Foochow, Feb. 20.
Foochow and indeed Fukien at Jarge is now in a political and commercial backwash. There is a great deal to see here that is Picturesque and interesting, but very little to learn which bears directly upon the political and social problems that agitate the rest of China. Canton and the Cantonese are extremely provincial, but in Canton one is constantly in touch with all the rest of China, and one moves in Chinese circles which are ambitious to extend their influence and apply their theories, political and social, throughout the land. Here in Foochow the little group of northern officials, which rules. an isolated province with the help of a little northern army, is only too pleased to be ignored and forgotten and! would be perfectly complacent if all the rest of China were to forget ien.
The foreign residents of Foochow refuse to admit that the place is defunct commercially, but they confess that the tea trade, which once kept Fukien in touch with Europe and America, has declined deplorably and that the imports: are confined to the sale of a little oil and some piece goods. In spite of this they are all optimists and! tell one another that Foochow bound to come back with the! development of new lines of trade—yet to be defined. This does not! alter the fact that one deep-sea steamer a year can take out all the tea consigned to European ports and that where there were five or six lines of coasting vessels; putting into Foochow on_ regular schedules, there are only two now which persist in visiting the port for old time's sake.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.