The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 26, 1897, Page 17

SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1S97. £ CHNA UNDER THE aU STORY OF THE PLANS WHICH ITISCLAIMED THE GREAT POWERS ARE CARRYING OUT. \“If the Great Powers Insist We Must Humbly Bow 4 to the Inevitable.” BY THE CHINESE CONSUL. HE German nation, always favored by us, and certainly considered most | friendly to us, has taken possession of one en I say a nation we have favored I mes preference as our military traine of our important harbors. n that we have always given s. In our navy we have de- and it seems almost ingredible t this confidence is to be violated by the representatives of an hon- on, who have gained their information of the internal affairs of ough their positions as officers in the employ of the Chinese Gov- in clos na with which she has ever warred, still she is now y true friend and protector. of humility. I simply wish to tell you that China lobke T} t said for war, which condition has existed for hundreds of years. e recent war with Japan China learned that she must awaken from her long and 1 fi ep and prepare to defend herself against the rest of the \wr!‘i‘ Tt 't be accomplished in a day, and we have been endeavoring with all our 1 to modernize ourselves that we may repel the foreign in- vader. I fear we are too late. Why ¥ d 5 ke an antagonistic hand in this affair seems a mystery tc " England certainly holds the balance of trade | power in China. 1 agreement entered into between China and | England the er Government has been the customs collector for China for Her t com that she would favor p this h] ercial interests in China would inciine one to believe ce as long as possible. I have no official advice on but I am informed through the daily press that she is rapidly naval fleet in Chinese waters. Whether this be to oppose g her rto g I would say that the Chinese Government, ne of the purest on earth. 3 social in its architectural design, is In proof of which in our social'scale we rank the importance to the literati. ey counts for nothing; classical education is everything. I serted by a lecturer in London that the triennial examination the most difficult task ever imposed upon a scholar. ted to the successful candidate,” in the world.” This does not insure the production of honest he Chinese Government. of nment. is considered grasping. It has been asserted by she intends to subjugate the entire Orient. s subject I have no personal opinion, and it is impossible for me to give you the opinion of my Government. You must know that official dis- | patches are sent directly from Peking to London and then transmitted to our Minister in Washington. He in turn forwards such information as he may vink proper to the Consulate at San Francisco. We are mere employes and tion at Washington, and are only entrusted with dip- 1at may affect us locally. Francisco the most important port in America, consiaered from a The French have always been desirous of great possessions in the t the result of their ambition may be I have no idea. hal Oriental. In fact the Russian of the Steppes, the great with Oriental manners and customs, and I presume that it would be cult.for them Russia 2 Of course, if 1 China. But T doubt seriously if any amicable agreement can possibly be d between these great powers for the partition of China. the Germans have cause for complaint. The peasants of China some of their missionaries. As'I am a philosopher from a re- andpoint 1 have nothing to say as to their right or wrong en the ct. But you, as a Christian, please stop and consider = moment what would think of a Buddhist priest if he were to come into one of your villages and preach the doctrine of Buddhism and were to tell you that Chris- tianity was wrong and Buddhism was the only true belief, ana that if you were to injure him for =o insisting and his Government would avenge the w would you think it right? b You must remember t CF rs before the (¢ yure and simple, and unto otk yu would be done b We rather dislike to give up this doctrine. We may be wrong, but we appeal to your sympathy.’ In my opfnion your Christlan belief emanated en- tirely from our dogmas. Let me tell you that there is a great similarity in the Chinese language between the pronunciation of Jesus and Confucius, ‘“Jesus: is pronounced “Huesue” while “Confucius” has always been called “Con- fusue.” Is this not analogy? Now when the German missionaries told our innocent people that they raust believe in Jesus and not Confucius, can you blame them for taking of- fense? They were without instructions from the central government, and they took the administration of justice into their own hands. The Chinese Government must stand the consequence, .may God help her. THE CONSULATE. b sub you A is the cradle of nations; that we existed tian era; that we have our own rincipally teaches the Golden Rule, thousands of on, ‘Do which is very WFORE 1842 China was a sealed Pechili. The allied forces gathered 0ok to the outside world, so nearly 300 vessels; the land forces were Korea and Japan. She was numbered about 80,000 men. After a hedged in as though a giant wall girded her territory. The Jesuits were the first to enter China and they only dared do it by shaving their heads, donning a Chinese costume and ing the language like the natives. v traveler who dared to penetrate the interior took his life in his desperate battle in which both armies and navies were engamed, the great fortifications commanding the entrance to the Pei Ho River. the key to Peking, was stormed and captured and the al- lied forces marched on the walls of Peking. China was then entirely at the mercy of France and England and a treaty of peace was soon concluded. The British alone secured something like $15,000,000 into d England obtained Hongkong Portugal had possession of the nce of Macao to the south of The disaffected Chinese in the prov- Canton. Later, by treaty, England ob- inces took advantage of the weak and ined important concessions in sev- helpless condition of the country and eral minor treaty ports. The Ameri- began the great Tae Ping rebellion. and French also