We cannot doubt that the recommendations of a man of experience so thoroughly conversant with the situation in Hunan as Dr. John is, are carefully noted and considered in our Legation at Peking and passed on to the Foreign Office in London. "Hunan is open," ix the burden of, his latest letter. "It is open to the evangelist, open to the educationalist, open to the Christian physician. It is open to men and it is open to women." But Dr. John is too wide-minded a man to content himself) with dilating on the opening of Hunan only to missionary effort. He recounts his conversation with Captaia Lo, the commander of the Governor's steam-yacht, and this part of his letter must have been of great interest to the commercial community, the Legation, and the New Commercial Treaty Commission. Dr. John quotes Captain L" as saying: "I am hoping that foreigners will soon start lines of steamers on the Siang... That would be a great gain to Hunan... What the foreigners ought to aim at is to get the Government to make Changsha an open port.
Yochou is of no use. Changsha is the place. Open Changsha "and everything else must follow and then the veteran missionary traveller adds: "Such are the views of Captain Lo on this important matter, and I give publicity to them with the hope that they will command the attention which they deserve. Trade along the Siang senger traffic ble. The existing lines of steamers are all in the hands of the Chinese and are, I am told, paying well. It is high time for the foreigner to wake up and take advantage of his opportunities."
There was a time when Chinese towns were really alarmed at the idea of being made treaty ports and deprecated the arrival in their midst of a lot of foreigners of whom they knew nothing, but had heard the most blood-curdling reports. Tt difficult for foreign residents Shanghai of the present day to ise the tales of the eccentricity and violence of Westerners thit were gleefully told to the credulous people of the towns on the Y the Great River was these same people have re ised now that the conyers n of their town into a treaty port um ans the droprity into is felt in quickly widening cire What really makes us so secure with so little show of force in this vast population is that all Chinese born traders. Curiosity is their foible and barter their delight, and the advent of the foreigner means unlimited opportunity for the indulgence of these tendencies. The rich, populous, and—productive province of Hunan is calling for the foreign trader to come as_ well as the foreign teacher, and it is our duty to see to it that she does not call in vain.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.