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THE

EUPHRATES VALLEY ROUTE TO INDIA.

A PAPER

READ BEFORE THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION

AT BRIGHTON, IN AUGUST, 1872.

MAP AND APPENDIX CONTAINING A LETTER FROM COLONEL STR HENRY GREEN, K C S I, CB, AND REPORT OF THE

SLLECT COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ON THE EUPHRATES VALLEY RAILWAY,

ETC, ETC

W. P. ANDREW, F.RG.S,

.hoinnaa of t7ie Scmde, Ptuijaub, and Delia Railway Company, Avfh i of ' Indian Raihuayt, by an Old Indian Postmaster," " Memoir of flie JJvplirateg Valley Route to Ind>a" " The Indus

and ?ts Pi ounce?" Sfc

The political and commercial advantages of establishing a second route would at anj time be considerable, and might, under possible circumstances, be exceed¬ ingly great, and it would be worth the while of the English Government to make an elloit to secure them, (On«ideimg the moderate pecuniary u»k which the\ would incur—{Report of Seleit Committee of the House of Commons, dated 22tid July, 1372)

LONDON:

W«. II. ALLEN & CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL, S.W.

1873.

mm

THE

EUPHRATES VALLEY ROUTE TO INDIA.

i

I

r

J$

THE

EUPHRATES VALLEY ROUTE TO INDIA.

A PAPER

READ BEFORE THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION

AT BRIGHTON, IN AUGUST, 1872.

MAP AND APPENDIX CONTAINING A LETTER FROM COLONEL SIR HENRY GREEN, K.C.S.I., C.B., AND REPORT OF THE

SELECT COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ON THE EUPHRATES VALLEY RAILWAY,

ETC., ETC.

W. P. ANDREW, F.RG.S.,

Chairman of the Scinde, Punjaub, and Delhi Raihvay Company, Author of " Indian Railways, by an Old Indian Postmaster" " Memoir of the Euphrates Valley Route to India" " The Indus

and its Provinces" S(c.

The political and commercial advantages of establishing a second route would at any time be considerable, and might, under possible circumstances, be exceed¬ ingly great; and it would be worth the -while of the English Government to make an effort to secure them, considering the moderate pecuniary risk which they would incur.— {Report of Select Committee of the House of Commons, dated 22nd July, 1872).

LONDON:

Wm. H. ALLEN & CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL, S.W.

1873.

P*o

WORKS BY W. P. ANDREW., Esq.

(1846). INDIAN RAILWAYS AND THEIR PROBABLE RESULTS.

BY AN OID INDIAN POSTMASTER. 3rd Edition, 1848. 8vo. Maps, 10s. 6d.

" The line (in Bengal) seems to have been adopted, which was originally recommended by Mr. W. P. Andrew."— Times, 19/A Nov. 1851.

(1856). THE SCINDE RAILWAY.

In relation to the Euphrates Valley and other Routes in India, with Illustrative Maps, Statistical Tables, &c, from Official Sources. 8vo. 10s. 6d.

(1857). THE INDUS AND ITS PROVINCES.

THEIR POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE. Illustrated by Statistical Tables and Maps. 8vo. 10s. 6d.

MEMOIR OF THE EUPHRATES VALLEY ROUTE TO INDIA. WITH OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE AND MAPS.

DEDICATED TO THE EARL OF CLARENDON, K.G. 8VO. 10s. 6d.

LETTER TO VISCOUNT PALMERSTON, K.G., ON THE POLITICAL IMPORTANCE OF THE EUPHRATES VALLEY RAILWAY.

With Reports by Major General Chesney and Sir John Macneill, and Memorandum by Sir Justin Sheil, K.C.B.

Also, MINUTES of EVIDENCE before the HOUSE of COMMONS. On the Establishment of Telegraphic Communication with India, through Turkish Arabia.

By Sir W. B. O'Shaughnessy, T. K. Lynch, Esq., and W. Ainsworth, Esq., &c, &c. 2s. 6d.

(1869). LETTER TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF ARGYLL, K.T.

ON THE COMPLETION OF THE RAILWAY SYSTEM OF THE VALLEY OF THE INDUS. With Appendix and Maps. 5s.

Wm. H. PUBLISHED BY

ALLEN AND CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL, S.W.

(1873). BREAK OF GAUGE IN INDIA.

With Map, &c. Second Edition. PUBLISHED BY

HENRY S. KING & CO., 65, CORNHILL.

TO

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

Six State* ft j&crtrjcote, Bart, M., JH.f.,

THE FOLLOWING PAGES

ABE DEDICATED

IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE

OF MANY COURTESIES.

NOTE.

The views advocated in this paper will be found to be

identical with those urged upon the attention of the late

Lord Palmerston in 1857, by one of the largest and

most influential deputations that ever waited on a

Minister. They were subsequently repeated by the

author in a letter addressed to Lord Palmerston by his

Lordship's desire.

These views have been confirmed in a remarkable

degree by the evidence taken before a Select Committee

of the House of Commons, presided over by Sir

Stafford Northcote, during the past two Sessions of

Parliament.

In the Appendix will be found an admirable letter by Col. Sir Henry Green, K.C.S.I., C.B., with notes on

the climate of the Persian Gulf—a Report of the

Deputation to Lord Palmerston—the author's letter to

Lord Palmerston—together with the Report of the

Select Committee of the House of Commons above

referred to. W. P. A.

29, Bryanston Squaie, W. January, 1873.

CONTENTS.

The Euphrates Valley Route to India, a Paper

by "W. P. Andrew, F.R.G.S., read before

the British Association at Brighton, in

August, 1872 11

APPENDIX.

A. Letter from Col. Sir Henry Green, K.C.S.I., C.B., to W. P. Andrew, Esq., with Notes on the Climate

of the Persian Gulf, dated 23rd Oct., 1872 34

B. The Euphrates and Indus Boute to Central Asia.

(Report of a Deputation to Lord Palmerston on

the 22nd June, 1857) 39

C. Letter from W. P. Andrew, Esq., to the Bight Hon.

Viscount Palmerston, K.G., dated 30th June, 1857 45

D. Report of Select Committee of the House of Com¬

mons on the Euphrates Valley Bail way, dated 22nd

July, 1872 50

THE

EUPHRATES VALLEY ROUTE TO INDIA

A PAPER BY W. P. ANDREW, F.R.G S., READ BEFORE THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION AT BRIGHTON, IN AUGUST, 1872.

Never in the past history of this country have

we been afforded a more glorious opportunity of

aiding the cause of peace and the spread of en¬

lightenment throughout the world than that which

is now presented to us in the proposal to open up

by the civilizing influences of steam, the ancient

highway of nations between the East and the

West, by the route of the Euphrates. The countries which our future highway to

India will traverse are the most ancient and in¬

teresting in the world. On the once fertile plains, watered by the Euphrates and Tigris, the greatest and most glorious nations of antiquity arose,

flourished, and were overthrown. The earliest

home of the genius of civilization—the scene of

great events in the early history of the world—

now shrouded in the dust of ages, or dimly dis-

12

cerned through the long vista of many centuries

—the land of the Assyrians, Babylonians, and

Chaldeans; where the daughters of Zion sat

down and wept; where lay the track of Xeno-

phon and his heroic ten thousand Greeks; the

centre of the conquests of the Macedonians, where once stood the proud capitals of the Sassa-

nides and of the Caliphs,—now deserted and

tenantless,—these regions must ever possess a

fascination and interest for all mankind.

Here we stand, as it were, amongst the great

progenitors of our race—the " Heroes of Hebrew

History," whose lives, and deeds, and thoughts and feelings have lately been brought before us

with a vivid and picturesque eloquence by an

eminent prelate of the Church (the Bishop of Winchester). Here we are reminded of the

wonderful story of these rescued lives which

the hand of God himself shut for safety into

the ark of gopher-wood. Here was the birth¬

place of the father of the faithful, who was

born to Terah, in Ur of the Chaldees, "one

of the cities of the rich plain of Shinar, into

which flowed the first streams of the life of the

re-peopled world—the cradle of the first Baby¬ lonish empire, of which through the mists of the

long ages, we may dimly see the shadowy form

of the great Nimrod, ' the mighty hunter before

13

the Lord,' laying the colossal foundations." Scrip¬ ture tells us that " Terah dwelt on the other side

of the flood," by which name the " Great River, the River Euphrates," was known in these early

days. The Great River which bounded their

patriarchal realm was to these ancient men " little

less of a partition from all they knew of life than

were the waters of the Great Atlantic to the

adventurous Columbus." In obedience to the

mystic summons of which we read in Scripture, Abraham leaving his country and his kindred

went forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, not know¬

ing whither he went; his aged father going forth

with him into the unknown land. And so they

journeyed, as men journeyed in these patriarchal

days, with sons and daughters, and shepherds, and man-servants, and maid-servants, and flocks, and herds and goods, across the roadless steppes

by the tracks which other travellers had faintly traced on the broad plain. After resting some

years at Charran, in Mesopotamia, Abraham re¬

sumed his journey upon a grander scale, and,

crossing over the Great River, passed on his way to the land of Canaan. It is said that the great drama enacted generations later, in the days of

Nebuchadnezzar, on the plains of Dura by the

three descendants of the Patriarch was antici¬

pated by Abraham and Nimrod, on the plains of

14

Shinar. Many old traditions are there to sup¬

plement the simple narrative of Scripture ; some

of them doubtless holding in solution facts his¬

torically true, while others are nothing more than

the nimbus-glory which streams from great saints, "

lighting up into an encircling crown the float¬

ing atoms of the past." Somewhere on the banks of the Euphrates all

scriptural commentators place the Garden of

Eden. The second cradle of the human family was also upon that River, or its tributary, the

Tigris. The first city of the new earth was built

upon its banks. The tower of pride, erected by the post-diluvian population, cast a shadow over

its waters. The Euphrates intersected Babylon, the "Golden City," the "Glory of Kingdoms;"

the great capital of the Chaldean Empire; now a

desolation among the nations—her broad walls

utterly broken; her high gates burnt with fire.

