December 21.
Tae virtues of the individual Chinese are apt to be lost in the national characteristics. Friendly and good-humoured as he is singly, collectively, however small the unit, he shows a tendency to -become an Ishmael, his band against every man's. The most striking example this trai 6 of the foreigner. grievances may now be adduced as the result of the presence of the foreigner in China, the fact remains that the Empire showed an instinotive dislike to him on his first appearance and by its consistently unfriendly disposition has failed to derive many of the benefits that it might have gained from foreign intercourse. This is a point that is frequently overlooked by the well-meaning altraist, who preaches conciliation in the Far East through the medium of an intemperate attack on all foreigners who have dealings with China. In a recent publication of the American Association for International Conci tion the Rev. Dr. J. H. de Forest, who in virtue of a thirty-six years' residence in Japan must be supposed to have little first-hand knowledge of China, advocats the abolition of extra-territoriality on the ground, among other reasons, that it is the cause of "a growing dislike and dread of foreigners." We do not trust ourselves to refer in greater detail to an article thut has' been characterized by an eminent authority in the missionary world as " misleading and inflam-motory;" but for our present pur-it ficient to show that "anti-foreignism" is not a recent developmen} in China and in all probability has decreased rather than grown in recent years. That it should be more pronounced to-day than formerly is due to the fact that the real China is only now becoming articulate, and we are learning truths that may have escaped the notice of some,' because the nation has hitherto lacked the means to voice them more or loss ubiquitously.
hether " anti-foreignism " is growing or decreasing must romain a matter of opinion, which will vary as much as the reports on poppy-growing in this remarkable country. But for those who like to think that it is in reality on the wane, with the growth of intercourse between foreigners and Chinese, it is some consolation to reflect upon the fact that this characteristic of the nation is subjective rather than objective. Even the sense of national solidarity has not altogether eliminated provincial antipathies, for these are still only overcome, for the most part, in the face of a common "enemy." No less striking in regard to its spirit of antagonism is the development of constitutionalism in the country. People and officials would seem to be now ranged everywhere in opposing camps, whether the proceedings of the former in council
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.