adduced in support of the contention. On the other hand, it has been argued that inasmuch as no claim was preferred against the company by the deceased's relations, he could not have been hired for the occasion, as if such had been the case the matter would have been completed by preferring a claim. But the argument cannot be said to be very cogent either way, and in the absence of satisfactory evidence it would be unwise to hazard a conclusion.

Be the explanation, however, what it may, the fact remains that from this time the fate of the enterprise was sealed. Riots were threatened, and to prevent all possibility of additional complications, on the instructions of H.M. Minister, Sir Thomas Wade, the line was temporarily closed. It was never reopened as a British-owned road.

On the 13th of September the Chefoo Convention was signed, whereupon negotiations on the subject of the railway commenced. The company contended that they had bought the land, and claimed the right within reason to do what they liked with their own. It was also argued that permission had been granted to construct a road; that this had been done at great cost to the lasting benefit of the surrounding country, and in the absence of railway regulations at the time the permission was obtained the Chinese authorities could not now be heard to say that the road, as constructed, was a different species of road from that contemplated by them.

The Chinese authorities, however, bent on getting rid of the line at all costs, refused to admit the argument, which was, at best, somewhat weak, and it was eventually agreed that the • Government should take it over at cost price. Payment was to

be made in three equal half-yearly instalments, the company till payment of the last instalment being allowed to hold the line as security, and in the meantime to work it for the benefit of the shareholders. Fêng Taotai gave effect to the settlement by the issue on the 25th of November of a proclamation setting forth in principle the terms which had been arranged.

Matters being thus settled, the line was opened for a second time on the 1st of December 1876, this time as far as Woosung, the whole length of the permanent way being now completed.

With the removal of opposition things went on smoothly until the 20th of October 1877, when the last instalment of the

purchase-money was paid and the line handed over to the Chinese. Up to the last the hope was entertained that the authorities would reconsider the position and discuss arrangements that would result in keeping the railway in operation permanently under Chinese control. This hope, however, was destined to disappoint-. ment, and though the Viceroy was memorialised by more than a hundred leading Chinese individuals and firms, the fiat went forth that the line should be closed.

All traffic was accordingly stopped, and the line shortly afterwards demolished, the rails being torn up and together with the engines and rolling stock conveyed to the island of Formosa, where most of the materials were simply dumped on the beach and there allowed to remain until either stolen or rendered useless by continued neglect. The closing act in the drama was the erection on the site of the Shanghai station of a temple to the Queen of Heaven.

It was a disappointing ending to a scheme that had promised good results. Though debarred from the carriage of goods, the passenger receipts had produced a small dividend, and the support of the people had undoubtedly been gained.

On the other hand, however much one may feel disposed to sympathise with the aims of the promoters and to deprecate the action of the Chinese, the aspect of the matter from the Chinese standpoint must not be lost sight of; nor must it be forgotten that the means employed were not altogether beyond criticism. The officials had at the outset been imposed upon, and, in view of the previous attempts to introduce railways, they could scarcely have accepted the position without some loss of what the Chinese call "face." Whatever other strictures may be passed, their action at least had the merit of apparent consistency, and becomes intelligible when it is remembered that they were determined to impress the foreigner with the conviction that they would not be hurried; that as Li Hung Chang had put it to the petitioners of 1863, railways would only be introduced into China by the Chinese themselves as and when they felt the need of them.

In this determination they may be said to have succeeded; at anyrate, some years now elapsed before foreigners again became actively interested in the railway question.

CHAPTER III

THE FORMOSAN GOVERNMENT RAILWAY

ALTHOUGH Formosa no longer forms part of the Empire of

China, having been ceded to Japan on the conclusion of the war in 1895, the present record would be incomplete without some account of its railway development anterior to the conclusion of the Japanese Treaty.

Reference has already been made to the island as the destination of the remains of the Woosung Road. It is said to have been so selected by the officials on the mainland on account of the wellknown views of Ting, the Governor of the neighbouring province of Fuhkien, in which Formosa was at that time included. This official had long been anxious to construct a railway there to supply the marked deficiency of roads, and he had gone so far as to memorialise the Throne to that effect. Nothing, however, had come of his efforts, the Imperial Government being opposed to progress of all kinds, and refusing to sanction his proposals.

At the same time, it must be noted that to Ting belongs the honour of having been the first Chinese official to advocate the introduction of railways, and though his efforts resulted in failure they were doubtless not without their effect on his successor, Liu Ming Chuan, who availed himself of the opportunity that presented itself on the conclusion of the Franco-Chinese War, in 1885.

