Directory_and_Chronicle_1905 — Page 682

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CHINA

A line from Shanghai to Woosung, some fourteen miles in length, was opened in 1898, twenty-one years after the first line between the same termini was torn up. A contract has been let to a Belgian Syndicate for the construction of a trunk line of about 650 miles in length from Hankow to Paotingfu, where it joins the existing Paotingfu and Lukoachiao line, thus giving through communication with Peking. The line is now said to be more French than Belgian. Work has been carried well into Honan, where the bridging of the Yellow River and the crossing of the Fuh Niw Mountains in Honan, may offer some engineering difficulties, but next year ought to see the completion of this important trunk line. The American- China Development Company obtained a concession for the construction of a line from Wuchang, on the southern bank of the Yangtsze immediately opposite to Hankow, to Canton. A branch line from Canton to Fatshan and Shamsui has been laid and open for traffic, but work on the trunk line is at a standstill. A report that the con- cession had been transferred to a Belgian Syndicate aroused strong opposition among influential Chinese, and it has been announced that in response to their demands the concession has been cancelled. The British-Chinese Corporation has a concession for a line connecting Canton with Kowloon, but though six years have passed not a sod has been turned. German concessionnaires secured the right to construct two. lines from the German Settlement at Kiaochau to Chinanfu and Ichou in the interior of the Shantung province. The line to Chinan, the capital of Shantung, was com- menced in 1900, and is now open for traffic over the entire length of 247 miles. An Anglo-German Syndicate has been authorised to make a line from Tientsin to Chin- kiang, the Germans having charge of the northern portion of the undertaking and the British of the southern. The British-Chinese Syndicate, which has amalgamated with the Pekin Syndicate, has secured the right to construct a line from Shanghai via Soochow to Nanking and north-westward to join the Lu-Han line (as the Hankow-Peking line is called), and also a line from Soochow via Hangchow to Ningpo. A line from Canton to Chengtu, the provincial capital of Szechuen, has also been mentioned. Surveys have been conducted with a view of finding a practicable route for a railway to connect Burmah with the Yangtsze region in Szechuen, and it is anticipated that a definite project for such a line will shortly be launched. The French have secured a concession for a line from Laokay, near the Tonkin frontier, to Yunnan, and tenders for the execution of the work have been called for. The French also secured concessions for lines from Lungehow to Nanning and from Nanning to Pakhoi, but it is doubtful whether these will be carried out, as their tendency would be to divert trade from the French colony to the West River route. Indeed, the proposed railway from Pakhoi to Nanning appears to have been abandoned, and it is probable that one from Kwanchouwan, through the Yulin district to the nearest point on the West River and thence to Nanning will take its place. An Anglo-Italian Syndicate has been authorised to work coal and iron mines in the province of Honan and to build railways connecting the mines with navigable rivers ; under this contract a line from Taiyuen to Singanfu and a branch to Siangyang are projected. Unsuccessful attempts were made in 1899 to induce the Chinese Authorities to introduce the Russian guage on their northern lines from the Manchurian border to Peking. The paper inception of a new line from Peking to Katcha and thence to Irkutsk viâ Kalgan has also been made. The British Commercial Attaché in his report for 1902 observes: "The old prejudices against railways would appear to be gradually dying out, and the example given by the Court, in ordering a special line to be built for the conveyance of the Emperor on his visit to the Western Tombs, will be of no little assistance in finally knocking them on the head. The most conservative native can hardly resist the joys of travelling in a 'fire cart' or steamer; and, provided he is not made unduly uncomfortable or charged too high a fare, he is sure to prove a constant patron. Passenger rates on the German railways in Shantung are 005 Mexican dol. per mile 2nd class, 0025 Mexican dol. 3rd class, and (0125 Mexican dol. 4th class. Freight on the stretch from Wei-hsien to Ts'ing-tao, 120 miles, is carried for 0'40 Mexican dol. per 15 kilos. per kilom. (14. per ton per mile). Rates on the 132 miles of the Pei-han line, open to regular traffic, are slightly higher as regards freight (14d. per ton per mile), and lower as regards passengers-2nd class 0'032 Mexican dol., 3rd class 0'016 Mexican dol. The most highly organised system of cartage in the Empire is carried on in Manchuria, where the rate is 2. per ton per mile, and in South-Western China pack animals carry at the rate of 2d. per ton per mile. In order to secure the bulk of the freight traffic, railways must be prepared consider- ably to underbid native modes of conveyance, or the latter will be used in preference. While the Imperial Chinese Railways in North China were under foreign military

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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN