THE EAST INDIAN RAILWAY.

The

remark, that many things have pressed hardly on the contractors in their dealings with the Railway Company; while at the same time the latter have treated them on the whole with great liberality and fairness. The cause of this apparent contradiction is to be found in the fact, that the Railway Company have not been independent, and that in the disputes that have arisen between them and some of the contractors, the claims of the latter have been in respect of matters beyond the ultimate control of the Company. For example, when the contractor for the second distance between Howrah and Pundooah established a claim for extra work, in the Supreme Court, he also demanded compensation in respect of alterations made, by the direction of the Government, in the original places upon which he had contracted, and sought compensation for the delay in giving him a possession of the land. Although these claims were not made good, no doubt existed as to the fact of the alteration, and the delay was admitted. contractors who subsequently undertook the Mirzapore district, also set up a claim in respect of a somewhat similar alteration of their original plans, it having been for a long time undecided in the Department of Public Works, whether the Touse and Jumna bridges should be of timber or of masonry. This formed the ground of an alleged mis-understanding, under which the contractors purchased timber for the purpose. Subsequently in contravention, as the contractors contended, of the agreement made by them, the Government ordered those bridges to be built of brick and stone, and the result was a great loss to them. They also set up a claim in respect of the delay in giving them the land. Although on a reference to arbitration, nothing was recovered by the contractors in respect of these claims, and the sum of Co.'s Rs. 1,60,000 was awarded to the Railway Company, large advances having been made by them, yet it clearly appeared that indecision and delay had occurred in the manner described, although they were held not to amount to a good cause of action against the Railway Company, or to entitle the contractors to any indemnity.

It is not the place here to dwell on the difficulties that beset the contractors, in the rise of prices and scarcity of labor induced partly by their own consumption, the failures they met with in brick-making, and other misfortunes; but we must observe that much was left undone, which might have been done by the Government, in assisting the contractors in procuring labor, and so lessening their expenditure. It would have been easy for the Government to impart to the labouring classes that confidence which the contractors, left to themselves, The local influence of the authorifound it hard to establish.

SEPT., 1858.

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ties however was not exerted to the full extent, and this is the more to be regretted, because one of the causes of the difficulty which was experienced in procuring labour was, that the laborers' wages in some of the Government works had been so extensively appropriated by middlemen, that the prevailing notion among the workmen in many places was, that their chance of getting paid was very doubtful. The interests of the Railway from first to last,-from the first proposal through all the stages of its construction, would have been the object of greater care and attention with a Government fully alive to its

own.

Probably the causes to which we have adverted as productive of delay in the affairs of the Railway, will have that effect in a still greater degree, now that the works are almost entirely in the hands of the Company. In order that the Public Works Department may sanction in writing "all the contracts, orders, directions, proceedings, works or undertakings of the Company," as is now requisite, with facility and despatch, there ought to be in that office a most complete knowledge of Railway engineering and Railway affairs. It would be, of course, competent to the Government to exercise its power to control, without entering into minute details, but if all the particular proceedings in the making and management of the line, however unimportant, are to be separately discussed and sanctioned, much time must necessarily be occupied, and without perfect knowledge of the subject in the officers at the head of the Department, much damage must be done. In fact, though the duties of the engineer to the Railway require a greater amount of ability, than the duties of him who has merely to sanction proposals, in both cases the knowledge requisite is much the same. And with reference to the daily increasing importance of getting the line completed as speedily as possible, the practical effect of a minute superintendence of details is open to much criticism, and there can be no doubt that it would be expedient and wise on the part of Government, to allow a very large discretion to the Railway engineers. Delay is clearly the weak point in this kind of "double Government," and necessary as is this Government control upon the theory of the Indian Railway system, and with all the advantages which it presents in many respects, the mode of carrying it out may render it a great hinderance to the progress and permanent good of the Railway. Such a mode of conducting the Government superintendence might easily be adopted, as that no serious delay would be incurred; though we cannot say that the past history of the Railway inspires us with much confidence that it ever will be so. Since the departure o

Colonel Baker in 1857, there have been three or four engineer officers successively at the head of the Railway Department of the Public Works; and however able these officers may be, they came from employments which have not given them experience in, or practical acquaintance with Railways. Such officers too, in the course of the Service, pass on to other appointments, as soon as they have acquired the information for the proper discharge of their very important duties, and their place is filled by those who have every thing to learn.

It would be difficult to estimate too highly the benefits that would have been derived during the early part of 1857, from a perfect Railway communication with Benares; even as it was, the effect of the rapid conveyance available on the experimental line was most important. Two days' additional delay in throwing troops into Allahabad in June, would have led to the most serious consequences, and about two days were saved by the Railway being opened as far as Raneegunge. Since then too, it has greatly facilitated the progress of troops going up-country; there being no difficulty in carrying two hundred men daily from Calcutta to Raneegunge, and much larger numbers being carried on special occasions when necessary. Many of the engineers along the line have been exposed to great personal dangers in the course of the Rebellion; and very many of them have done most excellent service to Government by their bravery and determination. The noble defence of Mr. Boyle's house at Arrah, (which, without the fore-thought and skill of the engineers, would have been impossible, notwithstanding the bravery of the other defenders) is familiar to all, and its importance in the work of quelling the insurrection gives it a place in Indian history rather than in an account of the Railway. The science no less than the gallantry displayed in that defence are remarkable, and there is no doubt that the preparations made by Mr. Boyle were the saving of the garrison.

