this day's date, No. 11,307, recommended the appointment of Lieutenant Fraser of the Engineers for this duty, and in the event of Captain Walker requiring more funds between this and the 30th April next, for the Kaiga Ghát, I shall be prepared to provide such from the balance remaining from the allotment of the current year in other districts, on the authority granted me in the Proceedings of Government, No. 526, dated 15th instant. No. 454.-ORDER thereon, 27 March 1861, No. 630. ORDERED, that the following telegraph message be despatched to Colonel Yule, Secretary to Government, Calcutta : "Your telegram of 18th March, received. The road from Iddagunji, eastward, may be undertaken by the Bombay convicts. More by post." Ordered, also, that the following letter be despatched, a copy being sent to the Government of Bombay for their information. (signed) J. D. Bourdillon, No. 455. From J. D. Bourdillon, Esq., Secretary to the Government of Fort Saint George, to the Secretary to the Government of India, P. W. D., dated 27 March 1861, No. 631. Sir, 1. IN reply to your telegram of the 18th instant, respecting Sir George Clerk's wish to be allowed to employ his convict labour on the road between Sedashegar and Húbli, you have been already informed by telegraph that the convicts may be employed on the road eastward from Iddagunji. 2. I am now directed to transmit, for the information of the Government of India, a letter from the Chief Engineer, reporting on the subject with reference to your telegram. The portion of road in this Presidency east of Iddagunji extends to Sangatti-kop, and it is to this portion that my telegram refers; the road beyond Sangatti-kop is in the Bombay territory, where of course the Government of that Presidency will make such arrangements as they think fit. 3. This Government will spare no effort to have the road completed throughout as early as possible. But this cannot be this year. 4. A copy of this letter, and of that from the Chief Engineer, will be forwarded to the Government of Bombay, for their information. EXTRACT PUBLIC WORKS DESPATCH from the Secretary of State to the Government of Madras, dated 8 August (No. 36) 1861. 9. I OBSERVE with regret, that no hope is entertained of your being able to Hooblee to Sedashe finish this road during the present year. Its completion is, however, an object No. 40, Road from of so much importance to the cotton trade of this country, that I trust every gar, via the Kaiga exertion will be made to effect it at the earliest possible period. It is very Ghat. desirable, too, that I should be enabled to intimate to the Manchester Cotton Supply Association, as long beforehand as possible, when that period will be, so that whenever the road shall have become fit for the conveyance of cotton from Dharwar to Sedashegar, corresponding arrangements may have been made for its shipment at that port for England. PUBLIC WORKS DESPATCH from the Secretary of State to the Government of REFERRING to the 4th and 5th paras. of your letter, No. 28, of 16th May last, I transmit herewith a copy of a letter from the Secretary to the Manchester Cotton Company, from which you will perceive how important it is that the landing and shipping pier at Sedashegar therein referred to, should be 81. completed at an early period. I trust, therefore, that your arrangements for its construction during the current year have not been interrupted in consequence of the proposed severance from the Madras Presidency of the district of North Canara. Whatever may be decided in this latter respect, it is most desirable that the progress of the pier should not be suspended. Your officers should be instructed to carry out the work as originally intended. The expense incurred, can, if necessary, be debited hereafter to the Government of Bombay. That Government will be furnished with copies of this Despatch and its enclosure. Sir, Enclosure in No. 18. (signed) C. Wood. Manchester Cotton Company (Limited), To the Right Honourable Sir Charles Wood, Bart., M.P. I AM desired to inform you that the Directors of the Manchester Cotton Company (Limited) have learned, with great satisfaction from Dr. Forbes, that the Indian Government has expressed its intention to construct, for commercial purposes, a pier at the harbour of Sedashegar, instead of requiring the same to be undertaken by private enterprise. As this work will prove of essential utility to the operations of this company, they will be glad if you will favour them by stating how soon it is probable the pier will be constructed, or whether there is a prospect of its being ready for shipment of the cotton crop of 1862. The directors will despatch cotton presses, machinery, and an iron press-house to the port of Sedashegar in the course of a few weeks, and they wish, therefore, to urge the desirability of the construction of the pier proceeding simultaneously with the preparations they are now making for opening the cotton trade at that port. Proceedings, 31st PUBLIC WORKS LETTER from MADRAS, dated 14 June (No. 55,) 1861. 1. We have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch of 16th April in this department, No. 16, transmitting a copy of a letter from the secretary to the Manchester Cotton Company, and suggesting the utility of an early completion of the landing and shipping pier at Sedashegar. 2. You will learn from our proceedings of the 31st May 1861, No. 1017, that we have sanctioned the immediate commencement and vigorous prosecution May 1861, Nos. 268 of the pier, for which an assignment of 28,000 rupees has been made in this year's budget, and we have ordered the plan and corrected estimate to be submitted as soon as possible. and 269. One letter from the 223, dated 4th April 1861. 3. We take this opportunity of requesting your attention to the first part of our President's Minute (which forms one of the enclosures of this Despatch) regarding the breakwater and other harbour improvements designed at Beitkál, and now under your consideration. Enclosures in No. 19. No. 268.