which at present throttles commerce, particularly in Southern and Western China; and by throwing open the whole of her navigable rivers to steam navigation. Thus trade would increase by leaps and bounds, and other manufacturing nations, besides our own, would look with angry eyes at the threatened encroachments of France and Russia upon the Celestial Empire, which, if carried out, would close its vast and highly promising markets to their commerce.

Our present minister at Pekin observed, in his report for the year 1885, on the foreign trade of China, dated June 12, 1886, that the progress of commerce in China

would certainly be trebled or quadrupled by a more loyal fulfilment of the transit pass system and any reasonable development of communication. If this view hold good of the empire generally, it is signally true of the extreme southern provinces -the two Kuang, for example. Here, so far as inward transit passes are concerned, it is not merely that the system is not loyally fulfilled, but that it is completely and purposely frustrated by the Provincial Government of Canton, whose fiscal necessities are directly interested in nullifying the inward transit pass stipulations of the treaties, an object which they have most successfully carried out. . . . The result is that in very extensive regions, in the growth of commerce in which European and American manufacturers are interested, it is immensely checked and hampered.

The heavy duties levied at the numerous duty barriers and lekin stations in the provinces of Kuang-tung and Kuang-si, are so monstrous that Kuei-lin, the capital of Kuang-si, which is situated on an affluent of the West or Canton river, about 260 miles, as the crow flies, from Canton, is supplied preferentially from the Yangtsze port of Hankow, travelling an extra distance of nearly 2,000 miles, for the simple reason that taxation by that route is so much lighter. Thus we find our Consul at Canton pointing out in his last report that

The heavy taxation of this province is driving foreign merchandise for inland markets to other ports. Last year, on a bale of Indian yarn worth 97. 12s. (seventy dollars), taxes to the amount of 27. 15s. (twenty dollars) were levied between Canton and Kuei-lin in Kuang-si. The taxation increases further inland until it becomes practically prohibitive.

Why should foreign powers, other than the United Kingdom, object to the projected aggression of France upon Southern China as long as that part of China is practically closed to their trade by prohibitive inland taxation, levied in infringement of their treaty rights? In French hands the taxation could hardly be greater or more oppressive in the interior than it is at present, and France would certainly cheapen the cost of carriage on the rivers by allowing steam navigation, and on land by the construction of railways. The present unwise policy of the Chinese Government not only cripples trade, but impoverishes its people; prevents the imperial customs revenue levied at its ports from trebling and quadrupling, as it otherwise would do; and alienates the good will of non-aggressive commercial nations, whose interest in maintaining the independence of China

can be accurately measured by their stake in the commerce of the country.

By putting a stop to the burdensome inland taxation levied by the Provincial Government on goods in transit, and at the same time crediting the lekin dues levied at the ports to provincial revenue, instead of to imperial revenue as at present, the amount collected in imperial customs dues at the ports, which is exactly double the lekin dues, would increase with a rapidly developing trade, trade would be fostered instead of impeded, and both imperial and provincial revenues would be gainers by the transaction. If, in addition, the waterways now closed to steam navigation were thrown open, and foreign trade and foreign houses of business were freely permitted throughout the interior, instead of only in a few selected spots as at present, the general stake of foreign nations in the country would become so great as to make the preservation of the independence of China a matter of the greatest importance to them, well worth their serious consideration and their support.

Whatever the interests of other commercial nations may be in the maintenance of the Eastern markets against the aggression of rivals who would shut them in their faces, there can be no doubt that the present and future prosperity of our nation depends largely upon these markets being kept open to our trade. Two-thirds of the total tonnage plying at the Chinese treaty ports in 1892 was British, twoninths Chinese, and only the remaining ninth was divided among other nationalities. More than half of the foreign trade of China falls to the share of the British Empire, and probably a full third of that of Japan. Both from the commercial and political aspect we are the chief foreign power concerned in the continuation of the independence of these countries. The great bulk of their trade lies with our dominions, and the alliance between Russia and France would, by the conquest of China, develop at once into a serious danger and continuous menace to our Eastern Empire.

The peace of Asia is threatened by the same aggressive nations, who have turned Europe into an armed camp. Whether a secret alliance has been formed between France and Russia or not, both have placed themselves in a position whence they can trouble our Indian Empire and its neighbours. Both powers have greatly strengthened their fleets in Eastern waters as well as in those of Europe. Whether at present contemplated or not, a mutual attack by these powers upon India or China might be resolved upon at any time, and we are bound to be prepared for such an eventuality. In either case British interests of enormous extent would be at stake. Markets, with a population greater than is contained in the whole of our dominions, would fall to the conquerors of China, and be closed to our goods by crushing tariffs or rendered so difficult of entrance as to seriously cripple our trade.

India, with the United Kingdom at its back, if attacked before its

Eastern neighbours were absorbed, would probably, as long as our fleet was strong enough to hold command of the seas, be able not only to repulse them, but to drive France out of Indo-China. But should China, through want of foresight and precautions on our part, be first partitioned by our mutual enemies, the defence of India would, to say the least, strain our resources nearly to the breaking point. France and Russia would treat China as a recruiting ground, and, aided by its vast population, might use it as a base for the conquest and partition of India. Anyhow, failing an alliance with China, a joint attack of Russia and France upon either China or our Indian dominions would necessitate a vast increase to our Indian army, and an increase of taxation such as India alone could hardly be expected to bear. To ensure the continuance of peace, and the maintenance of our great markets in the East, we must be fully equipped and ready for war, and determined to take the necessary steps for protecting our weak neighbour Siam, and for forming a defensive alliance with China and Japan, the two great native powers of Eastern Asia.

