102
THE HOPEFUL SIDE OF THE SITUATION.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND A
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THE
[August 3, 1901.
LOCATION OF THE NAVAL YARD IN HONGKONG.
"type of city, with huge clay walls of twenty disposition that he has already become an "miles circuit, massive battlements and beet impossibility, but he has been removed by ling gates-like an enormous factory--and his father-himself an open rebel-beyond (Daily Press, 80th July.)
inside vast empty spaces that are often ber control. Fortunately the Emperor, There is not much doubt that, little "under water. The streets are broad and though apparently not a man of strong nerve, satisfactory as have been hitherto the "deep either in mud or dust; the shops are is one of caution, and seems quite capable of results of European interference in North mere booths with few wares in them, and profitting by the situation. On the whole, China, there are forces at work tending to "there is a general air of neglect and decay while it is impossible to forecast the outcome bring about an amelioration, none the less "about the whole place." The province of of the present peculiar position, it would important that they are silent. One of Honan is one of the poorest in China, and be premature to pronounce it hopeless, and these forces is the Emperor himself: it is in these modern days made worse by it seems that the whole course "of affairs seems in fact to be the growing opinion constant inundations of the Yellow River, points to the fact, which we have often em. that this pretended insignificant boy- so that even the local mandarins are gener-phasised, that the only course likely to lead whose supercession in September, 1898, was ally, he tells us, housed in some dusty, to a successful issue is to insist on dealing apparently so easily managed that the very tumble-down old yamen, with broken doors directly with the Emperor in person. act was taken as a testimony to his unfit and crumbling walls. From a foreign point Possibly the mission of the Emperor's ness to rule-has in circumstances which of view there is little to be feared from a younger brother to Europe may be at last would have caused any ordinary man to visit of the Court to Honan. But there are a means of making the ill-informed foreign succumb, not only succeeded in preserving other and uglier rumours about. The Court offices of Europe wake up to this fact. At his life in the midst of a clique to any one in its present state of penury demands some all events, the impression made by the of whom his death would have been a millions of taels for its return to Peking; personalty of the young man during his matter of relief, but has shown himself the and it seems incredible that the same in few days' stay at Shanghai seems to have possessor of so much good sense that little dividuals whose flight to Hsian was effected been altogether favourable; he confirmed by little his greatest enemies have come to at the cost of the little money the indivi- that impression during his brief visit here; look to him as the one in the crowd capable duals who composed it had in their pockets and it was evident that he possesses many of giving practical advice in the dilemma in or could raise on charity, should need such of the best qualities of his brother in his which they had placed themselves. Doubt-extravagance on its return. And this raises tact and prudent reserve in an exceedingly less in this he has been aided by circum- the strangest point of all: the money is delicate position. stances over which he had no control. The really required for defence. There is no attempt to govern China from 80 ill adapted reason now to believe that the Dowager is a capital as Hsian his in the first place desirous of getting rid of the Emperor; utterly broken down: it is true it saved the rather, on his safety depends her last hope Court from the direct influence of the of a restoration to power and influence; but foreigner, but it raised other difficulties there are others whom in her moment of which more than counterbalanced this triumph she called in to share her joys who doubtful advantage, in the impossibility of have not the same desire, and who would having its orders carried out. The edicts gladly see the last of both Dowager and issued were treated with respect due to their Emperor. The nefarious Prince TUAN and having emanated from the Imperial Govern- his henchman, the barbarian TUNG FUH ment, it is true, but the Court soon discovered SIANG, have been at the dictation of the that, though in outward forin they were obey- Powers hounded from Court, and ed, the Viceroys excercised a more than usual notoriously in open rebellion. That there discretion in their carrying out. For the exists a plot to attack and kill the Emperor most part indeed, they were quietly shelved, on his way back from K'aifeng, there is no and that in such a way that the Court found doubt whatever; and the Dowager, who was itself helpless to interfere without producing born in 1835, hesitates to place her precious actual conflict. The Court, ignorant of the self in jeopardy. Besides, the usual dangers conditions of the locality, had been foudly of a journey through the impoverished pro- believing that in moving to Shansi they vince of Honan at the best of times are were about to enter a land of plenty; but sufficient to deter any ordinary woman of