GREAT INDIAN PENINSULA RAILWAY.

611
Mr. GEORGE BERKLEY, as the representative of the Author of
thePaper,and as officially connectedwith theGreatIndian
PeninsulaRailway Company, stated, that when he received the
Paper from his Brother, now in India, it was accompanied with a
request, that he would make any additions to it which he thought
desirable. H e believed he had exercised a wise discretion in sub-
mittingthe Papertothe Institution,almostexactly as it was
written by the Author ; because it was complete in itself, and the
Author, who had borne the brunt of the work in India, and upon
whom the chief responsibility rested, shouldhave, therefore, all
thecreditthatattachedto it. H e had also been requested to
illustrate the Paper, and he had done so bymaps and tables, to
which he would briefly allude, because, in addition to the Paper
itself, which dealt chieflywith the works of theGreatIndian
Peninsula Railway, they referred, generally, to the system of rail-
ways which had been sanctioned by Government, and were under
construction in India.
I n the absence of Mr. Rendel, the Consulting Engineer of the
East Indian Railway, he would give some particularsrespecting
that line, which extended from Calcuttato Delhi, with a long
branch to Jubbulpore and three shorter branches to Raneegunge,
the Barrackur river, and the Singarrow valley. The length of the
line was 1,338 miles, andthelengthalready opened for public
traffic, 295 miles. On the East lndian Railway, although it was
of so great a length,there wasonlyone tunnel, 300 yardsin
length. The principal worksconsisted of viaducts. I n the cross-
ings of the Rivers Soane and Jumna and two others, the railway
was carried at the top, with a roadway underneath for the ordi-
nary traffic, in a somewhat similar way to the High-Level Bridge
a t Newcastle. These four bridges were constructed upon the
wrought-iron lattice principle, and wereextensiveworks. The
bridge over the Some consisted of twenty-eight openings,with
a span of 150 feet; that over the Jumna of fifteen openings, of
which the spanwas 205 feet. The bridge over theAdjai con-
sisted of thirty-two openings, with a span of 50 feet ; that over the
Keeul, of nine openings, with a span of 150 feet; and that over
theTonse, of sevenopenings,with a span of 150 feet. I n the
prosecution of this railway, a coal field of considerable extent had
already been tapped ; the coal was used as fuel for the locomotive
engines, and was carried in large quantities along the line. This
was the first instance, in India, of the development by railways of
that most valuable mineral, coal.
The estimated capital of theEast
Indian Railway was
2 L9,000,000, rather more than & l 4,000 per mile. The cost of
the finishedportionsof the linehad been $12,500permile:
there was, therefore, every probability, that the whole of the works

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 612 INDIAN RAILWAYS.

would be carried out within the estimates. The cost of these rail-
way works had been largelyincreased by therecent mutiny, to
theextent, it was estimated, of not less than ,$3,000,000. The
following were the rates of wages per day, both before and after
the mutiny :-foremen carpenters, frotn 9d. to 134d. ; ordinary
carpenters,from Gd. to 7d.; blacksmiths' foremen,from 9d. to
l3& ; ordinary blacksmiths, from 5d. to 7d. ; masons, from 4d.
to 74d. ; coolies,from I&?. to 2kd. He hoped on a future occa-
sion, that the Institution would be favoured with a Paper descrip-
tive of the works on the East Indian Railway.
The Author had given so full a description of the Great Indian
Peninsula Railway, that it was unnecessary to do more than call
attention to the following points : that the total length of the line
was 1,266 miles, of which 246 were already opened ; that the
estimated cost was about d210,OOO per mile ; and that the portion
already opened, had been constructed at an average cost of $3,758
permile, so that there was every reason to believe, that the
estimate would not be exceeded.
The materials sent from this country for the use of Indian rail-
ways, were similar to those employed on English lines. The
engines had clinders 15 inches in diameter, with astroke of
Thoseintendedfor
P
22 inches, and our coupled wheels, each 5 feet B inches in diameter.
use upon the inclines were tank engines,
havingcylinders 15 inches indiameter,with a stroke of 2 feet,
and four wheels, each 4 feet in diameter, with skid breaks which
did not pass under the wheels, but were pressed upon therails
between the wheels, on eachside of the engine. The speci-
mens of permanent way materials which hehad brought for
the inspection of the Meeting, showed, thatthey were thebest
that thiscountry could, at anyreasonableprice, afford. I t was
of great importance, where the freight was so heavy an item, and
the question of renewal was also so serious, to have the best quality
of materials.
It mightbeinteresting to learn how largelywageshadin-
creased InBombay. Comparing a report from an inspector in
that Presidency, of the rates of' wages in 1853, with those in
1859, given in the Paper, he found, that the increase of wages in
Bombay hadbeen larger than in Bengal, and he believed, than
in theotherPresidency also. The wages of masons had risen,
from 9d. to 1s. 6d. ; of carpenters, from 9d. to le. 6d. ; of miners
from 74d. to 9d. ; and of bigaries, or labourers, from 41d. to 6d.
It must not be inferred, thatthe cost of the works{ad risen
in the same proportion ; because, as the workmen became accus-
tomedtothe useof mechanical appliances,theyearned more
money than before, they were better fed and protected, and their
work, consequently, became more valuable. H e considered a

