February 18, 1899, )
were concerned, for it could hardly in these respects be equalled by any other harbour in the world. There wore, however, other objec. tions to its fiual selection, amongst the most important of which was the strong objection of the British to av opposition port at their doors; a gentle and judicious feeling of the British pulse having elicited that fact, also the fact that German merchants in Hongkong had too much liberty and freedom to readily leave that colony for one ran on stricter lines.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT,
part of its course, through temperate regions rich in mineral, agricultural, and pastoral wealth and well, if not deusely, populated ? Such a railway passes through a region possessed of the greatest coal and iron-ore field in the world, which would of itself guarantee the sue- cess of the railway as a financial undertaking. it would, moreover, be one which in the course of thousands of miles should meet with no en- gineering difficulties on the extensive plains it would traverse, a veritable paradise for railway construction as regards cheapness to build.
If Germany really contemplates rising to the opportunity of uniting her Far Eastern colony by rail with Europe the first step will be the construction of a telegraph line, in the same way that a British line of telegraph from Sonth to North Africa is preparing the way for the railway which is to follow. it was only ra. coutly mooted in the German press that a tele- graph cable uniting their colony in Shautung with the Fatherland had become a necessity. The local press pointed ont that a sea cable was impossible, for reasons which need not, here, be repeated. The same reasons do not apply to a land line from the Syriau Coast, in the Mediterranean, and an ocean cable uniting it with the head of the Adriatic Sea; or a laud line, riu Austria and Turkey, from Ger. many to Kiaochao night become an accom. plished fact in less than two years. It certainly would be far less costly than the son cable both as to first outlay and upkeep. The financing both of the telegraph line and the railway should easily be accomplished as both would certainly prove at ouce remunerative. Ger- many's best and quickest way to get both constructed would be to guarantee a four per cent dividend on the outlay and stipulate that 50 per cent of the net surplus profits, over aud above the four per cent, guaranteed, should accrue to her. She might have for few years to pay out a few thousaurs of
Mis Bay proving undesirable Amoy was next thought of, bat the outcry raised at the thought of a treaty port being annexed by Germany led to the altering of the pro- gramme again, and Queinoy was almost se- lected, pro...bly for sinewhat similar reasons which led to the selection of Mirs Bay in the first intance, neighbourhood of a flourishing port where German merchants were already in considerable number. Quemoy proved nu- satisfactory as regards shelter, both from bad weather and attack by a hostile feat, so it in turn was given ap. A suitable anchorage was now sought for near the month of the West River, and Lappa` and ne.ghbourhood received considérable attention, but here, again, nature was against them, for no suitable auchorage for large vessels could be found. Ouce more the Germans retu: ned to the Fokien Province and this time Samsah Bay, if way between the treaty ports of Foochow and Wenchow, was pitched upon. Sunsah was also. not quite suited to requirements, being somewhat open and posed. At this time th - Chino-Japanese War had been concluded more than a year and Germany had had ample proof that so far from receiving any benefit from her interposition against the Japanese annexation of Liaotung she was being slighted by the Chinese Govern ment the more she sought to gain their favour, and her rivals Kussia and France were getting all they asked, by the simple expedient of coer. cin, the feeble powers who controlled the gov-pounds but in the long run she would reap ernment of the Celestial Empire.
In November, 1897. a number of the leading British papers prematurely published the negotiations being carried ou by the British Government for the extension of the colony of Hongkong by the cession of the Kowloon Hinterland, including all the waters of Mirs Bay and Deep Bay.
This was more than Germany could stand and she promptly made the killing of two German missionaries in Shantung, and the insults offered to her Minister, the plea for the seizure of Kiaoshao and a large area of the surrounding country.
The German seizure was quickly followed by the Russian annexation of Port Authur and Talienwan and a general Russian advance into Manchuria, the French sizure of Kwanchau
wau, in Kwangtung, and the British occupation
of Weihaiwej.
The above moves fairly inaugurated the divi- sion of the Chinese Empire between the four Great Powers nimed, which, in spite of any foolish attempt to prop up that crumbling and effete State, must now continue till the whole has been absorbed by one or the other of them' Having thus briefly dealt with the circum- stances leading up to the seizure of Kiaochao and the almost contemporaneous occupations of Manchuria. Kwanchauwan, and Weihaiwei, we may turn to what must follow if Germany does not fail to avail herself of the destiny which is so clearly marked out for her. She has sought vainly for years to keep the tide of German emigration under the German flag, for annually many thousands of her sous want to swell the population of the United States and the British Colonies, all of them being lost to the Father- land; now, however, a chapter of accidents has pointed out to her a future German colony extending right across a continent; a colony as it were at her door and one possessed of a climate suited to a white populatiou, being subject neither to the torrid heat of India or Africa nor to the arctic cold of Siberia. Russia has at great cost and sacrifice built the longest railway in the world, through an uninhabited wilderness subject to an arctic winter of from six to eight months' duration annually, to open up a trade between the Pacific and her Europeau possessions.
