This somewhat ambiguous and self-clooted body comes in, for the most part, for more abuse than blessing at the Inds of foreign settlers and merchants, bur thi is not the reward meted out to them from the natives of Tientsin city who are peaceably inclined. Which is ihe juster judgment?
In answer to such " question any unbiassed. mind will unhesitatingly reply that the native, who hus the greater interest in the matter, has given the true verdict in his dole of praise, m agre though it be. What has been done" is_a question answered more readily if pat in the form of "What has not bee.. done 2" Tf put in the first order the list would be long anu tedious to wade through, while if in the latter the quota might be summed up on the fingers. Amongst the chief improvements—for the whole list would he too jong to go through—are the making of a hand and road from the foreign settlements to nnd round the former walled city; the removal of the wall to fill up another ancient landmark, the moat around the city, the use of which seems to have been chicly to receive diseased und starved cats and dogs, breed morquitues and fatten them on all the filth tending to the spread of in-factious diseases and fevers. The city. too, is being intersected by two wide roads, clean, healthy, and giving sufficient room to the pedestrian to enable him to walk unmolested citer by the hesls'of mules or donkeys, the foul odours of cook-shops, and meu. venience of stumbling over fs! vegetable, or seed stalls to say nothing of the itinerant mendicant who dogs the path of all foreigners. Lamps lave been erected, at every twenty yards, 1 light to the riderer by night, who-e personal safety istakeu care of by a composite force of foreign soldiers and Chinese doing police duty. A Court has been set up with Mi Emens at its head (without the distiuetion of wig and gown—a great mistake) for the purposes of dispensing civil and critninal justice, and q ite a respectable trade is being done in the piece goods ling of Chinese beads and pigtails. Mr. Emens' firm advertise a firat-class cut. The river has now a regular flotilla of police-boats, who intercept salt smugglers and pirates, to whom summary justice is rotaled. A good wholesale business is being carrie on in this department of the Maatmum of Profit and Limited Liabili concern trading under the name of T.P. That twe business conducted by the highly paid budy of directors is a profitable and increasing one may be gathered from the information recently obtained that at one likin barrier alone—where there is a sinaler trade dove than before the disturbance by about half, and only about one fourth the articles are taxed by the present directors to those on which tribute jed—the money finding its into the city coffers is 7,000 taels per wore than in one week during the former regime. The result is that in spite of the extraordinary salaries received by those acting under and for the Provisional Government—and no one denies that they deserve what they get—the said city culters will have to be considerably enlarged to hold their burden of wealth. That the Chivese householders see and appreciate this state of affairs beyond " shadow of doubt, and it would be. well for Chinese householders and m-rcharity of the other big towns of China if they could see what can be done in the way of improvements and lightening of the taxes when & towa worked as a business enterprise and all necessities are _immediately dealt with. Itis evident from what one sees and hears that the grumblers ut the T.P.G. are only disappointed ones who have failed to have a finger in the pie. It is sincerely to be hoped that Ulus temporary Government may be prolonged im otice until such time as Chinese may be gradually drafted in and trained in the honest and beneficial discharge of civic duties and in this respect China possesses wany apt pupils. For heaven's sake let us do our duty as civilizing powers, take advantage of the opportunity in our hands, and enable Cuina to have one town honestly governed by Chinese for Chinese. IE such a step is taken its results will be far more widespread than all the military occupations frow this till doomsday. The wouey saved bythe 1.P.G. should not now be handed over to Chinese oticials, as suggested, but invested in the farchee improvement of the city, ths suburbs, and the Peito. A certain sum would not be ill spent in having a consulting committee of engineers of differen nationalities at fixed salaries to draft a plan for the improvement of Pojho navigation and the removal of tha Bar, if-possible. Bigger engineering tasks have been accomplished before now.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.