Saturday, the 16th of April, 1853, must be a memorable day henceforth for ever in the annals of India,- memorable as the greatest of battles, and surely more glorious, for peace hath its triumphs as well as war, and this is of them. The Great Indian Peninsula Railway was this day inaugurated!
At about two o'clock, the preparation for their reception being perfect, those who had accepted invitations to proceed in the train began to assemble, and by three o'clock the platform, three hundred feet long, with a continuation, was occupied as closely as it could be by European Ladies and European and Native Gentlemen.
The platform was neatly matted, and, opportunely for the company, carefully screened on the western side, not only from the rays of the sun, but from the high north wind which was blowing all the afternoon and carrying with it immense clouds of dust. The whiteness of the screen and the ceiling of the platform were tastefully relieved by festoons formed by flags and cloths of many colors. In front of the platform we counted eighteen flags prominent among these, in the early part of the afternoon, floated the ensign of St. George of England, but it was soon displaced by the Union Jack.
Captain Barr and Mr. Roche, Traffic Manager, acted as Masters of Ceremonies. At about three o'clock they began to allot places to the ladies, and they having been accommodated, the gentlemen were recommended to secure places for themselves, which they did very speedily so that by a quarter past three few could be seen on the platform.
The State Carriage was occupied by Sir William and Lady Yardley, Sir Charles and Lady Jackson, The Hon'ble A. Bell and Lady, the Hon'ble D. A. Blane, Sir Henry and Lady Leeke, and others whom, in the anxiety of our reporters to provide for themselves they were unable to recognize.
At half past three o'clock in the afternoon a Royal Salute was fired from the Ramparts of Fort St. George, immediately after which the well filled train, consisting of fourteen first, second and third class carriages, drawn by three locomotive engines, and containing in all, it was said, about five hundred persons, started from the Terminus at Boree Bunder.
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| The Bori Bunder Station |
Tens of thousands of persons surrounded the spot and as the moving mass swept along the way, still there were tens of thousands looking on,- men, women and children,- perched on wall tops, on the branches of trees, even on the masts of Arab Buglas along the harbour; from windows and from the tops of temples and of houses, from every eminence around the town; finally, when the train had passed the more densely populated parts, still the surrounding fields were studded with spectators.
"The thronging multitudes increase;
But still, above the noisy crowd,
The Engine's cry is alırill and loud."
Besides the inhabitants of Bombay proper, and the neighbouring country, there were in those crowds people from Scinde, from Cabul [sic], from Affghanistan [sic] , from Central Asia, from the Persian Gulf, from Arabia, from the East Coast of Africa and one might say literally from all the ends of the earth. Who shall attempt to describe the emotions which filled and animated those vast throngs of human beings! A passenger in the train looking out upon them, as it swept along still faster and faster, could only notice the vivia gestures of some, the silent amazement and awe of others, and the loudly expressed wonder and applause of the greater number. Every Englishman must have congratulated himself on being one of the dominant race, that day. The scene was worth to England the addition of many regiments to its army. It has added sensibly to the power of the Empire, and will undoubtedly prolong it. It is not merely the inauguration of a Railway thirty miles long. It is the commencement of a new era, and while time and history last, the memory of this day can never pass away.
There is little to describe, -particularly to the great majority of our readers in an ordinary Railway trip. It is due, however, to those who had the task of maturing all the arrangements for the occasion to say that every thing went on smoothly. The train stopped at Sion, going out, to allow of the engines being watered, and wheels greased, -all still new and of course stiff. At no time was the speed above five and thirty miles an hour, and generally it was much under that. The time taken to reach Tannah (24 miles), including the stoppage at Sion, was fifty-five minutes. The return trip occupied only forty.
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| The Sion Station |
Arrived at Tannah, the party found, under an immense Tent, at once a cool retreat and a splendid Tiffin. Every thing was very well arranged; nor were the wants of any overlooked.
