£896
umiliating to our sanitary It must be remembered 8 report refers to the year colony had had the painful of 1894. The lesson of that ex- seems to have been only im
arned after all:
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
THE RANGE OF TREATY RIGHTS IN CHINA.
the
A surprising statement is made anonymous writer in the Contemp Review for February The subject article is the Russo-Chinese Treaty, very interesting account is given the secret history of that much discussed agree -SHANGHAI AND THE CONSERVA-ments. Having "made clear the dark and
TION OF THE RIVER.
"
16
"
**
disputes betwe Powers rise: conduct on cases promp obtaining redress. gidered as in a state of comity of nation and should
asked for arbitration and accordingly. If in any. an honest wish to discover
મ
considered inadmissible.
345
THE REBELLION IN THE PHILIPPINES.
AN ALARM AT MANILA. On the 25th February Manila
into great excitement by an attac rebel band on one the bar Comercio heads its account
of
do bon-
ith
tortuous diplomacy which resulted in so "signal a triumph" on the part of Russia the writer proceeds to discuss the questions, What has Russia obtained by this treaty?
it her request would merit frie and What can England do to counteract orsideration, but the suggestion minimise its effect? In connection with from her and not from the second of these questions he saysPower with whom
The proposed revision of the tariff with
Where, on the other hand "the object of putting more money in the
one of exacting reparation "pockets of the Chinese, provides us with such as those with which "the means of a ready response to Chinese tunately so familiar in China, an appeal by
hostility, and with a way of minimising the the latter for arbitration would be "effect of the concessions to Russia. It is, simply for the purpose of prolongi
or should be, well known that the range dispute and obscuring the of our treaty rights in China is restricted irrelevant matter, and as such should be to China' proper, that is, to the eighteen provinces of the Middle Kingdom. With- in that limit the most favoured nation' "clause operates, giving to all the Powers whatever advantage may be obtained by one, but beyond the Great Wall this "condition does not apply, and Russia has "obtained many advantages in that region "which are not yet enjoyed by other States. Obviously, the first condition on which we should insist is that the effect of our treaties should be extended certainly "to Manchuria, if not to the whole of the "Chinese dominions, and in this matter both Germany and France should be "willing to co-operate with us as they have nothing to lose and much to gain,' The intimate knowledge of Chinese diplo- macy and of the actions of the Court of Peking displayed in the remainder of the article proclaims the writer as one in very close touch with the official world, and, coming from such a source, the above quoted statement as to the range of our treaty rights may cause some misgiving as to whether the view it enunciates may not really be held in official quarters, extraordinary as the view itself seems. There is, however, no war- rant for it in the treaties. The term "do- "minions of the Emperor of China" cannot be construed to mean only China proper, and we have, moreover, the fact that Newchwang, one of the open ports, is situated in the province of Shingking, in Manchuria, and the favoured nation clause is certainly operative there. The writer, well informed as he is, has evidently made a blunder on this point. Any privileges that Russian subjects enjoy in Manchuria can be claimed equally by the subjects of other nations entitled to favoured nation treatment.
In discussing the Municipal "Budget of Shanghai for the current year the. . C. Daily News once more draws attention to the daily deterioration of the river and its bars. Shanghai, says our contemporary, must become before long an inland town "unless this question is taken up with more zeal and carried through with deter- mination to a successful issue; it is for the
landrenters, whether they own streets of lucrative Chinese shops, or only a share or two in the Land Investment Company, to make up their minds what" the effect of this inevitable change will be on their property." With Sir CLAUDE MACDONALD as the British Minister" at Peking our friends at Shanghai have probably a better chance of getting this in- portant matter attended to than they have ever had before. Few if any appointments in the diplomatic service have excited so much jealousy as that of the present Minister, The appointment came to him, not in the ordinary routine of official promotion, but by selection over the heads of many older officials who thought they possessed much superior claims; and his advancement is believed to be due solely to the Govern- ment's appreciation of his personal and official qualifications as displayed in his previous appointments and in another field, Apart, therefore, from the desire to do his duty, which may be credited to all officials, Sir Claude MACDONALD has the strongest personal motives for exerting himself in order to achieve tangible results and so justify his selection. He has already done good work in securing the recognition of transit passes in the South. The concerting of measures for the conservation of the Whangpoo is another object the accomplish- ment of which would equally redound to the benefit of his nationals and his own credit. It is to be hoped His Excellency will not make the mistake of waiting for the co-operation of the representatives of the other Powers, but will go straight ahead and obtain the necessary concessions off his own bat. He has a very good case to present to the Chinese Government. When the war between China and Japan broke out the British Government obtained a pledge from the Japanese, with much difficulty it is alleged, that Shanghai and its approaches should be held outside the Bcene of hostilities, and at a later stage also secured the neutralisation of the Yangtsze. In view of this service China could not fail to pay attention to representations made by Great Britain with reference to the measures necessary to preserve Shanghai as a port open to sea-going vessels, more.
when she is asked to esp
concede nothing but what will prove to her own lasting benefit.
comm
Coker, R.A., who was appointed to the Royal Artillery, Straits Settle
ided not to accept the post. We ther Lt. Colonel R.A., to it was subsequently offered, to acc it, probably pre
It is now enior Majora w
billet Sing
Free
that
"An act of imbeciles*** and occurrence of this afternoon occupied by the Carabineros name, because no one but imbec could think of carrying ont a attempt to subvert order at
t-
the afternoon in the centre of theless a few natives, num
to twenty, have made the ind causing great alarm throughout population. The following, as been able to ascertain, appears correct version of the affair. two and three o'clock this of natives, of rustic appear door of the Carabineros barra to the quarters of the second European sergeant Miguel quarters at time, and they i with rifles that they had brou or that they had seized fron which is near the door; this been made clear. Lieutenant
sentinel over and made a rus
Rodrigues, who was in the centra building, went to the part whence firing proceeded, and he also The attacking party then fled Fernanda Street and Camba Tondo, pursued by the native off bineros named Francisco Ramires, members of the force.
the sentinel mentioned above, and
The immediate neighbourhood alarmed by the firing, and the Port, Senor Lazaga, wit measures for defence, having small but valuable force of eig were promptly sent ashore byst
gunboat Otalaro, Benor Domin of Volunteers, various the mercantile marine selves under his orders, Marine Inf of the Ha
AKBITRATÍON BETWEÈN THE UNITED STATES AND STAM, The reference of the outstanding difficul- ties between the United States and Siam to arbitration marks a new departure in the diplomatic intercourse of the and Asiatic States. Western nations
of the Strong believers as we are in the principle, to Ge of international arbitration as between at anchor in the civilized States we must nevertheless confess the Harbour Off
Sessol in the to some misgiving as to the universal applicability of the principle in Asia. The with twěly precedent established in connection with Siam will no doubt be duly noted by
China and when the latter wants to get:| out of a tight place without loss of "face" she may possibly attempt to make use of it fed. to her own advantage. Certain cases, as, for out and
dispute, where
and the Harl instance, the Chefoo foreshore
riiles.
Office
them
onlo
d by other