(February 4, 1899.1
"CHINA ÖVERLAND TRADE REPORT. day at Kowloon, is, we believe, intended for the West River. The sooner she is actively engaged in cruising up and down that busy highway the better for the interests of foreign and of Chinese trade alike. It may be objected that she will see but little of what is going on, and that the pirates will be well informed of her whereabouts, but she will none the less import an element of security to the route so far as foreign steamers are concerned.
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has since been given to this resolution |
we learn that on the 5th ultimo the Pro- by the occurrence of numerous fresh
nal Committee of that body telegraphed piracies on the West Rivers, accounts of
the American Minister at Peking in the which have appeared in our columns, A
following terms " French Settlement well informed correspondent, writing on this
"Extension on exclusive lines reported im- Bubject, says that there are two centres of
minent, Americans here again vigorously piracy along the great waterway where these
" protest;" and on the same date the crimes are most frequent, the neighbourhood
following telegram was eent to the President of Takhing and the vicinity of the way
at Washington: — "Americans Shanghai port of Kongmün, the former place being
strongly protest against extension French a considerable distance up the river, and
Settlement with exclusive jurisdiction; re- the latter not very far from its estuary. But the stationing of a few gunboats on ported iraminent." The Minister at Peking The seizures are effected by carefully pre- the inland waters of China ought not to ex- acknowledged by letter receipt of the tele meditated plans, the robbers dividing and haust the resources of British diplomacy. gram forwarded to him and replied that a "coming on board as passengers at different Much more will have to be done if the protest had already been made with the points to allay suspicion. Already the country is be to assisted, and the forces of Chinese Government. According to the miscreants have shown, by the brutal muti- disorder overthrown Many years ago the American Association the ground of objec- dation of the Chinese captain of one of the British warships undertook the task of free-tion to the extension of the French Settle- pirated craft, that they will not stick ating the Chinese consts from the pest of ment was the exclusive jurisdiction that violence if there is the slightest attempt at piracy, and the good work done has endured was claimed; but according to the Daily resistance, and although up to the present until this day. It may be necessary for the new News the great local objection foreign steamers have escaped actual inter-gunboats to be armed with authority by the demand is the injury that it is alleged will ference we may be sure, from what we know Chinese Government to root out and des- be thereby done to British and other owners of the daring of Cantonese smugglers and troy the river pirates just as in former years of land that will be brought under French pirates, that they will not hesitate to trans- the British Navy cleared the coasts of these control if the extension is granted. “But,” fer their attentions to foreign ships if the harpies. It may also be necessary, in or continues our contemporary, "it does not prize appears to be commensurate with der to prevent the utter strangulation of "seem to be generally known that this the greater risk. In past times foreign trade by official squeezing, to induce the "matter was satisfactorily settled by a steamers have been successfully pirated by Chinese Government to confide the collec special convention between the British and French Consuls-Genéral, and that Chinese, and the case of the amoa, when tion of the revenue in the Two Kwang to Captain Pocook was wantonly murdered, English officials. Great Britain is now in "this convention, which provided inter alia must be very fresh in the recollection of the position of being China's largest creditor" for the neutralisation of the foreign the majority of our readers. That deed as well as her largest customer. She can- cemetery at Pahsienjao, received, we are was carried out on very much the same not afford to see trade diminished by official informed, the assent of the British Minis- plan is most of the West River piracies are corruption, nor can she suffer her trade to ter at Peking. Thus one of our principal committed. A number of ruffians took be hampered in order that an army of man- objections to French extension was re- "moved before the Count DE BEZAURE passage on the Aamoa as ordinary pas darins may eat up the substance of the
"broke off negotiations, and it is only fair sengers by the vessel and had arms con- country. Sooner or later it will come cealed in their baggage. Precautions are
to this that the administration of the "to him that this should be generally
"known." now taken to prevent a recurrence of such Customs and the finances of the Chinese a coup on foreign steamers, but the pirates Empire will in the interests of the bond-
As to the aspect of the French de- are cunning, and on the West River steamers holders pass into the custody of foreign mands as an infringement of our sphere owned by Chinese there is neither the time hands, for no reliance can be placed upon of influence in the Yangtze Valley
the assurances of the Peking Government, contemporary remarks that we are mak nor is there any prospect of their securing ing no sustained objection to the Ger- effective control over the distant provinces, mans and Russians and Japanese obtain- however much they may desire to strengthening actual concessions at Haukow, the their hold on the Viceroys. The first step implication apparently being that the latter towards the attainment of the desired end- the development and progress of this ancient
are as much an infringement of the British Empire-must undoubtedly be the practical sphere of influence in the Yangtsze Valley supercession of the mandarin as the adminis tering power. It is no good trying to blinkable force in that suggestion and sooner or this fact, and nothing is to be gained by of the administration. Reform is not likely pretending to hope for the speedy reform to come from within; it must be imposed from without. The sooner this condition is publicly and generally recoguised the better for all parties.
