50 Timehri. 
Blarney Railway, Cork and Muskerry Railway, Donoughmore Extension 
Railway, Bessbrook and Newry Railway, Blessington Railway, Castledere 
Railway, Cavan and Leitrim Railway, Clogher Valley Railway, Portrush Rail- 
way, South Clare Railway, West Clare Railway, Tralee and Dingle Railway, 
etc. ; while nearly if not all the Isle of Man Railways are narrow gauge. 
> 
Now as to Bartica, which Mr. Hill states is the “ natural jumping off line 
for a trunk railway, I cannot agree with him. Take it that the trunk line 
starts from Bartica and is completed to its ultimate destination—what is 
the result ? The bulk of the colony’s traffic, including the South American 
mail and passenger traffic would be brought to Bartica, mail steamers and 
cargo boats run there and the result would be—tirst : great expense should 
be gone to in buoying and lighting the Essequebo river, stores, wharves, etc., 
should be built there at enormous expense, as the land immediately behind the 
shore is high and should be levelled ; then, assuming all this to be done, Bartica 
would become the New York and Georgetown, the Washington of British 
Guiana. Take it, however, in its present state. You leave Georgetown at 
8.30 a.m. and reach Bartica the same evening, too late (especially on an ebb 
tide) to go further by daylight that evening. As a railway engineer with a 
personal “lnowledge ofa ema deal of the district to be traversed, I have no 
hesitati.~ in saving 4" _. uatural extension of railways in this 
colony is efisl ofl |, Au <Sbast railway up the east side of the Essequebo 
River (with a station and steam ferry to Bartica, which would then be reached 
in two hours from Georgetown) to the falls, where it would cross to the west 
side and run up past Omai to near Potaro Landing. From this there should 
be a branch about sixty miles long to the Semang river, and thence about one 
hundred miles further to the boundary, where it would terminate at the Massa- 
runi River, after running through the centre of the diamond fields. The 
main line would follow generally the valley of the Potaro to the 5th degree, 
and thence nearly due south in the valley of the rivers Tisaling, Mahoo and 
Takutu to San Joaquim. I believe the construction of this railway would be 
the making of this colony. 
I estimate that the Essequebois about two miles wide at Bartica. Messrs. 
Bullivart, the great authority on wire rope traction, apparently consider 200 
to 500 yards the best spans for such, and do not recommend it for passenger 
traffic ; in fact, I do not myself know of any aerial passenger line being in exis- 
tence anywhere. I believe the limit of span is 1,600 yards at present, so the 
Essequebo could hardly be crossed in one span at Bartica. 
I quite agree with Mr. Hill that the first of the branch lines should be run 
to the uiamond fields, while the main line should be run south to San Joaquim; 
both of which should touch as far as possible the larger tributaries of the ad- 
joining rivers, when, I have no doubt, prospectors and workers would find it 
best to take their bateaux and provisions by rail to the nearest landing place 
above, and then run down the river to their pa apa cleny The first thing to be 
considered with a new railway is: Will it pay ? if so, when ? andif not, why 
should it be made ? Now, in the case before us, I think you may take it that 
the traffic of the main line of 350 miles, which would cost about £1,500 tor 
