Enclosure V.
The Daily Press.
HONGKONG, MARCH 17TH, 1884.
The recent proclamation of the GOVERNOR prohibiting the export of arms from the Colony has excited some discussion. The proclamation was issued at the request of the Viceroy of the Two Kwang, made, presumably, in consequence of the rising in Woi-chow. The Duke of ARGYLL expressed the opinion some years ago that a rebellion against Turkish rule was everywhere and always justifiable, and there are not a few who hold the same opinion regarding insurrections against the Manchu rule in China,
As soon as news of the rising was received a hope sprang up in the breasts of a good many Chinese and some foreigners that it was the commencement of a movement that should transcend in importance the Taiping rebellion and which should be attended with more successful results. In order to carry it on, however, arms were necessary, and hence the proclamation cutting off the supply from this Colony was viewed with dissatisfaction by the sympathisers with the insurgents. His Excellency, however, had no option in the matter. England and China are at present on terms of amity, and although there is no doubt a great amount of overt antipathy towards us amongst the Chinese officials, we are bound to fulfil the obligations which one friendly state owes to another. Hence it was impossible that the Government of Hongkong should allow rebels against the Chinese Government to draw their supplies from this Colony.
What the termination of the rising may be it is impossible to say. The Taiping rebellion arose from similar small beginnings. The probabilities are, however, that it will end in the speedy subjection of the insurgents. It has, indeed, already been reported that the rising is at an end, but this news lacks confirmation. As to the character of the disturbance, it was at first stated that the persons who had taken up arms against the authorities were simply a strong band of robbers, but it is now pretty well established that the movement had its origin in a dispute with reference to the collection of taxes said to be excessive in amount. However this may be, the rising seems to have the sympathy if not the active support of the Triad Society.
As bearing on the action of the local Government in the matter, it may be useful to recall the fact that at one time the whole of the Triads were declared outlaws in this Colony. Ordinance No. 1 of 1845 provided that "If any person being of Chinese origin in the said island or its dependencies shall be a member of the Triad Society or other Secret Societies as aforesaid, he shall, in consequence thereof, be guilty of felony, and being duly convicted thereof, shall be liable to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding three years with or without hard labour." This very stringent enactment was in the same year modified by Ordinance 12 of 1845, which provided that "No person shall be considered as coming within the provisions or intent of the before-mentioned Ordinance No. 1 of 1845 who shall have joined the Triad Society in ignorance of its designs, or under the influence of terror, or who shall not be duly convicted of active participation in some unlawful act arising out of his connection with the said Society."
The first mentioned Ordinance was no doubt passed in a panic. About that time it was reported that the Colony had been made the headquarters of the Society, murder and robbery were rife in the island, and the foreign residents were officially advised to carry arms and not to venture far from the town. One of Mr. E. L. Layard's sonnets is entitled the "Triad's Cave," and is prefaced with the following explanatory note: "This cavern, romantically situated, has now disappeared before the utilitarian demand for granite. It was long the chosen resort of the members of the infamous Sam-hop-hwui or Triad Society." The sonnet contains the following lines:--
Deep in the grim and apart from men,
The robber band, oath-bound to mutual aid,
Would plan foul murder and unpitying raid
O'er midnight counsel in their secret den.
Such was the opinion entertained of the Triads in the early days of the colony, and the Government having, by its legislation above referred to, adopted that view, it could not regard with indifference, much less friendship, any movement in which they were interested. It is possible that the Society does not deserve the character which has been given to it. Its friends in the present day say its object is simply the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty and the restoration of the Mings, that it is friendly to foreigners, and that so far from encouraging lawlessness, in general its aims, apart from its political object, are purely benevolent. The Society dates from the early part of the last century, and its name is taken from the supposed union of heaven, earth, and man.
Allowing it the better character claimed for it to-day, the fact nevertheless remains that all secret political societies must necessarily always be looked upon with suspicion by any government, and one of the avowed aims of the Triad Society being the overthrow of the present Government of China, the Government of Hongkong is bound to discountenance them in every possible way as long as England remains in friendly relations with China. The argument that the Chinese officials are ill-disposed towards us, whereas the Triads are otherwise, goes for nothing. As long as we give the hand of friendship to China so long is it impossible that we should secretly encourage any attempt to overthrow the Government of the country.
Whether in the event of a widespread insurrection in China, such as that of the Taipings, again occurring, England should lend her aid in suppressing it is another question, and one altogether apart from that of the duty of the Hongkong Government not to allow the Colony to be made a base from which to draw supplies or in which to hatch plots against the Chinese Government.
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