To the Editor of the Nortu-Cutxa Dairy News.
Srr,—Although official statements have been frequently made in Parliament quite recently on belinlf of the Government that ample measures were being taken for the protection of British interests in China, the utterly unprotected state of the enormous British interests, both at Shanghai and on the Yangtze river, is a very rave national scandal, and is likely to lead to most serious emergencies that might have been prevented by proper precaution. here ought to be at. all times of the year at least one cruiser of the Bonaventure class cruising between Chinkiang and Hankow, and the presence of such a ship would be a strong deterrent of riotous outbreaks, and very moderate premium to pay for the security of British lives and interests at the river ports. Notwithstanding the plain warnings that have been given since the beginning of this year as to the appronching crisis in China, there is at the present moment when the crisis has began, not one British ship of any size or strength on the Yangtsze. The only British ships now on the river are the Woodcock, Woodlark, Snipe, and Esk, all of these Weing diminutive gunboats, and far too small to have any deterrent effect. Here at Shanghai, where there ought always to be @ vessel of the Bonaventure or Her-mine class, there will probably be for some days no vessel at all, when the Hermione leaves for Weihaiwei on Tuesday next, and then her place will be taken by the Linnet, a small and ancient gun-vessel, with a speed of about 7 knots only. The Esk may also be here, as she is on her way down from Hankow, but as she is only a very small gunboat, and requires about eight days to make the voyage from Hankow t Shanghai, her power, as a protector of British interests, is externely small.
The outbreak in the north of China will of course be followed by similar events in the South, and the Yangtze provinces have been ripe for revolt for a long time past. As British interests so greatly predominate in the Yangtze provinces, and as they are supposed to be politically earmarked as within the British sphere of influence, and as such plain warnings have been given as to their dangerous condition, it might have been expected that reasonable precautions would have been taken to be prepared for emergencies, yet, as a fact, it is hardly possible' for such vast interests to be more utterly unprotected than they now are, Russixn men-of-war have recently arrived here from Port Arthur, There are Russian interests of some importance at Hankow, and in the ut of any disturbance at that port they will probably proceed there, and it ix quite possible that they may not wait for disturbances to begin, but may yo a4 a pre tionary measure, and as we have no ships sufficient to protect foreign interests, it would be a perfectly reasonable course to adopt. But what. x frightful humil tion it will be if British interests on the Y tze have to look to Russian ships for protection.
The Viceroys on the Yangtze, who ought to have had the strongest moral support from the British Goverment for years past, as well as the certainty of material support from a very powerful ship always close at hand, have been atterly neglected, and the crisis which has been so plainly and rapidly approaching finds the British Government just as completely unprepared for protecting British interesta in China as it was last October in regard to British interests in South Africa just as ignorant. of the real political position of affairs in this country as it was in regard to those in South Africa.
The absence of reasonable and due precaution is morally certain to lead to the occurrence of immensely difficult and dangerous emergencies, which might hi been entirely prevented, and which will give rise te another tremendous strain upon the resources of the Empire.
Tam, ete.
W. V. Dausimoxp.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.