CO129-360 - Public Offices - 1909 — Page 49

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"And now it is proposed to aggravate permanently this bandicap, and to make wharves or hulks of no avail by building a fixed railway bridge at what is marked as the present lower harbour limit. This bridge is intended to carry the trains of the Corean railways to the Chinese shore, and to form the connecting link between the Japanese Government-owned lines on the peninsula and the Antung-Mukden arm of the South Manchurian Railway system, provided the contemplated conversion of this latter road to standard gauge be carried through. At present a new survey for the bridge is being made, and recent information has it that the time of building depends entirely on the action of the Dict with reference to the Budget item proposed for the work. Techni- cally, according to the present plan, the bridge will have a total length of 3,182 feet, divided into 200- and 300-foot truss spans, will be 30 feet wide, 26 feet above high water, and is estimated to cost 2,500,000 yen. The Chinese authorities have asked that the plans be so drawn as to provide for some form of draw or swing over the channel so that the Chinese town may not be subjected to the inconvenience and expense of having all its deep-sea shipping prevented from coming on, up to, or nearer the bund. If, on the one hand, the major premise that dredging or bunding are feasible for both the Chinese and Japanese quarters be correct, then it would be wrong to prejudice the development of the Chinese town--and as surely that of the Japanese portion, which must be directly influenced by the volume of business done by the Chinese-by making the more ideal steamer facilities permanently unattainable; but, on the other hand, there can be no doubt that to force across a navigable boundary-line river, in face of protests from one of Riparian States, a closed bridge of such a height as to hamper that State's sea-going traffic is not such an act as may be admitted to come within the previously established standards of international comity; and that it would so hamper it also admits of no doubt, since the ordinary cargo boats within the harbour carry masts of from 30 to 40 feet, and the sca-going junks, which ply regularly between here and Chefoo, staffs averaging over 50 feet.

But that such a bridge with the suggested draw or swing would be advantageous for the place is also quite patent. I would link the two chief islands land routes of trade and travel which converge at this point. As it is, the Seoul-Wiju line, though in itself not a paying venture, has this winter proved itself to be a good asset of the port in making possible the winter movement of silk and imports in considerable quantities. Given the bridge over the Yalu, and the alteration of the Antung-Mukden line, and steam will have compressed the time from Tokió to Mukden to less than eighty

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With regard to the above, Mr. Gröne was under the impression that the bridge was to have an opening span, having been so informed by one of his assistants, a Japanese, who obtained his information from the railway authorities at New Wiju station. He had also been told that the Japanese Diet had passed the appropriation of 2,500,000 yen for the bridge.

From what I saw of Antung, it appears to me that a fixed bridge would affect the Japanese Settlement as disadvantageously as the Chinese town, equally increasing the cost of lighterage. The proposal to build wharves, &c., immediately below the bridge would involve the construction of heavy maintenance works-the river last year tore away a large piece of the shore off the Japanese Settlement-and constant and expen- sive dredging to enable steamers to go alongside. The channel is constantly changing, and heavy work would have to be undertaken to prevent the passage silting up.

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is no doubt that, should the plan of a fixed bridge be persisted in, it would seriously mar the prospects of Antung. The railway traffic over the bridge can hardly ever be so great as to prevent the opening of the bridge twice a-day to enable the steamers and junks to come up the river at high tide.

E. L. S. GORDON.

(Signed)

Dairen, August 26, 1908.

Inclosure 2 in No. 1.

Map of Antung, or Shubo,

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