On all our journeys to and from the Dominions, and in all our expeditions by sea or by land, my wife accompanied me. She was an excellent traveller. There is considerable difference in our years; but, as Dickens has said: "There can be no disparity in marriage save unsuitability of mind and purpose." The only lady who accompanied the Commission everywhere, she was sometimes called "The Lady Commissioner." One must not praise one's own, but this much I may say: Her Irish wit and bright unselfish ways made her, everywhere and always, a welcome addition to the Commission party. After November, 1916, we held no more public sittings, took no further evidence, but sat down at Spencer House (one of the many stately London residences lent by their owners to the Government during the war) and there, in its ballroom, industriously worked out our Final Report. This, of course, reviewed the whole subject of our inquiry and embodied our final conclusions and recommendations. To the credit of the Commission be it said, these conclusions and recommendations were entirely unanimous, as also were those in each of our Interim Reports, published in connection with the Dominions separately. In this Final Report the subject of railways was not included. Railways of course formed part of our inquiry, but they were dealt with in our Interim Reports. To a large extent railways were more a matter of domestic than of Imperial concern, but as the development of the resources of the Dominions depended greatly upon the adequacy of railway transit, the subject came within the province of our inquiry. I will not trouble the reader with statistics (which can be readily obtained elsewhere) beyond the following statement which represented, at the time we made our investigations, the railway mileage and the population in each Dominion compared with the United Kingdom:-- Miles of Population. Number of Railway. Inhabitants per Mile of Railway. Canada 35,600 8,075,000 280 Australia 18,000 4,500,000 250 South Africa 8,800 1,300,000{207a} 150{207b} New Zealand 2,900 1,052,000{207a} 370 Newfoundland 800 250,000 320 United Kingdom 23,500 46,000,000 1,950 It is clear that railway construction has not been neglected in the Dominions, and that, measured by population, the mileage is considerable. Speaking generally, the Dominion railways are highly efficient and serve their purpose well. Extensions were being projected and many were in course of construction for the further development of natural resources and of trade and commerce.