After spending two chapters with the Violas, we abandon them suddenly and ascend to higher levels, literally and figuratively. This chapter focuses on the figure of Sir John, chairman of the railway board: we see him first at a social gathering on the Juno (to which we will return in Chapter 1-8), then, in a flashback, to his meeting at the top of the mountain pass with his chief engineer.

Sir John introduces us to material progress as an important theme in the novel. The narrative describes progress specifically as an ideal, a force that inspires "devotion," and compares it to a religious faith both explicitly and symbolically. We are told that it is a force "for the world's service," but overall in this chapter its portrayal is more ambiguous. For one thing, we observe that the material interests have taken the politics of Costaguana literally "in tow." We are in Sir John's head as he contemplates using bribery and force to secure land for his railroad, and we witness a marvellously ironic dialogue with the antipodal Mrs Gould, who under cover of charming politeness rebuffs his unwitting attacks on her province and makes a plea for "olden times," things that are "lovable," and the general virtues of "animation."