With Babylon are associated the names of Nebu¬

chadnezzar and Belshazzar; of Daniel and Darius;

of Cyrus and Alexander. The grand prophet of

the captivity, and the energetic apostle of the

new era, had their dwelling within her walls.

Ere even a brick was made upon the Nile,

Nineveh and Babylon must have had thriving

and busy populations. Twice in the world's history, mankind com-

15

menced the race of civilisation on the Mesopota- mian Rivers. Twice the human family diverged from their banks to the East, the West, and the

North. Arts and sciences made the first feeble

steps of their infancy upon the shores of these

rivers. Very early in history we know that Ba¬

bylon was a great manufacturing city, famed for

the costly fabric of its looms. At a more recent

date the Chaldean kings made it a gorgeous me¬

tropolis, the fairest and the richest then on earth.

Alexander of Macedon made it the port of the

Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, and he pro¬

posed to render it the central metropolis of his

empire. The countries through which the Euphrates

flows were formerly the most productive in the

world. Throughout these regions the fruits of

temperate and tropical climes grew in by-gone

days in luscious profusion. Luxury and abun¬

dance were universally diffused. The soil every¬ where teemed with vegetation. Much of this

has since passed away. Ages of despotism and

misrule have rendered unavailing the bounty of

nature. But the land is full of hidden riches.

The natural elements of its ancient grandeur still exist in the inexhaustible fertility of the

country, and in the chivalrous character and

bearing of many of the tribes; and the day can-

16

not be far distant when it is destined to resume

its place amongst the fairest and most prosper¬ ous regions of the globe.

The wondrous fertility of Mesopotamia was

in early times carried to its utmost limit by means of numerous irrigation canals, with which

the country was everywhere intersected, and some

of the largest of which wrere navigable. These

excited the wonder and interest of Alexander the

Great, who, after his return from the conquest

of India, examined them personally, steering the

boat with his own hand. He employed a great

number of men to repair and cleanse these canals.

Herodotus, speaking of Babylonia, says, " Of

all the countries I know, it is without question the best and the most fertile. It produces neither

figs, nor vines, nor olives; but in recompense the

earth is suitable for all sorts of grain, of which it

yields always 200 per cent., and in years of ex¬

traordinary fertility as much as 300 per cent."

These regions need only again to be irrigated

by the life-giving waters pouring down ever cool

and plentiful from Ararat,—that great land-mark

of primseval history, now the vast natural boun¬

dary-stone of the Russian, Turkish, and Persian

empires,—to yield once more in abundance almost

everything that is necessary or agreeable to man.

Many acres now wasted, save when in early spring

17

they are sweet wildernesses of flowers, may be

covered with cotton, tending to the employment of the many millioned spindles of our land.

As the human race multiplies and makes pro¬

gress in arts and civilisation, new wants arise,

and the ingenuity of man is taxed to discover

new sources of wealth, maintenance and occupa¬ tion : and we find, under the dispensations of an

all-wise Providence, that at suitable seasons re¬

sources are unveiled which have been long pro¬

vided, although concealed until the fitting occa¬

sion for their use.

Amongst the numerous administrations of the

same wise and merciful design, it is not unreason¬

able to believe that the opening of the valleys of

the Euphrates and Tigris, and the resuscitation

of the great nations of antiquity are amongst the

events designed to minister to the growing wants

and improvement of the human race.

Looked upon from another point of view, in

the light of reflected benefits, there are twenty- five millions and upwards of human beings in¬

habiting Western Asia, and five hundred millions

and more inhabiting Central and Eastern Asia,

who remain to this day enslaved by debasing

superstitions, and sunk in mental darkness and

delusion. What a field is here opening to the

Christian philanthropist! To aid in the removal

18

of ignorance and superstition by the diffusion of

useful knowledge and an enlightened and true

religion. To plant industry and the arts where

indolence and barbarism have hitherto prevailed. To hasten the day when the breath from the

four winds, as foreshadowed by the prophet, will

breathe upon the slain, and the dry bones will

live; when " the wastes shall be builded, and the

desolate land shall be tilled;" and men shall say, " This land that was desolate is become like the

Garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and

ruined cities are become fenced, and are in¬

habited." " So shall the waste cities be filled

with flocks of men.'

The establishment of a new and easy line of

communication between the East and the West

would obviously subserve such noble objects; and the proposed restoration of the ancient route

of the Euphrates has therefore the strongest claim

upon the sympathy and support of all who feel

an interest in advancing the prosperity, civilisa¬

tion, and happiness of nations.

It is not too much to say, that no existing or

projected railroad can compare in point of in¬

terest and importance with that of the Euphrates

Valley. It will bring two quarters of the globe into juxta-position, and three continents, Europe,

Asia, and Australia, into closer relation. It will

19

bind the vast population of Hindustan by an iron

link with the people of Europe. It will inevit¬

ably entail the colonisation and civilisation of

the great valleys of the Euphrates and Tigris, the resuscitation in a modern shape of Babylon and Nineveh, and the re-awakening of Ctesiphon and Bagdad of old.

Where is there in the world any similar under¬

taking which can achieve results of such mag¬

nitude, fraught with so many interests to various

nations? And who can foresee what ultimate

effects may be produced by improved means of

communication in the condition of Hindoos,

Chinese, and other remote peoples It is by distance and difficulties of intercourse

that the distinctions of creeds and races are chiefly

upheld. Annihilate space, and the great barriers

that separate peoples—the differences of manners

and customs, of modes of thought and feeling, of

doctrines and dogmas, of precepts and prejudices, that keep up these barriers—gradually disappear, as barbarism, superstition, and ignorance give

way to the superior and irresistible force of civi¬

lisation, truth, and enlightenment.

Although various routes have been suggested with the view of bringing Great Britain, by means of railway communication, into closer connection

with India xtnd her other dependencies in the

20

East, and of securing at the same time the im¬

mense political and strategic desideratum of an

alternative highway to our Eastern possessions, there is none which combines in itself so many

advantages as the ancient route of the Euphrates; the route of the Emperors Trajan and Julian, in

whose steps, in more recent times, the Great

Napoleon intended to follow, when the Rus¬

sian campaign turned his energies in another

direction.

The special advantages which render this route

superior to all others, are briefly these :—It is the

most direct route to India. It is the shoitest and

the cheapest, both for constructing and working

a railway—so free from engineering difficulties,

that it almost appears as though designed by the

hand of nature to be the highway of nations be¬

tween the East and the West; the most surely

defensible by England—both of its termini being

on the open sea; and the most likely to prove

remunerative.

Both in an engineering and a political point

of view, the Euphrates route undoubtedly pos¬

sesses great advantages over any of the others

which have been proposed. All the routes which

have been suggested from places on the Black

Sea, are open to the fatal objection, that while

they would be of the greatest service to Russia—

21

that huge Colossus of the North, whose giant strides are ever tending further to the East—they would be altogether beyond the control of Great

Britain, while the engineering difficulties with

which they are surrounded, are of themselves

sufficient to exclude them from practical consi¬

deration.

This is sufficiently brought out by the evidence

of witnesses, well acquainted with the subject, who

were examined last Session by the Select Commit¬

tee of the House of Commons (presided over by Sir Stafford Northcote), appointed through the

able and patriotic exertions of Sir George Jen-

kinson, to investigate the merits of the various

proposals for connecting the Mediterranean and

the Black Sea with the Persian Gulf.

Thus Sir Henry Rawlinson, the President of

the Royal Geographical Society, referring to a

route which has been proposed from Tereboli, on

the Black Sea, via Diarbekir and the Tigris, to the

Persian Gulf, stated that part of the country is ''

absolutely impracticable for a railway.'' A nother

line, from Trebizonde, via Erzeroum and Van, to

the Persian Gulf, the same authority thinks " it

would be impossible to effect, the country being cut up by a succession of precipitous ravines, and

mountain torrents, and impracticable defiles."

