the naturally indeterminate conditions, inseparable from all transition stages, now obtaining in China it is difficult to single out any one factor and to claim for it preponderating influence in the general situation, It ix clear, however, that the traditional line of cleavage between the two sections of the population of China—Manchu and Chinese—is attracting considerable attention at the present juncture, on the part of both the forces of reform and of those of reaction. It is to the presence of the Manchu dynasty and its favoured adherents that the ardent patriot " of the day unhesitatingly attributes all the ills of his country, from the ubiquitousness of the foreigner to the rapacity of an individual official. According to his own particular bent he seeks relief from a state of affairs that he has long since decided to he intolerable by the hatching of revolution or by personal assassination. In the latter procedure there is an element of novelty for the Chinese "patriot," and it must be regarded asa distinct stage in the evolution of the professional revolutionary, who finds—the practical results of isolated rebellion less and less satisfactory from his own point of view. Moreover, as a novelty it is calculated to inspi more terror among the would-be objects of his murderous intentions than the time-honoured ill-organized insurrection, which can generally be suppressed at the expense of the lives of others. It is stated that at an interview recently accorded tou veteran Literary Chancellor by his superior officer, the latter connected an innocent movement on the part of the Chancellor to reach his fan with an intention to draw a revolver, and incontinently fled from the room. But even if all officials are not as nervous as this one, it is patent that the assassination of the Governor of Anhui, admitted t directed against the Manchu hierarchy, has caused more real uneasiness in governing circles than a long series Of provincial outbreaks, It is probably this personal als that has given the latest stimulus to the proposals of the Throne to effect the removal of the social and official barriers between the two classes of the people. The decree issued on August 9 in the name of the Empress Dowager, commanding flivials both in Peking and in the ces to report on the present position between Manchus and Chinese and to make suggestions for the removal of the evils of racial jealousy, reflects true anxiety to do away with causes of offence in spite of the pretentious platitudes with which it opens. On the other hand the atti on the sume subject n the old controversy se and Manchus has ing on the somewhat parlous condition of China to-d The necessity of abolishing the favoured position of Manchus, officials and others, has been urged successively by the Viceroys Yuan Shih-kai aaa thong Chih-tung, by the Governor of Soochow and by others. Already the effect of this campaign is st ted to have been seen in the appointment of a Chinese, Chang Jen-chun, as Viceroy at Canton in succession to Tstn Chun-h and in the proposal to remodel the Tartar garrisons throughout the Empire, which are a stumbling-block to the good relations between the two sections of the people wherever they are established. A Censor has found yet another cause for bitter feeling in the fact that the period of curning for parents is fixed at one hundred days for Manchus, ars for Chinese. law is to bar the Jatter from holding office for period twelve times as long as his more favoured Manchu colleague in the event of a parent's death.
All such attacks on the privileged ition of the Manchus are steps in the right direction, but as yet there is no indication of the length of time required by them to achieve success, Old strongholds, especi-y when walled in with the pres-of centuries, surrender unwillingly, and neither the fear, or statesmanship, of the Empress-Dowager, nor the anxiety for the country's welfare of a Yuan Shih-Kai or Chang Chih-tung has found ready echo in Manchu circles asa whole, Where conscious that their sun of exceptional privilege has passed its meridian, they still hope to arrest the course of nature Ly a compromise on non-essentials, while secretly resolved to retain the substance of their power. The revived attention now being paid to the question of constitutional government will not have escaped public notice. It is difficult in the circumstances to distinguish the genuine activity of the enthusiasts the cause of reform from the ime-serving acquiescence of its most rabid opponents. But if we accept the position of this movement Jas reports from the Capital repre~ sent it, we find that already a sharp line of cleavage between Manchus and Chines made itself felt. The latter, in the character of refect to see no permanent. solution of present difficulties in any remedy less comprehen: than self-government on a wide popular basis, On the other hand the Manchu, even where prepared to admit the advisability of constitutional government, Would restrict its to the narrowest, limits. While the champions of the two causes are fighting their academic battles in Peking, the ultimate destiny of the country is being evolved in the cour: ken.
the development of China's ions. Whether that destiny LI be attained by peaceful means or through the instrumentality of internecine struggle, it is too early to say; bnt it is not difficult to decided which has hitherto been the chosen method of history.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.