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THE HONGKONG DAILY PRESS, MONDAY, OCTOBER SED, 1910,
KOWLOON CANTON RAILWAY.
HISTORY OF THE
OF THE UNDERTAKING.
THE OPENING OF THE BRITISH SECTION BY H.E. SIR HENRY MAY. K.C.M.G.
Ton yours ago there were not five miles of railway in operation thronghout the entire length and breadth of the vast empiro of China to-day something like five thousand miles of railway are open to traffic or is épurse of con- struction. No longer are the people of Chins hostilo to zailway projects in any part of the country; their ongerpiss to have them indeed is only bounded by want of capital to construct! thon and, here and there, by an intense reluctance to borrow foreign capital on
terms capitalists ocnsidor will sle quately guarantee the safety of their
1898 a concession to build a lius coenooting Canton with Kowloon. Hongkong hailed the nowe with great satisfaction, for this railway connection was soon to be absolutely necessary if this Colony, was to muíntain ia the fatare its position, as the groat distribut ing centre of the foreign trio of South China.
supply the natural seaport terminus to the great artorial Ine to Hankow, fost possible developments be sought inimical to the inter csis of Hongkong. We have not bailt ug our Empiro by being laggards in the "race" for developments necessary for the expansion of the trade of the world, and 'lofting I dacs not wait upon I would' has never sonquered a position nor retained it for either man or nations."
Evan this patriotic appeal faileu to spor the
Time passed, but tho' British & Chiceso Corporation did nothing to materialiso their plans, Thoy had no doubt formed an estimate of the cost of construction, they had invest-Corporation into action. The China Association gated, too, so far as it was possible the pros from the first had very strongly advocated the railway and did all in their power to imprese upon the Home Government how vitally in- portant it was to the Colony that there should |be no further delay in commencing the con- | struction of the line. The Chamber of Coni- meros also urged the Government to take notion in the matter. It was the Hon. Mr. Gorshem Stewart who first publicly suggested the idea- though it would seem that the suggestion had.
anxiety in the minils, of all pesont interested in the welfare and prosperity of the Colony, not alons on account of individual losses which would ensue from the enormous depreciation of property and investments, but also because of the severe blow it would inflict on British inflacoand prestige throughout the whole of China. This possible calamity—it would be nothing short of a calamity-should, the Committee think, be provided against at once and for all time. They have, therefore, come to your Excellency this afternoon with certain concrate suggestions which they trust | will meet with your approval, and if accepted by the Colonial Office many remove the black cloud which now hangs over Hongkong. It the transfer of the Canton-Hankow railway to the Belgians cannot be averted, it might be advisable to negotiate with that Syndicate for a junction with their ne to ensure Kowloon being made the ter miaus of the trunk line; and failing
the matter before His Majesty's Government | term " other railway purposes" puzzled, thus com» from every possible point of view: He had calculat-munity until it became known that the Chinose, ed that the Colony itself without any assistance who worn daily, demonstrating A bitter could easily guarantes five years' interest on the hostility to the transfer of the Hankow Canton expenditure on the line from the date of ita railway concession to the Belgians, hed completion, and he had asked the Imperial persuaded the American China Develop Government to guarantee interest al 3 per cent. nunt Co. to surrender it to Chlon on for another period of five years. He did not payment of compensation. That compensation - see why the British Government should not get was fixed at $6,750,000 gold, and the Govern for this Colony the permission to extend a mont of Hongkong agreed to lend this sum railway from Kowloon to the border on through to the Viceroy of Wachang. (Hankow). on the Chinese territory to Cantoz, just as the French security of the opium revenue of the province Government had obtained permission to extend of Kwantang, Hupeh and Hanna their colonial railway into Yannan.
loan, which, bears intoreat at the rate of 43
The
A Typical Station,
funds The iron home time indest proved an educational fores of Incalculable value, in Chin It is drawing the people out of ruts centuries old and enabling them to strike ont along now paths. Whorover there is a railway in China we see the whole sapeet of life undergoing a change.
Many in Hongkong had long desired to ses this Colony foremost in setting no example to Chins in this connection by a railway to Canion. Many years ago the Hon. Mr. Wai Yuk,! C.M.G., was prominoutly identified with such a project, but the time was not ripe. When the
[
poote of the line, nail premamably regarding thom as not very good, lay low and sold and did nothing. Not even the commencement of operations by the American Chiza Develop- "ment Co. ou the grand trunk line from Canton to Hanków served to call forth from the British & Chinese Corporation say sign of activity or interest in the scheme on which was believed to largely depend the fate of the Colony of Hongkong.
There wore muraurings deep and loud in the Colony over this grievous inaction. Sir Henry Blake was the Governor of the day and his term
--Ganton-RailWAY- BRITISHSECTION
Scave to i Mae
{Manila"}
Route of the Lie to the British Frontier.
already been confidentially made to the Govern- ment by Sir Henry May that the Colonial Government should soak to get the concesion. granted to the Corporation transferred to Itself, or to à Company specially formed to construct the line, over which the Colonial Government could exercise some control in exchange for the Colony's guarauteo of a certain interest on the cost of the construction In May, 1904, a deputation from the China Association, consisting of Messrs. R. C. Wilcox (Chairman), D. R.--Law, H.-E.- Tomkins, E. S. Whealler, A. G. Wood, G. W.