22

On a third line, from the Black Sea at Samsun, via

Sivas, Malatieh, and Diarbekir, to Bagdad and

Bussorah, Sir Henry Rawlinson pronounced no

opinion, but stated that it would be 1,100 miles

in length, a distance considerably greater than

that of the line advocated by myself, from the

Gulf of Scanderoon to the Persian Gulf, by the

Valley of the Euphrates. The evidence taken by the Committee last

year, has been fully corroborated during the pre¬ sent Session of Parliament, by authorities of the

highest eminence in the fields of diplomacy and

warfare; and the views which for twenty years I

have ventured to urge upon this question, are

also supported by the testimony of that eminent

diplomatist, the late Lord Dalling and Bulwer,

whose long experience in Eastern affairs renders

his opinion of especial weight. Lord Dalling, in

a letter addressed to myself, and published in

the Times of the 27th November 1871, alluding to "a line between the Mediterranean and the

Persian Gulf, to be united with Constantinople,"

said, " I will not pretend to lay down this line

precisely in all its points; some of these have

still to be studied and determined; but I know

we can have a line traversing the territory of

only one Power, with which we are on terms of

23

close amity ; that it will be aided by two good

ports and two great rivers; and that a great

portion of it will pass over a perfectly level

country, remarkable for its fertility and re¬

sources. I know also that this line produces a

great saving of time on the one hand, and is not, on

the other, of that gigantic kind which arrests enter¬

prise, or interferes with its being completed." In the course of the investigation which has

taken place before the Select Committee of the

House of Commons, the facilities which exist for

the construction of a railway from the Mediter¬

ranean to the Persian Gulf, by the route of the

Euphrates, have been amply demonstrated by the

late General Chesney, the veteran explorer of the

route, whose death at this juncture is nothing less than a national loss; by Captain Charlewood

and Mr. W. F. Ainsworth, two of the officers at¬

tached to the Euphrates Expedition ; and by Sir

John Macneill, Mr. Telford Macneill, Mr. Max¬

well, and others. The advantages of the route, in respect of the climate and productiveness of

the country to be traversed, are fully shown by the evidence of Mr. Eastwick, M.P., Captain Felix

Jones, Mr. Consul Barker, and others. The

facility of the navigation of the Persian Gulf has

been testified by Mr. William Parkes and Mr.

Edwyn Dawes, and also in a recently published

24

correspondence, by Captain A. D. Taylor, late of

the Indian Navy. The advantages of the pro¬

posed undertaking, from a military point of view, are placed beyond question by the evidence of

General Chesney, and of those experienced sol¬

diers, Sir Henry Green and Colonel Malcolm

Green, and more especially by the weighty testi¬

mony of Lord Strathnairn ; while its importance in a political sense has been established by a

cloud of witnesses, amongst whom may be in¬

stanced Sir Bartle Frere, Sir Donald MacLeod, Colonel Herbert, H.M. Consul-General at Bagdad, Mr. Eldridge, Consul-General at Beyrout, and

pre-eminently by " the Great Elchi," the vene¬

rated Lord Stratford de Redcliffe.

On the ground of the great importance to India

of being placed in continuous railway communi¬

cation with Europe, some persons, of an ambition

too lofty and impatient to pay much regard to

the considerations which weigh with more prac¬ tical advocates of railway enterprise, would be

content to support nothing short of a through line from Constantinople to India.

Although fully alive to the vast importance of

the results which would accrue, not only to Eng¬ land and India, but to the cause of civilization

generally, from the establishment of continuous

railway communication between Europe and India,

k

25

I cannot conceal from myself that such a project is too vast to be at once undertaken with any

hope of success. At the same time it is to be

observed that the Euphrates Valley Railway as

proposed, from the Gulf of Scanderoon to the

Persian Gulf, has been specially designed with a

view to its ultimately forming part of a through line from Constantinople to the head of the Per¬

sian Gulf, while it is capable also of being, in due

time, extended eastwards to Kurrachee, the port of India nearest to Europe. It is only because

the line from the Mediterranean to the Persian

Gulf has been demonstrated to be eminently

practicable and easy, which the other portions of

the route between Constantinople and India are

not, because while capable of forming part of a

through line, it would at the same time be com¬

plete in itself, and independent of any distur¬

bances in Europe—the only portion, in fact, of a

through line of railway which would be always, and under all circumstances, at the absolute con¬

trol of this country; because it would always be

to this country the most important portion of any

through line; because I believe a through line

could not be constructed, except at overwhelming

cost, without the assistance of a port in northern

Syria being first made available; and because by the Euphrates Valley Railway would be at once

26

secured to this country advantages admitted to be

of the highest national moment, that during the

long period in which I have devoted myself to the

advocacy of the Euphrates route to India, I have

thought it expedient to urge upon our own

Government and that of Turkey, the special claims of that section only which would connect

the Mediterranean with the Persian Gulf.

The objection that, although the Euphrates

Valley Railway would afford us the undoubted

advantage of an alternative, a shorter, and a

more rapid means of communication with India, it would still leave a considerable portion of the

journey to be accomplished by sea, and that con¬

sequently it would accelerate our communications

with the East in a minor degree only, is suffi¬

ciently disposed of by the circumstance already

pointed out, that a railway from a point on the

Mediterranean, at or near Scanderoon, to the head

of the Persian Gulf, would naturally form part of

a through line of railway from Constantinople to

India, if at a future time it should be considered

necessary or desirable to construct the remaining sections.

At the same time it is to be observed, that any

possible acceleration of the journey between

Europe and India, by the substitution of railway

for sea transit, would be, relatively, much less in

27

the case of those portions of the route traversing Asia Minor on the one hand, and Persia and Aff-

ghanistan, or Beloochistan, on the other, than on

the central section between Scanderoon and the

Persian Gulf; the latter section being almost level

for nearly the whole distance, and therefore capable of being traversed at a very high rate of speed;

whereas, both in Asia Minor and Persia, the gra¬ dients would be so severe as to neutralize in a

great measure the advantages ordinarily attaching to railway travelling as compared with that by sea. Pro rata to the power required, so is the

distance. In other words, the proposed Euphrates

Valley Railway would take advantage of precisely that portion of the route between Constantinople and India, where the greatest benefit would be

derivable from the substitution of railway for sea

transit, whether regard be had to the rate of speed

attainable, or the economy with which" the traffic

might be worked.

A regular mail service being already in opera¬ tion on the maritime portions of the Euphrates route to India—maintained on the Mediterranean

side by French steam-packets calling at Alexan-

dretta, and between the ports of the Persian Gulf,

and Kurrachee and Bombay, by the vessels of the

British India Steam Navigation Company—a

railway of little more than 900 miles in length,

28

from Scanderoon (or Alexandretta), on the Medi¬

terranean, to Kowait (or Grain), on the Persian

Gulf, is all that is required to secure for us the

immense political and strategic advantage of a

complete alternative route to India; a shorter and

more rapid route than now exists; and one, more¬

over, which compares very favourably with the

Red Sea route, both as regards climate, and the

facility and safety of the navigation on the mari¬

time portions of the journey. Both Alexandretta and Kowait, the proposed

termini of the Railway, possess all the requisites of first-class harbours.

The harbour of Alexandretta is one of great

capacity ; sufficient, according to Sir John Frank¬

lin, Admiral Beaufort, and others, to contain the

whole navy of Great Britain. It is the safest

harbour on the coast of Syria, and might be made

available for the purposes of the railway at a very small outlay. The place is at present open to

some objection on account of unhealthiness; but

this, its only disadvantage, might be entirely obvi¬

ated by drainage, at a moderate expenditure. Wth regard to the harbour of Kowait, near the

head of the Persian Gulf, Mr. William Parkes, C.E., the Consulting Engineer to the Secretary of State

for India for Kurrachee harbour, who by the

liberality of the Indian authorities, was recently

29

enabled to examine the ports in the Persian Gulf, states in an able Report addressed to me on the

subject, that " nothing could be more secure or

favourable in any way "

(than Kowait) "for ships of the largest size, whether to ride at anchor, or

to be moored alongside a quay wall." As a

place for landing and embarking passengers, mails, and cargo, even without sea works more extensive

than a short jetty to bring a steam tender along¬

side," Mr. Parkes reports that Kowait " is superior to Alexandria (as it is, until the new works are

completed), to Suez (as it was three years ago), and to Bombay; while for an expenditure of from

£80,000 to £100,000, a wharf of sufficient length to berth four steamers, of 3,000 tons each, might be constructed, and the railway brought down

upon it, thus placing Kowait on a par, in this

respect, with Suez as it is, Brindisi, or Dover."

Kowait is already one of the .most important towns in the Gulf, and according to Captain A. D. Taylor, late of H.M. Indian Navy, possesses more baghalahs, or boats of the country, than

any other port in the Gulf which trades with

India; and there can be no doubt, if it be adopted as the Eastern terminus of the railway, it will, within a very short period, have an enormous

trade of its own, irrespective of the through traffic

passing over the railway.

30

As regards the route which the railway should

take between Alexandretta and the Persian Gulf, it is to be borne in mind, that the great and

.primary object of the undertaking is the connec¬

tion of the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian

Gulf by railway ; and the necessity of such a con¬

nection having been once established, the precise line which the railway should take would appear to be comparatively a matter of less vital import¬ ance. I may observe, however, that passing in

the first place from Alexandretta, the proposed terminus on the Mediterranean, to Aleppo, the

present metropolis of Syria, and a great entrepot of trade, the route from that place to the Persian

Gulf having the strongest arguments in its favour

would appear to be that recommended by Captain Felix Jones, keeping on the right bank of the

Euphrates for the whole distance, beyond the

reach of inundations, and passing by way of

Annah, Hit (the Is of Herodotus), the holy cities

of Kerbela and Nedjef (or Meshed Ali), Somowha,

and Sheikh el Shuyukh to Kowait or Grain, on

the Persian Gulf. This line would not pass many miles from Bagdad, the city of the Caliphs, a

household word with us from the time we read of

the doings of Haroon al Rashid in the Arabian

Nights." Bagdad, and the neighbouring holy cities of Kerbela and Nedjef, are frequently chosen

31

by Sheeah Mahomedans as a residence, that they

may be buried by the side of Hoosein, their

favourite saint, whose tomb at Kerbela is the

peculiar object of their veneration, and is annually bedewed with the tears of thousands. The burial

place of Ali, Nedjef, though of inferior sanctity, is

also held in great veneration. Pensioners of the

Government of India, natives of the highest rank,

frequently make Bagdad or Kerbela their adopted

home; and both from Persia and Hindustan un¬

told wealth has been poured into the coffers of

the priests of Kerbela.

