Читать книгу Seven Lectures on the United Kingdom for use in India - Halford John Mackinder - Страница 6

Table of Contents

THE VOYAGE FROM INDIA TO LONDON.

1.

Map of the Indian Ocean.

The British Empire consists of a number of lands scattered over the whole world. Some of the most important of these lands are round the Indian Ocean. In this map we see to the east Australia, to the west South Africa, and to the north India, which are three out of the six or seven great lands belonging to the Empire. Then there are smaller lands; some of them so small that on the general map of the Indian Ocean they hardly appear. We can only show their names and a dot for their positions. Such, notwithstanding their importance in the world’s trade, are Singapore, Mauritius, and Aden. There are other lands of intermediate size, and notable of these is the Island of Ceylon. Among the smallest of all the British Territories are the Seychelles, a coaling station for the Fleet, placed nearly midway between Mauritius, Zanzibar, and Colombo. On the mainland of Africa in the neighbourhood of Zanzibar is also the considerable territory of British East Africa, through which runs the Uganda Railway from Mombasa to the great lake of Victoria Nyanza and the sources of the River Nile.

2.

Map of India.

Of all these countries the most important is our own land of India. As you know, it has three hundred million people. Here we have a map of India and of the allied states, Afghanistan and Nepal. You see upon it in the darker tint of red the territories which are immediately under the British Government, and you see also in the lighter tint the Native States, ruled by their own chiefs, although protected by the British Raj. In no other part of the world do we find peace secure from end to end of a vast territory, and yet within it great states ruled by their own chiefs, as in Kashmir, Rajputana, Central India, Haidarabad, and Mysore. Some of the principal countries of Europe are little larger than some of the Native States of India, yet the continent of Europe is full of armaments, and there is always danger of war there. India owes to the British Raj peace for a fifth of the human race, and yet the different laws, languages, and religions have been preserved, so that the people of each part and of each race are able to live according to their own historic customs.

3.

The Himalayas.

India lies between the mountains and the ocean. Along one-half of her land frontier the highest range of mountains in the world makes a great rampart, defending her from invasion. The railways which now extend through the whole land not only help to prevent death from starvation when the harvests fail, but also enable the Indian Government to concentrate the army quickly for the defence of the only portions of the frontier of India by which invasion is possible. In 1738, Nadir, Shah of Persia, invaded India, took Delhi and slew one hundred thousand of the people. In 1761, Ahmed, Shah of Afghanistan, invaded India and defeated the Mahrathas in the great battle of Panipat, almost at the gates of Delhi. After that time the British Raj grew up, and no foreign enemy has since been able to disturb the peace of India. Who can measure the value of peace for the millions of our people? There are nearly 730,000 villages in India: without peace they could not reap their harvests. There are over 2,000 towns in India: without peace their trade would be ruined.

4.

The Ocean: The Surf at Madras.

But we must not forget that more than one-half of the boundary of India is washed by the waves of the great sea. Why is it that we need not maintain great armies along the coast of India? The water of the ocean spreads round all the lands of the world, and enemies from many lands might come in ships to attack us. The reason why we need give little thought to the defence of our shores is that the British Fleet is strong, and is ready in distant parts of the ocean to fight with any hostile fleet that might set out to invade India. No rule in India has ever before had the advantage of peace on the ocean. The Emperors at Delhi in former centuries were obliged to pay for an Abyssinian Fleet to give some protection to their shores.

In three ways therefore India draws great profit from her share in the British Empire. In the first place she is saved the cost of defending her sea border from foreign invasion. In the second place the sea road lies peacefully open for a vast commerce with the rest of the world. And in the third place, by means of the railways from her ports to her land frontiers she is able to defend those frontiers not only by the Indian Army, but, if necessary, by all the strength of the other parts of the Empire brought over the seas and carried quickly to the threatened point. Never before has the peace of India been so secure at so small a cost. This is the strength which comes from standing not alone, but as one of the league of nations which is known as the British Empire. It is a splendid thought to think of the many separate races, each living their own lives according to their own traditions, which are now held peacefully together within the British Empire. In Britain itself you must remember that there are the English, the Scotch, the Irish, and the Welsh, just as in India there are the Rajputs, the Sikhs, the Mahrathas, the Bengalis, and many other races. Once the English and the Scotch used to fight one another; but now there is peace in Britain as there is in India. Yet throughout the British Empire all men are free to think and say what they like.

