THE
EUPIllUTES VALLEY EOTJTE TO INDIA,
A PATER
READ BEFORE THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION
AT BRIGHTON, IN AUGUST, 1872.
MAP AND APPENDIX CONTAINING A LETTEE FROM COLONEL
SIR IIENRT GREEN, K.C.S.I., C.B., AND REPORT OP THE
SELECT COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
ON THE EUPHRATES VALLEY RAILWAY,
ETC., ETC.
W. p. ANDREW, F.RG.S.,
Chnîrmnn of the Scinde, Punjatih, and Delhi Raihcai/ Comjmny, Atdhor of
" Indian llaihvays, hy an Old Indian Postmasierf Memoir of
the JSvphratee Valley Moide to Indiaf " Tho Indus
and ils Mrovincesf
ï]ic political and commercial advantages of establisliing a second route would
at any time be considerable, and might, under possible circumstances, be cxceed-
iugly great ; and it would be worth the while of the English Govemmeut to make
an eilort to secure them, oonsideniig the moderate pecuniary risk which tliey
woukl incur.—{Meport of Select Committee of the House of Commons, dated 2"¿Hd
July, 187:¿).
LONDON:
H E 1
" I Wm. H. ALLEN & CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE,
PALL MALL, S.IV.
[f\sà
"J
1873.
THE
EUPHRATES VALLEY ROUTE TO INDIA.
THE
EUPHRATES VALLEY ROUTE TO INDIA.
A PAPER
READ BEFORE THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION
AT BRIGHTON, IN AUGUST, 1872.
WITH
MAP AND APPENDIX CONTAININa A LETTER FROM COLONEL
SIR HENRA^ GREEN, K.C.S.L, C.B., AND REPORT OP THE
SELECT COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
ON THE EUPHRATES VALLEY EAILM'AY,
ETC., ETC. '
BY
W. p. AXDPEW, F.RG.S.,
Chairman of ilie Scinde^ Ptnijaiih^ and Pcdhi Raihvai/ Companu, Author of
" Indian Paihva^Sy by an Old Indian Posimasierf '•^Memoir of
the Puphraffis Valley Pouie to Indiaf " The Indus
and its Prorincesf dfc.
The political and commercial advantages of establishing a second route would
at any time be considerable, and might, under possible circumstances, be excced-
ingly great ; and it would be worth the \\hile ol the Englisli Govcniineiit to make
an eñort to secure them, considering the moderate pccuninrv risk which tltcv
would incur.— {Peport of Select Comrniiiee of the Mouse of Commons^ dated 2'lnd
Juti/y 1872).
LONDON:
WM. H. ALLEN & CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE,
PALL :MALL, S.W.
1873.
WORKS BY W. P. ANDREW., ESQ.
(1846).
INDIAN RAILWAYS AND THEIR PROBABLE RESULTS.
ET AN OLD INDIAN POSTHASTE B.
3rd Edition, 1848. 8vó. Maps, 10s. 6d.
The line (in Bengal) seems to have been adopted, which was originally rccoramemled b
Mr. W. P. Andrew.'*—Times, i9/A Nov. 1851.
(1856).
THE SCINDE RAILWAY.
In relation to the Euphrates Valley and other Routes in India, wîUî Illustrative Maps,
Statistical Tables, &c., from Official Sources. 8vo. IDs. 6d.
(1857).
THE INDUS AND ITS PROVINCES.
THEIR POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE. "
Illustrated by Statistical Tables and Maps. 8vo. lOs. 6d.
MEMOIR OF THE EUPHRATES VALLEY ROUTE TO INDIA.
WITH OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE AND MAPS.
dedicated to the earl op clarendon, e.g. 8V0. lOs. 6d.
LETTER TO VISCOUNT PAL1ŒERST0N, K.G.,
ON THE POLITICAL IMPORTANGE OF THE EUPHRATES VALLEY RAILWAY.
With Reports by Major-General Chesney and "^ir John Macneill, and Memorandum by
Sir Justin Shell, K.C.B.
.\lso, MINUTES of EVIDENCE before the HOUSE of COMMONS.
On the Establishment of TelegrapMc Communication with India, through Turkish Arabia.
By Sir W. B. O'Shaughnessy, T. K. Lynch, Esq., and W. .-^insworth, Esq., &c., &c. 2s. Gd.
(1869).
LETTER TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OE ARGYLL, K.T.
ON THE COMPLETION OF THE RAILWAY SYSTEM OF THE VALLEY OF THE INDUS.
With Appendix and Maps. 5s.
PUBLISHED BY
WM. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE,
PALL MALL, S.W.
(1873).
BREAK OP GAUGE IN INDIA.
With Map, &c. Second Edition.
PUBLISHED BY
HENRY S. KING & CO., 65, CORNHILL.
TO
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
Sir Stafforö W. iiortïjcote, Bart, (C.B., ÍH
THE EOLLOWINQ- PAGES
ABE DEDICATED
IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE
OF MANY COURTESIES.
NOTE.
The views advocated in tliis paper will be found to be
identical with those urged upon the attention of the late
Lord Pahnerston in 1857, by one of the largest and
most influential deputations that ever waited on a
Münster. They were subsequently repeated by the
author in a letter addressed to Lord Pahnerston by Ins
Lordship's desire.
These views have been confirmed in a remarkable
degree by the evidence taken before a Select Committee
of the House of Commons, presided over by Sir
Stafford Northcote, during the past two Sessions of
Parliament.
In the Appendix -will be found an admirable letter by
Col. Sir Henry Green, K.C.S.I., C.B., with notes on
the climate of the Persian Gulf—a Keport of the
Deputation to Lord Pahnerston—the author's letter to
Lord Pahnerston—together with the Report of the
Select Committee of the House of Commons above
referred to.
W. P. A.
29, Bnjanston Square, W.
January, 1873.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
The Euphrates Valley Route to India, a Paper
by W. P. Andrew, F.R.G.S., read before
the British Association at Brighton, in
August, 1872 11
APPENDIX.
A. Letter from Col. Sir Henry Green, K.C.S.I., C.B.,
to W. P. Andrew, Esq., with Notes on the Climate
of the Persian Gulf, dated 23rd Oct., 1872 . . 34
B. The Euphrates and Indus Route to Central Asia.
(Report of a Deputation to Lord Palmerston on
the 22nd June, 1857) ...... 39
C. Letter from W. P. Andrew, Esq., to the Right Hon.
Viscount Palmerston, K.G., dated 30th June, 1857 45
D. Report of Select Committee of the House of Com¬
mons on the Euphrates Valley Railway, dated 22nd
July, 1872 . .50
the
EUPHRATES VALLEY ROUTE TO INDIA.
A PAPER BY W. P. ANDREW, F.R.G.S., BEAD BEFORE THE BRITISH
ASSOCIATION AT BRIGHTON, IN AUGUST, 1872.
Never in the past history of this country have
we been afforded a more glorious opportunity of
aiding the cause of peace and the spread of en¬
lightenment throughout the world than that which
is now presented to us in the proposal to open up
by the civilizing influences of steam, the ancient
highway of nations between the East and the
West, by the route of the Euphrates.
The countries which our future highway to
India will traverse are the most ancient and in¬
teresting in the world. On the once fertile plains,
watered by the Euphrates and Tigris, the greatest
and most glorious nations of antiquity arose,
flourished, and were overthrown. The earliest
home of the genius of civilization—the scene of
great events in the early history of the world—
now shrouded in the dust of ages, or dimly dis-
12
cerned through the long vista of many centuries
—the land of the Assyrians, Babylonians, and.
Chaldeans ; where the daughters of Zion sat
down and wept; where lay the track of Xeno-
phon and his heroic ten thousand Greeks; the
centre of the conquests of the Macedonians,
where once stood the proird capitals of the Sassa-
nides and of the Caliphs,—now deserted and
tenantless,—these regions must ever possess a
fascination and interest for all mankind.
Here we stand, as it were, amongst the great
progenitors of our race—the "Heroes of Hebrew
History," whose lives, and deeds, and thoughts
and feelings have lately been brought before us
with a vivid and picturesque eloquence by an
eminent prelate of the Church (the Bishop
of Winchester). Here we are reminded of the
wonderful story of these rescued lives which
the hand of God himself shut for safety into
the ark of gopher-wood. Here was the birth¬
place of the father of the faithful, who was
born to Terah, in Ur of the Chaldees, " one
of the cities of the rich plain of Shinar, into
which flowed the first streams of the life of the
re-peopled world—the cradle of the first Baby¬
lonish empire, of which through the mists of the
long ages, we may dimly see the shadowy form
of the great Nimrod, ' the mighty hunter before
13
the Lord,' laying the colossal foundations." Scrip¬
ture tells us that " Terah dwelt on the other side
of the flood," by which name the " Great Kiver,
the River Euphi'cates," was known in these early
days. The Great River which bounded their
patriarchal realm was to these ancient men " little
less of a partition from all they knew of life than
were the waters of the Great Atlantic to the
adventurous Columbus." In obedience to the
mystic summons of which we read in Scripture,
Abraham leaving his country and his kindred
went forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, not know¬
ing whither he went ; his aged father going forth
with him into the unknown land. And so they
journeyed, as men journeyed in these patriarchal
days, with sons and daughters, and shepherds,
and man-servants, and maid-servants, and flocks,
and herds and goods, across the roadless steppes
by the tracks which other travellers had faintly
traced on the broad plain. After resting some
years at Charran, in Mesopotamia, Abraham re¬
sumed his journey upon a grander scale, and,
crossing over the Great River, passed on his way
to the land of Canaan. It is said that the great
drama enacted generations later, in the days of
Nebuchadnezzar, on the plains of Dura by the
three descendants of the Patriarch was antici¬
pated by Abraham and Nimrod, on the plains of
14
Shinar. Many old traditions are there to sup¬
plement the simple narrative of Scripture ; some
of them doubtless holding in solution facts his¬
torically true, while others are nothing more than
the nimbus-glory which streams from great saints,
" lighting up into an encircling crown the float¬
ing atoms of the past."
