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H.E. LIU KUNG-YI AND THE MISSIONARIES.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
as to the merits of the case. The third clause, that no notice is to be taken of direct applications on the part of (Daily Press, 1st November.)
missionaries, necessarily follows. The sug Viceroy LIU KUNG-YI, of the Liang Kiang gestion is wise and statesmanlike, and provinces, has sent to the Consuls of the the wonder is that any objection should Powers in the territory under his rule a be raised in good faith against it. Oppon- circular letter, in which he deals with the ents of the scheme may plead the badness question of missionary interference in dis-and corruption of many of the native putes between their converts and other officials. This is an unfortunate fact, but natives and proposes the adoption of certain it does not render them easier to be dealt rules to be observed in the event of such with by a missionary than by a Consul, but disputes. These suggested rules are :-- -(1) rather the reverse.
If LIU KUNG-Y1's If the missionary decides to take up the critics really mean that they distrust the case of a convert, he must apply to his Consuls to whose care the disputes are to be Consul, giving him a complete statement of entrusted, then we do not see what remedy the question in dispute. (2) The Consul, they can hope for, since in the event of a after examining the merits of the case, will, refusal to do justice the dispute must pass if he is satisfied, communicate it to the out of the hands of the missionary into Chinese officials, who will then take action. those of the consular representative. It is - (3) Unless this rule is followed, no notice unless to talk of bad Chinese officials, if the whatever will be taken of direct applications real culprits are negligent foreign Consuls. on the part of missionaries. It is stated As a matter of fact any such charge against that the Consuls who have been circularised the consular body is absolutely unjust, by LIU KUNG-Yri have signified their ap. The Consul uses his influence far more in proval of the proposal, and we trust that the interests of peace than the militant this is so. The evils arising from the prac missionary. As the Canton correspondent tice hitherto prevailing of a convert, whether of the local Telegraph told us on Wednesday, in the right or in the wrong, invoking his the United States Consul at Canton has priest's or pastor's aid to fight his legal addressed the American missionaries within battles before the local Chinese authorities, his sphere of action, urging on them the have been made abundantly manifest of importance of the following three points :- recent years, and it cannot honestly be denied (1) The bringing together in friendly con- that the friction thereby set up has contri- ference of Roman Catholic and Protestant buted very largely indeed to the hatred of missionaries. (2) The regulation which foreigners in various parts of the Chinese prohibits catechists and teachers interfering Empire. We must do the missionaries of in disputes between Christians and non- the religious bodies concerned in preaching Christians. (3) The regulation which Christianity in China the justice to say that states that Consuls will not take up most of them do not deny the interference, cases which had their origin previous to a certain extent, but naturally enough to the reception into the Mission of they claim to be merely protecting their the person or alleged convert concerned. proselytes from injustice. A tendency may Mr. McWADE is not alone in his views, be observed, however, in the teachers of one though he has taken the initiative in for sect to admit that those of another are not mulating them. A great opportunity is particular in investigating the merits of their converts' cases before taking them up and putting pressure on the native officials. Naturally, therefore, in an English colony we find the Roman Catholics admitted to be the real offenders. The evidence procurable in the matter certainly seems to show that they are the most aggressive, and of course their priests make use of the quasi-official rank which was "granted" to them by the Chinese Government. But the whole point of the question is this: The missionary, apart from his religious teaching and, if he is duly qualified, his medical practice, is sailing under false colours when he acts in the way referred to by Viceroy Liv KUNG-
YI,
now offered for the removal of the most
fruitful source of friction in connection with Christian propaganda in China. If by the action of unreasonable minds among the missionary holy the opportunity is allowed to slip, folly will be a mild term to apply to this action. One of the most enlightened modern Chinamen (and one, moreover, who has done both his own country and the rest of the world great service by his attitude during the recent crisis) has proposed a line of procedure which must appeal to all sensible men, whatever reed they profess. The proposal is made so far with reference only to the Liang Kiang provinces. It should be extended to the whole of the Chinese Empire and enforced therein by the Consuls and Chinese authorities acting in concert. The remedy, if the native officials should refuse to do justice to a case con- cerning Christain converts, would then be in the proper hands, and the hybrid mission- ary-political agent would be done away with altogether.
