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HONGKONG JOFFIN IS.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
| September 9, 1905. mitted. Of cours on of the main principles | theatres; and the stage in this way is arrived at het ween various powerful com in the diplomatic art is the co-ering iu plain | often no bad index of the public mind. In binations and the governing classes; and non-committing words of the inner iutention; one well-known farce called "Borrowing a such a state of things, however open to in the lease" of Weihai this salutary rule Wife" a comical sceu is introduced where, | abus; while it exists unofficially, is precisely was forgotten, or rather thrwn stenta after hearing plaintiff ar. defen lant, the that which, properly d'rcc'el, might at 'en it tiously to the winds. Weihai was lensed Mandarin is made to tell them that they locally be mia le the basis of soul represen
tative institutions. This is no doubt what "for as long as Russia was in occupation are both in the wrong, and settle the of Port Arthur.' The idea that Port matter by pocketing the sum in disput› has been perceived by the Japaness states. Arthur-ould ever fall into the hands of a himself. That such a play should be often men, who hope to be able to educate the third Power, of cou se, never occurred to roduced in a country where respect for Chinese into something in the form of Lori SALISBURY, but in diplom tie affairs, authority is so strongly inculcated as Representative Government. But the grat cqually of course, it is the unexpec el that China app ars s mewhat strange-but it is difficulty that has to be met is how such must ver b provided for. Port Arthur one of the many a omalis which surprise a system could be expanded so as to bec me passed ou o the hauds of Rissi, and the
us among this never to be understo d applicably, not merely locally, but over the lease "
of Weibai terminat:1 by effluxion people. On the other hand there are whole empire. This, it is no doubt foreseen, of time; at last so Russia and Grminy er idences, in a variety of directions, that could only be a work of considerable time, took care to impress 01 the raila in the Chinese possess many of the qualifica and it is probably for this reason that the gover met a Peking. Chin, it is true, tions which are necessary for self govern- Japanese have suggestel,the idea of twelve was quit en ent that the lens: should run
The facility with which they can years being necessary. It is to be hoped, 00, was in fact rather des on it huldujse themselves into associations of all for the interests of Chin, that the auticipa- but Jussia and Gern ny q te disinterested Į kids, both for good and for evil, is marked;tion my be reali-ed, and such a hope is not spectators, as their renta ives tok and this power, when rightly directed is, unreis mabis ualer existing circumstances. -care to inform Peking, wr con end in it is ee less to say, a mia factor in The e is no doubt that as present China is the due carrying out by China o her popular or representative goveru neut. La willing to leara much fo u Japan; anl that - engagement; the lease ha lapsol, t':e the Guilds and the vast number of seil nation, from its in imite kw.elg of the pleaded, with the surrender o the fortre-s; | and quasi religious societies that ex's all Chinese and th ir in st tutivas, is the ong and China was not o ly en itled to receps over the country, the opisation is per- best fi ted to give them the instruction they Weihai, but in accordance with her Eu:o.|fect; and in their secret societies, however so much require. pcan engagements was charly bound to u desirable they may be in certain respects, do so.' The whole history of Welhai the same pow.1s of combination and ad- from, in fact, our previ u. t m; orary ministration are beyon I question conspicu- If these talents cull b mide to occupation of Port Hamilton, ha- boon th record of a series of b'unders on the part o. work in the right directions, they might hel our Foreign Office; each o e, it possible, of incalculable value in the government of wore that their cerding. It commence the country-but it is clear thu it must with the to 1 sh idea on the part of Lordhequire no common poors to proluce this SALISBURY LLa be had only t cry "boo!" to make the Russian goo-e take t ter legs, or wings, and it went on with an equally foolish firing of pop-guns in the face of au enemy who was bimsalt au a lept in that art; it is being e rrid ou un ter a petty fire of make-believe artillery on the part of His Majesty's Government and His Majesty's Opposition, neither of whom Feem to have the faintest con.e, tim of the importance of the issuer at st.ke. Așa fact, never has been the retent on of Weihai as much a Lecessity in the int rests, not only of Grea: Britain but of Chiua herself, both political and commer ial. as at the present moment, Insignificaat as the place may be in itself, ou which, however, our own opinions differ largely from those of Mr. BALFOUR, its abandon- ment would man our final wth-Irawal from all nfluence, commercial an i policial, in North Chian. The so-ner His Majesty's Government risc to the comprehension of this fact, and the sooner it alan lo is its present humpy-dumpty a.titud:, the biter it will be for its owa mability, and the more conducive to the interests of the. Empire.
new.
REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT FOR CHINA.
