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THE INLAND WATERS OPENING AND THE NEW BLUE BOOK.
(Daily Press, 23rd May.) The public have already e pressed their conviction that the so-called opening of inland waters was a hopeless sham, and we have pointed out before the manner in which British interests have been deliberately given away by Mr. BAX IRONSIDE, at that time H. M. Chargé d'Affaires at Peking. This view is supported by his despatch to Lord SALISBURY dated May 25, 1899 (No. 228 of the recent Blue Book, China. No. 1, 1900) with regard to the additions sub- sequently made by the Chinese to the Regulations. In this despatch he writes:
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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[May 26, 1900,
trick. It was not of course to be expected of Samshui: "No fresh cases (of illegal
"exaction of lekin)." The ordinary that the vast shipping interest of Great
Britain in the East is a matter which would would suppose from this that oader
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China
to trouble a gentleman of the light and almost the strong action taken by the British facetious nature of Mr. BAX IRONSIDE. It Government no fresh cases had occurred. merely appeared to him that British Ship- On turning to the inclosure on which Sir ping wished to engage in, to quote his own SLAUDES statement is based we find exactly words, "the carrying trade of the interior." the opposite to be the case. The Cousuls If they did not, what the object was in words are. No fresh cases have been opening inland waters does not appear to brought to my notice, but the taxation have struck hima! But the fact that they "of foreign goods in Chinese hands goes did wish to do this appears to him (a "on constantly even in Samshui itself, the British Official) to be reasonable and laud-Chinese merchant unwillingly consenting able grounds for doing all he can to stop "for fear of reprisals should they object.' them. In a word, it is the Circumlocution This is what Sir CLAUDE calls reporting Office once more fitly represented in all its that no fresh cases have occurred at the uselessness by Mr. BAX IRONSIDE. What, port! We fancy the general public dissent we should like to know was, and is, the somewhat from this interpretation. The result of the protests made by the Con- present state of taxation at Samshui and sul at Canton and the West River ports throughout the delta generally is in a most against the differential treatment ac- unsatisfactory condition and to represent corded to British Shipping. Mr. Bax it as otherwise is wilfully to falsify things IRONSIDE instructs them to protest. Do The fact is the diplomatic successess which they or have they protested? And if so Britain is supposed to have acquired has there been any practical result from during the past two years in the protests? In the Blue Book now are more evident on paper than in reality before us it appears from the Consuls' and there is a gradual awakening to the despatches that there was grave and urgent fact in England. Sir EDWARD GREY'S necessity for measures being enforced on speech, following that of Mr. WALTON in the Chinese to secure equality of treatment the House of Commons on the China debate, for all vessels: and, although these des- foreshadows that once the Transvaal ques- patches were written twelve months ago tion is settled the hand of the Government and instructions to protest were issued will be forced, and that stronger and more twelve months ago, the situation to-day drastic measures will be insisted on in order remains exactly as it was then. The to compel China to observe treaties which instructions to protest were written as a she has persistently broken and disregarded sop to the public and were understood to with impunity for the past fifty years. be such by the Consuls to whom they were addressed. No protests have been made, no steps have been taken to place British ships on terms of equality with other vessels, and, up to date, not a package or bale of goods has been carried in steamers under the concession-due to the restrictions placed in the way by Sir ROBERT HART, acting for the Chinese, coupled with the apathy of the British Officials. A result, creditable alike to the Minister who got the kudos of opening the waters, and to the Prime Minister who, nearly two years ago, assured Parliament that the British Government would insist on the Regulations being amended in as satisfactory sense!
THE CHINESE EMIGRATION
QUESTION.
