The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-03-08
CEYLON JOINED
WITH MAINLAND
SCHEME TO CONNECT ISLAND
WITH INDIA Is TAKING
Definite SHAPE,
Bridge Will Be Over a Series of Isl.
ands and Will be at Least 80
Miles Long.

/
CALCUTTA, March S.-The Times
of India, in a dispatch from Tuticorin,
| reveals gigantic project of connect
Ing the mainland of India with the ISL
and of Ceylon, or, in other words OF
bridging the series of islands so miles
| southwest of Palk strait Those inter-
ested IN the scheme are now in Tuti-
| CORN looking over the ground. They
are Sir Arthur Lawley, governor of
Madras, and Col. Sir Henry Mccall
| lum with representatives of the In
dian railway board and of the Ceylon
| railway administration, engineers,
merchants and financiers
The engineering part of the business
Is, although interesting, comparative
ly simple. On the north side the
Paumben channel, between the main
land of India and the island of Ram
esWaram, is at one point extremely
narrow, and can be easily bridged.
There are indeed, proposals for sub
shutting a ship canal for the existing
channel, so as to facilitate the coastng
trade between the Malabar ports. on
the western side of India, and the
Coromandel ports, which doubtless
will be discussed at the conference be-
tween the Indian and Ceylon authori-
ties. But there is no serious. engineer
ing difficulty connected with the bring
ing of the Paumben channel, nor is
there any at the south end of the line,
for the Island of Mannar is already
practically attached to Ceylon.
Cost About $8,300,0O0.
But between the southern end of the
Island of Rameswaram and the north
ern ends Of the Island of Mannar there
is distance of about 3S miles, marked
by an almost continuous coral reef,
either covered with shallow water, or
rising above the level of the sea in
numerous coral islets-the "step
ping stones" of Adams Bridge, famed
alike in Hindu, in Buddhist, in Chris
tan and in Mohammedan legends. The
idea of a bridge SO miles long is some
what staggering, but it must be re-
membered that even if the whole dis
lance were bridged it would be rather
causeWay than a bridge that would
be produced, and, as matter of fact,
it has been estimated that the whole
could be constructed at a cost of 25,-
00O,00 rupees, or not more than S.,
300 900
The immediate objects to be at
tanned by thus linking Ceylon with the
mainland are CD for CeylOn, her di-
rect admission to the immense ad-
vantages of the labor market of South
India, for it can hardly be doubted
that where one coolie will consent to
cross the sea to work in the CeylOn
tea gardens hundred will gladly go
by train: and GU for India, the open
ing up of the rich unpeopled lands Of
North and North Central Ceylon to the
congested populations of Central and
Southern India.
Would Greatly Benefit Colombo.
AT the present moment Colombo,
Ceylon, is the most important station,
whether for coaling or other purposes, |
on the great lines of steam communl-
cation between most of the countries
of the globe. All the great liners from !
Europe, from America and from Afrl- |
ca must stop at Colombo on their way
eastward, whether going to Calcutta
or RangOon. to the Malay peninsular
or to the great islands of Java and
the Malay archipelago, to China or
Japan, or to Australia or Tasmania,
or New Zealand.
Already Colombo is the fourth or
fifth port of the world and Colombo
deal with all these innum-
cradle lines of steam communication,
and the great hotels of Colombo are
crowded with the most cosmopolitan
throng Of ever-changing VISITORS out
of every country on earth.
And yet at this moment this vast
and busy port has no hinterland of her
own, save only the little territory OF
Ceylon itself.