-Read the following Letter from Lieutenant Colonel W. H. Horsley, Chief Sir, 1. I HAVE the honour to forward, for the information of Government, a letter, as per margin, from the district engineer North Canara, and to report that, in forwarding to that officer their Proceedings, No. 802, dated 20th April 1861, I gave my approval, after consulting with Sir Arthur Cotton, to the site selected by him for a pier, and directed its vigorous prosecution, partly of stone and partly of wood. 2. As no plan whatever was to be found of the pier as originally intended to be executed, I have left it with the district engineer to frame one as soon as he can do so, and meantime to go on with the stone portion of the work which will abut on the shore. I hope shortly to be able to send round to Sedashegar the large pile driving machine now in store here, the arrival of which will enable him to work on the outer portion. 3. As the object is evidently to make the roads and ghát traces complete as soon as possible, and to connect the Kaiga Ghát road and the "face of Carwar Head," I have further authorised Captain Walker to expend a portion of the sum of 10,000 rupees, sanctioned in the foregoing Proceedings, for opening up the traces. 4. I trust my proceedings in this matter will meet with the approval of Government. It was my particular desire that not one day of the current year should be lost in prosecuting a work which has been deemed of first-rate importance, and it is on that account that I, to a certain extent, went beyond the power assigned me, being confident that the measure would receive the full approval of Government. 5. A correct plan and estimate of the pier will be forwarded in due course. 6. With reference to Captain Walker's suggestion to construct a second landing pier at the entrance of the inner or boat harbour, to be formed of screw piles, and estimated at Paragraph 11. 14,500 rupees, I have informed that officer that, in my opinion, this work may remain in abeyance at present until it is seen whether that proposed to be erected is sufficient or otherwise for the wants of the port. No. 269.-ORDER thereon, 31 May 1861, No. 1017. 1. In this letter the chief engineer reports his arrangements for the construction of the proposed pier in Beitkál Bay. 2. The work was sanctioned by Government on the 25th April 1860, and a sum of 28,000 rupees has been entered for it in the budget of the current year. Its importance has been recognised by the Supreme Government and by the Government of Bombay as well as by this Government, and in a Despatch received by the last mail, the Secretary of State expresses his hope that it has been prosecuted without interruption. 3. From the letters of the district and chief engineers, it appears that up to last month no steps had been taken to decide upon the position of the pier with relation to the depth of water in the bay, the probable wants of the shipping, or the safety of ships lying alongside of it, should bad weather occur; in fact, the whole subject appears to have been left in abeyance altogether; and now, after 13 months have passed, the chief engineer reports that he has approved of the site selected by the district engineer, and directed him to proceed vigorously with the pier. There is no plan of the work to be executed; the engineer is now called upon to prepare one, and Government are informed that a correct plan and estimate will be forwarded" in due course." The Government differ altogether from the chief engineer on this point; the proper course was to prepare the plan before the estimates were framed, and he, or the deputy chief engineer of the circle under his orders, should have been in close communication with the district engineer during the last twelve months; the plan should have been thoroughly considered; the site, extent, material and mode of construction determined; so that the work might have been duly commenced without hesitation or delay as soon as funds were available. Instead of this being the case, the Government are now in the same position as in April 1860. 4. This negligence reflects very seriously on the method and system pursued in the disposal of the office work of the department of public works, and if similar instances again occur, the Government will be compelled to make material alterations in the arrangements of the central office. 5. With these remarks the Governor in Council sanctions the arrangements made by Colonel Horsley for the construction of the pier, as the only course available under the circumstances. 6. The plan and estimate will be submitted with the least practicable delay. SEDASHEGAR HARBOUR. I HAVE looked over all the papers connected with the proposal to establish a harbour at Sedashegar, and the whole scheme seems to me to have been most wildly conceived; the outlay upon the proposed breakwaters, and other harbour works, being far in excess of that which the advantages of the site would justify. From the plan it would appear that the Bay of Sedashegar is about 5,000 yards across; that it is sheltered from winds to the south and west by Carwar Head, which projects about two miles; that the bottom of the bay is formed of a sandy spit, thrown up by the action of the prevailing winds at the outlet of a river, the channel of which has thus been forced to the northwards, though now it would seem that the pressure of the water has cut through the sand spit, and made an outlet for itself near the bottom of the bay. There appears to be a snug harbour for small vessels at the bottom of Carwar Head, where there is a basin about 800 yards long and 250 wide; but there is nothing upon the plan to show the depth of water, and the probability is that this is but a boat harbour, as indeed it is termed. The original project submitted included a break water projecting from Carwar Head, and another between some islands to the north, both of which, it was inferred, would be required, in order to make the harbour safe at all seasons; but, in forwarding these schemes for improvement, it does not appear to have occurred to the projector that, under no circumstances, except indeed stress of weather or actual necessity, would a master of a merchant vessel feel justified in running down upon a dead sea shore upon the chance of hitting the opening of a small harbour of this kind, when, even under the best of circumstances, that is, when both breakwaters had been completed, there would be but scanty room to bring up in a secure berth. I consider, therefore, that