The evening times., 1898-10-11
THE RUsso-cHINEsE RAILWAY
Comment on the Concession by the
North China News

North China News.
The State Department has received
from Consul John Fowler. at Chefoo,
China, the following article from the
! North China Daily News, which is of es-
| pecial interest at this time, owing to the
! critical state of affairs in the totterng
empire:
| "On the 1st of April, in an article in
| these columns on Russian designs, we
| pointed out that the construction of the
| Russian railway from Petuna via Kirin
| to Talienwan meant the ruin of the TIRE atty
| port OF Niuchwang, unless the latter port
was promptly connected with the North
! China system of railways. The district
| through which the Russian railway will
pass produces about 10 per cent of tLe
| exports from Niuchwang, so that this
| amount of trade will probably be lost to
Niuchwang when the railway is made and
Talienwan is opened. The Russian line,
it will be observed, is not to go through
Niuchwang, but Is to pass it at some dis
tance to the eastward. From a village
called Kanwangchai, which is unGer
twenty miles eastward of Niuchwang
and through which the Russian line pas
es. branch line is to BE- laid to Much
wang, and meanwhile until Talienwan is
ready to be opened (Which is not likely to
be for three years. the material and plant
for the Russian railway is TO be landed
at Niuchwang. This branch line, there
fore. is apparently to be the first section
undertaken; and when il is III running
order, the construction of the main ine
will be begun both north and south from
kanwangchai.
The Chinese are ready and anxious to
Niuchwang and Moukden. They would
tap the valley of the Lao River, and
the districts from which about so per
cent of the present exports come, saw
ing to Niuchwang not unimportant
fragment of its trade. II would also put
NiuchWang in direct communication with
valuable coal measures, from which both
steam coal and coal suitable for Shang-
hai's manufactures can be procured. 1t
is estimated by capable authority that
even with the loss of the districts through
which the Russian railway will run, the
construction Of the proposed Chinese
railway will maintain the trade of Much
wang at its present level, and probably
largely increase it. 1t is mot improbable,
too, that to face the competition of the
proposed Chinese line. the Russians will
make the branch which they are making
10 Niuchwang for construction purposes
q permanent one, ana tnlS WOulu Wlll-
out doubt divert TO Niuchwang a con-
siderable proportion of the traffic that
would otherwise go TO Ta!ienwan.
''Niuchwang has advantages which are
not realized by those who regard il as a
small out-Of-the-way port. frozen up in
the winter. and with no attractiveness at
any time
Vt has a fine river extending for long
distance into the interior. with bar with
IS feet of water on II. Its trade is already
well established. and the port is we'll
provided with lighters. warehousing ac-
commodation. mills. etc. 1t is certain that
so long as il remains under the Chinese
flag. its trade will be open on equal terms
To all nationalities. without preference or
distinction; and ii is the nearest seaport
TO the immense districts to which the i'm
ports into Manchuria go, and from which
the exports come The great drawback to
II is that il is ice-bound every winter
for some four months.
THE existing foreign interests most
nearly concerned in the present and fu-
rure of Niuchwang are the American
British and Japanese. There Is a British
concession at Niuchwang: the foreign
owned land outside the concessions is
nearly all in British hands. The foreign
firms established at the por. are mostly
American. British and Japanese. About 50
per cent of the imports are American. the |
remainder being mostly British and Jap
anese: while of the ships that mad come |
to the port this year up to the middle of |
June sixty were British. fifty-siX Japan |
ese seventeen Chinese and thirty-siX of |
other nationalites.'