August 31, 1908.]
head of the Waiwupu is like a double-edged sword. He has to settle a number of disputes; with Japan, in all of which, impartially speaking, Japan appears to have the stronger case, so that China is likely to come off second-best; and he has also to face the criticism (and possibly the enmity) of the Rights Recovery party in the capital and in the provinces. In other words do what he will, he can hardly please his critics, plecate his enemies, or become a popular
Minister.
THE CHIENTAO QUESTION.
I have already shown at some length that the Japanese position regarding the Fakumen Rail. way question is practically invulnerable. Au- other great question in dispute is similar:
I refer to the matter of Chientao. This question has two distinct phases. There is the boundary question. With regard to this China admits that only a part of the boundary in the upper valley of the Tamen River is undeter- mined; but Korea argues that a larger area on the left of the river is still in dispute. The controversy in respect to this matter is a very old one, dating back more than 150 years. On May 10th last Japan sent to China a long des- patch on the subject. In this was set forth the basis on which the Korean contention rests. The Chinese reply was not made till the first week in July, and at the present rate of progress a settlement is still a long way off. Japan sent a rejoinder to Peking on receipt of China's reply but this phase of the Chientao question will not soon be disposed of, for it requires thorough investigation, full discussion, and careful weighing of both sides of the case. The Japanese attitude is extremely reasonable; there has been no attempt to force upon Chins any part of the Korean case regardless of its merits.
The second phase of the Chientao question is in relation to the jurisdiction over the Koreans residing in the disputed territory. These in number far surpass the Chinese immigrants into the district. The Japanese Foreign Office is more positive and emphatic regarding this phase of the question. Japan is confident that in any case the Korean population should be under Korean (i.e., under present conditions, Japanese) jurisdiction, and not under that of China, In view of the treaty stipulations between China and Korea which put the tionals of the latter always under the juris- diction of their own authorities, Japan holds that the contention of the Chinese Government in this regard is untenable; and although China has not yet replied to the Japanese despatch sent some months ago on this phase of the question, it is confidently anticipated that the logio of facts will ultimately compel China to fall in with the Japanese view of the case.
PERING, August 8th, HOLIDAY CALAMITIES,
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People here have now returned to their normal routine after the August Bank Holidays. These extended from the 1st to the 4th, both inclusive, and were marked by unwonted and regrettable inoidents.
To begin with, Peking and Tientsin and the surrounding districts have been visited by a heat wave the like of which has not been known for at least ten years. Seasoned veterans in the Far East who have spent years of residence in Shanghai Hongkong, Canton, Biogapore, Penang, Java, and North Borneo and other parts of the Eastern Archipelago have broken down under the heat in Tiantain, which they declare to have been worse to endure than any they ever experienced elsewhere. The feature of the weather has been the long continuance of extraordinarily high temperatures and bumid atmosphere. In former years the thermometer has on sporadic days risen above 100 degs. F, but the proverbial oldest inhabitant has to cast back his recollections for many years to recall a similar spell of hot weather so long continued. The second half of July and the month of August up to date have this year been a perfect Hades here. Even those who took refuge at the various coast resorts did not escape. At Peitaiho, Shanhaikwan, Chinwang tao, and Taku the temperature exceeded the normal, and people who had gone for the holi- day week end for coolness returned saying their errand had been a fiasco.
JHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
FORMER HONGKONG RESIDENT.
Th holidays of all Tientsin people were saddened by the news of the death in the Hospital there of Mr. Lee, architect, a member of the firm of Messrs Loup and Lee. Mr. Lee was one of the nicest men to be met in the course of a day's march, and was a universal favourite. Before coming to Tientsin he lived and practised some years in Hongkong, to which Colony he came out from England. At home he received his professional training in Rochester. He was only 31 years of age, and thus prematurely a bright and useful life was cut off. Mr. Lee contracted typhoid fever, and then developed pneumonia. Had he been a home, but being a bachelor he went to the hospital married man he might have been nursed at
and there is general regret that he was not able to weather the orisis.
ATTACK ON THE RUSSIAN CONSUL.
Even more shocking because more sudden and unexpected was the dastardly attempt on the life of Mr. Poppe, the popular Russian tertaining friends on the last day of the holidays. Consul in Tientsin. Mr. Poppe had been en
He is a most sociable and amiable man, and like many
of his countrymen a capable musician. He went to bed in the usual way after dinner, and was in his first sleep-being apparently one of the few men able to sleep these hot nights-when, about half-past one in the morning, he was rudely awakened, by being stabbed or, rather, ripped up.
on
Mr. Poppe's predecessor at the Consulate, Mr. Laptew, was shot in the same building just two years ago, and died of his wound, which pierced the diaphragin and brought peritonitis. Since then both Cossacks and police have guarded the premises of the Consulate night and day. On the night of the attempt on Mr. Poppe's life not only were the continued guards ha duty bat all doors and windows were fastened at the Consul's bedroom, which is on the ground frout. There was thus no way of access to the
floor, except by the back of the house through the door used by the Chinese servants and a narrow corridor. The fact that Mr. Poppe's assailant found his way to his victim and made good his escape without leaving a single trace or clue argues that the deed was done by some ene familiar with the building and the habits of the inmates.
