he good offices of
life has augmented those feelings of interest in our
fellow-creatures, and kindness towards them, which are not less in
accordance with the spirit of Christianity than conducive to the
social wellbeing of communities.

The knowledge which one acquires by personal experience and
observation is, generally speaking, much more valuable than that
obtained from the written experience or observation of others. By
the former method we obtain knowledge in a more rapid, accurate, and
impressive manner; and, as a consequence of this, retain it longer
in our memories, and possess a greater and more constant command
over it. Books always convey a faint and imperfect, and often a very
erroneous impression of things; and to the extent that railways have
superseded or assisted book-teaching, have they conferred upon
society an improved means of acquiring knowledge.

Through the instrumentality of railways also, an impetus has been
imparted to the inventive and constructive faculties of the human
mind. By being brought into more frequent contact with one another,
individuals whose tastes and occupations are more or less similar
are naturally led to form comparisons regarding the relative merits
of their respective productions. This comparison has necessarily
sharpened invention, improved taste, and suggested improvement. It
is not too much to affirm, that there is not a single branch of
industry now pursued within this country which has not, directly or
indirectly, been benefited to an immense degree by the introduction
of railways. Having served to bring into one market far more
articles of commerce than before were exposed in it, this new mode
of locomotion has to a great extent increased throughout our
different trades and callings that element of a generous and
wholesome competition which is the most effective agent in eliciting
a high degree of skill in the cultivation of an art, or the
improvement of an invention.

To railways we are also indebted for a new application to practical
usefulness of one of the most powerful elements in nature's
laboratory: we refer to the employment of electricity in the
transmission of thought. Although the wondrous powers and properties
of the electric telegraph were known long before the introduction of
the railway system, they were not till then made to minister, as
they now do, to the information of man. By providing facilities
towards laying and protecting the delicate ma