June 3, 1899.]
451
her susceptibilities in that respect, the case might be met by requiring her to the perfidy of LIHUNG-CHANG. Having Hunan has for generations furnished the organise a special service under her own flag for the purpose, the vessels engaged to be commanded, and officered by foreigners
RAILWAY INTERESTS AND SPHERES OF INFLUENCE.
(
"
"
"off"
of other provinces have a very small share. largest proportion of able and intelligent officials, the most efficient section of the so-called army, and has maintained at the same time, an amount of material prosperity vastly in excess of that enjoyed by the other provinces, In short, although cut o entirely from the sea, and dependent on the great river Ynngtsze for its means of com- munication with the outside world, Hunan has succeeded in making its influence felt out of all proportion to its population or resources. These resources are, however, still far from being at their maximum development. Captain WINGATE is of opinion that the trade of Hunan with the rest of the Empire is simply enormous. The journey from Yochow, OD the Tungting Lake, the gate of Hunan, to Kweiyang-fu, het capital of Kweichow, occupied two months and proved a most interesting experience. Captain WINGATE had the advantage of being towed by one of the Viceroy's gunboats as far as Yochow, and the word was of course passed that he was to receive protection and assistance, which night account, in some measure, doubtless, for the freedom from interference or annoyance he experienced. But whether that be the fact or not, it is satisfactory to learn that, unless the populace are officially stirred up to hostile demonstrations they will not take the trouble to make them. The statements as to the volume of trade in Hunan are valuable as going to prove that the route for the new railway from Wu- chang to Canton will proceed through a country which will yield abundant produce and provide plenty of passengers. The construction of this railway should be hur- ried on with all the speed that is possible by the most energetic of Western engineers, for events are taking place constantly that "trade is the outcome of its construction, have an important bearing to those who "and we do not doubt an increase must hope to control the trade of Central China. "be forthcoming, British merchants and The Power that can control the landward "manufacturers are as likely to reap their communiention from Kowloon to the 'portion as anyone else." British capi-Yangtsze will be in a position of political na talists were perhaps unwise in declining the well as commercial pre-eminence, from which concession, but havingd one so it is absurd it would with difficulty be dislodged. But for them, or for journals supposed to re- it must be made in good time. The con- present their interests, to gnash their teeth tinuation on the other side, from Hankow because the concession has been given to to Peking, will be in other though we trust others.
not hostile hands. If we construct-the southern section of the Chinese Trunk Line. we shall at any rate have the power to tap the most fertile provinces, and may then be able to arrange for the working of the whole line continuously on an international basis, throwing open the benefits of the traffic to all on equal terms. What Great Britain and the United States want in China is freedom to trade throughout the whole country on equal terms for all-comers.
44
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
biud Sir CLAUDE MACDONALD'S back, by
been concluded, all that remained was to exact compensation in other directions, which was done. One cannot always pre- vent perfidy when dealing with people of a perfidious nature. Besides, at that time, according to the views of the N. C. Daily News, China's integrity was to be guaranteed, (Daily Press, 31st May.)
there were to be no spheres of influence and The railways in Cuba and the single exist contracts were to fall to those who could | ing line in Luzon are owned by English succeed in getting them. It would have Companies, but that fact has not proved been better, we think, if spheres of influence inimical to the exercise of American in- had been recognised earlier and England fluence in those countries. By arity of had claimed the Lu-Han Railway con- reasoning it may be suggested that Great tract as a matter of right, but it is Britain need not grently excite herself be-not within the competence of our Shang- cause foreign railway interests happen to hai contemporary to blame the British touch our sphere of influence in the Yang- Government for not having acted contrary taze Valley. We would have preferred to to the views which were at that time so see the Lu-Han Railway in British hands strongly urged in its own columns. undoubtedly, but British capitalists did We do not anticipate that the Lu-Han not appear eager to obtain the conces line will prove a very powerful political sion, and in SIR CLAUDE MACDONALD'S engine. The Suez Canal is owned by a Com- classification of the Chinese railway con-pany nominally French, but that does not cessions this line is set down as one of prevent the exercise of British influence in those which, in the opinion of experts, will Egypt, nor will the ownership of the not pay. The experts may be right, but for Lu-Han line by a Belgian Company pre- our own part we do not see how any railway vent the exercise of British influence in the running through a rich and populous coun- Yangtsze Valley. As to the value of the try can fail to pay, provided it he decently line itself, the London and China xpress mauaged. From the foreign investor's point says:-"Perhaps if the public knew that of view, however, it does not greatly matter this very Lu-Han line, over which poli- whether this particular line pays or not, as "tical jealousies have been expended so repayment of the capital invested with in- freely, could have been had several times terest thereon is guaranteed by the Chinese over by British capitalists had they so Government. The concession, however,
"desired; that it was on more than one oc- whether valuable or wor: bless, has "casion actually offered to British sources, gone into foreign hauds, having been but refused because its chauce of paying granted to a Belgian Company with French was considered small; and that it would and Russian backing.
