library
bureau a' ' " ' • - ^
VMdnij'jGTONV D.
In cowse of prepa^'otion, the Fowrth Edition of |-i|-rk
INDIAN RAILWAY^? '9'"
AS CONNECTED WITH THE POWER AND STABILITY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
EAST, THE DEVELOPMENT OF ITS RESODRCES, AND THE
CIVILIZATION OP ITS PEOPLE.
BY AN OLD INDIAN POSTMASTER.
'* Allen's Indian Mail," August
I3iÄ, 1846.
"In regard to the great line to
connect the seat of government with
the extreme north-west, the author's
opinions are peculiar."
Tlie " Indian News, " Februa/ry
22nd, 1848.
" The best testimony of the sound¬
ness of the * Old Postmaster's ' views
is, that, in the settlement of Indian
Railways, as far as it has recently
taken place, not a few of his opinions
have been followed by those in au¬
thority."
" The Times, " 19fä November,
1851.
" The line (in Bengal) seems to
have been adopted, which was origi¬
nally recommended by Mr. W. P.
Andrew."
The " Morning Chronicle,"
November 20fÄ, 1851.
" By recent accounts from India,
we observe that the Howrah termi¬
nus, indicated by Mr. Andrew to
save bridging the Hooghly, had been
adopted."
The " Observer," November 23r<?,
1851. Indian Railways,
" It is not a little remarkable, on
reviewing the past and present posi¬
tion of Indian railways, to perceive
that the views of a private individual
have prevailed against, and finally
overthrown, the plans of the Indian
Railway Commission.
" The Government and people of
India are therefore indebted to the
' Old Indian Postmaster,' who has
thus saved them from prosecuting
a design which would have led to
disastrous and humiliating results."
"The Economist," December 13fÄ,
1851.
" We see with some satisfaction,
that the views propounded as to
forming railways in India, by Mr. W.
P. Andrew, under the cognomen of
an ' Old Indian Postmaster,' and
•« '
which were long ago recommended
in our journal, find favour in India,
and are likely to be adopted."
The " Britannia," December
1851.
" It is announced, we see, by the
'Friend of India,' received by the
last mail, ' That the Court of Direc¬
tors had decided for the adoption of
the line proposed by Major Kennedy
from the collieries to Rajmahal, and
thence up the valley of the Ganges,'
which is exactly the scheme origi¬
nally propounded and advocated by
the ' Old Indian Postmaster, ' (Mr.
W. P. Andrew) in 1846, some two or
three years before Major Kennedy
went to India, and to whom exclu¬
sively the merit is due of having
. pointed out the erroneous views of
the East Indian Railway Company,
and adopted by the "India Govern¬
ment Railway Commission. Had the
authorities acted upon Mr. Andrew's
views, a large and useless expendi¬
ture of time and money would have
been saved ; and it is admitted on
all hands that this gentleman 'has
saved railway enterprise in India from
a great and lamentable failure.' "
The " Morning'Herald," Äejp-
tember 14fÄ, 1852.
"Mr. Andrew is well known as
the author of a valuable work pub¬
lished some years since by Mr. Pel-
ham Richardson, under the nom de
guerre of an ' Old Indian Post¬
master,* by which public and official
notice was mainly, if not first, di¬
rected to the great subject of railway
communications in India.'"
In the Fress»—Second Fdition, greatly enla/rged,
THE SCINDE RAILWAY
Am> ITS EEIATIONS TO
THE EUPHRATES VALLEY,
AND
OTHER ROUTES TO INDIA.
WITH ILLUSTRATIVE MAPS, STATISTICAL TABLES, ETC.
FEOM OFEICIAIi SOTJECES,
BY W. P. ANDREW, F.R.G.S.,
CHAIRMAN OF THE SCINDE RAILWAY AND EUPHRATES VALLEY RAILWAY COMPANIES,
Author of''^ Indian Railways and their probable Results^ by an Old Indian Postmaster "
'•^Railways in Bengal " Is India to have Railways V ''''Memoir on the
Euphrates Valley Route to India^' ^c.
"Heretofore, and until very recently, every recruit that joined his corps from
England—every invalid that was sent back shattered to his home, was obliged to travel
the long, slow, weary track to Calcutta, however distant the station at which he was
placed. Within the last two years, the establishment of steam communication
regularly on the Indus has enabled the Government greatly to lessen the evil. This
dispatch of recruits by Bombay to Kurrachee for that large portion of the Bengal
army that is stationed to the westward of tîie Jumna, and the conveyance of the
invalids of the same portion of the army from Perozepore to the sea, have been a
vast improvement."—Minute by the Governor- General of India^ 1853.
" In the meantime the channel of the Indus is becoming the great highway between
Europe and the North-western provinces of our possessions. Troops arrive and depart
from England by that route. Recruits are sent out, and invalids sent home, each year
by its stream; thus avoiding the long and weary march which must otherwise be made
by Calcutta. Great quantities of heavy stores follow the same course, and passen¬
gers in large numbers now by preference seek by it a point of departure at Bombay."
—Minute by the Marquis of Falhousie^ 28iÄ Feb., 1856, reviewing his administration
in India,
'* Indeed these two essentials, viz., the Railroad and the Steamers, may be said with
truth to be the crying wants of the Punjaub in the Department of Public Works,
" These provided, the commerce and produce of these.territories will be turned to
their due course, viz., the Indus and its feeders and to their natm*al outlet, viz., the Port
of Kurrrachee.
" For the Railroad, the face of the Doab offers an unusual equality of surface.
" If carried out, they (the railway and steamers) would effect more for the develop¬
ment of the resources of these territories than any other work, or number of works,
that could be devised."—The Chief Commissioner of the Punjaub to the Government
of India, 1855.
" Our taking up a formidable position at Candahar will go far to deter even specu¬
lation on the chances of invasion.
" The cost of the plan offered for consideration, and the drain on the already encum¬
bered resources of India, deserve reflection. Yet present expenditure is often real
economy, of which the war we are now waging is a notable example. It seems to
be a national vice to prefer the most lavish outlay in prospect to present moderate
disbursement. Whatever tends to avert an attempt to wrest India from our hands,
and prevent the enormous consequent expenditure, is economy."
" Russia may be said to have already announced that she is even now preparing for
her next encounter with Great Britain. Her railways have no other end than to
transport ti'oops. She found that in the last struggle her weakness lay in the
impossibility of collecting her forces at the proper moment on the distant points of
her empire. This weakness she has intimated shall disappear. But we, too, will mot
remain idle. Our railways in India will advance as well as those of Russia. Estab¬
lished and prepared in Candahar, with a railway running the whole length of the left
banJc of the Indus, we may await any attempt in calmness. The Russian grenadier
now knows his inferiority to the English soldier. The Cossack will find a match in
the Hindoostanee horseman."—Sir Justin Sheil.
RUSSIA AND PERSIA.
" The greatest activity prevails along the banks of the Caspian Sea. Transports
and steamers are incessantly conveying troops or stores between Astracán, Schon-
drakow, Bakinks and Astrabad ; the steamers generally convey troops, as, for in¬
stance, the TaskI and the Cuba lately conveyed 300 men to Schondrakow ; while
the transports convey materiel and provisions. Prince Bariatinski lately repaired
to Tiflis, the seat of his government, from Astrachan to Fort Petrowski by water,
and on this occasion inspected all the fortified places along the coast. Attached to
his head-quarters and staflT there is a special division entitled the " Du-jour Service
of Marine," consisting of a vice-admiral and several naval officers, and having under
its concentrated command the flotilla in the Caspian Sea, the cruisers on the east
coast of the Black Sea, and the rowboat flotilla of the Cossacks of the Sea of Azoff.
It must also not be lost sight of, that not long back there was a Governor-general
appointed to Kutais, also under the supreme command of Bariatinski, who has like¬
wise under him Chruleff's army of observation on the Turkish Caucasian frontier
and the troops occupying the Caucasus under Bebutoflf. This extended and, at the
same time, concentrated command, vested in the hands of Prince Bariatinski, points
very distinctly to preparations being made with reference to the present critical
state of matters in and connected with Persia."—B&i'lin Correspondent^ " Times"
Srd Dec. 1856.
"While England, with much noise and ostentation, prepares an expedition against
Persia, Russia, unostentatiously and noiselessly, is getting ready to come to the
succour of the Shah. The Orenburg corps d'armes has been considerably rein¬
forced. It is commanded by Aide-de-Camp-General Peroffski. The outposts of
this corps extend to the very limits of the country of Turan, upon the rivers Oxus
and Jaxartes ; and the military flotilla of the Lake of Aral, placed under the orders
of the same general, is brought by the above-mentioned rivers to the frontiers of
India. On another side, great activity reigns upon the Caspian Sea and in the
army of the Caucasus. Transport vessels, having troops and war materiel on
board, pass incessantly between Astrakhan and the port of Bakou, situated in the
province of Shirvan, bordering on the Caspian Sea, belonging to Russia, and at
the frontier of Persia. The new Lieutenant-General of the Caucasian provinces.
Prince Bariatinski, has received fuller powers than his predecessors. He has
lat ely inspected, on its way to its destination, the flotilla of the Caspian Sea, which
has been considerably increased and partly left at his disposal. This flotilla can
easily take troops on board either of the corps of Orenburg or the army of the
Caucasus, and take them to the relief of Persia, disembarking either at Astrabad
or upon the neighbouring coast of Teheran. The corps which forms part of the
army of the Caucasus, cantoned at Shirvan and Erivan, and commanded by
General Khruleff. who distinguished himself in the Eastern war, can also succour
Persia by land as well as by sea. Meanwhile the Russian Government neglects
nothing in replacing the war materiel consumed during the late war, and continues
to refill the exhausted magazines."—The Warsaw journal, the " Czas" of the
SOiÄ Nooemher,
MEMOIR
OK THE
EUPHRATES VALLEY ROUTE
TO INDIA.
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IWo
MEMOIR
ON THE
EUPHRATES VALLEY ROUTE
TO INDIA;
WITH OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE
BY
W. P. ANDREW, F.R.G.S.,
,chairman of the scinde railway, the euphrates valley railway, and the
european and indian junction telegraph companies.
Author of " Indian Raihoays and their Prohahle Results^ hy an Old Indian
Postmaster " " Railways in Bengal f " The Scinde Railway^ and its
* ___
Relations to the Euphrates Valley and other Routes to Indiaf Sçc.
" It is a solecisin of power to think to command the end, and yet not to endure the means."—
Bacon's Essays of Empire.
LONDON :
Wm. H. ALLEN & CO., 7, LEADENHALL STREET.
18.57.
LIBRARY
■tíÜREAU OF RAILWAY ECOAOVilCSr
vvAGíiíNGTOA. C. C.
FEB 9,1 iqii
LONDON :
W. LEWÍS AND SON, PRINTERS, 21, FINCH LANE, CORNaUJ»
TO
THE EIHHT HONOUEABLE
én\ 0f Clarítóffti, f.ê., i.
íf-c., 4*0., íf-c.
THIS VOLUME
IS EESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.
PREFACE.
The substance of the following pages was originally cir¬
culated in the form of a memorandum. After having
been somewhat extended, it was published with other
papers in a volume entitled " The Scinde Railway and
its Relations to the Euphrates Valley and other Routes
to India."
More detailed information is now afforded, as it is
believed to be essential, not only to the vital interests
of this country in the East, and the well-being of
Turkey, but to. the peace and progress of the world,
to establish, with as little delay as possible, steam and
telegraphic communication, viA the Euphrates, between
England and India.
The countries on the route to be traversed are the
most ancient and most interesting in the world. The
greatest and most glorious nations of antiquity arose,
flourished and were overthrown on the vast and fertile
plains of the Euphrates and Tigris—the theatre of
great events, shrouded in the dust of ages, or dimly
discerned tlurough the long vista of many centuries.
But this volume addresses itself to the present and
the future, and not to the past, to indicate to the
4 • •
Vin
statesman the political power, to the philanthropist the
enlightenment, and to the merchant the profit, that
would of necessity accrue from re-establishing this high¬
way of forgotten empires and ancient commerce.
" All scholars, and nearly all mankind, must be inte¬
rested in the development of the Euphratean territories.
AU the Scriptural commentators place the garden of
Eden somewhere on the Euphrates. The second cradle
of the human family was 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-dUuvian population, cast a shadow over its waters.
It intersected the great capital of the Chaldean empire.
With Babylon, the names of Nebuchadnezzar and Bal-
shazzar—of Daniel and Darius, of Cyrus and Alexander,
are for ever associated. The grand prophet of the cap¬
tivity, and the energetic Apostle of the new era, had
their dweUing for a season within its walls. Ere even a
brick was made upon the Nile, Nineveh and Babylon
must have had busy populations. Twice in the world's
history mankind commenced the race of civilisation on
the Mesopotamian rivers. Twice they diverged from
their banks to the east, the west, and the north. Arts
and sciences made their early and weak steps upon their
shores. Very early in history we know that Babylon
was a great manufacturing city, famed for the costly
ix
fabric of its looms. At a more recent date the Chaldean
kings made it a gorgeous metropolis, the fairest and
the richest then on earth."
"Alexander of Macedón made it the port of the Indian
Ocean, and of the Persian Gulf. He proposed to render
it the central metropolis of his empire."
"Not only the cities or their ruins, and the traditions
of Mesopotamia, are ultra-classical and interesting, but
also the land is full of hidden riches. The now deserted
plains were fields and gardens. The soil teemed with
vegetation. The fruits of temperate and tropical climes
grew there in luscious abundance. The arid sands need
only again to be irrigated by the abounding waters
pouring down, ever cold and plentiful, from Ararat,
to become joyous with corn, and wine, and oil. It
may even more affect our interests to know that many
now wasted acres, save when in early spring they
are sweet wildernesses of flowers, may be covered with
cotton, and tend to the employment of the many-
millioned spindles of our land.
" Every-way, commercially, historically and politically,
the Euphrates Valley route is a grand scheme, that must
affect immediately the commerce, and, in some measure,
the destinies of our race ; and that depends not for suc¬
cess upon a through traffic, but holds within its own
confines, the elements of a great prosperity."
X
A railway of 800 miles in length, from the Medi¬
terranean Sea to the Persian Gnlf, would throw open
the portals of the East to the commerce of the world,
bringing in its train the arts, the sciences and civilisation
of the West. The European and Indian systems of
telegraph, united in one magic circle, would estabhsh a
real and practical bond of sympathy and identity of
interests between this country and her most valuable
and magnificent dependency — place in the hands of
Government over 100,000,000 of our distant fellow
subjects a power of supervision and control hitherto
unknown, and give at the same time to the ship-owner
and merchant a means of imparting and receiving infor¬
mation of inestimable value — to dissevered families a
bond which will at once re-unite them — to the inhabi¬
tants of two empires widely apart a mode of intercom¬
munication which would enable them to meet, as it were,
face to face. In a word, the telegraph between England
and India wül be at once the pledge and the instrument
of good and vigorous Government, and of moral and
material progress.
To accomplish these things is the mission of England.
She will promote thereby the freedom, the enlightenment
and the peace of the world, and receive in return, by
drawing closer to the centre of her power, the moral
and material support of a subject empire.
xi
The qmet possession of British India would be secured.
The advancing standards of the barbarian Colossus
who would overshadow the world 'would recoil before
those emblems of progress and power, the electric wire
and the steam engine, and his ominous tread be restrained
behind the icy barrier of the Caucasus.*
'2^ A letter from St. Petersburgh. of November 15, .published by the
Havas Correspondence, says :—" In a report addressed to the military
chancery by Prince Bariatzinsky, the commander-in-chief of the pro-
\inces of the Caucasus, most favourable accounts are given of the
fortified towns and establishments on the coast of the Caspian Sea,
Immense quantities of military stores of all kinds have been, during
the last few months, sent from Astrakan to Derbend by the Volga,
and this immense matériel may be turned to account, when time
shall serve, by the corps d'armée, which, as it is thought, is destined
to succour the Shah of Persia, our ally, in the probable case of his
territory being invaded by an English expeditionary army. Kussia,
whatever may happen, will not be taken by surprise in those distant
countries. It is known that General Churlew, one of the most in¬
trepid defenders of Sebastopol, has been appointed by the Emperor
commander of the corps d'armée, écheloned between Baka and Erivan,
in the immediate neighbourhood of the Persian frontier. Many
people at St. Petersburgh think that this fiery general, with all his
forces, may very likely get to Herat before the English, who are
expected to disembark at Bushir, shall be in line of battle. The
opinion gains ground in military circles, that if the English Govern¬
ment should really carry its plan into execution, events will compel
us to interfere with all the power which, thanks to the activity of our
generals, \ve can dispose of in Asia. However, it will be scarcely
possible for us to prevent the English from effecting a landing upon
the two principal islands of the Persian Gulf, nor from installing
themselves in the town of Bushir. They will annex them to their
possessions in India, in the same manner and under the same pre¬
texts as they did in*the case of Aden, in the Red Sea."
xü
Having had occasion to communicate with several
departments of the Government, with the view to estab¬
lish, by steam and telegraph, a closer connection between
the East and the West, I desire to express my grateful
sense of the facilities which have been uniformly afforded
me in obtaining information.
My best acknowledgements are also due to many dis¬
tinguished persons for valuable advice and assistance, and
more particularly to Major-General Chesney, Captain
Lynch, C.B., I.N., and Mr. W. Ainsworth, the geologist
and geographer. To the last-mentioned gentleman I am
under especial obligation.
I have also to thank Captains Charlewood, R.N., and
C. D. Campbell, I.N., for practical suggestions on the
navigation of the Euphrates by steam-vessels derived
from personal knoMdedge of " the Great River."
To Mr. Ljmch, of Bagdad, and Mr. Kennedy, of
Aleppo, I am greatly indebted for much valuable infor¬
mation connected with the trade and commerce of Syria
and Mesopotamia.
London: January, 1857.
CONTENTS.
Expected improvements from tlie introduction of steam in tbe East. —
PoKtical importance of connecting by railway Mediterranean and Persian
Gulf.—Navigation of Euphrates.—Mr. John Laird. — Mr. Peacock's
evidence.—Euphrates.—Tigris.— Herodotus.—Gibbon.—Bio.—Trajan.
—Ammianus MarceUinus.—English merchants in time of Queen Ehza-
heth.—Russia might follow Trajan and Julian.—Oxus and Caspian.—
Steam on Eùphrates would counteract designs of Russia.—Bagdad.—
Trade of Persian Gulf with India three to one with that of Red Sea.—
Major-General Chesney's evidence.—Four routes to East.—El Kaim on
Euphrates.—^Arabs at Anna.—A raft.—Memorandum by Mr. Cartwright,
Consul-General. — Boats at Hitt. — Felujah.—Bagdad. — Bussorah.—
Bushire.—Euphrates navigable ; breadth of.—Roma.—Lemlun marshes.
—Mesopotamia.—El Oos.—^Whirlpool of Elias.—Anna.—GiaberandMa-
latia.—Sultan's guns go by river to Bagdad.—Bir, Armenia andBabylon.—
Herodotus.—Mercan tile travellers : Rauwolf,Balbi, JohnNewberrie, Ralph
Fitch, Sir Anthony Shirley, John Cartwright.—Dimensions of parabolic
steam-boat.—Tigris.—Mosul to Bagdad.—Euphrates is easiest route for
Russia to threaten India by.—Achaltziek.—Murad-Soo.—Ai'menia and
Kars.—Bussorah, Cape Jask, and the Indus.—Napoleon, Trajan, and
Julian. "Turkey and Persia. — Euphrates.Indus.—Alexander and
Caliph Mohammed Bin Kassim.—Russia on Euphrates, and our troops
on Indus.—Rapid communication of minor importance to paramount
one of barrier against Russia.—Euphrates adapted to steam navigation.—
Clieaveland.—Charlewood.—Fitjzames.-—Estcourt.—Ainsworth.— Camp¬
bell. — Residts of exploration of Euphrates. — Tigris, Bamisheer and
Karoon, Dizful, and Hie.—East India Company and navigation of rivers
of Mesopotamia.—Captain Lynch and Lieut. C. D. Campbell.—Steamers
Nitocris and Nimrod.—Mehemet AH.—Lieut. Selby.—Susiana.—The
course of Euloeus Choaspes, &c.—Captain C. D. Campbell.—Captain
Charlewood.—Breathing time.—Neutralization of Caspian.—Frontiers
of Russia in Central Asia ?—Sir J. Mc Donald and Eldred Pottinger's
routes to India.—Harlan's march.—Burnes, Abbot, Mouravieff, Orloff,
&c.—Mc Niel, Chesney, &c.—Dost Mahomed, Brunow, and Hobhouse.—
The Oxus and Afghanistan.—Euxine and Caspian. —Alexander Nicolaie-
vitsch, his pomp and policy.—Effect of late war.—Ottoman Empire.—
Asiatic Turkey and Persia.— Tiilis, the road to Herat and Teheran.—
Central Asia and Caspian Sea.—France and Austria.—Abdul Medjid and
Czar Alexander.—Indus and Terek.—Petermann's Siberia.—Expedition
for surveying and sounding Caspian. — Grand Duke Oonstantine.—
Russian trade with Central Asia, &c.—Sir Justin Sheil on a position at
Candahar. — Effect of Railways in India. — Cossack and Hindostanee
horseman.—Red Sea route.—Euphrates route, a political necessity.—
Shortest to Australia. — Empress Elizabeth Railroad. — Railway to
Constantinople viâ Paris, Vienna and Belgrade. — Salónica. — Coloniza¬
tion in Hungary.—Prince Metternich—England to India by different
b
xiv
CONTENTS
rout-es. — Mount Cassius. — Beilan range and Mount S. Symeon.—
Bonaparte in 1811 at Toulon and M. Germaine at Antioch.—Bay of
Antiocb.—Suediab.—Orontes.—Bosidium of Soldini. — English Fac¬
tory. — Godfrey de Bouillon and Tancred, — Gates of Asia. — Pro¬
ducts and trade. — Crusaders. — Alexander and Darius. — Aurelian
and Zenobia.—European settlers.—Beyront and Alexandria.—Cbmate
and people of Suediab. — Antioch. — Aleppo. — Ja'ber Castle. — The
Euphrates. — Bagdad. — Trade with Persia, India, Turkey, Arabia,
Europe, Egypt, &c.—Bushire,Erzeroum andTrebizond.—Tiflis, Persia and
Kussia.—Indus.—Traffic returns.—Bussorab.—ScindeBaüway.—New era
for Turkey.—Mesopotamia.—Mebemed Redscbid, Pasha of Bagdad.—His
success as a ruler.—Connection of Bagdad with Bussorab by steam transit.
—Population of Bagdad.—Arabs, fixed and nomade.—^Pilgrims, commer¬
cial and religious. — Persians. — Climate of Bagdad. — Diabekir and
Mossul.—Eurnab and Sbut-el-Arab. — Bussorab. — Favourable opinion
in East of route. — Dr. J. B. Thompson. — Result of war in East.—
Asia Minor.—The Taurus.—Syria and Mesopotamia.—Revival of nations
of antiquity and re-union of mankind.—Lessep's canal.—^Allen's canal.—
Camels.—Revival of commerce.—Emigrants. — The Pallacopas navi¬
gated by Alexander. — Babylonia and Cbaldea. — Products. — Fertile
plains now waste.—Ruins of cities.—Babylon main link between East
and West.—Layard's account of Babylon.—^Repair of canals by Alex¬
ander. — Layard's opinion of Arabs. — Triumph of civüization over
barbarism. — Lessep's letter to Lord Stratford. — Object proposed by
Lessep attained by Euphrates Railway. — Shortest route to India.—
England and France.—Preservation of Ottoman Empire.—The Mus¬
covite. — The Sultan. — Mediterranean and Black Sea. — Mediter¬
ranean and Persian Gulf. — Germany and Danube. — The Czar and
civilisation, — Prospect of Eastern trade. — Louis Napoleon. — New
sources of wealth. — Ignorance and superstition. — Knowledge and
religion. — Sir Justin Sheil. — Calais to Kurrachee. — Kurnah and
Seleucia.—Commercial harbours of East and West.—Australian traffic.—
Isthmus of Panama. — Journey from London to Kurrachee.—Trieste.—
Adriatic. — Mediterranean. — Ionian Islands. — Candia, Rhodes and
Cyprus.—Mount Cassius.—^Bay of Antioch.—Antioch.—JPontisfer of the
Crusaders,—Plain of Dan'ah.—Aleppo.—Balis.—" Great River."—Ja'ber
Castle. — Thapsacus. — Plain of Siffin. — Ruins of Palmyrean town.—■
Persian castle —Mud forts and villages. — Dair. — Habor of the Cap¬
tivity. — Carchemish. — Zaita, Mayarthin and Rahabah. — Town and
citadel of Saladin.—Ruins of Werdi and Al-Kaym. — Anna. — Arab
villages.—Islands.—Hit and its bitumen fountains.—Plains of Babylon
and Bagdad.—Babylonia and Cbaldea.—Bagdad, Kurnah and Bussorab.
—Shut-el-Arab.—Persian Gulf.—An Oriental Adriatic. — Telegraphic
communication with India.—Arabs not wantonly destructive.—Seden¬
tary tribes of Euphrates.—Telegraph, importance of.—Relationship
between Porte and Western Powers.—Russia counteracted.—O'Shaugh-
nessy and Indian telegraphs.—Movements of Russia.^—Sir Justin Sheil
and Eastern policy.—S^trength of Russia in the Caspian Sea.—Khiva.—
Steamers on the Aral and the Oxus.—Khoolloom and Koondooz.—
North Western India.—Afighanistan. — Jonas Hanway. — Candahar
might be the Sebastopol of India. — Russian railways. — Indian
railways. — Cossack and Hindostanee horseman.—Russian steamers.—
The Don and the Yolga.—Junction by canals of the Caspian, the Euxine
and the Baltic.^—Superiority of nations based upon mechanical force.—
Mutual dependence of our Eastern and Western Empires,
CONTENTS
XV
APPENDIX,
Paee.
Prospectus of the Euphrates Valley Railway Company . . . .175
Letter from W. P. Andrew, Esq., to His Excellency Viscount Stratford
de Redcliffe, Gr.C.B., dated 28th Feb., 1856 , . . . 186
„ from Major-General Chesney, H.A., &c., &c., to the Right Honour¬
able the Earl of Clarendon, K.G., dated 5th March, 1856 . , 189
„ from W. P. Andrew, Esq., and Major-General Chesney, to His
Excellency M. Musurus, dated 12th March, 1856 , . . 192
j, from W. P. Andrew, Esq., Chairman of the Euphrates Valley
Railway Company, to the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Court
of Directors of the Honourable East India Company, dated 17th
March, 1856 194
„ from the Right Honourable the Earl of Shelbume to W. P. Andrew,
Esq., dated August 19, 1856 196
,, from W. P. Andrew, Esq., to the Right Honourable the Earl of
Shelburne, dated 26th August, 1856 197
„ from W. P. Andrew, Esq., to Major-General Chesney, R.A., &c.
&c , Commissioner for the Euphrates Valley Railway Company to
the Sublime Porte, dated 28th August, 1856 .... 200
„ from W. P. Andrew, Esq., to Sir John Macneill, LL.D., F.R.S.,
&c., Eugineer-in-Chief Euphrates Valley Railway Company, dated
28th August, 1856 207
„ from E. Hammond, Esq., to W. P. Andrew, Esq., dated 29th Sep¬
tember, 1856 208
,, from W. P. Andrew, Esq., to Ralph Osborne, Esq., M.P., dated
25th November, 1856 ........ 209
A French opinion as to the comparative political and commercial import¬
ance of the route by the Railway by the Euphrates, and that by
the Suez Canal 210
Prospectus of the European and Indian Junction Telegraph Company
Limited 229
Letter from W. P. Andrew, Esq., to Sir James C. MelvUl, K.C.B., &c.,
&c., dated l7th June, 1856 234
„ from W. P. Andrew, Esq., to the Right Honourable the Earl of
Clarendon, K.G., &c., dated 23rd June, 1856 .... 235
„ from Sir James C. Melvill, K.C.B., to W. P. Andrew, Esq., dated
10th July, 1856 236
„ from W. P. Andrew, Esq., to Sir James C. Melvill, K,C.B., &e.,
dated 5th August, 1856 237
,, from Wm. Ainsworth, Esq., F.G.S., and F.R.G.S., to W. P.
Andrew, Esq., Chairman of the European and Indian Junction
Telegraph Company, dated 13th August, 1856 . . . . 240
„ from J. D. Dickenson, Esq., Deputy Secretary East India Com¬
pany, to W, P. Andrew, Esq., dated 12th September, 1856 . 245
„ from W. P. Andrew, Esq., to James Wilson, Esq., M.P., dated
1st October, 1856 246
Extract from a Letter from E. Hammond, Esq., to W. P. Andrew, Esq.,
dated 26th October, 1856 248
Letter from W. P. Andrew, Esq., to James Wilson, Esq., M.P., dated
20th November, 1856 249
Second Report of Scinde Railway Company, dated 4th November, 1856 . 251
xvi
NOTE.
The Chairman of the Euphrates Valley Railway Company has received through
the Earl of Clarendon a telegraphic despatch, dated September 27th, to the effect
tliat it is expected that the Sublime Porte will guarantee 6 per cent, on a capital
of £8,000,000 for the railway from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf,
for 99 years, upon certain conditions.
Having had through the courtesy of Lord Lyons, H.M's. Steam Ship Stromboli,
Commander Burgess placed at their disposal, Major General Chesney, Sir John
Macneill and the Engineering Staff of the Euphrates Valley Railway Company,
embarked at Constantinople on the 27th Sept. for Syria, and having completed the
preliminary survey of the first section of the proposed Railway, and made a general
examination of the country between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates, the
General returned to Constantinople to conclude the negotiations for the firman,
while Sir John Macneill arrived in this country, leaving a portion of the
engineering staff to make detailed surveys. Sir John reports that there is every
facility for making a harbour in the vicinity of the ancient port of Seleucia, near the
mouth of the Orontes, and that the country, via Antioch, Killes and Ailam, to
Aleppo, presents no engineering difficulty, and that the railway may be constructed
for £8,000 per mile. By making a detour^ a rich settled country, dotted over with
towns and villages, is accommodated, and branch lines will be unnecessary. A large
traffic is in existence. According to the tollbooks, at a bridge on the Orontes,
more than 1,200 laden camels and horses passed per diem. The charge for the con¬
veyance of goods from Aleppo to Alexandretta was £8 per ton, but the usual rate
is £3 lös. The price of oats at Aleppo in October, last was 18ir. per quarter, and
at Antioch, about forty miles* distance, 276'. per quarter. Besides being the most
important portion of the railway, from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf,
the link from Seleucia to Aleppo is in itself a complete work, having a port at
one end and the chief emporium of Mesopotamia at the other, to which the traffic
from India, Bagdad, &c., converges. That section of the line from the Medi¬
terranean, to the Euphrates will be longer than was anticipated, being by the route as
recommended by General Chesney and Sir John Macneill, about 150 miles in length.
The Directors have received applications for shares from Aleppo ; the applicants
are of all denominations and creeds, and include the Pacha of Aleppo, other
Turkish dignitaries, land-owners, and Armenian and Greek merchants.
" General Chesney has returned from Syria, and will remain here until the firman
for the Euphrates Valley Railway is granted. Sir John Macneill is on his way to
England. He went on board the Stromboli, which was placed at the disposal of
the party by Lord Lyons, to Syra, and went from there by the Austrian steamer to
Trieste.
" The expedition was a very successful one, and its results surpassed all expecta¬
tions, The first care was to find a convenient situation for a harbour : this was
found about a mile to the south of the mouth of the Orontes, in a creek which re¬
ceives no streams, and is therefore not liable to get blocked up by deposits. With
small expense this creek can be converted into a harbour as good as that of Kings¬
town. Four roads were tried from the sea to Aleppo, and at last a tolerably easy
one was found. It follows, more or less, the Orontes, and the only expensive works
anticipated are two small bridges across the Orontes, and a rather long cutting,
where the line would leave the rivor. General Chesney did not expect that the
railway, witliout great expense, could be brought nearer than eleven miles to Aleppo,
The survey has diminished this distance to one mile ; from Aleppo to the Euphrates
it is a gentle slope, which will cause no difficulty whatever. The results of the whole
survey are so favourable, that it is expected the line to the Euphrates can be con¬
structed at about £6,000 per mile, which is a very low estimate.
"Besides these proofs of the facilities of construction, the expedition has brought
back proofs that the line will pay by local traffic alone. The price of a ton now is
£6 from Aleppo to the sea. The railway will be able to transport it from I8i. to
22s., which will bring down a great number of goods which are now lost for want
of transport.
"As regards the Arabs, as far as the Euphrates at any rate, there is nothing to fear.
On'the contrary, the people are greatly in favour of the railway, and none of the
prejudices which were anticipated exist in reality."—Constantinople Correspon¬
dent's Letter^ " Times," 2\st Nov.y 1856.
MEMOIR
on the
EUPHRATES VALLEY ROUTE TO INDIA.
BY W. P. ANDREW, Esq.
A LEADING journal recently remarked, tliat " Turkey tas
been many years the object of British solicitude. We have,
with all the earnestness of a free people, fought the battle
of the Ottoman empire as an independent State, criticising
at the same time the many abuses of its internal economy.
We are now, from the nature of things, the true friends of
the Sultan's authority. England alone of the four Powers
which have busied themselves in Oriental affairs has no
possession bordering on the Ottoman empire. She cannot
be accused of wishing to wrest any province from its sway.
Yet she is most deeply interested in the imprpvement and
prosperity of these countries. Through them lies the high¬
way to India and Australia, and their future railways,
telegraphs, and steam navigation will bring the most valua¬
ble possessions of the British crown into close connexion
with the mother country."
Of aU the projects, political or commercial, relating to the
East, which have been started since the peace, there is none
fraught with more momentous consequences to the future of
Turkey than the two kindred schemes for uniting the
Mediterranean and Persian Gulf by a Railway and Electric
Telegraph. Their importance to England and to India is
*now acknowledged; but to Turkey the consequences of
executing two such schemes seem destined to be still more
momentous.
The energy and ability of Mehemet Ali did less for
Egypt than the fact that, the introduction of steam naviga¬
tion rendered his country, once more one of the great high-
B
2
ways between India and Europe. Egypt would, under any
circumstances^ have been naturally rich and fertile ; but as
the channel of transit to India and China, the peace and
good government of Egypt become a matter of necessity to
all mercantile Europe and America.
A similar result must follow in the countries between the
Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, by nature not less fertile
than Egypt, but for ages so miserably governed as to have
made them a burden rather than an element of strength to
the Turkish empire.
To develope the resources of such provinces as the
Pachalicks of Aleppo and Bagdad, to introduce railways
and European capital and enterprise, would of themselves
confer a vast boon on the Turkish Government, by convert¬
ing a drain on its finances into an important source of revenue
to its exchequer.
But by making then a second highway to India and
China, and to our Australian colonies, the projects we are
speaking of will do much more. They will identify the
interests of Europe and America with the peace and pros¬
perity of those provinces of Turkey, and will thus prove
more effectual in bringing Turkey into her proper position
as an important member of the great European family of
nations, than could be effected by any amount of diplomacy,
or by any number of protocols.
They will form a great additional safeguard to Turkey
against any ambitious schemes, or grasping policy on the
part of any one of her powerful neighbours or allies. From
the date when the first mail or telegraphic message travels *
from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf,
it will become impossible for any single nation to entertain
any exclusive ideas of selfishly appropriating what will have
become one of the great highways of the world. The days
when any single consul could promote or retard intercourse
s
along the line will have passed away. Every thing which
can materially aifect the freedom and facility of transit^ will
have become of importance to the mercantile community of
the whole civilized world ; and^ as the rightful and natural
guardian of such a trust, the Turkish empire will find the
best guarantee for its independence in the self-interest of
every one who is concerned in commerce, at New York
as well as at Liverpool, Trieste, or Marseilles—at Shanghai
and Calcutta, as much as at Bagdad or Constantinople.
But it is not Turkey alone which will feel the beneficial
results which are sure, sooner or later, to follow the execu¬
tion of such projects. Adjoining Turkey is a kingdom once
as rich and nearly as powerful, but which through ages of
misrule has become little better than a theatre for the dis¬
putes of diplomatists. Save as a means through which
England can thwart Russia, or Russia irritate and threaten
our Eastern Empire, the existence of Persia has almost ceased
to be a matter of consideration with European nations.
But this can no longer be the case where passenger
steamers shall periodically traverse the Persian Gulf, and
the electric cable be extended along its shores. The com¬
mercial intelligence and enterprise of Europe will then once
more revisit its ancient haunts in the factories where Genoese
and Venetians, Portuguese, Dutch, and English successively
sought the custom of the Grand Sophy of Persia," and his
then wealthy subjects ; European civilization will then insen¬
sibly pervade the Persian Empire by the same infiuences
which are already at work in the ancient kingdom of the
Mamelukes ; and, as her interests become identified with
ours, Persia will learn to take her place, as Turkey has already
assumed hers, in the great federation of civilized nations.
The present crisis of affairs in Persia shows how important
such a state of things would be to the interests of India and
of England. Utterly devoid of any substantial power, and
B 2
4
secure in her remoteness, Persia ventures to put a slight on
our ambassador, and attempts to purchase the support of
Russia by disturbing our AiFghan frontier. To bring this feeble
and faithless power to her senses may require some palpable
exhibition of our power in the shape of expensive expeditions,
whose best result can only be an apology for an insult, or the
retraction of an unfounded claim. No one can doubt for a mo¬
ment but that our differences with Persia might have been
settled months ago had the Euphrates Valley Railway and
Electric Telegraph been in operation. Persia would then have
seen that we possessed the means of landing, at a few weeks'
notice, upon her coast, a force as large as we sent to the
Crimea, and the leading mations of Europe would have felt
that they possessed an interest in putting an end to a mis¬
understanding which they now doubtless regard as affecting
none of their number save England and Russia. It is the
want of a speedy means of communication by the Euphrates
Valley route which allows this very paltry dispute to be
prolonged through months and years, and threatens our
Indian exchequer with a burden in comparison with which all
the possible expenditure on both railway and telegraph may
prove a very trifle.
It is truly gratifying (says a recent and able writer) to
find that the late war in the East promises, after all its
miseries, to be followed by some good practical results.
Turkey is no longer a country set apart from the rest of the
civilized world ; she is admitted into the fraternity of nations.
Her Christian population has been secured equality with the
Mussulman. A great future lies before her ; and in no way
can that future be so quickly made amenable, as by the open¬
ing of lines of communication to commerce, intercourse, and
civilization—great thoroughfares which will bring the East
and the West into contact, make India, China, and the
populous regions of Central Asia almost a portion of the
5
European continent, and revive the great nations of antiquity
from amid the ruins in which they lay slumbering in the
glorious valleys of the Euphrates and the Tigris.
It is natural that when such a magnificent field of enter¬
prise, so long coveted and so long closed by the jealousies
of Russia, should be at length opened, that there should be
many schemes and projects advocated by different parties.
France and Austria have both laid projects for opening a
c ommunication between Europe and Central Asia,by Turkey
in Europe and Turkey in Asia, before the sublime Porte.
In this country, ever since the first exploration of the
valley of the Euphrates by General Ghesney, the advantages
of such a route to railway or steam communication has not
ceased to press itself upon all thoughtful and intelligent
minds. Indian railways, which were brought to the notice
of Lord Fitzgerald, the President of the Board of Control in
1842, seem, however, to have been the basis of legitimate
projects of overland routes, as contradistinguished from mere
visionary schemes.
" The first edition of Mr. W. P. Andrew's work, " Indian
Railways, as connected with the power and stability of the
British empire in the East, the development of its resources
and the civilization of its people, with an analysis of the pro¬
jects now claiming public confidence," appeared early in
1846. This was the first great step, which finally led to the
project of establishing a communication between the railways
of India and those of Europe. The line of Rajmahal, and
by the valley of the Ganges, in Bengal, which was originally
recommended by Mr. Andrew, was, it is true, for a time
suspended by the Mirzapore direct project of Mr. R. M.
Stephenson ; but it, the Rajmahal line, was that which was
ultimately adopted by the authorities, and Mr. R. M,
Stephenson was ordered to carry it out. Mr. Andrew's
energy was, however, only thrown thereby into a new^ and
6
more important channel, and he was enabled to carry out a
favourite project of a Scinde railway, from whence has arisen
the still more recent scheme of a connection between that
railway, the valley of the Euphrates, and the Mediterranean.
Not that there were any want of projectors at home. A
Mr. William Pare, of the Seville Ironworks, in Dublin,
elaborated a scheme of a Calais, Constantinople, and Cal¬
cutta Railway, in 1842, and this was afterwards, in 1845,
prolonged to Pekin, under the designation of the Atlas
Railway. Mr. Alexander F. Campbell proposed a railway
from England to India " to the Honourable Board of Direc¬
tors of the East India Company, in letters and maps of 6th
September, 1843 ; 25th March, 1845 ; 25th April, 1845 ;
and in 1851 Mr. James Wyld published a map with the
railways laid down as proposed by Mr. Campbell, viz., from
Ostend, via Vienna, Belgrade, Constantinople, across Asia
Minor to Aleppo, and along the valley of the Euphrates,
skirting the seaboard of Persia and Boolochistan to Kurra-
chee, and thence to Calcutta. In 1849 Mr. Wright advo¬
cated the opening of a railway line along the valley of the
Euphrates, and his ideas were subsequently embodied in a
small work, entitled Christianity and Commerce, the
natural results of the Geographical Progression of Rail¬
ways," by John Wright, Esq,
" The late Dr. J ames Bowen Thomson, also published in
1851 the project of a railway from London to Calcutta, and
had his plans delineated in a sketch at the ^ Great Exhi¬
bition " and was so strongly impressed with the greatness
of the objects contemplated by General Chesney's mission,
that he spent many years in the East collecting data ; and
having obtained for the Euphrates route the favourable con¬
sideration of the Sublime Porte, her Majesty's Government,
and the British Ambasador at Constantinople, died lately at
that capital while pressing its adoption.
7 •
" Mr. R. M. Stephenson has only recently made public
a similar project to that of Messrs. Pare^ Campbell, Wright,
and Thompson, although it appears he submitted an outline
of his views previously to influential persons in 1850."
^^In discussing schemes and projects of proposed railway
communication, too much stress cannot be laid upon the im¬
portant scientific ánd practical fact, that there are two classes
of schemers or projectors, of widely different stamp and
character. One class of persons examine first the physical
characters of the country, its aspect, contour, and capabilities,
the minute details of its configuration and geological struc¬
ture, and then, availing themselves of the line of greatest
facilities and greatest promise, come forward with a well
digested plan, deserving as such both consideration and
confidence.
Such, pre-eminently, in the countries in question, were
the surveys made by the expedition under General Chesney.
Such were the surveys made by General Macleod, and
Colonel W. N. Forbes, of the Rajmahal line, as advocated
by W. P. Andrew, Esq., and as contradistinguished from
the Calcutta and Mirzapore direct railway, projected by Mr.
E. M. Stephenson,
" Such, also, were the surveys and explorations upon which
were based the project of the Scinde Railway, the details of
which will be found in a work recently put forth by W. P.
Andrew, Esq., ^ The Scinde Railway, and its relations to
the Euphrates Valley, and other routes to India,' Such
also were the professional surveys carried across the narrow
tract of country that intervenes between the Red Sea and the
Mediterranean, with the view both to inter-maritime and to
railway communication. And such also, on a scale less
entitled to consideration, but still of some merit in their own
way, in relation to the countries in question, were the surveys
effected by Captain W. Allen, R.N., in connection with a
8
projected oommunication between the Mediterranean, the
Dead Sea, and the Red Sea ; the barometric le veilings and
geological sections of Taurus, Asia Minor, Kurdistan, &c.,
by Mr. W. Ainsworth, the geologist to the Euphrates expe¬
dition ; the details of a feasible line across Asia Minor, by
the same geographer and geologist, laid before the British
Association at its meeting at Belfast, in 1852, by General
Chesney; and, lastly, of a similar description, were the
barometric levellings and geognostic explorations, carried
out by Ami Boue, between Belgrade and Constantinople, in
1838 and 1839. {La Turquie de VEurope, 8fc», 1840.)
" There is another class of projectors and schemers, who
take up a map,—often exceedingly inperfect in all that relates
to the physical configuration of a country, and especially
so in regions that have been so recently explored by com¬
petent observers, as Asia Minor, Taurus, and Kurdistan—
glance at the course of rivers and the direction of chains of
mountains, as rudely and too often conjecturally delineated,
and then pouncing upon a spot where sometimes an acci¬
dental omission of shading would appear to indicate a plain,
or valley, or opening, they carry a narrow bit of ribband
boldly across the greater portion of the map, turn it down
into the imaginary gap, rejoice at having safely reached an
open and comparatively level country, and proclaim a line
of railway from Constantinople to Buss or ah !
" It is so much the more cruel to treat Asiatic Turkey in
this supercilious manner, as although traversed by high
mountain chains, or by far spreading uplands, or cut up by
deep watercourses, and furrowed by wooded vales and rocky
and precipitous glens, still it has its natural lines of route, its
great providential gaps, which' have hence been from time
immemorial the great highways of nations. Such, for ex¬
ample, is the gap in Taurus, at the Kulak Boghaz or Silician
Gates, through which Cyrus and Alexander alike led their
9
forces, and where in modern ^times an Ibrahim Pasha erected
his defences. Such is the natural gap at Haji Hamsah,
through the Kush Tagh or Bird Mountains, near Osmanjik
on the Halys, from time immemorial the line of the great
road from Constantinople to Armenia and Persia. There
are gaps in rugged limestone chains in Asiatic Turkey so
narrow, of such hard material, and so long used for traffic,
that the horses hoofs have worn a succession of deep holes.
A remarkable instance of this kind presents itself at the pass
of Armanus in Mount Belus, to the east of the Orontes, and
between it and the district of Eayah and Edlip. It is no
vain imagination to believe that these horse steps have been
followed by Macedonian and Crusader alike. It is well
worthy of being treasured up as a valuable fact that in
countries so circumstanced as Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine,
and other regions around have long been, the traveller and
the geographer will seldom be wrong in his search for avail¬
able routes, if he abides by those which have been in use
from all antiquity. It is always the difficulties of the soü, or
obstacles of some description or other, not seen at starting,
and still less to be discovered by the examination of a map,
that drive travellers for centuries across the same ferry, along
the same ledge of rock, or through the same mountain
opening.
To attempt, therefore, to establish a claim of priority upon
the mere grounds of suggestion, unaccompanied by any local
or topographical evidences, which can alone give to such a
suggestion claims to consideration, is manifestly the height
of absurdity ; if priority is to be determined by the mere fact
of a hap-hazard suggestion, it would be in the power of any
one to project a railway from Boulogne to Pekin, frpm New
York to Patagonia, or from Algiers to the Cape of Good
Hope, and for ever occupy the ground on the plea of priority.
It is obvious that if there is any claim to precedence in the
10
matter at all, it lies with the person or persons who first
establish the feasibility of a project, and not with those who
merely devise or imagine snch. Were it otherwise, the great
poet of England might establish a claim to priority in the
most comprehensive scheme of railway and electric telegraph
communication that has been as yet propounded.
' I'll put a girdle round the earth in forty minutes.' "
As an example of hap-hazard suggestion, a certain pro¬
jector who having " manifestly looked upon the map, he
has seen that there is a river Sakariah flowing down be¬
yond Ismid, from the interior to the Euxine, and he has
opined that there must therefore be a valley opening from
the lower country to the high central uplands of Asia Minor.
It happens, however, unfortunately for this theory, that
although the valley of Sakariah is readily enough reached by
the great Constantinopolitan road from Ismid by Lake
Sabanjah, that it is closed up to the southward by a long line
of formidable precipices, and indeed throughout the whole
distance that it has to force its way through the Ascanian
Olympus. This is just one of those difficulties which are
spurned by the genius which ^ would not consider a tunnel
through Olympus a wonderful undertaking.' But what
confidence would shareholders have in a projector who, at
the very outset, like a Quixote anxious to wrestle with diffi¬
culties, grapples with the formidable passes of the Sangarius,
when the ancient and comparatively open Constantinopolitan
road to Boli lies in front of him. They would not trust their
doubloons to the Bythinian hero, rival of he of La Mancha.
But, suppose the rugged limestone cliffs of the Olympus
turned, tunnelled, or overcome, and the town of Lefkeh
reached, there is southward of that place another range of
precipitous limestone hills through which the river forces its
way by an impassable glen ; and beyond that again, and
between it and the plain of Eski-Shehr, is the Tomanji Tagh,
11
or Mount Tmolus^ a very difficulty woodedy and mountainous
distriety which a person bent upon any practical object would
carefully avoidy especially as there are openings to the in¬
terior uplands of Asia Minor at other points."
Of the surveys made by her Majesty's Government and
the Honourable the East India Companyy of the rivers
Euphrates and Tigris and their tributariesy as well as of their
adjoining territorieSy he (a certain projector) makes no men¬
tion whatsoever. They are obviously too insignificant to be
noticed in so magnificent and so visionary a scheme.
It is to be hoped that some dayy when the line of railway
from Belgrade to Constantinople comes into actioUy and has
been united with the railways of Hungary ; and the line of
the valley of the Euphrates has also been brought into
operationy that a connecting link will be established between
the two across Asia Minory by such a feasible route as we
coidd readily give the details of, and which would include
the plains of Silicia Campestrisy the pass of Kulak BoghaZy
the plain of Nigdehy the valley of the HalySy and the great
Constantinopolitan roady by Hadji Hamsay Boliy and Ismidy
as originally laid before the British Association for the
Advancement of SciencCy and not by such an impracticable
and visionary line as that proposed by Mr. E. M. Stephen¬
son. It is also to be hoped that some day Sir Justin Sheil's
plan may be put into executiony and that the maritime line
which would bring the valley of the Euphrates into con¬
nection with that of the InduSy or the Euphrates and Tigris
railway into conjunction with the Scinde railway y may be
carried out : but in the meantime it is obvious that the
Persian Gulf presents such facilities for steam navigatioUy
can indeed be navigated by steamers of such small dimen-
sionsy that an almost daily communication could be estab¬
lished without incurring overwhelming expenses ; and that
such communicatiouy in connection with the route by the
12
valley of the Euphrates, is infinitely preferable to a line ex¬
posed to such strong objections on the score of expenses,
difficulties, and dangers as those which are urged by Sir
Justin Sheil and Colonel Hennel against the proposed line
of Mekran. It would really be a new feature, at least in
the old world, to introduce in the construction of lines of
railway, first, the act of seizing upon the country, with guns
and soldiers, and then the keeping it, ^ as it were within
the sound of our own cannon.' "*
From the physical obstructions to be surmounted and the
unsettled state of the inhabitants a railway through Beloo-
chistan to the Indus may for the present be placed in the same
category as a tunnel between England and France,f
The overland route, promoted by the late Lieutenant
• The Euphrates Valley Route to India ; by " A Traveller," dedicated
to "W. P. Andrew, Esq., Chairman of the Euphrates and Scinde Railway
Companies. Edward Stanford, Charing-cross. 1856.
f Projected Railway Tunnel between England and
France.—The construction of a tunnel for a railway beneath the bed of
the Straits of Dover, with a view to unite the shores of England with
those of France, and then with the entire European and Asiatic continents,
is occupying much public attention, from the several projected plans
which have recently been promulgated. Mr. Wm. Austin, many years
in Messrs. Peto, Betts, and Brassy's establishment, has, since 1853,
matured a plan which has been highly approved of by first-rate engineer¬
ing talent. The plan proposed by him has for its object the accomplish¬
ment of a really permanent railway and enduring structure, extending
from shore to shore, a distance of 22 miles, and connected at each end
with the already constructed and future lines of railroad. It is intended
to have a triple way of three arches, oval in form, and securely locked
together by inseparable and indestructible masonry, constructed of ap¬
proved imperishable material, impervious to moisture ; and for such
unavoidable leakage or collection of water as will occasionally occur,
three efficient culverts will be provided to carry it to each shore, from
whence powerful lift-pumps will carry it into the sea. The fall is to be
from the centre towards each shore, and it is calculated that the crown of
13
Waghorn and others, has nothing to do with the land, except
in crossing Egypt from Alexandria to Suez, and France by
the mail route to Marseilles. The saving of time by the
latter route, compared with the steamers' track round by
Gibraltar is six days. The duration of the voyage and land
travelling from London to Bombay averages thirty to thirty-
one days. The new route, which will be better entitled to the
name of overland, will cut down the distance travelled by more
than one thousand miles, one-fifth of the whole, and would,
the tunnel will have a thickness of chalk of 60 feet between it and the
ocean bed, at the deepest point, which does not exceed 140 feet below the
tidal level, as proved by soundings. There will be three double lines of
railway, (three each way), which will be ample for ordinary, goods traffic,
and express trains. Ample space is afforded for all necessary pathways,
and the telegraph wires will be laid in the centre, on a new principle of
economy and ready access. The tunnel, by its length, will thoroughly
ventilate itself, but should it prove necessary, three or four, or more, air-
shafts can be readily constructed, the upper portions forming light-houses,
or refuge in case of shipwreck, and for signalling ships in the Channel.
The cost is estimated at £6,000,000, and the time for construction seven
years. The whole of these works are proposed to be carried out in con¬
nection with Mr. William Hutchinson's patent, which we have so often
noticed in our columns, for converting into an indestructible building
mçiterial river or sea sand, shingle, chalk, and other soft and comparatively
worthless substances. As it is to be geologically assumed that the
stratum to be cut through is chalk, Mr. Austin proposes to construct his
three roadway-arches of large blocks of masonry, bound together in a
peculiar mannér (illustrated by a diagram in their description in the
Mining Journal of Dec. 1), such blocks to be formed from the excavating
material, carried to the indurating works (to be constructed at each end),
and reconveyed to the portion under completion, ready to be placed in
situ. As these blocks would occupy the. space of 40 or 50 bricks, be
rapidly formed in the raw state of the material to the shape required, and
quickly indurated to a degree which the chisel will scarcely touch, it is
expected the work would proceed with a rapidity hitherto unknown in
the history of tunnelling, and that the time named by Mr. Austin will
be ample for its completion.—The Mining Journal.
14
therefore^ save one-fifth of the time ; but for other reasons
the reduction of time will be greater. The passage through
Egypt is doubtless interesting to the touristy but so also must
be the route of the Euphrates^ while the new will be un¬
doubtedly a more pleasant journey than the present line^
since the voyage up or down the Red Sea is never agreeable,
or in any way interesting, and the strength of the monsoons
will be outflanked by taking the Persian Gulf, instead of
crossing the Indian Ocean to Aden. Indeed, the present
route perpetuates the old error of circumnavigating a conti¬
nent merely on a smaller scale. The traveller is taken round
Arabia and Africa, and he gains the différence in bulk be¬
tween Arabia and Africa, if his destination be Kurrachee.
The direct course will be from London to Kurrachee, via
Trieste, Seleucia, Ja'ber Castle on the Euphrates and Bus-
sorah at the head of the Persian Gulf, and the journey wiU
occupy 14 days 12 hours. Even if travellers to Bombay were
taken round by Kurrachee they would reach the former port
in three days more, or 17y days ; but by a direct line from
Bussorah their journey will be accomplished in fifteen to
sixteen days—saving nearly one-half in time.
The present proposition is to connect the Mediterranean and
the Persian Gulf by a railway from the ancient port of Seleucia
by Antioch and Aleppo, to Ja'ber Castle on the Euphrates,
of eighty miles in length, and afterwards from thence by
Hit, and other towns, to Bagdad, or on to Kurnah, at the
confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris, or Bussorah, at the
head of the Persian Gulf. Thence by steamers, communi¬
cation will be established with all parts of India.
The country through which it is proposed to carry the
railway, was by command of his Maj esty William IV.
examined and surveyed, with the view to the introduction
of improved means of transit by that distinguished officer,
Major-General Chesney, R.A., F.R.S., who reports that
15
there are no serious diíEculties to contend with ; and sub¬
sequent scientific investigations under Captain Lynch^
and Commander Campbell^ both of the Indian Navy^ and Mr.
William Ainsworthj the well known geologist and geographer^
sent out in charge of an expedition by the Koyal Geographical
Society, have confirmed the accuracy of General Chesney's
opinion.
It is only proposed at present to execute the first section,
about eighty miles of raüroad, from the ancient port of
Seleucia on the Mediterranean, to Ja'ber Castle on the
Euphrates ; below which point, the navigation of the river
is permanently open for steamers of light draught and the
boats of the country for 715 miles to Bussorah, at the head
of the Persian Gulf.
Mr. Laird has undertaken to furnish steamers to navigate
the Euphrates, capable of carrying a large amount of mer¬
chandize and passengers, at a speed of twelve knots an hour
when loaded, and with a draught of two feet.
Begarding the ancient navigation of the Euphrates, Mr.
