402
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
THE TRAM' COMPANY.
with no thought of the morrow. For them the forests had no charm, and no use Beyond their immediate utility as fuel. For the sake of destruction they burnt down everything combustible, indifferent whether it were a tree or an ancient fane upreared by centuries of human labour. Under their inroads Asia Minor, the lands of the Tigris and Euphrotes, and the adjacent districts were swept of their forests, as well as of everything destructable that remained of the old civilisation: a little later the same lot fell to Persia and Afghanistan, uot a tree remaining over thousands of square miles to mark the former rich forests. Of course, this whole- sale destruction of the forests has had its disastrous effects on the climate, and the entire of Western Asia is rapidly reverting to desert conditions. For some time Fast ern Asia, including China succeeded in averting the scourge, but it came at last; and it is to the everlasting shame of the Manchus, that since the establishment of the present dynasty, its policy has been to help on rather than retard the destruction of the few remaining forests. Perceptibly within the last century has the process of destruction in North China gone on un- checked; and, as in Persia and the west, for each tree cut down without replacement the
desert has demanded its toll.
[June 27, 1908.
ihe way in which the company might help tself, without waiting for the Government to do what it is now more unlikely than erer to do.
SIR HALLIDAY MACARTNEY.
(Daily Press, 25th June)
66
He
(Daily Press, 24th Jane.) We note that the Chairman of the com. pany that controls the electric tramway sys- tem at Hongkong has again been referring to the less on subsidiary coinage-that is to say,
A book that cannot be ignored by any who the difference between the nominal or face value of the actual takings and the amount are interested in China is the voluminous which the Bank credits against deposit of "Life of Sir HALLIDAY MACARTNEY," by "A DEMETRIUS C. BOULGEE, published by those takings. This, he asserted, was
We notice matter entirely beyond the control of the Mr. JOHN LANE at a guinea. directors." Yet in spite of it being entirely that various critics have various opinions, not consi- only of the book, but of the man of whom beyond their control, they were
The Times says that Macartney dering most earnestly in what manner it speaks.
was an interesting but not "an impressive or they could obviate the heavy loss put upon them by this leakage in their receipts, which dominating figure in the occasional diplomatic now amounted to about teu per ent." If controversies between China sud Europesa entirely beyond their control, it is waste of nations from the late seventies onwards. time considering how to obviate it; if the had some exciting experiences in the Taeping Rebellion, and he founded the first Chinese loss can by their own efforts be diminished, arsenal. As the adviser of successive Chinese it is not entirely beyond their control. We Ministers in England he played a useful but anobtrusive part in various international: ought to apologise for pointing out the inconsistency of the Chairman's remarks negotiations; yet only two of these, the Kuldja which is sufficiently plain; but we have dispute and the war with France about Tong-
Many done so as a preliminary to showing in king, were of large importance. another way that the loss is not so entirely diplomatist who has not risen above secretarial rank has dealt with greater things, and yet outside the control of the management as
failed to find a biographer. If Mr. Boulger's the shareholders were asked to believe.
book is produced primarily as a last tribute of Though we are of those who believe that respect to the memory of an old and valued the Hongkong Government has not done friend, much must be forgiven him; but we find it hard to excuse the trivialities with which the ite duty with regard to the subsidiary cur-
work is cumbered. There can be no permanent rency of the Colony, we regard as an over. statement the remark that "the Govern- value in page after page of Sir Halliday's ment, whose duty it was to provide by business memoranda about purchases of iron and wood and sheet copper for the arsenal, or legislative enactment a fixity in price for
his observations on the internal management of The that carions enterprise. the legal tender, failed to do so.” bulk of the takings on our local trams are not legal tender, being Chinese coins for the price or value of which the Government is in no way responsible. The Government has informed all who are in the position of the tram company that they need not accept these depreciated Chinese coins unless they like, and there its legal responsibility ends. It is unlikely to take any step which will relieve the tram company from the dis- agreeable necessity of acting independently,' This was a half-threat to raise the fares. The Chairman said they were "very much averse to raising their fares, as it was their desire to give every advantage to the riding public compatible with the interests This implies no of their shareholders," more philanthropy than it literally con- The company will not take the Government's hint and refuse alien coins because it cannot afford to. Half a loaf is better than no bread. We do not think it will undertake any serious increase of fares, Its loss on subsidiary