2nd December.
Ir was one of the favourable points in the scheme of the riparian owners for the improvement of the harbour of Shanghai, which was described at length in our columns not long ago, that the scheme was not to be undertaken until it had been approved by a competent hydraulic engineering authority. We understand that the scheme with the detailed plans has been laid before Mr. de Rijke, who is acknowledged on all hands to be as competent an adviser as could be selected, and to whom, it is to be hoped, the direction and supervision of the work will be confided whenever the powers that. be have decided to begin the practical operations for the improvement and conservation of the Huangpu from "Tungkadoo to the Yangtze. It is satisfactory to know that the plan of the riparian owners has the practical approval of the distinguished engineer to whom it has been referred, subject to lis conviction that the work at the mouth of the Huangpu must go on simultaneously with the work in this har-hour, without which most of the latter would soon become useless.
In the first place, it is certain that Mr, de Rijke sees no objection to the proposed new bund lines, and this is obviously the most important part of the scheme, It has been objected to the scheme that the river will be narrowed too much by the proposed new bund lines; but Mr. de Rijke points out that the deterioration of the river is proceeding so fast every day that it must be narrowed more now than it would have been seven years ago, and it would have to be narrowed still more seven years hence, if nothing is done. 'This by-the-by shows the groundlessness of the imputation that the riparian owners who are urging he' new roheme are. actuated al most entirely by "land-grabbing" motives; if they were, it would be to their advantage that the rectification should be postponed, not that it should be hurried on; but Mr. de Rijke reiterates what we have written over and over again, that every day's delay makes the situation worse.
The contention that the out of the new scheme, while it might, improve the harbour for the time, would interfere with or prejudice future work between the Point and Chinese Government taking it in the Yangtze, is nob supported by Mr. hand, as it is understood the new de Rijke.° He does lay it down that the Viceroy is ready and willing to do. permanent success of the new scheme As we wrote two days ago, Shanghai, depends on the improvement of the if the Viceroy's scheme comes to the mouth of the river being also carried birth, will owe a considerable debt out. The pro) new bund lines to the riparian owners, to whose are based on the present condition of energetic action is largely due the Huangpu, taking due consideration of the existing schemes for the improvement of the lower reaches. It goes without saying, that ifthe river is permitted to go on constantly deteriorating in its lower reaches, such deterioration must of necessity also affect the upper course, and the value of the work which it is proposed to do in the harbour would be nullified, but under no circumstances would it be detrimental to the river and the port. Ib will, of course, be noted that owners of suitable land on the river banks are constantly increasing their docking, wharfing, and storage facilities, a proof that they feel certain that an earnest effort not only must but will be soon made to prevent the Huangpu degenerating into a shallow canal, We understand that Mr. de Rijke fully acknowledges the value of the work that the riparian owners offer to execute at their own expense, and he specially approves the rounding-off of the Pootung Point, which is included in the very considerable amount of dredging that it is proposed to undertake, and which latter will also result in a considerable widening of the navigable bed of the river off the Cosmopolitan Dock. This dredging will create a uniform bed for the Huangpu under the most favourable conditions of water, without any undesirable restraint of the flow of the tide. Mr. de Rijke's remarks emphasise what we have written over and over again as to the certain future of the river unless itis taken in hand, and that quickly. The river is annually losing a sensible portion of its capacity, and consequently the distance between the bund lines on either bank in any plan of regulation must be reduced from year to year, as long as the work -is postponed, while the possible depth of water in the channel is also necessarily reduced as time goes on. It is an absolute necessity for the development, and indeed for the continued existence, of the port, that there should be no farther delay. The work is recognised by the Chinese Government in the cee ree eace Pro-signed over three years ago as being incumbent upon them, and our Irepresentatives must insist upon the the renewed interest in the question taken in Peking. The feasibility and utility of their bunding scheme are recognised, as we have shown, by the great authority on the subject, Mr. de Rijke, and there is no ground now for opposition on the part of the Customs authorities. That these authorities are satisfied as to the necessity for new bunding lines is proved beyond doubt by their decision in the matter of the extension of the Public Garden, where it is also but a question of dredging and the- construction of new bunding lines, There is an absolute certainty that the bunding lines proposed by the riparian owners will do good to the river and the harbour, permanent good ifthe work ab the mouth of the Huangpu is carried on at the same time; and they will do no harm if by any chance the latter work should be postponed again; why then should not their scheme, which they are ready to carry out at once, at their own expense, be accepted? Is is a dream that, now bids fair to be realised that within a very few years we shall see the Empresses, the big San Francisco liners, the French and German mail steamers, all the large modern vessels which now have to stop at Wovsung, coming up direct to the wharves on both sides of the river, while a high-level bridge across the Huangpu from our bund. will make the wharves on the Pootung side accessible without the use of sampans or steam launches, Shanghai, we feel and know, is too much alive to allow the long-standing neglect.of its fine harbour and river to continue much longer.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.