Peacock remarks, in his learned and lucid evidence before
the Select Committee of the House of Commons, in 1834,
on" steam communication with India, that Herodotus men¬
tions the freight of the boats that carried the produce of
Armenia to Babylon to be 5,000 talents in weight, which
would be about 128 tons, the freight of the largest Thames
barges. These were boats only for the voyage to Babylon,
and were there broken up ; they were either coracles on a
large scale, or rafts surrounded by, and floated on, inflated
skins ; when they brought a cargo to Babylon, the wood
of which they were composed was sold, and the skins were
carried back by land on asses, which had been brought
down in the boats for that purpose.'^
*^A very great portion of the supply of Babylon was
from Armenia. Herodotus speaks of the vessels as being
16
very numerous, but of its being impossible to return by
any mode of navigation, on account of the force of the
stream. I mentioned 5,000 talents in weight, Beloe trans¬
lates it 5,000 talents in value. If that was the silver talent
only, it would be one million sterling, which is impossible
for a single boat load of the produce of Armenia. The
next ancient account of the navigation of the Euphrates
which I wish to notice, is the expedition of the Emperor
Trajan ; he constructed a fleet in the mountains of Nisibis,
and floated down the Euphrates. Gibbon says he came
down the Tigris. It would be easy to demonstrate that
Gibbon was misled by an article by Monsieur Er er et, in
the Memoirs of the Academy of Inscriptions ; but going
over the text of Dio, which is the principal authority we
have upon the subject, it is very manifest that it was the
Euphrates, and not the Tigris, that Trajan came down. The
next is the expedition of the Emperor Julian, who followed
the route of Trajan: he came down the Euphrates from the
mountains of Nisibis also ; his fleet consisted of 1,100
vessels, 1,000 vessels of burthen, 50 vessels of war, and 50
for constructing bridges. Ammianus Marcellinus, who was
the historian of the expedition, and was in it, says this fleet
made narrow the most wide river Euphrates. Classis latis^
simum flumen Euphraten arctabat. And this was in reference
to the upper part of the river, where all the difliculties are
supposed to exist. Both these expeditions were in the spring,
March and April ; they began the descent of the river on the
rising of the river."
" The water begins to rise in March and continues to rise
till the beginning of June ; at that time there is nowhere
less than 12 feet in the river, some say 16."
" As to the present navigation of the river, there is a great
deal of navigation from Bagdad to Hillah, the ancient site of
Babylon ; but there is none now (^. e, in 1834) above Hillah,
17
in consequence o£ the disturbed state of the country. In the
time of Queen Elizabeth there were many merchants of
England who went by that route, which was at that time
the high road for travellers to India : there was a regular
fleet of boats for the voyage kept at Bir. Merchants from
England, Fitch, Eldred, and several others, describe their
having gone with merchandize from the Mediterranean to Bir,
and in large companies. They put this merchandise on board
the vessels at Bir : they say, ^ these boats be but for one voyage,
for the strength of the stream makes it impossible to return
and with this merchandise they went down the Euphrates to
Felugia ; thence (by a canal 17 miles in length) to Bagdad,
then down the Tigris to the Persian Giilf, and so to India."
The route from the Mediterranean was mostly from La-
tickea. " There are many old travellers who describe the
voyage down the Euphrates, and none of them speak of any
physical obstructions.
think it would be highly serviceable, if possible, to pre¬
vent Bussia pre-occupying it and excluding us ; it would be
exceedingly easy for Eussia to follow the steps of Trajan and
Julian, construct fleets in Armenia, and float them to Bus-
sorah ; they have the possession, at least the command, of the
Armenian part of the Euphrates now {i.e. 1834).
App arently there would be more danger to be appre¬
hended from the Russians, from their making use of the
Oxus and Caspian, than by making use of Bussorah, where
they would be met by the nation which happens to have the
pre-eminence at sea. But," says Mr. Peacock, " the pre¬
eminence at sea is not a talisman ; it is to be kept up by
constant watchfulness and the exertion of adequate force. I
know there is danger by the Oxus, but there is also danger
by the Euphrates, and I would stop both doors, if I could."
" The first thing the Russians do when they get pos¬
session of, or connexion with, any country, is to exclude all
18
other nations from navigating its waters. I think, therefore,
it is of great importance that we should get prior possession
of this river."
The establishment of steam along the Euphrates would
serve greatly to counteract the designs of Russia ; " by
giving us a vested interest and a right to interfere. If they
should make a treaty with the power it belongs to, that
none shall navigate it but themselves, we should find it a
more difficult business. They have been long supposed to
have designs on Bagdad ; they have had emissaries there a
good while : The Pachalick of Bagdad is a very valuable
possession, and would pay for protecting it, either to them
or to us."
In comparing the probable relative commercial advantages
of the Red Sea with that by the Euphrates and Persian Gulf,
Mr. Peacock gives the preference to the latter :—the trade
of the Persian Gulf withTndiais three to one to that of the
Red Sea ; there was formerly a great deal of commerce in
those countries, both in the time of the Assyrian empire and
in that of the Caliphate of Bagdad, and in many intermediate
periods."
"With reference to the different routes proposed for steam
communication with India,—I have been," says Major-
General Chesney, in giving evidence before the already-
mentioned Committee of the House of Commons, on
four different routes, the one being through Turkey. I
came down the Danube p,nd crossed the Black Sea, and
that part of Asia from Trebisond to the Euphrates, which
concludes the first route, as proposed by the Right
Honourable John Sullivan, viz., up the Rhine, down the
Danube, across the Black Sea to Trebisond, and thence
to the upper Euphrates, this river being part of three of the
lines. The second is from Malta to Constantinople on to
Trebisond, and either the same route onwards by the Eu-
19
phrates or through Persia. The third is Egypt. I was in
Egypt in the year 1830, onwards to the ceded pro¬
vinces, having other objects in view, when I saw some
queries that were sent out by Lord Aberdeen to obtain in¬
formation as to the best line of communication with India ;
there were several queries relating to each, framed, as I have
since understood, by Mr. Peacock. I wrote to Sir Robert
Gordon, proposing to examine the (route by) Egypt immedi¬
ately, and afterwards to descend the Euphrates, if he en¬
couraged it. Accordingly I went to Suez, sailed down the
Red Sea to Cosier, crossed to the Nile at Kenne, sailed down
that river and examined the port of Damietta, Lake Men-
zaleh, &c., and forwarded a Report of the result to Sir
Robert Gordon, on the 30th of September, 1830* The fourth
route is the Euphrates. After I had examined the Red Sea,
Sir R. Gordon's answer reached me at Beirout ; he seemed
to think the undertaking hazardous, and as there was a report
that Capt. Mignan was instructed by the Court of Directors
to examine the river, his Excellency observed that unless I
had it to myself it would not be worth the risk, and in con¬
sequence I gave up the idea of going down the Euphrates
and went straight to Damascus ; there I heard of the death
of three persons, viz., Mr. James Taylor, Mr. Aspinall and
Mr. Bo water, going to examine the Euphrates. I accom¬
panied the caravan to El Kaim on the Euphrates, and the
moment I saw this splendid river, the project of descending
it seized me powerfully, and circumstances favoured the
attempt. I was unwell, and taking advantage of this, I
asked the Arabs at Anna whether they could not make me a
raft. It appeared that they were much better accustomed to
raft making than I was myself ; they undertook the task, and
after some difficulties and delays, the raft was ready. I set out
* Vide Reports by General Chesney, Appendix, No. 8.
C 2
20
from Anna to go down the river accompanied by my inter-
preter^ a servant and three Arabs ; two of the latter were
boatmen, the other a sort of guide and protector. In setting
out to examine the river, I had a memorandum given me by
Mr. Cartwright, the Consul-General,. to show the objects
which it was desirable to ascertain, viz., the depth of water,
the nature of the river, its conveniences, and other particu¬
lars. The depth of water I ascertained by means of a ten
feet rod attached to the raft, and immersed in the water to
that extent ; when it did not touch it showed the depth of
the water exceeded 10 feet, and when it did touch, I took it
in my hand and measured the place exactly; in that way I
proceeded, noting the villages, counting the houses, and taking
the bearings all day ; at night we came to, close to an unin¬
habited island, and the fifth day I arrived at Hitt, having
made all the notes necessary to form the groundwork of the
great maps on the table, the speed of the stream being the
basis of the operation, and bearings backward and forward
were carefully taken at each turning of the river. At Hitt I
changed my raft for one of the boats made there of osiers
covered with bitumen; I chose a country boat because it
was more like the natives', and with this I sailed down again
in the same way to Feluja, opposite to Eagdad, where I
arrived in less than five days from Hitt; this was in the
beginning of January, 1831. I crossed the country to Bag¬
dad, where Major Taylor, the Company's resident, took
a great interest in what I had been doing. Once there,
it seemed desirable to remain and finish the maps so far,
before I recommenced descending the stream, and accord¬
ingly I wrote to Sir Robert Gordon to say what I had done,
and that as soon as the maps were completed I would de¬
scend the river to Bussorah. Whilst laying down these
maps, Major Taylor received from Bombay an authority
to survey the river, and he immediately sent away Messrs.
21
Ormsby and Elliott down the Tigris, and to ascend the
Euphrates to the place where I had left off. They returned
to Bagdad, having failed in getting higher than Hilla, and
Major Taylor determined to send them off to Bir to descend
the stream from thence. I felt somewhat uncomfortable at
the idea of interfering with these two persons, as their pros¬
pects depended much on their success, and being more
inclined to further their plans, I was inclined to give up the
field to them; I offered the use of an Arab boatman well
acquainted with the river, and also gave them my interpreter.
They declined the boatman on account of the expense, and
subsequently returned the interpreter for the same reason,
after taking him some little distance on their journey. At
this moment Major Taylor recommended me to resume my
plan, as two accounts, he observed were better than one. I
went back to my boat at Feluja, and sailed down to Hilla :
this part of the river is little known, so much so that I cannot
find the trace of any European having navigated it either in
ancient or modern times. In old times the traveller always
stopped at Feluja, crossed to Bagdad, and went down the
Tigris, therefore it was fortunate that I resumed my plan,
for as Messrs. Ormsby and Elliott did not accomplish their
descent, we should still be ignorant of the state of this part
of the river. I had left these maps with Major Taylor to
copy for the Supreme Government, and afterwards to send
them to Sir Robert Gordon. Having arrived at Hilla, I
got a little schooner and sailed down through the Lemlun
marches to Bussorah ; from Bussorah I went to Bushire,
where some difiiculties about the quarantine, on account of
the plague, prevented my landing; I then sailed up the
Karoon to Shuster, where I finished the first memoir, and
sent it off. After that I jourpeyed through Persia, and there
the Envoy took a great interest in the question of the Eu¬
phrates, as connected closely with Persia, and he made the
22
Reports now on the table. On leaving Persia I went to
Trebisond, and crossed the Taurus range to Aleppo, and Bir
also, across the country between that place and Scanderoon.
From Bir I went up the river, a good way above Samsat,
near Malatea, from whence I crossed to Orfa, meaning to
regain the river and descended to El Kaim Towers, where
I originally commenced. But at Orfa there came a Turk to
me in a very mysterious way, and said there had been some
discussions about me : some said I was honest, and others the
contrary ; I gathered that I was likely to be waylaid as a
spy of Mahomet Ali ; this determined me to change my
route and go back to Bir, so that I was thrown out in my
plan of visiting that part of the river towards El Kaim ; and
with that exception, I can speak of all the rest of its course
personally, more than 900 miles."
My opinion is^ that there is no doubt about its (the
Euphrates) being navigable for eight months in the year^ and
its being navigable for the other four months for shallow
vessels. Indimdudtly I have no doubt about its being navi¬
gable also throughout the low season ; but I will explain the
state of the river in detail, beginning at the Estuary, and
going upwards in the same way that a steam vessel would
do when coming from India towards Bir."
It so happened that I was twice on the Euphrates during
the low season y and once in the flooded ^
The printed Reports contain a detailed account of the
great river, following its stream from Armenia to the Persian
Gulf ; therefore it may make the explanation clearer to re¬
verse it, and ascend the stream, as a steamer coming from
India must do ; width being the first consideration, depth
the second, and strength of current the third.
Although occasionally much more, the breadth of the
Euphrates varies between 20Ö and 400 yards ; for even
where the rocks and fords exist, as-described in the Reports,
23
tlie stream still maintains its spread^ nor would the existence
of the former be apparent^ were it not for the irregular sur¬
face above them : and I am the more anxious to make this
point quite clear, because it seems to have been supposed by
some that the river is at times limited to the width of the
deep passage between the rocks, which are indispensable to
the commerce carried on in the clumsy country boats, but
which would not interrupt a wider river steamer of a shallow
construction. In fact the only exception to the great width
alluded to, takes place in the Lemlun Marshes, where the
river is deep and entirely free from rocks ; but for a distance
of about 60 miles, the main stream narrows to about 80
yards.
As to the second point, the general depth of the upper
Euphrates exceeds 8 feet, with the few exceptions to be
stated by-and-bye in their proper places.
In point of current, the third leading consideration, the
Euphrates is for the most part rather a sluggish stream ; for, *
except in the height of the flooded season, when it approaches
5 miles per hour, it varies from 2 to ; but certainly with
a much larger portion of its course under 3 than above, par¬
ticularly the 701 miles from the town of Hit to the sea ;
above that place it frequently exceeds, 3, below it is rarely
much more than two.
" But to go more into detail at the low season, beginning
with the sea :— ^
On the bar, at the principal branch, there is a depth of 18
feet ; from thence to Korna, 104 miles, it varies from 3 J to
7 fathoms, the general width varying between 350 and 600
yards.
Upwards from Korna we have the Euphrates only, with
its volume diminished, it is true, by the loss of the Tigris,
yet still a noble river, averaging about 300 yards broad, with
a depth of from 2 to 3¿ fathoms all the way from Korna to
24
Castle Ger an Shoal, 186 miles ; here a narrow pebbly bank
crosses the bed of the river, and reduces the depth for a
moment to or four feet ; this is close to one end of Grahim
inlet, at the eastern extremity of the Lemlun Marshes, which
extend about 61 miles, and are watered by three divisions
of the Euphrates, each considerable as to size, and all navi¬
gable. The principal one which the steamer would follow,
makes a tortuous course, carrying a width in general of more
than 80 yards, though occasionally reduced to 50; and hav¬
ing a depth of from 6 to 9 feet, though very rarely the former.
This part of Mesopotamia is so very level, that the flooding
of the river makes little difference as to depth ; for being
without the high banks existing elsewhere along the river,
the increased water spreads out into a wide shallow lake,
just enough to prepare the ground for rice.
" The windings of the main stream through the country of
Lemlun reminded me of the Frith of Forth below Stirling,
but as the turnings are not so sharp as the latter, which are
navigated several times every day, we have no reason to fear
that a steamer will pass without the slightest difficulty ; espe¬
cially as the latine vessels of the country of from 50 to 80
tons do so in great numbers.
On the western side of the Marshes, we meet the united
stream such as we had left it on the eastern, viz., averaging
about 300 yards broad and from 9 to 18 feet deep for 15
miles to the derivation of Ramahieh, near the town of Dewa-
nia ; and thus it continues for 86 miles more up to Hilla
(ancient Babylon) ; at this town we meet for the flrst time a
bridge, the river having narrowed for the moment to 450
feet, with a depth of 18, and as might be expected in conse¬
quence, a strong current just below the floating bridge ; one
boat is moveable in the centre to facilitate commerce, but the
width of the steamer would require two to be removed.
From Hillah to Feluja Castle, is a distance of 110 miles.
with a depth at the low season of from 9 to 18 feet, and the
width varying between 250 and 500 yards, with the excep¬
tion of at the town of Musseyil, 74 miles from Feluja, where
it is 13 feet deep, and narrows to 160 yards, the length of its
bridge ; that of Feluja being 123 yards in the low season,
and 150 during the high one.
" From Feluja to Hit, we have a distance of 140 miles by
the river, without its being narrow enough at any point to
construct a bridge; the width is rarely much under 300
yards, and is frequently as great as 600, or even more, with
a general depth of upwards of 9 feet ; to which there are
but three exceptions : viz., the occasional ford of Bushloub,
marked No. 39, with an ordinary depth of 6 feet (and there¬
fore it has not been passed by camels once during the last 20
years) ; Abou-Sisa, marked No. 38, and'Souab, No. 37, are
the other two, each with 3| feet water at the lowest season.
This has brought us to the town of Hit, the Is of the
ancients, to whom it was just as well known on account of
the fountain of bitumen, as it now is to the modern posses¬
sors. This place is 639 miles from Bussorah, and about half
way to Bir in point of trouble, while it is more than half in
point of distance; on which account, as well as the prospect
of making the bitumen available for fuel, as a consequence
of making permanent arrangements along this line.
In continuing onwards, we meet the island of El Oos,
at a distance of 84 miles above Hit ; the general character of
this part of the river as to width and depth is the same as
that below ; but the current is a little more rapid, and we
occasionally meet some rocks, which is not the case down¬
wards. There are nine exceptions during these 84 miles to
the general depth of 9 feet ; three of these are the remains of
irrigating walls in the river a little way above Hit, each
of them causing a few inches fall. Two are camels' fords,
both free from rocks, and with 3J feet water ; and the re-
26
mainîng four have rocky bottoms, limited in one place to 3
feet in depth, but generally 6, and the surface almost un¬
broken.
We have now reached the town of El Oos, without having
encountered anything which can be fairly considered an im¬
pediment even to a large-sized steamer ; therefore we have
786 miles of open navigation throughout the twelve months,
viz., from the Persian Gulf to this island.
Within the succeeding 170 miles above El Oos are com¬
prised all the difficulties to be encountered in navigating the
Euphrates ; and to these, which only exist during the four
months' low water, I would entreat the particular attention
of the Committee.
Erom El Oos to Anna we have a distance of 106 miles
along the river, which winds exceedingly, as will be evident
from the great maps ; a range of hills encloses each bank :
there are several good-sized towns, the islands are numerous,
and the aqueducts of the irrigating mills literally cover the
banks.* Here the width of the river varies from 250 to 500
yards, with a general depth of 8 feet.
There are, however, eight exceptions to the depth. Nos*
20 to 27 ; two of these. Nos. 23 and 24 are camels' fords ;
four more. Nos. 20, 21, 22, and 26, have rocky bottoms, with
a broken surface, causing falls about 6 inches, or even more
at some places ; but all have a sufficient depth of water to
make them safe to pass in the night. No. 25 is rather more
serious ; here we have a fall, or to speak more correctly, a
difference of level, of 18 inches in 50 or 60 feet distance,
with a depth exceeding 3 feet ; this place, I presume, could
not be passed after night, still less would it be practicable to
overcome the remaining one, No. 27, in the dark. At this
* History présents many examples of the preponderance of Utilitari¬
anism over Omamentalism. The Holy city is one mass of ruins, but
27
one, the whirlpool of the prophet Elias, there is a fall of two
feet in seventy, with a depth of 4 feet 9 inches, and a current
for the moment of 5 miles per hour, a broken surface and a
rocky bottom for some little distance both above and below
the whirlpool.
This place is much dreaded by the Arab boatmen in de¬
scending, but my raft of 14j by 13^ feet (not the most
manageable thing in the world) passed down without any
difficulty."
At some parts of the river the country boats are lightened
to a depth of three feet, to facilitate their passage ; and when
it is remembered that this rudely constructed bark has a flat
floor of 40 feet by 12, at a depth of 4 feet, with wall sides
(and I have met some of much larger dimensions), her pass¬
ing at all times between Anna and Giaber, and even to Ma-
' latia, during the low season, is one of the best possible proofs
we could have that this portion of the river is quite navigable
for steam.
Besides which fact, drawn from the existing state of
things, («. e,, in 1834) we know, that up to fifteen or even
twelve years ago, it was the habitual custom of the Sultan to
send guns and heavy stores to Bagdad by way of the river ;
and the last person who was sent by this route gave me a de-
the pool of Bethesda is still as it was when the angel came down
annually to disturb its waters. The columns of Persepolis are crum¬
bling into the sands by which they are already half engulphed, yet its
cisterns and its aqueducts still remain to fill the wanderer with admiration.
Nero's Palace of Gold is a myth, a thing that has been, yet the Aqua
Claudia still flows into ancient Rome. The temple of the Sun at Tadmor,
in the Wilderness, is now fallen and desolate amidst the silence of the
sandy desert, and yet who does not know that its sparkling fountain still
remains, flashing as in days of yore when myriads crowded round that
now abandoned spot. The tomb of Joshua is forgotten, but the well of
Jacob is known to every overland traveller.
28
tailed account of his descent from Bir, during the month of
November, (the river being at the lowest) when a deeply
laden boat passed downwards day by day, without having
been obliged to lighten on any occasion.
But our information is not confined to Asiatics, for in
addition to the minute details of the commerce between
Armenia and Babylon, as given by Herodotus, there are
several descents on record of mercantile travellers, during
the 15th century^ when it appears to have been the custom
of merchants to carry their goods to Bir, to hire water
transport downwards, and at times they remained until a
little fleet of small vessels was assembled to make the voyage
to Feluja together.
In 1574, during the months of September and October,
the traveller Eau wolf descended the Euphrates, in a loaded
boat from Bir, which the master run aground from careless¬
ness, on a sand bank, the flrst day, near Giaber ; Eauwolf
goes on to speak of Eacca, and other towns descending: he
observes that the water was low at Deir in October, and
details his voyage to Anna and Feluja, without any other
serious difficulty after the flrst one.
" In December, 1579, the Venetian merchant Balbi reached
Bir, and having embarked his goods for Feluja, Bagdad and
the East Indies, he remained at that place until the 11th of
January, 1580, waiting for five other barks to go in company.
Balbi mentions some shoals as well as rocks, causing two falls
above Anna, and he notices the whirlpool below, which he
calls dangerous passages ; but he seems to have reached
Feluja and Bagdad without any other cause of uneasiness.
John Newberrie embarked at Bir, the 15th of October,
1581, on board a bark laden with honey, cordovan leather,
fish, wax, &c, ; part of the cargo was sold at Deir, and they
reached Feluja without any difficulties being noticed as
having been encountered in the descent of 15 days ; and
«9
nearly all the towns and remarkable places are mentioned by
Newberrie.
In 1583 Ralph Fitch, a London merchant, sailed down
the Euphrates; his voyage from Bir to Feluja was accom¬
plished in 16 days, without having encountered difficulties ;
though (he adds) it is not good for one boat to go alone, lest
she might be broken, and the goods would then be plundered
by the Arabians.
Sir Anthony Shirley descended the Euphrates in the
autumn of 1599, in company with the cadi, defter dar, and
others going to Bagdad ; he made the voyage in thirty days,
resting at night, and gives many details of the towns, &c.,
without alluding to any difficulties in the navigation.
John Cartwright also made a voyage about this period,
but the year and month are not given ; he speaks of the river
at Bir being as broad as the Thames at Lambeth, and almost
as swift as the Trent. Cartwright alludes to the low season,
saying that the merchants are fain to carry with them a spare
boat or two to lighten their own if they should chance to fall
upon the shoals. He also adds that they carried on a trade
by barter with the Arabs ; exchanging coral, amber, knives,
glass, &c., for different kinds of provisions, butter, fruits, &c.
" In my last journey I examined the country between the
Mediterranean and Bir, which is particularly favourable, in
every respect, to the proposed communication ; and I also
followed the river itself from several miles above Samsat to
some distance below Bir, throughout which distance it is
much deeper than at and below El Kaim, and, in fact,
carrying such a volume of water as to leave no doubt in my
mind that it is quite open from thence to El Kaim, as the
boatmen at Bir stated it to be, not only to that place but
also to Anna.
Such is my mew of the depths ^c., of the Euphrates, from
the sea to Bir, during its lowest and most difficult state ; and
30
as the impediments ham been placed at the very worst, it is
certain that any one who may be called upon to overcome
them, will find his task somewhat less than he is prepared to
expect.
As to the question of navigating the Euphrates during
the low season, the Committee (for steam communication with
India) will perceive that this is narrowed to the consider¬
ation of the limited depth of water at some places between
El Oos and El Kaim, about 170 miles ; and after the deepest
consideration, it appears to me, that a steam boat of 75 feet
by 16 on the water line, would undoubtedly pass up this part
of the river, when drawing from to 24 inches. By giving
her a spoon or parabolic shape, for the advantage of steering
through short turnings, she might be of greater dimensions as
to accommodation, viz. :
85 or 90 feet on deck.
75 on the water line.
16 feet beam.
Depth of vessel, 5 feet.
Engine of 18 horse power.
Flat bottom midships for one-third of the length on deck ;
draught of water, with four days' coals, 22 to 24 inches ; to
be of iron, and the lightest construction ; copper boilers."
The Euphrates ceases to decrease about the middle of
November, from which time until near the end of December
there is no sensible difference ; at this period it begins to be
fed (owing to the early rains) by the increase of the Melas,
Khabour, and other mountain tributaries \ at times this in¬
crease is so limited as to make a difference almost impercep¬
tible but at others the depth of the river is increased nearly
a foot in the early part of January. Whether the winter's
increase has been 12 inches or only one, the Euphrates con¬
tinues almost stationary from the early part of January until
a little before or a little after the 27th of March, when the
31
grand rise begins ; the river subsequently continues swelling
and extremely muddy until the snow water begins to descend
and change its colour, which happens about the 26th of
April ; the increase is afterwards more rapid, and thus con¬
tinues until the 21st or 28th of May, when the highest point
is attained, and the depth at Anna has been increased by 11
or 12 feet, and lower down by 15 or 18. During 20 days,
from the 11th to the 81st of May, the current rather exceeds
five miles per hour ; therefore tracking boats upwards is
abandoned for that time, and is afterwards resumed against a
current of about four ; the river subsequently declines very
gradually and regularly in depth and speed up to the lowest
point in the middle of November, from which we started in
taking the glance just completed of the 12 months.
The Tigris, although classed with the Euphrates too fre¬
quently, is very different in every respect, being more tortu¬
ous, more rapid, and subject to different laws in its floodings.
This river not only begins to rise in November, but attains a
considerable height before the end of the month, after which
it suddenly falls, and is again as suddenly swollen at uncertain
moments, up to the middle of January, when its permanent
rise begins ; subsequently it continues increasing, though
occasionally falling a little, till the 15th of May, when it is
at the highest, with an increased depth at Bagdad of 15 feet.
The river subsequently declines in the same irregular way,
but there is sufiicient water for large boats to reach Bagdad
until August, when smaller ones, drawing about five feet,
are used until the end of the year as far as Bagdad. Between
that city and Mosul, the river is at some places rocky or
shallow, but there is water enough at all times to float rafts
of firewood, and even merchandize, over the rocks from
Mosul to Bagdad at the low season.
" The Euphrates, on the contrary, is extremely gradual and
regular, both in its increase and diminution, quite as much
32
so as the Nile, and very similar in every respect (as far as my
acquaintance with both enables me to judge), with the single
exception of the flooding, which takes place earlier in the
Asiatic than in the African river.
From the end of March there is a considerable depth of
water in the shallowest places of the Euphrates ; so much so
that there is little question of rocks until some time in No¬
vember, since it is apparent that they are covered with 14
feet of water during the greater part of the interval from
March till November.
On perceiving the great power of the Euphrates in the
flooded season, and that its dangerous bearings on India in¬
volved deeper considerations than those of steam communi¬
cation, it struck me that it would be right to make this part
of the question the subject of a separate and confidential
paper, rather than enlarge upon it in the printed Reports,
which are confined chiefly to the low season. I declined
the favourable offers I had to publish an account of my
voyage down this most interesting stream, endeavouring,
instead, to place the subject exclusively before Government,
in such a way as would give ministers the free option, either
to open the navigation, or to leave matters pretty much as
they were, without telling too much to the world about the
real state of this interesting stream, which in fact presents
the easiest possible route for a Russian force to threaten
India.
It is true that India may be approached by five other lines
of march as mentioned in the paper on Persia submitted to
Government ; but it is to be remembered that she is still at
some distance from the commencement of any one of them,
and that there must be some preliminary steps in any of the
supposed cases which would give us notice and time to pre¬
pare ; whereas in that of the Euphrates she could proceed
onwards at once to the Persian Gulf. Russia is actually in
SS
possession of the Turkish province of Achaltziek, within
15 days' march, or even less, of the navigable part of the
Euphrates (here called the Murad-Soo) and as she has at
command the immense Eorests of Armenia, as well as those
of the province of Kars near at hand, there could be no diffi¬
culty in constructing rafts to any extent. From the 26th of
April until the 26th of June at least, there is a depth of 12
or 14 feet over the rocks of Karabla ; at this time the heaviest
guns could be floated down with perfect ease, and long after¬
wards, in fact all the eight months, there is sufficient water to
convey troops and stores. Four or five weeks would suffice
to carry the advance of the army down the Murad-Soo to the
estuary of the Shut ul Arab, and this speed would give the
enemy possession of the numerous small vessels, and ample
resources of the rivers and province of Mesopotamia ; Bus¬
sora would make a good port, dock-yard, &c. opening towards
India, as well as an excellent place d^aTmes, from which an
enemy might immediately extend himself along the Indian
river, and east side of the Persian Gulf as far as Cape Jask,
which point is within 625 miles of the Indus, and might
be occupied in eight or ten weeks time from leaving
Achaltziek.
" It is pretty certain that Napoleon contemplated following
the steps of the Emperors Trajan and Julian, and that the
Russian war alone prevented his descending by the Euphrates
in 1812 to occupy and fortify Bussora as the pivot of com¬
bined operations against India ; and as Russia was to assist,
she must have known, in part at least, the plans of this great
captain ; and therefore she must know the importance of
Bussora as an object to be obtained if possible ; and even if
we can suppose her to be still ignorant of the existence of an
easy open route to that city for an army of any size, it is not
at all likely that a power so much alive to objects of ambition
can remain so much longer ; and in this view of the case, it
t
D
34
is not going too far to suppose that it will be one of her first
objects ; especially as there is no impediment in her present
relations with Turkey, to an acquisition which would give
her a lever no less powerful and formidable to Great Britain
than the control of the Persian empire, her|^^more apparent
object at this moment in the East.
Once possessed of Bussora as a port, and the line of the
Euphrates to give the supplies, it would be a work of millions
to dispossess the Kussians of a line of country, which may be
defended with the utmost facility from an attack, whether
made from the side of Syria, or that of India ; we could not
even prevent them extending themselves along the Coast to
Cape Task, and thus not only turning the defences of Persia,
but being also as it were in the very neighbourhood of the
Indus.
Giving up all idea of any attempt by sea, it seems to me
that it would be almost impossible to interrupt their march
onwards from Cape Jask; for, admitting for a moment that
supplies could not be obtained as in the time of Alexander^
and subsequently by a Caüiph of Bagdad, Mohammed Bin
Kassim (who reached India through this country in 677 of
the Hejira) ; an enemy might have his stores and supplies
carried in a flotilla of flat boats, creeping along shore step by
step with the army, from headland to headland, ready to be
beached under protection of the whole army whenever our
ships meditated an attack, which under such unfavourable
circumstances could not be made with the least chance of
success. Therefore, if ever Eussia should obtain the line of
the Euphrates, she will then have it in her power, either to
meet our troops on the Indus, or take the surer but more
dangerous course of remaining in this threatening position,
gradually approaching our territories ; which would of itself
shake our moral power over the natives, independently of
the minor consideration of a heavy expenditure for a flotilla
S5
to watch the Gulf, and additional troops along the north
west frontier towards the side of Persia.
It is manifest that operations against India by any of the
five routes through, or bordering on Persia, must be attended
with great loss from climate alone, during a march of about
2,000 miles ; whereas, in the case of the Euphrates, the army
would be conveyed rapidly, and in an efficient state, to the
seat of operations ; in which view of the bearings of the
Euphrates, the question of a rapid communication is of little
importance, when compared to the paramount one of forming
a barrier against Russia, based upon a more extended and
beneficial commerce to ourselves, to our eastern colonies,
and to Arabia.^'*
The preceding opinions and statements were given in evi¬
dence prior to the Euphrates Expedition, and it will be seen
by the following extracts that they were entirely confirmed
by the official reports of General Chesney and his officers,
after the survey of the Euphrates had been accomplished.
Bushire ^ July 1.7, 1836.
The noble and interesting river Euphrates is far too cele¬
brated to require more from me than a fair view of the
facilities afforded by it for steam navigation, and of the pros¬
pect it offers for establishing an economical and more rapid
communication between Great Britain and her Indian pos¬
sessions, than has hitherto been obtained :—the brilliant
prospects of a new channel being opened to our enterprising
mercantile world, through a steam establishment on the
Euphrates, ought to awaken our best energies»
I consider that a rapid steam voyage may he performed
both up and down the Euphrates^ at any season of the year.
(Signed) R. F. Cleaveland.
Lieutenant R.N,
Colonel Chesxey, R.A., &c., &c.
Commanding Euphrates Expedition.
* Vide Report on Steam Navigation to India, ordered by the House
of Commons, to be printed, 14th July, 1834.
36
Euphrates Steamer, Bushire, July 17, 1836,
Considering J tlierefore^ Ja'ber as the upper station on the
river, there remain 938 miles of navigation from that place
to Basrah. In this distance I consider we have but two
impediments which are worth noticing. The first is the
Karáblah rocks, two miles above 'A'nah, and the second the
Lamlum Marshes.
The Karáblah rocks have ten feet water over them in the
high season, and three feet at the lowest, the stream running
over them at the rate of seven miles per hour.
We have already a diving-bell at this place, which at a
small expense might clear away the rocks so as to give a
passage of 4| or 5 feet water in the low season.
From El'TJzz to Lamliim, or rather to four miles above the
latter town, we have 288 miles of a beautiful river, the average
depth in this distance being three fathoms, with the exception
of some places, a little below the town of Hit, where ten and
twelve feet would be the average.
They (the Arabs) always evinced great eagerness to barter
their provisions, and in fact everything they possessed, for
our Glasgow merchandise, which consisted of handkerchiefs
and shawls principally ; so that I am convinced considerable
commerce would be carried on with great success on the river ♦
Taking all these things into consideration, I should say it
would be highly advisable to navigate the river, as being the
speediest and most secure route between Great Britain and
her Indian possessions. (Signed) E. P. Chahlewood.
Mate E.N»
Colonel Chesney, E.A., &c., &c.
Euphrates Expedition, Bushire, July 15, 1836.
The descent of the Euphrates steamer on the falling waters
between March and July has sufficiently proved, in such a
way as to leave little doubt in my mind that at the lowest
37
season the river could be navigated, or at all events be
easily made navigable.
The advantages which would ensue from the establishment
of a regular steam communication on the Euphrates would,
I am convinced, amply repay any outlay and trouble which
might attend the commencement.
The avidity with which the inhabitants of different towns
on the river bought our Manchester woollen goods, &c., suf¬
ficiently proves that a great opening is presented to our com¬
merce. Aleppo, Bagdad, Basrah, and, should the Kárun be
navigated, Ispahan, would soon become marts for British
produce, and the influence of the English name be thus in¬
creased and extended.
(Signed) Jas. Fitzjames, E.N.
Colonel Ghesney, K.A., &c., &c.
Basrah, August 31, 1836.
The whole line, from Ja'ber to a little below Díwáníyah,
is a long course free from impediments. There are some few
places, where, to conduct a vessel safely and surely, it is ne¬
cessary to be acquainted with the line of the deep channel,
such as at Karâblah, 'A'nah, and two places above both,
where reefs of rocks stretch across the river ; but where, I
believe, a channel does exist sufficiently deep to float such a
vessel as the 'Euphrates." There are, along the line I have
mentioned, many projecting ranges of arches, formerly used
in irrigating the neighbouring lands, and there are some in¬
sulated rocks, but in no case offering impediments of a serious
nature when their positions are well understood.
Below the line I have mentioned, until arriving at the
termination of the Lamlúm Marshes, the river is more diffi¬
cult, owing to the very sharp windings and the greater nar¬
rowness, so that in this part I do not consider that the
"Euphrates" steamer is suited for the navigation. Yet
38
there would be no diflBculty for a shorter vessel. From
below the Lamlum Marshes to Basrah the river, presents a
fine, wide, deep, and easy course ; and a still larger vessel
than the Euphrates " might easily perform the voyage.
I think it will be seen, perhaps, that the navigation of no
river was ever commenced under such favourable circum¬
stances.
(Signed) J. B. Bucknall Estcourt,
Captain 4ßrd JÂght Infantry.*
Colonel Chesney, K.A., &c., &c.
Busliirey July 17, 1836.
The river Euphrates is evidently a navigable stream. I
am acquainted with it from Sumeïsat, in the Taurus, to its
embouchure in the Persian Gulf, a distance of upwards of
1,200 miles ; and in that extent there are only two real diffi¬
culties, both of which are superable, by undergoing an ex¬
pense quite disproportioned to the importance of rendering
efficient at all seasons of the year, and throughout so length¬
ened a course, the navigation of this noble river.
There is, indeed, amongst almost all the tribes a cupidity
that is easily aroused, and which would stir the people up
to new exertion in order to obtain comforts and luxuries
with which they would then first become acquainted, and
could not be slow in appreciating. The boasted frugality
and indifference of the Arab are not proof against the inven¬
tions of an improved mechanism in cutlery or fire-arms ; and
nowhere is there displayed a greater anxiety for gay dresses
and ornaments : this taste is indeed almost a passion with
both sexes. With abundant instances of the operation of
these incentives, we have also seen examples of feelings com¬
mon to human nature (a nature which is less barbarous here
than is commonly supposed) of the love of decorating their
* This distinguished and accomplished officer died when Adjutant
General of the British Army in the Crimea.
39
children^ and of a desire to improve their condition ; nor is
there here any of the Eedawin apprehension of doing what
may be considered derogatory to the discipline handed down
by théir ancestors, or capable of affecting their warlike inde¬
pendence.
The whole character of the descent of the river made by
the Euphrates " steamer, demonstrated in the most decisive
manner that the great moral diihculties which it was supposd
would have to be overcome, only exist in the exaggerated
alarms created by the predatory habits of the Eedawin of the
Desert, or degenerated tribes like those of Sinjâr. The
Arabs, I firmly believe, never dreamt, and are incapable,
except when guided to it by superior wisdom, of a combined
plan of operations. Eut it was an unexpected spectacle
which was offered at the opening of the navigation, in the
coming forward of the sheiks and elders of the most reputable
and powerful tribes to cultivate the acquaintance and seek
the protection of the commander of the Expedition.
When a melancholy accident deprived the Expedition of
half of its physical power, the same impression continued in
operation ; and instead of a demand of tribute or customs, as
was so confidently anticipated by some, the tribes were ready
even with pecuniary sacrifices to seek the protection of the
Eritish flag.
That little dependence can be placed upon the Arabs, is,
with regard to many of the most affluent tribes, only the
calumny of an irritated or an ignorant traveller. At all
events it must be kept in mind, that the first who may bring
those uninformed nations in contact with a civilization which
excites their love and admiration, is at least the most likely
to establish lasting associations in their bosoms in connection
with the early dawn of a new order of things.
The advantages which are presented by the opening of the
navigation of the river Euphrates belong to universal civili-
40
zation, as well as to an increase of national power. The
waters of this great river flow past the habitations of up¬
wards of four millions of human beings^ amongst whom
their own traditions have transmitted the sense of a revolu¬
tion to be effected by the introduction of a religion of humi¬
lity, of charity, and of forbearance.
The intellectual powers of the descendants from the most
noble stocks of the human race are not extinct in their pre¬
sent fallen representatives, and it would be difficult to say to
what extent civilization might flourish when revived in its
most antique home. The mental privileges of the Arab,
overwhelmed by moral despotism and political insecurity,
are not less than those of their Assyrian, their Babylonian,
or their Palmyrean ancestors.
The national importance of this navigation is of the most
comprehensive character. Every one acquainted with the
history of the communication of nations, which, as Montes¬
quieu has ably pointed out, is the history of commerce, must
be aware that those circumstances which led to the annihila¬
tion of the commerce of the East, would be revolutionized by
the opening now proposed to be effected ; and that while
civilization might be confidently expected to return to its
almost primeval seat, it would do so under a very different
aspect, and with vastly improved means over the days of
Opis and Ophir, or of Cercusium and Callinicum.
All these advantages are to be obtained by the navigation
which you have entered upon, and of which you have proved
the practicability.
(Signed) William Ainsworth,
Geologist to the JSv^phrates JEJxpedition,
Colonel Chesney, E.A., &c. &c.
«The exploratory voyages in descending and ascending
the rivers Kârun, Tigris, and Euphrates, have," says General
41
Chesney, sufficiently proved the practicability of their navi¬
gation with vessels of a suitable construction."*
February 33, 1855.
I may remark that I commanded the Euphrates Expedi¬
tion for a year, and made the ascent of the Euphrates from
its mouth to Beles in two steamers, which are now on the
Indus, Nimrod and Nitocris, in 1840, and am acquainted
with the whole of the tribes and difficulties. I cannot advo¬
cate the route for passengers until steamers are placed on the
rivers; but of the practicability of the line (of the Euphrates)
there is no douht^ and of course from Scinde it becomes still
more available.
I shall be glad to learn the above being of use to encourage
the project.
I should say vessels smaller than the Indus boats would be
needed at first, but not much; those now on the Indus were
the ones I worked up the Euphrates in 1840.
All (the tribes) are disposed to come to terms with the
English, if we once made our appearance.
(Signed) C. D. Campbell,
Captain LN.
Capt. B. K. Finnimoue, &c. &c.
The results of the Exploration of the Euphrates from
its commencement under General Chesney, may, we believe,
be thus stated :—
1. The descent of the river Euphrates from Bir to
Bussorah, by General Chesney,
2. The navigation of the river Karo on from Mohamrah
to Ahwaz, by the steamer Euphrates, commenced by the
officers under General Chesney.
* Vide Expedition for the survey of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris,
by Major-General Chesney, R.A., F.R.S., &c. Ordered by the British
Government. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longman. 1850.
42
3. The ascent of the Tigris as far as Bagdad, and the
further ascent of this river towards Mosul, by the same
officers.
4. The ascent of the river Tigris to Koot Abdullah,
near Mosul, by Captain Lynch. This ascent proved the
practicability of the navigation of the Tigris as far as Mosul,
during the freshes, by vessels properly constructed.
5. The passage of the Leglowiyan Canal between the
Tigris and Euphrates, near Bagdad, by Captain Lynch.
Had this canal, which was subsequently destroyed by Aali
Pasha, remained open, the results of a direct and short water
communication between the two rivers might have proved
highly important. The navigation of the lower part of the
river Euphrates, which on account of the Lemlum marshes,
might have been avoided, and the ascent of the river com¬
menced above Hillah.
6. The ascent of the Hud, by Lieut. Campbell ; of no
practical importance, but interesting as proving that this
body of water is derived entirely from the Tigris, and is
not the outlet of any river descending from the Persian
mountains, as generally conjectured.
7. The ascent of the river Euphrates from Bussorah to
Belis by Lieut. Campbell. The most important event of the
expedition with reference to the difficulties to be surmounted,
and the dangers to be encountered.
8. The passage of the Hie, by Lieut. Selby; of great
practical importance in a commercial point of view, and an
undertaking of no small difficulty and danger, from the
character of the Arab tribes occupying its banks.
9. The ascent of the Kirkah to a considerable distance
by Lieut. Selby, ehiefly interesting in its geographical
results.
10. The ascent of the Karoon from Mohamrah to Ahwaz,
and its subsequent ascent from Mohamrah to Shushter ; of
43
the Aub Gargar, from its junction with the Karomal
Band-i-Kio at Shushter ; and of the river Dizful, from its
junction with the Karoon to the vicinity of Dizful, by Lieut.
Selby.
11. The navigation of the Bamisheer, from Mohamrah
to the sea, by Lieut. Selby ; also of high importance to
British commerce, as proving a communication between the
Persian Gulf and Mohamrah, and the Karoon, for vessels
of large burthen, without entering the mouths of the
Euphrates.
Such are the chief results of the Euphrates expedition,
many of which, it will be perceived, are of the highest
importance. From the various successes attending the above
undertakings, and from the observations which were made
by the officers employed, we may come to the following con¬
clusions :—
1. That the river Euphrates, from Korna to Bir, is naviga¬
ble throughout the year by boats properly constructed.
2. That the river Tigris is navigable at all times of the
year between Korna and Bagdad, for vessels drawing less
than five feet water.
3. That the Bamisheer is at all times navigable for
vessels of a large size.
4. That the Karoon and the river of Dizful are naviga¬
ble during the freshes, and probably throughout the year, to
vessels properly constructed, the only obstructions occurring
at Ahwaz, at which place the river Karoon is crossed by a
bund—through an outlet in which Lieut. Selby was able to
warp a steamer without difficulty.
5. That the Hie is navigable from the Euphrates to the
Tigris during the freshes. The obstructions occurring in the
stream from banks raised by the Arabs for the purpose of
exacting tolls from vessels, being merely temporary, and
easily removable.
4á
A few words upon the history, and the results of an
undertaking which, at its commencement, excited no ordinary
interest in Europe, may not be unacceptable to the reader.
Few expeditions were commenced under more favour¬
able auspices than that destined for the navigation of the river
Euphrates. The management was confided to an officer,
equally distinguished for abilities, for enterprise, and for
scientific, geographical, and historical knowledge. The
officers who were appointed to accompany him, were men of
experience, and well calculated to superintend an arduous
enterprise. The object contemplated by the expedition was
the establishment of a rapid and safe communication with
India, and the advantages which might accrue to British
commerce, and to British influence, were not to be lost
sight of.
General Chesney gave to the world his great work on the
Expedition and its objects, and Mr. Ainsworth, the eminent
geologist and geographer, who accompanied the expedition,
published his private memoranda upon the geography, geo¬
logy, and natural history of the countries ^watered by the
Euphrates, the Tigris, and their confluents, and his work
was highly creditable to his perseverance and scientific
knowledge.
It appears that the East India Company, after the
transfer of the steamer Euphrates^ still anticipated important
results from the navigation of the rivers of Mesopotamia.
Three new vessels were added, and in the year 1840, four
steamers under British colours floated under the walls of
Bagdad. The company directed the new vessels to be
shipped in pieces in England : in this state they were sent
round the Cape, and put together under the superintendence
of competent engineers at Bussorah.
In the spring of 1841, Lieutenant, now Captain C, D.
Campbell, I.N., commenced with the steamers Nitocris and
45
Nimrod, the ascent of the Euphrates, and surmounting all
difficulties, reached Belis. In those days it required remark¬
able courage, perseverance and skill, to effect its successful
ascent. By all these qualities Lieut. Campbell was eminently
distinguished. His mild and amiable disposition rendered
him an universal favourite amongst the Arab tribes, as well
as amongst those natives who were immediately connected
with the expedition. His knowledge of their character, his
patience and equanimity, enabled him most effectually to
conciliate the wild inhabitants of the banks of the Euphrates.
Those only who are acquainted with the difficulties to be
encountered in the first ascent of a river like the Euphrates,
can appreciate the success of Lieut. Campbell, which was
unattended by a single accident or objectionable occurrence.
The steamers remained at Belis during the greater part
of the year 1841, and their presence is said to have had a
decided influence in the north of Syria during the war with
Mehemet Ali,
During the absence of Lieut. Campbell, the Euphrates
and Assyria steamers were confided to the care of Lieut.
W. B. Selby. This enterprising officer explored the river
Karoon, the river of Dizful, the Kerkham, the Hie, and the
Bamisheer. He ascended the Karoon to Shushter, both by
the main body of the river, and by the Aub Gargar, or
artificial canal : he fully established the practicability of the
navigation of the Bamisheer, and proved the possibility of
communicating by steam between the Euphrates and Tigris by
the Hie : and should a steam communication be hereafter
established on the rivers of Mesopotamia and Susiana, for
commercial or other purposes, (which we firmly believe will
before many years be the case,) the discoveries of Lieut. Selby
will be duly appreciated. This officer was, by his courage,
perseverance and scientific knowledge, admirably calculated
for an expedition of this nature. By his valuable charts and
46
reports, he has illustrated the comparative geography of one
of the most ancient, although least known, provinces of the
Assyrian empire—Susiana» He has connected by scientific
observations the course of the Eulœus, the Choaspes, the
Coprates, and the Pasitigris, with the range of mountains
forming the great chain running to the east of Shushterj and
with the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. He has proved the
practicability of rivers, the course of which was hitherto
almost unknown, and all his discoveries will confer important
benefits upon British commerce.
%ih July, 1856.
I deeply regret (says Captain C. E. Campbell,) that time
will not permit me to enter upon the subject of the naviga¬
tion of the Euphrates at the length or with the consideration
that the subject deserves ; I must confine myself to a few
remarks to record my most unqualified opinion that the
Euphrates is navigable the whole length of its course from
the Persian Gulf to the highest point to which my own ob¬
servation has extended—namely—JBeles,
In the high season, when the snows melt above, the river
becomes a vast expanse of water, offering really no obstacle
to vessels of considerable draught of water and respectable
speed, navigated with skill and local knowledge of the river.
In the low state of the river, the volume of water is
greatly reduced, especially from September to December,
when the channel becomes contracted and the difficulties
increased. But inasmuch as the bed of the river is thus less
extended, and the flow of the water still fully equal to the
Rhine, a practicable passage is the more certain of being
found, provided vessels of suitable size, draught and speed
are made use of.
The fords in the upper district of the river offered the
greatest difficulties to the vessels hitherto used. There the
depth is never less than two feet three inches, and as the
47
steamers drew three feet six inches, it was an evident im¬
possibility to get them over these points ; they therefore had
to be dragged through them by main force.
There are several dangerous places in the district between
Anna and Hit, which is very mountainous, and the river
bed contracted and tortuous, causing numerous little falls or
rapids, which have plenty of water but great velocity ; but
the greatest velocity by actual trial was found to be a little
less than GJ knots (or nautical miles) per hour,* hence is not
more than the ebb spring-tide through the arches of Blacks
friars Bridge, and the seriousness of such an obstruction is
thus clearly and correctly to be considered as trifling when
breasted by vessels of a speed of twelve knots.
The above-named spots seemed to me, in ascending the
river as very formidable, but on our return we found our
fears had exaggerated the nature of the danger, and im¬
proved knowledge enabled them to be passed without the
slightest accident.
The lower part of the Euphrates becomes a sluggish,
turbid stream, wide and deep till past Hillah, when it be¬
comes lost in numerous cuts and ultimately overflows the
country, and is difficult to navigate with convenience and
speed ; I therefore think that it should not be adopted as a
route for the steam-vessels, but that they should turn off at
Felugia and pass through a canal to the Tigris, a little
below Bagdad (already open for the purposes of cultivation),
and thence descend the Tigris to Bussorah through a chan¬
nel of far superior character, which can be navigated by
night as well as by day, by vessels drawing nearly four feet
water.
*.The general velocity of the current is never more than four knots in
the high season, and three in the low, in the upper district of the river.
In the lower district, the current is not more than 2 and knots all
the year round.
48
The difficulties of navigating- the Euphrates may be
classed under two heads^ viz.^ moral and physical ; the first
from the state of the tribes and country generally being
without rulers or protection, causing great trouble and
anxiety, but by no means insurmountable, as our experience
of the tribes justifies me in saying that they can be induced
by conviction of their best interests being identical with
the opening of the river, to render valuable and steady aid
where they before showed hostility and suspicion, and thus
cause these moral obstructions to actually melt away before
the progress of events.
The second, or physical difficulties, were indeed formid¬
able to steam navigation in its infancy; but, I may ask,
where is there now difficulty in obtaining boats to run a
speed of 12 to 18 knots and drawing not more than, two
feet water ? Such boats are to be seen every day on the
Thames, and with them the Euphrates can be navigated
from end to end. Skill and experience, and a little outlay
will remove may difficulties which our ignorance of the
localities and set of the current made us regard as very
formidable ; and the fact that a sufficient volume of water
always finds a vent, without anything like the perils of the
iron gates of the Danube, will show that there is no really
serious or insurmountable obstruction to be overcome.
(Signed) C. D. Campbell, I.N,*
W, P. Andrev^, Esq.
* Extract from a Memorandum on the Navigation of the Euphrates
by Captain C. D. Campbell, I. N., addressed to W. P. Andrew, Esq.,
Chairman of the Euphrates Valley Railway Company.
49
(EXTRACT.)
Dear Sib, X^th July^ 1856.
In constructing (writes Captain Charlewood,) your
contemplated Kailway between the Mediterranean and the
Persian Gulf, it occurs to me that one of the very first steps
to be taken, is the navigation of the Euphrates with an
efficient fiotilla of steam-vessels.
By adopting this course a strong moral infiuence will be
obtained over the Arabs, an influence which, indeed, already
exists over the tribes located between Bagdad and Bussorah,
where one steam vessel is still retained by the East India
Company for the purpose of maintaining order.
I also fully anticipate that a passenger and goods traffic
can be commenced with success, without waiting for the
completion of the Bailway between Seleucia and Ja'ber.
At present the river districts receive their supplies through
Bagdad, Damascus, Aleppo, &c., after a costly desert jour¬
ney ; if, therefore, the proposed steam vessels can at once
place depots of the class of goods required, at the difierent
towns on the banks of the river, the low rate at which these
goods could be sold, would surely be beneficial and assist to
pave the way for a free and secure communication between
this hitherto ahnost inaccessible country and the modern
civilized world.
But the question here arises. Is the Euphrates navigable ?
I must regret that it is necessary to discuss this question,
doubts still existing in some persons minds, notwithstanding
the almost unanimous voice of the officers who have taken a
part in the surveys of this great river. I say almost unani¬
mous voice, having been informed that one officer (and
I believe one only) who has examined the Euphrates, has
pronounced it to be unadapted for navigation, principally
upon the strange ground (if true), that at the low season " it
dries up into pools."
£
50
True it no doubt is, that at the low season the Euphrates
does form pools of water ; but, as another officer who has
great practical knowledge of the river, has recently observed
" there is always a considerable stream of water joining these
pools together,^^
General Chesney's expedition (in my connection with
which I have always felt the greatest pride) was located for
at least one year upon the banks of the river, below the
town of Birjick, and about one hundred miles above where it
is proposed to commence the navigation. Here at all events,
we have proof enough that the Euphrates never dries up,
but at the lowest season is a good sized river, rolling
onwards in a considerable volume of water, about thrice the
size and volume of the upper Thames where that river is not
affected by the tide. Considering also the large tributaries
the Euphrates receives in its course downwards below
Birjick, it manifestly must be an error to suppose that it ever
dries up into pools of water.
And now with reference to the least depth of water in the
low season. I will pass over that great authority, General
Chesney, whose favourable opinion must be known to all
interested in this matter, and who carefully sounded the
river as he passed down on a raft during the low season
(although possibly not at the very lowest), and at once
call your attention to the opinion and experience of a
thoroughly practical and able officer, who, with the excep¬
tion of General Chesney, has had far greater opportunities
of obtaining a knowledge of the capabilities of the Eu¬
phrates than any one else. I allude to Commander Campbell
of the Indian navy, who took two steam vessels of unsuitable
dimensions from Bussorah to Beles and back. This officer
had opportunities of deliberately obtaining the depth of
water in the very shallowest places, and he states that
this depth of water in one place (the Hainadee ford in the
51
upper part of the river) was two feet three inches at the
lowest But of this there is some little question. His
first lieutenant, who assisted in obtaining the soundings, on
referring to his notes, finds that the least depth was three
feet. Captain Campbell, however, to ensure against error,
assumes it to be two feet three inches for four months
in the year. He also expresses a decided opinion, that with
proper vessels, the Euphrates is capable of navigation
throughout the year, there being no diificulties equal to the
iron gates upon the Danube. My experience of the river
entirely confirms Captain Campbell's views, and feeling
assured of the correctness of that officer's soundings, I
do not hesitate to state my conviction that there are no
obstacles to the navigation of the Euphrates from Jabber
to the Persian Gulf throughout the year. Before quitting
this subject I may perhaps mention that those persons who
are still doubtful about it, may argue, that although it is
true steam vessels have succeeded in passing up and down
the river, yet it has not been satisfactorily navigated by
them The reply to this argument, I think is clearly un¬
answerable, namely — The lowest depth of water had not
been correctly, ascertained, and consequently the vessels were
in most respects unadapted to the navigation.
Let us imagine an officer being ordered to survey the river
Thames above bridge, and for this purpose he was sup¬
plied with a large steam vessel drawing five feet of water,
and with an average speed of 6J knots an hour. What
should we think of this officer's opinion, if, after the failure
he must of course undergo, he reported that the Thames
above bridge was not navigable, that he found it full of rocks
and shoals, some with only three feet of water over them, and
that the rapids between the bridge piers (¿.e., the rocks)
were terrific, their rate being about seven knots an hour,
whilst his vessel would only steam 6J knots ? And yet
E %
52
this cannot not be very dissimilar from the true position of
those, who having examined the Euphrates in unsuitable
vessels, pronounce it to be unnavigable. The rapids in
that river beyond question have less velocity than the rapids
between the Thames bridge piers.
That the Hainadee and other fords may if necessary be
deepened with a trifling expense, is an after consideration ;
it is clearly desirable in the first instance, to construct
vessels which can navigate the river in its present state
throughout the year, and ultimately it may also be found
judicious to have a larger class of vessel to navigate during
the high season.
An elEcient flotilla must be provided to commence with,
and I have no doubt as to Mr. J. Laird of Birkenhead, who
has the greatest experience in building iron vessels for river
navigation, being able to construct suitable steam vessels for
the Euphrates, and drawing not more than two feet water
when loaded.
It would of course be impracticable to accommodate many
passengers in steam vessels of this class. Captain Campbell's
proposal to tow the passengers in iron flat boats fitted for the
purpose, is therefore, manifestly the most feasible method.
(Signed) E. P. Charlewood,
W. P. Andrew, Esq, Cœptain, M.N.
A steam route being thus established by rail and river
between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf, the
shortest and most rapid means of communication between
the capitals and emporia of the West and East would be at once
open for political and commercial purposes. It being intended
to co-operate with the river and make it available for commerce,
by removing natural obstructions, and introducing steamers
of improved construction, and to supersede it gradually
by the railway as the future sections of the Line are carried
down the valley of the Euphrates, from the right bank
53
opposite Ja'ter Castle to Phumsah, the ancient Thapsacus.
