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LI HUNG-JHANG IN ENGLAND.
THE HONGKONG. WEEKLY PRESS AND
After a stay of about three weeks in France His Excellency LI HUNG-CHANG has at length arrived in England. A Reuter's message dated the 2nd iust. says he has arrived in London and that "his reception was of the most simple descrip- "tion." This is as it should be. LI HUNG- CHANG is not a member of the Imperial family of China, but is, after fulfilling a special mission to Russia to be present at the coronation of the CZAR, merely visiting other countries in a semi-official capacity, chiefly, it would seem, however, for his own edification and pleasure. He is armed with no powers to negotiate any treaties or even to enter into contracts for the purchase of ships, guns, or machinery, as the German manufacturers to their great disappointment discovered when they angled for orders. LI is no longer the autocrat he was when, in his yamen at Tientsin, he had a small but trained army at his back; he is now the mere servant, and not the master, of Peking. There was therefore no justification for the almost royal honours which were showered upon him in Germany. The attentions there lavished upon His Excellency seem at last to have become embarrassing even to the self-contained Lt, and he was obliged to bint that he would probably be unable to satisfy the expectations formed about him. The French seem to have avoided falling into the same mistake. He was not fêted in France as he was in Germany, though he was cordially enough received by Presi- dent FAURE. The wily old celestial en-
deavoured on that occasion to insinuate a little delicate flattery. He is reported to have dwelt on the excellent relations existing between France and China, espe- cially since the intervention of France in the retrocession of the Liaotung peninsula. He went on to express a wish for a still closer friendship with France. This was diplomatic, but it would not pass for much. The action participated in by France at the close of the war between China and Japan was taken to please Russia and not to curry favour with China. The Peking Govern- ment are well aware of this fact, and they cherish no delusions in the matter. Even if they did believe the intervention of the three Powers was dictated purely by friendly feeling for the vanquished party, they would not feel bound to make any return for the assistance so timely rendered. The policy of Peking has always been to play off the Western Powers one against another when opportunity offered, and never, under any circumstances, has China shown any political gratitude.
The French were no doubt somewhat dis gusted at the sycophantic fuss made with the veteran mandarin in Germany, and re- solved to preserve a little self-respect by not following the Teutonic example. Hence we find Reuter silent for about a fortnight concerning the movements of His Excel- lency Li, until he has now reached England. In London he has been quietly received and will be treated as a State guest. A mansion has been taken by the Government for his residence, and a British Vice-Consul on leave was to be deputed to show His Excellency around during his four weeks' stay in England. No doubt everything will be done to entertain him and make his stay pleasant. He will be invited to Hatfield by the Premier, and will be taken to Portsmouth to see the Fleet. Probably he will also witness a review of the troops, and will be pretty certain to visit the great manufacturing cen- tres of Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, &c.
But it is evident that no semi-royal honours are to be paid to the so-called "Bismarck of China." It is to be presumed that the British Government will not once forget that Li is a member of the most corrupt and most arrogant Government in the world, a Government that still claims superiority for its puppet monarch over all the crowned heads of Europe. They will therefore be careful to do nothing that may be construed by the Envoy into an admission of this preposterous claim, which should long ago have been finally disposed of by compelling the EMPEROR to receive Western Princes at Peking on terms of equality. The sanctity of the Prohibited City and the seclusion of the sovereign cannot be pre- served very long, it is to be hoped, when the scream of the railway whistle reaches that frowzy capital, and the stream of travellers invades its evil smelling streets.
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CHINESE TARIFF REVISION.