In May 1857 when the Mutiny broke out, the works from Agra to Delhi, a distance of 250 miles, were being carried on with vigour. At the latter place, where the effects of the Rebellion were first felt, five of the Company's engineers succeeded in escaping, with great difficulty. Two were subsequently killed in attempting to leave the territory of the Bullubghur Rajah, where they had taken refuge; the rest made their way to Agra, where they served with the volunteers of that place. As early as the month of November last, the engineers were able to return. and resume operations in the Delhi district, which had for about six months been overrun by the insurgents. They found that much damage had been done, and that nearly all

bungalows and offices, with their plans and papers, had been burnt or destroyed. Upon this district alone, we believe, the losses on the Railway exceeded a lac and a half of rupees. The engineers employed on the Agra district retired safely into Agra. Of those who were at Etawah three effected their escape, one to Allahabad, the other two to Agra. In the Cawnpore district the loss of life was very great, and for the space of ninety miles along the line, all the engineers of the Railway Company, as well as those in the contractors' employment, lost their lives, with the exception of two. From Futtehpore the engineers escaped to Allahabad. At a place about twenty-five miles distant from Allahabad, a party of engineers and contractors' assistants had a remarkable escape. Being threatened with an attack by the natives, they occupied a high water-tank which had been built for supplying the locomotives, and they managed to hold that place against a large crowd of assailants for two days. They were at last rescued and brought into the Fort of Allahabad, by a body of sowars sent out to their aid. There was a large muster of the Company's engineers in the latter place, and they, when the mutiny of the sepoys occurred on the 6th June, took their share of military duty, in guards and expeditions against the insurgents of the city, during the occupation of the Fort till the 19th. From the western division of the Mirzapore district the engineers escaped to Allahabad; from the eastern to Mirzapore, at which place the engineers were, as everywhere else, most active in the public defence. The mutiny at Dinapore obliged those in the Benares district to retire into Benares, where the district engineer has since constructed extensive entrenchments, at the request of the authorities. At Allahabad and Mirzapore the entrenchments were also superintended by the Company's engineers, and at Ferozepore one of them filled the post of Garrison engineer. Much credit is due to these gentlemen, as a body, for the good service done by them to the State, and for the patience and cheerfulness with which they have endured privation and suffering, and in many cases heavy loss also.

Many men well acquainted with India have expressed opinions that in a country like this, where the habits of the people are primitive, and where there are not even roads upon any extended scale, so rapid a transit for goods and passengers, as a Railway affords, if not unnecessary, is at all events less important than the extension of the means afforded by the country for slow traffic by land and water. If this were admitted, and we are not prepared to do so, it is clear that no money, means, or resources, are diverted by the construction of the Railway from being expended upon the improvement of the system of roads;

and this improvement the Railway will tend greatly to facilitate. Nor has Railway enterprize in this country fallen into any extravagance; the lavish expenditure of money, and the inconsiderate construction of lines,-the faults that have done serious injury to English Railways, have here been avoided. Indeed it is now clear that works of this nature have not exceeded, but rather fallen short of, the requirements of the country. The good, moreover, that must be effected by them, is not to be measured by the immediate profit that must result from the traffic now proved to be sufficient to make them pay. As respects the commerce of the country, increased facilities for supply will, here as elsewhere, be marked by an additional demand. On the line of the East Indian Railway, lie territories yielding far more produce than they can dispose of, not for want of a market, but for want of the means of transit, and the demand for European produce in the markets of India, in the remotest places, is yearly increasing. Again, the employment of labour, the increase of security of property, the incitement to industry, and we may say the enlightenment of the mind, that follow the establishment of a line of Railway, must lead to their necessary consequences in the improvement of the people. Nor is it too much to suppose, that the introduction of a system of Railways into India will cause in some degree the same results, that have followed their establishment in Europe.

After the events that have lately occurred in this country, it is impossible to avoid feeling, that the most important aspect presented by the Railway is as a rapid means of transporting troops, as in short a military road. Upon this point nothing can be more just than the words of Lord Dalhousie in his celebrated minute of the 20th February, 1853

"A single glance cast upon the map, recalling to mind the vast extent of the Empire we hold; the various classes and interests it includes; the wide distances which separate the several points at which hostile attack may at any time be expected; the perpetual risk of such hostility appearing in quarters where it is the least expected; the expenditure of time, of treasure, and of life, that are involved in even the ordinary routine of military movements over such a tract, and the comparative handful of men scattered over its surface, who have been the conquerors of the country, and now hold it in subjection; a single glance upon these things will suffice to show how immeasurable are the political advantages to be derived from a system of internal communication, which would admit of full intelligence of every event being transmitted to the Govern'ment under all circumstances, at a speed exceeding five-fold