28

INTERN AL COMMUNRATION

eminence in the market, and constitutes almostthe whole support of commerce.

If the importance of facilitating commercerequired illustration, every political economist,who has written on the subject, maybe quotedin support of it. This does not, however,come within the limits which I have prescribedto myself in the present work. It has alreadybeen recently discussed in every shape in thedifferent periodical publications, and also insome works written expressly for the purpose.The only question which I have undertaken is,to ascertain what species of internal communi-cation presents those conditions in the greatestperfection.

Without anticipating, at this early stage ofthe work, conclusions which can only be ob-tained by the result of ulterior deductions,derived from detailed observations and experi-ments, it may be necessary briefly to state,that the competition seems almost wholly torest between Rail-roads and Canals. It maybe a question, in many eases, if Rail-roads cancompete with existing common roads, in theeconomy and facility of the conveyance ofgoods and passengers ; but whether Rail-roadsare proposed to supersede canals or commonroads, it is alike a subject of the deepest ini-