5.

Map of the Railways of India.

6.

Sutlej Bridge.

7.

Bhor Ghat Reversing Station.

The Empire is held together to-day chiefly by means of railways on the land and steamships on the sea. The railways of India end at the foot of the mountains. In the plains they cross the broad rivers by long bridges. In the Deccan they descend to the sea by ways that are cut into the mountain face. Here we have a bridge over the Sutlej, on the Delhi railway, and here the curious Reversing Station on the Bhor Ghat above Bombay, where the steepness of the ground does not allow space for the railway to bend on its way down the mountain side.

The modern capitals of India are naturally on the coast, for it is there that the life of India comes into contact with the life of the world over the sea. In these capitals, protected by the Fleet, the commerce borne by the railways connects with the ocean-borne commerce.

8.

Map showing the Unity of the Ocean.

Let us spend a moment considering why it is that trade over the ocean is of such vast importance to India, and why, therefore, the sea-ports are the greatest of her cities. In this map you see at a glance that all the lands of the world are in truth islands, for even the largest continent is surrounded by the ocean. Therefore a ship can go from any coast you will to any other coast. But by road or by railway it is possible to travel only from one part to another of the same island or continent. Hence it is that ocean-borne commerce is the most general, for land-borne commerce is limited by the coast and can go no further. It would be impossible for us to trade over the land with England. At some point or other we must cross the sea, and traffic over the sea is much cheaper than on the land. Therefore, in some cases it even pays to carry goods from point to point along the coast of India, instead of carrying them by land. This map also tells you why the one British fleet can defend all the coasts of the British Empire. It is because the ocean is one, and the fleet can sail from any part of it to any other part.

9.

Ships of the time of Vasco da Gama.

10.

Sailing Ship.

The voyage to Britain used to be a long one, and not without danger. True that the same ship could go all the way from Calcutta to London, carrying passengers, mails, and cargo; but in former times the passage took many months, for ships, as you know, could then only be moved by the wind, and at some seasons the wind blew in a direction contrary to the course of the ship. Moreover, even the East India ships were small, and we must remember the rough seas which they had to traverse when rounding the Cape of Good Hope. Here, for example, are the kind of ships in which Europeans first came round the Cape to the Indies in the time of Vasco da Gama. And here is a sailing ship of later times, much improved both in hull and sails, but still liable to be delayed by contrary winds and by calms.

11.

P. & O. s.s. “Caledonia.”

In the present day, however, the British Empire is knit together by means of large vessels, moved by steam, in which men come and go with certainty over thousands of miles of trackless ocean. This is one of the steamers of the great Peninsular and Oriental Company, which, together with other companies, trades through the Suez Canal between Britain and India. You will see, then, that by using steam instead of the wind, by substituting large ships for small, and by cutting the Suez Canal, so that the voyage may be through shorter and generally calmer seas, men have brought London, the capital of the Empire, within less than a month of India, whereas it used to be five months away.

12.

Dalhousie Square, Calcutta.

13.

The Hugli.

14.

Madras from the Sea.

15.

Arrival of the Viceroy at Madras.

16.

Bombay Rampart.

We have seen that the modern capitals of India are the sea-ports. In no age before this dared men place their great cities on the open coast, for they were exposed to attack there by pirates as well as foreign enemies. The present capitals of India are therefore new towns. Calcutta is on a strip of low ground beside the bank of the River Hugli. Only 200 years ago it was a small village. Yet here to-day is a stately city, and in the river are ships from all parts of the world. Madras was a stretch of open surf-beaten coast 270 years ago, but to-day it has half-a-million people, and a harbour of stone piers built far out into the sea to break the force of the waves, so that great ships may land their passengers and cargoes in calm water. Bombay, also, some 240 years ago was an unimportant islet with only some 10,000 inhabitants, and to-day, as you know, it is a city which rivals Calcutta in its wealth and grandeur. Karachi has grown similarly from a much later beginning on an utterly sterile desert coast.

