November 4, 1897.]
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
REPORT.
ING IN CHINA,
341
tice has been perpetrated. If it be clearly | Tonkin provided the Tonkin and Chinese | FRENCH AND ENGLISH MANŒUVR- proved that any officer of the Police Force lines were on the same gauge, which, ac- has received bribes he ought to receive pun-cording to present arrangements, will not ishment adequate to his offence instead of being allowed to escape by entering his re- signation.
MR. WHITEHEAD AND THE HANSARD REPORTS.
U
be the case. The gauge selected for the Chinese line is 1.47 metre, whereas the gauge to which the present toy line from Phulangthuong to Langson is to be recon- structed and extended to Hanoi at one end and Nacham at the other is only 1 metre. The Haiphong Chamber has therefore un- animously resolved to recommend the adoption of the gauge of 1.47 metre
would
14
us.
21
This
The Courrier d' Haiphong, writing on “Eng- "lish Manoeuvring in China," advances rather a large and altogether unfounded claim in regard to French rights in Southern China. It says that, profiting by the preponderance in the Far East secured for France by (27th October.)
Admiral Humann's boldness at Bangkok, In reference to the question of which the
M. GERARD signed a convention with Hon. T. H. WHITEHEAD gave notice at the
China which commercially opened to France for the Tonkin lines. last meeting of the Legislative Council, re-
This is a sensi-Yunuan, Szechuen, and the rich country of lating to the omission of a portion of the ble suggestion, which the French Go- the "Four Valleys," entrusted to French discussion at the previous meeting from the verument
be well advised to agents the post and telegraph service of report that appeared in our columns and adopt. It is not to be supposed, however, Southern Yunnan, particularly at Szemao from the Hansard report, it may be well that through railway communication from and anthorised the establishment of a French that we should at once explain the cirKwangsi or Yunuan to Haiphong would consular administration in the towns of cumstances. It may be premised that the divert much if any of the existing trade from the Chinese provinces in question.
the West River route; rather would it create object, either of a newspaper report or of
treaty," says our contemporary, "bound the Hansard report of legislative proceed-new trade and to some extent act as a feeder "China not to allow any other nation to the West River route. Railways in Eng- ings, is to give an intelligent account of
"to profit by the favours accorded to what transpires, rather than an absolutely land have not destroyed the coasting and Needless to say, no such clause literal report, a reproduction of every
canal trades, and it is certain that a fine appears in the convention. It would be in lapsus linguæ or obviously unintentional stream like the West River will always com- direct conflict with the most favoured nation misstatement of facts being calculated to obmand a large volume of trade, more especially clause of the other treaties and would be scure the sense and confuse the render. The when steamers are allowed to ply on the altogether inadmissible.
The nearest ap- discussion referred to in Mr. WHITEHEAD's upper reaches of the river. The latest report proach to such a provision as that described is question related to the military contribu- concerning the proposed railway to Nanning contained in the clause providing that for tion, and the Colonial Secretary let fall the re-
and Pose, however, is that, contrary, to the opening of Chinese mines French skilled mark, "Then the question of exchange what has generally been supposed, no de assistance niay be applied for, but that is comes in." Mr. LOCKHART had apparently finite agreement has been entered into be merely permissive and does not bind China, forgotten for the moment that the contribu-tween the Chinese Government and the Con- any more than a similar clause relating to tion being now a fixed proportion of the pagnie de Fives-Lille, so that the whole the construction of railways in a previous colony's revenue is unaffected by the rate of matter is still open.