obtained conces- t the same time. In 1857-8 there as another war and the Chinese were wrged with violating the treaty. #.ey were soundly whipped at Canton b. the British and the entrance to the Pii Ho River was occupied. The Chi- nese gave up possession of the river defenses when the treaty of 1858 was made. ‘When the treaty was about to be rat- ified in 1859 the English flotilla was at- tacked at the entrance of the Pel Ho River and three gunboats were sunk. It was late in the season to begin hos- tilities. The following spring the cam- DPaign opened briskly with a combined a‘tack by the British and French na- val and military forces in the Gulf of England and France now joined to help the Chinese Government. Colo- nel Gordon was loaned to the Imperial Government. He quickly whipped the undisciplined Chinese =oldiers shape and with the assistance of de- tails from the American, French and English navies quickly destroyed the rebel armies. It was in this sharp and victorfous campaign that “Chinese* Gordon won his reputation. From 1861 to 1864 the Gult of Pe- chili was under absolute naval control of England and France and the port of Che Foo, near Wae-Hae-Wae, was their headquarters. One gunboat from each navy, English and French, repre- sented the two powers in those import- ant waters The poorest peasant of | d of brains and education, may confidently expect to reach a | no doubt there have been many instances of abuse of power | This, however, marks the man, and | 1ave no confidence in the French; we expect nothing from them but | the great powers of Europe insist, we must humbly bow to the | into | ect her against other powers is a question to be decided in “The | he said, “impliea the highest | ia, is a thorough Oriental. Siberia on our north is thoroughly | I mean the ignorami—to draw the line of demarcation | § : *eeecesssssscssssssssoss e ONLY ONE THING CAN SAVE CHINA. The great European powers—Eng- land, France, Germany and Italy—have cut the continent of Africa up into pieces and each taken ashare. Nothing § like this was ever accomplished with so little noise in the history of the world. % berment of China —Cleveland Plaindealer. China is now the victim they are ull looking toward with covetous eyes. The scramble is just beginning and it looks to-day as though before one year goes by every great European power will de- mand a slice off from the Celestial Em- pire. Unless the thieves fall-out there Is no power that can save the dismem- i ;“HH i it ENGLAND PORTUGAL JAPAN CHINESE GORDON'S SAYING. In the near future China is sare to become a prey to the powers of Europe, for the reason that they are poor soldiers and wretched disciplinarians when left to them- selves, utterly corrupt In thelr Government and military affairs. When properly officered and dis- clplined there are no better sol- diers In the world than the Chi- nese, but their minds must first be disabused of all superstitious nonsepse, such as drinking tigers blood to make them flerce, inocu- lating themselves with snakes’ blood to make them cunning and crafty, and the like. The great weakness of the Chi- nese nation Is corruption in every shape and form of every grade in the Government. In business itis otherwise: they are sharp traders, but honest to a degree.—From the Sayings of “Chinese” Gordon. D e e et THE VITAL WEAKNESS OF THE EMPIRE. The great weakness of the Chinese Nation is corruptlon in every shape and form of every grade in the Government. —From Sayings of “Chinese” Gordon. We are endeavoring with all our might to modernize ourselves so that we may repel the foreign Invaders. | fear we are too Iate. If the great powers Insist we must bow to the inevitable. —Chinese Consulate. I consider the situation dangerous. @ll the great powers must certainly be Interested in the partition of China. The Chino-Japanese War was simply a fight for civilization. We humbly awalt the result. —Japanese Consul. ettt I sesseesssssssssessees o 4, o OSToCK .- Mg GERMANY ELPART Q- R ID.‘) 'S ‘;i!' & RUSSIA SPAIN "o | ! | | | Map Showing the Chinese Territory Which It Is Said the European Powers Are Trying to S eize. OF EUROPE - HOW CHINA VIEWS THE GATHERING ON HER COAST OF THENAVIES OF THE WORLD. “All the Great Powers Must Be Interested in the Partition of China.” BY THE JAPANESE CONSUL. S AN officer of the Japanese Government I can give you no official infor= mation on the subject of the threatened partition of China. As an indi- vidual I do not wish to be quoted as having expressed an opinion. History knows that we have defeated China in the late war, and that certain in- demnities were imposed upon China, but it is not within the office of the Japanese Consul at San Francisco to forecast the future movements of his Government. I was a resident of Korea during the late unpleasantness between China and Japan, and I can say without reservation that the Chinese are mot a warlike people. With due modesty I believe the Japanese are. Of course, we have just emerged from obscurity to civilization, and the rest of the world may copsider us egotistical if we assert ourselves as such. But you must remember that the Japanese have ever been a fighting race. For the last few centuries China, in my opinion, has been sleeping in the arms of Confucius. If they could only realize the fact that Confucius is dead, and only his moral teachings should remain, then China might possibly awaken. We feel no enmity toward China. The Chino-Japanese -war was simply a fight for civilization. .We humbly await the result. The Chinese have always believed, according to my reading of Chinese history (you know, of course, that all Japanese read Chinese), that China was the central kingdom of the earth, and that all the nations were simply islands distributed over the ocean, which must some day, if they have not already done so, acknowledge vassalage to the central kingdom of the earth. It is just possible that the late war may have taught China that it were well to study geography. The earth is not flat, neither is it like a rice pot surrounded by mountains, but a sphere, and China occupies but a small portion of that sphere. 