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 GREAT INDIAN
PENINSULA
RAILWAY, 613
material element of prosperity to have arisen from the introduction
of these large works into India ; for it was a n undoubted gain
to a country, when theamount of labour an individual work-
man could perform, was largely increased, or doubled. With
reference to thesalaries and wages paid to persons who went
outtoIndia from thiscountry,hemight state, thatthere
were three classes of ResidentEngineers. The first class,-
hedidnotmeanthose who hadthe chief superintendence,
but those to whom districts were assigned,-received $780
per annum : the secondclass, $660: and the third class, S540.
The salary of the Locomotive Superintendent, was $1,080. The
foremen of the several mechanical department.s were paid various
rates, from $20 to $35 a month. Engine fitters, engine drivers,
coppersmiths, generalsmithsand coachmakers, received $16,
$18, and E20 per month, respectively, for three years : permanent-
way inspectors had X14 per month, with no addition during the
three-years’ engagement. He did not know whether that circum-
stance influenced thesupply,butthis was the most difficult
classto procure. H e believed, thatit was desirable,inorder
to induce persons to go out from this country, that they should
have the stimulus of an annualincreaseintheirsalary ; unless
theyhad that prospect before them, they were nottemptedto
leave England. It was satisfactoryto be abletostate,that with
but few exceptions, the whole of the engineering staff of the Great
IndianPeninsula Companyhadsaved money. Living was very
cheap in India.Oneenginedriver who went out as a fireman,
at X9 per month, and who, six months afterwards, was raised to the
position of engine driver, at E16 per month, in addition to liberal
allowances underspecial circumstances, hadsaved, during the
sixteen months he had been engaged, $100. This driver stated,
that he had everything necessary for a working man, and lived
luxuriously for $3 per month ;his definition of luxury being curries
and beer. H e hoped these statements would induce able men to
go out to India, to aid in the development of the va.luable system
of railways in that country.
The MadrasRailwaystarted from Madras to join the Great
Indian Peninsula at the River
Kristna;, thereby
connecting
Bombay andMadras: it also connected Madrasand Beypore.
It was unnecessary to enter into any particulars respecting it, as
he saw present, not only the ConsultingEngineer,but also the
late Chief Resident Engineer of the line, who had done himself
great credit in the management of that undertaking. The Madras
Railway as well as the Bombay andBaroda Railway, andthe
Great Southern of India, were in course of construction, without the
intervention of contractors. I t would beinteresting to hearthe
reasons, which had induced the able and experienced Engineers of

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 614 INDIAN RAILWAYS.

