§ SIR JOHN HAYasked the Under Secretary of State for India, What was the date and nature of the agreement with a Company for the construction of the Bhopal, Gwalior, and Cawnpore Railway (605 miles); and, whether an offer was made for the construction of this line by the Great India Peninsula Railway Company in 1881?
§ MR. J. K. CROSSAn agreement was come to with the promoters of the Bhopal, Gwalior, and Cawnpore Railway in February last, as to the general terms on which a Company, to be called the Indian Midland Railway Company, was to be formed for undertaking the line in question, and a contract embodying in legal form the necessary provisions is now under consideration. The agreement is similar to that made with the Southern Mahratta Railway Company, with the modification suggested by the recent Select Committee on Indian Railways, and provides for the grant of interest at 3½ per cent on an estimated capital of £5,000,000, with one-fourth of the net earnings besides. For the first seven years, the Government also guarantee that the Company shall receive not less than 4 per cent interest per annum. An offer was made by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway in 1831 for the construction of a portion of the system which is to be undertaken by the new Company. But it was not favourably entertained by the Secretary of State in Council, as it involved an enlargement of the operations of the Great Indian Peninsula Company, combined with an extension of the Government guarantee.