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THE RAlLII*A I.’S ,421.D THE ST.-fTE. 3 59
superior authorities and breaking the laws under which they
hold funds, this is the strongest possible objection to
industry. Such difficulties never arose in the postal work,
because, a8 1 have said, the capital expenditure is there quite
inconsiderable, and the current expenditure very regular in
amount, 80 as to be easily estimated and controlled. NOW, if
out of a total not yet amounting to t,en millions, a Governnmnt
Department has managed to spend a million and ahnlf without
authority, what may me expect if a few energetic officials hold
in their hands a property, of which the very lowest valuation
is six hundred millions sterling, nnd a far mora probnblo
valuation n thousnnd millions ? The ‘rreasnry does not even
nndertake to mnnnge its own national debt, thc work of which
is placed in the hnnds of tho Bnuk of Englnnd. I tremble to
think what might be tllc financinl results if n prtqwrty exceeding
the national debt in nominal value, :ud requiring in
erery part of it constant repairs, renewals, and esttmsions,
mere in the hands of a, I’arlismcntnry Minister, wl~o might find
some day that he had been illegally and ignorantly signing
away great sums of moncy at the bidding of his snbordinntes.
Coming nom t,o the subject of milwnys, it must be allowed
that railway communication presents somo conditions fnvourable
to State control. The larger part of the traffic can be
carried on according to n prearranged and published timetable,
so that the public, whether in travelling or transmitting
goods, will have apparently as good Inc:$ns as i11 the l’ost
Office of scrutinising the efficiency of thc dcpnrtmcnt and
exposing any lnsity. Thc union of all railways in one complete
system would allow of much economy in superintendence, in
the use of tho rolling-stock, t,he avoidance of competing trains,
and so forth. The public mould be saved from that most
annoying circumstance, the missing of a train when pnssing
from the lines of one company to those of another. It is
commonly said, too, that enormous advantages will arise to
the country when the rates of passenger and goods traeic are
arrangedwithregard to theinterests of the people rather than the
interests of the shareholders. The elaborate system of classified
rate5 for goods might be done away with, andl goods carried