The Commissioner of Customs, in his address at the laying of the new Customs House cornerstone on. December 16, referred to Shanghai "the commercial and industrial metropolis of China," and stated that "it was necessary to provide in progressive measure for larger well as for expanding The Conservancy Board, during the first years of its existence, was primarily concerned in remove ing the bar at the entrance of the Huangpu and in the Astrea Chane nel. This having been accomplish ed, attention was directed to see curing and maintaining a channel of uniform depth and width; the latter programme involved drains works along. the of the course of the bye intensive dredging in certain localities.
During the last two years the Board have had the plant to carry out these dredging operations and have as well been able to c9-oper rate on a large scale with riparian owners in respect to wharf dredge ing. The disposal of the dredged spoil involved correspondingly large ig operations, resulting ing large areas which have also served to further define the channel and, being bunded in stone, assist in the whole work of rou: lation and riparian development.
The larger items of plant which enabled these large works to be un= dertaken have been built in China or Japan under the supervision of the Board's engineers, and are in themselves engineering works of ale most the first magnitude of their particular kind.
No better evidence of the improves ment that has been achieved can be offered than the regular con tinuity of the practice of shipping companies during the past year, in bringing their ocean going' vessels to Shanghai, several with drafts of 80 fect proceeding to the Upper Harbour Limit. It has already been demonstrated that a stable uniform depth of 26 feet at Lowest Low Water can be maintained in the Huangpu, The future prosperity and trade of this port depend primarily upon the deepening of the approach through the Yangtsze estuary and further development of its harbour facilities. The Committee of Consulting Engineers for Shanghai Harbour of 1921 recommended that the harbour authorities should proceed with the improvement of "the harbour facilities and make and tain a channel through the Feity Plats deep encigh to ae-commodate ships drawing 33 feet, This society past, taken an active part in promoting technical education, and it is signi ficant that the Government of the United States of America, in ree
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.