Crossing into Mesopotamia at this suitable place, the railway-
will be carried along the plain between the Euphrates and
Tigris by Anah and Hit to the environs of Bagdad ; and
thence by Babylon and Hillah to the confluence of the
Euphrates and Tigris at Kurnah, where there is sufiicient
depth of water for the largest steamers ; or to Bussorah,
thirty-seven miles nearer the head of the Persian Gulf, where
an extensive trade is already established, and where there
is ample accommodation for square-rigged ships of large
burden.
With the forts and docks of Sebastopol ends the dream of
the conquest of Stamboul by the barbarians. Nevertheless,
a great authority has lately told us, through a most unex¬
pected medium, that ^Hhe war has repelled Russian aggres¬
sion for the time, but .... it does not offer us a permanent
and sufflcient security. It has gained us hreathing time, and
breathing time may be all-important.'' A well known traveller
and explorer in the East has also publicly called attention
to the fact, that " The neutralization of the Caspian Sea, still
a Russian lake, is deemed worthy of consideration by these
unpolitical people who have been suspected of discussing, en
petite comité the subsidizing of Schamyl, the exclusion of
Muscovite influence from Kurdistan, and the re-establish¬
ment of làxiùûx prestige in Persia, the salvation of Khiva,
and the curious, though scarcely the delicate question,—
What are the frontiers of Russia in Central Asia? The
Ar axes, or the Persian Gulf, or the river Indus ?
Early in the present century two great military routes,
according to Sir J. M'Donald, connected Russia with north¬
ern India. The line of least resistance, if we may trust
Eldred Pottinger, lay through Mushed, Herat, Cabul, and
Candahar to Peshawur. The other, passing by Bokhara,
Balkh and the Hindu Kush, was deemed impracticable until
54
General Harlan's Paropamisan march with artillery in 1838.
This subject engrossed the attention of Sterling, Conolly,
Burnes and Abbot, Mouravieff, OrloiF, Zimmermann, and a
host of others. Captain Gr o ver complained that the British
public believed Bokhara to be in Persia. But in 1836 Mr.
M'Neill went to Teheran as minister, and Mr. David Urqu-
hart became secretary of embassy at Constantinople, while
Mr. B. Fraser remained as oriental reporter in Downing-
street. The Eastern question was written up, skirmishers
were thrown out in the daily papers, the monthlies swept the
field in serried files, cavalry and artillery succeeded in pam¬
phlets and reports, the heavy quarterlies acted as support,
and a huge portfolio the reserve ; the Guards' charge was,
the " Progress and Present Position of Russia in the East."
M'Neill, Chesney, and their followers, proved the northern
apothegm—The road to the English lies through Persia."
They showed that an invasion of India was not only pos¬
sible, but probable. To the frigid apathy of 1828, succeeded
the fever fit of 1838, and relapses of Russophobia through
the five subsequent years.
Presently the question of Indian invasion, mà Persia,
chameleon-like, changed its colour. In 1839 Perofsky ad¬
vanced upon Khiva, " to strengthen in that part of Asia,"
said his master's manifesto, " the lawful influence to which
Russia has aright," Honneur oblige I At the same time,
England prepared to push a spider's web beyond the Hindoo
Kush for the purpose of entangling Dost Mahomed. It is
printed, that Baron Brunow then remarked to Sir J. Hob-
house, If we go on at this rate. Sir John, the cossack and
the sepoy will soon meet upon the banks of the Oxus and
that the president replied with a spirit,—^Very probably.
Baron \ but, however much I should regret the collision, I
should have no fear of the result.'
In this year of grace, 1856, the Proteus once more alters
56
shape. The sun of Circassia, Persia, Kurdistan, Khiva and
Affghanistan, has sunk below the political horizon in Eng¬
land. Eussia has pushed on her lines through the dark.
The first parallel, the Caucasus, is, and is to be, purely
Eussian. The second, Persia (allowed in Nasir El din Shah's
day peacefully to occupy the Herat, for which Mahomed
Shah was all but invaded), is also exclusively Eussian. The
third, Aifghanistan, remains; but the head of the Eussian
sap, diplomacy, is firmly planted in the land,"*
Active and efficient measures might have broken up these
parallels, and crushed Trans-Caucasian Eussia, even in the
last campaign. As it is, Eussian conquest has only changed
its direction—foiled on the shores of the Euxine and the
Sea of Azov, she turns to the Caspian and the Sea of Araal.
In Western Europe pageantry may be said to be passing
out of date, for neither is it felt nor is it required. We have
to travel two thousand miles towards the rising sun, to pene¬
trate frontiers almost sealed to the traveller, to plunge into
barbarous tribes, and find ourselves in the heart of an ancient
serfdom, in order to see in full force the old language of
human magnificence. The cavalcade which ten days ago
conducted the Emperor of All the Eussias into his ancient
palace is a fit successor of the old Eoman triumph. In this
country none ever saw its like ; none ever will ; and were
the States of old Europe to become even greater and wealthier
they would neither have the materials nor the sentiment for
such a display. No doubt they who gazed on that rushing
stream of silver and gold and jewels, of the finest horses and
men, the most singular races, and the quaintest costumes in
the world, extending five miles in length, and who also knew
that in all that multitude of observed and observers there was
probably not one who was not ready to die for his youthful
Emperor, could hardly but feel him to be the greatest
* Letter by Eichard T. Burton, Bombay Army.
56
sovereign in tlie world. We shall not question it. For
such titles there is no contention in these days. The subjects
of Queen Victoria count three to one for those of the Czar ;
their wealth, their freedom, their arts, the grandeur of their
traditions, their historical antiquity, are even greater in the
scale of comparison. Nevertheless we need not dispute that
there is no such potentate, so autocratic, so exalted, so mag¬
nificent, as Alexander Nicolaievitsch ; and that he is the only
one of the sons of men whose position entitles him to such a
procession as that described in our columns this day. No
one but he combines with Asiatic magnificence European
policy, organization, and wealth. No one but he holds the
greater part of two continents, and occupies the shores of
two oceans, and two great inland seas. No one but he is
absolute lord of sixty millions of men, still retaining the
hardihood and prowess of ancient barbarism. Nations are
fused into the ranks of his army, and history may explore
the roll of his procession. When he enters the famous
Kremlin, it is a portion of the human race that conducts him;
and the roll of names reminds one of those which heralded
the earliest conquerors of mankind.
Yet the slightest reflection is enough to remind us that,
whatever the meaning and virtue of this pompous cavalcade,
it denotes not unbounded power, paramount destiny, immu¬
table institutions, or anything beyond the common lot of
humanity. Let marshals, and chamberlains, and masters of
ceremonies do as they will, they cannot fix for ever the type
of human events, even those of the most arbitrary and
artificial character. In aU its circumstances, even those
which contribute to its grandeur, the coronation of Alex¬
ander II., is a very different thing from that even of his
father thirty years ago. In that difference we read the law
of progress, to which even imperial institutions must bow.
But what are these circumstances which forced themselves
S7
on the notice, even amid the roar of artillery, the clash of
bells, the braying of trumpets, and the shouts of awestruck
multitudes ? What are the events even more striking than
the wild costume and caparisons of Calmucks and Mingre-
lians, and Circassians, and Imeritians—more impressive than
the now familiar names of Russia's powerful yet devoted
aristocracy? In the unparelleled magnificence of the pre¬
sent ceremonial, in its enormous cost (computed at a million
sterling), we see the growth of that wealth which has laws
of its own, and which changes institutions even while adorn¬
ing them. If this occasion is grander than the last, then it
is so far another thing than the last, and who shall tell what
the next change shall be ? Sixteen hours brought Alexander
with perfect safety and comfort from the shores of the Neva
to the walls of Moscow. Who could have dreamt of that
in the year 1826 ? Yet the railway from St. Petersburg to
Moscow is only the first link in a fretwork which is to cover
the whole empire. By the electric wire some particulars of
the actual coronation reached this city yesterday, and might
have come in less than a minute. In the representatives of
the British press, and the numerous other strangers at
Moscow, we see the forerunners of a vast influx, which
cannot but be beneficial to Russia and to the general in¬
terests of the world. All this portends change, for improve¬
ment is change, though seldom without some sort of
sacrifice. But who could forget, even while gazing on that
spectacle of glory and might, that but one year before
Russia had been compelled to abandon the vast port and
arsenal she had prepared for the extension of her empire
farther into the heart of three continents ? This mighty
pomp, full of traditions of the past, and bursting upon us
like the very climax of imperial splendour, comes indeed at
the moment when Providence has pronounced the doom.
Thus far, and no farther." Henceforth all these nations
58
and tribes will have other employment than to augment their
muster-roll. The list is complete. The work of conquest is
done. In that vast human column we read the working of a
great policy^ but we read it to the end. Such is the true
reading of that gorgeous living inscription. What shall we
read when next the roll is opened ?
" But these are not the thoughts of an envious rival. It
is Russia's best interest to give up a dream which, at the
best, is one of misery, bloodshed, and injustice, and to
escape the inevitable retribution that hunts down the con¬
queror. Russia's own statesmen know this, and they are
preparing to divert and concentrate all those mighty energies
and all those fresh impulses to the internal and social im¬
provement of those sixty millions. Unassailable within her
own frontier, secure of the implicit obedience of her people,
Russia would be without excuse were she still to convert the
strength of all that people and all that soil into the means of
destruction. The war itself has happily brought to light the
want of internal communications, and the disadvantage any
state so conditioned must lie under in comparison with its
wiser and more fortunate neighbours. The few miles of
railway which we have laid on Russian soil are a hint which
she will improve a thousand fold. So all those numerous
tribes that figure in Alexander's long triumphal escort,
though thirty years ago they might be a warlike demonstra¬
tion, to-day only celebrate the triumphs of peace, and ask for
the universal extension of its benefits. They represent how
much is to be done, and what duties devolve on the man
who claims the lordship of so vast a territory, and the obe¬
dience of so many races and tongues. The government that
can muster all these men, to march in one column to one
solemn measure, can do more. It can give them all leisure,
opportunity, and encouragement for those works of peace
59
which even savages and soldiers love better than war, when
the choice is offered them." But wiU it be offered to them ?
Let us not be dazzled by such a picture. Russia may
pause to gather strength, but she is still Russia^ and a
PEACE RATIFIED MAY NOT BE PEACE SECURED." So far
as the present security of the Ottoman Empire is concerned,
no one disputes that the objects of the war have been, to a
certain extent, attained. The neutralisation of the Black
Sea—the demolition of Russian fortresses—the reduction of
Russian armaments, which once existed in dangerous proxi¬
mity to Constantinople—each of these is unquestionably a
concession of no trifling moment. The restoration of Ismail
—that blood-stained trophy of the ambition of Catherine the
Second and of the ferocity of Suwarrow—affords an impor¬
tant security to the Sultan against any further aggressive
movement from Bessarabia. The residence of^ European
Consuls at Sebastopol and Nicholaieff will effectively prevent
the sudden appearance of a Russian fleet in the waters of the
Golden Horn. Of still greater consequence is the admission
of the Ottoman Empire to the dignity of a place in the
general Councils, and a participation in the benefits of the
international Code of Europe. But the question still returns,
whether, even allowing that much has been done, much more
might not easily have been effected—whether all has been
insisted upon, which would certainly have been conceded—
whether the concessions actually obtained are such as under
existing circumstances the Allied Powers were not only
entitled, but bound by the clearest rules of policy to demand.
The late war, like wars of a less recent date, has shown con¬
vincingly that Turkey, formidable in her means of defence
upon the Danube, is essentially weak on her Asiatic frontier,
and that her vulnerable point can be most easily reached,
not by armies menacing Widdin or Silistria, but by armies
defiling through the passes of the Caucasus. On tjfis side.
60
there is still no material guarantee afforded against Russian
aggression. Deprived of its Asiatic provinces, it is plain
that the Ottoman Empire could not for six months together
hold its ground as an independent power, or he prevented
from falling by a general insurrection of the Christian races
under its dominion. The security of Asiatic Turkey should
therefore have formed an indispensable condition of the
Treaty of Paris. As it is, if ever a new cause of quarrel
brings the Muscovite and Ottoman armies once more into
mortal collision, we may be assured that the former, taught
by experience, instead of attempting that front movement
which has again and again been frustrated, will confine their
operations to attacking that flank of their adversaries which
is still left unprotected, and which, under existing circum¬
stances, it would perhaps be impossible successfully to
defend. Let us add to these considerations the consideration
no less important to England, that Persia is still as much
exposed as ever to the march of the Russian forces, and that
Tiflis commands not only the road to Teheran, but the
readiest route to the gates of Herat. If British India was
ever endangered by the ambition and intrigues of the suc¬
cessors of Peter the Great, it may be imagined whether the
peril is less, now that Russia, barred from the further deve¬
lopment of her power in Europe, is compelled to turn her
attention to Central Asia, and to substitute in her visions of
future conquest the Southern Coast of the Caspian for the
Southern Coast of the Euxine Sea—now that, in addition to
her long-standing jealousy of England as her great rival in
the East, she is further excited against this country by the
remembrance of a serious injury, and the shame of an open
defeat. To France and to Austria it is of little consequence,
whether Circassia is free or dependent—whether Georgia is
occupied by the troops of Abdul Medjid or the troops of the
Czar Alexander. But the statesmen of England may yet
61
live to lament the day, on which an invaluable opportunity
was lost of protecting the shores of the Indus by an alliance
with the warlike tribes who command the banks of the Terek,
and of making the ridge of the Caucasus the advanced line
of defence of our empire in Hindostán.
In the sixth number of Dr. Petermann's Mittheilungen
über ivicTdige neue Erforschungen auf dem Gesammtgebiete
der Geographie there is an interesting article on West
Siberia, its physical nature, industrial products, and geogra-
phico-political importance. According to this description
the Siberia of now-a-days, in consequence of the constant
advance of the Russians towards the south, contains regions
that may be called the Italy of Siberia, and which in respect
of climate do in fact equal the Italy of Europe. The terri¬
tory that the Russians have taken possession of during the
last ten years between the Caspian Sea and the Empire of
China, in the direction of our Indian possessions, is more ex¬
tensive than Great Britain, France, Turkey (in Europe), and
all Germany, including Prussia and Austria, put together, and
gives into their hands the keys of the fluvial territory of the
Jaxartes and the Oxus, within the confines of which the
ancient realms of Bockhara and Kokan lie. Petermann's
description of the extent, population, and political impor¬
tance of West Siberia is rendered more graphic by two maps
of the seven gubernia or governments into which it is
divided. The first exhibits the density of the population, by
a systematic gradation of the colouring of the maps ; the
second divides West Siberia, also by its varied colouring, into
four separate regions, which he distinguishes as the regions of
agriculture, of mining, of fishing, or the chase, and of cattle-
breeding, or the region of steppes. To these is added a
fifth region, that of the salt-lakes.
According to a recent letter from Berlin, an expedition is
just now being fitted out in St. Petersburgh for the thorough
62
survey and sounding of the Caspian Sea ; considerable im^
portance is attached to this undertaking in connexion with
the Russian trade with Central Asia, Persia, and the Trans-
caucasian islands. At the instance of the Grand Duke
Constantino, Lieutenant Swaschinzoif was sent in 1854 to
Astrachan for the purpose of making a preliminary survey
and drawing up a plan for a thorough mapping of the sea
and the countries surrounding it. As a fundamental feature
of the plan which he has in consequence submitted to the
Government, and which has met with approval, that all the
hydrographical measurements shall be checked and proved
by astronomical observations. Lieutenant Swaschinzoff has
selected and sent three naval officers to the observatory in
Pultowa, for the purpose of obtaining the necessary instruc¬
tion ; for the astronomical portion of the work, 17,848 silver
roubles have been assigned during the years 1856-7.
Sir Justin Sheil thinks it would be advantageous, in the
present conjuncture of affairs, for the British to take up " a
formidable position at Candahar." He says, that by so
doing we should go far to deter even speculation on the
chances of invasion,^^
Russia," he continues, " may be said to have already
announced that she is even now preparing for her next en¬
counter with Great Britain. Her railways have no other
end than to transport troops. She found that in the last
struggle her weakness lay in the impossibility of collecting
her forces at the proper moment on the distant points of her
empire. This weakness, she has intimated, shall disappear.
But we too, will not remain idle. Our railways in India will
advance as well as those of Russia. Established and pre¬
pared in Candahar, with a railway running the whole length
of the left bank of the Indus, we may await any attempt in
calmness. The Russian grenadier now knows his inferiority
to the English soldier. The Cossack will find a match in
the Hindostanee horseman.
63
The grand impediment to the improvement and consolida¬
tion of the Sultan's dominions is the want of the means of
intercommunication, and no measure would promote more
effectually their good government, prosperity and safety
than that which would lay open to the energy and capital
of the emigrant and merchant of the West the expansive
and fertile plains of the Tigris and the Euphrates.
To England, the possession of an alternative short route to
India is of inestimable value, and more especially when the
actual lineal distance will be reduced by more than a thousand
miles, and where rich fields are offered to the genius of her
statesmen, and the enterprise of her merchants, by giving
back to commerce, through the civilizing 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."*
The traffic by the existing route of the Red Sea must always
be confined to powerful steam vessels, being impeded by
rocky islands, coral reefs and the nature of the prevailing
winds, whereas, in the Persian Gulf, there are no physical
obstructions whatever to its free navigation.
The substitution of land carriage for water carriage, or
rather, the substitution of overland cuts for long sea circuits,"
is, as The Times stated in a leading article some time ago,
the one simple principle of the present undertaking."
The importance of the Euphrates as a second and more
expeditious route to our Indian possessions is daily forcing
itself upon the public mind, and as the whole of Northern
India and Central Asia, from the banks of the Oxus to the
gates of Delhi, will shortly have an outlet to the sea by the
Punjaub, along the valley of the Indus and the Scinde
Railway from Kurrachee to Hydrabad, such a route would
seem to become imperative.
* Expedition to the Euphrates and Tigris, by Major-Generah Chesney,
R.A„ D.C.L , F.R.S , F.R.G.S.
64
It will also settle the mail route to and from Australia—
an element of prosperity of very great importance—for the
passenger trafiSiC from the Australian colonies. Was nearly one
hundred weekly last year, and ere the railway can be com¬
pleted will be five times that number—of whom more than
half will take the shortest route ; while the number of emi¬
grants from this country who will prefer a passage of forty to
over eighty days may also be fairly expected to be very large.*
* To meet the immediate and pressing demands of the Australian colo¬
nies for improved means of intercourse with the mother country, the
European and Australian Royal Mail Company has increased its capital
to £500,000, with power to borrow to the extent of one-fourth. This
increase of capital has been deemed expedient in consequence of the
Company having acceded to a request of the Government to provide a
steamer to carry the mails between Malta and Marseilles, while they
have also resolved to increase the capacity of the vessels intended for
the service between Southampton and Alexandria from 1,600 tons and
350-horse power, as originally proposed, to 2,300 tons and 500-horse
power. They likewise contemplate having five steamers instead of four,
to perform the work between Suez and Sydney. Under these circum¬
stances, their ultimate outlay is estimated as follows :—
Two steamers, European, 2,380 tons, and Columbian, 2,300
tons » £130,000
One steam, Oneida, 2,320 tons 60,000
One steamer, arranging for with Messrs. J. and G. Thomson,
of 2,860 tons, builder's measurement, and 650-horse power,
Clyde measurement 86,750
One steamer, arranging with Messrs. Scott and Co., of 2,320
tons, 500-horse power, Clyde measurement . . . 70,000
One steamer, arranging with Messrs. Lawrence Hill and Co.,
of 2,320 tons, 500-horse power, Clyde measurement . . 70,000
One steamer, for service between Malta and Marseilles, say . 25,000
Expense of refitting three steamers ..... 20,000
Expense of furnishing three new steamers, say , . . 10,000
Six barges for coaling at Aden ...... 6,000
£477,750
If the fifth steamer is built for outside service . . . 70,000
Supposed amount ....... £547,750
The sea stages of the present route to India,'' according
The contract is for five years, at £185,000 per annum, and the con¬
tinuous monthly service between Sydney and\ England is to commence
in January next. The outer passage from Suez to Melbourne is to be
performed in 39 days, and the homeward in 35, under penalties of £50
for a delay of one day, £100 for two days, and a progressive increase of
£50 for every additional day ; such penalties, however, being limited in
the aggregate to the amount of subsidy applicable to the individual
voyage. Under all the circumstances, and especially taking into con¬
sideration the advantages to be hoped from the line being independent,
and, through a part of the route, competitive, there is reason to believe
that the Government have made the best choice in their power. The
Oneida will be the pioneer of the Company's operations in Australia,
and, after her arrival at Melbourne, will be employed between that port
and Suez, running in correspondence with other steam ships on this side
of the isthmus, between Alexandria and Southampton. The Oneida is
to be followed, on the l2th of November, by the Simla, which vessel is
one of the finest in the service of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam
Navigation Company, and has just been chartered for a term of two
years by the European and Australian Company. The European and
the Colombian, two other ships belonging to this Company, are now
fitting out in the Clyde, and will take respectively the mails of the ] 2th
of December and 12th of January. Besides these fine ships, the Com¬
pany are now building at Glasgow the Australasian, of 2,800 tons, 700-
horse power; the Tasmanian and Asian, of 2,300 tons, and 500-horse
power; and the African, of 1,000 tons and 380-horse power ; but these
vessels, it is not expected can be got ready for their stations before
August or September next year. The regular mail service to and from
England and Australia, via Suez, will not commence till February next,
when the first homeward mail may be expected at Southampton The
Company, as it is well known, are bound by enormous penalties for the
due and proper fulfilment of their contract with the Government, and
great interest naturally attaches to the progress of their operations,
the establishment of a rapid and efficient postal communication with
Australia being one of the most important social and commercial neces¬
sities of the day. The Company, since its success in obtaining the
Government subsidy, has shown the most commendable vigour and
energy in preparing and equipping these ships ; and it is to be hoped, not
66
to The Times^ in the leading article before referred to,
exclusive of the trip across the Channel, are two : one
from Marseilles or Trieste to Alexandria ; and the other
from Suez to (Kurrachee) Bombay, or Calcutta. These stages
constitute by far the longest part of the journey, being
5,075 miles performed by steamers ; from which an average
speed of some ten miles an hour is all that can be expected.
The longer again of these two stages is that from Suez to
Hindostán, as it includes a circuit round two sides of the
triangular territory of Arabia. The first object, therefore, is
to get rid of the detour by Aden ; and this is to be done by
carrying the passengers to the mouths of the Orontes, instead
of the mouths of the Nile, and forwarding them across the
Turkish territory to Bussorah, at the head of the Persian
alone in the interest of the public, and of the enormous mercantile and
exchange considerations connected with the question, that success will
follow their efforts. Although the Peninsular and Oriental Company were
the unsuccessful competitors of this contract, we have great satisfaction
in noticing that, on being applied to, the managers at once placed at the
disposition of their more fortunate rivals one of their most celebrated
ships—namely, the Simla—which vessel is to succeed the Oneida. We
understand further, that the European and Australian Compány will be
much indebted to the Peninsular and Oriental Company for facilities
which will be afforded to them at their several coaling stations in Australia
and in the Red Sea ; all these arrangements having been made and per-,
fected long since by the older company, which formerly had steamers on
the station, and which kept up establishments at those places in anticipa¬
tion of being intrusted by the Government with the new contract.
Thus it will be seen, that the European and Australian Company
enters upon its career with every promise of success, to be derived not
exclusively from its own efforts, but generously aided by the experience
and resources of the largest and most successful steamship undertaking
in the world. No jealousy ought to interpose to disturb the good feeling
which seems to exist between these two powerful associations; and the
public interest, as well as the prosperity of both, would seem to be ad¬
vanced by the most cordial co-operation. The route to Australia, by
way of Southampton, Alexandria, and Suez, is practically quicker by 10
days than that by way of Panama.
67
Gulf. The railroad required for this purpose would run
»
along the Euphrates Valley, and its length would not exceed
900 miles whereas, its completion would reduce the dis¬
tance from London to Calcutta by more than one-half,—by
twenty days, in fact, out of thirty-nine ! This project, it is
conceived, could be accomplished in five years' time ; and
the route would then lie through Ostend, Trieste, by the
Mediterranean Seay to the Orontes, thence to Bussorah, and
by the Persian Gulf to Bombay (or rather to Kurrachee),
where it would meet the Indian railroads now actually
commenced, and by that time completed to Calcutta (and
north-west Provinces). We have thus got rid of the Red
Sea circuit, and substituted a land route for 900 miles of the
distance. There remains now the straight run from Bussorah
to Bombay (or Kurrachee), and the circuitous reach from
Trieste to the Orontes, to be commuted for the facilities of
direct railway transit by land."
With reference to the above, it may be remarked that a
great gap in the Austrian railroad system is about to be
filled up. The Austrian Emperor has recently granted to
Ernest Merk, his consul at Hamburg, and to H. D. Linheim,
merchant, a privilege to construct a railroad from Vienna to
Linz, and thence to the Bavarian frontier near Salzburg, on
the one side, and to the Bavarian frontier near Passau on the
other. The railroad, which is as important for Bavaria and
Southern Germany as it is for Austria, will bear the name of
" the Empress Elizabeth Railroad." The length of the rail¬
road, from Vienna to Salzburg, is 43 German miles (about
212 English), and from Linz to Passau 12 German miles (59
English), The period granted for the construction of the
whole railroad is five years. The plans for the line from
Vienna to Salzburg are almost completed. The State, which
makes the grant for 90 years, guarantees 5 2-10 per cent, for
* From sea to sea by railway, according to Gen. Chesney, 660 nailes.
F 2
68
interest and amortization of tlie stares. The grantees intend
to form a joint stock company witt a capital of 65,000,000
florins ; and it is probable that the Austrian Credit Bank
will be concerned in the undertaking. The Vienna-Salzburg
Railroad will, of course, be continued to Munich, and an
uninterrupted railway communication will be opened between
the Atlantic and the Adriatic, and travellers will hardly be
more than 36 hours on the road between Vienna and Paris.
The new railroad will, however, be of infinitely more im¬
portance to the mercantile than to the travelling world, and
this is why far more attention is paid by foreigners to this
than to any other Austrian railroad. It is foreseen that the
great mercantile road between Paris and Vienna must soon
extend to the coasts of the Blach Sea and to the capital of the
east ( Constantinople). It is stated that a most careful calcula:'
tion shows that there is a movement o/2,000,000 travellers and
16,0i)0,000 cwt. of goods in the valley of the Danube in the
course of the year, and a total receipt of 8,500,000 florins.
This revenue alone would give a clear dividend of 8| percent,
on the capital, after all expenses had been deducted.
A letter from Pesth, in a recent number of the Augsburg
Gazette, says :—" A company of rich landowners of Hun¬
gary proposes to prolong the railway from Vienna to Raab
as far as Belgrade, in Servia, and has already made the
necessary applications on the subject to the authorities. An
Anglo-French company has undertaken, on the other hand,
to construct a line from Constantinople to Belgrade, and has
engaged for it 120 French workmen, who, with their families,
are to take up their residence in Roumelia, This double
line will place the capital of the Ottoman Empire in direct
communication with Austria, Germany, and all Europe.
The works are to be commenced simultaneously at the two
extremities, Raab and Constantinople."*
* Eecent letters from Constantinople state, that the concession of the
line from Belgrade to the Turkish capital has not as yet been granted.
69
Engineers have ascertained that a railroad may be carried
from Belgrade up the Morava Valley, and thence down the
Vardai to Salónica, with less difficulty than between Vienna
and Trieste.
Salónica, already a Lloyd's packet station, and Trieste may
become the Venice and Genoa of the Middle Ages. Each
place is backed by an extensive country.
Salónica is but half the distance to Seleucia of Trieste,
or Marseilles. This line is far easier than the one via
Constantinople, and Asia Minor. This shorter line will be
advantageous to England, Turkey, and Austria, and be of
great political advantage to the Porte, whilst to Austria, it
secures Hungary, and the other eastern provinces an outlet
by the Mediterranean.
Railroads will facilitate the colonization of Germans in
Hungary, by securing for them employment.
The annual expenditure of the State will be reduced by
many millions by companies raising the capital, instead of
the Government.
Private property will be increased by thus pouring in
capital, and even paper currency will become more secure.
Such investment of British capital would carry with it the
approval and support of our own Government, and make
rebellion less to be feared, both in Hungary and in Italy.
On the other hand, some prejudice exists in Austria,
against the employment of foreign capital in an amalgamated
railroad. But this is already being overcome, and railways
in the Austrian States are now treated as were the railroads
of France in 1848.
General Chesney states that Prince Metternich was favour¬
ably disposed regarding his former plans of establishing steam
communication on the Euphrates so far back as 1839 and
1840, offering to meet the supposed Indian line by steamers
from Trieste to Scanderoon.
It only requires 75 miles of railway to complete the
70
through, line from London via Ostend to Trieste. This
portion of the line is rapidly approaching completion, and
next year wiU place London in railway communication with
Trieste.
For the conveyance of troops, passengers, mails, &c. from
England viâ Egypt to the Punjaub and upper India, to the
north-west of Delhi, the route by Kurrachee and the Indus
is shorter by more than 2,700 miles than by Calcutta and the
Ganges, and when the Euphrates valley route is established,
the distance between London and Lahore or Delhi by the
Indus, will be more than 3,700 miles shorter than viâ Suez
and Calcutta. The distance from London to Lahore being,
viâ Egypt, Calcutta, and the Gauges , . 9,322 miles.
Vià Egypt, Kurrachee, and the Indus . 6,615
Vid the Euphrates, Kurrachee, and the Indus 5,595
By the arrangements now proposed, India would be
reached in fifteen or sixteen days, or in about half the
time now occupied, viz.—
Miles.
Days.
Hours.
London to Trieste by raü
1300
2
0
Trieste to Seleucia by steamer . .
1600
6
12
Seleucia to Ja'ber Castle by railway .
100
0
3
Ja'ber Castle to Bussorab by steamer .
715
3
3
Bussorah to Kurrachee by steamer . .
1000
4
0
4715
15
18*
Even if travellers to Bombay were taken round by Kurrachee
they would reach the former port in two or three days more, or
17J days ; but by a direct line from Bussorah their journey
will be accomplished in fifteen to sixteen days—saving nearly
one-half in time, and when the Indus valley line of railway
meets that of the Ganges, the Calcutta traveller will reach
* When the railroad is completed from Seleucia to Bussorah, the time
occupied will be 13 days 18 hours.
>1
his destination in eighteen or twenty days^ or in about half
the time now occupied.
The reports from the officers commanding Her Majesty's
ships on the coast of Syria, speak in the most encouraging
terms of the site and advantages of the bay of Antioch,
and of the superior quality of the water that is obtainable in
abundance at the ancient Posidium. The ancient port of
Seleucia ought to require no additional proofs of its import¬
ance and capabilities, or of what it might yet become by
a very small outlay in clearing away the entrance ; as for
beauty of situsttion, " thepassageby the mouth of the Orontes,"
say the above reports, possesses a grandeur rarely equalled
even in this beautiful part of the country. Mount Cassius
rising abruptly from the sea, with its bold rocky pinnacle
towering above the clouds." ♦
General Chesney when proceeding with the expedition,
under his command, bore down upon the coast of Syria, in
order that they might disembark on the very point which
formed the ancient port of Antioch. He sought an entrance
at that point in preference to all other places whereby to
proceed to Beir, on the Euphrates. All the reports state
that the bay of Antioch is very spacious, free from rocks,
and well sheltered on every side, with the exception of the
south-east, where in the distant horizon rises the lofty
island of Cyprus. The anchorage in the bay is, however,
good, and the water deep almost to the very beach. Captain
Vansittart's report, speaks of the water at Posidium as the
best on the coast, and states that the timber for ship and other
building purposes, found in the neighbouring mountains,
and beyond the ancient Seleucia, is very abundant, and well
adapted to meet all such demands. This was the spot selected
by Her Majesty's ship, the Columbine, on the 3rd of April,
1835, followed by the George Canning under all sail, and
which led [the way from the offing towards the anchorage,
for the disembarkation of the party destined to proceed on
7^
the expedition to the Euphrates. General Chesney goes on
to say—To the south, as we proceeded, was the lofty Jehel
el Akrab (Mount Cassius), rising 5,318 feet above the sea,
with its abutments extending to Antioch. To the north the
Beilan range (5,337 feet), well stocked with forest trees, chiefly
oak, walnut, and fir, and in front the broad expanse of the bay,
backed by the hills of Antioch, Mount S. Symeon, or Ben-
Kilisheh, covered with myrtle, bay, and arbutus, altogether
forming a striking and magnificent panorama."
It may be interesting to mention that this was the
point fixed upon by Bonaparte when he proposed to
proceed to the Euphrates — when in 1811 he had pre¬
pared a fleet at Toulon which was to have disem¬
barked a large force in this bay, — and that M. Vincent
Germaine was waiting at Antioch for the expected troops,
which had, however, in the meantime, been marched to
Russia, instead of, as was contemplated, taking the route
from Suediah to India. The town of Marash was to have
been the centre of Napoleon's operations, on account, prob¬
ably, of the fine forests near that place ; but as the adjacent
Beilan mountains would have furnished plenty of fine timber
close at hand, it is not likely that this great General would
have proceeded to Marash on learning that 110 miles through
Antioch and Aleppo would have placed him at Beles, 200
miles lower down the river. There is reason to presume that
Napoleon meant to carry his troops down the river to
Bus sor ah, but the Russian campaign put an end to this.
The bay of Antioch extends between the Ras el Khanzir
and Cape Posidium, a distance from point to point of about
eighteen^ or twenty miles. The valley of Suediah, the an¬
cient Seleucia, occupies the hollow or centre of the bay, be¬
ginning at the base of Mount Cassius, (a picturesque moun¬
tain which tapers to the height of 6,400 feet*) and terminating
* 5318 feet is believed to be the exact height.
7S
at the old port and city of Seleucia, where Mount Rhossus
reaches the sea. It is in long. 36^, and includes the beautiful
valley of the Lower Orontes, which, after collecting the
water firom the Turcoman plains, here falls into the Me¬
diterranean.
Posidium of Soldini,—In the angle formed by the shore
and Mount Cassius, stood formerly an important city, believed
to be the Posidium of the Romans, the Soldini of the Saracens,
from an Arabic word signifying power," " royal," &c. ;
and as in the plain on the other side, here also ancient tumuli
are to be seen, commonly called the Tombs of the Kings or
Giants. It is probable that this formed a suburb of the same
city. Moreover, close at hand, there is a small lake which
some imagine to be the remains of a harbour, which, from
neglect, has been gradually filling up, and is now shut out
from the sea by the shore. Beneath Mount Cassius, where
the road leads up to the mountain pass, are some leech ponds,
and the remains of an acqueduct or water course, which
having been allowed to go to ruin, the water which still flows
out of an adjacent rock, and is as clear as crystal, cool and
delicious, escapes, and mingling with other springs^ floods
the low ground between it and the sea, where, it is not im¬
probable, there was once a harbour in front of the town, yet
within the outer wall, and corresponding in position to that
of the old port which may still be seen. This spot is now
overgrown with canes and rushes, which constitute an
article of commerce, quantities thereof being exported an¬
nually for the manufacture of baskets.
" The casual observer might suppose that this is an in¬
salubrious marsh ; but as the water is never stagnant, it
never becomes a source of malaria. The ground adjacent is
also well cultivated, the soil is rich and productive, and the'
inhabitants of the viUage (which is now called Karajak)
enjoy excellent health.
74
" The shore of Suédiah is composed of a firm sand^ like
that of Worthing^ and there is good and safe anchorage
in the eixtire length for more than two miles out. There are
no sunken rocks, and the officers of the Spartan^ the Har-
lequiuy and others in H.M. service who have been there, all
speak well of it, and infinitely prefer it to Beyrout and other
stations on the Syrian coast. On one occasion the Pacha of
Egypt's fleet rode out the gales of an entire winter there,
under the shelter of Mount Cassius and the promontory of
Possite, or Cape Posidium.
The men-of-war find it most convenient to anchor from
half a mile to a mile oflT shore, between the embouchure of
the river and a small white building with a cupola, which is
seen near the beach to the north. In a line with these marks,
some distance inland, wül be observed a cluster of poplars
which mark the situation of the British Vice Consulate, and
beyond those on an eminence, the chateau Buaicy, the resi¬
dence of Dr. Holt Yates. A ship of the line might ride
there securely, she would have plenty of sea room and
nothing to fear in summer, and in winter would be better oflF
than at Beyrout or any other place between Mount Cassius
and Alexandria ; for if it came on to blow hard, she might
either take shelter, like the Pacha's fleet, under Mount
Cassius, or run for the Gulf of Iskenderoon or Cyprus, as
circumstances directed. But all with whom we have com¬
municated agree that the anchorage is good, and that they
prefer riding there to Beyrout. Even while I now write,
we have accounts of shipwrecks and the loss of several lives
at Beyrout, further illustrating the importance of, if possible,
finding some harbour of refuge on this coast.
I am not aware that the Bay of Antioch has ever been
surveyed. If not, it certainly should be, as the time may
come when British ships of war, as well as merchantmen,
may be called on to anchor there, and make the best they
can of it."
75
" The old port^ or harbour of Seleucia^ too, should be well
examined. If it depended upon Englishmen it would doubt¬
less be cleared out and restored, but Turks have neither
money nor enterprise. Its basin is capacious ; it is enclosed
by thick and lofty walls, and well defended both by nature
and art. The city is in ruins ; the mouth of the harbour is
obstructed by sand from the sea, and the interior is over¬
grown with vegetation, among which are springs of running
water, as on the site of what I believe to have been the har¬
bour of Posidium above mentioned. The entrance was
formerly defended by massive towers, the greater part of
which remain ; and there are two piers or jetties, built of
enormous stones from twenty to twenty-five feet, by five feet
wide, and five feet deep. It was at this harbour that St.
Paul embarked for Cyprus, after leaving Antioch, see ActSy
xiii., 4. There are few things that cannot be accom¬
plished in modern times, when the importance of the object
justifies the expenses ; and were Suediah in the hands of
Europeans, it would, I feel assured, be restored, and another
harbour would perhaps also be made at or near the mouth of
the Orontes for steamers and smaller craft navigating the
river ; for we must not overlook the fact that the day will
come (and is probably not distant) when Suediah will again
become the high road to Persia and India, in spite of all
that was said by those who preferred the route by Egypt
and the Red Sea. Colonel Chesney, and Lieutenants Lynch,
Campbell, and others, subsequently clearly demonstrated the
practicability of navigating the Euphrates. The obstacles
which exist, so far from being insurmountable, would only
be named by a great nation because it might not be con¬
venient to undertake the work.
" A canal between the Orontes and the Euphrates might
soon be cut, or the transit be completed by a railway, for the
distance is only fifty miles for the former, the ground is level.
76
and there are many tributary streams on the line which might
be turned to account. As it is, many travellers proceed by
this, the shortest route to Mossul and Nineveh ; and we are
visited by officers on leave from India, who prefer coming
by Bagdad and Aleppo."
Already one English factory has been built at Suediah,
and others of our countrymen have evinced a disposition to
settle there, on account of the salubrity of the climate.
" That there was once a harbour of some kind at the mouth
of the Orontes we know from this, that when Godfrey de
Bouillon and Tancred were besieging Antioch, they were
supplied with stores and provisions by the Pisans, who
landed the same at the port of Antioch, and this was long
after the destruction of the old port of Seleucia {see Milman's
History of the Crusaders^ If, then, there was formerly
a harbour there, why should there not be again ?"
" Moreover, if greater facilities were afforded for landing mer¬
chandise, fresh branches of commerce would spring up, espe¬
cially if Europeans settled in the country; to wit, the growing
of wool and the breeding of cattle, the exportation of butter
and cheese, the cultivation of opium, scammony, senna, jalap,
castor oil, rhubarb, galls, and other medicinal plants, all in¬
digenous to the land; cotton too, and rice, sugar, indigo,
flax, and even the tea plant, if the secret of preparing it
afterwards could only be got at—^not to mention the proba¬
bility of a new market for English cutlery, hosiery, Man¬
chester prints, and other mannfactured articles.
" The steeps of Mount Eossius are covered with the cele¬
brated Syrian oaks, pines, magnificent box, walnut, sycamore,
and other forest trees. Mohamed Ali built the greater part
of his ships of war of the oaks grown here, and when Capt.
Symonds of the Spartan came to Suediah (in October, 1847),
he took away specimens of them, as he thought the subject
worthy of attention. Any one is at liberty to cut them, and
77
they are brought away for the expense of removing, and I
believe the exclusive right of hewing timber in these forests
might be purchased or farmed of the government by paying
an annual rental were any objection started to cutting timber
on a large scale. There is great facility for removing the
trees when felled, and they would be best shipped at Arsoos."
The importance of Suediah in a political and commercial
point of view, cannot be doubted. Situated at the very gates
of Asia Minor, in a fine bay at the mouth of a large river
which communicates with an extensive fertile country
abounding in silk, grain and fruits, flocks and herds, shel¬
tered by lofty mountains which are well wooded, and show
indications of coal, copper, and iron ores, with plenty of
lime and stone for building, an abundance of running water,
and a fine climate. It attracted the notice of the ancient
Romans who, as long as they held possession of Syria, made
Antioch the seat of Government. The ancients well knew
the value of its position, for it was the great highway be¬
tween Europe and Asia ; then, as now, it commanded the
road to the northern and western nations. So strongly was
it fortified by nature, that its ruler held as it were the key,
and without his permission none could pass the gates ; whilst
those who could approach it from the east must first traverse
a parched and sandy wilderness. On the south it was de¬
fended by the sea, and judging from the stupendous ruins
which we now behold, it was inhabited by a people of no
ordinary talent *; their maritime defences were equal to those
inland ; their fortifications were carried over the tops of
mountains ; we find watch towers at intervals along the
coast, and although little is known of Suediah in the days of
the Seleucidoe, and the cause of their final overthrow, we see
enough to convince us that it contained everything essential
to a great maritime and commercial people. That they were
wealthy and prosperous during a long series of years, appears
78
from an inspection of their works^ to wit^ the building of
their city, which it is said at one period contained no less
than 600,000 persons—its beautiful ports and mole, and its
still more astonishing tunnel, which extends more than a
mile in length along the heights, and collects and conveys
the water from the mountains to the sea,—a work which is
only equalled by that of Mr, Brunei, beneath the Thames
in London : the catacombs, also, causeways, castles excava¬
tions, and numerous other objects.
"Whether their prosperity excited the cupidity of the
Kornaus, or whether they fell from other causes, history is
silent. But one thing is certain, Suediah has been regarded
in every age as the key of Syria, which, as I have stated,
could only be entered by one of the three passes of Mount
Amanus. And the crusaders, it is well known, had to fight
their way through them and to subdue the city of Antioch
before they could approach the Holy Land. For they had
no ships, and in the present day, none but a superior mari¬
time power could hope to enter by any other route. It was
to this point that Alexander marched to meet the host of
Darius. It was here, too, that the emperor Aurelian en¬
countered the armies of Queen Zenobia ; and we may rest
assured that if ever Syria is conquered it will be by this same
route and no other. Those, therefore, who would prevent
it will do well not to lose sight of Suediah and Antioch.
They are no longer fortified as they once were, but the
localities remain the same. Many of the munitions of war
are close at hand, and under the direction of England or
France this district might soon be made to form an im¬
passable barrier. Perhaps I ought not to allude to these
matters. But it is impossible for a person who is familiar
with these localities to pass them over in silence. We live
in stirring times and witness great events. All imagine that
we are on the eve of important changes, and that the tide is
;
79
running in that direction. Who can observe the signs of thè
times with indifference ? As then a child may puzzle a phi¬
losopher, so may an individual gifted with common sense and
ordinary powers of observation let fall a hint which abler
and more experienced persons may turn to advantage. I
have resided at Suédiah three years, and (d.v.) shall return
to it. I know it well, and the character of its people, and
it has always struck me that if it be really an object of policy
to sustain the Turks and uphold the integrity of the Ottoman
empire, and, as seems now to be the case, to prevent the ag¬
gression of others, means should be taken to support this very
important district.
In Syria the merchants are often put to inconvenience
for want of the floating medium. There is little coin because
there are not enough people to cultivate the soil ; and large
districts lie dormant which might easily be made to bring
forth a hundred fold. There are mines too, but they are not
worked, and no encouragenient is given to labour. Just as
it was formerly in Egypt ; but what a change took place in
that . country when Mohamed Ali encouraged European
settlers ! Why does not the sultan imitate his example in
regard to Syria and Asia Minor." And if ^^it were known
that there was a mutual understanding and treaty between
the Porte and their own government, confidence would be
established, and numbers would immediately flock thither."
^^The hands of the Porte would thereby be strengthened,
for large .tracts of land would be thrown into cultivation, the
exports and imports would increase, and a large revenue
would flow into their coffers."
If I mistake not, it is for the promotion of commerce as
well as the safety of our ships, that surveys are taken of the
coasts and ports of the Levant. Surely, then, it is legitimate
in us to encourage our countrymen to settle where they can
do so with advantage to themselves and the government of
80
the land they select; especially when, as in the present case,
the said government may he said to depend upon the
active co-operation of England for its existence, and ought
to increase her resources by all the means in her power :
how else is she to repel the aggressions of her enemies and
maintain her position as a nation ?
" Within a few years Beyrout and Alexandria have become
prosperous, entirely in consequence of European enterprise.
Civilisation is progressing, thanks to the powerful influence
of steam, which induces many to lay aside their ancient pre¬
judices. But Turks have not yet learnt to encourage their
benefactors to settle amongst them, because they are of a
diflerent religion, otherwise the means would speedily be
found for restoring many of their ancient ports in Asia Minor,
as well as in Syria. Boats would again appear on the
Orontes and introduce the arts of civilised life to the cities
of the interior, Homs, Hannah, Damascus, Antioch and
Aleppo, the plains of Messopotamia would again flourish, new
cities would spring up, and the Ottoman empire would be¬
come the richest in the world."
A more healthy place than Suediah it would, perhaps, be
difficult to find. There are no malignant fevers ; consump¬
tion, asthma, and bronchites are unknown. We never see
sickly children, or paralytics. Let the weather be what it
may, a cough is seldom heard, and a cold rarely lasts more
than twenty-four hours. Death is really an event in Suediah,
except from accident or age ; for we are not often visited
with epidemics ; and we breathe a pure and invigorating
atmosphere ; we have no heavy dews or fogs ; the tempera¬
ture is equable, neither too hot nor too cold. The air is
balmy and agreeable ; the sirocco is not felt, as at Malta,
Egypt, and other parts of the Mediterranean, consequently,
our spirits are always good. In the summer there is gene¬
rally a refreshing breeze from the sea, and the nights are
81
beautiful ; and though there are fresh gales in winter, the
wind is never cutting or irritating, and we very rarely see
snow in the plains. We are too near the mountains to feel
the effects of the snow, which collects on their lofty peaks.
We always know what the weather is to be, and can depend
upon it, and dress accordingly, for it .is remarkable with what
precision the seasons return. We have the early and the latter
rains, as mentioned in Scripture ; but we can calculate
almost to an hour when the change is to take place. I have
kept the register of the temperature and atmospheric
changes, and I can truly say, that the climate fully justifies
the practice of the ancient Greek and Roman physicians in
sendmg their consumptive patients to Suediah ; and if the
advantages to be derived there were more extensively known,
it would soon be resorted to by iuvalids as formerly."
The people are well disposed, industrious, civil and
friendly. They belong chiefly to the Antioch Greek, or
Armenian Church. There are about twenty Turkish fami¬
lies, some Ansayrees, from the mountains ; but no Roman
Catholics or Jews. We walk out at all hours alone and
unarmed, and when we go to bed at night, we do not
think it necessary to fasten either windows or doors : yet
we have neither police, workhouses, nor soldiers ; not even
a beadle to frighten the boys into good behaviour. Still
we have no beggars, and no one can say that the people
are oppressed ; they have few taxes, have always enough
to eat, and appear contented and happy The necessaries of
life are abundant and cheap ; the roads are good, and for
the most part overshadowed with hedges of pomegranates,
myrtles, and other evergreens ; also the fig, the wild grape,
poplar, plane tree, the scented willow, clematis, convol¬
vulus, and other creepers ; the wild verbena, liquorice,
thistles, roses, squills, and a variety of elegant little flowers
decorate the banks ; we grow oranges, lemons, apricots,
o
82
peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, strawberries, the Indian
medlar, apples, pears, the randigan or egg plant, potatoes,
and a great variety of other plants, shrubs, and vegetables ;
asparagus and celery grow wild. There is a fine field for the
sportsman, the naturalist, the historian, the antiquarian, and
the astronomer.
"We lead a patriarchal life which I would not change for
all the luxuries and gaieties of Europe.
The habits of the people are simple, for they have not
yet been corrupted by the inhabitants of cities. A spirit
of enquiry has lately sprung up among the Christians.
They evince a desire for improvement, but they have no
teachers or schools which are worthy of the name. The
priests permit the circulation of the Bible, but few can
read or write their own language.
" They work from sunrise to sunset for two piastres (five-
pence), most of them have a little farm or garden, cultivate
the mulberry, and rear silk worms, reeling off the silk in the
season, that constitutes the great wealth of the country. The
goats, sheep, and cattle are driven out to pasture in the
morning and home again in the evening; and the sheep
follow their pastor and come at the sound of their names,
and it is delightful as the purple shadows of the declining sun
fall upon the mountain sides, to hear the peaceful tinkling of
the sheep's-bell as they wind their measured way through
the dells and along the shaded lanes, and crop the herbage
on their banks. Early marriages are encouraged, and few
that are married are without families."
A father delights to have his children and grand¬
children under his roof, and at his death his elder brother
is regarded as the patriarch of the house, and he is looked
up to as such. Parental authority is absolute : a son never
questions the wiU or opinion of his father, and great reverence
is paid to age, all rising on the approach of an old man, and
83
conducting him to the seat of honour. The coat of many
colours presented to Joseph is still the national costume, and
we are continually reminded of the days of Abraham, of
Isaac, and of Jacob."*
The advantages of the port of Seleucia were placed before
Government by Captain, now Major General Chesney, in
1832, (see pp. 63 and 64 of Euphrates Reports), and were
subsequently advocated by that competent authority. Captain
Allen, R.N. According to the latter ofheer, it is capable
of being made one of the finest harbours in the world. Both
these officers considered that from £20,000 to £30,000 would
be sufficient to clear out the greater part of the ancient basin,
and repair the massive works of the Romans, many portions
of which require merely to be relieved from the mud depo¬
sited upon them. The importance of Seleucia will become
apparent, when it is borne in mind, that there is no other
port for commerce along the whole coast of Syria better than
the open roadstead of Beyrout, or the pestilential harbour of
Alexandretta. Seleucia is not only capable of being made a
most efficient port, but, by a moderate additional outlay, the
existing great Mole might be extended so as to form a harboiir
of refiige, large enough to protect at one time the entire mer¬
cantile navy of England.
Antioch is eighteen miles from Seleucia, and stands in the
Valley of the Orontes, which here forms a fertile plain. From
the beauty of the scenery, the abundance and the cheapness
of the necessaries of life, and the salubrity of the climate,
arrangements were at one time in contemplation for Sana-
taria and other establishments, for the benefit of invalids,
especially Indian officers and their families.
Aleppo is forty-two miles from Antioch, contains a popu¬
lation of about 90,000, is one of the most opulent and best-
* Tide Letter by Dr. Holt Yates in Nautical Magazine.—Feb., 1851.
G 2
84
built cities in Syria^ and tbe chief emporium for the trade
of the country.
Ja'ber Castle^ thirty-nine* miles distant from Aleppo, is on
the Euphrates, and offers every facility for the construction
of docks.
The Euphrates gives a water communication with Syria,
Asia Minor, and Asia Major, (their central parts,) also the
South of Persia and Kurdistan."
The Pachalic of Bagdad produces (and the greater part
along the Euphrates), wheat, barley, Indian corn, rice, millet,
honey, dates in great quantity, and other fruits, wine (from
Kerkook and the banks of the Tigris), cotton, some silk,
tobacco, gall-nuts, and wool in great quantity, from the
different Arab tribes, each of which has extensive flocks ;
also ambergris, sal ammoniac, leather, buffalo hides, oil
of naphtha, bitumen, saltpetre, salt, borax, and glass,
made at Bagdad ; where are manufactured coarse coloured
cottons, and flne handkerchiefs of silk and cotton for the
Arabs.
Bagdad was the centre of a considerable caravan com¬
merce previous to the late disturbances, when it sent annually
even as far as Erzeroum, 2,000 mule loads of pearls, silk,
cotton, stuffs, shawls, coffee, gall-nuts, indigo, &c., and still
more to Mosul, Diarbekir, Orfa, &c-, and to Aleppo even at
this moment, from S to 6,000 animals yearly ; but 80 years
ago, this number was said to be 50,000.
Bagdad, from its matchless situation, would, with the
slightest fostering care, become a grand centre of English,
Arab, Persian and Eastern commerce ; and nothing is want¬
ing to distribute it widely, and increase it greatly, but the
establishment of steam.
* By railway, the entire distance from Seleucia to Ja'ber Castle is
estimated at 80 miles.
85
The imports to Bagdad are from the Persian Gulf: pearls
and fish.
" From Persia: Silk, woollens (coarse), saffron, sulphur,
nitre, dried fruits, shawls of Cashmere, Kerman and Yesd :
stuffs, cotton, gum-rahabat, fur skins, tobacco and pipe sticks.
From India : Muslins, porcelain, indigo from Bengal,
Guzerat, and^ahor ; cottons, pepper, spices, cinnamon, nut¬
megs, Java and other sugars ; musk, cardamoms, cotton and
silk from the coast of Coromandel, aloes, camphor, &c.
From Turkey : Soap, cotton, linen, silks, embroidered
stuffs, opium, and copper, about 450 tons annually.
" From Arabia : Incense, myrrh, galbanum, resins, gums
and other precious drugs, also Mocha coffee, in quantity
across the Peninsula, to go on to Constantinople and else¬
where.
From Europe, Egypt, &c. : (A part across the Desert
from Damascus, but chiefly by way of Aleppo.) Bagdad
receives cotton twist, grey cloths, and prints, grey calicos,
long-cloths, Greek-stripes, power loom sheetings, jaconets,
cotton handkerchiefs (all English), fine French or German
cloths ; cutlery, lead, tin, and St. Domingo coffee, also indigo
and cochineal, velvets, satins, taffetas, mercury and drugs.
The chief outlets from Bagdad as a depot are to Constan¬
tinople :—Cashmere shawls, aloes, ambergris, musk, pearls,
coffee, tobacco, spices, pipe sticks, and Indian muslins.
" To Syria and Anatolia : Are forwarded silk, tobacco,
shawls, gall nuts, coffee, stuffs, and drugs.
" To Persia : Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, Euro¬
pean stuffs, brought over the Desert from Aleppo and Da¬
mascus : also Aleppo cloths, coral, paper, jewellery, cochi¬
neal and indigo.
To Arabia and India : Silver, gold, copper, dates,
horses, and oil of naphtha for painting.
" Thus it appears that imports continue to a considerable
86
extent, notwithstanding all the difSculties and distance by
which they are transported with caravans, and as there are
pretty ample returns, it is evident that if ever the noble
stream should be used instead of a caravan transport, there
will be an increase and consumption proportionate to the
comparative cheapness of the supplies, and the great facilities
offered for placing depots, by water, at every convenient
spot : this done, a few years will most likely see the Arab's
wants increased to something like those of other people ; and
in making larger purchases, they will discover how to reim¬
burse the expense, by cultivating cotton, grain, wool, &c.,
more extensively than they now do."
" It is worthy of the consideration of Government, whether
the proposed attempt should not be made, not only with a
view to Mesopotamia chiefly, but the trade of Persia, now
carried from Bushire to Erzeroum, more than 3,000 miles ;
whereas by attending to Erzeroum as one great centre, de¬
pendent on Trebizond and the inlets of the Euphrates and
Karoon, we shall increase it prodigiously ; and command the
profits, which if neglected will flow into the coffers at Tiflis :
where they are building extensive manufactories expressly
to force goods into Persia, and attract its trade towards
Russia."
^^With this Power and her persevering endeavours to
grasp at commerce, we can also compete, as regards Persia,
by another line, viz., that of the Indus."*
The official returns of the existing commerce of Mesopo¬
tamia demonstrate that there is a prodigious and most
promising field for investment. In the statistics of the
ancient and modern commerce of these countries, contained
in the second volume of General Chesney's work on the
Euphrates Expedition, will be found ample materials for
* Report of Captain Chesney, in 1832, addressed to Sir Stratford
Canning, G.C.B., Ambassador at Constantinople.
87
the satisfaction of our mercliants, as a certain, rapid and
extensive increase of trade.*
The following very recent traffic returns, prepared on the
post, are also well worthy of attention.
Dear Sir, Aleppo, l%th February, 1856.
I have the pleasure to acknowledge the receipt of
your esteemed letter of the 10th ult., to hand on the 5th
inst., the contents of which I duly note.
I have not yet quite finished the account of the trade and
navigation of the North of Syria, as I am obliged to collect
the information from my correspondents in different places,
there being no regular accounts kept by the Custom House
or any other Government authority, I have now, however,
managed to collect nearly all the necessary details, which I
am now engaged in arranging. And as I expect to leave this
for England in ten or twelve days hence, I will have much
pleasure in handing you over all the papers on my arrival in
London, which I expect will be about the end of March.
