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October 26, 1906.j
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. THE WELCOME TO AMERICA'S FLEET.
see that the change in the law bas created an máterial difference. If the pari-mutuel is a gamble under the new Code, it was equally so under the old. When the
(Daily Press, 21st October.) Government sanctioned the introduction of the pari-mutuel either the fact was over-people in Japan who had read of the magni- A Japanese writer recently remarked that looked that it was contrary to law, or the fioent reception accorded to the American view was taken that the law provided a
Fleet in Australasia were somewhat sadden. loophole of escape for a form of betting ed by the thought of how insignificant in which is permitted at Hongkong, Shanghai, comparison must be the welcome which and other places where the general law Japan could hope to accomplish in the way agnins gambling is as comprehensive as
of demonstrating her appreciation of the the law of Japan. We observe that a corres-
visit. We have very little doubt that pondent writes over the signature of Admiral SpaRRY and his officers have by
·Anti-gambler” a long letter to one of our
this time had ample proof that in the Yokohama conte nporar es in which he at-
warmth of their hospitalility, as well as in tempts to demonstrate that the purchase of the completeness of their arrangements to a ticket in the pari-mutuel is not more welcome the Fleet, the people of Japan have 'of a gambling transaction than are most
no reason to be saddened by the comparison. business transactions. He lays it down The telegrams we have published from our that the amount of chance that exists correspondent in Tokyo go to show that the in picking out horse which will gallop Fleet has been welcomed with the liveliest faster than other known horses over a enthusiasm, not only by the officials, milit- given distance is equal to the amount of ary, naval and civil, but by the general chance, say, which the investor in shares mass of the people. On the Reception encounters when he buys for a rise. As the Committee, of which Admiral Sarro, the purchaser of a pari-mutuel ticket on a cer- Minister of the Navy, is the Chairman, taiu horse, he says, has certain ficts before there are representatives of Commerce and him, such as the previous perforinances of Literature as well as of the Naal, Military the same horse, the nature of the perfor. and Civil authorities, and the whole schum mances of the horses that are to run against of entertainment, especially when we learn it, the length of the course, the weight the that a large part of the expense is borne by horses are to carry, the nature of the course,
the contributions of the public, afford elo- the ability of the jockey, and the theu con- quent testimony of the warmth of the wel. dition of the horse, so has the purchaser of come. There has been nothing to equal certain shares supposed to have some idea as this display of hospitality in the history of to the condition of the industry in which be the nation, if we exclude the welcome ex is investing his money, the amount of con tended to the troops when they returned petition, the ability of the directorate, the victorious from the war with China in 1895 general state of trade, and various other and again on the return of the far larger matters. If it is claimed that DoDe of number of troops from the scene of their these matters are taken into consideration triumphs over the forces of the Tsar by the ordinary purchaser of a pari-mutuel ticket, so it may equally be claimed that the ordinary investor does not give much consideration to the matters stated above. It is perfectly true, as the correspondent avers, that in every transaction of life we are dependent more or less on chance. The inventor spends, perhaps, thousands of pounds on producing a new article on the chance of it selling; the merchant imports goods on the chance of making a profit; and until the Socialist millenium is reached we shall not eliminate the gambling spirit from the human race. There is no getting away from the fact that the same line of reasoning which declares it illegal for a man to bet on a borse when he has good reason to think it will win must likewise condemn as illegal the marginal transactions which daily take place on the Stock Exchanges. But the practice has grown up among Governments to differentiate in this matter between the chance of sport and the chance of business, and in Japan it is not to be expected that the powers-that-be will show themselves more severely logical in this matter than are the authorities in other countries,
The object aimed at in encouraging the formation of the race clubs was the improvement of the breed of horses, and the pari-mutuel was no doubt sanctioned as an inducement to get the general public to take an interest in horses. Experience in the war with China as well as in the war with Russia demonstrated the necessity for improving the breed of horses for military purposes, but it is doubtful whether on the whole the race clubs have served that purpose. It seems clear that some of them have been established more with a view to the profit to be derived from dishonest management of the pari-mutuel and this has given the Judiciary a strong argument for the abolition of the system.
