To the Editor of the "Norru-Cuixa Datty News."
Sir,—I have just received the issue of the "North China Herald" for July 9 and I shall be glad if you will correét_ the wrong impression conveyed that Mr. Powell is the first to propose a scheme of overhead railways for Shanghai.
During my term of office as President of the Engineering Society of China, Session 1918-1919, I brought forward at a Council meeting of that Society a motion that the report on the Future Development of the Shanghai Harbour by Capt. H. von Heidenstam and two other experts be considered by the Society. The Council the upon authorized me to approach Capt. von Heidenstam on the matter, and he expressed the view that it would be inadvisable to discuss the report at an ordinary meeting from a technical point of view, but that better purpose would be served by having a series of papers dealing with the possibilities of Shanghai becoming the great centre of trade, industry, and education, which The report assumed.
As a result of this a meeting was arranged during the following session to discuss the possibilities of Shanghai from that stand-point.
The British Commercial Commissioner was present at that meeting and if I remember rightly Mr. McColl was also present. I put forward a scheme of overhead electric railways-at that time, which should be recorded in the proceedings of the Engineering Society of China for session 1919- 1920, As T have not yet received a copy of the proceedings 1 am unable to say whether my remarks at that time have been recorded. What you call Mr. Powell's scheme is identical with the scheme I put forward at that meeting in the early part of 1920, whi dealt with an
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.