m RAILWAY Sotww
WAMH46TOn»0.«;.
LEÏTEE TO THE SECEBTAEY OF STATE FOE THE COLONIES ON
EAILWAY EXTENSION IN CEYLON.
To the Eight Hon. Sie Henry Holland, Babt., M.P., G.C.M.O., Her Majesty's
Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies.
Vichy, 26í/í tSeptember, 1887.
Sib,
The great interest I have taken for many years in the subject of Eailway
Extension in Ceylon, emboldens me to address you with reference to the
information recently given in answer to questions put in the House of Commons.
I refer chiefly to the readiness of Government to allow the section of railway
needful to connect the rich province of Uva with the existing Ceylon system, to be
constructed and owned by a Private Company.
When, before the failure of Coffee in the Dimbula district, a proposal of this
kind was ventilated to two of your predecessors in office successively, it was very
emphatically stated that no permission could be given to private individuals to
interfere with a work which Lord Kimberley especially felt should be made and
owned by the Ceylon Government, as a necessary portion of the Lines already
opened.
It was impossible for the intelligent public in Ceylon to contest this view of
the Colonial Office, seeing that the twenty-five miles of line surveyed, estimated,
and planned out ready for construction between Nanuoya and Haputale, have
always been regarded as an integral portion of the Extension from Nawalapitya.
To reach Haputale was the main object of the agitation for Eailway Extension
which began in 1872, while twelve of the most expensive miles of work from
Talawakellie, climbing up 1,500 feet to Nanuoya, would certainly not have been
constructed save in the interests of the farther section required to connect the
Uva Province. Governor Longden, during 1878-79, apologised for the need, as he
deemed it, of cutting the Nawalapitya-Haputale Extension into two sections ;
but assured the Legislative Council and public that the second, smaller and more
profitable section, must inevitably be constructed by Government at an early date,
I need not enter on the reasons which have operated since 1880 to prevent
the much-desired sanction of the twenty-five miles section to Haputale being
accorded, further than to say that, so far as the non-elasticity of the general
rA-gqr.nP. is ooTicer-ned. it is nstent to everv nuejaggLU-ainterl wiiVi tha
the case, that the Ceylon Government, through not being allowed to complete their
main line to Haputale, have been all these years losing a very considerable addition
fo their railway receipts and general revenue over and above the additional working
exnenses involved. Now, however, that you. Sir, have been enabled to state
offioially that there is no objection on the part of the Home Government to the
intrcduction of a Private Company for the construction of the Uva Section, it may
be useful to examine some of the conditions which would alone induce capitahsts
to undertake a work of the kind.
\rf ^ A Planting Enterprise in Ceylon, and, consequently, of the
/T- O o 00 Q^jony at large, is being so rapidly restored—mainly through the success and wide
,CÎ 1 FS extension of Tea cultivation—^that it would probably not now be difficult to establish
an Uva Eailway Company for the purpose of serving the valuable and heavy
tr^c that passes over the Haputale Eoad to and from the sea-coast. At present
2
tliere are many thousands of tons of traffic passing up and down this Haputale-
Colombo Road annually^ which are entirely lost to the Government railway ; for
the latter, though constructed for 129 miles (from Colombo to Nanuoya), had its
terminus fixed, seven years ago, at a point twenty-five miles ■ short of the com¬
parative wealth of new traffic. Now, the mere carriage of produce and goods
between Haputale and Nanuoya would afford to the Private Company that^con-
^ Secticm,
- of ^ í bo s • mew : TJya.. %rafflcL:hvex|R^^
' 129 çàk^ ' that míid^
^ 4:eçMpl^ mid the first quesíií^ 'fo^ «í^4eítlfé
between the Government and the promoters of a Company must inevitably be
who is to have all this profit, acquired solely through the operation of the Company
bringing so much new traffic to the Government lines—which traffic the Govern¬
ment themselves, or at least the Colonial Office, refuse to do anything to obtain
*
on their own account ? In equity it would seem that the Government, after
paying the additional working expenses and a certain small percentage for wear
and tear, ought to hand all the rest to the Private Company, which would be the
means of bringing this' Uva traffic on to the existing Railway line.
