Ttesdxy afternoon Mr. 8. J. Powell, an. Inet. On, ¥.2.0.8., yead Before the Engineering Bociety Chit a most interesting paper oh the subject of transportation, of duds and passengers, in China.
Mr. Powell began by saying that there was no civilized country in the world where the means of transportation was so poor a6 in China.
ret it China had few engineers prevents they had " great respect for engineers, much more so than for commercial men whom they beat at their own game, and they realized that technical men know something and apply their knowledge in way which in its results ie startling to @ people who have been used for so many centuries to getting about on foot or in wheelbarrows and to grinding their corn and weaving their cloths by hand power. There had arisen in Chins many enlightened Chinese who knew that it was the duty of their nation to take their place in the world in Gndeavouring to improve the lot of the struggling agriculturist and iérchant who have been handicap-Ped so much by the lack of means of getting the result of their labours to a market. To that end cheap and speedy transportation by railways and improvement of water-'Wes whs the only effective means.
Light Rauways as Pooders.
Adter tofotring to the timber vf attilifles extated by thilways, the production of raw mmteris] and the Seucdhttation of finished whith they make possible, Mr. Powell pointed out that the railway ayeteme at present working in Obinte covered " mileage of over 4,08) miles and there Were some thousands of miles under construc-tien or projected. Some of these existing railways had been built at grea cost and were over-capitalizea, lntgely owing to the ridiculously high cost of obtaining perthieeion to bultd theth ud this, whilst an evil and tending to arrest development, had its bright side in proving Mat tuilways in China are paying eohoertis ili spite of adverse financial eonttiviotis. If they were not, there fit be such a scramble to 404 pay for concessions to build Mr. Powell then proceeded to spit Of a nuniber of rich districts fdr istence in hotthern and se@therh Shensi, or from Wuhu to SraeFhai—which might greatly be Bekiefited by having narrow gauge FaiMWays built as feeders to the régithir gauge railways er to the waterways. These narrow
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.