1902-12-19 — Page 3

́THE GREAT NILE DAM,

Lord Kitchener recently returned to Wady Halla from visiting the mighty barrage ncross the Nile, now rapidly approaching comple." tion at Assquan. A month hence the Duke of Connaught, în his progress to India, will formally declare the works open and thus officially mark the finishing of the great scheme which is the noblest monument to the beneficent work which Great Britain has been enabled to accomplish in Egypt The idea of a colossal reservoir on the Upper Nile to render Lower Egyrɩ indepenfant of the cucen- tricities of the Nile fred, long haunted men's minds. The late SirSamů | Baker was one of the warmest advocates, and tyith extrar rdinary pre- science he indicated Assouan as the most suitable spot for the weir to cross the river. After exhaustive investigations, Mr. Wilcocks, the then head of the gyptian Irrigation Department, arrived at the same conclusion, that.Assouan wis the best site for holding up the water above the First Cataract ; böl there was nue grave objection to this scheme. Polemy II. had built a temple of Isis, whose tears are the legendary cause of the rise of the Nile, on the Island of Phile, and that Island would have been submerged, if the Nile hd been held up to the extent proposed, Archeologists rose in arms at the bare suggestion of such an act of "vandalism." and the bitter controversy which aised round the question will long he remeo' ered. "What is a temple,” said the Engineers, "in compariran with a work inu vine the prosperity ́of¬milli ̃ns af--kumar-beings"-"-Arc-bre commercial met'ves" e icd the arch renlogists "to my pride everything in this would. and priceless monument of antiquity to be lost to mankind in order (Fat a few more fallsaheen may grow Colton and Millet?" Various rolu tions were advanced re was to surround Philan by a masonry wall as strong as the dam itself Another to raise the island bodily above the vet of the reserv ir; whilst Mr Wilcocks suggested the removal of the temples tone by stone and their erection upon another island secure against,submer- sion. The difficulty was decided, as such .questions generally are by a compromise. The head of water to be held up is con- siderably less than that originally contem- pleted, "but the reservoirs will give Egypt állTM the water she can use for many years to come. The engineering problem, however, was but half the difficulty owing to the burdensome restrictions of the Caisse de In Tielte Egypt was unable to find the necessary capit 1, though the utility of the work was u`'quest'oned, and it was certain to prove immediately remunera- tive. How a way out of the appaient cul de sue was forced by a syndicate of British capitalists headed by Sir Frest Casséle, who agreed to built the work unaided, and receive in return £165,000 a year, for thirty years after its completion, is no of the most interesting studies in modern finance. Egypt pays for the barrage out of revenue, aud although the ultimale cost will be more than five million sterling, this is little more than half its actual value,

The principal work is, of course, the giant wall which arrests the flow of the Nile at Assouan. A mile and a quarter long, 100 feet wide at its base with a maximum height of 130 feet above the foundation level, this contains no less than a million tons of masonry. It is pierced by Fo openings, mostly 23 feet high by 6 feet 6 inches wide, which, when

A

SK for ASAHI JAPANESE BEER --

G. Gimul

SINGER

SEWING

subje

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1902.

and re-established her credit—the Aqsouan: barrage is the noblest monument to the veiled propectorate, Great Britain has exercised in Egypt through gord" revil"report. Its im mediate benefits will be incalculable., Lower Egypt is now rendered secure alike against an abnormally Low Nile or a flood, and immense“ extension of cultivation is practicable. Nor will the work end here. As the Assouan barrage supplements the dam of Mongel Bay at Cairo, so will it be followed, in good time, by further reservoirs higher up the river, bringing the whole of the Nile valley under the plough, and establishing a free, waterway from Uganda to the sea.—Times of India.

