Boxer outbreak as a heaven-sent opportunity for the furtherance of Russian policy. The intention was to dominate as much of North China as the other Powers would permit. As a means to an end they had aimed from the commencement of hostilities at the control of the railway to Peking, and it was therefore with the greatest unwillingness that they thus took a second step backward from their objective. The achievements of these two military administrations, and the effect of their respective occupations, have next to be noticed. Taking the British record first, we find that during the period in which the military authorities controlled the section between Peking and Shanhaikwan the permanent way was put into a thorough state of repair, and the line on the whole well and economically managed. The profits were carefully husbanded, with the result that interest on the loan was paid from the commencement of their occupation, and arrears which had accumulated were in due course wiped off. Furthermore, on the termination of their occupation, a handsome cash balance and a considerable amount of stores were handed over to the Chinese administration. Lastly, while maintaining the permanent way, the rolling stock was not neglected, goods trucks and passenger cars being turned out of the Tongshan shops as required. to During this period the railway commenced for the first time carry tribute rice to Peking. Previously it had come to Tongku, and been there transhipped and carried by river to Tungchow. The "leakage" by this latter method of transport had been enormous, and consequently the saving effected to the Imperial Government has been proportionately large. The result, however, has been to kill Tungchow, which had become practically dependent on the grain trade, and to-day vast granaries, empty and decaying, are the only remaining witnesses of a prosperous past. The British Railway Administration was also responsible for two extensions. The first of these, which was first discussed and had been virtually decided upon before the Boxer outbreak, consisted in a branch to Tungchow. The length of the line was twelve miles, and it was constructed (exclusive of rolling stock) at a total cost of £30,000. A more notable extension, however, was that of the main line itself, the terminus of which was removed from Machiapu, outside the Chinese city wall, to the wall of the Tartar city in the neighbourhood of the foreign lega. tions. At the same time the Water Gate was enlarged and a good road made, so that, instead of being three miles distant, the Peking station is now within a few minutes' walk of all the legations. It is probable, indeed almost certain, that such an extension as this could never have been constructed except by a foreign military administration in time of war; and though the prolonged occupation and some of the proceedings of the administration have been somewhat severely criticised, it must be conceded that, on the whole, neither the Chinese railway authorities nor any other of the parties interested have cause to regret the period of British military control that preceded the rendition of the line. The Russian record outside the Great Wall, on the other hand, scarcely affords the same subject for congratulation. When the Imperial Chinese railway engineers resumed control, it was found that the maintenance of the permanent way and rolling-stock had been almost entirely neglected, and though uncompleted bridges had been finished, the work was of such a kind that the greater portion had very shortly to be done again. It is true that extensive buildings were erected at Yingkow and other places, but most of these were structures of a purely temporary nature. The Russian administration also compared unfavourably with the British in other respects. In particular, on the termination of the occupation, a large indemnity was demanded from the Chinese in return for services in protecting the line and in payment of expenses alleged to have been incurred, although there seems to be no doubt that the revenue more than paid the running expenses, while repairs and construction work were, as has been already remarked, practically at a standstill throughout the occupation. To return, however, to the history of the railway. Since its restoration to the Chinese the construction of the line to Hsinminting, which prior to the Boxer outbreak had been carried some twenty miles beyond Koupangtzu, has been completed, thus opening up to trade the district to the west of the Liao River. This work was commenced in the spring and finished in the autumn of 1903. A short line, some thirty miles in length, from Kaopetien, a small station on the Ching-Han line, to Hsiling, has also been built, its construction being rather rapidly accomplished in the winter of 1902 to meet the convenience of the Court when making their spring pilgrimage to the Imperial Western Tombs. The cost of this branch was borne by the Board of Revenue, who will also bear any excess of expenses over revenue in connection with its maintenance. It is operated, however, by the Railway Administration. Besides these extensions, the bridge over the Taling Ho, on the section between Chinchow and Kaopangtzu, which had been commenced in the winter of 1899, was completed and opened to traffic early in 1904. It consists of "twenty-six spans, each 100 feet in the clear, giving a bridge 2762 feet in length between the abutments-the longest bridge on the system. All the piers, and the west abutment pier, are founded on caissons sunk to an average depth of 45 feet below water level by the pneumatic process, but the east abutment is founded directly on a rock spur which rises above the riverbed." 