Dredging can do this and then only for a time; it cannot secure forShanghai either a navigable channel or a continuance of commercialprosperity … The circumstances of Shanghai， its present position asa commercial centre， the interests of the community are in themselvessufficient reasons why the demand for dredging ought to be assentedto， but it must be borne in mind that no one can say how sooncommerce may cease to ask for access to Shanghai， or natural forcesacting elsewhere make dredging operations at Woosung useless.“ Thuswere the efforts at developing the harbour frustrated for a time.
In 188 1 the Chinese authorities， at their own cost， ordereda steam dredger to be used in removing the “heaven-sent barrier，”
but dredging alone was found to be of slight value， and the resultswere small. It was not， as we shall narrate later， until after the BoxerOutbreak that the matter was taken in hand seriously.
Woosung Railway
At about the same time as the foreign merchants were agitatingfor the conservancy of the Whangpoo and the dredging of the WoosungBar， an attempt was made to build the first railway in China. Asfar back as 1863 ， when General Gordon was on the point of takingSoochow， a group of English and American firms petitioned Li Hungchangfor a concession to build a railway from Shanghai to Soochow.
The petition was refused and Li Huang-chang stated that “railwayswould only be beneficial to China， when undertaken by the Chinesethemselves and conducted under their own management; that China"sobjection existed to the employment of numerous foreigners in theinterior; and that the people would evince great opposition to beingdeprived of their land for that purpose.“In 1865 the foreign merchants of Shanghai formed a companyto build a railway from Shanghai to Woosung， but met with extremeopposition. They secured permission， however， to reconstruct themilitary road from Shanghai to Woosung， and to acquire by purchasethe land necessary to widen and straighten it. They bought the land，made the embankments and culverts needed for a raised road in aflat country， intersected by creeks liable to be flooded. Later on thepromoters of the Woosung line announced that they intended to layrails for a tramway along the new road， and obtained permission forthis from the British Envoy. The rails for the “tramway” were landedin Shanghai in December， 1875 ， and， to the surprise of every one，work was begun on a railway line of 30-inch gauge. When the Chinesediscovered the subterfuge， the Taotai enjoined the promoters to stopthe construction until he could refer the matter to Peking.
The line， notwithstanding the Taotai"s objection， was completedover a distance of five miles to Kiangwan by June 30th of the followingyear， and from that time six trains a day， for passengers only， wererun each way. The trains were crowded and the new method of travelproved popular， but on August 3rd a man walking on the line waskilled “under circumstances which suggested， either extremely densestupidity or a malicious intention to commit suicide， and thereby createa prejudice against railways.“ The people became excited and hostile，and Sir Thomas Wade， who happened to be in Shanghai at that time，gave instructions that the trains should cease running. The Chineseauthorities then began negotiations for the purchase of the line， butwhile negotiations were in progress the train service was resumed.
On October 21st， 1877， a sum of Tls. 285，000 was paid for theland， rolling stock， and rails， being the actual cost to the promoters.
The last train which ran was pulled by the engine “Victory” followed bythe “Celestial Empire.” A crowd of Chinese was present to take a lastlook at the unfamiliar sight—the like of which was not to be witnessedagain until twenty years had elapsed.
After the purchase， the rails were torn up and shipped with therolling stock to Formosa， where for many years they were left rustingon the beach. Thus a second important development was frustrated.
Telegraphs
The first attempts to introduce the telegraph into Shanghai alsoresulted in a failure. In 1865 Mr. E. A. Reynolds undertook to establishtelegraphic connection between Shanghai and Woosung， so that thepeople in the Settlements could be informed of the movements ofthe shipping at the mouth of the river. The country people， with theconnivance of the Chinese authorities， destroyed the poles， which theysaid had a bad effect on the “fengshui” （the influences of wind andH. B. Morse： International Relations of the Chinese Empire， Vol. III. p. 76.
water）。 In proof of this they produced the body of a man， who haddied in the shade of one of the poles！ As a result the Chinese authoritiesforbad the use of the line.
A year later Russell and company， with the permission of theCouncils， put up a line from Kin-le-chong godowns （French Bund） toKe-chong in the American Settlement. This was the first line worked inChina， but it was entirely within the settlement limits.