for similar reasons. exchange would probably be exceeded by its loss by decrease of revenue. But the loss at present complained cf is far from being "entirely beyond the control of the directors," if they would only put a lever to the inertia of the local management. At Shanghai there are books of tickets coupons on sale at the clubs and other places where the public can easily and con- veniently procure them. The takings in this form are large, and are not in depre. At Hongkong, with a ciated currency. little trouble, we believe people may obtain punch tickets, but very few people know about it, and they have to write or apply for them, which is more trouble than most people will take. A very simple matter of enterprise would enable a big proportion of the local revenue to be collected in currency on which there is no loss, and the conven-
One spot, and one alone remained in Eastern Asia as a witness of what the Con- tinent once had been; and that, without one word of protest from the Governments con- cerned is not condemned to destruction That is the small fragment of Manchuria about the Yalu and Sungari. Japan, as professing to have learned the principles of forest conservancy, and as at least pro- fessing to have initiated steps for the con- servation of her own forest preserves, is here the more deserving of blame, but China is not far behind. In China proper she has had an object lesson as to the folly of permitting her own forests to be ruth. lessly destroyed. It is no exaggeration to say that one may travel for hundreds of miles through North China without seeing a wooden door, a few rode stools of willow wood; and a single table, is the only furni- ture to be met in thousands of homes. Nor is a stick to be had for fuel, cattle droppings and bundles of grass, always torn up by the roots to render the destruction the more complete, are the peasants' only resource intains. the long nights of a semi-Arctic winter.
But the evil does not end with the com.
forts of the people. Deprived of its natural cover the land is alternately ravaged by droughts, or the soil removed in millions of tons by freshets; so that the once grass-clad meadows of Cheo, are now being borne with constantly accelerated speed down to the Gulf of Pechili. Such is North China-a desert in posse, soon to become, like the New Dominion already, a howling desert, where no animal life higher than the desert- loving scorpion can find a home.
▼
remains
Is it to much to hope that the last fatal blunder of destroying the last
poor of the last Asiatic forest will be averted in time, and that China will awaken e'er too late to a sense of the fearful retribution she is bringing down on herself by her wilful setting at defiance Nature's inexorable laws?
A sensational sequel to the Shatin murder trial was witnessed in the Supreme Court yesterday. Their. Lordships the Chief Justice
or
Another critic says these letters relating to the supply of materials to the Chinese "" If ever utterly unnecessary. arsenal are there should be a discussion of the "com. of old-time Shanghai. mercial morality' landers, after the manner of that to which the Japanese were recently treated, perhaps these letters might be admitted as evidence. There is a good deal of matter in the book which, while not absorbingly interesting at the time, is worth preservation as material for some future historian of foreign relations with China. We are at present, however, too near in point of time to the actors and the actions, and comments now can scarcely avoid wounding somebody or other. We are so far in agreement with the Times that we do not regard MacARTNEY as a fit object for hero-worship. But then, bio- graphy need not be that to be interesting, PEPYS was no hero, but he is well worth study, and speaking broadly MACARTNEY
Mr. BOULGB ›› offers similar fascinations. introduces to us a man who was frankly obsessed by the idea of making his way in life, of prospering personally, and at the
same time we are bound to admit that while
he served the Chinese chiefly for his own. glory and reward, he served them at all times faithfully and honestly. He made no pretence of working altruistically for the good of China, but the absence of foreign applause at times was sufficient evidence that performance was there without pro- We do not think we need follow fession. Mr. BOULGER's outline of his subject's life. The main facts are sufficiently well known. on this side of the world.
7
When he entered 'Chiness employ, he hopedi to reach high place at Peking, and to become an anseer power behind the Throne; bat the aspiration was only partially realised, and Mr. Boalger makes it clear that he was never very generously treated by the Chiness. H› wa at
and the Painne Judge agreed that certain ience of the public would also be thereby first secretary to the reckless American Bar- ovidence admitted was illegal and on that they furthered. We have no (longing to le ich govine, who commanded the Ever Victorious
quashed the conviction of the jury and dis- charged the prisoners, refusing the Attorney. General's application for leave to appeal to the Privy Council.
other people their business, but the extra- ordinary statements to the shareholders in London required that we should point out
Army. Burgovine quarrelled with him, as he did with every one, and even threatened to court-martial him; bat Macartney had a high opinion of his chief's capacity, and perhaps