September 2, 1889* J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
AN ENGLISH RUBY COMPANY FOR BUB MA: 
WHY NOT A LONDON GEM COMPANY 
FOR CEYLON ? — NO. VI. 
SOME OBSERVATIONS ON SIR LEPEL GRIFFIN'S SPEECH 
Ar THIS GENERAL MEETING OF THE BURMA RUBY 
MINE COMPANY IN LONDON — MR. STREETER ON THE 
GEM MATRIX OF CEYLON. 
It is not a little remarkable that, at the very 
time the Ceylon Observer was endeavouring to 
demonstrate that many of the more important 
advantages claimed for the Burma Ruby Mine 
Company by Mr. Streeter were either very much 
exaggerated or had no existence at all, the very 
same fasts were being adduced at the statutory 
general meeting of the shareholders of the Com- 
pany in London as justification of there being no 
ostensible results from their operations in Burma. 
Sir Lepel Griffin, who presided on that occasion, 
is a speaker who is in the habit of putting what 
he has to say before his hearers in lucid and forcible 
terms, as we must all acknowledge after reading 
his eloquent address at the Colonial Institute on 
the native Princes of India. On this occasion Sir 
Lepel Griffin had several things to tell the share- 
holders which by rights they should have been 
told six months previously — and which unpleasant 
in themselves — would be more unpalatable coming 
upon them as they did in the way of a surprise. 
He had to tell them, and did so very plainly, 
precisely what the Observer told its readers, that 
the vaunted monopoly was no monopoly, that the 
pacificated Burma was nut pacificated or likely to 
be for some time, and that the difficulties of 
communication were so immense that they had 
not as yet been overcome and no tixed date 
could safely be named for the machinery to 
reach the mines though it had been sent up early 
in the year to the station on the banks 
of the Irrawady. As regards the monopoly, so far 
as may be gathered from a brief report of his 
speech, one allusion only was made to it by the 
chairman, but that one was quite sufficient for 
the purpose. He said: " They would have to deal 
also with the difficulty of smuggling, owing to 
the rights of mining possessed by certain natives. 
He trusted however, with the help of Government, 
they would be able to make arrangements by which 
this would be overcome. These native miners were 
not allowed to use machinery or explosives." This 
inhibition we learn has only been recently imposed 
by the authorities, and in the present disturbed 
state of the country would be as difficult to en- 
force as an inhibition of dacoity, and being of 
little importance to Government it will not re- 
ceive much of their attention. Here then, at 
last, we have an admission from headquarters 
that other natives, beside the Ruby Mine Company 
have mining rights of importance, and consequently 
that the Company has no monopoly. After what 
has been written previously on this point 
there is no necessity to enlarge upon 
it now, only let us hear no more of the 
monopoly in Burma which a Gemming Company 
in Ceylon could not obtain, and does not require. 
Let us then turn to the "pacificated" state of 
Upper Burma: — "The most important of the 
difficulties before them — beoause the most difficult 
to overcome — and one which was entirely outside 
the operations of the Company, was the disturbed 
state of the province of Burma. He was however 
confident that the Government were acting with 
ability and energy, and that in a very short space 
of time — it might be months or a little longer — Burma 
would sottle down into that state of order and 
peaoe whioh reigned in every other part of Her 
Majesty's dominions. No doubt however so long 
as Upper Burma was ravaged by dacoits the 
operations of the Company would necessarily be 
exposed to Bome inconvenience and interruption." 
Precisely so. The measure of time coming next after 
months is commonly years, and we may very 
well read Sir Lepel Griffin's speech as running thus: 
"It might be months or it might e 5 e'firs 5 '"' be- 
fore the country attained a state of order aud 
peace, Judging from the speeches by tha highest 
authorities at the " Burma dinni " in London, 
a few days ago, those engaged in the woik of 
pacification are by no means sanguine of success 
for a very lengthened term, as much as ten years 
from the date of annexation being mentioned as 
not improbable. This is indeed anything but a 
bright lookout for the Ruby Company, whose lease 
is only made out for a seven years' tenure. It is 
a matter of some significance that the Deputy 
Commissioner of the Ruby Mines District has 
lately been removed from his position for lurnish- 
ing information . to the press — or at any rate to 
interested parties in London. This has been done, 
it is stated in Burma papers, after i revious warn- 
ing and promises made by the Commissioner 
to abstain from commenting upon the state 
of the district over which he had control. 
Sir Lepel Griffin must have found rather a difficulty 
in " prophesying smooth things" for the future, 
and barely succeeded in doing so with any degree 
of success. The other difficulty mentioned by the 
Chairman is the one on which we most strongly 
insisted some months ago, when discussing the com- 
parative advantages of the Ruby Mine Company for 
Burma and a Gemming Company in Ceylon : — " The 
next matter of difficulty was the communications. The 
Burma mines were situated in the heart of a 
mountainous country, but the construction of a 
road to Mogok was being energetically proceeded 
with. Their Superintending Engineer, under date 
of May 20th, stated that it was hoped to get this 
road open within a couple of months, though the 
writer added — all would depend upon the amount of 
labour available. This question of the road was 
of supreme importance to the Company, for they 
could not g^t their machinery up to the mines 
without it." Here is another revelation of great 
importance. Expensive machinery sent out from 
Europe with a staff of European workmen, lying 
idle six months already, and likely to remain 
so for an indefinite period ; the salaries running on 
all the while, as well as interest on the cost of the 
machinery, which in a climate like that of the 
Shan hills, cannot fail to deteriorate rapidly. The 
amount of labour available for this work mainly 
depends upon the state of the surrounding district, 
In its present disturbed condition labour cannot 
be obtained at all, or in very small quantity, work- 
ing under military protection. From another source 
we learn that " a hill road now connects Thabeitkyin 
with Bernardmyo, the sanitarium and military post 
in the ruby mines district, a distance of sixty 
miles. Fifty miles of this road are laid 
out and bridged, and have long been opened 
to traffic. It is excavated from the hillside and cost 
the Government £30,000 which includes £5,000 
spent by the military authorities on mule roads. 
Another branch road runs from Bernardmyo to. 
Mogok, twenty miles in length, and before it is 
cut will cost about £10,000, exclusive of metalling." 
This was written on the spot on 1st June, and 
from its tenor we may gather that the earthwork 
had not then been completed and the cost of 
metalling was a matter beyond the writer's conjecture 
From what we can learn from Sir Lepel Griffin's 
relation to the shareholders, we may feel pretty 
confident that a full year from the registration of the 