Somewhere on the banks of the Euphrates all
scriptural commentators place the Garden of
Eden. The second cradle of the human family
was also upon that River, or its tributary, the
Tigris. The first city of the new earth was built
upon its banks. The tower of pride, erected by
the post-diluvian population, cast a shadow over
its waters. The Euphrates intersected Babylon,
the "Golden City," the "Glory of Kingdoms;"
the great capital of the Chaldean Empire ; now a
desolation among the nations—her broad walls
utterly broken; her high gates burnt with fire.
With Babylon are associated the names of Nebu¬
chadnezzar and Belshazzar ; of Daniel and Darius;
of Cyrus and Alexander. The grand prophet of
the captivity, and the energetic apostle of the
new era, had their dwelling within her walls.
Ere even a brick was made upon the Nile,
Nineveh and Babylon must have had thriving
and busy populations.
Twice in the world's history, mankind com-
15
menced the race of civilisation on the Mesopota-
mian Rivers. Twice the human family diverged
from their banks to the East, the West, and the
North. Arts and sciences made the first feeble
steps of their infancy upon the shores of these
rivers. Very early in history we know that Ba¬
bylon was a great manufacturing city, famed for
the costly fabric of its looms. At a more recent
date the Chaldean kings made it a gorgeous me¬
tropolis, the fairest and the richest then on earth.
Alexander of Macedón made it the port of the
Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, and he pro¬
posed to render it the central metropolis of his
empire.
The countries through which the Euphrates
flows were formerly the most productive in the
world. Throughout these regions the fruits of
temperate and tropical climes grew in by-gone
days in luscious profusion. Luxury and abun¬
dance were universally diffused. The soil every¬
where teemed with vegetation. Much of this
has since passed away. Ages of despotism and
misrule have rendered unavailing the bounty of
nature. But the land is full of hidden riches.
The natural elements of its ancient grandeur
still exist in the inexhaustible fertility of the
country, ■ and in the chivalrous character and
bearing of many of the tribes ; and the day can-
16
not be far distant when it is destined to resume
its place amongst the fairest and most prosper¬
ous regions of the globe.
The wondrous fertility of Mesopotamia was
in early times carried to its utmost limit by
means of numerous irrigation canals, with which
the country was everywhere intersected, and some
of the largest of which were navigable. These
excited the wonder and interest of Alexander the
Great, who, after his return from the eonquest
of India, examined them personally, steering the
boat with his own hand. He employed a great
number of men to repair and cleanse these canals.
Herodotus, speaking of Babylonia, says, " Of
all the eountries I know, it is without question
the best and the most fertile. It produces neither
figs, nor vines, nor olives ; but in recompense the
earth is suitable for all sorts of grain, of which it
yields always 200 per cent., and in years of ex¬
traordinary fertility as much as 300 per cent."
These regions need only again to be irrigated
by the life-giving waters pouring down ever cool
and plentiful from Ararat,—that great land-mark
of primœval history, now the vast natural boun¬
dary-stone of the Russian, Turkish, and Persian
empires,—to yield once more in abundance almost
everything that is necessary or agreeable to man.
Many acres now wasted, save when in early spring
17
they are sweet wildernesses of flowers, may he
covered with cotton, tending to the employment
of the many millioned spindles of our land.
As the human race multiplies and makes pro¬
gress in arts and civilisation, ncAv wants arise,
and the ingenuity of man is taxed to discover
new sources of wealth, maintenance and occupa¬
tion : and we flnd, under the dispensations of an
all-wise Providence, that at suitable seasons re¬
sources are unveiled which have been long pro¬
vided, although concealed until the fitting occa¬
sion for their use.
Amongst the numerous administrations of the
same wise and merciful design, it is not unreason¬
able to believe that the opening of the valleys of
the Euphrates and Tigris, and the resuscitation
of the great nations of antiquity are amongst the
events designed to minister to the growing wants
and improvement of the human race.
Looked upon from another point of view, in
the light of reflected benefits, there are twenty-
five millions and upwards of human beings in¬
habiting Western Asia, and five hundred millions
and more inhabiting Central and Eastern Asia,
who remain to this day enslaved by debasing
superstitions, and sunk in mental darkness and
delusion. What a field is here opening to the
Christian philanthropist ! To aid in the removal
18
of ignorance and superstition by the diffusion of
useful knowledge and an enlightened and true
religion. To plant industry and the arts where
indolence and barbarism have hitherto prevailed.
To hasten the day when the breath from the
four winds, as foreshadowed by the prophet, will
breathe upon the slain, and the dry bones will
live; when " the wastes shall be builded, and the
desolate land shall be tilled;" and men shall say,
" This land that was desolate is become like the
Garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and
ruined cities are become fenced, and are in¬
habited." " So shall the waste cities be filled
with flocks of men.'
The establishment of a new and easy line of
communication between the East and the West
would obviously subserve such noble objects;
and the proposed restoration of the ancient route
of the Euphrates has therefore the strongest claim
upon the sympathy and support of all who feel
an interest in advancing the prosperity, civilisa¬
tion, and happiness of nations.
It is not too much to say, that no existing or
projected railroad can compare in point of in¬
terest and importance with that of the Euphrates
Valley. It will bring two quarters of the globe
into juxta-position, and three continents, Europe,
Asia, and Australia, into closer relation. It will
19
bind the vast population of Hindustan by an iron
link with the people of Europe. It will inevit¬
ably entail the colonisation and civilisation of
the great valleys of the Euphrates and Tigris,
the resuscitation in a modern shape of Babylon
and Nineveh, and the re-awakening of Ctesiphon
and Bagdad of old.
Where is there in the world any similar under¬
taking which can achieve results of such mag¬
nitude, fraught with so many interests to various
nations? And who can foresee what ultimate
effects may be produced by improved means of
communication in the condition of Hindoos,
Chinese, and other remote peoples ?
It is by distance and difficulties of intercourse
that the distinctions of creeds and races are chiefly
upheld. Annihilate space, and the great barriers
that separate peoples—the differences of manners
and customs, of modes of thought and feeling, of
doctrines and dogmas, of precepts and prejudices,
that keep up these barriers—gradually disappear,
as barbarism, superstition, and ignorance give
way to the superior and irresistible force of civi¬
lisation, truth, and enlightenment.
Although various routes have been suggested
with the view of bringing Great Britain, by means
of railway communication, into closer connection
with India and her other dependencies in the
20
East, and of securing' at the same time tlie im¬
mense political and strategic desideratum of an
alternative highway to our Eastern possessions,
there is none which combines in itself so many
advantages as the ancient route of the Euphrates;
the route of the Emperors Trajan and Julian, in
Avhose steps, in more recent times, the Great
Napoleon intended to follow, when the Rus¬
sian campaign turned his energies in another
direction.
The special advantages which render this route
superior to all others, are brieñy these :—It is the
most direct route to India. It is the shortest and
the cheapest, both for constructing and working
a raihvay—so free from engineering difficulties,
that it almost appears as though designed by the
hand of nature to be the highAvay of nations be-
tAA'een the East and the West; the most surely
defensible by England—both of its termini being
on the open sea; and the most likely to prove
remunerative.
Both in an engineering and a political point
of vicAv, the Euphrates route undoubtedly pos¬
sesses great advantages over any of the others
Avhich have been proposed. All the routes which
have been suggested from places on the Black
Sea, are open to the fatal objection, that Avhile
they Avould be of the greatest service to Russia—
21
that huge Colossus of the North, whose giant
strides are ever tending further to the East—they
would be altogether beyond the control of Great
Britain, while the enyineerino- difficulties with
' o O
which they are surrounded, are of themselves
sufficient to exclude them from practical consi¬
deration.
This is sufficiently brought out by the evidence
of witnesses, well acquainted with the subject, Avho
were examined last Session by the Select Commit¬
tee of the House of Commons (presided over by
Sir Stafford Northeote), appointed through the
able and patriotic exertions of Sir George Jen-
kinson, to investigate the merits of the various
proposals for connecting the Mediterranean and
the Black Sea with the Persian Gulf.
Thus Sir Henry Kawlinson, the President of
the Royal Geographical Society, referring to a
route which has been proposed from Tereboli, on
the Black Sea, via Diarbekir and the Tigris, to the
Persian Gulf, stated that part of the country is
"absolutely impracticable for a railway." Another
line, from Trebizonde, via Erzeroum and Van, to
the Persian Gulf, the same authority thinks " it
would be impossible to effect, the country being
cut up by a succession of precipitous ravines, and
mountain torrents, and impracticable defiles."
B
22
On a third line, from the Black Sea at Samsun, via
Sivas, Malatieh, and Diarbekir, to Bagdad and
Bussorah, Sir Henry Rawlinson pronounced no
opinion, but stated that it would be 1,100 miles
in length, a distance considerably greater than
that of the line advocated by myself, from the
Gulf of Scanderoon to the Persian Gulf, by the
Valley of the Euphrates.
The evidence taken by the Committee last
year, has been fully corroborated during the pre¬
sent Session of Parliament, by authorities of the
highest eminence in the fields of diplomacy and
warfare ; and the views which for twenty years I
have ventured to urge upon this question, are
also supported by the testimony of that eminent
diplomatist, the late Lord Hailing and Bulwer,
whose long experience in Eastern affairs renders
his opinion of especial weight. Lord Hailing, in
a letter addressed to myself, and published in
the Times of the 27th November 1871, alluding
to "a line between the Mediterranean and the
Persian Gulf, to be united with Constantinople,"
said, " I will not pretend to lay down this line
precisely in all its points; some of these have
still to be studied and determined ; but I know
we can have a line traversing the territory of
only one Power, with which we are on terms of
23
close amity ; that it will be aided by two good
ports and two great rivers ; and that a great
portion of it will pass over a perfectly level
country, remarkable for its fertility and re¬
sources. I know also that this line produces a
great saving of time on the one hand, and is not, on
the other, of that gigantic kind which arrests enter¬
prise, or interferes with its being completed."
