Tientsin, Apr. 26.
With 29 ships at Tientsin bund yesterday, 6 at Tongku, 2 outside the bar, making a total of 37 ships in port, Tientsin shipping continues to record phenomenal advance. For} 1924, 1602 vessels entered the port; 1811 of which reached the bund, and of which maximum draught was 17 tonnage was 1,997.3 constitutes a record in'ships, tonnage and draught, During the first quarter of yet shipping entering the port has: maintained an average which, if continued, will set a new mark for 1925.
'So' great is the advance that wharfage facilities wre becoming strained, especially the ex-German concession bund] unavailable in its present state of reconstruction, Tientsin is now, as it has bee for the past four years, an all-year port. Ships come and jo in winter According to trade demands. The old days of three months closure in winter because of ice have passed forever. The port now possesses six Lee-breakers, two of which are in constant use throughout the winter, one making daily trips during the coldest period from Taku to Tientsin bund, The thin. sheet, of ice formed over night is thus broken away ina central channel and incoming ships break up the rest with their wash. No difficulty whatever was experienced in keeping the river open during the past winter even the coldest periods.
'A feature of the shipping last year was the record draught of 28 feet for ships lying outside the bar, where atone time even 29 feet vessels had to anchor 12 miles or more from Tuku.
When the Hatho Conservancy Taka! Bar sche goes Into according to present.
of 25 to 80 feet draught wi to berth at Tangku, several miles inside the Haiho mouth, with direct connexion to the Peking Mukden Railway sidings. This will eliminate the expense and delay of lightering and permit placing cargo from foreign countries directly into the freight ears of North China's railway system, with a resulting immense gain to North China's foreign commerce.
The Conservaney's Great Work Tt may be noted here that Tien-Asin's great progress as a shipping port is due entirely to the Hatho Conservancy Board's great work in the river. In 1898 the Haiho was 30 shallow "that no ships reached the bund that year; only two the year, four next in" 1900 and 15 in" 1901, ale 15 though, of course, commerce was carried' on by lighters to and from Taku bar, where the shipping maintained a normal increase, In 1898 there was scarcely six feet of water fr. the Tientsin Reach, and a Chinese was seen to wade across just below the ex-German concession. To establish "a channel permitting passage of vessels of from 17 to 18 feet draught, and within the next year to two, about 20 feet, is an achievement of which the Conservey Board may well be proud, and jen tsin not unthankful.
In order to show the increase of Tientsin's shipping a few statistics will tell more than several columns information. Therefore the figures for the past 24 yea periods, are appended oFOniy osa under Figures for the deepest draught before 1919 are only approximate some cases only. representing the Graught that had so far been the Aeepest "either inthe previous or Succeeding year. In 1919 the channel was unusually deep and. vessels between 10 and 17 feet could have safely negotiated the river.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.