here again their hopes were doomed to dis- her age from contemplating the journey appointment. They in fact only arrived to with other than misgiving. Under present find the whole of Shansi in a state of famine, conditions with a famished people, and amid and a famine all the worse that, owing to ultra-tropical heat, the journey might well the steps they had themselves taken in frighten the healthiest. There is then no outting off all communication, there was reason altogether to discredit the various actually no means of relieving the distress, rumours that have of late been prevalent, which instead of being helped by the ex- and to all appearance these rumours of the penditure of the Court was actually made intended return of the Court have this worse by the failure of the local crops. foundation that it is sincerely desired This condition has this year been aggravated by the Emperor, and is not actively by the very peculiar weather of the early opposed by the Dowager, who has, there summer, the city and the surrounding is some reason to believe, come to see country being deeply flooded, so that there the folly of her previous action. But is no reason to believe that the Court is though by this time the Dowager doubtless other than anxious to get out of the doomed sees that she has committed a serious offence city. In these circumstances, the Emperor against the common code of nations, she seems to have been the only one of the also knows that if outside nations are will- crowd who has preserved his commonsense, ing to condone the past, there are not and it is now pretty well known that he has wanting those at home who attribute to her been pressing for return at once to Peking. the failure of their plots; and who if they This step, it is equally well known, has been had her in their power would revenge on bitterly distasteful to the Dowager Taz'HI, her their failure. The presence and support who rightly sees in this measure the destruc of the Emperor is the only guaranteee she tion of her own misused influence. Still, possesses for her own life: she has got into even the Dowager herself has commenced Hsian, but she knows not how to get out: to see that it has become actually necessary nor can she stay much longer. The great to leave the city, but where to go is a provincials are willing enough to guarantee difficulty she has been unable to solve., the safety of the Emperor, but none will K'aifengfu has been spoken of the more so trouble themselves to care for hers; then, as at various periods it has served as the worst of all, there is hanging over her the capital of one or other of the petty king- effect of the plot of the New Year. It doms into which China has been at various seemed an easy enough thing then to place periods divided. K'aifeng is, however, still the son of Prince TUAN in the position of less adapted for a capital than Hsian. Mr. successor to, if not actually to place him on, BIGHAM, the last traveller who has visited the throne; but in the hour of trial not it, describes it as of "the regular northern only has he proved himself of so vicious a
1
(Daily Press, 29th July.) Were there always finality about decisions of the Admirality—a statement which from past experience it would not be safe to make -we might now take it for granted that the Naval Yard in Hongkong is definitely fixed for the future on the situation which it at present occupies. As matters stand, there may still be a remote possibility of the Admiralty's reconsideration of the verdict which has just been telegraphed out to us. We think, however, that it would be extremely unwise to build any hopes upon this possibility. The whole question is far more complicated than it looks at first sight. From the point of view of the civilian resident, the arguments in favour of remov- ing the Naval Yard bodily to Kowloon, and getting possession also of the military authorities' land which lies on Queen's Road, are overwhelming. Above all things, Victoria now wants space. Here, near the very centre of the Praya, is a large tract of ground offering the best possible sites for building purposes. When the new Praya East extension has been completed and the tramways are running, the naval and military land will remain an inconveni- ent barrier to the free passage along the harbour front of thecity. The scheme of which some details were recently given in the Press, by which this barrier was to be removed and one continuous frontage, with wide streets, was to be established, offered a solution of the difficulty which could not but appeal to the public mind. As we wrote in June, when first the proposal became known, the effect of the scheme on the development of the Colony and in par- ticular on the city of Victoria could not fail to be enormous. Engineers of wideexperience have declared themselves in favour of the proposal, and naval authorities of the high- est standing have not been wanting to advocate the wholesale transfer of the naval establishment to some site on the mainland. With so strong a case for the adoption of the scheme, it will be deduced that there must be some very serious drawbacks which hinder its adoption. This, in fact, is so, and the argument against the transfer of the Naval Yard to any other site may be stated very briefly.
In connection with the decision as to‘a suitable site for a Naval Dockyard and
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