to pressure, are closed by, sluices of such enormous difficulty. The creation of of the well known Stoney, roller pattern. British engineers, the work of a British con- These sluices will, during the Nile flood, have tractor, financed by British, capitalists, "and" to pass through 1,520 tons of water a minute, the friend of the many years of profound state- The masonry of the dam is of local granite set in ; craft which, have restored prosperity to Egypt. Portland cement, and the interior of rubble set by hand. The reservoir, when full, contains a thousand million tons of water or enough for one year's full domestic supply for every city, town and village in the United Kingdom, with its 42 millions of inhabitants. Navigation is provided for by a ladder of 4 locks on the west | side of the river, of most solid construction, and each "260 feet long by 32 feet wide. Sub. sidiary to the great barrage, is a second-dam | at Assiont, 350 miles nearer Cairo. This is designed to be regulatory rather than as a distributor. 'Were it not dwarfed by the gigantic undertaking higher up the river, as an engineering achievement, it would have at tracted more general attention. The structure is rather more than half a mile long, with 111 arched openings, founded upon a masonry platform. The whole of these openings are lined with cast-iron 14 inch thick, so that no stone can be torn out or piece of masonry dislodged by the constant impact of large volumes of water at high velocity. At the busiest searon it employed 1,000 men, work- ing at high pressure in a temperature of 118 deg, in the shade, The dam was finished last spring, and the irrization of lands in Middle Egyot was very greatly improved, whilst an. additional area of 300,00 acres was brought

under irrigation, or was reclaimed from the Jessert.

The mere enunciation ofthese figures, colossal as they are, conveys an entirely inadequate idea of the engineering difficulties which have been overcome, "Any practical man," said Sir Benjamin Baker, Past President of the Institute of Civil Engineers, i 1 a recent paper'read before the Royal fostitution, "standing on the verge seeing the apparently irresistible torrents of of one of the cataract channels-hearing and

foaming water thunde-ing down, would regard the patting in of fomulations of 40 feet below the bed of the cataract in the short season

35

work

available each year, as an appalling under Inking" As soon

was begun an unpleasant surprise, which might have had disastrous results, awaited the contractors. The originalengineer's report gave-sound-rock every- where at a very convenient level for the founda- tions of the dam. Directly operations were commenced it was found that the rack was un-

sound and friable to a considerable depth, which necessitated carrying the foundations in 'some places more than 40 feet deeper than was originally allowed for...in..the contract. This involved a large increase in the cost, and Lord Cromer was informed that the work would re-

quire extra money and time, but that it could be done. The reply was characteristic of the man; the dam, he said, must be completed, whatever the time and cost. Despite the "appalling" nature of the task and the further difficulties encountered as progress was made, the contractor, Sir John Aird, has finished the work within a year of the stipulated time. The contract was signed in 1898, the foundation stone laid by the Duke of Connaught in | February of 1899, and the Egyptian Govern- ment enter into full possession of the works a year before the prescribed period expires.

THE WORLD'S GOLD

PRODUCTION.

The report of the Director of the Mint of the world's precious metal production in 1901 shows a slight increase in the aggregate output of gold and an almost corresponding decrease in that of silver. The former is placed at $263,374,700, or $5.660.000 in excess of the pro- duction of 1900;the latter at 174.998,573 ounces, or 3.701,223 ounces less than the output of the -prévious-year. The United States stands at the head of the list of gold-producing countries with $78,666,705 to its credit, and second in the list of silver producers, the output of the latter mein aggregating, at its commercial value, $33,128,400. Mexico produced $1,365,500 more silver than the United States last year.

·

The African gold production last year was only. 89,089,509, over half a million dollars less than that of 1500. But the war jo South Africa prevented the prosecution Since of gold mining in the Transvaal. output has been steadily increasing thero, and peace has been restored in that section the gold in another year probably it will reach the yield of 18-573-227,100-and possibly more. The best informed South African mining experts assume that a maximum of $125,000,001 will ultimately be reached by the Rand mines. When that happens the world's production of per annum, assuming that other gold-producing gold will aggregate approximately $380,000,000

countries maintain their present output.

The increase in the gold production of 1901 over that of 1900 has come chiefly from Russian and Australasian gold fields, each of which has added appmximately $2,500,000 to the output, The increase to the Russian gold output has undoubtedly come from the Amoor river district and Manchuria, over both of which Russia obtained jurisdiction during the past two years.

