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of a roof ashore, contents himself with living in a boat. Incipient emigration of this kind is to be seen in the form of the large sam- pan population at almost every Chinese port. A vast number of the very poor in China manage
to exist in this amphibious way; but it is not surprising that it should occur to some of them that they might pos- sibly go a little further and have a chance of faring better with little possibility of faring worse.
Long before emigration in foreign ships began the Chinese had commenced to spread themselves in their own junks to foreign ports. Necessity, proverbially a strong motive power, has proved sufficient long ago to overcome the prejudice of the Chinese against leaving their country; and the tide of emiration seems likely nowadays to continue unabated, and, as time goes on, will become one of increasing importance in connection with foreign relations. That the interests of civilization rendered it imperative that Europeans should have the right to enter China for trading and other legitimate objects has long been accepted as a logically established truth. But there is a general idea that logic is being pushed a little too far, when it is suggested that by parity of reasoning, the Celestial ought to have a similar right to go to foreign lands. In places even where the Chinaman or some- one similar to him is urgently wanted, people puzzle their heads to devise means of reducing his presence to a minimum and his labour to a maximum. They wish to have his assistance in the rough work con- nected with developing a mine or construct ing a railway, but they object to "his ways and his tricks and his manners.'
It can- not be said that there is not some founda- tion for the objections, but for the most part those which are raised are grossly exaggerated-and the best proof of this is to be found in the fact that so long as important work has to be done, a modus vivendi can be found. It is when the work is finished that the faults of the Chinaman become so glaringly manifest. Still this feeling is a fact which has to be dealt with. It is difficult to get workmen in America, and still more so to get the British workmen in our Colonies, to view the matter from au impartial standpoint, and the British workman is the person who, in most of the Colonies, has the largest say. This is especially the case in Australia, and it seems likely to be so before very long in South Africa. From the former Colony, the Chinamau is excluded as far as is possi- ble by restrictive laws, and, if he were not urgently wanted for the mines there is little doubt he would be as rigorously kept out of the latter. As was pertinently observed by an American humorist, the Chinaman is more disliked for his qualities than for his taults. The chief ground of 'opposition to him is his competition with foreigners. His habits and his heathendom are mainly enlarged upon; but his unpar- donable sin is his competition with foreign workmen or traders. So long as this idea is firmly rooted in the minds not only of working men, but also, to a great extent, in those of the governing classes, there is little hope of the question of Chinese immigration into the Colonies being placed upon a satis- factory footing. It has been said that there is nothing which it is so difficult to dislodge as a religious dogma; but it may be doubted whether certain political prejudices are not equally difficult to dissipate. Among the accepted theories of this kind is the idea that the Chinaman's work must of necessity be to the injury of the European. At first sight, this appears to be almost incontesti- ble; but it is still open to question whether
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sea.
[October 3, 1904.
17
was
However, even that trouble was overcome, and in 26 days, only five more than the company's contractors usually stipulate for, the station was in working order.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
time may not to some extent modify this the prospects, the inventor guaranteed that view. What is overlooked is that work of if the correspondent would erect masts 180 one kind being done suitably by a class best feet high at both remilting and receiving fitted to perform it has the effect of making stations, the Dr FOREST Company would other work fitted to another class available supply apparatus that would operate with which would otherwise not be possible of certainty over a distance not less than two performance. A great part of the work hundred miles. As a matter of fact, mes- ¦ done by Chiuese in tropical or semi-tropical | sages were eventually carried a distance of climates simply cannot be performed by 210 miles, accurately, and that with hills Europeans at all; but, once done, it may sometimos intervening. Weihaiwei open up fields of employment which would | chosen for a base because the chief interest otherwise not exist. It is, however, to be of the war was anticipated to centre, for feared that it will be a long time before so the first six months at least, in and about liberal a view as this is likely to be the Yellow Sea and the Gulf of Pechili. In generally adopted; and it would be too spite of "considerable pressure put upon much to hope that some knotty questions him to establish the station elsewhere, the will not from time to time arise in the correspondent, as is well known, erected interim. It cannot be denied that there is his mast (higher than the average church an inconsistency in the position of foreign steeple) on