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October 13, 1900.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
Had the Japanese confined themse own Concession, little need have though trade would still have been in some degree.
Throughout
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in regard to exportation, so that the same | export duties shall be paid and the same "bounties and drawbacks allowed in the “dominions a d possessions of either of the
High Contracting Parties on the exporta- crisis in China these mischievous tion of any article which is or may be dent actions of various Powers "legally exported therefrom, whether such consultation of the others have rendered exportation shall take place in Japanese the task of coping with the situation in " or in British vessels, and whatever may be finitely harder than it should have the place of destination, whether a port of In the settlement which so slowly app either of the Contracting Parties or of there must be some general agreement any third Power." In a letter written on among the Powers which will put in end the 28th April from the Chairman of our the license allowed to a single nation of own Chamber of Commerce to H. B. M.'s inflicting such heavy disasters on the com- Minister at Tokyo, special attention was merce of the rest. called to this paragraph, and we do not see how any unprejudiced person can. hesitate between the views of the Amoy and Hongkong Chambers and those of the British Government.
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of obstruction which everywhere bests his path. In the days of Lord RUSSELL's short administration in 1865, the order was sent out to her Majesty's Minister at Peking in as many words to diminish as far as lay in his power "the points of contact" between the British merchant and the Chinese peo- ple. Her Majesty's Minister, too glad to be relieved of the duty of looking after the interests of the aggressive British merchant," carried out to the letter the congenial instruc- tions; the result we find in the continued but hopeless protests of our Chambers of Commerce, that in such a state of affairs pro- gress was impossible. The Foreign Office caring only for repose, and glad to win that at the expense of its bugbear, the Merchant, took no notice, but stood by complacently while the reactionary government at Peking carried out its own sweet will. Was it any wonder that the British merchant, between the obstuction of the Court at Peking and the unfriendliness of the Foreign Office, was squeezed out of existence ?
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THE PROTECTION OF THE TREATY PORTS.
善罷
(Daily Press, 10th October.) We called attention in our issue of Satur- day to a passage in Mr. Consul MANSFIELD'S report on the trade of Amoy in 1899, where- in he noted the smaller percentage of value of cargo carried in British ships during that year, owing to the competition of a subsi- dised Japanese line. We also quoted his statement about the differential tax on For- mosan tea carried by the Amoy as against the Japán route. "This," said Mr. MAN- FIELD, vitally affects the interests of "British merchants both in Amoy and Hongkong.. There can be no doubt but that, should the Japanese suc- "ceed in diverting the Formosa tea trade from Amoy, British shipping' interests "will suffer as well as local merchants." To-day we publish an important letter from Amoy which deals with these subjects and emphasises the necessity we are under of paying closer attention to the dangers with which we are threatened. Our correspon- dent complains of the apathy with which recent events in Amay have been regarded in Hongkong, and warns us that, as Japan and other Powers annex the Treaty ports and place differential duties against British shipping and imports and ex- ports from and to Hongkong, we shall one day wake up to find our trade gone. There is no doubt that such a result would follow the annexation of Treaty ports by other nations, and for this reason among many we have always strongly op- posed any approach to a partition of China. It is unnecessary here to enlarge upon the point how absolutely dependent is the trade of this Colony on the Treaty ports of China and how anything which affects them in stantly produces an effect on our trade. No guarantees of maintaining an “
open door" can ever compensate to Britain and her colonies for the alienation to competing Powers of these ports. As a matter of fact, the worthlessness of these guarantees is not a matter of doubt. A national conscience is always a very elastic thing, as has been proved time after time even in the history alone of the dealings of foreign Powers with China. In the matter of the differential tax imposed on Formosan tea shipped to Europe
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Our correspondent goes on to point out that there is more in this matter of the tea trade than appears on the surface, and that it is part of an attack on British shipping, facilitating the operations of the Japanese subsidised line, which have told so against the Douglas Steamship. Company here, as the Chairman of that company stated at the Annual Meeting on the 29th ult. How successful the Japanese attack on British shipping has been is shown by our correspondent's figures, which
be verified from trade statistics. Since the Japanese occupation of Formosa a million dollars' worth of trade has been captured by Japan from this colony. The question therefore is one which most intimately con- cerns us, and there can be no excuse for apathy in the matter. Unfortunately any tendency to let things slide is increased, by the knowledge that among the forces ranged against the British merchant is the dilatory, even if not actually hostile, attitude of Her Majesty's representatives. Not only has the merchant to face the keen and un- scrupulous rivalry of other nations, but also he usually appeals in vain to his own country's diplomatists, who should be ready to protect his interests. There is therefore little wonder if he should look to other means of maintaining his income. The policy is a selfish one, but the blame must not all be bestowed in one quarter, as would be just if Great Britain's representatives in China and Japan showed the care for their nationals' commerce which certain other country's Ministers and Consuls exhibit.