A comparison of the imports and exports of gold to and from the United States shows that we are practically absorbing the output of our own gold fields. The total imports of gold last year amounted to $54,761,880, and the exports to $57.783.393. Thus only $3,011,513. of the $78,666,700 of the gold produced in the

Intimations.

THE CHINA & JAPAN TELEPHONE. AND ELECTRIC COMPANY, A

-LIMITED.

HONGKONG EXCHANGE,

OPEN DAY AND NIGHT.

SUBSCRIPTIONS.

EXCHANGE LINES, $50 Per Annum.

.: PRIVATE LINES, $100 Per Annum.

NO CHARGE FOR INSTALLATION.

N.B.-A special charge is made for lines of

more than average length.

ELECTRIC SUPPLIES" OF EVERY DES

CRIPTION IN STOCK.

INCLUDING

BATTERIES,

CHEMICALS,

INSULATORS,

ELECTRIC BELIS

LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS, SWITCHES.

WIRE, &c. &c.

TELEPHONES,

PRICE LISTS ON APPLICATION.

ELECTRIC BELL INSTALLATIONS, "Erected and kept-in order.

Estimates given for all kinds of Electrical work.

Mails.

NIPPON YUSEN KAISHA.

(THE JAPAN MAIL STEAMSHIP COMPANY.)

PROJECTED SAILINGS FROM HONGKONG.-SUBJECT TO ALTERATION.

STEAMERS.

SADO MARU

S. J. G. Parsons... YAWATA MARU....

A. E. Moses

SHINANO MARU*,

W. Thompson

KUMANO MAKU

E. W. Haswell

SANUKI MARU

W. Townsend BOMBAY MARU.........

DESTINATIONS.

(MARSEILLES, LONDON & ANT-

WERP, VIA SINGAPORE, PENANG

COLOMBO and PORT SAID (NAGASAKI, KOBE and YOKO-Į

HAMA... VICTORIA, B.C., and SEATTLE U.S.A., VIA Shanghai, Nagasaki, MOJI, KOBE and YOKOHAMA ....... SYDNEY and MELBOURNE, VIA MANILA, THURSDAY ISLAND, TOWNSVILLE and BRISBANE

KOBE and YOKOHAMA ............................

SAILING DATES.

SATURDAY, 27th Dec,

Daylight. SATURDAY, 27th Dec,

Noon- TUESDAY, 30th Dec., at

4 P.M.

THURSDAY, 1st January, at

4 P.M.

FRIDAY, 2nd January, at

Daylight.

(BOMBAY, VIA SINGAPORE and) FRIDAY, and 1. COLOMBO

an

Noon.

Through Passenger Tickets issued for the Principal Cities in the United States, Canada, and Europe, in connection with the GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY and Atlantic Steamers. Round-the-World Tickets also issued. Between Moji and Kobe, 1st and 2nd Class Through Passengers have the Option of Travelling by the Sanyo Railway.

For further Information as to. Freight, Passage, Sailings, &c., apply at the Company's Local Branch Office- in Prince's Building, 1st Floor, Chater Road.

A. S. MIHARA, Manager.

Hongkong, 15th December, 1902.

ORIENTAL

PENINSULAR

STEAM NAY

COMP

THE PENINSULAR AND ORIENTAL 1. STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY.

STEAM FOR

COMPAGNIE DES MESSAGERIES MARITIMES, PAQUEBOTS-POSTE FRANCAIS,

NOTICE.

STEAM FOR

SAIGON, SINGAPORE, BATAVIA, COLOMBO, BOMBAY, ADEN, EGYPT, MARSEILLES, MEDITERRÁNEAN · AND BLACK SEA PORTS, LONDON, HAVRE, BORDEAUX:

ALSO PORTS or BRAZIL AND RIVER PLATE,

STRAITS, CEYLON, AUSTRALIA, INDIA, ON MONDAY, the 29th December, 1902,

ADEN, EGYPT, MEDITERRANEAN FORTS, PLYMOUTH AND LONDON. (ThrougBill of Lading issued for BATAVIA

PERSIAN GULF, CONTINENTAI, AMERI- CAN and SOUTH AFRICAN PORTS.)