the Government of Bombay acted wisely in limiting the work to be executed to that which might be required for facilitating the shipment of cotton, &c., brought down from the country beyond the hills. Now, however, I have to allude to the conduct of this Government with reference to the work to be carried out, viz., the construction of a jetty and of a road communicating therewith. It appears that, in April 1860, that is, 13 months since, the Government sanctioned the outlay of 51,000 rupees for a landing and shipping pier, which sum was directed to be inserted in the estimates for 1861-62; but it would appear from the letters of the district engineer, giving an account of the correspondence which had taken place between himself and the chief engineer on this subject, that no steps had been taken to decide upon the position of the pier with relation to the depth of water in the bay, the probable wants of the shipping, its safety, or rather, the safety of the ships lying alongside of it, should bad weather come on; in fact, the whole subject appears to have been left in abeyance aitogether. Now, at the eleventh hour, the chief engineer, in forwarding a letter from the district engineer, states that he has approved of the site selected by that officer, and directed him to proceed vigorously with the work; but it appears that there is no plan of the work to be executed, and the engineer is now called upon to make one; and the Government is told, in para. 5, that a correct plan and estimate of the pier will be forwarded in due course. I differ altogether from Colonel Horsley: in my opinion, "due course would have been to prepare the plan before the estimates were framed; he ought to have been in close communication with the district engineer during the last twelve months; the plans should have been thoroughly digested and discussed; the site, extent, material, mode of construction determined; so that the works might have been commenced without any delay, as soon as the money was voted. We are now, in May 1861, just in the same position as we were in April 1860; and I must say that this sort of negligence does not tell well for the method and arrangement of the office work of the Department of Public Works. Colonel Horsley should be informed that if similar instances again occur, the Government will be compelled to make material alterations in the arrangements of the office. In the meantime, the arrangements notified in Colonel Horsley's letter must be allowed to proceed, as the only course available under the circumstances. EXTRACT PUBLIC WORKS DESPATCH, from the Secretary of State to the Para 2. WITH reference to the proper subject of the letter under reply, I need add little to the well-merited rebuke passed by you on the chief engineer for the negligence and want of method observable in his official arrangements. I apprehend, however, that the non-existence of any plan, and, consequently, of any trustworthy estimate for the pier, 13 months after its construction had been sanctioned, is by no means a solitary instance of inattention to the standing orders of the Department. It is contrary to all rule that a project should be entered in the budget without previous submission of plans and estimates; but, in this case, not only had no plan been prepared, but even the question of sites had not been finally settled, at a time when, according to instructions issued more than a year before, everything ought to have been in readiness for the commencement of the work. 3. With regard to your President's observations on the breakwater, which, it has been suggested, may hereafter be required at Sedashegar, my letter of 16th August last informed you that, in my opinion, the work ought to be deferred until the capabilities of the harbour shall have been tested by experience, and shall have attracted to the place some considerable amount of trade. PUBLIC WORKS DESPATCH, from Bombay, dated 27 Nov. (No. 35) 1861. We do ourselves the honour of forwarding for your information the accompanying printed copies of a letter from the Acting Superintending Engineer, Southern Circle, No. 2519, dated 15th November 1861, and its accompaniments, reporting what has been accomplished, the present state and the prospect of completion of the portion of the road (within the limits of this Presidency) from the Dharwar cotton districts to Sedashegar. 2. We are of opinion that this report is satisfactory, so far as the Dharwar districts are concerned. To the Acting Chief Engineer and Secretary to Government, Public Works Department, Sir, Bombay. I HAVE the honour herewith to forward you a Report by Captain Playfair on the state of progress of the road from Annigherry to Sunguteecope, called for in a demi-official letter from you to his address. 2. Captain Playfair's account of what has been done is very clear. 3. I have just passed over the line from Annigherry to Hooblee; it is mostly over black soil. The earthworks are in progress, and the road will probably be gravelled and ready by the end of the next monsoon. 4. From Hooblee to Sunguteecope, 28 miles over a hard undulating country, with rice fields and soft soil in the bottoms; five miles at the Hooblee end are almost completed, and about six miles at the Sunguteecope end are nearly finished. 5. The intermediate portion, 16 or 17 miles in length, has hardly been taken in hand. 6. Captain Playfair anticipates that the whole line from Hooblee to the frontier will be open before next monsoon. He points out, however, with great truth, that until the Kyga Ghaut in the Canara districts is open, the line in our own territory will be of little material use. 7. The Kyga Ghaut is the pinch of the whole question. A first-class road from Hooblee to Sunguteecope is only wanted as a means of access to the port of Sedashegar. That port cannot be approached by this route till the Kyga Ghaut is ready, and the completion of the latter therefore must regulate the utility of the whole undertaking. s. I believe the Madras officers are actively at work; at least I hope so, for all that we are doing will be nearly useless unless seconded by their efforts. In any case, however, considering the difficulties of their part, I do not doubt we shall be ready long before they are. |