It is stated that the late Mr. W. H. Smith,
though he had to support the rank of a Cabinet Minister, and was a man of most liberal disposition, left behind him, besides large estates, personalty valued at 21,700,000. The mass of that fortune must have been accumulated in one generation from the profit
of distributing newspapers, and its bulk indicates the advan- tages which in our time the great distributor in all countries enjoys. So vast are populations becoming, that only the great diatkibator can do the work well over a wide area ; and as he must command large capital, he gradually becomes a sort of monopolist, who is in a great degree exempt from competition, and whose business is as secure as that of the great brewer was once believed to be. He takes, as a rule, only a trifle from each customer; but the aggregate gives him "wealth beyond the dreams of avarice." The " middleman " is, in fact, taking the place which in the last generation was assumed by the con- tractor, and once successful, need set no limit to his hope of accumulation. The manufacturer, unless protected by in- dispensable patents, has rarely so favourable a position, and the private banker, until he converts himself into a limited- liability Company, has to face great risks. So has the financier,. who still occupies the front place among money-makers ; but then, he is in all but name a middleman himself, collecting- from small investors in hundreds what he lends in millions.
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