Suanonai, 25th February, 1869.
Sin,—In reply to your announcement of the 28th December, 1868, referring toa despatch from H. M.'s Minister at Yeking on the subject of the proposed revision of the Treaty of Tientsin, 1 have now the honour to submit the following suggestions for transmission to Her Majesty's Government in accordance with his Excellency's despatch.
Cawsen of present depressed state of China.—Having been more or loss engaged in Euginearing duties in China since the year 1861, during which time my professional avocations have called me into most of the southern provinces of the Expire, wy that much of the present depressed state of the centry arises in the first place from defective methods of inter-communication, and: in the second from an auintelligentrefusal to utilise the mineral resources known to exist in various portions of the Empire, it will scarcely be an impertinence in me to bring before Her Majes' Government those matters which have more immedi ately occupied wy attention, and which seem in a great dogger to have interfered that spread of foreign commerce so confidently predicted when the present treaties were entered into.
Want of proper means of communication.—Referrin, then to the first obstacle mentioned above it ix foun at the it day the commmnicatiens of China are in crude a state us when the country first became an Empire, There is, indeed, reason to believe that so far from having progressed in this particular there has been a gradual decadence from the time of the earlier scription, on! year with a fair monsoon; or to the weak and davgerous craft by which the internal water-ways are traversed; or again travel on laud by the so called roads
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.