The route which I have traced from Alex¬

andretta to the Persian Gulf, besides being pro¬

bably the shortest line obtainable, would obviate

altogether the necessity and expense of crossing the Euphrates. This line, moreover, regarded from a strategic point of view, would give the

advantage of the interposition of two great rivers

between the Railway and an enemy advancing on

the flank on which there would be the greatest likelihood of attack.

The cost of the proposed Railway, according to

the estimates of competent engineers, would be

under nine millions sterling; and His Excellency, Muslims Pasha, the Turkish Ambassador, has

officially intimated the readiness of his Govern¬

ment to raise the requisite funds by means of an

^

32

Ottoman loan, under conditions specially favour¬

able to this country, if Great Britian will but give a counter-guarantee, as she has already done,

jointly with France, in the case of an Ottoman

loan raised in 1854.

The grand impediment to the improvement of the Sultan's dominions is the want of the means

of intercommunication; and no line would promote more effectually their good government and pros¬

perity, or do more to develop their really pro¬

digious resources, 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 Euphrates and Tigris. To England the possession of an alternative

route to India would be of inestimable value, and

more especially as the route now proposed will

present the advantage of a saving of nearly

1,000 miles in the actual lineal distance, and a

saving in time variously estimated at from four

to eight days, offering at the same time rich fields

to the genius of her statesmen and the enterprise of her merchants, by giving back to commerce,

through the potent and civilising influence of

steam, "

countries, the cradle of the human race, and the theatre of the most important events

in the Jewish, Pagan, and early Christian

histories."

33

Looked at in every light, historically, poli¬

tically and commercially, the proposed restoration

of the ancient route of the Euphrates, throwing

open the portals of the East to the commerce of

the world, and to the arts, sciences, and civili¬

sation of the West, is an interesting and noble

scheme, fraught with consequences of the highest moment to the destinies of our race.

To accomplish this noble undertaking is the

mission of England. Its fulfilment has been

already too long delayed. Another nation, as

Mr. Disraeli lately took occasion to remind us, is

slowly but surely extending her power Eastwards, and is gradually establishing a footing in military

positions, from which she can at once menace our

Empire in the East, and diminish our power and

prestige among the nations of Europe; and I

would close this paper by urging my conviction, that if we neglect the favourable opportunity now

presented to us of securing the establishment of

the Euphrates route under the auspices of Great

Britain, we shall speedily find that the shortest,

easiest, and safest route to our Eastern possessions has fallen into the hands of our most powerful rival for commercial and political ascendancy in

the East.

W. P. ANDREW.

August, 1872.

APPENDIX A.

Letter from Colonel Sir Henry Green, K.C.S.I., C.B., to W. P. Andrew, Esq., with Notes on the Climate of the Persian Gulf.

October 23rd, 1872. Dear Mr. Andrew,—

As I understand that a discussion on the Euphrates Valley Bailway scheme is likely to come off in Parliament next

session, I enclose some notes on the climate of the Persian

Gulf, which I have extracted from my journal, and which may be of use to you for reference. They were made during our

occupation of Bushire, in the hot season of 1857. The camp was pitched about two miles from the town of Bushire, facing N.E., and about one mile from the sea, on a plain totally devoid of shelter of any kind. During the months of July and August the European troops were located in wooden barracks, the Native troops, with their European officers, remaining in tents. The whole force consisted of about 6,000 men, with the usual number of camp followers—say three to each fighting man—

giving probably a total of some 18,000 souls in camp. My posi¬ tion being that of Deputy-Adjutant-General to the whole force left in the Gulf, and therefore the chief staff officer, I had

every opportunity of seeing and judging of the sanitary con¬ dition of the troops.

APPENDIX A. 35

The more I consider this question of the Euphrates Valley Bailway the more I feel convinced of the necessity for its con¬ struction. As a military man, and an old political officer, I take more of a political and strategical view of it, with reference to our Indian Empire, than a commercial one, as I feel sure the poli¬ tical effect it will have on our Eastern Empire will be immediate, while those who look for commercial success must wait until it has had time to develop still more the trade which is yearly on the increase in those countries through which it must pass.

In case of a hostile advance towards our Indian Empire on the part of any foreign power, the line of this advance would in all probability be parallel with the proposed line of rail, and by having Kurrachee in direct communication with the Mediter¬ ranean, we might at any season of the year concentrate fresh

troops from England or from our Mediterranean garrisons on

any part of this line, or on the left flank of our North-Western frontier of India at Kurrachee, where they would be available for action at any threatened point between that port and our most Northern post of Peshawur. This would allow of the per¬ manent garrison of India, or a considerable portion of it, being employed in maintaining peace amongst the dangerous classes in India Proper, instead of having to be hurried to the frontier, leaving insecurity and danger behind them.

There can, I think, be no doubt but that had such a means of reinforcing our European troops in India existed during the Indian rebellion the siege of Delhi could never have oc¬

curred; or, had it occurred, it could not have lasted for any serious time, nor could its issue ever have been doubtful, for

England could have placed the guards from London before Delhi in a month's time, via Kurrachee, Mooltan, and Lahore, as the communications by this route were never interrupted, while all others were for a time closed; we could in fact have carried on the siege of Delhi, protected our North-West frontier, and maintained peace in the Punjab, direct from England, while the garrison proper of India was employed in besieging Lucknow,

36 APPENDIX A.

Caunpore, and other strongholds. With such a means at our

disposal, in addition to the route via the Suez Canal, enabling us to throw troops both on the North and South of India at the same time, a future rebellion would be rendered impossible.

It is the fashion of a certain class of English, as well as

Anglo-Indian diplomatists, to ignore the advance of Bussia towards India as having any serious significance for England, and to scoff at those who think otherwise; and every effort is made by them through the press, by public lectures, &c, to mislead the public. Yet there can be no doubt that any one who has watched the enormous development of Bussia in material strength, and her gigantic strides towards our Indian

Empire, must have observed the marked effect it has had upon our Eastern subjects, and that Bussia's movements, formerly seldom heard of, are now a common topic of conversation

amongst them ; but supposing that these advances of Bussia in Central Asia are merely for commercial and civilising purposes, in which philanthropists say we ought to assist her, surely the best means of doing so would be by bringing into closer com¬ munication Western civilisation with Eastern barbarism. But does any one possessing any knowledge of the circumstances

really believe that the large and well-equipped army of the Caucasus is merely maintained for commercial purposes, or that the fleets in the Caspian, the Black, and Aral Seas, are merely for the purpose of transporting cotton, tea, &c. We may rest

assured that Bussia will never forego her intention of possessing

Constantinople; if we reverse our traditional policy, and permit her to occupy it, well and good, she will give us no trouble; but if we interfere, she will, beyond a doubt, attack us in our weakest point; viz., India; not that I believe that Bussia has

any idea of a final conquest and occupation of our Indian Em¬

pire, for if we could not hold it, no other nation could do so; but by advancing towards it she would create such a diversion in her favour, and so paralyse us in Europe, that we should be unable to prevent her from carrying on her designs. Such a

APPENDIX A. 37

contingency may not arise for years, for Bussia will not again risk defeat as in the Crimea, but will bide her time until her gigantic strength is still more fully developed; but this is the greater reason why we should at once make our preparations, which will take considerable time. The more we show that we are prepared for all eventualities the less likely we are to have to fight, and the more likely we shall be able to obtain powerful allies, should we be compelled to do so. Bussia by her advance followed up, as it is, by railway and steam communication, is daily gaining advantage over us; but with increased and rapid communication on our part by the construction of the proposed line we shall be placed on more than an equality with her either for commerce or war.

I have not touched upon the practicability of the construc¬ tion of the line with reference to engineering difficulties, because I believe that to do so would be an insult to the engi¬ neering skill of England. I may say the same with regard to the financial question, and our commercial enterprise. Depend upon it, if we can by the adoption of this line add to the in¬ ternal and external security of our Indian Empire, and quiet the minds of the millions it contains by proving to them that internal rebellion is impossible, and external attack equally so, it will well repay any guarantee England can give. The question again as to whether troops proceeding by the proposed route would suffer or not from heat, appears to me a secondary consi¬ deration ; whenever a man turns his head to the Eastward, as he advances he will suffer more or less from the heat. While on the subject of railroads, I know that there is another line in which you are much interested, and that is the Scinde one; and now that the missing link will soon be completed between Kotree and Mooltan, I would again urge the pushing forward of a line between Sukkur, on the Indus, and Dadur, at the foot of the Bolan Pass, a length of about 120 miles, over a dead level or

nearly so. We should then be in direct communication with the two principal entrances into India from the west, viz., the

c

38 APPENDIX B.

Kyber Pass at Peshawur—the rail between which and Lahore is under construction—and the Bolan at Dadur ; if the former is considered necessary, the latter is still more so, as leading to a pass far easier of access from Affghanistan, and on the direct road to Central Asia, as well for commercial purposes, as for any hostile advance towards India.

Extracts from the Journal of Colonel Sir Henry Green, Assistant

Adjutant-General to the Persian Expeditionary Force, during a portion of the War between Great Britain and Persia in 1857.

March.—Weather during this month cool and pleasant, with occasional showers.

