428
worse.
JAPAN AND RUSSIA,
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
C
64
[December 14,{1903.
"toward something like common uuder- | the closed door in North-east Asia and the standing. Just how far this drift may go ruin of such foreign_settlements as at pre- sent exist there. But their diplomatic representatives have not the courage to proclaim these sentiments or to act upon them. Future history will not acquit them of the charge of betraying their countries' But we are living in the present. interests.
no one can say, but the natural causes (Daily Press, 8th December.)
"which have made it possible are certain The exhortation of the London Standard to
in future to leave their mark on history.' Japan with regard to the encroachments of Russia reminds us of the saying about the This is very sanguine, and as applied to the ease of giving advice and the difficulty of position of affairs in the Far East is not taking it. No doubt the Standard's advice borne out. We see little tendency on the par, was honestly meant, but Japan may well be of France and Italy toward an understand- excused if she does not show extreme grati-ing on Chinese matters with the other three are coupled with tude for it. What, in effect, is said by Powers whose names the London journal is:-" Russia's attitude theirs above; rather the reverse is at present the case with France. Nor can it be said is extremely dangerous aud will grow
Now is the time to stop her, but that Britain or the United States are doing we shall be very sorry to see you fight much except talk at Japan, rather than with her; and if you do so she is bound to her. Were such language as the Standard's "recover in time what she may lose now." typical of the real British attitude, it would to see that the Anglo-Japanese The argument is almost childishly ingenu- pus, and carried to its proper conclusion Alliance is a paper alliance merely. But we do not believe that this is the case. the Standard's idea seems to be that Russia cannot be stopped. Why then advise Japan Nor do we think that the United States are What will all the prepared to see their agreement with China to try to stop her? solicitude and sorrow in the world avail in flouted by Russia, as far as it affects Man
Either charia. Unfortunately the present strain is aiding a friend in a hope oss task? the Standard thinks that it is for the good of very wearing to all engaged as well as to mankind
the watchers. It is hard to think that a that Russia's encroachments should cease or it does not think so.
more candour and decision on the part thinks so, then why does it hold that Japan of the boasted commercial nations of Britain
alone should under.ake the task?
If it
If not,
why again urge Japan to try? But to leave the Standard's bad reasoning aside, what are we to think of the statement that, whatever Russia's present vulnerability, she has almost inexhaustible resources and may expect to recover hereafter whatever she may temporarily be compelled to fore-
go!"
看能
|
be easy
little
and the States would have relieved the extreme tension and brought about a speedier settlement of the question which we still hope can be se'tled without recourse to
arnis.
THE HEALTH OF CHINA PORTS.
(Daily Press, 10th December.) That the Far East has not at home the
best of reputations in the matter of health, either as regards European residents or as far as the nutive population is concerned, is well known. After living out here for some years, one may occasionally give a thought to the question how far this reputation is justified, but one cannot as a rule come to any definite conclusion. It is with a certain amount of interest, therefore, that we may look at the newly issued medical reports brought out by the Imperial Maritime Cus- toms, nominally for the year ended the 30th September, 1902, though the individual reports vary considerably in the yearly periods covered. Thirteen doctors contribute to the collection, and the ports whose health is reviewed range from Tientsin in the north to Szemao and Hoihow in the south. We may run through these briefly, as the best way of giving a general picture of the whole. It will be seen that, roughly speak- ing, the Yangtisze ports are far the least desirable places of residence for Europeans, both north and south of China being healthier. Canton was suffering from an exceptionally bad period when under notice, so that it must not be condemned on such
(Daily Press, 9th December.) REUTER's telegram of the 4th instant in- formed us that the reported Russo-Japanese agreement (which included a settlement of both the Manchurian and Corean difficul- ties) was discredited at Tokyo. A Tokyo telegram of the same date to the North-evidence alone.
