30th August.
Iv is very evident that itis quite a mistake to suppose—if yesterday's meeting is a fair. indication—that the Government at Peking has any intention of suppressing the boycott, whatever H.E. Yuan Shih-kai may do, We announced on Monday that the Shangpu, or Ministry of Commerce, had appointed Mr. Chang Chuen, otherwise known as Chang Chu-zuh, Director-in-chief of the Deep Sea Fishery Ca., and a monopolist in other ways, to arrange with the dealers here in American piece-cods & method. of averting the avy losses with which they were threatened through the boycott. Mr. Chang accordingly held a meeting yesterday which was attended by the principal piece-goods dealers and representatives of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. So far from taking any steps or announcing any measures to suppress the boycott, he began by fining some of those pre-scuta total sum of Tls. 4,000 for alleged irregularities in continuing to do business in American goods after the boycott was announced and the victims weakly undertook to pay the fines. Ib is understood that the son of Yuan Taotai was acting as Mr. Chang's lieutenant, Mr. Chang then. ordered that from to-day no dealers may purchase any American goods; whether they were imported Before the boycott or not, and whatever their foreign ownership, American,, English, French, German, or what not. All foreigners who dare to dea} in American. goods are to be punished alike; in order to persuade the American Government to make a satisfactory Immigration Treaty *with China, As for goods contracted for before the boycott, and which the dealers must take up, they may do this, and Mr. Chang is about to establish am office at which passes will be granted for all goods as: to which he is satisfied, and he will stamp them so that they may be sold in the interior, Besides the office in Shanghai Mr. Chang proposes to establish at thirty-six principal centres of trade in foreign goods "in China, offices where all goods will be examined to see that they are properly stamped. As each of these offices is to have a staff, this will require a considerable outlay, and he requires from his victims here an initial contribution of two hundred thousand tae's. This is how M Chang proposes to settle the boycott agitation, and this is the pass that the boycotters here have brought themselves to; they have fallen indeed out of the frying-pan into the fire.
Whatever may have been the intention of those who started the boycott, the officials have seen and seized the opportunity of using it to establish a new tax on the import trade; for itis obvious that the initial payment of Tls. 200,000 de-maided t by Mr. Chang, and the farther payments required to keep up his 36 or 37 new likin statio.s must come out of the trade; and the treaties with th.ir fixed tariffs have become waste paper. It is not to be supposed fora moment that if a satisfactory immigration treaty is made with the United States, thes offices! will be closed, and Mr. Chang's lucrative supervision of the trade will be withdrawn. The Shangpu will have tasted blood, and will want more and more. Mr. Chang's scheme means the establishment of a permanent boycotting machinery; and if any Power objects or insists on its Treaty being observed, this boycotting machinery will instantly be put in motion against the suljocts of that: Power and its trade. Hodie milli, cros tibi, the Americans may now justly say, and the whole weight of the Diplomatic Body at Peking must' be promptly put into action to crush this impudent proposal.
The bait held out to the piece-goods dealers and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to induce them to put up with Mr. Chang's proposals is his promise that he will assist them, to clear what he is pleased to regard as their legitimate purchases, and will so relieve them for the moment of the financial difficulties which are accumulating round them. It seems, to them that they are choosing between swift ruin, and a permanent, future interference with and taxation of their trade, and they have! chosen the latter to avert the former. If Mr. Chang is not at once disavowed, and his scheme suppressed, the Treaty Powers will have to take the matter up seriously, and make Peking understand that it cannot trifle with its obligations to them in this manner. The crisis is a very serious one, and it must be met promptly and energetically, Mr. Chang's statement that he is anthorised by the Government to settle the boycott, and that, this is how he proposes to do it, contrasts somewhat strangely with the telegram from Peking which we publish this morning, stating that the Government has ordered 'T. E, Yuan Shih-kai and Chou Fu to instruct their subordinates to suppress the boycott, There may be two parties "in Peking or double dealing on the part ofthe Government, However this be, it is for our, Ministers at Peking to 2 that Mr. Chang's operations ab any rate are suppressed with all speed,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.