Directory_and_Chronicle_1908 — Page 732

CHINA

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Hongkong. The line is now being constructed by Chinese the capital being subscribed exclusively by Chinese. The British-Chinese Corporation in 1899 obtained a conces- sion for a line to connect Canton with Kowloon, but as the years passed without any indications of a serious intention to proceed with the construction of the line, public agitation in Hongkong resulted in the British Government deciding to make the section through British territory, at the cost of the Colony. The actual work of construction was commenced in the autumn of 1905, and the British section is ex- pected to be finished early in 1909. Towards the end of 1906 China contracted with the British and Chines Corporation for a loan of £1,500,000 to build the other section, which will give direct railway connection between Canton and Kowloon. German concessionnaires secured the right to construct two lines from the German Settlement at Kiaochau to Chinanfu and fchou in the interior of the Shantung province. The line to Chinan, the capital of Shantung, was commenced 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 Chinkiang, 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 Peking Syndicate, 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 Hangehow to Ningpo. The Shanghai-Nanking line will be completed early in the present year. 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 Burmal with the Yangtsze region in Szechuen, and it is anticipated that a definite project for such a line will shortly be launched. A French syndicate is making a line from Laokay, near the Tonkin frontier, to Yunnan. It is a difficult undertaking, involving the making of 145 tunnels. The chief obstacle to rapid progress is scarcity of labour. The valley of the Namti, through which the line passes, is extremely unhealthy, and work has to be practically confined to the cool season. Sections of the line, especially in the neighbourhood of Mengte, are in working order. The whole line, a distance of about 280 miles, is expected to be completed in 1908. The French also secured concessions for lines from Lungchow 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 aud 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. A line from Feng Tai, 14 miles from Peking, to Kalgan a distance of 120 miles, is nearing completion. This line is being built entirely by Chinese, the funds being derived from the profits of the existing imperial railways of North China, which, it may be added, showed a net balance of $8,761,246 for the year ending 30th September, 1906. The old prejudices against railways are 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, has been of no little assistance in finally knocking them on the head. "The most conservative native," wrote the British Commercial Attaché in one of his Reports, "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. (1d. 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 2d. 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.

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