Will Germany fail to open up railway com- munication with her new colony in Sbantung when that railway will pass, during the greater
|
a profit from the speculation apart from the benefits which wuld be derived by Gorman interests generally. It undoubtedly would prove less expensive than making large addi- tions to her navy. The line of route for such a railway would be, starting from the Mediter ranean end, some point on the Syrian Coast (near Antioch) to Antioch, Autioch to Aleppo, Aleppo to Baghdad, Baghdad to Ispahan (er Baghdad to Teheran), from either Ispahan or Teheran, as the may be, to Meshed, from Meshed to Balkh (in Northern Afghanistan), Balkh to Faizabad, Faizabad to Yarkand (or to Kashgar), from Yarkand or from Kashgar to Lobor, Lobuor to Suchou (near the Western extremity of the Great Wall), Suchou to the Northernmost bend of the Yellow River, from the Yellow River to
|
case
Kalgan and, finally, Kaigan to Peking, where it would meet the railway system connecting Peking with Kiaochao.
SCHOOL AND ORPHANAGE FOR
GIRLS.
PUBLIC MEETING IN ST. PAUL'S COLLEGE, A public meeting was held in St. Paul's Col- lege on Thursday 19th Feb, for the purpose of considering a proposal to establish in Hong- kong a boarding and day school for Eurasian and other girls. The Bishop of Victoria pre. sidod, and there were also present the Rev R. F. Cobbold, Sir John Carrington, Mr. May, Dr. Wright, Mr. G. Piercy, Mr. Ho ung, and about 20 ladies.
The BISHOP said that in June last when he was at home a lady wrote to him pointing out the necessity of starting some kind of home for girls-especially Eurasian girls-in Hongkong. It was pointed out that there were large num bers of Eurasian girls who to a great extent were uncared for that whilst the boys were cared for in the Diocesan Home certainly the Church of England had no school for the Eura- sian girls in this place. At the time he could not get himself to do anything. He merely said he would see what he could do when he got out here. When he came here the question was raised at once, and so he invited a certain number of ladies and gentle. men to meet in that house to act as a sort of committes to see whether anything could be done. That committee met several times, and
135
they had asked two members of that commit- tee--Mr. Cobbold and Miss Johnstone, who wer experienced, in these matters to draw up": report That report had been drawn up, and summary would be presented to them that afternoon by Mr. Cobbold. As regarded the main question as to whether they should or should not start any work of the kind suggested, he shonid like before they got to detail business just to say a few words. He had heard two objections raised to the suggestion during the last two or three days. One was that there was no need to start a home of this kind, as there were two places which did this kind of work already-Miss Johnstone's School at Fairleigh and the Italian Couvent. He'did not wish to speak disparagingly of Rome or of the work doue by Rome, but he did think that in a English colony the Church of England ought not to be lagging behind in looking after the people of the colony, and ought not to learn all that work to be done by the Church of Rome. With regard to Miss Johnstone's School, everyone appreciated the excellence of the work done by that school, but it would be no breach of confidence if he said that the original move towards starting a home of this kind came to him from Miss Johnstone's School, and it was becausé Miss Johnstone had already a certain number of Eurasian girls in her school and was proposing to move these girls out of her school and devote herself entirely to native work that the necessity of starting such a school as the one proposed was forced upon them. If the school was started the first step would be to pass a dosen or twenty Eurasian girls who wore in Miss Johnstone's school into it. As regarded another dificulty raised. a gentleman said it was very easy to start these things but it was not easy to keep them going, and referred to the Diocesan Home for Boys. He said that when that was started money came in rapidly but that it had been a great burden on a good many people since. Of course he could not speak as to how far it had · been a burden on a great many people. Mr. Cobbold told him the amount raised every year by subscription was $1,600, which it seemed to him ought not to be a very great burden on the residents of Hongkong, but if it were a burden, and if the starting of a home for girls involved a burden so far as he understood their duty as Christian men and women it was to beer. one another's burden; and when he thought of the numbers of Eurasian girls living in the colony he thought it was their duty to take up the burden for them and do what they could to help them. Therefore he had ventured not on his own responsibility only but at the request of the committee which had been formed call that meeting that afternoon in the hope that they might be able to see their way start a home for girls-not exclusively Eura- sian, other girls would be admitted –similar to that which already existed for boys in the Diocesan Home.. He would ask Mr. Cobbold to give them at any rate a summary of the report which had been drawn up and presented already and accepted already by the committee.
|
|
|
The Rev. R. F. COBBOLD said the Bishop had given them briefly and very clearly an idea of what the committee thought and what he, believed those present thought was necessary' to be done in the colony, and therefore it wAA not necessary for him to say much. Some of them had taken a little trouble in this matter and had gone into the question with some oare, and they presented to the provisional committee a report the other day from which the Bishop had now asked him to give them some extracts. They had come to the conclusion that a school of this kind was needed. They had further come to the conclusion that a school of this kind could be started provided the community of Hongkong - would respond to an appeal for about $3,000 a year as a start. In course of time as the school- increased in usefulness the amount required every year would be considerably less than that. In order to put a school of this kind on a satisfnot- ing working basis it must have a capable superin- tondent. It might be necessary to have in addi- tion someone whom they would call first assistant teacher in order thut the teaching work of the school should be sound and good. Supposing the school were established one of the first items of expense would be the passages of a ladies from England, and he thought he might say there that a sum of money has been partky