Railways and the State 289 



would be obtained by the metropolitan dealers from other 

 districts, instead ; and so on with most other commodities. 



Indirect competition, on sound economic lines, may, there- 

 fore, still exist even when a railway company is, after many 

 amalgamations, in the possession of an apparent monopoly. 

 The law of supply and demand will still regulate both prices 

 and charges. When, on the other hand, an attempt is made 

 to enforce an artificial and non-economic competition by Act 

 of Parliament, the inevitable result is that the companies 

 concerned find it to their advantage to combine, or to agree, 

 rather than to compete in rates and fares under conditions 

 that would not only be mutually disadvantageous, but confer 

 no lasting benefit on the public they seek to serve. 



How the ultimate result of railway policy, as here described, 

 has been to bring about the creation of great systems out of 

 small ones may be seen from the following typical examples, 

 showing in each case the number of lesser companies absorbed, 

 leased or worked as the result of amalgamations, of leases in 

 perpetuity, or otherwise ; though the figures do not include 

 railways which have been vested in two or more companies 

 jointly : 



COMPANIES 



NAME OF COMPANY. LENGTH OF LINE. 1 AMALGAMATED 



Miles. OR LINES LEASED. 



Great Central 753 ... 15 



Great Eastern 1133 ... 26 



Great Northern 856 ... 22 



Great Western 2993 ... 115 



Lancashire and Yorkshire . . . 589 ... 14 



London and North-Western . . . 1966 ... 59 



London and South- Western . . . 964 ... 40 



London, Brighton and South Coast. . 454 ... 19 



Midland 1531 ... 35 



North-Eastern 1728 ... 41 



South-Eastern and Chatham . . . 629 ... 29 



Caledonian 1074 ... 41 



North British 1363 ... 45 



Great Northern of Ireland . . . 560 ... 14 



Great Southern and Western (Ireland) . 1121 ... 19 



1 The figures in this column are taken from the Board of Trade Rail- 

 way Returns for] 1910. 



