256
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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[October 16, 1905.
some of the trunk lines were built under the supervision of European engineers, no foreign syndicates supplied the capital and conse queatly
policy with regard to Manchuria is a leney wrote: I have repeatedly teletion of that line by the British and Chinese masterful inactivity. We do not go so far graphed to the Wai-wu-pu and also to Corporation is well in hand, there is no as to assert that nothing remains for China "SHEUNG SHUEN-WAI requesting them to possibility of the agitation in those provinces to do; she has a vast field before her in "devise means to prevent this important having a successful issue, though it may developing her hitherto neglected posses railway falling entirely into the hands of not unlikely cause the syndicate much trouble sions, and in putting her household in foreigners. It is absolutely necessary and annoyance. order, and herein she will find abundance" that the funds required for construction This cry of "China for the Chinese" is a of present occupation. On the other hand "work should be raised by the Chinese factor to be reckoned with by foreign syndi we do not conceal from ourselves that
"themeelves, in order to secure the right of cates having railway concessions in the Japan is ambitious, nor that her over, "control over the railway." The Viceroy country. The idea is evidently prevalent teeming population is seeking expansion- further states that he has been instructed in the minds of the younger generation of but these are things to which it will by the Wai-wu-pu, by telegram, "to hold Chinese that what Japan has accomplished momentarily be wise for China to close firmly to the view he has taken." What China can likewise accomplish by the same her eyes. China is immensely the gainer the British and Chinese Corporation are methods. We can see iù many directions by the recent cessation of hostilities, but asking for is the co-operation of local the influence of the modern history of Japan Russia is still dangerous, and though her capitalists, but the Viceroy, though un- on China, and the fact will not have passed power for mischief has been curbed, she fortunately the provincial coffers are far unnoticed that it is the Chinese who have 8 evidently quite prepared to continue from overflowing," is nevertheless insistent studied in Japan who are promoting not only her old policy of intrigue. On the other that "the huge sum required for this iand Japan has only just entered into à 110 miles of railway should be sub railways in Japan but many of the more this agitation against the foreign control of blose alliance with England, and the scribed by Chinese entirely. There is laudable movements tending to the reform of ntegrity of China is one of the points-if, evidently also a strong desire existing the administration of the country. They have ndeed, it be not the main point-of Eugland's among the Chinese interested in the pro-lived in Japan, have travel ed over her net policy in the East, and in this policy for jected Canton-Macao line to get rid of the work of railways, liave learnt that thouglı her own sake Japan is bound to coincide. agreement which provides, that half the But as we have said, though Russia is capital shall be subscribed by Portuguese scotched she is by no means disposed to subjects. It is suggested in the vernacular abandon her old tricks, and already is be- papers that the Chinese syndicate which ginning to attribute the, perhaps premature, undertook to find half the capital is im- abandonment of the war to Japan's fear of patient at the delay of the Portuguese syn- the prowess of her hitherto unproved dicate in getting its share of the capital general, LINIEVITCH; at all events certain subscribed; but our information is that the of her advisers are engaged throwing out Portuguese portion of the capital has already feelers as to the possible contingency of her been subscribed in anticipation of the ratifica- electing to retain her military position in tion of the agreement by the Government at Manchuria. True, such a course would be Lisbon, and that the delay is entirely due to in deliberate contravention of her own the procrastination of the Lisbon authorities. most solemn engagements, but engagements Be that as it may, an excuse has been even of the most solemu character have afforded for an agitation to induce the never hitherto stood in the way of Russia's Chinese Government to cancel the agree. advance when her ambition for conquestment, and to grant the concession up to the stood in the way; and there is certainly no reason to suppose that Russia's conduct for the future will in any way, especially on a point of honour, differ from what it has been in the past. In this respect China cannot afford to throw a stone at Russia; the latter's presence in Manchuria was, indeed, brought about by China's crooked policy of sceking to use Russia's ambition to treacherously get rid of her own engagements; and Russia, should she attempt to bring diplomatic pressure, is sure to throw this in her face. If, on the other hand, she seek by ill-timed diplomatic pressure to induce Japan to prematurely evacuate Manchuria, and thereby alienate her friendship, she will only have succeeded in removing the last guarantee she possesses for the eventual return to her own rule of the coveted territory.
