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British Government of the day informed the merchants at Hongkong that any expendi- ture of capital there was useless, and that it might any day restore the colony to China, in which case it would not make any com. pensation whatever ? Where would the foreign trade of China have stood-let alone Hongkong itself?
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
(May 24, 1909
position in Canada and Australia being the naval defence of the Empire is not a matter for which the Empire as a whole challenged. It may be quite true Lord CHARLES BERESFORD has pointed out, accepts responsibility: the undivided res- that the time for panic has not arrived, but ponsibility at present rests upon, and has the proposed abandonment of Weihaiwei, repeatedly been acknowledged by, the placed in conjunction with the other Government of the United Kingdom. The | blunders of the recent Fisherian administra-resolution therefore was one which could be
tion,
to all point the policy of legitimately brought before a meeting of the controlling members of the present the Institute as an Imperial and not a party Administration being centred, at what- question. Had the distinction not been ever eventual cost to the nation, on perfectly clear we can be quite sure that the deliberate reduction of the navy to the the resolution would not have been carried We use the with but few dissentients; for the Institute limits of a second class Power. term controlling members, because although has always exercised the greatest care to there are certain other members of the ad- preserve the non-party character of its ministration who see clearly the drift of the proceedings. Not only was the resolution on which the protest was made carried by present cheese-paring attitude, they have
an overwhelming majority, but a further not, for party reasons, the strength of wil-
was also carried by a large necessary to carry through their own coal resolution victions; and fear that their insistance will majority, in these terms:-"That, ap- lead to their own or the others' forced retire-preciating the gallant and spontaneous of the Colonial Governments offers to provide battleships, and otherwise to join in naval defence, this meeting urges his Majesty's Government to give immediate effect to these offers and cordially welcomes the proposal of the Prime Minister, recently made at Glasgow, to call the Colonies into consultation in order to decide upon a con- tinuous policy of naval defence for the Empire.'
This, however, is what the last two Governments have been telling Weihaiwei. The shipping houses were quit prepared to spend the capital, which they had ready, if only the Government would say that it intended to hold Weihaiwei, or would give any guarantee as to the return of money ex- pended in bona fide improvements. But the answer was ever unsatisfactory; it would make no promise of any sort, nor state its intentions as to the rendition of the port. There was no wharf at which steamers could lie, and no godowns in which cargo could be stored, and as these exist at the neighbour-ment from the Cabinet, which they perceive ing port of Chefoo naturally steamers prefer would inevitably lead to the disappearance to go there with cargo, notwithstanding the of what they have been brought up to be unsheltered nature of the port. With a lieve to be the "Great Liberal Party"; and little expenditure, which the merchants were the wreck of this they hold as of higher quite prepared to make, Weihaiwei could be importance than the existence of the British rendered a model transhipment (port, as it Empire. The policy of yielding on every is well sheltered, easily approached, and point to the will of the Trades Unions, sufficiently deep for the largest steamers inaugurated by GLADSTONE, is now begin- engaged in the home trade. It is likewise ning to bear fruit, and, as was predicted at admirably adapted as a distributing centre, the time, has proved incompatible with the from which coasting steamers could run in continuance of Empire. There are signs a few hours to all the ports round the Gulf that, after a long lethargy the nation at of Pechili; North China, Korea, Mauchuria, large is beginning to wake up to the real and the west coast of Japan. In all these danger of the situation; but as yet it has respects it is more favourably situated for hardly got to the length of doing more than the northern trade than Shanghai itself as wiping its eyes. home steamers could run there direct, quite as easily as to Shanghai, and would not have the delays incident on entering the River Yaugtse. These advantages would be actually increased on the opening of the Panama Canal, when the voyage will be actually shorter than to Shanghai. In fact in all these respects Weihaiwei, in proper hands, is the natural emporium for the trade of Northern China.
NON-PARTY IMPERIALISM.
(Daily Press, May 21st.)