April.—Weather during the month pleasant, nights cool, no sickness to speak of.

May.—I was at Bagdad. June.—Weather during the month exceedingly pleasant, with

strong sea-breezes, nights delightfully cool, health of troops good, particularly the Europeans; sickness, 6 per cent.

July.—Weather during the month very pleasant. Sickness about 5 per cent, of the whole force. Nights invariably cool.

August.—Weather during month very pleasant. Troops particularly healthy, average about 2*29 per cent. sick.

September.—Weather during month pleasant, sea-breezes

commencing somewhat late in the day; health of troops excel¬

lent, about 2*50 per cent. sick.

Yours very truly, HENBY GBEEN.

APPENDIX B.

THE EUPHRATES AND INDUS ROUTE

TO CENTRAL ASIA.

A DEPUTATION, IN FAVOUR OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT

GRANTING PECUNIARY SUPPORT TO THE EUPHRATES VALLEY

RAILWAY, HAD AN INTERVIEW WITH VISCOUNT PALMER¬

STON, 22ND JUNE, 1857.

The deputation consisted of the Earl of Shaftesbury, Mr. Andrew (Chairman of the Euphrates Valley Bailway), Mr. P. Anstruther, Mr. W. F. Ainsworth, Sir P. L. Arthur, Bart., Mr. A. P. Bellasis, Sir W. Colebrooke, C.B., the Earl of

Chichester, the Earl of Carnarvon, Major-General Chesney, B.A., Mr. F. Ellis, M.P., Mr. Estcourt Sotheron, M.P., the Hon. J. C. Erskine, Mr. A. S. Finlay, M.P., Lord Goderich, Mr. H. Gladstone, Mr. W. Hutt, M.P., Mr. Thomas Headlam, M.P., Mr. T. B. Horsfall, M.P., Col. Harvey, Mr.T. K. Lynch, Mr. John Laird, Mr. Macgregor Laird, Mr. James Merry, M.P., Sir H. Maddock, Major Moore, Sir D. Norreys, M.P., Colonel W. Pinney, M.P., Mr. F. W. Bussell, M.P., Sir Justin Sheil, K.C.B., Count Strylecki, Col. Steinbach, Gen. Sabine, Lord Talbot de Malahide, the Lord Mayor (Mr. Alderman Finnis), Mr. Matthew Uzielli, Mr. W. Vansittart, M.P., Sir

40 APPENDIX B.

W. F. Williams of Kars, Mr. A. Denoon, Mr. L. W. Baeburn, Mr. Wickham, M.P., Hon. A. Kinnaird, M.P., Mr. Arthur

Otway, the Earl of Albemarle, Lord Ashley, Mr. Thomas Al-

cock, M.P., Mr. J. E. Anderdon, Viscount Bangor, Mr. W. Buchanan, M.P., Mr. F. B. Beamish, M.P., Mr. G. Bowyer, M.P. Dr. Boyd, M.P., Major C. Bruce, M.P., Lord Colchester, Lord

Cloncurry, Lord Cremorne, Lord B. Clinton, Sir Edw. Cole-

broke, M.P., the Hon. H. Cole, M.P., Mr. B. W. Crawford, Alderman Copeland, M.P., the Bishop of Durham, Lord Duf-

ferin, the Earl of Donoughmore, Mr. B. Davison, M.P., Colonel

Dunne, M.P., Sir James Duke, M.P., the Earl of Enniskillen, Earl of Erne, Lord Elcho, Sir De Lacy Evans, M.P., Mr. J. C. Ewart, M.P., Sir J. Elphinstone, M.P., Mr. W. Fagan, M.P., Sir B. Ferguson, M.P., Sir G. Foster, M.P., Mr. C. Fortescue, M.P., Mr. F. French, M.P., Lord Bobert Grosvenor, M.P., Mr. E. Grogan, M.P., Mr. S. Gregson, M.P., Mr. G. Hamilton, M.P., Mr. J. H. Hamilton, M.P., Colonel Harvey, Mr. A. Hastie, M.P., Mr. H. Ingram, M.P., Mr. W. Kirk, M.P., Mr. T. Longman, Lord Monteagle, the Earl of Mayo, Mr. J. B.

Mowbray, M.P., Mr. B. Monckton Milnes, M.P., Sir John Mac¬ neill, Mr. H. A. Mackinnon, Sir Boderick Murchison, Mr. G.

Macartney, M.P., Mr. J. M'Cann, M.P., Mr. J. M'Clintock,M.P., Mr. M'Evory, M.P., Mr. P. W. Martin, Mr. C. W. Martin, Mr. G. G. MTherson, Mr. F. North, M.P., Colonel North, M.P., the Bight Hon. J. Napier, M.P., Mr. C. Newdegate, M.P., Sir George Pollock, G.C.B., Mr. J. Pritchard, M.P., the Earl of Boden, Lord Bossmore, Lord Stanley, Lord Sandon, the

Bishop of St. David's, Mr. B. Slaney, Mr. W. Sowerby, Mr. A.

Turner, M.P., Colonel Taylor, M.P., Mr. W. Tollemache, M.P., Sir H. Verney, Lord Wrottesley, Mr. Whiteside M.P., Mr. Thos. Williams, Mr. J. A. Warre, M.P.

Lord Shaftesbury introduced the deputation to Lord Palmer¬ ston, and pointed out in forcible language, the vast importance to this country of securing an alternative route to India, and the great interest generally felt throughout the country in this

APPENDIX B. 41

great undertaking, so calculated to promote commerce, civiliza¬ tion, and Christianity, and stated that Mr. Andrew, the chair¬ man of the company, would submit to his Lordship more detailed information.

Mr. Andrew after expressing his regret for the unavoidable absence of Lord Stanley, said that for some years it had been considered a great national object to secure an alternative short route to India, but that recently the establishment of the route by the Euphrates had become more and more necessary, and more especially since it had been determined to open up the

Valley of the Indus by the application of steam. The great traffic which would pour down this valley from Central Asia and the Punjaub, once flowing towards Kurrachee, would natu¬

rally seek an outlet by the sister valley of the Euphrates, at least the lighter and more valuable products as well as the mails and passengers; but the support of the Government was not

sought on commercial grounds. That support was sought alone on the ground of the political importance of this ancient line of communication. The grand object was to connect England with the north-west frontier of India, by steam transit through the Euphrates and Indus Valleys. The latter would render moveable to either the Kyber or the Bolan, the two gates of

India, the flower of the British army cantoned in the Punjaub; and the Euphrates and Indus lines being connected by means of

steamers, we should be enabled to threaten the flank and rear of

any force advancing through Persia towards India. So that the invasion of India by this great scheme would be placed beyond even speculation; and it would be evident, that the great army of India of 300,000 men being united by this means to the army in England, the mutual support they would render each other would quadruple the power and ascendancy of this country, and

promote powerfully the progress, the freedom, and the peace of the world. The countries to be traversed were the richest and most ancient in the world, and might again become the granaries of Europe, and not only supply us with wheat, but with cotton of

42 APPENDIX B.

excellent quality, and his gallant friend, General Chesney, who

had recently visited these regions, would tell them that there

were hundreds of thousands of camel-loads of this valuable

commodity rotting on the ground for want of the means of

transport. Sir W. F. Williams, of Kars, would tell them there was no difficulty in dealing with the Arabs, if they were fairly treated. The Lord Mayor, who had had intimate commercial relations with the East, and Mr. Lynch, of Bagdad, who had for many years traded with the Arabs, would speak to the

honesty and trustworthiness of the Arab. As to physical dif¬

ficulty there was none—the line had been surveyed and proved to be singularly easy. Her Majesty's Government had given their powerful influence and support in obtaining the firman and concession. They had placed Her Majesty's ship, Stromboli, at the disposal of General Chesney and Sir John M'Neill, and the engineering staff; and Lord Stratford de Bedcliffe had lent his powerful advocacy with the Porte. He (Mr. Andrew) was

deeply grateful for the assistance thus far afforded them; but

they had now arrived at that point when something more was

absolutely necessary, and that was the pecuniary support of Government to enable the capital to be raised for the pro¬ secution of the work. It was not a matter for private indi¬ viduals to undertake. If they wanted an investment for their

funds, they would certainly not choose Turkish Arabia. The establishment of a steam route by the Euphrates had been

placed before the public and the Government. Many Chambers of Commerce and other influential associations had already me¬ morialised the Government in favour of granting pecuniary aid; and it was believed the country was anxious that this route should be carried out by Englishmen, and it now rested with the Government to say whether they concurred in the im¬

portance of the work, and if so, whether they would be pre¬ pared to recommend such an amount of pecuniary assistance, whether by guarantee or otherwise, as would enable this, the most important undertaking ever submitted to their consider¬ ation, to be proceeded with.

APPENDIX B. 43

Sir W. F. Williams, of Kars, stated that during his long residence amongst the Arabs he experienced no difficulty in

dealing with them, or in procuring, during his excavations in

Susa, any number of workmen he might require; and he also

pointed out the great importance of the proposed harbour of

Seleucia, as there was not a single good harbour on the Syrian coast.

Count Strylecki briefly addressed his lordship on the support of successive Turkish Governments to the undertaking, viewing it as of incalculable political importance to England in relation to her Indian possessions.

