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- THE NEW GOVERNOR,
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
LORD CHARLES BERESFORD'S SHANGHAI SPEECH.
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[December 3, 1888.
trade would be pretty well satisfied if it (Daily Press, 26th November).
nowhere encountered hostile tariffs or pre- Hongkong has always extended a'warm
ferential rates, and would consider such (Daily Press, 28th November.) state of things a very good representative welcome to its Governors. Eleven have
We have read Lord CHARLES BERES of the open door. But the absolute shutting come and gone, many carrying with them FORD's speech at Singapore, we have rend of the door is apparently a reference to the the hearty good will and esteem of the com.
his Lordship's speech at Shanghai, and, railway question, for his Lordship goes on like the farmer with his claret, we do not to say "The door can be firmly closed by munity, and most of them have left the
seem to get any "forarder." The disting、 colony better than they found it. Yester-uished speaker says some clear, definite
the interference of one country with the "commercial enterprises of another. You day the colony welcomed the arrival of Sir policy should be laid down as to what can see what occurred in connection with HENRY A. BLAKE, G.C.M.G., to its shores position we hold in China, but he does not the Newchwang railways." Well, as to with perhaps more enthusiasm than has assist us very much to an understanding of that, there never will be any open door for usually been the case, the gathering at the what that line of policy should be. He railways in China, so long as the Chi- landing place and the attendance at the speaks in one place of "the absolutely effete nese Government continues what it is, Council Chamber being larger than that condition of the Government of this because contracts will not be let ou which has greeted previous Governors. country with regard to the four hundred ordinary commercial principles but under Hongkong, as Sir GEORGE BOWEN found, "million inhabitants which they can in no | diplomatic pressure or the influence of palm and lamented, is not a demonstrative place way control, while at any moment, if you oil as the case may be. If Britnin wants the residents are a very busy people, and, put up stores or trade centres in the to make any particular line she has simply to especially on the day preceding the depar- country they may be destroyed or burnt, make her diplomatic pressure stronger than ture of the mail, are too much glued to their "and the Government of this country will that of other competing powers. Another offices and work to attend public functions,
"have no control over those who do it." remarkable point in the speech is that re- even when there is " pomp and circum- Lord CHARLES must have fallen a ferring to the Yangtsze Valley. That Bri stance" attaching thereto. Yet a goodly victim to the sophistry of the native tain's sphere of influence there is illusory, proportion of the mercantile slaves left the officials, for the difficulty of controlling so far as the paper agreement is concerned, dry drudgery of the desk to meet and the population is invariably the plea they most people are now agreed, but Lord welcome Sir HENRY and Ludy BLAKE. put forward, to throw dust in the eyes of CHARLES BERESFORD goes further than They landed ander happy auspices: Queen's foreign Governments, when officially in that. He quotes Sir CLAUDE MACDONALD'S weather prevailed for Her Majesty's Restigatel outrages such as the Tientsin or despatch, "The British Minister would be presentative, and Hongkong smiled its Kucheng massacres take place. The Chin- glad to be in a position to communicate to fairest on the new-comers. The installation ese Government can control the population "Her Majesty's Government a definite as- ceremony was conducted with as much well enough if it chooses, but when foreign surance that China would never alienate dignity as the unwonted crush in the small interests are concerned it is well content to any territory in the provinces adjoining Council Chamber permitted, and the new
let the elements of disorder break loose occa- "the Yangtsze to any other. Power," and Governor made a happy little speech which sionally, even though it sometimes burns its says "To any other Power" would naturally we trust will prove an augury of future own fingers thereby, Lord CHARLES, how-lead one to suppose that meant to any other good relations between His Excellency ever, giving the Chinese Government the Power but Great Britain, and that we were and the colonists, Sir HENRY BLAKE character he does, would yet preserve "the the Power to have such sphere of influence, comes to Hongkong with an established integrity of China as it is." China as it is, but when he questioned Sir CLAUDE MAC reputation as an administrator, and he ruled by the Empress-Dowager and LI DONALD he found that it was nothing. arrives at રી moment when such quali- HUNG-CHANG! It is true his Lordship of the sort and that we are included ties as
