M. ye Freycinet, if not a ge undoubtedly a man of good practical sense, and we may feel confident that he will not confirm the despatch of M. Frandin, the reply to which by H.E. Chang Chih-tung, Viceroy of the Two Kuang, we published on Saturday. If we did not feel so confident, we should be almost sorry to draw atten ti tactic ill-considered a des and its triumphant refutation by the Viceroy. It is always recognised that the Chinese system, which promotes a man to the highest offices chiefly on his literary merits, succeeds in selecting for the State officials who can write unsurpnssable despatches, whatever their practical powers of governing may be, and it is safe to say that a more able and weighty stale paper was never penned than this remarkable despatch. Ttis quite unanswerable, Chang Chih. tung is in the right from ret to last, and knows it, and M. Frandin must be much denser man than we believe him to be, if he has not by this time bitterly repented of making his preposterous el and morally cowered under the storm of blows accompanied [by exquisite satire, with which his specious demands are knocked to atoms. Chang Chih-tung tells M. Fraudin that he has already gone into and dise posed of the matter with his predecessor, M, Scherzer, and did not imagine that M. Frandin would come avd try and galvanised the dead issue into life agai The claim is absolutely baseless. The supposed losses occur. red when France was at war with China, France being the aggressor; not~ withstanding which, French religions property was admirably protected, and handed buck {0 the priests at the oonjel of the war, he sentences in which H.E, Chang protests against the ight of Mr. Frandin to create an me perim in imperia by interfering on behalf of Chinese converts, are a model lof terse, staiesmantike declaration, These converts have embraced the "French faith," but they are still Chinese subject, and China has not fallen go low as to be prepared to allow foreign power to interfere with her treatment of her own people in her own land. The French priests all ever China have needed for yeara, and still need, to have this impressed on them; it is to be hoped that the burn. ing words of Mr, Chang will be remem. bered and acted on, H.E.'s answer to M. Frandin's vague and complaint that the Empe enjoining the daty of protecting mise sionaries had not been enforced during is equally admirable. He asks if M, Frandin realises what would lave Lapperied if these edicts had really not been enforced, We know what would have happened, because we all expected before war broke out that all kinds of outrages on foreignera would occur: and there is not an ime partial foreigner in China who does not approve of every word written by BLE. Chang on this head, and who has not given unlimited praise to the Goverumout for the absolute security joyed by foreigners everywhere in Olina during the war; security which oven those who know the governs ment best feared could never be maine tained. The not ill-tempered sarcasm with which the Viceroy closes his des. patch is as good and well-deserved ai the more serious part of the document: but as the whole despatch should become a "household word" among for eigners in China, we need not draw more particular attention to it, Bat we cannot help noticing the happy turn which the Viceroy gives the discussion, when lo suggests that if the Freuoh professions of friendliness are not merely from the lips, France, inet of making " trumpery claim for m sion property destroyed, should coutribute a share of the expenses she compelled the Viceroy to moor on armaments. The Viceroy may perhaps slightly detract from his own dignity by alluding to Chiuo's losses in the war, but the temptation to be thus finely ironical was evidently too strong for Lim. Whether the despatch contri. bated to M. Frandiu's "daily happy.
may be questioned: he certainly received from the Viceroy "distin. guished consideration."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.