Inaugural Lecture 1889 19 



to move what has been mined or the works will be checked 

 by the activity of the workers themselves. And when the 

 coal has been brought to the surface he must have means 

 of transport at his command to convey it to the market at 

 least as rapidly as it is put out. Similarly the fertility of 

 the pampa is of little use while it lies between the ocean and 

 the mountains. It must be made accessible to labourers 

 and facilities must be offered for the conveyance of the fruits 

 of their toil to the market. Until within the present decade 

 railways were few, and as has been shown, until a certain 

 amount has been built to start on, extension is necessarily 



. But when a few trunk lines had been driven in different 

 tions into the country, secondary lines began to branch off 

 from them in all directions ; and after the first slow process of 

 breaking ground had been got over, the railway mileage in- 

 creased in rapidly rising proportion. Now the hardy North 

 Italian immigrants who form the working elements of the 

 country are absorbed and draughted away the moment they 

 instead of wandering about the streets of Buenos Ayres 

 as they did a few years ago, until they had to be assisted to 



rn home. Very soon after they have settled on their land 

 provide return traffic for the railways in the shape of agri- 

 cultural produce raised by their labour. Indeed their value is 

 so great and at certain times of the year is so sought after that 

 many Italian peasants, after gathering their own crops at home, 

 go out to the River Plate for the harvest there which is in 

 the middle of the Northern winter and return with a handsome 

 sum in hand. 



The introduction of railways into America and Australia 



has in a very few years increased to about double the ex- 



of producing country in the world. In the same time 



thr population of the world has increased comparatively 



itiy, consequently the supply of food and other commodity | 



the existing population has been enormously increased, 



with th natural economical effect, that, being more easily 



obtained, they can be more cheaply sold and their price has 



fallm. Apart from local or artificial circumstances such as 



in -tance, prices are likely to remain at a low though 



22 



