While a recognizable Chinese'Government should therefore be an administration that has demonstrate ed both its ability and willingness to discharge all existing foreign obligations to the letter in every} quarter of China; it is much more essential that the central administration ame prove itself not only able but willing to put permanent end to internecine war, to abolish irregular and illegal taxes and impositions, to reduce the armed forces to a minimum and bring them under the direct control of the Ministry of War, to suppress outlawry throughout the land in a business ike way and to recover control of the railways and suppress very, rigidly their abuse by the milnaty. one supposes that these conditions can be met in a year or cent experience it is cognized that there is no point whatever in recognising a Government that cannot mest them. A
Government that cannot safeguard the vital interests of the Chinese people snd protect them against banditry, official and military exploitation, the losses enfiled in the hardships and humid inflicted by undikeiplined id the intolerable burdens upon industry and trade imposed by irregular taxation and erratic control of communications by irresponsible soldier certainly cannot safe-interests in China; cannot meet existing obligations, cannot abide by treaties of any sort, existing or projected.
Business men do not pretend to Keep up relations with a man who not and will not live up to igned contracts. Those who will not keep -thelr bargains when they: can and cannot keep them when they will are soon expelled from the exchanges and markets in any commercial country in the world, including China, and are not readmitted to commercial fellowship until they have demonstrated both their ability and willingness to charge old obligations on a basis satisfactory to their former colleaimues. Precisely the same rules govern sound diplomacy and!t now appears that these rules are about to be applied to China,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.