we believe he possesses-strength, would have an adequate army for police in the other Powers. Perhaps his Lord- tact, and judgment-are required in the purposes,"--for which no army is re-ship has misunderstood Sir CLAUDE MAC head of the Government. The Colony has quired, however necessary it may be to DONALD, but however that may be we just been considerably enlarged by the in- p.eserve the country from aggression on the feel assured that if he were to ask Sir Joun clusion in its boundaries of some two part of other Powers-but he hardly makes CARRINGTON or Mr. Justice WISE or any hundred square miles of adjacent territory, any mention of the necessity of reforming other competent lawyer to interpret the The proper administration and development the civil administration which is the crying document he would find that it constituted of certain very awkward conditions with need of the country. If a strong line of no bar to the transfer of the territory in ques which the cession was originally clogged afford policy is what we want let us send a tion from China to Britain should the two opportunity for the exercise of no littl Lord CROMER to Peking as adviser to Powers hereafter decide upon such a trans- ability. The promotion of the industrial the Chinese Government, and enforce fer. Another point that calls for attention growth of the Colony is another matter compliance with his advice. Then we is the desire expressed by His Lordship that which can also be assisted or retarded by should see a thorough reformation, which railway material entering China should pay the head of the Executive. With him, tool would be more to the purpose than trying Customs duty. At Newchwang, it appears, no lies the ultimate decision as to the measure, to preserve "the integrity of China as it is." duty is collected. Whether any was collected to be adopted to secure the effective sanita- As to the suggested alliance between Great on the material for the Woosung Railway tion of the city of Victoria and the finas Britain, the United States, Germany, aud we are not aware, but we rather think not. extinction of that unhappily recurrent evil Japan, it would be highly satisfactory to Certainly the same rule should be applied" the plague in an epidemic form. At the see the four countries pursuing a common in all cases, but as the railways are all to be same time, we cannot refrain from the ex-policy, but our experience of the concert of in effect state lines we think it might be pression of a hope that the residents-who
reasonable to exempt the material from are very chary of doing anythin, for them-
duty. We do not think our local railway Belves will not expect too much all at
projectors would object if that were the rule once. There are many flaws in the system
adopted. under which we are governed and it is extremely unlikely that these will all be expunged by any Governor; what we have to hope is that the reign of Sir HENRY BLAKE will be characterised by fearless disregard of individual interests and a steady- striving for the common good.
We Singapore Free Press) have it on authority, from New York through a private source, that the following American war and supply vessels sailed from New York on 12th October for Manila, via Cape Horn:-The battle-ship Oregon, 10,288 tons, 11,110 horse- power, 16,7 knots speed, 516 crew; the battle-ship Towa, 11,410 tons, 12,105 horse-power, 16 knots speed, 505 crew; and the transports and supply ships Celtic, Iris, Scindia, Aburenda, and Sterling, the latter an iron screw steamer,
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Europe in connection with the Armenian question and, later, in the affairs of Crete, leads us to the supposition that on the whole Britain is likely to do the best for herself and others when she stands on her own legs Egypt w uld not stand in the satisfactory position she does to-day if her affairs had been subject to the control of an alliance of Powers instead of that of Britain alone.
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With respect to Russia, Lord CHARLES Sİу8 the policy she is pursuing is precisely that which he would favour if he were a Russian statesman. Being an English statesuinn the question is how far he thinks we should go There are sume minor points in his in opposing Russin, and on that point his Lordship's speech that excite astonish- opinion seems rather nebulous. For our ment and dissent. He says, for instance, own part, we think that, given immunity The Press and individuals have made used from hostile tariffs and preferential rates, "of more or less strong language in favour British trade will prosper much more in of the open door'; we have sent our Mauchurin under Russian rule than under fleets roving about in muddy waters for Chinese rule, and that would seem to have the sake of the open door,' but the been also the opinion of the Newchwang extraordinary thing is that that door community, for Lord CHARLES experienced "has been shut-absolutely shut. The idea some difficulty in inducing them to mat that the door is kept open because, there strong anti-Russian resolution. The pro are no hostile tariffs or preferential-rates vince is already feeling the vivifying in- is absolutely incorrect. That rather | Aluence of
Dit is being
sub- our trade there ** is increasing
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length 274 feet, beam 37 feet, and depth 23.2 reminds one of the childish riddle, "When jected to opening up
**** is a door not a door?” ⠀⠀ We think British "in a larver
a larger degres than any other place
feet, owned by the U. S. Government.