Major Swanson, the Senior Director present, took the Chair, supported by the Hon'ble Sir William Yardley, Chief Justice; by Sir Henry Leeke, R. N., Commander in Chief Indian Navy; also immediately surrounded by the Hon'ble Messrs Bell and Blane, Members of Council; Sir Charles Jackson, Paisne Judge H. M. Supreme Court; Colonel F. P. Lester; Surgeon General Taylor; Superintending Surgeon Boyd; Colonel Woodburn, C. B, Commandant of the Garrison; Mr. LeMessurier, Advocate General Colonel Hale, Adjutant General Messrs. A. D. and E. F. Robertson, C. S; Colonels Colonels Willoughby and Blood, Lieut. Col. Lyons, Mr. LeGeyt, Major Parr, Maj. Trevylian, Capt.Cruickshank, Capt. Crawford, Doctors Stovell, Morehead, Giraud, Coles, Camp-bell, Yuill, Bremner and Ballingall, Captains W.F. Leeson and A. Price, Mr. G. Grant, Messrs West and Johnson, Puisne Judges Small Cause Court; Mr. William Howard Barrister at Law; Mr. Berkeley, Chief Engineer of the Railway; Mr. Scott, Secretary; Mr. Roche, Traffic Manager; Mr. J. A. Itussell, Mr. Gilmour, Mr. Binny, Mr. H Scott, Mr. W. Scott, Mr. Graham and many other European Merchants Professor Green; Mr. It. X. Murphy, Captain Porter, 1. N., Mr. F. Hutchinson, Mr. A. W. Elliott, Mr. G. S. Judge, Mr. S. Compton, Mr. C. King-come, Mr. R. H. Thomas, Mr. W. Sanderson, N. Spencer, Junior, J. Flynn, W. G. Allan, Revd. Dr. John Wilson, Mr. R. W. Bone, Mr. C. M. J. Pollock, Mr. F. Dathy, Mr. J. G. H. Brown, Mr. J. T. Cavellier, Mr. N. Fernandes, Mr. S. S. Dickinson, Mr. W. F. Faviell, Mr. P. M. Dal-zell, Mr. A. Anderson, Mr. J. Rinch, Mr. W. B. Tristram, Mr. John Fleming, Mr. John Stuart, &c. &c. &c.
At a separate table laid out for the Parsee Passengers we noticed Messrs. Cursetjee Jamsetjee Bomanjee Hormusjee, Manockjee Nusserwanjee, Merwanjee Jeejeebhoy, Sorabjee Jamsetjee, Limjee Manockjee, Furdoonjee Hormasjee, Nowrojee Furdoonjee, Nowrojee Dorabjee Chabookwalla. Sitting quietly looking on we observed Mr. Ali Jan and a few Marwarrie Gentlemen.
On the train approaching Tannah, the crowds lined the sides thickly for more than a mile, and were kept in order by the Ghat Police under the command of Captain Walker and Soobedar Major Moosajee Ballajee Bahadoor; Captain Walker appeared to be ubiquitous while the train remained at Tannah, having been seen by the agents of the Gazette in every part of the crowd at about the same time.
The Chairman, after Tiffin, proposed the health of Her Majesty the Queen, which was received with the greatest enthusiasm: -
Air (by the Governor's Band in attendance)-The National Anthem.
The Chairman next proposed the health of the Right Hon'ble the Governor, Lord Falkland, who, he said, fully intended and very much wished to have been present on that day to preside over the celebration of the opening of this Railway; the works of which had been commenced since His Lordship became Governor, and had been carried so far and so happily under the liberal aid and support of his Government. (cheers).
Air-Quick-step.