those railways to adopt that course. From the Paper it appeared,

that very good practical results had been derived from the intro-
duction of thecontract systemon theGreatIndianPeninsula
Railway. H e need not dwell for more than a moment, upon the
importance and value of subdivision of labour, as practised in the
manufactures of this country, where the principle was universally
adopted, inthe mostminute, as well asinthegreatest works.
One of the most strikingexamples of this, wasaffordedby the
introduction of thecontract system inrailways : theEngineers
designed,estimated, and superintended the works, whilstmen
whose practical knowledge fittedthemfor the task, undertook
the organisation of labour, the purchase of materials, andthe
actual execution of the works. That the system bad been pro-
ductive of great good in this country, was not doubted ; it would,
therefore,beinteresting tolearn why it hadnotbeen applied
in those parts of India, where the railways he had named, were
in course of construction.
The Scinde Railway, although it consist.ed of three companies,
-the Scinde Railway Company, the Indus Steam Company, and
thePunjab Railway Company,-was, in point of fact,butone
system. There was also a lineunder survey,from Lahore to
Delhi whichwas notindicatedonthe map, (Plate 7), asthe
route was notyetdetermined. H e hoped, that in the course of
the discussion, some information would be elicited, with regard to
the difficulties that had been experienced in the navigation of the
Indus,andthemannerin which it wasproposed tosurmount
them.
It would also be highly interesting to havesomeinformation
respectingthebridgesonthe Bombay and BarodaLine, which
were madeentirely of iron, somewhat similartothecelebrated
bridgeinWales,and consisted of spans of 60 feet, which he
understood were duplicates.
The Eastern Railway of Bengal, and the Calcutta and South
Eastern Railway, were also works of interest. I n connection with
the latter, he believed dry docks were to be constructed.
The average cost of railways in England, up to the endof 1858,
was about E38,700 permile;in Scotland,about ~€27,500per
mile ; andin 'Ireland,about $15,000 per mile ; making an
average of $34,243 per mile, That amountappliedto 9,323
miles, ofwhich about 3,100 mileswere single lines. Onthe
Indian railways it wasproposed, inthe first instance,to lay
down single lines of permanent way, excepton suchportions
as those between Bombay and Callian, andthe two Ghaut
Inclines, wheredoublelines would belaid. Their estimated
cost was from ,433,000 to $14,000 per mile, giving an average
of &11,OOO per mile, and there was everyreason to hope, that

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 GREAT INDIAN PENINSULA RAILWAY. 615
this would befound sufficient for their construction, as whilst
theEastIndian Railway was estimated at $14,480 per mile,
thepart now constructed had only cost between $12,000 and
&13,000 per mile ; of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, which
was estimated at $10,000 per mile, theparts completed had
cost less than X9,OOO per mile ; and of the Madras Itailway, which
was estimated at about $8,500 per mile, thepart constructed
had only cost about &7,000 per mile. But it would be unjust
not to mention, that in India there wereno charges for Parlia-
mentaryexpenses and land, whilst in England,there was high
authority for estimating them at 25 per cent. of the total cost of
railways. There were alsomanyotherimportantmatters, such
as the permanent and extensive character of the station accom-
modationonEnglish railways, whichshould betakeninto con-
sideration, if it were desired to institute any comparison between
the two systems of railway.
It appeared from thePaper,thatas many as onehundred
thousand men had been employed upon the Great Indian Penin-
sulaRailway, theaveragenumberbeingaboutforty thousand.
Looking at the length of thatlineandcomparing it with the
whole system, the conclusion would be arrived at, that within the
last four, or five years, there had been a minimum of one hundred
thousand, and a maximumof threehundred thousand, or four
hundred thousand persons employed upon railway works in India.
Withinthesame period of time, about ~14,000,000had been
expended in labour, the effect ofwhich had been to raise the
rate of wages, and to increase the capacity of the men employed.
Experience proved, that nonative prejudices, or other circum-
stances would interfere to preventrailways from being used
for the benefit of India, and that they would be extensivelyem-
ployed for the conveyance of goods, as the best and cheapest
modes of transit.
But thebeneficial effects ofthe introduction of railways into India,
had not been limited to the people and trade of that country. It
was true, that England had found the greater part of the capital
for these undertakings, but her manufactures at homehadbeen
very largely benefitedbythem. Withinthe last four, or five
years, 700,000 tons of railway material had been sent from this
country to India, independently of contractors' materials. Those
700,000 tons of material had cost about .€10,500,000. I n 1859,
208,000 tons, chieflyof iron, were shipped for India, which was
equal toaboutone-sixth of the whole exports of the country,
during the previous year.
' H e had spoken of the number of persons temporarily employed
in theconstruction of these railways ; he wouldnow notice the
number that would, probably, be permanently employed, and here

