THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND | Pau-Germanic realm, and was blind, or indifferent, to the fact that she was thereby leaving Europe exposed to the inroads of a practically oriental nation, whose instincts 'and civilisation were altogether Asiatic.
The fall
Russia has thus been in one respect a serious check to Pan. Germanic aspirations, but on the other it has undoubtedly opened new fields for If the active help of Russia ambition. has ceased as a factor to be depended on in case of eventualities, her active opposi- tion is not to be feared; and Germany finds it possible to interfere in quarters hitherto closed. This is the very evident inciting cause of her recently exhibited solicitude for the independence of Morocco. The work! which Russia was doing in China, which Germany intended to follow up by an 'alliance with that state for the partitionment of China, has met with a rude shock, and Germany is compelled, sooner than she otherwise would have desired, to disclose her hand. Still more apparent is seen the result in Germany's now founded anxiety for a patched up peace between Russia and Japan. Timeo Danoos et dona ferentes, was of the Latin poet on the the comment untoward gift of the Greeks before Troy, aud Germany, who but the other day was quite willing to plunge Europe into a war over a point in which she had the least possible concern, is hardly to be taken at her word as desirous of peace for its own sake. Remembering, too, the part taken by Germany in 1895 in forcing on Japan the retrocession to China of Shengking, we cannot but be suspicious that with some similar object is bound up Germany's pre- sent solicitude; and this seems to be borne out by the recent mysterious meeting of the KAISER aud the TSAR. In fact, Germany's supposed interests in China are very much concerned in the continuance of Russian influence in fanchuria; the expulsion of Russia would clearly deprive the other of her hopes of any further advance. As it is she can always play off Russia in her negotiations at Peking, and this altogether independent of her pronounced dread of the further aggrandisement of Japan. That this is the feeling prevailing in England is shown by the desire of both parties in the state to prolong the present alliance with Japan, and the very pronounced refusal of the Government to either resign or dissolve Parliament. Practically it is felt that other affairs more serious than the squabbles of the ins and the outs are in the air, and that the country may at any monent be coin. pelled to brace on its armour.
!
i
(August 7, 1905),
Daily News that on July 26th he wired to "All hope is abandoned. I Shanghai:
ruined. 101
British authorities do not
which
appears
"
guarantee, and say that the Chinese refuse Although Changsha, as a settlement." stated, was voluntarily opened to trade eleven months ago, the Chinese officials, who have provided the British Consul there- with a fine house within the city, refuse to allow BENNERTZ & Co. to open a store inside the walls. The "site" they have "facilitate intercourse und selected, to trade," is outsideon the water's edge, and "under
Our water at high water.'
to have contemporary, secured a correspondent there, says :-
"The thoroughly Chinese methods which the authorities at Changsha hare employed to discourage Mr. BENNERTZ may be usefully recapitulated. It should be remarked that the opposition to him is entirely official; he has the full sympathy of the Chinese mercantile classes in Changsha. The officials began a year ago by serving notices on him and closing his hong in the city. Then they ordered him to remove bis signboards which bore the usual notice, "English Foreign Hong." Then as many as eight separate proclamations against him were posted up in the city, ordering the merchants not to trade with him. Then his goods were stopped from entering the city gates, after they had been duly passed by the foreign Customs, nuless he paid likin on them. Then a lawyer named Ah-lo was employed to give him notice to vacate his premises, of which he had paid the rent in advance, and he was warned that if he did not vacate, the officials would probably be unable to stem the tide of popular wrath. There was, of course, no popular feeling against Mr. BENNERTZ of any kind, and the officials when the fateful day came, had not the pluck to organise the intended riot. What they did was to send for the coolie head-men and make them sign a document at the magistrate's yamea, that no coolie should carry any cargo belonging to Messrs. Bennertz & Co.. under threat of severe punishment. On one occasion the British Consul provided Mr. BENNERTZ with a document stating that he was fully authorised to take his cargo into Changsha without paying any likin; and the likin authorities disarowed any knowledge of the British Consul, and threw the document with the British Consul's signature on it down in the road and trampled on it.”.
house, inherited the traditions of his ances. tors. This was not only natural, but to a considerable degree acted as an assurance of peace to the rest of the continent, scarcely, after the lapse of nearly a century, recovered from the ill effects of the Napoleonic wars.
