[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
AFFAIRS OF CHINA,
CONFIDENTIAL.
[3103]
No. 1.
327
[January 28.]
SECTION 9.
C. O.
7655
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received January 28, 1907.)
(No. 517.)
Res Sir,
Peking, December 11/1908 FEB 07. IN continuation of my despatch No. 454 of the 5th ultimo, I have the honour to forward to you herewith a copy of the second quarterly report of the Whangpoo Conservancy Board.
I have, &c.
(Signed) J. N. JORDAN.
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
Sir,
Whangpoo Conservancy Board to Sir J. Jordan,
Shanghae, November 9, 1906.
IN accordance with the stipulations of Article 4 of the Agreement signed in Peking on the 27th September, 1905, regarding the establishment of a Board of Conservancy for the Whangpoo River, and with reference to our despatch of the 25th July on this subject, we have now the honour to state as follows, for the information of the Consular Body, regarding the period 1st July to 30th September, 1906 :-
1. Appointments to Conservancy Stoff-On the 20th August the Agreements were signed of Messrs. Van der Veen (Dutch), Assistant Engineer; Brand (Dutch), Superin- tendeut of Works, and Utne (Norwegian), Assistant Surveyor; and on the 24th September that of Mr. J. Smedley (British), Technical Secretary to M. de Ryke.
2. Work accomplished. The main work in hand during the quarter has been the defence of the right bank of the ship chauuel above Telegraph Creek, seriously threatened by wave action, wash of steamers, and violent currents. The defence consists in dumping bags, filled with clay and stones, in ridges secured by piles, along the undermined banks below low water level. The damage has been much lessened. Piling work was abandoned as too expensive when compared with results.
Six works, or groynes, have been built between Telegraph Creek and a distance of 600 yards above it; thence to Taiking Creek, for a length of 2,400 yards, the shore is being badly undermined, owing to the extraordinary discharge of water from the Whangpoo, due to beavy rain and high water in the Yang-tsze; the largest in seventeen years, it is said.
As soon as the wood-cutting season commences, about the middle of October, and fascines are obtainable, defence work on a larger scale must be commenced. What is now being done, however, trains the personnel and workmen at a small cost. For strengthening the frontage of the groynes a lighter is being built, to be ready early in October, on which heavy" gabioni"--long bamboo cylinders, filled with stones, covered with brushwood, fastened on with wire--can be carried into position in the stream and sunk. The want of this protection has caused damage to the groynes, but they, in their turn, have somewhat saved the banks.
The extraordinary ebb from flooded lagoons and long continued high water in the Yang-tsze, beating back the flood tide, has had a bad effect on the junk channel, the proposed future fairway, causing it to silt up; while the ship channel, which will, later on, he gradually shoaled, has deepened; this, it is feared, means increased expenditure at a future date.
3. Details of Work,-
16,000 bags have been filled. 14,000 bags have been dumped.
1,100 bags have been laid.
326 piles have been driven.
4. Survey work has been steadily proceeded with by Mr. Müller, the recently- taken-over surveying launch "Lee Chi" proving an excellent boat. Triangulation has continued from Pootung Point to the Shanghae native waterworks, and all stations (twenty-four) have been marked by stones or iron pegs, excepting on wharves, where holes were bored in the planks. Tide gangs have been placed at Yang Ka Du, Tung
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