Tuer neod be no longer any doubt that the introduction of railways into China is imminent.. The principle has een accepted; and experience of the Chivese has shown that while they may be o long time in making up their minds to a given course of action, they. generally act promptly upon their determination when once it has been arrived at. We congratulate foreigners, and we still more cordially congratulate China, upon the great reform which is now on the eve of adoption; feeling sure that it will, if properly carried out, redound to the increased wealth of the country, the prosperity of the people, and the centralisation of the govornmental power, At such @ juncture as the present, therefore, it may be interesting to trace the -history. of the railway-agitation in this country daring the past fow years, and remind our readers of the groat achome then planned the Viceroy of Chibli—n scheme which, we now hope, may very soon be put into execution. To the imbroglio with Russia. China owes the extension of telegraphs; to the. imbroglio. with France she will owe the introduction of railways. Tt was at the time when the Ruseian quarrel had been patched up, and the head of Chung Hou bad exoaped the danger which threatened it, that Li Hang-chang and Liu Ming. chuan presented their famous placets to, the Empress on the necessity of opening up the interior of the country to steam communication. These re. markable state-papers wore drawn up subject to a private understanding between the two officers we have named and Lin K'an-yi, then Viceroy-designate of the Liang Kiang, that the latter would give the scheme his full and cordial. support upon his opinion being demanded by the Empress. Bat ho broke his word. The memorials were presented, and the Viceroy of Nanking commanded to report upon the proposal, To. the utter astonishment and di gust of Li Hung-chang, his colleagao condemned it in toto, bringing forward all the stale, silly, exploded objections about thousands of people being thrown out of work, the feng-siiué of the country being interfered with, and so on. The Project was thereupon shelved, and the Empress is credited with having forbidden the subject to be: brought up before hor again. Ib is scarcely nocessary for us to recapitulate the many Practical and statesmanlike arguments used by Li Hung-chang and Liu Mingcheon in favour of their proposal; those will be found in detail in the N.-0, Herald for July 14th, 1882. But it will be of interest to our readers to be reminded of the actual scheme then sketched out by the Viceroy of Obihli—a scheme which, it is hoped, may be carried fully into effect in the course of the next few years. Peking was to lines.. One was to start. from 'Ts'ing-chiang-P'a on the Grand Canal, and run northward through - the province - of 'Shantung; the second was to start from Hankow.or Wachang; and be carried' straight through the. provinces..of Hupei and Honan, the latter of which borders "upon Chibli ata point not more than two hundred miles from the Capital. In addition to: this there was to be direct communication between Peking and' the' west: by means of a line leading to Lan-chen, the capital of Kansu, and. another, starting from the same place, having its terminus at Moukden. The scheme was no doubt framed with an' eye to political advantage, as may be seen towards Manchuris, on the north. west and north; indeed it appears that it.was only the northern half of the Empire that: was to benefit by the rail way system, as far as the proposals of Li went at that time. Itis perfectly pos-, sible, Lowevor, that all these suggestions will be modified when' the day -arrives for a practical beginning of the work, and that, when once the first railway for passenger and goods.traffig is Inid by the Chinese themselves on Chinese soil, the system will be-extended in whatever direction may be deemed advisable. Indeed there was another project on foot, not specially included in the Viceroy's scheme. It was proposed to include the Shanghai, Soochow, and Ts'ing-chiang P'a district—we' use the word in a purely territorial. sonse—in the Shantung railway scheme. So far, indeed, had matters gone, that a well-known native capitalist invested largely in land adjacent to the ground marked out for the line of rails in the neighbourhood of Chinkiang, and a site was no tually selected for Chinkiang railway-station, on the northern bank of the Yang-toze. The speculation of course failed, but it is possible enough that the ground may'go up in value, now that the great first step has been taken.. No doubt memorials will pour in against the innovation. The Government will have to stand up against a hailstorm of opposition. Féigshui will be desecrated, and the luck of the Jand withdrawn from the unfortunate people. Boatmen, carters, and coolies will be represented as weeping and lamenting at the approach of the iron horse that is to.rob them of their hard-earned livelihood. Physical difficulties will be magnified, and. appre-pensions expressed that. rising of disaffected multitudes may resent the encroachmeuts'of the snorting interloper from the West. All this, and perhaps oven more, we may expect to hear of, for the simple reason that the power of the mandarins will be undermined to an alarming degree by the extension of the railway system in the provinces, and Viceroys and Governors brought so much the nearer: to Peking. It is only natural, therefore, that the mandarins, ai a Class, and nail, and ambering" antagonism of, the people. But weida, not think that-any euch movements' are likely to be successful. "The part in Peking that has: now, decided: favour of the.principlo at. stake is., strong party, and: will: prove: all. stronger for having moved so'
Tt' is said that. the' first, definite step' which we are. Jikely..to, hear, of: ia, the layingof: a railway from tientsin to the Capital.' Let thie-once become an accomplished fact, and woe nesd™Ui hour no fears for the future, of, railway. enterprise in China,.; din
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.