All the Powers interested in China have representatives whose duty it is to look after things temporal connected with their nationals; and as far as the converts of a British missionary, let us say, have any claim at all on British protection, that claim is the care of the British Consul in the neighbourhood. The missionary is not in China to take an active part in temporal affairs, and where he does so he steps be- The Kobe Chronicle comments on our statement yond his province into one for which he is that some sort of supervision should be placed as a rule admirably illqualified. We quite over the production of the locally made "safety" matches, and says:-"Can it be the matches recognise the force of the argument that a
are made in Japan ? We remember that when missionary has feelings, that he cannot look
some years ago the Editor of the Chronicle, in on calmly while his converts are persecuted,
an article in the Nineteenth Century, referred and that even common humanity forces him
to the bad quality of the matches exported as to take some steps to prevent injustice. examples of the evil done to Japan's commercial This is quite true, but it does not point to reputation, the Daily Press thought the com- the necessity of the direct interference of a plaint was exaggerated, though, as it happened, professedly religious teacher in extraneous it was based on a Japanese Consular report." affairs. The Viceroy of the Liang Kiang We may point out that the locally made matches are Hongkong produe's. We have without a doubt indicates the proper course heard several other complaints recently as to in asking that the missionary should refer the quality of these "safety" matches, and it to his Consul, giving a statement of the is certainly high time that the Government question in dispute, the Consul to commu-supervised these in the same way as other dan nicate with the Chinese officials if satisfied gerous goods.
[November 4, 1901.
JAPANESE RAILWAYS.
(Daily Press, 2ud November.) From the Japanese Resumé Statistique, of which we have already spoken, we glean some extremely interesting statistics of the cost and working of the railway system of the islands, which has already assumed a re- markable development. Roughly, the area of the mainlands of Japan is 31,000 square miles, and the length of railways open to the end of 1900 was 3,700 miles, or one mile of railway to each 8 square mile of area, a very fair showing considering the of the interior, The result of this was that mountainous character and high elevation
up to that period only one line had been opened across the Island of Nippon, which has to cross the Usii Pass at an elevation of some 3,200 feet, to attain which a rack rail has been found necessary. Owing also to the very indented character of the coast, only one large town in Japan, Maebashi, exceeds a distance of 60 miles from the coast, the majority being within less than half that distance, so that the railways have to a very considerable extent to compete with The result of experience coasting steamers. up to date has, however, been so favourable that no less than 1,000 miles of additional line were at the date mentioned either in pro- gress or had been surveyed. This length of railway had been constructed at a total cost of 266 million yen, or practically £7,200 per mile, which, considering all things, must be looked upon as reasonable. The receipts from these lines in 1900 amounted in gross to 39 milliou
yen, or practically £1,000 per mile per annum--close on £20 per week. This may seem insignificant, but at the beginning there were many lines, in Ireland especially, that succeeded in paying dividends on equally small receipts. About 66 per cent. of the receipts were derived from passenger traffic, probably owing to the fact that easy access to the sea favoured the transport of Of goods by steamer rather than by rail. the receipts, less than half were expended in working expenses, so there was actually 193 million yen left for return on capital, say 7 per cent., a result testifying to the eare with which the lines are administered.
Coming to speak of the lines from per- sonal experience, it may be said that the latter conclusion is borne out by the facts of the case. The lines in the beginning were introduced under the control of English engineers, and we see everywhere indications of the fact. They remind one, not of Eng- lish working of the day, but of English work- ing of 30 years ago, and the contrast is curious to any one acquainted with modern work in England or the United States. This old English system is very apparent, not only in the rolling stock, but in the signalling, the arrangements of the stations,
and even in such minor details as uniform and what may be called the etiquette of the lines. Fares are low, from to English fares, and there are with a few exceptions three classes of carriages. On most of the lines the short English carriages with four wheels of forty years ago still survive, though on some of the more modern and better worked lines long carriages, running on four-wheeled bogies, are being introduced. From the nature of the country gradients are apt to be steep and irregular, and this tendency has been increased by the necessity of keeping down initial expenditure. For the same reason a gauge of 3ft. 6in. was adopted, but unfortunately the distance between the up and down tracks was likewise reduced, with the result that the side over- hang of the carriages has been reduced to an extreme, and without great expense it will