George Turnbull (1809-1889): Autobiography: Chapter 19

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Chapter 19. 1868. (pages 231-237). Return to India and Great Indian Peninsular Railway. European tour.

1868. Towards the end of 1867 and in the beginning of this year I had various conferences with Lee, Watson and Alton about their Indian contract. They could not get their accounts settled, as many of the bridges had given way, or were in a dangerous condition. The contractors claimed a very large sum from the Railway Company for extra work, and they said as regards failure of any works, it entirely arose from the faulty designs ; that during construction, they had continually protested and stated that the method of construction was wrong, but were merely directed to proceed with the work. I made a very careful analysis of the claims and counterclaims, which was submitted to Mr. Lloyd, an eminent counsel, who gave a rather dubious opinion about it, but on the whole rather favourable.

February. Messrs. Lee and Co. made me an offer of £2,000 if I would go out and investigate matters, examine the bridges and works generally, and report, and endeavour to make terms with the Company - that was, the Great Indian Peninsular, they to pay my travelling expenses. This offer I accepted on the 13th February, and started on my mission on Monday the 17th, for Marseilles.

Arrived at Paris the same night, and went to the Louvre Hotel, with Joseph Bray, Ker, and Sinclair. Left Paris at 7.15 on the 18th, arrived at Marseilles at 12 noon next day. Embarked in the “Ceylon” and arrived at Malta on the 22nd - fifty-five hours from Malta. Called on an old friend there, Capt. Tronson; his wife is a daughter of Mr. Theobald, formerly Protonotary in Calcutta. They gave me a kind welcome. Here I met a letter from Fanny, dated 18th, giving a good account of herself and the dear bairns. Arrived at Alexandria about midnight on the 25th ; on by train to Cairo - Oriental Hotel. On by train to Suez, and went on board the “ Carnatic ” at once, Capt. Dundas, commander, and sailed the same night. On the 29th, Jibbeltier.” Lat. 24° 13' N.; long. 36° 18' E. at noon.

March. On the 4th passed Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb (the gate of tears) at about 8 a.m.; Isle of Perim on our right, small rock; island, with a lighthouse. Arrived at Aden on the 4th at 5 p.m., and sailed again on the 5th at 2 p.m , arriving in Bombay harbour about 10 p.m. on the 11th, and anchored south of the Aholls Bunder. Temperature on deck, 81° ; a delightful voyage.

Next day drove in a shigram to Byculla Hotel, and after breakfasting there, drove to Mr. Lees’ house, called Lands End, Malabar Hill; a small bungalow, in a beautiful situation facing the sea.

12th. Called on the same day on Gen. Rivers, who was then agent to the G. J P. Railway Company, and delivered Gen. Baker’s letter of introduction. He expressed himself very willing to do his best to settle matters with the contractors. I delivered letters from Sir Bartie Frere to the Hon. B. H. Ellis, Member of Council, who was very pleasant, and invited me to dine with him ; also Sir B. Frere’s letter to Sir S. Fitzgerald, Governor of Bombay, who was also gracious. It was evident that Sir Bartle’s letters were influential. The Governor asked me to dine with him, which I was well pleased to do : a party of about thirty, rather stiff and a little formal, but, on the whole, agreeable. Fitzgerald, I thought, a shrewd, able man, with a considerable vein of humour.

On the 15th I left Bombay on a tour of inspection, greatly interested with seeing the inclines and working of the railway up the Thul Ghaut. Messrs. Lee and Watson accompanied me. We commenced examination of bridges at west-end of No. 13 contract, near Bhosawal, and went over eighty-five miles of the line, examining everything, and stopped at Akola dak bungalow all night. We had a locomotive, a saloon carriage, a second-class carriage, and a break-van, all very comfortable. Akola is the head station in Berar. Next day left Akola early, and inspected bridges on to Budnaira, fifty miles. Left Budnaira on 21st, and examined fifty-nine miles, getting down and inspecting every bridge, and large culverts, and stopped at Kurdah dak bungalow. The River Wundah is the boundary between the province of Berar and the province of Nagpore, and is said to be here 1,100 feet above sea level. Left Wundah at 5 a.m., and examined bridges, taking full notes, and arrived at Nagpore at 10.15 a.m., and glad to get into Robertson’s bungalow.

