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August 16, 1902.]
sent to the scene, to be reinforced on their way thither, are expected to put an end to the trouble as speedily as possible.
Writing editorially on the same subject, our contemporary says:-In any case the affair is apparently one of dacoity pure and simple, having no political significance.
RUSSIAN OUTRAGE AT NEWCHWANG,
open
29th July. Information has come to hand which will indicate the urgent necessity for the presence of gunboats or vessels of war other than those of Russian nationality at Newchwang. The Russians are riding the high horse in Marchuria and at Newchwang, the Provincial Treaty Port, thereby crushing all attempts at foreign develop. ment of trade uuless Russian. The "open door," as far as Marichuria is concerned under present circumstances, is one of those recently coined but incongruous terms which are diplomatically used by Russians and others in high places to conceal the real facts of the case. Russia, it is true, is fighting for the "open door" in Manchuria, but it is only to be opened to Russia; other nations need not apply. Daily, weekly and monthly are the astute representatives of Russia in the Far East securing effective bolts to the “ door which will enable them to make a firm barrier of that door against all comers, particularly the na- tion responsible for the opening of the most Treaty Ports in China to the trade of the world. On all prominent positions in and around New. chwang one might have recently observed large posters in Chinese characters stating that the Newchwang Steam Ferry Tug and Lighter Co. had made arrangements to carry on an inland navigation service and had secured the necessary passes enabling them to do so. pisters were placarded through the order of Messrs. Bandinel & Co., the general managers. It was arranged that the first sailing should take place on 20.h July to Tienchoangtai, and a number of applications were made through the man gers for towing native cargo-craft to that place, which is a rather important inland trade centre about 17 miles up the Liao liver. The leading foreign merchant in the Port, thinking it would be a good method of inaugurating the service by having a picuic party on board, made all arrangements accordingly, and invited a number of guests to partake of his hospitality, on Sunday, 29th July, aboard the steam launch Guilcar, which it was hoped would be the pioneer of inland steam navig tion in Manchuria. These arrange. ments were made without reckoning porsible Russian aggression, which soon changed from asib bty to certainty; and word reached the Russian authorities at Newchwang of the esting of the notices, and the registration of the two launches Guilcar and Kwongtung.
The
Oiders were given for the notices to be torn Cown; the p or unfortunate Chinese who posted them were seized and thrown into prison to
await liial, wuile the Customs Commissioner was rotified by the Russian Administrative Bureau that the service to Tenchuangtai would lot Le permitted by them. At the same time they ordered the Commissioner to cancel the clearance papers which had been issued for the Guilcar on the 20th for Tienchuangtai. At 10 p.m. on 19th July, an official of the Customs went on board and took the said papers from the lowdah of the Guilcar without informing the owners and general manager of their intention. On Sunday, the 20th, about 10 a.m., the picnic party collected on board the Guilcar but went down the liver instead of up, since word had leaked out that instructions had been is ned to the police patrol boat to stop and if necessary fire on the Guilcar in order to stop her if any attempt were made to go up river. When this order was given the Guilcar, as on all occasions, was flying the red ensign of the British Mercantile Marine, and further this order was given in a Chinese port opened by treaty to the trade of the world through the energies of Great Britain. Fancy such events as these taking place in a treaty port in which the mercantile flag, according to Customs returns, was represented last year as follows:-British 144, America 10, German 40, Norway 7, Sweden 1, Russia 2, Austria 3, Japan 181, and China 8 vessels, which indicated that Russia as far as trade interest in
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
133
and around Newchwang is concerned, takes the | the old difficulty of a satisfactory lay judgment, second lowest position! Under such circum- when doctors differ. We also hear that our stances it is a pity, in the face of Russia's enterprising neighbours are seriously contem- attitude, that the American Government should plating a newspaper in their port. find it convenient to permit its able Consul to seek holiday while such intricate trade questions are at stake, leaving commercial interests in the hands of a member of an alien state, and no British or Japanese men-of-war are present to back the exertions of their capable representa- tives.-N.-C. Daily News.
CANTON.
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.]
Canton, 11th August.
CELEBRATING THE CORONATION. The Coronation celebration in Canton con- sisted of illuminations and fireworks in the English Concession, Shameen. on Saturday night. Numbers of flower-boats remained at anchor opposite the bund to witness the sight, and a very enjoyable evening was passed.
H. E, TAO MU'S RETIREMENT.
His Excellency the Viceroy has been anxiously waiting for the Imperial order for him to hand over the seals of office to the provincial governor Tak Sow. A telegram was sent by the Viceroy to make enquiries at Peking, and an answer has been received to the effect that His Excellency must wait till the arrival of the new futai (provincial governor) Li Hing yui at Canton before be hands over the seals.
DEATH OF A GENERAL.
General Ma Shing-chee, who has been in Kwangsi for over ten years as assistant to Governor So Yün Chon, was killed in b ttle with the rebels in Kwangsi.
DENGUE FEVER.
Ninety per cent. of the people of Canton, native as well as foreign, have been suffering from dengue fever. Most of the patients, it is said, have been cured by doses of lap-sap-cha as suggested by your correspondent in his letter published on the 5th inst.