17.

Queen’s Memorial, Bombay.

18.

Bombay Harbour.

In these Lectures we are going to make a visit to the British Isles, the land in all the world which, after our own land of India, should be of the greatest interest to us, for it is the centre of the Empire to which we owe so much. We may start on our voyage from any one of the five great ports of India: Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Karachi, or Rangoon, and we shall naturally leave by that port which is most conveniently placed with reference to the particular part of India in which we live. If we sail from Bombay we will visit before we start the monument of the great Queen Victoria, who for more than 60 years ruled both India and England.

19.

Out at Sea, Deck scene.

20.

Saloon of P. and O. Steamer.

21.

Engines of P. and O. Steamer.

22.

P. and O. Steamer—a State Room.

A mail steamer upon the ocean is now like a great moving hotel, which goes from port to port with wonderful punctuality. Here you have a scene on deck when out at sea. And here is the saloon with the tables set for the dinner of several hundred people. Nor must we forget to look at the engines, which turn the heat of burning coal into power equal to that of ten thousand horses. And, lastly, we will glance into a private cabin and see the comfortable berth. All this is very different from the rough voyage of only fifty years ago.

Of steamers altogether—some of them fast mail boats, some slow cargo boats—the British Empire possesses for ocean-going purposes 9,000. These are parts of the Empire just as much as the land. Therefore you must think of the British Empire as consisting of many countries, which, together, make one-fifth of all the land in the world; and you must think of it as consisting also of these 9,000 steamers upon the ocean, which, as you know, measures three-fourths of the surface of the globe. The whole Empire—lands, ships, and people—is protected by the British Navy upon the ocean, and by the Army distributed through the British lands.

23.

Colombo Harbour and Breakwater.

24.

Colombo Harbour, North-West Breakwater in progress.

25.

Colombo Harbour, Diver at work.

26.

Colombo Harbour, Blockyard.

But it is not enough to have swift, comfortable ships. Deep, calm harbours are needed, where the great ships may lie close to the land and discharge their burden. Here for instance we have a monument of which British engineers may be proud. This is a view of Colombo Harbour in the Island of Ceylon where the ships gather from Calcutta, and Madras, and Rangoon before they leave the Indian seas. The slide shows the main breakwater, built upon the bed of the sea, which protects shipping from the rough waves of the south-west monsoon. And here we have another view, showing a new part of the breakwater in process of building. Observe the huge block which is being lowered by the crane into the sea. Do you note that the crane itself is movable upon wheels, which run upon two pairs of rails? Next we have the diver descending to his work, with his head in a helmet, into which air is pumped from above. He has to prepare the bed on which the great blocks of concrete are laid. Lastly, we have the blocks shown in the blockyard stored ready for use.

Before we start on our voyage, we will cable to our friends in London, telling them to expect us. The electric cables are a very important part of the British Empire, although they lie two and three miles deep on the ocean bottom. Indian students and others who happen to have no friends in London are welcomed and introduced by the Northbrook Society or by the National Indian Association. The address of the first is 185, Piccadilly, London, and of the second Caxton Hall, Westminster.

27.

Forest Scene in Ceylon.

28.

Aden from the Sea.

29.

Aden, the Tanks.

Now let us go on our journey. We are traversing the ocean in a mail steamer; we leave Colombo or Bombay or Karachi and steam westward into the Gulf of Aden. Here we have one of the most remarkable contrasts of climate to be found in the world. In Ceylon or at Bombay rain and heat combine to produce a luxuriant tropical vegetation capable of supporting much human and animal life. There are other countries—and we are going to traverse some of them—which although hot enough, have little rain. Let us realise this contrast; for in taking a voyage from Colombo or Bombay to Aden we go from a well watered country to one which lacks water. Here is a scene in Ceylon, showing the rank vegetation which results from tropical heat and monsoon rains. Here, on the other hand, is the British fortress of Aden. It rains on an average in Aden only once in several years, but when it does rain it rains very hard, and these great tanks were constructed to gather the water from the naked rocky slopes around, and to store it for use in the next few years. You see that two or three shrubs are grown as curiosities beside the tank. But as Aden grew into a populous settlement the tanks were not sufficient for the wants of the people. The British distil fresh water from the sea.

