เ
July 9, 1906.]
or words to which different persons would attach different meanings, as they do the writings of, say, IBSEN or NIETZSCHE, Mr. BALFOUR certainly had sufficient know- ledge of Chinese to entitle him to an opinion, and while he admitted that there were both etymological and philosophical recommendations for the rendering of "tao" as 直接
way, method, or system' "Le believed it to have some esoteric meaning. His word to the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1880 might have been said in defence of Professor PARKER'S way. He spoke of "the fatality attending servile adherence to a literal system of translation than the rendering, hitherto in force, of Renson". The letter killeth, he reminded his hearers, and we entertain the opinion that Professor GILES' so-called simple reading would
be equally fatal.
-COOLIES IN YUNNAN.
2
(Daily Press, 3rd July )
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. and sincerity that they indet contain in his toleration of noise is no longer accepted: order to demand attention. This is what our Chinese friends are a notable exception we did at the outset, with the result that to the rule, if rule it be; but it may be we were obliged to express dissatisfaction usefully paraphrased in the case of Mr. with the evidence. We are scarcely any MORLEY and many of his colleagues. Thus. better off yet, The Echo de Chine's con The statesmanlike qualities of a publicist tributor is described as one who had taken are in inverse ratio to his toleration of a part in the business, but who has no sentimentalism. The statesmanlike nature connection with the Yunnan company. of Mr. MORLEY's speech consisted in echoing Such a man would be entitled to be heard, the exaggerated phrases of the anti-opium but the most of his reply is in the nature legislators, while telling them non omnia of a flippant philippic. Sill, we get from possumus omnes. We would rather describe him these serious statements. Two sit as a thin kind of diplomacy, because tinguished French
travellers ",. whose while bis allusions to "this horrible drug", accounts of encounters with numerous "this pestilential evil and so on, evoked coolie corpses were taken as confirming the cheers, his inevitable demand for some charges, are said by him to have remained practicable plan of carrying out their only a few days in Mêngtze, without crossing philanthropic wishes was met by the grim the Namti valley at all. This, if uncon- silence of the extremists. The ideal states. tradicted, disposes of the picture of corpses man would surely have thought more of the floating down the Red River, and of three practical objects of Parliament, and have unburied bodies found in a half-hour's asked how far such a resolution was likely stroll. The same witness assures us that to further those objects. The things that are if, new to the country, the company strictly legal and yet morally indefensible at first made a mistake, it had "long are too numerous to be ticked off on many We referred some days ago to the reports ago got rid of its rapacious and fingers. Ordmary trade in very many of of hardship and worse said to be suffered by inhuman assistants who were responsible its everyday aspects is morally indefens contract labourers on the Yunan railway, for the facts reported", in which, it may ible. Take the local laundry which particularly in the Namti valley. We have be remembered, Italians suffered equally charges visitors just twice as much as suce watched for confirmation or refuta-with Chinese. He asserts further that permanent residents, though it runs no tion; but so far, nothing very satisfactory workmen and shopkeepers are voluntarily risk of losing its accounts. It is strictly has appeared Additional leters have going to the Namti valley from Foochow within its legal rights, and within the lines. appeared, reciting similar charges in the Ningpo, and Cautou, residing there, and of what is fair according to business. canons same obviously exaggerated tove; one in preferring to be paid on a piecework basis, but the imposition is morally indefensible. particular being almost maudlin, "picturing | Hainan, Pakhibi, Longchou, etc., also War is certainly not to be defended on the helpless despair of these poor, ignorant contributed volunteer recruits, an "average moral grounds, according to the ethics of sufferers, so ruthlessly handed over for a minimum of a hundred workmen every our law makers, who regard all human life sacrifice and so on. Equally unsatisfying day". If the account of the work done be
