655
:
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political society is limited to 100 persons, and not more than 200 persons shall be allowed to attend a public meeting of a political nature. None but Chinese are permitted to become members of a political society or convene a public meeting of a political nature. Various punishments-fines and imprisonment- are specified for offences against these regulations, which are to come into force three months after the receipt of Imperial sanction.
Administrative Reform.
The "Eastern Times" of the 20th February has a leading article on the necessity of keeping the question of administrative reform in the forefront of the national policy.
Reviewing the history of the past few years, the journal mentions that since 1900, apart from the Russo-Japanese war, the foreign relations of China have been carried on with varying success or failure, but nothing has occurred to give serious cause for reflection. On the other hand, at home there has been one agitation after another; first that of the students, then that of the Court factions, and lastly that of the collision between the Sovereign and the people. All these questions have incidentally marked stages of progress. Thus, the assassination of the Governor of Anhui was instrumental in advancing the assimilation of the Manchu and Chinese races; and the railway agitation led to a platform being found for negotiations between Government and people. But the progress must be maintained. The racial difficulty will disappear when the con- stitutional question is settled. The solution adopted for the railway difficulty still leaves the Government authority as regard the Loan Agreement, and if the efforts of the people are relaxed it is doubtful whether control over the line can be retained. A settled policy is necessary on the question of constitution, and the establishment of a National Assembly must be kept steadily in view.
Miscellaneous,
The following extract from the "Universal Gazette" (Hankow) is interesting, as being a résumé of last year's events, from the Chinese point of view :-
In foreign relations China has lost ground everywhere this year. In the 1st moon the Agreements for the Kowloon Railway were exchanged with the British. This railway is one of the five lines to be built by the British. The Wai-wu Po, discarding the precedent of the Shanghae-Ningpo Railway, where the Company fixed the Agree- ment with the British, assumed this function itself, which rendered the more impracticable any yielding from the fixed proposals for the Su Hang-Ning line.
This was a very serious miscalculation. That month Sir Robert Hart, the Inspector-General of Customs, again raised the question of his returning to England. The British again pressed their Shanghae riot claims, which led to endless worry, until, in the 11th moon, the Shanghac Customs Taot'ai, Yuan Shu Hsun, paid 50,000 taels from his own pocket. On other nations thereupon bringing forward claims, the Wai-wu Pu ordered the former Shangliae Customs Taot'ai, Jui Cheng, to go to Shanghae and negotiate with the British Consul- General; but it is not yet known what the outcome will be.
In the 2nd moon the question of building the Tien-tsin-Chinking alone and eancelling the previous Agreement came up for discussion. As England and Germany absolutely refused, the Court ordered Chang Chih Tung to discuss the matter together with Yuan Shih K'ai. The Chinese found it impossible to carry the proposal to do it them- selves, and in the 12th moon an Agreement was negotiated to build the line with a foreign loan. The name of the railway was, besides, altered to the Tien-tsin-P'u k'ou --a change said to be the work of a certain Minister to foreign parts, who, before being appointed envoy, was joint manager of the Anhui lines, and, against the popular wish, was for building the southern section, whereas most Anhui men wanted the northern section. The resulting bitter dispute led the Minister in question to arrange for the change to Tien-tsin-Pu k'ou in order to spoil the northern Anhui railway scheme.