30.

Bumboats at Aden.

Aden is a British fortress. It is not an island, but it is the next thing to an island—it is a peninsula. It is therefore easily defended by warships on the sea. The narrow isthmus connecting it to the mainland has been fortified.

31.

Routes from India to Suez.

32.

The Suez Canal.

So we pursue our journey until we come to Suez. This map shows you the routes from India across the Western Indian Ocean and up the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea to Suez, at the entrance to the Suez Canal. On the right hand we see Mecca marked in the map. Peace on the ocean, the traffic of steamships, and the British station at Aden have rendered the Haj less expensive than it used to be and less dangerous, so that many more Mohammedans now go to Mecca from India. Next we see our steamer in the Suez Canal. The banks are brown and desert, for a shower of rain is very rare, and the whole isthmus is naked rock and sand. The sea way is now continuous from the Red Sea. But the making of the Canal would have been impossible unless there had been fresh water near at hand in Egypt for the nourishment of the workers. The army of workmen who dug the Canal were supplied with sweet water by means of a small canal from the Nile. So you see that the Suez Canal was possible only because of the great river of Egypt, which brings water through the desert from far off sources.

33.

Map of Lower Egypt.

In this map of Lower Egypt you will see named the Gulf of Suez, which is the end of the Red Sea. Up the Red Sea come ships from Aden and the Indian Ocean. Here, on the other hand, is the Mediterranean, through which we shall pass to the Atlantic Ocean. And here is Suez, and the Isthmus of Suez, with the line of the Suez Canal. All that is shown yellow is barren, waterless desert, but the parts tinted with green are fertile and cultivated. As you see from the map, the isthmus is about 100 miles across. Remember that the voyage from Bombay to Britain is some 7,000 miles long—3,500 miles as far as the Canal and 3,500 miles beyond the Canal. Between the Eastern Ocean and the Western Ocean is only the Isthmus of Suez, but this used to compel men to take their ships far south through rough seas, round the Cape of Good Hope.

34.

The Overland Route through the Desert.

Let us, therefore, cross into Egypt, and ask what it is that has made possible this great change in the route of commerce and empire. Before the Canal was cut, but when already steam had been applied to the moving of ships, there were a few years in which passengers and letters were taken by one ship from Bombay to the Isthmus of Suez, and then on by another ship from the other side of the Isthmus to Britain. They were carried across the desert on the backs of camels. Here we have a picture of the thirsty desert. See the bones of a camel which has fallen by the way; the flesh has been picked off by vultures, and the sun and air have dried what remained to cinders. The camel is often called “The Ship of the Desert,” and this camel must have broken down just as ships are sometimes wrecked.

35.

Cairo—The Citadel.

36.

The Road to the Pyramids.

37.

The Pyramids and the Sphinx.

38.

Climbing the Pyramids.

At the end of their desert journey the travellers overland, before the Canal was made, came to the city of Cairo. We see it here with its citadel in the foreground. Notice within the citadel the great Mohammedan mosque with its towering minarets. Cairo is now occupied by the British, and there is freedom of religion for all races, as in every part of the British Empire. Close to Cairo are famous monuments, the Pyramids and the Sphinx, built some six thousand years ago. We see the Pyramids first in the distance as we drive from Cairo along this road. The trees which you see are watered daily, for rain is very rare in Egypt. Here we have arrived at the Pyramids, which are just on the desert edge, because the land watered by the Nile is too valuable for purposes of cultivation to permit of their being placed on fertile ground. The Pyramids and the Sphinx have hardly changed in this intensely dry climate through the space of 6,000 years, although the Sphinx has been partly buried in the sand. In order that you may appreciate the size of the Pyramids let us show a party of tourists climbing the great Pyramid, and note the huge blocks of stone of which it is built.

