Nov. 1.
The London despatch quoting! from the "Times" an appeal for the retention of existing guards in China, signed by Lo Southborough and the various commerical organizations inter-fested in the China trade, has, we find, moved the commercial community here to much lively' loomment favourable for the most part, as may be imagined, and has stimulated something almost resembling optimism. 'The great difficulty in the past has been that we have not only been fai ing a Chinese movement against' us that was frankly anti-foreign' and was guided by the feeling] loxprgsse? in the "Three Prine ples™that foreign trade in China [was nothing but a manifestation of "Imperialism", that it was really economic aggression and oppression, but have also had to Jeontend with obstinate misunderstanding of the character of ithe "Nationalist" movement, and Jof our own motives in resisting ft, not only abroad but. within Jour own local circles. We have never been able to show such an united front as would move any Government to give us even moral support, because those among us who view long before there was a Chen-O'Malley agreement that a show of conciliation and sweet reasonable-
Mess would be interpreted as a display of weakness and a warrant for greater and greater anti-foreign excesses, were described as "die hards""—a supposely' derogatory term which have always insisted upon interpreting as a compliment—Jand were denounced not only] here but at Home as obstacles to a rapprochement with the new! and progressive China that the! Nationalists were evolving.
We accept this public appeal in the "Times," therefore, as evidence that' there. can no longer be much disparity in the reports that go to Great Britain {from British traders of influence in this country and that if there jate any "patient conciliator left among us their once stai of|torian demand for sympathy] Jwith awakening China is now a soft, small voice in commercial council chambers at Home. We had some intimation of this from Jan address by Mr. F. Anderson, which we published in the form of a cabled summary about a fortnight ago. Mr. Anderson, as a merchant of many years' experience: in China, 2 former! chairman of the Municipal Counil and more latterly, in his retirement, President of the China Society, built up interests and in China which' neither ime nor distance can' nunciation of the policy throwing foreign rights and interests here to the lions to stop) the roaring (this is not his expression but ours) seemed a very clear indication that "sympathetic understanding" no longer held the centre of the stage in Great Britain, 'The quotation from _the "Times" which we published on Tuesday, however, is even more significant because' of Lord [Southborough's signature, Baron Southborough is head of a Commission, formed at the sugges tion of the Foreign Office, we believe, to interpret sentiment, and opinion among British merchants interested in the China trade to the British Government, land to make the Government's policy in China clear to the vommercial and industrial folk and [secure their ce-operation in forwarding it. The Commission was meant to function as a go-between, bringing the Govern. ment and the commercial organizations into closer under. standing and ce-operation." This at least was the official apology for its existence, In other quarters it was described as a buffer between the commercial bodies land the Government, designed to relieve the Foreign Office of the direct frontal attacks which the commercial bodies were [bound to make when they discovered that the breaking down of old safeguards, in keeping with the new policy of concilia tion, was jeopardizing—the security of their trade and investments in this country. Whichever interpretation we put jupon the purpose and character the Southborough Commi sion, Lord Southborough's signa. ture to a letter in a daily news paper which is, in effect, an appeal to the Government' and the people of Great Britain for stiffening of policy in China, indicates fairly clearly that the Commission is no longer a neutral medium through which opinions are passed to and fro, but is definitely partisan for reasons which are made clear enough in the brief telegraphic summary. This is a manifestation which we do not believe the British Government can ignore."
That the Hankow experiment has been a ghastly failure and that Hankow is in such a parlous state—whatever the surface life of the community may appear to be—would appear to be sufficiently clear in London to warrant a strong recommenda tion that the present status of the other Concessions should not be interfered ind that the particularly foolish effort to repeat the experiment in Tientsin should end abruptly. The antiforeign, costly and hitherto destructive career of the ""Nationalists" seems to be well enough known and understood also to prompt the suggestion that existing safeguards should be kept intact until "Chinese Nationalism is able to furnish more evidence of constructive and administrative capacity." In a later paragraph it is pointed out, with what seems to us a touch of cynicism, that the retention of safeguards to trade will not interfere with a liberal policy permitting the "Nationalism of the Chinese Nationalists to prove its qualities." Meddling with ithe administration of the Customs and the consequent attempts to impose illegal surtaxes moves the signers of the letter to recommend continued foreign control, thereby indicating that it is understood in England how the licence already extended to the Chinese in the matter of tariffs has threatened -the Customs with disintegration, The difficulties of the shipping com-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.