Show ye singapore f RAILWAY by edw K long singapore and arc two the average knows but little of beyond the fact that the city of singapore y on tho small island of that name Is tho capital of the straits settlements nono of our st and foremost crown colonies and that johiro M ft country somewhere near governed by an sultan who occasionally independent A leaves tho land of hit forefather to via H europe it is possible thanks to the patriotic literature dispersed by tho navy league that he is aware of too importance of singapore aa a boiling ling station nud tibt it 13 one of our most wrongly tron gly fortified ftc of red but of the fourteen odd mile ot railway stretching across alio island and of tho cs wf the line bf s 11 form oab of the links lie may ba ex f aused for 1 IL waa early in 1900 when sir alexan J der swettenham acting governor of the strait s settlements ut the first L pod of the singapore section of tho singapore bohol e railway and though 1 engineering have been few and tho question ques lion of funds lias at no time been troublous tho lino yet open 1 to frame and completed por lioTta been adversely criticized criticised undoubtedly it is not a vork lo 10 writ writh h i alio llio caroti who aro or tho can point auth pride and many have been tha corn ky in singapore against a system which shuts out locala knowl eugo of local gariea bo thi as may the lino ift nearing and vill tf eventually le worked by a private company on a leas hiie thus qi funds ill though nofa worked b government it will be under ta control indirectly and t the from alio leasing will i 1 go inton tho colonial treasur sur j the railway runs aaros alie island in f a direction and with tho exception of st few lulls near town and some low lying swampy ground acar the terminus on tho ollief ride passes over fairly level country i rich in produce vegetables pineapples and other tropical fruit and sago pepper gambier cr ete the advant 1 aga to bo derived from tho speedy tran pit of such produce to alie singapore maj act can bo perceived when one learns 1 l present the method of locomotion fi by ponderous slow moving bullock carts driven by sleepy tamil drivers another boon the line will confer on singapore will be alio to resident of an economical meana of jour from houses in tho country between the islands of singapore and iho territory of johiro on the main land opposite the southernmost portion bof the mainland of the huge continent of aw a flows au arm of the sea known to malaya as belat Tem brau and to ra as the old strait erf singapore once tho favorite route to alie far east and consequently a scene of no mean traffic it has long been abandoned for the southern passage through singapore harbor in it varies from about a mile to a little more than three furlongs and between woodlands the northern terminus of tho ain gapero lino and bahni the capi tal ol 01 on alie coat almost fac ing woodlands it ia proposed io fisli by means of a steam jerry service by llila means such the coa of produce as reaches will be yi after tedious processes lo 10 singapore natural mar ket for and ho neighboring destined for slates and european goods alio country unloaded nt singapore will be kanton without losa of time the extensive country of embracing the entire end of the mahy peninsula if extremely rich in minerals timber and all kinds of jungle produce but as yet alic land ia practically an undeveloped one governed by a sultan who though entirely inde pendent relies to no little extent on the advice riven him by the advisory loard in london and perhaps occasionally accepts a word in season from alic governor of the straits settlements cir frank swettenham than to do nemore to advance tho Individual Malay to prosperity is today anthe new existence ot an awakening from her sleep ia the tast to it of promise prom ibe ho old sultan abubekar Abu bukar father of tho present sultan long had in view the project of ft railway should trav arso ahe of liis dominions and prior tia ica vears back wa the reigning sultan strongly in favo i line being ana 0 o people of the country echo lug sentiment alio line miu bo about miles in length and will run northwards from lal irti to vp bordera of cg ri bilan one of alio federated falay ITS these elates there aro now to Britis li enterprise over the rc have been so satisfactory as to justify an extension of forty four miles through nesri bilan fhe line across completed and connected with alii extension federated malay flatea bysted By stem there will then aft a co track of railway at docks and terminating at province wellesley the british settlement on alio mainland opposite with hu ii buy port it has good communication muni cation local advantages only have been pointed out and though they arci many it h scarcely on that account alone that the singapore railway poss csacs an european interest it will not be many years before the onward march of commerce will demand that burmah and the straits settlements be connected by rail and permission sought of alie siamese government for the construction ol 01 a line of railway traversing tho intervening siamese states it is generally held that there are no very serious difficulties to b encountered and such a work accomplished complis hed a road to and from the indian market would be provided and that much discussed project of a railway to cross into persia and alius provide an overland route to india would be important indeed would bo alic line as linking together valuable possessions and surely would be effected alie oj ig up to european marketa of lands practically untapped of rich resources not only would the prosperity increase of singapore the gateway of the far bast but also of alio whole of alio straits and their neighbors tho federated malay states pall mall gazette |