In the course of the investigation which has
taken place before the Select Committee of the
House of Commons, the facilities which exist for
the construction of a railway from the Mediter¬
ranean to the Persian Gulf, by the route of the
Euphrates, have been amply demonstrated by the
late General Chesney, the veteran explorer of the
route, whose death at this juncture is nothing-
less than a national loss ; by Captain Charlewood
and Mr. "W. F. Ainsworth, two of the ofßcers at¬
tached to the Euphrates Expedition ; and by Sir
John Macneill, Mr. Telford Macneill, Mr. Max¬
well, and others. The advantages of the route,
in respect of the climate and productiveness of
.the country to be traversed, are fully shown by
the evidence of Mr. Eastwick, M.P., Captain Felix
Jones, Mr. Consul Barker, and others. The
facility of the navigation of the Persian Gulf has
been testified by Mr. William Parkes and Mr,
Edwyn Dawes, and also in a recently published
24
correspondence, by Captain A. D. Taylor, late of
the Indian Navy. The advantages of the pro¬
posed undertaking, from a military point of view,
are placed beyond question by the evidence of
General Chesney, and of those experienced soN
diers. Sir Henry Green and Colonel Malcolm
Green, and more especially by the weighty testi¬
mony of Lord Strathnairn ; while its importance
in a political sense has been established by a
cloud of witnesses, amongst whom may be in¬
stanced Sir Bartle Frere, Sir Donald MacLeod,
Colonel Herbert, H.M. Consul-General at Bagdad,
Mr. Eldridge, Consul-General at Beyrout, and
pre-eminently by " the Great Elchi," the vene¬
rated Lord Stratford de Kedcliffe.
On the ground of the great importance to India
of being placed in continuous railway communi¬
cation with Europe, some persons, of an ambition
too lofty and impatient to pay much regard to
the considerations which weigh with more prac¬
tical advocates of railway enterprise, would be
content to support nothing short of a through
line from Constantinople to India.
Although fully alive to the vast importance of
the results which would accrue, not only to Eng¬
land and India, but to the cause of civilization
generally, from the establishment of continuous
railway communication between Europe and India,
25
I cannot conceal from myself that such a project
is too vast to be at once nnclertaken with any
hope of success. At the same time it is to be
observed that the Euphrates Valley Eailway as
proposed, from the Gulf of Scanderoon to the
Persian Gulf, has been specially designed with a
view to its ultimately forming part of a through
line from Constantinople to the head of the Per¬
sian Gulf, while it is capable also of being, in due
time, extended eastwards to Kurrachee, the port
of India nearest to Europe. It is only because
the line from the Mediterranean to the Persian
Gulf has been demonstrated to be eminently
practicable and easy, which the other portions of
the route between Constantinople and India are
not, because while capable of forming part of a
through line, it would at the same time be com¬
plete in itself, and independent of any distur-
banees in Europe—the only portion, in fact, of a
through line of railway which would be always,
and under all circumstances, at the absolute con¬
trol of this country ; because it would always be
to this country the most important portion of any
through line; because I believe a through line
could not be constructed, except at overwhelming
cost, without the assistance of a port in northern
Syria being first made available ; and because by
the Euphrates Valley Railway would be at once
26
secured to this country advantages admitted to be
of tlie highest national moment, that during the
long period in which I have devoted myself to the
advocacy of the Euphrates route to India, J have
thought it expedient to urge upon our own
Government and that of Turkey, the special
claims of that section only which would connect
the Mediterranean with the Persian Gulf,
The objection that, although the Euphrates
Valley Railway would afford us the undoubted
advantage of an alternative, a shorter, and a
more rapid means of communication with India,
it would still leave a considerable portion of the
journey to be accomplished by sea, and that con¬
sequently it would accelerate our communications
with the East in a minor degree only, is suffi¬
ciently disposed of by the circumstance already
pointed out, that a railway from a point on the
Mediterranean, at or near Scanderoon, to the head
of the Persian Gulf, would naturally form part of
•a through line of railway from Constantinople to
India, if at a future time it should be considered
necessary or desirable to construct the remaining
sections.
At the same time it is to be observed, that any
possible acceleration of the journey between
Europe and India, by the sirbstitution of railway
for sea transit, would be, relatively, much less in
27
the case of those portions of the route traversing
Asia Minor on the one hand, and Persia and Aff-
ghanistan, or Beloochistan, on the other, than on
the central section between Scanderoon and the
Persian Gulf; the latter section being almost level
for nearly the whole distance, and therefore capable
of being traversed at a very high rate of speed ;
whereas, both in Asia Minor and Persia, the gra¬
dients would be so severe as to neutralize in a
great measure the advantages ordinarily attaching
to railway travelling as compared with that by
sea. Pro rata to the power required, so is the
distance. In other words, the proposed Euphrates
Valley Pail way would take advantage of precisely
that portion of the route between Constantinople
and India, where the greatest benefit would be
derivable from the substitution of railway for sea
transit, Avhether regard be had to the rate of speed
attainable, or the economy with which the tratfic
might be worked.
A regular mail service being already in opera¬
tion on the maritime portions of the Euphrates
route to India—maintained on the Mediterranean
side by French steam-packets calling at Alexan-
dretta, and between the ports of the Persian Gulf,
and Kurrachee and Bombay, by the vessels of the
British India Steam Navigation Company—a
railway of little more than 900 miles in length.
28
from Scanderoon (or Alexandretta), on the Medi¬
terranean, to Kowait (or Grain), on the Persian
Gulf, is all that is required to secnre for us the
immense political and strategic advantage of a
complete alternative rente to India ; a shorter and
more rapid route than now exists ; and one, more¬
over, which compares very favourably with the
Bed Sea route, both as regards climate, and the
facility and safety of the navigation on the mari¬
time portions of the journey.
Both Alexandretta and Kowait, the proposed
termini of the Kailway, possess all the requisites
of first-class harbours.
The harbour of Alexandretta is one of great
capacity ; snificient, according to Sir John Frank¬
lin, Admiral Beaufort, and others, to contain the
whole navy of Great Britain. It is the safest
harbour on the coast of Syria, and might be made
available for the pnrposes of the railway at a very
small outlay. The place is at present open to
some objection on account of unhealthiness ; but
this, its only disadvantage, might be entirely obvi¬
ated by drainage, at a moderate expenditure.
Wth regard to the harbour of Kowait, near the
head of the Persian Gulf, Mr. William Parkes, O.E.,
the Consulting Engineer to the Secretary of State
for India for Knrrachee harbour, who by the
liberality of the Indian authorities, was recently
29
enabled to examine the ports in the Persian Gulf,
states in an able Report addressed to me on the
subject, that " nothing could be more secure or
favourable in any way" (than Kowait) "for ships
of the largest size, whether to ride at anchor, or
to be moored alongside a quay wall." As a
place for landing and embarking passengers, mails,
and cargo, even without sea works more extensive
than a short jetty to bring a steam tender along¬
side," Mr. Parkes reports that Kowait " is superior
to Alexandria (as it is, until the new works are
completed), to Suez (as it was three years ago),
and to Bombay ; while for an expenditure of from
£80,000 to £100,000, a wharf of sufficient length
to berth four steamers, of 3,000 tons each, might
be constructed, and the railway brought down
upon it, thus placing Kowait on a par, in this
respect, with Suez as it is, Brindisi, or Dover."
Kowait is already one of the most important
towns in the Gulf, and according to Captain
A. D. Taylor, late of H.M. Indian Navy, possesses
more baghalahs, or boats of the country, than
any other port in the Gulf which trades with
India ; and there can be no doubt, if it be adopted
as the Eastern terminus of the railway, it will,
within a very short period, have an enormous
trade of its own, irrespective of the through traffic
passing over the railway.
30
As regards the route which the railway should
take between Alexandretta and the Persian Gulf,
it is to be borne in mind, that the great and
primary object of the undertaking is the connec¬
tion of the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian
Gulf by railway ; and the necessity of such a con¬
nection having been once established, the precise
line which the railway should take would appear-
to be comparatively a matter of less vital import¬
ance. I may observe, however, that passing in
the first place from Alexandretta, the proposed
terminus on the Mediterranean, to Aleppo, the
present metropolis of Syria, and a great entrepot
of trade, the route from that place to the Persian
Gulf having the strongest arguments in its favour
wmuld appear to be that recommended by Captain
Felix Jones, keeping on the right bank of the
Euphrates for the whole distance, beyond the
reach of inundations, and passing by way of
Annah, Hit (the Is of Herodotus), the holy cities
of Kerbela and Nedjef (or Meshed Ali), Somowha,
and Sheikh el Shuyukh to Kowait or Grain, on
the Persian Gulf. This line would not pass many
miles from Bagdad, the city of the Caliphs, a
household word with us from the time we read of
the doings of Haroon al Kashid in the Arabian
Nights." Bagdad, and the neighbouring holy
cities of Kerbela and Nedjef, are frequently chosen
31
by Slieeah Mahomedans as a residence, that they
may be buried by the side of Hoosein, their
favourite saint, whose tomb at Kerbela is the
peculiar object of their veneration, and is annually
bedewed with the tears of thousands. The burial
place of Ali, Nedjef, though of inferior sanctity, is
also held in gi-eat veneration. Pensioners of the
Government of India, natives of the highest rank,
frequently make Bagdad or Kerbela their adopted
home ; and both from Persia and Hindustan un¬
told wealth has been poured into the coffers of
the priests of Kerbela.
