then, which should secure to Nanking its position as the outlet for these rich provinces is the fact of its being so much nearer the sea than Hankow, and accessible to the deepest draught ocean vessels at all seasons of the year. It is, therefore, only natural that a line should have been projected from the mineral fields of Shansi to the village of Pukow on the other side of the river to Nanking, as mentioned in the 1899 Trade Report. Yet another line, from the mineral district of Hsin-Yan, in Honan, through Anhwei, with its terminus at Pukow, is also in contemplation. These two lines, if built, should revolutionise the commercial conditions at Nanking, while the line from Shanghai to Nanking should also give an impetus to commercial life." Trains are running regularly now from Shanghai to Nanking, and the line is to be carried through the city to the water-side. A line connecting Nanking with Tientsin is also about to be constructed.
His Britannic Majesty's Consul at Nanking.
THE BRITISH CONSUL.
Mr. Harold Frederick King, the British Consul at Nanking, is a brother of Mr. G. W. King, the Registrar of the Supreme Court, Shanghai. Born on December 30, 1871, at Brighton, Sussex, he was educated at Brighton Grammar School and appointed a Student Interpreter in China on August 24, 1891. After devoting two years to the study of the Chinese language in Peking, he served for some time, during the China-Japan War, under Sir Walter Hillier, the Consul-General, at Seoul, Korea. He was appointed Acting-Consul at Wuhu in 1894. He became a second-class assistant three years later, and a first-class assistant in 1900. The various positions he has filled since that time include those of Acting Vice-Consul at Shanghai, Acting-Consul at Hangchow, Acting Registrar and Chief Clerk of the Supreme Court, Shanghai, Assistant in the Consular Shipping Office, Shanghai, Acting Assistant Judge at Shanghai, and Acting Vice-Consul at Tientsin. On May 5, 1904, he was confirmed in this last appointment. In 1906 he became Consul at Wuchow, and in May, 1908, was transferred to Nanking. Mr. King was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1905. He is a member of the Grosvenor Club, London.
GENERAL SHO.
General C. A. Sho is the Chief of the General Staff of Liangkiang. He has travelled in America and on the Continent with His Excellency Tuan Fang, the Viceroy of Liangkiang, to investigate the political systems of different countries.
MR. E. HALL.
Mr. Ernest Hall, chief accountant of the Southern section of the Tientsin-Pukow Railway Line, received that appointment in August, 1908, after having spent five years in the employment of the Shanghai-Nanking Railway Company as assistant accountant. Mr. Hall is a son of Mr. Charles Shaw Hall, and was born on February 22, 1883, at Romily, in Cheshire. He was educated at the Technical Schools, Stockport, and before coming to the East was for four years in the accountants' office of the Great Central Railway. He is a member of the Shanghai Club.
Tientsin-Pukow Railway, South.
MR. T. K. TSIANG.
Mr. T. K. Tsiang, also known as Tsiang Tsang Kway, compradore to the Shanghai-Nanking Railway, is a son of the late Mr. Tsiang Kwang, a former well-known merchant of Shanghai. Having received his education at St. John's College, he spent a year in a solicitor's office, and then entered upon the duties of his present appointment. Mr. Tsiang, who is twenty-seven years of age, is married, and has one son and two daughters. He is a member of the Chinese Young Men's Christian Association.
A. DIESING & CO.'S HOTEL.
This hotel was opened in 1904 in anticipation of the need for a foreign hotel that would follow upon the completion of the Shanghai-Nanking Railway. It is situated on the Maloo, five minutes' ride from the harbour and railway station, and close to the city wall. It contains altogether eight bedrooms, public and private dining rooms, and a billiard room, but, as the present accommodation is insufficient, the proprietor has leased the house adjoining, and has under consideration a scheme for the erection of a new three-storey building. The proprietor, Mr. A. Diesing, is a native of Prussia. He came to the Far East in 1891, and was engaged for two years trading along the coasts of China, Korea, and Japan. For the next five years Mr. Diesing was employed by a firm of exporters dealing in Japanese curios, straw-braids, silk, and raw produce. He then became assistant manager of the Nagasaki Hotel, and in 1904, after spending some time in Shanghai, he came to Nanking and started business under the style of Messrs. A. Diesing & Co.
