Our project divides itself into two portions—the Indo-Burmese and Burmo-Chinese railways. The first involves the connection of the Indian and Burmese systems of railways by a line joining the railways in Northern Assam, viâ Mogoung, with the Rangoon and Mandalay line, together with an extension of that railway from Rangoon to Maulmain. The connection of Rangoon with Maulmain by railway has since been advocated by Sir Charles Crosthwaite, the present chief commissioner of Burmah, so far as proposing that its first section should be surveyed and put in hand by the Government of India.
The connection of the Indian and Burmese railways viâ the Patkoi pass met with unreasonable opposition; but actual exploration, carried out by the Government, has lately proved that, as we have averred all along, the route is the easiest, cheapest, and most feasible that exists for the connection of these two systems of railways. The section of the line from Sagain—a town opposite Mandalay—to Mogoung, is already sanctioned, and about to be commenced; and the other portion of the railway will doubtless be taken in hand as soon as the first section is completed.
The second portion of our project is the connection of Burmah with Siam and China by railway. Our study of previous explorations, followed by exploration-surveys conducted by myself in Siam and its Shan States, and by my colleague Mr Colquhoun through Southern China and by the Bhamo route into Northern Burmah, afforded positive proof that the path for a railway from Burmah to China should have its western terminus at Maulmain. By starting from that seaport, the following advantages would be gained:—
1. The difficult country lying between the Irawadi and Salween rivers in Upper Burmah would be entirely avoided, because Maulmain is situated near the mouth of the Salween, and on its eastern bank.
2. By proceeding eastwards from Maulmain, you cross the hill-ranges by the best route, as can be seen by comparing the Bhamo route, which trends eastwards over an alpine country from Bhamo at the navigation head of the Irawadi river, with the Takaw route, lying 230 miles to the south of the Bhamo route, and with the Maulmain route, which lies 350 miles farther to the south. It is evident that the farther you go to the north, the more difficult do the routes leading from Burmah to China become.
3. The line from Maulmain, owing to the easy country through which it passes, could be constructed at a fraction of the cost of any line projected from Upper Burmah, and would have the advantage of easier gradients throughout, and would be the shortest possible route for connecting Burmah with the capital of the Chinese province of Yunnan.
4. The line from Maulmain, from its shortness, would possess great advantages in competing with the lines projected by the French from their Tonquin seaboard, and would thus enable us to carry our goods from Maulmain to Ssumao, the frontier-post of South-western China, for £3 a ton, or about one-twentieth of the average tariff now charged upon our goods by the French customs in Tonquin.
5. The line from Maulmain would likewise connect with the projected system of Siamese railways, and thus tend greatly to the advantage of Burmah, and to the development of British trade throughout Central Indo-China.
6. The Siamese system of railways projected by us, and now being surveyed and estimated for the King of Siam by English engineers, if joined on with Maulmain by our projected branch to the frontier, would connect our seaport of Maulmain with Bangkok, the capital and chief seaport of Siam, thus affording us more rapid mail communication with China and Australasia, and would complete more than two-thirds of our projected railway to China. The remaining 230 miles could be cheaply constructed, and would open up the British States lying to the east of the Salween throughout their length, and thus give us an easy control of the country.
The branch line which we propose for the connection of our seaport of Maulmain with the Siamese system of railways at Raheng, as I shall proceed to explain, would probably cost less than one and a half million sterling,[[24]] the cost of fifteen average miles of English railway. Half of this line lies in Siamese territory, and the other half in the Indian province of Burmah; and approximately half of the cost would have to be defrayed by the King of Siam, leaving only three-quarters of a million sterling as the charge to the Indian Government.