I feel the greatest interest in the success of the scheme for
opening up the Euphrates Valley, which will be of immense
importance to this country, and cannot fail to be remunera¬
tive, as the trade of the North of Syria is increasing rapidly;
and what it may amount to with regular and cheap commu-
cation with the coast is hardly possible to be calculated, as
the Railway will pass through a large extent of country with
as rich a soil as is to be found in any part of the globe, and
now lying utterly waste for want of any means of disposing
of the produce.
The enclosed paper will show you an approximate calcula¬
tion of the trade of Alexandretta during the past year, and
enable you to form some idea of what might be the amount
of business done, were the resources of the country properly
• Pp. 674^636, Vol. II., of the Expedition to Euphrates and Tigris,
by General Chesney,
88
drawn out by means of easy communication. At present there
are no roads adapted to wheel carriages whatever in this country^
and the only means of transporting goods is by camels.
Expecting the pleasure of seeing you soon in London^
I remain, &c., &c.,
W, P. Andrew, Esq. (Signed) John Kennedy.
20,480 Bales, Manufactures, per bale, £20 0=£409,600 0
878 Barrels, Sugar, per barrel, 5 0= 4,390 0
534 Bags, Coffee, per bag, 4 10— 2,403 0
325 „ Pepperand Pimento, per bag, 3 10= 1,137 10
97 Cases, Cochineal, per case, 30 0= 2,910 0
48 „ Indigo, per case, 100 0= 4,800 0
1,231 Barrels, Drysalteries, per barrel, 3 0= 3,693 0
5,252 Packages, Sundries, 3 0= 15,756 0
£444,689 10
The above is a correct list of imports from the United
Kingdom. I have no means of ascertaining the French,
Italian, and coasting trade, but calculate from the best infor¬
mation that the trade with England in imports, is fully one-
third of thé whole. This will make the value of imports
last year to exceed one and a quarter million pounds sterling.
Approximative note of goods exported from Alexandretta
in 1855.
120,000
Quarters, Wheat,
£2 0 =
£240,000
50,000
„ Barley,
15 =
62,500
25,000
„ Millet,
15 =
31,250
5,000
Tons, Sesame Seed,
12 0 =
60,000
750
,, Galls,
70 0 =
52,500
1,000
„ Cotton,
30 0 =
30,000
2,000
„ Wool,
40 0 =
80,000
Flour
150,000
Allow for
Madder Root, Scammony, Yellow
Berries,
Gums, Boxwood, &c.
. 100,000
£806,250
Allow for Coasting Trade
. 233,750
£1,040,000
89
Say, total value of exports, one million pounds sterling,
perhaps rather more, as I have calculated some items perhaps
less than actually exported.
Large amounts of specie are also exported in groups, and
no allowance is made above for cocoons, reeled silk, and
olive oil, which are exported largely.
There are still some of the articles named on the previous
page about which I have not yet procured reliable informa¬
tion. These rough notes may give some idea of the trade ;
and tables as correct as possible will be made out for the
years 1852, 53, 54, and 55.
(Signed) John Kennedy.
Mr. Kennedy states in another letter of recent date
that, he bought some two or three months ago, a quantity
of wheat in a district two or three days'journey to the in¬
terior of Aleppo, for which he paid equal to 9s. a quarter, and
carriage to the coast alone cost upwards of 17s. 6d. a quarter.
This item of expense being nearly double the first cost.
The "Times" of the 14th October, 1856, in the City Article,
gives the following digest of the trade returns of Syria and
Mesopotamia.
A new series of reports on the trade of various places fi:om
English Ministers, Consuls, and others has just been issued
by the Board of Trade. Those which relate to Turkey are
from Aleppo and Broussa, and, as the projected Euphrates
Railway is to pass the former city in its route of 80 miles from
the Mediterranean to the river, the facts in connexion with
the commerce of that district are likely to attract much atten¬
tion. The progress of the place during the past five years
and the magnitude of its capacities appear to be extraordinary.
As far back as 1851, according to statements from Mr. Acting-
Consul Barker, there were signs of a considerable develop¬
ment of trade, and the tendency was rapidly stimulated by
the war. In imports, British manufactured goods amount in
90
quantity to about two-thirds of the whole trade of Aleppo.
In value they are about one-third. Five years back this
value was £146,405. Last year it was estimated at £471,353,
exclusive of specie, which has been largely absorbed in the
interior of Mesopotamia. As regards exports, the return 'for
1854 shows a total of £993,630, which has risen in 1855, to
£1,254,130, of which about £450,000 consisted of wheat
flour and grain, while cotton and wool were also important
items. The export trade in grain has been encouraged by the
high prices prevalent in Europe since 1851, and in a still
greater measure by the demand for the allied armies at Con¬
stantinople.
" In relation to the capacitjr of the country to pour forth
continued supplies, it is stated that nothing is wanted but
effective means of transport to the coast to enable the whole
of Mesopotamia to furnish incalculable quantities at prices
below those of the ports in the Black Sea. At the end of
March last, more than 50,000 quarters, belonging to different
purchasers, were remaining in store to the east of the Eu¬
phrates, while there were still above 100,000 quarters for
sale, and which were not taken, owing to the want of
means of transport to the Mediterranean. Last year the
rate of carriage from Aleppo to Alexandretta (one of
the Mediterranean ports open for selection for the ter¬
minus of the Euphrates Railway) averaged £1 2s. 6d.
per quarter for wheat, and £5 per ton for goods, while
the price of wheat in Aleppo was only from 25s. to 30s.
per quarter, and of barley lis. to 14s. Several years back,
as soon as the demand for Europe admitted of exports being
made at a profit even in the face of these enormous charges
for land-carriage, the Turkish government removed the
restrictions which had previously existed. ^ Before a year
had elapsed,' says Mr. Baker, ^hundreds of animals, camels,
horses and asses were seen day and night conveying grain to
91
the coast, pursuant to contract. The succeeding year a still
greater number were engaged in this business, and there is
no doubt, were roads made, that the agriculture of the whole
of the interior would increase so rapidly that the produce
would be sold at very remunerating prices,"
It is further pointed out that there are now no trading re¬
strictions to interfere with this state of affairs ; that Alexan-
dretta is practically a free port ; that Aleppo is the emporium
of the whole of Mesopotamia, Bagdad, Persia, and the south
of Arabia, and the link of communication between those
countries and the Mediterranean ; and that the only things
requisite to develope the wonderful capabilities thus presented
are carriage roads, railways or tramways to the coast, and a
reform of the Turkish currency, which tends to embarrass
every transaction, especially those depending upon a system
of contracts. When it is considered that the proposed
'Ekiphrates Railway will not only supply all the facilities de¬
manded, hut is to shorten the journey to India hy almost one-
half, the changes impending in the destinies of this region,
the early prospect of which is one among the salutary results
of the war, will appear to claim greater attention, commercially
and politically, than any at present to he looked for in other
quarters of the glohe,^^
That the same political and social events and topics
recur at stated intervals in the world's history, with the
regularity of comets, varied only in their phases by the
progress of society since their last appearance, is as true now
as when propounded by the great historian of Greece, in
introducing his immortal history of the Peloponesian war.
Now, as did our far gone ancestors, are we of the nineteenth
century discussing the same social, political, and even
geographical problems, that were battled over in the days of
the Eeformation, varying our views and our arguments no
doubt according to the increased light which science and
92
learning and enterprise have cast on them, but still making
the self-same problems our texts, as much as if they were as
novel as when first propounded in the schools of the middle
ages. Take, for instance, the mixed problem of the quickest
route to the Indus—this, the great social, political, com¬
mercial and geographical problem from the days of the
Ptolemies, is the problem of to-day. The course by which
the problem is to be solved is, no doubt, changed by the
progress of enterprise and discovery. We neither seek for
that route by the Cape of Storms, nor by the Northern
Ocean, but still the problem remains the same, not only in
its general bearings, but in the interest it possesses in the
public mind of every nation of Europe, and especially of
England.
Like every other mixed question, the shortest route to the
Indus is constantly receiving solutions, for the time appa¬
rently final, but as certain to be superseded in a due course
of the world's progress by some one more perfect, and there¬
fore again apparently final. Such in an especial degree was
the overland route by way of Egypt, which now stands in
imminent jeopardy, if not in certain danger of being ere long
superseded by another overland route by the way of the Persian
Gulf and this at the moment when the near approach of
the construction of a railway, if not of a canal, through the
Isthmus of Suez, bid fair to make us believe that at last the
Indian highway problem had been solved.
" At the present moment two solutions of this all-popular
problem are offered to the world—the one astonishmg for its
magnitude and costliness : the other equally attractive from
the very contrary qualifications—the one proposing to run
6,000 miles of railway direct through Europe and Asia, des¬
pite every difliculty that man and nature can offer ; the other
content to make a great stride towards the desired goal, by
the simple construction of some eighty miles of railway, over
93
a level country, througli the territories of a friendly power,
and under every encouragement that its Government can give
to an enterprise so largely beneficial to its purpose. The
gigantic scheme proposes to follow the course of the crow,
with an iron road from London, through Belgrade, Constan¬
tinople, Tartary, Ismid, the valley of the Sakaria river, to
Sevri Hassar, and then on by Ak-Serai and the Kurin
mountains. Emerging thence, it would strike the head of
the Euphrates Valley, and working almost parallel to the
river course, pass to the west of the Singar Hills to Bagdad
and Bassorah. To attain only thus far, which would still
leave 1,100 miles of line to be run through Persia, and the
wilds of Beloochistan, above 1,000 miles of the highway
has yet to be laid in Europe, and at least 1,300 more
to be constructed in Asia. That such a project could be
carried out is no doubt within the bounds of possibility,
though quite out of the verge of common probability. It is
possible for Austria, Belgium, France, Turkey, Persia, and
even the wüd tribes that border on the latest annexations of
North-Western India, to enter into a general railway alliance
and complete this iron-highway. And it is certain that if
they will do so, that for a consideration^ English capitalists
will find the money, and English engineers will find the
talent, and English manufacturers, if need be, will find the
materials for thus bringing Calcutta within a week of
London. But to suppose that such a project can be worked
as a commercial speculation is absurd. Whilst to expect that
it should be realised as a political movement passes the
credulity of spirit-rapping."
The less ambitious, and therefore more practical and
profitable project, is put forward by Mr. Andrew, who is so
well known to all who have interested themselves in the
promotion of railways in India, as ^The Old Postmaster/and
chairman of the Scinde Railway. As explained in his valu-
94
able "work^ it is so clear in its advantages and so simple in
its details, that it will require but few words of comment
from us. It is no new line of country that he proposes to
take, but one that was carefully surveyed by Colonel Ches-
ney, of Euphrates notoriety, as far back as the days of
William IV., and afterwards by two members of the Indian
Navy, Captain Lynch, C.B., and Commander Campbell.
All these authorities agree that there are no serious engi¬
neering difficulties to contend with, or as it was phrased in
the Westminster Epilogue—
' Omnia plana
Nil qnidquam dignnm, nomine colliculi.'
" This fortunate bit of country, which is to be made the
connecting link in the great chain of Indian communication,
stretches from the old port of Seleucia on the Mediterranean,
by the towns of Antioch and Aleppo, to a point on the
Euphrates call Ja'ber Castle, whence the stream is navigable
for more than 700 miles to Bassorah, at the head of the Persian
Gulf. The whole distance is no more than eighty miles, half
of which is a dead level, and the rest of a character most
favourable to railway works."
But its effects on the Indian problem are by no means
commensurate with its own apparent proportions. By this
bit of a line—which beginning at a port on a great sea and
' ending at the head of a navigable river on a greater ocean,
is of itself, and by itself, a complete, perfect, and profitable
enterprise—not only will a new country be opened up to
European enterprise, but a directness in the route to India
obtained which few would believe who do not work it out
on the map. Taking the line of the Austrian railways to
Trieste, thence by steamer to Seleucia, thence by rail to
Ja'ber Castle, down the stream to Kurrachee where the
Scinde Railway commences the future net-work of Indian
lines, the traveller will follow a route as direct as any
95
railway can be expected to. aflTord^ in the construction of
which financial, as well as political, considerations have
been preferred to the temporary eclat which some originators
seek to obtain by the disregard of these very necessary and
Very useful points. Eight days and six hours will take the
traveller through Trieste to Seleucia, thence the railway will
take him in three hours to the head of the navigable waters
of the Euphrates. Three days and three hours more wdll
see the river voyage completed to Bassorah ; and three more
days—making in all fourteen — bring the traveller to Kur-
rachee, where the Scinde Kaüway keeps the western door of
the railways of our Indian empire.
Like most of the other railways for which India is in¬
debted to Mr. Andrew, this Seleucia to Ja'ber Castle line,
though complete in itself, is regarded by him as the
parent of further lines, whose construction wül depend on
the success of the parent line, and will gradually lessen
the distance between the Mediterranean and the Persian
Gulf Thus he would extend his works by degrees along
the valley of the river to Phumsah, the ancient Thapsacus,
cross thence into Mesopotamia, working down the valley by
Anah and Hit to • the environs of Bagdad, and thence, by
Babylon and Hülah, to the point where the Tigris and the
Euphrates join, and the united stream becomes deep enough
for steamers of the largest size. Other branches, too, might
tap the Persian Gulf at Schuster, or at Bassorah, where the
trade is extensive, and the accommodation for ships of large
tonnage already ample.
Important as this valuable little link in the great Indian
chain is to us, because it is a link, as a separate and a local
line, its importance to the Turkish Government, and its eifect
on the well-being of the races that inhabit the country
through which it wül pass, cannot be exaggerated. The
Turkish Government, therefore, do right well in extending
96
to this project their most active patronage^ in not only giving
the land free, and placing every facility they can command
at the call of its promoters, but in securing its immediate
construction, by offering such a minimum rate of interest as
will ensure the immediate subscription of the capital, irre¬
spective of the future profits of the enterprise. Such is the
latest, and till balloons are brought under whip and bridle,
the final, solution of the time-honoured problem of the
shortest route to the Indies."*
Now that a new era is to begin for Turkey a new and
higher principle ought to be likewise adopted in her inter¬
national relations with Europe.
This principle is that of mutual interest, and its standard-
bearer ought to be England, for no other country has so
many reasons for establishing this principle. There is
scarcely a point on which the interests of Turkey and Eng¬
land come into collision, and no other country is more inter¬
ested than England in the developement and prosperity of
Turkey. England has no need of privileges and exclusive
advantages ; on the contrary, the freer the intercourse, the
more unlimited the competition, the surer is England to suc¬
ceed. Turkey has need of capital and industrial enterprise,
which abound in England. Turkey has raw produce, which
could be increased tenfold, and for which she could find no
better market than England.
" It is these mutual wants and mutual advantages which,
believe me, people in this country are beginning to appreciate,
and which ought to guide England's policy in Turkey. It
would by degrees establish that firm and legitimate in¬
fluence which seems far preferable to momentary triumphs,
and is entirely independent of the fall of Ministries and the
disgrace of favourites.
* " Bell's Weekly Messenger."
97
Every step which leads in this direction ought to be
hailed with approbation. Among the countries through
which the railway is to run, Mesopotamia ought more
especially to attract the attention of Europe as admitting of
the greatest development. Up to the last few years the
government of Bagdad was one of the most thankless and
seemed one of thé most hopeless. For the last four years
this has been entirely changed by the exertions of one man.
It is so rare to find a Turkish oificial who really does his
' duty, and who thinks of his province more than of his pocket,
that every one of them ought to be known. Mehemed Bed-
schid Pasha, the present Governor of Bagdad, is one of these.
Formerly Grand Master of Artillery, he made himself most
objectionable by his economy and strict vigilance in money
matters. He was in consequence of this removed four years
ago to Bagdad. This province, exposed as it was to the in¬
cursions of the Arabs under Persian rule, and to the migra¬
tions of the Arabs of the Great Desert, is as of old, in charge
of a Governor who unites civil and military power, and
enjoys a greater independence in the administration of his
pashalic than any other Governor. This position, of great
advantage in the hands of an energetic man, became a
source of ruin under a succession of incapable and dishonest
officials, so that when Mehmed Redschid Pasha arrived he
found everything in decay. The revenue had fallen off to
1,600,000 piastres, the country was infested on all sides by the
incursions of the Persian Arabs, all the silk manufactures, which
had formed one of the chief sources of prosperity, were fast
falling off, and every year the desert was encroaching on the
cultivated ground. All this he has succeeded in remedying
iii four years. The Arabs are kept within their bounds, the
revenue has more than doubled, and Bagdad, which had
been obliged to import silk manufactures from Aleppo and
H
98
Persia^ is now beginning to supply the border countries with
tissues of an exquisite taste."*
I told you long ago that this project (the Euphrates
•Valley Pailway) was above all popular among the Turks—
among the mass of them^ because it struck their imagination^
and among a few^ because they saw its immense importance
for the development of the country through which it would
run.
^^In a collossal undertaking like the Euphrates Valley
Railway, running through a country comparatively little
known as to its real resources, calculations can, of course, not
be made with the accuracy which can be obtained on other
railways ; but still some approximate estimate of the probable
traffic can be obtained, and this is certainly rather in favour
of the line paying. In order to effect this, it would seem
necessary to have the local traffic as much in view as the
through traffic to India. It is a well known fact that it is
never the latter, but the former which pays. With this view
kept before one, it is of the highest importance to touch as
many intermediate points as can be done without lengthening
the line too much. This can be done so much the easier as
there are comparatively few established centres of commerce
on the line, and as they are so situated that by following
them as nearly as possible, physical obstacles are at the same
time avoided. The company seems to have understood this
point, and General Chesney was enabled to lay before the
commission approximate estimates of the traffic of the
different places and of the probable increase in the traffic,
the chief difficulty of which lies in the defective means of
transport. Another point which ought not to be overlooked
is the gradual construction of the line; and the project of the
company to make, in the first instance, only the line from
* Constantinople Correspondent vide Times/' 2nd July, 1856.
99
the Euphrates to the Mediterranean has been made with that
view. The idea is so much the more happy as this line wül
touch the natural high road from the interior, which has been
adopted for centuries. A gradual construction of the line
will likewise help to overcome the prejudices which might
exist in those countries against railways or any other inno¬
vations, by showing the advantages which will be derived
from them for the producers. The greatest difficulty will
begin when the railway comes within the rayon of the
Bedouins. In this respect the Turks are anxious that the
line, if possible, should be constructed on the left bank of the
Euphrates. Two objects would be gained by this—first, the
railway would run nearer to the commercial centres, which
are nearly all situated on the Tigris ; and, secondly, the
guarding of the line would be much easier."*
A recent number of the Journal de Constantinople has an
article on the connection of Bagdad with Bussorah by water
transit, in which the following passages occur :—The
Imperial Government, as we announced some time back, has
prepared a decree ordering the purchase of two steam-vessels
for the purpose of establishing a communication between
Bagdad and Bussorah. The consequences of this measure,
which has just obtained the imperial sanction, are immense.
Before, however, entering into an examination of the ques¬
tion with regard to its commercial and political aspects, it
will be necessary to cast a rapid glance at these two cities,
situated on the confines of the empire, and get materials for
a judgment as to their future capabilities by considering their
present condition.
The population of Bagdad may be estimated at from
75,000 to 80,000 inhabitants—Mussulmans, both Sunnites
and Sheeahs, Jews, and Christians of different Oriental sects.
%
Constantinople Correspondent, vide "Times," 15tli Oct., 1856.
H %
100
The followers of Ali (Sheeahs) have a majority, but as they
themselves are treated with great kindness by the Imperial
Government (which is Sunnite in its faith), their dissent
&om the established religion has the effect of rendering them
tolerant to the Jews and Christians. The small number
of Europeans settled at Bagdad enjoys, thanks to this tolera¬
tion, unbounded religious and personal freedom, which has
never yet been disturbed by any act of fanaticism. We may
rest assured that from Bagdad to the sea the population of
Arabia, the fixed as well as the Nomade tribes, is not
tainted with fanaticism. This is what distinguishes them
from the Arabs of Barbary and Syria.
At Bagdad religious toleration is established so firmly as
a national habit that the government is strong enough to
permit the public celebration of the Sheeah worship, and even
processions on the days of PersianThis politic mode
of proceeding has the effect of attracting towards the city nu¬
merous Persian caravans. As many as £00,000 persons have
visited the city in this way in the course of a year.
As the local government gives all kinds of aid and pro¬
tection to those pilgrims who wish to visit the tomb of Ali at
Nedjef, that of Hussein at Kerbela, and the various mauso¬
leums of the Imaums whom the Sheeahs hold in pious reve¬
rence, they put their pilgrimage to a double purpose,
employing it for commercial as well as religious purposes.
The arrival of the caravans at Bagdad is looked for every
year as a period when trade receives a new impetus. The
Persians bring shawls, silks, carpets, arms, &c., and receive
in return the produce of the country, European goods, and
colonial productions.
The streets of Bagdad are narrow, and the bazaars are
covered. The houses are built of baked brick. On the
upper story the connecting material is clay.^ The res-de-
chaussée^ or rather (we may call it), the lower floor, for it
101
sinks several steps below the surface, is vaulted, and
cemented with .plaster and chalk. These cellars, called
serdap, are the ordinary habitations of the population dur¬
ing five months of the summer. The nights, so superb in
these latitudes, are passed on the terraces. These terraces,
on account of the dryness of the wind and the absence of
dew, form most delightful abodes The rooms of the floor
are inhabited during the rest of the year. In winter, in the
month of January and February, a fire is endurable, for
though there is no frost, the cold makes itself felt.
The city is divided into two nearly equal parts by the
Tigris (Chatt-el-Didjle). A newly-built bridge of boats
unites the two banks." There is a wind blowing almost con¬
stantly from the north during more than three quarters of
the year. This wind, by moderating the temperature, is of
great sanatory use to the city and the environs. Since the
present governor-general, Méhéd Réchid Pasha, has had
a dyke constructed to prevent the overflow of the Euphrates
through the ancient canal of Saklawieh, which formed, be¬
fore its conjunction with the Tigris, an immense marshy lake
on the north-east of Bagdad, the sanitary state of the city
and the surrounding country has been remarkably good. The
governor-general signalised his entry upon the duties of his
appointment by this work. Since that time the marsh has been
drained and the fevers have disappeared." " The waters
of the Euphrates in regaining their normal course flow into
the ancient canals used for irrigation, and into the new
canals which the governor-general has had constructed in the
environs of Babylon. The effect of this has been to restore
fertility to the country, and the cultivation of the land has
experienced an immediate development.
" The interminable plains which surround Bagdad and
Babylon consist of alluvial earth. They form a parched
desert when not irrigated ; but if a mere slender stream of
m
water were brought from the Euphrates or Tigris they would
be turned into luxuriant gardens. No country is more
fayourable than this for the construction of canals. It is flat
and free from undulations. The clay bed of the river trans¬
mits the water without being permeated by any portion of it,
and the spade and the plough are never interrupted in their
course by a stone or flint. On every side we come in con¬
tact with the gigantic works of men of old. We are sur¬
rounded with ruins, with dried-up beds of immense canals,
extensive ramifications of a complete and scientific system of
irrigation. These ruins open a vast field of study for modern
engineers. This is the spot above all others where we can
arrive at the comprehension of the agricultural effects of an
abundance of water, and a high temperature.
Two rapid rivers run through the whole country. What
use has hitherto been made of these ?
The Tigris is navigable from Diarbekir, but only for
rafts constructed of limbs of trees buoyed up by inflated
skins.
These barges carry travellers and goods as far as Bagdad,
but are at the mercy of the current. At Mossoul (Nineveh),
half way, we see these rafts built on a larger scale, the river
from there to Bagdad being wider and more rapid. When
they arrive at their destination the rafts are broken up, the
wood sold, and the skins carried back to the place from
whence they came by mules, ready for use in another voyage.
From Bagdad southwards the Tigris is navigable for
ships. A war steamer belonging to. the English East India
Company conveys the mail from there to Bussorah. The two
steam vessels which the Imperial government has ordered
to be built will render the navigation of the river safe.^'
Everything gives us reason to hope that this is only a com¬
mencement, and that very soon the merchants of Bagdad,
enlightened by useful experience, will increase the number
103
of steamers. The Imperial government has taken the ini¬
tiative. Private industry must follow in the same direction-
The Tigris has several shallows. The navigation in con¬
sequence is sometimes diíEcult in summer. Vessels drawing
no more than three feet of water can pass in all seasons. No
very extensive operation will be necessary to remove these
obstacles, which even in the present state of things are
easily surmounted.''
This project of a commercial road, uniting the Mediter¬
ranean with the Persian Gulf, is not Utopian, and deserves
to be taken into serious consideration by the Imperial govern¬
ment."
The Tigris and the Euphrates, by their union at Kur-
nah, form the Shut-el-Arab, a magnificent river, perfectly
navigable throughout to the sea. The great steam vessels of
the East India Company have often been seen at Kurnah by
the astonished Arabs. The native pilots have been tutored
by the English, and are as good as could be desired in a
country in which maritime and commercial relations have to
be established anew. Prom Kurnah to the sea, a distance of
about forty leagues, the river is bordered almost without
interruption by forests of date trees, the sole product of the
soil in this part of the province. We are led, however,
to ask what it might not produce, when we reflect that even
at Kurnah the tide is perceptible, that at Bussorah there is a
fall and rise of seven feet on the average, and that twice a
day the country is irrigated with soft water, which leaves
behind it a fertilising mud. Man therefore has nothing to
do here but to prepare the earth for production. Nature
takes upon itself the charge of irrigation, and the climate is
such as to cause the plants of Europe and India to develop a
vigorous and almost incredible vegetation.
The sugar-cane, flax, hemp, indigo, the blackberry, the
banyan, rice, the vine, in short, all plants flourish. Nothing,
however, is cultivated, with the exception of the date, which
104
requires scarcely any care, and which, when once planted,
liyes for centuries.''
It is gratifying to find, that not only in England and
Turkey, but that in India the public mind is freely aroused
to the magnitude of the results that must flow from improv¬
ing the means of intercommunication between the East and
the West.
The Bombay Gazette^ of recent date, has the following :—
We cordially second the proposal of our Kurrachee
friends for a weekly Mail communication between India and
^ «
Europe ; but the Euphrates route is clearly the line for
them. It is a saying of eight hundred miles between Scinde
and Malta^; through one of the most fertile countries in the
world ; a part of the world, too, where it is most desirable
that British influence should be felt by rulers, and favorably
known among people. Every now and then, it is true, we
hear of there being grave objections to the Euphrates route,
sometimes they are geographical, sometimes political, but
never insurmountable ; and to our clever countrymen in
Scinde we are sure the difficulties would be as nothing, if
they took the thing in hand."
The trade of Turkey-in-Europe, Asia Minor, Mesopo¬
tamia, and all along the proposed line of Bussorah, is of
great importance, and only requires a ready means of transit
for its rapid development. The success of the English and
Austrian Steam Companies on the line between Constanti¬
nople, Smyrna, and the coast of Syria and Egypt, is a strong
proof that the resources of these countries merely require
an outlet. The Mahommedans are now quite alive to the
importance of rapid locomotion—be it by railway or steamers.
The tedious mode of transit by caravan is nearly at an end,
whenever a quick mode of transport is available.*
* M.S. Notes of Lectures' delivered before the Imperial Academy of
Vienna, by Pr. J. B. Thompson.
105
We have seen that it is computed that 200^000 pilgrims
pass yearly along the route of the Euphrates or Tigris to
visit Bagdad and other Holy Cities ; and reference here
may be made to the tabular statement of traffic, on the next
page, by a Bagdad merchant.
The comparison of the imports and exports of the ancient
trade, with these countries, is very striking, and the more
modern statistics of our trading with the East during, and
subsequent to the existence of the LevantCompany, are equally
important, and should be sufficient to satisfy us as to the
value of the great field open to our commercial enterprise.
These countries are rich in minerals, but have as yet been
only partially explored with a view to their development.
The importance of a railway from the Mediterranean Sea
to the Persian Gulf will be still more apparent, when it is
estimated in conjunction with the commercial advantages
to be derived from the four great rivers of Western Asia.
" The elevated plateau which extends from the base of
Mount Ararat into Northern Armenia, Khurdistan and part
of Asia Minor, contains the sources of four noble rivers,
having their estuaries in three different seas ; and thus
from Armenia as from the centre of a great continent, giv¬
ing an easy communication to the nations of Europe and
Asia." A reference to a map will show, that by following
the Kizil Irmak through Asia Minor, we reach the Black
Sea, from whence there are inlets to Russia, Austria, Turkey,
&c. In the same way, the Aras, by terminating in the Cas¬
pian, opens several routes towards Great Tartary, as well as
towards the rest of Central Asia and China ; while the Tigris
and Euphrates, with their numerous ramifications, afford
abundant means of communicating with Persia, India, Arabia
and the Continent of Africa,"* and offer channels for a very
extended consumption of British manufactures.
* Vol. I. of Expedition to the Euphrates and Tigris.
Ajpproximate estimate of the Population, Yearly Traffic, éc.for the Euphrates Valley Railway, by a Bagdad Merchant,
Names of Places.
Population.
Imports.
Exports.
Tons of Merchandise.
Antioch
27,000
15,000
8,000
2,000
14,000
14,000
Aleppo
85,000
34,000
20,000
Gibbool
1,500
»•mm
». a •
Orfah
15,000
20,000
18,000
Dair
7,000
15,000
12,000
Anah
2,000
500
• » • •
Hit
3,000
300
700
Kathemain
8,000
8,000
4 • * •
Bagdad
87,000
15,000
7,000
Hillah Babylon, &c.
4,000
1,500
400
Kerbelah
7,000
1,800
• • • •
Meshed Ali
12,000
1,800
• 4 • •
Kiffil
3,000
200
Semawah •.,
12,000
» « e #
• • • 4
Suk-wShukh
8,000
3,000
2,000
Zobair
7,000
1,000
700
Bussorah
12,000
25,000
18,000
Quait
9,000
25,000
18,000
. Remarks,
A passing trade.
>»
it
Í
To which place the route as far as Bales would be open ù e, within 25 miles
of Orfah.
( Caravans from Syria and Damascus pass through this place on route to
( Bagdad and Persia.
r This city is sacred to the Persians and Sheah inhabitants of Bagdad, who
( daily visit it to the number of about 3,000.
C There is a large tobacco trade through Bagdad between Persia and Syria,
( about 1,000 tons annually.
A sacred city of the Sheah Mohammedans, visited, as well as Meshed Ali,
by upwards of 100,000 pilgrims who would proceed by rail to Syria for the
Hadj, should such a route be available.
The supposed tomb of Ezekiel, and a place of pilgrimage for the Jews.
A very large trade is carried on between this place and Central Arabia. Two
caravans, about 2,000 camels each, leave it annually,
5 Besides the traffic from India through Bussorah, upwards of 35,000 pilgrims
¿ pass through annually for Meshed Ali.
The charge for merchandise down the river from Bagdad is about iEl 0 0 per ton, measurement or dead weight.
» ft hp. » to Bagdad „ 3 0 0 ,,
Goods are carried by camels at, it may be taken, for every 100 miles 1 10 0 „ weight.
Mules „ 2 0 0
Î*
it
107
"Who is to say" (wrote the late Dr. J. B. Thompson
some years ago), but that even in our own day we may not
hear of excursion trains to Palmyra, Bagdad, and the Tigris,
by the great Eastern Orontes and Euphrates Valley Eine of
Kailway, the stupendous aqueduct of ancient Seleucia forming
a terminus, with branch lines to Baalbeck and the Plains of
Issus—The battle-field of Alexander and Darius."
One of the happiest results of the war in the East, after the
restoration of the Christian races to their rights, will undoubt¬
edly be the opening of the country to commerce, colonisation,
and intercommunication. The presence of Western settlers
and merchants will constitute almost as novel a feature in the
new state of society as will a regiment of Armenians or Kur¬
dish Nestorians. The removal of all obstacles to the purchase
of land by foreigners, the establishment of a sound financial
system, and of guarantees for the security of capital invested
in railways, roads, or harbours, will be the diplomatic labours
that must ultimately be productive of the greatest results.
A rich and unworked land is before us, and the industry of
the West may go in and possess it. The contemplated railway
&om Belgrade to Constantinople will bring Turkey into con¬
nexion with the other states of Europe. It is to be hoped that
quarantine—^that obsolete police resource of despotic gover-
ments—will be done away with, and that Turkey will no longer
be placed by such absurd regulations without the pale of Euro¬
pean Society. Beyond Constantinople all is new and almost
virgin land. The resources of Asia Minor for soil and pas¬
turage, for timber and other vegetable products, and for its
valuable minerals, cannot be over-estimated. The Taurus
reveals within its mighty ramparts untold treasures. Syria
and Mesopotamia lie at its feet, teeming with untilled and
uncared-for capabilities. The valleys of the Euphrates and
the Tigris only want the presence of man to gladden and
cheer the onward course of their magnificent fioods. Myriads
108
of acres of rich alluvial soil pant for the plough to expand
their far-spreading harvests to a noontide sun. The great
nations of antiquity would be revived on the land of their
birth, and the seat of the dispersion of mankind would
become a centre of reunion.
That facility of intercourse creates commerce, and com¬
merce carries with it civilisation, is an axiom founded on
universal experience, and this applies itself in the East alike
to the opening of Asia Minor, to the valleys of the Euphrates
and Tigris, to a new route by the Dead Sea, or to a transit
by the Isthmus of Suez ; but, from the smaller extent of
countries affected, in a minor degree to the two last schemes.
The junction of the Mediterranean and the Ked Seas by
a navigable canal—a project which appears in our days,
thanks to the exertions of M. de Lesseps, to be assuming the
aspect of a reality—is an undertaking, the utility of which
has attracted the attention of all the great men who have
reigned in, or conquered, Egypt ; Sesostris, Alexander the
Great, Julius Caesar, the Arab conqueror Amru, Napoleon I.,
and Mehemet Ali.
The great question is the practicability of the underta¬
king. M. Lesseps tells us that the report of the engineers
replies triumphantly to all objections respecting the sands of
the desert, the alluvial deposits at Pelusium and Suez, and
the navigation of the Ked Sea. If this is the case, how does
it happen that a project so feasible upon superficial contem¬
plation, and which has been entertained by all the great men
who have reigned in or conquered Egypt, has never been
carried into execution ? It is true that a canal communica¬
ting with the Nile was in existence in ancient times, but has
it not also three several times been encumbered if not oblite¬
rated ? Firstly, about the middle of the ninth century before
the Hegira ; secondly, about the fourth century before the
Hegira ; and thirdly, about 130 years after the Arabian
109
conquest. Upon the question of the navigation of the Eed
Sea we entertain but one opinion, which is, that it presents
difficulties, obstacles, and inconveniences of a very serious
description, and that are not met with in the navigation from
Bombay or Kurrachee to the Euphrates. Again, with railways
from Hyderabad (in Scinde) as from a centre, the Punjaub,
Delhi, and Calcutta, as well as Bombay, are brought infi¬
nitely nearer to Europe by the Persian Gulf and the valley
of the Euphrates than by the Bed Sea.
We wish well to the project of M. Lesseps; there cannot be
too greatly increased facilities of communication in any direc¬
tion; those who uphold the contrary, must be weighed down by
prejudices which they labour under in common with Jesuits
and Japanese. There is room in the East for many lines of
intercommunication, and the existence of any, or of all, would
only tend to contribute to the preservation of the Ottoman
Empire, to the cementing of alliances among nations, and to
the opening of commerce and advance of civilisation among
remote and unbefriended countries and people.
One of the most curious suggestions made in modern
times, when growing intercourse is seeking for improved
channels of communication, is that of Captain William Allen,
who proposes to open a canal between the Mediterranean
and the Eed Sea, first from the Bay of Acre across the plain
of Esdraelon to the valley of the Jordan, thence by the Dead
Sea to Ghor, and finally by the Wadi al Araba to the Gulf
of Akaba.
In order to ensure the success of the project as far as
human means can conduce to it, we must first obtain a
thorough knowledge of the localities by careful survey—a
thing which has not as yet been done—but Captain Allen
has accumulated sufficient data to enable him to estimate
that there would be a fall equal to 1300 feet, and that thus a
communication once established between the two seas and
110
the Dead Sea, the current would carry off all the earth (pre¬
viously loosened by blasting). We suppose the captain
means here the current that would be established on letting
the water into the depression of the Dead Sea, for the differ¬
ence of level between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea
being only some two and a half feet, it is evident that when
once the depressions were full of water and an equilibrium
was established, there would be no more current than in the
projected canal at the Isthmus of Suez."
To return to the more immediate object of this memoir,
we may mention a few particulars regarding the port of
t
Seleucia, not before alluded to.
When Captain Allen examined the condition of this port,
with a view to its restoration, he found the outer port to be
actually useless, being nearly filled with sand washed up by
the sea ; the inner port, or basin, partially silted up by de¬
posits brought by torrents from the mountains, and the canal
of communication nearly filled with silt and boulders. The
great culvert, 1000 yards in length, traversing the solid
rock, in one place with a depth of cutting 150 perpendicular
feet, and which has so excited the admiration of travellers,
almost perfect, and the west wall, the only part of the cir¬
cuit of the basin which is not bounded by rising ground,
also but little injured.
The basin is 2000 feet long by 1200 feet wide occupying
an area of 47 acres, in fact, as large as the export and im¬
port basins of the East and West India Docks together.
The advantages to be derived from opening this port have
also been carefully summed up in the work called Lares
and Penates ; or, Cilicia and its Governors," p. 269. These
are, that the port and bay of Antioch are nearer at hand than
that of Iskandrun or Alexandretta ; that it saves the difiicult
navigation of the Gulf of Issus ; that whereas Alexandretta
has been regarded as one of the most unhealthy spots on the
Ill
coast of Syria, and hence few can be induced to reside there,
Seleucia is a comparatively healthy place, and would, if
opened to commerce, soon become in all probability a flourish¬
ing town; that the road from Seleucia to Antioch, Aleppo,
and the Euphrates, is comparatively open, while that of Alex-
andretta has to cross the formidable Syrian gates—the moun¬
tain pass of Baylan (ancient Erana)—^between Amanus and
E-hosus ; that while Cilicia is too frequently disturbed by
local dissensions and the rebellion of races, the neighbourhood
of Seleucia, chiefly tenanted by peaceful Christians, is remark¬
able for its tranquility and security; and lastly, Seleucia
would constitute the safest harbour (especially for steamers)
on the whole coast of Syria, and would from that circum¬
stance, and from its greater proximity to Antioch and Aleppo,
entirely supersede the ports of Bayrut, Tripoli, and Lataki-
yah. The same circumstances that have existed since the
period when it was adopted as the site for landing the steam¬
boats and equipments of the Euphrates Expedition still exist ;
and at a very moderate outlay Seleucia might be again ren¬
dered what it once was—the most capable, the most flourish¬
ing, the most populous, the most beautiful, and the most
healthy port of Syria. As to the effect which the opening of
such a port would have upon the commerce of the interior,
and the promises it holds out as the key to North Syria, the
Euphrates, Mesopotamia, the Tigris, Kurdistan, and Persia,
and the line of communication that could be opened by this
route to India, they are now known to the Turkish and
Indian authorities, the British government, and all concerned
or interested in the amelioration of the countries in question,
in the progress of commerce, and the general advance in
civilisation.
It may be asked," says Captain Allen, why I propose
to construct, or rather to reconstruct, a harbour on a coast
where not only there is no commerce, but where there is
112
even a very small population, in scattered and poor vil¬
lages. Although, this is but too true, the original and
natural elements of prosperity, which in former times
required such an outlet, still remain in the inexhaus¬
tible fertility of this wonderful country. This may be said
to comprise, not only the neighbouring rich valleys of the
Orontes and Bekaa, to which the cities of the Tetrapolis and
many others owed their origin and rapid prosperity ; but it
was the channel through which flowed the riches of Mesopo¬
tamia, which gave birth to a Nineveh and a Babylon ; and
even the wealth of Persia and the furthest East have had,
and still may flnd, an emporium in Seleucia. The great fer¬
tility of Mesopotamia was carried to its utmost limit, by
means of the numerous canals for irrigation with which the
country was everywhere intersected ; some of the largest of
these were navigable. They excited the wonder and interest
of Alexander the Great, who examined them personally, and
^ steered the boat himself.' He employed a great number of
men to cleanse and repair them. ^ Of all the countries I
know,' says Herodotus, ^ 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 extraordinary fertility as much as 300 per cent.'
These advantages inspired ancient rulers, merchants, capi- '
talists and engineers to construct works to which neither
the destructive power of man, nor the convulsions of nature
during more than 2000 years, have been able to do irrepa¬
rable injury. It is truly an enduring monument of the well
directed energies of its founders, and has vainly invited their
apathetic successors to profit by so valuable a legacy.
" The commerce of the rich countries I have alluded to
has, indeed, never ceased ; for though almost annihilated by
the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope, which enabled the
lis
1
energies of a maritime nation to divert the greater part of
that route, some portion still flows languidly by a perverted
course and an inferior outlet ; owing to the neglect of this,
its natural channel and emporium. Thus the present trade
of the East, centring in Aleppo, is carried on by means of
camels and mules over the mountain pass of Beilan, the Syrian
gates, and embarked at the unhealthy and inconvenient Port
of Skanderùn, at the head of the gulf of the same name.
" The produce of the great basin of the Euphrates and the
Tigris, including Persia and the nations on the southern
slopes of the Taurus and Caucasus, demands an outlet. The
natural one is of course the Persian Gulf ; but the stream of
commerce does not set that way, the demand being in the
West. Providence has given the means, which were fully
profited by in former times. The greater development of
the present day does not find the ocean route sufficient, and
the time may come when its increasing exigencies may stretch,
its iron tentacles even across Mesopotamia. These are visions
of the future ; which, however, daily experience proves is
nearer to the present than any one dares to imagine. Leaving
these to be unfolded by time, the present facilities are amply
sufficient for the present resources.
The country possesses in itself locomotive power to an
enormous amount, which is produced and wasted, waiting
century after century for employment. I mean in the thou¬
sands and thousands of camels,—ships of the desert,—that
only live to crop the luxuriant herbage of the wide countries
of which they might convey the more valuable productions ;
by a sluggish current it is true, but sufficient in amount, to
fill more and greater marts and ports than Seleucia, and to
call forth the swiftest energies of steam to carry off its slow
but steady influx. In addition to all this, by the employ¬
ment of their camel®, the wandering Arab tribes would be
reclaimed to civilisation and religion.
I
114
We may see what can be expected of the revival of com¬
merce in these rich countries by what has been done at
Berùt ; where^ with a port that affords less facilities for ship¬
ping goods than even Skanderùn, the town has become three
times as large as it was only twenty years ago. But Seleucia,
with a port where ships could load and unload at the quays
without the tedious intervention of boats, and being safe
from the delays of bad weather, would draw to itself all the
trade of Aleppo ; to which city a good road could be made,
and eventually a railroad, as it has been ascertained by
General Chesney's valuable and careful survey, that there
are no obstacles to the construction of one.
These fertile tracts now lie waste and unprofitable, except
for imperfect and desultory cultivation by the hordes in¬
habiting the mountains on their borders ; who, through de¬
vastating wars and a long series of bad governments, are
reduced to such a condition of abasement, both physical and
moral, that they draw but the merest necessities of food and
clothing, from the varied and inexhaustible bounties of
nature, by which they are surrounded. With security and
encouragement, however, they would not only become active
cultivators of the raw material, and increasing consumers of
it, when returned to them in a manufactured state ; but they
would be zealous disseminators in regions which are now,
from various impediments, inaccessible to British enterprise.
" If the better outlet were established which the restoration
of the fine harbour of Seleucia would afford, it is probable
that many of the merchants of Aleppo, especially the Franks,
would be induced to settle here by the greater convenience
they would find for their transactions, and by the greater
chances of security for life and property here than at Aleppo,
where they are in constant danger from the turbulent and
fanatical population of that city, of which there was a melan¬
choly instance in the autumn of 1850.
115
^^The fine scenery and beautiful climate of tbe valley of the
Orontes might also attract emigrants or speculators from
England ; -while the native population of the north, or right
bank of the Orontes, — who are all Christians, and though
industrious and well disposed, are poor and stationary on
the soil,—^wouldhave energy and elasticity imparted to them
by the example of the settlers and the rewards of increasing
prosperity. So that, from these germs, improved grades
of society would soon arise to emulate the glories of ancient
Seleucia. Such a result could not but be beneficial to the
Turkish government ; as it would bring great increase of
revenue to its coffers from regions now yielding little or none.
It would add to the strength of the empire, and be the means
of imparting vigour to distant provinces, now exhausted and
languishing, in the efforts made for the benefit of the capital.
'^In order, however, to attain these advantages, it would be
indispensable that guarantees and immunities be secured to
the port and city, so as to leave enterprise unshackled. The
Tanzimat proposes to do this ; but unless vigorously en¬
forced, this very liberal firman of the present benevolent
Sultan will remain a dead letter, though intended by his
Highness to bring all his subjects equally under the protec¬
tion of the laws.' Strenuous efforts are now being made by
the Turkish government to carry out bond fide its provisions.
No time could be more favourable than the present, when
the efforts we are making to uphold the tottering empire
must convince the Turks of the sincerity of our good will,
which should lead them to unite cordially in any project that
holds out a prospect of great mutual advantage. With such
guarantees as might reasonably be expected from the present
circumstances and disposition of the Porte, it would seem to
promise to be a safe speculation,—a small risk for a great
ultimate advantage."
It is to be remarked upon this very valuable testimony
I 2
116
to the advantages of the proposed route, that what Captain
Allen says of Mesopotamia appertains, strictly speaking, only
to Babylonia. The Pallacopas navigated by Alexander was
a canal 80 stadia distant from Babylon ; the ancient system
of canal irrigation did not extend beyond the alluvial plains
of Babylonia and Chaldea, and the country alluded to by
Herodotus (Clio, 192) is Babylonia solely. Mesopotamia
produces figs, vines, and olives, as well as Syria. To these
may be added the cereals, rice, cotton, tobacco, castor and
sesamum oil, pistachio, mulberry, pomegranate, oranges,
lemons and citrons, and a great variety of fruits, esculent
vegetables and roots. The hilly country produces timber
for construction, ship-building and cabinet-work, gall-nuts,
and an infinite variety of dyes, drugs and medicinal plants.
The extent of fertile tracts that now lies waste and unpro¬
fitable in these regions is immense. In the valleys of the
Euphrates and Tigris there are many tracts of irreclaimable
wüderness, but in most portions of the curves of both rivers
there are more or less extensive tracts of river alluvium, in
which the whole of the soil is cultivable. A few of these—
Hawi as they are called by the Arabs—are actually culti¬
vated, or are the seat of towns and villages ; upon others,
the nomadic Arabs occasionally pitch their tents and feed
4
their flocks, but the generality are left to the wild boar and
the francolín. The ruins of ancient cities, as Nimrud, Kalah
Shirgat, and Opis on the Tigris ; of Europus, Balis, Thapsa-
cus, Eakkah, and Zenobia on the Euphrates, are met with
on spots of this description, showing that what is now a
grassy solitude was once cultivation and populousness. In
the lower part of the Euphrates, south of Annah, large
tracts of grassy land are shown to have been once cultivated,
by the remains of great water wheels with which these lands
were irrigated. At some few points, as at Mosul, Tekrit,
and Bagdad on the Tigris, and at Bireh-jik, Kalah Jabar,
117
Deir, Rahabah, Annab and Hillab on the Euphrates, the
land is partially cultivated ; but there remain in the valleys
of both rivers hundreds of miles of cultivable land in a most
fertile and productive climate, untenanted, and only awaiting
for colonisation by industrious people, or that security and
encouragement which would be given by intercommunication
and the opening of markets for the produce. There is no
possible reason why, under such circumstances, the valleys of
the Euphrates and the Tigris should not rival those of the
Ohio and the Mississippi, or why they should not be, what
they were of yore, the seat of rich and prosperous commu¬
nities.
Long before Babylon had overcome her rival Nineveh
she was famous for the extent and importance of her com¬
merce. No position could have then been more favourable
than hers for carrying on a trade with all the regions of the
known world. She stood upon a navigable stream that
brought to her quays the produce of the temperate highlands
of Armenia, approached in one part of its course within
almost one hundred miles of the Mediterranean Sea, and
emptied its waters into a gulf of the Indian Ocean. Parallel
with this great river was one scarcely inferior in size and
importance. The Tigris, too, came from the Armenian hills,
flowed through the fertile districts of Assyria, and carried
their varied produce to the Babylonian cities. Moderate
skill and enterprise could scarcely fail to make Babylon,
not only the emporium of the .Eastern world, but the main
link of commercial intercourse between the East and the
West.
The inhabitants did not neglect the advantages bestowed
upon them by nature. A system of navigable canals that
may excite the admiration of even the modern engineer,
connected together the Euphrates and Tigris, those great arte¬
ries of her commerce. With a skill, showing no common
118
knowledge of the art of surveying, and of the principles of
hydraulics, the Babylonians took advantage of the different
levels in the plains, and of the periodical rises in the two
rivers, to complete the water communication between all
parts of the provinces, and to fertilise by artificial irrigation
an otherwise barren and unproductive soil. Alexander, after
he had transferred the seat of his empire to the East, so
fully understood the importance of these great works, that he
ordered them to be cleansed and repaired, and superintended
the work in person, steering his boat with his own hand
through the channels.
The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, and the Rescript of
the Roman Emperors found in the Digest of the Roman
Law, both contain lists of articles imported in ancient times
from the East, and which have been ably commented on by
Dean Vincent in his well-known work, The Commerce
and the Navigation of the Ancients in the Indian Ocean."
If we compare these meagre catalogues of articles of com¬
merce with what is known of the animal, vegetable, and
mineral produce of Arabia, Persia, Syria, and the adjacent
countries in the present day, the condition in which those
countries are placed, compared with what they were in an¬
cient times, still so favoured by nature and yet so neglected
by man, becomes a matter of absolute surprise. It is impos-
ßible, indeed, to appreciate or understand such a state of
things without some personal experience of what a long
series of bad governments can do in reducing man to such a
condition of abasement, both physical and moral, that he be¬
comes utterly indifferent to everything but the merest ne¬
cessities of food and clothing ; and these he draws with
scarcely an effort (for the children drive the flocks and
♦ Nineveh and Babylon, by A. H. Layard, M.P, and D.C.L. John
Murray, Albemarle Street. 1853,
119
collect the fuel, and women weave the camel-hair cloak and
tent cloth) from the varied and inexhaustible bounties of
nature by which he is surrounded.
That these wild tribes, however, are not insensible to jus¬
tice and to a feeling of gratitude, that even they, ignorant and
barbarous as they are, may be easily governed and moved
by kindness and equitable treatment, has been proved by their
conduct towards the few English merchants and travellers
who have had dealings with them, and have visited the
rivers on which they principally dwell. When, on more
than one occasion during my residence in the East, the
navigation of the Tigris had been completely interrupted,
and all vessels belonging to the Turkish government and its
subjects had been stopped or plundered, so that the commu¬
nication between Busrah and Bagdad had entirely ceased, a
British merchant was able to bring up his own boats laden
with valuable cargoes through the midst of crowds of armed
men, who lined the banks. For these Arabs knew that, in
their dealings with Englishmen, they had been treated with
justice and kindness, and that the black mail they levied,
however contrary to our treaties with the Porte, when once
agreed to, had always been honestly paid."
When after a long ride of about eleven hours we
reached some brackish springs, called Belaliss, the complete
solitude lulled us into a feeling of security, and we all slept
without keeping the accustomed watch. I was awoke in the
middle of the night by an unusual noise close to my tent. I
immediately gave the alarm, but it was too late. Two of
our horses had been stolen, and in the darkness we could
not pursue the thieves. Sahiman broke out in reproaches
of himself as the cause of our mishap, and wandered about
until dawn in search of some clue to the authors of the theft.
At length he tracked them, declaring unhesitatingly that they
were of the Shammar, pointed out, from marks almost imper-
im
ceptible to any eye but to that of à Bedouin^ that they were
four in number^ had left their delouls at some distance from
our tents, and had already journeyed far before theyífiad
been drawn by our fires to the encampment. These indica¬
tions were enough. He swore an oath that he would follow
and bring back our stolen horses, wherever they might be,
for it was a shame upon him and his tribe that, whilst under
his protection in the desert, we had lost anything belonging
to us. And he religiously kept his oath. When we parted
at the end of our journey, he began at once to trace the
animals. After six weeks' search, during which he went as
far as Ana on the Euphrates, where one had been sold to an
Arab of the town, he brought them to Mosul. I was away
at the time, but he left them with Mr, Rassam, and returned
to the desert without asking a reward for performing an act
of duty imperative on a Bedouin. Such instances of honesty
and good faith are not uncommon amongst the wandering
Arabs, as I can bear witness from personal experience."
Mr. Rassam frequently sent Suttum across the desert
with as much as five or six hundred pounds in money, and
always with the most complete confidence. His only reward
was an occasional silk dress, or one or two camel loads of
corn for his family, the whole of the value of a few shillings.
Of late years, the wool of the Bedouin sheep has been in con¬
siderable demand in the European markets, and a large trade
in this article has already been opened with the Shammar.
Money is generally advanced some months before the sheep
are sheared, to enable the Arabs to buy their winter stock
of provisions. Mr. Rassam has thus paid before hand
several thousand pounds without any written or other gua¬
rantee whatever. The tribes leave the neighbourhood of the
town, and are not again heard of until their long strings of
camels are seen bringing the promised wooL I remember a
Bedouin coming all the way alone from the neighbourhood
121
of Bagdad to pay Mr. Rassam a trifling sum^ I think between
three and four shillings, the balance of a wool account be¬
tween them."
A youth of the great tribe of the Aneyza having quar¬
relled with his parents, ran away and came to Mosul, when
he entered as a student in a college. He became a Mullah, and
had almost forgotten his early friends, when the tribe, driven
by a famine from the Syrian desert, crossed the Euphrates,
and encamped near the town to buy corn. Ibn Gayshish,
their Sheikh, hearing by chance that the fugitive was still
alive, and now a member of the priesthood, sent a messenger
to him to say, that since he had quitted his tents his father
had died, and had left a certain number of camels, which had
been divided according to the law amongst his family. Those
allotted to him had been in the safe keeping of the tribe, and
had increased yearly. The chief was now ready to do with
them as their rightful owner might direct."*
Mr. Layard on several occasions remarks in his valuable
writings how cheerfully the Arab works as an ordinary
labourer, when his feelings and prejudices are in some de¬
gree considered by those who are at once firm and just.
It is manifest that all the arguments brought forward in
favour of an Egyptian ship canal apply with equal, if not
with greater, force to the opening of the more direct over¬
land route by the valley of the Euphrates. As far as feelings
of antagonism are concerned between nations, the motives
for hostile rivalry are tending successively to give place to
that generous emulation which gives birth to great things,
and such a change wo\ild be more quickly brought about by
projects such as we now contemplate, than by any other
events that can be made to present themselves to the imagi-
* Nineveh and Babylon, by A. H. Layard, M.P. and D.C.L. John
Murray, Albemarle Street. 1854.
122
nation. Financial and commercial interests should never be
allowed to cause division between two great nations. Take,
for example, England and France : the immense development
of international commerce brought about by British capital
thrown into all the undertakings of France, has established
ties between the two countries which become closer every
day. Nor should political interests or questions of principle
be permitted to interfere with the progress of civilisation'and
the peace of nations. All civilised peoples can have but one
common aim, one same ambition : the triumph of right over
might — of civilisation over barbarism. Even the sordid
jealousy of territorial expansion is a feeling that should be
repudiated by all generous governments. People feel and
acknowledge in the present time that the globe is vast enough
to offer to the spirit of adventure that animates their respec¬
tive populations, countries to make available, human beings
to withdraw from a state of barbarism, and so long as the
civilised nations of the world, instead of thwarting one
another, as has too often been the case in projects of this
description, work together, as they ought to do, the con¬
quests of the one profit by the activity of the other.
M. Lesseps has, in a letter addressed to Lord Stratford de
Eedcliffe, grappled with the subject of the political inconve¬
niences of the route to India through Egypt.
There is, in fact, a point of the globe with the free pas¬
sage of which the political and commercial power of Great
Britain is bound up, a point, the possession of which France
had, on her part, aspired to in former times. This point is
Egypt, the direct route from Europe to India, Egypt bathed
once and again with French blood.
It is superfluous to define the motives which would not
allow England to see Egypt in the possession of a rival
nation without opposing it by the most energetic resistance ;
but what should also be taken into serious consideration
123
is, that with less positive interests, France, under the domi¬
nion of her glorious traditions, under the impression of other
feelings more instinctive than rational, and therefore more
powerful over the impressionable spirit of her inhabitants,
would not, in her turn, leave to England the peaceable sove¬
reignty of Egypt. It is clear that so long as the route to
India is open and certain, that the state of the country
ensures the facility and promptitude of the communications,
England will not set about creating the most grave difhculties
by appropriating a territory which, in her eyes, has no other
value than as a means of transit. It is likewise evident that
France—whose policy, for the last fifty years, has been to
contribute to the prosperity of Egypt, both by her counsels
and by the concourse of a great number of Frenchmen dis¬
tinguished in the sciences, in administrative capacity, in all
the arts of peace or war — will not seek to realise, in this
direction, the projects of another epoch, so long as England
does not interfere.
"But let one of those crises occur which have so often
shaken the East, let a circumstance arise wherein England
should find herself under the rigorous necessity of taking a
position in Egypt to prevent another power firom forestalling
her, and tell us then if it is possible that the alliance could sur¬
vive the complications which such an event would occasion.