Trained Mechanicians sent to Out-Forts to fit Steamship

up: Installations if required.

at PM, the Company's Steamship "TONKIN," Captain Schmitz, with Mails, Passengers, Specie and Cargo, will leave this Port for MARSEILLES, vid BOMBAY.

This Steamer connects at COLOMBO with the s.s. Ville de la Ciotat, which vessel takes on her Passengers, and Mails leaving that Port. on the 10th January, 1903, Direct to Seer, Port Said and Marseilles..

"BENGAL," Captain A. L. Valentini, carrying His Majesty's Mails, will be despatched from this for BOMBAY, TO-MORROW, the 20th instant,places of Europe. NOTE ADDRESS:-1, Ice House ROAD. Noon, taking Passengers and Cargo for the

For full Particulars, &c., &c, Apply to

W. STUART HARRISON,

A.M, INST. CE,

*Manager.

Hougkong, 14th October, 1902.

We hear so much in these days of the country went out of it. In other words, C

decay of Fritish enterprise and the deca- dence of British industry, that we may be pardoned for dwelling upon the magni ficent results here achieved in circumstances

$75,645,187 was added last year to the wealth of the United States by its own gold mines, and this has gone into circulation and been absorbed in the arts.

ASK FOR ASAHI JAPANESE BEER. ASK for ASAHI JAPANESE BEER-

MACHINES

IF YOU BUY A

SINGER

an

"LARKE'S B 41 PILLS are warranted to cure, in either sex, all acquired or cons. titutional Discharges from the Urinary Organs, Gravel, and Pains in the Back, Free from Mercury, Established upwards of 30 years, In boxes, 45. 6d. each, of all Chemists and

Patent Medicine Vendors throughout the World. Proprietors: The Lincoln and Mid- Land Countles Drug Company, Lincolo, England,

528

MEMORY POINTS ABOUT

SINGER-

SIMPLE:

SEWING

STRONG.

MACHINES.

SILENT.

SOLD ON INSTALMENTS AND FOR CASH.

WE make but one grade of product, admitted to be the best; hence attempts at Imitation.

SPEEDY,

WE deal directly with the people, through our own employees all over the world, selling 1,000,000 Machines

annually.

YOU get an up-to-date Machine, built on honour, to wear a life-time. YOU get it for the Lowest Price at which such a machine can be furnished. You will receive careful. instruction from a competent teacher at your home, YOU can obtain necessary accessories direct from the Company's offices.

YOU will get prompt attention in any part of the world; our offices are everywhere, and we give careful attention to all customers, no

Inatter where their machines may have been purchased.

above Ports.

Silk and Valuables, all Cargo for France, and Tea for London (under arrangement) will be transhipped at Colombo into a steamer proceeding direct to Marseilles and London other Cargo for London, &c. will be conveyed vid Bombay with Transhipment.

Parcels will be received at this Office unt] | P.M. the day before sailing. The Coulants and Value of all Packages are required.

Shippers are particularly requested to note the terms and conditions" of the Company's Bills of Lading.

For further Particulars, apply to

E. A. HEWETT,

Superintendent, Hangkang. 19th December, 1002

NORTHERN PACIFIC STEAMSHIP COMPANY.

BOSTON STEAMSHIP, COMPANY.

BOSTON TOW-BOAT COMPANY. PROPOSED SAILINGS FROM HONGKONG,

VIA

SHANGHAI, INLAND SEA OF JAPAN, KOBE AND YOKOHAMA, FOR VICTORIA, B.C., AND TACOMA, IN CONNECTION WITH NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY,

Steamers,

Tremont Victoria Olympla

Cargo and Specie will be registered for Lon don as well as for Mamzeilles, and accepted in: transit through Marseilles for the principal Shipping Orders will be granted till Noon,

be granted Cargo will be received on board until 4 F.. Specie and Parcels until 3 PM on the 28th instant. (Parcels are not to be sent on boards they must be left at the Agency's Office.) Con- tents and Value of Packages are required.

