The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-17 00:00:00

c). I 6,t,20.

LONDON and WESTMINSTER BANK.
The Directors hereby give notice, that a DIVIDEND of
THREE PER CENT. upon the paid-up, capital of the ComPanY.
being after the rate of 6/. per cent. per annum, will be -PA.TABLE
on and after the 10th of September next, at the Bank. Lothbury,
without deduction for income-tax, which will be paid by the Bank.
By order of the Board,
JAMES WILLIAM GILBART, General Manager.
Lothbury, July 30, 1846.
The Transfer-Books will be closed from the 18th of August to the
10th of September.

ways into India to any extent that private enterprise might
be found willing to embark capital upon; subject, however,
to whatever equitable conditions and regulations the Govern-
ment might think proper to require for the promotion of
their own and the general interests of the country at large;
at the 'same time having due regard to that of the parties en-
gaged in the enterprise.
7.—As, however; She Honourable Court of Directors have,
in the fourth paragraph of their minute, dated 7th May, 1845,
noted for the instruction of this committee, that one of its
objects will be "to suggest some feasible. line, of moderate
length, as an experiment for railroad communication in In
' we beg to suggest that there is a line in the north-west
nbo linee
believe
lacke vbee
provinces which would answer admirably as an experimental
tatono
BarrackporeCa w
experimentalnp ore; bwuotuolnidfe thisone.
nwd e
la
eofro;:exinAte,ilasarevauebttaaasd
of British capitai;;:!s, both aole and willing to Undertake its
immediate construction.
th
B.—Having thus expressed our opinion, in general, upon
;iris, viz.,
the subject of introducing railways into India, we will pro-
ceed to describe the route we would recommend, from per-
sonal examination of the country, for a line of railway, con-
necting Calcutta with Mirzapore, and from thence to Delhi
and the north- west frontier.
9.-0 a the line from Calcutta to the north-west provinces,
first impressions would lead to the supposition that the
proper direction for a line of railway, connecting Calcutta
with the north-west provinces, passing through Mirzapore,
would be to eroes the river Hoogly, at Calcutta, and proceed
in the direction of Bankoora; this course would take the rail-
way across a district of country not only subject to periodical
inundations that are among the greatest in the lower pro-
vinces of Bengal, but, in the event of the breaching of the
bonds of the Dumoordur and o'her rivers that it would have
to cross (as was the case during the last rainy season), would
be subject to the action of powerful torrents acting in-
juriou4y, if not destructively., upon the works of any rail-
way. These considerations led to an examination of the
country further to the northward, which, commencing at
-Calcutta, was extended along the left or east bank of the
Hoogly past Barrackpore, and crossing the river a little
below Plbandernagere, at right angles to its stream. The
line would then leave Chinsura and Hoogly on the right,
and cross the trunk road to Benares, near to Mucklumpore,
and from thence, nearly in a straight line, to Burdwan ; at
this place it would cross the Bauka nullah, and be continued
nearly parallel to the trunk road, and enter upon the hind
that rises above the general level of the periodical inun-
dation.
_ _ _

ATIONAL LOAN FUND LIFE ASSUR•
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also the option of selecting benefits, and the conversion of his in-
terests to meet other conveniences or necessity.
AsSurances for' terms of years are granted on the lowest possible
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DIVISION OF PROFITS.
The remarkable success anti increasing prosperity of the Society
has e7tahled the Directors, at the last annual investigation, to declare
a fourth bonus, varying from 35 to 85 per cent. on the premiums paid
on each Policy effected on the Profit scale.

