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

             The annexation of Upper Burmah of course very materially altered the position of matters regarding its connection with Arakan on the one hand, and China on the other, from what they were when you had charge of British Burmah. In my late communications with Government, my first proposal was as to connecting Akyab with Mandalay, when I was met with the intelligence (communicated to me by the Secretary to State) that “the Government of India point out that a railway from Akyab to Mandalay, or any part of Burmah, would pass through a tract which is not for the most part British territory, while that part which is British is at present almost entirely unexplored.” To this I replied. Perhaps this answer was given to put off the matter for the time, while the LushaiChin expedition was in prospect. It would have served their purpose better, and at less expense, if, instead of the late expeditions from Upper Burmah, Chittagong, and Cachar, they had taken the narrower strip from Akyab to Mandalay as a base, and worked gradually north from that.

             From letters in the ‘Pioneer’ from a correspondent with the expedition, I gather that they have discovered a good line from Burmah into Arakan, which, they expect more careful survey will show, will give direct communication from Burmah to the Bay of Bengal by the shortest route – a point I have always maintained. The idea of connecting Burmah with Bengal by a longer and more northerly route seems open to question, as advisable. Sir Theodore Hope’s proposed line from Assam to Chittagong, extended to a junction on the Akyab and Mandalay route, would save the great expense of the northerly route, and give a shorter one between Burmah and Bengal. With the Government reply before me, I have for the time laid aside this line, with the firm belief that ere long it must be taken in hand. I have since turned my attention to railway extension Chinawards through the Shan States. This route, as you may be aware, is now being thoroughly surveyed, and will be the route of the future into China, thus solving the long-discussed trade-route question. With this I send you copy of a paper describing it, read before the Society of Arts by Mr W.Sherriff, a Rangoon merchant, who was deputed by the Chamber of Commerce to accompany a Government exploring party in the Northern Shan States. I have proposals now before the Government of India for the execution of this work….

             With this I also send copies of letters addressed to me by the late Sir Ed. Sladen, and General Alex. Fraser. In Colonel Sladen’s death I lost a warm supporter, and one who would have taken a practical part in working it out. General Fraser, who was executive officer at Akyab when I first settled there, and knows it and other parts of Burmah well, enters fully into the subject, and thoroughly supports my proposals. Should the Government agree to a concession, and were you resident in or near London, and had a mind to take part in it, I should value your co-operation on the Board of Directors…. I must apologise for troubling you at such length, but I hope its object may meet with your concurrence. I hope your health has benefited by your residence at Malta, where I understand you have spent the winter and spring. You have been well away from here, where that past season has been very trying to many and also fatal, as in the case of Sladen – the effects of a chill. I hear you are to preside at the Burmah dinner next month, when I may have the pleasure of seeing you. Meantime, hoping to hear from you at your convenience, I am, &c.

 

Railway Projects In Further India.

(Not published.)

To the Editor of the ‘Pioneer Mail.’

London, 4^th July 1890.

             Sir, - When I saw your article under the above heading in your issue of 4^th June, I said to myself, “Now here is an advocate in the right direction;” but when I came to read it, I must confess my great disappointment. You have not grasped the situation, and have a apparently taken the “Bengal” view of the question instead of the “Imperial” view. What I mean is, the “Bengal” idea is that the China and Burmah trade is to be taken to Bengal, which is just absurd; the ‘Imperial” view is, the development of China trade through Burmah, and the trade of Upper Burmah itself by a port on its own seaboard.

             Doubtless, as you say, the Mu Valley Railway is a necessary work, but it is only so as a local line for opening up the northern and western districts of Upper Burmah, this being the declared object of the local authorities in putting it forward; but possibly in the background there was an influence from Bengal which facilitated its sanction at headquarters, so as to carry out the above “Bengal” view. Then, again, what is the object of connecting the valleys of the Brahmapootra and Irrawaddy? The productions of these valleys must be carried through each independently, south-wards, to its own outlet – that is, all the trade of the districts bordering on the Brahmapootra, especially on its eastern and southern banks, must be carried by the line of railway – the Assam – Chittagong (and its feeders), for which Sir Theodore Hope is now negotiating with Government; that of the Irrawaddy, and, in fact, of all Bengal and the China trade to be developed by connection through the Shan States, either by railway or river to Rangoon, or by the projected Mandalay – Akyab Railway to the letter port.