Sir W. Yardley rose to propose the next toast and said he felt the utmost pleasure and satisfaction in performing the part which had been assigned to him in the celebration of the great national event of the first opening of a Railroad in India. -(Loud Applause.) The 16th of April 1853 was, and would long continue to be, one of the most memorable days, if not the most memorable day, in the annals of British India. (Cheers) They had often met together to celebrate with national pride and exultation many a glorious triumph, many a brilliant victory, many a great and solid achievement of British valour and genius in the East, but on those occasions there was mingled with the exultation of the moment a feeling of sadness and sorrow for the fallen, and of sympathy for the vanquished, though they were our foes. But here at length was a triumph without any corresponding humiliation; a victory without any corresponding defeat; a great and solid gain without any corresponding loss, and we could with consistency and propriety invite the whole people of India, whatever their race or lineage, cordially to join with us in celebrating the inauguration of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. This was not the triumph of nation over nation, of race over race, of man over his fellow men. It was the triumph of mind over matter, of patience and perseverance guided by skill and directed by science over physical obstacles and difficulties, and though some might boast of, he could not help regarding it as a great think the existence of 20 miles of railway in this immense territory was no great matter to boast of, he could not help regarding it as a great and momentous fact, pregnant with the most important consequences, and with the best hopes for the future of the people of India. He believed it would be difficult for the most vivid imagination to conceive, or for the most eloquent tongue to describe, the effect which an extensive system of Railway would produce upon the physical, moral, and intellectual condition of the immense and industrious population of this great country, hither to so imperfectly provided with the means of internal communication. (Loud Cheers.) He thought it would be taking a narrow and incorrect view of this interesting subject to suppose that only the physical condition of the people would be improved by the introduction of this, the latest, and, perhaps, the most important of the achievements of science and civilization. They would infallibly advance in all other respects, physically, morally, and intellectually. To suppose the contrary would be to suppose an anomaly that never existed. All the arts of life, the modes of thought, the social institutions of the country too, gradually adapt and assimilate themselves to the higher stand and of civilization thus established. -(Hear, Hear.) He felt much tempted to enter into some statistical details with a view of ascertaining whether the wish expressed in the toast he was about to propose was likely to be realized, but he was reminded that time, tide, and Railways wait for no man, and he had already occupied more than his proper share of the very limited time allotted to that meeting, and, moreover, he had no wish to terrify with a long array of figures, his fair friends who graced this ceremony with their presence; but there were one or two facts so very gratifying, that he could not forbear a passing allusion to them. The original estimate for constructing the experimental line to Callian was half a million sterling, but it would be completed in the most solid and substantial manner for 20 per cent. less than that sum, and this would include permanent way, engines, carriages and machinery of every description and in ample qualities; in short, every thing properly chargeable to capital. He was informed, moreover, that this first section of the line to Callian had been constructed for £10,000 less than the estimate, and almost the whole of this great work had been completed in one fair season; he had heard a good deal of Indian dilatoriness, but here was an instance of despatch [sic] and promptitude in a country in which such undertakings were entirely new that would have done credit to all the parties concerned, if it had happened in England or any other country in the world. It was also most gratifying to be informed by the highest authorities in these matters that the native workmen employed on the line, to the number of 10,000 at a time, had proved most docile, intelligent, and industrious, and the future progress of this great undertaking would be immensely facilitated by the abundant supply of skilled labour which under English superintendence had been formed out of the raw material of the country. There were youths who had not reached the age of manhood now at work on the line who were earning wages four or five times as high as those which they would have obtained for their rude and uninstructed labor, and this, not on account of the increased demand for labour, but entirely owing to the skill and dexterity which they had acquired under competent instructors. All these facts which he had learned from the able and intelligent gentlemen forming the official staff of the Company at Bombay, were, it must be admitted, most honorable to all concerned to the Engineer who made the surveys and estimates, to the local board who made the contracts, to the contractors who executed them-and, last but not least, to the patient, industrious, orderly and docile workmen employed on the line. All these things seemed to afford great encouragement to Railway enterprize [sic] in India. He had not attempted, nor should he attempt to for the capital expended. He had already expressed his belief that it was quite impossible to estimate the effect to be produced by an easy and rapid mode of communication with the interior of a populous and productive country which has never, as regards the greater part of it, known what it was to possess even a decent system of roads for bullock carts, but the people of which are so prone to commercial enterprise that as he had been informed by a gentleman whose business it had been on behalf of the Company to enquire [sic] into these matters, the amount of traffic pouring down the rugged and almost impracticable gorges of the Thull Ghaut was amazing and almost incredible, considering the difficulties of the route. (Great applause). He confessed he looked to the future of this great and interesting country with intense interest and sanguine hope, and believing that a well designed system of Railways, ably and prudently executed, would be the most powerful of all worldly instruments of its advancement and civilization in every respect, he had great pleasure in proposing the toast of "Success to the Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company," and he begged to couple therewith name of Lord Wharncliffe, the Chairman of the Company, and the Directors, both general and local, and particularly the honorable and gallant gentleman (Major Swanson) who presided on that auspicious occasion, whose kind attention and politeness they had all that day had occasion to appreciate. (Drunk amid Lond [sic?] and Long Continued Applause.)