to.—The object in making this apparent detour is, that by
flanking the Durnoordur we should in part escape the water
that flows towards the sea in the direction of that large
river, but not be wholly free from its effects: and wherever
an occurrence should hereafter take place similar to what
took place during the late inundations (viz., the breaching of
the bunds of the river), a considerable amount of damage
would arise to the works of the railway.
11.—So long as the water is confined within the river
banks, no material injury would arise to the works of the
railway simply from the submersion of the country during
the rains ; but upon the accident before named, the body
and rush of water was so great as entirely to undermine and
destroy a bridge near Dulla Bazar, and to threaten destruc-
tion to the bridge over the Banka nullah at Burdwan, by
which nullah the surplus waters, in a great degree, found
their vent towards the river Hoogly.
12.—1 n addition to the foregoing considerations, it is pos.•
sible that hereafter it may be considered advisable to aban-
don the preservation of the river bunds, and to allow the
waters during the rainy season to overflow the surrounding
country, in the expectation that the sedimentary matter
that is now raising the bed of the river may overspread the
country, and tend to raise the general level (this has
been hinted to us as a suggestion that has been made,
but upon which we must be understood to give no opinion):
such a procedure would have an effect upon the railway
works that it is difficult to foresee or provide for, except, in
all probability, by the construction of a larger quantity of
viaduct for the free passage of the waters than would other-
wise be necessary, and thus increase the cost and mainte-
nance of the works.
13.—The above considerations and information obtained
from Lieutenant-Colonel Forbes, Captain Anderson, &c , led
to an examination of the country still further to the north-
ward, from which it appears that a very advantageous line of
country for a railway exists on the left bank of the Hooey,
and crosses that river at a short distance below where it is
first formed (or takes that name) by the junction of the
Bhagiruttee and Idinghee at Nuddea, from which crossing it
would proceed due west, and pass about 10 miles to the north
of Burdwan, near to a place called Balkesbun.
14.—This line would quit Calcutta at its northern extre-
mity, skirt the gun-foundry at Cossipore, and take a direct
line northwards nearly parallel to the Barrackpore road, which
it would cross at the bend near Barrackpore. Hereabouts a
station for the accommodation of that district might be ad-
vantageously established. From thence it might follow the
general direction of the river, to accommodate Chinsura and
Hoogly, &c., and onward by a straight course to Goonpulla,
on the road between Barrasut and Ranaghat.
15.—As regards simply the construction of a railway, it
might, with equal advantage to the works, be constructed
in a straight line from Calcutta to Goonpulla, and thus, by
avoiding Barrackpore, &c., would be a little shorter in dis-
tance than by that route; but it appears preferable to adopt
the former line for the accommodation of that and the
neighbouring localities of Serampore, Chandernagore, Chin-
sura, Hoogly, &c., which would then more than ever become
the favourite resort of the citizens of Calcutta, and be a
source of remuneration to the railway itself.
16.—From Goonpulla the line would take nearly a straight
line fcrwards Ranagbat, near which it would cross the Ala -
tabhanga river, and from thence proceed almost parallel to
the road leading to Kishnagur, but gradually trending to the
called north-west, and cross the road from Kishnagur to Santipore,
near to a place called Dignagur. It would then continue to
curve
i until it
a,which crossed
cht the
sHoogly,oti the nearJ
utnocatili
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the
efaicdtionrgyz
bee an.] Bhageruttee, as before described.
17.—After crossing the river, the railway would be carried
in nearly a straight line past Singalee, Baljoree, and Balki-
shure, which is the place before alluded to as ten miles north
of Burdwan.

18.—The railway, if constructed by Ranaghat and Suddea,
would be about thirty miles longer than by ta4ing it in the
direction of Hoogly and the trunk road to Burdwan, which
extra eistance, although it would tell largely upon a short
line of railway, becomes of less importance when it forms
part of a railway of so great an extent as the one under dis-
cussion (namely, to the northwest provinces, about 900
miles in length); besides which, it will pass through and
accom•nodate a rich district of country, in addition to afford-
ing the same amount of accommodation to the Burdwan
district, and in all probability would hereafter form a trunk
from which branch railways will be made to those parts of
India north and north-east of Calcutta.

