Penny postage, first proposed by Rowland Hill in 1837, adopted by Act of Parliament in 1839, and followed since then by every civilized country in the world, has proved to be a great adjunct in the education of the people. The freedom and expansion of the press during this century have also been a great power for the enlightenment of mankind. True, it has not been an unmixed good, but let us hope the good has been, and will continue to be in the ascendant. Canals, before the days of railroads and steamships, did much for the transportation of merchandise and intercommunication of the people. The Erie Canal, 363 miles in length, commenced in 1817, and finished in 1825, is said to have been one of the first impulses given to New York City in its ascendancy over every other city in the United States. On account of its great cost many of the people were opposed to it; “but in 1866, it was ascertained that besides enlarging many of the principal cities, and adding to the comfort and wealth of nearly all the people of the State, it had returned into the public treasury $23,500,000 above all its cost, including principle, interest, repairs, and superintendence.” In this same year, 1825, New York City was first lighted, partially only, with gas. The Suez Canal, opened in 1870, was used by only 486 vessels, with a total net tonnage of 436,609, but its use was steadily increased, until in 1891, it rose to 8,698,777. When the canal was opened, it had cost $100,000,000, that is, $1,000,000 a mile, and since then $40,000,000 more have been expended in improvements. These are large amounts, but the canal pays annually from $4,000,000 to $5,000,000 over the interest of its bonded debt. The introduction of railroads into England and the United States marks a great era in the progress of these two nations, not to say that of the whole world, though the event is of comparatively recent date, as the following account taken from a recent issue of the New York _Tribune_ goes to show: “The Chicago _Record_ says that Edward Entwistle who has lived in Des Moines, Iowa, for forty years, ran the first passenger engine. He was born at Tilsey’s Banks, Lancashire, England, in 1815, and was apprenticed to the Duke of Bridgewater, who had large machine shops at Manchester. The first railroad for general passenger and freight business was completed in 1831, between Manchester and Liverpool, a distance of thirty-one miles. The Rocket, the first locomotive or passenger engine, was built under the direction and according to the plans of George Stephenson, in the works where young Entwistle was serving as an apprentice. Stephenson engaged Entwistle as his assistant in the engine. The line being opened for general traffic, young Entwistle was put in charge of the Rocket, and for two years made two round trips every day between Liverpool and Manchester, one in the forenoon and the other in the afternoon. He came to this country in 1837.”