-
May 14, 1898.]
Customs. In any case the riot is of ill omen for the future, for it shows how powerless the Government is to preserve order even when it has the will, as we must assume it has at the present moment, after the recent severe lessons it has had. It would seem a wise policy on the part of the British Go- vernment in the present transition period to formally undertake the policing of the Yangtsze by a number of gunboats, for with the old likin runners at work inciting the populace there is no telling what sort of a conflagration may arise if the Chinese officials responsible for the maintenance of order are left entirely to their own
resources.
CHANGING THE CHINESE
CAPITAL.
15
The establishment of Russia in Manchuria, and the almost inevitable weakening of the grasp of the Tatsing Dynasty on the eighteen provinces constituting China Proper that must result from the acquisition by Western Powers of naval stations on the coast, is not unlikely to lead to the eventual abandon- ment of Peking as the seat of government in favour of one less accessible to Western influence. The recent "march of events has been so unexpectedly rapid that it has given the worried and listracted Manchus little space in which to consider the position of the capital. The matter has not, however, altogether escaped the attention of the Empress Dowager, who is credited with having accumulated vast hoards during the long Regencies when she so successfully held the reins of power. It is said that Her Majesty is in possession of an immense private store of bullion at Peking, which is annually increased under the will of her late husband the Emperor HIEN FUNG, and she is beginning to feel that this accumula- tion is no longer safe, as the Russians may make a sudden descent on the capital and carry it off. The idea of moving the Court to a safe place in the interior has therefore been mooted, and Hsian-fu (formerly known and still denominated on the maps as Si-ngan-fu), the capital of Shensi, has been mentioned as a secure place of retreat for the dynasty and a suitable location for the seat of government.
Hsian-fu has several advantages to re-
commend it as a position culculated to ensure at least the sense of security which a long intervening distance from the coast naturally inspires. Not only is it situated some six hundred miles from the Gulf of Pechibli, but the route thither is tedious and difficult. It is stated that the road from Peking to Hsian-fu vid Paoting-fu is even now guarded by detachments of soldiers posted along the whole distance at intervals of about twenty miles, the whole being under the command of General TUNG FU-HSIANG, the doughty warrior who reduced the Mahomedans of Kansuh to order when they rebelled against the Im- perial Government. To Hsian-fu is indeed a far cry, and it will probably be many years before the railway penetrates to this far north-west. The journey thither, usually made in rude native carts, cousumes from twenty to twenty-four days, through Chihli, Shansi, and a good portion of Shensi across a mountainous country. Hsian-fu was at one time not only the capital of Shensi but of the Empire as well. SHE HWANG-TI, the great Emperor of the Chin dynasty, who founded the empire, built the Great Wall, and burned the Confucian analects, made Hsian-fu his capital, and it was then called Chang-an. The road between Tung-kuan and Hsian-fu, a distance of 110 miles, is still
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
a fine highway-for China-with a ditch on either side, rows of willow trees at intervals, and substantial bridges and culverts over the small streams which cross it.
379
been regarded with disfavour and no buyers have been forthcoming. Now that the pro- blem of remedying sanitary defects has been fairly tackled it is desirable that the solu- Mr. ROCKHILL, who passed through Hsian- tion should be arrived at with as little delay fu on his way to Thibet in January, 1889, | as possible, not only in the interest of sani- when he made his plucky attempt to visit | tation, which is the principal thing, but also Lhassa, says that it is even now the in order that the cloud which has so long most important city in the north-west of hung over the property market may be China. The length, height, and soliditylifted and business resume its ordinary "of its walls are exceeded only by those of course. "Peking, and the life and movement within "the city, its streets paved with flagstones, "the Imperial Palace, and imposing temples "and governmental building, complete the "resemblance to the capital." The political and commercial importance of Hsian is attributable to its central position. Here converge the roads leading from Kansub, Szechuen, Honan, Hupeh, and Shansi. Mr. ROCKHILL goes on to
say :---
nature
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$6
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The Commissioners are opposed to the resumption of insanitary properties by the Government except in a few excep- tional cases, and they recommend that the necessary improvements should be effected at the owners' own cost. There is no denying that the cost and the effect on the future revenues to be derived from the properties will be considerable. Speak- ing generally, the greater the sub-division of a Chinese tenement house the larger the revenue it will produce. But it is proposed to place material restrictions on this sub- division. All five Commissioners are agreed that in houses fronting streets less than 15 feet in width no cubicles should be allowed on the ground floors; three are of opinion that in such houses no cubicles at all should be allowed; and two are of opinion that in houses fronting on lanes and streets of over 15 feet no cubicles should be allowed on the ground floor without the permission of the Sanitary Board. The principal report appears to be on this point the report of the minority ouly, and the opinions of the majority are expressed in separate minority reports, an arrangement which is calculated at first sight to cause some confusion; but it is a mere matter of form that gives rise to the confusion, the opinions of the majority being clearly ex- pressed in their supplementary reports. There can be little doubt that the Sanitary Board, to which the report has been referred, will favour the view of the majority and possibly make still more drastic recommendations to the Government.
