Now Mr. Holt Hallett having, as he also says "shown that such extension is imicticable," let us sce what are the actual as ascertained by those who, unlike 'Mr. Holt Hallett, have been over the ground. They have been known and published for some time, as I am aware, but in view of the terms of the now Convention, they may perhaps' be emphasised by ro-petition. Seeing how diametrically opposed were the statements of those who were for and against the Railway, I asked the Engineer-in-Chief if he would kindly give me information based on the results of actual survey, and with: his usual courtesy he wrote as follows:—Tho Mandalay-Kunlon line is about the only tacticable route for a railway into China from the West. It has only one range of hills between Kunlon and Talifu, while any other line must cross several' ranger 2 igh Sonn isle——Talifa and 0 Yangtzekiang again, there is only one range of hills, while the routes eastwards cross several more high mountains.. Our line is therefore the only ible means of railway communication with China from this side.- It will, however, be a very
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.