Mr, Moxoan's lotter about the Chai. tang coal mines, which we publish on ngo, seems at n first glance dis-The low, however, that LIB. M. Minister is of opinion that no progress in the matter can be immediately looked for, by nny diploatic action on the pare of foreign powers," is so stereotyped, that it may 16 set' aside as tently meaningless, it Rutherford Alcock always says hat no progress can be expected. time-hotioared and. grently-to-bo-respected prejudices of the Chinese on the one hand, anid the iniquities of foreign merelauts on the other, preclude any such wild vision, Te may be interesting to see, in the prosont ease, how far the three objections raised to him by the Chinese Government will hold water.
1 object is to construct a good road from Tients wostigate nnd repor on the matters id, after its return, tell Hi. B. MI "Minister that the road cannot be made, "first on account of engineering diflicnlties, secondly be-
and thirdly because i nose the popula teaing in again ity would injure the Rony Rutherford accepts this reply with implicit faith, und communicates it, through Mr. Mongan, to the gon who lind interested themselves in the matter. We purpose to ea how far the notual fiots bear out the utterances of the Trung-li-yamen, which he so readily endorses.
The first objection the Officers raise, to the ongineoriug dificalties. In the absence of professional opinion, {hero may be, eld an open question, But we do prefer the opinion of foreign ers who have passed over the rond, to that of the Chinese mandarins d puted to examine it,—aa it is probable the latter received their lesson before hand, and it i¥ quite certain they axe Ineompotont to give a profess. niion on the subject. who have travel Tittle or no physion) difficulty in the construction of such m road as was asked for. Indeed, offers have boon already made, through Sir Rutherford, to undertake its construction with eign eupital; but the Ysung-li Ye repelled the iden So much for the cnginearing diliaaltios, as other than a diplomatic obstacle, Wo are next told the popalne feeling is against it. And this, again, may be a matter of opinion, rather of nssortion, Bat we profer mino-owners to The form er, then, uro 40 anxious for a road to constructed that—with the consent of thole local mandavins—thoy drow up a memorial toa gentleman in Ticutsiv, bogging him to goto rond made for trons setting forth the bonotit to the istrict vhich previous purchases. of conl by foreigners lind caused; and the inevensed beuiclit that must ensue from the, larger purchases offered to be made if more could ho carried away; but that, while the mines wore inexhaustible tha fonds wre to tad that it was possible to convoy the largo quantity of cent roquived.—'Thoy accordingly begged that a good rond might be made from the mines, declaring that all the people of the district would be grateful. Wo repeat; we profer this testimony to that of the mandarin com mission appointed to enquire into t project—tho more so, as we Lave reason (0 believe that the latter never enquired, seriously, into either on gineering dificnlties or popular inclitiation, The object of ther journey, as set forth in. their erode ascertain whether the mines inter fered with the Fong-shuy—in other worl, to discover an obstacle, Tt wns only in private conversation that they auditioned the desiroofforeignerstohave farood made from the ind the local mandarins acknowledged that it would be of benefit to the district. The The Horth-China Werald and Market Report.
Intter have repented this admission to treaty, as they are an indispensable foreign visitors. and have promised that, accompaniment of the liberty to work is about the latitude of Tsan-tah—and although they eat mot aid the project, they will not oppose it, The memorial the mines, aa must be made, if coal. this through a country of which a larg?" by "the mineowners, begging for the establishing ite in Chinn By tne to have a fair tunity of portion is in the hands of Mahomedan rebels, True, Yannas is tolerably sotnstrnetion of a road, was drawn up time the Peking Mandarins will have Hed under their rule; but they do not with their sanction and approval; and become accustomed to the ides of roads: seem well affected towards the English, yet we are told that populne fooling is in convection with mines, and a slight whom they accuse of entertaining og: opposed to the construction of a rund. wre by the foreign ministers will gressive designs, It is possible, how-Te may be s0. We have not, had fan opportanity of learning the opinion bovall tht! will be need to gain the ever, that Captain Slndon's party from pain of each individual peasant nlong its But the Chinese are not without un-Rangoon may have reached its destin tion "ore this, and dispelled their suspi Jino; but we repeat that we profer the answerable arguments against foreign-ion, Tt would bea strange coincide testimony of the local mine-owners and Tocal maudariug, to that of the Peking ges in ths materi of the Fong. ence if Mr, Cooper travelling West-Commissioners whose utternnco Sir their Fongeshuy ¥s one of place, while hoy might ver a ward from Shanghai, and Capt. Sla-don coming Eastward from Rangoon, Ratherford us communicated to his that of foreigners is one of time, were to mest in the capital of Yunnan, nationals, with the stereotyped To a Chinaman travelling in Scotland, One very important point that sagsurance that no progress can be expect-must seem as strange that the Fouged. The simple fact is, that the Goshuy should not allow hima to travel by ited? in this connexion, is remark about want of fands, vernment do not want a rond, and ave railway on Sanday, as it does to a He been compelled to abandon the fallen hack on that convenient because foreigner to soo the same power put route he had first contemplated, via intangible excuse, the Feng-shuy, to forth us. sufficient reason why a road Lickinng to Sndya, by the impracticnsupport them in their resistance. They should not be constructed in the Midbility of the route. He now says that, have sent out a Commission, not, to dle Kingdom. In Scotland, popular "without lustraments or fands, ho find n practicable rond, but to discover fooling is against Sunday travelling, equally cannot and dares not penetrate ay. It signifies not that the and when the question is probed to the the unknown country" between Ba-waa found easy and the people bottom, we cannot, 600 that there is 60 thong and Sudya, The funds he took anxious; that the mine-owners would much difference between Feng-shay with bim have boon all exhausted; ho the prosperity of the there and here. Yet, if a body of has had even to borrow Tls. 150 from foreigners wond Denightod Chinamen were to get to 4 sirapgor in Sze-chuon, who has gencrgain admission into the country. Exe Scotland and begin to systematically perience bins taught them that any oboutrage Seotel Fonabey, by @ 4 ously come to his aid. If ho be turned back from Thibet, and obliged to ro-Jection, hoirover flimsy, is nuflicient to something Sanday of which popular turn to Ta-tsien-loo, this small sum will Gain their parposo—under the present. feeling entirely disapproved, it is not of course be exhausted, and he will Fogime; so they advance the flimsiont jet what the result lhave to depend on further loans, to on-all arguments—Feng-shiny, and Sir jonrmey. Tt will be generally conceded able bim to prosoonto his southward Rutherford acknowledges, trough Mr. over Oriental " pay Mongan, that the "argument is unane Scottish people, ut lerist those of the vernble, and the objection therefore sanctimonious school, would be only hat this continyenay ought to be one ticipated, and all chanco of his being insuperable." How far this may be the case, we shall soe hereafter. the more strongly eonfrmed in the necessity for upholding the Feng-obliged to return to Shanghai for want of funds obviated, now that he has got shay at all hazards, So that it is rather a disease of the human mind '80 far on his soieoes: There is, in the first place, a moral obligation on his
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.