This is the bald outline of our long and interesting journeys, which by land and sea comprehended some 70,000 miles. How bald it is I keenly feel, and it would afford me more pleasure than I can tell to give some account of our wonderful experiences—of the delight of sailing in southern seas; of the vast regions of the mainland of Australia; of the marvels of its tropical parts; of the entrancing beauty of New Zealand and Tasmania; of the wonders of Canada, the variety of its natural productions, its magnificent wheat-growing areas; of the charm of South Africa with its glorious climate and its beautiful rolling veldt. What a memory it all is! Tranquil seas, starlit nights, the Southern Cross, noble forests, glorious mountains, mighty rivers, boundless plains; young vigorous communities under sunny skies, with limitless space in which to expand. I should love to enlarge on these things, but a sense of proportion and propriety restrains my pen.
In all the Dominions we were received with the warmest of welcomes and most generous hospitality—governments, municipalities and corporations vieing with each other in doing us honor, whilst private individuals loaded us with kindness. It was clear that our mission was popular, and clear too that affection for the old country was warm and lively. I cannot attempt to narrate all that was done for us—banquets, receptions, excursions, garden parties, concerts—time and space will not allow. But I cannot be altogether silent about the splendid special train which the South African Government placed at our disposal from the time we left Capetown until we reached Johannesburg, which (taking evidence at the various places on the way) occupied several weeks. This sumptuous train consisted of dining car, sleeping cars and parlour car, was liberally staffed and provisioned; with a skilful chef, polite and attentive waiters and attendants. It was practically our hotel during those forty days or more.
In Australia and New Zealand, more than once, the various governments provided us with special cars or special trains to visit their remoter districts
with the greatest possible comfort. The same was the case in Newfoundland, whilst the Canadian Government lent to us a steamer—the Earl Grey—for our journey from Rimouski to Newfoundland, which since has done good service for the Allied cause in the war.
In Canada we travelled from Montreal to Prince Rupert, some 3,000 miles, in a handsome and most commodious car kindly lent to us by Sir Daniel Mann, one of the founders of the Canadian Northern Railway. It, too, was our home and hotel during the ten days which that journey occupied. The longest passenger vehicle I had ever seen, it had ample kitchen, dining room, sitting room, sleeping and “observation” accommodation for us all, with an excellent bathroom and the luxury of a shower bath.
On all our journeys to and from the Dominions, and in all our expeditions by sea or by land, my wife accompanied me. She was an excellent traveller. There is considerable difference in our years; but, as Dickens has said: “There can be no disparity in marriage save unsuitability of mind and purpose.” The only lady who accompanied the Commission everywhere, she was sometimes called “The Lady Commissioner.” One must not praise one’s own, but this much I may say: Her Irish wit and bright unselfish ways made her, everywhere and always, a welcome addition to the Commission party.
After November, 1916, we held no more public sittings, took no further evidence, but sat down at Spencer House (one of the many stately London residences lent by their owners to the Government during the war) and there, in its ballroom, industriously worked out our Final Report. This, of course, reviewed the whole subject of our inquiry and embodied our final conclusions and recommendations. To the credit of the Commission be it said, these conclusions and recommendations were entirely unanimous, as also were those in each of our Interim Reports, published in connection with the Dominions separately.
In this Final Report the subject of railways was not included. Railways of course formed part of our inquiry, but they were dealt with in our Interim Reports.
To a large extent railways were more a matter of domestic than of Imperial concern, but as the development of the resources of the Dominions
depended greatly upon the adequacy of railway transit, the subject came within the province of our inquiry. I will not trouble the reader with statistics (which can be readily obtained elsewhere) beyond the following statement which represented, at the time we made our investigations, the railway mileage and the population in each Dominion compared with the United Kingdom:—