Page:Notes of a journey across the Isthmus of Krà.pdf/49

 8th.—By Table II., including three hours' stoppage at Akyab, twelve at Rangoon, twelve at Maulmein, three at Tavoy (Mamogan), without going up the river, and three at Mersin (the trade of the two latter places being about five lakho. The number of hours between Calcutta and Kraw by those places is shown to be (43+33)=76, while the further progress to China from Tayoung would be about 153 hours, or with twelve hours across the Isthmus of Kraw, a total distance of (143+33+12+153)=341 hours. The direct line of China steamers touching at Singapore would probably delay ordinarily six hours at Pinang and twelve hours at Singapore—this added to the distance gives 360 hours, making a difference in point of time in favour of the Kraw route, via Akyab, of nineteen hours, while the latter picks up all the trade.

The valuable goods (opium especially) and the mail from England might be sent by a single steamer, running twice a month to and from Calcutta to Kraw. The coat of this steamer is shown in Table IV., and the capital for construction of rail-road would be reduced to £700,000, much more than sufficient however. This arrangement of running a steamer direct to Kraw from Calcutta would beat the direct line to China, via Singapore, by ninety-three hours, as follows:—

and would give a regular weekly communication with Calcutta, as shown in last porn, while the line running via Akyab gives to the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal all the advantages of early communication with home, which its western