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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Englishman in China During the
+Victorian Era, Vol. II (of 2), by Alexander Michie
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Englishman in China During the Victorian Era, Vol. II (of 2)
+       As Illustrated in the Career of Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+       K.C.B., D.C.L., Many Years Consul and Minister in China
+       and Japan
+
+Author: Alexander Michie
+
+Release Date: December 31, 2013 [EBook #44548]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA, VOL II ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+
+  Inconsistent hyphenation, capitalization, diacritics and spelling
+  in the original document have been preserved. Obvious typographical
+  errors have been corrected.
+
+  Index inconsistencies with the text have been regularized with the
+  text.
+
+  Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
+
+
+
+
+THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXIII.: Tsze-kung asked, saying, "Is there one word which may
+serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?" The Master said, "Is not
+RECIPROCITY such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do
+to others."
+
+
+
+
+  [Illustration: Signature
+   J. Thomson, photo.
+   Walker & Cockerell, ph. sc.]
+
+
+
+
+     THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA
+     DURING THE VICTORIAN ERA
+
+     AS ILLUSTRATED IN
+     THE CAREER OF
+     SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK, K.C.B., D.C.L.
+     MANY YEARS CONSUL AND MINISTER IN
+     CHINA AND JAPAN
+
+     BY
+     ALEXANDER MICHIE
+
+     AUTHOR OF
+     'THE SIBERIAN OVERLAND ROUTE,' 'MISSIONARIES
+     IN CHINA,' ETC.
+
+     VOL. II.
+
+     WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS
+     EDINBURGH AND LONDON
+     MDCCCC
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME.
+
+
+         CHAP.                                                    PAGE
+
+         XIX. JAPAN--
+
+               I. THE TREATIES AND THEIR NEGOTIATORS                 1
+
+              II. THE OPERATION OF THE TREATIES                     12
+
+             III. ASSASSINATION PERIOD, 1860-61                     34
+
+              IV. NEGOTIATIONS AND RENEWED ASSASSINATIONS,
+                  1862-64                                           44
+
+               V. THE TYCOON'S DILEMMA                              60
+
+              VI. THE CRISIS                                        75
+
+             VII. THE BIRTH OF NEW JAPAN                            92
+
+            VIII. THE DIPLOMATIC BODY--TSUSHIMA                    104
+
+              IX. TRADE AND TRADERS                                115
+
+          XX. SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK IN PEKING, 1865-1869--
+
+               I. THE BRITISH LEGATION                             130
+
+              II. FOREIGN LIFE IN PEKING                           138
+
+             III. THE FOREIGN CUSTOMS UNDER THE PEKING CONVENTION  156
+
+              IV. EMIGRATION                                       168
+
+               V. KOREA                                            175
+
+         XXI. THE REVISION OF THE TREATY--
+
+               I. PREPARATION                                      180
+
+              II. THE BURLINGAME MISSION                           192
+
+             III. CHINESE OUTRAGES--YANGCHOW AND FORMOSA           198
+
+              IV. REVISION NEGOTIATIONS AND CONCLUSION             210
+
+        XXII. MISSIONARY PROBLEM--TIENTSIN MASSACRE OF 1870        223
+
+       XXIII. THE EXPANSION OF INTERCOURSE--
+
+               I. RUSSIA AND FRANCE ADVANCING                      250
+
+              II. JAPAN AGGRESSIVE                                 255
+
+             III. KOREA OPENED                                     256
+
+              IV. THE FIRST IMPERIAL AUDIENCE--SUCCESSION OF
+                  KWANGHSU                                         260
+
+        XXIV. THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875--CHEFOO CONVENTION,
+              1876--RATIFICATION, 1885--
+
+               I. THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875                   265
+
+              II. CHEFOO CONVENTION, 1876                          275
+
+             III. THE RATIFICATION, 1885                           282
+
+         XXV. A CHAIN OF INCIDENTS--
+
+               I. DISPUTE WITH RUSSIA RE KULDJA                    290
+
+              II. KOREAN IMBROGLIO, 1882-85                        293
+
+             III. THE PORT HAMILTON EPISODE, 1885-87               303
+
+              IV. TIBET                                            305
+
+               V. THE CRUISE OF THE SEVENTH PRINCE, 1886           312
+
+              VI. THE EMPEROR ASSUMES THE GOVERNMENT, 1889         318
+
+             VII. THE VISIT OF THE CZAREVITCH, 1891                321
+
+        XXVI. THE TONGKING QUARREL                                 324
+
+       XXVII. THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE OF CHRISTIANS                336
+
+      XXVIII. BRITISH SERVICES: DIPLOMATIC, CONSULAR, AND
+              JUDICIAL                                             353
+
+        XXIX. CHINA AND HER RULERS                                 368
+
+         XXX. CHINA'S AWAKENING                                    388
+
+        XXXI. THE COLLAPSE                                         403
+
+       XXXII. THE RESETTLEMENT OF THE FAR EAST                     417
+
+      XXXIII. THE OUTCOME--
+
+               I. THE SITUATION IN PEKING                          435
+
+              II. THE CHRONIC CAUSE                                440
+
+             III. IMMEDIATE PROVOCATION                            447
+
+              IV. THE DYNASTIC FACTOR                              455
+
+               V. THE CHINESE OUTBREAK                             461
+
+              VI. THE CRUX                                         464
+
+       XXXIV. SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK'S LATER YEARS                  476
+
+       INDEX                                                       490
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE SECOND VOLUME.
+
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+
+     SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK                              _Frontispiece_
+
+     LORD ELGIN                                                      6
+
+     PRINCE KUNG                                                   134
+
+     WÊNSIANG                                                      136
+
+     MANCHU (TARTAR) WOMEN                                         138
+
+     MANCHU WOMEN                                                  140
+
+     CHINESE WOMEN                                                 142
+
+     CHINESE STREET SCENE DURING RAINY SEASON                      144
+
+     LI HUNG-CHANG AT THE AGE OF FIFTY                             184
+
+     RUINS OF FRENCH CATHEDRAL AT TIENTSIN, BURNED
+     JUNE 20, 1870                                                 240
+
+     PEI-T'ANG CATHEDRAL IN PEKING, PURCHASED BY CHINESE
+     GOVERNMENT                                                    340
+
+     MINISTERS OF THE YAMÊN OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: H.E. SHÊN
+     KUEI-FÊN; H.E. TUNG HSÜN; H.E. MAO CHANG-TSI                  416
+
+
+MAPS.
+
+     BAY OF YEDO                                                     4
+
+     MAP OF EASTERN ASIA                                      _At end_
+
+
+
+
+In the contents under Chapter XIX. the date of Commodore Perry's
+expedition is by a misprint given as 1883-84 instead of 1853-54.
+
+
+
+
+THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+JAPAN.
+
+
+I. THE TREATIES AND THEIR NEGOTIATORS.
+
+    Commodore Perry's expedition, 1853-54--Townsend Harris--Count
+    Poutiatine--Lord Elgin--The treaties of 1858--The solidarity of
+    Western Powers--The practical attitude of the Japanese--Their
+    yielding to circumstances--The condition of the country--The
+    character of the people--Nagasaki--The Dutch--Their two hundred
+    years' imprisonment.
+
+A mystery hung over the island empire, which had been sealed against
+foreign intercourse for two hundred years, and its mere seclusion, apart
+from the weird romance that gilded such fragments of its history as were
+known, invested the efforts to reopen the country with a romantic charm.
+It was in Japan that Lord Elgin achieved the real diplomatic success of
+his life, in the briefest possible time, at the least possible cost, and
+with the most far-reaching consequences; for undoubtedly he hastened the
+entry of the Land of the Rising Sun into the family of nations.
+
+The poetical side of the mission was done ample justice to by Laurence
+Oliphant in his 'Narrative,' by Captain Sherard Osborn in the pages of
+'Blackwood,' and elsewhere. The prosaic side and the practical issues of
+this rediscovery of an old world were not so clearly apprehended by them
+or by any other contemporary writer. The Powers of Europe and America had
+long been watching for opportunities to effect an opening in the barrier,
+but all tentatives proved in vain until force was resorted to. This was
+first done by the United States, whence a naval squadron under Commodore
+Perry appeared off the coast in 1853, repeating the visit, on a still more
+imposing scale, in 1854. The apparition deeply impressed the minds of
+the Japanese Government and people, who, Lafcadio Hearn tells us, speak
+to this day of the "black ships," birds of omen foreshadowing events for
+which it behoved them to prepare themselves. Black, indeed, they were,
+grim of aspect, huge in bulk, and looming larger than they really were,
+with their high sides, great paddle-boxes, and "smoke-stacks." The ships
+were armed with a few guns of such calibre and power as had not till
+then been placed on any floating battery. Jonathan is never second-best
+in naval artillery. Commodore Perry with his three black ships, the
+steamers Powhattan, Susquehanna, and Mississippi, and his squadron of
+sailing-vessels, opened the door of Japan--not very wide, it is true, yet
+so that it could never again be closed. The rudimentary treaty he made was
+little more than a covenant to supply wood and water to needy ships and
+to be merciful to their crews. A similar treaty was made by the English
+Admiral Stirling in 1854, and it included the "most-favoured-nation"
+clause, only excepting from its application the privileges enjoyed by
+China and Holland.
+
+To carry the work forward to a more practical stage a man of affairs was
+required, and he was found in the person of Townsend Harris, who was
+accredited to Japan under the title of Consul-General for the United
+States. Mr Harris had been nearly two years in the country when Lord
+Elgin, with his modest escort, arrived and made his acquaintance. With
+infinite patience Mr Harris had been prosecuting his negotiations,
+against wind and current, it would seem, until a propitious gale wafted
+his venture into port. The black ships had gone, but another fleet more
+numerous was assembled on the neighbouring coast, whence their fame had
+reached the secluded empire. Riding on the shoulders of the Anglo-French
+exploits in China, and not obscurely hinting at the prospect of the allies
+shortly visiting Japan, Mr Harris induced his Japanese friends to "hurry
+up" with his treaty, that it might not only serve as a model of moderation
+for the other Powers when they also should come to negotiate, but provide
+in advance friendly mediation between them and Japan. Lord Elgin justified
+the forewarnings of Mr Harris by appearing in the Bay of Yedo within a
+few weeks after the signature of the American treaty.
+
+How much both Mr Harris's treaty and the one which Lord Elgin was about
+to sign owed to the previous Russian negotiations cannot be estimated.
+Admiral Count Poutiatine concluded a treaty in 1855, and improved it in
+1857, on the basis of Sir James Stirling's opening the ports of Nagasaki,
+Hakodate, and Shimoda for ship's supplies, with sundry minor privileges.
+When Lord Elgin reached the Bay of Yedo in August 1858 he found Count
+Poutiatine already there with a frigate and a gunboat.
+
+  [Illustration: BAY OF YEDO.
+   _Walker & Cockerell sc._]
+
+This convergence of the great Powers of the world upon a single object,
+that of breaking down the seclusion of Japan, was clearly recognised, and
+its proximate effect weighed, by the Japanese statesmen of the day. Too
+wise to oppose an uncompromising resistance to the pressure, they employed
+their skill more profitably in deflecting its course. In accordance with
+this policy, Lord Elgin's demand, backed as it was by the prestige of
+his recent achievements in China, was promptly conceded, and within the
+short space of fourteen days from his arrival in the bay a treaty was
+concluded of the same tenor as the American, of which Lord Elgin had
+obtained a copy from Mr Harris, who also lent him the invaluable services
+of his Dutch interpreter, Mr Heusken. By the two treaties three of the
+chief ports of the empire were opened to foreign trade within one year,
+and two more at later dates. In some respects the English was an advance
+on the American treaty. By the latter the import tariff had been reduced
+from the old Dutch rate of 35 per cent to a general rate of 5 per cent _ad
+valorem_. The British treaty specifically provided that cotton and woollen
+manufactured goods should be included in the class of merchandise paying
+5 per cent. The immunities of extra-territoriality were unreservedly
+conceded, and were only rescinded by the revised treaties, the first of
+which was made with Great Britain in 1894, coming into force in July 1899.
+
+One general remark applies to all treaties made between foreign powers and
+China or Japan, that the interests of each separate Power were safeguarded
+by the virtual solidarity which existed among them, through the operation
+of that convenient diplomatic save-all, the "most-favoured-nation" clause.
+This comprehensive provision inserted in the treaties secured for all the
+Powers the advantages gained by any one of their number. Faith in this
+ultimate protection may have led occasionally to slipshod negotiations.
+There might even be a temptation in some cases to seek special credit
+for moderation, with the foreknowledge that the exactions of any of the
+Powers would inure to the benefit of all. Lord Elgin wrote the simple
+truth when he said that, "as regards all these important commercial
+privileges, I have to fight the battles of the Western trading nations
+single-handed." This feature had been particularly noticeable in the
+negotiations in China, where it was so well understood that the English
+treaty would be the common standard that it mattered little that the
+signature of some of the others was hurried forward so as to take priority
+of the British in point of date. The treaty which Lord Elgin negotiated
+with Japan was destined to occupy the same ruling position as the treaty
+with China, and therefore it devolved upon him to make provision for all
+manner of contingencies which no experience could enable him to foresee.
+Considering that these treaties were drawn up with so little knowledge of
+the circumstances of the country and of the future exigencies of trade,
+the fact that they have stood the test of forty years' experience redounds
+greatly to the credit of the negotiants.
+
+   [Illustration: LORD ELGIN.]
+
+Lord Elgin had to learn what a Daimio was from Count Poutiatine, who
+probably had but just acquired the knowledge himself. It is strange at the
+present day to read the solemn preamble, "Her Majesty the Queen of the
+United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and his Majesty the Tycoon
+of Japan." "It was not till some time later that it was discovered that
+there was a still higher power than the Shôgun," said Earl Russell in
+1865. The imperfect knowledge, however, attests the general soundness of
+the principles adopted.
+
+It must be admitted that on the Japanese side, also, nothing seemed
+wanting to render the treaty a workable instrument. The Japanese
+negotiators were animated by a more practical spirit than any Chinese
+diplomatist with whom foreigners had had dealings. There was no idea in
+their minds of blind obstruction; they were bent, if not upon efficient
+working, at least on the minimising of friction and risk. And though it
+is probable, indeed quite certain, that no treaty whatever could have
+been made without substantial force in the background, intelligently
+apprehended by the Japanese Government, yet, that being conceded, it
+was clearly their object to make the best of the position in which they
+actually found themselves. Under no other circumstances could treaties so
+complete in detail and so effective for their purpose have been concluded.
+
+To judge of the acts of the pioneers of foreign intercourse, or to form a
+just opinion of the conditions under which the treaties came into force,
+it would be necessary for the critic to regard the whole surroundings
+as a painter does his subject, not representing what he knows or may
+afterwards discover to be there, but considering only what actually meets
+his eye. This, of course, is next to impossible in the case of Japan,
+where the transformation resulting from the contact with foreigners was
+so rapid and so kaleidoscopic, and while foreign knowledge of things
+Japanese has increased at so marvellous a rate, that only a series of
+mutoscopic photographs could have preserved the sequence. Opinions were
+at first, and for some time after, unduly affected by the preconception
+of a certain analogy between China and Japan founded on geographical
+propinquity, and in a measure on language: this bias influenced the first
+influx of foreigners in 1859, who were largely drawn from the commercial
+ports of China. Yet those who had been habituated to the manners and
+customs of the Chinese were at once struck, not by the similarities,
+but by the violent contrasts, which the two peoples presented. These
+visitants had left behind them filth and squalor; they met cleanliness
+and tidiness of an extreme type. They left behind vagueness of thought,
+slovenliness of action; and they encountered pedantic precision. They
+left behind indifference and stolidity, with ignorance cherished as a
+proud possession; and they encountered a keen and intelligent appetite
+for knowledge. These features met the stranger before even his ship had
+cast anchor, or he had set foot on shore. He soon perceived, also, that
+existence was carried on under an elaborate prescription which left but
+a narrow margin to spontaneous action, and such a minute supervision
+that a sparrow could hardly cross the road without being noted by the
+official guardians of the peace; that every function, whether of official
+or private life, was under the undisputed control of the same vigilant
+organisation.[1] On entering the narrow waters approaching the harbour
+of Nagasaki, he would pass under forts where through a telescope he could
+see guns and gunners' quarters all spick and span. If there happened to be
+another vessel approaching from seaward, he would know it by the booming
+of two guns from the outermost fort, the signal being taken up and passed
+on by those inland, and so all the way to Yedo. This, he learned, was
+the mode of announcing to the capital the appearance of any foreign craft
+off the coast. On entering the inner harbour he would see boats full of
+men who looked like women, pushing off to his ship; and then a posse of
+officers, each armed with two sharp swords, would come on board. They,
+by means of a very imperfect interpreter, would at once ply the master
+with questions on every conceivable subject, as if he were competing in
+an examination in universal knowledge. The tedious catechism, with its
+admixture of seeming frivolity, would have been exasperating but for the
+imperturbable suavity of the catechists. Every answer was promptly, yet
+deliberately, committed to writing. Such was, and is, the custom of the
+race.
+
+Nagasaki being still, in the first half of 1859, the gate of Japan,
+and the only sample of the country known to foreigners, the bright
+welcome with which it greeted the new arrivals was of happy augury. It
+was there, also, that the first observations of the ways of Japanese
+commerce were made, for Nagasaki had carried on trade with China and
+with Holland for two hundred years,--a trade which was conducted on the
+one side by officials of the Government, who fixed the prices of the
+commodities exchanged, and which was all but strangled by monopoly. The
+restricted annual "turn-over" must have required a high percentage of
+profit to support the Dutch factory, and the privilege of trading on so
+petty a scale seemed to be dearly bought by the perpetual imprisonment
+of the agents. The unfortunate Dutchmen were confined, with their whole
+establishment of warehouses, residences, &c., within an area of less than
+three acres of reclaimed foreshore called Deshima, thus described by Sir
+Rutherford Alcock in 'The Capital of the Tycoon':--
+
+    A low fan-shaped strip of land, dammed out from the waters of
+    the bay, the handle being towards the shore and truncated. One
+    large wide street, with two-storeyed houses on each side, built in
+    European style, gives an air of great tidiness; but they look with
+    large hollow eyes into each other's interiors in a dismal sort of
+    way, as if they had been so engaged for six generations at least,
+    and were quite weary of the view.... But the view from the Dutch
+    commissioner's residence, with its quaint Japanese garden and
+    its fine sweep down the bay, is very charming.... There flitted
+    before me a vision of the solitary chiefs of the factory in long
+    succession taking up their present station in long rotation and
+    looking forward upon the fair bay with which their sight alone
+    may be gladdened. How often must the occupants of this lone post
+    have strained their eyes looking in vain for the solitary ship
+    bringing tidings from Europe and home!
+
+The imprisonment of the Dutch was aggravated by many degrading conditions
+imposed by the Japanese Government. Their position bore some analogy to
+that of the English and other foreigners in Canton previous to 1839. In
+both cases the Europeans endured indignities at the hands of Asiatics for
+the sake of profit, but beyond that point it is the differences rather
+than the resemblances which are significant. The humiliation of the Dutch
+in the island of Deshima was indeed unmitigated so far as it went, but
+it was neither capricious nor spiteful. Once the yoke was peacefully
+adjusted, what remained of life to the Dutchman was made as agreeable
+to him as to a cockatoo in a cage. His jailors had no particular animus
+against him; they had a purpose of their own to serve in keeping open,
+through the foreigners, a channel of communication with the West, and
+they had as valid reasons of State for tethering him as one may have
+for tying up his ox or his ass. These purposes once served, however, the
+Japanese did not revel in harshness or cruelty.[2] With the Chinese it was
+otherwise. They also had a political object in restricting the barbarians,
+only they were never satisfied with its attainment, but continued heaping
+up insults on their victims to the utmost limits of their submissiveness.
+
+The petty trade which the new-comers were able to do at Nagasaki was,
+in the beginning, managed through the existing agency of the Dutch, from
+whom, however, there was nothing useful to be learned, much indeed to be
+unlearned; and in a few months it was the Dutch themselves who had to go
+to school to the interlopers. As commerce had been kept entirely in the
+hands of the Government officials, there had been no opportunity for the
+rise of any mercantile class among the natives: that was to be a product
+of the new era.
+
+
+II. THE OPERATION OF THE TREATIES.
+
+    Japanese preparations for trade at Yokohama--Mr Alcock's arrival
+    as consul-general--Assumes the rank of Minister--The situation
+    as he found it--The establishment of diplomatic intercourse
+    at the capital--The location of the foreign settlement--The
+    currency--The low value of gold--Its rapid exportation--Friction
+    caused by conditions of exchange--Efforts of Mr Alcock to set
+    matters right--Report by Secretary of H.B.M. Treasury--Japanese
+    double standard, gold and copper--Japanese courage in meeting
+    difficulties--The Daimios' coinage--Beginnings of trade--Amenities
+    of residence--The charm of the people--The two Japans, official
+    and non-official--Complete despotism and complete submission.
+
+The treaties of 1858 took their proper effect at the two ports of Hakodate
+and Kanagawa; but the former being remote from any centre of population,
+and its trading resources so obviously limited, it attracted little
+attention in commercial circles. It was in the more southerly port that
+the new foreign interests became concentrated; and it was so near the
+capital--only seventeen miles distant--that the political and commercial
+currents soon acted and reacted on each other with direct, and sometimes
+violent, effect. To Kanagawa, therefore, the merchants of all nations
+gathered in anticipation of the official opening of the port on the 1st
+of July 1859.
+
+We say "Kanagawa," to follow the official nomenclature, but in reality
+the adventurers who came there to seek their fortunes did not land at
+that place, but three miles away from it, at an obscure village called
+Yokohama. There the Japanese Government had decided should be the
+future settlement for foreigners, and they had made costly preparations,
+according to their lights, for the accommodation of the strangers. Roads
+were marked out, a certain number of wooden bungalows had been run up,
+a few shops had been opened in the quarter which was designed for native
+occupation, a custom-house was built, with warehouses attached, and stone
+landing-places had been constructed for boats and lighters. The area thus
+marked out for the native and foreign business quarter was a narrow strip
+along the sea-shore, having in its flank and rear an immense lagoon, or,
+as it was called, "the swamp," intersected by boat channels, where punting
+after wildfowl provided amusement for idle foreigners. Being an inlet
+of the bay, the swamp made a peninsula of Yokohama, which had just been
+connected with the _tokaido_, the great trunk road between the capital
+of the Tycoon and that of the Mikado, by a new causeway and several good
+bridges, admitting of boat traffic between the swamp and the sea.
+
+In the middle of the swamp, in rear of Yokohama, was a reclaimed portion
+whereon was erected an extensive range of buildings connected by a
+causeway with the dry land of the settlement. From its balconies there
+waved pendants of cotton cloth bearing the legend, "This place is designed
+for the amusement of foreigners," a class of amusement of which there has
+never been any lack in Japan.
+
+Such were some of the outward and visible preparations made by the
+Japanese Government, on its own initiative, for the reception of the
+foreigners under the new treaties,--preparations which surprised and
+somewhat disconcerted the representatives of the Western Governments when
+they arrived on the eve of the opening of the port.
+
+Mr Alcock, who had recently returned to his post as consul at Canton,
+was chosen as the first representative of Great Britain in Japan, with
+the rank of consul-general. As this rank placed the representative of the
+leading Power in an inferior position to his colleagues, and consequently
+derogated from the influence he could exercise on the Japanese, Mr Alcock
+took it upon himself to assume the title of Plenipotentiary, placing his
+resignation in the hands of his Government in case they should disavow
+his action. At the same time he recommended that the future British
+representative should bear the title of Minister Resident. So far from
+disavowing his action, the Government appointed him Envoy Extraordinary
+and Minister Plenipotentiary, a higher rank than that suggested by him,
+and he was authorised to at once assume the title, although so unusual
+a proceeding as the transfer of a consular official to the diplomatic
+service involved considerable delay while the needful formalities were
+being arranged. The appointment, however, was coupled with the conditions
+that the step should not be made a precedent, and that it should confer
+no claim to future diplomatic employment in the countries of the West.
+
+Mr Alcock was conveyed from China in one of her Majesty's ships,
+arriving at the port of Nagasaki in June 1859. There he found a fleet
+of foreign merchantmen already in the harbour, and some fifteen British
+subjects resident on shore, under the ægis of the old Dutch conventions
+supplemented by more recent enactments. Mr Alcock remained some days,
+and having made arrangements for the carrying on of trade under the new
+treaties, left a consul in charge of British interests and proceeded to
+Yedo, where he arrived on June 26.
+
+It is a date to be remembered as that of the practical initiation of
+diplomatic intercourse with the ruling Power in Japan. The difference
+between a mission to negotiate treaties and one to carry them into effect
+is thus set forth by Sir Rutherford Alcock in the preface to his valuable
+work, 'The Capital of the Tycoon,' in terms the simple truth of which must
+commend itself to every candid reader:--
+
+    The Ambassadors Extraordinary had only to extort certain
+    privileges on paper; it was the business of the resident Ministers
+    to make of these paper-concessions realities--practical, everyday
+    realities. As this was the very thing the rulers of the country
+    had determined to prevent, it cannot be matter of wonder that
+    there was not, and never could be, any real accord, whatever
+    the outward professions of good faith and amity. Hence also it
+    naturally followed that, although the original negotiators were
+    received with smiles, and their path was strewn with flowers,
+    their successors had only the poisoned chalice held to their lips,
+    thorns in their path, and the scowl of the two-sworded braves and
+    Samurai to welcome them whenever they ventured to leave their
+    gates--while the assassin haunted their steps, and broke their
+    rest in the still hours of the night with fell intent to massacre.
+
+To say the situation was novel is to say little. The forces at work in the
+Japanese state economy were either unknown to, or, what was perhaps even
+worse, misunderstood by, foreign Powers. The lurid history of previous
+intercourse, followed by rigid exclusion for two centuries, would have
+sufficed to establish one factor in the problem, the iron resolution of
+the Japanese rulers. With such men neutrality or indifference was out
+of the question, while there was nothing as yet to indicate what was
+henceforth to be the ruling motive of Japanese policy. Both parties were
+embarking on an unknown voyage, and the avoidance of shipwreck depended
+in a very large measure on the character of those who had to discover for
+themselves the winds and currents, the rocks and shoals, through which
+they had to steer. The leadership among the foreign Powers was tacitly
+assigned to Great Britain, and it was a born leader who was commissioned
+to represent her. Mr Alcock had had fifteen years' experience of Asiatic
+relations, during which time he had proved himself the possessor of those
+qualities which were now in special request. These were indomitable
+energy, earnestness of purpose much beyond the common run of official
+service, fearlessness of responsibility, and alertness to grasp the
+nettle danger in order to avert greater evils, and a spirit which would
+neither shirk nor postpone an unpleasant duty nor tolerate lukewarmness
+nor dilatoriness in others. He was fifty years old--matured in character
+and experience, while yet in the prime of his intellectual vigour.
+
+Mr Alcock arrived in Yedo Bay in time to arrange for the opening of trade
+at the appointed date, July 1.
+
+    Nagasaki to Yedo! Two centuries lie between these points, so
+    near on the map, but so far and completely separated by the
+    determined policy of the Japanese rulers. A policy of isolation so
+    effectually carried out that no foreigner, though he might under
+    the Dutch flag gain access to Nagasaki, could force or find his
+    way to the capital.
+
+Steaming up the Bay of Yedo, and leaving Kanagawa unvisited, Mr Alcock
+anchored as close to the capital as the depth of water would allow, and
+at once informed the Foreign Minister that he had come to stay. This was
+done advisedly, as he has explained, to obviate all discussion as to
+his place of residence, for he knew that efforts had been made--_more
+Sinico_--through Lord Elgin to induce her Majesty's Government to
+postpone the residence in Yedo for a couple of years, and to keep their
+representative at a distance. His first object was to obtain a suitable
+residence for himself and the Legation staff, in which assistance was
+cheerfully rendered by the Government officials, as soon as they saw he
+was resolved to remain in the capital. Diplomatic intercourse became thus
+an established fact.
+
+The opening of the trading-port did not prove quite so simple, for the
+consul-general found he had been forestalled in the choice of a site
+for the merchants' residence, which the Government had, as we have seen,
+prepared at great expense some three miles away from Kanagawa, the port
+named in the treaty. Interpreting this hurried action of the Japanese
+as covering the ulterior design of segregating the foreigners from the
+natives by thrusting them to a distance from the trunk road which led
+through Kanagawa, of keeping them in a kind of imprisonment like the Dutch
+at Deshima, and of retaining the power to stop their supplies, whether of
+the materials of trade or of sustenance, Mr Alcock warmly contested the
+action of the Government. In the end he extorted from them the concession
+of a commercial site at Kanagawa itself, which, however, was never taken
+up. Events proved too strong for the consul-general, for the merchants
+of all nations as they arrived settled in Yokohama, where there was deep
+water for shipping and every convenience for business. And it soon began
+also to be felt that there was an element of safety in this foreign
+settlement being removed from the great imperial road along which armed
+processions were continually passing to and from the capital. Within a
+year the controversy had died a natural death, and Yokohama speaks for
+itself.
+
+The second obstacle to the free course of trade was a more deep-rooted
+one, being nothing less than that chronic bugbear of commerce and finance,
+the currency. There was no circulating medium in Japan in the least
+degree adequate for the service of international commerce. The trade in
+miniature that had been carried on in Nagasaki had been a simple exchange
+of commodities without the intervention of the precious metals. Mr Consul
+Winchester says that neither in the Dutch nor in the Chinese factories
+was a Japanese coin ever seen. But the commerce inaugurated in 1859
+could brook no such limitations, while the extent of its requirements
+was of course absolutely unknown to the negotiators of the treaties.
+In this state of doubt and ignorance on both sides it seemed that the
+best temporary provision that the circumstances admitted of was for the
+Tycoon's Government to undertake, after twelve months, to make all foreign
+money current in Japan at its natural value, and that until the expiration
+of that period Japanese coin should be supplied in exchange for foreign,
+weight for weight. Yet it was a monstrous stipulation to insert in any
+international treaty, and could never, in fact, be enforced.
+
+The amazing laxity in this respect with which the treaties of 1858 were
+drawn opened the door to unfathomed abuses in the matter of currency.
+The coin which was in the minds of the American and English negotiators
+was what was then current on the coast of China, the dollar, or more
+specifically the Mexican dollar. Yet, as was afterwards pointed out by
+Mr G. Arbuthnot, Secretary to her Majesty's Treasury, no provision was
+made in the treaties expressly for exchanging that, but only British and
+American money. In his opinion the Tycoon's Government might have refused
+altogether to receive the Mexican dollar, which was the only coin tendered
+to them, and thus the currency clause in the treaty would have been a dead
+letter from the first. But since they did not know the weakness of the
+ground which the foreigners had chosen, they had to fight out the question
+under all the disadvantages of a false position.
+
+By the treaty provisions, then, as interpreted by both sides, the foreign
+merchants who chose to import specie were to be supplied in exchange with
+current coin of the realm whereby they could purchase the produce of the
+country without awaiting the slow and uncertain realisation of imported
+merchandise. But the Japanese, apart from any question of good faith,
+had vastly under-estimated the demand which this agreement was to make on
+their mintage resources. They could only supply tens where thousands were
+required, and in consequence of their scarcity native silver coins were
+soon run up to a high premium. These coins were needed not alone for the
+purchase of produce, but for the more lucrative investment in the gold
+coinage of the country; for an extraordinary anomaly presented itself to
+the foreign traders in the relative value of silver and gold in Japan. The
+ratio between the two metals throughout the commercial world was at that
+time about fifteen to one, but in Japan, owing partly to the fact that
+the silver _ichibu_ was a token coin, and yet interchangeable, weight for
+weight, with foreign silver coins, the ratio in the market was reduced to
+five to one. Nothing could better show how completely the country had been
+isolated than this simple phenomenon. Since the seclusion of Japan no such
+opportunity of profit without risk had ever tempted merchant adventurers
+outside the dreams of romance.[3] It could not be the intention of the
+treaty-makers to deprive Japan of her gold, yet the exportation of it
+was not only not prohibited, it was expressly sanctioned by treaty, the
+export of copper coins alone being forbidden; and once the conduit was
+opened no power could arrest the flow from the higher to the lower level.
+The currency question presented many intricacies and anomalies against
+which the foreign representatives struggled in the dark, but the ratio of
+gold to silver was the ruling factor which underlay the whole problem,
+and until every _koban_ was exported, or the relative value of gold and
+silver had been assimilated to that of the outer world, there could be no
+settlement of the currency question in Japan.
+
+In the mean time the friction caused by the unsatisfied demands of the
+traders was considerable; it became in time ludicrous. There was a daily
+exchange held at the custom-house, and various arbitrary systems of
+distribution were adopted by the officials there. The discovery that a
+kind of manhood suffrage was recognised, and that an employee received
+as much as his employer, led to applications being made in the names of
+servants and even of fictitious persons, to each of whom an allotment
+was granted. Again, the discovery that allotments were also made _pro
+rata_ according to the amount applied for led to the applications being
+sent in for ever larger and larger sums until billions and quintillions
+were reached. By such devices, no doubt, some of the applicants may have
+gained a momentary advantage over their neighbours, but at no time did
+the merchants receive a sufficiency of Japanese coin to carry on the most
+restricted business. At one time, about a year after the opening, it was
+estimated that there was in the hands of foreign merchants one million
+and a half of dollars which were not exchangeable, and were a "drug in
+the market."
+
+Their wants were, however, partially supplied in another manner. For among
+the anomalies of the place and period one must be mentioned which had a
+quite peculiar bearing on the supply of currency for commercial purposes.
+The precious coin, which was doled out homœopathically to merchants, was
+supplied to foreign officials in liberal measure. Every minister, consul,
+and assistant; every admiral, captain, and lieutenant; every paymaster,
+for himself and for the service of his ship, received his quota of
+Japanese money on a scale graduated according to rank. The amount put in
+circulation by these means was given by Mr Winchester as $2,000,000 per
+annum. The recipients, whether directly or through agents, were able to
+sell their surpluses to the merchants, of course at a handsome profit, and
+no doubt abuses grew out of what was in its original intention a simple
+measure of justice to salaried officers. The practice was condemned by
+Mr Arbuthnot, and was discontinued by order of the Foreign Office in
+1864, on the initiative of the Prussian Government, whose agent in Japan
+had voluntarily renounced the privilege. But, oddly enough, the official
+exchange was resumed by request of the Japanese Government, and continued
+for several years longer, until, in fact, foreign and native coin had
+found their common level.
+
+Trade certainly suffered much in the beginning from the incongruous state
+of the currency, which was greatly more complicated than we have attempted
+to outline. Even after the year of probation foreign coins were neither
+received by traders at their value nor exchangeable in accordance with
+the treaties. Whether the Government was at the bottom of the obstruction
+or was overruled by circumstances beyond its control was uncertain, but
+the British consul-general made masterful exertions to set the matter
+right. Currency reform, however, has baffled so many generations of expert
+economists that, even assuming the goodwill of the native Government,
+an alien official new to the country must have found it difficult to
+accomplish much, with the time and means at his disposal. Earl Russell
+in 1862 "declined to pronounce on so large and intricate a question," and
+would not even discuss it with the Japanese envoys.
+
+Japanese currency formed the subject of four elaborate reports by the
+Secretary to her Majesty's Treasury, extending over twelve months, from
+December 1862 to December 1863, drawn up after personal conference
+with Sir Rutherford Alcock and on information derived from various
+other sources, especially from a series of very able papers by Consul
+Winchester. In each of these reports Mr Arbuthnot remarks on the paucity
+of data, and in each he qualifies the deductions of the preceding one. Had
+the series been still further extended, it is even doubtful if finality
+of judgment would have been reached; for in his third report he says, "The
+whole question, both as regards the condition of the currency and the real
+intentions of the Japanese Government, is involved in so much obscurity
+that no sound judgment can yet be formed on the subject" (May 1863).
+
+It would be a mere weariness to the reader to attempt to elucidate a
+problem which an expert student found perplexing, but a few salient
+points brought out in Mr Arbuthnot's review may repay citation, as
+illustrative of the general state of relations beyond the immediate
+question of the currency. "We found," he says, "the Japanese with a
+carefully devised system of coinage, presenting indeed anomalies, when
+regarded from a European point of view, but apparently well adapted to
+their domestic wants; and their coins were found on assay in London to be
+well manufactured." The Chinese had no such system, and the evolution of
+a metallic currency entitled to such high praise, in a country from which
+the rest of the world had been long shut off, is one of the most striking
+evidences of the high originating faculty of the Japanese.
+
+As to the stipulation in the treaties that foreign coin should be current
+in Japan on a par with native, weight for weight (not a word said about
+purity), it was not only preposterous and absolutely unworkable, but
+it was imposed by the ignorance of the foreign negotiators against the
+superior knowledge of the Japanese; for it is remarkable that in the
+negotiations carried on by the Americans in 1854 the Japanese took up the
+impregnable ground that "American coin was only bullion to them." Force
+alone--or the fear of it--drove them from that position in 1858, and in
+yielding to the unreasoning pressure of the subsequent negotiators the
+Japanese probably consoled themselves with their resources of secret
+evasion to save them from the worst consequences of the obligation--a
+characteristic of the whole treaty-making campaign.
+
+It appeared to Mr Arbuthnot that the Japanese had a double
+standard--itself "a contradiction in terms"--gold and copper; silver
+occupying the position of a token currency between the two, at a highly
+artificial value, strictly governed by law. The fact was exemplified in
+many ways. Art objects in silver contained more metal than the coin paid
+for them, the work of the artificer thrown into the bargain. Gold and
+copper, on the other hand, bore about the same relationship to each other
+as prevailed in other countries. It was silver alone that was maintained
+at a conventional level three times above its value in the outer world.
+And the philosophy of this is explained by Mr Winchester, who tells us
+that, whereas the supply of gold and copper was in many hands, the sources
+of the supply of silver were in the exclusive control of the Tycoon's
+Government, which derived great advantage from maintaining the silver
+coinage at a high fictitious level.
+
+The efforts of the Japanese to readjust the currency to meet the demands
+of the treaty were naturally first directed to silver, which was recoined
+and revalued, but confusion was worse confounded by all these attempts.
+Eventually the gold _koban_, worth intrinsically 18s. 4d. sterling, or 4
+_bus_ of the intrinsic value of 1s. 4d., was reduced to a sterling value
+of 5s. 6d., but was still rated at 4 _bus_, while the copper coinage was
+disestablished and iron substituted of no intrinsic value. "I am aware of
+no other example," says Mr Arbuthnot, "of so sudden and violent a rending
+of the monetary regulations of a country; certainly of none which has been
+produced by the interference of foreigners."
+
+The effect of these inquiries by the Treasury was to discourage further
+interference by foreign Governments, to trust much to that great solvent
+of anomalies, the silent operation of commerce; while the only complete
+remedy was recognised as the establishment of a mint under European
+regulations.
+
+The problem was still further complicated by the separate coinage of
+the Daimios. Their _nibukin_, as a general rule, passed only at first in
+their own provinces, but gradually they filtered down to the open ports,
+and at one time considerable embarrassment arose from the mixture of the
+coinage thus caused. In 1871-72 the Imperial Government, then just come to
+supreme power, took the matter up with the thoroughness they showed in all
+their doings. They gave secret notice to the foreign Ministers of their
+intention to call in all princes' _nibukin_, and thereupon issued an order
+that during one week these coins should be brought into the custom-houses
+at the treaty ports, where they would be fastened up in sealed packets
+of $100 value, and notified that coins so stamped within the week would
+be accepted by the Government as legal tender, but that thereafter their
+use would be prohibited. Now, as the Daimios' money stood at about 90 per
+cent discount at the time, the fact that some of the foreign officials who
+had access to this confidential information were also merchants created
+immediate speculation, with the result that within a fortnight these
+silver-gilt _nibukin_ rose from 90 per cent discount to 2 or 3 per cent
+premium, the officially sealed packets being a most convenient form for
+the payment of duties.
+
+The alacrity with which the Government applied heroic remedies to a
+disastrous predicament was typical of the energy of the Japanese, which
+has been displayed since in wider fields. They do not sit down and bemoan
+their troubles, but at once arm themselves against them.
+
+When to the inherent difficulties common to currency problems
+generally were superadded the complexities of the monetary system of a
+non-commercial and long-secluded country, surprise should be felt that the
+regulation of the circulating medium in Japan was accomplished so soon,
+rather than that it took so many years to arrive at the solution. The
+Tycoon's Government did not live long enough to settle the currency, but
+left the problem as a legacy to the Restoration. A good many years elapsed
+before the Mikado's Government succeeded in evolving order out of chaos.
+
+In the mean time, in spite of many drawbacks, trade was making headway
+in other directions besides the exportation of gold, and quaint indeed
+were the beginnings of it. The staple products happened to be the same
+in Japan as in China, tea and silk, and they soon began to be regularly
+brought down to Yokohama for sale. But business was at first on such
+a lilliputian scale, and was introduced in so dainty a manner, that to
+merchants accustomed to the large transactions of China the whole affair
+wore something of the air of comic opera, or as if children were playing
+at being merchants. This impression was strengthened by the aspect of
+the fragile wooden structures with their sliding doors and windows, but
+without sitting accommodation, wherein business was transacted, which to
+those habituated to the massive, if inelegant, buildings of Hongkong and
+Shanghai irresistibly suggested the idea of a doll's house. The Chinese
+methods also were inverted. Instead of sending samples of substantial
+quantities, such as a thousand chests of tea or fifty bales of silk, and
+the owner or his broker coming to chaffer in the silk-room or the tea-room
+of the foreign merchant, the latter had to go the round of the Japanese
+shops to find out what they had got. Early every morning the leading
+merchants might be seen booted to the thighs--for the rain was frequent
+and the roads unmade--trudging up and down the Japanese bazaar to see
+what novelties had come to hand. The more zealous would sometimes make a
+second round in the afternoon, in case there might be some late as well
+as early worms to be picked up. The bodily fatigue and consumption of time
+involved in this process would have rendered a large business impossible.
+There were as yet no Japanese merchants properly so called, and their
+endless parley resembled more the tenacious higgling of peasants than
+the negotiations of men of business. Moreover, the native dealers seemed
+scarcely conscious of any law which should hold them to a bargain in the
+event of a more acceptable offer turning up.
+
+Conclusions unfavourable to Japanese commercial morality have been
+drawn from some of those early--and later--experiences; but commercial
+like other kinds of specialised morality has necessarily something of a
+professional character. The _akindo_, or merchant, was a sort of pariah
+in Japan, his social status being inferior to those of the peasant and
+the handicraftsman. His sense of honour was not, therefore, sustained by
+tradition or stimulated by _esprit de corps_. There being no mercantile
+body in Japan, there was no mercantile code, at least none applicable
+to international trade, and those unwritten laws without which large
+commerce is impossible had not yet been called into being. Contrasts
+between the two neighbouring nations have just been mentioned very much
+to the advantage of the Japanese; but in matters of commerce, it must be
+conceded, the advantage lay entirely with the Chinese, a nation of traders
+from their birth.
+
+In the sale of lacquer ware and objects of art the Japanese were much
+more at home than in dealing in raw products of foreign manufactures,
+and the treasures which were in the early days exposed in the shops of
+Yokohama would make a modern dealer sigh for opportunities which are
+no more. Speaking roundly, it would have been safe to buy the stock
+indiscriminately at the sellers' own prices, when fortune would have
+awaited the investor as surely as if he had bought up the gold coinage
+at the ratio of 5 to 1. The same remark would apply to such of the raw
+produce of Japan as had been in large demand in China; and conversely
+the rule applied also to selected articles of foreign manufacture,
+which the Japanese were satisfied to buy at a price mid-way between
+the high level of the Dutch monopoly and the low level of what would
+remunerate the free importer. Therefore the sudden inroad of open trade
+on a market artificially confined resulted in profitable trading while
+a new equilibrium was being found; but such prosperity was in its nature
+evanescent.
+
+Irrespective of the material aims which attracted foreign residents to
+Japan, the life itself presented several novel and interesting features.
+Nothing could have been pleasanter than the social relations which
+sprang up between the foreign communities and the unofficial natives.
+The strangers were received everywhere with open arms, and the residence
+among a smiling people (excluding altogether the meretricious allurements
+of the country, which have also not been without their influence) and
+amid enchanting scenery was found to add a new pleasure to existence.
+Here again we must resort for illustration to a comparison with China,
+where strangers at the best were sullenly tolerated, where one might live
+a lifetime without entering a house, or seeing a respectable woman, or
+making a friend save on a business footing. The Japanese of Yokohama and
+Kanagawa, as well as in the surrounding villages and temples, never failed
+in courtesy and hospitality to passers-by, and were eager for conversation
+with foreigners. A useful smattering of the language was soon acquired
+under the stimulus of a quick-witted and sympathetic people alert to jump
+at the meaning and patient to help the novice to find his words. The women
+of the household were always charming, and if their domestic conversation
+sometimes startled the stranger by its freedom, there was neither malice
+nor any such impropriety as leaves an evil odour in its trail. Friendships
+were formed, not deep perhaps, but genuine as far as they went, and
+certainly not the less sincere on the Japanese than on the foreign side.
+
+The intelligence also of the common people enhanced both the pleasure and
+the value of friendly intercourse with them: apt as they were to receive,
+they were no less ready to impart, information. Their appreciation of
+their country--its beauties, history, traditions, and folk-lore--was
+conscious and unrestrained, indeed it amounted to a passion. This afforded
+endless subject for talk. Everything save the politics of the day might
+be freely discussed, and though the first-arrived foreigners came poorly
+prepared to assimilate so much that was novel, they could not help
+carrying away a good deal from their frequent confabulations. The native
+guide-books formed a reservoir of suggestive topics: surprisingly minute
+they were, noting every gem of scenery or point of interest, with the
+legends of history, romance, or mythology attaching to them. So accurate
+were these itineraries that with their contents well studied foreigners
+might make excursions inland lasting several days without the aid of guide
+or the necessity of inquiring the way.
+
+It need not, of course, be said that the mutual intelligence of Japanese
+and foreigners did not penetrate below the surface of every-day phenomena.
+Of their festivals, their pilgrimages, their votive offerings to temples
+and shrines, their ancestral worship, and their whole relation to the
+Unseen--call it religion, superstition, or idolatry--the strangers had
+no comprehension. Although its outward symbols were passing constantly
+under their eyes, esoteric Japan was to them a sealed book, as the mental
+processes of the Oriental always are to the Occidental, whose imagination
+is cramped by the syllogism, and whose faith languishes for demonstration.
+There was, however, ample outside the region of mysticism, outside the
+concerns of trade, and equally apart from political questions, to nourish
+the best relations between Japanese and foreigners.
+
+The impressions of the British Minister on his journeys of relaxation
+are by no means the least interesting portion of his important work,
+'The Capital of the Tycoon.' Having shaken off the official incubus, and
+breathing the free air of the country, the intercourse with the common
+people in which he was able to indulge was fruitful of reflections of
+a brighter hue than any that were prompted by his strenuous life in the
+capital. He observes:--
+
+    They are really a kindly people when not perverted by their rulers
+    and prompted to hostility.... I had begun to forget I was in
+    Japan, so much goodwill was shown.... There may be a good deal
+    of tyranny and oppression, but the people show no marks of it....
+    The feudal lord is everything and the lower and labouring classes
+    nothing. Yet what do we see? Peace, plenty, apparent content, and
+    a country more perfectly and carefully cultivated and kept, with
+    more ornamental timber everywhere, than can be matched even in
+    England.... The material prosperity of a population estimated at
+    thirty millions, which has made a garden of Eden of this volcanic
+    soil, and had grown in numbers and in wealth by unaided native
+    industry.
+
+Such were the observations made during a few days' rest at the mineral
+springs of Atami, and they coincided exactly with the opinions formed
+by those whose daily intercourse lay with these same common people, in
+which term, of course, were included such town populations as foreigners
+had acquaintance with. A contemporary writer, Nagasaki, 1859, remarked:
+"The Government of Japan is the most absolute despotism in the world,
+and perfectly successful.... For the present it is consistent with great
+prosperity and contentment on the part of the people, but it seems to me
+it is only their exclusive policy that has kept it so."
+
+The great, industrious, prosperous masses of Japan, enjoying the gifts of
+the gods with thankful hearts, and drinking the cup of life as presented
+to them without any acidulating scruples, seemed to be happiest of all in
+this, that they were not burdened with the dignity of wearing swords. The
+storms that convulsed the upper regions passed over their humble heads
+without interrupting the cast of a fishing-net or hindering by a day
+the gathering of their harvest. How different the life of the nobles and
+their following! their humanity dominated by an elaborate and intolerable
+ceremonial, settling their quarrels at the sword's point, and ever on the
+alert for bloody intrigue.[4]
+
+For there were two Japans, that of the people and that of the ruling
+class, separated by an impassable gulf. "The very existence of the
+plebeian seems unrecognised by the patrician in his lordly progress,"
+wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock. "And for that very reason there may be more
+real liberty among the mass of the people than we imagine."
+
+The members of the official class were distinguished by carrying in
+their girdle two heavy swords with a razor's edge, one long, one short.
+The functionaries of the custom-house, with whom alone the foreign lay
+community had contact, also wore swords as part of their official uniform,
+which they placed with delicate ceremony on a rack in front of them
+as they sat on their mats at the receipt of custom,--for there were no
+chairs, and the habitual posture was squatting on the hams and heels. To
+the aristocratic caste the Japanese people were as absolutely submissive
+as if every two-sworded man wielded the power of life and death, which,
+so far as the common people were concerned, was not far from the simple
+truth.[5] The only great concourses of armed men which the foreign
+residents were in the way of seeing were the Daimio processions, which,
+hundreds, sometimes thousands strong, were constantly travelling along
+the highroad; and in the long town of Kanagawa they could observe the
+people prostrated by the sides of the road with heads abased while the
+great man with his scowling retainers passed. Residents in Yedo--that is,
+the _personnel_ of the foreign Legations--had less agreeable experience
+of these feudal swordsmen, who, living in idleness during their prince's
+sojourn in the capital, were quick in quarrel, especially in their cups,
+and far from agreeable to meet in the streets.
+
+
+III. ASSASSINATION PERIOD, 1860-61.
+
+    Storms begin--Russians murdered at Kanagawa--Two Dutchmen
+    in Yokohama--Prince regent assassinated--Servant of French
+    Minister attacked--Mr Heusken, secretary to American Legation,
+    murdered--Ministers withdraw to Yokohama--And return to
+    Yedo--First murderous attack on British Legation, 1861--Mr
+    Oliphant wounded--Attempt on a Japanese Minister--The causes
+    of these outrages--Partly anti-foreign feeling--Foreign
+    treaties imposed by force on Tycoon never received sanction of
+    emperor--Hence universal hostility to foreigners--Internecine
+    jealousy--Mr Alcock makes ascent of Fujiyama--Against the wish of
+    Japanese Ministers--Makes a second overland journey from Nagasaki
+    to Yedo--Sullen attitude of Daimios.
+
+The ports had not been many months opened when storms began to disturb the
+political sky, and the idyllic charm of the new life became tempered by
+assassination. The why and the wherefore of these outrages was imperfectly
+understood at the time, though it has since been copiously expounded.
+The uncertainty as to the moving cause or causes rendered precautions
+difficult, and the only safe resource was a watchful eye and the nimble
+revolver.
+
+Much bad feeling had been displayed towards the foreign diplomatic staff
+in Yedo, and assaults had been frequent, but nothing of a tragic nature
+had occurred until the arrival of a Russian squadron of ten ships, with
+Count Mouravieff-Amurski on board. He landed in August 1859 with an escort
+of 300 men in Yedo, where he was safe; but an officer and two men at
+Kanagawa, buying provisions, were cut to pieces by armed Japanese. This
+was what Sir Rutherford Alcock designated as "first blood." The next was
+the assassination of a native linguist employed in the British Legation.
+Early in 1860 two Dutch shipmasters, one over sixty years of age, were
+hacked to pieces in Yokohama. Next the prince regent himself was, within
+the precincts of the castle, set upon by an armed band of retainers of the
+Prince of Mito and killed, his head being carried off to assure the said
+prince of the accomplishment of an act of long-meditated revenge.
+
+Before the end of the year 1860 the Italian servant of the French Minister
+had to defend himself at the entrance of the Legation from the murderous
+attack of a couple of two-sworded men; and the year 1861 was ushered in
+by the assassination of Mr Heusken, secretary to the American Legation,
+on his way from the Prussian Minister, whom he had been assisting in the
+negotiation of his treaty. This crime filled the cup for the time being.
+The Government proved itself unable or unwilling to protect the diplomatic
+body from their bloodthirsty assailants, and three out of the four foreign
+representatives--the Dutch minister not being at the time resident in
+Yedo--made a protest to the Tycoon's Government, struck their flags, and
+withdrew to Yokohama. The American Minister alone remained in Yedo. Soon
+the Prussian and Dutch returned thither, leaving only the British and
+French representatives in Yokohama, where they remained until specially
+invited back to the capital under conditions which they had demanded of
+the Government.
+
+The following summer witnessed the most desperate attempt of all to
+exterminate the inmates of at least one of the Legations. Mr Alcock had
+just returned from a long, venturesome, dangerous, but most fruitful
+journey overland from south to north--from Nagasaki to Yedo--which
+included a sea passage through the Inland Sea, when an assault was made
+on the Legation at midnight on 4th July 1861. The Tycoon's guard of 150
+men are charitably credited with having been asleep, for they opposed no
+obstacle to the entrance of a band of men who cut an opening through a
+substantial bamboo stockade at the outer gate, and on their way thence
+to the apartments of the Legation staff, a distance of some three hundred
+yards, killed, at intervals, four men, some of whom defended themselves,
+and a barking dog. The scene is fully and graphically described in 'The
+Capital of the Tycoon.' The central object of the attack seems to have
+been the Minister himself, who however escaped unhurt, while two members
+of the Legation were wounded,--Laurence Oliphant, who had recently come
+out as secretary of Legation, having a very severe sword-cut in the arm
+and another in the neck. Being more than common tall, Mr Oliphant's head
+was saved by the intervention of a low beam, in which a deep sword-cut
+was found. If that brilliant writer had seen Yedo rose-tinted in 1858,
+he had now at least a chance of judging it in a greyer light. The guard
+did not put in an appearance until after the assailants had been beaten
+off from, or at least baffled in, their attempt on that portion of the
+temple buildings which was occupied by the Minister, and a fierce struggle
+ensued in the precincts, in which two of the assailants were killed and
+one badly wounded, while twelve of the guard were wounded and one of the
+Tycoon's bodyguard killed. The details of Japanese sword-play are not
+pleasant matters to dwell upon, but a few words from Mr Alcock's notes
+of the tragedy will suffice to give an idea of the manner in which these
+massacres were carried out. "I have seen many a battlefield," he says,
+"but of sabre wounds I never saw any so horrible. One man had his skull
+shorn clean through from the back and half the head sliced off to the
+spine, while his limbs only hung together by shreds." "There is probably
+not in all the annals of our diplomacy an example of such a bloodthirsty
+and deliberate plot to massacre a whole Legation."
+
+This is a sufficiently full list of the outrages of what may be called
+the Yedo period, to distinguish it from a subsequent chapter of history
+which was opened in connection with the new port in the Inland Sea, but
+which is beyond the range of the present work.
+
+The only conclusions to be drawn from these occurrences, and those yet to
+be related, were--(1) that either the Tycoon's Government itself or some
+powerful faction was in deadly opposition to the admission of foreigners
+into the country, and (2) that the Tycoon's Government was either unable
+or unwilling to protect the persons of foreigners either within the
+capital or out of it; (3) that certain great Daimios were concerned
+in these murderous outrages. The Prince of Mito's men assassinated the
+regent, and were most probably the assailants of the British Legation,
+while the Prince of Satsuma's retainers killed Richardson. Another great
+Daimio, whose forts commanded the western gate of the Inland Sea, put
+himself a year later in a state of war with all the foreign nations.
+
+The motives of these powerful feudatories were not free from ambiguity,
+for they might be animated by a _bonâ fide_ desire to expel the
+foreigners, or they might be plotting to embroil the Government with the
+Western Powers. It was evident that the authority of the Tycoon over the
+great Daimios was far from absolute, and that at any rate he dared not
+enforce it in defence of the hated foreigners.[6] Thus the Legations were
+left to the mercy of a ferocity which has known no parallel. The midnight
+attempt on the British Legation on July 4, 1861, typified the whole
+situation. The inmates were ignorant whence the several attacks on them
+came, the imperial and Daimio's guard were asserted to have slept through
+the crucial stage of the assault, and the provoking cause of the attempt
+to exterminate the English was unknown. In such a maze of occult forces
+it was almost as difficult to adopt precautions as against earthquakes.
+
+What lay at the root of all these troubles, according to the deliberate
+opinion of Mr Alcock, was that the foreign treaties had been forced on the
+Government against its will and in violation of the fundamental laws of
+the empire. He says the treaties were not sanctioned by the Mikado, and
+that therefore the opposition of the Daimios was on strictly legitimate
+lines. Also that the law of the seventeenth century which made it a
+capital offence for a foreigner to land in Japan had not been repealed.
+The Tycoon's Ministers had been scared into signing even Commodore Perry's
+almost platonic treaty; for though that officer had strict orders to
+use no force, he did not impart this information to the Japanese, and
+they could not otherwise interpret the naval demonstration than as an
+intimation that the ship's guns would support the commodore's demands. The
+case of Mr Harris's treaty of 1858 was even clearer. It had been drawn up,
+but the signature postponed _sine die_ until the great nobles should have
+been gained over, and Mr Harris retired to his retreat at Shimoda to wait
+events. The news of the forcing of the Peiho forts by the Anglo-French
+squadron and the imposing of a treaty on the Emperor of China was conveyed
+express to Mr Harris by the steam frigate Mississippi. Another vessel,
+the Powhattan, arrived fortuitously at the same time, in which Mr Harris
+proceeded to Kanagawa, where commissioners were sent down at once to meet
+him, and in three days the treaty was signed. Of course the Allies who
+had forced the door of China, having no quarrel whatever with Japan, had
+no more thought of coercing that country than the United States had in
+1853 and 1854; but it was perhaps scarcely conceivable to the oriental
+mind that any nation should deny itself the exercise of a power it
+consciously possessed. Naturally, therefore, the Japanese were predisposed
+to believe in the aggressive purposes of the invaders of China. No less
+natural was it that subsequent evidence of the self-imposed limitation of
+their pressure on China should lead the Tycoon's advisers to deplore the
+panic-haste with which they had been hustled into making treaties against
+the will of the great council of the Empire. In the interval between the
+signing and the execution of the treaties the Government had time for
+reflection on all that: the malcontent majority of Daimios had also time
+to consider what resistance they could offer to innovations which they
+detested.
+
+The reactionary policy that had set in was also clearly shown in the
+obstacles thrown in the way of the negotiation of the Prussian treaty.
+Count Eulenberg had been six months at work, and as his treaty was but a
+copy of those already signed there was no reason in the thing itself for
+the obstruction. But Prussia was not then a nation from which there was
+much to be feared at such a distance, and therefore the true disposition
+of the Japanese Government had free play.
+
+The Tycoonate itself was a perpetual cause of jealousy among the three
+great families, one of which was Mito, who had themselves pretensions
+to the honour; and the combination of their private grievances with a
+quasi-patriotic and probably sincere hatred of foreign intruders raised
+a storm against the Tycoon with which his advisers found it hard to cope.
+The Government being committed to the protection of foreigners, massacres
+of the latter offered a ready means of gratifying the double passion of
+hatred of them and of the Tycoon.
+
+But although the foreign representatives and the Tycoon were thus to an
+unknown extent the objects of a common enmity, it was yet impossible for
+them to make common cause, for they were not in harmony. The Government
+would willingly have got rid of the treaties or reduced them to a dead
+letter. The foreign Ministers, on the other hand, had no choice but to
+insist on the fulfilment of the engagements into which the Government had
+entered. Not for them to count the cost, the difficulties, or the danger:
+relaxation of their demands would have aggravated all three. So there was
+nothing for it but the "rigour of the game."
+
+The British Minister held decided views on the importance of keeping alive
+all rights and privileges by exercising them. China would have taught
+him, if the knowledge did not come by nature, the value of the modern
+principle of "effective occupation" as the only valid sanction of an
+abstract title. The treaties of 1858 conferred upon the representatives
+of Foreign Powers the right of travelling throughout Japan. The Tycoon's
+Government desired to restrict or nullify the privilege, no doubt for
+reasons quite sufficient from their point of view. Mr Alcock on his part
+saw good reasons for opposing this tendency from the outset. Consequently,
+as a first experiment, he organised a journey by the _tokaido_ to the
+"matchless" mountain, Fujiyama, distant about eighty miles from the
+capital. Every effort was made by the Government officials to dissuade
+him from the undertaking; dangers natural and supernatural were conjured
+up, a more convenient season was recommended. At length their pleas
+for the abandonment or delay of the expedition having been exhausted
+without any effect on the resolution of the Minister, the officials
+became helpful in the preparations and most careful to provide for the
+success of the journey. The party--eight Europeans in all with a large
+native contingent--set out on September 4, 1860, rather late in the year
+for the ascent, which was, nevertheless, successfully accomplished, and
+for the first time the foot of the stranger trod the sacred summit, the
+object of constant religious pilgrimages. The whole journey, including a
+detour to the hot springs of Atami, occupied one month: it was fruitful
+in first-hand information, and replete with agreeable experiences.
+
+A more important journey was undertaken eight months later, on the
+occasion of a return voyage from China and Hongkong, whither the Minister
+had gone on certain legal business. Being at Nagasaki, Mr Alcock arranged
+to travel in the company of Mr de Wit, the head of the Dutch mission,
+across the island of Kiusiu, then by junk up the Inland Sea to Hiogo,
+thence by the highroad to Yedo. The proposal met with the same kind of
+opposition from the Japanese authorities as the going to Fujiyama the
+previous year had done: the dangers of the journey were depicted in strong
+colours, and the unsettled state of the country was alleged as a cogent
+reason why a foreigner should not trust himself on the highroad. When
+these arguments proved unavailing, and the journey was finally resolved
+upon, the authorities endeavoured to minimise both its pleasure and its
+usefulness by an attempt to extort from the two Ministers an undertaking
+in writing never to go in advance of the escort or to leave the highroad.
+The plea for the latter restriction was that the road alone was under
+imperial control, the land on either side belonging to the Daimios. The
+feudatories on their part took effective measures to enforce the condition
+by supplying guards through their respective domains, who blocked up every
+byway, and in the towns and villages where the party rested screened off
+the side streets even from view by means of large curtains stretched on
+high poles, emblazoned with the Prince's arms. When the party landed
+at Hiogo to resume the journey by the _tokaido_, they were met by a
+"Governor" of Foreign Affairs, sent expressly from Yedo to warn the
+foreign Ministers once more of the dangers of the road, and to persuade
+them to complete their journey by sea. This had become such a stereotyped
+formula that the two diplomats paid no attention to the warning, though
+they had some reason afterwards to think that on this single occasion
+the cry of wolf was genuine; for the assassins who attacked the English
+Legation on the night of the return of the party to Yedo were said to have
+tracked the foreigners the whole way from Hiogo.
+
+These two interesting and--the second one especially--arduous journeys,
+each of one month's duration, settled the question of the right of the
+foreign representatives to travel through the length and breadth of Japan.
+They also afforded much insight into the state of the country and the
+real feeling of the general population. But they were only interludes
+in the drama of sensational diplomacy, which had now to be resumed with
+redoubled energy. The Legations had been two years located in Yedo, and no
+progress whatever had been made towards establishing a state of security
+for foreign life. Matters were, indeed, going from bad to worse. One point
+had been gained after the murder of the American secretary in January--the
+Government had formally assumed the responsibility for the protection of
+the foreigners. Moreover, strong guards of the Tycoon's men were posted
+in the different Legations; but, as we have seen, they added nothing to
+the sense of security. The demonstration of the inadequacy of all these
+precautions left the conditions of foreign life in the capital in worse
+plight than ever. The attack on the British Legation therefore called for
+a fresh review of the position.
+
+
+IV. NEGOTIATIONS AND RENEWED ASSASSINATIONS, 1862-64.
+
+    British and French guards brought to Yedo--Marks a new
+    era--Decided position of British Government--Concessions asked
+    by Japanese, refused by Mr Alcock, granted by Earl Russell to
+    Japanese envoys--Retrogression--Position of foreign Ministers
+    assimilating to that of the Dutch at Deshima--Mr Alcock's
+    departure for Europe, 1862--Bad effects of Lord Russell's
+    concessions to Japanese--Encouraged them to make fresh
+    demands--The building of a British Legation in Yedo--_Chargé
+    d'affaires_ resides mostly in Yokohama--Colonel Neale's
+    account of the system of guarding the Legation--Midnight
+    attack on the guards--British sentries murdered--Suspicious
+    behaviour of Government--British guard increased--Admiral
+    Hope's opinion--Attack on an English riding party and murder
+    of Mr Richardson on highroad--Admiral Hope's proposal to "nip
+    assassination in the bud."
+
+The question now, therefore, entered on a new phase. Since reliance on
+the Government afforded no sense of security, the foreigners must abandon
+the position or find some more effective protection, not to supersede,
+but to supplement, that which was afforded by the Government. There was
+fortunately a British despatch vessel, the Ringdove, at the moment at
+Yokohama, to the commander of which Mr Alcock appealed for a guard of
+marines and bluejackets. These arrived the next day, twenty-five all
+told, with Captain Craigie himself at their head, and they were happily
+accompanied by a detachment of fifteen men from the French transport
+Dordogne, brought up by the French Minister, Mons. de Bellecourt,
+always a staunch supporter of his British colleague. That gentleman,
+on hearing the tragic news at Yokohama, where he had been staying,
+returned promptly to his post with this most welcome reinforcement for
+the defence of the Legations. This simple proceeding marked the beginning
+of a new era in the foreign relations with Japan--the era in which the
+Powers represented there took the law into their own hands, with highly
+important consequences to Japan and to the world. The British naval guard
+was reinforced within a few months by a mounted escort of twelve men
+drawn from the force then in China. This step was strongly objected to
+by the Tycoon's Ministers, but the answer was complete: the Government's
+acknowledged incompetence had forced this measure of self-defence on the
+Legations. The position taken up by Mr Alcock was confirmed in the most
+explicit manner by Earl Russell a year later, who thus addressed the
+Japanese envoys in London:--
+
+    Her Majesty's Government will not agree to any proposal which
+    may be made by the Ministers of the Tycoon having for its object
+    to preclude the representatives of the Queen in Japan from
+    maintaining a cavalry escort for the protection of her Majesty's
+    servants in that country. The Tycoon cannot ensure the safety of
+    the British officers within the precincts of the capital and its
+    immediate neighbourhood; and even if the Tycoon were to engage to
+    do so, it is notorious that he would not have the power to fulfil
+    his engagement.
+
+This plain speaking defined the status of "old" Japan, and gave the clue
+to the remarkable train of events which followed.
+
+Much anxiety and many sinister rumours, but no serious outrages,
+disturbed the peace of the Legations and the general foreign community
+during the remainder of the year 1861. Mr Oliphant was sent home in
+consequence of his wounds, and the occasion was taken advantage of to
+have certain private conferences with the Japanese Foreign Ministers, at
+which that gentleman assisted, when the "past, present, and future" were
+confidentially discussed. Mr Oliphant, thus thoroughly "posted," was able
+personally to explain the state of affairs to her Majesty's Ministers,
+which greatly assisted them in forming their decisions. He was also the
+bearer of an autograph letter from the Tycoon to her Majesty the Queen.
+
+The Japanese Government had long been pressing the foreign representatives
+for the relaxation of some of the articles in the treaties, which were
+not to come into operation until a subsequent date. These provided for
+the opening of Yedo for general residence on 1st January 1862, and for
+the opening of the trading ports of Hiogo, Osaka, and Ní-í-gata on 1st
+January 1863. The Tycoon's Government was most anxious to postpone all
+these privileges to an indefinite period, nominally seven years, and as
+the foreign Ministers in Yedo had no such authority--Mr Alcock had been
+instructed to grant "no concessions without equivalents"--the Government
+prepared to despatch special envoys to the five Courts of Europe with
+which they had treaties. A similar mission to the United States the
+previous year had been so well received as to encourage the second effort.
+The principle involved in the Japanese plea was precisely the same as that
+which had kept Canton closed for so many years, notwithstanding the treaty
+provision opening it; but there was this difference of fact between the
+two cases, that whereas the danger apprehended and alleged by the Japanese
+was probably real, that which had been put forward by the Chinese was
+false, and manufactured by the authorities themselves.
+
+The Japanese were now in full retrogression, and every point they might
+gain was certain to become a new fulcrum for forcing more and more
+concessions from the foreign Powers. This was proved in many kinds of
+ways. For example, the restrictions placed on the foreign envoys, by
+which they were kept as prisoners in their Legations, and were attended
+in their walks abroad by officious guards who prevented them from seeing
+more than could be helped, and forbade intercourse with the people, were
+almost tantamount to those formerly imposed on the Dutch in Deshima.
+Mr Oliphant frankly speaks of his "jailors." Then repression, and yet
+more repression--as much repression, in fact, as the foreigners could
+be brought to endure--was the unvarying rule. Even when they were
+themselves seeking favours, and had therefore every inducement to show
+their liberal side to the foreign Minister, the rule of repression was
+rigorously maintained. Mr Alcock relates how this determination prevented
+him from presenting the Queen's reply to the Tycoon's letter. First,
+the audience was delayed on frivolous grounds; then the ceremonial was
+varied. Among other things it was proposed to place the envoy at double
+the distance from the Tycoon which had been observed on a previous
+occasion. Being anxious to take his leave, to present his _locum tenens_,
+and to deliver the Queen's autograph, Mr Alcock waived these innovations
+under protest--"being reluctant at the last moment to stand upon a point
+of mere etiquette"; but "having found my desire was strong not to raise
+difficulties on any minor points, it had been resolved [by the Japanese]
+to profit by the circumstance to gain some further advantages derogatory
+to the position of the British Minister," and so after everything had been
+arranged according to their own wishes the Court officials returned the
+following day to say they had made a mistake, and that, in fact, sundry
+further restrictions must be observed. This was too much, and the Minister
+quitted the capital without his audience, March 1862.
+
+The same tactics were observed by the envoys in Europe. When the mission
+reached London and had laid their case before the same Foreign Secretary
+who had instructed the Minister in Japan to "make no concessions without
+equivalents," he at once conceded the whole of the Japanese demands
+unconditionally, for the nominal conditions were merely that the rest of
+the treaty should stand. A detailed memorandum of the agreement was drawn
+up and formally signed by Earl Russell and the three Japanese envoys on
+June 6, 1862. Having succeeded beyond all expectation in their demands,
+the Japanese envoys evidently concluded that the Foreign Office was of
+plastic substance, and within two days they had formulated a list of nine
+further concessions which they desired to discuss. This, however, was
+too much for Lord Russell's patience, and as the envoys had "completed
+their business and taken their leave," he declined to enter on any fresh
+questions.
+
+The effect of Lord Russell's concessions could not be otherwise than
+detrimental, the only open question being whether his insistence on
+opening the ports on the agreed dates would have been a greater or a
+lesser evil. Mr Alcock points out the family likeness between the Japanese
+pleas for suspension of treaty rights and those with which we had so long
+been familiar in China. "The time," he says, allowed to the authorities
+of Canton to "soothe the people and prepare the way" was deliberately
+used by them to "create the very difficulties which they alleged already
+to exist, and make it each year more and more impossible to admit the
+foreigners,"--a comment on the Japanese proposal which leaves little doubt
+as to his opinion of that transaction. Yet there were cogent reasons for
+the course actually adopted, if the premisses be granted that the ports
+could only be opened by force, and that England would have been left
+alone to employ the necessary force. The most that can be said, then,
+for the concessions to the Japanese is that they represented the choice
+of evils. No one was benefited by them. They did not help the Tycoon or
+avert the catastrophe to his dynasty. They did not lessen the friction,
+or the danger to foreign life and interests, or interrupt the long
+series of assassinations of foreigners in Japan; nor did they obviate the
+necessity of using force in that country, to avoid which was the principal
+inducement to her Majesty's Government to violate its own principle. The
+analogy with China was, in fact, complete; the old lesson was once more
+driven home, that there is no safety in doing wrong. As Sir Rutherford
+Alcock puts it, "To retrograde safely and with dignity is often more
+difficult for nations and their governments than to advance."
+
+During the year 1861 an important improvement was inaugurated in
+respect to the housing of the foreign Legations. Hitherto they had been
+accommodated in temples neither suited to Western modes of living nor, as
+had been proved, adapted for defence. Independent sites were now allotted
+on a commanding ridge within the city, where the respective Ministers
+might have buildings erected on their own plans. These were promptly put
+in hand, and soon after Mr Alcock was able to bring his first arduous
+campaign--a term applicable in its double sense--to a close. Having
+brought the various business of the Legation into a state convenient for
+transfer to new hands, he left Yedo in March 1862, a few days before the
+arrival of the future _chargé d'affaires_, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward St
+John Neale. The Minister was accompanied to England by Moriyama, the chief
+interpreter to the Japanese Foreign Office, who was charged with special
+instructions to the three envoys then in England.
+
+From the time that Colonel Neale took charge of the British Legation
+events chased each other rapidly. While the new buildings were in progress
+the _chargé d'affaires_ divided his time between Yedo and Yokohama, and
+while in the capital continued to reside in the temple called To-zen-ji,
+where the Legation had been located from the beginning. The inner
+buildings were guarded by the mounted escort and by the naval contingent,
+which had been renewed as one British warship took the place of another
+during the year. In the outer enclosure there was a guard of 500 Japanese,
+the retainers of a certain Daimio who was intrusted by the Tycoon with
+the protection of the Legation.
+
+In order to understand what follows, it is necessary to give Colonel
+Neale's account of the arrangements which were in force for the protection
+of the British Legation:--
+
+    I found on my arrival that the usual precautions had been taken by
+    the authorities, and which consisted in placing numerous guards,
+    entirely surrounding this residence, in detached wooden huts: the
+    number of these guards, according to the Japanese return which I
+    obtained, amounted to no less than 535 men, partly of the Tycoon's
+    bodyguard, but chiefly composed of the retainers of a Daimio named
+    Matsudaira Temba no Kami, who had been chosen and charged by the
+    Government with the protection of this Legation.
+
+    Small parties of these men came down at short intervals during
+    the night to the very doors of this residence, and remained for a
+    short time with our own sentries, leaving behind them one man at
+    each post to aid in challenging persons approaching and demanding
+    the parole, which was in the Japanese language, and issued at
+    sunset each evening.
+
+    These dispositions were uninterruptedly observed up to the evening
+    of the 26th June. At midnight on that day the several British
+    sentinels were at their post, and challenging with vigilance the
+    Japanese guards, who, in parties of two or three, descended from
+    the heights overhanging this building at the back for the purpose
+    of relieving their men.
+
+What took place at midnight on the 26th June may also be best described
+in Colonel Neale's own language:--
+
+    At half an hour after midnight the British sentry posted at the
+    door adjoining my bedroom challenged some approaching object in my
+    hearing, and received in answer the right parole; but the sentry
+    sharply challenged again in an anxious and eager manner, as if
+    some circumstance excited his suspicion, after which he walked
+    three or four steps towards the object approaching. I rose in
+    bed to hear the result, and in an instant the deadened sound of
+    a rapid succession of heavy blows and cuts reached my ears, given
+    in less than two minutes, and at every one of which followed a cry
+    of anguish from the unfortunate sentry. Silence succeeded for the
+    moment, and was followed by the beating of drums from the heights
+    and the gathering of Japanese guards with their red lanterns....
+    The assassin having left the sentry at my door, went on towards
+    the corner of the residence occupied by the guard, a distance
+    of twenty paces, where he met Corporal Crimp, R.M., coming alone
+    on his rounds to visit the sentry at my door. A conflict appears
+    instantly to have taken place between them: a revolver-shot was
+    heard about the moment the guard was turning out, but nothing
+    further.
+
+The corporal was found dead with sixteen sword and lance wounds: the
+sentry had nine sword-wounds--"every cut had severed the member it was
+aimed at"; but he survived long enough to tell of the instant desertion
+of the Japanese sentry who was posted with him.
+
+This attack was marked by several distinguishing features:--
+
+1. The assassins belonged to the Legation guard, or were their comrades;
+the only weapon found on the ground was a lance of the precise pattern of
+those of the Daimio's guard, which was twelve feet long, and, according to
+Colonel Neale, no man carrying such a weapon could have passed the strong
+barricade or crawled through the brushwood: presumably, therefore, the
+lance was supplied from the armoury within the Legation. According to the
+Japanese Ministers, there was but a single assassin. In their anxiety to
+maintain their contention that the wounds were all inflicted by the same
+man, the Ministers explained to Colonel Neale a little of the science of
+Japanese sword-play. "They have attained the climax of dexterity. The
+sword is always carried at the side, and adepts in the use of it wound
+the moment it is drawn." The fatal stroke, upwards, is given in the act of
+drawing. Hence, placing the hand on the hilt is equivalent to presenting
+a cocked revolver, and if the assailant is not disabled in the act it
+is too late for defence. One only, being wounded by a pistol-bullet and
+having committed suicide, was found, and though they could not help
+admitting that the man was a retainer of the Daimio who supplied the
+guard, the Ministers yet drew a vain distinction between him and the men
+actually on duty. It could not, however, be denied that he, or they, were
+allowed free ingress and egress through hundreds of men carefully posted
+as described by Colonel Neale, and already alert and sounding the alarm,
+or that the huts of the Japanese were within 150 feet of the spot where
+two Englishmen were murdered, and while the assassin (or assassins) was
+inflicting sixteen wounds on one victim and nine on the other.
+
+2. The intended attack was publicly known beforehand: for several days
+the Japanese servants had refused to remain in the Legation overnight,
+absenting themselves against orders. The Government also were aware of
+the plot, and of the day when it was to be put in execution, which was
+on the recurrence of a festival, and, according to the Japanese calendar,
+the anniversary of the attack in 1861. The actual day having passed, one
+of the Governors of Foreign Affairs was deputed by the Council to call
+and congratulate Colonel Neale on his escape. Colonel Neale remarked that
+he had no reason for anxiety. The Governor smiled and took leave. But
+the "ides of March ... had not gone," In the darkness of that very night
+the attack was made. Colonel Neale, recounting the circumstances to the
+Council of Foreign Affairs, asked why the Governor had not warned him of
+what was impending, instead of congratulating him on his supposed escape;
+but "the Gorogiu, to my great surprise, replied that I was quite right in
+my observations, and they regretted they had not thought of warning me."
+
+3. The Japanese Ministers treated the whole matter with apparent
+indifference, months having elapsed before any information was
+communicated to the British Minister respecting either the cause of the
+attack or the execution of justice on the instigators, and then it was
+only such information as had been common property for two months. All that
+the Japanese Ministers had to say by way of explanation to the foreign
+envoys was that the attack proceeded from the unsettled state of public
+feeling and from the Japanese nation clinging to the old _régime_; but
+that they, the Ministers, hoped gradually to modify this national feeling
+so that the foreigners might live in the country without apprehension,
+&c. But in the meantime? Well, they "had given strict orders to increase
+the protection." Tragicomedy could not well go further. Evidently matters
+must soon reach a climax.
+
+As the first outward and visible consequence of the assassination of
+the two marines, an infantry guard of twenty-five men from the 67th
+Regiment was sent over from China in addition to the naval guard and the
+cavalry escort; and thus another step was taken towards the _dénoûment_
+of the plot. Then the word "retribution" was revived in the diplomatic
+correspondence, after having been launched by the Foreign Office in
+1861 but arrested _in transitu_, so that it did not reach the Japanese
+authorities. It was Admiral Hope, a man who never shrank from speaking
+his mind or backing his opinion, who put the case in a pointed form
+to the British Admiralty. "Deeply as I should lament the adoption of
+hostile measures against the Japanese," he wrote on August 28, "after
+the best consideration I have been able to give to the subject I
+cannot avoid the conclusion that it is absolutely necessary to nip this
+assassination-system in the bud; and that not to take effectual measures
+for doing so now will be merely to postpone the evil day to a future, but
+not far distant, occasion."
+
+If further impetus had been wanting to develop this idea, the Japanese
+lost no time in supplying it; for the next assassination which has left a
+dark blood-stain on the annals of the time was perpetrated on the highroad
+between Yedo and Kanagawa on September 14, 1862.
+
+The victims were a party of three gentlemen and one lady from Yokohama who
+had crossed the bay in a boat to Kanagawa, where their horses awaited them
+on the _tokaido_. This broad road not being macadamised made an agreeable
+riding-course, and it was beautified with lines of old trees, one section
+in particular near where the tragedy occurred being known as "The Avenue."
+The party proceeded from Kanagawa towards Yedo, not intending to go
+farther than Kawasaki, which was the limit of authorised excursions in
+that direction. On the way they met the _cortège_ of a Daimio, the first
+indication of which was several _norimono_ (the heavy palanquin in which
+the nobles of Japan travel) with armed attendants, forming an irregular
+train with considerable intervals between. When passing these _norimono_
+the foreigners walked their horses. In the intervals where the road was
+clear they cantered, and this mode of alternate progression continued
+for three or four miles. Then a regular procession was met, preceded
+by about a hundred men marching in single file on either side of the
+road. The foreign party thereupon proceeded at a foot's pace, keeping
+close to the left side, until they reached "the main body, which was
+then occupying the whole breadth of the road." The English party halted
+on approaching the main body, according to one of the survivors; but
+according to another, they were stopped "when they had got about twelve
+men deep in the procession," by "a man of large stature[7] issuing from
+the main body," who, swinging his sword with both hands, cut at the two
+leading foreigners, Mr Richardson and Mrs Borrodaile, as their horses
+were being turned round, and then rushed on the other two. Whereupon the
+advance-guard, who had been described as marching in single file, closed
+in upon the retreating riders. They were all able by the speed of their
+horses to get clear of their assailants; but Mr Richardson was so terribly
+hacked that after going some distance he fell from his horse, dying, or,
+as his companions thought, dead. He lived, however, until the Daimio's
+procession reached the spot, when several of his retainers proceeded to
+butcher and mutilate the dying man in the most shocking manner. It speaks
+well for all three gentlemen that Mrs Borrodaile escaped substantially
+unhurt, though a sword-stroke aimed at her head cut away her hat as she
+stooped to avoid the blow. She saw Mr Richardson fall, and her two wounded
+companions, unable to render help, urged her to ride on. She miraculously
+arrived at Yokohama, bespattered with blood and in a state of very natural
+agitation. Mr Clarke and Mr Marshall, exhausted by their wounds, managed
+to reach Kanagawa, where they were properly cared for at the American
+consulate.
+
+This tragedy made a more vivid impression on the world at large than
+previous ones had done, for several reasons. The cumulative effect of so
+many cold-blooded massacres was beginning to tell, and the Japanese cup
+was nearly full. There was a lady in the case who galloped seven miles
+for dear life, her horse falling twice under her. The chief victim was a
+fine specimen of a young Englishman, and very popular. The crime touched
+the general foreign community in Japan in a special manner, since the
+party belonged to, or were the guests of, Yokohama, where there were also
+newspapers and press correspondents to make literature of the event.
+
+Some friction was created between the foreign community and the British
+representative by the ghastly circumstances of this murder. The community,
+seeing their own comrades slaughtered without mercy, were incensed,
+and called for vengeance, which they deemed to be within reach, for the
+Daimio's retinue were sleeping at Hodogaya, a station but a few miles
+off. There was force enough afloat and on shore to effect the capture of
+the murderers red-handed, and the residents called for this to be done.
+Reasons of policy and expediency influenced Colonel Neale in a contrary
+sense, in which he was fully supported by the Foreign Office when the
+reports reached England.
+
+The Richardson murder, like that at the British Legation, had its
+special characteristics, though of a different order. The outrage was
+unpremeditated; the Government was not implicated: it was a fortuitous
+collision between the spirit and traditions of two opposed civilisations.
+The deed might be construed as the natural punishment of a breach of good
+manners--for Japanese etiquette, of which the party seemed to have been
+ignorant, required them to dismount--or, as the spontaneous expression
+of feudal Japan's deep hatred of the foreigner, concentrated in the
+act of a single moment. There was no need on this occasion to hazard
+guesses as to the responsible author of the crime, or to keep up a long
+train of make-believe negotiations. The _cortège_ belonged to the Prince
+of Satsuma, and was escorting his father, Shimadso Saburo, who went
+afterwards to the Mikado and said he had been grossly insulted by the
+foreigners on the road, and had ordered them to be cut down.[8]
+
+The problem was thus reduced to its simplest expression. The circumstances
+supplied precisely what was wanting to give shape and point to Admiral
+Hope's proposal to "nip this assassination-system in the bud"; and a month
+after the event he followed up his previous despatch to the Admiralty by
+a detailed scheme of reprisals, with the amount and precise distribution
+of the force required to give effect to it. And he concludes his despatch
+appropriately with the remark, that "should it be found necessary to use
+measures of coercion especially against Satsuma, ... the position and
+confirmation of his principality render him peculiarly open to attack."
+
+There were now two reclamations on the Japanese Government--redress for
+the murder of the two marines at the Legation in June, and for the killing
+and wounding of the Richardson party in September. The British _chargé
+d'affaires_ pressed both demands, without committing himself to specific
+threats until the mind of her Majesty's Government should be known. Lord
+Russell's instructions were sent on 24th December 1862, and would reach
+Japan some time in February. They were peremptory as to the use of force
+in case of need, whether against the Government or the Prince of Satsuma.
+
+
+V. THE TYCOON'S DILEMMA.
+
+    Strife of parties in Japan--Impotence of Tycoon--His prospective
+    overthrow--Orders issued by Mikado to drive foreigners out of
+    Japan--Prevarications of Tycoon--Plots and counterplots--French
+    and English troops in Yokohama--Compensation paid for the
+    Richardson murder, but assassin not yet brought to justice--Demand
+    made on Prince of Satsuma--Bombardment of his castle by
+    Admiral Kuper--Happy results--Offensive attitude of Prince of
+    Nagato--Firing on foreign ships of war--Sir R. Alcock's return
+    from furlough--Publication of his book 'The Capital of the
+    Tycoon'--His exposition of the political status of parties in
+    Japan--Dubious attitude of Tycoon--And Mikado--Utmost limit of
+    concession to Japanese pleas of weakness reached.
+
+During the interval that elapsed between the tragedy of September 1862
+and the expiation of the crime, revelations of a startling character were
+made respecting the strife which was raging among the various parties
+in the State--the Tycoon, the Mikado, the great Daimios, and the lesser
+Daimios, who followed the Tycoon and the Mikado respectively. These
+revelations, however, though they lit up as by lurid lightning-flashes
+some corners of the landscape, left the whole in a fog more treacherous
+than total darkness. The foreign officials who were called upon to act in
+the midst of it confessed themselves unable to unravel the mystery that
+surrounded them, nor is it any part of our task to make such an attempt.
+It was the chaos which preceded order, a period when the elemental forces
+were in the melting-pot, a phase of foreshortened evolution such as had
+never till then been dreamed of. However trying such an ordeal was to
+the foreign agents who had to go through it, the stress upon them was
+as nothing compared to that which lay upon the principalities and powers
+of the country itself during the agony of their national birth-throes--a
+circumstance which has to be borne in mind when judging of the behaviour
+of the Japanese Government in that trying time; for truly the defence of
+their proceedings stood much in need of extenuating circumstances.
+
+We have seen that the British Government had already confessed its
+belief that the Tycoon's Government was incompetent to maintain order
+where foreigners were concerned. Yet until that Government itself should
+plead incompetence, foreign States could only hold it wholly accountable
+for all that was done affecting their interests. But the Tycoon's
+Government fought tooth and nail against such admission, resorting
+to every subterfuge to maintain their status, while yet evading the
+responsibilities of the position. The success of this ambiguous policy
+required that the foreign representatives should be kept in ignorance
+of the relations which subsisted between the different parties in the
+Japanese State. Hence secrecy and misdirection governed their diplomatic
+intercourse. The treaties themselves having been tainted from their
+origin with deception, every stage of their execution was marked by
+dissimulation, which came gradually to light as the pressure from within
+and from without caused now one corner, now another, of the curtain to be
+raised.
+
+The Tycoon was between the upper and the nether millstone,--foreigners
+pressing him for fulfilment of his obligations, while a power greater
+than his own was demanding the complete repudiation, or at least the
+substantial curtailment, of all these obligations. The straits he was
+put to to keep up his two faces were pitiable and desperate, for he had
+to make the Mikado and the Daimios believe he was as much opposed to the
+foreigners as they were, while to foreigners he was professing loyalty
+and throwing the blame of the reaction on the hostile Daimios. Instigated
+by them, the Mikado had fully asserted his authority, and the Tycoon was
+no longer able to pose as the sovereign ruler of Japan. The allocation of
+a site for the foreign Legations on Gotenyama, a popular pleasure-ground
+in Yedo, was attacked, and the Tycoon ordered to rescind the grant, which
+he endeavoured to do by proposing the substitution of another site. This
+being refused by the British _chargé d'affaires_, the Japanese sentry on
+the buildings under construction was assassinated, and soon after the
+whole building was blown up and burned.[9] So ambiguous had become the
+attitude of the Tycoon, that Colonel Neale was in doubt whether this
+conflagration pleased or displeased the Yedo Government. (Six months
+later the buildings occupied by the United States Legation were likewise
+destroyed by fire.) The hostile Daimios, in the name of the Mikado, were,
+in fact, putting strong pressure on the Tycoon, while those Daimios who
+had favoured the treaties had been punished by confiscation of their
+revenues. The Tycoon's position was fast becoming untenable, and in the
+last extremity his advisers decided to take the foreign representatives
+for the first time into their confidence.
+
+In January 1863 a Governor of Foreign Affairs informed Colonel Neale
+that the Mikado was angry because he had not been consulted about the
+treaties, either before or after the signing of them; and that his
+Majesty had ordered the Tycoon repeatedly to drive foreigners out of
+the country. "But," replied the British _chargé d'affaires_, "that is
+wholly inconsistent with what the Gorogiu previously told Sir Rutherford
+Alcock." "Quite so," rejoined the Governor; "only what the Ministers told
+Sir Rutherford Alcock was false." "But if one member of the Gorogiu can
+thus give the other the lie, what security have we that some successor
+of yours will not equally disavow what you say? so that at one time
+we have the Mikado reported as friendly and at another as hostile to
+foreign treaties and trade, and we shall never know which to believe."
+This not very promising beginning of "confidences" was quickly followed
+by singular confessions and proposals--part of the system of "frauds,
+stratagems, and deceptions practised by the Tycoon's Government," as
+Colonel Neale characterises them. The Tycoon's Government was ordered to
+communicate officially to the foreign representatives the mandate of the
+Mikado to drive out foreigners and close the ports. In obedience to this
+order a Governor of Foreign Affairs, in announcing the fact to the French
+Minister, softened its effect by explaining that this was carrying out the
+Mikado's orders "officially"; but "ce n'est là qu'un stratagème nécessaire
+pour tromper le peuple japonnais." In developing his plan of campaign the
+Governor laid bare to the French Minister the intention of the Tycoon to
+deceive the Mikado by pretending to share his views about foreigners; he
+was in like manner to deceive the Daimios. Ogasawara, the Minister who was
+responsible for carrying out the edict against foreigners, being "un homme
+très capable," would find a means of avoiding the execution; he would
+himself go to Kioto and make the Mikado listen to reason; if he refused,
+then he would pick a quarrel and employ force against the sovereign. In
+that case would the foreign Powers assist the Tycoon? All this, however,
+must be kept from Hitotsubashi, the First Minister of the Tycoon, "whose
+views were as yet uncertain whether to carry out the expulsive orders from
+Kioto or not. Ogasawara had formed the plan to declare himself the enemy
+of foreigners in order to deceive the high officers even of the Tycoon who
+might not be favourable to his scheme; but everything was to be done to
+"save Japan." Finally, Ogasawara was to come the day following himself to
+interview the foreign Ministers at Yokohama, but not a word of all this
+would he utter "for fear of indiscretions." He would only speak briefly
+to the point of the notification of the Mikado's order of expulsion. And
+if the foreign Ministers would be good enough to frame their reply to that
+message in such severe terms as would make an impression on the agitators
+in Kioto and Yedo, it would assist the patriotic schemes of this bustling
+statesman. So everybody in Japan from the highest to the lowest was to
+be bamboozled--even one's own colleagues in the Tycoon's service--and the
+only people with whom faith was to be kept were the detested foreigners,
+as represented by the Ministers of England and France! Well might Colonel
+Neale recoil in disgust from such a brewage of "fraud, stratagem, and
+deception." The Tycoon's officers had in all this one definite object
+in view, which was to induce the foreign squadrons then menacing Yedo to
+transfer themselves to Osaka and Hiogo and menace some one in that part of
+the empire. And, curiously enough, the presence of the French troops which
+had recently arrived in Yokohama was not only tolerated by the Tycoon,
+but they were to serve him as a lever whereby the astute Ogasawara was
+to work on the feelings of the Mikado, by representing to his sovereign
+the indignation of the foreign Governments and the difficulty of giving
+effect to an order for general expulsion, which would include a body of
+well-armed troops.
+
+For while such comedies were being enacted at Yokohama the Tycoon himself
+was at Kioto under the friendly surveillance of the Mikado and his
+faithful Daimios, and it was a reasonable enough calculation that the
+vicinity of foreign fleets might tend to moderate the counsels of these
+recalcitrants, to ease the tension between the contending factions, and
+lighten the burden of the Tycoon.
+
+Meantime the pressure of the British demands for redress of the two
+grievances was met by evasions and delays until the ultimatum stage was
+reached in June 1863. The pecuniary indemnity charged on the Tycoon,
+amounting to £110,000, was then paid under circumstances so peculiar as
+to be worth recounting as affording further insight into the agitations
+of the period. After exhaustive negotiations, leading to an ultimatum,
+an agreement was made whereby the Government was to pay the amount
+demanded by seven instalments, commencing 18th June 1863. On the 17th
+June Ogasawara, third member of the Gorogiu, wrote a curt note to say
+the money could not be paid owing to an "unforeseen circumstance," and
+postponing payment till 22nd June. On the 19th the same Minister wrote
+to Colonel Neale that he intended to have left Yedo for Yokohama for an
+interview, but was prevented by sudden illness. This was followed by an
+intimation from the Government that no payment whatever would be made.
+Diplomatic relations were thereupon broken off by the British _chargé
+d'affaires_, and the conduct of affairs was placed in the hands of the
+admiral. This brought about the interview with the French Minister above
+alluded to, when the Japanese emissaries promised to pay at once the whole
+amount due under the agreement with Colonel Neale, and the specie was
+actually conveyed in four cartloads to the British Legation on 24th June.
+The only explanation given of this strange shuffle was that the numerous
+enemies of the Tycoon and of foreigners were on the watch, and threatened
+terrible consequences if any money should be paid to the foreigners. That
+difficulty, however, had been surmounted by the resourceful Japanese
+Machiavel issuing strict orders that the payment should be kept a dead
+secret from all except the Governors of Foreign Affairs themselves,--the
+four cartloads of silver, drawn each by a dozen or two of men, grunting
+laboriously at the task, from the Japanese custom-house to the British
+Legation, remaining for this purpose conveniently invisible to a cloud of
+hostile witnesses.
+
+The demands made on the Tycoon in respect of the attack on the British
+Legation and on the Richardson party being thus satisfied, it only
+remained to carry out the second portion of Earl Russell's instructions
+and exact equal satisfaction from the Prince of Satsuma, over whom the
+Yedo Government had shown itself to have no control whatever. Much delay
+had occurred, due to a variety of circumstances--mainly to the aggressive
+acts of another great Daimio, Choshiu, who possessed the western key
+of the Inland Sea. This might have necessitated a concentration of the
+British squadron in that spot--which actually came to pass a year later.
+Finally, however, Rear-Admiral Sir Augustus Kuper proceeded in August to
+the Bay of Kagoshima, the stronghold of the Satsuma principality, Colonel
+Neale accompanying him to present the demand on the prince with which he
+had been intrusted by the British Government.
+
+The sole reply vouchsafed by the Daimio was a recommendation to Colonel
+Neale to return to Yedo and treat with the Tycoon, as Satsuma had no
+relations with Great Britain. It was now the admiral's turn to act, and
+his first step in the way of reprisal was the seizing of three steamers,
+then lying in the bay, which were soon burned to relieve the squadron
+of their charge. Thereupon the Daimio's forts opened fire, and a hot
+engagement ensued in the midst of a terrific gale, which the prince's
+people afterwards said was reckoned on as a condition favourable for
+his attack on the foreign ships. There was considerable loss of life
+on both sides; much damage was done to the Daimio's defences, arsenal,
+and magazines. But the inhabitants of the town escaped injury from the
+conflagration, they having previously been removed to places of safety.
+The squadron returned to the Bay of Yedo.
+
+Within a short time the Prince of Satsuma sued for terms, paid the
+indemnity demanded, £25,000, promised to punish the murderer of
+Richardson, when caught, and became a good friend to the English, to the
+extent at least of desiring to cultivate relations with them.
+
+Thus happily ended the first hostile encounter between Japan and any
+Western Power, the first demonstration of the superiority of foreign arms,
+and, as some think, the baptism of fire which was the inaugurating rite
+by which Japan entered into the comity and the competition of the Western
+nations, and into that path of material progress which has since led to
+such astonishing results.
+
+The attitude of the Yedo Government in this affair may be said to
+have been one of placid observation. They had nothing to regret in the
+chastisement inflicted on a prince who set their authority at defiance.
+
+In the interval of time between the settlement of the indemnities for the
+two outrages and the departure of the fleet for Kagoshima the Tycoon's
+Ministers had drawn closer and closer to the foreign representatives, and
+English steamers were chartered for conveyance of the Tycoon's troops
+to Osaka with the knowledge and approval of the British authorities.
+The defence of Yokohama was by the Government voluntarily confided to
+the English and French admirals, and sanguine hopes were held out to
+the foreign representatives that if the Tycoon should succeed in his
+endeavours at Kioto, foreign relations would assume a totally different
+aspect on his return to his capital.
+
+On the other hand, while the negotiations with the Yedo Government had
+been dragging their slow length along, another of the great princes
+had taken arms against the foreign Powers indiscriminately. The Daimio
+Choshiu had made a strong stand against foreign intercourse, and in a
+well-reasoned and moderately worded letter addressed to the Tycoon in
+May 1862 he urged union between that high officer and the Mikado in order
+that the country might be placed in a condition to resist foreigners. The
+territory of the Prince of Nagato, as he was also designated, commanded
+the narrow strait of Shimonoséki, which connects the Suwonada, or Inland
+Sea, with the outer waters. This had become the regular route of steamers
+between the Bay of Yedo and the south of Japan, as at this day.
+
+Moved by an impulse which was not cleared up at the time, if ever it has
+been since, Choshiu began in July 1863 to fire from his forts and from
+armed vessels in the straits on passing steamers. French, American, and
+Dutch war-vessels were successively bombarded as they entered the passage.
+The fire was returned, and damage inflicted on the Daimio's batteries;
+but such was the power of their guns and their precision of aim that
+many were killed and wounded on the foreign ships, some of which were
+obliged to retire without getting through the strait. The prince remained
+obdurate and continued his hostile proceedings, a steamer belonging to
+the Tycoon and another belonging to Satsuma, said to be the friend and
+ally of Choshiu, coming in for the customary salutation as they passed.
+He embargoed or destroyed trading junks attempting to pass the straits,
+and thus established an effective blockade of the great commercial artery
+of Japan.
+
+It was droll to find Satsuma, soon after the affair of Kagoshima,
+appealing to the Mikado against these outrages of Nagato, and opposing
+the reactionary policy of his quondam ally. Satsuma had had his lesson;
+Nagato had yet to receive his.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sir Rutherford Alcock returned to his post after two years' furlough. His
+distinguished services had been recognised by the Queen's Government,
+who conferred on him the honour of Knight Commander of the Bath. In
+the same year, 1862, he completed his valuable work, 'The Capital of
+the Tycoon,' which for the first time brought the real Japan of that
+day to the knowledge of the reading world. This, the most important
+single literary work left by the busy pen of Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+is a storehouse of information on the history, civilisation, politics,
+religion, art, and industry of Japan, carefully sifted and presented in
+the most attractive form. It contains, moreover, a vivid narrative of
+the reopening of international intercourse with that country, and of the
+stirring incidents which marked the earlier years of its progress. It is
+also a philosophical study at first hand of the most remarkable political
+evolution that history records. Considering the official activity and high
+tension under which the materials were gathered, the writing of such a
+book, of a Japanese Grammar, and other literary and artistic studies, is
+a proof of the intellectual detachment which is usually associated with
+the higher order of mind. This work of a single pioneer observer has well
+borne the scrutiny of the innumerable host of students, grave and gay, who
+have followed in the same path. After forty years its authority remains
+intact. A short extract will at once show the character of the book and
+afford a convenient summary of the then Government of Japan:--
+
+    That the Mikado is the hereditary sovereign of the empire, the
+    descendant of a long and uninterrupted line of sovereigns of the
+    same dynasty, and the only sovereign _de jure_ recognised by all
+    Japanese from the Tycoon to the lowest beggar--a true sovereign
+    in all the legal attributes of sovereignty; and that the Tycoon
+    receives investiture from him as his lieutenant or generalissimo,
+    _and as such only_, the head of the executive, is known to most
+    readers of the present day. True, the Mikados have been shorn
+    of much of their power since Yoritomo, in 1143, profiting by
+    civil commotions among the princes of the land, and armed with
+    power as generalissimo to humble these turbulent chiefs, only
+    suppressed the troubles to arrogate to himself the greater part
+    of the sovereign power under the title given by a grateful master
+    of Ziogun. Another Pepin d'Héristal and mayor of the palace, he
+    did not care to dethrone the descendant of an illustrious line of
+    emperors, and was content with holding the reins, and transmitting
+    the same privilege to his descendants. And so the power continued
+    divided in great degree, the shadow from the substance, until
+    later, towards the close of the sixteenth century, a peasant's son
+    and favourite attendant of the actual generalissimo, but known
+    in Japanese history by the name he afterwards assumed of Taiko
+    Sama, raised himself, apparently by great abilities as well as
+    daring, to the seat of power on his master's death, and stripped
+    the reigning Mikado of the last remains of secular power.
+
+    Since that time the successive emperors, or Mikados, are brought
+    into the world, and live and die within the precincts of their
+    Court at Miaco (Kioto), the boundaries of which they never pass
+    during their whole life. Is it possible to conceive a less
+    desirable destiny? But the Zioguns, or Tycoons, as they are
+    styled in European treaties, have long been undergoing a somewhat
+    analogous process, under which all substantial power has been
+    transferred from them to the principal Daimios, or Princes,
+    who form a Great Council of State, and whose nominee the Tycoon
+    himself has become, as well, I believe, as all his chief Ministers
+    or councillors. They exercise, if they do not claim, the right
+    of removing both Tycoon and Ministers, and a voice potential in
+    all affairs of State. For legislative changes even the almost
+    forgotten Mikado must indeed give his consent, never of course
+    refused when any unanimity prevails....
+
+    The Mikado of the day is the exact type of the last descendant
+    of Clovis, sitting "sad and solitary, effeminate and degenerate,"
+    doomed only to wield "a barren sceptre" and sigh away a burdensome
+    and useless existence of mock pageantry; never permitted to pass
+    the gates of his prison-palace....
+
+    This double machinery of a titular sovereign who only reigns,
+    and a lieutenant of the empire who only governs and does not
+    reign, from generation to generation, is certainly something
+    very curious; and by long continuance it seems to have led to a
+    duplicate system such as never existed in any other part of the
+    world, carried out to almost every detail of existence. Every
+    office is doubled; every man is alternately a watcher and watched.
+    Not only the whole administrative machinery is in duplicate,
+    but the most elaborate system of check and countercheck, on the
+    most approved Machiavellian principle, is here developed with a
+    minuteness and perfection as regards details difficult at first
+    to realise. As upon all this is grafted a system of more than
+    oriental mendacity, we feel launched into a world of shadows and
+    make-believes hard to grapple with in the practical business of
+    life. Of their mendacity and cynical views respecting it I had
+    many illustrations. One of the official gentry upon a particular
+    occasion having been found by a foreign Minister in deliberate
+    contradiction with himself, was asked, somewhat abruptly perhaps,
+    how he could reconcile it to his conscience to utter such palpable
+    untruths. With perfect calmness and self-possession he replied, "I
+    told you last month that such and such a thing had been done, and
+    now I tell you the thing has not been done at all. I am an officer
+    whose business it is to carry out the instructions I receive and
+    to say what I am told to say. What have I to do with its truth or
+    falsehood?"...
+
+    To return to the Tycoon and the governors of the early middle
+    ages, with its suzerain and feudatories, its fiefs and a
+    phantom king, with hereditary mayors of the palace and chiefs
+    with 10,000 retainers, each one holding himself as good as the
+    Tycoon, who must live in constant dread of open revolt or secret
+    assassination, what a pleasant state of existence for all parties
+    it reveals! Each of these territorial magnates or great Daimios
+    is practically independent of the Tycoon when within his own
+    territory, with power of life and death over all his subjects
+    and dependants; ... even an imperial passport will not secure an
+    intruder's life....
+
+    Power has passed in no small degree from the Tycoon's hands, as
+    it formerly did from the Mikado's, and now remains chiefly in an
+    executive Council of State, consisting of five Ministers, and
+    these again held in no small check, if not in subservience, by
+    the Daimios and feudal chiefs of the higher order, amounting to
+    some 360. Although these do not actually form a Chamber of Lords
+    nor assemble in a body at stated periods, nothing legislative, it
+    is said, can be done without their assent obtained.... They hold
+    themselves too high to demean themselves by taking part in the
+    administration, or holding office, under the Tycoon. But neither
+    the Tycoon nor the Ministers, separately or collectively, can
+    venture upon a change in their laws and customs without their
+    sanction and a further confirmation by the phantom sovereign of
+    Miaco....
+
+    In the mean time, between the Mikado who nominally wields the
+    sceptre--the Tycoon, a youth who no less nominally governs the
+    kingdom, and is but fourth in rank in the Japan red-book, for
+    three of the Mikado's officers take precedence--and the Daimios
+    great and small, ... the administrative machinery of the realm
+    seems to be kept in order.
+
+Another incident of the year was Sir Rutherford Alcock's second marriage
+to a friend of the earlier Shanghai days, the widow of the Rev. T. Lowder,
+first consular chaplain of that settlement. They had been both widowed
+about the same time. They were about the same age too, and the union,
+based on a deep-rooted and matured affection, proved an exceptionally
+happy one during thirty-five years, till death divided them. Lady Alcock
+accompanied her husband on his return to Japan, where they arrived in
+March 1864.
+
+During the two years of the Minister's absence affairs in Japan had, as we
+have seen, been advancing rapidly--whether towards a reasonable solution
+or to a catastrophe was as yet doubtful. The agitation against the foreign
+treaties had been gathering force and consistency; the Tycoon's position
+was becoming more and more precarious, his existence being pledged to
+the annulment of the hated treaties. Encouraged by the success which
+had attended his mission to Europe in 1862, he despatched another in
+the beginning of 1864, to represent to the European Governments that the
+public feeling in Japan was growing worse every day, that the Tycoon would
+not be able to protect foreigners in Yokohama, and that, in short, the
+port must be closed and foreign trade confined to Hakodate and Nagasaki.
+The mission, already on its way, was met by Sir Rutherford Alcock in
+Shanghai, where he had an opportunity of personal conference with the
+envoys. The situation was thus summarised by the Minister in a despatch
+to the Foreign Office, 31st March 1864:--
+
+    It is just two years since I left Japan in order to be present in
+    London when the first mission sent by the Tycoon to the treaty
+    Powers in Europe should arrive. Returning to my post a month
+    ago, I met a second mission on its way to the same Courts. These
+    two embassies seem to me to form very significant events in the
+    history of Japan and its relations with foreign States.... I
+    consider the signing of the protocol of June 1862 (afterwards
+    adopted with unimportant modifications by all the other Powers),
+    freely granting without abatement all that the Tycoon asked, was
+    the culminating act and fitting end of the conciliatory policy
+    so consistently adhered to from the beginning. It was impossible
+    to concede more without abandoning the treaties altogether.
+    Thenceforth it only remained to gather the promised fruit of
+    greater security to life, and freer intercourse within narrowed
+    limits, which, for the moment at least, appeared unattainable in
+    the wider range of five ports and two cities.... The avowed object
+    of the second mission is to declare that all the hopes held out
+    by the Tycoon of the probable results of the first concessions
+    have been illusory.... The only fruit has been indiscriminate
+    aggression, increased insecurity, calling for measures of coercion
+    on the part of all the treaty Powers; finally, a decree for the
+    expulsion of foreigners, with a mission from the Tycoon to declare
+    his utter inability to maintain the treaties, and to suggest a
+    surrender of all the rights and privileges they were framed to
+    secure in perpetuity.
+
+The mission was not successful in its main purpose, and soon returned to
+Japan to report progress.
+
+
+VI. THE CRISIS.
+
+    Foreign rights must be sustained by force or definitively
+    abandoned--Organises a retaliatory demonstration against
+    Nagato--Forts at Shimonoséki attacked by international squadron,
+    after delays--Satisfactory results--Nagato claims authority of
+    Mikado for his attacks on foreign ships--His defeat gave courage
+    to Tycoon--Anti-foreign measures promptly withdrawn--The treaties
+    of 1858 ratified by Mikado--Sir R. Alcock's recall--Lord Russell's
+    _amende_.
+
+The Tycoon's Government had actually succeeded by patient persistence in
+evil-doing in making Yedo "too hot to hold" the foreign representatives,
+who had in consequence gradually accustomed themselves to residence in the
+freer air of Yokohama. "Incendiarism and assassination had done their work
+and effected the end for which they were employed," writes Sir Rutherford
+Alcock, who goes on to remark that "the recovery of this lapsed right"
+(of residence in the capital) "will have now to follow, not precede, other
+measures." So far had the foreign nations retreated before the forces of
+reaction, forces which necessarily acquired cohesion and momentum with
+each retrograde step of the opposing Powers. The country, meaning thereby
+the official hierarchy, was now at least, if not before, practically
+unanimous. Mikado, Daimios, the Tycoon himself, however they may have been
+embittered by their mutual jealousies, were now united, and passionately
+united, in the determination to expel the foreigners, so far as it might
+be possible,--on which latter point, however, there was room for great
+differences of opinion. The Prince of Nagato might be a rebel against
+the Tycoon's or the Mikado's authority, both of whom had disavowed his
+proceedings, but his determination to block the passage of the Inland Sea
+and suppress all trade but his own was an important part of the national
+policy of expulsion. It appeared that the only friend of foreigners at
+that time was the Prince of Satsuma, who had become a changed man since
+his stronghold was bombarded, and he began to see that the restoration of
+imperial rule and deposition of the Tycoon might be accomplished by the
+assistance of foreigners. That event was undoubtedly accelerated by the
+policy of the first two British ministers in Japan.
+
+The new position was reviewed under a sense of deep personal
+responsibility by Sir Rutherford Alcock in several despatches during
+the spring of 1864, and, as we have seen, the conclusion he arrived at
+was that the utmost limit of concession to Japanese exigencies had been
+reached: everything had been given up to them that could be given up
+without abandoning the treaties entirely and leaving the country. There
+was not even room left for negotiation. "No attempt at a compromise of
+such conflicting pretensions could possibly succeed." "Compromise or
+concession is plainly impossible in the nature of things." Moreover, Earl
+Russell had enjoined on both the _chargé d'affaires_ and the Minister to
+stand firmly for their rights. His latest instruction to Sir Rutherford
+Alcock on his departure from England was, "You will in any case require
+from the Tycoon and the Daimios the execution of the treaty." In the face
+of a determination to annul the treaties this necessitated some vigorous
+action.
+
+The most obvious and most straightforward course indicated was to deal
+a decisive blow against the Prince of Nagato, who for nearly twelve
+months had set the whole of the Western Powers at defiance. He was more
+accessible from the salt water than even Satsuma; he was repudiated,
+hypocritically or not, by his sovereign; and a punitive expedition to
+Shimonoséki would not involve detriment to trade or inflict injury on
+innocent people. Such an operation had, moreover, much to recommend it
+from the point of view of general Japanese policy; for "in attacking
+in his stronghold the most violent and rash of his class, it may be
+possible," said the British Minister, "by one blow to paralyse the whole
+body of Daimios.... The command of the Inland Sea and the whole internal
+trade of that portion of Japan which must of necessity be in our hands
+during any operations would do more, probably, to bring the Court of the
+Mikado and of Yedo to a sense of the danger and folly of entering upon
+hostilities with the treaty Powers than any course of diplomacy.... The
+alternative is a probable catastrophe, and a war of a protracted kind at
+no distant period."
+
+About this time the appeals which for two years had been made in vain to
+the British military authorities in China for a sufficient force to give
+security at Yokohama were listened to, and a regiment of infantry, the
+20th, and of marines, were detached from Hongkong and a force of Beloochis
+from Shanghai. One of the anomalies of an unprecedented situation was that
+the Government, which was concerting measures to expel all foreigners,
+was nevertheless constrained to provide accommodation for these troops,
+"which were not to make war, but to prevent acts which would lead to war."
+For all that, the presence of foreign troops on the sacred soil was far
+from palatable, even though the Tycoon might secretly acquiesce in the
+reasoning by which the British Minister had commended a measure which was
+in any case an unavoidable necessity.
+
+The arrival of these troops had a marked effect on the tactics of the
+Tycoon. For ten months his Government, which had been powerless and
+passive regarding the warlike proceeding of Choshiu, now became alarmed
+lest the foreigners were about to take the law into their own hands with
+that recalcitrant Prince. The Tycoon's Ministers began to affect much
+concern for his punishment and repression. They would at once move against
+him, and until the result of their efforts was known they urged that the
+British garrison should remain absolutely passive in Yokohama.
+
+For effective action against the Daimio Choshiu it was necessary that an
+agreement should be come to among the treaty Powers, three of whom had
+been in actual collision with his batteries and armed ships. Individually
+Great Britain had not received this direct provocation, and was only
+interested in the general question of the obstruction to commerce and in
+the maintenance of the political status of the Powers. How the concert
+was brought about would be an interesting inquiry, but we may safely
+conclude that the achievement owed much to two causes, one positive and
+one negative. The former was the strong will, clear sight, and absolute
+fearlessness of responsibility of the British Minister; the latter was
+the non-existence of any ocean telegraph. For, as we have so frequently
+seen nearer home, the direct efforts of the Great Powers to arrive at
+any agreement for common action are always protracted, often abortive,
+and seldom successful. The decision in this case had to be taken by the
+agents on the spot, personally intimate with each other, acting on general
+principles and on a free interpretation of the instructions from their
+Governments. And so it came to pass that within three months after Sir
+Rutherford Alcock's arrival in Japan the Ministers of France, the United
+States, the Netherlands, and Great Britain had signed a protocol in which
+they agreed to make a fresh representation in the nature of an ultimatum
+to the Tycoon's Government, calling upon it to adopt means to put an end
+to the hostilities of the Prince of Nagato, and informing it that on no
+account would their Governments allow the port of Yokohama to be closed.
+This agreement of May 1864 was the natural sequel to a declaration of 25th
+July 1863, by which the same four Powers had intimated to the Tycoon the
+necessity of reopening the Inland Sea, but which had remained without any
+acknowledgment by the Government. The new _note identique_ addressed to
+the Gorogiu was equally left unacknowledged by that body.
+
+Nothing therefore remained but to take the respective naval commanders
+into counsel. The Ministers had no authority over them, but it was quickly
+found that the concert of admirals and captains was as perfect as that
+of the diplomatic body. The ships of the four Powers--Great Britain,
+France, United States, and Netherlands--were placed under the command of
+Vice-Admiral Sir Augustus Kuper, and a plan of action was settled upon.
+
+The advance to Shimonoséki was still, however, delayed by two
+circumstances. The first was the return from Europe of two Japanese
+students, out of five who had been sent there the previous year by that
+very Prince of Choshiu against whom coercive measures were about to be
+undertaken. These young men, hearing while abroad of the proceedings
+of their chief, and convinced, from what they had seen in Europe, of
+the overwhelming resources of the Powers, that Choshiu was bringing
+disaster on himself in forcing battle on such antagonists, resolved to
+hurry back to Japan with the express object of warning their prince of
+his danger. The arrival of the two youths in Yedo was thought by the
+foreign Ministers to offer some chance of coming to terms with Choshiu
+without the arbitrament of arms, and accordingly facilities were afforded
+by Vice-Admiral Kuper for landing the two travellers at the nearest
+convenient point to their prince's territory. They were intrusted with
+overtures of peace in the form of a long memorandum from the British
+Minister, reviewing the whole situation, and explaining the attitude of
+the Powers and the hopelessness of the armed resistance of any Daimio. The
+messengers brought back to the rendezvous, where a light-draught vessel
+waited for them, an oral reply from the prince explaining his attitude
+and asking for three months' delay to enable Choshiu to confer with the
+Mikado and Tycoon, by whose orders he had done what he had done, and
+without whose consent he dare not change his policy. It is interesting
+to recall the fact that the names of the two youthful emissaries were Ito
+and Inouyé, who have since played so distinguished and honourable a part
+in the development of their country.
+
+The second cause of suspension of action against Choshiu was the news
+of a convention concluded in Paris between the Japanese envoys and the
+French Foreign Minister, dated June 20, 1864, in which this very object of
+the reopening of the Straits of Shimonoséki was provided for. Were this
+convention to be ratified by the Tycoon the immediate cause of dispute
+would be removed. The matter, however, was disposed of with more than its
+accustomed promptitude by the Japanese Government, who curtly refused to
+ratify the French convention. The Tycoon's Ministers declared themselves
+unable to carry out the agreement, and to ratify it would merely be to
+add another to their too onerous obligations. Admiral Kuper was finally
+given a free hand on August 25, and before the middle of September the
+forts and ships of the recalcitrant prince were completely destroyed by
+the Allied squadrons, not without considerable resistance and some loss
+to the assailants. The action was conducted with admirable harmony among
+the officers engaged, and the reciprocity of compliments between the
+respective commanders-in-chief, especially between the French and English
+admirals, is edifying reading in these later days.
+
+The negotiations which followed on board the British flagship ended in
+the most satisfactory manner. Choshiu submitted with a good grace, while
+apologetically throwing the blame of his hostile proceedings on the two
+higher authorities, the Mikado and the Tycoon.
+
+All the Daimios had been notified of the decision of the Mikado and
+the Tycoon to break off relations with foreigners from 20th June 1863.
+Three days after this notice its purport was confirmed, and a positive
+order given to "make military preparations with diligence that the ugly
+barbarians may be swept out." This was promptly followed by a third yet
+more explicit. "Bearing this in mind" (the date of expulsion, 20th June
+1863), "you must omit nothing which is required to complete the maritime
+defences of your province, and you must be ready to sweep them off should
+they attack you unawares." A liberal interpretation of these imperial
+decrees might be held to cover the aggressive proceedings of the most
+powerful Daimio in the empire, whose province happened to command its most
+important strategic position, and who watched the continual passing of
+foreign ships under the guns of his forts. The time when Choshiu commenced
+his attacks on passing ships coincided so exactly with the date assigned
+by the Mikado for the general rupture with foreigners, that it is hardly
+possible to dissociate his act from the scheme of his suzerain. When
+subsequently called before the council, Choshiu boldly defied both Tycoon
+and Mikado, declaring that he alone had obeyed the imperial mandate, and
+deserved gratitude for executing single-handed the law of the empire for
+the extermination of foreigners. The rupture was decreed for June 20.
+The American steamer Pembroke was fired on on the 25th, being, no doubt,
+the first foreign vessel to pass the straits after the 20th. Whatever
+ulterior designs this great feudatory may have entertained, therefore, he
+was not altogether without provocation in making a raid on the Mikado's
+capital, which he did in the month of August following, and for which he
+was condemned by his suzerain to a term of seclusion within his palace,
+the usual form of punishment of an offending feudatory, which implies much
+more than would appear from this mild definition.
+
+On the capture of the forts at Shimonoséki the Government at once stepped
+in and assumed all the obligations, pecuniary and other, which the issue
+of the collision imposed on the Prince of Nagato. The town of Shimonoséki
+had been spared, but held to ransom. A convention was signed whereby the
+Tycoon agreed to pay an indemnity of three million dollars, which was
+eventually paid in full, the last instalment of it after the fall of the
+Shôgunate.
+
+Taking heart of grace from his defeat by foreigners, the Tycoon, if
+not the Mikado also, began to coerce Choshiu on his own account. Not
+being able to reach him conveniently in his principality, the Tycoon's
+Government set to work to destroy his vast establishment at Yedo. The fire
+brigade was employed in this work, and such was the extent of it that
+several thousand men were said to be engaged for three days in burning
+down the buildings and fittings. Moreover, when categorically questioned
+by the foreign Minister whether, now that Satsuma and Choshiu had been
+brought under control, "the Tycoon would find it possible to give full
+effect to the treaties, and to deal with any recalcitrant or rebellious
+Daimios," the confidential Minister of the Tycoon replied without
+hesitation, "Yes, certainly."
+
+The defeat of the two most warlike of the Daimios illuminated the
+situation and cleared the way for more intelligent action all round.
+To the Japanese Government it was once for all demonstrated that it was
+not by force of arms that the "ugly barbarians" were to be driven from
+the country. The foreign fleets were for the time being invincible, and
+the Powers had also shown themselves ready not only to act, but to act
+together. There was, besides, a strong garrison of foreign troops in
+Yokohama--a British force of 1200 men of all arms, with a marked tendency
+to increase. The Mikado and the Tycoon wisely acquiesced in the situation,
+so far as foreigners were concerned, not necessarily abandoning their
+policy, but at any rate deferring its execution.
+
+Their immediate attention was directed to the internal commotions of the
+country, which could not now be long in coming to an explosion. A new
+planet had intersected their system and upset its balance. There could
+be no rest, therefore, until a new equilibrium was found. Foreign forces
+chastising the great feudatories, with the tacit acquiescence and for the
+benefit of the suzerain, could only be a step either towards dissolution
+and subjugation, or towards renaissance and national unity. Feudalism had
+had its day and served its turn; it was wholly incompatible with the new
+relations which had been imposed on the country by the foreign Powers. But
+where is the State, ancient or modern, that could entirely remodel itself,
+as it were, on the field of battle and in front of the enemy? That must
+remain the proud speciality of Japan.
+
+The effect of the action at Shimonoséki on the position of foreigners
+was at once made apparent in various ways. The Tycoon's Government had
+laid a secret embargo on raw silk sent to market at Yokohama as part and
+parcel of the general imperial design of closing that port, or, in the
+alternative, of a gigantic scheme of Government monopoly of the whole
+foreign trade, such being the only form of commerce for which the Japanese
+officials had any real sympathy. The stoppage had lasted three months.
+After Choshiu's defeat the restrictions were at once officially withdrawn,
+though considerable efforts were still required to give full effect to the
+withdrawal. Once more, also, "the Tycoon resolved to abandon the policy
+of equivocation and duplicity," and to inform the Mikado frankly of the
+impossibility of closing the port or of refusing to maintain the treaties.
+
+The moment seemed opportune for raising the question of the ratification
+of the treaties by the Mikado, in respect to which Sir Rutherford Alcock
+made certain plain statements in a letter addressed to the Tycoon in
+person. "There exists," he said, "a want of accord on the subject of
+foreign relations between the Mikado and Tycoon.... The Mikado, by
+requiring the abrogation of treaties, has reduced the Tycoon to the
+alternative of either disobeying his legitimate sovereign or bringing
+on his country all the calamities of war.... The only solution of the
+difficulty that promises either peace or security is the ratification
+of the treaties by the Mikado." The four foreign representatives
+simultaneously pressed the same consideration on the Government, eliciting
+from the Japanese Ministers the admission, "We perfectly agree with you,
+it should now take place."
+
+It now became the business of the British Minister to show to his
+Government that the proceedings at Shimonoséki fulfilled in every point
+the instructions he had received from the Foreign Office. This he did in
+a despatch dated September 28, 1864, and so convincingly that Earl Russell
+wrote in reply--
+
+    Your despatch of the 28th of September is a successful vindication
+    of the policy you have pursued.... My despatches of the 26th of
+    July were written with a view to discourage the interruption of a
+    progressive trade by acts of hostility, and to forbid recourse to
+    force while the treaty was generally observed. Those despatches,
+    you will understand, remain in full force.
+
+    But the documents you have sent me, which arrived by the last
+    mail, show that the silk trade was almost wholly interrupted by
+    the Tycoon, who seemed to be preparing to abet or to abandon the
+    project of driving out foreigners according to the boldness or
+    the timidity of our demeanour.
+
+    In this position there could be no better course than to punish
+    and disarm the Daimio Prince Nagato.
+
+    That course had these three separate advantages:--
+
+    1. It gave the best promise of concurrence of the four Powers,
+    as France, Holland, and the United States had all been sufferers
+    from the Prince of Choshiu's violations of treaty, while we were
+    most exposed to risk and loss by any Japanese attack on Yokohama.
+
+    2. It involved proceeding only against a rebellious vassal, and
+    not against the Mikado or the Tycoon.
+
+    3. If the operation should prove successful, the four Powers were
+    under no obligation to undertake further hostilities unless fresh
+    provocation should be received.
+
+    Her Majesty's Government have received with great satisfaction
+    the account of the naval operations of the four squadrons, and
+    their result, contained in your despatch of September 28. Those
+    operations were conducted in the most gallant manner; the loss was
+    not considerable; the four Powers acted in harmony together; no
+    defenceless city suffered during the hostilities; and the terms
+    granted to the offending Daimio were moderate towards him, and
+    sufficient for us.
+
+    I have only to add, that I am commanded to express to you her
+    Majesty's full approbation of your conduct.
+
+So far so good. But the slow mail service of those days, and the entire
+absence of the telegraph, admitted of wonderful interpolations in
+correspondence with such far-off countries as Japan. Events marched
+quicker than the course of post could follow them, and despatches were
+sometimes written which the writer would have given a good deal to recall.
+Such was the case here. We have said that soon after Sir Rutherford
+Alcock's return to Japan he addressed some weighty despatches to the
+Foreign Office on the situation, undoubtedly leading up to the ultimate
+employment of force in vindication of the foreign treaties. This was in
+full accord with the spirit of Earl Russell's instructions dated December
+17, 1863. These were--
+
+  1. To require from the Tycoon and the Daimios the execution of the
+    engagements of the treaty.
+
+  2. To consult the admiral and any military officer who may be sent
+    to Japan as to the means of strengthening and holding our position
+    in Yokohama.
+
+  3. To endeavour to procure from Hongkong the services of a regiment
+    of infantry.
+
+  4. The admiral to be authorised to land marines and destroy the
+    batteries which have been erected for the evident purpose of
+    interrupting the passage of our merchandise, &c.; but he must take
+    care that no unarmed and peaceable town should be bombarded.
+
+But when the Foreign Secretary received the Minister's despatches of
+May, following the terms of these instructions to their only logical
+conclusion, he became alarmed at the prospect of active measures, and
+by despatch of August 8 he recalled the Minister under the pretext of
+the need of a personal consultation on the state of affairs. This was
+followed up by some temporising despatches, saying the Inland Sea was of
+no consequence; that the Tycoon was professing an intention to do all
+that was necessary; and that the Tycoon and Mikado, seeing the British
+forces strong though passive, would gradually drop all hostile policy.
+How were these vacillating utterances to be reconciled with the position
+so decidedly taken up eight months before?
+
+A disturbing influence had intervened, causing Lord Russell to see Japan
+at an oblique angle. Certain other brave words of the Foreign Secretary
+in that year, 1864, in connection with the Danish Duchies, had also had
+their current turned awry and lost the name of action. Japan was but
+an echo. Of course, after the definite energetic policy of the Queen's
+representative in Japan had proved a brilliant success, had involved no
+complications, had, in fact, been the means of temporarily uniting four of
+the treaty Powers, Lord Russell was ready enough to make the _amende_ to
+Sir Rutherford Alcock, though to have cancelled his order of recall would
+have been too frank an admission of error to expect from any statesman.
+In this manner was the career of Sir Rutherford Alcock in Japan brought
+to an abrupt, but highly honourable, conclusion. He received his letter
+of recall while in the act of completing the final convention with the
+Tycoon respecting the affair of the Prince of Choshiu. The announcement
+was heard in Japan almost with consternation. The Tycoon's Ministers were
+particularly grieved about it, and they sent a strongly-worded letter
+to Earl Russell to be laid before the Queen, dwelling on the important
+services the envoy had rendered to their country, and begging that he
+might be sent back to them as soon as the urgent affairs that required
+his presence in England had been settled. The mercantile communities of
+the treaty ports were no less warm in their commendation of the services
+rendered to them and to general commerce by the decided measures adopted
+by the Minister, and in their regret at his departure. "The principal
+triumph of your success," they said in a farewell address, "lies in
+the fact that you have accomplished all this not only without causing a
+collision between her Majesty's Government and that of the Tycoon, but
+by actually strengthening the Government from which you obtained the
+concessions, as well as by acting in such a way as to secure the cordial
+co-operation of the foreign Ministers resident at this port."
+
+Admiral Kuper took so serious a view of the loss of a representative
+of such unrivalled experience and virility, that he took it on himself
+to address to the Minister privately a weighty appeal, on public and
+patriotic grounds, to postpone his departure until at least he had time to
+refer again to the Foreign Office, which on subsequent information must
+certainly take a different view of the action of their Minister. That
+the admiral correctly appreciated the attitude of the Foreign Office is
+sufficiently shown by Lord Russell's despatches already quoted, and by
+that dated January 31, 1865, which concludes, "I shall wish you to return
+at once to Yokohama, to perform in Japan such additional meritorious
+services as may be expected from your tried ability and long experience."
+But Sir Rutherford Alcock did not consider that the episode would have
+left him the prestige necessary for further useful service in Japan, and
+he declined to return to that country.
+
+Sir Rutherford remained at his post long enough to secure the fulfilment
+of the primary objects of the Allied expedition against Choshiu: the
+reopening of trade, which had been practically closed both at Yokohama and
+Nagasaki, and a number of most important improvements in the conditions
+of foreign residence in Yokohama. These comprised a parade-ground and
+racecourse, hospitals, slaughter-houses, filling in of swamp, a clear
+and convenient site for consular buildings, a good carriage-road seven
+miles in circuit, away from the town, and various other extensions of the
+comforts of foreign residents.
+
+The ratification of the treaties, too, by the Mikado was virtually
+arranged. The very day before Sir Rutherford Alcock embarked for England
+he was enabled to report to his Government that the law interdicting
+intercourse and putting all foreigners under the ban of outlawry had
+been modified, and its hostile provisions repealed. This was considered
+tantamount to the Mikado's acknowledgment of the Tycoon's treaties, and
+thus the vice of illegality which had attached to them from their origin
+was at last removed. A year later the Mikado distinctly and in so many
+words approved of the treaties. This, therefore, may fairly be considered
+Sir Rutherford Alcock's last service to his country in Japan. It was
+not, however, till 1868, after the attack on Sir H. Parkes while on his
+way to the palace of the Mikado, that an edict was published, over the
+imperial sign manual, decreeing that the lives of foreigners in Japan were
+thenceforth to be deemed as sacred as the lives of the subjects of the
+empire.
+
+But it would not have been Japan without an assassination to mark the
+close of the Minister's eventful career. Two officers of the British
+garrison, Major Baldwin and Lieutenant Bird, on an excursion on horseback
+to the romantic district of Kamakura, and near the celebrated bronze
+statue of Buddha, were stealthily attacked in broad day by a couple of
+two-sworded men, and mercilessly cut down. One of them lived late into
+the night, spoke, and drank tea, when the assassins, or accomplices
+in the crime, paid another visit to the dying man and, as in the case
+of Richardson, despatched him with ghastly ferocity. The Tycoon might
+truthfully say, "An enemy hath done this"; but the position of the
+Government had been so much strengthened by the collapse of Choshiu that
+the Tycoon's officers were no longer afraid of pursuing the criminals
+and bringing them to justice, especially as they happened to be _ronin_,
+or masterless men. "Twelve similar onslaughts," wrote Sir Rutherford,
+"have been made on foreigners, and in no one instance has justice had its
+due." For "even in the only case where men were executed, the Government
+did not venture in exposing their heads to declare their crime, or admit
+that it was for an attack upon foreigners." The present case was to
+prove an exception to the hitherto unbroken rule. Within a month certain
+accomplices in the crime were brought to punishment in Yokohama, and there
+one of the principals, who was executed in presence of British officers,
+died boasting of his crime and claiming the highest patriotic sanction
+for it.
+
+Sir Rutherford and Lady Alcock took their departure from Yokohama on
+December 24, 1864.
+
+
+VII. THE BIRTH OF NEW JAPAN.
+
+    Four years of civil strife--Cessation of efforts to eject
+    foreigners--The adoption of foreign appliances--Educational
+    missions--Unanimity of Japanese in cultivating foreign
+    intercourse--The merits of those who promoted the movement--Sir R.
+    Alcock's services in the cause of Japanese progress--His services
+    to Japanese art.
+
+"Is this the commencement of a civil war?" wrote the British Minister
+during his first year of residence in Japan. When he left the civil war
+was well advanced. Feverish energy was being displayed by every party
+in the State. There was a race for foreign ships and armaments among
+the Daimios; the Tycoon was involved in a struggle for existence; the
+legitimate sovereign was asserting his authority, and the feudatories were
+rallying to his support. Neither the immediate nor the remote issues were
+clear, but the sword was out of the scabbard, and would not be sheathed
+again until a new order of things should be established.
+
+The civil strife, which ended within four years in the abolition of
+feudalism and the assumption by the Mikado by divine right of all
+administrative functions, may be called revolution, restoration, or merely
+evolution, according to the point of view from which we regard it. The
+hand of the foreigner had loosened the stone from the mountain-side, but
+it rolled down by its own laws. The introduction of foreigners into the
+country brought down vengeance on the Tycoon as the responsible agent.
+To abase him and transfer the sceptre to another house was perhaps as
+far as the views of the hostile princes in the first instance extended.
+The consummation of the movement in the unification of the State, though
+its natural fruit, grew and ripened with a rapidity which bewildered
+the lookers-on. From the moment when the goal was descried a profound
+unanimity of sentiment urged the leaders towards it, the territorial
+magnates being themselves the first to propose the abolition of the
+privileges, titles, and responsibilities of their order, which stood
+in the way of nationality in the larger sense. But wide and manifold as
+were the issues raised in the course of the brief but fierce struggle, it
+concerns us chiefly to remember that the avowed impulse which gave the
+first impetus to the whole was the passionate purpose of expelling the
+foreigner. This was the rallying cry that brought the entire nation into
+line. The presence of the foreigner on the soil sacred to the gods was
+an insult and a deep humiliation. The manifestoes of the Daimios, their
+invective against the Tycoon, the distress of the Mikado and his constant
+imploring appeals for help to purge the land of its defilement, testify
+to the sincerity and universality of the feeling. In that sentiment there
+was no difference between Tycoon and Mikado, the Daimios attached to the
+one and those attached to the other: they were only divided as to the time
+and the means, the risks and the consequences.
+
+From the first the foreigners had evidence of the tenacious character
+of the Japanese: their persistency in face of difficulties and
+discouragements, and, above all, their readiness, not only to risk, but
+deliberately to sacrifice, their lives in the pursuit of an object. Such
+a spirit would render any people formidable,--most formidable when united
+in a common purpose; and their genius for combination is one of their
+most typical characteristics. What these qualities have already led to
+the world has partly seen; what they will hereafter lead to is perhaps as
+much hidden from our generation as the phenomena of the present were from
+the preceding one. But from the earliest days of the new intercourse it
+was hardly possible to misconstrue the seriousness of the Japanese people,
+though their refinement of taste, especially in art, their pleasant
+vices, and their addiction to light and frivolous recreation, often masked
+their more solid qualities. One word may possibly reconcile the seeming
+contradiction. They are an intensely vital people, living every part of
+their lives earnestly, which, however, is no synonym for solemnly. The
+gravest and the gayest have their appointed place in the social system,
+whose parts appear to be co-ordinated as if the whole were a direct
+inspiration of nature itself, elastic, accommodating, ever renewing
+itself, and yet so highly organised that there is no unemployed surplus,
+no waste material, nothing that does not find an effective place in the
+great cosmic product. That many practical men have misjudged the Japanese
+is beyond doubt. Indeed it is the so-called practical men who are the
+most apt to misjudge human phenomena, seeing that their system leaves out
+of account all they do not understand, which is usually a good deal. It
+was long thought that the Japanese were mere copyists and imitators, and
+disparaging epithets have been applied to them under that misapprehension.
+But, rightly considered, their very imitation was the clearest proof of
+their depth. They had been overcome by the foreigner, therefore they
+would help themselves to his weapons--all his weapons, educational,
+scientific, ethical, and not merely the machinery of war. This was not
+imitation, but adaptation and assimilation. It was no more imitation than
+what is seen every day among Americans, for instance, who so successfully
+"exploit" the ideas of Europe, and improve on them. It gradually dawned
+upon the intelligent few who watched the process from the beginning that
+the adaptation of European customs and costume was nothing but a strict
+application of the laws of evolution. The Japanese began spontaneously
+to appropriate ideas from the dress of Europeans; modifications, scarce
+perceptible, were adopted at first by servants. Certain malefactors
+advertised for by the Yedo police as early as 1862 were described as
+wearing "riding trousers and coats of tight foreign fashion." Each article
+of attire was adopted on its merits, for convenience and for no other
+reason, one of the first items being buttons. Strange combinations were
+sometimes seen, such as a billycock hat, or policeman's cast-off coat with
+a few buttons left on, surmounting a pair of bare legs shod with wooden
+clogs. Such bizarre combinations were not uncommon during the time of
+transition. The growing habits of travel necessitated a revolution in the
+coiffure. The ancient custom of shaving part of the head and training the
+truncated queue required a staff of skilled barbers to accompany every
+travelling party. The expense and inconvenience were intolerable, and so
+the old head-dressing had to go the way of obsolete things.
+
+The Japanese deliberately resolved to learn every secret thing that any
+foreign nation possessed. To do this they had to be conciliatory, so as
+to gain access to schools, laboratories, arsenals, factories of every
+kind. Japanese swarmed in the workshops of Europe and America; they took
+military, naval, mercantile, and industrial service wherever they could
+get it.[10] In such pursuits an outlandish costume would have been a
+severe handicap, not merely marking them as strangers, but hampering them
+for the mechanical work they might be engaged in. To be the comrades of
+the foreign workmen they must dress like them, and minimise all personal
+peculiarities. It is often said by those who regret the change that
+the native dress was so becoming, and that the Japanese looked ever so
+much nicer in their own than in foreign garb--which may be true, though
+irrelevant. To look nice was not what they were aiming at. They had to
+join the family of nations, to become men of the world, to comply with
+all civilised observances, and as much as in them lay to avoid attracting
+notice to their nationality. Such a programme necessitated adoption of
+the common costume of the Western nations, and if we do not accuse German,
+French, English, and Americans of being imitators, who for similar reasons
+adopt a uniform society habit, why should the Japanese be imitators when
+doing the very same thing? Let the world not deceive itself,--there is
+something more serious than copying in the development of the Japanese
+nationality. Borrowers they have undoubtedly been, and that on a grand
+scale. Religion, philosophy, language, literature, art, and artistic
+manufacture they took bodily from China, apparently through Korea. But who
+shall say they have not improved upon their teachers? That is a kind of
+borrowing which may yet carry Japan very far. We should not forget that
+even a Shakespeare may be an incorrigible borrower.
+
+From the first appearance of Commodore Perry's "black ships" in 1853
+one idea took complete possession of the Japanese ruling classes, and
+inspired all their manifestoes. How far the common people were in sympathy
+with their rulers there was no evidence available to show. The idea was
+that their nation was weak, and in its seclusion had been outstripped by
+the nations of the West, and that they must make every exertion to arm
+themselves in order to be able to cope with and to expel the barbarians.
+All their temporising with the enemy had this end in view, and they
+followed it up with such zeal, intelligence, and national harmony, as to
+excite both wonder and admiration. In the building up of their nation, and
+giving it a status among the military and industrial Powers, the Japanese
+freely and extensively employed foreigners in all capacities, dispensing
+with their services when done with as naturally as a builder dispenses
+with his temporary scaffolding. They used foreigners from the outset,
+but have never allowed foreigners to use them. They have thus remained
+the masters in their own house, and therein has lain their strength,
+present and prospective. Teaching they have recompensed with coin; and
+though confidences have been received with courtesy, their own plans and
+purposes have been veiled from the most honoured of their tutors. Their
+attitude has remained what it was in the days of the Dutch monopoly,
+when instruction in Western lore, including naval and military science,
+was freely imparted to them, while the uses to which it was applied were
+studiously hidden from the teachers. Though the Dutch, for example, taught
+the Japanese mathematics and triangulation so successfully that the pupils
+were able to make accurate surveys and construct maps of the country and
+charts of its sea-coasts, yet the Dutch were never permitted to see the
+finished result.
+
+In looking back on the work of those foreign Governments and their
+agents who by their interference shook this new nation into life, it is
+obvious that they did not, any of them, know what they were doing. There
+was a divinity shaping their ends which they, with their conventional
+concessions to the modern spirit, had no idea of. If we are to pass
+judgment at all on those men, it must not be by the ulterior consequences
+which they did not and could not foresee, but on the merits of the
+problem which immediately presented itself to them. The demand for free
+intercourse with Japan being shared by all the nations of Christendom
+was bound to be satisfied one day: it was but a question of a favourable
+opportunity. Commodore Perry and the United States Government made their
+opportunity. Townsend Harris had his opportunity made for him, and with
+great adroitness, and not too much scruple, he took advantage of it to
+force the half-open door. Lord Elgin, in his turn, did a smart thing in
+sandwiching in a full treaty with Japan between his earlier and later
+negotiations with China. Each in his degree contributed to the general
+result without any apparent sense of responsibility for unsettling an
+ancient polity of which they were ignorant, and to which they were blind.
+Lord Elgin was indeed visited by the qualms of conscience which were as
+natural to him as they were honourable, but the particular consequences
+of which he had a passing dread were not those which followed. In any
+case, his act was momentary: its results remained to be dealt with by
+those who came after. The heat and burden of the day fell upon those who
+had to "stub the Thurnaby waste" which the cavaliers had gaily cantered
+round,--to reduce theories and compliments to everyday practice. Here was
+not only a labour but a responsibility, not of the attenuated abstract
+order, but one which was apt to knock violently at their door every
+morning and every night. For whatever might be the remote effects, the
+immediate issues were always urgent, and what a conscientious man had to
+do was to shape a daily course among unknown rocks and whirlpools such
+as would eventually lead to a successful ocean voyage. It is surely a
+test of good pilotage in such emergencies that no step need be retraced;
+that to whatever extent temporary exigencies may hasten or retard, they
+should never deflect the general movement from its true direction; that
+the years achievement should be homogeneous with the day's doings. It is
+a test which would eliminate the time-server from political life, but it
+was in all important particulars well responded to in the short career of
+Sir Rutherford Alcock in Japan.
+
+It would be idle to conjecture the probable course of events had a
+different spirit prevailed among the first diplomatic representatives
+in Japan. Had they been a weak and yielding body, or had they been
+connected with the bureaux of their respective Governments by electric
+wire; still more, had each step taken by them formed a bone of contention
+between opposing factions in their legislatures, all alike ignorant of
+the situation, the proceedings of the Ministers would not only have been
+deprived of all initiative, but would have been liable to paralysis at
+every critical moment. Under such conditions foreign policy in Japan
+would have been like driftwood in a whirlpool; the forces of reaction must
+have gained courage; the position of foreigners would have been rendered
+untenable; and what might have happened in the country itself it would,
+as we have said, be quite idle to imagine. In those days no Power would
+have interfered to maintain order or to defend treaties had England held
+aloof. There is no need to carry hypothesis further than this in order
+to appreciate the good fortune not only of Great Britain herself, but of
+Japan and the world, in having as pioneer representative a man so alert,
+so capable, so clear, and with such unshakable nerve as Sir Rutherford
+Alcock; for it is the man on the spot in distant countries who shapes
+the policy of his Government, if it is to have a policy at all, and this
+historic service the first Minister sent to Japan did effectually render
+to his country. Amid difficulties unprecedented, emergencies incessant,
+and an elemental strife ever raging, the terms of which were inscrutable,
+two immutable principles guided the Minister to a clear issue. The first
+was duty, at all costs and hazards; the second, the integrity of the
+treaties. Whatever might be argued about the policy or the ethics of
+making them, once made, retreat from their engagements was impossible
+and compromise futile. Matters had to be pushed to an issue. The whole
+term of Sir Rutherford Alcock's service in Japan was filled up with
+a warfare against the temptation to temporise in the hope that things
+would be better,--a temptation to which, as we have seen, her Majesty's
+Government for a time succumbed. In perplexing situations the best solvent
+is simplicity, and the Minister found his safety in directness of aim and
+inflexibility of purpose. Standing on that rock, the mystifications with
+which he was surrounded lost their power to disturb him. "Fortunately,"
+he wrote to Earl Russell, "whether the Tycoon was playing a comedy or
+not, the course plainly indicated is the same, the assertion of a fixed
+determination not to be driven out, and to maintain the rights secured
+under treaties, by force, if all other means fail."
+
+To the man who perceived and successfully carried out this simple rule of
+action his countrymen owe no common debt.
+
+As it is proverbially the busiest people who have the most leisure, the
+British Minister found time in the midst of his harassing labours to
+employ his æsthetic gifts for the benefit of the public. It fell to his
+lot, as the reader may remember, while consul in Shanghai, to contribute
+samples of the art, industry, and natural products of China to the
+Great Exhibition of 1851, neither the native Government nor the foreign
+mercantile community being sufficiently interested to assist in the
+work. A similar service was asked of him in Japan for the Exhibition of
+1862, and it was performed under similar conditions, neither the native
+Government nor the foreign residents taking any part in it. The task
+had a special fascination for Sir Rutherford, for Japanese art was a new
+and rich field for the student as for the dilettante. The Japanese had
+originally borrowed their whole art, with their literature and religion,
+from China, but they had improved or at least transformed it so much as
+to make it their own, though it is contended that in ceramics they had
+never succeeded in overtaking the Chinese. For five hundred years they
+had worked on the Chinese idea; but at last in the eleventh century A.D.
+native schools sprang up, and thenceforth Japanese artists followed their
+own inspiration, which was that of nature, producing, in the fulness of
+time, the exquisite results with which the world is now so familiar.
+The introduction of this Japanese work to the connoisseurs of Europe
+through the London Exhibition of 1862 was effected through the personal
+exertions of Sir Rutherford Alcock, who added immensely to the obligations
+under which he laid his countrymen by the publication in 1878 of a short
+but comprehensive work on 'Art and Art Industries of Japan.' Like the
+collecting of objects for the Exhibition, the writing of this book was
+evidently a labour of love. It reviews with a sympathy which almost
+rises to enthusiasm not only the finished product, but the stages of the
+evolution of Japanese art, having its origin in a loving fellowship with
+nature and in a special affinity with what may be called its humorous
+side. The genius of Japan has taken a different form from that of the
+West, where "the great works of the sculptor and the painter are seen by
+but few," whereas the art work of Japan, "which is always in sight, tends
+to cultivate the taste of the million by bringing constantly before their
+eyes objects of taste, not less effective because they are unconsciously
+felt and enjoyed." It is art pressed into the service of the life of the
+people "which can give a priceless value to the commonest and least costly
+material by the mere impress of genius and taste, ... which is the most
+precious, tested by any true estimate of value and utility." The volume
+is well worth perusal by those who are interested in art, not only for
+its philosophical yet simple analysis of the subject generally, but for
+the instructive way in which universal principles are adapted to the
+popularised art of Japan. To read this book, one would imagine the writer
+had devoted the whole of the three years and a half he spent in Japan to
+the cultivation of the industrial fine arts.
+
+The Japanese language, too, attracted the interest of the busy Minister,
+who during his stay in Yedo brought out a grammar and phrase-book in
+Japanese and English. They have, as a matter of course, been superseded by
+the more recondite studies of later students; but as a first step towards
+familiarising the language to visitors and strangers these introductory
+works cannot be denied their meed of merit.
+
+
+VIII. THE DIPLOMATIC BODY--TSUSHIMA.
+
+    Four Western Powers represented in Tokio--Russia only in
+    Hakodate by consul--And naval officers--Cordial Anglo-French
+    relations--Temptations to intrigue--Secret communications to
+    Japanese--Representatives of the Powers arousing suspicions
+    of each other's designs--Letters cited--The Tsushima
+    incident--Admiral Sir James Hope obtains its evacuation by
+    Russians.
+
+During the first few years there were four representatives of the
+Western Powers resident in or near the Tycoon's capital: they were the
+Ministers of Great Britain, the United States, France, and Holland.
+Russia had accredited no Minister, but intrusted her interests to the
+very capable hands of M. Goskavitch, consul at Hakodate, the treaty port
+in the northern island of the Japanese group. What was no doubt deemed
+of at least equal importance, she maintained a powerful squadron on the
+western coast of Japan, whose actual strength was magnified to the view
+by their incessant activity, which had the character of a continuous
+demonstration on the coast both of China and Japan; and the principle of
+direct action by naval officers without the medium of diplomacy, at the
+ports of Nagasaki and Hakodate, was so different from that of any other
+Power, that the Daimios declared to the Tycoon that any of the foreigners
+could be safely insulted except the Russians. Their manœuvres in force
+round Hongkong, meaningless to the ordinary professional or political
+eye, played probably a corroborative part in the impressions they were
+making on the rulers of the neighbouring countries. Prussia had not yet
+come effectually on the scene when the decisive operations against the two
+great Daimios, which really determined the future course of events, were
+undertaken.
+
+The relations of the resident foreign Ministers among themselves
+were marked by substantial harmony, in some instances rising to great
+cordiality. The foreign diplomatic body thus presented a united front to
+the forces, open or covert, that were opposed to them. Such differences of
+opinion as arose in the course of business either were not of a nature, or
+were not allowed, to interfere with the pursuit of the national interests
+of each, which were inextricably bound up in the common interests of all.
+United, the influence of the Powers was practically irresistible; divided,
+they would have fallen an easy prey to the devices of what, for want of
+another term, must be spoken of as the common enemy, Japan. It is not
+pleasant to think of Japan in this way, since she was on her defence in
+a position forced upon her; yet overruling circumstances had, in fact,
+placed the parties in temporary antagonism--the world against Japan.
+
+The key to the success of European diplomacy of the earlier period was
+without doubt the Anglo-French alliance, which had culminated in the
+coercion of imperial China, and was spending its ebbing strength in
+suppressing the great Taiping insurrection against that empire. Being
+possessed of mobile forces within call, the two Powers were always in a
+position to act when circumstances called for action, and they had become
+accustomed to co-operation. Hence the potency of their united counsels.
+
+The Minister of France as well as the admiral on the station had the
+instructions of the Imperial Government to support England in her Far
+Eastern policy,--"for," said the calculating Emperor Napoleon III.,
+"though our interests in that part of the world are trivial, we may find
+our account in the friendship of England in quarters where our interests
+are vital." That the Ministers of the two countries, therefore, should be
+on terms of official intimacy and mutual confidence was only natural, and
+it was a tower of strength to them both. But we gather from the despatches
+that personal respect and attachment went hand in hand with the official
+_liaison_; and whether it was Sir Rutherford Alcock or Colonel Neale on
+the one side, or M. Duchesne de Bellecourt or Leon Roche on the other,
+their expressions towards their colleagues were always of the warmest.
+So completely confidential were their relations, that when something was
+insinuated by third parties which, if credited, would have necessitated
+explanations between the two, it was simply dismissed as unworthy of
+consideration. There were not wanting those who would have regarded with
+equanimity a little more coldness between the Allied colleagues.
+
+For, notwithstanding their good fraternal relations, it cannot be said
+that the foreign officials in Japan were uniformly successful in resisting
+the besetting sin of diplomacy, the common temptation to intrigue. In
+certain cases it was resorted to as the natural means of advancing the
+solid interests of a particular country; in other cases, where no national
+interest could be served by it, it would appear that intrigue was its own
+allurement, followed for the mere pleasure of the game. The political
+situation in Japan was sufficiently complicated to afford occasion for
+both these motives of action. The unstable Government of the country,
+oppressed by conflicting obligations and consciously struggling for
+existence, offered an ideal theatre for volunteer experimentation by those
+on whom no ulterior responsibility rested.
+
+Be that as it may, however, secret communications did pass between certain
+foreign officials and the Japanese Government of a kind which betrayed the
+design of undermining the interests of other Powers and frustrating their
+policy, presumably for the benefit of those whose zeal in the cause of
+international honour impelled them to adopt the _rôle_ of international
+informers. It need hardly be said that Great Britain was a principal
+object of these occult practices; neither need it be denied that she
+suffered from their effects in the estimation of the Japanese Government,
+which was naturally credulous of any disparagement of the Powers it
+dreaded so much. In the incandescent condition of the intercourse of those
+earlier years, had any of the foreign agents spoken well of his neighbours
+he would have obtained no hearing for his praise; but given vilification
+for its motive, the representation would find its way straight to the
+Japanese heart, since nothing could be too vile to be believed of the
+intentions of any of the foreign nations. The spy system was congenial
+to the Japanese, woven into their whole administration; while as regards
+foreigners, they had had ample experience centuries before of the lengths
+Christian nations would go in traducing each other for the sake of gaining
+a little favour of the rulers of Japan. It was entirely in keeping with
+their medieval experiences that these dastardly barbarians should now
+be ready to stab each other in the back. Whatever reception, therefore,
+on other grounds, might be accorded to gratuitous information conveyed
+through prejudiced channels, no surprise was occasioned by it, and as
+little doubt of its truth, so long as its burden was evil. This much has
+to be borne in mind as a tribute to the intelligence of the writers of
+letters such as the following, addressed to the Gorogiu, or Bureau of
+Foreign Affairs, and conveyed to them with ostentatious secrecy. In 1860
+one Government agent wrote--
+
+    Last year towards the middle of the second month the English
+    created great difficulties in China in consequence of the war
+    they waged by sea and land. They had violated the treaties in
+    a shameful manner, and as this excited the indignation of the
+    Chinese they attacked the English on the river, and captured three
+    men-of-war. Feeling herself humbled by this defeat, England swore
+    revenge. She uttered the most unjust menaces against China, and
+    at the very moment the Chinese commenced their conferences upon
+    this subject four or five months ago the English suddenly ordered
+    forty-seven men-of-war from London. These vessels are at present
+    at Chusan, and await the signal for action. Within two or three
+    months the men-of-war will leave for the north. The merchant
+    vessel Dayspring brought us all this news on the 12th instant.
+
+    On speaking about this important news to Mr ----, the British
+    Consul residing here, he gave me the following information in a
+    strictly private manner.
+
+    "At last," said Mr ----, "the war with China is decided upon.
+    We have for a long time been searching for a good harbour where
+    we shall be able to put the sick and wounded. We have chosen
+    Tsushima, where we intend to send the sick and wounded, and as
+    soon as the war has commenced we have resolved to take possession
+    of that island."
+
+    Mr ---- communicated this to me as a great secret, and I now give
+    you this information in a strictly private manner.
+
+    You will perceive that this is a question of the utmost
+    importance, and you must take it into serious consideration
+    without delay, and with the utmost attention.
+
+    Four years ago the English, who had for a long time coveted
+    an excellent little island called Perim, took possession of
+    it, informing the Turkish Government that they only wished to
+    place their invalids on that island, and this false pretext was
+    matter for serious discussion. The Turks were perfectly aware of
+    the deceitful conduct of the English. They did not ignore that
+    fourteen or fifteen years before, while fighting with the Chinese,
+    the English had stolen Hongkong under the same pretences.... But
+    while they were deliberating the English sent their invalids to
+    Perim, and immediately built forts and stole this island in the
+    most disgraceful manner.
+
+    As the English are wonderful impostors, it is your duty not only
+    to take care of Tsushima, but also of the smallest island in your
+    empire: this must be done with the utmost watchfulness.
+
+    I inform you of this danger in the most private and secret manner.
+
+And a year or two later, when the intercourse between the British Minister
+and the Tycoon was charged with contentious, almost with explosive,
+matter, missives were passed in from philanthropic onlookers of a tenor
+which excited no surprise, but a good deal of genuine exultation, in the
+minds of the Japanese Ministers. It was well known some time before that
+it had been sought to prevent a settlement of outstanding difficulties
+between the two countries by the assurance volunteered to the Tycoon's
+Government that Great Britain was quite unable to make war on Japan,
+and the following letter is only one of a series of such international
+amenities which shunned the light of day:--
+
+    Japan was opened by us, ... and after we had settled down here
+    the other Powers made their appearance. The intentions of ...
+    in opening this country to foreign intercourse was to increase
+    the welfare and prosperity of its inhabitants. While we were
+    doing our utmost for this nation some English men-of-war suddenly
+    appeared here to demand indemnities for a murder which, although
+    unjustifiable, was not a _casus belli_. As long as the ambitious,
+    warlike, and quarrelsome Englishmen are here, the object we have
+    in view cannot be obtained. They must, therefore, be driven out
+    of this country. You cannot consent to their demands. Do not
+    fear the English; there are other nations in Japan, and if you
+    require assistance you may rest assured we shall give you moral
+    and material support.
+
+But in vain was the snare set by these fowlers in the sight of the bird.
+The notion of setting a thief to catch a thief was not uncongenial to
+Japanese habits of thought, but a generous offer of armed assistance
+against a foreign Power savoured too much of the wooden horse even for
+such inexperienced internationalists as the New Japan. Having expressed
+their appreciation--had it been the Chinese Government it would have taken
+the form of praise for their loyal obedience--the Government intimated
+that they would exhaust their own resources before putting these friendly
+foreign Powers to the trouble of intervening on their behalf. The Japanese
+have always been wary about accepting help unasked for. The United States
+frigate Niagara, which brought back the envoys in 1860, brought also a
+staff of artillery officers whose services were tendered to the Tycoon,
+but declined. And it was said the American officers were rather astonished
+by the proofs afforded them in Yedo of the efficiency of armament and
+proficiency of the gunners which Japan was already able to show.
+
+One of the vigilant observers of political portents about that time became
+convinced that the French had designs upon Tsushima, a belief which was
+no doubt in some way also communicated to the Japanese Government; but
+by that time--1863--it was too late for any Power to flirt with that
+"excellent little island," for since the first warning given the Japanese
+in 1860, above cited, the island had been made the subject of definitive
+arrangements. The incident itself, though of brief duration and leaving
+no visible trail behind it, nevertheless deserves to be remembered as a
+landmark of history.
+
+When Count Mouravieff was in Yedo in 1859, he took the trouble to warn
+the Tycoon's Government that the English harboured aggressive designs
+against the island of Tsushima, which is a long double or "twin" island,
+possessing wonderful harbours, and situated midway between the main
+island of Japan and the southern coast of Korea. On March 13, 1861, the
+Russians landed from the corvette Possadnik in Tsushima, and saying their
+ship wanted repairs, began to build houses on shore. Captain Birileff had
+forced the Prince of Tsushima to receive him at his capital, which created
+an intense feeling of indignation, especially in the ranks of the nobles,
+who each saw himself exposed to similar intrusions. The Daimio repeatedly
+requested the Russians to leave, but was always told the ship required
+further repairs. In consequence of reports from his own officers and the
+Japanese Government, Vice-Admiral Sir James Hope looked in at Tsushima
+himself in the month of August, and observing what was going on there,
+he addressed a letter to Captain Birileff, of which the substance was as
+follows: The prolonged stay of his Imperial Majesty's corvette Possadnik,
+the erection of buildings, &c., having created alarm in Yedo, the admiral
+had the intention to communicate on the subject as early as possible
+with Commodore Likatchoff. Would Captain Birileff meantime facilitate
+this correspondence by replying to the questions--(1) Should the Japanese
+Government appeal to the treaty, which conveys no right either to create
+establishments ashore, to survey the Japanese coast without Government
+sanction, or even to enter a non-treaty port except in case of necessity,
+would Captain Birileff's orders admit of his leaving Tsushima immediately
+on the request of the Japanese authorities? (2) Was it Captain Birileff's
+intention to leave Tsushima in October as previously stated to Commander
+Ward, leaving the buildings to whomsoever wanted them?... (3) Had the
+captain orders to create a permanent establishment there?
+
+The reply of Captain Birileff was to the effect that the officers of his
+Imperial Majesty were accountable only to their own chiefs; ... that he
+was quite astonished to hear of the alarms in Yedo, seeing that only two
+months before the Prince of Bungo had been sent to Tsushima expressly
+from Yedo to grant permission to the corvette to remain there; that the
+same prince gave him the opportunity of visiting the Prince of Tsushima,
+who was instructed to supply workmen and all that might be necessary
+for the construction of the buildings in question; that if the Japanese
+Government were annoyed by the surveying operations, they should address
+their complaint to the Russian diplomatic agent; that he had no orders
+for the occupation of the island, and the nature of the buildings which
+the admiral had done him the honour to visit would not show any such
+intention; and finally, that when he spoke of leaving in October it had
+referred only to himself personally. So far Captain Birileff.
+
+It was no "Prince of Bungo," but a Governor of Foreign Affairs named
+Bungo, who had been despatched in haste from the capital to endeavour by
+any means to induce the Russians to leave Tsushima, and was, for his want
+of success, disgraced.
+
+Sir James Hope forthwith proceeded in search of Commodore Likatchoff to
+Olga Bay, whence he addressed to him a letter dated September 5, pointing
+out the irregularity of the proceedings at Tsushima, the bad effect they
+were having on the relations of foreigners generally in Yedo, and that he
+could not recognise any establishment on Japanese territory not sanctioned
+by treaty--which resolutions he would make known to the authorities
+concerned.
+
+To this the Russian commodore courteously replied from Hakodate, September
+23, excusing himself from entering on any international questions, and
+pointing out that in their hydrographical labours the Russians were only
+following the excellent example set them by the British surveying officers
+whom they met on their respective missions, and that no complaint had ever
+been made by the Japanese Government. As for the "absurd rumours" alluded
+to, the Possadnik had already received orders for another destination,
+before receipt of the admiral's letters, and nothing consequently need be
+said to calm the doubts and alarms, "si même elles auraient véritablement
+raison d'exister."
+
+Admiral Hope acknowledged this letter, "with much satisfaction," from
+Chefoo, October 22, and remarked that, so far as the surveying operations
+of the ships in his squadron were concerned, they were carried out with
+the full consent of the Japanese Government, at whose special request
+Japanese officers and interpreters were accommodated on board during
+the whole of the cruise. He added that it was not so much the surveying
+operations of the Possadnik as the preparation for a permanent settlement
+on shore that disquieted the Japanese Government; and, moreover, that
+the Japanese Ministers had distinctly stated that the matter had been
+the subject of remonstrance to the commodore, through M. Goskavitch,
+the consul at Hakodate, and to Captain Birileff by an officer specially
+deputed for the purpose (Bungo).
+
+The question extended itself to St Petersburg, where Prince Gortchakoff
+had remarked to Lord Napier, then British ambassador, on the tone of
+Admiral Hope's letter to Commodore Likatchoff, which, he said, but for
+the conciliatory disposition of the latter, might have led to serious
+misunderstanding. Lord Napier, in reply, observed that "Admiral Hope was
+a man of a frank, downright, energetic character, who used the language
+natural to him without any intention of giving offence."
+
+As the Russians had abandoned the island, Prince Gortchakoff called
+on Lord Napier to declare that the English would never take possession
+of Tsushima, whereupon the ambassador reminded his Excellency that the
+English had "offered to sign a treaty binding ourselves and the other
+Powers having engagements with Japan to make no acquisitions in those
+seas." "I think," concludes the ambassador in his letter to the Foreign
+Office, "that Admiral Hope will do well to assure himself that the
+buildings have really been evacuated." This precaution had already been
+taken, and the admiral reported on November 10 that the Russians had
+evacuated on September 29.
+
+There the incident ended, but not its historical significance.
+
+
+IX. TRADE AND TRADERS.
+
+    Commerce increases in spite of adverse political
+    situations--And of efforts of Japanese government to repress
+    it--The _personnel_ of the mercantile community--British
+    predominance--Relations of merchants to Ministers--Interests
+    and duties not always identical--Sumptuary laws--Discharges of
+    firearms forbidden--Seizure of Mr Moss--Wounding of a Japanese
+    policeman--Trial and sentence of Mr Moss--His liberation in
+    Hongkong--Sues the Minister and obtains damages--Legal supremacy
+    at Hongkong--Defects of the consular jurisdiction--The recreation
+    of shooting.
+
+These fierce struggles, the sudden arousing to intensity of dormant
+passions, the dislocation of the whole structure of Japanese polity,
+represented to the foreign nations merely the risks and sacrifices
+incidental to the expansion of their commerce. In order to compel the
+Government to permit the people to exchange the products of their soil for
+the merchandise of the strangers within their gates, the labour, anxiety,
+and expense which we have only faintly indicated were voluntarily incurred
+by the Western treaty Powers, and by them in turn forced on the reluctant
+rulers of Japan. An _a priori_ judgment of the probable effect of the
+sanguinary conditions into which official intercourse had been thrown
+would probably have concluded that peaceful commerce could not under such
+circumstances exist. The restrictions resulting from an ill-regulated
+currency, and from the direct interference of the Government, might have
+been deemed sufficient of themselves to check the development of trade.
+When to these inimical influences were superadded the further facts that
+the foreign traders went in peril of their lives, that the communities
+of Nagasaki and Yokohama were at different times in such danger that
+provisional arrangements were made for conveying them, bag and baggage, on
+board ship, a condition of things less favourable to international traffic
+could scarcely be conceived. Yet these difficulties, and a score of others
+which could be enumerated, served only to bring into clear recognition
+the inherent vitality of commerce, which, like running water, finds its
+way through or round almost any obstacle. There were, on the other hand,
+circumstances favourable to trade. In Japan, as has been already hinted,
+the traders of the country had neither part nor lot in the strife that
+raged above and around them, and for the most part they could pursue their
+peaceful avocations without fear or hindrance. So the quality of commerce
+was not strained; but, shedding its benefits on buyer and seller alike,
+it grew from small beginnings till it attained to a volume of world-wide
+importance, accumulating momentum as it progressed.
+
+The total amount of foreign trade was a little over one million sterling
+per annum for the first three years of the open ports. In the fourth year,
+1863, the development of Japanese produce, especially the more precious
+commodities, silk and the eggs of the silkworm, began to tell on the gross
+values, and the exports for that year amounted to two and a half millions
+sterling, the imports of foreign goods being £811,000. The year 1864,
+notwithstanding its crowded events of anti-commercial character, witnessed
+a notable advance in the value of foreign trade, which in that year
+doubled itself. The same thing occurred again in 1865, when the figures
+reached a total of eight millions sterling, being double the returns for
+1864.
+
+Thus the foreign trade of Japan had fairly established itself as "a going
+concern," advancing in war and peace, but with great fluctuations and many
+vicissitudes to those engaged in it. From the purely commercial standpoint
+the result justified the anticipations of the Powers who opened Japan to
+the world. The event proved that when the materials of trade exist there
+trade is sure to follow on the removal of obstructions. And the materials
+of trade are not wanting wherever there is a population that wears clothes
+and builds houses.[11]
+
+It is obvious to remark that had it been in the power of the Japanese
+Government to place an effective interdict on foreign commerce at its
+sources within their own jurisdiction, and beyond the reach of treaty
+obligations, it would have been the surest means of causing the withdrawal
+of foreigners from the country. That the Government had the will to do so
+was shown by their repeated partial attempts at preventing produce from
+reaching the open ports, and even inducing a temporary exodus therefrom
+of the native population. Why their measures of repression were not more
+thorough may be conjectured to have been connected with the circumstance
+that the advantages of the foreign trade soon began to be felt in quarters
+with which it was not convenient for the Tycoon to inter-meddle.
+
+As in China, so in Japan, the relations of the merchants to their
+official representatives exercised a certain influence on events. The
+trade was carried on at first by a very small number of people. In 1861
+there were not 200 foreign residents in all the ports of Japan, the
+British nationality predominating in Yokohama, the Dutch at Nagasaki.
+The British residents in the former port seem to have numbered about
+fifty. It was a small body to carry the burden of inaugurating commercial
+intercourse with an empire of thirty millions of people. Nor was it
+individually a community of any particular weight, being mostly composed
+of young men, not themselves principals, but, in the beginning at least,
+a considerable number of them occupying the position of delegates of
+mercantile houses in China. It was their representative character which
+lent importance to the foreign merchants in Japan. They represented,
+first of all, the establishments of which they were subordinates or
+offshoots; they represented their respective nations; and they, in
+a larger sense, represented the commercial creed of Christendom. The
+present sketch would be wanting in symmetry if no account were taken
+of the relationship of these handfuls of traders to their own national
+authorities, both being engaged in the struggle for the development and
+security of commerce under the trying conditions of the time and country.
+But of course any such inquiry practically limits itself to those of
+British nationality, for two reasons: British trade and British diplomacy
+were pre-eminently representative of all others by the preponderance of
+the interests involved; in addition to which, the strong individuality
+and matured experience of the first British envoy were such that his
+colleagues tacitly assigned to him the leading _rôle_, so that his was the
+personality which exerted the dominant influence in shaping events from
+the opening of the ports.
+
+The tendency to divergence of view between the merchants and their
+official representatives has already been remarked upon in connection with
+affairs in China: it was most pronounced in times of difficulty such as
+were chronic for more than twenty years in Canton, where it was so acute
+at one time that English Chambers of Commerce made formal complaint to the
+Foreign Office that its representative in China--Sir John Davis--refused
+to see the merchants in Canton, who desired to present their views to him
+in time of danger. The antagonism was natural: it is generically the same
+that one hears constantly in this country in the form of complaints and
+criticisms of Government, Government servants, and generally of all in
+authority--with, however, this difference, that in the many-sided life of
+a large society there are buffers between the critics and the criticised.
+They do not meet face to face unless it be in such circumstances as on
+the floor of "the House" with "a substantial piece of furniture" between;
+whereas in nascent communities composed of a few scores of individuals,
+where there is no tempering medium, where the parties are never out
+of each other's sight, differences are apt to become accentuated like
+village scandals. Nothing escapes censure; the smallest indiscretions
+have a magnifying lens constantly applied to them, and a sinister colour
+is given to innocent trifles. Interests are not diversified, shaded
+off, or balanced as in adult nations, but are narrow, concentrated, and
+highly sensitive. Between Minister and merchants there was of course a
+general identity of interest. They had a common test to apply to all
+their proceedings and aspirations, the furtherance of commerce. The
+official would, perhaps, add the qualifying adjective "legitimate," in the
+interpretation of which differences of opinion might arise; and he would
+naturally give a wider scope to the commercial idea than those actually
+engaged in trade could or ought to do.
+
+The Minister represents the interests of Great Britain as a whole; the
+merchants represent trade generally, but each of them his own interests
+particularly, and these various interests cannot always coincide. An
+Englishman would naturally give a preference to the manufactures of his
+own country, but as a merchant he has to study the requirements of the
+country in which he trades, and if he cannot supply them at all, or so
+well, by articles manufactured in his own country, he is obliged to seek
+them elsewhere. Officials are apt to look askance on this as not fostering
+the trade of Great Britain; and while recognising the necessity, the fact
+does not warm their sympathy for the merchants of their own country. There
+are times also when, from the international point of view, the general
+interests of the country may override the special interests of the small
+British community in Japan. If policy requires intimate relations between
+the Governments, the tendency must inevitably be for the British Minister
+to minimise the just causes of complaint of his countrymen in order to
+avoid irritation. But the sufferers can hardly be expected to appreciate
+sacrifices so forced on them; and so from one cause and another there will
+never be wanting grounds of dissatisfaction, and possibly estrangement.
+
+But the ultimate object being definitely agreed upon between the two
+parties, there would still remain room for variance in the means,
+questions of tactics, of the nearer or the further view, of the present
+generation and the next, and so on _ad infinitum_. Where there was a
+third party influencing and opposing legitimate commerce by direct or
+indirect means, as the Government of China or Japan, whose machinations
+called for strong measures of resistance, the occasions of impatience and
+dissatisfaction would be frequent, and friction between the representative
+and his constituents would naturally result. But perhaps the most
+antagonistic of all to harmony was the fact already pointed out, that in
+extra-territorialised countries like China and Japan the representatives
+of the treaty Powers were necessarily intrusted with exceptional authority
+over the persons of their nationals--for they had to assume the functions
+denied to the native Governments, of giving the law to the settlers and
+punishing evil-doers. What an invidious and onerous position this entailed
+on British officials will presently be shown. Yet it was a temporary
+necessity, for which nobody was blamable.