2 It seems remarkable to me that the Chinese have not heeded one of the sayings of Confucius: “Beware of the wise man of the West.” Yes, I consider the situation serious. All the great powers must certainly be interested in the partition of China. I cannot tell you what Japan will do, as I am but a sub-lieutenant in the employ of the Government, but I do believe that danger is imminent. No, Japan does not believe in war. We are most anxiously desirous of peace. Let the rest of the world say what it may. We are not over ambitious on account of our conquests, and we are anxious that peace may prevail. JAPANESE CONSUL. “The Seizure of the Chinese Coast by European Powers is of Vital Importance to America.” BY FRANK L. COOMBS, EX-MINISTER TO JAPAN. N giving my views of the Oriental question I labor under the embarrass- ment of one who has gained official knowledge of certain things which happened preceding the war between China and Japan, and I feel bound by the same obligations of secrecy now that were imposed upon me then. Suffice it to say, and I think that in this I violate no relation of official confidence, that I predicted the next great war involving Europe would be in Asiatic waters. This may yet be averted and my prophecy come to naught, yet to-day the shining Orient discloses the scene where the great powers are pushing on to the verge of war. ‘When geographical situations are taken into consideration this all appears most natural. The vast Chinese Empire extends westward from the Pacific Ocean untll it takes one-fourth of Asia, comprising in all a greater area than the whole of Europe and once and a half again as large as that of the United States. The nineteenth century is perhaps a fulfillment of the poetic prophecy that westward the course of empire takes its way. For we see far removed from this scene the nations are gathering their strength for the war or spoil which must come from the dismemberment of what we look upon now as the oldest part of the world. Why is this? Simply because China is weak. What the motives? Many. The reasons. and the motives are not conjoined. China’s Pacific coast line extends between the eighteenth and the forty-first parallels of north latitude. There are many ports open the year round, and the European nations will eventually—for one necessity grows out of another—seize the whole of the coast line of China. Such a policy began in the sixteenth century, when Por- tugal obtained a foothold at Macao. Then in 1842 Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain. This gave England command of the fine harbor beiween the Island of Hong Kong and the mainlard, as well as a complete control In case of war on the Canton River, from which comes the commerce of Canton and much of that of interior China. This was followed by the opening of ports and treaty several nations, the establishment of courts, the adoption of police regulations which have amounted almost to permanent occupation, and a hostile demon- stration in any one of these ports would involve every nation interested in grave international questions. This is the only way the United States could become a reckoning power, The Americans looking on may well ask “What does it all mean?” much to him instead of the parliament of man and the Docks and forts and: battlements will line the coast, navi and then will come the necessity of coast defenses and for America. concessions to the It means federation of the world. ies will swarm the seas, a great Pacific squadron ‘What does this simultaneous movement of the European navies mean? Germany occupies a harbor opposite Formosa, the rich island recently ag- quired by Japan as the result of her war with China. Naturally the rruits of victory would have given Japan dominion over the mainland. Her natural ambition would have led her to the occupation of all that part of China di- rectly opposite. This would have given her not only vantage ground, but would have enabled her to protect her western coast. ‘Why did she not take this advantage? Do we not find an answer in the fact that Russia has been as fast as pos- sible completing her railway to Siberia; that she has gradually assumed what is in fact a suzerainty over Korea, and at last has occupied Port Arthur? Has the student of history ever studied the advantage of Russia? Look at the map of your childhood and the map of to-day. A territory extending from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, commanding as she does, with the consent of Korea and China, so much coast line. It will be no Crimea with the banded nations crying “Hold, enough,” but with her vast army, disciplined as Von Moltke in years of waiting had disciplined the German army, pouring south from Siberia, she stands to-day in a position to brush away ancient govern- ments and mock crumbling dynasties. The interests of America are sad to contemplate. opportunities that the gorgeous East with richest hand could shower upon nations. She opened the ports of Japan and Korea. She occupied an original position. Without jealousy and without alarm she could have maintained her influence legitimately acquired in the beginning as a disinterested nation, but tradition, which brings age without wisdom, held her back until commerce and everything else was absorbed by conspiring nations, The- result of it all is that while she may look on with alarm, she must simply look on. China has demonstrated to the world her defenseless position and has practically given the powers permission to take as they choose. It remains to be seen what country, through modesty, will decline participation in this high carnival. It remains to be seen, too, what may be the results of overindulg- ences. In this a child .is as wise as a sage. Should the spirit of Tamerlane animate the statesmen of China the invaders would be driven to the sea. But it is an example of a country where the rich have grown richer, the poor roorer, and canker -corruption has weakened the timbers of state beyond the power of resistance and beyond its pretense. The most we can say is that there is one thing to prevent an Asiatic war, 1t ia what wa call the neace of Eurana She has lost all the