             Further, you say, “A third aligument suggested is through the Lushai Hills from the Chittagong side, as this route is the most direct that could possibly be opened out between Bengal and Burmah.” In making this remark you overlook the difficulties in crossing the Megna and Brahmapootra rivers, which would prevent any line through the Lushai Hills connecting with Bengal. This is clearly shown by Sir Theodore Hope in a paper read before the Society of Arts last month. The following is an extract from that paper: “The Eastern Bengal Railway was initiated with the view of serving in due time the whole territories to the eastward, and we learn from Lord Lawrence’s minute of 9^th January 1869, that he contemplated its extension to Mymensing, to Chittagong, and to what is now termed Upper Assam. Mymensing, indeed, can now be reached by what is and must be a mere local line; but the great rivers have frustrated the original scheme of carrying the Eastern Bengal Railway from Calcutta to Dacca. Thus the territories to the eastward, and the entire province of Assam, are still destitute of railway connection with the rest of India and their own seaport of Chittagong. A whole province is absolutely without opening up by railway. The country served by the port of Chittagong is some 19,000 square miles in area, with twice the population of Canada …. Chittagong is the natural outlet (Questionable, when the capabilities of Akyab are considered.) of these vast resources, although devoid of either rail or road to the interior …. All efforts to force the traffic to Calcutta are evidently destined to be futile.” As a parenthesis and comment on the preceding, it may be remarked that unquestionably Sir Theodore Hope’s projected Assam-Chittagong Railway should have every encouragement, and the opposition to the concessions for its construction, as led by Mr. Bradlaugh, are very injudicious, its speedy prosecution being of the utmost importance to an enormous district of undeveloped wealth. But the “Bengal view” again crops up here in the idea of making the port of Chittagong (which is under the Bengal Government) the terminus, thus attempting to retain the trade for Bengal. This attempt to force the trade to Chittagong as its outlet must (to use Sir Theodore Hope’s expression, as above) “is destined to be futile.” This railway cannot be complete without being extended to Akyab, which must ultimately be THE outlet. But to return to the “alignment through the Lushai Hills,” referred to by you, I would ask your attention to a letter from your correspondent with the Lushai expedition, which appeared in your paper of 12^th March, where he says, “This ridge runs almost parallel to the one on our north, which I described in my last letter, and forms a sort of ready-made road to Arakan. Lying along lat. 21.20, it would probably lead over the Yomas near Chypotong, from which point Akyab lies about seventy miles south-west, and no doubt, when country is more settled, much traffic will move by one or other of the ridges. This will bring Upper Burmah into direct communication with the Bay of Bengal, and no one can tell what results may fallow.”

             From the preceding it will be seen that none of the routes you refer to as proposed for connecting Burmah with Bengal can compete with the connection to be effected between Mandalay and Akyab, which, joining by a branch with the Assam-Chittagong line, would give land communication between Burmah and Bengal. To return to your article. You say, “Their (Government) line of policy since 1886 has been that expenditure in the first instance should be within the bounds of the new territory which had passed into their hands, and which was practically without other communications than the rivers traversing them.” You then refer to the Tounghoo-Mandalay Railway, which has been such a success, and continuing, you remark: “The line which will join Sagain with Mogaung and open up the fertile valley of the Mu river, has been undertaken as the next most necessary work. It may perhaps be urged that fifty lakhs yearly is too small an allotment for Burmah railways; but however this may be, such money as is available should undoubtedly be devoted first of all to projects in the Irrawaddy valley, and not be frittered away on and across the border…

When Upper Burmah has been fully furnished with railways the local government will itself be anxious to extend its system both on the east across the Shan plateau westward towards India; but meanwhile its plain duty is to press forward work within its own limits, the Government of India in its turn to give all the assistance it can afford to internal lines in Burmah, leaving for future consideration projects which will take many years to nature.”

Form the preceding extract we are left to infer that you would consider the project of a line across the Shan plateau on the east, and a line westward towards India, as not within the limits of the local government. On this point I would join issue with you, and say that the line through the Shan States on the east, and the line from Mandalay to Akyab on the west, are as much internal lines in Burmah as the Mu Valley, and would be of infinitely more value in developing our province. The Shan States must be looked upon as an integral part of Burmah, and the wealth to be produced from them is great, both from agriculture and minerals; and it is only when we get to Kun-Lon on the Salween, on the borders of Yunan, that we can be said to be crossing the border.

