Page:"Round the world." - Letters from Japan, China, India, and Egypt (IA roundworldletter00fogg 0).pdf/175

 Since the Sepoy mutiny which came eo near being evocestful, owing tothe dificnlty sf transporintion, the government has favored all railway prejecta for their military value in controlling provinces thousands of miles distant. Buta muck stronger lmpulee war given in this direction by cur rebellion, in ralzing the price of cottonard stimulating its culture over a vast extent of territory.

These roads are al) built and worked by companies, but the government guarsntece a five per cent, dividend to the steekhoid- ers, and exercises a general control over the management. It was at firet supposed that the natives would not rida in carriages where they would lose caste by touching an inferior; but happily this preved to be a mistske, and the principal income from pas: senger traffic ig derived from the natives, who traval third and fourth class, st froma third to half a cent per mile. The great moral ¢ffect of railwaya upen India in weakening the tiles of caste is pethaps of even more importance than the wonderful development of the country, in etimulating the production of the great ataplea by pre- viding an easy ard rapid transportation to the seaboard.

The Indian railways, like sverything elee English, are well and substantially built. Owing to the scarcity of wood and £3 the destructiveness of the white ants, iron takes ita place almost everywhere. The siaticn houses sre all of stoxe or brick, with carra- gated iron roofs; the ties and sleepers, all the bridges, and svea the telegraph poler, areofiron. When it [a corsidered that the engines aud care, ag well ay every p vad cf iron used in the construction and equipment of these 6,000 miles of road has been brought out from Hoagland, it will be uuderstecd how immensely expensive thete railways have been. In the management everylhing fa Engtish, with only such modifizations a3 are absolutely necessary in this climate. Here as in England the word “ear” ia un- Enown—we ride In “carriages” or “was- ons,” andthe gentlemanly “conductor” is fransfarmed into a “‘gnard,” who wears the uniform, buttons and badge of the railway. Aain Europe the carrisges are divided into compartments holding cight persons, with doors opening on both sides to the platfarm, which are locked by the guard before the train starts. Freightecars are here termed “goods vans’—every employee, from the Genera} Superintendent down to the coolie, is spoken of as a “servant” of the company.