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for the United States includes the expense of an excellent and costly system of free schools, while in Great Britain little or nothing is appropriated for the great cause of public education.*

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The charge of the public debt in Great Britain I have included in the aggregate of annual expenditures, while both the National and State debts are left out of the account for the United States. The propriety of making this distinction is obvious. The object is to ascertain the sum of the ordinary and permanent expenditures. The normal condition of Great Britain is one of indebtedness; that of the United States is freedom from debt. Debts are never incurred by our government except on extraordinary emergencies, and then they continue but for a short time, the natural resources of the country being sufficient not only to discharge the interest, but rapidly to extinguish the principal. But the English national debt is a permanent charge entailed on all future generations, and no one expects that it will ever be cancelled. It was incurred for unproductive expenditure,· the cost of wars, — and not for reproductive investment, as in the case of the debts contracted by the individual states of our Union. Not one of these states has ever obtained considerable loans merely to meet the excess of ordinary expenditures over its income. They have borrowed money only for the purpose of constructing railroads, canals, and other productive public works, or of furnishing capital for banking objects. In many cases, the direct income from these works or banks more than pays the interest on the debt, so that the state is really not in debt at all, but receives an income independent of taxation. And even if this direct income be insufficient, the indirect gain to the community from the existence of these works still makes the investment a profitable one for the people. The value of the land and its annual products is so much increased, that the state could well afford to sink the whole capital invested in the public works. This is the present condition of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Their railroads and canals do not pay to the state the interest on their cost; but they have already repaid to the people more than the whole capital expended on them. It should be remembered, also, that, twenty years ago, not one of the states was in debt except for a very trifling sum.

* A calculation made by M. Chevalier, in 1833, shows that the annual cost of government in France was then about 1,250 millions of francs, which amounted to 40 francs, or $7.50 for each inhabitant, -more than three times as much as in this country. The taxes levied in France for all purposes in 1842 exceeded 1,160 millions of francs.

XII. RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES,

and in Great Britain.

The following list of Railroads in Massachusetts and the adjacent States, and in New York, is very complete and accurate, being compiled from official returns. But the remainder is quite imperfect, though more full than anything which has been given before. We insert it in the hope, that, by the kindness of our correspondents in the several States, and of the officers of the Railroad companies, we may obtain materials for a far more perfect enumeration in our next volume.

1. RAILROADS IN MASSACHUSETTS AND THE ADJACENT STATES.

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*For eight months only. The Fitchburg Railroad Company bought up the Charlestown Branch, Sept. 1, 1845, for $258,000.

+ This is a union of the Northampton and Springfield, and the Greenfield and Northampton Railroads. The latter is 19 miles long; the whole road is now open, though only two thirds of it was completed at the date of the report.

This road is managed by the Hartford and New Haven Company.

|| A union of the Randolph and Bridgewater, Fall River Branch, and Middleborough Railroad Companies. It is not yet completed.

§ Just completed.

** Not completed; leased to the Western Railroad Company.

++ This includes the Albany and West Stockbridge road, which is properly placed among the New York Railroads.

The Providence and Worcester Railroad company is chartered with a capital of $1,100,000; length about 44 miles. The Vermont and Massachusetts, and the Worcester and Nashua Railroads are also in progress.

The Woburn Branch, 3 miles long, belongs to the Lowell road; the Sax

onville Branch, 6 miles, to the Worcester; the Marblehead Branch, 4 miles, and Gloucester Branch, 12 miles, to the Eastern. Including these, the total length of what may be called the Massachusetts roads is 753 miles.

OTHER RAILROADS IN NEW ENGLAND.

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* 6 miles more in Massachusetts, as already given in the list of Massachusetts roads. † A portion of this road is in Massachusetts; on the other hand, the larger portion of the Norwich and Worcester Railroad is in Connecticut. The total length of Railroads in New England, then, is 1,044 miles.

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* Or 696, after subtracting the Albany and West Stockbridge road.

† Leased to Long Island Railroad Company in 1836, and now forms a part of that road, making 98 miles.

This road was sold to Arch'd McIntyre by the Comptroller for $4,500. It was originally constructed by the Ithaca and Oswego Railroad Company.

From profits of 1843 and 1844.

No report was received from this road for 1845.

This road belongs to the Western Railroad in Massachusetts, and its cost, receipts, expenses, &c., have already been given in the aggregate for that road.

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