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 616 INDIAN RAILWAYS.

the comparison with England was one of some interest. I n

England,in1858,there were employed upon 9,323 miles of
railway, 109,328 persons or anaverage of 11.7 men per mile.
l n India, in 1859, there were 590 Englishmen and 7,855 natives
employed on 586 miles of line,giving 1 Englishmanand 13.5
natives, or 1 4 . 5 men per mile. Whenallthe lines at present
sanctioned were completed, viz., 4,821 miles, there wouldhe
about 70,000 people permanentlyemployedupontheIndian
railways.
The question of faresforpassenger traffic was one of some
interest : upon thissubject hewould confine himself tothe
Bombay Presidency. On theGreatIndianPeninsulaRailway,
the fares were, per mile, for the first class, 2*25d., or 2id. ; for the
second class, -75d., or $d. ; and for the third class, .37d., or #d. per
mile. I n England,Scotland,andIreland,thefares varied but
little : inEnglandthey were respectively, for thethree classes,
2*16d., 1*48d.,and -88d. ; in Scotland, 1*70d., 1-51d., and *1(8d.; in
lreland, 1.82d., 1.36d. and *Sod. The speed in the Bombay
Presidency was from sixteen miles to twenty miles per hour, in-
cluding stoppages,while in England itwas from twenty miles to the
express speed of thirty-eight miles per hour. The mean number
of miles openin Bombayin theyear1859, was 195,and in
theUnitedKingdom in1858,it was 9,323 miles. The total
number of passengersin Bombay was 1,161,501 ; and inthe
UnitedKingdom,139,193,699. The averagedistancetravelled
by each passenger in Bombay, was 32.4 miles, while in England,
the average distance travelled was only 12.7 miles. The number
of passengers, per mile of railway, was larger in Bombay than in
Great Britain and Ireland; in the former, it was 192,974, and
in thelatter,189,611. The total number of passengers by rail-
ways in India in 1859, was 2,822,382, 93 per cent. being third-
class passengers, probably consisting chiefly of the lowestclasses
of thenative population. OntheGreatIndianPeninsula Rail-
way, the receipts for passengers amounted to $453 per mile, and
for goods, g464 per mile; in Great Bfitain and Ireland, 61,112
per mile for passengers, and$1,458permile for goods. Not-
withstanding the very high price of fuel inBombay, coals being
$3. 3s. per ton, the working expenses didnot exceed those in
England. The dividend earned by the Bombay Line was 85.148.
per cent., and by the East Indian Line, more than 7 per cent. ; in
England, the average dividend was about 4 per cent.
H e could not leave this part of the subject without remarking,
that the greatest credit was due to those gentlemen who had gone
to India, and had devoted their best energies to the development
of the traffic and to working it in the cheapest and best way ; who
had set aside all prejudices and personal feelings ; and -who, in all

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 GREAT INDIAN PENINSULA
RAILWAY. 617
cases, had laboured for the good of Her Majesty’s subjects in her
Indian dominions.
Withregard to thefuture prospects of theseenterprises, he
looked againtoEnglish experience. T h e Author of the Paper
had remarked, that the necessity for railways in India, was not
to bemeasured by thepresentextent of the commerce of that
country. England afforded a strikingillustration of the truth of
this statement; for from the time that railways were first intro-
duced and developed in this country, say from 1830 to 1858, the
populationhadincreasedabout42 per cent.,whilst the exports
of the principal articles of manufacture had increased from about
200 to 1,000 per cent. The exports of cotton twist, &C., had
increased duringthis period,from about65,000,000 lbs. to
200,000,000 lbs. ; of calicoes, &C., from about 245,000,000 yards
to 1,517,000,000 yards ; and of iron and hardwares, from about
131,000 tons to 1,349,000 tons. H e did not maintain, that these
results were entirely owing to the construction of railways, but he
venturedtoassert,thatthey would never have beenobtained
without railways, and they led him to hope for similar results from
the development of the railway system in India, in opening out the
vast resources of that country.
H e had now been connectedwith Indian Railways for ten
years, and he was desirous of communicating all the information
he could, in the hope, thattheattention of Engineers would
be directed towards extending and perfecting the railway system
in India, and thuspromoting the development of the resources and
the civilisation of the large native population of that country.
I n answer to a remark from the President,-thatwithout a
statement of the earnings per train mile in India, there could be
no basis for the comparison of the working expenses there and in
England,-Mr. Berkley added, that he had not intended to insti-
tute a comparison between the working expenses ; as although the
cost of fuel was large in India, the railways were working with new
plant; and although there was someexpensive labour, there was
also a great deal of cheap labour. H e did not consider, that the
Circumstances admitted of a direct comparison.
Mr. BRUCEstated the reasons which induced him, in the con-
struction of the MadrasRailway, to associate, in his own person, the
apparently double functions of Engineer and Contractor, a course
so differentr from that generally adopted in this country. H e had
neverignoredthe benefits tobederived from the divisionof
labour, nor did he condemn the employment of contractors ; but
no general rule, could, or ought to be laid down upon the subject ;
under certain circumstances, and indeed most frequently, the works
must, of necessity, be undertaken by contractors. But in Madras
there were no large contractors available; it became, therefore, a

