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and conditions of sanitation in certain parts such as were rarely met with in the West. This, of course, made railway enterprise difficult, but as he had said, the heavy works carried out on the British section were such that great credit, must necessarily be due to those who had conceived these works, and had carried them out in such un efficient way. He concluded by thanking all very much for the kind way in which they had received the toast of the guests-(Applause).
Emphatic calls followed for a word from Dr. HARTLEY, who at last responded. He was delighted with the kind expressions of good will of those present, especially those (the staff) seated at the bottom end of the table. It was not often that a medical officer's work was men- tioned, nevertheless the work on the railway had been exceedingly arduous for Dr. Nada and himself. It meant night and day work, and it was mentioned that day that several had been unable to attend owing to sickness. Some men, it should not be for- gotten, gave their lives in the making of the Beacon Hill tunnel. The health of the camps was exceedingly bad at the commencement of the work, but now it was altogether different, and he thought that Shatin valley ranked quite with Hongkong in health. That was not due entirely to the doctors, but to the loyal co-operation and enthusiastic way in which recommendations were received and carried out by Mr. Waite and his staff. Those present had heard great eulogy concerning the Italians and from a medical standpoint they were the best men the speaker had ever come across. They were not easily scared by sickness, and had the good sense to know exactly what to do in case of emergency.
A vote of thanks to Mr. Wilson of the Dock Co., for providing the flags for decorating was carried by acclamation, and the health of that gentleman was drunk.
This ended the tiffin proceedings.
[TO THE EDITOR
"HONGKONG
DAILY PRESS."]
Government House. 21st May 1909. DEAR SIR, His Excellency observes that it is stated in the Press that he and several senior officials were invited to be present at the core- mony of walking through the tunnel, and that his and their absence was much commented on."
As His Excellency would be sorry if the impression were conveyed that there was any lack of interest on his part in the ceremony or any lack of appreciation of the very successful way in which the colossal task of boring the tunnel has been completed, he has desired me to inform you that no such invitations were conveyed to him, or, so far as he is aware, to the officers referred to. The C. R. E. asked whether it was the Governor's intention to be present (in which case he would invite several senior officers), at the same time intimating that
he could not be certain of the exact time at which the junction would be effected, and sug- gested that any formal ceremony should be deferred until the completion of the tunnel or the Railway, and it was understood that he was anxions to limit the occasion to a luncheon given by himself to those employed in the tunnel and a few personal friends. It was for this reason that His Excellency and the senior officers re- frained from being present.-Yours very truly,
N. SIMSON, Private Secretary.
HERO DECORATED AT MACAO.
On Sunday at Macao shortly after 12 o'clock noon, the Police force was paraded in full strength in front of the Barracks to witness the
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
conferment of an honour on one of their comrades, Sergeant Manoel d'Oliveira Leite, who in 1907 distinguished himself for bravery in the Cuamato campaign under the command of the then Captain, who to-day is Lieut. Col.-Rocadas, Governor of Macao. The sergeant was decorated by Governor Rocadas himself with a silver medal for military valour, and in pinning the medal on his breast His Excellency made an inspiriting address with many allusions to the campaign in which the Portuguese won a brilliant victory. The ceremony was witnessed by a large number of military and civilians.
CORRESPONDENCE.
THE RAILWAY ESTIMATES.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE
DAILY PRESS."]
HONGKONG
Hongkong, 18th May 1909. SIR, The Committee of the China Associa- tion conceive it to be in the public interest to endeavour to dissipate an erroneous improssion that Hongkong is being called upon to pay for the Colonial section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway considerably more than the work is worth. The prevalence of this impression is indicated by certain Press comments upon His Excellency the Governor's speech in Council on the increas ed estimates. From the general tone of these it might almost be assumed that mismanagement had led to the doubling of the legitimate cost of construction.
There appears to be a popular idea that the original estimate was for some 5 million dollars; that the work ought not to have cost much more; but that gradually, owing to a series of blunders, the figure has risen to 1 millions. This belief that the cost has been doubled by mismanagement has naturally led to severe criticism being directed against those responsible for the ander taking. I venture to submit that it is not borne out by the full circumstances of the case. The first important fact to note is that the estimate of 5 million dollars was a mere rough estimate made by Mr. Bruce on his original survey. The line beyond Shatin as planned by him, was a single line throughout, to run along the edge of the sea shore from Lokloha to Taipo. The alignment which he proposed, and ou which this rough estimate was based, had subsequently to be altered because the typhoon of September 1906 showed the shore edge to be ansafe. That typhoon was a revelation in many ways. It taught several lessons to others be- sides Railway engineers, and there is particular blame attaching to anyone for not having foreseen the possibilities of destruction reposing in the sheltered waters of Mirs Bay. If we can all now see that Mr. Bruce's original alignment was a mistake we ought in fairness to remember it was at least excusable under the circumstances.
no
The change in the aligument, removing the track out of reach of the sea, entailed much
heavy cutting not contemplated by Mr. Bruce, and the boring of three additional tunnels, of which that undertaken at Taipo is in itself a considerable enterprise. It is also important to remember that it was subsequently decided to build all bridge cuttings, and the three additional tunnels, wide enough to admit of a double track being laid, should the necessity for that here- after arise.