This completed 108 miles on Contract No. 14, which with 134 miles on Contract No. 13, made 242 miles all carefully inspected. This concluded my outdoor inspection. I made a mistake above ; there is no province of Nagpore, it is all Berar, formerly under a Rajah of Berar. By treaty he was bound to pay an annual tribute to the British Government, which he failed to do ; and as he died in 1853, without heirs, and was not allowed to adopt one, the whole of the magnificent valley of Berar lapsed into British possession. This said valley of Berar has been called “one of the finest regions of the world.” I found it a very hot one.

Nagpore is a large native city. Watson said it contained 150,000 inhabitants, but I thought he over-estimated the population.

The temperature at gunfire was only 71° in Mr. Watson’s bungalow, that of the water in the garden well 79°, the water in the large swimming bath 73°, in the bath-house 81° at 9.30 a.m.; at noon in the bungalow 91°.

George Campbell, now Sir George Campbell, M.P. for Kircaldy, was then the Commissioner residing at Nagpore. He was kind and hospitable ; gave a dinner party on the 24th, which included Lee, Watson, Dr. Townsend, Dr. Abbot, and some others. Mr. Watson took me to the top of a hill where there is a temple, to have a view of the city, and then to see the celebrated Rajah’s Tank, a beautiful sheet of water, looking a mile long, glittering in the sun, and ruffled by a light breeze. It is formed by building a dam across the valley, said to be 300 years old. It supplies Nagpore with water.

Left Nagpore on 25th March, and reached Bombay next day, with Messrs. Lee and Watson. From this date until the znd May I was at Bombay, busy with the contractors’ accounts, and long conferences with Gen. Rivers, Geo. Berkely, Rushton, Dangerfield, Lee, and Watson. I wrote out a long and exact statement of the facts of the case, describing the state of the bridges, and other works. The position of the two parties was plain enough : the contractors claimed a large sum from the Railway Company for work done, and another large sum as extra claims. The Company refused altogether, first, because as they said, the work was badly done, and they disputed the extra claims. I found the masonry of the bridges in many things of undoubted bad quality. Some of the mortar inside the piers had never set at all, and the stones were misshapen; but the fault was really in the specification in great measure, as they (the contractors) were ordered to carry on the works as they were specified, notwithstanding many remonstrances. Brick-work should have been used instead of stone-work, in many places; the work was pressed on in the hottest season of the year ; the stones both for Ashler and Rubble work were very hot in the sunshine, and when laid in the mortar the consequence was that the stones absorbed the water from the mortar like a sponge, leaving the mortar almost a dry mass of lime and sand.

April. After reading my report and statement, Gen. Rivers, on behalf of the Railway Company, agreed to pay, and did pay for work performed under contract. Messrs. Rushton and Dangerfield were obliged to give certificates of the work, much against their will. The extra claims were partly settled in Bombay, but not finally settled until some time afterwards in London.

Mr. Watson was very kind in going about with me to see various matters of interest at Bombay, such as to Colaba Lighthouse and to the Towers of Silence, the burying-place of the Parsees. We visited also the Island of Eliphanta and the rock-cut temples there, so often described and pictured.

We also paid a visit to Poonah, and stayed there a couple of days. Left Bombay at 7 a.m., and arrived at Poonah, 119 miles, at 5.20 p.m., by the Bhose Ghat incline, a very fine work. We had an opportunity of examining the ruins of Mowka Nullah bridge, which fell down in October, 1867, very suddenly. The fault was the same as on the Nagpore line, viz., using stones dry and hot, that sucked all the moisture out of the mortar. Some photos of this bridge, got at Bombay, are interesting. Two spans of 202 ft. each of iron girders were in course of erection at that time. Poonah, the capital of the Deccan, is a very fine place, the old residence of the Peishrah, said to have 150,000 inhabitants. A large artificial lake, or reservoir, and a stone dam, a fine work. The military cantonments large and healthy, being so much higher than Bombay.

May. On the 1st of May at Bombay again, and called on Gen. Rivers, and other friends. Mr. Lee, Mr. Watson, and I, sailed on the 2nd in the “Columbian,” Capt. Curling. At Aden on the 9th, Suez on the 15th, Alexandria, 16th ; Marseilles, 21st; Paris on 22nd. Arrived at 23, Cornwall Gardens on the 23rd, and found all well. Twenty-two days from Bombay. I was thus eighty-eight days away on this expedition; which, on the whole, was a pleasant and interesting one.

