To Western minds all this sounds like an attempt
to make people virtuous by Act of Parliament, and
without showing any lack of appreciation of the ef-
forts of the Statesmen who are trying to cope with
what is undoubtedly a great and growing evil, it is
permissible to doubt whether the proposed remedies are
of a practicable nature.
It is true that the Chinese Government have in
recent years effected some far-reaching changes, of
which the abolition of the old Examination system is
perhaps the most striking instance, but to sweep away
in a decade habits which have been the growth of at
least a century and which have gained a firm hold upon
8,000,000 of the adult population of the Empire is a
task which has, I imagine, been rarely attempted with
success in the course of history. And the attempt,
it must be remembered, is to be made at a time when
the Central Government has largely lost the power to
impose its will upon the provinces.
The authors of
the movement are, however, confident of success and
China will deserve, and doubtless receive much sym-
pathy
OT