It ought undoubtedly to be impossible for one nation to upset the whole trade of a Treaty port in the way in which Japan last month disturbed the commerce of Amoy. When the Japanese marines invaded the native city there and drove 50,000 of the inhabitants in panic from their homes, trade was paralysed and very many hundreds of thousands of dollars, it is computed, were thereby lost to the foreign and native mer- chantile community. Yet the Fohkien officials had never remitted their care for foreigners in the province, and until the Japanese landed armed men practically no interference with trade had taken place. It may be said that the British also landed men. But they did not do so until their. own Concession had been thrown into con- fusion and danger by the Japanese action, and the force landed to police the Concession was withdrawn on the earliest opportunity. Japan has
A NEW ALLY,REM
(Daily Press, 11th October,)
The chief news from the north during the past few days, apart from the spirited race for Shanhaikwan, has been the intelligence. of the definite removal of the Chinese Im- perial Court from Taiyuanfu to Hsianfu, capital of Shensi and formerly of the Em- pire. The reason of this movement is stated as follows in an Imperial Edict, dated the 30th September:-" Owing, however, to the "famine which is now, raging
this pro “vince of Shensi and the great difficulty "therefore of feeding the thousands of bag- gage animals and the tens of thousands "of horsemen that are congregated here, when, moreover, food is dear and the people over-burdened, we feel more racked "with sorrow than ever whenever we think “of these things, and cannot, therefore, rest "in peace here. Moreover, Taiyuanfu is not "connected by direct telegraph with the "rest of the Empire and much loss of time "and delay is experienced in obtaining early "and important news from Peking and
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elsewhere. In consideration of all this, therefore, we are compelled to select to- "morrow's date for the continuation of our journey west to the city of Eternal Rest- Hsian, capital of Shensi province," The edict continues by requesting the provincial officials to provide rice and money for the troops, and urges the rapid despatch of sup- plies, "in order that the Court may not suffer from want." What reply the Yangtzen Viceroys and YUAN SHIKAI have made to: this requisition we saw yesterday, but the telegraphic summary did not inform us, what reason they gave for their inability to comply. It is, however, evident that the Imperial Court is reduced to very severe straits, and it is not difficult therefore to understand the statement communica ted by the Chinese Ambassador in London that the Chinese Government "sincerely desires the re-establishment of peace." Naturally, peace is preferable, to starvation, and the two alternatives now face the refugee Court. Peace indeed has been within the grasp of the Chinese Clovern- ment for weeks, past, but the party which so long usurped the Imperial au thority has hitherto prevented the attain- ment by its desperate attempts to shield the lives of those guilty of the blood of the murdered foreigners. Grudgingly, and ona by one, concessions have been made, even to the extent of depriving the arch-criminal, Prince TUAN, of his offices, but no sufficient guarantees of punishment have been given. If the Chinese Government is in reality. sincerely desirous of peace the indispensable
determination to punish able pensity those who secure this end. fighting will at forces of rebels”, “ Bo soldiery, scatter
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or the States via Chinese porta or Hong disturbance uch to answer for in this preliminary of a decree, sunouncing it
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of Amoy, and even were kong, it is difficult' indeed to sea how the we to admit the claim that anti-Japanese British Government can acquiesce in Japan's threats were being constantly used at the | brought Chins to action. Paragraph 2 of Article VIII of the tims he
by the natives (which the European Treaty of 1894 between Great Britain and residents deny) the invasion of non-Japanese Japan runs as follows:–“Inthesameminner territory at Kulangsu and of the native city there shall be perfect equality of treatment of Amoy itself was altogether unjustifiable.
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