+
+In treating of the period of the consulship in Shanghai, a certain
+distance or aloofness between Consul Alcock and the community of his
+nationals was remarked upon, due to difference of age, taste, culture, or
+temperament. This characteristic was rather accentuated than otherwise
+by the local circumstances of Japan. The Minister was ten years older,
+while the community was about as much younger than in Shanghai, so
+that the disparity of age was increased. The mere conditions of life
+also placed a material gulf between the diplomatic representatives in
+Yedo and the lay residents of Yokohama. The capital city being closed
+to all but the diplomatic body, visitors not only required a pass from
+one of the Ministers, but, in the absence of available accommodation,
+strangers had to rely on the hospitality of the foreign Legations. The
+curiosity to see Yedo, which in the early days so attracted tourists
+and travellers, threw a heavy and most unfair burden of entertainment on
+the Ministers, the principal victim of these birds of passage being of
+course the representative of Great Britain. So long, therefore, as the
+Legations remained in Yedo the barrier was effectual against personal
+intercourse between the Ministers and the permanent residents in Yokohama,
+even had mutual affinity been stronger than it was. Like most things,
+this local separation between the communities and their representative
+had its advantages and disadvantages. While on the one hand it was not
+conducive to intimacy, on the other the risk of personal friction was
+eliminated by it. Nor was direct intercourse at all necessary in the
+conduct of business, seeing the regular official medium of communication
+was the local consuls, who had nothing of the Olympian about them, and
+were felt by the residents to be men of like passions with themselves,
+with easy manners, the spirit of good fellowship, and imbued with the
+characteristic sporting proclivities of Englishmen at home and abroad,
+always an effective bond of sympathy.
+
+The relations of Sir Rutherford Alcock with the mercantile community
+had not been very happily inaugurated, for he clearly felt officially
+aggrieved by their settling in Yokohama, instead of waiting till
+accommodation could be found for them in Kanagawa; so much so, indeed,
+that he seemed almost to deplore the absence of means of coercing them
+into obedience to his will.
+
+While the sore as to the location of the settlement was still somewhat
+raw, the Minister found yet another grievance against the merchants
+in the fabulous demands for Japanese coins which a few of them had put
+forward, by way of burlesquing the system of distribution by the native
+authorities. The severity with which this schoolboyish escapade was
+pilloried, and the community of Yokohama held up to the opprobrium of
+the world, was felt by them as going beyond what the merits of the case
+warranted, and the incident did not tend to mollify acerbities on either
+side.
+
+A year later evidence of a certain widening of the breach became more
+conspicuous in the course of a rather exceptional lawsuit, in which a
+merchant was heavily mulcted for an offence of which the general opinion
+was that he was not guilty. A certain Mr Moss was arrested, cruelly
+maltreated, and hidden from his official protector, the consul, by a posse
+of Japanese police, for having shot game in the vicinity of Kanagawa.
+When faced by these armed men, Mr Moss cocked his gun and threatened
+any one who should approach to lay hands on him. The party was numerous
+enough to surround and wrest the gun from him, which somehow went off,
+wounding one of the men badly in the arm. The Minister ordered the consul
+to prosecute Mr Moss for murder, in the Queen's name, the consul himself
+being judge, sitting with two assessors. The accused was sentenced to pay
+a fine of 1000 dollars (£225) and to be deported from Japan. The assessors
+dissented, on the ground that the Japanese evidence was falsified to
+order, and that the prisoner was in their opinion innocent of the charge
+on which he was tried. In consequence of this dissent the judgment had
+to be referred to the Minister, who added to the consul's sentence three
+months' imprisonment in Hongkong, whither the culprit was conveyed in a
+British ship of war. After a week's incarceration in the Hongkong jail the
+warrant for imprisonment was found defective, and Mr Moss was released.
+He was then advised to bring an action against Sir Rutherford Alcock in
+the Supreme Court at Hongkong, which occupied twelve months, and ended
+in a jury awarding damages against the Minister for false imprisonment,
+that being the only part of the sentence which could be brought within
+the jurisdiction of the Hongkong court. As regards the original sentence
+of fine and deportation, the Foreign Office, by advice of their law
+officers, had long before quashed the conviction and ordered the fine to
+be remitted.
+
+A parallel case had occurred in Canton in 1846. Sir John Davis instructed
+the consul there to levy a fine on a British subject for an alleged
+offence. Whether just or not, it was illegal, and on appeal to the Supreme
+Court in Hongkong, of which colony Sir John Davis himself was governor,
+the judgment of the consul was reversed, and the fine of 200 dollars
+refunded. Even Sir Frederick Bruce, with all his circumspection, did
+not escape falling into the same error with regard to the division of
+legal authority between himself and the Supreme Court. "From a careful
+perusal of ... her Majesty's Order in Council," he writes, "the chief
+superintendent of trade [himself] in cases arising under this section is
+the Supreme Court in China: it is for him to prescribe to the consul the
+course he is to pursue, and the Supreme Court at Hongkong cannot interfere
+in such matters." Her Majesty's Government, however, replied: "You fall
+into an error by confounding two distinct questions.... You are mistaken
+in treating the question which you have referred to them for decision as
+depending upon the 4th and following articles of the Order in Council,"
+and so on. So that had it fallen to his lot to give a decision involving
+a penalty, he would have been sued not before himself, but before the
+Supreme Court at Hongkong, and would have sustained the same reverse as
+Sir Rutherford Alcock had done.
+
+These bald facts of the case supplied a striking illustration of the vices
+of the consular court system, which was in vogue in China for twenty years
+until the establishment of the Supreme Court for China and Japan in 1865.
+Consuls were called upon to exercise judicial functions, and Ministers
+those of Courts of Appeal, without the slightest preparatory training,
+and as often as not without natural aptitude. In criminal cases they were
+at once prosecutors and judges, it might even be executioners as well.
+The state of conflict in which they lived with the native authorities, of
+whom they were accustomed to demand in vain the punishment of malefactors,
+placed British officers under continual temptation to prove how promptly
+they could bring to justice their own nationals accused of offences
+against the natives. This idea of giving object-lessons to Chinese and
+Japanese pervades the consular and diplomatic records. English officials
+seem to have been oppressed with the reflection of what the natives would
+think of the failure of justice in any particular case, and they were
+ever apprehensive of political dangers or embarrassments as contingent on
+misunderstood lenity to "white men"--natural and proper feelings on the
+part of mere political agents, but quite foreign to the administration
+of justice according to the rules and maxims of civilised nations. It
+seems not unlikely that the obvious lessons of the Moss case itself as
+to the incompatibility of judicial and administrative functions, and the
+unfair responsibility which their combination threw upon the consular
+and diplomatic officers, hastened the realisation of the scheme of an
+independent judiciary which was so strongly advocated by Sir Rutherford
+Alcock in 'The Capital of the Tycoon.'
+
+These various incidents, and sundry vexatious restrictions imposed on them
+from time to time for their own security, no doubt disposed the residents
+to look askance at many acts of the Minister, the reasons for which failed
+to impress them. But though the surface of the relations between the
+Minister and the merchants was thus perturbed, and regrettable, in the
+common interest, as the lukewarmness of personal sympathy may have been,
+the residents never failed in their respect for the high and sterling
+qualities of the Minister, and the courageous manner in which he fought
+for his country's interests. It only needed an emergency to give definite
+expression to this feeling, and no testimony could be stronger, more
+genuine, or less conventional than the farewell addresses in which the
+merchants of Yokohama and Nagasaki summed up the brilliant record of a
+man of whom they never ceased to feel proud. Instead of detracting from
+the value of such spontaneous testimony, the minor differences only lent
+emphasis to it, and set the seal of deep conviction on what in an ordinary
+case might have passed as the language of mere compliment.
+
+As shooting has been alluded to as an occasion of trouble, a word or two
+on the subject of this amusement may have an interest for certain readers.
+To the Japanese the pursuit of game seemed to be as strange a form of
+sport as the other vagaries of the foreigner. Firearms were not in use
+with them, cold steel being the regulation weapon of offence. There was a
+tradition that the discharge of firearms within twenty-five miles of the
+Tycoon's palace was prohibited by law,--what law or how promulgated was
+never clearly made out, though the motive was intelligible enough. For
+whatever reason, such game as there was in the country had evidently not
+been disturbed; the pheasants were not wilder than the English stall-fed
+variety. Small shooting-parties were in the habit of going out for a day,
+or half a day, from Yokohama and Kanagawa with dogs and native beaters
+among the coppices where the birds lay. The country itself was so charming
+to walk or ride over, the peasant-folk were so polite and merry, that
+heavy bags were not needed to attract sportsmen. Still, a good shot with
+industry and a shrewd acquaintance with the habits of the game could
+often get several brace of the splendid green pheasant of the country
+(_Phasianus versicolor_) in an afternoon; while at rarer intervals the
+finger would tremble on the trigger as one of those magnificent birds
+called locally the "copper" pheasant (Soemerring's), with tail feathers
+as long as a peacock's, would rise from the furrows and sail grandly
+into the impenetrable thicket. Objections had been taken by the Japanese
+officials to this form of amusement, because it was not the policy of the
+rulers to familiarise the people with the sight of firearms, still less
+to facilitate their acquiring them. In accordance with representations
+from the authorities, the British consul had requested his nationals in
+1859 to desist for a time until some arrangement was come to. This they
+did, but in the following season resumed the sport, in which there were
+no keener participants than the British consular officers. A contemporary
+writer in September 1860 thus refers to the return of the shooting season:
+"There being nothing to do, we are all looking forward anxiously to the
+1st October, on which day the first onslaught on the feathered race takes
+place. The weather is now hot, but we are all in very good health....
+We live in a beautiful country, among a civil, amicable, kind-hearted,
+and intelligent people. We can roam over the country without let or
+hindrance." It is curious to note by the way how tenacious the Englishman
+is of the punctilio of his game laws, carrying his observance of them into
+countries where he and his laws are alike strangers, and where in many
+cases the principles are not applicable to the local conditions.
+
+A new element in the sport appeared with the advent of cold weather, in
+the form of flocks of wildfowl, chiefly geese, which spread themselves
+over the low-lying grounds, mostly at some miles distant from the
+settlements. They were "geese," indeed, quite unsophisticated, having no
+fear of man before their eyes--inherited instinct apparently at fault.
+"Their tameness was shocking" at first, but they wonderfully soon learned
+to be wary with a foreigner and a gun. The morning's bag of one early
+riser, riding six miles and back to a nine o'clock breakfast, late in
+November, dwindled rapidly from 12 to 6, 4, 2. The birds were shot within
+200 yards of the _tokaido_, and in full view of many curious spectators,
+armed and unarmed. Men were hired on the spot to carry the game along the
+six miles of highroad and through the long street of Kanagawa, the whole
+proceeding, in short, enjoying the utmost possible publicity.
+
+The unfortunate Mr Moss, however, a few days later, toiled a whole day
+and bagged one, with the consequences we have seen. Whether it was law
+or not, the evidence supplied by the birds themselves of prescriptive
+immunity from gunpowder attack was overwhelming. Hitherto the heavy winged
+wildfowl had felt safe so long as they kept out of sword-range of the
+human biped, but the new experience of a detonating missile fatal at fifty
+yards broke up in a week the habits of generations, and forced them to
+promptly readjust themselves to their environment.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [1] "We are never for a moment unwatched; ... if my servant
+    runs after a butterfly, a two-sworded official runs after
+    him."--Laurence Oliphant, Letter from Yedo, July 1861.
+
+ [2] "As a general rule, our guardians exercise their functions with
+    civility; when they are impertinent, one has to submit as one
+    would to one's jailor.... With entire humility, one is in no
+    danger whatever."--Oliphant, 2nd July 1861.
+
+ [3] The effect of the commercial isolation of Japan on the value
+    of general commodities was no less striking. The first foreign
+    traders might have bought with eyes shut nearly every article that
+    was offered to them, so great was the disparity of prices between
+    Japan and her nearest markets. Mr Hunter gives an interesting
+    example. "I had in go-downs," he says, "8000 piculs of sapan-wood
+    imported from Manila unsaleable at one dollar and a quarter per
+    picul, which was about its cost. Immediately that the opening
+    of the port of Simoda to foreign trade was announced officially,
+    an English vessel was chartered to carry it there. Brief--it was
+    sold for 35 dollars per picul, and the proceeds were invested in
+    Japanese vegetable wax at a cost of 6½ dollars, and sold for $17
+    the picul (133â…“ lb. English)," so that in the short voyage from
+    China to Japan and back the capital multiplied seventy times!
+
+ [4] A story is told of two Samurai meeting on a bridge which was too
+    narrow to allow of their passing each other. Neither being willing
+    to give way, they were about to settle the difficulty at the
+    point of the sword, when a peasant, strolling along the dry bed of
+    the stream, offered to extricate them without loss of dignity on
+    either side. Amused at his impertinence, and curious to see how
+    he would effect his purpose, they consented to humour him; and
+    when each, following his instructions, was seated in one of the
+    baskets at either end of the pole he was carrying, he swung it
+    round on to the opposite shoulder, asked pardon, bowed, and went
+    on his way, leaving them each facing in the direction in which he
+    would proceed.
+
+ [5] Ieyasu says the Samurai are the masters of the four classes.
+    Agriculturists, artisans, and merchants may not behave in a rude
+    manner towards Samurai. The term for a rude man is, "other than
+    expected fellow"; and a Samurai is not to be interfered with in
+    cutting down a fellow who has behaved to him in a manner other
+    than is expected. The Samurai are grouped into direct retainers,
+    secondary retainers and nobles, and retainers of high and low
+    grade; but the same line of conduct is equally allowable to them
+    all towards an "other than expected fellow."
+
+ [6] "All my old friends have disappeared," writes Laurence Oliphant
+    on his return to Yedo as secretary of Legation. "One who was an
+    especial favourite of mine when I was here last, ripped himself
+    up a short time ago; and two of the other commissioners are
+    disgraced, and it is supposed have followed his example. This was
+    all on account of their friendship for foreigners. Every one, down
+    to the lowest interpreter, who has had anything to do with the
+    introduction of foreigners, has disappeared or been disgraced."
+
+ [7] This man, Murioka by name, became afterwards well known to
+    foreigners, and was always ready to talk freely about the whole
+    transaction. When asked why he struck at a lady he would reply,
+    "How should I know, never having seen a foreign woman, least of
+    all on horseback?"
+
+ [8] It was a common thing for a Daimio to rid himself of the irksome
+    obligations of his position by abdicating in favour of his son.
+    On better acquaintance Shimadso Saburo proved a most genial old
+    gentleman. Three years later he entertained Sir Harry and Lady
+    Parkes at his capital most hospitably.
+
+ [9] Count Inouyé, the foremost statesman of the new Japan, is said
+    to have confessed that he set fire to the British Legation with
+    his own hand with the express object of embarrassing the Tycoon's
+    Government.
+
+ [10] The following souvenir of Count Mutsu, Foreign Minister of
+    Japan, who died in 1897, told by Mr J. F. Lowder and quoted in
+    'Things Japanese' by Mr Basil Hall Chamberlain, affords a graphic
+    illustration of this point. "In the very early Sixties, when
+    he was in his nineteenth or twentieth year, he was in Nagasaki
+    desirous of acquiring a knowledge of English. A lady of my
+    acquaintance taking an interest in him used to devote an hour or
+    two every morning to teaching him to read and write, but it was
+    not long before he came to me despairing of his slow progress, and
+    asking whether I could not give him a berth on board ship where
+    nothing but English was spoken. Believing him to be physically too
+    weak to stand such an ordeal, I endeavoured to dissuade him, but
+    without success; and so with some misgivings I shipped him as a
+    cabin-boy, which was the only position I could obtain for him, on
+    board a small British schooner that used in those days to voyage
+    between Nagasaki and Shanghai. How long he remained on board I
+    cannot say, but my recollection is that it was a very considerable
+    time."
+
+ [11] The foreign trade of Japan now (1900) approximates 40 millions
+    sterling, exports and imports being very nearly balanced.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK IN PEKING, 1865-1869.
+
+
+I. THE BRITISH LEGATION.
+
+    Contrast between Peking and Yedo--Finds old comrade Wade--The
+    Manchu statesmen, Kung and Wênsiang--Material progress pressed
+    upon them--Their failure to appreciate foreign advice.
+
+Sir Rutherford Alcock had spent only a few months in England when he was
+appointed to succeed Sir Frederick Bruce as Minister to China, he himself
+being succeeded in Japan by Sir Harry Parkes. Sir Rutherford reached
+his post in Peking at the close of 1865. The change of scene from Japan
+back to China was even more striking than that from China to Japan had
+been in 1859. The excitement of shooting the rapids was succeeded by the
+weariness of meandering among mud-shoals--the same medium to work in,
+only under different conditions. Fundamentally the international problem
+was identical in Japan and China--the conflict between aggression and
+resistance. Rational dread of, and natural repulsion to, foreigners,
+inspired alike the policies of both countries. Where they differed was
+in the manner of meeting the invasion. Japan braced herself nervously
+to the effort, and, distinguishing between what was feasible and what
+was not, organised a counter-invasion unsuspected by foreign nations,
+whom she subdued by their own strength. China, on the other hand,
+opposed a fatalistic and unreasoning resistance, making no intelligent
+counter-stroke and showing no true anticipation of the issues of the
+struggle. The energy of ambitious youth on the one side; on the other mere
+inertia, irresponsive to the stimulus of pride, shame, patriotism, or even
+material interest. Bearing this contrast in mind, we may partly understand
+the prosaic _rôle_ which foreign representatives were doomed in China to
+play from the time the capital was forced open by Anglo-French arms in
+1860.
+
+The position of the new British Minister was different from that which he
+had occupied in Japan, where, being first in the field, he had to make
+precedents, whereas in China he had to follow the course which had been
+marked out during the previous four years. In judging of the wisdom of
+that course, it is fair to apply the same retrospective criterion that we
+proposed in the case of Japan--namely, to consider the situation so far as
+it was known and could be realised at the time. Notwithstanding all that
+had gone before, China in general, and Peking in particular, remained as
+great mysteries to foreigners as Japan itself. The pioneer diplomatists
+had to create their diplomacy out of their own consciousness, working upon
+an idea which they imported, and not on the objective facts, which were
+mere chaos to them.
+
+Sir Rutherford Alcock had the happiness to find the Peking Legation
+in charge of his old vice-consul, Thomas Wade, from whom he had been
+officially separated for ten years. Mr Wade was Chinese secretary and
+secretary of Legation, offices which were some years later separated, to
+the infinite detriment of both. For the secretary of Legation, drawn from
+the ranks of the diplomatic service, had neither knowledge of nor interest
+in Chinese affairs, nor aught to do but wait idly for the contingency
+which might make him _chargé d'affaires_, reckoning every month spent
+in the country as a penance entitling him to swift promotion to a more
+congenial sphere. And the Chinese secretaryship, by itself, offered no
+attraction to an ambitious man. But in 1865 the combination of offices was
+most important, especially in the hands of a man of so much distinction
+as Mr Wade. As the custodian of the Bruce tradition, if indeed he had not
+a large share in its evolution, he bridged the gulf between the outgoing
+and the incoming Minister, much as the Permanent Under-Secretary does at
+the Foreign Office.
+
+As Mr (afterwards Sir Thomas) Wade, in the capacity of secretary, _chargé
+d'affaires_, and Minister Plenipotentiary, represented Great Britain at
+the Chinese Court for the best part of a quarter of a century, a term
+equal to that of the other six Ministers put together, a brief reference
+to his personality seems necessary to a just comprehension of the course
+of affairs during his long residence in Peking.
+
+Mr Wade began life as a soldier. He had been in the "Black Watch," but,
+being the only officer who could not speak Gaelic, found it congenial to
+exchange into the 98th Regiment, with which he served in China during the
+first war. He was adjutant of the regiment, which was commanded by Colonel
+Campbell, afterwards Lord Clyde. When peace was made in 1842, he resigned
+his commission and betook himself to the study of Chinese and of Chinese
+subjects. After qualifying as interpreter he became Chinese secretary to
+the Superintendency of Trade, which until 1858 was domiciled in Hongkong.
+Transferred to the consular service, he was for some years interpreter and
+vice-consul at Shanghai, where it fell to his lot to command the local
+volunteers in the attack on the Chinese Imperial camps in 1854. He was
+the first executive head of the Maritime Customs, established in the same
+year, his services being lent by his chief to start the new institution.
+Attached to Lord Elgin in his two missions to China, he was appointed
+secretary of Legation and Chinese secretary under Sir Frederick Bruce when
+the Legation was installed in Peking.
+
+Wheresoever Mr Wade's lot was cast he was beloved for his Irish geniality,
+open-mindedness, and sincerity. He was the soul of honour, and was
+possessed by the spirit of chivalry much beyond the common measure. His
+best friends would never wish to forget his endearing infirmities of
+temper, associated as they were with the generous _amende_ which never
+failed to follow an over-hasty word. A well-read man, with a memory like
+Macaulay's, a brilliant _raconteur_ and inimitable mimic, he was the
+delight of every society. The services which he was enabled, by many
+years of arduous labour, to render to succeeding generations of students
+of Chinese are incalculable, and if his work begins now to be superseded
+by that of others, this is but the common fate of pioneers in every
+department of research.
+
+Sir Thomas Wade's character may thus be fitly and fairly summed up in
+the hackneyed epithet, "a scholar and a gentleman,"--but not therefore
+a statesman. His mind was cast in another and a finer mould than befits
+the political arena; and, unnatural as the inference may seem, it is
+open to question whether his extensive knowledge of China was the best
+qualification for dealing at first hand with current affairs, even in
+that country. Profound researches into Chinese literature and philosophy
+tend to overshadow and induce a distaste for the jarring questions of
+the day. Seen through the luminous haze of its classic history, China
+presents to the contemplative mind an object of reverence unlike any
+other existing State, for the thread of its continuity since the time
+before Abraham is unbroken. Grander than hewn stone or graven bronze, the
+monuments of China are written books, and a living race, the heirs of all
+her ages, to be conversed with and interrogated. The burden of such vast
+homogeneous antiquity may well oppress the mere man of politics: he needs
+a certain alloy of Philistinism and a limitation of view to enable him to
+concentrate his attention on the exigencies of the passing hour.
+
+  [Illustration: PRINCE KUNG.]
+
+Relations which might be called intimate had been established between
+the two Manchu statesmen, Prince Kung and Wênsiang, and the foreign
+representatives. When these high personages were forced to assume
+responsibility for international relations, they were not only unversed
+in foreign affairs but untrained to any kind of business. The work of the
+six Boards was carried on by expert secretaries, and the presidency of
+one of them would have been no qualification for the new duty thrust upon
+the emperor's Ministers of transacting business with foreign officials
+standing on an equality with themselves. Their older colleague, Hangki,
+had gained a little foreign knowledge by observation and hearsay while
+filling the lucrative office of _hoppo_ at Canton; but the two younger men
+mistrusted him, perhaps with reason, possibly from the suspicion naturally
+aroused by his possession of superior knowledge. Prince Kung and Wênsiang
+recognised that they had everything to learn, and they were apt and eager
+scholars. Considering all the circumstances, it is indeed marvellous how
+they adjusted themselves by innate tact to the novel position, and how
+quickly they assimilated new knowledge. Many illuminating discussions were
+carried on between them and the foreign representatives, who on their part
+were no less desirous of imparting than the Chinese were of acquiring
+information respecting the outer world. In these interesting symposia
+Mr Wade naturally played the prominent part. On the enchanted ground of
+Chinese history and literature, also, the interlocutors made endless
+excursions together; and Chinese philosophy being directed to conduct
+rather than speculation, it was possible to deduce from the teaching of
+the sages authority for the adoption of almost any useful measure. Between
+the modern innovator, therefore, though in foreign garb, and the ancient
+moralists there was no such intellectual disagreement as sympathetic
+explanations could not resolve.
+
+It might have been justifiable to conclude that the Chinese were being
+influenced for good by the well-meant counsels so copiously addressed to
+them, were it not that the tutorial being so entirely incompatible with
+the diplomatic function, no useful result could be expected from their
+strained combination. It was as if one were to teach a novice the moves
+in a game which the two were at the same time playing for serious stakes.
+
+These interminable interviews and voluminous memoranda were wholly
+unproductive, owing, no doubt, to the fact that the ideas of the parties
+ran on parallel lines destined never to come to any point of fertile
+contact. The burden of the cry of the Western people was "progress," a
+word without equivalent in the language, and expressing an idea which
+had no place in the conception of the Chinese. Incessant repetition
+with varying illustrations were to the Chinese as flowers of rhetoric
+wasted on a deaf man, and that simply because the basis of the Chinese
+political thought lay at the opposite pole from that of the European.
+On one occasion a distinguished American promoter was expatiating to the
+governor of Formosa on the advantages of railway communication, his most
+telling example being his own experience in being rushed along after an
+early breakfast from his house in Albany to New York, where he spent the
+day transacting important business and got wheeled back again to Albany
+for dinner. The governor stopped him, and asked what in the name of
+sanity possessed him to lead such a wearing life, as the last thing he
+(the governor) would dream of doing would be to live a hundred miles from
+his work. Though the earliest public advocate of railroads in China, the
+governor regarded their utility from a far different point of view.
+
+  [Illustration: WÊNSIANG.
+   _From a photo by J. Thomson, Grosvenor Street, W._]
+
+So eager were the foreigners for progress, which in their mind included
+the regeneration of the Chinese empire and the development of its full
+capacity for self-defence, that they were wont to rejoice over the
+slightest indications of a beginning being made. Thus the mission of a man
+of no standing as a secretary of the Tsungli-Yamên, who was sent to Europe
+in 1866 to take observations, was hailed as the beginning of the new era,
+and commended so warmly by the foreign Ministers to their Governments
+that the emissary was received like the Queen of Sheba by King Solomon,
+and shown--at least in Great Britain--everything that was admirable from
+the Western point of view. He was as far, however, from appreciating the
+triumph of science as was Cetewayo, the Zulu, whose admiration of England
+focussed itself on the elephant "Jumbo" at the Zoological Gardens, or the
+Scotswoman who, after being shown over the British Museum, had carried
+away from it one impression, and that of the "graund mat" at the door.
+The Chinese Government's appreciation of Western progress was by no means
+increased by the mission of Pin, which rather indeed produced a contrary
+effect. China soon began to put forth fresh claims to go her own way, her
+own way being directly opposed to the kind of progress which was being
+pressed upon her.
+
+The Chinese in following the doctrines of the sages felt they were under
+the guidance of Heaven, so that innovations appeared to them tainted with
+impiety. So deeply did the worship of the past pervade their field of
+thought, that when high officials ventured to introduce something new,
+they usually endeavoured to disarm opposition by gilding their proposals
+with well-selected texts from the classics.
+
+
+II. FOREIGN LIFE IN PEKING.
+
+    Social influence of the Alcock family--Sir Rutherford's relations
+    with his staff--No social relations with natives--Manchu
+    courtesy to English ladies--Community of foreigners sociable yet
+    non-cohesive--Description of city--Foreign residency--Objects
+    of interest--The streets--Mules--Camels--Mongol market--Fur
+    sales--Absence of regulations--Street anecdotes--Summer
+    residences.
+
+By the end of 1865 the foreign life in Peking, official, social, and
+private, had already settled into the grooves prescribed by local
+conditions, within which it has, more or less, run ever since.
+
+  [Illustration: MANCHU (TARTAR) WOMEN.]
+
+Nevertheless, the advent of Sir Rutherford and Lady Alcock, with their
+daughter, now Lady Pelly, introduced an element into the social atmosphere
+of Peking which has afforded the happiest reminiscences to those who came
+under its influence. We have seen that Sir Rutherford Alcock, by force of
+character, conviction, and sense of duty, naturally assumed the lead among
+his peers wherever he happened to be placed. A German resident in Peking
+at the time we are speaking of says, "I remember very well that fine
+English gentleman, who was conscious of representing the greatest country
+of the world, and did it well." The official personality of the British
+Minister could not be more truly depicted than in these simple words; but
+this natural pre-eminence extended far beyond the official sphere, and
+made itself felt for the general good in the common relations of life.
+His dealings with subordinates were marked by thoroughgoing loyalty; his
+rule was to give his confidence without reserve to those who merited
+it, to support and defend them in the discharge of their duty. He was
+accessible, always ready to listen to the opinions even of his juniors,
+and though exacting as regards work, he never spared himself, but set an
+example of industry to those who served under him. He possessed that rare
+faculty of appreciation which enables a man to command services which no
+money could buy. The survivors of his staff to this day speak of him in
+affectionate terms as the best of chiefs. In business he was strictly,
+perhaps even rigidly, formal, and his manner was intolerant of laxity in
+others. When the official crust was put off like a suit of armour, the
+genial depths of his nature were reached, but the number of those who
+enjoyed this experience seems never to have been large. Select, but few,
+were the friends of his bosom.
+
+The foreign residents in Peking did not number many, and, with the
+exception of the Legations, were rather widely scattered over a city of
+vast distances. The original community consisted of about sixty persons,
+distributed over the four Legations, the customs' staff, and missionary
+establishments. It was a community of young men "about twenty-four years
+of age," eminently social, no member being a stranger to the rest, and all
+living in friendly intercourse. The Legations may almost be said to have
+sat with open doors, so easy were their interchanges of informal visits.
+During the time of Sir Rutherford and Lady Alcock their hospitalities
+rendered the British Legation the chief centre of social interest, while
+the unaffected kindness which inspired these courtesies endeared its
+inmates to all their fellow-residents. That, indeed, was the golden age of
+the British Legation, and, it may be added, of the general social life of
+the Chinese capital, a period when life-long friendships were formed. The
+time had not yet come for international rivalries to mar the cordiality
+of personal intercourse. Indeed in the convivialities of Peking national
+distinctions were absolutely lost, and so to a great extent were the
+distinctions of rank. On the racecourse, which was early instituted, as
+in the billiard-room, picnic excursions, and the like, all were free and
+all were equal.
+
+  [Illustration: MANCHU WOMEN.]
+
+When we speak of the "social" life of Peking, it must be understood as
+referring exclusively to that of the foreign residents among themselves,
+for between them and the natives there was no such intimacy. But in those
+early days the high Chinese officials seemed to have been more genial than
+those of a later epoch. In the winter of 1860-61, for example, Hangki,
+formerly _hoppo_ of Canton, was in the habit of receiving Mr Adkins
+familiarly at his private residence,--a practice which was afterwards
+gradually discontinued. The arrival of the two ladies at the British
+Legation was the signal for a display of courtesy by the Manchu Ministers,
+who from time to time sent them seasonable presents of plants, flowers,
+and other things, thus establishing agreeable personal relations with the
+Minister. That the advent of ladies to the Legations should have evoked
+the natural politeness of the high officials need not be a matter for
+wonder if it be remembered that the Chinese contempt for women is not
+shared by the Manchus. It is well known that their women are free from
+most of the trammels which contract the lives of their Chinese sisters.
+Their unbound feet symbolise liberty of locomotion generally, and they
+show themselves unveiled and unabashed in public thoroughfares. They have
+the coquetries common to the sex, among which may be reckoned a passion
+for floral decoration of the head, and the universal practice of painting
+the face and lips. This is done in a thoroughgoing manner, and as if the
+paint were "laid on with a trowel," leaving a sharply defined margin on
+cheek and neck between the pink and white and the sallow ground on which
+the colour is overlaid, giving it the appearance of a mask which might
+be easily removed. Even young children are subjected to the cosmetic
+treatment; and the very aged do not discard the artificial flowers in the
+remnant of their hair. As the fairest Chinese have no such natural colour
+as is thus imitated, it is rather difficult to divine whence they derived
+the notion of an ideal human skin.
+
+It is not to be wondered at that the first European girls who appeared in
+Peking should have excited some curiosity. One young lady, probably the
+first arrival, whose fresh and fair complexion suggested the acme of the
+cosmetic art, excited intense interest among the Mongol and Manchu ladies.
+On one occasion she was met in the street by a great princess, who was
+so struck by her appearance that she stopped her _cortège_, alighted from
+her cart, and stood before the English girl and gently rubbed her cheeks
+to find out, as she naively said, how the colour was put on!
+
+The foreign residents at Peking, happy as their circumstances were,
+lacked some of the principal elements of a community properly so called.
+They had, in fact, little in common besides their æsthetic culture and
+their Christian civilisation, the literature, philosophy, and the social
+tenets of the West. They had no head, no centre, no neutral meeting-ground
+even except the racecourse and the open fields, and were thus always
+either hosts or guests to each other. The assumed identity of their high
+political interests gave an appearance of solidarity to the diplomatic
+section; but the fusion of the other elements in the society was far
+from complete, and, in short, outside of the region of recreation and
+conviviality the residents could not be said to be animated by any
+unifying purpose, nor to have any communal existence. Individual isolation
+prevented the aggregate from attaining collective force.
+
+  [Illustration: CHINESE WOMEN.]
+
+These sterilising conditions were aggravated by another feature of
+the situation which had an important bearing on social life. Peking
+was one of the most inaccessible capitals in the world. The great
+tourist-stream passed it by. It stirred no human emotion unless it
+were languid aversion or inarticulate curiosity. The dilettante element
+which has ventilated Japan so well and kept her in constant touch with
+cosmopolitan life-currents has been absent in Northern China. Peking with
+its particular concerns has been thus permitted to lie secluded from the
+world, neither generating fruitful ideas nor inviting or profiting by
+their importation from without; nor, in short, making itself intelligible
+or interesting to mankind other than as an archaic curiosity. China, with
+its immense wealth and resources, weighed less in the consideration of the
+nations than the petty kingdom of Greece or the deadly swamps of Africa.
+Considerations of that kind help to explain the bewilderment with which
+the action of these neglected forces has been received during the past few
+years, and the disarray of the organs of European opinion when suddenly
+called on to deal with the phenomenon of Peking as a daily "headline."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Of the city itself it may be noted that it is magnificently laid out
+within high and massive walls, the gates and corners surmounted by
+bastions and imposing towers pierced with three tiers of gun-ports. The
+main streets are straight and extravagantly wide. Spaciousness is the
+dominant expression of the whole--the back-yard is a feature of the
+meanest one-storeyed hovels. It has not occurred to the Pekingese to
+economise earth-space by vertical architecture ground-ward or sky-ward.
+Viewed from an elevation, the city has the appearance of a vast park:
+the tree-foliage seen in perspective seems to cover the whole area, only
+picked out by yellow and green roofs of imperial and other conspicuous
+buildings. The palace, a city in itself of 10,000 inhabitants, occupies
+an immense _enclave_ symmetrically placed in the centre of the whole.
+
+From such a coign of vantage as the high wall affords, Peking presents
+at once an impressive and a pleasing spectacle. It gives the distance
+necessary to lend enchantment to the view. The soothing hum of a great
+population; the sweetness of an atmosphere untainted, if it be summer,
+or spiced by the aromatic herbs which grow promiscuously between the
+interstices of the bricks, if it be autumn,--enfolds the scene in that
+kind of soft drapery which memory throws over common things long past. One
+lingers, loth to renew a closer acquaintance with the crowd below, which
+no longer hums but utters wild discordant cries,--with the horrors of the
+streets, which are of the earth, earthy. The area contained between the
+rectilinear arteries of the city is dismally laid out on the plan of the
+rabbit-warren. These wide streets are alternately deep mire and deep dust
+at the best, but at the worst, receptacles of indescribable abominations.
+The witty and wise Bishop Favier, when describing these to a friend in
+France, was asked, How could a population living in such insanitary
+conditions resist a visitation of cholera. "Cholera!" exclaimed the
+Father; "it could never enter. It would be asphyxiated at the gate!"[12]
+
+The dust is acrid to nose and eyes, from the dessicated refuse of
+generations, for the streets are watered by long scoops from standing
+pools of sewage which overflow in the summer rains and obliterate the
+roadway, so that animals harnessed between shafts not unfrequently meet
+with a cruel death by drowning in these fœtid thoroughfares.
+
+  [Illustration: CHINESE STREET SCENE DURING RAINY SEASON.]
+
+Such hints as these will be sufficient to suggest to the least imaginative
+that peculiar unattractiveness of the Peking streets which has been
+a determining factor in the habits of the foreign residents. Life
+would be intolerable to Western folks if it were not removed from the
+sights, noises, and odours of the streets; and fortunately the ruling
+local principle of spaciousness lends itself to the solution without
+running counter to any native practice or prejudice. The Legations, the
+customs, and the missionaries are in their various degrees established
+in "compounds" large enough to accommodate the members of their staffs
+in separate buildings with ample elbow-room, as in an Indian cantonment,
+interspaced with trees and sometimes gardens, the whole surrounded by a
+high wall and capable of defence. These seductive oases in a wilderness of
+garbage, in a city of great distances, naturally conduce to stay-at-home
+habits and to segregation, which it requires some energy to overcome.
+
+Nor is Peking life wanting in more mundane compensations. The city itself
+contains many "objects of interest," which in the earlier years of foreign
+intercourse were open to the curious. The well-known "Lama temple,"
+reputed to contain 2000 inmates, which has for many years been dangerous
+to enter, was in those days a much-frequented resort, where the stranger
+was welcome to go over the establishment and listen to the Buddhist
+litanies: a certain bass voice, or perhaps a succession of bass voices, in
+the choir, indeed, attained celebrity among foreigners. In the refectory
+of that monastery one was obliged, out of respect, to eat, or feign to
+eat, the unmitigated fat of the sheep's tail, fished from out the broth,
+not with a hook, as was the custom in the Jewish Church, but by the deft
+fingers of the chief lama. Now, on the contrary, the foreigner who enters
+the gate is hustled, robbed, and stoned. This great change in the attitude
+of the lamas has never been satisfactorily explained, but it is presumed
+that the manners and customs of some of the visitors to the temple may
+have had something to do with it. There have been visitors who, with the
+keen acquisitiveness of the world-tourist, have slipped small "josses"
+into their pockets out of what, perhaps, appeared to them the superfluous
+number of molten images ranged round the shelves of the great Buddha's
+sanctuary.
+
+The Temple of Heaven, too, that grand altar to the Living God, standing
+in an immense park enclosed by a lofty wall, was then, and for many
+years remained, open to all comers. This was perhaps due less to any
+intentional liberality of the authorities than to the negligence of the
+gatekeepers and the Board of Works. For a long time access was gained
+over a broken part of the outer wall left unrepaired. At one period
+English residents played cricket within the vast enclosure; at another
+Billingsgate and brickbats were the ordinary salutations which greeted
+the would-be visitor--the change being probably due to the slow awakening
+of the officials. So with many other places within and without the city,
+for in some cases where direct request was made for extension of the
+accommodation, the effect of drawing official attention to the subject
+was to restrict the privileges which had actually been enjoyed.
+
+Notwithstanding the occasional rudeness of which Dr Rennie has given us so
+faithful a picture, the most unartistic of men could hardly fail to take
+pleasure in the daily traffic of the streets, provided only his nerves,
+visual and olfactory, were not too delicate. The true lord of the roads
+is apt from his commonplaceness to be overlooked by those who owe him
+most--that universal conveyancer, the sagacious, tireless mule. He does
+not belong to the "five great families"--the fox, weasel, hedgehog, snake,
+and rat--which the Chinese hold in mystic awe because they have learned
+the secret of immortality; but if utility to man were a criterion of
+merit, they would surely fall down and worship this indispensable hybrid.
+Hot or cold, wet or dry, the mule never fails to respond to the severest
+call upon his strength and courage.
+
+With the approach of winter an antediluvian rival is introduced upon
+the scene, in the shape of the well-known two-humped camel, which is
+then shaggy, dignified, and in really grand form. Intolerant of heat,
+but impervious to cold, the camels, after passing the summer on the
+grass-lands of the Mongolian plateau, are brought down in droves to
+the great fair held on a large open space outside the Northern Wall.
+The coming of the camels with their bronzed and heavily booted riders
+is like a whiff of the free air of the desert. The Pekingese use this
+patient but surly beast of burden chiefly for carrying coal from the
+mines in the Western Hills to the city; but immense numbers are employed
+in transporting tea from the navigable limit of the Peiho to Siberia and
+Russia, not entering Peking city at all.
+
+A roomy encampment between the British and Russian Legations is allotted
+to the Mongols, and serves as a market-place where the products of the
+desert are exchanged for the utensils and gewgaws of civilisation. The
+staple of the Mongol trade is frozen meat--mutton, venison, furred and
+feathered game; and without refrigerator or other appliance the carcasses
+remain fresh in their skins till the end of the three winter months.
+These simple-minded herdsmen, chaffering with shrewd Chinese hucksters,
+or sitting, where they seem to have been born, between the high humps of
+their slow-moving beasts, form picturesque groups in the imperial city,
+the more interesting that their appearance is pathetically suggestive
+of an order which is passing away. The Grand Khan, dispensing favours to
+his loyal tributaries, has come ominously near to being a mere tradition.
+These very sheepskin-coated camel-drivers are the only buffer remaining
+between the receding empire and the advancing tide of foreign encroachment
+from the north.
+
+Other evidences of that imperial grandeur which lent some justification to
+the title "Middle Kingdom" were still occasionally to be met with. Though
+Siam, and even Burma, had fallen indefinitely into arrears, dust-begrimed
+embassies from Korea or Nepaul, with their trains of pack-mules bearing
+tribute and merchandise (duty free for the benefit of the officials),
+might still be seen defiling through the massive gates of the city,
+preserving to our day a living picture of the Asiatic mission of the
+antique type. For what were they but interesting survivals, shadows of
+departed greatness?
+
+Peking is not a commercial city, but essentially an imperial camp. Trade
+proper is confined to an outer or Chinese city, which is but a walled-in
+suburb sparsely built over. Through traffic, for obvious fiscal reasons,
+shuns the capital; but there is sufficient local commerce, of which
+gold and silver smelting forms a not unimportant part, to support many
+bankers and merchants who are domiciled in the outer city. It has been
+remarked that Chinese trade may be seen at its best in the settlement of
+Maimaichên, which faces Kiachta on the Russo-Chinese frontier, or in the
+Straits Settlements or Rangoon, where nothing hinders the merchants from
+accumulating and displaying their wealth. Even Peking, however, affords
+some glimpses of the far-reaching enterprise of the Chinese traders.
+
+What a suggestive display, for instance, is the fur-market, also of
+necessity a "winter exhibition"! Acres and acres of ground are covered
+with skins of every conceivable species of quadruped, spread out from dawn
+till near noon. Here are daily laid out for sale under the blue sky (and
+what a light to make purchases in!) the commonest and the most precious
+furs from Manchuria, the Amur, and even Kamtschatka, the total value of
+which must be enormous. Let us learn from the history of the Hudson's
+Bay Company what organisation of energy, what confidence, what variety of
+enterprise and skill, are required to bring these costly commodities from
+such vast distances to this great sale-room, and we shall not make light
+of the vitality of the Chinese.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The amenities of the street traffic, though not of special importance,
+call for mention as illustrating certain phases of foreign contact
+with the Chinese. If we may take Japan for comparison, in nothing is
+the contrast between the two systems more apparent than in municipal
+administration. The antithesis may be expressed in one word,--in Japan,
+excessive regulation; in China, absence of regulation. Whether there be
+any rule of the road in China is of little interest, seeing that, like
+other rules, it might be disregarded and there would be no one to enforce
+it. The traffic adjusts itself with little friction. China employs no
+police,--things arrange themselves by their own interaction, as the
+pebbles do on the sea-shore; and for most of the purposes of life the
+people are their own law-makers and their own executive. The Chinese
+system of government is to govern as little as possible--to let the
+country rule itself. So when a strange element demanded accommodation
+in the busy streets and congested gateways of Peking, without rules
+or supervision, it had to find its level among the rest by friction
+and concussion. It would have been an interesting process to watch in
+its initial stages. Amid a good deal of clamour and language of a racy
+description applied to man and beast and their respective ancestors, there
+is rarely a serious road quarrel among the Chinese. One excellent custom
+of polite society tends to restrict the area of disputes on the highway,
+leaving collisions to be fought out by grooms, carters, chair-bearers, or
+boatmen, as the case may be, while the masters maintain an imperturbable
+reserve.
+
+Mr Colborne Baber, who had a way of his own of solving the minor problems
+of Chinese intercourse, was once in a cart, sitting well back and
+unobserved, in a narrow street that admitted neither of turning nor of
+passing another vehicle, when a cart was met about half way. The drivers
+began to vociferate, each calling on the other to give way. The opposition
+carter claimed the precedence on the ground that his vehicle carried
+women, and it looked as if he would gain his point when Baber himself,
+becoming impatient, thrust out his head and called out that in his cart
+there was a foreign devil, and without further discussion the rival jehu
+backed out.
+
+Those who ride do not recognise each other on the road, even though they
+be friends; for if they did so, etiquette would require both to stop and
+dismount and go through formal salutations on foot. Foreigners, ignoring
+this rule, and their servants not unwilling to profit by the prestige
+of their masters in accosting bystanders from the saddle, are sometimes
+grievously misdirected when not lectured on their bad manners. The
+natives on their part are seldom averse from presuming on the foreigner's
+ignorance of what is due to him. Between the one and the other, or as a
+result of the mere chapter of accidents, collisions were inevitable in
+the streets. How were they to be dealt with in the absence of constituted
+authority? If aggression towards a foreigner on the part of a great man's
+servants were submitted to, there would be no end to it, they being 500 to
+1. On the other hand, insolence promptly resented and vigorously punished
+never failed to elicit the approval not only of the spectators, but even
+of the great man himself, who perhaps had secret grievances of his own
+against his lackeys, which he was not sorry to see partially paid off
+by proxy. In all cases the sympathy of the Chinese goes with the side
+that successfully asserts itself. Of this hundreds of examples could be
+given--perhaps not one on the converse side.
+
+A writer in the 'Whitehall Review' some years ago, among interesting
+reminiscences of the 'Sixties, relates some incidents to show the
+primitive means by which equilibrium was established between natives and
+foreigners in the Peking streets. _Place aux dames._ The experience of the
+first foreign female who had been seen is thus amusingly told. Mr Bruce's
+housekeeper, an old family retainer who had followed the fortunes of her
+master all over the world,
+
+    saw no particular reasons for not acting in Peking as she had
+    done in Cairo or Constantinople, and the first morning after her
+    arrival sallied forth, basket on arm, to do her marketing for the
+    day. When I add that she knew not a word of Chinese, that none of
+    the natives spoke English, that she was about five feet high and
+    ten feet round the crinoline, and was the first female European
+    ever seen by the Pekingese, her enterprise will be judged to have
+    been braver than she knew. However, nothing daunted, she entered
+    a butcher's shop, closely pressed upon by an inquisitive and
+    delighted crowd. Before she could even look at a joint or chop
+    she was hemmed in, and one waggish native, bolder than the rest,
+    gave her a substantial dig in the crinoline, shouting in Chinese,
+    "Let's see if she's solid." But the laugh was not for long on his
+    side. Seizing a chopper from the block, Mrs A. made a mighty blow
+    at his head, which he happily evaded. In less than a second the
+    shop was clear, the terrified natives tumbling over each other
+    in their haste to get away. A European who came upon the scene
+    at the moment beheld the startling sight of some 500 Chinese
+    rushing up the principal street pursued by an infuriated old woman
+    armed with a chopper. With some difficulty she was persuaded to
+    abandon the chase and resume her basket, which she had dropped
+    in her excitement. But it is on record that for a good two years
+    thereafter Mrs A. was allowed to shop in peace, and became a
+    "Black Douglas" to troublesome Chinese children in the vicinity
+    of the Legation.
+
+In later years she talked in what she called "broken China."
+
+Another "adjustment to environment" is thus described:--
+
+    A curious little industry sprang up in the environs of the city,
+    consequent on the horsey proclivities of the Europeans. This was
+    getting run over, which was generally accomplished by rushing in
+    front of the horses and throwing the hands up. One of two things
+    always happened. Either the horse shied and the rider came off, to
+    the huge delight of the Chinese mob, or the gesticulating party
+    was knocked down. In this latter event, cautioned as we all were
+    to give no offence, if possible, to the natives, a dollar was
+    generally handed as salve to the artful victim, whose screams and
+    yells that he had been killed never failed to draw a large and
+    sympathising crowd of friends, who regarded the "foreign devil"
+    with most unfriendly looks. In one village at last it became
+    intolerable, and we decided if any further attempt was made we
+    would run down the culprits intentionally. As usual, on our next
+    visit three or four young _gamins_ essayed the usual dodge. Being
+    fully prepared for it, nobody was unseated, and we turned our
+    horses back at full gallop, three or four Chinese being hurled
+    into the hedge by our horses. We did not stop to offer dollars,
+    but were never afterwards stopped.
+
+Following the same train of reflection, he gives examples of the drastic
+manner in which the Russians asserted their prerogatives on the road,
+which we do not quote, as they were probably exceptional cases.
+
+The never-failing courtesy of the Manchus rises superior to such
+unpleasant encounters. An example of this was related to the writer by a
+member of the British Legation. In riding through a narrow place, narrowed
+probably by the cesspool occupying more than its fair share of the street,
+he met the _cortège_ of a grandee at a spot where it seemed impossible
+to pass, and it looked as if the solitary horseman must turn back. As
+he thought of doing so he observed the occupant of the sedan call a halt
+and direct his bearers to make room for the stranger. Observing closely
+the features of him who showed so much consideration for a foreigner, the
+Englishman was pleased, some time afterwards, to recognise in him Prince
+Ch'ing, who succeeded Prince Kung as President of the Tsungli-Yamên in
+1884.
+
+The lives of the foreign residents were by no means confined within the
+four walls of the city. The environs without fences or trespass notices
+make charming excursion-grounds for riding-parties. For longer expeditions
+there are the never-failing attractions of the Ming Tombs, the Great
+Wall, the passes into Mongolia, and various other distant points. The
+city is beautifully situated in the centre of a mountain crescent, whose
+nearest point is thirteen miles distant. The first object of quest when
+the Legations had been established was a sanatorium or summer retreat--for
+the thermometer reaches 100 Fahr. in June--and the Western Hills were
+explored. Some of the most beautiful spots there are occupied by Buddhist
+temples or monasteries, whose builders have shown as nice a taste in
+the selection of their sites as their brethren the monks of the West
+have always done. These religious houses, laid out with a view to the
+accommodation of pilgrims and strangers, are regularly used by Chinese
+grandees as health-resorts or shelters from political storms. The Russian
+mission, while it was alone in Peking, had set the example twenty years
+before of resorting to the hill temples in the dog-days. Arrangements
+with the priests for the occupation of certain portions of one of the
+temples were soon made by Mr Parkes, who was on a visit to the capital,
+and ever since 1861 official Peking, with one notable exception, has on
+the approach of summer migrated bodily from the oppressive atmosphere of
+the great city to the exhilarating air of the Western Hills. The social
+life of the city was reproduced at the temples, but in a less conventional
+form, every one residing there being considered on a holiday. The country
+round offered many temptations to excursions, and amateurs of geology,
+botany, and natural history were never at a loss for something to interest
+them in their rambles among the hills. Residence so far from town brought
+the foreigners into friendly contact also with their rustic neighbours,
+whose innate good qualities, moderation, contentment, and kindliness were
+displayed in a very favourable light.
+
+But the sojourn at the hills also brought the foreigner into occasional
+contact with Chinese of high rank, who welcomed such opportunities of
+showing civility to the strangers. At other times disagreeable collisions
+with the retainers of a great personage were experienced. So popular were
+the temples of the Western Hills as a summer resort that they were always
+full, and consequently disputes about accommodation were liable to occur,
+especially when some grasping priest would let the same premises to two
+different occupants, leaving them, or rather their servants, to fight for
+the possession.
+
+
+III. THE FOREIGN CUSTOMS UNDER THE PEKING CONVENTION.
+
+    Centralised in Peking--Encouraged by British Ministers--Assumed
+    imperial form after the treaties of 1858--Extension to all the
+    ports--Original international basis becomes purely Chinese--Shows
+    capacity for larger functions than collection of duties--Becomes
+    a diplomatic auxiliary--British Government leans upon it--The
+    Chinese faithfully served by it--Interpreter of the intentions
+    of the foreign Governments--Inspector-General gains influence
+    over British Minister--Pleases Board of Trade--And maintains
+    confidential relations with British Government--While remaining
+    faithful to China--Services rendered by the Customs to all
+    commercial nations.
+
+It was a source of unmixed satisfaction to Sir Rutherford Alcock, on
+assuming office in Peking, to find the maritime customs, the bantling of
+Shanghai, firmly established in the capital and gathering strength and
+influence. As its functions pertained exclusively to trade, Sir Frederick
+Bruce had been originally of opinion that the inspector-general should be
+located in the commercial centre, Shanghai, and he took exception to the
+institution being domiciled in Peking, where trade was expressly excluded
+by treaty. Sir Frederick, however, soon saw reason to modify his views.
+When it began to appear to him that the customs might prove a convenient
+auxiliary to the diplomacy of the treaty Powers, he cultivated the
+institution and encouraged it to occult activity in the political sphere.
+Sir Frederick Bruce's interests in the fortunes of the customs, however,
+could never be so ardent as that of its parent, Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+and its monthly nurse, Mr Wade. The presence of these two in the British
+Legation afforded a fresh guarantee of the prosperity of the customs,
+which they were both well satisfied to see in the competent hands of Mr
+Hart. For as the institution was a creation without precedent, the form
+of its development must be largely influenced by the personal qualities
+of its head. Whatever character it might have assumed under its original
+inspector-general, Lay, it could hardly have been the same service that
+has grown and spread under the directing hand of Sir Robert Hart. It
+is impossible to dissociate the Chinese customs as it stands from the
+vigorous self-sustained intellect that has moulded and still controls it,
+for it is assuredly not such a going concern as can be made over to any
+new head without the risk of changes more or less organic.
+
+The story of the first decade of the maritime customs was told clearly,
+briefly, and modestly in a monograph which Mr Hart prepared for Mr Bruce
+in 1864, published as a Blue Book of thirteen pages (No. 1, 1865). Up
+to the date of the Tientsin treaty of 1858 the operations of the foreign
+collectorate were confined to the single port of Shanghai, the inspectors
+holding the appointment from the governor-general at Nanking, who was
+Imperial Commissioner for Foreign Trade. The new treaty gave the foreign
+Powers an interest in the Chinese customs which they did not possess
+before, because the war indemnities were to be paid by instalments out
+of the collections of duty, so that during the time when these payments
+were being made the maintenance of the machinery for collecting the duties
+was a matter of international concern. The new treaty also provided for a
+uniform system of duty collection for all the trading-ports; and then the
+institution assumed an imperial and dropped its provincial character, the
+inspector-general receiving his commission from the Central Government.
+
+Considering that the mission of the foreign customs was to subvert
+time-honoured native systems, it was received with surprising graciousness
+at most of the trading centres. The first port to which the new system was
+extended was Canton, the leader in welcoming its advent there being the
+_hoppo_, the one functionary in the empire whose privileges seemed to be
+most directly threatened by the new-comer. By one of those anomalies which
+are so common and yet so inexplicable in Chinese affairs, arrangements for
+opening the office in Canton were carried on without interruption during
+the hostilities of 1859. Patience, tact, and resolution were nevertheless
+required to overcome the innumerable difficulties of detail incidental to
+substituting rigorous inspection and remorseless collection for the chaos
+of unaccountability which had previously reigned unchallenged. A very few
+years, however, served to reduce all obstruction, and to bring trader and
+official, foreigner and Chinese, into working harmony.
+
+For the first time in history a true account was rendered to the Imperial
+Government, accompanied by a substantial revenue on which it could depend.
+Naturally the agency, though foreign, which yielded such tangible fruit,
+commended itself to the statesmen of the capital, who frankly recognised,
+as did the provincial authorities themselves, that the result obtained
+was wholly beyond the competence of any native organisation. Though,
+therefore, the customs service was essentially of a provisional, stop-gap
+character, it had on that very account a surer guarantee of permanence
+than could have been derived from any paper covenant by which the Chinese
+Government could have been bound, for that would have provoked disputation
+and evasion. The spasmodic attempt to formalise the service on a basis
+of international obligation which was made in 1898 was perhaps the first
+thing that really imperilled its constitution. In its origin, indeed,
+the foreign customs had been international, the three treaty Powers being
+each represented on the inspectorate; but with the expansion in 1858 this
+character was abandoned, and the customs became a purely Chinese concern
+operated by foreign employees, the staff being selected from among all
+nations indiscriminately, according to personal merit.
+
+Almost from the time of the transference of the inspectorate to the
+capital the customs showed capacities of wider range than are comprised
+within the routine of a custom-house. Profoundly impressed as were the
+imperial statesmen with the value of the new revenue-producer, they soon
+began to perceive that the institution might be put to other and greater
+uses. Plurality of function in itself was no stumbling-block to them,
+for it is the system on which Chinese administration is carried on. In
+the very first year they had intrusted the inspector-general and his
+deputy with the organisation of a navy, with the evident approval of the
+British Minister. That functionary, indeed, seemed as little disposed as
+the Chinese themselves to see incongruity in the various forms of customs
+activity, especially when he regarded its extra official services as
+rendered to himself; and he really stood much in need of services of that
+kind.
+
+Her Majesty's first representative in Peking, helpless and despairing,
+was, in fact, fain to throw himself on the support of the first
+inspector-general, Mr Lay, and then of his successor, Mr Hart, as
+having knowledge and influence with the Chinese Government which was
+not possessed by the British Legation. It did not apparently occur to Mr
+Bruce that such knowledge was strictly limited, and that the influence
+could be of very little use to him, and might be too dearly purchased.
+Having no other resource, however, he was perhaps not unwilling to
+shut his eyes to the false position in which he was placing himself in
+leaning upon the paid servants of the Chinese Government to assist him in
+carrying out a policy which was totally repugnant to that Government. The
+fidelity of both Mr Lay and Mr Hart to the master whom they served being
+beyond question, the diplomatic prestige conferred on them by the British
+Minister, as well as the knowledge and influence derived from the other
+side, must, in all matters of controversy, be thrown into the Chinese
+scale.
+
+As this interesting truth dawned upon the minds of the Tsungli-Yamên, they
+saw in their English employee a providential instrument for drawing the
+sting from the threatening language which was sometimes applied to them
+by the foreign representatives. Of these, the only one who had as yet any
+serious matter to discuss with the Chinese was the representative of Great
+Britain. It was assumed on the British side that nothing proposed by that
+Power was contrary to the interests of China: so far, indeed, did this
+theory inspire their action, that the welfare of the Chinese seemed at
+times to overshadow that of their own empire in the minds of the British
+representatives. No doubt there was an ideal point of view from which
+the interests of China and her Western neighbours might seem ultimately
+to blend, but Chinese statesmen were in nowise able to take in such a
+large perspective. They continued to regard the foreign invasion, with
+all its pretences of goodwill, as an unmitigated calamity to be opposed
+wherever possible. No man can pronounce a certain judgment as to whether,
+with their imperfect knowledge, they were more right or more wrong in
+following their obstructive instincts. Reforms, progress, and the opening
+up of the country to foreigners, were being persistently pressed upon
+them; they fully expected these concessions to be demanded of them when
+the time came--and it was already drawing near--when the treaties should
+be revised. Admitting, moreover, that some one, or more, of the Powers
+might have been considerate enough to forego, or indefinitely postpone,
+advantages for themselves rather than imperil the wellbeing of the Chinese
+State, there were already six instead of the original three treaty Powers
+to be reckoned with; nor was there any limit to the further increase of
+their numbers. Supposing, then, that, relying on the benignant intentions
+of the English, they should, in the revision of their treaty, admit such
+innovations as inland steam navigation, inland residence, railways,
+and so forth, would not these successes stimulate the other Powers,
+when their turn for revision came,--France in 1870, Germany in 1871,
+and others later,--to advance still farther the outposts of the foreign
+invasion, each, in a spirit of generous emulation, striving to surpass the
+achievements of his predecessor; and all with the complacent consciousness
+that they were doing good to China? These endless contingencies were more
+than Chinese statesmen could cope with, and the apprehension of them had
+no other effect than to consolidate their resistance in small as well
+as in great things. They were learning to mistrust the efficacy of their
+ancient imperial policy of dividing and ruling, and with good reason had
+lost confidence in their capacity to distinguish in embryo between what
+was trivial and what was laden with deep consequences.
+
+Resistance, therefore, tempered by the fear of force, seemed their only
+refuge. Some of the dangers ahead, of which they had glimpses, might have
+been obviated by a bolder policy; but being unable to formulate such
+a policy for themselves, and unwilling to accept it cut and dried from
+others, there was nothing left them but indiscriminate resistance. Under
+such conditions no harmony was possible between the Chinese and Western
+Governments; and not knowing how far they might with safety evade the
+pressure put upon them, the Chinese had recourse to the Inspector-General
+of Customs, as Louis XI. had recourse to his astrologer whenever he felt
+himself in a difficult crisis.
+
+The Tsungli-Yamên, accustomed to act on hand-to-mouth views of policy,
+would do anything to relieve the pressure of the moment, but nothing to
+prevent a recurrence of it. Indisposed to follow up the sequences of cause
+and effect, they would in emergencies become impatient of ratiocination
+and attempt to reach the foregone conclusion by a shorter cut. Common
+gossip in China thus fairly summarised their attitude in certain crises
+of this kind. If discussion with the British Legation ran high, the Yamên
+would send for the inspector-general and ask simply, "Does this mean
+war?" The answer being "No," the question ceased to trouble the Yamên,
+and the foreign Minister would be allowed to rage at his pleasure. Their
+Excellencies would even help him out with the opprobrious terms he was
+searching for, and then listen placidly to the remainder of the tirade.
+Great Britain having not only the preponderating interest, but being still
+the leading Power in the Far East, it was obviously a great advantage for
+the Chinese that it should be that Power which came particularly under
+the influence of the inspector-general. To tie the hands of the British
+Government for a whole generation was, indeed, an achievement worthy of a
+master of policy; but it was by no means the only service which might be
+rendered to China even by an Inspector-General of Customs.
+
+The same agency was destined in later days to unravel many tangled skeins
+in China's international relations. It brought Gordon to her rescue in
+1880; by sheer innate ability in the use of the most unpromising means, it
+brought about peace with France in 1885; and, though with less success, it
+procured the attempted intervention of Great Britain with Japan in 1894.
+
+How far these great potentialities were foreseen in the earlier years
+of the Customs service is doubtful. Even in their parental complacency
+Sir Rutherford Alcock and Mr Wade may well have failed to realise, as an
+uninterested outsider might have done, the nature of the power that was
+being nursed in their infant Hercules. Certain it is that they reckoned
+it as a factor on their own side. It is clear that Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+so far from regarding the inspector-general as an opponent, commended him
+to the Foreign Office as a valuable auxiliary. Mr Wade clung to the same
+belief for a good many years longer.
+
+The first to perceive the tendency of the new relationship which events
+were bringing about was, no doubt, the inspector-general himself.
+China, he saw, could be best served by a virtual control of the British
+Legation. The nascent power was, however, too precious to be trusted to
+personal accidents, and the inspector-general wisely availed himself
+of circumstances as they arose to widen his basis of influence by
+establishing such relations with the Home Government as might save
+him from being wholly dependent on the life or the caprice of the
+representative for the time being at Peking. Such to an ordinary man
+might have appeared a hopeless ambition, considering the circumstance
+of distance and other adverse conditions. Yet by gradual steps this too
+was accomplished. A well-directed stroke or a happy accident established
+the inspector-general in high favour with the Board of Trade when under
+the presidency of Mr John Bright. He had summed up the results of the
+treaty revision[13] negotiations in 1868 in a congratulatory letter to
+the British Minister which has been many times published. As a masterly
+exposition of the State of China in its relation to foreign Powers it was
+warmly indorsed by Sir Rutherford Alcock, and is well worth perusal even
+at this day. The Board of Trade was much impressed by a presentment of
+the Chinese case so much in sympathy with the views often expressed by Mr
+Cobden and Mr Bright, and which are traditional in the Board of Trade.
+Their policy was noninterference in the affairs of China, based largely
+on their disparagement of the value of British interests in that country.
+In commenting on this closely reasoned State Paper, the Board of Trade
+specially selected for illustration of its merit the following passage:
+"Of course, force will wrest anything from China: but wherever there is
+action there is reaction; and as sure as natural laws continue to act,
+so sure it is that appeals to force in one age will give to the men of
+a later day a heritage of vengeance,--the Europeans of some future day
+may wish that their forefathers had not sown the seeds of hatred in the
+bayonet-ploughed soil of Cathay."
+
+Nor was this the only result of the happy success of the new customs
+diplomacy, for, as the connecting link between commerce and politics, the
+Board of Trade was a potent agency in determining the political action of
+the Government, more especially when there was a strong man at the head
+of it and a weak one at the Foreign Office.
+
+The rising power in China did not seek fresh conquests, but was adroit in
+seizing on such as came in its way, and circumstances having brought it
+in direct touch with the Foreign Office, that department was drawn into
+close relation with the Chinese customs.
+
+The result of all this, briefly stated, was the partial effacement of
+the Legation and the gradual promotion of Sir Robert Hart to the first
+place in the confidence of the British Government. As the Foreign Office
+had, since the suppression of the Taiping rebellion and the death of
+Lord Palmerston, been most reluctant either to busy itself or to inform
+itself respecting affairs in China, and was, moreover, anxious to minimise
+the cost of the Legation in Peking, it was rather predisposed to accept
+volunteer assistance in the management of British interests in China. The
+Legation was then, as now, without any intelligence department, the cost
+of which was saved under the vague belief that all needful information
+might be obtained from the customs. Thus relegated to a secondary place,
+the Legation was more and more neglected by Her Majesty's Government,
+until at last representatives were selected at random and sent out
+without instructions, in blind reliance on the good offices of the
+Inspector-General of Customs.
+
+Before this final stage had been reached, however, such an opportunity
+occurred, through the death of Sir Harry Parkes, of legitimising
+the irregular connection, as a death sometimes provides in certain
+relations of domestic life, and Sir Robert Hart was himself appointed
+British Minister. This step was recognised as so far appropriate to the
+circumstances that it conjoined responsibility with power, which had
+been too long divorced from each other. But just as the new Minister
+was about to assume his duties a hitch occurred with the Tsungli-Yamên,
+whose views as to the succession to the post of head of the customs not
+coinciding with Sir Robert Hart's, he thereupon resigned the office of
+British Minister and resumed his Chinese service. The incident made no
+difference in the confidence which Sir Robert Hart inspired in the Foreign
+Office, which had, in fact, drifted into a position of dependence on the
+inspector-general. This close relationship continued until the Japanese
+war in 1894, when the British Government, the victim of many illusions,
+found itself in a condition of bewilderment, like King Lear on the heath,
+quite unfurnished with the means of coping with the superior intelligence
+of the other European Powers.
+
+Throughout all these years the attitude of the inspector-general towards
+his Chinese employers was absolutely above suspicion. He served them
+loyally throughout, and if the British Government imagined he was using
+his highly paid position under the Chinese Government in any way to
+promote other than Chinese interests, that was a gratuitous assumption on
+their part for which they alone were responsible, and for which, as for
+all false strategy, the inevitable penalty must be paid.
+
+Among the important international services rendered by the foreign
+customs, the effective lighting of the coast deserves the first place.
+Next to that may be reckoned the compilation of accurate statistics of
+foreign trade with China, more complete perhaps than exists in any other
+country. The reports of the commissioners of customs at the various
+ports are also replete with varied and useful information concerning the
+commerce, industry, and agriculture, with other conditions of the life
+of the Chinese. Special subjects assigned to individual men are treated
+as exhaustively as if investigated by a Royal Commission. These valuable
+papers constitute a modern Chinese Repository to which there is but one
+drawback--its inaccessibility.
+
+
+IV. EMIGRATION.
+
+    Extensive emigration of Chinese labourers in consequence of
+    gold discoveries--Great abuses--Attempt to diminish same by
+    international action--Tripartite treaty concluded in Peking--Not
+    ratified by France and England--Who send out amended treaty,
+    but negotiations never resumed by Chinese--Opposition of British
+    colonies and the United States to Chinese emigration.
+
+The first public question with which Sir Rutherford Alcock was called upon
+to deal was that of the emigration or exportation of Chinese coolies.
+Among the consequences of the gold discoveries of the middle of the
+century was a demand for human labour, which China of all countries was
+best able to supply. Voluntary emigration to California and Australia
+(the "Old" and the "New Gold Mountain") was considerable; but it did not
+meet the requirements of those enterprises in tropical and subtropical
+countries which, if not originated, were at least stirred into activity
+by the impulse radiating from the gold mines. The contractor was called
+into requisition, and Chinese were carried off in shiploads to Cuba,
+Peru, Chili, "where they were sold into virtual slavery" under agreements
+over which there was no legal supervision. Terrible abuses characterised
+the traffic; mutiny and massacre on the high seas were among the natural
+consequences. "Another coolie tragedy" was as common a newspaper heading
+in the 'Fifties as "another missionary outrage" in the subsequent decades
+of the nineteenth century.
+
+Hongkong being the most convenient shipping port, it was natural
+that thence should emanate the first efforts to suppress the abuses
+of the traffic. The "Chinese Passengers Act" passed by the Colonial
+Legislature in 1855 was a well-considered step in that direction, and
+the establishment of responsible emigration agencies was another. Such
+efforts, however, could only be partially successful; for while they
+cleared the colony from participation in a nefarious trade, they made
+no impression on the trade itself. Indeed, by throwing it into the least
+reputable channels, the fate of the victims may even have been rendered
+less endurable by the restrictive measures conceived for their benefit.
+The Portuguese settlement of Macao remained open, and there the coolie
+traffic flourished exceedingly, to the pecuniary advantage of that colony
+and of the maternal Government, which levies an annual tribute from its
+Far Eastern offspring. The trade was also carried on in a more or less
+clandestine and irregular manner at Canton, Swatow, and other Chinese
+ports, under non-British flags.
+
+For years the colonial press was filled with the horrors of the traffic.
+Such paragraphs as the following were continually appearing in the
+Hongkong newspapers:--
+
+    At Macao the coolie trade is still rampant, with all its
+    abominations. The inquiries instituted, or said to have been
+    instituted, by Governor Amaral, have ended in smoke. Day after day
+    some additional iniquity comes to light in connection with this
+    horrible traffic. Coolies kidnapped, imprisoned in barracoons,
+    flogged to make them consent to sign the iniquitous contract that
+    binds them to a life of slavery, marched with a strong guard to
+    testify at the Government offices to their signature as given
+    voluntarily and freely, half-starved, exposed to blindness and
+    disease on board ship in transit to the place of their exile,
+    tossed overboard, or left on some barren isle to die, if loss of
+    sight or sickness renders them useless to their masters. Such
+    are the grand features of the Macao coolie trade, supported by
+    the governor in his official acts, and the semi-official paper he
+    edits. Such are the horrors of a slave-trade worse than that of
+    the poor African negro, which all nations ought to unite to put
+    an end to.
+
+Foreigners could of course have had no success whatever in such
+man-hunting schemes without the interested co-operation of the natives.
+How this was obtained may be gathered from such reports as that of Mr W.
+M. Cooper, acting consul at Swatow, one of the principal entrepots.
+
+    Nowhere [he says] is population more dense than in the plains
+    of the Han. There is a constant tendency, where the struggle
+    for existence is so keen, and no drain exists as that caused by
+    recruiting for an army, towards the formation of a scum of bad
+    characters, whom their idleness or ill-deeds drive to prey on the
+    more industrious. These, frequently discarded by their families,
+    are seen by the official and the village elder on their way to
+    the coolie-house with a sense of relief and satisfaction; and
+    not seldom is the coolie-broker aided in his object of obtaining
+    men by persons of this class, and frequently by the relations of
+    the men themselves. Thus the trade is allowed to take root with
+    the concurrence of the heads of the people, who not only rid
+    themselves by means of it of a nuisance and a burden, but make
+    money by the transaction; and a connection is formed which the
+    broker, in his thirst for dollars, becoming gradually hardened and
+    more ruthless, is not slow to avail himself of in carrying out,
+    with greater boldness, evil designs on his victim.
+
+But if the atrocities incident to the capture and embarkation cried aloud
+for a remedy, the brutalities of the middle passage were no less heinous;
+and though the light could not easily penetrate the scenes enacted in the
+distant mines and plantations which were the ultimate destination of the
+coolies, enough was known to show that their lot in Spanish-American and
+other countries and colonies was far from enviable.
+
+To efface this blot on civilisation was the first object which engaged
+the attention of Sir Rutherford Alcock in Peking. The Chinese Government
+itself had remained for many years callous to the cruelties perpetrated
+on its subjects; but this was in keeping with its tolerant habit, its
+blindness to things disagreeable, and its constitutional aversion to
+overt action of any kind. The Peking authorities seem, however, to have
+been at last aroused by the interest in the question evinced by foreign
+Governments, and in 1866 the Chinese Ministers were induced to join
+the foreign Powers in devising means to ameliorate the condition of the
+emigrants. The suggestions of Prince Kung were practical and well directed
+towards a solution of the problem.
+
+The problem, however, was by no means simple; for to be effective,
+regulations must be of universal obligation, and receive the sanction of
+all the interested Powers. There was no desire in any quarter to arrest
+the stream of honest and free emigration; on the contrary, it was welcomed
+as an outlet for destitute Chinese. To impose restrictions on Hongkong
+while the neighbouring colony was lawless and free; to place obstacles
+in the way of emigration to Demerara and Trinidad, where the coolies
+were happy and contented, thereby driving them in greater numbers to
+territories where they were enslaved,--was obviously no gain to humanity.
+The question, however, was as urgent as it was difficult.
+
+Yet there were circumstances in the situation favourable to a satisfactory
+issue. Chief among these was the fact that France and England were
+still working loyally together in matters of cosmopolitan concern. Sir
+Rutherford Alcock found his French colleagues in Peking as amenable as he
+had found those in Yedo. The consequence was that, as the result of the
+winter's labours, a tripartite convention for the regulation of coolie
+emigration was signed in March 1866 by the British and French Ministers
+and Prince Kung. The convention was approved by the Ministers of Russia,
+the United States, and Prussia, though they were not parties to it.
+But the French Government took exception to certain of its provisions,
+and deferred ratification until these should be modified. The British
+Colonial Office and Emigration Board fell in with the views of the French
+Government. The settlement of the question was thereupon shifted from
+Peking to Paris and London, when voluminous correspondence ensued between
+the two Foreign Offices, extending through the years 1866, 1867, and
+into 1868. The co-operation between the two Governments was hearty and
+complete; and the amount of patient labour devoted to the task, especially
+by the French Foreign Office, which had not the auxiliary machinery at its
+disposal which existed in the Government departments in England, was in
+the highest degree creditable to both. It may suffice to say that after
+eighteen months of earnest work a "Projet de Règlement International
+d'Emigration" was completed in twenty-three articles with subsidiary
+forms, and was despatched to Peking at the end of 1867, the discussions
+having resulted in the retention of almost the entire text of the original
+convention--a fact which reflected no small credit on the Ministers in
+Peking who had drawn it up.
+
+But when the time came for resuming negotiations in the Chinese capital,
+the Government there had relapsed into its habitual apathy respecting
+the welfare of its people. Possibly, also, the zeal of the resident
+Ministers of France and England may have cooled during the interval
+which had elapsed since their previous efforts. Their attention was
+becoming engrossed with other subjects. Effective co-operation between
+the three parties was evidently no longer feasible. The attempt to
+regulate emigration by a comprehensive international agreement was tacitly
+abandoned, and the evils of the coolie trade were left to be dealt with
+sporadically.
+
+Free emigration from Hongkong--that is to say, of emigrants who paid
+their own passage--proceeded all the while on an extensive scale. But
+the laws of the colony did not permit contract emigration except to
+British colonies, and under elaborate supervision both at embarkation and
+after arrival at the field of labour. Although coolie ships could not be
+despatched from Hongkong, a certain amount of indirect participation in
+the traffic was maintained for some years by residents in the colony who
+supplied fittings for the coolie ships preparatory to their proceeding
+to the port of embarkation. Colonial legislation, however, gradually put
+an end to this, and successive ordinances so narrowed the field of the
+contractors' operations that the trade, both direct and indirect, was
+practically extinguished so far as Hongkong was concerned. A declaration
+by the Chief Justice in 1873 summed up the various prohibitory laws by
+enacting that the coolie trade would be treated as a slave trade, aiding
+or abetting which would be felony. In the year following, the Portuguese
+Government, yielding to the friendly pressure that had been for a long
+time put upon them, passed a law prohibiting the coolie trade at Macao.
+
+While the emigrants were so anxiously protected at the outset of their
+voyage, the immigration of Chinese into the United States and the
+Australian colonies was exciting interest of a different kind in those
+countries. Legislation was continuously directed against the influx
+of Chinese, and not legislation only, but barbarous ill-treatment and
+outrages on a par with those perpetrated against foreigners in China. Mr
+Secretary Seward on his round-the-world tour in 1871 expressed himself
+highly favourable to Chinese labour in the United States, and his views
+afforded great encouragement to emigration to California for some years
+after. The treaty concluded at Washington in 1868 by Mr Burlingame
+accorded full privileges to Chinese in the United States. But a sharp
+reaction occurred in the views of American statesmen, and in 1880 the
+Chinese Government, by treaty made in Peking, consented to a modification
+of the Washington treaty of 1868, which would allow the United States to
+limit or suspend, though not absolutely to prohibit, Chinese immigration.
+This step towards prohibition was completed in another convention signed
+at Washington in 1894. Why the Chinese Government should have gratuitously
+consented to attach a stigma to their country and people is one of those
+inexplicable matters which abound in the history of China's foreign
+relations.
+
+
+V. KOREA.
+
+    Comes into the sphere of international relations in 1866--Illegal
+    propagandism followed by persecutions--France adopts the
+    cause of the missions--Calls upon China as suzerain to punish
+    Koreans--Which failing, French Minister proclaims annexation
+    of Korea--Naval expedition repulsed--American naval expedition
+    repulsed in 1871.
+
+It was in the year 1866 that foreign aggression first complicated the
+relations between China and her tributaries. The kingdom of Korea had with
+more consistency and more success than either China or Japan secluded
+itself absolutely from foreign intrusion. Nevertheless, the ubiquitous
+Jesuit had found his way there, under desperate subterfuges; for if
+the foreigner in general was proscribed, the foreign religionist was
+anathema to the rulers of Korea. The laws of the country were draconic
+in their severity against all priests or pretenders to supernatural
+authority; but the zeal of the Catholic propaganda defied the laws,
+though not always with impunity. "Persecutions," in fact, occasionally
+broke out, and "massacres" was a not inappropriate description of the
+repressive measures adopted by the Government in vindication of what it
+considered the law of the State. The French Government, or at least its
+representative in Peking, resolved to espouse the cause of the persecuted
+missionaries in 1866, and to make reprisals on the King of Korea. But
+that country being a vassal state, the demand was first made formally on
+the suzerain, that he should cause the Korean persecutors to be punished
+and the missionaries avenged. This was not only prejudging the particular
+case, but was yet another instance of foreigners forcing a formula on
+China, and making her answerable to a tribunal of whose jurisdiction
+she had no cognisance. The relations of China to the surrounding States
+which acknowledged her suzerainty were vague and various, imperfectly
+understood by Western States, as was sufficiently proved in the Burma
+Convention concluded between Great Britain and China in 1886. But the
+French _chargé d'affaires_ recognised no debatable ground such as even
+in the international comity of the West differentiates one dependent
+State from another, and one suzerain Power from another. In the British
+system alone the diversity in the relations of the members to the head
+is sufficient to exclude the application of any general rule. While the
+touchstone of war would no doubt reduce all to one level, yet in the
+matter of administrative responsibility what single rule could embrace,
+for example, India, Malta, the self-governing colonies, the Transvaal, and
+the African Protectorates? M. de Bellonet, however, was not embarrassed
+by any dubitations about the clean-cut rule to be enforced on China and
+Korea. He simply demanded that the suzerain should punish the vassal,
+failing which, he would take the affair into his own hands. Logical, no
+doubt, and not unreasonable, assuming the quarrel to be just. But the
+French _chargé_ went a step further in adjudging the actual dissolution
+of the family compact and sequestration of the inferior kingdom. On
+Prince Kung's declining responsibility for the Korean persecutions, M.
+de Bellonet, without further ado, annexed Korea to the empire of France,
+dethroned the king, and posted placards about the streets of Peking
+promulgating the fact. To Prince Kung he addressed a weighty despatch, in
+which he said, "The same day on which the King of Korea laid his hands on
+my unhappy countrymen was the last of his reign. He himself declared its
+end, which I, in my turn, solemnly declare to-day."[14]
+
+This was carrying the question beyond the scope of international law.
+
+Taking an analogy from common life, a father may neglect to correct a
+mischievous son, and thus leave his neighbours free to take the law into
+their own hands, but their right to chastise or prosecute does not include
+that of annulling the parental relationship, and of making a bondman
+of the offender. Force, of course, may effect such a rupture in the
+connection between nations, but in this case the force had not yet been
+applied. Admiral Roze proceeded with a squadron to the mouth of the Han,
+the waterway to the Korean capital, bombarded forts, and left his name to
+an island which faces the port of Chemulpo. The incident was then at an
+end.
+
+But not the effects of it. It was to Chinese and Koreans a flash of the
+Röntgen rays that revealed the innermost hearts of the foreigners with
+a vividness not to be forgotten; it was the whole missionary question,
+from the Eastern point of view, in a nutshell. To violate the laws and
+teach the natives to do so, and then appeal to foreign Governments to
+back them in this insidious form of rebellion--that was the function of
+the missionaries. The foreign Government thereupon lays claim to the
+territory, and so the conspiracy is crowned. In the face of such an
+unveiling of motives the chance of the Chinese statesmen being led by
+the friendly counsel poured constantly into their ears by the foreign
+Ministers in Peking must have been small indeed.
+
+About the same time a small American vessel called the General Sherman,
+with a cargo of notions and some passengers, including one English
+missionary, made her way through the archipelago which fringes the coast
+into the inner waters of Korea. She was never again heard of, and the
+fate of crew and passengers was for long a matter of report and surmise.
+At last, in 1868, a United States ship of war, the Shenandoah, was
+sent to the Korean coast to get information about the General Sherman.
+Nothing whatever was learned. Then Mr George F. Seward, consul-general in
+Shanghai, advocated a mission to Korea with a sufficient force to ensure
+respect. His persevering recommendations prevailed with the Government at
+Washington, and a squadron was equipped in 1871 to proceed to Korea and
+attempt to open the country, the admiral being furnished with copies of
+the Japan treaties of 1854 and 1858 as models. The Americans at once came
+into collision with the Korean troops, bombarded their forts, and defeated
+with considerable loss a military force marshalled to resist them. But
+no negotiations were possible. The Korean Government remained impervious
+to remonstrance and uncompromising in its refusal of intercourse. The
+following characteristic letter, addressed by the Korean authorities to
+Admiral Rogers, tersely expresses their attitude of resolute isolation:--
+
+    In the year 1868 a man of your nation, whose name was Febiger,
+    came here and communicated and went away; why cannot you do the
+    same? In 1866 a people called the French came here, and we refer
+    you to them for what happened. This people has lived 4000 years
+    in the enjoyment of its own civilisation, and we want no other.
+    We trouble no other nation--why do you trouble us? Our country
+    is in the extreme east, and yours in the extreme west; for what
+    purpose do you come so many thousand miles across the sea? Is it
+    to inquire about the ship destroyed [the General Sherman]? Her men
+    committed piracy and murder, and they were punished with death.
+    Do you want our land? That cannot be. Do you want intercourse with
+    us? That cannot be either.
+
+The American ships withdrew, as the French had done, leaving the peninsula
+once more to its fate.
+
+Previously to this a piratical expedition was attempted by a German in
+a North-German steamer, instigated and piloted by a French priest. Its
+purpose was to desecrate the tombs of the kings, with a view to carrying
+off the golden treasures with which they were believed to be buried.
+
+The three fiascos left no outward trace in the current of affairs in
+China, and diplomatic intercourse proceeded in the capital as if the
+Korean peninsula did not exist. Let it not be supposed, however, that
+the statesmen of Peking failed to take these exhibitions to heart,
+although they maintained the strictest reserve on the subject. Christian
+proselytism and foreign domination were once more discovered in active
+alliance, justifying all the suspicions of the Asiatic nations.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [12] There is more truth than may appear in the bishop's paradox.
+    Peking is singularly free from epidemics, except occasionally
+    of smallpox. When Shanghai suffered so severely from cholera in
+    1862, there were two British regiments quartered there--one, the
+    67th, within the native city, amid filth and stagnant water; the
+    other, the 31st, in the foreign settlement, in quarters carefully
+    selected by the surgeon, Dr Rennie. The 31st lost a third of its
+    strength; the 67th suffered very little. Writing in August 1860
+    from Peitang, a town 500 yards square in the midst of a great
+    swamp, into which 17,000 men were huddled, Sir Hope Grant says:
+    "Notwithstanding the pestilential nature of the place, our troops,
+    wonderful to say, never enjoyed better health."
+
+ [13] See _infra_, "Revision of the Treaty," pp. 210-222.
+
+ [14] _Vide_ 'U.S. Diplomatic Corresp.,' vol. ii. for 1867, p. 424.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE REVISION OF THE TREATY.
+
+
+I. PREPARATION.
+
+    Struggle for the observance of the treaty--Hope in the prospective
+    revision--Information gathered by British Minister--Chinese
+    apprehensive of force being used--Imperial Government consult
+    provincial officials--Interesting memorials in reply--Especially
+    from Li Hung-chang--His liberal views respecting foreigners--And
+    wise advice to the throne.
+
+The conflict between foreign aggressions and Chinese resistance had
+proceeded without intermission on either side for seven years. In the
+struggle the Chinese had gained many successes, but the fruits of them had
+not been secured beyond the risk of reprisal. Both sides were ill at ease.
+The foreigners on their part had been buoyed up under their grievances
+by the hope of a readjustment of international relations, which had been
+provided for in the treaties of Tientsin and Peking.
+
+The decennial period was at hand when revision of the treaty of Tientsin
+might be claimed. To that important juncture all eyes looked forward. The
+foreigners hoped for freer intercourse; the Chinese wished to restrict
+what already existed. Great preparations were made for the revision
+campaign. On the part of the foreigners opinions were invited from all the
+trading-ports as to the points where modification could be advantageously
+claimed, and memorials from the Chambers of Commerce both in China and in
+Great Britain, from individuals, professional men, and from missionaries,
+poured in upon the British Minister during the years 1867 and 1868,
+extending even into 1869.
+
+Sir R. Alcock had even taken every possible pains to acquaint himself
+with the local circumstances of the various treaty ports by personal
+inspection and personal communication--a practice which public opinion
+urged in vain upon his successors, who had much greater need of such
+local observations. Following up this tour of his own, he delegated to
+a subordinate the task of studying the conditions under which trade was
+carried on in the interior, in the districts most likely to be affected by
+any probable changes in the treaty. Under this roving commission Consul
+Swinhoe made an extensive tour through the canal district of the Yangtze
+delta, and finished up with an expedition to Szechuan in 1869, on which
+he was accompanied by delegates of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce.
+
+The importance attached by foreigners to the occasion naturally stirred
+the Chinese Government also to make special exertions to meet the coming
+contest. From the measures to which they resorted it is evident that they
+were apprehensive lest force should be applied by the foreigners to gain
+their ends; for the idea of free negotiation and of voluntary agreement
+had not yet been assimilated by the Chinese. To them the foreigner
+represented force and nothing else. They had never really comprehended
+the reasons for the withdrawal of the Allies when in possession of Peking,
+and though the immediate danger of war was removed, the shadow of it never
+ceased to haunt the dreams of Chinese statesmen.
+
+Mistrusting their own resources, the Central Government appealed to the
+provinces for confidential advice; and as these communications throw light
+on the inner--though not the innermost--thoughts of the Chinese, which it
+is difficult otherwise to gauge, some of them are worth perusing in the
+actual words of the writers.
+
+The secret circular addressed by the Tsungli-Yamên to the high officials
+throughout the empire in 1867 opened abruptly with the proposition, "The
+barbarian question is one of old standing"; it then proceeded to review
+the difficulties and the dangers of "our present conjuncture," arising
+mainly from the improvement of communications and armaments combined
+with the earth-hunger of the various European nations. The foreigner at
+one time stood in awe of the Central Power, but that was before railways
+and steamships had been invented; and while the numbers who came to
+China were as yet insignificant, and were conveniently restricted to one
+spot, where they could be managed, now they occupy so many positions as
+to form a strategic cordon round the empire. Moreover, they are united
+in interest, and cannot suddenly be either isolated or weakened. How,
+then, can we confront them with our isolation and weakness? It is to
+be feared that we have no one who, taking a comprehensive view of the
+whole situation, can create disunion among our enemies through their own
+rivalries and insatiable avarice. Yet it is just here that the germ of
+an effective policy should be sought. If, however, circumstances render
+such a scheme at present impracticable, its execution may be deferred. We
+must be patient under suffering, diligently strengthening ourselves, and
+abide in hope. We bear in mind the calamities of 1860, and how to save
+the State the emperor was entreated to conclude a treaty. It was evident
+that the treaty, hastily concluded, would remain a fruitful source of
+future difficulty; nevertheless, good faith required that it should be
+fulfilled, and even the very fulfilment of it be turned into a means of
+limitation and restraint. The time for revision being now at hand, you are
+requested to give your suggestions as to the means of avoiding a rupture
+with foreigners, and in case of a rupture, what will ensure safety. The
+principal points likely to be brought forward at the revision conferences
+are here submitted for your consideration. To simply declare the whole
+impracticable is easy; the difficulty will be to devise a plan for safely
+avoiding concession. Deal with the matter, therefore, in a practical way,
+and not by an empty thesis; and let your memorial reach us not later than
+December. The points are--(1) The audience question. (2) The question
+of an embassy to foreign countries, which had been repeatedly urged by
+the various foreign Ministers in Peking. The arguments in favour of such
+a measure are, that "to know your adversary as he knows you" is a maxim
+of practical wisdom, and that it would be of great advantage to have the
+means of appealing from an unreasonable foreign Minister in Peking to his
+own Government. (3) Telegraphs and railways. (4) Residence of merchants in
+the interior. (5) Salt trade and coal-mining. (6) Extension of missions.
+
+Such was the substance of the Tsungli-Yamên's circular to the
+governors-general and governors of provinces. The memorials in reply
+were distinguished by some plain speaking. Amid a good deal that was
+vaporous and fantastic, such as would characterise any general council,
+there were propositions of sound statecraft, maxims which it would have
+been good for the Central Government to lay to heart, and side-lights
+on their traditional conceptions of national policy well deserving to be
+studied by the Powers which have relations with the Chinese. One clause
+in the memorial of Tsêng Kwo-fan, for example, went to the root of the
+administrative difficulties which caused then, and still cause, the major
+portion of the angry friction between Chinese and foreign officials.
+He reminded the emperor, in fact, that he had a court of appeal in the
+provinces; so that though he might, under pressure, be forced to concede
+points to the foreign nations in Peking, yet it was the memorialist
+himself and his peers in the provinces who would have the last word to
+say. The elliptic and allusive style usually assumed in Chinese documents
+may allow this hint to be interpreted either as a veiled defiance of, or
+as an assurance of support to, the throne--perhaps both subtly compounded.
+But the practical inference remains, that, as experience has often proved,
+the provinces revise the decisions of the capital, and the execution rests
+with them.
+
+  [Illustration: LI HUNG-CHANG AT THE AGE OF FIFTY.
+   _From a photo by J. Thomson, Grosvenor Street, W._ ]
+
+The memorial, however, which is most interesting to foreigners, because
+the plainest to their comprehension, is that of Li Hung-chang, at that
+period Governor-General of the Hu-kwang; and as it affords a key to that
+statesman's subsequent career and the unique position he has occupied
+in regard to the foreign relations of the empire, it seems well worthy
+of reproduction. Omitting the preamble, and certain classic references
+without which a Chinese State Paper would be no more complete than a
+speech in Parliament or a leader in the 'Times' fifty years ago would
+have been without a Latin quotation, the substance of the memorial runs
+as follows:--
+
+    The humble opinion of the writer is, that in conducting business
+    with foreigners the point of the greatest importance is to avoid
+    exciting their contempt; that contempt once excited, they will
+    thwart us at every turn, and even in affairs that are really
+    practicable they will contrive a thousand schemes and devices to
+    throw obstacles in the way of their practicability. But if they
+    feel respect for China, all matters can be mutually arranged;
+    and even difficult questions can be settled by compromise or
+    agreement.
+
+    Foreigners, however, are not the only persons who are influenced
+    by this feeling: it animates alike the minds of the whole human
+    race.
+
+    It is often said that foreigners are crafty and malign and full
+    of unexpected ruses: but is it not the fact that Chinese are the
+    same; or rather that the outrageous craft and malignity of the
+    Chinese exceeds even that of foreigners? The truth is, that at
+    present foreigners are powerful and the Chinese feeble. And whence
+    arises the power of the former? It certainly is not innate in
+    them, but depends upon the fact that "the requisites of Government
+    are sufficiency of food, sufficiency of military equipment, and
+    the confidence of the people in their ruler" (Confucian Analects).
+    And how is the weakness of China to be accounted for? This also is
+    not innate, but is a result of the truth of the above axiom not
+    being sufficiently recognised. The present condition of foreign
+    countries resembles that of China before the union, or is perhaps
+    even still more formidable.
+
+    In the course of time foreigners came to China, opened numerous
+    marts, and conveyed their merchandise everywhere. They traded
+    at as many as five ports, and all with no other object but that
+    of making the wealth of China contribute to their own. A little
+    consideration shows that those who ventured to come to this
+    country must have placed their reliance upon something to have
+    rendered them so fearless; and there is not the slightest reason
+    why that which they confided in should not also become a source
+    of confidence to China.
+
+    Many persons have offered their views upon the several questions
+    now under consideration, and it is useless to take the trouble
+    to recapitulate them. But all such appliances as telegraphs,
+    railways, locomotives, and steamships--the things on which
+    foreigners rely--can without exception be learned by the Chinese.
+    It is often alleged that these inventions are attended with
+    harm: how is it, then, that in foreign countries every district
+    has its trains and steamers, every locality its telegraphs and
+    railways? Natives of China, too, have travelled abroad and can
+    bear testimony that these things, so far from being harmful, are
+    advantageous.
+
+    Imperial audience is distinctly stipulated for in the treaty of
+    1860, and it is next to impossible to withdraw it; especially as
+    his sainted Majesty Kanghsi admitted Japanese to his presence,
+    and there will be no difficulty in ascertaining the ceremony then
+    employed. And again, during the negotiations with the Russians
+    on the boundary and trade questions, which took place about the
+    same period, they were treated as an equal Power. It is but right,
+    indeed, to consider such Powers as upon a footing of equality with
+    ourselves.
+
+    The idea of the writer is to wait until the majority of the
+    emperor, and then to receive all the representatives in a
+    side-hall as was done by his sacred Majesty Kanghsi. It will,
+    however, first be necessary to arrange distinctly whether such
+    interviews are to take place once or twice a-year. Otherwise an
+    impropriety will be caused by their constantly demanding audiences
+    every few days on frivolous questions.
+
+    Such a course presents no difficulties from our point of view, and
+    from theirs it is a _sine quâ non_. Moreover, they would see how
+    the imperial magnanimity extends to every region. Their request
+    may with great propriety be granted.
+
+    As to the appointment of an envoy, in the fourth year of Tungchih,
+    Pin Ch'un and others were sent on a visit to the several foreign
+    countries, and the Tsungli-Yamên has lately written to state
+    that Chih kang and others have now proceeded thither. Thus the
+    mission has been continuous, and it would be well to adhere to
+    this system.
+
+    The question of separate missions at the Courts of the several
+    Powers, however, still remains for deliberation. In discussing
+    these questions persons are apprehensive, either that the
+    emperor's commission will be disgraced, or that there will be an
+    extravagant expenditure of the imperial funds. But such persons
+    are not acquainted with the whole bearing of the subject.
+
+    Memorialist is of opinion that this question is eminently
+    susceptible of a satisfactory solution. After selecting reliable
+    and trustworthy men to reside at foreign Courts, it will be
+    necessary to appoint subordinates and interpreters, who can be
+    exchanged every three or every five years. Interpreters, indeed,
+    should be selected from each country to which an envoy proceeds--a
+    system which would give us the double advantage of facilitating
+    public business, and of affording us an opportunity to display
+    our amicable desires. Far from being detrimental, the project is
+    attended with great advantages.
+
+    The matter of missionary extension is beset with greater
+    difficulties than the rest, especially as it is not a State
+    question with foreign Governments.[15] At the present moment
+    innumerable churches are being erected in every province,
+    district, and department for the explanation of their canon and
+    the preaching of their faith; and the common people are one-half
+    of them deceived, and the other half led to join them for evil
+    purposes. Instructions should be issued to the superintendents
+    of northern and southern trade, as well as to the generals,
+    viceroys, governors, customs superintendents, and taotais, to
+    become intimate with the foreign officials with whom they are
+    in communication. Then, when anything is to be arranged, there
+    would be no harm in telling them distinctly that when the common
+    people misbehave the local functionaries must adjudicate; and
+    that when it happens that the people refuse to become proselytes,
+    the officials can on no account insist upon their doing so
+    against their will--for such a course would but raise riots and
+    disturbances, to the detriment of international amity. At the
+    approaching revision of the treaty all possible arguments must be
+    used with regard to this point, and on no account must any further
+    clause be added.
+
+    With reference to the remaining points--viz., coal mines,
+    importation of salt, erection of inland warehouses, inland
+    steam navigation, and the like--these, although comparatively
+    unimportant matters, nevertheless entail serious consequences. If
+    their introduction is harmless, there is no necessity to waste
+    words and ink in the raising of disputes and complications; but
+    if, on the other hand, there are among them concessions which
+    we are unwilling to make, it will be very proper to "explain the
+    circumstances to them and argue the rights of the case," and they
+    will hardly wish to press embarrassments upon us.
+
+    Should they, however, take advantage of their strength to
+    impose upon our weakness by dividing our territory and sharing
+    among them the fat of the land, in such a pressing crisis the
+    greatest firmness would be necessary. But there need be no great
+    apprehension of such a contingency, for the simple reason that,
+    with the exception of Russia, foreign countries are all too
+    distant from China, and the acquisition of its territory would be
+    nothing but an embarrassment to them.
+
+    The fact is, that the prosperity of foreign countries is
+    inseparably connected with the welfare of the Chinese people; and
+    instead of draining that people to the last drop, would they not
+    rather prefer to use, without exhausting--to take, and still leave
+    a residue?
+
+    The present occasion of treaty revision with the English is a
+    most important juncture. The English treaty once disposed of,
+    there will be no difficulty with the other Powers. The danger
+    to be apprehended is that during the revision of next year they
+    will employ coercion to extort concession. This, however, may be
+    known previously; and should it be the case, it will of course
+    be necessary to select experienced troops and able officers to
+    confront them. Should nothing of the sort occur, negotiations
+    should be entered upon.
+
+    In short, supposing we are to cherish a feeling of revenge and
+    devise schemes to subvert foreign Powers, it will be necessary to
+    wait until--with large armies and abundant supplies, with no rebel
+    or Mohammedan outbreaks in the provinces, and no difficulties in
+    the capital--we can cope with them without hesitation. We shall be
+    a match then for all adversaries; but otherwise we cannot engage
+    in a rash and random conflict. Even when it is supposed that we
+    are ready for the struggle, it will still be necessary to exercise
+    extreme and continual caution, and to wait until our spirit is
+    high, and our aspect, therefore, formidable. Then should there
+    be no war, the question would be disposed of; but in the event of
+    our taking the field, it would not be unvictoriously.
+
+    Memorialist, however, has had several years' experience in
+    conducting business with foreigners, and is thoroughly familiar
+    with their character. He has found that, no matter what they are
+    engaged in, they act honourably without deceit or falsehood. But
+    although it is possible to acquire a general knowledge of their
+    mode of action in the conduct of their own affairs, yet there is
+    no means of becoming thoroughly acquainted with the details and
+    motives of their conduct. Their bearing, however, in military
+    matters affords clear evidence of their straightforwardness.
+    There is the instance of the Englishman Gordon, late
+    commander-in-chief at Soochow, who, having organised 3000 troops
+    of the Ever-Victorious Army, took the field against the rebels.
+    Subsequently, at the capture of Soochow, the memorialist himself
+    observed that officer personally leading in advance of his
+    troops with a courage and _sang-froid_ worthy of all praise. He
+    subsequently became the recipient of the imperial commendation
+    and reward.
+
+    The writer has also, in conjunction with Tsêng Kwo-fan, acting
+    viceroy of the two Kiang, been associated with foreigners in
+    organising foreign-drilled infantry and cavalry, and in making
+    arrangements for the building of steam-vessels. He is thoroughly
+    convinced that they are actuated by upright and amicable
+    principles, and entertain no feelings of animosity towards China.
+    With the knowledge of these facts before us, it is possible to
+    draw our conclusions upon other matters.
+
+    It is from these considerations, therefore, that the writer
+    suggests the policy to be pursued in intercourse with foreigners.
+    There seems to be no necessity to dispose of the several
+    questions hastily and on the instant, nor do the resident foreign
+    Ministers at Peking apparently intend to insist upon an immediate
+    settlement.
+
+    It would be well if H.I.M. on attaining his majority were himself
+    to adopt the policy suggested, and in that case no difficult
+    questions would arise.
+
+    6th year, 11th month, 6th day.
+
+As perhaps the best essay yet extant in translating the Chinese imperial
+tradition into the language of the modern world, this paper of Li
+Hung-chang's is full of instruction for foreign diplomatists. Read in
+the light of the subsequent thirty years, we see that it sets forth
+the principles which have inspired the whole public life of the most
+prominent man in China. His recognition of the honourable character of
+foreigners, as he knew them, represented a notable advance on the like
+testimony of Commissioner Lin in 1841, inasmuch as Lin deduced from it
+the ease by which their good faith could be abused, while Li made it
+a ground of confidence in co-operation with them. His recommendation
+to his contemporaries, to cultivate intimacy with foreign officials in
+order to obviate misunderstandings in the execution of the treaties, was
+only preaching that which he has consistently practised throughout his
+official life. He was the first high official who braved public opinion by
+sitting with open doors. This conciliatory temper and open mind has made
+Li Hung-chang the lubricator in many jarring conflicts; and it kept him,
+contrary to constitutional usage, for twenty-five years at the diplomatic
+outpost of the capital.
+
+His delicate handling of the suggestion of the Central Government,
+to resist by hostile means the proposals of foreigners, is also
+characteristic of the man who had seen war and hated it. While bowing to
+the imperial will, he proposed postponement of its execution. In a similar
+case many years afterwards a memorial of Li's was quoted as an incitement
+to war with Japan, whereas it was an extinguisher, in diplomatic form,
+put upon the bellicose proposal of another.
+
+Not the least interesting part of Li's memorial is the ground on which
+he advocates reform--the proved superiority of foreign nations. His
+argument takes the identical form, and is expressed in the very words,
+used by the Daimios of Japan; and the circumstances of the two countries
+in their foreign relations were in the main so similar, that it cannot
+but be instructive to observe how they comported themselves respectively
+under the stress of the foreign irruption. Both had been overawed by
+foreign forces, and both sought revenge by using the strength of their
+opponents for their own regeneration. The difficulty, as we see it, in
+the carrying out of the scheme of regeneration was of the same nature in
+both countries--the want of unity and centralisation. Japan was divided
+up into feudal principalities; China into provinces and prefectures as
+independent as self-governing British colonies. The councils of the
+Daimios bore a rough analogy to the consultations with the governors
+and governors-general of China. The enemy was the same, and the means of
+overcoming him are as clearly laid down in Li Hung-chang's memorial as in
+the most perfervid of the Japanese manifestoes. How, then, did it come
+about that the same leaven should have fermented with such miraculous
+rapidity in the one country, while in the other it has been buried in a
+torpid mass? Obviously this is a matter which will repay the consideration
+of those who concern themselves with the state and prospects of China.
+
+
+II. THE BURLINGAME MISSION.
+
+    Mysterious inception--American Minister becomes Chinese envoy
+    to Western countries--Objects of mission concealed--Its first
+    adventure--Mr Burlingame concludes treaty at Washington--Persuades
+    British Government to adopt new policy in China.
+
+Three processes--separate, though not independent--were going on
+simultaneously during the year 1868: the revision of the British treaty
+in Peking; an epidemic of anti-foreign demonstrations in the provinces;
+and the progress of the Burlingame mission in Europe. One of them cannot
+be understood without the other; but taking the revision of the treaty
+as the object towards which the other two converged, it will be simpler
+to reserve the special consideration of the treaty question until we have
+given a short outline of the accessory episodes.
+
+Of the eight questions submitted to the provincials, one was disposed of,
+and that in a surprisingly precipitate manner, a month before even the
+memorials of the various authorities were sent in. An embassy to Europe
+and America was appointed, equipped, and despatched in the month of
+November 1867, and with a foreigner at its head. A proceeding so contrary
+to Chinese tradition naturally excited curiosity as to its origin,--a
+curiosity which has been tantalised but not to this day satisfied, though
+the mission itself soon became ancient history. It is certain none of the
+representatives of foreign Powers then in the capital were consulted,
+or in any way taken into confidence with regard to the scheme--except,
+of course, the one who transferred himself from the service of his own
+country to that of China. "No one," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock, "knew
+that the Chinese were on the eve of a revolution which would materially
+change the aspect of affairs." This by way of explaining an important
+memorandum he had just written on the state of China, which would have
+been of a different tenor had any hint of what was intended been given to
+him.
+
+As the embassy was the first that China had sent to a foreign country,
+and as it was commissioned under some urgent demand which evidently
+would brook no delay, its composition, character, and objects are all
+interesting to the student of Chinese politics. There were three envoys,
+two Chinese and one foreign. The latter was the Hon. Anson Burlingame,
+Minister of the United States to China, who of course was the spokesman of
+the mission. A better selection for the purpose could not have been made,
+had even a larger choice of men been open to the Chinese. Mr Burlingame
+had been an active politician in his time, and was a practised orator. If
+we add the epithet "sophisticated rhetorician," which was ten years later
+applied to a still more eminent personage, that is little more than to say
+he was a special pleader. And he was engaged on special pleader's duty.
+Whatever the genesis of the mission, therefore, it was a master stroke of
+the Chinese Government, eclipsing all their other contrivances to resist
+the expected demands of foreigners at the revision of the treaties. It was
+the first open attempt by the Chinese to apply the homœopathic principle
+to their international affairs in using the foreigner as an antidote to
+the foreigner.
+
+The Burlingame mission left Peking with the ostensible approval of
+the foreign representatives. The support of the British Minister was
+given in the most practical way by the permission granted to the acting
+Chinese secretary, Mr J. McLeavy Brown, to accept the secretaryship of
+the mission--a favour the more marked in that Mr Brown happened to be
+the _locum tenens_ of Mr Wade, who had just gone on leave, so that his
+departure left the British Legation destitute at a season of the year when
+it was impossible to call up substitutes from the ports, and at a time
+when the greatest burden of work was in prospect. And yet the true object
+of the mission was concealed from Sir Rutherford Alcock. "I do not know
+what Mr Burlingame's instructions may ultimately be," he wrote in January
+1868, adding, "but it is very obvious what is the work which devolves upon
+him." Sir Rutherford's judgment of its purpose seems to have been based on
+his own inferences from the facts of the situation and his unquestioning
+faith in Mr Burlingame's loyalty to his professed principles.
+
+He had known Mr Burlingame for two years as the _doyen_ of the diplomatic
+body, the most fervid champion of that "co-operative policy" whereby the
+treaty Powers agreed to act as a united body in pursuit of identical
+objects. He could not suppose that his late colleague had turned his
+back on those common objects without notice. Although, therefore, the
+suddenness and secrecy of the move might have suggested misgivings as
+to the mission being intended to promote the views of the diplomatic
+body in Peking, yet it is beyond question that Sir Rutherford Alcock
+heartily favoured the embassy. His confidence in it is further attested
+by a very long and elaborate memorandum which he addressed to Prince
+Kung, indicating the uses to which the embassy should be put in bringing
+about an understanding with the Powers, whereby Chinese interests would
+be safeguarded while the treaty rights of foreigners should be amply
+fulfilled. "I see in the mission a hope of improvement and a material
+change in the whole aspect of affairs.... Proves there are Ministers with
+power and influence in the councils of the emperor who believe the time
+has come for breaking with the past.... After a long night of weariness
+and futile efforts, daylight begins to appear.... I hail the appointment
+of a representative to the Western Powers as the beginning of a new era."
+Such was the Minister's valediction in his report to the Foreign Office.
+But he had been mightily deceived. The night had indeed been long, but
+it was not the true dawn which was welcomed with this joyful acclamation.
+How quickly the gloom settled down again on that scene of fruitless toil
+will presently be seen.
+
+The mission was introduced to the notice of the world by a humorous
+prelude, which may be quoted for the sake of the light it incidentally
+throws on the chronic state of China. On their way from Peking to
+Tientsin, seventy or eighty miles, the envoys halted at a large
+market-town, where a report met them of a phenomenon not very uncommon
+in those parts, especially in winter--a band of marauders who had been
+annoying the neighbourhood. The mission took refuge in an inn, resolved
+to stand a siege until aid should come. In this strait Mr Burlingame
+seems never to have thought of applying either to the local authorities
+of the town or to the Government he was serving, but despatched urgent
+messages to Peking, where there were escorts kept at the Russian and
+British Legations, and to Tientsin, where was the British gunboat Dove.
+His appeals were answered with alacrity from both sides. From Peking came
+a relief party of British and Russian soldiers in charge of members of
+the two Legations; from Tientsin a party of mounted bluejackets under
+Lieutenant Dunlop. They met at the half-way house where the mission lay,
+but nothing could be seen or heard of the besiegers. Mr Burlingame's
+party reached their port of embarkation without further adventure. Indeed
+the only serious matter that arose out of the imbroglio was a difference
+of opinion between one Vodkansky of the Cossack guard and Mulvaney, a
+sturdy Hibernian of the British escort, which the latter proposed to
+settle by the means in vogue among heroes before the days of Agamemnon.
+Tragic consequences were, however, averted by the soothing diplomacy
+of the representative of her Majesty's Legation, Mr Conolly, and the
+two Burlingame relief expeditions returned to their respective stations
+nothing the worse for a couple of days' outing in the bracing November
+air.
+
+Mr Burlingame made his _début_ in the United States, first by eloquent
+speeches in San Francisco, and next by what assumed the form of
+serious negotiations at Washington. An orator cannot reasonably be held
+accountable for every detail of his orations, but Mr Burlingame's mission
+may be most favourably summarised by a few carefully chosen words of his
+own:--
+
+    1st. It was the object of the mission to disabuse the foreign
+    Powers of an impression they were supposed to entertain, that the
+    Chinese Government had entered upon a retrograde policy.
+
+    2nd. To deprecate a precipitate and unfriendly attempt on their
+    part to enter upon a policy which might make all progress
+    impossible from its menacing tone and "violent shock to the
+    feelings, and even prejudices, of the people."
+
+Translated into practice, these propositions meant that China wished
+to be let alone; and that, we may safely assume, represented the whole
+extent of Mr Burlingame's instructions. This claim was embodied in a
+convention which he made at Washington, comprising certain "additional
+articles" to the American treaty of 1858, the purport of which was that
+the United States undertook to apply no pressure to China, which, it may
+be presumed, that Power had never the intention of doing. The convention
+was for several reasons not welcomed at Peking, but it served the only
+purpose which perhaps it was ever expected to serve, that of giving the
+keynote to the representations which the envoy was afterwards to make to
+the various Powers in Europe.
+
+The next Government to which Mr Burlingame addressed himself was that
+of Great Britain, over which he obtained a more important success than
+over that of the United States. In fact, he persuaded Lord Clarendon
+to discard all the information that ever reached the Foreign Office
+from its own responsible agents in China--men who were bound by every
+consideration of loyalty and public duty to report only what was true,
+and to accept instead thereof the protestations of an agent hired to
+make out a case; for it is superfluous to add that Mr Burlingame was
+far indeed from representing the true state of facts. He succeeded in so
+altering the course of the British Government that their agent in China
+was discredited, stultified, and rendered powerless to effect the objects
+for which he had been labouring. This was the first step of the Foreign
+Office in the new departure which had many evil results--that, namely, of
+taking their cue not from agents in their own pay, but from others over
+whom they could exercise no control, and who had alien interests to serve.
+
+From the Chinese point of view the Burlingame mission was a decided
+success.
+
+
+III. CHINESE OUTRAGES--YANGCHOW AND FORMOSA.
+
+    Missions attacked at Yangchow--Redress refused by Chinese
+    and enforced by consul--With naval assistance--Satisfactory
+    issue--Continuous outrages in Formosa--Government affords no
+    relief--Disturbances quelled by British forces--Lawlessness near
+    Swatow--Communications with interior controlled by bandits--Order
+    restored by Consul Alabaster with naval force--Peace and
+    good feeling between Chinese and foreigners resulting from
+    these various measures--Which were approved by Imperial
+    Government--Disapproved by British Government in consequence of Mr
+    Burlingame's representations--Consuls punished--Lord Clarendon,
+    prompted by Mr Burlingame, sends fresh instructions to Minister
+    and consuls.
+
+The year 1868 was marked by serious anti-foreign outbreaks in widely
+distant provinces of the empire. At Yangchow, a wealthy city on the Grand
+Canal, twelve miles from the left bank of the Yangtze river, a favourite
+resort for retired officials, rich salt merchants, and gentry, the Inland
+missionaries under the orders of Mr Hudson Taylor established themselves.
+In no locality in China could they have been less welcome, for there they
+met their natural enemies in the greatest force. Before long an attack
+on them was organised at the instigation of the literati and gentry, and
+with the connivance of the local authorities. "The onslaught was sudden
+and severe, the mob set fire to the premises, the ladies and children of
+the mission had to be thrown out of the windows to save their lives."
+There was no mistake, therefore, as to the murderous intentions of the
+assailants. The nearest British consul was at Shanghai, the consulate at
+Chinkiang, twelve miles from the scene of the outrage, being in charge
+of an assistant, Mr Clement Allen. That young officer hastened instantly
+to the assistance of the missionaries, and made his protest against the
+culpable negligence, to say no more, of the Chinese officials, who on
+their part made a great to-do of hushing the matter up and repairing the
+injured house. Consul Medhurst promptly followed up the representations
+made by Mr Allen by personal appeal to the viceroy at Nanking, fifty miles
+distant. The mind of that high official had already been prejudiced by
+ingeniously falsified reports of the transaction supplied to him by the
+prefect of Yangchow, and in consequence he refused Mr Medhurst's request
+to depute an official to accompany him to that city for the purpose of
+investigating the facts. Thereupon Mr Medhurst, availing himself of the
+arrival of H.M.'s ship Rinaldo at Chinkiang, obtained from her commander
+a sufficient escort to accompany him to Yangchow; and then only did the
+viceroy, Tsêng Kwo-fan, appoint an officer, though of totally inadequate
+rank, to co-operate with the consul. The Chinese officer did not, however,
+keep his appointment, and Mr Medhurst proceeded without him, and placed
+in the hands of the prefect at Yangchow a written demand for redress, one
+of the items being the seizure and punishment of the gentry, whose names
+were submitted. The prefect at once declared his inability to deal with
+men of such influence, all being of higher rank than himself. As nothing,
+therefore, could be settled at Yangchow, the prefect agreed to accompany
+Mr Medhurst to Nanking to lay the whole matter before the viceroy.
+A deputy from the viceroy, however, met Mr Medhurst at Chinkiang and
+endeavoured to dissuade him from proceeding to Nanking, offering instead
+to accompany him back to Yangchow, according to the original programme. Mr
+Medhurst, in his turn, persuaded the deputy to return with him to Nanking
+on H.M.'s ship Rinaldo, which was to start from Chinkiang the following
+morning. But the deputy Chang did not keep that appointment, any more
+than he had kept his previous one. The prefect of Yangchow also found
+means of evading his promise to accompany the consul into the presence
+of the viceroy. After much pressure on the one side and evasion on the
+other, the viceroy offered to settle the matter by a charitable gratuity
+to the missionaries in lieu of damages, and showed his anxiety to get
+the affair patched up quickly by sending an official of rank to follow
+Mr Medhurst on board H.M.'s ship Rinaldo, where he spent two hours in
+attempting to persuade the consul to accept the terms offered. Matters
+were, in fact, in a fair way of settlement when, "just at this juncture,"
+the commander of the Rinaldo fell sick and determined to proceed with
+his ship to Shanghai, the consul being thus left in a humiliating and
+helpless position, as Sir Rutherford Alcock describes it. The Chinese
+officials at once changed their tone, withdrew from negotiations, and
+nothing more could be done with them. The action of the naval officer
+in abandoning the consul was freely criticised at the time, and being in
+consequence asked by the Admiralty for an explanation, he stated, among
+other things, "that it never entered his head that the presence simply
+of a small man-of-war could have the effect of influencing the viceroy."
+He also stated that he had "been given to understand that the viceroy had
+expressed his willingness to comply with Mr Medhurst's requests, and would
+send a letter to that effect that night or the next morning." The gallant
+officer did not appear to perceive that the withdrawal of his ship before
+the viceroy's promise had been fulfilled completely changed the situation.
+
+Nothing was left for the consul, then, but to lay the whole case before
+H.M.'s Minister, and in doing so he made these observations: "I can call
+to mind, out of my experience of British relations with China, scarcely
+one instance in which the outrage complained of has been more unprovoked
+on the part of the sufferers, and in which the evidence of neglect and
+culpability on the part of the local authorities has been more marked
+and incontrovertible. Few cases can have occurred, moreover, in which the
+power to grant prompt and reasonable redress was more within the reach of
+the supreme provincial authority."
+
+The Minister, in his turn, had no resource but to call upon the admiral
+on the station "to repair the mischief by sending such naval force
+to the mouth of the Grand Canal as shall enable him, if necessary, to
+apply effective pressure both on the local authorities and populace at
+Yangchow and on the viceroy at Nanking," to whom the consul was once
+more instructed to address himself. Of course the Minister had before
+this applied in the usual form to the Tsungli-Yamên, and with the usual
+result. They deprecated hasty conclusions until they themselves had
+full information from the local authorities; but they admitted without
+hesitation that, assuming the facts, full redress must be granted.
+
+The Minister's representations to the Central Government were renewed
+with greater emphasis on receipt of the news of the collapse of the
+consul's negotiations. Prince Kung then expressed his readiness to
+make the compensations demanded; but as regarded the punishment of the
+instigators of the outrage, he contented himself with tacitly indorsing
+the plea of the viceroy, "that the gentry indicated were men of high
+rank, and incapable of wilful disregard of treaty provisions, for which
+reason they need not be called to account." In reply the Minister stated
+that immunity to such offenders, more especially if highly placed, is
+wholly incompatible with the treaty rights of foreigners. A new inquiry,
+however, was instituted at Yangchow, and the Viceroy Tsêng, who had just
+been gazetted to another post, was warned not to leave Nanking until the
+affair was concluded. After an interval of two months, Consul Medhurst,
+escorted by a naval force despatched to his aid by Admiral Keppel, sent
+his cards once more to the Nanking viceroy. The old tactics were repeated,
+and negotiations threatened to be indefinitely protracted, but eventually
+promises were given for the full redress demanded. Promises, however, had
+been given before, and it was deemed not unreasonable in the circumstances
+to demand a material guarantee. There happened to be lying at anchor
+opposite the city a small steamer recently built for the viceroy, which
+he was induced to place under the orders of Captain Heneage, R.N.,
+pending the execution of the arrangements. The end of the discussion
+was a complete and satisfactory settlement of the whole affair, which
+included the deprivation of the prefect and the magistrate of Yangchow.
+The after-effects have been no less satisfactory. For the last thirty
+years Yangchow has been the most peaceable missionary field in the whole
+empire. We have set forth this incident in some detail, because it was
+typical, isolated, and free from all obscurities.
+
+While these events were passing on the Yangtze, similar troubles, which
+had been threatening for some time, came to a head in the island of
+Formosa. Outbreaks of mob-violence against the property and person of
+both missionaries and merchants took place in different parts of the
+island. At Banca, in the Tamsui district, two English merchants, Messrs
+Kerr and Bird, were murderously assaulted by a ferocious armed mob, and
+Mr Holt, the acting vice-consul at Tamsui, reported in October 1868 that
+"remonstrance, expostulation, despatches, letters, messages, and visits
+having alike failed in securing common justice" from the mandarin, he
+might be "driven at any moment to strike his consular flag and close
+communication with the authorities. Our lives are threatened by people
+who have proved that the will to murder us is not wanting," and with whom
+the authorities either could not or would not interfere. Mr Holt held
+his ground until assistance reached him, and he made no secret of his
+intention to back his diplomacy by a show of force whenever he got the
+chance. "Short of destruction of life and property," he wrote, "I intend
+using any means in my power to enforce that justice that the people who
+are supposed to administer it deny me. On the arrival of the gunboat I
+will at once inform your Excellency of the measures concerted between the
+commander and myself." Vice-Admiral Keppel reported to the Admiralty in
+December that "the opportune arrival of H.M. gunboat Janus and the United
+States Aroostook was followed by a full compliance with the demands of
+her Majesty's consul."
+
+Matters did not run quite so smoothly at the other end of the island,
+where missionaries as well as merchants were the object of attack. The
+campaign was carried on with vigour for some six months. Redress was
+not only unobtainable from the Chinese authorities, but even personal
+access to them was rendered impossible by the obstruction of the mob.
+Mr George Jamieson was obliged to forego a visit to the magistrate
+at Taiwan in April on the latter confessing that he could not protect
+him from violence. Mr Gibson, five months later, found his road to the
+mandarin ambuscaded by three parties of sixty or seventy men each, armed
+with jingalls, swords, and spears. Outrage succeeded outrage during the
+whole period. The state of affairs was of course a subject of serious
+remonstrance with the Central Government, of whom the Minister first
+demanded, as in the Yangchow case, a joint inquiry into the facts. For
+this purpose the consul, Mr Swinhoe, who had been absent on other duty,
+was ordered to his proper post. At the same time Vice-Admiral Keppel was
+requested to send an adequate naval force to support the consul's position
+and prevent further outbreaks.
+
+The Yamên went through the form of ordering to the spot a commissioner,
+who, however, left it again immediately, thus turning the orders of the
+Yamên into ridicule. This proceeding naturally encouraged the hostility
+of the local officials and of the mob who executed their behests. The
+situation became most threatening.
+
+The squadron detached by Admiral Keppel for active operations at Takow
+and its neighbourhood consisted of three corvettes and five gunboats, to
+be reinforced if necessary by the flagship Rodney, carrying eighty-two
+guns. Before this imposing force arrived, however, the task they were
+intended to achieve had been already accomplished. "Driven to despair,
+and believing life and property to be in great danger, Mr Gibson, without
+waiting for instructions, called upon Lieutenant Gurdon of the gunboat
+Algerine to take possession of the Chinese fort, which resulted in a loss
+of life and a destruction of Government stores."
+
+Mr Gibson's action was somewhat euphemistically described as "without
+waiting for instructions," seeing that he had positive instructions
+to maintain his ground until a naval force should arrive. Both the
+operation itself and certain details of its execution were adverted
+upon so severely, first by Sir Rutherford Alcock and then by the British
+Government, that, notwithstanding Commodore Jones's commendation of "the
+most brilliant exploit I have heard of in these seas," Lieutenant Gurdon
+fell under the displeasure of the Lords of the Admiralty, as the acting
+consul did under that of the Foreign Office. The object of the joint
+adventure, however, was attained, and the spirit of outrage among the
+Chinese completely subdued. This happened in December.
+
+There remained, however, yet another centre of turbulence which greatly
+impeded the operation of the treaty, at the port of Swatow. The villages
+which lie between that seaport and the district city of Chow-chow-fu,
+some 12 miles up the river Han, had banded themselves together to oppose
+foreign intercourse with the latter city. Not only were the business and
+property of foreign merchants interfered with, but a British man-of-war
+gig in the river was fired upon, and when the men landed to identify the
+offender they were overpowered by the whole population of the nearest
+village. This hostile attitude, resembling very much that of the Canton
+villages twenty years before, steadily increased until the native
+officials themselves were not safe in passing to and from the district
+city. Strong representations were made to the high authorities of the
+province at Canton. The viceroy had promised to send a military force to
+quell the riotous villages, but before he had proved the sincerity of his
+intention the Gordian knot was cut by British initiative in January 1869.
+The late Sir Challoner Alabaster, a man of uncommon resolution, was at
+that time acting consul at Swatow; and he, having secured the co-operation
+of Commodore Jones, led a force of marines and bluejackets against the
+offending villages. A stout resistance was offered at first, but when
+several of the villages had been taken and destroyed the whole eighteen
+made their submission. Thereafter the district enjoyed perfect peace
+and security. In the following March Sir Rutherford Alcock was able to
+telegraph to Lord Clarendon that "the accounts from all the ports showed
+that peace and order had been restored; that at Yangchow and Formosa
+entire security and an improved position had been obtained; that there
+was no more cause for anxiety at any point; that the best understanding
+existed with the foreign body at Peking; and that the relations with China
+had never been more satisfactory."
+
+The bearing of these occurrences on the revision of the treaty may not at
+first sight be quite clear, but it is interesting to note in what manner
+they were connected with that operation in the mind of Sir Rutherford
+Alcock. He calculated that the necessity of using force to vindicate
+foreign treaty rights, of which both he and his predecessor had constantly
+warned them, would bring home to the Peking authorities the alternative
+which they would always have to face in case of failure to carry out the
+treaties. How very differently these outrages and the enforced redress
+affected the situation in Peking will now be seen.
+
+The action taken at Yangchow and in Formosa having been fully explained
+to the Tsungli-Yamên, Wênsiang and the other Ministers expressed their
+entire concurrence. But what satisfied the Government of China produced
+quite another impression on that of Great Britain. Lord Stanley, as
+Foreign Secretary, had written on November 20, 1868: "Mr Medhurst appears
+to have acted with great prudence and firmness, and you will convey to
+him my approval of his proceedings.... I have to instruct you [Sir R.
+Alcock] to press the case in question upon the Chinese Government." Two
+months later Mr Medhurst was reprimanded by Lord Clarendon for his action,
+and the "full satisfaction for the outrage" was attributed exclusively
+to the "readiness with which the Central Government took measures that
+proved effectual." The change of Government which had in the interval
+taken place in England (December 9, 1868) was hardly sufficient to account
+for so diametrical a change of view in a matter of imperial concern.
+Another agency had effected the conversion of the British Government.
+Mr Burlingame had arrived fresh from fervid denunciations in the United
+States of the "tyrannic policy" and the "throat policy" of Great Britain
+as applied to China, and adroitly seizing on the repression of the
+Yangchow and Formosa outrages as flagrant examples, he succeeded in
+incensing Lord Clarendon against the various British officials concerned
+in these troubles, whom his lordship visited with punishment which
+scarcely stopped short of vindictiveness. Mr Medhurst, indeed, a man of
+long and distinguished service, had only a black mark set against his
+name; but Mr Gibson was publicly censured and degraded, and ordered to
+make an apology to the Chinese officials whose lawless aggressions he
+had lawlessly repelled. With some inconsistency, Lord Clarendon, about
+the same time, approved the conduct of Acting-Consul Holt at Tamsui, who
+succeeded in adjusting most serious misunderstandings with the Chinese
+through no other means than the visible force of the small gunboat Janus,
+for whose arrival he waited before preferring his demands.
+
+That the sudden change in the policy of the British Government was the
+work of Mr Burlingame was frankly avowed by Lord Clarendon himself, who
+based the fresh instructions to the Minister in China on the arrangements
+he had concluded with the Chinese representative. In his letter of
+condemnation, January 14, 1869, he, moreover, intimated that he could not
+wait before pronouncing judgment for Sir Rutherford Alcock's complete
+report on the Yangchow affair, because his "communication with Mr
+Burlingame ... rendered it necessary that he should not defer making his
+observations." That a British Secretary of State could have so demeaned
+his office would not have been believed save on his own confession. He
+of course carried the Admiralty with him, and the same influence which
+inspired the new instructions issued to the Minister and consuls inspired
+those issued to the commanding officers on the China station.
+
+Taken textually, the negotiations between Mr Burlingame and Lord Clarendon
+were of a platonic character. H.M.'s Government undertook to apply
+no pressure to China. It would have been a simple matter to refrain
+from applying pressure, and a tacit resolution to that effect with
+corresponding instruction to the Minister in Peking would have secured the
+object. To make it a subject of direct pledge to the Chinese Government
+seemed one of those gratuitous acts which all diplomatic experience
+condemns as fraught with future embarrassments. To save appearances,
+however, a nominal equivalent was taken. "Mr Burlingame was requested to
+bear in mind, and to make known to the Chinese Government, that we should
+henceforward have a right to expect on its part the faithful fulfilment
+of treaty engagements, the prompt redress of grievances referred to the
+Central Government, and friendly treatment of British subjects by the
+Chinese authorities"--as if all that had not been already stipulated for
+under the solemn sanction of the existing treaty.
+
+
+IV. REVISION NEGOTIATIONS AND CONCLUSION.
+
+    Lukewarmness of British Government--Sir R. Alcock's misgivings
+    as to success--Mixed commission in Peking to consider
+    details--Mr Hart's predominance--Treaty becomes a custom-house
+    concern--Increase of duties being the Chinese aim--Sir
+    Rutherford Alcock attributes failure to Mr Burlingame's
+    misrepresentations--Merchants oppose the treaty--Ratification
+    refused by British Government--Inferences from this
+    fiasco--Chinese influenced by force alone.
+
+Let us now revert to the cause and origin of the Burlingame mission--the
+revision of the treaty of Tientsin. The instruction for revision was
+given by Lord Stanley on August 16, 1867, in such general terms as the
+following:--
+
+    Her Majesty's Government neither wish, nor have they the
+    right, to impose sacrifices on China, even though they may be
+    convinced that the inconvenience of such sacrifices will be only
+    temporary, whereas the benefit which will result from them will be
+    lasting.... We must reconcile ourselves to waiting for the gradual
+    development of that [better] system, and content ourselves with
+    reserving for revision at a future period any new arrangement we
+    may come to in 1868.... You will of course act openly with the
+    representatives of other Powers, inviting and availing yourself
+    of their co-operation.
+
+A note of misgiving as to the policy of asking for the revision runs
+through the whole correspondence. After the preliminary labours of sifting
+the voluminous memorials from merchants and others, Sir Rutherford Alcock
+sums up their demands thus: "All their wants turn upon three or four
+cardinal defects, not of the treaties so much as in their execution." And
+he adds the significant reflection: "The question arises, if nothing is to
+be gained by demanding a revision, ... whether much would not be lost, and
+an opportunity thrown away, which might, by reserving the right, be turned
+to better account when the emperor's majority is declared. I believe the
+true policy of foreign Powers would be to wait; ... to this conclusion
+... all the representatives of foreign Powers now in Peking are led." "The
+Chinese," he also says, "would go much faster and better if left alone."
+
+The question naturally suggested by these remarks--why a task involving
+enormous labour, of which only negative results were to be expected, was
+entered upon at all at such an inopportune moment--remains unanswered.
+
+It would be insufferably tedious, and of no practical utility, to track
+the windings of a maze leading nowhere, for the revised treaty was never
+ratified. But the labours of two whole years could not but leave landmarks
+to guide succeeding travellers over the same ground. It could not be but
+that with so much beating of the bushes the game would be started, if not
+brought to bag. It was a reconnaissance in force which, for the first
+time, compelled the respective parties to the struggle to reveal their
+true character and intentions. Such a discovery was perhaps not too dearly
+bought by the time and trouble expended on it.
+
+The first definite step in the process of revision was the nomination of
+a mixed commission of British and Chinese "to devise means of securing a
+more prompt redress of commercial grievances." The members were Mr Fraser,
+second secretary to the British Legation; Mr Hart, Inspector-General of
+Customs; and two secretaries of the Tsungli-Yamên--a heavy preponderance
+on the Chinese side of the question. To the same commission was added
+another British member, Mr Adkins. And here it is not impertinent to
+observe that the absence of both the Chinese secretary, Mr Wade, and the
+acting Chinese secretary, Mr Brown, left the Legation in a condition too
+crippled to engage on work which would have taxed its full strength. The
+members of the commission held many sittings, reporting proceedings from
+time to time to their respective principals, the Tsungli-Yamên and the
+British Minister.
+
+It needs no great effort of imagination to divine, in a body thus
+composed, whose would be the dominant voice. Mr Hart conducted the
+proceedings throughout. The discussion had not gone far when it was found
+hopeless to revise the provisions of the treaty in any sense compatible
+with progress or freer intercourse; and the dangerous questions which had
+caused the Government so much anxiety, and which had inspired both the
+Burlingame mission and the various secret memorials, being thus happily
+ruled outside the controversy, the Chinese Ministers seem to have given
+themselves no further concern about the revision. This distant attitude
+of theirs was severely commented on by a contemporary writer in 'Fraser's
+Magazine,' who said:--
+
+    After ten years of conciliatory blandishments on our part, the
+    high Chinese authorities had so far disobeyed the spirit of the
+    treaty that, although they had not actually prevented our Minister
+    from corresponding and visiting with them, yet they had had the
+    audacity to render all such intercourse absolutely nugatory,
+    and had constrained him, after a long and successful diplomatic
+    career, to descend to the extremely humiliating position of
+    treating with them indirectly through the medium of Mr R. Hart.
+
+As, however, the proceedings became focussed on a tariff revision destined
+to add to the duty receipts, a "collector of revenue wanting money," as Mr
+Hart described himself, was the most fitting negotiator, and the Chinese
+ministers were well pleased to leave him free to make his own bargain, so
+long as it yielded that result.
+
+To give colour to the Chinese demand for higher duties a bold formula was
+resorted to, and supported by equally bold reasoning. The expedient was
+a rearrangement of the method of collection of inland dues on foreign
+merchandise, which was then, as it continues to be, the great bone of
+contention between foreign traders and the Chinese authorities. The
+treaties conferred on merchants the right of compounding for all inland
+taxation of their merchandise by a single payment at the port of entry;
+but the practices of the Chinese officials had rendered the privilege a
+nullity. In the new negotiations Mr Hart, on the part of the Chinese,
+took the high ground of maintaining, with subtle dialectic, that the
+protection which foreigners claimed was not in fact given by the treaties.
+So strongly did the Chinese entrench themselves in this contention, that
+heavy artillery was required to dislodge them. "Could any negotiators
+be so dull or incompetent," wrote Sir R. Alcock in reply, "as to sign a
+treaty of commerce with an Eastern potentate, extorted at the point of
+the bayonet, and leave this unlimited power in his hands to turn against
+us the next moment, or whenever he pleased, and nullify all that had been
+stipulated, destroying the trade for which alone war had been made?"
+Defeated in argument, the Chinese next begged that what they could not
+claim as a right might yet be accorded to them as a favour, thus copying
+the tactics of the Japanese in an analogous case.
+
+As this proved to be the crux of the whole transaction, the rock on which
+the convention eventually split, it is useful to consider how the subject
+was treated in the negotiations. The treaties of Nanking, 1842, and of
+Tientsin, 1858, provided for the transit of British goods throughout
+the empire on payment of a fixed charge. But in securing exemption from
+arbitrary imposts in the interior, the treaty of Nanking signally failed;
+that of Tientsin had proved equally ineffective, and why? From inherent
+difficulties in the nature of things--obstacles absolutely insuperable
+so long as the country remained under the same organic conditions. Such
+were the propositions with which the British Minister entered upon the
+discussion of the subject; and as no proposal was made for changing the
+organic conditions of the empire, the prospect of obtaining a satisfactory
+fulfilment of those treaty provisions did not seem very encouraging.
+
+But then a suggestion, apparently emanating from Consul Robertson at
+Canton, was made for simplifying the problem by doing away with the option
+which had been reserved in the treaties for foreign merchants, either
+to pay the commutation at the port of landing, or to allow their goods
+to run the gantlet of the Chinese customs stations. Instead of this, it
+was suggested that a single compulsory payment, amounting to half the
+import tariff, might be levied on the landing of the goods, which should
+thereafter be freed from all other imposts throughout the empire. It
+was not unnatural that a "collector of revenue" should appropriate this
+conception, and introduce it into the revised treaty; but then the doubt
+immediately arose on the other side, whether the promised exemption would
+be any more of a reality than it had been under the existing _régime_. If
+the difficulties in the way of fulfilling the stipulation in the treaty
+of Tientsin and Nanking were really insuperable, would they now disappear
+merely because the Chinese Government received an increased import duty?
+In considering Mr Hart's proposal, "the question would be," according to
+Sir Rutherford Alcock, "Could we obtain a sufficient guarantee that such
+additional import due would effectually exempt British goods from all
+other dues, local, provincial, and what not?" And again, "Security for
+exemption from all but the fixed 2½ per cent was the one question on which
+depended the value of any revision."
+
+A necessary condition of any successful treaty was the assent of
+all the other Powers to its provisions, seeing that under their
+most-favoured-nation clauses any one of them by holding aloof could
+render the treaty inoperative. The various foreign representatives were
+therefore kept informed of the progress of negotiations. In this way their
+opinions were obtained from time to time as to the merits of the various
+proposals. On the subject of the compulsory payment of transit dues the
+opinions which the British Minister received from his colleagues were
+all unfavourable. They considered that some "additional guarantee would
+be necessary against failure, and as against security for additional
+losses which would be entailed upon the merchants." To give effect to
+the new proposals an edict was to be published acquainting all provincial
+officials with what had been agreed upon. But still the diplomatic body
+maintained "that nothing is really certain but the addition of 2½ per
+cent to the import duties. This will be rigorously exacted and paid;
+but whether the equivalent exemption from all other taxation will be
+obtained must be held doubtful, ... seeing that in the past the same
+provincial authorities have shown the most persistent disregard of
+treaty stipulations and proclamations." "Under such circumstances," Sir
+Rutherford adds, "it would seem reasonable that, during the first year
+at least, all amounts collected under the new arrangements ... should be
+carried to a separate account ... to meet claims for compensation." In the
+end, however, he saw reason to waive this proviso, to disregard the views
+of his colleagues, and to assent to the new impost, without any guarantee.
+Attempts to obtain concessions from the Chinese in the way of freer
+intercourse proved, as we have said, hopeless from the first. The renewal
+of the Chinese demand to establish a customs station in Hongkong--that
+"immense smuggling depot"--was refused on the British side; while the
+British request for recognition of Hongkong as a port of call for goods
+in transit to Canton was in like manner refused on the Chinese side,
+because it "would give the place a respectable name" as well as make it
+the "great emporium of the south." Hongkong, it is fair to remember, was,
+not unnaturally, odious in the eyes of the Chinese. The more prosperous
+the colony became, the more they hated it; and the more patriotic among
+them--as, for instance, the Minister Wênsiang--detested it the most.
+
+The ruling factor in eliminating all measures of progress from the
+negotiations and reducing the whole to a customs question was Mr
+Burlingame.
+
+    After the arrival of the mission to Washington [wrote Sir
+    Rutherford on February 27, 1869] the hopes which the signature
+    of the additional articles was calculated to excite undoubtedly
+    exercise a very prejudicial effect on my efforts.... With Mr
+    Burlingame's enthusiastic reception, and the prompt signature
+    of the convention by which the United States Government pledged
+    itself to leave China free to adopt or reject all such innovations
+    and internal improvements, and even to use its influence with
+    other Powers for the same end, they gained precisely the assurance
+    they wanted.... From that moment further progress or successful
+    negotiation became impossible.
+
+He added in a subsequent despatch to Lord Clarendon:--
+
+    One result stands out more clearly than any other, and it is this:
+    what we have gained by the last year's preliminary negotiations is
+    not likely to be withdrawn. But if it was difficult to negotiate
+    for large concessions before the assurance authoritatively given
+    by your lordship to Mr Burlingame, ... it is now out of the
+    question to hope for more than has already been conceded....
+    Strong in the assurances of two of the treaty Powers, ... it is
+    quite certain that no further progress can be made at present. It
+    simply remains for her Majesty's Government to determine whether
+    they will carry out the revision on the basis proposed and already
+    assented to by the Chinese Government, or defer the revision
+    altogether to some later period.
+
+The provisional report of the negotiations having been submitted by the
+Foreign Office to the other treaty Powers for their opinion, most of
+them contented themselves with amicable generalities, the only definite
+criticism elicited being that of the North German Confederation. Going
+straight to the core of the matter, in May 1869, Count Bernstorff wrote
+as follows, basing his remarks upon the opinion of the German merchants:--
+
+    Although the advantages which are to be expected for trade in
+    general from the abolition of the "lekin taxes" would not be
+    too dearly bought by this extension of the transit duty to all
+    commodities, yet, on the other hand, the treaty Powers certainly
+    have the right of demanding the abolition of the taxes levied
+    contrary to treaty, even without giving anything in return,
+    and they might probably obtain this result by common action.
+    And then, moreover, it appears, from existing circumstances
+    in China, exceedingly questionable whether this tax, even if
+    abolished by imperial edict in consequence of a treaty, would not,
+    nevertheless, still be levied by the mandarins, although perhaps
+    in another shape, since now indeed they have their assignments
+    thereon.
+
+Doubts on the part of the Foreign Office led to further correspondence
+backwards and forwards, closing with the following ambiguous despatch,
+dated 29th September, which was transmitted by telegram, a very slow
+process in those days:--
+
+    If you should not have concluded an arrangement before this
+    reaches you, her Majesty's Government think it would be better
+    to protract negotiations rather than accept now a limited
+    arrangement, which would be binding for so long a period as ten
+    years, and which would not comprise a satisfactory arrangement
+    respecting transit duties, and which might compromise the right
+    of her Majesty's Government to take part in the negotiations of
+    other Powers for a revision of their treaties.
+
+    Should you, however, have completed any arrangement, you may be
+    assured that the best view will be taken of it here.
+
+The supplementary convention was, in fact, signed in October, and Sir
+Rutherford Alcock took his leave immediately after, visiting the Yangtze,
+Shanghai, Hongkong, and India on his way to Europe. At these places
+he explained in general terms the bearing of the treaty, the Indian
+Government being specially concerned in the increase of the Chinese import
+duty on opium, to which the trade generally were absolutely indifferent.
+
+The supplementary convention was exhaustively reviewed by the Shanghai
+General Chamber of Commerce in a memorial addressed to Lord Clarendon
+(December 31, 1869). To the practical view of the merchants the treaty
+consisted of three clauses: one making compulsory what had previously been
+optional--the payment of half the import duty in commutation of inland
+dues on foreign merchandise; one doubling the export duty on raw silk;
+and the third more than doubling the import duty on opium. Of these, the
+first alone was deemed important. The consideration offered by the Chinese
+Government for the compulsory payment--that they would frank imported
+goods through nine of the eighteen provinces of China--was not regarded as
+an equivalent; for the treaty of Tientsin contained the same undertaking
+without the geographical limitation, but it had not been fulfilled. The
+ground alleged for this non-observance of the existing treaty had been
+the existence of insurmountable obstacles in connection with provincial
+and imperial finance. These obstacles, the merchants observed, were
+"now assumed to have been suddenly overcome," an assumption which they
+considered illusory. The question of transit dues was not new to them:
+it had been threshed out on all sides during weary years; it was the
+recurrent topic of the day with them, as it was destined to continue to
+be for a generation longer; and the merchants could not therefore believe
+that the difficulties against which they had been hopelessly struggling
+were suddenly removed by magic. They were not shown how the revolution was
+to be effected. In short, "the conclusion," they said, "was irresistible,
+that to a very great extent the commutation of transit dues, which is
+made compulsory by the new treaty, will simply become an additional tax
+on trade without any return whatever; and that the provincial authorities
+will as heretofore tax goods in transit very much as they please, the
+treaty stipulation to the contrary notwithstanding,"--a conclusion
+supported by arguments which could not be refuted.
+
+Sir Thomas Wade some years later expressed the same views as the merchants
+had done. "I doubted," he said, "the good faith of officials when breach
+of faith could only be established by the evidence of those subject to
+their authority and entirely in their power.... I have since found reason
+to believe that the control of taxation in the provinces is a matter of
+no small trouble to the Central Government as at present constituted,
+if indeed it be possible at all." Nevertheless, he adds, "I have found
+occasion to regret that the convention has not been allowed at least a
+term of probation." A term of probation was the alternative suggested by
+the merchants also, but it seems never to have received any consideration
+from the Foreign Office.
+
+The representation which the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce based upon
+their review of the treaty was adopted by influential commercial bodies in
+England, who in a "monstrous deputation," as Mr Hammond called it, urged
+on the Secretary for Foreign Affairs the non-ratification of the treaty.
+The British Government gave way, not, as they candidly admitted, convinced
+by the reasoning, but overawed by the electoral pressure of the merchants;
+and the supplementary convention was allowed to fall through.
+
+Thus ended the first attempt to negotiate a treaty with China as a
+perfectly free agent. The conclusion to be drawn not only from the
+negative result, but from the whole process of the negotiations--from the
+memorials from the provinces, and still more from the Privy Council, the
+six boards, and the censorates--is, as stated by Sir Rutherford Alcock in
+May 1869, "that the old spirit of arrogance of the days of Lin and Yeh is
+still in full vigour, and the assumption of superiority over the barbarian
+absolutely unmeasured. That the anti-foreign element amongst the official
+and educated classes has suffered no diminution whatever; that if some
+two or three leading men take a clearer view of the political situation,
+they are evidently without power to take action upon it; and so the vessel
+of State is allowed to drift whichever way the tide of prejudice and
+ignorance may set. There are still some documents," he added, "wanting to
+complete the series, especially the answer of Li Hung-chang and a second
+memorial of Tsêng Kwo-fan [p. 184 _seq._], which it would be desirable to
+obtain as showing the policy advocated by two of the most prominent men
+in the empire at this moment."
+
+One sentence of Sir Rutherford Alcock sums up the case China _v._ the
+West: "Pressure, indeed, there must always be here if anything is to be
+achieved for the advancement of foreign interests and commerce. In one
+way or other, however we may disguise it, our position in China has been
+created by force--naked, physical force; and any intelligent policy to
+improve or maintain that position must still look to force in some form,
+latent or expressed, for the results." Whether the Western nations,
+singly or collectively, are justified in using their force for such a
+purpose is a question which is not affected by this plain statement of the
+case. That the policy of the Western Powers has been largely influenced
+by sentimental consideration towards China is true; but their action
+has never been consistent with their professions, and their oscillation
+between coercion and submission has led to disastrous consequences.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [15] He now knows better.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+MISSIONARY PROBLEM--TIENTSIN MASSACRE OF 1870.
+
+    Importance of missionary question long foreseen by Consul
+    Alcock--Introduction of missionaries under two French
+    treaties--Toleration of Christians under treaties of 1858--Forced
+    upon China--Ardour of missionary spirit uncontrollable--Negligence
+    of treaty-makers in providing no regulations for admission of
+    the propaganda--Contrasted with the care bestowed on trade
+    regulations--Religious toleration of the Chinese--Christian
+    intolerance--Surreptitious article in French Convention of
+    1860--Giving large privileges to missionaries in the interior--Its
+    abuse complained of by Chinese--Enforced restitution of old
+    property--Bitter injustice--Disintegrating action of the
+    propaganda--Abuses of extra-territoriality--Interference in
+    local affairs--Detaching natives from their allegiance--Causes of
+    strife--Chinese Government culpable in permitting abuses--Disputes
+    about land and houses--Chinese official laxity compensated
+    for by unofficial illegitimate methods--Attacks on missions
+    fomented thereby--No remedy possible without the unanimous
+    consent of the Powers--Each having different objects--Fruits
+    of widespread hostility to missions appeared in 1868--Riot and
+    outrage--Culminated in Tientsin massacre of 1870--Details of the
+    occurrence--Treated cavalierly by Imperial Government--Culpability
+    of officials--Pressure by foreign Ministers induces Chinese
+    to execute sixteen criminals--Apologetic mission of Chunghou
+    to France--Suspicions of his complicity unfounded--Causes of
+    the hostility to foreigners--Government fear of reprisals
+    by France--They begin to take the missionary question
+    seriously--Issue an important circular--Badly received by the
+    Powers.
+
+
+No subject more seriously engaged the attention of Sir Rutherford Alcock
+during his whole term of service than that of the Christian propaganda.
+While it was yet in embryo, and long before the untoward consequences now
+so familiar had declared themselves, the evil to come formed the theme of
+many anxious despatches. For, with the exception of Mr T. T. Meadows, he
+was the only one of the early consuls who attempted to read the horoscope
+of China with a conscious participation in the responsibility for its
+welfare. Their warnings were, of course, wasted on the desert air, for
+statesmen whose hands are on the lever of events are like the signalmen on
+a busy railway, recking nothing of the origin or destination of the train,
+careful only that it pass their own "point" in safety. The thin end of the
+entering wedge destined to split China into fragments, unless anticipated
+(as in fact it has been) in its disruptive work by some ruder allied
+agency, was clearly discerned by Consul Alcock while at Shanghai. Under
+cover of the first French treaties in 1844 and 1846 missionaries effected
+a legal lodgment on the coast of China, from which they cast longing
+eyes on the vast interior of the country. Rivalry between the Christian
+sects brought fresh pressure to bear on the plenipotentiaries, and the
+"toleration clause" was introduced into all the treaties negotiated at
+Tientsin in 1858, and in the German treaty of 1861.
+
+Russia led the way, followed by the United States, Great Britain, and
+France. The "clause" was substantially the same in all, the toleration
+of Christianity being based on its moral character exclusively--"Hommes
+de bien qui ne cherchent pas d'avantages matériels" (Russian); "Teaching
+men to do good, and to do to others as they would have others do to
+them" (American); "Inculcates the practice of virtue, and teaches man
+to do as he would be done by" (English); "Ayant pour objet essentiel de
+porter les hommes à la vertu" (French).[16] Yet this apparent unanimity
+concealed essential differences in aim and motive. Russia, France, and the
+United States, to leave England out of the account, each meant something
+specifically distinct from the other by the practically identical clause.
+
+What the Chinese would have said, had they been free to discuss the
+demand made upon them, we can hardly conjecture; but in the position in
+which they actually found themselves they would have subscribed to any
+form of words submitted to them, their sole anxiety then being to get
+rid of the barbarians on any terms. Had the preamble run, "Whereas the
+Christian religion as practised for 1800 years has not brought peace but a
+sword upon the earth, has set the father against the son, nation against
+nation, instigated crimes without number, sided with the oppressor and
+the unrighteous judge, and is daily prostituted for political ends,"
+the Chinese would have signed the toleration clause just the same. The
+phraseology was nothing to them, whence it follows that the responsibility
+for the consequences rests on the Powers who imposed the form as well
+as the substance of the obligations. These Powers placed themselves in
+a self-contradictory position both towards China and the Church, for
+the only ground on which they claimed protection for missionaries in the
+framing of the treaty is the one which they cannot so much as consider in
+the fulfilment of it. The ethical and religious side of the propaganda
+is to the executive official a negligible quantity, while he can take
+cognisance only of that aspect of Christianity which was studiously kept
+out of sight in the treaty--its political character, the temper of the
+missionaries and of the people among whom they work, and all that makes
+for good or bad relations between them.
+
+Amid mixed and perverted motives there is doubtless in all sections of
+the propaganda a residuum of pure zeal in a holy cause. The medieval
+solicitude for "saving the heathen" survives, and men and women, fired
+with the conviction that they are engaged in such a godlike enterprise,
+constitute an ever-living force with which statesmen have to lay their
+account. It can neither be reasoned with nor turned aside, and is the more
+intractable in that the logical effect of its inspiration is to place
+it above civil law, but under a divine law of its own interpreting, the
+interpretation varying indefinitely with the divisions of the force, each
+division, and sometimes each individual, selecting such portions of the
+code and bending them to such meaning as may support the objects and the
+methods of the sect. To introduce such a complex ferment into the Chinese
+body politic was a psychological experiment on a colossal scale, and also
+irrevocable. It was, therefore, an experiment which demanded the kind of
+precaution used in handling dangerous chemicals.
+
+Yet absolutely no thought was bestowed on the subject; the explosive was
+imported with less ceremony than is bestowed on a bale of long cloth, and
+left to spread according to its own laws in the living tissue into which
+it was injected. So far at least as the English treaty was concerned,
+we have it on the authority of the actual negotiator that the Christian
+clause was an after-thought "shoved in" at the last moment. The same
+authority adds, "The treaty was left to carry out itself"--in other
+respects besides that of the missionary question. Sir Rutherford Alcock
+speaks of "the futility of grafting on to a treaty of commerce, forced
+upon the Chinese under circumstances which left them no power to refuse, a
+proselytising agency for the conversion of the nation to Christianity....
+Whatever aims at these ends under the stipulation of a treaty of commerce
+and amity introduces a cause of distrust and an element of disturbance.
+This we have done, and are now reaping the fruit." But a rose-cutting
+would not be grafted with the insouciance with which this spiritual
+element was incongruously inserted in a commercial treaty. Commenting
+directly upon the toleration clause itself, Sir Rutherford wrote: "It is
+only necessary to read carefully the words of the article to be aware that
+in the whole range of the treaty, from the 1st to the 56th article, there
+is nothing stipulated for so difficult to secure as the fulfilment in its
+integrity of this one clause."
+
+The foreign Powers generally seemed to court the very "disturbance"
+apprehended by "leaving the treaty to carry out itself," washing their
+hands of their own careless work. We have seen what pains were taken to
+allow the treaty to operate smoothly in its main purpose by elaborating
+a scheme of trade regulations far more complete than the treaty itself.
+But as foreign trade had been carried on by the Chinese for centuries,
+and the merchants of the respective countries were thoroughly at home
+with each other, commerce was the least likely source of friction. Of
+the new dynamic element introduced into the treaties, it seems never to
+have occurred to the negotiators that any regulation was necessary at
+all. Missionaries were permitted to enter and settle in the interior,
+where everything was strange, for practical purposes beyond the orbit
+of their countries' laws, while protected against the jurisdiction of
+the Government under which they were to live. Men who could withstand
+the temptation offered by such a state of things are not born every day.
+Without rule of conduct save their individual judgment, with no previous
+understanding with the Chinese provincial officials as to relative
+rights and duties, they were left to find such accommodation to their
+surroundings as their several idiosyncrasies and the untried conditions
+of Chinese social life might determine. The missionary in the interior
+had thus all the qualities of a "foreign body" setting up irritation in
+the organism,--a state of things, however, which his absolute faith in
+the sanctity of his mission perhaps prevented him from comprehending.
+
+One trait in the national character was highly favourable to the
+reception of a foreign religion. The Chinese were of all nations the
+most tolerant of opinion. They had already accepted and assimilated two
+foreign religions--Buddhism and Mohammedanism; indeed they had also, two
+hundred years before, accepted and retained Christianity until it was
+expelled in convulsions provoked by the foreign missionaries themselves.
+Its second advent need not have caused convulsions had it come as the
+others had done, with clean hands, as a religion and nothing else. The
+tolerance of the Chinese has been referred to materialism and contemptuous
+apathy, which is by no means an exhaustive account of the matter.
+They were not, any more than Hindus, naked savages without language
+or literature: if anything, they were over-civilised. Proud they were,
+indeed, and conceited, and in its religious aspect they affected to regard
+Christianity as but a wave breaking on a rock. Their rock was a unique
+philosophy, scarcely to be called a system, which stands for religion,
+differing from other philosophic systems in eschewing speculation and
+attending to the ethics of common life,--the only philosophy that may be
+said ever to have transfused itself into the blood of a people.
+
+The culture of the Chinese, however, was merely an obstacle to the
+realisation of the Catholic ideal of saving the heathen, as the grandest
+natural scenery was regarded merely as a hindrance to medieval travel.
+"Unhappy infidels, who spend their lives in smoke and their eternity in
+flames," was Father le Jeune's epigrammatic summary of the whole case in
+Quebec. So deep-rooted is the tradition of the reprobation of the heathen,
+that it generally requires many years' experience before a foreign
+missionary is led by contact with facts to see that Chinese ethics form
+the natural basis for the Christian superstructure. Some missionaries,
+indeed, go so far as to use the writings of Confucius as a text-book.
+Before reaching this ripe stage, however, the foreign missionary has it
+in his power to do more mischief than he can perhaps ever undo.
+
+There was one treaty stipulation which has not been left to chance for its
+fulfilment--the additional article inserted in the French Convention of
+Peking in 1860. An astute missionary, acting as interpreter to Baron Gros,
+managed to interpolate in the Chinese text a clause of his own which had
+no place in the French--the ruling version--and was quite unknown to the
+French Envoy.[17] By that clause full permission was accorded to French
+missionaries to purchase land and erect buildings thereon throughout
+the empire; and further, all churches, schools, cemeteries, lands, and
+buildings which had been owned by persecuted Christians (Chinese) in
+previous centuries were to be paid for, and the money handed to the
+French representative in Peking for transmission to the Christians in
+the localities concerned. This astounding demand, in our eyes at once so
+truculent and so impracticable, seems to have been to the Chinese neither
+more nor less oppressive than the rest of the treaty, and they signed
+without demur, under the usual mental reservation. But it was in germ an
+official recognition of a French protectorate over Chinese Christians,
+and of corporate communities of Christians held qualified to be served
+heirs to those who had been persecuted in the seventeenth and eighteenth
+centuries--a germ which might be cultivated with greater or less success,
+according to the skill of those who had the care of it. Some effort
+of imagination is required in order to realise what is implied in this
+surreptitious article.
+
+    We must suppose [wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock] a French army
+    entering London and there dictating the conditions of peace, and
+    among others one that all Church property confiscated by Henry
+    VIII. should forthwith be restored to the Roman Catholic Church by
+    the present holders, however acquired, and without compensation,
+    and that the French Government could be appealed to in order to
+    enforce the rigorous execution of the stipulation.
+
+How the stipulation was enforced is thus described by Prince Kung in his
+circular of 1871, more fully noticed below:--
+
+    During the last few years the restitution of chapels in every
+    province has been insisted upon without any regard for the feeling
+    of the masses, the missionaries obstinately persisting in their
+    claims. They have also pointed out fine handsome houses (belonging
+    to, or occupied by, the gentry or others) as buildings once used
+    as churches, and these they have compelled the people to give up.
+    But what is worst, and what wounds the dignity of the people,
+    is that they often claim as their property _yamêns_, places of
+    assembly, temples held in high respect by the literates and the
+    inhabitants of the neighbourhood. Buildings which were once used
+    as chapels have been in some cases sold years ago by Christians;
+    and, having been sold and resold by one of the people to another,
+    have passed through the hands of several proprietors. There is
+    also a large number of buildings which have been newly repaired
+    at very considerable expense, of which the missionaries have
+    insisted on the restitution, refusing at the same time to pay
+    anything for them. On the other hand, there are some houses which
+    have become dilapidated, and the missionaries put in a claim for
+    the necessary repair. Their conduct excites the indignation of
+    the people whenever they come in contact with each other, and it
+    becomes impossible for them to live quietly together.[18]
+
+Bitter consequences have resulted from the enforced operation of the
+interpolated clause, for the French Government, as is shown above, took
+full advantage of the pious fraud. Neither did the Chinese themselves,
+on discovering the truth, openly resent this example of how the foreign
+religion "porte les hommes à la vertu." The fraud was more than condoned
+by missionaries of all nations and sects, whose legal title to residence
+in the interior of China, distant from all authority, rests solely on the
+interpolated French clause, the benefit of which accrues to them under
+the most-favoured-nation privilege. British Protestant missionaries, not
+altogether satisfied with this tainted title, in a long letter to their
+Minister, Sir Rutherford Alcock, claimed the right of inland residence
+on another ground. They adduced the public declaration of Mr Burlingame,
+that "China invites Protestant missionaries to plant the shining Cross on
+every hill and in every valley"; to which the answer was simple, that the
+Chinese Government disavowed the promises of the envoy, and repudiated the
+implied obligation. The British Government disapproved of the claim under
+the French treaty, though in rather ambiguous terms, because it rested
+"on no sound foundation, but on an interpolation of words in the Chinese
+version alone in the French treaty with China." Since then, however, the
+pretensions of the French missionaries have been vindicated less by the
+interpolated clause itself than by the vigorous exercise of all the rights
+conferred by it, and very much more. The clause thus lent material force
+to the spiritual ferment, accelerating by many degrees its disintegrating
+action. It may be alleged, in palliation of the light-heartedness with
+which the whole subject was treated by the negotiators of the treaties,
+that they could not have foreseen such a development of their innocent
+toleration clause; but the circumstance only emphasises the urgent need
+there was for a clear definition of what was really meant by it.
+
+But if toleration be the note of Chinese polity--concerning not
+religion alone, but almost every matter affecting government--it may
+be asked, What is it in the propagation of Christianity that excites
+the hostility of people and rulers? It is that the missionaries present
+themselves to Chinese view as the instruments of powerful nations bent
+on the ruin of the empire. They enter the country with a talisman of
+extra-territoriality; their persons are sacred; the law of the land cannot
+lay hands on them. That is the first stage. The second is, that they seek
+to extra-territorialise their converts also, whose battles they fight
+in the provincial courts and in the rustic communes, and so make it of
+material advantage to the people to bear the banner of the Cross. Many
+missionaries are really zealous in the work of alienating the Chinese from
+their natural allegiance, and of encouraging them to seek the protection
+of foreign Powers as against the native authorities. Thus a revolution
+of the most vital nature is in progress, and is being pushed on with all
+the energy which Christian, combined with ecclesiastical and political,
+zeal can throw into the work. Village is set against village, clan against
+clan, family against family, and a man's foes in China are too often they
+of his own household.[19]
+
+No doubt the Chinese Government are to blame for having allowed such a
+state of things to grow up; but it is part and parcel of their drifting
+attitude towards everything. It is not that their apprehensions are not
+aroused, but that they lack initiative to avert the danger which they
+fear. While in theory they do not admit the claim of any foreign Power
+to protect Chinese subjects, yet in practice the thing goes on, and
+is acquiesced in. So formidable, indeed, have the foreign missionaries
+become, that most of the provincial authorities are afraid as well as
+jealous of them; and peace-loving viceroys give the simple injunction
+to their prefects and magistrates that on no account must they permit
+dispute with foreigners or native Christians. This means that the Chinese
+Christian must be upheld, right or wrong, and the Christian would be very
+un-Chinese if he did not take advantage of such a privilege to trounce
+his heathen neighbours.
+
+The right given in the French treaty of acquiring land and building houses
+in the interior is one of the most constant causes of local quarrel. Real
+estate in China, being held not on personal but on family tenure, can
+only be rightfully alienated by the common consent. A dissentient member
+holding out, or reviving his claim for purposes of extortion after assent
+has been given and transfer made, may become a convenient instrument
+in the hands of agitators against the foreigners; and where there is no
+such dissentient it is not unusual for the local authorities to create
+one by forcible means. A case in point may be mentioned in illustration.
+A building was made over to the Baptist Missionary Society by a Chinese
+family, every precaution being taken to obtain the unanimous consent of
+its various branches. When the deed had been signed by the head of the
+family and other responsible members, the local magistrate examined the
+chief of the clan, denounced him, and punished him severely by bastinado.
+Two of the signatories, thus intimidated, disowned their own act, thereby
+invalidating the deed by non-unanimity.
+
+Nearly all the attacks on missionaries proceed in one form or another
+from that fecund nursery of feuds, the land question. Whatever the merits
+of the dispute, the foreigner is _prima facie_ in the wrong; for he is
+an alien, an intruder, and he erects buildings which are outlandish,
+offensive to taste, and of sinister influence; and whosoever, albeit
+the most disreputable member of a family of three or four generations,
+proclaims a grievance by which he has lost his birthright, is sure of
+a sympathetic following. Thus without taking into account individual
+indiscretions, or infirmities of temper, open attacks on time-honoured
+customs, and so forth, there is a perennial root of bitterness in
+missionary enterprise in the interior of China, which throws out shoots
+culminating in murder and fiendish ferocity; and all this without even
+a distant approach to the kernel of Christianity which lies behind the
+outworks.
+
+For what the Chinese authorities have failed to do by the legitimate means
+at their command, their underlings and the circle of gentry that surrounds
+each provincial centre attempt to do by illegitimate and criminal methods.
+Hatred of missions and converts shows itself by violent outbreaks in
+which innocent and guilty suffer a common fate; mobs are excited by false
+suggestions, scholars write inflammatory placards filled with the foulest
+calumnies, and the higher officials "let it work"--secretly applauding,
+but ready, if called to account, to exculpate themselves and blame the
+poor ignorant people.
+
+The charges which form the staple of these attacks turn largely upon the
+murder of children in order to make use of eyes, members, blood, &c.,
+in certain Christian rites; and they are so extravagant and absurd that
+foreigners are apt to doubt that even the most ignorant among the people
+really believe in the crimes which are alleged against Christians. The
+best authorities, however,--as, for example, the late Sir Thomas Wade,--do
+not question the sincerity of the popular belief; and indeed if we compare
+these charges with those made against the Jews by influential sections of
+Christians in Europe, we shall be surprised at their practical identity.
+
+For this deplorable state of things no one has been able to suggest a
+remedy. What has been done cannot be undone. To mend it even would require
+such united action among the Great Powers as it is hardly possible in
+the present state of the world to conceive. France, indeed, on the morrow
+of the Tientsin massacre, did appeal to the co-operative principle as a
+protection to all foreign interests in China. The French ambassador in
+London addressed the Foreign Office in these terms:--
+
+    Bien que les victimes de ces attentats soient presque
+    exclusivement des Français, on ne saurait contester que des
+    faits pareils révèlent l'existence de dangers qui menacent
+    indistinctement tous les étrangers résidant en Chine. C'est en
+    considérant leurs intérèts comme solidaires dans ces contrées de
+    l'extrême Orient que les Puissances européennes peuvent arriver à
+    assurer à leurs nationaux les garanties et les sécurités stipulées
+    dans les traités.
+
+In the subsequent action of France in China, however, there has been no
+trace of regard for any such principle of solidarity. Indeed, were the
+Powers ever so amicably disposed towards each other on other questions,
+they could not agree in this, the objects of their policy being absolutely
+irreconcilable.
+
+"We cannot doubt," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock, "that the missionary
+question is the main cause of disturbance in our relations with China,
+and of danger to the Chinese Government itself no less than to all
+foreigners resident in the country, missionaries and laymen alike." He
+recommended in 1868 that "the treaty Powers should, if possible, come
+to some understanding on the religious and missionary question as the
+necessary preliminary to any united action for the common benefit, the
+acquisition of increased facilities for trade, &c." And he says, "As
+regards Chinese converts, any attempt to extend a protectorate over them
+would of necessity either fail or be subversive of the whole government of
+China." But in the same paper he states that "France, with no trade in the
+East, is ambitious of a protectorate over Roman Catholic missions"; and
+that "with regard to converts protection has been partially extended to
+them under the ægis of the French Government, and that persistent efforts
+were being made to make that protection effectual." These efforts have
+been still more persistent during the generation that has since passed.
+With France the protectorate over native Christians is the great objective
+of her Chinese diplomacy--not the ultimate end, indeed, but the lever
+by which that end may be attained. To suggest to France, therefore, the
+abandonment of this policy would be about as hopeless as asking her to
+give up her colonies as the preliminary to an international conference.
+And while France protects the proselytising machinery of the Roman
+Catholic Church and its consequent usurpation of the Chinese authority, it
+would seem of little avail to place other missionaries under restriction.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The fruits of this war of the social elements began to be harvested in
+1868, as Sir Rutherford Alcock observed; but that was only the beginning
+of a long series of conflicts which have marked the progress of missionary
+work in China up to the present day. Riot, outrage, and massacre are its
+regular landmarks. The outbreaks have so much in common that it would
+serve no useful purpose to trace them in detail, or attempt to apportion
+praise or blame to this or that individual or sect. The one which has
+left the reddest mark on history, and, being enacted in the presence of a
+foreign mercantile community, brought the several factors in the question
+into a clearer light than can ever be thrown upon outrages in remote parts
+of the interior, is the Tientsin massacre of 21st June 1870. This occurred
+six months after Sir Rutherford Alcock left China, while Mr Wade was
+_chargé d'affaires_ for Great Britain, and Count Rochechouart for France,
+in Peking.
+
+The massacre of sixteen French Sisters of Charity, including an Irish
+girl, Alice Sullivan, a French consul, and several French subjects,
+also--unwittingly, according to the imperial edict treating of the
+occurrence--a Russian merchant and his wife, was the work of an organised
+band, led by the city fire brigade, under the direction of the civic
+authorities. The crime had been planned for some time: it was preceded
+by the murder of an isolated English missionary, Mr Williamson, near
+Tientsin, and by an attempted anti-foreign rising in Nanking, which
+was promptly suppressed by the viceroy, Ma, who was soon after himself
+assassinated. (He was a Mohammedan.) The impending outrage in Tientsin
+was foreseen, and warning given, several days before. An Englishman was
+attacked on the 19th for no reason. The official highest in rank on the
+spot--not, however, a territorial authority--was Chunghou, a Manchu,
+holding the office of Imperial Commissioner for Trade, and very friendly
+to foreigners. Admiral Keppel says of him that he was the most finished
+Chinese gentleman he had ever met, with the exception of the viceroy of
+Canton (probably meaning Kiying). The governor of the province was Tsêng
+Kwo-fan, whose capital was Paoting-fu, some 100 miles in the interior;
+and his subordinates, the prefect and magistrate, were the authorities at
+Tientsin immediately responsible for the massacre. Chunghou had warned the
+Peking Government several weeks before of the progress of the agitation
+against the French mission.
+
+The Imperial Government immediately on the occurrence issued an edict
+describing the massacre as "a quarrel between the people and the
+missionaries resulting in a fight," but were promptly driven from that
+position and pressed, not only by the French, but by all the foreign
+representatives, to investigate and do justice in the case, Count
+Rochechouart demanding the capital punishment of the three mandarins
+who had instigated the massacre. On this the Chinese Government
+remarked in a secret edict, "Rochechouart, with boundless arrogance,
+demands the execution of the Fu and Hsien, a demand ten thousand times
+to be rejected." Under pressure, however, the Government ordered the
+governor-general, Tsêng, to proceed to the spot and investigate. After
+a protracted journey he reached Tientsin and commenced to take evidence,
+not of the crime committed, but of the suspicions which had been excited
+against the Sisters of Mercy, whom, after ransacking their cemeteries
+for mutilated children, he eventually acquitted. He then suspended the
+magistrates _pro formâ_, and spoke of sending for troops to catch the
+rioters! On receiving the viceroy's report another imperial decree was
+issued repeating the original falsehoods, and causing much disappointment
+to the foreign Ministers. Renewed pressure from them, not without hints
+of stronger measures, resulted in the offer of fifteen of the mob to be
+executed, which, being unanimously rejected, the Chinese Government,
+apparently thinking it was the number that was inadequate, threw in
+five more, making twenty in all. Sixteen were actually beheaded, the
+remaining four being saved by the timely arrival of the Russian Minister,
+who protested against the execution of the men accused of murdering the
+Russians, because he did not believe in their guilt. Compensation was paid
+by the Chinese officials to the families of the executed men, which, with
+the honours done to their dead bodies, showed that they were sacrificed
+not for crime, but for reasons of State. Of course pecuniary compensation
+was made on account of the victims of the massacre, the Chinese Government
+being never hard to deal with where money is concerned. The prefect and
+the magistrate who had busied themselves after the tragedy in torturing
+Christians, in order to extort from them confessions which would justify
+the massacre, were nominally banished, though it was perfectly understood
+that this was a pure matter of form.
+
+  [Illustration: RUINS OF FRENCH CATHEDRAL AT TIENTSIN, BURNED JUNE 20,
+   1870.]
+
+As part of the reparation for the massacre the Imperial Commissioner for
+Northern Trade, Chunghou, was despatched in the early part of 1871 on
+a mission to France to express the regret of the Chinese Government for
+what had occurred. This official, the first man of rank who was ever sent
+out of China, received but an indifferent reception from the President of
+the French Republic. Being the highest authority in Tientsin at the time
+of the massacre, and having known of the preparations for an outbreak
+of some kind, Chunghou was severely blamed by Europeans on the coast of
+China, who alleged that the massacre could have been prevented had he put
+forth his authority. Meetings were even held on the subject in Shanghai,
+and remonstrances were sent to Europe against Chunghou's being received
+anywhere as an ambassador until he should exonerate himself from all share
+in the Tientsin atrocity. These representations, no doubt, had something
+to do with the attitude of the French Provisional Government, which, on
+other grounds also, was probably little disposed in that year to occupy
+itself with the affairs either of the Church or of China.
