Mr. H. H. Fox's Optimism: A Possibility of North and South Coming to Terms with Independent Rule Frow Our Own London, Nov. 17.
Mr, H. H. Fox, the Commercial Counsellor at the British Legation, Peking, on Tuesday, November them in large quantities, but were now stopping the practice. Bi organization for trade in China was quite good,, but he thought urge the Government not to continue their present policy or to Sranster the concessions to" Chinese control, but rather to. offer the nese only such opportunities of constructive action as were offered by the new courts, though they could largely increase their interest the Customs revenue, even the tariff autonomy and. permitting the taxation of foreign residents, Lord Gainford's proposal, the meeting expressed their thanks. to Mr. Galland decided that the 15, attended a special' mesting of the Far Enstorn Section of the the London Chamber of Commerce, 40. answer questions which any member might like to address him. on Chinese trade, Mr. Anderson was. in the chair, and, ina few introductory remarks, expressed the view that table the status of 'Treaty Ports, where much greater interests were' involved than at Mankow, Should not be materially altered, tunless the Chinese authorities could provide an administration capable of guaranteeing security to life and property.
Tu the course of his remarks, Mr. Fox states that, in moving up and down "Great Britain since farvived, he had been very much truck With the amount of business done with China at the present time, although Manchester, of course, ha {ts own special difficulties, It! was gratifying to him to see that this was the case, It meant that even the wretched civil war now existing could not entirely check trade, and the felt that, when this ended, there would be al great commercial revival, He had noticed that "The Times" Thad published an article that day, stating that there had been no change in the Chinese situation, He didn't quite ageoe with that view, The merchants and educated classes in China were getting really Yory tired of military domination, and, as far us they could, they were cing to close their purse-strings. Te was, though, very. difficult for them 10 do s0 In view of the pressraro. brought to bear on them. Some of the leaders of the Nationa. list Party, moreover, wore beginning Py to unity China by fighting realize that they wore. never
another. There was, in his ion, a chance of the two parties ing' down, side by side, one in the North, and one in the South, and, in that case, fighting would cowie, and trade would have a chance. Me saw no sign, for a long time to come, of any affective cen tral unified Government, Where the Parties Differ Tu connection with the abrogation of treatioy by the Peking Govern-mont, it was essential to remember that, although the Chinese wore ready to fight each other, against the foreigner they always stuck together. Possibly, the Northerners were more reasonably inclined and disposed to work by negotiation, wheres the Southerners were di pored to listen to extremists and to use the weapon of mob violence. The Peking Government, for Instance, had denounced the treaties with Belgium and Spain and they had done go with the approval of all the Chinese, whether of the North or of the South. The British had to ask themselves whether it was desirable for them to stand by quietly and cly nothing until they could get _a Government represent ing the whole of China.
'He, himself, thought that the time must' come, to consider whether it was altogether safe to allow even one Government in China to make a now treaty, and to sot up precedents which be awkward for us later on, both in respect of tariffs and the right to trade in the interior. He wish to touch on the qu extra-territoriality. It might, deed, in his opinion, be advisable to make the best bargain they could with any available Government, and he did not think that any batyai would be substantially repudiate Ly another.
'Tuchuns' Dwindling Resources In replying to further questions, Mr, Fox stated that he thought the yerources of the Tuchuns steadily were decreasing, Arms and ammunition were, for the most part, there was 'a need among many Federation's representatives on. the British "manufacturers to know (China Committee should continue to something more about the country support the policy of that committee, to which they were sending the goods ordered from them by Chinese. "He found in Birmingham that quite a number of firms were
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.