that the wealth of a country should increase in a consistent way, and, in particular, in such a way that other branches of wealth should not outstrip agriculture; that means of communication should be appropriate to the given state of agriculture, and that railways, which were the product of political rather than economic expediency, were premature while the land was being used incorrectly, since instead of boosting agriculture, as was expected of them, they had brought agriculture to a halt by outstripping it and promoting the development of industry and credit;