The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-01-14
FRONT DOOR.
.u .cOt BaY RiILROdD'S IMPORT
ayr PART ~ DIPLOMACY.
,..,,val seized Il From Its American
o.n,r aud Admitted the
IN. Arbitration ~ Ia the Indemnity
Has icrn Dragging On since 1880.

AAnfFN VI NV
~ v,l,,,d arbitration case, n matter now run
h.,l a. far as 1890, aud oi its Importance
:" I'rlomatic c%,rcIcs, owing to.thc general belief
a., r,g,,nd will come into possession Of Dcldgoa
u Wv" chen tho ra,r Is ended As is well known,
~, railroad was constructed by Cot Edward
,,uutdo on american capitalist, who for years
w.s we'll known IN The London financial world.
u,n who ~ familiar with the affair rom is
,.r,np,ug gave y 81 y reporter last week the ipl-
80. orryuut If the construction VI the railroad
.,, IN, International problems involved:
81 Ituard McAiurdu. n kcntuckiHn living in
,.,aon a man of great energy, had his attention
J,,,nfpthc richnr>S uf the Tran>yaal long before
N,,n.hers took any interest IN Dom Pauls coun
-, Go, McNurdp was the son Of a well known
.,,r,msn In the civil War he was noted for
bs bravery. srd came 10 he n prutege oi Gen
,,,,, In Iuntpn he had q great business SlIc-
80. His home in i}rrkclcy Square was the scat
:, , generous Il ,Spl,Allty. Success in London
vss insufficient To cause NcMurdo's love Tor his
,,rr.ry o. fade lis patriotism was at all slime,
IN cyrdcn,c and friends participating in the hos
pt,liry II his table. always sat under the folds II
H. Stars and Srrres
MANY # the EugliShmcn who in the earlS
So. u,r, To- South \iica were IN The pay OF
tl NcNufdu. While Sir Thomas Tancrcd and
his stall ur cugiUctrS w'r' building the Dclagua
Iav Ra,lroad. capable agents were securing IN"
T,op>yaal a'l ueignboring regions then under
naive rule sccking fnr mines and tracts 4 ter
r,,y capable 81 development by coloni2crS
So lltlo di financial London know Of the T-au>
,,aI aud It's resource, IN those days that il i
t1d If Col MrMurlo that he actually had men
yNr FREE l|s,il-aS illustrated by lantern pictures,
yhlrh prisons from cynry wGlh Of iLdaStngl
life wrr asked To attend, NcMurdu was rrcog-
mel - thc great pioneer If South African develop
meut and enterprise. Cecil Rhodes. Barney
Ba-rgtD a,i Bclt followed the way hla2cd by
h. Nncrrau.
Nl,ho tim" u his death, ia 1850 Col McNUrlo
W., chief uwue- 81 TIE 81 Augustine diamond
puuc In Kimhc-lcN, anl controlled many other
p-rm.Siug ventures in Suuti africa. lie was
building the rchuautrprc Railroad srroSs Mexico,
connecting M Gulf with the Pacific, and had
is, dispoSni \ the c', tiollius interest in the
FJuanc,u, Nsrs NJ London with the loss u
Is master mind. many II his 'Hr.away enter.
Vl.,s failed 20 thrive under the prrfunctory man
sgrmrnt vi his Successors. aud gradually passed
t. other hands HIS genius told him that to cpu
trl thu railway r..l'cuug The TrtnSyaal with
f., u7tura, ha,bor. and consequently with the
outside word would amount IN the control uf a
ration, and that nation occupying vcry rich
81 Co.. McNurdo thus fureSaw the potential.
I'S = uelagoa Bay HIS name is III Vcd To- the
plag,n BAY Railroad and It viii probably alway,
/. known Is The "NlcNIurdo Railway, whatever
is rurpo'atc utc.
T., So, t1,.ipr p,.pth n iskg f,I N.NI,xl-
obtained u concession from The King If Portugal
I T tn" obstruction Of a railway from Lorenzo
Marques 10 the Transyaal frontier. II that
TIM" he condition % the Trins,aul and the hin
te-IHnd" was widely different from what ituuw j.,
iS The existence 81 gold in payable quantities
almost unanown, the commercial aud agri
Ilturil interests Of the country were IN \ de
pressed condition, and the Trans,asl treasury
empty. \ concession had been granted
by Portugal for the railroad. carry
iug a subven,ion. but it was 50 trcighted With
ipuIations and conditions, stringent and am
B suous, as to keep peopl" from cmharking capi
'al in the proposed enterprise.
McMurdo wanted u concession Gnhamprrrd
fv conditions, one that would give ,hc exclusive
night 81 carrying passengers and goods across
The Portuguese colony of Mozambique for ninety.
