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THE HONGKON WEEKLY PRESS AND
[June 11, 1908.
SAN FRANCISCO AND THE IRON districts will benefit, directly or indirectly., and the result has been the upgrowth
MARKET.
(Daily Press, 2nd June.)
al
It is an ill wind that blows nobody good; and now that the more acute sufferings of the victims of the disaster at San Francisco have been alleviated, the commercial world : is waking to a consciousness of the probable sequel. It is obvious that the rebuilding of such a large and important city must create a demand in various markets; and apparent ly such demand will be more than welcome. One trade for which there is provided example of good springing out of evil" is the iron trade, about which the commercial supplement of the Times has received a very interesting contribution. To begin with, it appears that its recent startling experiences have not put San Francisco out of conceit with steel-frame buildings; all the testimony has been in favour of the steel framing which of late years has replaced the wood and adobe buildings formerly almost universal in California." It is even possible that enthusiasm has gone too far. and that too much has been claimed for
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Indeed, it is safe to predict that they must, even if recent expectations turn out to have been based on exaggerated ideas of the demand.
WIRELESS
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GOVERNMENT.
(Daily Press, 4th June.) Upon all general considerations, it must be admitted that the increased facilities for telegraphic communication in the present day are a very great advantage; and yet upon certain special grounds it may seem a matter for regret that the telegraph affords a means of interference by Home Govern ment in local inatters at a distance, which, as some will think, fortunately, did not exist in former times. The good old days when local disturbances were of necessity settled entirely upon a local basis, and for the most part satisfactorily, have passed away, and now the slightest trouble that may arise has to be reported to the Home Government. and dealt with according to their dictates. This of course has its advantages in many directions. It enables the authorities at bome to prevent any precipitate action which may involve them in responsibilities which they would rather not incur, and to check what appears to them the too energetic action of their representative abroad, who may not be inclined to enter upon nice discriminations when the lives or property of their nationals are involved. Action such as that of Admiral KEPPEL, when he went of his ownmotion with a file of marines and released a British prisoner, who, he considered, was unjustly incarcerated at Macao, would be impossible in the present day; and yet it cannot be denied that such prompt measures are as often the means of preventing as of precipitating a difficulty In these more regular times there would in such a case be a mass of diplomatic representations on such a subject, and the likelihood would be that the patient would die while the doctors were consulting. A conclusion might be arrived at eminently in accordance with the eternal fitness of things, but at the same time possibly in no way adapted to meet the particular circumstances of the case, which those on the spot, if left to decide on their own course, might deal with much more effectively. Matters in the old "gunboat" days were no doubt at times settled in a somewhat rough and ready way, but it may be questioned whether on the whole they were not dealt with quite as satisfactorily us under the more elaborate conditions of the present day.
of a system confining a maximum of ontward subserviency with a minimuma - of loyal and ready obedience. provincial authorities have found it easyre with ample time at their disposal, tón represent matters at the capital in one; way while they are working in a totally different direction for their own ends. Jif i this way they have contrived to maintain; something like supreme authority withinu the limits of their jurisdiction-and. by degrees the power of the central authorities, though absolute in theory, came to have little influence upon many of them. This fact has always been a source of trouble to foreign nations, who are obliged upon the accepted grounds of international relations to deal only with the high authorities; with very disappointing results in many instances. So far did this go that it became an almost recognised principle that in any case in which foreign interests were involved, or in which foreigners sought redress, the nation concerned had, as it were, to obtain from the Imperial authorities at Peking a licence to take action on the spot itself as best it could:: The gunboat had to appear in sight of the local or provincial authorities concerned. before any steps would be taken to affori-- redress or to put down any anti-foreign agitation. This state of things indeed was the true justification of the gunboat · policy, and was, it is needless to say, little...... understood by the general public at home. and
was consequently often invoighød: : against very unjustly.
