Angust 25, 1906.]
province to suggest bow it might be better employed; but we fancy the logically- inclined Chinese of Shanghai might be able to mention a vastly more worthy and practical object".
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A HOPEFUL REPORT..
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
POSTHUMOUS PHILANTHROPY.
(Daily Press, 23rd August.) The London Times says there are few more remarkable documents in the register of wills than the will of Mr. ALFRED BEIT, the general effect of which, as well as an interesting extract, appears elsewhere in this issue under the caption of "Mr. Beit's (Daily Press, 22nd August.)
Bequests". Our contemporary says the The annual report on the trade of Shang will "puts to shame the mean detraction hai for the year 1905, by Mr. A. G. MAJOR, which was heaped upon him while he lived, Student Interpreter in the Consular Service, and has not been hushed or decently was issued last month by the Foreign Office, qualified even in the presence of death and reached us yesterday. Mr. MAJOR Good taste or bad taste is not a matter reminds his readers that owing to the capable of reasonable argument; it is a constant and often great fluctuations of matter purely of feeling. Personal feeling silver, all expressions of values in sterling may not always jump with the canons of at the end of a year are rendered
good feeling adopted by the majority, but exceedingly arbitrary and probably
ne a rule the minority or the individual entirely inaccurate
This is not
does not care to argue the point. One result encouraging for intending students of his is that au adage like the "de mortuis" one report, but an examination of his statistics acquires in time all the force and moral soon shows that the best has been made of influence of a syllogism, to which it has no a tad job. The figures are given in
right at all. It is obvious, if we stop to Haikwan taels as well as in sterling, and think it over, that it permits by implication the average exchange rates for the lust five the greatest freedom in criticising the years are used in translating the various living; and it seems only reasonable to items. The year was an exceptional one, point out that the living are more liable to ณ. bas been previously pointed out.
injury. The theory no doubt is that the We do not gather any fresh point living has the advantage of being able to of view of the boycott, which he mentions defend himself; but in real life we kubw 118 the most salient feature. Beyond a
how helpless all are against detractors and reference to its unexpected proportions, and Scandalmongers, The only real value of a statement that the movement gradually the "de mortuis " rule is apt to be died out, matters which were patent, the
overlooked. In all probability it was report has nothing to say about it. Then
meant to protect from additional pain the there were the damaging floods of Septem-living friends and relatives of the deceased, ber, in the case of which one million pounds during the period of mourning, when they sterling is given as representing a very
are already suffering enough from a human modest estimate of the total loss by point of view. But it is unreasonable to destruction of property. In spite of these expect the "de mortuis" probibition to things, and the war and the riots, the trade continue for all time, especially in cases of Shanghai shows a large increase since where, like Mr. BEIT's, there are testament. 1904, and "everything seems to point to
ary acts which serve to bring the departed again and again before our notic. With such a preamble, it will naturally be supposed that we desire to say something
an
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ever increasing prosperity The increase, save in 1903, has been consistent for the last five years, while to go back
a decade shows that the figures for 1905 are about double those of 1895. As Shang bai is chiefly a re-distributing centre for imports, and a port of re-shipment for exports, Mr. MAJOR Considers that the figures "speak volumes for the commercial prosperity of the whole of China". The gross value of the Shanghai trade was in 1901, when the average exchange was 2s. 11 9-16d., Hk. Tls. 298,454,780. Last year, with the tael at 3s. 0 1-10d., it was Hk. Taels 443,954,262. The corresponding figures, net, were Tls. 118,425,776 and Tls. 176,979,193. Imports increased, but ex- ports of native produce showed a reduction in value. American imports shared largely in the increase. Piece-goods of every de- scription were imported in much larger quantities than in the previous year, not- withstanding that the Manchurian and Siberian ports were blocked. The import of opium showed a slight decrease of 449 cwts., Malwa having apparently gone out of favour, but there were compensating increases of Benares and Patna. We have already noticed, in Customs reports, the features of the export trade, and find nothing further in Mr. MAJOR's report that needs recapitulation or comment.
The German steamer Lydia and the Norwegian steamer Prominent collided in the harbour yesterday morning as the latter vessel was discharging cargo. Three boats lying alongside were smashed. The Prominent dragged her anchor and struck the Cheangchew, but fortunately little damage was done. The Lydia's captain says there must have been an undercurrent as the vessel would not answer her helm.
