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eagerness in any part of the province to subscribe capital for the enterprise, and the Acting British Consul-General reports that there exists a great deal of dissatisfaction on account of the "rent share" system (see Mr. Fox' Report inclosed in Sir J. Jordan's despatch No. 245 of last year). Indeed, it is estimated that the present taxation on cultivated land, including this rent share subscription, is not far short of 10 per cent. per annum of the value of the crops. The Acting Viceroy has been compelled to prohibit all meetings where the general dissatisfaction is likely to find expression in "reckless oratory," and great efforts are being made, by lectures and other means, to stimulate public interest in the railway scheme. Past experience has not taught the officials that it will be well nigh impossible to raise funds for railway construction without having recourse to foreign assistance, and the Acting Viceroy, under instructions from the Board of Posts and Communications, has officially stated that there is no intention of employing foreign capital in the case of this railway.
Chinan-fu.
His Majesty's Consul reports the arrival at Chinan-fu of Yuan Shu-hsün, who has taken over charge of the province, as Acting Governor, from Wu Ting-pin. The latter is returning to his home, not having taken up his new post of Treasurer of Chihli on the ground of ill-health.
Yuan Shu-hsün will be remembered in connection with the Shanghai riots of 1905, when his attitude as Tantai was not such as to lead one to attribute to him any very friendly feelings towards foreigners.
Kiukiang.
A Japanese post office was opened early in March in the British Concession, and bids fair to become a serious rival to the Chinese Imperial Postal Service. The complaints that are made against the latter are numerous and serious, involving cases not only of delay and loss of money orders and parcels, but also of breach of confidence and absence of secrecy. From the reports of His Majesty's Consul it would not seem that the good reputation which the Chinese Post Office enjoys elsewhere is in any degree maintained in the Kiukiang district.
Kanchou Riot.--Various officials have been dealt with by Imperial Decree as a result of the outbreak in the Kanchou district last autumn (see Monthly Summary inclosed in Sir J. Jordan's despatch No. 104 of the 3rd March, 1908). One Magistrate has been dismissed from the public service for ever, while four other officials have been handed over to the Board concerned to receive the severest penalties.
The supersession in Nan Chang of Chuang Taotai by Taotai Wang Kan-ching means the removal of an official whose attitude to foreigners has always been one of obstruction and hostility.
Foreign Missions.
A report received from His Majesty's Consul at Chinan-fu shows that the Western "conscientious objector" is finding his imitators in the Far East.
A tax is being levied by the local authorities in several districts of Shantung for the purpose of repairing the local Confucian temples. In some instances native Christians have sought the support of missionaries in claiming exemption from payment of this tax. They maintain that the imposition of such taxes upon Christians is contrary to Treaty rights, and, further, that their consciences will not permit them to contribute to the up-keep of institutions where ceremonies repugnant to their religious convictions are performed. Among the native converts, if not among the missionaries, a righteous indignation is almost universally expressed at the thought of the proceeds of the tax being devoted to the maintenance of so idolatrous a form of worship, though the more moderate party is inclined to draw nice distinctions between the national Confucian religion and the more superstitious Buddhist and Taoist creeds. The latter question is one that affords great scope for ingenious theological arguments, hinging on the moot point as to whether Confucianism is an idolatrous religion or merely a national code of morals; indeed, the learned teachers of Christianity in China have found in this question a fertile source of controversy for the last three hundred years.
The point of conscience appears to be too delicate for any but theologians to determine, but, as regards the Treaty rights claimed by the converts, the only justification for such a claim is to be found in Article 14 of the American Treaty of 1903, which provides that converts are to be exempt from the payment of taxes "levied for the support of religious customs and practices contrary to their faith." On the other hand, Confucianism is the State religion of China, and, as the new Governor of Shantung very sensibly pointed out in a conversation with His Majesty's Consul, the Confucian temples are national Chinese institutions, the support of which is a legitimate charge on the public revenue.
At Chengtu, the West China Missionary Conference passed a Resolution appointing a Committee to consider what measures could be taken to prevent the importation of cigarettes. This Resolution is directed against the British-American Tobacco Company, and the American Consul is very indignant with the American missionaries for trying to harm a Company whose capital is largely American.
This same Conference was addressed at its opening meeting by a deputy from the Acting Viceroy, who, after congratulating the Protestant missions on their reputation for abstaining from political intrigues, proceeded to give the members some sound advice as regards the choice of candidates for conversion, hinting that Chinese did not always embrace Christianity from purely religious motives. It is satisfactory to note that the members of the Conference seem to have taken his words in good part.
Boycott of Japanese Goods.
From the information contained in the Quarterly Intelligence Report, sent to this Legation by His Majesty's Consulate-General at Canton, it would seem doubtful whether the boycott will be able to affect Japanese trade to a really serious extent in that city. The importation of coal, for instance, is largely in the hands of the Japanese, and it would be practically impossible to obtain coal from any other source. The Society which plays the leading part in the movement, the so-called "Self-Government" Society, is one not much respected by the better class of Cantonese merchants, its head being a bankrupt banker. The efforts of this Society, aided by the prejudice which does exist against Japanese goods, will, however, probably not be without a certain effect, temporary though it may be, on the business done by the local Japanese traders.
The opinions expressed by the native journals in general as to the desirability of the boycott vary widely. On the one hand a large section of the press clamour loudly in favour of the movement, hailing it as an expression of national indignation at the disgrace inflicted on China by the Government's weakness over the "Tatsu Maru" incident. On the other hand, we find Chinese papers deprecating a boycott; their tone is no less jingoistic than that adopted by the pro-boycott press, but they base their attitude on the advantages reaped by British, German, and American trade from the check to Japanese commercial enterprise. They point out that to boycott the goods of any one country is merely to push the trade of the other foreign nations who are exploiting China for their own selfish ends. This view is expressed, not without a certain pathos, by the "Universal Gazette" (Hankow): "It follows that all our trouble only brings immediate success to others. Therefore the better policy is to encourage the manufacture and use of native imitations."
The Native Press on Railways.
There are few subjects on which the Chinese press waxes so eloquent as on that of the connection between Chinese railways and foreigners. With tireless zeal the papers insist on the dangers attaching to the influx of foreign capital, and point to the profit which would attend the substitution of Chinese for foreign ownership of the railways. Unfortunately their readers seem slow to learn their lesson, as most attempts to raise loans for railway enterprises have shown.
A series of articles which have appeared in the "Universal Gazette," on the much-debated Chekiang Railway question, are typical of the tone adopted by the press. Taking the Loan Agreement as his theme, the writer draws attention to the dark British schemes which lurk hidden under such Agreements. Great Britain, whom the writer terms the "leading devil in the work of destroying nations by trade," is bent on securing complete control of the Yang-tsze Valley, and "if England can get the Shanghai-Nanking and Soochow-Hangchow-Ningpo Railways, she will hold China's natural Treasury, Kiangsu-Chekiang, and later advance her sphere over Anhui and Kiangsi, ultimately obtaining the Canton-Hankow Railway section in Hunan." Chinese should therefore subscribe towards the redemption of foreign-owned railways, gaining thereby not only great financial profit, but also the glory which attaches to true patriots.
The same paper has an article about the Hsinmintun-Fakumen Railway, and takes...
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