Tt was due mainly to his initiative that the railways were built between Chengehiatun and Taonan and between Taonan, an important centro} near the border of Manchuria and] Mongolia, to Tsitsihar, a point on the Chinese Eastern Railway, west of Harbin, This rond, which was completed Inst year, was built by the S.MLR, as a contractor, for the Chinese, who are now operating it. It is of great importance as it completed the connection between Tsitsillar and Suspingkai, a point be tween Mukden and Changehun, thus opening a great, almost undeveloped region to immigration and development and providing an.outlet for the goods originating there for tran-Sport to Dairen. The railway attracted considerable attention among, students of China's problems, many' of whom have seen therein a source of likely friction between the Russian interests, represented by the Chinese Eastern Railway, and the Japanese.
Mr, Matsuoka was also largely responsible for the carrying out of the project of building a railway} draw traffic not only from the S.M.R, but also from the line built by the Japanese for the Chinese, for which the former have not yet and partly because such—build constitutes a direct violation of utes. legal agreement.
"Another line now being built the Chinese extends from Mukden northesterly direction to Hailungcheng the centre of a grea agricultural region.
Although an agreement existed between the Chinese and the Japanese that this line should ever be built, must be built for the Chinese by the Japanese, and a loan was advanced to the Chinese for the purpose—which they spent for entirely other] purposes—the Japanese consented to the construction of this line by the Chinese themselves, with the understanding that it should not be ex. tended" beyond Hailungeheng to Kirin.
Now, however, the Chine: e fare making active preparations to build the link between Kirin and Hallungcheng, which will, if com pleted, form another road parallel
main line ing afd, competing with the $.MR. running south from Changchun and with the Chang-inn road.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.