June 10, 1907.]
Among those who are not keen re-actionaries they have encountered distrust, and at the best they have been "appointed to petty posts whose emoluments barely suffice them to vegetate, and having been left thus in obscurity for three or four years, until in the refined atmosphere of China their Japanese odour has been purified, they become for the first time eligible for promotion." That is how a Japanese of weight and position, who cannot forget the speed with which bis own people inaugurated a changed régime, regards the situation in China. The foreigner could feel more patience with Chinese slower progress if he could safely attribute it to pure conservatism, but it is worse than that. Moveicents even more
active, and unfortunately with readier lavour at Peking, are being directed to forcing the hands of the clock back, even while men like YUAN are winding it up.
PRINCE FUSHIMI AND "THE
MIKADO."
FE
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REFORT. because one of their Princes was visiting Lon. don? To imagine such a thing is preposterous. But the Prince is a Japanese Prince, and so the Lord Chamberlain thinks it courteous to make allowances for the fact and treat his countryman as 00 other civilized nations. Forgetting (I must a different footing from suppose) Tsu-shims and Mukden and Port Arthur, he hurriedly reverts to the old fashicaed attitude towards the Japanese as "that funny little people, so qusint, you know !" and adopts a course of action which he would of Germany or France or any Western nation. never have dreamed of adopting in the case
+1
I protest against this " fanny little people' attitude being adopted at day towards
this time of 8 nation that has
itself one of the most gallant and self-devoted proved on the face of the earth. I protest against a nation with the splendid intellectual grip and clearness of the Japanese being treated as behaving in this way and imagining that it is a children. Most of all do I protest against our courtesy! On the contrary, it is an ignominy. To suppose that the Japanese are still smarting (if they ever smarted, which i question) under a joke originally made 20 years ago, and that they now desire its forcible suppression, is to deny them all intelligence and all sense of humour. made no such request. But we know, as a matter of fact, that they have licence of The Mikado is another signal The withdrawal of the instance of fasay and unjustifiable interference on the part of the Lord Chamberl in's office with the theatre in this country. I sincerely hope that pressure will be exercised to secure the immediate cancellation of that withdrawal before we find ourselves the laughing stock of Europe. I am, &c., ST. JOHN HANKIN.
Savile Club, May 5th.
As we have remarked, the Japanose them
of
far
377
Uui-
statement that Hongkong is the productive people of China against their Manchu source of pamphlets designed to "stir up the
rulers," is in a position to go further, and
the anti-dynastic movement. This course, does so. It roundly offers its sympathies to supposing we were disposed to adopt it, would be quite improper for us, as near neighbours of a Friendly Power. But little as we approve of the present representative Em press-Dowager, and not the Emperor- the Manchu dynasty, meaning the we have no desire to offer sympathy or moral support to those at present in rebellion
other reasons for holding aloof, it would be against her authority. If there were no
sufficient to remember that what our Singapore contemporary calls the Reform Party (there is a Reform Party that is not anti-dyn astic) does not consist of pukka patriots. Sentimentally, the spectacle of the true Chinese making even a belated effort to throw off the foreign (Manchu) yoke should appeal to us. but we do not believe it is anything so respectable. There has so
been
no evidence of the bona-fide
that patriotism
should and would inspire an anti-dynastic movement. Probably if the agitation develops, the same political exigencies that required foreign intervention against the Taiping Rebels, GORDON and LI HUNG-CHANG, may again and led to their suppressal by General have force. It appears that the rebel agitator SUN YAT-SEN has hopes that such The Mikado", with- | selves have disclaimed any responsibility again. We quote from a translation in our foreign intervention may not be forthcoming for the Lord Chamberlain's act, and we believe the incident must have been a cause
contemporary: “When our great object of of some pain to them.
revolutionising China shall have been host, the Japanese gentleman is the per- but a brighter prospect also would be
Either a guest or
accomplished," he writes, "not only a new era would dawn upon our beautiful country, fection of real courtesy, and whatever he the composure of his host or guest is ever may think, no expression likely to ruffle shared by the whole human race.
