No system of rates can be suggested, much less adopted, which would satisfy the desires of all traders. When the recommendation of the Railway Rates Committee is carried out--when one uniform classification is adopted over all the railways, and the maximum rate clauses of the Companies are consolidated and revised on the basis of their existing powers--any difficulty in ascertaining whether the charges are within the companies’ powers will be removed. The reasonableness of the charges for terminal services will be determined by the Railway Commissioners. Instead of the many scales of tolls now in force on all large systems of railways--due to their being built up of originally independent lines--one or at most two scales of tolls will govern the entire systems of companies. By this process a great improvement will be effected. Many of the anomalies in the rates will be removed. But it is to be hoped, in the interest of the trade of the country as a whole, that no legislation affecting railways, while preserving the existing provisions against undue preference, will interfere with the right of the companies to charge, within their maxima, differential rates such as the traffic will fairly bear; a power which has enabled them to meet the requirements of producers and consumers in varying circumstances. These observations have not been written with a view to prove that there is no scope for criticism in the management of railways in this country, but are made with every desire to comprehend and appreciate all reasonable objections. They do not pretend to solve all difficulties of the railway problem; but they may, at least, show the serious dangers which would arise if some of the crude and popular proposals often put forward were adopted, and may aid in arriving at a safe and equitable settlement. APPENDIX I. COMPARISON BETWEEN ENGLISH AND FOREIGN RATES. The figures and facts which have been stated prove that, as a rule, no fair, or even useful, comparison can be made between rates per ton per mile on railways in England, and those charged on railways in continental countries. A multitude of circumstances--original cost of construction, difference in gradients, nature of services performed, speed in transit, limited liability of foreign companies, opportunities for getting full loads, immunity from taxation--must all be taken into account before a just comparison can be established.