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THE REBELLION IN MANILA,
Circumstances seem to indicate that the rebellion in Manila is a more serious matter than was at first supposed. According to a Havas telegram three thousand of the in- surgents made an attack on the night of the 29th August, but were repulsed with great loss. That is, we take it, the Government account of the affair. A strict supervision is being exercised over all telegrams leaving Manila and it is impossible to get indepen- dent and reliable information direct from that quarter. The Governor-General, however, must necessarily telegraph to Madrid to report the daily course of events; the Madrid Government gives to the newspapers, so much of the information as it thinks desir- able, and from Madrid the news is sent by the Press agencies to other countries. Thus it happens that the first details as to the attack of the 29th August reached Hong- kong only on the 6th September in the shape of a avas telegram received via Tonkin. So far Reuter has made nomen. tion whatever of the subject, presumably because he thought that Hongkong being so near to Manila would be in possession of full information without his assistance. That, however, is a mistake. Owing to the supervision exercised over telegrams and the determination of the Manila Govern. ment to allow no detailed information of the progress of the rebellion to be transmitted except officially to Madrid weare left in almost complete darkness. Strange as it may seem, having regard to comparative distances, Ma- drid is the centre to which we must look for news, and we would suggest to Reuter's agency that the subject should be treated as the
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September 10, 1896
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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND-
serious
It is not in the work of railway construc first anticipated and that it was believed the Spanish tion alone that matters in China seem to authorities would cope with it successfully be stationary. The reconstruction of the 'statements again suggestive of the super- navy, the reorganisation of the army, the vision of the telegram censor. At last we opening of the ports under the Shimonoseki have, through the Havas agency, some Treaty, the settlement of the various claims definite information, though brief, as to what by foreign Powers, all drag on slowly or The show no apparent progress. Even so small the conflict of the 29th amounted to.
a matter as the preservation of a navigable insurgents, it seems, made an attack three thousand strong, but were repulsed with channel in the Peiho River is beyond the great loss. Meanwhile there has been no ability, or rather the effort, of the Chinese telegram from the Consul reporting an im- afficials. The recent rise in the river caused provent in the situation, from which the in-o breach in the Tientsin Bend, consequently ference is to be drawn that he still regards it steamers are now compelled to make Tangku as serious. That the insurgents were able their terminus, and unless prompt measures to make their first assault three thousand are taken, either to repair the breach or strong goes to show that they must be in make a cut through the Bend, shipping will considerable force The Government troops not be able to get up to the anchorage at number only about fifteen thousand, not all Tientsin. The Taotai has done nothing yet of whom are stationed in Manila, and if the towards repairing the breach and appears disaffection spread to the soldiers the posi- to be equally helpless and indifferent. tion of the Government would be critical. Utterly careless of the interests of the port The Government's real strength, however, and its large trade, he is also profoundly lies in the support of the priests, who exercise ignorant of the steps necessary to conserve an almost unbounded influence over the the river. As the Tientsin paper aptly re- natives, except as regards a section in the marks:-"It is simply appalling that so
"much wealth should be wasted, large towns. The revolutionary party, we
"much misery and suffering caused, believe, have no strength outside Manila,
" and that trade should be harassed to the and without the country at their back they
It is "limits of endurance year after year, for the cannot hope for permanent success.
want of a little public money judiciously conceivable, however, that in Manila itself
"and honestly spent." Unfortunately, with they may give a good deal of trouble and cause serious interference with business the single exception of the funds controlled until order is once again firmly estab- by the Imperial Maritime .Customs, no money in China raised for official purposes lished.
is ever honestly administered. The example shown in the administration of the Lights and Beacons Department of the way in which public money should be applied is wholly lost on Chinese officials. They are hopelessly and incurably casual and corrupt, and it would seem absolutely certain that neither reverses nor prosperity, neither the lessons of experience nor the example of other nations, will ever teach the Chinese mandarin the beauty of honesty or the wis- dom of promptitude in an emergency.
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· STAGNATION IN CHINA.
