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CHINESE REFORM AND BRITISH INTERESTS.

BY SINICUS.

SOME people assert that British policy has failed in China, while others, like Lord Charles Beresford, say that there never was any British policy to break down. Be that as it

may, one thing has been clearly established, and that is, that the British Legation at Peking did not know anything of Kang Yu Wei and his band of Reformers, and of the impending coup d'état in the Palace. The Legation was apparently not in touch with Chinese thought and Chinese aspirations at the capital, nor does it appear that the British Minister was kept informed of the contents of the Peking Gazette, which is issued daily. That venerable journal, the oldest in the world, contains the edicts of the Emperor or Dowager-Empress and the memorials of the Viceroys, and gives one an insight into the proceedings of the Central Government. In fact, there was no reliable information, on which Sir Claude Macdonald could have acted or advised the Foreign Office. It seems clear, therefore, that, under the present circumstances, the organization of some sort of Intelligence Department attached to the British Legation is a prime necessity. It is scarcely necessary to point out that Russia has already forestalled England in that respect.

China is now in a transition state: the events being enacted are momentous to her, and any false move by any Foreign Power, on insufficient or misleading information, would be fraught with serious consequences in the future. In the sixties, Japan was in a similar plight, but she found a pillar of strength and hope in the wise counsels of the British Minister, Sir Harry Parkes. That Minister was ably and cheerfully served by his assistants, and especially by Messrs. Satow* and Aston, who subsequently attained distinction as Japanese scholars.

* Now Sir Ernest Satow, British Minister to Japan.

At European capitals, social intercourse is an important factor in diplomacy. But at Peking there is no community of language or ideas, and it is difficult to keep up a general conversation. In the seventies, Sir Thomas Wade tried to establish social amenities between the Foreign Legations and the Tsung-li-Yamên, but his attempt was not successful. What the British Minister failed to accomplish was somewhat mitigated, by the suavity and perseverance of the Russian Minister, General Vlangali, and the German Minister, Herr von Brandt, who succeeded in establishing personal relations with Mandarins of the highest rank at Peking.

The policy of the "sphere of influence," which has been successfully applied to the partition of Africa, has been modified into that of the "sphere of interest" to suit the circumstances of China; and this latter policy has again been qualified by that of the "open door." Whether the "door is now open" to the commerce of the world, in all parts of China, is a matter of individual opinion; indeed, Lord Charles Beresford, the true "emissary of civilization" deputed by the Associated Chambers of Commerce of England, after making inquiries on the spot, has come to the conclusion that, in view of Russian activity in Manchuria and of Russian occupation of Niuchuang, one of the Treaty Ports, the "open door" has been shut, and that the British "sphere of interest" in the Yangtze Valley is more of a cosmopolitan than an exclusive nature. It seems clear, then, that England must come to the rescue, if she wishes to maintain her prestige in the Far East, to retain her commercial supremacy, and to "keep face" in respect of her guarantee to uphold the integrity and independence. of the Chinese Empire, and of her promise to afford guidance and assistance to China, in the paths of reform and progress. There can be no difficulty in observing such guarantee or fulfilling such promise, because British politicians of all shades of opinion are agreed that the integrity of China must be maintained at all costs, and because the spirit of reform is already abroad in the Empire.

As regards the maintenance of the integrity of China, the first step towards its consummation appears to be the appointment of a responsible Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs, with whom the representatives of Foreign Powers could transact business as at the capitals of Europe. The Tsung-li-Yamên has served its purpose in the past, and must now be superseded by a more efficient and timesaving agency. The ignorance of geography and history of the Ministers of the Yamen lead to a great deal of procrastination and delay, and place the Ministers themselves at a great disadvantage. When negotiations relating to the Tong-king frontier were in progress in 1896, M. Gérard, the French Minister, availed himself of the ignorance of the Mandarins, and pressed for the cession of certain tracts of the Shan States, which had been ceded by England to China, on the express understanding that they must not be transferred to a third Power without England's knowledge or sanction. Such instances of giving way under pressure, through sheer ignorance, may be multiplied.

