Suggested Allocation of Some of Money to Save Port Tientsin, Aug, 14, With reference to the recent sug= gestion from Chinese sources that 2 portion: of the British Boxer indemnity should be used for urgent ratiway construction in China, Associated British Committee, which represents the China Association and the Chamber of Commerce, fan interview to-day, stated that, so far as the Committee is aware Ting-chang, who is mainly responsible for the scheme suggest fed, has not been in touch with British opinion in Tientsin on ther subject, but it is generally known that the British Chamber of Commerce in Tientsin was the fit ab British public body in China propose the allocation of @ portion of the indemnity for constructive: purposes and, among other claims, the Chamber suggested that of the railway At the same time, the Chamber advocated the ease for conservancy of the waterways in Chihli and, (j judging from the report issued the Willingdon Advisory Committee, it made.a ood case for sympathetic consideration.
Since that time, conditions have been aggravated to such an extent fence of Tientsin as port is seriously threatened, an event which must involve grave political and economic consequences At present the river is so heavily silted up that coasting steamers ai not able to proceed to Tientsin while serious floods appear to be invite able.
British opinion in Tientsin theres fore, while strongly sympathetic to. any repre<entation suggesting to the British Government the desirability of devoting a portion of the Boxer indemnity fund to the rehabilitation of the existing railways and for fresh construction of railways, will, of necessity, press the claim of the people in North China for assist ance to prevent a recurrence of previous disasters and to maintain the existence of the port of Tien tsin itself, 'The Committee points out tha' the matter entirely in the hands ish Government, who will probably act in accordance with the. advice of the Willingdon Committes,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.