of consols. 



The revenue from the post-office in 1886-'87 

 was 10,715,976; expenditure, 8,201,343. 



On April 1, 1887, there were 29.895 miles of 

 telegraph lines in operation in the United King- 

 dom, with 173,539 miles of wire. The revenue 

 for 1886-'87 was 1,855,686, and the expendi- 

 ture 1,939,768, showing a deficit of 84,082. 

 The total number of messages sent was 50,- 

 243,63942,320,185 in England and Wales, 5,- 

 106,774 in Scotland, and 2,816,680 in Ireland. 



Railways. The total length of railroads open 

 for traffic in the British Empire in 1886 was 

 55,599 miles, of which the United Kingdom 

 had 19,332 miles; India, 13,390 miles; Cana- 

 da, 11,523 miles; Australia, 8,891 miles; Cape 

 Colony and Natal, 1,995 miles ; other colonies, 

 468 miles. The 19,332 miles of railroad in the 

 United Kingdom in 1886, carried 725,584,390 

 passengers; the total receipts for the year were 

 69,591,953, and at the end of the year the 

 paid up capital was 828,344,254. In 1887 the 

 new capital invested was 17,628,000, making 

 the total capital at the end of that year 845,- 



972,000. The freight receipts for the year 

 showed a considerable improvement, and- the 

 passenger receipts were also larger, enabling 

 the companies to pay an average dividend of. 

 over 4 per cent., whereas in 1886 it was below 

 4 per cent. The first and second class pas- 

 senger receipts have steadily decreased for ten 

 years, while third-class travel has increased. 

 The gross receipts of the railroads in 1887 were 

 70,900,000. 



The Army. The army estimates for 1887-'88 

 called for an expenditure of 18,393,900 to 

 provide for an effective of 149,391 men of all 

 ranks, exclusive of the force maintained in 

 India. In the beginning of 1887 the total 

 strength of the regular army was 208,357 offi- 

 cers and men, of whom 73,215 were in England, 

 3,730 in Scotland, 25,252 in Ireland, 9,289 in 

 Egypt, 70,790 in India, 24,889 in the colonies, 

 and 1,192 on passage. The force in the United 

 Kingdom was 102,197, while the troops sta- 

 tioned abroad numbered 1W5.160. The num- 

 ber of horses was 24,242, and the number of 

 field-cannon 624. The total military strength 

 of the nation in 1877-'88, according to the 

 returns of the various force?, was 679,522 men 

 of all ranks, comprised of 138,765 men on the 

 regular establishment at home and in the 

 colonies, 52,000 in the first class of the army 

 reserve, 5,300 men in the second class, 141,- 

 438 militia, 14,405 yeomanry, 255.923 volun- 

 teers, and 71,691 regular troops in India. 



The War Office has settled on the pattern of 

 a magazine rifle, with which the-regular troops 

 are to be furnished. The artillery has been 

 provided with a new twelve-pounder field-gun, 

 and a large number of machine-guns are to be 

 issued. The national defense bill, which was 

 enacted in the session of 1888, gives the Gov- 

 ernment larger and more stringent powers over 

 the volunteer organizations, especially in re- 

 gard to their mobilization, and also in regard 

 to the mobilization of the militia in public 

 emergencies. A sensation was caused in De- 

 cember, 1888, by the peremptory disbandment 

 of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Com- 

 pany of the City of London, which refused to 

 be treated on the same same footing as the 

 ordinary militia, and would not submit to the 

 regulations issued by the War Office to secure 

 discipline and efficiency. 



The Navy. The naval estimates for the year 

 1888 -'89 call for an expenditure of 12,082,800, 

 an increase of 506,000 over the estimates for 

 1887-'88. This increase is more than account- 

 ed for by the vote of 1,863,500 for naval 

 armaments, an item that formerly appeared 

 in the army estimates. Attached to the navy 

 are 62,400 officers and men, against 62,500 in 

 1887- 1 88. The government of the navy is in 

 the hands of the Board of Admiralty, in which 

 the First Lord, who is a member of the Cabi- 

 net, has supreme authority. In December, 

 1887, there were 400 vessels of all kinds in 

 commission in the British navy, besides 106 

 engaged in harbor service. The armored fleet 



