CHAPTER XXXIII.

VANTAGES-CARAVAN-ROUTES

GROWTH OF FOREIGN COMPETITION FOR TRADE-NEED FOR NEW MARKETS -INDIA AND CHINA AS MARKETS-NECESSITY FOR CHEAP COMMUNICATIONS-ACTION TAKEN BY MR COLQUHOUN AND MYSELF-PROBABLE EFFECTS OF THE INDO-SIAM-CHINA RAILWAY-INDO-BURMESE CONNECTION IN COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION - REASONS FOR CHOOSING MAULMAIN AS TERMINUS FOR CONNECTION WITH CHINA-SIAMESE SECTION NOW UNDER SURVEY-EFFECTS OF CONNECTING MAULMAIN WITH SIAMESE RAILWAY-COST OF CONNECTION-PROSPECTIVE ADFROM MAULMAIN TO RAHENG-ESTIMATE FOR BRANCH TO OUR FRONTIER-APPROXIMATE ESTIMATE FOR CONTINUING THE BRANCH TO RAHENG-COMPARISON BETWEEN PROPOSED BRITISH AND RUSSIAN RAILWAYS-BRITISH INTERESTS IN SIAM -MR SATOW'S LETTER-SIR ARTHUR PHAYRE'S OPINION ON OUR DUTY TO PROTECT SIAM-CONNECTION OF BURMAH AND SIAM BY RAILWAY THE BEST FORM OF SUPPORT-CANNOT ALLOW SIAM TO BE ABSORBED BY FRANCE-EFFECT OF SUCH ABSORPTION UPON BURMAH-OPINIONS OF SIR CHARLES BERNARD-CANNOT AFFORD TO HAND OVER OUR MARKETS TO FRANCE-OPINION OF SIR HENRY YULE-PAYING PROSPECTS OF THE BRANCH TO THE FRONTIER-SIR RICHARD TEMPLE'S OPINION-THE MOST PROMISING OF ALL FUTURE RAILWAY LINESEFFECT OF PROPOSED LINES-SIR CHARLES BERNARD'S PROJECT-COMPARISON BETWEEN MAULMAIN AND BHAMO ROUTES-TAKAW ROUTEKUN LÔN FERRY ROUTES-THE MAULMAIN ROUTE OR NOTHING—IMPORTANCE OF THE QUESTION.

In these days of commercial rivalry, when foreign nations are competing with us in every neutral market in the world, when Europe and North America are being closed against our goods by prohibitive tariffs, and the Royal Commission appointed on the late depression of trade has placed on record its opinion that over-production has been one of the prominent features in the course of trade of recent years, and has urged us to display greater activity

INDIA AND CHINA AS MARKETS.

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in searching for and developing new markets, we cannot afford to neglect any advantage we possess for the extension of our trade.

The seaboard and navigable rivers of the world give access to only limited areas for commerce. To open up new markets, we must penetrate the great and populous but landlocked interiors of the unopened continents of Asia and Africa, and our vast colonial possessions, with railways thus providing cheap means of communication in the extensive areas that are now shut off from our commerce by the prohibitive cost of carriage.

India and China, the largest and most densely populated markets yet undeveloped, contain together 700,000,000 inhabitants-one-half the population of the earth. These consist of civilised people, with their commerce uncramped at their ports by prohibitive tariffs, who would gladly become our customers if by cheapening the cost of carriage we could place our machine-made goods at their doors at a less price than they can acquire local hand-made manufactures.

Since 1881 my friend Mr Colquhoun and I have been striving our utmost to interest the public in the great and yet undeveloped markets of the East. We have tried to impress upon Government and the mercantile and manufacturing community, that Great Britain is in possession of certain advantages which render her the envy of competing nations. She is in possession of India and Burmah, and is thus the next-door neighbour to the landlocked half of the great and populous empire of China.

We have endeavoured to awaken, and have awakened, an intelligent interest in the subject of the importance of connecting India with China by a railway; and by exploration have proved to the satisfaction of every one who has studied the question, that a practical route between these two great empires exists, and that along that route a railway can be constructed at a reasonable cost, which would tend greatly to enhance the commerce of Great Britain and India with its Eastern neighbours-Siam and its Shan States, and the western half of China.

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INDO-BURMESE CONNECTION.

When this railway is constructed, its inland terminus at Ssumao will assuredly form the nucleus of a system of Chinese railways which will spread through the western, central, and southern provinces of China. One of these lines would be made to join our terminus at Ssumao with Pakhoi, the southern treaty-port in the China Sea, and thus complete a through line from the Persian Gulf to the China Sea by a railway extending solely through British, Siamese, and Chinese territories. This line would pass through and develop the richest part of Asia, foil the designs of the French, who are hoping and endeavouring to oust our trade from Southern China and Central Indo-China, and give us vast markets for the future expansion of British and BritishIndian commerce.

