158 TlMEHRI. 
ciate this one ought to see some important station through 
which hundreds of trains on many converging lines pass 
every twelve hours — with its labyrinths of rails and con- 
stellations of bright signals, with engines rushing at 
apparently reckless speed to what looks like certain 
destruction, and to see how amidst all this apparent 
confusion perfect order reigns. 
Some idea may be given of the progress of railways 
at home by the fact that 40 years ago there were 58,000,000 
passengers carried over 5000 miles of railroad in the 
United Kingdom. In 1885 — 815,000,000 travelled over 
19,000 miles and no less than £66,000,000 sterling were 
in that year received for traffic of all kinds. 
It is amusing to recall the disfavour with which the 
innovation of railroads was regarded and the opposition 
raised. There were all sorts of catastrophes predicted, 
and some present may recollect the comparison drawn 
by the old mail coach driver who said " Well, if a wheel 
do come off and yer coach capsizes and the passengers 
get chucked into the road well there ye are — but if one 
of them things runs off the rails and the engine busts 
why where are ye ?" 
These increased facilities of locomotion have worked 
wonders in communication by post. The number of 
letters, papers and post cards sent daily from all parts of 
the empire is simply astounding. Cheaper postage has 
been rendered possible by cheaper means of conveyance, 
and reduction in postage rates has been more than 
compensated by increased revenue from the large amount 
of letters sent. It is impossible to over-estimate the 
part which cheap means of communication have played 
in keeping up the connection between colonists and home 
