illustrative of that character of all. It is of particular interest to Americans for the reason that the company which built the railroad was organized by Boston capitalists. For these reasons, the law embodying this concession, given in Appendix I, will repay careful study by those who are desirous of knowing the exact truth about Mexican railroad concessions and subsidies about which so much has been said. It will be noted, as among the most important provisions of this law, that the concession provides:
First: that at the end of ninety-nine years the road shall revert to the nation free of all encumbrances.
Second: that the mails were to be carried free by the proposed railroad during the life of the concession, to wit: ninety-nine years.
Third: that maximum tariffs for the carrying of freight and passengers are named in the concession which, by comparison with the rates charged for years by our own Western railroads constructed with the aid of government subsidies, will be found to have been very much lower than the latter.
Fourth: the government gave to the company a subsidy of $9,500 for each kilometre of constructed road, equalling $15,311 per mile, payment of which should not commence until after the completion of the first one hundred and fifty kilometres.