Mr. Finlay, M.P., speaking from personal acquaintance with the country to be traversed, dwelt on the great capacity for

development, if only the means of transport were afforded. General Chesney gave full explanations regarding the harbour,

as to its exact position, capacity, &c. Sir Justin Sheil, late ambassador in Persia, dwelt on the

political importance of the line, and said that it would shorten the distance to Kurrachee, the European port of India, by 1,400 miles.

The Lord Mayor (Mr. Alderman Finnis) had had, through his agents, extensive commercial transactions with the Arabs, and had found them most reliable and honest; and he con¬ sidered they were as much alive to their own interests as any other race, and would be in favour of the railway, because it would at once give them employment and afford them an outlet for their products.

Mr. Lynch, of Bagdad, from long residence, fully confirmed his lordship's views.

Mr. Horsfall, M.P., assured his lordship that the undertaking was viewed with great interest in the manufacturing districts

generally, and placed in his lordship's hands a memorial from the Chamber of Commerce of Liverpool, praying that the Govern¬ ment would extend the necessary pecuniary aid to the Eu¬

phrates Valley Bailway Company.

44 APPENDIX B.

Lord Palmerston assured the deputation that the Government were fully alive to the great importance of the Euphrates route, that they had supported, and would continue to support it; but he could not give an opinion as to giving the guarantee on the

capital without consulting his colleagues. He requested Mr. Andrew to put his proposition in writing, and said it should have a proper amount of consideration, and that Government would be happy to aid it, if in their power.

Mr. Andrew having thanked his lordship for the courteous

reception accorded them, the deputation withdrew, much gra¬ tified by the manner in which they had been received.*

* Reprinted from The Times and Morning Herald, of the 23rd June, 1857.

APPENDIX C.

Letter from W. P. Andrew, Esq., to the Right Hon.

Viscount Palmerston, K.G.

London, June 30, 1857.

My Lord,—In compliance with the desire expressed by your Lordship, when the deputation waited upon you on the 22nd instant, in favour of a guaranteed rate of interest being granted by Her Majesty's Government on a portion of the capital of the

Euphrates Valley Bailway Company, that the proposition should be submitted in writing, I have now the honour to state for

your Lordship's consideration that the pecuniary support of Government is sought on the following grounds.

2. The establishment of a railway from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf would have the effect of reducing the dis¬ tance between this country and India by upwards of 1000 miles and the time to about fourteen days, or about half the period now occupied.

3. It would be the means of consolidating the power of the Sultan in his Asiatic dominions.

4. By means of this railway, taken in conjunction with the

system of steam transit now being established along the valley of the Indus from Lahore to the sea at Kurrachee,"* the large force stationed in the Punjaub would be rendered of incalcu-

* Kurrach.ee is not only the port of the Indus and Central Asia, but from its geographical position and other advantages, appears destined to become, if not the future metropolis of India, must certainly the second city, and the European port of that Empire.

46 APPENDIX C

lable importance by steamers uniting the line of the Indus with that of the Euphrates, for in that case any hostile force advancing towards the Indus would not only be met on the line of that river, but would be threatened along the sea-board of the Persian Gulf and the line of the Euphrates in flank and rear.

5. The Indus and the Euphrates thus united, the dangerous isolation of Persia would be at an end, and a Bussiau invasion of India would cease even to be speculated upon.

6. The first section of the line, from Seleucia to the Eu¬

phrates, has been surveyed by Major-General Chesney and Sir John Macneill, with an engineering staff, and has been reported as of easy construction. Copies of the reports of these able and scientific gentlemen are annexed for your lordship's infor¬ mation.

7. The Turkish government undertake to commence simul¬

taneously with the railway the construction of a harbour at the mouth of the Orontes at the proposed terminus of the railway.

8. The harbour has been surveyed by Sir John Macneill, with the assistance of the officers of Her Majesty's ship " Strom- boli." Plans of the proposed works have been already sub¬ mitted to the First Lord of the Admiralty, and they are now forwarded for your Lordship's inspection.

9. There being no harbour on the coast of Syria, better than the open roadsteads of Beyrout, Jaffa, Tripoli, and Acre, or the pestilential harbour of Alexandretta, the importance of

having a safe and commodious harbour will be apparent for

political as well as commercial purposes. 10. This harbour, connected by means of the railway with

Bussorah at the head of the Persian Gulf, would give to Eng¬ land the first strategical position in the world.

11. The resources of England being made promptly available

on any emergency in the East, Chatham and Southampton would become the basis of operations instead of Kurrachee or

Bombay, and would enable this country to anticipate or repel,

APPENDIX C. 47

whether in Europe or Asia, any attack with the rapidity and

advantages of an irresistible force. 12. On an emergency in India, troops from England could

be landed at Kurrachee in three weeks, and in another week at

Lahore, by steam transit. 13. The Euphrates Valley Bailway, in addition to its political

advantages, would powerfully promote the commerce and civili¬ sation of the world at large, and that the commercial and manu¬

facturing communities concur in these sentiments has been shown by the addresses lately submitted to your Lordship. They are quite alive to the importance of obtaining cotton, wool, sugar, indigo, and other products from India and Mesopo¬ tamia, and the production, being effected by free labour, would of necessity tend to the extinction of slavery.

1"4. Through the zealous exertions of Major-General Chesney, aided by the advice and powerful support of Viscount Stratford de Bedcliffe, a concession was granted by the Turkish Govern¬ ment in the early part of this year, guaranteeing a minimum rate

of interest of 6 per cent, on the capital required for the first

section from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, besides afford¬

ing other privileges. 15. But as these terms, from the state of the money-market

and other causes, have neither been, nor are likely to be, suffi¬

ciently attractive to induce the British capitalist to embark his

money in a distant enterprise, the deputation, of which I had the

honour of being a member, waited upon your Lordship with the view of impressing upon your attention the absolute necessity of the pecuniary support of Her Majesty's Government being extended to the undertaking, in the event of the Government

concurring in the opinion expressed by the deputation, that the

Euphrates Valley Bailway was a work of great national im¬

portance. 16. It was most satisfactory to the deputation to have from

your Lordship the assurance that Her Majesty's Government

entirely concurred with the deputation as to the great importance

48 APPENDIX C.

to this country of connecting England and India by the Euphrates Valley route, and that it would continue to receive the counte¬ nance and furtherance of Government.

17. The financial support required from Her Majesty's Government is a counter guarantee of 5 per cent, for twenty- five years, or 4>\ per cent, for fifty years, on the capital of

£1,400,000 for the first section. The responsibility incurred

by the Government in granting this assistance would, it is believed, be merely nominal, and could only accrue in the event of two contingencies—the railway not paying a moderate divi¬

dend, and the Turkish Government failing to fulfill its part of the contract.

18. Only under the above circumstances could Her Majesty's Government be called upon to make any contribution, and it will be seen by reference to Sir J. Macneill's Beport, that the

existing traffic upon that portion of the route of the proposed railway is sufficient in his judgment, to yield a dividend of 8 per cent, on the capital required.

19. The East India Company might fairly be expected to share the responsibility of the counter guarantee, in the same

way as they have already contributed to the subsidy to the

European and Indian Junction Telegraph Company, as the establishment of the proposed route appears to be of vital im¬

portance for securing the good government and peaceable pos¬ session of India.

20. The experienced and distinguished gentlemen with whom I had the honour of being associated in waiting upon your Lord¬

ship, on the 22nd instant, are well aware that the question of the Government guaranteeing interest on an industrial under¬ taking is not free from difficulty, and this difficulty would be increased if, on the present occasion, the granting of the guarantee might hereafter be quoted as a precedent for similar demands.

21. The pecuniary support of Government is on the present occasion sought, not on industrial or commercial considerations,

APPENDIX C. 49

but on account of the political importance of the railway to the

empire at large; and it is to be remembered that whatever assistance the Government may render to the Euphrates Valley Bailway, can never be quoted as a precedent for the furtherance of any similar undertaking, for no similar undertaking can pos¬ sibly be brought forward, as the route proposed is at once the shortest and the easiest between England and India, the whole

length of the valley of the Euphrates is so free from impedi¬ ment, that it would seem as if Providence had specially ordained it to be the great highway of nations between the East and the West.

22. I beg to call your Lordship's attention to the accom¬

panying memorandum by Sir Justin Sheil, on the political advantages that might fairly be expected to accrue to England by the proposed Euphrates Valley Bailway being in the hands of Englishmen, and to the annexed report of the evidence in the committee of the House of Commons on the European and Indian Junction Telegraph Company, to the effect that no

danger is to be apprehended to the construction of either a

telegraph or a railway from the Arabs on the banks of the

Euphrates and Tigris. 23. In confiding to the consideration of Her Majesty's

Government what is believed to be the most important work, viewed in all its bearings, that was ever submitted to any Government, I must state the general conviction that the

Euphrates route will most assuredly pass into other hands if

England declines the task. 24. I beg again to express, on behalf of the deputation,

their grateful sense of your Lordship's consideration and

courtesy. I have the honour, &c.

W. P. ANDBEW, Chairman.

The Bight Hon. Viscount Palmerston, K.G.

APPENDIX D.

EUPHBATES VALLEY BAILWAY.

Report of the Select Committee* of the House of Commons, dated 22nd July, 1872.

The Select Committee appointed to Examine and Beport upon the whole subject of Bailway Communication be¬ tween the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Persian

Gulf, have considered the matters to them referred, and have agreed to the following Beport:—

Your Committee have to report that, in compliance with the directions of your Honourable House, they have taken evidence

upon the whole subject of railway communication between the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Persian Gulf.

