The. Director-General of the Yellow River, whose jurisdiction extends through the province of Honan, reports the expenditure which was incurred last year in repairs and protective works alony certain sections of the big of the Yellow River which is under his jurisdiction, as well as in the purchase of stone to be stored on the, eves Pynk for use whenerae it might lowe lag the penbrialieb obtained the Tt appears e autumn.
Emperor's sanction to a proposal that there should be a fixed allowance of Tls. 480,000 per annum for river works in the seven sections under his charge; and he further set apart Tls, 120,000 for the establishment ut an office of works which would superi tend all operations. After a year's tri the system has been found to work well, and thanks to the good fortune attendant upon the Emperor's reign the river continues to flow along the middle of its channel. The Tls. 480,000 were intended to be spent in ordinary' repairs, and the Ts. "10, for use in meeting special occasions. The first mentioned sum seemed small in comparison with the demands made upon it, and indeed would not have been sufficient without the additional allowance. Such a low figure was taken only because the memorialist knew that the state of the imperial exchequer required him to exercise the. greatest economy even in matters of the utmost importance, and he was bound to take care that every penny issued should not fail to reach its proper destination. Under the new system the otticials have worked admirably, there has been a vast quantity of material stored, and old abuses have been entirely banished. 'The Office of Works, as was arranged in the rules, has: had no money: under its charge. 'As funds came in they were sent direct to the works or' were given to the officials to take to the mountains for pur-river ik have been established merely chasing stone. The supervising offices on the that the officers may have a roof over their heads at night while they remain on the
the measures to be taken. Notifications to watch the water or determine upon have been posted stating the exact sums paid for labour and material, with the double object of putting a stop to groundless rumours of ill-doing and of preventing the possibility of inaccuracies in the accounts,: The memorialist does not believe that there is any method by which the river could be set to rights for ever, and the vast annual expenditure be saved. No servant of the present dynasty has ever succeeded in discovering such a scheme, and certainly incapable of any such a thing. the feeble abilities of the memorialist are
When the new system was introduced, two remarks were made. It was said that the tion of self-sufligiency. 'This the memoria~ list could afford'to laugh at. It was: alo} Zul' urged that no one could fix a proper sum. for stich uncertain things as repairs to in this, but the memorialist felt it his duty river works, There is a great deal of truth
to do his best in the matter. He protests against its being said that incurred the risk of causing a great disaster, and on the other hand: ko is'quite unable to believe, in. the. uselessness of.careful forethought combined. with thorough ant ical work... It has. been:: his: object to carry out the Emperor's orders and to take every precaution beforehand: pain ry occasions... The: fact, is that On this account he pas seals most soning with the special reserving it: for. the river is never sti If.one bank is. made secure, the current is thrown against, the other. From the beginning of time it has always been thus., It never happens that both shores are safe at the same moment. Last year the throwing in of addi-. tional: stones at Yt forced, the stream into mid-channel. But if a little more had been done, the north bank would have. been in imminent danger. Again there are many points on either shore where one can. foresee peril in the future. But 3f protec: tive works be executed now when the water is low, they will be undermined and carried Faway when the flood comes. One must wait till the pressure of the torrent arrives, and then use the utmost efforts. Thus, though there are supplies of stone at hand they cannot be used at the moment. the issuing of funds and the purchasing: of materials cannot be postponed until the time when they are required. This would cause a month's delay at the critical instant. The current would here holes hundred feet' deep, and the expenditure would be multiplied many times over. This is why the office of works and supervision department were necessary. Tu conclusion the memorialist gives a long list of expenses
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.