Arakan: - One Who Preserves and Takes Care of Their Own Nationality.

Publication by Arakan Action Association (AAA.)

Arakan  Past – Present – Future

BY JOHN OGILVY HAY, J.P.

Arakan Library was founded by a group of Arakan Action Association (AAA) in exile in Thailand from Burma in 2007 doing to voice for the knowledge, the people democratic and human rights.

 

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Arakan Action Association (AAA)

Chotana Road , Chaing Mai ( 50301 ), Thailand.

Email : arakanactionassociation@walla.com , +66—089-637-4383, +66—053-409-577

Letter to the Most Honourable the Marquis Of Lansdowne,

Viceroy and Governor-General of India Elect.

London, 17^th Sept. 1888.

             My Lord Marquis, - On the eve of your departure for your high and important position in India, I reluctantly take leave to trespass on you for a moment, to engage your consideration to a subject which I doubt not will occupy much of your attention during the term of your Viceroyalty. I refer to the development of the province of Burmah, as affecting the revenues of our Indian empire.

             According to the details given by Sir John Gorst in his recent Indian Budget statement, it is expected that so far on as 1896 there will be a yearly deficit from Upper Burmah of Rs. 340,000, and under these circumstances I cannot but think your Government would welcome any satisfactory aid from the public that would welcome any satisfactory aid from the public that would enable it to accelerate the progress of out new possession, to make it, what it undoubtedly is capable of becoming, a paying province. With this impression, I have addressed letters to the Most Honourable the Marquis of Salisbury, and the Right Honourable Viscount Cross, Secretary for India, of Which I enclose copies for your lordship’s information. I have at the same time forwarded to those noblemen copies of a brochure I have just prepared on “Indo-Burmah-China Railway Connections,” the prosecution of which must tend materially to the desired advancement of Burmah. On object I also had in view was to show the best and shortest route to the sea for the outlet of trade, not only from Burmah-China but from our provinces to the east of the Ganges and Brahmapootra. I herewith forward a copy for your lordship’s acceptance, begging that you will give it your considerate attention.

             Were it not trespassing too much on your time, which must necessary be fully occupied in arranging for your early departure, I would ask to be favored with an interview on the subject. Waiting your convenience could such be arranged,- I have the honour to be, &c., &c.

Acknowledgment.

Lansdowne House, Berkeley Square,

Sept. 21, 1888.

             Sir, - I am desired by the Marquis of Lansdowne to acknowledge, with his best thanks, the receipt of your letter and enclosures of the 17^th inst, which he has read with great interest. Lord Lansdowne regrets that, as he leaves for Scotland tomorrow, he will be unable to have the pleasure of seeing you personally. He wishes me to assure you, however, that the subject to which you have referred will receive his attentive consideration. – I am, &c.

Henry Streatfield.

J. Ogilvy Hay, Esq.

The Raid On The Chattagong Frontier.

To the Editor of the ‘Scotsman.’

December 27, 1888.

             Sir, - I have read with interest the paper in your issue of the 25^th inst, under the above heading. The raids which have taken place during the past year on the Arakan and Chittagong frontiers will necessitate one of those punitive expeditions which, though small, are so expensive. While Upper Burmah was in the hands of its native rulers, there was this difficulty in dealing with these frontier tribes, that if we sent an expedition against them they retired before us into their fastnesses or into Burmese territory, where it was not politic for us to follow them. In their fastnesses they had an advantage over us in their knowledge of the country, where, while we were exposed to their attacks, they were completely protected. Upper Burmah being now under our rule, these tribes are situated in the heart of our possessions which surround them, this locality forming about the shape of an egg, the one end being the junction of Chittagong, Arakan, and Upper Burmah, the southern end being the junction of the latter with Assam. It is impossible that this spot can remain independent, as it is under irresponsible chiefs, and must sooner or later be brought under our sway – and the sooner the better. Otherwise we will always be subject to a recurrence of these raids; and if we are now going to the trouble and expense of an expedition, we should at once make an end of the business by bringing these “ferocious and savage tribes” into entire submission to us. This cannot be done in what remains of this season, but our troops being once on the ground, should not be withdrawn till the work is fully accomplished. A good sanitary position would doubtless be found in the hills, where the inactive season could be safely spent.

             In an article in your paper of 14^th September, you were so good as refer to a brochure which I had just issued, under the title of ‘Indo-Burmah-China Railway Connections, a pressing Necessity;’ but your remarks were confined to the first part of my paper, the “connection of Burmah with China,” advocating the Bhamo route as more advantageous to our possessions than the Moulmein-Siam route proposed by Messrs Colquhom and Hallett. Since then some letters have passed on the subject in the columns of the ‘Homeward Mail,’ which may throw some light on it to those who take an interest in it. I would now ask you to be so good as refer to the second chapter of my little work as to connection of Burmah with India, where you will find some account of what has been done to this end. An attempt was made in the early part of this year to effect a communication with Burmah from Assam. This had been tried on several previous occasions, but unsuccessfully; and though this last expedition partially effected its object, it was checked at its outset by the Naga and Singphoo tribes (see p. 40), who refused to give it their assistance. I have said, “partially effected its object,” as it failed in effecting a junction with an expedition from the Burmah side sent to meet it, this latter having been interrupted in their march by large bodies of Kachyens. Colonel Wood Thorpe, of the Indian Survey Department, in a paper read at the Royal Geographical Society on the 17^th of this month, giving an account of his explorations in the Chindwin Valley, referred to our relations with the Nage and Singphoo tribes, showing that in time past our Government had been somewhat remiss in not opening up intercourse more freely with those tribes, and we were now reaping the fruits of this remissness, as when we now wanted a passage through their country we found them obstructive. A remark much to the same effect, as regards the Lushais and Shendoos on the Arakan and Chittagong frontiers, will be found at p.36 of the brochure before referred to.

