of
railways, or 7.9 kilometros for each 10,000 of the population. A
kilometro equals 1.609 English mile. There is no part of the country now
isolated, either from the centre of government in Madrid, or from the
coast, and communication with Portugal, and, through France, with the
rest of Europe, is easy and constant. With this advance in means of
transit, the trade of the country has received an immense impulse, and
its raw and manufactured goods are now reaching all markets.

The rich mineral wealth of the country and its wonderful climate only
need enlightened enterprise to make Spain one of the richest and most
important commercial factors in the world's trade. The list of minerals
alone, raised from mines in working, amounts to twenty-two, ranging from
gold and silver, copper, tin, zinc, quick-silver, salt, coal, etc., to
cobalt and antimony; and 8,313,218 tons of minerals of all these
twenty-two classes were raised in 1882 against 1,201,054 in 1862. The
value of mines in 1880 was represented by one hundred and eleven
millions of pesetas (francs), but in 1898 by three hundred and nineteen
millions (pesetas). The value of imports in 1882 was 816,666,901
pesetas, and of exports 765,376,087 pesetas. In 1899, imports were
1,045,391,983, and exports 864,367,885. But this is taking exactly the
period covered by the war with America; a fairer estimate of exports is
that of 1897, which stood at 1,074,883,372. No statement has been
published since 1899, but intermediate statistics show the trade of the
country to be advancing rapidly.

To return, however, to Spanish industries. In late years large
smelting-works have been opened in Spain, with Spanish capital and
management, while at Bilbao are large iron-works for the manufacture of
steel rails. There are splendid deposits of iron in the country, and as
the duty on foreign rails entering Spain is _L3 4s._ per ton, it is
probable that the near future will see the country free from the
necessity of importing manufactured iron, or, in fact, metal of any
kind. A Catalan company has established important works for reducing the
sulphur of the rich mines near Lorca, and confidently expects to produce
some thirty thousand tons of sulphur per annum. The rich silver mines of
the Sierra Almagrera are almost wholly in native hands, and have already
yielded large fortunes to the owners. With the present improved
transport and shipping facilities in every part of the country, it is
pro