Rambles on Railways

by Sir Cusack P. Roney

In 1830, the then great political and commercial company of England, called the East India Company, first placed a postal steamer in the Indian Seas; but it was not until 1834 that a regular monthly service was organised between Suez and Bombay.

In 1835, steam communication was organised, although in an imperfect and unsatisfactory manner, between England and Alexandria. By degrees this service became improved.

In 1839 the British Government, by convention with that of France, opened the Marseilles route for the conveyance of a portion of the Indian Mail; as, at that period, the railway system was not in operation in France, it required 108 hours to convey the correspondence despatched by this route, between Calais and Marseilles. It may here be mentioned that in 1845 great efforts were made by Lieutenant Waghorn of the British Navy, a man eminently distinguished in connection with the first attempt to establish postal communication between Great Britain and the East Indies, viâ the Isthmus of Suez, to make Trieste the port for the embarkation of the mails. These efforts were, however, not successful, and the attention of Great Britain became thenceforward limited to the routes, viâ Marseilles for the more rapid communication, and viâ Southampton for the heavier and larger portion of the Indian mails.

Reverting to the year 1840, the British Government entered, at that period into a contract with the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company for a service once a month, from Southampton to Alexandria, and from Suez to Calcutta and China; and two services were organised between Marseilles and Alexandria, one in connection at Suez, with the service by the steamers for Calcutta and China, and the other in connection with a service between Suez and Bombay, which was performed by the postal steamers of the East India Company.

In 1849 the services between Southampton and Alexandria became bi-monthly instead of monthly as before.

In 1854 the postal steamers of the East India Company were withdrawn, and the whole of the services in the Indian Seas were transferred to the Peninsular and Oriental Company.

In 1858 the postal service with Australia, viâ the Isthmus of Suez, was first commenced. It is a monthly service, but by recent intelligence received from Australia, there is probability of its becoming bi-monthly at an early date. I shall give particulars of the immense magnitude of this mail hereafter.

In 1857, in consequence of the very great increase of correspondence passing between Great Britain and the East, it was found necessary to augment the postal services to four a month in each direction viâ Marseilles, and to four in each direction viâ Southampton.

The whole of the sea service of the Indian, China, Japan, and Australian postal communications of Great Britain, is performed by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. This company is the largest in the world. It has a fleet of fifty-three steamers, with an aggregate tonnage of 86,411 tons, and 19,230 horses power. Its largest ship is of 2,800 tons. Its next largest is 2,600 tons, five are between 2,000 and 2,500 tons, and eighteen are between 1,500 and 2,000 tons each. Its routes extend from Southampton and from Marseilles to Alexandria, from Suez to Bombay, from Suez to Point de Galle and Calcutta, from Bombay to Calcutta, from Point de Galle to Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Yokohama (Japan), and from Point de Galle to Melbourne and Sydney. The total number of knots (sea miles) performed by the postal vessels of the company in 1866 was 1,194,952, equal to 2,290,320 kilometres.