nor have the crew the facilities for ex- amining all the passengers who come on board at the way ports.
Something should be done without delay to put a stop to this organised system of brigandage along this great waterway. Not only does it interfere directly with trade, but it is sure to grow into greater strength with continued immunity from all con. sequences. The merchants in the Loting district are regularly and openly black- mailed by brigands who otherwise would not allow their produce to be shipped. Our correspondent suggests, what from all knowledge of the ways of Yamen under- lings seems only too probable, that the
THE FRENCH DEMANDS AT
SHANGHAI,
Yamen runners and so-called soldiers are in league with the pirates. This is often the case in China, and toll is collected from the heads of the piratical fraternity, in return for which timely intelligence of the move-
(Daily Press, 3rd February.) ments of the mandarin gunboats and of
The North-China Daily News fears that punitive expeditions are furnished to the Lord CHARLES BERESFORD, with the best outlaws. The Chamber of Commerce sug- intentions in the world, made a mistake gests that the Chinese Government should when, by the advice he gave the Viceroy be approached on the question of maintain Lau at Nanking, he practically converted ing order and suppressing piracy, and this the French Settlement demands at Shanghai would undoubtedly be a good move if the cen- from a local into a political question, the re- tral Government possessed the will and the sult being that the French Consul-General power to compel the authorities of the Two broke off his negotiatious, a step which Mr. Kwang to properly police the West River. CHAMBERLAIN, who evidently is not clearly They possess neither, and we fear it is of informed about a subject which is uot little use trying to impress them with a properly in his department, claims as being sense of their duty in this respect. Sir a withdrawal of the French demand. For Claude MacDonÅLD will, however, we our own part we must confess that we trust, not be discouraged by this fact. His cannot detect any antithesis between local duty is plain, and if only the Foreign Office questions and political questions; all will properly support him a good deal may political questions must necessarily have be obtained in the shape of initial measures their origin in some place. If Lord CHARLES and authorisation for others. The British-BERESFORD inade a mistake in over-rating Government have already sent out some the importance of this particular question gunboats for service on the rivers of China, he erred in good company, for from the and the Sandpiper, only launched the other Inurnal of the American Association in China
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as would be the extension of the French concession at Shanghai. There is consider- later the whole question of Foreign Settle- such Settlements confer on Foreign Govern- ments at the Treaty Ports and the rights ments may have to be raised and settled. But in the meantime it may be pointed out that there is a wide difference be- tween the Hankow cases and that of the French Settlement at Shanghai inasmuch as at the former port there is no cosmopolitan Settlement and the concessions acquired by the various Powers are required for the pur- poses of trade, or it may at least be con- tended that they are so required; whereas in the case of Shanghai there is a cosmopolitan Settlement with which the French would be welcome to amalgamate if they so chose, but instead of doing so they make a demand for the extension of their present exclusive Settlement, such extension not being re- quired for purposes of trade but being asked for as compensation for the disturbance that arose out of the action of the French with regard to the Ningpo Jos house.
r the Another but unexpressed reason for demand was, as we understand, to place limits on the extension of the cosmopolitan much to be said Settlement. There may be
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for and against national Settlements as opposed to cosmopolita Settlements at the Treaty Porta, but where there is already a cosmopolitan Settlement in existence there can be no difference of opinion, as to the andesirability of exclusive national Settle-
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