CITIES OF THE BIBLE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 703, 31 December 1909, Page 6

CITIES OF THE BIBLE.

BABYLON AND THE GARDEN OF RAILWAY PROPOSALS. Sir; ; Wjliioim ; "iWillcbcks ) the- irepbi-t; addressed' l .Wt'ho Turkish f Ministry •-.•of; Public Works 'since . liis return ; from' 'Mesopotamia,' states'.that the Tigris {between* Baghdad .rand--Basranis-.navigable.' the ;whole year; but, in the measuro -as ■irrigation advances, the volume will be , reduced iand,.' the ,'f uoilities.-, of,'. navigation'. gradually' diminished. ■ Tho need of", a.railway, joining Baghdad, to .Basra' is not. 'a-; pressing■ one. { M': ;:{,':{ ■ {{;;i-{; s-/ ' Sir William Willcocks further stales, that all the merchants ho has seen at Baghdad are . convinced. that ithe ' com-. : niunication ■: between i Baghdad-and the ■ Persian' Gulf is not tliat which the Delta •requires. 'The merchants/are of 'opinion that the present pitiable condition of-tty> country is m ! a largo'measure, due to the ■ fact, that: the chief: products of the country havevthoir market "in the Eastern ■Meditenanean;iahd; i in5 | Euro'pe,. i and:' that; tho. country largely. depends on tho im-. 'ports; from; Europc.rf It 'isprecisely; fhero; that.,,the . means, l . of communication are lacking. Sir William Willcocks adds that ho entirely agrees. with.. tho view taken by the merchants.' '■ 'if The i chief•: products of Mesopotamiaaib sheep, cattle, buffaloes, wool, liquonso, nvheat, .'barley, dates,' and rice.. These' havo'their outlet to.tnejwest : and:the need: of { cheap ; transport them;;;as{{well. as jfor' articlesKof; import, . has produced '..the; oxisting impasse.: Sir ,William Willcocks goes on to show that,, besides the transport . i above-mentioned {'produce, a railway ''joining ; Baghdad-totho Mediterranean .would: also serve for the carriage of :Persian: goods destined for the. {west. .There would also bo. theconveyancej-.'of grims, from. the . whole of Central Asia and Persian and- the. holy places of; Islam. {.ThisskiridKof :;:over-increpsihg:{: would 'assume : such proportions as "would .'a9SureJ ( thef;remunfflative:i;Wor]dng' ; of;''the : Hejaz railway. Tho railway.' from 'Haifa ?to'.''DmascusC'w6iuld!':'.alsb'.''.beiiefit.'iivlrak:3vould.:be :opened ..to travellers, from Europe: and. America, who iwould come ..in thousands toi visit Baalbek, Palmyra, the Garden of; Eden, :Babylon; Ctcsiphon, :and tho antiquities oi Chaldea and Babylon. vTho' : :3ii^ct''itradevTouteV'bf..'jthe Central Asia and Persia passes through "Baghdad to Tripoli,; Beyrut, and Haifa. • '. Hit is. the -.limit. of free ..navigation on -.the :j Euphrates, inasmuch as higher; up'■ tliero are cataracts. The proposed' railway" . would start • from Baghdad, cross the Euphrates at Pcluja/. and follow the -valley of Hit. At Hit tho lino would ;take the ;!'Euphrates ,Walley':,' and; ';tfav«^''' ; th6';fla'tv^^rt"in^'a'BbMßht.lin«} 1 .'to^El : 'Kailn : , i ntor;;Abu^Kemal,Cthe.lndrthT ern . limit ,of the cataracts.: • Prom' El ICaim to: Der ■ Zor > tho Euphrates .has no cataracts,'-'and the.'river Khabur,. which joins the ' Euphrates at ; Mayadin, the : anoient.'Rehobpth;: is.f like the,. Euphrates, i'navigable : ' r dufto.: ; the;: wh6le'T.year.', These •parts''of tho 'Euphrates- and Khabur could bo 'extensivelydeveloped 1 and "all their';: prbducts^ : traMported ;: torEl;,Kaini. by boat and- thence' by rail. . Prom El Kaim- the .railway, would .proceed;, to Tidimbr'' .(Palniyra),- and;-follow,-the'{old. trade : route':{:oye#ai:flat.i'fe water.' From Palmyra' tho lino would go .either : to: Homs ..or Damascus. Tho ; , total''{length^{bfi;the'.' , dad"to Damascus is placed at 880 metres { (550 miles)i,' y;;;"{: :: {.{' •: Sir W. Willcocks proposed for'this railway tho ..3ft. 6in. gauge,-which is that ■adopted for the railways iin. South .Africa, the .Sudan,; and . the ; Capo to: Cairo lme.y.; ;With{economy, I {';he';:estimate's{:the. : .'ci»t'-.'6f;tße'{Hh6yfrbm!Ba i ghdad'';t6.vDainaji/ . oris'. ;'at per '(one-thirJ, ~of:-a' mile),'.'whion:for.,{the; 880 {kilometres (550 miles) would, mean an {outlay . 0f,£T2,640,000. "■ The: report enu'niorates.; tho i'probableKgfoss;;'. receipts:{'of i the: {rail way;{ whi'oh are: given at, ,£T220,000, and the working expenses, estimates at 50 per :cent. 'of this sum, thus-leaving a profit of »£TIIO,OOO net, .before tho great irrigation works wiir liavo commenced to Tho report; next; deals with tho works {of - irrigation.iV. beiundertaken;; at':once.' These consist of barrages 'of ;the v Hindieh Canal, dams: on: tho Habbania and Sakinavigatioh {of; tho' Tigris. . The total cost. of.- tho ontiro. {works-'on .the; Euphrates?is; l estimated;at: ''{^Tl,o34,ooo,:;while:{;thatVof;'tW. works'on the' 1 Tigrisis'placed'at.jETl,llo,4Bo;, The cost of; tho works to bo undertaken forthwith attains the following figures:—On the Euphrates,, bCT822,700 jon the .Tigris;: ! XT710.0001 total, 532,700. Tho railway . could be-built in.- two '.years, ,i while 1 ;the Virrigation : works would f take, i eightyears to comjiletc. ••0.-Tovbegin .with.vono' 'csturod v{itai|:fprhieivA'OTbsJjeritjv-;bii ■ TignsrEuEhrates., Delta.—Reuter,