6. Trincomalee to Calcutta.
A steamer would proceed from Trincomalee to Calcutta and back, calling in going and returning at Pondicherry and Madras. The route and time would be thus:—
| Geo. Miles. | Days | |||
| Trincomalee to Madras | 300 | 1 | ½ | |
| Madras to Calcutta | 735 | 3 | ½ | |
| Stop at Calcutta, Coals, &c. | 2 | |||
| Calcutta to Trincomalee, same route | 1 | 035 | 5 | |
| ——— | —— | |||
| Totals | 2 | 070 | 12 | |
| ——— | —— | |||
One steam-boat would perform this work, giving two mails each month; at sea each voyage 12 days[16] = 24 monthly = 288 yearly. Coals, 25 tons daily = 7200 tons yearly, at 40s., 14,400l. Other charges, 6820l.—together 21,220l. per annum.
From Trincomalee eastward to Batavia, Canton, and New South Wales, the routes, periods, distances, and expenses, would be exactly the same as those which have already been pointed out in the plan of having the communications by the Red Sea, under heads Nos. 7, 8, 9, and 10. Bringing the whole into one table, the total amount is ascertained, and the difference of expenditure in the one route over the other becomes distinctly known.
In order, however, to bring the whole into a tabular form, it is necessary to recapitulate and particularize the different heads, thus:—
| 1. | Falmouth to Cape Verde. |
| 2. | Cape Verde (Mayo) to Cape of Good Hope. |
| 3. | Cape of Good Hope to Mauritius. |
| 4. | Mauritius to Ceylon, Point de Galle. |
| 5. | Ceylon, Point de Galle, to Bombay. |
| 6. | Ceylon to Calcutta, by Madras. |
| 7. | Trincomalee to Canton, by Batavia. |
| 8. | Batavia to Singapore. |
| 9. | Batavia to Sydney, New South Wales, by Swan River. |
| 10. | Coal Depôts, and places to repair boats. |
Expenditure by the Cape of Good Hope.
| Number of Station. | Fixed Capital required. | Provisions, Wages, &c. Yearly. | Tons of Coals Yearly. | Price of Coals per ton. | Cost of Coals Yearly. | Total Expenditure Yearly. | Number of Steamers. | Number of Sailing Vessels. |
| £ | £ | s. | £ | £ | ||||
| 1 | 48,000 | 12,400 | 14,400 | 20 | 14,400 | 26,800 | 2 | " |
| 2 | 96,000 | 24,800 | 24,000 | 25 | 30,000 | 54,800 | 4 | " |
| 3 | 48,000 | 13,640 | 14,300 | 40 | 28,600 | 42,240 | 2 | " |
| 4 | 72,000 | 20,640 | 16,200 | " | 32,400 | 53,040 | 3 | " |
| 5 | 24,000 | 6,820 | 4,800 | " | 9,600 | 16,400 | 1 | " |
| 6 | 48,000 | 13,640 | 7,200 | " | 14,400 | 28,040 | 2 | " |
| 7—10 | 194,000 | 65,560 | 46,800 | " | 93,600 | 159,160 | 8 | 1 |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ||
| [17] | 530,000 | 157,500 | 127,700 | 223,000 | 380,480 | 22 | 1 | |
| 71,442 | 71,442 | |||||||
| ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ||
| 530,000 | 157,500 | 127,700 | 151,558 | 309,038 | 22 | 1 | ||
| Sub. | 418,000 | 133,400 | 111,800 | 136,650 | 269,910 | 17 | 3 | |
| ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ——— | ||
| Diff. | 112,000 | 24,100 | 15,900 | 14,908 | 39,128 | 5 | 2 |
The first deduction is the sum for the saving in quantity and price of coals, as aftermentioned; the last sum shows the difference of cost and expenditure of the route by the Red Sea, as compared with the route by the Cape of Good Hope; bearing in mind, however, that the expense of the establishment from Falmouth to Alexandria would still remain, admitting that the route by the Cape of Good Hope was adopted.