-
August 5, 1896.]
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
THE COMMISSION ON INSANITARY | A FRENCH VIEW OF THE CHINESE | the nationality of the future Inspector
DWELLINGS AND ITS WORK.
The Commission appointed by H.E. the Governor to consider the questions of insan- "itary dwellings and the means of housing the poor is one of great importance to the welfare of the colony, but the solution of the difficult problem submitted could not have been entrusted to abler hands. The Hon. J. H. STEWART LOCKHART, Hon. C. P. CHATER, Hon. T. H. WHITEHEAD, Mr. N. J. EDE, and Mr. T. JACKSON Con- stitute a body whose recommendations will command respect, both on account of the ability and character of the gentlemen named and the varied interests they re- présent. Mr. STEWART LOCKHART, as Co- lonial Secretary and Protector of Chinese, may be relied upon to watch the interests of the working classes of the colony; Mr. CHATER will be able to indicate the probable effect upon property of what ever measures may be proposed; Mr. EDE is a member of the Sanitary Board and has, moreover, already taken part in a close investigation of the overcrowding question; Mr. JACKSON and Mr. WHITE HEAD will bring a fund of practical business common sense to the inquiry; and one and all of the members of the Commission are alike interested in the general welfare of the colony. The omission of the Hon. Ho KAI's name is rather remarkable, for he would have ably represented the Chinese, who will be more immediately affected by whatever decision may be arrived at; but perhaps it may be thought that the protection of their interests is sufficiently provided for by the appointment of the Protector of Chinese; and Dr. Ho KAI may also prove more use- ful as a witness than as a member of the Commission.
CUSTOMS SERVICE.
General The report mentioned by the writer in the Tonkin paper, that the object of Herr VON BRANDT's visit to China was to secure the succession to M. HUART, is we should say, wholly unfounded, but the fact that such a report should be placed in culation may be taken as a sign of what actually may be expected when a vacancy
AERIAL TRAMWAYS,
In a recent number of the Indian and Eastern Engineer there is an interesting article by Mr. W. R.`SHAW, M.E., on Aerial Tramways, a subject of some interest to us in Hongkong, since it is not improbable that in the future we may see easy com. munication established by this means with various points on the heights which are at present only accessible by tedious climbs up steeps roads. The Peak would never have become the popular place of residence it has had it not been for the facilities to these could be added the facility afforded by the Peak Tramway, and if of aerial tramways branching off to the various gaps and hills where houses already exist or suitable building sites are to be found the number of persons who would avail themselves of the advantages of living on the heights would be largely increased. an entire The system would not be innovation in Hongkong, as an aerial tram- way already connects the Quarry Bay Sugar Works with the Company's sani- tarium on Mount Parker. Mr. SHAW gives a list of some of the more interesting lines concise particulars. laid down, with Thirty lines are included in this list, of which the Quarry Bay line is the only one entered as an exclusively passenger line, and there is only one other, at Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa, en- tered as carrying both goods and passengers. The list, however, gives only 24 per cent. of the total mileage of ropeways or wire. tramways now in operation, and there may be others used for passenger traffic of which mention is not specifically made. The sys- tem so far has been adopted chiefly for goods traffic, but there is no reason why it should not also be extensively adopted for par senger traffic in hilly countries.
The article on the Chinese Customs Service which we reproduce to-day from a Tonkin contemporary affords an indication of French aspirations in connection with the admini- stration of China. It is urged that French- men have not had their fair share in the appointments in the Service, that SIR Ro-occurs. BERT HART has unduly favoured his own countrymen, and that he only hangs on to fall into the hands of a successor of a dif- his important post because he fears to see it ferent nationality from himself. The com- plaint that Frenchmen have been ignored when appointments had to be made and that those actually in the Service have not been fairly treated in the matter of promotion is unfounded. It is not only lately, as stated in the article, that a Frenchman has been appointed to the rank of Commissioner, and an examination of the Service List would show, we think, that Frenchmen have had as large a share in the Customs Service trade of China. The idea put forward that as their countrymen take in the total foreign | China should be made a dumping ground for the superfluous French officials of Indo- China is not likely to commend itself to the Chinese Government, which could hardly go to a worse quarter to look for its foreign employés. If a Frenchman joins the Chinese Customs Service as soon as he leaves college, and passes through the regular course of train ing, there is no reason why he should not turn out as good an officer as a man of any other nationality, but a few years' experience in the Government service of Tonkin or Cochin-China would be sufficient | to spoil most men for a useful career in any other sphere.