treaty. The Tonkin paper, however, argu- exchange. His error was corrected at the Another interesting report we find in ouring from the false premiss that all other na- time, and as there was no question either of Tonkin contemporaries is to the effect that tions but the French were to be rigorously fact or principle involved, but simply an ne- a party of Government engineers are ex- excluded, maintains that the recent English cidental slip, there seemed to be no object in pected to arrive from France next month to agreement referring to the Burmah frontier, placing on record so much of the discussion study the construction of a vast network etc., constitutes a grave wrong done to as turned on those words. Mr. LocKHART of railways in Indo-China. The trunk line, France. It is much to be regretted that mentioned to the reporter that he had made according to the Courrier d'Haiphong, should French journalists should so assiduously a mistake, but that was sufficiently self-be from Saigon, following the sinuosities misrepresent matters and invent excuses for evident and it is to be presumed the repor- of the coast, touching at Tourane or Hue stirring up bad blood when no real reason and the other coast towns, and so on to ters' own intelligence would have led him to
for animosity exists. omit it from the report without any Hanoi, where it would join the line to the suggestion to that effect. We fail to see the Chinese frontier. But our contemporary object of Mr. WHITEHEAD'S question. It is would have connection established also with said that all is fair in love and war, and if the hon. gentleman considers himself at war with the officials he may think it fair to jeer at the Colonial Secretary on account of an accidental verbal slip, but we should have thought a man imbued with sporting
instincts, like the hon. member for the Chamber of Commerce, would have
pre-
ferred to win on his own merits, rather than by the accidents of his opponents. FRANCE AND THE CONSTRUCTION
OF KAILWAYS IN SOUTH CHINA.
Our neighbours in Tonkin are at present much exercised concerning the proposed railway to be constructed by the Com- pagnie. (de Fives Lille, under agree- ment with the Chinese Government, in Kwangsi, in connection with the Tonkin railway. This line, leaving Nacham, on the Toukin frontier, runs to Lungchow, thence to Nanning, on the West River, and, crossing the river, runs up the left bank to Pose. It is contended that this line, instead of furthering the interests of the Tonkin route, would result in attracting the Yun- nan trade to Nanning and so join it with the West River route to Wuchow, Canton, and Hongkong. The Hanoi Chamber of Commerce has therefore recommended the abandonment of this line in favour another further west which would not join the West River. The question came before the Haiphong Chamber the other day, but that body is not in agreement with the Hanoi Chamber, holding that the route already selected would be favourable to
Halien and west coast craft and steamers
|
THE REBELLION IN MANCHURIA.
The rebellion in Manchuria, concerning which very little authentic intelligence has been received hitherto, seems likely to cause : the Peking Government a good deal of anxiety and trouble. The number of the insurgents who have taken the field is estim- ated at over 8,000 men, and they are now collected at a place called Pingchuan, in the Jeho district outside the Great Wall.' They have succeeded in capturing Pingchuan and there they have arrested the progress of the Imperialist Commander, General NIEH, who has had to form an entrenched camp some sixteen miles from the town and there await reinforcements. These are being sent in sufficient numbers to bring up his force, The im- to 8,000 infantry besides three batteries of artillery. The rebels are naturally much inferior in arms, and reputed to be also in- forior in discipline (the discipline of Chinese regulars is, however, nothing to boast of); but these circumstances may be balanced by the fact that they are said to Lave a body of 40,000 members from which to draw reinforcements. They are also not badly provided with arms and ammunition, as they have purchased or picked up more than seven-tenths of those abandoned by the rabble rout who were sent to fight the Japanese when the latter advanced into the country. At Tientsin some apprehension is said to exist that, if Gener: 1 NIEH be defeated-a not im- probabl couitingency-the rebels will attempt to capture the railway and advance on Tientsin. The Viceroy WANG has given orders for the disciplined force YUAN SHI-KI, NOW stationed
Rach-Gia, ports on the much frequented by native which might be used by trading with
Bangkok, and perhaps even by those from India and Europe. The writer then proceeds to draw a fanciful picture of passengers from Europe leaving the steamer at one of these ports, transferring to a comfortable sleeping car, and being transported by train to their des- tinations in China or even Hongkong. The English, he says, are practical people, to whom time is money, and they would not hesitate to adopt the suggested route both for themselves and their merchandise, which would be a serious blow for
the English colony, portance of Hongkong will diminish as "that of Haiphong becomes greater." If the proposed, route offered any advantages in time or cost of transport it would no doubt be readily availed of by the merchants of Hongkong, and offering such advantages we fail to see how it could be considered detrimental to our interests. But we do not quite follow our contemporary's arguments. We are told that if the trains travelled only at the moderate speed of 40 kilomètres an hour the journey would be effected in less than three days, but to what point the journey would be effected in that time is not stated. Seeing, however, that the French mail steamers make the voynge from Saigon to Hongkong in less than three days we fail to see where the alleged advantage of travelling by train would come in, as there would be no saving of time, and the cost would neces- sarily be very much greater.
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