18
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12
92
It notly coats
t
It not only costs quite $13.- to transport this coal
Canton, not Hongkong, but it is, moreover, impossible to trans-
port more than some 500 tona a month in the wot months and little
or none at all in the dry.
Apart from the conveyance of coal, wihtout rail connect-
ion it would be absolutely impossible to transport to the mine the
heavy plant whic a modern colliery requires.
the
All likely coal occurences in Kangtung close to a railwa
way or navigable river havebeen prospected more or loss thoroughly
by the Chinese themselves, mainly by miners returned fro
Malay States, who have literally spent hundreds of Thousands of
dollars in testing deposits, not one of whoch has so far proved
to be of any commercial value. The chances therefore of finding
a commerically workable coal deposit close to the existing line
are almost nil.
Any combination formed to ex loit coal mines in Kwang-
tung, such as the recent one you have so kindly sugesated the advisability of our j ining, is wasting its time unless this rail-
way bỏ built.
The control of the line which woult be gained if it
would meurt rememimbul Tall bomg charged were built with British capital on the transport of coal to Bong-
Long.
over,
A
With cheap bituminous coking coal of 12,000 B.T.Us, or of fair physical condition (i.e, not too crushed as most of the Kwangtung coal is) and not too high in ash or suf;hur, Hong- kong would have every prospect of becoming a big industrial centre. Good ironstone is not difficult to find in Southern China, while linestone and manganese also occur.
The manufacture of steal on
a large scale would almost certainly follow.
A land
I have referred above to, Imperial interests. bourne source of coal supply from Hongkong would be invaluable to the navy, mercantile marine, and local life and industry in the
event/