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It is becoming more apparent every day most important and interesting of that affairs in China are drifting into retro-, current topics, so far as the Far East is gression rather than making for progress. concerned, and especially Hongkong, which The mandarins prove only that they are is so closely connected with Manila com-growing more inept and more obstructive. inercially. The occasional arrival of a During the absence of Li HUNG-CHANG- steamer from Manila will give us an oppor- who though much over-rated both as a tunity of learning the news, but communica-statesman and a reformer is still head and tion is now very infrequent, owing to the shoulders above his contemporaries in quarantine regulations in Manila. The last China-the condition of the country has
CHINESE TARIFF REVISION steamer arrived more than a week ago and become more hopeless, the signs of a new
The justice of agreeing to some increase in the next is not expected for another week, | life more indistinguishable. There is seem- FO that we are left a fortnight without ingly but one influence that will stir the the Chinese tariff on imports has been news, at a time of grave anxiety,
ordinary official to the smallest exhibition generally conceded by foreign merchants. We were at fist disposed to think of energy; that is, of course, the prospect of The tariff was originally fixed on a basis of the conspiracy would
The Imperial Govern- five per cent. ad valorem, but since that timè fat squeeze. thing, and even when the first news of a ment are hampered by want of funds, and there have been great changes in prices, rising came we thought it might possibly they can only be roused to energy by the due in some measure to the fluctuations of turn out to be little more than a riot, but motive of self-interest. Hence any em- gold and silver, but while prices have matters have now assumed a different com-bryotic schemes for improvement languish, altered the duties are collected according to It plexion. The telegram from the Consul and there is faint prospect of railways being the tariff arranged thirty-eight years ago. stating that a serious rebellion had broken constructed or other improvements adopted is only fair and reasonable, therefore, that a out and that there had been a conflict be for years to come. The Peking Govern- readjustment should be made in order to tween the rebel forces and Government rent have sanctioned the innovation, but allow China to collect her full five per cent. troops just outside Manila was received on there is no one with energy enough to carry | ad valorem as orginally intended, and per- the night of the 31st August. The next out the scheme. There is no public money haps a little more in return for increased morning a telegram was received from the available for the purpose, and the wealthy | tradal facilities, but it is a case which calls Manager of the Mauila branch of the Hong-will not relax their purse strings because there for some care in the arrangement of the kong and Shanghai Bank reading as fol- is no security to be given for its proper ad- details. The crafty LI HUNG-CHANG seems rather dazzled Europe and lows "Small rebellion has broken out in ministration. CHANG CHIH-TUNG may make to have
to be some little dan "Manila. In our opinion is not serious. projects and YUNG WING may scheme to there appears
There is no cause for anxiety.". This was raise money, but neither will succeed in ger of generous instincts being allowed It devolves on reassuring so far as it went, but it will be doing much towards actually creating a rail- to run away with reason. noticed that no details are given, and way system without the aid of foreign the foreign merchants in China, and the Chambers of Commerce as their representa- there was a suspicion that it might have been capital. And without a share in the con- written in such a form as to pass the tele-struction and management of the lines no tive institutions, to guard against this. When gram censor. Then our contemporary the
the question was first mooted the claim for on the China Mail made an enterprising attempt
an increase in the tariff was based on to establish a special telegraphic service
fact, or the assertion, that the duties col- and its correspondent succeeded in getting
lected no longer represented five per cent. one telegram through, but this, though it
as intended. The foreign merchants re ran to a good many words, conveyed no
cognised that in so far as that was the case definite information except that "the revo-
the Chinese Government had a legitimate "lution still continues." That was dated
grievance. "Thank you," says Li Hung- the 3rd September. The remainder of the
CHANG," then let us make it ten per cent., telegram was taken up with statements
meaning, as it would seem, to double the ad valorem rate while at the same time increas o the teffect that the rising was not so
foreign capital is likely to be forthcoming. Even LI HUNG-CHANG, with all his astute- ness, would fail to obtain capital, either from home or from abroad, for the purpose of building railways, without guarantees that would give the lender a voice in the conduct of the enterprise. The work will therefore, we believe, be indefinitely deferred, only small sections being built here and there where' exceptional traffic seems to promise unusually lucrative returns.