Whoever he was, he used along sharp knife with terrife force. The weapon struck Mr. l'oppe in the right breast and tore up a gaping (which lay open for a width of six inches) extending to the base of the abdomen. For tunately it encountered the riba, three of which were clean out through, or it might have pene- trated to the back bone and caused fatal in juries. As it was, it did damage sufficiently terrible. The liver was out into to a depth of two inches and for a distance of four inches, and the diaphragm was out through, giving danger of peritonitis. injuries, Mr. Poppe was
Notwithstanding his window, open it, and shout for assistance. Still- able to go to the
el surgeons were quickly in attendance, and the Consul was sewn up and is now out of danger. cleared up, though it is suspected that he was Bat the mystery as to his assailant has not been
servants, some of whom he had discharged, a Chinese. Mr. Poppe had trouble with his and it is thought that one of these committed the crime out of revenge. But the native and foreign police of Tientsin have not been able to discover who the individual was,
PEKING CALAMITY.
day night there was a fire in the barracks of the The tale of disasters is not yet told. On Sun.
German Legation in Peking, and this spread to buildings in which emergency arms and amma nition, including shells and grenades, were kept, (four German and one French) were killed and with the deplorable result that fire soldiers
some fifteen (Germans and French) more or Legation Guards turned out to combat the less seriously injured. The troops of all the fames, but it so happened that only the Germans and the French got in the way of the exploding fire were conducted under the superintendence shells. The operations for the extinction of the of the German officer in command, and he has, his fellow countrymen and other foreigners for come in for not a little oriticism on the part of having permitted soldiers of all nationalities, his own included, to be working so near to the
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explosives after warning of the danger had been given by the reports of cartridges ignited by the flames. Bat the European criticism has not been so severe as that of the Chinese. A sample of this was afforded by the Peking journal. "Chinese Public Opinion," which gave a long ar- ticle the moral of which was that the foreign Legations in the capital, and especially that the first military and most cientific nation of Germany, who prides herself as being
in the world, are supposed to be models to the Chinese in everything; but the barracks disaster is held to prove that the foreigner is no better than the Chinese. It is pointed out that if the foreigner were superior and that, if it had, the arrangements of the the fire should never have broken out at all,
foreigner for suppressing it should have been better than they were. The fact of the emergency magazines catching fire and their contents exploding with disastrous and fatal re- sults to those engaged in putting out the flames is cited triumphantly as a convincing proof of the foreigner's lack of superiority. This piece of criticism is only one sample of the recent recovery by the Chinese in the capital of their ancient supercilious disdain of the foreigner. In different ways this feeling is continually manifesting itself nowadays,
ANTI-JAPANESE PREJUDICE,
One of the most remarkable features of Chinese policy is the change which has taken place during the past three years with regard to Japan. Daring and after the war Japan Was supreme in the Councils of China. The Japanese Minister, Mr. Uchida, was more infidential and more listened to than
any or all the other diplomatic representatives in the capital. And throughout the provinces Japanese influences were paramount. Now any stick is good enough to beat the Japanese dog with. There has been a complete reaction, and much injustice is done to Japan.
AN EXAMPLE.
This occurs not only in official circles but in the ordinary walks of life. I may cite the following instance-a paragraph from "Chinese Public Opinion'
11]
to
"JAPANESE THEFT AND VANDALISM.—A few days ago some Japanese went certain Temple in the Western Hills and proceeded to remove a monument and a large bronze image. When protests were raised by the Temple keepers they asserted that they were removing the objects by order of the Japanese Minister. This the people of the district did not believe, so they promptly sent to the Peking Police authorities, and some mounted soldiers were immediately despatched to the scene, The officials arrived at the Temple just as the Japanese had succeeded in packing their booty into a cart, and immediately arrested them. They were brought into Peking and have since been handed over to the Japanese Legation for punishment. We await with interest the verdict, and trust that the punishment will be adequate for the sot, which is not only one of theft but also of vandalism."
Now here are allegations clearly calculated to create in the minds of Chinese sad foreigners a feeling prejudicial to the Japanese. A subsequent issue of "Chinese Publio Opinion," however, contains the follo ing :-
"OFFICIAL CONTRADICTION –We have re- ceived from the Central Police station a notifios- tion to the effect that the Japanese Legation denies that the story of the Japanese subject attempting to steals monument and bron se image from a Temple in the Western Hills has any foundation in fact."
This, I may say, is only one of many baseless stories circulated with a view to the depreciation of Japan and the Japanese.
Owing to the recent great fire in the German Legation and for the prevention of similar disasters in fature, the Waiwupu bas sent s o'rcular communication to the various foreign Ministers in the Capital requesting that they remove all the arms and munitions of war which are now stored in their respective Legations to Peking with a view to the safety of both some empty places outside the outer city of foreigners and Chinese. It is stated that a ters of the Waiwapa will be held in the meeting of the foreign Ministers and the Misis- Chinese Foreign Office shortly to discuss this important matter.