The Chairman in acknowledging Sir William Yardley's toast, said, that he rose with great diffidence to acknowledge the toast which had just been put with such eloquence by Sir William Yardley, and responded to with such cordial feeling by the gentlemen present. He was quite unused to speak in public or to take a prominent part on an occasion like the present; he therefore hoped that Sir William Yardley and the ladies and gentlemen present, would be satisfied with a brief expression of thanks for the manner in which this Railway had been spoken of, and for the connection of the names of the Directors therewith. He assured the ladies and gentlemen that the labours of the Directors had been easy, for, with the liberal support of the Government, and the able assistance of the gentlemen in the employment of the Railway Company, the Directors had little to perform. On this occasion he begged permission to mention those gentlemen to whose services the Railway Company were mainly indebted for their works having arrived at their present stage. First, he would bring to their notice Mr. Berkeley, the talented Chief Engineer, (hear, hear,) and his very efficient staff, by whom the works have been planned and under whose direction and superintendence they are being carried out: next he would mention the very enterprising Contractors, by whom these works are being executed. (Cheers) The first of these, Mr. Faviell, has constructed the line from Bombay to the place they were in: Mr. Faviell was a stranger to India and undertook the contract in England. He came to this country and has executed his work in a manner satisfactory to all parties, and his creditable completion of which they have just had the opportunity of seeing. Next he would mention Mr. Jackson, by whom a further portion of the line is being executed-a shorter, but a more difficult section -and under whom it is rapidly progressing to completion. (Loud Cheers) He wished that the ladies and gentlemen present could see the noble viaducts, which Mr. Jackson has constructed not far from that spot; viaducts by which the arm of the sea that separated them from the main land, has been spanned; also that they could see the Tunnels by which Mr. Jackson has perforated the Mountain beyond. He would further mention the Native Contractor, by whom a third and more distant portion of the line is being constructed, and who is worthily emulating the gentlemen just named. The next gentleman he would name as one to whom the Railway Company is indebted, is the excellent Secretary, Mr. Scott, who has long been connected with this undertaking and whose assistance has been most valuable to the Directors in this country. Last, but far from the least, he would bring to their notice the Traffic Manager and Locomotive Superintendent, Mr. Roche. The speaker considered that the Railway Company. has been most fortunate in obtaining the services of so able and experienced a Superintendent; a specimen of whose management they have had, in the able arrangement he has made for bringing the Company here that day. In conclusion, he thanked the Ladies and Gentlemen, for their presence on that occasion, and in an especial manner did he thank the Ladies, who had braved the heat to be present, and who have graced the Company's Opening Day. (Loud Applause.) Under no no fairer auspices than theirs, could any work be commenced. In return for the patience with which they had listened to an unpracticed speaker, he would now propose a toast, which he was sure would afford the gentlemen present the greatest gratification. He proposed the health of the Ladies then present, with all the honors. Drunk with all the honors,
Air.-
" Here's a health to all good lasses."
Sir Henry Leeke here rose and said:-
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, -So much has been said by Sir William Yardley and, Chairman, Major Swanson, upon the subject of the opening of the first Railway in India, that to expatiate more largely would only be to take up time that may be perhaps more usefully employed, and as the Chairman has told us, the hour of our departure is at haul, and that there is much to do to prepare for the comfort of the ladies on their say. I cannot allow the opportunity to pass without return to Bombay, I must be brief in what I have to being permitted to request you all to join me in drinking health and prosperity to a young and highly talented gentleman, Mr. Berkley, the Engineer of this Railway, who has by his unwearied perseverance overcome so many difficulties, and in so short a space of time finished twenty miles of the first Railway, ever thought of in India. We and heard of a Brunell, a Stevenson, and the Rennies, all of whom are, I hear, so advanced in science as scarcely to have an equal; but here, in Western India, we find a young man, who with only the rough material of a native Indian to assist him, has produced a Railway equal to any of our English lines, in an inconceivably short space of time. (Loud Cheers.) Our gallant Chairman in speaking of that gentleman and his staff, has so completely taken the words out of my mouth, that it leaves me but little to add, and it was only a few moments prior to my entering the tent, that I was informed, that it was the request of the Directors that I should propose the toast; I do so with very sincere pleasure, and you will all, I know, join me in drinking the health of Mr. Berkley, the Engineer, and the staff of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, and may they prosper in all their future undertakings. (Loud Applause.)