Such obsequiousness may also be due to pusillanimity or to a conviction as to the futility of all resistance or opposition. The Chinese are a commercial rather than a military race, though, when emergency arises, they can fight as they have fought under Gordon or Tso Tsang Tung. But, at present, they have neither an army nor a navy. They have no leaders on whom they can rely, and consequently they have no discipline, and are ignorant of military science. What they now most urgently require is a stiffening with the military spirit, which will not only give them a little more backbone in their dealings with importunate foreign representatives, but will also enable them to deal with internal disturbances or foreign aggressions. England can be of great service to China in this matter- and to her own advantage, because the prosperity and growth of commerce depend essentially upon the peace and security of a country. Great Britain not only carries 82 per cent. of the total foreign trade with China, whose total gross value, in 1896, was £57,274,000, but pays 76 per cent. of the dues and

duties collected in that trade.* When England has lavished so many million pounds sterling on Egypt, which is not as yet of equal commercial value to China, and when she has presented Lord Kitchener with more than £100,000 to found a Gordon Memorial College for the purpose of dispelling the intellectual darkness of the Soudan, and ameliorating its social and moral condition, there is every reason to suppose that China, which has so materially contributed to the wealth and prosperity of England since the days of Queen Elizabeth, will receive full consideration, at the hands of the British public and the British capitalists. Lord Charles Beresford is eminently qualified to assume the rôle of such a spokesman, and no doubt he will not fail to impress on his countrymen the claims China has on British sympathy and British assistance. In connection with this subject, it is for serious consideration for the British public whether a new Woolwich or a Sandhurst might not be founded at Wei-hai-wei for training the nucleus of a Chinese army. In order to secure the stability and progress of the Chinese Empire, military reform must not be dissociated from civil reform. For inaugurating, in a systematic way, reform in civil, and especially in fiscal matters, it is necessary that a special Bureau should be appointed consisting of responsible and experienced Chinese and Manchu Ministers and of competent and trustworthy foreign advisers. As regards the personnel of the Bureau, public opinion in China would point to H. E. Chang Chih Tung, H. E. Li Hung Chang, and H. E. Jung Lu and H. E. Kang Yi, with H.R.H. Prince Ching as President. The foreign advisers might be of British, American, or Japanese nationality. It is evident that, since the Chinese barriers of exclusion have been broken down, and since China cannot expel or keep out the "western barbarians," she must, for her own sake and for the maintenance of her own integrity and independence, accept reforms on Western lines, and imbibe that spirit of patriotism in her army navy which is exhibited in Europe and America.

*

Colquhoun's China in Transformation, pp. 152, 153.

and

THE UGANDA PROTECTORATE AND ITS RELATION TO THE SUDAN.

By H. R. Fox BOURNE.

RECENT Occurrences in Uganda show, beyond doubt, that the evils and dangers incident to its appropriation as a field for British enterprise still exist. They have been growing and accumulating for more than twenty years, and the time has fully arrived for resolute and more discreet efforts to overcome them. Perhaps the searching and important inquiry on the spot, which is now asked for, may throw greater light upon the whole situation, and make clear the various improvements that are desiderated. The main facts, however, up to last September, are indicated in Blue Books and other public documents.

The Uganda Protectorate dates only from August, 1894. Its antecedents, however, stretch back to April, 1875, when Mr. H. M. Stanley, as he records in his "Through the Dark Continent," converted King Mtesa to Christianity, and, as special correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, addressed a memorable appeal to "the leading philanthropists and the pious people of England." "Here, gentlemen," he exclaimed, "is your opportunity; embrace it! The people on the shores of the Nyanza call upon you. Obey your own generous instincts, and listen to them; and I assure you that in one year you will have more converts to Christianity than all other missionaries can number." It was in response to this appeal that the Church Missionary Society entered the field in 1876, and a French Catholic mission followed in 1877. Both organizations made many converts, but their rivalry caused complications which King Mwanga, Mtesa's unworthy successor, was clever enough to turn to his own advantage. The British East Africa Company took upon itself a task far beyond its powers when, in 1890, it sent Captain Lugard to establish control over the country on its behalf.

Uganda, it may be pointed out, is a sort of tropical

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