G. DE CORIOLIS,
Surveyor-General.
92
4. In paragraph 3 of their report of 1894 the Black River Railway Commis- sion stated that Mr. E. Pitot, General Manager of the Railways, estimated the net annual revenue of the proposed line at Rs. 32,100; the annual charge on my revised estimate would be for interest and sinking fund, i.e., 5 per cent. on Rs. 625,157, Rs. 31,257. The line would therefore be self-supporting. I have always held that the Black River line would be a paying one. Under the present circumstances created by the surra epidemic, the construction of that line is, I consider, a work which cannot be delayed. There is, besides, no reason for delaying it since it is proved, beyond any possible doubt, that the line will not only be self-supporting but will increase the traffic, and consequently the revenue of the Midland line.
G. DE CORIOLIS,
Surveyor-General.
93
Adding the English and Mauritius payments together, the total estimated cost is, therefore, £36,317, say, £36,300 in round figures.
4. The rails are 30 lbs. per lineal yard flat-bottomed steel rails, laid on wooden cross-sleepers (half round 7 feet by 4 inches by 8 inches), 2,112 per mile, without chairs, with fish-plates, fish-bolts, and nuts and dog-spikes. The engines are four wheels coupled (for the standard gauge), with side tanks and a four-wheeled bogie in front, and weigh, in working order, about 15 tens. A full description of those engines is to be found at page 261 of the Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Vol. CXLV. (August, 1901). They will answer the requirements of the line on account of the sharp curves of the estates' sidings. The estimated cost of the permanent way materials and of the engines is based on an offer received from the agent in Mauritius of Messrs. Colley & Co. (41, Seething Lane, London, E.C.).
། ༣། ཟ། ‛། ་།
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :--
C.O. 882
8
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
Enclosure 5 in No. 77.
SURVEYOR-GENERAL to COLONIAL SECRETARY.
His Excellency the Governor has asked me to send in a detailed revised estimate
of the Black River proposed railway.
2.
The revised estimate is as follows:-
(a) English payments (vide paragraph IX. of my printed report of the 21st
September, 1894, and my report D/85 of the 16th February, 1903 :—
Amount required.
item.
1. Permanent way (12 miles for the line and 2 miles for
stations and estates sidings)
£9,040
2. Points and crossings
720
840
4. Tramway crossings
150
72
3. Fencing
5. Signal-post fittings
6. Telegraph and station fittings
7. Water tanks for stations
8. Equipment: two bogie 15-ton engines
9. Iron work for bridges
Total (the whole delivered in the harbour of Mauritius)
480
360
2,100
1,440
£15,202
3. (b). Mauritius payments.-The estimated total amount of the Mauritius payments is Rs. 316,727, or at 1s. 4d. to the pound, £21,115, the details of which are as follows:-
Enclosure 6 in No. 77.
ACTING GENERAL MANAGER OF RAILWAYS to COLONIAL SECRETARY.
(No. G.M. 391/165.)
SIR,
April 9, 1903. WITH reference to your letter, No. 1913/03, of the 6th instant, I beg to report that, according to information obtained from the several planters of Black River, and principally from Messrs. P. E. Carcenac and Pepin, who have large interests in the district, I have estimated, as follows, the receipts of the proposed railway line.
According to the last census, 1901, the population of Black River district is 14,063 inhabitants.
Admitting that each of these persons travels to and from Central twice a year (as an average), and taking the length of the trip as the distance from Central to
a point half-way distant between Petite Rivière Station and the terminal station of the proposed line, we get 28,126 trips of 10 miles and back, or 562,520 passenger miles at .04c. per mile Parcels, say
+
Sugar from Medine, Albion and Tamarin
Other produce of the district (this includes aloe fibres, molasses, charcoal,
firewood, guano)
Manure
Cane traffic
Provisions
Rs. 22,500
500 15,000
42,000
12,600
18,000
3,600
Item.
Cost.
1. Earthwork
Rs. 112,000
2. Ballast
33,000
3. Permanent way
19,450-
4. Fencing
9,102
The working expenses would be about 40 per cent., or
leaving
Rs. 114,200
45,680
Rs. 68,520
5. Bridges and culverts
46,000
6. Telegraph
3,300
7. Road crossings
4,875
8. Road diversions
10,000
9. Stations
30,000
10. Land and compensation (small proprietors only)
5,000
11. Engineering
18,000
12. Committee
2,000
13. Miscellaneous
14. Contingencies
4,000
as net revenue, which is the interest at 9 per cent. of a capital of Rs. 761,333.
The above estimate includes the transport, which would be supplied by estates and planters, not by shopkeepers and other private individuals.
All planters, I am informed, have declared that they would increase in a large measure their produce in the case of the opening of a railway line.
R. W. DowsON,
Acting General Manager of Railways.
20,000
Rs. 316,727
Page 240Page 241
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
8
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON:
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
19587
(No. 152.)
91
No. 78.
GOVERNOR SIR C. BRUCE to MR. CHAMBERLAIN.
(Received May 27, 1903.)
[Answered by No. 83.]
SIR,
Government House, Mauritius, April 27, 1903. WITH reference to my despatch, No. 148, of the 25th instant,* on the subject of the construction of light railways, I have the honour to report on the Long mountain branch project.