And why should England consider herself obliged to become
mistress of Egypt, even at the risk of breaking her alliance
with France? For this single reason, that Egypt is the
shortest and most direct route from England to her Eastern
possessions ; that this route must be constantly open to her ;
and that, in whatever concerns this mighty interest, she could
never temporise. Thus, from the position given to her by
nature, Egypt might still become the subject of a conflict
between France and Great Britain ; so that this chance of
rupture would disappear, if, by a providential event, the
124
geographical conditions of the ancient world were changed,
and that the commercial route to India, instead of passing
through the heart of Egypt, were removed to its confines,
and, being opened to all the world, could never be exposed
to the chance of its becoming the exclusive privilege of any
one."
The object here proposed would be at once attained by
adopting the line of the valley of the Euphrates in preference
to that by Egypt. The commercial route to India, instead
of passing through the heart of Egypt, would then be re¬
moved far away beyond its confines—(it is a grievous mis¬
take—one which a mere glance at the first map at hand
would serve to correct—that Egypt is the shortest and most
direct route from England to her Eastern possessions)—and
apparently the only possible bone of contention between
England and France would be for ever removed, the union
of the two peoples rendered for the future unalterable, and
the world preserved from the calamities which a rupture
between them would produce.
In relation to another very serious consideration—that of
the future prospects of the empire of our august ally, the
Sultan—it is obvious that the opening of the valleys of the
Euphrates and Tigris would certainly, more than any other
projected undertaking, contribute to the preservation of the
Ottoman Empire, and to demonstrate to those who have been
wont to proclaim its decay and ruin, that it still has a pro¬
ductive existence, and that it is capable of adding a brilliant
page to the history of the world's civilisation. This view of
the subject was entertained and upheld at an untoward period
in the history of Turkey—when Syria was occupied by a hostile
Egyptian force. But at that time Russia was in the ascend¬
ant in the East, jealousy of influence, and still more so of
possible territorial extension, was then permitted to have
full sway, England and France had not united to establish
126
the force of right against that of mighty and to vindicate the
cause of progress and civilisation in the East over that of
barbarism. Eussia held sway not only over the Porte, but
over the timid councils that then influenced Great Britain,
and a noble and praiseworthy project was abandoned at the
dictation of the Muscovite.
Why, it has been truly asked, have the governments and
the peoples of the West combined to uphold the Sultan in
the possession of Constantinople ? and why has he who has
thought fit to menace that position met with the armed oppo¬
sition of Europe ? Because the passage from the Mediter¬
ranean into the Black Sea is of so much importance, that
whatever European power might become master of it, would
domineer over all the rest, and destroy that balance which the
whole world is interested in preserving.
Establish, then, at another and far more extensive point
of the Ottoman Empire, a similar and a yet more important
position—^make the valley of the Euphrates the highway of
the commercial world, and you would restore millions of pro¬
ductive acres to the revenue, bring thousands of merely
vassal tribes within that pale of order and fair tribute which
they have long learned to disregard ; and while you thus
improve to an almost incalculable extent the resources of
the empire, you create in the East another immovable seat
of power, for the great pcj vers of Europe, from lear of
seeing such one day seized upon by one of them, would regard
the necessity of guaranteeing its neutrality as a question of
vital importance.
Germany could not but hail the opening of the valley of
the Euphrates with satisfaction. It would indeed be to her
the complement to the free navigation of the Danube. The
Czar ought to consider that the mission of civilisation which
devolves upon him over the numerous tribes of whom he
is arbiter may yet suffice the noblest ambition. The new
m
outlets which will be pacifically thrown open to their activity
and to their necessity of expansion, would be more profitable
to them than a traditionary poKcy of conquest and exclusive
dominion, which is now no longer possible.
After all that has been done by printing, the mariner's
compass, steam, the nineteenth century, by the realisation
of this great undertaking (the Euphrates Valley Railway),
would again change the face of the globe. The honest Turk,
the polished Persian, the rude but laborious Kurd, the
roving Arab, and the oppressed Christian and Jew, attached
by resistless ties to the new circle of traffic which the
contiuent of Europe unceasingly creates and feeds, would
be all alike gradually brought within the pale of a general
civilisation.
"Mr. Anderson (one of the managing directors of the
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) has
pointed out, that suppose the 150,000,000 of Indians and
350,000,000 of Chinese should, in consequence of increased
facilities of communication, augment their outlay in the
purchase of English produce by one shilling each, this
modification alone, insignificant as it appears, would augment
the amount of exports by 25,000,000/. How much would
this be further increased if we brought 12,000,000 of dwel¬
lers in Ottoman Asia, and 10,000,000 of dwellers in Persia
into the same category, and which would be effected by
superadding the opening of the valley of the Euphrates to
that of the Isthmus of Suez, or by supplanting the one by
the other?
It has been justly remarked by another writer, that the
argument adduced by some, of problematical dangers arising
from increased facilities of communication, has its origin in
the old distrusts of that worn-out theory, that miserable
tissue of mistakes that took upon itself to teach that a people
is only rich and flourishing in proportion as its neighbours
m
are indigent and unfortanate. Doubtless the countries of
Europe nearest to the East would derive a considerable
profit from the opening of the valley of the Euphrates as
they would also from that of the Isthmus of Suez ; but our
egotism ought to find therein a motive for satisfaction^ for
we cannot be ignorant of the fact that the development of
commerce^ whatever be the means employed, always ends
by bringing the better part of the profits to the most intel¬
ligent and most numerous firms.
England and France, and even other nations by their
example, a.ppear, as a result of a war carried on especially
for the sake of civilisation, now called to great works which
throw into shade the most striking deeds of history. Among
these works of the future, it appears that the opening of the
valley of the Euphrates, and the restoration of Syria and
Mesopotamia, of Assyria and Babylonia, stands first in rank.
Such a proceeding, by multiplying and strengthening the
ties by which people of all climates, of all races, of all beliefs,
are united to Great Britain and France, would connect for
ever the general prosperity of nations with the happiness of
those countries, their security with their power, and their
independence with their liberty."*
The present far-seeing Emperor of the French, writing
upon the projected opening of the Nicaraguan ship canal,
said : Think of the almost miraculous eifects which will be
produced by the annual passage across this fine country of
2000 to 3000 vessels, which would exchange their produc¬
tions for those of the East, and cause life and riches to circu¬
late everywhere. We may picture to ourselves those shores,
now so solitary, peopled with towns and villages ; those
lakes, now gloomy and silent, furrowed by ships ; those
rugged lands fertilized, and the interior canal carrying the
* Colburn's New Monthly Magazine.
128
benefits of civilisation into the heart of the country." In
how much more comprehensive and practical a manner would
the same anticipations apply to the opening of the valleys of
the Euphrates and the Tigris, once the home of Assyrians,
Babylonians and Chaldeans ; where the daughters of Zion
sat down and wept ; the centre of the conquests of the
Macedonians ; where once stood the proud capitals of the
Sassanides and of the Khalifs ; now deserted and tenant-
less.
As mankind multiply and make progress in arts and civi¬
lisation, new wants arise, and the ingenuity of man is taxed
to discover new sources of wealth, maintenance, and occu¬
pation ; and we find, under the dispensations of an all-wise
Providence, that at suitable seasons resources are unveiled
which have been long provided but concealed until the fit
occasion presents itself. Amongst the numerous administra¬
tions of the same wise and merciful design, it is not unrea¬
sonable to believe that the opening of the valleys of the Eu¬
phrates and Tigris, and the resuscitation of the great nations
of antiquity, are amongst the events designed to minister to
the growing wants and improvements of the human race.
Looked upon in another point of view, in the light of reflected
benefits—25,000,000 and upwards of human beings inhabiting
Western Asia, and 500,000,000 and more inhabiting Central
and Eastern Asia, 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 of ignorance and superstition by the
diffusion of useful knowledge and an enlightened religion,
to plant industry and the arts where indolence and bar¬
barism have hitherto prevailed, are noble efforts, calculated
to elevate and bless alike those who give and those who
receive. The opening of the central regions of Western
Asia, and of a new and easy line of communication between
129
the East and the West, would obviously subserve the pro¬
motion of such objects, and therefore has a claim upon the
sympathy and support of every one taking an interest in the
advance of nations in prosperity, civilisation and happiness.
It is not too much to say that there is no existing or pro¬
jected railroad that can for a moment compare, in point of
interest and importance, with that of the Euphrates Valley.
It brings two quarters of the globe into juxta-position, and
three continents—Europe, Asia and Australia—into co-rela¬
tion. It binds the vast population of Hindustan by an iron
link with the people of Europe, it inevitably entails 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.
What is there in any other railway that can compare
with results of such magnitude, fraught with so many interests
to various nations, as can be here obtained ; and who can
foresee what ultimate results such communication may give
rise to in the relations of these nations—the comparative
condition of Hindus and Chinese, and of Europeans ? In all
such cases it is distance and difficulties of intercourse that
uphold distinctions. Annihilate space, and the great barriers
that separate people, and the differences of manners and
customs, of modes of thought and feeling, of doctrines and
dogmas, of precept and prejudices, that keep up these
barriers, gradually disappear, and an approach to unity is
more and more realised.
Several schemes have been projected of railways across
Asia Minor—a country of very remarkable physical configu¬
ration—^being in fact a great central upland, interrupted by
mountain chains, and chequered by more or less isolated
culminating points, cut on its confines by deep river-bearing
glens and ravines, or sloping off more or less precipitously
K
130
to the lower maritime or littoral band. The most wild and
visionary of these schemes was one propounded some time
back in the Calcutta Review—in a sketch which has been
since reproduced in the form of a pamphlet. The absurdity
of the project, and the utter ignorance and indifférence to
geographical details exhibited in its discussion, have been so
fully exposed by an anonymous traveller in a pamphlet
entitled ^The Euphrates Valley Route to India,'* that their
further discussion need not detain us here."
On the other hand, as far as practical suggestions are con¬
cerned, the fact is, as long ago pointed out by General
Chesney, and since by Mr. Andrew, that the valley of the
Halys, now called Kizil-Irmak, presents a great natural
opening across the central upland of Asia Minor, and affords
an easy approach from Taurus to the Black Sea, or to the
great Constantinopolitan road from Scutari to Armenia and
Persia. The positive and practical details of the first part
of this route from Scutari, by the pass of Hajji Hansah, to
the valley of the Halys, have been described in a commu¬
nication laid before the British Association, at its meeting
in Belfast in 1852. The central portions of the valley of the
Halys present no engineering difficulties whatsoever. The
valley is one of exceeding beauty, pastoral in its lower part,
the towns and the villages lying at the foot of the hills at
some distance from the river bed ; higher up it still con¬
tinues expansive, but becomes wooded and dotted with pic¬
turesque towns and villages, which only want roads and more
available means of intercommunication to impart to them the
life and animation of Europe. The valley narrows in its
upper part near Yarapason, and at a point a little beyond
this the line would leave the Halys by the valley of a small
* The Euphrates Valley Route to India. By a Traveller. Stanford,
Charing Cross. 1856.
181
tribuUry called Injeb-su. Passing thence along a natural
opening that presents itself between the foot of the giant
Arjish Tagh and the town of Injeh-su, on to the plain of
Nigdeh, it would gain the Cilician Gates^ now called Kulak
Boghaz, or narrow pass,'^ by which it would descend into
the fertile and populous plains of Cilicia^ from whence
Seleucia could be reached by a littoral line, or Antioch by
the pass of Bailan."*
Long before such a junction would be eifected, it is to
be hoped that the Euphrates raüway would extend the
whole length of the river valley. In such a case the time
occupied in the transit would be reduced to a journey of a
few days only, and when the navigation of the Persian Gulf
could be superseded by a Persian littoral line of rail, as
suggested by that distinguished geographer. Sir Justin Sheil,
the whole journey from Ostend or Calais to Kurrachee will
be performed in an incredibly small space of time. It is more
than probable, however, even should uninterrupted railway
communication be carried out with India, that the Persian
Gulf and the Mediterranean would still remain the line of
trafile for heavy goods, and that Kornah and Seleucia, the
termini of the Euphrates railway, would stül be the com¬
mercial harbours of the East and the West. This would
be particularly the case with regard to Australian trafile.
It is a common mistake that the road viâ the Isthmus of
Panama is the shortest from London to Sydney. The two
routes stand in the relation of 8400 geographical miles vîâ
the Euphrates, and of 9900 geographical miles viâ the
Isthmus of Panama, or 1600 geographical miles in favour
of the Euphrates route. It would probably remain for a
long time cheaper to ship goods that had been conveyed to
Seleucia from India, China, or Australia, viâ the valley of
* Bentley's Miscellany,
K 2
132
the Euphrates^ at all events such as are destined from Great
Britain^ France^ and Western or North-Western Europe
generally, than to convey them along extended lines of rail¬
way belonging to different countries, and subject to various
tariffs. With passengers it would be different. A certain
increase in expense might be deemed to be counterbalanced
by greater rapidity of transit.
Awaiting, hçwever, the completion of the Indo-European
line of railway, the more immediately feasible part of the plan,
as now before us, would free the voyage of all its difficulties and
inconveniences, and exempt the passenger from most of his
previous pains and penalties. The transit from London to
Kurrachee would become indeed a mere pleasure excursion.
From Trieste the traveller would speed his way along the
Adriatic, the navigation of which is proverbially easy and
safe. The bold and picturesque shores of the opposite coasts
are visible throughout on both sides. Entering the Medi¬
terranean, he would pass the Ionian Islands, Candia, Rhodes
and Cyprus, rich in picturesque beauties and historical asso¬
ciations, never at the same time losing sight of the shores
of the Morea and of Asia Minor, till the lofty peak of Mount
Casius would announce his entrance into the Bay of Antioch
and at the old port of the Macedonians—Seleucia Pieria.
Fe^^ regions on the face of the earth can compare with the
Bay of Antioch in point of scenic beauty. No wonder that
the city of Seleucus Nicator, the port of the hijigdom of
Antioch, and the place of embarkation of the most gifted of
the Apostles, should have been once an opulent, flourishing,
and exceedingly populous city. Let us hope that its old
harbour will be speedily restored, and that modern steam¬
ships will re-awaken the echoes, which were once roused by
the galleys of the Romans, in the neighbouring fastnesses of
Mount Rhossus.
Issuing from the bosom of this lovely valley, teeming with
ISS
the fragrance of myrtle and box, and everywhere clad .with
a rich and luxuriant vegetation, over which, here and there,
as at Seleucia, surnamed the " Stony,*^ and over the Orontes,
smiling on its way to woo and win the island-^nymph Melibcea,
rocks and crags topple in wild disorder, the traveller will
pass Mount St. Simon, a relic of old monastic seclusion and
penitence, and gain the open, wooded, and ever fair valley
of Antioch, once the seat of the luxurious and seductive
Daphne, and still the site of a town once renowned as the
residence of the Syrian kings, as one of the largest cities of
the world, and as the chief station of the Christian religion.
Beyond this, a green slope with the river on one side and
hills on the other, will lead him to where the Orontes is
crossed by the Jisr Hadeed, or Iron Bridge, the well-known
Pontisfer of the Crusaders—the line of passage being marked
by the marshes of the lake of Antioch on the one side, and
available green sward on the other. It is the same marsh
that determined the fate of the Palmyrean light horse when
combated by the cohorts of Aurelian. The great plain of
Antioch is still called Emk, a corruption of Emma, the
Roman name of a site, now marked only by some ruins upon
the Em-guli-su, or water of the lake of Em. At the outset
of the journey, the ruins of churches, monasteries, and private
dwellings, with great reservoirs hewn out of the solid rock—
remains of an early and persecuted Christianity—abound.
As we advance, the fertile plain of Danah is seen, sur^
rounded by the ruins of Christian villages ; and beyond this
is Aleppo, occupying with its extensive suburbs eight small
hills of unequal height, the intermediate valleys, and a con¬
siderable extent of flat country, the whole comprehending a
circuit of about seven miles, and that again surrounded by
gardens and orchards of pistachio, fig, pomegranate, orange,
lemon, olive, vine, mulberry, cotton, tobacco, castor, sesa-
mum, and an infinite variety of fruits and vegetables. Tho
184
long time metropolis of Syria is shorn of its pristine magni-
ficence^ but it is still a great city, of very considerable com¬
mercial importance from its central position in relation to other
Syrian towns, and of no mean resources within itself.
The traveller quitting Aleppo will probably first touch
the river Euphrates at Balis, in the time of Cyrus the seat
of a park and a palace of Belesis, the governor of Syria, and
where some lofty ruins still represent the Barbalissus of the
Romans. Having thus gained the open valley of the " Great
River," the traveller would henceforth have little to com¬
plain of as to the wearisomeness of his journey. Almost
every bend of the stream would present him with a new
scene—the same great river under a new aspect—its waters
narrowed at one time, at another stretching out into lake¬
like expanses, and then again rolling lazily along in many
silver streams separated by as many burnished golden
islands. The banks would present him with alternately
vast expanses of level green sward interrupted by low
rocky ridges that advance towards the river bed at the salient
points, or long belts of tamarisk and other shrubs or trees,
or pastoral lands dotted with the tents of nomade Arab tribes,
or cultivated plains with the villages of a sedentary and
agricultural people, or wildernesses of wormwood, as they
were in the days of Xenophon and still are in part, or rocky
hills as at Zelebeh, or level sandy plains as in Babylonia, or
ultimately marshes and endless groves of dates, as they be¬
come in their lower or Chaldean portions. Ruins of olden
cities, castellated buildings, and modern towns and villages,
with occasional wooded and inhabited islands, diversify this
long valley, Ja'ber Castle, the proposed terminus of the first
section of the railway, is the first to attract attention. Little
is known of its history. It is called Kalahi Jaber by Abul-
feda, but we learn from Golius that it was called Dauser, after
its founder, one of the princes of the Mundar dynasty.
135
Stephanus of Byzantium also notices the castle by the name
of Dausara; and it is related of the Emperor Julian, by his
historian, Ammianus Marcellinus, that he visited Duana, " a
presidential castle." The Equités Mauri Illyricani Dahunce
are also mentioned in the Notitiae Imperii," as under the
Duke of Osroene ; and Procopius enumerates the castle of
Dabanas among others on the Euphrates. Sulinam, chief of
the Ughuz Turks, who was drowned in the Euphrates, was
buried here, and hence D'Herbelot says it was called Mizari
Turk. KnoUer, in his history of the Turks, calls it Ziebar
Cala. Sultan Selim erected a mausoleum at the spot where
the remains of his great ancestor reposed, and a monastery
of dervishes was also founded at the same place by the Sheikh
Abu-Bekir.
Opposite to Kalah Jaber are the Abu Bara hills, with two
or three Sheikhs' tombs and towers on their crest, and the
plain beyond is cultivated by the Wulda Arabs. Beyond
Jaber an extensive forest district, known to the Arabs as the
Zor, stretches as far as to where the river, bending to the
eastward, spreads out into a magnificent lake-like expanse,
haying the mounds of Sura—Flavia firma Sura^^—and the
ruins of Thapsacus — Tiphsah of Solomon — the most re¬
nowned of all the passes of the Euphrates at one end, and
the Nikephorum of the Macedonians, the Callinicus of the
Bomans, and Eakka of the Khalifs, at the other. A more
impressive-' and striking scene can scarcely be imagined ;
and it would take a volume to place on record all the points
of historical interest that are associated with it.
The plain of Siifin, the scene of a long and disastrous con¬
flict between the first successors of Muhammad, and a long
line of jungle and forest called the Aran, are followed by a
ridge of basaltic hills, which stretcli all the way from Palmyra
to a point on the river, where is also the site of another
Palmyrean town or port on the Euphrates—a most interesting
136
and remarkable mass of ruins—a castle of the Persians occu¬
pying the summit of a hill nearly opposite to it. A more
open and cultivated country, studded with quadrangular
mud forts and the villages of Mudan—agricultural Arabs—
extend from Zelebeh, the Palmyrean ruin,, to Dair, " the
monastery "—a little town of some importance among the
Arabs. Not far — some thirty miles—beyond, the river
Khabur — the Habor of the Captivity — flows into the Eu¬
phrates at the site of Carchemish of the Scriptures, after¬
wards Cercusium, the limitrophal town of the Pomans.
Beyond this, again, we have Zaita, " the olive grove," and
Mayarthin, an Arab town, with the old castle of Eahabah in
the background ; and a little further on, where some clifls
advance perpendicularly upon the right bank of the river,
the ruins of the town and citadel of Salahu-d-din, "the
defender of the faith," as Yusuf, the son of Ayub the Kurd
and the Saladin of the Crusaders, designated himself. The
ruins of Werdi, once a great and opulent city on the
Euphrates, and Al Kayim, the station at which the Damascus
and Bagdad caravans touch the river, lead the way to Annah,
incomparably the most picturesque town on the river. Lastly,
a low hilly country, once generally cultivated, and still par¬
tially so, and diversified by villages of sedentary Arabs ; and
a river intersected by islands, once the seat of colonies of
captive Jews, and now the home of well-disposed agricultural
tribes, lead the way, past Hit or Izannesopolis, celebrated for
its bitumen fountains, to the great plains of Babylon and
Bagdad.
The traveller may be disappointed in the present aspect
of a city endeared to him by romance and history; the
mausoleum of Zobaide may not, although a very remarkable
remnant of Arabian architectural skill, equal what he may
have anticipated of the wealth and power of the Khalifs ;
the schools and colleges, the coffee-bouses and bazaars of
IST
modern Bagdad, and still more so of Bussorah, once its rival
in learning, in literature, and in commercial prosperity, may
not come up to his preconceived ideas of the wealth and
wondrous art of these cities so famed in story. Babylonia
and Chaldea, once the seat of powerful empires, covered
with great towns and cities—the centres of riches and con¬
sequent corruption—^with plains once clothed with vegeta¬
tion, well peopled, or dotted with lowing herds, are now
mere clay or sand, green sward or marsh, with here and
there an Arab village, or a mound, from whence the curious
archaeologist extracts the sculptured remnants of olden times,
or slabs engraven with the names of Babylon's ancient mo-
narchs. Times have sadly changed from the days of terraced
palaces in Babylon, of renowned schools of arts and sciences
at Bagdad, or of sumptuous caravanserais at Bussorah. The
modern Sinbads of commerce are a degenerate race. But
miuarets and domes still glitter from among forests of date-
trees, and a motley population from all quarters of the globe,
busily engaged in commercial operations, soon satisfy the '
traveller that the ancient glory of Bagdad and of Bussorah
is not entirely departed. Above all, there remain those two
great and noble rivers—the Tigris and the Euphrates—
uniting at Kurnah into one grand, calm and expansive Shat,
or Eirth, which must always offer the ready means of resus¬
citating all the populousness, the prosperity, and the glory of
bygone days.
The Persian Gulf lies beyond this, land-locked and diver¬
sified by islands like another Adriatic—but an Oriental Adri¬
atic—its sparkling, translucent waters displaying shells and
corals of such bright and vivid colours as to rival those of
the brilliant fish that dart past along its clear depths. There
can be no pains or penalties in such a journey as this ; the
sun may be hot, but there is a sea breeze to cool the way¬
farer, yet not strong enough to lift the wave ; and the very
1S8
sight of those bright green waters, their brilliancy enhanced
by torrid sandy plains, or relieved by fringes of dark date
groves, is always refreshing.
We have been so far carried away in depicting the pleasures
of a trip from London to Kurrachee, that we had almost
forgotten the consideration of the European and Indian
Junction Telegraph, a project not only of the deepest import
in itself, but one which derives a more immediate interest
from its not having to wait the time necessary for laying
down a line of rail, and establishing steam-boats on the river
Euphrates, to be carried into execution. The formation of
a company to carry out such an important object has been
encouraged, if not positively necessitated, by the East India
Company having on the one hand come to a resolution to lay
down a telegraphic submarine cable from Kurrachee to the
head of the Persian Gulf, and by the Austrian government
having established a company, with the requisite capital,
guaranteed by the state, for laying down a submarine telegraph
in connexion with its land lines, from Cattaro or Eagusa, on
the coast of the Adriatic, viâ Corfu, Zante and Candia, to
Cyprus and Seleucia direct, or to Alexandria, and thence by
Jaffa and Beyrut to Seleucia.* When the submarine and
Indian systems meet at Seleucia, the connexion between the
East and the West will be complete, and England, the Conti¬
nent and India will be placed in hourly communication. Three
modes have presented themselves of establishing the proposed
connecting link : one has been by the ordinary system of
wires suspended in the air upon posts or standards of wood,
iron or stone, and insulated by earthenware rings : a second
has been by means of a subterranean cable, insulated by a
gutta percha tubing, or by earthenware pipes, such as are
* A line of submarine telegraph will, it is expected, be also established
shortly between Constantinople and Seleucia.
139
used for drains and manufactured by the natives of the
country ; and the third, by a subfluviatile cable, or a
cable carried along the bottom of the river Euphrates, It is
obvious that the two last-mentioned systems present the
greatest security, but the latter would' be exposed to danger
in a river navigated by steam-boats, and the subterranean
telegraph is always exposed to the drawback of the diíEculty
attendant upon discovering the seat of an accident and in
remedying it. There seems to be no valid reason why the
connecting link should not be established by the ordinary
telegraphic system. As to physical difficulties, there are
none whatsoever. Whatever difficulties do exist, are con¬
nected with the more or less lawless and semi-barbarous
state of the country through which the wires would have to
be conveyed. But the Arab, although in some instances by
education and by profession a robber, does not appear to be
wantonly destructive. No instances of the kind will be found
in the books of travellers. The untouched ruins and monu¬
ments of different kinds, met with along the banks of the
rivers Euphrates and Tigris, attest rather to a conservative
feeling. There are castles on the Euphrates which date as
far back as the time of the Khalifs, the rooms of which are
perfectly inhabitable. There are fresco paintings in the
halls of Birijik Castle of the times of the Crusaders, and in¬
scriptions at Bakka of the time of the first Sultans, that have
never been injured, save by time. The Arabs do not even
appear to destroy animal life wantonly. They detest pork,
yet they do not trouble themselves to destroy the innumerable
boars that fatten in their Jiawis—the rich alluvial plains of
the rivers. In fact, from all that can be gathered, they
appear to rob but not to destroy. Were they wantonly
destructive, so as to fire encampments, cut date-trees, break
down dykes, or ravage corn-lands, olive-groves, and gardens,
the consequence in such countries would be very disastrous.
140
Providence seems not to have given to them such an evil
propensity in addition to others. But^ supposing even that
the contrary were the case, and that the Arabs were wan¬
tonly destructive, those dwelling along the banks of the
Euphrates are for the most part of sedentary habits, pastoral
or agricultural, and they would be among the least disposed
to injure property, the destruction of which would be of no
advantage to them. They might entertain some superstitious
ideas in connexion with a system of wires carried across their
lands, but these would be easily dissipated by proper expla¬
nations made to them of the meaning and purport of the
wires ; and the most perfect security would be obtained
by employing the Arabs themselves to protect them, and
by its being in the power of the Company's agents to say
that they were used not only by Europeans, but also to
carry the messages of the Sublime Porte and of the Sultan
himself—the actual Khalif and head of their religion.
The British government and the Honourable the East
India Company duly appreciate the power of supervision
and control put into their hands by the telegraph, binding,
as it does, the isolated and distant dependencies of the em¬
pire to the mother country, and they are understood to be
prepared to extend their countenance and support in a fair
and liberal spirit.
The merchant and the shipowner are also well acquainted
with the inestimable value to them of the power of imparting
and receiving prompt information. But even this is not to
be compared with the interest attached to such a means of
rapid intercommunication of ideas by relatives and friends,
more especially by members of families when at a distance
from each other—parents and children, husbands and wives.
The electric telegraph becomes in such instances a real boon
to humanity.
^^The Indo-European telegraph," says an anonymous
141
writer/ "is undoubtedly one of the most valuable and
important series of projects brought before the public by
Mr. Andrew, and it is calculated, with the opening of
the Euphrates and Indus to passengers and goods traffic,
to most materially enhance the development of the re¬
sources of our vast Indian empire. Nor can it for a mo-^
ment be doubted but that a line of electric telegraphs between
Europe and India must be a suocessful commercial enter¬
prise, putting altogether out of sight the important moral
effects which such means of rapid communication must of
necessity bring about. It may, on the contrary, be doubted
whether any more efficient means could be adopted to de¬
velop the resources of India, and to consolidate British power
and strengthen British rule in that country, than by the for¬
mation of the proposed system of railways in Central Asia,
and the carrying out of the proposed telegraph communica¬
tion with Europe. These are undertakings which are not
only eminently calculated to promote the immediate objects
in view, facility and rapidity of intercommunication, as also
of connecting India with Europe by a means of communica¬
tion the most extraordinary in its character of the present
age, but also to assist most materially in bringing more pro¬
minently before public attention the very wide and lucrative
field for enterprise of varied forms which the valleys of the
Euphrates and Tigris, as well as the Indian Empire, offer to
British capitalists, merchants, colonists, and others."
^Were any person (it has been most pertinently remarked)
asked to point out the greatest proof and grandest monument
of British power, genius, enterprise, perseverance, and con¬
structive skill, he would most probably name our Indian
Empire. Imagination can hardly picture anything mbre
wonderful than that splendid aggregate of rich and populous
kingdoms, acquired, subjected, consolidated, and brought by
indomitable courage, by consummate art, by profound policy,
beneath the benignant sway of the constitutional sovereign
m
of tlie British Isles. When one contemplates that vast ter-
ritory^ with its myriads of industrious inhabitants, its fertile
fields, its flourishing cities, its various products, its countless
treasures, and its inexhaustible sources of wealth, and recol¬
lects that all that is the fruit of fortunate commercial enter¬
prise and well-directed practical ability, civil and military,
one is at a loss to find words to express the magnitude of
such an achievement. History affords no precedent of an
empire of such magnificence constructed by such means, and
brought within the dominion of a monarch, the principal seat
of whose government is distant thousands of miles. British
India stands alone in its majesty, the glorious monument of
British commerce. Arms have undoubtedly done much, and
diplomacy has done a great deal, but commerce has been
the origin and the great constructor of this matchless depen¬
dency of the English crown. In reviewing the administration
of the late Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, his annexa¬
tions, his acquisitions, and his policy, we recently had the
opportunity of surveying, as a whole, the state and condi¬
tion of our Indian territory, and of marking the extraordinary
advance made by our heterogeneous Asiatic subjects towards
civilisation. The President of the Board of Control, too, a
few days ago, marshalled in detail the results of our Oriental
labours, and made plain to every understanding that our
policy had been triumphant, and our achievements, whether
of peace or war, had been unparalleled. Officially vouched
facts and incontestable figures establish beyond controversy
that the march of improvement throughout our Indian domi¬
nions has been extraordinary, and that the material and moral
progress therein made has been so rapid as to outstrip all
precedent example. But two things were wanted to complete
the work we have carried on thus far, and to accomplish that
triumph over mind and matter, over natural obstacles, igno¬
rance and prejudice, which it is our manifest destiny to secure
ns
—the perfection of a direct railway system between England
and India, and the establishment of an unbroken chain of
electric communication, going straight from the head-quarters
of Queen Victoria's government to every extremity of her
eastern empire.'
" It ought not to be omitted, in considering the auspicious
circumstances under which these great and public impe¬
rial works have been inaugurated, that the return of peace is
not one of the least. Indeed, the circumstances under which
the railway will be now constructed, steam navigation esta¬
blished, and telegraphic communication opened, are infinitely
better than we could have found them to be if no Russian war
had taken place. The relationships between the Porte and
the Western Powers have assumed a totally new aspect since
the Allies interposed to save the sick man" from the designs
of the Czar. The Turks have now abandoned their jealousy,
and forgotten their bigoted contempt of Prankish visitors ;
while we, on our part, as we became better acquainted with
the government and the inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire,
have learnt to respect them more highly, and value them more,
whether as allies or as customers. What is of immediately
practical consequence as regards the establishment of railway
and telegraphic communication with India, and of re-opening
the navigation of the Euphrates, the counter-influence of
Russia will be now unavailing ; and we are now sure of
obtaining all the facilities and co-operation which it may be
in the power of the Porte to bestow. To use the words of
the projector, Mr. Andrew, ^Now that the Temple of Janus
is closed for a season, let us stamp on Asia the impress of our
genius and our power : let us render the invasion of Asia
Minor by Russia for ever impossible, by throwing open to
the world, by the irresistible power of steam, the rich and
forgotten plains of the Euphrates and Tigris — the once
famed granaries of the East — and subduing to industry
144
their wild inhabitants. This would be a greater triumph
than the recapture of Kars, and at once a colossal and en¬
during monument of our science and enlightenment, as well
as of our energy and might as a people.'*
When this is done, then, indeed, will time be van¬
quished and distance be overcome. Then will the civili¬
sation of the West be spread in hourly currents over the
• East ; then will the dream of the poet be more than
realised, and to ^ waft a sigh from Indus to the Pole '
will be the simplest of performances. Laying aside all
commercial advantages and political considerations, who
has not a friend or relative in India to whom sending a
message in a moment, at any hour of the day, would not
be a most welcome privilege and advantage, which no
money could adequately represent? Mr. O'Shaughnessy,
the distinguished originator of the telegraphic system in
India, tells us that the number of native correspondents
in that country is increasing daily. Not only do they use
the lines for financial business, but on the most delicate
and secret matters, affecting family arrangements, be¬
trothals, marriages, and other domestic affairs, of which
they treat with an absence of all disguise which is almost
beyond belief. Are the Turks, the Persians, the Arabs,
or the Christian races, under Turkish or Persian rule, less
intelligent and less likely to avail themselves of the tele¬
graph than the Hindoo ?t Contemplating the subject in all
* Vide The Scinde Railway and its Relations to the Euphrates Valley
and other Routes to India. By W. P. Andrew. W. H. Allen and Co.,
7, Leadenhall Street, London. 1856.
+ Those desirous of further information regarding the establishment of
telegraphic communication between England and India are referred to
the Prospectus of the European and Indian Junction Telegraph Company,
the valuable Report of Mr. William Ainsworth, F.RG.S., addressed to
the Chairman of the Company, and ihe official Correspondence given in
the Appendix.
145
its bearings, without any misgiving that imagination may
be leading reason astray, we cannot but consider the projects
now being inaugurated as among those mighty changes which
are permitted at various epochs in the world's history to
exercise a powerful influence over the destinies of the
human race." *
Regarding the insidious movements of Russia towards
the East, that eminent authority. Sir Justin Sheil, late
British Ambassador at the Court of Tehran, makes the fol¬
lowing pregnant and suggestive remarks in notes appended
to Lady Sheil's recent and interesting volunie, " Life and
Manners in Persia"
The Caspian Sea washes the coasts of the Persian pro¬
vinces of Talish, Geelan, Mazenderan, Asterabad, and Persian
Toorkomania. The inhabitants of these spacious territories
carry on an extensive commerce, in part with the Persian
ports on that sea, in part with the Russian districts on its
northern and western shores. With a far-seeing policy,
which anticipates all the possibilities of futurity, when Persia
was gasping almost in the last throes, Russia humbled her
to the dust, by forcing on her the renewal of a stipulation
contracted at the treaty of Goolistan, by which she bound
herself not to maintain any vessel of war in the Caspian Sea.
Upwards of a hundred years ago an Englishman named
Elton, a man of wonderful ability and resource, who had
been brought up to a seafaring life, and who had previously
been an officer in the Russian navy, was in the service of
the Shah (Nadir), and not only commanded his naval forces
in the Caspian Sea, but built ships for him on European
models. The most unnautical nation in the world, with an
Englishman as their leader, became dominant on the Caspian;
and, as the author of the ^ Progress of Russia in the East '
* Bentley's Miscellany.
L
146
^forced the Russians to lower their fluff,and the
banner with the open hand* floated triumphantly through
the length and breadth of the Caspian. To preclude a re¬
vival of this discomfiture, Persia was forced to sign her
degradation, and the Caspian became a Russian lake. When
the Czar rendered Persia powerless on this inland sea, he
was heedless of the fact that the Toorkoman pirates of the
eastern coast near the Go organ and the Atrek were accus¬
tomed to make descents in their boats on the Persian shores,
to kidnap the inhabitants and carry them into slavery. True,
he was ready to make compensation, by sending his own
vessels of war to protect ' the Persian coast from depredation;
but the real meaning of imperial protection is not unknown in
Persia, and for a long time this proflfer was regarded in the
light of the Persian fable of the frog who invited the snake
to guard his dwelling. Unfortunately an event occurred
several years afterwards which placed them in the poor
frog's predicament, and which, though not strictly bearing
on the treaty of Toorkoman Chaee, as it refers to the Caspian,
may be introduced here.
The small sandy island of Ashoorada is situated in the
gulf or bay of Asterabad, about twelve miles from the coast
nearest to that city, which is twenty miles from the sea.
In size it is about a mile and a half in length, and less than
a mile in width. The water is deep in its vicinity ; and its
lee affords a secure shelter in a gale from any direction.
Hitherto it has been uninhabited. Twelve or thirteen years
ago it fell into the hands of Russia, by one of those protective
processes of which we have lately heard so much. Its ad¬
vantages as a naval station had not escaped the observation
* "The banner of Persia is surmounted by an open hand, of which the
five fingers are said to express Mahommed, Ali, Fatma, Hassan, and
Hoossein."'
147
and cupidity of Russia. It commands the entrance to the
bay, menaces that portion of the coast inhabited by the
Yemoot Toorkomans, and intercepts the commerce with
Mazenderan, on which the stationary tribes of that race
chiefly depend for subsistence. The island possesses sources
of sweet spring-water, together with a climate remarkable
on that coast for its salubrity. The inner side has suiBcient
depth of water to float a brig-of-war, within a few yards of
the beach. These are some of the inducements which led
to the occupation of this spot of Persian territory by the
Russian government, which act was perpetrated in 1841,
immediately after the catastrophe of Cabul became known.
At that time Persia was ruled by Mahommed Shah, a
monarch of whose wisdom much cannot be said. He had
for minister a man who was half mad and whole Russian.
He was a native of Erivan, in Russia, and often proclaimed
himself to be a subject of that empire. This was the noto¬
rious Hajee Meerza Aghassee,'who, from tutor to the royal
family, was raised at once to the vezeership. Russia was
asked to lend Persia for a short time one or two small ships
of war, to hold in check the Toorkomans residing between
Asterabad and the Toorkoman settlement of Hassan Koolee,
at the mouth of the Atrek. With the most amiable and
neighbourly cordiality she replied that she would save
Persia all trouble, and come herself to chastise the marau¬
ders. Two vessels of war forthwith appeared, and soon after
established themselves at Ashoorada, from whence they have
never since moved. Complaint and remonstrance were
met by countercharges of ingratitude, and by indignant ex¬
postulation at this offensive display of distrust. It is not
surprising that there should be a reluctance to depart. The
position is a good one ; for, besides overawing the Toorko¬
mans, it also controls Mazenderan. The most complete
possession has been taken of the island. It is covered with
l2
148
residences^ hospitals, barracks ; and soil has been conveyed
to it for the construction of gardens. In short, there is every
evidence of permanent occupation and retention.
The sea-going Toorkomans have been brought under
complete control. Some have been sent to Siberia, or to
Russia Proper. Not a boat is allowed to move without a
passport, under heavy penalties, and even Persian boats are
under the same restriction ; this, too, on the coast of their
own sea ! Since the occupation of the island a consul has
been placed at Asterabad, so that, with the consul on one side
and the commodore on the other, Mazenderan also is on a
hopeful road to protection.
True, the incursions of the Toorkomans have nearly ceased.
But the Persians say, and with justice, that an occasional
chepawool of these pirates was less irksome than the pre¬
sence and interference of consul and commodore.
No attempt has yet succeeded for forming an establishment
on the mainland among the Toorkomans. When the day for
that arrives, the Goorgan will doubtless receive a preference.
Its banks are on the highroad to Meshed, and are covered
with the richest pastures ; and the climate and the soil are
suited for the production of abundant harvests of corn.
No fitter spot could be found for subsisting an army, or for
being made the basis of a plan of military operations to the
East.
The naval strength of Russia in the Caspian is not easily
ascertained with correctness. It is believed to amount to
four or five small steamers and a few brigs and schooners of
•war, the largest not carrying more than eighteen guns ; but
her supremacy is as complete as that of England in the Irish
Channel."
For more than a century Russia has been aiming at the
possession of Khiva. Twice she has failed in attaining her
object by force, by open force. The next attempt will pro-
149
bably secure the prize. Dissension at Khiva, steamers on
the Aral and at the mouth of the Oxus, a fortress at the
Jaxartes, invite an attempt and promise success.
England has some concern with the establishment of
Kussia in this principality. There she would be inexpugn¬
able. She is within two hundred miles of the Caspian, a
space which, to minds accustomed to the vast distances of Asia,
is as nothing. A Persian soldier thinks little of a march
of one thousand miles from Azerbijan to Khorassan. Master
of Khiva, the Eussian government becomes supreme over
the Toorkomans, and will find no insurmountable difficulty
in establishing through the intervening level tract a perma¬
nent and available communication wdth the Caspian Sea.
The noble river Oxus, navigable to within a hundred miles
of Hindoo Koosh, becomes Eussian, and is covered with
Eussian steamers. At his choice the Emperor can fix the
boundary of his empire on that river, for who is there to
gainsay him? Khoolloom and Koondooz will doubtless then
become the limits of the Eussian dominions. The trade
between India and those countries, now free and uncontrolled
on the payment of not immoderate duties, falls then under
the despotic rule of that government, and becomes subject
to its protective and selfish commercial restrictions. Her
near neighbourhood is not likely to strengthen our position in
North-western India. And yet it seems impossible to avert
these evils, or to prevent the downfall of Khiva, or its even¬
tual occupation by Eussia. Can nothing, however, be done
to save the Oxus, to save at least the portion approximating
to Afghanistan Î"
Without undertaking to decide the large question at
issue (the invasion of India by Eussia), I shall assume
the feasibility of invasion to be established, and merely
observe that now more than ever should we be on the
watch, for the Eussian and Indian dominions are twelve
150
hundred miles hearer to each other than when the inva¬
sion of Affghanistan took place. Excluded from prose¬
cuting her ambitious objects in other quarters, revenge, the
desire of retrieving her prestige, all conspire to urge Russia
to the East. She will await the favourable moment in
patience, moving forward in the mean while by the vdles
she is reputed to understand so well. On this occasion she
has been opposed by four combatants ; next time these con¬
ditions may^be reversed. Let it not be forgotten that, when
her railroads to Odessa and to Vladikafkaz are completed,
her strength, particularly towards the East, will be doubled."
Jonas Hanway says, ^ the situation of Candahar renders
it a strong barrier between the empires of Persia and India.'
The town of Candahar commands the three roads to
India : that by Cabul, by Shikarpoor, and the sterile routes
across the Suleina range to Dera Ismael Khan and Dera
Ghazee Khan, on the Indus.*
" The above city is situated in the most fertile part of
Affghanistan, in plains abounding with wheat, barley, and
other grains. Here it is practicable to provide for the subsist¬
ence of an army during a certain time. It should be our care
to secure these resources from being available to an enemy.''
The distance between Candahar and our outposts does not
exceed 200 miles.f If the abandonment of this position is
deserving of regret, its resumption should form an object of
early effort. Established here, we may almost set invasion
àt defiance. A Gumri, a Sebastopol, in this spot makes us
paramount, for it will be an announcement to all the World
that the determination to remain is irrevocable."
• "There is a mountain road from Herat to Cabul, but it is described to
be impassable for guns, and to be through a thinly-inhabited country,
consequently to be deficient in food."
't " It is assumed that Dader and Kelat are our frontier stations."
161
Our taking up a formidable position at Candahar will go
far to deter even speculation on tbe chances of invasion.
" The cost of the plan offered for consideration, and the
drain on the already encumbered resources of India, deserve
reflection. Yet present expenditure is often real economy,
of which the war we are now waging is a notable example.
It seems to be a national vice to prefer the most lavish outlay
in prospect to present moderate disbursement. Whatever
tends to avert an attempt to wrest India from our hands, and
prevent the enormous consequent expenditure, is economy."
Kussia may be said to have already announced that she
is even now preparing for her next encounter with Great
Britain. Her railways have no other end than to transport
troops. She found that in the last struggle her weakness
lay in the impossibility of collecting her forces at the
proper moment on the distant points of her empire. This
weakness she has intimated shall disappear. But we, too,
will not remain idle. Our railways in India will advance as
well as those of Russia. Established and prepared in Can¬
dahar, with a railway running the whole length of the left
hanJc of the InduSy toe may await any attempt in calmness.
The Russian grenadier now knows his inferiority to the
English soldier. The Cossack will find a match in the Hin-
doostanee horseman."*
What a blessing would it be to Europe, and to the entire
world, as well as to her own incalculable interest and happi¬
ness, if Russia, instead of seeking to aggrandise herself at
the expense of other nations, would but honestly and steadily
turn her attention to the improvement of the means of internal
communication throughout her vast empire, to the arts of
peace, to agriculture, to manufactures, and to commerce.
• Glimpses of Life and Manners in Persia, by Lady Sheil. With Notes
on Russia, Koords, Toorkomans, Nestorians, Khiva, and Persia. John
Murray, Albemarle Street, 1856.
152
Sua si bona norit ! what a rich, powerful, prosperous and
happy nation she might become ; but such hopes are idle.
With regard to her future policy and its indications,
according to the continental journals supposed to be in
her pay, she has demanded permission of the Porte to allow
ten vessels of war to pass the Bosphorus, en route from
the Baltic, in order to meet the exigencies of the Cir¬
cassian war ; while it is also asserted that the gun boats
from the sea of Azof have been transported by the
route of the Don, and Junction canal, and the Wolga,
to the Caspian Sea ; while information has arrived at St.
Petersburg that the whole line of water communication
has been completed between that capital and the sea of
Okotsk, opposite Japan.
These things are unmistakeable indications that the great
meshes of the spider's web are again spreading- their hold
over almost every part of the globe.
Advices from St. Petersburg furnish the details of the
recent subsidies granted by the Russian Government for
the formation of steam companies in the Black Sea and
elsewhere. They will amount annually to between 400,000?.
and 500,000/., the line to Alexandria alone receiving 50,000?.,
besides other privileges. The total capital to be employed
is 2,000,000?., and the shares, which were all taken up
immediately, command a premium. The vessels are all to
be built to carry guns " if necessary," and the movement is
regarded by many as a clever mode of creating and main¬
taining a navy so as to evade the treaty of Paris. Some of
the lines, it is observed, are obviously such as could never
have been formed for legitimate purposes of trade, and the
cry is that Russia will now get effective ships for political
purposes at a cheaper rate than if they were avowedly in
government service.
According to the treaty of peace, Russia is only to have
153
a certain number of vessels of war in the Black Sea ; but the
new Steam Navigation Company will have 26 post steamers^
6 other steamers, 10 tug steamers, and ^0 barques. The
crews of these vessels are to have the same uniform and dis¬
cipline as the sailors who are in the Imperial service.
The mouths of the Don and the Volga must be some 400
or 500 miles apart, and to effect a junction between them
would involve an enormous cost, even if it could be effected
at all ; but the project of uniting the waters of the Caspian
with those of the Euxine by means of a canal was first
started in the reign of Peter the Great, if not by himself:
and it was Paul's intention to have undertaken the work, for
which Perry, an English engineer, had been employed by
Peter in taking the preliminary steps, surveying the best
line, &c.
The intention was, and it has never been abandoned,
to follow the natural courses of the Don and Volga to
points where they approach each other to within some
fifty miles; and there, in the intervening ground, taking
advantage of the river Lafla, which flows into the Don on
the west, and of the Kamisinca which runs into the Volga
on the East, to cut a ship canal between these two rivers.
This need not be more than two and one-third miles in
length : and then by means of locks, and by deepening,
widening and straightening these two tributary streams, the
passage between the two seas would be effected.
Clarke, who travelled over that part of the country in
1800, says, " a work like this would not long be in agitation
in England."
At Tzaritzin, the Volga and Don approach each other to
within forty miles or so, but the intervening ground is stated
to be hilly.
The entire length of the navigation between the two seas.
154
up the Volga along the Kamisinca and Lafla, and down the
Don, would be at least 800 miles.
The junction between the Caspian and the Exuine has
been effected, although the exact route is not shown.
The Caspian and the Baltic are already united by a canal
between the rivers Tvertza and Msta at Vishnei Voloskh ;
the length of the navigation being no less than 5,000 versts
or 3,334 miles. Now, however, that the line of railroad
between Petersburgh and Moscow cuts the canal, as well as
the Volga, no doubt the greater portion of the traffic has
been diverted from the water, into the iron, channel.
Of the facilities which railways will afford to Pussia
in future aggressions little need be said. It is impossible
not to apprehend that, while railways in other countries
rapidly diminish all tendency to warfare, the contrary
prospect must, in the case of Pussia, be taken into
account."
On this subject the following letter was recently ad¬
dressed :—
To the Editor of the Times. — " Sir,—write to evoke
your warning voice against the drain which the great
capitalists are preparing for us by an extension of the
railway system in many parts of Europe. I allude more
páHicularly to the announcement from St. Petersburgh
regarding the concessions of the new railways of Pussia.
A short time back it was pretended they were to be
made with Pussian capital. Let it be so. Use your influ¬
ence to that effect ; discourage our speculative public from
swallowing the gilded bait which the millionaire anglers
of Paris and London will no doubt soon offer them. Tell
them in your own way to reckon the cost,—a demand for
gold, straitened means, inability to promote legitimate un¬
dertakings at home, and the placing Pussia in a position.
155
when we are again opposed in arms, to command the one
thing wanting in the late war—^the ability to move her troops
with facility to distant points of her vast empire, and thus to
facilitate her known aggressive policy against our Indian
territories.
" Remind them that every shilling of English capital so
expended in Russia strengthens her at our cost, while the
rich bankers of St. Petersburgh will ultimately be the only
parties pecuniarily benefitted by the speculation.
If after we have given support to the legitimate claims
for home investments, where every pound fructifies for our
national advantage, we have enough and to spare, let us look
to Turkey, whose advancement is our safeguard—whose fields
for British enterprise are, hy the unanimous voice of all who
have visited that important country, pronounced to he un¬
equalled hy any other in the world.
True, there is much to contend against at present in the
religious prejudices of the people, their want of business
habits, and the unfortunate jealousies which divide their
rulers ; but all these must give way ere long, and their
natural sagacity will not be slow to discover the immense
advantages which a close alliance, political and commercial,
will certainly secure to them, while it will ;not be less bene¬
ficial to ourselves.^'
In Russia alone," says another correspondent of the
same paper, I believe, of all the countries in Europe,
sea-borne iron is absolutely prohibited, simply with the ob¬
ject of preserving an entire independence of this country for
an article of such necessity. The Czar has chosen to fetter
the energies of his own subjects, and dwarf every depart¬
ment of industry in which they could labour with effect,
rather than resort to us for the talisman which would unlock
the resources of his country. These new railroads—if, in¬
deed, the ^ concessions ' be anything more than a puff-apple
156
of discord, thrown by the Muscovite Até, to disturb the
happy union of France and England—will only prove another
futile attempt to combine the advantages of civilization with
a policy of barbarism. To make bricks without straw was
not a more difficult task than it will be to establish a system
of railroad communication in Russia under a prohibitory
tariff. Whatever the magnates of the Parisian Bourse may
choose to do, I hope the British public will open their eyes
to this fact ; in which case there will be little fear of the
power of our late enemy increasing, until an entire change
of financial policy shall have deprived him of the wish to
abuse it."*
* Lord Granville having been asked by the Emperor Alexander if he
had seen all the curiosities of Moscow, and having replied affirmatively,
was surprised by the Emperor's suggestion that the greatest curiosity then
in Moscow was in his private cabinet. It turned out to be " the little
biU" his father Nicholas had paid for the St. Petersburg and Moscow
Railway. And, no doubt, the cost of that line was enormous, notwith¬
standing the serf and military labour employed—quite as great per mile,
it is believed, as the dearest of English railways ; and now, when finished,
it is worked under a contract with Americans, which gives the Imperial
Government little or no return on "the little bill " the Emperor mentioned
to Lord Granville.
That "little bill" seems, however, to have made a very deep impression
on the Czar.
" Those who have been rendered uneasy by apprehensions that the
Russian Railway project would draw ofiF money from this country, will, no
doubt, find their apprehensions allayed by the latest accounts of the
scheme. At last its true character, which we always suspected, stands
disclosed. Under the guise of commerce, Russia is trying to get military
rails, and not having money to pay for them, Russia is asking Western
Europe to pay the piper for her regiments on any future march towards
the Black Sea. Now, a few persons mi^ki be found, in London even, who
would be quite willing to contract for the payment of the Russian piper
aforesaid, if the piper would return them a per centage on their money ;
but whoever heard of a regimental piper paying dividends?''—The Globe,
167
While these pages are passing through the press, a good
picture has been drawn of the Protean policy and aggressive
designs of the huge, subtle and rapacious spider of the
North :—
The reputation of Russia has gone through three several
phases during the last four years. At first she appeared
highly politic and highly formidable, ready alike with force
or fraud, bullying the weak and overreaching the strong,
with one indexible purpose always in view, to which every
other thought and consideration was sternly subordinated.
That she might domineer over Germany, threaten Turkey,
and terrify Persia, Russia was content to cling to an obsolete
commercial system, to keep her people in slavery and indi¬
gence, and to sacrifice the plough, the loom, and the hammer
to the undisputed supremacy of the sword. War came, and
showed the Russian character under nobler and more elevat¬
ing influences. Instead of the spirit of aggression, we have
the spirit of patriotism, instead of foreign invasion the
defence of home, and we beheld, not without respectful
admiration, a great nation struggling desperately against the
almost insuperable obstacles which her own defective organi¬
zation had raised against her, and almost supplying by pro¬
digious efforts and sacrifices the want of the appliances of
modern science, and of those aids which the arts of peace
must lend to the arts of war. Russia has now entered into
a third and entirely novel phase of development,—
' The bustling vigour and rough frown of war
' Is cold inanity and painted peace.'
She has been forced to yield because her means of transport
were exhausted, because her armies perished in interminable
marches, and all the resources that she had stored up for the
destruction of a barbarous enemy proved inefficient against
the hostility of nations better organized and better civilized.
158
The genius of barbarism looked civilization in the face, and
was rebuked before her.
It might have been expected that a loss which had been
sustained without disgrace would have been borne with
dignity, and that E-ussia, yielding to an inevitable destiny,
would have turned her whole attention to the arts of peace,
and left those who were victorious in the conflict to play un¬
disturbed the most prominent part on the public stage. But
those who expected this knew little of the character of the
Russian Government. A profound dissimulation bears no
inconsiderable part in the policy of this semi-oriental people-
Having been defeated, the first and dominant idea of Russia
seems to have been to pretend that she has not." She has
seized, without a colour of right or justice, upon the Isle of
Serpents, and has only been counteracted in her attempts by
an occupation by the Turks in greater force than her own.
She was bound to deliver up to the allies the fortresses of
Kilia, Ismail, and Kars. The conditions were performed
by dismantling and destroying the fortifications and deliver¬
ing over the ruins to the allies. Russia was pressed to rectify
the frontier of Bessarabia. By the production of maps wil¬
fully falsified she entirely misled the Congress of Paris, and
induced them to assent to a frontier impossible and inexplic¬
able. The six months fixed by the treaty have expired, and
most of the conditions imposed upon Russia are as yet un¬
performed. In addition to this, she has issued an insolent
and even threatening manifesto, in which she warns the allies
to desist from their attempts to improve the condition of
Naples, and even hints at a recourse to ulterior measures if
her remonstrance be not attended to. As if all this were
not enough in the way of paltry vexation and safe bravado,
Russia is now about to send a squadron to the Bosphorus, in-
order to take advantage of the wrong she has already com¬
mitted to perpetrate a fresh wrong. Because she has not
169
performed the conditions imposed upon her by the treaty
the allies have been compelled^ much against their will, to
keep their fleets in the Black Sea ; and because their fleets
remain in the Black Sea, owing to her default, Russia is, we
are informed, about to demand from Turkey that her fleet
should also be allowed to enter those neutral waters."
There never was a moment when the people of this
country were less disposed to be trifled with, and Russia
may have, unless she awake to wiser counsels, to buy the
false éclat of her present demonstrations at a price which she
will be alike unwilling and imable to pay. Our resources
are untouched, our spirits are unbroken, and having once
made a treaty we will not suffer ourselves to be held up to
ridicule as unable or unwilling to enforce its conditions.
We only hope that this dangerous game will be carried no
farther. We have asked nothing but what is fair and reason¬
able ; and what we have asked we are thoroughly resolved
to obtain. We have been obliged on one occasion to unde¬
ceive foreign nations as to the extent of our devotion to
peace. It is by no means impossible that we may be called
upon to repeat the lesson."
In the emphatic words of Lord Palmerston,—" ^ The du¬
ration of peace must depend upon the honour and fidelity
with which its conditions are fulfilled. I trust that that
power which brought upon itself the hostility, either active
or moral, of all Europe by a forgetfulness of interna¬
tional rights and duties,—I trust that that Power, having
concluded a treaty, will observe that treaty with faithfulness,
and then, no douht, peace will he of long duration* Memo¬
rable words—well weighed, and gravely uttered,—words
honourable to the Minister who speaks them, and sure to be
supported by the unanimous concurrence, and, if necessary,
by the equally unanimous action, of the nation to which they
are virtually addressed."