+
+There is reason to believe, however, that Chunghou's conduct during the
+affair of Tientsin was not inconsistent with innocence; for although he
+was a man in authority, it was only as superintendent of trade, having
+no control whatever over the hierarchy of territorial officials, who
+were under the orders of the viceroy, Tsêng Kwo-fan. Beyond his personal
+attendants it is not probable that Chunghou could move a corporal's guard
+in Tientsin, and his position was such that the local authorities and
+their myrmidons looked with the keenest jealousy on any departure of the
+superintendent of trade from the strict line of his own functions. He
+dared not, in fact, move a finger against officers who owed allegiance
+to the viceroy, and in apprising the Peking Government of the rumours
+which were current, Chunghou probably considered that he had gone as
+far as public duty warranted. These somewhat anomalous relations between
+two high dignitaries of the empire were put an end to when Li Hung-chang
+succeeded Tsêng Kwo-fan as viceroy of Chihli; for he was appointed also
+the successor of Chunghou as superintendent of trade, and resided for the
+most part of his time in the commercial port, Tientsin. The two offices
+continue to be combined in one person.
+
+Most of the typical features of a missionary outrage were in this case
+exemplified--ferocious placards and brochures, circulation of calumnies
+against the missionaries, guilt of the local authorities, their immunity
+from punishment, and the official publication of travestied versions of
+the occurrence. There was also, we may add, a lurking disposition on the
+part of foreign Governments to give credit to the Chinese charges against
+the missionaries. Finding themselves unable by pressure on the Chinese
+to obtain satisfaction for past or security against future outrages, they
+were seldom indisposed to cover their impotence by throwing the blame on
+their own people.
+
+There was, consequently, readiness in certain foreign official quarters
+to dwell on undefined "indiscretions." It was too easily assumed in the
+beginning that the practice of the Sisters of Charity of purchasing
+destitute children reasonably excited the suspicions of the people.
+As a matter of fact, however, as was admitted afterwards, this alleged
+practice of the Sisters was entirely imaginary. It was also assumed that
+the massacre was a spontaneous act of the populace, who believed the
+stories of kidnapping. But in view of the fact that these agitations arose
+simultaneously in distant parts of the empire, this theory of sporadic
+action could not be sustained: besides, as Tsêng Kwo-fan himself shrewdly
+enough pointed out, no child had been missed from any family at Tientsin,
+and the idea of a disciplined fire brigade and a great city mob being
+suddenly roused to fury by the abstract idea that somewhere children had
+been kidnapped by somebody is too altruistic for ordinary belief. The mob
+needed an instigator, and the instigator was well known.
+
+In the diplomatic correspondence which ensued, admitted on all hands to
+be most unsatisfactory, the British _chargé d'affaires_ had occasion to
+complain to Prince Kung that in the communications that passed foreign
+Ministers and their Governments were spoken of as vassals, which, coming
+two years after Mr Wade's warm support of the Burlingame mission, was
+instructive as regards the progress in liberal ideas which had been
+claimed for the Chinese.
+
+Another consequence of this affair may be noted. The instructions to
+British naval officers in China, which had been dictated by Mr Burlingame
+in 1869, were virtually reversed after the Tientsin massacre.
+
+It was the general belief at the time that, literally by the fortune
+of war, the Chinese Government narrowly escaped a signal retribution
+for its continued guerilla warfare against foreigners as represented by
+the missionary vanguard. Information travelled slowly then. The nearest
+telegraph stations to Peking were Kiachta on the Russian frontier and
+Colombo, and there was only periodical communication with either, so that
+it happened that the official news of the massacre reached the British
+Foreign Office on July 25th. If we recall what was transpiring in the
+capitals of Europe during that month of July 1870, we may permit ourselves
+the speculation that events might have taken quite another turn had the
+news from China reached the Tuileries a month earlier than it did. The
+Chinese Government themselves were strongly imbued with this idea. In
+an interesting interview which Consul Adkins had with Li Hung-chang in
+October, after he had succeeded to the viceroyalty of Chihli, in which the
+incident was discussed, the viceroy could not conceal his anxiety. The
+pith of a Chinese interview usually lies, like that of a lady's letter,
+in the postscript, and as Mr Adkins was taking leave the governor-general
+asked him, "Do you think France will make war next year?" (It is worth
+noting that in his report of the interview Mr Adkins expressed himself
+"reassured by the governor-general's tone and manner." "I take for
+granted," he wrote, "that he will not tolerate any outrage on foreigners
+within his jurisdiction;" and this forecast of Mr Adkins has, we believe,
+been completely borne out by the event.)
+
+But although the Chinese had escaped a great peril, they were somewhat
+shaken in their sense of security for the future. The attacks on
+missionaries had no doubt gone further than was altogether safe, since
+the indignation of the foreign Powers had been roused almost to the pitch
+of war. The provincial authorities having had their own way so long,
+threatened to be too strong for the Central Government, and were likely
+to embroil them with foreign nations; while in their turn the "literati
+and gentry," unemployed officials and the leaders of disorder in the great
+provincial cities, were also becoming too demonstrative for the provincial
+rulers. It was clear to the authorities that they were face to face with
+a dangerous situation, and, contrary to their traditional practice, they
+began to devise measures in order to meet it. The missionary, they now
+saw, was with them for good, the hope of expelling him by intimidation
+must be relegated to fanatics of the non-practical school, and it would be
+imbecile to shut their eyes any longer to facts. No doubt they had allowed
+things to go too far in the admission of foreigners into the interior,
+trusting to the resourcefulness of the provinces in insidious means of
+repression, but to retrace their steps was now impossible. They could no
+longer hope to expel the missionary, but they would contrive some means to
+mitigate the dangers of his presence. They would, in short, endeavour to
+supply, in concert with the treaty Powers, that culpable omission in the
+treaties by henceforth regulating the missions and defining their rights
+and obligations.
+
+The result of these cogitations was an elaborate scheme for the control
+of missions which was published in the summer of 1871, and was addressed
+to the French Government, and by them communicated to the others. That the
+Chinese Ministers of themselves took so unprecedented an initiative it is
+not necessary to believe. The circular was attributed to that greatest of
+all Chinese statesmen, Wênsiang, but the unseen hand that has done so much
+to assist China out of her international difficulties may easily be traced
+in this notable State Paper. In the preamble the case is stated much as
+we have endeavoured to set it forth: "Trade has in no degree occasioned
+differences between China and the Powers. The same cannot be said of the
+missions, which engender ever-increasing abuses. Although in the first
+instance it may have been declared that the primary object of the missions
+was to exhort men to virtue, Catholicism, in causing vexation to the
+people, has produced a contrary effect in China." The circular submitted
+eight rules for the government of missionary relations with the people and
+officials in the provinces. The rules referred to (1) the management of
+orphanages, which it was proposed either to close altogether or to place
+under severe restrictions; (2) the mixed attendance of women and men at
+public worship, which, being contrary to Chinese propriety, scandalised
+the people; (3) the legal status of missionaries in the interior, and the
+evil consequences of the _imperia in imperio_ which had resulted through
+the missionaries' separating themselves, and even their native converts,
+from the jurisdiction of the local authorities; (4) the restriction of
+proceedings in the case of riots to the persons actively participating
+in the same; (5) the clear definition of passports, so that missionaries
+should not be able to move about at will, leaving no trace; (6) the need
+of strict examination into the character and antecedents of converts;
+(7) the etiquette to be observed by missionaries in intercourse with
+officials, the missionaries not to arrogate official style; and (8) the
+reclamation of alleged sites of ancient churches to be stopped, great
+injustice having been done to Chinese through their being obliged to
+surrender properties which they had honestly bought and paid for.
+
+Many things have happened since 1871, and each transaction with foreigners
+has involved greater and greater encroachment on the Chinese prerogatives.
+Thus the objection taken in 1871 to the missionaries' arrogating official
+style has now been so completely waived that the Chinese Government
+itself bestows official rank on missionaries, and has sanctioned a rule
+of etiquette for their intercourse with the high Chinese authorities.
+Thus "bishops are authorised to demand to see viceroys and governors of
+provinces; vicars-general and archdeacons are authorised to demand to see
+provincial treasurers, judges, and taotais; other priests are authorised
+to demand to see prefects of the first and second class, independent
+prefects, sub-prefects, and other functionaries. The various orders
+of ecclesiastics are to visit and write to the corresponding orders of
+Chinese officials on terms of equality, and these officials will naturally
+respond, according to their rank, with the same courtesies."[20]
+
+This famous circular of 1871 unfortunately perished at its birth: it was
+roughly attacked in the foreign press, and met with a very cold reception
+by the Foreign Offices. The English and American Governments seemed
+satisfied with the reflection that the strictures on missionary practices
+applied specially to Catholics, and pleased to be able on that account to
+dismiss it from consideration. From that day to this the evils complained
+of have gone on increasing and accumulating year by year, outrages and
+massacres following each other without interruption, and the exacerbation
+of feeling between foreign missionaries and the Chinese population going
+on with accelerated speed. The political results to China have assumed
+in these later years the very concrete form of territorial spoliation,
+and the Chinese have had abundant experience of the religion which makes
+nations strong and the people virtuous. That is not to say, however,
+that there is not good seed already germinating under the snow, which may
+hereafter bear the peaceable fruits of righteousness. Meanwhile the naked
+unregulated forces are in open conflict, and he would be a bold prophet
+who should forecast the issue.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [16] Germany in her treaty made no profession, but simply stipulated
+    for toleration.
+
+ [17] M. Eugene Simon, one of the most distinguished of the French
+    consuls in China, in his book, 'La Cité Chinoise,' awards the
+    credit of this performance to M. Delamarre, "un prêtre des
+    Missions étrangères," who acted as Baron Gros' interpreter.
+    "Je tiens," says M. Simon, "le fait de plusieurs sources, et
+    entre autres de M. Delamarre, qui se glorifait beaucoup de sa
+    supercherie."
+
+ [18] Compare "Jesuits' Estates Act" in Canada, 1890, for which Mr
+    Mercier was decorated by the Pope.
+
+ [19] It will be understood that a concise view of the general
+    mission question is all that is here aimed at, no distinction
+    being drawn between branches of the propaganda. Important as
+    are their differences viewed from the foreign standpoint, they
+    are practically ignored by the Chinese, as we see from the
+    impartiality with which they visit resentment on all. Our concern
+    is with the impression produced by the propaganda as a whole,
+    gathered as far as possible from Chinese evidence and not from
+    the hypothetical arguments of foreign disputants. In other words,
+    it is the political bearing of the movement which alone we are
+    endeavouring to illustrate.
+
+ [20] This measure was intended by the Chinese Government to
+    facilitate the local settlement of disputes where the facts
+    were known, and so obviate incessant appeals to the Central
+    Government. It has not fulfilled its purpose, partly because an
+    important section of the propaganda declined to avail itself of
+    the concession offered to them. Indeed the form of the concession
+    implies a hierarchy which only Catholic missions possess.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+THE EXPANSION OF INTERCOURSE.
+
+
+I. RUSSIA AND FRANCE ADVANCING.
+
+    Influx of treaty Powers--Diversion of Chinese foreign policy into
+    new channels--Aggrandisement of Russia--And France--At the expense
+    of China--Affecting whole policy of China for thirty years--The
+    rise of German influence--And Japanese.
+
+Up to this stage the foreign relations of China have been traced from
+what is practically a single point of view--the English--without sensible
+distortion of their true proportions. But the events of 1857-60, and
+the treaties by which they were crowned, introduced new factors and a
+wider ramification of international connections. The arms of England
+and France opened the door to an influx of Powers eager to reap where
+they had not sown; and though the full effect was not realised till many
+years later, the shifting of foreign intercourse from an essentially
+Anglo-Chinese to a Sino-cosmopolitan basis became a potential reality
+on the day that Peking surrendered to the Allies. Foreseeing such a
+result, the negotiators of the treaties of 1858 advisedly refrained from
+pressing the Chinese Government more than was essential to the freedom
+of commerce, on the ground that other Powers less restrained than the
+authors of the treaties by a sense of moral responsibility might take
+undue advantage of concessions extorted from the vanquished. This
+prevision has been borne out by events, for the original "three treaty
+Powers" soon became thirteen, and the old solicitude for the conservation
+of China was gradually discovered to be confined to the small minority
+who had a substantial commercial stake in the country. With the increase
+in their number there naturally also appeared diversity of interest,
+scarce perceptible in the beginning, but ever widening with the progress
+of events until at length a stage of violent antagonism in the policy of
+the Powers was reached. The division among their enemies, which Chinese
+statesmen have deplored their inability to compass, has thus been brought
+about without their aid; but so far from realising the Chinese dream of
+ruling the barbarians, the division has only exposed the empire to the
+ravages of rival spoilers.
+
+It is impossible to do more than glance at the several channels into
+which the foreign relations of China have branched off since 1860. Yet
+they intersect each other at so many points as to form a network which
+can only be intelligently considered as a whole. The quasi-biographical
+form of the present work may be appropriately dropped, so far as China
+is concerned, with the beginning of 1870, when the more immediate subject
+of it disappears from the stage of action to reappear as a perspicacious
+critic surveying the scene from a distant but commanding standpoint.
+
+Two developments of far-reaching importance found their proximate
+starting-point, though not their origin, in the crisis which laid China
+prostrate in 1858 and 1860. These were the extension of the Russian empire
+to the Pacific Ocean, and the creation of that Asiatic empire which had
+been the dream of France for two centuries. China being by these vast
+territorial aggressions placed between the upper and the nether millstone,
+the anticipated advance of the two Powers has exerted an influence on her
+destiny scarcely less potent than the Japanese war itself, with which it
+so effectively co-operated. The soldier-statesmen of Russia foreseeing,
+what the war of 1854-55 was soon to demonstrate, that the sea route
+to their Pacific possessions was at the mercy of the maritime Powers,
+resolved to make a dash for a line of communication by land, and in
+pursuance of this adventurous conception forced their way down the Amur
+in spite of the feeble remonstrance of the Chinese wardens of the marches.
+What was thus taken by the strong hand in 1854 was formally ceded in 1858,
+when, first, the Amur province, with the free navigation of the river,
+and, next, an undefined condominium in the Usuri province, were granted
+by treaty to Russia. This was but a step towards the absolute cession, two
+years later, of that territory, including the whole Manchurian sea-coast,
+600 miles in length. These extensive cessions, giving Russia the command
+of North-Eastern Asia, were extorted from China while _in extremis_ as a
+direct result of the Anglo-French victories.
+
+So with the French establishment in the south-eastern section of the
+Continent. The expedition sent to the Far East in conjunction with that
+of Great Britain was, on completion of its work in China, withdrawn to
+Cochin-China, and, in an alliance of brief duration with Spain, invaded
+that dependency of the empire of Annam--a vassal of China--and captured
+Saigon. The Spanish partnership being thereupon dissolved, the French
+empire of "Indo-China" was inaugurated with a free hand. Zeal for religion
+was the motive of the invasion: "The emperor wished to put a stop to
+the constantly recurring persecutions of Christians in Cochin-China, and
+to secure them the efficacious protection of France." The record of the
+phenomenal progress of the new French empire since the treaty of Saigon
+in 1862 has been related by many eloquent pens. M. F. Garnier, the heroic
+explorer; M. de Carné, his colleague; M. Lanier, M. Deschamps, M. de
+Lanessan, and a host of enthusiastic French writers, have depicted in
+glowing terms not only the process, but the motives and aspirations, of
+the French "empire-builders."[21]
+
+The pressure, latent and active, of these two powerful neighbours has
+given its tone to the policy of China during thirty years, and in such a
+way that her relations with the commercial nations who did not menace her
+integrity have been relegated to a secondary place.
+
+The new German influence in the Far East, which had its modest beginnings
+in the treaties so reluctantly concluded by the Japanese and Chinese in
+1861, has grown in importance _pari passu_ with the rapid development of
+the German empire itself, ably seconded, it must always be allowed, by the
+personal qualities of the Ministers who have been successively chosen to
+represent the Fatherland at Peking and Tokio. The first resident Minister
+to China was Baron Rehfues, who opened the Legation in Peking in 1866,
+under the treaty of 1861.
+
+Another nation destined to play a leading _rôle_ among the Powers in the
+Western Pacific was during the same period rising like the sun in the
+eastern sky. Nor was it very long before the nascent Power of Japan began
+to make its weight felt in the conflicts and concerts of the Far Eastern
+world.
+
+It is obvious that under these various influences operating from without,
+and the reflex action set up within the State itself, the character
+of China as a political and diplomatic entity could not any longer
+be what it had been in the years before the war. What had been simple
+became complex; no international issue could be raised in an isolated
+form; nor could China make any move, whether voluntary or involuntary,
+without facing the critical observation of many interested parties.
+This multiple responsibility to Powers by no means at one in their aims,
+and each assuming over her a status of superiority, could have no other
+effect than to reduce to nullity any efforts China might make either to
+improve herself or please the Powers. It was impossible to please them
+all. Decades before the Japanese war, more than one of them had offered
+her armed assistance in thwarting the designs of a third,--which things
+Chinese statesmen pondered in silence.
+
+
+II. JAPAN AGGRESSIVE.
+
+    Extraordinary progress of Japan--Nation becomes restless--Invades
+    Formosa--Bought off by China.
+
+The civil war in Japan had been fought with characteristic energy during
+three years, when a revolution, the like of which was never before seen,
+established the new empire on the double foundations of hereditary
+monarchy and popular suffrage. The effect of the revolution was to
+concentrate the whole strength of the State under the government of the
+Mikado, and thus enable it to give free play to the widest ambitions. With
+incredible rapidity the nation made itself efficient for every enterprise
+of peace or war. The best that the Western world had to teach was eagerly
+appropriated by a people just aroused from a long sleep, and anxious to
+make up lost time. They went so fast, indeed, that onlookers shook their
+heads, and their best friends would have applied the brake had it been
+possible. But the nation was self-reliant, and in its first adolescence
+it began to be aggressive.
+
+Within six years of the revolution of 1868 an expedition was sent to
+invade the Chinese island of Formosa. Through the good offices of Sir
+Thomas Wade, British Minister in Peking, war between the two empires was
+averted, and the Japanese forces withdrawn. They were virtually bought
+off, a proceeding characterised by Sir H. Parkes as pusillanimous on
+the part of the empire of China. The transaction really sealed the fate
+of China, in advertising to the world that here was a rich empire which
+was ready to pay, but not ready to fight. The euphemisms under which
+the ransom was disguised deceived no one unless it were the Chinese
+themselves. The vast cessions to Russia, incredible as they appeared, had
+at least the palliation of a dire emergency, and verbal equivalents in
+the shape of promises of deliverance therefrom. The submission to Japan,
+on the other hand, was made in a time of comparative ease.
+
+The incident had yet a further significance. The pretext of the Japanese
+invasion was injuries done to shipwrecked Liuchiuans, a people whom China
+till then and for some years later considered her own vassals, and who
+had for centuries paid her regular tribute. Such an episode was therefore
+a sure mark of imperial decadence;--a definite step, moreover, in the
+downward process, to be followed not long after by the Japanese boldly
+asserting a claim to the Liuchiu Islands, against which China could only
+interpose an inarticulate protest. The meaning of these indications was
+not likely to be lost either on the Japanese, who were more immediately
+concerned, or on other less interested onlookers. And what has the
+subsequent history of China been but a development of the symptoms?
+
+
+III. KOREA OPENED.
+
+    Japan concludes commercial treaty with Korea--Establishes working
+    relations--Exciting jealousy in China--The suzerain--China replies
+    by opening Korea to the whole world.
+
+The expanding life of Japan was soon to overflow in another direction.
+The kingdom of Korea lay within twelve hours' steaming from the Japanese
+coast: it had a historic and a mythical interest for Japan; it had been
+the source of her culture as well as the scene of her conquests and
+ultimate defeat. With the exception of piratical raids on the coast towns
+of China, Korea was the only foreign field into which Japanese arms had
+been carried, and the prowess of their peninsular heroes was cherished
+as a sacred treasure by a people singularly tenacious of their heroic
+legends. After an interval of three centuries the new Japan directed its
+ambition to the scene of its medieval exploits; and the "hermit kingdom"
+was at last dragged from its seclusion and forced to play an unwilling
+part in the international game. The modern spirit had tempered the
+military passion, commerce and industry supplied the ballast to adventure,
+and instead of landing an army of 200,000 men, as they had done in 1592,
+the Japanese, in 1876, re-established themselves in the peninsula through
+the peaceable agency of a treaty of amity and commerce--a weapon newly
+borrowed from the armoury of Europe. This movement of the Japanese was by
+no means intended to "open" Korea--except to themselves. On the contrary,
+it appears that that very astute people ingratiated themselves with
+the king's Government by aiding, or professing to aid, them to keep the
+country closed to all other nations.
+
+But, like every other attempt to isolate an international question, the
+exclusive effort of the Japanese not only failed, but resulted in opening
+Korea instead of closing it. They could not lock themselves in: the key
+was on the outside of the door. Although they disguised their feelings,
+the Chinese authorities had been gravely disturbed by the attacks of the
+French and the Americans on Korea in 1867 and 1871. The audacious advance
+of the Japanese aroused them to the extent of considering the merits of a
+counter-move; for Korea was the secular battle-ground between China and
+Japan, the historic stepping-stone between the two countries. And Korea
+was a vassal to China, if ever one State did occupy such a relation to
+another. By old tradition, by effective conquest, by solemn engagement,
+by regular tributary missions, by the prerogative of investiture, by
+the obeisance of the sovereign before the Chinese envoys sent on great
+occasions, by every kind of acknowledgment which the servant could render
+to the master, was the suzerainty of China established.
+
+China's relations to her tributaries was perhaps the best feature in
+her imperial character. There was protection, nominal or real, but never
+a shadow of domination. The ceremonial once settled, the most complete
+independence was accorded to the vassal State, the imperial object being
+never oppression or exploitation, but the girdling of the empire with a
+cordon of contented States looking with filial eyes towards the Dragon
+throne. Of these filial States Korea was the most important, on account
+of its geographical position as commanding one of the main approaches
+to the Middle Kingdom, or, as the king himself once expressed it in a
+memorial to the emperor, as "the lips protecting the teeth." For China the
+Korean peninsula has been a strategical stronghold, but its importance was
+increased a hundredfold when the statesmen of Peking came to realise what
+they had done in giving away the whole Manchurian sea-coast, leaving them
+no outlet to the Sea of Japan excepting through Korea, which, moreover,
+was studded all round with excellent harbours, useful to friends and
+tempting to enemies.
+
+The wise policy which the emperors had observed towards their tributaries
+had borne valuable fruit in Korea. For two hundred years the Peking
+Government had dealt so benignly with king and people as to have inspired
+feelings of genuine affection combined with deep reverence for the "big
+country." Whether collectively or individually, officially or privately,
+the Chinese were warmly welcomed everywhere without ever abusing the
+courtesy of their hosts--in marked contrast, it must be observed, to
+the Japanese, whose record in Korea has been one of unbroken brutality,
+producing a general feeling of aversion.
+
+If anything, therefore, could excite the jealousy of Chinese statesmen, it
+would be to see this filial dependency being tampered with by strangers,
+more especially by their hereditary foes, the Japanese. Better all the
+world in Korea with Japan excluded, than Japan in with the rest of the
+world kept out. Slow of apprehension, and still slower of action, her
+unpractical conservatism in high places reducible only by sap and mine,
+China brooded over the Korean problem for some years before any result
+of the incubation appeared. The conclusion eventually arrived at was to
+neutralise the Japanese action by opening Korea to the whole world under
+treaty. The realisation of this scheme was as usual placed in the hands of
+Li Hung-chang, who on the one hand recommended the Korean king to conclude
+commercial treaties with foreign Powers, and on the other encouraged the
+latter to open negotiations. Hence the general opening of the country in
+1882, with its train of tragic consequences.
+
+The terms of the foreign treaties with Korea had not been thoroughly
+thought out, and the very ambiguity was perpetuated which it was the
+interest of China to clear away. The treaties purported to be made with an
+independent State, whereas Korea was a vassal, and the inconsistency was
+attempted to be remedied by a separate letter from the king to the Powers
+with whom he had concluded treaties, declaring, notwithstanding, that the
+Chinese emperor was his suzerain.
+
+
+IV. THE FIRST IMPERIAL AUDIENCE--SUCCESSION OF KWANGHSU.
+
+    End of the minority of Emperor Tungchih--Audience of the foreign
+    Ministers in 1873--Under derogatory conditions--Death of the
+    young emperor--Empress regent's _coup d'état_ in selecting
+    successor--Her own nephew--Eighteen years' minority of Emperor
+    Kwanghsu.
+
+An event looked forward to for twelve long years with patient expectation,
+and with hope, lively at the beginning but fading away towards the end
+of the period, that it would prove the sovereign remedy for the defects
+of Chinese intercourse with the world, was the assumption of power by
+the young emperor, who attained his majority in 1873. The diplomatic
+body busied themselves greatly in preparations for their first audiences
+with the sovereign to whom they were accredited. The Chinese on their
+part were no less anxiously engaged in devising means of lightening
+the blow to their prestige in consenting to receive foreigners at all,
+while dispensing with the prescribed prostrations. Obliged to yield the
+main point, the Court officials minimised its significance by imposing
+sundry derogatory conditions as to the building in which the audience
+was to be granted, and by the terms in which it was referred to in the
+imperial decree, which represented the foreign Ministers as "imploring an
+audience," and by other like devices.
+
+The first to be admitted to the presence was the representative of Japan,
+who held the rank of ambassador. Next came the resident Ministers of
+Russia, the United States, Great Britain, France, and Holland, in a body;
+and lastly, the French Minister separately, in order to convey the reply
+of his Government to the mission of Chunghou respecting the Tientsin
+massacre of 1870. The several letters of credence were placed on a table.
+The emperor "seemed to be speaking" to Prince Kung, though no sound was
+heard. The prince in his turn addressed a few words to the five Ministers,
+in Chinese, purporting to be what the emperor had spoken in Manchu, and
+the audience was at an end, the whole ceremony lasting about five minutes.
+
+By long anticipation a superstitious halo had formed round the abstract
+question of audience: it grew into a kind of fetish. Mr Lay shrewdly
+observed that the object of the "resident Minister" clause in the
+treaties had been misunderstood by foreigners in being regarded by them
+as an end instead of only a means. Mr Wade, who was British Minister at
+the time, made no such mistake; for though he consistently laid stress
+on ceremonial, it was, as he has frequently explained, because with
+the Chinese form was more than substance, and included it. A proper
+regulation of official etiquette was in his estimation the principal key
+to the remedy of material wrongs. From this point of view a five minutes'
+audience of the Son of Heaven, even in dumb show and once a-year, was a
+step of real importance. "The empire," wrote Mr Wade, "has for the first
+time in its history broken with the tradition of isolated supremacy--not,
+it may be, with a good grace, but still past recall; and while I would
+anxiously deprecate a too sanguine estimate of its results, I am as little
+disposed to undervalue the change that has been effected."
+
+But whatever hopes of a practical kind were raised by this ceremonial
+innovation were doomed to speedy extinction, for the emperor did not
+survive to grant a second reception. He died within the year, and was
+succeeded by another infant, involving a second minority much longer than
+the preceding one. Eighteen years, in fact, elapsed between the first
+imperial audience and the second.
+
+The Emperor Tungchih, though but eighteen years of age, left a legend
+behind him. The gossip of the capital assigned to him considerable
+independence of character, and a certain audacity in breaking bounds
+without the discreet chaperonage enjoyed by the Prince Siddhârtha in his
+explorations beyond the palace precincts of King Suddhôdana. He was,
+if common report belied him not, a true son of his mother in certain
+respects, though of her masterful statecraft, and the qualities which
+become a great monarch, he was too young to have given proofs. Leaving
+no heir, the deficiency was promptly supplied by the resourcefulness of
+the empress-mother. As the widow of the Emperor Hsienfêng and co-regent,
+she adopted a posthumous heir to that monarch to replace his own son.
+Her choice fell on the infant son of Prince Ch'un, the youngest brother
+of Hsienfêng. The mother of the adopted child was the empress-regent's
+own sister, and by thus enthroning her nephew the regent assured herself
+another long lease of power. The proceeding was irregular, there being two
+older brothers of Prince Ch'un alive and having sons. The nearest heir
+was the infant grandson of Prince Tun, the fifth son of Tao-kuang, but
+though Prince Tun himself had thirty years before been given in adoption
+to an uncle, the claim of his descendants to the imperial inheritance
+being thereby weakened, he seems never to have renounced his rights. At
+the time of the decease of Tungchih there was so much apprehension of
+disturbances in Peking, both on account of the succession and the form of
+the regency, that the 'Times' (February 4, 1875) wrote, "A battle on this
+question would seem almost inevitable, and notwithstanding the proverbial
+slowness of the East in most things, in crises like the present aspirants
+to Eastern thrones are wont to display both energy and readiness when the
+moment arrives for a _coup d'état_."
+
+The next in seniority of the sons of Tao-kuang was Prince Kung, whose
+title was uncompromised by alienation, and he had a son eligible. Whatever
+may have been the reasons for setting aside the claims of the two elder
+brothers to occupy the Dragon throne, they were considered to have been
+wrongfully set aside, and of this more will doubtless be heard in the
+fulness of time. Since, for reasons well understood, no natural heir
+to the present monarch can succeed him, there must be fresh recourse
+to adoption when or before the necessity arises, and what influences,
+native or alien, may then be concentrated on the imperial succession is
+a speculation on which it would be profitless to enter.
+
+The empress-regent's _coup d'état_ of January 1875, when on a bitterly
+cold night her infant nephew was taken out of his warm bed, conveyed
+into the palace, and proclaimed emperor the following morning, answered
+the scheming lady's expectations, for she has ruled the Chinese empire
+from that day to this. By the same stroke she was enabled to disembarrass
+herself of her original confederate, Prince Kung, to whose ambition she
+dealt a crushing blow in ousting his family from the succession. The two
+had come to hate each other with more than common virulence; and now that
+Prince Ch'un had been set on an unassailable pedestal as father of the
+reigning sovereign, the regent placed her trust and confidence in him, and
+shared with him the sweets of empire. Inasmuch, however, as the regent
+was a woman, and her imperial brother-in-law neither a man of affairs
+nor in a position to assume any outward share in the Government, it was
+necessary to bring in a practical statesman to stand between them and the
+outer world. This position of confidence was occupied for twenty years by
+the grand secretary, Li Hung-chang.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [21] For an unvarnished narrative of both the French and the Russian
+    advances the reader cannot do better than consult Mr Gundry's
+    'China and her Neighbours,' Chapman & Hall, 1893.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875--CHEFOO CONVENTION, 1876--RATIFICATION,
+1885.
+
+
+I. THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875.
+
+    Efforts to reach China from Burma--Expedition under Colonel
+    Browne--Mr Margary appointed interpreter--Meets party at
+    Bhamo--Precedes them into China, and is assassinated at
+    Manwyne--Discussion thereon with the Chinese Government--Tsên
+    Yü-ying, Governor of Yunnan--British Minister charges him with the
+    murder--Demands his arraignment--Sends commission from Peking to
+    Yunnan to take evidence--Unsuccessful.
+
+Ever since the conquest of British Burma, and more especially since the
+treaty concluded with the King of Burma in 1862, political and commercial
+speculation had been busied with the mountainous country which divides
+it from the empire of China. The fact that next to nothing was known
+of that wild region, combined with the prospect of reopening the old
+caravan route which had been some time closed by disturbances among the
+frontier tribes and by Chinese insurgents, constituted a great stimulus to
+exploration. To this end projects were from time to time considered by the
+Indian Government--sometimes at the instance of enthusiastic officials,
+sometimes urged by the superior authority of the British Government under
+pressure from mercantile bodies in England. South-western China, however,
+was as jealously guarded from intrusion as the sea-coast had been, and no
+progress was made in penetrating its mystery.
+
+After the failure of an exploring expedition under Colonel Edward B.
+Sladen in 1868, the Indian Government, in furtherance of the wishes of the
+Government at home, sanctioned yet another attempt six years later, though
+with decided misgivings as to any successful issue. Arrangements were
+made during 1874, and the expedition, under Colonel Horace Browne, was
+despatched from Burma _viâ_ Bhamo in the beginning of 1875. The British
+Minister in China had been asked for his co-operation, and in particular
+he was requested to furnish Colonel Browne with a competent interpreter.
+It was arranged that this official, armed with a Chinese passport issued
+by the Government at Peking, should make his own way through China from
+the coast and join Colonel Browne at Bhamo.
+
+The choice of her Majesty's Minister fell upon one of the most promising
+officers in the consular service, Mr Augustus Raymond Margary, who
+proceeded from Shanghai by way of the Yangtze to the province of Yunnan,
+and in five months accomplished his perilous pioneering journey with
+perfect success, arriving on the 17th of January at the rendezvous, where
+he was received with the warmest feelings by Colonel Browne and his party,
+and with surprise and admiration by the Burmese.
+
+On being joined by Mr Margary, the mission prepared to start from Bhamo
+towards China. Everything seemed auspicious for the expedition. On
+arriving at the Burmese frontier, however, the party were met by sinister
+rumours of armed opposition to their passage through the Kakhyen hills.
+Margary, having just come safely through these districts, volunteered
+to proceed alone to ascertain the truth of the reports which they had
+heard. How he was treacherously assassinated at Manwyne, the first city
+within the Chinese border, and how Colonel Browne's mission was assailed
+and driven back by armed bands, has been told by Dr John Anderson in 'A
+Narrative of the two Expeditions to Western China' of 1868 and 1875, and
+by Sir Rutherford Alcock, the sympathetic editor of Mr Margary's 'Letters
+and Journals,' as well as in numerous Government publications.
+
+It became then a question of the gravest import to fix the guilt of
+this treachery, and to consider what means could be adopted for avenging
+the death of a young Englishman within Chinese territory, and bearing a
+passport from the Government of Peking. "Whether it be Burmese, Kakhyens,
+Shan tribes, or Chinese that are in question, it is impossible we can
+accept a defeat of this nature, brought on, too, by our own spontaneous
+acts," was the conclusion of Sir Rutherford Alcock. Governments which
+resorted to the assassination of individuals under their own safe conduct
+must be deterred, by persuasion or by force, from the use of such tactics.
+The demand for redress which was made direct to the Tsungli-Yamên was
+followed by a wrangling and evasive discussion as to the conditions on
+which the passport had been granted. These, it must be admitted, had
+not been so definitely stated as they might have been. Passports, as Mr
+Wade, then Minister in Peking, explained, were granted in two forms--for
+"business," meaning trade, or for "pleasure," rendered in Chinese "tour
+or travel." It was in the latter form that the passport for Colonel
+Browne was applied for, and the Chinese made a plausible defence of their
+position on this narrow ground, asserting that the subsequent declaration
+that the mission was intended to open a trade route through Chinese
+provinces, where they alleged no trading rights for foreigners existed,
+could not be covered by a passport granted for pleasure.
+
+The voluminous discussion on international rights which followed, although
+academical in form and irrelevant to the question at issue, betrayed the
+animus of the Chinese Government in regard to commercial concessions in
+the interior; but it is possible that the true motive for the repulse
+of Colonel Browne's expedition, of which Mr Margary's murder was but an
+incident, lay deeper. Europeans are accustomed to make light of oriental
+suspicions, and the idea that Colonel Browne's party was the vanguard of
+a hostile force to be treacherously introduced into Chinese territory
+under passport may seem too fantastic to have been entertained in good
+faith. Yet if we consider on what trivial grounds even the civilised
+Powers of Europe will at times suspect each other of the most grandiose
+designs, and how often the suspicion is justified, we need not dismiss
+as incredible the fact that, in a frontier province which had recently
+been the scene of a formidable rebellion, an armed escort accompanying a
+foreign tourist party should have caused sincere misgivings in the minds
+of the authorities. Nor do the facts of the case exclude the possibility
+of such suspicions being suggested from without, even if they did not
+arise spontaneously within. Apart from these special considerations, the
+chances of success would probably have been greater if the mission had
+started from the Chinese side, where the right of travel and exploration
+had already been established.
+
+The verbal polemic over the conditions of the passport did not, however,
+touch the matter in hand, which was the murder of a British official for
+whom the Chinese Government, both imperial and provincial, were expressly
+responsible. It is not necessary at this day to pronounce judgment on
+the identity of the actual criminal. The murder was the result of a
+conspiracy in which Chinese and Burmese were both implicated. They were
+alike interested in preventing the passage of the mission, and the strong
+opposition of the Burma Government was not unknown to Mr Margary, for he
+had noted it in his Journal.
+
+The King of Burma, the father of the well-known Theebaw, was a learned
+pandit and a devout Buddhist, as severe in regard to heretics as the
+crowned heads of Europe were in the days of the Inquisition. The Court of
+Ava, in its claims to obeisance from foreigners, was almost as exacting as
+the Son of Heaven himself, and the priests lorded it over the community
+with the arrogance of a pampered caste. Thus foreign intercourse was
+heavily hampered, and a good understanding rendered almost impossible.
+Fears for their prerogatives must have inspired the royal and priestly
+coterie with aversion to that restless element which was always trying to
+"open up" other people's country and to explore trade routes. Hence the
+motive for obstructing the passage of a foreign expedition between Burma
+and China was as strong on the Burmese as on the Chinese side.
+
+Tsên Yü-ying, the Chinese governor, held an exceptionally strong position
+in his province, and the officials stood very much in awe of him. Though
+not a pure Chinese, having been born in the mountains of Kwangsi, of
+aboriginal parentage on one side, his personal prestige was very great.
+A fighting man from his youth, he had acquired an immense reputation in
+suppressing the Mohammedan rebellion in Yunnan. This he did in oriental
+style, extirpating the rebels so far as he could, root and branch. To save
+the trouble of burying many thousands of old people and children, he had
+them drowned in the Tali Lake. The military commander who was told off for
+this pleasing duty palliated the massacre, when in after years narrating
+these occurrences, by saying there were not really 10,000 but only 3000
+thrown into the lake. This official had remonstrated with the governor
+against the sentence, saying that such severity was not in accordance with
+Tao li (principle); but Tsên replied, "You have nothing to do with Tao
+li; you must conform to the Leu li" (Penal Code).
+
+Tsên Yü-ying was therefore something greater than an ordinary provincial
+governor, and wielded something more than the authority belonging to
+his office. Not only was he responsible, as all governors are, for what
+was done within his government, but it is difficult to conceive of any
+important incident occurring there without his personal sanction. But
+which was the leader in the plot, whether the acting-governor Tsên Yü-ying
+or the King of Burma, is comparatively unimportant; suffice it that her
+Majesty's Minister fixed, on grounds which satisfied himself, though of
+course on inferential evidence only, the instigation of the crime on the
+governor-general Tsên Yü-ying; and whether the direct guilt were brought
+home to him or not, there could be no question about his responsibility
+under the Chinese principle of administration. "From the governor-general
+downwards they are each and all individually and collectively held
+responsible for all that may happen in the limits of their jurisdiction."
+Accordingly, after much preliminary discussion, Mr Wade demanded that
+that high official should be censured for neglect of duty, and, on later
+information, that he should be brought for trial to Peking. To this
+demand the Peking Government refused to listen, and after feigning for
+many months to have no knowledge of what had taken place, they produced a
+report from the governor-general himself inculpating certain subordinates,
+of whom he seemed willing to make a nominal sacrifice. This report was so
+openly mendacious that Sir Thomas Wade threatened to haul down his flag
+if it were published.
+
+Unluckily for the successful prosecution of the demand for the arraignment
+of the viceroy, the British Minister became entangled in a cat's-cradle of
+negotiations for the revision of the treaty of Tientsin, with which the
+Yunnan outrage got so mixed up that the different questions never could
+be, or at any rate never were, separated again. Throwing the net is the
+tactical device in which the Chinese excel. The demand for reparation
+for the murder was alternately put forward, modified, and withdrawn
+according as the general propositions were shuffled about, and thus the
+effect of a concentrated attack on the essential point was lost. The
+minister on his own showing found himself in a succession of dilemmas,
+while the Chinese defensive position was clear throughout: it was to
+refuse everything, evade when direct refusal was dangerous, and in short
+to baffle all attempts of the British Minister to get to close quarters
+with the question. Sir Thomas Wade was several times brought by these
+elusive tactics to the point of threatening withdrawal of the Legation,
+which in itself the Chinese would have welcomed as a householder might
+the "positively last visit" of a tax-collector, but for the ulterior
+consequences to be apprehended.
+
+After many months of fruitless labour Sir Thomas Wade resolved to send
+a commission of his own to Yunnan to collect evidence as to Margary's
+murder. His right to do so was at first contested by the Chinese; but
+after considering the matter, and getting the best advice at their
+command, they assented, and named High Commissioners to meet the British
+officials. The Hon. T. G. Grosvenor, secretary of Legation, was detached
+for this duty, assisted by two of the most competent men in the consular
+service--Mr Colborn Baber and Mr Arthur Davenport. On the Chinese side
+were appointed the viceroy of the Hu Kwang, Li Han-chang, elder brother
+of Li Hung-chang, another official to whom Sir Thomas Wade objected
+strongly, but in vain, and Tsên Yü-ying himself, the inculpated party.
+The promises made to the British Minister before he would allow the
+mission to set out were broken as soon as it was fairly on its way, and
+Sir Thomas Wade had serious thoughts of recalling it, foreseeing that
+it was destined merely to waste time. What possible hope, indeed, could
+there be of isolated foreigners collecting evidence in a distant city
+against the high provincial officials? No evidence was taken. The British
+Commissioner was simply presented with the original report, to which was
+added the so-called "confession" of thirteen savages "kidnapped to do
+duty as prisoners at the bar." These savages could not speak Chinese, nor
+was their language understood by any one in the viceregal court; it was
+evident that they had never been near the scene of the crime, nor did they
+look in the least like men who were pleading guilty to a capital charge.
+
+The motive of the Chinese in yielding to the appointment of the British
+commission, after refusing their assent to it, only occurred to Sir Thomas
+Wade when they recommended that Mr Grosvenor should remain in Yunnan
+until the case was closed. No coercive measures, they calculated, would
+be taken against them while these hostages remained in their hands. From
+first to last the only question that occupied the mind of the Chinese
+Government was whether force would be applied or not. And if they read--as
+of course they did--the English newspapers of the day they would see that
+the contingency of war was dwelt upon throughout the year 1875 as the
+sole alternative to the condign punishment of the Governor-General of
+Yunnan-Kweichow. This was, indeed, from time to time directly threatened
+by Sir Thomas Wade, and he had applied for the Flying Squadron to come on
+from India to support his demands. When at last, after eighteen months'
+struggle, he abandoned the negotiations, and "abruptly left Peking" for
+Shanghai in order to be in direct telegraphic communication with the
+Home Government, he wrote, "I had, in the last fortnight, again and again
+threatened either to remove the Legation or to recommend to her Majesty's
+Government the extremest measure of coercion unless I had secured a very
+moderate form of reparation."
+
+When Prince Kung realised the fact that the British Minister had actually
+left the capital he became suddenly serious, and sent after him to
+say there had been a misunderstanding, which would have been cleared
+away if he had only waited. At the same time the prince had recourse
+to his foreign adviser, the Inspector-General of Customs, who stood
+to the Government somewhat in the relation of a "medicine-man." The
+inspector-general had taken an active part, both direct and indirect, in
+the comedy of the preceding eighteen months--whether as an ally or an
+opponent of the British Minister seems not to have been quite clear to
+the comprehension of the latter.
+
+An imperial decree was immediately despatched to the Grand Secretary,
+Li Hung-chang, instructing him to detain the British Minister on his
+way through Tientsin, in order to confer with him on the Margary case.
+This proposal Sir Thomas Wade declined on several grounds: among others,
+that at a previous stage of the negotiations the promises made by Li
+Hung-chang had been repudiated by the Peking Government. This effort to
+stop him at Tientsin having failed, Mr Hart was despatched in hot haste
+after Sir Thomas Wade to Shanghai, ostensibly to discuss the "commercial
+question," but really to induce the British Minister to re-enter the
+arena of negotiation,[22] in which the Chinese felt themselves safe. Sir
+Thomas, therefore, consented to meet a special commissioner, but without
+committing himself as to the scope of the intended conference. The High
+Commissioner was Li Hung-chang, and the place of meeting Chefoo, the
+locality being selected by Sir Thomas Wade himself. There was concluded
+the famous Chefoo Convention.
+
+
+II. CHEFOO CONVENTION, 1876.
+
+    Negotiations with Li Hung-chang at Chefoo--Mr Hart
+    assisting--Sir Thomas Wade hurried into making an unsatisfactory
+    settlement--Chefoo convention analysed--Net result an increase
+    in the customs dues--Criticised by the merchants.
+
+It was in the month of September, the summer not yet over, during which
+season the sea air and fine beach of Chefoo made it at that time the
+best health resort for the China coast. Visitors from Peking occasionally
+varied their summer residence at the Western Hills by spending a few weeks
+at Chefoo, and in 1876 there were several members of the diplomatic body
+taking their holiday at the watering-place, the meeting of the British
+and Chinese plenipotentiaries constituting for them an added attraction.
+
+Sir Thomas Wade had originally no intention of concluding a formal
+convention, nor had he authority for closing the Yunnan question without
+further reference to his Government; but circumstances proved too
+strong for him to keep to his resolution. He, in fact, found himself in
+such a position of difficulty as is perhaps best described by the word
+"cornered"--the advantage of the game having passed entirely to the
+other side. The Chinese commissioner was powerfully reinforced by the
+inspector-general, supported by the local commissioner of customs for
+Chefoo; and the neutrality of those of the diplomatic body who were on
+the spot was believed to be benevolent to the Chinese. The "co-operative
+policy" of Mr Burlingame's day had for the time being at least lapsed,
+and particularist views among the Powers or their representatives began
+to prevail. The British Minister, deeming the matter in dispute with
+the Chinese a purely British concern, did not hold it incumbent on him
+to hamper his negotiations by daily consultations with his colleagues,
+who on their part resented his reticence, claiming it as a right that,
+considering how their national interests might be affected by the result,
+they should be kept informed of the progress of the negotiations.
+Sir Thomas Wade admits that, among other considerations, it was the
+impatience of these colleagues of his to see the discussion definitely
+terminated which induced him to close the case without waiting for further
+instructions from his Government.
+
+It must be borne in mind that the problem before the Chinese High
+Commissioner had never varied: it was the extremely simple one, how to
+screen the ex-governor Tsên Yü-ying, whether guilty or innocent, without
+encountering a British armed force. The fate of the negotiations depended
+entirely on the probable movement of the Flying Squadron, which was lying
+at Talien-wan, a hundred miles off. No greater service could have been
+rendered to the Chinese Government than to assure the High Commissioner
+that he had nothing to fear from the British ships. The foreign Ministers
+who were present had their Intelligence Departments in full activity, and
+they had a shrewd notion of the limitations of the Flying Squadron, which
+they were free to communicate to the Chinese plenipotentiary. They were
+aware that the time--September 1876--was not opportune for the British
+Government to embark on distant enterprises of indefinite possibilities.
+From one source or another the assurance was given to the Chinese
+negotiator, and once convinced, on whatever evidence, that the British
+guns would fire nothing but salutes, Li Hung-chang felt himself master of
+the situation. It then became his turn to force a settlement, and he at
+once assumed a peremptory tone with the British Minister, notifying him
+that he would leave Chefoo on a certain day, convention or no convention.
+Sir Thomas Wade had, or thought he had, no choice but to capitulate to
+superior force. Pressed by his diplomatic colleagues, as has been said, as
+well as by the expressed desire of his own Government to get the tedious
+matter settled, he had to accept the best agreement he could get, and the
+Chefoo convention was the result.
+
+The fear of coercion being eliminated, the negotiation became reduced
+to a custom-house affair like the treaty revision of 1869, the Chinese
+seizing the occasion to renew their former efforts to obtain an increase
+of revenue from foreign trade. Instead of adding to the import duty on
+foreign merchandise as in 1869, they now proposed to extend the area
+of internal taxation, and in particular they prepared the way for an
+indefinite increase in the opium revenue. This was the substantial part
+of the convention. New ports were opened in harmony with the scheme.
+
+A clause referring to residence at Chungking in Szechuan provided that
+British merchants would not be allowed to reside there so long as no
+steamers had access to the port. When, under this contingent clause, it
+was attempted to make the conditional permission effective by sending
+steamers to the port, the Chinese Government offered opposition, and the
+right was abandoned by Great Britain.
+
+As for the Yunnan affair, the settlement of it gravitated to the form
+which had been universally condemned. "Do not let the nation lay itself
+open to the contempt of an Asiatic people by accepting money for life
+treacherously taken by official order," wrote Sir R. Alcock in July
+1875. But "the series of bad precedents" was once more followed, and
+"blood-money was accepted for the life of a British subject."
+
+It was thought important to publish far and wide the terms of settlement,
+and a proclamation with Sir T. Wade's _imprimatur_ was posted throughout
+the country. It was remarked, however, that this proclamation embodied the
+very falsities against the publication of which the British Minister had
+previously protested under threat of breaking off diplomatic relations.
+The guilt of notoriously innocent parties was assumed in it, but their
+pardon granted on the fictitious ground that the evidence against them
+would not suffice to convict by the processes of British law.
+
+A separate article provided for a mission of exploration by way of
+Szechuan and Tibet in the following year.
+
+A subject on which Sir Thomas Wade had long set his heart was an
+improvement in the terms of intercourse between foreign and Chinese
+officials, with a view of putting an end to the habitual assumption
+of superiority of the Chinese. This was treated in a few empty words
+providing that the Tsungli-Yamên should invite foreign representatives to
+consider with them a code of etiquette, a clause imposing no obligation
+whatever on either party.
+
+Another question which had greatly occupied the minds of both the
+British Government and its successive representatives ever since 1833
+was the establishment of a code of laws to regulate the civil and
+criminal relations between foreigners and Chinese at the treaty ports
+and elsewhere. This had formed a feature in the supplementary convention
+of 1869, the undertaking in which did not, however, extend beyond the
+general terms that "it is further agreed that England and China shall in
+consultation draw up a commercial code."
+
+Strongly approving, however, of the abstract idea that China should adopt
+a written code of commercial law as a first step towards a general legal
+reform, Sir T. Wade nevertheless uttered a useful caution to those ardent
+reformers who see in a good code of laws a panacea for either national
+or international grievances. "No nation," he says, "worked harder at its
+legislation than China; but in the way of justice there are at least
+two serious impediments--an ignorance which renders due appreciation
+of the value of evidence, especially in criminal cases, impossible; and
+a dishonesty that would be fatal to the administration of any laws, no
+matter how enlightened." He illustrates this by relating an instance of
+the obstinate nature of the _chose jugée_ in China.
+
+    In a case [he says] the termination of which is just announced
+    at Peking, we have a woman wrongly convicted, on a confession
+    extorted from her by torture, of the murder of a husband who
+    died a natural death, the injustice being so patent that the
+    fellow-provincials of the accused appealed to Peking. Orders
+    being issued for a rehearing of the case, the former decision
+    was affirmed in the province, and this a second and again a third
+    time. The proceedings were then removed to Peking; and it is in
+    the end established that magistrates of districts, prefects of
+    departments, the governor of the province, and the high officer
+    charged with the public instruction of the province, who had been
+    specially commissioned to rehear the case, have all more or less
+    combined to conceal the delinquency of the first authority who
+    heard it; with whose guilt the rest, his seniors, had associated
+    themselves either through carelessness or from a corrupt motive.
+    These proceedings lasted over two years.
+
+One point, however, was definitively gained in connection with
+jurisprudence, the recognition of the British Supreme Court as a means of
+discharging treaty obligations.
+
+The convention as a whole was subjected to the same kind of criticism
+as that of 1869 had been. The Chambers of Commerce pointed out that it
+sanctioned Chinese exactions which had been up to that time consistently
+resisted as violations of the treaty of Tientsin. Imposts, condemned by
+the Chinese themselves,[23] which were to be abolished altogether by
+the terms of the Alcock convention, were by the Chefoo agreement not
+only recognised as lawful, but the area of their levy, within which
+the taxes were to be freed from all restrictions whether as to their
+amount or incidence, greatly extended. It would appear, therefore, said
+the merchants, "better to revert to the clear and simple provisions of
+the treaty of Tientsin, and insist on their being carried out without
+evasion." So far, they say, from simplifying the question of the taxation
+of foreign goods, the obliquely worded clauses in the Chefoo convention
+tend to quite the opposite result. "New elements of obscurity have
+been introduced, and if twenty years have been spent wrangling over the
+comparatively simple wording of the Tientsin treaty, it is to be feared
+that no person now living will see the end of the controversies which will
+rage over the indefinite arrangement set forth in the Chefoo convention."
+
+Opium was also for the first time introduced into a treaty, for the
+purpose of increasing the Chinese revenue from it and of making the
+maritime customs, supported by the British Government, the agent for its
+collection. The Chinese had always been at liberty to levy what internal
+taxation they pleased on opium; but, said the Chamber of Commerce, for
+the "English Government to make itself even indirectly answerable for the
+collection from Chinese of an impost of indefinite amount, varying at each
+port according to the caprice or the necessities of local authorities who
+are not even specified, would surely be to introduce a most inconvenient
+precedent." The convention was left for nine years unratified by the
+British Government. It could not be ratified because, among other reasons,
+five of the treaty Powers took the same objection as the British and other
+merchants had taken to the curtailment of the area of exemption from
+inland taxation--in other words, to the legal sanction extended by the
+agreement to unlimited exactions of the Chinese tax-collectors which had
+up till then been resisted as illegal.
+
+During the eight years following the signature of the Chefoo convention
+incessant discussion and agitation on the subject of the duties on opium
+and general merchandise kept the British Legation in Peking, and in a
+lesser degree the Foreign Office at home, in full activity. The question
+was turned over in all its aspects, threshed out on this side and on
+that, and numerous schemes were proposed for readjusting the imposts. The
+British Minister displayed the utmost ingenuity in evolving variations
+on the central theme, in which ethical, political, and sentimental
+considerations played their part, but without advancing the solution of
+the problem. The problem was altogether too simple for such recondite
+treatment. The Chinese throughout all the tortuous disquisitions pressed
+towards the one object of a substantial increase in their revenue, by
+whatever means it might be arrived at; and eventually they attained their
+object, as those generally do who concentrate their attention on a single
+point.
+
+
+III. THE RATIFICATION, 1885.
+
+    Ratification postponed--Tedious discussion during nine
+    years--Chinese claiming large increase in opium duty--Ultimately
+    granted--By agreement signed in 1885--Hongkong and Macao made
+    stations for collecting opium duties.
+
+The convention simmered for nine years before its final ratification.
+The two Governments skirmished in the air all that time, misconceiving
+each other's aims and avoiding close quarters. The policy of Great
+Britain with regard to opium had been fatally deflected by unpractical
+considerations. The article had been placed by the trade regulations
+appended to the treaty in the exceptional position of being excluded
+from the privilege accorded to all other merchandise of exemption from
+inland taxation by payment of a fixed charge. The Chinese authorities
+were therefore at liberty to tax the article in transit to any extent
+they pleased. For reasons connected with their own administration, this
+unlimited power of taxation in transit was not deemed sufficient to
+produce the desired amount of revenue, and they were intent on supplying
+the deficiency by an enhanced import tariff. The difference between
+the two forms of taxation was that the inland duty was collected in a
+Chinese sieve, while the import duty was levied with the formalities of
+a banker's counter. Naturally, therefore, the Chinese Government missed
+no opportunity of pressing for an increase on the tariff fixed by treaty.
+It was the main object sought by them in the unratified convention of
+1869. Failing then, they renewed their efforts in the Chefoo convention of
+1876, seeking the same end by an inverted process, like taking a sea-fort
+from the land side. Instead of reviving the discredited proposal, they
+effected a turning movement by extending the area of the inland dues
+until it included the port of landing. Why, having full licence over the
+whole empire, a few acres added to their tax-collecting province should
+have been deemed of such vital importance is not perhaps at first sight
+self-evident. The reason was that under the proposed system the machinery
+of the Imperial maritime customs could be employed in collection, with
+the protection of the foreign consuls.
+
+The concession was set forth in cryptic form in the convention, but the
+Chinese knew very well what interpretation they intended to give to the
+clause. That intention remained unaltered, though tactics varied. By the
+light of the vague and pointless correspondence carried on for seven years
+with the British Government they saw their way to advancing considerably
+beyond the position gained by the convention. They consequently raised
+their demands in proportion as they found the British Government yielding,
+until eventually they reached a vantage-ground where they could safely
+unmask and make direct for their object, an increase in the import tariff
+pure and simple. Eighty taels were added to the thirty allowed by the old
+treaty, and the opium duty was thus really trebled at a stroke.
+
+The negotiations which led up to the convention are chiefly interesting
+as showing how easily the Foreign Office was chased from cover to cover
+by the Chinese Minister. Having once got the enemy "on the run," the
+Marquis Tsêng did not relax his pursuit until, notwithstanding one or two
+rear-guard actions, he capitulated without conditions.
+
+After seven years of active deliberation the definitive diplomatic
+conference was opened by Lord Granville in January 1883. As a preliminary,
+the basis of the negotiations was rigidly defined by Mr (now Lord) Currie,
+in accordance with the Chefoo convention, thus: the regulation of the
+_likin_ taxation, and specification of the barriers at which collections
+were to be made.
+
+But, as we have hinted, the Chinese aspirations had in the mean time
+far transcended the scope of any provision of any treaty. No longer
+content with regulating _likin_, their first step in the conference
+was to induce Lord Granville to abandon the preliminary stipulation
+he had so carefully laid down. The Chinese Minister proposed a general
+commutation rate, uniform at all the ports, supporting the claim by sundry
+specious arguments. The _likin_ barriers had been a chronic grievance
+of the merchants. The marquis held out a prospect of their abolition as
+a consequence of the single-payment commutation of inland dues on which
+he was intent. It is a feature of Chinese bargains of every description
+that something definite should be conceded on the one side, and something
+indefinite promised on the other,--the "bird in the hand" invariably for
+the Chinese. There was nothing surprising, therefore, in the time-honoured
+formula being employed in these diplomatic interchanges.
+
+In moving from his base, Lord Granville, of course, ceded everything; but
+he made a final stand at the amount, declaring that "he could not agree
+that the _likin_ payment should be fixed at more than 70 taels"; moreover,
+that he "would require full information as to the guarantees which would
+be given that opium would not be subject to any further payment while in
+transit." One such guarantee was already provided for in the convention,
+which stipulates "that the nationality of the person possessing or
+carrying the merchandise would be immaterial." This was deemed of great
+importance to trade, because since it was not always possible for a
+foreign owner, or even a deputy of his own race, to accompany a parcel of
+goods into the interior, the permission for Chinese to accompany them was
+essential to the working of the transit business. The contention of the
+merchant had always been, that the exemption from dues was a privilege
+attaching to the goods, and not to the temporary owner or transport agent.
+On the other hand, as the goods could not speak, the option of sending
+either a native or a foreigner at the merchant's own choice was considered
+a useful check on illicit exactions.
+
+The confident manner in which the marquis brushed away both of Lord
+Granville's ultimata showed how well he had profited by his experience of
+Foreign Office diplomacy. To Lord Granville's maximum of 70 taels (the sum
+actually agreed upon with the Chinese Government) the marquis said he was
+sorry, but his instructions did not permit of his accepting less than 80
+taels per pecul. It is not customary to ask for proofs of good faith from
+ambassadors acting "on instructions," and Lord Granville simply yielded
+the point, while entering a mild protest against being forced by a Chinese
+_non possumus_.
+
+And the right of the foreigner to accompany his goods, on which so much
+stress had been laid, was disposed of with exquisite assurance by the
+Chinese Minister, who was confident that such a mere detail "would not
+be allowed to stand in the way of a settlement," notwithstanding that it
+involved a reversal of the Chefoo convention.
+
+And as to the guarantees for fulfilment, the Marquis Tsêng was sure that
+"the strongest guarantee would consist in the moral obligation" on the
+part of the Chinese Government to carry out arrangements of their own
+proposing. Thus, by sheer persistence, the Chinese gained every point,
+securing not only a threefold duty on opium, but the assistance of her
+Majesty's Government in its collection, for that was the meaning of
+transferring the levy from the interior to the seaport. The agreement,
+concluded by Lord Granville in June, was signed by Lord Salisbury in July
+1885, under the title of an "Additional Article to the Chefoo Convention."
+
+It is right to add, on the authority of recent observers, that the
+convention has worked smoothly, no complaints being heard of inland
+exactions in contravention of its terms. It thus appears that the moral
+guarantee on which the Marquis Tsêng spoke so confidently was after all
+of some validity. But as the only source from which complaints could come
+would be those foreign agents who were by the terms of the convention
+expressly excluded from conveying or accompanying opium into the country,
+the negative evidence is not absolutely conclusive.
+
+It would have been most interesting to gain from so enlightened a
+Minister as Tsêng some insight into the causes of the continual friction
+and recrimination which attend the operation of the commercial articles
+in the Chinese treaties, but his despatches have reference only to the
+question of the moment. "The Imperial Government," he says, "have often
+been held responsible for the friction caused in working arrangements but
+ill-adapted to the state of the country, and which a better knowledge of
+its internal conditions would have shown to those who framed them are
+incapable of execution." "The present scheme," he intimates, "being in
+harmony with existing institutions," may be expected to work smoothly.
+Existing institutions, therefore, are opposed to local taxation and in
+favour of single commutations. When, however, a different thesis has
+to be sustained, we are assured by other authorities that "existing
+institutions" claim arbitrary, variable, and unlimited taxation of goods
+in transit for the benefit of the provincial exchequers, and that it is
+the attempt to commute these by a payment at the port which is the true
+cause of the friction and disputation.
+
+The natural corollary followed the ratification of the Chefoo convention.
+The desire of the Chinese Government, cherished for nearly thirty years,
+to establish a customs station in Hongkong was virtually consummated
+in the following year. The trade of the colony had been vexed by a
+perpetual blockade by so-called revenue cruisers which harried every
+native vessel entering or leaving the harbour. The hope of getting the
+investment relaxed may have induced the acquiescence of the colony in
+any alternative. The Chinese sought to grip the opium supply by the neck,
+which could only be done by their obtaining control over the harbour of
+Hongkong. This was conceded, and a customs station was established on the
+Chinese side of the anchorage, while an office was opened in the city of
+Victoria.
+
+There was a second "neck" to the opium supply--Macao. The arrangement
+made with Hongkong without a corresponding agreement with Macao would
+have merely driven the trade from the one to the other. Overtures were
+therefore made to the Portuguese, who, unlike the English, were offered a
+valuable consideration for admitting the control of the Chinese customs
+into their waters. They then obtained for the first time a treaty of
+independent sovereignty for the colony.
+
+The effect of all these negotiations and arrangements, whether intended or
+not, was to stimulate the cultivation of Chinese opium to a high degree,
+and this, according to the impartial testimony of an ex-German Minister,
+is, apart from the increase to the Chinese revenue, the net result of the
+anti-opium agitation.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [22] "Experience shows us that in the eyes of the Chinese negotiation
+    is a sign of weakness."--Sir F. BRUCE.
+
+ [23] "_Likin_ is in its nature an oppressive institution only
+    continued in force owing to the necessity of providing resources
+    to meet the army expenditure in the north-west."--'Peking
+    Gazette,' January 18, 1875.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+A CHAIN OF INCIDENTS.
+
+
+I. DISPUTE WITH RUSSIA _RE_ KULDJA.
+
+    Insurrection in Kashgaria--Russia occupies Kuldja--Engaging to
+    evacuate when country settled--Tso Tsung-tang's march--Death
+    of Yakub-beg--China reoccupies Kashgaria--Calls upon Russia
+    to retire from Kuldja--Relations become strained--Chunghou
+    concludes treaty with Russia--Violently repudiated by empress--War
+    threatened--Gordon summoned--Dispute arranged by Marquis Tsêng.
+
+The dilatoriness of China in making a stand against Japanese pretensions
+in Korea may be partly explained by her serious preoccupations elsewhere.
+She had been immersed in a sea of troubles. She seemed to be enveloped in
+rebellion. In the south-west the province of Yunnan had been severed from
+the imperial rule, and in its recovery the land was almost depopulated.
+In the north-west there were also Mohammedan risings, and in far-distant
+Kashgaria, separated from China by a thousand miles of desert and
+militarily untenable by her, the adventurer known as Yakub-beg set up
+an independent government, which he maintained for some years. Anarchy
+on her frontier afforded to Russia the pretext of occupying Chinese
+territory to maintain order; but she was scrupulous in assuring the Peking
+Government that this step was provisional, and that she was ready to
+restore Kuldja as soon as the Chinese were again in a position to resume
+the government of the town and territory. The time came sooner than was
+expected. The famous march of Tso Tsung-tang, who halted to grow grain
+for the support of his army, and the disaffection in his camp leading to
+the demise of Yakub, enabled China to reoccupy the revolted districts.
+Russia, on being asked to redeem her pledge as to Kuldja, made conditions
+which were not acceptable, and a diplomatic campaign was entered upon.
+A high Manchu official, Chunghou, the same who had been sent to France
+in 1871, was despatched to Prussia, where he concluded the treaty of
+Livadia, which was so repugnant to the empress-regent and her advisers
+that not only was it repudiated at Peking, but the envoy was delivered
+to the Board of Punishments. Relations became strained between Russia
+and China, and on both sides there were hints of a resort to force. In
+view of this eventuality the Chinese Government were recommended to apply
+for the services of their old champion, Gordon, who, unknown to them,
+had taken service with Lord Ripon, the then new Viceroy of India, and,
+equally unknown to them, had precipitately resigned that service. The
+Chinese had a large body of troops in Manchuria; the long line of Russian
+communication was very weak along that frontier; the governor of Eastern
+Siberia, declaring himself unable to resist a Chinese attack, had urged
+the Government at St Petersburg to come to terms at once with China, and
+wait for a suitable opportunity to recover what they might be obliged
+to cede. The Chinese Government hoped that if Gordon would come to their
+assistance, and take command of their Manchurian levies, his name would
+be a host in itself, and his appearance on the scene would at any rate
+convince the Russian Government that China was in earnest. With this view
+an invitation was sent to General Gordon in a telegram from Sir Robert
+Hart, which found him in Bombay. The invitation was unconditional; it
+indicated no purpose and named no price. Gordon took it entirely on trust,
+closed at once, and proceeded to China. Having been given no clue as to
+what service was expected from him, Gordon, nevertheless, not only came
+to a conclusion of his own on the subject, but supplied his views to the
+newspapers before leaving India, and at every port of call on the route.
+He declared he was going to China to induce her to make peace, for she
+was unable to do otherwise. In this he was of an opposite opinion from
+the Russian governor-general. But whatever the merit of his opinion, the
+object of the Chinese in sending for him was of course frustrated by his
+published declarations. These being communicated to the Government at
+Peking, they saw that so far from stiffening them in their negotiations
+with Russia, Gordon's presence would seriously embarrass them, and they
+accordingly endeavoured to prevent his coming. Through Sir Robert Hart
+they sent a message to meet Gordon at Chefoo, requesting him to proceed no
+farther. Disregarding this request, he continued his journey to Tientsin,
+where he had interviews with his old friend the Viceroy Li; and he also
+made his way to Peking, where by the aid of an indifferent Cantonese
+interpreter he made representations to the Tsungli-Yamên, some of which
+the interpreter dared not reproduce in Chinese. Gordon left without seeing
+either Sir Robert Hart, on whose authority alone he had come to China,
+or the British Minister, Sir Thomas Wade. The advice he left with the
+Chinese Ministers was to renounce the endeavour to organise an army on
+Western models, and not to waste money on modern weapons, but to trust
+rather to numbers and the Fabian strategy which was natural to them. This
+being promptly published in foreign journals, was regarded as highly
+paradoxical, if not cynical; but it was recalled to mind fifteen years
+later, when China was being defeated in the pitched battles against which
+Gordon had warned them.
+
+The Kuldja dispute was eventually disposed of by the Chinese Minister,
+Marquis Tsêng, who negotiated a treaty at St Petersburg, by which the
+territory was nominally receded to China, while its strategical positions
+were retained in the occupation of Russia, thus rendering the whole region
+untenable by Chinese troops.
+
+
+II. KOREAN IMBROGLIO, 1882-1885.
+
+    Outbreak in 1882--Conspiracy of the king's father--Attack on
+    Japanese legation--Chinese troops control the capital--Foreign
+    innovations--Brought bad elements to the surface--Conspiracy
+    in 1884--Assassinations--Treachery of king's confidant--Kim
+    Ok Kun's escape to Japan--The avenger--His elaborate
+    preparations--Assassination of Kim--Joy in the Korean
+    Court--Honours to the assassin--Japan dissatisfied--Count Ito's
+    mission--Japan secures equal rights with China in Korea.
+
+The Russian question settled, China had leisure to attend to Korean
+affairs, of which the importance was becoming more and more clear to her
+statesmen. The scare on the north-west was in another form transferred
+to the north-east, where there was the double risk of complications
+arising from both Russian and Japanese encroachment on Korea. The opening
+of the country to foreign intercourse, intended as a protection against
+such dangers, was soon discovered to be inadequate. A procession of
+events, dating from the signing of the treaties and culminating in 1885,
+transformed the kingdom from a vassal to a quasi-independent State.
+
+The first link in the chain, so far as visible effects were concerned,
+was an _émeute_ which took place in Söul in 1882. The father of the
+king had occupied a position as regent curiously resembling that of the
+Empress-Dowager of China, and being ambitious to regain the authority
+which he had laid down on the king's coming of age, raised a conspiracy
+to depose him. In connection with the plot a mob was let loose on the
+Japanese legation, where a desperate struggle ensued, in which, and
+in the running fight which they made towards the seaport, a number of
+Japanese were killed. The survivors were conveyed to Nagasaki in a British
+ship-of-war. What provocation the Japanese had given for this savage
+onslaught is not a matter on which we need enter. The point is that it
+afforded justification for sharp reprisals. Perceiving this, and being in
+a position of unaccustomed preparedness, the Chinese Government--that is
+to say, Li Hung-chang--adopted prompt measures for anticipating action
+on the part of the Japanese. They despatched an envoy with a body of
+troops and a naval squadron to the seaport of the capital where they at
+once put down the conspiracy, re-established the king's authority, and by
+a clever but wonderfully common oriental ruse captured the Usurper, and
+carried him off to China as a State prisoner. The Chinese troops remained
+in the vicinity of the capital, and a Resident on the Indian pattern was
+installed at the Korean Court.
+
+Before long a foreign element began to be introduced into the Korean
+administration. Among other things a branch of the Chinese customs service
+was established, and, as in China, many duties besides that of raising a
+revenue soon claimed the attention of the foreign commissioner. No more
+effective first step in the regeneration of such a country could have
+been undertaken than an honest administration of its maritime revenue. It
+was a measure both good in itself and prolific of beneficial results in
+many directions. Other reforms, however, were projected which required
+a certain preparation of the soil and a careful consideration of social
+forces and conditions. The introduction of foreign ideas of any kind into
+a country which, so far as politics were concerned, might be considered
+virgin soil, was, to say the least, a hazardous experiment. Undigested
+schemes for the Europeanisation or the Japonisation of a Government which
+had up till then banished foreign intercourse entirely from its shores
+was likely to have an effect analogous to that of suddenly administering
+strong meat to the victim of protracted privation. Korean affairs were
+even less understood by foreigners than Western affairs were by the
+Koreans, so that the yeast thrown into the Korean dough produced risings
+for which Western foreigners at least, whatever may be said of the
+Japanese, were quite unprepared. Factions sprang up like fungoid growths
+in an excavation, sordid ambitions were set in motion, and the royal Court
+became a hotbed of intrigue towards which the most flagitious elements in
+the capital were naturally drawn.
+
+The agitation which was fed from these various sources broke out into
+open violence in 1884, when two of the king's Ministers were assassinated
+by a band of conspirators. It would be futile to attempt to unravel the
+plot; its visible consequences only need be considered as further links in
+the chain of events, and also as affording some curious evidence of the
+manner in which the new alien civilisation was beginning to adapt itself
+to that which was ingrained in the Korean character. The professed object
+of the plot was understood to be the severance of the Chinese tie through
+the instrumentality of the Japanese, and the king himself was believed
+to be privy to this scheme. It is probable that the high political and
+patriotic ideal was but the rallying flag under which diverse schemers
+might pursue their several ambitions. The Koreans are credited with a
+special dose of the subtlety which belongs to Asiatic races, and whatever
+the real intentions of the king may have been, the conspirators were false
+to him. A concise contemporary account of the fray given in a message to
+the 'Times' states that--
+
+    The rising against the King of Korea is the outcome of reactionary
+    intrigues similar to the movement in 1882, when the present
+    king's father was captured and taken as a State prisoner to
+    China. Defective accounts only have been received of the recent
+    events. On the night of December 4, during an entertainment,
+    there was an alarm of fire near the palace; Min chong ik, the
+    queen's nephew, who was recently travelling in Europe, rushed
+    out, met some assassins, and was stabbed, with many others. The
+    conspirators then attacked the king, who applied to the Japanese
+    Minister for the protection of his guard. Before morning six of
+    the Ministers were killed. On the 6th the Koreans again attacked
+    the palace, the Chinese troops being present. A fight ensued, and
+    the Japanese guard lost three men killed and five wounded. Being
+    overpowered, the Japanese abandoned the palace, retiring to the
+    Japanese Legation, the king being carried off by the Chinese. The
+    tumult increased, and thirty Japanese residents were massacred
+    by the Chinese. On the 7th the Korean mob attacked the Japanese
+    Legation, which was destroyed, and the Minister with his guard
+    forced his way out amid showers of missiles. They stormed the
+    gates and retreated to the seaport of Chemulpo. On the following
+    day the king sent friendly messages to the Japanese Minister.
+
+    At a recent date the Chinese garrison consisted nominally of 3000
+    men, but the force has been much depleted. The Japanese numbered
+    120, and these were about to be withdrawn when the outbreak
+    occurred. The situation is critical, each side accusing the other
+    of aggression; but it is expected that the affair will be settled
+    amicably, neither Power desiring a quarrel for the benefit of
+    interested spectators. The Japanese may insist on steps being
+    taken to secure their Minister for the future from such outrages.
+    Each Power has appointed an officer to investigate the facts
+    before deciding on a definite course. Further complications are,
+    however, certain to arise from the anomalous position of Korea.
+    After the Kuldja scare China perceived the supreme strategic
+    importance of the peninsula, and that a great Power occupying it
+    would control Chinese external policy. The Government promoted
+    the foreign treaties in 1882 with the objects of interesting the
+    commercial Powers in the integrity of Korea, and of obtaining a
+    recognition of its vassalage. Later treaties, beginning with that
+    negotiated by Sir Harry Parkes last year, assumed the independence
+    of Korea. The exercise of Chinese sovereignty is exposing Korea
+    to the double peril of her own troubles and of China's possible
+    wavering at a critical moment. The Chinese and Korean interests
+    are, in the absence of commerce, purely political, Korea's
+    importance consisting in its commanding position.
+
+And the Japanese shortly after tabulated the casualties as follows:--
+
+    Seven officials killed by progressives, 7 progressives killed
+    by Korean troops, 38 Korean soldiers killed by Japanese troops,
+    95 rioters killed by Japanese, 67 progressives imprisoned, 11
+    beheaded, with shocking barbarities at execution.
+
+The immediate purpose of the leaders of the plot appears to have been to
+destroy the influence of the powerful family to which the queen belonged,
+and had they contented themselves with the murder of any number of that
+family, it was not considered likely that either king or people would have
+greatly deplored the crime. But the chief assassin, Kim Ok Kun, struck at
+the two Ministers who were the king's right hand, and who had, moreover,
+endeared themselves to the nation by the exceptional purity of their
+public life and their beneficence in times of scarcity. Execrated alike
+by the sovereign and his people, Kim Ok Kun sought an asylum in Japan,
+where he was entertained for a number of years while engaged in hatching
+further plots against the peace of his native land.
+
+Naturally his presence in Japan caused umbrage to China. The King of Korea
+lived in terror of his machinations, for Kim had a considerable following,
+by whose aid he hoped to make a descent on Korea and effect a revolution
+in the government. The guilt of Kim Ok Kun's betrayal of his sovereign was
+the more heinous from his having been confidential adviser to the Crown
+during all the negotiations with foreigners, between whom and the king
+he was the constant referee. He carried into exile the innermost royal
+secrets. The king's resentment against Kim was naturally embittered by
+his impotence to avenge the treachery to which he had been a victim.
+
+For the preservation of peace and of friendly relations an agreement
+was entered into between the three Governments to the effect that Kim
+should not be permitted to leave Japan for any other country excepting
+China or the United States. On these conditions the refugee became an
+embarrassment to the Government of Japan, which felt bound to protect him
+against counterplots while preventing him from carrying out his seditious
+designs. Nevertheless Nemesis was on the track of the assassin, and the
+way in which the quarry was hunted down by the avenger of blood affords
+a greater insight into the nature of the tragedy than do any of the
+contemporary comments. It also serves to illustrate certain points in the
+Korean character which are decidedly not without interest to students of
+current history.
+
+A member of an important Korean family named Hong had been implicated
+in Kim's conspiracy, and by Korean law his whole family were held guilty
+of the treason. The king fully exonerated the head of the family, being
+convinced that no blame attached to him personally. Nevertheless, the old
+man was so dejected by the disgrace brought on his name, that he forthwith
+poisoned himself with his whole house. A young man distantly connected
+with the family of Hong, and bearing their surname, took upon himself the
+duty of avenging these deaths, and set to work in a systematic manner to
+compass the murder of Kim. The private vengeance of Hong-tjyong-on fitted
+in well with his patriotic duty, and his scheme was favoured by the Korean
+king. About three years after Kim's flight, Hong made his way to Japan,
+bearing secret letters from the king outlawing Kim and his followers and
+authorising their capture or assassination. Hong's plan was to ingratiate
+himself with Kim as a supporter of his schemes, but his recent arrival
+direct from Korea without any credentials from the revolutionary party in
+that country rendered Kim suspicious of the would-be recruit. Unable to
+gain the access which he required to the person of his victim, Hong saw
+that he would have to adopt more elaborate means to effect his purpose. He
+went therefore to Europe, where he must have spent five or six years at
+least in acquiring a European education, European manners, and a perfect
+knowledge of European ways. He was courteous, refined, and intelligent,
+a great favourite in society (especially in religious circles), and made
+in particular many warm friends in France. Having thoroughly shaken off
+Korea, he thought he might now present himself in Japan in a character
+that would disarm all suspicion. Accordingly he made his way thither, and
+succeeded in attaching himself to Kim, talked progress and revolution, and
+thereby insinuated himself into the confidence of the arch-conspirator,
+becoming gradually master of his secret plots and schemes. The
+arrangements of the Japanese Government for the protection of Kim's person
+seem to have been so efficient that, in order to accomplish his purpose,
+Hong perceived that it was necessary to induce Kim to leave Japan. This
+seemed the most difficult part of his enterprise, and a far-fetched scheme
+had to be contrived in order to furnish Kim with a plausible reason for
+proceeding to China. Between the plots which Kim may have had in his mind
+and those which Hong for his own purposes suggested to him, it is not
+possible, neither is it necessary, to distinguish. Hong's own account of
+the matter was, that Kim had been concerting some movement on Korea from
+a Russian base, but was prevented from proceeding to Vladivostock by the
+vigilance of the Japanese Government. The agreement between the three
+Powers would not, however, be violated by his proceeding to Shanghai,
+where he would find the means of continuing his voyage to Vladivostock,
+for neither of the travellers apprehended any difficulty in eluding the
+surveillance of the Chinese officials and taking passage in a trading
+steamer to the Russian port.
+
+Kim eventually fell in with this proposal, and left Japan with a Japanese
+servant, accompanied by Hong. They arrived in Shanghai on the 27th of
+March 1894, repaired to a Japanese hotel, and reported themselves at the
+Japanese consulate. The following day Hong, having first put on Korean
+upper garments, murdered Kim, and fled, but was captured at Wusung by the
+foreign municipal police of Shanghai, and by them detained in custody
+until claimed by the Chinese authorities under instructions from Li
+Hung-chang. The news of the assassination was received by the Chinese
+Government with a sense of relief and "sombre acquiescence," but at the
+Korean Court with almost a frenzy of delight. The king gave a banquet in
+honour of the event, to which he invited all the foreign Ministers. The
+Chinese Government ordered a man-of-war to convey the murderer and the
+remains of the victim to Korea. The former was covered with honours, while
+the remains of Kim were treated with savage indecency and his family put
+to death.
+
+Thus did the assassin of 1884 expiate his crime exactly ten years later.
+
+The issue of the plot of 1884 was not agreeable to the Japanese, who were
+particularly affronted by the fact that the Chinese were in a position to
+snatch the king out of their hands and to afford him military protection
+against all comers. But Japan was in no humour to relinquish her own
+policy in Korea, which was quite incompatible with the suzerain status
+of China, and with the very concrete form in which it had just been
+manifested. One of the leading statesmen of Japan, Count Inouye, was sent
+to Korea to investigate the whole affair, and inquire into the relative
+position of China and Japan in the peninsula. The result of his inquiries
+was a determination to follow up by orthodox diplomacy the disintegrating
+effects which the risings in 1882 and 1884 had no doubt been intended
+to subserve. China being in the throes of a war with France, the moment
+was particularly favourable for preferring demands upon her. An embassy
+was therefore despatched to Peking, under Count Ito, in March 1885. He
+counted much on the friendly offices of the British Minister, Sir Harry
+Parkes, in smoothing the way to amicable negotiations with China, but
+unhappily the Japanese ambassador arrived at Peking almost on the day of
+Sir Harry's death. After vain attempts to deal with the Tsungli-Yamên the
+Japanese mission withdrew to Tientsin, where negotiations were entered
+into by Li Hung-chang, extending over several weeks. Count Ito's mission
+was successful in concluding a treaty by which China and Japan were put
+on a footing of equality in the peninsula so far as regards military
+protection. The troops of both countries were to be withdrawn, and neither
+party was to send a force in future without giving written notice to the
+other. This arrangement was a surrender in substance of China's suzerainty
+over Korea, though she retained the ceremonial form in full vigour for
+nine years after.
+
+
+III. THE PORT HAMILTON EPISODE, 1885-1887.
+
+    Sudden occupation of Korean harbour by Great Britain--Questioned
+    by China, Japan, and Korea--Position condemned by naval
+    authority--Abandoned on guarantee from China against occupation
+    by other Powers.
+
+"In view of potentialities" the British Government on April 14, 1885,
+sent instructions to Vice-Admiral Dowell to occupy Port Hamilton, an
+island harbour on the coast of Korea. This high-handed proceeding was
+justified on the plea of necessity--the necessity, as explained by Lord
+Granville, of anticipating the "probable occupation of the island by
+another Power." Naturally the measure disturbed neighbouring States,
+as well as the Government of Korea itself. China and Japan asked for
+explanations, and an agreement with the former, as suzerain of Korea, was
+about to be signed for the temporary use of the harbour by Great Britain,
+when the Russian Minister at Peking interposed with an intimation that
+if China consented to the occupation of Port Hamilton by Great Britain,
+Russia would compensate herself by the seizure of some other point of the
+Korean littoral. The protest of the Korean Government thus became merged
+in negotiations with China, but was never withdrawn.
+
+While these _pour-parlers_ were going on, the position of Port Hamilton
+was unequivocally condemned as a naval station by a succession of three
+admirals commanding the China Squadron; and as the immediate occasion
+of the occupation of the harbour had happily passed, there remained
+no ostensible reason for prolonging it. Before abandoning the island,
+however, the British Government hoped that some arrangement might be
+come to for an international guarantee of the integrity of Korea, which
+being already a bone of contention between certain Powers, and unable
+to defend its own independence, constituted a constant menace to the
+peace of the Far East. The proposal met with no favour from the Chinese
+Government, for the reason probably that it would have involved an organic
+change in its own relations with Korea. The next proposal came from the
+Korean Government itself, which suggested a _modus vivendi_ by opening
+as treaty ports both Port Hamilton and Port Lazareff, which latter was
+the point Russia would have seized if she had seized anything. This
+idea was approved of by the British Government, but nothing came of it.
+Eventually the evacuation was agreed to on the assurance from China that
+neither Port Hamilton nor any other portion of Korean territory would in
+future be occupied by any other Power. This pledge China was enabled to
+give on the strength of an equivalent guarantee which she had received
+from Russia, that Power being then the only one considered as likely to
+cherish aggressive designs on the Korean peninsula. These engagements were
+exchanged in November 1886, eighteen months after the occupation, and the
+British flag was finally hauled down on the island on February 27, 1887.
+
+The net visible result of the incident was to confirm China in her
+suzerainty, since the negotiations were made with her and not with Korea,
+and to obtain a specific pledge from Russia that she would keep her hands
+off Korea "under any circumstances." It was argued seven years afterwards
+that Russia had broken her pledge by her interferences in Korean affairs,
+but in 1895 a new state of circumstances had been brought about. China in
+that year ceased to be the suzerain of Korea, and obligations which were
+valid under the old _régime_ necessarily lapsed. A new page of history was
+turned, and Korea attained the status of a nominally independent kingdom.
+
+
+IV. TIBET.
+
+    Lhassa visited by Babu Sarat Chandra Das--Proposed commercial
+    expedition--Originated by Secretary of State--Envoy sent to
+    Peking to obtain passport--Opposition organised by Chinese and
+    Tibetans--Mission withdrawn.
+
+The year 1885 witnessed the first act in the ill-advised policy--as to its
+method, not its object--of the Indian Government of opening commercial
+relations with Tibet. A learned Bengali pandit, versed in Tibetan, had
+made two successful visits to Lhassa, where he gained the friendship
+of the lamas, who invited him to come again. A fair prospect of opening
+commercial relations by gradually disarming prejudices and apprehension
+was thus presented. Having duly reported his experiences to the Government
+of India, the babu waited their pleasure as to further developments at
+Darjeeling, where he occupied the post of Government schoolmaster. An
+English civilian, making the acquaintance of the babu in that hot-weather
+retreat, conceived the idea of an official mission to Lhassa, in which
+the services of the babu might be utilised as guide and interpreter. The
+Indian Government was averse from the enterprise on economical if on no
+other grounds, but direct pressure being brought to bear on the India
+Office in London, the ambitious young statesman who then presided over its
+counsels is said to have espoused the proposal and overruled the reluctant
+Government of India.
+
+Of the organisation and procedure of the mission nothing very
+complimentary can be said. Instead of following the line of least
+resistance, of driving in the thin end of the wedge, in accordance with
+the commonplace maxims consecrated by all human experience, the reverse
+process was followed in every single particular. Sarat Chandra Das had
+shown the way, and the entry he had effected could have been gradually
+widened by himself and others of his own class until the obstacles to free
+commercial intercourse had been overcome. The experience of a hundred
+years had shown to the world the invincible prejudices of the Tibetan
+rulers against foreign visitors. The babu had in his own person conquered
+these prejudices by his mastery of Buddhistic lore, as well as by his
+gentleness and consummate tact; but the mission, which had its origin
+in the information he supplied, discarded his methods and proceeded on
+military lines. Its _personnel_ included politicals and scientists, but
+no commercial agent, and as Mr Gundry has well said, "The Under Secretary
+of State, while stating that the object of the mission was to confer with
+the Chinese commissioners and the Lhassa Government as to the resumption
+of commercial relations between India and Tibet," added in Parliament
+that, "looking to the delicate nature of the mission, it had not been
+thought advisable to appoint a special commercial representative." An
+armed force of some 300 men sent on a "delicate mission" which, though
+essentially commercial, yet had nothing commercial in its composition!
+Could anything be conceived more certain to arouse the sleeping suspicions
+of the Tibetans? It was but repeating on a larger scale the deplorable
+fiasco of Colonel Browne's attempted march from Burma to China in 1875.
+
+The first act in this little drama was performed in Peking when the envoy,
+Macaulay, arrived with his staff for the ostensible purpose of applying
+for a passport for Tibet. For such a purpose there was no need to have
+sent a special messenger to Peking at all, as a passport could have been
+much more easily obtained by the British Minister there and transmitted
+by post in the ordinary course of business. The passport could not, of
+course, be refused in plain terms by the Chinese Government, but the
+personal demand for it gave them the opportunity of cross-examining the
+intended envoy as to the objects of his proposed mission. It may well
+be believed, from the self-contradictory explanation of the mission
+tendered to the British Parliament, that the envoy in Peking failed to
+allay the suspicions of the Chinese Government. On the contrary, his
+presence intensified them exceedingly. The sole effect of the preliminary
+expedition to Peking was, in fact, to forewarn the Chinese Government,
+so that they, in concert with the rulers of Tibet, should be prepared to
+interpose obstacles to the advance of the mission, but in such a way as
+not openly to compromise the good faith of the Chinese Government. The
+journey of the envoy to Peking, therefore, sealed the fate of his own
+mission, and at the same time closed Tibet against more judicious advances
+in the future.
+
+The most interesting episode in connection with this abortive effort
+was the appearance of the Babu Sarat Chandra Das himself in the Chinese
+capital. By sheer force of intellect he succeeded in a few days in
+obtaining the confidence of the inner circle of the lamas there. Having
+been brought in contact with a certain Manchu official, the pandit
+showed very unobtrusively a familiarity with the more recondite tenets of
+Buddhism which captivated the Manchu, whose heart was set on improving
+his knowledge of the sacred mysteries.[24] The babu could speak no
+Chinese, but it was not difficult among the thousands of lamas in Peking
+to find a competent Tibetan interpreter. The fame of the pandit spread
+rapidly among the ranks of the priesthood, whose chiefs competed for the
+honour of sitting at the feet of the Indian Gamaliel. In expounding the
+doctrines, while enjoying the hospitality, of different groups of lamas,
+the popularity of the pandit grew from day to day, until he was at length
+constrained to take up his quarters at the great Yellow Temple, outside
+the north wall of Peking, and live with the brethren. They invested him
+with the yellow robe and the other ecclesiastical insignia, and treated
+him altogether as one of the initiated. It required all his acumen to
+prevent his status as a Buddhist lama from clashing with his position as
+a subordinate of the Indian envoy, on whom he was in attendance. He had
+to pay frequent visits to the British Legation, where it would have been
+impossible for him to appear in his religious vestments without exciting
+inconvenient gossip, and perhaps incurring the disapproval of his superior
+officer. The custom of travelling in Peking in closed carts enabled the
+babu to play the double part of Jekyll and Hyde with perfect success.
+He would leave the Temple as a lama, drive to a friend's rooms in the
+city, where his Indian costume was kept ready, in which he proceeded in
+another cab and in another character to the British Legation, returning
+to reassume his yellow robes and then repair to the Temple.
+
+During the time when the envoy designate remained in Peking a very high
+personage arrived from Tibet, and it was on his conferences with the
+Chinese Court that the success of the intended mission depended. It would
+be presumptuous on the part of any foreigner to attempt to divine what
+passed between the delegate from the Grand Lama and the Chinese Ministers;
+but were it possible for any one to penetrate into those secret counsels,
+the babu was the man to do it. There is no doubt that he did. In fact,
+he had positive information that the Indian mission to Tibet would be
+stopped at the instance of the Chinese Government, and that the issue
+of the passport was an empty form. Such information would naturally be
+unwelcome to the envoy, and the sequel seems to show that the warning
+was disregarded. The expedition was organised, fully equipped, ready
+for a march into Tibet. Had it proceeded it is highly improbable that
+the babu would have accompanied it as interpreter, for he could not have
+exonerated himself from the imputation of bad faith towards his Tibetan
+hosts in acting as guide to an armed force into a country where he had
+been received and reinvited as a private guest.
+
+What would have been the consequence of the mission proceeding into Tibet
+it is, of course, impossible to say, but the circumstances of its recall
+were not conducive to satisfactory relations between China and Great
+Britain. Mistrusting the effectiveness of the Tibetan opposition to the
+Indian mission--for the force could very likely have made good its passage
+to Lhassa--the Chinese Government resorted to diplomatic means of stopping
+its advance. Its never-failing emergency man, the Inspector-General of
+Customs, was called upon, and he intervened with the British Government
+with such good effect that they sent orders to India to stop the Tibetan
+mission. Thus the Indian Government was a second time overruled: first,
+in being made to organise the mission against its will; and secondly, in
+being forced to recall it when its recall involved immeasurable loss of
+influence in future dealings with China. An attempt was made to cover the
+retreat in a cloud of verbiage by a convention signed at Peking in 1886,
+which, however, only made the case worse, in that it was a retrograde
+step, virtually cancelling the right of visiting Tibet, which had been
+conferred by the Chefoo convention of ten years before. The same treaty
+which embodied this renunciation, perhaps the weakest to which any British
+representative ever set his name, also fostered the illusions which have
+been so detrimental to the welfare of China, by promising a continuance of
+the tribute missions from Burma after that country had become an integral
+part of the Indian Empire.
+
+The fruits of this diplomatic surrender were not long in showing
+themselves, for it was soon followed by an invasion of British Sikkim
+from the Tibetan side. This aggression of the lamas was of necessity
+resisted by the Indian Government, and an unexpected opportunity was
+thus offered to them of settling the whole Tibetan question by the rapid
+march of a small force to Lhassa. There is good reason to believe that
+this solution of the difficulty was the one which commended itself to the
+practical statesmen and soldiers of India; but their action was paralysed
+by the orders of the Home Government, which continued to be ruled by
+influences which were neither military nor political nor practical.
+Discussions between the Indian Government and the Chinese _amban_ or
+Resident at Lhassa, professing to speak for the Tibetan Lama Government,
+were protracted year after year, and seemed interminable. At last even
+the Chinese themselves grew weary of the comedy, and experienced in Tibet
+something of the difficulty which occasionally beset them in China--that
+is to say, they were unable to exorcise the demon they had invoked. They
+had stirred up the Tibetans to the point of obstructing the Macaulay
+mission, but seemed really to lose control of the force after it had been
+set in motion. After some years of futile talk the statesmen of China
+would perhaps have hailed with satisfaction the advance of a British force
+to Lhassa to cut the Gordian knot; but they dared not, of course, give
+such a hint as was conveyed to Captain Fournier, "Avancez donc,"[25] and
+the Indian Government, not having the wit to divine it, had to submit to
+a long-drawn-out and permanent humiliation, that was in no wise mended
+by the Calcutta convention of 1890, which, professing only to settle the
+existing frontiers, did not even settle them.
+
+
+V. THE CRUISE OF THE SEVENTH PRINCE, 1886.
+
+    Character and position of Prince Ch'un--Had been misunderstood by
+    foreigners while he was in seclusion--An amiable and progressive
+    man--His visit to Port Arthur in 1886--Intercourse with many
+    foreigners.
+
+The spring of 1884 witnessed a ministerial crisis of the first order
+in Peking. For twenty-four years Prince Kung, uncle to the deceased
+emperor Tungchih, had held a position equivalent to Chancellor of the
+empire. To the outside world he was only known as Minister for Foreign
+Affairs and head of the Tsungli-Yamên. During the greater part of the
+time he had been at feud with the empress-regent, from whom his power
+was derived, but, being indispensable to her, he was tolerated for want
+of a competent successor. The troubles in Tongking caused an agitation
+in the capital, and the empress seized the opportunity to dismiss Prince
+Kung with most of his colleagues of the Yamên and introduce a fresh set.
+The eminent position of the prince, however, was one difficult to fill;
+but the substitution was effected by a kind of _coup d'état_ by which the
+empress brought the younger brother of Prince Kung out of his retirement
+and made him virtually, as far as it was possible, her coadjutor in the
+Government. But the peculiar status of Prince Ch'un, as father to the
+reigning emperor, rendered him immune from responsibility, since in China
+the son could not place the father under discipline. For this reason the
+prince could not in his own name exercise any of the great functions of
+the State. He was therefore obliged to keep in the background, while the
+executive service was performed by his nominees. Thus in foreign affairs
+he was efficiently represented by the Grand Secretary Li Hung-chang, and
+by Prince Ch'ing, a junior member of the imperial family, who was made
+president of the Tsungli-Yamên, and holds the office to the present day.
+
+Whatever the true motives may have been for recasting the
+Tsungli-Yamên--and it would be hazardous for any foreigner to dogmatise
+about such matters--a great improvement was remarked in the efficiency of
+that body. Prince Ch'ing, though new to public affairs, acquitted himself
+like a gentleman, and gained the goodwill of all the foreign Legations by
+his laborious efforts to learn his work and to bring justice and reason
+as well as courtesy into the transaction of business. The circumstances
+of the time were also favourable to improvement; for being at war with
+one great Power, China was naturally most anxious to conciliate the
+others. While this amenable temper lasted, business was despatched by
+the Tsungli-Yamên with a celerity never before known, and good use was
+made of the opportunity to clear off legacies of arrears that had been
+accumulating in the foreign legations.
+
+The Seventh Prince, so long as he was in seclusion, had stood in the
+opinion of foreigners for everything that was fanatical, obstructive,
+and irreconcilable, the head of the war party, and so forth. Even Sir
+Rutherford Alcock, in an article on Chinese Statesmen in 1871, adopted
+this popular estimate, calling him "violently hostile, joining with Wo in
+all efforts to make the anti-foreign faction predominate."
+
+The announcement of Prince Ch'un, therefore, as the successor of Prince
+Kung not unnaturally aroused apprehension of a reactionary policy.
+His first public act, however, in so far as it was his, dispelled the
+misconception under which foreigners had been labouring for many years:
+it was to conclude a peace with France in the face of a rabid opposition.
+This misconception of Prince Ch'un's character and policy is only an
+example of how vain it is for foreigners to attempt to sound the currents
+of Chinese politics, more especially where palace factions are concerned.
+
+The advent of the Seventh Prince having removed all friction between the
+empress-regent and the Government, it was a signal for tentative reforms
+and what foreigners call progress. Li Hung-chang had to a considerable
+extent imbued the Court with his own ideas. He assured them there was no
+danger in adopting foreign methods and foreign manners,--on the contrary,
+that to do so was the only means of safety to the empire. Within a few
+months of his taking the reins, the Prince established a precedent which
+amounted to a small revolution in its way. He began to transact business
+through his agents with foreigners in the capital itself, which had been
+up to that time strictly preserved from all contamination of foreign
+trade. The two "stores" which existed were not traders by right, but
+were under the special protection of certain foreign Ministers, who had
+represented to the Government the necessity of such agencies for the
+supply of necessaries for the use of their Legations. This was followed
+in course of time by the introduction of novelties in the palace, such
+as electric light, toy railways and steam launches in the imperial
+pleasure-grounds. The telegraph wire itself was introduced into the city
+during the summer of 1884, it having been previously jealously kept at
+a distance of thirteen miles, from superstitious fears concerning the
+sinister influence which the electric wire might exert over the fortunes
+of the capital. However real such fears may be in the minds of the
+Chinese, and however convenient they may be as a defence against proposals
+from without, they invariably yield to the pressure of necessity. While
+the terminus of the telegraph line was at Tungchow, the inconvenience of
+having to send mounted messengers thirteen miles to despatch and receive
+messages was for some time felt almost entirely by the foreign Legations;
+but when the war crisis with France arose, and the Chinese Government
+itself was sending urgent messages requiring immediate answers to the
+southern provinces and to Europe, the absurdity of losing more time
+between the Tsungli-Yamên and the telegraph station than was occupied
+by the transmission of the message and its reply from Europe became so
+striking, that the order was given to bring the telegraph into the city.
+No more was heard of geomantic difficulties.
+
+The most important object, however, which Li Hung-chang sought to gain
+through the activity of the Seventh Prince, was so to interest his
+Highness in the scheme of national defence, which had been growing under
+the viceroy's initiative, that this department of the work of Government
+should be transformed from a provincial to an imperial concern. With this
+end in view an expedition on salt water was arranged for the Prince; and
+insignificant as the feat must appear in Western eyes, yet for a Manchu
+prince, who had never seen the sea, to be allowed to trust himself on the
+treacherous element at all, or on such a strange monster as a steamer,
+must be accepted as a decided proof that the old order was changing,
+giving place to the new. The prince was undoubtedly nervous, not knowing
+what should befall him on his expedition.
+
+The first ordeal through which he had to pass was that of personal
+contact with foreigners, of whom he had perhaps never seen one in
+Peking. His introduction was carefully organised by Li Hung-chang, and
+it was at Tientsin that the prince first met with foreign officials,
+who waited upon him at separate audiences. The foreigners were as much
+charmed with his Highness as he expressed himself to have been with them,
+so that he embarked on his cruise free from anxiety. His attendants,
+however,--on whom and on Li Hung-chang all the responsibility of course
+rested,--continued to feel anxious during their passage across the Gulf.
+This feeling became for a moment acute when, on landing at Port Arthur,
+they were met by a British admiral and staff with a guard of honour. It
+is an actual fact that the sight of strange armed men waiting for the
+prince, working on oriental traditions, did suggest a trap, for the idea
+of capture by treachery is never wholly absent from the Chinese mind. The
+Government had taken the wise precaution of attaching to the prince an
+experienced and capable foreigner in whom he reposed perfect confidence,
+and Mr Detring explained foreign customs and forms of courtesy to the
+prince and his suite in a way which completely reassured them. Among all
+the dignitaries in the prince's suite, however, there was not one capable
+of taking in the entirely novel ideas which were presented to them. One
+man only, of quite subordinate rank--whether a Manchu or a Chinese by
+birth is unknown to the writer--a confidential agent of the Seventh Prince
+in business matters, seized the entire programme of foreign etiquette the
+moment it was explained to him, and through him the whole ceremony passed
+smoothly and agreeably to all parties. The name of this official was Chang
+Yi, who has since been taking a leading part in mining, railway, and other
+progressive enterprises in China.
+
+On his return to Peking Prince Ch'un in a memorial to the Throne reported
+fully the incidents of his cruise to the gulf ports. Not long after a
+naval board was established in Peking, with the prince at its head. As a
+step in the direction of centralising the naval authority, which included
+also the direction of the land defences, the establishment of a Board
+of Admiralty in the capital was certainly a progressive one; but as its
+members possessed neither knowledge nor experience of naval or military
+affairs its authority was much attenuated, almost every question having
+to be referred back to Li Hung-chang in Tientsin. Any chance that might
+have existed of Prince Ch'un himself inspiring the new Board and bringing
+it up to a state of efficiency was lost through his Highness falling into
+ill-health, from which he never recovered, but after a lingering illness
+died in 1890.
+
+
+VI. THE EMPEROR ASSUMES THE GOVERNMENT, 1889.
+
+    The Emperor Kwanghsu comes of age in 1889--Audience of foreign
+    Ministers arranged--Derogatory conditions--Second audience refused
+    by Ministers--Accepted by Austrian and British envoys.
+
+In 1889 his Majesty Kwanghsu attained his majority and married. But his
+coming of age was a somewhat gradual process, with intervals between
+each step, as if the empress-regent, who alone determined the time and
+the seasons, were either mistrustful of the capacity of her nephew
+or reluctant to lay down the reins of authority. The emperor, kept
+in leading-strings, was allowed to assume some of the functions of an
+autocrat, but not all. This slow unfolding of the imperial blossom had
+this result among others, that it procured a welcome respite from the
+bitter ordeal of granting an audience to the representatives of foreign
+States. It was well understood that the foreigners had for sixteen years
+been looking forward to the emperor's assumption of power as to the
+consummation of their diplomatic function, and that as soon as a decent
+interval had been allowed to the young monarch after his majority, the
+subject would become pressing.
+
+It had been discussed in whispers for nearly two years, when, to the
+astonishment of everybody, including even the members of the Tsungli-Yamên
+themselves, an imperial decree was issued in December 1890 in kindly
+terms ordering preparations to be made to receive the foreign Ministers
+after the Chinese New Year--that is, in the February following. Since
+nobody owned to having been in the secret, the act was set down to the
+emperor's gracious initiative, and was hailed with enthusiasm as the
+opening of a new era. The Great Wall had at last fallen; the pretensions
+to superiority for which the Chinese had made such great sacrifices were
+suddenly abandoned, and henceforth equality with foreign nations was to
+be the basis of their diplomatic intercourse.
+
+The hope was shortlived, for as soon as the details of the imperial
+reception came to be arranged with the Tsungli-Yamên all the old
+difficulties appeared in an aggravated form. The foreign ministers, having
+pondered the question for eighteen years, had unanimously resolved that
+they would not accept an audience in the building used for the reception
+of tributary princes, where the ceremony of 1873 had taken place, but only
+in the imperial palace, or not at all. The whole value of the audience was
+the acknowledgment it signified of international equality. The idea that
+it would facilitate business must have been long before abandoned. The
+form, therefore, was everything, and the Chinese Ministers were resolved
+that the "tributary" form should be adhered to. They became urgent in
+their appeals to the reasonableness of the foreign Ministers. They had
+gone to expense in renovating the hall, Tz-kwang-ko; they had no other
+place available; the imperial decree must be obeyed, and this admitted of
+no postponement.
+
+Yielding to these arguments, the foreign Ministers agreed to a compromise.
+They would, for this time only, repair to the Tz-kwang-ko, but never
+again. The ceremony took place therefore on 5th March 1891. There were
+two receptions--first an audience to the various foreign Ministers
+separately, next a general reception of the whole of them. The diplomatic
+body soon felt the consequences of their retrograde step, for when they
+came to discuss details of the audience of the following year, the Chinese
+interposed a simple _non possumus_ to every demand which implied the
+acknowledgment of equality. A reception within the palace without the
+_kotow_ could not even be discussed. No accommodation between the opposing
+views being possible, there was no audience in 1892. The diplomatic
+body were solidly united in maintaining the dignity of their respective
+countries, and by ceasing to solicit, they left the onus of discovering
+a solution of the question on the Chinese themselves. The audience was of
+no practical value to the foreigners, while the withholding of it placed
+the Chinese so much in the wrong that they might safely have been left to
+their own devices.
+
+Before, however, the pressure to extricate themselves and their sovereign
+from an untenable position had become too severe, a diversion in their
+favour was created by the flying visit of an Austrian envoy, who seemed
+ready to present his credentials on any terms whatever, so that the
+formalities were quickly got over, and he enabled to conclude his mission.
+The Chinese availed themselves of this unexpected opportunity, and the
+emperor granted an audience to M. Biegeleben in another hall or pavilion
+outside the palace, which thenceforth became known locally as the Palais
+Biegeleben.
+
+At the end of 1892, not long after the Biegeleben incident, a new British
+Minister arrived in Peking. Not apparently considering himself bound
+by the compact to which his predecessor was a party, he, without the
+knowledge of his diplomatic colleagues, accepted an audience on the same
+derogatory terms as the Austrian envoy had done, and the reactionary
+policy of the Chinese thus enjoyed a complete, if temporary, triumph. This
+proceeding of the British Minister was deeply resented by the diplomatic
+body, most of all by the Russian Minister, Count Cassini, himself a
+new arrival, and the circumstance did not tend to smooth the subsequent
+intercourse between the parties.
+
+
+VII. THE VISIT OF THE CZAREVITCH, 1891.
+
+    Worthy reception in Peking impossible--Attempted substitution
+    of provincial reception--Czarevitch visits only the Russian
+    communities in China.
+
+Closely connected in point of time, and possibly by a more vital link,
+with the imperial audience was the voyage of the Czarevitch to India,
+China, and Japan in 1890-91. There was no precedent in China for the
+reception of the member of any foreign royal family. In the days before
+the first audience the Duke of Edinburgh, while in command of the Galatea,
+visited Peking, but strictly _incognito_, no visits being exchanged with
+any Chinese. But times had changed considerably in the twenty years that
+had since elapsed, and with an emperor of full age on the throne things
+that were winked at during his minority could no longer be so lightly
+treated. The Chinese Government were, in fact, perfectly conscious of the
+responsibility which lay upon them to show courtesy to so distinguished a
+visitor as the heir to the throne of Russia, and they took timely measures
+for his reception.
+
+The position of the audience question convinced the Ministers that it
+would be impossible to receive him worthily in Peking, since to do so
+would be to admit equality with foreign States. The first care of the
+Chinese, therefore, was to induce his Imperial Highness to stay away
+from the capital. The Russian Government were told that Li Hung-chang,
+representing the Chinese Emperor, would meet the Czarevitch at Chefoo,
+and that his reception by other Governors of provinces would be deemed
+equivalent to one by the emperor in person. The Russian Government
+fell into the trap, and the programme of provincial receptions would
+have been carried out but for the eccentricity of Chang Chih-tung,
+the governor-general of the Hu provinces on the Yangtze. He, with the
+other provincials, had received the instructions about the reception of
+the Czarevitch, but he alone treated the order with contempt, not even
+deigning to answer it or to explain his reason. The order did not emanate
+from Peking, and he would not accept a mandate from an equal. Evidently
+the emperor had no hand in drawing up the programme, and this Chang had
+the best means of knowing, for he had a brother in the Inner Council. This
+action of a high authority throws full light on the difference between an
+imperial and a provincial transaction, as the Chinese themselves regard
+it.
+
+In keeping with this independent attitude of Chang was the rudeness with
+which he received the officer deputed by the Russian admiral to arrange
+details of the reception at Wuchang. In this way the intended imposture
+was exposed. But if the Russian Government had been too easily led into a
+false position, it must be admitted they extricated themselves cleverly,
+by simply demanding a yellow chair for the Czarevitch, a colour reserved
+exclusively for the emperor. As this could not be conceded the official
+ceremonies fell through, and the Czarevitch contented himself with
+visiting the Russian communities at the Chinese ports. He then proceeded
+to Japan, where a brilliant reception awaited him; and from Japan to
+Vladivostock, where he turned the first sod of the Trans-Siberian Railway,
+19th May 1891.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [24] See _infra_, p. 343.
+
+ [25] See _infra_, p. 330.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+THE TONGKING QUARREL.
+
+    Rapid advance of French towards China proper--The Black
+    Flags--Discussions between France and China--Attempted
+    negotiations--Conquest of Tongking decided upon--Chinese
+    feared attack on Canton--City defenceless--Negotiation with
+    France recommended--Captain Fournier concludes convention
+    with Li Hung-chang in Tientsin--Strong opposition in the
+    capital--Collision between forces in Tongking--French make war
+    on China--Peace concluded through customs agency, April 1885--The
+    Li-Fournier convention ratified.
+
+
+The progress of the French in the annexation of Cochin China, Annam, and
+Tongking was phenomenally rapid. These aggressions on her tributary States
+were far from agreeable to China, but no effective means of resistance was
+proposed. The Chinese policy, wrote Sir R. Alcock,[26] "has been one of
+drift, and letting things slide into irretrievable confusion and disaster
+for want of courage and decisive action at the right time. Between the
+Dupuis and Garnier expeditions, in which a handful of men were seizing
+towns, storming citadels, and terrorising the Annamite mandarins and
+king into virtual submission to any terms dictated to them, and Captain
+Rivière's very similar proceedings in 1883, there was abundant time and
+opportunity for China either to fight or to negotiate with effect, but
+she did neither."
+
+When, however, the advance of the French brought them within measurable
+distance of the southern provinces of China proper, a more serious view of
+the invasion was forced upon the Government. A body of irregular troops,
+called the Black Flags, for some time stood in the way of the French, who
+designated them "pirates." The status of these Black Flags was, indeed,
+somewhat ambiguous, as they had been virtually outlawed by the Chinese.
+But when it was seen that they were harassing the French, the provincial
+authorities recognised that they were fighting the battle of China and of
+her tributary. The Annamese Government had, in the first instance, invited
+the assistance of the Black Flags, and the Chinese Government officially
+encouraged them, while hoping to evade direct responsibility for doing so.
+The French had made the useless mistake of wounding China in a tender spot
+by destroying the seal granted to the Annamese sovereign by the emperor,
+and it was probably this insult rather than the territorial seizures which
+induced China to reinforce the Black Flags by a body of imperial troops,
+and to lay down distinctly the line which she would consider herself bound
+to defend.
+
+The annexation of Annam became the subject of protracted discussions
+between France and China. The diplomacy of the Marquis Tsêng in Paris,
+and of Li Hung-chang in China--a convention had actually been concluded
+between the latter and the French Minister, Bourrée--failed to arrest the
+progress of France, and the question between the two countries reached
+a burning point after the capture by the French of Sontay and Bacninh in
+the spring of 1884.
+
+The Chinese envoy had declared to M. Ferry that a French advance on these
+places would be regarded by his Government as a _casus belli_. Seeing,
+however, that no action was taken by China after their actual capture,
+the French took fresh courage, and their programme of conquest became so
+much expanded that what had been the dream of a few became the definitive
+policy of the Republic. "The conquest of Tongking had been decided upon
+in principle," wrote Admiral Jaurèguiberry to Captain Rivière at the
+time when M. de Freycinet was declaring that there should be no policy
+of aggression. The taking of the two citadels sealed the policy of the
+admiral and falsified that of the Foreign Minister. From that point may be
+dated the important position which France has since assumed in claiming to
+direct, in conjunction with Russia, the destinies of the Chinese Empire.
+
+On the fall of the two cities the Chinese officials of the southern
+provinces were filled with consternation. They feared that the successes
+of the French would encourage them, if not to invade China, at least to
+force a settlement with her on their own terms. They had before them the
+brochure of Captain Rivière, commander of the French forces in Tongking,
+in which he advocated a quarrel with China as a preliminary to the seizure
+of the three southern provinces, Kwangtung, Kwangsi, and Yunnan. An
+obvious step towards the execution of such a design would be an attack on
+the provincial capital, Canton, an event which was not only anticipated
+by the authorities, but was thought feasible, and even probable, by
+disinterested onlookers. How little prepared were the Chinese to resist
+such an attack will be best understood by the measures they took to avert
+it.
+
+An officer of the Chinese customs service, Mr G. Detring, returning from
+furlough, brought with him the details of the Marquis Tsêng's abortive
+negotiations in Paris. He arrived in China immediately after the capture
+of the two strongholds of Sontay and Bacninh. In proceeding from Hongkong
+to take up his official post at Canton he accepted a passage in the French
+_aviso_ Volta, which conveyed Rear-Admiral Lespès to the latter city. She
+was commanded by Commandant Fournier, with whom Mr Detring had been some
+years before on terms of intimacy in the north of China. The principal
+topic discussed on the passage was naturally Tongking, and, judging from
+subsequent developments, it is reasonable to suppose that the seeds of the
+settlement eventually concluded between China and France were sown during
+that short but interesting voyage. When Mr Detring reported himself to the
+provincial authorities they evinced the greatest anxiety as to what they
+conceived to be the threatening attitude of the French against Canton.
+Asked if their river defences were in a position to resist attack, they
+frankly avowed that they were not; but yet, being personally responsible
+for the defence, they dared not confess the true state of affairs to the
+Imperial Government. The viceroy of Canton and the governor of Yunnan
+were already under censure, and the military commanders in Tongking
+were even threatened with decapitation "pour encourager les autres." The
+Canton authorities were thus, in fact, in the dilemma in which Chinese
+provincial officials have so frequently found themselves in dealing with
+foreign exigencies--responsible yet helpless. Since they were avowedly
+incapable of resistance, the viceroy and governor were advised at once
+to open negotiations with the French, and, as a first step, to report the
+actual position frankly to the Central Government,--in other words, to Li
+Hung-chang, who in this, as in all other crises, had to bear the burden
+of every initiative. Having had experience of the capacity of Mr Detring,
+first in the negotiating of the Chefoo convention, and subsequently during
+several years of official intercourse at Tientsin, Li Hung-chang moved
+the Central Government to summon the Canton commissioner of customs to
+Tientsin for consultation.
+
+The way being thus partially opened to negotiation, Rear-Admiral Lespès
+held himself in readiness to proceed to Tientsin in response to any
+invitation that might be conveyed to him. Captain Fournier was sent on
+in advance to the rendezvous at Chefoo, where he was to remain until
+the real views of the Chinese Government respecting a settlement of the
+Tongking dispute had been ascertained. The French having set their hearts
+on extorting a large indemnity, it was emphatically declared to them that
+China would never pay one farthing. Any negotiation, therefore, would be
+futile unless this question was first eliminated. Having paved the way
+with Li Hung-chang, Mr Detring next proceeded to Chefoo to invite Captain
+Fournier to Tientsin. From previous good relations he was _persona grata_
+with Li, and on that account was thought a not unfit agent with whom to
+discuss preliminaries in anticipation of the arrival of his admiral. But
+that there should be no mistake about the indemnity, Captain Fournier
+was once more told that unless it were dropped it would be useless his
+proceeding to Tientsin. His doing so, therefore, was a tacit withdrawal
+of that important item in the French demands. Both parties being equally
+desirous of a settlement, all official technical difficulties were
+promptly overcome, and Captain Fournier, from a mere herald of the French
+admiral, was by telegraphic instructions from Paris at once promoted to
+the rank of plenipotentiary for France, and this notwithstanding that
+there was an accredited representative of the Republic eighty miles off
+in Peking. The two negotiators, in short, fell into each other's arms,
+and the convention of May 11, 1884, was the result.
+
+The peace so suddenly and irregularly patched up was not, however,
+destined to endure. Li Hung-chang, knowing better than any of his
+peers the risks of a war with France, had stretched his authority to
+the uttermost in concluding a treaty which practically ceded Annam and
+Tongking to that Power. For though in this as in all his other acts he
+carried with him the approval of the empress-dowager, he knew that he
+had to brave the ferocious opposition of the ignorant fanatics of the
+capital, which he himself described as the "howling of dogs." The moment
+the announcement was made, indeed, the furies were let loose upon him,
+and he had practically no support but that of the empress-dowager; for
+the Tsungli-Yamên, so far as they were not opposed to the treaty, were
+invertebrate. It is necessary to bear in mind this critical position
+of Li Hung-chang in order to understand the series of blunders,
+misunderstandings, recriminations, and actual war which ensued.
+
+After the ratification of the treaty, arrangements had to be made for the
+withdrawal of the Chinese forces from the territory which had been ceded
+to France. Captain Fournier, in an interview with Li Hung-chang, presented
+a memorandum fixing the dates on which the troops were to evacuate the
+several positions specified. A long discussion appears to have taken
+place, in which it is not difficult, from the circumstances above referred
+to, to divine what the viceroy's attitude must have been. He wished
+to avoid the invidious responsibility of asking the Central Government
+to order the withdrawal of the troops from Langson, as to do so would
+obviously add fuel to the fire of those powerful functionaries who were
+clamouring for the repudiation of the treaty, and for the negotiator's
+head. In vain endeavouring to obtain from Fournier an indefinite delay in
+carrying out the stipulation for the retirement of the Chinese troops, Li
+perhaps trusted that the French commanders in Tongking would themselves
+cut the knot by marching forward with an adequate force and brushing away
+the Chinese troops opposing them. The accomplished fact would then have
+settled everything.
+
+It has been said that the clever interpreter, instead of translating all
+the viceroy's arguments and explaining his difficulties, summed the whole
+up to Captain Fournier in two words, "Avancez donc"--advice which would no
+doubt have been sufficient if only the French military commander, Colonel
+Dugenne, had marched with a reasonable force, or even if he had carried
+with him a competent interpreter, through whom he might have communicated
+with the Chinese commander. The latter officer, however, when called upon
+to evacuate the post, pleaded that he had received no instructions to
+that effect, and asked for time to communicate with Peking. The letter
+to the French commander containing these reasonable pleas for delay was
+either wrongly translated or left untranslated for months. In the meantime
+Colonel Dugenne advanced with a small party, and was forced to retreat
+with loss, for which he was not unjustly recalled by his own authorities;
+and thereupon ensued the Franco-Chinese war.
+
+This was not, however, the only _contretemps_ in connection with this
+lamentable outbreak. The Chinese commander had actually telegraphed
+to Li Hung-chang for instructions; but, still unwilling to face the
+responsibility, the latter left the reply to his council, among whom
+there happened to be for the moment his evil genius, Chang Pei-lun, a
+fire-eating member of the Tsungli-Yamên, who was on his way to take up
+the post of governor of Fukien province and Imperial Commissioner of the
+Foochow arsenal.
+
+Laudable efforts were made to repair the mischief, and in the conferences
+which followed in Paris peace was more than once all but assured; but
+owing to a series of accidents and misunderstandings, in which the
+authorities at Peking, the French representative there, the French
+commanders on the Chinese coast, and the telegraph were all implicated,
+the die was cast in August 1884, and the war was continued till the
+following April.
+
+For reasons of their own the French Government were averse to calling the
+hostilities "war," preferring reprisals and "intelligent destruction." By
+whatever name it may be called, the French did not distinguish themselves
+greatly in the conduct of the operations. Their only feat of arms was
+the destruction, at their anchorage in the river Min, of the Chinese
+ships belonging to the Foochow squadron, and of the arsenal, which, as
+Li Hung-chang bitterly reflected, had been erected by "French genius."
+Admiral Courbet found his destructive work easy, having entered the river
+and taken up a position in the rear of the batteries during time of peace.
+The subsequent operations in Formosa were without result; and the French
+Government refused permission to Admiral Courbet to attack Port Arthur,
+on the non-military ground of wishing to save the prestige of "notre ami
+Li Hung-chang." So far as the naval operations were concerned, even when
+most successful in intelligent destruction, they were quite ineffective
+towards ending the war until the method which has never failed to bring
+the Chinese Government to terms was resorted to--the stoppage of the
+grain-supply to the capital. This was accomplished by a patrol of the
+coast for the purpose of intercepting vessels carrying rice to Tientsin.
+The work performed during the winter and spring of 1885 by the French
+cruisers, in keeping the sea without any base and performing their patrol
+duties in all weathers, excited the admiration of seamen. It should be
+mentioned that they were precluded from acting offensively against the
+Yangtze by tacit understanding with Great Britain and other Powers.
+
+If the breach of the peace between France and China was a historical
+curiosity, the eventual settlement of the dispute resembled a dramatic
+extravaganza. The final incident of the war in Tongking was the defeat
+of the French, followed by a panic, caused apparently by General Négrier
+being wounded. The force then made a disorderly retreat before imaginary
+pursuers. In the meantime the empress-dowager had given positive orders
+that peace should be made on any terms. Both parties had thus come round
+to the _status quo ante bellum_--that is to say, they were both equally
+urgent to obtain peace, as they had been in May 1884. The agent in
+bringing this about was Sir Robert Hart; and it was effected, as great
+things usually are, by the adroit use of very simple means. During the
+blockade of Formosa a small Chinese lighthouse tender was captured by the
+French admiral and detained. As she was essentially non-combatant, and was
+serving the interests of humanity in supplying the numerous lighthouses
+on the coast of China for the benefit of the commerce of all nations, Sir
+Robert Hart instructed his very capable London agent, Mr Duncan Campbell,
+to go to Paris and represent the case to the French Ministers, with a
+view to obtaining the release of so useful and harmless a vessel. In
+this manner the door was opened to the larger negotiation. Mr Campbell
+executed his delicate mission with so much tact, that in the amicable
+conversations which ensued between him and certain French officials the
+idea of putting an end to a war of which both parties were tired, and
+which, moreover, seemed objectless, was ventilated; and in a few days
+authority was telegraphed from Peking to Mr Campbell to sign a protocol.
+
+This was done before the news of the French reverse at Langson reached
+Paris. After such a military success M. Jules Ferry could not imagine
+that the Chinese Government would adhere to the terms of the protocol,
+and therefore he kept the whole negotiation secret from the Chambers. In
+the meanwhile the mishap to the French troops, being greatly exaggerated,
+excited such intense feeling in France that M. Ferry, _le Tonkinois_,
+was obliged to resign, with the treaty which might have saved him in his
+pocket. As for the empress-dowager, she recked nothing of the success of
+her brave troops on the outskirts of the empire, but thought only of the
+enormous expense of the war, which had been unpleasantly brought home to
+her, and of matters affecting her own convenience. She therefore had no
+thought of going back on the treaty, but was even more urgent than before
+to have it promptly signed and ratified. The honours of the peace thus
+fell in a few days to M. Ferry's successor.
+
+And what was the outcome of a year's fighting which cost China 100,000,000
+taels and France some proportionate amount? A simple reaffirmation of the
+Li-Fournier convention of May 1884! The convention itself was short and
+simple--one clause only exciting much interest during the negotiations,
+and that provoked a hot discussion, not on the substance, but on the
+verbal form. It was a stipulation by which the two contracting parties
+consciously meant different things, and each fought hard for a phrase
+sufficiently subtle to allow each to interpret it in his own way when the
+time came for the fulfilment of the treaty provisions. The French were
+most desirous of binding the Chinese to employ French industries in all
+their new undertakings. China was equally resolute in avoiding any such
+obligation. In the end each was satisfied that he could read the treaty
+clause in his own favour. But the final victory in the struggle would go
+to the side that was most persistent in forcing its meaning into practice.
+The French Ministry had announced to the Chambers a great victory for
+French manufacturing industries, which were represented as having by it
+obtained a monopoly in China. The text of the treaty, even in the French
+version, did not, indeed, bear this out; but the French had the _primâ
+facie_ argument on their side, that the introduction of a clause in a
+treaty referring to the Chinese patronage of French industries, however
+worded, must have meant something more than merely to register the common
+fact that China was at liberty to deal with whom she pleased. In the
+end a compromise was effected by China's giving to a French syndicate
+the contract for excavating the basin and dock at Port Arthur and
+certain orders for material, among which was a famous military balloon,
+wonderfully symbolic of the whole proceeding.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [26] 'Contemporary Review,' December 1884.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE OF CHRISTIANS.
+
+    Alliance with Church the corner-stone of French
+    conquest--Persistence of French ambitions in the Far
+    East--Protectorate of native Christians--Its abuse by the
+    propaganda--Forcible erection of cathedrals in Peking--Imperial
+    family aggrieved thereby--Negotiations for removal of church
+    from palace grounds--Mr Dunn's mission to Rome--Vatican to send
+    a nuncio--French Government vetos--French minister vetos transfer
+    of cathedral--Unless transaction placed in his hands.
+
+
+The claim of France to protect Christians against the native authorities
+in the Far East constitutes the basis and the origin of her present
+political position in those countries. The propagation of the faith was,
+indeed, a recognised element in the adventures of other countries besides
+France; but she has, since the eclipse of Portugal and Spain, enjoyed
+the distinction of a working alliance with the Church in furthering the
+foreign domination of both. "Church and State, linked in alliance close
+and potential, played faithfully into each other's hands," says Parkman
+('Jesuits in North America'). In the reign of Louis XIV. the kingdom
+of Siam was the object of their joint attention. A missionary bishop
+persuaded the most Christian king that to establish the Church in Siam
+and convert king and country to the Catholic faith would open an effectual
+door for the extension of French commerce. A century later another bishop
+persuaded another Louis to interfere in the affairs of Annam, and only
+the events of 1789 cut short an expedition that was being prepared of
+politico-ecclesiastical propagandism. Napoleon III. took up the cause,
+and actually effected the conquest of Cochin China; and Gambetta was
+so enthusiastic on the subject that, while persecuting the Catholics in
+France, he was ready to expend the forces of the Republic in protecting
+them in distant countries.
+
+There is here, therefore, irrespective of persons or forms of government,
+an unbroken tradition, which furnishes a key to the successive operations
+of France in the Far East. Thus when she resolved to join England in
+hostilities against China in 1857 a pretext was ready to hand in the
+murder of a Catholic priest in the interior of the country, his presence
+there being a defiance of the laws of the empire. There has been flux
+and reflux in French policy, but no change in its direction; and though
+prudence has from time to time set limits to its full expression,
+the claim to a special representation of Chinese Christians has been
+consistently pursued as a cardinal object of the French military, naval,
+and diplomatic forces in the Far East.
+
+The treaties of 1858 for the first time authorised travelling into the
+interior, and placed French subjects, whether missionary or not, who
+availed themselves of the permission, under the protection of their own
+country. But ever since the convention of Peking in 1860 it has been
+sought by indirect and unobtrusive means to assume the protectorate over
+native Christians as well. The interpolated clause in the Chinese, which
+was no part of the authentic French version of the convention, lent a
+certain colour to the pretension by seeming to recognise communities
+of Chinese Christians as legal units and fit subjects of international
+agreement between China and France. Nevertheless, "French interference
+between the Chinese authorities and the subjects of the empire of China
+has never had any treaty warrant or justification by the law of nations,"
+wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock in the 'Nineteenth Century,' November 1886;
+and he added, "China has the remedy in her own hands, to a certain extent,
+by refusing to admit the pretension." The Chinese Government had long
+been alive to the danger, as its elaborate appeal to the reason of the
+Powers in 1871 amply testified, but its eyes were opened still wider by
+the lesson of the Tongking war. A disposition was thereafter evinced to
+withstand the claim of the French, and the action of Germany afforded
+sufficient support to the Chinese position, had the Government only
+had the courage and perspicacity to lean upon it. For in the Catholic
+propaganda were missionaries of German origin, who were not permitted to
+divest themselves of their nationality, but were made to apply for their
+passports into the interior not to the French, but the German, Legation in
+Peking. Had Italy and Spain been equally independent, the question of the
+French, or any other protectorate, could scarcely have been entertained
+without introducing the element of separate foreign nationalism into
+the constitution of the Christian communities in China, which would not,
+perhaps, have been agreeable to the views of the Catholic propagandists,
+for they naturally aspired to maintain their independence as a compact
+ecclesiastical organisation.
+
+The dread of the French protectorate was much accentuated by the enforced
+restitution of ancient buildings, the most conspicuous examples of which
+occurred in the city of Peking itself, and even within the area of the
+imperial palace. The sites of three ancient churches being claimed by the
+French Minister, the emperor's Government was compelled to violate its
+sense of justice by evicting the existing owners. The original building of
+one of the three was found practically intact, though hidden by the houses
+built round and against its walls. These of course had to be cleared away,
+regardless of the rights of their occupants. The interior fittings and
+decorations of the church had disappeared, but, strange to say, much of
+the wood carving and other ornaments were gradually recovered from the
+old-curiosity shops, where the parts not destroyed had, by the instinct
+of the Wardour Street craft, been preserved, begrimed with the dust of a
+hundred years and hopelessly unsaleable. By patiently collecting these
+disjointed fragments and piecing them together like a Chinese puzzle,
+the Fathers were able gradually to restore the church to something like
+its original state, so that it became itself an interesting relic of the
+golden age of the Jesuits in Peking.
+
+The other two churches had been demolished, and the sites converted to
+secular uses, requiring some ingenuity to identify. When these sites
+were, under the new dispensation, cleared of superincumbent buildings,
+churches were erected as much exceeding the original as the glory of
+the Jewish temple, rebuilt after the Captivity, excelled that of the
+former house. The restrictions imposed by the Government on the style of
+the buildings, the last vestige of power which they dared assert, bore
+lightly on the astute constructors of the new churches. In deference
+to a common Chinese objection, perhaps partly superstitious, to lofty
+structures overlooking them, a limit was set to the height of the new
+buildings. But remonstrances after completion were easily disposed of by
+the pious Fathers inviting the objectors to go and measure the towers! The
+Chinese seem to have the same constitutional dislike of a demonstration
+that they have to a straight line or a right angle, and a challenge
+like this never failed to put them to silence. As to their neglect to
+exercise their right of supervision during construction, the shortest
+way to characterise it is merely to say it was Chinese. The same kind of
+negligence also allowed roofs of cathedrals, not in the capital alone, but
+in distant provinces, to be covered with yellow tiles, a colour reserved
+exclusively for imperial use. It is true the process was disguised, for
+the benefit of those who chose to be blind, by the tiles being whitewashed
+before being sent aloft, leaving to the slow action of the weather the
+gradual revelation of the imperial colour, which might then, indeed, be
+represented as the act of Heaven. Nothing is too transparent to deceive
+those who are willing to be deceived.
+
+  [Illustration: PEI-T'ANG CATHEDRAL IN PEKING, PURCHASED BY CHINESE
+   GOVERNMENT.]
+
+The cathedral around which the greatest interest centred, however, was the
+one which was erected within the palace grounds. The site had been granted
+by the great Emperor Kanghsi, the most imperial of the Manchu line, to the
+learned fathers who cured his fever by administering Jesuits' bark, then
+a new discovery, and whom he reckoned on attaching to his house by the
+favours bestowed on them. The new building was presumably erected on or
+near the site of the old, against the most urgent protests of the Court.
+Every inducement was offered to the French--larger and better sites,
+perhaps other compensations as well--if they would forego their demand
+for the resumption of the ground; but the French Government being set
+upon marking its ascendancy by a permanent sign, compelled the erection
+of the Pei-t'ang Cathedral on the spot indicated. The Lazarists, who had
+succeeded to the Jesuits in North China, had a kindly bishop at their
+head, who conceded much in the structure of the new building to soothe
+the feelings of the imperial family. Nevertheless, stunted as they were,
+from the point of view of architectural symmetry, the double towers of the
+cathedral were visible from the palace, and the two belfries commanded
+a view over a large part of the precincts. The building was therefore
+an eyesore to the inmates for twenty years, on the common ground on
+which it would have been offensive even to a provincial population, but
+still more as a staring monument of the deepest humiliation the dynasty
+had endured.[27] The empress-dowager bore the grievance, but not with
+resignation, for soon after the affairs of the empire assumed a settled
+aspect she urged her Ministers to find a way to get rid of the obnoxious
+building.
+
+Monseigneur Delaplace had, in his former diocese of Chêkiang, rendered
+good service to the Government in opposing the rebels, for which he was
+granted high Chinese rank. Being dissatisfied with the action of France
+after the Tientsin massacre of 1870, he extricated his mission from the
+control of the French Legation in Peking, and from that date till his
+death in 1882 conducted its affairs in direct communication with the
+Tsungli-Yamên. Fully recognising how hateful his cathedral was to the
+Chinese, he co-operated with Prince Kung and Wênsiang in their efforts
+to remove it, and in 1874 he actually concluded an agreement with them
+to that effect. But the contract was vetoed by the French Government. The
+sore was thus reopened and continued to fester until 1881, when there was
+so much excitement in the capital that the Church and mission were thought
+to be in great danger. During the Tongking troubles the question of the
+cathedral was allowed to rest, but no sooner was peace assured than the
+Court again became restless, and with renewed urgency sought a remedy for
+its grievance.
+
+The negotiations, which proved successful, were entered upon in an
+irregular manner, such as has characterised so many of the Chinese
+official acts. An Englishman in Peking, who had had business dealings with
+the Government, was asked one day by the confidential factotum of Prince
+Ch'un whether he could render assistance in the matter of the Pei-t'ang.
+The case was explained at length, and the foreigner, not being then aware
+of the negotiations of 1874, suggested, as the most obvious course, trying
+to make an arrangement with the Lazarist mission. The Manchu shook his
+head, to signify the futility of that proceeding. The enterprise thus
+seemed desperate, unless the Imperial Government should exercise its
+sovereign right of expropriation,--much too drastic a measure for any
+Chinese Government to attempt.
+
+One hope only seemed to remain, a direct appeal to the Vatican. This led
+to a long conversation on the Papacy, and the Manchu official,[28] being a
+pious and even a learned Buddhist, became intensely interested in hearing
+much that was new to him respecting the position and prerogatives of the
+European Dalai Lama. Nor did the "great Western Saint," whose vicegerent
+the Pope claims to be, fail to evoke the deep reverence of both the Manchu
+and the Chinese who were present, so that one might be almost justified
+in appropriating words uttered on a different occasion,--they were "not
+very far from the kingdom" ruled by "the Western Saint."
+
+But the interesting question was, How was the Vatican to be approached? By
+a qualified secret agent intrusted with the full confidence of the Chinese
+Court. The mission would be by no means easy, for should its object become
+known, it would be thwarted in advance from mere jealousy, if from no
+other motive, by Lazarist and perhaps other Catholic missions, so that
+access to the Supreme Pontiff would be blocked at the outset. The mission
+would also be certain to arouse the strenuous hostility of the French
+Government. After discussing the problem from all sides for three hours,
+the Manchu cut it short by the abrupt question, "Will you go?" "No," said
+the foreigner; "such an undertaking requires quite other qualities than
+any I possess. But," he added, after considering the matter, "I think I
+know the man who might carry it through." "Where is he? in Peking? Bring
+him here," were rapped out like musketry-fire, showing how urgent was
+the subject. The agent recommended to him was Mr J. G. Dunn, a man of
+genius and of varied accomplishments, a Catholic, and having an extensive
+personal acquaintance with the propaganda. He was at once invited to
+Peking, when another long conference ensued, and Mr Dunn was requested to
+draw up a memorandum on the whole scheme for the information of Prince
+Ch'un. After waiting some time for a response Mr Dunn left the capital,
+decidedly disappointed, for he was eager for a service so congenial to
+his character and feelings. Indeed had the mission been created for the
+man, or the man for the mission, the harmony between means and ends could
+hardly have been closer.
+
+Several months elapsed before the question emerged again from official
+obscurity, and the manner of it is worth relating if only for the
+side-light it throws on Chinese methods. Li Hung-chang paid a visit to the
+capital in 1885, and soon after his return to Tientsin he requested his
+secretaries to find out where Mr Dunn was and to invite him by telegraph
+to come to see the viceroy. Not knowing why he was sent for, any more
+than Gordon did when summoned from India five years before, Mr Dunn came,
+and Li at once entered on the Pei-t'ang question, showing him his own
+memorandum on the subject. The affair having been placed by Prince Ch'un
+in the hands of Li Hung-chang to be carried through, Mr Dunn was promptly
+commissioned, and in concert with the viceroy's secretary, the very
+capable officer who now represents China at Washington, the emissary's
+instructions and credentials were drawn up. There were two separate
+instructions, and no little confusion was caused thereby.
+
+On leaving China for Rome, Mr Dunn stipulated that a competent
+intermediary should be appointed to interpret his correspondence to Li
+Hung-chang, a duty which was intrusted to the commissioner of customs in
+Tientsin. The utility of this provision was soon made manifest, for when
+telegrams began to arrive from Rome, their purport was unintelligible,
+as they seemed irrelevant to the expropriation of the cathedral, which
+was Mr Dunn's special mission. Irritated by this apparent aberration,
+the viceroy's idea was to recall the emissary. But when it was suggested
+that the copies of his credentials should be first carefully examined
+the position became clearer. One part of his instructions was then found
+to be directed towards the question of the Christian protectorate, and
+Mr Dunn was, in fact, diplomatising with the Pope with a view to his
+appointing a nuncio or apostolic delegate to China to represent all the
+Catholic missions. The Chinese had not fully mastered this idea, and even
+Li Hung-chang, who has a wonderful memory, had forgotten the existence
+of the second section of his instructions, which no doubt Mr Dunn had
+drawn up himself. The Tsungli-Yamên, languid and bemused, hesitated to
+express any opinion, and assumed their habitual passive attitude. One
+person alone really grasped the importance of having the Church in China
+represented by the delegate of a Power "which has no armies or fleets
+wherewith to threaten or attack." The empress-dowager, when the nomination
+of Mgr. Agliardi was announced, and his coming depended on formal imperial
+invitation, sent the urgent message to the Yamên, "Get that man here; lose
+no time."
+
+Mr Dunn's negotiations with the Vatican of course soon leaked out; notices
+appeared in the press; Mr Punch had his little joke that though there
+was evidently a good deal _doing_, the question was, Who was _Dunn_? The
+French Government took the matter up energetically through their Minister
+in Rome, and their diplomatic efforts having failed, they presented
+an ultimatum to the Pope which compelled him to cancel the appointment
+of his nuncio. France threatening to terminate the concordat, withdraw
+the subvention to the Church in France, and sequestrate its ministers,
+the Holy Father had no option but to submit. With tears in his eyes he
+deplored his impotence to respond to the invitation of China under such
+a truculent menace to "his children in France."
+
+While these things were going on in Rome the transference of the Pei-t'ang
+Cathedral, which had been settled in principle through Mr Dunn, was then
+taken up by the Lazarist Mission, and the popular Père Favier was deputed
+by the Bishop of Peking to proceed to Rome and to Paris to obtain from
+the Vatican and the General of the Lazarist Order the specific authority
+to negotiate the transfer. Having brought back the necessary powers,
+a convention was shortly concluded between Bishop Tagliabue and Li
+Hung-chang. The Church made an excellent bargain, as it generally does:
+a new site of about thrice the area was granted close to the old on the
+opposite side of the broad roadway, and a bountiful compensation in money
+was made for the trouble and cost of removal. But after the agreement was
+signed the French Government interposed its veto so far as to insist on
+being the intermediary through whose hands the transaction should pass.
+France also, it was said, had previously essayed to _marchander_ with
+China for her consent, but withdrew when it became clear that further
+obstruction might entail untoward consequences. To mark its satisfaction
+at the final solution of this question, the Chinese Government eulogised
+all those who had helped to bring it about, and bestowed high rank on
+Bishop Tagliabue and the Abbé Favier (now bishop).
+
+This transaction supplied a crucial test of French policy and pretensions
+in China, the first concrete expression of both that had been obtained
+since the forcible restitution of Church property immediately after the
+capture of Peking. The coercion, indeed, was applied on this occasion
+to the Roman Pontiff and the Catholic Church rather than to the Chinese
+Government; but the latter were not so dull as not to see to what
+ulterior objects the French scheme might be extended, given convenient
+circumstances. They were, in fact, really alarmed, and the question was
+discussed with some warmth in the Chinese as well as in the European
+press. "The end is not yet," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock; "China may
+be less open to intimidation than heretofore, and assert her undoubted
+right to refuse the recognition of an assumed protectorate over Roman
+missions, irrespective of the nationality of their members." The French
+press espoused the cause of the protectorate warmly, treating it as a most
+valuable national asset. The Chinese press took up the question in reply.
+Their view of the position was comprehensively summed up in a native
+newspaper in October 1886 in the following terms:--
+
+    It has been said by them of old time that when a man is found
+    acting injuriously to his own family but benevolently to strangers
+    his behaviour is unnatural, and there is something hidden under
+    the cloak of outward kindness.
+
+    We have from time to time printed translations from various
+    foreign newspapers on the subject of the relations between the
+    Chinese Government and the Pope. Some days ago we reproduced an
+    article on the same subject from the 'Temps,' a French newspaper
+    of the highest authority. These articles all indicate that the
+    French Government is greatly troubled at the prospect of losing
+    what is called the right to protect Christians in China. This is
+    a question which has not hitherto been much considered by Chinese
+    statesmen. Those of them who have been in Europe, or who have
+    studied political affairs there, know something of the importance
+    of the issues which are covered up in that apparently harmless
+    word "protection"; but it is hardly to be expected that the
+    Ministers and statesmen who have scarcely travelled beyond the
+    walls of Peking can realise the full significance of the phrase.
+    Nothing is better calculated to quicken the apprehension of the
+    Government on this point than the extraordinary excitement of the
+    French Government, which insists on protecting the Christians
+    in China whether they desire this protection or not. For now
+    that the French have so plainly shown their secret designs, it
+    would be impossible for China to acquiesce, by word or deed, in
+    the pretensions which France sets up. It is rather suspicious
+    that the French Government, the greatest enemy of Christianity,
+    which is constantly oppressing the priests and confiscating their
+    property in France, should be so intensely desirous of protecting
+    Christians in China, where this protection is not required. A
+    leading French statesman, Gambetta, who died a few years ago,
+    left as a legacy to his followers the doctrine that the Church
+    should be suppressed in France but supported in all foreign
+    countries. Gambetta was a man who had no reverence for Heaven, and
+    no religion, and seems to have regarded Christianity as a disease
+    which he wished his own country to be rid of, but was not sorry
+    to see it spreading elsewhere. It is necessary to keep these ideas
+    in mind in order to understand the action of the French Government
+    to-day.
+
+    It would be out of place here to discuss what Christianity
+    is. Like Buddhism, it had a very pure origin, and the living
+    principles of both are mercy, benevolence, and peace. But both
+    religions have in course of ages been overlaid with doctrines and
+    practices which have obscured the simplicity of their origin,
+    and even changed their character. But the greatest misfortune
+    to Christianity is that it has been made use of by princes
+    as a pretext for wars of aggression. In fact, nearly all the
+    wars of Europe for the last thousand years have been in some
+    way connected with religion. This is sometimes made a reproach
+    against Christianity, which professes to be founded on peace and
+    self-sacrifice, but the reproach is scarcely just. Rather it is
+    the peaceful character of Christianity which has induced ambitious
+    statesmen to make use of it to work out their own designs, just as
+    in private life unscrupulous men are sometimes enabled to carry
+    out questionable plans by using the names of men of blameless
+    character. We are only now concerned with the political aspect of
+    Christianity, not its merits as a religion. The modern history of
+    Turkey affords the best illustration of the danger of allowing
+    foreign Powers to interfere in matters of religion. During the
+    last hundred years Russia has several times made war on Turkey,
+    always on the pretext of protecting Christians, and it is this
+    which is fast breaking up the Turkish empire. It is interesting
+    to observe that Russia and France follow the same policy in this
+    matter. When the French Legation withdrew from Peking on the 2nd
+    day of the 7th moon of the 10th year of Kwanghsu (22nd August
+    1884), the affairs of the Christians were transferred to the
+    Russian Legation. The Ministers of the Tsungli-Yamên remember
+    very well how eagerly the Russian Minister assumed the office
+    of protector of Christians, going to even greater lengths in the
+    way of protection than the French themselves had done. The reason
+    for this is plain. Russia, although she has none now, expects to
+    have by-and-by many Christians in Mongolia and Manchuria who may
+    be extremely useful to her in her aggressive designs on China.
+    Therefore the Russian officials, always looking very far ahead,
+    were most anxious to establish a right of interference for the
+    protection of Christians. And they could do this without reproach
+    when they were acting not for themselves but for France during
+    war-time; well knowing that, whatever position she succeeded in
+    establishing for France, Russia could claim for herself when the
+    proper time came. But the more anxious Russia and France are to
+    assert the right of interfering with Chinese Christians, the more
+    resolute China should be in resisting all such interference. The
+    only safety for China is to treat Christians, whether Chinese
+    or foreign, exactly as all other people are treated--to make no
+    distinctions. Foreign missionaries have the right to travel and
+    reside in the interior; they can exercise this right without
+    getting passports from the French Minister. The Catholic missions
+    are composed of men of all nations, but they all have Ministers in
+    Peking to whom they can apply for passports. Let the Germans get
+    their passports from the German Legation, the Spaniards from the
+    Spanish, Italians, Belgians, and Hollanders from their respective
+    Legations, but no European State has any right to arrogate to
+    itself the position of protector of missionaries in general.
+
+    It is satisfactory to learn that the head of the Catholic Church
+    is of this opinion, and although grateful to France for what
+    she has done in the past, is now desirous of being free from
+    French protection in the future. To carry out these views, the
+    Pope is about to send to China a very high official to reside
+    in Peking and perform the functions of a Minister. As the Pope
+    has no troops and no territory, but is merely a kind of Dalai
+    Lama, there is no danger to China from opening direct relations
+    with him. The affairs of the missionaries can then be dealt with
+    in an open and straightforward manner, as no fear of political
+    traps will lurk behind. The Christians when they know they are no
+    longer protected by a military State will understand that their
+    security will depend on their own wisdom in avoiding offence.
+    And the officials and people, on the other hand, will gradually
+    learn that the Christians are only anxious to lead virtuous
+    lives, without any political ambition, and they will respect
+    them. The Imperial Government will then also be able to extend
+    its favour to all Christians and missionaries without the fear
+    of nursing traitors in its bosom. The missionaries have among
+    them men of great learning and much skill in sciences, which the
+    Emperor Kanghsi--who must always stand as the model for Chinese
+    rulers--knew very well how to utilise. The present generation
+    possesses men no less capable of rendering good services to China,
+    and there would be no reason for not using them if the suspicion
+    of their being agents of the French Government were once cleared
+    away.
+
+Notwithstanding so much clear thinking, however, the action of the
+Chinese continued, as before, nebulous. They seemed never able to seize
+the bull by the horns, but drifted on, allowing themselves constantly to
+be put in the wrong, hoping perhaps to accomplish by illegitimate means
+what was within their legal competence. Afraid or unwilling to control
+the provincial authorities, they allowed outrages to be perpetrated for
+which they refused redress until coercion was applied, thus affording to
+foreign Powers a not in all cases unwelcome pretext for extending their
+protection even to Chinese Christians. Within a month of the consummation
+of the transfer of the Pei-t'ang Cathedral, and after the Marquis Tsêng,
+fresh from Europe, had taken his seat at the Board, the Tsungli-Yamên had
+fallen into its chronic apathy with regard to Christians. A missionary
+named Bodinier arrived in Peking from distant Kweichow for the purpose
+of soliciting the intervention or intercession of the French Legation
+in favour of the persecuted Christians in that province. While he
+was on his journey the Catholics of Chungking in Szechuan were being
+similarly maltreated. Certain disturbances in that great commercial mart
+culminated in the attack on the house of a wealthy Christian family, which
+resisted the assailants, several of whom were killed in the affray. The
+magistrates, who had been supine during the time when the mischief was
+brewing, thereupon arrested the head of the Lo family and condemned him
+to death,--an exercise of authority which was held to be arbitrary, and
+invidiously directed against Christians. Here was an occasion when the
+Central Government should have taken prompt action, and so deprived the
+French Government of any pretext for interference. It was a moment when
+that Government was less apt than usual to put forth its power in the
+Christian cause. M. Constans was Minister in China, and he was personally
+not at all disposed to assume the protection of Chinese Christians.
+Nevertheless, the case being urgent, and the Tsungli-Yamên either cowardly
+or indifferent, M. Constans broke through the rule he had laid down for
+himself so far as to telegraph to Paris for instructions. The reply was
+prompt, doubtless inspired by the propaganda at home, to the effect that
+he should take up the case of Mr Lo. Thus the Chinese threw away a golden
+opportunity of showing to the world that the Chinese Christians did not
+stand in need of any foreign aid. An impartial investigation might have
+shown, indeed, that the Christians were the aggressors, and the local
+Chinese officials might have been vindicated from the charges made against
+them. But the Government's inaction constantly puts it in the wrong even
+when it may be substantially in the right. The same fatal course has been
+regularly pursued even to our day, with results patent to all.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [27] The effect of these imposing edifices, which dwarf into
+    insignificance the most pretentious native buildings, is well
+    exemplified in the approach to Canton, where the French cathedral
+    church, erected on the site of the Viceroy Yeh's _yamên_, is the
+    only object visible, and where the idea of a permanent memorial
+    of defeat is well realised. It is not a conciliatory policy;
+    irresistible force is required to maintain it.
+
+ [28] See _supra_, p. 308.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+BRITISH SERVICES: DIPLOMATIC, CONSULAR, AND JUDICIAL.
+
+    Necessity for administrative and judicial control over
+    British subjects--Consular courts--Supreme court for China and
+    Japan--_Personnel_ of the consular service--Functions of the
+    diplomatic representatives--Absence of distinction explained by
+    apathy of Home Government--Need of reform.
+
+
+The frequent references throughout this work to the part played by British
+agents in the development of intercourse with China seem to call for a
+short account of the character and status of the official machinery which
+served for so many years as the principal working joint between the two
+opposed systems of civilisation.
+
+The relations between Great Britain and China were necessarily at first
+experimental. The consuls appointed to the five ports were selected with
+no special training, and the chief superintendent, to whom they looked
+for guidance, was scarcely better furnished than themselves. Yet, as has
+been shown, the remoteness of the consuls from their chief, and of both
+from the Government they served, threw them much upon their own resources.
+How the demand for independent initiative was responded to by some of the
+individuals concerned has been incidentally noticed in previous chapters.
+
+From the time when it assumed direct relations with China, the need of an
+effective control over British subjects resorting to that country weighed
+heavily on the British Government; for in exempting them from native
+jurisdiction the Government took on itself the responsibility for the good
+behaviour of its people. The exercise of this control was necessarily
+tentative, proceeding step by step as occasions arose. The unceasing
+solicitude of the Government for the orderly conduct of its subjects in
+China is testified by a long series of Orders in Council conferring on
+the consuls and their superintendent an almost despotic authority over the
+persons of the British residents. The operation of this arbitrary system
+was more satisfactory than could have been expected, thanks to the high
+character of the parties concerned and the common-sense which governed
+their mutual relations. In their double capacity, however, of protectors
+of Chinese and foreigners against the inroads of British subjects, and of
+the latter against the inroads of the Chinese, the consuls soon discovered
+that the one part of their duty was easy and the other difficult; and
+it is no matter for wonder, therefore, if, following the line of least
+resistance, some of them should have leaned to the side of repression
+rather than to that of the encouragement of their countrymen. This was
+noticeable even in judicial proceedings, where the consul was supreme
+over his own nationals, but had no authority over their opponents. Some
+check on the consequences of consular idiosyncrasies and defective legal
+knowledge was maintained by a supreme court in Hongkong, independent
+alike of the superintendent of trade and of the governor of the colony,
+to which court appeals lay from consular decisions. This prerogative
+of the colonial court was not unnaturally irksome to the diplomatic and
+consular servants of the Foreign Office, and was doubtless one cause of
+the coolness, not to say antipathy, with which the colony has generally
+been regarded by them.
+
+The treaties of 1858 and 1860 were followed by a great development
+in all three services--diplomatic, consular, and judicial. Some years
+previously the China consular service began to be treated as a career for
+which special preparation was required, the entry being by competitive
+examination, through which a certain number of students were annually sent
+out to China, there to complete their education and then take their part
+in executive work. When additional ports were opened, therefore, making
+about twenty in all, in 1861, there was the full complement of qualified
+men ready to occupy the new consular posts, each of them competent to be
+his own interpreter. Diplomatic functions were at the same time withdrawn
+from Hongkong, where they had been merely nominal for eighteen years,
+and became centred in the Chinese capital. A few years later the judicial
+authority, so far as it related to the communities at the Chinese ports,
+was also withdrawn from Hongkong, and was conferred upon the Supreme Court
+for China and Japan, having its headquarters in Shanghai, established by
+the Queen's Order in Council of 1864. The new court was inaugurated by
+Sir Edmund Hornby, who brought to the work practical experience gained in
+the Levant, the assistant judge being Mr C. W. Goodwin, Barrister of the
+Inner Temple. This establishment has furnished a solvent for many of the
+difficulties connected with British residence in the Far East. Adapted
+with judgment to local circumstances, the court has proved of immense
+assistance to the consuls, who, subordinated judicially to the chief
+judge, could now obtain from him proper guidance in their difficulties,
+a facility of which they availed themselves freely.
+
+Although a great advance on what preceded it, the Supreme Court could
+not of course escape from all the drawbacks which affected the consular
+courts. As between British subjects, it enjoyed the full powers of law
+courts in the mother country; but as between British subjects on the one
+hand, and the natives of the country, or non-British residents, on the
+other, the authority of the British court could only be exercised over the
+former. This one-sided action has been to some extent compensated in later
+times by the judicial qualifications of consuls representing other Western
+nationalities, who administer their own laws with the same impartiality
+as the British courts do theirs. But as regards the Chinese no such
+compensation operates, for although the treaties make provision for the
+judicial action of the Chinese authorities, their conceptions of equity
+and forms of procedure being wholly alien to those of the Western nations,
+their decisions seldom satisfy the foreign litigant. An attempt to supply
+a connecting-link between two radically different juridical ideals was
+made in the setting up of mixed courts for the purpose of dealing with
+petty cases between natives and foreigners within the settlements of
+Shanghai. These courts have been occasionally presided over by honest and
+competent judges, assisted by able foreign assessors; but as the native
+magistrates, being men of low rank, could always be overruled by the local
+executive, they lacked the power to make their decisions effective.
+
+As it was impossible to set up a separate judicial establishment at
+each treaty port where there was but a handful of residents, the consuls
+had to continue to perform magisterial duty with all the inconveniences
+attending their double function. Efforts were made by the Home Government
+to minimise these disadvantages by infusing a modicum of legal knowledge
+into the service, for which purpose they offered inducements to consular
+officials who should qualify as barristers. Notwithstanding all this,
+however, the simple fact that a consul is bound in his administrative
+capacity to take a part in matters which may afterwards come before him as
+a judge perpetuates an element of incongruity demanding an uncommon degree
+of tact on the part of the official. Some of the worst consequences to be
+apprehended from this state of things are partially obviated by the judge
+or assistant judge of the Supreme Court going on circuit, when important
+cases in the consular districts require it; but that expedient is only
+possible at rare intervals.
+
+The wisdom with which the Supreme Court has been directed is attested
+by the absence of incident in its history, and by the universal tacit
+approval of its proceedings. Its success, indeed, soon came to be accepted
+so much as a matter of course that the true source of it was forgotten.
+It was, however, recalled vividly to the public memory by a certain
+retrograde movement. After a quarter of a century of satisfactory working
+her Majesty's Government took a step which was equivalent to pulling out
+the corner-stone of the edifice--the absolute independence of the bench.
+In order to effect an economy in salaries, it was ordained that the two
+incompatible offices--the judicial and political--should be merged into
+one, making the chief judge consul-general, and the assistant judge consul
+for Shanghai. By this move the judges became subordinate to the Legation
+in Peking, and the Supreme Court itself was subjected to all the evils of
+the dual function under which the consuls had been labouring. Thanks to
+the exceptional qualities of the holders of the double office, no glaring
+scandal arose out of the unnatural combination; but the protests of the
+community, and of the incumbent of the two offices himself, were strong
+enough to induce the Foreign Office, after a few years' trial, to retrace
+their false step and restore the judge to his independence.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The twenty consular establishments in China on which the Select Committee
+of the House of Commons reported in 1872 were manned by forty "effectives
+on duty," besides a considerable contingent on furlough. The ten posts
+subsequently created employ on an average twenty more. Two complete
+generations of officials have passed through the consular mill in fifty
+years, which may be moderately reckoned at two hundred men, all of them
+selected by a competitive examination only one degree less stringent
+than that for the Indian Civil Service, and nearly all of them men
+of varied accomplishments. They have been placed in every part of the
+wide empire of China, and during their career have been shifted about
+so that every one has had chances of interesting himself in localities
+strongly contrasted with each other, both as regards official labour
+and personal recreation and study. From a body of highly educated men
+so situated, it was naturally to be expected that much enlightenment
+would be obtained concerning China and its people, and considerable
+progress made in the promotion of amiable intercourse between them and
+foreigners. These expectations have not been disappointed. In the period
+immediately following the peace of 1860 remarkable activity was shown
+by British consular officers. The names of Meadows, Markham, Alabaster,
+Oxenham, recall many exploits of exploration in the interior during
+very troublous times. Swinhoe, Baber, Hosie, Bourne, Spence, Davenport,
+Parker, have continued the work and greatly extended its area. Others
+have distinguished themselves in the held of literary research, and
+some have found their appropriate reward in honourable appointments in
+English universities. On the whole, there has been lack of neither energy
+nor capacity in the British consular service; and yet it is a matter of
+common remark, even by its members themselves, that in their primary duty
+of promoting and defending the interests of British commerce they have
+been unsuccessful. Treaty rights, they admit, have not been safeguarded
+at the Chinese ports, and this in spite of every apparent incentive to
+exertion in their defence. A distinction, however, must be drawn between
+an apparent incentive which is general and remote, such as the patriotic
+desire for the advancement of their country's interests, and those
+influences which are nearer and more personal. The attitude of the China
+consuls can only be fairly estimated in its relation to that of their
+chief, and his again in relation to that of the Home Government. "Like
+master, like man," is an adage which fits the case, and it is to Peking
+and to London we must look for the key to the character of the consular
+rank and file.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The British Ministers at Peking have been selected without any fixed
+rule. The first of the series was taken from the diplomatic circle. The
+succeeding three, whose term of office covered a period of twenty years,
+were chosen from among the veterans of the consular service. The next
+two were taken from the junior ranks of diplomacy, and the seventh was a
+military officer from Africa. The appointment of Sir Robert Hart in 1885,
+which was cancelled by his wish, afforded further illustration of the
+extreme catholicity of the Government's elective faculty.
+
+The witnesses examined before the Select Committee of the House of
+Commons in 1872 were unanimous in insisting on the necessity for long and
+special training for the office of consul in China, and this principle
+has been strictly followed by the Government. But for the higher post of
+superintendent of all the consuls the Government has, at least since 1885,
+acted on the theory that no such qualification is necessary. But the task
+of a Minister to China is by no means an easy one. It may be left undone,
+or it may be done so badly that it were better not to be done at all, but
+to discharge the duties of the office in a creditable manner requires not
+only high training but large capacity. The Minister has to conduct his
+own diplomatic duties in the capital, in which not the Chinese alone but
+all or nearly all his foreign colleagues are openly or secretly thwarting
+him. He has at the same time to direct the proceedings of twenty or thirty
+officers placed at great distances, whom he has never seen, and every one
+of whom is superior to himself in the knowledge of the conditions to be
+dealt with. For such a duty it is obvious that an officer sent from Europe
+must be incompetent, the circumstances of the service in China differing
+essentially from those prevailing elsewhere. The new incumbent, unless
+he were a born genius, could never get beyond the elementary lessons of
+experience before, overtaken by promotion, he shakes the Chinese dust off
+his feet for ever. Much might of course be learned by personal observation
+at the consular ports and conference with local officials and people in
+the provinces, but it is somewhat singular that this obvious source of
+intelligence has been taken advantage of almost exclusively by those of
+the British Ministers who stood the least in need of it. Indeed the only
+one of them who made it a rule to visit the treaty ports at intervals
+was Sir Rutherford Alcock, whose long experience convinced him of the
+necessity of constantly refreshing and extending his knowledge of local
+circumstances and people.
+
+A service dispersed over such a large area as the Chinese empire, carried
+on by despatches between parties who were strangers to each other, and
+one of whom at least had no personal knowledge of the subjects treated,
+must have been characterised by an absence of reality, and must have
+tended more and more towards a perfunctory routine. For this, however,
+the system of appointing Ministers who were strangers to the country
+was not wholly responsible. Long before the Ministers were so selected
+the secretaries began to be sent from European schools, and thus the
+consular service, disheartened by inadequate pay and a constant menace
+of further diminution, saw the few prizes of their profession withdrawn
+from their reach. To serve his time quietly, therefore, to earn his
+pension and retire without a stain on his character, became more or less
+the consular ideal. Ambition was starved among those who had to bear
+the burden and heat of a thirty years' residence in China, when they saw
+good posts thrown away upon men imported for two or three years, who were
+almost useless, and who themselves deplored their enforced idleness. The
+disadvantages attending these exotic importations have been often insisted
+upon. An old member of the consul staff comments upon it in the following
+practical manner:--
+
+    In every country administered by the British Crown, or at
+    every Court at which there is a British representative, the
+    administrator or envoy has from the moment of his entering
+    on the duties of his office the assistance of an experienced
+    staff, well versed in the local history and traditions, or finds
+    himself in the midst of a society the language and usages of
+    which are familiar to him. In China, where we have been fighting
+    and negotiating for over fifty years, we are not so fortunate.
+    A Minister proceeds there, and on his arrival finds himself in
+    a new and to him unknown country, the staff which he may bring
+    with him being like himself utterly unacquainted with the East
+    and its peoples. The Minister is obliged either to grope his way
+    unassisted, or to rely on the aids and advice of experienced (but
+    not always disinterested) outsiders. Under these circumstances his
+    only wise course is to put himself entirely in the hands of the
+    permanent local staff, which, for this purpose, means the Chinese
+    Secretary. That officer, the real motive force of the Legation,
+    occupies a position of greater importance than that of the nominal
+    head of the mission, but, with an irony which is not uncommon in
+    Government administration, he is the least appreciated member of
+    the staff. His salary is that of the junior ranks in the consular
+    service, and yet it is to him that the seniors in that service
+    look for instructions which he is incompetent to give them: the
+    result may be imagined. Why should these things be? The Indian
+    Government has in its service many men of brilliant attainments,
+    and of knowledge gained in long years of service in the East,
+    who might be called upon to fill the post of Minister which would
+    be suitable and congenial to them. And there is an abundance of
+    choice of junior Legation officers in the well-trained consular
+    service. Would it not be very advantageous if the working hands in
+    the Legation were chosen from the most competent Chinese scholars
+    in the consular service?
+
+Considering their initial qualifications, their social standing, and their
+great opportunities, it must be admitted that the men of distinction
+who have emerged from the consular service during the last fifty years
+seems disproportionately small. It is perhaps invidious to mention
+names in this connection, but in response to inquiries addressed to
+veterans in the service, four men only are placed in the first rank as
+the best representatives of the consular training school. These are Sir
+Harry Parkes, Mr T. T. Meadows, Mr H. N. Lay, and Mr W. F. Mayers. Sir
+Robert Hart, it should be mentioned, left the service so early, and Sir
+Rutherford Alcock joined it so late, in life, that their distinguished
+careers can scarcely be claimed as the product of the consular nursery.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It is impossible to look back over the forty years which have elapsed
+since the new relations were established in China without being struck
+by a certain change which passed over the character of the diplomatic
+and consular services between the first decade of that period and the
+second. The anxious years of the rebellion evoked much active energy on
+the part of British officials. The serious opposition to the operation
+of the treaties was met by very vigorous action on the part of the
+consuls at the ports and of the Minister at the capital. The years 1868
+and 1869 may be considered to have marked the culminating-point of the
+British official effort to enforce observance of the treaties in letter
+and spirit, and to protect all commercial interests. The change which
+came over the diplomatic and consular services at the end of the first
+decade of diplomatic relations may be likened to the rising followed by
+the receding of a tide. Up till the years we have specified, whatever the
+difficulties which beset their office, the consuls showed earnestness in
+the defence of the interests confided to them, and acted on the conviction
+that their exertions were pleasing to those who were set in authority
+over them. Their sense of duty was sustained by the hope of distinction.
+After 1869 the discovery was made that the situation had been undergoing
+a change of which the service had been unaware. What was formerly deemed
+a merit had become a demerit in consular officers, and on this discovery
+zeal naturally fell to a discount. It was but a reflex of the change that
+had crept over the spirit of the British Foreign Office, a change which
+also had escaped notice until circumstances forced it into publicity.
+This seems to have originated with the removal from the scene of Lord
+Palmerston, the statesman who for forty years had stood in a general way
+for what was manly and straightforward in the British national character.
+Though he left a tried and trusted colleague, Lord Clarendon, in charge of
+the Foreign Office, and a sturdy permanent Under-Secretary, perhaps the
+last custodian of the Palmerstonian tradition, and who remained at his
+post for five years longer, yet it was made evident by results that the
+spirit which had animated that great department of State had vanished.
+The Foreign Office became nerveless and invertebrate, sentimental
+and unstable. Those who had to do with it in the time of Palmerston,
+Layard, and Hammond know that since their time the officials bearing
+the same titles have been of quite another calibre, have been swayed
+by different influences, and above all have exhibited no such knowledge
+of the affairs with which they had to deal as their predecessors of the
+Palmerstonian era. Many explanations may be given for the new departure
+without disparagement of the capacities of the individuals concerned.
+Such explanations interest those who may desire to promote reform in the
+constitution and the inspiration of the Foreign Office. It suffices us
+merely to note the fact by way of accounting for some of the shortcomings
+which have been laid to the charge of our representation in China. We
+have seen how easily one Foreign Secretary yielded to the meretricious
+solicitations of the envoy Burlingame, and how another allowed himself
+to be cajoled by the Marquis Tsêng. After these, and sundry other such,
+exhibitions it was impossible for any Minister serving the country in
+the Far East to place the old reliance on the support of his Government.
+With John Bright, the implacable opponent of Palmerston and his works,
+installed at the Board of Trade, whose word was law on such matters
+as Chinese commercial treaties, and apparently more anxious to undo
+the work of Palmerston than to promote a trade which both he and his
+department unaffectedly despised, it was not likely that the commercial
+communities trading with China should cherish any hope of redress of
+grievances from a Government whose face seemed set against them. Apathy,
+therefore, became the principle, to keep the peace at all sacrifices the
+avowed policy of British diplomacy in China. The apparent exception to
+this rule in the attempted reclamations in connection with the Margary
+murder in 1875 afforded in its abortive ending a new corroboration of
+the rule. The diplomatic and consular establishments went on grinding out
+routine despatches and publishing statistical reports, but with the tacit
+understanding that whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Under
+such conditions it was of little consequence how the Peking representation
+might be filled, since it has not for thirty years risen above the level
+of comedy, the term applied to it by those who have grown old in its
+service.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Such was the situation of affairs when the greatest crisis in the history
+of China, or of foreign relations with that country, was sprung upon
+the world in 1894. A Legation equal only to clerical routine suddenly
+called upon to play a part in a commotion which unhinged the policy of
+the world was totally inadequate to the strain, and as a consequence of
+the impotence of the Foreign Office and its agent in China, the interests
+of Great Britain and, what was only second in importance, the interests
+of the Chinese empire were allowed to go by default. The Chinese were,
+and perhaps even still remain, unconscious of the reasons of the collapse
+of their empire. Perhaps something of the same kind might be said of
+the British Foreign Office in regard to the interests of Great Britain
+in China. Certainly there is as yet little sign of a determination to
+reform the mechanism of the country's representation, and this, perhaps,
+because the preliminary step thereto would be the reform of the Foreign
+Office itself. And so the Legation goes on under the nominal headship
+of a Minister who must be guided entirely by his Chinese Secretary, an
+official of inferior rank and position to the body of consuls whom he has
+to control, and for whose authority they can never have genuine respect.
+
+The recent upheaval has offered many new opportunities of distinction for
+the consuls, especially in the interior of China. That these openings
+have infused new life into the consular ranks has been shown in many
+ways during the last few years; and if natural selection be allowed to
+operate freely and the best men be not discouraged in their efforts for
+their country's benefit by undue interferences from Peking, where there is
+neither knowledge nor capacity to guide them, it is still possible that
+the consular service may play a valuable part in the reconstruction of
+the foreign relations of China.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+CHINA AND HER RULERS.
+
+    Longevity of the State--Government by prestige--Necessity
+    of adaptation to European ideas--The Empress-dowager--Prince
+    Kung--Wênsiang--Hu Lin-yi--Tsêng Kwo-fan--Tso Tsung-tang--Chang
+    Chih-tung--Li Hung-chang--His long and consistent career--Efforts
+    at reorganising national forces.
+
+
+The long continuance of a State more populous than any other on record is
+a phenomenon which to thoughtful minds can hardly fail to evoke a feeling
+akin to reverence. De Quincey declared if he met a Chinaman he would
+make obeisance to him, saying, "There goes a man 2000 years old." Be the
+causes of this national longevity what they may, the fact should make us
+pause to consider on what foundation does this great vital national system
+rest? The most realistic word-painter of China represents the country as
+a collection of villages, each being a unit of self-government,[29] and
+in describing "village life" in minute detail, seems to depict the great
+empire, of which each village is a pattern in miniature. Dynasties may
+come and dynasties may go, but the Chinese families, their industries
+and their customs, go on for ever. It is remarkable with what ease the
+people adapt themselves to changes in their ruling powers, regardless
+of race or origin; indeed it is a noteworthy fact that the rulers have
+for many centuries been more often foreign than native.[30] Foreign,
+however, not quite in the sense in which the word is so easily translated
+"barbarian" by the Chinese, and applied by them to the hated Aryans of
+the West. The rulers of China have been of cognate races, more or less
+imbued with the same generic ideas as the Chinese themselves, and with
+tastes akin to theirs. How this succession of dynasties, each established
+by violence, has coexisted with the continuity of the grand national
+idea of the emperor being the Son of Heaven can only be explained by the
+very practical character of the race, who accept the usurper as divinely
+appointed from the moment he has proved himself successful. What holds,
+and has held together from ancient times, this great aggregate of mankind
+in common usages and ideas is naturally a mystery to Occidentals, the
+cohesive principle not being perceptible to them. China occupies the
+unique position of a State resting on moral force,[31] a conception almost
+as alien to the Western mind as material progress is to the Eastern, hence
+the proposition is apt to be received with amused contempt. Yet a State
+administered without police, and ruled without an army, is a something
+which cannot be explained away. Government by prestige is, other things
+being equal, surely the most economical as well as the most humane of all
+species of government; but an obvious consequence is that in emergencies
+the Government is beholden to volunteers, and is often driven to enlist
+the services of banditti and other forces proscribed by the law. Imperial
+prestige, which embraces the relations of the surrounding tributaries,
+is but an expansion of the authority of the head of the family and of
+the elders of the village, which rests on moral sanction only. The first
+collision, however, with the material forces of Christendom proved that
+in the system of the modern world the Chinese principle of government
+was an anachronism, and that moral must succumb to physical force. Yet
+in the midst of the world's triumph in the pricking of the great Chinese
+bubble, it had been well to reflect what the kind of bubble was that was
+being pricked. China with her self-contained, self-secreted knowledge,
+could not be expected to foresee how the impact of the West was likely to
+affect her ancient polity. She had nothing wherewith to compare herself,
+and no criterion of good or evil except her own isolated experience; nor
+did she know aught of human development except what was, so to speak,
+forcibly injected into her, but never assimilated. What, then, could she
+do to be saved but to take herself entirely to pieces like a house that
+has to be rebuilt on a new plan, and so fit herself for the companionship
+and competition of the worldly Powers, from whose pressure she could by
+no means escape? She had to put away the wisdom of ages, the traditions
+of a civilisation unbroken for thousands of years, and convert herself
+into a mechanical, scientific, and military Power. Something more radical
+than reform is involved in such a root-and-branch change: it was not
+improvement but transformation that was demanded.
