198 Timehri. 



The estimated revenue is arrived at as follows : — 



Allowing that 10,000 people have settled alongside the railway and 

 are engaged in developing the country through which it runs and 

 that another 10,000 travel up and down the line, we can take the 

 number of passenger journeys in one year as being 30,000 and 

 that the average journey is 140 miles, the passenger fares being 

 3d. per mile first and Id. per mile third class, we can put down 

 the passenger receipts at ... ... ••• ••• £17,500 



If at the same time there are 50,000 cattle on the savannahs the 

 natural increase from this number will amount to 10,000 head 

 and these should be available for shipment. Taking the freight 

 at 30 shillings each to transport these down country, the revenue 

 from this item will bring in ... ... ... 15,000 



The timber industry should be well established along the railway 

 by that time and even putting the output as low as 200,000 cubit- 

 feet whicli will cost one shilling a foot for transport we get ... 10,000 



The implements, machinery, supplies, etc., sufficient to feed these 

 people and enable them to develop the country and also carry on 

 the industries already established will amount to quite 3,000 tons 

 which at an average of £2 per ton brings in ... ... 7,000 



And miscellaneous items such as telegraphs, parcels, etc., can safely 



be counted on to bring in ... ... ... 500 



£50,000 



These figures are purposely kept as low as possible and should easily 

 be realised while the estimated working expensea should suffice for hand- 

 ling this amount of traffic. Thus at the end of five years a loss of 

 £60,000 would have to be faced which would be gradually reduced to 

 nothing at the end of ten. This estimate does not include the possible 

 receipts from passengers, cattle, etc., from and to the Brazilian territory 

 adjacent to the line. 



AGRICULTURAL POSSIBILITIES. 



The wealth of British Guiana lies in its forests and soil as even a 

 casual inspection of the interior will show. The forests are very fine 

 containing a wealth of hardwood trees which can hardly be surpassed in 

 their qualities. At present only the forest bordering the navigable 

 portions of the larger rivers and the smaller tributary streams is being 

 worked, which is a very small proportion of the total area. The Balata 

 industry has made rapid strides during the last few years and more and 

 more areas are being constantly opened up, but necessarily these are 

 getting farther away and the cost of transport enters very largely into 

 the sum for which it can be sold at a profit, until the economic distance 

 is reached where it will not pay to go in any further. 



Again, in the extreme southern part of the colony there exist what are 

 termed savannahs which are really grass or prairie land interspersed with 