19.-1 n furtherance of this object, we extended our exa-
mination in November last to the country north of Kishenu-
gur, through Berhampore and Moorshedatml to Bhagwan-
gola, with a view to a branch railway from Kislmagur to
those places; and although the country is highly favourable
for such a project, yet the great mart at Bbagwangola is of
so unfixed a character, from the extensive and continued
charging of the bed of the Ganges, that unless its continua-
tion northward and eastward be considered desirable, it
would appear that a branch to Bhagwangola, simply to
accommodate the trade that now passes along the Gauges to
Calcutta by the Sanderbunds route, will not be found to
answer us a commercial speculation; a permanent point,
however, on the banks of the Ganges, exists at or near
Rajmhal, which might be suitable to receive the great traffic
of the river, and be connEcted with the trunk line a little
northward of Burdwan, and be found advantageous to the
general trade of the country, in like manner as the proposed
canal of Lieutenant-Colonel Forbes would certainly have
done, if that important work had been carried into execu-
tion. Such a branch railway would in no point be removed
very far to the westward of the projected line of the canal in
question.
20.—Also, as regards the comparative cost of the works on
the above lines, we consider it would be less, mile for mile,
on the Ranaghat line than on either of the others, that is in-
dependent of the great bridge that must cross the Hoogly in
either case, the cost of which would be less the higher up the
stream it is constructed.
21.—The chief objection that appears to the above line is
the fact that it involves the crossing of the Matabhanga
river, near Ranaghat, in addition to that of the river Hoogly,
which river must be crossed, at any rate, in order to bring
the railway into Calcutta, unless it be resolved to terminate
it at Howra, on the opposite side of the river to Calcutta,
which would, at least, be very inconvenient for business,
even supposing the country between that and Burdwan was
as suitable for the construction of a railway, and offered as
much general accommodation to the country, as the line
further to the northward. Besides, the expense of construct-
ing a bridge over the Hoogly, at Calcutta, would be greater
than a similar crossing sixty miles higher up the stream.
22.—With a view to the saving, if possible, of the extra
bridge over the Matabhanga, which is a considerable river,
we examined another line that would leave the last-de-
scribed line nearly opposite to Chinsura, and take a more
direct course to the river Hoogly, which it would cross near
the villages of Collipore, on the east side thereof, and '
Doomurda on the west, thence onward to Inchura, where it
would cross a nullah, and, leaving Culna on the right, would
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23.—The latter route would be about fifteen miles shorter
than by the Nuddea line, but (pro rata) it would be more
costly in its construction, and miss accommodating a very
'valuable district of country, which, in all probability, would
pay for the extra length of railway. The crossing of the
Matabhanga at Ranaghat, therefore, appears to be the chief
consideration against the adoption of the more northern line,
as compared with the line by Culna.
24.—Upon an inspection of the most eligible place for
crossing the Hoogly on the Culna line, near the village of
Doomurda, it also appeared that, in addition to the simple
crossing of the stream, there was, on the left or east bank,
a considerable extent of fiat country between the wooded
elevated land and the water, which is doubtless submerged
during the rainy season, and seems to be the ground through
which the river has wandered in former times and lett dry,
from the continued change in its bed. If this be correct, it
will be necessarytoconstruct a viaduct of very great extent to
carry the railway over this recent alluvial deposit, in addition
to the actual bridge over the river ; ar d the uncertain expense in
founding and erecting such a work in that situation is so
well known that the fact need only be named to insure a
dissent from its adoption.
25.—Such was our opinion formed upon the spot; but
before a final decision be given upon the subject it might be
advisable for the railway company who may undertake the
work, to make a detailed survey and section of each line, and
submit them for estimate and comparisons, as in a work of
such magnitude the utmost saving of expense is desirable;
but so impressed are we in respect to the public advantages
to be derived from the more circuitous route, that we consi-
der a comparatively small saving should not be allowed to
weigh in favour of the Culna line.
26.—From Balkishun, as a common point on the two
northerly lines, the railway would proceed nearly direct to
and cross the trunk-road at about Kagsa,where the southern
or Chinsura line. after passing through Burdwan, and nearly
following the course of the high road from that city, wonld
be united with them; from thence it would take the left
bank of the river Dumoodur, pass through the Raneegung
collieries, and onward to near where the river Barrakur, joins
the Dumoodur.
27.—The line will next take up the valley of the Barrakur,
and follow, approximately, the course of that river, nearly
fur its whole extent, to the summit of the country at or
near the Dhunwa pass, where a very rapid descent occurs
from the westernmost range of hills in Bengal to the plains
of Behar. Up to near this place the gradients of the line
will bo yeq gob and although steeper gradients will have