Our project divides itself into two portions-the IndoBurmese and Burmo-Chinese railways. The first involves the connection of the Indian and Burmese systems of railways by a line joining the railways in Northern Assam, vid Mogoung, with the Rangoon and Mandalay line, together with an extension of that railway from Rangoon to Maulmain. The connection of Rangoon with Maulmain by railway has since been advocated by Sir Charles Crosthwaite, the present chief commissioner of Burmah, so far as proposing that its first section should be surveyed and put in hand by the Government of India.

The connection of the Indian and Burmese railways vid the Patkoi pass met with unreasonable opposition; but actual exploration, carried out by the Government, has lately proved that, as we have averred all along, the route is the easiest, cheapest, and most feasible that exists for the connection of these two systems of railways. The section of the line from Sagain-a town opposite Mandalay—to Mogoung, is already sanctioned, and about to be commenced; and the other portion of the railway will doubtless be taken in hand as soon as the first section is completed.

The second portion of our project is the connection of Burmah with Siam and China by railway. Our study of previous explorations, followed by exploration-surveys conducted by myself in Siam and its Shan States, and by my

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colleague Mr Colquhoun through Southern China and by the Bhamo route into Northern Burmah, afforded positive proof that the path for a railway from Burmah to China should have its western terminus at Maulmain. By starting from that seaport, the following advantages would be gained :

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1. The difficult country lying between the Irawadi and Salween rivers in Upper Burmah would be entirely avoided, because Maulmain is situated near the mouth of the Salween, and on its eastern bank.

2. By proceeding eastwards from Maulmain, you cross the hill-ranges by the best route, as can be seen by comparing the Bhamo route, which trends eastwards over an alpine country from Bhamo at the navigation head of the Irawadi river, with the Takaw route, lying 230 miles to the south of the Bhamo route, and with the Maulmain route, which lies 350 miles farther to the south. It is evident that the farther you go to the north, the more difficult do the routes leading from Burmah to China become.

3. The line from Maulmain, owing to the easy country through which it passes, could be constructed at a fraction of the cost of any line projected from Upper Burmah, and would have the advantage of easier gradients throughout, and would be the shortest possible route for connecting Burmah with the capital of the Chinese province of Yunnan.

4. The line from Maulmain, from its shortness, would possess great advantages in competing with the lines projected by the French from their Tonquin seaboard, and would thus enable us to carry our goods from Maulmain to Ssumao, the frontier-post of South-western China, for £3 a ton, or about one-twentieth of the average tariff now charged upon our goods by the French customs in Tonquin.

5. The line from Maulmain would likewise connect with the projected system of Siamese railways, and thus tend greatly to the advantage of Burmah, and to the development of British trade throughout Central Indo-China.

6. The Siamese system of railways projected by us, and now being surveyed and estimated for the King of Siam by English engineers, if joined on with Maulmain by our projected branch to the frontier, would connect our seaport of

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COST OF CONNECTION.

Maulmain with Bangkok, the capital and chief seaport of Siam, thus affording us more rapid mail communication with China and Australasia, and would complete more than twothirds of our projected railway to China. The remaining 230 miles could be cheaply constructed, and would open up the British States lying to the east of the Salween throughout their length, and thus give us an easy control of the country.

The branch line which we propose for the connection of our seaport of Maulmain with the Siamese system of railways at Raheng, as I shall proceed to explain, would probably cost less than one and a half million sterling, the cost of fifteen average miles of English railway. Half of this line lies in Siamese territory, and the other half in the Indian province of Burmah; and approximately half of the cost would have to be defrayed by the King of Siam, leaving only three-quarters of a million sterling as the charge to the Indian Government.

This branch alone would open out to our seaport of Maulmain the nine million inhabitants of Siam and its Shan States, and would, together with the Siamese line to Kiang Hsen, greatly decrease the cost of carriage to our British Shan States lying to the east of the Salween, which are believed to contain about one and a half million inhabitants. It would likewise greatly decrease the cost of carriage to the Chinese province of Yunnan, and thus, by lowering the prices, tend greatly to increase the number of our customers. The journey from Maulmain to our frontier at Myawadi, on the Thoungyeen river, is performed by porters in four days, and by cattle caravans in about eight days.

In referring to the route from Myawadi to Raheng, the 'British Burmah Gazetteer' states that "the route between them, being much frequented, is clear and open, and the journey can thus be performed in two days."

The hills between the Thoungyeen and Raheng were sur

1 The length of the branch line is estimated at 160 miles, the cost at one and a half million sterling, which is equivalent to Rs. 136,363 a mile, taking exchange at 1s. 41d. The 108 miles opened in Upper Burmah up to December 31, 1888, cost, according to the last "Administration Report on the Railways in India," only Rs. 50,349 per mile.