The route which I have traced from Alex-
andretta to the Persian Gulf, besides being pro¬
bably the shortest line obtainable, would obviate
altogether the necessity and expense of crossing
the Euphrates. This line, moreover, regarded
from a strategic point of view, would give the
advantage of the interposition of two great rivers
between the Eailway and an enemy advancing on
the flank on which there would be the greatest
likelihood of attack.
The cost of the proposed Eailway, according to
the estimates of competent engineers, would be
under nine millions sterling; and His Excellency,
Musurus Pasha, the Turkish Ambassador, has
officially intimated the readiness of his Govern¬
ment to raise the requisite funds by means of an
32
Ottoman loan, under conditions specially favoiiv-
able to this country, if Great Britian Avill but give
a connter-giiarantee, as she has already done,
jointly with France, in the case of an Ottoman
loan raised in 1854.
The grand impediment to the improvement
of the Sultan's dominions is the Avant of the means
of intercommunication ; and no line Avould promote
more effectually their good government and pros¬
perity, or do more to develop their really pro¬
digious resources, than that which Avould lay open
to the energy and capital of the emigrant and
merchant of the West the expansive and fertile
plains of the Euphrates and Tigris.
To England the possession of an alternative
route to India would be of inestimable value, and
more especially as the route now proposed Avill
present the advantage of a saving of nearly
1,000 miles in the actual lineal distance, and a
saving in time variously estimated at from four
to eight days, offering at the same time rich fields
to the genius of her statesmen and the enterprise
of her merchants, by giving back to commerce,
through the potent and civilising influence of
steam, " countries, the cradle of the human race,
and the theatre of the most important events
in the Jewish, Pagan, and early Christian
histories."
33
Looked at in every light, historically, poli¬
tically and commercially, the proposed restoration
of the ancient route of the Euphrates, throwing
open the portals of the East to the commerce of
the world, and to the arts, sciences, and civili¬
sation of the "West, is an interesting and noble
scheme, fraught with consequences of the highest
moment to the destinies of our race.
To accomplish this noble undertaking is the
mission of England. Its fulfilment has been
already too long delayed. Another nation, as
Mr. Disraeli lately took occasion to remind us, is
slowly but surely extending her power Eastwards,
and is gradually establishing a footing in military
positions, from which she can at once menace our
Empire in the East, and diminish our power and
prestige among the nations of Europe ; and I
would close this paper by urging my conviction,
that if we neglect the favourable opportunity now
presented to us of securing the establishment of
the Euphrates route under the auspices of Great
Britain, we shall speedily find that the shortest,
easiest, and safest route to our Eastern possessions
has fallen into the hands of our most powerful
rival for commercial and political ascendancy in
the East.
W. P. ANDREW.
Augmt, 1872.
APPENDIX A.
Letter from Colonel Sir Henry Green^ K.C.S.I.^ C.B.^ to
W. P. Andrew^ Esq., with Notes on the Climate of
the Persian Gidf.
October 2Zrd, 1872.
Dear Mr. Andrew^—
As I understand that a discussion on the Euphrates
Valley Railway scheme is likely to come off in Parliament next
session, I enclose some notes on the climate of the Persian
Gulf, which I have extracted from my journal, and which may
be of use to you for reference. They were made during our
occupation of Bushire, in the hot season of 1857. The camp
was pitched about two miles from the town of Bushire, facing
N.E., and about one mile from the sea, on a plain totally devoid
of shelter of any kind. During the months of July and August
the European troops were located in wooden barracks, the
Native troops, with their European officers, remaining in tents.
The whole force consisted of about 6,000 men, with the usual
number of camp followers—say three to each fighting man—
giving probably a total of some 18,000 souls in camp. My posi¬
tion being that of Deputy-Adjutant-General to the whole force
left in the Gulf, and therefore the chief staff officer, I had
every opportunity of seeing and judging of the sanitary con¬
dition of the troops.
APPENDIX A.
35
The more I consider this question of the Euphrates Valley
Railway the more I feel convinced of the necessity for its con¬
struction. As a military man, and an old political officer, I take
more of a political and strategical view of it, with reference to our
Indian Empire, than a commercial one, as I feel sure the poli¬
tical effect it -will have on our Eastern Empire wiU be immediate,
while those who look for commercial success must wait until it
has had time to develop still more the trade which is yearly on
the increase in those countries through which it must pass.
In case of a hostile advance towards our Indian Empire on
the part of any foreign power, the line of this advance would in
all probability be parallel with the proposed line of rail, and by
haidng Kurrachee in direct communication with the Mediter¬
ranean, we might at any season of the year concentrate fresh
troops from England or from our Mediterranean garrisons on
any part of this line, or on the left flank of om' North-Western
frontier of India at Kuiwachee, where they would be available
for action at any threatened point between that port and our
most Northern post of Peshawur. This would allow of the per¬
manent garrison of India, or a considerable portion of it, being
employed in maintaining peace amongst the dangerous classes
in India Proper, instead of having to be hurried to the frontier,
lea'i'ing insecurity and danger behind them.
There can, I think, be no doubt hut that had such a means
of reinforcing our European troops in India existed during
the Indian rebellion the siege of Delhi could never have oc¬
curred; or, had it occurred, it could not have lasted for any
serious time, nor could its issue ever have been doubtful, for
England could have placed the guards from London before Delhi
in a month^s time, viâ Kurrachee, Mooltan, and Lahore, as the
communications by this route were never interrupted, while
all others were for a time closed ; we could in fact have carried
on the siege of Delhi, protected our North-West frontier, and
maintained peace in the Punjab, direct from England, while the
garrison proper of India was employed in besieging Lucknow,
36
APPENDIX A.
Caunpore, and other strongholds. With sucli a means at our
disposal, in addition to the route viâ the Suez Canal, enabling
us to throw troops both on the North and South of India at
the same time, a future rebellion would be rendered impossible.
It is the fashion of a certain class of English, as well as
Anglo-Indian diplomatists, to ignore the advance of Russia
towards India as having any serious significance for England,
and to scoff at those who think otherwise; and every effort
is made by them through the press, by public lectures, &c,,
to mislead the public. Yet there can be no doubt that any one
who has watched the enormous development of Russia in
material strength, and her gigantic strides towards our Indian
Empire, must have observed the marked effect it has had upon
our Eastern subjects, and that Russian's movements, formerly
seldom heard of, are now a common topic of conversation
amongst them ; but supposing that these advances of Russia in
Central Asia are merely for commercial and civilising prrrposes,
in which philanthropists say we ought to assist her, sm'cly the
best means of doing so would be by bringing into closer com¬
munication Western cmlisation with Eastern barbarism. But
does any one possessing any knowledge of the circumstances
really believe that the large and well-equipped army of the
Caucasus is merely maintained for commercial purposes, or that
the fleets in the Caspian, the Black, and Aral Seas, are merely
for the purpose of transporting cotton, tea, &c. We may rest
assured that Russia will never forego her intention of possessing
Constantinople ; if we reverse our traditional policy, and permit
her to occupy it, well and good, she will give us no trouble;
but if we interfere, she will, beyond a doubt, attack us in our
weakest point; viz., India; not that I believe that Russia has
any idea of a final conquest and occupation of our Indian Em¬
pire, for if we could not hold it, no other nation could do so ;
but by advancing towards it she would create such a diversion
in her favour, and so paralyse us in Em-ope, that we should be
unable to prevent her from carrying on her designs. Such a
APPENDIX A.
37
contingency may not arise for years, for Russia will not again
risk defeat as in the Crimea, but will bide her time mitil her
gigantic strength is still more fully developed ; but this is the
greater reason why we should at once make our preparations,
which will take considerable time. The more we show that we
are prepared for aU eventualities the less likely we are to have
to fight, and the more likely we shall be able to obtain powerful
allies, should we be compelled to do so. Russia by her advance
followed up, as it is, by railway and steam communication, is
daily gaining advantage over us ; but with increased and rapid
communication on our part by the construction of the proposed
line we shall be placed on more than an equality with her either
for commerce or war.
I have not touched upon the practicability of the construc¬
tion of the line with reference to engineering difficulties,
because I believe that to do so would be an insult to the engi¬
neering skill of England. I may say the same with regard to
the financial question, and our commercial enterprise. Depend
upon it, if we can by the adoption of this line add to the in¬
ternal and external security of om- Indian Empire, and quiet the
minds of the millions it contains by proving to them that internal
rebellion is impossible, and external attack equally so, it will
well repay any guarantee England can give. The question
again as to whether troops proceeding by the proposed route
would suffer or not from heat, appears to me a secondary consi¬
deration ; whenever a man turns his head to the Eastward, as
he advances he will suffer more or less fr-om the heat. "While
on the subject of railroads, I know that there is another line in
which you are much interested, and that is the Scinde one ; and
now that the missing link uoU soon be completed between Kotree
and Mooltan, I would again urge the pushing forward of a line
between Sukkur, on the Indus, and Dadur, at the foot of the
Bolan Pass, a length of about 120 miles, over a dead level or
nearly so. We should then be in direct communication with
the two principal entrances into India from the west, viz., the
c
38
APPENDIX B.
Kyber Pass at Peshawar—the rail between which and Lahore
is under construction—and the Bolan at Dadur ; if the former
is considered necessary^ the latter is still more so, as leading to
a pass far easier of access from Affghanistan, and on the direct
road to Central Asia, as well for commercial purposes, as for any
hostile advance towards India.
Extracts from the Journal of Colonel Sir Henry Green, Assistant
Adjutant-General to the Persian Expeditionary Force,
during a portion of the War between Great Britain and
Persia in 1857.
March.—Weather during this month cool and pleasant, with
occasional showers.
April.—Weather during the month pleasant, nights cool, no
sickness to speak of.
May.—I was at Bagdad.
June.—Weather during the month exceedingly pleasant, wdth
strong sea-breezes, nights delightfully cool, health of troops good,
particularly the Europeans; sickness, 6 per cent.