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 618 INDIAN RAILWAYS.

question, whether he should begin the works at once,withintwo

months of landing, or whether he should allow a year, or two years,
to be consumed in correspondence with the administrative body in
England. I f hehadgonedirect from Englandto Madras,he
shouldnothavedeviated from theordinaryrule ; but having
previously had, in Bengal, some experience of the ease with which
nativesmightbeorganisedfor railway work, and seeingthat
contractors in India were, at that time, in no better position than
the Engineers, hedid nothesitatetobeginthe works of the
Madras Railway on his own responsibility. H e did not, for a
moment, call in question the propriety of others adoptinga different
plan ; but he had no doubt, that under the circumstances in which
he was placed, he had pursued the best course. Another fact must
also be taken into consideration; in carrying out works in India,
very little plant was required ; it might almost be said, that the
less there was, thebetter. H e began, at Madras,withoutany
materials from England, and before it was possible to import any,
the natives had found their own tools and earth baskets. As there
were no long ‘leads ’ from cuttings into embankments, there was
no necessity for temporary rails ; all that was required were good
labourers, to whom a certainlength ofworkwas let. The first
party engaged, undertook six miles of earthwork, the first out of
Madras, at a price rather less than onepenny per cubicyard.
T h e other parts of the line were also let, wherever it was possible,
to sub-contractors who were paid weekly ; and he never had any
difficulty, within a reasonable distance of Madras, in getting people
to take these contracts. In SO doing, he had onlyfollowed, after
all, the old method, the plan on which Smeaton built the Edystone
Lighthouse, and on which Stephenson constructed the Stockton and
Darlington,andtheLiverpoolandManchester Railways. At
thesame time, heperfectlyadmitted, thatthe intervention of
contractors was desirable, whenever it. was possible to get respon-
siblemen to undertake the work at fair prices. By that system,
the Engineer relieved himself of a great amount of responsibility
and continued anxiety, which sometimes led to fatal consequences.
H e added his testimony to what, he was sure, was the sense of
theMeeting,that this Paper was a most valuable one, as the
Author, in the popular description he had given of the Bombay
Railway, had also sketched the general features of all the Indian
railways. With most of the pointsmentioned,
he cordially
agreed,and with regardto thosefromwhich he differed, he
acknowledged the fairness and ability with which the Author had
stated his case. There was one topic alluded to, which called for
remark;it was stated,thatthesubstantial system had been
adopted in contradistinction to whatwas called. the American
system. I t always appearedto him, thatthere was a popular

