Tue Commissions appointed from home to negotiate new commercial treaties with China may well feel bewildered by the variety and inconsistency of the advice that is tendered them, and the irreconcilability of the criticism that is levelled at the drafts that are the fruit of their long and toilsome negotiations. They mush begin to feel that they have made a great mistake in not sticking to the old fashion of signing the treaty first and publishing it afterwards. No treaty can possibly please everybody, because, a8 we have said, unless ib is imposed by a conquering on a conquered power, it must compromise; but it seems that a treaty which is disclosed _pivcemeal as it goes on, pleases nobody, The British Government have, "A Member of the Chins Association" pointed out in his recent letter, solemnly promised that the Treaty shall not be concluded before the merchants of China have had an opportunity of considering it and expressing their views. But the merchants of China themselves have diverse interests and are nob all of one mind; and Hongkong and Shang: hai do not take the same view as
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.