1th May. Tue debate on the China question in the House of Commons on the 30th of March last was opened by Mr. Joseph Walton in a speech to which the "'Times" devotes a column and a-half, and of which Mr. Walton ha sent us a verbatim report which is unfortunately too long for reproduce tion in our columns. Long as it is, there is no padding in it and it is full of truth and sound sense, for Mr. Walton made the best of his time while he was out here, he observed intelligently, carefully, and exhaustively, and he has put the fruit of hi observation into an address which is worth much more than the ephemeral attention it receives as a speech in the House. Whatever our politics, we must all agree, that is, all Britishers who take any interest in the political situation here, in thanking Mr. Walton for drawing attention to "the failure of Her Majesty's Government to uphold British com mercial and political interests in Chiva." We must also agree with him in holding that South Africa should not be allowed to absorb the whole energies of the Government, "that we would be unworthy of the great imperial responsibilities which rest upon our shoulders, were we to allow the affairs, however important, of any one part of our Empire to monopolise our attention to the serious neglect of vital interests in other parts of the world."
After this prelude, Mr. Walton began his address by drawing attention to the signal success American diplomacy has achieved in securing a declaration from all the Great Power of their intent to maintain the Open Door in China. The United States, he showed, have succeeded in getting a promise of equality of railway rates, "which the British Government failed to secure in the Anglo-Russian Agreement." He mentioned that "no-one was so much surprised as were the Russians themselves at their being allowed to take Port Arthur." Mr. Walton described what he had seen of Russian possession of Manchuria and naturally laughed at the opening of Chinwangtao as a treaty port—by the by, it appears that the Foreign Office has appointed a Consul to this "open bay surrounded by sand hills; no sign of population, except a few fishermen's cottages, and no trade."
After a word or two on the much-vaunted Anglo-Russian agreement, which gave Russia everything she wanted and us nothing at all, Mr. Walton noticed that wi the Russians with their trans-Caspian railway were increasing their hold on China, our Government actually refused to give any encouragement to.a railway from British Burma to the Upper Yangtze, "and this at a time when France is vigorously' wishing on with the construction of her railway from Tongking through Hunan to Szechuan, by which she will draw the trade of South-west China through French territories with the aid of protective tariffs, instead of our being able to carry on a free and unrestricted trade through British Burma." Mr. Walton mentioned how our Government had refused to allow British capitalists to build a railway from Tientsin to Kalgan, though that line would not have been in Manchuria at all. He pointed out that Japan was only too ready to operate with us in securing the treaty rights of all nations in China. then went on to contrast the activity layed by the Germans at 'T's with the British neglect of Wi haiwei, and mentioned the utter baselessness of Mr. four's statement that it was physically impossible to connect Weihaiwei with the interior by railway. But as we have tied our hands by our spontaneous: promise to Germany, Mr. Walton thought that "in all' probability the best course would be to hand Weihaiwei over to Gemany, if she, in return would support our' taking another naval t or near the mouth of the British concessionaries, Walton, had not got on railways because they were not assisted by their Government to get such terms as were granted to other Powers. He pointed out the obstacles that had been put by the Chinese Government in the way the ratification of the American contract fur the Hankow-Canton line; and that, "if the concessionaries of the Peking-Hankow railway are allowed to secure this concession"—as they have been trying to do it will give to Russia and France a railway system through—the heart of the Chinese Empire from the extreme north to the extreme south, and will place them practically in military occupation of it." He showed how Russia had obtained a concession for a railway to Hsianfu, which will effectually bar the road for the Peking Syndicate. He exposed once more the emptiness of the Yangtze Valley Agreement with China, and dwelt on the surrender of British prestige involved in the extension of the French Settlement at Shanghai, of which we think a great deal too much has been made. He showed also the emptiness of the Government's determination to patrol the Yangtze, and the unfitness of the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.