Oct. 11.
The correspondence columns of this paper have testified to the feelings of horror which the murder of Miss Harrison and Miss Nettleton have created in the minds of a large section of the foreign community in China There has been much discussion of the moral to be drawn from the outrage. No little effort has been expended on apportioning blame for its occurrence Certain facts stand out almost beyond dispute. Over a very Jarge portion of China at the present moment there is no central control, The country 1s delivered up to the tender mercies of numerous bands of brigands, whether under the label of communists er not. The recognized Governmen* of China, with their capital at Nanking, cannot assert their authority over anything more than a very small Portion of the country over which they profess to rule. On that account it is natural that foreigners should recent most emphatically the persistence with which Chinese representatives, in Europe and elsewhere, pretend that the present Govern Tent are fully competent to maiutain law and order within the confines of their territories. It this Jack of authority which has directly led to the kidnapping and eventual murder of the two unfortunate ladies. Thus far there will be general agree me: with the tenor of some of the letters which have been pubbs But when this tragedy is nas a text on which to demand in vague terms some Vigorous action on the part of the British Government or its Tepresentatives, then there must necessarily a divergence of Opinion, In this connection attention may usefully be directed to the letter by Mr. David Fraser which appears in the correspondence columns to-day. It raises in direct form the very point which the "North-China Daily News" took pains to make when discussing this question on Monday last.
Some of the contributors to this correspondence seem to overlook certain basic facts. The present policy which the British Government are pursuing China is not the policy of one particular Power. It is the Policy of all Powers, whether Great Britain, the United States, or Japan, It has beer adopted in consonance with the trend of world opinion in, other spheres of international activity! It is dictated by a conviction that, by some means or other, China must be encouraged to ce-operate with the world asa free and independent nation. It recognizes that, before these conditions can be satisfactorily established, radical changes will have to be made in the actual facts of Chinese administration as distinct from the pious opinions and intentions which find so ready expression in the archives of Nanking.. Consistently—with this policy there is a concerted attempt to leave to the Chinese Government the settlement of problems with which they mainly and. primarily are concerned, and to confine the defence of the interest of foreign nationals as strictly as possible to the spheres where those interests are paramount. The demand that the Chinese Government—should immediately establish law and order in their territories is one which cannot possibly be enforced under this or eny other. Policy. It is not within the realm of practical polities, Nor can any individual Power of its own accord invade Chinese territory. in pursuance of that object. 'The suggestion, for example, that the British Government could by the exercise" of any force of arms have extricate Miss Harrison and Miss Nettle-ton from their captors' hands has only to be made to be refuted. Apart from anything. else, Great Britain te-day has an exceedingly small army. Her obligations in maintaining peace within her own borders are being taxed to the full, as recent ents in India sufficiently indicate. Moreover, it should again be emphasized that the policy to which Great Britain adheres is not the policy of any particular party; it is the policy of Conservative Liberal, and Labour Governments alike. Nobody knows better than the Politician in England that the British electorate to-day wouta Promptly and firmly reject any adventure which savoured of aggressive imperialism, and, above all, was likely to increase the heavy burden of national expenditure without giving a commensurate return Wi! therefore, members of a British community on the edge of the Empire deliver themselves of, fiery denunciations of a policy which has the firm support of all political parties, they are kicking against the pricks, they are exposing themselves' to the charge of being unsympathetic observers of their own people's difficulties, and of lacking that practical common sense which is 80 treasured a characteristic of their nation, Instead of searching for seapsgoats in Whitehall or Peking, it might possibly be more apprepriate to review the situation on the lines already suggested in these columns. The heads of the missionary societies. should consider whether the responsibility does not rest upon them to refuse to expose their workers to undue perils la parts of the country which, admittedly, are beyond the wit of the present Government of China to control. The ban might be applied with special regard to women, whose exposure to dangers of the kind to which Miss Harrison and Miss Nettle-ton have succumbed, is peculiarly undesirable and calculated import serious complications into an already _suficient'y difficult situation. The much-vexed question of extratertitoriality has no relevance here No amount of extraterritorial rights could have saved the murdered ladies from their fate. And in regard to the suggestion that the continuance of the present unsettled state of things in China should inspire the British Government tu break off all discussions on cxtraterritoriality, it might be pointed out that, although there is much to be said from that point of view, it should also be remen:- bered that discussion does not imply settlement. Nor will a. refusal to discuss necessarily ensure the continuance of existing privileges.. Indeed the wiser course is probably to refuse.to surrender any medium, which might conceivably be serviceable in an emergency. It may be recalled that the policy of breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia did not prove
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.