Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-09-25
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.
FROM OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT



LONDON, SEPTEMBER 2, 1852
The great Importance and extent of the railroad
interest in Great Britain were never more strikingy
illustrated than they at the present time This
is the season for the annual meetings, &C. of the
various companies, and for several weeks the Times
and other morning papers have had entire pages
hlied with statements and proceedings relating to
railroads. These wholesale promoters of social
commercial, and political intercourse are rapidly
spreading themselves and stretching their iron arms
over Europe Already four great systems of rail-
ways exist on the continent the Belgian, the French
the Prussian, and the German A few words about
each. BELGIUM was the first continental country
to follow the railway example Of england. 1t now
exhibits compact network Of RAILWAYS. BY which
nearly all its principal towns are connected and ac-
commodated' The Belgian Chambers furnished the
money or rather authorized the Government to bor-
row it, by which these railways have been construct
ed Three hundred and forty-one miles Of roads made
by the Government nave been opened cost Of about
il'oVV sterling per mile About 200 miles have been
undertaken by private companies, nearly the whole of
which has been completed The Belgian railways yield
on the average, about 81 per cent on the outlay.
FRANCE strikingly exempli6es in its railways its own
theory that Paris is France" since all its important
lines spring from the metropolis in directions The
through Versailles ST. Germainwas opened in 1887
AT the close Of 1851 the length of French railway opened
was about 800 miles; the portion since opened in pro-
gress, or projected, is about as much more.
PRUSSIA loves Capitalization little less than FRANCE in
other matters but in railway enterprise she has allowed
mercantile competition have freer scope Private
panes have constructed nearly all the Prussan railways
although the Government has rendered aid in
cessary The Prussian Government win not allow
any parallel competing lines and it holds the power
of purchasing the railways after lapse of thirty years,
certain specified terms The Prussian railways open
and work at the close of 1851 appear have reached
aggregate length Of about 800 miles
In the heterogeneous of States which constitute
GERmASY, the railways have, for the part been
structed by and belong the respective Governments
Western Germany, including the cities of Hamburg Ber
lin Leipsic, Dresden, Magdeburg, Brunswick, Hanover
Bremen and busy knot Of other important towns
connected by network of railways which contrasts re
markaby with those Of East South and Central Germa
ny. Although the German railways twist about in more
tortuous forms than those of Engandor the engineers
have studied economy by going round hills rather than
through them-and although they are broken up into
many different by passing through many
States yet there may be traced certain great lines of
municaton which nearly entirely the whole
of Germany. Exclusive of the Prusan railways the
tent of those in Germany the commencement of 1851
about 5000 miles in length with about 5000 addi-
tonal miles either in progress decided upon making
aggregate in Germany exclusive Of Prussia and the
Netherlands) Of 1000 miles.
There is little to notice respecting continental railways
beyond the four great groups which we have alluded
The DUrcH have curious serpentine line of railway,
about $50 miles in length, from Rotterdam through the
Hague, Leyden, HARLEM Amsterdam Utrecht, to Arm
hem-an economical mode of linking these two towns to-
re-he Hons has ln;le AZ
the German Ocean at Altoona with the Baltic Kiel
very convenient RUSSIA has railway from
Warsaw 10 Cracow and small detached portions Of the
great projected lines between ST. Petersburgh, Moscow
and Warsaw there also horse railway connecting the
Don with the Volga.
Italy has few bits Of railways perhaps quite much
have right expect from strangely governed
country There is from Venice, through Padua, Vi
cenzs, and Verona TO Mantua Piedmontese line from
Genoa TO Turin Tuscan web connecting Florence,
Sienna Lucca, Pisa and Leghorn in roundabout way
RoxE, beh;ndhand in things, is also behndhand in
railways SWITZERLAND has its little railway Of twenty
five miles from Zurich Baden SPAIN has its two small
lines from Madrid Aranjuez and from Barcelona to
Maora SWEDEN has surveyed and has in Of pre-
paration, line Of about foryfve miles, from Christana
TO the Miosin Lake TURKEY and GREECE in the south
east and PORTUGAL in the southwest have yet become
members Of the great European railway system
Last but not least in this brief Of European
railways, those Of Great Britain and Ireland; the
present statistics Of which furnished by the annual
report Of Capt SIMMONS, the Superintendent Of the Rail-
way Department Of the Board Of Trade The extent Of
railway communication open for traffic the end of 1851
was
In England and Wales. 300 miles
In Scotland 96O
In ireland GA
ro..i - a. u,i,.a V;r.aor & 600 :.
The increase during 1851 only 200 miles, Of which
ia were in England, in Scotland, and sc in Ireland ;
being smaller addition than in any preceding year since
1874. The increase at its maximum point in lS4S
when 1872 miles Of railway added AT the end Of
1851 there 5l01 miles of railway, the construction