1st July.
Tue autocrat, be he ever so callous and indifferent in his dealings with others, is not slow to wince when the lash is applied to his own back, and we are not surprised to lean that we have given umbrage in certain quarters by the remarks on the resignation of Admiral Long which apy leading article of the 3r It is better that the truth, even if un: palatable, should be freely spoken, and we are unable to withdraw any of our former criticism or to alter our opinion of what we conceive to have been a discreditable incident so far as the Chinese authorities were concerned. We have been careful, however, to limit our criticism to the means which the Chinese adopted in order to effect their purpose. The end which they had in view is a perfectly natural one, and the ultimate expulsion of foreigners from Chinest government employ may even be ton isidored commendable. It is difficult to withald a secret approbation for the statesmen who have avowedly pursued this policy, and, for our own part, we have always regarded the ery of " China for the Chinese" as one of the happiest signs of that new patriotism which it was one of the few good results of the French reprisals' in 1884 to awaken. By all means let China get rid of her foreign employes if she thinks that she is now acquainted with the use of her limbs and is able to walk by herself. Opinions will differ as to the wisdom of such a course at the present juncture, but no one will question China's right to adopt it. But it must not be forgotten that the employ has his rights too, and even a foreigner is entitled to a little cou-sideration at the hands of his employer: This has never been admitted in China, or if admitted, has never been acted upon. Officers of various nationalities, but almost without exception meu of proved ability, ave accepted en= gagements in good faith, and after services rendered at which it was impossible to cavil, they have been ruthlessly and often rudely dismissed. The case of Admiral Long is another instance of this kind which it is difficult too severely to condemn, It said, of course, that Admiral Long was not dismissed at all, but resigned of his own free will. This is a very old and very common Chinese trick which is not likely to deceive the most myopic of observers, A bargain is a bargain, and the particular meanness of fastening a quarrel on a man in order to throw the onus of breaking it on him is only an aggravation of the offence.
Criticism from such sources gives us small concern, but some misconception appears to have arisen in the mind of the public which it is important. to dispel. It has been said that the strength of our language was pot war-routed by the facts, and that by the exercise of a little more tact and forbearance on the part of the foreigner, a compromise might have been arrived at which would have rendered unnecessary the extreme measure of a resignation. It would indeed be: unfortunate if an impression so erroneous were to gain ground; and rather than allow that to take place we are content to forego our former reticence and state as briefly
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.