versal permitted to escape. The fuss that our
peace will surely follow the step of the regeneration of China, and a grand field contemporaries have been making appears
hitherto never dreamed of will be opened to to us on a par with the conduct of the the social and economic activities of the ill-bred hostess who reprimands ber servants
civilised world." There is a promise there before her guests. It would have been of preferential treatment to foreigners if better to wait until Prince FUSHIMI had they leave the next rebellion a free hand, gone. However, we can trust our Allies to
or rather, of better and more favourable assess the incident at no more than its true
treatment than (he claims) the Manchus importance, especially as in all other ways
have over permitted. According to the the exceptional welcome extended in Japan! domiciled a while at Singapore, the idea the nation did its best to repay them for Straits Times, which claims some knowledge of SUN's plans, that person having been to Prince ARTHUR and his suite. In the drive to Buckingham Palace the Imperial was for simultaneous risings all over the guest was escorted by the Prince of Wales. Empire, a thing which we quite agree would the Duke of Connaught, and Prince Arthur.be most difficult to arrange "in a large The Japanese Ambassador and Admiral country like China, where there are so Yamamoto in the second carriage had the many untrustworthy people." The clan and Lord Roberts. Sir Edward Sevmour, any "untrustworthy" from the political distinguished company of the Earl of Sefton divisions and provincial antipathies make Admiral of the Fleet, escorted General agitator's point of view; but it occurs to us Nishi, and so on. The nation's best went
to suggest that a better word to use would personally to look after its Allies' beat. It
be "mistrustful." The Chinese are not too 18 a source of gratification to those who unsophisticated to weigh motives, and recognise its importance to note that, re-
the fact that there is a good deal of money markably as the Japanese went out of their in the rebellion promotion business cannot have escaped them. A Chinese gentleman way to do honour to the King's envoy, their courtesy was amply returned. In the whose sympathies are distinctly on the friendly rivalry of the high politeness,
side of reform has confided to us his England was not outdone,
hearty abhorrence of SUN YAT-BEN and all his crew, the latter including a few well- meaning gulls but far more rooks. now and then, lest the supply of sympathy and its fruit in currency should fill off these meu have to show some return for the monies they receive. That is to them an
taxed, Mandario-ridden China there is no easy matter. It is notorious that in over-
lick of di-tricts where popular discontent prevails. There are always, to, restless characters keen to profit by disorders with or without excuse.
The campaign is easy. The mob fever (swarmery) is artfully generated, the ignorant masses vent their
(Daily Press, 7th June.) For weeks past the English papers have been full of allusions to the visit to King EDWARD of Emperor MUTSUHITO's relative and representative, Prince FUSHIMI. None can doubt the enthusiastic nature of the welcome extended to the distinguished representative of our Allies, and it is a little unfortunate that anything should have occurred to blemish that cordiality. But the withdrawal from the British stage of the popular comic opera drawn for fear of causing offence to the nation's guest, was seized upon by the papers as a subject for complaint, and animadversions on the intelligence of the officials responsible. As a property valued at £10,000, Mr. W. S. GILBERT, the libret- tist, and Mrs. D'OYLY CARTE, the lessee of the stage rights, naturally have ground for !complaint at its enforced disuse; but when permission is again accorded, as it surely will be, they will find their compensation in the remarkably effective advertisement the piece has had. Led by most of the journals of the country, the public resented the arbitrary and, as it is generally contended, the unreasonable action of the Lord Cham- in London hastened to assure them that the berlain, and the leading Japanese residents public performance of the amusing burles- que was not objected to by them. We quote here one of the best letters that has appeared on the subject, although others have wittily recommended the compulsory withdrawal of Hamlet " that it may offend Denmark, and so on:
on the ground Sir,-The relations of the Lord Chamberlain's office towards the theatre in this country seem to grow every year more ludiorous. Hitherto
its blunders have been most conspicuous when interfering in the sphere of morals-as, for example, when a licence which was refused to plays by Brieux, Maeterlinck, and Ibsen was granted to Education du Prince. exploits in the political sphere seem likely to But its equal even these in folly. The withdrawal of the licence to perform The Mikado is just one of those instances of trutlessness which make one despair of officials. It was meant, of course, as a piece of courtesy and deference to Japan. Properly considered, it is nothing less than an insult to that great people. The Japanese are our allies. We respect and admire them for the splendid fighting qualities displayed during the late war, and for their no less splendid qualities of self-restraint and resolution before and after it. Yet the Lord Chamberlain treats them as if they were children or barbarians! If the Japanese instead of being an Oriental race, were a European Power, does anybody suppose that
a comic opera about them written 20 years ago and performed since then in every country in the civilized world, including their own, would be suppressed
CHINESE EBELLIONS.
(Daily Press 8th June). The statement reaches us indirectly that Chinese revolutionary leaflets are being printed in Hongkong. Doubtless this is being done with some measure of secrecy, or he authorities would soon put a stop to it. In this Colony we have no option but to regard the Chinese rioters in the neigh- bouring Empire as lawbreakers, unentitled to support. The Straits Times of Singa- pore, in which we have noticed the
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