+
+That some such essential changes are necessary to the preservation of
+the Chinese empire is probably recognised by all who interest themselves
+in the subject--including a large ever-increasing number of the Chinese
+themselves; but the gravity of the revolution may well cause misgivings
+both as to its possibility and its incalculable effects. Who among the
+Chinese rulers is sufficient for such things?
+
+It is not always possible to locate the nervous centre of any Government
+in the West, whether its form be autocratic or representative. With
+regard to that of China we may safely say it is never possible--at
+least for any foreigner. The attempts which have been from time to time
+made to assign acts of Government to the will or influence of certain
+individuals have in general proved in the sequel to have been far from
+hitting the mark. The monarch under whose authority the whole machine
+moves is not necessarily the directing will: indeed he is very often
+little better than a puppet. "The eunuchs, concubines, and play-actors,
+who constituted the Court of the late Emperor Hsien-fêng, the father of
+the present young emperor, had more influence probably in bringing on
+the war that led the Allies to Peking than any of the high officers or
+Ministers," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock in 1871. Another writer put it in
+a more paradoxical form: "There is in China something more powerful than
+the Emperor, and that is the Viceroy; more powerful than the Viceroy,
+and that is the Taotai; more powerful than the Taotai, and that is the
+Weiyuen," meaning that the power of obstruction, extending through every
+grade of officialdom, is most widely diffused at the base. Official
+responsibility and moral responsibility do not therefore coincide--men
+in highest positions being unable to do the things they would, while the
+things they would not they are often obliged to do. The Government is
+consequently carried on by continual compromise beyond the limits to which
+we are accustomed in Western Governments, because it is not confronted
+with outspoken opposition with which it can reason, but with a network
+of secret machinations which can only be met by correlative tactics. But
+though Government in China may seem by this state of things to be reduced
+to an almost passive condition, yet the individuality of statesmen is
+not altogether destroyed. In some respects, indeed, the circumstances
+we have noted rather favour the influence of men of mark; for where the
+complicated machine is held in a state of equilibrium by innumerable
+neutralising checks, it would appear that any determined will could set
+it in motion in a given direction. The character of Chinese statesmen,
+therefore, is not a factor to be ignored in considering either the present
+or the future of China, although the very partial knowledge of them which
+is accessible to Europeans must constantly lead to erroneous conclusions.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Of the statesmen who have appeared since the opening of Peking in 1860,
+it would probably be fair to consider the two emperors as negligible
+quantities. The potent personage in the empire during that period is
+no doubt the Empress-dowager, who has, in so far as any one can be
+said to have done so, ruled China for forty years. Apart from ethical
+considerations, which have less to do with matters of government than
+could be wished, the empress's characteristics are clearness of purpose,
+strength of will, a ready accommodation of means to ends, and frank
+acceptance of the inevitable. There are no signs of the bigot or the
+doctrinaire about her. Mundane in her objects, she is practical in seeking
+them; and if to hold an entirely anomalous position of authority opposed
+to legitimacy and the traditions of the dynasty and the empire be evidence
+of success, then the empress-dowager must be admitted to be a successful
+woman. In the position she has occupied, and still occupies, she would
+appear to be the principal force in the State. Whatever may be her power
+of initiative, which is so attenuated in the high State functionaries,
+her power of veto probably stands pre-eminent.
+
+The anomalous relations which have subsisted between the empress-dowager
+and her imperial nephew are too intricate for us to attempt to unravel
+them. But the facts resulting from them, which are patent to the world,
+point to conditions which are not without danger to the empire. Indeed
+the Emperor himself constituted such a danger from the moment when as
+an infant he was placed on the Dragon Throne by usurped authority. His
+personal imperfections added materially to that danger, and his final
+efforts to free himself from the leading-strings of his patroness have
+indefinitely enhanced the evil by destroying the personal prestige
+of the sovereign. For what can be thought of a Son of Heaven who has
+his prerogatives doled out to him and again withdrawn by the will of
+another, and where is the force to meet the crisis in the State which
+may yet result from the illegitimacy of the emperors succession? The
+worship accorded throughout the empire to the Son of Heaven may indeed be
+transferred unimpaired to a new possessor of that dignity. But a reigning
+emperor shorn of his governing faculty must, one would think, put the
+allegiance of the people to a severe strain. How far such considerations
+may go in weakening the ties of loyalty in the provinces and in letting
+loose the spectre of rebellion cannot be known, but it may be guessed and
+feared.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Leaving out the Camarilla of the Court, of whom nothing certain can
+be predicated, the executive statesmen who have to outward appearance
+directed the public affairs of the Chinese empire for forty years may
+almost be counted on the fingers of one hand. Prince Kung, the highest in
+station and nearest to the throne, was rather a moderating than an active
+force in the State, and his attention was very much divided between public
+affairs and those of more personal concern. His colleague, Wênsiang, was a
+more energetic character. By common consent he was the most conscientious
+as well as the most liberal-minded statesman that China has produced
+during the sixty years of foreign intercourse. Mr Adkins, who knew him
+intimately in the early days, says: "He was courteous in manner and a
+lively conversationalist. He once told me over the teacups that, if he
+could have his will, every brick and stone of Hongkong city should be torn
+down and thrown into the sea." This was not the kind of language he held
+at a later period; for, in a private interview with Sir Rutherford Alcock
+in 1869, while admitting the hostility of his class and that he himself
+had originally shared all their prejudices, he declared that his long and
+intimate relations with the foreign Legations had opened his eyes to the
+favourable side of the foreign character and progressive policy. Perhaps
+the best account of this Manchu statesman is that given by Sir Rutherford
+Alcock himself in an article in 'Fraser's Magazine,' 1871:--
+
+    Wênsiang is by far the most distinguished, both from his superior
+    knowledge and his intellectual grasp of the position occupied
+    by China in its relations with foreign States.... As a member of
+    the Grand Secretariat, and vested with other high functions, his
+    influence is very great, both personal and official--subject,
+    nevertheless, to such attenuation as the active hostility of a
+    very powerful party of anti-foreign functionaries within and
+    without the palace can effect. This party, if party that can
+    properly be called which is composed of nearly the whole of
+    the educated classes of the empire--officials, literati, and
+    gentry--are unceasing in their opposition to all progressive
+    measures, whether emanating from the Foreign Board or elsewhere.
+    But Wênsiang is held in especial hatred as the known advocate of a
+    policy of progressive improvement with foreign aid and appliances.
+    The failure of the Lay-Osborn fleet very nearly effected his ruin,
+    and that of his patron the prince [Kung] also, and has ever since
+    told against his influence. The cost and humiliation of that most
+    disastrous experiment were all visited on his head, and it has no
+    doubt tended not solely to impair his power, but also to render
+    him more timid and less disposed to make any further venture in
+    the same direction. He has the reputation among his own people of
+    being honest, and foreigners know him to be patriotic and earnest
+    in what he believes to be for the good of his country, while
+    far in advance of all his contemporaries in enlightened views
+    as to how in the actual situation of affairs that end may best
+    be served. Upon occasions he can be both bitter and sarcastic,
+    and speaks out his mind plainly enough against the pretensions
+    of foreigners to shape everything to their own ends in China. He
+    nevertheless gets little credit from the opposite faction for
+    patriotism or a disinterested love of his country, and of late
+    there has been remarked, with failing health, an expression of
+    weariness, as if he were losing heart and hope, and began to feel
+    unequal to any further struggle. With the ever-increasing demands
+    for better execution of treaties--in things often materially and
+    legally impossible in the present state of affairs, for larger
+    facilities and increased privileges on the foreign side, and
+    the gathering of hostile elements in front and all round him
+    proceeding from the Chinese national party, who would refuse
+    everything, and, if left to themselves, precipitate the country
+    into another war with the Western Powers, he may well feel weary.
+
+Wênsiang, in short, suffered the fate of those who are too liberal and
+too far advanced for their surroundings, and became a martyr to his own
+disappointment. Old before his time, and overwhelmed with difficulties
+which he was unable to surmount, his mind became depressed, and his death
+in 1876 cost China the ablest, the best, and most devoted of her public
+men. No doubt there have been good and well-meaning men since his time,
+both in the Tsungli-Yamên, the Great Council, and in the provincial
+governments; but none of them has shown any quality of leadership, and
+all have for the most part been content with the maxim, "Sufficient for
+the day is the evil thereof."
+
+The comparatively early death of Hu Lin-yi, a Hunanese, Governor of the
+province of Hupei, who, in conjunction with Kuanwen, the Governor-General
+of the Hu provinces, originated the scheme for repressing the Taiping
+rebellion, prevented him from receiving the credit of that notable
+achievement. The institutions of the country paralysed its defence, for
+a provincial army was an object of dread to the Manchu rulers, while they
+possessed no imperial organisation to cope with the calamity. No attempt,
+therefore, could be made to organise a force to resist the rebellion,
+and so the devastation was allowed to spread from province to province
+without check. Hu Lin-yi set himself to overcome this difficulty, and
+thought out a scheme by which the rebellion might be overcome. Before
+taking any action, however, it was necessary that he should bring the
+Peking Government to his views, which he accomplished by first converting
+the Governor-General, who was a Manchu. The two thereupon joined in a
+memorial to the throne, praying that they might be permitted to raise in
+the Central Provinces a mobile military force to repel the invasion of
+the insurgents.
+
+The nucleus of this force already existed in the province of Hunan, where
+volunteer levies under the leadership of Tsêng Kwo-fan, the father of the
+late Marquis Tsêng, Minister to Great Britain, had done good service in
+several small engagements with the rebels. The execution of the general
+scheme of defence against the rebels fell naturally, therefore, to the
+lot of Tsêng, who during his subsequent governor-generalship of the Lower
+Yangtze had the honour of putting an end to the ravages of the Taipings.
+No man was held in higher esteem among the counsellors of the Chinese
+empire than this sagacious statesman. At once moderate and resolute, he
+perceived the need of accommodation to the exigencies of the new time, and
+though he would have resisted the ingress of foreigners to the uttermost,
+he had the wisdom to see that this was no longer possible, and the advice
+tendered to his sovereign, while tempered to the susceptibilities of the
+Court, was distinctly in favour of respecting the treaties and avoiding
+conflict with foreign nations.
+
+A contemporary of Tsêng Kwo-fan, and his equal in rank and authority,
+was Tso Tsung-tang, best known as the Conqueror of Kashgar, where he was
+credited with military exploits which history will scarcely ratify. He
+was a thoroughgoing man, blunt in manner, but straightforward, and loyal
+to his engagements. He was somewhat rash and uncompromising, seeking the
+end sometimes without considering the means, and his opinion on matters of
+State would have carried no weight but for his reputation for exemption
+from the prevailing vice of his class--financial corruption. This
+character obtained him toleration for many originalities. On one occasion
+he camped outside the walls of Peking for several days because he refused
+to pay the customary exactions of the officials in charge of the gates,
+so that his audience of the emperor seemed likely to be indefinitely
+postponed. But high officials in China of austere views have usually a
+man of business in attendance who oils the wheels while saving the face
+of their master. Tso's money matters were in the hands of a very politic
+gentleman of this class, and so the Grand Secretary's entry into the city
+was duly arranged. Tso had a lofty idea of the dignity of his country,
+and of the necessity for its defending itself against all enemies.
+To this end he threw his energies into the development of the arsenal
+and shipbuilding-yard at the Pagoda anchorage in the Foochow river. He
+was generally considered an opponent of his younger contemporary, Li
+Hung-chang, the one being held to stand for the old conservatism of China,
+and the other for its liberalisation. They were for many years the two
+chief provincials, the one being Imperial Commissioner for the southern
+and the other for the northern ports of China. It was customary for the
+emperor to refer important questions connected with foreign affairs to
+these two advisers, whose opinions must very often have neutralised each
+other. In the end Tso recognised the necessity for a change of policy for
+the preservation of the empire, but being himself too old to change he
+recommended his rival, Li Hung-chang, to the Throne as the fitting man to
+introduce needed innovations. If the records are to be implicitly trusted
+Tso would appear to have undergone a sort of death-bed repentance, for
+in his political testament, a document which is regarded with a kind of
+sacred authority in China, he recommended to the throne the improvements
+he had steadfastly opposed, including even the introduction of railways
+into the country.
+
+Although out of the chronological order, we may mention here another
+eminent official, distinguished by many of the characteristics of
+Tso Tsung-tang, who has been Governor of the province of Shansi,
+Governor-General of the Canton provinces, and is now Governor-General of
+the central provinces. Wherever he has been, Chang Chih-tung has proved
+himself bold and original. His open mind has led him to take up schemes
+warmly without counting the cost, and under his inspiration immense sums
+have been spent in both his viceroyalties for which but little return
+was obtained, and of which indeed it was scarcely possible to render a
+clear account. His reputation for purity, however, has saved him from
+the consequences of his recklessness, both in the eyes of the people and
+of the Government, and enabled him to hold office long enough to show
+some results of his expensive enterprises. The great ironworks which he
+set up in Hanyang, with very little consideration as to how they were to
+become effective, have at last produced iron of a quality sufficient to
+make inferior rails, thus giving an earnest of the ultimate realisation
+of his dream of rendering China independent of foreign countries. Chang's
+literary power is of a very high order, his style is terse and incisive,
+and this is a weapon which renders him formidable in a country which
+cultivates literature as a religion. To say that Chang Chih-tung is
+the opponent of foreigners is merely to credit him with the ordinary
+patriotism of his countrymen. But though he often treats strangers with
+the studied discourtesy which characterised the older generation of
+Chinese officials, he has never allowed his prejudices to stand in the
+way of free intercourse with any foreigner whom he thought he could make
+subservient to some purpose of his own. As a statesman Chang Chih-tung has
+failed through intensity and want of comprehensiveness. In fact he is not
+a statesman, but a sciolist, and a trenchant essayist, unaccustomed to
+accommodate his ideas to the circumstances of actual life. He, too, has
+been a bitter opponent of Li Hung-chang, which, however, did not hinder
+him from composing a most fulsome panegyric on that statesman on the
+occasion of his seventieth birthday, in which he was credited with all
+the attributes of all the heroes of Chinese mythology. The many fantastic
+schemes which Chang has originated would in any Western country have
+relegated their author to the custody of the Commissioners of Lunacy.
+One of these was to prevent foreign ships entering the Gulf of Pecheli
+by sinking tiers of junks between Shantung and Talien-wan; another was
+to catch the Japanese soldiers in a gigantic locust-trap, consisting of a
+deep trench to be dug at their supposed landing-place near Shanhai-kwan,
+and the fact of this proposal being seriously adopted and some miles
+of the trench actually dug by the Chinese soldiers reveals more of the
+military impotence of China than the most voluminous dissertations.
+
+Without carrying the exhaustive process further, it is safe to say that
+whatever concrete statesmanship there has been in China during the past
+generation has been embodied in the person of Li Hung-chang. He alone has
+a continuous record, has followed a definite line, and kept his ideals,
+like a captive balloon, strictly attached to the earth on which he had
+to work. He also was a literate of distinction, having taken the highest
+degree, that of the Hanlin College. But though his literary tastes have
+not been left wholly uncultivated, they have never intruded themselves
+into his conduct of affairs, so that an estimate of his position cannot
+be based upon his writings, but only on his actions. He indulged in no
+speculations, propounded no theories, but was eminently a man of fact.
+Contrary to all Chinese tradition he laid himself out for personal
+intercourse with foreigners, from whom he was never weary of learning, and
+in doing so he braved the odium of his peers, and incurred the charge of
+treason as a truckler to barbarians. Living in the eyes of the world, both
+of his own and foreign countries, for a period of nearly forty years, he
+has been the one familiar figure in modern China. His accessibility has
+afforded to travellers and visitors endless opportunities of delineation,
+so that if ever a Chinese of rank was known throughout the world it must
+be Li Hung-chang.
+
+The interest attaching to this statesman consists in his having in his
+own person, and without a party, stood between the Old World and the
+New, having devoted his life to working out in practice a _modus vivendi_
+between them. His methods have been wholly empirical and opportunist, and
+hence no synthesis of his plan of operations is available, except such as
+we may compose out of the facts themselves. A few cardinal principles,
+nevertheless, stand out clearly in the life-work of this statesman. One
+is that of reorganising the defensive forces of the empire in accordance
+with the lessons learned from foreign raids; a second has been so to
+observe the treaties made with foreigners as to afford them no ground
+for complaint; and a third, when causes of difference arose, whether
+by inadvertence or by design, to agree with the adversary quickly. The
+following out of the first two might very well have entailed upon Li the
+reproach of favouring foreigners; the following out of the third may with
+greater justice have earned for him the character of a peace-at-any-price
+man. So consistently did he follow the line of action dictated by these
+principles, that no attacks on foreigners or on Christian missions have
+ever been tolerated within his jurisdiction. During the twenty-four years
+of his governor-generalship of Chihli, whose population is one of the most
+turbulent in the empire, there was not a single missionary outrage, his
+instructions to his district officials being peremptory, that, right or
+wrong, they must have no questions with foreigners. Had the other viceroys
+been similarly minded and equally resolute, no attacks on missionaries
+would have been recorded throughout the Chinese Empire. Though Li
+Hung-chang was as much anti-foreign at heart as every true Chinaman
+must be, he endeavoured, crudely following the example of the Japanese,
+to employ foreign men and appliances in order the more effectually to
+resist them. His pacific tendencies were no proof of pusillanimity, but
+rather of a deep consciousness, derived from personal experience, of the
+incapacity of China to resist foreign attack. Li Hung-chang's external
+policy, therefore, may be defined as the strengthening of the country to
+meet invasion, and the avoidance, while such preparations were being made,
+of every cause of collision with foreigners. These cardinal points had to
+be kept in view, like guiding stars, amid the exigencies of daily affairs,
+which alone were sufficient to fill up the measure of one man's capacity.
+The administration of two populous provinces, the superintendency of the
+maritime trade of half the empire, and incessant consultations concerning
+imperial affairs generally, constituted a burden which no one man could
+bear. While to these were added the whole details of national defence,
+naval and military reorganisation, the construction of a navy on foreign
+lines, the whole of which was undertaken by Li Hung-chang, working not
+only without a party but practically without a staff, and at the mercy of
+technical advisers who owed him no allegiance. The briefest recapitulation
+of the duties so undertaken would be enough to stagger the credulity of
+the most active administrator of the West; the recital would suffice,
+without any proof from experience, to show that these labours of Hercules
+could never, in fact, be performed. But the difference between performance
+and non-performance marks the chasm which divides the Chinese from the
+Western world, and distinguishes the order of ideas and practice which
+make for the preservation, from those which tend to the disintegration,
+of the Chinese empire itself. The task from which the mass of Chinese
+statesmen have recoiled, and which has only been attempted in a persistent
+manner by Li Hung-chang himself, was probably beyond the power of any man
+and of any party.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+But here the inquiry suggests itself, why a strong-headed and
+practical-minded man should have devoted a lifetime to impossible
+achievements, and why in a nation of great intellects the task should
+have been virtually relegated to one man? The Chinese are not fools;
+their mental capacity is second to that of no other race. Their culture is
+excessive, though narrow; and if we find them exhibiting in great national
+affairs no more intelligence than that shown by children in building
+castles of sand, it is natural to conclude that there is some fundamental
+misconception either on their part or on ours of the problem before them.
+But if we consider the Chinese as belonging to the world of moral force,
+then their misconception of all that belongs to the world of physical
+force is not only explicable, but it is inevitable; for between the two
+there is no common ground on which even a compromise might be effected,
+and the one must eternally misunderstand the other.
+
+The burden of the memorials of the Chinese high functionaries on this
+subject have been that the Middle Kingdom being overcome by the brute
+force of the rebellious barbarians, the obvious way to restore the
+lapsed authority of the empire was to acquire the instruments of foreign
+strength. This they diligently set themselves to do, but apparently
+without the slightest comprehension of the secret of the strength of the
+foreigners. The Chinese being what they were, could no more win the secret
+of the Western power by buying its weapons than a musical tyro could hope
+to rival the greatest artistes by possessing himself of a Stradivarius.
+Guns, ships, explosives of the latest type, are worse than dummies without
+the organised human force that gives them life. The element which would
+have infused vitality into the new organisation was the one thing beyond
+their imagination, and so far as they did comprehend it, it inspired them
+with aversion and awe, for it meant in their eyes delivering the keys of
+power into the hands of strangers. What was needed to regenerate the army,
+to create a navy, to reform the finances, was the liberal importation
+of men. This necessity was no doubt partially perceived by Li Hung-chang
+and his like, but never entirely even by him; for he remained throughout
+the one-eyed man among the blind, groping after something which he could
+only guess at. Teachers from Europe and America were employed in the
+country, and natives were sent to foreign countries to be instructed;
+but the spirit of the new instruction was never allowed to vitalise the
+organisation, and consequently all the knowledge that was acquired by both
+methods remained barren and unfruitful. Thus Li Hung-chang's efforts fell
+short of their object, and China continued to be the land of moral force
+for the iron-shod physical forces to trample on.
+
+From the earliest period of his career Li Hung-chang stood out far in
+advance of his fellows, and in all the troubles which have beset the
+empire during his time, it is he who has been thrust into the breach and
+made to bear the brunt of its misfortunes. Being the only man who did
+anything, he was naturally made responsible for all, and critics, both
+foreign and native, have had an easy task in laying bare his failures,
+which his contemporaries have escaped by confining themselves to official
+routine and playing for their own safety. Though the burden of the State
+has fallen upon the shoulders of Li Hung-chang more than upon any other
+individual, he has never flinched from the responsibility. The occurrences
+of 1894 and subsequently threw him into greater prominence than ever
+before. Forced to carry on the war with Japan, during which the defences
+of the empire for which he was responsible completely broke down, he
+was next also forced to make peace with that Power on very humiliating
+conditions. Seldom was a more pathetic scene witnessed than the virtual
+controller of the Chinese empire lying at the feet of a victorious enemy
+in a foreign country, with the bullet of an assassin in his cheek. More
+tragic still was his return to the capital with the treaty of Shimonoseki.
+An intense feeling against Li had been roused throughout the country. The
+provincial officials with singular unanimity denounced his treachery as
+they considered it, for the treaty was in their eyes no less disgraceful
+than the conduct of the war, for both of which Li alone was deemed
+responsible. The sentiment of the provinces was echoed in Peking, where
+his enemies in high places had almost secured the capital punishment of
+the negotiator, and failing that, his assassination, from which fate he
+was only saved by the veto of Prince Kung and the subsequent protection
+of the empress-dowager. He was also in an important sense under the
+protection of Russia, that Power having undertaken to hold him harmless
+from the consequences of his surrender to the Japanese. In order to take
+him out of the way of the conspiracies in Peking, Russia requested that
+an Imperial prince might be sent to the coronation ceremony in 1896.
+That being impossible by the laws of the empire, which Russia very well
+knew, a substitute of the highest rank had to be found, and thus Li
+Hung-chang was designated, by the approval of the empress-dowager and by
+the consent--reluctant it is believed--of the Emperor, for the mission
+of congratulation to the Czar. After the festivities at Moscow, Li made
+the tour of Europe and the United States, meeting everywhere with a
+distinguished reception.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [29] Village Life in China. By Arthur Smith, D.D.
+
+ [30] An ingenious friend, who was kind enough to read this passage
+    in MS., sent me the following suggestive note: "King Solomon was a
+    thorough Chinaman, crafty, gaining the throne although the fourth
+    and youngest son of his mother; killing off the kingdom-maker,
+    Joab, and murdering the lawful heir, Adonijah. His fondness for
+    pomp and joss pidjin, witness the Queen of Sheba and the Temple;
+    love of trade, his ventures with King Hiram to Ophir. His apathy
+    in military affairs, leading to the breaking up of the empire.
+    His love of sententious maxims, Proverbs. His truly Chinese and
+    non-Hebrew syncretism, worshipping Ashtoreth, Moloch, and Chemosh,
+    as well as Jehovah. Now David, judging by the weak characters of
+    his children, was, like many famous men in history, the reverse of
+    prepotent. Solomon was a son of erewhile widow Bathsheba. Uriah
+    being a Hittite, she was presumably one also. So Solomon would
+    be practically a Hittite--i.e., Mongolian or Tartar; a striking
+    example of the newly-named but long-observed phenomenon called
+    telegony or 'throwing back.' Solomon 'threw back' to the first
+    sire, Uriah."
+
+ [31] "The boasted influence that the Government of China possesses
+    over its subjects is almost entirely _moral_, and they really do
+    not possess the power to cope with a popular tumult, which is the
+    object of their greatest dread."--H. Parkes, at Foochow, May 1,
+    1846, _æt._ seventeen.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+CHINA'S AWAKENING.
+
+    Prestige gained, 1880-90--Yields to Japan in Korea while
+    reasserting full suzerainty--The lessons of adversity--Schemes for
+    naval and military reforms--Purchase and manufacture--Provincial
+    system antagonistic to reform--Li Hung-Chang's efforts--Faithful
+    service of foreign experts--Drill-instructors--Creation of a
+    navy--Coast fortification--Superior efficiency of navy compared
+    with army--Corruption and nepotism--Awakening of China apparent,
+    not real.
+
+
+The service of the navy in the conveyance of troops and of a special
+envoy to Korea in 1882 was the first which that luckless force was able
+to render to China. The service was repeated on two other occasions:
+when a High Commissioner was sent on a mission of imperial condolence
+in 1890, and again when an assassin was rescued from the revenge of
+counter-assassins and conveyed safely from China to Korea in 1894. The
+little kingdom thus played a considerable part in the awakening scenes of
+the suzerain empire.
+
+On a retrospective view, indeed, it would appear that during the period
+in question China passed the culminating-point in her efforts to regain
+national prestige. She had just asserted herself in an unexpected manner
+in her dealings with Russia, playing a very different part in regard to
+her distant and worthless possessions in the north-west from what she
+had done twenty years before in regard to the integral part of her proper
+territories in the north-east, which she had surrendered with scarcely a
+protest. The world began to respect China as a power. Her decisive action
+in Korea showed that she was no longer disposed to permit her neighbours
+to trifle with the question of her suzerainty in that kingdom, and for
+ten years she was pre-eminent there in fact as well as of right. Yet
+with a significant qualification. For, being challenged by Japan while at
+war with France in 1885, she was unable to vindicate her sole supremacy
+in Korea, and was constrained to admit her rival into partnership. Thus
+was the first irrevocable step taken towards the future realisation
+of the Japanese designs on the peninsula. A _condominium_ must ever be
+destructive to the policy of the less energetic member, and the treaty
+concluded between Li Hung-chang and Count Ito in 1885 was the fatal
+prelude to the events of ten years later. As the treaties granting to
+Russia a coequal right of navigating the Amur and a joint ownership of
+the Usuri province constituted the virtual surrender of Chinese rights,
+so any treaty with Japan, no matter on what conditions, respecting Korea,
+was a virtual abdication of the Chinese suzerainty. The right in common
+to send troops into Korea on notice given could have no other effect than
+to deliver up the kingdom to the Power which was the most alert in taking
+advantage of the agreement. In giving up half her rights China retreated
+from an inexpugnable position, and left herself no footing for defending
+the remaining half, when its turn came to be assailed.
+
+But with the irony which is the very pathos of human and national decline,
+the outward pretence to authority became more demonstrative as the
+substance of the claim slipped away. Not for two hundred and fifty years
+had China asserted her prerogative with such uncompromising arrogance
+as when she sent an imperial mission of condolence to the royal Court in
+1890, years after the keystone of her Korean arch had been pulled away. It
+was also about this period that the Chinese Minister to England lent his
+name to a manifesto warning the world of the coming resurrection of China.
+"The sleep and the awakening" strictly followed the law above alluded to,
+that hollowness, not solidity, makes the loudest sound.
+
+But so many interests are now inextricably interwoven with the destinies
+of China that her effort at reform and its failure compel us to give
+attention to the opening of a new chapter in the world's history. The
+humiliating foreign invasions, the three rebellions that shook the
+empire, and the numerous minor risings, had all left their impression.
+The lessons taught by these adversities had been taken to heart, and
+the rulers of the empire were called upon to devise a remedy. The first
+and most obvious desideratum was, of course, naval and military reform,
+or rather regeneration, whereby they might be strengthened to speak
+with their enemies in the gates. On this subject Chinese statesmen were
+absolutely at one with their officious foreign advisers: it was a subject
+which inspired many of the early homilies of the British Minister, if no
+others. There was, however, this essential difference in the conception of
+the means of carrying out the reform, that the foreign advisers of China
+were completely prepossessed by the notion that an imperial executive,
+if it did not exist, must be promptly created, while nothing was further
+from the imagination of the Chinese. They were entirely prepossessed
+by their tradition and the state of things actually existing, which
+they did not dream of changing. That was the provincial system on which
+the administration of the empire rested. The fiasco of the Lay-Osborn
+flotilla, which was the first crude attempt to mix the oil and vinegar
+of the two conflicting systems, revealed the fundamental, irreconcilable
+divergence between the two sets of ideas, which rendered all advice
+from the one side to the other futile, and co-operation impossible. That
+palpable failure of the Central Government was calculated to discourage
+fresh innovations from the same quarter, and the incident was constantly
+referred to by diplomatists as having blighted the promising career of
+Wênsiang as a reformer, he being the minister personally responsible for
+the scheme.
+
+The Chinese, nevertheless, proceeded according to their own lights to set
+their house in order in so far as its defensive services were concerned.
+The successful employment of foreign arms and foreign auxiliaries in the
+suppression of the Taiping rebellion showed them the way. It was a natural
+but a fatal error, which the Chinese have not to this day abjured, to
+attach too much importance to the arms, and too little to the man using
+them. They accordingly commenced in a rather wild and wayward manner to
+buy weapons and munitions, and then to set up in their own country the
+means of manufacturing the simpler kinds. The chief promoter, if not the
+originator, of these novelties was Li Hung-chang, who continued to be the
+presiding genius of military and naval reform, no matter in what province
+his official duties happened to lie. The personal authority wielded by
+the Grand Secretary in provinces beyond his own government was really
+a step towards centralisation of the executive, and with time and an
+adequate succession of followers in the same path there is no telling what
+changes in the Government system might not have been evolved from such a
+nucleus. But the one-man power was unequal to any great result; it also
+weakened with age, opposition, and discouragement. The actual reforms
+inaugurated remained strictly provincial, and even local. There was no
+evidence of initiative or supervision from the Central Government. The
+nearest approach to it was the establishment of an arsenal at Tientsin by
+Chunghou, the first superintendent of trade for the northern ports, and a
+member of the imperial clan. It would almost appear as if the Government
+had no concern with the more distant parts of the country, and the strange
+anomaly presented itself to the onlookers of large sums being expended on
+the most modern artillery and in the manufacture of thousands of arms of
+precision while the Peking field force was equipped with bows and arrows.
+
+There came a time at last when the necessity of some kind of
+centralisation was forced on the Government. It was after Prince Kung had
+been sent into retirement in 1884, when his younger brother, the father of
+the emperor, had decided to "come out" and take a part in the executive
+government, and especially after Prince Ch'un had made a short cruise in
+salt water in 1886, that a Naval Board was established in Peking itself
+with the prince at its head. The institution was of course laughed at,
+as the beginnings of things usually are, and its inefficiency was indeed
+glaring enough. It would have taken a generation in slow-moving China for
+such a board to have learned the rudiments of its duties.
+
+What we are at the moment concerned with is the naval and military reform
+of the twenty-five years preceding the advent of Prince Ch'un to power. In
+the purchase of war material no single system was followed. The provincial
+rulers at Canton, Foochow, Nanking, and Tientsin no doubt had to sanction
+what was done within their respective provinces--a check which might be
+perfunctory or conscientious--but practically the management was in the
+hands of subordinate officials without knowledge or training or visible
+responsibility. As in war each Chinese regiment fights for its own hand,
+or runs away as the case may be, so in the supply of arms each local
+official did pretty much what seemed right in his own eyes. Hence the
+heterogeneous composition of _matériel_, one small body of troops carrying
+in a campaign thirteen different patterns of rifle, with ammunition still
+more curiously diversified.
+
+Concerning the arsenals established under the auspices of the various
+governors-general from Canton even to Kirin in Manchuria, and under
+the technical management of foreigners, the most remarkable point to
+be noted--and it applies generally to the employment of foreigners in
+China--is the faithful service the Chinese have been able to command in
+circumstances where it was hardly to be expected. An ignorant employer and
+an expert employee is a combination apt to engender the worst abuses, and
+the way the Chinese selected their foreign executive--a marine engineer
+here, a surgeon of a marching regiment there, a naval lieutenant somewhere
+else--was not the way, one would have thought, to obtain either honesty
+or efficiency. Yet the foreigners selected either possessed or acquired
+adequate qualifications, and one and all rendered devoted service to
+their employers. The position of these foreigners, however, never was or
+could be one of authority: whatever they did was under the orders of their
+Chinese superior, who was often too ignorant to weigh the reasons for what
+was done. In course of time the natives themselves became more instructed,
+but whether their half-knowledge was a help or a hindrance to the work of
+their foreign experts is problematical. Of the quality or quantity of the
+_matériel_ turned out in the various Chinese arsenals it were useless to
+speak. It produced an illusory sense of security, and for a time imposed
+equally on native and foreigner.
+
+Nor was training entirely neglected. Drill-masters were engaged. Schools
+were established in connection with the arsenals, where naval instruction
+especially was carried to a high standard. Students sent to Europe
+proved themselves most apt to assimilate the instruction given to them.
+Of those who distinguished themselves at Greenwich may be mentioned the
+present Minister to the Court of St James's. Cadets were also received
+into the British navy, and some very expert officers were turned out by
+these means. A large number of youths were at one time selected to be
+educated in the United States, remaining there long enough to learn to
+read and write English, and to become enamoured of Western life. This
+educational experiment was interesting in many ways. The youths who were
+sent to America under the care and at the instigation of the Cantonese,
+Yung Wing, who had himself been educated in the United States, were
+domiciled for the most part with private families there; and they so
+imbibed the influence of their surroundings that a high sense of honour
+was developed in them. The writer can speak from personal experience of
+the fidelity and efficiency of some of these students. Captain Clayson,
+who had several serving under him in the "Peiyang Squadron," has said that
+although on their return to China the authorities had distributed them in
+services other than those for which they had been trained, yet because
+of the school discipline they had been subjected to, and the sense of
+honour developed by their contact with Western people, he found them far
+more useful and trustworthy than the men who had been trained in Chinese
+naval schools. This experience seems to suggest that there are good moral
+qualities of the Chinese waiting, like the mineral ores in their country,
+for an awakening influence. In all these progressive efforts Li Hung-chang
+retained the lead, and his own province was well in advance in educational
+enterprises. Besides a military school with German, and a naval school
+with English, instructors, he set up within a mile of his Yamên a fairly
+furnished medical school with a hospital attached. His special corps of
+foreign-drilled troops was the best equipped and best disciplined force
+in the empire.
+
+While all this progress was being made in the direction of military
+efficiency, the naval requirements of the country were not neglected. The
+failure of the undigested Lay-Osborn scheme showed the Chinese that the
+naval problem must be attacked in a different fashion. It was a false
+start, and they must begin again. Accordingly, profiting by what they
+had heard and seen of the efficient service rendered in their narrow
+waters by foreign gunboats, the Chinese Government contracted with the
+Armstrong firm for a small flotilla carrying one heavy gun with a wide
+range of fire. These craft were little more than floating gun-carriages;
+but notwithstanding broad beam and flat bottoms, they were moderately
+sea-worthy. They were known as the Alphabeticals, from being named after
+the Greek letters. This modest flotilla was the nucleus of the Chinese
+navy.
+
+Attempts at naval construction were made at Shanghai, Foochow, and Canton;
+but beyond providing work and training for native artificers, and acting
+occasionally as transports on a small scale, despatch-carriers, and
+official yachts, the vessels turned out from native yards rendered no
+service to the country. The Chinese navy as a potential military arm only
+took shape when Li Hung-chang was able to carry the Government with him so
+far as to purchase effective war-ships in Europe, to institute a system of
+training under competent foreign officers, and to establish naval harbours
+with docks and workshops. Two iron-clad battleships, a respectable
+squadron of cruisers, and some smaller craft, manned by trained crews and
+officered by men who had received a regular naval education and perfectly
+understood their duties, constituted the fighting navy of China. The two
+English officers who supervised the training, Captain Tracy at Foochow
+and Captain Lang in the Gulf of Pechili, were thoroughly satisfied with
+the capacity of both officers and men, and what was distinguished as the
+Peiyang or Northern Squadron was brought up by the latter officer to such
+a state of efficiency that he reckoned that a further two years' drill
+would enable the Chinese to take its place, on a small scale, among the
+best equipped fleets in the world.
+
+And while the navy was developing so satisfactorily, coast fortifications
+also made great progress. The mouths of rivers were all defended by
+the best modern guns; three naval ports in the Gulf of Pechili--Port
+Arthur, Weihai-wei, and Talien-wan--were fortified at great expense,
+and everything externally evinced a determination on the part of China
+to place herself in a position of independence, delivered from the fear
+of foreign attack, except of course by land, and even that had been
+partially provided for, as we have seen, by the military establishments
+in Manchuria.
+
+Between the naval and the military preparations, however, there was an
+immense disparity. The force for which Li Hung-chang was personally
+responsible was carefully drilled, armed, fed, and paid, and, given
+competent leading, would no doubt have rendered a good account of
+itself; but the army as a whole was never brought to a state approaching
+efficiency. The navy, on the other hand, possessed the best ships and the
+best armament that money could buy, with the most modern appliances for
+war, and its _personnel_ was subjected to the most careful discipline.
+The fortress guns were also of the newest and best pattern, and nothing
+was spared, apparently, to fit them for the purpose for which they were
+intended. It was generally conceded that the fortresses so armed were safe
+from attack by sea.
+
+The explanation of the great difference between the organisation of
+the sea and the land forces seems to be that the former, being a new
+creation, was beyond the range of criticism and was unhampered by any
+traditions, while the reform of the army was merely patching a worn-out
+garment. The immemorial conditions of military service were unchanged.
+No army was formed, but a series of local levies raised without cohesion
+or central control. The foreign instructors were kept strictly to their
+class-work, were subordinated to the people whom they had to instruct,
+and possessed no kind of authority. They were allowed to drill the men,
+while the officers for the most part held themselves above the drudgery
+of the parade-ground. The few who had acquired a smattering of military
+education in Europe were as helpless as the foreign drill-masters to move
+their wholly ignorant superiors. Hence abuses of the most grotesque kind
+did not creep but rushed into every camp and every school, reducing the
+scientific teaching to a hollow farce.
+
+The familiar factors of peculation and nepotism had an important influence
+on these naval and military developments in China. Such things are no
+monopoly of the Chinese. If corruption could ruin a State, it would not
+be necessary to look so far afield as China for national disasters. But
+the form which the vice takes in China has a determining effect on the
+administration quite irrespective of the waste of resources and diminution
+of efficiency which are common to corruption in all its forms. Thus if we
+have to reconcile the lavish purchases of material with the attenuation of
+_personnel_, we need only reflect that the former bring large emoluments
+with little labour to the official employed, while the training of men
+involves much work and little profit. Further, if we want an explanation
+of the infinite diversity of the arms which are furnished to the troops,
+we may find it in the excessive competition among officials for a share of
+the traffic, and the interest which the higher authorities have in passing
+without inspection what is purveyed by their subordinates.
+
+Nepotism in China is part and parcel of the family system, which is the
+palladium of the nation. Every military corps raised is essentially
+territorial; and if ever it is moved from one province to another,
+it looks to a territorial chief, and no stranger can command it. Li
+Hung-chang's disciplined troops, if not all of his own clan, were at
+least the natives of his province and spoke his dialect. His subordinate
+officials were blood relations and family adherents. It needs no argument
+to show how such a survival of feudalism militates against national
+organisation. Pure feudalism, indeed, would be less detrimental; for under
+it territorial exclusiveness would at least be balanced by territorial
+responsibility, but under the short-service system of China a governor
+or governor-general may during his three years' term throw everything
+into confusion and half ruin the finances of a province with which he is
+precluded from having any territorial tie, and then proceed to another and
+repeat the performance. The navy, though, as we have said, exempt from the
+incubus of tradition, was nevertheless unable to withstand the pressure of
+immemorial heredity. As the first and principal naval school happened to
+be at Foochow, it was natural that new battleships and cruisers should be
+officered and manned in the first instance by natives of Fukien province.
+The admiral, however, hailed from another province--that of Li Hung-chang.
+Though brave and capable, Admiral Ting was uneducated, and found it
+hard to hold his own among the captains and lieutenants who had been to
+Greenwich and could speak and write English, and some of them French.
+Neither the Chinese admiral nor the English co-admiral--who was led to
+believe he possessed authority, but was deceived--were able to repress
+the intrigues which ran riot among the Foochow officers,--intrigues having
+for their object the complete control of the fleet, the power of keeping
+out and admitting whom they chose without reference to qualifications,
+and the general determination to subordinate the naval service to
+their personal and family advantage. The presence of Captain Lang was a
+hindrance to their schemes, and they intrigued him out. But as the fleet
+belonged to the north, they were unable to exclude northern seamen from
+the country round Weihai-wei, who proved when the day of trial came the
+most intelligent and the staunchest force that China possessed.
+
+The Peiyang Squadron was the nearest approach to an imperial navy that
+China ever possessed, and yet it was so far provincial that it could not
+be sent into the central or southern waters without creating jealousy
+on the part of the local authorities, just as if it had been a foreign
+force. In 1891, when anti-foreign riots in various places on the Yangtze
+threatened to endanger the peace of the empire, the Imperial Government
+allowed foreign ships of war to proceed up the river for the purpose
+of preventing outbreaks rather than offend the susceptibilities of the
+provincial authorities by employing their own naval forces on that duty.
+During that critical period the Peiyang Squadron was cruising in Japanese
+waters while the Great River was being patrolled by foreign gunboats.
+
+These various evidences of martial energy procured for China the credit
+of a real awakening, and ensured her the respect due to a serious Power.
+Yet the unsoundness of the foundation on which her new prestige rested was
+no secret to any one who took the trouble to consider the facts, for all
+the weaknesses we have mentioned, with many more, were notorious to every
+foreign resident in China; nor was there a naval officer of any nation
+who did not regard the fighting value of the Chinese fleet as nothing.
+Ships were good, officers and men in themselves were passable, but without
+organisation, while the whole force was governed by other than militant
+principles. The attempted military reorganisation could, in fact, have no
+vitality except as a branch of a general reform of the administration,
+the keystone of which was fiscal. Of this, however, the Chinese rulers
+seemed to take no heed, contenting themselves with snatching at what
+was superficial and conspicuous to the eye. The Chinese florists in the
+spring-time supply to hawkers shrubs covered with blossom which is so
+cleverly attached by fine wire to the twigs as almost to deceive the
+elect. This is practically what the Chinese Government bad been doing with
+their national defences, so that on the first trial they collapsed like a
+sapless flower. These experiences have an important bearing on the large
+problem of Chinese reform and reorganisation, and indeed on the continued
+existence of the empire.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+THE COLLAPSE.
+
+    China clings to universal sovereignty--Demonstration of same
+    towards Korea--Irritating to Japanese--Their aspirations in
+    Korea--Insurrection in southern districts--Chinese troops sent
+    there--Japanese simultaneously occupy Korean capital--War between
+    China and Japan--China defeated--Causes and consequences--General
+    sympathy with Japan.
+
+
+We have seen that up to the end of 1892 the Chinese Government clung
+to the figment of universal sovereignty. Perhaps it was the figment
+that clung to them, they not knowing how to drop it. When they had,
+under stress, seemed to concede the principle of equality, it was not
+done heartily, but to serve a momentary purpose. Like a belligerent
+who continues a guerilla warfare after concluding peace, they fought
+inch by inch for the rags of the old prerogative after having by
+treaty surrendered it. It had been long predicted that their refusal
+or inability to bring their theories into agreement with patent facts,
+and to come into line with the Powers of the world, must lead to tragic
+consequences. Foreign nations laughed at the Chinese pretension as an
+innocent archaic survival. But those individuals to whose lot it fell,
+in their own persons, to suffer the continued humiliation which was a
+consequence of the survival, did not find the comedy of the situation
+quite so congenial. The high-spirited nation living in the closest
+neighbourhood to China, using its language and literature, was naturally
+more galled by the Chinese assumption than those distant peoples who
+only suffered in the persons of their diplomatic agents. Though it would
+be more than the evidence warrants to say that the pretension of the
+Chinese Government was directly provocative of the events of 1894, yet it
+is certain that it had a full share in filling the cup. Nowhere had the
+Chinese conception of supremacy been exemplified in a more uncompromising
+form than in her relations with Korea. Her position as suzerain was a
+reality. She had in times past defended her tributary at great cost, had
+marked the relationship by permanent monuments, and had maintained the
+rites necessary to keep her title alive. As late as 1890 the tributary
+formalities were repeated conspicuously before the world. In that year the
+"Grand" Queen-Dowager Chao of Korea died. According to custom the king
+despatched a messenger to Peking to report the death to his suzerain.
+The envoy presented his papers kneeling before the vice-president of the
+Board of Rites. He was the bearer of a petition from the king descanting
+on the miseries of his country, and expressing regret that, owing to the
+straitened circumstances of his Court, he might be unable to carry out
+all the ceremonies required for the entertainment of the usual mission
+of condolence from the emperor; therefore, as "an infant trusting to the
+tender mercies of his parents," the king begged that not a mission, but a
+message only, might be returned to him by the hands of his own envoy. The
+imperial decree in reply to this petition, while admitting the facts of
+the situation as set forth by the king, nevertheless announced that the
+customary usage must be maintained, only an important concession would
+be made to the poverty of Korea in the route which would be followed by
+the new mission. Previous envoys had made the whole journey between the
+two capitals by land, and after entering Korean territory they had to
+pass many stations in their slow march to the capital, involving much
+expense to the country through which they travelled. All this would be
+saved on the present occasion by the two commissioners travelling by sea,
+and landing at Chemulpo, a few miles only from the capital. The king had
+to submit to the modified burden, if such he really considered it. The
+ceremonies observed were elaborate and impressive. Frequent prostrations
+by Korean officials before the emperor's tablet, and before the Imperial
+Commissioners, introduced the proceedings; afterwards the king was taken
+charge of by the Chinese master of ceremonies, led through a complicated
+ritual, and told to bend, kneel, _kotow_, and stand erect at so many
+different stages that the mere reading of the official account of them
+is bewildering. The reporter's conclusion gives the gist of the whole
+ceremonial from the Chinese point of view: "The emperor's consideration
+for his vassal State as evinced by his thoughtfulness in matters
+pertaining to the mission is fathomless. How admirable and satisfactory!
+And how glorious!"
+
+All this was unexceptionably correct, and in its fantastic way expressed
+an actuality not to be contested. Yet to the Japanese, with their
+antagonistic policy, we can well understand that this renewed assertion
+of the Chinese suzerainty, after the convention of 1885, must have
+been highly irritating. Scarcely less so was the superior position
+habitually assigned to the Chinese Resident over all the other foreign
+representatives at the Korean Court. He alone at all times had the ear
+of the king; he was the only one privileged to enter the palace in his
+sedan chair, the others having to leave theirs at the gate and walk. While
+abstaining from interference in small things, the Chinese Resident did,
+in fact, direct the national policy of Korea so far as such a thing could
+be said to exist.
+
+As the affairs of Korea formed the occasion, if not the cause, of the
+Japanese War in 1894, it might seem desirable to refer once more to
+the troubles and misgovernment of that country. To explain them would
+be quite impossible, for to say that there are wheels within wheels,
+intrigue within intrigue, the whole revolving round a pivot of sordid
+corruption, is perhaps the only general account that can be given of the
+state of the Government and of its official hierarchy. But the conflict
+between China and Japan held on its way through the labyrinth of local
+intrigue, and eventually produced a result which, strange to say, seems
+never to have been anticipated by any one outside the Government circles
+of Japan. The energetic Chinese Resident at the Korean Court may perhaps
+have been needlessly ostentatious in asserting the legitimate paramountcy
+of China, but the aggression of the Japanese in various parts of the
+country, and the extravagant claims they founded upon these aggressions,
+really called for a champion of Korean independence, a function which Yuan
+Shih-kai[32] filled with considerable ability. The subordination of Korea
+to China was nowhere visible except in Court relations. The subjugation
+of the peninsula by the Japanese, on the other hand, was rapidly bringing
+the population itself into bondage to alien merchants, adventurers, and
+usurers, actively supported by their own Government. If they had had
+the patience to wait a few years, the Japanese must have won Korea by
+energetic infiltration alone.
+
+But these things did not move fast enough for the settled ambition
+of Japan, which she with diligence, unanimity, and wonderful secrecy
+determined to develop by force of arms. It would be idle to seek for
+the causes of the war elsewhere than in this forward national policy
+of Japan. Alert as she had been to seize every chance that offered of
+detaching Korea from her allegiance to China, her preparations were not
+sufficiently complete to justify her unmasking her whole policy until
+1894, when the grand opportunity for which she had been waiting, if she
+did not actively assist in bringing it about, presented itself. What
+proved to be an ill-advised interference of China in the internal affairs
+of Korea furnished the occasion. An insurrection had broken out in the
+southern part of the peninsula, and the king had no forces to put it
+down. Various versions had been circulated of the extent and character of
+the insurrection; but when it had continued for some time, and nothing
+was done to check it, the advisers of the Chinese Government became
+apprehensive of interference by some foreign Power for the restoration of
+order. Strangely enough, Japan was the very last quarter from which this
+danger was anticipated. The Chinese at length summoned resolution to send
+a force to the king's assistance to put down the insurrection, but whether
+the king in his heart desired this armed interference it is impossible
+for us to say.
+
+Li Hung-chang was personally opposed to any such expedition, and when
+goaded to action from Peking, where the bellicose spirit had been
+generated, he pointed out that no request had been received from the
+king. This omission was also remarked upon by the practical Admiral Ting,
+and both may have hoped that the absence of so important a link in the
+chain would enable them to avoid the overt action which they had the
+best grounds for deprecating. Such a hope, if it existed, was of brief
+duration; for the King of Korea was induced, by influences brought to
+bear on him, "to place himself in order" and implore his suzerain for
+assistance, which the suzerain could no longer withhold. Then was Li
+Hung-chang pressed by that body whose characteristic was the negation
+of initiative, the Tsungli-Yamên, and like a sluggish horse which once
+takes the bit in its teeth, the Yamên became as impatient for action as
+in all its previous history it had been resolute in evasion. When but a
+few days had elapsed since the issue of the order, and the troops were
+not yet embarked, the Ministers, quite ignorant of what was involved in
+sending a military force across the sea, began to jeer Li Hung-chang on
+his delay, hinting that he was perhaps growing stale with age. The troops
+were, nevertheless, despatched all too soon. On their landing at Yashan
+in Southern Korea, the insurrection immediately collapsed: such was the
+prestige of the imperial authority.
+
+In order to comply with the letter of the Li-Ito convention China
+notified Japan officially of the despatch of these troops, some 2000
+in all, and of the purpose for which they were sent. But Japan had no
+need to wait for any such formal intimation. She had her Intelligence
+Department, remarkably alert. Japanese--not perhaps always known as
+such--were employed in the Chinese official bureaus, even in the most
+confidential departments, while Japanese in disguise swarmed in all the
+military centres. The Chinese telegraph service has no secrets from any
+one who thinks it worth his while to possess them. Consequently every
+detail of the preparation, every point in the discussion, and every step
+in embarkation, was punctually telegraphed by the Japanese consul to the
+Foreign Office in Tokio. Hence it was that Japanese troops arrived in
+Korea simultaneously with the Chinese, only they numbered 10,000 against
+2000, and instead of being assigned to the region of the insurrection,
+in accordance with the provisions of the Li-Ito convention, they marched
+straight to the capital and took possession of the king. The insurrection
+having collapsed, the Chinese troops were under orders of withdrawal,
+and would have returned home in the same transports that conveyed them to
+Korea but for the unaccountable, and of course illegitimate, presence of
+Japanese troops at the capital. Notwithstanding the provocation to retain
+the Chinese troops in Korea as a counterbalance to those, five times more
+numerous, which had been sent by Japan, the Chinese authorities were
+advised by their best friends to recall their troops, even though the
+Japanese should thereby be apparently left in possession of the field.
+The Chinese would in that case have maintained an unassailably correct
+position, and Japan would have had to dispense with her pretexts for war.
+Evacuation by the Chinese had been actually decided upon, and the steamer
+Kowshing was chartered for the purpose of bringing back the troops. Before
+the measure was carried out, however, other counsels prevailed, and that
+very ship was employed in conveying more troops to reinforce the first
+expedition, and in the midst of pretended negotiations for an arrangement
+between the two Powers, the Japanese sank the Kowshing on the high sea
+with all on board.
+
+It is usual, as a matter of form, if nothing else, to assign some specific
+cause for a war; but though many able writers have essayed to explain
+the Japanese action in 1894, they have all of them left the question in
+greater obscurity than they found it. Nor did the formal declaration of
+war by the Mikado throw any light on the subject. A Japanese statesman
+being asked what the war was about, replied bluntly, "It is to defeat
+China," and the most elaborate exposition of motives or policy does
+not carry us perceptibly further than this concise and straightforward
+statement. The Chinese Government itself held precisely the same view as
+to the object of the war, though its perceptions were so obscured that
+it was quite unaware of its incapacity for defence. Neither did it during
+the actual progress of hostilities realise the cause of its defeat. Indeed
+there is no evidence to show that China has even to this day discovered
+the secret of her impotence.
+
+The course and immediate consequence of the war itself have been set forth
+in many books, and are so well known as to render it superfluous to enter
+into any detail here. A few general points only need be mentioned as a
+key to what followed.
+
+1. Russia took unusual pains to dissuade Japan from engaging in the war,
+pointing out in clear terms that her interests would not allow her to be
+an indifferent spectator of any changes on the continent of Asia.
+
+2. Great Britain next endeavoured to patch up the supposed quarrel--which
+could never be defined in words--between China and Japan, and on the
+day on which her agent in Tokio expressed himself confident that the
+differences, so far as he understood them, would be arranged without
+recourse to war, the British chartered transport Kowshing was sunk with
+1200 men on board.
+
+3. The solution of the question which would have reconciled the views
+of the four Powers more immediately concerned was the neutralisation of
+Korea. Great Britain, Russia, and Japan were of one mind on this subject,
+and China would have hailed such an escape from her chronic embarrassment
+respecting Korea. Why, then, was no attempt made to bring about such a
+solution? Want of co-ordination, it would appear; diplomatic paralysis.
+Though the views of each Power separately ascertained were identical,
+none of them would speak first, and there was no fifth party to assume the
+initiative in bringing them to a common understanding. The blame of this
+must be equally distributed, though in point of fact there were degrees
+of responsibility which it would be useless now to recall. It is only one
+example the more of the great gap which often yawns between professional
+diplomacy and practical politics.
+
+The issue of the war was a foregone conclusion, both by sea and land.
+China had no army, and the more numerous her levies the more helpless
+they were before a disciplined enemy. The navy failed precisely where
+it was expected to fail. It was an incomplete machine, neglected and
+in disorder, deficient in many essential things. Worst of all, there
+was no heart in it. Captain Lang, R.N., and other British officers had
+been expelled from the service through a conspiracy of the captains in
+1890, and thenceforth its deterioration became rapid. The efficiency of
+the navy for its main purpose was the last thing considered by the cabal.
+They relied absolutely on the diplomatic resources of Li Hung-chang to
+save them from any possible trial of strength, and refused to face an
+alternative even by way of argument. Bravery was by no means lacking in
+the ranks, nor professional education among the officers. There were some
+who had Nelson's maxims at the tip of their tongue, and there were some
+who added to a thorough naval training the spirit of devotion which makes
+heroes. But these qualities were isolated and incoherent; there was no
+tradition to render them fruitful, no martial spirit, no disgrace for
+the coward, no honour for the valiant. The fleet was a body, defective
+enough at that, but without a soul. The minds of the captains being set
+on quite other objects than the efficiency of their service, when the
+crisis threatened they were intent only on evading collisions. The valour
+of the admiral, the fine sense of duty of individual officers, and the
+fighting qualities of a considerable body of the seamen, were swamped
+in the prevailing pusillanimity of the service; the choice spirits were
+discouraged by the fatuous neglect at headquarters to supply the ordinary
+necessaries of warfare. It was the writer's fortune to make a passage in a
+Chinese protected cruiser in September 1894, a few days before the great
+naval action off the Yalu, and it was most pathetic to hear the defects
+pointed out by the captain and first lieutenant--defects in ammunition
+for the guns mounted, absence of gun crews, so that in action men would
+have to be taken from one gun to another and put to work for which they
+had no training, everywhere the ship spoiled for want of the ha'porth of
+tar. That particular vessel was not disgraced in the Yalu fight, but was
+brought into Port Arthur by the superhuman exertions of her officers,
+her iron deck beams twisted by the fire and her plates red hot. A second
+conversation with the captain and first lieutenant after the action
+was but a painful commentary on that of the week before. The one was
+prediction, the other fulfilment. Perhaps the state of the navy could not
+be more forcibly illustrated than by the fact that the fleet was led into
+action at the Yalu by a German military officer.
+
+China was indeed defeated, amid the applause of Europe and the whole
+world, and the primeval law of violence received a new consecration. This
+is the one outcome of the war which seems likely to leave a permanent
+impress on the surface of our civilisation, for the spontaneous outburst
+from the four corners of the earth cannot be referred to any venal or
+wire-pulling agency. There had been foreign wars in China before, wars
+entered upon after long discussion and accumulating causes of quarrel.
+Their merits divided the opinion of the world--they divided even the
+nations that waged them; and the opposition was on one occasion strong
+enough to overturn a British Government that had actually entered into
+hostilities against China. But in 1894 there was not a dissentient
+voice. The cause of the war was not known and not inquired into, the
+universal enthusiasm was simply for the victor, as such, without regard
+to anything but his military prowess. That was what the world fell down
+and worshipped. Not any righteous cause, or racial sympathy, or community
+of interest, inspired their acclamations; for none of these things were
+considered or understood by the masses who chorussed the triumph of the
+conqueror of China. English pens and tongues beyond all others urged
+the victorious Power to make crushing conditions of peace, and in the
+clamour traditional landmarks were forgotten. The policy of saving China,
+the great English milch cow, from destruction, which had been patiently
+followed by Great Britain for forty years, was thus suddenly submerged in
+a wave of warlike enthusiasm.
+
+Press-made feeling was both stronger and had more influence on the action
+of Government in England than in any other country. The war had upset
+the balance of power in Asia, but the press took no heed of that, and
+urged with conspicuous success that the Japanese should on no account
+be hindered in their seizure of the spoils. Other countries, keeping a
+cooler outlook on eventualities, were unable to regard the occupation of
+Liao-tung by Japanese forces with the equanimity with which it was viewed
+in England, though they made no objection to the enormous indemnities
+forced from China, which might indeed be philosophically regarded by
+them as a tax levied specially on British trade. Being threatened in her
+weakest frontier by this ambitious military Power, Russia had intimated
+before war began, in no ambiguous terms, that she could not tolerate
+such a neighbour, and on the conclusion of peace she took steps to give
+effect to that resolution. Russia had throughout the war been extremely
+nervous about the possible action of Great Britain, and would have gone
+considerable lengths to come to an understanding with her; but towards
+the end, when the pretensions of the Japanese began to assume extravagant
+dimensions, their moral effect on the Great Powers enabled her to dispense
+with English favour by drawing France and Germany to her support. The
+gravity of the Japanese demands was the factor that drew the three Powers
+together, and Li Hung-chang, when he went as envoy to Japan in March
+1895, assented to the indemnity and the surrender of territory on the
+assurance given him that the more excessive the conditions of peace he
+might be forced to sign, the more certain were they to be revised by
+the intervention of the Powers. The three Powers proved strong enough
+to induce Japan to give up Liao-tung for an increased indemnity, and
+the future of the Far East thus was arranged in conferences from which
+Great Britain had excluded herself. There were several reasons for
+the abstention of the British Government from taking a share in this
+settlement. One was the complete failure of their Intelligence Department
+before, during, and after the war. But the fervour of the nation in
+deprecating interference with the Japanese was a sufficient, and no doubt
+a welcome, warrant for the inaction of the Government. An experienced
+observer of English public life remarked afterwards that he had never
+known a situation in which the press, metropolitan and provincial, had
+displayed such entire unanimity and lavished such unmixed praise on the
+Government for its isolation. And yet it was a unanimity of nescience,
+of simple abdication, the surrender of a position in the Far East which
+had been built up for two generations on the permanent interests of the
+country, and which, sacrificed at the critical moment, is gone beyond
+recall. The "new diplomacy," uninstructed popular impulse, never had
+a freer field; for the Government which it dominated was scarcely more
+enlightened, and decidedly more apathetic, than the nation itself.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+  [Illustration: MINISTERS OF THE YAMÊN OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
+   H.E. Shên Kuei-fên.
+   H.E. Tung Hsün.
+   H.E. Mao Chang-tsi.
+   _From a photo by J. Thomson, Grosvenor Street, W._]
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [32] The same who is now governor of Shantung.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+THE RESETTLEMENT OF THE FAR EAST.
+
+    An unsettlement--Interference of Russia, Germany, and
+    France--China reduced to dependence--Disintegration
+    proceeds--France forces China to violate her treaties with
+    England--Russian approval--The loans pressed upon China--Russia
+    vetoes English loan, substituting a French one, Russia
+    standing security--Germany seizes Kiaochow--Russia seizes
+    Port-Arthur--England's remonstrance unheeded--A diplomatic
+    correspondence explained--British public aroused to importance of
+    the Far Eastern question--Call upon Government to take protective
+    action.
+
+
+It would perhaps be in stricter accordance with facts to describe
+what ensued on the Chinese collapse as a process of unsettlement than
+resettlement, since no man now living is likely to see the end of the
+dislocation effected by the transactions of 1895. The crude ingredients of
+national policy, stripped of the international decencies with which they
+were wont to be invested, were then thrown into the caldron; elementary
+forces, naked and undisguised, confronted each other; and the scramble
+which moderate men had hoped to see indefinitely postponed was entered
+into with the zest of a Cornish wrecking raid. The officious interference
+of quasi-friendly Powers to save the derelict empire from mutilation
+proved, according to unvarying experience, a remedy which was worse than
+the disease. Russia, Germany, and France proceeded to treat China as a
+No Man's Land; disintegration was the order of the day. The example was,
+of course, contagious. Other Powers, with no more substantial ground of
+claim than was afforded by the defencelessness of China, began whetting
+their knives to carve the moribund carcass.
+
+A momentous transformation had been effected in a few months. China now
+occupied the paradoxical position of a protected State without protection;
+of a sovereign State shorn of the power of fulfilling her obligations.
+To this impossible situation the Government itself had been an efficient
+contributor. During the progress of the war China had, of her own motion,
+thrown herself on the mercy of the world. Before all the Powers, great
+and small, with whom she had intercourse, she humbled herself in the dust,
+imploring them collectively, separately, or anyhow, to save her from her
+relentless foe. She, the titular mistress of the world, grovelled thus at
+the feet of Powers to whom she would not, even then, in plain words, have
+conceded equality. And when assistance eventually came it was imposed on
+her by external force. She could make no conditions.
+
+The revolution which the revised treaty of Shimonoseki effected in the
+international status of China was naturally first realised by those
+who had brought it about. China ceased to be a free agent; she became a
+vassal, and not to one Power only. And the intervening Powers lost no time
+in demonstrating the fact, France taking the lead. Within two months of
+the revision of the treaty of Shimonoseki the French Minister in Peking
+compelled China to sign a treaty granting to France large territorial
+concessions on which she had long had her eye, with commercial privileges
+never before granted to any Power. But the stipulations of the French
+convention were in open conflict with those of an existing treaty with
+this country, inasmuch as they gave to France a portion of the Shan
+States, which had been expressly reserved as a neutral zone in the treaty
+between China and Great Britain. The British Minister, pointing this out
+before the French treaty was concluded, protested against its signature.
+The Ministers of the Yamên admitted the justice of his contention, nor
+can it be said the protest was unheeded. With the Yamên it was a question
+solely of the balance of power, and feeling that the French force was the
+heaviest in the scale, they yielded to that and signed the treaty with
+France in direct violation of that which they had previously signed with
+Great Britain. As if to leave no ambiguity as to the true significance
+of the change of status which had come over China, the Russian Minister
+on the day following made a formal visit to the Tsungli-Yamên, with more
+than the customary display, to congratulate the Chinese Ministers on what
+they had done, and to assure them of the approval of his Government.
+
+This novel application of the law of force threw out of gear the whole
+system of Chinese national engagements, and was quite incompatible with
+normal diplomatic relations. Formerly the struggle had lain between China
+and all the Powers, her obligations to whom were observed in proportion
+to the amount of coercion applied by, or to be apprehended from, each.
+From this resulted a chronic demand for the fulfilment of agreements, and
+constant reclamations for non-fulfilment. But now the native reluctance
+to observe treaties was potentially reinforced by the action of foreign
+Powers in not only condoning, but explicitly insisting upon, China's
+violating her engagements.
+
+It may be that this species of _force majeure_ was not wholly unwelcome to
+the Chinese. It certainly widened the field for their favourite tactics
+of playing off one foreign Power against another. A better answer than
+heretofore was now available to all demands and remonstrances. "We should
+for our part be most happy to do as you desire, but--what would Russia
+say, what would France say?" Thus diplomacy in China at once degenerated
+into a "tug of war" contest, China herself being merely the rope which
+was pulled. She was virtually ruled out of the active management of her
+own affairs and became the _corpus vile_ for rival aggressors.
+
+Aggression sometimes assumed strange forms. One of the first which the
+treaty of peace with Japan developed was a remarkable competition in
+lending money to the Chinese. The indemnities to be paid to Japan were
+heavy, and it was obvious that China must borrow. But before she had time
+to take any step in that direction money was being thrust upon her. First
+in the ranks were English loan-mongers, who had had some experience in
+the business. Their negotiations were slow and halting; and when they
+had at last concluded a contract it was only to be told that Russia
+objected to the transaction, and required that China should borrow from
+French capitalists, who were willing to lend on the guarantee of Russia.
+The Chinese Government were absolutely passive, not willingly, but of
+necessity; they had not asked for the guarantee which Russia volunteered,
+and were quite willing to accept the loan of £16,000,000 sterling on
+the English terms. But Russia simply insisted on their taking the French
+money, under an ominous threat, while she herself stood security for the
+solvency of China, thereby assuming the position of first mortgagee on the
+revenues of that empire. That accomplished, Russia stipulated that China
+should contract no further loan for a period of six months.
+
+The precedent set by Russia and France of ignoring the Government of China
+as an efficient factor in negotiations respecting her territory or her
+obligations was followed to the letter by Germany when in November 1897
+she took possession of the most important naval harbour on the Chinese
+coast, with an adequate hinterland, carrying elastic rights extending over
+an immense area of country. Admiral von Diedrichs reduced the question
+of the acquisition to its very simplest expression. "Common-sense," he
+submitted to the Chinese commandant, "must tell you on which side the
+superior force lies, and therefore you would be wise to make way for me
+without resistance." With the prize in her hands, Germany next demanded
+a formal title to what she had seized, and instead of giving the German
+Minister his passports the Chinese Government granted the request.
+
+In this unceremonious manner was the new status of China embodied in
+monumental facts. She was the common victim, having no power to bind or
+loose save in accordance with the dictates of her masters. The Chinese
+Government seemed to have abdicated sovereign functions.
+
+After France and Germany it was Russia's turn to give tangible evidence of
+the real ascendancy she had gained over the Chinese Imperial Government.
+Hers was the only true mastery. The others might wrest provinces and
+extort concessions from a prostrate Government, but Russia alone reached
+the cerebral centre and controlled--so far as outward effect went--the
+volition of the organism. Negotiations, partly revealed in 1895, showed
+conclusively the scope and direction of her Chinese policy. It was
+profound and practical, continuing on the lines that had proved so
+successful in the past. The basis of it was an ostensible friendship for
+China, out of which grew a protective alliance, and the peculiar kind of
+partnership which had constituted the intermediate stage in the previous
+great territorial acquisitions of Russia. The joint right of the two
+Powers--to the exclusion of all others--to navigate the Amur and the
+Songari, and the joint possession of the Usuri territory--"details to be
+hereafter settled"--was now to be applied to the coast and harbours of
+Liao-tung, of which Russia was to have the use, afterwards defined in a
+treaty as the "usufruct." The gentlest methods were to be used, and so far
+as mere phrases were concerned, a matter on which the Chinese always were
+punctilious, the utmost consideration for their feelings was to be shown.
+Russia had two immediate objects in view, both of cardinal importance
+to her. The first was to obtain a terminus for the Great Siberian
+Railway more southerly than Vladivostock, which could only be obtained
+in Korean or Chinese territory. The second--the necessary corollary of
+the first--was to bring the territory through which the railway should
+run within the Russian administration. The sanction of China to a branch
+of the Siberian Railway being carried through Manchuria to a terminus
+on the Liao-tung littoral was formally given in conferences between
+Li Hung-chang and the Czar on the occasion of the coronation at Moscow
+in 1896. The details were afterwards developed in a way of which it is
+probable the Chinese Government had little foresight; but it would have
+made no difference, for to Russia nothing could be denied.
+
+Out of these comprehensive projects of Russia--projects which belonged
+to the very highest order of imperial statecraft--arose a strange unequal
+duel between Russian and British diplomacy, which has also left its mark
+on history. Her Majesty's Government and their agents abroad having been
+found wanting in the matter of information during the upheaval of the Far
+East, it appeared to be their _rôle_ to ignore and deny the facts upon
+which other Powers were acting. In particular the whole Russian scheme
+of utilising Chinese territory and controlling the Chinese Government was
+discredited with considerable vehemence. The consequence of this attitude
+of scepticism was that whatever Great Britain might resolve to do must be
+done in the dark. Assured by their agents in the Far East that the bay
+of Kiaochow was worthless, the British Government satisfied themselves
+that Germany had made a poor bargain in taking it. Dismissing as a
+phantasy the whole string of facts concerning Russia's plans, the British
+Government exposed themselves to collision with those plans, and received
+in consequence a series of diplomatic humiliations, entailing upon the
+country permanent disadvantages of a most substantial kind. Towards the
+end of 1898, soon after the German seizure of Kiaochow, a harbour which
+had also proved a convenient winter rendezvous for the Russian fleet, the
+announcement came from China that the latter had received permission from
+the Chinese Government to winter at Port Arthur on the opposite coast
+of Liao-tung. Thereupon a discussion was raised between London and St
+Petersburg concerning the prospective designs of Russia. This discussion
+was stamped from its origin with futility by previous communications with
+the Russian Government, the purport of which was inferred from a speech by
+Mr Balfour in February 1896. On that occasion he declared that the British
+Government would not only not oppose, but would hail with satisfaction,
+the acquisition by Russia of an ice-free port in the Pacific. As her
+Majesty's Government held Russia to the pledge she gave in 1886 to
+respect the integrity of the Korean coast, it followed that the ice-free
+harbour contemplated by Mr Balfour could only be in Chinese territory,
+which, as affecting the dominating power of Russia in the Far East, was
+greatly in advance of what the occupation of a Korean harbour would have
+been. Korea had been safe-guarded from encroachment because it was the
+stepping-stone to China, but the Russian lodgment on the inner waters of
+China itself deprived Korea of most of its strategical value. Hence Russia
+kept silence when Mr Curzon stated in Parliament that the pledge held
+good which preserved the integrity of Korea, a pledge which had lost its
+significance. This acquiescence in Russia's taking an ice-free port on the
+Chinese coast was in direct contradiction to other no less authoritative
+statements of the British Government. As, for instance, the resolution
+passed by the House of Commons, and accepted by the Government, pledging
+them to maintain the integrity of China, followed by the statement by
+the Under Secretary of State that the Liao-tung coast with its harbours
+constituted an integral part of the Chinese dominions. It is obvious that
+this confusion arose either from lack of information or lack of interest
+in the subject, coupled in either case with absent-mindedness on the part
+of the British Government. But these inconsistencies of the members of
+the British Government made no difference to the steady prosecution of
+the Russian plans, which were now developed with great rapidity. These
+pretensions were signalised by two memorable incidents, following each
+other so closely as to be practically simultaneous, in January 1898.
+The first was a new loan to the Chinese under negotiation by British
+financiers, to assist which her Majesty's Government was strongly urged
+by the China merchants to give its guarantee to the lenders as Russia
+had done in the case of the previous loan. On being asked by the Foreign
+Office what securities it would be proper to demand from the Chinese
+Government as the equivalent of such British guarantee, the British
+Minister at Peking replied that one of the conditions should be the
+opening of Talien-wan as a treaty port by the Chinese Government. Whether
+he had considered in what way this concession was to benefit the position
+of Great Britain was not disclosed. The proposal was promptly vetoed by
+the Russian Government, whose ambassador in London urged strongly that
+"if we insisted on making Talien-wan an open port we should be encroaching
+on the Russian sphere of influence, and denying her in future that right
+to the use of Port Arthur to which the progress of events had given her a
+claim,"--adding, that without having any designs on the territory, "it was
+generally admitted that Russia might claim a commercial _débouché_ upon
+the open sea, and that in order to enjoy that advantage fully she ought
+to be at liberty to make such arrangements with China as she could obtain
+with respect to the commercial _régime_ which was to prevail there."
+
+The second incident was that two British war-vessels which were anchored
+in Port Arthur--where, of course, they had the same right to be as
+any other foreign man-of-war--"made a bad impression" on the Russian
+Government, and formed the subject of complaint to the British Secretary
+of State. While denying the right of Russia to comment on the movements
+of British ships in Chinese waters, Lord Salisbury nevertheless allowed
+the vessels in question to depart, a movement which was reported with much
+colour of truth in Peking and St Petersburg as having been made by the
+order of Russia.
+
+Thus within one month the exposition of the Russian designs was expanded
+from the first assurance of Count Muravieff that the wintering of the
+ships was merely for the temporary convenience of the fleet, to the
+assertion of vague territorial rights over the coast and harbours of
+Liao-tung. And Lord Salisbury observed with plaintive naïveté in the month
+of March, that whereas his Government "had always looked with favour upon
+the idea of Russia obtaining an ice-free port on the Pacific, Russia had
+now given a most unfortunate extension to this policy." It appears that
+the eyes of the British Government were not opened to the gravity of the
+situation until Russia, alleging that an ice-free port on the Chinese
+coast (no longer the Pacific) was a vital necessity to her, thereupon
+took possession of Port Arthur and Talien-wan. The British Government
+at the eleventh hour opposed the proceeding, for the reason that "the
+influence of Russia over the Government of Peking will be so increased to
+the detriment of that of her Majesty's Government, if the Russians are to
+have a lease of Port Arthur and Talien-wan, that it seems desirable for
+us to make some counter-move." Thus the British Government were brought
+to see, when too late, what those interested in Far Eastern affairs had
+been endeavouring to tell them years before; and there seems to be no
+doubt that the final discovery of the truth was due to the efforts of one
+or two persistent writers in the press during January and February 1898,
+but chiefly to the action of a small independent section of the British
+House of Commons led by Mr Yerburgh. On such trifling accidents do great
+events sometimes hang, that it seems probable that had Mr Yerburgh's
+movement taken effect three months earlier British ships would not have
+been withdrawn from Port Arthur, neither would China have been ousted from
+the possession of her only two naval harbours north of the Yangtze--at
+least not just then. It would serve no good purpose to follow the various
+explanations given by Ministers of the British Crown of their diplomatic
+encounters with Russia. They will have little interest for the historian.
+But a clear account of these transactions given in a letter to the
+'Times,' May 19, 1898, may very well serve as a guide to future inquirers
+into these matters:--
+
+                        _The Legend of Talien-wan._
+
+    Before the recent diplomatic struggle in the Far East is allowed
+    to pass away from the public mind, may I be permitted to say a
+    few words on one of its aspects which seems to have received very
+    little attention?
+
+    The bad faith of the Russian Government has been strongly, and
+    not unreasonably, condemned; but no attempt has been made to
+    explain it, except on the popular hypothesis that a double dose of
+    original sin is normal in the Muscovite. It does not seem to have
+    occurred to any writer on the subject that the Russians themselves
+    may have a grievance, that they may have acted under a sense of
+    injury, or that, in their view, the good faith of the British
+    Government is not above reproach. I believe they are mistaken;
+    but it is none the less true that the chain of facts on which they
+    rely will well bear the interpretation they place upon it.
+
+    The great blot on the recently published "Correspondence
+    respecting the affairs of China" (No. 1, 1898) is that it takes
+    no account of its immediate _Vorgeschichte_. It relates to a
+    diplomatic struggle of which we last heard officially as far
+    back as 1887, when the Blue-book on Port Hamilton was published.
+    Since then many important things have happened, notably the
+    Chino-Japanese war and the intervention of Russia, France, and
+    Germany in the settlement of Shimonoseki. To ignore these events
+    is really to delude the public; for the chapter of Far Eastern
+    politics which begins with the German descent on Kiaochow is
+    little short of meaningless if the story of Shimonoseki is
+    passed over. Indeed the legend of Talien-wan itself belongs to
+    a policy which may easily be traced back half a century. It is,
+    however, not necessary for my purpose that I should go behind the
+    Shimonoseki intervention. What was the object of that transaction?
+    No one who has given any attention to Far Eastern affairs has
+    ever been under the slightest illusion on this point. The great
+    problem of Russian statesmanship since the foundation of the
+    empire has been to reach the open sea, first in the Baltic, then
+    in the Euxine and the Mediterranean, and, after the Crimean war,
+    in the Pacific. Since Muravieff and Nevelskoy opened the Amur
+    Russia has neglected no opportunity of pushing southward in order
+    to get beyond the line of winter ice, and every embarrassment
+    of China has been skilfully used by her to bring her nearer her
+    goal. We in England have consistently resisted this policy, and
+    in 1886 we thought to have finally defeated it when, by seizing
+    Port Hamilton, we extracted a pledge from Russia that she would
+    not occupy Korean territory "under any circumstances whatever."
+    To all outward seeming Russian expansion in the Far East was thus
+    stopped in the ice-bound harbour of Vladivostock. This, however,
+    was not the view of Russia herself. She was still confident that
+    an opportunity would be afforded her of realising her ambition,
+    for there were other harbours on the Pacific besides those of
+    Korea, and if the road to them was longer and more difficult,
+    Russian patience was equal to the task of covering it. In these
+    circumstances Japan, victorious in her war with China, claimed
+    and obtained the cession of the Liao-tung peninsula, and thus
+    threatened to shut the door for ever against Russian access to the
+    Pacific. The intervention of the Powers which Russia thereupon
+    organised was ostensibly directed to the protection of the
+    integrity and independence of China, but no intelligent politician
+    doubted at the time, or has doubted since, that its real aim was
+    to keep the Pacific door open for Russia.
+
+    Shortly after this event Lord Salisbury came into office. The
+    problem which then most urgently demanded his attention was that
+    of Armenia. Largely by its attitude in the Far East the Rosebery
+    Cabinet had left our relations with Russia in a distinctly
+    strained condition, and the one obvious remedy of the Armenian
+    horrors--the coercion of the Sultan--was blocked by Russia. Lord
+    Salisbury directed himself to the conciliation of Russia, wisely
+    recognising that nothing could be done in the Near East without
+    Russian goodwill and assistance. What were the means he employed?
+    I cannot say what private negotiations may have taken place
+    between the two Governments, but we seem to have a sufficiently
+    significant illustration of the direction in which the Premier
+    was disposed to make concessions to Russia in a speech delivered
+    by Mr Balfour at Bristol on February 3, 1896. In that speech a
+    British Minister announced for the first time that this country
+    would not oppose Russian expansion to the Pacific. "I, for my
+    part, frankly state," he said, "that, so far from regarding with
+    fear and jealousy a commercial outlet for Russia in the Pacific
+    Ocean which would not be ice-bound half the year, I should welcome
+    such a result as a distinct advance in this far-distant region."
+    This statement made a profound impression all over the world, as
+    well it might, seeing that it implied the abandonment of a policy
+    which had been consistently and vigilantly adhered to by Great
+    Britain from the time of Lord Clarendon to that of Lord Rosebery.
+
+    A few days after Mr Balfour's Bristol speech--on February 20--it
+    fell to Mr Curzon to explain in a negative way the scope of his
+    leader's pronouncement. An impression had got abroad that the new
+    policy implied the surrender of the pledge given by Russia in 1886
+    with regard to the occupation of Korean territory, and the Under
+    Secretary was asked in the House of Commons for his views on the
+    subject. Mr Curzon replied that "her Majesty's Government consider
+    that the pledge given by the Russian Government is still binding."
+    Was this a disavowal of the new Russophile policy. Obviously not:
+    for later in the year, at the Guildhall banquet, Lord Salisbury
+    made to Russia the friendliest overtures he has ever made in
+    public speech. At the same time he especially accentuated the
+    novelty of his attitude by asserting that "it is a superstition
+    of an antiquated diplomacy that there is any necessary antagonism
+    between Russia and Great Britain."
+
+    The position, then, of the Government was apparently this: they
+    had abandoned the traditional hostility of this country to Russian
+    expansion towards the ice-free Pacific on condition that it did
+    not trench on Korean territory. It followed, then, that they
+    were not disposed to offer any hindrance to the acquisition by
+    Russia of a port on Chinese territory, westward of the Korean
+    frontier--that is, somewhere between the mouth of the Yalu and
+    Port Arthur. This must be clear to anybody who cares to glance at
+    a map. The upshot of the speeches of Mr Balfour and Lord Salisbury
+    and of the statement of Mr Curzon was, in short, to invite Russia,
+    whenever she might feel so disposed, to plant the Russian flag
+    on the southern coast of Manchuria. This, at any rate, was the
+    view taken in Russia, and, for my part, I can see no escape from
+    it. It is not a little significant of the satisfaction caused in
+    Russia by this interpretation of the policy of Great Britain that,
+    on November 25, a fortnight after Lord Salisbury's speech, the
+    Tsar at last consented in principle to the British proposals for
+    coercing the Sultan of Turkey on the Armenian question.
+
+    Now we come to the events of last November, when Germany suddenly
+    swooped down on Kiaochow. This step is known to have been very
+    distasteful to the Russian Government. It was the first appearance
+    of a European Power in the northern waters of China, in a region
+    which Russia had persuaded herself was reserved for her own
+    domination. Long before the murder of the unfortunate German
+    missionaries in Shantung it was well known in St Petersburg that
+    Germany had her eyes on Kiaochow, and the Russian Minister at
+    Peking had more than once warned Li Hung-chang and urged him to
+    fortify the bay. The disappointment of Russia became intensified
+    when it was observed that the step taken by Germany, was not
+    resented in this country, and fears of an Anglo-German alliance
+    in the Far East began to possess the Russian mind. Then suddenly
+    there came the Talien-wan incident, and Russia found herself once
+    more confronted by the danger which had threatened her in the
+    treaty of Shimonoseki.
+
+    The real significance of the Talien-wan incident has never yet
+    been fully set forth. Had Talien-wan been made a treaty port, and
+    thus given more or less of an international status, Russia would
+    have been practically shut out for ever from the ice-free ocean.
+    The only stretch of coast on which she could obtain this outlet
+    was, as I have already shown, the southern coast of Manchuria
+    from the Korean frontier on the Yalu to Port Arthur. Now, if we
+    examine this coast-line carefully we shall find that there is only
+    one spot capable of being transformed into a commercial port, and
+    that is Talien-wan. The China Sea Directory (vol. iii.), published
+    by the Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty, gives us the
+    fullest particulars on this subject. It traces the coast-line in
+    microscopic detail and shows us that it has only five possible
+    harbours. The first, westward from the Yalu, is Taku-shan, the
+    approach to which is frozen during the winter months. The second
+    is Pi-tse-wo,--here the water is too shallow even for large junks.
+    The third is Yen-tao Bay, the anchorage of which is bad, and in
+    places dangerous. The fourth is Talien-wan, and the fifth Port
+    Arthur. Talien-wan has all the advantages which are absent from
+    the other ports. It is ice-free, spacious, well sheltered, with
+    excellent anchorage and considerable commercial possibilities. Is
+    it surprising that Russia should have felt aggrieved when it was
+    proposed to make Talien-wan a treaty port?
+
+    As a matter of fact, I believe Russia regarded this proposal
+    as an attempt to evade the assurance given by Mr Balfour in his
+    Bristol speech. She looked upon it as the design of a powerful
+    Anglo-German combination to exclude her for ever from the China
+    seas. It was to her mind a conspiracy of the most dangerous
+    kind, and she bent all her efforts to defeat it. When she had
+    defeated it she lost no time in securing her position. She took
+    Port Arthur as well as Talien-wan, for the simple reason that her
+    interpretation of the situation convinced her that a commercial
+    port overlooked by a great citadel in foreign hands would be a
+    vantage to her foes rather than a prize to herself. Can she be
+    altogether blamed for taking this view?
+
+    The mistake the Russian Government made was in attaching a
+    serious meaning to the casual blunders of our Government, and in
+    imagining that these blunders marked a connected purpose, if not
+    a consistent policy. They were not to know that the Russophile
+    passage in Mr Balfour's Bristol speech was a mere oratorical tag;
+    that our friendly attitude towards Germany at Kiaochow was only
+    a sort of amiable tolerance of an act the scope and consequence
+    of which we had not measured; and that our proposal to open
+    Talien-wan was made at the suggestion of our Minister at Peking,
+    who, of course, knew what he was about, while it was acquiesced in
+    at home by Ministers who simply did not know what they were doing.
+    That Sir Claude Macdonald designed the Talien-wan move as a check
+    to Russia I have no doubt; that Lord Salisbury never dreamed of
+    this aspect of it I am equally convinced.
+
+    However that may be, one thing, I think, is clear. The sense of
+    injury and the complaints of bad faith are not all on one side. In
+    diplomacy, as in most of the affairs in this world, it is a wise
+    rule not to believe your opponent to be as stupid as he looks.
+    Russia at any rate paid us this compliment during the recent
+    negotiations. The result, no doubt, is that she has overreached
+    us. But whose fault is it?
+
+The Russian flag once hoisted over Port Arthur and Talien-wan (by what
+nominal authority makes no difference whatever to the fact) placed the new
+relation of China to the rest of the world beyond all discussion. China
+did not willingly surrender her territory: she looked in vain for help,
+but found none. She weighed in the balance the words and acts of one great
+Power against the words and acts of another, and had no choice but to
+place herself under authority of the strongest, finally and irrevocably.
+That fact must be taken as the master-key to her subsequent policy in all
+its phases.
+
+These several events succeeding each other in close order awoke the
+British public from their optimistic dream, and forced them to reflect
+that there was after all something more in these Far Eastern readjustments
+than had occurred to them when cheering on gallant little Japan to
+the spoliation of China. The result obtained was certainly not that
+which was contemplated either by the nation or the Government when
+Great Britain settled down into her isolation. When the truth of the
+situation had revealed itself to the public there was naturally a loud
+call for something to be done to safeguard the commercial interests of
+the country, if not to recover lost prestige; but the Government were as
+far from having definite aims in China as they had ever been, and while
+goading them to action, the public was scarcely in a position to advise
+what that action should be. Neither had the Government, in spite of
+all that had taken place, fully realised to what extent China had added
+impotence to reluctance, for they continued to deal with China very much
+as if the events of 1895 to 1898 had never happened. They were reluctant
+to recognise the fact that Russia, in possession of the Liao-tung or
+Kwan-tung peninsula and of the railway line connecting it with Siberia,
+held a noose round the neck of the Peking Government, which she could
+tighten or relax, conceal or parade, as circumstances required, and
+that until some other Power or Powers were prepared to speak with equal
+authority Russia must be paramount, not by virtue of any convention, but
+as the outcome of accomplished facts.
+
+Two measures adopted by Great Britain to rectify the preponderance of
+Russia were the seizure, under a form of negotiation, of the harbour of
+Weihai-wei and the forcing of money upon the Chinese by way of loan. The
+value of these strokes of policy has not yet become apparent.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+THE OUTCOME.
+
+
+I. THE SITUATION IN PEKING.
+
+    A magnified repetition of experiences in Canton--Chinese
+    unchanged--International usages inapplicable.
+
+Since the foregoing chapters were put into the printer's hands the Far
+Eastern Question has reached a crisis in which its ruling factors have
+been suddenly exposed in their nakedness. But the searchlight now thrown
+upon them casts a blacker shadow on the unilluminated portions of the
+field. The events of 1900, while revealing the landmarks of past foreign
+relations with China, have deepened the obscurity of all that concerns
+the future of the Chinese State itself, as well as of the position of the
+foreign Powers in relation to it and to one another. International comity
+is seen to have made no progress in sixty years; on the contrary, the
+gulf that divides China from the world yawns wider than ever, of which a
+striking example is afforded by the telegrams lately exchanged between
+the Chinese and the German Emperors. They speak in tongues unknown to
+one another and are mutually unintelligible, so that they have no common
+ground but that of brute force. Intercourse imposed on them against their
+will and conscience has resulted, naturally enough, in exhibiting the
+Chinese as the enemies of the human family.
+
+The capture of the Taku forts and the occupation of Peking by foreign
+troops were but a repetition of similar incidents forty years before; and
+it is instructive to observe how closely the lines of the old precedents
+have been followed. Prisoners taken treacherously, or envoys held as
+hostages; the threat to kill them if foreign troops menaced the capital;
+the devices to arrest the advance of the Allied forces; the proposal to
+negotiate only when the Chinese case became desperate; the ineradicable
+belief in the credulity of foreigners; and the flight of the Court when
+all other expedients failed,--were but another rehearsal, with variations,
+of previous performances at Canton, Nanking, and Peking. The parallel is
+completed by the efforts of foreign Powers to coax the emperor back to his
+capital. Nothing has been changed, only the scale has been magnified, and
+the civilised world, instead of one or two Powers, has become directly
+interested in the catastrophe. Official intercourse with China has
+thus continued on the lines on which it began. The first British envoy
+was treated as a malefactor, imprisoned, his letters were intercepted,
+his communications cut off, his servants withdrawn; he was guarded and
+threatened by armed men posted at his door, and reduced to dangerous
+subterfuges in order to get a message conveyed to his countrymen outside.
+Canton in 1834 was simply Peking in 1900, in embryo. A naval force was
+required to relieve Lord Napier from his perilous situation then,[33] as a
+combined naval and military force has been required to relieve the foreign
+Ministers in Peking now. The cycle has been completed. Every link in the
+chain connecting the opening with the closing incidents of diplomatic
+intercourse has been, on one side at least, homogeneous. Whatever and
+whoever may have altered, the Chinese certainly have not. Commissioner
+Lin, Viceroy Yeh, Prince Tuan, the empress-dowager, and all wielding
+authority, whether in name or not, have been true to the Chinese ideal.
+They have all alike been blind to the consequences of their acts, which
+have throughout been characterised by the strategy of fools--momentary
+success followed by overwhelming reverses, resulting at each succeeding
+encounter in a further invasion of the frontiers of their political
+independence.
+
+The crisis has been sufficiently prolonged to enable the world to perceive
+what the Chinese mean by the term negotiation. To them it signifies what
+it has always done, a palaver to gain time, to hoodwink an opponent,
+to escape from a threatened danger, to purchase immunity by promises; a
+device to manage, or, as they themselves express it, "to soothe and bridle
+barbarians." As little now as at any former period can they conceive the
+idea of a fair bargain between equals. They but temporise as with a savage
+or a dangerous beast. "Get rid of the barbarians" is their unvarying
+_mot d'ordre_, and it matters but little to them what instruments are
+employed in carrying it out. The office is one from which every statesman
+instinctively shrinks, since if he fails in taming the barbarians his
+case is referred to the Board of Punishments, and if he succeeds he incurs
+the contempt of all classes for the concessions by which he has purchased
+peace. It is hardly possible for him in any case to escape degradation.
+Be it therefore Lin, Kishen, Kiying, Yeh, Kweiliang, Wênsiang, Chunghou,
+Li Hung-chang, or any one else, Chinese negotiators, whatever their
+apparent success in averting a danger, are morally certain to come to a
+bad end; and for the reason which caused the failure of Lord Napier in
+1834, the impossibility of reconciling two principles which are wholly
+incompatible. As negotiation under such conditions can only be nugatory,
+a lengthened experience has made it clear that neither the negotiator
+nor the negotiation avails anything, but solely the manner in which the
+Chinese are held to their engagements, even when imposed on them by force,
+and the strictness with which the common duties of civilised nations are
+exacted from them, with or without written agreements.
+
+One feature in the recent Peking episode distinguishes it from previous
+experiences. A Government communicating with foreign Powers through its
+own envoys, doling out through them garbled information, while isolating
+the envoys of those same Powers within its capital, and planning, and
+if not doing its best to effect, their extermination, at least openly
+approving the attempt, is surely unexampled in human history. The
+proposal of such a Government, on the failure of its plans to "negotiate
+for peace," would be the most sardonic of practical jokes if we could
+disconnect it from the evidence implied in the proposal of the estimate
+of foreign nations which is ingrained in the Chinese moral constitution.
+Obviously, however, such a Government has placed itself beyond the pale
+of international relations, and it is hardly possible to conceive any
+restoration of the old or evolution of a new _régime_ which can place
+China in the rank of civilised Powers.
+
+We are, in fact, thrust back on the conclusion arrived at by Lord Napier
+in 1834: "That Government is not in a position to be dealt with or treated
+by civilised nations according to the same rules as are acknowledged and
+practised among themselves." Yet, instead of being treated with less, the
+Chinese Government has received greater consideration than is accorded by
+one Western State to another. Prerogatives implying superiority have been
+conceded to it by consent of all the foreign Powers--a false principle
+which has now produced its natural result.
+
+The usages of Western Courts, therefore, being wholly inapplicable in
+China, no matter what Government may rule there, international relations
+of the European type must be, as they have hitherto been, an illusory
+ideal, and some new form of intercourse, corresponding more closely to
+the realities of the case, must take the place of that which has proved so
+totally unworkable. Should foreign nations, by reason of differences among
+themselves or the magnitude of the problem, hesitate to act up to this
+view of the situation, the continuance of a status which is essentially
+false to the facts must lead to some still more tragic catastrophe than
+any that has yet taken place.
+
+
+II. THE CHRONIC CAUSE.
+
+    Hostility of Government and people--Fostered by immunity--Cause of
+    animosity as set forth by Chinese--Incitements to outrage--Chinese
+    press calumnies--Compared with European--Effect on the Chinese of
+    international vituperation.
+
+It must be admitted that the attitude of the Chinese has been quite
+consistent: from first to last they have resisted the foreign impact
+_per fas et nefas_, using such weapons as they could command, while
+avoiding, according to their lights, the risk of reprisals. Their lights
+have indeed deceived them, their resistance has failed, and their methods
+stand condemned. But it is beside the question to inveigh against their
+barbarity, for "what is bred in the bone comes out in the flesh," and in
+human relations there are permanent facts which have to be accepted, like
+the skin of the Ethiopian and the spots of the leopard. Since foreigners
+have, for their own purposes, broken into a hornet's nest, it is idle for
+them to prescribe the manner of retaliation unless they are prepared to go
+through with their aggression and to enforce obedience to their own canon.
+
+The constant feature in all Chinese attacks on foreigners has been the
+immunity from punishment of the real instigators. Massacres of foreigners
+have been condoned, for the blood-money exacted for them was no punishment
+to criminals who did not contribute to the payment. All attempts on the
+part of foreign agents to make guilty officials responsible for their
+outrages have been frustrated by the Government, who have invariably held
+the persons of officials exempt from punishment at the instance of, or
+for injuries done to, foreigners. In Chinese eyes injury to foreigners
+is meritorious in the abstract, and to be rewarded rather than punished.
+Foreign Powers have in practice acquiesced in this fatal principle, for
+though on rare occasions they have successfully insisted on the removal
+of some obnoxious official, the Government have taken care to nullify
+the penalty by promoting him to a better post. The various attempts that
+have been made by foreign representatives to collect evidence to support
+a legal charge against the instigators of outrages have been baffled by
+the inflexible determination of the Government to shield the official as
+well as the non-official leaders of riots. The foreign method of seeking
+redress, being thus foredoomed to failure, is obviously not suited to the
+circumstances.
+
+But while foreigners were pursuing their object by a hopeless path, the
+Chinese administration itself provided the simpler and more efficacious
+remedy of holding the chief authority of every province responsible for
+misgovernment, as well as for crimes and misdemeanours committed within
+his district. In the words of Sir Rutherford Alcock, "Each province
+constitutes a separate state in its administration; to compensate
+for this the emperor can appoint and remove every official, from the
+Governor-General downwards, at his pleasure. And they are each and all
+individually and collectively held responsible for all that may happen
+in the limits of their jurisdiction." By the custom of the country,
+therefore, the guilt of the highest official is assumed whenever any
+disturbance of the peace takes place or crime is committed within his
+government. He may transfer it, if he can, and ferret out evidence in
+his own exculpation; but errors of judgment, pleas of good intentions,
+and palliatives of that kind are not admitted, and not offered. Why
+foreigners have never appealed to this fundamental principle of Chinese
+administration, and have preferred relying on their own crude procedure
+and strange methods of collecting evidence while practically acquiescing
+in the immunity of Chinese officials, has never been satisfactorily
+explained. For it is only in matters concerning foreigners that the
+persons of Chinese officials are held sacred. The Government have
+no scruples with regard even to the highest in rank when they make
+themselves obnoxious to the powers that be. Degradation, deprivation,
+chains, imprisonment, and the headsman's broadsword, are ever ready to
+vindicate the majesty of the law when the Court awards the penalty. But
+foreigners are treated as outside the law, which is the gravamen of the
+Chinese offence against them. The constitution of the country afforded
+them a clear ground for demanding that the traditional principle of
+responsibility should be put in force for their protection. It was, in
+fact, applied spontaneously by Li Hung-chang in the province of which
+he was viceroy, with the result that Chihli was exempt from outrages
+on foreigners for nearly a quarter of a century. Why was the system
+not extended to all the provinces of the empire? Had not the foreign
+representatives the natural right of demanding the benefit of Chinese
+institutions, or did they consider their exotic substitute as preferable?
+
+A wrong road can never lead to a right destination; sins of omission
+and commission have alike to be atoned for, and the cost accumulates
+at compound interest. The result of sparing prefects and governors the
+consequences of the evil deeds permitted within their jurisdiction is that
+the Western Powers are now confronted with the more serious dilemma of
+sparing the throne itself and tolerating the continuance of anti-foreign
+outrages, or of doing stern justice towards the guilty even though the
+heavens should fall. A retrospective glance over the history of sixty
+years might help towards a solution even of this momentous problem. Have
+the sacrifices of principle that have hitherto been made in order to save
+the empire, or the dynasty, been efficacious to these ends? The answer of
+history is No; on the contrary, they have accelerated the ruin of both.
+
+The provoking cause of recent outbreaks against foreigners in all
+parts of the Chinese empire may be gathered from the proceedings of
+the conspirators, from their placards and lampoons, and from their
+secret correspondence. The keynote of all these is general detestation
+of foreigners, special enmity to Christianity and its accessories, and
+aversion to the symbols of material progress. Hatred of foreigners now
+shows itself as a passion which binds the provinces together as nothing
+else has ever been known to do. Their expulsion is a cause which is
+held to justify the vilest deeds done in its name. Nor is the present
+state of things a growth of yesterday. The ferment has been working for
+forty years--to go no further back--with many sporadic outbreaks to
+mark its progress. It was not nipped in the bud, as it might perhaps
+have been. Exhibitions of ill-feeling had been habitually disregarded
+by foreigners, who in their readiness to blame each other for provoking
+them, were accustomed to repel obvious explanations, and to go far afield
+for theories which would exonerate themselves at the expense of their
+neighbours. If stones were thrown or abusive epithets shouted, "It was
+only the children." Only the children! As if more conclusive testimony to
+any prevailing sentiment were possible.[34] In Peking itself the foreign
+Ministers set the example of palliating these abuses, and the only wonder
+is that the fire has smouldered so long without bursting into flame.
+During thirty years--to speak only of the recent period--missionaries
+in the interior have encountered the growing hostility of the people,
+which they have ascribed, perhaps too exclusively, to the machinations of
+"literati and gentry," forgetting that the torch would be applied in vain
+to a substance that was not inflammable.
+
+Not that the machinations of the official and literary classes of the
+country are by any means to be held of little account, for they have
+been the most potent factor in fomenting and directing the passions
+of the people. What corresponds in China to a newspaper press has been
+constantly employed in vilifying the character and execrating the designs
+of foreigners, and holding them up continually to the contempt and hatred
+of the Chinese people. There was no effective means of contradicting the
+calumnies which were daily poured forth from every centre of population.
+Attempts have, indeed, been made by special counterblasts in the form
+of missionary publications in the chief citadel of hostility, and in a
+less polemic form in the periodicals in the Chinese language conducted by
+foreigners, yet these have had little more effect on the popular beliefs
+than a leading article in the 'Times' has upon the flood of anti-English
+literature that is poured out every day from Continental journals. From
+an observation of the calumnies which are so unquestioningly accepted
+by European populations we may partly judge of the effect of a constant
+stream of the same class of vituperative literature among the still more
+ignorant people of China. The features of both are the same. In Europe, as
+in China, there is no crime that the lowest savages have ever committed
+which is not attributed, with impassioned eloquence and with the finest
+literary skill, to those who are held up to the popular animosity. In
+Europe, as in China, the ruling powers encourage the virulence of the
+press. In countries where the Government exercises direct control, and in
+others where the connection is less official, extravagances are permitted
+which can serve no other purpose than that of making the objects of
+the invective so odious that a quarrel with them is rendered popular in
+advance. European Governments thus play with fire, as the Chinese have
+done, but in the case of the latter the incendiary policy has worked out
+its logical result.
+
+Nor should it be forgotten that since, in these days, the Chinese have
+the fullest access to European literature, the calumnies of one nation
+by another are calculated to confirm their conviction of the turpitude of
+all. Neither is their armoury confined to the international amenities of
+the Western press. The charges habitually, and as a matter of course, made
+against their own countrymen by British writers and speakers would justify
+a stranger people, already predisposed thereto, in forming the worst
+opinion of English character. During the saturnalia of a general election,
+when the fountains of the great deep are broken up, no baseness, no
+falsity, no treachery, is too gross to be attributed, not to the rabble,
+but to the chosen leaders of the people. Such things being circulated
+throughout the world, preserved in indelible ink, can the enemies of the
+British nation, or at least the prejudiced Chinese, be greatly blamed for
+accepting the character of our people on such unimpeachable evidence?
+Should we not judge them on analogous testimony? From whatever sources
+they gather their ideas, however,--whether from the study of foreign
+newspapers, from their own observation of the ways of foreign men and
+women, or from the gross libels published by their literati,--there is no
+reason to doubt that the unfavourable opinion which the Chinese entertain
+of foreigners is held by them in good faith.
+
+
+III. IMMEDIATE PROVOCATION.
+
+    Shock of the Japanese war--European spoliation of
+    China--Anarchy apprehended therefrom--Reminiscence of Taiping
+    rebellion--Proposals for moderating foreign inroads--Lawlessness
+    of foreign Powers--Chinese yield to force but nurse
+    resentment--The missionary irritant.
+
+What has caused the chronic anti-foreign movement to swell suddenly to
+imperial dimensions, and to explode simultaneously in the capital and in
+distant provinces, is a larger question than we can attempt to answer.
+As contributory causes, however, there are certain facts lying on the
+surface of foreign relations which are too suggestive to be passed over.
+The Japanese war of 1894-95, and the train of events following it, noted
+in a previous chapter, struck at the vital centre of the Chinese empire.
+Foreigners of all nations applied force to China, not to defend person
+or property, but to divide up the empire in disregard of the Government
+and the people, both assumed to be moribund. The partition of China was
+discussed in the Western press as a matter in which the Government and
+natives of the country had no concern. Open doors, spheres of influence,
+concessions, protectorates--the various modes in which the Chinese oyster
+was to be cooked and served--were treated solely as questions of rivalry
+and preponderance between the Western Powers. The people were not indeed
+ignored, for the aggressors reckoned on them as their most valuable
+asset, the raw material of prospective armies, the source of labour supply
+for excavations and earthworks, and of the payable traffic for railways
+and other exotic enterprises. But there is more in human nature than a
+capacity to dig or obey a drill-sergeant, and it is precisely the elements
+which were disregarded by political, financial, and industrial adventurers
+which have risen up in judgment against them. The grandiose pronouncements
+of the foreign press during the last two or three years were by no means
+lost on the Chinese Government. These writings showed that the ambitions
+of foreign countries had no limits, while the gratification of them was
+absolutely incompatible with the retention of any semblance of independent
+authority by the rulers of the country.
+
+Reasoning after the fact, and from effect to cause, is apt to be
+fallacious, but when the circuit is completed by the joining of prediction
+with realisation, some confidence may be felt in the soundness of
+the conclusion. Those who have observed the condition of China with
+a sympathetic eye have been for years labouring under the deepest
+apprehension for the peace of the country. The Japanese war accentuated
+this feeling, and the subsequent ruthless proceedings of the Western
+Powers deepened the apprehension. As the forces of aggression could in
+nowise be restrained, anxious, but inadequate and altogether ineffectual,
+attempts were made to avert their worst effects. Warnings were not
+wanting that "dangers which might have slept for generations to come
+had been suddenly brought within the range of practical politics, and
+that unless measures of precaution were taken in time, what happened in
+1894-95 would sooner or later happen again, ... that the Chinese Empire
+would be brought to the verge of disruption; for all the forces, external
+and internal, which make for anarchy would be let loose, and the empire
+would be powerless alike to resist dismemberment by the aggressive Powers
+or the subversion of authority by internal upheaval." The paper from
+which we quote, doubtless one of many such drawn up in 1896, goes on to
+say: "However desirous some, or even all, of the Great Powers might be
+of saving China from dissolution, they would be paralysed by their own
+jealousies, and they would perhaps be more concerned to avert a general
+war among themselves than to prevent calamity in China. A crisis might
+thus arise more direful in its consequences than the chronic crisis in
+the Ottoman Empire, and a reign of havoc would follow in which millions
+would perish where the loss of thousands now excites the indignation of
+the civilised world.[35] No circumstances would be wanting to intensify
+the horror, for it would not be even civil war, but promiscuous rapine
+as aimless and as uncontrollable as a forest fire. A generation has
+scarcely passed since China was desolated by the scourge of the Taiping
+rebellion, which is thought to have destroyed a population equal to that
+of a first-class European State; and a new outbreak of the like kind
+would be more hopeless, inasmuch as the factors which were eventually
+brought into play to extinguish the conflagration in 1862-64 would now
+be wanting, or would be rendered inoperative by the complex circumstances
+above indicated."
+
+The spectre was anarchy, the provocatives aggression and dismemberment;
+and the permanent interests of international commerce were appealed to
+to avert the calamities foreshadowed. "Dismemberment, from the point
+of view of the general interests of trade, would be little better than
+anarchy." Severe pressure was being put on the Chinese Government--even
+in 1896, when these and similar forebodings were uttered--to permit
+free communication by steam and rail, and the development of the mineral
+resources of their country. It was from such sources that the immediate
+danger to the integrity of the territory and the peace of the State was
+apprehended, while, on the other hand, the need for the innovations was
+freely granted. "The Chinese having neither men nor appliances capable
+of undertaking either the construction or management of railways, must
+be wholly dependent on foreigners for their inauguration. This state of
+things, fully recognised on all sides, has led speculators and promoters
+of all nations to besiege the Chinese authorities with offers of the
+means of construction and with demands for concessions. But considering
+the relative positions of China and the Western nations, it cannot
+but be admitted that the Chinese have done well to refuse to listen
+to such proposals. Rival concessionaires working under the ægis of
+extra-territoriality in the interior would be the axe at the root of the
+tree of China's integrity."
+
+The problem of preserving the independence and integrity of China,
+while permitting the opening of the interior of the country to foreign
+enterprise, was felt to be one of the gravest importance, not to be
+settled by the clamour either of rival concession-hunters or the intrigue
+of rival States. "Inland residence," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock, in 1868,
+"will bring weakness to the nation and death to the Government, and must
+eventuate in greater anarchy than has yet been seen.... Right of residence
+in the interior is hardly compatible with an extra-territorial clause."
+
+The essential condition of safety for the country was evidently,
+therefore, to bar the acquisition of territorial rights by any foreign
+Government or company. With this view it was urged that at least the
+ownership and control of railways and mines should be retained in the
+hands of the Government itself, under a competent organisation in which
+foreign skill and experience should be effectively represented. As
+the then existing railway line of 200 miles was of such a character, a
+development of the same system was recommended for the larger schemes
+which were thought to be impending. The foreign Powers were urged
+to assist China in putting her house in order and in adapting her
+administration to the exigencies of the time.
+
+Such were among the proposals made in 1896, and not disapproved by
+the Powers to which they were addressed. But common action thereon by
+foreigners was hindered by mutual rivalry and distrust, while the Chinese
+Government on its part showed neither inclination nor capacity--any more
+than it had ever done--to meet its difficulties by comprehensive measures.
+It preferred the ancient system of resisting, in detail and in secret, the
+advances of foreigners,--a policy of traps and snares and entanglements.
+Possibly the paralysis of despair had already reached the nerve centres
+of Chinese statesmanship, or the desperate scheme of a general expulsion
+of foreigners had begun to fascinate the leading spirits. Certain it is
+no practical _rapprochement_ was effected, or even seriously attempted,
+between the contending forces.
+
+Meantime, however, the invaders would brook no delay,--they had no
+time for temporising tactics. The "ugly rush" began--syndicate rivalled
+syndicate, and Government Government, in dividing up the _corpus vile_.
+Within twelve months of the period just referred to Germany led the way
+in the dismemberment of China by cutting off a slice of Shantung; Russia
+promptly followed in Liaotung; then Great Britain took Weihai-wei as a
+set-off, and assumed an interest in the central zone keener than that
+of the Chinese Government itself. Other Powers followed with imperious
+demands for portions of Chinese territory, on no ground whatever
+except that China was weak. Every law save the law of the strongest
+was suspended. Justice and mercy were thrown to the winds. And yet the
+orgies of spoliation were followed by no change in the outward forms of
+diplomatic relations with the Chinese Government. Foreign representatives
+continued to negotiate as if the power of that Government remained intact,
+though to assume, for one purpose, that there was neither sentient
+organism nor sovereign authority in China, and for another, that the
+Government retained its full competence,[36] was obviously to bring chaos
+into their intercourse. As a consequence, diplomatic correspondence
+with China since 1898--the British share of which, so far as has been
+published, extends to a thousand pages--is but a harvest of Dead Sea
+Fruit.
+
+But Chinese relations being a compound of courtesy and force on the
+part of foreign Powers, it is not difficult to divine which of the two
+must be the dominant factor. Though they bowed their heads in morose
+silence before their conquerors, Chinese statesmen retained sufficient
+vitality to discriminate between platonic diplomacy and the "mailed
+fist," yielding in all things to menace, in nothing to argument. To
+seize territory, under this _régime_, presented less difficulty than to
+obtain redress for trivial injuries. Aggressive Powers were respected
+according to the measure of their aggression, while those who concerned
+themselves with the preservation of the empire met with no recognition
+whatever. British schemes were thwarted at every point, while other
+Powers ran riot throughout the territory. For this reason the Chinese
+Government collectively, and individual mandarins, have been stigmatised
+as anti-British, as if to be so were a blot upon their escutcheons. No
+doubt they are; but to assume on that account that the Chinese rulers
+are pro-Russian, pro-French, or pro-German is more than the premisses
+seem to warrant. History and tradition are alike opposed to such an
+idea. That peculiar kind of patriot, the friend of every country but
+his own, is not much in evidence in China. The vainest and most jealous
+nation on earth was not likely in a moment to suppress its self-love,
+invert its whole character, and welcome an army of foreign adventurers,
+no matter of what nationality, who came in the guise not of servants but
+masters. And, setting sentiment aside, the Chinese were not blind to the
+material consequences of the foreign schemes which were pressed on them,
+but were as keenly alive to the danger of intrusting railway and mining
+enterprises to foreigners as they had always shown themselves to be
+when their military and naval armaments were concerned. The memorials of
+provincial authorities clearly prove this. If, therefore, they admitted
+the disruptive agency into their country, it was from no love of the
+interlopers, but solely by way of submission to superior force, and under
+the same mental reservation with which they had subscribed to all their
+previous treaty engagements.
+
+The chronic missionary irritant mentioned in previous chapters had been
+steadily spreading, and the hostility evoked by it as steadily increasing.
+Christianity being the only character in which foreigners had presented
+themselves to the view of the masses, the extirpation of it stood in the
+forefront of the anti-foreign programme. The disasters which the governing
+classes had always apprehended from the extension of foreign missions had
+suddenly assumed the form of a concrete reality. All that its opponents
+had for generations foretold became fact: their administration was being
+undermined, their traditions set at nought, their very territory wrenched
+from them in the name of the foreign religion. Propagandism was finally
+unmasked by the German Emperor in the uncompromising manner characteristic
+of that potentate. The Name that is above every name was openly made
+subservient to the lust of conquest. China saw at last that she was really
+doomed through the instrumentality of the religion which she had engaged
+herself to tolerate.
+
+
+IV. THE DYNASTIC FACTOR.
+
+    Irregularity of the succession--Defensive position of the
+    empress-dowager--Cantonese reformers influence emperor--Regent's
+    alarm, vengeance and reaction--The new heir-apparent.
+
+Ever since the _coup d'état_ in January 1875, whereby the empress-regent
+by her own fiat placed her infant nephew on the throne of her deceased
+son, to the exclusion of more legitimate heirs, the dynastic question
+has been regarded by Chinese patriots as a certain source of future
+trouble.[37] The imperial dignity was not the only matter involved in the
+succession, but a vast amount of property also, and so many members of
+the imperial clan were interested in the result that it was deemed certain
+that the partisans of legitimacy would lie in wait for an opportunity of
+enforcing the claims of the rightful heir. As it is customary to attribute
+the acts of statesmen to personal motives, it has never been doubted that
+the interest of the empress-regent in setting the reigning emperor on the
+throne was sufficiently explained by her own lust of power. We know what
+is done, but do not always know what is prevented, and in the case of
+the families of both the elder brothers who were passed over, there may
+have been practical as well as judicial reasons to justify even a _coup
+d'état_ which supplanted them. From what has recently been revealed of
+the character of Prince Tuan, for example, the exclusion of his progeny
+may possibly have been a providential deliverance.
+
+Be these things as they may, however, and be her ulterior motives what
+they may, the solicitude of the empress-regent has been constantly
+directed to protecting the weak point in her dynastic defences. The
+childlessness of the present emperor, as well as the misfortunes of
+the empire since he assumed the reins of power in 1889, of course added
+indefinitely to her anxiety, while at the same time serving to keep alive
+the pretensions of the elder branches.
+
+Speaking, as we have done throughout, only of what is apparent, the
+succession question was brought to the point of incandescence by certain
+events in 1898. Great and justifiable discontent had arisen in the
+provinces with the manner in which the affairs of the empire had been
+conducted, resulting in humiliation and calamity. The idea of doing
+something to stem the tide of misgovernment by enforcing the lessons
+of recent misfortune was freely discussed. But the Chinese have not
+discovered any method of remedying grievances except insurrections
+in one form or another, on a small or on a large scale. A movement of
+this character has been on foot in the Canton province ever since the
+Japanese war. These revolutionary conspiracies have indeed been so well
+organised, and so powerfully supported, that once, if not oftener, the
+provincial city of Canton has narrowly escaped capture. The agitation has
+been directed nominally against the Manchu Government. Whether directly
+associated with the insurrectionary propaganda or not, another body
+afterwards challenged public notice under the name of Reformers. As in the
+case of the insurrectionary movement, many Government officials secretly
+gave their adhesion to the cause, and inspired the leaders with confidence
+in the ultimate success of their schemes.
+
+Reform had been preached continuously to China from every foreign pulpit
+for forty years. "Reform or perish" was the regular formula--words so
+easily written that no resident, tourist, publicist, foreign official,
+or any one with a pen or a tongue, refrained from reiterating them
+continually. Individually every Chinese official with whom foreigners came
+in contact joined in the cry. But though the general demand was unanimous,
+there was diversity in the details, and in such a case the details were
+everything. A dozen writers, each insisting on the necessity of thorough
+reform, would postulate separately some indispensable preliminary to any
+reform whatsoever. These indispensable preliminaries, added together,
+would have left nothing for the substantive portion of the programme; by
+them Chinese administration would have been renovated from top to bottom.
+Such was the difficulty which friends and critics experienced in knowing
+where to begin in their efforts to reduce the general to the particular.
+
+In 1898, however, a bold attempt was made to launch a comprehensive scheme
+of reform by imperial fiat. A Cantonese named Kang Yu-wei, backed by a
+body of opinion,--of the extent and value of which different estimates may
+be formed, "financed," of course, as popular leaders must be,--obtained
+the ear of the emperor, and induced him to promulgate a budget of edicts
+of startling novelty. Being deemed revolutionary, they excited alarm
+in the Imperial Court. What were the specific grounds of alarm may be
+easily surmised. Foreigners who refer it exclusively to the question of
+reform may possibly take as partial a view of this as they have done of
+other Court movements. What is known is, that the empress-regent, always
+ready to strike when her interest or her schemes have been threatened,
+pounced on the unfortunate emperor, and by force of will and the parental
+authority which counts for so much in China, and in virtue of the Great
+Seal which she had reserved when handing over her trust, made him revoke
+his revolutionary edicts, hunted out his dangerous counsellors and
+punished them as traitors. The embers of reform were thus for the time
+ruthlessly stamped out. Of the ethics of these proceedings it is needless
+to speak: not ethics but strength decided the issue; nature's primeval law
+was not suspended in favour of the adventurous spirits who flew at such
+high game. A reaction against all reform naturally set in, and the old
+struggle was renewed: between conservation and revolution, viewed from
+the Chinese Court side; between purity and corruption, viewed from that
+of the Reformers.
+
+But the quarrel cannot be restricted to so simple an issue as either of
+these. The question between the Reformers and the Court was complicated by
+sundry important considerations. In the first place, the capture of the
+Emperor by Kang Yu-wei was directly inspired by the teaching of foreign
+missionaries. In the second place, the movement originated in the same
+southern provinces whence the Taiping rebellion itself had sprung, and
+where conspiracies against the Government had been active since 1895.
+And thirdly, the reform agitation was ostentatiously patronised by the
+foreign, or at least by the English, press, while the leaders of the
+insurgents found a safe asylum, if not an effective base of operations,
+in Hongkong and in foreign countries. Taking these circumstances
+together, therefore, whatever may be thought of the intrinsic merits
+of the double agitation, it could scarcely be expected that the Powers
+which saw themselves so seriously menaced should draw any such fine
+distinction between the ostensible objects of the reformers and of the
+revolutionaries, as to regard the one with complacency while suppressing
+the other. The most abject of governments and the most timid of animals
+will resist to the death an attack which threatens their existence. There
+would be nothing unnatural, therefore, in the resentment of the Imperial
+Government against its disaffected people being, by the process which
+is so familiar to us in family quarrels, temporarily diverted from the
+domestic to the foreign enemy, against whom the combined hostility of all
+parties in the Chinese State might, for the time being, be concentrated.
+
+Without, however, attempting to assign their relative values to all or
+any of these factors in the question, it seems evident that the events of
+1898 revealed the elements of a drama in which the contending factions in
+the Court were forced to show their colours. The course of the conflict
+during the year and a half following the autumn of 1898 has probably
+been obscured rather than elucidated by the contradictory reports and
+fluctuating comments which have been so freely disseminated with but
+slight regard to the authenticity of their origin. But the nomination of
+a grandson of Prince Tun as heir-apparent, which was decreed in January
+1900, looks like a belated, if not compulsory, recognition of the prior
+claims of that Princes family, and a confession that the Emperor Kwanghsu
+has kept the rightful heir twenty-five years out of his inheritance;
+for the grandson now selected possesses no right which the grandson set
+aside in 1875 did not possess. The relations of Prince Tuan, the father
+of the emperor designate, with the empress-regent are as obscure as
+the intricacies of palace politics usually are to contemporary foreign
+observers. Fortunately, however (in one sense), the cross-currents and
+undercurrents of the Court, the question who are confederates and who
+rivals, who betrayers and who betrayed, in the imperial camp, are matters
+which have to a great extent been deprived of their significance. Under
+normal conditions the dynastic imbroglio might have had a perturbing
+influence on the policy of foreign Powers, but the explosion of last
+summer has relegated all such domestic questions to a secondary place.
+When the correspondent of the 'Times' could report that there was "no
+Government" in Peking, the _personnel_ of that Government lost its
+practical interest. The old order, with its sins and sorrows, has indeed
+passed away, but to find a substitute for it is a problem that will tax
+the wisdom as well as the forbearance of the world. The anarchy which
+has been so long dreaded is actually upon us, and the prospective horrors
+of it are assuredly not lessened by the outbreak being signalised in the
+capital rather than in the provinces.
+
+
+V. THE CHINESE OUTBREAK.
+
+    Chinese methods of expelling foreigners--Secret societies--The
+    Boxers.
+
+Considering as a whole, therefore, the succession of crushing blows which
+during the past six years have been dealt against the integrity of China
+by open enemies and dissimulating friends, we may conceive, at least
+partially, the hatred of foreigners which exists in the country. In this
+case we are not driven to assume any wide difference between the Chinese
+and races more nearly allied to ourselves, nor need we seek to account
+for their demonstrations by defects in their moral or religious training.
+Had even the whole population of China been miraculously converted to
+Christianity, as suggested by Sir Robert Hart ('Fortnightly Review,'
+November 1900), it is not permissible to assume that they would have
+continued turning the other cheek to so many smiters. If we suppose the
+case of any Western nation subjected to the experiences through which
+the Chinese have had to pass at the hands of foreign dictators, the mode
+in which it would act may afford us some measure by which to gauge the
+excesses of the Chinese.
+
+The origin and organisation of the recent outbreak will no doubt be a
+topic of discussion for some time to come, and it is not within our
+province to anticipate the final verdict on it. But, as in certain
+contagious diseases which become constitutional, the angry symptoms first
+show themselves at the point of infection, it is interesting to note
+that the German sphere in Shantung enjoys the distinction of being the
+cradle of the principal agency producing the cataclysm. The prominence
+suddenly attained by the Boxer movement is probably fortuitous, due to
+its casual connection with high personages. Secret societies are nothing
+new, nor societies of divers sorts which have scarcely the pretence of
+secrecy. As weeds spring up where cultivation is neglected, these social
+growths may be considered in the light of spontaneous efforts to occupy
+ground left vacant by the constituted Government,--a sort of excrescence
+of autonomy rising and falling according as the administration is less or
+more efficient. The members of these societies may be ascetics who follow
+strict rules of living, defenders of popular rights, or mere "bullies"
+who may be hired. They bear virtuous titles, but it is safe to assume that
+the ostensible object of the associations is in practice invariably lost
+in schemes of a different complexion. Sometimes in collision, at other
+times in collusion, with the established Government, these societies are
+a mobile factor, a sort of shifting ballast, always to be reckoned with
+in the Chinese economy.
+
+As the Boxers are an athletic corps, drilled and exercised, it was
+natural to inquire, when their imposing force stood revealed, how
+such a formidable movement could have been organised among the Chinese
+people without the fact becoming known to the foreign residents in the
+country. One answer is, that those who saw what was going on and warned
+their countrymen were decried as alarmists, and then held their peace.
+The wisest were but little wiser than their neighbours, for as weather
+prophets easily forecast the character of the following season, while
+they are at fault as regards that of the next twenty-four hours, so those
+who are able to predict with confidence the remote future in China are
+often the most blind to the nearer future which is reckoned by days or
+months. But incredulity was excusable in the present case, for the extent
+and apparent suddenness of the movement were really unprecedented. Such a
+force has not been mobilised and kept in the field in a militant condition
+without immense effort and liberal supplies, for though pillage might
+go far, it would not go all the way in supporting so large a body for
+any length of time. The junction of the Boxers with imperial troops, the
+relations of the commanders to members of the imperial family, and the
+influence of the movement on the question of the dynastic succession, are
+all matters on which light will be welcome; for as no military invasion
+of the territory has ever called forth such a general enthusiasm of
+resistance, interesting, indeed, will be the discovery of the real genesis
+of a rising at once spontaneous and aggressive.
+
+The most practical observation, however, that foreign nations have been
+forced to make during the crisis is that, whatever might have been the
+separate designs of those who presided over the general movement, the
+rallying flag of the combination was the extermination of foreigners.
+That was the pretext which, for the time being at least, reconciled
+all antagonisms and satisfied all consciences. It seemed as if the
+long-accumulated hatred of the Chinese had gathered to a head, and its
+whole force had been concentrated in one supreme effort to sweep the
+aliens throughout the empire into the sea. That elaborate preparation had
+been made to carry this into effect seems to be placed beyond doubt, the
+rulers of China evidently conceiving that the effort would be successful.
+
+The excuse put forward in palliation of an anti-crusade headed by the
+highest personages in the empire bears an interesting family resemblance
+to the apology usually made for rebels. Being beguiled by false prophets,
+they believed they would succeed;[38] and success would have justified the
+venture. The facts are such as no subsequent negotiations, no treaties,
+no modifications of government, no reform, no professions of any kind,
+can ever explain away.
+
+
+VI. THE CRUX.
+
+    Concert of foreign Powers unstable--Divergent aims--Aggressive
+    and non-aggressive Powers--Unpromising outlook--The progress of
+    Russia the only permanent element.
+
+If conflicting forces in China have been united in an effort to expel
+the foreigners, so the non-Chinese world has been forced into temporary
+agreement in order to extinguish a conflagration which endangered all
+interests. But the Powers assembled to execute judgment and restore order
+in China present a picturesque diversity of ulterior aims. Their unity
+can hardly, therefore, be expected to survive the emergency which gave it
+birth. After the storm has passed--if it does pass--the permanent policy
+of the several Powers may be expected to resume its normal sway. Of the
+character of these different policies we are not left in doubt, for in the
+history of the past six years it has been revealed in overt acts bearing
+a higher authority than the most solemn official manifestoes.
+
+The principal Powers concerned may be ranged in three groups--the
+aggressive, the non-aggressive, and the absorbent. Under the first
+must be ranked Japan, France, and Germany. Facts which cannot lie have
+proved that these three Powers have long cherished designs upon the
+territory of China. No doubt they flatter themselves with the belief
+that their rule over such portions of Chinese soil as may come under
+their control would be a blessing to mankind, an opinion which it would
+serve no good purpose to controvert. And they reckon that, in addition
+to the higher civilisation which they propose to confer on the Chinese
+people and Government, they will secure material advantages for their
+own populations. The ruling characteristic, however, of this policy is
+that it is factitious, adventurous, and ideal, in search of interests
+to defend rather than framed for the defence of interests existing. It
+is essentially, therefore, an aggressive policy, though, in a sense,
+also progressive. Dividing the world into communities to be conquered
+and nations who are fitted to conquer them, it represents the primeval
+moving power in ethnic evolution. But it is a policy quite unsuited for
+co-operation, and the attempt to yoke together Governments, certain of
+whom are moved empirically by facts as they exist and as they arise,
+and others by the desire of creating facts, ends--as all concerts
+of antagonistic interests must end--most likely in explosion. A safe
+calculation may be made as to the action of a non-aggressive Power,
+under given circumstances, as the action of a man of business may be
+approximately inferred from obvious considerations of pecuniary advantage.
+But in the case of States with ideal policies, like France and Germany,
+no such forecast can be made. This radical divergence between the aims of
+the Powers who are called upon to decree the fate of China must render a
+sincere agreement between them, under any circumstances, impossible; and
+if the policy of one of them should happen to be directed by a political
+genius ambitious of distinction, the course of the whole would be subject
+to aberrations incalculable. It is true that the Governments which have
+marked out for themselves these extensive plans of aggression may begin
+to perceive that their proceedings in China have been somewhat in advance
+of any justification, also that they have been reckoning without their
+host, and that to found and maintain empires in further Asia may put a
+strain upon their resources out of proportion to the material gains to
+be derived from the enterprise. Perceiving that their "vaulting ambition
+may o'erleap itself" and land them on the off-side of the horse, they may
+show themselves willing, for the moment, to attenuate the significance
+of their previous energy. The discovery that the conquest of China
+involves something more than a military promenade may induce them to
+make professions which, however sincere for the time being, accord but
+indifferently with established facts. In the procession of history,
+however, it is the facts and not the words which ultimately prevail.
+
+And this is the only canon by which it is safe to interpret the
+apocalyptic exchange of notes just announced between Great Britain and
+Germany, whose significance, like that of the conversation of a Chinese,
+lies in the things which are not said. Considered as a convention, it
+must be classed with those elastic bargains of which several examples
+occur in the preceding narrative, in which one party has a definite
+aim and the other not, and which is therefore destined to be employed
+exclusively to the advantage of the former. _Vigilantibus non dormientibus
+servit lex._ Without knowing what secret inducements led to such a
+declaration of policy between Great Britain and Germany it is impossible
+to assign a value to it. Its most authoritative expositors in the German
+press rejoice in the fact that it pins Great Britain down to the only
+policy which she has ever pursued, or ever will,--a policy in which her
+public utterances have throughout coincided with her overt acts,--that,
+namely, of opening Chinese and all other markets not for herself but
+for the whole world on equal terms. An agreement, however, which does
+not arrest French encroachments in the south, Russian appropriations in
+the north, nor German exclusive exploitations in Shantung or elsewhere,
+contributes little to that maintenance of the integrity of China which is
+its professed object. Neither the world at large nor China herself will
+benefit greatly by a verbal restriction on the one Power to whom the "open
+door" and the integrity of China are articles of political religion and
+of undeviating practice. And the clause which solemnly reserves to the
+two parties the right of consulting together in certain contingencies
+gives to the transaction a very platonic character. But a covenant whose
+meaning is veiled is always a hazardous operation, even in private life,
+where the power of definite interpretation lies with the more aggressive
+of the two parties.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The non-aggressive Powers may be defined as those whose citizens have
+established in the country a substantial position, which their Governments
+have been slow to protect. The principal representatives of this group
+are Great Britain and the United States, whose interests in China have
+many times been defined as commercial, and not territorial. They have
+acted consistently on the conviction that there is no country in the
+world where conquest for the sake of commerce was less justifiable than
+in China, which possesses a large population inured to labour, accustomed
+to the luxuries of a civilised society, and with unsurpassed aptitude
+for business. No special credit is due to the two Anglo-Saxon nations for
+their recognition of these circumstances, except in so far as it indicates
+an intelligent appreciation of their own interests. They desire, as an
+ordinary trader or manufacturer would, that a good customer may be kept
+on his legs, and that a promising inheritance shall not be alienated
+from the next generation of their merchants. Their policy, however, being
+essentially passive and conservative, suffers from the defects of these
+qualities, and is liable to be overborne by the more energetic action of
+the Powers which we have ventured to place in the aggressive class.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There remains the third group, which consists of one member, and that is
+Russia. Although Russia is in effect more aggressive than all the others
+put together, her annexations have been conducted under a different
+formula from those of Germany, France, or Japan. It is not merely that she
+has avoided hostilities, and effected her purpose by patient and adroit
+diplomacy, but that her acquisitions of Chinese territory have not been
+of the "wild-cat" order, but genuine integral additions to her existing
+possessions. The expansion of Russia, whether a matter to be deplored
+or applauded, is at any rate a natural growth, unduly forced at times,
+but steady and progressive. It is the shadow of this secular advance of
+Russia that covers the whole Far Eastern situation, and has in fact done
+so for nearly fifty years. The character of her progress could not be
+better described, even with the lights we now possess, than it was by Sir
+Rutherford Alcock as far back as 1855. With rare clearness of vision and
+firmness of touch he thus foretold the position which Russia was destined
+to occupy in the Far East:--
+
+    China has long been impotent. Russia has within the last few
+    years, by force of diplomacy, appropriated half the province
+    of Manchuria, the ancient patrimony of the reigning dynasty,
+    and with it the command of the river Amur. If this other great
+    Leviathan ... has not yet swallowed the whole empire, it can only
+    be that, great as are its capacities, there are limits imposed by
+    nature to the powers of deglutition and digestion in the largest
+    boa-constrictor or predatory animal yet discovered. In the mean
+    time the danger is more immediate and menacing to Europe than
+    to China, perhaps; for Russia has at Sakhalin, the mouth of the
+    Amur, and the adjoining coasts of the Western continent, laid the
+    foundation for a position as menacing to European commerce as any
+    now existing at the opposite extremity in the Baltic. Stretching
+    with giant arms across the whole breadth of Northern Asia and
+    Europe from fastnesses at each end, Asiatic hordes, directed by
+    Western genius and science, are held in leash, ready to let slip
+    over the fair and fertile south of both continents. The wealthiest
+    regions of both Europe and Asia are at once threatened by this
+    modern colossus.... China, India, and the kingdoms of Southern
+    Europe form but the three different stages of invading progress.
+    Long before the whole of such a gigantic scheme of rule and
+    conquest can have its accomplishment in China--the most helpless
+    as well as the richest of all the victims--Russia will be enabled
+    to reap the first-fruits and take instalments of the larger and
+    more distant spoil, by controlling the trade of Northern China
+    and the rich European trade so recently developed in its seas.
+
+Russia alone has a policy independent at once of accidents, autocrats,
+shifting governing bodies, and of all personalities, weak or strong.
+With the accumulated force of past achievements, an unbroken tradition,
+and great military forces massed on a frontier which is no frontier,
+Russia among the other Powers now masquerading in the Far East is as the
+iron vessel floating among the earthenware pots. Russian publicists, in
+order to strengthen the dominant position to which they aspire, have been
+proclaiming with increasing insistency that they are the only nation who
+can deal with the Chinese Question because they are themselves an Asiatic
+people. They justify this pretension by their primitive Asiatic military
+ethics, and it is an instructive spectacle to see their forces massacring
+Chinese populations wholesale while their diplomatists are ostentatiously
+shielding those in high places from the just consequences of their
+crimes. The German Emperor has said many clever and some foolish things,
+but perhaps he never did a wiser one than in making over his schemes of
+vengeance to his august ally, for the work is more becoming to an Asiatic
+than a Teutonic people.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+From an areopagus composed of these incongruous elements great
+achievements are expected, but the comparison between the end and the
+means inspires little confidence as to the result. The task itself is
+gigantic enough to appal the boldest political experimenter that ever
+lived, while its complexity involves insoluble contradictions. China,
+the very Government itself, has been guilty of outrages against foreign
+nations such as no nation can forgive another. The foreign Powers have
+been openly and persistently defied--their people massacred throughout
+the empire. Yet the nations so hated and flouted assume that they
+have a mission to fulfil in setting up a stable Government in China, a
+Government to be created for their own convenience, with which they may
+in future negotiate,--a puppet Government, therefore, yet one which is to
+maintain peace and good order throughout a vast empire by the prestige
+of its authority over a loyal and devoted people. As buttresses to the
+stability of the new _régime_, "the loyal southern viceroys," as they
+are termed--loyal to whom, or to what?--deriving authority, it is to be
+presumed, from the Government which is to be patronised by foreigners, are
+expected to meet the convenience of the dictators and prevent anarchy in
+the provinces. In short, the subjective Chinaman, as we have ventured to
+call the fabulous animal so often evolved from Western consciousness, is
+once more to be brought on the scene, and do everything that is expected
+of him.
+
+A puppet Government is an intelligible thing, but of a puppet pulled by
+a dozen strings no clear conception can be formed. Such, however, has
+been the anomalous history of foreign relations with China, that the
+identical state of things now threatening has not been absent from the
+minds of observers for a whole generation. The missionary question alone
+was thought likely to result in a deadlock between China and the Powers.
+More than thirty years ago Sir Rutherford Alcock was impressed with the
+destructive effect of "each treaty Power dictating to the Government and
+coercing its officers in their jurisdiction wherever Christians were
+concerned." This, he thought, "would tend to paralyse and bring into
+contempt the executive, leading to a process of disintegration fatal to
+the existence of the Empire." What was then thought applicable to the
+missionary field now affects the whole range of international intercourse
+and of Chinese government. We are, in fact, confronted by two anarchies
+of most serious portent--anarchy in the administration of China, and
+anarchy among the foreign Powers who are so active in that country. From
+the beginning of the intervention to protect the Legations anarchy among
+the Allies has been the predominant feature: it was that which frustrated
+effective action in June, and led to such severe loss and suffering.
+Anarchy alone can account for the lawless proceedings at Tientsin,
+Peking, and on the Chinese coast, which on any other hypothesis would be a
+disgrace to civilisation. Anarchy has characterised all the utterances of
+the Western Powers. Beginning at the wrong end with great swelling words
+full of sound and fury, the Powers who assumed to lead have gradually
+toned down their threats as they obtained more light on the situation
+and on their own incapacity to deal with it. The latest expression of
+this incapacity is the Anglo-German Agreement, already referred to, which
+perpetuates the fallacy of excluding the Chinese factor from the China
+question. Yet out of, even by means of, this confusion it is expected that
+order may be established in China! _Similia similibus!_
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In this desperate imbroglio the ultimate advantage will no doubt fall
+to those members of the unnatural coalition who have the clearest views
+and the firmest resolution in giving effect to them. The dubious and
+vacillating Powers frittering away their political forces, espousing every
+contradiction in succession, and turning in weariness from the disgusting
+scenes in which they will have reluctantly participated, will in all
+probability leave the path open for their neighbours who have steadier
+aims and fewer scruples.
+
+Russia has been in real, though not nominal or legal, possession of
+Manchuria since 1896. She has absorbed in times past many stony deserts
+and barren solitudes, but in Manchuria she has for the first time
+acquired a rich territory with an all-important sea-base and a virile
+population, whereby her dominant position in Eastern Asia has been
+rendered inexpugnable. China lies at her feet. Obviously, therefore,
+her interests in that empire are not only distinct from, but opposed to,
+those of every other Power: for while they may desire (1) to support an
+efficient government and keep the empire of China on its legs, and (2) to
+cut off slices of the territory for their own use,--two contradictory and
+mutually destructive policies,--Russia has no need to be anxious, either
+as to the efficiency of any Chinese Government or as to her own ulterior
+interests in the territory. The looser the substance to be absorbed the
+more painless will be the process of absorption. Once established in
+strength in Manchuria, disorder on her frontier may afford the perhaps not
+unwelcome opportunity of restoring order on her own terms,--of, in fact,
+continuing the process by which Siberia with Central and North-Eastern
+Asia have, in the course of two hundred years, been gradually incorporated
+into the Russian Empire. "It may well be doubted," wrote Sir Rutherford
+Alcock in 1868, "if this vast empire (of China) is not too large to be
+any longer governed from Peking. It is impossible to conceive a more
+disadvantageous site for the capital." Disadvantageous, perhaps, to
+China, whose centre of gravity lies a thousand miles to the south; but
+not disadvantageous to a Power whose strength is consolidated five hundred
+miles to the north.[39]
+
+And the veto which Russia has exercised over the acts of the Chinese
+Government since 1895, whereby she has been able, at her pleasure, to
+frustrate the enterprises of other Powers, is not likely to fall into
+abeyance when that Government has been prostrated by its own folly. For
+the weaker the Chinese Government becomes the greater will be its need of
+correction and guidance. But we have only to imagine half-a-dozen Powers,
+each aspiring, and some of them fully resolved, to exercise their special
+veto over the proposals of the others, to realise the tragic complexity
+of the international problems which now present themselves for solution.
+A government holding together three hundred millions of people ripened
+for rebellion, potentially at war with the rest of the world, and yet
+governing under multiple tutelage--such is the prospect before us. Of
+all the legacies which the nineteenth bequeaths to the twentieth century,
+there is none more portentous than that of the sick giant of the Far East.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [33] See vol. i. p. 38.
+
+ [34] Mr Freeman-Mitford, in 'The Attaché at Peking,' recently
+    published, tells the following good story illustrative of this
+    (p. 168). M. de Mas, the Spanish Minister, happening to be at
+    the house of Hêng-Chi, and knowing that he had a little son of
+    whom he was inordinately proud, thought it would be a very pretty
+    compliment if he asked to see the little boy, who was accordingly
+    produced, sucking his thumb after the manner of his years. Him his
+    father ordered to pay his respects to M. de Mas--that is to say,
+    shake his united fists at him in token of salutation; instead of
+    which the child, after long silence and much urging, taking his
+    thumb deliberately out of his mouth roared out "Kwei-tzÅ­" (devils)
+    at the top of his voice and fled.
+
+ [35] Referring to the massacre of Armenian Christians, with regard
+    to which Germany took up a very different attitude from that now
+    assumed towards China--a circumstance, by the way, which serves
+    to reduce the "Christian" factor in the present intervention to
+    its proper value.
+
+ [36] Or, as M. Paul Boell expresses it, "Traitant la Chine tantôt
+    comme un pouvoir tout à fait formidable, tantôt comme une
+    puissance nègre de septième ordre."
+
+ [37] Kwanghsu, being first cousin to the deceased Emperor Tungchih,
+    could not, according to Chinese usage, be his heir. In adopting
+    him, therefore, as posthumous heir to the previous Emperor
+    Hsienfêng, his uncle, the Regent left her own son, the Emperor
+    Tungchih, without an heir, promising to supply the want from
+    the future offspring of Kwanghsu, or by some other adoption; but
+    against this procedure strong protests were made. The arrangement,
+    however, conferred upon the Dowager-Empress, as the widow of
+    Hsienfêng, the authority of a mother over his heir, a circumstance
+    which to a large extent accounts for the filial deference the
+    reigning emperor has always paid to his adoptive mother.
+
+ [38] Thirty years ago the great Nanking viceroy, Tsêng Kwo-fan,
+    assured the Government in a memorial to the throne that if the
+    question of treaty revision could not be satisfactorily arranged
+    with foreigners, he had forces enough under his orders to drive
+    them all into the sea.
+
+ [39] The question of removing the capital to a more convenient site
+    has been discussed academically--by foreigners--for many years,
+    their view being that Nanking would be the most suitable. No doubt
+    a central point open to the sea would be more convenient for the
+    maritime Powers, but that is evidently not an advantage which
+    commends itself to the Chinese themselves. During the Japanese war
+    their strategists urged the removal of the Court from Peking to
+    Signan fu in Shensi, simply on the ground of the inaccessibility
+    of the latter site. The transport was prepared and the Emperor
+    was ready, but the Empress-Dowager vetoed the project.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK'S LATER YEARS.
+
+    Retirement--Literary work--Social and charitable
+    occupations--Geographical Society--Borneo--Failing health--Active
+    to the end.
+
+
+After twenty-seven years' service in the Far East Sir Rutherford Alcock
+spent the remaining twenty-seven years of his life in his own country,
+not in the placid enjoyment of a well-earned leisure or in mere literary
+recreation, but in labours incessant for the good of his countrymen.
+Though the scene had changed, the methodical habits of his business life
+remained unaltered, and were directed in their full activity to the duties
+that presented themselves in England.
+
+During his whole active life Sir Rutherford had cherished the hope of
+occupying his years of leisure with work for the sick and needy. His
+visit to England, 1856-58, perhaps gave the definite direction to this
+aspiration, and led him to see that hospitals, schools, prisons, and
+similar institutions would afford the best available medium through
+which he could reach the object of his desires. No sooner, therefore,
+was he released from official service than the ex-army surgeon returned
+to his first love. The associations of his youth were bound up with the
+two hospitals in Westminster where he had studied. There, accordingly,
+after the lapse of forty years, his active connection with the medical
+schools was resumed. Residing in the immediate vicinity, Sir Rutherford
+was able to devote a large share of his time to the affairs of Westminster
+Hospital, giving back with interest what he had received from his nursing
+mother. He was a regular visitor there: before long he joined the Board,
+and became a prominent figure at its meetings. Being appointed one of the
+vice-presidents, an office he held till his death, he was, through his
+constant attendance, the working chairman of the board. There was much
+good work waiting to be done in the control and direction of the routine
+service of the establishment, and still more in the way of improvements
+required to adapt the machine to the needs of the time. Hospitals in
+general were by no means in a satisfactory condition thirty years ago,
+and the Westminster was certainly no better than its neighbours. The
+sanitary state of the establishment was antiquated and unfavourable to
+the patients. But the structural changes necessary to improve this and to
+extend the accommodation, and the heavy expenditure involved, demanded
+first-rate financial and organising capacity, as well as unremitting
+labour,--desiderata which Sir Rutherford was eminently qualified to
+supply. The nursing was at such a low level as amounted almost to a
+scandal. Drastic remedies, in short, and in many directions, were called
+for. But reform from within is proverbially an unpromising undertaking,
+the _personnel_ being identified with conservative traditions. That kind
+of parsimony which is in effect the worst extravagance, inasmuch as it
+yields no adequate return, was a serious obstacle to improvement. It was
+not their fault, but that of the system of which they were but creatures,
+that nurses and other attendants were so perfunctory and so inefficient.
+It was the system, therefore, that had to be reformed, and into that work
+Sir Rutherford Alcock threw himself _con amore_. In his labours for the
+improvement of the hospital he was supported throughout by the cordial
+co-operation of the late Lady Augusta Stanley. We are indebted to his
+colleague, Mr George Cowell, F.R.C.S., for a short reference to the work
+initiated and carried through by Sir Rutherford Alcock, and for a warm
+tribute to the zeal and ability which he brought into the service:--
+
+    Most of the many valuable reports on such subjects as the nursing,
+    admission of out-patients, structural alterations, and improved
+    sanitation were written by him, and endorsed by the committees
+    over which he so ably presided. The writer of this notice
+    remembers the early controversies with reference to the nursing,
+    and the growing complaints which failed to receive attention until
+    Sir Rutherford came on the scene. Hospital committees in those
+    days were not so liberal as they are now, and all increase in
+    the wages of the nurses was absolutely refused for many years.
+    The result of this parsimony was that as the general rate of
+    wages increased, the best nurses were enticed away by better pay
+    elsewhere, and Westminster had gradually come to be nursed by a
+    lower and lower class, and indeed thirty years ago it was not an
+    unheard-of thing to convict a nurse for consuming brandy ordered
+    for the patient. The medical staff were obliged to make a stand
+    against this crying evil, and at last, with the assistance of Sir
+    Rutherford, and in spite of the determined opposition of the then
+    senior physician, a change was made, and the cost of the nursing
+    was doubled at a bound.
+
+Sir Rutherford was chairman of the Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital for
+sixteen years, and of the Hospital for Women in Soho Square, to both
+of which institutions he rendered great services. He was member of the
+Council of the House of Charity for assisting those who have seen better
+days, and chairman of the Nursing Home founded by Lady Augusta Stanley,
+in which he took a keen interest. He was also a Poor Law Guardian and
+a leader in sundry charitable and other parochial work, his experiences
+of which he likened to the steps of a dancing-master--"two forward and
+one backward, with no very sensible advance in any one direction." One
+important step forward he did, however, succeed in making, and that was
+in obtaining trained nurses for sick inmates of workhouses. His efforts,
+while connected with St George's Union, were specially devoted to the
+treatment of the sick: he also took a great interest in the emigration of
+pauper children to Canada.
+
+As a member of the committee of the Charity Organisation Society he
+laboured for many years in a variety of ways to bring about unity of
+action between that body and the Board of Guardians. In connection with
+the Westminster District Board of Works, Board of Parochial Trustees,
+Western Dispensary, and Westminster Nursing Committee, he rendered
+innumerable services to the populous districts controlled by these
+organisations. Having been elected to the Board of Works in 1875, Sir
+Rutherford was at once placed upon the Sanitary Committee, to which the
+Board delegated the administration of the Public Health Acts then in
+force. The vestry clerk of St Margaret's and St John's records that the
+Sanitary Committee of the District Board of Works was Sir Rutherford's
+favourite field of work--an impression which was no doubt also formed by
+the executive officers of the other spheres of his multifarious activity.
+The members of the Board were at that time greatly occupied in combating
+the evils resulting from the overcrowded and insanitary condition of
+their district, and Sir Rutherford was largely instrumental in urging
+upon the Home Office the necessity of legislation to compel medical
+practitioners and heads of families to give notice of cases of infectious
+diseases--efforts which eventually resulted in the Act of Parliament of
+1889.
+
+In 1881 he was appointed a member of the Royal Commission to investigate
+the London smallpox and fever hospitals, to the formation of which he
+had contributed powerfully by his reports and articles and labours in the
+Medical Conference. In 1882 he presided over the Health Department of the
+Social Science Congress.
+
+In all the social and philanthropic objects to which he devoted himself he
+was an original worker, never a follower of routine or one to say ditto
+to another man's opinions. Whatever he undertook he did thoroughly, and
+with a single eye to the main purpose. His various activities brought him
+into contact with all sorts and conditions of men, but chiefly with those
+on the pathetic side of social life--the unfortunate, the debilitated,
+the improvident, the suffering. He shirked none of his obligations to the
+meanest of these, and would suffer the greatest personal inconvenience
+rather than fail in fulfilment of the smallest promise, or in gratifying
+the slightest request. This punctilious observance of the minor duties
+was remarked as a prominent feature in his character. An intimate friend
+writes, "How I wish I could convey even a faint idea of his kindly and
+sympathetic friendship, which left the feeling that he was on a plane
+above one in his lofty sense of love and duty." Pure philanthropy,
+genuine economy, and sound finance being his guiding principles in all
+social undertakings, and whatever he undertook being pushed through to
+a successful issue, he by degrees acquired a reputation for efficiency
+and tenacity. It was not surprising that his energetic character should
+have gained him the credit of aggressiveness, or, as Mr Co well puts
+it, "bellicose individuality," which, however, served him in good stead
+in every post he occupied. We have already seen throughout his official
+career how he was stimulated by controversy: he was at his best as a
+fighting man.
+
+The high qualities which Sir Rutherford devoted to his labours of love
+received flattering recognition from the Queen, who applied to him to draw
+up the regulations and rules of the institution by which deserving nurses
+were to be benefited in commemoration of her Majesty's Jubilee. This
+honour he accepted from her Majesty on the condition that he should have
+for colleagues in the work Sir James Paget and the Duke of Westminster, a
+request which was graciously granted. The balance of the Women's Jubilee
+offering of 1887 was £70,000, of which fund the three were appointed
+trustees. They decided that it should be applied to the foundation of
+an institution to promote the education and maintenance of nurses for
+the sick poor in their own homes. When the scheme had been matured a
+royal charter of incorporation was granted, wherein the governing body
+was styled "The Queen Victoria Jubilee Institute for Nurses," the three
+trustees being appointed to act permanently in that capacity, and also as
+members of the Council of the Institute. "Sir Rutherford," says the Rev.
+Arthur Peile, Master of St Katharine's, "continued to the last to take
+an unfailing interest in the work, and in many valuable ways aided the
+committee and council by his advice. From his wide grasp of the subject
+in its various bearings he was able to make important suggestions."
+The Diamond Jubilee and the incidents connected with the celebration
+interested Sir Rutherford greatly during the last year of his life, and
+the medal he received on the occasion was valued by him more highly than
+any other distinction, because he knew that the bestowal of it was the
+spontaneous act of the Queen herself, for whom he had a deep personal
+affection.
+
+To the larger public Sir Rutherford Alcock was perhaps best known by his
+work in connection with the Royal Geographical Society, on the committee
+of which he served for twenty years. Elected President in 1876, it
+fell to him to receive Sir George Nares on his return from his Arctic
+expedition in that year, and Mr H. M. Stanley on his return from the
+Congo in 1877. His various presidential addresses to the Society itself,
+and to the geographical section of the British Association, are replete
+with well-digested summaries of the progress of geographical exploration
+throughout the world. His comprehensive treatment of the subject assisted
+very much, if not to make geography a science, at least to lift it out
+of the region of mere technical knowledge, and to assign to the study of
+it the social and political significance now universally attached to the
+description of the earth's surface. Personally he did much to stimulate
+enterprise of that kind in various regions. As Chairman of the African
+Exploration Fund, he took an active share in the labours which resulted in
+the despatch of Mr Keith Johnston and Mr Joseph Thomson to East Africa,
+and, by bringing the country into notice, had such important results in
+the direction of the opening up of that part of the continent. Speaking
+of him a few days after his death, the President, Sir Clements Markham,
+said: "Judicious, patient, and courteous, he was esteemed by us all,
+and his able advice helped us out of many a difficulty. The period of
+his presidency will always be remembered for the energy with which he
+advocated African exploration, the result of his efforts being represented
+by the memorable expeditions of Joseph Thomson."
+
+We have already had occasion to remark on the personal interest which Sir
+Rutherford had taken during the earlier years of his service in China and
+Japan in the London Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862.[40] Indeed the Japanese
+"show" in the latter was virtually organised by him. His well-known
+sympathy with, and interest in, all industrial and artistic collections
+led to his being chosen as British Commissioner to the Paris Exhibition
+of 1878.
+
+About the same time a question of imperial concern claimed Sir
+Rutherford's active intervention: that was colonisation in the Eastern
+Archipelago. Borneo, the largest island in the world after Australia,
+has from time to time excited considerable interest in Great Britain.
+The romantic career of the Rajah of Sarawak, Sir James Brooke, on the
+west coast, had much to do with bringing that part of the world into
+public notice. Adopting as his country the domain made over to him by the
+native chiefs, Rajah Brooke laboured among his people like a missionary
+of civilisation, trampled out the savage customs of the natives, and
+after many trials gained the confidence of the people by his justice and
+firmness, and eventually brought the country into a state of prosperity
+and good order. In this he was loyally seconded by Captain Keppel, now
+Admiral of the Fleet, whose 'Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido' is a
+graphic story of their joint adventures among pirates and head-hunters.
+Coal having been found in Labuan, adjoining the Rajah's territory, that
+island was acquired by Great Britain in 1847, under treaty from the Sultan
+of Brunei, who engaged not to make any cession of his territory without
+her Majesty's consent, and established as a Crown colony.
+
+The Netherlands and Spain claimed between them, upon a vague tenure,
+enormous tracts of the coast of Borneo and the adjoining archipelago,
+effectually blocking all progress in these regions. There still remained,
+however, an important section of the northern part of that immense island
+unappropriated by the white man. Portions of this tract had been leased
+to an American citizen, who transferred it to an American company; but
+being unable to furnish the capital either to pay the stipulated rent
+or to develop so enormous a property, in 1877 the holders were glad
+to part with all their rights to an English association consisting of
+Baron von Overbeck and Mr (now Sir) Alfred Dent, who undertook to pay
+the agreed tribute to the Sultans of Borneo and Sooloo. Possessing this
+immense estate, with the sovereign rights inherent in the proprietor, the
+English association made arrangements to develop the property. Agents
+were sent out to occupy certain points on the coast, and a provisional
+government, suited to the requirements of the place, was set up. But the
+administration putting too heavy a strain upon a private individual, Mr
+Dent set to work to find assistance in his undertaking.
+
+At this juncture, 1879, Sir Rutherford Alcock, impressed by the important
+strategical position of the island of Borneo, lying close to the track of
+vessels traversing the China Sea, its possession of several good harbours,
+and prospective coal supply, joined Mr Dent in his efforts to place the
+British occupation of the Bornean harbours on a secure basis. As a first
+step it was necessary to organise a company with sufficient capital to
+take over the government and utilise the resources of the territory. This
+may well have seemed at the time not only an arduous but an impossible
+undertaking; for nothing short of a royal charter could supply the
+necessary guarantee to attract capitalists, and to assure them that their
+property investment would eventually be productive. The era had long gone
+past when royal charters were granted to merchant adventurers. Such an
+institution, therefore, seemed an anachronism, opposed to the spirit of
+the age. Nor was the political colour of the British Government at the
+time encouraging to imperial schemes of any description. In spite of these
+difficulties the knowledge of affairs and insistency of Sir Rutherford
+Alcock and the other promoters enabled them eventually to succeed in
+pushing their enterprise with the Government to the point of obtaining a
+charter of incorporation in November 1881. On the faith of this charter a
+company was formed, of which the capital now stands at £2,000,000, under
+the title of the "British North Borneo Company." Sir Rutherford Alcock
+became the chairman, which post he continued to fill during the ten
+years which may be considered the probationary stage of the company. To
+him it owed much of its success in overcoming the numerous difficulties
+incidental to starting so novel a venture; and among his other labours in
+its behalf he drew up a full and elaborate handbook of North Borneo. It
+was not a trading, but a governing and a land-owning company, its revenues
+consisting of royalties paid by private adventurers for the privileges
+of mining, agriculture, and so forth, licences and the necessary taxes
+on commerce. But the interests of a dividend-earning and a governing
+company were so nearly incompatible that no little ingenuity as well as
+patient effort were required to bring about reconciliation between the
+two elements.
+
+The affairs of the company have been conducted with great perseverance,
+the exploitation of the territory by means of planting, mining, and
+industries of various kinds having been handed over to subsidiary
+companies created for the purpose, while the parent body maintains its
+position as overlord, administering the whole territory.
+
+But amidst his numerous preoccupations in England Sir Rutherford never
+loosened his grasp on the events which were transpiring in the distant
+field to which his official life had been devoted. As the only competent
+and persistent critic of these events, he did as much as one man could to
+turn the eyes of his countrymen towards their most important interests
+in Further Asia. Nearly every passing event was noticed briefly by
+him in the columns of the daily press, while the permanent features of
+the Far Eastern problem, which are only now beginning to dawn upon the
+consciousness of the nation, were copiously dealt with in the monthly
+magazines and in the more stately pages of the 'Edinburgh Review.' Sir
+Rutherford's contributions to periodical literature, forming a tolerably
+complete repertory of the questions arising out of the intercourse of
+Europe with Eastern Asia, would fill many volumes. As late as 1896 the
+subject was still uppermost in his mind. "In China," he then wrote,
+"there is a far larger Eastern question than what is occupying us at
+Constantinople. An open port for Russia, a railroad across Russia, with
+the French scheming for our commerce in the Indo-Chinese peninsula,--the
+whole situation is full of danger to all our interests in China." And
+during the last year of his life the thought of all that had been lost
+to the country through sheer neglect seemed to weigh heavily on his
+mind. That his constant premonitions of coming changes passed practically
+unheeded by the public to whom they were addressed is unfortunately true;
+and it is trite to say that it would have been well for this country
+if the warnings of such serious writers as this had been taken to heart
+before instead of after the deluge. But that would have been a historical
+anomaly, for mankind has learned little since the days of Noah.
+
+Under the valid plea of advancing age and failing health Sir Rutherford
+during his last years relinquished one after another the offices which
+he had filled with so much earnestness and good faith. Deafness alone
+obliged him to retire from the active chairmanship of the Westminster
+Hospital, though his attendances at the weekly meetings of the Board
+were unremitting to the very end. As late as July 1897 he took a leading
+part in measures he deemed urgent for the wellbeing of the institution.
+During the Jubilee celebrations he was able to receive a formal visit
+from a party of twelve Dyak police from British North Borneo, under the
+command of Mr Wardrop. The Committee of the Jubilee Nurses continued to
+meet at his house, and he did work for the institution during the summer.
+While at Wimbledon with his family in August, he was seized by an illness
+from which he rallied sufficiently to be brought home to his house at
+Westminster, where he came under the medical care of his old friend and
+physician, Dr Lionel Beale. Among the few friends who were admitted to see
+him during the last month of his life were the Dean of Westminster, Lord
+Lister, Mr Edmund Bagshawe of Bath, and one or two others. His strength
+was then gradually failing, though he retained his intellect unimpaired
+till within a few days of the end, on November 2, 1897. He was buried in
+Merstham churchyard. His widow, nearly his own age, survived him sixteen
+months, dying in March 1899. How much the maintenance of the husband's
+long life of active usefulness owed to the support and encouragement of
+a judicious and devoted wife must remain behind the veil. She had her
+reward.
+
+  [Illustration: MAP OF EASTERN ASIA
+   TO ILLUSTRATE
+   THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA IN THE VICTORIAN ERA
+   BY ALEXANDER MICHIE]
+
+It may be interesting in conclusion to add a few words of Sir Rutherford
+Alcock's estimate of himself, which occur in a letter to the friend who
+had pressed him on the subject of biography, written within a year of his
+death. "In worldly things," he said, "I have been exceptionally favoured
+by opportunities, many of them unanticipated, and rather fortuitous than
+by any efforts or merits. My early life was marked by a great rashness,
+and a readiness to accept responsibilities which savoured much of
+presumption and confidence from conceit in my powers to deal with whatever
+fell in my way--very different from my retrospect in old age and the
+sobered estimate my judgment is now disposed to form of all I undertook
+and accomplished, and the risks I accepted, through my fifty years of
+active life."
+
+If, however, age be the season appropriate for judgment, youth is the time
+for laying up the materials for it; and he who takes no risks achieves
+nothing worthy of being judged. We estimate the man by his record rather
+than by his own review of it, falling back on the criterion, valid in all
+circumstances, "By their fruits ye shall know them."
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [40] In 1863 the University of Oxford conferred upon him the degree
+    of D.C.L.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+  Adkins, Mr, reports foreign atrocities, i. 302, 303;
+    in charge of Peking legations, i. 355;
+    intimate with Hangki, ii. 140;
+    on mixed commission regarding redress of commercial grievances,
+      ii. 212;
+    interview with Li, ii. 244, 245.
+
+  Alabaster, Sir Challoner, ii. 206, 359.
+
+  Alcock, John Rutherford--
+    _Chronological sequence of career_--
+      Birth and early years, i. 1, 2;
+      medical education, i. 2-4; visit to Paris, i. 2;
+      medical work, i.8; campaign in Portugal, i. 14-20;
+      campaign in Spain, i. 21, 22;
+      publications on surgery, i. 23, 24;
+      appointed Inspector of Anatomy, i. 25;
+      marriage, i. 26;
+      paralysis of hands, i. 27;
+      appointed consul at Foochow, i. 29, 116;
+      residence at Amoy, i. 116, 117;
+      at Foochow, i. 117-122;
+      Consular Reports (1845-46), i. 123;
+      appointed to Shanghai, i. 126;
+      Tsingpu affair, i. 129-133;
+      Taiping occupation of Shanghai, i. 138, 141;
+      custom-house plans, i. 148, 151-154;
+      promoted to Canton consulate, i. 156;
+      death of his wife, i. 158;
+      literary work, i. 159;
+      first furlough, i. 159;
+      Memorandum requested by Foreign Office, i. 332;
+      appointed Consul-General in Japan and granted title of
+        Plenipotentiary, ii. 14;
+      arrival in Yedo, ii. 15-17;
+      journey up the Inland Sea, ii. 36, 42;
+      expedition to Fujiyama, ii. 41, 42;
+      leaves Yedo on furlough (1862), ii. 50;
+      made K.C.B., ii. 70;
+      completes 'The Capital of the Tycoon,' ii. 70;
+      made D.C.L. of Oxford University (1863), ii. 484 _note_;
+      returns to Yedo, ii. 70;
+      second marriage, ii. 73;
+      recalled by Earl Russell, ii. 87, 88;
+      leaves Japan, ii. 91;
+      publishes 'Art and Art Industries of Japan,' ii. 102;
+      publishes Japanese Grammar, ii. 103;
+      appointed minister to China, ii. 130;
+      efforts against coolie trade, ii. 168, 171, 172;
+      favours Burlingame mission, ii. 194, 195;
+      departure for Europe, ii. 218;
+      criticisms of Far Eastern events, ii. 476, 477;
+      work for Westminster Hospital, ii. 478-480;
+      various public and charitable works, ii. 480, 481, 483;
+      receives Jubilee medal from the Queen, ii. 483;
+      work regarding colonisation in Borneo, ii. 485-488;
+      illness and death, ii. 488, 489.
+    _Personal characteristics_--
+      Aggressiveness, ii. 482.
+      Alertness, ii. 16, 100.
+      Appearance, i. 117.
+      Appreciative faculty, ii. 139.
+      Art, love of, i. 2, 4, ii. 101.
+      Common-sense, i. 27.
+      Courage and nerve, i. 15-17, 27, ii. 100, 126.
+      Courtesy, ii. 484.
+      Duty, devotion to, i. 15, 18, 157, ii. 16, 101, 138, 482.
+      Energy, i. 26, 116, ii. 16, 482, 484.
+      Enthusiasm, i. 27.
+      Formality, ii. 139.
+      Geniality to intimates, ii. 139.
+      Grasp of fundamentals and breadth of view, i. 116, 122, 143, 162,
+        166, 204.
+      Hospitality, ii. 139.
+      Industry, ii. 139.
+      Judgment and farsightedness, i. 18, 163, ii. 484.
+      Kindness and sympathy, ii. 482.
+      Loyalty, ii. 138.
+      Lucidity of style, i. 26, 166.
+      Practical philosophy, i. 161.
+      Reserve, i. 158, ii. 121.
+      Resolution, ii. 101.
+      Responsibility, fearlessness of, i. 20, 166, 437, ii. 16, 489.
+      Thoroughness and earnestness of purpose, i. 18, 27, ii. 16, 181,
+        361, 481.
+
+  Alcock, Lady, marriage of, ii. 73;
+    death of, ii. 489.
+
+  Alcock, Mrs (_née_ Bacon), marriage of, i. 26;
+    arrival in Foochow, i. 120;
+    death of, i. 158.
+
+  America, Americans (_see also_ Powers)--
+    British support advantageous to, i. 437.
+    Burlingame mission to, ii. 192, 193, 196, 197.
+    Chinese trade with, i. 168, 177;
+      Chinese traders in, i. 270;
+      "dummy" Chinaman evolved by, i. 338, 339;
+      action against Chinese emigration, ii. 174;
+      Chinese youths educated in, ii. 394, 395.
+    Custom-house co-operation omitted in treaty of, i. 146;
+      customs not levied by, at Shanghai in Taiping rebellion, i. 149.
+    Disputes of French and British with (1849), i. 435.
+    Foochow developed by, i. 121, 122, 241.
+    Japan, naval demonstration off, ii. 2;
+      Mr Harris's treaty, ii. 3, 5, 39, 99;
+      Minister remains in Yedo during assassination period, ii. 36;
+      Japanese mission to, ii. 47;
+      artillery officers declined by Japanese, ii. 110.
+    Korean expedition from, ii. 178, 179.
+    Li's visit to, ii. 387.
+    Missionaries from, in Yangtze expedition, i. 370.
+    Non-aggressive policy of, ii. 468.
+    Opium included in Tientsin treaty at instance of, i. 342.
+    Shipping industry in, i. 224, 228-230.
+    Silk industry of, i. 191.
+    Taiping rebellion, joint action with British at Shanghai during,
+      i. 138.
+    Tientsin Conference attended by (1854), i. 311;
+      at Tientsin later with Lord Elgin, i. 331.
+    Toleration clause in treaty of, ii. 224.
+
+  Amoy--
+    Alcock's residence at, i. 116, 117.
+    Opening of, i. 115.
+    'Times' pronouncement against, i. 114.
+
+  Amur, the, Russian acquisitions on, ii. 252, 422.
+
+  Anatomy Act, Alcock appointed Inspector under, i. 25, 26.
+
+  Anderson, Dr John, cited, ii. 267.
+
+  Annam, French conquest of, ii. 253, 324, 325.
+
+  A'Pak, exploit of, against lorchas, i. 304, 305.
+
+  Arbuthnot, G., on Japanese currency, ii. 19, 22, 23.
+
+  Arrow, crew of, seized by Chinese, i. 309;
+    Lord Elgin's view of incident, i. 323, 324.
+
+  Atami, Springs of, Alcock's visit to, ii. 32, 42.
+
+  'Attaché at Peking, The,' cited, ii. 444 _note_.
+
+  Australia, attitude of, towards Chinese emigrants, ii. 174.
+
+  Austria, envoy from, received in audience at Peking, ii. 320, 321.
+
+
+  Baber, Colborne, ii. 150, 272, 359.
+
+  Bacon, Miss. _See_ Alcock, Mrs.
+
+  Baldwin, Major, assassination of, ii. 91.
+
+  Balfour, the Right Hon. A. J., speech of, regarding Russian ports,
+    ii. 425, 430, 432.
+
+  Balfour, Captain George, i. 124, 128.
+
+  Bernard, W. D., cited, i. 63.
+
+  Biegeleben, M., ii. 320, 321.
+
+  Bird, Lieutenant, assassination of, ii. 91.
+
+  Birileff, Count, at Tsushima, ii. 111-114.
+
+  Blakiston, Captain, cited, i. 370.
+
+  Bonham, Sir George, succeeds Sir J. Davis at Hongkong, i. 131;
+    rebuffed by Seu, i. 165;
+    applies to Alcock for information, i. 166;
+    asked to defend Nanking against Taipings, i. 312;
+    Alcock's despatch to (1852), i. 428-432.
+
+  Borneo, Alcock's interest in British development of, ii. 485-488.
+
+  Bowring, Sir John, demands right of entry into Canton, i. 160;
+    Russian despatches brought to, i. 233;
+    plenipotentiary at Hongkong, i. 309;
+    dealings with Yeh, i. 310, 313, 314;
+    visit to Tientsin, i. 311;
+    protects factories at Canton, i. 312;
+    influenced towards strong measures, i. 315;
+    policy of, i. 319, 323 _note_;
+    superseded, i. 319, 320.
+
+  Boxers, ii. 462, 463.
+
+  Bright, the Right Hon. John, confidence of, in Sir R. Hart,
+      ii. 164-166;
+    attitude of, towards China trade, ii. 365, 366.
+
+  Brodie, Sir Benjamin, i. 25.
+
+  Brown, J. McLeavy, ii. 194.
+
+  Brown, Major-General, i. 385, 386, 392.
+
+  Browne, Colonel Horace, ii. 266, 267.
+
+  Bruce, the Hon. Frederick--Tientsin treaty brought home by, i. 335;
+    repulsed at Taku forts, i. 348;
+    British minister at Peking, i. 355;
+    prohibits Englishmen from visiting Peking, i. 363;
+    adopts determined attitude, i. 367;
+    refuses to defend Ningpo, i. 377;
+    Gordon's interview with, i. 383;
+    supports Burgevine's cause, i. 384, 385;
+    implicated in the Lay-Osborn flotilla failure, i. 389, 390;
+    applauds Gordon's resentment against Li, i. 392;
+    policy and diplomacy, i. 401-404, 407;
+    correspondence with Prince Kung, i. 404-406, 409;
+    confuses legal authority of himself and Supreme Court, ii. 124,
+      125;
+    succeeded by Alcock, ii. 130;
+    anecdote of his housekeeper, ii. 152;
+    relations with Inspector-General of Customs in Peking, ii. 156,
+      159, 160.
+
+  Burgevine, General, i. 382, 384-387.
+
+  Burlingame, the Hon. Anson, mission of, as Chinese envoy, ii. 192-198;
+    Alcock's approval of the mission, ii. 194, 195;
+    Alcock's subsequent view, ii. 217;
+    British Government influenced by mission, ii. 208, 209;
+    negotiates American treaty giving full privileges to Chinese
+      immigrants, ii. 174;
+    asserts Chinese welcome to missionaries, ii. 232.
+
+  Burma--
+    Browne, Colonel H., expedition under, ii. 266, 267.
+    King of, ii. 269.
+
+
+  Campbell, Duncan, ii. 333.
+
+  Canton--
+    Alcock promoted to consulate of, i. 156.
+    Arrogant hostility and excesses of population, i. 72, 92, 95-99,
+      107, 274, 415, 419.
+    Arrow incident, i. 309, 323, 324.
+    Blockade of river (1839), i. 61, 63.
+    Commerce carried on during hostilities, i. 68, 69, ii. 158.
+    Conditions of life in, in early days, i. 33, 34, 46.
+    D'Aguilar's destruction of river defences, i. 102, 103.
+    Davies, Sir John, policy of, i. 94, 99-104, 106-108.
+    Entry, right of, refused, i. 98, 107, 114, 160, 165, 310, 333, 338.
+    Factories attacked (1846), i. 99;
+      burned (1856), i. 317.
+    Foochow sensitive to disturbances in, i. 119, 314.
+    French attack feared, ii. 326-328.
+    Merchants in, imprisoned, i. 53, 55;
+      views of, disparaged, i. 254;
+      characteristics of, i. 255;
+      influence of, i. 315;
+      friction between Sir J. Davis and, ii. 119.
+    "Merchants' War," i. 316 _seq._
+    Naval construction attempted at, ii. 396.
