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LORD CHARLES BERESFORD'S MIS- SION AND THE CHINESE RE FORM MOVEMENT. (Daily Press, 1st November.) Lord CHARLES BERESFORD's mission has already borne fruit, the Tsungli Yamen häving granted him two thousand men to be drilled by English officers. This is presumably intended as the nucleus of a foreign drilled Chinese army. The con- mencement is a small one; but everything must have a beginning. We hope that Lord
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
BRITISH RELATIONS WITH THIBET
November 6, 1898. danger of absorption from another Power and then being closed against our trade and enterprise, then, in mere selfpreser-
(Daily Press, 29th October.)
BALD LITTLE revives the question of the conserve our interests and maintain our In his letter to the Spectator, Mr. ARCHI-vation, we shall be driven to take such steps as may seem best culculated to future relations of the British Empire with rights. At the same time we cannot help Thibet, and does not hesitate to recommend feeling that our most politic course is not to seeking its incorporation with India, though yelp and snap at the heels of Russin when whether as a tributary state or as a de- she is striving, in her own peculiar and not pendent province he does not intimate; he simply urges that it should be thrown open Asia, but to play the game with her fairly, over pleasant way, to fulfil her destiny in to settlement from India. He thinks that
CHARLES may achieve equal success in unless this is done speedily, the country will making move for move, not striving to
the attempt, but when she gains an advan- checkmate her at every turn and failing in
cerely to be hoped that the British Govern- tage securing its equivalent. It is gin-
be overrun by Russia, and we shall have that Power hovering over India, in a position to make a descent thereon at any time. Thibet is undoubtedly'a again and enabling it to withstand aggres. So long as China is in a position to main sion, but so long as rottenness and corruptain her supremacy over the Dalai Lama tion prevail in the heart of the administra- well and good, though it is not satisfactory tion so long will the country's strength run that Lhasen should remain a forbidden city to waste. It is not in the army and navy to the whole civilised world. There is alone that foreign advice and assistance are nothing in this sacred heart of Buddhism required; they are no less necessary in the that should render it either particularly civil administration in all its departments. attractive or worthy of its jealously guarded One of the first steps should be the placing seclusion, but the mystery that has so long of the internal revenue system under foreign surrounded it naturally invests the Thibetan direction. A commencement has already capital with an interest far in excess of its been made in this direction by placing real merits. In the course of time, no the collection of lekin at the Yangtsze ports doubt, even Chinese influence would in the hands of the Foreign Customs, and it have helped to induce the Thibetans to is to be hoped that the same principle will allow foreigners to penetrate within its shortly be adopted in other parts of the Em- walls, though up to the present Chinese pire, and especially along the West River. officials have apparently done their best to With an honest fiscal administration and a confirm the natives in their hostility to out- foreign drilled ariny and navy China would siders. Seeing, however, that the Chinese once again occupy the position in the world Empire is daily giving signs of greater to which her population and the importance decrepitude and senility, it is time that the of her natural re-sources entitle her.
British Foreign Office began to study the question of the future of the countries bordering on our Indian Empire. The suggestion of Mr. LITTLE that there should be a "Fur East" Office in the Government is not unworthy of consideration. It might perhaps be modified to an Asiatic Depart- went of the Foreign Office, with some er- manent Secretaries who have qualified for their posts by residence in India or China and who thoroughly understand all Asiatic problems. It is simply ruiuous that the vast interests of the Empire should be wholly confided to men who, whatever their other qualifications, are the merest sciolists in Asiatic questions. The Russian Govern- ment, fully appreciating the great import
inducing the Chinese Government to set about reforming the civil administration. The placing of the military forces of China on a sound footing would go a long way towards setting the country on its legs country that should not be lost sight of.ment will show plainly to the world thi
of special and exclusive ndvantages, they while nelther envious of others nor greedy know how to take care of British interests. Lot England work with a view to secure Thibet for the "Roof of India,” at the same vinces of Central and Southern China, with time keeping a watchful eye on the pro- which her trade mainly consists. It may not be necessary to assume the of any of these territories, but let British in- he sovereignty fluence be made predomina it, and whenever opportunity may offer let such portions as may wish for it be taken under Anglo- Saxon protection.
