RAILWAYS OF INDIA.*

The total length of railways open and sanctioned on the 31st of March, 1899, after allowing for minor connections, was 26,059 miles, being a net increase of 604 miles during the year. The total length of railways open for traffic on the same date was 22,491 miles, being a net increase of 1,334 miles, leaving 3,568 miles still under construction or sanctioned.

The mean mileage worked during the calendar year was 21,475 miles, being an increase of 944 miles over the figures of the previous year.

The total capital outlay on railways open to traffic amounted on December 31, 1898, to $857,690,000, an increase of about $27,000,000, as compared with the expenditure incurred to the end of 1897.

The gross earnings in 1898 amounted to $87,885,561, or $5,981,012 more than in the previous year; and the net earnings amounted to $46,079,621, being an increase of $4,210,804; leaving a profit on the capital expenditure of 5.37 per cent, against 5.04 per cent in 1897.

The passenger tariff rates (average) per mile were: First class, 2.36 cents; second class, 1.13 cents; intermediate class, 0.56 cent; third class, o. 3 cent.

Tariff on freight per ton per mile (average) was as follows: First class, 1.59 cents; second class, 2.34 cents; third class, 3.6 cents; fourth class, 4.12 cents; fifth class, 5.55 cents.

The number of passengers carried in 1898 was 152,584,320, an increase of 1,320,505 over the previous year.

The aggregate of freight carried in 1898 was 36,350,900 tons, an increase of 2,652,283 tons over 1897.

The rolling stock was as follows in 1898: Locomotives, 4.335; passenger cars, 12,814; freight cars, 80, 708.

It will be seen by the above that the mileage remaining under construction or sanctioned on the 31st of March, 1899, was 3,568 miles. Improvements are being made on the railways now open for traffic, to which I would call the attention of our manufacturers of locomotives, bridges, steel rails, cars, and other railway supplies, as it has been demonstrated that they can compete successfully for contracts for such supplies. Last year, 7,000 tons of steel rails were delivered in Calcutta from the United States, and now I am informed that the Baldwin Locomotive Works have a contract for ten freight engines for the Bengal State Railway, besides three or four passenger engines for the Bengal Central Railway, and that the Burma

*See "American railway machinery in India," post p. 654.

Railway, the Bombay Baroda, and the central India railways also have made such purchases.

To ascertain what supplies are required and when contracts will be let, our manufacturers should correspond with Sir A. M. Rendel & Son, consulting engineers, 8 Great George street, Westminster, S. W., London, for Indian state railways, East Indian Railway, Bengal and Northwestern Railway, Southern Mahratta Railway, and the Bengal Central Railway; and with Sir George B. Bruce, consulting engineer, 3 Victoria street, London, S. W., for Great Indian Peninsular Railway, Indian Midland Railway, and South Indian Railway. They should correspond with the director-general of stores, India Office, London, with reference to contracts for supplies for the railways worked by the state.

CALCUTTA, August 31, 1899.

R. F. PATTERSON,

Consul-General.

TRAMWAYS IN BOMBAY.

Inquiries having been made as to the street-car system of this city, I submit a short report which, I think, may be of interest.

The company was chartered by the Bombay government in 1874 under the name of the Bombay Tramway Company, Limited. It has an invested capital stock of 30 lakhs of rupees, or about $1,000,ooo, and debentures of about two-thirds that amount. The stock is principally owned in the United States, and its main office is located in New York City. The road is a double-track system, with about 171⁄2 miles in operation. The charter embraces the franchises of the entire city. The road covers the principal business centers, such as the fort district, Girgaum, Byculla, Parel, Mazagon, Grant Road, the railroad terminals, and docks. It does not extend to Breach Candy, Malabar Hill, or to any suburb or outlying district.

It has in use 187 open cars, made by the company in Bombay. It employs 1,150 horses, each of which travels on an average 13 miles daily. They are well cared for and never abused, a sort of a hat or padded bonnet being fastened on top of their heads during the day as a protection against the sun. All animals, in fact, re

ceive humane treatment in India.

About 1, 100 men are employed by the company. The car drivers and conductors are paid by the trip, and the former receive about 18 rupees* ($5.85) and the latter 22 rupees ($7.15) per month. The track, barn, and common laborers receive the usual Bombay wages of 6 annas (12 cents) per day.

*The consul estimates the value of the rupee at 32 cents throughout his report.

The rails are of the girder type, 30 feet long and weighing 83 pounds per yard. They are laid on teak-wood ties embedded in concrete. The road was opened to traffic in 1874, and its present cost is estimated at about 35,000 rupees per mile of single track. The total gross receipts of the road for the last financial year were $398,498, and the operating expenses during the same year were $257,821.

There is now a movement to convert the road into an electric line. In fact, the company has applied to the Bombay government to sanction the conversion. Electricity has but recently come into use in India, Madras being the only city where it is used on street railways as a motive power.

Bungalows

The rents in the city of Bombay are extremely high. rent from $800 to $2,000 per year, and flats without any modern conveniences for from $500 to $1,000 per annum.

The population of the city in the last census in 1891 was 821,764. The density of population in certain parts of the city is very great. In the native quarters, which contain most of the population, it is estimated that there is one human being to every 10 square yards

of space.

The mortality at present is great, owing largely to the plague with which the city has been infected for the past three years.