- .
_ _______ _
,oRNING stirNl AUG UST 11,
1846.

PRICE SD.

to be here introduced to overcome this natural barrier, we do
not expect, from the levels we have taken, they need be
greater than can be worked by assistant power when the
trains are heavy, and it is the only place upon the whole line
where favourable gradients cannot be obtained at a small
cost as regards the earthworks.
28.--After entering upon the plains of Behar, the line will
proceed nearly direct by Stuthurghotee andNowrungabad to
the Soane river. -
29.—The river Soane is a formidable obstacle to the cheap
construction of a railway, being two miles and three furlongs
in breadth, and the foundation, or natural substratum below
(at present) an unknown depth of sand. The erection of a
viaduct across this great river is, however, a matter of ex-
pense only, there appearing no difficulty in the case that
perseverance and ingenuity will not overcome. The most
suitable point for crossing the river seems to be about three
miles higher up than where the trunk-road now crosses it,
at the foot of the range of sand-stone hills, from which
much valuable material for the structure might be ob-
tained, and for this purpose, also, granite of excellent
quality may be quarried about two miles south-west of
Nowrungabad, and about twelve miles south-east from the
proposed site of the bridge. Lime also is obtainable on or
near the spot.
30.—1 n the construction of this bridge, and of all others
of great magnitude, as the crossing of the Hoogly and the
Junana, hereafter to be referred to, we would recommend that
they be made of ample width, not only for the railway, but
also for a common highway, which may be separated from
the railway by a screen of 'masonry. The additional cost of
such extra width at the time of construction will be but
little, in comparison with the cost of a separate structure for
the public highway, and compensation might be given to the
railway company for the extra outlay, either by Govern-
ment supplying an equivalent portion of the cost, or granting
them the right of levying a toll for a given number of years.
31.—0 n the other hand, we would advise that all bridges
of great magnitude erected by Government, for the purpose
of any public highway, in any part of India, should be con-
structed of ample width to accommodate a railway also, if
there should appear any moderate probability that such a
work would become desirable for, or likely to be executed in,
that direction within any reasonable period of time.
32.—From the river Soane, the railway will skirt the
foot of the hills to the town of Sasaram, tiro miles north-
west, of thg...proposed bridge, and then in like man-
ner for about 74 miles, west by north, to the
town and fortress of Chunar, on the right bank
of the river Ganges, leaving the trunk-road and the city of
Benares considerably to the right. This is done in order to
obtain better ground for the construction of the line, and a
branch to Raj Glit, oposite to Benares, 17 miles in length
(leaving the main line nine miles before reaching Chunar)
would answer all the purposes of that great city and the dis-
trict of country to the northward thereof.
33.—The railway will pass between the sand-stone hill on
the south side of Chunar, which will all along furnish valu-
able building materials for the very numerous masonry works
along the line.

34:—From Chunar to Mirzapore, a distance of 18 miles in
the same direction, west by north, the line will still keep
along the foot of the hills, although a little circuitous, as it
will be desirable to avoid the bad ground in the more direct
course.