the accomplishment of this point every effort should be made to secure ali radway rights on both sides of the river south of Canton. In the opinion of the Committee, if the British & Chinees Corporation are un- able to promptly utilise the concession they bold, they should be asked to surrender it, either to a Company specially formed for the purpose over which the Colonial Government could exercise some control in exchange for the guarantee of a certain interest on the cost of construction, or to the Colonial Govern- ment itself to make the line. The cost of the
F. Playfair and the Hon Mr. Gershom Stewart, i. railway has boon estimated at one million and
d-Typical", Bridge (near Pai Way
The upshot of all the discussion, as we por cont, la rodeemable in ten years, ard is... all know, was that the Chinese Government being repaid in half-yearly instalments. Great was prevailed upon to proceed with the Britain was acasanted to have done a fine construction of the line from Conton to the stroke of business by looding this money, for Kowloon frontier with qospital lent by the in grateful appreciation of the not the Viceroy Britiak & Chinese Corporation on conditions] of Wnchang guaranteed the Yangtse rogion us which required the construction of the linea British sphere of railway enterprise. But under British supervision, while the Colony promises are too often like pie-crust, and this one becaine responsible for the construction of the was made bat to be broken, From the section of the line within British torritóry point of view of Hongkong, however, we Sir Matthew Nathan, when he came out to have every reason to be thankful that the /** take up the Governorship in succession to Sir British Government of the day was induood Heary Bluko, made in his first speech the to consent to this loan being mado, for it has welcome annoussoment that he Icoked manifes ly arseted the dangers which were
North Face of Beacon Hill Tunnel (Shatin Valley). frontier of Hongkong at Kowloon was pushed back to the present boundary the idea of rail way connection with Canton was revived, and when in the latter 'ninetics the world's at tention was concentrated upon China, where the Powers were marking out their "spheros, of influence" and pinening the peaceful conquest of these spheres by railways rather than armies, the British & Chinose Corporation came into existance to compete in this exploitation. It was at this time that the vision of a grand trunk railway from Canton to Haukow first appeared, or at least bogan to take form, and the British & Chinese Corporation obtainod-ír
of office was about to expire. His Excelency expressed the unanimous opinion of the Colony in his valedictory address when he said:
"Great as is the importance of the structural improvement of Hongkong, there is a matter of greater and more pressing moment that I wish to bring forcibly before you in those last moments before I leave these shores. That is, the pressing necessity of utilising the British concession that has been granted for a railway from Cauti "lo the borders of this Colony. That con- cossion has been granted to a British Syndi- cate, and it is their duty to utilise it and
(ma of the Locomotives.
No. 3 Tunnel, 3 miles from Taipo.
waited upon H.E. the Officer Administering the Government, Sir Houry May, and laid before him the view we have outlined..
half sterling, and the annual cost to the Col- ony of a guarantee of, say, 4 per cent, on this amount, at, say, an exchange of 18. Ed., would be only $720,000 per annum, and it may fairly be assumed that the earnings of the line would be more than sufficient to pay running experises at once, if they did not immediately ensure a return of interest on capital. This would form a justifiable risk in the nature of an insurance against an opposition port being created; it would, moreover, lead to a certain and important development of the Kowloon hinterland; it would give ad impetus to the industries that have sprung up on the peninsula; and it would not fail to stimulate the growth of the Colony as a whole, Even supposing that the worst should happen, and the line only pay working expenses, the advantages to the Colony would fully com pensate for the outlay; while, as a contribution towards upholding British prestige in the Far Fast, the Imperial Government might perhaps ↑ be induced to make some concession in the. annual military contribution until the milway ¦ returned at least 4 per cent, on its cost.” inus found and port created at some pointThe Deputation found Mr. May (now Bir below the Bogus, or at some place on the Henry May), the Offcor Adminiatoring the Gor coast to which ocean-going vessels could reernment at the time, entirely sympathetic. He sert. The bare possibility of a much a con- acknowledged it to be the most vital question tingency is anilcient to arouse the liveliest confronting the Colony, and said he had pat
Just about that lime reports were current that the Belgians had acquired from the American kyndicate & controlling influence in the great trunk line project from Hankow to Canton and as the Belgians in this matter. ware popularly supposed to be the spents of Russia, the news created no small amount of uneasiness in this Colony as well as among the Chinese along the line of the railway route. The deputation represented to the Offer Administering the Government that If the transfer to the Belgians were allowed it would be quite possible for them to re-transfer the railway to any foreign Government ready to give them a fair profit on the transaction, sad in this way the whole 'of the Trunk Railway of | China might fall under the control of a Forer svowedly hostile to British interests. Mr. Wiloor, as the spokesman of the Deputation, presented the case in the terms following →→
"We may be sure that what is feared now -would certainly come to pass, and a seaward
Tunnel near Taipo.
upon the completion of the railway which threatening the continued existence of Hong..
was to connect the Colony with Hongkong an kong as the great trade emporium of South the most important among the public works on Chino: the list.
Sir Matthew Nathan throw himself into the On October 15th, 1905, the Legislativa Council railway project with great enthusiasm." "A Royal passed a Bill authorising the borrowing of a Engineer himself, he thought he could accelerato sum not exceeding two million pounds for the its construction by making a sia ₺ with some of purpose of defraying the cost of the construction the earthworks. This was done under the of the Hongkong Section of the Kowloon- | supervision of the Public Works Department Canton railway, and "for other railway (Mr. E. W. Carpenter), but when Mr. G. W, purposes,” and the Bill passed its three readings Eves was sent out by the Crown Agents to make on one day without discussion. It was then detailed surveys and to superintend the con» understood that the British Section would cost struction of the line as resident engineer, ke about half a million pounds sterling, and the deemed an alteration of the alignment necessary
Entrance to Beacon Hill Turvas,