July.—Weather during the month very pleasant. Sickness
about 5 per cent, of the whole force. Nights invariably cool.
August.—Weather during month very pleasant. Troops
particularly healthy, average about 2'29 per cent. sick.
September.—Weather during month pleasant, sea-breezes
commencing somewhat late in the day ; health of troops excel¬
lent, about 2'50 per cent. sick.
Yours very truly,
HENRY GREEN.
APPENDIX B.
THE EUPHRATES AND INDUS ROUTE
TO CENTRAL ASIA.
A DEPUTATION, IN FAVOUIl OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT
GRANTING PECUNIARY SUPPORT TO THE EUPHRATES VALLEY
RAILWAY, HAD AN INTERVIEW WITH VISCOUNT PALMER-
STON, 2.3ND JUNE, 1857.
The deputation consisted of the Earl of Shaftesbury, ÎMr.
Andrew (Chaii-man of the Euphrates Valley Railway), ^Ir.
P. Anstruther, Mr. W. P. Ainsworth, Sir F. L. Arthur, Bart.,
Mr. A. F. Bellasis, Sir W. Colebrooke, C.B., the Earl of
Chichester, the Earl of Carnarvon, JMajor-General Chesney,
R.A., Mr. F. Ellis, M.P., Mr. Estcourt Sotheron, M.P., the
Hon. J. C. Erskine, Mr. A. S. Finlay, hi.P., Lord Goderich,
Mr. H. Gladstone, Mr. W. Hütt, M.P., Mr. Thomas Headlain,
M.P., Mr. T. B. Horsfall, M.P., Col. Harvey, Mr. T. K. Ljnich,
Mr. John Laird, Mr. Macgregor Laird, Mr. James Merry,
M.P., Sir H. Maddock, Major Moore, Sir D. Norreys, M.P.,
Colonel W. Pinney, M.P., Mr. F. W. Russell, M.P., Sir Justin
Sheil, K.C.B., Count Strylecki, Col. Steinbach, Gen. Sabine,
Lord Talbot de Malahide, the Lord Mayor (hir. Alderman
Finnis), Mr. Matthew Uzielli, Mr. W. Vansittart, M.P., Sir
40
APIENDIX 13.
W. F. Williams of Kars, Mr. A. Denoon, Mr. L. W. Eaeburn,
Mr. Wickliam, M.P., Hon. A. Kinnaird, M.P., Mr. Arthur
Otway, the Earl of Albemarle, Lord Ashley, Mr. Thomas Al-
coek, M.P., Mr. J. E. Anderdon, Viscount Bangor, Mr. W.
Buchanan, M.P., Mr. E. B. Beamish, M.P., Mr. G. Bowyer, M.P.
Dr. Boyd, M.P., Major C. Bruce, M.P., Lord Colchester, Lord
Cloncurry, Lord Cremorne, Lord R. Clinton, Sir Edw. Cole-
broke, M.P., the Hon. H. Cole, M.P., Mr. R. W. Crawford,
Alderman Copeland, M.P., the Bishop of Durham, Lord Duf-
ferin, the Earl of Donougdimore, Mr. R. Davison, M.P., Colonel
Dunne, M.P., Sir James Duke, M.P., the Earl of Enniskillen,
Earl of Erne, Lord Elcho, Sir De Lacy Evans, M.P., Mr. J. C.
Ewart, M.P., Sir J. Elphinstone, M.P., Mr. W. Fagan, M.P.,
Sir R. Ferguson, M.P., Sir G. Foster, M.P., Mr. C. Fortescue,
M.P., Mr. F. French, M.P., Lord RobeiT Grosvenor, M.P., Mr.
E. Grogan, M.P., Mr. S. Gregson, M.P., Mr. G. Hamilton,
M.P., Mr. J. H. Hamilton, M.P., Colonel Harvey, Mr. A.
Hastie, M.P., Mr. H. Ingram, M.P., Mr. W. Kirk, M.P., Mr.
T. Longman, Lord Monteagle, the Earl of Mayo, Mr. J. R.
Mowbray, M.P., Mr. R. MoncktonMilnes, M.P., Sir John Mac-
neill, Mr. H. A. Mackinnon, Sir Roderick Murchison, Mr. G.
Macartney, M.P., Mr. J. M'Cann, M.P., Mr. J. M'Clintock,M.P.,
Mr. M'Evory, M.P., Mr. P. W. Martin, Mr. C. W^. Martin,
Mr. G. G. M'Pherson, Mr. P. North, M.P., Colonel North,
M.P., the Right Hon. J. Napier, M.P., Mr. C. Newdegate,
M.P., Sir George Pollock, G.C.B., Mr. J. Pritchard, M.P., the
Earl of Roden, Lord Rossmore, Lord Stanley, Lord Sandon, the
Bishop of St. David's, Mr. R. Slaney, Mr. W. Sowerby, Mr. A.
Turner, M.P., Colonel Taylor, M.P., Mr. W. Tollemaclie, M.P.,
Sir H. Verney, Lord Wrottesley, Mr. Whiteside M.P., Mr.
Thos. Williams, Mr. J. A. Warre, M.P.
Lord Shaftesbury introduced the deputation to Lord Palmer-
ston, and pointed out in forcible language, the vast importance
to this country of securing an alternative route to India, and
tlie great interest generally felt throughout the country in this
APPENDIX B.
41
great luidertaking, so calculated to promote commerce, civiliza¬
tion, and Christianity, and stated that Mr. Andrew, the chair¬
man of the company, would submit to his Lordship more
detailed information.
Mr. Andrew after expressing his regret for the unavoidable
absence of Lord Stanley, said that for some years it had been
considered a great national object to secure an alternative short
route to India, but that recentlj' the establishment of the route
by the Euphrates had become more and more necessary, and
more especially since it had been determined to open up the
"\''alley of the Indus by the application of steam. The great
traffic which would pour down this valley from Central Asia
and the Punjaub, once flowing towards Kimrachee, would natu¬
rally seek an outlet by the sister valley of the Euphrates, at
least the lighter and more valuable products as well as the mails
and passengers ; but the support of the Government was not
sought on commercial grounds. That support was sought alone
on the ground of the political importance of this ancient line of
communication. The grand object was to connect England
with the north-west frontier of India, by steam transit throrigh
the Euphi'ates and Indus Valleys. The latter would render
moveable to either the Kyber or the Bolan, the two gates of
India, the flower of the British amiy cantoned in the Punjaub;
and the Euphrates and Indus lines being connected by means of
steamers, we should be enabled to threaten the flank and rear of
any force advancing through Persia towards India. So that the
invasion of India by this great scheme would be placed beyond
even speculation ; and it would be evident, that the great army
of India of 300,000 men being united by this means to the army
in England, the mutual support they would render each other
would quadruple the power and ascendancy of this country, and
promote powerfully the progress, the freedom, and the peace of
the world. The countries to be traversed were the richest and
most ancient in the world, and might again become the granaries
of Europe, and not only supply us with wheat, but with cotton of
42
APPENDIX B.
excellent quality, and his gallant friend. General Chesney, who
had recently Gsited these regions, would tell them that there
were hundreds of thousands of camel-loads of this valuable
commodity rotting on the grovind for want of the means of
transport. Sir W. F. "Williams, of Kars, would tell them there
was no difficulty in dealing with the Arabs, if they were fairly
treated. The Lord Mayor, who had had intimate commercial
relations udth the East, and Mr. Lynch, of Bagdad, who had
for many yeai-s traded with the Arabs, would speak to the
honesty and trustworthiness of the Arab. As to physical dif¬
ficulty there was none—the line had been surveyed and proved
to be singularly easy. lier Majesty's Government had given
their powerful influence and support in obtaining the firman and
eoncessiou. They had placed Her Majesty's ship, Stromboli,
at the disposal of General Chesney and Sir John M'Neill, and
the engineering staff ; and Lord Stratford de ßedcliffe had lent
his powerful advocacy with the Porte. He (Mr. Andrew) vras
deeply grateful for the assistance thus far afforded them; but
they had now arrived at that point when something more was
absolutely necessary, and that was the pecuniary support of
Government to enable the capital to be raised for the pro¬
secution of the work. It was not a matter for private indi¬
viduals to undertake. If they wanted an investment for their
funds, they would certainly not choose Turkish Arabia. The
establishment of a steam route by the Euphrates had been
placed before the public and the Government. Many Chambers
of Commerce and other influential associations had already me¬
morialised the Government in favour of granting pecuniary aid ;
and it was believed the country was anxious that this route
should be carried out by Englishmen, and it now rested with
the Government to say whether they concurred in the im¬
portance of the work, and if so, whether they would he pre¬
pared to recommend such an amount of pecuniary assistance,
whether by guarantee or otherwise, as would enable this, the
most important undertaking ever submitted to their consider¬
ation, to be proceeded with.
APPENDIX B.
43
Sir W. F. Williams, of Kars, stated that during his long
residence amongst the Arabs he expeñenced no diflBculty in
dealing with them, or in procming, during his excavations in
Susa, any number of workmen he might require ; and he also
pointed out the great importance of the proposed harbour of
Seleucia, as there was not a single good harbour on the Syrian
coast.
Count Strylecki briefly addressed his lordship on the support
of successive Turkish Governments to the undertaking, Gewing
it as of incalculable political importance to England in relation
to her Indian possessions.
Mr. Finlay, ]\I.P., speaking from personal acquaintance with
the country to be traversed, dwelt on the great capacity for
development, if only the means of transport were afforded.
General Chesney gave full explanations regarding the harbour,
as to its exact position, capacity, &c.
Sir Justin Sheil, late ambassador in Persia, dwelt on the
political importance of the line, and said that it would shorten
the distance to Kurrachee, the European port of India, by
1,400 miles.
