Oct. 9.
At the moment of writing the two northern armies are reported to have grappled with each other in deadly struggle at Shanhaikuan, but as yet it is far too early to say what the final issue will be. In balancing the probabilities the Chinese attach great importance to the instance. But there is every name and fame of the Chi ian reason why they should be wateh- General, Feng Yuhsiang, and ful against any repetition of the] nig 30,000 soldiers, most of arrangement, as also in respect of the whole question of loans in any shape or from any source to either of the combatants. Another matter has come to our notice which must be made public. At the present time the Peking Government finds itself with no money with which to pay interest due to bondholders of the British half of the Tientsin-Pukou Railway. An attempt was made to draw upon the earnings of the Shanghai-Nanking Railway, but! this was successfully prevented. The Peking Government then proposed to take the bonds of the whom are said to be Christians.
This particular army carries with it the glory of past success, as the defeat of Chang Tso-lin in 1922 was largely caused by its bravery and strategy. © This will tend to give it confidence the next battle.and to weaken the morale of the other side. It will be strange if the present civil war in China, in which no great moral issues are involved, should in no small measure be decided by Christian soldiers and it raises some interesting and rather perplexing question German half of the T.P.R, and pledge them on the London market and there is reason to believe that there was a strong feeling in certain quarters that} this had better be done sooner than that Peking should be compelled to default.
Now apart from the stipulations of the original Tientsin-Pukou Railway Joan agreement relative to the payment of bond-|- holders, Peking entered into a specific agreement on December 10 last that a fixed sum should be set aside out of the railway's earnings every month for the satisfaction of the bondholders.
What has become of this money? If, now, Peking is to be allowed to borrow abroad in order to pay the bondholders, it merely mean that the foreigner is assisting it to evade its signed obligations, and further, in the present cumstances of China, that he is committing a palpably unneutral aet. By the latest information In so far as confidence is felt by the Government in General Feng's soldiers, and enemies fear them, it is testimony to the value of the rigorous military and moral they have received which has made them superior to other Chinese soldiers. One question Would not this ing be equally effective and able if given to the two million soldiers in China?
Nearly all are ignorant cool To teach such men hal obedience, faithful performance of duty, valour, chivalry and other masculine virtues, including the ordinary ones of cleanliness, tidiness and punctuality, would benefit them both morally and socially, and through them the ole nation, Indeed, when the deplorable condition' of—the stricken millions of men in China, who have received no education or training of any is considered, if it were we are happy to say that there Appears no prospect of this par-certain that the training would be the same as that received by loan proposal going] the soldiers of General Feng, through. But we can hardly including the actual danger of doubt that other proposals for warfare, would it not be for louus will be heard of before the war is ended, and it is of the most vital importance that they receive no countenance whatever:
We cannot see that it is any of the foreigner's whether! ing defaults, or Chang Tso-lin or anybody else. The duty of the Great Powers in the present crisis stops short at the protection of their respective nationals, their interests and treaty rights and in guarding the integrity of great services like the Customs and Salt Gabelle, even more in the. interest of the Chinese people than of foreign creditors. For these services are the backbone of Chinese national finance, and if, through the present war, their unity were impaired the consequences all round would be disastrous. But further than this the Powers cannot go without most seriously involving themselves with one combatant or the other, with dangerous results for all foreign interests in China and not impossibly for foreign lives in the interior. The fact that a conventional recognition was accorded. to President Tsao Kun a year ago means nothing when we remember that even before his election he had been repudiated by the men who are now fighting against him. The conflict now in process is as clearly and definitely a_ civil war, not a rebellion, as any ever! fought, and it is the earnest desire of all the most thoughtful men in China that the Powers shall lose no more time in saying 50. While they hesitate to do so. their declared policy of nonintervention is meaningless and every day the prospects deepen of most perilous complication. the good of the nation if all young men had to serve for one or two years in the army? It may be objected that conscript tion would lead the Chinese to desire war for its own sake, or for revenge or aggrandizement. Would it if the military training was combined with high ethical teaching? It should be remembered that the Chines as distinct from the Manchus and Mongolians, are not naturally a warlike people. Even if they were it may be pointed out that. the legions of ancient Rome, which subdued the—_ world, because of their high soldierly qualities ensured its peace a: never before or since. To the Roman soldiers at their best the word "virtue" meant. courageous manhood. Their. courage was not mere animal daring; it was duty, obedience to all lawful commands, unconquerable fidelity, self-surrender to the public good, sacrifice for the good of others. A nation with this spirit is not a menace to, the peace and prosperity of mankind. But a nation that on the whole is weak, ignorant, inefficient, defenceless and always in a state of internal turmoil is a menace As the world is at present, there is a great deal of unreality in the expectation of. the immediate coming of reign of universal peace. To use an illustration which must, not be pushed too far, sheep may meet and pass resolutions urging all animals to keep to a strictly vegetarian diet, and the Jwolves may seem to agree, but will smile sardonically,—if wolves ever -do..amile. Probably, some
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.