NORTHERN NOTÉS.
The following items are from the P. & T. Times of the 2nd inst. :---
in Paoting that Ching, the man who recently News has reached the Provincial authorities led the Associated Villagers, has been captured in a hsien in Northern Honan called Ling Cheng. He was promptly decapitated and his bead sent to be a deterrent to others in his own district of Kwang Tsung in S. W. Chihli.
It is now all but a settled matter that the bridge across the river in the French Conces sion will be vis-à-vis the Rue Courbet. On the eastern bank it will debouch into a road yet to be made, which will reach the Railway Station in a sweeping curve, a good deal to the north of It is to be hoped when the present paved road. the new thoroughfare is opened to traffic that it will be a free road open to all.
A very extensive scheme is being broached by the Tientsin Land Improvement Syndicate. It with the Grand Canal by the cutting of an arti- involves nothing less than connecting the river ficial water-way large enough to give passage to sea-going junks The existing small canal that skirts the race-course near the houses of Messrs. Detring and J. M. Dickinson would be the route in part followed.
The s.s. Min arrived at the Bund on Thurs- day. We regret to hear that on the voyage up she developed a case of cholera in the fee'sle; on enquiry we find that there was iso one case among the Chinese passengers. The sufferers have been removed to the T.P.G. isolated camp down near the cutting" and the ship has had a thorough visit from the corps de sanitation. The vessel was passed on Wednesday at Taku by the port sanitary officials, but anchored for the night in the river. It is upposed the in- fection arise in the vegetable food sold by the sampan men.
Our latest Chefoo news, is that the cause of the recent disaster in the C.I.M. Boys' School in the opinion of the Shanghai analysts was cholera, but our rea ers wil see that the school doctor strongly controverts this statement. We understand from private sources that the opinion of the School doctor was shared by the naval doctors, who so ably co-operated at the crisis. We fear that the episode will illustrate
We have some reason for suspecting that negotiaions are in progress at last for the establishment of a British P at Office in Tien- tain, and that Britons here will not much longer be undor the postal penalties from which Shanghai and the southern ports have been delivered. We feel just a little sorry that the ever improving Chinese Post Office has not stepped in and taken the wind out of our sails by offering equal facilities: it is an institution which deserves to prosper. Our sympathy with its struggles against hard competition, however, does not ma-k our appreciation of the advantage of getting letters home for five cents instead of ten.
Private letters from Hwai Lu (on the Shansi border) dated the 21st instant, state that the city is simply infested with bad characters.
H
They give out that they are employees of the railway and are terrorising not only the whole neighbourhood but also the officials. A day or two ago they went to a village hard by through which the telegraph passes, and told the people that the Government had given up the telegraph, and now closed the office. They tated that they had been sent to instruct the telegraph people how to pull up the poles and remove the wires. I need hardly state that their action nearly got the whole village into
serious trouble with the officials.”
:
We are sorry to state that our French neigh- bours have had two cases of suicide in their military forces this week. A sergeant in the Artillery shot himself with a revolver. The man was exceptionally well thought of by his officer and comrades and the explanation unofficially given is that an inpending punish- petty fault preyed on his mind. ment for a This hardly seems to us adequate stress of heat and weather, like we have recently been having, produces very depressing effects on certain temperaments and constitutions, issuing in obscure mental derangement. Both in India. as every reader of Kipling knows, and in Indo- China these calamities most frequently occur at the heat climacteric. The other case was that of a bugler at Shanhaikwan; this was precisely similar to that in Tientsin.
We understand that a large party is coming out to strengthen the London Mission in Tientsin this autumn; quite a number of married ladies is expected.
Our city correspondent writes
It is the intention of the Viceroy Yuan to be quit once for all of the useless hangers on and petty officials at the Yamens. We hear that in Tientsin the days of the unspeakable ya-is and the stupid squeezing ti-paos are finished. If His Excellency's new departure succeeds, his example is sure to be followed.
Prince Su, in Peking, is better and again attends to business. The cholera in Peking is much worse, and the hospital. accommodation is still insufficient.
We hear that the Viceroy has sent large necessities of the many experiments in educa- sums of money to the foreign banks to meet the tion, etc., that are about to be inaugurated.
The foreign Powers wished the ceremony of handing over Tientsin to be very formal, and overtures were made to get Prince Ching and Wang Wen-shao down, but, like the men in the parable, they all began to make excuse. At present there is a chance that the somewhat unpleasant duty may be imposed on Prince Chun on his return from England. He is due in Tientsin about the appointed time.
A Censor who in the reform movement of 1898 was favourable to Kang Yn-wei, a Mr.
Suen Piao Luh, and who escaped vengeance by flight, has been taken in Shensi during the last week. On asking for instructions from Peking, the local authorities were told to act warily, so as not to provoke foreign criticism.
M. Dabailaving been appointed to represen. France in Peking, will probably be replace, at the Court of Japan by M. Harmand, whose return has always been a possibility, the Japan Mail says. Japanese newspapers announce that M. Dubail received formal notice of his appoint- ment on the 25th July, but of course the news had been known telegraphically for some time.
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