+    Occupation of, by Allied troops, i. 328, 342-345;
+      Kowloon concession obtained during occupation, i. 286;
+      evacuated by Allies, i. 396.
+    Portuguese relief of, in sixteenth century, i. 259;
+      Portuguese crews slaughtered by Cantonese, i. 304, 305.
+    Revolutionary conspiracies in neighbourhood of, ii. 456.
+    Shameen site acquired, i. 330.
+    Smuggling insignificant at, i. 144, 145.
+    Taipings at, i. 312.
+    War of 1839-42--blockade of river, i. 63;
+      destruction of Bogue forts and junks, i. 66;
+      forts restored, i. 67;
+      recaptured, i. 68;
+      fire-raft attempts, i. 71;
+      British attack stopped by Elliot, i. 71;
+      ransom taken for the city, i. 72, 91;
+      departure of British troops, i. 72;
+      evil effects of ransoming, i. 108.
+    War of 1857 ("The Merchants' War"), i. 316 _seq._
+    Weddell's bombardment of (1655), i. 292.
+
+  'Capital of the Tycoon, The,' passages quoted from, ii. 10, 15,
+      31, 32, 71-73;
+    independent judiciary advocated in, ii. 126.
+
+  Ceylon, growth of tea trade with, i. 184, 185.
+
+  Challenger, i. 235-238.
+
+  Chamberlain, Basil Hall, quoted, ii. 96 _note_.
+
+  Chang Chih-tung, rudeness of, regarding the Czarevitch, ii. 322, 323;
+    characteristics and policy of, ii. 380, 381.
+
+  Chang Yi, ii. 317.
+
+  Chantrey, Sir F. L., Alcock's studies under, i. 2.
+
+  Chefoo--
+    Convention of. _See under_ Treaties.
+    Czarevitch to be received at, ii. 322.
+    Early exploration of, i. 221, 222.
+
+  Chêkiang, Taiping campaign in, i. 380, 394.
+
+  Chesney, Colonel, i. 99, 100.
+
+  China (_for particular persons, towns, &c., see their titles_)--
+    Admiralty board, ii. 317, 318, 392, 393.
+    Army--
+      Abuses in, ii. 398.
+      Arms, diversity of, ii. 391, 393, 399.
+      Discipline lax, i. 137.
+      Honour, military, non-existent in, i. 140.
+      Li's efforts for, ii. 188, 190, 391, 397.
+    Black Flags, ii. 325.
+    Boxers, ii. 462, 463.
+    _Chose jugée_, instance of, ii. 280.
+    Commerce. _See that title._
+    Commercial community in Britain keenly alive to affairs in, i. 87.
+    Consuls. _See below under_ Foreigners.
+    Coolie trade, i. 295, ii. 168-174.
+    Corruption and laxity inherent in government of, i. 155, 192.
+    Court--
+      Audience, right of, approved by Li, ii. 186;
+        granted by Emperor Tungchih (1873), ii. 260, 261;
+        by Kwanghsu (1891), ii. 318-320.
+      Chinese, not Manchu, influence predominant at, i. 84.
+      Dynastic arrangements of the Empress-Dowager, ii. 264, 313,
+        455 _and note_, 456.
+      Flight of, i. 354, ii. 436;
+        proposed removal during Japanese War, ii. 474 _note_.
+    Custom-house. _See below under_ Taxation.
+    Decentralisation the principle of government, i. 388, 402, 407, 408.
+    Drift, policy of, ii. 324.
+    Emigration, ii. 168, 169, 171-174.
+    "Ever Victorious Army," campaign of, i. 382-387;
+      disbandment of, i. 393.
+    Exhibition of 1851, represented at, i. 200-202, ii. 101, 102.
+    Foreigners--
+      Aims of, i. 368.
+      Assistance from, distrusted, i. 387;
+        made use of, ii. 385, 386;
+        faithfully rendered, ii. 393, 394.
+      Co  nciliatory and subservient attitude of British, i. 35-41, 56,
+        118, 253, 415;
+        of Portuguese, i. 287.
+      Confidence between native merchants and, i. 48.
+      Consistent attitude of, desirable, i. 340, ii. 222.
+      Consular Courts, drawbacks of, ii. 125, 126, 354, 356, 357.
+      Consular officials, peculiar responsibilities of, i. 30, 79, 85,
+          92 _note_, 128, 130, ii. 353, 354, 360;
+        numbers and qualifications of, ii. 358, 359.
+      Degradation and indignities imposed upon, i. 33, 35-40, 55-58,
+        60, 118, 163, 411, 415.
+      Force, policy of, the condition of security for, i. 39, 40, 61,
+        80, 90, 106, 119, 426, 437-439, ii. 221, 222.
+      Hatred and contempt for, i. 313, 419, ii. 29, 440, 441, 443-446,
+        461, 463, 464.
+      Ignorance of Chinese prevalent among, i. 338, 339, 361, 362, 398.
+      Immunity for wrongs against, i. 436, 440, 441.
+      Inland residence, Alcock's view of, ii. 450, 451.
+      Legation, British. _See_ Great Britain--Peking.
+      Legations, diplomatic difficulties of, i. 398-401;
+        relieved by military force, ii. 437.
+      Life-and-death jurisdiction over, claimed by government, i. 57.
+      Negotiation with, Chinese view of, ii. 274 _note_, 437.
+      Pioneers, general character of, i. 31-33.
+      Policy adopted towards--"rule by misrule," i. 35, 403;
+        perfidy and denial of human rights, i. 36, 78-80, 84, 85, 90, 342;
+        resistance and ejection, 38, 111, 311, 331, 366, 367, ii. 437;
+        degradation in the eyes of the people, i. 163, 411;
+        "refractory subjects" treatment, i. 313.
+      Proclamations and placards against, i. 56, 58, 65, 70, 96, 314,
+        317, 342, 360, 435, ii. 236, 242.
+      Supreme Court for China and Japan, ii. 355-358.
+    Fortifications, ii. 397.
+    Futai, position of, i. 381.
+    Helplessness and paradoxical position of, ii. 418, 421, 422, 433,
+      452.
+    Hong merchants, i. 40 _note_.
+    Hoppo, position of, i. 44, 45.
+    Illegality of administration in, i. 43.
+    International ethics of, i. 86.
+    Japanese War (1894), Li's responsibilities regarding, ii. 386, 387;
+      no reasonable cause for, ii. 410;
+      deprecated by Russia, ii. 411;
+      sinking of the Kowshing, ii. 410, 411;
+      bombardment of Têngchow, i. 220;
+      China's defeat, ii. 411-413;
+      universal applause, ii. 413, 414;
+      indemnity exacted, ii. 415;
+      indemnity supplied by Russian loan, ii. 421;
+      results of the war, ii. 447;
+      proposed removal of Chinese Court during, ii. 474 _note_.
+    Junks--
+      Build and appearance of, i. 246, 247.
+      Chinese authorities' control of, i. 113, 275, 308.
+      Coasting trade conducted by, in China and Japan, i. 246.
+      Convoy system, i. 302-304.
+      Grain fleet blockaded at Shanghai (1845), i. 131-133;
+        blockaded by French in Tongking quarrel, ii. 332.
+      "Shantung junks," i. 220.
+      Value of trade by, at Foochow, i. 209.
+    Korea, relations with. _See_ Korea.
+    Lorchas, tonnage of, i. 247;
+      atrocities connected with, i. 304, 305;
+      colonial registers granted to, i. 305, 309.
+    Maritime Customs. _See below under_ Taxation--Custom-house.
+    Missionaries. _See that title._
+    Moral force the sanction of rule, ii. 370 _and note_, 385.
+    Navy--
+      Beginnings of, ii. 396.
+      Board of Admiralty, ii. 317, 318, 392, 393.
+      British instruction in, ii. 395.
+      Li's efforts for, ii. 391, 396.
+      Nepotism in, ii. 398-400.
+      Organisation lacking in, ii. 401, 412, 413.
+      Peiyang Squadron, ii. 395, 400.
+      Tradition, unhampered by, ii. 398.
+    Nepotism in, ii. 398-400.
+    Opium trade. _See that title._
+    Passports, two forms of, ii. 267.
+    Piracy. _See that title._
+    Populace, excesses of, connived at by Government, i. 95, 97, 98,
+        364;
+      coerced by Government, i. 108, 109;
+      feared by Government, i. 109, 424;
+      direct diplomatic negotiations with, i. 109-111.
+    "Progress," no word for, ii. 136.
+    Provincial officials, smuggling undertaken by, i. 44, 45;
+      power of, ii. 184, 372;
+      responsibility of, ii. 441, 442.
+    Punishments, difficulties of ensuring, i. 426, 427;
+      not inflicted for wrongs against foreigners, i. 436, 440, 441.
+    Real estate, importance of, i. 176, 177, 434;
+      missionary problem complicated by question of, ii. 234, 235.
+    Rhubarb exported from, i. 168.
+    Salt trade, i. 210, 439-442, ii. 188.
+    Smuggling. _See that title._
+    Supreme Court, award given against Alcock by, ii. 124;
+      independence of, ii. 354;
+      removal of, to Shanghai, ii. 355;
+      subordinated to British legation, ii. 358.
+    Taiping Rebellion--
+      Burgevine's defection to rebels, i. 386.
+      Canton, at, Yeh asks British aid against, i. 312.
+      Chêkiang campaign against, i. 380, 394.
+      Commerce continued during, i. 148.
+      Devastation caused by, i. 375, 377, 378, 350, 381, 394, ii. 449.
+      End of, i. 394.
+      Foreign desperadoes attacked by, i. 303.
+      Imperial measures against, i. 381;
+        view of, i. 395, 396.
+      Magnitude of, i. 135.
+      Maritime Customs the important outcome of, i. 142.
+      Nanking, capture of, i. 136.
+      Ningpo, capture of, i. 376, 377.
+      Russian attitude towards, i. 394, 395.
+      Shanghai captured, i. 136;
+        besieged by Imperial troops, i. 137;
+        collision between foreigners and troops, i. 137, 138;
+        French bombardment of city, i. 139;
+        rebel refugees in, i. 141, 142;
+        departure of rebels from, i. 156.
+      Yangtze, rebel strongholds and operations on the, i. 369, 371-375.
+    Taotai, status of, i. 129.
+    Taxation--
+      Custom-house--
+        Chefoo Convention provisions of, ii. 277, 278, 280, 281, 286, 287.
+        Hongkong, station at, desired by Chinese, i. 276;
+          refused, ii. 216;
+          established, i. 276, ii. 288.
+        Korea, established in, ii. 295.
+        Macao, established at, ii. 288.
+        Maritime Customs Inspector, position and work of, in Peking,
+          ii. 156-160, 162-167.
+        Revision of treaty made an affair of, ii. 213, 216, 217.
+        Shanghai, at, unsatisfactory conditions of, i. 145-147, 435,
+          436;
+          customs collected by consuls, i. 148;
+          promissory notes cancelled by British Government, i. 148, 155;
+          American exemption, i. 149;
+          re-establishment of custom-house, i. 151;
+          period of free trade, i. 152;
+          Alcock's scheme of mixed control, i. 152-154.
+      Inland, proposed commutation of, ii. 214-216, 218;
+        commutation provided by treaty (1869), ii. 219, 220;
+        area of, increased by Chefoo Convention, ii. 277, 278, 280, 281.
+      Likin taxes, German minister's view of, ii. 218;
+        nature of, ii. 280 _note_;
+        grievance of, ii. 285.
+      Native trade, on, i. 210.
+    Tributaries, position towards, ii. 258.
+    Tsungli-Yamên--
+      Audience difficulties raised by, ii. 319, 320.
+      Ch'ing, Prince, a member of, ii. 154, 313.
+      Circular addressed to Provincial Governors by, ii. 182, 183.
+      Creation of, i. 360.
+      Etiquette, codification of, suggested for, ii. 279.
+      Formosa riots, action regarding, ii. 205.
+      Function of, i. 399.
+      Gordon's representations to, ii. 292.
+      Helplessness of, ii. 419.
+      Ito's attempt to negotiate with, ii. 302.
+      Korean expedition urged by, ii. 408.
+      Kung, Prince, a member of, i. 360;
+        dismissed by Empress, ii. 312.
+      Margary murder, action regarding, ii. 267.
+      Maritime Customs Inspector, attitude towards, ii. 160.
+      Mixed commission regarding redress of commercial grievances,
+        represented on, ii. 211.
+      Yangchow affair, action in, ii. 202.
+    War with Great Britain (1839-1842). _See under_ Canton;
+      with Great Britain (1857), i. 316 _seq._;
+      with Great Britain and France (1860), i. 349-354;
+      with Japan (1894). _See above_ Japanese War;
+    Women, position of, ii. 140, 141.
+
+  Chinese--
+    Appearances valued by, i. 192.
+    Commercial aptitude and honesty of, i. 33, 34, 263-270, ii. 28.
+    Industry of, i. 284.
+    Japanese contrasted with, ii. 8, 27-29, 130, 131, 259.
+    Kindliness of, i. 289, ii. 155.
+    Manchus contrasted with, i. 80, 81, 83, 84.
+    Toleration of, ii. 228, 233.
+    War customs of, i. 352.
+
+  Ch'ing, Prince, anecdote of, ii. 153, 154;
+    efficiency of, as president of Tsungli-Yamên, ii. 313.
+
+  Chinnery, George, i. 298.
+
+  Choshiu. _See_ Nagato, Prince of.
+
+  Christianity (_see also_ Missionaries), toleration clause for,
+    in Tientsin treaty, i. 332;
+    Chinese view of, ii. 349.
+
+  Ch'un, Prince, son of, adopted as Emperor by Empress-mother, ii. 262;
+    made Empress's coadjutor, ii. 264, 313;
+    voyage of, ii. 316, 317;
+    illness and death of, ii. 318;
+    memorial regarding Vatican mission submitted to, ii. 344.
+
+  Chunghou, Tientsin massacre foreseen by, ii. 239;
+    mission to France, ii. 241;
+    to Russia, ii. 291;
+    establishes arsenal at Tientsin, ii. 392.
+
+  Chungking, residence in, opposed, ii. 278;
+    persecutions of Christians in, ii. 351.
+
+  Chusan, capture and occupation of, i. 64;
+    reoccupied, i. 75;
+    retained till 1846, i. 91;
+    restored, i. 99;
+    contrasted with Hongkong, i. 273.
+
+  Clarendon, Lord, Mr Burlingame's success with, ii. 197, 198, 208, 209;
+    reprimands Mr Medhurst, ii. 207, 208;
+    trusted by Lord Palmerston, ii. 365.
+
+  Cochin China, French conquests in, ii. 253, 324.
+
+  Commerce--
+    China, in--
+      Alcock's despatch on trade between Europe, India, and China,
+          i. 204-206;
+        his investigations prior to revision of treaty, ii. 181.
+      Aptitude of Chinese for, i. 33, 34, 263-270, ii. 28.
+      Arbitrary interference of Chinese Government with, i. 35.
+      Balance of trade against China, i. 42, 171.
+      British treaty the model for others, ii. 6.
+      Chefoo Convention, internal taxation area increased by, ii. 277,
+        278, 280, 281.
+      Chinese language essential to commercial agents, i. 253.
+      Code of law, establishment of, suggested, ii. 279.
+      Co-hong system, i. 40 _note_, 266.
+      Compradoric system, i. 266, 267.
+      Confidence between Chinese and foreigners, i. 48.
+      Drawbacks to, i. 169, 170.
+      Imports and exports, nature of, i. 168;
+        present value of, i. 171 _note_;
+        shipments from United Kingdom in various years, i. 203.
+      Intercourse of British and Americans with China caused by, i. 167.
+      Losses in early days, i. 172-175.
+      Merchants in Britain, Chinese affairs closely followed by
+          (1839-40), i. 87-89;
+        merchants in China, aims and work of, i. 248-253;
+        complaints of, i. 253, 254, ii. 119;
+        influence of, i. 254, 315;
+        characteristics of, i. 255-263;
+        representations of, to Lord Elgin, i. 322.
+      "Merchants' War," i. 316 _seq._
+      Mixed Commission regarding redress of grievances, ii. 211, 212.
+      Native trade, i. 207-210.
+      Peking, in, ii. 148, 149.
+      Pioneer expeditions (1859), i. 220.
+      Ports overcrowded with goods, i. 224;
+        number open in 1861, i. 402.
+      Precarious position of, i. 35, 412, 413, 419.
+      Real estate a valuable asset, i. 176, 177.
+      Shipments from United Kingdom in various years, values of, i. 203.
+      Simplicity of, i. 168.
+      Transit of goods, ii. 214-216, 218-220.
+      Value of, in 1839, i. 87.
+      War no bar to, i. 68, 69, 148, ii. 158.
+    Gold discoveries a stimulus to, i. 227.
+    Japan, in--
+      Development of, ii. 116-118.
+      Merchants, preference of, for Yokohama to Kanagawa, ii. 17, 18, 123;
+        regret of, at Alcock's recall, ii. 89;
+        interests of, at variance with diplomatic, ii. 119-124, 126.
+      Methods of, ii. 27, 28.
+      Profits of, in early days, ii. 20 _note_, 29.
+      Value of, annually, ii. 117 _note_.
+    Opium, Silk, Tea. _See those titles._
+    Straits, with, suggested by Alcock, i. 208.
+
+  Comprador, position of, i. 266, 267.
+
+  Confucianism, i. 229.
+
+  Consular Court system, drawbacks of, ii. 125, 126, 354, 356, 357.
+
+  Cooke, Wingrove, quoted, i. 252, 253, 300, 303-305, 339;
+    cited, i. 317, 322, 323 _and note_, 325.
+
+  Coolie trade, i. 295, ii. 168-174.
+
+  Cooper, W. M., on coolie trade, ii. 170.
+
+  Cowell, George, appreciation of Alcock, ii. 479, 480.
+
+  Curzon, the Hon. George, speech regarding Russian pledge concerning
+    Korea, ii. 424, 430.
+
+  Czarevitch, visit of, to China and Japan, ii. 321-323.
+
+
+  Daimios. _See under_ Japan.
+
+  Davis, Sir John, Manchus and Chinese contrasted by, i. 80, 81;
+    policy of, in Canton, i. 94, 99-104, 106-108;
+    diplomatic negotiations with the populace, i. 109-111;
+    succeeds Sir H. Pottinger, i. 116;
+    policy regarding Foochow, i. 119;
+    Canton merchants' complaints against, ii. 119;
+    decision of, reversed by Supreme Court, ii. 124.
+
+  De Mas, M., anecdote of, ii. 444 _note_.
+
+  De Quincey cited, i. 133 _note_.
+
+  Delamarre, M., ii. 230 _note_.
+
+  Delaplace, Mgr., ii. 341, 342, 394.
+
+  Detring, G., accompanies Prince Ch'un on his voyage, ii. 317;
+    relations with Capt. Fournier, ii. 327;
+    summoned to Tientsin, ii. 328;
+    assists Li regarding Mr Dunn's mission, ii. 345.
+
+  Dunn, J. G., ii. 344-346.
+
+  Dupont, M., Alcock's studies under, i. 5.
+
+  Dutch--
+    Japanese instructed by, ii. 98.
+    Macao, commercial establishment at, i. 291.
+    Nagasaki, ii. 10, 11.
+    Portuguese commercial rivalry with, i. 291.
+    Promptness of, as paymasters, i. 11.
+
+
+  East India Company--
+    Commercial methods of, i. 175.
+    Employees pampered by, i. 211-214, 260.
+    Macao, commercial establishment at, i. 291.
+    Officials of, employed in Chinese consular posts, i. 38, 80.
+    Opium trade of, i. 198, 199.
+    Shipping of, i. 211-215.
+    Subservience of, towards Chinese, i. 37, 38, 88, 253.
+    Tea trade developed by, i. 182, 183.
+
+  Eitel, Dr, cited, i. 63, 199 _note_, 273, 301.
+
+  Elgin, Earl of, cruise in the Furious, i. 223;
+    contrasts Hongkong and Chusan, i. 273;
+    on Tientsin conference (1854), i. 311;
+    conduct of Hongkong affairs, i. 320-329;
+    aversion to his Chinese mission, i. 320, 323-327;
+    services in Indian Mutiny, i. 321;
+    concludes Tientsin treaty, i. 331, 334;
+    hurried departure from Tientsin, i. 333, 335, 336;
+    visit to Japan, i. 335, 336;
+    diplomatic success there, i. 347, ii. 1, 5, 6, 99;
+    defends his China policy in House of Lords, i. 337;
+    predisposed to illusions regarding Chinese, i. 339;
+    misgivings as to Chinese good faith, i. 340, 347;
+    return to Shanghai, i. 343, 347;
+    negotiates with Treaty Commissioners at Shanghai, i. 343, 344;
+    estimate of, i. 346-348;
+    voyage up the Yangtze (1558), i. 347, 370;
+    second mission to China, i. 349;
+    negotiations with Prince Kung, i. 329, 352, 353;
+    succeeded by his brother, i. 355.
+
+  Elliot, Captain Charles, subservience of, to Chinese, i. 40, 41, 54;
+    offers to suppress opium trade, i. 48, 49;
+    surrenders opium cargoes, i. 53, 54;
+    imprisoned in Canton, i. 53, 55;
+    appointed joint-plenipotentiary with Rear-Admiral Elliot, i. 64;
+    left in sole charge, i. 65-71;
+    recalled, i. 74;
+    confidence of, in Chinese, i. 66, 69, 70;
+    contradictory nature of his commission, i. 92 _note_;
+    strictures on opium trade, i. 199.
+
+  Elliot, Rear-Admiral the Hon. George, i. 63-65.
+
+  Empress--Dowager of China, Prince Ch'un the coadjutor of, ii. 264, 313;
+    _coup d'état_ executed by, ii. 264, 313, 455;
+    enmity with Prince Kung, ii. 264, 312;
+    attitude towards Li, ii. 264, 329, 387;
+    view of Tongking affair, ii. 329, 334;
+    characteristics of, ii. 373;
+    power of, ii. 455 _and note_;
+    reformers punished by, ii. 458.
+
+  Eulenberg, Count, i. 366, ii. 40.
+
+  Evans, General de Lacy, appreciation of Alcock, i. 14;
+    Alcock under, in Spanish Legion, i. 21.
+
+  "Ever--Victorious Army," campaign of, i. 382-387;
+    disbandment of, i. 393.
+
+  Exhibition of 1851, Alcock's collection of exhibits for, i. 200-202,
+      ii. 101, 102;
+    influence of, on foreign trade, i. 227.
+
+  Exhibition of 1862, Alcock's collection of samples for, ii. 102, 484.
+
+  Exhibition, Paris, Alcock British Commissioner to, ii. 485.
+
+
+  Favier, Bishop, ii. 144, 346, 347.
+
+  Foochow--
+    Alcock's appointment as consul at, i. 116;
+      his commercial researches at, i. 200.
+    American enterprise a stimulus to tea trade at, i. 121, 122, 241.
+    Canton disturbances reflected in, i. 119, 314.
+    Naval construction attempted at, ii. 396;
+      naval school at, ii. 400.
+    Opening of (1844), i. 115;
+      further development of, i. 240.
+    Situation and importance of, i. 117, 119, 120.
+    'Times' pronouncement against, i. 114.
+    Trade at, nature of, i. 118, 121, 122, 241;
+    sea-borne trade at, i. 209.
+
+  Formosa--
+    French blockade of, ii. 333.
+    Japanese invasion of, ii. 255.
+    Missionary riots in, ii. 203-205, 207.
+
+  Fortune, Robert, i. 182, 183.
+
+  Fournier, Captain, ii. 327-330.
+
+  France, French (_see also_ Powers)--
+    Aggressive policy of, ii. 465, 466.
+    British cordially supported by, in China, i. 377, 379;
+      in Japan, ii. 45, 81, 105;
+      regarding Chinese emigration, ii. 172.
+    Cochin China, conquest of, ii. 253, 324.
+    Concession of land obtained by (1849), i. 138, 139, 435;
+      extorted by (1895), ii. 419.
+    Coolie trade, efforts against, ii. 172.
+    Customs Inspector proposed by Alcock from consular service of, i. 153.
+    Elgin followed to Tientsin by, i. 331.
+    Loan to China, ii. 421.
+    Missionary enterprise of, ii. 175-177, 224, 225, 229-232, 234, 237,
+        238, 253;
+      protectorate of Christians the aim of, ii. 336-342, 346-352.
+    Peking campaign (1860), i. 349-354.
+    Russia supported by, after Japanese War, ii. 415;
+      their approval of French acquisitions, ii. 419.
+    Shanghai settlement and "concession" of, i. 138, 139, 435.
+    Silk industry of, i. 191.
+    Taipings' support by British resented by, i. 141.
+    Tientsin Conference attended by (1854), i. 311.
+    Tongking quarrel, ii. 325-334.
+    Yangtze expedition of MM. Simon and Dupuis, i. 371.
+
+  Freeman-Mitford, Mr, anecdote cited from, ii. 444 _note_.
+
+  Fujiyama, Alcock's expedition to, ii. 41, 42.
+
+  Futai, position of, i. 381.
+
+
+  Germany, Germans (_see also_ Powers)--
+    Aggressive policy of, ii. 465, 466.
+    Alcock, appreciation of, by Peking resident, ii. 138.
+    Anglo-German agreement, ii. 467, 468, 473.
+    Armenian massacres, attitude towards, ii. 449 _note_.
+    Chinese attitude towards, i. 366.
+    Influence of, increasing, ii. 253, 254.
+    Japanese attitude towards, ii. 40.
+    Kiaochow. _See that title._
+    Korean expedition of, ii. 179.
+    Military instruction of Chinese undertaken by, ii. 395.
+    Missionaries kept to their nationality, ii. 338.
+    Peking, legation established in, ii. 254.
+    Propagandism unmasked by, ii. 454.
+    Russia supported by, after Japanese War, ii. 415.
+    Shantung sphere of, disturbances in, ii. 462.
+    Silk industry of, i. 191.
+    Toleration clause in treaty of, ii. 225 _note_.
+    Transit duty extension, Count Bernstorff on, ii. 218.
+
+  Gibson, Mr, ii. 204-206, 208.
+
+  Giquel, Prosper, i. 394.
+
+  Gordon, Captain C. G., commands the "Ever-Victorious Army," i. 383-387;
+    quarrels with Li, i. 392, 393;
+    honoured by Chinese Government, i. 395;
+    attempts at intercourse with Chinese, i. 399;
+    appreciated by Li, ii. 189;
+    summoned by Chinese Government, ii. 291, 292.
+
+  Gorogiu, function of the, ii. 108.
+
+  Grant, Sir Hope, i. 348, 349, 352.
+
+  Granville, Lord, negotiates ratification of Chefoo Convention,
+    ii. 284-287.
+
+  Great Britain (_see also_ Powers)--
+    Anglo-German agreement, ii. 467, 468, 473.
+    Borneo, colonisation in, ii. 485-487.
+    Good faith of, recognised by Chinese, i. 83, ii. 190.
+    Inconsistent policy of, in China, i. 432, 433.
+    Japanese War, attitude towards, ii. 413-416, 433.
+    Loan offered to China, ii. 420;
+      forced on her, ii. 434.
+    Narrowness of view among politicians in, i. 319.
+    Naval instruction of Chinese undertaken by, ii. 395.
+    Non-aggressive policy of, ii. 468.
+    Peking, Legation in--
+      Chinese Secretaryship, ii. 132, 362, 363, 367.
+      Deterioration in personnel of, ii. 360-362, 364, 366, 367.
+      Establishment of, i. 355.
+      Intelligence department defective, ii. 415, 423.
+      Subordination of, to Inspector-General of Customs, ii. 165, 166.
+      Supreme Court for a time subordinate to, ii. 358.
+    Russian acquisitions, attitude towards, ii. 423-433.
+    Weihai-wei seized by, ii. 434.
+    Yedo, Legation in, assaulted, ii. 36-38;
+      indemnity demanded, ii. 65, 66;
+      burnt, ii. 62 and _note_.
+
+  Greenwell, Dora, appreciation of 'Life's Problems' expressed by, i. 159.
+
+  Gros, Baron, i. 321, 349, ii. 230.
+
+  Gurdon, Lieutenant, ii. 205.
+
+  Guthrie, G. J., Alcock's medical studies under, i. 2;
+    recommends Alcock to Mr O'Meara, i. 9.
+
+
+  Hakodate, opening of, for ships' supplies, ii. 4;
+    neglected by merchants, ii. 12;
+    Russian representative at, ii. 104.
+
+  Hankow--
+    Abandonment of, by inhabitants in Taiping scare, i. 374.
+    Consular officer established at, i. 373.
+    Development of, i. 224, 225.
+    Elgin's voyage to (1858), i. 347.
+    Hope's visit to (1861), i. 223.
+
+  Harris, Townsend, ii. 3, 5, 39, 99.
+
+  Hart, Sir Robert, temporarily Inspector-General of Chinese Maritime
+      Customs, i. 387;
+    implicated in the Lay-Osborn flotilla failure, i. 388-390;
+    an authority on Gordon's reconciliation with Li, i. 193;
+    position and work of, as Inspector-General of Customs in Peking,
+      ii. 157, 160, 162-167;
+    appointed British Minister in China, but resigns post, ii. 166;
+    on Mixed Commission regarding redress of commercial grievances,
+      ii. 211-215;
+    action in the Margary murder case, ii. 274;
+    influence on the Chefoo Convention, ii. 276;
+    invites Gordon to help Chinese, ii. 292;
+    obtains recall of Tibetan mission, ii. 310;
+    obtains peace with France, ii. 333;
+    'Fortnightly Review' paper cited, ii. 461.
+
+  Hodges, Colonel, takes Alcock on to his staff, i. 9, 10;
+    appreciation of Alcock, i. 14.
+
+  Holt, Mr, ii. 203, 204, 208.
+
+  Hong merchants, i. 40 _note_.
+
+  Hongkong--
+    Administration of, i. 277, 278.
+    Advantages of site, i. 273, 274, 277, 284.
+    Alcock's visit to (1869), ii. 219.
+    Bank of, i. 284, 285.
+    British contempt for, i. 115;
+      Government's attitude towards, i. 276.
+    Buildings in, i. 282, 283.
+    Cession of, and occupation by British, i. 67.
+    Chinese traders and mechanics in, i. 73;
+      shipowners in, i. 247, 308;
+      escaped criminals numerous, i. 275;
+      improvement of general character, i. 277-282, 284.
+    Chusan contrasted with, i. 273.
+    Coolie trade, efforts against, ii. 168, 169.
+    Cost of voyage to, in early days, i. 258.
+    Customs station at, desired by Chinese, i. 276;
+      refused, ii. 216;
+      established, i. 276, ii. 288.
+    Development of, i. 73, 274-286.
+    Dislike of, by diplomatic and consular officials, i. 273, 276,
+        320, ii. 355;
+      by Chinese Government, i. 275, ii. 216.
+    Early record of (1816), i. 272.
+    Elgin's aversion to, i. 273, 320.
+    Emigration from, ii. 173.
+    Industries of, i. 283, 284.
+    International character of, i. 285.
+    Junk trade under Chinese control, i. 113, 275, 308.
+    Kiying House, i. 316.
+    Macao contrasted with, i. 287, 294.
+    Piracy headquarters at, i. 302, 305.
+    Pottinger, Sir H., first governor of, i. 112.
+    Reformers safe in, ii. 459.
+    Schools in, i. 281, 282.
+    Supreme Court in, ii. 354, 355.
+    Tonnage entered and cleared at, in 1898, i. 277 _note_.
+    Yokohama guard despatched from, ii. 77.
+
+  Hong-tjyong-on, ii. 299-302.
+
+  Hope, Admiral Sir James, Yangtze formally opened by, i. 223;
+    commands British naval contingent in Peking campaign, i. 349;
+    repulsed at Taku forts (1859), i. 350;
+    visits Peking, i. 365;
+    relations with Taipings, i. 370-373, 375-379;
+    opinion on Taiping Rebellion, i. 375;
+    vigorous policy of, i. 376;
+    friendship with Admiral Protêt, i. 379;
+    comradeship with Ward, i. 382;
+    advises strong measures in Japan, ii. 55;
+    scheme for offensive measures in Japan, ii. 59;
+    correspondence with Capt. Birileff regarding Tsushima, ii. 111-114.
+
+  Hoppo, position of, i. 44, 45.
+
+  Hsienfêng, Emperor, death of, i. 397.
+
+  Hu Lin-yi, ii. 377.
+
+  Huang, Governor-General, i. 342, 343.
+
+  Hunter, W. C., quoted, i. 34, 46-48, ii. 20 _note_;
+    cited, i. 82.
+
+  Hwang-chu-ke, massacre of Englishmen at, i. 104, 108.
+
+
+  Ignatieff, General, assists Sir H. Grant, i. 353, 354;
+    negotiates cession of Vladivostock, i. 357, 358;
+    attitude towards British Legation and Chinese, i. 359.
+
+  Ilipu, Commissioner, i. 76, 77, 81.
+
+  India--
+    Alcock's visit to (1869), ii. 219.
+    Calcutta Convention, ii. 312.
+    Chinese imports from, i. 168.
+    East India Company. _See that title._
+    Elgin's opportune arrival in, i. 321.
+    Gordon summoned from, ii. 292.
+    Opium trade. _See that title._
+    Tea trade, i. 182-186.
+    Tibetan expedition, ii. 305-310.
+
+  Inouyé, Count, British Legation building burnt by, ii. 62 _note_;
+    return from Europe and mission to Choshiu, ii. 80, 81;
+    mission to Korea, ii. 302.
+
+  Ito, Count, return from Europe and mission to Choshiu, ii. 80, 81;
+    mission to Peking, ii. 302.
+
+
+  Japan (_for particular persons, towns, see their titles_)--
+    Aggressive policy of, ii. 254-256, 465, 466.
+    Art of, ii. 102, 103.
+    Assassination period in, ii. 35-38.
+    Chinese War. _See under_ China.
+    Consuls in, peculiar responsibilities of, ii. 121.
+    Currency of, ii. 18-27.
+    Customs of, ii. 33.
+    Czarevitch's visit to, ii. 323.
+    Daimios--
+      Coinage of, ii. 25, 26.
+      Hostility of, to foreigners, ii. 38-41, 43.
+      Legation guards provided by, ii. 51, 53.
+      Processions of, ii. 34, 56.
+      Tycoon's relation to, ii. 38, 60-65, 67, 68, 76, 93.
+    Elgin's visit to, i. 335, 336;
+      his diplomatic success, i. 347, ii. 1, 5, 6, 99.
+    Exhibition of 1862, represented at, ii. 102, 484.
+    Foreigners, supervision of, ii. 8;
+      early pleasant relations with, ii. 9, 29-31;
+      hatred of, ii. 38-41, 43, 58, 77, 93;
+      retrograde policy towards, ii. 47-49;
+      use made of, ii. 95-98, 130, 131, 191, 255;
+      help of, declined when unasked, ii. 110.
+    Formosa invaded by, ii. 255.
+    Gorogiu, function of the, ii. 108.
+    Hong's vendetta pursued in, ii. 300, 301.
+    Inland Sea, Alcock's expedition up, ii. 36, 42;
+      Prince of Nagato's blockade of, ii. 69, 76, 77.
+    Korea, treaty with, ii. 256, 257;
+      Korean outbreak against, ii. 294, 297, 298;
+      equality with China in, ii. 302, 303, 389;
+      aggression in, ii. 406, 407, 409.
+    Liao-tung claimed by, ii. 429.
+    Liuchiu Islands claimed by, ii. 256.
+    Opening of, to foreign intercourse (1858), i. 225.
+    Portuguese expelled from, i. 291.
+    Prosperity of, ii. 32.
+    "Rudeness," term for, ii. 34 _note_.
+    Russian admiral in, i. 395.
+    Samurai, anecdote of, ii. 33 _note_ 1.
+    Silk industry of, i. 188, 191 _note_.
+    Sport in, ii. 127-129.
+
+  Japanese--
+    Chinese contrasted with, ii. 8, 27, 29, 130, 131, 259.
+    Combination, power of, ii. 94.
+    Imitation, faculty of, ii. 94-97.
+    Practical comprehension of circumstances, ii. 7.
+    Seriousness of, ii. 94.
+    Tenacity and resolution of, ii. 16, 93.
+
+  Junks. _See under_ China.
+
+
+  Kanagawa--
+    American treaty signed at, ii. 39.
+    Massacre of Russians at, ii. 35.
+    Moss, Mr, arrested for shooting game near, ii. 123, 128.
+    Opening of (1859), ii. 12.
+    Riding party from, attacked, ii. 55-57.
+    Yokohama preferred to, by foreign merchants, ii. 17, 18, 123.
+
+  Kang Yu-wei, reform programme of, ii. 457, 458.
+
+  Kashgaria, rebellion in, ii. 290, 291.
+
+  Kennedy, Vice-Admiral Sir W. R., cited, i. 317, 318.
+
+  Keppel, Admiral, diary entry regarding opium clipper, i. 217;
+    appreciation of Dent's hospitality, i. 294, 316;
+    operations against war-junks, i. 317, 318;
+    aids Consul Medhurst in Yangchow affair, ii. 202;
+    report on Formosa missionary affair, ii. 204;
+    details force to aid Mr Gibson, ii. 205;
+    appreciation of Chunghou, ii. 239.
+
+  Kiaochow, German seizure of, ii. 421;
+    British opinion, ii. 423;
+    Russian attitude, ii. 431.
+
+  Kim Ok Kun, ii. 298-302.
+
+  Kishen, appointment of, to negotiate with British, i. 65;
+    conciliatory manner of, i. 67;
+    good faith and courtesy of, i. 81, 82.
+
+  Kiying, Commissioner, appointed to treat with Sir H. Pottinger,
+      i. 76, 77;
+    courtesy of, i. 82;
+    pleasant nature of intercourse with, i. 94, 95;
+    impotence of, before Cantonese, i. 97;
+    high-handed manner of, after restoration of Chusan, i. 99;
+    agreement concluded with (1847), i. 103, 107;
+    effects postponement of foreign entry into Canton, i. 107;
+    popular memorial to Sir J. Davis inspired by, i. 110;
+    affability of, to governor of Hongkong, i. 112, 113;
+    supplementary treaty with, i. 113;
+    no redress from, against a Chih-hsien, i. 426.
+
+  Korea--
+    American expeditions to, ii. 178, 179.
+    China, tribute embassies to, ii. 148;
+      reverence for, ii. 259;
+      embassy of condolence from, ii. 404, 405;
+      privileges of, ii. 406.
+    Foreign ferment in, ii. 295.
+    French annexation of, ii. 176, 177.
+    Hong honoured by Court, ii. 301, 302.
+    Japanese, treaty with, ii. 256, 257;
+      brutality of, ii. 259;
+      equality of, with China, ii. 302, 303, 389;
+      aggression of, ii. 406, 407, 409.
+    Jesuit propagandism in, ii. 175.
+    Opening of, by China, ii. 259.
+    Port Hamilton incident, ii. 303, 305.
+    Russian pledge regarding, ii. 424, 425.
+    Söul, _émeute_ in, ii. 294, 296-298.
+
+  Kowloon, concession of, acquired by Parkes, i. 286, 330.
+
+  Kuldja, Russian claims regarding, ii. 290-293.
+
+  Kung, Prince, Lord Elgin's negotiations with, i. 329, 352, 353;
+    signs Peking treaty, i. 354;
+    deceived by Ignatieff, i. 358;
+    member of Tsungli-Yamên, i. 360;
+    Gordon's interviews with, i. 383;
+    implicated in the Lay-Osborn flotilla failure, i. 389, 390;
+    executes _coup d'état_, i. 397, 398;
+    correspondence with British Minister, i. 403-406, 409;
+    high-handed tone of, i. 410;
+    intimate relations with British Legation, ii. 134, 135;
+    efforts against coolie trade, ii. 171, 172;
+    declines responsibility for Korean persecutions, ii. 176;
+    action in Yangchow affair, ii. 202;
+    circular regarding missionaries, ii. 231;
+    Sir T. Wade's remonstrance to, on Chinese official tone, ii. 244;
+    present at audience of foreign Ministers, ii. 261;
+    imperial claims of, ii. 263;
+    enmity between Empress and, ii. 264, 312;
+    action regarding Margary case, ii. 274;
+    dismissed by Empress, ii. 312;
+    efforts regarding Pei-t'ang Cathedral, ii. 342;
+    moderating influence of, ii. 374;
+    vetoes proposed assassination of Li, ii. 387.
+
+  Kuper, Rear-Admiral Sir Augustus, attack on Satsuma, ii. 67;
+    operations against Prince of Nagato, ii. 80, 81;
+    appeals to Foreign Office regarding Alcock's recall, ii. 89.
+
+  Kwanghsu, Emperor, selected by Empress, ii. 263;
+    comes of age, ii. 318;
+    childlessness of, ii. 456;
+    reform programme adopted by, ii. 458.
+
+  Kweiliang, i. 334, 360.
+
+
+  Lane-Poole, Stanley, cited, i. 117, 316.
+
+  Lang, Captain, ii. 396, 400, 412.
+
+  Lay, H. N., residence of, at Foochow, i. 118 _note_;
+    Inspector-General of Customs, i. 155;
+    negotiates Tientsin treaty, i. 331;
+    Osborn flotilla fiasco, i. 387-391;
+    summary of Chinese affairs (1858-63), i. 409, 410;
+    fidelity to Chinese Government, ii. 160;
+    observation on residence of Ministers, ii. 261;
+    representative of consular training school, ii. 363.
+
+  Lay-Osborn flotilla, i. 387-391;
+    Wênsiang and Prince Kung discredited by failure of scheme,
+      ii. 375, 391.
+
+  Lekin, likin. _See under_ China--Taxation.
+
+  Lhassa, Bengali's friendly visits to, ii. 305;
+    Indian expedition attempted, ii. 306-310;
+    protracted negotiations at, ii. 311, 312.
+
+  Li Han-Chang, ii. 272.
+
+  Li Hung-Chang, foreigners enlisted by, i. 381, 382;
+    dismisses Burgevine, i. 385, 387;
+    rejects the Lay-Osborn flotilla, i. 391;
+    Gordon's quarrel with, i. 392, 393;
+    memorial of, regarding revision of treaty, ii. 184-190;
+    influence of, in foreign affairs, ii. 190, 264, 313, 314;
+    succeeds Tsêng Kwo-fan and Chunghou, ii. 242;
+    interview with Consul Adkins, ii. 244, 245;
+    negotiates opening of Korea, ii. 259;
+    ascendancy of, in imperial counsels, ii. 264, 329;
+    appointed to treat with Sir T. Wade on Margary murder, ii. 274, 275;
+    negotiates Chefoo Convention, ii. 275-277;
+    Gordon's interviews with, ii. 292;
+    action in Korean _émeute_, ii. 294;
+    Count Ito's negotiations with, ii. 302;
+    arranges voyage of Prince Ch'un, ii. 316;
+    deputed to meet the Czarevitch at Chefoo, ii. 322;
+    Annam negotiations, ii. 325;
+    summons Mr Detring to Tientsin, ii. 328;
+    concludes Fournier Convention, ii. 329;
+    arranges Vatican mission, ii. 345;
+    opposed by Tso Tsung-tang, ii. 379;
+    characteristics and policy of, ii. 381-386;
+    promotes naval and military reform, ii. 382, 391, 396, 397;
+    no anti-foreign outbreaks in province of, ii. 383, 442;
+    responsibilities of, regarding Japanese War, ii. 386, 387;
+    progressive efforts of, ii. 395;
+    opposed to Korean expedition, ii. 408;
+    agrees to Manchurian branch of Siberian railway, ii. 423.
+
+  Liao-tung--
+    Japanese occupation of, ii. 414;
+      cession of, for indemnity, ii. 415.
+    Russian acquisition of, ii. 422, 423.
+
+  'Life's Problems,' appreciation of, i. 159.
+
+  Likatchoff, Commodore, ii. 112, 114.
+
+  Lin, Commissioner, measures of, against opium trade, i. 51-54;
+    demands life-and-death jurisdiction, i. 57;
+    reply of, to Macaese, i. 58;
+    superseded, i. 65;
+    custom-house administration of, i. 435.
+
+  Lindsay, W. S., cited, i. 237;
+    quoted, i. 242.
+
+  Liuchiu Islands, ii. 256.
+
+  Livadia, treaty of, ii. 291.
+
+  Lorchas. _See under_ China.
+
+  Lowder, Mrs, Alcock's marriage with, ii. 73.
+
+
+  Macao (_see also_ Portuguese)--
+    British refugees expelled from, i. 58, 272, 293;
+      plenipotentiaries repair to, i. 65.
+    Celebrities of, i. 297, 298.
+    Clerks from, i. 259.
+    Coolie trade at, ii. 169, 174.
+    Custom-house established at, ii. 288.
+    Elliot's retirement to, i. 41.
+    Hongkong contrasted with, i. 287, 294.
+    Peacefulness and salubrity of, i. 287, 288, 292-294.
+    Piracy tolerated at, i. 295, 296.
+    Population of, i. 294, 295.
+    Portuguese occupation of, i. 289-291.
+
+  Macaulay, T. B., ii. 307.
+
+  MacCunn, James, cited, i. 243 _note_.
+
+  Macdonald, Sir Claude, ii. 432.
+
+  MacDonnell, Sir Richard, i. 277, 305, 306.
+
+  Manchuria--
+    Chinese troops in, ii. 291.
+    Russian acquisition of coast, ii. 252, 469, 473.
+    Siberian railway to pass through, ii. 423.
+
+  Manchus--
+    Chinese contrasted with, i. 80, 81;
+      complementary to, i. 83, 84.
+    Courtesy of, i. 82, 368, ii. 140, 153.
+    Moderation and humanity of, i. 81.
+    Women, position of, ii. 140, 141.
+
+  Margary, Augustus Raymond, ii. 266, 267.
+
+  Markham, Sir Clements, appreciation of Alcock, ii. 484.
+
+  Mas, M. de, anecdote of, ii. 444 _note_.
+
+  Mayers, W. F., ii. 363.
+
+  Meadows, Taylor, Alcock compared with, i. 161, ii. 224;
+    distinguished services of, ii. 359;
+    representative of consular training school, ii. 363.
+
+  Medhurst, Mr, foreign atrocities reported by, i. 302;
+    map made by, i. 432;
+    action in Yangchow affair, ii. 199-201;
+    reprimanded by Lord Clarendon, ii. 207, 208.
+
+  Mikado of Japan, sanction of, necessary to treaties, ii. 39, 63, 85;
+    sanction obtained, ii. 90;
+    Tycoon's relation to, ii. 60-65, 71-73, 76, 85, 92, 93;
+    expulsion of foreigners ordered by, ii. 63;
+    administrative functions assumed by, ii. 92, 255.
+
+  Missionaries--
+    Alcock's views on, ii. 223, 224, 227, 230, 231, 237.
+    American, on Yangtze expedition, i. 370.
+    Charges against, ii. 236.
+    Chinese view of, ii. 177-179.
+    Control of, Chinese scheme for, ii. 246-248.
+    Disunion among the Powers caused by, ii. 237.
+    French enterprise regarding, ii. 175-177, 224, 225, 229-232, 234,
+        237, 238, 253;
+      their aim a protectorate of Christians, ii. 336-342, 346-352.
+    Hongkong, in, i. 281.
+    "Indiscretions" of, emphasised by their Governments, ii. 243.
+    Irritation and disruption caused by, ii. 203-205, 207, 224, 226-233,
+      238, 246, 248, 249, 454.
+    Kang Yu-wei inspired by, ii. 458.
+    Korea, in, ii. 175, 177-179.
+    Li's advice regarding, ii. 187;
+      his policy towards, ii. 383, 442.
+    Publications of, ii. 445.
+    Russian Peking establishment, i. 356, ii. 154.
+    Tientsin massacre, ii. 238, 239;
+      French ambassador's note on, ii. 237;
+      results of, ii. 240-244.
+    Tsingpu attack, i. 129.
+
+  Mito, Prince of, ii. 35, 38, 40, 41.
+
+  Mongol market in Peking, ii. 147, 148.
+
+  Montauban, General (Count Palikao), i. 349, 351-353.
+
+  Morrison, Robert, i. 297, 298.
+
+  Moss, Mr, ii. 123, 124, 128.
+
+  Mouravieff-Amurski, Count, at Yedo, ii. 35;
+    warns Japanese against British designs, ii. 111;
+    gives assurances regarding Russian fleet, ii. 426.
+
+  Mutsu, Count, anecdote of, ii. 96 _note_.
+
+
+  Nagasaki--
+    Alcock's arrival at, ii. 14.
+    Coins not used in trade at, ii. 18.
+    Dutch trade at, ii. 10, 11.
+    Legation from Korea conveyed to, ii. 294.
+    Opened for ships' supplies, ii. 4.
+    Welcome to foreigners at, ii. 9.
+
+  Nagato, Prince of, hostile action of, ii. 67, 69, 76, 77;
+    operations against, ii. 77-81;
+    Japanese students sent to Europe by, ii. 80;
+    justifies his anti-foreign action, ii. 82;
+    results of his defeat, ii. 86.
+
+  Namoa, typical sale of opium at, i. 47, 48.
+
+  Nanking--
+    Capital, proposed as, ii. 474 _note_.
+    Important position of, i. 134.
+    Lay-Osborn flotilla, connection with, i. 391.
+    Robertson's mission to, i. 133, 428.
+    Taipings at, British aid asked against, i. 312;
+      Admiral Hope's dealings with, i. 371, 372.
+    Treaty. _See under_ Treaties.
+
+  Napier, Lord, experiences of, in China, i. 38-40;
+    views on Chinese government, ii. 439.
+
+  Neale, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward St John, in charge of British Legation
+      at Yedo, ii. 50;
+    attack on British Legation described by, ii. 51, 52;
+    congratulated by Japanese on his escape, ii. 54;
+    action after Richardson murder, ii. 58;
+    negotiations with Japanese, ii. 62-67.
+
+  Newchwang, i. 219, 222.
+
+  Ningpo--
+    A'Pak's exploit at, i. 304, 305.
+    Characteristics of, i. 116.
+    Occupation of, by British, i. 76.
+    Opening of, i. 115.
+    Piratical stronghold near, i. 306.
+    Taipings, captured by, i. 376, 377;
+      captured from, i. 380;
+      base of British and French during Chêkiang campaign, i. 394.
+    'Times' pronouncement against, i. 114.
+
+
+  Oliphant, Laurence, cited, i. 223, 336, 337, 347, ii. 2;
+    quoted, i. 341, ii. 9 _note_, 11 _note_;
+    wounded by Japanese, ii. 36, 37;
+    invalided home, ii. 46.
+
+  Opium trade--
+    Alcock's attitude towards, i. 194-198, 417-419.
+    Cash payments the rule in, i. 43, 171, 192.
+    Chefoo Convention, introduced into, ii. 281, 283;
+      stimulated by, ii. 289.
+    Clippers, i. 193, 215-217.
+    Contraband before 1858, i. 44-48, 192;
+      legalisation of, urged by Alcock, i. 418;
+      effected, i. 199;
+      recognised by Tientsin treaty, i. 332, 341.
+    Elliot's offer to suppress, i. 48, 49;
+      his attitude towards, i. 199.
+    Foochow, at, i. 121.
+    Hostility of Chinese attitude towards, i. 417-419.
+    Importance of, i. 193, 194, 196, 197, 417, 418.
+    Lin's measures against, i. 51-54.
+    Postal communication dependent on, i. 193, 216, 217.
+    Smuggling connected with, i. 44-48.
+    Surrender of opium at Canton, i. 53, 54 _and note_.
+    Transit dues, proposed increase of, ii. 219;
+      duty trebled, ii. 284, 286.
+    Value of, i. 192.
+
+  Osborn, Captain Sherard, Yangtze explored by, i. 223, 347;
+    in command of flotilla refused by Chinese, i. 388;
+    cited, ii. 2.
+
+
+  Paget, Sir James, appreciation of Alcock, i. 23, 24.
+
+  Palikao, Count, i. 349, 351-353.
+
+  Palmerston, Lord, successful Chinese policy of, i. 88, 100, 101, 104,
+      131;
+    the China dissolution, i. 319;
+    change in foreign policy after death of, ii. 364, 365.
+
+  Paris, Alcock's first visit to, i. 2-7;
+    Campbell's mission to, ii. 333.
+
+  Parkes, Sir Harry, interpreter to Alcock, i. 117;
+    appreciation of Alcock, i. 120, 121;
+    accompanies Alcock to Shanghai, i. 126;
+    despatched with Robertson to Nanking, i. 133;
+    compiles returns of sea-borne trade at Foochow, i. 209;
+    obtains Kowloon concession, i. 286, 330;
+    action regarding the Arrow incident, i. 309;
+    remonstrates with Yeh, i. 314;
+    Lord Elgin's appreciation of, i. 326 _note_;
+    commissioner at Canton, i. 328, 330;
+    successful administration there, i. 397;
+    deplores Lord Elgin's hurried departure from Tientsin, i. 335;
+    reward offered for head of, i. 342;
+    seized and imprisoned by Chinese, i. 352;
+    released, i. 354;
+    visits Peking, i. 365;
+    attached by Lord Elgin to Admiral Hope, i. 370;
+    describes abandonment of Hankow, i. 374;
+    attack on, in Japan, ii. 90;
+    succeeds Alcock in Japan, ii. 130;
+    views on Chinese action regarding Formosa and Japan, ii. 255;
+    negotiates treaty regarding Korea, ii. 297;
+    death of, ii. 302;
+    representative of consular training school, ii. 363.
+
+  Pechili Gulf, cruise in, i. 220-223;
+    defences suggested for, ii. 381;
+    fortifications of ports in, ii. 397.
+
+  Peiho river, demonstration off mouth of (1840), i. 64;
+    defences of (1860), 350.
+    _See also_ Taku forts.
+
+  Peking--
+    Blockade of, a means of coercing Government, i. 416, 428-431.
+    British Legation. _See under_ Great Britain.
+    Campaign of 1860, i. 349-354.
+    _Chose jugée_, case of, ii. 280.
+    Convention signed at (1886), ii. 310.
+    Disadvantages of, as site for capital, ii. 474 _and note_.
+    Distant view of, ii. 143.
+    Elgin's error in omitting to visit, i. 334-337 _and note_.
+    Fur market, ii. 149.
+    German Legation established in, ii. 254.
+    Health of, ii. 144 _note_.
+    Hostility of natives in, i. 364.
+    Inaccessibility of, ii. 142.
+    Innovations after 1884, ii. 315.
+    Insanitary condition of, ii. 144, 145.
+    Lama temple, ii. 145, 146.
+    Legations, diplomatic difficulties of, i. 398-401;
+      relieved by military force (1900), ii. 437.
+    Macaulay's mission to, ii. 307, 308.
+    Maritime Customs Inspector established in, ii. 156.
+    Mules and camels, ii. 147.
+    Pei-t'ang Cathedral, erection of, ii. 341;
+      transfer of, ii. 346, 347.
+    Prohibitions against English visitors, i. 363.
+    Residence of British representative at, suggested in merchants'
+        memorial (1839), i. 89;
+      residence included in Tientsin treaty, i. 332, 336;
+      right of residence suspended, i. 337, 346.
+    Russian mission in, i. 356, ii. 154.
+    Sarat Chandra Das, visit of, ii. 308-310.
+    Social Life in, ii. 138-142.
+    Street traffic in, ii. 149-153.
+    Summer retreat from, ii. 154, 155.
+    Temple of Heaven, ii. 146.
+    Treaty signed at (1860), i. 354.
+
+  Pin Ch'un, ii. 137, 186.
+
+  Piracy--
+    Alcock's views on, i. 208.
+    British action against, i. 299, 301, 305-307.
+    Chinese attitude towards, i. 299-301.
+    Foreigners engaged in, in China, i. 302;
+      foreigners subjected to, i. 306, 307.
+    Hongkong headquarters of, i. 302, 305.
+    Portuguese leniency to, i. 295, 296;
+      their earlier assistance against, i. 289, 290.
+    Prevalence of, i. 194, 209, 218.
+    Steam traffic a blow to, i. 307.
+    Taiping Rebellion complicated by, i. 275.
+
+  Popoff, M., i. 357, 395.
+
+  Port Arthur--
+    British evacuation of, ii. 426.
+    Ch'un, Prince, meets British Admiral at, ii. 317.
+    Fortifications of, ii. 397.
+    French abstain from attacking, ii. 332;
+      French syndicate entrusted with construction works at, ii. 335.
+    Russian acquisition of, ii. 424-427.
+
+  Portugal, Alcock's work as army surgeon in, i. 14-18;
+    on Anglo-Portuguese Commission regarding claims of British
+      auxiliaries, i. 25.
+
+  Portuguese (_see also_ Macao)--
+    Chinese cupidity conciliated by, i. 287.
+    Convoy trade carried on by, i. 304, 305.
+    Ming dynasty supported by, i. 291.
+    Obligations to Great Britain disregarded by, i. 58 and _note_.
+
+  Pottinger, Sir Henry, i. 74, 112-114.
+
+  Powers, Western--
+    Anarchy among, ii. 472, 473.
+    Audience granted to, by Emperor Tungchih, ii. 261;
+      by Kwanghsu, ii. 318-320.
+    British covertly attacked by, to Japanese government, ii. 107-110.
+    Chefoo Convention, feeling regarding, ii. 276, 277, 281.
+    Classification of, ii. 465.
+    Danger to be apprehended from, i. 163, 420.
+    "Dummy" Chinaman evolved by, i. 338, 339, ii. 472.
+    Korea, inaction regarding, ii. 411.
+    Missionary problem, unity not possible regarding, ii. 237.
+    Rivalry of, i. 262, ii. 447, 451, 475.
+    Spoliation of China by, ii. 417, 418, 447, 452.
+    Taiping Rebellion, attitude towards, i. 394.
+
+  "Progress," no Chinese equivalent for, ii. 136.
+
+  Protêt, Admiral, i. 377, 379.
+
+
+  Queen Victoria Jubilee Institute for Nurses, Alcock's work for,
+    ii. 482, 483.
+
+
+  Real estate, value of, in the Far East, i. 176, 177, 434.
+
+  Rennie, Dr, quoted, i. 362-366, ii. 146.
+
+  Rhubarb, Chinese export of, i. 168.
+
+  Richardson, Mr, murder of, ii. 38, 56, 57;
+    redress for, ii. 65, 66.
+
+  Robertson, Vice-Consul, i. 133, 428, ii. 210.
+
+  Royal Geographical Society, Alcock's work for, ii. 483, 484.
+
+  Roze, Admiral, ii. 177.
+
+  "Rudeness," Japanese term for, ii. 34 _note_.
+
+  Russell, Earl, approves Alcock's measures, ii. 45, 86;
+    negotiates with Japanese envoys, ii. 49;
+    advocates firm policy in Japan, ii. 59, 76;
+    recalls Alcock, ii. 87, 88;
+    desires Alcock's return to Japan, ii. 89.
+
+  Russia, Russians (_see also_ Powers)--
+    Absorbent policy of, ii. 469, 470, 473, 474.
+    Akbar despatches incident, i. 233.
+    Amur, acquisitions on the, ii. 252, 429.
+    Ascendancy of, in China, ii. 422, 434, 473, 475.
+    British friction with, ii. 321.
+    Czarevitch visits China, ii. 321-323.
+    Elgin followed to Tientsin by, i. 331.
+    French in concert with, ii. 415;
+      their acquisitions approved by, ii. 419.
+    Japan--squadron at Yedo, ii. 35;
+      represented by M. Goskavitch, ii. 104;
+      Tsushima affair, ii. 111-114.
+    Japanese War deprecated by, ii. 411;
+      Japanese claims modified by, ii. 415.
+    Kuldja incident, ii. 290-293.
+    Li protected by, ii. 387, 415.
+    Liao-tung acquired by, ii. 422, 423.
+    Livadia, treaty of, ii. 291.
+    Loan to China guaranteed by, ii. 421.
+    Manchurian coast acquired by, ii. 252, 469.
+    Military ethics of, ii. 470, 471.
+    Peking, establishment in, i. 356, ii. 154.
+    Port Hamilton incident, ii. 303-305.
+    Protectorate of Christians assumed by, ii. 349, 350.
+    Respect accorded to, by Chinese, i. 357;
+      by Japanese, i. 357, ii. 104.
+    Siberian railway, beginning of, ii. 323;
+      Manchurian branch of, ii. 423.
+    Taiping Rebellion, attitude towards, i. 394, 395.
+    Talien-wan seized by, ii. 427;
+      'Times' extract on the proceeding, ii. 428-432.
+    Tea supply of, i. 186.
+    Tientsin massacre, ii. 239, 241.
+    Toleration clause in treaty of, ii. 224.
+    Vladivostock, acquisition of, i. 358;
+      Czarevitch's visit to, ii. 323.
+
+
+  Salisbury, Lord, additional article to the Chefoo Convention signed by,
+      ii. 287;
+    speech regarding Russian ports, ii. 426, 430;
+    Russia conciliated by, ii. 429.
+
+  Samqua, i. 151, 434, 435.
+
+  Samurai, status of, ii. 33 _note_ 2.
+
+  Sarat Chandra Das, ii. 306, 308-310.
+
+  Satsuma, Prince of, riding party attacked by retinue of, ii. 58;
+    attack on, ii. 67, 68;
+    appeals to Mikado against Prince of Nagato, ii. 69;
+    friendly to foreigners, ii. 76.
+
+  Seventh Prince. _See_ Ch'un, Prince.
+
+  Seward, George F., ii. 174, 178.
+
+  Seymour, Sir Michael, naval commander-in-chief at Hongkong, i. 309;
+    relations with Sir J. Bowring, i. 315;
+    operations in the "Merchants' War," i. 317.
+
+  Shanghai--
+    Alcock appointed to, i. 126;
+      testimonial to him from foreign residents in, i. 157, 158;
+      his visit to (1869), ii. 218.
+    Apathy of residents regarding Exhibition samples, i. 200, 201.
+    Capture of, in first China War, i. 75.
+    Chamber of Commerce at, reviews Supplementary Convention, ii. 219.
+    Chunghou, condemned at meetings in, ii. 241.
+    Custom-house. _See under_ China--Taxation.
+    Development of, i. 124-126.
+    French concession in, i. 139.
+    Inland trade from, i. 210.
+    Kim assassinated in, ii. 301.
+    Lindsay's mission to (1832), i. 115.
+    Naval construction attempted at, ii. 396.
+    Neighbourhood of, i. 126, 127.
+    Opening of (1843), i. 115.
+    Self-reliance of community in, i. 140.
+    Silk trade facilitated by opening of, i. 188.
+    Smuggling centre at, i. 144.
+    Supreme Court for China and Japan established at, ii. 355-358.
+    Taipings, danger from, i. 377-379.
+    Thirty mile radius established round, i. 128, 372, 376, 383, 384.
+    Tientsin treaty negotiations conducted at, i. 343, 347.
+    Tonnage famine at, i. 232, 233.
+    Tsingpu affair, i. 129-133.
+    Yokohama guard of Beloochis sent from, ii. 78.
+
+  Shantung--
+    German seizure of port in, ii. 421;
+      British opinion on seizure, ii. 423;
+      Russian attitude, ii. 431.
+    Scenery of, i. 221.
+    Unrest most violent in, ii. 462.
+
+  Shaw, Sir Charles, sketch of career of, i. 12-14;
+    appreciation of Alcock, i. 14-17, 21, 22.
+
+  Shimadso Saburo, ii. 58, 59 _and note_.
+
+  Shimoda, opening of, ii. 4.
+
+  Shimonoséki, Straits of, blockaded by Prince of Nagato, ii. 69, 76, 77;
+    forts at, captured by Allies, ii. 83.
+
+  Shimonoseki treaty, ii. 387, 418.
+
+  Shipping--
+    Convoy system in China, i. 302-304.
+    Disguise of boats for Chinese coasting trade, i. 246, 247.
+    East India Company's, i. 211-215.
+    Gold discoveries' effect on, i. 227-231.
+    Hanseatic and Scandinavian, i. 218, 219.
+    Junks. _See under_ China.
+    Lorchas. _See under_ China.
+    Merchant owners, i. 217, 218, 224.
+    Navigation Law repealed, i. 230.
+    Opium clippers, i. 193, 215-217.
+    Piracy. _See that title._
+    Revival of British, i. 231, 237, 239.
+    Silk cargoes, i. 235, 236.
+    Steam brought into general use, i. 243-245;
+    effect on piracy, i. 307.
+    Tea clippers, i. 239-243.
+
+  Shore, the Hon. Henry N., cited, i. 213 _note_.
+
+  Silk, Chinese trade in, importance of, i. 168, 187-191 _and note_, 203;
+    shipping of, i. 235, 236;
+    Japanese trade in, ii. 116.
+
+  Smith, Arthur, cited, ii. 368.
+
+  Smuggling--
+    Alcock's efforts against, i. 143, 145;
+      extract from his report on, i. 145-147.
+    Elliot's offer to suppress, i. 48, 49.
+    England, in, i. 213.
+    Prevalence of, i. 44, 45, 143, 195, 301.
+    Salt merchants vigilant against, i. 442.
+    Trade disastrously affected by, i. 147.
+
+  Solomon, King, Chinese characteristics of, ii. 369 _note_.
+
+  Spain, Alcock's work as army surgeon in, i. 21, 22;
+    on Commission regarding payment of Foreign Legion, i. 24, 25;
+    rheumatic fever contracted at San Sebastian, i. 27.
+
+  Stanley, Lady Augusta, Alcock's work with, ii. 479, 480.
+
+  Staveley, Brigadier-General, i. 365, 379, 383, 385.
+
+  Stirling, Sir James, Japanese treaty of, ii. 4.
+
+  Swatow, ii. 206.
+
+  Swinhoe, Consul, ii. 181, 204, 359.
+
+
+  Taiping Rebellion. _See under_ China.
+
+  Taku forts, British repulse at, i. 222, 223, 348;
+    strengthened by Chinese, i. 350;
+    captured by Allies, i. 351;
+    occupied by Allies, i. 355;
+    captured (1900), ii. 436.
+
+  Talien-wan--
+    British suggestion regarding, ii. 425.
+    Fortifications of, ii. 397.
+    Russian seizure of, ii. 427.
+    'Times' letter on, ii. 428-432.
+
+  Tao-kuang, Emperor, i. 50, 51.
+
+  Taotai, status of, i. 129.
+
+  Tartars, i. 81.
+
+  Taxation. _See under_ China.
+
+  Tea trade--
+    Clippers, i. 239-243.
+    Consumption of tea, quality and quantity of, i. 180, 181.
+    Duties heavy, i. 178-181, 186.
+    Foochow famous for, i. 121, 122, 240, 241.
+    Hankow a new centre for, i. 225.
+    Importance of, in early Chinese trade, i. 168;
+      decline of, i. 184-186.
+
+  Thomson, J., quoted, i. 269.
+
+  Tibet, Bengali's friendly visits to, ii. 305;
+    Indian expedition attempted, ii. 306-310;
+    attack on British Sikkim, ii. 311.
+
+  Tientsin--
+    Arsenal established at, by Chunghou, ii. 392.
+    Ch'un, Prince, introduced to foreigners at, ii. 316.
+    Conference at (1840), i. 65;
+      (1854), i. 311.
+    Elgin's treaty. _See_ Treaties--Tientsin;
+      his hurried departure from, i. 333, 335, 336.
+    Gordon's interviews with Li at, ii. 292.
+    Gutzlaff's expedition to, i. 115.
+    Massacre at. _See under_ Missionaries.
+    Peking campaign, base of Allied troops during, i. 351;
+      garrison left in, i. 355.
+    Treaty of. _See under_ Treaties.
+
+  Ting, Admiral, ii. 400, 408.
+
+  Tông-chow, i. 219, 220.
+
+  Tongking, French conquest of, ii. 326.
+
+  Trade. _See_ Commerce.
+
+  Treaties--
+    Alcock's stand for integrity of, ii. 101.
+    Anglo-German Agreement, ii. 467, 468, 473.
+    Calcutta Convention, ii. 312.
+    Chefoo Convention, negotiation and provisions of, ii. 275-280, 310,
+        311;
+      criticism of, ii. 280, 251;
+      ratification of, ii. 284, 287.
+    Disregard of, chronic, ii. 214, 359.
+    Fournier Convention, ii. 329.
+    Japan--Commodore Perry's, ii. 2;
+      Townsend Harris's, ii. 3, 5, 39, 99;
+      Sir J. Stirling's, ii. 4;
+      Lord Elgin's, ii. 5, 6, 99.
+    Li-Ito Convention, ii. 302, 303, 389, 408, 409.
+    Livadia, ii. 291.
+    "Most-favoured-nation" clause, ii. 3, 5, 6, 215, 232.
+    Nanking, signing of, i. 75, 76;
+      Chinese hostility to, i. 78, 79, 91, 93, 97;
+      supplement to, i. 112-114;
+      English opposition to, i. 114;
+      working of, summed up by Alcock, i. 162, 411-428;
+      evaded by Chinese, i. 333, ii. 214;
+      restrictions of boundary imposed by, i. 415.
+    Peking (1860), i. 354;
+      (1886), ii. 310.
+    St Petersburg, ii. 293.
+    Shimonoseki, ii. 387, 418.
+    Tientsin, ports opened by, i. 219;
+      signing of, i. 331, 334;
+      provisions of, i. 332, 341;
+      residence at Peking a stipulation of, i. 332-335;
+      Chinese view of, i. 334-336, 341, 342, 346, 348;
+      suspension of residence clause, i. 337, 346;
+      ratified at Peking, i. 354;
+      regarded as model for other Powers, ii. 6;
+      revision preparations, ii. 180-183;
+      revision discussed, ii. 211-218;
+      supplementary convention signed, ii. 218;
+      reviewed, ii. 219, 220;
+      not ratified, ii. 220, 221.
+    Toleration clauses, ii. 224, 225.
+    Yeh's contempt for, i. 333.
+
+  Tsên-Yü-ying, ii. 270-273.
+
+  Tsêng, the Marquis, negotiates ratification of Chefoo Convention,
+      i. 284-287;
+    negotiates treaty at St Petersburg, ii. 293;
+    Annam negotiations, ii. 325;
+    member of Tsungli-Yamên, ii. 351.
+
+  Tsêng Kwo-Chuan, i. 381, 391.
+
+  Tsêng Kwo-fan, operations in Taiping Rebellion, i. 381, 391, 393;
+    memorial regarding revision of treaty, ii. 184;
+    intercourse with foreigners, ii. 189;
+    action in Yangchow affair, ii. 199-203;
+    action regarding Tientsin massacre, ii. 240, 243;
+    volunteer levies under, ii. 377;
+    characteristics of, ii. 378;
+    expulsion of foreigners suggested by, ii. 464 _note_.
+
+  Tsushima, designs on, attributed to British, ii. 108, 109, 111;
+    to French, ii. 110;
+    Russian occupation of, ii. 111-114.
+
+  Tsingpu affair, i. 129-135, 415, 423, 424.
+
+  Tso Tsung-tang, ii. 291, 278, 279.
+
+  Tsungli-Yamên. _See under_ China.
+
+  Tuan, Prince, characteristic action of (1900), ii. 437;
+    progeny of, not in the succession, ii. 456;
+    relations of, with Empress Regent obscure, ii. 460.
+
+  Tun, Prince, imperial claims of son of, ii. 263;
+    grandson of, nominated heir-apparent, ii. 460.
+
+  Tungchih, Emperor, i. 397, ii. 260-262.
+
+  Tycoon of Japan, Lord Elgin's treaty with, ii. 6, 7;
+    guards of, at foreign legations, ii. 36, 38, 44, 51-53;
+    Daimios' relation to, ii. 38-41, 60-65, 67, 68, 76, 93;
+    autograph letter to the Queen, ii. 46;
+    the Queen's reply, ii. 48;
+    envoys sent by, to Great Britain, ii. 48, 49;
+    second mission, ii. 74, 75;
+    Mikado's relation to, ii. 71-73, 85, 92;
+    regret at Alcock's recall, ii. 88.
+
+
+  United States. _See_ America.
+
+
+  Vatican, appeal to, ii. 343.
+
+  'Village Life in China' cited, ii. 368.
+
+  Vladivostock, Russian acquisition of, i. 358;
+    Czarevitch at, ii. 323.
+
+
+  Wade, Sir Thomas, action in Taiping Rebellion, i. 138, ii. 133;
+    Inspector of Customs at Shanghai, i. 154;
+    at Peking with Alcock (1865), ii. 131;
+    career and characteristics of, ii. 132-134;
+    views of, on Maritime Customs Inspectorship, ii. 163, 164;
+    on supplementary convention to Tientsin treaty, ii. 220;
+    _chargé d'affaires_ at Peking, ii. 239, 244;
+    views of, on audience of foreign Ministers, ii. 261, 262;
+    negotiations regarding Margary case, ii. 270-275, 278;
+    negotiates Chefoo Convention, ii. 275-279;
+    views of, on Chinese legislation, ii. 279.
+
+  Ward, Mr, i. 382.
+
+  Weihai-wei--
+    British seizure of, ii. 434.
+    Chinese forlorn hope at, i. 222, 301.
+    Early exploration of, i. 222.
+    Fortifications of, ii. 397.
+
+  Wênsiang, member of Tsungli-Yamên, i. 360;
+    discredited by Lay-Osborn flotilla fiasco, i. 389, ii. 375, 391;
+    intimate relations with British Legation, ii. 134, 135;
+    concurs in strong measures against rioters, ii. 207;
+    dislike of Hongkong, ii. 216;
+    circular regarding control of missions attributed to, ii. 246;
+    efforts regarding Pei-t'ang Cathedral, ii. 342;
+    high qualities of, ii. 374-376.
+
+  Westminster Hospital, Alcock's work for, ii. 478-480.
+
+  Winchester, Consul, on Japanese currency, ii. 18, 23.
+
+  Wolseley, Lieutenant-Colonel, i. 371, 373.
+
+  Wu, i. 151, 434, 435.
+
+  Wusung--
+    Challenger on the bar at, i. 236.
+    Hong captured at, ii. 301.
+    Opium trade at, i. 193.
+    Thirty mile radius, included in, i. 372, 376.
+
+
+  Yakub-beg, ii. 290, 291.
+
+  Yangchow riot, ii. 198-203, 207.
+
+  Yangtze river--
+    Advance of 200 miles up (1842), i. 74;
+      Lord Elgin's voyage to Hankow (1858), i. 347, 370.
+    Blockade of, suggested, i. 430.
+    Opening of, i. 223, 369, 373.
+
+  Yedo--
+    Alcock's arrival at, ii. 15-17.
+    British Legation. _See under_ Great Britain.
+    Choshiu's establishment at, destroyed, ii. 83.
+    Hostility to foreigners, ii. 35.
+    Legations, withdrawal of, to Yokohama, ii. 36;
+      foreign guards at, ii. 45;
+      improved residence for, ii. 50.
+    Social conditions in, ii. 122.
+
+  Yeh, Viceroy, evades demands for right of entry into Canton, i. 160;
+    hostile to native shipowners, i. 309;
+    asks British aid against Taipings, i. 312;
+    attitude towards foreigners, i. 312-314;
+    offers reward for English heads, i. 317;
+    contemptuous of treaties, i. 333;
+    superseded, i. 342;
+    capture and death of, i. 328.
+
+  Yerburgh, Mr, ii. 427.
+
+  Yokohama--
+    Foreigners' residence prepared by Japanese at, ii. 13;
+      improved, ii. 90.
+    Garrison of British troops in, ii. 77, 78, 84.
+    Legations' withdrawal to, during assassination period, ii. 36.
+    Merchants' preference for, to Kanagawa, i. 18, 122, 123.
+    Tycoon's inability to maintain order in, ii. 74.
+
+  Yuan Shih-kai, ii. 406.
+
+  Yunnan--
+    Burmese expedition and murder of Mr Margary, ii. 266, 267;
+      negotiations regarding, ii. 267-276;
+      settlement of affair, ii. 278.
+    Rebellion in, ii. 290.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Englishman in China During the
+Victorian Era, Vol. II (of 2), by Alexander Michie
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diff --git a/old/44548-0.zip b/old/44548-0.zip
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Englishman in China During the
+Victorian Era, Vol. II (of 2), by Alexander Michie
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Englishman in China During the Victorian Era, Vol. II (of 2)
+       As Illustrated in the Career of Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+       K.C.B., D.C.L., Many Years Consul and Minister in China
+       and Japan
+
+Author: Alexander Michie
+
+Release Date: December 31, 2013 [EBook #44548]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA, VOL II ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+
+  Inconsistent hyphenation, capitalization, diacritics and spelling
+  in the original document have been preserved. Obvious typographical
+  errors have been corrected.
+
+  Index inconsistencies with the text have been regularized with the
+  text.
+
+  Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
+
+
+
+
+THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXIII.: Tsze-kung asked, saying, "Is there one word which may
+serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?" The Master said, "Is not
+RECIPROCITY such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do
+to others."
+
+
+
+
+  [Illustration: Signature
+   J. Thomson, photo.
+   Walker & Cockerell, ph. sc.]
+
+
+
+
+     THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA
+     DURING THE VICTORIAN ERA
+
+     AS ILLUSTRATED IN
+     THE CAREER OF
+     SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK, K.C.B., D.C.L.
+     MANY YEARS CONSUL AND MINISTER IN
+     CHINA AND JAPAN
+
+     BY
+     ALEXANDER MICHIE
+
+     AUTHOR OF
+     'THE SIBERIAN OVERLAND ROUTE,' 'MISSIONARIES
+     IN CHINA,' ETC.
+
+     VOL. II.
+
+     WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS
+     EDINBURGH AND LONDON
+     MDCCCC
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME.
+
+
+         CHAP.                                                    PAGE
+
+         XIX. JAPAN--
+
+               I. THE TREATIES AND THEIR NEGOTIATORS                 1
+
+              II. THE OPERATION OF THE TREATIES                     12
+
+             III. ASSASSINATION PERIOD, 1860-61                     34
+
+              IV. NEGOTIATIONS AND RENEWED ASSASSINATIONS,
+                  1862-64                                           44
+
+               V. THE TYCOON'S DILEMMA                              60
+
+              VI. THE CRISIS                                        75
+
+             VII. THE BIRTH OF NEW JAPAN                            92
+
+            VIII. THE DIPLOMATIC BODY--TSUSHIMA                    104
+
+              IX. TRADE AND TRADERS                                115
+
+          XX. SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK IN PEKING, 1865-1869--
+
+               I. THE BRITISH LEGATION                             130
+
+              II. FOREIGN LIFE IN PEKING                           138
+
+             III. THE FOREIGN CUSTOMS UNDER THE PEKING CONVENTION  156
+
+              IV. EMIGRATION                                       168
+
+               V. KOREA                                            175
+
+         XXI. THE REVISION OF THE TREATY--
+
+               I. PREPARATION                                      180
+
+              II. THE BURLINGAME MISSION                           192
+
+             III. CHINESE OUTRAGES--YANGCHOW AND FORMOSA           198
+
+              IV. REVISION NEGOTIATIONS AND CONCLUSION             210
+
+        XXII. MISSIONARY PROBLEM--TIENTSIN MASSACRE OF 1870        223
+
+       XXIII. THE EXPANSION OF INTERCOURSE--
+
+               I. RUSSIA AND FRANCE ADVANCING                      250
+
+              II. JAPAN AGGRESSIVE                                 255
+
+             III. KOREA OPENED                                     256
+
+              IV. THE FIRST IMPERIAL AUDIENCE--SUCCESSION OF
+                  KWANGHSU                                         260
+
+        XXIV. THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875--CHEFOO CONVENTION,
+              1876--RATIFICATION, 1885--
+
+               I. THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875                   265
+
+              II. CHEFOO CONVENTION, 1876                          275
+
+             III. THE RATIFICATION, 1885                           282
+
+         XXV. A CHAIN OF INCIDENTS--
+
+               I. DISPUTE WITH RUSSIA RE KULDJA                    290
+
+              II. KOREAN IMBROGLIO, 1882-85                        293
+
+             III. THE PORT HAMILTON EPISODE, 1885-87               303
+
+              IV. TIBET                                            305
+
+               V. THE CRUISE OF THE SEVENTH PRINCE, 1886           312
+
+              VI. THE EMPEROR ASSUMES THE GOVERNMENT, 1889         318
+
+             VII. THE VISIT OF THE CZAREVITCH, 1891                321
+
+        XXVI. THE TONGKING QUARREL                                 324
+
+       XXVII. THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE OF CHRISTIANS                336
+
+      XXVIII. BRITISH SERVICES: DIPLOMATIC, CONSULAR, AND
+              JUDICIAL                                             353
+
+        XXIX. CHINA AND HER RULERS                                 368
+
+         XXX. CHINA'S AWAKENING                                    388
+
+        XXXI. THE COLLAPSE                                         403
+
+       XXXII. THE RESETTLEMENT OF THE FAR EAST                     417
+
+      XXXIII. THE OUTCOME--
+
+               I. THE SITUATION IN PEKING                          435
+
+              II. THE CHRONIC CAUSE                                440
+
+             III. IMMEDIATE PROVOCATION                            447
+
+              IV. THE DYNASTIC FACTOR                              455
+
+               V. THE CHINESE OUTBREAK                             461
+
+              VI. THE CRUX                                         464
+
+       XXXIV. SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK'S LATER YEARS                  476
+
+       INDEX                                                       490
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE SECOND VOLUME.
+
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+
+     SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK                              _Frontispiece_
+
+     LORD ELGIN                                                      6
+
+     PRINCE KUNG                                                   134
+
+     WÊNSIANG                                                      136
+
+     MANCHU (TARTAR) WOMEN                                         138
+
+     MANCHU WOMEN                                                  140
+
+     CHINESE WOMEN                                                 142
+
+     CHINESE STREET SCENE DURING RAINY SEASON                      144
+
+     LI HUNG-CHANG AT THE AGE OF FIFTY                             184
+
+     RUINS OF FRENCH CATHEDRAL AT TIENTSIN, BURNED
+     JUNE 20, 1870                                                 240
+
+     PEI-T'ANG CATHEDRAL IN PEKING, PURCHASED BY CHINESE
+     GOVERNMENT                                                    340
+
+     MINISTERS OF THE YAMÊN OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: H.E. SHÊN
+     KUEI-FÊN; H.E. TUNG HSÜN; H.E. MAO CHANG-TSI                  416
+
+
+MAPS.
+
+     BAY OF YEDO                                                     4
+
+     MAP OF EASTERN ASIA                                      _At end_
+
+
+
+
+In the contents under Chapter XIX. the date of Commodore Perry's
+expedition is by a misprint given as 1883-84 instead of 1853-54.
+
+
+
+
+THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+JAPAN.
+
+
+I. THE TREATIES AND THEIR NEGOTIATORS.
+
+    Commodore Perry's expedition, 1853-54--Townsend Harris--Count
+    Poutiatine--Lord Elgin--The treaties of 1858--The solidarity of
+    Western Powers--The practical attitude of the Japanese--Their
+    yielding to circumstances--The condition of the country--The
+    character of the people--Nagasaki--The Dutch--Their two hundred
+    years' imprisonment.
+
+A mystery hung over the island empire, which had been sealed against
+foreign intercourse for two hundred years, and its mere seclusion, apart
+from the weird romance that gilded such fragments of its history as were
+known, invested the efforts to reopen the country with a romantic charm.
+It was in Japan that Lord Elgin achieved the real diplomatic success of
+his life, in the briefest possible time, at the least possible cost, and
+with the most far-reaching consequences; for undoubtedly he hastened the
+entry of the Land of the Rising Sun into the family of nations.
+
+The poetical side of the mission was done ample justice to by Laurence
+Oliphant in his 'Narrative,' by Captain Sherard Osborn in the pages of
+'Blackwood,' and elsewhere. The prosaic side and the practical issues of
+this rediscovery of an old world were not so clearly apprehended by them
+or by any other contemporary writer. The Powers of Europe and America had
+long been watching for opportunities to effect an opening in the barrier,
+but all tentatives proved in vain until force was resorted to. This was
+first done by the United States, whence a naval squadron under Commodore
+Perry appeared off the coast in 1853, repeating the visit, on a still more
+imposing scale, in 1854. The apparition deeply impressed the minds of
+the Japanese Government and people, who, Lafcadio Hearn tells us, speak
+to this day of the "black ships," birds of omen foreshadowing events for
+which it behoved them to prepare themselves. Black, indeed, they were,
+grim of aspect, huge in bulk, and looming larger than they really were,
+with their high sides, great paddle-boxes, and "smoke-stacks." The ships
+were armed with a few guns of such calibre and power as had not till
+then been placed on any floating battery. Jonathan is never second-best
+in naval artillery. Commodore Perry with his three black ships, the
+steamers Powhattan, Susquehanna, and Mississippi, and his squadron of
+sailing-vessels, opened the door of Japan--not very wide, it is true, yet
+so that it could never again be closed. The rudimentary treaty he made was
+little more than a covenant to supply wood and water to needy ships and
+to be merciful to their crews. A similar treaty was made by the English
+Admiral Stirling in 1854, and it included the "most-favoured-nation"
+clause, only excepting from its application the privileges enjoyed by
+China and Holland.
+
+To carry the work forward to a more practical stage a man of affairs was
+required, and he was found in the person of Townsend Harris, who was
+accredited to Japan under the title of Consul-General for the United
+States. Mr Harris had been nearly two years in the country when Lord
+Elgin, with his modest escort, arrived and made his acquaintance. With
+infinite patience Mr Harris had been prosecuting his negotiations,
+against wind and current, it would seem, until a propitious gale wafted
+his venture into port. The black ships had gone, but another fleet more
+numerous was assembled on the neighbouring coast, whence their fame had
+reached the secluded empire. Riding on the shoulders of the Anglo-French
+exploits in China, and not obscurely hinting at the prospect of the allies
+shortly visiting Japan, Mr Harris induced his Japanese friends to "hurry
+up" with his treaty, that it might not only serve as a model of moderation
+for the other Powers when they also should come to negotiate, but provide
+in advance friendly mediation between them and Japan. Lord Elgin justified
+the forewarnings of Mr Harris by appearing in the Bay of Yedo within a
+few weeks after the signature of the American treaty.
+
+How much both Mr Harris's treaty and the one which Lord Elgin was about
+to sign owed to the previous Russian negotiations cannot be estimated.
+Admiral Count Poutiatine concluded a treaty in 1855, and improved it in
+1857, on the basis of Sir James Stirling's opening the ports of Nagasaki,
+Hakodate, and Shimoda for ship's supplies, with sundry minor privileges.
+When Lord Elgin reached the Bay of Yedo in August 1858 he found Count
+Poutiatine already there with a frigate and a gunboat.
+
+  [Illustration: BAY OF YEDO.
+   _Walker & Cockerell sc._]
+
+This convergence of the great Powers of the world upon a single object,
+that of breaking down the seclusion of Japan, was clearly recognised, and
+its proximate effect weighed, by the Japanese statesmen of the day. Too
+wise to oppose an uncompromising resistance to the pressure, they employed
+their skill more profitably in deflecting its course. In accordance with
+this policy, Lord Elgin's demand, backed as it was by the prestige of
+his recent achievements in China, was promptly conceded, and within the
+short space of fourteen days from his arrival in the bay a treaty was
+concluded of the same tenor as the American, of which Lord Elgin had
+obtained a copy from Mr Harris, who also lent him the invaluable services
+of his Dutch interpreter, Mr Heusken. By the two treaties three of the
+chief ports of the empire were opened to foreign trade within one year,
+and two more at later dates. In some respects the English was an advance
+on the American treaty. By the latter the import tariff had been reduced
+from the old Dutch rate of 35 per cent to a general rate of 5 per cent _ad
+valorem_. The British treaty specifically provided that cotton and woollen
+manufactured goods should be included in the class of merchandise paying
+5 per cent. The immunities of extra-territoriality were unreservedly
+conceded, and were only rescinded by the revised treaties, the first of
+which was made with Great Britain in 1894, coming into force in July 1899.
+
+One general remark applies to all treaties made between foreign powers and
+China or Japan, that the interests of each separate Power were safeguarded
+by the virtual solidarity which existed among them, through the operation
+of that convenient diplomatic save-all, the "most-favoured-nation" clause.
+This comprehensive provision inserted in the treaties secured for all the
+Powers the advantages gained by any one of their number. Faith in this
+ultimate protection may have led occasionally to slipshod negotiations.
+There might even be a temptation in some cases to seek special credit
+for moderation, with the foreknowledge that the exactions of any of the
+Powers would inure to the benefit of all. Lord Elgin wrote the simple
+truth when he said that, "as regards all these important commercial
+privileges, I have to fight the battles of the Western trading nations
+single-handed." This feature had been particularly noticeable in the
+negotiations in China, where it was so well understood that the English
+treaty would be the common standard that it mattered little that the
+signature of some of the others was hurried forward so as to take priority
+of the British in point of date. The treaty which Lord Elgin negotiated
+with Japan was destined to occupy the same ruling position as the treaty
+with China, and therefore it devolved upon him to make provision for all
+manner of contingencies which no experience could enable him to foresee.
+Considering that these treaties were drawn up with so little knowledge of
+the circumstances of the country and of the future exigencies of trade,
+the fact that they have stood the test of forty years' experience redounds
+greatly to the credit of the negotiants.
+
+   [Illustration: LORD ELGIN.]
+
+Lord Elgin had to learn what a Daimio was from Count Poutiatine, who
+probably had but just acquired the knowledge himself. It is strange at the
+present day to read the solemn preamble, "Her Majesty the Queen of the
+United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and his Majesty the Tycoon
+of Japan." "It was not till some time later that it was discovered that
+there was a still higher power than the Shôgun," said Earl Russell in
+1865. The imperfect knowledge, however, attests the general soundness of
+the principles adopted.
+
+It must be admitted that on the Japanese side, also, nothing seemed
+wanting to render the treaty a workable instrument. The Japanese
+negotiators were animated by a more practical spirit than any Chinese
+diplomatist with whom foreigners had had dealings. There was no idea in
+their minds of blind obstruction; they were bent, if not upon efficient
+working, at least on the minimising of friction and risk. And though it
+is probable, indeed quite certain, that no treaty whatever could have
+been made without substantial force in the background, intelligently
+apprehended by the Japanese Government, yet, that being conceded, it
+was clearly their object to make the best of the position in which they
+actually found themselves. Under no other circumstances could treaties so
+complete in detail and so effective for their purpose have been concluded.
+
+To judge of the acts of the pioneers of foreign intercourse, or to form a
+just opinion of the conditions under which the treaties came into force,
+it would be necessary for the critic to regard the whole surroundings
+as a painter does his subject, not representing what he knows or may
+afterwards discover to be there, but considering only what actually meets
+his eye. This, of course, is next to impossible in the case of Japan,
+where the transformation resulting from the contact with foreigners was
+so rapid and so kaleidoscopic, and while foreign knowledge of things
+Japanese has increased at so marvellous a rate, that only a series of
+mutoscopic photographs could have preserved the sequence. Opinions were
+at first, and for some time after, unduly affected by the preconception
+of a certain analogy between China and Japan founded on geographical
+propinquity, and in a measure on language: this bias influenced the first
+influx of foreigners in 1859, who were largely drawn from the commercial
+ports of China. Yet those who had been habituated to the manners and
+customs of the Chinese were at once struck, not by the similarities,
+but by the violent contrasts, which the two peoples presented. These
+visitants had left behind them filth and squalor; they met cleanliness
+and tidiness of an extreme type. They left behind vagueness of thought,
+slovenliness of action; and they encountered pedantic precision. They
+left behind indifference and stolidity, with ignorance cherished as a
+proud possession; and they encountered a keen and intelligent appetite
+for knowledge. These features met the stranger before even his ship had
+cast anchor, or he had set foot on shore. He soon perceived, also, that
+existence was carried on under an elaborate prescription which left but
+a narrow margin to spontaneous action, and such a minute supervision
+that a sparrow could hardly cross the road without being noted by the
+official guardians of the peace; that every function, whether of official
+or private life, was under the undisputed control of the same vigilant
+organisation.[1] On entering the narrow waters approaching the harbour
+of Nagasaki, he would pass under forts where through a telescope he could
+see guns and gunners' quarters all spick and span. If there happened to be
+another vessel approaching from seaward, he would know it by the booming
+of two guns from the outermost fort, the signal being taken up and passed
+on by those inland, and so all the way to Yedo. This, he learned, was
+the mode of announcing to the capital the appearance of any foreign craft
+off the coast. On entering the inner harbour he would see boats full of
+men who looked like women, pushing off to his ship; and then a posse of
+officers, each armed with two sharp swords, would come on board. They,
+by means of a very imperfect interpreter, would at once ply the master
+with questions on every conceivable subject, as if he were competing in
+an examination in universal knowledge. The tedious catechism, with its
+admixture of seeming frivolity, would have been exasperating but for the
+imperturbable suavity of the catechists. Every answer was promptly, yet
+deliberately, committed to writing. Such was, and is, the custom of the
+race.
+
+Nagasaki being still, in the first half of 1859, the gate of Japan,
+and the only sample of the country known to foreigners, the bright
+welcome with which it greeted the new arrivals was of happy augury. It
+was there, also, that the first observations of the ways of Japanese
+commerce were made, for Nagasaki had carried on trade with China and
+with Holland for two hundred years,--a trade which was conducted on the
+one side by officials of the Government, who fixed the prices of the
+commodities exchanged, and which was all but strangled by monopoly. The
+restricted annual "turn-over" must have required a high percentage of
+profit to support the Dutch factory, and the privilege of trading on so
+petty a scale seemed to be dearly bought by the perpetual imprisonment
+of the agents. The unfortunate Dutchmen were confined, with their whole
+establishment of warehouses, residences, &c., within an area of less than
+three acres of reclaimed foreshore called Deshima, thus described by Sir
+Rutherford Alcock in 'The Capital of the Tycoon':--
+
+    A low fan-shaped strip of land, dammed out from the waters of
+    the bay, the handle being towards the shore and truncated. One
+    large wide street, with two-storeyed houses on each side, built in
+    European style, gives an air of great tidiness; but they look with
+    large hollow eyes into each other's interiors in a dismal sort of
+    way, as if they had been so engaged for six generations at least,
+    and were quite weary of the view.... But the view from the Dutch
+    commissioner's residence, with its quaint Japanese garden and
+    its fine sweep down the bay, is very charming.... There flitted
+    before me a vision of the solitary chiefs of the factory in long
+    succession taking up their present station in long rotation and
+    looking forward upon the fair bay with which their sight alone
+    may be gladdened. How often must the occupants of this lone post
+    have strained their eyes looking in vain for the solitary ship
+    bringing tidings from Europe and home!
+
+The imprisonment of the Dutch was aggravated by many degrading conditions
+imposed by the Japanese Government. Their position bore some analogy to
+that of the English and other foreigners in Canton previous to 1839. In
+both cases the Europeans endured indignities at the hands of Asiatics for
+the sake of profit, but beyond that point it is the differences rather
+than the resemblances which are significant. The humiliation of the Dutch
+in the island of Deshima was indeed unmitigated so far as it went, but
+it was neither capricious nor spiteful. Once the yoke was peacefully
+adjusted, what remained of life to the Dutchman was made as agreeable
+to him as to a cockatoo in a cage. His jailors had no particular animus
+against him; they had a purpose of their own to serve in keeping open,
+through the foreigners, a channel of communication with the West, and
+they had as valid reasons of State for tethering him as one may have
+for tying up his ox or his ass. These purposes once served, however, the
+Japanese did not revel in harshness or cruelty.[2] With the Chinese it was
+otherwise. They also had a political object in restricting the barbarians,
+only they were never satisfied with its attainment, but continued heaping
+up insults on their victims to the utmost limits of their submissiveness.
+
+The petty trade which the new-comers were able to do at Nagasaki was,
+in the beginning, managed through the existing agency of the Dutch, from
+whom, however, there was nothing useful to be learned, much indeed to be
+unlearned; and in a few months it was the Dutch themselves who had to go
+to school to the interlopers. As commerce had been kept entirely in the
+hands of the Government officials, there had been no opportunity for the
+rise of any mercantile class among the natives: that was to be a product
+of the new era.
+
+
+II. THE OPERATION OF THE TREATIES.
+
+    Japanese preparations for trade at Yokohama--Mr Alcock's arrival
+    as consul-general--Assumes the rank of Minister--The situation
+    as he found it--The establishment of diplomatic intercourse
+    at the capital--The location of the foreign settlement--The
+    currency--The low value of gold--Its rapid exportation--Friction
+    caused by conditions of exchange--Efforts of Mr Alcock to set
+    matters right--Report by Secretary of H.B.M. Treasury--Japanese
+    double standard, gold and copper--Japanese courage in meeting
+    difficulties--The Daimios' coinage--Beginnings of trade--Amenities
+    of residence--The charm of the people--The two Japans, official
+    and non-official--Complete despotism and complete submission.
+
+The treaties of 1858 took their proper effect at the two ports of Hakodate
+and Kanagawa; but the former being remote from any centre of population,
+and its trading resources so obviously limited, it attracted little
+attention in commercial circles. It was in the more southerly port that
+the new foreign interests became concentrated; and it was so near the
+capital--only seventeen miles distant--that the political and commercial
+currents soon acted and reacted on each other with direct, and sometimes
+violent, effect. To Kanagawa, therefore, the merchants of all nations
+gathered in anticipation of the official opening of the port on the 1st
+of July 1859.
+
+We say "Kanagawa," to follow the official nomenclature, but in reality
+the adventurers who came there to seek their fortunes did not land at
+that place, but three miles away from it, at an obscure village called
+Yokohama. There the Japanese Government had decided should be the
+future settlement for foreigners, and they had made costly preparations,
+according to their lights, for the accommodation of the strangers. Roads
+were marked out, a certain number of wooden bungalows had been run up,
+a few shops had been opened in the quarter which was designed for native
+occupation, a custom-house was built, with warehouses attached, and stone
+landing-places had been constructed for boats and lighters. The area thus
+marked out for the native and foreign business quarter was a narrow strip
+along the sea-shore, having in its flank and rear an immense lagoon, or,
+as it was called, "the swamp," intersected by boat channels, where punting
+after wildfowl provided amusement for idle foreigners. Being an inlet
+of the bay, the swamp made a peninsula of Yokohama, which had just been
+connected with the _tokaido_, the great trunk road between the capital
+of the Tycoon and that of the Mikado, by a new causeway and several good
+bridges, admitting of boat traffic between the swamp and the sea.
+
+In the middle of the swamp, in rear of Yokohama, was a reclaimed portion
+whereon was erected an extensive range of buildings connected by a
+causeway with the dry land of the settlement. From its balconies there
+waved pendants of cotton cloth bearing the legend, "This place is designed
+for the amusement of foreigners," a class of amusement of which there has
+never been any lack in Japan.
+
+Such were some of the outward and visible preparations made by the
+Japanese Government, on its own initiative, for the reception of the
+foreigners under the new treaties,--preparations which surprised and
+somewhat disconcerted the representatives of the Western Governments when
+they arrived on the eve of the opening of the port.
+
+Mr Alcock, who had recently returned to his post as consul at Canton,
+was chosen as the first representative of Great Britain in Japan, with
+the rank of consul-general. As this rank placed the representative of the
+leading Power in an inferior position to his colleagues, and consequently
+derogated from the influence he could exercise on the Japanese, Mr Alcock
+took it upon himself to assume the title of Plenipotentiary, placing his
+resignation in the hands of his Government in case they should disavow
+his action. At the same time he recommended that the future British
+representative should bear the title of Minister Resident. So far from
+disavowing his action, the Government appointed him Envoy Extraordinary
+and Minister Plenipotentiary, a higher rank than that suggested by him,
+and he was authorised to at once assume the title, although so unusual
+a proceeding as the transfer of a consular official to the diplomatic
+service involved considerable delay while the needful formalities were
+being arranged. The appointment, however, was coupled with the conditions
+that the step should not be made a precedent, and that it should confer
+no claim to future diplomatic employment in the countries of the West.
+
+Mr Alcock was conveyed from China in one of her Majesty's ships,
+arriving at the port of Nagasaki in June 1859. There he found a fleet
+of foreign merchantmen already in the harbour, and some fifteen British
+subjects resident on shore, under the ægis of the old Dutch conventions
+supplemented by more recent enactments. Mr Alcock remained some days,
+and having made arrangements for the carrying on of trade under the new
+treaties, left a consul in charge of British interests and proceeded to
+Yedo, where he arrived on June 26.
+
+It is a date to be remembered as that of the practical initiation of
+diplomatic intercourse with the ruling Power in Japan. The difference
+between a mission to negotiate treaties and one to carry them into effect
+is thus set forth by Sir Rutherford Alcock in the preface to his valuable
+work, 'The Capital of the Tycoon,' in terms the simple truth of which must
+commend itself to every candid reader:--
+
+    The Ambassadors Extraordinary had only to extort certain
+    privileges on paper; it was the business of the resident Ministers
+    to make of these paper-concessions realities--practical, everyday
+    realities. As this was the very thing the rulers of the country
+    had determined to prevent, it cannot be matter of wonder that
+    there was not, and never could be, any real accord, whatever
+    the outward professions of good faith and amity. Hence also it
+    naturally followed that, although the original negotiators were
+    received with smiles, and their path was strewn with flowers,
+    their successors had only the poisoned chalice held to their lips,
+    thorns in their path, and the scowl of the two-sworded braves and
+    Samurai to welcome them whenever they ventured to leave their
+    gates--while the assassin haunted their steps, and broke their
+    rest in the still hours of the night with fell intent to massacre.
+
+To say the situation was novel is to say little. The forces at work in the
+Japanese state economy were either unknown to, or, what was perhaps even
+worse, misunderstood by, foreign Powers. The lurid history of previous
+intercourse, followed by rigid exclusion for two centuries, would have
+sufficed to establish one factor in the problem, the iron resolution of
+the Japanese rulers. With such men neutrality or indifference was out
+of the question, while there was nothing as yet to indicate what was
+henceforth to be the ruling motive of Japanese policy. Both parties were
+embarking on an unknown voyage, and the avoidance of shipwreck depended
+in a very large measure on the character of those who had to discover for
+themselves the winds and currents, the rocks and shoals, through which
+they had to steer. The leadership among the foreign Powers was tacitly
+assigned to Great Britain, and it was a born leader who was commissioned
+to represent her. Mr Alcock had had fifteen years' experience of Asiatic
+relations, during which time he had proved himself the possessor of those
+qualities which were now in special request. These were indomitable
+energy, earnestness of purpose much beyond the common run of official
+service, fearlessness of responsibility, and alertness to grasp the
+nettle danger in order to avert greater evils, and a spirit which would
+neither shirk nor postpone an unpleasant duty nor tolerate lukewarmness
+nor dilatoriness in others. He was fifty years old--matured in character
+and experience, while yet in the prime of his intellectual vigour.
+
+Mr Alcock arrived in Yedo Bay in time to arrange for the opening of trade
+at the appointed date, July 1.
+
+    Nagasaki to Yedo! Two centuries lie between these points, so
+    near on the map, but so far and completely separated by the
+    determined policy of the Japanese rulers. A policy of isolation so
+    effectually carried out that no foreigner, though he might under
+    the Dutch flag gain access to Nagasaki, could force or find his
+    way to the capital.
+
+Steaming up the Bay of Yedo, and leaving Kanagawa unvisited, Mr Alcock
+anchored as close to the capital as the depth of water would allow, and
+at once informed the Foreign Minister that he had come to stay. This was
+done advisedly, as he has explained, to obviate all discussion as to
+his place of residence, for he knew that efforts had been made--_more
+Sinico_--through Lord Elgin to induce her Majesty's Government to
+postpone the residence in Yedo for a couple of years, and to keep their
+representative at a distance. His first object was to obtain a suitable
+residence for himself and the Legation staff, in which assistance was
+cheerfully rendered by the Government officials, as soon as they saw he
+was resolved to remain in the capital. Diplomatic intercourse became thus
+an established fact.
+
+The opening of the trading-port did not prove quite so simple, for the
+consul-general found he had been forestalled in the choice of a site
+for the merchants' residence, which the Government had, as we have seen,
+prepared at great expense some three miles away from Kanagawa, the port
+named in the treaty. Interpreting this hurried action of the Japanese
+as covering the ulterior design of segregating the foreigners from the
+natives by thrusting them to a distance from the trunk road which led
+through Kanagawa, of keeping them in a kind of imprisonment like the Dutch
+at Deshima, and of retaining the power to stop their supplies, whether of
+the materials of trade or of sustenance, Mr Alcock warmly contested the
+action of the Government. In the end he extorted from them the concession
+of a commercial site at Kanagawa itself, which, however, was never taken
+up. Events proved too strong for the consul-general, for the merchants
+of all nations as they arrived settled in Yokohama, where there was deep
+water for shipping and every convenience for business. And it soon began
+also to be felt that there was an element of safety in this foreign
+settlement being removed from the great imperial road along which armed
+processions were continually passing to and from the capital. Within a
+year the controversy had died a natural death, and Yokohama speaks for
+itself.
+
+The second obstacle to the free course of trade was a more deep-rooted
+one, being nothing less than that chronic bugbear of commerce and finance,
+the currency. There was no circulating medium in Japan in the least
+degree adequate for the service of international commerce. The trade in
+miniature that had been carried on in Nagasaki had been a simple exchange
+of commodities without the intervention of the precious metals. Mr Consul
+Winchester says that neither in the Dutch nor in the Chinese factories
+was a Japanese coin ever seen. But the commerce inaugurated in 1859
+could brook no such limitations, while the extent of its requirements
+was of course absolutely unknown to the negotiators of the treaties.
+In this state of doubt and ignorance on both sides it seemed that the
+best temporary provision that the circumstances admitted of was for the
+Tycoon's Government to undertake, after twelve months, to make all foreign
+money current in Japan at its natural value, and that until the expiration
+of that period Japanese coin should be supplied in exchange for foreign,
+weight for weight. Yet it was a monstrous stipulation to insert in any
+international treaty, and could never, in fact, be enforced.
+
+The amazing laxity in this respect with which the treaties of 1858 were
+drawn opened the door to unfathomed abuses in the matter of currency.
+The coin which was in the minds of the American and English negotiators
+was what was then current on the coast of China, the dollar, or more
+specifically the Mexican dollar. Yet, as was afterwards pointed out by
+Mr G. Arbuthnot, Secretary to her Majesty's Treasury, no provision was
+made in the treaties expressly for exchanging that, but only British and
+American money. In his opinion the Tycoon's Government might have refused
+altogether to receive the Mexican dollar, which was the only coin tendered
+to them, and thus the currency clause in the treaty would have been a dead
+letter from the first. But since they did not know the weakness of the
+ground which the foreigners had chosen, they had to fight out the question
+under all the disadvantages of a false position.
+
+By the treaty provisions, then, as interpreted by both sides, the foreign
+merchants who chose to import specie were to be supplied in exchange with
+current coin of the realm whereby they could purchase the produce of the
+country without awaiting the slow and uncertain realisation of imported
+merchandise. But the Japanese, apart from any question of good faith,
+had vastly under-estimated the demand which this agreement was to make on
+their mintage resources. They could only supply tens where thousands were
+required, and in consequence of their scarcity native silver coins were
+soon run up to a high premium. These coins were needed not alone for the
+purchase of produce, but for the more lucrative investment in the gold
+coinage of the country; for an extraordinary anomaly presented itself to
+the foreign traders in the relative value of silver and gold in Japan. The
+ratio between the two metals throughout the commercial world was at that
+time about fifteen to one, but in Japan, owing partly to the fact that
+the silver _ichibu_ was a token coin, and yet interchangeable, weight for
+weight, with foreign silver coins, the ratio in the market was reduced to
+five to one. Nothing could better show how completely the country had been
+isolated than this simple phenomenon. Since the seclusion of Japan no such
+opportunity of profit without risk had ever tempted merchant adventurers
+outside the dreams of romance.[3] It could not be the intention of the
+treaty-makers to deprive Japan of her gold, yet the exportation of it
+was not only not prohibited, it was expressly sanctioned by treaty, the
+export of copper coins alone being forbidden; and once the conduit was
+opened no power could arrest the flow from the higher to the lower level.
+The currency question presented many intricacies and anomalies against
+which the foreign representatives struggled in the dark, but the ratio of
+gold to silver was the ruling factor which underlay the whole problem,
+and until every _koban_ was exported, or the relative value of gold and
+silver had been assimilated to that of the outer world, there could be no
+settlement of the currency question in Japan.
+
+In the mean time the friction caused by the unsatisfied demands of the
+traders was considerable; it became in time ludicrous. There was a daily
+exchange held at the custom-house, and various arbitrary systems of
+distribution were adopted by the officials there. The discovery that a
+kind of manhood suffrage was recognised, and that an employee received
+as much as his employer, led to applications being made in the names of
+servants and even of fictitious persons, to each of whom an allotment
+was granted. Again, the discovery that allotments were also made _pro
+rata_ according to the amount applied for led to the applications being
+sent in for ever larger and larger sums until billions and quintillions
+were reached. By such devices, no doubt, some of the applicants may have
+gained a momentary advantage over their neighbours, but at no time did
+the merchants receive a sufficiency of Japanese coin to carry on the most
+restricted business. At one time, about a year after the opening, it was
+estimated that there was in the hands of foreign merchants one million
+and a half of dollars which were not exchangeable, and were a "drug in
+the market."
+
+Their wants were, however, partially supplied in another manner. For among
+the anomalies of the place and period one must be mentioned which had a
+quite peculiar bearing on the supply of currency for commercial purposes.
+The precious coin, which was doled out homoeopathically to merchants, was
+supplied to foreign officials in liberal measure. Every minister, consul,
+and assistant; every admiral, captain, and lieutenant; every paymaster,
+for himself and for the service of his ship, received his quota of
+Japanese money on a scale graduated according to rank. The amount put in
+circulation by these means was given by Mr Winchester as $2,000,000 per
+annum. The recipients, whether directly or through agents, were able to
+sell their surpluses to the merchants, of course at a handsome profit, and
+no doubt abuses grew out of what was in its original intention a simple
+measure of justice to salaried officers. The practice was condemned by
+Mr Arbuthnot, and was discontinued by order of the Foreign Office in
+1864, on the initiative of the Prussian Government, whose agent in Japan
+had voluntarily renounced the privilege. But, oddly enough, the official
+exchange was resumed by request of the Japanese Government, and continued
+for several years longer, until, in fact, foreign and native coin had
+found their common level.
+
+Trade certainly suffered much in the beginning from the incongruous state
+of the currency, which was greatly more complicated than we have attempted
+to outline. Even after the year of probation foreign coins were neither
+received by traders at their value nor exchangeable in accordance with
+the treaties. Whether the Government was at the bottom of the obstruction
+or was overruled by circumstances beyond its control was uncertain, but
+the British consul-general made masterful exertions to set the matter
+right. Currency reform, however, has baffled so many generations of expert
+economists that, even assuming the goodwill of the native Government,
+an alien official new to the country must have found it difficult to
+accomplish much, with the time and means at his disposal. Earl Russell
+in 1862 "declined to pronounce on so large and intricate a question," and
+would not even discuss it with the Japanese envoys.
+
+Japanese currency formed the subject of four elaborate reports by the
+Secretary to her Majesty's Treasury, extending over twelve months, from
+December 1862 to December 1863, drawn up after personal conference
+with Sir Rutherford Alcock and on information derived from various
+other sources, especially from a series of very able papers by Consul
+Winchester. In each of these reports Mr Arbuthnot remarks on the paucity
+of data, and in each he qualifies the deductions of the preceding one. Had
+the series been still further extended, it is even doubtful if finality
+of judgment would have been reached; for in his third report he says, "The
+whole question, both as regards the condition of the currency and the real
+intentions of the Japanese Government, is involved in so much obscurity
+that no sound judgment can yet be formed on the subject" (May 1863).
+
+It would be a mere weariness to the reader to attempt to elucidate a
+problem which an expert student found perplexing, but a few salient
+points brought out in Mr Arbuthnot's review may repay citation, as
+illustrative of the general state of relations beyond the immediate
+question of the currency. "We found," he says, "the Japanese with a
+carefully devised system of coinage, presenting indeed anomalies, when
+regarded from a European point of view, but apparently well adapted to
+their domestic wants; and their coins were found on assay in London to be
+well manufactured." The Chinese had no such system, and the evolution of
+a metallic currency entitled to such high praise, in a country from which
+the rest of the world had been long shut off, is one of the most striking
+evidences of the high originating faculty of the Japanese.
+
+As to the stipulation in the treaties that foreign coin should be current
+in Japan on a par with native, weight for weight (not a word said about
+purity), it was not only preposterous and absolutely unworkable, but
+it was imposed by the ignorance of the foreign negotiators against the
+superior knowledge of the Japanese; for it is remarkable that in the
+negotiations carried on by the Americans in 1854 the Japanese took up the
+impregnable ground that "American coin was only bullion to them." Force
+alone--or the fear of it--drove them from that position in 1858, and in
+yielding to the unreasoning pressure of the subsequent negotiators the
+Japanese probably consoled themselves with their resources of secret
+evasion to save them from the worst consequences of the obligation--a
+characteristic of the whole treaty-making campaign.
+
+It appeared to Mr Arbuthnot that the Japanese had a double
+standard--itself "a contradiction in terms"--gold and copper; silver
+occupying the position of a token currency between the two, at a highly
+artificial value, strictly governed by law. The fact was exemplified in
+many ways. Art objects in silver contained more metal than the coin paid
+for them, the work of the artificer thrown into the bargain. Gold and
+copper, on the other hand, bore about the same relationship to each other
+as prevailed in other countries. It was silver alone that was maintained
+at a conventional level three times above its value in the outer world.
+And the philosophy of this is explained by Mr Winchester, who tells us
+that, whereas the supply of gold and copper was in many hands, the sources
+of the supply of silver were in the exclusive control of the Tycoon's
+Government, which derived great advantage from maintaining the silver
+coinage at a high fictitious level.
+
+The efforts of the Japanese to readjust the currency to meet the demands
+of the treaty were naturally first directed to silver, which was recoined
+and revalued, but confusion was worse confounded by all these attempts.
+Eventually the gold _koban_, worth intrinsically 18s. 4d. sterling, or 4
+_bus_ of the intrinsic value of 1s. 4d., was reduced to a sterling value
+of 5s. 6d., but was still rated at 4 _bus_, while the copper coinage was
+disestablished and iron substituted of no intrinsic value. "I am aware of
+no other example," says Mr Arbuthnot, "of so sudden and violent a rending
+of the monetary regulations of a country; certainly of none which has been
+produced by the interference of foreigners."
+
+The effect of these inquiries by the Treasury was to discourage further
+interference by foreign Governments, to trust much to that great solvent
+of anomalies, the silent operation of commerce; while the only complete
+remedy was recognised as the establishment of a mint under European
+regulations.
+
+The problem was still further complicated by the separate coinage of
+the Daimios. Their _nibukin_, as a general rule, passed only at first in
+their own provinces, but gradually they filtered down to the open ports,
+and at one time considerable embarrassment arose from the mixture of the
+coinage thus caused. In 1871-72 the Imperial Government, then just come to
+supreme power, took the matter up with the thoroughness they showed in all
+their doings. They gave secret notice to the foreign Ministers of their
+intention to call in all princes' _nibukin_, and thereupon issued an order
+that during one week these coins should be brought into the custom-houses
+at the treaty ports, where they would be fastened up in sealed packets
+of $100 value, and notified that coins so stamped within the week would
+be accepted by the Government as legal tender, but that thereafter their
+use would be prohibited. Now, as the Daimios' money stood at about 90 per
+cent discount at the time, the fact that some of the foreign officials who
+had access to this confidential information were also merchants created
+immediate speculation, with the result that within a fortnight these
+silver-gilt _nibukin_ rose from 90 per cent discount to 2 or 3 per cent
+premium, the officially sealed packets being a most convenient form for
+the payment of duties.
+
+The alacrity with which the Government applied heroic remedies to a
+disastrous predicament was typical of the energy of the Japanese, which
+has been displayed since in wider fields. They do not sit down and bemoan
+their troubles, but at once arm themselves against them.
+
+When to the inherent difficulties common to currency problems
+generally were superadded the complexities of the monetary system of a
+non-commercial and long-secluded country, surprise should be felt that the
+regulation of the circulating medium in Japan was accomplished so soon,
+rather than that it took so many years to arrive at the solution. The
+Tycoon's Government did not live long enough to settle the currency, but
+left the problem as a legacy to the Restoration. A good many years elapsed
+before the Mikado's Government succeeded in evolving order out of chaos.
+
+In the mean time, in spite of many drawbacks, trade was making headway
+in other directions besides the exportation of gold, and quaint indeed
+were the beginnings of it. The staple products happened to be the same
+in Japan as in China, tea and silk, and they soon began to be regularly
+brought down to Yokohama for sale. But business was at first on such
+a lilliputian scale, and was introduced in so dainty a manner, that to
+merchants accustomed to the large transactions of China the whole affair
+wore something of the air of comic opera, or as if children were playing
+at being merchants. This impression was strengthened by the aspect of
+the fragile wooden structures with their sliding doors and windows, but
+without sitting accommodation, wherein business was transacted, which to
+those habituated to the massive, if inelegant, buildings of Hongkong and
+Shanghai irresistibly suggested the idea of a doll's house. The Chinese
+methods also were inverted. Instead of sending samples of substantial
+quantities, such as a thousand chests of tea or fifty bales of silk, and
+the owner or his broker coming to chaffer in the silk-room or the tea-room
+of the foreign merchant, the latter had to go the round of the Japanese
+shops to find out what they had got. Early every morning the leading
+merchants might be seen booted to the thighs--for the rain was frequent
+and the roads unmade--trudging up and down the Japanese bazaar to see
+what novelties had come to hand. The more zealous would sometimes make a
+second round in the afternoon, in case there might be some late as well
+as early worms to be picked up. The bodily fatigue and consumption of time
+involved in this process would have rendered a large business impossible.
+There were as yet no Japanese merchants properly so called, and their
+endless parley resembled more the tenacious higgling of peasants than
+the negotiations of men of business. Moreover, the native dealers seemed
+scarcely conscious of any law which should hold them to a bargain in the
+event of a more acceptable offer turning up.
+
+Conclusions unfavourable to Japanese commercial morality have been
+drawn from some of those early--and later--experiences; but commercial
+like other kinds of specialised morality has necessarily something of a
+professional character. The _akindo_, or merchant, was a sort of pariah
+in Japan, his social status being inferior to those of the peasant and
+the handicraftsman. His sense of honour was not, therefore, sustained by
+tradition or stimulated by _esprit de corps_. There being no mercantile
+body in Japan, there was no mercantile code, at least none applicable
+to international trade, and those unwritten laws without which large
+commerce is impossible had not yet been called into being. Contrasts
+between the two neighbouring nations have just been mentioned very much
+to the advantage of the Japanese; but in matters of commerce, it must be
+conceded, the advantage lay entirely with the Chinese, a nation of traders
+from their birth.
+
+In the sale of lacquer ware and objects of art the Japanese were much
+more at home than in dealing in raw products of foreign manufactures,
+and the treasures which were in the early days exposed in the shops of
+Yokohama would make a modern dealer sigh for opportunities which are
+no more. Speaking roundly, it would have been safe to buy the stock
+indiscriminately at the sellers' own prices, when fortune would have
+awaited the investor as surely as if he had bought up the gold coinage
+at the ratio of 5 to 1. The same remark would apply to such of the raw
+produce of Japan as had been in large demand in China; and conversely
+the rule applied also to selected articles of foreign manufacture,
+which the Japanese were satisfied to buy at a price mid-way between
+the high level of the Dutch monopoly and the low level of what would
+remunerate the free importer. Therefore the sudden inroad of open trade
+on a market artificially confined resulted in profitable trading while
+a new equilibrium was being found; but such prosperity was in its nature
+evanescent.
+
+Irrespective of the material aims which attracted foreign residents to
+Japan, the life itself presented several novel and interesting features.
+Nothing could have been pleasanter than the social relations which
+sprang up between the foreign communities and the unofficial natives.
+The strangers were received everywhere with open arms, and the residence
+among a smiling people (excluding altogether the meretricious allurements
+of the country, which have also not been without their influence) and
+amid enchanting scenery was found to add a new pleasure to existence.
+Here again we must resort for illustration to a comparison with China,
+where strangers at the best were sullenly tolerated, where one might live
+a lifetime without entering a house, or seeing a respectable woman, or
+making a friend save on a business footing. The Japanese of Yokohama and
+Kanagawa, as well as in the surrounding villages and temples, never failed
+in courtesy and hospitality to passers-by, and were eager for conversation
+with foreigners. A useful smattering of the language was soon acquired
+under the stimulus of a quick-witted and sympathetic people alert to jump
+at the meaning and patient to help the novice to find his words. The women
+of the household were always charming, and if their domestic conversation
+sometimes startled the stranger by its freedom, there was neither malice
+nor any such impropriety as leaves an evil odour in its trail. Friendships
+were formed, not deep perhaps, but genuine as far as they went, and
+certainly not the less sincere on the Japanese than on the foreign side.
+
+The intelligence also of the common people enhanced both the pleasure and
+the value of friendly intercourse with them: apt as they were to receive,
+they were no less ready to impart, information. Their appreciation of
+their country--its beauties, history, traditions, and folk-lore--was
+conscious and unrestrained, indeed it amounted to a passion. This afforded
+endless subject for talk. Everything save the politics of the day might
+be freely discussed, and though the first-arrived foreigners came poorly
+prepared to assimilate so much that was novel, they could not help
+carrying away a good deal from their frequent confabulations. The native
+guide-books formed a reservoir of suggestive topics: surprisingly minute
+they were, noting every gem of scenery or point of interest, with the
+legends of history, romance, or mythology attaching to them. So accurate
+were these itineraries that with their contents well studied foreigners
+might make excursions inland lasting several days without the aid of guide
+or the necessity of inquiring the way.
+
+It need not, of course, be said that the mutual intelligence of Japanese
+and foreigners did not penetrate below the surface of every-day phenomena.
+Of their festivals, their pilgrimages, their votive offerings to temples
+and shrines, their ancestral worship, and their whole relation to the
+Unseen--call it religion, superstition, or idolatry--the strangers had
+no comprehension. Although its outward symbols were passing constantly
+under their eyes, esoteric Japan was to them a sealed book, as the mental
+processes of the Oriental always are to the Occidental, whose imagination
+is cramped by the syllogism, and whose faith languishes for demonstration.
+There was, however, ample outside the region of mysticism, outside the
+concerns of trade, and equally apart from political questions, to nourish
+the best relations between Japanese and foreigners.
+
+The impressions of the British Minister on his journeys of relaxation
+are by no means the least interesting portion of his important work,
+'The Capital of the Tycoon.' Having shaken off the official incubus, and
+breathing the free air of the country, the intercourse with the common
+people in which he was able to indulge was fruitful of reflections of
+a brighter hue than any that were prompted by his strenuous life in the
+capital. He observes:--
+
+    They are really a kindly people when not perverted by their rulers
+    and prompted to hostility.... I had begun to forget I was in
+    Japan, so much goodwill was shown.... There may be a good deal
+    of tyranny and oppression, but the people show no marks of it....
+    The feudal lord is everything and the lower and labouring classes
+    nothing. Yet what do we see? Peace, plenty, apparent content, and
+    a country more perfectly and carefully cultivated and kept, with
+    more ornamental timber everywhere, than can be matched even in
+    England.... The material prosperity of a population estimated at
+    thirty millions, which has made a garden of Eden of this volcanic
+    soil, and had grown in numbers and in wealth by unaided native
+    industry.
+
+Such were the observations made during a few days' rest at the mineral
+springs of Atami, and they coincided exactly with the opinions formed
+by those whose daily intercourse lay with these same common people, in
+which term, of course, were included such town populations as foreigners
+had acquaintance with. A contemporary writer, Nagasaki, 1859, remarked:
+"The Government of Japan is the most absolute despotism in the world,
+and perfectly successful.... For the present it is consistent with great
+prosperity and contentment on the part of the people, but it seems to me
+it is only their exclusive policy that has kept it so."
+
+The great, industrious, prosperous masses of Japan, enjoying the gifts of
+the gods with thankful hearts, and drinking the cup of life as presented
+to them without any acidulating scruples, seemed to be happiest of all in
+this, that they were not burdened with the dignity of wearing swords. The
+storms that convulsed the upper regions passed over their humble heads
+without interrupting the cast of a fishing-net or hindering by a day
+the gathering of their harvest. How different the life of the nobles and
+their following! their humanity dominated by an elaborate and intolerable
+ceremonial, settling their quarrels at the sword's point, and ever on the
+alert for bloody intrigue.[4]
+
+For there were two Japans, that of the people and that of the ruling
+class, separated by an impassable gulf. "The very existence of the
+plebeian seems unrecognised by the patrician in his lordly progress,"
+wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock. "And for that very reason there may be more
+real liberty among the mass of the people than we imagine."
+
+The members of the official class were distinguished by carrying in
+their girdle two heavy swords with a razor's edge, one long, one short.
+The functionaries of the custom-house, with whom alone the foreign lay
+community had contact, also wore swords as part of their official uniform,
+which they placed with delicate ceremony on a rack in front of them
+as they sat on their mats at the receipt of custom,--for there were no
+chairs, and the habitual posture was squatting on the hams and heels. To
+the aristocratic caste the Japanese people were as absolutely submissive
+as if every two-sworded man wielded the power of life and death, which,
+so far as the common people were concerned, was not far from the simple
+truth.[5] The only great concourses of armed men which the foreign
+residents were in the way of seeing were the Daimio processions, which,
+hundreds, sometimes thousands strong, were constantly travelling along
+the highroad; and in the long town of Kanagawa they could observe the
+people prostrated by the sides of the road with heads abased while the
+great man with his scowling retainers passed. Residents in Yedo--that is,
+the _personnel_ of the foreign Legations--had less agreeable experience
+of these feudal swordsmen, who, living in idleness during their prince's
+sojourn in the capital, were quick in quarrel, especially in their cups,
+and far from agreeable to meet in the streets.
+
+
+III. ASSASSINATION PERIOD, 1860-61.
+
+    Storms begin--Russians murdered at Kanagawa--Two Dutchmen
+    in Yokohama--Prince regent assassinated--Servant of French
+    Minister attacked--Mr Heusken, secretary to American Legation,
+    murdered--Ministers withdraw to Yokohama--And return to
+    Yedo--First murderous attack on British Legation, 1861--Mr
+    Oliphant wounded--Attempt on a Japanese Minister--The causes
+    of these outrages--Partly anti-foreign feeling--Foreign
+    treaties imposed by force on Tycoon never received sanction of
+    emperor--Hence universal hostility to foreigners--Internecine
+    jealousy--Mr Alcock makes ascent of Fujiyama--Against the wish of
+    Japanese Ministers--Makes a second overland journey from Nagasaki
+    to Yedo--Sullen attitude of Daimios.
+
+The ports had not been many months opened when storms began to disturb the
+political sky, and the idyllic charm of the new life became tempered by
+assassination. The why and the wherefore of these outrages was imperfectly
+understood at the time, though it has since been copiously expounded.
+The uncertainty as to the moving cause or causes rendered precautions
+difficult, and the only safe resource was a watchful eye and the nimble
+revolver.
+
+Much bad feeling had been displayed towards the foreign diplomatic staff
+in Yedo, and assaults had been frequent, but nothing of a tragic nature
+had occurred until the arrival of a Russian squadron of ten ships, with
+Count Mouravieff-Amurski on board. He landed in August 1859 with an escort
+of 300 men in Yedo, where he was safe; but an officer and two men at
+Kanagawa, buying provisions, were cut to pieces by armed Japanese. This
+was what Sir Rutherford Alcock designated as "first blood." The next was
+the assassination of a native linguist employed in the British Legation.
+Early in 1860 two Dutch shipmasters, one over sixty years of age, were
+hacked to pieces in Yokohama. Next the prince regent himself was, within
+the precincts of the castle, set upon by an armed band of retainers of the
+Prince of Mito and killed, his head being carried off to assure the said
+prince of the accomplishment of an act of long-meditated revenge.
+
+Before the end of the year 1860 the Italian servant of the French Minister
+had to defend himself at the entrance of the Legation from the murderous
+attack of a couple of two-sworded men; and the year 1861 was ushered in
+by the assassination of Mr Heusken, secretary to the American Legation,
+on his way from the Prussian Minister, whom he had been assisting in the
+negotiation of his treaty. This crime filled the cup for the time being.
+The Government proved itself unable or unwilling to protect the diplomatic
+body from their bloodthirsty assailants, and three out of the four foreign
+representatives--the Dutch minister not being at the time resident in
+Yedo--made a protest to the Tycoon's Government, struck their flags, and
+withdrew to Yokohama. The American Minister alone remained in Yedo. Soon
+the Prussian and Dutch returned thither, leaving only the British and
+French representatives in Yokohama, where they remained until specially
+invited back to the capital under conditions which they had demanded of
+the Government.
+
+The following summer witnessed the most desperate attempt of all to
+exterminate the inmates of at least one of the Legations. Mr Alcock had
+just returned from a long, venturesome, dangerous, but most fruitful
+journey overland from south to north--from Nagasaki to Yedo--which
+included a sea passage through the Inland Sea, when an assault was made
+on the Legation at midnight on 4th July 1861. The Tycoon's guard of 150
+men are charitably credited with having been asleep, for they opposed no
+obstacle to the entrance of a band of men who cut an opening through a
+substantial bamboo stockade at the outer gate, and on their way thence
+to the apartments of the Legation staff, a distance of some three hundred
+yards, killed, at intervals, four men, some of whom defended themselves,
+and a barking dog. The scene is fully and graphically described in 'The
+Capital of the Tycoon.' The central object of the attack seems to have
+been the Minister himself, who however escaped unhurt, while two members
+of the Legation were wounded,--Laurence Oliphant, who had recently come
+out as secretary of Legation, having a very severe sword-cut in the arm
+and another in the neck. Being more than common tall, Mr Oliphant's head
+was saved by the intervention of a low beam, in which a deep sword-cut
+was found. If that brilliant writer had seen Yedo rose-tinted in 1858,
+he had now at least a chance of judging it in a greyer light. The guard
+did not put in an appearance until after the assailants had been beaten
+off from, or at least baffled in, their attempt on that portion of the
+temple buildings which was occupied by the Minister, and a fierce struggle
+ensued in the precincts, in which two of the assailants were killed and
+one badly wounded, while twelve of the guard were wounded and one of the
+Tycoon's bodyguard killed. The details of Japanese sword-play are not
+pleasant matters to dwell upon, but a few words from Mr Alcock's notes
+of the tragedy will suffice to give an idea of the manner in which these
+massacres were carried out. "I have seen many a battlefield," he says,
+"but of sabre wounds I never saw any so horrible. One man had his skull
+shorn clean through from the back and half the head sliced off to the
+spine, while his limbs only hung together by shreds." "There is probably
+not in all the annals of our diplomacy an example of such a bloodthirsty
+and deliberate plot to massacre a whole Legation."
+
+This is a sufficiently full list of the outrages of what may be called
+the Yedo period, to distinguish it from a subsequent chapter of history
+which was opened in connection with the new port in the Inland Sea, but
+which is beyond the range of the present work.
+
+The only conclusions to be drawn from these occurrences, and those yet to
+be related, were--(1) that either the Tycoon's Government itself or some
+powerful faction was in deadly opposition to the admission of foreigners
+into the country, and (2) that the Tycoon's Government was either unable
+or unwilling to protect the persons of foreigners either within the
+capital or out of it; (3) that certain great Daimios were concerned
+in these murderous outrages. The Prince of Mito's men assassinated the
+regent, and were most probably the assailants of the British Legation,
+while the Prince of Satsuma's retainers killed Richardson. Another great
+Daimio, whose forts commanded the western gate of the Inland Sea, put
+himself a year later in a state of war with all the foreign nations.
+
+The motives of these powerful feudatories were not free from ambiguity,
+for they might be animated by a _bonâ fide_ desire to expel the
+foreigners, or they might be plotting to embroil the Government with the
+Western Powers. It was evident that the authority of the Tycoon over the
+great Daimios was far from absolute, and that at any rate he dared not
+enforce it in defence of the hated foreigners.[6] Thus the Legations were
+left to the mercy of a ferocity which has known no parallel. The midnight
+attempt on the British Legation on July 4, 1861, typified the whole
+situation. The inmates were ignorant whence the several attacks on them
+came, the imperial and Daimio's guard were asserted to have slept through
+the crucial stage of the assault, and the provoking cause of the attempt
+to exterminate the English was unknown. In such a maze of occult forces
+it was almost as difficult to adopt precautions as against earthquakes.
+
+What lay at the root of all these troubles, according to the deliberate
+opinion of Mr Alcock, was that the foreign treaties had been forced on the
+Government against its will and in violation of the fundamental laws of
+the empire. He says the treaties were not sanctioned by the Mikado, and
+that therefore the opposition of the Daimios was on strictly legitimate
+lines. Also that the law of the seventeenth century which made it a
+capital offence for a foreigner to land in Japan had not been repealed.
+The Tycoon's Ministers had been scared into signing even Commodore Perry's
+almost platonic treaty; for though that officer had strict orders to
+use no force, he did not impart this information to the Japanese, and
+they could not otherwise interpret the naval demonstration than as an
+intimation that the ship's guns would support the commodore's demands. The
+case of Mr Harris's treaty of 1858 was even clearer. It had been drawn up,
+but the signature postponed _sine die_ until the great nobles should have
+been gained over, and Mr Harris retired to his retreat at Shimoda to wait
+events. The news of the forcing of the Peiho forts by the Anglo-French
+squadron and the imposing of a treaty on the Emperor of China was conveyed
+express to Mr Harris by the steam frigate Mississippi. Another vessel,
+the Powhattan, arrived fortuitously at the same time, in which Mr Harris
+proceeded to Kanagawa, where commissioners were sent down at once to meet
+him, and in three days the treaty was signed. Of course the Allies who
+had forced the door of China, having no quarrel whatever with Japan, had
+no more thought of coercing that country than the United States had in
+1853 and 1854; but it was perhaps scarcely conceivable to the oriental
+mind that any nation should deny itself the exercise of a power it
+consciously possessed. Naturally, therefore, the Japanese were predisposed
+to believe in the aggressive purposes of the invaders of China. No less
+natural was it that subsequent evidence of the self-imposed limitation of
+their pressure on China should lead the Tycoon's advisers to deplore the
+panic-haste with which they had been hustled into making treaties against
+the will of the great council of the Empire. In the interval between the
+signing and the execution of the treaties the Government had time for
+reflection on all that: the malcontent majority of Daimios had also time
+to consider what resistance they could offer to innovations which they
+detested.
+
+The reactionary policy that had set in was also clearly shown in the
+obstacles thrown in the way of the negotiation of the Prussian treaty.
+Count Eulenberg had been six months at work, and as his treaty was but a
+copy of those already signed there was no reason in the thing itself for
+the obstruction. But Prussia was not then a nation from which there was
+much to be feared at such a distance, and therefore the true disposition
+of the Japanese Government had free play.
+
+The Tycoonate itself was a perpetual cause of jealousy among the three
+great families, one of which was Mito, who had themselves pretensions
+to the honour; and the combination of their private grievances with a
+quasi-patriotic and probably sincere hatred of foreign intruders raised
+a storm against the Tycoon with which his advisers found it hard to cope.
+The Government being committed to the protection of foreigners, massacres
+of the latter offered a ready means of gratifying the double passion of
+hatred of them and of the Tycoon.
+
+But although the foreign representatives and the Tycoon were thus to an
+unknown extent the objects of a common enmity, it was yet impossible for
+them to make common cause, for they were not in harmony. The Government
+would willingly have got rid of the treaties or reduced them to a dead
+letter. The foreign Ministers, on the other hand, had no choice but to
+insist on the fulfilment of the engagements into which the Government had
+entered. Not for them to count the cost, the difficulties, or the danger:
+relaxation of their demands would have aggravated all three. So there was
+nothing for it but the "rigour of the game."
+
+The British Minister held decided views on the importance of keeping alive
+all rights and privileges by exercising them. China would have taught
+him, if the knowledge did not come by nature, the value of the modern
+principle of "effective occupation" as the only valid sanction of an
+abstract title. The treaties of 1858 conferred upon the representatives
+of Foreign Powers the right of travelling throughout Japan. The Tycoon's
+Government desired to restrict or nullify the privilege, no doubt for
+reasons quite sufficient from their point of view. Mr Alcock on his part
+saw good reasons for opposing this tendency from the outset. Consequently,
+as a first experiment, he organised a journey by the _tokaido_ to the
+"matchless" mountain, Fujiyama, distant about eighty miles from the
+capital. Every effort was made by the Government officials to dissuade
+him from the undertaking; dangers natural and supernatural were conjured
+up, a more convenient season was recommended. At length their pleas
+for the abandonment or delay of the expedition having been exhausted
+without any effect on the resolution of the Minister, the officials
+became helpful in the preparations and most careful to provide for the
+success of the journey. The party--eight Europeans in all with a large
+native contingent--set out on September 4, 1860, rather late in the year
+for the ascent, which was, nevertheless, successfully accomplished, and
+for the first time the foot of the stranger trod the sacred summit, the
+object of constant religious pilgrimages. The whole journey, including a
+detour to the hot springs of Atami, occupied one month: it was fruitful
+in first-hand information, and replete with agreeable experiences.
+
+A more important journey was undertaken eight months later, on the
+occasion of a return voyage from China and Hongkong, whither the Minister
+had gone on certain legal business. Being at Nagasaki, Mr Alcock arranged
+to travel in the company of Mr de Wit, the head of the Dutch mission,
+across the island of Kiusiu, then by junk up the Inland Sea to Hiogo,
+thence by the highroad to Yedo. The proposal met with the same kind of
+opposition from the Japanese authorities as the going to Fujiyama the
+previous year had done: the dangers of the journey were depicted in strong
+colours, and the unsettled state of the country was alleged as a cogent
+reason why a foreigner should not trust himself on the highroad. When
+these arguments proved unavailing, and the journey was finally resolved
+upon, the authorities endeavoured to minimise both its pleasure and its
+usefulness by an attempt to extort from the two Ministers an undertaking
+in writing never to go in advance of the escort or to leave the highroad.
+The plea for the latter restriction was that the road alone was under
+imperial control, the land on either side belonging to the Daimios. The
+feudatories on their part took effective measures to enforce the condition
+by supplying guards through their respective domains, who blocked up every
+byway, and in the towns and villages where the party rested screened off
+the side streets even from view by means of large curtains stretched on
+high poles, emblazoned with the Prince's arms. When the party landed
+at Hiogo to resume the journey by the _tokaido_, they were met by a
+"Governor" of Foreign Affairs, sent expressly from Yedo to warn the
+foreign Ministers once more of the dangers of the road, and to persuade
+them to complete their journey by sea. This had become such a stereotyped
+formula that the two diplomats paid no attention to the warning, though
+they had some reason afterwards to think that on this single occasion
+the cry of wolf was genuine; for the assassins who attacked the English
+Legation on the night of the return of the party to Yedo were said to have
+tracked the foreigners the whole way from Hiogo.
+
+These two interesting and--the second one especially--arduous journeys,
+each of one month's duration, settled the question of the right of the
+foreign representatives to travel through the length and breadth of Japan.
+They also afforded much insight into the state of the country and the
+real feeling of the general population. But they were only interludes
+in the drama of sensational diplomacy, which had now to be resumed with
+redoubled energy. The Legations had been two years located in Yedo, and no
+progress whatever had been made towards establishing a state of security
+for foreign life. Matters were, indeed, going from bad to worse. One point
+had been gained after the murder of the American secretary in January--the
+Government had formally assumed the responsibility for the protection of
+the foreigners. Moreover, strong guards of the Tycoon's men were posted
+in the different Legations; but, as we have seen, they added nothing to
+the sense of security. The demonstration of the inadequacy of all these
+precautions left the conditions of foreign life in the capital in worse
+plight than ever. The attack on the British Legation therefore called for
+a fresh review of the position.
+
+
+IV. NEGOTIATIONS AND RENEWED ASSASSINATIONS, 1862-64.
+
+    British and French guards brought to Yedo--Marks a new
+    era--Decided position of British Government--Concessions asked
+    by Japanese, refused by Mr Alcock, granted by Earl Russell to
+    Japanese envoys--Retrogression--Position of foreign Ministers
+    assimilating to that of the Dutch at Deshima--Mr Alcock's
+    departure for Europe, 1862--Bad effects of Lord Russell's
+    concessions to Japanese--Encouraged them to make fresh
+    demands--The building of a British Legation in Yedo--_Chargé
+    d'affaires_ resides mostly in Yokohama--Colonel Neale's
+    account of the system of guarding the Legation--Midnight
+    attack on the guards--British sentries murdered--Suspicious
+    behaviour of Government--British guard increased--Admiral
+    Hope's opinion--Attack on an English riding party and murder
+    of Mr Richardson on highroad--Admiral Hope's proposal to "nip
+    assassination in the bud."
+
+The question now, therefore, entered on a new phase. Since reliance on
+the Government afforded no sense of security, the foreigners must abandon
+the position or find some more effective protection, not to supersede,
+but to supplement, that which was afforded by the Government. There was
+fortunately a British despatch vessel, the Ringdove, at the moment at
+Yokohama, to the commander of which Mr Alcock appealed for a guard of
+marines and bluejackets. These arrived the next day, twenty-five all
+told, with Captain Craigie himself at their head, and they were happily
+accompanied by a detachment of fifteen men from the French transport
+Dordogne, brought up by the French Minister, Mons. de Bellecourt,
+always a staunch supporter of his British colleague. That gentleman,
+on hearing the tragic news at Yokohama, where he had been staying,
+returned promptly to his post with this most welcome reinforcement for
+the defence of the Legations. This simple proceeding marked the beginning
+of a new era in the foreign relations with Japan--the era in which the
+Powers represented there took the law into their own hands, with highly
+important consequences to Japan and to the world. The British naval guard
+was reinforced within a few months by a mounted escort of twelve men
+drawn from the force then in China. This step was strongly objected to
+by the Tycoon's Ministers, but the answer was complete: the Government's
+acknowledged incompetence had forced this measure of self-defence on the
+Legations. The position taken up by Mr Alcock was confirmed in the most
+explicit manner by Earl Russell a year later, who thus addressed the
+Japanese envoys in London:--
+
+    Her Majesty's Government will not agree to any proposal which
+    may be made by the Ministers of the Tycoon having for its object
+    to preclude the representatives of the Queen in Japan from
+    maintaining a cavalry escort for the protection of her Majesty's
+    servants in that country. The Tycoon cannot ensure the safety of
+    the British officers within the precincts of the capital and its
+    immediate neighbourhood; and even if the Tycoon were to engage to
+    do so, it is notorious that he would not have the power to fulfil
+    his engagement.
+
+This plain speaking defined the status of "old" Japan, and gave the clue
+to the remarkable train of events which followed.
+
+Much anxiety and many sinister rumours, but no serious outrages,
+disturbed the peace of the Legations and the general foreign community
+during the remainder of the year 1861. Mr Oliphant was sent home in
+consequence of his wounds, and the occasion was taken advantage of to
+have certain private conferences with the Japanese Foreign Ministers, at
+which that gentleman assisted, when the "past, present, and future" were
+confidentially discussed. Mr Oliphant, thus thoroughly "posted," was able
+personally to explain the state of affairs to her Majesty's Ministers,
+which greatly assisted them in forming their decisions. He was also the
+bearer of an autograph letter from the Tycoon to her Majesty the Queen.
+
+The Japanese Government had long been pressing the foreign representatives
+for the relaxation of some of the articles in the treaties, which were
+not to come into operation until a subsequent date. These provided for
+the opening of Yedo for general residence on 1st January 1862, and for
+the opening of the trading ports of Hiogo, Osaka, and Ní-í-gata on 1st
+January 1863. The Tycoon's Government was most anxious to postpone all
+these privileges to an indefinite period, nominally seven years, and as
+the foreign Ministers in Yedo had no such authority--Mr Alcock had been
+instructed to grant "no concessions without equivalents"--the Government
+prepared to despatch special envoys to the five Courts of Europe with
+which they had treaties. A similar mission to the United States the
+previous year had been so well received as to encourage the second effort.
+The principle involved in the Japanese plea was precisely the same as that
+which had kept Canton closed for so many years, notwithstanding the treaty
+provision opening it; but there was this difference of fact between the
+two cases, that whereas the danger apprehended and alleged by the Japanese
+was probably real, that which had been put forward by the Chinese was
+false, and manufactured by the authorities themselves.
+
+The Japanese were now in full retrogression, and every point they might
+gain was certain to become a new fulcrum for forcing more and more
+concessions from the foreign Powers. This was proved in many kinds of
+ways. For example, the restrictions placed on the foreign envoys, by
+which they were kept as prisoners in their Legations, and were attended
+in their walks abroad by officious guards who prevented them from seeing
+more than could be helped, and forbade intercourse with the people, were
+almost tantamount to those formerly imposed on the Dutch in Deshima.
+Mr Oliphant frankly speaks of his "jailors." Then repression, and yet
+more repression--as much repression, in fact, as the foreigners could
+be brought to endure--was the unvarying rule. Even when they were
+themselves seeking favours, and had therefore every inducement to show
+their liberal side to the foreign Minister, the rule of repression was
+rigorously maintained. Mr Alcock relates how this determination prevented
+him from presenting the Queen's reply to the Tycoon's letter. First,
+the audience was delayed on frivolous grounds; then the ceremonial was
+varied. Among other things it was proposed to place the envoy at double
+the distance from the Tycoon which had been observed on a previous
+occasion. Being anxious to take his leave, to present his _locum tenens_,
+and to deliver the Queen's autograph, Mr Alcock waived these innovations
+under protest--"being reluctant at the last moment to stand upon a point
+of mere etiquette"; but "having found my desire was strong not to raise
+difficulties on any minor points, it had been resolved [by the Japanese]
+to profit by the circumstance to gain some further advantages derogatory
+to the position of the British Minister," and so after everything had been
+arranged according to their own wishes the Court officials returned the
+following day to say they had made a mistake, and that, in fact, sundry
+further restrictions must be observed. This was too much, and the Minister
+quitted the capital without his audience, March 1862.
+
+The same tactics were observed by the envoys in Europe. When the mission
+reached London and had laid their case before the same Foreign Secretary
+who had instructed the Minister in Japan to "make no concessions without
+equivalents," he at once conceded the whole of the Japanese demands
+unconditionally, for the nominal conditions were merely that the rest of
+the treaty should stand. A detailed memorandum of the agreement was drawn
+up and formally signed by Earl Russell and the three Japanese envoys on
+June 6, 1862. Having succeeded beyond all expectation in their demands,
+the Japanese envoys evidently concluded that the Foreign Office was of
+plastic substance, and within two days they had formulated a list of nine
+further concessions which they desired to discuss. This, however, was
+too much for Lord Russell's patience, and as the envoys had "completed
+their business and taken their leave," he declined to enter on any fresh
+questions.
+
+The effect of Lord Russell's concessions could not be otherwise than
+detrimental, the only open question being whether his insistence on
+opening the ports on the agreed dates would have been a greater or a
+lesser evil. Mr Alcock points out the family likeness between the Japanese
+pleas for suspension of treaty rights and those with which we had so long
+been familiar in China. "The time," he says, allowed to the authorities
+of Canton to "soothe the people and prepare the way" was deliberately
+used by them to "create the very difficulties which they alleged already
+to exist, and make it each year more and more impossible to admit the
+foreigners,"--a comment on the Japanese proposal which leaves little doubt
+as to his opinion of that transaction. Yet there were cogent reasons for
+the course actually adopted, if the premisses be granted that the ports
+could only be opened by force, and that England would have been left
+alone to employ the necessary force. The most that can be said, then,
+for the concessions to the Japanese is that they represented the choice
+of evils. No one was benefited by them. They did not help the Tycoon or
+avert the catastrophe to his dynasty. They did not lessen the friction,
+or the danger to foreign life and interests, or interrupt the long
+series of assassinations of foreigners in Japan; nor did they obviate the
+necessity of using force in that country, to avoid which was the principal
+inducement to her Majesty's Government to violate its own principle. The
+analogy with China was, in fact, complete; the old lesson was once more
+driven home, that there is no safety in doing wrong. As Sir Rutherford
+Alcock puts it, "To retrograde safely and with dignity is often more
+difficult for nations and their governments than to advance."
+
+During the year 1861 an important improvement was inaugurated in
+respect to the housing of the foreign Legations. Hitherto they had been
+accommodated in temples neither suited to Western modes of living nor, as
+had been proved, adapted for defence. Independent sites were now allotted
+on a commanding ridge within the city, where the respective Ministers
+might have buildings erected on their own plans. These were promptly put
+in hand, and soon after Mr Alcock was able to bring his first arduous
+campaign--a term applicable in its double sense--to a close. Having
+brought the various business of the Legation into a state convenient for
+transfer to new hands, he left Yedo in March 1862, a few days before the
+arrival of the future _chargé d'affaires_, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward St
+John Neale. The Minister was accompanied to England by Moriyama, the chief
+interpreter to the Japanese Foreign Office, who was charged with special
+instructions to the three envoys then in England.
+
+From the time that Colonel Neale took charge of the British Legation
+events chased each other rapidly. While the new buildings were in progress
+the _chargé d'affaires_ divided his time between Yedo and Yokohama, and
+while in the capital continued to reside in the temple called To-zen-ji,
+where the Legation had been located from the beginning. The inner
+buildings were guarded by the mounted escort and by the naval contingent,
+which had been renewed as one British warship took the place of another
+during the year. In the outer enclosure there was a guard of 500 Japanese,
+the retainers of a certain Daimio who was intrusted by the Tycoon with
+the protection of the Legation.
+
+In order to understand what follows, it is necessary to give Colonel
+Neale's account of the arrangements which were in force for the protection
+of the British Legation:--
+
+    I found on my arrival that the usual precautions had been taken by
+    the authorities, and which consisted in placing numerous guards,
+    entirely surrounding this residence, in detached wooden huts: the
+    number of these guards, according to the Japanese return which I
+    obtained, amounted to no less than 535 men, partly of the Tycoon's
+    bodyguard, but chiefly composed of the retainers of a Daimio named
+    Matsudaira Temba no Kami, who had been chosen and charged by the
+    Government with the protection of this Legation.
+
+    Small parties of these men came down at short intervals during
+    the night to the very doors of this residence, and remained for a
+    short time with our own sentries, leaving behind them one man at
+    each post to aid in challenging persons approaching and demanding
+    the parole, which was in the Japanese language, and issued at
+    sunset each evening.
+
+    These dispositions were uninterruptedly observed up to the evening
+    of the 26th June. At midnight on that day the several British
+    sentinels were at their post, and challenging with vigilance the
+    Japanese guards, who, in parties of two or three, descended from
+    the heights overhanging this building at the back for the purpose
+    of relieving their men.
+
+What took place at midnight on the 26th June may also be best described
+in Colonel Neale's own language:--
+
+    At half an hour after midnight the British sentry posted at the
+    door adjoining my bedroom challenged some approaching object in my
+    hearing, and received in answer the right parole; but the sentry
+    sharply challenged again in an anxious and eager manner, as if
+    some circumstance excited his suspicion, after which he walked
+    three or four steps towards the object approaching. I rose in
+    bed to hear the result, and in an instant the deadened sound of
+    a rapid succession of heavy blows and cuts reached my ears, given
+    in less than two minutes, and at every one of which followed a cry
+    of anguish from the unfortunate sentry. Silence succeeded for the
+    moment, and was followed by the beating of drums from the heights
+    and the gathering of Japanese guards with their red lanterns....
+    The assassin having left the sentry at my door, went on towards
+    the corner of the residence occupied by the guard, a distance
+    of twenty paces, where he met Corporal Crimp, R.M., coming alone
+    on his rounds to visit the sentry at my door. A conflict appears
+    instantly to have taken place between them: a revolver-shot was
+    heard about the moment the guard was turning out, but nothing
+    further.
+
+The corporal was found dead with sixteen sword and lance wounds: the
+sentry had nine sword-wounds--"every cut had severed the member it was
+aimed at"; but he survived long enough to tell of the instant desertion
+of the Japanese sentry who was posted with him.
+
+This attack was marked by several distinguishing features:--
+
+1. The assassins belonged to the Legation guard, or were their comrades;
+the only weapon found on the ground was a lance of the precise pattern of
+those of the Daimio's guard, which was twelve feet long, and, according to
+Colonel Neale, no man carrying such a weapon could have passed the strong
+barricade or crawled through the brushwood: presumably, therefore, the
+lance was supplied from the armoury within the Legation. According to the
+Japanese Ministers, there was but a single assassin. In their anxiety to
+maintain their contention that the wounds were all inflicted by the same
+man, the Ministers explained to Colonel Neale a little of the science of
+Japanese sword-play. "They have attained the climax of dexterity. The
+sword is always carried at the side, and adepts in the use of it wound
+the moment it is drawn." The fatal stroke, upwards, is given in the act of
+drawing. Hence, placing the hand on the hilt is equivalent to presenting
+a cocked revolver, and if the assailant is not disabled in the act it
+is too late for defence. One only, being wounded by a pistol-bullet and
+having committed suicide, was found, and though they could not help
+admitting that the man was a retainer of the Daimio who supplied the
+guard, the Ministers yet drew a vain distinction between him and the men
+actually on duty. It could not, however, be denied that he, or they, were
+allowed free ingress and egress through hundreds of men carefully posted
+as described by Colonel Neale, and already alert and sounding the alarm,
+or that the huts of the Japanese were within 150 feet of the spot where
+two Englishmen were murdered, and while the assassin (or assassins) was
+inflicting sixteen wounds on one victim and nine on the other.
+
+2. The intended attack was publicly known beforehand: for several days
+the Japanese servants had refused to remain in the Legation overnight,
+absenting themselves against orders. The Government also were aware of
+the plot, and of the day when it was to be put in execution, which was
+on the recurrence of a festival, and, according to the Japanese calendar,
+the anniversary of the attack in 1861. The actual day having passed, one
+of the Governors of Foreign Affairs was deputed by the Council to call
+and congratulate Colonel Neale on his escape. Colonel Neale remarked that
+he had no reason for anxiety. The Governor smiled and took leave. But
+the "ides of March ... had not gone," In the darkness of that very night
+the attack was made. Colonel Neale, recounting the circumstances to the
+Council of Foreign Affairs, asked why the Governor had not warned him of
+what was impending, instead of congratulating him on his supposed escape;
+but "the Gorogiu, to my great surprise, replied that I was quite right in
+my observations, and they regretted they had not thought of warning me."
+
+3. The Japanese Ministers treated the whole matter with apparent
+indifference, months having elapsed before any information was
+communicated to the British Minister respecting either the cause of the
+attack or the execution of justice on the instigators, and then it was
+only such information as had been common property for two months. All that
+the Japanese Ministers had to say by way of explanation to the foreign
+envoys was that the attack proceeded from the unsettled state of public
+feeling and from the Japanese nation clinging to the old _régime_; but
+that they, the Ministers, hoped gradually to modify this national feeling
+so that the foreigners might live in the country without apprehension,
+&c. But in the meantime? Well, they "had given strict orders to increase
+the protection." Tragicomedy could not well go further. Evidently matters
+must soon reach a climax.
+
+As the first outward and visible consequence of the assassination of
+the two marines, an infantry guard of twenty-five men from the 67th
+Regiment was sent over from China in addition to the naval guard and the
+cavalry escort; and thus another step was taken towards the _dénoûment_
+of the plot. Then the word "retribution" was revived in the diplomatic
+correspondence, after having been launched by the Foreign Office in
+1861 but arrested _in transitu_, so that it did not reach the Japanese
+authorities. It was Admiral Hope, a man who never shrank from speaking
+his mind or backing his opinion, who put the case in a pointed form
+to the British Admiralty. "Deeply as I should lament the adoption of
+hostile measures against the Japanese," he wrote on August 28, "after
+the best consideration I have been able to give to the subject I
+cannot avoid the conclusion that it is absolutely necessary to nip this
+assassination-system in the bud; and that not to take effectual measures
+for doing so now will be merely to postpone the evil day to a future, but
+not far distant, occasion."
+
+If further impetus had been wanting to develop this idea, the Japanese
+lost no time in supplying it; for the next assassination which has left a
+dark blood-stain on the annals of the time was perpetrated on the highroad
+between Yedo and Kanagawa on September 14, 1862.
+
+The victims were a party of three gentlemen and one lady from Yokohama who
+had crossed the bay in a boat to Kanagawa, where their horses awaited them
+on the _tokaido_. This broad road not being macadamised made an agreeable
+riding-course, and it was beautified with lines of old trees, one section
+in particular near where the tragedy occurred being known as "The Avenue."
+The party proceeded from Kanagawa towards Yedo, not intending to go
+farther than Kawasaki, which was the limit of authorised excursions in
+that direction. On the way they met the _cortège_ of a Daimio, the first
+indication of which was several _norimono_ (the heavy palanquin in which
+the nobles of Japan travel) with armed attendants, forming an irregular
+train with considerable intervals between. When passing these _norimono_
+the foreigners walked their horses. In the intervals where the road was
+clear they cantered, and this mode of alternate progression continued
+for three or four miles. Then a regular procession was met, preceded
+by about a hundred men marching in single file on either side of the
+road. The foreign party thereupon proceeded at a foot's pace, keeping
+close to the left side, until they reached "the main body, which was
+then occupying the whole breadth of the road." The English party halted
+on approaching the main body, according to one of the survivors; but
+according to another, they were stopped "when they had got about twelve
+men deep in the procession," by "a man of large stature[7] issuing from
+the main body," who, swinging his sword with both hands, cut at the two
+leading foreigners, Mr Richardson and Mrs Borrodaile, as their horses
+were being turned round, and then rushed on the other two. Whereupon the
+advance-guard, who had been described as marching in single file, closed
+in upon the retreating riders. They were all able by the speed of their
+horses to get clear of their assailants; but Mr Richardson was so terribly
+hacked that after going some distance he fell from his horse, dying, or,
+as his companions thought, dead. He lived, however, until the Daimio's
+procession reached the spot, when several of his retainers proceeded to
+butcher and mutilate the dying man in the most shocking manner. It speaks
+well for all three gentlemen that Mrs Borrodaile escaped substantially
+unhurt, though a sword-stroke aimed at her head cut away her hat as she
+stooped to avoid the blow. She saw Mr Richardson fall, and her two wounded
+companions, unable to render help, urged her to ride on. She miraculously
+arrived at Yokohama, bespattered with blood and in a state of very natural
+agitation. Mr Clarke and Mr Marshall, exhausted by their wounds, managed
+to reach Kanagawa, where they were properly cared for at the American
+consulate.
+
+This tragedy made a more vivid impression on the world at large than
+previous ones had done, for several reasons. The cumulative effect of so
+many cold-blooded massacres was beginning to tell, and the Japanese cup
+was nearly full. There was a lady in the case who galloped seven miles
+for dear life, her horse falling twice under her. The chief victim was a
+fine specimen of a young Englishman, and very popular. The crime touched
+the general foreign community in Japan in a special manner, since the
+party belonged to, or were the guests of, Yokohama, where there were also
+newspapers and press correspondents to make literature of the event.
+
+Some friction was created between the foreign community and the British
+representative by the ghastly circumstances of this murder. The community,
+seeing their own comrades slaughtered without mercy, were incensed,
+and called for vengeance, which they deemed to be within reach, for the
+Daimio's retinue were sleeping at Hodogaya, a station but a few miles
+off. There was force enough afloat and on shore to effect the capture of
+the murderers red-handed, and the residents called for this to be done.
+Reasons of policy and expediency influenced Colonel Neale in a contrary
+sense, in which he was fully supported by the Foreign Office when the
+reports reached England.
+
+The Richardson murder, like that at the British Legation, had its
+special characteristics, though of a different order. The outrage was
+unpremeditated; the Government was not implicated: it was a fortuitous
+collision between the spirit and traditions of two opposed civilisations.
+The deed might be construed as the natural punishment of a breach of good
+manners--for Japanese etiquette, of which the party seemed to have been
+ignorant, required them to dismount--or, as the spontaneous expression
+of feudal Japan's deep hatred of the foreigner, concentrated in the
+act of a single moment. There was no need on this occasion to hazard
+guesses as to the responsible author of the crime, or to keep up a long
+train of make-believe negotiations. The _cortège_ belonged to the Prince
+of Satsuma, and was escorting his father, Shimadso Saburo, who went
+afterwards to the Mikado and said he had been grossly insulted by the
+foreigners on the road, and had ordered them to be cut down.[8]
+
+The problem was thus reduced to its simplest expression. The circumstances
+supplied precisely what was wanting to give shape and point to Admiral
+Hope's proposal to "nip this assassination-system in the bud"; and a month
+after the event he followed up his previous despatch to the Admiralty by
+a detailed scheme of reprisals, with the amount and precise distribution
+of the force required to give effect to it. And he concludes his despatch
+appropriately with the remark, that "should it be found necessary to use
+measures of coercion especially against Satsuma, ... the position and
+confirmation of his principality render him peculiarly open to attack."
+
+There were now two reclamations on the Japanese Government--redress for
+the murder of the two marines at the Legation in June, and for the killing
+and wounding of the Richardson party in September. The British _chargé
+d'affaires_ pressed both demands, without committing himself to specific
+threats until the mind of her Majesty's Government should be known. Lord
+Russell's instructions were sent on 24th December 1862, and would reach
+Japan some time in February. They were peremptory as to the use of force
+in case of need, whether against the Government or the Prince of Satsuma.
+
+
+V. THE TYCOON'S DILEMMA.
+
+    Strife of parties in Japan--Impotence of Tycoon--His prospective
+    overthrow--Orders issued by Mikado to drive foreigners out of
+    Japan--Prevarications of Tycoon--Plots and counterplots--French
+    and English troops in Yokohama--Compensation paid for the
+    Richardson murder, but assassin not yet brought to justice--Demand
+    made on Prince of Satsuma--Bombardment of his castle by
+    Admiral Kuper--Happy results--Offensive attitude of Prince of
+    Nagato--Firing on foreign ships of war--Sir R. Alcock's return
+    from furlough--Publication of his book 'The Capital of the
+    Tycoon'--His exposition of the political status of parties in
+    Japan--Dubious attitude of Tycoon--And Mikado--Utmost limit of
+    concession to Japanese pleas of weakness reached.
+
+During the interval that elapsed between the tragedy of September 1862
+and the expiation of the crime, revelations of a startling character were
+made respecting the strife which was raging among the various parties
+in the State--the Tycoon, the Mikado, the great Daimios, and the lesser
+Daimios, who followed the Tycoon and the Mikado respectively. These
+revelations, however, though they lit up as by lurid lightning-flashes
+some corners of the landscape, left the whole in a fog more treacherous
+than total darkness. The foreign officials who were called upon to act in
+the midst of it confessed themselves unable to unravel the mystery that
+surrounded them, nor is it any part of our task to make such an attempt.
+It was the chaos which preceded order, a period when the elemental forces
+were in the melting-pot, a phase of foreshortened evolution such as had
+never till then been dreamed of. However trying such an ordeal was to
+the foreign agents who had to go through it, the stress upon them was
+as nothing compared to that which lay upon the principalities and powers
+of the country itself during the agony of their national birth-throes--a
+circumstance which has to be borne in mind when judging of the behaviour
+of the Japanese Government in that trying time; for truly the defence of
+their proceedings stood much in need of extenuating circumstances.
+
+We have seen that the British Government had already confessed its
+belief that the Tycoon's Government was incompetent to maintain order
+where foreigners were concerned. Yet until that Government itself should
+plead incompetence, foreign States could only hold it wholly accountable
+for all that was done affecting their interests. But the Tycoon's
+Government fought tooth and nail against such admission, resorting
+to every subterfuge to maintain their status, while yet evading the
+responsibilities of the position. The success of this ambiguous policy
+required that the foreign representatives should be kept in ignorance
+of the relations which subsisted between the different parties in the
+Japanese State. Hence secrecy and misdirection governed their diplomatic
+intercourse. The treaties themselves having been tainted from their
+origin with deception, every stage of their execution was marked by
+dissimulation, which came gradually to light as the pressure from within
+and from without caused now one corner, now another, of the curtain to be
+raised.
+
+The Tycoon was between the upper and the nether millstone,--foreigners
+pressing him for fulfilment of his obligations, while a power greater
+than his own was demanding the complete repudiation, or at least the
+substantial curtailment, of all these obligations. The straits he was
+put to to keep up his two faces were pitiable and desperate, for he had
+to make the Mikado and the Daimios believe he was as much opposed to the
+foreigners as they were, while to foreigners he was professing loyalty
+and throwing the blame of the reaction on the hostile Daimios. Instigated
+by them, the Mikado had fully asserted his authority, and the Tycoon was
+no longer able to pose as the sovereign ruler of Japan. The allocation of
+a site for the foreign Legations on Gotenyama, a popular pleasure-ground
+in Yedo, was attacked, and the Tycoon ordered to rescind the grant, which
+he endeavoured to do by proposing the substitution of another site. This
+being refused by the British _chargé d'affaires_, the Japanese sentry on
+the buildings under construction was assassinated, and soon after the
+whole building was blown up and burned.[9] So ambiguous had become the
+attitude of the Tycoon, that Colonel Neale was in doubt whether this
+conflagration pleased or displeased the Yedo Government. (Six months
+later the buildings occupied by the United States Legation were likewise
+destroyed by fire.) The hostile Daimios, in the name of the Mikado, were,
+in fact, putting strong pressure on the Tycoon, while those Daimios who
+had favoured the treaties had been punished by confiscation of their
+revenues. The Tycoon's position was fast becoming untenable, and in the
+last extremity his advisers decided to take the foreign representatives
+for the first time into their confidence.
+
+In January 1863 a Governor of Foreign Affairs informed Colonel Neale
+that the Mikado was angry because he had not been consulted about the
+treaties, either before or after the signing of them; and that his
+Majesty had ordered the Tycoon repeatedly to drive foreigners out of
+the country. "But," replied the British _chargé d'affaires_, "that is
+wholly inconsistent with what the Gorogiu previously told Sir Rutherford
+Alcock." "Quite so," rejoined the Governor; "only what the Ministers told
+Sir Rutherford Alcock was false." "But if one member of the Gorogiu can
+thus give the other the lie, what security have we that some successor
+of yours will not equally disavow what you say? so that at one time
+we have the Mikado reported as friendly and at another as hostile to
+foreign treaties and trade, and we shall never know which to believe."
+This not very promising beginning of "confidences" was quickly followed
+by singular confessions and proposals--part of the system of "frauds,
+stratagems, and deceptions practised by the Tycoon's Government," as
+Colonel Neale characterises them. The Tycoon's Government was ordered to
+communicate officially to the foreign representatives the mandate of the
+Mikado to drive out foreigners and close the ports. In obedience to this
+order a Governor of Foreign Affairs, in announcing the fact to the French
+Minister, softened its effect by explaining that this was carrying out the
+Mikado's orders "officially"; but "ce n'est là qu'un stratagème nécessaire
+pour tromper le peuple japonnais." In developing his plan of campaign the
+Governor laid bare to the French Minister the intention of the Tycoon to
+deceive the Mikado by pretending to share his views about foreigners; he
+was in like manner to deceive the Daimios. Ogasawara, the Minister who was
+responsible for carrying out the edict against foreigners, being "un homme
+très capable," would find a means of avoiding the execution; he would
+himself go to Kioto and make the Mikado listen to reason; if he refused,
+then he would pick a quarrel and employ force against the sovereign. In
+that case would the foreign Powers assist the Tycoon? All this, however,
+must be kept from Hitotsubashi, the First Minister of the Tycoon, "whose
+views were as yet uncertain whether to carry out the expulsive orders from
+Kioto or not. Ogasawara had formed the plan to declare himself the enemy
+of foreigners in order to deceive the high officers even of the Tycoon who
+might not be favourable to his scheme; but everything was to be done to
+"save Japan." Finally, Ogasawara was to come the day following himself to
+interview the foreign Ministers at Yokohama, but not a word of all this
+would he utter "for fear of indiscretions." He would only speak briefly
+to the point of the notification of the Mikado's order of expulsion. And
+if the foreign Ministers would be good enough to frame their reply to that
+message in such severe terms as would make an impression on the agitators
+in Kioto and Yedo, it would assist the patriotic schemes of this bustling
+statesman. So everybody in Japan from the highest to the lowest was to
+be bamboozled--even one's own colleagues in the Tycoon's service--and the
+only people with whom faith was to be kept were the detested foreigners,
+as represented by the Ministers of England and France! Well might Colonel
+Neale recoil in disgust from such a brewage of "fraud, stratagem, and
+deception." The Tycoon's officers had in all this one definite object
+in view, which was to induce the foreign squadrons then menacing Yedo to
+transfer themselves to Osaka and Hiogo and menace some one in that part of
+the empire. And, curiously enough, the presence of the French troops which
+had recently arrived in Yokohama was not only tolerated by the Tycoon,
+but they were to serve him as a lever whereby the astute Ogasawara was
+to work on the feelings of the Mikado, by representing to his sovereign
+the indignation of the foreign Governments and the difficulty of giving
+effect to an order for general expulsion, which would include a body of
+well-armed troops.
+
+For while such comedies were being enacted at Yokohama the Tycoon himself
+was at Kioto under the friendly surveillance of the Mikado and his
+faithful Daimios, and it was a reasonable enough calculation that the
+vicinity of foreign fleets might tend to moderate the counsels of these
+recalcitrants, to ease the tension between the contending factions, and
+lighten the burden of the Tycoon.
+
+Meantime the pressure of the British demands for redress of the two
+grievances was met by evasions and delays until the ultimatum stage was
+reached in June 1863. The pecuniary indemnity charged on the Tycoon,
+amounting to £110,000, was then paid under circumstances so peculiar as
+to be worth recounting as affording further insight into the agitations
+of the period. After exhaustive negotiations, leading to an ultimatum,
+an agreement was made whereby the Government was to pay the amount
+demanded by seven instalments, commencing 18th June 1863. On the 17th
+June Ogasawara, third member of the Gorogiu, wrote a curt note to say
+the money could not be paid owing to an "unforeseen circumstance," and
+postponing payment till 22nd June. On the 19th the same Minister wrote
+to Colonel Neale that he intended to have left Yedo for Yokohama for an
+interview, but was prevented by sudden illness. This was followed by an
+intimation from the Government that no payment whatever would be made.
+Diplomatic relations were thereupon broken off by the British _chargé
+d'affaires_, and the conduct of affairs was placed in the hands of the
+admiral. This brought about the interview with the French Minister above
+alluded to, when the Japanese emissaries promised to pay at once the whole
+amount due under the agreement with Colonel Neale, and the specie was
+actually conveyed in four cartloads to the British Legation on 24th June.
+The only explanation given of this strange shuffle was that the numerous
+enemies of the Tycoon and of foreigners were on the watch, and threatened
+terrible consequences if any money should be paid to the foreigners. That
+difficulty, however, had been surmounted by the resourceful Japanese
+Machiavel issuing strict orders that the payment should be kept a dead
+secret from all except the Governors of Foreign Affairs themselves,--the
+four cartloads of silver, drawn each by a dozen or two of men, grunting
+laboriously at the task, from the Japanese custom-house to the British
+Legation, remaining for this purpose conveniently invisible to a cloud of
+hostile witnesses.
+
+The demands made on the Tycoon in respect of the attack on the British
+Legation and on the Richardson party being thus satisfied, it only
+remained to carry out the second portion of Earl Russell's instructions
+and exact equal satisfaction from the Prince of Satsuma, over whom the
+Yedo Government had shown itself to have no control whatever. Much delay
+had occurred, due to a variety of circumstances--mainly to the aggressive
+acts of another great Daimio, Choshiu, who possessed the western key
+of the Inland Sea. This might have necessitated a concentration of the
+British squadron in that spot--which actually came to pass a year later.
+Finally, however, Rear-Admiral Sir Augustus Kuper proceeded in August to
+the Bay of Kagoshima, the stronghold of the Satsuma principality, Colonel
+Neale accompanying him to present the demand on the prince with which he
+had been intrusted by the British Government.
+
+The sole reply vouchsafed by the Daimio was a recommendation to Colonel
+Neale to return to Yedo and treat with the Tycoon, as Satsuma had no
+relations with Great Britain. It was now the admiral's turn to act, and
+his first step in the way of reprisal was the seizing of three steamers,
+then lying in the bay, which were soon burned to relieve the squadron
+of their charge. Thereupon the Daimio's forts opened fire, and a hot
+engagement ensued in the midst of a terrific gale, which the prince's
+people afterwards said was reckoned on as a condition favourable for
+his attack on the foreign ships. There was considerable loss of life
+on both sides; much damage was done to the Daimio's defences, arsenal,
+and magazines. But the inhabitants of the town escaped injury from the
+conflagration, they having previously been removed to places of safety.