2. On the 14th of October last a petition from the proprietors and inhabitants of the district for the construction of such a railway was laid on the table of the Council of Government by the Member for Pamplemousses district, the Honourable E. Sauzier. On the 21st October, I addressed a Minute to the Council stating that I proposed to revive a Commission of Enquiry which had been appointed in the year 1893 but had never reported. At the same time I asked for a vote of Rs. 500 to meet preliminary expenses. I annex a copy of my Minute, which shows that a branch railway to Montagne Longue had been projected for many years.
3. I enclose a copy of the report of the Commission, dated the 10th of March last. It states sufficiently clearly the reasons that have made the early carrying out of the project a matter of urgency. Attached to the report are the Minutes of a meeting of the Commission on the 5th of March, including the final estimate of the Surveyor-General of the cost of construction.
4. I annex also:-
(A) Planst prepared by the Surveyor-General showing the projected branch
line; and
(B) An estimate of the revenue and working expenses prepared by the Acting
General Manager of Railways, Mr. Dowson.
5. It will be seen from the enclosures to this despatch that the estimated cost of the project, including the necessary engines, was Rs. 180,000. This amount it was proposed to raise by loan. Interest and sinking fund on a loan of this amount would constitute an annual charge of Rs. 9,000, while the working expenses are estimated at about Rs. 10,000. The branch would, therefore, during the currency of the loan, involve an annual expenditure of about Rs. 19,000. The revenue is estimated by the Acting General Manager at Rs. 25,000. I may add, incidentally, that the branch line would save the Government about Rs. 1,000 a year, in the way of cost of transport for police, hospital and other purposes.
6. The realisation of a large part of this revenue would, however, depend upon arrangements being made with the proprietors of the estate "l'Industrie" for the construction of a siding of about two miles. Similar arrangements are frequently
made with proprietors, the Government finding the materials and the proprietors paying the cost of labour and binding themselves to send their sugars and provisions, &c., by rail for a fixed term of years. The cost of the materials in all these cases is charged to the annual revenue of the Colony, and is not made a loan charge. These agreements are very remunerative.
7. After careful consideration of this scheme, in consultation with the Surveyor- General and the Acting General Manager of Railways, I ascertained that this short line could be constructed and worked with old, but serviceable, rails and light engines in the possession of the Department at a much reduced cost. I annex a report of the Surveyor-General prepared in conference with the General Manager, showing that the line can be constructed for about Rs. 110,000, while the new scheme will avoid the delay that must necessarily have occurred in obtaining the proposed plant from England.
8. At the same time I satisfied myself that, instead of constructing the line out of lean funds, the cost might be met out of revenue chargeable to the extent of
• No. 76.
† Not reproduced.
95
Rs. 50,000 to the current financial year; provision being made for the balance in the estimates for the year 1903-04. Assuming the working expenses to be, as estimated, Rs. 10,000, the line should give a very satisfactory net revenue.
9. I therefore lost no time in consulting the Executive Council, and, in accordance with their advice, gave orders that the construction of the line should be undertaken at once. Later in the year it is certain that there will be a very great demand for labour, and I attached considerable importance to the prompt prosecution of the work at a time of year when labour is more readily available.
10. In view of the quite exceptional circumstances of the moment, I trust that my action will commend itself to your approval. The area of land to be served by this branch line is of about 11 square miles, with a population of about 10,000. A great part of this area was thrown out of cultivation for years, and has been restored by the energy of the small proprietors, who have acquired and work it with profit. Unless they can be supplied with means of transport, in substitution of the animal draught on which they have hitherto depended, it is much to be feared that the result of the industry of years will be lost to the proprietors and to the Colony.
I have, &c.,
(No. 28 of 1902.)
Enclosure 1 in No. 78. MINUTE.
CHAS. BRUCE,
RAILWAY EXTENSION TO MONTAGNE LONGUE.
Governor.
In June, 1889, a petition was laid on the table of the Council of Government by
the Honourable Member for Pamplemousses, asking for the extension of the north line of the railway to Montagne Longue, and in July, 1889, a description of the proposed work and total cost was prepared by the Surveyor-General, Mr. M. Connal.
On the 23rd of May, 1893, a motion was carried in Council for a committee to report on the proposed railway. The Governor then appointed a Commission, which, Proel. however, never reported.
No. 21
In 1897 a report from the General Manager of Railways and the Acting Surveyor- of 1893. General, together with plan showing intended line and schedule of quantities giving estimates of probable cost, was submitted to the Commission.
The Honourable Member for Pamplemousses, on the 20th November, 1900, laid on the table a petition from the inhabitants of Long Mountain praying for an extension of the railway, which was also referred to the Long Mountain Railway Commission. Under these circumstances and with reference to the petition from the proprietors and tenants of Montagne Longue for a railway line from Terre Rouge to Estate, laid on the table by the Honourable Member for Pamplemousses at the last
Industrie meeting, the Governor has the honour to inform the Council of Government that he proposes to revive the Commission appointed for that purpose on the 10th of June, 1893.
The Governor has further the honour to request the Council to revote the sum G. M. 99 of Rs. 500 for the preliminary expenses which was voted in 1893, 1894 and 1895, but of 1888. not expended. The course now proposed is the same as was adopted with reference Co. 86 to the Moka Railway extension in 1888.
Government House, October 18, 1902.
Enclosure 2 in No. 78.
CHAS. BRUCE,
Governor.
REPORT OF THE LONG MOUNTAIN RAILWAY COMMISSION.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
WE, the undersigned Commissioners, appointed by Your Excellency to report
on the expediency of creating a branch line of railway starting from some point on
of 1888.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.