Own
CHINESE HOSTILITY TO FOREIGN RAILWAY ENTERPRISE.
(Daily Press, 12th October). Next to the movement to boycott Ameri- can products no feature of Chinese public life has been more noteworthy during the last twelve months than the growth of public sentiment agamst the construction of railways in China by foreign syndicates. We in Hongkong feel a particular interest in this matter because this sentiment appar- ently is responsible for the inability of the British and Chinese Corporation to arrive at a definite agreement with the authorities at Peking relative to that section of the projected Kowloon-Canton line which will run through Chinese territory to con- nect at the frontier with that section of the line for which our Colonial Govern-
ment has made itself responsible. A week ago our Canton correspondent fur- nished us with a translation of a dispatch sent by Viceroy SHUM to the Minister of Mines and Railways, in which His Excel.
none over exercised control. Russian territorial aggrandisement in Manchuria taught "Young Chiou" that the granting of railway concessions to foreign Powers was a menace to the integrity of the empire. The history of the Canton-Hankow concessiou enforced the lesson, and now we have throughout the country a public senti- ment strongly antagonistic to the employ ment of foreign capital in any more rail. ways. Many of the present efforts to procure the cancellation of concessions already granted will doubtless prove futile, but we shall probably have long to wait before we hear of another concession being granted by the Chinese Government.
BRITISH POLICY IN CHINA.
boundary of the Portuguese Colony to Chinese subjects exclusively. The success of the agitation for the cancellation of the concession granted to the American-China Development Company for the building of the great trunk line from Canton to Han- kow has given an immense filip to opposi-
(Daily Press 13th October.) THE London Times, in a leading article, tion to foreign enterprise all over the recently remarked that the policy of "spheres country. We note that the Kiangsi students, of influence" in China was never one which who are studying in Japan, having learnt commended itself to the British nation per se. that the Chinese capitalist who has obtained a concession for making a line from Kiu- circumstances compelled
"It was a device," said the Times,
" which kiang to Nanchang bad obtained part of his when we found that our old-established us to adopt capital from a foreign source, telegraphed interests were threatened by rivals who had to Peking requesting the cancellation of the less respect for the integrity of China than concession. A compromise was suggested, we had ourselves, and if, and when, it shall but the studeats-the future tutors of the be proved to have served its purpose, we nation--insist on cancellation. kiang the people are also expressing in provision in the Anglo-Japanese Alliance Iu Che-shall part with it without a pang." The memorials to the Throne their objection to for the maintenance of the territorial vince and requesting the cancellation of the as enough to show that the time is the foreign control of railways in the pro-status quo in China, is regarded in itself concession granted in 1898 to a British past when a Power, after selecting some Company for a line running from Soochow to Ningpo and passing through Haugehow. SHENG KUNG-PAO, it is reported, has been instructed by the Throne to cancel the preliminary argument. He appears to have given expression to the opinion that as seven years have elapsed since the agree ment was made and the concessionaires have either secured the capital nor surveyed the line the concession has already been forfeited! We suppose what SHENG would advance the same agreement in the case of the Canton-Kowloon line, and perhaps has done so already. In the province of Shansi, SHENG is being denounced in a memorial which is being prepared for presentation to the Throne, and the people of the province are supporting a movement, inaugurated in the neighbouring province of Kiangsu, to get the Shanghai- Nanking Railway Concession cancelled. As, however, we are glad to know, the construc-
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portion of China as its "sphere of influence" could expand it by a variety of devices, in the hope of ultimately converting it into something like a freehold. China herself, as wo pointed out yes erday, is now fully alive to the dangers of this policy, and we may certainly regard the time as past when what happened in Manchuria can be re-enacted in any other part of China. The danger now is that the re- action may for some years operate to the detriment of foreign commercial enterprise of all kinds in China. Already strong com- munications have been addressed to the British Government by British residents in Shanghai regarding the way in which the Chinese authorities are, in the matter of mining enterprises for example, rendering the provisions of the Mackay Treaty abortive. The officials will not grant mining permits to foreigners except on conditions which are tantamount to a refusal, and the vernacular
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