190 Timehri. 



Rupununi river, the larger middle, or Takutu savannah would be reached 

 at Tirke village. From here to the Brazilian boundary at the mouth of 

 the Ireng the line would run over the slightly undulating savannah 

 country. 



THE BRAZILIAN PROJECT. 



Proposals for the construction of the Brazilian portion of this joint line 

 have long been under discussion in Brazil, and a concession was recently 

 actually granted to a firm of capitalists for the construction of a line from 

 Manaos to Boa Vista, situate near the colonial frontier and the adminis- 

 trative centre for the northern portion of Amazonas. The concession 

 was, however, very soon after surrendered, it is said, owing to the popular 

 outcry in Manaos against the terms conceded. 



The apparent distance by the best maps obtainable here between 



(a) Manaos and the nearest point of the British Guiana 

 boundary in the extreme south of the colony is about 



(h) Between Manaos and Boa Vista ... 



(r) Between Manaos via Boa Vista to British Guiana 

 boundary on Takutu near Roman Catholic Mission 

 Distance from (c) to Wismar about 

 Through distance, Manaos to Wismar via Boa 

 Vista, say 

 Or to Georgetown 

 Time of transit, Georgetown to Manaos by railway at 

 20 miles an hour, 40 hours ; at 25 miles an hour, 32 

 hours. 



A through railway to Manaos is, in my opinion, very desirable, but at 

 present, we can only consider the question of the British Guiana section, 

 although that section should be constructed so as to facilitate future 

 extension to the south. 



FINANCING THE RAILWAY. 



How can the Colonial railway be built ? There seem to be three 

 propositions to be considered : 



(a) Construction by private enterprise. 



(/') A Colonial railway and 



(c) A line constructed, like the Uganda Railway, with funds supplied by 

 the Imperial Government coupled with an annual Imperial grant to 

 assist the colony to meet the cost of working and the interest on 

 loan. 



This last scheme seems to me, after much thought, to be the only 

 practical solution and one that is likely to receive much more sympathetic 

 consideration now that the advantages of the development of each unit of 

 the Empire to the Mother Country, and to the Empire in general, are 

 better realised. How t impossible any development of the fair and fertile 

 interior of the colony is at present may be at once gathered from the 



