August 19, 1907.|
not
beneficial resulta to trade during recent years, by securing stability of rates and more regular and efficient service. Their reply to the Government, adopted and supported by the Chamber, was that cargo can now be shipped to almost any port in the United Kingdom by better, faster, and more regular shipping opportunities, and the speculative element in quotations including freight charges had now disappeared. This, they said, had helped to create easier financial facilities, reduced the rates of marine insurance, and improved the out-turn of the cargo carriel. The Singapore Chairman took the extraordinary view that the whole of the sub-committee's report as it stoo-I must be accepted or rejected for despatch to the Goverument, ignoring a member's suggestion that te Sub. Committee's reply was to the Chamber of Commerce, whose place it was to reply to th. Colonial Office. In this way we were robbed of what would doubtless have proved a most int resting debate. Those who wished to amend the sub committee's report to the xtent indicated in the Hon. Mr. ANDERSON's rider appear to claim that the improvements adınitted bave been brought about in spite of, and because of, shipping rings. Mr. ANDERSON denies that the shipping facilities are good enough, even while he admits that there has been a great improvement. Such facili. ties as now exist bave been, he claims, merely the progressive outcome of a natural process if evolution. Tramp steamers, still subject to competition, have improved in the same way, and he offers the telling argument that if the shipping rings (said to bave caused the improvement) were
to Le abolished, no one would suggest that cargo sleamers of the old fashioned patterns would have to be re-introduced. The argu- ment about competition and speculation in freights seems to be as full of intricacies as is the question of subsidiary coinage, there being a good deal to he said on both sides. Mr. ANDERSON suggests a pretty compari- son on the reference to fiuancial facilities if shipping ring, why not banking ring. He points out that not shipping rings, but increased trade, caused incr used binking competition, and that this competi- tion accounts for the "easier financial facilities, 11
an argument which, whether true or false, is at least easy to follow. To ainiar changes of the conditions, he also attributes the cheaper insurance. To those who may bave overlooked this important contribution to the study of a subject now assuming prominence in the business world, we recommend a reperusal of the third and fifth
piges of our issue of yesterday.
CHINESE RAILWAY ROUTES.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
99
nary route without thought of questioning | channel of communication with the south its propriety, Mr. GARNETT went down the of his empire. The actual historic line Grain Tribute Canal to T'singkiangpu, and of communication between North and Suth thence through the lakes to Yangchow and passes west, not east, of the Hungtse Lake, Chinkiang. Tsingkiangpu, except that and this is, so far as it is known, a fertile it is on the Cinal, where the new and country, and not, as the present line, subject smaller channel ingets the older and larger i to inundation; an before hastily fixing serving the northern part of Kiangsu, has on any line for the proposed new railway, no advantage of situation, and owes any it would be well to have this surveyed. commercial advantage it might have simply Although the ground is higher it is not to the fact that in the old days prior to crossed by any range of hills, the highest Hien Fung, the boats bringing produce ground being the Loss water parting be- from the South transhipped here into tween the Ch'ao Hu iu the centre of smaller boats which alone could ravigate Anhwei, and the small streams flowing the much smaller and more difficult channel directly into the Imperial Grain Canal. The to Tsining. With the ope ing of the coast same may be said of the plain which ex- to steninhout traffic the utility of this line tends all the way from the walls of Nanking almost altogether, except for mere local, south-easterly to Liyang and Changheing- traffic, disappeared, owing to the want of hien across the boundaries of Anbwei and water, and the adverse levels. With the Chehkiang. This is likewise a rich and change of the Iwer course of the Yellow in parts well cultivated plain, but has been river, the traffic along the northern portion | kept back from the absence of water-ways. of the Canal, as far as private transportation This district forms the went, entirely ceased the boats carrying between
water parting The the tribute rice were with difficulty sluiced | Yangtze about Wuhu, and those flowing streams flowing into the the whole way from Tsining to Lint's ng on
down 10 Hucheo and the Tai Hu, the Wei; and there was no water left for Formerly one or more channels crossed private traffic.
this plain, but were artifici d'y blocked in order to time of flood submerging the low country. prevent the Yangtse in
In consequence of this the country has diminished ia point of wealth, but still is the great rice country that supplies Wahu, the largest rice exporter on the Yangtse. It is July waiting for the opening up of railways to recover its former productivenese. This plain communicates with Haugchow in the south, and so a line along the suggested course would really form the greit main line from the Capital to Hangchow, and at Nanking would conect with the lower Kiangsu system.
