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was promptly suppressed by means of an act of exceptional treachery and cruelty. Great efforts are being made to increase the revenue by raising the tax on land transfer and registration, by stamp taxes, and other means, without provoking any great opposition from the long-suffering population. The finances have naturally suffered severely from the dislocation of international trade as a result of the war, but the consequences hitherto have not been as serious as was generally expected.
The following is a short summary of the principal events recorded in the general quarterly reports from the consulates:-
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Hangchow seems to be most peaceful, but there is a strong feeling against the President, who is considered not to have conferred on the people all the benefits which
This dissatisfaction they expected to derive from republican institutions. perhaps, be traced to considerable increases in taxation and to the fact that abuses have not been removed. The increased taxation is expected to yield a surplus for the year of 5,000,000 dollars, of which 2,000,000 dollars are to be devoted to local purposes, such as the payment of debts, so that 3,000,000 dollars should be available as a contribution to the Central Government. On the 16th June official celebrations were held to celebrate the closing of the province to Indian opium.
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The province of Hunan, in the hands of an energetic and a capable Governor, has been quiet, and an attempt at revolutionary propaganda has met with no success. the course of the summer a disastrous flood caused great suffering, but the Government acted with unusual promptitude, and at Changsha alone over 20,000 persons were at one time fed daily by the police. The suppression of opium cultivation has been conscientiously carried out, but, on the other hand, the missionaries report that drunkenness is greatly on the increase.
From Nanking it is reported that brigandage in the north of the province has decreased to a considerable extent, owing to the ruthless methods of the authorities who are said to have been executing for some time an average of forty-three robbers a day. However, "the situation at Nanking continues to improve and conditions are becoming normal. The feeling of unrest seems to have almost entirely disappeared, and there is evidence of great commercial activity." In the north of the province great damage has been done by drought, locusts, and floods, and it is feared that there will be a famine in the winter. Two ridiculous instances of the activity of the local "neutrality bureau" are cited in one case a revolver and cartridges were taken from a British subject, and he was handed a document to the effect that they would be restored to hin" on the termination of hostilities in Europe"; in the second case the export of cattle from Anhui was prohibited on the ground that the meat would be sold to belligerents, the result being that for a few days foreigners at Nanking found some difficulty in getting meat at all.
His Majesty's consul at Kiukiang reports that the situation is not very reassuring; rumours of rebellion are rife, mutinies of the troops are feared, and the general in command is obliged to take the most elaborate precautions to avoid assassination. He has recently had one narrow escape and only received a slight wound; forty soldiers were executed for complicity in the attempt on his life.
The province of Kungsi is infested with brigands, who are frequently dressed in military uniforms; executions of suspected rebels take place daily. A reorganisation of the police has been undertaken, with the result that there has been a notable increase of petty theft. The new police are called "constabulary" and are supported by on prostitution. The state of the town has been rendered worse by the opening of countless gambling dens under virtually official patronage.
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It appears from the last report from Amoy that the energies of the local authorities are almost entirely confined to investigating revolution rumours; nothing of importance is known to have been discovered, and it is thought that the numerous alarming stories are to a great extent fabricated by the secret service agents recently sent down from Peking who are anxious to continue to draw the special salaries paid to them at Amoy. The authorities have at any rate one genuine ground for apprehension in the decision of the Singapore Government to repatriate large numbers of unemployed, and it is possible that among the men thus repatriated there may be a number of agents of the revolutionary party. Brigandage was temporarily stamped out in the spring when large bodies of northern troops were engaged in destroying poppy throughout the province; the anti-opium campaign is being conducted with vigour, and is proving Source of considerable profit to the officials employed, who make a practice of purloining and subsequently reselling a large percentage of the opium which they are supposed to destroy.
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The province of Fukien has been unusually fortunate in having a strong and honest Governor. The result has been that the disorders which were so frequent last year have ceased, and official corruption has been curbed. The state of the province is therefore relatively satisfactory, but that there is still room for improvement is shown by the following order issued by the Governor with a view to checking the clan fighting, which is of constant recurrence in the south and west.
Order by the Civil Governor.
"Both in the north and south of the province the people are of a savagery rarely seen, breaking out on the slightest provocation and falling on each other with weapons, and by the time the officials have been notified large numbers of people are implicated. The ringleaders pick out the richest of their neighbours to fleece, and their only object is gain, but the ringleaders are nevertheless generally not brought to trial, and as a rule the matter is settled by a fine, the officials pushing and scrambling to make what profit they can out of the business. The rioters snap their fingers at the law, which they use or ignore as best suits them. Consequently serious cases are always arising, while in nine cases out of ten the principal criminals escape. If this method of settling by bribery is allowed to continue, where are the poor country folk to find justice for their wrougs? I have to issue a very stern warning that these abuses are to end; in future, when officials are sent into the country to settle cases, it is most important that they should capture the offenders. If they stubbornly persist in only inflicting fines, using their official position to line their own pockets, they will be punished with the utmost severity in the hope of stamping out this evil practice. The words I speak the law will surely fulfil, and no mercy will be extended to the offender."
Foochow is likely to be especially severely hit by the war, as a large percentage of its tea is exported to Germany and the Russian Black Sea ports.
In the report from Canton for the quarter ending the 30th June, it is stated that the revolutionary element left in the province is small and is losing ground. The rebels' funds are exhausted, and their compatriots beyond the seas are tired of subscribing to what they are beginning to look upon as a hopeless cause. The Cantonese have learnt that rebellion does not always bring the good things it promises. They are weary of the continued unrest and disturbances of the last two or three years, and all they ask for now is a strong Government and peace and protection for their trade. It is not likely, therefore, that anything in the way of a general upheaval will take place. The note redemption scheme (which has been reported separately) was a distinct success for the Administration. Otherwise matters remain much as they were, with piracy, brigandage, and blackmail even more rampant than in the past. The pirates hold various fortified bases which the Chinese authorities hesitate to attack. Plans for combined action with British naval forces were under consideration when the European war broke out, and have naturally been dropped. Since the withdrawal of the foreign gunboats from the Delta and West River, the Chinese authorities have been doing their best to give adequate protection to foreign shipping, in order to show that it will be unnecessary for foreign worships to return at the end of the war; they have, indeed, been remarkably successful up to the present, only one attack on a British vessel being recorded during the past quarter. The vessel was
a launch, carrying a mixed cargo, belonging to the British-American Tobacco Company and Messrs. Lever Brothers, and the case was satisfactorily settled locally. The disastrous floods, the worst recorded for nearly a century, which occurred in the early summer, necessitated relief work on a large scale and greatly added to the chronic financial embarrassinents of the province, which have been further increased by the loss of trade resulting from the war." Reliable. statistics are not obtainable, but there is no doubt that for the months of June, July, August, and September the expenditure greatly exceeded the receipts.
The Swatow authorities appear quite incapable of suppressing clan fighting among the villagers or of dealing with the numerous brigand bands which infest the province.
At Hankow there was a serious financial crisis on the outbreak of war, but the situation was saved by the timely assistance afforded to native merchants by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. It is interesting to note that there was a run on the German and Russian banks by Chinese depositors, but not on the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. Many wild rumours were in circulation aud considerable military precautions were taken by the authorities but nothing occurred, and "the condition of the province continues to be peaceful. The normal number of executions take place,
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