**
Mr. Bruce had not made provision for costly developments of this sort. It was not His business, as de- his business to do so. scribed by His Excellency the Governor in the Legislative Council on the 6th February 1908, was "to make a preliminary survey and to base upon it a preliminary estimate." How rough an estimate it was may be gathered from His Excellency's comment upon it in the same speech, in relation to the cost of earth work. He said "it is difficult to know exactly what rates Mr. Bruce had calculated at, because no drawings or calculations of quantities and rates were supplied with the estimate." "In justice Mr. Bruce it should not be forgotten that the first and by far the most important duty which fell upon him was to decide upon the main route of the railway. At one time the Deep Bay route had been recommended. He had to determine which of three different routes should be adopted, and it stands to his credit that his decision on this vital point has been generally admitted to be
44
46
sound.
to
The first detailed and authoritative estimate made was that submitted by Mr. Eves in his report dated 4th February, 1908. and laid before the Legislative Council on the 22nd. of the same month. If this estimate is compared with that made by Mr. Eruce it will be seen that the increase is mainly due to five factors:—
The estimates for land resumption
was increased by For earthwork by For tunnels by ..
...
[May 24, 1909
For bridges by. While the expenditure on Plant, Rolling Stock, Salaries and ballast (for which Mr. Bruce had made no estimate at all) was estimated by Mr. Eves at
Total
620,927
1.191,647
$4,306,170
The reasons for the increase in these items have already been alluded to, with the exception of that due to land resumptions in Kowloon, incidental to new and larger ideas of what will be required at the terminus. Over and above this there remains an increase of roundly $500,000. accounted for by increases under the other subheads.
With regard to the difference between Mr, Eves' estimate, dated 4th February 1908, and his estimate dated the 9th March last, and laid before the Legislative Council at its last meeting, the excess of the latter over the former is just under $1,150,000. Of this nearly $1,000,000, is due to increased expenditure on Beacon Hill Tunnel. The net increase on the remaining itoms, as compared with dr. Eves first estimate is just under $150,000-not a very formidable sum. One reason for the increased cost of Beacon Hill tunnel is to be found in the varied character of the excavation, and another in the phenomenal hardness of the rock met with in parts of the hill, necessitating the use of specially heavy drills, and an enormously increased use of explosives.
The fact that the estimates have been exceeded a common experience in all such undertakings -should not be interpreted to mean that the Unless work could have been executed for less. this can be proved there is no justification for thinking that the Colony has so far suffered any loss except on paper.
The members of my Committee have no valid reason to suppose that the cost of the actual work done is excessive, and, this being so, they protest against the advocacy of the belief that there has been "gross mismanagement" in the construction of the British section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway. Yours faithfully.
MURRAY STEWART.
Chairman. Hongkong Brauch of The China Association.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE “HONGKONG
DAILY 'PRESS."]
Hongkong, 20th May. SIR, You are to be congratulated upon your excellent editorial in to-day's issue dealing with Mr. Murray Stewart's ** defence of those responsible for the miscalculation of details connected with the construction of the British section of the Kowloon-Canton Rail- way. It is difficult to believe that the whole Committee of the China Association concur in the attitude adopted by Mr. Stewart. That committee is composed mostly of hard headed business men, and in this age when common-sense is believed to be generally strongly developed, one finds it is hard to understand how the China Association, as represented by Mr. Stewart's letter, possesses such a small quota. Mr. Stewart's letter is designed to lull residents into a state of false security. If the people are to be led blindly into debt, as Mr. Stewart would apparently desire, what is to happen in the future when programmes of public works are promulgated ? It must not be forgotten, of course, that Mr. Stewart is an official nominee on the Legislative Council-but even so there is no necessity for him to go out of his way to endeavour to ward the blow of just public criticism from the heads of those whose miscalculation has led the Colony into had it been known at the outset that the rail- unexpected expenditure. The chances are that way was to cost as much as is now indicated, it would not have been gone on with-at least not under existing conditions. Yours, etc.,
AN ONLOOKER. [Our correspondent is incorrect is describing Mr. Stewart as an official nominee
on the
Legislative Council. He is not now a member of the Council, and never was an official nominee. Mr. Stewart sat on the Council, dur- $1,186,038 ing the absence of the Hon. Mr. Hewett, as the 729,003 representative of the Chamber of Commerce-- 578,555 ED.]