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February 15, 1969.]
REMINISCENCES OF CHINA. LECTURE BY SIR JOHN MELEAVY BROWN.
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.]
LONDON, January 15th. Last night there was a good muster of members and friends of the China Society at the Caxton Hall to hear from Sir John McLeavy Brown, C.M.G., L.D., some of his early reminisences of China
The pro- gramme this session is far in advance of that of last year, thanks to the energy of the in- defatigable honorary secretary, Mr. Byron
Brenan.
Admiral the Hon. Sir F. R. Fremantle was in the chair, and briefly introduced the lecturer, who was well received. The lecture was given without any formal notes, Sir John merely allowing his memory to guide him through his early days in the East, commencing with the trip out to Hongkong and thence to Peking.
At first he showed a certain reluctance, he said, to appearing on that platform, for he had heard and been much impressed by numerous papers read before the Society and he felt that he had neglected his opportunities in China for studying the great classics and teachers as these lecturers had done. Therefore he was afraid that he had insufficient matter for a lecture, when Mr. Byron Brenan mentioned such an item to him. He told Mr. Brenan what he felt and Mr. Brenan quite agreed with him (laughter.)
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
At Ceylon they took another steamer and so on to Hongkong. It took fourteen days to go from Singapore to Hongkong. They went back and forward between Hongkong and Canton till orders came for them to go to Peking. They called on local officials and did everything they were told was the proper thing to do, and he had to record that their reception was very friendly. He began to study Chinese and Dr. Legge of Hongkong, a famous authority on Chinese, presented him with two big volumes of translations of the Chinese classics which he took on with him.
At Shanghai they were detained to await a steamer for the north. The first person he saw
in Shanghai was Sir Robert Hart, then Com- missioner of Customs in that port. Next morn- ing after their arrival they went to the races through the mud that was ankle deep. Every body who could wore top boots. There he saw men well known both in the East and in London, One wearing a red coat, was Mr. Panmure Gordon, another was Mr. Antrobus, There were three great business houses in these days at Shanghai, the forerunners of the numerous business concerns of to-day.
At Chefoo he met Mr. Martin Morrison, son
of Dr. Morrison, the first missionary to China. He asked them to dinner and they accepted. The arrangements were certainly primitive-he sat, for instance, on a turned up box for a seat. However, they were young and took it as matter of course, and did justice to what was prepared for them to eat.
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From there they went to Talienwan and in the subsequent journey he had the roughest storm to encounter that he had ever experienced. The bulwarks were carried away and the passengers had to hold on to the steamer's fittings.
It was extremely cold, 80 decided to get to some place that was warmer. He went on a search and at last got to the boilers where he remained very comfortably till the next morning (Laughter).
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However, the Secretary pressed for some sort of lecture so he had agreed to give merely some reminiscences. When one threw one's memory back to the early days of China it was inevitable to think of the great changes that had taken place. If they stood at the beginning of the past fifty years-it was nearly fifty years since he first went to China-they would probably anticipate a great many more changes than At Tientsin he saw Sir Robert Douglas, now had actually happened in that time. But home in England and one of the mainstays of looking backward from this time to that the Society. He was then assistant in the there had been, it must be confessed, Consulate. They were just too late to go up quite as many changes there as elsewhere. the river, so took carts and started in the face It was only in 1834 that trade was thrown of a bitter wind that he had never forgotten. open in China and it was after that that By the second of December they got to Peking questions began to arise, attended with and were well received by everyone. It was e difficulties for settlement between the interested very pleasant life in those days. They took up parties. It was from that date that change and much time in studying the Chinese with their development in the relations of foreign nations language and customs. The government took and China really might be reckoned.
the trouble to give them an official to instruct them and look after them. He was a genial character who thought it was bad for them to work too quickly. They obeyed him ostensibly but studied among themselves and so went ahead rapidly.
There were various settlements of a more or less unsatisfactory kind and it was not until 1860 that things were really brought to a more permanent settlement. And changes since then have been really developments, rather than changes, of movements having their origin about that time.
In thinking of reminiscences one always thought of old friends, the scenes in which one met them, the happy times one had with them, and the sadness of losing many of them in the course of time. That was how he had been led in thought in approaching this subject, but he would merely touch upon a few of his experiences, beginning with his first voyage out to China.
First of all there must be mention of the greater facilities in life now compared with then. In 1861 there was very little opportunity for travel. There was only one line, the P. and O. Now, there were five or six lines on the Eastern route, with fully equipped and luxurious vessels, He went out at the country's expense and it cost the Government to send him to Shanghai some- thing like £157 10s. He supposed the cost to-day would be less than half that, and the gain in time had been proportionate.
He and his associates had to take five steamers
to get to Tientsin. Now he supposed they would only take two. For a good deal of the journey they had a very rough passage and had to lie on the floor. They started in the old P. and O. boat, the Ceylon, and had four days to wait at Cairo for the everland mails. That gave them time to see Cairo and the Nile under the old conditions. There were no Nile steamers: they crossed in a slow old ferry and made land journeys on donkeys.
