Reports vary concerning the condition of different sections of the country round about Tientsin, About the worst section appears to be in the neighbourhood of finliangeh'eng, a village about half-way between this and Taku. Robbers seem to be numerous there, and trouble is of frequent occurrence. Tientsin itself is not reo from thievery and assault might be, or as it would be in the belief of not a few, were it under the control of the Chinese authorities. It seems to be a fact that foreigners do not understand how to govern the Chinese as well as their own officials. It is true thnt the foreign administration is much more honest than twas the Chinese, as is evidenced by the fact that after paying good salaries to all employees, and lering paid large sums for public improvements in the imme into Vicinity of Tientsin as well as on the improvement scheme, there is still " large sun in the bank for the completion of the latter; more, probably, than will be needed. The Weakness of Foreign Rule.
And if the foreign administration was able to ferret out crime as well as the Chinese can, and administered punishment with due severity, as well as justice, their Government would certainly be a great improvement over the Chinese at their best. But this they cannot do. Their underlings are quite as likely to take bribes and screen the guilty as are those of the Chinese yamen, and probably more so, Because tite foreigner is more lenient with the bribe-taker than is the Chinese official bribe-shater when he deems it necessary to punish, be the foreigner open or not to rik perquisites. And in general it may be said that the foreigner with his Western ideas on the subject of punishment is apt to mitigate the punishment so much that it loses much of its restraining influence on the Oriental, who by no means appreciates Ienioncy or kindness at its real value. With him it means weakness, or fear, oF it is invested with some other motive or reason than the real one. For the law-abiding, respectable Chinese, the Provisional Government is a vast improvement over the old Chinese administration, and they are not slow to acknowledge it but for the suppression of the rowdy class and the diminution of crime, they must take 'a secondary place until the Chinese have a keener moral sense, or the Government becomes better acquainted with Chinese methods and their application, and is better served.
The Value of Tientsin as a hunting-ground is indicated by the fact above-mentioned as to large expenditures and a large reserve, and also by this, that the new Viceroy, Yuan Shih-Kral. has offered all tue officers of the T. P.G. a year's salary in advance if they will vacate and allow the Chinese to resume control again. There is little doubt but that the Chinese authorities can govern their own people better than the foreigner, excepting the respectable portion of the community, and for this reason some think it would be the part of wisdom for the Provisional Government to vacate, as well as for the reason that they are in an abnormal position in exercising control of territory over which they have no right save that acquired by war, now over, and which abnormal right should now be surrendered to the rightful authorities. There are two sides to the question, and opinion 4s divided, even among the Chinese, I understand.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.