As the French are about to resume railway construction on the frontier, and with the continuation of the Tonquin main line from Hanoi to Lungchow and Nanning, the Province of Kuangsi will inevitably be brought under French influence, and the French authorities will undoubtedly endeavour to arrange with the Chinese Government for special facilities for rail-borne cargo crossing the frontier. Under these circumstances, the presence of a British Consular officer at Nanning might perhaps prevent any serious steps being taken to the detriment of British trade; he would, in any case, be able to obtain early information as to what was going forward.
As regards the future competition of the French railway system with the West River trade route, and the substitution of Hanoi for Hong Kong as the distributing centre of South-West China, I do not think the latter port has anything to fear as long as the Chinese Government continue to grant reasonable facilities to foreign trade on the West River and the shipping Companies of Hong Kong continue to maintain and improve their steam-boat services. What is now being done in this direction I shall briefly refer to in the next section, but I would here venture to call attention to the vital importance of the West River to the trade of Hong Kong. We have here one of the largest rivers in China, second only to the Yang-tsze in commercial importance, traversing and, with its tributaries, draining the whole of the Provinces of Kuangtung and Kuangsi, and parts of Yunnan and Kueichow, to join the ocean in the waters of a British Colony. To-day steamers and steam-launches are taking passengers and cargo from Hong Kong, Canton, and all the principal towns in the delta, to Samshui, Wuchow, Nanning, and even Posé, distant 750 miles from the coast. By means of this service, assisted by native shipping, foreign goods can reach by water all the principal markets in South-Western China - to Shaokuan and Nanhsiung (Namheung), on the borders of Kiangsi; to Kueilin, on the borders of Hunan; to Posé, on the borders of Yunnan; to Lungchow, on the Tonking frontier.
It is surely to the interest of the Chinese Government, as well as the British, to develop the natural advantages of this wonderful network of waterways, and prevent its growing trade being diverted to the artificial channels of the French railway system.
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The site selected by the Chinese authorities for the foreign Settlement at Nanning is on the right bank (city side), distant about a mile down river from the South Gate. It consists of an oblong tract of high ground - the highest ground in fact in the neighbourhood - and has a frontage of about 970 yards, with a depth of 390 yards. Not more than a quarter of this area is at present available for building purposes; the remainder consists of ponds which will have to be filled in, presumably at the expense of the Chinese Government. The proposed site is, in my opinion, open to two serious objections. In the first place, I do not think that a foreign Settlement is required at Nanning at all. As I have said before, it is extremely unlikely that foreign merchants will ever settle at Nanning; they will be represented by Chinese agents who will, of course, live in the city, where they will be in touch with the native hongs. At Wuchow there is no foreign Settlement and, after an experience of seven years, the necessity for one has not - as far as I am aware - made itself felt. The only foreigners who are likely to reside in Nanning when the port is opened, are the officials of the Imperial Maritime Customs and the foreign Consuls; these will have no difficulty in securing suitable building sites in such positions as they may find most convenient. In the second place, the proposed site is too far removed from the business centre of the city to be suitable as an anchorage for steamers and a landing-place for passengers. At Wuchow, the Customs, when the port was first opened, acquired land for the Custom House and offices below the town in much the same position as the site proposed at Nanning; this ground has never been built on, the Customs' offices are located on hulks, locally known as "páis," moored in the river about half-a-mile above the Customs' property, and as the shipping trade of the port is obviously centring at the junction of the two rivers, it is an open question whether the Customs would not be well advised in removing their offices to the corner of the Fu Ho, where they would be in a position to easily control the steam traffic, both up river and down river. The conditions at Nanning are similar in many respects; launches will load and discharge their passengers and cargo alongside "páis" moored off the business suburb of the city, and the Customs, at any rate in the beginning, will doubtless find it convenient to locate their offices in the same neighbourhood.
I ventured to express these opinions to the Taotai, and I added that should it become necessary to open the port at an early date I did not think the demarcation of a foreign Settlement area need be considered as an indispensable preliminary. I instanced the case of Yochow, where, I understand, the Chinese Government went to considerable expense in laying out a foreign Settlement, the necessity for which the trade of the port has not hitherto justified.
The Taotai concurred in my views, but gave me the impression that the provincial authorities were anxious to set apart this tract of ground as an international Settlement in order to prevent the French railway administration obtaining exclusive control over it at some future date. The proposed site for the railway terminus is, however, on the other side of the river.
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Section III - Steam Navigation on the West River above Wuchow.
I will preface my remarks in this section by a short description of the waterways above Nanning. At San Chiang kou (Sam kong hau), about 25 miles beyond, the river again divides into two branches, the southern, called Tso Chiang (left river), leading to Taiping and Lungchow; the northern, called Yu Chiang (right river) to Posé. Lungchow is distant from Nanning 100 miles, but only 30 from Tong Dang, the present terminus of the Tonquin Railway. No steam-launches have yet succeeded in reaching the port, but I believe an attempt was to be made with a light-draught launch shortly after our visit to Nanning. The river is shallow, and obstructed by rocks and rapids. I understand, however, that the clearing of a channel suitable for light-draught steamers presents no engineering difficulties, and the merchants of Lungchow and Taiping would doubtless contribute liberally towards the expense of a work which would place them in regular steam communication with Nanning. The Posé branch, although the longer of the two, is reported to be navigable at high water for light-draught launches; in fact, a launch left Nanning for Posé while we were there, but was recalled at the instance of the Commissioner of Customs at Wuchow, as her owner had not obtained the necessary permit to run on inland waters hitherto unvisited by steamers. I am informed that the Po On Steam-launch Company, owners of a fleet of inland water launches on the river, applied for permission to run to Posé over a month ago, but no reply has yet been received from the Minister of Commerce. As the high-water season is now far advanced, this praiseworthy enterprise will have to be deferred to another year. Article 7 of the Additional Rules for Inland Water Navigation appended to the new Treaty says that in the case referred to the Chinese authorities shall at once give their approval." The present Report is, perhaps, not the place in which to discuss these new Regulations; I would, however, point out that both Articles 7 and 8 contain clauses which, if literally interpreted, will cause Launch Companies on the river considerable inconvenience. The referring, for instance, of applications to ply on inland waters exclusively to the Chinese Government - if by that term is meant the Ministry of Commerce - will seriously interfere with the launches at present plying between up-river ports, which must vary their runs according to the state of the river, and are constantly being withdrawn for repairs.
During the high-water season, lasting from about April to September, launches drawing not more than 4 feet can reach Nanning. Four vessels, of which three are under the British flag, have been running regularly during the past summer.
As a typical example of the type of vessel employed, I give the dimensions of the "Choyfat": length, 75 feet; beam, 12 feet; tonnage (registered), 17; draught, 3 feet. These launches stop at all recognized passenger stations en route, and are invariably crowded with passengers. They make the journey from Wuchow to Nanning, under favourable circumstances, in four days, as against four weeks taken by a junk. So far, the launches carry hardly any cargo, nor do they tow cargo boats, the passenger trade is sufficiently remunerative. As steam towage is rapidly increasing on the lower river no doubt it will come into vogue on the upper river when the launch tonnage increases.
Between Kueihsien and Wuchow a regular daily service of passenger launches is maintained during about nine months in the year; at Konghau, the Kueihsien boat transfers her passengers to a larger boat for Wuchow. The Wuchow-Konghau launches run practically all the year round. To show the rapid growth of this passenger traffic during the last six years I append the following Table:
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