Any: observer. or student of motives has uow an excellent opportunity for philosuphising on his favourite' subject. Noman, presumably, acts without a motive,.and it is: but fair to- presume thatthe sniue'is'trae of- Governments ola is sorely puzzled to Jésign: which prompted'a action, whether corporate or me dividual-in ite character. It has. uow pleased the Chinese Government to pr gout the world with one of these enigmas for solation; and while the French Minister, "not-ouring much for motives of the action which: has resulted; is engaged in exacting retribation for what uow turns out to have Problem. which the rulers have been' good enough to farnieh for our cousideration.- For our present purpose; therefore, it is not necessary to: regard the affair at ig-hun ae ay act of, perfidy,' but rather as one of policy. I's perfidious nature is, a8 regards our argumon mero; accident, and need not be di cussed. It aa @ stroke. of do-liberate policy that the whole offal a i ble. Two mon! great danger of war, Tta rulers appeared ready and willing to concede much in order to unexpected leniency and doraauds were temporato:'in -the extreme; and eagerly agreed to: by the Chinese Government. Phon, there were dinners, congratula. tions, and: fAtes on all sides, - Evorythiug..went s merry ap marriage. boll, China was, oF was said to be, sincerely: relieved to find herself " out of-the: tiger's meath," and all protostations from: the: tery fatilitarinns of Peking: wore sternly and promptly sap-pressed by the Empress, principle' of. railways "was accepted Coticeasions were. actually' granted ground was marked out for the first line; peace and prosperity wore to be inaugurated forthwith, arid the last scene in- the pleasant: comedy: was closed amid. the' booming of cannon and the pagne-corke as Admiral the Viceroy of Chihli hob. nobbed. statelily: together at Chefoo, Suddouly-a change occurs, A broach of-'resty is reported on: the part of the Chinese on the frditior of Tonquin, the first idea that' oocarred to mind; of all was. feeling of i toise.iregrot thatthe Chinese Govern ment Iehoald have: been "so seriously embarrassed: at ssu critical a moment, That.{the outrage—was of purely local origin, was not doubted, and, as euch, could riot be said to have' any serious political: importance, What was ox-Protod wasp.ainoete apology from Peking, an ulto. dixnvowal of complicity, and the infliction of capital punishment apou the actual offenders in the South. We have no hesitation in say. ing that most persons, and certainly we ourselves, felt sympathy with the Chinese Government at so untoward an event—an event that could not but compromise it more or less seriously and hamper it in its first sincere effort to practise a liberal and enlightened policy. Bat, to the amazement and disenchantment of all, the Goverumont. makes no attempt whatever to repudiate the gross jou of Treaty engagements with which. it has been charged, bat shows a determined desire, rather, to evade the Treaty itself, Nothing could surpass the astounding cism, the calm effrontery, with according to the telegram we publish elsewhere, the Chinese Govern acknowledges its complicity in the: affair at Long-sop, and avows iteslfprepared~to "defend it. If, therefore, opinions Lave been so utterly wrong as to the attitude assumed by the Government: -towards- ite sponsors in this matter, it is, we fear, possible that pear now, and that not only tacit approval, but actual instigation, of the. outrage may be proved against the Government. Here, then, is the grand puzzle,. What in the name of commonsense oan lave been the motive? What can China have expected to gain by so wantonly exasperating Frauoe? If she wanted was, eho might have bad it year ago. Bat, apparently, she did not want w on the contrary, she eagerly closed the offers of peace as soon as ever they were made; what, then, docs she propose to herself by this most unexpected and inexplicable act? Had China been able to seriously injure France, to disable her, to do her real harm in Tonquin, and to acquire strength herself at France's expense, there would have been nothing extraordinary in it. Beyond writing herself down perfidious and false, China would have lost nothing and might have gained something; in uy Case, sub ai act as we are supposing. would be easily. understood. Bat China has not done this.. She has not undermitied the power of France one whit; she hae neither weakened nor injured hor; she has simply wantonly, foolish. ly, and uselessly insulted her, and must now bear the brant of Fran ry natural exasperation. Where the motive oan' have been we are at @ loss to discover. A motive, surely, China must have bad: If, as appears to be the fact, it was not only the subordinates in the South bat the high authorities in the North who instigated the out. rage, it must be regarded as a deliberate aot dictated by a deliberate policy; but what that policy can have been we do not pretend to guess. -To us it appears nothing but @ policy of auicide—tho perpetration of a piece of wanton, aimless, perfidy and mischief, the results of- which papnot byt be: most dis. astrous to both Government and people. We shall: await the development of events with interest; not only the more immediate and superficial interest which naturally attaches to the great question whether the dispute will lead to with France, but the interest. which inseparable from the elucidation of what is to us a metaphysical enigma, an indication of which can scarcely fail to be made apparent in the course of the impending negotiations.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.