7452
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
(Daily Press, 1st December.)
December 3, 1898.
saddled on his shoulders. When at length | CHINA'S PRESENT GOVERNMENT. | trolling the Yellow River is to call in the his enemies were able to demonstrate that he was mainly responsible for the failure of China to make any stand against her plucky antagonist, he did for a time fall under a cloud; but his fall was softene for him, and he was despatched to St. PETERSBURG to represent his country at the coronation of the CZAR. On his return he succeeded, by the judicious use of some of his ill-gotten gains, in regaining much of his old in- fluence, and has ever since no doubt been studiously paving the way for his own return to power. The EMPRESS DOWAGER, who viewed with dismay the reformning pro- jects of the Emperor KWANG SU, was more than ready to receive this ancient servant into renewed favour, has been only too glad to take him into her councils, and though Li may for the moment be in nominal retirement we may be sure that he has all throughout the recent revolution in the capital taken a hand in the drama.
aid of foreign engineers, and he is said to have immediately telegraphed to the Chin- Although the Government of China isese Ministers in London and Washington being carried on after a style it is difficult to secure all the information obtainable in to define what that body is. The Taungli regard to the control of the Nile, the Yamen still exists, but its members are He may meet with opposition in seek- Ganges, the Irrawaddy, and the Mississippi liable at any moment to be removed as the ing the assistance of foreign engineering result of some ignoble intrigue. As an science, but he will no doubt know how instance of the weakness of the so-called to deal with such opposition. The importa powers that be, Hu YU-FEX, the Governor tion of dredgers and machiney would afford a chance for some nice little pickings and of Peking, was early in November appointed the prosecution of the works, if placed in to be a member of the Teungli Yamen, but his hands, would give him the handling of on the 17th idem an edict was issued re- large sums of money. LI HUNG-CHANG and moving him from the Board on the very into the sere, and yellow leaf, but
the EMPRESS are, it is true, both getting day he was to have taken his seat there.
age has not diminished the lust for lucre in their This was, according to the Peking corres- breasts, for avarice is a vice that grows with pondent of our Shanghai morning con tem- what it feeds upon, and it would be idle to porary, in consequence of intimidation used expect any better results from their ad- by a Tartar General named TUNG FU-ministration in the future than resulted in HSBIANG. It seems that Governor Huajne the Yellow River might he commenced and the past. The works for the conservancy of into collision with General Tuso during the recent riots at the Lukou Bridge. He possibly, by the employment of foreign followed the counsel of the British Minister engineers something substantial effected, on the occasion, acted firmly, had the but the cost, under Lt's supervision, could soldiers punished, and got one of the Gen- not fail to be enormous. erals degraded. By thus doing his duty Hu incurred the enmity of Tuxo, who at once left Paotingfu, where he was in com- mand, for the capital, where he procured an audience with the Empress Dowager and threatened to cause serious trouble unless Hu's appointment to the Tsungli Yamen was cancelled. The EMTRESS, who feared this unruly soldier man would make good his threats, gave way, and Hu was sacrificed, It is thus apparent that if the Emperor KWANG SU was weak, the EMPRESS DOWAGER is not strong, and there would appear to be a perfect dearth of reliable or patriotic mandaring at the capital The officials are either all bent on self-aggran lisement or self-enrichment. The evil example set by L HUNG-CHANG has cankered the whole mandarinate. Always addicted more or less to squeezing, it became, under his régime in Chihli, a fine art. In former times only limited and fairly well known revenues passed through the hands of the officials, but since the formation of an army and navy moderu principles and the import of arms and machinery from abroad a new field opened for exploitation, which has afforded greater opportunities for plunder and in creased the rapacity of the officials. Hence the paucity of even tolerably gool men. As officials go, Governor Hu was believed to have been a fairly progressive and well meaning official. If, however, such a man can be removed from the Tsungli Yamen at the dictation of a turbulent General, it nugurs ill for the administration not only of foreign but domestic affairs also.