The Lord Majmr (Mr. Alderman Finnis) had had, through
his agents, extensive commercial transactions with the Arabs,
and had found them most reliable and honest; and he con¬
sidered they were as much alive to their own interests as any
other race, and would be in favour of the railway, because it
would at once give them employment and afford them an outlet
for their products.
Mr. Lynch, of Bagdad, from long residence, fully conflrmed
his lordship's views.
Mr. Horsfall, M.P., assured his lordship that the undertaking
was Gewed with great interest in the manufactui'ing districts
generally, and placed in his lordship's hands a memorial from
the Chamber of Commerce of Liverpool, praying that the Govern¬
ment would extend the necessary pecuniary aid to the Eu¬
phrates Valley Railway Company.
44
APPENDIX B.
Lord Palmerston assured the deputation that the Government
Avere fully alive to the great importance of the Euphrates route,
that they had supported, and would continue to support it ; but
he could not give an opinion as to gb/ing the guarantee on the
capital without consulting his colleagues. He requested Mr.
Andrew to put his proposition in writing, and said it should have
a proper amount of consideration, and that Government would
be happy to aid it, if in their power.
Mr. Andrew harung thanked his lordship for the courteous
reception accorded them, the deputation withdrew, much gra¬
tified by the manner in which they had been received.*
* Reprinted from The Times and Morning Seraldj of the 23rd June, 1857.
APPENDIX C.
Letter from W. P. Andrew, Esq., to the Right Hon.
Viscount Palmerston, K.G.
London^ June 30^ 1857.
My Lord^—In compliance "udth tte desire expressed by your
Lordsbip, when the deputation waited upon you on tbe 22nd
instant, in favour of a guaranteed rate of interest being granted
by Her Majesty's Government on a portion of tbe capital of the
Euphrates Valley Railway Company, that the proposition should
he submitted in writing, I have now the honour to state for
your Lordship's consideration that the pecuniary suppoi't of
Government is sought on the following gromrds.
2. The estabhshment of a railway from the Mediterranean
to the Persian Gulf would have the effect of reducing the dis¬
tance between this country and India by upwards of 1000 miles
and the time to about fourteen days, or- about half the period
now occupied.
3. It would he the means of consolidating the power of the
Sultan in his Asiatic dominions.
4. By means of this railway, taken in conjunction with the
system of steam transit now being established along the valley
of the Indus from Lahore to the sea at Kurrachee,* the large
force stationed in the Punjaub would be rendered of incalcu-
* Kurrachee is not only the port of the Indus and Central Asia, but from its
geographical position and other advantages, appears dest ined to become, if not the
future metropolis of India, must certainly the second city, and the European port
of that Empire.
46
APPENDIX C.
lable importance by steamers uniting the line of the Indus with
that of the Euphrates^ for in that case any hostile force
advancing towards the Indus would not only be met on the line
of that river, but would be threatened along the sea-board of
the Persian Gulf and the line of the Eiiphrates in flank and
rear.
5. The Indus and the Euphrates thus united, the dangerous
isolation of Persia would he at an end, and a Russian invasion
of India would cease even to be speculated upon.
6. The first section of the line, from Seleucia to the Eu¬
phrates, has been surveyed by Major-General Chesney and Sir
John Alacneill, with an engineering staff, and has been reported
as of easy construction. Copies of the reports of these able
and scientific gentlemen are annexed for your lordship''s infor¬
mation.
7. The Turkish government undertake to commence simul¬
taneously with the railway the construction of a harbom at the
mouth of the Orontes at the proposed terminus of the railway.
8. The harbour has been surveyed by Sir John Macneill,
with the assistance of the officers of Her hlajesty's ship " Strom-
boli." Plans of the proposed works have been already sub¬
mitted to the First Lord of the Admiralty, and they are now
forwarded for your Lordship's inspection.
9. There heing no harbour on the coast of Syria, better
than the open roadsteads of Beyrout, Jaffa, Tripoli, and Acre,
or the pestilential harbour of Alexandretta, the importance of
having a safe and commodious harbour will be apparent for
political as well as commercial purposes.
10. This harbour, connected by means of the railway with
Bussorah at the head of the Persian Gulf, would give to Eng¬
land the first strategical position in the world.
11. The resources of England being made promptly available
on any emergency in the East, Chatham and Southampton
would become the basis of operations instead of Kurrachee or
Bombay, and would enable this country to anticipate or repel.
APPENDIX C.
47
whetlier in Europe or Asia, any attack with the rapidity and
advantages of an irresistible force.
12. On an emergency in India, troops from England could
be landed at Kurrachee in three weeks, and in another week at
Lahore, by steam transit.
13. The Euphrates Valley Railway, in addition to its political
advantages, woidd powerfully promote the commerce and civili¬
sation of the world at large, and that the commercial and manu¬
facturing communities concur in these sentiments has been
sho-wn by the addresses lately submitted to your Lordship.
They are quite alive to the importance of obtaining cotton,
wool, sugar, indigo, and other products from India and hlesopo-
tamia, and the production, being effected by free labour-, would
of necessity teird to the extinction of slavery.
14. Tlrrough the zealous exertions of ]\Iajor-General Chesney,
aided by the advice and powerful support of ^'iscount Stratford
de Redcliffe, a concession was granted by the Turkish Govern¬
ment in the early part of this year, guaranteeing a minimum rate
of interest of 6 per cent, on the capital required for the first
section from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, besides afford¬
ing other privileges.
15. But as these terms, from the state of the monejr-market
and other causes, have neither been, nor are likely to be, suffi¬
ciently attractive to induce the British capitalist to embark his
money in a distant enterprise, the deputation, of which I had the
honour of being a member, waited upon your Lordship with the
view of impressing upon your attention the absolute necessity
of the pecuniary support of Her Majesty^s Government being
extended to the undertaking, in the event of the Government
concurring in the opinion expressed by the deputation, that the
Euphrates Valley Railway was a work of great national im¬
portance.
16. It was most satisfactory to the deputation to have from
your Lordship the assurance that Her JMajesty's Government
entirely concurred with the deputation as to the great importance
48
Ari>ENDIX C.
to this country of connecting England and India by the Euphrates
Valley route^ and that it would continue to receive the counte¬
nance and furtherance of Government.
17. The financial support required from Her Majesty^s
Government is a counter guarantee of 5 per cent, for twenty-
five years, or per cent, for fifty years, on the capital of
El,400,000 for the first section. The responsibility incurred
by the Government in granting this assistance would, it is
believed, he merely nominal, and could only accrue in the event
of two contingencies—the railway not paying a moderate divi¬
dend, and the Turkish Government failing to fulfill its part of
the contract.
18. Only under the above circumstances could Her Majesty's
Government he called upon to make any contribution, and it
will he seen by reference to Sir J. Macneill's Report, that the
existing traffic upon that portion of the route of the proposed
railway is sufficient in his judgment, to yield a dividend of
8 per cent, on the capital required.
19. The East India Company might fairly be expected to
share the responsibility of the counter guarantee, in the same
way as they have already contributed to the subsidy to the
European and Indian Junction Telegraph Company, as the
establishment of the proposed route appears to be of vital im¬
portance for seeming the good government and peaceable pos¬
session of India.
20. The experienced and distinguished gentlemen with whom
I had the honour of being associated in waiting upon your Lord¬
ship, on the 22nd instant, are well aware that the question of
the Government guaranteeing interest on an industrial mider-
taking is not free from difficulty, and this difficulty would be
increased if, on the present occasion, the granting of the
guarantee might hereafter be quoted as a precedent for similar
demands.
21. The pecuniary support of Government is on the present
occasion sought, not on industrial or commercial considerations.
APPENDIX C.
49
but on account of the political importance of the railway to the
empire at large; and it is to be remembered that whatever
assistance the Grovemment may render to the Euphrates Valley
Railwajr, can never be quoted as a precedent for the fm-therance
of any similar undertaking, for no similar undertaking can pos¬
sibly be brought forward^ as the route proposed is at once the
shortest and the easiest between England and India, the whole
length of the valley of the Euphrates is so free from impedi¬
ment, that it would seem as if Providence had specially ordained
it to be the great highway of nations between the East and the
West.
22. I beg to call yom- Lordship's attention to the accom¬
panying memorandum by Sir Justin Sheü, on the political
advantages that might fairly be expected to accrue to England
by the proposed Euphrates alley Railway being in the hands
of Englishmen, and to the annexed report of the evidence in the
committee of the House of Commons on the European and
Indian Junction Telegraph Company, to the effect that no
danger is to be apprehended to the construction of either a
telegraph or a railway from the Arabs on the banks of the
Euphrates and Tigris.
23. In confiding to the consideration of Her Majesty's
Government what is believed to be the most important work,
viewed in all its bearings, that was ever submitted to any
Government, I must state the general conviction that the
Euphrates route wRl most assui-edly pass into other hands if
England declines the task.
24. I beg again to express, on behalf of the deputation,
their grateful sense of your Lordship's consideration and
courtesy.
I have the honour, &c.
W. P. ANDREAV, Chairman.
The Right Hon. Viscount Palmerston, K.G.
APPENDIX D.
EUPHRATES VALLEY RAILWAY.
Report of the Select Committee* of the House of Commons^
dated 22nd July^ 1872.
The Select Committee appointed to Examine and Report
upon tlie wliole subject of Railway Communication be¬
tween tlie Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and tlie Persian
Gulf, have considered the matters to them referredj and
have agreed to the following Report ;—
Your Committee have to report that^ in compliance with the
directions of your Honom-ahle House^ they have taken evidence
upon the whole subject of railway communication between the
Mediterranean^ the Black Sea, and the Persian Gulf.
They find that at the present time no such communication
exists, nor is any plan for establishing it in course of execution,
though it has been stated to them that the Turkish Government
has it in contemplation to extend the line of railway now in
course of construction from Scutari towards Bagdad, thereby
* Tlie Committee was composed of the following members:—Sir Stafford
Northcote, Bart, j Viscount Sandon ; Sir George Jenkiuson, Bart. ; Hon. Fred.