             Until we can get a position in their very midst, the most effectual way to deal with these tribes would be the construction of a railway by the shortest route from Arakan to Upper Burmah. This would form a basis from which to work northwards in bringing these tribes under our civilizing influences. This is as important a matter as may that can be considered in connection with our under-populated province of Burmah and our over-populous districts of Bengal, from the latter of which it is proposed to migrate settlers to grants in Burmah. Doubtless it will be said the coutry is too rugged to attempt such a work, but engineering skill can overcome all obstacles; and considering the importance of the work, both as regards its effects on the tribes and the facilities it will give to carry out the immigration scheme into Burmah, all obstacles to its accomplishment must be removed. This is the line, also, which will lead to the bast outlet for all China-Burmah trade on the Bay of Bengal. This deserves special attention, and I ask this at your hands in your columns, - I am, &c., Old Arakan.

Extract from Viscount Cross’s Address at Oldham, 25^th Jan, 1889.

             He had spoken to them about railways, and he had said that he was as anxious as any one that the railways in India should be vastly extended. They must not judge whether the railways paid by the amount of refurn they got for their capital or the money they had expended. There was a much greater benefit than that. The railways were opening out the country which meant a good return in the future, since it would increase the growth of cotton and wheat, as the regions of cultivation would be put in more direct communication with the ports, and the cultivator brought into direct communication with the merchant. By the opening out of railways the general aspect of the country was changed. There were benefits to be derived from the increase in the mileage of railways which were not represented by the incomes from the railways. He hoped that he would be helped in his desire to get the railways of India much further developed. So long as he occupied his office, he would continue to press forward that policy. He hoped that all who were able to help him would do so as far as they could, by coming forward with as much capital as they could let out, and he hoped he would be able to meet them on equable terms …. He was doing all he could individually for the extension of railways to make it more practicable [that is, the export of wheat]. In 1873, when there was a protective duty, they had only 5000 miles of railway opened. They had now 15,000 opened.

The ‘Times,’

             When publishing the preceding the following day, referring to what was said as to the extension in the growth of wheat remarks: -

             “The reason may be found in the new and ever-increasing facilities for inland transit which the development of the railway system has brought. We are not, Lord Cross says, to measure the value of the Indian railways by the direct results which they yield. The indirect results are more valuable by far. Lord Cross therefore declares himself determined to press on the construction of new lines by every means in his power. He calls on his capitalist hearers to help him by choosing new railways in India as a medium of investment for their money. He will give them the best terms he can, in the shape, we presume, of a guarantee or of a local monopoly. If India wishes to borrow money and to construct railways for herself, the thing can be very easily done. Her credit is good, and she can draw on this country to almost any extent, and on terms much easier than those for which her earlier loans were raised. But in whatever way the development of the Indian railways system is to be managed, it will be from the INDIRECT, rather than from the DIRECT, profits that a return may most hopefully be sought. The unpleasant fact is, that Indian railways do not pay in the common mercantile sense of the word, and that the newest lines, so far from being an exception to the rule, afford the most complete instances of its truth. The appeal made to the indirect profits as a set-off for the absence of direct profits is not as convincing as Lord Cross seems to assume. That a railway confers benefits on the regions which it traverses is true enough, but it is only a part of the truth. The money expended upon its construction has not fallen from the clounds. It has either been extracted under a guarantee from the pockets of private adventurers, or it has been borrowed by the State. It must be paid back equally in bothe cases by an addition in some form to the taxes. It has thus simply been diverted from some form to the taxes. It has thus simply been diverted from some other use which would have been found for it, and which would have given direct as well as indirect profits if no such diversion had been made, and if the money had been allowed to fructify in the ordinary way of business. The good done by Indian railways has on some points been unquestionable. They have added not a little to the defensive strength of the country by the facilities which they have given for the rapid movement of troops, and they have made it easy during a local famine to pour food betimes into the regions most urgently in need of it. The recurrence of such an event as the great Orissa famine has thus become wellnigh impossible. Never again shall we hear of stores of food ready and waiting transport, and of hundreds of thousands of men and women and children dying meanwhile from starvation, for no other reason than because the means of transport were not then to be found. But when Lord Cross urges the construction of more railways as a benefit to India from a strictly financial point of view, we cannot forget that there are two sides to the question, and that an investment unremunerative in any direct way will probably prove, on a complete analysis of results, to have been unremunerative all round.”

