NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15122, 12 October 1912, Page 6

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

* SOUTH AMERICAN RAILWAYS.

When* a group of Washington financiers launched a scheme for a trunk railway to run the whole length of the American Continent, they had at first to stand a vigorous cross-fire of newspaper chaff. Nevertheless, they started building or buying up odd bits of railway here and there, wnich in time were to' form part of the great North and South route. The natural development of various countries on the, line of march—Mexico, for instance, Central America, and Brazil• favoured their . quixotic design. An almost, if not quite; continuous line of rails now stretches from New York to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. A big gap has to be bridged over from there, to Panama, but already a few fragments of railway exist in the Central American Republics which are likely to be joined up before the canal has been long at work. The southern half of the overland route, beginning {it the Panama Canal, is, of course, in a much less advanced stage than the northern one. Even here, however, a good start has been made. Within the past year or two Bogota, the capital of Colombia, has been made accessible in its mountain fastnesses by a railway running up from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. • The next question will be how to get down from the mountains into the valley of the Amazon ois the Brazilian side. That difficulty overcome, the cosmopolitan railway builders will have a comparatively clear course before them across Brazil. When they strike the Madeira River they will be in touch with one of the outposts of the Brazilian railway system. Between the Madeira River and the Atlantic coast at Rio the chief barrier is the still unsettled and inaccessible province of Matto Grosso. It will be a splendid field for railway development when its turn comes. Moreover, it will be the last link to complete between Panama and Rio. From Rio southward the great work is not only well advanced, but it is nearly finished. In June last a bridge was opened across the Uruguay River, which joined up Rio to Monte Video. From Monte Video across the La Plata to Buenos Aires is only a few hours' steaming, so that the capitals of Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil, may now be said to be in direct railway communication with each other.

GERMANS ON THE YA&GTSE. Among the observations made by the members of the Japanese House of Peers who recently visited China, not- the least interesting were their comments on trade in the Yangtee Valley and in Mukden. Only a very few years ago the commerce of the Yangtse was practically monopolised by British merchants,' who were responsible for its opening ' and development. Evidences of this predominance still exist. Whatever part of the great waterway is visited, the British flag is found in evidence. But closer inspection, it is asserted, shows that the commerce of the region is steadily; falling into the hands of Japan, Germany, and America. Especially is this time of Germany. J veryjwhara the Germans axa nushine steadily

forward and winning new fields. The Japanese, too, are said to be making great progress, and although they . are inferior to their German and American rivals, their contribution to the development of the Yangtse Valley is unquestionable. Turning to Harbin, the excursionists observed that fully 1000 Japanese men and women are settled there, and that they do fully one-third-of the total trade of the town. The travellers were struck by the fact that the Japanese rapidly become assimilated with the Russians, adopting the latter's costumes, customs, and manner of life. There are no signs whatever of collision between the Russian and Japanese civilisations. The two races meet eaca other halfway, and everything is marked, -smoothness and goodwill.