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 GREAT IPU’DIAN PENINSULA RAILWAY. 619
delusion in the minds of the public upon that subject. Engineers
were repeatedly asked, why the American system was not adopted
in theIndian railways, and why so much money was spent
upon them. Now thefact was, that whathad been incorrectly
called the American system, had, in reality, beenfollowed, if by
thatterm was meantthepractice of takingadvantage of the
cheapest and best materials to be found upon the spot. It would
be folly tomaintain, that becausetimberwasused in -4merica,
where it was cheap, it ought also to be employed in India, where
it was dear, but where there was abundance of good stone, and
bricks.
T h e prices of labourin Bombayweremuch higherthan in
Madras. I n the latter Presidency, the ordinary prices per day were ;
-coolies, 3d. ; women and boys to assist in carrying the earth,
l l d . ; carpenters, from 9d. to 104d. ; bricklayers, 7Jd. to lo&d.
?Ihese rates were about the same as those now paid upon the Great
Southern of IndiaLine. The ordinaryprice of earthwork was
lgd. to 2d. per cubic yard ; and of masonry, 7s. 6d. to 10s. per
cubic yard ; and works,whichwereusually let tocontractors,
such asmakingembankments,buildingbridges,laying the per-
manent way, and ballasting the road, cost about $1,500 per mile,
exclusive, of course, of materials and stations.
H e could confirm, in every respect, the observations in the Paper,
that the railway works of India had materially contributed to the
improvement of the people. Their whole appearance was changed
for the better ; there was plenty of money amongst them, and they
had now the means of living well. T h e coolies were daily increas-
ing in size and strength, as also in mechanical ability. H e ought
to have mentioned, when speaking of the system he had adopted in
Madras, that he never made a writtencontract.Everyarrange-
ment t,ook placebyword of mouth, and no money was ever ad-
vancedbefore it wtts earned. The ordinary practice in India w a s
to pay in advance, one-half, or more, of the value of the article
ordered, which was proof of the absence of proper confidence
between the employers and employed. H e had beenwarned,by
men long acquainted with India, that the system he proposed to
adopt, would fail. H e found, however, that when the natives were
once impressed with the honesty of those who employed them, and
of their readiness to fulfil all their engagements, there was not the
least difficulty in procuring labour. But his reason for not enter-
ing into written contract,s, was the possibility, from the well-known
mania of the natives for litigation, of his being continually involved
in lawsuits.
Allusion had been madetotheadvantages of theguarantee
system. It had been his fate to havebeenoccasionallyplaced in
a rather prominent position of hostility to that system : he was

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 620 INDIAN RAILWAYS.

glad, therefore, to take this opportunity of stating, from the ex-

perience of some years past, that the manner in which the Govern-
ment supervision of the works had beenexercised,was allthat
could be desired. The course pursued by Captain Johnson in con-
nection with the lines in Madras, had been in the highest degree
satisfactoryto those concerned ; and he was sure, that all those
who had beenconnected with Indian railways,would notdo
justice totheir own feelings, if theyfailed to express,onevery
occasion, their admiration of the extraordinary ability and the high
gentlemanlybearing which had always been manifestedby Sir
James Melville, inthe management of thatdepartment of the
Indian Government in this country.
Mr. LONGRIDGE said, the line in India withwhich he wascon-
nected was comparatively so insignificant, that it offered little in-
terest in a n engineering point. of view. It possessed, however, great
commercial interest, the chiefobject of that line being to relieve
the over-crowded and somewhat dangerousport of Calcutta, by
the creation of a subsidiary port on the Mutla. The trade of the
province of Bengal had increased so rapidly, and the dangers of
the navigation of the Hooghly were so much enhanced,partly,
perhaps, owing to the increased size of the vessels, that the neces-
sity for a new port had become evident. When he went to India
in 1856, to survey this line,-the Calcutta and SouthEastern,
from Calcutta to the River Mutla,-he was struck with the capa-
bilities which that river, or rather arm of t,he eea, presented for
the formation of a new port. A t low water there was, throughout,
a minimum depth of 24 feet, whereas in the Hooghly there were
many shoals, with not more than 15 feet of water overthem.
Those shoalswere at such distances fromeach other, that it was
impossible to get, overmore than one, or two of them, in a tide.
Unlike the Hooghly, the Mutla was free from bores and dangerous
eddies; it was kept open by the tidal flow,which did not exceed,
at any time, fourmiles per hour,through the channelsof the Sunder-
bunds ; and as no fresh water entered it, there had been little, or no
change in the depth of water ; there was, moreover, no bar. Ships
of all burthens would be able tocome alongside the intended wharves,
and discharge their cargoes, at once, into the railway trucks. The
traffic from Calcutta, for about three months in the year, was, at
present, brought down the NuddeaRivers, running nearly due north
from Calcutta, but except during the rainyseason, those rivers were
not navigable; at other times, the whole of the traffic, which, in 1856,
amounted to 1,667,000 tons, had, therefore, to be brought round,
through the most intricate navigation of the Sunderbunds, to t,he
head of the River Mutla, thence it passed up the Blddiadhurree
River and then again through the Circular Canal Calcutta.
to The
scenes which took place upon that canal, mustbe seen to be believed.