They find that at the present time no such communication exists, nor is any plan for establishing it in course of execution, though it has been stated to them that the Turkish Government has it in contemplation to extend the line of railway now in course of construction from Scutari towards Bagdad, thereby

* The Committee was composed of the following members:—Sir Stafford Northcote, Bart.; Viscount Sandon; Sir George Jenkinson, Bart.; Hon. Fred. Walpole; Mr. Eastwick; Mr. Baillie Cochrane; Mr. Laird; Mr. Grant Duff; Hon. Arthur Kinnaird ; Mr. Brassey; Sir Charles Wingfield ; Mr. Henry Eobert Brand ; Mr. M'Arthur; Mr. Dyce Nicol; Mr. Kirkman Hodgson.

APPENDIX D. 51

connecting Constantinople and the Black Sea with the Valley of the Tigris, whence the line might at a future time be con¬ tinued to the Persian Gulf. The Bussian system of railways is

nearly completed as far as Tiflis, and may shortly be expected to reach Beched on the Busso-Persian frontier. It is surmised that this system also might at a future time be extended to the

Gulf, which would thus be brought into communication with the Black Sea at Poti. This is, however, as yet mere matter of

speculation. Your Committee have also heard some evidence as to the

desirableness of establishing railway communication between

Trebizond, or some other port on the Black Sea, and the head of the Persian Gulf; but it does not appear to them likely that such a line would be undertaken as an independent speculation; while they are of opinion that no line starting from the Black Sea would be of sufficient value to English interests to make it worth their while to go deeply into the question from an English point of view. It has seemed to them, therefore, that they would most properly discharge their functions by confining their attention to the question of establishing a route to the Persian Gulf from some port on the Mediterranean, to which British ships could at all times have easy and uncontrolled

access, and which would be likely to be available, whenever

required, for the transmission of troops and mails, as well as

passengers and goods, to India.

Upon this point they have not only taken the evidence of a number of official and non-official witnesses, but have also ob¬

tained, through the kindness of the Secretary of State for

Foreign Affairs, a series of reports from certain of Her Majesty's consuls, who were considered by his lordship to be the best

qualified to furnish valuable information on the subject. These

reports, which are highly interesting, will be found in the

Appendix. The evidence which your Committee have taken, and to which

much more might have been added, has satisfied them that there

52 APPENDIX D.

is no insuperable obstacle in the way of the construction of a

railway from some suitable port in the Mediterranean to some other suitable port at or near the head of the Persian Gulf; that there is more than one port which might be selected at either end of the line; that there are several practicable routes ; that there would be no difficulty in procuring the necessary supply of labour and of materials for constructing a railway; and that there need be no apprehension of its being exposed to injury by natives, either during the process of its construction or after it shall have been completed. They find, too, that there is reason to expect the sanction, if not the active concurrence, of the Turkish Government in any well-conceived project that may be

presented to them. Of the various routes which have been discussed before your

Committee, the following appear to be the most important:— 1st. Aline starting from Alexandretta (Scanderoon), or

from Suedia, near the mouth of the Orontes, passing through Aleppo to the Euphrates, at or near Jaber Castle, and thence carried down the right bank of the river to Grane (Koweyt), on the western side of the Persian Gulf.

2nd. A line starting from one of the same points, cross¬ ing the Euphrates at Belis, passing down the left bank of the river, or the right bank of the Tigris, to a point nearly opposite Bagdad, recrossing the Euphrates and proceeding to Grane.

3rd. A line starting as before, crossing the Euphrates at Bir, thence going round to Orfah and Diyarbekir, and

following the right bank of the Tigris to Bagdad, whence it would follow route No. 2.

4th. A line somewhat like the last mentioned, but

following the left instead of the right bank of the Tigris. 5. A line starting from Tripoli, and proceeding across

the desert, by way of Damascus and Palmyra, to the Euphrates, whence it might follow either of the Euphrates routes.

APPENDIX D. 53

Several witnesses have discussed the relative advantages of the various termini, both on the Mediterranean and on the Persian Gulf; the principal question with regard to the former*

being, whether Alexandretta or Suedia should be preferred; while with regard to the latter, there have not only been

questions between different ports, such as Bussorah, Moham-

merah, Core Abdullah, Grane, and Bushire; but the further

question, whether the line should not be carried along the whole northern shore of the Gulf, so as to establish direct communica¬ tion with the Indian railway system at Kurrachee.

The principal argument in favour of Alexandretta is, that it

possesses a fine natural harbour. The objections taken to it

are, first, that it is an unhealthy place; and secondly, that a

railway starting from it would have to be carried across more difficult country than would be encountered on a line from Suedia up the valley of the Orontes. Suedia, it is said, is far more healthy than Alexandretta; but, on the other hand, there is no port there, and should it be chosen as the terminus, great expense must be incurred in making one. The advocates of Alexandretta contend that its unhealthiness even at present is much exaggerated; and further, that a much less expenditure than would be required to make a port of Suedia would be sufficient to drain the marshes, which are the principal cause of the insalubrity of Alexandretta. It has also been shown by recent engineering evidence that there would be no difficulty which could not be readily overcome in the line between Alex¬

andretta and Aleppo, and that it would be even preferable to the line of the Orontes. Your Committee have not the means of forming a decided judgment on these controverted points, and are of opinion that should a railway be undertaken it would be desirable that the relative advantages of these two Mediter¬ ranean termini should be carefully investigated by a competent commission.

With regard to the third port which has been mentioned, namely, Tripoli, your Committee would refer to the evidence

54 APPENDIX D.

given in its favour by Captain Burton, which is not, however, supported by that of the other witnesses whom they have examined. So far as the information they have obtained goes, they are disposed to prefer Alexandretta to Tripoli as the point of departure, even for a line down the right bank of the Eu¬

phrates ; while, should a line down the Tigris be preferred, or should it be thought desirable to connect the new line with the

projected Turkish system, there can be no doubt of the supe¬ riority of the former terminus.

As regards the terminus on the Persian Gulf, your Committee are decidedly of opinion that it would be better to carry the line to some point where it might be brought into communica¬ tion with the steam-vessels which are now under Government subvention to carry the mails, and which ply from the Indian

ports to Bussorah, than to continue it along the coast to Kur¬ rachee by a very expensive and probably unremunerative route. Of the particular ports which have been mentioned, they are inclined to prefer the port of Grane; but upon this point, as well as upon the selection of a port on the Mediterranean, they think that a local inquiry, conducted by competent scientific authorities, with a special reference to the purpose in view, would be desirable.

Passing from the question of the termini to that of the route itself, your Committee find that the arguments in favour of, and against, the Euphrates and the Tigris routes respectively, may be thus stated:—

The Euphrates route is considerably the shorter, would be the cheaper to make; and, assuming an equal rate of speed, would afford the quicker passage for persons, troops, or mails passing between England and India. The Tigris route might attract the larger amount of traffic, and would connect itself better with the projected Turkish system.

Upon the whole, your Committee are of opinion that, if the enterprise were to be regarded simply as one affecting British interests, it would be the wisest course to adopt the shortest

APPENDIX D. 55

and most direct line not open to very obvious objections, and that one of the two routes by the way of the Euphrates should be preferred, leaving it for those who are interested in the im¬

provement of the communications with the towns on the Tigris, or further east, to connect those towns with the main line by one or more branch railways, and by the use of the water com¬ munication which exists between the two rivers. But if other considerations are to be taken into account, and if the co¬

operation of the Turkish Government is to be sought in the construction of a railway, it may well happen that that Govern¬ ment may see reason to prefer the route by way of the Tigris; and any such preference ought to be a material element in the determination of the question.

Your Committee, therefore, having arrived at the conclusion that there is no probability of any line being constructed by unassisted private enterprise, have now to consider the following question:—

Is it worth the while of England to undertake the

making of a line in conjunction with Turkey; and is there, in that case, a probability that a practical arrangement can be made

There can be no doubt that if the Government of England were to give its support, in the form of an adequate guarantee, the Turkish Government would give its general countenance to the undertaking, whatever might be the route that was chosen. It is the opinion of many very competent witnesses that ib would be worth the while of this country to give such a guaran¬ tee, even though it should involve a considerable pecuniary sacrifice. Others are of a different opinion; and, though ad¬

mitting that England would derive certain advantages from the

opening of a railway through Mesopotamia, do not consider that those advantages would be of sufficient importance to justify a serious national expenditure.

Among the witnesses whose evidence tends most strongly to

support the policy of incurring the cost or risk of a national

56 APPENDIX D.

guarantee, your Committee may mention Viscount Stratford de

Bedcliffe, Lord Strathnairn, Sir H. Bartle Frere, Sir Donald

Macleod, Mr. Laing, Colonel Sir H. Green, Colonel Malcolm

Green, Captain Tyler, B.E., Mr. W. Gifford Palgrave, &ci

Among those who suggest considerations tending to throw doubt on the propriety of such an expenditure, your Committee would call attention to the evidence of Lord Sandhurst, Sir H.

Bawlinson, Major Champain, &c. Your Committee have had laid before them a Despatch from

the Government of India, expressing an earnest desire that it

may be found practicable to carry out the project, which, it is

observed, would be of considerable, but not of paramount, im¬

portance to the interest of that country. They infer from it that the Indian Government, while it would be prepared to avail itself of the railway if made, and of course to pay for the ser¬ vices it might require, would object to join in any direct or indirect expenditure for the purpose of obtaining its con¬ struction.