I quite realise the delicacy and difficulty attending such a compact ; but
it will be entirely useless to say to capitalists interested in Ceylon, " We grant
_TOu .permissioix tp, wastruet- the -twenty-fiv^ mi^^ .-extensiisay TeprirpBLHtp''T
cTïfcigr Uy^j^nd to comrnancl ali the tre.fS,c .passii^ flap^^." •—"t the v'rpapí!iiú|r'; ]
^ "1V - i' . - "I IT-. #» ■ ' I Y " . fifi' ' . --i ' ' A, U '- -i -■
, opiy reyarp - sho^d açise,ïrôinH;he^eairi^ Tni^^inTr
itö the very poiát where tlie profit reallyÔucn u^ barga^
would' 'mean that a Private Company which would be the means of bringing
in to the Ceylon Government R250,000 per annum of profit, free of all risk, could
not, on their own capital, secure a return probably exceeding two per cent.
f
I trust, therefore, Sir, that if you feel it to be your duty still to refuse
sanction to the Uva Railway Extension under Government auspices, you will make
known at an early date what concession you would be inclined to grant to a Private
Company for the new traffic which their work would bring to the existing Railway.
The required concession might best be arranged, perhaps, by an allowance for each
ton of Uva produce or goods passing through Nanuoya to or from Haputale.
Another point would be as to the use by the Company of the surplus rolling-
stock, which it is understood the Ceylon Government beyond tRe reqwem&Äilp
- of the existing Nanuoya Seotiop. Such surplus locomotives and o+h stock were
provided in vhe full expectation of the construction of the Haputflle Sectioh being
ur-^ortaken immediately after the line was opened tu Nanuoya, it beingjmore
economical jto secure at once enough rolling-stock for the whole extension of sixty
seven miles than for forty-two miles only.
I may touch here on the question of gauge, seeing that it has been stated on
authority that you, Sir, have no objection to narrow gauge, per se for the TJva
Extension. I would just venture to remind you of a few considerations which
ought to operate against any thought of break of gauge of all places at Nanuoya.
I might recall the opinion of Mr. G. L. Molesworth (now Consulting Eiigineer
for State Railways to the Government of India), based on his twelve years' experience
in the Island, that he could recognise no economical medium in the hill country of
Ceylon between a first-class road and a first-class railway. When it is said now-a-
days that the adoption of a wide gauge in the first instance was a mistake in the
case of Ceylon, it is well to recall the fact that there has been no serious accident
on the Ceylon Railways since the o])ening of the Kandy Railway in 1867—in spite
8
of the lines being single, with sharp curves and exceptional inclines—an all-
important exemption, very much due to the wide gauge. Again, the advantage of
constructing a first-class, even though expensive, line in a country subject to the
action of heavy rains twice a-year in the Monsoon seasons, has been shown by the
exceptionally low cost of upkeep per mile, after the work on each section has been
settled, -two or three working seasons. So much for the general question.
/«JSTVpaxticnlar point before us, I may refer to. the opinion of all the
Engineer^iyiôïoùl exception, whb have been en'gaged oy oroverntaent on railway
Sin Ceylon, as opposed to any break of g-fuafe "at Napuoya before
■'ehtenhg''ÏJva. ' , " . • - • . "
Again I would recall the fact'mentioned above, that the Ceylon Government
already possess enough rolliirg-stock to work an Uva Extension to Haputale
—an advantage which would be entirely neutralized by a break of gauge.
As regards the island generally, there is no evidence that break of gauge would
result in any permanent economy, or in very much saving in first cost, while there
is the fact that in India, as in the United States of America, narrow gauge lines
are already being taken up, in several instances, to be replaced by the broad gauge.