In view of these facts, it is hoped that the Bombay government will speedily sanction the conversion of the present system of the street-car road into an electric line, and that the company will not only extend its service to all parts of the city, but also to outlying and suburban districts, and give the people of this city a service of cheap and rapid transit, thereby providing an outlet, as in many large cities of Europe and America, for its overcrowded quarters, and being of advantage not only financially, but also from a sanitary standpoint.

BOMBAY, August 15, 1899.

WILLIAM T. FEE,

Consul.

STREET RAILWAYS IN VERACRUZ.

In response to an inquiry by a New York trade journal,* ViceConsul Pagés, of Veracruz, on September 20, 1899, says:

The following is a statement of the street railways in the State of Veracruz:

Ferro-Carril Urbano de Jalapa a Las Puentes; capital stock, $150,000 in Mexican currency; Apolinario Castillo, president, Mex

*The editor has received copy of the report.

ico City, D. F.; Felipe Mazarrasa, jr., general manager, Mexico City, D. F.

Ferro-Carril Urbano de Cordoba; capital stock, $24,500 in Mexican currency; Adalberto Casa, intendente, Cordoba, V. C.

Empresa del Ferro-Carril Urbano de Veracruz. This property has recently been acquired by an English syndicate. The organization is not completed. It is understood the capital is to be $250,ooo. I am unable to give the name of the corresponding official of the new company, but a letter addressed to "Empresa nueva del Ferro-Carril Urbano de Veracruz" would reach the proper person. Mr. Fletcher Toomer, Mexico City, D. F., was connected with the transfer to the syndicate.

Empresa Urbana de Orizaba; an individual enterprise owned and managed by Angel Jimenez, Orizaba, V. C.

Ferro-Carril Urbano de Alvarado; a private enterprise owned and operated by Vives Hermanos, Alvarado, V. C.

Ferro-Carril Urbano de Tuxpan; a private enterprise, of small magnitude; address, "Empresa del Ferro-Carril Urbano, Tuxpan, V. C."

The above roads are at present operated by mule power. There is in no case a bonded debt.

None of the roads issue printed annual reports, and give private reports only to those financially interested. The Orizaba enterprise is understood to be profitable to its owner, Mr. Angel Jimenez.

The Veracruz road, when reconstructed, is expected to be a wellequipped, modern electric railway, furnishing ample transit facilities for Veracruz. In their management, the roads are conservative, and even the least profitable are supposed to be on a paying basis. These roads have hitherto obtained their equipment and supplies chiefly from the United States. With the exception of the Veracruz road, now in English hands, there are no new street-railway enterprises, nor are any extensive improvements announced by existing lines.

WATERWORKS AND SEWERAGE IN TAMPICO.

Tampico, on the Gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of the Panuco River, is comparatively a new city. It is now a deep-water port, and vessels drawing 24 feet steam up to the wharves. It is a railroad center, being a terminus of the Mexican Central Railroad and of the Monterey and Gulf Railroad. A bill has been approved by the State legislature for construction of waterworks, drainage, and street paving. An estimate of the value of the work to be done is about

$800,000 silver.

The payment for the proposed improvements will be guaranteed by the State. Translation of the advertisement for

bids reads:

The city council of Tampico, being authorized by the legislature of the State, in a bill passed on the 29th of June last, to solicit bids for the construction of waterworks to furnish 8,000 liters of potable water per minute for the individual and public use of the city, as also for a complete system of sewerage, including in this last the paving of the streets on the Macadam plan or any other good system, did, in open session to-day, resolve to invite all persons, companies, or enterprises in the Republic or out of the Republic, considered able to execute one or both of the proposed improvements, to present to this council their propositions under sealed cover on or before the 15th of February, 1900, leaving each bidder to formulate the propositions by contract at a fixed price, or as stipulated by the concession, the conditions to be expressed clearly in the proposition, and whether for one or both of the improvements. The following are the conditions to be noted:

First. The water must be taken from the Tamesi River at a distance of about 20 kilometers (12.42 miles) from the city, and may be brought by gravitation in vitrified pipe to a point approximately some 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) from the starting point, and an equal distance from the city. The water must be filtered before reaching the city.

Second. At the intermediate point, denominated Tancol, the machinery and necessary pumps can be located to raise the water to the height of Fort Liberty, which is an elevation of about 39 meters (128 feet) and distant some 9 kilometers from Tancol and approximately 1 kilometer (0.623 mile) from the city, which elevation will be sufficient to distribute the water in subterranean pipes throughout the city by gravitation.

Third. At Fort Liberty, an ample reservoir of masonry must be constructed to hold sufficient water so that the supply of the city may not suffer interruption for any cause.

Fourth. The network of tubing necessary for the distribution of the water throughout the city will approximate a length of from 9,000 to 11,000 meters (27,861 to 36,089 feet).

Fifth. The party or parties whose plans and estimates are approved must guarantee the fulfillment of the stipulations by a deposit of $5,000, which will be held by the State treasurer.

Sixth. The contract or contracts awarded must be made before a notary public, having been first approved by the State legislature, all the expenses for such documents being borne by the contractor or contractors.

Seventh. All information that interested parties may need will be furnished by the city clerk.

Eighth. All propositions must be presented to the mayor of the city on or before the 15th of February next, accompanied by the plans and necessary details.

Ninth. If a proposition is made to the city council by an individual, company, or enterprise residing outside of the city, some one domiciled in the city and with sufficient power to contract must act as a representative of such person or organization. NEILL E. PRESSLY, Vice-Consul.

TAMPICO, August 12, 1899.