280 



AMAZONIA A^D LA PLATA. 



urgently needed, at least for strategical purposes, and for cementing the vast out- 

 lying provinces in a single political system with those of the seaboard, are the 

 routes projected to run from Rio de Janeiro and Minas Geraes to the Matto 

 Grosso regions, and from the State of S. Paulo to the southern extremity of 

 the Eepublic. Owing to the lack of such connections, Rio Grande do Sul is 

 at present in economic dependence on the States of the Plate River so far 

 as reo-ards its means of communication, while most of the Far West remains 



Fig. 120— Railways of Beazil. 

 Scale 1 : 45,000,000. 



West oF Greenwich 40° 



1,250 Miles. 



practically cut off from the rest of the commonwealth. In respect of its 

 relations with Europe, Brazil also greatly needs a continuous coast line to run 

 from Campos to Pernambuco, the first port on the seaboard touched by the 

 transatlantic liners. 



No uniform plan has been followed in the development of the Brazilian rail- 

 ways, and in some districts, notably on the Minas Geraes trunk line, a broad is 

 continued by a narrow gauge. On most of the new lines also the normal gauge 

 scarcely exceeds 40 inches. A few of the railways are State property, but the 