It may be said that an Asiatic triple alliance would be a rather one-sided bargain for us; that while we should aid China and Japan, in their own interest, in the defence of their territory, their mutual jealousy would deter them from helping each other; that Japan, having no interest in the preservation of our Indian Empire, would leave us in the lurch in case it was attacked; and that even if China were willing to aid us in case of a Russian invasion of Afghanistan, it would take at least a year to reinforce its army in Kashgar and Ili before it could assume the offensive. Allowing this to be the case, it would still be our interest, both political and commercial, to aid these two countries in the preservation of their independence and integrity. With China as our active ally on its flank, the power of France for attack upon India would be paralysed. Besides which politically we cannot afford to have Russia and France further strengthened in Asia, and made more formidable to India at the expense of our neighbours, and commercially we cannot allow our valuable markets, containing a fourth of the population of the world, to be shut in our faces by our foreign rivals. Our great free trade markets in the Far East, whose customs tariffs are so light as in no case to exceed 5 per cent. ad valorem, are nearly the only extensive markets in the world that have not been brought under the dominion, or within the spheres of influence, of European nations or of nations of European descent. These markets, in which the bulk of the trade lies with our dominions, are open to, and threatened with, foreign aggression, and we are bound in our own interests to protect them.

Great Britain is a hive of industry, and it is by trade that we live. If we lose our markets, we lose our means of subsistence. With foreign competition hemming us in on every side; hostile tariffs barring us from our old markets; and the knowledge that every bit of the world's surface which is not under the British flag or British

protection is liable to be closed to our trade, we are bound to do our utmost to safeguard and develop our commerce in the vast markets of the East. This is a life and death matter to our industrial classes, and should be the chief plank in the policy of our Government.

It has been powerfully urged that a League for Naval Defence should be formed to insist on the Government of this country maintaining our naval supremacy and control of the ocean highways, and thus the security of our empire and the safety of our floating commerce. A League for the Maintenance and Extension of British Commerce in the Far East is equally necessary. Until such a league is formed to educate the public and bring pressure to bear on the Government, we cannot expect our important interests in that part of the world to be duly attended to. With three Government Departments-the Foreign, Colonial, and India Offices-each with often conflicting policies, having a say in its affairs, we must expect the natural results to follow. Had Siam been solely under the jurisdiction of the Foreign Office, our Foreign Minister would have been ashamed to plead ignorance of the situation in Indo-China, as a reason for giving France a free hand to double its dominions in that region by annexing one-third of our market in Siam.

If such a league as I propose had been in existence at the time of the Franco-Chinese war, it would have made itself heard before France, pursuing a policy of deliberate insult and aggression towards China, was permitted to use our harbour of Hong Kong as a rendezvous, coaling station, and base of operations for harassing China and injuriously affecting our trade with that country. Had such a League been formed, our fleet in the Eastern waters would not be, as it is, inferior to the combined squadrons of France and Russia; and our Government would not have continued to be so apathetic as, notwithstanding the frequent complaints of our consuls and merchants, to take no steps to put a stop to the infringement of our transit-pass treaty-rights, which has for years stifled our trade in Southern and Western China.

Until the electorate takes an intelligent interest in the preservation and extension of our commerce, it is hopeless to expect the ordinary Member of Parliament to attend to a subject outside the curriculum of party politics, however important it may be for providing present work and future means of subsistence for our rapidly increasing population. Still more is it unlikely, without such a league, that the defence and extension of our commerce will become the chief plank in the platform of either political party. Our commerce is sick and threatened with dissolution, and our physicians are too busy with petty parochial work to attend to the mother of our industries, without whom they must die.

HOLT S. HALLETT.

DEVIL-HUNTING

IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND

IN the fervour of the Catholic reaction in the latter half of the Sixteenth Century, Europe seemed ablaze with miracles. Saints, it is said, flew in the air, were in two places at once, uttered prophecies, and raised the dead. England, the theatre of a supreme papal effort hallowed with the blood of many martyrs, seemed alone to lie under the shadow of a supernatural eclipse. There were miracles, indeed, but as a rule they were insignificant or ineffective. The miraculous cross of St. Donats was extinguished by a commission of inquiry. The sudden deaths of unjust judges or jurymen by gaol fever; the tide ceasing to flow at London Bridge on the morning of Campion's execution; the voice from the Thames crying aloud on the death of the English Jezebel, Forty years of reign and an eternity of punishment!' and other like prodigies, either failed to attain notoriety or to impress the popular imagination.

To this apparent dearth of famous miracles in Elizabethan England there is on record one very notable exception. At a critical moment of the religious conflict (1585–1586) there was manifested a group of phenomena in connection with the casting out of devils which has been hailed by Catholic historians as shedding lustre upon the fame of their martyrs, and adding new glories to the Roman Church. The prodigies in question were performed in the light of day, in the neighbourhood of London, in the houses of noblemen and distinguished Catholics—at Lord Vaux's at Hackney, at the Earl of Lincoln's in Cannon Row, at Fulmer and Uxbridge, and above all in Sir George Peckham's house at Denham, in Bucks. The exorcists to whom the credit was given were a dozen or more of the best-known missionary priests, among whom were several who in virtue of the recent decree of Leo the Thirteenth are now honoured with the title of Venerable Martyrs. Their leader or conductor in the affair was Father William Weston, Superior of the Jesuits, or rather at that moment the only known Jesuit in England, and afterwards notorious for the part he played in the famous Wisbeach 'Stirs;' while the most active of his

operators was the Venerable Robert Dibdale, who was hanged at