May 24, 1909.]
of Mr. Waite was heard, "Ladies and gentlemen, Mrs. Eves will now cut the barrier." This being done the party again moved on, stumbling, tramping in the water, and dodging the head beams until the light of day showed at the north face.
At Shatin all assembled at the elaborately decorated store where tiffin was to be held, a halt being made at the entrance.
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
sorts.
Even the most cantankerous and rebel- lious miner has thought better of it when he has seen Mr. Waite stretch out his arm. To Mr. Southey credit is due for the accuracy of his lines and levels which has enabled the head- Į ings to meet so well and with such great accuracy. How this is accomplished is always a mystery to those who are not engineers, but though not | quito as miraculous as some of you think it is There Mr. Waite, the tunnel superintendent, none the less a difficult thing to do and requires remarked that all had had the pleasure of walking a great deal of patience and careful measure- through Beacon Hill. Most of those present, hements. Among the contractors I would make thought, knew something about tubes, bicycle or special mention of Mr. Ghella. He came to motor tubes, and when they met with a puncture Shatin early in 1907 and started in a small way, it was not necessary for him to remind them of sinking the 270 ft, shaft, and since that time he what they said. That morning they had has enlarged his sphere to such an extent that seen the biggest puncture in South China, and he has now half the tunnel under his control a puncture which delighted them as well as Since he started he has done 5,070 feet of all Hongkong residents. The railway staff were responsible for that puncture, and they did not wish to mend it. They were going to make it bigger to enable five or six hundred persons to go through in a train at the rate of sixty miles an hour (applause). After this was accomplished he would be, he did not know where, but at present a very pleasant duty had fallen to his lot; that WELS, to make a presentation to Mrs. Eves of a model drill machine for so kindly piloting them through the tunnel (applause).
Mrs. Eves was then presented with a model of the machine which had enabled the staff to make their big puncture, and returned thanks amid loud applause.
Mr. EvEs also responded on her behalf. He was sure that his wife would always keep the nice model presented in memory of the occasion which was such a notable one for the Colony of Hongkong (hear, hear and applause),
In an interval which followed, the railway staff adjourned to the heading of the tunnel. where a group photographi was taken.
Then the ladies assembled in a group outside the store, the gentlemen forming a semi-circle round them. In this position . second photograph was taken.
Tiffin followed, a jolly tiffiu, and when the inner man had been satisfied there was a call to order and to charge glasses.
Mr. EvEs said.-To-day we have met to- gether to celebrate an event which has been looked forward to for a long time, namely the meeting of the headings of the Beacon Hill
· Tunnel, and I would ask you before leaving to drink to the health of the executive staff and the contractors on whom has fallen the arduous task of carrying out this work in the field. It is due to the untiring energy of these men, engineers, foremen, contractors and last but not east, coolies, that the headings have been made to meet earlier than was expected. The work has been kept going day and night for the last 2 years and what labour and patience this entails, no one can tell who has not tried it. For those in executive charge and their foremen, it means constant anxiety and watchfulness to guard against accidents and repair the damage when they occur; they have to be constantly looking ahead to see that the work does not stop for want of anything. For the contractors it means continual worry to get coolies to keep the work going under the very trying circum- stances which are unavoidable in driving such a large tunnel. A few of these visitors here to- day have been in the tunnel before the headings met, and they have some idea of what the atmosphere was like in which the staff had to work, and can understand what they have had to put up with during the last few years. Sickness has prevented many from being present to-day who started the work, but there are some here who came out in the middle of 1906 and have worked constantly since that time. Mr. Waite who is in charge of the work came ont in the middle of 1907 as a young man of 55 or 60. A great many prophesied that he would not last a month in this climate as he had never been out of England before, but you see him here as lively as ever and much younger looking from having shaved off his beard. Large railway works such as this tunnel are very often the dumping ground of a very rough crowd and it needs a great deal of tact and sometimes physical strength to keep order among the workmen. The successful carrying out of this work is due very largely to the wonderful way Mr. Waite has of dealling with and controling men of all
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Colonel DARLING R.E., said he found himself in quite an unexpected position, as he thought he was coming to a quiet little lunch party. He was sure all were greatly interested in what they had seen, and what they had heard since lunch. There was one toast, however, which remained to be proposed, and that was, the health of the Chief Resident Engineer (applause). He also thought it would not be out of place to drink the health of Mr. Waite again. He was not going to say much about Mr. Eves, because ho was 211 old friend, and it might make him blush if the speaker said all he thought about him. He would simply ask all to drink the health of Mr. and Mrs. Eves.
The toast was honoured, and persistent calls followed for a word from Mr. Southey, the As- sistant Engineer. During a lull in the voci. ferous demands of the staff,
Mr. EvEs returned thanks on behalf of his wife and himself, and wished the staff every success in the enlargement of the tunnel. He hoped that they would be able to change the date stone on the face before the year was out and make the time of completion 1909 instead of 1910 (loud applause).