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coming the great American Fleet Money has been grauted without stint for the purpose and the arrangements for the entar-
coming from Peking to Amoy to weloome taiment of officers and men at Amoy are on an elaborate scale. An Imperial Prince in the Fleet and altogether the reception will be something unique in the history of China; and doubtless on that account all the more pleasing to Admiral SPERRY and the nation he represents. Peace in the Pacific will doubtless be the tenour of the speeches. It is little puzzling to understand the mean- ing of it.
wish to be regardel as policemen. Who All the Fleets in the Pacific
is correct to say that each considers the among them is the burglar? Perhaps it other a potential burglar!
INDIAN ASPIRATIONS.
(Daily Press, 22nd October.) The SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA is
11
reported to have been engaged recently in the elaboration of a Reform Bill for India, Liberal principles." "which will give practical effect to his whether this statement has been made with We do not know authority, but there will be no difficulty in accepting the report as very likely to be correct. Though LORD MORLEY has acted with the necessary firmness and strength in the prosence of wide-spreal sedition, no one can doubt that he of all statesmen would be only too rely to study with sympathy the real or imaginary grievances of the people. At a time when one is hearing of a Constitution for Persia and & Constitution for Turkey, an·l a Constitu- tiou for China, it is not surprising LO hear also of a demand by ludian agitatora Tokyo Bay must have presented a grand for a Cons itation fr ludia. According to sight on Sunday morning when the impos-emon report, however, LORD MORLEY ing ships of America's navy received the bas no intention of granting a Constitution greeting of the scarcely less imposing to India, but he is credited with the Japanese fleet which had been detailed to intention of making practical provision welcome the visitors on their arrival. As soon
for the introduction of representatives of 28 the salutes SPERRY's flagship was provided with tele. India. That seems to be practical states- were over Adairui the governed is all the governing hadies of phonic communication with the shore, and manship. The new movement in India the fraternisation between visitors and hosts began.
must claim sympathetic attention from the Government. said Sir MACKWORTH YOUNG, ex-Lieutenant
It would be a mistake,
Governor of the Punjab, speaking at the Pan Anglican Conference," to regard what pass. is going on in India as a phase which will and the sooner the better; but what is Some of the extravagances will pass, happening is a development, not a phase, a that is in its universal acceptance by all new birth, not a sickness. The proof of classes in India itself. Bengalee agitator or the Makratta plotter, It is not merely the the Mabommedan student in London or Aligarh, and the educated Jat of the Punjab, but every intelligent person who has a new idea of nationality, a new vision of liberty." There is no doubt that the situation calls for the exercise of the wisest statesmanship. No one recognises better than LORD MORLEY that the Government cannot smother popular aspirations, nor does it seek to do so in India, but for the time being the sedition-mongers have made it it is not to be frightened nor cajoled into necessary for the Government to show that the position of practically abandoning the government of India. The firm grip has been necessary and is not likely to be relaxed until treason and sedition ceases to be preached in the press or upon the bastings. the campaign lasts it can only be regarded While
as evidence of the nofitness of the agitators for any measure of local self-g
-government. It would be the greatest folly imaginable for the Imperial Government to place power in
Admiral SPERRY and his principal officers, as son as possible, pro- ceeded to Tokyo to pay their respects to the representatives of the State and they appear to have met with a popular welcome which can hardly have been surpassed in Australia or New Zealand. His MAJESTY the EMPEROR extended to the Commander-in-chief and the nine principal Officers under him the hospitality of the Detached Imperial Palace at Shiba, while the Government reserved thirty-three bedrooms at the Imperial Hotel for other officers above the rank of captain and provided a carriage for the use of each. Railway passes were granted to officers and men and special trains for their accommoda. tion are being run daily during the stay of the fleet. The tramway companies in Tokyo and Yokohama fell into line with the railway companies, while both in the port and in the capital the arrange- m nts seem to omit nothing that could well be thought of as contributing to the convenience, pleasure and enjoyment of the American visitors. An incessant round of entertainment is provided for both officers and men, and by the time the visit comes to an end the visitors will have had" a real good time" which one and all are likely to long remember as much on account of of the open-hearted hospitality of their hosts as on account of the striking novelty of the treats provided for them.
China does not mean, if it can help it, to be less demonstrative than Japan in wel-