Walpole; Mr. Eastwick; Mr. Baillie Cochrane; Mr. Laird; Mr. Grant Duff;
Hon. Arthur Himiah'd ; Mr. Brassey ; Sir Charles Wingfield ; Mr. Henry Robert
Brand ; Mr. M'Arthur; Mr. Dyce Nicol; Mr, Kirkman Hodgson.
APPENDIX D.
51
connecting Constantinople and the Black Sea with the Valley
of the Tigris, whence the line might at a future time be con¬
tinued to the Persian Gulf. The Russian system of railways is
nearly completed as far as Tiflis, and may shortly be expected
to reach Reched on the Russo-Persian frontier. It is surmised
that this system also might at a future time be extended to the
Gulf, which would thus be brought into communication with the
Black Sea at Poti. This is, howevei', as yet mere matter of
speculation.
Your Committee have also heard some evidence as to the
desirableness of establishing railway communication between
Trebizond, or some other port on the Black Sea, and the head
of the Persian Gulf ; but it does not appear to tliem likely that
such a line would be undertaken as an independent speculation ;
while they are of opinion that no line starting from the Black
Sea would be of sufficient value to English interests to make it
worth their while to go deeply into the question from an English
point of view. It has seemed to them, therefore, that they
would most properly discharge their functions by confining
their attention to the question of establishing a route to the
Persian Gulf from some port on the Mediterranean, to which
British ships could at all times have easy and uncontrolled
access, and which would be likely to be available, whenever
required, for the transmission of troops and mails, as well as
passengers and goods, to India.
Upon this point they have not only taken the evidence of a
number of official and non-official witnesses, but have also ob¬
tained, through the kindness of the Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs, a series of reports from certain of Her Majesty's
consuls, who were considered by his lordship to be the best
qualified to furnish valuable information on the subject. These
reports, which are highly interesting, will be found in the
Appendix.
The evidence which your Committee have taken, and to which
much more might have been added, has satisfied them that there
52
APPENDIX D.
is no insuperable obstacle in the way of the construction of a
railway from some suitable port in the Mediterranean to some
other suitable port at or near the head of the Persian Gulf ; that
there is more than one port which might be selected at either
end of the line ; that there are several practicable routes ; that
there would be no difficulty in procuring the necessary supply
of labour and of materials for constructing a railway ; and that
there need be no apprehension of its being exposed to injury by
nativesj either during the process of its construction or after it
shall have been completed. They find, too, that there is reason
to expect the sanction, if not the active conciu'rence, of the
Turkish Government in any well-conceived project that may he
presented to them.
Of the various routes which have been discussed before your
Committee, the following appear to be the most important :—
1st. A line starting from Alexandretta (Scanderoon), or
from Suedia, near the mouth of the Orontes, passing
through Aleppo to the Euphrates, at or near Jaber Castle,
and thence carried down the right bank of the river to
Grane (Koweyt), on the western side of the Persian Gulf.
2nd. A line starting from one of the same points, cross¬
ing the Euphrates at Belis, passing down the left bank of
the river, or the right bank of the Tigris, to a point nearly
opposite Bagdad, recrossing the Euphrates and proceeding
to Grane.
3rd. A line starting as before, crossing the Euphrates at
Bir, thence going round to Orfah and Diyarbekir, and
following the right bank of the Tigris to Bagdad, whence
it would follow route No. 2.
4th. A line somewhat like the last mentioned, but
following the left instead of the right bank of the Tigris.
5. A line starting from Tripoli, and proceeding across
the desert, by way of Damascus and Palmyra, to the
Euphrates, whence it might follow either of the Euphrates
routes.
APPENDIX D.
53
Several witnesses have discussed the relative advantages of
the various termini, both on the Mediterranean and on the
Persian Gulf ; the principal question with regard to the former
being, whether Alexandretta or Suedia should he preferred ;
while with regard to the latter, there have not only been
questions between different ports, such as Bussorah, Moham-
merah. Core Abdullah, Grane, and Bushire; but the further
question, whether the line should not be carried along the whole
northern shore of the Gulf, so as to establish direct communica¬
tion with the Indian railway system at Kurrachee.
The principal argument in favour of Alexandretta is, that it
possesses a fine natural harbour. The objections taken to it
are, first, that it is an unhealthy place ; and secondly, that a
railway starting from it would have to be carried across more
difficult country than would be encountered on a line from
Suedia up the valley of the Orontes. Suedia, it is said, is far
more healthy than Alexandretta ; but, on the other hand, tliere
is no port there, and should it be chosen as the terminus, great
expense must be incurred in making one. The advocates of
Alexandretta contend that its unhealthiness even at present is
much exaggerated; and further, that a much less 'expenditure
than wmuld be required to make a port of Suedia would be
sufficient to drain the marshes, which are the principal cause of
the insalubrity of Alexandretta. It has also been shown by
recent engineering evidence that there would be no difficulty
which could not be readily overcome in the line between Alex¬
andretta and Aleppo, and that it would be even preferable to
the line of the Orontes. Your Committee have not the means
of forming a decided judgment on these controverted points,
and are of opinion that should a railway be undertaken it would
be desirable that the relative advantages of these two Mediter¬
ranean termini should be carefully investigated by a competent
commission.
AYith regard to the third port which has been mentioned,
namely, Tripoli, your Committee would refer to the evidence
D
54
APPENDIX D,
given in its favour by Captain Burton, which is not, however,
supported by that of the other witnesses whom they have
examined. So far as the infonnation they have obtained goes,
they are disposed to prefer Alexandretta to Tripoli as the point
of departure, even for a line down the right hank of the Eu¬
phrates ¡ while, should a line doAvn the Tigris he preferred, or
should it he thought desirable to connect the new line with the
projected Turkish system, there can be no doubt of the supe¬
riority of the former terminus.
As regards the terminus on the Persian Gulf, your Committee
are decidedly of opinion that it Avould be better to carry the
line to some point where it might be brought into communica¬
tion with the steam-vessels Avhich are noAV under Government
subvention to carry tlie mails, and which ply from the Indian
ports to Bussorah, than to continue it along the coast to Kur-
rachee by a very expensive and probably uuremunerative route.
Of the particular ports which have been mentioned, the3^ are
inclined to prefer the port of Grane ; but upon this point, as
well as upon the selection of a port on the Mediterranean, they
think that a local inquiry, conducted by competent scientific
authorities, with a special reference to the prnqrose in view,
would be desirable.
Passing from the question of the termini to that of the route
itself, your Committee find that the arguments in favour of,
and against, the Euphrates and the Tigris routes respectively,
majf be thus stated :—
The Euphrates route is considerably the shorter, would be the
cheaper to make ; and, assuming an equal rate of speed, would
aflbrd the quicker passage for persons, troops, or mails passing
between England and India. The Tigris route might attract
the larger amount of traffic, and would connect itself better
with the projected Turkish system.
Upon the whole, your Committee are of opinion that, if the
enterprise were to be regarded simply as one afiecting British
interests, it would be the wisest course to adopt the shortest
APPENDIX D,
55
and most direct line not open to very obvious objections, and
that one of the two routes by the way of the Euphrates should
be preferred, leaving it for those who are interested in the im¬
provement of the communications with the towns on the Tigris,
or further east, to connect those towns with the main line by
one or more branch railways, and by the use of the water com¬
munication which exists between the two rivers. But if other
considerations are to be taken into account, and if the co¬
operation of the Turkish Government is to be sought in the
construction of a railway, it may well happen that that Govern¬
ment may see reason to prefer the route by way of the Tigris ;
and any such preference ought to be a material element in the
determination of the question.
Yom' Committee, therefore, having arrived at the conclusion
that there is no probability of any line being constructed by
unassisted private enterprise, have now to consider the following
question : —
Is it worth the wdiile of England to undertake the
making of a line in conjunction with Turkej^ ; and is there,
in that case, a probability that a practical arrangement can
be made ?
There can be no doubt that if the Government of England
were to give its support, in the form of an adequate guarantee,
the Turkish Government would give its general countenance to
the undertaking, whatever might be the route that was chosen.
It is the opinion of many very competent witnesses that it
would he worth the while of this country to give such a guaran¬
tee, even though it should involve a considerable pecuniary
sacrifice. Others are of a different opinion; and, though ad¬
mitting that England would derive certain advantages from the
opening of a railway through INIesopotamia, do not consider that
those advantages would be of sufficient importance to justify a
serious national expenditure.
Among the witnesses whose evidence tends most strongly to
support the policy of incurring the cost or risk of a national
56
APPENDIX D.
guarantee^ your Committee may mention Viscount Stratford de
Redcliffe, Lord Strathnairn, Sir H. Bartle Frere^ Sir Donald
Macleod, Mr. Laing, Colonel Sir H. Green, Colonel Malcolm
Green, Captain Tyler, R.E., Mr. W. Gifford Palgrave, &c.
Among tliose who suggest considerations tending to throw
doubt on the propriety of such an expenditure, your Committee
would call attention to the evidence of Lord Sandhurst, Sir H.
Rawlinson, Major Champain, &c.
Your Committee have had laid before them a Despatch from
the Government of India, expressing an earnest desire that it
may be found practicable to carry out the project, which, it is
observed, would be of considerable, but not of paramount, im¬
portance to the interest of that country. They infer from it that
the Indian Government, while it would be prepared to avail
itself of the railway if made, and of course to pay for the ser¬
vices it might require, would object to join in any direct or
indirect expenditure for the purpose of obtaining its con¬
struction.
Yoiu' Committee have had under their notice an important
semi-official correspondence, which has been laid before them by
Sir George Jenkinson, a Member of the Committee, explanatory
of the views of the Turkish Government upon the question.
