It is now an admitted truth, which is passing into the stage of a truism, that the most effectual means of “developing the resources of India, augmenting its value as a national possession, and promoting the prosperity of its inhabitants, are to be found in the general establishment of internal communications, and more especially in the construction of railroads. It will therefore be interesting to the members of this Committee to pass in brief review the exertions which have been made in the last ten years to establish a system of railways in India, together with the measures now under discussion to give full efficiency to it.