CHINESE RAILWAYS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 131, 26 February 1908, Page 7

CHINESE RAILWAYS.

BRITAIN; " REPRESENTS" TO JAPAN. BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION—CorYRIGHT. ; London, February 24. ' . Th'e "Daily Mail" 'says that Sir Edward Grey, Secretary pf, State for Foreign Affairs, is maldng .friendly 'representations to Japan regarding the . proposed extension of the Pekin to. Hsin-raiu-turi railway northward to I'Vku-nicnn. ••• ' ' . ' ■.- '.- -. ■ GETTING ROUND'THE "OPEN DOOR." ; COMPETITION 'AND FREIGHTS. - According, to a cabled .' statement by ;the " Daily : Chronicle," published a few days ago, •Japan,,'.under- a secret , treaty concluded, witli China in 1906, has ' vetoed 'ChinaV building, of thisFa-ku-menn line, and China has'accepted the position. thus ,forced upon her. But, 'a?, cording to' other • advices, 'Japan is acting under-'a protocol of - her treaty with 'China 'of. 1905,'. which "contains iff clause explicitly pledging' China not to, build 'any lino prejudicial. to the interests of the • South Uan- : churian: Railway, 'whether parallel, to it or in its 'vicinity. The proposed lino '.joining, Hsin-min-tun and Pa-ltn-menn (which would link up Peking .'-with Manchuria) would ; run directly'parallel, to tho 1 Japanese railway, anil if carried ''farther -north, as was projected, would tap a. large: regiqn .whence: tho- Japanese railway, now draws freight, besides seriously.'• comprising the' strategical" position... A similar, agreement formerly.: existed between' ttussia and China.", . 'The., .position is that Japan .is accused of getting - round the ' open door policy, and securing -for herself ■ unfair commercial.'advantages. by. means of tho railways.-Writes a Shanghai'. correspondent: " The maintenance of tli,e open door—equal opportunity for all— 'has been promised; but to suppose.that there will be.no attempt to recover, through trade, some .few of tho many' millions waited; through war: (the thousands of lives have gone beyond' : recall) is to ascribe to Japan a ' degree of benevolence and altruism far. superior to that of. any,, of, ,tho western 1 Powers. In 1906 the rates of freight on tho Japancso' railway to Kwanqnehgtze, an important Mariclmrian distributing centre from Niu-chwang, '330 miles were ,55.. a ton moro than from Dairen, .Jos' miles; : now, under the competition of tho Chinese line from Shanhaikwan; i(j Mukden, these rates are inado equal. But the whole of Japanese- industry antl commerce is organised like the working, of a nest of ants, or'even ; like: Japanese ; war ,procedure; and there'is an' uneasy feeling; that, if not' given = on tho rail-v-.v. Tirefpventin.l treatment mav, be. given- on the -steamers, with ' government ..support' and under, government control, which . carry. tho goods from Japaneso ports to'Dairen