vou. 3.
ELSEWHERE in this issue mention is made of the appointment Mr. Herbert Phillips as Inspector-General of Consular Establishments in the Far East; which means briefly that his duties are to travel about from Jone consular station to another, to act, in a manner of speaking, 8 liaison officer, to keep them in mutual touch, to report and to lend all assistance in his power. Mr. Phillips' functions ave not intended to be particularly, if indeed at all, critical but rather helpful. The system has never been used in the Far East by the Foreign Office, but in recent years it has been employ-led among the consulates Europe with most satisfactory results. Mr. Phillips is well equipped by general experience for the work. He was formerly, assistant, and for a time acting, Chinese Secretary in Peking; afterwards for a number of years Consul at Shangha: in succession at Foochow, chwang and Harbin; and it certainly not too much to say that in all these places he has many friends who will warmly congratulate and.wish him every icees in his new post.
The position of the British Consular Service in China is something like that of a Cook's agent as described by one in the of a Pilgrimage: "When, things go right you say What is the use of us?" contemptuously; jand if things go wrong you ask What is the use of us? indignantly." The official position of consular people undoubtedly counts for more in China than it does in western countries where there is no extraterritori ality and diplomatic affairs are wholly managed by the Embassy jor Legation; and while this bestows exceptional prestige on ithe consul, it not altogether unnaturally leads us to expect exceptional performances of him. It ts not always remembered that j, consuls are, after all, only men, perhaps not better endowed than those about them, and in the peculiarly difficult position of having at the same time to take independent action and adjust themselves to intractable orders from above and the -behests of a policy.- framed ten thousand. mites away. That {there are men in the Service who cannot rise to stich demands, goes without saying; that, there may be tendencies' here and there to subside into a rut, to ct on the principle that he who does nothing is generally least in danger of getting into trouble, is merely to say that even consular officials are but human, In the main, the British Consular Service.in China enjoys a, de-ly high reputation, The ions associated with such names as Alcock and Parkes have been jealously guarded by their successors; and all over China men may be found, often in utter isolation, doggedly doing their duty, with a forgetfulness of self and unswerving rectitude of purpose such as deserve their countrymen's gratitude and praise, It has undoubtedly been a fault of the system in China that each consul worked too much in a watertight compartment, He would furnish information to a colleague in the next port and obtain it in return; but for practical working, he would deal only with the Legation, For obvious reasons this system is a necessity and cannot be altered; but it is to get over the inherent weakness of it that a travelling Inspector-General has been appointed. The fact of this innovation is evidence of the new interest which the Foreign Office is taking in China, an interest amply reflected in the Home papers, which almost daily contain articles and comments on Chinese affairs. In what direction this feeling will take shape, it is impossible as yet to say. But there can be no question that a more just appreciation of the true state of affairs in China is generally held in the West than was the case at the time Jof the well-meant but most unfortunate experiments of the Washington Conference,.Of that epoch but one thing remains,: the spirit which actuated: the discussions, All that the Conference sought to do has gone: down in ruins. It is evident now: to all the world, as it already was in 1921 to onlookers in China, that if the.welfare of her people is to be secured, it must be sought in some other fashion than by making concessions: to platoons of peripatetic place-hunters in Peking. And this at least is a gain, If once the facts of the situation are accepted and the fairy-tales of suave ornis. saries "sent abroad to lie for their country" are rejected with ithe polite scorn they deserve, we need not fear that the West will presently find a way of achieving those aims which the Washington Conference so anxiously sought for the restoration of this distracted country. And in the execution of that new policy we may be sure that the British Consular Service will not fail.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.