At Suez they took another steamer, a very safe, solid boat, built of iron, but extremely hot and uncomfortable. They had a very small cabin and his impression of the Red Sea under those conditions was not favourable.
There were at that time English, French and Russian ministers in Peking. The Englisy minister, Sir Frederick Bruce was an exception. al man-many of them thought the best repre-. sentative they had ever had there. After that came the Germans with a minister and then
other nations. They were an extremely happy family and the relations between the British Legation and the Chinese Government were probably never better. It was largely due to the excellent temper and tact of Sir Frederick Bruce, who never pushed an advantage too far but dealt with consummate skill with the Chinese and his fellows on the Diplomatic Corps. As physician to the Legation there was Dr. Lockhart who knew an enormous amount about the Chinese and treated crowds of them.
The lecturer
in contact with many members of the Tsung li Yamen, The real man of affairs was a Tartar, Wensiang. He was very fond of inquiring about foreign affairs and how things were done abroad. He used to discuss matters with Europeans and the lecturer learned
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Chinese from more few hours than from any other He came from the borders of the Empire yet spoke most excellent Chinese, just as people in some parts of Ireland and
Inverness were supposed to speak the best English.
Another official of note was Heng Ki. He was not brilliant, but having had three years of office in Canton he had enriched himself and was well off. When they wanted a subscription for anything they looked to him and, though he sometimes protested, he always paid up.
He remembered that once an official report was prepared on the mineral wealth of Shansi.
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Presently the Chinese were astonished to receive the bill. They disputed it at first, but Wensiang at last laughed and ordered the costs to be paid up at once.
Then there was the Capitaine-General of the City Gendarmerie, Chung Lun, a very good- natured old man who dined them all in the Im- perial City in honour of Sir Frederick Bruce who was retiring. The cooking was very good--- half northern Chinese and half southern Chinese.
That was about 1863. At that time other nations were anxious to get treaties with China. Among others was Denmark which sent out Colonel Raastoff. Usually such matters were dealt with by Ministers at Shanghai or Tientsin
in those days, but Col. Raastoff determined to go straight to Pekin. He was told by other Europeans to call on the Chinese Minister at Tientsin, as he was not making sufficient ceremony previous to receiving a treaty. He declined, saying he was accredited to the Emperor of China, and to Peking he was going to do his business at headquarters. There was at this great excitement and running of messengers.
The British Legation lent a soldier at last to accompany Colonel Raastoff, and the Russian Legation lent a Cossack. Whether these soldiers got something to drink or not he could not say positively but on entering Peking one soldier persisted in going one way and the other another way. The Danish Minister had to stand still in the street in the hope they would arrive at an agreement and lead him on.
Presently an old gentleman came along in his chair and seeing a foreigner apparently in distress he leaned out and shook his hands in token that he would help him. The Dane did the same and this went on for some time till the old gentleman succeeded in making him understand that if he would follow him he would
help him. He led him down a side street and entered a room in a large house where tea was ordered. Not a word was spoken all this time, though the old gentleman waited for some ex- planation and began to think his visitor rude. At last a teacher was sent for who could converse with the Dane. He told the teacher his business, whereupon the teacher exclaimed "Why this is the Foreign Office you are in now." The old gentleman was none other than Chun Lun him- self. The story of how Col. Raastoff reached the Foreign Office was a standing joke for a long time.
The students, of whom the lecturer was onė, made several excursions. One to the Mongolian border in which he took part had never before been undertaken by students. They had plea- sant weather and really the north of China was found to be most enjoyable, with better samples of weather than in England.
Que of the lecturer's amusements was to watch Dr. Lockhart dealing with swarms of patients in a rough and ready manner.
On the way out they heard that the Emperor of China had just died. The circumstances were similar to those of & few weeks ago. In those days there were no telegraphs. News had to travel by steamer. A body of officials, they heard, had decided to keep control of affairs in Peking, but they had
reckoned without their hostess, the late Dowager Empress, who planned and carried out her famous coup d'etat in November. When the lecturer and his colleagues arrived in Peking
there was no evidence of excitement. The Empress Dowager had completed her plans and everything was quiet.
Just at this point Sir JOHN made a reference to Yuan Shih Kai. Within two months of the death of the Emperor and Empress Dowager they saw a move on the part of the Regent to get rid of a very able official. It was alleged, he knew not on what ground, that that official had planned violent measures. In any case his removal was a great pity and to keep him out of office would mean a great loss to China. He was much more experienced than the others and represented the more progressive element in the national administration. He believed he
had no part in any "anti foreign movement." His removal, he repeated, was exceedingly to be regretted.
To return to his arrival in Peking, ir JOHN said he went wherever he wished. The students were sometimes a little rough` but there was no malice on either side and he could honestly say that during the whole time he was in China'
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