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SEOUL
there is little doubt that the remaining 100,000 shares, when issuer, will be eagerly taken up, the shares now standing at par in the Stock Exchange quotations. Up to the present only Japanese and Coreans are eligible as shareholders, but it is possible that later on the privilege may be extended to other nationalities. The estimated cost of the line per mile is £9,000. Earthworks at the Seoul end of the railway are being rapidly pushed on, and it is hoped that the section to Su-won, a distance of some 27 miles, may be opened to traffic in the autumn of this year. In view of the recent con- troversy as to the relative merits and cost of British and American locomotives, it is interesting to note that the engines for the Seoul-Fusan Railway have been ordered from England, although those in use on the Seoul-Chemulpo Railway and, I believe, in Japan generally, are of American make. The survey of the Seoul-Wiju Railroad has been completed by French engineers, but no construction works have yet been begun, the Corean Government having no available funds for this purpose. There is some talk of the line being taken over by a Japanese syndicate. One great obstacle to the expansion of trade in this country is the lack of means of communication, and the con- sequent prohibitive cost of transport to and from the interior. The construction of the Seoul-Fusan Railway, opening up a large area of the richest and most fertile portions of the Empire, will to some extent remedy this defect; but there is urgent need for a network of roads, suitable for wheeled traffic, connecting the principal inland towns with each other and with the coast ports. The new electric trainway in Seoul has been extended to the river port of Riong-san.
The carrying trade of the country is practically in the hands of the Japanese, the four German vessels being also under charter to them. In 1900 there was an increase of 263 sailing vessels, equal to 4,125 tons, and 431 steamships, representing an increase of 23.908 tons over 1899. The sum of yen 1,000,000 was sanctioned by the Emperor in 1900 for construction of lighthouses. It is proposed to surround the coast with 31 lights.
The expenses of the Corean Postal department for 1900 amounted to 158,180 yen, and the receipts to 20,613 yen, leaving a total deficit of 137,000 yen, or more than £13,700. The causes of this unsatisfactory financial result of the year's working are to be found in the maintenance of a staff largely in excess of the requirements of the service, in the omission to open up other remunerative branches of the service, such as parcels post and money orders, and in the uneconomical conduct of the administration. No less than 474 miles of line of the Imperial Corean Telographs were added to the system during 1900, bringing the total mileage in operation up to 2,170 miles, while the number of offices open for the transmission of messages was increased from 23 to 27. During the same period the receipts amounted to £8,300 with 132,485 telegrams, as compared with £7,244 and 125,410 messages for the preceding year. It is hoped that with careful management the department may soon be able to pay its own way instead of being, as at present, a charge on the Imperial revenue.
SEOUL
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The capital city of Han-yang, better known to foreigners as Seoul (which is merely the native term for capital), is situated almost in the centre of the province of Kiung-kei, on the north side of and about three miles from the river Han, about thirty- five miles from its mouth. It lies in 37 deg. 30 min. N. lat, and 127 deg. 4 min E. long. Han-yang means "the fortress on the Han.' The city is enclosed by crenellated walls of varying height, averaging about twenty feet, with arched stone bridges spanning the watercourses. It is in the form of an irregular oblong, and stretches lengthwise in a valley that runs from north-east to south-west. The houses are about eight or nine feet high, built of stone or mud, and mostly roofed with tiles. Internally they are elean, for the Coreans, like the Japanese, take off their shoes before entering their houses. A long main street, about 100 feet wide, running east and west, divides the city into two nearly equal portions. In the northern half are the walled inclosures containing the King's Palace and the more important public buildings. A street about 50 feet wide intersects the main street at right angles, dividing the northern half of the city into eastern and western quarters. At the point of intersection stands a pavilion