CO129-360 - Public Offices - 1909 — Page 35

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the north and west of the province, extending to Southern Chih-li. A missionary at ** Lin-ch'ing Chou told me that the first erop of wheat in those parts was very poor, as also the pea-nuts and fruit, on which the people largely depend for cash, and the cotton, which employs so many people for spinning in the winter.

An agent of the Anglo-American Tobacco Company told me that the people were so poor that they were knocking off all superfluous luxuries, and could not afford to buy cigarettes. This Company deserves to succeed owing to the energetic way in which it is boomed. There is hardly a town of any importance that I pass through in any part of China which is not profusely placarded with posters proclaiming the perfections. of the Peacock" or "Pirate" brand of cigarettes.

At Lai-chou Fu thousands of coolies were engaged in digging a gigantic hole in search for some talisman which would cause rain.

5. Railways. The route for the proposed railway from Chefoo to Wei Hsien has been surveyed. The capital is to be all Chinese. It has been found that the cost will be 10,000,000 dollars, instead of 4,000,000 dollars, as at first calculated.

As only 2,000,000 dollars can be raised, it has been decided only to make the line at present from Chefoo to Huang Hsien.

On the Shan-tung Railway I was struck by the excellence of the arrangements; German officials were very little in evidence, and nearly all the local arrangements were made by Chinese, who struck me as being exceedingly civil and a great contrast to the Chinese employés on the Ching-han and Shan-hsi Railways.

6. Missionaries.--The Franciscans divide the northern part of Shan-tung, the French portion taking the eastern section and the Dutch portion the western section. The English Baptists and American Presbyterians are also chiefly in evidence in these parts, and have combined to form a university for Chinese, with the Arts and Science College at Wei Hsien for 240 pupils, and a theological college at Ch'ing-chou Fu, in which 140 Chinese students are going through a seven years' course, preparatory to working in the Mission. The Medical College in Chi-nan Fu has not yet been

started.

7. Anti-dynastic Societies.--A missionary said that they were increasing in the cities, whilst among the soldiers of the 5th Division at Chi-nan Fu there is reported to be a strong following.

8. The Grand Canal from the South to the Yellow River.-The watershed crosses the Grand Canal at Lung-wang-miao, 54 miles (180 i) south of Tung-a Hsien and the Yellow River, whilst at An-shan 21 miles (70 li) to the south, the canal, which used to flow northerly, is now blocked, and boats instead descend the Ching Ho, till the Yellow River is reached 14 miles south-west of Chiang-chia-kou, the ferry across the Yellow River, 2 miles to the west of Tung-a Isien. From Chiang-chia-kou an embankment runs westwards near or alongside the north bauk of the Yellow River to T'ao-ch'eng-p'u, a distance of 12) miles. It is about 12 feet above the level of the plain and 16 feet to 25 feet wide. The bills end on the south bank of the Yellow River, and, except for two solitary hillocks just north of the river, I did not see any approach to a hill again till I sighted the western hills near Peking. This great plain, as far as I could see, was everywhere one gigantic field covered with crops (kao-liang, millet, maize, beans, and cotton), and thickly studded with villages, which get more scattered going north.

9. The Grand Canal from the Yellow River to Lin-ch'ing Chou.-Formerly the tribute grain boats used to come up it, but they have not used it since the Boxer trouble in 1900. This section of the Grand Canal is closed by earth dams, the one on the Yellow River being mile to the east of Tao-ch'eng-p'u. Formerly this used to be cut and the water from the Yellow River used to fill the canal bed. At the present time the canal bed is quite dry from the dam to Tung-ch'ang Fu, a distance of about 28 miles, and the thrifty population have hastened to cultivate both the banks and bed. In this part of the country there are countless side roads, evidently used by farm carts. Tung-ch'ang Fu is a fairly large city, and the most symmetrical I have seen in China; in fact, it is nearly a perfect square. There is a good deal of waste inside the walls, and the chief business is in the cast suburb. The prefecture shares with that of Ts'ao-chou further south the reputation of being one of the worst brigand centres in China, Fortunately, however, the two principal brigands, who had a provincial reputation, were captured in the last two years, and since then the country has been more peaceful. The priest at Tung-ch'ang Fu told me that there had been a slight revival of Boxerism at Kao-tang Chou to the north-east, but it quieted down when the rains came. The canal was repaired in 1906 between Tung-chang Fu and Lin-ching Chou, a distance of about 40 miles, and is now used by small boats. It was 3 or more feet deep, with muddy water.

