To return to the subject of the Houses of Agency. Of the forty-five houses which failed in Great Britain in 1847 and 1848[107] eighteen exhibited balance-sheets, which either actually exceeded, or nearly approached the aggregate of their liabilities, of which only six houses have either paid, or made arrangements to pay, twenty shillings in the pound. Of another house, a bill broker proved, that it had assets nearly triple the amount of its liabilities, the suspension being caused by temporary difficulties, which produced a complete panic. One London house connected with India, showed a schedule of assets amounting to £200,000 beyond their liabilities, still nothing had been paid in July, 1849. Another house has paid 2s. 6d. in the pound; a third, 2s.; a fourth, 1s. 6d.; a fifth, 1s.; and a sixth expects to pay 4d. in the pound!
We next arrive at the Chandpaul Ghât, which is nearly in a line with the Bank of Bengal. It is very old, and is the usual landing-place of the Governor-General.
In succession come the Steam-engine House and the Baboo Ghât, the latter having been built in the time of Lord William Bentinck, Governor-General, by a wealthy native.
We have now described the buildings which run from the extreme right, beginning with the Mint. The Strand extends beyond the Mint, and is not used as a drive, for, strictly speaking, the drive, or Course, begins a little beyond Baboo Ghât, and reaches as far as the Water gate of Fort William. This road may be three-fourths of a mile in length, and a hundred feet in width. From the Course, there is a fine view of the river and shipping, all the way down to Garden Reach. There is generally a breeze in the hot weather, and during the rains it is pretty considerable. The plan usually adopted is to drive gently down the road to the south, and then to return quickly, as the wind is at your back. Thus you best enjoy "the eating of the air," as it is called by the natives.
Besides the view of the river and the shipping, the docks and mills of Howrah give an appearance of great activity, both in ship-building and in commerce. Some years ago, it was proposed to have a steam ferry bridge thrown over the Hoogly at this place; and the plan was so far acted upon, that the bridge was actually sent out from England; but it was sold, and proved to be one of the many abortive schemes for the improvement of Calcutta, which fall to the ground for the want of public spirit. It was said, and perhaps truly, that the plan was opposed by the Dingee-walas, or native boatmen.
Opposite the Water gate at Fort William is a cenotaph, with a dome in the Oriental style, erected by Lord Ellenborough to the memory of the British soldiers who were killed in action at Maharajpore and Punniar, in December, 1843. The drive extends down to Hastings' Bridge, so named after Warren Hastings, the first and once celebrated Governor-General of India. This would extend the drive to the distance of about a mile and a half. Between the two bridges is Prinsep's Ghât, built in honour of James Prinsep, the talented Oriental scholar, of whom I have before made mention.
Beyond the second bridge, are the Kidderpore Docks, and lower still is Garden Reach, a road of about a mile and a half in length. There are some handsome houses at Garden Reach, arranged something in the character of country-seats in the suburbs of London. Here the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company have a yard, containing marine stores, coals, and other requisites. The superintendent resides close by, in a very neat and classic building.
Fort William, which next demands our attention, was projected by Lord Clive soon after the Battle of Plassey, in 1757; but it was not finished till the year 1773. It mounts 619 guns, and is said to have cost, from first to last, £2,000,000 sterling, half of which sum was paid by Mir Jaffier, whom the British seated on the throne of Moorshedabad, after the Battle of Plassey. No doubt he was prompted to this generous act, by his gratitude to his benefactors.
Mir Jaffier was a General, in the service of the former Nawab Suraj-ud-Dowlah, who in the preceding year, 1756, took Calcutta and put 146 Europeans into the English prison, since designated by every schoolboy, "the black hole of Calcutta," where 123 were found to have died the next morning from suffocation. Lord Clive played a deep game, but the cruelty of Suraj-ud-Dowlah merited dethronement. He was killed by the son of Mir Jaffier, when taken prisoner, and although it is not proved that the father was implicated, still we know that in Eastern countries, dethronement and death are often contemporaneous.
A Queen's Regiment of Infantry has barracks in the fort. At one time the Artillery, now quartered at Dum-Dum, used to be stationed here, except during the cold, or practice season. The Church is an octagonal building in the centre of the Fort near the Government house. The Fort has several gateways, the principal of which is the Water gate. The quarters for the Staff officers of the Fort are in two ranges, where reside, the principal Commissary of Ordnance, the chief Engineer, the Fort and Town Majors, and the officer commanding the Queen's Corps. Facing the river, on the west side, is a three-storied barrack; a range called the South Barracks, and opposite, or towards the north,—being part of the Staff Row,—is another range, which together form three sides of a square. To the south of this square is the Rampart Range, running south and east, with bomb-proofs. The Arsenal is in front of the North or Staff range.