| Amount contributed by the State as shewn at December 31st, 1882 | £66,639,549 |
| Divers contributions also given by towns to the extent of | 1,753,992 |
| The Companies have themselves provided | 340,421,032 |
| £408,814,573 | |
| Upon the State railways (that is, for lines now worked by the Government) they have expended to December, 1882 | 33,851,598 |
| In addition to which divers subscriptions were given by towns to the extent of | 1,305,334 |
| £443,971,505 | |
| Out of which the State (as shown above) provided | £100,491,147 |
| =============== |
The total amount was thus found in the following proportions:—
| A.— | By the State on lines worked by the Companies | 15 | per cent. |
| On lines worked by the State | 7·6 | per cent. | |
| 22·6 | |||
| Contributions made by towns, &c. | 0·7 | per cent. | |
| B.— | Capital provided by the Companies | 76·7 | per cent. |
The total capital expended on French railways up to the end of 1884 had increased to £532,960,000,[48] of which sum the State had provided £148,680,000, or 27·9 per cent.; in addition to which the subscriptions given by towns amounted to ·8 per cent. Thus, up to December 31st, 1884, the capital provided by the companies themselves was not more than 71·3 per cent. of the whole. The French Government have also guaranteed the dividend on four of the great lines at rates varying from 7 to 12 per cent. Two other great companies may pay 11 and 13·5 per cent. dividend respectively before they can be called upon to construct any new lines; while all the six companies may earn dividends varying from 10 to 22 per cent. before they are bound to divide any surplus with the Government.
A portion of the capital of each company is paid off annually beyond the guarantee; and at the end of the period of concession the railways will become the property of the State. The advances made to the companies under the guarantees by the Government, with interest at the rate of 4 per cent., are to be repaid out of any surplus beyond the maximum dividends which may be paid. If at the end of 99 years, any of the companies still be in debt, the Government are to be entitled to take without payment as much of the rolling stock as may be required to repay the debt, as far as the value of the stock may do so. By the conventions of 1883, the Government arranged with the companies to which they had given guarantees, that when a request to that effect is made by the State, new lines are to be constructed up to the amount of their debts at the end of 1883. In some cases this duty is incumbent only when the dividends paid by the companies reach or exceed the maximum percentage already mentioned. In addition to the large sum expended by the French Government on, or towards the original construction of railways, the total amount advanced to the companies to make up the guaranteed dividends[49] amounted to
| December, 1883, to | £23,592,000 |
| and for the year 1884 to | 2,250,000 |
| £25,842,000 | |
| The interest on these advances amounted to | |
December, 1883, to | 5,904,000 |
| and for the year 1884 to | 36,000 |
| £31,782,000 | |
| ============== |
In France the State has not pursued in regard to railways a policy strictly commercial. It has made great sacrifices to provide railways, in the hope of securing to the country indirect ulterior gains. For the sake of their development it has incurred great expenses which excite in some minds grave anxiety.[50]
In Germany most of the railways are now the property of the State.[51] In 1884, the various Governments owned 19,610 miles, and they worked another 496 miles for the companies, leaving only 2,505 miles out of a total of 22,611 to be worked by the railway companies. Of the railways which are the property of the State, about two-fifths were constructed, and the remainder were purchased by it. Of the total capital outlay of £485,831,766 on German railways, £437,728,471 has been expended by the State in constructing or purchasing them, and £48,103,295 has been provided by the companies themselves. The return upon the capital outlay of the State railways has been—[52]
| 1880-1 | 4·87 | per cent. |
| 1881-2 | 5·01 | ” |
| 1882-3 | 5·22 | ” |
| 1883-4 | 4·86 | ” |
| 1884-5 | 5·06 | ” |
This shows an average for the five years of about 5 per cent. per annum.