THE FRENCH CLAIMS AT FASHODA.
A
of
(Daily Press, 31st October.) The French case with reference to the ownership of Fashoda is set out in the Echo de Chine, and a very poor case it is. Com- mandant MARCHAND's plan, accepted in principle by the Bourgeois Ministry, was definitely determined upon by the Meline Ministry towards the end of 1896. The Mission started from Oubarghi, its object being to meet two other French expeditions coming from Abyssinia, the one under the orders of M. DE BEAUCHAMP, the other under the orders of the famous Captain CLOCHETTE, now deceased. The idea o the expedition was to
to unite the French West African possessions with the East African-ones, and for this Fashoda was the principal point. Commandant MARCHAND succeeded in reaching this point before any other competitor. Having given this brief history of the expedition our contemporary sets out its view of the legal aspect of the reaching territories lying to the south of the case as follows: "The territory having been Siberian frontier, have encouraged Russian "évacuated in 1888 by the Egyptian troops scientists, explorers, and military officers to "it entered the category of unoccupied ter- make frequent explorations in those regions, ritories, the regulation of which was deter- and have carefully utilised the garnered "mined by the Berlin treaty. Now this information of their intelligent and active"famous convention, of which England has ageuts. The British Government, on the "rade such good use in her other hand, though they may not have actively discouraged similar expeditions by British officers, &c., have not m
made any real
#1 in order to be justifiable and
and possible. use of the facts collected or the advice “This question was as definitely settled by given by such travellers. A change of the Berlin Congress as was that of effective policy in this respect is most desirable, and blockade at the Paris Congress on the more encouragement should be afforded to" 16th April, 1856, All Powersare debarred those men who are willing to brave hard-"from arrogating to themselves rights over ships and dangers for the sake of adding to "territories in which they are not in a the geographical and ethnological know- position to enforce their authority. If a ledge of untraversed regions in the centre country can no longer be blockaded by of this great and ancient continent.
“paper decrees nei her can unoccupied
The success of Lord CHARLES BERESFORD affords a welcome proof that the recent Palace revolution has not put an absolute stop to all progress in the country. It is pos- sible, indeed, that recent events may even help it along, though on somewhat different lines from those laid down by KANG YU-WEI and his friends. The party now in power, if they are capable of learning by experience, must have realised the danger incurred by attempting to resist reform, and may be induced to look for advice in quarters where they are likely to be honestly ser- ved. Everyone must of course sympa- thise with the young Emperor who has been so rudely hurled from power, but if he be still alive there is yet a pos-ance of knowing every portion of the wide sibility of his being ultimately restored to his rightful position. In the meantime the Empress Dowager is in power. We are not concerned now to discuss the personal character of this old lady, which is far from being such as to excite admiration, but after the chorus of execration with which her usurpation has been greeted it is perhaps only justice to suggest that when she discovered that a plot for her "removal" was on the eve of execution she acted as most persons situ- ilarly circumstanced would have done in proceeding to "remove" those who would have "removed" her. The Empress Dowager may deserve all the hard things that are said about her, but it does not follow that because she is not what she ought to be those opposed to her are angels of light. KANG YU-WEI may be credited with good intentions and patriotism, but in discretion he has been wofully lacking. All foreigners are agreed as to the necessity of reform in China, but it is not necessary or wise to throw themselves into the arms of the first land tongued revolutionist that presents himself. Under the new regime it is to be
:.
It would mainfestly be more to our inter- est to have a strong and friendly China for our neighbour, with her dependencies open to our trade and intercourse, but if the handwriting is indeed on the wall then is it necessary that we should wake up and con- tinue to exercise sleepless vigilance in the
*
'Portugal and German cangkuknatha
the "occupation of a territory must be effective
1,
territories be appropriated until they are “occupied. Two nations aim at the same “point ; it is n steeplechase, so much the worse for the one that arrives second. That is England's position to-day
Following our contemporary's metaphor of a steeplechase, there are the protests to be
hoped that such measures of reform as Far East. Far be from us to advocate a considered, and France's disqualification is.
may be adopted will be characterised by ordinary prudence and common sense,
policy of aggression, or even of bullying a weaker State; but if that state is in
so glaring as to put her out of the event with out the necessity of any formal investigas
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