23rd Feb.
Tae New York Tribwne of the 18th ultimo contains an important and interesting report of an interview witn Mr. Clarence Cary, who had returned to New York after settling with the Chinese Government, as represented by HE. Sheng, the terms of the contract first arranged with H.E. Wu Ting-fang (Ng Choy), the Chinese Minister at Washington, for the construction of the proposed railway from Hankow to Canton, officially known as the Yueh-Han line, "Yueh" being the literary designation in Chinese of the Canton province. Mr. Cary, it is mentioned, represents the ChineseDevelopmentCompany, which largely owes its inception to the late Senator Calvin S. Brice of Ohio. Mr. Cary said, and this should be noted in view of the statements that have been made that his negotiations had resulted in failure: "These matters are now in sufficiently satisfactory shape after numerous delays, arising in part fiom the mbherent difficulty of Chinese negotiations, and because of obstructions interposed by various foreign rivals of nationalities other than the British, the latter, of course, having uniforming welcomed this as they would any other important American enterprise in the held here proposed to" be oveupied, namely, the Yangtze Valley." In another paragraph we read that it is said that construction work on the line will begin at an early day. The proposed line, as is well known, is the one surveyed by General Parsons; it will measure, "including two or three of its immediately necessary branch lines, a total distance of over nine hundred miles, and when constructed will stand for all time as the most important trunk line of China's future railway system. There is a vast population already within its territory, and these are hardy, industrious, thrifty, and temperate people, occupying one of the chief centres of rive, cotton, opium, and other production, with ample coal-fields, as yet comparatively untouched, near at hand." As all those who know China know, there is not a word of exaggeration in this; and the experience of the railways already built by Mr. Kinder, including the section of the Belgian line between Peking and Paotingfu built by him for the Belgians, proves that the line will become most remunerative as soon as it is opened, if the Chinese permit honest management. Within a very few months of its opening as a single line it will] undoubtedly have to be doubled.
Mr. Cary went on to point out the benefits and future advantages to accrue to American trade by the construction and operation of the railway. These, he said, " will necessarily be of an extensive and profitable character, seeing that the greater portion of the construction material and equipment must be purchased in American markets, and that the line and the many collateral enterprises must in the future keep the door open for a great American commerce in the wide regions of China it is destined to serve. Here will be found an expansion of our markets which will take care of itself and need neither coddling nor safeguard." It is certain that it is much more the want of means of communication than the incidence of inland taxation that checks the expansion of our trade with China, and the construction of railways will bring in its train a rapid improvement in trade. From this point of view the war in a is most unfortunate for all for us, as it has rendered it almost impossible for the present to find capital in England for even the most promising enterprises in China.
Mr. Cary goes on to give a very necessary Warning to young Ameri: cans who think of coming out to China seeking employment under the Chinese. "That there have been," he says, "and still are many forlorn examples of Americans who have gone to China in the hope of some-
selves stranded in the outports, thing turning ups only to find them-effectively illustrates this view. As to concessions, it is folly for any one other than such as are backed by a strong Company or 2 substantial group of capitalists to expect to get a hearing from the Chinese officials in this regard. Even these persons, indeed, will now find their road arduous and unfruitful, for the Chinese official attitude at the present time is the not unreasonable one of wanting to see some of the various foreign concessionnaires produce something in the way of results in mines, railways, ete., before further grants are considered." Mr. Cary was very sound on the subject of the superiority of the open door to the sphere of influence policy, noting that in consequence of the negotiations so ably carried through by the U. S. State Department, "the door has been widely opened and effectively wedged so for a considerable period to come." He explained how Chinese prejudices vanish before the railway; and in dealing with railway construction generally in China, pointed Kinder was getting on fast with his Newchwang extension, "while the work on the Lu-Han road from Hankow north appears to be going ahead at little better than a snail's pace ander the Belgian engineers."
Mr. Cary finds some excuse for the obstructiveness of the Chinese officials in their inevitable ignorance of what is a very serious innovation, and the confusion and alarm induced by "the whispered warnings and misrepresentations which jealous foreigners freely indulge in at the expense of each other in the course of their respective rivalries." He found HE. Sheng "a man of surprisingly fine mind and of very enlightened ideas on the subject of railways," and he speaks very gratefully of the assistance given him by Mr. Conger, the U.S. Minister at Peking, and Mr. Squires, his Secretary of Legation, and by Mr. Goodnow, the U.S. Consul-General at Shanghai. The last paragraph of this very interesting report deals with the possibility of a quarrel between Russia and Japan in the near future, a quarrel which Russia certainly will not at present willingly allow to become acute, Mr. Cary says: "A present conflict with Japan might delay Russia's map-making in Asia another twenty-five years or so, but it is difficult to see how her portentous advance to the Pacific can long be stayed, especially while China remains inert and without effective organisation."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.