Oct. 1.
'THE earnestness and sincerity with which "Marshal Chi speaks in his interview,—published to-day, with Mr, Rodney Gilbert cannot but impress all readers. We do not believe the horrible! story about his opponents' plot: to set fire to Shanghai; we are! sure that Marshal Chi's agents were misinformed; and in times of war neither—combatant's judgment of the other can be expected to be quite normal. For the rest, Marshal Chi is known as a man of high ideals and lofty vision. We may. implicitly, accept his promises! to Shanghai and his hopes for: China's future. Yet on the other hand we have known Marshal Lu and General Ho for several years and certainly have no call to think ill "of them.. The! relationships between General Ho and the Settlement authorities Jtiave. always been pleasant and mutually helpful; and it exaggeration to say that. Ché- kiang fas prospered under Marshal" Lu and that the province bears solid evidence of his good administration. That these two officials have encouraged the smuggling of arms and opium in Shanghai is difficult to believe. If it were true, should we not be likely to find Ché- kiang growing opium, which is not the case? We have no direct evidence for the charge, and we cannot but regretfully add that neither opium—mor arms-smuggling appears to siond in need of official encouragement, Since the war began awe do not suppose that any foreigners have tried to supply arms to either side. But neutrality is a thing of wide and far-reaching application if it is to be faithfully observed and it is again necessary to call attention to certain acts already committed or likely to be by some people, which bring foreigners generally into disrepute. We are credibly informed that some of Marshal Chi's troops bear new rifles of Italian thoke, Probably these are part of the consignment which, not long ago, caused a great' stir at Tientsin, They were, we think, taken over by the Government. There reason, of course, why either side should not arm its men with any weapons it can buy, There is every reason why, in the circumstances which have unhappily prevailed in China for some years past, foreign Govt ments should "be particularly careful how they allow their nationals to export arms to China. This question has lately been discussed by the League of Nations and it is sincerely to be hoped that the embargo on arma exportation will be drawn 80 tight that no loophole is left. Until this is done, how can we meet Chinese charges that foreigners sell arms to this country to promote civil war?
Again, since the raising of a Joan in the Shanghai district by the collection of a: month's rent all round, we are told that Chinese houseowners are trying to get their property registered in foreign consulates. Wo have not been able to verify the report, but it is by no moaria unlikely. One cannot but sympathize with the Chinese for thus trying to protect themselves; but if they succeed, there can be no question but that a wrong has been done to the principle of extraterritoriality which th: Chinese generally would be justified in regarding as a grievance, For many years the abuse of personal registration in a foreign consulate—granted, apparently with as little regard for the qualifications of the applicant as for the iniquity of registering him—has been a nuisance to foreign and Chint authorities alike and a fruitful cause of perversion of justice. In other foreign settlements where there are only separate national concessions this practice appears to have been carried to even more abusive lengths than in Shanghai. If rumour speaks at all correctly some of the concessions in Tientsin are peculiarly besmirched, proximity to Peking affording scope for a lucrative trade in patents of nationality among politicians who may suddenly find themselves in need of asylum." Quite possibly this rumour is exaggerated. But the fact that Tientsin is now looked upon as regular Alsatia for fugitive militarists and politicians and that such gentry can run in and out of the foreign concessions as they please, pursuing their. intrigue the while to the general detriment of China, is a thing intolerable to Chinese and to all right-thinking foreigners, We may be forgiven for think~
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.