CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
more skilled workmen by procuring higher wages for them; but must press very hardly upon the less skilled and upon large numbers who cannot join in a strike simply because they must get some kind of work in order to live. This bearing of the matter may be hidden away for a time by work being artificially found for the "unemployed, but there must in the nature of things be a limit to the extent to which such assistance can be given even in the most prosperous countries. Labour provided for unemployed simply because they are unemployed, is- call it what we will-charitable relief, and must before before long come to an end.
THE CANTON.HANKOW RAILWAY LOAN.
May 24, 1909.] whose shortcomings they have, with good reason, found occasion to deprecate. No one can object to combinations among the working classes in a reasonable manner and for legitimate objects; and so far as trade Unions are conducted upon these principles, they have the approbation of a large number of the soundest politicians. In many respects they have worked for good and, if properly conducted. may undoubtedly be used for the benefit both of employers and employed. But unfortunately extreme socialism has by degrees been influencing their principles and actions, and they have shown an increasing tendency to go far beyond the sphere in which their action can be considered legitmate or likely to lead to useful results. By specious and quasi philan- thropic declarations the Socialists have gradually worked upon the labouring popul- ation, and have succeeded in using them to
(Daily Press, May 18th.) force upon Government measures which in conference by the British, French and The agreement reached after a third the end are likely to lead to their losing German financiers interested in the Canton almost all personal independence, and un- fortunately Government, for the sake of the the best possible solution of a difficulty Hankow railway loan represents perhaps votes that can be obtained, has been willing brought about by the Chinese Government's to allow to the labour classes powers of disregard of its obligations.
A Chinese coercion, which they would certainly not contemporary, we notice, has waxed very grant to any others. As a natural sequence wroth that the British Government should to this a feeling has been engendered that have instructed its representative in Peking people are entitled to look to government to extend help to them in all directions, and Chinese Government in concluding a loan to enter a protest against the action of the much of the old self reliance, which specially for the Canton-Hankow railway without characterised the working classes, is being first having submitted the intention to the lost; and the masses are in danger of falling British Government in accordance with the under the power of Guilds or Unions in a
terms of the Convention of 1905. According manner that will be found none the less
to our Chinese contemporary, this betrays a oppressive because
the force which is lack of genuine sympathy with China on put into play to coerce their members England's part, because it has been comes from below insteau of from above, admitted by the highest British financial The strange thing is the willingness with authority that the agreement of 1905 is not which men by no means wanting in shrewd-binding and that the loan was purely a ness and common sense are willing to give business transaction with which the British up their liberty, and to place themselves Government has absolutely nothing to do." under the almost arbitrary dictation of the This can only be characterised as absolute Unions or Associatious to which they nonsense.
On September 9, 1905, the then belong. In China we are familiar with Viceroy at Wuchang, CHANG CHIH-TUNG, the power that is exercised by Guilds and the like Associations; and know the extent Germau Bank about which the dispute who himself arranged this contract with the to which they are able to dictate to their has arisen, wrote to the Consul-General at members and to deprive them of all freedom Hankow, Mr. FRASER, as follows:- of individual action. With their extra- ordinary trading instincts, the Chinese manage to get on under such a system; but the pernicious effects of it are but too well known. To such a state of matters, how ever, it would seem that things are likely to drift at home unless some unforeseen
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circumstances arise to modify the movement which has set in with so much force. As to the hope that the labouring classes, as a whole, will benefit by it, China should form a good object lesson. There is no country where there are more labour organisations and probably none where the poor are so very poor as in China. It is true there are not any professional unemployed in that country. The Chinese show considerable "pluck" in making the best of bad circum- stances and are not inclined to call for help as long as they can push along in anything to which they can put their hands. But vast numbers have to be content with a bare subsistence, protected by no Guilds or organisations, but having to pick up the crumbs which those who belong to the regular Guilds
consider beneath their noticé. And such is likely to be the result of the increasing coercion of Trade Unions at home. They may provide higher wages for those who belong to them, but they force increasing numbers out of any regular calling at all, and make them dependent upon any casual employment which they can find as a means of eking out a subsistence. This cannot in the long rup be to the benefit of the working classes as a whole. It may benefit the
In view of your services in obtaining for me a loau through the Hongkong Government of £1,100,000 on very fair terms, wherewith to redeem the Canton Hankow Railway, I give you a binding assurance that, should it be necessary to borrow funds abroad for the con. struction of the Canton-Hankow Railway, British financiers shall have the first option of undertaking the business, and, if bought abroad, British firms shall have the first option of supplying the machinery and materials.