IIre wears, lie desired no Nlbycn,iun that would
make II the Portuguese Government = pnrtrc.
lie probably well knew The Shifty character If
Nun.deScended Portuguese. ~ All event,
}" wanted . concession hat would give him A
fr"e hand So long as its condition, we're respected.
1hi' h" occurred direct from the niur. arriving
VITA J., the exclusive right To in frrigh, and pa,
trngrr rate, with telegraph prNiletrs fhr .-,n
4" an island IN Drlagua by. AID a land grrat
calling for = gOJdiY part 81 the nov imp,riaul
ptrI e Va" town II Lorenzo Ma raurS "a. veil as
yNSi irnclN ol Wild lands along the line oi he ROAD.
Is terms were agreed upon in direct cnrirrru,r
IL" late John VI. Francis. 81 Troy. \. then
! liri States Minister al Lisbon, lent Col NJ
Murir all tn" assistance in his otiicial poucr
brpllgh"lt the negotiations
'rt McNurio aud his associates in dJc Tim.
hnl the road irom ncIaguH Ray 10 the Tram,
wal lTonU'r II was n most expensive line tu
bndgeN aud l%fnnnurk Hccc made in
/ nglard, ana carried 10 South .Nfr.ta L. be put
together there \ fleet uf steamer, disemhsrI,.I
" Dctagua Bay The locomotives. ears. station
buildings, IN tact, practically everything needed
ole constructive character Same # Ur frnuv,,L
iT ne Suaklm Herbcr military railway INTO lie
Soldan and nrvcr used, VAS purchased hv NlrNIur
d,and transported To- South Afuca.
ll" concession called Tor the making # II lin,
terminating exactly a. the Transyaal frontier
nnd IT, truyernmcut furnished The runsir1rtnfs
WIN maps "n winch the "ironur, Was definitely
ihnlca'cl IN commanding letters. To this pu,nt
me G.H0 was buIli, under constant uhsrryuf,n
oi military engineer officers 81 the Lisbon i,oycru
ln'nt When DECLARED by them Ia re- complr.rI
p road was formally opened with grand irsiN
uf> \ holiday was drcrcrd throughout TIE
colony. q 'fln filled with dignitarirs ran from
I.''rn@" Marques 10 the frontier. drawn BY an
engine named IN honor ~ The Portuguese kiup
'n1 N''iG"NaS declared formally ly the ,upc-
' sing authorities tu be- completed Hud nvcn for
,fATtr ! banquet was given at ]l.orcnan N]iirqur,
To- no ',nNc'nnt ut the colony, the hi,hopS. he
sii,ner,,"r g%tt'cTS II the local rrrimcnrs. IN iar'.
az 'H'ihlH'm "t n grade demanding attention
OF an u'rfSlun 81 that sort Loyal tuaSi- We're
drunk Ia tie King, and congralulatpry cablrgrarlS
Nef" sent 10 Col NcMurdO in England TIN,
vas in 1857
NN months after when the Transyaal WAS be
ginning 10 throb with business energy, and Wi,h
me country becoming vcined With railroads that
NUS "I necessity converge at the frontier and
communicate with The sea and the outer world
ny means NJ the MCMurdu road, the Delagoa Bay
enefp1Se was much 10 the fore in Europe, and
'hu Iakrn a commanding place in political talk
a. every capital Of importance, 1t was conceded
,nnl the u"Ihgoa railroad must In time play an
pHrt IN controlling the destnirs Of tho
nm IN Transvaal, From Pretoria 10 Delagoa
nay "aSonIN about three hundred miles, ms against
more tian ! 100 by way uf Cape Town. The
nm",> 'hd q dislike for everything British, and
rN''E I"dd leading 10 the sea. save the DrlasOa
H. 'q'" yea across hundreds ~ milcsuf British soil
nl'l!aI reasons were thuS combined with facts uf
'i+,' IN naming nrlHgoa BAY rs The na'ural point
NTn 'EIfNN Tor lr lIhlSiddl. ~ was
na'nrhI' therefore, that the American cnncrssionaire
Ml1 recognize! as one who could have an impOr
'hn' ""rl IN all matters dealing with the South
Nn,Gh Republic. v a fact, he sought only
o. make his venture a great success ON lCgitimate
iIh'N y year after his railroad was open for
niNul'N, loIr goVcrnmcntS Great Britain, Ger
many, Holland and the 1ransyasl were con-
IN lAc Undertaking
recognizing possibly the fact that its con
I1,sN"h had been drafted in too liberal n spirit.
".lENl was now treating the VI Murdo venture
., a manner p"rtcndlnS no good There we've
eu,lhdS Tor suspicion that the Beers and Purtu-