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and sole representative of the former faction, fied from the city on the 10th May, having previously concentrated his men at spots outside the walls,
Chungking has seen no fighting, although on two occasions strong thrusts were made towards the city by the Second Szechuanese Division. Commerce, however, has suffered great losses, both direct and indirect; at the end of the quarter the total requisition made on the city amounted to 1,200,000 dollars.
The behaviour of the Kweichow troops in and around Chungking has beeu in general quite good, and discipline is surprisingly well maintained.
As an inevitable consequence of the war in Szechuan, brigandage has become a pest. On the departure of the bulk of the Kweichow garrison brigands were so far The enboldened as to commit their robberies right under the walls of the city. favourite haunt of the robber bands, however, has been the " Kitten Gorge," between Kiantsing and Chungking; not even the protection of an escort guaranteed parties Another "plague spot" is Tai-ping against being fired on in this stretch of the river, Chen, west of Chungking, on the border of Yungchuan, Jung-ch'ang and Ta tsu. About the middle of the quarter a party of American missionaries, who had been looted at this place two years before, tried to escape attention by circumventing Tai-p'ing Chen, but the brigands detected them and gave chase, firing as they ran. When the bullets came dangerously close, the missionaries, who had sought to outstrip their assailants, stopped and threw up their hands. The brigands then merely rebuked them for trying to evade the town, and took from them the price of the ammunition expended, estimated at 5 dol. 50 c. Even this was subsequently restored to them,
It is interesting to note that this body of brigands made no secret of their object, viz., the formation of a strong well-armed band which would sell its services to the highest bidder of the two opposing factions and be incorporated in the army on one side or the other.
The embargo on the export of silver, declared in April by the Kweichow command, caused apprehension at first amongst the native population, who regarded the order as an indication that the Kweichow troops were going to loot the city. Their fears, though not unnatural, were quite groundless. The sole object of the Kweichow command appears to have been to ensure an adequate supply of ready money for paying the troops, and the general himself, with his primitive notion of economics, could think of no other expedient.
Ichang.
During the early part of the quarter the unpaid troops of the Upper Yang-tsze Expeditionary Force, were a constant source of danger to the native population. They committed robberies under the cloak of searching for opium, and did not hesitate to use violence.
Towards the end of July the situation became threatening for a few days, partly in consequence of the war in Chibli, but chiefly by reason of the arrest at the Tuchun's order of Wu Kuang-hsin, Commander-in-chief of the Upper Yang-tsze Expeditionary Force, and incidentally a son-in-law of Tuan Chi-jui. The nominal cause of Wu's arrest was the fighting that had occurred between his troops and those of the Tuchun at Hankow; it is more than probable, however, that his relationship with Tuan was the real reason.
Fears were generally held that Wu's capture would result in hostilities between the latter's forces and those of Wang Mou-Shang, Commander-in-chief of the Hupel provincial troops. Finally the Tuchun himself took over Wu's forces and incorporated them in his own army, a step which has relieved the situation, for the time being, at all
events.
The state of affairs at Shasi gave cause for alarm on more than one occasion during July. Owing to friction between the troops of Wang Ju-ch'in and those of Wu Kuang-hsin, there was talk of withdrawing the former; their departure would have left Wu's troops, for long unpaid, free to loot the place, and the latter announced Wang's troops that if they did they would spare neither foreigner nor Chinese. remained, however, and looting was merely spasmodic, being confined to native shops and customs stations. With the disbandment of Wu's troops at Shasi, orders having recently been issued by Wang Tuchun to that effect, the situation there will be restored to something like normal.
Thanks to the constant patrolling of the danger zones by gunboats, the firing on steamers near Wan-hsien and other places on the Upper Yang-tsze has entirely ceased latterly. There are now seven vessels on the run, of which five are British and two American.
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In consequence of the struggle in Szechuan, junk trade on the river has practically ceased.
The largest seizure of opium during the quarter was made on the "Aulan," an As the circumstances Asiatic Petroleum Company boat, where piculs were found. pointed to gross negligence on the part of the officers, the vessel's extra-treaty privileges were cancelled, to be restore later, however, on payment by the compony of 250 taels. The new season's crop of opium from Szechuan, Kweichow and Yunnan is now being taken to Chungking for export. It is therefore likely that the difficulties for steamers arising out of the smuggling of the drug will increase in the near future.
Mukden.
Throughout the quarter the struggle between the Anfu and Peiyang Parties for political supremacy and the Chinese Eastern Railway question have almost monopolised the attention of Governor Chung Tsolin, who surprised many well-informed people by championing the Peiyang cause. It had been thought that Chang was too much under Japanese influence to oppose the then powerful Anfu clique. His well-known ambition to become Vice-President and eventually President of the Republic had, doubtless, a good deal to do with this unexpected step.
Chang Tso-lin's career, his rise from the lowly position of a pig-gelder to that of virtual ruler of Manchuria, is eloquent testimony of the man's strength of character. In his dealings with the Japanese he has given proof of a political astuteness equal to that of any of his fellow officials. Chang's earlier life as brigand chief developed his natural gifts of leadership and helped to make him the man of action he is to-day, and of this type of official there is a sorry lack in China. With the people he has the reputation of being ruthless, but just.
Handicapped though the Governor is by his lack of education, he has reduced the Military and Civil Governors of Kirin and Heilungchiang to a state of total sub- servience, and controls every act of the Provincial Assembly. His troops, regularly paid and well-disciplined, are amongst the best in China, and his officers are wholly devoted to him
The Presidency of the Republic is indeed a reasonable goal for such a man, but, apart from possible outside opposition, his lack of education and of political experience outside Manchuria must always prove grave obstacles to his progress.
Opium, of which the cultivation in Fengtien has been suppressed, is being consumed to an increasing extent among the higher classes, and especially in Mukden; even the Governor himself is suspected of indulging in the habit. Amongst the lower classes, on the other hand, the habit is going out, morphine having taken the place of opium. The suppression of either drug is an almost impossible task in view of the lack of restrictions on their conveyance and sale by Japanese subjects.
No foreigner can visit Manchuria without being struck by the intense anti- Japanese feeling which exists amongst European and American residents in the country. The reasons for this general feeling, though difficult to understand at first, are not far too seek.
In the first place, the missionaries resent the way in which the drug business is being carried on by the Japanese, who are ruining the Chinese body and soul with their opium and their morphia.
Amongst foreign merchants the anti-Japanese feeling is the result of the discrimi nation in favour of Japanese trade shown by the authorities generally. The methods of discrimination are calculated to deepen this resentment. One favourite trick of the Japanese is to put as many difficulties as possible in the way of foreign merchants, who have to use the Japanese railway for transport purposes. There are endless delays, and no notice is taken of complaints. Again, claims for cargo lost or stolen on the South Manchuria Railway are almost always refused; even when the company cannot wriggle out of its responsibility a third of the claim is the maximum paid.
It might be thought by the casual observer that the Chinese are reconciled to the presence of the Japanese in Manchuria, and the fact that the boycott has never reached this country tends to confirm such an opinion. The Chinese there, however, dislike the Japanese at least as much as they dislike them elsewhere in China, but they realise how powerless they are, and are consequently more cautious in their utterances.
Foochow.
There has been no event of general political importance during the quarter under About the beginning of April three attempts to bring bomba into the Military
review.
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