Up to that time the capital of the island had been Taiwanfu, known since 1887 as Tainanfu, a seaport town on the west coast. But in the course of the war the northern port of Kelung had been bombarded by the French, and the Government, fearing a similar attack at some future time on the capital, instructed the Governor to remove his seat to some inland point removed from attack by

sea.

In these instructions Liu Ming Chuan saw his opportunity. While admitting the wisdom of his superiors in Peking, he ven

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tured to point out that there were no roads in Formosa and that it was essential for his capital to be in reasonably good communication with the sea. As a solution of the difficulty he suggested the construction of a railway, a suggestion to which the Throne ultimately acceded.

Having thus secured the recognition of the principle, nothing now remained but to apply it. Consequently a site was selected for the new capital near Changwha or Shoku, a spot about ten miles from the west coast, and roughly midway between the northern and southern points of the island. As the city had yet to be built, Taipeh in the north, near Tuatutia, was selected for temporary use as a capital.

This town was certainly the most convenient for the seat of Government, but it was desirable to select the neighbourhood of Changwha as the site of the new capital to give a raison d'être for the extension of the railway down the west coast.

The larger portion of the island is a mountainous country inhabited by aborigines, and chiefly remarkable for its famous camphor forests and great beauty of scenery. But along the west coast stretch highly cultivated plains sometimes nearly forty miles in breadth, and it is in this region that the principal towns with the exception of Tuatutia, Taipeh, and Kelung are found. Unfortunately, however, Formosa contains no good harbour, and Kelung in the north-east is the only port in the island really accessible to ocean-going steamers. Liu Ming Chuan's idea was to improve the natural advantages of the last-named place, in the neighbourhood of which coal is found and collieries had at that time recently been opened, by the construction of good wharves, and to build a line thence in a westerly direction to Taipeh and Tuatutia, continuing it from that point southward through Changwha, the proposed site of the new capital, to the late capital, the coast town, henceforth to be known as Tainanfu. The railway would thus serve the settled districts, and increase the general prosperity by providing rapid and cheap transport to the northern port.

In pursuance of this scheme Tuatutia, which is situated some five miles to the north-west of Taipeh, was selected as the railway headquarters, and construction commenced at that point in the direction of Kelung in March 1887. A few months later work was commenced in a southerly direction towards Tainanfu.

The gauge selected was 3 feet 6 inches, rails being used weighing 36 pounds to the yard.

From the outset the work was carried on under the greatest difficulties. It was of course necessary to employ foreign engineers, and one of Liu Ming Chuan's hardest tasks was to reconcile this with the anti-foreign feeling prevalent at the time. To counteract the latter the Governor determined to superintend the survey of the first few miles himself, and accordingly accompanied the foreign engineer over the first four miles of the proposed route. Another difficulty arose from the fact that soldiers were employed on the necessary earthworks, but being only answerable to the officers in command they persistently ignored the instructions of the engineers, whose complaints had little effect. Again in the unsatisfactory state of public opinion every consideration had to be shown to local prejudices, with the result that deviations were made to avoid graveyards, which produced probably the most remarkable alignment ever known.

Notwithstanding these and other discouraging circumstances, which it would be tedious and unprofitable to detail, the work made slow progress, eleven miles of railway from Tuatutia to Saitingka being opened for traffic in the spring of 1889. At this point, however, difficulty presented itself in the shape of a low spur rising abruptly out of the valley at Katongka, half a mile farther on. As an example of Chinese methods it is instructive to observe how it was negotiated. Mr. Matheson, then consulting engineer to the railway, thus describes the proceedings:

"It could have been tunnelled easily, but the Governor would not allow that, and, in order to pass through the crest of the ridge with a cutting about 60 feet deep, ordered that the line should be carried up to it by embankments on each side of the ridge. This cutting was begun early in 1888. The greater part of the excavation consisted of clay, which softened under rain, and slipped, cracked, or flowed during heavy downfalls. Moreover, the General in command failed to realise that so deep a cutting would require considerable width for its sloping sides, and much of the spoil was thrown on the ground which had afterwards to be itself cut away. And so it resulted that, as fast as spoil was taken out, more stuff slipped into the cutting, whilst the upper part became a quagmire.

"In May 1889 the engineer recommended an alternative route round the spur, and, on that being rejected, suggested plans for drawing off the water, or the construction of a covered way which should be lined and covered with stone and brick, step by step, as it was made; but his advice was not acted upon. At length there was so much sickness among the soldiers