THE POSITION OF CHINA.
4
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
example, and who lost the precious time when reorganisation was possible in squnbb. ling amongst themselves about questions of petty precedence; and who disclaiming all desire for personal aggrandisement were nevertheless all the while surreptitiously working out schemes of partition each in its own interest, while as carefully trying to spoil, under pretence of helping the common cause, his neighbour's "little game." When history comes to review the events of the twelve-month in China, the verdict will be one of the utter ineptitude displayed by one and all; and may be summarised in the old nursery rhyme :-
The King of France with twenty
thousand men .... : Marched up the hill-and then marched
down again.
:
The opportunity has been given and lost, and to all appearance the last state of China is worse than the first. Mea:,while the one country that has scored any even partial success is the most unscrupulous of all; and we may feel well satisfied if the one fruit of all our toil be not to hasten on the supreme conflict between barbarism and culture, that we had even a year ago fondly hoped had been relegated to the time of our graudchildren, it not postponed, like a too knotty point in court, eine die. Russia, it is true is at home in evil case, but, as in the days of the Empress CATHERINE, it is under such cases that Russia is most dangerous to her neighbours. In this instinct has taught her a similar lesson to what it has France, France however, learnt the lesson too well, and in the case of NAPOLEON III well nigh brought his country to destruction; we can only hope that a like result will follow the pursuit of similar tactics by the unscrupulous Court surrounding the well-meaning, but insufficiently strong NICHOLAS II.
[July 1, 1901.
the disturbance to trade caused by the hosti
the North, well maintained, more especially as it is estimated by dealers that at least one hundred chests per month are passed into China through Kwanchau- wan without coming under the cogniance of the Chinese Customs. Seeing therefore that British India, Persia, and to a very small extent Turkey, are the only countries directly interested in the import of opum, some of the Foreign Ministers thought to be generous by making a concession that would cost them nothing and suggested an addition to the duties on the drug.
Rice is another commodity in which few of the Treaty Powers are interested, ind therefore seemed an easy subject for attack, The rice imported into China comes chiefly from Indo-Chinn (Saigon and Haiphong), Siam, and Burmah, with occasional small shipments from Japan. The grain from the latter country is not popular because it is considered too strong, 100 full of sarch. The total import of rice in 1899 was 7,36,217 piculs compared with 6,207,226 picus in 1900. To increase the duty on this taple food of the Chinese would be to affict hardship on the poorer classes of the pople, without giving any adequate return for the inconvenience that would follow a rie in prices. The lower classes in Kwangung and several other provinces, who are lagely fed on imported rice, would suffer materally if their staple food were to be further taxed. The Chinese in the Colony would of carse not participate in this inconvenience beause Hongkong is a free port, but it is nopart of the policy of the British Governmet to connive at any attempt to throw the nain burden of the indemnity on the tiling millions of China; they would prefer that the money should be collected in a wasthat would not press on the poorer clases. Apart from these reasons, Great Bitain naturally will protest against any item of import or export being single out for exceptional treatment, either in the way of increase or decrease. The whole qustion of the tariff and of the method of colleting the duties will have to be exhaustivel dealt with later on, and the British Govenment are right to refuse to allow it to be taufed up with the payment of the indemnity to trious Powers for losses during the hostities. There are many matters to be thiresed out before the tariff can be amended. Thekin puzzle, the imposition of lo-ti shui the interior, and the dual system of Cutoms, which at present eats up the revene and strangles trade, all want straightenin out, or utter abolition. They are all tegal, grown up under the shadow of officilism, and remain as powerful stumblingflocks in the way of trade.
