· April 14, 1900 |
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· CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
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benefit that might arise in the coming | Hongkong escaped this ignominious fate to struggle for the good things of China, become what it is now, the third port of the Making due allowance for all this, which world. Weihaiwei, in the facilities which it was perfectly well known to all the Legn- offers for trade cannot, cf course, be COM- tions, it was hardly the place of the pared with this colony, but, as we have in- Minister to put himself and his nationals insisted before, the establishment of a suffic the fulse position of making promises, andient communication between Weiliwei and encouraging hopes, which no one knew better the rest of the world would give the place than himself were beyond his power to carry an excellent chance of attracting a portion out. Far better would it have been to have of the Shantung export trade; and with its accepted the inevitable, and to have tided over own military government, after the plan of the interval. All things, said a wise man, Gibraltar, with its own Post Office, Trea- come to him who knows how to wait, and it | sury, and Land Office, then we may repeat is likely that, bad Lord SALISBURY presumed ur hope of a busy commercial community less, he would have had more to show as a springing up under the shadow of its forti- result. One of his most capable predeces-fications. sors gained for himself the not inappro The second point arose out of Sir CHARLES priate title of "The Rupert of Debate DILKE's question as to what progress had by his habit of always charging at the been made in China towards the full opening wrong moment. We may ask how long to trade of the West River, and of rivers would it have taken Sir RDVERS BILLER generally, when the inder Secretary for to have relieved Ladysmith, had not more Foreign Affairs replied that it was impos- cautious tactics been adopted than that of sible to give a complete recount posi- always charging into the en my's strongest tion, but the Reports from Her point? Had the Prime Minister been less Consuls, included in the papers now being prodigal of his assertions, and understood prepared for Parliament, contained full in- better the nature of the task before him, he formation on the subject.
According to would have been spared the necessity of "the latest information," he added, “trade is inspiring such an ignominious acknowledge-"steadily increasing on the West River." ment of utter failure as is disclosed in Mr. Increase in itself, however, is not necessarily BRODRICK's untruthful attempt to retire satisfactory, if it is demonstrable that there froni an untenable position.
is every right to look for a much larger in- crease if only the proper carrying out of existing concessions is insisted on. Mr. BRODRICK'S reply is of the same evasive character which we noted yesterday in his explanations to Mr. WALTON. We have advocated before, more than once, the form- ation of a Committee, formed of the Consula at Canton and West River ports, and members of the Government and Chambers of Com- merce here, as an Advisory Board to their Excellencies the Governor and HM. Minister to China, to enquire into the reasons which make the Inland Waters. Con- cession a mere sham. Until this is done we have not any faith in an amelioration of our position in China.
CIH NA IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.
of the Delagoa Railway arbitration, whereby, we learnt that after a delay of more than nine years this simple case, which a court of law would have decided in a sitting, re- mained sub judice over nine years. We may suggest that the case should never have been per itted to go to arbitration at all, or if it had, tilt n reasonable limit of time should have been imposed on the arbitrators, In any case the result is not reassuring; the capitalists who, in spite of a conces sion, even, if possible, more binding than that of the Chinese Government to the Pek ing Syndicate, had their property quietly con fi-cated, and thanks to the easy-going good nature of their Government had to remain for nine long years in a st te of
suspense as to whether a plain contract, against which there was absolutely no complaint of its having been obtained by, untair means, or under conditions contravening the ordinary practice of nations, was permitted to sluni- ber for a period which marks a notable teru in a nation's development. Was the care and assiduity devoted by Lord SALISBURY to Chinese affairs such as to afford any hope to the Peking Syndicate that, had it sank as large a sum in developing the mines and railway of Shausi, it would have found itself in any better position than the unfortunate undertakers in the Delagon Railway? So far indeed from the hesitation of the finan- cial supporters of the Syndicate.to com- mence work affording any justification for the extraordinary speech of the Parliament. ary Secretary, it is one of the strong points of complaint against the present Govern- ment, that by their neglect of affairs in China they have so forfeited the con- fidence of the capitalists, that the Syndicates have one and all felt it absolutely impossible to raise the amounts required in the face of the ignorance and luck of energy displayed at Downing Street. To understand this position we have only to refer to due or two cases, to show how little