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May 2,9 1909.]
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
politan Board of Posts and Communications, | petitioners, or at least offering them a com- not only without consulting them, but promise. It is the usual result not only without a. hint 88 to compensation. in China, but in most countries that an Recent examples of the result of official economical department administered by the control of the capital provided by the Government directly should be mismanaged; public at large for the formation of public in a smaller way we may notice that the companies do not suggest that any im- majority of attempts of municipalities to provement has lately taken place; the nost embark on industrial undertakings have notorious instance of official defalcation is, proved mere excuses for wasting the public of course, to be noted with regard to the funds. It is meet and right that this money subscribed at the instance of the should be so, as otherwise enterprise would Government itself for the purpose of con-
be stifled at its fountain head. China in structing the line of railway from Canton this offers no exception to the practically to Hankow. Originally the concession of universal rule, and it is perhaps fortunate the construction had been granted to an in the long run that the earliest attempts American syndicate, which had failed to to introduce the principle of huge Govern provide the funds, and when called on hid ment monopolies should have proved such sought to transfer the concession for a dire fiascos. Japan in her efforts to block consideration to the Russo-Belgiau syudi-out foreign enterprise by the wholesale cate who bad financed the line from introduction of monopolies is only adding | Hankow northwards. As the principal another proof of the rule of the inadvis reason for granting the concession in the ability of official meddling in mercantile first instance to an American syndicate had affairs. Tobacco, camphor, and all the been to prevent the entire length of the Trunk other monopolies which the half informed Line from north to south falling into the financiers of Japan fondly hoped were hands of a ingle body of concessionaires, and going to convert a huge deficit into as the contract contained a clause forbidding | a new Eldorado have all proved for the the transfer, the Chinese Government was overburdened taxpayer a source of still within its legal rights in cancelling the con-
heavier burdens; and the latest fad of cession, and determining that the line bolstering up industries by wholesale should be carried out by Chinese capital. bounties, has in the case of sugar had its Under these circumstances the Government natural ending in the wide corruption of made an appeal to the patriotism of its almost the entire body politic. It is subjects, and issued a large amount of unfortunate that the example and sugges- shares which were eagerly taken up on the tions of Japan in this regard should understanding that the shar holders were to carry the weight that they seen to elect their own Directors, and have full do with the rulers of China. Still it is control over the expenditure of their own
a source of satisfaction, that the get money. Far otherwise was the view of the mercantile body of China should begin to provincial government of Kwangtung, which comprehend how inconsistent with goo on getting bo'd of the money proceeded to
administration is the new system of nt appoint, without any reference to the share-tempted Government monopolies. The holders, official directors, whose first care was to divide amongst themselves a large portion of the money in hand, appoint an army of friends and relations to the various posts, and absolutely refuse to render any accounts whatever. The
shareholders protested hut without success, and the result was that when the time came for com- mencing work, the subscribed capital had already disappeared. uch the same thing had occurred on the other lines for which subscriptions had been called for, in some instances the whole of the subscribed capital having mysteriously disappeared, leaving not a trace behind, not even a mock board of directors baving been appointed. Now in the early days of the so-called China Merchants Steam Navigation Company, something similar hid occurred, but the Government had apparently not yet learned the art of self-appropriation and the official managers, though they carefully kept the milch cow for their own benent, and render. ed no
accounts to the shareholders, on remonstrance had the grace to make what they thought a reasonable return for the capital subscribed in the first instance. As we have shown above, the affair in other respects was really conducted on ordinary lines, and there was little grumbling.
Now, however, having the example of the Railway before them we find the share holders uniting in a petition to the Metro. politan Board of Po-ts and Communications against the proposed absorption of the Company in the Board. That such a petition should be urged, is, however, an indication of the change coming over the Government itself. Under the old régime the very suggestion would have been treated as an act of treason, but iu the present instance there seems a probability, not only that the petition will be taken into consider ation, and fairly discussed, but that there is some sign of meeting the views of the
apparent want of capital in China, which has ended in wrecking every native attempt to finance its own "communications, it is well to observe, has been brought about, not by any lack of means or patriotism, but by the unblushing corruption of the official class, which has frustrated every attempt on the part of the monied classes to utilise their capital for the benefit of the F'mpire at large. This of course has ever been the canker gnawing at the root of the administration, and it would perhaps be wisest to place the financial question in the foreground of projected reforms.