(Daily Press, 14th August.) We have already dealt sketchily with the itinerary recently published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, of a journey by Mr. CARNETT, 3rd Secretary of H. M. Legation at Peking. It gives nu indication of how littl is really known of the internal communications of China, nd is worth further reference. From Chinan, being desirous of visiting the cities of CONFUCIUS and MENCIUS, Mr. GARNETT at last found himself at Tining Cheo, one of the old and most importaut centres of trade in southern Shantung. So far so good; Chinan and Tsining are two spots that would recommend themselves to any practi- cat man seeking to lay out a line of railway from the Capital to the South. From Taising on there is room for considerable differences of opinion. Following the ordi-
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Now it is n steworthy that all the schemes that have been suggested, and some of which have led to preliminary surveys being made, simply start on the assumption of following the line of the Canal; and so nearly the entire way from T'singkiangpu to Yangchow traverse an einbinkment between two lakes, were the country produces absolutely nothing, and the towns Paoying | and Kwony are, since the opening of the Coast, little more than heaps of ruins. To uuderstand this we must go a little into the ancient geography of the country. Before the twelfth century the Yellow River flowed into the Gulf of It will thus be seen that there is much to Pechili, between Chihli and Shantung pro- b: learned about these districts between vinces, and the Grin Canal hid no Tsinau Fu and Nanking and Hangchow existence, the main line of communication before we froin South to North started from north the line of the present Imperial Graiu (aval, are justified in hastily adopting of Nanking and went by way of Fungyang as the only or best course available for a and Sücheo to Tsining, al overland. In succesful liue of railway. Notwithstand. 484 B.C indeed, the last king of Wuing, without a moment's consideration, we (Suchow) had opened a chanuel of com- munication between the Hungtse Like, through which latter flowed the old River Hwai into the Yellow sea in a channel afterwards occupied by the Yellow River. This artificial channel exi-ts still, but from the excessive velocity of the current there do not seem to be any records of its having been availed of for commercial traffic. Through it in these modern days the whole stream of the modern Hwai, with its numer- ous tri' utaries in south'r and eastern |Houan, and a large part of northern Auhwei, flow with a rapid current across the line of the Imperial Grain Canal near Yangchow, and make their way under the Wan Fu Bridge to get lost in the T'aicheo district about Sieunumino. The whole of | this country, though most interesting and important in any stuly of the industrial resources of Caina, remains absolutely unsurveyed.
have seen both the British and German Governments foolishly urging on China the immediate granting of a concession for making and working an obj, e ionable line. It is true that China has as little the rel interests opposition; but that is no reason
of the country at heart in her why without any consideration more than an excursion down the Imperial Green Canal an important railway line should be under- taken. It may be right enough to jog.on Chiu's opp sition to any stene to her benefit: but the more this becomes expe- dieut, the mors incumbeut it is on our Government to be really satisfied that the proposal that it is urging sha'l have been proper y worked out in all its economical aspects.
ON MAKING ALLOWANCES.
(Daily Press, August 15th.) The line of the Imperial Grain Canal, it is worthy of note, owes its origin to
Our special commissioner to Masao his accident.
covered the groud of his enquiry so In 1194 during the troublous exhaustively and conscien ionsly, and has times at the rise of the Mingol dynasty of presented his conclusions in such fair Yuen, the old Yellow river burst its right sequenc, that it would be mere damınab ́e bank in Ts'aocheo Fu, and a stream made iteration to retraverse the one or paraphrase its River Hwa. It was not for sing
way temporarily by Taning to the the other. We refer to the matter only in order that we may address a sort of sermon after that, again breaking through its right to those who, whether idly or of malice bank higher up, it took the course in which aforethought, dare to tax this journal it flowed for six centuries and a with the fault of wilful exaggeration. It is Kublai Khan, who at last succeeded to a clear that there have b en misunderstand. settled throne, took advantage of the streamings; there always are; but in the case of from Tsaocheo to T'singkangpu to opa up for the first time the subsequent great these have not been confined to one side Maca › tazati in an I our published o mments
years
half.
F