March 2.
On Saturday we published at the, nest of s number of German ipping firms certain documents criticizing adversely M.|j de Rijke's scheme for the conser-vane of the Huangpu, together with a few comments by M. de Rijke himself on the original memorandum on the subject drawn up by the same shipping firms last! October. The.matter was fally discussed in these columns November, and the onl evidence adduced by the shipping firms in question is the memoranda, Hydraulics at the (barlottenbarg by Herr Rollmann, Professor of
Technical College, and Herr Bubendey, Director of Hydraulics at Hamborg. According to these documents the German contention is that the Junk Channel, which M. de Rijke proposes to make the single fairway, has rapidly silted up since his first investigations in 1888, while the Ship Channel has been deepened owing to these developments the cost of the undertaking will be very much heavier than was anticipated and may prove to be beyond the amount earmarked for the purpose; and that there is imminent danger of the Ship Channel being closed up while the Junk ('pannel remains un-with the result that Shanghai will be cut off from the sea for all large vessels. M. de Rijke admits the first contention; he has stated also that the expenditure will be greater than he originally a pated; but he is still of opinion that the Junk Channel alone is the proper fairway and he intends to proceed upon the lines already laid down. There is no reason to doubt the sincerity of the German fears, even if it is difficult to disconnect them from the activity of rival experts. The opinions they adduce have their weight, although they exhibit no special technical knowledge, and we presume that even their authors would not pit their acquaintance with the Huang-pa, berriedly gleaned on a short visit, with the peculiar knowledge d by M. de Rijke. In spite, therefore, of the indictment we cannot, bring ourselves to.sup-Porses while crossing the stream, rt 9 scheme for exchanging
nor can we believe it possible thst|then taken M. de Rijke has overlooked or_will fail to guard against the very: anxious danger, patent even to the lay mind, of closing up one channel before he opens another.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.