Air.-
"For they are very good fellows."
Mr. Berkeley spoke in reply nearly as follows. LADIES AND GESTLEMES, -I rise to acknowledge for the Engineering Staff and myself the great honor that has been conferred upon us by Sir Henry Leeke, and this large and distinguished assembly. We accept it as the greatest compliment that could have been paid to us, because it is an approval of our past exertions, and we return you our best and warmest thinks. (Cheers.) I know, that nothing which I can say will add to the effect of this great public event, when 500 people have been conveyed together from Bombay to Tannah by locomtive power within the short time of our journey, a fact that must speak eloquently to the people of this nation, that has spoken to the teeming crowds along our route, and in tones that must penetrate the remotest recesses of India (Loud Cheers) but there are observations connected with our past operations, which are calculated to inspire public confidence in similar undertakings in this country and therefore I feel it to be an incumbent duty to make mention of them. (Cheers.) Ladies and Gentlemen, the materials of this country have proved to be abundant and suitable for the construction of the Railway. We have found, too, that, notwithstanding the severity of the climate, we have been able to maintain the constant and vigilant European superintendence of the works, which is so essential to their proper execution. The native labourers have far exceeded our expectations. To the many commanding officers of native troops here present it would be vain in me to speak of their docility, their endurance, and their discipline (hear, hear); to the Civilians, who have conducted the business of their large efficient offices in Bombay, it would be vain to speak of their talent and their industry, but Ladies and Gentlemen, there is a fresh source of encouragement to be derived from the construction of the Railway, that the very lowest caste of natives, upon whose members we must mainly rely for executing the works upon our extensions, are capable of becoming skilful [sic] and handy artizans [sic], and that, notwithstanding those superstitions which so many affirmed to be indomitable, they have readily adopted the use of new mechanical appliances. (Hear, Hear, and Cheers.) Again, the management of this Company was so peculiarly constituted, as to be regarded by many as a matter of experiment, whether it would answer or not. I allude to the affairs of a company of private capitalists being managed by their own appointed directors, but under close Government supervision. My official position has given me opportunities of judging upon this matter, and I cheerfully bear my testimony to its success, and state my opinion, that it is owing in a very great measure to the temperate and able manner in which the Government officers have exerted the authority intrusted to them; and I take this opportunity of expressing my regret, and that of many here, present, that Mr. Goldsmid, the Financial Secretary, who has labored with great talent and effect in the business of the Railway Department, should have been prevented by severe domestic affliction from sharing our triumph to-day. There is yet another point. The contracting system has proved eminently successful in this undertaking -that system, by which the finest Railway system in the world has been begun and completed far within the limits of a single age, and it is only an act of justice to the Company's Contractors, Messrs. Faviell and Fowler, that I should declare before this large and influential meeting, my opinion, that our thanks are due to them for their enterprise in embarking for this country to undertake a contract of small amount, and upon very moderate terms, and for the energetic and satisfactory manner in which they have executed it. (Cheers) These, ladies and gentlemen, are strong grounds of encouragement to us, who are now looking forward to the construction of the Ghaut extensions, and they leave no excuse for delay in proceeding with them. It may seem a little thing to those who are familiar with the history of recent days, to open a Railway only twenty (20) miles long, but we have to-day publicly introduced to this rich and populous nation those two great agents, Steam and Iron, in the form of the most powerful system that modern invention has devised for the extension of commerce, and for the promotion of civilization, (Loud and Long continued Applause) and I venture to say, that it behoves all those who are in authority; that it behoves all those who value the commercial prosperity of this country, or are interested in the Railway itself, to take care, as far as it lies in their power to do so, that there is no delay in proceeding with the extensions. Ladies and gentlemen, I know that I have detained you, (Loud cries of No, No.) and fear that I have wearied your patience, but these opinions have been drawn from novel facts which have fallen within the range of our operations, and it would have been wrong if, in my official position, I had not publicly stated them. Lastly, I come to the gist of my speech, namely, the Toast which I have been requested to propose -an honorable one to myself, and I only wish that it had been more so to the subject of it, by having proceeded from one of the Directors. There is, however, this satisfaction -that Captain Crawford, the Government Superintending Engineer, is esteemed so highly by the service, that it will, I am sure, be acceptable to him and to his friends to receive the testimony to his worth from an independent party; I have had many opportunities of judging, and I can honestly say, that Captain Crawford has manifested great talent, sound judgment, and admirable temper, in the course of our business transactions, and that to him must be justly accorded a very large share of the credit of that success, which has hitherto attended the joint management of which I have ave spoken. (Loud Cheers.) Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the honor to propose to you the health of Captain Crawford.