the island of Liu-kung-tau, which nations steadily demanding rights na to practically forms the harbour at Weihaiwei. trade and residence in China, ñud at the It was by no means a simple operation, and same time only granting grudgingly, at all after numerous difficulties and accidents events, a certain class of rights to the Chi- had been overcome, it was found that an nese in their own countries; and it would important, though small, piece of the be a satisfaction to fair-minded politicians if electrical plant, the electrical exciter, had this anomaly could be removed. It is im- been lost in transit. Without this essential possible not to sympathise to some extent it was impossible to transmit messages from with those who are opposed to the introduc- the shore station to the vessel, though it tion of Chinese upon social and economical would be possible to receive messages from grounds, even if we cannot admit the strict correctness of their position; and no one would wish that their views should be over- ridden upon mere abstract ground. Grand generalisations as to equality of all people, and the like, may be as wide of the mark as the conclusion that the Chinese should be excluded on the simple ground that they are undesirable competitors. But the matter is one which will have to be dealt with with temperance and statesmanship in both its aspects, and extreme views on either side will not tend to solve the difficulty. Oue troublesome feature in it is that the decision of the question does not depend alone upon the Imperial Government. The indepen. dence of the Colonies in matters affecting them internally has to be respected; but it is the Imperial Government which has to deal with China on the subject; aud unless it is carefully handled it is one in which there is likely to be a divergence between the Home Authorities and the Colonies. As time progresses some general rule may be recognised that will be acceptable to both. Such, for example, that there should not be a total prohibition of the immigration of Asiatics in any Colony, though restrictive measures designed to keep such immigra. tion within reasonable limits might be adopt ed. What these should be in any given case must still be a somewhat nice question to decide; but if the matter be handled with care and in a fairly liberal spirit, there is no reason for appreheusion that this point cannot be gradually settled, by practice, though it may seem impossible to adjust it upon any purely abstract principl.s.
WATCHING AN UNSEEN WAR.
to have
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One drawback mentioned is rather curi- ous, when we remember that Dr. DE FOREST insists on a height of at leist 180 feet for the standards. It is stated that a headiand well above sea level is not the most suitable site for a station, as at first thought we would naturally suppose. At Weihaiwei, they were a hundred feet above the water, thereby, it is suggested,
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causing difficulty in the ground contact.' Though they were able to transmit, by means of their 102ft. exposure of wire ou board the ship, messages which the receiving station could take easily over 100 miles, they could not receive a reply beyon 1 60 miles, and sometimes, when the weather was bad, not at all. March 17th is the notable date on which a really importaut war message, conveyed by the new medium, was first published; and sad to relate, the Times did not realize the importance of the occasion. Owing to a misunderstanding, the message was given as if it had been sent direct from Wei-hai-wei, whereas it had really travelled seventy-five miles first from the Haimun. This despatch reported the landing of Japanese at Chinampo. For nearly a month (March 21st to April 18th)' although hovering about in sight of Port Arthur, the Haimun rarely saw a Russian vessel. It appears that the apparatus was really as useful in the matter of
eavesdropping" as it was in transmitting the news obtained. The Russian and Japanese messages could not be improperly used, as they were all in cipher, but they (Daily Press, 30th September.)
could easily recognize the difference in the The London Times, in a three-and-a-half- | systems employed, and by this means they column length article, claims employed wireless telegraphy, or rather wireless telephony, for the first and last time as an adjunct of journalism in war time. It seems rather premature to say that the first experiment will also prove to have been the last, especially in view of the successful report contributed by its special correspondent at Weihaiwei. This report forms a valuable advertisement of the virtues of Dr. Dɛ FOREST's system, and is very interesting reading in leed. It appears that the Times correspondent met Dr. DE FOREST on the Atlantic liner, and that on their way to New York, having discussed
were able approximately to tell the distance they were from the various ships. Moreover, the operator, who was extremely expert, began to recognize the notes of various ships. That is to any, he could tell if a Russian ship was at sea by listening for the answering communication from the shore. He could also detect whether the Japanese messages were being transmitted by relay to the naval base or whether the fleet itself was at sea. Thus the Haimun frequently knew exactly what cours; to steer to be "in at the death." The Times operator was careful to abstain from using his instrument until the battleships were duelling with the
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