The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-12-16
HINTS TO CHINESE TRADERS LORD BERESFOR 1MUSING
 STORIES
4 USING
Illustrative of Things China Does Not
 Know and Must Buy.

the Institution of Mechanical EngineerS
 which was held yesterday in the great
 hall of the institution, at Storey's Gate
 Lord c. Beresford, M. F., read a paper
 on Openings for Mechanical Engineer
 ing in China" Sir w. H. White, presi-
 dent of the institution, occupied the
 chair. There was very large attend
 ance.
 Lord c. eaeresford, who was very cor-
 dially received, on rising to deliver his
 address, said that, although the civil
 engineer must first clear the way. there
 was great scope even now for the
 mechanical engineer in China, while the
 future offered an almost unlimited field
 for operations Imagine an empire cov-
 ering 4,250,O00 square miles, and having
 an population of four hundred million
 still pursuing the arts and industries
 with the primitive tools methods and
 ideas of two thousand years ago. The
 principal openings for the mechanical
 engineer might be divided into three
 headS-railways and electricity, mining
 and allied works, and manufactures. Under the first three of these headings,
 he thought, the immediate development
 of China would most rapidly proceed
 In the next few years we ought to see
 over six thousand miles of track laid.
 As to electricity, in the European set
 dement's 1t was already used for light ing purposes and even at Han-kau
 some firms were laying down electrical
 plants. The abundance and cheapness of coal would render this branch of in
 dustry very profitable in a short time
 Chinese of the better class would be
 ready consumers of electrical power for lighting and manufacturing purposes.
 Of course, all the plant must in the first
 instance be imported and unless Brit ish engineers were much more energet- ic the orders would go to Japan and America, while Japanese and American engineers would accompany the plant. Telegraphs already existed all over Chi ma, and were government property. Having said that, it was unnecessary to say that they were badly managed. He was credibly informed that 1t was often possible to go from Picking to Tien-Tsin and thence to Shtnghai and to arrive before telegram dispatched at starting. As to mining, the country was full of minerals. Coal iron, gold, silver, copper, mercury, lead and salt
 
 ties and only skilled workers and the latest machinery were needed to devel- op the rich resources of this marvellous country. Labor for the mining work could be had at about 515d. per day. All these vas stores of underground wealth belonged to the Chinese govern ment, and it would be seen, therefore, how great were China's undeveloped sources of revenue. Then there was a great field for mechanical engineers in most of the old and all of the newer concessions and settlements in supply ing water to the European community. For mining machinery, engines. pumps and all other plants of this description there was great demand. Only capital and British mechanical engineers were needed to give great impetus to our manufacturers of these goods. No one could doubt the need of improved means of traction who knew what a Chinese road was like. The roads were perfect some two thousand years ago. but they had not been repaired since (Laughter.) He complained of them to an American, who replied, "Yes, sir the roads are very bad. There was mule drowned in the road outside my embassy the other day" Gaughter)
 As to manufactures, the abundance of coal and iron in China made it absolute ly certain that China would some day become a great competitor with us in the industrial market. But so far from fearing this competition, British manu- lecturers should reflect that if they were wise China would for many years to come be an enormous buyer of ma- chinery tnd tool steel, while before they began to feel the effects of the compe- tition China would have become so rich that the increased amount of British products which she would be able to take would compensate our losses in particular directions. If China were a good customer now she would be bet ter customer when she had more mon- ey to buy with, and she could only get this money by exploiting her minerals and becoming a manufacturing coun- try with large exports. He had visited | many mills in China, manufacturing | cotton and silk, and in every case he found that the mills under entire Chi nese management were complete fail | ures. Their system was to pay high | dividends and to put nothing aside for | Q6pI6CidllOll OL Plc,il, oO tiieNt NiiS NhoiC establishment went to wrack and ruin | and completely new plant had to be | laid down. The silk industry and the tea trade were declining from the ad- herence to old-fashioned methods. British compahies established in China at treaty ports could buy up from the small Chinese farmers large supplies of raw silk and green tea, and by improved | methods or manufacture produce a su 1 perior article which would find ready sale.
 As to the methods adopted in the Chinese arsenals, he should like to tell few stories that were thoroughly char acteristic of the Chinese. In the arse nal at Shanghai, under the superintend- ence of MT. Blunt and MT. Cornish, he ]. to notice Krupp gun clever ly fitted with an Armstrong breech niece. He was told that that operation had been rendered necessary because the Chinese had blown off the original niece. and on going to fort upon the river. in charge of a very clever manda- -in he found out how the accident hap pened. They were using for the siXty-Eseven- < .on guns powder which was quite ( and he said, That powder