Captain Crawford, in returning thanks for the flattering manner in which he had been mentioned by Mr. Berkeley, and for the kindness with which his health had been received by the Company, felt it to be his duty to deny all merit for the friendly nature of his connection with the Railway Staff. It was from him that acknowledgements should have proceeded, inasmuch as the correct manner in which Mr. Berkeley's department had been conducted, and the truly gentlemanly spirit in which all relations with the Government officer had been recognised by the Railway Staff, had at once prevented anything like antagonism between them. He would not detain the company by attempting to say much on a subject which was only capable of being treated of in a short and simple style, and he would therefore simply thank the Company for their very flattering opinion, (Cheers).
Sir Charles Jackson said he had been selected to propose the health of the Contractors who had completed the line up to the point at which the present Company had arrived to-day. It had been already explained by the Chairman that when Messrs. Faviell and Fowler had undertaken that contract they had not seen India; still, they had gone through their work satisfactorily to the Company and profitably to themselves. The circumstances under which the contract was taken was a proof of Anglo-Saxon enterprize; the satisfactory manner in which their engagements were fulfilled within the short period of a year was a proof of Anglo-Saxon energy and perseverance, and as Englishmen they had good reason to be proud of their work, it only remained for him to propose the health of Messrs. Faviell and Fowler, the Contractors-
Air-Quick-step.
Mr. Faviell returned thanks briefly for himself and his partner. He said he rose with considerable diffidence to acknowledge the very flattering and complimentary remarks made on the share taken by him in the completion of the first contract for Railways in India, and, also, to express his warm thanks for the manner in which the toast concerning himself and his partner had been received; he was sorry Mr. Fowler was not present to witness the events of the important day which celebrated the completion of their work. Railways were much wanted in India, their their introduction was therefore of high importance and he should always look back with pleasure upon the part he had in the completion of the first line, although it had so far been unaccompanied by that pecuniary reward which was so necessary to stimulate to future exertion. He would again thank them all for the honor they had done him on this important occasion. (Cheers.)
The Chairman then rose and said, that he had an ungracious task to perform, which was to tell the Company that it was time to be going; that time and tide wait for no man, not even for the large number then assembled, and that their time was nearly up. He would ask them, however, to wait a few minutes, until be called upon all connected with the Railway to join him in drinking the health of the gentlemen visitors, who had honored them with their presence that day.-
Air- "March over the border."
It is needless to add that the presence of so many beautiful ladies enlivened the scene which was closed in the Tents about six o'clock. The party having got into the carriage, the train moved on and reached the Boree Bunder Terminus at seven, "all right:" some of the gentlemen, indeed, quite jolly; but pleasant, and cheering the people who still thronged the line all along; the people returning the same with a heartiness and enthusiasm which we must have all thought new and strange in Natives of these parts.
The greatest praise is due to Mr. Roche, Traffic Manager, for the excellence of all the arrangements. They were complete in every respect, and we may safely say that all Bombay went to sleep on Saturday night filled with agreeable emotion, and all wishing SUCCESS TO THE GREAT INDIAN PENINSULA RAILWAY; -the first RAILWAY OPENED in all Asia.
Thanks for the scroll!
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