"be in a part of the country where foreign The N. C. Daily News in recent ar- "control would be difficult to exercise, per- ticle invited any Englishmen who still haps we might hear fewer grumbles. We think that on the whole Lord SALIS "cannot complain, therefore, if others make BURY and the British Minister at Pek-it, for we may be certain that if additional ing have managed our relations with China and with our foreign competitors in China fairly well during the past two years, and that we have not come out badly when all is reckoned up, to read the leading article in the Times of the 12th ultimo on the Peking-Hankow Railway Loan. Natur- ally the Times thinks we have not done fairly well. The programme laid down by the Times and the N. C. Daily News at the commencement of the crisis, both journals drawing their inspiration from the same source, has proved a failure. Events have moved in a direction different from that which these journals anticipated, and the damage to their own reputation for pre-
(Daily Press, 29th May.) 8.ience presents itself to them as a loss of
The recent journey made by Captain national prestige. The change that has come WINGATE, of the 14th Bengal Lancers, over the current of public opinion is pithily through China to Rangoon, was remarkable expressed by the London and China Express, for two things. First, the entire freedom which says: A year ago we were all for from molestation or unpleasantness enjoyed
guaranteeing China's integrity.
by the traveller although he traversed the "The danger is now probably that the entire length of Hunan, reputed to be the pendulum has swung the other way and most anti-foreign province in the Empire,. that we might take too strong a hand in and thence through Kweichow and Yunnan, bringing about her disintegration, a policy making the journey from Hankow to Bhamo "that would be suicidal for us to play." Our in five months and twelve days. Secondly, contemporary, however, when it says" weall" the trip is notable for the fact that Captain should make exceptions, for from the outset WINGATE was able, from personal ex- there were some who foresaw that China, perience, to corroborate and accentuate all being subjected to outside pressure, must that has been said by previous explorers yield in some directions, this being as in favour of Hunan and the Hunanese. inevitable as is obedience to any simple Although these people are violently hostile law of natural philosophy. It is the to missionaries, owing no doubt to the part of a wise man to avail himself of the pernicious and all too successful efforts of operation of untural laws for his own advan- the author of the "Deathblow to the Cor- tage, not blindly to oppose them, and Lord "rupt Doctrine" and other mandarins SALISBURY nd our Minister at Peking have and literati early in the present decade, nade the best of the situation in China and yet they are a fine race of men, bold and in- of the forces operating upon it. The Lu- dependent, and imbued with a certain Han Railway contract was concluded beamount of patriotism, in which the natives
f
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CAPTAIN WINGATE ON THE TRADE OF HUNAN.
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE KOW- LOON FERRY SERVICE,
(Daily Press, 1st June.) The public will have read with some surprise that portion of the speech made by the Chairman of the Star Ferry Company on Tuesday in which he referred to the difficulties that have arisen with the Gov-- ernment in respect of the double enders recently placed on the line. ended boats have proved so successful, said . The double-
Mr. WHEALLER, and are appreciated so much by Europeans and Chinese, that the Company proposes to replace the two old launches by double-enders as quickly as funds will permit, in fact a third boat would by now have been on the stocks but for a difficulty with regard to the
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