The peculiarly mountainous "of the country surrounding the Wei basin, the existence of only two prac "ticable roads through the range on the south, the Tsung-ling-shan, and two through the mountainous province of «Kansub on the west, all of which converge to this plain and consequently to Hsian, "have given the city from of old a very great importance, both strategical and "commercial. The enterprise and wealth of its merchants and traders, who have "availed themselves of all the natural ad- vantages of their city, is well known in "China." Throughout Kansuh and Sze- chuen, in Mongolia, Turkestan, and Thibet, traders from Hsian are to be met, and most of the tea factories at Ya-chow-fu, the centre of the tea trade in Szechuen, and of the to- bacco factories at Lanchow-fu belong to them. Hsian-fu does a large trade in China- ware, silks, tea, cotton, piece-goods, wheat, and turquoise beads. Indeed, the trade in this latter commodity, which is mined in Honan and much valued by the Mongols and Thibetaus, is centred in Hsian-fu. The beads are sold by weight in small disks, and are in most parts It is also recommended that open spaces of Mongolia regarded as medium of should be provided at the back of all houses, exchange. Few foreigners have penetrated even back to back houses, such open space into the North-west, and though there is a to be not less than 40 square feet, and from Roman Catholic Mission Church in Hsian-fu, the minutes of evidence we gather that it is there are no Protestant missionaries there, thought this open space might be provided we believe, at present. It will be seen, by taking away half the kitchen. But as from the foregoing slight sketch, that the kitchen space in Chinese houses is Hsian-fu is politically, strategically, and usually small its diminution cannot fail to commercially of high importance, and, because some inconvenience. No doubt such ing far removed from the coast, is no doubt inconvenience should weigh for little against regarded by the Imperial family as a fairly the great advantage of the admission of secure retreat from which the Empire might light and air to the houses, and it is little be governed in the name of a secluded and enough of either that can be obtained from puppet sovereign. As the pressure of the a tiny space of 10 ft. by 4 ft, at the back of a Foreign Powers on Peking increases it is high building. Still we think it would have not improbable but that the Empress been an advantage if the Commissioners had Dowager may deem it advisable to retreat placed formally on record their views as to to Hsian-fu, and persuade the Emperor to how the open space might be best obtained. move the court thither.
Should the provision of such open space be made legally compulsory it would be well for the Government to issue some general memo- raudum on the subject for the guidance of property owners and their agents, so that the friction and irritation, which are bound to be considerable in any case, may not be unnecessarily aggravated by misunderstand- ing.
ກ
THE INSANITARY PROPERTIES COMMISSION REPORT,
The report of the Insanitary Properties Commission has been published and owners of Chinese houses which do not conform with the recommendations of the Commissioners
are now able to form an estimate for them- selves of the expense to which they may be put in affecting the necessary alterations of their properties. For some years past, ju fact ever since the 1894 plague, the Chinese property market has been dead. In view of the obliga- tions then imposed by the Government and the feeling that others were impending investment in Chinese house property has
The recommendation that the property owners should be required to pay the cost of the necessary alterations to their property appears to us a reasonable one, but the property owners affected are entitled to be heard in their own behalf if they so wish, and now is the time for them to speak if they have anything to say. Their inter- ests require that they should give a very careful study not only to the general report