The record-union., 1899-06-21
THE UGANDA ROAD.
Account Of the Big British En-
terprise.

terprise.
It is the misfortune of the Uganda
Railway that it has been made the
sport of politicians. Long before sod
was turned this East African railway
nearly led to a Cabinet crisis in Eng
land, and now that a good many sods
have been turned and successfully COW
cred with sleepers and rails, the enc
mics of the line still continue to prophe-
sy all manner of misfortunes. So far
as they keep to prophesy they are on
safe ground. It is when they begin to
deal with contemporary facts that they
get into difficulties. A few weeks back,
for example, a journal that breaches the
gospel of little Englandism asserted
that the climate in British East Africa
was SO terrible that the Indian coolies
employed on the line died off like flies
and that, though thousands had left
India, none ever returned, says the
Sketch
The latter part of the statement is
practically true; but. considering that
the coolies were indentured for three
years, and that the time Of the first
batch is only just up, it is not surrris-
ing that till quite recently none had re-
turned to India except few invalided
home. AS to the flies. the answer is
that the average mortality is some
thing less than that of London, and
very much less than that of an ordinary
Indian city. With equal recklessness
the same journal stated that the ex-
penditure on the railway had already
exceeded the whole sum- S10, 900. .O0o-
voted by Parliament and that less than
half the line was completed. AS mat
ter Of fact the engineers have, up to
date, kept we'll within the original es-
innate, having conlple:.:d rather more
than half the lire for a trifle over half
the sumt voted for the whole line. There
is no reason at presen. to believe that
the total sum of S15, 100000 will be ap-
preciably exceeded
1t is more interesting, however, to
discuss the line itself than the i1accu-
racies Of persons who from the outset
have been bent on ,or1ennins it. The
main object of this railway. as every
body knows. is tn connect the great in
land sea known as Lake Victoria with
the Indian Ocean Lake Victoria COW
ers as many square miles as the whole
of Scotland ard around its shores are
countries of considerable fertility, ard
many of them Tricky populated. The
most important Of these is Uganda. and
hence the popular name of The railway
But there Is not AMI reyer has been
any intention Of carrying the line round
the shores of the lake into Uganda IT.
self. Equally fan ntastic is the idea that
the Victoria Kilindini line-so give the
railway its accurate name-wfll make
an. actual junction with the Cape to
Cairo line that Nc Rhodes is 50 anx-
ious to build. This latter line. If ever
it is made Will pass cn the western
side Of Lake Victoria, so that the whole
lake will intervene between the two
railways. ALI he talk. therefore. about
break of gauge is the purest n1oonshine.
The gauge of the Victoria ISilsndini lire
is a meter-a happy selection which has
enabled the engineers TO use a certain
amount of second hand rolling stock
from India and thns save good deal
of money and much time. The gauge of
the still neb:lous Cape to Cairo rail-
way is three feet six inches. Even II
some succeeding generation with mill-
IONS to throw away should want to
connect these two railways the difer+
ence in gauge will be matter of trivial
Importance.
In India there are four different
gauges, and there, as in all countries
where traffic IL small and distances are