COLONIAL SYSTEMS OF THE WORLD 23 



Australia and the adjacent islands, which in 1876 took 48 per 

 cent from the home country, in 1896 took but 40 per cent. The 

 French colonies now take from the home country- about 42 per 

 cent of their total imports, while the British colonies obtain 

 about 43 per cent of their total imports from the home country. 



Regarding the effect of a well-administered colonial system 

 upon the commerce of the mother country, the following facts 

 seem to be just now interesting and suggestive : 



The non-British world buys 15 per cent of its total foreign 

 merchandise from the United Kingdom ; the British colonial 

 world buys 43 per cent of its foreign. merchandise from the 

 United Kingdom. The total imports of the British colonies 

 amount to 215 million pounds sterling annually. Great Britain, 

 by supplying 43 per cent of this instead of 15 per cent, which 

 she averages in the commerce of other countries, makes an ad- 

 ditional market for 60 million pounds sterling annually of her 

 products. Her total exports to foreign countries (omitting the 

 colonies) are 206 million pounds sterling, or 15 per cent of their 

 total imports, and if to this were added a like percentage of the 

 imports of the colonies her total sales would be 238 million 

 pounds sterling instead of the grand total of 296 million pounds 

 sterling which she enjoyed in 1896, the year to which these fig- 

 ures relate. It is thus apparent that her sales are enlarged 

 through her colonial system in the sum of about 60 million 

 pounds sterling in round figures, or 300 million dollars per 

 annum, thus increasing by 25 per cent her total exports, and 

 creating by her colonial system a market for 300 million dol- 

 lars' worth of her products and manufactures. 



Not only has Great Britain added to her market by bringing 

 the 350 million people of her colonies into the colonial relation- 

 ship, but there has evidently been, through the material devel- 

 opment which has followed this relationship, a great increase in 

 the purchasing power. The construction of highways, harbors, 

 railways, and telegraphs has evidently quickened the general 

 business conditions, and with the increased activity and pros- 

 perity enlarged the consuming power. The railways now in 

 the British colonies alone are more than 55,000 miles in length, 

 the telegraph lines nearly 150,000 miles, and the highways far 

 in excess of that. A large proportion of the railway lines is 

 under the control and in many cases operated by the govern- 

 ment, and it is an interesting fact that the lines operated by the 

 government expend a smaller proportion of their total receipts 