+The squadron returned to the Bay of Yedo.
+
+Within a short time the Prince of Satsuma sued for terms, paid the
+indemnity demanded, £25,000, promised to punish the murderer of
+Richardson, when caught, and became a good friend to the English, to the
+extent at least of desiring to cultivate relations with them.
+
+Thus happily ended the first hostile encounter between Japan and any
+Western Power, the first demonstration of the superiority of foreign arms,
+and, as some think, the baptism of fire which was the inaugurating rite
+by which Japan entered into the comity and the competition of the Western
+nations, and into that path of material progress which has since led to
+such astonishing results.
+
+The attitude of the Yedo Government in this affair may be said to
+have been one of placid observation. They had nothing to regret in the
+chastisement inflicted on a prince who set their authority at defiance.
+
+In the interval of time between the settlement of the indemnities for the
+two outrages and the departure of the fleet for Kagoshima the Tycoon's
+Ministers had drawn closer and closer to the foreign representatives, and
+English steamers were chartered for conveyance of the Tycoon's troops
+to Osaka with the knowledge and approval of the British authorities.
+The defence of Yokohama was by the Government voluntarily confided to
+the English and French admirals, and sanguine hopes were held out to
+the foreign representatives that if the Tycoon should succeed in his
+endeavours at Kioto, foreign relations would assume a totally different
+aspect on his return to his capital.
+
+On the other hand, while the negotiations with the Yedo Government had
+been dragging their slow length along, another of the great princes
+had taken arms against the foreign Powers indiscriminately. The Daimio
+Choshiu had made a strong stand against foreign intercourse, and in a
+well-reasoned and moderately worded letter addressed to the Tycoon in
+May 1862 he urged union between that high officer and the Mikado in order
+that the country might be placed in a condition to resist foreigners. The
+territory of the Prince of Nagato, as he was also designated, commanded
+the narrow strait of Shimonoséki, which connects the Suwonada, or Inland
+Sea, with the outer waters. This had become the regular route of steamers
+between the Bay of Yedo and the south of Japan, as at this day.
+
+Moved by an impulse which was not cleared up at the time, if ever it has
+been since, Choshiu began in July 1863 to fire from his forts and from
+armed vessels in the straits on passing steamers. French, American, and
+Dutch war-vessels were successively bombarded as they entered the passage.
+The fire was returned, and damage inflicted on the Daimio's batteries;
+but such was the power of their guns and their precision of aim that
+many were killed and wounded on the foreign ships, some of which were
+obliged to retire without getting through the strait. The prince remained
+obdurate and continued his hostile proceedings, a steamer belonging to
+the Tycoon and another belonging to Satsuma, said to be the friend and
+ally of Choshiu, coming in for the customary salutation as they passed.
+He embargoed or destroyed trading junks attempting to pass the straits,
+and thus established an effective blockade of the great commercial artery
+of Japan.
+
+It was droll to find Satsuma, soon after the affair of Kagoshima,
+appealing to the Mikado against these outrages of Nagato, and opposing
+the reactionary policy of his quondam ally. Satsuma had had his lesson;
+Nagato had yet to receive his.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sir Rutherford Alcock returned to his post after two years' furlough. His
+distinguished services had been recognised by the Queen's Government,
+who conferred on him the honour of Knight Commander of the Bath. In
+the same year, 1862, he completed his valuable work, 'The Capital of
+the Tycoon,' which for the first time brought the real Japan of that
+day to the knowledge of the reading world. This, the most important
+single literary work left by the busy pen of Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+is a storehouse of information on the history, civilisation, politics,
+religion, art, and industry of Japan, carefully sifted and presented in
+the most attractive form. It contains, moreover, a vivid narrative of
+the reopening of international intercourse with that country, and of the
+stirring incidents which marked the earlier years of its progress. It is
+also a philosophical study at first hand of the most remarkable political
+evolution that history records. Considering the official activity and high
+tension under which the materials were gathered, the writing of such a
+book, of a Japanese Grammar, and other literary and artistic studies, is
+a proof of the intellectual detachment which is usually associated with
+the higher order of mind. This work of a single pioneer observer has well
+borne the scrutiny of the innumerable host of students, grave and gay, who
+have followed in the same path. After forty years its authority remains
+intact. A short extract will at once show the character of the book and
+afford a convenient summary of the then Government of Japan:--
+
+    That the Mikado is the hereditary sovereign of the empire, the
+    descendant of a long and uninterrupted line of sovereigns of the
+    same dynasty, and the only sovereign _de jure_ recognised by all
+    Japanese from the Tycoon to the lowest beggar--a true sovereign
+    in all the legal attributes of sovereignty; and that the Tycoon
+    receives investiture from him as his lieutenant or generalissimo,
+    _and as such only_, the head of the executive, is known to most
+    readers of the present day. True, the Mikados have been shorn
+    of much of their power since Yoritomo, in 1143, profiting by
+    civil commotions among the princes of the land, and armed with
+    power as generalissimo to humble these turbulent chiefs, only
+    suppressed the troubles to arrogate to himself the greater part
+    of the sovereign power under the title given by a grateful master
+    of Ziogun. Another Pepin d'Héristal and mayor of the palace, he
+    did not care to dethrone the descendant of an illustrious line of
+    emperors, and was content with holding the reins, and transmitting
+    the same privilege to his descendants. And so the power continued
+    divided in great degree, the shadow from the substance, until
+    later, towards the close of the sixteenth century, a peasant's son
+    and favourite attendant of the actual generalissimo, but known
+    in Japanese history by the name he afterwards assumed of Taiko
+    Sama, raised himself, apparently by great abilities as well as
+    daring, to the seat of power on his master's death, and stripped
+    the reigning Mikado of the last remains of secular power.
+
+    Since that time the successive emperors, or Mikados, are brought
+    into the world, and live and die within the precincts of their
+    Court at Miaco (Kioto), the boundaries of which they never pass
+    during their whole life. Is it possible to conceive a less
+    desirable destiny? But the Zioguns, or Tycoons, as they are
+    styled in European treaties, have long been undergoing a somewhat
+    analogous process, under which all substantial power has been
+    transferred from them to the principal Daimios, or Princes,
+    who form a Great Council of State, and whose nominee the Tycoon
+    himself has become, as well, I believe, as all his chief Ministers
+    or councillors. They exercise, if they do not claim, the right
+    of removing both Tycoon and Ministers, and a voice potential in
+    all affairs of State. For legislative changes even the almost
+    forgotten Mikado must indeed give his consent, never of course
+    refused when any unanimity prevails....
+
+    The Mikado of the day is the exact type of the last descendant
+    of Clovis, sitting "sad and solitary, effeminate and degenerate,"
+    doomed only to wield "a barren sceptre" and sigh away a burdensome
+    and useless existence of mock pageantry; never permitted to pass
+    the gates of his prison-palace....
+
+    This double machinery of a titular sovereign who only reigns,
+    and a lieutenant of the empire who only governs and does not
+    reign, from generation to generation, is certainly something
+    very curious; and by long continuance it seems to have led to a
+    duplicate system such as never existed in any other part of the
+    world, carried out to almost every detail of existence. Every
+    office is doubled; every man is alternately a watcher and watched.
+    Not only the whole administrative machinery is in duplicate,
+    but the most elaborate system of check and countercheck, on the
+    most approved Machiavellian principle, is here developed with a
+    minuteness and perfection as regards details difficult at first
+    to realise. As upon all this is grafted a system of more than
+    oriental mendacity, we feel launched into a world of shadows and
+    make-believes hard to grapple with in the practical business of
+    life. Of their mendacity and cynical views respecting it I had
+    many illustrations. One of the official gentry upon a particular
+    occasion having been found by a foreign Minister in deliberate
+    contradiction with himself, was asked, somewhat abruptly perhaps,
+    how he could reconcile it to his conscience to utter such palpable
+    untruths. With perfect calmness and self-possession he replied, "I
+    told you last month that such and such a thing had been done, and
+    now I tell you the thing has not been done at all. I am an officer
+    whose business it is to carry out the instructions I receive and
+    to say what I am told to say. What have I to do with its truth or
+    falsehood?"...
+
+    To return to the Tycoon and the governors of the early middle
+    ages, with its suzerain and feudatories, its fiefs and a
+    phantom king, with hereditary mayors of the palace and chiefs
+    with 10,000 retainers, each one holding himself as good as the
+    Tycoon, who must live in constant dread of open revolt or secret
+    assassination, what a pleasant state of existence for all parties
+    it reveals! Each of these territorial magnates or great Daimios
+    is practically independent of the Tycoon when within his own
+    territory, with power of life and death over all his subjects
+    and dependants; ... even an imperial passport will not secure an
+    intruder's life....
+
+    Power has passed in no small degree from the Tycoon's hands, as
+    it formerly did from the Mikado's, and now remains chiefly in an
+    executive Council of State, consisting of five Ministers, and
+    these again held in no small check, if not in subservience, by
+    the Daimios and feudal chiefs of the higher order, amounting to
+    some 360. Although these do not actually form a Chamber of Lords
+    nor assemble in a body at stated periods, nothing legislative, it
+    is said, can be done without their assent obtained.... They hold
+    themselves too high to demean themselves by taking part in the
+    administration, or holding office, under the Tycoon. But neither
+    the Tycoon nor the Ministers, separately or collectively, can
+    venture upon a change in their laws and customs without their
+    sanction and a further confirmation by the phantom sovereign of
+    Miaco....
+
+    In the mean time, between the Mikado who nominally wields the
+    sceptre--the Tycoon, a youth who no less nominally governs the
+    kingdom, and is but fourth in rank in the Japan red-book, for
+    three of the Mikado's officers take precedence--and the Daimios
+    great and small, ... the administrative machinery of the realm
+    seems to be kept in order.
+
+Another incident of the year was Sir Rutherford Alcock's second marriage
+to a friend of the earlier Shanghai days, the widow of the Rev. T. Lowder,
+first consular chaplain of that settlement. They had been both widowed
+about the same time. They were about the same age too, and the union,
+based on a deep-rooted and matured affection, proved an exceptionally
+happy one during thirty-five years, till death divided them. Lady Alcock
+accompanied her husband on his return to Japan, where they arrived in
+March 1864.
+
+During the two years of the Minister's absence affairs in Japan had, as we
+have seen, been advancing rapidly--whether towards a reasonable solution
+or to a catastrophe was as yet doubtful. The agitation against the foreign
+treaties had been gathering force and consistency; the Tycoon's position
+was becoming more and more precarious, his existence being pledged to
+the annulment of the hated treaties. Encouraged by the success which
+had attended his mission to Europe in 1862, he despatched another in
+the beginning of 1864, to represent to the European Governments that the
+public feeling in Japan was growing worse every day, that the Tycoon would
+not be able to protect foreigners in Yokohama, and that, in short, the
+port must be closed and foreign trade confined to Hakodate and Nagasaki.
+The mission, already on its way, was met by Sir Rutherford Alcock in
+Shanghai, where he had an opportunity of personal conference with the
+envoys. The situation was thus summarised by the Minister in a despatch
+to the Foreign Office, 31st March 1864:--
+
+    It is just two years since I left Japan in order to be present in
+    London when the first mission sent by the Tycoon to the treaty
+    Powers in Europe should arrive. Returning to my post a month
+    ago, I met a second mission on its way to the same Courts. These
+    two embassies seem to me to form very significant events in the
+    history of Japan and its relations with foreign States.... I
+    consider the signing of the protocol of June 1862 (afterwards
+    adopted with unimportant modifications by all the other Powers),
+    freely granting without abatement all that the Tycoon asked, was
+    the culminating act and fitting end of the conciliatory policy
+    so consistently adhered to from the beginning. It was impossible
+    to concede more without abandoning the treaties altogether.
+    Thenceforth it only remained to gather the promised fruit of
+    greater security to life, and freer intercourse within narrowed
+    limits, which, for the moment at least, appeared unattainable in
+    the wider range of five ports and two cities.... The avowed object
+    of the second mission is to declare that all the hopes held out
+    by the Tycoon of the probable results of the first concessions
+    have been illusory.... The only fruit has been indiscriminate
+    aggression, increased insecurity, calling for measures of coercion
+    on the part of all the treaty Powers; finally, a decree for the
+    expulsion of foreigners, with a mission from the Tycoon to declare
+    his utter inability to maintain the treaties, and to suggest a
+    surrender of all the rights and privileges they were framed to
+    secure in perpetuity.
+
+The mission was not successful in its main purpose, and soon returned to
+Japan to report progress.
+
+
+VI. THE CRISIS.
+
+    Foreign rights must be sustained by force or definitively
+    abandoned--Organises a retaliatory demonstration against
+    Nagato--Forts at Shimonoséki attacked by international squadron,
+    after delays--Satisfactory results--Nagato claims authority of
+    Mikado for his attacks on foreign ships--His defeat gave courage
+    to Tycoon--Anti-foreign measures promptly withdrawn--The treaties
+    of 1858 ratified by Mikado--Sir R. Alcock's recall--Lord Russell's
+    _amende_.
+
+The Tycoon's Government had actually succeeded by patient persistence in
+evil-doing in making Yedo "too hot to hold" the foreign representatives,
+who had in consequence gradually accustomed themselves to residence in the
+freer air of Yokohama. "Incendiarism and assassination had done their work
+and effected the end for which they were employed," writes Sir Rutherford
+Alcock, who goes on to remark that "the recovery of this lapsed right"
+(of residence in the capital) "will have now to follow, not precede, other
+measures." So far had the foreign nations retreated before the forces of
+reaction, forces which necessarily acquired cohesion and momentum with
+each retrograde step of the opposing Powers. The country, meaning thereby
+the official hierarchy, was now at least, if not before, practically
+unanimous. Mikado, Daimios, the Tycoon himself, however they may have been
+embittered by their mutual jealousies, were now united, and passionately
+united, in the determination to expel the foreigners, so far as it might
+be possible,--on which latter point, however, there was room for great
+differences of opinion. The Prince of Nagato might be a rebel against
+the Tycoon's or the Mikado's authority, both of whom had disavowed his
+proceedings, but his determination to block the passage of the Inland Sea
+and suppress all trade but his own was an important part of the national
+policy of expulsion. It appeared that the only friend of foreigners at
+that time was the Prince of Satsuma, who had become a changed man since
+his stronghold was bombarded, and he began to see that the restoration of
+imperial rule and deposition of the Tycoon might be accomplished by the
+assistance of foreigners. That event was undoubtedly accelerated by the
+policy of the first two British ministers in Japan.
+
+The new position was reviewed under a sense of deep personal
+responsibility by Sir Rutherford Alcock in several despatches during
+the spring of 1864, and, as we have seen, the conclusion he arrived at
+was that the utmost limit of concession to Japanese exigencies had been
+reached: everything had been given up to them that could be given up
+without abandoning the treaties entirely and leaving the country. There
+was not even room left for negotiation. "No attempt at a compromise of
+such conflicting pretensions could possibly succeed." "Compromise or
+concession is plainly impossible in the nature of things." Moreover, Earl
+Russell had enjoined on both the _chargé d'affaires_ and the Minister to
+stand firmly for their rights. His latest instruction to Sir Rutherford
+Alcock on his departure from England was, "You will in any case require
+from the Tycoon and the Daimios the execution of the treaty." In the face
+of a determination to annul the treaties this necessitated some vigorous
+action.
+
+The most obvious and most straightforward course indicated was to deal
+a decisive blow against the Prince of Nagato, who for nearly twelve
+months had set the whole of the Western Powers at defiance. He was more
+accessible from the salt water than even Satsuma; he was repudiated,
+hypocritically or not, by his sovereign; and a punitive expedition to
+Shimonoséki would not involve detriment to trade or inflict injury on
+innocent people. Such an operation had, moreover, much to recommend it
+from the point of view of general Japanese policy; for "in attacking
+in his stronghold the most violent and rash of his class, it may be
+possible," said the British Minister, "by one blow to paralyse the whole
+body of Daimios.... The command of the Inland Sea and the whole internal
+trade of that portion of Japan which must of necessity be in our hands
+during any operations would do more, probably, to bring the Court of the
+Mikado and of Yedo to a sense of the danger and folly of entering upon
+hostilities with the treaty Powers than any course of diplomacy.... The
+alternative is a probable catastrophe, and a war of a protracted kind at
+no distant period."
+
+About this time the appeals which for two years had been made in vain to
+the British military authorities in China for a sufficient force to give
+security at Yokohama were listened to, and a regiment of infantry, the
+20th, and of marines, were detached from Hongkong and a force of Beloochis
+from Shanghai. One of the anomalies of an unprecedented situation was that
+the Government, which was concerting measures to expel all foreigners,
+was nevertheless constrained to provide accommodation for these troops,
+"which were not to make war, but to prevent acts which would lead to war."
+For all that, the presence of foreign troops on the sacred soil was far
+from palatable, even though the Tycoon might secretly acquiesce in the
+reasoning by which the British Minister had commended a measure which was
+in any case an unavoidable necessity.
+
+The arrival of these troops had a marked effect on the tactics of the
+Tycoon. For ten months his Government, which had been powerless and
+passive regarding the warlike proceeding of Choshiu, now became alarmed
+lest the foreigners were about to take the law into their own hands with
+that recalcitrant Prince. The Tycoon's Ministers began to affect much
+concern for his punishment and repression. They would at once move against
+him, and until the result of their efforts was known they urged that the
+British garrison should remain absolutely passive in Yokohama.
+
+For effective action against the Daimio Choshiu it was necessary that an
+agreement should be come to among the treaty Powers, three of whom had
+been in actual collision with his batteries and armed ships. Individually
+Great Britain had not received this direct provocation, and was only
+interested in the general question of the obstruction to commerce and in
+the maintenance of the political status of the Powers. How the concert
+was brought about would be an interesting inquiry, but we may safely
+conclude that the achievement owed much to two causes, one positive and
+one negative. The former was the strong will, clear sight, and absolute
+fearlessness of responsibility of the British Minister; the latter was
+the non-existence of any ocean telegraph. For, as we have so frequently
+seen nearer home, the direct efforts of the Great Powers to arrive at
+any agreement for common action are always protracted, often abortive,
+and seldom successful. The decision in this case had to be taken by the
+agents on the spot, personally intimate with each other, acting on general
+principles and on a free interpretation of the instructions from their
+Governments. And so it came to pass that within three months after Sir
+Rutherford Alcock's arrival in Japan the Ministers of France, the United
+States, the Netherlands, and Great Britain had signed a protocol in which
+they agreed to make a fresh representation in the nature of an ultimatum
+to the Tycoon's Government, calling upon it to adopt means to put an end
+to the hostilities of the Prince of Nagato, and informing it that on no
+account would their Governments allow the port of Yokohama to be closed.
+This agreement of May 1864 was the natural sequel to a declaration of 25th
+July 1863, by which the same four Powers had intimated to the Tycoon the
+necessity of reopening the Inland Sea, but which had remained without any
+acknowledgment by the Government. The new _note identique_ addressed to
+the Gorogiu was equally left unacknowledged by that body.
+
+Nothing therefore remained but to take the respective naval commanders
+into counsel. The Ministers had no authority over them, but it was quickly
+found that the concert of admirals and captains was as perfect as that
+of the diplomatic body. The ships of the four Powers--Great Britain,
+France, United States, and Netherlands--were placed under the command of
+Vice-Admiral Sir Augustus Kuper, and a plan of action was settled upon.
+
+The advance to Shimonoséki was still, however, delayed by two
+circumstances. The first was the return from Europe of two Japanese
+students, out of five who had been sent there the previous year by that
+very Prince of Choshiu against whom coercive measures were about to be
+undertaken. These young men, hearing while abroad of the proceedings
+of their chief, and convinced, from what they had seen in Europe, of
+the overwhelming resources of the Powers, that Choshiu was bringing
+disaster on himself in forcing battle on such antagonists, resolved to
+hurry back to Japan with the express object of warning their prince of
+his danger. The arrival of the two youths in Yedo was thought by the
+foreign Ministers to offer some chance of coming to terms with Choshiu
+without the arbitrament of arms, and accordingly facilities were afforded
+by Vice-Admiral Kuper for landing the two travellers at the nearest
+convenient point to their prince's territory. They were intrusted with
+overtures of peace in the form of a long memorandum from the British
+Minister, reviewing the whole situation, and explaining the attitude of
+the Powers and the hopelessness of the armed resistance of any Daimio. The
+messengers brought back to the rendezvous, where a light-draught vessel
+waited for them, an oral reply from the prince explaining his attitude
+and asking for three months' delay to enable Choshiu to confer with the
+Mikado and Tycoon, by whose orders he had done what he had done, and
+without whose consent he dare not change his policy. It is interesting
+to recall the fact that the names of the two youthful emissaries were Ito
+and Inouyé, who have since played so distinguished and honourable a part
+in the development of their country.
+
+The second cause of suspension of action against Choshiu was the news
+of a convention concluded in Paris between the Japanese envoys and the
+French Foreign Minister, dated June 20, 1864, in which this very object of
+the reopening of the Straits of Shimonoséki was provided for. Were this
+convention to be ratified by the Tycoon the immediate cause of dispute
+would be removed. The matter, however, was disposed of with more than its
+accustomed promptitude by the Japanese Government, who curtly refused to
+ratify the French convention. The Tycoon's Ministers declared themselves
+unable to carry out the agreement, and to ratify it would merely be to
+add another to their too onerous obligations. Admiral Kuper was finally
+given a free hand on August 25, and before the middle of September the
+forts and ships of the recalcitrant prince were completely destroyed by
+the Allied squadrons, not without considerable resistance and some loss
+to the assailants. The action was conducted with admirable harmony among
+the officers engaged, and the reciprocity of compliments between the
+respective commanders-in-chief, especially between the French and English
+admirals, is edifying reading in these later days.
+
+The negotiations which followed on board the British flagship ended in
+the most satisfactory manner. Choshiu submitted with a good grace, while
+apologetically throwing the blame of his hostile proceedings on the two
+higher authorities, the Mikado and the Tycoon.
+
+All the Daimios had been notified of the decision of the Mikado and
+the Tycoon to break off relations with foreigners from 20th June 1863.
+Three days after this notice its purport was confirmed, and a positive
+order given to "make military preparations with diligence that the ugly
+barbarians may be swept out." This was promptly followed by a third yet
+more explicit. "Bearing this in mind" (the date of expulsion, 20th June
+1863), "you must omit nothing which is required to complete the maritime
+defences of your province, and you must be ready to sweep them off should
+they attack you unawares." A liberal interpretation of these imperial
+decrees might be held to cover the aggressive proceedings of the most
+powerful Daimio in the empire, whose province happened to command its most
+important strategic position, and who watched the continual passing of
+foreign ships under the guns of his forts. The time when Choshiu commenced
+his attacks on passing ships coincided so exactly with the date assigned
+by the Mikado for the general rupture with foreigners, that it is hardly
+possible to dissociate his act from the scheme of his suzerain. When
+subsequently called before the council, Choshiu boldly defied both Tycoon
+and Mikado, declaring that he alone had obeyed the imperial mandate, and
+deserved gratitude for executing single-handed the law of the empire for
+the extermination of foreigners. The rupture was decreed for June 20.
+The American steamer Pembroke was fired on on the 25th, being, no doubt,
+the first foreign vessel to pass the straits after the 20th. Whatever
+ulterior designs this great feudatory may have entertained, therefore, he
+was not altogether without provocation in making a raid on the Mikado's
+capital, which he did in the month of August following, and for which he
+was condemned by his suzerain to a term of seclusion within his palace,
+the usual form of punishment of an offending feudatory, which implies much
+more than would appear from this mild definition.
+
+On the capture of the forts at Shimonoséki the Government at once stepped
+in and assumed all the obligations, pecuniary and other, which the issue
+of the collision imposed on the Prince of Nagato. The town of Shimonoséki
+had been spared, but held to ransom. A convention was signed whereby the
+Tycoon agreed to pay an indemnity of three million dollars, which was
+eventually paid in full, the last instalment of it after the fall of the
+Shôgunate.
+
+Taking heart of grace from his defeat by foreigners, the Tycoon, if
+not the Mikado also, began to coerce Choshiu on his own account. Not
+being able to reach him conveniently in his principality, the Tycoon's
+Government set to work to destroy his vast establishment at Yedo. The fire
+brigade was employed in this work, and such was the extent of it that
+several thousand men were said to be engaged for three days in burning
+down the buildings and fittings. Moreover, when categorically questioned
+by the foreign Minister whether, now that Satsuma and Choshiu had been
+brought under control, "the Tycoon would find it possible to give full
+effect to the treaties, and to deal with any recalcitrant or rebellious
+Daimios," the confidential Minister of the Tycoon replied without
+hesitation, "Yes, certainly."
+
+The defeat of the two most warlike of the Daimios illuminated the
+situation and cleared the way for more intelligent action all round.
+To the Japanese Government it was once for all demonstrated that it was
+not by force of arms that the "ugly barbarians" were to be driven from
+the country. The foreign fleets were for the time being invincible, and
+the Powers had also shown themselves ready not only to act, but to act
+together. There was, besides, a strong garrison of foreign troops in
+Yokohama--a British force of 1200 men of all arms, with a marked tendency
+to increase. The Mikado and the Tycoon wisely acquiesced in the situation,
+so far as foreigners were concerned, not necessarily abandoning their
+policy, but at any rate deferring its execution.
+
+Their immediate attention was directed to the internal commotions of the
+country, which could not now be long in coming to an explosion. A new
+planet had intersected their system and upset its balance. There could
+be no rest, therefore, until a new equilibrium was found. Foreign forces
+chastising the great feudatories, with the tacit acquiescence and for the
+benefit of the suzerain, could only be a step either towards dissolution
+and subjugation, or towards renaissance and national unity. Feudalism had
+had its day and served its turn; it was wholly incompatible with the new
+relations which had been imposed on the country by the foreign Powers. But
+where is the State, ancient or modern, that could entirely remodel itself,
+as it were, on the field of battle and in front of the enemy? That must
+remain the proud speciality of Japan.
+
+The effect of the action at Shimonoséki on the position of foreigners
+was at once made apparent in various ways. The Tycoon's Government had
+laid a secret embargo on raw silk sent to market at Yokohama as part and
+parcel of the general imperial design of closing that port, or, in the
+alternative, of a gigantic scheme of Government monopoly of the whole
+foreign trade, such being the only form of commerce for which the Japanese
+officials had any real sympathy. The stoppage had lasted three months.
+After Choshiu's defeat the restrictions were at once officially withdrawn,
+though considerable efforts were still required to give full effect to the
+withdrawal. Once more, also, "the Tycoon resolved to abandon the policy
+of equivocation and duplicity," and to inform the Mikado frankly of the
+impossibility of closing the port or of refusing to maintain the treaties.
+
+The moment seemed opportune for raising the question of the ratification
+of the treaties by the Mikado, in respect to which Sir Rutherford Alcock
+made certain plain statements in a letter addressed to the Tycoon in
+person. "There exists," he said, "a want of accord on the subject of
+foreign relations between the Mikado and Tycoon.... The Mikado, by
+requiring the abrogation of treaties, has reduced the Tycoon to the
+alternative of either disobeying his legitimate sovereign or bringing
+on his country all the calamities of war.... The only solution of the
+difficulty that promises either peace or security is the ratification
+of the treaties by the Mikado." The four foreign representatives
+simultaneously pressed the same consideration on the Government, eliciting
+from the Japanese Ministers the admission, "We perfectly agree with you,
+it should now take place."
+
+It now became the business of the British Minister to show to his
+Government that the proceedings at Shimonoséki fulfilled in every point
+the instructions he had received from the Foreign Office. This he did in
+a despatch dated September 28, 1864, and so convincingly that Earl Russell
+wrote in reply--
+
+    Your despatch of the 28th of September is a successful vindication
+    of the policy you have pursued.... My despatches of the 26th of
+    July were written with a view to discourage the interruption of a
+    progressive trade by acts of hostility, and to forbid recourse to
+    force while the treaty was generally observed. Those despatches,
+    you will understand, remain in full force.
+
+    But the documents you have sent me, which arrived by the last
+    mail, show that the silk trade was almost wholly interrupted by
+    the Tycoon, who seemed to be preparing to abet or to abandon the
+    project of driving out foreigners according to the boldness or
+    the timidity of our demeanour.
+
+    In this position there could be no better course than to punish
+    and disarm the Daimio Prince Nagato.
+
+    That course had these three separate advantages:--
+
+    1. It gave the best promise of concurrence of the four Powers,
+    as France, Holland, and the United States had all been sufferers
+    from the Prince of Choshiu's violations of treaty, while we were
+    most exposed to risk and loss by any Japanese attack on Yokohama.
+
+    2. It involved proceeding only against a rebellious vassal, and
+    not against the Mikado or the Tycoon.
+
+    3. If the operation should prove successful, the four Powers were
+    under no obligation to undertake further hostilities unless fresh
+    provocation should be received.
+
+    Her Majesty's Government have received with great satisfaction
+    the account of the naval operations of the four squadrons, and
+    their result, contained in your despatch of September 28. Those
+    operations were conducted in the most gallant manner; the loss was
+    not considerable; the four Powers acted in harmony together; no
+    defenceless city suffered during the hostilities; and the terms
+    granted to the offending Daimio were moderate towards him, and
+    sufficient for us.
+
+    I have only to add, that I am commanded to express to you her
+    Majesty's full approbation of your conduct.
+
+So far so good. But the slow mail service of those days, and the entire
+absence of the telegraph, admitted of wonderful interpolations in
+correspondence with such far-off countries as Japan. Events marched
+quicker than the course of post could follow them, and despatches were
+sometimes written which the writer would have given a good deal to recall.
+Such was the case here. We have said that soon after Sir Rutherford
+Alcock's return to Japan he addressed some weighty despatches to the
+Foreign Office on the situation, undoubtedly leading up to the ultimate
+employment of force in vindication of the foreign treaties. This was in
+full accord with the spirit of Earl Russell's instructions dated December
+17, 1863. These were--
+
+  1. To require from the Tycoon and the Daimios the execution of the
+    engagements of the treaty.
+
+  2. To consult the admiral and any military officer who may be sent
+    to Japan as to the means of strengthening and holding our position
+    in Yokohama.
+
+  3. To endeavour to procure from Hongkong the services of a regiment
+    of infantry.
+
+  4. The admiral to be authorised to land marines and destroy the
+    batteries which have been erected for the evident purpose of
+    interrupting the passage of our merchandise, &c.; but he must take
+    care that no unarmed and peaceable town should be bombarded.
+
+But when the Foreign Secretary received the Minister's despatches of
+May, following the terms of these instructions to their only logical
+conclusion, he became alarmed at the prospect of active measures, and
+by despatch of August 8 he recalled the Minister under the pretext of
+the need of a personal consultation on the state of affairs. This was
+followed up by some temporising despatches, saying the Inland Sea was of
+no consequence; that the Tycoon was professing an intention to do all
+that was necessary; and that the Tycoon and Mikado, seeing the British
+forces strong though passive, would gradually drop all hostile policy.
+How were these vacillating utterances to be reconciled with the position
+so decidedly taken up eight months before?
+
+A disturbing influence had intervened, causing Lord Russell to see Japan
+at an oblique angle. Certain other brave words of the Foreign Secretary
+in that year, 1864, in connection with the Danish Duchies, had also had
+their current turned awry and lost the name of action. Japan was but
+an echo. Of course, after the definite energetic policy of the Queen's
+representative in Japan had proved a brilliant success, had involved no
+complications, had, in fact, been the means of temporarily uniting four of
+the treaty Powers, Lord Russell was ready enough to make the _amende_ to
+Sir Rutherford Alcock, though to have cancelled his order of recall would
+have been too frank an admission of error to expect from any statesman.
+In this manner was the career of Sir Rutherford Alcock in Japan brought
+to an abrupt, but highly honourable, conclusion. He received his letter
+of recall while in the act of completing the final convention with the
+Tycoon respecting the affair of the Prince of Choshiu. The announcement
+was heard in Japan almost with consternation. The Tycoon's Ministers were
+particularly grieved about it, and they sent a strongly-worded letter
+to Earl Russell to be laid before the Queen, dwelling on the important
+services the envoy had rendered to their country, and begging that he
+might be sent back to them as soon as the urgent affairs that required
+his presence in England had been settled. The mercantile communities of
+the treaty ports were no less warm in their commendation of the services
+rendered to them and to general commerce by the decided measures adopted
+by the Minister, and in their regret at his departure. "The principal
+triumph of your success," they said in a farewell address, "lies in
+the fact that you have accomplished all this not only without causing a
+collision between her Majesty's Government and that of the Tycoon, but
+by actually strengthening the Government from which you obtained the
+concessions, as well as by acting in such a way as to secure the cordial
+co-operation of the foreign Ministers resident at this port."
+
+Admiral Kuper took so serious a view of the loss of a representative
+of such unrivalled experience and virility, that he took it on himself
+to address to the Minister privately a weighty appeal, on public and
+patriotic grounds, to postpone his departure until at least he had time to
+refer again to the Foreign Office, which on subsequent information must
+certainly take a different view of the action of their Minister. That
+the admiral correctly appreciated the attitude of the Foreign Office is
+sufficiently shown by Lord Russell's despatches already quoted, and by
+that dated January 31, 1865, which concludes, "I shall wish you to return
+at once to Yokohama, to perform in Japan such additional meritorious
+services as may be expected from your tried ability and long experience."
+But Sir Rutherford Alcock did not consider that the episode would have
+left him the prestige necessary for further useful service in Japan, and
+he declined to return to that country.
+
+Sir Rutherford remained at his post long enough to secure the fulfilment
+of the primary objects of the Allied expedition against Choshiu: the
+reopening of trade, which had been practically closed both at Yokohama and
+Nagasaki, and a number of most important improvements in the conditions
+of foreign residence in Yokohama. These comprised a parade-ground and
+racecourse, hospitals, slaughter-houses, filling in of swamp, a clear
+and convenient site for consular buildings, a good carriage-road seven
+miles in circuit, away from the town, and various other extensions of the
+comforts of foreign residents.
+
+The ratification of the treaties, too, by the Mikado was virtually
+arranged. The very day before Sir Rutherford Alcock embarked for England
+he was enabled to report to his Government that the law interdicting
+intercourse and putting all foreigners under the ban of outlawry had
+been modified, and its hostile provisions repealed. This was considered
+tantamount to the Mikado's acknowledgment of the Tycoon's treaties, and
+thus the vice of illegality which had attached to them from their origin
+was at last removed. A year later the Mikado distinctly and in so many
+words approved of the treaties. This, therefore, may fairly be considered
+Sir Rutherford Alcock's last service to his country in Japan. It was
+not, however, till 1868, after the attack on Sir H. Parkes while on his
+way to the palace of the Mikado, that an edict was published, over the
+imperial sign manual, decreeing that the lives of foreigners in Japan were
+thenceforth to be deemed as sacred as the lives of the subjects of the
+empire.
+
+But it would not have been Japan without an assassination to mark the
+close of the Minister's eventful career. Two officers of the British
+garrison, Major Baldwin and Lieutenant Bird, on an excursion on horseback
+to the romantic district of Kamakura, and near the celebrated bronze
+statue of Buddha, were stealthily attacked in broad day by a couple of
+two-sworded men, and mercilessly cut down. One of them lived late into
+the night, spoke, and drank tea, when the assassins, or accomplices
+in the crime, paid another visit to the dying man and, as in the case
+of Richardson, despatched him with ghastly ferocity. The Tycoon might
+truthfully say, "An enemy hath done this"; but the position of the
+Government had been so much strengthened by the collapse of Choshiu that
+the Tycoon's officers were no longer afraid of pursuing the criminals
+and bringing them to justice, especially as they happened to be _ronin_,
+or masterless men. "Twelve similar onslaughts," wrote Sir Rutherford,
+"have been made on foreigners, and in no one instance has justice had its
+due." For "even in the only case where men were executed, the Government
+did not venture in exposing their heads to declare their crime, or admit
+that it was for an attack upon foreigners." The present case was to
+prove an exception to the hitherto unbroken rule. Within a month certain
+accomplices in the crime were brought to punishment in Yokohama, and there
+one of the principals, who was executed in presence of British officers,
+died boasting of his crime and claiming the highest patriotic sanction
+for it.
+
+Sir Rutherford and Lady Alcock took their departure from Yokohama on
+December 24, 1864.
+
+
+VII. THE BIRTH OF NEW JAPAN.
+
+    Four years of civil strife--Cessation of efforts to eject
+    foreigners--The adoption of foreign appliances--Educational
+    missions--Unanimity of Japanese in cultivating foreign
+    intercourse--The merits of those who promoted the movement--Sir R.
+    Alcock's services in the cause of Japanese progress--His services
+    to Japanese art.
+
+"Is this the commencement of a civil war?" wrote the British Minister
+during his first year of residence in Japan. When he left the civil war
+was well advanced. Feverish energy was being displayed by every party
+in the State. There was a race for foreign ships and armaments among
+the Daimios; the Tycoon was involved in a struggle for existence; the
+legitimate sovereign was asserting his authority, and the feudatories were
+rallying to his support. Neither the immediate nor the remote issues were
+clear, but the sword was out of the scabbard, and would not be sheathed
+again until a new order of things should be established.
+
+The civil strife, which ended within four years in the abolition of
+feudalism and the assumption by the Mikado by divine right of all
+administrative functions, may be called revolution, restoration, or merely
+evolution, according to the point of view from which we regard it. The
+hand of the foreigner had loosened the stone from the mountain-side, but
+it rolled down by its own laws. The introduction of foreigners into the
+country brought down vengeance on the Tycoon as the responsible agent.
+To abase him and transfer the sceptre to another house was perhaps as
+far as the views of the hostile princes in the first instance extended.
+The consummation of the movement in the unification of the State, though
+its natural fruit, grew and ripened with a rapidity which bewildered
+the lookers-on. From the moment when the goal was descried a profound
+unanimity of sentiment urged the leaders towards it, the territorial
+magnates being themselves the first to propose the abolition of the
+privileges, titles, and responsibilities of their order, which stood
+in the way of nationality in the larger sense. But wide and manifold as
+were the issues raised in the course of the brief but fierce struggle, it
+concerns us chiefly to remember that the avowed impulse which gave the
+first impetus to the whole was the passionate purpose of expelling the
+foreigner. This was the rallying cry that brought the entire nation into
+line. The presence of the foreigner on the soil sacred to the gods was
+an insult and a deep humiliation. The manifestoes of the Daimios, their
+invective against the Tycoon, the distress of the Mikado and his constant
+imploring appeals for help to purge the land of its defilement, testify
+to the sincerity and universality of the feeling. In that sentiment there
+was no difference between Tycoon and Mikado, the Daimios attached to the
+one and those attached to the other: they were only divided as to the time
+and the means, the risks and the consequences.
+
+From the first the foreigners had evidence of the tenacious character
+of the Japanese: their persistency in face of difficulties and
+discouragements, and, above all, their readiness, not only to risk, but
+deliberately to sacrifice, their lives in the pursuit of an object. Such
+a spirit would render any people formidable,--most formidable when united
+in a common purpose; and their genius for combination is one of their
+most typical characteristics. What these qualities have already led to
+the world has partly seen; what they will hereafter lead to is perhaps as
+much hidden from our generation as the phenomena of the present were from
+the preceding one. But from the earliest days of the new intercourse it
+was hardly possible to misconstrue the seriousness of the Japanese people,
+though their refinement of taste, especially in art, their pleasant
+vices, and their addiction to light and frivolous recreation, often masked
+their more solid qualities. One word may possibly reconcile the seeming
+contradiction. They are an intensely vital people, living every part of
+their lives earnestly, which, however, is no synonym for solemnly. The
+gravest and the gayest have their appointed place in the social system,
+whose parts appear to be co-ordinated as if the whole were a direct
+inspiration of nature itself, elastic, accommodating, ever renewing
+itself, and yet so highly organised that there is no unemployed surplus,
+no waste material, nothing that does not find an effective place in the
+great cosmic product. That many practical men have misjudged the Japanese
+is beyond doubt. Indeed it is the so-called practical men who are the
+most apt to misjudge human phenomena, seeing that their system leaves out
+of account all they do not understand, which is usually a good deal. It
+was long thought that the Japanese were mere copyists and imitators, and
+disparaging epithets have been applied to them under that misapprehension.
+But, rightly considered, their very imitation was the clearest proof of
+their depth. They had been overcome by the foreigner, therefore they
+would help themselves to his weapons--all his weapons, educational,
+scientific, ethical, and not merely the machinery of war. This was not
+imitation, but adaptation and assimilation. It was no more imitation than
+what is seen every day among Americans, for instance, who so successfully
+"exploit" the ideas of Europe, and improve on them. It gradually dawned
+upon the intelligent few who watched the process from the beginning that
+the adaptation of European customs and costume was nothing but a strict
+application of the laws of evolution. The Japanese began spontaneously
+to appropriate ideas from the dress of Europeans; modifications, scarce
+perceptible, were adopted at first by servants. Certain malefactors
+advertised for by the Yedo police as early as 1862 were described as
+wearing "riding trousers and coats of tight foreign fashion." Each article
+of attire was adopted on its merits, for convenience and for no other
+reason, one of the first items being buttons. Strange combinations were
+sometimes seen, such as a billycock hat, or policeman's cast-off coat with
+a few buttons left on, surmounting a pair of bare legs shod with wooden
+clogs. Such bizarre combinations were not uncommon during the time of
+transition. The growing habits of travel necessitated a revolution in the
+coiffure. The ancient custom of shaving part of the head and training the
+truncated queue required a staff of skilled barbers to accompany every
+travelling party. The expense and inconvenience were intolerable, and so
+the old head-dressing had to go the way of obsolete things.
+
+The Japanese deliberately resolved to learn every secret thing that any
+foreign nation possessed. To do this they had to be conciliatory, so as
+to gain access to schools, laboratories, arsenals, factories of every
+kind. Japanese swarmed in the workshops of Europe and America; they took
+military, naval, mercantile, and industrial service wherever they could
+get it.[10] In such pursuits an outlandish costume would have been a
+severe handicap, not merely marking them as strangers, but hampering them
+for the mechanical work they might be engaged in. To be the comrades of
+the foreign workmen they must dress like them, and minimise all personal
+peculiarities. It is often said by those who regret the change that
+the native dress was so becoming, and that the Japanese looked ever so
+much nicer in their own than in foreign garb--which may be true, though
+irrelevant. To look nice was not what they were aiming at. They had to
+join the family of nations, to become men of the world, to comply with
+all civilised observances, and as much as in them lay to avoid attracting
+notice to their nationality. Such a programme necessitated adoption of
+the common costume of the Western nations, and if we do not accuse German,
+French, English, and Americans of being imitators, who for similar reasons
+adopt a uniform society habit, why should the Japanese be imitators when
+doing the very same thing? Let the world not deceive itself,--there is
+something more serious than copying in the development of the Japanese
+nationality. Borrowers they have undoubtedly been, and that on a grand
+scale. Religion, philosophy, language, literature, art, and artistic
+manufacture they took bodily from China, apparently through Korea. But who
+shall say they have not improved upon their teachers? That is a kind of
+borrowing which may yet carry Japan very far. We should not forget that
+even a Shakespeare may be an incorrigible borrower.
+
+From the first appearance of Commodore Perry's "black ships" in 1853
+one idea took complete possession of the Japanese ruling classes, and
+inspired all their manifestoes. How far the common people were in sympathy
+with their rulers there was no evidence available to show. The idea was
+that their nation was weak, and in its seclusion had been outstripped by
+the nations of the West, and that they must make every exertion to arm
+themselves in order to be able to cope with and to expel the barbarians.
+All their temporising with the enemy had this end in view, and they
+followed it up with such zeal, intelligence, and national harmony, as to
+excite both wonder and admiration. In the building up of their nation, and
+giving it a status among the military and industrial Powers, the Japanese
+freely and extensively employed foreigners in all capacities, dispensing
+with their services when done with as naturally as a builder dispenses
+with his temporary scaffolding. They used foreigners from the outset,
+but have never allowed foreigners to use them. They have thus remained
+the masters in their own house, and therein has lain their strength,
+present and prospective. Teaching they have recompensed with coin; and
+though confidences have been received with courtesy, their own plans and
+purposes have been veiled from the most honoured of their tutors. Their
+attitude has remained what it was in the days of the Dutch monopoly,
+when instruction in Western lore, including naval and military science,
+was freely imparted to them, while the uses to which it was applied were
+studiously hidden from the teachers. Though the Dutch, for example, taught
+the Japanese mathematics and triangulation so successfully that the pupils
+were able to make accurate surveys and construct maps of the country and
+charts of its sea-coasts, yet the Dutch were never permitted to see the
+finished result.
+
+In looking back on the work of those foreign Governments and their
+agents who by their interference shook this new nation into life, it is
+obvious that they did not, any of them, know what they were doing. There
+was a divinity shaping their ends which they, with their conventional
+concessions to the modern spirit, had no idea of. If we are to pass
+judgment at all on those men, it must not be by the ulterior consequences
+which they did not and could not foresee, but on the merits of the
+problem which immediately presented itself to them. The demand for free
+intercourse with Japan being shared by all the nations of Christendom
+was bound to be satisfied one day: it was but a question of a favourable
+opportunity. Commodore Perry and the United States Government made their
+opportunity. Townsend Harris had his opportunity made for him, and with
+great adroitness, and not too much scruple, he took advantage of it to
+force the half-open door. Lord Elgin, in his turn, did a smart thing in
+sandwiching in a full treaty with Japan between his earlier and later
+negotiations with China. Each in his degree contributed to the general
+result without any apparent sense of responsibility for unsettling an
+ancient polity of which they were ignorant, and to which they were blind.
+Lord Elgin was indeed visited by the qualms of conscience which were as
+natural to him as they were honourable, but the particular consequences
+of which he had a passing dread were not those which followed. In any
+case, his act was momentary: its results remained to be dealt with by
+those who came after. The heat and burden of the day fell upon those who
+had to "stub the Thurnaby waste" which the cavaliers had gaily cantered
+round,--to reduce theories and compliments to everyday practice. Here was
+not only a labour but a responsibility, not of the attenuated abstract
+order, but one which was apt to knock violently at their door every
+morning and every night. For whatever might be the remote effects, the
+immediate issues were always urgent, and what a conscientious man had to
+do was to shape a daily course among unknown rocks and whirlpools such
+as would eventually lead to a successful ocean voyage. It is surely a
+test of good pilotage in such emergencies that no step need be retraced;
+that to whatever extent temporary exigencies may hasten or retard, they
+should never deflect the general movement from its true direction; that
+the years achievement should be homogeneous with the day's doings. It is
+a test which would eliminate the time-server from political life, but it
+was in all important particulars well responded to in the short career of
+Sir Rutherford Alcock in Japan.
+
+It would be idle to conjecture the probable course of events had a
+different spirit prevailed among the first diplomatic representatives
+in Japan. Had they been a weak and yielding body, or had they been
+connected with the bureaux of their respective Governments by electric
+wire; still more, had each step taken by them formed a bone of contention
+between opposing factions in their legislatures, all alike ignorant of
+the situation, the proceedings of the Ministers would not only have been
+deprived of all initiative, but would have been liable to paralysis at
+every critical moment. Under such conditions foreign policy in Japan
+would have been like driftwood in a whirlpool; the forces of reaction must
+have gained courage; the position of foreigners would have been rendered
+untenable; and what might have happened in the country itself it would,
+as we have said, be quite idle to imagine. In those days no Power would
+have interfered to maintain order or to defend treaties had England held
+aloof. There is no need to carry hypothesis further than this in order
+to appreciate the good fortune not only of Great Britain herself, but of
+Japan and the world, in having as pioneer representative a man so alert,
+so capable, so clear, and with such unshakable nerve as Sir Rutherford
+Alcock; for it is the man on the spot in distant countries who shapes
+the policy of his Government, if it is to have a policy at all, and this
+historic service the first Minister sent to Japan did effectually render
+to his country. Amid difficulties unprecedented, emergencies incessant,
+and an elemental strife ever raging, the terms of which were inscrutable,
+two immutable principles guided the Minister to a clear issue. The first
+was duty, at all costs and hazards; the second, the integrity of the
+treaties. Whatever might be argued about the policy or the ethics of
+making them, once made, retreat from their engagements was impossible
+and compromise futile. Matters had to be pushed to an issue. The whole
+term of Sir Rutherford Alcock's service in Japan was filled up with
+a warfare against the temptation to temporise in the hope that things
+would be better,--a temptation to which, as we have seen, her Majesty's
+Government for a time succumbed. In perplexing situations the best solvent
+is simplicity, and the Minister found his safety in directness of aim and
+inflexibility of purpose. Standing on that rock, the mystifications with
+which he was surrounded lost their power to disturb him. "Fortunately,"
+he wrote to Earl Russell, "whether the Tycoon was playing a comedy or
+not, the course plainly indicated is the same, the assertion of a fixed
+determination not to be driven out, and to maintain the rights secured
+under treaties, by force, if all other means fail."
+
+To the man who perceived and successfully carried out this simple rule of
+action his countrymen owe no common debt.
+
+As it is proverbially the busiest people who have the most leisure, the
+British Minister found time in the midst of his harassing labours to
+employ his æsthetic gifts for the benefit of the public. It fell to his
+lot, as the reader may remember, while consul in Shanghai, to contribute
+samples of the art, industry, and natural products of China to the
+Great Exhibition of 1851, neither the native Government nor the foreign
+mercantile community being sufficiently interested to assist in the
+work. A similar service was asked of him in Japan for the Exhibition of
+1862, and it was performed under similar conditions, neither the native
+Government nor the foreign residents taking any part in it. The task
+had a special fascination for Sir Rutherford, for Japanese art was a new
+and rich field for the student as for the dilettante. The Japanese had
+originally borrowed their whole art, with their literature and religion,
+from China, but they had improved or at least transformed it so much as
+to make it their own, though it is contended that in ceramics they had
+never succeeded in overtaking the Chinese. For five hundred years they
+had worked on the Chinese idea; but at last in the eleventh century A.D.
+native schools sprang up, and thenceforth Japanese artists followed their
+own inspiration, which was that of nature, producing, in the fulness of
+time, the exquisite results with which the world is now so familiar.
+The introduction of this Japanese work to the connoisseurs of Europe
+through the London Exhibition of 1862 was effected through the personal
+exertions of Sir Rutherford Alcock, who added immensely to the obligations
+under which he laid his countrymen by the publication in 1878 of a short
+but comprehensive work on 'Art and Art Industries of Japan.' Like the
+collecting of objects for the Exhibition, the writing of this book was
+evidently a labour of love. It reviews with a sympathy which almost
+rises to enthusiasm not only the finished product, but the stages of the
+evolution of Japanese art, having its origin in a loving fellowship with
+nature and in a special affinity with what may be called its humorous
+side. The genius of Japan has taken a different form from that of the
+West, where "the great works of the sculptor and the painter are seen by
+but few," whereas the art work of Japan, "which is always in sight, tends
+to cultivate the taste of the million by bringing constantly before their
+eyes objects of taste, not less effective because they are unconsciously
+felt and enjoyed." It is art pressed into the service of the life of the
+people "which can give a priceless value to the commonest and least costly
+material by the mere impress of genius and taste, ... which is the most
+precious, tested by any true estimate of value and utility." The volume
+is well worth perusal by those who are interested in art, not only for
+its philosophical yet simple analysis of the subject generally, but for
+the instructive way in which universal principles are adapted to the
+popularised art of Japan. To read this book, one would imagine the writer
+had devoted the whole of the three years and a half he spent in Japan to
+the cultivation of the industrial fine arts.
+
+The Japanese language, too, attracted the interest of the busy Minister,
+who during his stay in Yedo brought out a grammar and phrase-book in
+Japanese and English. They have, as a matter of course, been superseded by
+the more recondite studies of later students; but as a first step towards
+familiarising the language to visitors and strangers these introductory
+works cannot be denied their meed of merit.
+
+
+VIII. THE DIPLOMATIC BODY--TSUSHIMA.
+
+    Four Western Powers represented in Tokio--Russia only in
+    Hakodate by consul--And naval officers--Cordial Anglo-French
+    relations--Temptations to intrigue--Secret communications to
+    Japanese--Representatives of the Powers arousing suspicions
+    of each other's designs--Letters cited--The Tsushima
+    incident--Admiral Sir James Hope obtains its evacuation by
+    Russians.
+
+During the first few years there were four representatives of the
+Western Powers resident in or near the Tycoon's capital: they were the
+Ministers of Great Britain, the United States, France, and Holland.
+Russia had accredited no Minister, but intrusted her interests to the
+very capable hands of M. Goskavitch, consul at Hakodate, the treaty port
+in the northern island of the Japanese group. What was no doubt deemed
+of at least equal importance, she maintained a powerful squadron on the
+western coast of Japan, whose actual strength was magnified to the view
+by their incessant activity, which had the character of a continuous
+demonstration on the coast both of China and Japan; and the principle of
+direct action by naval officers without the medium of diplomacy, at the
+ports of Nagasaki and Hakodate, was so different from that of any other
+Power, that the Daimios declared to the Tycoon that any of the foreigners
+could be safely insulted except the Russians. Their manoeuvres in force
+round Hongkong, meaningless to the ordinary professional or political
+eye, played probably a corroborative part in the impressions they were
+making on the rulers of the neighbouring countries. Prussia had not yet
+come effectually on the scene when the decisive operations against the two
+great Daimios, which really determined the future course of events, were
+undertaken.
+
+The relations of the resident foreign Ministers among themselves
+were marked by substantial harmony, in some instances rising to great
+cordiality. The foreign diplomatic body thus presented a united front to
+the forces, open or covert, that were opposed to them. Such differences of
+opinion as arose in the course of business either were not of a nature, or
+were not allowed, to interfere with the pursuit of the national interests
+of each, which were inextricably bound up in the common interests of all.
+United, the influence of the Powers was practically irresistible; divided,
+they would have fallen an easy prey to the devices of what, for want of
+another term, must be spoken of as the common enemy, Japan. It is not
+pleasant to think of Japan in this way, since she was on her defence in
+a position forced upon her; yet overruling circumstances had, in fact,
+placed the parties in temporary antagonism--the world against Japan.
+
+The key to the success of European diplomacy of the earlier period was
+without doubt the Anglo-French alliance, which had culminated in the
+coercion of imperial China, and was spending its ebbing strength in
+suppressing the great Taiping insurrection against that empire. Being
+possessed of mobile forces within call, the two Powers were always in a
+position to act when circumstances called for action, and they had become
+accustomed to co-operation. Hence the potency of their united counsels.
+
+The Minister of France as well as the admiral on the station had the
+instructions of the Imperial Government to support England in her Far
+Eastern policy,--"for," said the calculating Emperor Napoleon III.,
+"though our interests in that part of the world are trivial, we may find
+our account in the friendship of England in quarters where our interests
+are vital." That the Ministers of the two countries, therefore, should be
+on terms of official intimacy and mutual confidence was only natural, and
+it was a tower of strength to them both. But we gather from the despatches
+that personal respect and attachment went hand in hand with the official
+_liaison_; and whether it was Sir Rutherford Alcock or Colonel Neale on
+the one side, or M. Duchesne de Bellecourt or Leon Roche on the other,
+their expressions towards their colleagues were always of the warmest.
+So completely confidential were their relations, that when something was
+insinuated by third parties which, if credited, would have necessitated
+explanations between the two, it was simply dismissed as unworthy of
+consideration. There were not wanting those who would have regarded with
+equanimity a little more coldness between the Allied colleagues.
+
+For, notwithstanding their good fraternal relations, it cannot be said
+that the foreign officials in Japan were uniformly successful in resisting
+the besetting sin of diplomacy, the common temptation to intrigue. In
+certain cases it was resorted to as the natural means of advancing the
+solid interests of a particular country; in other cases, where no national
+interest could be served by it, it would appear that intrigue was its own
+allurement, followed for the mere pleasure of the game. The political
+situation in Japan was sufficiently complicated to afford occasion for
+both these motives of action. The unstable Government of the country,
+oppressed by conflicting obligations and consciously struggling for
+existence, offered an ideal theatre for volunteer experimentation by those
+on whom no ulterior responsibility rested.
+
+Be that as it may, however, secret communications did pass between certain
+foreign officials and the Japanese Government of a kind which betrayed the
+design of undermining the interests of other Powers and frustrating their
+policy, presumably for the benefit of those whose zeal in the cause of
+international honour impelled them to adopt the _rôle_ of international
+informers. It need hardly be said that Great Britain was a principal
+object of these occult practices; neither need it be denied that she
+suffered from their effects in the estimation of the Japanese Government,
+which was naturally credulous of any disparagement of the Powers it
+dreaded so much. In the incandescent condition of the intercourse of those
+earlier years, had any of the foreign agents spoken well of his neighbours
+he would have obtained no hearing for his praise; but given vilification
+for its motive, the representation would find its way straight to the
+Japanese heart, since nothing could be too vile to be believed of the
+intentions of any of the foreign nations. The spy system was congenial
+to the Japanese, woven into their whole administration; while as regards
+foreigners, they had had ample experience centuries before of the lengths
+Christian nations would go in traducing each other for the sake of gaining
+a little favour of the rulers of Japan. It was entirely in keeping with
+their medieval experiences that these dastardly barbarians should now
+be ready to stab each other in the back. Whatever reception, therefore,
+on other grounds, might be accorded to gratuitous information conveyed
+through prejudiced channels, no surprise was occasioned by it, and as
+little doubt of its truth, so long as its burden was evil. This much has
+to be borne in mind as a tribute to the intelligence of the writers of
+letters such as the following, addressed to the Gorogiu, or Bureau of
+Foreign Affairs, and conveyed to them with ostentatious secrecy. In 1860
+one Government agent wrote--
+
+    Last year towards the middle of the second month the English
+    created great difficulties in China in consequence of the war
+    they waged by sea and land. They had violated the treaties in
+    a shameful manner, and as this excited the indignation of the
+    Chinese they attacked the English on the river, and captured three
+    men-of-war. Feeling herself humbled by this defeat, England swore
+    revenge. She uttered the most unjust menaces against China, and
+    at the very moment the Chinese commenced their conferences upon
+    this subject four or five months ago the English suddenly ordered
+    forty-seven men-of-war from London. These vessels are at present
+    at Chusan, and await the signal for action. Within two or three
+    months the men-of-war will leave for the north. The merchant
+    vessel Dayspring brought us all this news on the 12th instant.
+
+    On speaking about this important news to Mr ----, the British
+    Consul residing here, he gave me the following information in a
+    strictly private manner.
+
+    "At last," said Mr ----, "the war with China is decided upon.
+    We have for a long time been searching for a good harbour where
+    we shall be able to put the sick and wounded. We have chosen
+    Tsushima, where we intend to send the sick and wounded, and as
+    soon as the war has commenced we have resolved to take possession
+    of that island."
+
+    Mr ---- communicated this to me as a great secret, and I now give
+    you this information in a strictly private manner.
+
+    You will perceive that this is a question of the utmost
+    importance, and you must take it into serious consideration
+    without delay, and with the utmost attention.
+
+    Four years ago the English, who had for a long time coveted
+    an excellent little island called Perim, took possession of
+    it, informing the Turkish Government that they only wished to
+    place their invalids on that island, and this false pretext was
+    matter for serious discussion. The Turks were perfectly aware of
+    the deceitful conduct of the English. They did not ignore that
+    fourteen or fifteen years before, while fighting with the Chinese,
+    the English had stolen Hongkong under the same pretences.... But
+    while they were deliberating the English sent their invalids to
+    Perim, and immediately built forts and stole this island in the
+    most disgraceful manner.
+
+    As the English are wonderful impostors, it is your duty not only
+    to take care of Tsushima, but also of the smallest island in your
+    empire: this must be done with the utmost watchfulness.
+
+    I inform you of this danger in the most private and secret manner.
+
+And a year or two later, when the intercourse between the British Minister
+and the Tycoon was charged with contentious, almost with explosive,
+matter, missives were passed in from philanthropic onlookers of a tenor
+which excited no surprise, but a good deal of genuine exultation, in the
+minds of the Japanese Ministers. It was well known some time before that
+it had been sought to prevent a settlement of outstanding difficulties
+between the two countries by the assurance volunteered to the Tycoon's
+Government that Great Britain was quite unable to make war on Japan,
+and the following letter is only one of a series of such international
+amenities which shunned the light of day:--
+
+    Japan was opened by us, ... and after we had settled down here
+    the other Powers made their appearance. The intentions of ...
+    in opening this country to foreign intercourse was to increase
+    the welfare and prosperity of its inhabitants. While we were
+    doing our utmost for this nation some English men-of-war suddenly
+    appeared here to demand indemnities for a murder which, although
+    unjustifiable, was not a _casus belli_. As long as the ambitious,
+    warlike, and quarrelsome Englishmen are here, the object we have
+    in view cannot be obtained. They must, therefore, be driven out
+    of this country. You cannot consent to their demands. Do not
+    fear the English; there are other nations in Japan, and if you
+    require assistance you may rest assured we shall give you moral
+    and material support.
+
+But in vain was the snare set by these fowlers in the sight of the bird.
+The notion of setting a thief to catch a thief was not uncongenial to
+Japanese habits of thought, but a generous offer of armed assistance
+against a foreign Power savoured too much of the wooden horse even for
+such inexperienced internationalists as the New Japan. Having expressed
+their appreciation--had it been the Chinese Government it would have taken
+the form of praise for their loyal obedience--the Government intimated
+that they would exhaust their own resources before putting these friendly
+foreign Powers to the trouble of intervening on their behalf. The Japanese
+have always been wary about accepting help unasked for. The United States
+frigate Niagara, which brought back the envoys in 1860, brought also a
+staff of artillery officers whose services were tendered to the Tycoon,
+but declined. And it was said the American officers were rather astonished
+by the proofs afforded them in Yedo of the efficiency of armament and
+proficiency of the gunners which Japan was already able to show.
+
+One of the vigilant observers of political portents about that time became
+convinced that the French had designs upon Tsushima, a belief which was
+no doubt in some way also communicated to the Japanese Government; but
+by that time--1863--it was too late for any Power to flirt with that
+"excellent little island," for since the first warning given the Japanese
+in 1860, above cited, the island had been made the subject of definitive
+arrangements. The incident itself, though of brief duration and leaving
+no visible trail behind it, nevertheless deserves to be remembered as a
+landmark of history.
+
+When Count Mouravieff was in Yedo in 1859, he took the trouble to warn
+the Tycoon's Government that the English harboured aggressive designs
+against the island of Tsushima, which is a long double or "twin" island,
+possessing wonderful harbours, and situated midway between the main
+island of Japan and the southern coast of Korea. On March 13, 1861, the
+Russians landed from the corvette Possadnik in Tsushima, and saying their
+ship wanted repairs, began to build houses on shore. Captain Birileff had
+forced the Prince of Tsushima to receive him at his capital, which created
+an intense feeling of indignation, especially in the ranks of the nobles,
+who each saw himself exposed to similar intrusions. The Daimio repeatedly
+requested the Russians to leave, but was always told the ship required
+further repairs. In consequence of reports from his own officers and the
+Japanese Government, Vice-Admiral Sir James Hope looked in at Tsushima
+himself in the month of August, and observing what was going on there,
+he addressed a letter to Captain Birileff, of which the substance was as
+follows: The prolonged stay of his Imperial Majesty's corvette Possadnik,
+the erection of buildings, &c., having created alarm in Yedo, the admiral
+had the intention to communicate on the subject as early as possible
+with Commodore Likatchoff. Would Captain Birileff meantime facilitate
+this correspondence by replying to the questions--(1) Should the Japanese
+Government appeal to the treaty, which conveys no right either to create
+establishments ashore, to survey the Japanese coast without Government
+sanction, or even to enter a non-treaty port except in case of necessity,
+would Captain Birileff's orders admit of his leaving Tsushima immediately
+on the request of the Japanese authorities? (2) Was it Captain Birileff's
+intention to leave Tsushima in October as previously stated to Commander
+Ward, leaving the buildings to whomsoever wanted them?... (3) Had the
+captain orders to create a permanent establishment there?
+
+The reply of Captain Birileff was to the effect that the officers of his
+Imperial Majesty were accountable only to their own chiefs; ... that he
+was quite astonished to hear of the alarms in Yedo, seeing that only two
+months before the Prince of Bungo had been sent to Tsushima expressly
+from Yedo to grant permission to the corvette to remain there; that the
+same prince gave him the opportunity of visiting the Prince of Tsushima,
+who was instructed to supply workmen and all that might be necessary
+for the construction of the buildings in question; that if the Japanese
+Government were annoyed by the surveying operations, they should address
+their complaint to the Russian diplomatic agent; that he had no orders
+for the occupation of the island, and the nature of the buildings which
+the admiral had done him the honour to visit would not show any such
+intention; and finally, that when he spoke of leaving in October it had
+referred only to himself personally. So far Captain Birileff.
+
+It was no "Prince of Bungo," but a Governor of Foreign Affairs named
+Bungo, who had been despatched in haste from the capital to endeavour by
+any means to induce the Russians to leave Tsushima, and was, for his want
+of success, disgraced.
+
+Sir James Hope forthwith proceeded in search of Commodore Likatchoff to
+Olga Bay, whence he addressed to him a letter dated September 5, pointing
+out the irregularity of the proceedings at Tsushima, the bad effect they
+were having on the relations of foreigners generally in Yedo, and that he
+could not recognise any establishment on Japanese territory not sanctioned
+by treaty--which resolutions he would make known to the authorities
+concerned.
+
+To this the Russian commodore courteously replied from Hakodate, September
+23, excusing himself from entering on any international questions, and
+pointing out that in their hydrographical labours the Russians were only
+following the excellent example set them by the British surveying officers
+whom they met on their respective missions, and that no complaint had ever
+been made by the Japanese Government. As for the "absurd rumours" alluded
+to, the Possadnik had already received orders for another destination,
+before receipt of the admiral's letters, and nothing consequently need be
+said to calm the doubts and alarms, "si même elles auraient véritablement
+raison d'exister."
+
+Admiral Hope acknowledged this letter, "with much satisfaction," from
+Chefoo, October 22, and remarked that, so far as the surveying operations
+of the ships in his squadron were concerned, they were carried out with
+the full consent of the Japanese Government, at whose special request
+Japanese officers and interpreters were accommodated on board during
+the whole of the cruise. He added that it was not so much the surveying
+operations of the Possadnik as the preparation for a permanent settlement
+on shore that disquieted the Japanese Government; and, moreover, that
+the Japanese Ministers had distinctly stated that the matter had been
+the subject of remonstrance to the commodore, through M. Goskavitch,
+the consul at Hakodate, and to Captain Birileff by an officer specially
+deputed for the purpose (Bungo).
+
+The question extended itself to St Petersburg, where Prince Gortchakoff
+had remarked to Lord Napier, then British ambassador, on the tone of
+Admiral Hope's letter to Commodore Likatchoff, which, he said, but for
+the conciliatory disposition of the latter, might have led to serious
+misunderstanding. Lord Napier, in reply, observed that "Admiral Hope was
+a man of a frank, downright, energetic character, who used the language
+natural to him without any intention of giving offence."
+
+As the Russians had abandoned the island, Prince Gortchakoff called
+on Lord Napier to declare that the English would never take possession
+of Tsushima, whereupon the ambassador reminded his Excellency that the
+English had "offered to sign a treaty binding ourselves and the other
+Powers having engagements with Japan to make no acquisitions in those
+seas." "I think," concludes the ambassador in his letter to the Foreign
+Office, "that Admiral Hope will do well to assure himself that the
+buildings have really been evacuated." This precaution had already been
+taken, and the admiral reported on November 10 that the Russians had
+evacuated on September 29.
+
+There the incident ended, but not its historical significance.
+
+
+IX. TRADE AND TRADERS.
+
+    Commerce increases in spite of adverse political
+    situations--And of efforts of Japanese government to repress
+    it--The _personnel_ of the mercantile community--British
+    predominance--Relations of merchants to Ministers--Interests
+    and duties not always identical--Sumptuary laws--Discharges of
+    firearms forbidden--Seizure of Mr Moss--Wounding of a Japanese
+    policeman--Trial and sentence of Mr Moss--His liberation in
+    Hongkong--Sues the Minister and obtains damages--Legal supremacy
+    at Hongkong--Defects of the consular jurisdiction--The recreation
+    of shooting.
+
+These fierce struggles, the sudden arousing to intensity of dormant
+passions, the dislocation of the whole structure of Japanese polity,
+represented to the foreign nations merely the risks and sacrifices
+incidental to the expansion of their commerce. In order to compel the
+Government to permit the people to exchange the products of their soil for
+the merchandise of the strangers within their gates, the labour, anxiety,
+and expense which we have only faintly indicated were voluntarily incurred
+by the Western treaty Powers, and by them in turn forced on the reluctant
+rulers of Japan. An _a priori_ judgment of the probable effect of the
+sanguinary conditions into which official intercourse had been thrown
+would probably have concluded that peaceful commerce could not under such
+circumstances exist. The restrictions resulting from an ill-regulated
+currency, and from the direct interference of the Government, might have
+been deemed sufficient of themselves to check the development of trade.
+When to these inimical influences were superadded the further facts that
+the foreign traders went in peril of their lives, that the communities
+of Nagasaki and Yokohama were at different times in such danger that
+provisional arrangements were made for conveying them, bag and baggage, on
+board ship, a condition of things less favourable to international traffic
+could scarcely be conceived. Yet these difficulties, and a score of others
+which could be enumerated, served only to bring into clear recognition
+the inherent vitality of commerce, which, like running water, finds its
+way through or round almost any obstacle. There were, on the other hand,
+circumstances favourable to trade. In Japan, as has been already hinted,
+the traders of the country had neither part nor lot in the strife that
+raged above and around them, and for the most part they could pursue their
+peaceful avocations without fear or hindrance. So the quality of commerce
+was not strained; but, shedding its benefits on buyer and seller alike,
+it grew from small beginnings till it attained to a volume of world-wide
+importance, accumulating momentum as it progressed.
+
+The total amount of foreign trade was a little over one million sterling
+per annum for the first three years of the open ports. In the fourth year,
+1863, the development of Japanese produce, especially the more precious
+commodities, silk and the eggs of the silkworm, began to tell on the gross
+values, and the exports for that year amounted to two and a half millions
+sterling, the imports of foreign goods being £811,000. The year 1864,
+notwithstanding its crowded events of anti-commercial character, witnessed
+a notable advance in the value of foreign trade, which in that year
+doubled itself. The same thing occurred again in 1865, when the figures
+reached a total of eight millions sterling, being double the returns for
+1864.
+
+Thus the foreign trade of Japan had fairly established itself as "a going
+concern," advancing in war and peace, but with great fluctuations and many
+vicissitudes to those engaged in it. From the purely commercial standpoint
+the result justified the anticipations of the Powers who opened Japan to
+the world. The event proved that when the materials of trade exist there
+trade is sure to follow on the removal of obstructions. And the materials
+of trade are not wanting wherever there is a population that wears clothes
+and builds houses.[11]
+
+It is obvious to remark that had it been in the power of the Japanese
+Government to place an effective interdict on foreign commerce at its
+sources within their own jurisdiction, and beyond the reach of treaty
+obligations, it would have been the surest means of causing the withdrawal
+of foreigners from the country. That the Government had the will to do so
+was shown by their repeated partial attempts at preventing produce from
+reaching the open ports, and even inducing a temporary exodus therefrom
+of the native population. Why their measures of repression were not more
+thorough may be conjectured to have been connected with the circumstance
+that the advantages of the foreign trade soon began to be felt in quarters
+with which it was not convenient for the Tycoon to inter-meddle.
+
+As in China, so in Japan, the relations of the merchants to their
+official representatives exercised a certain influence on events. The
+trade was carried on at first by a very small number of people. In 1861
+there were not 200 foreign residents in all the ports of Japan, the
+British nationality predominating in Yokohama, the Dutch at Nagasaki.
+The British residents in the former port seem to have numbered about
+fifty. It was a small body to carry the burden of inaugurating commercial
+intercourse with an empire of thirty millions of people. Nor was it
+individually a community of any particular weight, being mostly composed
+of young men, not themselves principals, but, in the beginning at least,
+a considerable number of them occupying the position of delegates of
+mercantile houses in China. It was their representative character which
+lent importance to the foreign merchants in Japan. They represented,
+first of all, the establishments of which they were subordinates or
+offshoots; they represented their respective nations; and they, in
+a larger sense, represented the commercial creed of Christendom. The
+present sketch would be wanting in symmetry if no account were taken
+of the relationship of these handfuls of traders to their own national
+authorities, both being engaged in the struggle for the development and
+security of commerce under the trying conditions of the time and country.
+But of course any such inquiry practically limits itself to those of
+British nationality, for two reasons: British trade and British diplomacy
+were pre-eminently representative of all others by the preponderance of
+the interests involved; in addition to which, the strong individuality
+and matured experience of the first British envoy were such that his
+colleagues tacitly assigned to him the leading _rôle_, so that his was the
+personality which exerted the dominant influence in shaping events from
+the opening of the ports.
+
+The tendency to divergence of view between the merchants and their
+official representatives has already been remarked upon in connection with
+affairs in China: it was most pronounced in times of difficulty such as
+were chronic for more than twenty years in Canton, where it was so acute
+at one time that English Chambers of Commerce made formal complaint to the
+Foreign Office that its representative in China--Sir John Davis--refused
+to see the merchants in Canton, who desired to present their views to him
+in time of danger. The antagonism was natural: it is generically the same
+that one hears constantly in this country in the form of complaints and
+criticisms of Government, Government servants, and generally of all in
+authority--with, however, this difference, that in the many-sided life of
+a large society there are buffers between the critics and the criticised.
+They do not meet face to face unless it be in such circumstances as on
+the floor of "the House" with "a substantial piece of furniture" between;
+whereas in nascent communities composed of a few scores of individuals,
+where there is no tempering medium, where the parties are never out
+of each other's sight, differences are apt to become accentuated like
+village scandals. Nothing escapes censure; the smallest indiscretions
+have a magnifying lens constantly applied to them, and a sinister colour
+is given to innocent trifles. Interests are not diversified, shaded
+off, or balanced as in adult nations, but are narrow, concentrated, and
+highly sensitive. Between Minister and merchants there was of course a
+general identity of interest. They had a common test to apply to all
+their proceedings and aspirations, the furtherance of commerce. The
+official would, perhaps, add the qualifying adjective "legitimate," in the
+interpretation of which differences of opinion might arise; and he would
+naturally give a wider scope to the commercial idea than those actually
+engaged in trade could or ought to do.
+
+The Minister represents the interests of Great Britain as a whole; the
+merchants represent trade generally, but each of them his own interests
+particularly, and these various interests cannot always coincide. An
+Englishman would naturally give a preference to the manufactures of his
+own country, but as a merchant he has to study the requirements of the
+country in which he trades, and if he cannot supply them at all, or so
+well, by articles manufactured in his own country, he is obliged to seek
+them elsewhere. Officials are apt to look askance on this as not fostering
+the trade of Great Britain; and while recognising the necessity, the fact
+does not warm their sympathy for the merchants of their own country. There
+are times also when, from the international point of view, the general
+interests of the country may override the special interests of the small
+British community in Japan. If policy requires intimate relations between
+the Governments, the tendency must inevitably be for the British Minister
+to minimise the just causes of complaint of his countrymen in order to
+avoid irritation. But the sufferers can hardly be expected to appreciate
+sacrifices so forced on them; and so from one cause and another there will
+never be wanting grounds of dissatisfaction, and possibly estrangement.
+
+But the ultimate object being definitely agreed upon between the two
+parties, there would still remain room for variance in the means,
+questions of tactics, of the nearer or the further view, of the present
+generation and the next, and so on _ad infinitum_. Where there was a
+third party influencing and opposing legitimate commerce by direct or
+indirect means, as the Government of China or Japan, whose machinations
+called for strong measures of resistance, the occasions of impatience and
+dissatisfaction would be frequent, and friction between the representative
+and his constituents would naturally result. But perhaps the most
+antagonistic of all to harmony was the fact already pointed out, that in
+extra-territorialised countries like China and Japan the representatives
+of the treaty Powers were necessarily intrusted with exceptional authority
+over the persons of their nationals--for they had to assume the functions
+denied to the native Governments, of giving the law to the settlers and
+punishing evil-doers. What an invidious and onerous position this entailed
+on British officials will presently be shown. Yet it was a temporary
+necessity, for which nobody was blamable.
+
+In treating of the period of the consulship in Shanghai, a certain
+distance or aloofness between Consul Alcock and the community of his
+nationals was remarked upon, due to difference of age, taste, culture, or
+temperament. This characteristic was rather accentuated than otherwise
+by the local circumstances of Japan. The Minister was ten years older,
+while the community was about as much younger than in Shanghai, so
+that the disparity of age was increased. The mere conditions of life
+also placed a material gulf between the diplomatic representatives in
+Yedo and the lay residents of Yokohama. The capital city being closed
+to all but the diplomatic body, visitors not only required a pass from
+one of the Ministers, but, in the absence of available accommodation,
+strangers had to rely on the hospitality of the foreign Legations. The
+curiosity to see Yedo, which in the early days so attracted tourists
+and travellers, threw a heavy and most unfair burden of entertainment on
+the Ministers, the principal victim of these birds of passage being of
+course the representative of Great Britain. So long, therefore, as the
+Legations remained in Yedo the barrier was effectual against personal
+intercourse between the Ministers and the permanent residents in Yokohama,
+even had mutual affinity been stronger than it was. Like most things,
+this local separation between the communities and their representative
+had its advantages and disadvantages. While on the one hand it was not
+conducive to intimacy, on the other the risk of personal friction was
+eliminated by it. Nor was direct intercourse at all necessary in the
+conduct of business, seeing the regular official medium of communication
+was the local consuls, who had nothing of the Olympian about them, and
+were felt by the residents to be men of like passions with themselves,
+with easy manners, the spirit of good fellowship, and imbued with the
+characteristic sporting proclivities of Englishmen at home and abroad,
+always an effective bond of sympathy.
+
+The relations of Sir Rutherford Alcock with the mercantile community
+had not been very happily inaugurated, for he clearly felt officially
+aggrieved by their settling in Yokohama, instead of waiting till
+accommodation could be found for them in Kanagawa; so much so, indeed,
+that he seemed almost to deplore the absence of means of coercing them
+into obedience to his will.
+
+While the sore as to the location of the settlement was still somewhat
+raw, the Minister found yet another grievance against the merchants
+in the fabulous demands for Japanese coins which a few of them had put
+forward, by way of burlesquing the system of distribution by the native
+authorities. The severity with which this schoolboyish escapade was
+pilloried, and the community of Yokohama held up to the opprobrium of
+the world, was felt by them as going beyond what the merits of the case
+warranted, and the incident did not tend to mollify acerbities on either
+side.
+
+A year later evidence of a certain widening of the breach became more
+conspicuous in the course of a rather exceptional lawsuit, in which a
+merchant was heavily mulcted for an offence of which the general opinion
+was that he was not guilty. A certain Mr Moss was arrested, cruelly
+maltreated, and hidden from his official protector, the consul, by a posse
+of Japanese police, for having shot game in the vicinity of Kanagawa.
+When faced by these armed men, Mr Moss cocked his gun and threatened
+any one who should approach to lay hands on him. The party was numerous
+enough to surround and wrest the gun from him, which somehow went off,
+wounding one of the men badly in the arm. The Minister ordered the consul
+to prosecute Mr Moss for murder, in the Queen's name, the consul himself
+being judge, sitting with two assessors. The accused was sentenced to pay
+a fine of 1000 dollars (£225) and to be deported from Japan. The assessors
+dissented, on the ground that the Japanese evidence was falsified to
+order, and that the prisoner was in their opinion innocent of the charge
+on which he was tried. In consequence of this dissent the judgment had
+to be referred to the Minister, who added to the consul's sentence three
+months' imprisonment in Hongkong, whither the culprit was conveyed in a
+British ship of war. After a week's incarceration in the Hongkong jail the
+warrant for imprisonment was found defective, and Mr Moss was released.
+He was then advised to bring an action against Sir Rutherford Alcock in
+the Supreme Court at Hongkong, which occupied twelve months, and ended
+in a jury awarding damages against the Minister for false imprisonment,
+that being the only part of the sentence which could be brought within
+the jurisdiction of the Hongkong court. As regards the original sentence
+of fine and deportation, the Foreign Office, by advice of their law
+officers, had long before quashed the conviction and ordered the fine to
+be remitted.
+
+A parallel case had occurred in Canton in 1846. Sir John Davis instructed
+the consul there to levy a fine on a British subject for an alleged
+offence. Whether just or not, it was illegal, and on appeal to the Supreme
+Court in Hongkong, of which colony Sir John Davis himself was governor,
+the judgment of the consul was reversed, and the fine of 200 dollars
+refunded. Even Sir Frederick Bruce, with all his circumspection, did
+not escape falling into the same error with regard to the division of
+legal authority between himself and the Supreme Court. "From a careful
+perusal of ... her Majesty's Order in Council," he writes, "the chief
+superintendent of trade [himself] in cases arising under this section is
+the Supreme Court in China: it is for him to prescribe to the consul the
+course he is to pursue, and the Supreme Court at Hongkong cannot interfere
+in such matters." Her Majesty's Government, however, replied: "You fall
+into an error by confounding two distinct questions.... You are mistaken
+in treating the question which you have referred to them for decision as
+depending upon the 4th and following articles of the Order in Council,"
+and so on. So that had it fallen to his lot to give a decision involving
+a penalty, he would have been sued not before himself, but before the
+Supreme Court at Hongkong, and would have sustained the same reverse as
+Sir Rutherford Alcock had done.
+
+These bald facts of the case supplied a striking illustration of the vices
+of the consular court system, which was in vogue in China for twenty years
+until the establishment of the Supreme Court for China and Japan in 1865.
+Consuls were called upon to exercise judicial functions, and Ministers
+those of Courts of Appeal, without the slightest preparatory training,
+and as often as not without natural aptitude. In criminal cases they were
+at once prosecutors and judges, it might even be executioners as well.
+The state of conflict in which they lived with the native authorities, of
+whom they were accustomed to demand in vain the punishment of malefactors,
+placed British officers under continual temptation to prove how promptly
+they could bring to justice their own nationals accused of offences
+against the natives. This idea of giving object-lessons to Chinese and
+Japanese pervades the consular and diplomatic records. English officials
+seem to have been oppressed with the reflection of what the natives would
+think of the failure of justice in any particular case, and they were
+ever apprehensive of political dangers or embarrassments as contingent on
+misunderstood lenity to "white men"--natural and proper feelings on the
+part of mere political agents, but quite foreign to the administration
+of justice according to the rules and maxims of civilised nations. It
+seems not unlikely that the obvious lessons of the Moss case itself as
+to the incompatibility of judicial and administrative functions, and the
+unfair responsibility which their combination threw upon the consular
+and diplomatic officers, hastened the realisation of the scheme of an
+independent judiciary which was so strongly advocated by Sir Rutherford
+Alcock in 'The Capital of the Tycoon.'
+
+These various incidents, and sundry vexatious restrictions imposed on them
+from time to time for their own security, no doubt disposed the residents
+to look askance at many acts of the Minister, the reasons for which failed
+to impress them. But though the surface of the relations between the
+Minister and the merchants was thus perturbed, and regrettable, in the
+common interest, as the lukewarmness of personal sympathy may have been,
+the residents never failed in their respect for the high and sterling
+qualities of the Minister, and the courageous manner in which he fought
+for his country's interests. It only needed an emergency to give definite
+expression to this feeling, and no testimony could be stronger, more
+genuine, or less conventional than the farewell addresses in which the
+merchants of Yokohama and Nagasaki summed up the brilliant record of a
+man of whom they never ceased to feel proud. Instead of detracting from
+the value of such spontaneous testimony, the minor differences only lent
+emphasis to it, and set the seal of deep conviction on what in an ordinary
+case might have passed as the language of mere compliment.
+
+As shooting has been alluded to as an occasion of trouble, a word or two
+on the subject of this amusement may have an interest for certain readers.
+To the Japanese the pursuit of game seemed to be as strange a form of
+sport as the other vagaries of the foreigner. Firearms were not in use
+with them, cold steel being the regulation weapon of offence. There was a
+tradition that the discharge of firearms within twenty-five miles of the
+Tycoon's palace was prohibited by law,--what law or how promulgated was
+never clearly made out, though the motive was intelligible enough. For
+whatever reason, such game as there was in the country had evidently not
+been disturbed; the pheasants were not wilder than the English stall-fed
+variety. Small shooting-parties were in the habit of going out for a day,
+or half a day, from Yokohama and Kanagawa with dogs and native beaters
+among the coppices where the birds lay. The country itself was so charming
+to walk or ride over, the peasant-folk were so polite and merry, that
+heavy bags were not needed to attract sportsmen. Still, a good shot with
+industry and a shrewd acquaintance with the habits of the game could
+often get several brace of the splendid green pheasant of the country
+(_Phasianus versicolor_) in an afternoon; while at rarer intervals the
+finger would tremble on the trigger as one of those magnificent birds
+called locally the "copper" pheasant (Soemerring's), with tail feathers
+as long as a peacock's, would rise from the furrows and sail grandly
+into the impenetrable thicket. Objections had been taken by the Japanese
+officials to this form of amusement, because it was not the policy of the
+rulers to familiarise the people with the sight of firearms, still less
+to facilitate their acquiring them. In accordance with representations
+from the authorities, the British consul had requested his nationals in
+1859 to desist for a time until some arrangement was come to. This they
+did, but in the following season resumed the sport, in which there were
+no keener participants than the British consular officers. A contemporary
+writer in September 1860 thus refers to the return of the shooting season:
+"There being nothing to do, we are all looking forward anxiously to the
+1st October, on which day the first onslaught on the feathered race takes
+place. The weather is now hot, but we are all in very good health....
+We live in a beautiful country, among a civil, amicable, kind-hearted,
+and intelligent people. We can roam over the country without let or
+hindrance." It is curious to note by the way how tenacious the Englishman
+is of the punctilio of his game laws, carrying his observance of them into
+countries where he and his laws are alike strangers, and where in many
+cases the principles are not applicable to the local conditions.
+
+A new element in the sport appeared with the advent of cold weather, in
+the form of flocks of wildfowl, chiefly geese, which spread themselves
+over the low-lying grounds, mostly at some miles distant from the
+settlements. They were "geese," indeed, quite unsophisticated, having no
+fear of man before their eyes--inherited instinct apparently at fault.
+"Their tameness was shocking" at first, but they wonderfully soon learned
+to be wary with a foreigner and a gun. The morning's bag of one early
+riser, riding six miles and back to a nine o'clock breakfast, late in
+November, dwindled rapidly from 12 to 6, 4, 2. The birds were shot within
+200 yards of the _tokaido_, and in full view of many curious spectators,
+armed and unarmed. Men were hired on the spot to carry the game along the
+six miles of highroad and through the long street of Kanagawa, the whole
+proceeding, in short, enjoying the utmost possible publicity.
+
+The unfortunate Mr Moss, however, a few days later, toiled a whole day
+and bagged one, with the consequences we have seen. Whether it was law
+or not, the evidence supplied by the birds themselves of prescriptive
+immunity from gunpowder attack was overwhelming. Hitherto the heavy winged
+wildfowl had felt safe so long as they kept out of sword-range of the
+human biped, but the new experience of a detonating missile fatal at fifty
+yards broke up in a week the habits of generations, and forced them to
+promptly readjust themselves to their environment.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [1] "We are never for a moment unwatched; ... if my servant
+    runs after a butterfly, a two-sworded official runs after
+    him."--Laurence Oliphant, Letter from Yedo, July 1861.
+
+ [2] "As a general rule, our guardians exercise their functions with
+    civility; when they are impertinent, one has to submit as one
+    would to one's jailor.... With entire humility, one is in no
+    danger whatever."--Oliphant, 2nd July 1861.
+
+ [3] The effect of the commercial isolation of Japan on the value
+    of general commodities was no less striking. The first foreign
+    traders might have bought with eyes shut nearly every article that
+    was offered to them, so great was the disparity of prices between
+    Japan and her nearest markets. Mr Hunter gives an interesting
+    example. "I had in go-downs," he says, "8000 piculs of sapan-wood
+    imported from Manila unsaleable at one dollar and a quarter per
+    picul, which was about its cost. Immediately that the opening
+    of the port of Simoda to foreign trade was announced officially,
+    an English vessel was chartered to carry it there. Brief--it was
+    sold for 35 dollars per picul, and the proceeds were invested in
+    Japanese vegetable wax at a cost of 6½ dollars, and sold for $17
+    the picul (133-1/3 lb. English)," so that in the short voyage from
+    China to Japan and back the capital multiplied seventy times!
+
+ [4] A story is told of two Samurai meeting on a bridge which was too
+    narrow to allow of their passing each other. Neither being willing
+    to give way, they were about to settle the difficulty at the
+    point of the sword, when a peasant, strolling along the dry bed of
+    the stream, offered to extricate them without loss of dignity on
+    either side. Amused at his impertinence, and curious to see how
+    he would effect his purpose, they consented to humour him; and
+    when each, following his instructions, was seated in one of the
+    baskets at either end of the pole he was carrying, he swung it
+    round on to the opposite shoulder, asked pardon, bowed, and went
+    on his way, leaving them each facing in the direction in which he
+    would proceed.
+
+ [5] Ieyasu says the Samurai are the masters of the four classes.
+    Agriculturists, artisans, and merchants may not behave in a rude
+    manner towards Samurai. The term for a rude man is, "other than
+    expected fellow"; and a Samurai is not to be interfered with in
+    cutting down a fellow who has behaved to him in a manner other
+    than is expected. The Samurai are grouped into direct retainers,
+    secondary retainers and nobles, and retainers of high and low
+    grade; but the same line of conduct is equally allowable to them
+    all towards an "other than expected fellow."
+
+ [6] "All my old friends have disappeared," writes Laurence Oliphant
+    on his return to Yedo as secretary of Legation. "One who was an
+    especial favourite of mine when I was here last, ripped himself
+    up a short time ago; and two of the other commissioners are
+    disgraced, and it is supposed have followed his example. This was
+    all on account of their friendship for foreigners. Every one, down
+    to the lowest interpreter, who has had anything to do with the
+    introduction of foreigners, has disappeared or been disgraced."
+
+ [7] This man, Murioka by name, became afterwards well known to
+    foreigners, and was always ready to talk freely about the whole
+    transaction. When asked why he struck at a lady he would reply,
+    "How should I know, never having seen a foreign woman, least of
+    all on horseback?"
+
+ [8] It was a common thing for a Daimio to rid himself of the irksome
+    obligations of his position by abdicating in favour of his son.
+    On better acquaintance Shimadso Saburo proved a most genial old
+    gentleman. Three years later he entertained Sir Harry and Lady
+    Parkes at his capital most hospitably.
+
+ [9] Count Inouyé, the foremost statesman of the new Japan, is said
+    to have confessed that he set fire to the British Legation with
+    his own hand with the express object of embarrassing the Tycoon's
+    Government.
+
+ [10] The following souvenir of Count Mutsu, Foreign Minister of
+    Japan, who died in 1897, told by Mr J. F. Lowder and quoted in
+    'Things Japanese' by Mr Basil Hall Chamberlain, affords a graphic
+    illustration of this point. "In the very early Sixties, when
+    he was in his nineteenth or twentieth year, he was in Nagasaki
+    desirous of acquiring a knowledge of English. A lady of my
+    acquaintance taking an interest in him used to devote an hour or
+    two every morning to teaching him to read and write, but it was
+    not long before he came to me despairing of his slow progress, and
+    asking whether I could not give him a berth on board ship where
+    nothing but English was spoken. Believing him to be physically too
+    weak to stand such an ordeal, I endeavoured to dissuade him, but
+    without success; and so with some misgivings I shipped him as a
+    cabin-boy, which was the only position I could obtain for him, on
+    board a small British schooner that used in those days to voyage
+    between Nagasaki and Shanghai. How long he remained on board I
+    cannot say, but my recollection is that it was a very considerable
+    time."
+
+ [11] The foreign trade of Japan now (1900) approximates 40 millions
+    sterling, exports and imports being very nearly balanced.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK IN PEKING, 1865-1869.
+
+
+I. THE BRITISH LEGATION.
+
+    Contrast between Peking and Yedo--Finds old comrade Wade--The
+    Manchu statesmen, Kung and Wênsiang--Material progress pressed
+    upon them--Their failure to appreciate foreign advice.
+
+Sir Rutherford Alcock had spent only a few months in England when he was
+appointed to succeed Sir Frederick Bruce as Minister to China, he himself
+being succeeded in Japan by Sir Harry Parkes. Sir Rutherford reached
+his post in Peking at the close of 1865. The change of scene from Japan
+back to China was even more striking than that from China to Japan had
+been in 1859. The excitement of shooting the rapids was succeeded by the
+weariness of meandering among mud-shoals--the same medium to work in,
+only under different conditions. Fundamentally the international problem
+was identical in Japan and China--the conflict between aggression and
+resistance. Rational dread of, and natural repulsion to, foreigners,
+inspired alike the policies of both countries. Where they differed was
+in the manner of meeting the invasion. Japan braced herself nervously
+to the effort, and, distinguishing between what was feasible and what
+was not, organised a counter-invasion unsuspected by foreign nations,
+whom she subdued by their own strength. China, on the other hand,
+opposed a fatalistic and unreasoning resistance, making no intelligent
+counter-stroke and showing no true anticipation of the issues of the
+struggle. The energy of ambitious youth on the one side; on the other mere
+inertia, irresponsive to the stimulus of pride, shame, patriotism, or even
+material interest. Bearing this contrast in mind, we may partly understand
+the prosaic _rôle_ which foreign representatives were doomed in China to
+play from the time the capital was forced open by Anglo-French arms in
+1860.
+
+The position of the new British Minister was different from that which he
+had occupied in Japan, where, being first in the field, he had to make
+precedents, whereas in China he had to follow the course which had been
+marked out during the previous four years. In judging of the wisdom of
+that course, it is fair to apply the same retrospective criterion that we
+proposed in the case of Japan--namely, to consider the situation so far as
+it was known and could be realised at the time. Notwithstanding all that
+had gone before, China in general, and Peking in particular, remained as
+great mysteries to foreigners as Japan itself. The pioneer diplomatists
+had to create their diplomacy out of their own consciousness, working upon
+an idea which they imported, and not on the objective facts, which were
+mere chaos to them.
+
+Sir Rutherford Alcock had the happiness to find the Peking Legation
+in charge of his old vice-consul, Thomas Wade, from whom he had been
+officially separated for ten years. Mr Wade was Chinese secretary and
+secretary of Legation, offices which were some years later separated, to
+the infinite detriment of both. For the secretary of Legation, drawn from
+the ranks of the diplomatic service, had neither knowledge of nor interest
+in Chinese affairs, nor aught to do but wait idly for the contingency
+which might make him _chargé d'affaires_, reckoning every month spent
+in the country as a penance entitling him to swift promotion to a more
+congenial sphere. And the Chinese secretaryship, by itself, offered no
+attraction to an ambitious man. But in 1865 the combination of offices was
+most important, especially in the hands of a man of so much distinction
+as Mr Wade. As the custodian of the Bruce tradition, if indeed he had not
+a large share in its evolution, he bridged the gulf between the outgoing
+and the incoming Minister, much as the Permanent Under-Secretary does at
+the Foreign Office.
+
+As Mr (afterwards Sir Thomas) Wade, in the capacity of secretary, _chargé
+d'affaires_, and Minister Plenipotentiary, represented Great Britain at
+the Chinese Court for the best part of a quarter of a century, a term
+equal to that of the other six Ministers put together, a brief reference
+to his personality seems necessary to a just comprehension of the course
+of affairs during his long residence in Peking.
+
+Mr Wade began life as a soldier. He had been in the "Black Watch," but,
+being the only officer who could not speak Gaelic, found it congenial to
+exchange into the 98th Regiment, with which he served in China during the
+first war. He was adjutant of the regiment, which was commanded by Colonel
+Campbell, afterwards Lord Clyde. When peace was made in 1842, he resigned
+his commission and betook himself to the study of Chinese and of Chinese
+subjects. After qualifying as interpreter he became Chinese secretary to
+the Superintendency of Trade, which until 1858 was domiciled in Hongkong.
+Transferred to the consular service, he was for some years interpreter and
+vice-consul at Shanghai, where it fell to his lot to command the local
+volunteers in the attack on the Chinese Imperial camps in 1854. He was
+the first executive head of the Maritime Customs, established in the same
+year, his services being lent by his chief to start the new institution.
+Attached to Lord Elgin in his two missions to China, he was appointed
+secretary of Legation and Chinese secretary under Sir Frederick Bruce when
+the Legation was installed in Peking.
+
+Wheresoever Mr Wade's lot was cast he was beloved for his Irish geniality,
+open-mindedness, and sincerity. He was the soul of honour, and was
+possessed by the spirit of chivalry much beyond the common measure. His
+best friends would never wish to forget his endearing infirmities of
+temper, associated as they were with the generous _amende_ which never
+failed to follow an over-hasty word. A well-read man, with a memory like
+Macaulay's, a brilliant _raconteur_ and inimitable mimic, he was the
+delight of every society. The services which he was enabled, by many
+years of arduous labour, to render to succeeding generations of students
+of Chinese are incalculable, and if his work begins now to be superseded
+by that of others, this is but the common fate of pioneers in every
+department of research.
+
+Sir Thomas Wade's character may thus be fitly and fairly summed up in
+the hackneyed epithet, "a scholar and a gentleman,"--but not therefore
+a statesman. His mind was cast in another and a finer mould than befits
+the political arena; and, unnatural as the inference may seem, it is
+open to question whether his extensive knowledge of China was the best
+qualification for dealing at first hand with current affairs, even in
+that country. Profound researches into Chinese literature and philosophy
+tend to overshadow and induce a distaste for the jarring questions of
+the day. Seen through the luminous haze of its classic history, China
+presents to the contemplative mind an object of reverence unlike any
+other existing State, for the thread of its continuity since the time
+before Abraham is unbroken. Grander than hewn stone or graven bronze, the
+monuments of China are written books, and a living race, the heirs of all
+her ages, to be conversed with and interrogated. The burden of such vast
+homogeneous antiquity may well oppress the mere man of politics: he needs
+a certain alloy of Philistinism and a limitation of view to enable him to
+concentrate his attention on the exigencies of the passing hour.
+
+  [Illustration: PRINCE KUNG.]
+
+Relations which might be called intimate had been established between
+the two Manchu statesmen, Prince Kung and Wênsiang, and the foreign
+representatives. When these high personages were forced to assume
+responsibility for international relations, they were not only unversed
+in foreign affairs but untrained to any kind of business. The work of the
+six Boards was carried on by expert secretaries, and the presidency of
+one of them would have been no qualification for the new duty thrust upon
+the emperor's Ministers of transacting business with foreign officials
+standing on an equality with themselves. Their older colleague, Hangki,
+had gained a little foreign knowledge by observation and hearsay while
+filling the lucrative office of _hoppo_ at Canton; but the two younger men
+mistrusted him, perhaps with reason, possibly from the suspicion naturally
+aroused by his possession of superior knowledge. Prince Kung and Wênsiang
+recognised that they had everything to learn, and they were apt and eager
+scholars. Considering all the circumstances, it is indeed marvellous how
+they adjusted themselves by innate tact to the novel position, and how
+quickly they assimilated new knowledge. Many illuminating discussions were
+carried on between them and the foreign representatives, who on their part
+were no less desirous of imparting than the Chinese were of acquiring
+information respecting the outer world. In these interesting symposia
+Mr Wade naturally played the prominent part. On the enchanted ground of
+Chinese history and literature, also, the interlocutors made endless
+excursions together; and Chinese philosophy being directed to conduct
+rather than speculation, it was possible to deduce from the teaching of
+the sages authority for the adoption of almost any useful measure. Between
+the modern innovator, therefore, though in foreign garb, and the ancient
+moralists there was no such intellectual disagreement as sympathetic
+explanations could not resolve.
+
+It might have been justifiable to conclude that the Chinese were being
+influenced for good by the well-meant counsels so copiously addressed to
+them, were it not that the tutorial being so entirely incompatible with
+the diplomatic function, no useful result could be expected from their
+strained combination. It was as if one were to teach a novice the moves
+in a game which the two were at the same time playing for serious stakes.
+
+These interminable interviews and voluminous memoranda were wholly
+unproductive, owing, no doubt, to the fact that the ideas of the parties
+ran on parallel lines destined never to come to any point of fertile
+contact. The burden of the cry of the Western people was "progress," a
+word without equivalent in the language, and expressing an idea which
+had no place in the conception of the Chinese. Incessant repetition
+with varying illustrations were to the Chinese as flowers of rhetoric
+wasted on a deaf man, and that simply because the basis of the Chinese
+political thought lay at the opposite pole from that of the European.
+On one occasion a distinguished American promoter was expatiating to the
+governor of Formosa on the advantages of railway communication, his most
+telling example being his own experience in being rushed along after an
+early breakfast from his house in Albany to New York, where he spent the
+day transacting important business and got wheeled back again to Albany
+for dinner. The governor stopped him, and asked what in the name of
+sanity possessed him to lead such a wearing life, as the last thing he
+(the governor) would dream of doing would be to live a hundred miles from
+his work. Though the earliest public advocate of railroads in China, the
+governor regarded their utility from a far different point of view.
+
+  [Illustration: WÊNSIANG.
+   _From a photo by J. Thomson, Grosvenor Street, W._]
+
+So eager were the foreigners for progress, which in their mind included
+the regeneration of the Chinese empire and the development of its full
+capacity for self-defence, that they were wont to rejoice over the
+slightest indications of a beginning being made. Thus the mission of a man
+of no standing as a secretary of the Tsungli-Yamên, who was sent to Europe
+in 1866 to take observations, was hailed as the beginning of the new era,
+and commended so warmly by the foreign Ministers to their Governments
+that the emissary was received like the Queen of Sheba by King Solomon,
+and shown--at least in Great Britain--everything that was admirable from
+the Western point of view. He was as far, however, from appreciating the
+triumph of science as was Cetewayo, the Zulu, whose admiration of England
+focussed itself on the elephant "Jumbo" at the Zoological Gardens, or the
+Scotswoman who, after being shown over the British Museum, had carried
+away from it one impression, and that of the "graund mat" at the door.
+The Chinese Government's appreciation of Western progress was by no means
+increased by the mission of Pin, which rather indeed produced a contrary
+effect. China soon began to put forth fresh claims to go her own way, her
+own way being directly opposed to the kind of progress which was being
+pressed upon her.
+
+The Chinese in following the doctrines of the sages felt they were under
+the guidance of Heaven, so that innovations appeared to them tainted with
+impiety. So deeply did the worship of the past pervade their field of
+thought, that when high officials ventured to introduce something new,
+they usually endeavoured to disarm opposition by gilding their proposals
+with well-selected texts from the classics.
+
+
+II. FOREIGN LIFE IN PEKING.
+
+    Social influence of the Alcock family--Sir Rutherford's relations
+    with his staff--No social relations with natives--Manchu
+    courtesy to English ladies--Community of foreigners sociable yet
+    non-cohesive--Description of city--Foreign residency--Objects
+    of interest--The streets--Mules--Camels--Mongol market--Fur
+    sales--Absence of regulations--Street anecdotes--Summer
+    residences.
+
+By the end of 1865 the foreign life in Peking, official, social, and
+private, had already settled into the grooves prescribed by local
+conditions, within which it has, more or less, run ever since.
+
+  [Illustration: MANCHU (TARTAR) WOMEN.]
+
+Nevertheless, the advent of Sir Rutherford and Lady Alcock, with their
+daughter, now Lady Pelly, introduced an element into the social atmosphere
+of Peking which has afforded the happiest reminiscences to those who came
+under its influence. We have seen that Sir Rutherford Alcock, by force of
+character, conviction, and sense of duty, naturally assumed the lead among
+his peers wherever he happened to be placed. A German resident in Peking
+at the time we are speaking of says, "I remember very well that fine
+English gentleman, who was conscious of representing the greatest country
+of the world, and did it well." The official personality of the British
+Minister could not be more truly depicted than in these simple words; but
+this natural pre-eminence extended far beyond the official sphere, and
+made itself felt for the general good in the common relations of life.
+His dealings with subordinates were marked by thoroughgoing loyalty; his
+rule was to give his confidence without reserve to those who merited
+it, to support and defend them in the discharge of their duty. He was
+accessible, always ready to listen to the opinions even of his juniors,
+and though exacting as regards work, he never spared himself, but set an
+example of industry to those who served under him. He possessed that rare
+faculty of appreciation which enables a man to command services which no
+money could buy. The survivors of his staff to this day speak of him in
+affectionate terms as the best of chiefs. In business he was strictly,
+perhaps even rigidly, formal, and his manner was intolerant of laxity in
+others. When the official crust was put off like a suit of armour, the
+genial depths of his nature were reached, but the number of those who
+enjoyed this experience seems never to have been large. Select, but few,
+were the friends of his bosom.
+
+The foreign residents in Peking did not number many, and, with the
+exception of the Legations, were rather widely scattered over a city of
+vast distances. The original community consisted of about sixty persons,
+distributed over the four Legations, the customs' staff, and missionary
+establishments. It was a community of young men "about twenty-four years
+of age," eminently social, no member being a stranger to the rest, and all
+living in friendly intercourse. The Legations may almost be said to have
+sat with open doors, so easy were their interchanges of informal visits.
+During the time of Sir Rutherford and Lady Alcock their hospitalities
+rendered the British Legation the chief centre of social interest, while
+the unaffected kindness which inspired these courtesies endeared its
+inmates to all their fellow-residents. That, indeed, was the golden age of
+the British Legation, and, it may be added, of the general social life of
+the Chinese capital, a period when life-long friendships were formed. The
+time had not yet come for international rivalries to mar the cordiality
+of personal intercourse. Indeed in the convivialities of Peking national
+distinctions were absolutely lost, and so to a great extent were the
+distinctions of rank. On the racecourse, which was early instituted, as
+in the billiard-room, picnic excursions, and the like, all were free and
+all were equal.
+
+  [Illustration: MANCHU WOMEN.]
+
+When we speak of the "social" life of Peking, it must be understood as
+referring exclusively to that of the foreign residents among themselves,
+for between them and the natives there was no such intimacy. But in those
+early days the high Chinese officials seemed to have been more genial than
+those of a later epoch. In the winter of 1860-61, for example, Hangki,
+formerly _hoppo_ of Canton, was in the habit of receiving Mr Adkins
+familiarly at his private residence,--a practice which was afterwards
+gradually discontinued. The arrival of the two ladies at the British
+Legation was the signal for a display of courtesy by the Manchu Ministers,
+who from time to time sent them seasonable presents of plants, flowers,
+and other things, thus establishing agreeable personal relations with the
+Minister. That the advent of ladies to the Legations should have evoked
+the natural politeness of the high officials need not be a matter for
+wonder if it be remembered that the Chinese contempt for women is not
+shared by the Manchus. It is well known that their women are free from
+most of the trammels which contract the lives of their Chinese sisters.
+Their unbound feet symbolise liberty of locomotion generally, and they
+show themselves unveiled and unabashed in public thoroughfares. They have
+the coquetries common to the sex, among which may be reckoned a passion
+for floral decoration of the head, and the universal practice of painting
+the face and lips. This is done in a thoroughgoing manner, and as if the
+paint were "laid on with a trowel," leaving a sharply defined margin on
+cheek and neck between the pink and white and the sallow ground on which
+the colour is overlaid, giving it the appearance of a mask which might
+be easily removed. Even young children are subjected to the cosmetic
+treatment; and the very aged do not discard the artificial flowers in the
+remnant of their hair. As the fairest Chinese have no such natural colour
+as is thus imitated, it is rather difficult to divine whence they derived
+the notion of an ideal human skin.
+
+It is not to be wondered at that the first European girls who appeared in
+Peking should have excited some curiosity. One young lady, probably the
+first arrival, whose fresh and fair complexion suggested the acme of the
+cosmetic art, excited intense interest among the Mongol and Manchu ladies.
+On one occasion she was met in the street by a great princess, who was
+so struck by her appearance that she stopped her _cortège_, alighted from
+her cart, and stood before the English girl and gently rubbed her cheeks
+to find out, as she naively said, how the colour was put on!
+
+The foreign residents at Peking, happy as their circumstances were,
+lacked some of the principal elements of a community properly so called.
+They had, in fact, little in common besides their æsthetic culture and
+their Christian civilisation, the literature, philosophy, and the social
+tenets of the West. They had no head, no centre, no neutral meeting-ground
+even except the racecourse and the open fields, and were thus always
+either hosts or guests to each other. The assumed identity of their high
+political interests gave an appearance of solidarity to the diplomatic
+section; but the fusion of the other elements in the society was far
+from complete, and, in short, outside of the region of recreation and
+conviviality the residents could not be said to be animated by any
+unifying purpose, nor to have any communal existence. Individual isolation
+prevented the aggregate from attaining collective force.
+
+  [Illustration: CHINESE WOMEN.]
+
+These sterilising conditions were aggravated by another feature of
+the situation which had an important bearing on social life. Peking
+was one of the most inaccessible capitals in the world. The great
+tourist-stream passed it by. It stirred no human emotion unless it
+were languid aversion or inarticulate curiosity. The dilettante element
+which has ventilated Japan so well and kept her in constant touch with
+cosmopolitan life-currents has been absent in Northern China. Peking with
+its particular concerns has been thus permitted to lie secluded from the
+world, neither generating fruitful ideas nor inviting or profiting by
+their importation from without; nor, in short, making itself intelligible
+or interesting to mankind other than as an archaic curiosity. China, with
+its immense wealth and resources, weighed less in the consideration of the
+nations than the petty kingdom of Greece or the deadly swamps of Africa.
+Considerations of that kind help to explain the bewilderment with which
+the action of these neglected forces has been received during the past few
+years, and the disarray of the organs of European opinion when suddenly
+called on to deal with the phenomenon of Peking as a daily "headline."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Of the city itself it may be noted that it is magnificently laid out
+within high and massive walls, the gates and corners surmounted by
+bastions and imposing towers pierced with three tiers of gun-ports. The
+main streets are straight and extravagantly wide. Spaciousness is the
+dominant expression of the whole--the back-yard is a feature of the
+meanest one-storeyed hovels. It has not occurred to the Pekingese to
+economise earth-space by vertical architecture ground-ward or sky-ward.
+Viewed from an elevation, the city has the appearance of a vast park:
+the tree-foliage seen in perspective seems to cover the whole area, only
+picked out by yellow and green roofs of imperial and other conspicuous
+buildings. The palace, a city in itself of 10,000 inhabitants, occupies
+an immense _enclave_ symmetrically placed in the centre of the whole.
+
+From such a coign of vantage as the high wall affords, Peking presents
+at once an impressive and a pleasing spectacle. It gives the distance
+necessary to lend enchantment to the view. The soothing hum of a great
+population; the sweetness of an atmosphere untainted, if it be summer,
+or spiced by the aromatic herbs which grow promiscuously between the
+interstices of the bricks, if it be autumn,--enfolds the scene in that
+kind of soft drapery which memory throws over common things long past. One
+lingers, loth to renew a closer acquaintance with the crowd below, which
+no longer hums but utters wild discordant cries,--with the horrors of the
+streets, which are of the earth, earthy. The area contained between the
+rectilinear arteries of the city is dismally laid out on the plan of the
+rabbit-warren. These wide streets are alternately deep mire and deep dust
+at the best, but at the worst, receptacles of indescribable abominations.
+The witty and wise Bishop Favier, when describing these to a friend in
+France, was asked, How could a population living in such insanitary
+conditions resist a visitation of cholera. "Cholera!" exclaimed the
+Father; "it could never enter. It would be asphyxiated at the gate!"[12]
+
+The dust is acrid to nose and eyes, from the dessicated refuse of
+generations, for the streets are watered by long scoops from standing
+pools of sewage which overflow in the summer rains and obliterate the
+roadway, so that animals harnessed between shafts not unfrequently meet
+with a cruel death by drowning in these foetid thoroughfares.
+
+  [Illustration: CHINESE STREET SCENE DURING RAINY SEASON.]
+
+Such hints as these will be sufficient to suggest to the least imaginative
+that peculiar unattractiveness of the Peking streets which has been
+a determining factor in the habits of the foreign residents. Life
+would be intolerable to Western folks if it were not removed from the
+sights, noises, and odours of the streets; and fortunately the ruling
+local principle of spaciousness lends itself to the solution without
+running counter to any native practice or prejudice. The Legations, the
+customs, and the missionaries are in their various degrees established
+in "compounds" large enough to accommodate the members of their staffs
+in separate buildings with ample elbow-room, as in an Indian cantonment,
+interspaced with trees and sometimes gardens, the whole surrounded by a
+high wall and capable of defence. These seductive oases in a wilderness of
+garbage, in a city of great distances, naturally conduce to stay-at-home
+habits and to segregation, which it requires some energy to overcome.
+
+Nor is Peking life wanting in more mundane compensations. The city itself
+contains many "objects of interest," which in the earlier years of foreign
+intercourse were open to the curious. The well-known "Lama temple,"
+reputed to contain 2000 inmates, which has for many years been dangerous
+to enter, was in those days a much-frequented resort, where the stranger
+was welcome to go over the establishment and listen to the Buddhist
+litanies: a certain bass voice, or perhaps a succession of bass voices, in
+the choir, indeed, attained celebrity among foreigners. In the refectory
+of that monastery one was obliged, out of respect, to eat, or feign to
+eat, the unmitigated fat of the sheep's tail, fished from out the broth,
+not with a hook, as was the custom in the Jewish Church, but by the deft
+fingers of the chief lama. Now, on the contrary, the foreigner who enters
+the gate is hustled, robbed, and stoned. This great change in the attitude
+of the lamas has never been satisfactorily explained, but it is presumed
+that the manners and customs of some of the visitors to the temple may
+have had something to do with it. There have been visitors who, with the
+keen acquisitiveness of the world-tourist, have slipped small "josses"
+into their pockets out of what, perhaps, appeared to them the superfluous
+number of molten images ranged round the shelves of the great Buddha's
+sanctuary.
+
+The Temple of Heaven, too, that grand altar to the Living God, standing
+in an immense park enclosed by a lofty wall, was then, and for many
+years remained, open to all comers. This was perhaps due less to any
+intentional liberality of the authorities than to the negligence of the
+gatekeepers and the Board of Works. For a long time access was gained
+over a broken part of the outer wall left unrepaired. At one period
+English residents played cricket within the vast enclosure; at another
+Billingsgate and brickbats were the ordinary salutations which greeted
+the would-be visitor--the change being probably due to the slow awakening
+of the officials. So with many other places within and without the city,
+for in some cases where direct request was made for extension of the
+accommodation, the effect of drawing official attention to the subject
+was to restrict the privileges which had actually been enjoyed.
+
+Notwithstanding the occasional rudeness of which Dr Rennie has given us so
+faithful a picture, the most unartistic of men could hardly fail to take
+pleasure in the daily traffic of the streets, provided only his nerves,
+visual and olfactory, were not too delicate. The true lord of the roads
+is apt from his commonplaceness to be overlooked by those who owe him
+most--that universal conveyancer, the sagacious, tireless mule. He does
+not belong to the "five great families"--the fox, weasel, hedgehog, snake,
+and rat--which the Chinese hold in mystic awe because they have learned
+the secret of immortality; but if utility to man were a criterion of
+merit, they would surely fall down and worship this indispensable hybrid.
+Hot or cold, wet or dry, the mule never fails to respond to the severest
+call upon his strength and courage.
+
+With the approach of winter an antediluvian rival is introduced upon
+the scene, in the shape of the well-known two-humped camel, which is
+then shaggy, dignified, and in really grand form. Intolerant of heat,
+but impervious to cold, the camels, after passing the summer on the
+grass-lands of the Mongolian plateau, are brought down in droves to
+the great fair held on a large open space outside the Northern Wall.
+The coming of the camels with their bronzed and heavily booted riders
+is like a whiff of the free air of the desert. The Pekingese use this
+patient but surly beast of burden chiefly for carrying coal from the
+mines in the Western Hills to the city; but immense numbers are employed
+in transporting tea from the navigable limit of the Peiho to Siberia and
+Russia, not entering Peking city at all.
+
+A roomy encampment between the British and Russian Legations is allotted
+to the Mongols, and serves as a market-place where the products of the
+desert are exchanged for the utensils and gewgaws of civilisation. The
+staple of the Mongol trade is frozen meat--mutton, venison, furred and
+feathered game; and without refrigerator or other appliance the carcasses
+remain fresh in their skins till the end of the three winter months.
+These simple-minded herdsmen, chaffering with shrewd Chinese hucksters,
+or sitting, where they seem to have been born, between the high humps of
+their slow-moving beasts, form picturesque groups in the imperial city,
+the more interesting that their appearance is pathetically suggestive
+of an order which is passing away. The Grand Khan, dispensing favours to
+his loyal tributaries, has come ominously near to being a mere tradition.
+These very sheepskin-coated camel-drivers are the only buffer remaining
+between the receding empire and the advancing tide of foreign encroachment
+from the north.
+
+Other evidences of that imperial grandeur which lent some justification to
+the title "Middle Kingdom" were still occasionally to be met with. Though
+Siam, and even Burma, had fallen indefinitely into arrears, dust-begrimed
+embassies from Korea or Nepaul, with their trains of pack-mules bearing
+tribute and merchandise (duty free for the benefit of the officials),
+might still be seen defiling through the massive gates of the city,
+preserving to our day a living picture of the Asiatic mission of the
+antique type. For what were they but interesting survivals, shadows of
+departed greatness?
+
+Peking is not a commercial city, but essentially an imperial camp. Trade
+proper is confined to an outer or Chinese city, which is but a walled-in
+suburb sparsely built over. Through traffic, for obvious fiscal reasons,
+shuns the capital; but there is sufficient local commerce, of which
+gold and silver smelting forms a not unimportant part, to support many
+bankers and merchants who are domiciled in the outer city. It has been
+remarked that Chinese trade may be seen at its best in the settlement of
+Maimaichên, which faces Kiachta on the Russo-Chinese frontier, or in the
+Straits Settlements or Rangoon, where nothing hinders the merchants from
+accumulating and displaying their wealth. Even Peking, however, affords
+some glimpses of the far-reaching enterprise of the Chinese traders.
+
+What a suggestive display, for instance, is the fur-market, also of
+necessity a "winter exhibition"! Acres and acres of ground are covered
+with skins of every conceivable species of quadruped, spread out from dawn
+till near noon. Here are daily laid out for sale under the blue sky (and
+what a light to make purchases in!) the commonest and the most precious
+furs from Manchuria, the Amur, and even Kamtschatka, the total value of
+which must be enormous. Let us learn from the history of the Hudson's
+Bay Company what organisation of energy, what confidence, what variety of
+enterprise and skill, are required to bring these costly commodities from
+such vast distances to this great sale-room, and we shall not make light
+of the vitality of the Chinese.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The amenities of the street traffic, though not of special importance,
+call for mention as illustrating certain phases of foreign contact
+with the Chinese. If we may take Japan for comparison, in nothing is
+the contrast between the two systems more apparent than in municipal
+administration. The antithesis may be expressed in one word,--in Japan,
+excessive regulation; in China, absence of regulation. Whether there be
+any rule of the road in China is of little interest, seeing that, like
+other rules, it might be disregarded and there would be no one to enforce
+it. The traffic adjusts itself with little friction. China employs no
+police,--things arrange themselves by their own interaction, as the
+pebbles do on the sea-shore; and for most of the purposes of life the
+people are their own law-makers and their own executive. The Chinese
+system of government is to govern as little as possible--to let the
+country rule itself. So when a strange element demanded accommodation
+in the busy streets and congested gateways of Peking, without rules
+or supervision, it had to find its level among the rest by friction
+and concussion. It would have been an interesting process to watch in
+its initial stages. Amid a good deal of clamour and language of a racy
+description applied to man and beast and their respective ancestors, there
+is rarely a serious road quarrel among the Chinese. One excellent custom
+of polite society tends to restrict the area of disputes on the highway,
+leaving collisions to be fought out by grooms, carters, chair-bearers, or
+boatmen, as the case may be, while the masters maintain an imperturbable
+reserve.
+
+Mr Colborne Baber, who had a way of his own of solving the minor problems
+of Chinese intercourse, was once in a cart, sitting well back and
+unobserved, in a narrow street that admitted neither of turning nor of
+passing another vehicle, when a cart was met about half way. The drivers
+began to vociferate, each calling on the other to give way. The opposition
+carter claimed the precedence on the ground that his vehicle carried
+women, and it looked as if he would gain his point when Baber himself,
+becoming impatient, thrust out his head and called out that in his cart
+there was a foreign devil, and without further discussion the rival jehu
+backed out.
+
+Those who ride do not recognise each other on the road, even though they
+be friends; for if they did so, etiquette would require both to stop and
+dismount and go through formal salutations on foot. Foreigners, ignoring
+this rule, and their servants not unwilling to profit by the prestige
+of their masters in accosting bystanders from the saddle, are sometimes
+grievously misdirected when not lectured on their bad manners. The
+natives on their part are seldom averse from presuming on the foreigner's
+ignorance of what is due to him. Between the one and the other, or as a
+result of the mere chapter of accidents, collisions were inevitable in
+the streets. How were they to be dealt with in the absence of constituted
+authority? If aggression towards a foreigner on the part of a great man's
+servants were submitted to, there would be no end to it, they being 500 to
+1. On the other hand, insolence promptly resented and vigorously punished
+never failed to elicit the approval not only of the spectators, but even
+of the great man himself, who perhaps had secret grievances of his own
+against his lackeys, which he was not sorry to see partially paid off
+by proxy. In all cases the sympathy of the Chinese goes with the side
+that successfully asserts itself. Of this hundreds of examples could be
+given--perhaps not one on the converse side.
+
+A writer in the 'Whitehall Review' some years ago, among interesting
+reminiscences of the 'Sixties, relates some incidents to show the
+primitive means by which equilibrium was established between natives and
+foreigners in the Peking streets. _Place aux dames._ The experience of the
+first foreign female who had been seen is thus amusingly told. Mr Bruce's
+housekeeper, an old family retainer who had followed the fortunes of her
+master all over the world,
+
+    saw no particular reasons for not acting in Peking as she had
+    done in Cairo or Constantinople, and the first morning after her
+    arrival sallied forth, basket on arm, to do her marketing for the
+    day. When I add that she knew not a word of Chinese, that none of
+    the natives spoke English, that she was about five feet high and
+    ten feet round the crinoline, and was the first female European
+    ever seen by the Pekingese, her enterprise will be judged to have
+    been braver than she knew. However, nothing daunted, she entered
+    a butcher's shop, closely pressed upon by an inquisitive and
+    delighted crowd. Before she could even look at a joint or chop
+    she was hemmed in, and one waggish native, bolder than the rest,
+    gave her a substantial dig in the crinoline, shouting in Chinese,
+    "Let's see if she's solid." But the laugh was not for long on his
+    side. Seizing a chopper from the block, Mrs A. made a mighty blow
+    at his head, which he happily evaded. In less than a second the
+    shop was clear, the terrified natives tumbling over each other
+    in their haste to get away. A European who came upon the scene
+    at the moment beheld the startling sight of some 500 Chinese
+    rushing up the principal street pursued by an infuriated old woman
+    armed with a chopper. With some difficulty she was persuaded to
+    abandon the chase and resume her basket, which she had dropped
+    in her excitement. But it is on record that for a good two years
+    thereafter Mrs A. was allowed to shop in peace, and became a
+    "Black Douglas" to troublesome Chinese children in the vicinity
+    of the Legation.
+
+In later years she talked in what she called "broken China."
+
+Another "adjustment to environment" is thus described:--
+
+    A curious little industry sprang up in the environs of the city,
+    consequent on the horsey proclivities of the Europeans. This was
+    getting run over, which was generally accomplished by rushing in
+    front of the horses and throwing the hands up. One of two things
+    always happened. Either the horse shied and the rider came off, to
+    the huge delight of the Chinese mob, or the gesticulating party
+    was knocked down. In this latter event, cautioned as we all were
+    to give no offence, if possible, to the natives, a dollar was
+    generally handed as salve to the artful victim, whose screams and
+    yells that he had been killed never failed to draw a large and
+    sympathising crowd of friends, who regarded the "foreign devil"
+    with most unfriendly looks. In one village at last it became
+    intolerable, and we decided if any further attempt was made we
+    would run down the culprits intentionally. As usual, on our next
+    visit three or four young _gamins_ essayed the usual dodge. Being
+    fully prepared for it, nobody was unseated, and we turned our
+    horses back at full gallop, three or four Chinese being hurled
+    into the hedge by our horses. We did not stop to offer dollars,
+    but were never afterwards stopped.
+
+Following the same train of reflection, he gives examples of the drastic
+manner in which the Russians asserted their prerogatives on the road,
+which we do not quote, as they were probably exceptional cases.
+
+The never-failing courtesy of the Manchus rises superior to such
+unpleasant encounters. An example of this was related to the writer by a
+member of the British Legation. In riding through a narrow place, narrowed
+probably by the cesspool occupying more than its fair share of the street,
+he met the _cortège_ of a grandee at a spot where it seemed impossible
+to pass, and it looked as if the solitary horseman must turn back. As
+he thought of doing so he observed the occupant of the sedan call a halt
+and direct his bearers to make room for the stranger. Observing closely
+the features of him who showed so much consideration for a foreigner, the
+Englishman was pleased, some time afterwards, to recognise in him Prince
+Ch'ing, who succeeded Prince Kung as President of the Tsungli-Yamên in
+1884.
+
+The lives of the foreign residents were by no means confined within the
+four walls of the city. The environs without fences or trespass notices
+make charming excursion-grounds for riding-parties. For longer expeditions
+there are the never-failing attractions of the Ming Tombs, the Great
+Wall, the passes into Mongolia, and various other distant points. The
+city is beautifully situated in the centre of a mountain crescent, whose
+nearest point is thirteen miles distant. The first object of quest when
+the Legations had been established was a sanatorium or summer retreat--for
+the thermometer reaches 100 Fahr. in June--and the Western Hills were
+explored. Some of the most beautiful spots there are occupied by Buddhist
+temples or monasteries, whose builders have shown as nice a taste in
+the selection of their sites as their brethren the monks of the West
+have always done. These religious houses, laid out with a view to the
+accommodation of pilgrims and strangers, are regularly used by Chinese
+grandees as health-resorts or shelters from political storms. The Russian
+mission, while it was alone in Peking, had set the example twenty years
+before of resorting to the hill temples in the dog-days. Arrangements
+with the priests for the occupation of certain portions of one of the
+temples were soon made by Mr Parkes, who was on a visit to the capital,
+and ever since 1861 official Peking, with one notable exception, has on
+the approach of summer migrated bodily from the oppressive atmosphere of
+the great city to the exhilarating air of the Western Hills. The social
+life of the city was reproduced at the temples, but in a less conventional
+form, every one residing there being considered on a holiday. The country
+round offered many temptations to excursions, and amateurs of geology,
+botany, and natural history were never at a loss for something to interest
+them in their rambles among the hills. Residence so far from town brought
+the foreigners into friendly contact also with their rustic neighbours,
+whose innate good qualities, moderation, contentment, and kindliness were
+displayed in a very favourable light.
+
+But the sojourn at the hills also brought the foreigner into occasional
+contact with Chinese of high rank, who welcomed such opportunities of
+showing civility to the strangers. At other times disagreeable collisions
+with the retainers of a great personage were experienced. So popular were
+the temples of the Western Hills as a summer resort that they were always
+full, and consequently disputes about accommodation were liable to occur,
+especially when some grasping priest would let the same premises to two
+different occupants, leaving them, or rather their servants, to fight for
+the possession.
+
+
+III. THE FOREIGN CUSTOMS UNDER THE PEKING CONVENTION.
+
+    Centralised in Peking--Encouraged by British Ministers--Assumed
+    imperial form after the treaties of 1858--Extension to all the
+    ports--Original international basis becomes purely Chinese--Shows
+    capacity for larger functions than collection of duties--Becomes
+    a diplomatic auxiliary--British Government leans upon it--The
+    Chinese faithfully served by it--Interpreter of the intentions
+    of the foreign Governments--Inspector-General gains influence
+    over British Minister--Pleases Board of Trade--And maintains
+    confidential relations with British Government--While remaining
+    faithful to China--Services rendered by the Customs to all
+    commercial nations.
+
+It was a source of unmixed satisfaction to Sir Rutherford Alcock, on
+assuming office in Peking, to find the maritime customs, the bantling of
+Shanghai, firmly established in the capital and gathering strength and
+influence. As its functions pertained exclusively to trade, Sir Frederick
+Bruce had been originally of opinion that the inspector-general should be
+located in the commercial centre, Shanghai, and he took exception to the
+institution being domiciled in Peking, where trade was expressly excluded
+by treaty. Sir Frederick, however, soon saw reason to modify his views.
+When it began to appear to him that the customs might prove a convenient
+auxiliary to the diplomacy of the treaty Powers, he cultivated the
+institution and encouraged it to occult activity in the political sphere.
+Sir Frederick Bruce's interests in the fortunes of the customs, however,
+could never be so ardent as that of its parent, Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+and its monthly nurse, Mr Wade. The presence of these two in the British
+Legation afforded a fresh guarantee of the prosperity of the customs,
+which they were both well satisfied to see in the competent hands of Mr
+Hart. For as the institution was a creation without precedent, the form
+of its development must be largely influenced by the personal qualities
+of its head. Whatever character it might have assumed under its original
+inspector-general, Lay, it could hardly have been the same service that
+has grown and spread under the directing hand of Sir Robert Hart. It
+is impossible to dissociate the Chinese customs as it stands from the
+vigorous self-sustained intellect that has moulded and still controls it,
+for it is assuredly not such a going concern as can be made over to any
+new head without the risk of changes more or less organic.
+
+The story of the first decade of the maritime customs was told clearly,
+briefly, and modestly in a monograph which Mr Hart prepared for Mr Bruce
+in 1864, published as a Blue Book of thirteen pages (No. 1, 1865). Up
+to the date of the Tientsin treaty of 1858 the operations of the foreign
+collectorate were confined to the single port of Shanghai, the inspectors
+holding the appointment from the governor-general at Nanking, who was
+Imperial Commissioner for Foreign Trade. The new treaty gave the foreign
+Powers an interest in the Chinese customs which they did not possess
+before, because the war indemnities were to be paid by instalments out
+of the collections of duty, so that during the time when these payments
+were being made the maintenance of the machinery for collecting the duties
+was a matter of international concern. The new treaty also provided for a
+uniform system of duty collection for all the trading-ports; and then the
+institution assumed an imperial and dropped its provincial character, the
+inspector-general receiving his commission from the Central Government.
+
+Considering that the mission of the foreign customs was to subvert
+time-honoured native systems, it was received with surprising graciousness
+at most of the trading centres. The first port to which the new system was
+extended was Canton, the leader in welcoming its advent there being the
+_hoppo_, the one functionary in the empire whose privileges seemed to be
+most directly threatened by the new-comer. By one of those anomalies which
+are so common and yet so inexplicable in Chinese affairs, arrangements for
+opening the office in Canton were carried on without interruption during
+the hostilities of 1859. Patience, tact, and resolution were nevertheless
+required to overcome the innumerable difficulties of detail incidental to
+substituting rigorous inspection and remorseless collection for the chaos
+of unaccountability which had previously reigned unchallenged. A very few
+years, however, served to reduce all obstruction, and to bring trader and
+official, foreigner and Chinese, into working harmony.
+
+For the first time in history a true account was rendered to the Imperial
+Government, accompanied by a substantial revenue on which it could depend.
+Naturally the agency, though foreign, which yielded such tangible fruit,
+commended itself to the statesmen of the capital, who frankly recognised,
+as did the provincial authorities themselves, that the result obtained
+was wholly beyond the competence of any native organisation. Though,
+therefore, the customs service was essentially of a provisional, stop-gap
+character, it had on that very account a surer guarantee of permanence
+than could have been derived from any paper covenant by which the Chinese
+Government could have been bound, for that would have provoked disputation
+and evasion. The spasmodic attempt to formalise the service on a basis
+of international obligation which was made in 1898 was perhaps the first
+thing that really imperilled its constitution. In its origin, indeed,
+the foreign customs had been international, the three treaty Powers being
+each represented on the inspectorate; but with the expansion in 1858 this
+character was abandoned, and the customs became a purely Chinese concern
+operated by foreign employees, the staff being selected from among all
+nations indiscriminately, according to personal merit.
+
+Almost from the time of the transference of the inspectorate to the
+capital the customs showed capacities of wider range than are comprised
+within the routine of a custom-house. Profoundly impressed as were the
+imperial statesmen with the value of the new revenue-producer, they soon
+began to perceive that the institution might be put to other and greater
+uses. Plurality of function in itself was no stumbling-block to them,
+for it is the system on which Chinese administration is carried on. In
+the very first year they had intrusted the inspector-general and his
+deputy with the organisation of a navy, with the evident approval of the
+British Minister. That functionary, indeed, seemed as little disposed as
+the Chinese themselves to see incongruity in the various forms of customs
+activity, especially when he regarded its extra official services as
+rendered to himself; and he really stood much in need of services of that
+kind.
+
+Her Majesty's first representative in Peking, helpless and despairing,
+was, in fact, fain to throw himself on the support of the first
+inspector-general, Mr Lay, and then of his successor, Mr Hart, as
+having knowledge and influence with the Chinese Government which was
+not possessed by the British Legation. It did not apparently occur to Mr
+Bruce that such knowledge was strictly limited, and that the influence
+could be of very little use to him, and might be too dearly purchased.
+Having no other resource, however, he was perhaps not unwilling to
+shut his eyes to the false position in which he was placing himself in
+leaning upon the paid servants of the Chinese Government to assist him in
+carrying out a policy which was totally repugnant to that Government. The
+fidelity of both Mr Lay and Mr Hart to the master whom they served being
+beyond question, the diplomatic prestige conferred on them by the British
+Minister, as well as the knowledge and influence derived from the other
+side, must, in all matters of controversy, be thrown into the Chinese
+scale.
+
+As this interesting truth dawned upon the minds of the Tsungli-Yamên, they
+saw in their English employee a providential instrument for drawing the
+sting from the threatening language which was sometimes applied to them
+by the foreign representatives. Of these, the only one who had as yet any
+serious matter to discuss with the Chinese was the representative of Great
+Britain. It was assumed on the British side that nothing proposed by that
+Power was contrary to the interests of China: so far, indeed, did this
+theory inspire their action, that the welfare of the Chinese seemed at
+times to overshadow that of their own empire in the minds of the British
+representatives. No doubt there was an ideal point of view from which
+the interests of China and her Western neighbours might seem ultimately
+to blend, but Chinese statesmen were in nowise able to take in such a
+large perspective. They continued to regard the foreign invasion, with
+all its pretences of goodwill, as an unmitigated calamity to be opposed
+wherever possible. No man can pronounce a certain judgment as to whether,
+with their imperfect knowledge, they were more right or more wrong in
+following their obstructive instincts. Reforms, progress, and the opening
+up of the country to foreigners, were being persistently pressed upon
+them; they fully expected these concessions to be demanded of them when
+the time came--and it was already drawing near--when the treaties should
+be revised. Admitting, moreover, that some one, or more, of the Powers
+might have been considerate enough to forego, or indefinitely postpone,
+advantages for themselves rather than imperil the wellbeing of the Chinese
+State, there were already six instead of the original three treaty Powers
+to be reckoned with; nor was there any limit to the further increase of
+their numbers. Supposing, then, that, relying on the benignant intentions
+of the English, they should, in the revision of their treaty, admit such
+innovations as inland steam navigation, inland residence, railways,
+and so forth, would not these successes stimulate the other Powers,
+when their turn for revision came,--France in 1870, Germany in 1871,
+and others later,--to advance still farther the outposts of the foreign
+invasion, each, in a spirit of generous emulation, striving to surpass the
+achievements of his predecessor; and all with the complacent consciousness
+that they were doing good to China? These endless contingencies were more
+than Chinese statesmen could cope with, and the apprehension of them had
+no other effect than to consolidate their resistance in small as well
+as in great things. They were learning to mistrust the efficacy of their
+ancient imperial policy of dividing and ruling, and with good reason had
+lost confidence in their capacity to distinguish in embryo between what
+was trivial and what was laden with deep consequences.
+
+Resistance, therefore, tempered by the fear of force, seemed their only
+refuge. Some of the dangers ahead, of which they had glimpses, might have
+been obviated by a bolder policy; but being unable to formulate such
+a policy for themselves, and unwilling to accept it cut and dried from
+others, there was nothing left them but indiscriminate resistance. Under
+such conditions no harmony was possible between the Chinese and Western
+Governments; and not knowing how far they might with safety evade the
+pressure put upon them, the Chinese had recourse to the Inspector-General
+of Customs, as Louis XI. had recourse to his astrologer whenever he felt
+himself in a difficult crisis.
+
+The Tsungli-Yamên, accustomed to act on hand-to-mouth views of policy,
+would do anything to relieve the pressure of the moment, but nothing to
+prevent a recurrence of it. Indisposed to follow up the sequences of cause
+and effect, they would in emergencies become impatient of ratiocination
+and attempt to reach the foregone conclusion by a shorter cut. Common
+gossip in China thus fairly summarised their attitude in certain crises
+of this kind. If discussion with the British Legation ran high, the Yamên
+would send for the inspector-general and ask simply, "Does this mean
+war?" The answer being "No," the question ceased to trouble the Yamên,
+and the foreign Minister would be allowed to rage at his pleasure. Their
+Excellencies would even help him out with the opprobrious terms he was
+searching for, and then listen placidly to the remainder of the tirade.
+Great Britain having not only the preponderating interest, but being still
+the leading Power in the Far East, it was obviously a great advantage for
+the Chinese that it should be that Power which came particularly under
+the influence of the inspector-general. To tie the hands of the British
+Government for a whole generation was, indeed, an achievement worthy of a
+master of policy; but it was by no means the only service which might be
+rendered to China even by an Inspector-General of Customs.
+
+The same agency was destined in later days to unravel many tangled skeins
+in China's international relations. It brought Gordon to her rescue in
+1880; by sheer innate ability in the use of the most unpromising means, it
+brought about peace with France in 1885; and, though with less success, it
+procured the attempted intervention of Great Britain with Japan in 1894.
+
+How far these great potentialities were foreseen in the earlier years
+of the Customs service is doubtful. Even in their parental complacency
+Sir Rutherford Alcock and Mr Wade may well have failed to realise, as an
+uninterested outsider might have done, the nature of the power that was
+being nursed in their infant Hercules. Certain it is that they reckoned
+it as a factor on their own side. It is clear that Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+so far from regarding the inspector-general as an opponent, commended him
+to the Foreign Office as a valuable auxiliary. Mr Wade clung to the same
+belief for a good many years longer.
+
+The first to perceive the tendency of the new relationship which events
+were bringing about was, no doubt, the inspector-general himself.
+China, he saw, could be best served by a virtual control of the British
+Legation. The nascent power was, however, too precious to be trusted to
+personal accidents, and the inspector-general wisely availed himself
+of circumstances as they arose to widen his basis of influence by
+establishing such relations with the Home Government as might save
+him from being wholly dependent on the life or the caprice of the
+representative for the time being at Peking. Such to an ordinary man
+might have appeared a hopeless ambition, considering the circumstance
+of distance and other adverse conditions. Yet by gradual steps this too
+was accomplished. A well-directed stroke or a happy accident established
+the inspector-general in high favour with the Board of Trade when under
+the presidency of Mr John Bright. He had summed up the results of the
+treaty revision[13] negotiations in 1868 in a congratulatory letter to
+the British Minister which has been many times published. As a masterly
+exposition of the State of China in its relation to foreign Powers it was
+warmly indorsed by Sir Rutherford Alcock, and is well worth perusal even
+at this day. The Board of Trade was much impressed by a presentment of
+the Chinese case so much in sympathy with the views often expressed by Mr
+Cobden and Mr Bright, and which are traditional in the Board of Trade.
+Their policy was noninterference in the affairs of China, based largely
+on their disparagement of the value of British interests in that country.
+In commenting on this closely reasoned State Paper, the Board of Trade
+specially selected for illustration of its merit the following passage:
+"Of course, force will wrest anything from China: but wherever there is
+action there is reaction; and as sure as natural laws continue to act,
+so sure it is that appeals to force in one age will give to the men of
+a later day a heritage of vengeance,--the Europeans of some future day
+may wish that their forefathers had not sown the seeds of hatred in the
+bayonet-ploughed soil of Cathay."
+
+Nor was this the only result of the happy success of the new customs
+diplomacy, for, as the connecting link between commerce and politics, the
+Board of Trade was a potent agency in determining the political action of
+the Government, more especially when there was a strong man at the head
+of it and a weak one at the Foreign Office.
+
+The rising power in China did not seek fresh conquests, but was adroit in
+seizing on such as came in its way, and circumstances having brought it
+in direct touch with the Foreign Office, that department was drawn into
+close relation with the Chinese customs.
+
+The result of all this, briefly stated, was the partial effacement of
+the Legation and the gradual promotion of Sir Robert Hart to the first
+place in the confidence of the British Government. As the Foreign Office
+had, since the suppression of the Taiping rebellion and the death of
+Lord Palmerston, been most reluctant either to busy itself or to inform
+itself respecting affairs in China, and was, moreover, anxious to minimise
+the cost of the Legation in Peking, it was rather predisposed to accept
+volunteer assistance in the management of British interests in China. The
+Legation was then, as now, without any intelligence department, the cost
+of which was saved under the vague belief that all needful information
+might be obtained from the customs. Thus relegated to a secondary place,
+the Legation was more and more neglected by Her Majesty's Government,
+until at last representatives were selected at random and sent out
+without instructions, in blind reliance on the good offices of the
+Inspector-General of Customs.
+
+Before this final stage had been reached, however, such an opportunity
+occurred, through the death of Sir Harry Parkes, of legitimising
+the irregular connection, as a death sometimes provides in certain
+relations of domestic life, and Sir Robert Hart was himself appointed
+British Minister. This step was recognised as so far appropriate to the
+circumstances that it conjoined responsibility with power, which had
+been too long divorced from each other. But just as the new Minister
+was about to assume his duties a hitch occurred with the Tsungli-Yamên,
+whose views as to the succession to the post of head of the customs not
+coinciding with Sir Robert Hart's, he thereupon resigned the office of
+British Minister and resumed his Chinese service. The incident made no
+difference in the confidence which Sir Robert Hart inspired in the Foreign
+Office, which had, in fact, drifted into a position of dependence on the
+inspector-general. This close relationship continued until the Japanese
+war in 1894, when the British Government, the victim of many illusions,
+found itself in a condition of bewilderment, like King Lear on the heath,
+quite unfurnished with the means of coping with the superior intelligence
+of the other European Powers.
+
+Throughout all these years the attitude of the inspector-general towards
+his Chinese employers was absolutely above suspicion. He served them
+loyally throughout, and if the British Government imagined he was using
+his highly paid position under the Chinese Government in any way to
+promote other than Chinese interests, that was a gratuitous assumption on
+their part for which they alone were responsible, and for which, as for
+all false strategy, the inevitable penalty must be paid.
+
+Among the important international services rendered by the foreign
+customs, the effective lighting of the coast deserves the first place.
+Next to that may be reckoned the compilation of accurate statistics of
+foreign trade with China, more complete perhaps than exists in any other
+country. The reports of the commissioners of customs at the various
+ports are also replete with varied and useful information concerning the
+commerce, industry, and agriculture, with other conditions of the life
+of the Chinese. Special subjects assigned to individual men are treated
+as exhaustively as if investigated by a Royal Commission. These valuable
+papers constitute a modern Chinese Repository to which there is but one
+drawback--its inaccessibility.
+
+
+IV. EMIGRATION.
+
+    Extensive emigration of Chinese labourers in consequence of
+    gold discoveries--Great abuses--Attempt to diminish same by
+    international action--Tripartite treaty concluded in Peking--Not
+    ratified by France and England--Who send out amended treaty,
+    but negotiations never resumed by Chinese--Opposition of British
+    colonies and the United States to Chinese emigration.
+
+The first public question with which Sir Rutherford Alcock was called upon
+to deal was that of the emigration or exportation of Chinese coolies.
+Among the consequences of the gold discoveries of the middle of the
+century was a demand for human labour, which China of all countries was
+best able to supply. Voluntary emigration to California and Australia
+(the "Old" and the "New Gold Mountain") was considerable; but it did not
+meet the requirements of those enterprises in tropical and subtropical
+countries which, if not originated, were at least stirred into activity
+by the impulse radiating from the gold mines. The contractor was called
+into requisition, and Chinese were carried off in shiploads to Cuba,
+Peru, Chili, "where they were sold into virtual slavery" under agreements
+over which there was no legal supervision. Terrible abuses characterised
+the traffic; mutiny and massacre on the high seas were among the natural
+consequences. "Another coolie tragedy" was as common a newspaper heading
+in the 'Fifties as "another missionary outrage" in the subsequent decades
+of the nineteenth century.
+
+Hongkong being the most convenient shipping port, it was natural
+that thence should emanate the first efforts to suppress the abuses
+of the traffic. The "Chinese Passengers Act" passed by the Colonial
+Legislature in 1855 was a well-considered step in that direction, and
+the establishment of responsible emigration agencies was another. Such
+efforts, however, could only be partially successful; for while they
+cleared the colony from participation in a nefarious trade, they made
+no impression on the trade itself. Indeed, by throwing it into the least
+reputable channels, the fate of the victims may even have been rendered
+less endurable by the restrictive measures conceived for their benefit.
+The Portuguese settlement of Macao remained open, and there the coolie
+traffic flourished exceedingly, to the pecuniary advantage of that colony
+and of the maternal Government, which levies an annual tribute from its
+Far Eastern offspring. The trade was also carried on in a more or less
+clandestine and irregular manner at Canton, Swatow, and other Chinese
+ports, under non-British flags.
+
+For years the colonial press was filled with the horrors of the traffic.
+Such paragraphs as the following were continually appearing in the
+Hongkong newspapers:--
+
+    At Macao the coolie trade is still rampant, with all its
+    abominations. The inquiries instituted, or said to have been
+    instituted, by Governor Amaral, have ended in smoke. Day after day
+    some additional iniquity comes to light in connection with this
+    horrible traffic. Coolies kidnapped, imprisoned in barracoons,
+    flogged to make them consent to sign the iniquitous contract that
+    binds them to a life of slavery, marched with a strong guard to
+    testify at the Government offices to their signature as given
+    voluntarily and freely, half-starved, exposed to blindness and
+    disease on board ship in transit to the place of their exile,
+    tossed overboard, or left on some barren isle to die, if loss of
+    sight or sickness renders them useless to their masters. Such
+    are the grand features of the Macao coolie trade, supported by
+    the governor in his official acts, and the semi-official paper he
+    edits. Such are the horrors of a slave-trade worse than that of
+    the poor African negro, which all nations ought to unite to put
+    an end to.
+
+Foreigners could of course have had no success whatever in such
+man-hunting schemes without the interested co-operation of the natives.
+How this was obtained may be gathered from such reports as that of Mr W.
+M. Cooper, acting consul at Swatow, one of the principal entrepots.
+
+    Nowhere [he says] is population more dense than in the plains
+    of the Han. There is a constant tendency, where the struggle
+    for existence is so keen, and no drain exists as that caused by
+    recruiting for an army, towards the formation of a scum of bad
+    characters, whom their idleness or ill-deeds drive to prey on the
+    more industrious. These, frequently discarded by their families,
+    are seen by the official and the village elder on their way to
+    the coolie-house with a sense of relief and satisfaction; and
+    not seldom is the coolie-broker aided in his object of obtaining
+    men by persons of this class, and frequently by the relations of
+    the men themselves. Thus the trade is allowed to take root with
+    the concurrence of the heads of the people, who not only rid
+    themselves by means of it of a nuisance and a burden, but make
+    money by the transaction; and a connection is formed which the
+    broker, in his thirst for dollars, becoming gradually hardened and
+    more ruthless, is not slow to avail himself of in carrying out,
+    with greater boldness, evil designs on his victim.
+
+But if the atrocities incident to the capture and embarkation cried aloud
+for a remedy, the brutalities of the middle passage were no less heinous;
+and though the light could not easily penetrate the scenes enacted in the
+distant mines and plantations which were the ultimate destination of the
+coolies, enough was known to show that their lot in Spanish-American and
+other countries and colonies was far from enviable.
+
+To efface this blot on civilisation was the first object which engaged
+the attention of Sir Rutherford Alcock in Peking. The Chinese Government
+itself had remained for many years callous to the cruelties perpetrated
+on its subjects; but this was in keeping with its tolerant habit, its
+blindness to things disagreeable, and its constitutional aversion to
+overt action of any kind. The Peking authorities seem, however, to have
+been at last aroused by the interest in the question evinced by foreign
+Governments, and in 1866 the Chinese Ministers were induced to join
+the foreign Powers in devising means to ameliorate the condition of the
+emigrants. The suggestions of Prince Kung were practical and well directed
+towards a solution of the problem.
+
+The problem, however, was by no means simple; for to be effective,
+regulations must be of universal obligation, and receive the sanction of
+all the interested Powers. There was no desire in any quarter to arrest
+the stream of honest and free emigration; on the contrary, it was welcomed
+as an outlet for destitute Chinese. To impose restrictions on Hongkong
+while the neighbouring colony was lawless and free; to place obstacles
+in the way of emigration to Demerara and Trinidad, where the coolies
+were happy and contented, thereby driving them in greater numbers to
+territories where they were enslaved,--was obviously no gain to humanity.
+The question, however, was as urgent as it was difficult.
+
+Yet there were circumstances in the situation favourable to a satisfactory
+issue. Chief among these was the fact that France and England were
+still working loyally together in matters of cosmopolitan concern. Sir
+Rutherford Alcock found his French colleagues in Peking as amenable as he
+had found those in Yedo. The consequence was that, as the result of the
+winter's labours, a tripartite convention for the regulation of coolie
+emigration was signed in March 1866 by the British and French Ministers
+and Prince Kung. The convention was approved by the Ministers of Russia,
+the United States, and Prussia, though they were not parties to it.
+But the French Government took exception to certain of its provisions,
+and deferred ratification until these should be modified. The British
+Colonial Office and Emigration Board fell in with the views of the French
+Government. The settlement of the question was thereupon shifted from
+Peking to Paris and London, when voluminous correspondence ensued between
+the two Foreign Offices, extending through the years 1866, 1867, and
+into 1868. The co-operation between the two Governments was hearty and
+complete; and the amount of patient labour devoted to the task, especially
+by the French Foreign Office, which had not the auxiliary machinery at its
+disposal which existed in the Government departments in England, was in
+the highest degree creditable to both. It may suffice to say that after
+eighteen months of earnest work a "Projet de Règlement International
+d'Emigration" was completed in twenty-three articles with subsidiary
+forms, and was despatched to Peking at the end of 1867, the discussions
+having resulted in the retention of almost the entire text of the original
+convention--a fact which reflected no small credit on the Ministers in
+Peking who had drawn it up.
+
+But when the time came for resuming negotiations in the Chinese capital,
+the Government there had relapsed into its habitual apathy respecting
+the welfare of its people. Possibly, also, the zeal of the resident
+Ministers of France and England may have cooled during the interval
+which had elapsed since their previous efforts. Their attention was
+becoming engrossed with other subjects. Effective co-operation between
+the three parties was evidently no longer feasible. The attempt to
+regulate emigration by a comprehensive international agreement was tacitly
+abandoned, and the evils of the coolie trade were left to be dealt with
+sporadically.
+
+Free emigration from Hongkong--that is to say, of emigrants who paid
+their own passage--proceeded all the while on an extensive scale. But
+the laws of the colony did not permit contract emigration except to
+British colonies, and under elaborate supervision both at embarkation and
+after arrival at the field of labour. Although coolie ships could not be
+despatched from Hongkong, a certain amount of indirect participation in
+the traffic was maintained for some years by residents in the colony who
+supplied fittings for the coolie ships preparatory to their proceeding
+to the port of embarkation. Colonial legislation, however, gradually put
+an end to this, and successive ordinances so narrowed the field of the
+contractors' operations that the trade, both direct and indirect, was
+practically extinguished so far as Hongkong was concerned. A declaration
+by the Chief Justice in 1873 summed up the various prohibitory laws by
+enacting that the coolie trade would be treated as a slave trade, aiding
+or abetting which would be felony. In the year following, the Portuguese
+Government, yielding to the friendly pressure that had been for a long
+time put upon them, passed a law prohibiting the coolie trade at Macao.
+
+While the emigrants were so anxiously protected at the outset of their
+voyage, the immigration of Chinese into the United States and the
+Australian colonies was exciting interest of a different kind in those
+countries. Legislation was continuously directed against the influx
+of Chinese, and not legislation only, but barbarous ill-treatment and
+outrages on a par with those perpetrated against foreigners in China. Mr
+Secretary Seward on his round-the-world tour in 1871 expressed himself
+highly favourable to Chinese labour in the United States, and his views
+afforded great encouragement to emigration to California for some years
+after. The treaty concluded at Washington in 1868 by Mr Burlingame
+accorded full privileges to Chinese in the United States. But a sharp
+reaction occurred in the views of American statesmen, and in 1880 the
+Chinese Government, by treaty made in Peking, consented to a modification
+of the Washington treaty of 1868, which would allow the United States to
+limit or suspend, though not absolutely to prohibit, Chinese immigration.
+This step towards prohibition was completed in another convention signed
+at Washington in 1894. Why the Chinese Government should have gratuitously
+consented to attach a stigma to their country and people is one of those
+inexplicable matters which abound in the history of China's foreign
+relations.
+
+
+V. KOREA.
+
+    Comes into the sphere of international relations in 1866--Illegal
+    propagandism followed by persecutions--France adopts the
+    cause of the missions--Calls upon China as suzerain to punish
+    Koreans--Which failing, French Minister proclaims annexation
+    of Korea--Naval expedition repulsed--American naval expedition
+    repulsed in 1871.
+
+It was in the year 1866 that foreign aggression first complicated the
+relations between China and her tributaries. The kingdom of Korea had with
+more consistency and more success than either China or Japan secluded
+itself absolutely from foreign intrusion. Nevertheless, the ubiquitous
+Jesuit had found his way there, under desperate subterfuges; for if
+the foreigner in general was proscribed, the foreign religionist was
+anathema to the rulers of Korea. The laws of the country were draconic
+in their severity against all priests or pretenders to supernatural
+authority; but the zeal of the Catholic propaganda defied the laws,
+though not always with impunity. "Persecutions," in fact, occasionally
+broke out, and "massacres" was a not inappropriate description of the
+repressive measures adopted by the Government in vindication of what it
+considered the law of the State. The French Government, or at least its
+representative in Peking, resolved to espouse the cause of the persecuted
+missionaries in 1866, and to make reprisals on the King of Korea. But
+that country being a vassal state, the demand was first made formally on
+the suzerain, that he should cause the Korean persecutors to be punished
+and the missionaries avenged. This was not only prejudging the particular
+case, but was yet another instance of foreigners forcing a formula on
+China, and making her answerable to a tribunal of whose jurisdiction
+she had no cognisance. The relations of China to the surrounding States
+which acknowledged her suzerainty were vague and various, imperfectly
+understood by Western States, as was sufficiently proved in the Burma
+Convention concluded between Great Britain and China in 1886. But the
+French _chargé d'affaires_ recognised no debatable ground such as even
+in the international comity of the West differentiates one dependent
+State from another, and one suzerain Power from another. In the British
+system alone the diversity in the relations of the members to the head
+is sufficient to exclude the application of any general rule. While the
+touchstone of war would no doubt reduce all to one level, yet in the
+matter of administrative responsibility what single rule could embrace,
+for example, India, Malta, the self-governing colonies, the Transvaal, and
+the African Protectorates? M. de Bellonet, however, was not embarrassed
+by any dubitations about the clean-cut rule to be enforced on China and
+Korea. He simply demanded that the suzerain should punish the vassal,
+failing which, he would take the affair into his own hands. Logical, no
+doubt, and not unreasonable, assuming the quarrel to be just. But the
+French _chargé_ went a step further in adjudging the actual dissolution
+of the family compact and sequestration of the inferior kingdom. On
+Prince Kung's declining responsibility for the Korean persecutions, M.
+de Bellonet, without further ado, annexed Korea to the empire of France,
+dethroned the king, and posted placards about the streets of Peking
+promulgating the fact. To Prince Kung he addressed a weighty despatch, in
+which he said, "The same day on which the King of Korea laid his hands on
+my unhappy countrymen was the last of his reign. He himself declared its
+end, which I, in my turn, solemnly declare to-day."[14]
+
+This was carrying the question beyond the scope of international law.
+
+Taking an analogy from common life, a father may neglect to correct a
+mischievous son, and thus leave his neighbours free to take the law into
+their own hands, but their right to chastise or prosecute does not include
+that of annulling the parental relationship, and of making a bondman
+of the offender. Force, of course, may effect such a rupture in the
+connection between nations, but in this case the force had not yet been
+applied. Admiral Roze proceeded with a squadron to the mouth of the Han,
+the waterway to the Korean capital, bombarded forts, and left his name to
+an island which faces the port of Chemulpo. The incident was then at an
+end.
+
+But not the effects of it. It was to Chinese and Koreans a flash of the
+Röntgen rays that revealed the innermost hearts of the foreigners with
+a vividness not to be forgotten; it was the whole missionary question,
+from the Eastern point of view, in a nutshell. To violate the laws and
+teach the natives to do so, and then appeal to foreign Governments to
+back them in this insidious form of rebellion--that was the function of
+the missionaries. The foreign Government thereupon lays claim to the
+territory, and so the conspiracy is crowned. In the face of such an
+unveiling of motives the chance of the Chinese statesmen being led by
+the friendly counsel poured constantly into their ears by the foreign
+Ministers in Peking must have been small indeed.
+
+About the same time a small American vessel called the General Sherman,
+with a cargo of notions and some passengers, including one English
+missionary, made her way through the archipelago which fringes the coast
+into the inner waters of Korea. She was never again heard of, and the
+fate of crew and passengers was for long a matter of report and surmise.
+At last, in 1868, a United States ship of war, the Shenandoah, was
+sent to the Korean coast to get information about the General Sherman.
+Nothing whatever was learned. Then Mr George F. Seward, consul-general in
+Shanghai, advocated a mission to Korea with a sufficient force to ensure
+respect. His persevering recommendations prevailed with the Government at
+Washington, and a squadron was equipped in 1871 to proceed to Korea and
+attempt to open the country, the admiral being furnished with copies of
+the Japan treaties of 1854 and 1858 as models. The Americans at once came
+into collision with the Korean troops, bombarded their forts, and defeated
+with considerable loss a military force marshalled to resist them. But
+no negotiations were possible. The Korean Government remained impervious
+to remonstrance and uncompromising in its refusal of intercourse. The
+following characteristic letter, addressed by the Korean authorities to
+Admiral Rogers, tersely expresses their attitude of resolute isolation:--
+
+    In the year 1868 a man of your nation, whose name was Febiger,
+    came here and communicated and went away; why cannot you do the
+    same? In 1866 a people called the French came here, and we refer
+    you to them for what happened. This people has lived 4000 years
+    in the enjoyment of its own civilisation, and we want no other.
+    We trouble no other nation--why do you trouble us? Our country
+    is in the extreme east, and yours in the extreme west; for what
+    purpose do you come so many thousand miles across the sea? Is it
+    to inquire about the ship destroyed [the General Sherman]? Her men
+    committed piracy and murder, and they were punished with death.
+    Do you want our land? That cannot be. Do you want intercourse with
+    us? That cannot be either.
+
+The American ships withdrew, as the French had done, leaving the peninsula
+once more to its fate.
+
+Previously to this a piratical expedition was attempted by a German in
+a North-German steamer, instigated and piloted by a French priest. Its
+purpose was to desecrate the tombs of the kings, with a view to carrying
+off the golden treasures with which they were believed to be buried.
+
+The three fiascos left no outward trace in the current of affairs in
+China, and diplomatic intercourse proceeded in the capital as if the
+Korean peninsula did not exist. Let it not be supposed, however, that
+the statesmen of Peking failed to take these exhibitions to heart,
+although they maintained the strictest reserve on the subject. Christian
+proselytism and foreign domination were once more discovered in active
+alliance, justifying all the suspicions of the Asiatic nations.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [12] There is more truth than may appear in the bishop's paradox.
+    Peking is singularly free from epidemics, except occasionally
+    of smallpox. When Shanghai suffered so severely from cholera in
+    1862, there were two British regiments quartered there--one, the
+    67th, within the native city, amid filth and stagnant water; the
+    other, the 31st, in the foreign settlement, in quarters carefully
+    selected by the surgeon, Dr Rennie. The 31st lost a third of its
+    strength; the 67th suffered very little. Writing in August 1860
+    from Peitang, a town 500 yards square in the midst of a great
+    swamp, into which 17,000 men were huddled, Sir Hope Grant says:
+    "Notwithstanding the pestilential nature of the place, our troops,
+    wonderful to say, never enjoyed better health."
+
+ [13] See _infra_, "Revision of the Treaty," pp. 210-222.
+
+ [14] _Vide_ 'U.S. Diplomatic Corresp.,' vol. ii. for 1867, p. 424.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE REVISION OF THE TREATY.
+
+
+I. PREPARATION.
+
+    Struggle for the observance of the treaty--Hope in the prospective
+    revision--Information gathered by British Minister--Chinese
+    apprehensive of force being used--Imperial Government consult
+    provincial officials--Interesting memorials in reply--Especially
+    from Li Hung-chang--His liberal views respecting foreigners--And
+    wise advice to the throne.
+
+The conflict between foreign aggressions and Chinese resistance had
+proceeded without intermission on either side for seven years. In the
+struggle the Chinese had gained many successes, but the fruits of them had
+not been secured beyond the risk of reprisal. Both sides were ill at ease.
+The foreigners on their part had been buoyed up under their grievances
+by the hope of a readjustment of international relations, which had been
+provided for in the treaties of Tientsin and Peking.
+
+The decennial period was at hand when revision of the treaty of Tientsin
+might be claimed. To that important juncture all eyes looked forward. The
+foreigners hoped for freer intercourse; the Chinese wished to restrict
+what already existed. Great preparations were made for the revision
+campaign. On the part of the foreigners opinions were invited from all the
+trading-ports as to the points where modification could be advantageously
+claimed, and memorials from the Chambers of Commerce both in China and in
+Great Britain, from individuals, professional men, and from missionaries,
+poured in upon the British Minister during the years 1867 and 1868,
+extending even into 1869.
+
+Sir R. Alcock had even taken every possible pains to acquaint himself
+with the local circumstances of the various treaty ports by personal
+inspection and personal communication--a practice which public opinion
+urged in vain upon his successors, who had much greater need of such
+local observations. Following up this tour of his own, he delegated to
+a subordinate the task of studying the conditions under which trade was
+carried on in the interior, in the districts most likely to be affected by
+any probable changes in the treaty. Under this roving commission Consul
+Swinhoe made an extensive tour through the canal district of the Yangtze
+delta, and finished up with an expedition to Szechuan in 1869, on which
+he was accompanied by delegates of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce.
+
+The importance attached by foreigners to the occasion naturally stirred
+the Chinese Government also to make special exertions to meet the coming
+contest. From the measures to which they resorted it is evident that they
+were apprehensive lest force should be applied by the foreigners to gain
+their ends; for the idea of free negotiation and of voluntary agreement
+had not yet been assimilated by the Chinese. To them the foreigner
+represented force and nothing else. They had never really comprehended
+the reasons for the withdrawal of the Allies when in possession of Peking,
+and though the immediate danger of war was removed, the shadow of it never
+ceased to haunt the dreams of Chinese statesmen.
+
+Mistrusting their own resources, the Central Government appealed to the
+provinces for confidential advice; and as these communications throw light
+on the inner--though not the innermost--thoughts of the Chinese, which it
+is difficult otherwise to gauge, some of them are worth perusing in the
+actual words of the writers.
+
+The secret circular addressed by the Tsungli-Yamên to the high officials
+throughout the empire in 1867 opened abruptly with the proposition, "The
+barbarian question is one of old standing"; it then proceeded to review
+the difficulties and the dangers of "our present conjuncture," arising
+mainly from the improvement of communications and armaments combined
+with the earth-hunger of the various European nations. The foreigner at
+one time stood in awe of the Central Power, but that was before railways
+and steamships had been invented; and while the numbers who came to
+China were as yet insignificant, and were conveniently restricted to one
+spot, where they could be managed, now they occupy so many positions as
+to form a strategic cordon round the empire. Moreover, they are united
+in interest, and cannot suddenly be either isolated or weakened. How,
+then, can we confront them with our isolation and weakness? It is to
+be feared that we have no one who, taking a comprehensive view of the
+whole situation, can create disunion among our enemies through their own
+rivalries and insatiable avarice. Yet it is just here that the germ of
+an effective policy should be sought. If, however, circumstances render
+such a scheme at present impracticable, its execution may be deferred. We
+must be patient under suffering, diligently strengthening ourselves, and
+abide in hope. We bear in mind the calamities of 1860, and how to save
+the State the emperor was entreated to conclude a treaty. It was evident
+that the treaty, hastily concluded, would remain a fruitful source of
+future difficulty; nevertheless, good faith required that it should be
+fulfilled, and even the very fulfilment of it be turned into a means of
+limitation and restraint. The time for revision being now at hand, you are
+requested to give your suggestions as to the means of avoiding a rupture
+with foreigners, and in case of a rupture, what will ensure safety. The
+principal points likely to be brought forward at the revision conferences
+are here submitted for your consideration. To simply declare the whole
+impracticable is easy; the difficulty will be to devise a plan for safely
+avoiding concession. Deal with the matter, therefore, in a practical way,
+and not by an empty thesis; and let your memorial reach us not later than
+December. The points are--(1) The audience question. (2) The question
+of an embassy to foreign countries, which had been repeatedly urged by
+the various foreign Ministers in Peking. The arguments in favour of such
+a measure are, that "to know your adversary as he knows you" is a maxim
+of practical wisdom, and that it would be of great advantage to have the
+means of appealing from an unreasonable foreign Minister in Peking to his
+own Government. (3) Telegraphs and railways. (4) Residence of merchants in
+the interior. (5) Salt trade and coal-mining. (6) Extension of missions.
+
+Such was the substance of the Tsungli-Yamên's circular to the
+governors-general and governors of provinces. The memorials in reply
+were distinguished by some plain speaking. Amid a good deal that was
+vaporous and fantastic, such as would characterise any general council,
+there were propositions of sound statecraft, maxims which it would have
+been good for the Central Government to lay to heart, and side-lights
+on their traditional conceptions of national policy well deserving to be
+studied by the Powers which have relations with the Chinese. One clause
+in the memorial of Tsêng Kwo-fan, for example, went to the root of the
+administrative difficulties which caused then, and still cause, the major
+portion of the angry friction between Chinese and foreign officials.
+He reminded the emperor, in fact, that he had a court of appeal in the
+provinces; so that though he might, under pressure, be forced to concede
+points to the foreign nations in Peking, yet it was the memorialist
+himself and his peers in the provinces who would have the last word to
+say. The elliptic and allusive style usually assumed in Chinese documents
+may allow this hint to be interpreted either as a veiled defiance of, or
+as an assurance of support to, the throne--perhaps both subtly compounded.
+But the practical inference remains, that, as experience has often proved,
+the provinces revise the decisions of the capital, and the execution rests
+with them.
+
+  [Illustration: LI HUNG-CHANG AT THE AGE OF FIFTY.
+   _From a photo by J. Thomson, Grosvenor Street, W._ ]
+
+The memorial, however, which is most interesting to foreigners, because
+the plainest to their comprehension, is that of Li Hung-chang, at that
+period Governor-General of the Hu-kwang; and as it affords a key to that
+statesman's subsequent career and the unique position he has occupied
+in regard to the foreign relations of the empire, it seems well worthy
+of reproduction. Omitting the preamble, and certain classic references
+without which a Chinese State Paper would be no more complete than a
+speech in Parliament or a leader in the 'Times' fifty years ago would
+have been without a Latin quotation, the substance of the memorial runs
+as follows:--
+
+    The humble opinion of the writer is, that in conducting business
+    with foreigners the point of the greatest importance is to avoid
+    exciting their contempt; that contempt once excited, they will
+    thwart us at every turn, and even in affairs that are really
+    practicable they will contrive a thousand schemes and devices to
+    throw obstacles in the way of their practicability. But if they
+    feel respect for China, all matters can be mutually arranged;
+    and even difficult questions can be settled by compromise or
+    agreement.
+
+    Foreigners, however, are not the only persons who are influenced
+    by this feeling: it animates alike the minds of the whole human
+    race.
+
+    It is often said that foreigners are crafty and malign and full
+    of unexpected ruses: but is it not the fact that Chinese are the
+    same; or rather that the outrageous craft and malignity of the
+    Chinese exceeds even that of foreigners? The truth is, that at
+    present foreigners are powerful and the Chinese feeble. And whence
+    arises the power of the former? It certainly is not innate in
+    them, but depends upon the fact that "the requisites of Government
+    are sufficiency of food, sufficiency of military equipment, and
+    the confidence of the people in their ruler" (Confucian Analects).
+    And how is the weakness of China to be accounted for? This also is
+    not innate, but is a result of the truth of the above axiom not
+    being sufficiently recognised. The present condition of foreign
+    countries resembles that of China before the union, or is perhaps
+    even still more formidable.
+
+    In the course of time foreigners came to China, opened numerous
+    marts, and conveyed their merchandise everywhere. They traded
+    at as many as five ports, and all with no other object but that
+    of making the wealth of China contribute to their own. A little
+    consideration shows that those who ventured to come to this
+    country must have placed their reliance upon something to have
+    rendered them so fearless; and there is not the slightest reason
+    why that which they confided in should not also become a source
+    of confidence to China.
+
+    Many persons have offered their views upon the several questions
+    now under consideration, and it is useless to take the trouble
+    to recapitulate them. But all such appliances as telegraphs,
+    railways, locomotives, and steamships--the things on which
+    foreigners rely--can without exception be learned by the Chinese.
+    It is often alleged that these inventions are attended with
+    harm: how is it, then, that in foreign countries every district
+    has its trains and steamers, every locality its telegraphs and
+    railways? Natives of China, too, have travelled abroad and can
+    bear testimony that these things, so far from being harmful, are
+    advantageous.
+
+    Imperial audience is distinctly stipulated for in the treaty of
+    1860, and it is next to impossible to withdraw it; especially as
+    his sainted Majesty Kanghsi admitted Japanese to his presence,
+    and there will be no difficulty in ascertaining the ceremony then
+    employed. And again, during the negotiations with the Russians
+    on the boundary and trade questions, which took place about the
+    same period, they were treated as an equal Power. It is but right,
+    indeed, to consider such Powers as upon a footing of equality with
+    ourselves.
+
+    The idea of the writer is to wait until the majority of the
+    emperor, and then to receive all the representatives in a
+    side-hall as was done by his sacred Majesty Kanghsi. It will,
+    however, first be necessary to arrange distinctly whether such
+    interviews are to take place once or twice a-year. Otherwise an
+    impropriety will be caused by their constantly demanding audiences
+    every few days on frivolous questions.
+
+    Such a course presents no difficulties from our point of view, and
+    from theirs it is a _sine quâ non_. Moreover, they would see how
+    the imperial magnanimity extends to every region. Their request
+    may with great propriety be granted.
+
+    As to the appointment of an envoy, in the fourth year of Tungchih,
+    Pin Ch'un and others were sent on a visit to the several foreign
+    countries, and the Tsungli-Yamên has lately written to state
+    that Chih kang and others have now proceeded thither. Thus the
+    mission has been continuous, and it would be well to adhere to
+    this system.
+
+    The question of separate missions at the Courts of the several
+    Powers, however, still remains for deliberation. In discussing
+    these questions persons are apprehensive, either that the
+    emperor's commission will be disgraced, or that there will be an
+    extravagant expenditure of the imperial funds. But such persons
+    are not acquainted with the whole bearing of the subject.
+
+    Memorialist is of opinion that this question is eminently
+    susceptible of a satisfactory solution. After selecting reliable
+    and trustworthy men to reside at foreign Courts, it will be
+    necessary to appoint subordinates and interpreters, who can be
+    exchanged every three or every five years. Interpreters, indeed,
+    should be selected from each country to which an envoy proceeds--a
+    system which would give us the double advantage of facilitating
+    public business, and of affording us an opportunity to display
+    our amicable desires. Far from being detrimental, the project is
+    attended with great advantages.