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The canal makes a bend to the south just below Lin-ch'ing Chou, and there is another earth dam across about 2 miles to the south of the city. On my arrival I found this dam had been cut to let in some water from the Wei River, but it was closed again before I left on the following day. The resident missionaries stated they had never before heard of the dam being cut. The chief object of the dam in the old days, apparently, was that it afforded a chance of " squeeze," as when the tribute boats, &c., arrived they had to be unloaded on one side and reloaded on the other, whilst the boat was dragged over. The reason the officials gave for not opening the dam was that the Wei River was infested by a dragon, who would tear up the banks of the Grand Canal if he once got into it. About half a mile below the dam the canal

passes through a lock bridge and joins the Wei River.

The missionaries stated that formerly the inhabitants of Lin-ch'ing Chou were very anti-foreign, but that the feeling has now quite died out. The post from Chi-nan Fu to Peking takes three and a-half days, going by courier viâ Lin-ch'ing Chou to Shun-te Fu, where the railway is reached.

From Chi-nan Fu to Lin-ch'ing Chou I was treated with an excess of kindness by all the officials, and escorts accompanied me all the way. One cavalry soldier, overcome by the liberality of my gratuities, announced his intention of joining my service as groom, till I reminded him that the Chinese punishment for desertion was the cutting off of one or more ears.

10. The Grand Canal from Lin-ch'ing Chou to Tien-tsin. This section is, of course, really the Wei (or Yä) River. At the time of my visit in August it was exceptionally high, water very muddy, very strong current and 50 to 60 yards wide. The banks are in places eaten away, and a missionary said that nothing is being done to keep them in repair, and there is great danger of the river one day bursting its banks and carrying destruction over a great low-lying region.

I made the distance between Lin.ching Chou and Tien-tsin (259 miles), and I took 70 hours of actual travelling by boat, averaging 33 miles an hour. Up to Te Chou it is exceedingly winding, and the land route is much quicker.

The river can be drained by four canals, viz., at Ssu-nü-ssů, 72 miles from Lin-ch'ing Chou, at Chuch-tien (1672 miles), at Ising-chi-chên (1883 miles), and just north of Ma-ch'ang by the Hsiao-chan Canal at 2062 miles. I did not see a single stream flowing in from west. The river may be divided into two sections, namely, from Lin-ching Chou to the Hsiao-chan Caual. In this section it is usually 50 to 60 yards wide, and I rarely found it less than 10 feet deep, often over 15 feet. There are only reported to be two shallow places in this section, both above Tê Chou. At the second one I found it was 9 feet deep.

The second section is from the Hsiao-chan Canal to Tien-tsin, the canal being from 30 to 40 yards wide, sometimes less. This part is shallower, and I usually found it from 9 to 11 feet deep. The country is low-lying, and villages and towns are usually actually on the river banks or else at a distance away.

There is a vast amount of traffic on the river; the boats are mostly pulled up by gangs of from four to thirteen men, who for a miserable pittance work like slaves, and appear always to be contented. With the exception of one or two Government boats, there are no steam launches on the river. Ferries are numerous, but there is not a single bridge till Tien-tsin is reached.

All along the banks countless numbers of villagers were employed in throwing up water from the river into a hollowed-out basin, from which it was again thrown up on to the level of the fields. Comparatively few, who were in more affluent circumstances, were able to do the work with a donkey and a wheel.

(Signed) G. PEREIRA, Lieutenant-Colonel,

Grenadier Guards, Military Attaché.

Peking, September 17, 1908.

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