"From the composition of this Commission, every other member being deeply charged with heavy departmental duties, I have necessarily all the details and correspondence upon me, the latter very extensive and multifarious, involving many nice matters of policy; and where cases are every day wrought out with an ingenuity as if expressly to entrap me into some inconsistency, you may conceive the difficulty of all at once consigning such a business to another head." (This refers to an attempt then being made to recall him to his military duties in London.)

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Calamity still overruns the country, moderated in the east, but increasing in intensity as you go west. West Cork and Mayo are the worst. With the means which have been expended, the sufferings of the people and the evils would have been experienced in a far less degree were they not so perfectly helpless in assisting themselves. All those who are capable of working are either so demoralized as to think of nothing but jobbing for self-profit, or, if of better feelings, are intimidated. and without the energy necessary to oppose manfully the evil-doers. . . . "Our great battle now is to maintain our determined resistance to giving relief from a general public fund in aid of wages. They ask us what is a man with a large family to do with sixpence or eightpence per day wages without at all calling into question the propriety of giving more wages or of making any local charitable arrangement in favour of large families. Everything is to be done by the public, and if possible by Government, and our regulations are to leave openings for every species of abuse and demoralization."

The relief was continued until the autumn of 1847, when, the new crops being ready for gathering, the work was first reduced and then gradually stopped. Sir John Burgoyne returned to his duties in London, and the other Commissioners to their Departmental work in Ireland. The whole matter closed with the following minute from the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury

"It has become their gratifying duty to express to the Relief Commissioners the approbation with which their conduct in the execution of the important duties entrusted to them has been regarded by Her Majesty's Government, and to congratulate them on the success which has attended their efforts. This result is principally due to the patient industry and never-failing sagacity of Sir John Burgoyne, who was specially appointed to this duty as Chairman of the Commission, and it is greatly to his honour that he did not suffer himself to be discouraged by the formidable difficulties which attended the commencement of the undertaking, and that no untoward circumstance occurred during its progress which could be justly attributed to want of foresight and good management on the part of the Commission."

In 1849, Major Foster, R.E., was appointed an Assistant Commissioner to the Board of Works, to aid in carrying out the extension of arterial drainage then in progress. He re

mained in this position till 1853, when he returned to his ordinary duties.

In August, 1853, Captain Harness, R.E., was appointed a member of the Board of Works, and a Special Commissioner to bring to a close the arterial drainage works, and to advise the Treasury as to what portion of the expenditure which had been incurred should be remitted.

It had been decreed by Act 16 and 17 Vic., c. 130, that power should be given to the Treasury to make such an allowance, and as the expenditure had reached between two and three millions sterling, the matter was one requiring much judgment and intelligence. Captain Harness filled this post most successfully, and was much regretted when, in July, 1855, he resigned it to take up an official position at the War Office. On his retirement, Captain J. G. McKerlie was appointed to succeed him, and in 1864 that officer, who had in the interim become Colonel McKerlie, was promoted to the Chairmanship of the Board.

In 1879-80, great distress prevailing over the western part of Ireland, and fears of an imminent famine being entertained, four officers of Engineers were selected to aid the Board in carrying out measures for relief and in reporting on projected County Works. They were Lieutenant-Colonel James, Major Sitwell, Captain Russell, and Captain Gehle. At a later date a fresh body of Royal Engineer officers was named for the purpose of inquiring into and reporting on the manner in which those works had been executed. This report was to be furnished direct to the Irish Government. The officers selected were Majors Sitwell and Sandford, Captains Dorward and Nicholson. The expenditure at this time had amounted to £1,200,000. The whole scheme had arisen under the Lands Improvement Act of 1847, with its subsequent amendments; and the reports which were issued periodically, between that date and 1881, show the magnitude of the operations undertaken. At first loans were only made to owners in fee for a limited number of objects, such as drainage, erection of farm buildings, or other work of a similar character, but the purposes were eventually extended to other varieties of agricultural improvement.

Reference has been made to the works carried out under the Shannon Commission. These have been most important. Not only has the Shannon been rendered navigable through a great part of its extent, but thousands of acres of useless land have been recovered and made valuable.

The Land Act of 1881 called for a further employment of Royal Engineers. Lieutenant-Colonel James was again selected as Assistant Commissioner for the purpose of organizing the branch of the Department to be employed in carrying out Sections 19 and

31 of the Act, and under him was Captain H. R. Rawson, R.E., who had been working for the Board for some time previously. Colonel (now Major-General) James thus describes his work under the Act:

"I commenced with a new Act of Parliament, and an untrained staff of 4 clerks and 4 inspectors; of the latter, Rawson was alone of any use at first. Not a ledger, or a printed form, or any regulation of any sort except a Treasury Minute existed, and I may, therefore, boast of having been mainly instrumental in forming a new department, which increased so fast that I had 36 inspectors and nearly 20 clerks under me before I left Dublin. By that time we had enquired into applications for many thousands of loans not averaging more than £80 each, but amounting in the aggregate to something approaching a million sterling, and many of the drainage schemes prepared had been completely executed, the land exhibiting plainly the benefits derived by the farmers. We had to deal not only with drainage schemes, but with the erection of farm buildings and labourers' cottages, new roads, reclamation of bogs, planting, &c."