+
+    The matter of missionary extension is beset with greater
+    difficulties than the rest, especially as it is not a State
+    question with foreign Governments.[15] At the present moment
+    innumerable churches are being erected in every province,
+    district, and department for the explanation of their canon and
+    the preaching of their faith; and the common people are one-half
+    of them deceived, and the other half led to join them for evil
+    purposes. Instructions should be issued to the superintendents
+    of northern and southern trade, as well as to the generals,
+    viceroys, governors, customs superintendents, and taotais, to
+    become intimate with the foreign officials with whom they are
+    in communication. Then, when anything is to be arranged, there
+    would be no harm in telling them distinctly that when the common
+    people misbehave the local functionaries must adjudicate; and
+    that when it happens that the people refuse to become proselytes,
+    the officials can on no account insist upon their doing so
+    against their will--for such a course would but raise riots and
+    disturbances, to the detriment of international amity. At the
+    approaching revision of the treaty all possible arguments must be
+    used with regard to this point, and on no account must any further
+    clause be added.
+
+    With reference to the remaining points--viz., coal mines,
+    importation of salt, erection of inland warehouses, inland
+    steam navigation, and the like--these, although comparatively
+    unimportant matters, nevertheless entail serious consequences. If
+    their introduction is harmless, there is no necessity to waste
+    words and ink in the raising of disputes and complications; but
+    if, on the other hand, there are among them concessions which
+    we are unwilling to make, it will be very proper to "explain the
+    circumstances to them and argue the rights of the case," and they
+    will hardly wish to press embarrassments upon us.
+
+    Should they, however, take advantage of their strength to
+    impose upon our weakness by dividing our territory and sharing
+    among them the fat of the land, in such a pressing crisis the
+    greatest firmness would be necessary. But there need be no great
+    apprehension of such a contingency, for the simple reason that,
+    with the exception of Russia, foreign countries are all too
+    distant from China, and the acquisition of its territory would be
+    nothing but an embarrassment to them.
+
+    The fact is, that the prosperity of foreign countries is
+    inseparably connected with the welfare of the Chinese people; and
+    instead of draining that people to the last drop, would they not
+    rather prefer to use, without exhausting--to take, and still leave
+    a residue?
+
+    The present occasion of treaty revision with the English is a
+    most important juncture. The English treaty once disposed of,
+    there will be no difficulty with the other Powers. The danger
+    to be apprehended is that during the revision of next year they
+    will employ coercion to extort concession. This, however, may be
+    known previously; and should it be the case, it will of course
+    be necessary to select experienced troops and able officers to
+    confront them. Should nothing of the sort occur, negotiations
+    should be entered upon.
+
+    In short, supposing we are to cherish a feeling of revenge and
+    devise schemes to subvert foreign Powers, it will be necessary to
+    wait until--with large armies and abundant supplies, with no rebel
+    or Mohammedan outbreaks in the provinces, and no difficulties in
+    the capital--we can cope with them without hesitation. We shall be
+    a match then for all adversaries; but otherwise we cannot engage
+    in a rash and random conflict. Even when it is supposed that we
+    are ready for the struggle, it will still be necessary to exercise
+    extreme and continual caution, and to wait until our spirit is
+    high, and our aspect, therefore, formidable. Then should there
+    be no war, the question would be disposed of; but in the event of
+    our taking the field, it would not be unvictoriously.
+
+    Memorialist, however, has had several years' experience in
+    conducting business with foreigners, and is thoroughly familiar
+    with their character. He has found that, no matter what they are
+    engaged in, they act honourably without deceit or falsehood. But
+    although it is possible to acquire a general knowledge of their
+    mode of action in the conduct of their own affairs, yet there is
+    no means of becoming thoroughly acquainted with the details and
+    motives of their conduct. Their bearing, however, in military
+    matters affords clear evidence of their straightforwardness.
+    There is the instance of the Englishman Gordon, late
+    commander-in-chief at Soochow, who, having organised 3000 troops
+    of the Ever-Victorious Army, took the field against the rebels.
+    Subsequently, at the capture of Soochow, the memorialist himself
+    observed that officer personally leading in advance of his
+    troops with a courage and _sang-froid_ worthy of all praise. He
+    subsequently became the recipient of the imperial commendation
+    and reward.
+
+    The writer has also, in conjunction with Tsêng Kwo-fan, acting
+    viceroy of the two Kiang, been associated with foreigners in
+    organising foreign-drilled infantry and cavalry, and in making
+    arrangements for the building of steam-vessels. He is thoroughly
+    convinced that they are actuated by upright and amicable
+    principles, and entertain no feelings of animosity towards China.
+    With the knowledge of these facts before us, it is possible to
+    draw our conclusions upon other matters.
+
+    It is from these considerations, therefore, that the writer
+    suggests the policy to be pursued in intercourse with foreigners.
+    There seems to be no necessity to dispose of the several
+    questions hastily and on the instant, nor do the resident foreign
+    Ministers at Peking apparently intend to insist upon an immediate
+    settlement.
+
+    It would be well if H.I.M. on attaining his majority were himself
+    to adopt the policy suggested, and in that case no difficult
+    questions would arise.
+
+    6th year, 11th month, 6th day.
+
+As perhaps the best essay yet extant in translating the Chinese imperial
+tradition into the language of the modern world, this paper of Li
+Hung-chang's is full of instruction for foreign diplomatists. Read in
+the light of the subsequent thirty years, we see that it sets forth
+the principles which have inspired the whole public life of the most
+prominent man in China. His recognition of the honourable character of
+foreigners, as he knew them, represented a notable advance on the like
+testimony of Commissioner Lin in 1841, inasmuch as Lin deduced from it
+the ease by which their good faith could be abused, while Li made it
+a ground of confidence in co-operation with them. His recommendation
+to his contemporaries, to cultivate intimacy with foreign officials in
+order to obviate misunderstandings in the execution of the treaties, was
+only preaching that which he has consistently practised throughout his
+official life. He was the first high official who braved public opinion by
+sitting with open doors. This conciliatory temper and open mind has made
+Li Hung-chang the lubricator in many jarring conflicts; and it kept him,
+contrary to constitutional usage, for twenty-five years at the diplomatic
+outpost of the capital.
+
+His delicate handling of the suggestion of the Central Government,
+to resist by hostile means the proposals of foreigners, is also
+characteristic of the man who had seen war and hated it. While bowing to
+the imperial will, he proposed postponement of its execution. In a similar
+case many years afterwards a memorial of Li's was quoted as an incitement
+to war with Japan, whereas it was an extinguisher, in diplomatic form,
+put upon the bellicose proposal of another.
+
+Not the least interesting part of Li's memorial is the ground on which
+he advocates reform--the proved superiority of foreign nations. His
+argument takes the identical form, and is expressed in the very words,
+used by the Daimios of Japan; and the circumstances of the two countries
+in their foreign relations were in the main so similar, that it cannot
+but be instructive to observe how they comported themselves respectively
+under the stress of the foreign irruption. Both had been overawed by
+foreign forces, and both sought revenge by using the strength of their
+opponents for their own regeneration. The difficulty, as we see it, in
+the carrying out of the scheme of regeneration was of the same nature in
+both countries--the want of unity and centralisation. Japan was divided
+up into feudal principalities; China into provinces and prefectures as
+independent as self-governing British colonies. The councils of the
+Daimios bore a rough analogy to the consultations with the governors
+and governors-general of China. The enemy was the same, and the means of
+overcoming him are as clearly laid down in Li Hung-chang's memorial as in
+the most perfervid of the Japanese manifestoes. How, then, did it come
+about that the same leaven should have fermented with such miraculous
+rapidity in the one country, while in the other it has been buried in a
+torpid mass? Obviously this is a matter which will repay the consideration
+of those who concern themselves with the state and prospects of China.
+
+
+II. THE BURLINGAME MISSION.
+
+    Mysterious inception--American Minister becomes Chinese envoy
+    to Western countries--Objects of mission concealed--Its first
+    adventure--Mr Burlingame concludes treaty at Washington--Persuades
+    British Government to adopt new policy in China.
+
+Three processes--separate, though not independent--were going on
+simultaneously during the year 1868: the revision of the British treaty
+in Peking; an epidemic of anti-foreign demonstrations in the provinces;
+and the progress of the Burlingame mission in Europe. One of them cannot
+be understood without the other; but taking the revision of the treaty
+as the object towards which the other two converged, it will be simpler
+to reserve the special consideration of the treaty question until we have
+given a short outline of the accessory episodes.
+
+Of the eight questions submitted to the provincials, one was disposed of,
+and that in a surprisingly precipitate manner, a month before even the
+memorials of the various authorities were sent in. An embassy to Europe
+and America was appointed, equipped, and despatched in the month of
+November 1867, and with a foreigner at its head. A proceeding so contrary
+to Chinese tradition naturally excited curiosity as to its origin,--a
+curiosity which has been tantalised but not to this day satisfied, though
+the mission itself soon became ancient history. It is certain none of the
+representatives of foreign Powers then in the capital were consulted,
+or in any way taken into confidence with regard to the scheme--except,
+of course, the one who transferred himself from the service of his own
+country to that of China. "No one," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock, "knew
+that the Chinese were on the eve of a revolution which would materially
+change the aspect of affairs." This by way of explaining an important
+memorandum he had just written on the state of China, which would have
+been of a different tenor had any hint of what was intended been given to
+him.
+
+As the embassy was the first that China had sent to a foreign country,
+and as it was commissioned under some urgent demand which evidently
+would brook no delay, its composition, character, and objects are all
+interesting to the student of Chinese politics. There were three envoys,
+two Chinese and one foreign. The latter was the Hon. Anson Burlingame,
+Minister of the United States to China, who of course was the spokesman of
+the mission. A better selection for the purpose could not have been made,
+had even a larger choice of men been open to the Chinese. Mr Burlingame
+had been an active politician in his time, and was a practised orator. If
+we add the epithet "sophisticated rhetorician," which was ten years later
+applied to a still more eminent personage, that is little more than to say
+he was a special pleader. And he was engaged on special pleader's duty.
+Whatever the genesis of the mission, therefore, it was a master stroke of
+the Chinese Government, eclipsing all their other contrivances to resist
+the expected demands of foreigners at the revision of the treaties. It was
+the first open attempt by the Chinese to apply the homoeopathic principle
+to their international affairs in using the foreigner as an antidote to
+the foreigner.
+
+The Burlingame mission left Peking with the ostensible approval of
+the foreign representatives. The support of the British Minister was
+given in the most practical way by the permission granted to the acting
+Chinese secretary, Mr J. McLeavy Brown, to accept the secretaryship of
+the mission--a favour the more marked in that Mr Brown happened to be
+the _locum tenens_ of Mr Wade, who had just gone on leave, so that his
+departure left the British Legation destitute at a season of the year when
+it was impossible to call up substitutes from the ports, and at a time
+when the greatest burden of work was in prospect. And yet the true object
+of the mission was concealed from Sir Rutherford Alcock. "I do not know
+what Mr Burlingame's instructions may ultimately be," he wrote in January
+1868, adding, "but it is very obvious what is the work which devolves upon
+him." Sir Rutherford's judgment of its purpose seems to have been based on
+his own inferences from the facts of the situation and his unquestioning
+faith in Mr Burlingame's loyalty to his professed principles.
+
+He had known Mr Burlingame for two years as the _doyen_ of the diplomatic
+body, the most fervid champion of that "co-operative policy" whereby the
+treaty Powers agreed to act as a united body in pursuit of identical
+objects. He could not suppose that his late colleague had turned his
+back on those common objects without notice. Although, therefore, the
+suddenness and secrecy of the move might have suggested misgivings as
+to the mission being intended to promote the views of the diplomatic
+body in Peking, yet it is beyond question that Sir Rutherford Alcock
+heartily favoured the embassy. His confidence in it is further attested
+by a very long and elaborate memorandum which he addressed to Prince
+Kung, indicating the uses to which the embassy should be put in bringing
+about an understanding with the Powers, whereby Chinese interests would
+be safeguarded while the treaty rights of foreigners should be amply
+fulfilled. "I see in the mission a hope of improvement and a material
+change in the whole aspect of affairs.... Proves there are Ministers with
+power and influence in the councils of the emperor who believe the time
+has come for breaking with the past.... After a long night of weariness
+and futile efforts, daylight begins to appear.... I hail the appointment
+of a representative to the Western Powers as the beginning of a new era."
+Such was the Minister's valediction in his report to the Foreign Office.
+But he had been mightily deceived. The night had indeed been long, but
+it was not the true dawn which was welcomed with this joyful acclamation.
+How quickly the gloom settled down again on that scene of fruitless toil
+will presently be seen.
+
+The mission was introduced to the notice of the world by a humorous
+prelude, which may be quoted for the sake of the light it incidentally
+throws on the chronic state of China. On their way from Peking to
+Tientsin, seventy or eighty miles, the envoys halted at a large
+market-town, where a report met them of a phenomenon not very uncommon
+in those parts, especially in winter--a band of marauders who had been
+annoying the neighbourhood. The mission took refuge in an inn, resolved
+to stand a siege until aid should come. In this strait Mr Burlingame
+seems never to have thought of applying either to the local authorities
+of the town or to the Government he was serving, but despatched urgent
+messages to Peking, where there were escorts kept at the Russian and
+British Legations, and to Tientsin, where was the British gunboat Dove.
+His appeals were answered with alacrity from both sides. From Peking came
+a relief party of British and Russian soldiers in charge of members of
+the two Legations; from Tientsin a party of mounted bluejackets under
+Lieutenant Dunlop. They met at the half-way house where the mission lay,
+but nothing could be seen or heard of the besiegers. Mr Burlingame's
+party reached their port of embarkation without further adventure. Indeed
+the only serious matter that arose out of the imbroglio was a difference
+of opinion between one Vodkansky of the Cossack guard and Mulvaney, a
+sturdy Hibernian of the British escort, which the latter proposed to
+settle by the means in vogue among heroes before the days of Agamemnon.
+Tragic consequences were, however, averted by the soothing diplomacy
+of the representative of her Majesty's Legation, Mr Conolly, and the
+two Burlingame relief expeditions returned to their respective stations
+nothing the worse for a couple of days' outing in the bracing November
+air.
+
+Mr Burlingame made his _début_ in the United States, first by eloquent
+speeches in San Francisco, and next by what assumed the form of
+serious negotiations at Washington. An orator cannot reasonably be held
+accountable for every detail of his orations, but Mr Burlingame's mission
+may be most favourably summarised by a few carefully chosen words of his
+own:--
+
+    1st. It was the object of the mission to disabuse the foreign
+    Powers of an impression they were supposed to entertain, that the
+    Chinese Government had entered upon a retrograde policy.
+
+    2nd. To deprecate a precipitate and unfriendly attempt on their
+    part to enter upon a policy which might make all progress
+    impossible from its menacing tone and "violent shock to the
+    feelings, and even prejudices, of the people."
+
+Translated into practice, these propositions meant that China wished
+to be let alone; and that, we may safely assume, represented the whole
+extent of Mr Burlingame's instructions. This claim was embodied in a
+convention which he made at Washington, comprising certain "additional
+articles" to the American treaty of 1858, the purport of which was that
+the United States undertook to apply no pressure to China, which, it may
+be presumed, that Power had never the intention of doing. The convention
+was for several reasons not welcomed at Peking, but it served the only
+purpose which perhaps it was ever expected to serve, that of giving the
+keynote to the representations which the envoy was afterwards to make to
+the various Powers in Europe.
+
+The next Government to which Mr Burlingame addressed himself was that
+of Great Britain, over which he obtained a more important success than
+over that of the United States. In fact, he persuaded Lord Clarendon
+to discard all the information that ever reached the Foreign Office
+from its own responsible agents in China--men who were bound by every
+consideration of loyalty and public duty to report only what was true,
+and to accept instead thereof the protestations of an agent hired to
+make out a case; for it is superfluous to add that Mr Burlingame was
+far indeed from representing the true state of facts. He succeeded in so
+altering the course of the British Government that their agent in China
+was discredited, stultified, and rendered powerless to effect the objects
+for which he had been labouring. This was the first step of the Foreign
+Office in the new departure which had many evil results--that, namely, of
+taking their cue not from agents in their own pay, but from others over
+whom they could exercise no control, and who had alien interests to serve.
+
+From the Chinese point of view the Burlingame mission was a decided
+success.
+
+
+III. CHINESE OUTRAGES--YANGCHOW AND FORMOSA.
+
+    Missions attacked at Yangchow--Redress refused by Chinese
+    and enforced by consul--With naval assistance--Satisfactory
+    issue--Continuous outrages in Formosa--Government affords no
+    relief--Disturbances quelled by British forces--Lawlessness near
+    Swatow--Communications with interior controlled by bandits--Order
+    restored by Consul Alabaster with naval force--Peace and
+    good feeling between Chinese and foreigners resulting from
+    these various measures--Which were approved by Imperial
+    Government--Disapproved by British Government in consequence of Mr
+    Burlingame's representations--Consuls punished--Lord Clarendon,
+    prompted by Mr Burlingame, sends fresh instructions to Minister
+    and consuls.
+
+The year 1868 was marked by serious anti-foreign outbreaks in widely
+distant provinces of the empire. At Yangchow, a wealthy city on the Grand
+Canal, twelve miles from the left bank of the Yangtze river, a favourite
+resort for retired officials, rich salt merchants, and gentry, the Inland
+missionaries under the orders of Mr Hudson Taylor established themselves.
+In no locality in China could they have been less welcome, for there they
+met their natural enemies in the greatest force. Before long an attack
+on them was organised at the instigation of the literati and gentry, and
+with the connivance of the local authorities. "The onslaught was sudden
+and severe, the mob set fire to the premises, the ladies and children of
+the mission had to be thrown out of the windows to save their lives."
+There was no mistake, therefore, as to the murderous intentions of the
+assailants. The nearest British consul was at Shanghai, the consulate at
+Chinkiang, twelve miles from the scene of the outrage, being in charge
+of an assistant, Mr Clement Allen. That young officer hastened instantly
+to the assistance of the missionaries, and made his protest against the
+culpable negligence, to say no more, of the Chinese officials, who on
+their part made a great to-do of hushing the matter up and repairing the
+injured house. Consul Medhurst promptly followed up the representations
+made by Mr Allen by personal appeal to the viceroy at Nanking, fifty miles
+distant. The mind of that high official had already been prejudiced by
+ingeniously falsified reports of the transaction supplied to him by the
+prefect of Yangchow, and in consequence he refused Mr Medhurst's request
+to depute an official to accompany him to that city for the purpose of
+investigating the facts. Thereupon Mr Medhurst, availing himself of the
+arrival of H.M.'s ship Rinaldo at Chinkiang, obtained from her commander
+a sufficient escort to accompany him to Yangchow; and then only did the
+viceroy, Tsêng Kwo-fan, appoint an officer, though of totally inadequate
+rank, to co-operate with the consul. The Chinese officer did not, however,
+keep his appointment, and Mr Medhurst proceeded without him, and placed
+in the hands of the prefect at Yangchow a written demand for redress, one
+of the items being the seizure and punishment of the gentry, whose names
+were submitted. The prefect at once declared his inability to deal with
+men of such influence, all being of higher rank than himself. As nothing,
+therefore, could be settled at Yangchow, the prefect agreed to accompany
+Mr Medhurst to Nanking to lay the whole matter before the viceroy.
+A deputy from the viceroy, however, met Mr Medhurst at Chinkiang and
+endeavoured to dissuade him from proceeding to Nanking, offering instead
+to accompany him back to Yangchow, according to the original programme. Mr
+Medhurst, in his turn, persuaded the deputy to return with him to Nanking
+on H.M.'s ship Rinaldo, which was to start from Chinkiang the following
+morning. But the deputy Chang did not keep that appointment, any more
+than he had kept his previous one. The prefect of Yangchow also found
+means of evading his promise to accompany the consul into the presence
+of the viceroy. After much pressure on the one side and evasion on the
+other, the viceroy offered to settle the matter by a charitable gratuity
+to the missionaries in lieu of damages, and showed his anxiety to get
+the affair patched up quickly by sending an official of rank to follow
+Mr Medhurst on board H.M.'s ship Rinaldo, where he spent two hours in
+attempting to persuade the consul to accept the terms offered. Matters
+were, in fact, in a fair way of settlement when, "just at this juncture,"
+the commander of the Rinaldo fell sick and determined to proceed with
+his ship to Shanghai, the consul being thus left in a humiliating and
+helpless position, as Sir Rutherford Alcock describes it. The Chinese
+officials at once changed their tone, withdrew from negotiations, and
+nothing more could be done with them. The action of the naval officer
+in abandoning the consul was freely criticised at the time, and being in
+consequence asked by the Admiralty for an explanation, he stated, among
+other things, "that it never entered his head that the presence simply
+of a small man-of-war could have the effect of influencing the viceroy."
+He also stated that he had "been given to understand that the viceroy had
+expressed his willingness to comply with Mr Medhurst's requests, and would
+send a letter to that effect that night or the next morning." The gallant
+officer did not appear to perceive that the withdrawal of his ship before
+the viceroy's promise had been fulfilled completely changed the situation.
+
+Nothing was left for the consul, then, but to lay the whole case before
+H.M.'s Minister, and in doing so he made these observations: "I can call
+to mind, out of my experience of British relations with China, scarcely
+one instance in which the outrage complained of has been more unprovoked
+on the part of the sufferers, and in which the evidence of neglect and
+culpability on the part of the local authorities has been more marked
+and incontrovertible. Few cases can have occurred, moreover, in which the
+power to grant prompt and reasonable redress was more within the reach of
+the supreme provincial authority."
+
+The Minister, in his turn, had no resource but to call upon the admiral
+on the station "to repair the mischief by sending such naval force
+to the mouth of the Grand Canal as shall enable him, if necessary, to
+apply effective pressure both on the local authorities and populace at
+Yangchow and on the viceroy at Nanking," to whom the consul was once
+more instructed to address himself. Of course the Minister had before
+this applied in the usual form to the Tsungli-Yamên, and with the usual
+result. They deprecated hasty conclusions until they themselves had
+full information from the local authorities; but they admitted without
+hesitation that, assuming the facts, full redress must be granted.
+
+The Minister's representations to the Central Government were renewed
+with greater emphasis on receipt of the news of the collapse of the
+consul's negotiations. Prince Kung then expressed his readiness to
+make the compensations demanded; but as regarded the punishment of the
+instigators of the outrage, he contented himself with tacitly indorsing
+the plea of the viceroy, "that the gentry indicated were men of high
+rank, and incapable of wilful disregard of treaty provisions, for which
+reason they need not be called to account." In reply the Minister stated
+that immunity to such offenders, more especially if highly placed, is
+wholly incompatible with the treaty rights of foreigners. A new inquiry,
+however, was instituted at Yangchow, and the Viceroy Tsêng, who had just
+been gazetted to another post, was warned not to leave Nanking until the
+affair was concluded. After an interval of two months, Consul Medhurst,
+escorted by a naval force despatched to his aid by Admiral Keppel, sent
+his cards once more to the Nanking viceroy. The old tactics were repeated,
+and negotiations threatened to be indefinitely protracted, but eventually
+promises were given for the full redress demanded. Promises, however, had
+been given before, and it was deemed not unreasonable in the circumstances
+to demand a material guarantee. There happened to be lying at anchor
+opposite the city a small steamer recently built for the viceroy, which
+he was induced to place under the orders of Captain Heneage, R.N.,
+pending the execution of the arrangements. The end of the discussion
+was a complete and satisfactory settlement of the whole affair, which
+included the deprivation of the prefect and the magistrate of Yangchow.
+The after-effects have been no less satisfactory. For the last thirty
+years Yangchow has been the most peaceable missionary field in the whole
+empire. We have set forth this incident in some detail, because it was
+typical, isolated, and free from all obscurities.
+
+While these events were passing on the Yangtze, similar troubles, which
+had been threatening for some time, came to a head in the island of
+Formosa. Outbreaks of mob-violence against the property and person of
+both missionaries and merchants took place in different parts of the
+island. At Banca, in the Tamsui district, two English merchants, Messrs
+Kerr and Bird, were murderously assaulted by a ferocious armed mob, and
+Mr Holt, the acting vice-consul at Tamsui, reported in October 1868 that
+"remonstrance, expostulation, despatches, letters, messages, and visits
+having alike failed in securing common justice" from the mandarin, he
+might be "driven at any moment to strike his consular flag and close
+communication with the authorities. Our lives are threatened by people
+who have proved that the will to murder us is not wanting," and with whom
+the authorities either could not or would not interfere. Mr Holt held
+his ground until assistance reached him, and he made no secret of his
+intention to back his diplomacy by a show of force whenever he got the
+chance. "Short of destruction of life and property," he wrote, "I intend
+using any means in my power to enforce that justice that the people who
+are supposed to administer it deny me. On the arrival of the gunboat I
+will at once inform your Excellency of the measures concerted between the
+commander and myself." Vice-Admiral Keppel reported to the Admiralty in
+December that "the opportune arrival of H.M. gunboat Janus and the United
+States Aroostook was followed by a full compliance with the demands of
+her Majesty's consul."
+
+Matters did not run quite so smoothly at the other end of the island,
+where missionaries as well as merchants were the object of attack. The
+campaign was carried on with vigour for some six months. Redress was
+not only unobtainable from the Chinese authorities, but even personal
+access to them was rendered impossible by the obstruction of the mob.
+Mr George Jamieson was obliged to forego a visit to the magistrate
+at Taiwan in April on the latter confessing that he could not protect
+him from violence. Mr Gibson, five months later, found his road to the
+mandarin ambuscaded by three parties of sixty or seventy men each, armed
+with jingalls, swords, and spears. Outrage succeeded outrage during the
+whole period. The state of affairs was of course a subject of serious
+remonstrance with the Central Government, of whom the Minister first
+demanded, as in the Yangchow case, a joint inquiry into the facts. For
+this purpose the consul, Mr Swinhoe, who had been absent on other duty,
+was ordered to his proper post. At the same time Vice-Admiral Keppel was
+requested to send an adequate naval force to support the consul's position
+and prevent further outbreaks.
+
+The Yamên went through the form of ordering to the spot a commissioner,
+who, however, left it again immediately, thus turning the orders of the
+Yamên into ridicule. This proceeding naturally encouraged the hostility
+of the local officials and of the mob who executed their behests. The
+situation became most threatening.
+
+The squadron detached by Admiral Keppel for active operations at Takow
+and its neighbourhood consisted of three corvettes and five gunboats, to
+be reinforced if necessary by the flagship Rodney, carrying eighty-two
+guns. Before this imposing force arrived, however, the task they were
+intended to achieve had been already accomplished. "Driven to despair,
+and believing life and property to be in great danger, Mr Gibson, without
+waiting for instructions, called upon Lieutenant Gurdon of the gunboat
+Algerine to take possession of the Chinese fort, which resulted in a loss
+of life and a destruction of Government stores."
+
+Mr Gibson's action was somewhat euphemistically described as "without
+waiting for instructions," seeing that he had positive instructions
+to maintain his ground until a naval force should arrive. Both the
+operation itself and certain details of its execution were adverted
+upon so severely, first by Sir Rutherford Alcock and then by the British
+Government, that, notwithstanding Commodore Jones's commendation of "the
+most brilliant exploit I have heard of in these seas," Lieutenant Gurdon
+fell under the displeasure of the Lords of the Admiralty, as the acting
+consul did under that of the Foreign Office. The object of the joint
+adventure, however, was attained, and the spirit of outrage among the
+Chinese completely subdued. This happened in December.
+
+There remained, however, yet another centre of turbulence which greatly
+impeded the operation of the treaty, at the port of Swatow. The villages
+which lie between that seaport and the district city of Chow-chow-fu,
+some 12 miles up the river Han, had banded themselves together to oppose
+foreign intercourse with the latter city. Not only were the business and
+property of foreign merchants interfered with, but a British man-of-war
+gig in the river was fired upon, and when the men landed to identify the
+offender they were overpowered by the whole population of the nearest
+village. This hostile attitude, resembling very much that of the Canton
+villages twenty years before, steadily increased until the native
+officials themselves were not safe in passing to and from the district
+city. Strong representations were made to the high authorities of the
+province at Canton. The viceroy had promised to send a military force to
+quell the riotous villages, but before he had proved the sincerity of his
+intention the Gordian knot was cut by British initiative in January 1869.
+The late Sir Challoner Alabaster, a man of uncommon resolution, was at
+that time acting consul at Swatow; and he, having secured the co-operation
+of Commodore Jones, led a force of marines and bluejackets against the
+offending villages. A stout resistance was offered at first, but when
+several of the villages had been taken and destroyed the whole eighteen
+made their submission. Thereafter the district enjoyed perfect peace
+and security. In the following March Sir Rutherford Alcock was able to
+telegraph to Lord Clarendon that "the accounts from all the ports showed
+that peace and order had been restored; that at Yangchow and Formosa
+entire security and an improved position had been obtained; that there
+was no more cause for anxiety at any point; that the best understanding
+existed with the foreign body at Peking; and that the relations with China
+had never been more satisfactory."
+
+The bearing of these occurrences on the revision of the treaty may not at
+first sight be quite clear, but it is interesting to note in what manner
+they were connected with that operation in the mind of Sir Rutherford
+Alcock. He calculated that the necessity of using force to vindicate
+foreign treaty rights, of which both he and his predecessor had constantly
+warned them, would bring home to the Peking authorities the alternative
+which they would always have to face in case of failure to carry out the
+treaties. How very differently these outrages and the enforced redress
+affected the situation in Peking will now be seen.
+
+The action taken at Yangchow and in Formosa having been fully explained
+to the Tsungli-Yamên, Wênsiang and the other Ministers expressed their
+entire concurrence. But what satisfied the Government of China produced
+quite another impression on that of Great Britain. Lord Stanley, as
+Foreign Secretary, had written on November 20, 1868: "Mr Medhurst appears
+to have acted with great prudence and firmness, and you will convey to
+him my approval of his proceedings.... I have to instruct you [Sir R.
+Alcock] to press the case in question upon the Chinese Government." Two
+months later Mr Medhurst was reprimanded by Lord Clarendon for his action,
+and the "full satisfaction for the outrage" was attributed exclusively
+to the "readiness with which the Central Government took measures that
+proved effectual." The change of Government which had in the interval
+taken place in England (December 9, 1868) was hardly sufficient to account
+for so diametrical a change of view in a matter of imperial concern.
+Another agency had effected the conversion of the British Government.
+Mr Burlingame had arrived fresh from fervid denunciations in the United
+States of the "tyrannic policy" and the "throat policy" of Great Britain
+as applied to China, and adroitly seizing on the repression of the
+Yangchow and Formosa outrages as flagrant examples, he succeeded in
+incensing Lord Clarendon against the various British officials concerned
+in these troubles, whom his lordship visited with punishment which
+scarcely stopped short of vindictiveness. Mr Medhurst, indeed, a man of
+long and distinguished service, had only a black mark set against his
+name; but Mr Gibson was publicly censured and degraded, and ordered to
+make an apology to the Chinese officials whose lawless aggressions he
+had lawlessly repelled. With some inconsistency, Lord Clarendon, about
+the same time, approved the conduct of Acting-Consul Holt at Tamsui, who
+succeeded in adjusting most serious misunderstandings with the Chinese
+through no other means than the visible force of the small gunboat Janus,
+for whose arrival he waited before preferring his demands.
+
+That the sudden change in the policy of the British Government was the
+work of Mr Burlingame was frankly avowed by Lord Clarendon himself, who
+based the fresh instructions to the Minister in China on the arrangements
+he had concluded with the Chinese representative. In his letter of
+condemnation, January 14, 1869, he, moreover, intimated that he could not
+wait before pronouncing judgment for Sir Rutherford Alcock's complete
+report on the Yangchow affair, because his "communication with Mr
+Burlingame ... rendered it necessary that he should not defer making his
+observations." That a British Secretary of State could have so demeaned
+his office would not have been believed save on his own confession. He
+of course carried the Admiralty with him, and the same influence which
+inspired the new instructions issued to the Minister and consuls inspired
+those issued to the commanding officers on the China station.
+
+Taken textually, the negotiations between Mr Burlingame and Lord Clarendon
+were of a platonic character. H.M.'s Government undertook to apply
+no pressure to China. It would have been a simple matter to refrain
+from applying pressure, and a tacit resolution to that effect with
+corresponding instruction to the Minister in Peking would have secured the
+object. To make it a subject of direct pledge to the Chinese Government
+seemed one of those gratuitous acts which all diplomatic experience
+condemns as fraught with future embarrassments. To save appearances,
+however, a nominal equivalent was taken. "Mr Burlingame was requested to
+bear in mind, and to make known to the Chinese Government, that we should
+henceforward have a right to expect on its part the faithful fulfilment
+of treaty engagements, the prompt redress of grievances referred to the
+Central Government, and friendly treatment of British subjects by the
+Chinese authorities"--as if all that had not been already stipulated for
+under the solemn sanction of the existing treaty.
+
+
+IV. REVISION NEGOTIATIONS AND CONCLUSION.
+
+    Lukewarmness of British Government--Sir R. Alcock's misgivings
+    as to success--Mixed commission in Peking to consider
+    details--Mr Hart's predominance--Treaty becomes a custom-house
+    concern--Increase of duties being the Chinese aim--Sir
+    Rutherford Alcock attributes failure to Mr Burlingame's
+    misrepresentations--Merchants oppose the treaty--Ratification
+    refused by British Government--Inferences from this
+    fiasco--Chinese influenced by force alone.
+
+Let us now revert to the cause and origin of the Burlingame mission--the
+revision of the treaty of Tientsin. The instruction for revision was
+given by Lord Stanley on August 16, 1867, in such general terms as the
+following:--
+
+    Her Majesty's Government neither wish, nor have they the
+    right, to impose sacrifices on China, even though they may be
+    convinced that the inconvenience of such sacrifices will be only
+    temporary, whereas the benefit which will result from them will be
+    lasting.... We must reconcile ourselves to waiting for the gradual
+    development of that [better] system, and content ourselves with
+    reserving for revision at a future period any new arrangement we
+    may come to in 1868.... You will of course act openly with the
+    representatives of other Powers, inviting and availing yourself
+    of their co-operation.
+
+A note of misgiving as to the policy of asking for the revision runs
+through the whole correspondence. After the preliminary labours of sifting
+the voluminous memorials from merchants and others, Sir Rutherford Alcock
+sums up their demands thus: "All their wants turn upon three or four
+cardinal defects, not of the treaties so much as in their execution." And
+he adds the significant reflection: "The question arises, if nothing is to
+be gained by demanding a revision, ... whether much would not be lost, and
+an opportunity thrown away, which might, by reserving the right, be turned
+to better account when the emperor's majority is declared. I believe the
+true policy of foreign Powers would be to wait; ... to this conclusion
+... all the representatives of foreign Powers now in Peking are led." "The
+Chinese," he also says, "would go much faster and better if left alone."
+
+The question naturally suggested by these remarks--why a task involving
+enormous labour, of which only negative results were to be expected, was
+entered upon at all at such an inopportune moment--remains unanswered.
+
+It would be insufferably tedious, and of no practical utility, to track
+the windings of a maze leading nowhere, for the revised treaty was never
+ratified. But the labours of two whole years could not but leave landmarks
+to guide succeeding travellers over the same ground. It could not be but
+that with so much beating of the bushes the game would be started, if not
+brought to bag. It was a reconnaissance in force which, for the first
+time, compelled the respective parties to the struggle to reveal their
+true character and intentions. Such a discovery was perhaps not too dearly
+bought by the time and trouble expended on it.
+
+The first definite step in the process of revision was the nomination of
+a mixed commission of British and Chinese "to devise means of securing a
+more prompt redress of commercial grievances." The members were Mr Fraser,
+second secretary to the British Legation; Mr Hart, Inspector-General of
+Customs; and two secretaries of the Tsungli-Yamên--a heavy preponderance
+on the Chinese side of the question. To the same commission was added
+another British member, Mr Adkins. And here it is not impertinent to
+observe that the absence of both the Chinese secretary, Mr Wade, and the
+acting Chinese secretary, Mr Brown, left the Legation in a condition too
+crippled to engage on work which would have taxed its full strength. The
+members of the commission held many sittings, reporting proceedings from
+time to time to their respective principals, the Tsungli-Yamên and the
+British Minister.
+
+It needs no great effort of imagination to divine, in a body thus
+composed, whose would be the dominant voice. Mr Hart conducted the
+proceedings throughout. The discussion had not gone far when it was found
+hopeless to revise the provisions of the treaty in any sense compatible
+with progress or freer intercourse; and the dangerous questions which had
+caused the Government so much anxiety, and which had inspired both the
+Burlingame mission and the various secret memorials, being thus happily
+ruled outside the controversy, the Chinese Ministers seem to have given
+themselves no further concern about the revision. This distant attitude
+of theirs was severely commented on by a contemporary writer in 'Fraser's
+Magazine,' who said:--
+
+    After ten years of conciliatory blandishments on our part, the
+    high Chinese authorities had so far disobeyed the spirit of the
+    treaty that, although they had not actually prevented our Minister
+    from corresponding and visiting with them, yet they had had the
+    audacity to render all such intercourse absolutely nugatory,
+    and had constrained him, after a long and successful diplomatic
+    career, to descend to the extremely humiliating position of
+    treating with them indirectly through the medium of Mr R. Hart.
+
+As, however, the proceedings became focussed on a tariff revision destined
+to add to the duty receipts, a "collector of revenue wanting money," as Mr
+Hart described himself, was the most fitting negotiator, and the Chinese
+ministers were well pleased to leave him free to make his own bargain, so
+long as it yielded that result.
+
+To give colour to the Chinese demand for higher duties a bold formula was
+resorted to, and supported by equally bold reasoning. The expedient was
+a rearrangement of the method of collection of inland dues on foreign
+merchandise, which was then, as it continues to be, the great bone of
+contention between foreign traders and the Chinese authorities. The
+treaties conferred on merchants the right of compounding for all inland
+taxation of their merchandise by a single payment at the port of entry;
+but the practices of the Chinese officials had rendered the privilege a
+nullity. In the new negotiations Mr Hart, on the part of the Chinese,
+took the high ground of maintaining, with subtle dialectic, that the
+protection which foreigners claimed was not in fact given by the treaties.
+So strongly did the Chinese entrench themselves in this contention, that
+heavy artillery was required to dislodge them. "Could any negotiators
+be so dull or incompetent," wrote Sir R. Alcock in reply, "as to sign a
+treaty of commerce with an Eastern potentate, extorted at the point of
+the bayonet, and leave this unlimited power in his hands to turn against
+us the next moment, or whenever he pleased, and nullify all that had been
+stipulated, destroying the trade for which alone war had been made?"
+Defeated in argument, the Chinese next begged that what they could not
+claim as a right might yet be accorded to them as a favour, thus copying
+the tactics of the Japanese in an analogous case.
+
+As this proved to be the crux of the whole transaction, the rock on which
+the convention eventually split, it is useful to consider how the subject
+was treated in the negotiations. The treaties of Nanking, 1842, and of
+Tientsin, 1858, provided for the transit of British goods throughout
+the empire on payment of a fixed charge. But in securing exemption from
+arbitrary imposts in the interior, the treaty of Nanking signally failed;
+that of Tientsin had proved equally ineffective, and why? From inherent
+difficulties in the nature of things--obstacles absolutely insuperable
+so long as the country remained under the same organic conditions. Such
+were the propositions with which the British Minister entered upon the
+discussion of the subject; and as no proposal was made for changing the
+organic conditions of the empire, the prospect of obtaining a satisfactory
+fulfilment of those treaty provisions did not seem very encouraging.
+
+But then a suggestion, apparently emanating from Consul Robertson at
+Canton, was made for simplifying the problem by doing away with the option
+which had been reserved in the treaties for foreign merchants, either
+to pay the commutation at the port of landing, or to allow their goods
+to run the gantlet of the Chinese customs stations. Instead of this, it
+was suggested that a single compulsory payment, amounting to half the
+import tariff, might be levied on the landing of the goods, which should
+thereafter be freed from all other imposts throughout the empire. It
+was not unnatural that a "collector of revenue" should appropriate this
+conception, and introduce it into the revised treaty; but then the doubt
+immediately arose on the other side, whether the promised exemption would
+be any more of a reality than it had been under the existing _régime_. If
+the difficulties in the way of fulfilling the stipulation in the treaty
+of Tientsin and Nanking were really insuperable, would they now disappear
+merely because the Chinese Government received an increased import duty?
+In considering Mr Hart's proposal, "the question would be," according to
+Sir Rutherford Alcock, "Could we obtain a sufficient guarantee that such
+additional import due would effectually exempt British goods from all
+other dues, local, provincial, and what not?" And again, "Security for
+exemption from all but the fixed 2½ per cent was the one question on which
+depended the value of any revision."
+
+A necessary condition of any successful treaty was the assent of
+all the other Powers to its provisions, seeing that under their
+most-favoured-nation clauses any one of them by holding aloof could
+render the treaty inoperative. The various foreign representatives were
+therefore kept informed of the progress of negotiations. In this way their
+opinions were obtained from time to time as to the merits of the various
+proposals. On the subject of the compulsory payment of transit dues the
+opinions which the British Minister received from his colleagues were
+all unfavourable. They considered that some "additional guarantee would
+be necessary against failure, and as against security for additional
+losses which would be entailed upon the merchants." To give effect to
+the new proposals an edict was to be published acquainting all provincial
+officials with what had been agreed upon. But still the diplomatic body
+maintained "that nothing is really certain but the addition of 2½ per
+cent to the import duties. This will be rigorously exacted and paid;
+but whether the equivalent exemption from all other taxation will be
+obtained must be held doubtful, ... seeing that in the past the same
+provincial authorities have shown the most persistent disregard of
+treaty stipulations and proclamations." "Under such circumstances," Sir
+Rutherford adds, "it would seem reasonable that, during the first year
+at least, all amounts collected under the new arrangements ... should be
+carried to a separate account ... to meet claims for compensation." In the
+end, however, he saw reason to waive this proviso, to disregard the views
+of his colleagues, and to assent to the new impost, without any guarantee.
+Attempts to obtain concessions from the Chinese in the way of freer
+intercourse proved, as we have said, hopeless from the first. The renewal
+of the Chinese demand to establish a customs station in Hongkong--that
+"immense smuggling depot"--was refused on the British side; while the
+British request for recognition of Hongkong as a port of call for goods
+in transit to Canton was in like manner refused on the Chinese side,
+because it "would give the place a respectable name" as well as make it
+the "great emporium of the south." Hongkong, it is fair to remember, was,
+not unnaturally, odious in the eyes of the Chinese. The more prosperous
+the colony became, the more they hated it; and the more patriotic among
+them--as, for instance, the Minister Wênsiang--detested it the most.
+
+The ruling factor in eliminating all measures of progress from the
+negotiations and reducing the whole to a customs question was Mr
+Burlingame.
+
+    After the arrival of the mission to Washington [wrote Sir
+    Rutherford on February 27, 1869] the hopes which the signature
+    of the additional articles was calculated to excite undoubtedly
+    exercise a very prejudicial effect on my efforts.... With Mr
+    Burlingame's enthusiastic reception, and the prompt signature
+    of the convention by which the United States Government pledged
+    itself to leave China free to adopt or reject all such innovations
+    and internal improvements, and even to use its influence with
+    other Powers for the same end, they gained precisely the assurance
+    they wanted.... From that moment further progress or successful
+    negotiation became impossible.
+
+He added in a subsequent despatch to Lord Clarendon:--
+
+    One result stands out more clearly than any other, and it is this:
+    what we have gained by the last year's preliminary negotiations is
+    not likely to be withdrawn. But if it was difficult to negotiate
+    for large concessions before the assurance authoritatively given
+    by your lordship to Mr Burlingame, ... it is now out of the
+    question to hope for more than has already been conceded....
+    Strong in the assurances of two of the treaty Powers, ... it is
+    quite certain that no further progress can be made at present. It
+    simply remains for her Majesty's Government to determine whether
+    they will carry out the revision on the basis proposed and already
+    assented to by the Chinese Government, or defer the revision
+    altogether to some later period.
+
+The provisional report of the negotiations having been submitted by the
+Foreign Office to the other treaty Powers for their opinion, most of
+them contented themselves with amicable generalities, the only definite
+criticism elicited being that of the North German Confederation. Going
+straight to the core of the matter, in May 1869, Count Bernstorff wrote
+as follows, basing his remarks upon the opinion of the German merchants:--
+
+    Although the advantages which are to be expected for trade in
+    general from the abolition of the "lekin taxes" would not be
+    too dearly bought by this extension of the transit duty to all
+    commodities, yet, on the other hand, the treaty Powers certainly
+    have the right of demanding the abolition of the taxes levied
+    contrary to treaty, even without giving anything in return,
+    and they might probably obtain this result by common action.
+    And then, moreover, it appears, from existing circumstances
+    in China, exceedingly questionable whether this tax, even if
+    abolished by imperial edict in consequence of a treaty, would not,
+    nevertheless, still be levied by the mandarins, although perhaps
+    in another shape, since now indeed they have their assignments
+    thereon.
+
+Doubts on the part of the Foreign Office led to further correspondence
+backwards and forwards, closing with the following ambiguous despatch,
+dated 29th September, which was transmitted by telegram, a very slow
+process in those days:--
+
+    If you should not have concluded an arrangement before this
+    reaches you, her Majesty's Government think it would be better
+    to protract negotiations rather than accept now a limited
+    arrangement, which would be binding for so long a period as ten
+    years, and which would not comprise a satisfactory arrangement
+    respecting transit duties, and which might compromise the right
+    of her Majesty's Government to take part in the negotiations of
+    other Powers for a revision of their treaties.
+
+    Should you, however, have completed any arrangement, you may be
+    assured that the best view will be taken of it here.
+
+The supplementary convention was, in fact, signed in October, and Sir
+Rutherford Alcock took his leave immediately after, visiting the Yangtze,
+Shanghai, Hongkong, and India on his way to Europe. At these places
+he explained in general terms the bearing of the treaty, the Indian
+Government being specially concerned in the increase of the Chinese import
+duty on opium, to which the trade generally were absolutely indifferent.
+
+The supplementary convention was exhaustively reviewed by the Shanghai
+General Chamber of Commerce in a memorial addressed to Lord Clarendon
+(December 31, 1869). To the practical view of the merchants the treaty
+consisted of three clauses: one making compulsory what had previously been
+optional--the payment of half the import duty in commutation of inland
+dues on foreign merchandise; one doubling the export duty on raw silk;
+and the third more than doubling the import duty on opium. Of these, the
+first alone was deemed important. The consideration offered by the Chinese
+Government for the compulsory payment--that they would frank imported
+goods through nine of the eighteen provinces of China--was not regarded as
+an equivalent; for the treaty of Tientsin contained the same undertaking
+without the geographical limitation, but it had not been fulfilled. The
+ground alleged for this non-observance of the existing treaty had been
+the existence of insurmountable obstacles in connection with provincial
+and imperial finance. These obstacles, the merchants observed, were
+"now assumed to have been suddenly overcome," an assumption which they
+considered illusory. The question of transit dues was not new to them:
+it had been threshed out on all sides during weary years; it was the
+recurrent topic of the day with them, as it was destined to continue to
+be for a generation longer; and the merchants could not therefore believe
+that the difficulties against which they had been hopelessly struggling
+were suddenly removed by magic. They were not shown how the revolution was
+to be effected. In short, "the conclusion," they said, "was irresistible,
+that to a very great extent the commutation of transit dues, which is
+made compulsory by the new treaty, will simply become an additional tax
+on trade without any return whatever; and that the provincial authorities
+will as heretofore tax goods in transit very much as they please, the
+treaty stipulation to the contrary notwithstanding,"--a conclusion
+supported by arguments which could not be refuted.
+
+Sir Thomas Wade some years later expressed the same views as the merchants
+had done. "I doubted," he said, "the good faith of officials when breach
+of faith could only be established by the evidence of those subject to
+their authority and entirely in their power.... I have since found reason
+to believe that the control of taxation in the provinces is a matter of
+no small trouble to the Central Government as at present constituted,
+if indeed it be possible at all." Nevertheless, he adds, "I have found
+occasion to regret that the convention has not been allowed at least a
+term of probation." A term of probation was the alternative suggested by
+the merchants also, but it seems never to have received any consideration
+from the Foreign Office.
+
+The representation which the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce based upon
+their review of the treaty was adopted by influential commercial bodies in
+England, who in a "monstrous deputation," as Mr Hammond called it, urged
+on the Secretary for Foreign Affairs the non-ratification of the treaty.
+The British Government gave way, not, as they candidly admitted, convinced
+by the reasoning, but overawed by the electoral pressure of the merchants;
+and the supplementary convention was allowed to fall through.
+
+Thus ended the first attempt to negotiate a treaty with China as a
+perfectly free agent. The conclusion to be drawn not only from the
+negative result, but from the whole process of the negotiations--from the
+memorials from the provinces, and still more from the Privy Council, the
+six boards, and the censorates--is, as stated by Sir Rutherford Alcock in
+May 1869, "that the old spirit of arrogance of the days of Lin and Yeh is
+still in full vigour, and the assumption of superiority over the barbarian
+absolutely unmeasured. That the anti-foreign element amongst the official
+and educated classes has suffered no diminution whatever; that if some
+two or three leading men take a clearer view of the political situation,
+they are evidently without power to take action upon it; and so the vessel
+of State is allowed to drift whichever way the tide of prejudice and
+ignorance may set. There are still some documents," he added, "wanting to
+complete the series, especially the answer of Li Hung-chang and a second
+memorial of Tsêng Kwo-fan [p. 184 _seq._], which it would be desirable to
+obtain as showing the policy advocated by two of the most prominent men
+in the empire at this moment."
+
+One sentence of Sir Rutherford Alcock sums up the case China _v._ the
+West: "Pressure, indeed, there must always be here if anything is to be
+achieved for the advancement of foreign interests and commerce. In one
+way or other, however we may disguise it, our position in China has been
+created by force--naked, physical force; and any intelligent policy to
+improve or maintain that position must still look to force in some form,
+latent or expressed, for the results." Whether the Western nations,
+singly or collectively, are justified in using their force for such a
+purpose is a question which is not affected by this plain statement of the
+case. That the policy of the Western Powers has been largely influenced
+by sentimental consideration towards China is true; but their action
+has never been consistent with their professions, and their oscillation
+between coercion and submission has led to disastrous consequences.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [15] He now knows better.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+MISSIONARY PROBLEM--TIENTSIN MASSACRE OF 1870.
+
+    Importance of missionary question long foreseen by Consul
+    Alcock--Introduction of missionaries under two French
+    treaties--Toleration of Christians under treaties of 1858--Forced
+    upon China--Ardour of missionary spirit uncontrollable--Negligence
+    of treaty-makers in providing no regulations for admission of
+    the propaganda--Contrasted with the care bestowed on trade
+    regulations--Religious toleration of the Chinese--Christian
+    intolerance--Surreptitious article in French Convention of
+    1860--Giving large privileges to missionaries in the interior--Its
+    abuse complained of by Chinese--Enforced restitution of old
+    property--Bitter injustice--Disintegrating action of the
+    propaganda--Abuses of extra-territoriality--Interference in
+    local affairs--Detaching natives from their allegiance--Causes of
+    strife--Chinese Government culpable in permitting abuses--Disputes
+    about land and houses--Chinese official laxity compensated
+    for by unofficial illegitimate methods--Attacks on missions
+    fomented thereby--No remedy possible without the unanimous
+    consent of the Powers--Each having different objects--Fruits
+    of widespread hostility to missions appeared in 1868--Riot and
+    outrage--Culminated in Tientsin massacre of 1870--Details of the
+    occurrence--Treated cavalierly by Imperial Government--Culpability
+    of officials--Pressure by foreign Ministers induces Chinese
+    to execute sixteen criminals--Apologetic mission of Chunghou
+    to France--Suspicions of his complicity unfounded--Causes of
+    the hostility to foreigners--Government fear of reprisals
+    by France--They begin to take the missionary question
+    seriously--Issue an important circular--Badly received by the
+    Powers.
+
+
+No subject more seriously engaged the attention of Sir Rutherford Alcock
+during his whole term of service than that of the Christian propaganda.
+While it was yet in embryo, and long before the untoward consequences now
+so familiar had declared themselves, the evil to come formed the theme of
+many anxious despatches. For, with the exception of Mr T. T. Meadows, he
+was the only one of the early consuls who attempted to read the horoscope
+of China with a conscious participation in the responsibility for its
+welfare. Their warnings were, of course, wasted on the desert air, for
+statesmen whose hands are on the lever of events are like the signalmen on
+a busy railway, recking nothing of the origin or destination of the train,
+careful only that it pass their own "point" in safety. The thin end of the
+entering wedge destined to split China into fragments, unless anticipated
+(as in fact it has been) in its disruptive work by some ruder allied
+agency, was clearly discerned by Consul Alcock while at Shanghai. Under
+cover of the first French treaties in 1844 and 1846 missionaries effected
+a legal lodgment on the coast of China, from which they cast longing
+eyes on the vast interior of the country. Rivalry between the Christian
+sects brought fresh pressure to bear on the plenipotentiaries, and the
+"toleration clause" was introduced into all the treaties negotiated at
+Tientsin in 1858, and in the German treaty of 1861.
+
+Russia led the way, followed by the United States, Great Britain, and
+France. The "clause" was substantially the same in all, the toleration
+of Christianity being based on its moral character exclusively--"Hommes
+de bien qui ne cherchent pas d'avantages matériels" (Russian); "Teaching
+men to do good, and to do to others as they would have others do to
+them" (American); "Inculcates the practice of virtue, and teaches man
+to do as he would be done by" (English); "Ayant pour objet essentiel de
+porter les hommes à la vertu" (French).[16] Yet this apparent unanimity
+concealed essential differences in aim and motive. Russia, France, and the
+United States, to leave England out of the account, each meant something
+specifically distinct from the other by the practically identical clause.
+
+What the Chinese would have said, had they been free to discuss the
+demand made upon them, we can hardly conjecture; but in the position in
+which they actually found themselves they would have subscribed to any
+form of words submitted to them, their sole anxiety then being to get
+rid of the barbarians on any terms. Had the preamble run, "Whereas the
+Christian religion as practised for 1800 years has not brought peace but a
+sword upon the earth, has set the father against the son, nation against
+nation, instigated crimes without number, sided with the oppressor and
+the unrighteous judge, and is daily prostituted for political ends,"
+the Chinese would have signed the toleration clause just the same. The
+phraseology was nothing to them, whence it follows that the responsibility
+for the consequences rests on the Powers who imposed the form as well
+as the substance of the obligations. These Powers placed themselves in
+a self-contradictory position both towards China and the Church, for
+the only ground on which they claimed protection for missionaries in the
+framing of the treaty is the one which they cannot so much as consider in
+the fulfilment of it. The ethical and religious side of the propaganda
+is to the executive official a negligible quantity, while he can take
+cognisance only of that aspect of Christianity which was studiously kept
+out of sight in the treaty--its political character, the temper of the
+missionaries and of the people among whom they work, and all that makes
+for good or bad relations between them.
+
+Amid mixed and perverted motives there is doubtless in all sections of
+the propaganda a residuum of pure zeal in a holy cause. The medieval
+solicitude for "saving the heathen" survives, and men and women, fired
+with the conviction that they are engaged in such a godlike enterprise,
+constitute an ever-living force with which statesmen have to lay their
+account. It can neither be reasoned with nor turned aside, and is the more
+intractable in that the logical effect of its inspiration is to place
+it above civil law, but under a divine law of its own interpreting, the
+interpretation varying indefinitely with the divisions of the force, each
+division, and sometimes each individual, selecting such portions of the
+code and bending them to such meaning as may support the objects and the
+methods of the sect. To introduce such a complex ferment into the Chinese
+body politic was a psychological experiment on a colossal scale, and also
+irrevocable. It was, therefore, an experiment which demanded the kind of
+precaution used in handling dangerous chemicals.
+
+Yet absolutely no thought was bestowed on the subject; the explosive was
+imported with less ceremony than is bestowed on a bale of long cloth, and
+left to spread according to its own laws in the living tissue into which
+it was injected. So far at least as the English treaty was concerned,
+we have it on the authority of the actual negotiator that the Christian
+clause was an after-thought "shoved in" at the last moment. The same
+authority adds, "The treaty was left to carry out itself"--in other
+respects besides that of the missionary question. Sir Rutherford Alcock
+speaks of "the futility of grafting on to a treaty of commerce, forced
+upon the Chinese under circumstances which left them no power to refuse, a
+proselytising agency for the conversion of the nation to Christianity....
+Whatever aims at these ends under the stipulation of a treaty of commerce
+and amity introduces a cause of distrust and an element of disturbance.
+This we have done, and are now reaping the fruit." But a rose-cutting
+would not be grafted with the insouciance with which this spiritual
+element was incongruously inserted in a commercial treaty. Commenting
+directly upon the toleration clause itself, Sir Rutherford wrote: "It is
+only necessary to read carefully the words of the article to be aware that
+in the whole range of the treaty, from the 1st to the 56th article, there
+is nothing stipulated for so difficult to secure as the fulfilment in its
+integrity of this one clause."
+
+The foreign Powers generally seemed to court the very "disturbance"
+apprehended by "leaving the treaty to carry out itself," washing their
+hands of their own careless work. We have seen what pains were taken to
+allow the treaty to operate smoothly in its main purpose by elaborating
+a scheme of trade regulations far more complete than the treaty itself.
+But as foreign trade had been carried on by the Chinese for centuries,
+and the merchants of the respective countries were thoroughly at home
+with each other, commerce was the least likely source of friction. Of
+the new dynamic element introduced into the treaties, it seems never to
+have occurred to the negotiators that any regulation was necessary at
+all. Missionaries were permitted to enter and settle in the interior,
+where everything was strange, for practical purposes beyond the orbit
+of their countries' laws, while protected against the jurisdiction of
+the Government under which they were to live. Men who could withstand
+the temptation offered by such a state of things are not born every day.
+Without rule of conduct save their individual judgment, with no previous
+understanding with the Chinese provincial officials as to relative
+rights and duties, they were left to find such accommodation to their
+surroundings as their several idiosyncrasies and the untried conditions
+of Chinese social life might determine. The missionary in the interior
+had thus all the qualities of a "foreign body" setting up irritation in
+the organism,--a state of things, however, which his absolute faith in
+the sanctity of his mission perhaps prevented him from comprehending.
+
+One trait in the national character was highly favourable to the
+reception of a foreign religion. The Chinese were of all nations the
+most tolerant of opinion. They had already accepted and assimilated two
+foreign religions--Buddhism and Mohammedanism; indeed they had also, two
+hundred years before, accepted and retained Christianity until it was
+expelled in convulsions provoked by the foreign missionaries themselves.
+Its second advent need not have caused convulsions had it come as the
+others had done, with clean hands, as a religion and nothing else. The
+tolerance of the Chinese has been referred to materialism and contemptuous
+apathy, which is by no means an exhaustive account of the matter.
+They were not, any more than Hindus, naked savages without language
+or literature: if anything, they were over-civilised. Proud they were,
+indeed, and conceited, and in its religious aspect they affected to regard
+Christianity as but a wave breaking on a rock. Their rock was a unique
+philosophy, scarcely to be called a system, which stands for religion,
+differing from other philosophic systems in eschewing speculation and
+attending to the ethics of common life,--the only philosophy that may be
+said ever to have transfused itself into the blood of a people.
+
+The culture of the Chinese, however, was merely an obstacle to the
+realisation of the Catholic ideal of saving the heathen, as the grandest
+natural scenery was regarded merely as a hindrance to medieval travel.
+"Unhappy infidels, who spend their lives in smoke and their eternity in
+flames," was Father le Jeune's epigrammatic summary of the whole case in
+Quebec. So deep-rooted is the tradition of the reprobation of the heathen,
+that it generally requires many years' experience before a foreign
+missionary is led by contact with facts to see that Chinese ethics form
+the natural basis for the Christian superstructure. Some missionaries,
+indeed, go so far as to use the writings of Confucius as a text-book.
+Before reaching this ripe stage, however, the foreign missionary has it
+in his power to do more mischief than he can perhaps ever undo.
+
+There was one treaty stipulation which has not been left to chance for its
+fulfilment--the additional article inserted in the French Convention of
+Peking in 1860. An astute missionary, acting as interpreter to Baron Gros,
+managed to interpolate in the Chinese text a clause of his own which had
+no place in the French--the ruling version--and was quite unknown to the
+French Envoy.[17] By that clause full permission was accorded to French
+missionaries to purchase land and erect buildings thereon throughout
+the empire; and further, all churches, schools, cemeteries, lands, and
+buildings which had been owned by persecuted Christians (Chinese) in
+previous centuries were to be paid for, and the money handed to the
+French representative in Peking for transmission to the Christians in
+the localities concerned. This astounding demand, in our eyes at once so
+truculent and so impracticable, seems to have been to the Chinese neither
+more nor less oppressive than the rest of the treaty, and they signed
+without demur, under the usual mental reservation. But it was in germ an
+official recognition of a French protectorate over Chinese Christians,
+and of corporate communities of Christians held qualified to be served
+heirs to those who had been persecuted in the seventeenth and eighteenth
+centuries--a germ which might be cultivated with greater or less success,
+according to the skill of those who had the care of it. Some effort
+of imagination is required in order to realise what is implied in this
+surreptitious article.
+
+    We must suppose [wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock] a French army
+    entering London and there dictating the conditions of peace, and
+    among others one that all Church property confiscated by Henry
+    VIII. should forthwith be restored to the Roman Catholic Church by
+    the present holders, however acquired, and without compensation,
+    and that the French Government could be appealed to in order to
+    enforce the rigorous execution of the stipulation.
+
+How the stipulation was enforced is thus described by Prince Kung in his
+circular of 1871, more fully noticed below:--
+
+    During the last few years the restitution of chapels in every
+    province has been insisted upon without any regard for the feeling
+    of the masses, the missionaries obstinately persisting in their
+    claims. They have also pointed out fine handsome houses (belonging
+    to, or occupied by, the gentry or others) as buildings once used
+    as churches, and these they have compelled the people to give up.
+    But what is worst, and what wounds the dignity of the people,
+    is that they often claim as their property _yamêns_, places of
+    assembly, temples held in high respect by the literates and the
+    inhabitants of the neighbourhood. Buildings which were once used
+    as chapels have been in some cases sold years ago by Christians;
+    and, having been sold and resold by one of the people to another,
+    have passed through the hands of several proprietors. There is
+    also a large number of buildings which have been newly repaired
+    at very considerable expense, of which the missionaries have
+    insisted on the restitution, refusing at the same time to pay
+    anything for them. On the other hand, there are some houses which
+    have become dilapidated, and the missionaries put in a claim for
+    the necessary repair. Their conduct excites the indignation of
+    the people whenever they come in contact with each other, and it
+    becomes impossible for them to live quietly together.[18]
+
+Bitter consequences have resulted from the enforced operation of the
+interpolated clause, for the French Government, as is shown above, took
+full advantage of the pious fraud. Neither did the Chinese themselves,
+on discovering the truth, openly resent this example of how the foreign
+religion "porte les hommes à la vertu." The fraud was more than condoned
+by missionaries of all nations and sects, whose legal title to residence
+in the interior of China, distant from all authority, rests solely on the
+interpolated French clause, the benefit of which accrues to them under
+the most-favoured-nation privilege. British Protestant missionaries, not
+altogether satisfied with this tainted title, in a long letter to their
+Minister, Sir Rutherford Alcock, claimed the right of inland residence
+on another ground. They adduced the public declaration of Mr Burlingame,
+that "China invites Protestant missionaries to plant the shining Cross on
+every hill and in every valley"; to which the answer was simple, that the
+Chinese Government disavowed the promises of the envoy, and repudiated the
+implied obligation. The British Government disapproved of the claim under
+the French treaty, though in rather ambiguous terms, because it rested
+"on no sound foundation, but on an interpolation of words in the Chinese
+version alone in the French treaty with China." Since then, however, the
+pretensions of the French missionaries have been vindicated less by the
+interpolated clause itself than by the vigorous exercise of all the rights
+conferred by it, and very much more. The clause thus lent material force
+to the spiritual ferment, accelerating by many degrees its disintegrating
+action. It may be alleged, in palliation of the light-heartedness with
+which the whole subject was treated by the negotiators of the treaties,
+that they could not have foreseen such a development of their innocent
+toleration clause; but the circumstance only emphasises the urgent need
+there was for a clear definition of what was really meant by it.
+
+But if toleration be the note of Chinese polity--concerning not
+religion alone, but almost every matter affecting government--it may
+be asked, What is it in the propagation of Christianity that excites
+the hostility of people and rulers? It is that the missionaries present
+themselves to Chinese view as the instruments of powerful nations bent
+on the ruin of the empire. They enter the country with a talisman of
+extra-territoriality; their persons are sacred; the law of the land cannot
+lay hands on them. That is the first stage. The second is, that they seek
+to extra-territorialise their converts also, whose battles they fight
+in the provincial courts and in the rustic communes, and so make it of
+material advantage to the people to bear the banner of the Cross. Many
+missionaries are really zealous in the work of alienating the Chinese from
+their natural allegiance, and of encouraging them to seek the protection
+of foreign Powers as against the native authorities. Thus a revolution
+of the most vital nature is in progress, and is being pushed on with all
+the energy which Christian, combined with ecclesiastical and political,
+zeal can throw into the work. Village is set against village, clan against
+clan, family against family, and a man's foes in China are too often they
+of his own household.[19]
+
+No doubt the Chinese Government are to blame for having allowed such a
+state of things to grow up; but it is part and parcel of their drifting
+attitude towards everything. It is not that their apprehensions are not
+aroused, but that they lack initiative to avert the danger which they
+fear. While in theory they do not admit the claim of any foreign Power
+to protect Chinese subjects, yet in practice the thing goes on, and
+is acquiesced in. So formidable, indeed, have the foreign missionaries
+become, that most of the provincial authorities are afraid as well as
+jealous of them; and peace-loving viceroys give the simple injunction
+to their prefects and magistrates that on no account must they permit
+dispute with foreigners or native Christians. This means that the Chinese
+Christian must be upheld, right or wrong, and the Christian would be very
+un-Chinese if he did not take advantage of such a privilege to trounce
+his heathen neighbours.
+
+The right given in the French treaty of acquiring land and building houses
+in the interior is one of the most constant causes of local quarrel. Real
+estate in China, being held not on personal but on family tenure, can
+only be rightfully alienated by the common consent. A dissentient member
+holding out, or reviving his claim for purposes of extortion after assent
+has been given and transfer made, may become a convenient instrument
+in the hands of agitators against the foreigners; and where there is no
+such dissentient it is not unusual for the local authorities to create
+one by forcible means. A case in point may be mentioned in illustration.
+A building was made over to the Baptist Missionary Society by a Chinese
+family, every precaution being taken to obtain the unanimous consent of
+its various branches. When the deed had been signed by the head of the
+family and other responsible members, the local magistrate examined the
+chief of the clan, denounced him, and punished him severely by bastinado.
+Two of the signatories, thus intimidated, disowned their own act, thereby
+invalidating the deed by non-unanimity.
+
+Nearly all the attacks on missionaries proceed in one form or another
+from that fecund nursery of feuds, the land question. Whatever the merits
+of the dispute, the foreigner is _prima facie_ in the wrong; for he is
+an alien, an intruder, and he erects buildings which are outlandish,
+offensive to taste, and of sinister influence; and whosoever, albeit
+the most disreputable member of a family of three or four generations,
+proclaims a grievance by which he has lost his birthright, is sure of
+a sympathetic following. Thus without taking into account individual
+indiscretions, or infirmities of temper, open attacks on time-honoured
+customs, and so forth, there is a perennial root of bitterness in
+missionary enterprise in the interior of China, which throws out shoots
+culminating in murder and fiendish ferocity; and all this without even
+a distant approach to the kernel of Christianity which lies behind the
+outworks.
+
+For what the Chinese authorities have failed to do by the legitimate means
+at their command, their underlings and the circle of gentry that surrounds
+each provincial centre attempt to do by illegitimate and criminal methods.
+Hatred of missions and converts shows itself by violent outbreaks in
+which innocent and guilty suffer a common fate; mobs are excited by false
+suggestions, scholars write inflammatory placards filled with the foulest
+calumnies, and the higher officials "let it work"--secretly applauding,
+but ready, if called to account, to exculpate themselves and blame the
+poor ignorant people.
+
+The charges which form the staple of these attacks turn largely upon the
+murder of children in order to make use of eyes, members, blood, &c.,
+in certain Christian rites; and they are so extravagant and absurd that
+foreigners are apt to doubt that even the most ignorant among the people
+really believe in the crimes which are alleged against Christians. The
+best authorities, however,--as, for example, the late Sir Thomas Wade,--do
+not question the sincerity of the popular belief; and indeed if we compare
+these charges with those made against the Jews by influential sections of
+Christians in Europe, we shall be surprised at their practical identity.
+
+For this deplorable state of things no one has been able to suggest a
+remedy. What has been done cannot be undone. To mend it even would require
+such united action among the Great Powers as it is hardly possible in
+the present state of the world to conceive. France, indeed, on the morrow
+of the Tientsin massacre, did appeal to the co-operative principle as a
+protection to all foreign interests in China. The French ambassador in
+London addressed the Foreign Office in these terms:--
+
+    Bien que les victimes de ces attentats soient presque
+    exclusivement des Français, on ne saurait contester que des
+    faits pareils révèlent l'existence de dangers qui menacent
+    indistinctement tous les étrangers résidant en Chine. C'est en
+    considérant leurs intérèts comme solidaires dans ces contrées de
+    l'extrême Orient que les Puissances européennes peuvent arriver à
+    assurer à leurs nationaux les garanties et les sécurités stipulées
+    dans les traités.
+
+In the subsequent action of France in China, however, there has been no
+trace of regard for any such principle of solidarity. Indeed, were the
+Powers ever so amicably disposed towards each other on other questions,
+they could not agree in this, the objects of their policy being absolutely
+irreconcilable.
+
+"We cannot doubt," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock, "that the missionary
+question is the main cause of disturbance in our relations with China,
+and of danger to the Chinese Government itself no less than to all
+foreigners resident in the country, missionaries and laymen alike." He
+recommended in 1868 that "the treaty Powers should, if possible, come
+to some understanding on the religious and missionary question as the
+necessary preliminary to any united action for the common benefit, the
+acquisition of increased facilities for trade, &c." And he says, "As
+regards Chinese converts, any attempt to extend a protectorate over them
+would of necessity either fail or be subversive of the whole government of
+China." But in the same paper he states that "France, with no trade in the
+East, is ambitious of a protectorate over Roman Catholic missions"; and
+that "with regard to converts protection has been partially extended to
+them under the ægis of the French Government, and that persistent efforts
+were being made to make that protection effectual." These efforts have
+been still more persistent during the generation that has since passed.
+With France the protectorate over native Christians is the great objective
+of her Chinese diplomacy--not the ultimate end, indeed, but the lever
+by which that end may be attained. To suggest to France, therefore, the
+abandonment of this policy would be about as hopeless as asking her to
+give up her colonies as the preliminary to an international conference.
+And while France protects the proselytising machinery of the Roman
+Catholic Church and its consequent usurpation of the Chinese authority, it
+would seem of little avail to place other missionaries under restriction.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The fruits of this war of the social elements began to be harvested in
+1868, as Sir Rutherford Alcock observed; but that was only the beginning
+of a long series of conflicts which have marked the progress of missionary
+work in China up to the present day. Riot, outrage, and massacre are its
+regular landmarks. The outbreaks have so much in common that it would
+serve no useful purpose to trace them in detail, or attempt to apportion
+praise or blame to this or that individual or sect. The one which has
+left the reddest mark on history, and, being enacted in the presence of a
+foreign mercantile community, brought the several factors in the question
+into a clearer light than can ever be thrown upon outrages in remote parts
+of the interior, is the Tientsin massacre of 21st June 1870. This occurred
+six months after Sir Rutherford Alcock left China, while Mr Wade was
+_chargé d'affaires_ for Great Britain, and Count Rochechouart for France,
+in Peking.
+
+The massacre of sixteen French Sisters of Charity, including an Irish
+girl, Alice Sullivan, a French consul, and several French subjects,
+also--unwittingly, according to the imperial edict treating of the
+occurrence--a Russian merchant and his wife, was the work of an organised
+band, led by the city fire brigade, under the direction of the civic
+authorities. The crime had been planned for some time: it was preceded
+by the murder of an isolated English missionary, Mr Williamson, near
+Tientsin, and by an attempted anti-foreign rising in Nanking, which
+was promptly suppressed by the viceroy, Ma, who was soon after himself
+assassinated. (He was a Mohammedan.) The impending outrage in Tientsin
+was foreseen, and warning given, several days before. An Englishman was
+attacked on the 19th for no reason. The official highest in rank on the
+spot--not, however, a territorial authority--was Chunghou, a Manchu,
+holding the office of Imperial Commissioner for Trade, and very friendly
+to foreigners. Admiral Keppel says of him that he was the most finished
+Chinese gentleman he had ever met, with the exception of the viceroy of
+Canton (probably meaning Kiying). The governor of the province was Tsêng
+Kwo-fan, whose capital was Paoting-fu, some 100 miles in the interior;
+and his subordinates, the prefect and magistrate, were the authorities at
+Tientsin immediately responsible for the massacre. Chunghou had warned the
+Peking Government several weeks before of the progress of the agitation
+against the French mission.
+
+The Imperial Government immediately on the occurrence issued an edict
+describing the massacre as "a quarrel between the people and the
+missionaries resulting in a fight," but were promptly driven from that
+position and pressed, not only by the French, but by all the foreign
+representatives, to investigate and do justice in the case, Count
+Rochechouart demanding the capital punishment of the three mandarins
+who had instigated the massacre. On this the Chinese Government
+remarked in a secret edict, "Rochechouart, with boundless arrogance,
+demands the execution of the Fu and Hsien, a demand ten thousand times
+to be rejected." Under pressure, however, the Government ordered the
+governor-general, Tsêng, to proceed to the spot and investigate. After
+a protracted journey he reached Tientsin and commenced to take evidence,
+not of the crime committed, but of the suspicions which had been excited
+against the Sisters of Mercy, whom, after ransacking their cemeteries
+for mutilated children, he eventually acquitted. He then suspended the
+magistrates _pro formâ_, and spoke of sending for troops to catch the
+rioters! On receiving the viceroy's report another imperial decree was
+issued repeating the original falsehoods, and causing much disappointment
+to the foreign Ministers. Renewed pressure from them, not without hints
+of stronger measures, resulted in the offer of fifteen of the mob to be
+executed, which, being unanimously rejected, the Chinese Government,
+apparently thinking it was the number that was inadequate, threw in
+five more, making twenty in all. Sixteen were actually beheaded, the
+remaining four being saved by the timely arrival of the Russian Minister,
+who protested against the execution of the men accused of murdering the
+Russians, because he did not believe in their guilt. Compensation was paid
+by the Chinese officials to the families of the executed men, which, with
+the honours done to their dead bodies, showed that they were sacrificed
+not for crime, but for reasons of State. Of course pecuniary compensation
+was made on account of the victims of the massacre, the Chinese Government
+being never hard to deal with where money is concerned. The prefect and
+the magistrate who had busied themselves after the tragedy in torturing
+Christians, in order to extort from them confessions which would justify
+the massacre, were nominally banished, though it was perfectly understood
+that this was a pure matter of form.
+
+  [Illustration: RUINS OF FRENCH CATHEDRAL AT TIENTSIN, BURNED JUNE 20,
+   1870.]
+
+As part of the reparation for the massacre the Imperial Commissioner for
+Northern Trade, Chunghou, was despatched in the early part of 1871 on
+a mission to France to express the regret of the Chinese Government for
+what had occurred. This official, the first man of rank who was ever sent
+out of China, received but an indifferent reception from the President of
+the French Republic. Being the highest authority in Tientsin at the time
+of the massacre, and having known of the preparations for an outbreak
+of some kind, Chunghou was severely blamed by Europeans on the coast of
+China, who alleged that the massacre could have been prevented had he put
+forth his authority. Meetings were even held on the subject in Shanghai,
+and remonstrances were sent to Europe against Chunghou's being received
+anywhere as an ambassador until he should exonerate himself from all share
+in the Tientsin atrocity. These representations, no doubt, had something
+to do with the attitude of the French Provisional Government, which, on
+other grounds also, was probably little disposed in that year to occupy
+itself with the affairs either of the Church or of China.
+
+There is reason to believe, however, that Chunghou's conduct during the
+affair of Tientsin was not inconsistent with innocence; for although he
+was a man in authority, it was only as superintendent of trade, having
+no control whatever over the hierarchy of territorial officials, who
+were under the orders of the viceroy, Tsêng Kwo-fan. Beyond his personal
+attendants it is not probable that Chunghou could move a corporal's guard
+in Tientsin, and his position was such that the local authorities and
+their myrmidons looked with the keenest jealousy on any departure of the
+superintendent of trade from the strict line of his own functions. He
+dared not, in fact, move a finger against officers who owed allegiance
+to the viceroy, and in apprising the Peking Government of the rumours
+which were current, Chunghou probably considered that he had gone as
+far as public duty warranted. These somewhat anomalous relations between
+two high dignitaries of the empire were put an end to when Li Hung-chang
+succeeded Tsêng Kwo-fan as viceroy of Chihli; for he was appointed also
+the successor of Chunghou as superintendent of trade, and resided for the
+most part of his time in the commercial port, Tientsin. The two offices
+continue to be combined in one person.
+
+Most of the typical features of a missionary outrage were in this case
+exemplified--ferocious placards and brochures, circulation of calumnies
+against the missionaries, guilt of the local authorities, their immunity
+from punishment, and the official publication of travestied versions of
+the occurrence. There was also, we may add, a lurking disposition on the
+part of foreign Governments to give credit to the Chinese charges against
+the missionaries. Finding themselves unable by pressure on the Chinese
+to obtain satisfaction for past or security against future outrages, they
+were seldom indisposed to cover their impotence by throwing the blame on
+their own people.
+
+There was, consequently, readiness in certain foreign official quarters
+to dwell on undefined "indiscretions." It was too easily assumed in the
+beginning that the practice of the Sisters of Charity of purchasing
+destitute children reasonably excited the suspicions of the people.
+As a matter of fact, however, as was admitted afterwards, this alleged
+practice of the Sisters was entirely imaginary. It was also assumed that
+the massacre was a spontaneous act of the populace, who believed the
+stories of kidnapping. But in view of the fact that these agitations arose
+simultaneously in distant parts of the empire, this theory of sporadic
+action could not be sustained: besides, as Tsêng Kwo-fan himself shrewdly
+enough pointed out, no child had been missed from any family at Tientsin,
+and the idea of a disciplined fire brigade and a great city mob being
+suddenly roused to fury by the abstract idea that somewhere children had
+been kidnapped by somebody is too altruistic for ordinary belief. The mob
+needed an instigator, and the instigator was well known.
+
+In the diplomatic correspondence which ensued, admitted on all hands to
+be most unsatisfactory, the British _chargé d'affaires_ had occasion to
+complain to Prince Kung that in the communications that passed foreign
+Ministers and their Governments were spoken of as vassals, which, coming
+two years after Mr Wade's warm support of the Burlingame mission, was
+instructive as regards the progress in liberal ideas which had been
+claimed for the Chinese.
+
+Another consequence of this affair may be noted. The instructions to
+British naval officers in China, which had been dictated by Mr Burlingame
+in 1869, were virtually reversed after the Tientsin massacre.
+
+It was the general belief at the time that, literally by the fortune
+of war, the Chinese Government narrowly escaped a signal retribution
+for its continued guerilla warfare against foreigners as represented by
+the missionary vanguard. Information travelled slowly then. The nearest
+telegraph stations to Peking were Kiachta on the Russian frontier and
+Colombo, and there was only periodical communication with either, so that
+it happened that the official news of the massacre reached the British
+Foreign Office on July 25th. If we recall what was transpiring in the
+capitals of Europe during that month of July 1870, we may permit ourselves
+the speculation that events might have taken quite another turn had the
+news from China reached the Tuileries a month earlier than it did. The
+Chinese Government themselves were strongly imbued with this idea. In
+an interesting interview which Consul Adkins had with Li Hung-chang in
+October, after he had succeeded to the viceroyalty of Chihli, in which the
+incident was discussed, the viceroy could not conceal his anxiety. The
+pith of a Chinese interview usually lies, like that of a lady's letter,
+in the postscript, and as Mr Adkins was taking leave the governor-general
+asked him, "Do you think France will make war next year?" (It is worth
+noting that in his report of the interview Mr Adkins expressed himself
+"reassured by the governor-general's tone and manner." "I take for
+granted," he wrote, "that he will not tolerate any outrage on foreigners
+within his jurisdiction;" and this forecast of Mr Adkins has, we believe,
+been completely borne out by the event.)
+
+But although the Chinese had escaped a great peril, they were somewhat
+shaken in their sense of security for the future. The attacks on
+missionaries had no doubt gone further than was altogether safe, since
+the indignation of the foreign Powers had been roused almost to the pitch
+of war. The provincial authorities having had their own way so long,
+threatened to be too strong for the Central Government, and were likely
+to embroil them with foreign nations; while in their turn the "literati
+and gentry," unemployed officials and the leaders of disorder in the great
+provincial cities, were also becoming too demonstrative for the provincial
+rulers. It was clear to the authorities that they were face to face with
+a dangerous situation, and, contrary to their traditional practice, they
+began to devise measures in order to meet it. The missionary, they now
+saw, was with them for good, the hope of expelling him by intimidation
+must be relegated to fanatics of the non-practical school, and it would be
+imbecile to shut their eyes any longer to facts. No doubt they had allowed
+things to go too far in the admission of foreigners into the interior,
+trusting to the resourcefulness of the provinces in insidious means of
+repression, but to retrace their steps was now impossible. They could no
+longer hope to expel the missionary, but they would contrive some means to
+mitigate the dangers of his presence. They would, in short, endeavour to
+supply, in concert with the treaty Powers, that culpable omission in the
+treaties by henceforth regulating the missions and defining their rights
+and obligations.
+
+The result of these cogitations was an elaborate scheme for the control
+of missions which was published in the summer of 1871, and was addressed
+to the French Government, and by them communicated to the others. That the
+Chinese Ministers of themselves took so unprecedented an initiative it is
+not necessary to believe. The circular was attributed to that greatest of
+all Chinese statesmen, Wênsiang, but the unseen hand that has done so much
+to assist China out of her international difficulties may easily be traced
+in this notable State Paper. In the preamble the case is stated much as
+we have endeavoured to set it forth: "Trade has in no degree occasioned
+differences between China and the Powers. The same cannot be said of the
+missions, which engender ever-increasing abuses. Although in the first
+instance it may have been declared that the primary object of the missions
+was to exhort men to virtue, Catholicism, in causing vexation to the
+people, has produced a contrary effect in China." The circular submitted
+eight rules for the government of missionary relations with the people and
+officials in the provinces. The rules referred to (1) the management of
+orphanages, which it was proposed either to close altogether or to place
+under severe restrictions; (2) the mixed attendance of women and men at
+public worship, which, being contrary to Chinese propriety, scandalised
+the people; (3) the legal status of missionaries in the interior, and the
+evil consequences of the _imperia in imperio_ which had resulted through
+the missionaries' separating themselves, and even their native converts,
+from the jurisdiction of the local authorities; (4) the restriction of
+proceedings in the case of riots to the persons actively participating
+in the same; (5) the clear definition of passports, so that missionaries
+should not be able to move about at will, leaving no trace; (6) the need
+of strict examination into the character and antecedents of converts;
+(7) the etiquette to be observed by missionaries in intercourse with
+officials, the missionaries not to arrogate official style; and (8) the
+reclamation of alleged sites of ancient churches to be stopped, great
+injustice having been done to Chinese through their being obliged to
+surrender properties which they had honestly bought and paid for.
+
+Many things have happened since 1871, and each transaction with foreigners
+has involved greater and greater encroachment on the Chinese prerogatives.
+Thus the objection taken in 1871 to the missionaries' arrogating official
+style has now been so completely waived that the Chinese Government
+itself bestows official rank on missionaries, and has sanctioned a rule
+of etiquette for their intercourse with the high Chinese authorities.
+Thus "bishops are authorised to demand to see viceroys and governors of
+provinces; vicars-general and archdeacons are authorised to demand to see
+provincial treasurers, judges, and taotais; other priests are authorised
+to demand to see prefects of the first and second class, independent
+prefects, sub-prefects, and other functionaries. The various orders
+of ecclesiastics are to visit and write to the corresponding orders of
+Chinese officials on terms of equality, and these officials will naturally
+respond, according to their rank, with the same courtesies."[20]
+
+This famous circular of 1871 unfortunately perished at its birth: it was
+roughly attacked in the foreign press, and met with a very cold reception
+by the Foreign Offices. The English and American Governments seemed
+satisfied with the reflection that the strictures on missionary practices
+applied specially to Catholics, and pleased to be able on that account to
+dismiss it from consideration. From that day to this the evils complained
+of have gone on increasing and accumulating year by year, outrages and
+massacres following each other without interruption, and the exacerbation
+of feeling between foreign missionaries and the Chinese population going
+on with accelerated speed. The political results to China have assumed
+in these later years the very concrete form of territorial spoliation,
+and the Chinese have had abundant experience of the religion which makes
+nations strong and the people virtuous. That is not to say, however,
+that there is not good seed already germinating under the snow, which may
+hereafter bear the peaceable fruits of righteousness. Meanwhile the naked
+unregulated forces are in open conflict, and he would be a bold prophet
+who should forecast the issue.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [16] Germany in her treaty made no profession, but simply stipulated
+    for toleration.
+
+ [17] M. Eugene Simon, one of the most distinguished of the French
+    consuls in China, in his book, 'La Cité Chinoise,' awards the
+    credit of this performance to M. Delamarre, "un prêtre des
+    Missions étrangères," who acted as Baron Gros' interpreter.
+    "Je tiens," says M. Simon, "le fait de plusieurs sources, et
+    entre autres de M. Delamarre, qui se glorifait beaucoup de sa
+    supercherie."
+
+ [18] Compare "Jesuits' Estates Act" in Canada, 1890, for which Mr
+    Mercier was decorated by the Pope.
+
+ [19] It will be understood that a concise view of the general
+    mission question is all that is here aimed at, no distinction
+    being drawn between branches of the propaganda. Important as
+    are their differences viewed from the foreign standpoint, they
+    are practically ignored by the Chinese, as we see from the
+    impartiality with which they visit resentment on all. Our concern
+    is with the impression produced by the propaganda as a whole,
+    gathered as far as possible from Chinese evidence and not from
+    the hypothetical arguments of foreign disputants. In other words,
+    it is the political bearing of the movement which alone we are
+    endeavouring to illustrate.
+
+ [20] This measure was intended by the Chinese Government to
+    facilitate the local settlement of disputes where the facts
+    were known, and so obviate incessant appeals to the Central
+    Government. It has not fulfilled its purpose, partly because an
+    important section of the propaganda declined to avail itself of
+    the concession offered to them. Indeed the form of the concession
+    implies a hierarchy which only Catholic missions possess.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+THE EXPANSION OF INTERCOURSE.
+
+
+I. RUSSIA AND FRANCE ADVANCING.
+
+    Influx of treaty Powers--Diversion of Chinese foreign policy into
+    new channels--Aggrandisement of Russia--And France--At the expense
+    of China--Affecting whole policy of China for thirty years--The
+    rise of German influence--And Japanese.
+
+Up to this stage the foreign relations of China have been traced from
+what is practically a single point of view--the English--without sensible
+distortion of their true proportions. But the events of 1857-60, and
+the treaties by which they were crowned, introduced new factors and a
+wider ramification of international connections. The arms of England
+and France opened the door to an influx of Powers eager to reap where
+they had not sown; and though the full effect was not realised till many
+years later, the shifting of foreign intercourse from an essentially
+Anglo-Chinese to a Sino-cosmopolitan basis became a potential reality
+on the day that Peking surrendered to the Allies. Foreseeing such a
+result, the negotiators of the treaties of 1858 advisedly refrained from
+pressing the Chinese Government more than was essential to the freedom
+of commerce, on the ground that other Powers less restrained than the
+authors of the treaties by a sense of moral responsibility might take
+undue advantage of concessions extorted from the vanquished. This
+prevision has been borne out by events, for the original "three treaty
+Powers" soon became thirteen, and the old solicitude for the conservation
+of China was gradually discovered to be confined to the small minority
+who had a substantial commercial stake in the country. With the increase
+in their number there naturally also appeared diversity of interest,
+scarce perceptible in the beginning, but ever widening with the progress
+of events until at length a stage of violent antagonism in the policy of
+the Powers was reached. The division among their enemies, which Chinese
+statesmen have deplored their inability to compass, has thus been brought
+about without their aid; but so far from realising the Chinese dream of
+ruling the barbarians, the division has only exposed the empire to the
+ravages of rival spoilers.
+
+It is impossible to do more than glance at the several channels into
+which the foreign relations of China have branched off since 1860. Yet
+they intersect each other at so many points as to form a network which
+can only be intelligently considered as a whole. The quasi-biographical
+form of the present work may be appropriately dropped, so far as China
+is concerned, with the beginning of 1870, when the more immediate subject
+of it disappears from the stage of action to reappear as a perspicacious
+critic surveying the scene from a distant but commanding standpoint.
+
+Two developments of far-reaching importance found their proximate
+starting-point, though not their origin, in the crisis which laid China
+prostrate in 1858 and 1860. These were the extension of the Russian empire
+to the Pacific Ocean, and the creation of that Asiatic empire which had
+been the dream of France for two centuries. China being by these vast
+territorial aggressions placed between the upper and the nether millstone,
+the anticipated advance of the two Powers has exerted an influence on her
+destiny scarcely less potent than the Japanese war itself, with which it
+so effectively co-operated. The soldier-statesmen of Russia foreseeing,
+what the war of 1854-55 was soon to demonstrate, that the sea route
+to their Pacific possessions was at the mercy of the maritime Powers,
+resolved to make a dash for a line of communication by land, and in
+pursuance of this adventurous conception forced their way down the Amur
+in spite of the feeble remonstrance of the Chinese wardens of the marches.
+What was thus taken by the strong hand in 1854 was formally ceded in 1858,
+when, first, the Amur province, with the free navigation of the river,
+and, next, an undefined condominium in the Usuri province, were granted
+by treaty to Russia. This was but a step towards the absolute cession, two
+years later, of that territory, including the whole Manchurian sea-coast,
+600 miles in length. These extensive cessions, giving Russia the command
+of North-Eastern Asia, were extorted from China while _in extremis_ as a
+direct result of the Anglo-French victories.
+
+So with the French establishment in the south-eastern section of the
+Continent. The expedition sent to the Far East in conjunction with that
+of Great Britain was, on completion of its work in China, withdrawn to
+Cochin-China, and, in an alliance of brief duration with Spain, invaded
+that dependency of the empire of Annam--a vassal of China--and captured
+Saigon. The Spanish partnership being thereupon dissolved, the French
+empire of "Indo-China" was inaugurated with a free hand. Zeal for religion
+was the motive of the invasion: "The emperor wished to put a stop to
+the constantly recurring persecutions of Christians in Cochin-China, and
+to secure them the efficacious protection of France." The record of the
+phenomenal progress of the new French empire since the treaty of Saigon
+in 1862 has been related by many eloquent pens. M. F. Garnier, the heroic
+explorer; M. de Carné, his colleague; M. Lanier, M. Deschamps, M. de
+Lanessan, and a host of enthusiastic French writers, have depicted in
+glowing terms not only the process, but the motives and aspirations, of
+the French "empire-builders."[21]
+
+The pressure, latent and active, of these two powerful neighbours has
+given its tone to the policy of China during thirty years, and in such a
+way that her relations with the commercial nations who did not menace her
+integrity have been relegated to a secondary place.
+
+The new German influence in the Far East, which had its modest beginnings
+in the treaties so reluctantly concluded by the Japanese and Chinese in
+1861, has grown in importance _pari passu_ with the rapid development of
+the German empire itself, ably seconded, it must always be allowed, by the
+personal qualities of the Ministers who have been successively chosen to
+represent the Fatherland at Peking and Tokio. The first resident Minister
+to China was Baron Rehfues, who opened the Legation in Peking in 1866,
+under the treaty of 1861.
+
+Another nation destined to play a leading _rôle_ among the Powers in the
+Western Pacific was during the same period rising like the sun in the
+eastern sky. Nor was it very long before the nascent Power of Japan began
+to make its weight felt in the conflicts and concerts of the Far Eastern
+world.
+
+It is obvious that under these various influences operating from without,
+and the reflex action set up within the State itself, the character
+of China as a political and diplomatic entity could not any longer
+be what it had been in the years before the war. What had been simple
+became complex; no international issue could be raised in an isolated
+form; nor could China make any move, whether voluntary or involuntary,
+without facing the critical observation of many interested parties.
+This multiple responsibility to Powers by no means at one in their aims,
+and each assuming over her a status of superiority, could have no other
+effect than to reduce to nullity any efforts China might make either to
+improve herself or please the Powers. It was impossible to please them
+all. Decades before the Japanese war, more than one of them had offered
+her armed assistance in thwarting the designs of a third,--which things
+Chinese statesmen pondered in silence.
+
+
+II. JAPAN AGGRESSIVE.
+
+    Extraordinary progress of Japan--Nation becomes restless--Invades
+    Formosa--Bought off by China.
+
+The civil war in Japan had been fought with characteristic energy during
+three years, when a revolution, the like of which was never before seen,
+established the new empire on the double foundations of hereditary
+monarchy and popular suffrage. The effect of the revolution was to
+concentrate the whole strength of the State under the government of the
+Mikado, and thus enable it to give free play to the widest ambitions. With
+incredible rapidity the nation made itself efficient for every enterprise
+of peace or war. The best that the Western world had to teach was eagerly
+appropriated by a people just aroused from a long sleep, and anxious to
+make up lost time. They went so fast, indeed, that onlookers shook their
+heads, and their best friends would have applied the brake had it been
+possible. But the nation was self-reliant, and in its first adolescence
+it began to be aggressive.
+
+Within six years of the revolution of 1868 an expedition was sent to
+invade the Chinese island of Formosa. Through the good offices of Sir
+Thomas Wade, British Minister in Peking, war between the two empires was
+averted, and the Japanese forces withdrawn. They were virtually bought
+off, a proceeding characterised by Sir H. Parkes as pusillanimous on
+the part of the empire of China. The transaction really sealed the fate
+of China, in advertising to the world that here was a rich empire which
+was ready to pay, but not ready to fight. The euphemisms under which
+the ransom was disguised deceived no one unless it were the Chinese
+themselves. The vast cessions to Russia, incredible as they appeared, had
+at least the palliation of a dire emergency, and verbal equivalents in
+the shape of promises of deliverance therefrom. The submission to Japan,
+on the other hand, was made in a time of comparative ease.
+
+The incident had yet a further significance. The pretext of the Japanese
+invasion was injuries done to shipwrecked Liuchiuans, a people whom China
+till then and for some years later considered her own vassals, and who
+had for centuries paid her regular tribute. Such an episode was therefore
+a sure mark of imperial decadence;--a definite step, moreover, in the
+downward process, to be followed not long after by the Japanese boldly
+asserting a claim to the Liuchiu Islands, against which China could only
+interpose an inarticulate protest. The meaning of these indications was
+not likely to be lost either on the Japanese, who were more immediately
+concerned, or on other less interested onlookers. And what has the
+subsequent history of China been but a development of the symptoms?
+
+
+III. KOREA OPENED.
+
+    Japan concludes commercial treaty with Korea--Establishes working
+    relations--Exciting jealousy in China--The suzerain--China replies
+    by opening Korea to the whole world.
+
+The expanding life of Japan was soon to overflow in another direction.
+The kingdom of Korea lay within twelve hours' steaming from the Japanese
+coast: it had a historic and a mythical interest for Japan; it had been
+the source of her culture as well as the scene of her conquests and
+ultimate defeat. With the exception of piratical raids on the coast towns
+of China, Korea was the only foreign field into which Japanese arms had
+been carried, and the prowess of their peninsular heroes was cherished
+as a sacred treasure by a people singularly tenacious of their heroic
+legends. After an interval of three centuries the new Japan directed its
+ambition to the scene of its medieval exploits; and the "hermit kingdom"
+was at last dragged from its seclusion and forced to play an unwilling
+part in the international game. The modern spirit had tempered the
+military passion, commerce and industry supplied the ballast to adventure,
+and instead of landing an army of 200,000 men, as they had done in 1592,
+the Japanese, in 1876, re-established themselves in the peninsula through
+the peaceable agency of a treaty of amity and commerce--a weapon newly
+borrowed from the armoury of Europe. This movement of the Japanese was by
+no means intended to "open" Korea--except to themselves. On the contrary,
+it appears that that very astute people ingratiated themselves with
+the king's Government by aiding, or professing to aid, them to keep the
+country closed to all other nations.
+
+But, like every other attempt to isolate an international question, the
+exclusive effort of the Japanese not only failed, but resulted in opening
+Korea instead of closing it. They could not lock themselves in: the key
+was on the outside of the door. Although they disguised their feelings,
+the Chinese authorities had been gravely disturbed by the attacks of the
+French and the Americans on Korea in 1867 and 1871. The audacious advance
+of the Japanese aroused them to the extent of considering the merits of a
+counter-move; for Korea was the secular battle-ground between China and
+Japan, the historic stepping-stone between the two countries. And Korea
+was a vassal to China, if ever one State did occupy such a relation to
+another. By old tradition, by effective conquest, by solemn engagement,
+by regular tributary missions, by the prerogative of investiture, by
+the obeisance of the sovereign before the Chinese envoys sent on great
+occasions, by every kind of acknowledgment which the servant could render
+to the master, was the suzerainty of China established.
+
+China's relations to her tributaries was perhaps the best feature in
+her imperial character. There was protection, nominal or real, but never
+a shadow of domination. The ceremonial once settled, the most complete
+independence was accorded to the vassal State, the imperial object being
+never oppression or exploitation, but the girdling of the empire with a
+cordon of contented States looking with filial eyes towards the Dragon
+throne. Of these filial States Korea was the most important, on account
+of its geographical position as commanding one of the main approaches
+to the Middle Kingdom, or, as the king himself once expressed it in a
+memorial to the emperor, as "the lips protecting the teeth." For China the
+Korean peninsula has been a strategical stronghold, but its importance was
+increased a hundredfold when the statesmen of Peking came to realise what
+they had done in giving away the whole Manchurian sea-coast, leaving them
+no outlet to the Sea of Japan excepting through Korea, which, moreover,
+was studded all round with excellent harbours, useful to friends and
+tempting to enemies.
+
+The wise policy which the emperors had observed towards their tributaries
+had borne valuable fruit in Korea. For two hundred years the Peking
+Government had dealt so benignly with king and people as to have inspired
+feelings of genuine affection combined with deep reverence for the "big
+country." Whether collectively or individually, officially or privately,
+the Chinese were warmly welcomed everywhere without ever abusing the
+courtesy of their hosts--in marked contrast, it must be observed, to
+the Japanese, whose record in Korea has been one of unbroken brutality,
+producing a general feeling of aversion.
+
+If anything, therefore, could excite the jealousy of Chinese statesmen, it
+would be to see this filial dependency being tampered with by strangers,
+more especially by their hereditary foes, the Japanese. Better all the
+world in Korea with Japan excluded, than Japan in with the rest of the
+world kept out. Slow of apprehension, and still slower of action, her
+unpractical conservatism in high places reducible only by sap and mine,
+China brooded over the Korean problem for some years before any result
+of the incubation appeared. The conclusion eventually arrived at was to
+neutralise the Japanese action by opening Korea to the whole world under
+treaty. The realisation of this scheme was as usual placed in the hands of
+Li Hung-chang, who on the one hand recommended the Korean king to conclude
+commercial treaties with foreign Powers, and on the other encouraged the
+latter to open negotiations. Hence the general opening of the country in
+1882, with its train of tragic consequences.
+
+The terms of the foreign treaties with Korea had not been thoroughly
+thought out, and the very ambiguity was perpetuated which it was the
+interest of China to clear away. The treaties purported to be made with an
+independent State, whereas Korea was a vassal, and the inconsistency was
+attempted to be remedied by a separate letter from the king to the Powers
+with whom he had concluded treaties, declaring, notwithstanding, that the
+Chinese emperor was his suzerain.
+
+
+IV. THE FIRST IMPERIAL AUDIENCE--SUCCESSION OF KWANGHSU.
+
+    End of the minority of Emperor Tungchih--Audience of the foreign
+    Ministers in 1873--Under derogatory conditions--Death of the
+    young emperor--Empress regent's _coup d'état_ in selecting
+    successor--Her own nephew--Eighteen years' minority of Emperor
+    Kwanghsu.
+
+An event looked forward to for twelve long years with patient expectation,
+and with hope, lively at the beginning but fading away towards the end
+of the period, that it would prove the sovereign remedy for the defects
+of Chinese intercourse with the world, was the assumption of power by
+the young emperor, who attained his majority in 1873. The diplomatic
+body busied themselves greatly in preparations for their first audiences
+with the sovereign to whom they were accredited. The Chinese on their
+part were no less anxiously engaged in devising means of lightening
+the blow to their prestige in consenting to receive foreigners at all,
+while dispensing with the prescribed prostrations. Obliged to yield the
+main point, the Court officials minimised its significance by imposing
+sundry derogatory conditions as to the building in which the audience
+was to be granted, and by the terms in which it was referred to in the
+imperial decree, which represented the foreign Ministers as "imploring an
+audience," and by other like devices.
+
+The first to be admitted to the presence was the representative of Japan,
+who held the rank of ambassador. Next came the resident Ministers of
+Russia, the United States, Great Britain, France, and Holland, in a body;
+and lastly, the French Minister separately, in order to convey the reply
+of his Government to the mission of Chunghou respecting the Tientsin
+massacre of 1870. The several letters of credence were placed on a table.
+The emperor "seemed to be speaking" to Prince Kung, though no sound was
+heard. The prince in his turn addressed a few words to the five Ministers,
+in Chinese, purporting to be what the emperor had spoken in Manchu, and
+the audience was at an end, the whole ceremony lasting about five minutes.
+
+By long anticipation a superstitious halo had formed round the abstract
+question of audience: it grew into a kind of fetish. Mr Lay shrewdly
+observed that the object of the "resident Minister" clause in the
+treaties had been misunderstood by foreigners in being regarded by them
+as an end instead of only a means. Mr Wade, who was British Minister at
+the time, made no such mistake; for though he consistently laid stress
+on ceremonial, it was, as he has frequently explained, because with
+the Chinese form was more than substance, and included it. A proper
+regulation of official etiquette was in his estimation the principal key
+to the remedy of material wrongs. From this point of view a five minutes'
+audience of the Son of Heaven, even in dumb show and once a-year, was a
+step of real importance. "The empire," wrote Mr Wade, "has for the first
+time in its history broken with the tradition of isolated supremacy--not,
+it may be, with a good grace, but still past recall; and while I would
+anxiously deprecate a too sanguine estimate of its results, I am as little
+disposed to undervalue the change that has been effected."
+
+But whatever hopes of a practical kind were raised by this ceremonial
+innovation were doomed to speedy extinction, for the emperor did not
+survive to grant a second reception. He died within the year, and was
+succeeded by another infant, involving a second minority much longer than
+the preceding one. Eighteen years, in fact, elapsed between the first
+imperial audience and the second.
+
+The Emperor Tungchih, though but eighteen years of age, left a legend
+behind him. The gossip of the capital assigned to him considerable
+independence of character, and a certain audacity in breaking bounds
+without the discreet chaperonage enjoyed by the Prince Siddhârtha in his
+explorations beyond the palace precincts of King Suddhôdana. He was,
+if common report belied him not, a true son of his mother in certain
+respects, though of her masterful statecraft, and the qualities which
+become a great monarch, he was too young to have given proofs. Leaving
+no heir, the deficiency was promptly supplied by the resourcefulness of
+the empress-mother. As the widow of the Emperor Hsienfêng and co-regent,
+she adopted a posthumous heir to that monarch to replace his own son.
+Her choice fell on the infant son of Prince Ch'un, the youngest brother
+of Hsienfêng. The mother of the adopted child was the empress-regent's
+own sister, and by thus enthroning her nephew the regent assured herself
+another long lease of power. The proceeding was irregular, there being two
+older brothers of Prince Ch'un alive and having sons. The nearest heir
+was the infant grandson of Prince Tun, the fifth son of Tao-kuang, but
+though Prince Tun himself had thirty years before been given in adoption
+to an uncle, the claim of his descendants to the imperial inheritance
+being thereby weakened, he seems never to have renounced his rights. At
+the time of the decease of Tungchih there was so much apprehension of
+disturbances in Peking, both on account of the succession and the form of
+the regency, that the 'Times' (February 4, 1875) wrote, "A battle on this
+question would seem almost inevitable, and notwithstanding the proverbial
+slowness of the East in most things, in crises like the present aspirants
+to Eastern thrones are wont to display both energy and readiness when the
+moment arrives for a _coup d'état_."
+
+The next in seniority of the sons of Tao-kuang was Prince Kung, whose
+title was uncompromised by alienation, and he had a son eligible. Whatever
+may have been the reasons for setting aside the claims of the two elder
+brothers to occupy the Dragon throne, they were considered to have been
+wrongfully set aside, and of this more will doubtless be heard in the
+fulness of time. Since, for reasons well understood, no natural heir
+to the present monarch can succeed him, there must be fresh recourse
+to adoption when or before the necessity arises, and what influences,
+native or alien, may then be concentrated on the imperial succession is
+a speculation on which it would be profitless to enter.
+
+The empress-regent's _coup d'état_ of January 1875, when on a bitterly
+cold night her infant nephew was taken out of his warm bed, conveyed
+into the palace, and proclaimed emperor the following morning, answered
+the scheming lady's expectations, for she has ruled the Chinese empire
+from that day to this. By the same stroke she was enabled to disembarrass
+herself of her original confederate, Prince Kung, to whose ambition she
+dealt a crushing blow in ousting his family from the succession. The two
+had come to hate each other with more than common virulence; and now that
+Prince Ch'un had been set on an unassailable pedestal as father of the
+reigning sovereign, the regent placed her trust and confidence in him, and
+shared with him the sweets of empire. Inasmuch, however, as the regent
+was a woman, and her imperial brother-in-law neither a man of affairs
+nor in a position to assume any outward share in the Government, it was
+necessary to bring in a practical statesman to stand between them and the
+outer world. This position of confidence was occupied for twenty years by
+the grand secretary, Li Hung-chang.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [21] For an unvarnished narrative of both the French and the Russian
+    advances the reader cannot do better than consult Mr Gundry's
+    'China and her Neighbours,' Chapman & Hall, 1893.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875--CHEFOO CONVENTION, 1876--RATIFICATION,
+1885.
+
+
+I. THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875.
+
+    Efforts to reach China from Burma--Expedition under Colonel
+    Browne--Mr Margary appointed interpreter--Meets party at
+    Bhamo--Precedes them into China, and is assassinated at
+    Manwyne--Discussion thereon with the Chinese Government--Tsên
+    Yü-ying, Governor of Yunnan--British Minister charges him with the
+    murder--Demands his arraignment--Sends commission from Peking to
+    Yunnan to take evidence--Unsuccessful.
+
+Ever since the conquest of British Burma, and more especially since the
+treaty concluded with the King of Burma in 1862, political and commercial
+speculation had been busied with the mountainous country which divides
+it from the empire of China. The fact that next to nothing was known
+of that wild region, combined with the prospect of reopening the old
+caravan route which had been some time closed by disturbances among the
+frontier tribes and by Chinese insurgents, constituted a great stimulus to
+exploration. To this end projects were from time to time considered by the
+Indian Government--sometimes at the instance of enthusiastic officials,
+sometimes urged by the superior authority of the British Government under
+pressure from mercantile bodies in England. South-western China, however,
+was as jealously guarded from intrusion as the sea-coast had been, and no
+progress was made in penetrating its mystery.
+
+After the failure of an exploring expedition under Colonel Edward B.
+Sladen in 1868, the Indian Government, in furtherance of the wishes of the
+Government at home, sanctioned yet another attempt six years later, though
+with decided misgivings as to any successful issue. Arrangements were
+made during 1874, and the expedition, under Colonel Horace Browne, was
+despatched from Burma _viâ_ Bhamo in the beginning of 1875. The British
+Minister in China had been asked for his co-operation, and in particular
+he was requested to furnish Colonel Browne with a competent interpreter.
+It was arranged that this official, armed with a Chinese passport issued
+by the Government at Peking, should make his own way through China from
+the coast and join Colonel Browne at Bhamo.
+
+The choice of her Majesty's Minister fell upon one of the most promising
+officers in the consular service, Mr Augustus Raymond Margary, who
+proceeded from Shanghai by way of the Yangtze to the province of Yunnan,
+and in five months accomplished his perilous pioneering journey with
+perfect success, arriving on the 17th of January at the rendezvous, where
+he was received with the warmest feelings by Colonel Browne and his party,
+and with surprise and admiration by the Burmese.
+
+On being joined by Mr Margary, the mission prepared to start from Bhamo
+towards China. Everything seemed auspicious for the expedition. On
+arriving at the Burmese frontier, however, the party were met by sinister
+rumours of armed opposition to their passage through the Kakhyen hills.
+Margary, having just come safely through these districts, volunteered
+to proceed alone to ascertain the truth of the reports which they had
+heard. How he was treacherously assassinated at Manwyne, the first city
+within the Chinese border, and how Colonel Browne's mission was assailed
+and driven back by armed bands, has been told by Dr John Anderson in 'A
+Narrative of the two Expeditions to Western China' of 1868 and 1875, and
+by Sir Rutherford Alcock, the sympathetic editor of Mr Margary's 'Letters
+and Journals,' as well as in numerous Government publications.
+
+It became then a question of the gravest import to fix the guilt of
+this treachery, and to consider what means could be adopted for avenging
+the death of a young Englishman within Chinese territory, and bearing a
+passport from the Government of Peking. "Whether it be Burmese, Kakhyens,
+Shan tribes, or Chinese that are in question, it is impossible we can
+accept a defeat of this nature, brought on, too, by our own spontaneous
+acts," was the conclusion of Sir Rutherford Alcock. Governments which
+resorted to the assassination of individuals under their own safe conduct
+must be deterred, by persuasion or by force, from the use of such tactics.
+The demand for redress which was made direct to the Tsungli-Yamên was
+followed by a wrangling and evasive discussion as to the conditions on
+which the passport had been granted. These, it must be admitted, had
+not been so definitely stated as they might have been. Passports, as Mr
+Wade, then Minister in Peking, explained, were granted in two forms--for
+"business," meaning trade, or for "pleasure," rendered in Chinese "tour
+or travel." It was in the latter form that the passport for Colonel
+Browne was applied for, and the Chinese made a plausible defence of their
+position on this narrow ground, asserting that the subsequent declaration
+that the mission was intended to open a trade route through Chinese
+provinces, where they alleged no trading rights for foreigners existed,
+could not be covered by a passport granted for pleasure.
+
+The voluminous discussion on international rights which followed, although
+academical in form and irrelevant to the question at issue, betrayed the
+animus of the Chinese Government in regard to commercial concessions in
+the interior; but it is possible that the true motive for the repulse
+of Colonel Browne's expedition, of which Mr Margary's murder was but an
+incident, lay deeper. Europeans are accustomed to make light of oriental
+suspicions, and the idea that Colonel Browne's party was the vanguard of
+a hostile force to be treacherously introduced into Chinese territory
+under passport may seem too fantastic to have been entertained in good
+faith. Yet if we consider on what trivial grounds even the civilised
+Powers of Europe will at times suspect each other of the most grandiose
+designs, and how often the suspicion is justified, we need not dismiss
+as incredible the fact that, in a frontier province which had recently
+been the scene of a formidable rebellion, an armed escort accompanying a
+foreign tourist party should have caused sincere misgivings in the minds
+of the authorities. Nor do the facts of the case exclude the possibility
+of such suspicions being suggested from without, even if they did not
+arise spontaneously within. Apart from these special considerations, the
+chances of success would probably have been greater if the mission had
+started from the Chinese side, where the right of travel and exploration
+had already been established.
+
+The verbal polemic over the conditions of the passport did not, however,
+touch the matter in hand, which was the murder of a British official for
+whom the Chinese Government, both imperial and provincial, were expressly
+responsible. It is not necessary at this day to pronounce judgment on
+the identity of the actual criminal. The murder was the result of a
+conspiracy in which Chinese and Burmese were both implicated. They were
+alike interested in preventing the passage of the mission, and the strong
+opposition of the Burma Government was not unknown to Mr Margary, for he
+had noted it in his Journal.
+
+The King of Burma, the father of the well-known Theebaw, was a learned
+pandit and a devout Buddhist, as severe in regard to heretics as the
+crowned heads of Europe were in the days of the Inquisition. The Court of
+Ava, in its claims to obeisance from foreigners, was almost as exacting as
+the Son of Heaven himself, and the priests lorded it over the community
+with the arrogance of a pampered caste. Thus foreign intercourse was
+heavily hampered, and a good understanding rendered almost impossible.
+Fears for their prerogatives must have inspired the royal and priestly
+coterie with aversion to that restless element which was always trying to
+"open up" other people's country and to explore trade routes. Hence the
+motive for obstructing the passage of a foreign expedition between Burma
+and China was as strong on the Burmese as on the Chinese side.
+
+Tsên Yü-ying, the Chinese governor, held an exceptionally strong position
+in his province, and the officials stood very much in awe of him. Though
+not a pure Chinese, having been born in the mountains of Kwangsi, of
+aboriginal parentage on one side, his personal prestige was very great.
+A fighting man from his youth, he had acquired an immense reputation in
+suppressing the Mohammedan rebellion in Yunnan. This he did in oriental
+style, extirpating the rebels so far as he could, root and branch. To save
+the trouble of burying many thousands of old people and children, he had
+them drowned in the Tali Lake. The military commander who was told off for
+this pleasing duty palliated the massacre, when in after years narrating
+these occurrences, by saying there were not really 10,000 but only 3000
+thrown into the lake. This official had remonstrated with the governor
+against the sentence, saying that such severity was not in accordance with
+Tao li (principle); but Tsên replied, "You have nothing to do with Tao
+li; you must conform to the Leu li" (Penal Code).
+
+Tsên Yü-ying was therefore something greater than an ordinary provincial
+governor, and wielded something more than the authority belonging to
+his office. Not only was he responsible, as all governors are, for what
+was done within his government, but it is difficult to conceive of any
+important incident occurring there without his personal sanction. But
+which was the leader in the plot, whether the acting-governor Tsên Yü-ying
+or the King of Burma, is comparatively unimportant; suffice it that her
+Majesty's Minister fixed, on grounds which satisfied himself, though of
+course on inferential evidence only, the instigation of the crime on the
+governor-general Tsên Yü-ying; and whether the direct guilt were brought
+home to him or not, there could be no question about his responsibility
+under the Chinese principle of administration. "From the governor-general
+downwards they are each and all individually and collectively held
+responsible for all that may happen in the limits of their jurisdiction."
+Accordingly, after much preliminary discussion, Mr Wade demanded that
+that high official should be censured for neglect of duty, and, on later
+information, that he should be brought for trial to Peking. To this
+demand the Peking Government refused to listen, and after feigning for
+many months to have no knowledge of what had taken place, they produced a
+report from the governor-general himself inculpating certain subordinates,
+of whom he seemed willing to make a nominal sacrifice. This report was so
+openly mendacious that Sir Thomas Wade threatened to haul down his flag
+if it were published.
+
+Unluckily for the successful prosecution of the demand for the arraignment
+of the viceroy, the British Minister became entangled in a cat's-cradle of
+negotiations for the revision of the treaty of Tientsin, with which the
+Yunnan outrage got so mixed up that the different questions never could
+be, or at any rate never were, separated again. Throwing the net is the
+tactical device in which the Chinese excel. The demand for reparation
+for the murder was alternately put forward, modified, and withdrawn
+according as the general propositions were shuffled about, and thus the
+effect of a concentrated attack on the essential point was lost. The
+minister on his own showing found himself in a succession of dilemmas,
+while the Chinese defensive position was clear throughout: it was to
+refuse everything, evade when direct refusal was dangerous, and in short
+to baffle all attempts of the British Minister to get to close quarters
+with the question. Sir Thomas Wade was several times brought by these
+elusive tactics to the point of threatening withdrawal of the Legation,
+which in itself the Chinese would have welcomed as a householder might
+the "positively last visit" of a tax-collector, but for the ulterior
+consequences to be apprehended.
+
+After many months of fruitless labour Sir Thomas Wade resolved to send
+a commission of his own to Yunnan to collect evidence as to Margary's
+murder. His right to do so was at first contested by the Chinese; but
+after considering the matter, and getting the best advice at their
+command, they assented, and named High Commissioners to meet the British
+officials. The Hon. T. G. Grosvenor, secretary of Legation, was detached
+for this duty, assisted by two of the most competent men in the consular
+service--Mr Colborn Baber and Mr Arthur Davenport. On the Chinese side
+were appointed the viceroy of the Hu Kwang, Li Han-chang, elder brother
+of Li Hung-chang, another official to whom Sir Thomas Wade objected
+strongly, but in vain, and Tsên Yü-ying himself, the inculpated party.
+The promises made to the British Minister before he would allow the
+mission to set out were broken as soon as it was fairly on its way, and
+Sir Thomas Wade had serious thoughts of recalling it, foreseeing that
+it was destined merely to waste time. What possible hope, indeed, could
+there be of isolated foreigners collecting evidence in a distant city
+against the high provincial officials? No evidence was taken. The British
+Commissioner was simply presented with the original report, to which was
+added the so-called "confession" of thirteen savages "kidnapped to do
+duty as prisoners at the bar." These savages could not speak Chinese, nor
+was their language understood by any one in the viceregal court; it was
+evident that they had never been near the scene of the crime, nor did they
+look in the least like men who were pleading guilty to a capital charge.
+
+The motive of the Chinese in yielding to the appointment of the British
+commission, after refusing their assent to it, only occurred to Sir Thomas
+Wade when they recommended that Mr Grosvenor should remain in Yunnan
+until the case was closed. No coercive measures, they calculated, would
+be taken against them while these hostages remained in their hands. From
+first to last the only question that occupied the mind of the Chinese
+Government was whether force would be applied or not. And if they read--as
+of course they did--the English newspapers of the day they would see that
+the contingency of war was dwelt upon throughout the year 1875 as the
+sole alternative to the condign punishment of the Governor-General of
+Yunnan-Kweichow. This was, indeed, from time to time directly threatened
+by Sir Thomas Wade, and he had applied for the Flying Squadron to come on
+from India to support his demands. When at last, after eighteen months'
+struggle, he abandoned the negotiations, and "abruptly left Peking" for
+Shanghai in order to be in direct telegraphic communication with the
+Home Government, he wrote, "I had, in the last fortnight, again and again
+threatened either to remove the Legation or to recommend to her Majesty's
+Government the extremest measure of coercion unless I had secured a very
+moderate form of reparation."
+
+When Prince Kung realised the fact that the British Minister had actually
+left the capital he became suddenly serious, and sent after him to
+say there had been a misunderstanding, which would have been cleared
+away if he had only waited. At the same time the prince had recourse
+to his foreign adviser, the Inspector-General of Customs, who stood
+to the Government somewhat in the relation of a "medicine-man." The
+inspector-general had taken an active part, both direct and indirect, in
+the comedy of the preceding eighteen months--whether as an ally or an
+opponent of the British Minister seems not to have been quite clear to
+the comprehension of the latter.
+
+An imperial decree was immediately despatched to the Grand Secretary,
+Li Hung-chang, instructing him to detain the British Minister on his
+way through Tientsin, in order to confer with him on the Margary case.
+This proposal Sir Thomas Wade declined on several grounds: among others,
+that at a previous stage of the negotiations the promises made by Li
+Hung-chang had been repudiated by the Peking Government. This effort to
+stop him at Tientsin having failed, Mr Hart was despatched in hot haste
+after Sir Thomas Wade to Shanghai, ostensibly to discuss the "commercial
+question," but really to induce the British Minister to re-enter the
+arena of negotiation,[22] in which the Chinese felt themselves safe. Sir
+Thomas, therefore, consented to meet a special commissioner, but without
+committing himself as to the scope of the intended conference. The High
+Commissioner was Li Hung-chang, and the place of meeting Chefoo, the
+locality being selected by Sir Thomas Wade himself. There was concluded
+the famous Chefoo Convention.
+
+
+II. CHEFOO CONVENTION, 1876.
+
+    Negotiations with Li Hung-chang at Chefoo--Mr Hart
+    assisting--Sir Thomas Wade hurried into making an unsatisfactory
+    settlement--Chefoo convention analysed--Net result an increase
+    in the customs dues--Criticised by the merchants.
+
+It was in the month of September, the summer not yet over, during which
+season the sea air and fine beach of Chefoo made it at that time the
+best health resort for the China coast. Visitors from Peking occasionally
+varied their summer residence at the Western Hills by spending a few weeks
+at Chefoo, and in 1876 there were several members of the diplomatic body
+taking their holiday at the watering-place, the meeting of the British
+and Chinese plenipotentiaries constituting for them an added attraction.
+
+Sir Thomas Wade had originally no intention of concluding a formal
+convention, nor had he authority for closing the Yunnan question without
+further reference to his Government; but circumstances proved too
+strong for him to keep to his resolution. He, in fact, found himself in
+such a position of difficulty as is perhaps best described by the word
+"cornered"--the advantage of the game having passed entirely to the
+other side. The Chinese commissioner was powerfully reinforced by the
+inspector-general, supported by the local commissioner of customs for
+Chefoo; and the neutrality of those of the diplomatic body who were on
+the spot was believed to be benevolent to the Chinese. The "co-operative
+policy" of Mr Burlingame's day had for the time being at least lapsed,
+and particularist views among the Powers or their representatives began
+to prevail. The British Minister, deeming the matter in dispute with
+the Chinese a purely British concern, did not hold it incumbent on him
+to hamper his negotiations by daily consultations with his colleagues,
+who on their part resented his reticence, claiming it as a right that,
+considering how their national interests might be affected by the result,
+they should be kept informed of the progress of the negotiations.
+Sir Thomas Wade admits that, among other considerations, it was the
+impatience of these colleagues of his to see the discussion definitely
+terminated which induced him to close the case without waiting for further
+instructions from his Government.
+
+It must be borne in mind that the problem before the Chinese High
+Commissioner had never varied: it was the extremely simple one, how to
+screen the ex-governor Tsên Yü-ying, whether guilty or innocent, without
+encountering a British armed force. The fate of the negotiations depended
+entirely on the probable movement of the Flying Squadron, which was lying
+at Talien-wan, a hundred miles off. No greater service could have been
+rendered to the Chinese Government than to assure the High Commissioner
+that he had nothing to fear from the British ships. The foreign Ministers
+who were present had their Intelligence Departments in full activity, and
+they had a shrewd notion of the limitations of the Flying Squadron, which
+they were free to communicate to the Chinese plenipotentiary. They were
+aware that the time--September 1876--was not opportune for the British
+Government to embark on distant enterprises of indefinite possibilities.
+From one source or another the assurance was given to the Chinese
+negotiator, and once convinced, on whatever evidence, that the British
+guns would fire nothing but salutes, Li Hung-chang felt himself master of
+the situation. It then became his turn to force a settlement, and he at
+once assumed a peremptory tone with the British Minister, notifying him
+that he would leave Chefoo on a certain day, convention or no convention.
+Sir Thomas Wade had, or thought he had, no choice but to capitulate to
+superior force. Pressed by his diplomatic colleagues, as has been said, as
+well as by the expressed desire of his own Government to get the tedious
+matter settled, he had to accept the best agreement he could get, and the
+Chefoo convention was the result.
+
+The fear of coercion being eliminated, the negotiation became reduced
+to a custom-house affair like the treaty revision of 1869, the Chinese
+seizing the occasion to renew their former efforts to obtain an increase
+of revenue from foreign trade. Instead of adding to the import duty on
+foreign merchandise as in 1869, they now proposed to extend the area
+of internal taxation, and in particular they prepared the way for an
+indefinite increase in the opium revenue. This was the substantial part
+of the convention. New ports were opened in harmony with the scheme.
+
+A clause referring to residence at Chungking in Szechuan provided that
+British merchants would not be allowed to reside there so long as no
+steamers had access to the port. When, under this contingent clause, it
+was attempted to make the conditional permission effective by sending
+steamers to the port, the Chinese Government offered opposition, and the
+right was abandoned by Great Britain.
+
+As for the Yunnan affair, the settlement of it gravitated to the form
+which had been universally condemned. "Do not let the nation lay itself
+open to the contempt of an Asiatic people by accepting money for life
+treacherously taken by official order," wrote Sir R. Alcock in July
+1875. But "the series of bad precedents" was once more followed, and
+"blood-money was accepted for the life of a British subject."
+
+It was thought important to publish far and wide the terms of settlement,
+and a proclamation with Sir T. Wade's _imprimatur_ was posted throughout
+the country. It was remarked, however, that this proclamation embodied the
+very falsities against the publication of which the British Minister had
+previously protested under threat of breaking off diplomatic relations.
+The guilt of notoriously innocent parties was assumed in it, but their
+pardon granted on the fictitious ground that the evidence against them
+would not suffice to convict by the processes of British law.
+
+A separate article provided for a mission of exploration by way of
+Szechuan and Tibet in the following year.
+
+A subject on which Sir Thomas Wade had long set his heart was an
+improvement in the terms of intercourse between foreign and Chinese
+officials, with a view of putting an end to the habitual assumption
+of superiority of the Chinese. This was treated in a few empty words
+providing that the Tsungli-Yamên should invite foreign representatives to
+consider with them a code of etiquette, a clause imposing no obligation
+whatever on either party.
+
+Another question which had greatly occupied the minds of both the
+British Government and its successive representatives ever since 1833
+was the establishment of a code of laws to regulate the civil and
+criminal relations between foreigners and Chinese at the treaty ports
+and elsewhere. This had formed a feature in the supplementary convention
+of 1869, the undertaking in which did not, however, extend beyond the
+general terms that "it is further agreed that England and China shall in
+consultation draw up a commercial code."
+
+Strongly approving, however, of the abstract idea that China should adopt
+a written code of commercial law as a first step towards a general legal
+reform, Sir T. Wade nevertheless uttered a useful caution to those ardent
+reformers who see in a good code of laws a panacea for either national
+or international grievances. "No nation," he says, "worked harder at its
+legislation than China; but in the way of justice there are at least
+two serious impediments--an ignorance which renders due appreciation
+of the value of evidence, especially in criminal cases, impossible; and
+a dishonesty that would be fatal to the administration of any laws, no
+matter how enlightened." He illustrates this by relating an instance of
+the obstinate nature of the _chose jugée_ in China.
+
+    In a case [he says] the termination of which is just announced
+    at Peking, we have a woman wrongly convicted, on a confession
+    extorted from her by torture, of the murder of a husband who
+    died a natural death, the injustice being so patent that the
+    fellow-provincials of the accused appealed to Peking. Orders
+    being issued for a rehearing of the case, the former decision
+    was affirmed in the province, and this a second and again a third
+    time. The proceedings were then removed to Peking; and it is in
+    the end established that magistrates of districts, prefects of
+    departments, the governor of the province, and the high officer
+    charged with the public instruction of the province, who had been
+    specially commissioned to rehear the case, have all more or less
+    combined to conceal the delinquency of the first authority who
+    heard it; with whose guilt the rest, his seniors, had associated
+    themselves either through carelessness or from a corrupt motive.
+    These proceedings lasted over two years.
+
+One point, however, was definitively gained in connection with
+jurisprudence, the recognition of the British Supreme Court as a means of
+discharging treaty obligations.
+
+The convention as a whole was subjected to the same kind of criticism
+as that of 1869 had been. The Chambers of Commerce pointed out that it
+sanctioned Chinese exactions which had been up to that time consistently
+resisted as violations of the treaty of Tientsin. Imposts, condemned by
+the Chinese themselves,[23] which were to be abolished altogether by
+the terms of the Alcock convention, were by the Chefoo agreement not
+only recognised as lawful, but the area of their levy, within which
+the taxes were to be freed from all restrictions whether as to their
+amount or incidence, greatly extended. It would appear, therefore, said
+the merchants, "better to revert to the clear and simple provisions of
+the treaty of Tientsin, and insist on their being carried out without
+evasion." So far, they say, from simplifying the question of the taxation
+of foreign goods, the obliquely worded clauses in the Chefoo convention
+tend to quite the opposite result. "New elements of obscurity have
+been introduced, and if twenty years have been spent wrangling over the
+comparatively simple wording of the Tientsin treaty, it is to be feared
+that no person now living will see the end of the controversies which will
+rage over the indefinite arrangement set forth in the Chefoo convention."
+
+Opium was also for the first time introduced into a treaty, for the
+purpose of increasing the Chinese revenue from it and of making the
+maritime customs, supported by the British Government, the agent for its
+collection. The Chinese had always been at liberty to levy what internal
+taxation they pleased on opium; but, said the Chamber of Commerce, for
+the "English Government to make itself even indirectly answerable for the
+collection from Chinese of an impost of indefinite amount, varying at each
+port according to the caprice or the necessities of local authorities who
+are not even specified, would surely be to introduce a most inconvenient
+precedent." The convention was left for nine years unratified by the
+British Government. It could not be ratified because, among other reasons,
+five of the treaty Powers took the same objection as the British and other
+merchants had taken to the curtailment of the area of exemption from
+inland taxation--in other words, to the legal sanction extended by the
+agreement to unlimited exactions of the Chinese tax-collectors which had
+up till then been resisted as illegal.
+
+During the eight years following the signature of the Chefoo convention
+incessant discussion and agitation on the subject of the duties on opium
+and general merchandise kept the British Legation in Peking, and in a
+lesser degree the Foreign Office at home, in full activity. The question
+was turned over in all its aspects, threshed out on this side and on
+that, and numerous schemes were proposed for readjusting the imposts. The
+British Minister displayed the utmost ingenuity in evolving variations
+on the central theme, in which ethical, political, and sentimental
+considerations played their part, but without advancing the solution of
+the problem. The problem was altogether too simple for such recondite
+treatment. The Chinese throughout all the tortuous disquisitions pressed
+towards the one object of a substantial increase in their revenue, by
+whatever means it might be arrived at; and eventually they attained their
+object, as those generally do who concentrate their attention on a single
+point.
+
+
+III. THE RATIFICATION, 1885.
+
+    Ratification postponed--Tedious discussion during nine
+    years--Chinese claiming large increase in opium duty--Ultimately
+    granted--By agreement signed in 1885--Hongkong and Macao made
+    stations for collecting opium duties.
+
+The convention simmered for nine years before its final ratification.
+The two Governments skirmished in the air all that time, misconceiving
+each other's aims and avoiding close quarters. The policy of Great
+Britain with regard to opium had been fatally deflected by unpractical
+considerations. The article had been placed by the trade regulations
+appended to the treaty in the exceptional position of being excluded
+from the privilege accorded to all other merchandise of exemption from
+inland taxation by payment of a fixed charge. The Chinese authorities
+were therefore at liberty to tax the article in transit to any extent
+they pleased. For reasons connected with their own administration, this
+unlimited power of taxation in transit was not deemed sufficient to
+produce the desired amount of revenue, and they were intent on supplying
+the deficiency by an enhanced import tariff. The difference between
+the two forms of taxation was that the inland duty was collected in a
+Chinese sieve, while the import duty was levied with the formalities of
+a banker's counter. Naturally, therefore, the Chinese Government missed
+no opportunity of pressing for an increase on the tariff fixed by treaty.
+It was the main object sought by them in the unratified convention of
+1869. Failing then, they renewed their efforts in the Chefoo convention of
+1876, seeking the same end by an inverted process, like taking a sea-fort
+from the land side. Instead of reviving the discredited proposal, they
+effected a turning movement by extending the area of the inland dues
+until it included the port of landing. Why, having full licence over the
+whole empire, a few acres added to their tax-collecting province should
+have been deemed of such vital importance is not perhaps at first sight
+self-evident. The reason was that under the proposed system the machinery
+of the Imperial maritime customs could be employed in collection, with
+the protection of the foreign consuls.
+
+The concession was set forth in cryptic form in the convention, but the
+Chinese knew very well what interpretation they intended to give to the
+clause. That intention remained unaltered, though tactics varied. By the
+light of the vague and pointless correspondence carried on for seven years
+with the British Government they saw their way to advancing considerably
+beyond the position gained by the convention. They consequently raised
+their demands in proportion as they found the British Government yielding,
+until eventually they reached a vantage-ground where they could safely
+unmask and make direct for their object, an increase in the import tariff
+pure and simple. Eighty taels were added to the thirty allowed by the old
+treaty, and the opium duty was thus really trebled at a stroke.
+
+The negotiations which led up to the convention are chiefly interesting
+as showing how easily the Foreign Office was chased from cover to cover
+by the Chinese Minister. Having once got the enemy "on the run," the
+Marquis Tsêng did not relax his pursuit until, notwithstanding one or two
+rear-guard actions, he capitulated without conditions.
+
+After seven years of active deliberation the definitive diplomatic
+conference was opened by Lord Granville in January 1883. As a preliminary,
+the basis of the negotiations was rigidly defined by Mr (now Lord) Currie,
+in accordance with the Chefoo convention, thus: the regulation of the
+_likin_ taxation, and specification of the barriers at which collections
+were to be made.
+
+But, as we have hinted, the Chinese aspirations had in the mean time
+far transcended the scope of any provision of any treaty. No longer
+content with regulating _likin_, their first step in the conference
+was to induce Lord Granville to abandon the preliminary stipulation
+he had so carefully laid down. The Chinese Minister proposed a general
+commutation rate, uniform at all the ports, supporting the claim by sundry
+specious arguments. The _likin_ barriers had been a chronic grievance
+of the merchants. The marquis held out a prospect of their abolition as
+a consequence of the single-payment commutation of inland dues on which
+he was intent. It is a feature of Chinese bargains of every description
+that something definite should be conceded on the one side, and something
+indefinite promised on the other,--the "bird in the hand" invariably for
+the Chinese. There was nothing surprising, therefore, in the time-honoured
+formula being employed in these diplomatic interchanges.
+
+In moving from his base, Lord Granville, of course, ceded everything; but
+he made a final stand at the amount, declaring that "he could not agree
+that the _likin_ payment should be fixed at more than 70 taels"; moreover,
+that he "would require full information as to the guarantees which would
+be given that opium would not be subject to any further payment while in
+transit." One such guarantee was already provided for in the convention,
+which stipulates "that the nationality of the person possessing or
+carrying the merchandise would be immaterial." This was deemed of great
+importance to trade, because since it was not always possible for a
+foreign owner, or even a deputy of his own race, to accompany a parcel of
+goods into the interior, the permission for Chinese to accompany them was
+essential to the working of the transit business. The contention of the
+merchant had always been, that the exemption from dues was a privilege
+attaching to the goods, and not to the temporary owner or transport agent.
+On the other hand, as the goods could not speak, the option of sending
+either a native or a foreigner at the merchant's own choice was considered
+a useful check on illicit exactions.
+
+The confident manner in which the marquis brushed away both of Lord
+Granville's ultimata showed how well he had profited by his experience of
+Foreign Office diplomacy. To Lord Granville's maximum of 70 taels (the sum
+actually agreed upon with the Chinese Government) the marquis said he was
+sorry, but his instructions did not permit of his accepting less than 80
+taels per pecul. It is not customary to ask for proofs of good faith from
+ambassadors acting "on instructions," and Lord Granville simply yielded
+the point, while entering a mild protest against being forced by a Chinese
+_non possumus_.
+
+And the right of the foreigner to accompany his goods, on which so much
+stress had been laid, was disposed of with exquisite assurance by the
+Chinese Minister, who was confident that such a mere detail "would not
+be allowed to stand in the way of a settlement," notwithstanding that it
+involved a reversal of the Chefoo convention.
+
+And as to the guarantees for fulfilment, the Marquis Tsêng was sure that
+"the strongest guarantee would consist in the moral obligation" on the
+part of the Chinese Government to carry out arrangements of their own
+proposing. Thus, by sheer persistence, the Chinese gained every point,
+securing not only a threefold duty on opium, but the assistance of her
+Majesty's Government in its collection, for that was the meaning of
+transferring the levy from the interior to the seaport. The agreement,
+concluded by Lord Granville in June, was signed by Lord Salisbury in July
+1885, under the title of an "Additional Article to the Chefoo Convention."
+
+It is right to add, on the authority of recent observers, that the
+convention has worked smoothly, no complaints being heard of inland
+exactions in contravention of its terms. It thus appears that the moral
+guarantee on which the Marquis Tsêng spoke so confidently was after all
+of some validity. But as the only source from which complaints could come
+would be those foreign agents who were by the terms of the convention
+expressly excluded from conveying or accompanying opium into the country,
+the negative evidence is not absolutely conclusive.
+
+It would have been most interesting to gain from so enlightened a
+Minister as Tsêng some insight into the causes of the continual friction
+and recrimination which attend the operation of the commercial articles
+in the Chinese treaties, but his despatches have reference only to the
+question of the moment. "The Imperial Government," he says, "have often
+been held responsible for the friction caused in working arrangements but
+ill-adapted to the state of the country, and which a better knowledge of
+its internal conditions would have shown to those who framed them are
+incapable of execution." "The present scheme," he intimates, "being in
+harmony with existing institutions," may be expected to work smoothly.
+Existing institutions, therefore, are opposed to local taxation and in
+favour of single commutations. When, however, a different thesis has
+to be sustained, we are assured by other authorities that "existing
+institutions" claim arbitrary, variable, and unlimited taxation of goods
+in transit for the benefit of the provincial exchequers, and that it is
+the attempt to commute these by a payment at the port which is the true
+cause of the friction and disputation.
+
+The natural corollary followed the ratification of the Chefoo convention.
+The desire of the Chinese Government, cherished for nearly thirty years,
+to establish a customs station in Hongkong was virtually consummated
+in the following year. The trade of the colony had been vexed by a
+perpetual blockade by so-called revenue cruisers which harried every
+native vessel entering or leaving the harbour. The hope of getting the
+investment relaxed may have induced the acquiescence of the colony in
+any alternative. The Chinese sought to grip the opium supply by the neck,
+which could only be done by their obtaining control over the harbour of
+Hongkong. This was conceded, and a customs station was established on the
+Chinese side of the anchorage, while an office was opened in the city of
+Victoria.
+
+There was a second "neck" to the opium supply--Macao. The arrangement
+made with Hongkong without a corresponding agreement with Macao would
+have merely driven the trade from the one to the other. Overtures were
+therefore made to the Portuguese, who, unlike the English, were offered a
+valuable consideration for admitting the control of the Chinese customs
+into their waters. They then obtained for the first time a treaty of
+independent sovereignty for the colony.
+
+The effect of all these negotiations and arrangements, whether intended or
+not, was to stimulate the cultivation of Chinese opium to a high degree,
+and this, according to the impartial testimony of an ex-German Minister,
+is, apart from the increase to the Chinese revenue, the net result of the
+anti-opium agitation.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [22] "Experience shows us that in the eyes of the Chinese negotiation
+    is a sign of weakness."--Sir F. BRUCE.
+
+ [23] "_Likin_ is in its nature an oppressive institution only
+    continued in force owing to the necessity of providing resources
+    to meet the army expenditure in the north-west."--'Peking
+    Gazette,' January 18, 1875.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+A CHAIN OF INCIDENTS.
+
+
+I. DISPUTE WITH RUSSIA _RE_ KULDJA.
+
+    Insurrection in Kashgaria--Russia occupies Kuldja--Engaging to
+    evacuate when country settled--Tso Tsung-tang's march--Death
+    of Yakub-beg--China reoccupies Kashgaria--Calls upon Russia
+    to retire from Kuldja--Relations become strained--Chunghou
+    concludes treaty with Russia--Violently repudiated by empress--War
+    threatened--Gordon summoned--Dispute arranged by Marquis Tsêng.
+
+The dilatoriness of China in making a stand against Japanese pretensions
+in Korea may be partly explained by her serious preoccupations elsewhere.
+She had been immersed in a sea of troubles. She seemed to be enveloped in
+rebellion. In the south-west the province of Yunnan had been severed from
+the imperial rule, and in its recovery the land was almost depopulated.
+In the north-west there were also Mohammedan risings, and in far-distant
+Kashgaria, separated from China by a thousand miles of desert and
+militarily untenable by her, the adventurer known as Yakub-beg set up
+an independent government, which he maintained for some years. Anarchy
+on her frontier afforded to Russia the pretext of occupying Chinese
+territory to maintain order; but she was scrupulous in assuring the Peking
+Government that this step was provisional, and that she was ready to
+restore Kuldja as soon as the Chinese were again in a position to resume
+the government of the town and territory. The time came sooner than was
+expected. The famous march of Tso Tsung-tang, who halted to grow grain
+for the support of his army, and the disaffection in his camp leading to
+the demise of Yakub, enabled China to reoccupy the revolted districts.
+Russia, on being asked to redeem her pledge as to Kuldja, made conditions
+which were not acceptable, and a diplomatic campaign was entered upon.
+A high Manchu official, Chunghou, the same who had been sent to France
+in 1871, was despatched to Prussia, where he concluded the treaty of
+Livadia, which was so repugnant to the empress-regent and her advisers
+that not only was it repudiated at Peking, but the envoy was delivered
+to the Board of Punishments. Relations became strained between Russia
+and China, and on both sides there were hints of a resort to force. In
+view of this eventuality the Chinese Government were recommended to apply
+for the services of their old champion, Gordon, who, unknown to them,
+had taken service with Lord Ripon, the then new Viceroy of India, and,
+equally unknown to them, had precipitately resigned that service. The
+Chinese had a large body of troops in Manchuria; the long line of Russian
+communication was very weak along that frontier; the governor of Eastern
+Siberia, declaring himself unable to resist a Chinese attack, had urged
+the Government at St Petersburg to come to terms at once with China, and
+wait for a suitable opportunity to recover what they might be obliged
+to cede. The Chinese Government hoped that if Gordon would come to their
+assistance, and take command of their Manchurian levies, his name would
+be a host in itself, and his appearance on the scene would at any rate
+convince the Russian Government that China was in earnest. With this view
+an invitation was sent to General Gordon in a telegram from Sir Robert
+Hart, which found him in Bombay. The invitation was unconditional; it
+indicated no purpose and named no price. Gordon took it entirely on trust,
+closed at once, and proceeded to China. Having been given no clue as to
+what service was expected from him, Gordon, nevertheless, not only came
+to a conclusion of his own on the subject, but supplied his views to the
+newspapers before leaving India, and at every port of call on the route.
+He declared he was going to China to induce her to make peace, for she
+was unable to do otherwise. In this he was of an opposite opinion from
+the Russian governor-general. But whatever the merit of his opinion, the
+object of the Chinese in sending for him was of course frustrated by his
+published declarations. These being communicated to the Government at
+Peking, they saw that so far from stiffening them in their negotiations
+with Russia, Gordon's presence would seriously embarrass them, and they
+accordingly endeavoured to prevent his coming. Through Sir Robert Hart
+they sent a message to meet Gordon at Chefoo, requesting him to proceed no
+farther. Disregarding this request, he continued his journey to Tientsin,
+where he had interviews with his old friend the Viceroy Li; and he also
+made his way to Peking, where by the aid of an indifferent Cantonese
+interpreter he made representations to the Tsungli-Yamên, some of which
+the interpreter dared not reproduce in Chinese. Gordon left without seeing
+either Sir Robert Hart, on whose authority alone he had come to China,
+or the British Minister, Sir Thomas Wade. The advice he left with the
+Chinese Ministers was to renounce the endeavour to organise an army on
+Western models, and not to waste money on modern weapons, but to trust
+rather to numbers and the Fabian strategy which was natural to them. This
+being promptly published in foreign journals, was regarded as highly
+paradoxical, if not cynical; but it was recalled to mind fifteen years
+later, when China was being defeated in the pitched battles against which
+Gordon had warned them.
+
+The Kuldja dispute was eventually disposed of by the Chinese Minister,
+Marquis Tsêng, who negotiated a treaty at St Petersburg, by which the
+territory was nominally receded to China, while its strategical positions
+were retained in the occupation of Russia, thus rendering the whole region
+untenable by Chinese troops.
+
+
+II. KOREAN IMBROGLIO, 1882-1885.
+
+    Outbreak in 1882--Conspiracy of the king's father--Attack on
+    Japanese legation--Chinese troops control the capital--Foreign
+    innovations--Brought bad elements to the surface--Conspiracy
+    in 1884--Assassinations--Treachery of king's confidant--Kim
+    Ok Kun's escape to Japan--The avenger--His elaborate
+    preparations--Assassination of Kim--Joy in the Korean
+    Court--Honours to the assassin--Japan dissatisfied--Count Ito's
+    mission--Japan secures equal rights with China in Korea.
+
+The Russian question settled, China had leisure to attend to Korean
+affairs, of which the importance was becoming more and more clear to her
+statesmen. The scare on the north-west was in another form transferred
+to the north-east, where there was the double risk of complications
+arising from both Russian and Japanese encroachment on Korea. The opening
+of the country to foreign intercourse, intended as a protection against
+such dangers, was soon discovered to be inadequate. A procession of
+events, dating from the signing of the treaties and culminating in 1885,
+transformed the kingdom from a vassal to a quasi-independent State.
+
+The first link in the chain, so far as visible effects were concerned,
+was an _émeute_ which took place in Söul in 1882. The father of the
+king had occupied a position as regent curiously resembling that of the
+Empress-Dowager of China, and being ambitious to regain the authority
+which he had laid down on the king's coming of age, raised a conspiracy
+to depose him. In connection with the plot a mob was let loose on the
+Japanese legation, where a desperate struggle ensued, in which, and
+in the running fight which they made towards the seaport, a number of
+Japanese were killed. The survivors were conveyed to Nagasaki in a British
+ship-of-war. What provocation the Japanese had given for this savage
+onslaught is not a matter on which we need enter. The point is that it
+afforded justification for sharp reprisals. Perceiving this, and being in
+a position of unaccustomed preparedness, the Chinese Government--that is
+to say, Li Hung-chang--adopted prompt measures for anticipating action
+on the part of the Japanese. They despatched an envoy with a body of
+troops and a naval squadron to the seaport of the capital where they at
+once put down the conspiracy, re-established the king's authority, and by
+a clever but wonderfully common oriental ruse captured the Usurper, and
+carried him off to China as a State prisoner. The Chinese troops remained
+in the vicinity of the capital, and a Resident on the Indian pattern was
+installed at the Korean Court.
+
+Before long a foreign element began to be introduced into the Korean
+administration. Among other things a branch of the Chinese customs service
+was established, and, as in China, many duties besides that of raising a
+revenue soon claimed the attention of the foreign commissioner. No more
+effective first step in the regeneration of such a country could have
+been undertaken than an honest administration of its maritime revenue. It
+was a measure both good in itself and prolific of beneficial results in
+many directions. Other reforms, however, were projected which required
+a certain preparation of the soil and a careful consideration of social
+forces and conditions. The introduction of foreign ideas of any kind into
+a country which, so far as politics were concerned, might be considered
+virgin soil, was, to say the least, a hazardous experiment. Undigested
+schemes for the Europeanisation or the Japonisation of a Government which
+had up till then banished foreign intercourse entirely from its shores
+was likely to have an effect analogous to that of suddenly administering
+strong meat to the victim of protracted privation. Korean affairs were
+even less understood by foreigners than Western affairs were by the
+Koreans, so that the yeast thrown into the Korean dough produced risings
+for which Western foreigners at least, whatever may be said of the
+Japanese, were quite unprepared. Factions sprang up like fungoid growths
+in an excavation, sordid ambitions were set in motion, and the royal Court
+became a hotbed of intrigue towards which the most flagitious elements in
+the capital were naturally drawn.
+
+The agitation which was fed from these various sources broke out into
+open violence in 1884, when two of the king's Ministers were assassinated
+by a band of conspirators. It would be futile to attempt to unravel the
+plot; its visible consequences only need be considered as further links in
+the chain of events, and also as affording some curious evidence of the
+manner in which the new alien civilisation was beginning to adapt itself
+to that which was ingrained in the Korean character. The professed object
+of the plot was understood to be the severance of the Chinese tie through
+the instrumentality of the Japanese, and the king himself was believed
+to be privy to this scheme. It is probable that the high political and
+patriotic ideal was but the rallying flag under which diverse schemers
+might pursue their several ambitions. The Koreans are credited with a
+special dose of the subtlety which belongs to Asiatic races, and whatever
+the real intentions of the king may have been, the conspirators were false
+to him. A concise contemporary account of the fray given in a message to
+the 'Times' states that--
+
+    The rising against the King of Korea is the outcome of reactionary
+    intrigues similar to the movement in 1882, when the present
+    king's father was captured and taken as a State prisoner to
+    China. Defective accounts only have been received of the recent
+    events. On the night of December 4, during an entertainment,
+    there was an alarm of fire near the palace; Min chong ik, the
+    queen's nephew, who was recently travelling in Europe, rushed
+    out, met some assassins, and was stabbed, with many others. The
+    conspirators then attacked the king, who applied to the Japanese
+    Minister for the protection of his guard. Before morning six of
+    the Ministers were killed. On the 6th the Koreans again attacked
+    the palace, the Chinese troops being present. A fight ensued, and
+    the Japanese guard lost three men killed and five wounded. Being
+    overpowered, the Japanese abandoned the palace, retiring to the
+    Japanese Legation, the king being carried off by the Chinese. The
+    tumult increased, and thirty Japanese residents were massacred
+    by the Chinese. On the 7th the Korean mob attacked the Japanese
+    Legation, which was destroyed, and the Minister with his guard
+    forced his way out amid showers of missiles. They stormed the
+    gates and retreated to the seaport of Chemulpo. On the following
+    day the king sent friendly messages to the Japanese Minister.
+
+    At a recent date the Chinese garrison consisted nominally of 3000
+    men, but the force has been much depleted. The Japanese numbered
+    120, and these were about to be withdrawn when the outbreak
+    occurred. The situation is critical, each side accusing the other
+    of aggression; but it is expected that the affair will be settled
+    amicably, neither Power desiring a quarrel for the benefit of
+    interested spectators. The Japanese may insist on steps being
+    taken to secure their Minister for the future from such outrages.
+    Each Power has appointed an officer to investigate the facts
+    before deciding on a definite course. Further complications are,
+    however, certain to arise from the anomalous position of Korea.
+    After the Kuldja scare China perceived the supreme strategic
+    importance of the peninsula, and that a great Power occupying it
+    would control Chinese external policy. The Government promoted
+    the foreign treaties in 1882 with the objects of interesting the
+    commercial Powers in the integrity of Korea, and of obtaining a
+    recognition of its vassalage. Later treaties, beginning with that
+    negotiated by Sir Harry Parkes last year, assumed the independence
+    of Korea. The exercise of Chinese sovereignty is exposing Korea
+    to the double peril of her own troubles and of China's possible
+    wavering at a critical moment. The Chinese and Korean interests
+    are, in the absence of commerce, purely political, Korea's
+    importance consisting in its commanding position.
+
+And the Japanese shortly after tabulated the casualties as follows:--
+
+    Seven officials killed by progressives, 7 progressives killed
+    by Korean troops, 38 Korean soldiers killed by Japanese troops,
+    95 rioters killed by Japanese, 67 progressives imprisoned, 11
+    beheaded, with shocking barbarities at execution.
+
+The immediate purpose of the leaders of the plot appears to have been to
+destroy the influence of the powerful family to which the queen belonged,
+and had they contented themselves with the murder of any number of that
+family, it was not considered likely that either king or people would have
+greatly deplored the crime. But the chief assassin, Kim Ok Kun, struck at
+the two Ministers who were the king's right hand, and who had, moreover,
+endeared themselves to the nation by the exceptional purity of their
+public life and their beneficence in times of scarcity. Execrated alike
+by the sovereign and his people, Kim Ok Kun sought an asylum in Japan,
+where he was entertained for a number of years while engaged in hatching
+further plots against the peace of his native land.
+
+Naturally his presence in Japan caused umbrage to China. The King of Korea
+lived in terror of his machinations, for Kim had a considerable following,
+by whose aid he hoped to make a descent on Korea and effect a revolution
+in the government. The guilt of Kim Ok Kun's betrayal of his sovereign was
+the more heinous from his having been confidential adviser to the Crown
+during all the negotiations with foreigners, between whom and the king
+he was the constant referee. He carried into exile the innermost royal
+secrets. The king's resentment against Kim was naturally embittered by
+his impotence to avenge the treachery to which he had been a victim.
+
+For the preservation of peace and of friendly relations an agreement
+was entered into between the three Governments to the effect that Kim
+should not be permitted to leave Japan for any other country excepting
+China or the United States. On these conditions the refugee became an
+embarrassment to the Government of Japan, which felt bound to protect him
+against counterplots while preventing him from carrying out his seditious
+designs. Nevertheless Nemesis was on the track of the assassin, and the
+way in which the quarry was hunted down by the avenger of blood affords
+a greater insight into the nature of the tragedy than do any of the
+contemporary comments. It also serves to illustrate certain points in the
+Korean character which are decidedly not without interest to students of
+current history.
+
+A member of an important Korean family named Hong had been implicated
+in Kim's conspiracy, and by Korean law his whole family were held guilty
+of the treason. The king fully exonerated the head of the family, being
+convinced that no blame attached to him personally. Nevertheless, the old
+man was so dejected by the disgrace brought on his name, that he forthwith
+poisoned himself with his whole house. A young man distantly connected
+with the family of Hong, and bearing their surname, took upon himself the
+duty of avenging these deaths, and set to work in a systematic manner to
+compass the murder of Kim. The private vengeance of Hong-tjyong-on fitted
+in well with his patriotic duty, and his scheme was favoured by the Korean
+king. About three years after Kim's flight, Hong made his way to Japan,
+bearing secret letters from the king outlawing Kim and his followers and
+authorising their capture or assassination. Hong's plan was to ingratiate
+himself with Kim as a supporter of his schemes, but his recent arrival
+direct from Korea without any credentials from the revolutionary party in
+that country rendered Kim suspicious of the would-be recruit. Unable to
+gain the access which he required to the person of his victim, Hong saw
+that he would have to adopt more elaborate means to effect his purpose. He
+went therefore to Europe, where he must have spent five or six years at
+least in acquiring a European education, European manners, and a perfect
+knowledge of European ways. He was courteous, refined, and intelligent,
+a great favourite in society (especially in religious circles), and made
+in particular many warm friends in France. Having thoroughly shaken off
+Korea, he thought he might now present himself in Japan in a character
+that would disarm all suspicion. Accordingly he made his way thither, and
+succeeded in attaching himself to Kim, talked progress and revolution, and
+thereby insinuated himself into the confidence of the arch-conspirator,
+becoming gradually master of his secret plots and schemes. The
+arrangements of the Japanese Government for the protection of Kim's person
+seem to have been so efficient that, in order to accomplish his purpose,
+Hong perceived that it was necessary to induce Kim to leave Japan. This
+seemed the most difficult part of his enterprise, and a far-fetched scheme
+had to be contrived in order to furnish Kim with a plausible reason for
+proceeding to China. Between the plots which Kim may have had in his mind
+and those which Hong for his own purposes suggested to him, it is not
+possible, neither is it necessary, to distinguish. Hong's own account of
+the matter was, that Kim had been concerting some movement on Korea from
+a Russian base, but was prevented from proceeding to Vladivostock by the
+vigilance of the Japanese Government. The agreement between the three
+Powers would not, however, be violated by his proceeding to Shanghai,
+where he would find the means of continuing his voyage to Vladivostock,
+for neither of the travellers apprehended any difficulty in eluding the
+surveillance of the Chinese officials and taking passage in a trading
+steamer to the Russian port.
+
+Kim eventually fell in with this proposal, and left Japan with a Japanese
+servant, accompanied by Hong. They arrived in Shanghai on the 27th of
+March 1894, repaired to a Japanese hotel, and reported themselves at the
+Japanese consulate. The following day Hong, having first put on Korean
+upper garments, murdered Kim, and fled, but was captured at Wusung by the
+foreign municipal police of Shanghai, and by them detained in custody
+until claimed by the Chinese authorities under instructions from Li
+Hung-chang. The news of the assassination was received by the Chinese
+Government with a sense of relief and "sombre acquiescence," but at the
+Korean Court with almost a frenzy of delight. The king gave a banquet in
+honour of the event, to which he invited all the foreign Ministers. The
+Chinese Government ordered a man-of-war to convey the murderer and the
+remains of the victim to Korea. The former was covered with honours, while
+the remains of Kim were treated with savage indecency and his family put
+to death.
+
+Thus did the assassin of 1884 expiate his crime exactly ten years later.
+
+The issue of the plot of 1884 was not agreeable to the Japanese, who were
+particularly affronted by the fact that the Chinese were in a position to
+snatch the king out of their hands and to afford him military protection
+against all comers. But Japan was in no humour to relinquish her own
+policy in Korea, which was quite incompatible with the suzerain status
+of China, and with the very concrete form in which it had just been
+manifested. One of the leading statesmen of Japan, Count Inouye, was sent
+to Korea to investigate the whole affair, and inquire into the relative
+position of China and Japan in the peninsula. The result of his inquiries
+was a determination to follow up by orthodox diplomacy the disintegrating
+effects which the risings in 1882 and 1884 had no doubt been intended
+to subserve. China being in the throes of a war with France, the moment
+was particularly favourable for preferring demands upon her. An embassy
+was therefore despatched to Peking, under Count Ito, in March 1885. He
+counted much on the friendly offices of the British Minister, Sir Harry
+Parkes, in smoothing the way to amicable negotiations with China, but
+unhappily the Japanese ambassador arrived at Peking almost on the day of
+Sir Harry's death. After vain attempts to deal with the Tsungli-Yamên the
+Japanese mission withdrew to Tientsin, where negotiations were entered
+into by Li Hung-chang, extending over several weeks. Count Ito's mission
+was successful in concluding a treaty by which China and Japan were put
+on a footing of equality in the peninsula so far as regards military
+protection. The troops of both countries were to be withdrawn, and neither
+party was to send a force in future without giving written notice to the
+other. This arrangement was a surrender in substance of China's suzerainty
+over Korea, though she retained the ceremonial form in full vigour for
+nine years after.
+
+
+III. THE PORT HAMILTON EPISODE, 1885-1887.
+
+    Sudden occupation of Korean harbour by Great Britain--Questioned
+    by China, Japan, and Korea--Position condemned by naval
+    authority--Abandoned on guarantee from China against occupation
+    by other Powers.
+
+"In view of potentialities" the British Government on April 14, 1885,
+sent instructions to Vice-Admiral Dowell to occupy Port Hamilton, an
+island harbour on the coast of Korea. This high-handed proceeding was
+justified on the plea of necessity--the necessity, as explained by Lord
+Granville, of anticipating the "probable occupation of the island by
+another Power." Naturally the measure disturbed neighbouring States,
+as well as the Government of Korea itself. China and Japan asked for
+explanations, and an agreement with the former, as suzerain of Korea, was
+about to be signed for the temporary use of the harbour by Great Britain,
+when the Russian Minister at Peking interposed with an intimation that
+if China consented to the occupation of Port Hamilton by Great Britain,
+Russia would compensate herself by the seizure of some other point of the
+Korean littoral. The protest of the Korean Government thus became merged
+in negotiations with China, but was never withdrawn.
+
+While these _pour-parlers_ were going on, the position of Port Hamilton
+was unequivocally condemned as a naval station by a succession of three
+admirals commanding the China Squadron; and as the immediate occasion
+of the occupation of the harbour had happily passed, there remained
+no ostensible reason for prolonging it. Before abandoning the island,
+however, the British Government hoped that some arrangement might be
+come to for an international guarantee of the integrity of Korea, which
+being already a bone of contention between certain Powers, and unable
+to defend its own independence, constituted a constant menace to the
+peace of the Far East. The proposal met with no favour from the Chinese
+Government, for the reason probably that it would have involved an organic
+change in its own relations with Korea. The next proposal came from the
+Korean Government itself, which suggested a _modus vivendi_ by opening
+as treaty ports both Port Hamilton and Port Lazareff, which latter was
+the point Russia would have seized if she had seized anything. This
+idea was approved of by the British Government, but nothing came of it.
+Eventually the evacuation was agreed to on the assurance from China that
+neither Port Hamilton nor any other portion of Korean territory would in
+future be occupied by any other Power. This pledge China was enabled to
+give on the strength of an equivalent guarantee which she had received
+from Russia, that Power being then the only one considered as likely to
+cherish aggressive designs on the Korean peninsula. These engagements were
+exchanged in November 1886, eighteen months after the occupation, and the
+British flag was finally hauled down on the island on February 27, 1887.
+
+The net visible result of the incident was to confirm China in her
+suzerainty, since the negotiations were made with her and not with Korea,
+and to obtain a specific pledge from Russia that she would keep her hands
+off Korea "under any circumstances." It was argued seven years afterwards
+that Russia had broken her pledge by her interferences in Korean affairs,
+but in 1895 a new state of circumstances had been brought about. China in
+that year ceased to be the suzerain of Korea, and obligations which were
+valid under the old _régime_ necessarily lapsed. A new page of history was
+turned, and Korea attained the status of a nominally independent kingdom.
+
+
+IV. TIBET.
+
+    Lhassa visited by Babu Sarat Chandra Das--Proposed commercial
+    expedition--Originated by Secretary of State--Envoy sent to
+    Peking to obtain passport--Opposition organised by Chinese and
+    Tibetans--Mission withdrawn.
+
+The year 1885 witnessed the first act in the ill-advised policy--as to its
+method, not its object--of the Indian Government of opening commercial
+relations with Tibet. A learned Bengali pandit, versed in Tibetan, had
+made two successful visits to Lhassa, where he gained the friendship
+of the lamas, who invited him to come again. A fair prospect of opening
+commercial relations by gradually disarming prejudices and apprehension
+was thus presented. Having duly reported his experiences to the Government
+of India, the babu waited their pleasure as to further developments at
+Darjeeling, where he occupied the post of Government schoolmaster. An
+English civilian, making the acquaintance of the babu in that hot-weather
+retreat, conceived the idea of an official mission to Lhassa, in which
+the services of the babu might be utilised as guide and interpreter. The
+Indian Government was averse from the enterprise on economical if on no
+other grounds, but direct pressure being brought to bear on the India
+Office in London, the ambitious young statesman who then presided over its
+counsels is said to have espoused the proposal and overruled the reluctant
+Government of India.
+
+Of the organisation and procedure of the mission nothing very
+complimentary can be said. Instead of following the line of least
+resistance, of driving in the thin end of the wedge, in accordance with
+the commonplace maxims consecrated by all human experience, the reverse
+process was followed in every single particular. Sarat Chandra Das had
+shown the way, and the entry he had effected could have been gradually
+widened by himself and others of his own class until the obstacles to free
+commercial intercourse had been overcome. The experience of a hundred
+years had shown to the world the invincible prejudices of the Tibetan
+rulers against foreign visitors. The babu had in his own person conquered
+these prejudices by his mastery of Buddhistic lore, as well as by his
+gentleness and consummate tact; but the mission, which had its origin
+in the information he supplied, discarded his methods and proceeded on
+military lines. Its _personnel_ included politicals and scientists, but
+no commercial agent, and as Mr Gundry has well said, "The Under Secretary
+of State, while stating that the object of the mission was to confer with
+the Chinese commissioners and the Lhassa Government as to the resumption
+of commercial relations between India and Tibet," added in Parliament
+that, "looking to the delicate nature of the mission, it had not been
+thought advisable to appoint a special commercial representative." An
+armed force of some 300 men sent on a "delicate mission" which, though
+essentially commercial, yet had nothing commercial in its composition!
+Could anything be conceived more certain to arouse the sleeping suspicions
+of the Tibetans? It was but repeating on a larger scale the deplorable
+fiasco of Colonel Browne's attempted march from Burma to China in 1875.
+
+The first act in this little drama was performed in Peking when the envoy,
+Macaulay, arrived with his staff for the ostensible purpose of applying
+for a passport for Tibet. For such a purpose there was no need to have
+sent a special messenger to Peking at all, as a passport could have been
+much more easily obtained by the British Minister there and transmitted
+by post in the ordinary course of business. The passport could not, of
+course, be refused in plain terms by the Chinese Government, but the
+personal demand for it gave them the opportunity of cross-examining the
+intended envoy as to the objects of his proposed mission. It may well
+be believed, from the self-contradictory explanation of the mission
+tendered to the British Parliament, that the envoy in Peking failed to
+allay the suspicions of the Chinese Government. On the contrary, his
+presence intensified them exceedingly. The sole effect of the preliminary
+expedition to Peking was, in fact, to forewarn the Chinese Government,
+so that they, in concert with the rulers of Tibet, should be prepared to
+interpose obstacles to the advance of the mission, but in such a way as
+not openly to compromise the good faith of the Chinese Government. The
+journey of the envoy to Peking, therefore, sealed the fate of his own
+mission, and at the same time closed Tibet against more judicious advances
+in the future.
+
+The most interesting episode in connection with this abortive effort
+was the appearance of the Babu Sarat Chandra Das himself in the Chinese
+capital. By sheer force of intellect he succeeded in a few days in
+obtaining the confidence of the inner circle of the lamas there. Having
+been brought in contact with a certain Manchu official, the pandit
+showed very unobtrusively a familiarity with the more recondite tenets of
+Buddhism which captivated the Manchu, whose heart was set on improving
+his knowledge of the sacred mysteries.[24] The babu could speak no
+Chinese, but it was not difficult among the thousands of lamas in Peking
+to find a competent Tibetan interpreter. The fame of the pandit spread
+rapidly among the ranks of the priesthood, whose chiefs competed for the
+honour of sitting at the feet of the Indian Gamaliel. In expounding the
+doctrines, while enjoying the hospitality, of different groups of lamas,
+the popularity of the pandit grew from day to day, until he was at length
+constrained to take up his quarters at the great Yellow Temple, outside
+the north wall of Peking, and live with the brethren. They invested him
+with the yellow robe and the other ecclesiastical insignia, and treated
+him altogether as one of the initiated. It required all his acumen to
+prevent his status as a Buddhist lama from clashing with his position as
+a subordinate of the Indian envoy, on whom he was in attendance. He had
+to pay frequent visits to the British Legation, where it would have been
+impossible for him to appear in his religious vestments without exciting
+inconvenient gossip, and perhaps incurring the disapproval of his superior
+officer. The custom of travelling in Peking in closed carts enabled the
+babu to play the double part of Jekyll and Hyde with perfect success.
+He would leave the Temple as a lama, drive to a friend's rooms in the
+city, where his Indian costume was kept ready, in which he proceeded in
+another cab and in another character to the British Legation, returning
+to reassume his yellow robes and then repair to the Temple.
+
+During the time when the envoy designate remained in Peking a very high
+personage arrived from Tibet, and it was on his conferences with the
+Chinese Court that the success of the intended mission depended. It would
+be presumptuous on the part of any foreigner to attempt to divine what
+passed between the delegate from the Grand Lama and the Chinese Ministers;
+but were it possible for any one to penetrate into those secret counsels,
+the babu was the man to do it. There is no doubt that he did. In fact,
+he had positive information that the Indian mission to Tibet would be
+stopped at the instance of the Chinese Government, and that the issue
+of the passport was an empty form. Such information would naturally be
+unwelcome to the envoy, and the sequel seems to show that the warning
+was disregarded. The expedition was organised, fully equipped, ready
+for a march into Tibet. Had it proceeded it is highly improbable that
+the babu would have accompanied it as interpreter, for he could not have
+exonerated himself from the imputation of bad faith towards his Tibetan
+hosts in acting as guide to an armed force into a country where he had
+been received and reinvited as a private guest.
+
+What would have been the consequence of the mission proceeding into Tibet
+it is, of course, impossible to say, but the circumstances of its recall
+were not conducive to satisfactory relations between China and Great
+Britain. Mistrusting the effectiveness of the Tibetan opposition to the
+Indian mission--for the force could very likely have made good its passage
+to Lhassa--the Chinese Government resorted to diplomatic means of stopping
+its advance. Its never-failing emergency man, the Inspector-General of
+Customs, was called upon, and he intervened with the British Government
+with such good effect that they sent orders to India to stop the Tibetan
+mission. Thus the Indian Government was a second time overruled: first,
+in being made to organise the mission against its will; and secondly, in
+being forced to recall it when its recall involved immeasurable loss of
+influence in future dealings with China. An attempt was made to cover the
+retreat in a cloud of verbiage by a convention signed at Peking in 1886,
+which, however, only made the case worse, in that it was a retrograde
+step, virtually cancelling the right of visiting Tibet, which had been
+conferred by the Chefoo convention of ten years before. The same treaty
+which embodied this renunciation, perhaps the weakest to which any British
+representative ever set his name, also fostered the illusions which have
+been so detrimental to the welfare of China, by promising a continuance of
+the tribute missions from Burma after that country had become an integral
+part of the Indian Empire.
+
+The fruits of this diplomatic surrender were not long in showing
+themselves, for it was soon followed by an invasion of British Sikkim
+from the Tibetan side. This aggression of the lamas was of necessity
+resisted by the Indian Government, and an unexpected opportunity was
+thus offered to them of settling the whole Tibetan question by the rapid
+march of a small force to Lhassa. There is good reason to believe that
+this solution of the difficulty was the one which commended itself to the
+practical statesmen and soldiers of India; but their action was paralysed
+by the orders of the Home Government, which continued to be ruled by
+influences which were neither military nor political nor practical.
+Discussions between the Indian Government and the Chinese _amban_ or
+Resident at Lhassa, professing to speak for the Tibetan Lama Government,
+were protracted year after year, and seemed interminable. At last even
+the Chinese themselves grew weary of the comedy, and experienced in Tibet
+something of the difficulty which occasionally beset them in China--that
+is to say, they were unable to exorcise the demon they had invoked. They
+had stirred up the Tibetans to the point of obstructing the Macaulay
+mission, but seemed really to lose control of the force after it had been
+set in motion. After some years of futile talk the statesmen of China
+would perhaps have hailed with satisfaction the advance of a British force
+to Lhassa to cut the Gordian knot; but they dared not, of course, give
+such a hint as was conveyed to Captain Fournier, "Avancez donc,"[25] and
+the Indian Government, not having the wit to divine it, had to submit to
+a long-drawn-out and permanent humiliation, that was in no wise mended
+by the Calcutta convention of 1890, which, professing only to settle the
+existing frontiers, did not even settle them.
+
+
+V. THE CRUISE OF THE SEVENTH PRINCE, 1886.
+
+    Character and position of Prince Ch'un--Had been misunderstood by
+    foreigners while he was in seclusion--An amiable and progressive
+    man--His visit to Port Arthur in 1886--Intercourse with many
+    foreigners.
+
+The spring of 1884 witnessed a ministerial crisis of the first order
+in Peking. For twenty-four years Prince Kung, uncle to the deceased
+emperor Tungchih, had held a position equivalent to Chancellor of the
+empire. To the outside world he was only known as Minister for Foreign
+Affairs and head of the Tsungli-Yamên. During the greater part of the
+time he had been at feud with the empress-regent, from whom his power
+was derived, but, being indispensable to her, he was tolerated for want
+of a competent successor. The troubles in Tongking caused an agitation
+in the capital, and the empress seized the opportunity to dismiss Prince
+Kung with most of his colleagues of the Yamên and introduce a fresh set.
+The eminent position of the prince, however, was one difficult to fill;
+but the substitution was effected by a kind of _coup d'état_ by which the
+empress brought the younger brother of Prince Kung out of his retirement
+and made him virtually, as far as it was possible, her coadjutor in the
+Government. But the peculiar status of Prince Ch'un, as father to the
+reigning emperor, rendered him immune from responsibility, since in China
+the son could not place the father under discipline. For this reason the
+prince could not in his own name exercise any of the great functions of
+the State. He was therefore obliged to keep in the background, while the
+executive service was performed by his nominees. Thus in foreign affairs
+he was efficiently represented by the Grand Secretary Li Hung-chang, and
+by Prince Ch'ing, a junior member of the imperial family, who was made
+president of the Tsungli-Yamên, and holds the office to the present day.
+
+Whatever the true motives may have been for recasting the
+Tsungli-Yamên--and it would be hazardous for any foreigner to dogmatise
+about such matters--a great improvement was remarked in the efficiency of
+that body. Prince Ch'ing, though new to public affairs, acquitted himself
+like a gentleman, and gained the goodwill of all the foreign Legations by
+his laborious efforts to learn his work and to bring justice and reason
+as well as courtesy into the transaction of business. The circumstances
+of the time were also favourable to improvement; for being at war with
+one great Power, China was naturally most anxious to conciliate the
+others. While this amenable temper lasted, business was despatched by
+the Tsungli-Yamên with a celerity never before known, and good use was
+made of the opportunity to clear off legacies of arrears that had been
+accumulating in the foreign legations.