(Daily Pres, 8 h September.) A suggestion was thrown out some time back that, un fer the influence of Japan, it might be possible to introduce into Chini a system of representative Government such as would meet the needs of the country. The idea of such a change is not altogether It was long ago perceived by those who were able to look a little below the surface that the instincts of the Chinese are not auta onisti: to representative insti- tutions, and that the autocratic form of Government to which, from tradition, they pay so much outward respect, does not in reality command 80 much Reciptince ns mere outward observances would seem tɔ› indicate. The Mandarin has always ben a popular subject of ridicule in the lighter pieces that are produced Chinese
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result. It seems, however, that Japanese statesmen are hop ful of being able so t influence and instruct the Chinese that this end could be attained in something like twelve years.
It is characteristic of the Japanese that, in dealing with a subject of so apparently un ‘eine la nature, they shoul fix the actual time which it would take to bring about the change. This shows that the question must have been gone into by them with their accustomed thoroughness. It has evidently been treated, not merely s an abstract speculation, but has been well thought out on the basis of actual fact. The knowle lge which even the best infor.ned Europeaus possess of prag ical working of administration in China is too limited to enable them even to aftempt to form an accurate judgment upon a question of this kind. With the abstract principles of Chinese Government a few well informed European officials or scholars are sufficiently acquam:ed; but the fact which most strongly strikes the former, is the degree to which in practice the administration differs from what in theory it is supposed to be. It is manifest to those who study the subject, that side by side with th: accopied government, under the supreme control of the Son of Have 1, there has long been working a popular system which in a variety of ways, thretically ineguiar, a t‹ as a check upou the cent al authorities and modines the intensity of a pure autocracy.
4th September.
The comparativo statome t of the revenu9 and xpediture of the Colony from the 1st of January to the 3 th of April, which is just offic ally published for g nerul inform tion, is a very satisfactory one in deed. It shows a crecit bal ne { $55,191. As compi ol with the
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c rresponding pe.iod last y ar there is an inc.sare i rekonu, ex dlu.ive o. la d saler, t the extent of nearly a quarter of a milion dollars, while the expenditure side shows not decrease of 824,347. The only reve: us item (-xcepting ti e interest recount), which shows a decrease, strange to iny. is "ren of Gov-inment propeity, land and houses" and t d crease amounts to $24,900. It would be interesting to know the why and where fo e of this, as it
seems to by contra y to the experienc) of renters of private property.
When the Daily Press circulated the fir.t telegrams received in Hongkong announcing the terms on which Russ and Japan hid agreed to stop the war, I suppose nost me in Hongkong on r covering ron their am zement at the m de at on of the tomb gin to ask them- selves what efect it would have on the exch ng value of the doi ar. The back quickly supplied the answer, exch ngedropping th sam moring fou poin 8. The dir fol. to 1s. Ild. making a drop of seven-sixteenths in a week. Evinly the views of the men who control th buses have sidre un ergone some change, for on Saturday exelange weit up a point. aving regard t› the rature of the pace tums, it may be hazarded that-the do jar is not likely to drop to 1s. 6.1, again very sad len'y.
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Now that th Paak has bea provided with more light by th Pab ic Works Daiufmon', I i am asked to invite th attention of thi depart
went to the ind qu'e ste et ichting in Kɔw. lo. In. Vody Rad. for ex mp, not a s ngl 1ght has yet len provid d, and th light`ng in many or thoroughf, en els attenti n My correspondent reg ests m t give a timely warn ng to the officials who may o dpital ti investigate the complaint, to povid th me'res with lanterns if they go out at night leat they stumble in the holes or d tches in the roads which were bid enough before the typhoon visited us, and are now much worse.
In several directions the Chinese have con- trived to preserve an amount of individual freedom, which would be imp ssible but for this peculiar working of a popular element. In many cases the maus of maintaining this independence have been to bring the local officials to a reasonable attitude by the simple plan of mak ng them a sufficient payin ut or, to put it more plainly, to give One hears a good deal of comp'ait in
In other c18ES,
Kowloon contein ng the number of be oher m. them a sufficient bribe.
bers who are now oaning over Trin shitɛni, however, the more legitimite course has
and many people. wm they accost in the been resorted to of assisting the officials to obtain revenue of a specifi :d kulin re urn
streets at right, for the price of a malồ: a bed it is never, or hardly ever the price of a for special privileges. But, in one way-or- ́ ́drink, of e‹ urse—i aturalis feel a little appre- another, we constantly find that the mole
hensive of danger if the dem ind is not amply in which government is carried out iu China satisfied. This matter I commen! to the is by an understanding of some kin being La tention of the police sathorities.
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