MESOPOTAMIA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 215, 16 October 1909, Page 2

MESOPOTAMIA.

THE PROPOSED IRRIGATION SCHEME. A RAILWAY ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright Received 15, 10.25 p.m. London, October 15. Sir Wm. Willcocks, the Indian and Egyptian irrigation expert, and designer or the Assuan dam, who is at Constantinople submitting the. results of his survey of the proposed irrigation works in Mesopotamia, designed to recreate this ancient granary, states that without a railway from Baghdad to the Mediterranean, the irrigation of Mesopotamia would be fruitless. The rail-way would cost 2'/j million sterling and the works preventing tlic overflow of the, Tigris and Euphrates would cost ,f 700,000. TO RECUKAITE CIIALDKA. It was Ktate.l last year that Sir William Willcocks had been engaged by the Turkish Government to supervist the contemplated irrigation and canalis. ation works in Mesopotamia and cl«c, where.

Sir William, in 1005, surveyed the country, ami upon his return to Bombay gave enthusiastic estimates of the future of this ancient granary. His new appointment will enable Jiini "to devn'c himself to tho. attainment of the dream of lus life," says the Times of Indiathe re-creation of Chaldea." "The magnitude of the scheme may be judged from the fact that rough estimates place the irrigable area at nearly .vOOO.OOn acres, th,. expenditure at £»1 - 000.000, and the capital value of th'a land, when Irrigated at £00,000.000 Nothing is needed hut money! brains and labor to make the Tigro-Kuphratn, \ alley s uch a wSving wheatfleld ns the Lnoruh and Tliehim Canal colonies. The desert will blossom like a garden- neacities will rise on the. ruins of the mighty memories of the Assyrian and Sassaiuan kings. "Basra will become another Hambnr" or Antwerp, and India will find in fie rigro-Enphrntcß Valley „ field for colonisation and trade rich bevond Cue dreams of avarice."