28th Oct.
FLE. Cuaxa cam-tuna bids fair to rival Li Hang-chang in the number of interviews which he grants to foreigners, and-in the piquancy of his questionings. Subjects that have busied the minds of experts in Western lands for scores of years are unively enquired into by the astute Chang, who expects ready answers to his impromptu interrogations, If he were. to confine himself to asking answers from men on their line of thought and business, the task of his visitors would. be easier, but it is always more than probable that he will ask an engineer coucernis problems of banking or exch: puzzle the financier with en cerning guns. During Mr. Bredon's residence in Hankow as Commissioner he was naturally in direct communication with H.E. Chang, and had several long and interesting interviews with him, "at which the topics of conversation were many and diverse." It seems to be taken for granted now among viceregal inenmbeuts that Commis-aioners are in the same condition as the Professor whose hobby was science and whose pastime was omniscience, for when Chang was at Nanking during Hthe war he chose to bring down with him from Hankow the Gommissivser, whom he placed in charge of the forts and ships of the Yangtze, If Mr. Bredon's predecessor could have been trusted with such responsibility at such a critical time, and have made a creditable success of it in the mind of Chang, there ought not to be any good reason why he should not know something about railways, although his ordinary occupation leads him rather into problems concerning.trade. In the home lands, where the professions pursue so exclusively their own lines of work, it would not be considered proper for a man eminent in his own profession to. trespass. into the chosen territory of another profession and to give advice or information concerning its methods, but in Uhina "all things are lawful." Mr. Bredon has not therefore overstepped the bounds of propriety according to local usage in expressing his opinion concerning "Railways and Inland Taxation," and it is surely a high compliment to him that BLE. Chang should have asked that his conservations should be preserved in permanent form both in English and in Chinese. 'I'he Inspector-General, who is ever alive to anything that will awaken and benefit China, has given publicity to these memoranda by having them published in the special series of the Tuperial Maritime Customs.
'The hypothesis from which Mr. Bredon bases his conclusions is that "China with her free hand should, as far as possible, have railways for the country's yond and not for specnlators' gain, China should not therefore positively adept without modification the system of any country, nor place her railway business exclusively in the hands of any one nationality. to lay down for her a railway design, Chinn has the good fortune to be in a position which the European countries have not" enjoyed; she commences her railway system without anything to bind her to any particular policy. She can adopt any phu or system which scows desirable, and she has the experience of the whole world to profit by. Everywhere else, railways have been built a little here and a little there, and they have had to be brought together in a general system as best they ovald, China has a military purpose in wanting railways, but as China is a peace-loving, country she only wants them for defence, she is therefore not hound to make railways solely for military purposes, but cin give full consideration to commercial considerations."
"The various systems of railivay construction and management are outlined. The "State System" by which Goveruments build railways with public money and operate them on their own account is objected to by Mr. Bredon, as even in European countries it tends to be wasteful. We fancy that in this statement lies hidden a suggestive innuendo for Mandarindom,- The " Guaranteed Railways" such as are found in India, are built by private people but. guaranteed by the government revenue lo pay a certain fixed interest... his plan is not recommended to China, because it would endanger the public revenue which has
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.