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native but to abide by the terms of her engagement with Great Britain. It shows the value which the Chinese Govern- ment places upon its solemn pledges when within a space of two years it again de- liberately seeks to ignore the convention. The matter is one in which the Colony of Hongkong is directly interested, for when this Colony advanced to China overa million pounds sterling to redeem the concession from the Belgo-Russian group into whose hands it had passed, it was with the object of securing that the line should not pass under other than purely Chinese or British auspices. All Powers are concerned to see that China does not ignore her solemu engagements made with either of them, and according to the published accounts of the Paris Conference a couple of months ago, even the German group admitted that the protest proposed to be entered at Peking was quite legitimate, the view they took of it being that "if it succeeded the Germans
they would not lose face' in China,because would doubtless be kicked out' (sic), but they would not have broken their contract with the Chinese Government." The main obstacle to an earlier agreement of the three groups has been the question of control, the Germans urging objections to enforcing in view of past experience, to cause local control by a European engineer as likely, dissension and delays; but although the telegraphic summary of the basis of the compromise is silent on the point, it is to be assumed that the German representatives have given way on this essential point and so facilitated the settlement which has been reached on the basis that the three groups shall share equally in the loan and that the
Canton-Hankow line shall have a British Engineer-in-Chief, while on the Hankow- Chengtu line the Engineer-in-Chief shall be German, and in the event of a further ex-
tension of that line the Engineer-in-Chief is to be a Frenchman.
WEIHAIWEI.
(Daily Press, May 19th.) The British Government can scarcely be accused of ha ving made any concealment of its intention on the first convenient occasion of getting rid of Weihaiwei. In the early days of our intercourse with China, a similar desire was evinced to shuffle out of Chusao, the rendition of which has ever since been the fruitful mother of misunderstandings. In fact had we retained our position in the archipelago, the harbour of Tinghai would have been found to answer all our commer- cial needs, and we should have had no We may recall the fact that the present is occasion for our Foreign Settlements at not the first occasion on which the British Shanghai and elsewhere on the mainland, Government bas sought to protect its claims nor would the temptation have been left under this Convention. When in May 1907 open for the continental nations to seek the Viceroy at Wuchang was engaged in mainland acquisitions such as at Port negociating with the Yokohama Specie Arthur, Tsingtau, or, Kwangchow. From Bank a loan for the Canton-Hankow and Tinghai as a centre, the whole of the coast- the Szechuan-Hankow railways, the Britishing trade of northern Chins could have been Minister at Tokyo, under instructions from London, communicated to the Japanese Government the terms of the engagement made by China in 1905, giving preference to British capital in case a foreign loan should be required for these railways. He expressed the hope of the British Govern- ment that no loan might be granted by Japan which might prejudice British interests io regard to railways in China. The Japanese Government, upon receipt of that communication, took prompt steps to dissuade the Specie Bank from proceeding with the negociations; intimated to the Viceroy that they had definitely withdrawn their support of the Specie Bank in the proposed loan, and added that in their judgment China had no alter
there concentrated, and foreign steamers could have communicated thence with every one of the coast and riverine ports now open to trade. Owing to a very similar ignorance as to the dominating position of Weihaiwei with regard to the trade of the extreme north of China, as well as Manchuria, a very similar error is apparently again about to be perpetrated in the case of the more northern port. It is quite true that up to the present Weihaiwei has not succeeded in developing any trade with the treaty ports, its imports and exports being entirely con fined to the few articles produced or needed within the surrounding district; but this cannot be looked upon as any criterion as to the possibilities of the place. What, for instance, would have been effect had the
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