Page:Viscount Hardinge and the Advance of the British Dominions into the Punjab.djvu/70

66 Although to Lord Dalhousie belongs the credit, which cannot be over-estimated, of having founded that vast system of railway communication now existing in India, it is but fair to mention the steps taken by his predecessor with reference to this important question. Having made himself well acquainted with the various reports laid before him, Sir Henry Hardinge drew up a Minute on which a writer in the Calcutta Review makes the following comments: — 'We are much mistaken if his Excellency has ever written a State paper on which he can reflect with more satisfaction, or which will more worthily illustrate his sagacity, penetration, and practical wisdom as a statesman.'

In this Minute, Sir H. Hardinge gave his approval to the Grand Trunk Line (now the East Indian Railway), as offering special advantages on military, political, and commercial grounds. With regard to the question of land, he argued that it should be granted free to the companies; and he further maintained that the assistance to be given by the State should include other substantial concessions, on the ground that English capitalists would not enter into such speculations without more encouragement from the Government. In his opinion, the reasons for such assistance arose from the military and political advantages to be derived from the lines when completed. He argued too in this Minute that it would not be prudent to leave the whole affair in the hands of the Government — the State in India, as in England, deriving its