To the total capital in 1886 England and Wales contributed 687,769,8221., Scotland 104,595,3577., and Ireland 35,979,0751. In the division of the receipts of 1886, England and Wales took 59,277,6281., Scotland 7,519,0437., and Ireland 2,795,2821. The working expenditure amounted to 36,518,2477. on all the railways in 1886, being 52 per cent. of the total receipts.

The following tabular statement gives the total length of railways open for traffic in the British Empire in 1886 :

On June 30, 1887, there were in the United Kingdom 886 miles of street and road tramways open, from which, during the year 1886-87, 2,802,3247. had been received, and upon which 2,142,4027. had been expended. This left a balance of receipts of 659,9221. Total capital expended, 12,907,3801. The total number of passengers who travelled during the year on the tramways was 416,518,423. The number of horses was 25,501, of locomotive engines 484, and of cars 3,494.

8. Post and Telegraphs.

The number of post offices in the United Kingdom at the end of March 1887 was 17,191; there were besides 18,189 road and pillar letter-boxes. The staff of officers then forming part of the Post Office department was about 54,800 (including 3,767 females), besides about 47,000 persons who do not hold permanent positions. The following tabular statement gives the number of letters, in millions, delivered in each of the three divisions of the United Kingdom, and the average number for each individual of the population, in the ten years from 1878 to 1887 :

The following are the statistics of post-cards, book-packets, newspapers, and parcels delivered in 1886-87, showing increase per cent. on the previous year :

The number of money orders inland (foreign and colonial) issued by the Post Office during the same year, in the whole of the United Kingdom, was 10,813,034, of the aggregate value of 25,354,6017.

The inland orders were as follows:

In

crease

The total number has gradually declined from 18,368,901 in 1878, and the total amount from 27,870,1177. The number and value of 'postal orders' was as follows:

In 1886, there were 8,351 post-office savings-banks, with 3,731,421 (against 320,000 in 1863) accounts open at the end of the year, the deposits during the year amounting to 15,696,8527. (against 15,034,6947. in 1885); and the amount standing to credit of all open accounts at end of year, 50,874,3301., against 47,697,8381. in 1885.

The telegraphs were transferred to the State on February 5, 1870; in April 1887 there were 29,895 miles of line and 173,539 miles of wire (including private lines).

The telegraph revenue (gross and net) was as follows for the years indicated :—

The following table gives the number of telegraphic messages forwarded from Postal Telegraph Stations in each of the ten years from 1878 to 1887:

The total number of public telegraph offices was 6,621 in 1886-87. The telegraph department has 28 telephone exchanges open in various country towns, with 1,331 subscribers. There are now over 46 miles of pneumatic tubing in London, connecting the Central Office with others.

The gross revenue of the Post Office in 1886-87 was 10,715,978., and expenditure 8,201,3437., leaving a net revenue of 2,514,635l., being a decrease of 194,2477. on the previous year.

COLONIES AND DEPENDENCIES.

The following table gives a general view of the Colonial Possessions of Great Britain with their area, population (1881 when not otherwise stated), the date of acquisition, and the form of government.

They form three classes: (1) The Crown Colonies, which are entirely controlled by the home government; (2) those possessing Representative Institutions, in which the Crown has no more than a veto on legislation, but the home government retains the control of public officers; and (3) those possessing Responsible Government, in which the home government has no control over any public officer, though the Crown still retains a veto on legislation. The total expenditure of the Mother Country in connection with the Colonies (exclusive of India) amounts to about 2 millions sterling annually, mainly for military and naval purposes, and the strength of the military forces maintained in the Colonies (exclusive of India) is about 30,000.