Over in twenty years or.so an opportunity presents "itself of putting the Chinese Government in its proper place, and asthe miseries of the people and ie, damage. to foreign interests in.the conntry: are all traceable to: the insane ipretenisions of the 'Government it is cruelty.aud. not kindness' which, has hitherto. withheld foreign, Poywers from -onos for all disabusing -the Court: of Peking of its: hallucinations, Phot this, the most impotent Government.that, was, ever seen inthe world, '—which.indeed only enjoys.the title of government through the -poverty -of Tanguage la gupplying's more accurate Jarnie—should not puly, have the-assyrance, to, arrogate.to itself universal domi-inion, bub should have sofar imposed on the representatives of forsign'Powers as to, lave made them the tacit accomplices in the.grand deception, are facts, which would nevoribe credited without actual "demonstration of their truth, The conditions of: intercourse both" written and oral to.whioh, the foreign representa tives. have submitted amount ing declaration that these Ministers are the servants of the Chinese; and even the spasmodic protests which are from time to-time made by individual officers who-resent the insults pat upon them only serve to emphasize the triumph: of the Chinese in their steady determina. tion to ram derogatory, titles. down. the foreigners' throats.
In: Poking the i open contempt of the foreign Ministers reaches the sublimest height, thave xto the, infant no: longer with -us..who are.ouly: too -well known to our renders for their ardent worship of the Dragon. What would be thought in civilized coun. try.if the ambassadors from friend-.atates were denied.access to the \novereign Yet that scarcely expresses the depths to which Ministers in Peking descended when they allowed.themselves to be received iibamage of tribatarises whau the on. peror would neither pellate Lis lips by apeaking nor his ears by listening to them, but, feigning for the nonce iguorans of his own language, caused -the observations.of the.oalprits to: be translated to him in Manchu. It ing that we, plain, plant men, sehould, often ask, onrselves, How long.is jo degrading farce to-be continued No good ever yet camo.out of falsehood smhother spoken or acted, and it is false -to pretend, us we have done from the days of the Brace downwards, that the States of the West. are.tho servants of The most natural result of thie false-the Son of Heaven.
hood is the syatematic.breach of treaties -whenaver -.they:.cau—be broken:.with Ampunity. {thas been—calamniously, let us hops,—alleged of a certain Christian community, not without influence in the world, that it absolved its adherents from the observation of keeping faith with heretics. Such. license is at all events assumed by the. Chinese Goverument with foreigners, and. not without if its premisses be correct. For if we are vassals of Chive, as by our whole intercourse.we tacitly admit ourselves "to be, then. are we jing unable to: cancel. by force, he believes himself entitled to -nallify by fraud, or treachery, whatever we may please to call Mo alter Mr. Arnold's lines slightly The Eaat bowed low been the blast But when the legions thundered past Tt claimed its own again, One does not fight burglars by the rules of the Geneva. Convention, Part of this comedy is to make treaties with foreigners, when they..l to.be made, at as great a distance from the Central: Goverument as. possi Thus the courier Burlingame, with his false credentials, was' prepared to make treaties for China at all the ends of the earth. Tientsin is a rather favourite hanting-ground for the Treaty. makers, and is as near-to the sacred yellow a8 Chinese custom allows any foreign Minister to.assort himself. Bat France does not treat at nor England at Southampton, and it ie time that a desthblow were given to the notion that it is sight of the Imperial Palace, In the la the French 8 may safely be left to take care.of their own tiational iutereste, That ie. all they are strictly bound to do, end-all that they have done. Fortunately for themselves, for us, and "for all the world, French writers and orators hi not.yet advanced 20 far in political altruism as to consider it a reproach to conserve French interests. It is for other nations jointly or separately to look after themselves, and any complaints: that nothing is to be found in the Li-Fournier Convention providing for any trade but French trade would be practically useless. Whether.the French are disposed to be generous with their tradal facilities in Northern Annam as regards English or German goods is another question, and this door not touch the point as between France and Olina. The English Treaties with China have never alluded to' any other, opened for English trade all the nati than English trade, but by the door
entered. However, now that-China is compelled to review her international obligations, and the questi ies as. well a8. maki come up in-its nakedness, the oppor-: tanity seems a good one for all the Powers to rectify the basis of their in. ter course with China, to take guarantees -for.the fulfilment -of treaties, and.to [obtain -full satisfaction for all past and Pending grievances. China is a country which obeys one master, Necessity, under whose wing it is possible for those who have been davied justice heretofore to obtain it in fullest mepsure. Is it only the -Russiaus who understand thi game It was just on such an occasion aa the present, in '1858, that Iguatioff slipped into Taku in.a emall.gteamer, and under. the muzzles of the French and Eng! ted guns snatched a treaty which traiisferred from Cli Roe
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.