July ote Turkey has, of recent years, Been used by Chinese and others as an example of a backward nation which has attained equality with other Powers through sheer wilfulness. Thus, it is suggested in these days that if Turkey was able to abolish the capitulations, why should not China automatically and unilaterally abolish extraterritoriality? For some time Admiral Bristol lectured uni versally on the wonders of Turkey and more recently Mr. Alfred Sze had something say on the subject, But what all those interested in special pleading fail to tell is the story of how Turkey was dismembered Ddefore and after the World War, so that what is to-day referred to as Turkey is not the great 3.218800 In 1910 of more than Turkish Empire, which had a
000,000 people and which sessed huge areas in Burope, and Africa, but rather a small state, consisting of the Province of' Anatolia "and Bastern Thrace and some adjacent territory, poor in resources, poor in produce, poor in man-power. Of all the great cities of the former Turkish Empire, only Constantinople remains," Gone are Syria, Palestine, Traq, the whole of Avabia, the whole north coast of Africa, the whole Balkan peninsula. ' The population has been reduced to 2 mere thirteen millions, Agriculture is primitive, mining is hardly developed, and, industrially, there is nothing to speak of.
In a word, although Turkey had been crumpling before the 'War, after the war it had collapsed and what remained' was an area not worth quarreling about. It is true that for the distinctively Turkish elements of the polyglot population of the former Turkish Empire, it may be more satisfactory to be a Betty state, fully sovereign, ithe capitulations, than to be a great and mighty empire, Yet, it is hard to believe that the Turks are happy to see the French and British in the mandated regions of Asia, which are progressing economically with such rapidity and which, in all probability, will soon outstrip Turkey which once ruled them. In Palestine alone, the Ruther: berg Hydro-Electric Concession and the Dead Sea Concessions must remind Turkey of economic resources which they had neglected—and the neglect of which explains to a decided degree their present enfeeblement, Tu a word, the better parts of the Turkish Empire seem no longer to be part of Turkey. That is not the whole explanation but it must. have been an important
attempt to continue the enforcement of the capitulations, for those Powers which did been a partition of China, that, as a matter of fact, the diplomacy of the great Powers Fas generally been designed to keep China intact, brought China to the Washington Conference not at all reduced in territory and Population, except for Mongolia which "has become subject to Russian imperialism. The imdensity of China has many disadvantages from an administrative standpoint, but it has this tremendous advantage, that it is one of the largest and potentially one of the richest states, and that all peoples regard it as important and valuable to have commercial relations with her. No matter what might have been the origin of extraterritoriality, it has continued as a judicial and political process which makes it possible for the citizens of the great Powers to have commercial relations with China. Suppose, for example, that China had been whittled away like Turkey, so that all that remained of the great Chinese Empire was the province of Szechuan, who would bother about extraterr!- toriality or anything else? Suppose that parts of China had been mandated to certain great Powers for administration or supervision, who would quarrel with even a unilateral abrogation of existing treaties? It is China's size, her resources, her man-power, her potential greatness that makes her significant and that keeps all the world patient with her administrative incapacity during her prolonged transitional period. Were China as small and as relatively insignificant as Turkey, who would take the trouble or tolerate the expense of maintaining the institutions of extraterritoriality?
The Powers have kept China intact; China might have. been partitioned at any time during, her recent history, And of the Powers, it was principally Great Britain and the United States which prevented partitioning. The younger Chinese may regard part of British imperialism, as a part of American capitalism rather than friendship for China which caused these Powers to keep China intact while Turkey was crumpling, but the fact remains that at this moment, it is because China is huge, immense and potentially important, that the Powers seek to continue the process of extraterritoriality because in this system lies the only hope for unstrained relations during the present transitional period—or shall one say, less strained relations than there might have been in a tims such as this when the national administrative machinery is still being re" When that machine well and powerfully, toriality will go because there will longer be a need for its continuance. From this standpoint, Turkey is an exceedingly stupid analogy, for there is nothing similar in the history or the international relations of the two countries,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.