33.—Having now explained our view as to a suitable line
for a railway between Calcutta andMirzapore, we will, before
proceeding further, describe the branches we should propose
to diverge therefrom, to give the most extensive accommo-
dation to the country at large, and to relieve the traffic of
the Ganges proceeding to Calcutta from its great draw-
back during at least eight months of the year ;
namely, the circuitous route by the Sunderbunds, when the
waters of the Bhageruttee are too low to admit of the more
direct route from the Gauges to the capital of India.
36.—The first branch should be from a point near Burdwan
to Rajmahal, along the district of country selected many
years ago by; Lieutenant-Colonel Forbes for the Rajmabal
Canal": such a railway will, in future, supersede the necessity
for the canal, which, however, would have conferred great
benefit on the trade of the country, if carried into execution
When he first proposed it ; the tact that such a canal has
been for many years a desideratum proves the same thing in
favour of the more modern mode of intercommunication.
37.—Besides the accommodation of the trade of the Ganges,
it will give accommodation to Purneah, Malda, Dinagepore,
Rungpore, and the country in that direction through which
it may possibly hereafter be found desirable to extend this re-
fined mode of transit.

38.—After all that has been stated from time to time in
favour of Lieutenant-Colonel Forbes's important work, no-
thing more need be added in favour of a branch railway in
that direction. This branch would be about 120 miles in
length.
39.—The second branch we would propose would leave the
main line about five miles eastward of Shuhurghotee, and
pass northward through Gaya to Patna and Dinapore, thus
accommodating a very important district of country, as well
as the military and civil stations above named, and, on
the opposite side of the Ganges, the valuable districts of
Tirhoot and Sawn, &c. This branch will be found about
eighty miles in length.
40.—Another branch might probably ba advantageously
made from the main line, up the valley of the Soane, to the
coal-fields westward of Rotasgurh, but we do not lay much
stress upon its immediate formation as a branch, until it be
ascertained whether or not the main line from Bombay will
take that course, as it appeared some time ago probable that
such might be the case. Such a branch may be found desir.
able, if not indispensable, to the interests of the railway com-
pany, as they might thereby obtain coal for their own pur-
poses as well as to supply the public in that and the still
higher parts of India.
_ _

711.—:The last branch we should propose for immediate
construction on this portion of the great trunk line
from Calcutta to the north-west provinces, should be, as
stated in para. 32, from about nine miles before reaching
Chunar to ltaj Ghat opposite Benares, a distance of about 17
miles.

42.—We have described our view of the most suitable
direction for a line of railway from Calcutta towards the
north-west provinces; but it may be argued that the line
passes through a comparatively barren portion of the country,
as compared with the valley of the great river Ganges, which
has been suggested by other parties as the most eligible route
for a line of railway, and which is stated to have in its favour
a great probability of becoming niore lucrative than the line
we have recommended.

43.—First impressions might be favourable to this view of
the question; such aresult might be expected if either line
was dependent only for its suport upon the agricultural pro-
duce and population of the district through which it passes ;
but, upon turther consideration, it appears to us that the ul-
timate result will be tavourabie to the direct line; for, by
means of its branches to Patna and Rajmuhal, it will take
all, or nearly all, the trade likely to be transposed from the
river to the.railway, in either case, and give nearly as good
accommodation to the country around, and to the district
northward of the Ganges, as Tirhoot, Purneab, Dinagepore,
&c., through which it will probably hereafter be found ad-
vantageous to extend the railway system, by starting from
the opposite respective termini at Patna and Rajmuhal, and,
in addition to accommodating the trade of the river and sur-
rounding district, it will bring forward a country now much
neglected iu consequence of its imperfect communication, a
district which contains mineral wealth, and possesses great
capabilities, as is evident from the proofs of recent improve-
ment, to a great extent contiguous to the line of the trunk-
road, within the last few years, a greater part of
which until then was abandoned to the beasts of
the forest : this great benefit will therefore be in
addition to nearly the same amount of accommodation
being given to the whole country as could be given by
the river line alone; and, lastly, a direct line between the ex-
treme termini, where attainable, is always most desirable,
especially in a political point of view, and in a Fountry cir-
cumstanced as India is. Thus much for the traffic consiclera-

