The " Shun-pau," in an article of 24th Sept., after recounting the fresh disasters from inundations in the North, has the following remarks to Rivers, but looking from a. Broad We are unversed in engineering as applied general point of view at the present con tion of the Hwang-ho and Rivers of Chibli.
great defect. The vast tract of continent there appears tobe one fundamental. and comprising the North-west of China and its furiller dependencies—extending for thousands of li—must, according to natural laws, require efficient outlets into the sea to drain off the accumulated and surplus waters from the rains and mountain snow. On following the sea coast, however, n0 such outlets are to be found. Beyond three small mouths at Tientsin, Ning-ho and Yoh-ting, respectively, all other large outlets seem to have long since silted up. Hitherto, officers in charge of the River have only adopted the one method of continually raising the bank, while the mouths have at the same time been neglected and allowed to choke up by deposit. The egress bein choked up, the flow of water has been retard: and overflows, and increased deposit in the upper streams necessarily resulted. They
the root. The evil, now so cruelly demon-have patched up the branches but neglect strated, is the result of ages of mismanagement, culminating in the present day; for, without egress to the sea, what other result than inundation could be anticipated? The present course, however, to be now pursued, is not acrely that of deepening the mouths; for eompound difficulties have been produced by Jong neglect. With the fact before us that the be of the Yellow River is actually several changs higher than the level of the surrounding country, we have most palpable proof of the inefficient and patchwork style in which men of the past were impelled by the exigencies of the moment to administer to the conservation of our Rivers. Raisi the banks year after year as the beds heightened, to men of foresight it should merely have been patent: that such method must finally come to an untimely end. When the bed bad become raised above the level of the adjoining country, the better plan would have been—presuminj they could not deepen it—to have constructed another River course, following and making use of one of the old banks; but even this would have been inefficient unless the mouths had been at the same time kept open.
Chinese are too prone to look slightingly on the inventions of Western nations, but the famine into their application to the of the world, the more do we discover their vast benefits to mankind, We have ourselves no method whereby to deepen tidal rivers; while foreigners on the contrary have.
long since vide use of the necessary for deepening our water-courses, it s probable that the present misfortunes would have been averted. Foreigners have com tent surveyors, who can draw correct plat with the relative distances and district; but Chinam the stud; {In illustration of this, it is neces. sary only to take a foreign drawn chart of our coast, and to compare it with our own vague indistinct maps.) With a detailed chart, however, after the foreign style, of our rivers, could not a clearer and Jonger view he formed, upon which to base future plans of proceeding?
"We have heard that Holland has been much troubled by her rivers, and that abe has, accordingly, men well versed in the science necessary to remedy the evils. The Japanese, becoming acquainted with this fact, have int vited some of her scientific men trend to the conservation of their rivers. If China, now, would use such men, employing tin required machinery, surveying the relative losels, and cause the' courses of the rivers, with their mouths, to be dredged and deepened, then might future inundations and. misery be hoped to be avoided."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.