In the first place, it is well known that the time occupied in the conveyance of goods is less in this country than on foreign railways. In France, for instance, the time allowed by the orders of the Minister of Public Works, before forwarding for the purpose of loading, is one day; for the transit of goods over a distance of 93 miles, there is another clear day--making two days; and for a distance of 170 miles, three days, exclusive of the time necessary for collection and delivery. In other words, traffic delivered at a station on a Monday, must be at the disposal of the consignee on the Thursday morning following at any station within 150 kilometres (93 miles) distant from the sending station. If the goods have to be “delivered to domicile”--that is, at the consignee’s residence or place of business--the time allowed by the tariff for delivery is one day--that is, in the case supposed, they must be “delivered to domicile” during the Thursday. No doubt, goods requiring speedy transit can be forwarded by _grande vitesse_ (ordinary passenger train), a service which is equivalent in respect of speed to a large portion of the goods trains in England. But the rates charged for conveyance by _grande vitesse_ in France are about three times as much as the highest class rate by goods train. In Germany, the general regulations prescribe the maximum time for delivery of goods as follows: for “_Eilgut_” (goods carried by passenger train), one day for loading and forwarding, and one day for every 300 kilometres (186 miles) or part thereof. For “_Frachtgut_” (goods train traffic), two days may be taken for loading and forwarding, and for the first 100 kilometres (62 miles) one day; for every part of each subsequent 200 kilometres (124 miles) one day. The time of transit is assumed to commence at midnight following the date of the stamp on the consignment note. In Holland, the time allowed for “express goods” before forwarding is 24 hours, and for conveyance for each 186 miles or part thereof, another 24 hours.[55] For general goods the time allowed before forwarding is 48 hours and for the conveyance, 48 hours for each 186 miles or part thereof. As in Belgium, the time allowed for transport commences at midnight following the stamping of the consignment note. [55] For further particulars see Appendix III. In Belgium all goods carried under the conditions of tariff No. 3[56] (which applies to consignments exceeding 4 cwt. in weight) are due at the receiving station three full days after delivery of the goods to the company. This does not apply if there is a glut of traffic; and another full day is allowed if the railway company deliver by cart. [56] For particulars see Appendix III.