Of all the lessons which the late war has taught us, there
160
is not one more important than this, that henceforward the
moral superiority of nations must be based upon an exact
knowledge and intelligent use of the mechanical forces of
nature. A vague presentiment of this most fundamental
revolution in human affairs has long existed amongst us, but
it has had to struggle against manifold opposition, against
the traditional policy of the schools, against the instinctive
timidity of a large and respectable class, who shrink from
anything which appears to them like an exaltation of the
material over the moral and spiritual part of our nature. It
was to our interest to get rid of the very remnants of these
delusive feelings. It seemed accordingly necessary, at a
particular crisis, that we should pass through a brief but
sharp ordeal, whereby the true secret of our continued supre¬
macy might be brought home with irresistible force to the
most reluctant mind, that all might brace themselves anew
for a more determined progress in the great and glorious
career that is expanding before us as a nation.
Since the termination of the recent struggle, we have seen
with certainty where the power of our antagonist first gave
proof of weakness, and forced him eventually to desist
from the further prosecution of his audacious schemes. He
had built up fortresses of colossal magnitude, collected
resources astonishing from their variety and abundance, his
generals were selected with consummate skill, while over
the persons and property of his subjects, he exercised an
unchecked control. But the force of an absolute will, with
all these appliances at command, could not counteract the
primary disadvantage of defective means of transport and
tardy methods of communication. Could the ruler of all the
Kussias, in the late encounter, have whispered his commands
with lightning speed to every corner of his vast empire, and
transferred his instruments to any point with that celerity
which science places at our disposal, we know full well how
161
much more desperate would have been the contest, how
much harder would have been our victory.
Let us not think that the grounds of this superiority
vanish with the cessation of hostilities. The argument is
equally applicable to the quieter strife of civilisation. In
the necessities of external diplomacy, in the exigencies of
internal Government, in the intricate combinations of a
multiplying commercial intercourse, the most eminent
success will result to those in whose hands are the means
of the most precise and rapid communication. The interests
of war and peace are in this matter identical, and equally urge
us to press onward to improvement.
One of the noblest characteristics of the Roman Empire,
and that which probably contributed beyond all others to the
duration of its power, as well as to the beneficent influence
the great political colossus exercised over the ulterior des¬
tinies of the territories once subjected to its sway, was its
habit of constructing admirable highways, extending in every
direction, from the capital to the most distant provinces.
What the genius of Alexander had conceived, Rome may be
said to have accomplished, the efiective union of the entire
civilised world by roads, connecting its widely-separated and
once almost isolated kingdoms. The far-seeing wisdom of
the policy which dictated such an expenditure of labour, is
universally acknowledged by modern statesmen, and it is to
be regretted that their appreciation of it has not led to a
more perfect imitation of this course of the model state of
antiquity.
Lord Palmerston observed the other day at Liverpool that
it was the remark of Mr. Burke, when discussing the
operations of the American war, that it was difficult to carry
on a war when seas rolled, and months intervened between
the order and the execution."
The railway and telegraph are not only of incalculable
M
162
value as political instruments, but they are the pioneers of
enlightenment and advancement : it is theirs to span the gulf
which separates barbarism from civilisation ; and his is an
enviable lot, by whose exertions, the arts and industry, the
capital and enterprise, the knowledge and humanity of West¬
ern Europe shall be familiarised and brought home to the
dwellers in the East.
A railway along the Euphrates connected by efficient
steamers in the Persian Gulf, with a railway along the valley
of the Indus, would not only open up new worlds for our
civilisation and our commerce, but the veteran armies of India
might then be wielded with a rapidity and force that would
be felt in Europe as well as Asia, at St. Fetersburgh as at
Teheran.
There never was a crisis in the history of this country
when the public mind was more keenly alive to the necessity
of developing the territorial value of India, and of approxi¬
mating, by a rapid means of communication, the distant
limits of that vast empire.
" At this moment, all who are alive to the inestimable
importance of British India, knowing as they do that its
possession is essential to the grandeur and prosperity, if
not to the very existence of this country, have watched
with painful interest the varying fortunes of the campaign
against the Russians in Asia. The events of this cam¬
paign are fraught with results of immeasurably greater
import to us than to our allies. They have no great
Indian empire, and Asia Minor is not the route to any
of their possessions. Between the outer limits of Asia
Minor and the borders of the golden peninsula of India,
as well as within the bounds of the peninsula itself,
the rulers and tribes accustomed to the dominion of the
sword yield a scant allegiance to a sovereign they have
ceased to dread, and little respect to a neighbour whose
might is not superior to their own. Much is being done
163
to enlighten and advance the people of India and develop
the latent resources of that country; but, as yet, we hold
with a mailed hand our empire in the East. It is dangerous
to let our subject populations or our unsettled neighbours
think that we have an equal in the field, much more a
superior, and that superior, Eussia, so long and so notoriously
a candidate for their suffrages •
In these days, the connection between events in the East*
and in the West is far better understood than it was at the
beginning of the present century, and news travels infinitely
faster ; but even at the beginning of the present century, we
may remember that it was the superiority of the arms of
France in Europe that induced Tipp o o to rise against us,
and led to the contest with him which ended in the taking
of Seringapatam. Indeed, there is no one who really knows
India that is not aware how greatly even the extremities of
our empire there are agitated by the slightest appearance of
a reverse in any quarter, so sensitive is the bond by which
those vast subject populations are held.
We did not relish the idea of the Czar at Stamboul, and
we may find his influence not quite agreeable at Teheran ;
neither must we close our eyes to the fact, that Persia is
insidiously and perseveringly advancing her outposts both
in Central Asia and along the line of the sea-board of the
Gulf of Oman. She has already taken Herat, formerly
regarded as the key of India, from the Aifghans, and has
wrested Bunder Abbass in the Persian Gulf from the Imam
of Muscat.* Had the British minister at the Persian
* In the beginning of December, 1854, the seaport towns of Bunder
Abbas, belonging to the Imam of Muscat and governed by bis son, was
attacked by a force of about 3 2,000 Persian horsemen, with two mortars
and six guns. For two days and nights a heavy fire of shot and shells
was kept upon the fort, and the garrison, about 1,700 strong, finding this
too hot for them on the third day, sallied out under command of the
M 2
164
court been under the immediate orders of the Governor-
General of India, the Shah would speedily have recoiled
before the remonstrances of an authority backed by
300,000 men. We do not fear a Russian invasion of
India, but we must guard our prestige of invincibility
with the treacherous and semi-barbarous courts of Asia,
as the best means of protecting our Indian dominions
from the dire effects of internal commotions, and from
the hostile incursions of the turbulent and warlike tribes
on our north-west frontier. While the ancient seat of
empire of the Csesars in the East is in the hands of the
soldiers of the West, and while British enterprise is surely,
though gradually, adding the Sultan's empire to the
area of its wide exertions, his dominion in Asia Minor,
and our name in the East, have received a shock by
the capitulation of Kars. ^We owe India a victory in
Asia ; ' we owe it a victory that shall efface from the
standards of Russia the record of our heroic misfortunes at
Kars. But now that the Temple of Janus is closed for a
season, let us stamp on Asia the impress of our genius and our
power ;—let us render the invasion of Asia Minor by Russia
for ever impossible, by throwing open to the world, by the
irresistible power of steam, the rich and forgotten plains of
the Euphrates and Tigris—the once-famed granaries of the
East, and subduing to Industry their wild inhabitants.
This would be a greater triumph than the re-capture of
Kars, and at once a colossal and enduring monument of
our science and enlightenment, as well as of our energy
and might as a people.
young prince, and met them at the gates. A battle of several hours
ensued, when the Arabs, seeing that they were overpowered by numbers,
betook themselves to their boats and found refuge on board a Muscat
man-of-war at anchor outside. A large proportion of the garrison had
been either killed or wounded.
165
The Indian army has not only fought the battles of
England in India and Central Asia, but the sepoy of Bengal
and Madras has crossed bayonets with the best soldiers of
Europe, in Java and the Mauritius, while their brethren
of Bombay marched to oppose the same gallant enemy in
Egypt. Notwithstanding this, our tried and magnificent
army in India has been practically ignored in the late war.
" There is now in India an army of nearly 300,000 men
at the disposal of this country, apart from 31,000 sub¬
sidiary troops and contingents from Native States. In
that army, ther3 are about 26,000 Europeans belonging
to the Queen's service, including cavalry and infantry
of the line; and 15,000 European troops in the Com¬
pany's service, of every arm except cavalry, and 240,465
native troops. This last figure includes 233,699 exclusively
native troops, together with 3,644 European commissioned
officers, and 3,122 European warrant and non-commis¬
sioned officers and rank and file. The number of the com¬
missioned officers of the Queen's troops amounts to 588.
The police corps regularly organised consists of 24,015
native commissioned and non-commissioned officers and
privates, and 35 commissioned European officers. Large
and costly as this army may be, it might easily be in¬
creased, especially from the warlike tribes lately added to
our dominion. Here, then, is a reserve, and an ample reserve,
well organised, officered, and generally with some experience
of war. How could it be said that we had no reserve ?
Of this immense force, 40,000 are British soldiers. Of
the rest, the irregular native cavalry is just the force we
most required in the late war, and could not supply from
home. Here, then, is everything that we have ascribed to
Eussia.
" ^ All former empires that ever pretended to hold distant
166
countries in subjection made a fair exchange of armies, so
that while Italians were holding Britain, or Numidia, or
Dacia, Britons, Numidians, and Dacians were stationed in
Italy, and even supplying candidates to the imperial purple.
Whatever the final results, the Roman empire would not
have lasted ten years without that interchange.' Russia
carried on the war with forces drawn from the heart
and extremities of Asia, as well as from the most northern
shores of Europe ; and when we talk thoughtlessly of her
overpowering population, it is these distant regions that we
are unconsciously thinking of. ^ Our case is the same as
Russia's, only we have not got the sense to see it, and
shall not see it till our eyes have been opened and our
wits quickened by a. succession of disasters.'
The mutual dependence of our Western and Eastern em¬
pires was clearly pointed out many years ago in these words :
' In case our enemies should prove sufficiently powerful to
press us hard either in Europe or Asia, it would be a matter
of inestimable importance to have it in our power to trans¬
port our military forces from Europe to Asia, and from
Asia to Europe, with the greatest possible celerity, as the
exigencies of war may demand. A rapid means of com¬
municating between India and Malta, both by means of the
Red Sea and of the Persian Gulf, through Egypt and
through Syria, would multiply tenfold the resources of
Britain, and secure the defences of our possessions from
Canada to Hong Kong. Indeed, England, with her small
standing army, with her population not trained and dis¬
ciplined to defend their own territory against invaders, and
with ministers who neglect her navy, can never be duly
secured against the sudden attacks of her rivals and enemies,
until she can impose some restraint on their ambition, by
having it in her power to array the sepoy on the shores of
167
the Mediterranean, and the Highlander of Scotland and the
gallant sons of Erin on the banks of the Indus and the
Ganges, with a degree of speed which no other power
can equal. The small amount of our military force, in
comparison with the enormous extent of our empire, must
be counterbalanced by abundant means of communication
and extraordinary rapidity of transport.'*
Russia, aware of the mistake she committed in going to
war with imperfect means of transit, is, with our money^
about connecting the shores of the Caspian, the Black Sea,
and the Baltic, with the heart of the empire by means of
railways communicating with her navigable rivers.
In America, ten miles of railway are on the average
opened every day for the accommodation of the regular
traffic of the country.
"And shall we, while enriching with railways Russia,
America, France, Italy and Austria, forget what is due to
India with her boundless resources and vast population ?
" It is evident that to have the benefit of even the moral
weight of our magnificent and well-appointed army in India,
on the great events which are now in progress, and of the
consequent changes which must necessarily flow from them,
that we must have, above all things, increased facilities for
moving troops and stores upwards or downwards along the
line of the Indus, as well as up the Persian Gulf, or to the
Red Sea, as circumstances might render necessary.
"While these pages are passing through the press, the
shadow of coming events in the East is deepening and ex¬
tending, and it becomes more emphatically the duty of this
country to make their army in India, by proper means of
transit, not only sufficient for the internal peace of that
* On the Communications between Europe and India, by George
Finlay, Esq. : Smith, Elder and Co., 1847.
168
country, but that some portion of it should also by the
same means, be made available wherever and whenever the
welfare or the honour of the paramount state might demand
its service. There never was put forward a greater fallacy,
or an error more likely to be mischievous, than ^ that the
Turkish question was of no importance in an Indian point
of view.' The grand problem, now in course of solution
in Turkey, must affect in its results, whatever they may be,
in the most immediate and powerful manner, our power and
prosperity in India.
"Every act in the great drama of the war, has elicited
either the apprehension or the applause of the nations of the
East.* In the mosques of Bokhara, five thousand Moolahs
prayed daily for the success of the Sultan of Boom, and ^ the
* " Dera Ismael Khan (on the upper Indus) has not been far behind
Lahore in celebrating the fall of Sebastopol. The official news was re¬
ceived with the greatest enthusiasm by all classes, and the inhabitants
resolved to have illuminations, fireworks, &c. The bazaars of the city
were brilliantly illuminated ; every shroff, or wealthy shopkeeper, dis¬
playing from 1,000 to 1,200 lamps before his shop, and all other shop¬
keepers from 200 to 300 lamps."—Lahore Chronicle,
On the 3rd of December last, the day appointed by the Governor-
General for a general thanksgiving on account of the faU of Sebastopol,
the great Farsee community (of which Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy is so
justly regarded as the leader and ornament), spontaneously assembled in
the Town Hall at Bombay, and Dosabhoy Framjee read a lecture detail¬
ing the events of the war and the successes of the allied forces. He then
proceeded to enlarge on the blessings which the British rule secures to
the natives of India; and concluded his address by offering, on behalf
of his crowded audience, the first public prayer to Almighty God ever
uttered by a Farsee in his native tongue ; for the ordinary religious ser¬
vices of the Farsees are still performed in the JPehlevi, their ancient
language, which in the course of ages has become quite unintelligible to
all but the very learned. He prayed, that the shadow of the Almighty
might rest wherever the British rule extends, and that its moral influence
might be established over a still greater portion of the globe ; that God
would bless their Sovereign, and give success to her armies; that his
169
name of Mourameff is probably now repeated with awe by
the Persian and Affghan.'
^^The Eastern shepherd, in his solitude, pondered over,
and the warrior in his fastness, watched with kindling eye,
the varying fortunes of the field, while every incident of the
campaign, whether in Europe or Asia, has been minutely
discussed, and will be well remembered in the bazaars
throughout the length and breadth of India."*
By establishing a steam and electric connection between
England and India and the confines of Central Asia, not
only would the power and control of England be enhanced
over her 150,000,000 widely-scattered subjects, but a great
and glorious step would be taken towards securing the
progress, the freedom and the peace of the world.
But, viewing the establishment of a railway from the
Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf merely as a com-
own brethren might live, as they now do, in perfect security, and be ever
impressed with a grateful sense of the blessings they enjoy under the
benign rule of their gracious Queen.'^
The address was received with enthusiasm by the meeting, which sig¬
nified its hearty acquiescence in the concluding prayer. The event
marks an era in the annals of India. Instances are not wanting of sove¬
reigns who have enjoyed an extensive popularity among the varied races
of Hindostán ; but her history furnishes no parallel example of a whole
people thus rising above the prejudices of ages, and in a way so opposed
to their usual apathetic movements in political matters, convening a large
public assembly, to give spontaneous expression to their belief in the
superiority of British rule, and in the power of its protection, while they
invoked the Divine aid for the success of its arms.
The novelty and gravity of such a meeting as has been just described
cannnot fail to make a wide impression throughout Asia most favourable
to the British character.—From a Memoir of Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, by
T. W. Ramsay, Esq., late Commissioner of Revenue, Bombay:
* The Scinde Railway and its Relations to the Euphrates Valley and
other Routes to India, with Illustrative Maps, Statistical Tables, 8fc.,
from Official sources. By W, P. Andrew : W. H. Allen ^ Co., Leaden-
hall Street.
170
mercial undertaking, the enterprise possesses, in the opinion
of those personally acquainted with the country and its
resources, all the elements of a highly remuneratiye cha¬
racter, and its advantages may he briefly recapitulated.
1st.—From the country presenting great facilities for the
construction of a railway, being chiefly a succession of
extensive plains.
2nd.—From the neighbouring mines of Marash, having
supplied iron in abundance to the Euphrates expedition,
they would provide facilities for the construction of the rail¬
way ; an inexhaustible supply of timber of the finest quality
for building purposes, sleepers, &c., being obtainable from
the forests near the old Port (Seleucia) and Scanderoon :
and from there being also large quarries of stone on diflerent
parts of the line, with an abundant supply of bitumen and
timber for fuel.
3rd.—From the first section of the line, from Seleucia
to Aleppo, being of moderate length, and complete in itself,
having a port on the Mediterranean at one end, and the chief
emporium for the trade of the country at the other.
4th.—From the line from the Mediterranean to Aleppo,
forming of necessity the most important portion of any system
of improved transit, which shall follow the course of the valley
of the Euphrates, or the plains of the Tigris to the Persian
Gulf.
5th.—From the clearly proved statistical returns of the
former trade and commerce of the country, its vast natural
resources and manufactures, and the extensive transit trade
which was formerly carried on between China, India, Persia,
Armenia, and Arabia with Europe, and especially with Great
Britain, which has been greatly diminished by the policy of
Russia, but which would speedily be revived, and from the
conviction that the commerce of Great Britain with Central
Asia, China, &c., instead of seeking, as at present, a costly
171
and circuitous route by the Volga and the Caspian, would
return to its natural, its most direct, and its most ancient
channel.
6th. — From official statements recently published the
existing trade of the countries proposed to be traversed is
very large and steadily increasing, notwithstanding the ex¬
pense, delay and difficulty in the present mode of transit.
From the paramount and acknowledged importance of
this route to the good government and prosperity of the
Sultan's Asiatic dominions, those more immediately interested
feel assured, from the negotiations now pending, of ob¬
taining from the Sublime Porte such terms as will enable
them to raise the necessary capital ; and, from the obvious
political and commercial importance of this, the most direct
route to our Indian possessions, they have received from
Her Majesty's Government and the Honourable East India
Company that countenance and co-operation, which is essen¬
tial to the carrying out, with success, a means of commu¬
nication which would diminish, by more than a thousand
miles, the distance between this country and its empire in
the East.
This route, constituting as it does, the key to our Indian
possessions, and commanding the right flank of the Turkish
empire, will not be allowed by apathy or incompetence on
our part to fall into the hands of any other power. There
is no fear of such an injury being inflicted—it would never
be forgotten or forgiven. The opening to the world the
route between Europe and India by the Euphrates Valley,
is no ordinary enterprise, it embraces in its scope the well-
being and the hopes of nations, the stability of empires, and
demands and requires the cordial and active co-operation
of the English people, as well as of English statesmen.
APPENDIX.
(DIRECT ROXTTE TO INDIA.)
THE EUPHRATES VALLEY RAILWAY
COMPANY LIMITED.
(PEOM THE MEDITEEEANEAJV TO THE PEESLAN GtTLP.)
f rasi, êlîï Síwít.
TO be rN-COEPORATED by ACT OF PARLIAMENT.
CAPITAL (FIKST) £1,000,000, IN 50,000 SHAPES OF £20 EACH.
^ Cïiairman.
W. P. ANDEEW, Esq., F.R.G.S.,
(Chairman of the Scinde Pailway and European and Indian Junction
Telegraph Companies.)
Birectors.
J. EDMUND ANDERDON, Esq., Director of the Scinde Railway Com¬
pany and Bank of London.
PHILIP ANSTRUTHER, Esq. (Late Secretary to Government, Ceylon,)
Deputy-Chairman Ceylon Railway Company, and Director of the
European and Indian Junction Telegraph Company.
SIR FREDERICK L. ARTHUR, Bart., 4, St. James' Street, Director
of the European and Indian Junction Telegraph Company.
HARRY BORRADA ILE, Esq., Hadley (Late Bombay Civil Service),
Director of the Scinde Railway Company.
BARROW H. ELLIS, Esq. (Late Assistant Commissioner, Scinde).
THE HON. J. CADWALLADER ERSKINE (late Commissioner Cis-
Sutlej States), Chairman of the London & Eastern Banking Corporation.
CAPT. B. KING-TON FINNIMORE, (Late Commissary of Ordnance,
Kurrachee and Hydrabad, Scinde.)
CAPT. H. B. LYNCH, C.B., I.N., (Late commanding on Euphrates and
Tigris), Director of the European and Indian Junction Telegraph
Company.
SIR T. HERBERT MADDOCK, M.P. (Late Deputy Governor of
Bengal), Director of the Scinde Railway Company.
MAJOR J. A. MOORE, F.R.S., 19, Portland Place, (Ex-Director of
the Honourable East India Company), Director of the National Pro¬
vincial Bank of England.
THOMAS WILLIAMS, Esq., Director of the Scinde and other Railway
Companies.
©onsttlttng íEngínm.
MAJOR GENERAL CHESNEY, R.A., D.C.L., F.R.S., & F.R.G.S.
lEngineer in 0^1)kf.
SIR JOHN MACNEILL, L.L.D., F.R.S.
^uhitors.
LIEUT. COLONEL H. B. HENDERSON, (Late Officiating Military
Auditor General, Bengal.)
HARRY G. GORDON, Esq., (Chairman of Oriental Bank Corporation.)
€DontmmiaI 'Agents in IConhon. "Agents in anh Jïlesopatamia.
Messbs. a. DENOON & Co., Messes. STEPHEN LYNCH & Co.
Ißankers.
Messes. GLYN, MILLS & Co.
In India. In Turkey.
ORIENTAL BANK CORPORATION. OTTOMAN BANK.
Sdlicitors.
Messes. MALTBY, ROBINSON & JACKSON
Srmiarp.
L. W. RAEBURN, Esq,
PROSPECTUS
This Company is established to connect the Mediterranean
and the Persian Gulf by a railway from the ancient port of
Seleucia by Antioch and Aleppo^ to Ja'ber Castle on the
Euphrates^ and afterwards from thence by other towns^ to
Bagdad, and on to the head of the Persian Gulf. Thence
steamers communications will be established with all
parts of India.
From arrangements now in progress, it is intended (by
the European and Indian Junction Telegraph Company) to
carry the electric wire along the Euphrates Valley, and
connect the Telegraphic system of Europe with that of
India.
The country through which it is proposed to carry the
railway, was by command of his Majesty William IV. ex¬
amined and surveyed, with the view to the introduction of
improved means of transit by that distinguished oiScer,
Major-General Chesney, E.A. and F.R.S., who reports that
there are no serious difficulties to contend with ; and subse¬
quently scientific investigations under Captain Lynch, C.B.,
and Commander Campbell, both of the Indian Navy, as well
as by Mr. W. Ainsworth, the geologist and geographer, have
confirmed the accuracy of General Chesney's opinion. Dr.
James Bowen Thompson, who lately died at Constantinople,
spent many years in the East collecting data, and obtained
for the project the favourable consideration of the Sublime
Porte, Her Majesty's Government, and the British Ambas¬
sador at Constantinople.
The effect of the proposed contract to be entered into
between the Sublime Porte and this Company will be.
177
that the Ottoman Government guarantee a minimum
dividend on the capital required at 6 per cent, per annum
for 99 years.
The Ottoman Government grant a lease of the land
necessary for the Railway and works for 99 years, free of
charge.
On the opening of the Line, all net profits, exceeding the
rate of dividend guaranteed, are to go to the Ottoman
Government in liquidation of the dividends they have
advanced. When this advance is repaid, the entire surplus
goes to the Shareholders.
No call will be made until the concession has been secured,
by the Firman of the Sultan, and the other arrangements
contemplated by the Directors completed.
At the expiration of 99 years, the land with the Railway
and works pertaining thereto, will become the property of
the Ottoman Government, who will at the same time pur¬
chase the rolling stock at a valuation to be settled by
arbitration.
The Ottoman Government guarantee the Company against
all competition from works of a similar character—And
grant the right of lands, woods, forests, and quarries, the
property of the State, at a certain distance at each side of the
line.
It is only proposed at present to execute the first section,
about eighty miles of railroad, from the ancient port of
Seleucia on the Mediterranean, to Ja'ber Castle on the Eu¬
phrates ; below which point, there is water communication
by the Euphrates and Tigris to the Persian Gulf.
Mr. John Laird, of Birkenhead, has undertaken to supply
the Sublime Porte with steamers to navigate the Euphrates,
capable of carrying a large amount of passengers and mer¬
chandise, at a good rate of speed.
A steam route being' thus established between the Medi-
N
178
terranean Sea and the Persian Gnlf, the shortest and most
rapid means of communication between the capitals and em¬
porium of the West and East would be at once open for
political and commercial purposes. The future sections of
the Line will be gradually carried down the valley of the
Euphrates, from the right bank opposite Ja'ber Castle to
Phumsah, the ancient Thapsacus. Crossing into Mesopo¬
tamia at this suitable place, the railway will be carried along
the valley by Anah and Hit to the environs of Bagdad ; and
thence by Babylon and Hillah to the confluence of the Eu¬
phrates and Tigris at Kurnah, where there is sufficient depth
of water for the largest steamers, with a branch line by
Shuster to the Persian Gulf ; or to Bussorah, thirty-seven
miles nearer the head of the Persian Gulf than Kurnah,
where an extensive trade is already established, and where
there is ample accommodation for square-rigged ships of
large tonnage.
The grand impediment to the improvement of the Sultan's
dominions is the want of the means of intercommunication,
and no line would promote more eflectually their good
government and prosperity than that which would lay open
to the energy and capital of the West the expansive plains of
the Tigris and the Euphrates.
To England, the possession of an alternate short route to
India is of inestimable value, and more especially when the
actual lineal distance will be reduced by more than a thousand
miles, and where rich fields are offered to the genius of her
statesmen, and the enterprise of her merchants, by giving
back to commerce, through the civilizing 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."*
* Expedition to the Euphrates and Tigris, by General Chesney.
179
The traffic by the existing route of the Eed Sea must
always be confined to large and powerful steam vessels^
being impeded by rocky islands, coral reefs and the nature
of the prevailing winds, whereas in the Persian Gulf, there
are no physical obstructions whatever to its free navigation
by vessels of all classes.
The substitution of land carriage for water carriage, or
rather, the substitution of overland cuts for long sea circuits,"
is, as The Times stated in a leading article some time ago,
the one simple principle of the present undertaking."
The importance of the Euphrates as a second and more
expeditious route to our Indian possessions is daily forcing
itself upon the public mind, and as the whole of Northern
India and Central Asia, from the banks of the Oxus to
the gates of Delhi, will shortly have an outlet to the sea
ty the Scinde Railway from Hydrabad to Kurrachee,
relieving commerce from the dangers and delays of the
Delta of the Indus, such a route would seem to become
imperative.
The sea stages of the present route to India," according
to The TimeSy in the leading article before referred to,
exclusive of the trip across the Channel, are two : one
from Marseilles or Trieste to Alexandria; and the other
from Suez to (Kurrachee) Bombay, or Calcutta. These
stages constitute by far the longest part of the journey,
being 5,075 miles, performed by steamers ; from which an
average speed of some ten miles an hour is all that can be
expected. The longer again of these two stages is that from
Suez to Hindostán, as it includes a circuit round two sides
of the triangular territory of Arabia. The first object, there¬
fore, is to get rid of the detour by Aden ; and this is to be
done by carrying the passengers to the mouths of the Orontes,
instead of the mouths of the Nile, and forwarding them
across the Turkish territory to Bussorah, at the head of the
N 2
180
Persîan Gulf. The railroad required for this purpose would
run along the Euphrates Valley, and its length would not
exceed 900 miles ; whereas, its completion would reduce
the distance from London to Calcutta by more than one-half^
—by twenty days in fact out of thirty-nine ! This project,
it is conceived, could be accomplished in five years' time ;
and the route would then lie through Ostend, Trieste, by the
Mediterranean Sea, to Orontes, thence to Bussorah, and by
the Persian Gulf to Bombay (or rather to Kurrachee) where
it would meet the Indian railroads now actually commenced,
and by that time completed to Calcutta."
The advantages of the port of Seleucia were placed before
Government by Captain, now Major-General Chesney, in
1832, (see pp. 63 and 64 of Euphrates Reports), and were
subsequently advocated by that competent authority. Captain
Allen, E.N. According to the latter officer, it is capable of
being made one of the finest harbours in the world. Both
these officers considered that from £20,000 to £30,000 would
be sufficient to clear out the greater part of the ancient basin,
and repair the massive works of the Romans, many portions
of which require merely to be relieved from the mud depo¬
sited upon them. The importance of Seleucia will be
apparent, when it is borne in mind, that there is no other
port for commerce along the whole coast of Syria better than
■the open roadstead of Beyrout, or the pestilential harbour of
Alexandretta. Seleucia is not only capable of being made a
most efficient port, but by a small additional outlay, the
existing great Mole might be extended so as to form a har¬
bour of refuge.
'By the existing road, Antioch is eighteen miles from
•Seleucia, and stands on the Orontes, the valley of which is
throughout fertile and populous.
Aleppo is forty-two miles from Antioch, contains a popu¬
lation of about 90,000, is one of the most opulent and best
181
built cities in Syria, and the chief emporium for the trade of
the country.
Ja'ber Castle, thirty-miles* distant from Aleppo, is on the
Euphrates, which gives a water communication with Syria,
Asia Minor, and Asia Major, (their central parts,) also the
South of Persia and Kurdistan."
The Pachalic of Bagdad produces (and the greater part
along the Euphrates,) wheat, barley, Indian corn, rice,
millet, honey, dates in great quantity, and other fruits, wine,
(from Kerkook and the banks of the Tigris,) cotton, some
silk, tobacco, gall-nuts, and wool in great quantity, from the
different Arab tribes, each of which has extensive flocks;
also ambergris, sal ammoniac, leather, buffalo hides, oil of
naphtha, bitumen, salt-petre, salt, borax, and glass, made at
Bagdad ; where are manufactured coarse coloured cottons,
and fine handkerchiefs of silk and cotton for the Arabs.
Bagdad was the centre of a considerable caravan com¬
merce previous to the late disturbances, when it sent annually
even as far as Erzeroum, 2,000 mule loads of pearls, silk,
cotton, stuffs, shawls, coffee, gaU-nuts, indigo, &c. and still
more to Mosul, Diarbekir, Orfa, &c., and to Aleppo even at
this moment, from 3 to 6,000 animals yearly, but 80 years
ago, this number was said to be 50,000.
" Bagdad, from its matchless situation, would, with the
slightest fostering care, become a grand centre of English,
Arab, Persian and Eastern commerce ; and nothing is want¬
ing to distribute it widely, and increase it greatly but the
establishment of steam."
The imports to Bagdad from the Persian Gulf ; pearls
and fish.
* The distances have been underrated. According to Sir John
Macnedl, by railway, the distance from Seleucia to Aleppo, is estimated
at 118 miles.
182
From Persia ; Silk, woollens (coarse), saffron, snlplinr,
nitre, dried fruits, shawls of Cashmere, Kerman and Yezd ;
stuffs, cotton, gum-rahabat, fur-skins, tobacco and pipe sticks.
From India : Muslins, porcelain, indigo from Bengal,
Guzerat, and Lahore ; cottons, pepper, spices, cinnamon,
nutmegs, Java and other sugars ; musk, cardamoms, cotton
and silk from the coast of Coromandel, aloes, camphor, &c.
" From Turkey : Soap, cotton, linen, silks, embroidered
stuffsj opium and copper, about 450 tons annually.
From Arabia : Incense, myrrh, galbanum, resins,
gums and other precious drugs, also Mocha coffee, in quan¬
tity across the Peninsula, to go on to Constantinople and
elsewhere.
From Europe, Egypt, &c. : (A part across the Desert
from Damascus, but chiefly by way of Aleppo.) Bagdad
receives cotton twist, grey cloths, and prints, grey-calicos,
long-cloths, Greek-stripes, power-loom sheeting, jaconets,
cotton handkerchiefs, (all English,) fine French or German
cloths ; cutlery, lead, tin, and St. Domingo coffee, also
indigo, and cochineal, velvets, satins, taffeta, mercury and
drugs.
The chief outlets from Bagdad as a depot are to Con¬
stantinople : — Cashmere shawls, aloes, ambergris, musk,
pearls, coffee, tobacco, spices, pipe sticks, and Indian
muslins.
To Syria and Anatolia : Are forwarded silk, tobacco,
shawls, gall-nuts, coffee, stuffs, and drugs.
To Persia : Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, Euro¬
pean stuffs, brought over the desert from Aleppo and
Damascus : also Aleppo cloths, coral, paper, jewellery,
cochineal and indigo.
" To Arabia and India : Silver, gold, copper, dates,
horses, and oil of naphtha for painting.
Thus it appears that imports continue to a considerable
183
extent notwithstanding all the difficulties and distance by
which they are transported with caravans, and as there are
pretty ample returns, it is evident that if ever the noble
stream should be used instead of a caravan transport, there
will be an increase and consumption proportionate to the
comparative cheapness of the supplies, and the great facilities
offered for placing depots, by water, at every convenient
spot : this done, a few years will most likely see the Arab's
wants increased to something like those of other people ; and
in making larger purchases, they will discover how to re¬
imburse the expense, by cultivated cotton, grain, wool, &c.,
more extensively than they now do."
It is worthy of the consideration of government, whether
the proposed attempt should not be made, not only with a
view to Mesopotamia chiefly, but the trade of Persia, now
carried from Bushire to Erzeroum, more than 2,000 miles ;
whereas by attending to Erzeroum as one great centre, de¬
pendent on Trebizond and the outlets of the Euphrates and
Karoon, we shall increase it prodigiously ; and command the
profits, which if neglected will flow into the coffers at Tiflis ;
where they are building extensive manufactories expressly
to force goods into Persia, and attract its trade towards
Russia."
With this power and her persevering endeavours to grasp
at commerce, we can also compete, as regards Persia, by
another line, viz., that of the Indus."*
The official returns of the existing commerce to Mesopo¬
tamia, demonstrate that there is a promising field for com¬
mercial enterprise.f
* Report of Captain Chesney in 1832, addressed to Sir Strafford
Canning, G.C.B., Ambassador at Constantinople.
t See pp. 672—686, Vol. II. of the Expedition to the Euphrates and
Tigris, by General Chesney; and recent Returns published by the Board
of Trade.
184
In the statistics of the ancient and ^odern commerce of
these countries, contained in the volume of General
Chesney's work, on the Euphrates Expedition, will be found
ample materials for the satisfaction of our merchants, as to a
certain rapid and extensive increase of their operations, and
more especially the Consular Eeturns, recently published by
the Board of Trade.
The trade of Turkey-in-Europe, Asia Minor, Mesopo¬
tamia, and all along the proposed line to Bussorah, is of
great importance, and only requires a ready means of transit
for its rapid development. The success of the English and
Austrian Steam Companies on the line between Constanti¬
nople, Smyrna, and the coast of Syria and Egypt, is a strong
proof that the resources of these countries merely require an
outlet. The Mahommedans are now quite alive to the im¬
portance of rapid locomotion—be it by railway or steamers.
The tedious mode of transit by caravan is nearly at an end,
whenever a quick mode of transport is available.
The countries to be traversed by the railway are rich in
minerals, but have as yet been only partially explored with a
view to their development.
This enterprise possesses in the opinion of those personally
acquainted with the country and its resources all the elements
of a highly remunerative character.
1st.—From the country presenting great facilities for the
construction of a railway, being a succession of extensive
plains traversed by low hills, between Antioch and Aleppo,
and from Aleppo to Ja'ber Castle, a distance of thirty-nine
miles, a perfect level.
2nd.-^From the^ neighbouring mines of Mar ash having
supplied iron of excellent quality to the Euphrates expedi¬
tion. From an inexhaustible supply of timber of the finest
quality for building purposes, sleepers, &c., being obtainable
from the forests near the old Port (Seleucia) and Scande-
roon, and from there being also large quarries of stone on
185
different parts of the line, with an abundant supply of bitu¬
men and timber for fuel.
3rd.—From the first section of the line being of moderate
length, and complete in itself, having a port on the Medi¬
terranean at one end, and a terminus on the Euphrates at the
other.
4th.—From the line from Seleucia to Ja'ber Castle, form¬
ing of necessity the most important portion of any system of
improved transit, which shall follow the course of the valleys
of the Euphrates and Tigris.
5th.—From the count?:y below Ja'ber Castle to the head of
the Persian Gulf affording every facility for the extension of
the railway.
6th.—From the clearly proved statistical returns of the
former trade and commerce of the country, its vast natural
resources and manufactures, and the extensive transit trade
which was formerly carried on between China, India,
Persia, Armenia and Arabia with Europe, and especially
with Great Britain, which has been greatly diminished by
political causes, but which would speedily be revived, and
from the conviction that the commerce of Great Britain with
Central Asia, China, &c., instead of seeking, as at present, a
costly and circuitous route by the Volga and the Caspian,
would return to its natural, its more direct, and its most
ancient channel.
From the obvious political and commercial importance of
this, the most direct route to our Indian possessions, the
Directors have reason to believe that they will receive from
Her Majesty's Government, and the Honourable East India
Company that countenance and co-operation, which is
essential to the carrying out, with success, a means of com¬
munication which would reduce the time occupied in the
journey by nearly one-half between this country and its
empire in the East.
186
From W. P. Andrew, Esq., to His Excellency, Viscount
Strateord de Eedcliefb, G.C.B.
Gresliam Uouse^ Old Broad Streety
London^ "^Stk Feb. 1856.
MY LORD^
Having for many years turned my attention to im¬
proving the means of transit in eastern countries, especially
with the view to promote the political and commercial rela¬
tions of England with her Indian possessions, and as the
proposition I have now the honour to submit for opening a
communication between the Mediterranean and Persian
Gulf by that ancient channel of commerce, the Valley of the
Euphrates, has, I have reason to believe, met in some degree
with your approval, I am now requested by the gentlemen
with whom I have the honour to be associated, respectfully
to submit for your Excellency's consideration the documents
noted in the margin having reference thereto.
1 Prospectus 2. The documents Nos. 1 and 2 have been carefully revised
oftheEuphrates by those well known authorities. General Chesney and
Route to India. Lynch, C.B., I.N., and others, and are approved of
ofp^erTand by Lord Glenelg and Sir Henry Eawlinson, the last-men-
ferrä^frthT' tioned gentleman promising to join the direction so soon as
by^th?^lubiime resignation of Consul-General in Turkish Arabia has
Porte m 1834. ^^gen accepted, affording me in the meantime the advantage
oftS^ScFndr^ advice and co-operation.
Railway. g J acting in conccrt with the Indian authorities
of~the°Pernam connecting by means of a railway the Arabian Sea with the
buco Railway. Indus above the Delta, and shortly expect to continue the
5.—Letter from transit bv means of steamers of improved construction on the
John Kennedy, •' ^ ^ ^
Esq., of Aleppo Indus, aided bv railways where the navigation becomes de-
toW. p. Andrew, , .
Esq. fective to Lahore and Amritser.
4. In this way a comprehensive system of steam transit is
187
being gradually introduced into the long neglected but mag¬
nificent valley of the Indus^ and the proposition for connect¬
ing the Mediterranean Sea with the Euphrates and Persian
Gulf resembles in some respects what is being carried out
upon the Indus.
5. The prospectus marked No, 1 has been printed solely
with the view to facilitate perusal. It describes the proposi¬
tion for connecting the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf as
approved of by the eminent and scientific gentlemen who
surveyed the country, and are practically acquainted with
its people and resources, and contains the names of those
gentlemen who have honoured me by their confidence and
co-operation.
6. The memorandum marked No. 2, proposing extension of
Firman, contains an outline of the terms and conditions which
we think would be necessary to raise the requisite capital.
7. The terms and conditions are very similar to those
granted by the East India Company, to Indian railways, and
by Austria, the Brazils, and other states to similar under¬
takings.
8. The papers marked Nos. 3 and 4 are prospectuses
founded on such arrangement with the East India Company,
and with the Brazils, and are enclosed for your Excellency's
perusal.
9. For obvious reasons it appears desirable that the manage¬
ment of the Euphrates Valley route should be in the hands
of Englishmen, yet from the vast political and commercial
results which would fiow from the opening of this route all
civilized nations must feel an interest in its success, and
V
every opportunity will be aiforded to the allies of Turkey
and England to co-operate in the enterprise, by raising a
portion of the capital should they desire to do so.
10. Your Excellency is doubtless aware that a proposition
for the introduction of improved means of communication by
the Euphrates Valley route was referred to a commission, com-
188
posed of several of the Ministers of State and other digni¬
taries of the Sublime Porte in 1852, and that there is reason
to believe that every member of that commission was in
favour of the project, although from political and other
causes the commission was dissolved before they had com¬
pleted their official report.
11. The government authorities in Scinde and on the
western side of India are most anxious for the early accom¬
plishment of the project under reference.
12. I am aware that your Excellency has for many years
taken a warm interest in a design calculated to benefit in no
ordinary degree the Sultan's dominions, comprising some of the
most interesting countries in the world, and opening thereby
new outlets for the manufactures of Great Britain, facilitating
at the same time her communication with her Indian Empire.
I confide,therefore, the proposition contained in the accom¬
panying papers to your Excellency's enlightened considera-
•
tion, and earnestly solicit your countenance and co-operation,
should it be so fortunate as to meet with your approval, so
far as is consistent with your Excellency's distinguished
official position.
I have the honour to be, &c.
(Signed) "W. P. Andrew.
Chairman of the Board of Directors^
His Excellency, Lord Viscount
Stratford de Redcliffe, G.C.B.,
¿^0»^ ^^0«^
P.S. Since the preceding letter was written an interesting
communication has been received by me from Mr. Kennedy
of Aleppo regarding the existing state of the trade of Syria,
copy of which is enclosed for your Excellency's information.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
(Signed) W. P. Andrew.
London^ Qth Ma/rch, \%^Q,
189
From Major General Chesney^ R.A., &c. &c.^ to the Right
Honourable The Earl of Clarenoon^ K.G.
Ballyardle hy Newry,
Ireland, bth Marché 1856.
My Lord,
With reference to several communications from the
Foreign Office, more particularly a letter from Mr. Ham¬
mond, dated 30th December, 1854, stating ^^that her Majesty's
Government are not prepared to entertain the project of
Messrs. Spartali and Lascaradi for extending the trade of
this country through Syria to Persia and India, but if any
parties with whom you may have been in communication,
should submit through Lord Clarendon to her Majesty's
Government a practical proposal for establishing a mail com¬
munication with Bombay, via Trieste and Syria, and the
river Euphrates, in the mode pointed out in your letter of
the 30th ult., it will be duly taken into consideration."
I have now the honour of submitting to vour Lordship i^etter to Lord
. Stratford de
the prospectus of a company which is being formed for this Redciiffe with
enclosures
purpose, together with an explanatory letter, and outline of dated 28th Feb.
the concessions. i._Prospectus
Since the commencement of a similar undertaking along ofthe^T^hrS
the banks of the Indus, it has beèn evident that striking to
Ö India.
advantages must result from an extension of this undertaking, 2.—Extension
so as to approach nearer to the shores of Great Britain, by priviilgS con-
including the line through Arabia, and Mr. Andrew, the firmaVgrau^^^
Chairman of the Company, who is weU known by his sue- porte^nîs^^^^
cessful exertions in the East, is the chief promoter of the 3.—Prospectus
. 1-1 T T . . -1 the Scinde
great enterprise, which seems to deserve, and it is hoped Railway,
will receive, your Lordship's energetic support. orneTemlm!
The basis of the plan is the construction of a railwav Railway.
•/ 5—Letter from
across Northern Syria to the Upper Euphrates, and for the Mr. Kennedy of
1 . . « T . , o Aleppo to W.
present the navigation oi this river from thence to the Per- p Andrew, Esq*,
sian Gulf.. Eventually, the railway is to be carried the whole 1856.
190
way to the shores of the latter, and this when completed, as
it is hoped it will be in about five years, will be the means of
conveying mails and passengers between England and India
in thirteen days and a half.
In countries where the present is almost invariably sacri¬
ficed, and every kind of exertion is utterly opposed to the
habits and desires of the people, an undertaking of this kind
must experience extraordinary, although it is to be hoped
not [.by any means insuperable, difficulties. My experience
in eastern countries gives me the firm belief, that these can
and will be overcome, and that if the attempt to do so is
made with the usual energy of our countrymen, and with the
cordial support of Government, a second route to India wiU
be successfully opened, and this with the accessory of a
greatly extended commerce.
It is quite unnecessary for me to trespass upon your
Lordship's time, by going at any length into a question al¬
ready familiar to your mind, but I may briefly observe that
the line through Arabia differs essentially from that which
traverses the mountainous region between Trebizond and
Erzeroum, or even the more practicable caravan route on¬
ward into Persia.
A letter of the 12th ult. from Mr. Kennedy, of Aleppo,
shews that the imports by way of Alexandretta for 1855,
amounted in round numbers to one and a quarter million
sterling, and the exports from thence for the same period,
to one million sterling, more than one-third of both these
amounts being in British bottoms. This, of itself, is very en¬
couraging to an undertaking like the present, but it becomes
still more so if reference be made to the fact stated by Mr.
Werry in 1837 and 1838, that the presence of the Eu¬
phrates expedition, by causing more confidence, greatly
increased commerce for the time being.
Looking therefore to this fact, as regards the past as well
191
as the existing trade, under numerous disadvantages^ there
can scarcely be a doubt that increased facilities (were they
only the construction of ordinary roads) would make Aleppo
a great emporium, and being largely and cheaply supplied it
will become the centre of various lines of eastern trade. By
one of these goods will pass into Asia Minor, through Dyar-
bekr. A second will be from Bagdad into Kurdistan and
Azerbaijan ; a third will pass along the river Karun and enter
Southern Persia ; a fourth will reach the Indus and Central
Asia.
In addition to these unquestionable advantages to Great
Britain, still greater must still accrue to Turkey, by the im¬
provement of her people and the development of her latent
resources, which in this case will assuredly take place to an
extent that must greatly raise the Turkish people in the scale
of nations.
But .more extensive commerce, and greater facilities of
mail and passenger communication between England and
India are but a part of the benefits which your Lordship may
expect from the proposed undertaking.
I presume that the use of electric wires must form a part
even of a preliminary opening of the line in question, and I
think it will be easy to shew that the 660 miles across Arabia
ofier great facilities for this kind of communication, which
when perfected under proper arrangements with the Arabs,
will give us a communication to and from India in the short
space of eighteen or twenty hours.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
(Signed) F. E. Chesney.
Major General.
The Eight Honourable
The Earl of Clarendois, K.G., & G.C.B.,
Secretary of State, &c., &c., &c.
192
From W. P. Andrew, Esq., and Major General Ghesney
to His Excellency M. Musurus.
Son Excellence M, Musurus,
Ambassadeur de la Sublime Porte.
Votre Excellence,
Nous avons Thonneur de subir pour l'information
de votre Excellence, et d'après le désir des Messieurs avec
lesquels nous sommes associés, les documents ci-inclus, et
notés en marge, ayant rapport a la formation d'une Compag-
Lettre a. , . .. . "o
Lord Stratford nie, pour établir une communication entre la Mediterrannée et
ave^s^^sM^ises, Golfe Persique, via l'Oronte et l'Eupbrate, par un cbemin
w* A
îlLprospectus Seleucie et le Chateau de Jaber sur l'Eupbrate,
de\a^r^te^ns bateaux;â-vapeur, sur cette rivière au Golfe
rinde, par la Persique.
Vallee de l Eu- ^
phrate. Duplicats des ces papiers ont étés transmis au Gou-
2.—Extension r sr r
des pouvoirs et yemement Anglais et a Lord Stratford de Eedcliffe à
des privileges
conférés dans Constantinople.
troyépariaSub- Votre Excellence connaît bien que la practicabilité de la
route proposée, a été décider depuis long temps, par l'expe-
duchemSide^ dition commandé par le Général Chesney, et que des recher-
dlïrSpectûs scientifiques faites depuis ont confirmér la vérité du
fer de^pSnam- passé par le Général Chesney, et les officiers dis-
A tingués sous ses ordres.
O®—"J-i6tXr© €10
M. Kennedy à Votre Excellence connaît sans doute les travaux assideux
Aleppo, a M, W.
P. Andrew. et hablles de feu le Dr. James Bowen Thompson pour pro-
6. —Lettre a , . ^ ^
Lord Clarendon, duire l'accomplisscment des grands buts contemples par
l'avancement du commerce dans les plaines tres faciles a fer-
*
tiliser de l'Eupbrate et du Tigre, et obtenir pour la proposi¬
tion qui vous est referée dans les papiers qui accompagnent,
l'approbation favorable du Gouvernement Anglais, et de la
Sublime Porte, ainsi qu'il y'a raison de le croire, celle de sa
Majesté Impériale le Sultan.
En addressant votre Excellence sur une entreprise cal-
193
culée a développer les resources et affermir le pouvoir du
Sultan dans ses dominions étendues^ nous vous confions dans
les vues éclairés de votre Excellence, et sentons qu'aucun
argument n'est nécessaire pour recommander cette entre¬
prise a votre attention, et nous esperons que votre Excellence
prendra une occasion de parler en faveur de ce projet en
question, pour la prochaine consideration de la Sublime
Porte.
En attendant nous recevrons avec remerciements aucun
avis ou co-opération, que votre Excellence daignera bien
nous donner.
Nous regrettons que votre absence a empêcher que nous
puissions solliciter l'honneur d'un entrevue, pour pouvoir
placer personellement. dans les mains de votre Excellence,
les documents accompagnants.
Nous avons l'honneur de supplier
Votre Excellence avec profond respect,
Que nous avons l'honneur d'etre.
Votre tres humbles et tres obéissants serviteurs.
Ingénieur en Chef President
pour les Consultes. du Conseil des Directeurs,
(Signé) F. P. Chesney, (Signé) W. P. Andrew.
Major-Général,
GrTesTbam Souse^ Old Sroad Street^
London, V2,th Ma/rch, 1856.
G
194
From W. P. Andrew, Esq., Cliairman of the Euphrates
Valley Railway Company, to the Chairman, Deputy
Chairman and Court of Directors of the Honourable
East India Company.
Gresham House^ Old Broad Street^
17 tk March t 1856.
Gentlemen,
I have have the honour at the request of General
Chesney, and the other gentlemen associated with that dis-
À.—Letterfrom tinguished and scientific officer, and myself, to transmit for
w.%? And%w^ information of the Honourable Court the enclosed docu-
M?rcb^i856^^^ ments noted in the margin, relating to a proposal for esta-
B —Letterfrom hlishing a communication between the Mediterranean sea
^TEarfS'^cia^ Pcrsiaii Gulf, Via the Euphrates, and with the view
rendon, dated -(^i^at the documents mav be forwarded to H. M. Government,
6th March, 1856. ... ^
c—Letter to proposition meet with the approval and con-
Lord Stratford currencc of the Court.
de Redcliffe . . • .
from w. P. An- 2, The importance to this country, to Turkey, and, to India,
drew, Esq., « . . . to • •
dated 28th Feb., of establishing a mail and passenger line of communication
closures, viz. : by the Valley of the Euphrates, has long been apparent to
1._Prospectus the Honourable Court.
oftîe^&T^irates Pj this routo the actual distance between England and
nTdiaf India, will be shortened by from 1,000 to 1,500 miles ; and
2.—Extension when the first comparatively short section of the line is
privîiTges co¿ Opened, the time occupied would be reduced by one third,
F^innan^granted when the railway is completed from Seleucia to Bussorah,
PoiSrin^m^^ ^ distance of 660 miles, Kurrachee or Bombay would be
g _Pj,ospectus ^^^ohed in less than half the time now occupied.
of Scinde Rail- 4. It is proposed to secure a concession of the land, and a
way.
^ T. . guarantee on the capital necessary from the Sublime Porte,
4.—Prospectus ^ ^ ^ ^ '
of Pernambuco and other privileges (see enclosure No. 2,) subject to the
sanction and approval of H. M. Government for the con-
5,—Letter from . ^
John Kennedy, struction of a railway, 80 miles in length, from Seleucia, in
tow.p Andrew, the Bay of Antioch to Jaber Castle on the Euphrates, below
Feb.', 1856. ^ which point the navigation of the river is permanently open ;
195
the railway gradually to be carried down the Valley of the n tetter to
JJiI JiXiisurus
Euphrates to Bussorah^ at the head of the Persian Gulf; but fr^mGen. Chea-
in the first instance the transit would be eflfeeted by steamers IndrJw, Esq.,*
of light draught between Ja'ber Castle and Bussorah. Mardi! ?856.
5. A reference to General Chesney's letter to the Earl of
Clarendon (see enclosure B^) will show that in addition to
postal and passenger traffic, he desires to establish telegraphic
communication by the Euphrates Valley route.
6. It may be satisfactory to state, that General Chesney,
and the officers who served under him in the Euphrates expe¬
dition, and others who have recently returned from Turkish
Arabia and Syria, feel assured that there will be no difficulty
in arranging with the Arabs, and other natives of those coun¬
tries for the protection of the railway, the telegraph, or any
other works that may be constructed.
7. Should it be decided upon to carry the telegraphic wire
along the Valley of the Euphrates and the Persian Gulf, to
meet at Kurrachee, the Indian system of electric communica¬
tion, already, or about to be established, the Mediterranean and
Indian Telegraph Company, who have secured the monoply
of this kind of communication through Sardinia and France
and the Submarine Telegraph Company, will be prepared, '
there is reason to believe, to co-operate, so as to complete the
communication between India and this country.
8. This route would restore commerce between the East and
the West, to its most direct and most ancient channel, while
it would give back to the husbandman the once highly pro¬
ductive, but long neglected plains of the Euphrates and
Tigris, and open up new outlets for the products of British
industry, at the same time developing the resources of, while
consolidating the power of the Sultan in his Asiatic
dominions.
9. The powerful effect that this measure would have in
promoting civilization and enlightenment in, probably, the
most ancient and interesting countries in the world, and the
196
additional ascendancy in the East, that would be secured
thereby to this country, wiU have their due weight with
the Hon. Court.
10. The proposition under reference, being calculated to
have a powerful influence on the future progress, and well
being of the magnificent empire confided to the charge of
the Honourable Court, especially, and more immediately
those recently acquired and most important territories
watered by the Indus and its tributaries, it is hoped that it
may be their pleasure to extend such an amount of counte¬
nance and support as they may feel justified in doing in
transmitting the papers to H. M. Government.
I have honour to be, &c.,
(Signed) W, P. Andrew,
Chairman of the Board of Directors,
To the Chairman, Deputy Chairman,
and Court of Directors of
The Hon. East India Company.
From the Eight Honourable The Earl of Shelburne to
W. P, Andrew, Esq.
Foreign Office, August 1856.
Sir,
I am directed by the Earl of Clarendon to state
to you, that with a view to enable his Lordship to furnish
Viscount Stratford de Eedclifie with instructions as to the
support to be afforded to Major General Chesney and the
Company which he represents. Lord Clarendon would be
glad to receive from you precise statements and particulars
as to the proposed Euphrates Eailway, and as to the assist¬
ance which can be afforded by her Majesty's Ambassador.
I am, Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant,
(Signed) Shelburne.
W. P. Andrew, Esq.
26, Montagne Square.
197
From W. P. Andrew, Esq., to the Eight Honourable The
Earl of Shelburne.
Euphrates Valley Bailway Company Limited
Chresham House, Old Broad Street^
August, 1856.
My Lord,
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of
your letter of the 19th inst., requesting me to communicate
for the information of the Earl of Clarendon, precise state¬
ments and particulars regarding the Euphrates Valley Eail-
way Company, to 'enable his Lordship to give instructions to
Viscount Stratford de Eedcliffe to support Major General
Chesney on his mission to Constantinople, as the representa¬
tive of the Euphrates Valley Eailway Company.
2. In reply I beg to state, that the objects contemplated
by this Company are shortly as follows :
8. This Company is established to connect the Mediter¬
ranean and the Persian Gulf, by a Eailway from the ancient
port of Seleucia by Antioch and Aleppo, to Ja'ber Castle on
the Euphrates, of eighty miles in length, and afterwards
from thence by other towns to Bagdad, and on to the head of
the Persian Gulf. Thenee by steamers, communication will
be established with all parts of India.
4. The effect of the proposed contract to be entered into
between the Sublime Porte, and this Company will be, that
the Ottoman Government guarantee a minimum dividend on
the Capital required at 6 per cent, per annum for ninety-
nine years, with power to raise capital for steamers at a rate
to be hereafter determined.
5. The Ottoman Government grant a lease of the land
necessary for the railway and works for ninety-nine years
free of charge.
198
6. On the opening of the line, all nett profits exceeding
the rate of dividend guaranteed are to go to the Ottoman
Government, in liquidation of the dividends they have
advanced. When this advance is repaid, the entire surplus
goes to the Shareholders.
7. At the expiration of ninety-nine years, the land with
the railway and works pertaining thereto, will become the
property of the Ottoman Government, who will at the same
time purchase the rolling stock at a valuation to be settled
by arbitration.
8. The Ottoman Government guarantee the Company
against all competition from works of a similar character—
and grant the right of land, woods, forests and quarries, the
property of the State at a certain distance at each side of
the line.
9. The preliminaries for a concession on the above basis
were mutually agreed to by His Highness Aali Pasha, Grand
Vizier when in this country, and M. Musurus with General
Chesney and myself ; His Highness referring me as the Chair¬
man of the Company to M. Musurus for the settlement of the
details, and requesting me on his departure from England to
send an Agent to represent this Company at Constantinople,
having full power to give effect to the preliminary agree¬
ment, so that the Firman might be issued giving the formal
and official sanction of the Sublime Porte to the concession
and guarantee.