a. sacred. While in this sense nobody is the only reply we have observed, in wich correct, Mr. CROFTS' wholesale desertions would dream of saying that the opium trade a correspondent of the Echo de Chine seems must have been quite imaginary, the deceit, is morally unimpeachable, we cannot wholly quite to have overlooked the gravity of the of course, being on the part of his beggar recognise the statesmanlike qualities of a allegations as presented. The general friends. As to the numerous deaths, we legislator who could santch at a little cheap condemuation of the management is "un- pointed out that Mr. CROFTS admittel that applause with a speech like the one thus fortunately not without foundation"; there many had worked nearly a whole year; and reported-" There were few countries whose is nearly always some foundation for the this witness mentions the case of a thousand relations with ourselves we could regard wildest of statements: the tail of the comet Foochow men who passed the winter there with less pride than our relations with always follows a nucleus. The writer in and returned home in May with less thau China." What a statesmanlike speech to our French contemporary says the accounts six per cent. missing. The deserters who accompany Sir JOHN JORDAN to Peking! of coolie sufferings were greatly exaggerated; begged from Mr. CROPTs had all, he says Your Majesty. Hare is the new Minister we could easily detect as much in the received their bonus of ten dollars, and whose Government is now heartily ashamed accounts themselves. He says in effect decided that was sufficient capital with of its treatment of China." No, through- that while wrong things were done in the which to leave for home, without doing out the speech of Mr. MORLEY, we fail to beginning, they have not been repeated. As
a single day's work. We must jom issue find anything entitling it to the description we have said, that is not enough, considering with him when he says the construction" statesmanlike". The only possible im- that charges of murder and downright company will bring the undertaking to aplication of such a resolution was that if swindling have been made against the successful conclusion, "and that is all that railway people. So far as we can safely matters". That is very far from being the analyse the charges, they amount to these, case; other things matter, and if half the that no proper accommodation was provided malpractices alleged by the Rev. Mr. for the coolies; that provisions were CROFTS did actually take place, the very inadequate and too dear; that wages were strong intervention of the Chinese Govern- withheld; and that some of the coolies died, ment, supported by others if necessary, while others ran away. Apparently the should be forthcoming. That no official valley through which the Tongking-Yuunan notice has so far been taken by either side railway is being carried is too malarious may be regarded as to a certain extcut for living in at night; and domiciles discounting the charges. But now that the on the neighbouring hils are necessary. charges have taken such a definite and Mr. CROFTS, the missionary who advanced nasty tone, and the old pun revived in in plain terms the charges of murder connection with the line, Chemin de fer and dishonesty, himself stated that the c'est chemin de l'enfer", they cannot with goolies were permitted to build themselves decency be longer ignored. huts on the surrounding heights, out of materials that existed in plenty, Were they paid for that work? If they were, the railway company may be said to have erected the huts. Who else was to do it: the few foreign overseers or officials? It is not for us to defend the accused; positive statements should be forthcoming on this and similar points from the Frencu, authorities. If they choose to ignore such very serious censations, judgment will naturally go by default; and nothing said of them can be counted too harsh. But in the meantime, we have no moral right to repeat such glibly made allegations without looking into them, for the vraisemblance
f
STATESMEN AND OPIUM,
(Daily Press, 4th July.) Mr. JOHN MORLEY, Secretary of State for India, delivered what the Times calls a stat-smanlike and sympathetic" speech on May 30th, in reply to a motion in the House of Commons, re-affirming the con- viction that the India-China opium trade is morally indefensible. If the word statesmanlike" be passed, it seems to us that it must mean the qualities of latter-day statesmen, rather than of the ideal states man, SCHOPENHAUER's dictum that a man's intellectual status is in an inverse ratio to
the Government believed something to be morally indefensible it believed it to be unconstitutional and to require immediate reform.. When Mr. MORLEY urged bis colleagues to cultivate the virtues of patience and circumspection in connection with something that he practically admitted to he evil, he exposed himself to a worse charge than the charge of pusillanimity which he seemed to fear. Pusillanimity was the failing of the man who bowed down in the House of Rimmon; but to talk of the virtue of patience in the presence of an admitted sin is worse. Such an admission should never have been made, since it was never rua. Governments cannot be conducted like a Methodist household: what is morally indefensible to the nouconformist conscience may be the only practical politics to a nation. Murder by a private soldier is both morally and legally inde:ensible; murder wholesale by the army is (from the Parliamentary point of view, at all events) on quite a different footing. The new democratic forces in Parliament include men unable to realiso life's limitations"; "they cannot see that the ethics of a crowd may he different to the ethics of au individual, TOLSTOY, a man dear to their hearts, when; advancing perhaps his most nonsensical postulate, said however hard to do, how- ever fatal its apparent consequences, the