Mr. WAITE then proposed the health of the visitors, with which he coupled the names of Messrs. Grove and Volpicelli. On the toast being honoured,
heading which is a very large proportion of the 7,200 feet that has been done. To his pluck in never turning his back on the work even in the face of great disappoint ment and difficulties is due the successful achievement which we to-day celebrate. At times the rock has been so hard that the drills almost turned round and looked at him rather than go through, and at other times water has broken through in such quantities that he has had almost to swim out of the heading. Not withstanding all these difficulties he is with us still and will remain with us I hope till the completion of the work. Many English people
Comm. VOLPICELLI said there was a Scottish think that Italiaus are a dangerous sort of people saying that "a wilful woman maun has her to meet as they think have always a knife some- way. and he believed that Mrs. Eves would were concealed about them ready to stick into have her way and have him speak. He would one, but I can contradict this most flatly. A begin by thanking Mr. Eves for giving more law abiding and quiet set of men than Mr. the Italians such a good character. Cha- Ghella and his fellow countrymen here I think racter in nations changed very rapidly, could not be found anywhere. The confidence and Italy was now the most hard working with which the Chinese coolies look up to air.
nation in the world. It gave him great satis- Ghella speaks volumes for the justice and fair faction to bo present with his few countrymen. uess with which he treats his workmen; no Railway work, especially tunnelling, way be- complaints of any sort have ever reached ine. coming almost a speciality with Italians, who no The large number of coolies which he has at his doubt owed a great deal to the geographical beck and call to work even under the most try-status of their country. He would reiterate the ing conditions and the readiness with which sentiments expressed by Mr. Ghella, and again they carry out his orders has been a great help return thanks for the way in which his country- to the work. I would ask you therefore to join men had been encouraged in their work. with me in drinking the health of those who each in their several stations whether engineers or foremen, miners or contractors by, their patience and perserverance have contributed so largely to the successful carrying through of this work. (applause).
for
Mr WAITE, who on rising was received with lond cheers, said-Ladies and gentlemen, I have been in a good many tight corners in my life, which is not a short one, and I am in a tight corner to-day, but it is not so serions, because I do not stand alone-I have got the support of the different nationalities. I beg to thank you f tunnel staff, a noble staff which includes
the kind manner in which you have honoured us, and my expressions cannot convey the plea- sure I feel in having pierced Beacon Hill, which was a work of anxiety in more ways than one. We railway men scarcely anyone, but since our arrival
out here knowing have found that there were men here before us, and good men. not been for the assiduous and indomitable per- I am proud of them, and had it
severance of Mr. Ghella and his comrades I can assure you that we should not have met yet in Beacon Hill. Mr. Ghella has been a support to me from the start. I had not seen him four
came
we
days before I made up my mind that he was the man to be kept here if possible. I managed to keep him here, and the result is as you see-(Applause) The other men employed in the tunnel hare also worked very diligently with me, and I thank them for the support they have given
me.
I am not prepared to make a long speech, but I must thank you for the kind manner in which have honoured us. (Applause).
you
Mr. GHELLA, in acknowledging the hearty manner in which his health had been drunk, remarked that all were no doubt aware of the difficulties which had been surmounted in the tunnel. He had been employed, on many railway works, among others the Simplon tunnel, and he had no hesitation in say- ing that he regarded
the Beacon Hill tunnel as great an undertaking as the Sim- plon, when consideration was taken of the labour It was a lasting monument to British enterprise in the Far East-(Loud applause).
here and the effect of malaria.
Comm. VOLPICELLI then called upon the It- alians present to charge their glasses and drink the health of the railway staff. The toast was honoured with many "vivas," and as the toasters resumed their seats the store rang with loud applause.
Mr. GROVE returned thanks for the kindness in coupling his name with those of the visitors. He was not going to trouble those present with the line. The newspapers had been very gen. remarks about the Imperial Chinese section of
erons, and he was afraid that everyone was really getting rather tired of hearing about the Chinese section. That section would now retire into
about obscurity for
twelve months or so, but he hoped that they should emerge at the end of that time with something that was worth telling. He would like to say, how. ever, that an occasion of this kind made him rather envious; firstly, because it was connected with a great engineering work such as he was sorry to say they had not on the Chinese section; and secondly, because it was connected with the practical completion of this great engineering work. He thought it was a fact that the British section stood almost by itself among short railways in the world in the nature of the work which his privilege was connected with it. It had been Mr. Eves courtesy, to see the work which or twice, owing to
was proceeding on different parts of the line. From extremely heavy nature of the work, and with the first he had been struck, with the the workmanlike manner in which it had been carried out-(Applause). The line he
was
once
sure, would be a lasting monument of British engineering and of rritish colonial enterprise (Hear, hear and applause). He did not think that many present were able to realise as he was the difficulties connected with rail- way work in South China, perhaps more especially than in North China. Here
few years ago there was comparatively little trained labour, and the nature of the southern Chinese was rather cantankerous. It
took a good deal of patting on the back before the southern man would give much in return. Then there were labour and trade unions of various kinds to contend against,