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A good deal of heated feeling was shown at a meeting of the Royal Colonial Institute in London on the 21st ult. convened discuss the grave imperial situation disclosed by His Majesty's Ministers in the debate on In this connection it is not necessary to
the Naval Estimates which has evoked the mention its importance as a naval station' offers of contributions from the Colonies to as well as the enormous advantage of hold. the naval defence of the Empire." One of ing it as the natural sanitorium for the the resolutions submitted to the meeting They also desire to whole of our fleet and garrisons in the Far contained the words: “ East, from Singapore northwards, In this place on record their opinion that, in view respect Weihaiwei stands unrivalled, even in of these disclosures, the shipbuilding pro- Europe, few ports in the world being in a gramme for the British Navy during the position to compare with it as a health present year should be so augmented forth. resort. Strategically its importance was with as to command for the Navy in the same general confidence in always recognised till Sir JOHN FISHER future the came on the scene with his ideas of con- its power to protect the Empire that it 80 long enjoyed in the past." centration of the fleet in Home waters. It has is hardly necessary to point out how Exception was taken to this resolution, by, disastrous has been the acceptance by the among others, Sir JOSIAH SYMON, a well- nation of this scheme; for one thing it has known Australian, on the ground that by brought us into open competition with inferentially condemning the policy of the Germany, who saw at once the opening left Government it assumed a partisan character. by our retirement from the command of the If, he asked, the Institute could thus con- Pacific to advance her own position as demn the Government of the United King. world Power. This policy of retirement dom, might it not be found some day con- went so far that it actually led us to break demning the Government of Australia, which up a by no means important section of the would lead to deplorable fiction? It certainly fleet under the mistaken idea that the vessels does at first sight appear that this resolution is a descent into the arena of party politics, would be no longer needed. It is note- worthy that the class of vessels thus destroy-but there is convincing force in the Chair- ed by ourselves, have been those which in man's argument that since the main object response Germany has been more active of the Colonial Institute is the preservation in building; and the curious effect of the Empire, the Institute cannot afford to has been that we now find ourselves be indifferent to the efficiency of the naval committed to the task of rebuilding the power on which that unity must always very type of ships which five years depend. And as, moreover, the resolution ago with
our eyes open we wantonly was based upon disclosures and warnings destroyed. The retreat from Weihai was spontaneously given by the Government of only on a par with that other abandonment the day, the Council of the Institute must of Vancouver Island as a naval base, be admitted to have made out a strong for the action it took. The which has led to our having already case
fears expressed by Sir JOSIAH SYMON really & secondary position occupy Eastern waters, and has even led to our bear no relation to existing conditions, for
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With the passing of these two resolutions it may be said that the repre- sentatives of the Colonies in London have expressed Colonial opinion in no uncertain voice on the question of British naval supremacy.
RANDOM REFLECTIONS.
Another good man gone-to Shanghai! When Dr. Wilder left here on holiday there was a pretty shrewd opinion that he would not return, but that he should be sent to Shanghai was not expected. Well, it need scarcely be added that our good wishes go with the doctor.
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How seriously some Hongkong officers, milit-
up ary officers, take themselves! A lady went one who was the secretary of a certain organisa- tion the other day with the query "Mr. Toney, I believe," "No, Captain Toney,' please!" Poor lady confused. Too bad of you, Captain. A military man should have shown greater chivalry.
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A cat show for Hongkong! Yes, it is spoken about and I believe it will be carried out. I find it difficult to enthuse over cats, but I realise that the exhibition will do some good. It will confine most of the cats in one area (which I hope may be far femoved from my home) for a time, and some of us may look forward to a night's slumber undisturbed by caterwauling.
If we are simply to walk round and look at the felines I am afraid the exhibition will fall somewhat flat. There is no use blinking the fact that the Chinese tabby or tommy has little claim to beauty, though other varieties may be some other competitions to test the merits of introduced, and unless we have rat hunts or the animals time will hang heavily on our hands and the pusses themselves will suffer from ennui.
There is a some little exouse for the foreign pressman being a bit hazy about the exact location of towns in the interior of China, but when a Chinese journalist in Peking writes in English of Changsha as being the capital of the province of Yunnan-well, my advice to him is to take a geography course at Queen's College, Hongkong. Changsha, the capital of Hunan, is not the terminal point of the Yunnan rail way which the French are con structing.
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I am unable to answer a correspondent who inquires whether the authorities are satisfied that the placards which have been posted over the town requesting the public not to expectorate on the sidewalks have served to mitigate the