General James resigned this appointment in 1885. Meanwhile Colonel Sir J. G. McKerlie had retired from the Chairmanship of the Board in 1883, and was succeeded by Lieutenant-General Sankey, R.E., who had earned a very high reputation for his services in connection with Public Works in India.

One more employment under the Irish Government remains to be noticed. It is that of Colonel Atwell Lake, R.E., who was made first a Commissioner and afterwards the Chief Commissioner

of the Dublin Metropolitan Police. For the able manner in which he performed these duties he was made a Civil K.C.B. He retired in 1877.

CHAPTER VII.

CIVIL RAILWAY AND TELEGRAPH WORK.

Demand for Engineers to assist the Board of Trade-Sir Frederic Smith and Sir Charles Pasley appointed Inspectors-General-Successive Appointments -Details of Inspection Duties as regards the Lines and also AccidentsIndian Railways-Frontier Military Lines-The Sind-Pishin Railway-Its Origin and Commencement-Stopped after Maiwand Its Resumption under General Browne-Difficulties of the Work-Cholera-Floods-Opening of the Chappar Bridge by the Duchess of Connaught-List of Engineers employed-Post Office Telegraphs and the Corps -Formation of New Companies for the Purpose-Persian Telegraphs in connection with the Indo-European Line.

Nor long after the introduction of railways into England it became evident to the Government that they required professional advice to enable them to judge of the various schemes brought before them for sanction. It is true that Parliament was the authority to which all such schemes were necessarily referred, and from which the various Acts empowering their execution were to be obtained, still the Board of Trade was naturally consulted in the matter, and required to be well-posted in all details. Equally naturally, the Board of Trade looked to the Royal Engineers for a supply of scientific men qualified to act as their advisers.

We find that as far back as 1840, some years before the railway mania burst forth, Sir Frederic Smith was named an InspectorGeneral of Railways; this appointment was followed almost immediately afterwards by that of Sir Charles Pasley as his colleague. Sir Frederic's nomination was dated December 2nd, 1840, and his salary was fixed at £900, which was to include his military pay. He only held the post for a year, when he resigned it to take up the position of Director at the School of Military Engineering. Pasley then remained the sole officer of the Royal Engineers on the Railway Commission until 1844, when Captain Coddington joined him. Both Smith and Pasley appear to have held two distinct offices

First. That of Inspectors-General, in which capacity they were members of the Commission, and with their colleagues examined and reported on the numerous projects submitted to the Board before they received the sanction of Parliament.

Secondly. They were Inspectors of Railways. This involved the close and careful inspection of all new lines after construction, and before being opened for traffic. They had also to investigate and report to the Commission on the causes of all accidents. In 1846 Major Brandreth was made a Commissioner, and in 1848 he was succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Alderson.

The various Inspectors, beginning with Coddington and taken in the order of their appointments, run as follows:-Captain Douglas Galton, Captain Wynne, Captain Laffan, Captain Simmons, Captain Tyler, Captain Yolland, Captain G. Ross, Colonel Rich, Colonel Hutchinson, and Major Marindin. In addition to this office the post of Secretary to the Commission has been filled by Captain Harness, Captain Simmons, and Captain Galton.

The duties of inspection are of a very responsible and minute character, and are by no means confined to investigations into the general security of the line. It may not be uninteresting to enumerate some of the points that require to be carefully gone into.

1st. Permanent Way.-The gauge, the description of rails employed, the chairs and their mode of fixing, the mode of securing the rails and the fastenings adopted for their joints, the sleepers, the nature of the ballast and its depth, the description of points adopted, especially the facing points, the turntables, the fences, and the drainage.

2nd. Signals. Their suitability for working the line, and sufficiency in number and in principle.

3rd. Junctions.-Their arrangement, and proper protection.

4th. Stations, including platforms. -Means of access and exit, position of columns supporting roofs, footbridges, subways, gas and water supply.

5th. Bridges, over and under the line. Their construction and capability for bearing the weight to be supported by them.

6th. Gradients and Curves.

7th. Tunnels.

8th. Level Crossings.

9th. Rolling Stock.

The above headings are merely given to show the great variety of points, all of which have to be most carefully and minutely investigated before a line can be passed as ready for public traffic.

But the inspection of lines is by no means the most difficult and anxious duty which the officers in the Railway Department are called on to undertake. Accidents of more or less gravity are constantly occurring, and each of these has to be reported on after a most careful inquiry. When such an accident is of a serious character, involving (as it sometimes does) a large loss of life