Iv the April number of The Asiatic: opinions and the style of the writer Quarterly Reciew there appears a valuable article on China in Central Asia It is very evident the writer has taken pains to'ascertain his facts, and he has set them forth with clearness and ability. Col, Bell refers at first_to China as auilitary ally of Great Britain, and he declares that in this relation her present value is "not worth considering," and her prospective value hangs on so many "its" that it is, for the day, valueless Her army would be useless to us because immobile, and her navy is not of sufficient importance to justify any heavy sactitice on our part. Though "China has no real military strength and must be valueless! to us asa military ally during the next several decades " yet "asa military ally she is capable of becoming of immense importance to ws, and our alliance with her may be the only possible means of preventing Russia realising the dreams of her adventurous sons of the conquest of Asia, Our policy then should apparently be to endeavour to make China a plus quantity on the English side if possible, and at least to prevent her becoming a terrible plus on the Russian side, At present she counts as a cipher."
Col. Bell then dwells on China's present, importance as a commercial ally, and he proceeds to point out the severe competition that must ensue between England and Russia on the development of Russia's Central Asian possessions.
In view of the progress of Russian railroads China is advised to run her own rails to meet those of Russia on her frontiers. In this bold course, says Col. Bell, lies her best safety.
Attention is then directed to land intercourse from the Shan states of Upper Burma into Yunnan and the Yangtze about Hankow, so as to dispute with Russia there when the time shall come the trade of Central and North China.
Yo withstand the menace of Russia's Central Asian railways, which have botha political and commercial signification, Britain's military object may be "(Z) to firmly occupy in Afghanistan the best defensive position having inherent in itself its suitability and to defend it as laid down by the well-known laws of war on the defensive-offensive principle "(2) to prepare her necessary bases of operations and lines of communications to counteract the western and eastern menaces, the latter chiefly at present a commercial, but at. the same time a serious, one, directed to wrest from Britain, as represented, her commanding position as chief carrier and supplier to China."
urgency for the establishment of communications in order to make the transmural possessions of China defensible is explicitly pointed out.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.