The news that the Cabinet in Peking is considering the introduction of a government monopoly matches suggests that some extraordinarily evil genius is at work there dictating policy. No doubt it would mean extra revenue for various people, but at the expense of, the comparative comfort of an infinite number more. To get really good matches here to-day a man has to buy foreign ones, and is glad that he can do so. Introduce government monopoly and the probabilities are that not at any price will a good match be available, for that the manner in which monopolies work. Every visitor to France remembers how the match monopoly works there and at the present time it may be noted that with a monopoly in operation in Japan matches there do not show any considerable degree of excellence. It ig not the extra cent or two on a box of matches which the monopoly would mean that causes alarm at the present proposal, though that will hit the poorest classes severely, but the fear that a reasonably good article will no longer be obtainable.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.