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ENGLAND'S FISCAL POLICY.
(Daily Press, 27th July)
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[August 1, 1903, not, however, the whole truth, because | testauts; and the calamities following upon there are some things which, once lost, the entanglement of other Powers in the history shows us can never be restored. To strife are only too easy to foresce. But it. One of the most serious disadvantages of causes of this nature was due the decay ofwill not improve the sitnatióu merely to party government as it is understood in Italy under the later Empire. It became stand aside and watch Russia flont Japanese England is the difficulties it places in the cheaper to work the fields of Italy by slave susceptibilities by crossing from Mauchuria way of the efficient discussion beforehand of labour than by that of free men. But this into Corea and gradually working her way questions of importance to the country at was only the first stage of the process: by South, Only Russo-maniaca* in either large, which have not previously become and by home labour ceased altogether, and Britain or the States can look forward with matters of party. This weakness has been the nation had to depend on supplies from satisfaction to the establishment of Russia more especially noteworthy in the important abroad. This is the danger that in chose in South Corea. Granted that Manchuria subjects which during the past few months modern days Eugland is brought to face, is " hopelessly gone": Russia has still to have engaged the attention of Parliament. The consequence in Italy was that the once gain international recognition of the fact, The first of these was the education system, proud free worker of Italy was reduced to a and this is not worthless' to her, even which was acknowledged on both sides of stage little above serfdom, and degenerated though she has already the substance. the House to be sadly in need of regulation, to a mere pensioner of the State. Panem Vague remarks like Lord CRANBORNE's in and which up to the time when the Prime | et Circenses was now his only cry, and to the House of Commons last week are not Minister introduced his epoch-making bill more vigourous peoples passed over the likely to do much good. With Sir ERNEST had been considered by all as a matter rule of the State. Now we see something SATOW's return to Peking, we hope to hear outside party, but which nevertheless, of all of the same process of physical decay going of a line of policy much more forcible, one to matters debated within the Houses for the
ou in modern England. The modern towns- which Russia will not be able to reply with last ten years, became reduced to the oục
man is not so vigorous as his predecessor, the usual more or less polite mendacities where mere party strife waxed warmest. Not an does not exhibit the same ability to for which she is famous as a nation. less remarkable, and in its lasting effects not hold his own either in war or commerce. Nothing can work more strongly to avert a unlikely to be productive of the gravest of This is a matter above one of mere Russo-Japanese struggle than a firm attitude consequences for good or evil to the entire Em-economics: cheap living and cheap pro. on the part of Great Britain, and therefore pire, were the few words of warning uttered |
it is most earnestly to be trusted that by Mr. CHAMBERLAIN when remarking on
nothing will oceur to precipitate a cata- the deliberate attempt of seeking to coerce
strophe before the British Minister gets Canada in her fiscal relations with the
back to Peking armed with those full mother country. As indicated by a letter
powers and definite instructions which written at the time by Sir ROBERT GIFFEN,
rumour has given to him. It is impossible who all his official life has been a consistent
to conceal from ourselves that the faltering free trader, successive British Governments
of British policy now means the disintegra- by their mistakes have brought the Empire
tion of China at no distant date, a into such an impasse that we have had to
disintegration by which we have very much stand by and permit our relations with
to lose, even if we are willing to burden our own colonies to be not only discussed
ourselves with part of the spoils of the but actually made the subject of threats.
