| Year. | Gross Receipts. | Expenses. | Profit. | Dividend. |
| 1905-6 | 60,533 | 50,304 | 10,229 | |
| 1906-7 | 75,887 | 60,833 | 15,054 | |
| 1907-8 | 72,172 | 67,153 | 5,019 | |
| 1908-9 | 81,503 | 71,114 | 10,389 | |
| 1909-10 | 88,165 | 67,479 | 20,686 |
At the present time a considerable tonnage is transported by river from Salto for shipment from Buenos Aires. It is possible, therefore, that the extension of the Midland Company to Fray Bentos will play an important part in the development of its line and those of the companies north of Salto, and Fray Bentos should very shortly become the second port of the Republic.
The receipts in Uruguay of the Midland Company have shown some expansion of late years, having increased from £55,000 in the year ending June 30, 1904, to £88,165 in 1909-10 (see opposite page).
The North-Western of Uruguay Railway and Uruguay Northern Railway.—The remarks with regard to the nature of the country and the traffic of the Midland apply also to these lines. At the terminus of the North-Western Line at the River Cuareim arrangements exist for the interchange of traffic with the Brazil Great Southern Railway, and the respective Governments have sanctioned a project for the construction of an international bridge to connect the lines at this point. It is probable that this bridge will be constructed within the next few years, as the interchange of traffic due to the extension of the Brazil Great Southern Railway to San Borju is likely to be considerably enhanced.
The excellent tramways with which Montevideo is served are administered by three companies, local, British, and German. The local enterprise is considerably the smallest of the three, the extent of its lines not exceeding twelve miles. The concern, moreover, is dependent solely upon horse traction, with its attendant disadvantages.
The British enterprise, the United Electric Tramway Company, is the most important in the capital. It possesses eighty-two miles of line, 195 passenger-cars, and sixty-eight trailers. By the terms of the concession at least two-thirds of the employees must be citizens of the country. The Compania Alemania Transatlantia is a German Company, with a length of seventy-five miles of electric tramlines.
The steamer service of the River Plate and Uruguay is almost entirely in the hands of the Mihanovich Company, as, indeed, is that of the entire system of these great rivers. The Company is an extremely powerful one, possessing a very large fleet that comprises all classes of steam vessels from the small, puffing tug to the largest and most modern liner of the fresh waters. Many of these latter are peculiarly fine specimens of their type, graceful in build, powerfully equipped, and provided with broad and roomy decks. Although the larger of these craft will carry between two and three hundred passengers, the cabin and saloon accommodation is contrived on a most liberal and imposing scale. Indeed, there is no doubt that the Mihanovich boats are a credit to the broad rivers on which they float.
So far as the ocean passenger traffic is concerned, Montevideo is the sole Uruguayan port at which the liners call. The capital affords a port of call for the magnificent vessels of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company that, notwithstanding their size, are now enabled by means of the recent harbour improvements to enter the inner waters of the port. Of the other British lines concerned, the most important are the Pacific (that is now incorporated with the R.M.S.P.) and the Nelson Line, that possesses a fine new fleet of ten-thousand-ton boats. The other great British shipping companies whose vessels call at Montevideo are the Lamport and Holt, Houlder, Prince, Houston, the New Zealand Shipping Company, and the Shaw, Savill.
Thus it will be seen that in all monumental undertakings of the kind the British are holding their own in a satisfactory fashion. As regards ordinary commerce and the exports of manufactured goods, the progress, unfortunately, is by no means so evident. I have so frequently laid stress upon the narrowness of the home commercial ideas in this respect that still obtains in so many quarters that I am glad to be able to quote the words of another that admirably fit the case. The following is from the Consular Report on Uruguay issued in 1910, and the sentences undoubtedly sum up the situation with a commendable accuracy: "It has been pointed out to me that careful investigation into the commercial methods of our competitors reveals several reasons why British trade has failed to retain the proportion of the imports it held a few years ago. For instance, greater attention to detail is paid by the foreign merchant than by his British rival, who, as a rule, adheres in catalogues and invoices to British standard weights and measures and prices, without giving their equivalent in terms of the country. In tenders for public works German firms study the specifications with minute care, and tender for every item, leaving nothing in doubt, besides drawing up their applications in so clear and simple a manner as to give the minimum labour in examination, and the maximum of facility in comparison to the authorities who deal with them; whereas British tenderers sometimes merely quote a lump sum, ignoring all details, and often, when details are given, the price of many items is left vague, 'As may be agreed upon.' When goods are imported into the country from Germany, France, the United States of America, &c., a detailed statement in Spanish of the contents of each package is generally furnished, with metric weights and measures, which facilitates their rapid examination and dispatch, whereas British firms as a rule content themselves with the brief statement, 'Case containing machinery' or 'hardware,' &c., leaving to the Custom House official the task of working out details and calculations.