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 GREAT INDIAN PENINSULA BAILWAY. 62 1
Bt high water it was, frequently, so crowded with vessels,that when
the tide fell, they crushed up together, and the weakest went to the
bottom. H e had himself occupied from four hours to five hours in
getting two miles, in a dingy. The port on theMutla was the
only one in India capable of receiving the ' Great Eastern j' it
could be moored alongside the wharf at the railway station to dis-
charge both passengers and cargo direct for Calcutta, which w a s
a t a distance of 289 miles. There wasnonecessity for wet
docks;graving docksonlywould, therefore, beconstructed by
the Company,who also intended toerect, wharf walls, with
hydraulic cranes for discharging cargo.
The system of executing the workswithout the intervention of
contractors had been adopted, because the line was short, and the
works were, generally, of such a nature as not to require any plant.
There were only two bridges of any importance ; one with a span
of 170 feet, theother of 125 feet. The foundations were not
difficult, and he proposed that the bridges should be formed of iron
girders resting on brick abutments. It must not be inferred, that
he was systematically opposed to the employment of contractors ;
on the contrary, he thought it would have been almost impossible
to have carried out many large works, without their intervention.
Mr. HAWKSHAW, V.P., asthe ConsultingEngineer of the
Madras Railway Company, had seen no occasion to differ from the
modeadopted, of carrying on the worksby small sub-contracts,
and dispensing with the intervention of large contractors. I t was
uuwise to enunciategeneral rules, as towhether railwayworks
should be executed by large, or small contracts, or be conducted
underthe immediatecontrol of the Engineer; everythingnmst
depend upon the circumstances of each individual case. In
England there existed the means of obtainingfair competition
for contractg, from a valuable class of men, educated to the busi-
ness and possessing a thorough knowledge of the manner in which
the work ought to be executed ; and he believed, that most Engi-
neers had arrived at the conclusion, that in England, this was the
bestmode of conductingpublic works. But it was not always
possible to adopt the same plan in a foreign country. There was
great difficulty in obtaining properCompetition for contracts in a
countrylikeIndia. H e had underconsideration, at the present
time, the best mode of carrying out railway works in some of the
Colonies, yet with allhisexperience,hefound it an embarrass-
ing question. There were so many difficulties inthe way of
obtaining offersfrom a competent number of persons, to perform
works of the cost of which the Engineer himselfcould haveno
very precise knowledge, that the contractors were tempted to add a
considerable sum, to provide against the contingencies which might
arise. H e had also the honour to be the Consulting Engineer of
[1859-60. N.S.] 2 T

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 622 INDIAN RAILWAYS.

theEasternBengal Railway,whichwas carried onupon the

contractsystem;thushaving railways inIndiaunder construc-
tion on both systems, he should, in a few years, be able to give
a sounder opinion as to theirrelativesuperiority.But with his
present experience, he approved the course which had been
pursued, in commencing the Madras railway, and judging merely
by the cost of that line, experience had pronounced in its favour.
The question had been mooted, whether Indian railways ought
to beconstructedsubstantially, or on the principle whichwas
adopted, some years ago, in America. It washis decided opi-
nion, that as a rule, temporary works were proper for temporary
purposes only ; but that, occasionally, from want of funds, it might
becomenecessary to adopttemporarystructures for permanent
objects. I na n oldcountrylike India, where there was an
immensepopulation, a large amount of traffic, and the prospect
of a fair return upon the outlay, the best materials only should be
employed. It was as bad policy in India, as it was in England,
to use inferior sleepers, or bad rails ; because those portions of a
railway wore out sooner than the rest. The same remark appiied
to bridges and other similar works ; yet, in some cases, where the
timber could be depended upon t.o last fourteen, or fifteen years, iS
might, with propriety, be employed for viaducts, provided that by
using timber, the structure could be erected for about one-half the
cost of iron, or stone, which would permit of its being rebuilt a t
the expiration of that time ; but if the timber was liable to decay
in five, or six years, that course would be inapplicable.
H e thoughtthat, at present,therewerenofairgroundsfor
comparison between the cost of railways inIndiaandin
England. His own experienceproved, thatthe cost of many of
the Englishrailways had beennearly doubled, during the last
fifteen years. No usefulconclusionscould, therefore,bedrawn,
from a comparison between the cost of a new line of railway and
that of an oldone.On the lines withwhich he wasconnected,
almost all the stations had quadrupled in size and cost, during the
period theyhadbeenunderhischarge. It would bethe same,
hereafter, inIndia ; therolling stock also wouldbecomemore
extensive as the traffic increased ; and thus the ultimate cost, per
mile,would beproportionatelyaugmented. It must not be for-
gotten, when instituting comparisons of this kind, that. there was
not a single old railway that had not cost much more per mile,
than when it was first opened.
H e could not refrain, in conclusion, from expressing the great
pleasure which this Paper had afforded him. It was a clear and
lucid statement of what had taken place under the Author’s own
observation, and he felt, that the Institution was much indebted
to him, for having favoured them with this communication.