unfortunate Empire. Some eighteen years ago, when Mr. CLEVE LAND assisted by the American free tra lers was proclaiming in the States the gospel of Tariff for Revenue," free traders at this side of the Atlantic stool aghast. "This will never do," they said. "If America go in for free trade our business will be spoiled; we shall never be able to stand against her, if in addition to her other advantages she adds on freedom of trade." | question. In those days protection was simply acting on the defensive, and the modern system of militant protectioni mhad not yet been invented! The fears the British free
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traders had, however their effect; and when modern protection was again brought forward in Congress, it had become a very different thing from the old-fashined pro- tection of COBDEN's time it was not any longer a question now between free trade and protection, but one between ordinary trade and the new militant system, where prohibitory duties against imports were made to fit in with subsidised exports. It is true that we not only find our products driven to compete in the markets of the world by goods artificially cheapened, but even our home markets are flooded with colourable imitations, produced, it is true, at the cost most or less immediate of the exporting country. Now it is quite true that, sooner or later, this costly method of carrying on an export tralle must work its own ruin, and there are many indications that the reaction has leady commenced. A poor nation cannot afford to be protection- ist, and even Germany's efforts to capture the industries of the world are proving increasiligly burdensome to her home pro- ductiveness. According to the modern school of free-truderse bave only to wait till the process has run course, when all things will return to their pristine condition, and we shall once again enjoy, not only our own, butik, great deal more as compensation for what we have been meanwhile deprived of an This is a very comfortable doctrine, and contains the elements of truth. It is
duction are not the summum bonum of a community When the moral and physical tone of a nation have once been exhaited. all history teaches that the end is within measurable distance. In our connection with our colonies England possesses the means of regeneration at hand. and has every motive for drawing closer the bonds of association with young communities enjoying a more wholesome life. Germany,
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hostile oulooker, grasped this fact sooner than did the homeland, and her policy has been insidiously turned to separating the interests of the two. Such is part, but a main part of Mr. CHAMBERLAIN'S recent suggestions. There are things above mere panem. et Circenses, and there is a higher national faith-that of being true to ourselves-than is to be found in the shibboleth of the petty Englanders. This, and not the doctrines of a pretended free trade, is what is really being called in
KK
MANCHURIA.
(Daily Press, 28th July.) Colony yesterday quote a letter just Australian papers which reached this received by an officer of the late Australian naval contingent, which served in the North China campaign, from Dr. G. E. MORRISON, Times correspondent at Peking, A passage in this letter appears worthy of reproduction as an untramelled 'expression of the celebrated correspondent's opinion ou affairs up North. Dr. MORRISON wrote: Manchuria is gone hopelessly. England and America may make academic protests, but the fact is accomplished. Japan will, we think, do nothing; and there can be "no doubt that both England and America are averse to war between Japan and "Russia. This is the year when the re- "lative strength of Japan is at its greatest, "and if the opportunity is missed such 'a chance may never recur.' Dr. MORRISON, it will be seen, expresses himself, in the
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last sentence, in no uncertain terms as to
the position in which Japan is place. At the same time he says that a Russo- Japanese war would be unwelcome alike to Great Britain and to the United States. There can be no doubt at all as to the truth of this statement. It seems per fectly impossible that such a war, unless it terminates in a signal and speedy victory for Japan (as to the improbability, of which himself a special contributor expresses strongly in another column (o-day), can remain confined to the two original con.
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THE RUMOURED IMMINENCE
OF WAR.
(Daily Press, 29th July.)| The rumours of the imminence of war in
the North rost mainly, we opine, on the expectation that the St. Petersburg Cabinet, when it receives the report of General KUROPATKIN, the Minister of War, who is due to arrive in St. Petersburg to-day on his return from the Far East, will make a pronouncement on the Manchurian ques- the idea of a peaceful evacuation and be tion which will once and for all dispose of tantamount to a challenge to the Powers who in diplomatic contests linve endeavoured
In the
to thwart her aims and compel the per- formance of the promises contained in the Manchurian Convention of 1902. series of articles we conclude to-day on the subject, written by one who is closely in touch and evidently thoroughly imbued with Russian sentiment on the subject, we no doubt have an accurate record of the views which obtain among the Russians in Manchuria and elsewhere out while the writer has given us much important inform- ation as to the preparations made for the struggle which has long been regarded as inevitable, we question whether many per- sons outside: Manchuria will be persuaded that the striking of the first blow is now merely a question of days or maybe hours, as the writer would have us believe. -- True
it is that in Japan, Russin's doings in Manchurin and on the Yalu have engendered a dangerously hostile feeling, but we think our contributor and those who adopt his view of the situation greatly underrate the ability of the Government at Tokyo to control and hold in check the "ébullient passions of the people.
In the concluding article of the series which we publish to-day we get a thoroughly Russian view of the perfidy of England. In his first article our contributor told us
qe ma ha pl
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