The gentry and merchants of Kirin, because of the pressure of Japanese influence, decided to build and manage the railway between Kirin and Changchuni themselves, and the Board had sanctioned their request when the Japanese Minister suddenly took a hand in the matter, putting forth outrageous demands. After that, in the end, the Wai-wn Pu redeemed from the Japanese the Hsinminting-Fengtien Light Railway for 1,600,000 dollars, and also negotiated an Agreement with them that they would borrow half the capital that might be needed for future rebuilding of the Hsinminting-Fengtien Railway from the Japanese South Manchurian Railway Company, and that this also
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applied to the Kirin-Changchun Railway. Besides, the engineers and accountants engaged for both lines were to be Japanese. This Agreement was ratified on the 18th of the 4th moon at Port Arthur. At the same time in Manchuria there were questions with the Japanese over the Kaiping Fishery Company, the import of Japanese salt, the stationing of troops in neutral territory, the railway police, fishing rights at Hsiung Yueh, the Yalu forests, the mines at Chien Tai Shan and Tien Pao Shan and the coal-mines on either side of the Railway. Further, because of the never-ending troubles due to Japanese promiscuously living all over Kirin city, where the Concession area was not yet fixed, his Excellency Ta Kuei, the Tartar-General of Kirin, issued a Proclamation forbidding the practice, whereupon Japan by main force insisted on its being taken down and cancelled. But the military Governor Chao Erh Hsun held firm on all the above questions. The new Viceroy Hsu Shih Chang, however, on arriving at Fengtien compromised most of the questions, to the vast detriment of Chinese sovereign rights, though some cases remain unsettled up to the present time. the Wai-wu Pu prohibited grain export from Dalny and Yingkow (Newchwang) the Japanese were even more recalcitrant, and, after waiting till the 8th moon, the Proclamation was finally withdrawn, and the Imperial Maritime Customs established at Dalny, in accordance with the terms of the Chinese-Japanese-Peking Treaty. The Inspector-General negotiated with Japan, after the Kiaochow question, a special Treaty with appended deeds to be tried for one year, which began in the 6th moon.
When
The opening of the Imperial Maritime custom-houses in Northern Manchuria was originally fixed for the 8th moon. However, the Russo-Japanese Joint Convention, owing to the dispute between Japan and Russia about the navigation rights on the Sungari River, and owing to the cessation of negotiations, when the original Plenipotentiary his Excellency Tang Shao-yi was appointed Governor of Fengtien, and the Russian Minister's frequent procrastinations and hindrances in the hopes of fresh encroachments, has not up to date taken form.
The Russians in the first moon restored the gold-mines of Mo Ho in Heilungchiang Province, and abolished their Far-Eastern Viceroy, but they refused to give back the forty-six villages on the eastern bank of the Amur River. They further stationed thirty-five soldiers in Kirin, removed the war-time army base at Harbin to Irkutsk, and linked the Chib T'a defence force with Vladivostock.
Hence in Manchuria Japanese influence is paramount. Nevertheless in the 8th moon the Russians privately moved San Hsing and the Polichiens (Russian name) boundary marks so as to take in 160 square fi of Chinese territory, which were only recovered after negotiations.
In the fourth moon bis Excellency Ch'eng Te Ch'uan, the Governor of Hei Lung Chiang, memorialized the Throne to the effect that Japanese were illicitly selling weapons for the mounted bandits, and requested that the Wai-wu Pn be ordered to negotiate with the Japanese Minister, but there were continual cases of Japanese selling arms to the mounted bandits in the Jehol district, and, as to Tien-tsin, the Japanese engaged in the trade in smuggled arms were arrested by our police, and the matter made a diplomatic question, while the German firm, Arnhold Karberg and Co., were caught by the Imperial Maritime Customs at Tien-tsin in an attempt to smuggle munitions of war and 7,000 rifles. This proves how foreigners exploit our troubles. On the 5th of the same month, the Japanese General Terauchi made a tour of inspection through Corea and came into Manchuria, really, though not openly, on a strategic mission.
Shortly afterwards they set up an office of the Corean Superintendency at Chientao with its gendarmes stationed ostensibly for the protection of Coreans, which was the beginning of the invasion of Chientao.
Chientao without doubt belongs to China, and is situated in the newly established sub-Prefecture of Yen Chi Ting. This is vouched for by historical records to the knowledge of Chinese and foreigners alike. On the question being in dispute with Japan Ch'en Chiang Shao was appointed Boundary Commissioner, but the Japanese resorted to chicanery and bullying, and we have hitherto been unable to settle the question. The Japanese have been secretly making military preparations in case of trouble.
That month the British merchant Little bought mining property in Chiang Pei sub-Prefecture in Szechuan, and the Szechuanese, though they objected, were unable to get it back.
Mr. Maguire, the British engineer lurking at T'ung Kuan Shan in Anhui, has been He has even more independent, and without giving notice has begun work on his own. also now sunk a shaft, and done mining in defiance of the claim that the Agreement is obsolete and of other mining laws. Is this conduct to be borne?
[2960 g-1]
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