156 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [jUNE 6, 



distinguisbed astronomer, a member of the Academy, and made 

 some brief remarks on his lifework. 



Prof. Rees was appointed a committee of one to draw up suit- 

 able resolutions for presentation to the Academy. 



Meeting- adjourned to first Monday in October. 



The following papers received too late for publication in their 

 proper places are printed at the close of this volume. 



The Railway Problem in China. 



BY JOHN A. CHURCH, E. M. 



(Abstract.) 



Mr. Church stated that there were but two roads in operation in 

 China, one of small account on the Island of Formosa, and one at 

 Tientsin, about 80 miles in length, built to transport coal from the 

 mines to the coast. The history of the building of this road, its 

 gradual extension from a short line, seven miles long, operated by 

 mule-power, to a full-fledged railway, is very interesting. Some idea 

 of its usefulness may be gained from the fact of its having carried 

 2,000,000 passengers since 1888, when it was completed. This line 

 now carries 1500 passengers daily, 900 tons coal, 100 tons general 

 freight, and 250 tons stone, lime, etc., most of which is used in ex- 

 tending the road. This extension will take the road to Yung Ping, 

 a city on Lan River, and ultimately to Shan Hai Kwan, the sea- 

 board fortress at the end of the Great Wall. The capital value is 

 now about 2,000,000 ta. of about $1.13 each. 



There are several reasons for the opposition to railways in China. 



1st. A fear that the lines may be used by invaders in penetrating 

 the country in case of war; for that reason it is forbidden to con- 

 struct roads along the coast, or penetrating the interior. 



2d. A settled policy that all roads built must be constructed by 

 the Chinese from materials produced in China, and the roads must 

 be controlled by their own people. 



Lastly, the superstition of the people that the burial places of 

 their ancestors will be desecrated by the operation of these roads. 



There is no doubt that such a radical change in the means of 

 transportation would temporarily disturb the existing channels of 

 employment for thousands of people. 



The question of home production of railway steel, for the Chinese 

 will have none but the best materials, seems to be insurmountable, 

 for the sources of iron and coal are remote from the coast, in places 

 inaccessible without railroads, or are not convenient to each other, 

 or those deposits easily reached are unsuited for steel-making. 



Mr. Church stated that the production of iron in China amounted 

 to 500,000 tons per annum, a fact unknown to the world at large. 



