Cairo, only to return to Kerak (1308-10) after a fresh deposition while awaiting a second and final restoration. For many years Kerak, which was the treasure-city of the Mameluke sultans in 1355, slipped out of history, and during much of the Ottoman period (1517-1918) enjoyed an uneasy if obscure independence, only coming under direct Turkish civil administration after the construction of the Hejaz railway.
Kerak was captured by the Emir Faisal on April 7 1918. General Allenby's troops operated in Transjordania in the spring of 1918 and the retreating Turkish garrison of Ma'an, forming part of the IV. Army, surrendered to Gen. Chaytor with the Australian Light Horse at Qastal on Sept. 29 1918 which marked the end of the Ottoman period. Transjordania formed part of the Emir Faisal's dominions, even after he lost Damascus, until the spring of 1921, when it was transferred to his brother the Emir 'Abdalla. (H. P.-G.)
TRANSPORT. Among new economic conceptions resulting
from 20th-century progress, the rise of a definite " science and art " of Transport is of outstanding interest.
The Function of Transport. The function of transport may be described as the transference of persons and things, as and when required by mankind, from one part of the earth to another in a minimum of time and at a minimum of cost, these two factors being closely connected with each other. The axiom of political economy that exchange enables wealth which would otherwise remain unutilized to be used to the best advantage implies , displacement. Such displacement or transportation is an essen- tial characteristic of that form of exchange which we recognize under the name of commerce, and hence the history of commerce is to a great extent the history of the development of transport. The transport problem is an ever-recurring one which can never , be finally disposed of. Only in recent years have its complexities been systematically studied, although the problem must have arisen when the first man had any belongings to move.
The factors governing the development of transport are intrinsic and extrinsic, the former including the nature and quantity of matter to be conveyed, the distance and character of the earth's surface between the two points of carriage, and the apparatus available for bringing the movement into effect. These intrinsic factors are governed and often impeded by cer- tain extrinsic factors, which are mainly political, economic, strategic, and, lastly, the ever-existing element of human nature.
During recent years the importance of efficient transport to , civilization has been more and more realized by the leading men in the world of commerce and politics; various schemes have been formulated and put into operation with a view to removing obstructions, and in order that a more comprehensive grasp of the whole subject might be obtained. These include the forma- tion of schools of economics at the universities and elsewhere, which treat the subject as a branch deserving accurate study and scientific inquiry. A definite advance has also been signalized by the formation in the United Kingdom of a Ministry of Trans- port and of an Institute of Transport; also by the publication of various journals which deal exclusively with the subject.
Those who are intimately connected with the present-day efforts towards a solution of the problem are forced to realize
- he all-embracing scope of the subject and the difficulties attend-
ing its every phase. On the latter aspect of the problem it is nteresting to note that as transport becomes more completely >rganized, it more surely provokes increasing controversy.
Many obstacles have already to a great extent been overcome, md those dealing with the nature of the commodities carried may >e instanced as an example. The difficulties attending upon .he bulk, fragility, delicacy, and the preservation of certain
- ommodities which in early times formed an unsurmountable
ibstacle to their carriage, have been solved, and as a result, in increasing traffic in these commodities has taken place. This n turn increased the demand for these commodities, the wants if man having become less elemental and more artificial as the rorld has become more civilized. Of the extrinsic factors .fleeting the development of transportation we may instance he colonizers of the Early and Middle Ages, the growth of over-
seas trade dating from the I2th century, the wonderful impulse given by the " Industrial Revolution " of .modern times, and, lastly, military exigencies in war-time.
Generally speaking, the development of transport brings about a tendency to a surplus of wealth. Unless a country pro- duces a surplus of wealth it is unable to reduce poverty to a minimum or to insure that all its inhabitants have a sufficiency of food, clothing and warmth, without which contentment is an impossibility. The cheapening of transport reduces the cost of the necessities of life and thus enables a person to live at a higher standard than would be possible if the whole of his earnings were taken up in obtaining the bare necessities of life. The prosperity of most modern countries has directly followed the improvement of their transport system. Instances of this may be quoted in the case of Great Britain, with its internal system of railways and its vast organized overseas communication of shipping; of America, France and Germany, with their railways and internal waterways. On the other hand, China may be quoted as a country with vast resources and possibilities, but which for the want of transport facilities is not yet developed in proportion to her territory or population. It would not be too much to say that the development of the wealth of any country in the world has been brought about from time im- memorial chiefly by the improvement in its transport system. The development of transport acts upon, and in its turn is in- fluenced by, the progress of mankind in the continuance and im- provement of the civilization of the world. It affects and pro- motes the intercourse between different peoples and continents, and it creates opportunities for employing the forces of Nature for the use of mankind by the advancement of science.
In general terms, modern-day transport may be classified into human, animal, and mechanical. In its various forms the latter is carried on by land, road, sea, river, canal, inland water, railway, air and aerial ropeways: these in turn are actuated by the motive powers of gravity, steam, electricity, combustion engines, wind, and water. All these motive powers originate in some form or another in the use and application of the stored-up energy of the elements, and the object of mankind has always been to use these elements to give the best results with a -min- imum of cost. The progress of mankind has probably lain in this direction more than in any other, and advancement has been made during the past century which would before that period have seemed impossible of attainment.
The History of Transport. At different periods of their existence the various communities of the world have passed through somewhat similar stages of transport development. We read that canals were constructed in Egypt 3000 B.C., that the Phoenicians crossed the inland seas in ships propelled by oar and wind and carrying 500 men, and that King Solomon drew a portion of his revenue from the caravans which jour- neyed through his territory. We learn that Babylonian caravans travelled into Phoenicia, Arabia, Syria, and Persia, and that the Egyptians sold chariots in neighbouring countries at an equiv- alent value of 50, while chariots are first noted in the annals of Britain in 300 B.C. The Greeks, before 1000 B.C., were con- structing roads, and providing their harbours with walls and jetties, whereas roads, as such, were practically unknown in Britain nine centuries later.
The first mode of transport undoubtedly was the carrying of commodities on the human form. This mode is still exclusively used among the primitive tribes and to a certain extent even among the most civilized nations. Primitive man, however, early realized the value of waterways as a means of transport, and at first utilized a raft of tree trunks lashed together, a cumbersome method, both in
E reparation and in use. This raft he guided by means of a stick or ranch, the forerunner of our punt pole. He also discovered that skins would float, and, by supporting the skin of an ox or a horse with a light wicker frame, he produced the coracle, a boat which he could propel on the water and carry on his back overland. Later, two or more skins were sewn together to form the shell of the boat, the seams being " caulked " with a resinous substance. The coracle is still in use on certain of the western rivers of Britain. It was an easy stage to build up the raft into a sort of box by using planks for the sides, the planks being sewn together. Here we have the origin of our present-day flat-bottomed boats. Vet again, by the use of