10. The Directors of this Company have selected General
Chesney, their consulting Engineer, for this mission, feeling
that from his intimate acquaintance with Turkey and its
people, and from his high and honourable character, he is
peculiarly qualified to conclude arrangements begun and
carried thus far under the most promising auspices.
11. The Major General will be accompanied and aided in
his mission to Constantinople, and the subsequent survey
199
in Syria, by the celebrated Engineer, Sir Jobn Macneill, and
takes his departure on the 1st proximo.
12. On the 17th of March last, by desire of the Chairman
of the Honourable East India Company, I forwarded to Lord
Clarendon, through the Honourable Court and the Board
of Control, a letter addressed to Lord Stratford de Bedcliífe,
with enclosures containing full particulars connected with
the Euphrates route to India, and begging his Lordship to
exert on behalf of the effort that was being made to establish
a communication between this country and India, via the
Euphrates, his great and just influence with the Turkish
Government, to facilitate the negotiations for the Pirman,
so far as was consistent with his Excellency's distinguished
official position.
13. I have reason to believe, that Lord Stratford de
Eedcliffe has long regarded with much interest, the esta¬
blishment by Englishmen of the proposed direct route to
India, so calculated to promote the prosperity, safety, and
consolidation of the Sultan's Asiatic dominions, being at the
same time of inestimable importance to the policy and power
of this country.
14. I have therefore only in conclusion, to request that Lord
Clarendon would be good enough to state to Lord Stratford,
the same approval and concurrence in the objects contem¬
plated by this Company, he was pleased to express verbally
when I was honoured with an interview, and suggest to
the Ambassador, the recognition by his Excellency of the
mission of General Chesney, as one worthy of his counte¬
nance and furtherance.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
(Signed) W. P. Andrew,
Chairman of the 'Ewjfh/rates Valley V^ailway Company.
The Bight Honourable
The Earl of Shelburne,
&c. &c. &c.
200
From W. P. Andrew, Esq., to Major General Chesney,
P.A., &c.. Commissioner for the Euphrates Valley
Railway Company, to the Sublime Porte,
Euphrates Valley Eailvjay Company Limited,
Gresham House, Old Broad Street,
London, 2Sth August, 1856»
Sir,
As you have been appointed by a Resolution of the
Board of this Company to proceed as Commissioner to Con¬
stantinople, in company with Sir John Macneill, the engineer
in chief of the Euphrates Valley Railway Company, to re¬
present the interests of that Company at the Sublime Porte,
the Board of Directors have requested me to express their
wish that it be understood that you proceed to the Turkish
capital by whatever route you may deem most advisable, and
that when there, you will use your utmost diligence in pro¬
curing the firman and concession, as also the guarantee of 6
per cent, upon the capital of the Company, according to the
details given in the Prospectus, and held out by His
Highness Aali Pacha, and His Excellency M. Musurus, the
Turkish ambassador, and in conformity with the formal
document appointing you to act as Commissioner on this
behalf.
2, The Board of Directors feel assured from communications
that have been held with the Earl of Clarendon, Her Majesty's
Minister for Foreign Affairs, that you will receive every
assistance in these negotiations from Viscount Stratford de
Redcliffe, Her Majesty's ambassador at the Sublime Porte.
3. It is the wish of the Board that you should keep his
Excellency informed, by demi-official communications, of
everthing of importance connected with your mission at
Constantinople, and during the subsequent survey in Syria.
201
But as His Higliness Aali Pacha expressed his distinct
wishes J when he was in this country, both to the Chairman
of the Board and to the Turkish Ambassador, that the
negotiations should he carried out simply between the Com¬
pany and himself, the Grand Vizier, as having reference to
matters of a public and non-political character, the Board of
Directors deem it to be advisable to attend to such expressed
wishes, so far that the interference of the British Ambassador
need not be had recourse to, except in case of diíBculties
arising in carrying out the proposed negotiations.
4. "With reference to that portion of the formal agreement
to be entered into with the Porte, as to the guarantee of the
Turkish government of 6 per cent, dividend on the capital
required for the railway, and of a certain amount of divi¬
dend to be hereafter arranged, on the capital for steamers,
you will use every effort to procure a charge over the re¬
venues of Alexandretta, or the Pashalic of Aleppo or
Bagdad, for the due payment of the dividend guaranteed by
the Porte, in the same manner as the payment of the interest
on the six per cent. Turkish loan is assured by a lien on the
tribute of Egypt.
5. The preliminaries and basis of concession, and gua¬
rantee having been fully arranged with His Highness Aali
Pasha, the Grand Vizier, should any delay occur in obtaining
the filling up of the necessary legal forms, you will be pleased
to make over the carrying out of the details to Mr. Francis
Horsley Robinson, one of the directors of this Company, and
Mr. "William Ainsworth, who are about to proceed on a
mission to Constantinople, to represent the interests of the
European and Indian Junction Telegraph Company, at the
Sublime Porte ; and you will then proceed in company with
Sir John Macneill to join the staff of engineers at Seleucia,
where you will make the necessary arrangements for deter¬
mining a temporary suitable place, for the disembarkment of
202
materîalsj soon after wliicli, to facilitate your arrangements,
you will communicate with Mr, Kennedy and M. Picciotto,
at Aleppo, who have been appointed to circulate the pros¬
pectus, and receive applications for shares. The former
gentleman is ready to aflhrd much information and assistance.
6. My colleagues, and myself, are well aware of the diffi¬
culties in the way of establishing in an efficient manner the
great work in which we have embarked, but no great work
was ever achieved without difficulty, and they never thought,
and do not think now, that an undertaking which affects in
the most immediate and powerful manner the interests, the
relations, and the hopes of so many nations, can be an ex¬
ception to the general rule.
7. No one knows better than yourself, from your extensive
and varied experience in the countries proposed to be laid
open to civilization and commerce, that the route proposed
to be traversed from Seleucia on the Mediterranean to Bus-
sorah, at the head of the Persian Gulf, is so singularly free
from physical obstructions throughout the length of the
entire valley, that it seems designed by Providence, as
the natural, as it is the most direct, highway for the inter¬
communication of the nations of the East with those of the
West.
8. The difficulties referred to are moral and political, arising
from the unsettled state of those countries, and the habits of the
nomade tribes, but the testimony of yourself and the officers
of the expedition under your command, as well as that of Sir
Henry Eawlinson, Mr. Layard, Mr. Ainsworth. Captain
C. D. Campbell, I. N,,. and other recent travellers, leave no
doubt these difficulties only require to be surmounted, a con¬
ciliatory conduct, and disturbing as little as possible existing
rights of pasture, and the usages of the country, and seeing
that compensation was made wherever they were infringed ;
by, in short, identifying the Sheiks and their people with the
203
enterprise, so as to give them a material interest in its per-
manency and security.
9. You are well aware that to accomplish the great object
of a rapid communication with India, the construction of a
safe harbour on the shores of the Mediterranean is indispen¬
sable, from which a line of railway may be carried to the
upper Euphrates—Alexandretta would offer such a harbour,
almost without expense, but it is believed that the Beilan
Hills, unless it were possible to turn them by a coast line
towards Seleucia and the Orontes, are almost impracticable
for a railway, and that it will therefore be necessary to direct
your attention in an especial manner to the ancient Port of
Seleucia, which has been surveyed and favourably reported
upon by yourself and Captain Allen, E.N.
10. It should not, however, be forgotten, that the Port of
Alexandretta (which according to Sir John Franklin, Admiral
Beaufort and others, would contain the whole navy of Great
Britain,) would give the shortest line to Castle Ja'ber, if the
engineering difficulties could by any means be overcome—and
as the objection of its unhealthiness would be removed by
placing the station on a salubrious spot seven miles from the
shore, it seems desirable that it should undergo further ex¬
amination, and that the selection of the harbour should be
considered an open question until this has been done, since
the journey to Syria is undertaken at a heavy expense, for
the express and paramount objects of choosing the best place
for a commercial port, and the best line for a railway com¬
munication from thence to the shores of the Persian Gulf.
We already know that the Upper Euphrates may be reached
with a railway from the Bay of Antioch, either by a line
passing northward of Aleppo, or by another southward of
that city. The former would be chiefly by the line of levels
laid down during the Euphrates expedition : the other would
follow the river Orontes for some distance, and afterwards
â04
proceed by Berœa, (which is some miles south of Aleppo^) to
Ja'ber Castle, It is pretty certain that neither of these routes
would present any serious engineering difficulty ; but what
we do not know is the comparative expense and time in¬
volved in removing rocks near the Orontes in the one case, and
the cuttings that may be necessary in the other. Fortunately,
your local acquaintance with the country, and the extensive
practical knowledge of Sir John MacneiU, will afford the
means of determining with certainty the relative advantages
of the two lines.
11. There is apparently no opportunity of landing nearer
to the Orontes than either at Beirout, some distance south¬
ward, or at Scanderoon, a little to the northward. The
Austrian steamer touches at the latter port, and by previous
arrangements about horses, you can go through the Beilan
Pass, and thence to Suedia. After deciding by these means,
not only the best position for the harbour, but what is
scarcely of less moment, a suitable temporary landing-place,
on which much depends, since the Bay of Antioch is an open
anchorage—your attention will then be directed to the exa¬
mination of the two routes in question.
12. You will then, assisted by the advice and counsel of
Sir John MacneiU, mark out the line of country to be de¬
finitively surveyed for the purpose of a railway between
that place and the neighbourhood of Antioch, whether on the
right or left bank of the Orontes.
13. You wiU afterwards proceed in the same manner to
indicate the most advantageous line of route to be surveyed
from Antioch, onward, so as to pass as close to Aleppo as
the high ground will permit, and thence to Ja'ber Castle on
the Euphrates.
14. In doing this you wiU be partially guided by the
results obtained by the line of levels carried- under your
direction as Commander of the Euphrates Expedition, across
205
the plain of TTmf, by Jindaries, and striking eastward to
Beles and Ja'ber^ by a line which will pass as near as pos¬
sible to the northern side of Aleppo.
15. You will, however, more particularly direct your at¬
tention to the ordinary route by the valley of the rivulets
of Herein and Amguli, and the district of Danah to the
southern side of Aleppo, but at the same time your are not
to lose sight of the fact, that in case any great engineering
diíEculties should occur in such direct line, that several
openings present themselves in the range of hills which
border the upper valley of the Orontes to the east, by
which the Euphrates could be reached by a line south of
Aleppo.
16. From Aleppo eastwards you will have to determine
whether it will be most advisable to follow the route direct
to the Euphrates at Balis, or Beles, and then keep along the
valley of this river to Ja'ber Castle, or to cross the country
in a direct line to the latter place, or rather to a spot on the
Euphrates opposite to that castle. But it is presumed that
all these points will have been determined by the journey as
proposed by one route, and returning the other. But any¬
thing further that yourself or Sir John Macneill may deem
it advisable to do for the company, either further along the
Valley of the Euphrates, or in the country intervening be¬
tween that river and the Mediterranean, it will be desirable,
that it shall be as far as possible accomplished, and the
Board of Directors will fuUy appreciate any exertions and
sacrifices you may make on behalf of the great and im¬
portant objects which you are deputed, with the aid and
assistance of Sir John Macneill, to carry out.
17. The Board approve of your desire to proceed to Syria,
soon after opening négociations with the Porte, and pre¬
senting your credentials to Lord Stratford de Bedcliífe, con¬
ceiving it to be of the utmost importance for the furtherance
206
of the pending négociations to have the preliminary surveys
proceeded with and completed with as little delay as possible.
18. The Board therefore hope that there will be no
necessity for your remaining at that city after the arrival of
Mr. Robinson and Mr. Ainsworth, in the success of whose
mission this Board takes a warm interest, and it is their
particular wish that you afford these gentlemen every facility
with the view to the attainment of the kindred objects con¬
templated by their mission and your own.
19. I am further to request, that although Sir John
Macneill is not formally associated with you, in your mission
to the Porte, that you will in all your proceedings avail
yourself of the advice and experience of that distinguished
and scientific gentleman.
20. The Ottoman Bank at Constantinople will honour
your drafts for the necessary charges of the mission, and the
engineering staff, and every effort will be made by this Board
to promote the success of the important négociation with
which you are intrusted.
21. You will be good enough to report your proceedings
weekly for the information of the Board, and furnish at the
same time an account of the expenditure for yourself and
Sir John Macneill and the engineering staff, retaining in
your possession, until your return, any vouchers that you
may receive.
22. You will be good enough to communicate to Sir John
Macneill the contents of this letter for his information and
guidance.
I have the honour to be. Sir,
Your most obedient, humble Servant,
(Signed) W. P. Andrew,
Chairman,
majob-geneeal chesnet, b.â., d.c.l., f.e.s., & f.e.g.s.,
&C.J &c., &c.
Commissioner of the
Euphrates Valley Railway Company to the Suhlime Torte,
207
From W.P. Andrew, Esq., to Sir John Macneill, LL.D.,
F.R.S., &c., Engineer-in-Chief Euphrates Valley Rail¬
way Company.
Euphrates Valley Railway Company, Limited.
Gresham House, Old Broad Street,
London, August, 1856.
Sir,
As you are about to proceed to Syria as the Engi¬
neer-in-Chief of this Company, in concert with General
Chesney and a competent staff of engineers, to make a preli¬
minary survey of the country between the Mediterranean and
the Euphrates, with the view to the selection of a port on the
Mediterranean, from which the railway should commence,
and the exact point on the Euphrates on which the line
should débouché, as well as to determine the exact route
to be followed by the railway through the intervening
country, I have the honour to enclose for your information
and guidance copy of a letter of instructions, addressed by
me to General Chesney, in his capacity of Commissioner
of this Board to Constantinople and Syria.
You will be good enough to consider General Chesney as
the representative of this Board during his mission to Turkey,
and make him the medium for any communication you may
think proper to address to this Board.
I have the honour to be. Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
(Signed) W. P. Andrew,
Chairman.
Sir John Macneill, LL.D., F.R.S.,
&c., &c., &c.
208
From E. Hammond, Esq., to W. P. Andrew, Esq.
Foreign Office^
September 1856.
Sir,
I am directed by the Earl of Clarendon, to transmit
to you, as Chairman of the Euphrates Valley Railway
Company, copies of two letters from Major General Chesney,
respecting certain assistance which he requests from Her
Majesty's Government, in support of the undertaking. I
am also to enclose a copy of a reply which Lord Clarendon
has caused to be addressed to General Chesney.
• I am at the same time to acquaint you that copies of yoür
letter of the 26th of August, and of the instructions given by
the Company to Major General Chesney, enclosed in your
letter of the 3rd of September, have been sent to Viscount
Stratford de Kedcliffe, with instructions to use his best
efforts to assist this important undertaking.
I am, &c.,
(Signed) E. Hammond.
W. P. Andrevt, Esq.
209
From W. P. Andrew, Esq*, to Ralph Osborne, Esq., M.P.
Euphrates Valley Railway Company Limited,
Gresham House, Old Broad Street,
London, 25iÄ November, 1856.
/
Sir,
As the Chairman of the above Company, I have
the honour to request that you will be good enough to express
to the Eight Honourable the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty the best acknowledgments of this Board, for the
great assistance rendered to Major General Chesney, the
Commissioner of this Company, Sir John Macneill, and the
Engineering Staff, on their recent mission to Syria, by Her
Majesty's ship Stromboli " having been placed at their
disposal, during the prosecution of the survey in Syria of
the first portion of the railway from the Mediterranean to
the Persian Gulf.
2. The facilities thus afforded have contributed most
materially to the successful prosecution of the objects con¬
templated by the mission of General Chesney and Sir John
Macneill, and the sincere thanks of this Board are due to
His Excellency Lord Lyons, Naval Commander-in-Chief in
the Mediterranean, not only for his great courtesy to these
gentlemen, but for the promptitude with which he detached
the Stromboli," in furtherance of the important objects
contemplated by them.
3. Both General Chesney and Sir John Macneill speak
in the strongest terms of the cordial reception experienced
by them from Captain Burgess and the officers of the
Stromboli," and of their zealous and efficient assistance,
wherever their services could be made available.
I have the honour to be. Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant,
(Signed) W. P. Andrew,
Chairman of the Euphrates Valley Eail/way Company,
Ralph Osborne, Esq., M.P., &c.
Admiralty. p
210
A French Opinion as to the Comparative Political and
Commercial Importance of the Route by the Rail-
way by the Euphrates and that by the Suez Canal,
Brief notice of the Memoir^^ of M, Jules Falkowshiy C. E,
The Indo-European Railway would have its point of de¬
parture from Suedia (ancient Seleucia Pieria)^ near the
embouchure of the Orontes ; it would ascend the valley of
the river J passing Antioch, and after traversing a range of
hills^ called Halaka. by a tunnel of from four to five hundred
metres (French yards) in lengthy it would direct itself by the
plain of Aleppo and the valley of a little river called Abu
Gal gal, as far as to the Euphrates, near Rajik, five leagues
to the northwards of Balis. From Rajik the rail would
follow the course of the Euphrates on the Mesopotamian
side as far as to Felujah, whence, after having sent off a trunk
to Bagdad, it would cross the river, and coursing along the
actual dry bed of the ancient Pallacopas or Sjarri Zaade, it
would reach Zobair. Turning thence to the north-east it
would traverse a plain of little extent, and attain Bussorah,
which, as it may be considered to be a maritime port, would
constitute the extreme point of the railway.
The total length of such a line of railway would be 1,233
English miles, thus divided :
1st section from Seleucia to Rajik . . . 180 miles.
2nd section from Rajik to Hit, a point
where the Euphrates begins to be navi¬
gable throughout the year 494 „
3rd section from Hit to Bussorah .... Ö59 „
The expenses of construction of the entire line, which
could be traversed by an ordinary train in forty-two hours,
would attain at a maximum 395 millions of francs, or in round
numbers, 400 millions of francs (£16,000,000), a sum which
could only be raised by a succession of contributions, spread
2H
f
over a period of from ten to twelve years, the time necessary
to carry out the works.
The advantages which so rapid a communication between
the Mediterranean and the Indian Seas, would entail to the
commerce of the world, and to the cause of civilization, are
incalculable. We will notice them in a summary manner.
I.
The projected route would be the most direct from Eu¬
rope to India, giving a gain of eight days upon that actually
adopted for the English mail by Lower Egypt and the Eed
Sea, supposing the railway from Alexandria to Suez, now
in course of construction to be actually completed.
Here is, in fact, the comparative table of distances, which
is given after the surveys effected in 1836, of the course of
the Euphrates by Colonel (now General) Chesney, and the
English scientific commission placed under his direction.
Miles
days
hours
Miles
days hours
From Bombay to
FromB ombay t oB us-
Suez by steamer .
2,936
17
0
sorab by steamer
1,587
8 0
From Suez to Alex¬
From Bussorab to
andria by railroad
265
0
9
Seleucia by rail .
1,233
0 42
From Alexandria to
From Seleucia to
Malta by steamer
0
é
0
Malta by steamer
4 0
Total . .
3,201
21
9
Total . .
2,820
13 18
It will be seen from these positive details, first, that whilst
upwards of twenty-one days would always be necessary to
effect the transit from Bombay to Malta by the Bed Sea and
Lower Egypt ; it would only require fourteen at the most to
pass from one of these points to the other by the Persian Gulf
and the Euphrates Valley Baüway ; secondly, that the town
of Antakiya, the ancient Antioch, situated in the neighbour¬
hood of the Mediterranean, would be, after the construction
of such a railway, at forty-two hours distance from the Per¬
sian Gulf, and ten days from Bombay ; in a position which
would most undoubtedly make it in a very short time the
general mart of commerce between the different countries
212
situated in the basin of the Mediterranean and of the Black
Sea on the one hand^ and of all the rich countries bathed by
the Indian Seas on the other, as it was in olden times, and as
Aleppo was afterwards, when the commerce of India deviated
into another line.
It is difficult to express beforehand in actual numbers the
quantity of merchandise that will be transported by the pro¬
jected line from Europe to India, and from India to Europe;
but we have endeavoured, in our Memoir,^' to indicate the
minimum. We reproduce here substantially the general
considerations which guided us, and the results at which we
arrived.
The Indian Peninsula, the islands of the Indian and
Chinese Seas actually transmit to Europe, upon an average,
upwards of 700,000 tons of merchandise yearly, being the
freights of more than 1,200 ships, and constituting a value of
about 800 millions.
In exchange, Europe exports upon an average to these
regions more than 500,000 tons of merchandise, freighting
900 ships and presenting a value, officially verified, of about
100 millions, England, Holland, and France are the three
countries of Europe, that are almost solely engaged in this
distant commerce ; but if France only inports from these
Asiatic territories that which is strictly necessary for its own
consumption ; England and Holland make the other coun¬
tries of Europe participate indirectly in their imports ; so
that the numerical expressions of that import as given above,
indicates in reality the consumption made by all Europe of
the productions of India, of Java, and of China.
A certain number of these products have become indis¬
pensable to the life of all civilized people ; such are more
especially coifee, pepper, sugar, tea, and indigo. At least a
third of the total quantity of these articles are shipped from
the harbours of the Atlantic and from the German Sea, to the
213
populous regions that border the Mediterranean and the
Black Sea, and which comprising France among them, would
have an incontestable advantage in receiving them directly
by the Euphrates Valley Railway, and the Mediterranean
port of Seleucia. We consider then, the transport of this
third of the whole importations of Asia, in coflFee, pepper,
sugar, tea, and indigo, as presumably secured to our railway.
The other diverse commodities which the three great
maritime nations derive from southern Asia, constitute a
further mass of 386,000 tons, of which we only take a rela¬
tively very small portion to attribute its transit to the railway
in question; such portion being equally destined to the special
use of the countries situated in the basins of the Mediterra¬
nean and the Black Sea, and consisting of commodities which
are the most liable to deterioration, as exotic resins, roots,
and aromatic essences, spices, palm and other oils, oleaginous
grains, articles of pharmacy, and chemical products.
We leave without our calculations the exportations which
the countries neighbouring the Mediterranean, may make of
their produce by the railway projected towards India, Java,
and China, as also all the special commerce carried on by
England and Holland with the same countries ; that is to
say, all that they draw thence for their own special use, and
all that they furnish of their own manufacture. .We shall
only except the tea of China, of which we suppose the half
to be exportable, and to be placed to the account of mer¬
chandise that will be transported by the Euphrates Valley
Railway, for the very reason that its delicate leaves lose
much of their aroma and of their savour by a long sea
journey ; and we are thus enabled to establish a minimum
of transports which the maritime canal of Suez itself would
not be able to take away from it.
The annexed table resumes our estimates in numbers based
upon French, English, and Dutch official documents :—
Tahle of the general Importation of India^ Java^ and China into Europe,
à
Coffee .
Pepper .
Indigo ,
Sugar ,
Tea
To France,
Exotic resins, roots and aro¬
matic essences. Spices, palm
and other oils. Oleaginous
grains. Articles of pharmacy.
Chemical products . Total, 6,839 tons
To other coun¬
tries situated in the
basins of the Medi¬
terranean and the
Black Sea. Same
commodities . .
Total
, 10,000 tons
, 16,8.39 tons
Total ,
Mean of the
actual Importa,
tion by the Cape
of Good Hope.
86,933 tons
3,936
3,154
183,351
27,767
386,839
»
99
99
99
99
691,980 tons
Presumed Impor¬
tation by the
projected railway.
28,977 tons
1,312
1,051
61,117
13,888
16,839
99
99
99
99
99
123,184 tons
Proportion
between
the two.
3 : 1
Id.
Id.
Id.
2 : 1
23
5^ ; 1
Produce for every kilometre (1,000 French
yards), according to the French tariff.
at 8 c. the ton
do,
at 10 c.
at 8 c. ...
at 10 c.
at 10 c.
2,318 francs
104
105
4,889
1,388
1,683
9}
39
99
99
10,487 francs
Produce for the whole
length of the railway.
4,596,594 francs
206,232
208,215
9,694,887
2,752,404
8,337,389
99
99
99
99
99
I—»
20,795,721 francs
215
The 123,000 tons to be exported by the Euphrates Valley
Railway, according to this appreciation of the minimum,
constitute as we see, less than one-fifth of the general and
annual importation of southern Asia into Europe, and nearly
a tenth of the total mass of merchandise exchanged between
Europe and the same regions.
Nevertheless, this small -portion taken from that which is
actually freighted round Africa, would bring to the railway
in round numbers upwards of 10,000 francs for every kilo¬
metre (£400 for every thousand French yards), or 5 per cent,
of the capital necessary for the construction of the railway ;
and yet that railway would not be solely destined to trans¬
port merchandise between Europe and the extreme East;
it would also serve interests of no less importance, as it will
«
be easy for us to demonstrate.
II.
The Euphrates Valley Railway would also be a bond of
union between Europe and Persia, delivered up in this pre¬
sent day defenceless to the all-powerful influence of Russia,
and having no communication with the other countries of
Europe, but by a very diflScult road, not always safe, and
impracticable for six months of the year ; that is to say, by
the port of Trebizond and the mountains of Kurdistan, The
projected railway, by its branch to Bagdad, situated almost
on the confines of Persia, would draw this country from its
dangerous isolation, and would bring it into connection with
the Mediterranean. . The advantage that would result from
this to general commerce is easy to appreciate : the commo¬
dities which pass in the present day by Trebizond to Persia,
and those which are expedited by that port from Persia to
Europe, constitute altogether annually according to the
Annales du Commerce extérieur^ an amount which would be
represented by eighty-five millions of francs, as a means
which again represents according to our calculations 106,720
216
tons. As these Gommodities could be transported in thirty-
six hours from Seleucia to Bagdad, they would necessarily
take the new road. Now, if we estimate the transport of a
ton at eight centimes the kilometre of railway, the transport
of 106,720 tons would return 8,537 francs per kilometre, or
for the whole extent of railway from Seleucia to Felujah, the
point whence the branch to Bagdad would detach itself
9,904,159 francs ; and these results would not be long in
doubling or even tripling themselves, as has always been the
case where a railroad has come to take the place of difficult
communications.
III.
The resources which the projected railway will find in the
actual localities that it wül have to traverse, remain to be
considered.
In former times, the commercial movement in the road of
the Persian Gulf, and from Bagdad to Aleppo was immense ;
and the latter city, if the Arabian geographers are to be
believed, was then the principal market of the world. It
took three months to transport to Damascus and to Cairo,
the amount of merchandise that was sold there in one day.
(Rousseau Prospectus de l'Encyclopédie Orientale) and vice
versà ; but it is not in our power to indicate even proxi¬
mately the amount of this merchandise. It is not the same
with respect to the traffic that takes place between Bagdad
and Bussora. The information furnished upon this subject
by M. Fontanier, Vice-Consul of France in the last of these
towns are sufficiently precise : and it results from such infor¬
mation, that the mass ofmerchandise which passes between Bag¬
dad and Bussorah, amounts to at least 40,000 tons, and amongst
these commodities, coffee alone, coming from Mokka and
other parts of Arabia, transmitted from Bussorah to Bagdad,
represents an amount of 20 to 25,000 tons. We take from
this traffic on 30,000 tons, which we consider as transportable
217
by rail, for a portion of the produce of Babylonia, flowing
towards Bussorah would in all probability continue to avail
itself of river transport. The transport of these 30,000 tons,
estimated at eight centimes the ton for every kilometre,
(1 halfpenny and three-fifths for every 100 French yards),
would bring in 2,400 francs (96?. sterling) for- every kilo¬
metre, and 1,860,000 francs (74,400?.) for the whole extent
of line from Felujah to Bussorah.
But the profits of the projected line of railway cannot be
appreciated from the commercial movement that is actually
taking place in the countries through which it will be car¬
ried : it is the resources of the future that must mainly be
relied upon ; upon those which the railroad will itself inevi¬
tably give rise to. It must be borne in mind, that rapid
means of communication will carry life and civilization into
a region placed under the most benign sky, and which in an
extent of nearly 2,000 kilometres, only presents about 430
of really unavailable desert, the rest of the country being
admirably fertile. First, we have the pashalik of Bagdad,
the ancient Seleucia spoken of by Strabo, as the finest por¬
tion of Syria, with a rich soil, susceptible of the highest
cultivation, producing in the present day, in its actual
neglected condition, delicious grapes, the most renowned
tobacco in Asia, cotton, olives, and all descriptions of grain.
Situated at the gates of Europe, this country placed beyond
the reach of the exactions of Pasha's, and once fecundated
by a railway, would not fail to attract numerous European
colonists, who would know how to turn its resources to
profit.
The Euphrates Valley Railway would, it can be thus
satisfactorily attested, become immediately profitable at its
origin, and it would indeed exercise a salutary infiuence to
a far off distance, for it must be noted that all the great
commercial routes converged from all times towards Seleucia;
218
hence we cannot but feel certain, that from the moment
that a railroad shall bring that region in contact with the
Euphrates, the station on the bank of that river, whether
Eajill or Balis (or Ja'ber Castle), would at once transform
itself into a great mart, to which the Arabs of the Desert
would bring- the wool of their sheep and the hair of their
camels. On its side, the Euphrates would bring down the
magnificent timber trees, which now rot upon the flanks of
Taurus, and the diverse productions of Babylonia, of which
we shall speak presently.
Next to the pashalik of Aleppo comes Mesopotamia, pro¬
perly speaking,—the Mesopotamia of the patriarchs of old—
a region given up in the present day to nomadic tribes, but
which gained back to agriculture, would be one of the most
productive in the world. The soil yields thirty or forty
grains for one, and all kinds of cultivation succeeds admi¬
rably, wheat, barley, rice, every description of vegetable,
cotton, sesamum, grape vines, olives, mulberries, oranges,
citrons, &c. Here is then a whole territory to be conquered
for the behests of civilization,
A desert of at least two geographical degrees of extent
(between Abu Serai, ancient Cercusium in 35^ lat. N. of
Bagdad, and Bagdad, under 38® 11')^ separates this country
from ancient Babylonia, in the present day a dependency on
Bagdad. It will be traversed by the projected railroad, in
its greatest length (786 kilometres), and if that railroad had
no other object than that of uniting the before-mentioned
celebrated regions with the Mediterranean, still even then
its utility would be incontestable.'^
* Tliis is not a precisely correct representation of the state of
things. The desert region beyond the Khalur does not extend beyond
Werdi, once the seat of a populous and prosperous community. From
Werdi to Annah and below Annah to Felujah is Babylonia, the banks
of the river are almost uniformly fertile, were at one time mostly under
cultivation, and are still so to a great extent : (Translator.)
219
Our old Europe is, in fact, obliged to obtain from the
other countries of the world, from America and from Africa,
a portion of the corn necessary to the subsistence of its
redundant population. England alone imports annually for
its own consumption about 24 millions of hectolitres of grains
and 207 millions of kilogrammes of flour of all kinds, taking
the mean of five years (1849 to 1853), the results of which
have been officially verified. To this amount must be added
six to ten millions of hectolitres that Italv, the Germanic
States, the Scandinavian States, and for the last ten years
France herself, import every year. It so happens, that in a
portion of Europe, the consumption exceeds the production
by 30 to 35 millions of hectolitres. (The hectolitre is equal
to 100 litres or French quarts, 22 gallons English.) In
other portions, it is true, the production exceeds the amount
consumed, but the balance is far from being in a state of
equilibrium. It is sufficient to quote on this subject the
results of an enquiry, which the British Government insti¬
tuted about twenty-five years ago, in order to determine the
quantity of corn accumulated in the granaries of all the
countries of Europe, and what would be available for
exportation. No small surprise was created by the result of
the researches made by Mr. Jacob, a political economist, who
was employed to carry them out, and which shewed that the
excess of production over consumption in the countries con¬
sidered as the feeders of others, did not surpass, in a whole,
ten millions of hectolitres, of which scarcely one-fifth could
be imported into England. Admitting that these countries
could, in the present day, export fifteen millions of hecto¬
litres, the general deficit of the European production would
still amount to from fifteen to twenty millions of hectolitres
every year, and there is every reason to believe that this
deficit will keep on increasing in proportion to the augmen¬
tation of the population.
220
It will be understood after that, how useful it would be,
how urgent, indeed, to Europe to attach itself by a railroad,
a country which was formerly the granary of Asia ; a country
where the soil, upon an expanse of more than 40,000 square
kilometres, every where returned, according to the unani¬
mous testimony of all the writers of antiquity, as much as
200 grains to one.
Supposing that only half of the superficies of Babylonia
was given up to the cultivation of cereals, that one quarter
only was sown every year, and that the produce of the soil
was only 100 grains for one, as in the lands of first quality
in India faccording to Buchanan) the production of Baby¬
lonia would still equal that of all Erance put together, with
a population which only constitutes a twentieth or even less
than that of France.
Europe could then draw its supplies open-handed fi-om
this fine country, where a railway would not fail to revive a
cultivation so much neglected in the present day, and the
cereals of Babylonia transported by this route to Seleucia,
and thence by sea to Trieste, Leghorn, Genoa, Marseilles and
London, would fetch the same price, if not less, as we have
shown in our " Memoir," than the corn of Odessa, with this
further advantage, that they would arrive there periodically
at the beginning of spring, that is to say, at that epoch of
the year when the price of corn is at its highest in our
markets. We will not, however, estimate what these proba¬
bilities present to the future, we will keep within the limits
of the present, to determine what will be the presumable
revenue which the exportation of Babylonian cereals will
give to our railway.
It is an incontestable fact, that the sedentary population
of this pashalik can, with a little activity, draw annually from
the soil 2,000,000 of hectolitres of wheat and rice for expor¬
tation. This wiU give about 140,000 tons of cereals to trans-
221
port by the railway, for a distance of 1,356 kilometres, taking
the town of Hillah, ancient Babylon, as a point of departure.
This transport would give, according to the French tariff
(seven centimes per ton and per kilometre), 9,800 francs for
every kilometre, and for the whole distance 13,278,800 francs
(£531,152 sterling).
Further, a number of other products of Babylonia must be
carried to the account of exportation, such as cotton, tobacco,
saltpetre, soda, sal ammoniac, borax, and, above all, wool,
camel hair and buffalo leather. The quantity of these com¬
modities that will be exported may be estimated, at a mini¬
mum, as 30,000 tons, the transport of which, calculated upon
the basis of eight centimes the ton for every kilometre,
would give a total of 2,400 francs per kilometre, and for
the mean distance of 1,356 kilometres = 3,254,000 francs.
(¿0130,160 sterling). The exportation of Babylonian pro¬
duce towards Europe would thus bring to the railroad, at the
least, 12,200 francs for every kilometre, and for the transit
from Hillah to Seleucia 16,533,200 francs, (£661,828 ster¬
ling) 4,000,000 francs less than the transit of merchandise
from India.
As to the exportable production of the other countries
traversed by the Euphrates Valley Railway, and to which
we have previously referred, we will not endeavour to ex¬
press it in figures. We leave to the future to fill up this
blank, as also that which refers to the commodities imported
from Europe into these countries, and the transport of which
will necessarily be very profitable to the railway. The fol¬
lowing consequences which attach themselves closely to one
another, cannot, in fact, be separated ; 1st, that the estab¬
lishment of a line of rail, across that vast zone which is com¬
posed between the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf,
where nature has been prodigal of its gifts, would revive the
222
activity of the population, and would resuscitate cultivation,
to industry and commerce ; 2ndly, that Europe would profit,
to a very great extent, by the exceptionable richness of nature
in these countries ; and 3rdly, that it would find in the same
beautiful regions a new and profitable market for its indus¬
trial produce.
IV.
There remains to say a few words upon the movement of
travellers, which is likely to take place upon the projected
railway. We have proximately estimated the number in our
Memoir" at 100,000 every year for every kilometre, be¬
tween Seleucia and Felujah, and 200,000 between the latter
city and Bagdad.
This estimation is founded upon the following considera¬
tions :
1st. The Euphrates Valley Railway, being the most direct
and the most convenient to go from Europe to India and
mce 'oersa^ it will incontestably be at once adopted by aU the
travellers who go in the present day with the Indian Mail,
by the Red Sea and Lower Egypt.
2ndly. The same road would connect together the cities
of Aleppo, of Bagdad, and of Bussorah, where fairs are
held that are renowned throughout all the East. It may
then be assumed that a considerable portion of the mobile
population of the country, who frequent these fairs in such
large 'numbers, would avail themselves of this means of
transport, in preference to a long journey on the back of
camels. Let us remark here, that at the September fair at
Bussorah, from 80 to 100,000 persons are seen, who have
come from the different parts of Turkey in Asia, as well as
from Persia, and most of them travel by the Valley of the
Euphrates.
223
3rd. And lastly, the projected line of railway will present
to the pious pilgrims of the two leading Musulman sects, the
most ready and quick means of visiting the holy places
which they both revere. The railway will, in fact, pass at
its eastern extremity, close by the tomb of Ali, of his son
Husain, and other points of pilgrimage continually visited
by the Shiahs, a sect to which the whole Persian population
belong, as well as a portion of that of Mesopotamia and of
Kurdistan ; and at its eastern extremity, the same line will
strike all the different caravan routes that go from all parts
of Turkey to Meccah, the city of Aleppo, being the general
place of rendezvous of all these pilgrims.
To sum up, the estimate we have made, far from being
exaggerated as will be seen, is on the contrary, only a
minimum, which, in all probability will be enormously
surpassed by the reality. Keeping, however, within these
limits, the transport of 100,000 travellers from Seleucia to
Pelujah, and vice versa (1,150 kilometres,) will give a return
of 11,500,000 francs, at an average of 10 centimes per person
for every kilometre, (Id. per person for every 1,000 yards).
The transport of travellers between Pelujah and Bussorah,
would produce 16,460,000 francs, and as a total, the pre¬
sumed transit of travellers along the whole length of the
liiie would produce an annual sum of 27,960,000 francs,
£1,118,400 sterling.
V.
Let us recapitulate then the numbers which we have given
as the minimum of the revenues of the projected railway.
224
Eoüöh Pbodtjce,
Francs.
1st. Transport of 123,000 tons of mercliandise from India 20,795,721
2nd. Transport of 106,720 tons of mercliandise exchanged
between Europe and Persia 9,904,199
3rd, Transport of 30,000 tons of merchandise between
Bagdad and Bussorah 1,860,000
4th. Transport of 170,000 tons of the produce of Babylonia
from Hillah to the Mediterranean 16,533,200
5th. Transport of Travellers :—
100,000 for a portion of the line 1
200,000 for the other portion j ^7,ybü,üü0
Total 77,053,080
Deducting 45 per cent, for the expenses of wear
and tear, and keeping up the Bailway . . 34,673,886
There remain a clear revenue of • . 42,379,194
(Or £1,695,167 15 10.)
Or about 10^ per cent, of tbe capital necessary for tbe con¬
struction of the railway. And how many sources of revenue
have we not indicated which do not enter into this estimate,
but which the future will most indubitably have to evolve ?
Are we not justified in believing from that, and from all the
other considerations developed by us, that the returns of the
railway will amount to double the proceeds which we have
discreetly given. A net annual produce of 20 per cent, on
the social capital is then the result that can be anticipated
without any exaggeration from an enterprise which will
bring Europe into union with the richest countries of Asia,
the Mediterranean, and the Indian seas ; and let it be noted
that the competition of the projected maritime canal by the
Isthmus of Suez, can in no way detract from the importance
of the Euphrates Valley Railway route, which will present a
saving of at least twelve days in the journey from Europe to
India as compared with the steam navigation of the Red Sea
and the canal in question.
m
VI.
It is, indeed, in this last point of view more especially
that the Euphrates Valley Kailway will present an unpa¬
ralleled importance. It may be distinctly affirmed that it
will exercise a decisive influence upon the future of the
Ottoman empire, which has its real basis in Asia. No
political measure can possibly have the same efficacy in re¬
generating the old Asiatic East, that is to say, bring back cul¬
tivation, industry, commerce, and the arts to those celebrated
countries which were once the cradle of civilization, and con¬
solidate the power of the Porte by centralising the scattered
yet vivacious forces which it possesses. The Turkish govern¬
ment would then find abundant resources with which to
restore its finances. It would, further, be enabled better to
restrain the turbulence of the Arab tribes, to* watch over
the administration of Pashas too prone to disobedience, to
keep in check Persia, that old rival of Turkey, now a tool in
the hands of Russia, and if war should ever break out again
with the latter power, the Euphrates Valley Railway would
give to Great Britain the means of transmitting troops from
India to the assistance of its ally with great rapidity, and to
take up a position as opposed to Russia, of far greater
strategical importance than in the last war.
If then the strengthening of the Ottoman empire is of
importance to the security of the world, and who would
doubt it in the present day ? the projected railway is most
assuredly one of the most powerful and most practical ways
of arriving at that end. This double character of high
commercial and poKtical utility, which attaches to the project
of which we here present a sketch, makes us hope that it
will be favourably received by the governments, by the
capitalists, and all the well-informed men who enlighten
public opinion in Europe. If the difficulty of being able to
Q
226
raise under existing circumstances, a capital of 400 millions,
(of francs) and of carrying out an enterprise of the proposed
description in a country inhabited by nomadic races, is urged,
we shall answer that these difficulties are rather apparent
than real.
The capital of 400 millions will not be exacted, we have
before said, but by annual instalments of 30 or 40 millions at
the most.
In two years, the first section, the expenses of construct¬
ing which have been valued at 58,500,000, or 60,000,000
francs in round numbers, (150,000 francs per kilometre,)*
would be concluded, and it would soon give good results.
It is only then, that the works of the next section would be
begun. The cost of the latter would amount to about
200 millions (250,000 francs per kilometre,) it would demand
from 4 to 5 years of labour ; but that second section con¬
cluded, the end that we purpose to ourselves would be in
reality attained. The line of railway would in reality be
brought to a point (Hit), from whence the Euphrates is
navigable the whole year round. The working of the two
sections of the railroad could then be combined with a
regular service of steam boats from Hit to Bussorah, as also
between the first of these towns and Bagdad, the two being
connected by a navigable canal.
By this means the journey from Seleucia to Bagdad
would be accomplished in two days, to Bussorah in five
days, and to Bombay in thirteen days, nearly three days less
than is required to make the journey from Bombay to Alex¬
andria, even considering the railroad from Alexandria to
Suez, as carried out from one end to the other, and in full
* The expenses of opening the Port of Seleucia to ships of commerce,
estimated by us at 15 millions of francs, are comprised in the 58,500,000
francs.
227
activity. There would then be nearly three days gained in
the communications between Europe and India, for Alexandria
and Seleucia are at equal distances from Malta. Such results
show pretty clearly that the expenditure of 260 millions
would not be fruitless. Should it ever be necessary to
postpone for some years the execution of the third section,
which is required to complete the line, and the expenses of
constructing which are estimated at 135 to 140 millions
(150,000 francs per kilometre).
Nothing then in reality opposes itself to the proposed
undertaking, notwithstanding its colossal proportions ; should
it be carried out gradually, should it meet with an interrup¬
tion, or should it be completed as a whole, or only in part,
/
no mischief could accrue to the shareholders.
With 400 millions of francs a line of capital importance to
the commerce of the world would be constructed. With
260 millions only, a part only of such a line of railway would
be constructed, which would still be very useful and very
productive. We do not believe the financial resources of
Europe to be so exhausted that a capital of 400 millions
could not be collected in ten or twelve years to carry out an
undertaking of such vast importance.
As to the dangers, which people who only know the East
from exaggerated reports of a few travellers, fancy will be in
the way of the works being carried out, it is sufllcient to
remark, that the nomadic tribes of these countries are few in
number, badly armed, without discipline, and always divided
among themselves. A few regular troops dispersed along
the line would sufiS.ce to protect it against all the Arab and
Kurd shepherds, and the benefits that would accrue from the
»
undertaking to the Turkish Government would more than
repay them the expense of keeping up their military posts.
But, besides this, the mercantile spirit of Arab tribes, who
constitute the great majority of the nomadic population ofr
a 2
228
these countries, there cannot be the slightest doubt, would
acconunodate itself easily to so rapid a means of communica¬
tion, and which would give to them the advantage of being
able to frequent at a trifling expense the great fairs of Aleppo,
of Bagdad, and of Bussorah, and which would open new
outlets to their products, by the sale of which they gain their
livelihood. The English scientiflc commission which carried
on such extensive labours in these countries, bad opportu¬
nities of convincing themselves of the good disposition of the
Arabs towards Europeans when they have commercial
advantages in prospect. The Amirs came then to Colonel
(now General) Ghesney, with offers of submission to the
Queen of Great Britain. Thus falls the last objection raised
against a project, the execution of which is practical and the
advantages incalculable.
Jules Falkowski.
THE
EÜEOPEAN AND INDIAN JUNCTION
TELEGRAPH COMBANY LIMITED.
(FEOM SELEÜCIA TO THE PERSIAN GULP.)
(Uniting the I/ines of the English and Continental Telegraph Companies
imth the electric cahle of the honourable East India Company^ from
KwrrcKthee to the hecid of the Tersiam Ghilf.J
TO BE nrCGEPOEATED BY ACT OE PAELIAMENT,
CAPITAL £200,000, IN 20,000 SHAPES OF £10 EACH.
(Deposit, 10s. per Share.)
(WITH POWER TO INCREASE.)
The Directors feel assured of obtaining a Concession from the Ottoman
Q-overnment, with the necessa/ry powers and privileges. From the
arrangements now in progress, a settled income may be expected on
the Capital of the Company.
CDl&airman,
W. P. ANDREW, Esa. F R.G.S,,
Chairman of the Euphrates Yalley Railway and Scinde Railway Companies.
Birrrtors.
WILLIAM AINSWORTH, Esa., F.G.S,, & F.R.6.S., late Geologist and
Mineralogist to the Euphrates Expedition.
PHILIP ANSTRUTHER, Esa., late Secretary to Government, Ceylon,
and Deputy Chairman Ceylon Railway Company.
SIR FREDERICK L. ARTHUR, Bart., Director of the Euphrates Valley
Railway Company.
HARRY BORRADA ILE, Esa.» late Bombay Civil Service, and Director of
the Euphrates Yalley Railway Company.
SIR JAMES CARMICHAEL, Bart., Chairman of the Submarine and
Member of Council of the Mediterranean Telegraph Company.
GEORGE B. CA RR, Esa., 5, Lawrence Pountney Place.
COLONEL A. COTTON, late Chief Engineer, Madras,
THE HONOURABLE J. CADWALLADER ERSKINE, Chairman of the
' London and Eastern Banking Corporation.
CAPT. H. B. LYNCH, C.B., I.N,, late commanding on Euphrates and
Tigris.
SIR JOHN MAGNEILL, LL.D., F.R.S., Enginecr-in-chief of the Euphrates
Valley Railway Company.
SIR T. HERBERT MADDOCK, M.P., late Deputy Governor of Bengal,
and Director of the Scinde Railway Company.
MAJOR J. A. MOORE, F.R,S., Ex-Director of the Honourable East India
Company, and Director of the National Provincial Bank of England.
THOMAS WILLIAMS, Esa., Director of the Scinde, Euphrates Valley, and
other Railway Companies.
^uhiturs.
LIEUT.-COL. H. B. HENDERSON, late Officiating Miütary Auditor-
General, Bengal.
J. EDMUND ANDERDON, Esa., Director of the Bank of London.
Ißankers.
Messrs. GLYN, MILLS, & CO. 1 THE OTTOMAN BANK.
Soliciter. ^ccrctarp.
J. A. M. PINNIGER, Esa. | L. W. RAE BURN, Esa.
PROSPECTUS.
The Honourable East India Company has determined to
lay a telegraph cable from Kurrachee to the head of the
Persian Gulf.
The Austrian Government has established a Company
with the requisite capital, paid up and guaranteed by the
State, for constructing and laying down a Submarine
Electric Telegraph, in connection with its land lines, from
Cattara, or Eagusa, on the coast of the Adriatic, touching
at Corfu, Zante, and Candia, to Alexandria, and thence by
Jaffa and Beyrout to Seleucia ; and have just concluded a
contract for the immediate execution of the work.
The Austrian Company gives to the English Government
and the East India Company a priority over the public in
transmitting their messages.
The European and Indian Junction Telegraph Company
Limited is established with the view to continue the electric
communication from Seleucia, along the line of the proposed
railway, by Aleppo, Ja'ber Castle, and the valley of the
Euphrates, to the head of the Persian Gulf, thus completing
the only remaining link between India and England.
The English Government will soon be able to communi¬
cate with Malta and Corfu, by a line to those islands from
Cagliari in the Island of Sardinia, to which point the
Mediterranean Electric Telegraph is advanced.
From Cagliari, the French and Sardinian Governments
wdll have direct telegraphic communication with Alexandria
and the East.
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Equator
231
All parts of India are or are about to be brought in tele¬
graphic communication with Kurrachee, and the cable from
«
thence of the East India Company, to the head of the
Persian Gulf, with the wires to be laid down by this Com¬
pany will bring India by nearly 2,000 miles nearer England
and the continent.
When the Submarine and Indian systems meet at Seleucia,
the connection between the East and West will be complete,
and England, the Continent and India be in hourly commu¬
nication.
From the arrangements contemplated, it is certain that
the best and safest telegraphic routes will be secured to this
country.
The Austrian Government has most strikingly evinced its
interest in this great undertaking, and its desire to maintain
the position as the medium of communication between other
nations, by undertaking the completion of so large a portion
of the line.
The British Government and the Honourable East India
Company duly appreciate the power of supervision and con¬
trol put into their hands by the telegraph, binding together
in one the isolated and distant dependencies of the Empire,
and are prepared to extend their countenance and support
in a fair and liberal spirit.
The merchant and the ship-owner are well acquainted with
the inestimable value to them, of the power of imparting
and receiving prompt information. It is well known that
heavy loss has been suffered by the Indian mercantile com¬
munity, through the non-receipt of immediate news of the
adoption of the Austrian propositions for peace. The
heavy contracts made in Calcutta and Bombay in January
last for oil seeds, jute, and saltpetre, would have been
prevented by a single message.
But the grand source of revenue will be derived from the
232
constant desire to communicate which is felt by members of
families when at a distance from each other ; and when it is
considered how many thousands of families in England have
some near relative in India, the revenue, it is believed, from
this source alone, will be very large.
From the most reliable data that can be collected, the
Directors feel confident that, besides the pecuniary assistance
that may be expected from Government and the Honourable
East India Company, a highly remunerative return may be
expected on the capital embarked.
The Directors have the satisfaction of stating, that they
have secured the valuable co-operation and assistance of
Mr. John Watkins Brett, the inventor and projector of the
Submarine Telegraph.
Mr. O'Shaughnessy, superintendent of telegraphs in India^
having already laid down in that country 4,000 miles of
electric wire with extraordinary economy and success, and
as the cable in connexion with the Indian system is about
being carried ftom Kurrachee to Kurnah at the head of the
Persian Gulf under his supervision, an application has been
addressed to the Court of Directors of the Honourable East
India Company with the view to secure the advice, of this
eminent and successful ofiicer to this Company, so as to in¬
sure uniformity of design and management throughout, from
Calcutta and Peshawer, Bombay and Madras to Seleucia.
The Honourable Court have already intimated that they
" would have no objection to the experience which he (Mr.
O'Shaughnessy) has acquired in India being made available
for the line through Asiatic Turkey."
The electric telegraph is the most beautiful and sur¬
prising invention of the age, and nothing is more interesting
than to learn its rapid progress and wonderful results. The
telegraphs of America are surpassed in length, solidity of
construction and cheapness of working, by those which
23S
within the last few years, while we at home have been de¬
bating and fighting on the Eastern question, have been car¬
ried over the length and breadth of India. From Calcutta
to the Indus, to Bombay, to Madras, the messages of Govern¬
ment and individuals are speeded in a few hours at a cost
comparatively trifling. Ceylon is to be united to the main¬
land, and the time is already looked upon as near when the
telegraph wiU cross the Mediterranean, run along the Bed
Sea and the coasts of the Indian Ocean (or rather by the-
Euphrates and Persian Gulf), and unite London and Cal¬
cutta in hourly communication. We cannot doubt that this
work will be soon achieved, and that no very long period
will elapse before the wires extend to Canton and Shanghai,
and perhaps, running from island to island, will stretch on
to Sydney and Melbourne, and the great settlements of the
antipodes."—Times, June 16, 1856.
No call will be made until the concession has been se¬
cured by the Firman of the Sultan, and the other arrange¬
ments contemplated by the Directors are completed.
234
From W. P. Andrew, Esq., to Sir James C* Melvill,
K.C.B,, &c.
Gresham House, Old Broad Street,
Mth June, 1856.
Sir,
Understanding that the Honourable Court has it in
contemplation to bring the lines of telegraph already esta¬
blished in India, with so much success by Mr. O'Shaugh-
nessy into a near proximity to those in Europe, by laying an
electric cable from Kurrachee to the head of the Persian
Gulf, and as I have in conjunction with General Chesney
and others, taken the necessary steps towards obtaining the
sanction of the Turkish Government for laying electric wires
in Asiatic Turkey, and am also acting in concert with Mr.
Brett and other representatives of European Telegraph
Companies, I beg to submit for the consideration of the
Honourable Court, a proposal to complete the telegraph
communication between England and India, by connecting
the cable proposed to be laid down to Bussorah by means of
an electric wire carried along the Euphrates bypJa'ber
Castle and Aleppo, to Seleucia, at which point it would form
a junction with Mr. Brett's submarine cable, now advanced
to Cagliari, in the island of Sardinia, the remaining portion
of the communication being through Piedmont and France,
this arrangement would afford to England the best and
safest telegraphic refute to her Indian possessions.
Should the court feel inclined to entertain favourably
the proposal I have now the honour to submit, I shall be
prepared hereafter to furnish more detailed information re¬
garding the project.
In the meantime, I may state, that Mr. O'Shaughnessy
concurs in the perfect feasibility of what I now propose, and
236
his views are confirmed by Mr. Ainsworth, who has surveyed
the country from Seleucia to Bussorah, and other scientific
gentlemen practically acquainted with the country and its
people who assure me that there are no physical or other
difficulties that may not be easily surmounted.
In the event of a company being formed to raise the
necessary capital, it woidd be the wish of those gentle¬
men who are associated with me, that the Honourable Court
would be good enough to permit Mr. O'Shaughnessy to be
the consulting engineer to the company for laying down the
wires which would unite the English and Indian systems.
The services of this distinguished gentleman would not
only be valuable jfrom his practical experience in India, but
uniformity of plan and management would he ensured with
that of India throughout the lines until they approached
those of Europe on the shores of the Mediterranean.
I have the honour to be,
&c., &c., &c,,
(Signed) W. P. Andhew.
Sir James C. Melvill, K.C.B.,
&c., &c., &c.
From W. P. Andrew, Esq., to the Eight Honourable
The Earl of Clarendon, E.G., &c.
June, 1856«
My Lord,
As the Chairman of the Scinde and Euphrates VaUey
Bailway Companies, I am desirous of establishing tele¬
graphic communication between England and India, by
forming a connection at Seleucia with Mr. Brett's submarine
cable, and carrying the electric wire via Aleppo and the
Euphrates, to the head of the Persian Gulf, and from thence
236
by submarine cable to Kurracbee in Scinde, where the junc¬
tion would be eíFected with the 4,000 miles now in eíFective
operation in India ; and as I feel assured that a subject of
such vast political and social importance must soon be sub¬
mitted to your Lordship's consideration, I have the honour
to enclose for your lordship's information a duplicate of a
letter having reference thereto, which I addressed on the
17th instant to the Court of Directors of the Honourable
East India Company.
Should it be decided to adopt the route I have suggested
above for the telegraph, it would of necessity nearly follow
that of the proposed railway from Seleucia to Bagdad and
Bussorah, and the same management and protection might
suffice for both undertakings.
I expect General Chesney in town in a few days,, and in
the meanwhile I shall be ready at any time to wait upon
your Lordship, should you desire any further information.
I have the honour to be, &c.,
(Signed) W. P. AndreWí
The Right Honourable
The Earl of Clarendon, K.G.,
&C.) &c.
From Sir James C. Melvill, K.C.B., to
W* P. Andrew, esq»
East India House,
\Qt}i July, 1856,
Sir,
I have received and laid before the Court of Directors
of the East India Company your letter dated 17th ulto.,
stating that you have in conjunction with Major-General
Chesney and others, taken the necessary steps for obtaining
the sanction of the Turkish Government for laying electric
wires in Turkish Arabia, and submitting a proposal for a
line from Seleucia via Ja'ber Castle and the Valley of the
2S7
Euphrates to Kornah, in continuation of the submarine cable
laid down in the Mediterranean by Mr. Brett.
In reply, the court desire me to state, that while they
would be much gratified to see the work in question pro¬
perly carried out, the arrangement connected with the under¬
taking, must necessarily be left to the Turkish authorities
for settlement, and they can only repeat the assurance already
given to Her Majesty's Government, that they will be pre¬
pared to undertake the construction of a line of telegraph
between Kurrachee and the Turkish territory, upon learning
that the communication between this country and Kornah has
been established.
With reference to the request contained in your letter,
that Dr. O'Shaughnessy may be employed as the consulting
engineer of the company which you desire to form for the
execution of the work contemplated by you, I am com¬
manded to state that Dr. O'Shaughnessy has already directed
his attention to, and submitted his views and recommenda¬
tions upon, the subject of the line in question, and the court
would have no objection to the experience which he has ac¬
quired in India being made available for the line through
Asiatic Turkey, although Dr. O'Shaughnessy is, of course,
not at liberty to enter into any engagement with private
companies. I am, &c.,
(Signed) James C. Melvill.
W. P. Andrew, Esq.
(¡-0.
Erom W. P. Andrew, Esq., to Sir James C. Melvill,
K.C.B., &c.