is the influence really exerted by the British Government at Peking. Most of our rea- ders will remember the positive terms in which Lord SALISBURY spoke of " the Open Door Policy" which, whatever happened was to assure to England equal participation in all the good things to fall to any nation in China; we may recall how much England had to say in the occupation of Shingking, or of Kuchow, or of Luchow. We may re- call that Lord SALISBURY solemnly assured us, in so many words, that he had made a convention with China, ensuring that she would never cede the Yangtse Valley to any other Power. We know what this con- vention came down to when sifted that "Ching would never cede to any Power' the Yangtse Valley. This is a meaningles stipulation, which, if it implied ́anything, might be held to indicate that England alone was deburred from the central pro- vinces. The Minister made tou some very firma nesertions about our Sphere of In- flifence in Mid China, and we know how ignominiously it collapsed when the "Bel- gian "Syndicate, itself ostentatiously, the creature of Russia, and openly financed by the Russo-Chinese Bank, obtained, the con- cession for the most important Ine, in China, that connecting Peking with. Hankow.... Now we are not going to ay that at any time it was within the power of the British Minister to accomplish all these things. Inact, there was We are well aware that even when Lord SALISBURY was boasting of his successes the time was already past; and the Continental Powers had determined that no rever they differed on other points, on one they had made up their minds, und that was that Great Britun was to be precluded from any
DHE
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(Daily Press, 11th April.) From the last mail it will be seen that a number of important matters in connection with the position of Britain in China came up before the House of Commons in the early part of last month, previous to the debate on which we commented yesterday. The first point discussed was in the course of the debate on the Navy Estimates, when S.r J. COLOMB asked, with reference to the sum of £13,000 for Weihaiwei, what was the real policy of the Admiralty with refer- ence to this port, and repented his opinion. The third point was raised by the inde- that only two courees were possible either fatigable Mr. WALTON when he asked, on to make it a Gioraltar, or to spend no more the 8th ult, whether Her Majesty's Govery- money than was necessary to make it into a ment would actively co-operate with the coal-store. He was followed by Admiral. United States Government in the endeavour FIELD, who said he was glad to find that to arrive at an agreement between the Powers interested in China which would Weihaiwei was to receive an expenditure of £13,000. It was recognised as an impor- secure equal opportunities for the trade of tant secondary base, and for the protection all nations throughout the Chinese Empire, of the harbour from torpedo-bouts at night irrespective of any territ rial changes that was told that “ papers there should be a short inner breakwater might take place. He with openings. In reply, Mr. AUSTEN on the subject would shortly be laid before the House, which he interpreted as meaning that the Government would make no effort. He was rebuked by the Speaker for expressing this opiu on, but it is to be teared that his conclusion was justified by inferences from the past inaction of Britain the in China. It is difficult to believe that t statesman who sees no loss of British pres- tige in China during the last few years. going to be energetic in the matter of resist- ing encroachment on the part of wide-awake rivals.
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CHAMBERLAIN salt he could add little to the statements made last year about Weihai- wei. 'Length of time for communication on details," he said, “was une difficulty, "and work there had to be undertaken after conference with military authorities, "and recent events had left those authori ties little opportunity for such conference Up to the present, they had sent out a drelger from Malta, which was steadily at "work deepening the harbour to a depth of "thirty feet. A further small sum, probnoly "between £3,000 and £4,000, was being
expended at the discretion of the comman- | “ier-in-chief u repairs to the pier, office “accommodation, and fitting Chinese shops "for the reception of machinery. The re- port of the year's work was not yet ready." Mr. AU-TEN encourage the hope that the Government had made up its mind about the worth of Weihaiwei or is likely to do so for some time to come. And yet we cannot believe that the talk about its abandonment is as serious even as was similar talk in the early days of Hongkong,
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CHAMBERLAIN'S "reply
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Unabashed by his rebuff, Mr. WALTON proceeded to enquire what steps were being taken to carry out the opening of the purt of Nanning, which was announced early last year, and went on to the question of the In- -land Waterwaysagain. Mr. BRODRICK Would only vouchsafe the reply that "Her Majesty'a "Minister at Peking had repeatedly pressed the Chinese Government to carry out the opening of Nanning. They still waited the report of the Governor of the province on the arrangements that would be necessary, but had promised Sir C, Mao- “DONALD Lo direct him to send it in with-
of doordre