I will not trespass further on you, but just ask you to consider impartially the views here put forward summed up as follows: That one of the most necessary works for the development of Burmah, and extension of trade in the interests of the empire generally, is the construction of a railway from Mandalay eastward through the Shan States to Kun-Lon Ferry on the Salween, approaching the confines of the Chinese province of Yunan, the survey of which has almost been completed, with a fair promise of showing a practical route, and not at an excessive cost; and next, the construction of a railway from Mandalay to Akyab as the nearest outlet seaward for the trade brought by the preceding line, as also the trade of Upper Burmah, Akyab at the same time being the most commodious harbour on the Bay of Bengal for a large trade, capable also of forming a large naval station or depot, answering as one of the best defenses for the capital of the empire – Calcutta. This last line has not yet been surveyed, but the indications given by your Lushai correspondent lead to the conclusion that it will not be the impracticable route some would have us believe, and sooner or later, but the sooner the better, must be taken in hand, and will in long-run prove to be one of the most important works connected with the development of Burmah.

Before closing I would just refer to your remarks as follows “There have been other projects discussed for reaching Yunan by way of the Shan country, Mandalay or one of the stations further south being the starting-point. These have not yet assumed practical shape, as the surveys have not been finished, but they seem to promise well so far as can be estimated;” and in this connection I would place before you the following telegram from the ‘Times’ Rangoon correspondent, which requires some correction and modification. Such remarks as the following might deter London financiers looking at the work: -

“Rangoon, June 21. – The detailed report of the survey for the proposed railway from Mandalay to the Salween River shows that the engineering difficulties are more serious than had been anticipated. It is suggested that the Gokteek gorge, one of the most series obstacles, may be crossed by a bridge with a span of 300 to 500 feet, thus avoiding some costly cuttings and embankments. There is no immediate prospect of this line being commenced. The Government of India have limited the outlay on railways in Burmah to 50 lakhs yearly. The entire amount available is required for the construction of the Mu Valley line to Mogaung, and thence eventually to Bhamo. A line to the Salween would give a new lease of life to Mandalay, by making it a depot of Chinese trade.”

Now the facts are, that the latest advices from the survey in the Shan States are that the difficulties are not so great as were anticipated, and that the most serious obstacle, the Gokteek gorge, can be surmounted more easily and economically than at one time thought. The more it is examined the less do engineers estimate the difficulties. The chief matter for consideration will be the finance. If all the funds allotted to Burmah are to go on the Mu Valley line, what are the Government to do? Now comes in the occasion for Lord Cross carrying out his expressed desire for the co-operation of the public and leave the work to be done by private enterprise on encouraging terms. Not on what the Public Works Minster describes as “genuine private enterprise,” but with some tangible concessions such as required by the Assam-Chittagong railway projectors, a project which he described as “assuming a somewhat prosperous appearance,” though it stills hangs fire. It is understood that definite proposals are now before Government for the Burmah-China line, and it is to be hoped that a modus operandi way be discovered, satisfactory terms adjusted, and the work speedily taken in hand and vigorously prosecuted. Had we once a location or depot at Kun-Lon, on the banks of the Salween, even in anticipation of the railway, the effect on the adjoining province of Yunan would be immense, and break the ice for the future China trade through Burmah, which would thus be ripening and getting ready for the advent of the iron horse, the appearance of which on the China border would strengthen the hands of the progressive party in that empire, who are again showing an anxiety to see it traversing their vast dominions.

Apologizing for occupying your time and space at such length. Your columns are not so available as the daily press here, but in a matter of this sort must be more powerful. – I am, &c., &c.

 

Letter to a London Ship – broker.

10^th Jan 1890.

Referring to our conversation when we met the other day, - you did not seem to see the advantage of what I am working for – that is, to bring the port of Akyab to the front. Doubtless with your shipping connection you may think this will injuriously affect Rangoon: as you said, from the amount of English capital sunk there, Rangoon must be kept up. Burmah is a rich country, and the rice-trade that has done so much for Rangoon will stick to that port. My scheme will bring new trade from China, and this will principally, I hope, come to Akyab. Then again, the projected railway from Assam via Cachar and Chittagong will find its terminus at Akyab. It will thus become a very large shipping port, and in this view is deserving of more consideration from ship-owners and shipping interests than you seemed to give it. With its large harbor, it may become our chief naval station in the Bay of Bengal, and as such, would be the best defence that the port of Calcutta could have. Just consider this among your shipping friends.