tions of the subject ; and it only remains to be stated that
we cannot give a decided opinion upon the engineering ques-
tion without a personal examination of the river line.
44.—0 n the extension of the line from Mirzapore toDelhi ;
but little need be said respecting this portion of the pro-
posed works. In length it will be about the same as that of
the line we have already described, Mirzapore being about
midway between Calcutta and Delhi. The direction of the
line will be nearly as follows : between Mirzapore and Alla-
habad it will trend a little to the south of a direct line, to
secure better ground for a foundation to the works. Upon
this portion of the line the railway will cross the river
Tounse, and, in order to extend it into the Doab, the river
Jumna must also be crossed at or near to Allahabad : a suit-
able spot for crossing exists near the present bridge of boats :
thus the military magazine at Allahabad would be connected
by railway with Calcutta, and, by the extension to Agra and
Delhi, with the magazines at those places respectively.
45.—Leaving Allahabad the railway would keep on the
south-west side of the trunk-road to Tuttehpore and Cawn-
pore; from thence it might take a direct line to Mynpooree,
which would be its proper course if continued direct to Delhi ;
but if it be finally resolved that the line shall pass through
Agra, and thence to Delhi, along the right bank of the river
Altana, it would be more desirable that the railwayshould pro-
ceed from Cawnpore by Shekoabad to Agra, as that line
would not only be shorter, but would avoid the crossing
of one or more nullahs that It would have to do if taken by
Mynpooree. . _ _

46:—Supposing that its route would be through Agra,
it would again cross the river Jumna at the latter city, a
suitable site for which purpose would be a little northward of
the present bridge of boats; and, passing the civil lines to
the north of the Government olicesoind Akbarls tomb at
Secundra, take a tolerably direct course through Muthra to
Delhi.

47.—A suitable place for a station at Agra exists where
the rails continued from the bridge would become level with
the present surface of the ground, about midway between the
river and the civil lines; and, if necessary, such station
could be connected with the banks of the river at a much
lower level than the railway, by a branch descending to the
water's edge.
48.—Before, however, determining that the main line
should pass through Agra to Delhi, it is a subject for
consideration, whether or not it would be more desirable
to take the line direct through Allyghur, and cross the
river Jumna, at Delhi; for this purpose a suitable place
for cruising the river is immediately to the northward of
the palace, from whence it could be continued along
the bank f the river to a station on the vacant ground
at the back of the magazine; and, if necessary, can at
any time be prolonged northward, past cantonments towards
Kurnal.
49.—The advantages of the direct line to Delhi over that
by Agra, would be, Ist., The shortening of the distance
between Calcutta and the frontier. 2d. Passing through
probably a richer agricultural district than would be done on
the route between Delhi and Agra; and, 3d. In case of in-
vasion from the westward, a possible, though not probable
occurrence, the railway would be protected by the river
Jumna. On the other hand, the city of Agra, at present the
capital of the north-west provinces, with its magazine,
would be less directly connected with the frontier and the
magazine at Delhi, if situated at the extremity of a branch,
than if placed upon the main line. The country also to the
west of the river Jumna, although perhaps not so productive
to the agriculturist as that in the Doab, yet is admitted to
possess a very considerable trade.

50.—As respects the two routes, in an engineering:point
of view there appears to be no great difference; for although
on the direct line there would be the additional cost of cross-
ing the river Hinden (no trifling matter certainly, unless, as
suggested by his Honour the the Lieutenant-Governor of the
upper provinces, the crossing be effected below the junction
of the Hinden with the Jumna, if the Jumna itself be
as manageable there as at Agra or Delhi). The route by
way of Agra would be about 20 miles longer, and conse-
quently. from that cause, increase the cost of construction to
probably within a trifle of that direct route.
51. If Agra be accommodated with a branch line only, and
that branch be terminated on the opposite side of the river to
the city, it would be hiffhly incouvenieut and undesirable,
•,,