(Daily Press, 25th June,) We have arrived a at the usual time when unrest begins to raise its head in China, yes we seem to miss the usual June crop of rumours. Are we to believe that Chinz has had enough of it, and she is imitating the policy of the coon, who cornered in the tree politely asked the huntsman not to shoot he would come Cown? Last June the nations of Europe, aghast at the outbreak of barbarism in the North when they had come to the conclusion to send troops to Peking, one and all looked upon the settle- ment of the Chinese affair, as a thing easy of accomplishment. They had only to send some twenty or thirty thousand troops, the Chinese would not show fight, and in a month or two the whole would be settled, the instigators of the outrages punished, and the country started on course of reform. After twelve months of success the Powers are just as anxious now to get out of Peking as they were then to get in, and of the hopeful programine then held up for our admiration not one item has been ac complished. The vis inertia of three hun- dred millions has proved too much for the united arms of Europe, and like a panic stricken flock of sheep, it has proved more dangerous to itself than to the shepherds. China has for the nonce won her immediate cud, but she has done so by the utter absence of all those principles of self- restraint without which no nation can con tinue to exist as a power. No one who has seen the conduct of a flock of sheep, when the buildings on the sheepcote have taken fire, can fail to note the analogy with the action of the Crinese in the present crisis. In such a case the first impulse of the flock is to rush into the midst of the fire, not withstanding all the efforts of the shepherds to keep them out of harm's way. Ench individual sheep see possessed with a demon of self-destruction, and will take advantage of the first opportunity to rusli into the furnace; and beeing one escape the shepherd, the others will blindly follow its example, and probably by sheer weight succeed in forcing a passage through their protectors. This is very much what has been taking place in China. The people and their rulers see with their physical eyes the danger, yet individually and collec tively they are so dazed by panic that, like unfortunate sheep, their impulse is to rush straight for the all-devouring element, There are those amongst the onlookers who would gladly come to the rescue, but they
· are borne down by the mere weight of into China comes mainly from India and but like many things Chinese they have numbers, and in spite of the experience of seeing their follows one by one caught in the flames and overcome by the most horrible of deaths, they have to stand by while the whole flock immolates; itself. It is thus that amidst the panic the only measures that command a temporary healing are these that lead to still further ruin :^and the only statesmen who can obtain a bearing are those whose advice is the most suicidal, The eunuch L LIENYING, the incapable and discredited Lu CHUAN LAN, the purblind LI HUNG-CHANG, who can only see Moscow these are the men whose example lends the nation on to destruction; while others like Liu, KUNG Yı, even the aged Wan Wang- SHAO, find themselves in the wild struggle The drop was arrested slightly in 1897, hopelessly overpowered, or buried in the for some reason, probably a falling off in mass of ineptitude and folly, Nor
the quality and quantity of the Szechuen and Yum crops. The latter drug has within the last twelve months for the first time made
appearance in the Hong: oug market,
the import in 1900 probably did not e 25 chests. The Ja
from blame the
of the flock who whe
the flock loo
ome of safety, hesitated till it had beyond control who were bent
GREAT BRITAIN AND THE OPIUM AND RICE DUTIES.
(Daily Press, 22nd June.) A point of some little interest to British merchants in China in connection with the Chinese Indemnity question is contained in Reuter's message of the 17th inst. Accord. ing to this telegram, the Washington cor- respondent of the New York Herald states that Great Britain has notified the Powers that she will not consent to China increasing the duty on imports of opium and rice There has been much zeal on the part of certain Powers to serve China at the expense of third parties, and so ingratiate themselves, with the mandarins. The opium imported
Persia and the quantity has for some years past fallen off steadily owing to the enormous increase in the cultivation of the poppy in the Central Kingdom, although it is actually prohibited. figures will serve to illustrate this decline:-
1891.
1892
1893
1894
*1895
1896
1897
1898
1899
1900
The following
picals. 77,445 70,782:
68,108
63,125
51,306
48,994
49,309
49,752
· €9,161 49,279
gle
Later details in the Nagasaki Pis put a rather different complexion on the facts, in which two men from H.M.8 Goath were engaged. It appears that the two ma w, rẻ in a state of semi-drunkenness when the entered the Japanese saloon. After partying of a bottle of beer, the men left by theback door and entered the next house, which we a private dwelling. They forced their way ito a room upstairs, wherein a sick person was ing. The saloon keeper called the men's attetin to the fact that they were trespassing andsked them to leave. In reply one of the mi struck at the Japanese with the haft of z kuy. A police- man was called and on attempting to arrest the men, the latter endeavoured ran down the stairs. The more drunken of to two failed to get down mfely and struck th back of his head against the stairs, cat
wound, from which the blood flow
As stated yesterday
ted in the
ɔr on punishment and revenge than on import from abroad in 1800s, considering prefer a chargé against them
the
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