To break gauge at Nanuoya before reaching the traffic, which alone warranted the
first call for Railway Extension beyond Nawalapitya, and after making forty-two out
of the sixty-seven miles, would seem to be apiece of folly unparalleled in the history
of, iaâway^'ânterpitsevÎH^^^ Colonies. A&* regards the k)w__countrj of Ceylon, it has
teen'-shpwu taat the broad gauge is no bar to economical const^ctjpfe,
Kalutara. of tweiity-tóx
- * . J /. -—— »—
• miles, only cost E7Ö,000 (about JÊ5,000) per mile, ev^n though ; ime «ôCtójpflaípd
in the neighbourhood of the Capital had to be piifbhaséd~aî~excepticfitaîîy4îigh-
rates. It is fully anticipated, by practical men in the Grovernment service, that a
very large saving would be shown on the Engineer's estimates for the Haputale
Section, if the construction were entrusted to picked officers of the Public Works
Department, who have already shown their capacity in heavy and skilled masonry
works on large irrigation tanks, bridges, &c., in the Colony.
It will be obvious to yon, Sir, from the general tone of the present letter, that
the writer conceives it to be far more desirable, from every point of view, that the
Uva Eailway Extension should be constructed by Government than by a Company.
But the question of time is now becoming a very serious one. The ProUnce of Uva
is probably the richest in undeveloped resources of any in Ceylon, considering the
goodness of its soil and climate. Tea cultivation is being rapidly extended within
itsf höühdi, ànd'Têarproduee,lSx more than Coffee, requires the aid of safe, exre-
ditipuff transporii, tg "píe vent 'deterioration in quality while p between- tfea -
plantiitions nd the coast. Moreove)', whereas Coffee was finally prep^srqd and
^aj^kedin Colonibh,. Tea is Tnaunfeictnred. dried, and packed on tlie .estates^i'nvolving
the transport of tea-lead, hoop-iron, and often boxes, from the low country. Every
acre of Tea, therefore, is certain to give a much larger average traffic to the Eailway
than was afforded by Coffee.
It is evident now that a very large area of Tea in Uva will be in full production
before the Eailway can be brought within the boiinds of the province, and the
agitation which has hitherto prevailed with reference to the delay will be slight com¬
pared with the storm of angry remonstrance certain to arise when the heavy losses
to proprietors and to the community at large are fully realised two or three years
hence. This loss will occur through the want of that Eailway communication
which has been so long urgently called for at the hands of the Colonial Office.
Nearly sixteen years" have elapsed since the w-riter, at the instance ot the planters
and other residents in Uva, drew up the first Memorial, urging Eailway Extension
from Nawalapitya toHaputale, and more than thirteen years since the Secretary of
State was specially appealed to.
But, although forty-two out of the sixty-seven miles have been constructed.
Uva has not been entered, and its new and profitable traffic, which would have so
greatly benefited the Ceylon Government's main line all these years, has yet to be
secured.
I have not thought it necessary to enter on the question of Extension beyond
Eapuoaie, for the reason that the Section to that point is the only one finally surveyed,
planned, and prepared ready for construction, and that any attempt to include a
second section, or, indeed, to open the question of gauge, would simply mean a
further delay of some years before any commencement whatever could be made in
the work of construction. That Railway communication opened to Haputale by the
year 1890-91 would be an immense boon to the whole province of Uva, to the
planters as well as the natives, in all its divisions, is indisputable ; while, if either
a broad or a narrow-gauge survey to Badulla were now ordered, that the finally-
approved plans and estimates would be ready for the sanction of the Secretary of
State within the next three years is exceedingly doubtful, judging from past expe¬
rience. The policy, therefore, which would give Uva a Railway commanding the
vast bulk of its traffic within three or four years, is certainly the wise and desirable
one to adopt in the interests of the community; while, as regards profit, a return
of at least seven per cent, on the capital required is as sure as anything based on
human calculations can be.
Apologising for this intrusion on your attention,
I have the honour to be. Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
J. FERGUSON,
II '
Co Editor of the " Ceylon Observer'"' and
Tropical Agriculturist.""