 

Letter to Charles Bradlaugh, Esq., M.P., with reference to his apparent opposition to concessions for the Assam his apparent opposition to concessions for the Assam-Chittagong Railway.

London, 26^th Feb 1890.

Since the opening of Parliament I notice that you have been giving special attention to Indian matters, and as I doubt not you are influenced by a desire to benefit the country, I take leave to address you on the subject of the question you put some days ago to the Under Secretary for India regarding the Assam-Chittagong Railway. You are doubtless aware of the great difficulties that have been met with in endeavoring to extend railways eastward from Calcutta owing to the shifting sands, bores, and floods in the Ganges, Brahmapootra, and Megna rivers, insomuch that the important city of Dacca has not yet direct railway communication with Calcutta, the nearest point of contact being the terminus of Goalunda, which has been open for nearly thirty years, but has been more than once nearly washed away.

Seeing these difficulties many years ago, while resident at the port of Akyab in Arakan, and the capabilities of that port for a large trade, my attention was directed to the subject, and I suggested that connection should be made between Assam and Akyab, opening up all our undeveloped territory to the east of the Brahmapootra, and directing the trade to Akyab as the best port for its outlet. Before the formation of the province of British Burmah (which embraced Arakan, Pegu, and Tenasserim) Arakan was under the Bengal Government, and every rupee that could be drained out of the country was taken to the Calcutta treasury; and beyond the cost of administration little or nothing was spent on the district itself, and to this day Arakan has been very much neglected though always giving a good revenue. At the time of the second Burmah war, the conduct of some of the Bengal regiments, in refusing to cross the “Kala-panee, so exasperated Lord Dalhousie, then Governor-General, that he ordered a road to be immediately constructed so as to connect India with Burmah, that the sepoys might have no excuse. How this was carried – or rather how it was stopped – will be learned in the second chapter of a brochure I published two years ago, entitled ‘Indo-Burmah-China Railway Connections,’ a copy of which I send you under a separate cover. From this you will see that, though we have possessed Arakan since 1826, there are not fifty miles of common road in the district, not a hundred miles from the Commissioner’s head-quarters, are still unknown.

But to return to the Chittagong-Assam Railway scheme. I believe this trunk line will be of the greatest possible advantage to the trade of Assam, Cachar, and contiguous districts. The line has been surveyed by Government, and its length to Chittagong about 570 to 580 miles. Now, how is this to be constructed at the least possible expense to the country, and without taxing the resources of Government too heavily? I say, by utilizing the waste lands along the line. But would this to a moderate extent be sufficient to induce capitalists to go into it? I say No. To take up such a line there must be great inducement, and if an extensive grant of waste land would be considered such, Why stint it? A late Government official in the scientific department looked upon the line as so unpromising that, even when he knew that it had been surveyed, would scarcely believe that it was earnestly to be taken in hand for execution. He wrote, “That projected line from Comillah to Cachar and across the Patkoi range to Makum appears to me a perfect chimera! I have traveled in a boat from Comillah and Dacca to Sylhet and Cachar, with twenty cubits of water under me, and every village on a mound, with cattle boxed up during the monsoon – a perfect sea for several months. I cannot conceive it, for obvious reasons of water and mountains.” Now, under these circumstances, if the line would benefit and develop the country, should not every encouragement be given to the parties willing to undertake it? You must be aware how difficult it is to induce moneyed men in the city of London to enter on any new project in a distant and partially unknown country, or go out of old grooves. In connection with another matter, the following are some remarks I recently made in a letter to Government on this point (see letter of 29^th July 1889, p. 114).

I fear I have already trespassed too largely on you with this communication, but it is on an important question not to be hurried over. I would ask you if, in the absence of a Government guarantee of interest, there is any other scheme you could propose to induce capitalists to go largely into railways for developing the latent wealth of such districts as Eastern Bengal and Burmah, besides that of grants of land; and if you would not consider the waste lands to a considerable extent would not be well disposed of, if the grant of them would encourage the extension of railways in those districts? The subject is one I feel deeply interested in, having a great desire to see Burmah developed by railways extending on to China, and the capabilities of the port of Akyab as an outlet for a great trade duly appreciated. With this I send copy of a letter I addressed to the ‘Times’ last September on the subject of the Assam-Chittagong Railway (p.115), but which, for some unexplained reason (though asked for), received no place in their columns. – I am, &c.