39.

The Nile Valley in Flood.

And now let us ask the question for which we are making this excursion from the Suez Canal into Egypt. How comes it that here, in the rainless desert, there is fresh water to make possible the cutting of the Suez Canal? It is because the Nile, the river of Egypt, comes from the South beyond the desert. There every summer the rains fall in Abyssinia, and the Egyptian Nile, far away to the north, rises in flood. Here is a view, taken from the edge of the desert at the brink of the valley, in the time of the annual flood. When the water subsides the crops are sown, and presently the harvest is reaped without so much as a shower of rain to aid the growth.

40.

The Assouan Dam.

41.

Opening of the Assouan Dam.

Now, sometimes it happens, as it happens also in India, that the rains fall short in Abyssinia. In such years the Nile brings down to Egypt a much smaller quantity of water. The fertilising flood is small, and there is danger of famine. As a precaution against these droughts, and also to extend the cultivated area some way into the desert, the British have constructed, near the southern end of Egypt, a great dam right across the valley. Here the dam is shown just when it was finished, and before the water had risen behind it. Do you notice beside the dam the canal with locks, by which the river traffic goes up and down notwithstanding the barrier to the flow of water? Do you see also all the openings in the dam to let the water through when it has risen high enough behind the masonry? Let me show you this same dam on the day when it was opened by the Duke of Connaught, brother of the King of England. This is he, wearing a white helmet and with medals and orders on his breast. Beside him are standing the Duchess of Connaught, the Khedive of Egypt, whom you may distinguish by the fez which he wears, and Lord Cromer, the great Englishman who has helped the Khedive to build the dam. You can distinguish Lord Cromer by his tall white hat. The water in the picture has risen to a high level behind the dam, the sluices have just been opened, and the stream is pouring on once more towards the sea. Every year the water now collects behind the dam during the period of flood, and is then let gradually down during the period of low Nile. Thus Egypt is becoming rich because its people are saved from famine, and new land, formerly desert, is brought under cultivation.

42.

Port Said—Coaling.

Let us return to our ship, which is waiting for us at Port Said, the port at the northern end of the Suez Canal. Here is a great mail steamer taking in coal for the remainder of her voyage from India. Is it not wonderful to think of the thousands upon thousands of tons of coal that are dug out of the ground in the British Islands and sent over the seas to drive most of the 9,000 steamers which do the trade of the British Empire?

43.

Map of the Mediterranean.

44.

Malta.

45.

Gibraltar.

And now we have come into the western seas and to the lands of the white man. On leaving Port Said, we steer westward at first, through the Mediterranean Sea. We call at Malta and Gibraltar, which are British ports, like Aden and Colombo. Malta is an island. Here is a view of its harbour, showing the fortifications. But the fortress of Gibraltar is on a peninsula like Aden, and a low isthmus, to the left of the picture, connects it with the mainland. The front of this tall cliff above the isthmus is pierced with galleries, which every here and there come out to the cliff front and allow place for a cannon. So you see that in Europe, as in Asia, the sea power of Britain has islands and little peninsulas for the calling places of its ships. Close to Gibraltar was fought Trafalgar, the most celebrated of British victories at sea.

46.

Map of Western Europe.

47.

In the Bay of Biscay.

We pass through the Strait of Gibraltar, which is only eight miles across, and has Europe visible on the one hand and Africa on the other. Now we emerge from the Mediterranean and steering northward round the western lands of Europe, we at last approach the British Isles. We cross the Bay of Biscay, a part of the broad Atlantic. Huge billows often roll in from the ocean, and play with our great steamer as a child plays with a toy, yet there is a busy traffic of ships on these wide waters.

But there was a time when Britain had no Colonies, and consisted only of British Islands. There were then fewer people in Britain than there are now, and the English Channel, up which we are to sail, protected the British people from invasion by enemies, so they were able to develop the government and the freedom which have since helped Britain to give peace and to give justice through so large a part of the world.