European and Indian Junction Telegraph Company Limited^
Gresham House, Old Broad Street,
London, bth August, 1856.
Sir,
Adverting to your communication of the 10th July,
in which you express the interest of the Honourable Court
238
in introducing the electric wire in Turkish Arabia^ and that
the court would have no objection to the co-operation of
Mr. O'Shaughnessy being made available for the telegraph
company I had proposed, I am now requested by the dis¬
tinguished and scientific gentlemen with whose co-operation
I am honoured, to forward for the information of the court,
a prospectus of the European and Indian Junction Tele¬
graph Company, and a copy of a letter addressed by Mr.
J. A. M. Pinniger to the Secretary of the Treasury, and
also one from the former gentleman to myself, explanatory of
an arrangement entered into with the Austrian Government,
for the establishment of telegraphic communication by means
of a submarine cable from Ragusa, on the Adriatic, to Alex¬
andria and Seleucia.
By means of the electric telegraph passing through Bel¬
gium and the Austrian dominions, England is already in
telegraphic connection with the coast of the Adriatic, the
submarine cable from thence, from Ragusa to Seleucia, and
the wires proposed to be laid down by the European and
Indian Junction Telegraph Company from Seleucia and
Kornah, at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris,
meeting at the last-named point, the submarine cable pro¬
posed to be laid down by the Honourable Court from Kur-
rachee along the Persian Gulf, would place London in tele¬
graphic intercourse with all parts of India, by meeting at
Kurrachee the telegraphic system already established with so
much success in that company.
I have to express the satisfaction of my co-directors at the
assurance that the court will be prepared to undertake the
construction of a line of telegraph between Kurrachee and
the Turkish territory^ upon learning that the communication
between this country and Kornah has been established.
I have also to express the acknowledgments of the directors
of this company, for the consideration of the court, in per-
239
mîtting the great experience of Mr. O'Shaughnessy in India
to be made available for the line through Asiatic Turkey.
The directors of this company attach the greatest import¬
ance to the line along the Euphrates to be constructed and
worked on the same principle as those so successfully carried
out by Mr. O'Shaughnessy in India ; and with this view, the
directors will require that their contractor shall avail himself
to the fullest extent of that gentleman's counsel and super¬
vision.
The political, commercial, and social advantages to be de¬
rived from placing England and India in almost hourly
telegraphic communication, are apparent to the Honourable
Court, and as it is believed, the safety and prosperity of
India must be promoted thereby in no ordinary degree, I
am to request that you will submit for the consideration of
the court, whether the moderate capital of £200,000 of this
company might not have a rate of interest guaranteed, the
proceedings of the telegraph company being subjected to the
same supervision and control as the Indian railways.
The Turkish, Sardinian, and Austrian Governments hav¬
ing already guaranteed interest on capital for the construc¬
tion of electric lines out of their dominions, I feel assured
that the Honourable Court will entertain the proposal for
support and co-operation, I have had the honour to submit,
in an enlightened and liberal spirit.
I have the honour to be,
&c., &c., &c..
Your most obedient Servant,
(Signed) W. P. Andrew,
Chairman,
Sir James C. Melvill, K.C.B.,
&c., &c., &c.
240
From William Ainsworth, Esq., F.G.S. and F.E.G.S.,
to W. P. Andrew, Esq., Chairman of the European
and Indian Junction Telegraph Company.
13iÄ Augustf 1856.
Dear Sir,
I have much pleasure in transmitting to you my
ideas upon the subject of telegraphic communication from
Seleucia to the Persian Gulf, along the Valley of the Eu¬
phrates.
In doing so, I must premise that my acquaintance with the
countries to be traversed is not only derived from explora¬
tions made as Geologist and Mineralogist to the Euphrates
expedition under General Chesney, but also from opportu¬
nities subsequently afforded to me when in charge of an ex¬
pedition sent to the same and neighbouring regions by the
Royal Geographical Society.
In the first place, then, it is to be premised that there •
exist no physical obstacles whatsoever to conveying an elec¬
tric chain between the two points proposed. The country is
throughout comparatively level, easy for access, with most of
the materials of labour at hand. The utmost elevation of the
line of watershed between the Mediterranean and the Eu¬
phrates, along the line of levels carried by the ofiicers under
the command of General Chesney, was 1,750 feet, with a
very gentle ascent; and the height of the bed of the
Euphrates, at the termination of the same line of levels, was
550 feet.
The rise of ground on the direct line to Aleppo is still
less. There is a tract of hard limestone to cross on the line
to Aleppo ; but there are no mountains, rivers of any mag¬
nitude,^ ravines, or any other obstacles that are worthy of
notice, to be overcome.
241
a
It is almost needless to add, that once the Valley of the
Euphrates attained, there is an almost continuous and unin¬
terrupted gradual descent to the Persian Gulf, The soft and
friable rocks, approach the river at but few points, and, with
thé exception of the basaltic ridge at Zelebeh, and a patch of
hard limestones on the left bank at Annah, never attain an
elevation much exceeding 100 feet ; and the basalts leave a
river-margin wide enough for several lines of railway.
Throughout, the same circumstances which give such
unusual facilities to the prolongation of a line of railway
along the Valley of the Euphrates, naturally also apply
themselves to the prolongation of a line of telegraphic com¬
munication.
The difficulties which present themselves are solely such
as may be anticipated from the semi-barbarous condition of
the people inhabiting the country, and these I believe to be
very generally exaggerated.
Almost all possible accidents would be anticipated, were
proper precautionary measures adopted.
The precautionary measures I allude to would be, first,
the support of the Ottoman Government, and of the local
authorities ; and secondly, the countenance of the Arab
Sheikhs, which could be obtained by a very trifling subsidy,
to be paid so long as the wire remained intact, and to be
withdrawn or forfeited when it was injured.
This would be the cheapest kind of surveillance that could
be obtained in the countries in question.
It would be further essential to explain to the Arab Sheikhs
the nature of the objects proposed.
They would explain the matter again in their own way to
their followers, and it is a great mistake to suppose that the
Arabs would not be open to such an explanation (although
not expected to understand the modus operandi any more
K
242
than a European peasant), and that they would not be influ¬
enced by the moral obligations imposed upon them.
The immediate object of such explanation would be to
more particularly do away with all suspicions or superstitious
ideas, which might otherwise be associated with the laying
down of a line of telegraphic communication.
There is every reason to believe, however, that the simple
statement^ that the Electric Telegraph was used to convey the
messages of the Sultan, would protect it from alb accidents.
Once the valley of thé Euphrates attained, the population
of its long banks are for the most part pastoral and agricul¬
tural.
The country is certainly exposed to the inroads of the
Bedouin Arabs, but even then I do not believe the Arab to
be wantonly destructive.
The existence of so many and of such extensive remains
of olden times scattered over their country, attest to the
contrary.
There are medieval castles in the Valley of the Euphrates
claimed by no one, and untenanted, yet which are in part
inhabitable to the present day. Nesjm Kalah is a remark¬
able instance of this kind. Inscriptions on dry mud have
existed untouched from the days of the Caliphs. The habits
of the Arabs leading them to disdain stone for building pur¬
poses, edifices of olden time are much less injured among
them than they would be elsewhere. In what other country
would a Palmyra be found abandoned to the first comer, yet
almost unscathed ?
The Euphrates Expedition left two or three guns at Port
William, in 1836. The natives respected them so far that
Hafiz Pacha used them in the defence of Birijik in 1839.
I have seen a small collection of Roman coins, in an Arab
tomb, at Balis. The people had found them ; they did not
know what to do with them ; yet they did not wantonly
243
throw them away. They had belonged to some departed
race, they would consecrate them then to their dead. Ex¬
amples of this kind might be almost infinitely multiplied.
In case the system of subterranean wires is adopted, it
would require the same precautionary measures to be taken
as in the case of a line upon posts, but it is evident that the
wires would be far less exposed to accidents.
A line from Seleucia by Aleppo to Balis would connect
itself by the Valley of the Euphrates with the projected
Railway at Ja'ber Castle, at Aleppo, at Seleucia, and, if
deemed advisable, at Antioch, so as to answer all the pur¬
poses of the Railway ; and for the remainder of the distance
along the Valley of the Euphrates and Tigris, it would pro¬
bably follow the same route.
A third plan of carrying an Electric Telegraph presents
itself along the Valley of the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris,
different from those before alluded to, and that is along the
bed of the rivers.
The advantage gained in distance by saving the bends of
the river, and which would amount to probably about one-
fifth of the whole distance, point to a line of Telegraph on
posts, or to a subterranean cable, as being preferable to a
fluviatile one. The soil of the Valley of the Euphrates is
peculiarly adapted for the latter system, being for the most
part river alluvium, and when not so, composed of soft and
friable rock formations (marls, gypsum, and red sandstones),
easily cut, or through which tunnels could be bored with
great facility.
There is nothing, indeed, in the Euphrates Valley that
will compare for a moment with India or other countries
through which Electric Telegraphs have been carried, depen¬
dent or independent of Railways. Nature has positively left
there a great open gap, with almost unexampled facilities
for all such undertakings, whether Railway or Telegraph.
R 2
M4
From the parallel of Aleppo there are no glens, ravines, or
narrow, precipitous, rocky passes whatsoever. Rocks abut
upon the river at a few points, but only so as to leave a
margin for many lines of Railway or Electric Telegraph.
It is to be presumed that the Telegraphic cable, upon
reaching the alluvial plains of Babylonia, a little above
Felujah, will be carried across that plain to Bagdad, in
consequence of the importance of that place as a commercial
emporium.
For this brief distance no more difficulties would present
themselves than elsewhere to a line on posts or to a subter¬
ranean cable.
But whether the Valley of the Euphrates is followed south
of Felujah, or that of the Tigris, south of Bagdad, it may
remain a question if it will not be advisable to carry the
cable then ce forward along the bed of either river, on account
of the existence of extensive tracts of marsh, which would
necessitate a line of posts, or a subterranean cable being
carried at certain points at a distance away from the banks.
In the latter case the Tigris presents some slight advan¬
tages over the Euphrates, in having for the greater part of
its course firmer banks.
In conclusion, however, as far as my own experience goes,
and after a careful consideration of the subject in all its
bearings, I do not see any reasons why, under ordinary cir¬
cumstances, a common Electric Telegraph of insulated wires,
suspended in the air upon posts or standards of wood, iron,
or stone, should not be adopted for the whole length of the
line projected.
I have the honour to be, &c., &c.,
(Signed) William Ainsv^orth,
F.G.S. and F.R.G.S.
245
From J, D. Dickenson^ Esq.^ Deputy Secretary East India
Company^ to W. P. Andrew, Esq.
East India Home, l^th September, 1856.
Sir,
The Court of Directors of the East India Company
have had under their consideration your letter dated the
5th ultimo, forwarding a prospectus of the European and
Indian Junction Telegraph Company, together with copies
of letters from Mr. J. A M. Pinniger, explanatory of an
arrangement entered into with the Austrian Government for
the establishment of telegraphic communication from Pagusa
on the Adriatic to Alexandria, and Seleucia, from which
place the European and Indian Junction Company propose
to extend it.to Kurnah, and submitting for the court's con¬
sideration whether the capital of £200,000 might not have
a rate of interest guaranteed by the East India Company,
the proceedings of the telegraph company being subjected to
the same supervision or control as the Indian railways.
In reply, the court desire me to state that the arrangements
connected with the establishment of the line of telegraph
proposed by the European and Indian Junction Company,
must rest with Her Majesty's Government, and with the
governments and tribes through whose territories it is de¬
signed to carry it ; and that the court are at present unable
to enter into any agreement with the telegraph company, or
to afford any pecuniary assistance or guarantee. Eut the
court desire me to state, that in the event of the telegraph
company being employed with the sanction and support of
Her Majesty's Government, and the other governments con¬
cerned, to establish the line in question, the East India
Company would be prepared to enter into an arrangement
for making an annual payment to the Telegraph Company
for the use of the line upon terms and conditions to be
agreed upon. I am, &c.,
(Signed) J. D. Dickenson.
Deputy Secretary.
To W. P. Andrew, Esq., &c., &c., &c.
246
From W. P. Andrew^ Esq,, to James Wilson, Esq., M.P.
1st October, 1856.
Sir,
I have the honour as Chairman of the Board of
Directors to address you upon the subject of the line of
telegraph projected by this company, in consequence of a
letter received by me from the Court of Directors of the
Honourable East India Company, on the 12th ultimo, to the
effect that the arrangements connected with the establish¬
ment of the line of telegraph proposed by the European and
Indian Junction Telegraph Company, must rest with Her
Majesty's Government, and that of the Sublime Porte, but
in the event of this company being employed by the Govern-^
ments in question, the East India Company would be pre¬
pared to enter into an arrangement for making an annual
payment to the Telegraph Company for the use of the line
upon terms and conditions to be agreed upon.
No. 1.—Letter 2. I beg to annex for the information of the Lords Com-
from Sir Jas. C. . , , • ^ i j
Meiviiito w.P. missioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, copies of the docu_
Juiy^mthfi856. meuts noted in the margin referring to telegraphic commu-
nication with India.
from W. P. An¬
drew, Esq., to 3. It having been understood that the East India Coni-
SirJ.C. Melvill, ®
K.C.B., 5th pany was prepared to lay down a telegraph between Kur-
No. 3-^Letter head of the Persian Gulf, and that the
from j.p.Dick-^ygtrian Government had established a company with the
enson, Esq., to .
Sq^iÄh^s^^' capital for laying down a submarine electric tele-
1856. graph in connection with its land lines from Cattara or
titofThe^ Enrol on the coast of the Adriatic, to Alexandria and
Junctlionidt-" Seleucia. The European and Indian Junction Telegraph
Company was formed with the view to continue the electric
communication from Seleuciâ along the proposed line of the
Euphrates Valley Railway Company by Aleppo, Ja'ber
Castle, and the Valley of the Euphrates to the head of the
Persian Gulf, thus completing the only remaining link be¬
tween India and England.
247
6. The board is composed of gentlemen well acquainted
with India, and with the country to be traversed by the tele¬
graphic wires, and the application for shares in a few days
amounted to nearly four times the number to be alloted.
6. The company has now received its certificate of incor¬
poration, and only awaits the formal sanction of the Ottoman
Government, and the necessary support and concurrence of
Her Majesty's Government to commence äctive operations.
7. When His Highness Aali Pasha, the Grand Vizier of
the Turkish Empire was in this country, I had, in conjunc¬
tion with General Chesney, several interviews with His
Highness and M. Musurus, the Turkish Ambassador, re¬
garding the establishment of railway and telegraphic com¬
munication between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian
Gulf, and two seperate missions are now at Constantinople in
accordance with the arrangement entered into with the Grand
Vizier, with the view of obtaining the formal concession for
the railway and the telegraph, to the companies of which I
am chairman.
8. I beg on behalf of the gentlemen with whom I have
the honour to be associated, to submit the project of this
company to the consideration of the Lords of the Treasury
as deserving their support, and I respectfully request that
if the route proposed be satisfactory to the Government (as
I have assumed it to be) the line should be adopted by them
as a link in the route to India, and in which case I have
every reason to know that the Court of Directors of the
East India Company is prepared to extend to the undertak¬
ing liberal pecuniary support.
9. The line can be completed in two years, and with the
sanction of the East India Company, it is proposed to take
advantage of the experience gained by Mr. O'Shaughnessy
in erecting telegraphs in India, and to associate this zealous
and scientific ofiicer in the construction of the line proposed
by the company.
248
10. It will afford me much gratification to wait upon you
for the purpose of affording any further information, should
it be deemed desirable.
I am, &c.,
(Signed) W. P. Andrew.
Chairmcm,
James Wilson, Esq., M.P.
P.S.—Since the above was written, the Earl of Clarendon
has forwarded to me a telegraphic dispatch from Constanti¬
nople, copy of which is sent herewith for your information:
From E. Hammond, Esq., to W, P. Andrew, Esq.
(EXTRACT.)
Foreign Office, 2Qth October, 1856.
Sir,
I am directed by the Earl of Clarendon to acknow¬
ledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th instant, and I am
to state to you in reply that Her Majesty's Ambassador at
Constantinople has reported that he has already introduced
Mr. Robinson to the Turkish Government, with a view to
his entering into negotiations regarding an Electric Tele¬
graph between the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf,
Lord Clarendon will instruct Her Majesty's Ambassador
at Constantinople to afford his countenance and support to
Mr. Robinson as Commissioner for the Euphrates Railway
Company during the absence of General Chesney.
I am. Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant,
(Signed) E. Hammond.
To W. P. Andrew, Esq.
^c., 4*0., Sçc,
249
From W. P. Andrew, Esq., to James Wilson, Esq., M.P.
(No. 11.) November i 1856.
Sir,
With reference to a letter which I had the honour as
Chairman of the above Company to address to you on the
1st ultimo, to the effect that this Company was formed
with a view to establish telegraphic communication with
India, ma Seleucia, the Euphrates and the Persian Gulf in
conjunction with the Austrian system of telegraphs about to
be laid down from Cattara or Pagusa to Seleucia on the one
side, and the proposed cable of the Honourable East India
Company from the head of the Persian Gulf to Kurrachee
on the other, and that the Company had received its cer¬
tificate of Incorporation and had opened negotiations with
the Porte for the necessary permission to pass through the
Turkish territory, I have the honour to request that you
will be good enough to submit to the Lords Commissioners
of Her Majesty's Treasury the formal proposition of this
Company, for the construction of the Telegraphic Line from
the Mediterranean to the head of the Persian Gulf, on
receiving from Her Majesty's Government an assurance of
such pecuniary support as would secure a fair return on the
capital embarked in the undertaking.
I am, &c.,
(Signed) W. P. Andrew.
Chairman,
James Wilson, Esq., M.P.
Treasury, &c., &c.
THE SCINDE EÁILWAT
COMPANY.
#ftís : ®I¡i iraaïï Stmt,
BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
€D]&aírman.
W. P. ANDREW, Esq., F R.G.S. (*26, Montague Square.)
Chairman Euplirates Valley Railway and European and Indian Junction
Telegraph Companies.
1£x=0ffidii ÍBírtcíor.
SIR JAMES C. MELVILL, K.C.B.
SIR HERBERT MADDOCK, M.P., late Deputy Grovernor, Bengal, Director
Euphrates Valley Railway Company,
j. EDMUND ANDERDON, Esq., Director of the Bank of London, and
Euphrates Valley Railway Company.
HARRY BORRADAILE, Esq., late Bombay Civil Service, Director
Euphrates Valley Railway Company.
THOMAS WILLIAMS, Esq., Director Euphrates Valley and other Railway
Companies.
ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, Esq.
Director of the Oriental Bank
Corporation.
MAJOR JOHN A. MOORE, F.R.S.,
Director N ationalProvincialBank
of England.
ISngtníír.
T. A. YARROW, Esq.
Ißankers» Solkítors.
Messrs. SMITH, PAYNE, and
SMITHS.
Messrs, MARTEN, THOMAS and
HOLLAMS.
Stcreiarg.
THOMAS BURNELL, Esq
S53
REPORT.
«
Second Eeport of the Directors of the Scinde Railway
Company to the Proprietors^ submitted at the First
Half-Yearly General Meeting, held on the 4th day of
November, 1856, at the Offices of the Company,
Gresham House, Old Broad Street, City.
The First Half-Yearly General Meeting has been con¬
vened in conformity with the Act of Incorporation of the
Company.
The Directors have the satisfaction to report, that since
their last meeting with the Proprietors, such an addition has
been made to the staff of the resident engineer as to enable
him to complete the survey of the country through which
the Line is to pass, and that they have recently received
through their agent in India, the resident engineer's report
accompanied by plans and sections in reference to various
surveys prosecutèd at the requisition of the Bombay Govern¬
ment.
The Directors await the decision of the authorities as to
the selection of the exact route the line should take from
Kurrachee to Hydrabad, to enable them to proceed with the
construction of the railway.
254
In their first report, the Directors announced that they
had contracted for thirty miles of permanent way material,
the shipment of which, is nearly completed^ Contracts
have also been entered into upon favourable terms for the
material for a further thirty miles of railway.
The importance of having improved means of communica¬
tion along the valley of the Indus, is every day becoming
more apparent. Sir Justin Sheil, late British ambassador in
Persia, has recently advocated the great political advantages
to be derived from " a railway running the whole length of
the left bank of the Indus."
For commercial and social, as well as State purposes, the
improvement of the transit along this ancient line of commu¬
nication has become a necessity.
Holding as we do, the Indus from Cashmere to the sea, Ave
have a power which, if well understood and wisely im¬
proved, puts us in possession of the key to the whole com¬
merce of Central Asia, which cannot be pursued without
adding to the prosperity and productiveness of our new ter¬
ritories (Scinde and the Punjaub)." *
The resources of modern science judiciously applied to
this line of communication would be of inestimable benefit to
our own provinces, and the enterprising European merchants,
now resident at Kurrachee, would soon afford a medium for
extensive shipments from the Punjaub and provinces to the
north-west of Delhi and the distribution of our manufactures
to the remote valleys of Afghanistan as far as Herat, and in
Balkh, Khiva and Bokhara.
The local authorities, especially Mr. Bartle Frere, the
Commissioner in Scinde, and Sir John Lawrence the Chief
Commissioner in the Punjaub, concur in the necessity of
* The Economist.
255
V affording to the proyinces drained by the Indus and its tri¬
butaries a free access to their port of shipment. The latter
of these distinguished gentlemen^ in a recent dispatch
to the Government of India, makes the following forcible
remarks :—
Indeed^ these two essentials^ viz,, the railroad and the
steamers, may he said with truth to he the crying wants of the
Punjauh in the department of public works. These provided,
the commerce and produce of these territories will he turned to
their due course, viz,, the Indus and its feeders, and to their
natural outlet, viz,, the Port of Kurrachee,^^
For the railroad the face of the Doab offers an unusual
equality of surface, while it possesses few or none of the
requisite resources for metalling a road. For the rivers, it
were preferable, instead of improving the navigable stream,
to concentrate all efforts on the provision of powerful steamers
of the smallest possible draught. The Chief Commissioner,
while deprecating any general extension of the public works
department in the Punjaub for the present, would yet beg
most earnestly to press these cardinal objects on the- atten¬
tion of the Government. He believes that, if carried out,
they would effect more for the development of the resources
of those territories than any other work, or number of works,
that could be devised."
A railway from Mooltan to Lahore and Umritser would
not only afford an outlet to the impeded traffic of the Pun¬
jaub and neighbouring territories, but would of necessity
greatly enhancè the importance and value of the line from
Kurrachee to Hyderabad. Scinde and the Punjaub (inclu¬
ding the States under control), cover an area of 130,000
square miles, with a population of nearly twenty-five millions.
The flower of the European and native army occupies these
provinces, and numbers 70,000 men, more than 15,000 of
whom are Europeans.
250
This Board having received official information that the
views long entertained by them, as to the best mode of in¬
troducing improved means of transit along the line of the
Indus, had been approved by the local authorities, they ad¬
dressed to the Court of Directors of the Honourable East
India Company the following letter :—
'^Scinde Railway Company,
Gresham House, Old Broad Street,
Sir, 14íA March, 1856,
" The Directors having received a communication under
date the 26th January, from their agent in India, submitting
for the sanction of this Board, in compliance with a sugges¬
tion of the Government of Bombay, a proposal that surveys
1. From the should be made by the Scinde Railway Company (enclo-
Commissioner i i t ^ m
in Scinde to the suTC 2), With a view to the extension of the line oi railway
Governor and , - ».i.t
President in towards Lahore, and enclosing correspondence with the
S^°dated^i2Th Government authorities relating thereto as noted in the
Dec., 1855. xnargin ; copies and extracts of the same, being annexed for
ietter^from%e- the information of the Honourable Court.
GovSLr^^ o?^ " I requested on behalf of this Company, to. state
mSSoner^^n"^' their readiness to undertake the necessary surveys of the
Scinde, íiated from Mooltau to Lahore and XJmritser under the direc-
2d July, 1855,
par. 1 and 3. Qf Government consulting engineer ; should it be
3. Letterfrom pleasure of the Court to have them proceeded with, and
the Agent to the ^
Chairman, that all the cxpenses occasioned by the surveys should be
dated 26th Jan., «
1856. placed to a separate account, and be appropriated hereafter
4. Extract according to the arrangement that may be ultimately entered
from letter of . ° ®
Resident Engi- intO.
dated 16th Jan!i 3. Should the Honourable Court concur in the views
X856
expressed by the Commissioner in Scinde (enclosure 1), the
Resident Engi- Chief Commissioner of the Punjaub (enclosure 7), and the
m^sLmier in°^' Government of Bombay (enclosure 2), as to the great iip-
irth^Dec-tiäs. portance of the extension of improved means of transit along
the Valley of the Indus, this Board is of opinion, that
2Ô7
instead of makin? a through communication by means of a 6- Extract
" from letter from
railway between Kurracbee and Labore^ as appears to be the Commis-
, sioner in Sciude
recommended by the agent and resident engineer oi the to the Chief
Company, in tbeir letters (enclosures 3 and 4), tbat tbe pre- in the Punjaub,
. * n 11 il dated ^Ist Sept*
sent IS a lavourable opportunity lor introducing the econo- 1355.
mical and easily estabbsbed system of communication, com- 7. Extract
1.. , »TiT-i, ^ •,! i from letter of
binmg steam transit by land with steam transit by water, so secretary of
T 1 ill j1* /^i • Chief Commis-
long advocated by their Ohairman. sioner in the
" 4. For instance, tbe lower portion of tbe line from Kur- miSoner^ií^"
racbee to Hyderabad, by tbe railway already sanctioned,
wbicb will avoid tbe dangers and delays of tbe Delta, from 2 and 4, with
0 J ^ Extracts of Let-
Hyderabad to Mooltan by steamers of improved construe- ters from cinef
Commissioner
tion, resuming tbe railway from Mooltan to Labore and in the Punjaub
, to Government
Umritser. of India.
A reference to tbe letters (enclosures 6 and 7) from tbe
Commissioner in Scinde, and tbe Cbief Commissioner of tbe
Punjaub, will sbow tbat tbese views are approved of by tbe
local authorities.
1 bave tbe bonor to be, &c., &e.,
" (Signed) W. P. Andrew,
Chai/rman.
Sir James C. Melvill, K.C.B.^
&c., &c. &c."
Tbe Directors bave tbe satisfaction to report, tbat tbe
East India Company bave authorized tbe survey of tbe
country between Mooltan, Labore and Umritser, by this
Company, and in conformity with wbicb, a superintending
engineer of ability and experience, with a carefully selected
staff of six engineers, left England for India on tbe 4tb of
September.
Tbe Directors bave much gratification in stating tbeir
cordial and entire approval of tbe conduct of Mr. J. Neville
Warren, tbe agent and representative of tbe Company in
India. W. P. ANDREW,
Chairman,
258
Proceedings of the First Half Yearly General
Meeting of the Shareholders, held Nov. 4, 1856.
The first half-yearly general meeting of the Proprietors of
this Company, was held on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at their ojBSces,
Gresham House, Old Broad Street, Mr. W. P, Andrew,
the Chairman of the Company, presiding.
The Secretary (Mr. Burnell) having read the advertise¬
ment convening the meeting, and the seal of the Company
having been affixed to the register of shareholders, the
report was taken as read :—
The Chairman observed that the Directors had informed
the Shareholders in their report that they had sent out the
material necessary for the first thirty miles of the railway,
and since then they had contracted for the material for
another thirty miles, making sixty miles for which they had
provided all that was requisite for the construction of the
permanent way. When he last had the honour of addressing
them, he stated that he and his colleagues from the first took
up this project as a link in the great line of communication
which they proposed to carry on to and through the Punjaub.
Subsequently they had received the sanction of the authorities
to send out a superintending engineer with a competent staff
of assistants for making the necessary surveys for carrying
out that line. The authorities themselves were taking mea¬
sures for adding considerably to the steam flotilla now on the
Indus, and by recent accounts from the Punjaub and from
Scinde it appeared that the traffic of those two provinces was
increasing in a most extraordinary degree, so much so,
259
indeed, that the existing steam flotilla was found altogether
inadequate for the conveyance of even the Government stores.
Under these circumstances, the Company were proceeding,
under the authority they had received, to make the necessary
surveys, but the terms upon which the line would be con¬
structed remained for future adjustment.
At the last meeting of the Shareholders, some gentleman
expressed an opinion that, if eventually they undertook the
construction of any further portion of the through line,
the accounts for the Scinde Railway proper should be kept
distinct [hear, hear]. Having, as they had, a considerable
and rapidly gromng port, at one end of their line, and a
large and populous town, the emporium of the cross-trade of
the country, at the other, it was natural that those who had
embarked their capital on the faith of those advantages,
should desire to retain them, and not allow the money sub¬
scribed for a specific purpose, to be mixed up with other
railway projects, which, in their vieiv, might not be equally
productive. He stated, at the time, that he concurred in
that idea, and he had now to repeat that, if the Punjaub line
were entrusted to this Company, the capital account would
be kept separate and distinct from that of the Scinde Railway.
In respect of the line from Kurrachee to Hydrabad, they
would have the guarantee of 5 per cent., on whatever capital
might be required to complete it, and, by that line, they
would secure the spout of the funnel through which all the
traffic of the Punjaub, and the Upper Provinces would be
brought down to Kurrachee (the natural port) for shipment.
He had at the last meeting, spoken of the great influence
which a line of railway along the valley of the Euphrates
must necessarily have, upon any line running through
the valley of the Ip.dus. Since he referred to that subject,
he (the chairman) had been in communication with gentlemen
connected with the English Government, and with others who
260
belonged to the Turkish Government, and he was happy
to say that nothing could be more gratifying than the man¬
ner in which the project was entertained by both. [Hear,
hear]. To Lord Clarendon he was under a deep debt of
obligation for his courteous, prompt, and powerful support ;
and the Turkish Government had also evinced every desire
to promote the object in view. Only yesterday he had
received a letter from his gallant friend General Chesney,
from Aleppo, who with Sir J. Macneill and his staff was there
as a deputation to survey the line from Seleucia, by Aleppo,
to the Euphrates, stating that everywhere the proposed rail way
was favourably regarded, and, what was still more important,
that the Arab tribes had sent to felicitate the deputation on
their arrival, and to express their anxious desire to see this im¬
provement carried out by Englishmen, because by them they
knew they would be treated with justice and liberality.
They were aware also that an important movement was
making for the establishment of a system of telegraphic com¬
munication between England and India, along the Euphrates
valley to the Persian Gulf, and which would, at Kurrachee,
unite with the Indian telegraphic system. By the last mail
they were informed that the Indian Government had issued
orders to lay down a line from Lahore to Kurrachee, which
would place Kurrachee in telegraphic communication with all
the presidencies—Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, and throughout
the North West frontier.
All, therefore, he had said at the previous meeting about
the importance of Kurrachee as the European Port of India,
he had reason to reiterate. The commerce of that port was
increasing enormously, and its capacity to receive ships of
large burden was now beyond doubt. At present, however,
the arrangements of the port were insufficient for the increas¬
ing demands of its commerce, but the government, which was
sending out very large quantities of stores, had also sent out
261
instructions for obtaining an efficient force of pilots and steam
tugs, whereby all difficulty of taking vessels safely to and from
the port would be obviated. In a recent note he had received
from his distinguished friend, Mr. Frere, the Commissioner of
Scinde, it was stated that Colonel Jacob, who was acting for
him in that Government, had reported that the total exports
for the year 1855-6 were 50 per cent, in excess of those of
the previous year, the previous rate of increase having been
20 per cent, per annum. The most remarkable increase had
been in oil-seeds, and wool, which had been respectively
900 per cent, and 60 per cent, during the last year.
Colonel Jacob estimated that the quantity and value of
the articles suitable for British consumption exported from
that province ma Bombay to the English markets was 18,000
tons, and £38,000 in value, to which was to be added about
15,000 tons flax that would come down from the northward,
making 33,000 tons and £500,000 in value of exports suit¬
able for British consumption from this province. He
mentioned this, and more especially the article wool, which
was of excellent quality, and the staple produce of the
valley of the Indus, as showing how important this portion
of India was likely to be to the manufacturing interests
of this country when the proposed railway system was
completed. The commerce of the Punjaub was very
great. That of Umritser alone was estimated at from
£2,000,000 to £3,000,000 a year, and that of Lahore and
Mooltan was also large ; but at present, the trade which
flowed from these great emporia of the commerce of Europe,
India, and Central Asia, went down the Ganges instead of
the Indus ; but the moment the railway communication was
completed, they would go by the valley of the latter river,
which was their natural route. He might also mention,
that the soil of the Punjaub was particularly favourable for
the formation of railways, though it was entirely unfitted
262
for common roads, which made the railway a commercial
necessity.
Again, the famous Khaha who fought against us with
such resolute Valour, were now directing their attention with
all that energy which belonged to their race, to the cultiva¬
tion of the soil, as peaceful husbandmen ; but the absence
of roads made it impossible to do so with profit, and not only
was a large proportion of the produce lost, but by being left
to rot on the ground, the excess of production beyond the
wants of the people actually became injurious. A railway
to the port of Kurrachee would bring cotton and other
produce down for shipment, and, both socially and politi¬
cally, the whole country would be benefitted. He might
here also take the opportunity of stating, that the under¬
taking would in no wise interfere with the system of irri¬
gation which was being so earnestly promoted, but, on the
contrary, the railway system was essential to those eiforts,
inasmuch, as without the railway there would be an enor¬
mous excess of production without the means of transport.
In addition to all these considerations, he might mention
that a new trade had recently sprung up between Kurrachee
and the Mauritius, and also between Kurrachee and the
Persian Gulf, which would contribute to the traific of the
Scinde and Punjaub lines. He hoped they would excuse
him for introducing so many topics, but they all had an
intimate bearing upon the great object to which, for so many
years, his attention had been directed, namely, the communi¬
cation of Central Asia with Europe, by railway and river
transit, making the railway supplemental to the natural
highway of the country [hear, hear]. At present, the existing
trade from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean was large,
but what would be the result if they had a railway running
from the head of the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean, and
another along the valley of the Indus from Kurrachee, to
263
the confines of Central Asia^ it was impossible to estimate.
The commerce which now existed along the route of the
Indus, would be sufficient to pay an ample return upon the
proposed capital, but when the whole system was carried
out, and the commerce of those ancient countries watered by
the Indus, the Tigris and the Euphrates, was resuscitated,
there was reason to believe that the advantages to the
world would be beyond the most sanguine anticipations.
It was with feelings of the deepest regret he referred
to the death of his esteemed colleague, Mr. Francis
Horsley Robinson, on the 14th of last month, at Con¬
stantinople. Mr. Robinson went out as Commissioner to
the Turkish Government, representing the European and
Indian Junction Telegraph Company, and was engaged
in negotiations with the Turkish Government at the time of
his death. He had spent many years of his life in India,
where he acquired not only fortune, but a high and unble¬
mished reputation, and he died while promoting the welfare
of that country, by endeavouring to place it in telegraphic
connection with Europe. By his death, he (the chairman)
lost a warm friend and faithful counsellor. To fill up the
vacancy at the Board, the Directors had appointed Mr. Harry
Borradaile, and as Mr. Borradaile had previously acted as
Auditor of the Company, there necessarily arose a vacancy in
the latter office, which it was for the Proprietors to fill up.
He regretted that Mr. Frere, who took so great an interest
in the prosperity of Scinde, was not present at the meeting,
being, at that moment, in a remote part of Scotland, but
Mr. Ellis and Mr. Bellasis were there, both personally
acquainted with the country in which their operations would
be carried on, who would be happy, he was sure, to afford
information upon any subject connected with the country
of the Lower Indus, and he himself would be glad to answer
any questions in his power, but although he had been in
264
India, and on the banks of the Sutlej, he was not fortunate
enough to ,be personally acquainted with the happy
valley " of Scinde [hear, hear]. The honourable gentleman
concluded by moving the adoption of the report.
Sir Herbert Maddock, M.P., (a director) seconded the
resolution ; and alluded to the rising importance of Kur-
rachee, which was formerly a mere village, but which he
believed was destined to become one of the greatest-ports of
India ! The traffic of Central Asia and the Punjaub was
immense. The military force in the Punjaub alone numbered
more than 70,000. He spoke from personal knowledge of
India, of the importance of the intended lines of railway,
combined with steam communication across the Persian Gulf,
by means of which, the commerce of Central Asia would be
diverted from Persia, Turkistan and Russia, and find its way
down-4he Valley of the Indus to Kurrachee, which was
destined to become the greatest commercial capital in India,
whilst the manufactures of England would seek that channel
in exchange for the produce of India, In the mere matter of
insurance of cargoes alone, he understood that a saving of at
least 25 per cent, would be efiected by the introduction of
this line of 110 miles in length from Kurrachee to Hydra-
bad [hear, hear]. This was an indication only of the
general advantages to be secured.
A Proprietor wished to know whether the Chairman
could give them any idea when they would commence
operations.
The Chairman said, that the plans and sections of the
line had been prepared and lodged with the local govern¬
ment. He believed they were now under the consideration
of the supreme government, and the moment they decided
upon the exact route which should be followed, ground
would be broken.
The Proprietor asked, whether the line would be a long
time in construction ?
265
Tho Chairman said, he did not consider that the line
woidd take a long time in construction; the ground was
particularly fayourable ; there were no heavy cuttings or
tunnels, and only two bridges of any magnitude. Orders
for the rolling stock were about to be given ; so that they
did not anticipate any unnecessary delay. He might men¬
tion,- that they hoped speedily to open a short portion of
line connecting the harbour with the town and the canton¬
ment, which would be of great importance for local traffic
and conveyance of materials.
In answer to a question as to the surveys in Upper India,
The Chairman said, he believed the report which would
be made was rather a matter of form than otherwise—namely,
whether the route proposed was favourable for a railway.
Colonel Napier, the Chief Engineer of the Punjaub, and
Sir John Lawrence, who was at the head of the government
of the province, had spoken favourably of it, and he did not
anticipate, therefore, any difficulty on the part of the supreme
government. The country had been surveyed with a view
to the revenue settlement, and nearly mapped ; so that no
staff of engineers could meet with greater facilities for their
work. He begged to repeat ^ also, his previous remarks as
to irrigation. The promotion of the railways in no manner
would interfere with the extensive system of irrigation
proposed in the Punjaub. He might also further state, that
the government had not the slightest idea of suspending the
construction of railways, as had been done in the case of
other public works.
There was another point of great interest which he
would notice before he sat down, namely, the production
of native iron, and the practicability of its manufacture
and applicability to engineering works. The Proprietors
would, no doubt, have observed in the Morning Papers
the reprint of a document issued by the Court of Directors of
t
£66
the East India Company on the subject. The manufacture
of native iron for rails was second only in importance to the
construction of railways themselves in India. From the
researches of his indefatigable friend Colonel Drummond,
who, for more than twenty years, devoted himself to
the subject, there was now no doubt that iron, in
every way suited for rails, might be raised in any
quantity at the foot of the Himalayas, where iron
ore was lying in vast masses, and there was also abun¬
dance of fuel for smelting, lime for flux, and clay-stone for
furnaces, with the advantage of thirty or forty miles of a
good road to river transit. Thus, the great difficulty and
expense of procuring materials from Europe for Indian
railways, he hoped, would be avoided ; and he looked for¬
ward to the day, and that not distant, when the railways of
the Punjaub would be made of native iron, and wrought by
native manufacturers. Hallways could never he constructed
in India on the extensive scale demanded hy the wants of
that country^ until Indian rails were made of Indian iron
[hear, hear].
Sir H. Maddock, upon this last point, observed that thirty
years ago, when he was governor of an Indian province, iron
was dug, smelted, and converted into bars in that province,
and a suspension bridge in the Saugur-Nerbudda district
still existed which was constructed out of those bars, across
a river £00 feet broad. Financial considerations, under the
Governor-generalship of Lord William Bentinck, interposed
to prevent the prosecution of the iron-works, and the con¬
struction of similar bridges over other rivers; but the fact
he had stated settled the question of the existence of iron in
India suitable for rails and other engineering purposes
[hear, hear].
A Proprietor remarked, that satisfactory as was the
assurance of Sir Herbert Maddock as to the applicability of
267
native iron to engineering works, it was discouraging to
reflect, that all this was proved thirty years ago, and no
progress had been made since in that direction. He
hoped they were not going to wait for thirty years more !
(a laugh.)
The report was then put and carried: and Major John
Arthur Moore having been proposed by Mr. Ellis, late
Assistant Commissioner in Scinde, and seconded by Mr.
Bellasis, late Collector of Hydrabad, was unanimously elected
an Auditor of the Company in place of Mr. Borradaile ; a
vote of thanks was then unanimously passed to the Chairman
and Board of Directors, for their zeal and ability in pro¬
moting the interests of the Company.
Mr Andrew, in acknowledging the compliment, thanked
the Proprietors for this mark of their continued confidence,
and expressed the determination of the Board to spare no
exertion necessary for the successful prosecution and
establishment of a comprehensive system of steam transit
along the valley of the Indus, connecting the emporia of the
Punjaub and N. W. Provinces with the sea at Kurrachee,
the European port of India, and the natural outlet of the
important and extensive countries drained by the Indus and
its tributaries ; this was a great undertaking, which they
regarded as not only essential in a commercial and social,
but also in a political, point of view (applause).
The Meeting then separated.
lONDON:
W. LEWIS AIíD SON, PBINTEBS, 21, EINCH LANE, COBNHILL.
REMARKS OF THE PRESS
on
WORKS ON INDIAN RAILWAYS,
by
W. p. ANDREW, Esq.
Indian Railways^ and their pro¬
bable Results. By an Old Indian
Postmaster. (Second Edition,
1846.) Third Edition. T. C.
Newby : Pelham Richardson,
ComhilL 1848.
From " Allen's Indian Mail,"
August 13^^, 1846.
"In regard to the great line to
connect the seat of government with
the extreme north-west, the author's
opinions are peculiar.
"Hewould construct the northern
part of the line before the southern,
arguing that the Granges, so far as it
is navigable, suppHes the means of
communication ; and that it is where
this accommodation ceases, that a
railroad is more especially wanted."
From "The Times," City Article^
22nd October^ 1846.
" It (Indian Railways) contains a
great quantity of information."
From " The Times," City Article,
November, 1851.
" The line (in Bengal) seems to
have been adopted, which was origi¬
nally recommended by Mr. W. P.
Andrew."
From the "moenina Heeald,"
Leading Article, November lédh
1846.
"We have httle doubt that the pre¬
ference given to the Mirzapore Line
by the Railway Commissioners, will
be confirmed by the Supreme Gtovern-
ment and the Court of Directors ;
for we can scarcely imagine that
those bodies will participate in the
' Old Postmaster's ' weakness in
favour of the intermediate river trip
from Rajmahal to Allahabad, on the
way from the Presidency to the
north-west frontier."
From the "Moeningi- Heeald,"
September \Mh, \%^2,CityArticle.
" Mr. Andrew is well known as
the author of a valuable work pub-
hshed some years ago by Mr. Pel-
ham Richardson, under the nom de
guerre of an ' Old Indian Post¬
master,' by which pubUc and official
notice was mainly, if not first, di¬
rected to the great object of railway
communications in India, and its
immense import, not alone to the
accelerated development of the pro¬
digious resources of that vast empire,
but to its safety and conservation."
H
2
From " The Economist," 26iÄ
February^ 1848.
"Our author is for trusting the
formation of the roads with some ju¬
dicious guidance, to private specula¬
tion. He makes the following state¬
ment, illustrating the folly of govern¬
ment undertaking such examples, by
the case of Philadelphia :—•
private or public management.
" 'Three propositions suggest
themselves as to the policy to be
adopted, andagencies to be employed,
in the formation of railways in a new
country.
" ' 1st. That they be, with certain
restrictions and provisions, left to
unfettered and unaided private en¬
terprise, as has been hitherto the
case in this country,
'2nd, That the government itself
should project and define a great
and comprehensive system, as well as
execute and work the lines most
apparently conducive to the common
weal, as in Belgium.
" ' 3rd. That the government
should grant concessions or leases
of various sections, or particular pro¬
jects to private companies, on such
terms as might be mutually advanta¬
geous ; the latter to have the execu¬
tion of the works, and the manage¬
ment of the traffic of the lines, under
the direct supervision and control
of officers appointed by the govern¬
ment, as has been practised in
France, and more recently in Bel-
giura.
" ' Judging from the confusion
which has arisen in this country, by
giving the reins to speculative en¬
terprise, the crude and angular man¬
ner in which railways were com¬
menced in France, and the harmo¬
nious and beneficent manner in which
the Belgium system has resulted,
there appears to be little doubt but
that it is the most effective and rapid
mode of introducing railways into a
country.
" 'We would, however, from finan¬
cial considerations, deviate so far
from this example, as to give, after
defining the line, the concession to
a private company ; for Belgium had
to borrow money at five per cent,
to make railroads, which did not,
till very lately, yield more than two
and a-half per cent. And Pennsyl¬
vania, which in 1824 was bitten with
the improvement mania, 'believed,
and truly, that a system of inland
communication by means of canals
and railroads, would tend to increase
her prosperity. She believed that
the annual income of these pubhc
works would not only pay the inte¬
rest on the first cost, but would
leave a liberal overplus for public
purposes. What was the result ?
" ' The state, after having spent
millions, wisely gave away the works
in an unfinished condition to com¬
panies of private individuals, on con¬
dition that they would finish them.
In addition to this the favouritism
and peculation inseparable from Go¬
vernment patronage and expenditure
served to swell the costs of these
3
works to a most disastrous extent.
The consequence was, that in 1841
or 1842 the state was forty millions
in debt.
" * State lines canneither be worked
with the same economy, nor can
they have imparted to them that
impulse which the spirit of private
enterprise alone can give.'
" To follow our author through all
his calculations, would be to tran¬
scribe a large part of his book ; and
we shall only say, that he is of opi¬
nion, that by eschewing the orna¬
mental, and improving on the Ame¬
rican system, we might effect an
extensive railway development in
India, at a much less cost, and bet¬
ter adapted to the rough work it
would be subjected to, than of
transporting a * Birmingham,' or a
' Great Western,' with all its gran¬
deur and complicated arrangement,
into Hindostán. In that there is
much wisdom.
" In this book altogether, there is
much information, and whoever is
interested in the subject of railways
in India should consult it."
From "The Economist," Decern-
lev 13ÎÂ, 1851.
"We see with some satisfaction,
that the views propounded as to
forming railways in India by Mr.
W. P. Andrew, under the cognomen
of an * Old Indian Postmaster,' and
which were long ago recommended
in our journal, find favour in India,
and are likely to be adopted."
From the " Obseeyee," February
isa, 1848.
" The third edition of a work on
Hallways is a fact in literature, al¬
most unprecedented, and one which
speaks trumpet-tongued for the value
of the publication.
The Old Indian Postmaster has
added an immense mass of informa¬
tion to this edition of his book ;
which, now that it may be said to
be as complete as human hands can
make it, is of inestimable account,
in reference to the great subject of
Indian railways. The author de¬
votes some space at the commence¬
ment of the work to defend his
opinions ; but that they needed no
defence, is proved by the exhaustion
of two editions of his work.
"Their truth is the best defence
they can have j and that is so ob¬
vious, that * those who run may
read.' In fact, there has not been
such a valuable contribution tp^the
civilization of India, as this work on
Indian Had ways, since the era of its
absorption into the dominions of
her Majesty. Every one interested
in Indian railways wül, of course,
possess it ; while every general reader
should, as a matter of information,
make himself master of its contents."
From the " Obseeyee," November
2iZrd^ 1851. Indian Railways,
"It is not a little remarkable, on
reviewiug the past and present posi¬
tion of Indian railways, to perceive
that the views of a private individual
4
have prevailed against, and finally
overthrown, the plans of the Indian
Eailway Commission (composed of
a civil engineer, sent at a great ex¬
pense from this country, aided by
two talented officers of the Hon.
East India Company's engineers,)
approved of by tlie governor-general,
the India House, and Cannon-row
authorities, and applauded by the
press. When we had occasion to
review Mr. W. P. Andrew's various
publications on Indian railways, as
they issued from the press, we were
amongst the first to call public at¬
tention to the originality and sound¬
ness of the views communicated,
and it now appears that the result
will prove a signal vindication of the
correctness of those impressions.
" Indeed, the Eailway Companies
in Bengal and Bombay that have
obtained concessions are carrying
out the views of 'the Old Indian
Postmaster' to the letter, so far as
the limited capital at their disposal
will allow them ; and it may be pre¬
dicted that whenever a concession
is given for a railway in Madras, it
wül be for the line that writer so
strongly advocated, viz., to Arcot,
the only short line in India which,
in his opinion, would prove com¬
mercially remunerative."
" Of the Eailway Commission,
Mr. Andrew in 1Ö46 wrote thus :—
' It might have been hoped that the
Eailway Commissioners would have
cleared the way to a satisfactory de¬
cision on this subject (the introduc¬
tion of the railway system into India),
with an authority derivable from the
soundness of the views enunciated,
the variety of new and interesting
data, the prestige of office, and ac¬
knowledged ability. But their re¬
port, beyond giving an official sanc¬
tion to railroads in general, sheds no
new light on the question at issue.
Instructed to suggest some feasible
line of moderate compass, the prin¬
cipal portion of their report is de¬
voted to recommending the adop¬
tion of a railroad of four hundred
and fifty miles in length, through
the most difficult, most unproduc¬
tive, and most desolate portion of a
country, elsewhere easy, fertile, and
densely peopled.
" ' That plan of commencing im¬
proved transit, which would only
supersede the river navigation where
it was most defective, and co-operate
with it where it was always available,
¿.e., a raihoad from Calcutta to deep
water in the Ganges at Eajmahal
is clearly the one that should be
adopted ; from this point river steam¬
ers to Allahabad, at the confluence
of the Jumna and Ganges, where
deep water ceases, and a railroad
from Allahabad to Delhi and the
Sutlej.*^
" The arrival of the last mad from
India brought the following infor¬
mation on the subject :—'TheHow-
rah terminus indicated by Mr. An¬
drew, to save bridging the Hooghly,
has been adopted, and a section of
the line as far as Pandooah is either
in progress or under contract. The
Eailway Company have advertised
5
for contracts for a further section,
viz., from Pandooah to Paneegunge.
" There cannot now be a reason¬
able doubt that the line wül be
carried ultimately to Eajmahal.
"Had the plans of the Pailway
Commissioners been adhered to, the
East India Pailway Company would
now be bridging the Hooghly, with
its banks ever trembling or in loco¬
motion, or building a bridge over
the Soane as great in all its dimen¬
sions as the Blackwall Railway, after
searching diligently for its founda-
tians * below an unknown depth of
sand.'
"The Government and people of
India are therefore indebted to the
* Old Indian Postmaster,' who has
thus saved them from prosecuting
a design that could only have led to
disastrous and humiliating results,
which would have been felt both in
India and this country."
From the "Indiaií NEWS,"j^e5nf<zry
22nd, 1848.
" The best testimony of the sound¬
ness of the ' Old Postmaster's' views
is, that, in the settlement of Indian
railways, as far as it has recently
taken place, not a few of his opinions
have been followed by those in au¬
thority. We know of no work on
the subject which can be compared
with it, whether as regards the local
knowledge possessed by the writer
— the judicious application of that
knowledge, or as an exposition of the
advantages which must result from
improved modes of transit in the
East,both to native industry and the
requirements of British commerce."
From the "Indian Kews," 22nd
May, 1860.
The sum guaranteed, viz.,
£1,000,000 is not sutBcient for the
construction of a line that will yield
any return. The line from Calcutta
to Mirzapore, the proposed termi¬
nus of the East Indian line is 450
miles, the estimated cost of which
is £16,000 per mile, i.e., 7,000,000.
" Besides, it is a fact which can¬
not be refuted, that a line com¬
mencing at Calcutta must débouché
on the Ganges, before any benefit
can accrue, either to the Govern¬
ment, the commerce of India, or to
the people.
" These facts, as clear as they are
indisputable, were promulgated four
years ago, in a work on Indian
Railways, by Mr. Andrew, and re¬
iterated in a letter addressed by
him to Sir J. Law Lushington, in
1848. Subsequent experience proves
their correctness."
From the " MoENiNa Cheonicle,"
May 2\st, 1850.
" The opinion in Calcutta appears
to be, that it is useless to attempt
any experiment unless a capital of
£2,000,000 is subscribed, as no rail¬
way in Lower India can possibly be
made to pay that does not débouché
on the Ganges. The rail must be
carried, in the first place, to Raj-
mahal, which is 200 miles from Cal¬
cutta. This was clearly explained
by Mr. W. P. Andrew five years ago
in his work on Indian railways ; and
the opinions of the old post-master
appear now to be fully confîrmèd by
the experience of those on the spot."
6
From the " Morning Chronicle^"
November 20iÄ, 1851.
' ' IndianRailways.—We have more
than once predicted that the views
propounded, several years ago, by
Mr. W. P. Andrew, would be those
that the Indian authorities would
finally adopt in preference to the
plan recommended by the Indian
Pailway Commission, Mr. Andrew's
project was to connect Calcutta (or,
rather, Howrah) on the opposite
bank of the Hooghly, with the main
Granges at Eajmahal, the lowest
practical point.
"This railway would be about 200
miles in length, and would save, for
eight months in the year, 530 mües
of dangerous and difficult navigation
through the Soonderbunds.
" The plan of the Railway Com¬
mission was to connect Calcutta
with Mirzapore, on the main Ganges.
This would be 450 miles of railway
through a difficult country, and de¬
bouching on the Ganges at a point
where the commerce was neither so
great nor so impeded as lower down.
By recent accounts from India, we
observe that the Howrah terminus,
indicated by Mr. Andrew to save
bridging the Hooghly, had been
adopted, and that section of the hue
as far as Pandooah was either in pro¬
gress, or under contract ; and by the
last mail we observe that the rail¬
way company have advertized for
contracts for a further section, viz.,
from Pandooah to Raneegunge.
There cannot now be a reasonable
doubt but that the fine will be car¬
ried ultimately to Rajraahal."
From the " Britannia," December
IZth, 1851.
" It is announced, we see, by the
® Friend of India,' received by the
last mail, ' That the Court of Direc¬
tors had decided for the adoption of
the line proposed by Major Kennedy
from the collieries to Rajmahal, and
thence up the valley of the Ganges,*
which is exactly the scheme origi¬
nally propounded and advocated by
the 'Old Indian Postmaster', Mr. W.
P. Andrew, in 1846, some two or
three years before Major Kennedy
went to India, and to whom exclu¬
sively the merit is due of having
pointed out the erroneous views of
the East Indian Railway Company,
and adopted by the Indian Govern¬
ment Railway Commission. Had the
authorities acted upon Mr. Andrew's
views, a large and useless expendi¬
ture of time and money would have
been saved ; and it is admitted on
all hands, that this gentleman ' has
saved railway enterprise in India
from a great and lamentable faüure,*
which would have reduced India to
a state of more hopeless apathy and
irretrievable desolation than ever ;
famine and pestilence would have
resumed their periodic reign, the
happiness and prosperity of the
people would have been retarded for
ages, and England's independence of
America for the supply of raw mate¬
rial for the greatest of her staple
manufactures, been more remote
than ever.
7
Is India to have Railways ? Or,
Fallacies of an Fast Indian Mer-
chant Exposed in a hetter to
Lieut.-General Sir J. L. Lush-
ington, G.C.B., Chairman of
the Hon. East India Company,
hy An East India Officer.
W. H. Allen & Co., Leaden-
hall Street. 1848.
From the " Observer," November
nth, 1848.
This is a bold and able expo¬
sure of the system of Indian Rail¬
ways, as proposed to the public in
this country, and an unanswerable
vindication of the good faith of the
India House authorities.
"The writer is a man evidently
weU versed on his subject, which he
treats in a manner that exhausts the
whole question, and leaves nothing
to be desired.
" The India Company owe him
much as a volunteer champion in a
matter wherein their integrity was
more than suspected; he has cer¬
tainly carried them through trium¬
phantly. This pamphlet will be
perused with deep interest.
y
From " Allen's Indian Mail,"
January hth, 1849.
" This pamphlet, which is a most
unmerciful exposure of the proceedr
ings of the Directors of the East
India Railway Company, inflicts a
lacerating castigation upon their
advocate, *An East India Merchant,'
whose * Letter to Lord John RusseU,'
noticed in the * Mail ' of Nov. 2nd,
the 'East India Officer' considers
as ' the semi-official manifesto ' of
the East Indian Railway Company,
on behalf of the Directors and em¬
ployees.
" It is lamentable to find that an
undertaking, which, under proper
management, might have been made
one of the pioneers of great local
improvement in India, has been so
misconducted ; and the public owe
thanks to the ' East India Officer '
who has exposed the real causes of
so miserable a failure."
Railways in Bengal : being the
Substance of a Report addressed
to Sir A. Galloway, K.C.B.,
by W. P. Andrew, Esq.
From the " Colonial and Asiatic
Review," July, 1852.
"The following paper (Railways
in Bengal) giving, in a condensed
form, the published opinions of the
writer, was at the request of the late
Sir A. Galloway, K.C.B., submitted
to him when Chairman of the East
India Company in 1849, and for¬
warded by him to the Board of Con¬
trol, who considered it sufficiently
important to retain possession of the
original. The East India Railway
Company being about to apply for
additional capital, to enable it to
carry out the views contained in this
report, in place of those propounded
by its own promoters and founders,
and recommended by the Indian
Railway Commissioners, the docu¬
ment comes before the public at this
moment invested with additional in¬
terest and authority."