June. June the 4th, being Katie’s birthday, we all went to the Crystal Palace - Fanny, Miss Cameron, Nelly, Geordie, Duncan, and Katy; also nurse and Sarah, which of course they enjoyed. G. T. weighed 11st. 61b. 120Z.!

On the 6th my dear old master, Thomas Rhodes, died at Paignton, in Devonshire. I was a kind of pupil of his at St. Katherine’s Docks, with James Waylen, David Hogarth, Tears, Giffard, Whiteley, and some others. He was a first-class man, of a kindly, genial disposition, a man of portly build and powerful frame. He told me he was first a shipwright at Hull, and work being slack, he migrated in search of work to the Caledonian Canal works, as he heard there were loch gates to be built; carrying his “ axe,” as he said, with him on his shoulder; and there he was soon known to Telford, who gave him charge of construction and erection of loch gates. Afterwards he was on the Paisley Canal, and on other works that I know not of, and at the Menai Bridge; and he was the man who arranged and executed all the work and operations for hoisting the chains. He is described by John Rickman, who edited “ Telford’s Life,” as a “ master in carpentry,” —an accurate description. He was, to use the phrase of the day, a “ self -educated man,” quiet, modest, and unassuming, but self- reliant. It was curious that with his powerful muscular hands, and used to hard labour, he had a fine, delicate touch, wrote a fine, clear, small style of writing, and drew designs for the works in a distinct, neat manner, that few could surpass.

A workman at the St. Katherine’s Docks told me that on the Caledonian Canal, the floors of some of the lochs being made with half timbers, that is, planks six inches thick, laid crosswise, there was a great deal Of spike-driving, the spikes being bronze metal, three-eighth inch square; and some heavy sledge hammers were provided, and so heavy that only two of the men could swing them; one was a man called Jem Rose, and the other was Thomas Rhodes.

July. Dr. Henry Ramsbotham died on the 6th. He married my first cousin, Mary Lindsay, and left a family.

Mr. Berkely gave his award in the matter of Lee, Watson, and Alton’s claims ; amount, £15,003 i6s., which we all thought quite inadequate. They were inclined at first not to accept it, but they ultimately did so, under counsel’s opinion, that the result of going to law about it would be very doubtful.

August. Trip to the Continent. On the 7th Fanny and I, the children and nurse, sailed from London in the General Steam Navigation Co’s. s.s. “Holland,” for Ostend. We put up first at Hotel des Bains, but soon tired of it, and finally settled down in furnished apartments of Van Derfhuys Rue des Capucius, where we were very comfortable, and not so expensive. We left the children in charge of nurse at Ostend, and Fanny and I went on a tour to Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, Cologne, Mayence, Westbaden, Frankfort, Aix la Chapelle, Brussels again, on to Ostend. We were away twenty-one days, and glad to find the children well and return.

September. On 20th September Fanny and church for the first time. She was four years months.

We all left Ostend on the 21st for Brussels quarters at 3, Place Trone. Here we found Mrs. T. Watson, her eldest daughter, and two children. Tom Watson being at Amsterdam, at his work. (“Tom” Watson, died July 2nd, 1890, aged sixty-seven.— F. T.)

Shortly after I went to Moerdijk, Rotterdam and Amsterdam, to pay a visit to my old friend, Thomas Watson, who was living on the embankment, near the entrance to the Great Ship Canal, from Amsterdam to the sea. The place was called Paardenhock. We had a pleasant sail in his yacht, on the famous Zuider Zee, and went over all the works along the Canal to the half-built harbour, on the North Sea. I shall not attempt any account of this great, and important and difficult engineering work here. There was a paper read at the Institute of Civil Engineers, when it was completed and opened, giving all plans and details. Watson was one of the firm of contractors who executed the works.

I then visited the Hague, as well as Leijden, seeing the usual sights and especially the picture galleries and museums; also Rotterdam. Then by steamboat, by Dordrecht, on to Brussels again. Bought a Dutch picture at the Hague.

October. On 30th, we left Brussels and on to Antwerp, where we took the children and nurse to see the Cathedral, and bought sabots for Duncan, Katy and Geordie.

Next day we were in London, having been away three months, all but seven days.

November 19th. Mrs. Robert Turnbull Sandeman, the wife of the General, died this day, in her fifty-sixth year.

December. Mr. D'Israeli resigned on the 3rd; the Queen sent for Mr. Gladstone, who undertook to form a new ministry.

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