Meantime it would appear that the Em- THE press and her old ally L HUNG CHANG sec in the necessity for controlling the vagaries of the erratic Yellow River a new opportunity for the exercise of the veteran's peculiar abilities. Under the plea-not it inust be admitted without some ground- that there is an absenc of ability among the present Ministers, the EMPRESS seat for Lafter receiving the distressful memorials of the Governor of Shantung on the ravages
The intimation, therefore, that Her Ma- jesty has resolved upon the reinstatement of LI in the Tsungli Yamen is not sur- prising. How far, if true, the step would effect the political situation it is not easy to determine. In the first place, if the sanction of Russia for the measure has really been sought, and those of other Treaty Powers been treated as unnecessary, it would be signific- ant and serious. To Great Britain it would be a deliberate and intended affront; to the other Powers a slight. It would be an affront to the former, because it was owing to the demand of her Representative at Peking that Li HUNG-CHANG was dismissed. It would be a slight to the remaining Powers because it would signify that, given Russia's approval of the reinstatement of the degraded Minister, their opinions were not worth consulting. If such a measure has really been resolved upon the Foreign Ministers would be justified in declaring that they had been slighted and refusing to meet the objectionable member at the Yamen. We trust, however, that there is no foundation for the report. The scheming Empress Dowager cannot be prevented from continuing to make Li HUNG-CHANG her adviser-in-chief, but she can be requested not to use him as her month-piece at the Council meetings or to openly flaunt him in the eyes of the Ministers as her chief counsellor. The fact that L is strongly Anglophobe is of course another reason why the British Minister should stick to his guns and decline to act with a man who has done so much to create barl feel ing between Great Britain and Russia. If Li HUNG-CHANG is permitted to renew his career of intrigue and corrup- tion, peaceable relations with China for any length of time will become impossible, and sooner or later the Treaty Powers will be involved in the meshes of a new Eastern Question more difficult, more complex, and more dangerous than that of the future of the Balkan peninsula. The situation is already rendered extremely critical by the attitude Russia has taken up in Wanchuria; if it is to be complicated by the open re- accession to almost supreme power of an unscrupulous and insatiably greedy man darin like Li HUNG-CHANG it will be im- possible for Great Britain to steer a pacific course for long, at Peking.
on
or
been broached by another member of the Another scheme for wasting money has
present Administration.. JUNG LU has re- co amended the repair and strengthening of the walls of Peking at an estimated expense of six millions of taels. As the walls even when so strengthened could not stand a siege by modern artillery, the money would simply be thrown away. It would be much more to the purpose to employ it by devoting it to the completion of railway either in rendering the garrison effective communication between the capital and other centres of trade and population. The repair of the walls of Peking, however, would afford a magnificent opportunity for the exercise of the special official talent and many hungry nosed mandarins would rejoice to see the work commenced. The pretext put forward, to defend the city against banditti, is transparently thin. Peking has never seriously been threatened by bandits or insurgents, nor is it likely to be attacked by them in force. It may suit the Peking Authorities at the moment to pretend ap prehension of such dangers, but they can at least protect the capital against internal foes, though they probably could not hold it for a day against a foreigu enemy. Neither could they if the walls were strengthened in the manner proposed. Their best defence lies in the maintenance. of good relations with all the Treaty Powers aud in opening up the Empire to foreign trade and enterprise to such an extent as will make it the interest of all the Powers to support the independence of China.
AMERICAN AFNEXATION OF
THE PHILIPPINES.
(Daily Press, 21 December.) The fate of the Philippine Islands is at last decided. Both these and the Sulu Islands are, by the terms of the Treaty of Peace be- tween Spain and the United States, to be ceded to the latter Power. The Treaty, which is to be signed in a few days, has been accepted under protest by Spain, who has, Philippines, only yielded to force majeure. It is, however, n wise conclusion on her part, for otherwise she would have only had to agree to harder terms in the end. As it is she escapes pay- ment of an indemnity, which a less generous foe would surely have demanded, and she will receive twenty millions of gold dollars.
of "China's Sorrow," and requested him to on the question of the i
undertake the inspection of the river con- The Taikoo" steamer Chefon. Capt. Everest› which arrived at Shanghai on the 18th Novem-and infirmity, but eventually agreed to un-
works. servancy
Lt at first pleaded age ber from Swatow, reports that on the passage dertake the duty and to proceed to Tsinan- she picked up fire Chinese, who were adrift in a sampan and signalling for assistance. They fu to consult with CHANG JU-MEI, the were landed on board the ship in an exhausted Governor. Lf is shrewd enough to re- condition.
cognise that the only possible way of con-
11