             Following Lord Cross’s address at Oldham, Sir Juland Danvers read a paper on “Progress of Railways and Trade in India,” before the Society of Arts, on the 29^th March 1889, reported in the ‘Times’ of 1^st April, from which the following extracts are taken : -

             “Some noble structures [bridges] had been built since 1876. Though progress had been considerable, however, there was no cause for boasting. More railways were required, and it was to be hoped that private interest would provide what was wanted. Government had done much, but the taxes of the country could not stand a larger demand upon them, and therefore private enterprise would probably be encouraged by all possible facilities short of pecuniary aid. A parliamentary committee in 1884 considered the evidence in favour of a more rapid extension of railway communication to be conclusive and the Government thought that now the time had come when projects of this kind should be taken up in a purely enterprising spirit. Their refusal to grant a guarantee arose from no indifference to railway extension. Several new lines were in contemplation by companies unsuppoted by Government [where are they?]…… These defensive works, too, would not only fulfil their primary object, but would bring with them all the civilising influences and material advantages which railways always conferred on countries when introduced for the first time. Some pecuniary return for the outlay might also be expected from the traffic… It appeared to be inevitable that the competition already begun would increase, and this was not to be regretted if the competition was within due bounds…. If a State guarantee was given, control by the Government was necessary; but an agency could be so constituted that while State interests were protected, actual management might be conducted separately. With regard to improvements in machinery and new inventions of any kind, the Government looked upon this country as the proper field for experiments. The results obtained had been obtained by the pursuance of a bold but cautions policy, and he ventured to think the greater results might be expected in the future, and that railways would be the sheet-another of Indian finance… He turned to the question of trade, remarking that from railways to trade-seemed a natural transition, for the interests of the two were interwoven. The present position of India was due to trade, and railways had had a very important share in producing the commercial prosperity of recent years, though other agencies had also been at work. There could be no doubt that the commercial prosperity of the country and the success of railways went hand in hand. The lecturer concluded by saying that railways had been a most important factor in promoting the commerce, civilisatio, and material prosperity of the country, standing out as a benfit accepted and used as an unmixed good by all classes.”

Lord Cross to the Manchester Chamber of Commerce,

31^st May 1889.

             The efforts of the Government to extend railway communication in India, whether by the direct agency of the State or indirectly by the grant of assistance to companies, are inseparably connected with the financial condition of the empire, and are limited by the necessity of avoiding fresh taxation. Viscount Cross is, however, fully sensible of the importance of the subject to which you have drawn his attention, and is most desirous of aiding the expansion of the Indian railways system in any way compatible with the conditions referred to. Letter to Colonel Woodthorpe, R.E., which reached his Agents after he had returned to India, and possibly miscarried, as it was not acknowledged.

London, 5^th Feb, 1889.

             I listened with interest to the paper you read last month at the “Geographical” on your explorations in the Chindwin Valley; but there was one point to which you made no allusion, and I take the liberty of writing to you on the subject. I allude to the capabilities of the country for cultivation, and the products for which the soil is most suited. You said truly that little had been done by our Government to establish friendly relations with the tribes on the borders of Assam and Burmah. The same may be said of all the country south to Arakan, and the consequence is the raids there have been on the Chittagong and Arakan frontiers, requiring the expeditions which are now in the field in those quarters. All information as to the routes to connect Burmah with India must be of interest, with the view of developing our new possession. From Phayre’s History and other sources, I was aware an attempt was made during the first Burmese war to take part of the force in Arakan under General Morrism, into Burmah, but it was unsuccessful. These authorities seemingly overlooked the fact that after the signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo, a Madras regiment – the 18^th – marched from that place by the Aeng Pass, and embarked at what was then known as Amherst. Harbour, which I think must be identified with what is now known as Kyouk Phyoo, on the island of Ramree, or a harbour near there. I lately got from the military secretary to the Madras Government a copy of the report the commanding officer made of this march, which was effected in the morth of March 1826.

             Some years ago I was in communication with the late Mr Jenkins as to his journey towrds the Patkoi Mountains, and received from him an account of it. I have noted that you also explored that route. Has there any account of your expedition been published? I am more particularly interseted in the southern routes, and would like to see a route opened to Burmah from Chittagong or Arakan, and am anxious to get as much information as possible as to the capabilites of the interventing country. If you can aid me in this I will be much obliged. I conclude that your late journey extended south between 22˚ and 23˚, and I would be glad of any remarks you can give me as to the country on these parallets, or as far south as possible. I lately published a small paper on Indo-Burmah-China railway connections, a copy of which herewith I beg your acceptance of, and that you will excuse my troubling you with the present. – I am, &c.

Note._  I have been able to gather little information as to how these hill tracts between Burmah and Munneepore, Chittagong and Arakan, could be utilised. The Lushais, Shendoos, and Chins, in their migratory way, doubtless cultivate a little rice, cotton, sesamum, and tobacco, but something definite needs to be known on the subject.