ing the cost of working the former, the practical result of a few years, we do not present the comparison at the present state of improvement, which those works have attained; but we encumber that estimate with all the cost and expense, of bringing up a system, from a state of comparative insignificance, to that of its present perfection.

When the Liverpool and Manchester railway was established, it was made one of the stipulations, at the celebrated contest, that none of the engines should weigh more than five tons, and that the rate of travelling should not be less than ten miles an hour. We now find, the very engine for which the premium was obtained, discarded as useless, and doomed to drag coal along a private railway, and engines employed upon that railway weighing upwards of twelve tons, while the public are complaining when the rate of travelling is less than twenty miles an hour.

We may easily imagine the revolutions and alterations, which must have taken place, in all the arrangements and works of that concern, and that all these changes could not be effected, except at a very considerable sacrifice of capital, labour, and cost. The public, and, particularly, new railway companies, are deeply indebted to the Liverpool and Manchester railway, for the benefit which they have derived from the experience upon that great work; and for the very liberal manner in which the company have at all times communicated the result of their labours to the public, or allowed others to obtain that information, such liberality entitles them to the gratitude of all the promoters of that system of internal communication.

We deem the foregoing observations necessary to shew, that, in the comparison of other modes of transport with railways, deduced from past experience, we are

scarcely acting fairly towards the system of railways; for there cannot be the slightest doubt, that the system is capable of very great and rapid improvement, and, therefore, in charging the expense of the cost of working up the system to its present state of perfection, we take no credit for such improvements as are, almost without a doubt, likely to take place in a very short period of time, and which might be fairly brought to bear, upon a comparison with other long established and complete systems of transit.

We must not, however, conceal from ourselves, and the public, that the accomplishment of all these improvements has entailed upon the construction and establishment of railways, an increase of capital, to a very considerable amount; railways, which might be constructed at 10,000l. to 12,000l. per mile, cannot now be properly formed, including the requisite establishment for carrying on the traffic, for less than 20,000l. or 25,000l. a mile. For it is now indispensable, that all the railway companies should, likewise, become the conductors or carriers of all the traffic upon the railways; and the recent order of Parliament, that no public road shall be crossed upon a level, has, likewise, increased the cost of masonry, to a very great amount.

Art. 1.-Turnpike Roads and Railways, with

Horses.

The three descriptions of transit, which we have comprised under the head of turnpike roads, are waggons, with heavy goods, travelling at the rate of two, and two miles and a half an hour; fly-vans, or carts, with light goods, travelling at the rate of four miles an hour; and coaches, for the conveyance of passengers, at the rate of nine miles an hour.

The following Table will shew the relative quantity of work, which a horse will perform, and the comparative cost of conveying goods, upon turnpike roads and railways.

TABLE I.

Table of the comparative cost of conveyance of goods and passengers, upon turnpike roads and railways, with horses.

We see, therefore, that, for every description of traffic, whether for heavy, light, or bulky goods, or for passengers, railways present a system of transport very much cheaper than turnpike roads, even when horses are employed as the motive power; and, consequently, when the two come in competition with each other, all such traffic must be absorbed by the railway. We shall now give the relative utility, with horses on common roads, and locomotive engines on railways.

Art. 2.-Turnpike Roads, and Railways with
Locomotive Engines.

TABLE II.

Table of the comparative cost of conveyance of goods and passengers, upon turnpike roads, with horses, and on railways, with locomotive engines.

On railways, with horses as the motive power, we find the cost, of conveying heavy goods, at two miles and a half an hour, is one fifth only of the cost of conveyance by horses on turnpike roads; with light goods, the comparative expense is, likewise, about one to five, and, for the conveyance of passengers, the cost of haulage is about one fourth, the comparative resistance being one ninth only. The difference, between the relative resistance and the charges, for the conveyance of goods, is

important to consider. The charges are not the mere cost of conveyance only, but the interest of capital, for the construction of the road, and all the expenses of repairs, management, &c.; and, therefore, in the case of turnpike roads, we have, over and above the cost of haulage, to add the expense of cart-hire, &c., and the tolls for keeping up the roads. In the cost of conveying goods by railways, we have similar charges, we have, beyond the expense of haulage, the cost of finding carriages, the expense of maintenance of the railway, interest of capital, and other expenses of management, police, &c.; but when we see, that the cost of motive power or haulage, on turnpike roads, is more than five times the cost of haulage on railways, there remains a much greater surplus, for all these items of charge, upon railways, than upon turnpike roads. But the cost of haulage alone on turnpike roads is greater per ton, than the entire charges upon railways. We find, therefore, that turnpike roads cannot compete with railways, even when horses are employed as the motive power on the latter; and, consequently, all the traffic of passengers and goods upon turnpike roads must be absorbed by railways, between the termini when the two come in competition with each other.

But when we compare turnpike roads with railways, where locomotive engines are used as the motive power upon the latter, the superiority is still more striking. With heavy goods, we find the haulage on railways th the cost of that on turnpike roads, and at more than three times the rate of speed. Light goods are, likewise, conveyed at 4th of the cost of horse-hire on turnpike roads, and at nearly three times the rate of speed; and with passengers and parcels, the cost of haulage on railways is only 4th of that upon turnpike roads, while the rate of travelling is more than double.