Tientsin, with which the series of reports China Daily News confirms this, stating
is declared by Dr. H. R. that the peaceful news from Paris not sup- commences,
ridi- ROBERTSON to have had a very satisfactory ported, by the way, in Berlin was culed at the Japanese capital and considered year in 1901, the admirable work of the to be pure invention. There is not much to Provisional Government being the chief be surprised at in this, seeing that the state factor in this. The native city was taken of feeling at Tokyo, as evidenced by the
over temporarily and well cleaned-for the tone of the leading newspapers, has been any-first time in its history, it may be presumed. thing but conciliatory lately. These journals The result was good general health among all, according to a despatch to our Shanghai natives and foreign residents. The health morning contemporary on the 1st instant, of the troops in garrison was on the whole agree in denouncing Russia for her delay in satisfactory also. Plague was escaped up Unhappily replying to Japan's proposals, and declare to the end of the year 1901. that the nation can no longer endure to be the same has not been the case since, and thus slighted, and must demand a definite there can be no doubt that the health of answer, failing which it must take indepen. North China, by reason of epidemics, has dent steps to secure the interests of the much deteriorated since 1901. Chefoo is State. Even the men in business circles, taken at a later period, the half-year March- it is added, advocate a similarly resolute September, 1902. Six cases of scarlatina policy, which is also avowed by all political occurred in one foreign compound, four being parties in Japan, a very significant point, second attacks, which Dr. GuLOWSEN thinks seeing that the differences between the unique; two of the patients died. political extremes in Japan has lately been disease was probably imported from Shang- very wide. REUTER'S telegram in our issue bai, The lamentable outbreak of cholera of to-day, reporting a temporary lull in or of tomaine-poisoning, as the doctor Far Eastern affairs" and a concentration of holds, at the China Inland Mission School, attention on the opening of the Japanese Chefoo, took place in this period, thirteen Diet, which was to take place formally boys dying out of nineteen attacked; four yesterday, indicates that Japan's attitude is French sailors died soon after with similar being anxiously watched by the rest of the symptoms, and a fifth was attacked but re- covered. Gastro-enteritis abounded in the world.
native city, but Dr. GULOWSEN will not admit the presence of cholera.
Are Russia's resources inexhausti- ble? It seems to us that this very much requires proving. In men Russia may be practically impossible to exhaust, and their very lack of education and civilisation renders those men loyal to their Govern- ment, however rotten. To such men the commander of the Russian Army Corps at Belostock last month spoke when he told the 62nd Infantry in a farewell speech before they left for the Far East :-"There are crafty people in the Far East who "want to rob Russia of what she has con- 'quered with her blood. The Tsar is sending his soldiers there to defend, "should occasion arise, the honour of their "native land, and to prevent our enemies "from carrying out their plans." In these easily-led men Russia is rich. But in money, which is called the sinews of war, in no tense cau Russia be deemed incapable of exhaustion. Financially she does little more than keep her bed above water, by the aid of complaisant France. It is really a matter to be wondered at that Russia's pretension to so great a voice in interna- tional affairs is countenanced as it is. An ill-governed, semi-barbarous Empire, whose rulers remain in their place only through the ignorance of the ruled and whose credit is dependent on a purely political alliance with a highly civilised state which already shows signs of repentance over its bargaint Russia vet cows the majority of the nations by her sheer brute mass-and through the
Hitherto it has been admitted jealousies and self-seeking of the others. Must such a state of affairs continue inde- generally that this attitude has been correct, finitely? It will, if the more enlightened even marvellously calm, and nothing could countries do not make a common stand. have been done more to win sympathy for We read in a review of the international the Japanese than this fact. It was never situation in a recent number of the New expected that the Government would be York. Commercial Advertiser:-" The gene- able to keep the hot-headed section of the ral drift is toward dissolution, a re- nation in hand so admirably. As we have arrangement of the Triple Alliance and suggested before, it is a pity that the "the Dual Alliance also, The three despotic nations which profess, and no doubt feel, Empires-for in foreign affairs Germany this sympathy with Japan have not and Austria are fully as despotic as Russia thought fit yet to give more open tokens "--show a tendency to unite their forces. of their feelings. The countries with
commercial interests make Do "On the other hand, the free countries-
secret of "Great Britain, France, Italy, the United the fact that they consider that the success States, and Japan-are irresistibly moving' of Russia, in negotiations or in war, means
"
¦
The
Hackow during 1901 was worse off in health matters than usually, the crus being an abnormally dry spring and heavy floods during the wet and steamy summer. No epidemic visited the port, but the usual small-pox was preseut among the natives. Still, remittent fever in the anring and malaria, dysentery, etc., in the summer made matters unpleasant in the first half of the year. The late autumn and winter were Five European residents fairly healthy. of Hankow and twelve non-residents, of whom eleven were blue-jackets, contracted
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