THE nineteenth century has been who read newspapers is so small as to be quite negligible when questions affecting the mass are concerned. present outbreak. This will doubtless be seen to when mission is resumed. Whoever the pleni-
Neither can it be said that there is potentiaries may be who are en-that solidarity of race feeling which ists in Britain for example, and which during the past year has trusted with the pacification of the country and the making of the new treaties, they must not fail to {made it dangerous to say a_good word for the Boers. The Chinaman may know that certain nations; are at war with his own people in some distant part of the empire; what does he care? If a coolie corps , eradicate this source of constant irritation. In these matters absolute equality must be the rule.
Lastly the work of the humanity arian may, after this trouble is once "over, be so much facilitated that variously characterised as the " won-is wanted at a decent rate of pay, he the close of the first quarter of derful" century, the " progressive is there. He will run the risk of shot the new century should find in century, the century of science, and and shell to earn the foreigners'
China the promise of a. new heaven the like, but we have not yet seen it! money in serving against. his own and a new earth. Education on described as the century of chances. side. Evidently his race instinct is Western models should by that time Yet a retrospect shows that such an not strong. And yet the disposal of have become firmly fixed. There are than any of the others, Two ideas pellation is no whit less fitting: 400,000,000 of human beings, indus-hundreds of thousands ready and trious as a rule, law-abiding, and anxious to avail themselves of it, and stand out prominently as nuclei capable of great things, is not an easy it must never more mean death to round which much political action task if the greatest possible good is its owner to be caught in possession of during the century has concentrated. to be got out of the unique oppor- Western literature. What improve-They are the struggle for political free- tunity that now presents itself, no ments may not have made a start by dom on the part of peoples oppressed less a chance than that of construct~ that time it is impossible to say. by despotic governments, and the ing a new China. There is not Socially the elevation of woman, her tinct of nationality as a bond of} Great Power on earth that is not education, the free use of her limbs, unity. Out of these there have grown the independence of the Spanish-American Colonies, the overthrow of despotic power at various times in France, the unification of Italy and Germany, the independence of Greece and the various Balkan States, and a number of subsidiary political changes of no small importance. Looking at such a list as this, it i: not unreasonable to hope that now the chance of the century has come, statesmen willing and capable of handling it successfully will not be} wanting.
"When the soldier's done his shooting, Then the lawyer's turn begins."
The two central ideas referred to above, pervade the Chinese question as to what is to be done when the Boxer has been exterminated. Despotic as the form of Manchu Government has been, the despotism has been tempered in various ways, by custom, by rebellion, and by expediency. The Chinese moreover are not yet fit for political freedom as represented by the ballot bos,! neither is their race instinct highly developed. So embryonic is it in! fact, that we have recently been surprised to find that there is a public opinion in China after all, albeit it required such rade shocks as the Empress Dowager's coup d'état to awaken it. China therefore must be approached when the time of from that which has been successful settling arrives in a manner different
in Europe. It will be of little use to appeal to her people through the Press. The Chinese Press is in the early days of its infancy, and beyond being a thorn in the side of the ruling powers, a spreader of wild rumour, and a not very capable dispenser of useful information, has done little. As yet the percentage of natives, intimately interested, not one but has already spilt some of its, blood in the hitherto vain attempt to rescue its endangered nationals. Great Bri Russia, the United States, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, and Japan—what an array it is, and how colossal must have been the imprudence and the ignorance which, Ajax-like, defied its lightnings. When the campaign is over, and the time for reconstruction has come, what then are the principles which should guide the Ministers and their Governments in coming to a settlement? They may be briefly considered under four heads.—Political, Commercial, Religious, and Humanitarian, The first point in the political settlement must, as we have before insisted, be the abandonment of all ideas of partition. Only by this can the greatest gool to the greatest number, native and foreign, be en-, sured. And since China is not ripe for a constitution, the form of absolute power but under certain restrictions must be maintained. Only progressive Viceroys should be appointed, and their position should strengthened. For the rest the establishment of a civil service on the model of the I. M. Customs, but more largely native, should be set about as soon as possible.
Commercially, the country should be opened up as soon as possible, and as thoroughly as Great Britain herself. Production should be stimulated and export encouraged, so that imports may be paid for as they should be by the natural super-finity of the land.
In religions matters there is roon for improvement. We recently pressed our belief that the assumption of temporal power by priests or missionaries of any Church whatever has been partly to blame for the {her equality in the eyes of the law, and many other matters may have begun to make way. New ideas respecting house-room, and sanitation, about roads and public works generally, will possibly have arisen, The abolition of the grosser forms of punishment and the more barefaced cases of bribery may be brought about, while other legal improvements {are not impossible if the chance for a new China is not spoiled by being left to men who, having no practical knowledge of the East, are incapable of appreciating its peculiar needs. It will be the chance of a century, of a millennium. Even with expert knowledge entire success will be difficult; without it, hopeless failure is certain, and then the last state of this land will be worse than the first, quod avert at Dens!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.