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It
secured the administrators and trustees a free band. The conditions a few years after his death would be quite different, he knew, and so avoided making the usual hard and fast stipulations of less broad-minded testators. We may be permitted to wonder why he did not during his lifetime set in train his generous schemes, instead of leaving them to come as a surprise to many who may be unable to gather his point of view. We can make excuses for his not doing so. Mr. CARNEGIE has realised what a great responsibility it is, and bow futile are the efforts of the individual, however rich he may be, to do real good. Nature knows no short cuts to perfection, but works by the deliberate process of evolution. is only multi-millo aires who sometines try the short cuts-and Radical legislators. Besides, Mr. CARNEGIE and others who try to bestow part of their accumulations in this way during their life come in for Its of detraction. We tell each other that they are bidding for fame, for a title; it is only when they die, and become indifferent to our censure, that we, as the Times phrased it, "decently qualify " Thinking over Mr. Berr's will, and Mr. CARNEGIE's mistakes. we have thought of A scheme which might relieve the conscientious plutocrats of considerable anxiety. Instead of detailing fixed sums for pet schemes, and leaving the residue to their heirs, let them reverse things. Set. apart a minimum to go to the heir or heirs. and will the residue to રી National Philanthropic Fund, to be administered by the Bard of Philanthropy, a permanent Government Department, represented in the Cabinet. If they all did that, then as
We.
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our criticism.
needs arise, schemes could be submitted to Parliament, who would consult the Board, and we would never again encounter such difficulties as were exampled in the case of Mr. CHAMBERLAIN and his colleagues, who wished to establish Old Age Pensions, but could not find the motiey.
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very severe about the late Mr. BEIT. have no such desire, although the reflections that occur to us in reading of his life and last will entail a certain amount of detraction of the eulogy in which the Times and many other papers have indulged. Mr. BEIT and his will, however, so far as we are concerned, are no more to us than a text upon which to dwell awhile, and types of many others. The Times went on, "This British subject, whose naturalization and ardent loyalty did not save him from illiberal sneers at his foreign origin, has bequeathed for British or Imperial purpose sums amount ing to close upon two millions sterling. We fully share our contemporary's horror of those illiberal folk who sneer at foreigners, as most dwellers in the Far East, knowing what it feels like to be a foreigner, probably do share it. What we cannot enter in is the breathless awe with which the Times points out that " close upon two millions are allotted for the public benefit. Out of a fortune of twenty to twenty-five millions, that is literally not a tithe; and the modern idea of such bequests is rapidly taking the form that they are merely acts of restitution. Ten or twenty millions, what is the difference? is a remark attributed to Mr. BEIT by one of his friends; and in the case of such huge sums, the remark has much truth. Here, however, our detraction comes to an end; and it will be seen that what little we have permitted ourselves was practically prompted by the Pharisaic show of good taste made by the Times. As a matter of fact, we see much to admire in this remarkable will, the best feature being the careful way in which Mr. BEIT has
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THE LEGION OF FRONTIERS- MEN.
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It was
(Daily Press, 24th August) There now exists a Shanghai, or rather, China branch or command" of the much advertised Legion of Frontiersinen, inaugurated a week to-day exactly, at the northern port. Only about twenty names were enrolled, to start with, and we fear that the lack of enthusiasm would be due, among other things, to the feeling that the movement had been mide ridiculous by the theatrical Christy Minstrel entertainment with which the Legion was inaugurated in a London park. According to the reports and pictures that we received, what the Far Eastern organiser calls "a very successful initiatory function was a pinchbeck imitation of a group of hardly frontiersmen round a camp fire. The fire, being mostly of twigs and shavings, burned merrily, and the heroes gathered round it and smoked and sang together. They all affected costume very much like that in which the American PRESIDENT goes a-hunting, slouch hats, flowing scarves, shirts, cartridge belts, revolvers, and riding breeches and boots. To show sightseers what the real thing is like, some of them were put on sentry-go, aud these guardians of the camp remained in the full glare of the fire, instead of getting into the shadow beyond. This serious error did not matter much, as there were no snipers about, and it enabled them to “get into the picture". The chief objection of the critics was the ridiculous costume, although from
Garibaldi