Your Committee have had under their notice an important semi-official correspondence, which has been laid before them by Sir George Jenkinson, a Member of the Committee, explanatory of the views of the Turkish Government upon the question. This correspondence will be found at Question 813, in the Evidence of 1871, and at Question 709 in that of 1872; but

your Committee think it desirable, for the purpose of putting it in a convenient form before your Honourable House, to incor¬

porate it in this Beport as follows :—

" 39, Eaton Place, " 16 February, 1870.

" Your Excellency,— " Having well considered the conversations we have

had together respecting a railway from Alexandretta to Aleppo, and from Aleppo to Bagdad and Bussorah, at the head of the Persian Gulf, I now, before taking any step in the House of

APPENDIX D. 57

Commons with reference to it, wish you to inform me positively whether your Government consents to the construction of such

"railway on its own account, under the direction and working control of a mixed committee, to be appointed jointly by the

English and Turkish Governments, and upon the following con¬ ditions :—

" 1. The funds to be raised by means of an Ottoman Loan, the interest of which to be counter-guaranteed by England at the rate of 4 per cent, per annum and 1 per cent, for a sinking fund.

" 2. The proceeds of such loan, when raised, to be deposited in the Bank of England in the names of the mixed committee as before defined, and to be applied by them exclusively for the construction of the railway, and the provision of the necessary rolling stock, and for no other purpose.

" 3. All the land necessary for the railway, and for all the works in connection therewith, to be provided free by the Turkish Government.

114. In order to secure with regularity and certainty the pay¬ ment of the interest upon the loan, the following stipulations to be agreed upon and enforced:

"(1st.) The net income proceeds of the working of the

railway when made, wholly or in part of it, to be paid into the Bank of England, and applied exclusively to the pay¬ ment of the interest and the sinking fund.

"(2nd.) The customs duties and port charges of the ports of Alexandretta and Bussorah, as well as certain revenues and other resources of the provinces through which the

railway may pass, to be assigned by the Turkish Govern¬ ment to the mixed committee as a security for the pay¬ ment of the interest of the loan, and of the sinking fund.

"5. The Turkish Government to guarantee to England the

privilege of the conveyance of troops at all times by the railway to and from this country, and any of her Majesty's Eastern pos¬ sessions, and at a rate not exceeding that vhich will be paid for the conveyance of troops belonging to the Ottoman Empire, and

58 APPENDIX D.

upon such other conditions and regulations as shall be settled and agreed upon by a convention between the English Govern¬ ment and the Sublime Porte.

" 6. The transport, free of any charge, at all times by the rail¬

way of all English mails to and from this country, and any of Her Majesty's Eastern possessions.

" 7. Until the extinction of the loan by repayment of the

principal and interest, the English Government, and the bond¬ holders as represented by the committee, to have an absolute

mortgage upon the railway, and land, and works. In request¬ ing a reply from your Excellency to this communication, I hope I may receive your authority to make such use of it as the fur¬ therance of the object in view may render necessary.

" Believe me, &c,

(Signed) "GEOBGE JENKINSON." " His Excellency Musurus Pacha,

Ambassador of the Sublime Porte."

" Imperial Ottoman Embassy, " 12 March, 1870.

"My Dear Sir George, " Having communicated to my Government the contents

of your letter of the 16th ultimo, respecting the project of a rail¬

way from Alexandretta to Aleppo, and from Aleppo to Bagdad and Bussorah, I hasten to inform you that after mature consi¬

deration, the Sublime Porte has authorised me to declare to

you that they accept and undertake to carry out all the condi¬ tions contained in your letter above referred to. In communi¬

cating to you this decision of the Imperial Government, I do not hesitate to give you, according to your request, full authority to make of this letter such use as you may think necessary.

" Believe me, &c,

(Signed) «MUSURUS."

APPENDIX D. 59

"Imperial Ottomvn Embassy, "London, 7 August, 1871.

" Dear Sir George, " I can only think of one point which admits of any

explanation, and that is with regard to the preference which I have shown for a railway between Alexandretta and Bussorah, through Aleppo; you are well aware that I should like to see constructed a railway from Constantinople to Bussorah, and the Imperial Government would readily grant the same terms for making it: but as I fear this is more than can be accomplished at present, I content myself with the line from the Mediterranean for the Persian Gulf; whether the valley of the Euphrates or Tigris be preferred, is immaterial for me; but it seems that by the former, which has been already surveyed, the railway would be the shortest and the easiest to be made, in consequence of the flatness of the country, and therefore the cheapest. So that you see, it is not the conditions of the Turkish Govern¬ ment which are wanting to any other line, but rather the

cheapness and natural advantages offered by the Euphrates Valley route, especially to England, whose assistance is

requisite."

It will appear from this correspondence, and from the evi¬ dence of Sir G. Jenkinson (see particularly Q. 813 of 1871), that the Turkish Government would be disposed to entertain

favourably any proposal which Her Majesty's Government might make for the construction of a railway under the control of a mixed committee, appointed jointly by the two Governments, with funds to be raised by a loan contracted by the Turkish

Government, and partially guaranteed by the Government of

England. Your Committee are decidedly of opinion that, if any steps

are to be taken towards the construction of a line, the best course will be for Her Majesty's Government to place them¬ selves in communication with the Government of Turkey, with

60 APPENDIX D.

a view to some arrangement of the nature above described; and that the two Governments should jointly undertake a survey, for the purpose of deciding upon the precise route to be

adopted. Your Committee have not obtained full information as to the

cost of any of the lines which have been proposed; but they think it probable that the sum of £10,000,000 would be amply sufficient to cover the expense of the shortest route, at all events.

What then are the advantages which the country might expect to gain from this possible expenditure? They are

principally those to be derived from the more rapid trans¬ mission of mails, and from the possession of an alternative and more rapid route for the conveyance of troops; and from the

great commercial advantages, both to India and England, which the opening up of the route would confer.

The amount of time that might be saved in the transmission of mails from England to Bombay is variously estimated by different witnesses, some placing it at four days, others as high as seven or eight days; but it must of course materially depend upon, first, the length of the railway, and secondly, the rate of

speed at which the trains can travel, which again depends partly upon the gauge to be adopted, and thus the question is resolved into one of cost. Captain Tyler, B.E., who has gone carefully into the question, states the saving of distance by the Euphrates route from London via Brindisi and Scanderoon to Bombay, as

compared with that via Brindisi, Alexandria, and Suez, at

723 miles, and estimates the saving of time at 92 hours. The

adoption of Kurrachee as the point of debarkation instead of

Bombay, would of course materially enhance the saving, and

during the season of the monsoon the gain would be increased

by avoiding the Indian Ocean. With regard to the conveyance of troops, your Committee

have taken the opinions of several highly competent witnesses, Lords Strathnairn and Sandhurst, successively Commanders-in-

APPENDIX D. 61

Chief in India, Sir Henry Bawlinson, Sir Bartle Frerc, and others. As respects the comparative advantages of the proposed railway route and the route by the Suez Canal for the purpose of the ordinary reliefs, some difference of opinion prevails. The

advantage of gaining some days in point of time is counter¬

balanced, in the opinion of some witnesses, by that of being able to send the men from the point of departure to that of destination without transhipment: Lord Sandhurst and Sir

Henry Bawlinson prefer the Suez route on this ground. On the other hand, Lord Strathnairn and Colonel Sir Henry Green consider that in the winter the shorter route would be the

preferable one. But nearly all the witnesses concur as to the

importance of having a second or alternative route available in case of the first being impeded, or in case of an emergency arising, which might call for the rapid dispatch of troops, especially if they were wanted in the north-west of India.

The importance of the proposed route by way of the Persian Gulf would of course be materially enhanced, especially as

regards the conveyance of troops, by the completion of the works now in progress at the harbour of Kurrachee, and of the Indus Valley, and the Lahore and Peshawur Bailways. Your Committee have therefore taken the evidence of Mr. Thornton, the Secretary to the Public Works Department at the India

Office, and of Mr. Parkes, the consulting engineer to the Secre¬

tary of State for India for the harbour at Kurrachee, who have

spoken most favourably of the works now in progress there. Your Committee gather from the evidence of these gentlemen that the harbour, which is already available for the landing of

troops and mails, will in the course of two more years be capable of receiving the large Indian troop-ships. They arc not avrare of the period within which the system of railways connecting Kurrachee with Peshawur may be expected to be completed; but whenever this shall have been done, there can be no doubt that a route by way of the Persian Gulf and Kurrachee will afford means of communication between England and the Pun-

E

62 APPENDIX D.

jaub, and north-west frontier of British India, superior to those afforded by the way of Suez and Bombay.

Speaking generally, your Committee are of opinion that the two routes, by the Bed Sea and by the Persian Gulf, might be maintained and used simultaneously; that at certain seasons and for certain purposes the advantage would lie with the one, and at other seasons and for other purposes it would lie with the other; that it may fairly be expected that in process of time traffic enough for the support of both would develope itself, but that this result must not be expected too soon; that the political and commercial advantages of establishing a second route would at any time be considerable, and might, under possible circum¬

stances, be exceedingly great; and that it would be worth the while of the English Government to make an effort to secure

them, considering the moderate pecuniary risk which they would incur. They believe that this may best be done by opening communications with the Government of Turkey in the sense indicated by the semi-official correspondence to which they have

already drawn attention.

July 22nd, 1872.

LONDON: WM. 11. ALUN & CO., PKINTEBS, 13, WATEBLOO P1ACE, S W.

I