This correspondence will be found at Question 813, in the
Evidence of 1871, and at Question 709 in that of 1872; but
your Committee think it desirable, for the purpose of putting it
in a convenient form before your Honourable House, to incor¬
porate it in this Report as follows :—
" 39, Eaton Place,
" 16 February, 1870.
" Your Excellency,—
" Having well considered the conversations we have
had together respecting a railway from Alexandretta to Aleppo,
and from Aleppo to Bagdad and Bussorah, at the head of the
Persian Gulf, I now, before taking any step in the House of
APPENDIX D.
57
Commons with reference to itj wish you to inform me positively
whether your Government consents to the construction of such
railway on its own accoimt, under the direction and working
control of a mixed committee^ to he appointed jointly by the
Enghsh and Turkish Governments^ and upon the following con¬
ditions ;—
"1. The funds to be raised by means of an Ottoman Loan,
the interest of which to be counter-guaranteed by England at the
rate of 4 per cent, per annum and 1 per cent, for a sinking fund.
" 2. The proceeds of such loan, when raised, to be deposited
in the Bank of England in the names of the mixed committee as
before defined, and to be applied by them exclusively for the
construction of the railway, and the proGsion of the necessary
rolling stock, and for no other purpose.
" 3. AU the land necessary for the railway, and for aU the
works in connection therewith, to be provided free by the Turkish
Government.
" 4. In order to secm-e with regularity and certainty the pay¬
ment of the interest upon the loan, the foUowing stipulations to
be agreed upon and enforced ;
"(1st.) The net income proceeds of the working of the
railway when made, wholly or in part of it, to be paid into
the Bank of England, and applied exclusively to the pay¬
ment of the interest and the sinking fund.
"(2nd.) The customs duties and port charges of the ports
of Alexandretta and Bussorah, as well as certain revenues
and other resources of the proGnces through which the
railway may pass, to be assigned by the Tui'kish Govern¬
ment to the mixed committee as a secmdty for the pay¬
ment of the interest of the loan, and of the sinking ftind.
"5. The Turkish Government to guarantee to England the
privilege of the conveyance of troops at all times by the railway
to and from this country, and any of her Majesty's Eastern pos¬
sessions, and at a rate not exceeding that which w ill be paid for
the conveyance of troops belonging to the Ottoman Empire, and
58
APPENDIX D.
upon such other conditions and regulations as shall be settled
and agreed upon by a convention between the English Govern¬
ment and the Sublime Porte.
" 6. The transport^ free of an3'' charge, at all times by the rail¬
way of all English mails to and from this country, and any of
Her Majesty's Eastern possessions.
"7. Until the extinetion of the loan bj^ repayment of the
])rincipal and interest, the English Government, and the bond¬
holders as represented by the committee, to have an absolute
mortgage upon the railway, and land, and works. In request¬
ing a reply from your E.xccllency to this communication, I hope
I may receive jmur authority to make such use of it as the fur¬
therance of the object in view may render necessary.
" Believe me, &c.,
(Signed) "GEORGE JENKINSON."
" His Excellency Musurus Pacha,
Ambassador of the Sublime Porte."
" Imperial Ottoman Embassy,
" 12 March, 1870,
"My Dear Sir George,
" Having communicated to my Government the contents
of your letter of the 16th ultimo, respecting the project of a rail¬
way fi'om Alexandretta to Aleppo, and from Aleppo to Bagdad
and Bussorah, I hasten to inform jmu that after mature consi¬
deration, the Sublime Porte has authorised me to declare to
you that they aecept and undertake to carry out all the condi¬
tions contained in your letter above referred to. In communi¬
cating to you this decision of the Imperial Government, I do
not hesitate to give you, according to your request, full authority
to make of this letter such use as you may think necessary.
" Believe me, &c.,
(Signed) " MUSURUS."
APPENDIX D.
59
"Imperial Ottoman Embassy,
"London, 7 August¡ 1871.
" Dear Sir George,
" I can only tliiiik of one point m hicli admits of any
explanation, and that is with regard to the preference which I
have sliOM'ii for a railway between Alexaudretta and Bussorah,
through Aleppo ; you are well aware that I should like to see
eonstructed a railway from Constantinople to Bussorah, and the
Imperial Government would readily grant the same terms for
making it : but as I fear this is more than can be accomplished
at present, I content myself with the line from the IMediterranean
for the Persian Gulf ; whether the valley of the Euphrates or
Tigris he preferred, is immaterial for me ; but it seems that by
the former, which has been already surveyed, the raihvay would
he the shortest and the easiest to be made, in consequence of
the flatness of the country, and therefore the cheapest. So
that you see, it is not the conditions of the Turkish Govern¬
ment which are wanting to any other line, but rather the
cheapness and natural advantages offered by the Euphrates
Valley route, especially to England, whose assistance is
requisite."
It will appear from this correspondence, and from the evi¬
dence of Sir G. Jenkinson [see particularh' Q. 813 of 1871),
that the Tiuldsh Goverument would be disposed to entertain
favourably any proposal which Her IMajesty's Goverument might
make for the construction of a railway under the control of a
mixed committee, appointed jointly by the two Governments,
with funds to he raised by a loan contracted by the Turkish
Government, and partially guaranteed by the Government of
England.
Your Committee are decidedly of opinion that, if any steps
are to be taken towards the construction of a line, the best
course will be for Her IMajestj^'s Government to place them¬
selves in communication with the Government of Turkey, with
60
APPENDIX D.
a view to some arrangement of the nature above described ; and
that the two Governments should jointly undertake a survey,
for the purpose of deciding upon the precise route to be
adopted.
Your Committee have not obtained full information as to the
cost of any of the lines which have been proposed ; but they
think it probable that the sum of £10,000,000 Avould be amply
sufBcient to cover the expense of the shortest route, at all
events.
What then are the advantages which the country might
expect to gain from this possible expenditure ? They are
principally those to be derived from the more rapid trans¬
mission of mails, and from the possession of an alternative and
more rapid route for the conveyance of troops; and from the
great commercial advantages, both to India and England, which
the opening up of the route would confer.
The amount of time that might be saved in the transmission
of mails from England to Bombay is variously estimated by
different wdtnesses, some placing it at four days, others as high
as seven or eight days ; but it must of course materially depend
upon, first, the length of the railway, and secondly, the rate of
speed at Avhich the trains can travel, which again depends partly
upon the gauge to be adopted, and thus the question is resolved
into one of cost. Captain Tyler, U.E., Avho has gone carefully
into the question, states the saving of distance by the Euphrates
route from London via Brindisi and Scanderoon to Bombay, as
compared rvith that via Brindisi, Alexandria, and Suez, at
723 miles, and estimates the saving of time at 92 hours. The
adoption of Kurrachee as the point of debarkation instead of
Bombay, Avould of course materiallj^ enhance the saving, and
during the season of the monsoon the gain would be increased
by avoiding the Indian Ocean.
With regard to the conveyance of troops, your Committee
have taken the opinions of several highly competent witnesses.
Lords Strathnairn and Sandhurst, successively Commandcrs-in-
APPENDIX D.
61
Chief in India, Sir Henry Ravrlinson, Sir Bartie Frerc, and
others. As respects the coniparatiTe advantages of the proposed
railrvay route and the route by the Suez Canal for the purpose of
the ordinary reliefs, some difference of opinion prevails. The
advantage of gaming some days in point of time is counter¬
balanced, in the opinion of some witnesses, by that of being
able to send the men from the point of depai'tm'e to that of
destination without transhipment : Lord Sandhurst and Sir
Hemy Rawlinson prefer the Suez route on this ground. On
the other hand. Lord Strathnairn and Colonel Sir Henry Green
consider that in the winter the shorter route would be the
preferable one. But nearly aU the witnesses concur as to the
importance of hartng a second or alternative route available in
case of the first being impeded, or in case of an emergency
arising, which might call for the rapid dispatch of troops,
especially if they were wanted in the north-west of India.
The importance of the proposed route by way of the Persian
Gulf would of course be materially enhanced, especially as
regards the conveyance of troops, by the completion of the
works now in progress at the harbour of Kurrachee, and of the
Indus Valley, and the Lahore and Peshawm- Railways. Your
Committee have therefore taken the ertdence of ]\Ir. Thornton,
the Secretary to the Public Vorks Department at the India
Office, and of IMr. Parkes, the consulting engineer to the Secre¬
tary of State for India for the harbour at Kurrachee, who have
spoken most favom-ably of the works now in progress there.
Your Committee gather from the ertdence of these gentlemen
that the harbour', which is ah'eadj' available for the landing of
troops and mails, will in the course of two more years be capable
of receiving the large Indian troop-ships. The;' are not aware of
the period within which the system of railways connecting
Kun'achee with Peshawur may be expected to be completed ;
but whenever this shall have been done, there can be no doubt
that a route by way of the Persian Gulf and Kui-rachee will
afford mean.8 of communication between England and the Pun-
E
62
APPENDIX D.
jaubj and north-Tvest fi'outier of British India, superior to those
afforded by the way of Suez and Bombay.
Speatmg generally, your Committee are of opinion that the
two routes, by the Bed Sea and by the Persian Gulf, might be
maintained and used simultaneously; that at certain seasons
and for certain purposes the advantage would lie with the one,
and at other seasons and for other purposes it would lie with the
other; that it may fairly be expected that in process of time
traffic enough for the support of both would develope itself, but
that this result must not be expected too soon ; that the political
and commercial advantages of establishing a second route would
at any time be considerable, and might, tmder possible circum¬
stances, be exceedingly great ; and that it would be worth the
while of the English Government to make an effort to secure
them, considering the moderate pecuniary risk which they would
incur. They beheve that this may best be done by opening
commuiucations with the Government of Turkey in the sense
indicated by the semi-official correspondence to which they have
already drawn attention.
July 22nd, 1873.
JUL 3 7 1911
LONDON: WM. H. ALLEN & CO., FEINTEES, 13, WATEEIOO PLACE, S.W.