1 Another girder bridge on masonry piers, which has been under construction during the past year, is that over the Pehtang River at Hanku, designed to replace the wooden structure built by the German military engineers after the Boxer troubles, when the original bridge constructed under Mr. Kinder's supervision in 1887 was destroyed. With the completion of the line to Hsinminting and the extension to Tungchow the railway has a total length of 588 miles, exclusive of sidings, constructed at a capital cost including rolling stock of approximately $47,000,000, or at the rate of £8000 a mile. It is throughout a well-found single track of standard gauge (4 feet 8 inches), the results of the double track between Tientsin and Peking, which existed prior to the Boxer troubles, not justifying its reconstruction. The rails in use upon the system weigh 60 pounds to the yard, except on the Peking-Tongku and Tongku-Tongshan sections, where a heavier rail (85 pounds) has been adopted. The shops at Tongshan, to which passing reference has already been made, are finely equipped, and turn out first-class rolling stock. Latterly, however, notwithstanding a considerable output, they have failed to keep pace with the demands that have been made upon them owing to the development of the line. This has been phenomenally rapid. Between September 1902, when the Imperial Chinese Administration resumed control, and 1 Railway Construction in North China, by Edward Hulme Rigby, B.Sc., and William Orr Leitch, Jun., Assoc.MM. Inst. C.E. "Minutes of Proceedings of the Institute of Civil Engineers," vol. clx. September 1903, the nett earnings approximated to 5 per cent. on the capital cost. In the following year they were rather in excess of 7 per cent., while for the twelve months between September 1904 and September 1905, they exceeded the magnificent figure of 20 per cent. This last figure, of course, was due in a measure to the RussoJapanese War, but by no means entirely so, for in the first place the commercial development of North China is steadily proceeding, and in the second place the effect of the recent traffic with Hsinminting has undoubtedly been to open up that district and demonstrate the value of cheap and rapid transport. The annexed table is designed to show the earning capacity of the railway. It will be noticed that a distinction has been drawn between the balance of revenue after paying the charges on the loan, and the balance of revenue after allowance for interest on the capital expended by the Chinese Government prior to 1899. This has been done in order to show the soundness of the bondholders' security. It should be further remarked in this latter connection that under the letter of the loan agreement the Chinese Government were unable until quite recently to draw any profits, all of which had to be paid into the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank to meet the service of the loan. This embargo, to which a further reference will shortly be made, was partially removed in 1905, but in the meantime the Government profits for some years had been capitalised to the extent of nearly two million dollars, and spent in extensions and betterments to the line. On account of this rapid increase of profits it was proposed, in the early part of 1905, to construct the long-contemplated railway to Kalgan, on the confines of Mongolia, just inside the more northerly branch of the Great Wall. The idea was to employ the surplus earnings of the line for this purpose, but some initial difficulty was caused by the attitude of the British and Chinese Corporation, as representing the bondholders in the railway loan. The fifth clause in the contract provides that all profits shall be paid into the Tientsin branch of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation to meet the requirements of the loan. The enormous increase of profits, however, rendered such a provision not only unnecessary for the security of the bondholders, but unfair to the railway, and inimical to expansion. Fortunately, a Nett revenue after payment of maintenance and running expenses 4,658,235.02 5,946,518.65 12,943,383.88 12,191,188.81 Balance of nett revenue after payment of interest 1 In addition to interest on the loan the first instalment, amounting to $690,000, was repaid. 2 Including second instalment (8690,000), which was repaid. |