The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-14 00:00:00

COTTON AND RAIL WAYS IILYDIA.

Mr. Campbell, a gentleman oonnected with rail.
ways in India, and recently returned from that
country, bad an interview with the committee, and
communicated some valuable information upon the
capabilities of the Punjaub and other parts of
India for growing cotton, and the means by which
irrigation may be made more extensively available,
and additional facilities for the/transport of cotton
be secured. The soil of the Indus valley is an,
alluvial deposit of great depth, and well adaptc
for the cultiv:ltion of cotton. his residence at
Urnritsur, which he decribes as the Manchester of
the Punjanb for Commerce and enterprise, gave him
opportunities of witnessing the marvellous changes
effected on theppeuing of the Punjaub Railway from
Lahore to Moulton. He never saw anything like it,
though engaged in railway work in England for more
than a quarter of a century. He is of opinion that
the Punjoub could cnmpete with any part of the world
in growth of cotton, both as regards quantity and,
quality. Scinde and the Punjaub, including the States
under control, cover a❑ area of 130,000 square miles,
with a population of about 25,000,000 of people,
industrious and hardy for labour. The water power
is immense (luting the hot seson, caused by the
melting of the snow on the Himalayas. Cotton
grown on the banks of the rivers could be easily
conveyed by water, or rail, or road, in different
directions, and canals made from these rivers for
irrigating purposes would make the Punjaub one of
the most fertile countries in the world. The thanks
of the committee were given to Mr. Campbell for
his interesting information, and he was requested
to become an honcrary correspondent of the asso-
ciation.

It is fully expected that by the beginning of
1869 continuous railway communication betwiJon.
Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, and the Punjaub will
be established. The clearing-house system of this
country will soon be applied to India, and the most
satisfactory arrangements will be made for the inter.
change of traffic, which must be advantageous both
for the companies and the public. There will also
be a thorough audit of accounts by well qualified
persons.

The railway system in India is a great boon ',Jo
the English soldier. Nothing tends to swell the
sick list of a corps as the ordinary march though
the country, owing to the men being exposed to
varieties of temperature, dew, and chill, and to bad
water, fertile sources of dysentery and other fatal
diseases.

Those who have travelled much through the
North-west Provinces and parts of the PunjaulA
must frequently have remarked the numerous rude
pieces of tin bearing a name, probably )lalf-
obliterated, nailed to trees and posts in the vicinity
of encamping grounds, these homely memontoes
being placed there to denote the last resting-place
of a comrade or friend.

Such scenes are of course rarer now than
formerly. The large number of deaths constantly
occurring on the line of march must naturally
diminish on the completion of railway communi-
cation.

There are many men now in India who will re-
collect being on the march during the Sutlej and
Punjaub campaign from five to six months, and
after all did not arrive at the scene of conflict in
sufficient time to participate in the honour of an
engagement with the enemy. -

When the Presidencies are joined by the railway
system each with the other, the Commander-in-Chief
ean, in the event of •mutiny, invasion, or war, tele-
graph to all the military stations, and order, if
necessary, from Bombay, Madras, and Bengal,
simultaneously by the various railways, an army of
100,000 soldiers, including every arm of the service.
This army can be landed in one week at the Khyber
Pass, or in any part of India to which the railway
system will be extended.

By a unity of action and a uniform system of
management this can be accomplished in the most
perfect order.

I have to apologise for the length of this communi-
cation, and will only add one other remark, namely,
that every new mile of railway, canal, or road,
opened for traffic, will tend to lessen the price of
cotton in India. You will please observe that the
number of miles of railway sanctioned in India is
5,611, while in the United States of America the
number of miles opened is upwards of 13,000,
besides canali and rivers.

All the missionaries, civil servants of the Go-
vernment, European and native merchants, and the
managing officers of railways will cheerfully im-
part all useful information to any gentleman who
may be sent out to the Punjaub as a cotton com-
missioner.

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