COMPULSORY MILITARY
SERVICE.
(Daily Press, May 26th) Though it does not follow that the measure will became law, the Bill just introduced into the House of Lords at the instance of Lord ROBERTS for making service with the Territorial Force obligatory on all males between the ages of eighteen and thirty is significant of the change which public opin- ion in this direction is undergoing at home. For years we have realised that our volun- tary (system was not all that it might be, and while we do not go so far as to say that system has failed, the feeling has undoubt- edly been growing in the land that it did not furnish the country with the numbers which are now considered advisable in view of the great standing armies of the Continent. It has hitherto been regarded that the British army was adequate for purposes of defence, that as the force behind the dominant, powerful navy it was ample for all it was likely to be ever called upon to do; but, rightly or wrongly, that feeling of security, born of a belief in the supremacy of the British Navy, is not now so generally held as it was. The reasons for this are
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obvious to all who have been following the trend of events during the past few months. While we must all deplore the panic which has been engendered at home by the dis- closure of naval programmes, we may none- theless admit that the discussion of the principle of compulsory military service is decidedly opportune, to say the least. The telegram which we published the other day announcing the introduction of the Bill necessarily gave no details beyond the fact that the Territorial Förce was to be made the basis of the new scheme, and that the period of compulsory military service was to be between the ages of eighteeu and thirty.
In discussing this measure we have to remember, of course, that the voluntary sys- tem, beloved by so many, is not the precious heritage it is fondly believed by sentimentu- lisis to be. It has existed perhaps for about a century, and even then it has always been shadowed by the principle of compul- sory service, the liability of every man to serve in the defence of his country. As a matter of fact our voluntary system is only as old as conscription itself. Until NAPOLEON introduced conscription, most European countries were content with a small standing army which was in many instances really the bodyguard of the King, but the large forces which the French Emperor was able to place in the field revealed the possibilities of the system, And so other countries followed his example, but none with the thoroughness that Germany has done. Britain, on the contrary, was content to rely on its old system, which, had the conditions in Europe remained the same, might still he adequate. But the conditions in Europe have not remained the same. Europe, in fact, has become an armed camp. Vast standing armies are found in all the large countries, beside which ours appears ridicu- lously inadequate but to complicate the situation these nations are building navies which threaten the supremacy of our own. With an all-powerful navy we could perhaps do without a large army, but when the navies of other countries are becoming almost as powerful, or sufficiently powerful to suggest Their successfully disputing with our own, then we are bound to realise that our fighting force on land is not of that strength to impart any feeling of security or confi.lence. For many years army reform has been engaging the attention of the military authorities themselves and of Parliament, but beyond making petty changes which can only be described as tinkering, nothing radical was attempted until Mr. HALDANE'S Territorial Force was inaugurated last year. Of cour.e opinions were divided as to the value of the scheme, thongh there seems to be a greater consensus of opinion now that the re-organisation was a d-cdel advance on the system which it superseded. Still, at its best it could not be expected to provide the country with the large force for detensive purposes which present exigencies would indicate to be necessary, and so the feeling that we were drifting towards some form of compulsory military training has gained ground to such an extent that a bill to bring this about has been introduced into the House of Lords.
After all, there is no getting away from the fact that it is the logical sequel to recent events and present conditions. If we mean to have an army it should be effective. No matter whether we approve of war or not, we have to realise that men have not yet "beaten their swords into ploughshares" and that being so, we have to take natural precautions. A weak nation is a tempta- tion to stronger nations, and the tempta- ion is all the greater if the weak