179
128
The Prefet called in the afternoon, regretted not having made any preparations for me, and begged me to go and stay at the yamên, as he said, previous English travellers had done. I refused the invitation. He said that of ten people here, six were Turkis, three Mahommedan Chinese, and only one ordinary Chinese; he added that there were always troubles and squabbles. He said that Russian subjects were dealt with by the Consul, but that in the case of " mixed troubles there was a "mixed Court," at which he and the Consul sat as Assessors. He said that there were thousands of Russian subjects, and that the Russian authorities wanted to get rid of these, and give them back to the Chinese who did not want them.
27
The Prefet is an amiable old man of 70 with many years' service in Guchen, Urumtsi, and here.
The population seems merry and friendly, but looked awkward customers to quarrel with. It is difficult to find a Chinese-speaking man in the streets, and equally hard to find a Chinese shop, for these are hidden away among the Moslem ones like needles in hay.
There are many mosques, and to them people were flocking all day.
In the afternoon I called on the two Roman Catholic priests (Lazarists of the Ordos Belgian Mission), whose station is situated to the north of the inn on rising ground. Poor people, their labours do not meet with the success they deserve, for after twenty-five years' work, the mission has but 200 adherents; there are none among the Moslems, for these have a religion of their own already; the only adherents are among the Chinese, a small and ever changing population. The time must hang heavy on their hands, and to remedy this, the one gives lessons in French, and the other in English to members of the Russian Bank. They have introduced here such fruit trees as the cherry, apple, from Tashkend; they also grow tobacco, and make their own wine; they con- firmed the information respecting mutinous soldiery, and said they were very lawless, and there being no Chinese women took the Turki ones.
October 28.-I called on the Taotai, and subsequently on the Prefet. The latter said there were 100 infantry here and 100 cavalry in Chüncheng. These are without any doubt of the old pattern. In Ningyuen they are so little en évidence, that I have not seen a single one, nor even a policeman in the streets.
I lunched at the Consulate to-day; the Consul subsequently very kindly introduced me to the Manager of the Russian Bank.
During the day settled the question of the return to Peking of my Chinese servants, and decided to send two across Chinese Central Asia, and to take the other one with me across Russian territory to Omsk, and to send him back to Peking by the Siberian Railway. The first two were confided to the charge of the Chinese authorities, who undertook to furnish the latter with the necessary passport to be viséed by the Russian Consulate.
October 29.--A Solon Manchu was lunching to-day at the Consulate; he had come over from Hsincheng on business from the Chiangchun. He spoke Russian fluently and is distinctly Russophile. His son is being educated at Vierny.
The interesting Turkish festival of the scramble on horseback for a lamb took place to-day in the country. At this game whoever secures the largest piece gets a prize in money from the yamên.
The Russian post leaves once a-week. Letters take seventeen days to reach St. Petersburgh. I hired a Russian carriage during the day to take me as far as Djarkend (two days); I paid 43 roubles (41. 6s.)-an exorbitant price.
I thought it best to have my passport viséed by the Consul, and this step proved highly useful.
Arrival at Kuldja.
Thus was the goal which, in Peking in April, had seemed so very remote, reached, after a journey, including halts, of six months and three weeks--a journey by road during which over 4,000 miles had been covered by cart or camel.
The following is a Table of the approximate distances.
The difficulty of telling the correct length of a march will be readily understood; thus there will be found to be mistakes in the reckoning. I have tried, however, to under-estimate the various distances instead of falling into the other and worse
error.
Peking to Kalyan Kalgan to Kweihuncheng Kweihuacheng to Borobalgasson Borobalgasson to Ninghsia Ninghsia to Alashan and return
Ninghsia to Kweihaacheng (north road) Kweibuacheng to Urga
Urga to Uliassutai.. Uliassutai to Kobdo
Kobdo to Altaishan Altaishan to Chugucbak Chuguchak to Shibu Hsihu to Ili (Suiding) Ili to Old Kuldja
·
Total
129
Miler.
133
250
500
195
1803
441
630
752
242
191
300
1933
2124
22
4,184
Education.
The traveller in China cannot but be struck by the keen desire manifested both by official and other classes to learn English. This keenness has found expression in application to missionaries, and in the engagement of Japanese even as teachers, unsatisfactory though their services have often been. It seems to me that more might be done to encourage this keenness. The scheme of the Committee for the Education of Chinese in England is excellent, but it does not go far enough. It provides for the education in England only. The distances and cost, the dislike of the Chinese to leaving home and living among strangers, militate against any number of Chinese coming to England. English should therefore be taken to the Chinese, and for this purpose I would utilize the China Inland Mission. The members of this do already to à small extent teach English, but their time is perforce limited, as they are taken up with their own special work. They have long recognized that to reach the Chinese they must work through their bodies, and at most of the stations attempt to place some one with a knowledge of medical work. I would also place at each a man who would teach English. He would belong to the same class as that from which missionaries are chiefly drawn; he would not be a missionary. His time would be entirely devoted to teaching English. He would be "attached " to the mission because otherwise he could not reside in the interior, and he would accept any position as teacher of English in the local schools which the authorities might-and, from my own experience, frequently would-
offer him.
My opinion is that thereby the cause of Christianity would grow, and this is a movement in which Great Britain should be deeply interested for the following reasons: That sooner or later China will adopt a national religion. The Chinese are long since tired of their idols, from whom they derive no satisfaction, and in their desire to imitate other countries they will, if not in our day, then in those of our children, adopt a religion. Is that to be Buddhist, Mahommedan, or Christian ? My tear is that unless the latter missions make more headway the Mahommedan religion will fight its way to the front, and the British Empire could not but view the rise of a great Mahommedan Power in the Far East as having serious possible effects on India,
A Trade Suggestion.
In order to trade in North Mongolia, a knowledge of Mongol is almost a necessity. Default of this, trustworthy Mongol-speaking Chinese could be utilized, and in any case these are a necessity for arranging with the caravan leaders for transit of wool, &c. While residence and trade at Urga seem forbidden; I understood that it was otherwise at Ulaissutari, Kobdo, Sharasumé, &c. At Urga there is one British firm, represented by a Dutchman, who works through the Russian Bank.
But, while trading in Mongolia presents some difficulties, there is one branch of business to which I beg to call attention, and which is neglected by the British mercantile community. Possibly it also presents difficulties, or perhaps it is considered too small a business and unremunerative. The Chinese shops everywhere are filled with cheap, gaudy Japanese goods, such as fans, caps, mirrors, bowls, trays, photos and frames, chopsticks, false jewellery, towels, boxes of various sizes, &c. The Chinese shops in Peking too are full of these things, and it is from there that they may find their I am no way into the provincies and dependencies where they find a ready sale. advocate of the making of cheap and nasty goods, but as the kind to which I refer are already turned out at home, and our bazaars are full of them, could not the trade be
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