rich in 1859 and of
Vienna in 1866 delivered these roads and the Venetian lines to the
kingdom of Italy. Between 1860 and 1870 the systematic construction of a
railroad net was commenced which connected the various lines with each
other and with Rome. Nearly all the railroads of Italy fell into the
hands of the government, but in 1885 they were leased for a term of
sixty years to three companies, terminable at the end of twenty or forty
years by either party upon two years' notice. Under the lease the state
received two per cent. of the gross receipts. The tariffs are fixed by
the state, are uniform and can be reduced by the state. A Council of
Tariffs, composed of delegates for the government, for agriculture,
commerce and industry, and for the railroad companies, all elected by
their own boards, has been instituted to study the wants and best
interests of the country. The total number of miles of railroad in Italy
was 8,110 in 1889.

The first road in Spain was opened in 1848 between Barcelona and Mataro.
The government greatly encouraged railroad construction by subsidies,
and during the decade following 1855 the development of the railway
system of the country was rapid. More than thirty companies have been
formed, which have built about twenty main lines, aggregating 6,200
miles.

In Portugal very little railroad building was done previous to 1863,
when a little over three hundred miles of road was constructed. The
government owns nearly half of the roads of the country, the remaining
lines being the property of private companies. The total number of miles
operated in the kingdom in 1889 was 1,280. The service and the financial
condition of the roads of Portugal are far from being satisfactory.

In Denmark the first railroad was built on the island of Seeland in
1847. Previous to 1880 the larger part of the roads of the kingdom was
owned by private companies. Since then several of the most important
private roads have been purchased by the state, which in 1889 owned 963
miles, while only 251 miles remained in private control. Only about
thirty miles more have since been constructed. The roads are well
managed, but their net earnings are less than two per cent. of the
capital invested.

On the Scandinavian Peninsula the railroad system has developed rather
slowly. Norway built the first line from Christiana to Eidsvold in 1854,
and Sweden commenced railroad building two years later. The narrow-gauge
system is f