The West Indies have between 1,200 and 1,400 miles of railway, of which more than 1,000 are in Cuba. The first road upon this island, 179 miles long and extending from Habana to Guanajay, was opened as early as 1837. The next ten years developed almost the whole of the railroad system of the western half of Cuba. A number of important roads have since been opened in the central and eastern portions of the island, whose railroad mileage is at present larger per capita than that of any other political division of the Western Hemisphere save that of Canada and the United States. The second of the West India islands to construct a railroad was Jamaica. A line connecting Kingston and Spanishtown was opened on the 21st of November, 1845. Two branch lines have since been added, making the total number of miles of road on this island seventy-six at the present time. About twenty-five miles more are now in the process of construction. San Domingo and Hayti have also recently commenced to build railroads. In the former republic a line from Sanchez to LaVega, sixty-two and one-half miles long, is now open to traffic, and Hayti is constructing a line from Gonaives, on the western coast, to Porte de Paix, on the eastern coast of the island. The Spanish government in 1888 also granted a charter for the construction of a railroad on the island of Porto Rica.
Of our neighbors on the North American continent, Mexico and Canada, the former has been by far the slower to avail herself of the advantages of railroad communication. The slow growth of the railroad system of Mexico must be ascribed chiefly to the frequent political disturbances of the country as well as to the many topographical obstacles which presented themselves to the railroad engineer. The first Mexican railway, excepting tramways, was the one which connects the capital with the city of Vera Cruz. It was constructed by an English company and was opened on the first day of January, 1873. In 1875 the total number of miles of road in Mexico was 327, and five years later somewhat less than 700. Since then the development of the system has been much more rapid. In 1880 several companies were formed for the purpose of building a system of roads which would connect the Mexican capital with the United States as well as with the most important harbors of the gulfs of Mexico and California. The projectors of these lines, who were citizens of the United States, received the hearty coöperation of the Mexican government, and the work was at once pushed very vigorously. At the end of the year 1885 more than 2,500 miles of new road were open for traffic, and a thousand miles more at the end of the following year. In 1889 Mexico had 5,332 miles of road. The principal one of the newly constructed roads is the Mexican Central, which connects Paso del Norte with the City of Mexico. This line will also, when its branches are completed, form a through route between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Another scarcely less important through line north and south is the National Mexican Railway, which is 722 miles long and connects Laredo, on the Rio Grande, with the capital and the southern states. Another line has recently been opened from Torreon to Durango. The number of miles of road at present in operation in the Republic of Mexico is about 6,800, with a number of new lines rapidly nearing completion. The development of Mexico's resources has, during the past decade, kept pace with the rapid expansion of its railroad system.
In the Dominion of Canada about fifteen miles of railroad line were built as early as 1837, but only forty-three miles was added during the next ten years. In 1852 there was still only 212 miles of railroad in all of the British possessions in North America. At that time the construction of the Grand Trunk system was commenced, the first section of the system, Portland-Montreal, being opened in 1853. After this railroads increased very rapidly in Canada, reaching an extent of 2,087 miles in 1860, 4,826 miles in 1875, 6,891 miles in 1880, and 10,150 miles in 1890. The majority of Canadian railroads are in the hands of private companies, some of which have been very materially aided by the government. One of the conditions upon which the union of the several British provinces, except Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, was effected in 1867, was the construction of a railroad by the Dominion government connecting the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. This road, the main line of which extends from Point Levis, opposite Quebec, to Halifax, was accordingly built, and is still operated by the Canadian government. Its cost was about 46,000,000.
But the most important enterprise in which the government is interested is the Canadian Pacific Railway. Like the intercolonial railway, this line was a result of the political union of the colonies. Its construction was commenced by the government, but was subsequently assigned to a private corporation, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, all that had been done by the government being turned over to the company as a gift. It is estimated that the direct gifts of money, the land grant and other privileges conferred by the Dominion government upon the Pacific Railway Company exceed $100,000,000 in value, and that, with the amount of bonds and stock guaranteed by the government, the par value of its various aids amounts to $215,000,000, or $48,000,000 more than the cost of the road, as will be shown by the following table, taken from the report of the Interstate Commerce Committee of the Senate of the Fifty-first Congress:
| Subsidy granted by the act of Parliament of February 13, 1881 | $25,000,000 |
| Seven hundred and fourteen miles of railroad constructed by the Dominion Government, original cost and interest | 36,760,785 |
| Capital stock guaranteed | 65,000,000 |
| Loan to the company authorized by Parliament of 1884, in part | 29,880,912 |
| Balance of above loan | 15,000,000 |
| Bonds, interest guaranteed by the Dominion for 50 years at 3-1/2 per cent. | 15,000,000 |
| Land grant bonds | 25,000,000 |
| Subsidy of $186,000 a year, for 20 years | 3,720,000 |
| Total | $215,361,697 |
| Total cost of road, according to the company's balance sheet of December, 1888 | $131,350,019 |
The Dominion Government owns and operates four railways, the cost of which up to June 30, 1890, was $52,800,000. It has also granted to railroad companies cash subsidies which to June 30, 1889, amounted to over $46,000,000. The total number of miles of railroad in Canada was 14,004 in 1890. The people of Canada have, since the political union of the colonies, pursued an exceedingly liberal policy toward their railroads, but it appears that the great indulgence of the government only bred license in railroad circles. The evil increased from year to year, until the many complaints on the part of the public against railroad management caused Parliament in 1886 to appoint a commission to examine into the alleged abuses and to report as to the advisability of the adoption of a general railroad law, and the appointment of a Board of Railroad Commissioners. The committee reported to the Governor-General of Canada on the 14th of January, 1888, and, acting upon its recommendation, Parliament passed the Railway Act of May 22, 1888. This act, containing 309 paragraphs, provides for the complete regulation of railroad affairs, and for this purpose creates a Board of Railroad Commissioners, consisting of the Minister for Railroads and Canals, the Minister of Justice and two or more members of the Privy Council. The act also repeals all former railroad laws. Though it has been in force less than five years, its beneficial effects are already extensively felt by the Canadian public.