1924

TIENTSIN
611
of the 24th September the floods penetrated into the Japanese, French, and British Con-
cessions, which were soon covered with water to a depth varying from one to four feet.
For a few days the greater part of Tientsin was virtually in a state of siege. As the
■electric light works were flooded, no current could be supplied to the British Concession,
-and the Municipal water supply was also interrupted. The acquisition of food by re-
■sidents in the submerged area became very difficult, as very few people possessed boats,
and for several days they subsisted on whatever stores they happened to have in stock.
Bough sampans were knocked together locally, and the British Municipal Council
subsequently obtained a supply of dinghies, etc., from Chefoo. A service of public boats
was organised in the flooded streets, and communications were restored. The Municipal
authorities of the various Concessions dealt with these extraordinary conditions in a
prompt and public-spirited manner, and it was ultimatelydecided to enclose the submerg
-ed Concessions with a dyke and pump out the flood waters therefrom. The lengths of
the various dykes in miles were approximately as follows :—Chinese (ex-German) 0.47 ;
British, 1.40 ; French and British, 0.87 ; French, 0.32 ; Japanese, 2.27 ; total, 5.33 miles
Powerful pumps were then erected, and the whole undertaking for the British and
French Concessions was successfully and expeditiously completed in a fortnight. It
took longer to clear the Japanese Concession, however, where the water was from 7 to
10 feet deep in places. A commencement was made by employing hundreds of native
■ chain pumps and paddle-wheels ; but these inadequate methods were soon supplement¬
ed with steam pumps lent by the South Manchurian Railway Company and worked by a
detachment of army engineers from Manchuria. It is estimated that over 15,000 square
tmiles of the most populous part of the Chihli province between Paotingfu and Tientsin
were flooded, and it has been calculated that crops to the value of $100,000,000 were
■ utterly lost, and that 80,000 groups of dwellings, ranging from hamlets to large villages,
were destroyed. The question of conserving the waterways of the Chihli province,
with a view to preventing a recurrence of such disasters and safeguarding the trade and
- shipping interests of Tientsin, has occupied attention for some years past, and various
■conservancy engineers have individually issued reports on the subject; but no co-ordinat-
• ed scheme on broad lines and acceptable to all interests has so far been adopted. A
proposal was brought forward in the autumn of 1917 by the Commissioner of
•Customs in connection with the appointment of a “joint-commission” composed of
representatives of the Chinese Government and of the Haiho Conservancy Board,
etc., to study the general question and submit recommendations for the considera¬
tion and acceptance of the Government. The following extract from the Board’s
Annual Report for 1917 outlines the nature of the action thus taken, which, it is
hoped, will prove effective:—“In view of the conflict of opinion between the
Board’s technical advisers and the National Conservancy Bureau on the general
■question of the prevention of floods in the Chihli province, the conservation of
the waterways of the hinterland, and more especially the measures which should
be adopted in regard to the Peiyiinho and the Yungtingho (better known as the
Hunho), Mr. Maze urged the necessity of appointing, without further delay, a
joint Commission composed of three representatives of the Chinese Government
and three persons nominated by the Board—viz., Mr. T. Pincione, Mr. H. von
Heidenstam (Engineer-in-Chief, Whangpoo Conservancy Board), and Mr. W. F.
Tyler (Coast Inspector) — to study the important and far-reaching questions
•involved, which are of vital importance to the vast and growing trade of North
China, the shipping interests of Tientsin, and the welfare and prosperity of the
agricultural communities in the plains, and, ultimately, to submit recommendations
for the information and acceptance of the Chinese Government. The Board, at a
meeting on the 14th September, agreed to this proposal. The senior Consul,
•therefore, was addressed accordingly and requested to make representations on the
■ subject to the Diplomatic Body with a view to obtaining the acquiescence of the
Chinese Government. Early in October the Board realised that it was essential in
the general interests of trade, Chinese and foreign, to cause strong representations
co be made to the Chinese Government forthwith regarding the restoration of the
Peiyiinho, etc., and it was decided, therefore, as a preliminary measure and before
the appointment of the joint Commission referred to above, to invite Mr. von
Heidenstam and Mr. van der Yeen, Adviser to the National Conservancy Bureau,
to come to Tientsin and confer with Mr. Pincione on the subject. A report was
issued by them, which was subsequently laid before the Chinese authorities concerned
in Peking by the doyen of the Diplomatic Body, who supported the views and
advice contained therein. The Chinese Government have definitely consented to
the Board’s original proposal as regards the appointment of a joint Commission, but