48.

Eddystone Lighthouse.

As we steer into the home waters of Britain, the first object we see is a famous lighthouse, built on the dangerous Eddystone rocks, ten miles away from the coast of England. You will notice that there is also the stump of an older lighthouse. The waves of the ocean are sometimes very terrible, and this is the fourth lighthouse which has had to be built on these rocks. Britain is surrounded by several score of lighthouses placed upon all the dangerous points round its shores.

49.

Map of the Straits of Dover and the Thames Estuary.

Passing Eddystone, we may call at Plymouth to land some of our passengers, who will hurry to London by train. But we will proceed up the English Channel. Off Dover we turn north and round the promontory of Kent, with cliffs of white chalk on our left hand. Entering the broad estuary of the Thames we are soon off Gravesend, having passed Chatham, one of the chief stations of the Navy. At Gravesend we shall probably have to anchor for a short time, because the river is tidal and is deep enough for large vessels only at high water.

50.

Channel Boat approaching Dover.

51.

Dover—Admiralty Pier, S.S. “Pas de Calais” unloading.

52.

Dover—Admiralty Pier, S.S. “Queen” loading the Indian Mails.

Dover, seen from our deck quite clearly as we came past it, is a place of much interest to those who live in the East. You know that nowadays the letters from India and the neighbouring lands are not carried to Britain all the way round by sea past Gibraltar, but are landed at a Mediterranean port and brought across Europe by rail. They cannot enter England, however, without once more being placed upon a steamer—this time a small packet, which rapidly crosses the twenty miles of water between Britain and the Continent, known as the Straits of Dover. You can see across the Straits of Dover. There are white cliffs which glisten in the sunshine on both sides. Here is one of the Channel steamers unloading at Dover pier. Do you see the railway train drawn up alongside? It is about to leave for London. Notice the crane lifting baggage from the steamer to the train, so that there may be as little delay as possible. Here is another Channel steamer at Dover. She is just about to leave for the Continent. The railway train has arrived—a whole van, less the wheels, is being raised on the crane and placed on the steamer. It is full of baggage, and is lifted thus to save time—for every minute is worth money. Some hundred bags of mails have to be carried on to the vessel. Think of the many, many thousand letters written every week in Britain which are going to the East—to India and to Ceylon, to the Straits Settlements and Hong Kong and Mauritius.

53.

Gravesend—Shipping waiting for the Tide.

54.

Sunset near Gravesend.

55.

The same ten minutes later.

Let us now go back to our steamer. The tide turns, and we leave Gravesend, passing slowly up the river towards London. The scene is often very animated at Gravesend, as several score of vessels, great and small, get up their anchors and begin to move with the running stream. Sometimes as you look westward up the Thames in the evening, the light in the sky is magnificent, for the clouds are dense with smoke. You must remember that this city of 7,000,000 people has a cold winter, and each room has a place for a fire to keep its inhabitants warm. By good fortune we have been able to photograph such a sunset from the hill above Gravesend. Do you see the river shining on the dark ground below? Here is the same sunset taken ten minutes later. These two slides have not been painted with a brush according to an artist’s imagination, they have been photographed in colour, and they are absolutely true in their effect.

56.

Arrival in Dock.

57.

Welcome on Deck.

58.

Landing.

59.

Steamers in Dock.

At last we enter one of the docks which receive ships from the river at high tide. The dock gates are closed behind us, so that when the tide falls in the river our steamer will remain afloat beside the wharf. We see here the great vessel being pushed slowly into her berth by steam tugs which were waiting for her. And here we have a scene on deck when the gangways have been opened to the shore, and friends have come on board to welcome our British fellow-passengers, many of them returning home after years of absence. Now we set foot on land, and run by train past miles of houses until we come into the centre of the vast city, and reach our hotel. Meantime the captain of the ship and the crew have gone to their homes, and the great ship lies at rest in the dock—silent after her long voyage.

We will unpack our trunks and sleep for a night before we go into the streets of London to see the metropolis of the Empire.