The announcement made by Reuter in his message of the 4th May last, to the effect that LI HUNG-CHANG, after witnessing the Russian Coronation festivities, would visit the Courts of the Treaty Powers partly with a view to "obtaining an increase of five to eight per cent. on the ad valorem import "duties at the Treaty Ports" was clearly not without foundation, though it was generally believed to be incorrect or pre- mature at the time. For now we have The Times unreservedly stating, in a leading article, that the real object of the Chinese Envoy's visit to Great Britain is to obtain the sanction of the British Government to an increase of the Chinese Customs tariff. From the Reuter's telegram conveying this information we gather that China wishes to double the tariff, to raise it, that is to say, from five to ten per cent. ad valorem. The steps taken by the Hongkong Chamber of Commerce to bring the matter before the public and to the notice of the Foreign Office in May were therefore very timely. The Times says that Russia, France, and Germany have already assented to the in- crease in the tariff, "but the real decision "rests with Great Britain, whose trade with "China is eighty per cent. of the whole." This is quite true; without the acquiescence of Great Britain the assent of the other Treaty Powers is useless, and we sincerely trust that the consent of the British Go- vernment will not be given without the 'adequate _quid pro quo' of which our great London contemporary speaks. What form that should take may involve some little discussion, possibly some dis- agreement; but it is most fervently to be hoped that it will not rest merely on pro- mises or treaty pledges. Experience has taught us that the Chinese regard Treaties as instruments especially made to be evaded, no matter by what means.
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There is a danger that LI HUNG-CHANG may succeed in his wiles and temporarily obscure the mental vision of our statesmen. We doubt whether the latter have yet plumbed the tireless perseverance of the Chinese in the work of obstruction, have yet quite realised how hopeless a task it is to compel the proper observance of the stipulations of the treaties. They are too apt to be imposed upon by splendid pro- mises, the more so when made by picturesque personages, who are supposed to represent all the progress or culture of China. The astute has already been careful to dangle before the eyes of Ministers the prospect of a large expenditure in Europe. The Chinese Government want a new Ariny and Navy to replace those shattered to
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August 13, 1896.
fragments in the war with Japan. Li has hinted pretty plainly that the new ships to be bought are to be obtained from British builders, and he has no doubt won Germ consent with the promise of order: fo: guns rifles, etc. These orders are, however, con- tingent on a revision of the tariff, and hence the chorus of disappointment in the Ger man Press when His Excellency left that country, without placing any definite order for goods. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush, and an order for war materiel, to be carried out on condition that the tariff is raised, is of course a rather doubtful trans- action. The chief party to the change-may-- be wholly indisposed to agree to it, or she may require some counter-balancing ad- vantages that China will not consent to, and the matter be accordingly indefi- nitely deferred. LI HUNG-CHANG has the knack of getting most things he sets his mind on, and he will no doubt work hard to secure the concession he is now said to have been commissioned to seek. He did remarkably well at Shimonoseki in the Treaty as signed; and if he engineered the subsequent Russian intervention to save the Liaotung peninsula to China he surpassed himself. He has to meet greater minds in London, but it is the habit of British Go- vernments to be generous when dealing with Asiatics, and it is somewhat to be feared that Lord SALISBURY may concede this most important matter.on certain conditions and guarantees without stipulating at the same time for the settlement of other out- standing questions, which will then be allowed to drag their slow length along into the next century.
What we hope will be done in response to this demand by the Chinese Government.is this. To meet the request with an answer in the affirmative, subject, however, to the following or similar stipulations. The tariff to be raised from five to ten per cent, ad valorem on condition that the duty paid frees the goods absolutely from all and every further impost whatsoever in the Empire. Further, that a portion of this duty, say 24 to 3 per cent., be paid by the Imperial Maritime Customs to the Treasurer of the province for which the goods are destined or through which they pass to make up for the inability of the provincial authorities to collect lekin or other dues on foreign imports. Unless some such provision be made, and the provincial mandarins de prived of the excuse for such exactions, the illegal levies would continue to be made, despite the provisions of the Treaties, the edicts of the Emperor, or the protests of the Powers. To provide against attempts to infringe this condition sufficient guarantees should be taken, either in the shape of a condition that if the new arrangement did not work satisfactorily reversion should be had to the Treaty of Tientsin, or some other, condition equally stringent. At the same time we trust the British Government will stipulate that this concession can..
only be carried into effect when other matters now pending are settled. Thus the opening up of the West-River and other inland water- ways of Kwangtung and of the Siang River to foreign trade and navigation, the rectifi cation of the boundaries of the colony of 1 Hongkong and the retrocessions of Chusan to Great Britain in compensation for the wrongful cession by China of one of the Shan States to France, the settlement of the long pending claim for the destruction the steamer Koushing when under to LI HUNG-CHANG, and various othe claims should be insisted upon at time. There is no occasion to confuse issues or questions, but the opportunity to
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