The Chinese Authorities also contended "that some definition of the type of steamer "seemed necessary, not for the purely inland navigation, but to prevent the "undue extension of what was intended to "be inland trade to distant places along "the coast not opened to international trade. "The words 'not being vessels of seagoing "type' were accordingly added to Regula. tion II." Now, it was to be expected that the representative of the Power that obtained the concession would have at least taken the trouble to read the Regulations before commenting on the additions made to them additions, we may remark, made subsequent to their issue and correction by Sir CLAUDE MACDONALD. But such Mr. BAX IRONSIDE does not seem to have done, and his failure in this respect is only equalled by the tone of his communications to the Shipping Companies, on which we at the time expressed our opinion. Had he read clause 1 of the Regulations he would have seen that the expression "inland waters" is used with a similar meaning to that given for places in the interior (nei ti) in the fourth article of the Chefoo Convention, and had he taken the trouble to read the fourth article of that Convention he would have found that the definition of the words inland (nei ti) applies as much to places on the sea coasts and river shores as to places in the interior not open to foreign trade. This is plain enough, and, if it means any thing at all, means that every river side and coast town in the Empire of China is open to steam traffic. And yet in spite of that we find Mr. Bax IRONSIDE calmly accepting a dictum of the Chinese Government which completely annuls this-a point which his predecessor in office, SIR CLAUDE MACDONALD, had taken particular pains to insist upon. We noted at the time the manner in which this addition to the Regulations was smugg- led in by the Chinese Government after those Regulations had been amended by the British Minister. Shortly after the introduc. tion of this absurd and meaningless definition of the class of steamer to be used we pointed out the object with which it was inserted, and our contention is now borne out by Mr. BAX IRONSIDE's despatch. When the draft Regulations were submitted to Sir CLAUDE MACDONALD he very properly érased the word "small", having reference to steamers, on the grounds that the size of steamers might safely be left to the require. ments of trade. It is most extraordinary that he should have allowed it to be replaced by one équally vague and absurd. Its introduction, as we said at the time, could serve no useful purpose. Either all the places in China are open to steam traffic or they are not. If they are not, let us have a list of those attention the initiation of the measures TING FANG, Chinese Representative at Wash
that are and let the kind of steamer that will run to them be left to the judgement of those better able to form an opinion than members of the Tsungli Yamen, or even the British Legation. The reason why it was in serted is obvious and is essentially a Chinese
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There is also another point on which those interested in the question, and with it of the effectual opening of China to trade, would do well to enquire and that is, what reply Mr. BAX IRONSIDE gave to Lord SALISBURY's despatch of October 25th last (No. 381 of Blue Book) wherein he encloses copies of communications from the Board of Trade and from Mr. GEORGE JAMIESON. Lord SALISBURY adds: In the meantime "I should be glad to learn whether in your opinion the remedy suggested by Mr. JAMIESON in his Memorandum of the 8th August, viz., that the destination and not the steamer should be made the criterion of the duties payable, is one which would commend itself to the mercantile and shipping" community?" No answer appears to this and we are left in the dark as to Mr. BAX IRONSIDE's ideas on, the subject' but, judging by his previous communica- tions, it is not difficult to conceive that it would betray that grasp of the subject which was the marked characteristic of his correspondence on the matter. He knew he was to be in office for a short time only and hoped to stave off the trouble and
suggested by Mr. JAMIESON--which are of course the only remedial ones--would involve.
(Daily Press, 19th May.) Although in recent years Hongkong has shown a marvellous development of trade in almost every branch of industry, much to the acquisition of wealth by individual merchants and traders and to the general prosperity of the Colony, yet Chinese emi- gration, in which this port for many years took such an active part, by feeding the labour markets in many quarters of the globe, has comparatively languished. Steam- ers now no longer teem with their hundreds, or may be thousands, of Chinese coolies for America and Australia. These countries have been closed to them, and the Chinese coolie must, perforce, if he is bent on emi- gration, seek less favoured climes and less remunerative markets. Within easy dis- tance Borneo and the Straits Settlements, Java, Sumatra, Siam and the Malay Pen- insula are still open to him, where he thrives and prospers, and adds materially to the development of the British and Dutch pos- sessions and other tropical countries in which he has temporarily made his home. Wherever the Chinaman has gone, in whatever country or climate he has taken up his tem- porary abode, he has invariably conducted himself as a sober and industrious workman, obeying readily the laws and regulations of the governing class, and contentedly fulfilled his appointed task in the work of humanity. Generally speaking, the Chinese emigration from this port was conducted in the past to two classes of countries, the temperate and the tropical. To the temperate, such as Australia and America, the trade has well nigh been stopped by restrictive laws. As we noted recently, His Excellency Wu
ington, has taken up the cause of his country. men, with a desire that
Chinese should be
Nor is it alone in respect to inland naviga-gration laws against the restrictive immi-
tion that an unsatisfactory state of affairs rescinded, or at least considerably modified. is disclosed by the Blue Book. Despatch There is much room for comment upon a No. 77 from Sir CLAUDE MACDONALD says trade in which this port is so largely inter-
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