The extension of telegraphic communica.. tion in China will tend to modify this state of things and to make it less easy for the Peking officials to shuffle off responsibility.... in this manner. Instead of a report being asked for, and a tardy account out in after the lapse of weeks or perhaps months' to the capital, telegraphic explanation can now be demanded with such speed as to allow but little opportunity of altering the true bears ing of the facts, as can be easily done, when there is time to falsify those that exist and invent others that may be require for a plausible excuse. This change in the relations of the capital to the provincial officials is important, not only in regards to s foreign relations, but also in connection with the general internal a·Iminis>ration_uf. the country. There is, under existing con- -, ditions, an opportunity for adminstrative re-t form in China which has not hither:o existed. The problem of centralisation. is a difficult. one, and oven with the increased facilities
this style of architecture, as affected by earthquake and fire. That is not the point, however; if San Francisco has faith in it, as we are told, then it is certain that San Francisco will proceed to re-construction with steel. The iron market is already influenced by this coming great call for steel", although there are some who attribute the rising prices to the American coal crisis recently reported. Naturally, a coal strike or lockout would cause the closing of blasting works, and possibly increase the demand for crude iron outside America; but that does not convince the authorities that the recent upward tendency was caused by anything other than the certain de inud at the Californian port. "The shipment of pig iron to San Francisco from British ports is a matter of regular Potice year by year, for we can deliver pig iron by water in California at a lower freight-cost than smelters in the eastern or southern States can deliver by rail. Cali- fornian orders for British pig iron will not be the creation of the San Francisco disaster, but it is noteworthy that cable messages have already been received press- ing for prompt shipment of parcels bought for that market long before the earthquake.' It will be, however, steel prepared for structural purposes that San Francisco will require; and British manufacturers are asking if the American mills can turn out all that will be wanted, as fast as it is wanted. They are known to be working One very important bearing of the exten- for carrying it out, it would not be wise toy full time now to meet contracts already sion of telegraphic communication is the be too sanguine as to its success; but withi made, which coutracts are not likely to effect which it will in time produce in China the telegraph at her disposal, there is at least,!" be waived or held over while Sun Francisco | itself, and which effect has indeed been to room to hope that some improvement_may. * is being rebuilt. Insurance claims are
some extent already brought about. The be effected, and that one cine of China's already being settled, and it will be only natural result of improved means of inter-inherent weakness and of the difficulties, ins characteristic of San Francisco to desire to communication is a centralisation of govern. dealing with her diplomatically will be by see a new city rise as quickly as the old.ment. The weakness of China has been degrees modified or removed, in a manner In these circumstances it is scarcely profit-chiefly due to the fact that the authorities which she has little anticipated. able to consider what the Government may at the capital have been too far removed or may not do to benefit San Francisco and to help its own industrial firms to provide the necessaries. It is considered likely that many orders will go to Great Britain, and that Congress will rebate the duties on fiu'shed-steel imported direct into San Francisco, for a period to be fixed. Ger- many is not in a position to supply sufficient "structural" steel, and her share of orders is expected to depend largely on whether the builders will be satisfied with what is called
basic” -
steel. British builders have a prejudice against that form, but it appears that bridge builders in America who for- merly stipulated against it have nowadays changed their minds. Probably all ron
from the provincial centres to be able to exercise the necessary control over them. Curiously enough this is a difficulty which the present dynasty deliberately made for itself. In its desire to place the supreine authority where it would be less likely to be assailed by any rebellious force, it chose Peking as the capital in place of the ok capital city of Nauking. As time has gone on, this policy, like many other devices of the same character, has brought about the very difficulty which it was intended to avert. The Central Government has been too far off to be in touch with the rest of the Empire, or even to maintain due influence over the provincial magnates;
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NOVEL THEORY OF TIDES: 2
(Daily Press, 5th June.) Sme time ago [May 24;h] we noticed the....... publication of a new theory of the universe, in which suggestions as interesting, an.thay.c were bold wore mule. It will be seen that on the subject of tides, to which we promised to return, the Rev. J. Cosand- is equally.r. unconventional and quite as e ingenious. The ortho belief that the attraction nË?! the moon is one of the chief factorn ju slab--- production of the tides, and that the... influence of the sun is secondary; becauna (11 of its great distance from the earth, ing wes are now told, quite erroneous. : Proof by
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