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 GRKAT INDIAN PENINSULA RAILWAY. 623
Mr. B~uDE~,-President,-said, thatthegreat experience of
the Author in Indkn railway work, had enabled him to present to
the Institution one of the most instructive Papers that had ever
been laid before it. For his own part, he regarded it as a perfect
model for such communications ; he had never listened to a Paper
with more pleasureand interest, or to one from whichhe had derived
more information.
It was a subject for congratulation, that the results of the non-
contract system had been so satisfactory on theMadras Line.
Those who invested their money in Indian railways merely looked
for interest on their capital, andalthough great supervision
had beenexercisedover theexpenditure by theGovernment,
there was no personal interest to insure economy. Contractors
mightbesaid to beboth bold and timid; bold, when the work
was fairly understood, but timid, when there were contingencies in
the backg.round. I n introducing a new class of labour into a new
country, It was necessary, that the Engineer should pioneerthe
way, so as to ascertain the elements 011 which contractors might,
subsequently, found their estimates ; fair competition might then be
relied on, and the contract system could be introduced with advan-
tage. The remarks which had been made relative to the increased
cost of railways in this country, had demonstrated, that no useful
result could be drawnfrom a comparison of the cost of lines in
England and in India. But there was onepoint of comparison
which led to inferences of a useful character, that of the fares, and
the average distance travelled by each passenger. The third-class
fares in India seemed to be only about one-half as much as in
England, whilst the average distances travelled by each passenger
were, respectively, 32 miles and 12 miles. If the distance each
passenger was conveyed in England could be increased, either
larger dividends would be realised, or lower fares could be charged.
It was well known, that the most intricate complications had arisen,
from the contests of railway companies with regard to long fares ;
whereas it appeared to him, that the real prosperity of a railway
was moredependent upon its local traffic, and that, in general,
railway companies should endeavour to facilitate the construction
of lines in the districts they traversed, so as to lead, ultimately,
to an increase in the accommodation of the immediate population
and in the conveyance of traffic.
Another subject had been incidentally alluded to, to whichhe
more particularly referred, in the hope that Mr. Longridge would
be prevailed upon to present a Paper to the Institution, enbody-
ingthe results of hisexperience as to the local circumstances
connectedwith the navigation of theHooghlyandtheMutla.
The Hooghly received a very large amount of inland water, and
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 624 RAILWAYS. INDIAN

was uncertainandchanginginitsdepth, whilst theMutla was

kept open by the tidal water only, and preserved a uniform and
invariabledepth. There wasno subject of greater national irn-
portancethanthat which concerned the rkgime of navigable
rivers, and the effects of scour and tidal waters upon their chan-
nels ; and a discussion upon that subject, independent of technical
oints, could notfailtobeint,eresting and useful to thepro-
fession.

May 15, 1860.

GEORGE PARKER BIDDER, President,
in the Chair.
The discussionupon the Paper, No. 1,025, ‘‘ On Indian Rail-
ways,” &C,, by Mr. J. J. Berkley, occupied the whole evening, to
the exclusion of every other subject.

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