It is true that the new Empire, and still tuore its ruler, was by no meaus devoid of mbitious designs. History and tradition hoth led to a desire to see the whole of Germany, if not the Gerinau race, included under one rule, but as it stood, the German race was divided into sections, apart not only in position but in sentiment. Except a commou language, there was, in fact, no bond of union. The affairs of 1870 had united many of these scattered units, most, in fact, who owned to any feeling of common interest, but this only emphasised the main distinctions. Bavaria long remained unde- cided, and even at present can hardly be looked upon as more than semi-attached. Along the south-east coast of the Baltic, beforeGermany's suicidal junction with her arch-enemy Russia, in the partition of Poland; German in- fluence stretched as far as the entrance of the Gulf of Finland. Although the inhabitants of Courlaud and Livoniu were not originally German, under the in- fluences of the Teutonic Order, who long held the powers of the government, these border provinces became largely Ger- manised; but finally from dynastic reasons fell under the rule of Poland. On the partition of that unfortunate kingdom, Russia took care to appropriate them herself. but in spite of all br efforts has never succeeded in assimilating them in re- ligion or language. Germany has cast within the last thirty years many a longing glance over the frontier, but overawed by the commanding position of Russia, brought about mainly, be it observed, by her own folly, she has carefully kept her councils to herself. The events of the last twelve months have, however, taken a vast load off Germany, and already we find her aiming in more respects than one to assume the position of military arbitrament which she had tacitly, though grudgingly, conceded to Russia as the result of the spoliation of
Changsha, it must not be forgotten, is an 1795. When in January, 1853, the Tsar NICOLAS I. proposed to Sir HAMILTON
acknowledged treaty port. There is, as we SEYMOUR the partition of Turkey, he did
have said, a British Consul there, and there not think it necessary to bestow a thought,
is also a British Commissioner of Customs. on the feelings of his brother-in law, the
Our contemporary's recital of the acts KING OF PRUSSIA. In those days the repre-
against Mr. BENNERTZ Would therefore sentatives at St. Petersburg of the principal
indicate almost that he was some bad man. German states, as well as some of the
who by wrongful behaviour_had made himself a persona non grata. But there is most prominent statesmen, found it most
nothing of the kind alleged, Mr. conducive to their personal interests to
BENNERTZ'S sole offence being that he has gain the favour of the TSAR, and Russian
insisted upon his right to trade in a place trinkets and ribbons were at a premium.
opened to trade. His claims have the This unnatural ascendency continued till it fell to the lot of NICOLAS II, to show how
(Daily Press, 4th August.)
support of the local consul, and of the shallow were the foundations on which it Changsha, the heart of conservatisin and British Consul at Hankow, Mr. EVERARD rested. Even so, a DE WITTE, following anti-foreign envy, hatred, malice and all FRASER, so that no such suspicion can be in the footsteps of Law in France, was able; uncharitableness, is to be opened to foreign for one moment entertained. More, the to play on the susceptibilities of Germany trade." Thus, in September last year. wrote justice of his claims is hall-inarked by the and France so successfully that under the the Peking Times, announcing the opening fact that the British Minister, Sir ERNEST pretence of creating industries in Russia the alleged opening, we ought to say-of SATOW, has brought them under the notice That circumstance, he succeeded in transferring to that country, that trading centre. It was opened "volun- of the Wai-wu-pu. on equally unsubstantial security, huge tarily "; all persons of whatever nationality appears also to take the matter out of the of an individual grievance, sums of money,- how much remains is still were to receive protection; and the Viceroy, category
to add it to the long list of to be discovered. The events of last year WEI KWANG-TAO, referred in the regula. and
"facilitate breaches of treaty which the British showed, however, that the difficulties under tious to the Chinese desire to which Russia was labouring were not intercourse and trade" with foreigners. Government ought to make a Star Chamber of, before British prestige was clearly matter accidental but chronic, and proceeded from How it was not facilitated deeply seated causes which, although for a shown by the troubles of H. BENNERTZ becomes irretrievably lost. It can be no time successfully concealed, had long been & Co. British firm which hastened: encouragement to British commercial enter-
the to exploit
new opening, at work, and had deeply corrupted the
about, prise to let it be known that for nearly a whole of the nation,--not only the govern, which we had something to say early in the year, British officials have been presenting ment, but had also eaten deeply into the present year. Recently it was understood claims futilely, while a British merchant, was in enforced idleness, his capital all sunk, social life of the country. By a repetition that Mr. BENNERTZ had been or of the erents of 1795 Germany had been about to be compensated for the losses prevented from selling or buying or carry- plotting, with the looked-for assistance of inflicted upon him by petty official obstruc-ng out any of his contracts, with rent paid Russia to carry out herschemic of an enforced | tionists; but now we note in the N. C. in advance for premises he is forbidden to
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a
CHANGSHA.
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