For further Particulars, apply at the Come pany's Office,

G. DE CHAMPEAUX, Agent. Hongkong, 16th December, 1902

To be Let,

TO LET..

TWO PRAVA, EAST

[10040

WO SPACIOUS GODOWNS-Nos. 95 TWO ROOMS above NEW VICTORIA HOTEL.

Apply to

H. N. MODY,

Victoria Buildings, Hongkong, 4th December, 1902,- [132Bd

TO LET EVERAL NEWLY BUILT EUROPEAN

HOUSES in LRIGHTON HILL ROD Apply to

THE HONGKONG & KOWLOON "LAND & LOAN CO., LD. No. 8, Queen's Road West,

Hongkong, 20th October, yong

TO LET.

1x044

MEIRION No. 2, the Peak, 6-Room Captains. Tons. 1902-03 October; 1902.

House near the Flagstaff; from 15th

Apply to

T. W. Garlick.. 9,606 Dec. 30 Panton 3,50z fau, 3. Truebridge... 2,837 Jan. 17

1

Steamers marked: (*) have no passenger accommodation.

The attention of passengers is directed to the very cheap rates offered by this line to the Pacific Coast and to the Interior and Eastern Cities of the United States and to Europe.

Special rates allowed to members of Govern ment Services, P

Through Bills of Lading issued to Pacific Coast Points and to the Principal Cities in the United States and Canada.

a

For further Information as to Freight or Passage, apply to make

DODWELL, & CO., LIMITED,

- Gederal Agents. Hongkong, 18th December, 1902, f874d

F. BLACKHEAD & CO. SHIP-CHANDERS, SAILMAKERS: COAL AND PROVISION "MER CHANTS, NAVAL CONTRACTORS AND GENERAL COMMISSION

AGENTS,E

PRAYA CENTRAL HONGKONG, SOAP MANUFACTUREKS.

SOLE AGENTS FOR

RAHTJEN'S GENUINE

YOU will be dealing with the leading sewing machine manufacturers in the world, having an unequalled exprelence and an unrivalled HARMMPOSITION RED HAND

reputation to maintain-the strongest guarantee of excellence and fair dealing.

THE SINGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY,

979d

GENERAL OFFICE

18, BANK BUILDINGS, CORNER

FOR CHINA:

BRANCHES IN EVERY CITY QUEEN'S ROAD AND WYNDHAM STREET, HONGKONG.

THE WORLD AND AGENTS IN EVERY TOWN. RETAIL OFFICES; 3A, WYNDHAM STREET, HONGKONG. 64, ELGIN ROAD, KOWLOON.

BRAND, HARTMANN'S GREY PAINT

DAIMLER'S PATENT MOTOR: -AU LAUNCHES | BAR &&C«*»

Sole Agents for FERGUSON'S SPECIAL CREAM

P.&O. SPECIAL LIQUER SCOTCH

% WHISKY, POEZ PRAŠEVERY KIND OF SHIP'S STORES AND REQUISITES

"ALWAYS" IN STOCK

REASONABLE PRICES Hodgkong, 14th May, tände,

"

E. JONES HUGHES. Hongkong, 7th October, 1902. [10534

TO LET.

THE RETREAT," MOUNT KELLETT! HOUSES at CAUSEWAY BAY, facing the

Polo Ground,

No. r, RIPON TERRACE.

GODOWNS at BOWRINGTON, Praya East. GROUND FLOOR of No. 4, BLUE

BUILDINGS.

Apply to

THE HONGKONG LAND INVEST MENT & AGENCY CO., LD. Hongkong, Isth December, 1002.

Relleves the scal

SANTA ding pain at once

and

CURES

all discharges from

MIDY

obtained from

tho

SANTA

AL

best

wood.

the genito-

urinary or

gans in elther BOX in

MIDY 48 HOURS

Unlike thesan

dal oil of the

Santal-Midy

Bazar, SANTAL

perior to Co

paiba, Cubeb, or Injections,

and causes

Do, inconvenien

Beware ofimitations Each day Capasio

bears the name.

for

Cystl

SANTAL LIDY

8 BUE VIVIENNE, PARISAN