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tides, the range of tides being about 5 feet. At Shanghai the rise of springs is
neap about 9 feet, and at neap 6 ft. 6 in. above low-water ordinary spring tides the range of the neap
tides being 4 feet. It would appear from levellings and observations recently made for M. de Rijke that low-water ordinary spring tide at Shanghai is 1 foot higher than low-water ordinary spring tide at Woosung.
Datum.
13. It will be noticed that we have referred the tidal particulars given above to low water of ordinary springs, this being the datum which has been adopted by the We should, Whangpoo Conservancy, and is the result of many years of observation. however, point out that there also exists the "Customs datum," which is adopted by the harbour-master, and is used in signalling to vessels the depth of water which is available. This last-named datum is the lowest recorded low-water level, and is 2 feet below the "Conservancy datum" just referred to. It is desirable that the harbour officials and the Conservancy Board should endeavour to agree upon a common datum, the existence of two zeros being liable to give rise to confusion.
Character of Bed of River.
14 The Whangpoo runs throughout its length, across a flat alluvial country, of which extensive areas are liable to flooding, especially at high tides, for notwith- standing that dykes or bunds have constructed over considerable lengths, they have not been maintained in proper and efficient state of repair. The bed of the river is in places of soft and, from the point of view of engineering works, a treacherous character, especially in the neighbourhood of Gough Island. The right bank through Ship Channel, previous to the construction of the new works, had been subject to very rapid erosion, a comparison of old charts showing that between 1877 and the date of the commencement of the works the channel bas shifted to the eastward to an extent fully equal to its width.
15. The Whangpoo is, naturally, a clear-running river. The Yang-tsze, on the other hand, is heavily charged with silt, especially during the floods in the summer months, when it is reported to rise normally 45 feet above its low-water level at Hankow and about 2 feet at Woosung. Its waters carry into the Whangpoo, on a rising tide, large quantities of matter in suspension, which are deposited during It therefore slack water, thus forming banks and shoals in the bed of the river. happens that the Whangpoo, although rising to a higher level, is not in so good a condition for navigation at this season of the year, as it is after the Yang-tsze floods
are over.
Port of Shanghai.
16. The port of Shanghai is situated on the the left bank of the river, about 14 miles abure Woosung. On arrival there almost all vessels are berthed at a wharf, but some lie in the stream, made fast to buoys, and swing with the tide. In a few cases they moor head and stern and do not swing. The cargo from steamers lying in the stream is loaded into native boats, by which it is either conveyed up the creeks, or landed at one of the numerous pontoon piers or wharves, and thence taken to the merchants' godowns.
17. The river is crowded with all kinds of native craft, running from large five- masted ocean-going junks down to sampans. We gathered from the witnesses, whom we examined, that vessels drawing upwards of, say 24 or 25 feet, and some of the mail-steamers, do not as a rule come up the river to Shanghai, but remain at anchor at Woosung, either in the Whangpoo abreast the fort railway station, or in the Yang-tsze off the end of the jetty. Other vessels, of heavy draught, not infrequently lighten at Woosung before going up the river to Shanghai.
Approaches to Whungpoo River.
18. It is important here to explain the general practice observed in the navigation of vessels proceeding to and from Shanghai. There exist in the Yang-tsze River, about 25 miles below Woosung, patches of shoal water named the Fairy Flats, on which, as shown on the Admiralty charts, the depth is from 2 to 3 fathoms, but, according to the local pilots, a minimum depth of about 18 feet at low-water ordinary spring tides may usually be found there.
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19. Captain Gregor and Captain Evans (before referred to) informed us that it is the usual practice for vessels approaching Shanghai to leave the fair-way bell-buoy, off the Yang-tsze Cape, and 20 miles south-east of the Fairy Flats, at one hour after low water, and thence to proceed up the river. Fairy Flats are passed at about one- third flood, the vessel carrying the tide with her past Woosung-which is reached as about high water-and then up the river to Shanghai, where she arrives about an hour after high water, using the last of the flood current to swing head downstream prior to coming alongside a wharf. When outward bound from Shanghai the time for departure is not quite so important, as vessels are almost always then of lighter draught; but the practice is to leave a little before high water, so as to pass through the Astræn Channel about the top of the tide.
Navigable Depth required.
20. The improvement works in progress under the direction of M. de Rijke, for the Whangpoo Conservancy, are designed to give a minimum depth of 15 feet at We have already low-water ordinary spring tides in the new or Astræa Channel. mentioned, in paragraph 12, that at Woosung neap tides rise 8 feet above low-water ordinary spring tides thus giving an available depth at high-water neap tides of 25 feet, which may be taken as limiting the draught of vessels which could reach Shanghai during such tides to, say about 4 feet. From the foregoing it will be seen that the depth provided by the improvement works, about corresponds with that which is available over the Fairy Flats.
21. It would thus appear, for the reasons given, that if a minimum dept of 18 feet at low-water ordinary spring tides is provided and maintained throughout the Whangpoo River to Shanghai, such deptn would be sufficient to pass any vessel which could come up the Yang-tsze to Woosung. A vessel, however, of unusually heavy draught, which could not pass over Fairy Flats until a later period of the flood tide than above described would have either to anchor at Woosung and lighten, or wait there during a tide, in order to pass through the Astræa Channel during the following high water.
II. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE WHANGPOO CONSERVANCY.
22. For many years the deteriorating condition of the Whangpoo has been a menace to the existence of Shanghai as a sea-port, consequently efforts have been made by the Chamber of Commerce to obtain the appointment of a board charged with the improvement and proper conservation of the river. In putting forward these efforts the chamber were strongly supported by the consular body at Shanghai, as well as by the foreign Ministers at Peking; but it was not until almost thirty years had clapsed that definite provision was made for the above purpose in the peace protocol following the Boxer rising of 1900,
Original Conservancy Board.
23. At that date a Conservancy Board was appointed which comprised repre- sentatives of China and of all the foreign Powers interested in Shanghai. It was agreed that the necessary works should be carried out, and that half the cost should be defrayed by the Chinese Government and half by the foreign nationalities.
Modified Conservancy Board.
24. This board, however, never actually met.
Difficulties due to the number of
its members and the complicated nature of its constitution proved to be so great that it was unanimously agreed by the Chinese Government and the foreign Powers that China should herself undertake the works, subject to the provision that, if they were not carried out satisfactorily, the Powers might revert to the original board, for which stipulation was made in the protocol.
25. Thus, in 1905, a convention was signed under which, instead of the board provided by the peace protocol, a Conservancy Board was created consisting only of the taotai of the native city and the local commissioner of customs, China agreeing at the same time to pay the entire cost of the works, and to forthwith provide 9,200,000 Haikwan taels in twenty annual instalments of 460,000 each. was likewise made that in the event of the money being required at an earlier period,
Provision
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