The neighbouring French | colony is overrun with officials, for whom the public service is held to exist, and even Frenchmen themselves hold in contempt the system under which the colony has to provide so many useless drones with a living. The Customs Service in China, on the other land, exists, not as the writer of the article in our Haiphong contemporary seems to imagine, for the purpose of providing appointments for needy gentle men, but for the benefit of foreign trade in China. France takes very little share herself in that trade, and her great it has been doing, but that the increase ambition being to injure British trade, should be confined to Kowloon. If the
the admission of any large number of Commissioners should adopt that view they her political emissaries to the Chinese Cus- will have to consider the means of supplying toms Service could not be regarded without an improved ferry service adequate to
some apprehension. France avowedly values the requirements of a large population her position as protector of Catholic missions living on both sides of the harbour. The in China on account of the political influence possibility of affording relief to the congested it gives her, and had she the opportunity districts by the construction of tramways she would be only too glad to use the to render outlying districts accessible will Customs Service for the same purpose. also command attention. As to the treat-England, on the other hand, has never tried ment of existing insanitary dwellings, the to make political capital out of the circum- Commissioners will no doubt recommend the stance that the Chinese Customs Service is application of the provisions of the Crown Lands Resumption Act, and if these chiefly manned by British subjects, and no complaint has ever been made that the service adopted a considerable transformation of has been so conducted as to confer any benefit the insanitary quarters of the city will be
on British trade which was not equally ex- effected in course of time, though not very tended to that of all other nationalities. rapidly perhaps, if we are to take the ex- But if Sir ROBERT HART has not used his perience of the Taipingshan resumption as
position to especially advance the political a criterion.
interests of his own country other nations think that if the appointment was held by Mr J. J. Francis, Q.C., was a passenger for one of their nationals it would be a political Shanghai by the N. D. L. steamer Sachsen. advantage, and when a vacancy occurs there We hear he has been retained by the China is almost certain to be an international com- Navigation Co. in connection with the proceed-petition for it and British interests will pro- >>ings arising out of the collision between the Newekwang and the Onto. Mr. W. V. Drum mond represents the Indo-China Co. It was reported that the case had been arranged, But that announcement appears to have been a simistake. «i.
In considering a comprehensive scheme for the housing of the working classes (and the inquiry will resolve itself into that, although it is not so expressed in the Com- mission) it will be necessary to consider also the probable population for whom accommo- dation will be required, not only in the immediate
present, but also in the
future. The Hon. F. A. COOPER, in his recently published report on the water works, suggested that the population of Victoria
should not be allowed to increase at the rate
bably be opposed by a powerful coalition. The terms of the recent Anglo-German loan to China provide that there shall be no change in the character of the Customs Service for a long term of years, but that does not govern
**
"Wire tram-
ways," Mr. SHAW says, were first intro- "duced some thirty years ago. For the first few years the running rope system. was exclusively used. This system is only applicable when the individual loads can "be kept small, say under five English "hundredweights including the weight of the carrier, and when the spans are of "moderate length. Consequently wire
tramways were looked upon in the early. days as clever practical toys and their use was very gradual. With the inven- tion of the fixed rope system it was at once seen that wire tramways were in reality most valuable means of transport. The "individual loads carried and the length of span have now reached limits which a few years ago would have been looked-upon as impossible. For instance, "lately carried out by Messrs. BULLIVANT "& Co., in Italy, carries loads of 10 "cwt. and has a span of the enormous "length of 1,100 yards, or close upon a "mile."
C
蕴藏
CE
line
The difference between the run- ning rope and the fixed rope systems should perhaps be explained: Where only one rope is used it is called the running rope system. If two ropes of greater thickness be fixed, one on each side of the running or line and the hangers which carry loads are arranged to run on these. – less
*
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.