+
+The Seventh Prince, so long as he was in seclusion, had stood in the
+opinion of foreigners for everything that was fanatical, obstructive,
+and irreconcilable, the head of the war party, and so forth. Even Sir
+Rutherford Alcock, in an article on Chinese Statesmen in 1871, adopted
+this popular estimate, calling him "violently hostile, joining with Wo in
+all efforts to make the anti-foreign faction predominate."
+
+The announcement of Prince Ch'un, therefore, as the successor of Prince
+Kung not unnaturally aroused apprehension of a reactionary policy.
+His first public act, however, in so far as it was his, dispelled the
+misconception under which foreigners had been labouring for many years:
+it was to conclude a peace with France in the face of a rabid opposition.
+This misconception of Prince Ch'un's character and policy is only an
+example of how vain it is for foreigners to attempt to sound the currents
+of Chinese politics, more especially where palace factions are concerned.
+
+The advent of the Seventh Prince having removed all friction between the
+empress-regent and the Government, it was a signal for tentative reforms
+and what foreigners call progress. Li Hung-chang had to a considerable
+extent imbued the Court with his own ideas. He assured them there was no
+danger in adopting foreign methods and foreign manners,--on the contrary,
+that to do so was the only means of safety to the empire. Within a few
+months of his taking the reins, the Prince established a precedent which
+amounted to a small revolution in its way. He began to transact business
+through his agents with foreigners in the capital itself, which had been
+up to that time strictly preserved from all contamination of foreign
+trade. The two "stores" which existed were not traders by right, but
+were under the special protection of certain foreign Ministers, who had
+represented to the Government the necessity of such agencies for the
+supply of necessaries for the use of their Legations. This was followed
+in course of time by the introduction of novelties in the palace, such
+as electric light, toy railways and steam launches in the imperial
+pleasure-grounds. The telegraph wire itself was introduced into the city
+during the summer of 1884, it having been previously jealously kept at
+a distance of thirteen miles, from superstitious fears concerning the
+sinister influence which the electric wire might exert over the fortunes
+of the capital. However real such fears may be in the minds of the
+Chinese, and however convenient they may be as a defence against proposals
+from without, they invariably yield to the pressure of necessity. While
+the terminus of the telegraph line was at Tungchow, the inconvenience of
+having to send mounted messengers thirteen miles to despatch and receive
+messages was for some time felt almost entirely by the foreign Legations;
+but when the war crisis with France arose, and the Chinese Government
+itself was sending urgent messages requiring immediate answers to the
+southern provinces and to Europe, the absurdity of losing more time
+between the Tsungli-Yamên and the telegraph station than was occupied
+by the transmission of the message and its reply from Europe became so
+striking, that the order was given to bring the telegraph into the city.
+No more was heard of geomantic difficulties.
+
+The most important object, however, which Li Hung-chang sought to gain
+through the activity of the Seventh Prince, was so to interest his
+Highness in the scheme of national defence, which had been growing under
+the viceroy's initiative, that this department of the work of Government
+should be transformed from a provincial to an imperial concern. With this
+end in view an expedition on salt water was arranged for the Prince; and
+insignificant as the feat must appear in Western eyes, yet for a Manchu
+prince, who had never seen the sea, to be allowed to trust himself on the
+treacherous element at all, or on such a strange monster as a steamer,
+must be accepted as a decided proof that the old order was changing,
+giving place to the new. The prince was undoubtedly nervous, not knowing
+what should befall him on his expedition.
+
+The first ordeal through which he had to pass was that of personal
+contact with foreigners, of whom he had perhaps never seen one in
+Peking. His introduction was carefully organised by Li Hung-chang, and
+it was at Tientsin that the prince first met with foreign officials,
+who waited upon him at separate audiences. The foreigners were as much
+charmed with his Highness as he expressed himself to have been with them,
+so that he embarked on his cruise free from anxiety. His attendants,
+however,--on whom and on Li Hung-chang all the responsibility of course
+rested,--continued to feel anxious during their passage across the Gulf.
+This feeling became for a moment acute when, on landing at Port Arthur,
+they were met by a British admiral and staff with a guard of honour. It
+is an actual fact that the sight of strange armed men waiting for the
+prince, working on oriental traditions, did suggest a trap, for the idea
+of capture by treachery is never wholly absent from the Chinese mind. The
+Government had taken the wise precaution of attaching to the prince an
+experienced and capable foreigner in whom he reposed perfect confidence,
+and Mr Detring explained foreign customs and forms of courtesy to the
+prince and his suite in a way which completely reassured them. Among all
+the dignitaries in the prince's suite, however, there was not one capable
+of taking in the entirely novel ideas which were presented to them. One
+man only, of quite subordinate rank--whether a Manchu or a Chinese by
+birth is unknown to the writer--a confidential agent of the Seventh Prince
+in business matters, seized the entire programme of foreign etiquette the
+moment it was explained to him, and through him the whole ceremony passed
+smoothly and agreeably to all parties. The name of this official was Chang
+Yi, who has since been taking a leading part in mining, railway, and other
+progressive enterprises in China.
+
+On his return to Peking Prince Ch'un in a memorial to the Throne reported
+fully the incidents of his cruise to the gulf ports. Not long after a
+naval board was established in Peking, with the prince at its head. As a
+step in the direction of centralising the naval authority, which included
+also the direction of the land defences, the establishment of a Board
+of Admiralty in the capital was certainly a progressive one; but as its
+members possessed neither knowledge nor experience of naval or military
+affairs its authority was much attenuated, almost every question having
+to be referred back to Li Hung-chang in Tientsin. Any chance that might
+have existed of Prince Ch'un himself inspiring the new Board and bringing
+it up to a state of efficiency was lost through his Highness falling into
+ill-health, from which he never recovered, but after a lingering illness
+died in 1890.
+
+
+VI. THE EMPEROR ASSUMES THE GOVERNMENT, 1889.
+
+    The Emperor Kwanghsu comes of age in 1889--Audience of foreign
+    Ministers arranged--Derogatory conditions--Second audience refused
+    by Ministers--Accepted by Austrian and British envoys.
+
+In 1889 his Majesty Kwanghsu attained his majority and married. But his
+coming of age was a somewhat gradual process, with intervals between
+each step, as if the empress-regent, who alone determined the time and
+the seasons, were either mistrustful of the capacity of her nephew
+or reluctant to lay down the reins of authority. The emperor, kept
+in leading-strings, was allowed to assume some of the functions of an
+autocrat, but not all. This slow unfolding of the imperial blossom had
+this result among others, that it procured a welcome respite from the
+bitter ordeal of granting an audience to the representatives of foreign
+States. It was well understood that the foreigners had for sixteen years
+been looking forward to the emperor's assumption of power as to the
+consummation of their diplomatic function, and that as soon as a decent
+interval had been allowed to the young monarch after his majority, the
+subject would become pressing.
+
+It had been discussed in whispers for nearly two years, when, to the
+astonishment of everybody, including even the members of the Tsungli-Yamên
+themselves, an imperial decree was issued in December 1890 in kindly
+terms ordering preparations to be made to receive the foreign Ministers
+after the Chinese New Year--that is, in the February following. Since
+nobody owned to having been in the secret, the act was set down to the
+emperor's gracious initiative, and was hailed with enthusiasm as the
+opening of a new era. The Great Wall had at last fallen; the pretensions
+to superiority for which the Chinese had made such great sacrifices were
+suddenly abandoned, and henceforth equality with foreign nations was to
+be the basis of their diplomatic intercourse.
+
+The hope was shortlived, for as soon as the details of the imperial
+reception came to be arranged with the Tsungli-Yamên all the old
+difficulties appeared in an aggravated form. The foreign ministers, having
+pondered the question for eighteen years, had unanimously resolved that
+they would not accept an audience in the building used for the reception
+of tributary princes, where the ceremony of 1873 had taken place, but only
+in the imperial palace, or not at all. The whole value of the audience was
+the acknowledgment it signified of international equality. The idea that
+it would facilitate business must have been long before abandoned. The
+form, therefore, was everything, and the Chinese Ministers were resolved
+that the "tributary" form should be adhered to. They became urgent in
+their appeals to the reasonableness of the foreign Ministers. They had
+gone to expense in renovating the hall, Tz-kwang-ko; they had no other
+place available; the imperial decree must be obeyed, and this admitted of
+no postponement.
+
+Yielding to these arguments, the foreign Ministers agreed to a compromise.
+They would, for this time only, repair to the Tz-kwang-ko, but never
+again. The ceremony took place therefore on 5th March 1891. There were
+two receptions--first an audience to the various foreign Ministers
+separately, next a general reception of the whole of them. The diplomatic
+body soon felt the consequences of their retrograde step, for when they
+came to discuss details of the audience of the following year, the Chinese
+interposed a simple _non possumus_ to every demand which implied the
+acknowledgment of equality. A reception within the palace without the
+_kotow_ could not even be discussed. No accommodation between the opposing
+views being possible, there was no audience in 1892. The diplomatic
+body were solidly united in maintaining the dignity of their respective
+countries, and by ceasing to solicit, they left the onus of discovering
+a solution of the question on the Chinese themselves. The audience was of
+no practical value to the foreigners, while the withholding of it placed
+the Chinese so much in the wrong that they might safely have been left to
+their own devices.
+
+Before, however, the pressure to extricate themselves and their sovereign
+from an untenable position had become too severe, a diversion in their
+favour was created by the flying visit of an Austrian envoy, who seemed
+ready to present his credentials on any terms whatever, so that the
+formalities were quickly got over, and he enabled to conclude his mission.
+The Chinese availed themselves of this unexpected opportunity, and the
+emperor granted an audience to M. Biegeleben in another hall or pavilion
+outside the palace, which thenceforth became known locally as the Palais
+Biegeleben.
+
+At the end of 1892, not long after the Biegeleben incident, a new British
+Minister arrived in Peking. Not apparently considering himself bound
+by the compact to which his predecessor was a party, he, without the
+knowledge of his diplomatic colleagues, accepted an audience on the same
+derogatory terms as the Austrian envoy had done, and the reactionary
+policy of the Chinese thus enjoyed a complete, if temporary, triumph. This
+proceeding of the British Minister was deeply resented by the diplomatic
+body, most of all by the Russian Minister, Count Cassini, himself a
+new arrival, and the circumstance did not tend to smooth the subsequent
+intercourse between the parties.
+
+
+VII. THE VISIT OF THE CZAREVITCH, 1891.
+
+    Worthy reception in Peking impossible--Attempted substitution
+    of provincial reception--Czarevitch visits only the Russian
+    communities in China.
+
+Closely connected in point of time, and possibly by a more vital link,
+with the imperial audience was the voyage of the Czarevitch to India,
+China, and Japan in 1890-91. There was no precedent in China for the
+reception of the member of any foreign royal family. In the days before
+the first audience the Duke of Edinburgh, while in command of the Galatea,
+visited Peking, but strictly _incognito_, no visits being exchanged with
+any Chinese. But times had changed considerably in the twenty years that
+had since elapsed, and with an emperor of full age on the throne things
+that were winked at during his minority could no longer be so lightly
+treated. The Chinese Government were, in fact, perfectly conscious of the
+responsibility which lay upon them to show courtesy to so distinguished a
+visitor as the heir to the throne of Russia, and they took timely measures
+for his reception.
+
+The position of the audience question convinced the Ministers that it
+would be impossible to receive him worthily in Peking, since to do so
+would be to admit equality with foreign States. The first care of the
+Chinese, therefore, was to induce his Imperial Highness to stay away
+from the capital. The Russian Government were told that Li Hung-chang,
+representing the Chinese Emperor, would meet the Czarevitch at Chefoo,
+and that his reception by other Governors of provinces would be deemed
+equivalent to one by the emperor in person. The Russian Government
+fell into the trap, and the programme of provincial receptions would
+have been carried out but for the eccentricity of Chang Chih-tung,
+the governor-general of the Hu provinces on the Yangtze. He, with the
+other provincials, had received the instructions about the reception of
+the Czarevitch, but he alone treated the order with contempt, not even
+deigning to answer it or to explain his reason. The order did not emanate
+from Peking, and he would not accept a mandate from an equal. Evidently
+the emperor had no hand in drawing up the programme, and this Chang had
+the best means of knowing, for he had a brother in the Inner Council. This
+action of a high authority throws full light on the difference between an
+imperial and a provincial transaction, as the Chinese themselves regard
+it.
+
+In keeping with this independent attitude of Chang was the rudeness with
+which he received the officer deputed by the Russian admiral to arrange
+details of the reception at Wuchang. In this way the intended imposture
+was exposed. But if the Russian Government had been too easily led into a
+false position, it must be admitted they extricated themselves cleverly,
+by simply demanding a yellow chair for the Czarevitch, a colour reserved
+exclusively for the emperor. As this could not be conceded the official
+ceremonies fell through, and the Czarevitch contented himself with
+visiting the Russian communities at the Chinese ports. He then proceeded
+to Japan, where a brilliant reception awaited him; and from Japan to
+Vladivostock, where he turned the first sod of the Trans-Siberian Railway,
+19th May 1891.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [24] See _infra_, p. 343.
+
+ [25] See _infra_, p. 330.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+THE TONGKING QUARREL.
+
+    Rapid advance of French towards China proper--The Black
+    Flags--Discussions between France and China--Attempted
+    negotiations--Conquest of Tongking decided upon--Chinese
+    feared attack on Canton--City defenceless--Negotiation with
+    France recommended--Captain Fournier concludes convention
+    with Li Hung-chang in Tientsin--Strong opposition in the
+    capital--Collision between forces in Tongking--French make war
+    on China--Peace concluded through customs agency, April 1885--The
+    Li-Fournier convention ratified.
+
+
+The progress of the French in the annexation of Cochin China, Annam, and
+Tongking was phenomenally rapid. These aggressions on her tributary States
+were far from agreeable to China, but no effective means of resistance was
+proposed. The Chinese policy, wrote Sir R. Alcock,[26] "has been one of
+drift, and letting things slide into irretrievable confusion and disaster
+for want of courage and decisive action at the right time. Between the
+Dupuis and Garnier expeditions, in which a handful of men were seizing
+towns, storming citadels, and terrorising the Annamite mandarins and
+king into virtual submission to any terms dictated to them, and Captain
+Rivière's very similar proceedings in 1883, there was abundant time and
+opportunity for China either to fight or to negotiate with effect, but
+she did neither."
+
+When, however, the advance of the French brought them within measurable
+distance of the southern provinces of China proper, a more serious view of
+the invasion was forced upon the Government. A body of irregular troops,
+called the Black Flags, for some time stood in the way of the French, who
+designated them "pirates." The status of these Black Flags was, indeed,
+somewhat ambiguous, as they had been virtually outlawed by the Chinese.
+But when it was seen that they were harassing the French, the provincial
+authorities recognised that they were fighting the battle of China and of
+her tributary. The Annamese Government had, in the first instance, invited
+the assistance of the Black Flags, and the Chinese Government officially
+encouraged them, while hoping to evade direct responsibility for doing so.
+The French had made the useless mistake of wounding China in a tender spot
+by destroying the seal granted to the Annamese sovereign by the emperor,
+and it was probably this insult rather than the territorial seizures which
+induced China to reinforce the Black Flags by a body of imperial troops,
+and to lay down distinctly the line which she would consider herself bound
+to defend.
+
+The annexation of Annam became the subject of protracted discussions
+between France and China. The diplomacy of the Marquis Tsêng in Paris,
+and of Li Hung-chang in China--a convention had actually been concluded
+between the latter and the French Minister, Bourrée--failed to arrest the
+progress of France, and the question between the two countries reached
+a burning point after the capture by the French of Sontay and Bacninh in
+the spring of 1884.
+
+The Chinese envoy had declared to M. Ferry that a French advance on these
+places would be regarded by his Government as a _casus belli_. Seeing,
+however, that no action was taken by China after their actual capture,
+the French took fresh courage, and their programme of conquest became so
+much expanded that what had been the dream of a few became the definitive
+policy of the Republic. "The conquest of Tongking had been decided upon
+in principle," wrote Admiral Jaurèguiberry to Captain Rivière at the
+time when M. de Freycinet was declaring that there should be no policy
+of aggression. The taking of the two citadels sealed the policy of the
+admiral and falsified that of the Foreign Minister. From that point may be
+dated the important position which France has since assumed in claiming to
+direct, in conjunction with Russia, the destinies of the Chinese Empire.
+
+On the fall of the two cities the Chinese officials of the southern
+provinces were filled with consternation. They feared that the successes
+of the French would encourage them, if not to invade China, at least to
+force a settlement with her on their own terms. They had before them the
+brochure of Captain Rivière, commander of the French forces in Tongking,
+in which he advocated a quarrel with China as a preliminary to the seizure
+of the three southern provinces, Kwangtung, Kwangsi, and Yunnan. An
+obvious step towards the execution of such a design would be an attack on
+the provincial capital, Canton, an event which was not only anticipated
+by the authorities, but was thought feasible, and even probable, by
+disinterested onlookers. How little prepared were the Chinese to resist
+such an attack will be best understood by the measures they took to avert
+it.
+
+An officer of the Chinese customs service, Mr G. Detring, returning from
+furlough, brought with him the details of the Marquis Tsêng's abortive
+negotiations in Paris. He arrived in China immediately after the capture
+of the two strongholds of Sontay and Bacninh. In proceeding from Hongkong
+to take up his official post at Canton he accepted a passage in the French
+_aviso_ Volta, which conveyed Rear-Admiral Lespès to the latter city. She
+was commanded by Commandant Fournier, with whom Mr Detring had been some
+years before on terms of intimacy in the north of China. The principal
+topic discussed on the passage was naturally Tongking, and, judging from
+subsequent developments, it is reasonable to suppose that the seeds of the
+settlement eventually concluded between China and France were sown during
+that short but interesting voyage. When Mr Detring reported himself to the
+provincial authorities they evinced the greatest anxiety as to what they
+conceived to be the threatening attitude of the French against Canton.
+Asked if their river defences were in a position to resist attack, they
+frankly avowed that they were not; but yet, being personally responsible
+for the defence, they dared not confess the true state of affairs to the
+Imperial Government. The viceroy of Canton and the governor of Yunnan
+were already under censure, and the military commanders in Tongking
+were even threatened with decapitation "pour encourager les autres." The
+Canton authorities were thus, in fact, in the dilemma in which Chinese
+provincial officials have so frequently found themselves in dealing with
+foreign exigencies--responsible yet helpless. Since they were avowedly
+incapable of resistance, the viceroy and governor were advised at once
+to open negotiations with the French, and, as a first step, to report the
+actual position frankly to the Central Government,--in other words, to Li
+Hung-chang, who in this, as in all other crises, had to bear the burden
+of every initiative. Having had experience of the capacity of Mr Detring,
+first in the negotiating of the Chefoo convention, and subsequently during
+several years of official intercourse at Tientsin, Li Hung-chang moved
+the Central Government to summon the Canton commissioner of customs to
+Tientsin for consultation.
+
+The way being thus partially opened to negotiation, Rear-Admiral Lespès
+held himself in readiness to proceed to Tientsin in response to any
+invitation that might be conveyed to him. Captain Fournier was sent on
+in advance to the rendezvous at Chefoo, where he was to remain until
+the real views of the Chinese Government respecting a settlement of the
+Tongking dispute had been ascertained. The French having set their hearts
+on extorting a large indemnity, it was emphatically declared to them that
+China would never pay one farthing. Any negotiation, therefore, would be
+futile unless this question was first eliminated. Having paved the way
+with Li Hung-chang, Mr Detring next proceeded to Chefoo to invite Captain
+Fournier to Tientsin. From previous good relations he was _persona grata_
+with Li, and on that account was thought a not unfit agent with whom to
+discuss preliminaries in anticipation of the arrival of his admiral. But
+that there should be no mistake about the indemnity, Captain Fournier
+was once more told that unless it were dropped it would be useless his
+proceeding to Tientsin. His doing so, therefore, was a tacit withdrawal
+of that important item in the French demands. Both parties being equally
+desirous of a settlement, all official technical difficulties were
+promptly overcome, and Captain Fournier, from a mere herald of the French
+admiral, was by telegraphic instructions from Paris at once promoted to
+the rank of plenipotentiary for France, and this notwithstanding that
+there was an accredited representative of the Republic eighty miles off
+in Peking. The two negotiators, in short, fell into each other's arms,
+and the convention of May 11, 1884, was the result.
+
+The peace so suddenly and irregularly patched up was not, however,
+destined to endure. Li Hung-chang, knowing better than any of his
+peers the risks of a war with France, had stretched his authority to
+the uttermost in concluding a treaty which practically ceded Annam and
+Tongking to that Power. For though in this as in all his other acts he
+carried with him the approval of the empress-dowager, he knew that he
+had to brave the ferocious opposition of the ignorant fanatics of the
+capital, which he himself described as the "howling of dogs." The moment
+the announcement was made, indeed, the furies were let loose upon him,
+and he had practically no support but that of the empress-dowager; for
+the Tsungli-Yamên, so far as they were not opposed to the treaty, were
+invertebrate. It is necessary to bear in mind this critical position
+of Li Hung-chang in order to understand the series of blunders,
+misunderstandings, recriminations, and actual war which ensued.
+
+After the ratification of the treaty, arrangements had to be made for the
+withdrawal of the Chinese forces from the territory which had been ceded
+to France. Captain Fournier, in an interview with Li Hung-chang, presented
+a memorandum fixing the dates on which the troops were to evacuate the
+several positions specified. A long discussion appears to have taken
+place, in which it is not difficult, from the circumstances above referred
+to, to divine what the viceroy's attitude must have been. He wished
+to avoid the invidious responsibility of asking the Central Government
+to order the withdrawal of the troops from Langson, as to do so would
+obviously add fuel to the fire of those powerful functionaries who were
+clamouring for the repudiation of the treaty, and for the negotiator's
+head. In vain endeavouring to obtain from Fournier an indefinite delay in
+carrying out the stipulation for the retirement of the Chinese troops, Li
+perhaps trusted that the French commanders in Tongking would themselves
+cut the knot by marching forward with an adequate force and brushing away
+the Chinese troops opposing them. The accomplished fact would then have
+settled everything.
+
+It has been said that the clever interpreter, instead of translating all
+the viceroy's arguments and explaining his difficulties, summed the whole
+up to Captain Fournier in two words, "Avancez donc"--advice which would no
+doubt have been sufficient if only the French military commander, Colonel
+Dugenne, had marched with a reasonable force, or even if he had carried
+with him a competent interpreter, through whom he might have communicated
+with the Chinese commander. The latter officer, however, when called upon
+to evacuate the post, pleaded that he had received no instructions to
+that effect, and asked for time to communicate with Peking. The letter
+to the French commander containing these reasonable pleas for delay was
+either wrongly translated or left untranslated for months. In the meantime
+Colonel Dugenne advanced with a small party, and was forced to retreat
+with loss, for which he was not unjustly recalled by his own authorities;
+and thereupon ensued the Franco-Chinese war.
+
+This was not, however, the only _contretemps_ in connection with this
+lamentable outbreak. The Chinese commander had actually telegraphed
+to Li Hung-chang for instructions; but, still unwilling to face the
+responsibility, the latter left the reply to his council, among whom
+there happened to be for the moment his evil genius, Chang Pei-lun, a
+fire-eating member of the Tsungli-Yamên, who was on his way to take up
+the post of governor of Fukien province and Imperial Commissioner of the
+Foochow arsenal.
+
+Laudable efforts were made to repair the mischief, and in the conferences
+which followed in Paris peace was more than once all but assured; but
+owing to a series of accidents and misunderstandings, in which the
+authorities at Peking, the French representative there, the French
+commanders on the Chinese coast, and the telegraph were all implicated,
+the die was cast in August 1884, and the war was continued till the
+following April.
+
+For reasons of their own the French Government were averse to calling the
+hostilities "war," preferring reprisals and "intelligent destruction." By
+whatever name it may be called, the French did not distinguish themselves
+greatly in the conduct of the operations. Their only feat of arms was
+the destruction, at their anchorage in the river Min, of the Chinese
+ships belonging to the Foochow squadron, and of the arsenal, which, as
+Li Hung-chang bitterly reflected, had been erected by "French genius."
+Admiral Courbet found his destructive work easy, having entered the river
+and taken up a position in the rear of the batteries during time of peace.
+The subsequent operations in Formosa were without result; and the French
+Government refused permission to Admiral Courbet to attack Port Arthur,
+on the non-military ground of wishing to save the prestige of "notre ami
+Li Hung-chang." So far as the naval operations were concerned, even when
+most successful in intelligent destruction, they were quite ineffective
+towards ending the war until the method which has never failed to bring
+the Chinese Government to terms was resorted to--the stoppage of the
+grain-supply to the capital. This was accomplished by a patrol of the
+coast for the purpose of intercepting vessels carrying rice to Tientsin.
+The work performed during the winter and spring of 1885 by the French
+cruisers, in keeping the sea without any base and performing their patrol
+duties in all weathers, excited the admiration of seamen. It should be
+mentioned that they were precluded from acting offensively against the
+Yangtze by tacit understanding with Great Britain and other Powers.
+
+If the breach of the peace between France and China was a historical
+curiosity, the eventual settlement of the dispute resembled a dramatic
+extravaganza. The final incident of the war in Tongking was the defeat
+of the French, followed by a panic, caused apparently by General Négrier
+being wounded. The force then made a disorderly retreat before imaginary
+pursuers. In the meantime the empress-dowager had given positive orders
+that peace should be made on any terms. Both parties had thus come round
+to the _status quo ante bellum_--that is to say, they were both equally
+urgent to obtain peace, as they had been in May 1884. The agent in
+bringing this about was Sir Robert Hart; and it was effected, as great
+things usually are, by the adroit use of very simple means. During the
+blockade of Formosa a small Chinese lighthouse tender was captured by the
+French admiral and detained. As she was essentially non-combatant, and was
+serving the interests of humanity in supplying the numerous lighthouses
+on the coast of China for the benefit of the commerce of all nations, Sir
+Robert Hart instructed his very capable London agent, Mr Duncan Campbell,
+to go to Paris and represent the case to the French Ministers, with a
+view to obtaining the release of so useful and harmless a vessel. In
+this manner the door was opened to the larger negotiation. Mr Campbell
+executed his delicate mission with so much tact, that in the amicable
+conversations which ensued between him and certain French officials the
+idea of putting an end to a war of which both parties were tired, and
+which, moreover, seemed objectless, was ventilated; and in a few days
+authority was telegraphed from Peking to Mr Campbell to sign a protocol.
+
+This was done before the news of the French reverse at Langson reached
+Paris. After such a military success M. Jules Ferry could not imagine
+that the Chinese Government would adhere to the terms of the protocol,
+and therefore he kept the whole negotiation secret from the Chambers. In
+the meanwhile the mishap to the French troops, being greatly exaggerated,
+excited such intense feeling in France that M. Ferry, _le Tonkinois_,
+was obliged to resign, with the treaty which might have saved him in his
+pocket. As for the empress-dowager, she recked nothing of the success of
+her brave troops on the outskirts of the empire, but thought only of the
+enormous expense of the war, which had been unpleasantly brought home to
+her, and of matters affecting her own convenience. She therefore had no
+thought of going back on the treaty, but was even more urgent than before
+to have it promptly signed and ratified. The honours of the peace thus
+fell in a few days to M. Ferry's successor.
+
+And what was the outcome of a year's fighting which cost China 100,000,000
+taels and France some proportionate amount? A simple reaffirmation of the
+Li-Fournier convention of May 1884! The convention itself was short and
+simple--one clause only exciting much interest during the negotiations,
+and that provoked a hot discussion, not on the substance, but on the
+verbal form. It was a stipulation by which the two contracting parties
+consciously meant different things, and each fought hard for a phrase
+sufficiently subtle to allow each to interpret it in his own way when the
+time came for the fulfilment of the treaty provisions. The French were
+most desirous of binding the Chinese to employ French industries in all
+their new undertakings. China was equally resolute in avoiding any such
+obligation. In the end each was satisfied that he could read the treaty
+clause in his own favour. But the final victory in the struggle would go
+to the side that was most persistent in forcing its meaning into practice.
+The French Ministry had announced to the Chambers a great victory for
+French manufacturing industries, which were represented as having by it
+obtained a monopoly in China. The text of the treaty, even in the French
+version, did not, indeed, bear this out; but the French had the _primâ
+facie_ argument on their side, that the introduction of a clause in a
+treaty referring to the Chinese patronage of French industries, however
+worded, must have meant something more than merely to register the common
+fact that China was at liberty to deal with whom she pleased. In the
+end a compromise was effected by China's giving to a French syndicate
+the contract for excavating the basin and dock at Port Arthur and
+certain orders for material, among which was a famous military balloon,
+wonderfully symbolic of the whole proceeding.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [26] 'Contemporary Review,' December 1884.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE OF CHRISTIANS.
+
+    Alliance with Church the corner-stone of French
+    conquest--Persistence of French ambitions in the Far
+    East--Protectorate of native Christians--Its abuse by the
+    propaganda--Forcible erection of cathedrals in Peking--Imperial
+    family aggrieved thereby--Negotiations for removal of church
+    from palace grounds--Mr Dunn's mission to Rome--Vatican to send
+    a nuncio--French Government vetos--French minister vetos transfer
+    of cathedral--Unless transaction placed in his hands.
+
+
+The claim of France to protect Christians against the native authorities
+in the Far East constitutes the basis and the origin of her present
+political position in those countries. The propagation of the faith was,
+indeed, a recognised element in the adventures of other countries besides
+France; but she has, since the eclipse of Portugal and Spain, enjoyed
+the distinction of a working alliance with the Church in furthering the
+foreign domination of both. "Church and State, linked in alliance close
+and potential, played faithfully into each other's hands," says Parkman
+('Jesuits in North America'). In the reign of Louis XIV. the kingdom
+of Siam was the object of their joint attention. A missionary bishop
+persuaded the most Christian king that to establish the Church in Siam
+and convert king and country to the Catholic faith would open an effectual
+door for the extension of French commerce. A century later another bishop
+persuaded another Louis to interfere in the affairs of Annam, and only
+the events of 1789 cut short an expedition that was being prepared of
+politico-ecclesiastical propagandism. Napoleon III. took up the cause,
+and actually effected the conquest of Cochin China; and Gambetta was
+so enthusiastic on the subject that, while persecuting the Catholics in
+France, he was ready to expend the forces of the Republic in protecting
+them in distant countries.
+
+There is here, therefore, irrespective of persons or forms of government,
+an unbroken tradition, which furnishes a key to the successive operations
+of France in the Far East. Thus when she resolved to join England in
+hostilities against China in 1857 a pretext was ready to hand in the
+murder of a Catholic priest in the interior of the country, his presence
+there being a defiance of the laws of the empire. There has been flux
+and reflux in French policy, but no change in its direction; and though
+prudence has from time to time set limits to its full expression,
+the claim to a special representation of Chinese Christians has been
+consistently pursued as a cardinal object of the French military, naval,
+and diplomatic forces in the Far East.
+
+The treaties of 1858 for the first time authorised travelling into the
+interior, and placed French subjects, whether missionary or not, who
+availed themselves of the permission, under the protection of their own
+country. But ever since the convention of Peking in 1860 it has been
+sought by indirect and unobtrusive means to assume the protectorate over
+native Christians as well. The interpolated clause in the Chinese, which
+was no part of the authentic French version of the convention, lent a
+certain colour to the pretension by seeming to recognise communities
+of Chinese Christians as legal units and fit subjects of international
+agreement between China and France. Nevertheless, "French interference
+between the Chinese authorities and the subjects of the empire of China
+has never had any treaty warrant or justification by the law of nations,"
+wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock in the 'Nineteenth Century,' November 1886;
+and he added, "China has the remedy in her own hands, to a certain extent,
+by refusing to admit the pretension." The Chinese Government had long
+been alive to the danger, as its elaborate appeal to the reason of the
+Powers in 1871 amply testified, but its eyes were opened still wider by
+the lesson of the Tongking war. A disposition was thereafter evinced to
+withstand the claim of the French, and the action of Germany afforded
+sufficient support to the Chinese position, had the Government only
+had the courage and perspicacity to lean upon it. For in the Catholic
+propaganda were missionaries of German origin, who were not permitted to
+divest themselves of their nationality, but were made to apply for their
+passports into the interior not to the French, but the German, Legation in
+Peking. Had Italy and Spain been equally independent, the question of the
+French, or any other protectorate, could scarcely have been entertained
+without introducing the element of separate foreign nationalism into
+the constitution of the Christian communities in China, which would not,
+perhaps, have been agreeable to the views of the Catholic propagandists,
+for they naturally aspired to maintain their independence as a compact
+ecclesiastical organisation.
+
+The dread of the French protectorate was much accentuated by the enforced
+restitution of ancient buildings, the most conspicuous examples of which
+occurred in the city of Peking itself, and even within the area of the
+imperial palace. The sites of three ancient churches being claimed by the
+French Minister, the emperor's Government was compelled to violate its
+sense of justice by evicting the existing owners. The original building of
+one of the three was found practically intact, though hidden by the houses
+built round and against its walls. These of course had to be cleared away,
+regardless of the rights of their occupants. The interior fittings and
+decorations of the church had disappeared, but, strange to say, much of
+the wood carving and other ornaments were gradually recovered from the
+old-curiosity shops, where the parts not destroyed had, by the instinct
+of the Wardour Street craft, been preserved, begrimed with the dust of a
+hundred years and hopelessly unsaleable. By patiently collecting these
+disjointed fragments and piecing them together like a Chinese puzzle,
+the Fathers were able gradually to restore the church to something like
+its original state, so that it became itself an interesting relic of the
+golden age of the Jesuits in Peking.
+
+The other two churches had been demolished, and the sites converted to
+secular uses, requiring some ingenuity to identify. When these sites
+were, under the new dispensation, cleared of superincumbent buildings,
+churches were erected as much exceeding the original as the glory of
+the Jewish temple, rebuilt after the Captivity, excelled that of the
+former house. The restrictions imposed by the Government on the style of
+the buildings, the last vestige of power which they dared assert, bore
+lightly on the astute constructors of the new churches. In deference
+to a common Chinese objection, perhaps partly superstitious, to lofty
+structures overlooking them, a limit was set to the height of the new
+buildings. But remonstrances after completion were easily disposed of by
+the pious Fathers inviting the objectors to go and measure the towers! The
+Chinese seem to have the same constitutional dislike of a demonstration
+that they have to a straight line or a right angle, and a challenge
+like this never failed to put them to silence. As to their neglect to
+exercise their right of supervision during construction, the shortest
+way to characterise it is merely to say it was Chinese. The same kind of
+negligence also allowed roofs of cathedrals, not in the capital alone, but
+in distant provinces, to be covered with yellow tiles, a colour reserved
+exclusively for imperial use. It is true the process was disguised, for
+the benefit of those who chose to be blind, by the tiles being whitewashed
+before being sent aloft, leaving to the slow action of the weather the
+gradual revelation of the imperial colour, which might then, indeed, be
+represented as the act of Heaven. Nothing is too transparent to deceive
+those who are willing to be deceived.
+
+  [Illustration: PEI-T'ANG CATHEDRAL IN PEKING, PURCHASED BY CHINESE
+   GOVERNMENT.]
+
+The cathedral around which the greatest interest centred, however, was the
+one which was erected within the palace grounds. The site had been granted
+by the great Emperor Kanghsi, the most imperial of the Manchu line, to the
+learned fathers who cured his fever by administering Jesuits' bark, then
+a new discovery, and whom he reckoned on attaching to his house by the
+favours bestowed on them. The new building was presumably erected on or
+near the site of the old, against the most urgent protests of the Court.
+Every inducement was offered to the French--larger and better sites,
+perhaps other compensations as well--if they would forego their demand
+for the resumption of the ground; but the French Government being set
+upon marking its ascendancy by a permanent sign, compelled the erection
+of the Pei-t'ang Cathedral on the spot indicated. The Lazarists, who had
+succeeded to the Jesuits in North China, had a kindly bishop at their
+head, who conceded much in the structure of the new building to soothe
+the feelings of the imperial family. Nevertheless, stunted as they were,
+from the point of view of architectural symmetry, the double towers of the
+cathedral were visible from the palace, and the two belfries commanded
+a view over a large part of the precincts. The building was therefore
+an eyesore to the inmates for twenty years, on the common ground on
+which it would have been offensive even to a provincial population, but
+still more as a staring monument of the deepest humiliation the dynasty
+had endured.[27] The empress-dowager bore the grievance, but not with
+resignation, for soon after the affairs of the empire assumed a settled
+aspect she urged her Ministers to find a way to get rid of the obnoxious
+building.
+
+Monseigneur Delaplace had, in his former diocese of Chêkiang, rendered
+good service to the Government in opposing the rebels, for which he was
+granted high Chinese rank. Being dissatisfied with the action of France
+after the Tientsin massacre of 1870, he extricated his mission from the
+control of the French Legation in Peking, and from that date till his
+death in 1882 conducted its affairs in direct communication with the
+Tsungli-Yamên. Fully recognising how hateful his cathedral was to the
+Chinese, he co-operated with Prince Kung and Wênsiang in their efforts
+to remove it, and in 1874 he actually concluded an agreement with them
+to that effect. But the contract was vetoed by the French Government. The
+sore was thus reopened and continued to fester until 1881, when there was
+so much excitement in the capital that the Church and mission were thought
+to be in great danger. During the Tongking troubles the question of the
+cathedral was allowed to rest, but no sooner was peace assured than the
+Court again became restless, and with renewed urgency sought a remedy for
+its grievance.
+
+The negotiations, which proved successful, were entered upon in an
+irregular manner, such as has characterised so many of the Chinese
+official acts. An Englishman in Peking, who had had business dealings with
+the Government, was asked one day by the confidential factotum of Prince
+Ch'un whether he could render assistance in the matter of the Pei-t'ang.
+The case was explained at length, and the foreigner, not being then aware
+of the negotiations of 1874, suggested, as the most obvious course, trying
+to make an arrangement with the Lazarist mission. The Manchu shook his
+head, to signify the futility of that proceeding. The enterprise thus
+seemed desperate, unless the Imperial Government should exercise its
+sovereign right of expropriation,--much too drastic a measure for any
+Chinese Government to attempt.
+
+One hope only seemed to remain, a direct appeal to the Vatican. This led
+to a long conversation on the Papacy, and the Manchu official,[28] being a
+pious and even a learned Buddhist, became intensely interested in hearing
+much that was new to him respecting the position and prerogatives of the
+European Dalai Lama. Nor did the "great Western Saint," whose vicegerent
+the Pope claims to be, fail to evoke the deep reverence of both the Manchu
+and the Chinese who were present, so that one might be almost justified
+in appropriating words uttered on a different occasion,--they were "not
+very far from the kingdom" ruled by "the Western Saint."
+
+But the interesting question was, How was the Vatican to be approached? By
+a qualified secret agent intrusted with the full confidence of the Chinese
+Court. The mission would be by no means easy, for should its object become
+known, it would be thwarted in advance from mere jealousy, if from no
+other motive, by Lazarist and perhaps other Catholic missions, so that
+access to the Supreme Pontiff would be blocked at the outset. The mission
+would also be certain to arouse the strenuous hostility of the French
+Government. After discussing the problem from all sides for three hours,
+the Manchu cut it short by the abrupt question, "Will you go?" "No," said
+the foreigner; "such an undertaking requires quite other qualities than
+any I possess. But," he added, after considering the matter, "I think I
+know the man who might carry it through." "Where is he? in Peking? Bring
+him here," were rapped out like musketry-fire, showing how urgent was
+the subject. The agent recommended to him was Mr J. G. Dunn, a man of
+genius and of varied accomplishments, a Catholic, and having an extensive
+personal acquaintance with the propaganda. He was at once invited to
+Peking, when another long conference ensued, and Mr Dunn was requested to
+draw up a memorandum on the whole scheme for the information of Prince
+Ch'un. After waiting some time for a response Mr Dunn left the capital,
+decidedly disappointed, for he was eager for a service so congenial to
+his character and feelings. Indeed had the mission been created for the
+man, or the man for the mission, the harmony between means and ends could
+hardly have been closer.
+
+Several months elapsed before the question emerged again from official
+obscurity, and the manner of it is worth relating if only for the
+side-light it throws on Chinese methods. Li Hung-chang paid a visit to the
+capital in 1885, and soon after his return to Tientsin he requested his
+secretaries to find out where Mr Dunn was and to invite him by telegraph
+to come to see the viceroy. Not knowing why he was sent for, any more
+than Gordon did when summoned from India five years before, Mr Dunn came,
+and Li at once entered on the Pei-t'ang question, showing him his own
+memorandum on the subject. The affair having been placed by Prince Ch'un
+in the hands of Li Hung-chang to be carried through, Mr Dunn was promptly
+commissioned, and in concert with the viceroy's secretary, the very
+capable officer who now represents China at Washington, the emissary's
+instructions and credentials were drawn up. There were two separate
+instructions, and no little confusion was caused thereby.
+
+On leaving China for Rome, Mr Dunn stipulated that a competent
+intermediary should be appointed to interpret his correspondence to Li
+Hung-chang, a duty which was intrusted to the commissioner of customs in
+Tientsin. The utility of this provision was soon made manifest, for when
+telegrams began to arrive from Rome, their purport was unintelligible,
+as they seemed irrelevant to the expropriation of the cathedral, which
+was Mr Dunn's special mission. Irritated by this apparent aberration,
+the viceroy's idea was to recall the emissary. But when it was suggested
+that the copies of his credentials should be first carefully examined
+the position became clearer. One part of his instructions was then found
+to be directed towards the question of the Christian protectorate, and
+Mr Dunn was, in fact, diplomatising with the Pope with a view to his
+appointing a nuncio or apostolic delegate to China to represent all the
+Catholic missions. The Chinese had not fully mastered this idea, and even
+Li Hung-chang, who has a wonderful memory, had forgotten the existence
+of the second section of his instructions, which no doubt Mr Dunn had
+drawn up himself. The Tsungli-Yamên, languid and bemused, hesitated to
+express any opinion, and assumed their habitual passive attitude. One
+person alone really grasped the importance of having the Church in China
+represented by the delegate of a Power "which has no armies or fleets
+wherewith to threaten or attack." The empress-dowager, when the nomination
+of Mgr. Agliardi was announced, and his coming depended on formal imperial
+invitation, sent the urgent message to the Yamên, "Get that man here; lose
+no time."
+
+Mr Dunn's negotiations with the Vatican of course soon leaked out; notices
+appeared in the press; Mr Punch had his little joke that though there
+was evidently a good deal _doing_, the question was, Who was _Dunn_? The
+French Government took the matter up energetically through their Minister
+in Rome, and their diplomatic efforts having failed, they presented
+an ultimatum to the Pope which compelled him to cancel the appointment
+of his nuncio. France threatening to terminate the concordat, withdraw
+the subvention to the Church in France, and sequestrate its ministers,
+the Holy Father had no option but to submit. With tears in his eyes he
+deplored his impotence to respond to the invitation of China under such
+a truculent menace to "his children in France."
+
+While these things were going on in Rome the transference of the Pei-t'ang
+Cathedral, which had been settled in principle through Mr Dunn, was then
+taken up by the Lazarist Mission, and the popular Père Favier was deputed
+by the Bishop of Peking to proceed to Rome and to Paris to obtain from
+the Vatican and the General of the Lazarist Order the specific authority
+to negotiate the transfer. Having brought back the necessary powers,
+a convention was shortly concluded between Bishop Tagliabue and Li
+Hung-chang. The Church made an excellent bargain, as it generally does:
+a new site of about thrice the area was granted close to the old on the
+opposite side of the broad roadway, and a bountiful compensation in money
+was made for the trouble and cost of removal. But after the agreement was
+signed the French Government interposed its veto so far as to insist on
+being the intermediary through whose hands the transaction should pass.
+France also, it was said, had previously essayed to _marchander_ with
+China for her consent, but withdrew when it became clear that further
+obstruction might entail untoward consequences. To mark its satisfaction
+at the final solution of this question, the Chinese Government eulogised
+all those who had helped to bring it about, and bestowed high rank on
+Bishop Tagliabue and the Abbé Favier (now bishop).
+
+This transaction supplied a crucial test of French policy and pretensions
+in China, the first concrete expression of both that had been obtained
+since the forcible restitution of Church property immediately after the
+capture of Peking. The coercion, indeed, was applied on this occasion
+to the Roman Pontiff and the Catholic Church rather than to the Chinese
+Government; but the latter were not so dull as not to see to what
+ulterior objects the French scheme might be extended, given convenient
+circumstances. They were, in fact, really alarmed, and the question was
+discussed with some warmth in the Chinese as well as in the European
+press. "The end is not yet," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock; "China may
+be less open to intimidation than heretofore, and assert her undoubted
+right to refuse the recognition of an assumed protectorate over Roman
+missions, irrespective of the nationality of their members." The French
+press espoused the cause of the protectorate warmly, treating it as a most
+valuable national asset. The Chinese press took up the question in reply.
+Their view of the position was comprehensively summed up in a native
+newspaper in October 1886 in the following terms:--
+
+    It has been said by them of old time that when a man is found
+    acting injuriously to his own family but benevolently to strangers
+    his behaviour is unnatural, and there is something hidden under
+    the cloak of outward kindness.
+
+    We have from time to time printed translations from various
+    foreign newspapers on the subject of the relations between the
+    Chinese Government and the Pope. Some days ago we reproduced an
+    article on the same subject from the 'Temps,' a French newspaper
+    of the highest authority. These articles all indicate that the
+    French Government is greatly troubled at the prospect of losing
+    what is called the right to protect Christians in China. This is
+    a question which has not hitherto been much considered by Chinese
+    statesmen. Those of them who have been in Europe, or who have
+    studied political affairs there, know something of the importance
+    of the issues which are covered up in that apparently harmless
+    word "protection"; but it is hardly to be expected that the
+    Ministers and statesmen who have scarcely travelled beyond the
+    walls of Peking can realise the full significance of the phrase.
+    Nothing is better calculated to quicken the apprehension of the
+    Government on this point than the extraordinary excitement of the
+    French Government, which insists on protecting the Christians
+    in China whether they desire this protection or not. For now
+    that the French have so plainly shown their secret designs, it
+    would be impossible for China to acquiesce, by word or deed, in
+    the pretensions which France sets up. It is rather suspicious
+    that the French Government, the greatest enemy of Christianity,
+    which is constantly oppressing the priests and confiscating their
+    property in France, should be so intensely desirous of protecting
+    Christians in China, where this protection is not required. A
+    leading French statesman, Gambetta, who died a few years ago,
+    left as a legacy to his followers the doctrine that the Church
+    should be suppressed in France but supported in all foreign
+    countries. Gambetta was a man who had no reverence for Heaven, and
+    no religion, and seems to have regarded Christianity as a disease
+    which he wished his own country to be rid of, but was not sorry
+    to see it spreading elsewhere. It is necessary to keep these ideas
+    in mind in order to understand the action of the French Government
+    to-day.
+
+    It would be out of place here to discuss what Christianity
+    is. Like Buddhism, it had a very pure origin, and the living
+    principles of both are mercy, benevolence, and peace. But both
+    religions have in course of ages been overlaid with doctrines and
+    practices which have obscured the simplicity of their origin,
+    and even changed their character. But the greatest misfortune
+    to Christianity is that it has been made use of by princes
+    as a pretext for wars of aggression. In fact, nearly all the
+    wars of Europe for the last thousand years have been in some
+    way connected with religion. This is sometimes made a reproach
+    against Christianity, which professes to be founded on peace and
+    self-sacrifice, but the reproach is scarcely just. Rather it is
+    the peaceful character of Christianity which has induced ambitious
+    statesmen to make use of it to work out their own designs, just as
+    in private life unscrupulous men are sometimes enabled to carry
+    out questionable plans by using the names of men of blameless
+    character. We are only now concerned with the political aspect of
+    Christianity, not its merits as a religion. The modern history of
+    Turkey affords the best illustration of the danger of allowing
+    foreign Powers to interfere in matters of religion. During the
+    last hundred years Russia has several times made war on Turkey,
+    always on the pretext of protecting Christians, and it is this
+    which is fast breaking up the Turkish empire. It is interesting
+    to observe that Russia and France follow the same policy in this
+    matter. When the French Legation withdrew from Peking on the 2nd
+    day of the 7th moon of the 10th year of Kwanghsu (22nd August
+    1884), the affairs of the Christians were transferred to the
+    Russian Legation. The Ministers of the Tsungli-Yamên remember
+    very well how eagerly the Russian Minister assumed the office
+    of protector of Christians, going to even greater lengths in the
+    way of protection than the French themselves had done. The reason
+    for this is plain. Russia, although she has none now, expects to
+    have by-and-by many Christians in Mongolia and Manchuria who may
+    be extremely useful to her in her aggressive designs on China.
+    Therefore the Russian officials, always looking very far ahead,
+    were most anxious to establish a right of interference for the
+    protection of Christians. And they could do this without reproach
+    when they were acting not for themselves but for France during
+    war-time; well knowing that, whatever position she succeeded in
+    establishing for France, Russia could claim for herself when the
+    proper time came. But the more anxious Russia and France are to
+    assert the right of interfering with Chinese Christians, the more
+    resolute China should be in resisting all such interference. The
+    only safety for China is to treat Christians, whether Chinese
+    or foreign, exactly as all other people are treated--to make no
+    distinctions. Foreign missionaries have the right to travel and
+    reside in the interior; they can exercise this right without
+    getting passports from the French Minister. The Catholic missions
+    are composed of men of all nations, but they all have Ministers in
+    Peking to whom they can apply for passports. Let the Germans get
+    their passports from the German Legation, the Spaniards from the
+    Spanish, Italians, Belgians, and Hollanders from their respective
+    Legations, but no European State has any right to arrogate to
+    itself the position of protector of missionaries in general.
+
+    It is satisfactory to learn that the head of the Catholic Church
+    is of this opinion, and although grateful to France for what
+    she has done in the past, is now desirous of being free from
+    French protection in the future. To carry out these views, the
+    Pope is about to send to China a very high official to reside
+    in Peking and perform the functions of a Minister. As the Pope
+    has no troops and no territory, but is merely a kind of Dalai
+    Lama, there is no danger to China from opening direct relations
+    with him. The affairs of the missionaries can then be dealt with
+    in an open and straightforward manner, as no fear of political
+    traps will lurk behind. The Christians when they know they are no
+    longer protected by a military State will understand that their
+    security will depend on their own wisdom in avoiding offence.
+    And the officials and people, on the other hand, will gradually
+    learn that the Christians are only anxious to lead virtuous
+    lives, without any political ambition, and they will respect
+    them. The Imperial Government will then also be able to extend
+    its favour to all Christians and missionaries without the fear
+    of nursing traitors in its bosom. The missionaries have among
+    them men of great learning and much skill in sciences, which the
+    Emperor Kanghsi--who must always stand as the model for Chinese
+    rulers--knew very well how to utilise. The present generation
+    possesses men no less capable of rendering good services to China,
+    and there would be no reason for not using them if the suspicion
+    of their being agents of the French Government were once cleared
+    away.
+
+Notwithstanding so much clear thinking, however, the action of the
+Chinese continued, as before, nebulous. They seemed never able to seize
+the bull by the horns, but drifted on, allowing themselves constantly to
+be put in the wrong, hoping perhaps to accomplish by illegitimate means
+what was within their legal competence. Afraid or unwilling to control
+the provincial authorities, they allowed outrages to be perpetrated for
+which they refused redress until coercion was applied, thus affording to
+foreign Powers a not in all cases unwelcome pretext for extending their
+protection even to Chinese Christians. Within a month of the consummation
+of the transfer of the Pei-t'ang Cathedral, and after the Marquis Tsêng,
+fresh from Europe, had taken his seat at the Board, the Tsungli-Yamên had
+fallen into its chronic apathy with regard to Christians. A missionary
+named Bodinier arrived in Peking from distant Kweichow for the purpose
+of soliciting the intervention or intercession of the French Legation
+in favour of the persecuted Christians in that province. While he
+was on his journey the Catholics of Chungking in Szechuan were being
+similarly maltreated. Certain disturbances in that great commercial mart
+culminated in the attack on the house of a wealthy Christian family, which
+resisted the assailants, several of whom were killed in the affray. The
+magistrates, who had been supine during the time when the mischief was
+brewing, thereupon arrested the head of the Lo family and condemned him
+to death,--an exercise of authority which was held to be arbitrary, and
+invidiously directed against Christians. Here was an occasion when the
+Central Government should have taken prompt action, and so deprived the
+French Government of any pretext for interference. It was a moment when
+that Government was less apt than usual to put forth its power in the
+Christian cause. M. Constans was Minister in China, and he was personally
+not at all disposed to assume the protection of Chinese Christians.
+Nevertheless, the case being urgent, and the Tsungli-Yamên either cowardly
+or indifferent, M. Constans broke through the rule he had laid down for
+himself so far as to telegraph to Paris for instructions. The reply was
+prompt, doubtless inspired by the propaganda at home, to the effect that
+he should take up the case of Mr Lo. Thus the Chinese threw away a golden
+opportunity of showing to the world that the Chinese Christians did not
+stand in need of any foreign aid. An impartial investigation might have
+shown, indeed, that the Christians were the aggressors, and the local
+Chinese officials might have been vindicated from the charges made against
+them. But the Government's inaction constantly puts it in the wrong even
+when it may be substantially in the right. The same fatal course has been
+regularly pursued even to our day, with results patent to all.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [27] The effect of these imposing edifices, which dwarf into
+    insignificance the most pretentious native buildings, is well
+    exemplified in the approach to Canton, where the French cathedral
+    church, erected on the site of the Viceroy Yeh's _yamên_, is the
+    only object visible, and where the idea of a permanent memorial
+    of defeat is well realised. It is not a conciliatory policy;
+    irresistible force is required to maintain it.
+
+ [28] See _supra_, p. 308.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+BRITISH SERVICES: DIPLOMATIC, CONSULAR, AND JUDICIAL.
+
+    Necessity for administrative and judicial control over
+    British subjects--Consular courts--Supreme court for China and
+    Japan--_Personnel_ of the consular service--Functions of the
+    diplomatic representatives--Absence of distinction explained by
+    apathy of Home Government--Need of reform.
+
+
+The frequent references throughout this work to the part played by British
+agents in the development of intercourse with China seem to call for a
+short account of the character and status of the official machinery which
+served for so many years as the principal working joint between the two
+opposed systems of civilisation.
+
+The relations between Great Britain and China were necessarily at first
+experimental. The consuls appointed to the five ports were selected with
+no special training, and the chief superintendent, to whom they looked
+for guidance, was scarcely better furnished than themselves. Yet, as has
+been shown, the remoteness of the consuls from their chief, and of both
+from the Government they served, threw them much upon their own resources.
+How the demand for independent initiative was responded to by some of the
+individuals concerned has been incidentally noticed in previous chapters.
+
+From the time when it assumed direct relations with China, the need of an
+effective control over British subjects resorting to that country weighed
+heavily on the British Government; for in exempting them from native
+jurisdiction the Government took on itself the responsibility for the good
+behaviour of its people. The exercise of this control was necessarily
+tentative, proceeding step by step as occasions arose. The unceasing
+solicitude of the Government for the orderly conduct of its subjects in
+China is testified by a long series of Orders in Council conferring on
+the consuls and their superintendent an almost despotic authority over the
+persons of the British residents. The operation of this arbitrary system
+was more satisfactory than could have been expected, thanks to the high
+character of the parties concerned and the common-sense which governed
+their mutual relations. In their double capacity, however, of protectors
+of Chinese and foreigners against the inroads of British subjects, and of
+the latter against the inroads of the Chinese, the consuls soon discovered
+that the one part of their duty was easy and the other difficult; and
+it is no matter for wonder, therefore, if, following the line of least
+resistance, some of them should have leaned to the side of repression
+rather than to that of the encouragement of their countrymen. This was
+noticeable even in judicial proceedings, where the consul was supreme
+over his own nationals, but had no authority over their opponents. Some
+check on the consequences of consular idiosyncrasies and defective legal
+knowledge was maintained by a supreme court in Hongkong, independent
+alike of the superintendent of trade and of the governor of the colony,
+to which court appeals lay from consular decisions. This prerogative
+of the colonial court was not unnaturally irksome to the diplomatic and
+consular servants of the Foreign Office, and was doubtless one cause of
+the coolness, not to say antipathy, with which the colony has generally
+been regarded by them.
+
+The treaties of 1858 and 1860 were followed by a great development
+in all three services--diplomatic, consular, and judicial. Some years
+previously the China consular service began to be treated as a career for
+which special preparation was required, the entry being by competitive
+examination, through which a certain number of students were annually sent
+out to China, there to complete their education and then take their part
+in executive work. When additional ports were opened, therefore, making
+about twenty in all, in 1861, there was the full complement of qualified
+men ready to occupy the new consular posts, each of them competent to be
+his own interpreter. Diplomatic functions were at the same time withdrawn
+from Hongkong, where they had been merely nominal for eighteen years,
+and became centred in the Chinese capital. A few years later the judicial
+authority, so far as it related to the communities at the Chinese ports,
+was also withdrawn from Hongkong, and was conferred upon the Supreme Court
+for China and Japan, having its headquarters in Shanghai, established by
+the Queen's Order in Council of 1864. The new court was inaugurated by
+Sir Edmund Hornby, who brought to the work practical experience gained in
+the Levant, the assistant judge being Mr C. W. Goodwin, Barrister of the
+Inner Temple. This establishment has furnished a solvent for many of the
+difficulties connected with British residence in the Far East. Adapted
+with judgment to local circumstances, the court has proved of immense
+assistance to the consuls, who, subordinated judicially to the chief
+judge, could now obtain from him proper guidance in their difficulties,
+a facility of which they availed themselves freely.
+
+Although a great advance on what preceded it, the Supreme Court could
+not of course escape from all the drawbacks which affected the consular
+courts. As between British subjects, it enjoyed the full powers of law
+courts in the mother country; but as between British subjects on the one
+hand, and the natives of the country, or non-British residents, on the
+other, the authority of the British court could only be exercised over the
+former. This one-sided action has been to some extent compensated in later
+times by the judicial qualifications of consuls representing other Western
+nationalities, who administer their own laws with the same impartiality
+as the British courts do theirs. But as regards the Chinese no such
+compensation operates, for although the treaties make provision for the
+judicial action of the Chinese authorities, their conceptions of equity
+and forms of procedure being wholly alien to those of the Western nations,
+their decisions seldom satisfy the foreign litigant. An attempt to supply
+a connecting-link between two radically different juridical ideals was
+made in the setting up of mixed courts for the purpose of dealing with
+petty cases between natives and foreigners within the settlements of
+Shanghai. These courts have been occasionally presided over by honest and
+competent judges, assisted by able foreign assessors; but as the native
+magistrates, being men of low rank, could always be overruled by the local
+executive, they lacked the power to make their decisions effective.
+
+As it was impossible to set up a separate judicial establishment at
+each treaty port where there was but a handful of residents, the consuls
+had to continue to perform magisterial duty with all the inconveniences
+attending their double function. Efforts were made by the Home Government
+to minimise these disadvantages by infusing a modicum of legal knowledge
+into the service, for which purpose they offered inducements to consular
+officials who should qualify as barristers. Notwithstanding all this,
+however, the simple fact that a consul is bound in his administrative
+capacity to take a part in matters which may afterwards come before him as
+a judge perpetuates an element of incongruity demanding an uncommon degree
+of tact on the part of the official. Some of the worst consequences to be
+apprehended from this state of things are partially obviated by the judge
+or assistant judge of the Supreme Court going on circuit, when important
+cases in the consular districts require it; but that expedient is only
+possible at rare intervals.
+
+The wisdom with which the Supreme Court has been directed is attested
+by the absence of incident in its history, and by the universal tacit
+approval of its proceedings. Its success, indeed, soon came to be accepted
+so much as a matter of course that the true source of it was forgotten.
+It was, however, recalled vividly to the public memory by a certain
+retrograde movement. After a quarter of a century of satisfactory working
+her Majesty's Government took a step which was equivalent to pulling out
+the corner-stone of the edifice--the absolute independence of the bench.
+In order to effect an economy in salaries, it was ordained that the two
+incompatible offices--the judicial and political--should be merged into
+one, making the chief judge consul-general, and the assistant judge consul
+for Shanghai. By this move the judges became subordinate to the Legation
+in Peking, and the Supreme Court itself was subjected to all the evils of
+the dual function under which the consuls had been labouring. Thanks to
+the exceptional qualities of the holders of the double office, no glaring
+scandal arose out of the unnatural combination; but the protests of the
+community, and of the incumbent of the two offices himself, were strong
+enough to induce the Foreign Office, after a few years' trial, to retrace
+their false step and restore the judge to his independence.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The twenty consular establishments in China on which the Select Committee
+of the House of Commons reported in 1872 were manned by forty "effectives
+on duty," besides a considerable contingent on furlough. The ten posts
+subsequently created employ on an average twenty more. Two complete
+generations of officials have passed through the consular mill in fifty
+years, which may be moderately reckoned at two hundred men, all of them
+selected by a competitive examination only one degree less stringent
+than that for the Indian Civil Service, and nearly all of them men
+of varied accomplishments. They have been placed in every part of the
+wide empire of China, and during their career have been shifted about
+so that every one has had chances of interesting himself in localities
+strongly contrasted with each other, both as regards official labour
+and personal recreation and study. From a body of highly educated men
+so situated, it was naturally to be expected that much enlightenment
+would be obtained concerning China and its people, and considerable
+progress made in the promotion of amiable intercourse between them and
+foreigners. These expectations have not been disappointed. In the period
+immediately following the peace of 1860 remarkable activity was shown
+by British consular officers. The names of Meadows, Markham, Alabaster,
+Oxenham, recall many exploits of exploration in the interior during
+very troublous times. Swinhoe, Baber, Hosie, Bourne, Spence, Davenport,
+Parker, have continued the work and greatly extended its area. Others
+have distinguished themselves in the held of literary research, and
+some have found their appropriate reward in honourable appointments in
+English universities. On the whole, there has been lack of neither energy
+nor capacity in the British consular service; and yet it is a matter of
+common remark, even by its members themselves, that in their primary duty
+of promoting and defending the interests of British commerce they have
+been unsuccessful. Treaty rights, they admit, have not been safeguarded
+at the Chinese ports, and this in spite of every apparent incentive to
+exertion in their defence. A distinction, however, must be drawn between
+an apparent incentive which is general and remote, such as the patriotic
+desire for the advancement of their country's interests, and those
+influences which are nearer and more personal. The attitude of the China
+consuls can only be fairly estimated in its relation to that of their
+chief, and his again in relation to that of the Home Government. "Like
+master, like man," is an adage which fits the case, and it is to Peking
+and to London we must look for the key to the character of the consular
+rank and file.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The British Ministers at Peking have been selected without any fixed
+rule. The first of the series was taken from the diplomatic circle. The
+succeeding three, whose term of office covered a period of twenty years,
+were chosen from among the veterans of the consular service. The next
+two were taken from the junior ranks of diplomacy, and the seventh was a
+military officer from Africa. The appointment of Sir Robert Hart in 1885,
+which was cancelled by his wish, afforded further illustration of the
+extreme catholicity of the Government's elective faculty.
+
+The witnesses examined before the Select Committee of the House of
+Commons in 1872 were unanimous in insisting on the necessity for long and
+special training for the office of consul in China, and this principle
+has been strictly followed by the Government. But for the higher post of
+superintendent of all the consuls the Government has, at least since 1885,
+acted on the theory that no such qualification is necessary. But the task
+of a Minister to China is by no means an easy one. It may be left undone,
+or it may be done so badly that it were better not to be done at all, but
+to discharge the duties of the office in a creditable manner requires not
+only high training but large capacity. The Minister has to conduct his
+own diplomatic duties in the capital, in which not the Chinese alone but
+all or nearly all his foreign colleagues are openly or secretly thwarting
+him. He has at the same time to direct the proceedings of twenty or thirty
+officers placed at great distances, whom he has never seen, and every one
+of whom is superior to himself in the knowledge of the conditions to be
+dealt with. For such a duty it is obvious that an officer sent from Europe
+must be incompetent, the circumstances of the service in China differing
+essentially from those prevailing elsewhere. The new incumbent, unless
+he were a born genius, could never get beyond the elementary lessons of
+experience before, overtaken by promotion, he shakes the Chinese dust off
+his feet for ever. Much might of course be learned by personal observation
+at the consular ports and conference with local officials and people in
+the provinces, but it is somewhat singular that this obvious source of
+intelligence has been taken advantage of almost exclusively by those of
+the British Ministers who stood the least in need of it. Indeed the only
+one of them who made it a rule to visit the treaty ports at intervals
+was Sir Rutherford Alcock, whose long experience convinced him of the
+necessity of constantly refreshing and extending his knowledge of local
+circumstances and people.
+
+A service dispersed over such a large area as the Chinese empire, carried
+on by despatches between parties who were strangers to each other, and
+one of whom at least had no personal knowledge of the subjects treated,
+must have been characterised by an absence of reality, and must have
+tended more and more towards a perfunctory routine. For this, however,
+the system of appointing Ministers who were strangers to the country
+was not wholly responsible. Long before the Ministers were so selected
+the secretaries began to be sent from European schools, and thus the
+consular service, disheartened by inadequate pay and a constant menace
+of further diminution, saw the few prizes of their profession withdrawn
+from their reach. To serve his time quietly, therefore, to earn his
+pension and retire without a stain on his character, became more or less
+the consular ideal. Ambition was starved among those who had to bear
+the burden and heat of a thirty years' residence in China, when they saw
+good posts thrown away upon men imported for two or three years, who were
+almost useless, and who themselves deplored their enforced idleness. The
+disadvantages attending these exotic importations have been often insisted
+upon. An old member of the consul staff comments upon it in the following
+practical manner:--
+
+    In every country administered by the British Crown, or at
+    every Court at which there is a British representative, the
+    administrator or envoy has from the moment of his entering
+    on the duties of his office the assistance of an experienced
+    staff, well versed in the local history and traditions, or finds
+    himself in the midst of a society the language and usages of
+    which are familiar to him. In China, where we have been fighting
+    and negotiating for over fifty years, we are not so fortunate.
+    A Minister proceeds there, and on his arrival finds himself in
+    a new and to him unknown country, the staff which he may bring
+    with him being like himself utterly unacquainted with the East
+    and its peoples. The Minister is obliged either to grope his way
+    unassisted, or to rely on the aids and advice of experienced (but
+    not always disinterested) outsiders. Under these circumstances his
+    only wise course is to put himself entirely in the hands of the
+    permanent local staff, which, for this purpose, means the Chinese
+    Secretary. That officer, the real motive force of the Legation,
+    occupies a position of greater importance than that of the nominal
+    head of the mission, but, with an irony which is not uncommon in
+    Government administration, he is the least appreciated member of
+    the staff. His salary is that of the junior ranks in the consular
+    service, and yet it is to him that the seniors in that service
+    look for instructions which he is incompetent to give them: the
+    result may be imagined. Why should these things be? The Indian
+    Government has in its service many men of brilliant attainments,
+    and of knowledge gained in long years of service in the East,
+    who might be called upon to fill the post of Minister which would
+    be suitable and congenial to them. And there is an abundance of
+    choice of junior Legation officers in the well-trained consular
+    service. Would it not be very advantageous if the working hands in
+    the Legation were chosen from the most competent Chinese scholars
+    in the consular service?
+
+Considering their initial qualifications, their social standing, and their
+great opportunities, it must be admitted that the men of distinction
+who have emerged from the consular service during the last fifty years
+seems disproportionately small. It is perhaps invidious to mention
+names in this connection, but in response to inquiries addressed to
+veterans in the service, four men only are placed in the first rank as
+the best representatives of the consular training school. These are Sir
+Harry Parkes, Mr T. T. Meadows, Mr H. N. Lay, and Mr W. F. Mayers. Sir
+Robert Hart, it should be mentioned, left the service so early, and Sir
+Rutherford Alcock joined it so late, in life, that their distinguished
+careers can scarcely be claimed as the product of the consular nursery.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It is impossible to look back over the forty years which have elapsed
+since the new relations were established in China without being struck
+by a certain change which passed over the character of the diplomatic
+and consular services between the first decade of that period and the
+second. The anxious years of the rebellion evoked much active energy on
+the part of British officials. The serious opposition to the operation
+of the treaties was met by very vigorous action on the part of the
+consuls at the ports and of the Minister at the capital. The years 1868
+and 1869 may be considered to have marked the culminating-point of the
+British official effort to enforce observance of the treaties in letter
+and spirit, and to protect all commercial interests. The change which
+came over the diplomatic and consular services at the end of the first
+decade of diplomatic relations may be likened to the rising followed by
+the receding of a tide. Up till the years we have specified, whatever the
+difficulties which beset their office, the consuls showed earnestness in
+the defence of the interests confided to them, and acted on the conviction
+that their exertions were pleasing to those who were set in authority
+over them. Their sense of duty was sustained by the hope of distinction.
+After 1869 the discovery was made that the situation had been undergoing
+a change of which the service had been unaware. What was formerly deemed
+a merit had become a demerit in consular officers, and on this discovery
+zeal naturally fell to a discount. It was but a reflex of the change that
+had crept over the spirit of the British Foreign Office, a change which
+also had escaped notice until circumstances forced it into publicity.
+This seems to have originated with the removal from the scene of Lord
+Palmerston, the statesman who for forty years had stood in a general way
+for what was manly and straightforward in the British national character.
+Though he left a tried and trusted colleague, Lord Clarendon, in charge of
+the Foreign Office, and a sturdy permanent Under-Secretary, perhaps the
+last custodian of the Palmerstonian tradition, and who remained at his
+post for five years longer, yet it was made evident by results that the
+spirit which had animated that great department of State had vanished.
+The Foreign Office became nerveless and invertebrate, sentimental
+and unstable. Those who had to do with it in the time of Palmerston,
+Layard, and Hammond know that since their time the officials bearing
+the same titles have been of quite another calibre, have been swayed
+by different influences, and above all have exhibited no such knowledge
+of the affairs with which they had to deal as their predecessors of the
+Palmerstonian era. Many explanations may be given for the new departure
+without disparagement of the capacities of the individuals concerned.
+Such explanations interest those who may desire to promote reform in the
+constitution and the inspiration of the Foreign Office. It suffices us
+merely to note the fact by way of accounting for some of the shortcomings
+which have been laid to the charge of our representation in China. We
+have seen how easily one Foreign Secretary yielded to the meretricious
+solicitations of the envoy Burlingame, and how another allowed himself
+to be cajoled by the Marquis Tsêng. After these, and sundry other such,
+exhibitions it was impossible for any Minister serving the country in
+the Far East to place the old reliance on the support of his Government.
+With John Bright, the implacable opponent of Palmerston and his works,
+installed at the Board of Trade, whose word was law on such matters
+as Chinese commercial treaties, and apparently more anxious to undo
+the work of Palmerston than to promote a trade which both he and his
+department unaffectedly despised, it was not likely that the commercial
+communities trading with China should cherish any hope of redress of
+grievances from a Government whose face seemed set against them. Apathy,
+therefore, became the principle, to keep the peace at all sacrifices the
+avowed policy of British diplomacy in China. The apparent exception to
+this rule in the attempted reclamations in connection with the Margary
+murder in 1875 afforded in its abortive ending a new corroboration of
+the rule. The diplomatic and consular establishments went on grinding out
+routine despatches and publishing statistical reports, but with the tacit
+understanding that whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Under
+such conditions it was of little consequence how the Peking representation
+might be filled, since it has not for thirty years risen above the level
+of comedy, the term applied to it by those who have grown old in its
+service.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Such was the situation of affairs when the greatest crisis in the history
+of China, or of foreign relations with that country, was sprung upon
+the world in 1894. A Legation equal only to clerical routine suddenly
+called upon to play a part in a commotion which unhinged the policy of
+the world was totally inadequate to the strain, and as a consequence of
+the impotence of the Foreign Office and its agent in China, the interests
+of Great Britain and, what was only second in importance, the interests
+of the Chinese empire were allowed to go by default. The Chinese were,
+and perhaps even still remain, unconscious of the reasons of the collapse
+of their empire. Perhaps something of the same kind might be said of
+the British Foreign Office in regard to the interests of Great Britain
+in China. Certainly there is as yet little sign of a determination to
+reform the mechanism of the country's representation, and this, perhaps,
+because the preliminary step thereto would be the reform of the Foreign
+Office itself. And so the Legation goes on under the nominal headship
+of a Minister who must be guided entirely by his Chinese Secretary, an
+official of inferior rank and position to the body of consuls whom he has
+to control, and for whose authority they can never have genuine respect.
+
+The recent upheaval has offered many new opportunities of distinction for
+the consuls, especially in the interior of China. That these openings
+have infused new life into the consular ranks has been shown in many
+ways during the last few years; and if natural selection be allowed to
+operate freely and the best men be not discouraged in their efforts for
+their country's benefit by undue interferences from Peking, where there is
+neither knowledge nor capacity to guide them, it is still possible that
+the consular service may play a valuable part in the reconstruction of
+the foreign relations of China.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+CHINA AND HER RULERS.
+
+    Longevity of the State--Government by prestige--Necessity
+    of adaptation to European ideas--The Empress-dowager--Prince
+    Kung--Wênsiang--Hu Lin-yi--Tsêng Kwo-fan--Tso Tsung-tang--Chang
+    Chih-tung--Li Hung-chang--His long and consistent career--Efforts
+    at reorganising national forces.
+
+
+The long continuance of a State more populous than any other on record is
+a phenomenon which to thoughtful minds can hardly fail to evoke a feeling
+akin to reverence. De Quincey declared if he met a Chinaman he would
+make obeisance to him, saying, "There goes a man 2000 years old." Be the
+causes of this national longevity what they may, the fact should make us
+pause to consider on what foundation does this great vital national system
+rest? The most realistic word-painter of China represents the country as
+a collection of villages, each being a unit of self-government,[29] and
+in describing "village life" in minute detail, seems to depict the great
+empire, of which each village is a pattern in miniature. Dynasties may
+come and dynasties may go, but the Chinese families, their industries
+and their customs, go on for ever. It is remarkable with what ease the
+people adapt themselves to changes in their ruling powers, regardless
+of race or origin; indeed it is a noteworthy fact that the rulers have
+for many centuries been more often foreign than native.[30] Foreign,
+however, not quite in the sense in which the word is so easily translated
+"barbarian" by the Chinese, and applied by them to the hated Aryans of
+the West. The rulers of China have been of cognate races, more or less
+imbued with the same generic ideas as the Chinese themselves, and with
+tastes akin to theirs. How this succession of dynasties, each established
+by violence, has coexisted with the continuity of the grand national
+idea of the emperor being the Son of Heaven can only be explained by the
+very practical character of the race, who accept the usurper as divinely
+appointed from the moment he has proved himself successful. What holds,
+and has held together from ancient times, this great aggregate of mankind
+in common usages and ideas is naturally a mystery to Occidentals, the
+cohesive principle not being perceptible to them. China occupies the
+unique position of a State resting on moral force,[31] a conception almost
+as alien to the Western mind as material progress is to the Eastern, hence
+the proposition is apt to be received with amused contempt. Yet a State
+administered without police, and ruled without an army, is a something
+which cannot be explained away. Government by prestige is, other things
+being equal, surely the most economical as well as the most humane of all
+species of government; but an obvious consequence is that in emergencies
+the Government is beholden to volunteers, and is often driven to enlist
+the services of banditti and other forces proscribed by the law. Imperial
+prestige, which embraces the relations of the surrounding tributaries,
+is but an expansion of the authority of the head of the family and of
+the elders of the village, which rests on moral sanction only. The first
+collision, however, with the material forces of Christendom proved that
+in the system of the modern world the Chinese principle of government
+was an anachronism, and that moral must succumb to physical force. Yet
+in the midst of the world's triumph in the pricking of the great Chinese
+bubble, it had been well to reflect what the kind of bubble was that was
+being pricked. China with her self-contained, self-secreted knowledge,
+could not be expected to foresee how the impact of the West was likely to
+affect her ancient polity. She had nothing wherewith to compare herself,
+and no criterion of good or evil except her own isolated experience; nor
+did she know aught of human development except what was, so to speak,
+forcibly injected into her, but never assimilated. What, then, could she
+do to be saved but to take herself entirely to pieces like a house that
+has to be rebuilt on a new plan, and so fit herself for the companionship
+and competition of the worldly Powers, from whose pressure she could by
+no means escape? She had to put away the wisdom of ages, the traditions
+of a civilisation unbroken for thousands of years, and convert herself
+into a mechanical, scientific, and military Power. Something more radical
+than reform is involved in such a root-and-branch change: it was not
+improvement but transformation that was demanded.
+
+That some such essential changes are necessary to the preservation of
+the Chinese empire is probably recognised by all who interest themselves
+in the subject--including a large ever-increasing number of the Chinese
+themselves; but the gravity of the revolution may well cause misgivings
+both as to its possibility and its incalculable effects. Who among the
+Chinese rulers is sufficient for such things?
+
+It is not always possible to locate the nervous centre of any Government
+in the West, whether its form be autocratic or representative. With
+regard to that of China we may safely say it is never possible--at
+least for any foreigner. The attempts which have been from time to time
+made to assign acts of Government to the will or influence of certain
+individuals have in general proved in the sequel to have been far from
+hitting the mark. The monarch under whose authority the whole machine
+moves is not necessarily the directing will: indeed he is very often
+little better than a puppet. "The eunuchs, concubines, and play-actors,
+who constituted the Court of the late Emperor Hsien-fêng, the father of
+the present young emperor, had more influence probably in bringing on
+the war that led the Allies to Peking than any of the high officers or
+Ministers," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock in 1871. Another writer put it in
+a more paradoxical form: "There is in China something more powerful than
+the Emperor, and that is the Viceroy; more powerful than the Viceroy,
+and that is the Taotai; more powerful than the Taotai, and that is the
+Weiyuen," meaning that the power of obstruction, extending through every
+grade of officialdom, is most widely diffused at the base. Official
+responsibility and moral responsibility do not therefore coincide--men
+in highest positions being unable to do the things they would, while the
+things they would not they are often obliged to do. The Government is
+consequently carried on by continual compromise beyond the limits to which
+we are accustomed in Western Governments, because it is not confronted
+with outspoken opposition with which it can reason, but with a network
+of secret machinations which can only be met by correlative tactics. But
+though Government in China may seem by this state of things to be reduced
+to an almost passive condition, yet the individuality of statesmen is
+not altogether destroyed. In some respects, indeed, the circumstances
+we have noted rather favour the influence of men of mark; for where the
+complicated machine is held in a state of equilibrium by innumerable
+neutralising checks, it would appear that any determined will could set
+it in motion in a given direction. The character of Chinese statesmen,
+therefore, is not a factor to be ignored in considering either the present
+or the future of China, although the very partial knowledge of them which
+is accessible to Europeans must constantly lead to erroneous conclusions.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Of the statesmen who have appeared since the opening of Peking in 1860,
+it would probably be fair to consider the two emperors as negligible
+quantities. The potent personage in the empire during that period is
+no doubt the Empress-dowager, who has, in so far as any one can be
+said to have done so, ruled China for forty years. Apart from ethical
+considerations, which have less to do with matters of government than
+could be wished, the empress's characteristics are clearness of purpose,
+strength of will, a ready accommodation of means to ends, and frank
+acceptance of the inevitable. There are no signs of the bigot or the
+doctrinaire about her. Mundane in her objects, she is practical in seeking
+them; and if to hold an entirely anomalous position of authority opposed
+to legitimacy and the traditions of the dynasty and the empire be evidence
+of success, then the empress-dowager must be admitted to be a successful
+woman. In the position she has occupied, and still occupies, she would
+appear to be the principal force in the State. Whatever may be her power
+of initiative, which is so attenuated in the high State functionaries,
+her power of veto probably stands pre-eminent.
+
+The anomalous relations which have subsisted between the empress-dowager
+and her imperial nephew are too intricate for us to attempt to unravel
+them. But the facts resulting from them, which are patent to the world,
+point to conditions which are not without danger to the empire. Indeed
+the Emperor himself constituted such a danger from the moment when as
+an infant he was placed on the Dragon Throne by usurped authority. His
+personal imperfections added materially to that danger, and his final
+efforts to free himself from the leading-strings of his patroness have
+indefinitely enhanced the evil by destroying the personal prestige
+of the sovereign. For what can be thought of a Son of Heaven who has
+his prerogatives doled out to him and again withdrawn by the will of
+another, and where is the force to meet the crisis in the State which
+may yet result from the illegitimacy of the emperors succession? The
+worship accorded throughout the empire to the Son of Heaven may indeed be
+transferred unimpaired to a new possessor of that dignity. But a reigning
+emperor shorn of his governing faculty must, one would think, put the
+allegiance of the people to a severe strain. How far such considerations
+may go in weakening the ties of loyalty in the provinces and in letting
+loose the spectre of rebellion cannot be known, but it may be guessed and
+feared.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Leaving out the Camarilla of the Court, of whom nothing certain can
+be predicated, the executive statesmen who have to outward appearance
+directed the public affairs of the Chinese empire for forty years may
+almost be counted on the fingers of one hand. Prince Kung, the highest in
+station and nearest to the throne, was rather a moderating than an active
+force in the State, and his attention was very much divided between public
+affairs and those of more personal concern. His colleague, Wênsiang, was a
+more energetic character. By common consent he was the most conscientious
+as well as the most liberal-minded statesman that China has produced
+during the sixty years of foreign intercourse. Mr Adkins, who knew him
+intimately in the early days, says: "He was courteous in manner and a
+lively conversationalist. He once told me over the teacups that, if he
+could have his will, every brick and stone of Hongkong city should be torn
+down and thrown into the sea." This was not the kind of language he held
+at a later period; for, in a private interview with Sir Rutherford Alcock
+in 1869, while admitting the hostility of his class and that he himself
+had originally shared all their prejudices, he declared that his long and
+intimate relations with the foreign Legations had opened his eyes to the
+favourable side of the foreign character and progressive policy. Perhaps
+the best account of this Manchu statesman is that given by Sir Rutherford
+Alcock himself in an article in 'Fraser's Magazine,' 1871:--
+
+    Wênsiang is by far the most distinguished, both from his superior
+    knowledge and his intellectual grasp of the position occupied
+    by China in its relations with foreign States.... As a member of
+    the Grand Secretariat, and vested with other high functions, his
+    influence is very great, both personal and official--subject,
+    nevertheless, to such attenuation as the active hostility of a
+    very powerful party of anti-foreign functionaries within and
+    without the palace can effect. This party, if party that can
+    properly be called which is composed of nearly the whole of
+    the educated classes of the empire--officials, literati, and
+    gentry--are unceasing in their opposition to all progressive
+    measures, whether emanating from the Foreign Board or elsewhere.
+    But Wênsiang is held in especial hatred as the known advocate of a
+    policy of progressive improvement with foreign aid and appliances.
+    The failure of the Lay-Osborn fleet very nearly effected his ruin,
+    and that of his patron the prince [Kung] also, and has ever since
+    told against his influence. The cost and humiliation of that most
+    disastrous experiment were all visited on his head, and it has no
+    doubt tended not solely to impair his power, but also to render
+    him more timid and less disposed to make any further venture in
+    the same direction. He has the reputation among his own people of
+    being honest, and foreigners know him to be patriotic and earnest
+    in what he believes to be for the good of his country, while
+    far in advance of all his contemporaries in enlightened views
+    as to how in the actual situation of affairs that end may best
+    be served. Upon occasions he can be both bitter and sarcastic,
+    and speaks out his mind plainly enough against the pretensions
+    of foreigners to shape everything to their own ends in China. He
+    nevertheless gets little credit from the opposite faction for
+    patriotism or a disinterested love of his country, and of late
+    there has been remarked, with failing health, an expression of
+    weariness, as if he were losing heart and hope, and began to feel
+    unequal to any further struggle. With the ever-increasing demands
+    for better execution of treaties--in things often materially and
+    legally impossible in the present state of affairs, for larger
+    facilities and increased privileges on the foreign side, and
+    the gathering of hostile elements in front and all round him
+    proceeding from the Chinese national party, who would refuse
+    everything, and, if left to themselves, precipitate the country
+    into another war with the Western Powers, he may well feel weary.
+
+Wênsiang, in short, suffered the fate of those who are too liberal and
+too far advanced for their surroundings, and became a martyr to his own
+disappointment. Old before his time, and overwhelmed with difficulties
+which he was unable to surmount, his mind became depressed, and his death
+in 1876 cost China the ablest, the best, and most devoted of her public
+men. No doubt there have been good and well-meaning men since his time,
+both in the Tsungli-Yamên, the Great Council, and in the provincial
+governments; but none of them has shown any quality of leadership, and
+all have for the most part been content with the maxim, "Sufficient for
+the day is the evil thereof."
+
+The comparatively early death of Hu Lin-yi, a Hunanese, Governor of the
+province of Hupei, who, in conjunction with Kuanwen, the Governor-General
+of the Hu provinces, originated the scheme for repressing the Taiping
+rebellion, prevented him from receiving the credit of that notable
+achievement. The institutions of the country paralysed its defence, for
+a provincial army was an object of dread to the Manchu rulers, while they
+possessed no imperial organisation to cope with the calamity. No attempt,
+therefore, could be made to organise a force to resist the rebellion,
+and so the devastation was allowed to spread from province to province
+without check. Hu Lin-yi set himself to overcome this difficulty, and
+thought out a scheme by which the rebellion might be overcome. Before
+taking any action, however, it was necessary that he should bring the
+Peking Government to his views, which he accomplished by first converting
+the Governor-General, who was a Manchu. The two thereupon joined in a
+memorial to the throne, praying that they might be permitted to raise in
+the Central Provinces a mobile military force to repel the invasion of
+the insurgents.
+
+The nucleus of this force already existed in the province of Hunan, where
+volunteer levies under the leadership of Tsêng Kwo-fan, the father of the
+late Marquis Tsêng, Minister to Great Britain, had done good service in
+several small engagements with the rebels. The execution of the general
+scheme of defence against the rebels fell naturally, therefore, to the
+lot of Tsêng, who during his subsequent governor-generalship of the Lower
+Yangtze had the honour of putting an end to the ravages of the Taipings.
+No man was held in higher esteem among the counsellors of the Chinese
+empire than this sagacious statesman. At once moderate and resolute, he
+perceived the need of accommodation to the exigencies of the new time, and
+though he would have resisted the ingress of foreigners to the uttermost,
+he had the wisdom to see that this was no longer possible, and the advice
+tendered to his sovereign, while tempered to the susceptibilities of the
+Court, was distinctly in favour of respecting the treaties and avoiding
+conflict with foreign nations.
+
+A contemporary of Tsêng Kwo-fan, and his equal in rank and authority,
+was Tso Tsung-tang, best known as the Conqueror of Kashgar, where he was
+credited with military exploits which history will scarcely ratify. He
+was a thoroughgoing man, blunt in manner, but straightforward, and loyal
+to his engagements. He was somewhat rash and uncompromising, seeking the
+end sometimes without considering the means, and his opinion on matters of
+State would have carried no weight but for his reputation for exemption
+from the prevailing vice of his class--financial corruption. This
+character obtained him toleration for many originalities. On one occasion
+he camped outside the walls of Peking for several days because he refused
+to pay the customary exactions of the officials in charge of the gates,
+so that his audience of the emperor seemed likely to be indefinitely
+postponed. But high officials in China of austere views have usually a
+man of business in attendance who oils the wheels while saving the face
+of their master. Tso's money matters were in the hands of a very politic
+gentleman of this class, and so the Grand Secretary's entry into the city
+was duly arranged. Tso had a lofty idea of the dignity of his country,
+and of the necessity for its defending itself against all enemies.
+To this end he threw his energies into the development of the arsenal
+and shipbuilding-yard at the Pagoda anchorage in the Foochow river. He
+was generally considered an opponent of his younger contemporary, Li
+Hung-chang, the one being held to stand for the old conservatism of China,
+and the other for its liberalisation. They were for many years the two
+chief provincials, the one being Imperial Commissioner for the southern
+and the other for the northern ports of China. It was customary for the
+emperor to refer important questions connected with foreign affairs to
+these two advisers, whose opinions must very often have neutralised each
+other. In the end Tso recognised the necessity for a change of policy for
+the preservation of the empire, but being himself too old to change he
+recommended his rival, Li Hung-chang, to the Throne as the fitting man to
+introduce needed innovations. If the records are to be implicitly trusted
+Tso would appear to have undergone a sort of death-bed repentance, for
+in his political testament, a document which is regarded with a kind of
+sacred authority in China, he recommended to the throne the improvements
+he had steadfastly opposed, including even the introduction of railways
+into the country.
+
+Although out of the chronological order, we may mention here another
+eminent official, distinguished by many of the characteristics of
+Tso Tsung-tang, who has been Governor of the province of Shansi,
+Governor-General of the Canton provinces, and is now Governor-General of
+the central provinces. Wherever he has been, Chang Chih-tung has proved
+himself bold and original. His open mind has led him to take up schemes
+warmly without counting the cost, and under his inspiration immense sums
+have been spent in both his viceroyalties for which but little return
+was obtained, and of which indeed it was scarcely possible to render a
+clear account. His reputation for purity, however, has saved him from
+the consequences of his recklessness, both in the eyes of the people and
+of the Government, and enabled him to hold office long enough to show
+some results of his expensive enterprises. The great ironworks which he
+set up in Hanyang, with very little consideration as to how they were to
+become effective, have at last produced iron of a quality sufficient to
+make inferior rails, thus giving an earnest of the ultimate realisation
+of his dream of rendering China independent of foreign countries. Chang's
+literary power is of a very high order, his style is terse and incisive,
+and this is a weapon which renders him formidable in a country which
+cultivates literature as a religion. To say that Chang Chih-tung is
+the opponent of foreigners is merely to credit him with the ordinary
+patriotism of his countrymen. But though he often treats strangers with
+the studied discourtesy which characterised the older generation of
+Chinese officials, he has never allowed his prejudices to stand in the
+way of free intercourse with any foreigner whom he thought he could make
+subservient to some purpose of his own. As a statesman Chang Chih-tung has
+failed through intensity and want of comprehensiveness. In fact he is not
+a statesman, but a sciolist, and a trenchant essayist, unaccustomed to
+accommodate his ideas to the circumstances of actual life. He, too, has
+been a bitter opponent of Li Hung-chang, which, however, did not hinder
+him from composing a most fulsome panegyric on that statesman on the
+occasion of his seventieth birthday, in which he was credited with all
+the attributes of all the heroes of Chinese mythology. The many fantastic
+schemes which Chang has originated would in any Western country have
+relegated their author to the custody of the Commissioners of Lunacy.
+One of these was to prevent foreign ships entering the Gulf of Pecheli
+by sinking tiers of junks between Shantung and Talien-wan; another was
+to catch the Japanese soldiers in a gigantic locust-trap, consisting of a
+deep trench to be dug at their supposed landing-place near Shanhai-kwan,
+and the fact of this proposal being seriously adopted and some miles
+of the trench actually dug by the Chinese soldiers reveals more of the
+military impotence of China than the most voluminous dissertations.
+
+Without carrying the exhaustive process further, it is safe to say that
+whatever concrete statesmanship there has been in China during the past
+generation has been embodied in the person of Li Hung-chang. He alone has
+a continuous record, has followed a definite line, and kept his ideals,
+like a captive balloon, strictly attached to the earth on which he had
+to work. He also was a literate of distinction, having taken the highest
+degree, that of the Hanlin College. But though his literary tastes have
+not been left wholly uncultivated, they have never intruded themselves
+into his conduct of affairs, so that an estimate of his position cannot
+be based upon his writings, but only on his actions. He indulged in no
+speculations, propounded no theories, but was eminently a man of fact.
+Contrary to all Chinese tradition he laid himself out for personal
+intercourse with foreigners, from whom he was never weary of learning, and
+in doing so he braved the odium of his peers, and incurred the charge of
+treason as a truckler to barbarians. Living in the eyes of the world, both
+of his own and foreign countries, for a period of nearly forty years, he
+has been the one familiar figure in modern China. His accessibility has
+afforded to travellers and visitors endless opportunities of delineation,
+so that if ever a Chinese of rank was known throughout the world it must
+be Li Hung-chang.
+
+The interest attaching to this statesman consists in his having in his
+own person, and without a party, stood between the Old World and the
+New, having devoted his life to working out in practice a _modus vivendi_
+between them. His methods have been wholly empirical and opportunist, and
+hence no synthesis of his plan of operations is available, except such as
+we may compose out of the facts themselves. A few cardinal principles,
+nevertheless, stand out clearly in the life-work of this statesman. One
+is that of reorganising the defensive forces of the empire in accordance
+with the lessons learned from foreign raids; a second has been so to
+observe the treaties made with foreigners as to afford them no ground
+for complaint; and a third, when causes of difference arose, whether
+by inadvertence or by design, to agree with the adversary quickly. The
+following out of the first two might very well have entailed upon Li the
+reproach of favouring foreigners; the following out of the third may with
+greater justice have earned for him the character of a peace-at-any-price
+man. So consistently did he follow the line of action dictated by these
+principles, that no attacks on foreigners or on Christian missions have
+ever been tolerated within his jurisdiction. During the twenty-four years
+of his governor-generalship of Chihli, whose population is one of the most
+turbulent in the empire, there was not a single missionary outrage, his
+instructions to his district officials being peremptory, that, right or
+wrong, they must have no questions with foreigners. Had the other viceroys
+been similarly minded and equally resolute, no attacks on missionaries
+would have been recorded throughout the Chinese Empire. Though Li
+Hung-chang was as much anti-foreign at heart as every true Chinaman
+must be, he endeavoured, crudely following the example of the Japanese,
+to employ foreign men and appliances in order the more effectually to
+resist them. His pacific tendencies were no proof of pusillanimity, but
+rather of a deep consciousness, derived from personal experience, of the
+incapacity of China to resist foreign attack. Li Hung-chang's external
+policy, therefore, may be defined as the strengthening of the country to
+meet invasion, and the avoidance, while such preparations were being made,
+of every cause of collision with foreigners. These cardinal points had to
+be kept in view, like guiding stars, amid the exigencies of daily affairs,
+which alone were sufficient to fill up the measure of one man's capacity.
+The administration of two populous provinces, the superintendency of the
+maritime trade of half the empire, and incessant consultations concerning
+imperial affairs generally, constituted a burden which no one man could
+bear. While to these were added the whole details of national defence,
+naval and military reorganisation, the construction of a navy on foreign
+lines, the whole of which was undertaken by Li Hung-chang, working not
+only without a party but practically without a staff, and at the mercy of
+technical advisers who owed him no allegiance. The briefest recapitulation
+of the duties so undertaken would be enough to stagger the credulity of
+the most active administrator of the West; the recital would suffice,
+without any proof from experience, to show that these labours of Hercules
+could never, in fact, be performed. But the difference between performance
+and non-performance marks the chasm which divides the Chinese from the
+Western world, and distinguishes the order of ideas and practice which
+make for the preservation, from those which tend to the disintegration,
+of the Chinese empire itself. The task from which the mass of Chinese
+statesmen have recoiled, and which has only been attempted in a persistent
+manner by Li Hung-chang himself, was probably beyond the power of any man
+and of any party.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+But here the inquiry suggests itself, why a strong-headed and
+practical-minded man should have devoted a lifetime to impossible
+achievements, and why in a nation of great intellects the task should
+have been virtually relegated to one man? The Chinese are not fools;
+their mental capacity is second to that of no other race. Their culture is
+excessive, though narrow; and if we find them exhibiting in great national
+affairs no more intelligence than that shown by children in building
+castles of sand, it is natural to conclude that there is some fundamental
+misconception either on their part or on ours of the problem before them.
+But if we consider the Chinese as belonging to the world of moral force,
+then their misconception of all that belongs to the world of physical
+force is not only explicable, but it is inevitable; for between the two
+there is no common ground on which even a compromise might be effected,
+and the one must eternally misunderstand the other.
+
+The burden of the memorials of the Chinese high functionaries on this
+subject have been that the Middle Kingdom being overcome by the brute
+force of the rebellious barbarians, the obvious way to restore the
+lapsed authority of the empire was to acquire the instruments of foreign
+strength. This they diligently set themselves to do, but apparently
+without the slightest comprehension of the secret of the strength of the
+foreigners. The Chinese being what they were, could no more win the secret
+of the Western power by buying its weapons than a musical tyro could hope
+to rival the greatest artistes by possessing himself of a Stradivarius.
+Guns, ships, explosives of the latest type, are worse than dummies without
+the organised human force that gives them life. The element which would
+have infused vitality into the new organisation was the one thing beyond
+their imagination, and so far as they did comprehend it, it inspired them
+with aversion and awe, for it meant in their eyes delivering the keys of
+power into the hands of strangers. What was needed to regenerate the army,
+to create a navy, to reform the finances, was the liberal importation
+of men. This necessity was no doubt partially perceived by Li Hung-chang
+and his like, but never entirely even by him; for he remained throughout
+the one-eyed man among the blind, groping after something which he could
+only guess at. Teachers from Europe and America were employed in the
+country, and natives were sent to foreign countries to be instructed;
+but the spirit of the new instruction was never allowed to vitalise the
+organisation, and consequently all the knowledge that was acquired by both
+methods remained barren and unfruitful. Thus Li Hung-chang's efforts fell
+short of their object, and China continued to be the land of moral force
+for the iron-shod physical forces to trample on.
+
+From the earliest period of his career Li Hung-chang stood out far in
+advance of his fellows, and in all the troubles which have beset the
+empire during his time, it is he who has been thrust into the breach and
+made to bear the brunt of its misfortunes. Being the only man who did
+anything, he was naturally made responsible for all, and critics, both
+foreign and native, have had an easy task in laying bare his failures,
+which his contemporaries have escaped by confining themselves to official
+routine and playing for their own safety. Though the burden of the State
+has fallen upon the shoulders of Li Hung-chang more than upon any other
+individual, he has never flinched from the responsibility. The occurrences
+of 1894 and subsequently threw him into greater prominence than ever
+before. Forced to carry on the war with Japan, during which the defences
+of the empire for which he was responsible completely broke down, he
+was next also forced to make peace with that Power on very humiliating
+conditions. Seldom was a more pathetic scene witnessed than the virtual
+controller of the Chinese empire lying at the feet of a victorious enemy
+in a foreign country, with the bullet of an assassin in his cheek. More
+tragic still was his return to the capital with the treaty of Shimonoseki.
+An intense feeling against Li had been roused throughout the country. The
+provincial officials with singular unanimity denounced his treachery as
+they considered it, for the treaty was in their eyes no less disgraceful
+than the conduct of the war, for both of which Li alone was deemed
+responsible. The sentiment of the provinces was echoed in Peking, where
+his enemies in high places had almost secured the capital punishment of
+the negotiator, and failing that, his assassination, from which fate he
+was only saved by the veto of Prince Kung and the subsequent protection
+of the empress-dowager. He was also in an important sense under the
+protection of Russia, that Power having undertaken to hold him harmless
+from the consequences of his surrender to the Japanese. In order to take
+him out of the way of the conspiracies in Peking, Russia requested that
+an Imperial prince might be sent to the coronation ceremony in 1896.
+That being impossible by the laws of the empire, which Russia very well
+knew, a substitute of the highest rank had to be found, and thus Li
+Hung-chang was designated, by the approval of the empress-dowager and by
+the consent--reluctant it is believed--of the Emperor, for the mission
+of congratulation to the Czar. After the festivities at Moscow, Li made
+the tour of Europe and the United States, meeting everywhere with a
+distinguished reception.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [29] Village Life in China. By Arthur Smith, D.D.
+
+ [30] An ingenious friend, who was kind enough to read this passage
+    in MS., sent me the following suggestive note: "King Solomon was a
+    thorough Chinaman, crafty, gaining the throne although the fourth
+    and youngest son of his mother; killing off the kingdom-maker,
+    Joab, and murdering the lawful heir, Adonijah. His fondness for
+    pomp and joss pidjin, witness the Queen of Sheba and the Temple;
+    love of trade, his ventures with King Hiram to Ophir. His apathy
+    in military affairs, leading to the breaking up of the empire.
+    His love of sententious maxims, Proverbs. His truly Chinese and
+    non-Hebrew syncretism, worshipping Ashtoreth, Moloch, and Chemosh,
+    as well as Jehovah. Now David, judging by the weak characters of
+    his children, was, like many famous men in history, the reverse of
+    prepotent. Solomon was a son of erewhile widow Bathsheba. Uriah
+    being a Hittite, she was presumably one also. So Solomon would
+    be practically a Hittite--i.e., Mongolian or Tartar; a striking
+    example of the newly-named but long-observed phenomenon called
+    telegony or 'throwing back.' Solomon 'threw back' to the first
+    sire, Uriah."
+
+ [31] "The boasted influence that the Government of China possesses
+    over its subjects is almost entirely _moral_, and they really do
+    not possess the power to cope with a popular tumult, which is the
+    object of their greatest dread."--H. Parkes, at Foochow, May 1,
+    1846, _æt._ seventeen.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+CHINA'S AWAKENING.
+
+    Prestige gained, 1880-90--Yields to Japan in Korea while
+    reasserting full suzerainty--The lessons of adversity--Schemes for
+    naval and military reforms--Purchase and manufacture--Provincial
+    system antagonistic to reform--Li Hung-Chang's efforts--Faithful
+    service of foreign experts--Drill-instructors--Creation of a
+    navy--Coast fortification--Superior efficiency of navy compared
+    with army--Corruption and nepotism--Awakening of China apparent,
+    not real.
+
+
+The service of the navy in the conveyance of troops and of a special
+envoy to Korea in 1882 was the first which that luckless force was able
+to render to China. The service was repeated on two other occasions:
+when a High Commissioner was sent on a mission of imperial condolence
+in 1890, and again when an assassin was rescued from the revenge of
+counter-assassins and conveyed safely from China to Korea in 1894. The
+little kingdom thus played a considerable part in the awakening scenes of
+the suzerain empire.
+
+On a retrospective view, indeed, it would appear that during the period
+in question China passed the culminating-point in her efforts to regain
+national prestige. She had just asserted herself in an unexpected manner
+in her dealings with Russia, playing a very different part in regard to
+her distant and worthless possessions in the north-west from what she
+had done twenty years before in regard to the integral part of her proper
+territories in the north-east, which she had surrendered with scarcely a
+protest. The world began to respect China as a power. Her decisive action
+in Korea showed that she was no longer disposed to permit her neighbours
+to trifle with the question of her suzerainty in that kingdom, and for
+ten years she was pre-eminent there in fact as well as of right. Yet
+with a significant qualification. For, being challenged by Japan while at
+war with France in 1885, she was unable to vindicate her sole supremacy
+in Korea, and was constrained to admit her rival into partnership. Thus
+was the first irrevocable step taken towards the future realisation
+of the Japanese designs on the peninsula. A _condominium_ must ever be
+destructive to the policy of the less energetic member, and the treaty
+concluded between Li Hung-chang and Count Ito in 1885 was the fatal
+prelude to the events of ten years later. As the treaties granting to
+Russia a coequal right of navigating the Amur and a joint ownership of
+the Usuri province constituted the virtual surrender of Chinese rights,
+so any treaty with Japan, no matter on what conditions, respecting Korea,
+was a virtual abdication of the Chinese suzerainty. The right in common
+to send troops into Korea on notice given could have no other effect than
+to deliver up the kingdom to the Power which was the most alert in taking
+advantage of the agreement. In giving up half her rights China retreated
+from an inexpugnable position, and left herself no footing for defending
+the remaining half, when its turn came to be assailed.
+
+But with the irony which is the very pathos of human and national decline,
+the outward pretence to authority became more demonstrative as the
+substance of the claim slipped away. Not for two hundred and fifty years
+had China asserted her prerogative with such uncompromising arrogance
+as when she sent an imperial mission of condolence to the royal Court in
+1890, years after the keystone of her Korean arch had been pulled away. It
+was also about this period that the Chinese Minister to England lent his
+name to a manifesto warning the world of the coming resurrection of China.
+"The sleep and the awakening" strictly followed the law above alluded to,
+that hollowness, not solidity, makes the loudest sound.
+
+But so many interests are now inextricably interwoven with the destinies
+of China that her effort at reform and its failure compel us to give
+attention to the opening of a new chapter in the world's history. The
+humiliating foreign invasions, the three rebellions that shook the
+empire, and the numerous minor risings, had all left their impression.
+The lessons taught by these adversities had been taken to heart, and
+the rulers of the empire were called upon to devise a remedy. The first
+and most obvious desideratum was, of course, naval and military reform,
+or rather regeneration, whereby they might be strengthened to speak
+with their enemies in the gates. On this subject Chinese statesmen were
+absolutely at one with their officious foreign advisers: it was a subject
+which inspired many of the early homilies of the British Minister, if no
+others. There was, however, this essential difference in the conception of
+the means of carrying out the reform, that the foreign advisers of China
+were completely prepossessed by the notion that an imperial executive,
+if it did not exist, must be promptly created, while nothing was further
+from the imagination of the Chinese. They were entirely prepossessed
+by their tradition and the state of things actually existing, which
+they did not dream of changing. That was the provincial system on which
+the administration of the empire rested. The fiasco of the Lay-Osborn
+flotilla, which was the first crude attempt to mix the oil and vinegar
+of the two conflicting systems, revealed the fundamental, irreconcilable
+divergence between the two sets of ideas, which rendered all advice
+from the one side to the other futile, and co-operation impossible. That
+palpable failure of the Central Government was calculated to discourage
+fresh innovations from the same quarter, and the incident was constantly
+referred to by diplomatists as having blighted the promising career of
+Wênsiang as a reformer, he being the minister personally responsible for
+the scheme.
+
+The Chinese, nevertheless, proceeded according to their own lights to set
+their house in order in so far as its defensive services were concerned.
+The successful employment of foreign arms and foreign auxiliaries in the
+suppression of the Taiping rebellion showed them the way. It was a natural
+but a fatal error, which the Chinese have not to this day abjured, to
+attach too much importance to the arms, and too little to the man using
+them. They accordingly commenced in a rather wild and wayward manner to
+buy weapons and munitions, and then to set up in their own country the
+means of manufacturing the simpler kinds. The chief promoter, if not the
+originator, of these novelties was Li Hung-chang, who continued to be the
+presiding genius of military and naval reform, no matter in what province
+his official duties happened to lie. The personal authority wielded by
+the Grand Secretary in provinces beyond his own government was really
+a step towards centralisation of the executive, and with time and an
+adequate succession of followers in the same path there is no telling what
+changes in the Government system might not have been evolved from such a
+nucleus. But the one-man power was unequal to any great result; it also
+weakened with age, opposition, and discouragement. The actual reforms
+inaugurated remained strictly provincial, and even local. There was no
+evidence of initiative or supervision from the Central Government. The
+nearest approach to it was the establishment of an arsenal at Tientsin by
+Chunghou, the first superintendent of trade for the northern ports, and a
+member of the imperial clan. It would almost appear as if the Government
+had no concern with the more distant parts of the country, and the strange
+anomaly presented itself to the onlookers of large sums being expended on
+the most modern artillery and in the manufacture of thousands of arms of
+precision while the Peking field force was equipped with bows and arrows.
+
+There came a time at last when the necessity of some kind of
+centralisation was forced on the Government. It was after Prince Kung had
+been sent into retirement in 1884, when his younger brother, the father of
+the emperor, had decided to "come out" and take a part in the executive
+government, and especially after Prince Ch'un had made a short cruise in
+salt water in 1886, that a Naval Board was established in Peking itself
+with the prince at its head. The institution was of course laughed at,
+as the beginnings of things usually are, and its inefficiency was indeed
+glaring enough. It would have taken a generation in slow-moving China for
+such a board to have learned the rudiments of its duties.
+
+What we are at the moment concerned with is the naval and military reform
+of the twenty-five years preceding the advent of Prince Ch'un to power. In
+the purchase of war material no single system was followed. The provincial
+rulers at Canton, Foochow, Nanking, and Tientsin no doubt had to sanction
+what was done within their respective provinces--a check which might be
+perfunctory or conscientious--but practically the management was in the
+hands of subordinate officials without knowledge or training or visible
+responsibility. As in war each Chinese regiment fights for its own hand,
+or runs away as the case may be, so in the supply of arms each local
+official did pretty much what seemed right in his own eyes. Hence the
+heterogeneous composition of _matériel_, one small body of troops carrying
+in a campaign thirteen different patterns of rifle, with ammunition still
+more curiously diversified.
+
+Concerning the arsenals established under the auspices of the various
+governors-general from Canton even to Kirin in Manchuria, and under
+the technical management of foreigners, the most remarkable point to
+be noted--and it applies generally to the employment of foreigners in
+China--is the faithful service the Chinese have been able to command in
+circumstances where it was hardly to be expected. An ignorant employer and
+an expert employee is a combination apt to engender the worst abuses, and
+the way the Chinese selected their foreign executive--a marine engineer
+here, a surgeon of a marching regiment there, a naval lieutenant somewhere
+else--was not the way, one would have thought, to obtain either honesty
+or efficiency. Yet the foreigners selected either possessed or acquired
+adequate qualifications, and one and all rendered devoted service to
+their employers. The position of these foreigners, however, never was or
+could be one of authority: whatever they did was under the orders of their
+Chinese superior, who was often too ignorant to weigh the reasons for what
+was done. In course of time the natives themselves became more instructed,
+but whether their half-knowledge was a help or a hindrance to the work of
+their foreign experts is problematical. Of the quality or quantity of the
+_matériel_ turned out in the various Chinese arsenals it were useless to
+speak. It produced an illusory sense of security, and for a time imposed
+equally on native and foreigner.
+
+Nor was training entirely neglected. Drill-masters were engaged. Schools
+were established in connection with the arsenals, where naval instruction
+especially was carried to a high standard. Students sent to Europe
+proved themselves most apt to assimilate the instruction given to them.
+Of those who distinguished themselves at Greenwich may be mentioned the
+present Minister to the Court of St James's. Cadets were also received
+into the British navy, and some very expert officers were turned out by
+these means. A large number of youths were at one time selected to be
+educated in the United States, remaining there long enough to learn to
+read and write English, and to become enamoured of Western life. This
+educational experiment was interesting in many ways. The youths who were
+sent to America under the care and at the instigation of the Cantonese,
+Yung Wing, who had himself been educated in the United States, were
+domiciled for the most part with private families there; and they so
+imbibed the influence of their surroundings that a high sense of honour
+was developed in them. The writer can speak from personal experience of
+the fidelity and efficiency of some of these students. Captain Clayson,
+who had several serving under him in the "Peiyang Squadron," has said that
+although on their return to China the authorities had distributed them in
+services other than those for which they had been trained, yet because
+of the school discipline they had been subjected to, and the sense of
+honour developed by their contact with Western people, he found them far
+more useful and trustworthy than the men who had been trained in Chinese
+naval schools. This experience seems to suggest that there are good moral
+qualities of the Chinese waiting, like the mineral ores in their country,
+for an awakening influence. In all these progressive efforts Li Hung-chang
+retained the lead, and his own province was well in advance in educational
+enterprises. Besides a military school with German, and a naval school
+with English, instructors, he set up within a mile of his Yamên a fairly
+furnished medical school with a hospital attached. His special corps of
+foreign-drilled troops was the best equipped and best disciplined force
+in the empire.
+
+While all this progress was being made in the direction of military
+efficiency, the naval requirements of the country were not neglected. The
+failure of the undigested Lay-Osborn scheme showed the Chinese that the
+naval problem must be attacked in a different fashion. It was a false
+start, and they must begin again. Accordingly, profiting by what they
+had heard and seen of the efficient service rendered in their narrow
+waters by foreign gunboats, the Chinese Government contracted with the
+Armstrong firm for a small flotilla carrying one heavy gun with a wide
+range of fire. These craft were little more than floating gun-carriages;
+but notwithstanding broad beam and flat bottoms, they were moderately
+sea-worthy. They were known as the Alphabeticals, from being named after
+the Greek letters. This modest flotilla was the nucleus of the Chinese
+navy.
+
+Attempts at naval construction were made at Shanghai, Foochow, and Canton;
+but beyond providing work and training for native artificers, and acting
+occasionally as transports on a small scale, despatch-carriers, and
+official yachts, the vessels turned out from native yards rendered no
+service to the country. The Chinese navy as a potential military arm only
+took shape when Li Hung-chang was able to carry the Government with him so
+far as to purchase effective war-ships in Europe, to institute a system of
+training under competent foreign officers, and to establish naval harbours
+with docks and workshops. Two iron-clad battleships, a respectable
+squadron of cruisers, and some smaller craft, manned by trained crews and
+officered by men who had received a regular naval education and perfectly
+understood their duties, constituted the fighting navy of China. The two
+English officers who supervised the training, Captain Tracy at Foochow
+and Captain Lang in the Gulf of Pechili, were thoroughly satisfied with
+the capacity of both officers and men, and what was distinguished as the
+Peiyang or Northern Squadron was brought up by the latter officer to such
+a state of efficiency that he reckoned that a further two years' drill
+would enable the Chinese to take its place, on a small scale, among the
+best equipped fleets in the world.
+
+And while the navy was developing so satisfactorily, coast fortifications
+also made great progress. The mouths of rivers were all defended by
+the best modern guns; three naval ports in the Gulf of Pechili--Port
+Arthur, Weihai-wei, and Talien-wan--were fortified at great expense,
+and everything externally evinced a determination on the part of China
+to place herself in a position of independence, delivered from the fear
+of foreign attack, except of course by land, and even that had been
+partially provided for, as we have seen, by the military establishments
+in Manchuria.
+
+Between the naval and the military preparations, however, there was an
+immense disparity. The force for which Li Hung-chang was personally
+responsible was carefully drilled, armed, fed, and paid, and, given
+competent leading, would no doubt have rendered a good account of
+itself; but the army as a whole was never brought to a state approaching
+efficiency. The navy, on the other hand, possessed the best ships and the
+best armament that money could buy, with the most modern appliances for
+war, and its _personnel_ was subjected to the most careful discipline.
+The fortress guns were also of the newest and best pattern, and nothing
+was spared, apparently, to fit them for the purpose for which they were
+intended. It was generally conceded that the fortresses so armed were safe
+from attack by sea.
+
+The explanation of the great difference between the organisation of
+the sea and the land forces seems to be that the former, being a new
+creation, was beyond the range of criticism and was unhampered by any
+traditions, while the reform of the army was merely patching a worn-out
+garment. The immemorial conditions of military service were unchanged.
+No army was formed, but a series of local levies raised without cohesion
+or central control. The foreign instructors were kept strictly to their
+class-work, were subordinated to the people whom they had to instruct,
+and possessed no kind of authority. They were allowed to drill the men,
+while the officers for the most part held themselves above the drudgery
+of the parade-ground. The few who had acquired a smattering of military
+education in Europe were as helpless as the foreign drill-masters to move
+their wholly ignorant superiors. Hence abuses of the most grotesque kind
+did not creep but rushed into every camp and every school, reducing the
+scientific teaching to a hollow farce.
+
+The familiar factors of peculation and nepotism had an important influence
+on these naval and military developments in China. Such things are no
+monopoly of the Chinese. If corruption could ruin a State, it would not
+be necessary to look so far afield as China for national disasters. But
+the form which the vice takes in China has a determining effect on the
+administration quite irrespective of the waste of resources and diminution
+of efficiency which are common to corruption in all its forms. Thus if we
+have to reconcile the lavish purchases of material with the attenuation of
+_personnel_, we need only reflect that the former bring large emoluments
+with little labour to the official employed, while the training of men
+involves much work and little profit. Further, if we want an explanation
+of the infinite diversity of the arms which are furnished to the troops,
+we may find it in the excessive competition among officials for a share of
+the traffic, and the interest which the higher authorities have in passing
+without inspection what is purveyed by their subordinates.
+
+Nepotism in China is part and parcel of the family system, which is the
+palladium of the nation. Every military corps raised is essentially
+territorial; and if ever it is moved from one province to another,
+it looks to a territorial chief, and no stranger can command it. Li
+Hung-chang's disciplined troops, if not all of his own clan, were at
+least the natives of his province and spoke his dialect. His subordinate
+officials were blood relations and family adherents. It needs no argument
+to show how such a survival of feudalism militates against national
+organisation. Pure feudalism, indeed, would be less detrimental; for under
+it territorial exclusiveness would at least be balanced by territorial
+responsibility, but under the short-service system of China a governor
+or governor-general may during his three years' term throw everything
+into confusion and half ruin the finances of a province with which he is
+precluded from having any territorial tie, and then proceed to another and
+repeat the performance. The navy, though, as we have said, exempt from the
+incubus of tradition, was nevertheless unable to withstand the pressure of
+immemorial heredity. As the first and principal naval school happened to
+be at Foochow, it was natural that new battleships and cruisers should be
+officered and manned in the first instance by natives of Fukien province.
+The admiral, however, hailed from another province--that of Li Hung-chang.
+Though brave and capable, Admiral Ting was uneducated, and found it
+hard to hold his own among the captains and lieutenants who had been to
+Greenwich and could speak and write English, and some of them French.
+Neither the Chinese admiral nor the English co-admiral--who was led to
+believe he possessed authority, but was deceived--were able to repress
+the intrigues which ran riot among the Foochow officers,--intrigues having
+for their object the complete control of the fleet, the power of keeping
+out and admitting whom they chose without reference to qualifications,
+and the general determination to subordinate the naval service to
+their personal and family advantage. The presence of Captain Lang was a
+hindrance to their schemes, and they intrigued him out. But as the fleet
+belonged to the north, they were unable to exclude northern seamen from
+the country round Weihai-wei, who proved when the day of trial came the
+most intelligent and the staunchest force that China possessed.
+
+The Peiyang Squadron was the nearest approach to an imperial navy that
+China ever possessed, and yet it was so far provincial that it could not
+be sent into the central or southern waters without creating jealousy
+on the part of the local authorities, just as if it had been a foreign
+force. In 1891, when anti-foreign riots in various places on the Yangtze
+threatened to endanger the peace of the empire, the Imperial Government
+allowed foreign ships of war to proceed up the river for the purpose
+of preventing outbreaks rather than offend the susceptibilities of the
+provincial authorities by employing their own naval forces on that duty.
+During that critical period the Peiyang Squadron was cruising in Japanese
+waters while the Great River was being patrolled by foreign gunboats.
+
+These various evidences of martial energy procured for China the credit
+of a real awakening, and ensured her the respect due to a serious Power.
+Yet the unsoundness of the foundation on which her new prestige rested was
+no secret to any one who took the trouble to consider the facts, for all
+the weaknesses we have mentioned, with many more, were notorious to every
+foreign resident in China; nor was there a naval officer of any nation
+who did not regard the fighting value of the Chinese fleet as nothing.
+Ships were good, officers and men in themselves were passable, but without
+organisation, while the whole force was governed by other than militant
+principles. The attempted military reorganisation could, in fact, have no
+vitality except as a branch of a general reform of the administration,
+the keystone of which was fiscal. Of this, however, the Chinese rulers
+seemed to take no heed, contenting themselves with snatching at what
+was superficial and conspicuous to the eye. The Chinese florists in the
+spring-time supply to hawkers shrubs covered with blossom which is so
+cleverly attached by fine wire to the twigs as almost to deceive the
+elect. This is practically what the Chinese Government bad been doing with
+their national defences, so that on the first trial they collapsed like a
+sapless flower. These experiences have an important bearing on the large
+problem of Chinese reform and reorganisation, and indeed on the continued
+existence of the empire.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+THE COLLAPSE.
+
+    China clings to universal sovereignty--Demonstration of same
+    towards Korea--Irritating to Japanese--Their aspirations in
+    Korea--Insurrection in southern districts--Chinese troops sent
+    there--Japanese simultaneously occupy Korean capital--War between
+    China and Japan--China defeated--Causes and consequences--General
+    sympathy with Japan.
+
+
+We have seen that up to the end of 1892 the Chinese Government clung
+to the figment of universal sovereignty. Perhaps it was the figment
+that clung to them, they not knowing how to drop it. When they had,
+under stress, seemed to concede the principle of equality, it was not
+done heartily, but to serve a momentary purpose. Like a belligerent
+who continues a guerilla warfare after concluding peace, they fought
+inch by inch for the rags of the old prerogative after having by
+treaty surrendered it. It had been long predicted that their refusal
+or inability to bring their theories into agreement with patent facts,
+and to come into line with the Powers of the world, must lead to tragic
+consequences. Foreign nations laughed at the Chinese pretension as an
+innocent archaic survival. But those individuals to whose lot it fell,
+in their own persons, to suffer the continued humiliation which was a
+consequence of the survival, did not find the comedy of the situation
+quite so congenial. The high-spirited nation living in the closest
+neighbourhood to China, using its language and literature, was naturally
+more galled by the Chinese assumption than those distant peoples who
+only suffered in the persons of their diplomatic agents. Though it would
+be more than the evidence warrants to say that the pretension of the
+Chinese Government was directly provocative of the events of 1894, yet it
+is certain that it had a full share in filling the cup. Nowhere had the
+Chinese conception of supremacy been exemplified in a more uncompromising
+form than in her relations with Korea. Her position as suzerain was a
+reality. She had in times past defended her tributary at great cost, had
+marked the relationship by permanent monuments, and had maintained the
+rites necessary to keep her title alive. As late as 1890 the tributary
+formalities were repeated conspicuously before the world. In that year the
+"Grand" Queen-Dowager Chao of Korea died. According to custom the king
+despatched a messenger to Peking to report the death to his suzerain.
+The envoy presented his papers kneeling before the vice-president of the
+Board of Rites. He was the bearer of a petition from the king descanting
+on the miseries of his country, and expressing regret that, owing to the
+straitened circumstances of his Court, he might be unable to carry out
+all the ceremonies required for the entertainment of the usual mission
+of condolence from the emperor; therefore, as "an infant trusting to the
+tender mercies of his parents," the king begged that not a mission, but a
+message only, might be returned to him by the hands of his own envoy. The
+imperial decree in reply to this petition, while admitting the facts of
+the situation as set forth by the king, nevertheless announced that the
+customary usage must be maintained, only an important concession would
+be made to the poverty of Korea in the route which would be followed by
+the new mission. Previous envoys had made the whole journey between the
+two capitals by land, and after entering Korean territory they had to
+pass many stations in their slow march to the capital, involving much
+expense to the country through which they travelled. All this would be
+saved on the present occasion by the two commissioners travelling by sea,
+and landing at Chemulpo, a few miles only from the capital. The king had
+to submit to the modified burden, if such he really considered it. The
+ceremonies observed were elaborate and impressive. Frequent prostrations
+by Korean officials before the emperor's tablet, and before the Imperial
+Commissioners, introduced the proceedings; afterwards the king was taken
+charge of by the Chinese master of ceremonies, led through a complicated
+ritual, and told to bend, kneel, _kotow_, and stand erect at so many
+different stages that the mere reading of the official account of them
+is bewildering. The reporter's conclusion gives the gist of the whole
+ceremonial from the Chinese point of view: "The emperor's consideration
+for his vassal State as evinced by his thoughtfulness in matters
+pertaining to the mission is fathomless. How admirable and satisfactory!
+And how glorious!"
+
+All this was unexceptionably correct, and in its fantastic way expressed
+an actuality not to be contested. Yet to the Japanese, with their
+antagonistic policy, we can well understand that this renewed assertion
+of the Chinese suzerainty, after the convention of 1885, must have
+been highly irritating. Scarcely less so was the superior position
+habitually assigned to the Chinese Resident over all the other foreign
+representatives at the Korean Court. He alone at all times had the ear
+of the king; he was the only one privileged to enter the palace in his
+sedan chair, the others having to leave theirs at the gate and walk. While
+abstaining from interference in small things, the Chinese Resident did,
+in fact, direct the national policy of Korea so far as such a thing could
+be said to exist.
+
+As the affairs of Korea formed the occasion, if not the cause, of the
+Japanese War in 1894, it might seem desirable to refer once more to
+the troubles and misgovernment of that country. To explain them would
+be quite impossible, for to say that there are wheels within wheels,
+intrigue within intrigue, the whole revolving round a pivot of sordid
+corruption, is perhaps the only general account that can be given of the
+state of the Government and of its official hierarchy. But the conflict
+between China and Japan held on its way through the labyrinth of local
+intrigue, and eventually produced a result which, strange to say, seems
+never to have been anticipated by any one outside the Government circles
+of Japan. The energetic Chinese Resident at the Korean Court may perhaps
+have been needlessly ostentatious in asserting the legitimate paramountcy
+of China, but the aggression of the Japanese in various parts of the
+country, and the extravagant claims they founded upon these aggressions,
+really called for a champion of Korean independence, a function which Yuan
+Shih-kai[32] filled with considerable ability. The subordination of Korea
+to China was nowhere visible except in Court relations. The subjugation
+of the peninsula by the Japanese, on the other hand, was rapidly bringing
+the population itself into bondage to alien merchants, adventurers, and
+usurers, actively supported by their own Government. If they had had
+the patience to wait a few years, the Japanese must have won Korea by
+energetic infiltration alone.
+
+But these things did not move fast enough for the settled ambition
+of Japan, which she with diligence, unanimity, and wonderful secrecy
+determined to develop by force of arms. It would be idle to seek for
+the causes of the war elsewhere than in this forward national policy
+of Japan. Alert as she had been to seize every chance that offered of
+detaching Korea from her allegiance to China, her preparations were not
+sufficiently complete to justify her unmasking her whole policy until
+1894, when the grand opportunity for which she had been waiting, if she
+did not actively assist in bringing it about, presented itself. What
+proved to be an ill-advised interference of China in the internal affairs
+of Korea furnished the occasion. An insurrection had broken out in the
+southern part of the peninsula, and the king had no forces to put it
+down. Various versions had been circulated of the extent and character of
+the insurrection; but when it had continued for some time, and nothing
+was done to check it, the advisers of the Chinese Government became
+apprehensive of interference by some foreign Power for the restoration of
+order. Strangely enough, Japan was the very last quarter from which this
+danger was anticipated. The Chinese at length summoned resolution to send
+a force to the king's assistance to put down the insurrection, but whether
+the king in his heart desired this armed interference it is impossible
+for us to say.
+
+Li Hung-chang was personally opposed to any such expedition, and when
+goaded to action from Peking, where the bellicose spirit had been
+generated, he pointed out that no request had been received from the
+king. This omission was also remarked upon by the practical Admiral Ting,
+and both may have hoped that the absence of so important a link in the
+chain would enable them to avoid the overt action which they had the
+best grounds for deprecating. Such a hope, if it existed, was of brief
+duration; for the King of Korea was induced, by influences brought to
+bear on him, "to place himself in order" and implore his suzerain for
+assistance, which the suzerain could no longer withhold. Then was Li
+Hung-chang pressed by that body whose characteristic was the negation
+of initiative, the Tsungli-Yamên, and like a sluggish horse which once
+takes the bit in its teeth, the Yamên became as impatient for action as
+in all its previous history it had been resolute in evasion. When but a
+few days had elapsed since the issue of the order, and the troops were
+not yet embarked, the Ministers, quite ignorant of what was involved in
+sending a military force across the sea, began to jeer Li Hung-chang on
+his delay, hinting that he was perhaps growing stale with age. The troops
+were, nevertheless, despatched all too soon. On their landing at Yashan
+in Southern Korea, the insurrection immediately collapsed: such was the
+prestige of the imperial authority.
+
+In order to comply with the letter of the Li-Ito convention China
+notified Japan officially of the despatch of these troops, some 2000
+in all, and of the purpose for which they were sent. But Japan had no
+need to wait for any such formal intimation. She had her Intelligence
+Department, remarkably alert. Japanese--not perhaps always known as
+such--were employed in the Chinese official bureaus, even in the most
+confidential departments, while Japanese in disguise swarmed in all the
+military centres. The Chinese telegraph service has no secrets from any
+one who thinks it worth his while to possess them. Consequently every
+detail of the preparation, every point in the discussion, and every step
+in embarkation, was punctually telegraphed by the Japanese consul to the
+Foreign Office in Tokio. Hence it was that Japanese troops arrived in
+Korea simultaneously with the Chinese, only they numbered 10,000 against
+2000, and instead of being assigned to the region of the insurrection,
+in accordance with the provisions of the Li-Ito convention, they marched
+straight to the capital and took possession of the king. The insurrection
+having collapsed, the Chinese troops were under orders of withdrawal,
+and would have returned home in the same transports that conveyed them to
+Korea but for the unaccountable, and of course illegitimate, presence of
+Japanese troops at the capital. Notwithstanding the provocation to retain
+the Chinese troops in Korea as a counterbalance to those, five times more
+numerous, which had been sent by Japan, the Chinese authorities were
+advised by their best friends to recall their troops, even though the
+Japanese should thereby be apparently left in possession of the field.
+The Chinese would in that case have maintained an unassailably correct
+position, and Japan would have had to dispense with her pretexts for war.
+Evacuation by the Chinese had been actually decided upon, and the steamer
+Kowshing was chartered for the purpose of bringing back the troops. Before
+the measure was carried out, however, other counsels prevailed, and that
+very ship was employed in conveying more troops to reinforce the first
+expedition, and in the midst of pretended negotiations for an arrangement
+between the two Powers, the Japanese sank the Kowshing on the high sea
+with all on board.
+
+It is usual, as a matter of form, if nothing else, to assign some specific
+cause for a war; but though many able writers have essayed to explain
+the Japanese action in 1894, they have all of them left the question in
+greater obscurity than they found it. Nor did the formal declaration of
+war by the Mikado throw any light on the subject. A Japanese statesman
+being asked what the war was about, replied bluntly, "It is to defeat
+China," and the most elaborate exposition of motives or policy does
+not carry us perceptibly further than this concise and straightforward
+statement. The Chinese Government itself held precisely the same view as
+to the object of the war, though its perceptions were so obscured that
+it was quite unaware of its incapacity for defence. Neither did it during
+the actual progress of hostilities realise the cause of its defeat. Indeed
+there is no evidence to show that China has even to this day discovered
+the secret of her impotence.
+
+The course and immediate consequence of the war itself have been set forth
+in many books, and are so well known as to render it superfluous to enter
+into any detail here. A few general points only need be mentioned as a
+key to what followed.
+
+1. Russia took unusual pains to dissuade Japan from engaging in the war,
+pointing out in clear terms that her interests would not allow her to be
+an indifferent spectator of any changes on the continent of Asia.
+
+2. Great Britain next endeavoured to patch up the supposed quarrel--which
+could never be defined in words--between China and Japan, and on the
+day on which her agent in Tokio expressed himself confident that the
+differences, so far as he understood them, would be arranged without
+recourse to war, the British chartered transport Kowshing was sunk with
+1200 men on board.
+
+3. The solution of the question which would have reconciled the views
+of the four Powers more immediately concerned was the neutralisation of
+Korea. Great Britain, Russia, and Japan were of one mind on this subject,
+and China would have hailed such an escape from her chronic embarrassment
+respecting Korea. Why, then, was no attempt made to bring about such a
+solution? Want of co-ordination, it would appear; diplomatic paralysis.
+Though the views of each Power separately ascertained were identical,
+none of them would speak first, and there was no fifth party to assume the
+initiative in bringing them to a common understanding. The blame of this
+must be equally distributed, though in point of fact there were degrees
+of responsibility which it would be useless now to recall. It is only one
+example the more of the great gap which often yawns between professional
+diplomacy and practical politics.
+
+The issue of the war was a foregone conclusion, both by sea and land.
+China had no army, and the more numerous her levies the more helpless
+they were before a disciplined enemy. The navy failed precisely where
+it was expected to fail. It was an incomplete machine, neglected and
+in disorder, deficient in many essential things. Worst of all, there
+was no heart in it. Captain Lang, R.N., and other British officers had
+been expelled from the service through a conspiracy of the captains in
+1890, and thenceforth its deterioration became rapid. The efficiency of
+the navy for its main purpose was the last thing considered by the cabal.
+They relied absolutely on the diplomatic resources of Li Hung-chang to
+save them from any possible trial of strength, and refused to face an
+alternative even by way of argument. Bravery was by no means lacking in
+the ranks, nor professional education among the officers. There were some
+who had Nelson's maxims at the tip of their tongue, and there were some
+who added to a thorough naval training the spirit of devotion which makes
+heroes. But these qualities were isolated and incoherent; there was no
+tradition to render them fruitful, no martial spirit, no disgrace for
+the coward, no honour for the valiant. The fleet was a body, defective
+enough at that, but without a soul. The minds of the captains being set
+on quite other objects than the efficiency of their service, when the
+crisis threatened they were intent only on evading collisions. The valour
+of the admiral, the fine sense of duty of individual officers, and the
+fighting qualities of a considerable body of the seamen, were swamped
+in the prevailing pusillanimity of the service; the choice spirits were
+discouraged by the fatuous neglect at headquarters to supply the ordinary
+necessaries of warfare. It was the writer's fortune to make a passage in a
+Chinese protected cruiser in September 1894, a few days before the great
+naval action off the Yalu, and it was most pathetic to hear the defects
+pointed out by the captain and first lieutenant--defects in ammunition
+for the guns mounted, absence of gun crews, so that in action men would
+have to be taken from one gun to another and put to work for which they
+had no training, everywhere the ship spoiled for want of the ha'porth of
+tar. That particular vessel was not disgraced in the Yalu fight, but was
+brought into Port Arthur by the superhuman exertions of her officers,
+her iron deck beams twisted by the fire and her plates red hot. A second
+conversation with the captain and first lieutenant after the action
+was but a painful commentary on that of the week before. The one was
+prediction, the other fulfilment. Perhaps the state of the navy could not
+be more forcibly illustrated than by the fact that the fleet was led into
+action at the Yalu by a German military officer.
+
+China was indeed defeated, amid the applause of Europe and the whole
+world, and the primeval law of violence received a new consecration. This
+is the one outcome of the war which seems likely to leave a permanent
+impress on the surface of our civilisation, for the spontaneous outburst
+from the four corners of the earth cannot be referred to any venal or
+wire-pulling agency. There had been foreign wars in China before, wars
+entered upon after long discussion and accumulating causes of quarrel.
+Their merits divided the opinion of the world--they divided even the
+nations that waged them; and the opposition was on one occasion strong
+enough to overturn a British Government that had actually entered into
+hostilities against China. But in 1894 there was not a dissentient
+voice. The cause of the war was not known and not inquired into, the
+universal enthusiasm was simply for the victor, as such, without regard
+to anything but his military prowess. That was what the world fell down
+and worshipped. Not any righteous cause, or racial sympathy, or community
+of interest, inspired their acclamations; for none of these things were
+considered or understood by the masses who chorussed the triumph of the
+conqueror of China. English pens and tongues beyond all others urged
+the victorious Power to make crushing conditions of peace, and in the
+clamour traditional landmarks were forgotten. The policy of saving China,
+the great English milch cow, from destruction, which had been patiently
+followed by Great Britain for forty years, was thus suddenly submerged in
+a wave of warlike enthusiasm.
+
+Press-made feeling was both stronger and had more influence on the action
+of Government in England than in any other country. The war had upset
+the balance of power in Asia, but the press took no heed of that, and
+urged with conspicuous success that the Japanese should on no account
+be hindered in their seizure of the spoils. Other countries, keeping a
+cooler outlook on eventualities, were unable to regard the occupation of
+Liao-tung by Japanese forces with the equanimity with which it was viewed
+in England, though they made no objection to the enormous indemnities
+forced from China, which might indeed be philosophically regarded by
+them as a tax levied specially on British trade. Being threatened in her
+weakest frontier by this ambitious military Power, Russia had intimated
+before war began, in no ambiguous terms, that she could not tolerate
+such a neighbour, and on the conclusion of peace she took steps to give
+effect to that resolution. Russia had throughout the war been extremely
+nervous about the possible action of Great Britain, and would have gone
+considerable lengths to come to an understanding with her; but towards
+the end, when the pretensions of the Japanese began to assume extravagant
+dimensions, their moral effect on the Great Powers enabled her to dispense
+with English favour by drawing France and Germany to her support. The
+gravity of the Japanese demands was the factor that drew the three Powers
+together, and Li Hung-chang, when he went as envoy to Japan in March
+1895, assented to the indemnity and the surrender of territory on the
+assurance given him that the more excessive the conditions of peace he
+might be forced to sign, the more certain were they to be revised by
+the intervention of the Powers. The three Powers proved strong enough
+to induce Japan to give up Liao-tung for an increased indemnity, and
+the future of the Far East thus was arranged in conferences from which
+Great Britain had excluded herself. There were several reasons for
+the abstention of the British Government from taking a share in this
+settlement. One was the complete failure of their Intelligence Department
+before, during, and after the war. But the fervour of the nation in
+deprecating interference with the Japanese was a sufficient, and no doubt
+a welcome, warrant for the inaction of the Government. An experienced
+observer of English public life remarked afterwards that he had never
+known a situation in which the press, metropolitan and provincial, had
+displayed such entire unanimity and lavished such unmixed praise on the
+Government for its isolation. And yet it was a unanimity of nescience,
+of simple abdication, the surrender of a position in the Far East which
+had been built up for two generations on the permanent interests of the
+country, and which, sacrificed at the critical moment, is gone beyond
+recall. The "new diplomacy," uninstructed popular impulse, never had
+a freer field; for the Government which it dominated was scarcely more
+enlightened, and decidedly more apathetic, than the nation itself.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+  [Illustration: MINISTERS OF THE YAMÊN OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
+   H.E. Shên Kuei-fên.
+   H.E. Tung Hsün.
+   H.E. Mao Chang-tsi.
+   _From a photo by J. Thomson, Grosvenor Street, W._]
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [32] The same who is now governor of Shantung.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+THE RESETTLEMENT OF THE FAR EAST.
+
+    An unsettlement--Interference of Russia, Germany, and
+    France--China reduced to dependence--Disintegration
+    proceeds--France forces China to violate her treaties with
+    England--Russian approval--The loans pressed upon China--Russia
+    vetoes English loan, substituting a French one, Russia
+    standing security--Germany seizes Kiaochow--Russia seizes
+    Port-Arthur--England's remonstrance unheeded--A diplomatic
+    correspondence explained--British public aroused to importance of
+    the Far Eastern question--Call upon Government to take protective
+    action.
+
+
+It would perhaps be in stricter accordance with facts to describe
+what ensued on the Chinese collapse as a process of unsettlement than
+resettlement, since no man now living is likely to see the end of the
+dislocation effected by the transactions of 1895. The crude ingredients of
+national policy, stripped of the international decencies with which they
+were wont to be invested, were then thrown into the caldron; elementary
+forces, naked and undisguised, confronted each other; and the scramble
+which moderate men had hoped to see indefinitely postponed was entered
+into with the zest of a Cornish wrecking raid. The officious interference
+of quasi-friendly Powers to save the derelict empire from mutilation
+proved, according to unvarying experience, a remedy which was worse than
+the disease. Russia, Germany, and France proceeded to treat China as a
+No Man's Land; disintegration was the order of the day. The example was,
+of course, contagious. Other Powers, with no more substantial ground of
+claim than was afforded by the defencelessness of China, began whetting
+their knives to carve the moribund carcass.
+
+A momentous transformation had been effected in a few months. China now
+occupied the paradoxical position of a protected State without protection;
+of a sovereign State shorn of the power of fulfilling her obligations.
+To this impossible situation the Government itself had been an efficient
+contributor. During the progress of the war China had, of her own motion,
+thrown herself on the mercy of the world. Before all the Powers, great
+and small, with whom she had intercourse, she humbled herself in the dust,
+imploring them collectively, separately, or anyhow, to save her from her
+relentless foe. She, the titular mistress of the world, grovelled thus at
+the feet of Powers to whom she would not, even then, in plain words, have
+conceded equality. And when assistance eventually came it was imposed on
+her by external force. She could make no conditions.
+
+The revolution which the revised treaty of Shimonoseki effected in the
+international status of China was naturally first realised by those
+who had brought it about. China ceased to be a free agent; she became a
+vassal, and not to one Power only. And the intervening Powers lost no time
+in demonstrating the fact, France taking the lead. Within two months of
+the revision of the treaty of Shimonoseki the French Minister in Peking
+compelled China to sign a treaty granting to France large territorial
+concessions on which she had long had her eye, with commercial privileges
+never before granted to any Power. But the stipulations of the French
+convention were in open conflict with those of an existing treaty with
+this country, inasmuch as they gave to France a portion of the Shan
+States, which had been expressly reserved as a neutral zone in the treaty
+between China and Great Britain. The British Minister, pointing this out
+before the French treaty was concluded, protested against its signature.
+The Ministers of the Yamên admitted the justice of his contention, nor
+can it be said the protest was unheeded. With the Yamên it was a question
+solely of the balance of power, and feeling that the French force was the
+heaviest in the scale, they yielded to that and signed the treaty with
+France in direct violation of that which they had previously signed with
+Great Britain. As if to leave no ambiguity as to the true significance
+of the change of status which had come over China, the Russian Minister
+on the day following made a formal visit to the Tsungli-Yamên, with more
+than the customary display, to congratulate the Chinese Ministers on what
+they had done, and to assure them of the approval of his Government.
+
+This novel application of the law of force threw out of gear the whole
+system of Chinese national engagements, and was quite incompatible with
+normal diplomatic relations. Formerly the struggle had lain between China
+and all the Powers, her obligations to whom were observed in proportion
+to the amount of coercion applied by, or to be apprehended from, each.
+From this resulted a chronic demand for the fulfilment of agreements, and
+constant reclamations for non-fulfilment. But now the native reluctance
+to observe treaties was potentially reinforced by the action of foreign
+Powers in not only condoning, but explicitly insisting upon, China's
+violating her engagements.
+
+It may be that this species of _force majeure_ was not wholly unwelcome to
+the Chinese. It certainly widened the field for their favourite tactics
+of playing off one foreign Power against another. A better answer than
+heretofore was now available to all demands and remonstrances. "We should
+for our part be most happy to do as you desire, but--what would Russia
+say, what would France say?" Thus diplomacy in China at once degenerated
+into a "tug of war" contest, China herself being merely the rope which
+was pulled. She was virtually ruled out of the active management of her
+own affairs and became the _corpus vile_ for rival aggressors.
+
+Aggression sometimes assumed strange forms. One of the first which the
+treaty of peace with Japan developed was a remarkable competition in
+lending money to the Chinese. The indemnities to be paid to Japan were
+heavy, and it was obvious that China must borrow. But before she had time
+to take any step in that direction money was being thrust upon her. First
+in the ranks were English loan-mongers, who had had some experience in
+the business. Their negotiations were slow and halting; and when they
+had at last concluded a contract it was only to be told that Russia
+objected to the transaction, and required that China should borrow from
+French capitalists, who were willing to lend on the guarantee of Russia.
+The Chinese Government were absolutely passive, not willingly, but of
+necessity; they had not asked for the guarantee which Russia volunteered,
+and were quite willing to accept the loan of £16,000,000 sterling on
+the English terms. But Russia simply insisted on their taking the French
+money, under an ominous threat, while she herself stood security for the
+solvency of China, thereby assuming the position of first mortgagee on the
+revenues of that empire. That accomplished, Russia stipulated that China
+should contract no further loan for a period of six months.
+
+The precedent set by Russia and France of ignoring the Government of China
+as an efficient factor in negotiations respecting her territory or her
+obligations was followed to the letter by Germany when in November 1897
+she took possession of the most important naval harbour on the Chinese
+coast, with an adequate hinterland, carrying elastic rights extending over
+an immense area of country. Admiral von Diedrichs reduced the question
+of the acquisition to its very simplest expression. "Common-sense," he
+submitted to the Chinese commandant, "must tell you on which side the
+superior force lies, and therefore you would be wise to make way for me
+without resistance." With the prize in her hands, Germany next demanded
+a formal title to what she had seized, and instead of giving the German
+Minister his passports the Chinese Government granted the request.
+
+In this unceremonious manner was the new status of China embodied in
+monumental facts. She was the common victim, having no power to bind or
+loose save in accordance with the dictates of her masters. The Chinese
+Government seemed to have abdicated sovereign functions.
+
+After France and Germany it was Russia's turn to give tangible evidence of
+the real ascendancy she had gained over the Chinese Imperial Government.
+Hers was the only true mastery. The others might wrest provinces and
+extort concessions from a prostrate Government, but Russia alone reached
+the cerebral centre and controlled--so far as outward effect went--the
+volition of the organism. Negotiations, partly revealed in 1895, showed
+conclusively the scope and direction of her Chinese policy. It was
+profound and practical, continuing on the lines that had proved so
+successful in the past. The basis of it was an ostensible friendship for
+China, out of which grew a protective alliance, and the peculiar kind of
+partnership which had constituted the intermediate stage in the previous
+great territorial acquisitions of Russia. The joint right of the two
+Powers--to the exclusion of all others--to navigate the Amur and the
+Songari, and the joint possession of the Usuri territory--"details to be
+hereafter settled"--was now to be applied to the coast and harbours of
+Liao-tung, of which Russia was to have the use, afterwards defined in a
+treaty as the "usufruct." The gentlest methods were to be used, and so far
+as mere phrases were concerned, a matter on which the Chinese always were
+punctilious, the utmost consideration for their feelings was to be shown.
+Russia had two immediate objects in view, both of cardinal importance
+to her. The first was to obtain a terminus for the Great Siberian
+Railway more southerly than Vladivostock, which could only be obtained
+in Korean or Chinese territory. The second--the necessary corollary of
+the first--was to bring the territory through which the railway should
+run within the Russian administration. The sanction of China to a branch
+of the Siberian Railway being carried through Manchuria to a terminus
+on the Liao-tung littoral was formally given in conferences between
+Li Hung-chang and the Czar on the occasion of the coronation at Moscow
+in 1896. The details were afterwards developed in a way of which it is
+probable the Chinese Government had little foresight; but it would have
+made no difference, for to Russia nothing could be denied.
+
+Out of these comprehensive projects of Russia--projects which belonged
+to the very highest order of imperial statecraft--arose a strange unequal
+duel between Russian and British diplomacy, which has also left its mark
+on history. Her Majesty's Government and their agents abroad having been
+found wanting in the matter of information during the upheaval of the Far
+East, it appeared to be their _rôle_ to ignore and deny the facts upon
+which other Powers were acting. In particular the whole Russian scheme
+of utilising Chinese territory and controlling the Chinese Government was
+discredited with considerable vehemence. The consequence of this attitude
+of scepticism was that whatever Great Britain might resolve to do must be
+done in the dark. Assured by their agents in the Far East that the bay
+of Kiaochow was worthless, the British Government satisfied themselves
+that Germany had made a poor bargain in taking it. Dismissing as a
+phantasy the whole string of facts concerning Russia's plans, the British
+Government exposed themselves to collision with those plans, and received
+in consequence a series of diplomatic humiliations, entailing upon the
+country permanent disadvantages of a most substantial kind. Towards the
+end of 1898, soon after the German seizure of Kiaochow, a harbour which
+had also proved a convenient winter rendezvous for the Russian fleet, the
+announcement came from China that the latter had received permission from
+the Chinese Government to winter at Port Arthur on the opposite coast
+of Liao-tung. Thereupon a discussion was raised between London and St
+Petersburg concerning the prospective designs of Russia. This discussion
+was stamped from its origin with futility by previous communications with
+the Russian Government, the purport of which was inferred from a speech by
+Mr Balfour in February 1896. On that occasion he declared that the British
+Government would not only not oppose, but would hail with satisfaction,
+the acquisition by Russia of an ice-free port in the Pacific. As her
+Majesty's Government held Russia to the pledge she gave in 1886 to
+respect the integrity of the Korean coast, it followed that the ice-free
+harbour contemplated by Mr Balfour could only be in Chinese territory,
+which, as affecting the dominating power of Russia in the Far East, was
+greatly in advance of what the occupation of a Korean harbour would have
+been. Korea had been safe-guarded from encroachment because it was the
+stepping-stone to China, but the Russian lodgment on the inner waters of
+China itself deprived Korea of most of its strategical value. Hence Russia
+kept silence when Mr Curzon stated in Parliament that the pledge held
+good which preserved the integrity of Korea, a pledge which had lost its
+significance. This acquiescence in Russia's taking an ice-free port on the
+Chinese coast was in direct contradiction to other no less authoritative
+statements of the British Government. As, for instance, the resolution
+passed by the House of Commons, and accepted by the Government, pledging
+them to maintain the integrity of China, followed by the statement by
+the Under Secretary of State that the Liao-tung coast with its harbours
+constituted an integral part of the Chinese dominions. It is obvious that
+this confusion arose either from lack of information or lack of interest
+in the subject, coupled in either case with absent-mindedness on the part
+of the British Government. But these inconsistencies of the members of
+the British Government made no difference to the steady prosecution of
+the Russian plans, which were now developed with great rapidity. These
+pretensions were signalised by two memorable incidents, following each
+other so closely as to be practically simultaneous, in January 1898.
+The first was a new loan to the Chinese under negotiation by British
+financiers, to assist which her Majesty's Government was strongly urged
+by the China merchants to give its guarantee to the lenders as Russia
+had done in the case of the previous loan. On being asked by the Foreign
+Office what securities it would be proper to demand from the Chinese
+Government as the equivalent of such British guarantee, the British
+Minister at Peking replied that one of the conditions should be the
+opening of Talien-wan as a treaty port by the Chinese Government. Whether
+he had considered in what way this concession was to benefit the position
+of Great Britain was not disclosed. The proposal was promptly vetoed by
+the Russian Government, whose ambassador in London urged strongly that
+"if we insisted on making Talien-wan an open port we should be encroaching
+on the Russian sphere of influence, and denying her in future that right
+to the use of Port Arthur to which the progress of events had given her a
+claim,"--adding, that without having any designs on the territory, "it was
+generally admitted that Russia might claim a commercial _débouché_ upon
+the open sea, and that in order to enjoy that advantage fully she ought
+to be at liberty to make such arrangements with China as she could obtain
+with respect to the commercial _régime_ which was to prevail there."
+
+The second incident was that two British war-vessels which were anchored
+in Port Arthur--where, of course, they had the same right to be as
+any other foreign man-of-war--"made a bad impression" on the Russian
+Government, and formed the subject of complaint to the British Secretary
+of State. While denying the right of Russia to comment on the movements
+of British ships in Chinese waters, Lord Salisbury nevertheless allowed
+the vessels in question to depart, a movement which was reported with much
+colour of truth in Peking and St Petersburg as having been made by the
+order of Russia.
+
+Thus within one month the exposition of the Russian designs was expanded
+from the first assurance of Count Muravieff that the wintering of the
+ships was merely for the temporary convenience of the fleet, to the
+assertion of vague territorial rights over the coast and harbours of
+Liao-tung. And Lord Salisbury observed with plaintive naïveté in the month
+of March, that whereas his Government "had always looked with favour upon
+the idea of Russia obtaining an ice-free port on the Pacific, Russia had
+now given a most unfortunate extension to this policy." It appears that
+the eyes of the British Government were not opened to the gravity of the
+situation until Russia, alleging that an ice-free port on the Chinese
+coast (no longer the Pacific) was a vital necessity to her, thereupon
+took possession of Port Arthur and Talien-wan. The British Government
+at the eleventh hour opposed the proceeding, for the reason that "the
+influence of Russia over the Government of Peking will be so increased to
+the detriment of that of her Majesty's Government, if the Russians are to
+have a lease of Port Arthur and Talien-wan, that it seems desirable for
+us to make some counter-move." Thus the British Government were brought
+to see, when too late, what those interested in Far Eastern affairs had
+been endeavouring to tell them years before; and there seems to be no
+doubt that the final discovery of the truth was due to the efforts of one
+or two persistent writers in the press during January and February 1898,
+but chiefly to the action of a small independent section of the British
+House of Commons led by Mr Yerburgh. On such trifling accidents do great
+events sometimes hang, that it seems probable that had Mr Yerburgh's
+movement taken effect three months earlier British ships would not have
+been withdrawn from Port Arthur, neither would China have been ousted from
+the possession of her only two naval harbours north of the Yangtze--at
+least not just then. It would serve no good purpose to follow the various
+explanations given by Ministers of the British Crown of their diplomatic
+encounters with Russia. They will have little interest for the historian.
+But a clear account of these transactions given in a letter to the
+'Times,' May 19, 1898, may very well serve as a guide to future inquirers
+into these matters:--
+
+                        _The Legend of Talien-wan._
+
+    Before the recent diplomatic struggle in the Far East is allowed
+    to pass away from the public mind, may I be permitted to say a
+    few words on one of its aspects which seems to have received very
+    little attention?
+
+    The bad faith of the Russian Government has been strongly, and
+    not unreasonably, condemned; but no attempt has been made to
+    explain it, except on the popular hypothesis that a double dose of
+    original sin is normal in the Muscovite. It does not seem to have
+    occurred to any writer on the subject that the Russians themselves
+    may have a grievance, that they may have acted under a sense of
+    injury, or that, in their view, the good faith of the British
+    Government is not above reproach. I believe they are mistaken;
+    but it is none the less true that the chain of facts on which they
+    rely will well bear the interpretation they place upon it.
+
+    The great blot on the recently published "Correspondence
+    respecting the affairs of China" (No. 1, 1898) is that it takes
+    no account of its immediate _Vorgeschichte_. It relates to a
+    diplomatic struggle of which we last heard officially as far
+    back as 1887, when the Blue-book on Port Hamilton was published.
+    Since then many important things have happened, notably the
+    Chino-Japanese war and the intervention of Russia, France, and
+    Germany in the settlement of Shimonoseki. To ignore these events
+    is really to delude the public; for the chapter of Far Eastern
+    politics which begins with the German descent on Kiaochow is
+    little short of meaningless if the story of Shimonoseki is
+    passed over. Indeed the legend of Talien-wan itself belongs to
+    a policy which may easily be traced back half a century. It is,
+    however, not necessary for my purpose that I should go behind the
+    Shimonoseki intervention. What was the object of that transaction?
+    No one who has given any attention to Far Eastern affairs has
+    ever been under the slightest illusion on this point. The great
+    problem of Russian statesmanship since the foundation of the
+    empire has been to reach the open sea, first in the Baltic, then
+    in the Euxine and the Mediterranean, and, after the Crimean war,
+    in the Pacific. Since Muravieff and Nevelskoy opened the Amur
+    Russia has neglected no opportunity of pushing southward in order
+    to get beyond the line of winter ice, and every embarrassment
+    of China has been skilfully used by her to bring her nearer her
+    goal. We in England have consistently resisted this policy, and
+    in 1886 we thought to have finally defeated it when, by seizing
+    Port Hamilton, we extracted a pledge from Russia that she would
+    not occupy Korean territory "under any circumstances whatever."
+    To all outward seeming Russian expansion in the Far East was thus
+    stopped in the ice-bound harbour of Vladivostock. This, however,
+    was not the view of Russia herself. She was still confident that
+    an opportunity would be afforded her of realising her ambition,
+    for there were other harbours on the Pacific besides those of
+    Korea, and if the road to them was longer and more difficult,
+    Russian patience was equal to the task of covering it. In these
+    circumstances Japan, victorious in her war with China, claimed
+    and obtained the cession of the Liao-tung peninsula, and thus
+    threatened to shut the door for ever against Russian access to the
+    Pacific. The intervention of the Powers which Russia thereupon
+    organised was ostensibly directed to the protection of the
+    integrity and independence of China, but no intelligent politician
+    doubted at the time, or has doubted since, that its real aim was
+    to keep the Pacific door open for Russia.
+
+    Shortly after this event Lord Salisbury came into office. The
+    problem which then most urgently demanded his attention was that
+    of Armenia. Largely by its attitude in the Far East the Rosebery
+    Cabinet had left our relations with Russia in a distinctly
+    strained condition, and the one obvious remedy of the Armenian
+    horrors--the coercion of the Sultan--was blocked by Russia. Lord
+    Salisbury directed himself to the conciliation of Russia, wisely
+    recognising that nothing could be done in the Near East without
+    Russian goodwill and assistance. What were the means he employed?
+    I cannot say what private negotiations may have taken place
+    between the two Governments, but we seem to have a sufficiently
+    significant illustration of the direction in which the Premier
+    was disposed to make concessions to Russia in a speech delivered
+    by Mr Balfour at Bristol on February 3, 1896. In that speech a
+    British Minister announced for the first time that this country
+    would not oppose Russian expansion to the Pacific. "I, for my
+    part, frankly state," he said, "that, so far from regarding with
+    fear and jealousy a commercial outlet for Russia in the Pacific
+    Ocean which would not be ice-bound half the year, I should welcome
+    such a result as a distinct advance in this far-distant region."
+    This statement made a profound impression all over the world, as
+    well it might, seeing that it implied the abandonment of a policy
+    which had been consistently and vigilantly adhered to by Great
+    Britain from the time of Lord Clarendon to that of Lord Rosebery.
+
+    A few days after Mr Balfour's Bristol speech--on February 20--it
+    fell to Mr Curzon to explain in a negative way the scope of his
+    leader's pronouncement. An impression had got abroad that the new
+    policy implied the surrender of the pledge given by Russia in 1886
+    with regard to the occupation of Korean territory, and the Under
+    Secretary was asked in the House of Commons for his views on the
+    subject. Mr Curzon replied that "her Majesty's Government consider
+    that the pledge given by the Russian Government is still binding."
+    Was this a disavowal of the new Russophile policy. Obviously not:
+    for later in the year, at the Guildhall banquet, Lord Salisbury
+    made to Russia the friendliest overtures he has ever made in
+    public speech. At the same time he especially accentuated the
+    novelty of his attitude by asserting that "it is a superstition
+    of an antiquated diplomacy that there is any necessary antagonism
+    between Russia and Great Britain."
+
+    The position, then, of the Government was apparently this: they
+    had abandoned the traditional hostility of this country to Russian
+    expansion towards the ice-free Pacific on condition that it did
+    not trench on Korean territory. It followed, then, that they
+    were not disposed to offer any hindrance to the acquisition by
+    Russia of a port on Chinese territory, westward of the Korean
+    frontier--that is, somewhere between the mouth of the Yalu and
+    Port Arthur. This must be clear to anybody who cares to glance at
+    a map. The upshot of the speeches of Mr Balfour and Lord Salisbury
+    and of the statement of Mr Curzon was, in short, to invite Russia,
+    whenever she might feel so disposed, to plant the Russian flag
+    on the southern coast of Manchuria. This, at any rate, was the
+    view taken in Russia, and, for my part, I can see no escape from
+    it. It is not a little significant of the satisfaction caused in
+    Russia by this interpretation of the policy of Great Britain that,
+    on November 25, a fortnight after Lord Salisbury's speech, the
+    Tsar at last consented in principle to the British proposals for
+    coercing the Sultan of Turkey on the Armenian question.
+
+    Now we come to the events of last November, when Germany suddenly
+    swooped down on Kiaochow. This step is known to have been very
+    distasteful to the Russian Government. It was the first appearance
+    of a European Power in the northern waters of China, in a region
+    which Russia had persuaded herself was reserved for her own
+    domination. Long before the murder of the unfortunate German
+    missionaries in Shantung it was well known in St Petersburg that
+    Germany had her eyes on Kiaochow, and the Russian Minister at
+    Peking had more than once warned Li Hung-chang and urged him to
+    fortify the bay. The disappointment of Russia became intensified
+    when it was observed that the step taken by Germany, was not
+    resented in this country, and fears of an Anglo-German alliance
+    in the Far East began to possess the Russian mind. Then suddenly
+    there came the Talien-wan incident, and Russia found herself once
+    more confronted by the danger which had threatened her in the
+    treaty of Shimonoseki.
+
+    The real significance of the Talien-wan incident has never yet
+    been fully set forth. Had Talien-wan been made a treaty port, and
+    thus given more or less of an international status, Russia would
+    have been practically shut out for ever from the ice-free ocean.
+    The only stretch of coast on which she could obtain this outlet
+    was, as I have already shown, the southern coast of Manchuria
+    from the Korean frontier on the Yalu to Port Arthur. Now, if we
+    examine this coast-line carefully we shall find that there is only
+    one spot capable of being transformed into a commercial port, and
+    that is Talien-wan. The China Sea Directory (vol. iii.), published
+    by the Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty, gives us the
+    fullest particulars on this subject. It traces the coast-line in
+    microscopic detail and shows us that it has only five possible
+    harbours. The first, westward from the Yalu, is Taku-shan, the
+    approach to which is frozen during the winter months. The second
+    is Pi-tse-wo,--here the water is too shallow even for large junks.
+    The third is Yen-tao Bay, the anchorage of which is bad, and in
+    places dangerous. The fourth is Talien-wan, and the fifth Port
+    Arthur. Talien-wan has all the advantages which are absent from
+    the other ports. It is ice-free, spacious, well sheltered, with
+    excellent anchorage and considerable commercial possibilities. Is
+    it surprising that Russia should have felt aggrieved when it was
+    proposed to make Talien-wan a treaty port?
+
+    As a matter of fact, I believe Russia regarded this proposal
+    as an attempt to evade the assurance given by Mr Balfour in his
+    Bristol speech. She looked upon it as the design of a powerful
+    Anglo-German combination to exclude her for ever from the China
+    seas. It was to her mind a conspiracy of the most dangerous
+    kind, and she bent all her efforts to defeat it. When she had
+    defeated it she lost no time in securing her position. She took
+    Port Arthur as well as Talien-wan, for the simple reason that her
+    interpretation of the situation convinced her that a commercial
+    port overlooked by a great citadel in foreign hands would be a
+    vantage to her foes rather than a prize to herself. Can she be
+    altogether blamed for taking this view?
+
+    The mistake the Russian Government made was in attaching a
+    serious meaning to the casual blunders of our Government, and in
+    imagining that these blunders marked a connected purpose, if not
+    a consistent policy. They were not to know that the Russophile
+    passage in Mr Balfour's Bristol speech was a mere oratorical tag;
+    that our friendly attitude towards Germany at Kiaochow was only
+    a sort of amiable tolerance of an act the scope and consequence
+    of which we had not measured; and that our proposal to open
+    Talien-wan was made at the suggestion of our Minister at Peking,
+    who, of course, knew what he was about, while it was acquiesced in
+    at home by Ministers who simply did not know what they were doing.
+    That Sir Claude Macdonald designed the Talien-wan move as a check
+    to Russia I have no doubt; that Lord Salisbury never dreamed of
+    this aspect of it I am equally convinced.
+
+    However that may be, one thing, I think, is clear. The sense of
+    injury and the complaints of bad faith are not all on one side. In
+    diplomacy, as in most of the affairs in this world, it is a wise
+    rule not to believe your opponent to be as stupid as he looks.
+    Russia at any rate paid us this compliment during the recent
+    negotiations. The result, no doubt, is that she has overreached
+    us. But whose fault is it?
+
+The Russian flag once hoisted over Port Arthur and Talien-wan (by what
+nominal authority makes no difference whatever to the fact) placed the new
+relation of China to the rest of the world beyond all discussion. China
+did not willingly surrender her territory: she looked in vain for help,
+but found none. She weighed in the balance the words and acts of one great
+Power against the words and acts of another, and had no choice but to
+place herself under authority of the strongest, finally and irrevocably.
+That fact must be taken as the master-key to her subsequent policy in all
+its phases.
+
+These several events succeeding each other in close order awoke the
+British public from their optimistic dream, and forced them to reflect
+that there was after all something more in these Far Eastern readjustments
+than had occurred to them when cheering on gallant little Japan to
+the spoliation of China. The result obtained was certainly not that
+which was contemplated either by the nation or the Government when
+Great Britain settled down into her isolation. When the truth of the
+situation had revealed itself to the public there was naturally a loud
+call for something to be done to safeguard the commercial interests of
+the country, if not to recover lost prestige; but the Government were as
+far from having definite aims in China as they had ever been, and while
+goading them to action, the public was scarcely in a position to advise
+what that action should be. Neither had the Government, in spite of
+all that had taken place, fully realised to what extent China had added
+impotence to reluctance, for they continued to deal with China very much
+as if the events of 1895 to 1898 had never happened. They were reluctant
+to recognise the fact that Russia, in possession of the Liao-tung or
+Kwan-tung peninsula and of the railway line connecting it with Siberia,
+held a noose round the neck of the Peking Government, which she could
+tighten or relax, conceal or parade, as circumstances required, and
+that until some other Power or Powers were prepared to speak with equal
+authority Russia must be paramount, not by virtue of any convention, but
+as the outcome of accomplished facts.
+
+Two measures adopted by Great Britain to rectify the preponderance of
+Russia were the seizure, under a form of negotiation, of the harbour of
+Weihai-wei and the forcing of money upon the Chinese by way of loan. The
+value of these strokes of policy has not yet become apparent.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+THE OUTCOME.
+
+
+I. THE SITUATION IN PEKING.
+
+    A magnified repetition of experiences in Canton--Chinese
+    unchanged--International usages inapplicable.
+
+Since the foregoing chapters were put into the printer's hands the Far
+Eastern Question has reached a crisis in which its ruling factors have
+been suddenly exposed in their nakedness. But the searchlight now thrown
+upon them casts a blacker shadow on the unilluminated portions of the
+field. The events of 1900, while revealing the landmarks of past foreign
+relations with China, have deepened the obscurity of all that concerns
+the future of the Chinese State itself, as well as of the position of the
+foreign Powers in relation to it and to one another. International comity
+is seen to have made no progress in sixty years; on the contrary, the
+gulf that divides China from the world yawns wider than ever, of which a
+striking example is afforded by the telegrams lately exchanged between
+the Chinese and the German Emperors. They speak in tongues unknown to
+one another and are mutually unintelligible, so that they have no common
+ground but that of brute force. Intercourse imposed on them against their
+will and conscience has resulted, naturally enough, in exhibiting the
+Chinese as the enemies of the human family.
+
+The capture of the Taku forts and the occupation of Peking by foreign
+troops were but a repetition of similar incidents forty years before; and
+it is instructive to observe how closely the lines of the old precedents
+have been followed. Prisoners taken treacherously, or envoys held as
+hostages; the threat to kill them if foreign troops menaced the capital;
+the devices to arrest the advance of the Allied forces; the proposal to
+negotiate only when the Chinese case became desperate; the ineradicable
+belief in the credulity of foreigners; and the flight of the Court when
+all other expedients failed,--were but another rehearsal, with variations,
+of previous performances at Canton, Nanking, and Peking. The parallel is
+completed by the efforts of foreign Powers to coax the emperor back to his
+capital. Nothing has been changed, only the scale has been magnified, and
+the civilised world, instead of one or two Powers, has become directly
+interested in the catastrophe. Official intercourse with China has
+thus continued on the lines on which it began. The first British envoy
+was treated as a malefactor, imprisoned, his letters were intercepted,
+his communications cut off, his servants withdrawn; he was guarded and
+threatened by armed men posted at his door, and reduced to dangerous
+subterfuges in order to get a message conveyed to his countrymen outside.
+Canton in 1834 was simply Peking in 1900, in embryo. A naval force was
+required to relieve Lord Napier from his perilous situation then,[33] as a
+combined naval and military force has been required to relieve the foreign
+Ministers in Peking now. The cycle has been completed. Every link in the
+chain connecting the opening with the closing incidents of diplomatic
+intercourse has been, on one side at least, homogeneous. Whatever and
+whoever may have altered, the Chinese certainly have not. Commissioner
+Lin, Viceroy Yeh, Prince Tuan, the empress-dowager, and all wielding
+authority, whether in name or not, have been true to the Chinese ideal.
+They have all alike been blind to the consequences of their acts, which
+have throughout been characterised by the strategy of fools--momentary
+success followed by overwhelming reverses, resulting at each succeeding
+encounter in a further invasion of the frontiers of their political
+independence.
+
+The crisis has been sufficiently prolonged to enable the world to perceive
+what the Chinese mean by the term negotiation. To them it signifies what
+it has always done, a palaver to gain time, to hoodwink an opponent,
+to escape from a threatened danger, to purchase immunity by promises; a
+device to manage, or, as they themselves express it, "to soothe and bridle
+barbarians." As little now as at any former period can they conceive the
+idea of a fair bargain between equals. They but temporise as with a savage
+or a dangerous beast. "Get rid of the barbarians" is their unvarying
+_mot d'ordre_, and it matters but little to them what instruments are
+employed in carrying it out. The office is one from which every statesman
+instinctively shrinks, since if he fails in taming the barbarians his
+case is referred to the Board of Punishments, and if he succeeds he incurs
+the contempt of all classes for the concessions by which he has purchased
+peace. It is hardly possible for him in any case to escape degradation.
+Be it therefore Lin, Kishen, Kiying, Yeh, Kweiliang, Wênsiang, Chunghou,
+Li Hung-chang, or any one else, Chinese negotiators, whatever their
+apparent success in averting a danger, are morally certain to come to a
+bad end; and for the reason which caused the failure of Lord Napier in
+1834, the impossibility of reconciling two principles which are wholly
+incompatible. As negotiation under such conditions can only be nugatory,
+a lengthened experience has made it clear that neither the negotiator
+nor the negotiation avails anything, but solely the manner in which the
+Chinese are held to their engagements, even when imposed on them by force,
+and the strictness with which the common duties of civilised nations are
+exacted from them, with or without written agreements.
+
+One feature in the recent Peking episode distinguishes it from previous
+experiences. A Government communicating with foreign Powers through its
+own envoys, doling out through them garbled information, while isolating
+the envoys of those same Powers within its capital, and planning, and
+if not doing its best to effect, their extermination, at least openly
+approving the attempt, is surely unexampled in human history. The
+proposal of such a Government, on the failure of its plans to "negotiate
+for peace," would be the most sardonic of practical jokes if we could
+disconnect it from the evidence implied in the proposal of the estimate
+of foreign nations which is ingrained in the Chinese moral constitution.
+Obviously, however, such a Government has placed itself beyond the pale
+of international relations, and it is hardly possible to conceive any
+restoration of the old or evolution of a new _régime_ which can place
+China in the rank of civilised Powers.
+
+We are, in fact, thrust back on the conclusion arrived at by Lord Napier
+in 1834: "That Government is not in a position to be dealt with or treated
+by civilised nations according to the same rules as are acknowledged and
+practised among themselves." Yet, instead of being treated with less, the
+Chinese Government has received greater consideration than is accorded by
+one Western State to another. Prerogatives implying superiority have been
+conceded to it by consent of all the foreign Powers--a false principle
+which has now produced its natural result.
+
+The usages of Western Courts, therefore, being wholly inapplicable in
+China, no matter what Government may rule there, international relations
+of the European type must be, as they have hitherto been, an illusory
+ideal, and some new form of intercourse, corresponding more closely to
+the realities of the case, must take the place of that which has proved so
+totally unworkable. Should foreign nations, by reason of differences among
+themselves or the magnitude of the problem, hesitate to act up to this
+view of the situation, the continuance of a status which is essentially
+false to the facts must lead to some still more tragic catastrophe than
+any that has yet taken place.
+
+
+II. THE CHRONIC CAUSE.
+
+    Hostility of Government and people--Fostered by immunity--Cause of
+    animosity as set forth by Chinese--Incitements to outrage--Chinese
+    press calumnies--Compared with European--Effect on the Chinese of
+    international vituperation.
+
+It must be admitted that the attitude of the Chinese has been quite
+consistent: from first to last they have resisted the foreign impact
+_per fas et nefas_, using such weapons as they could command, while
+avoiding, according to their lights, the risk of reprisals. Their lights
+have indeed deceived them, their resistance has failed, and their methods
+stand condemned. But it is beside the question to inveigh against their
+barbarity, for "what is bred in the bone comes out in the flesh," and in
+human relations there are permanent facts which have to be accepted, like
+the skin of the Ethiopian and the spots of the leopard. Since foreigners
+have, for their own purposes, broken into a hornet's nest, it is idle for
+them to prescribe the manner of retaliation unless they are prepared to go
+through with their aggression and to enforce obedience to their own canon.
+
+The constant feature in all Chinese attacks on foreigners has been the
+immunity from punishment of the real instigators. Massacres of foreigners
+have been condoned, for the blood-money exacted for them was no punishment
+to criminals who did not contribute to the payment. All attempts on the
+part of foreign agents to make guilty officials responsible for their
+outrages have been frustrated by the Government, who have invariably held
+the persons of officials exempt from punishment at the instance of, or
+for injuries done to, foreigners. In Chinese eyes injury to foreigners
+is meritorious in the abstract, and to be rewarded rather than punished.
+Foreign Powers have in practice acquiesced in this fatal principle, for
+though on rare occasions they have successfully insisted on the removal
+of some obnoxious official, the Government have taken care to nullify
+the penalty by promoting him to a better post. The various attempts that
+have been made by foreign representatives to collect evidence to support
+a legal charge against the instigators of outrages have been baffled by
+the inflexible determination of the Government to shield the official as
+well as the non-official leaders of riots. The foreign method of seeking
+redress, being thus foredoomed to failure, is obviously not suited to the
+circumstances.
+
+But while foreigners were pursuing their object by a hopeless path, the
+Chinese administration itself provided the simpler and more efficacious
+remedy of holding the chief authority of every province responsible for
+misgovernment, as well as for crimes and misdemeanours committed within
+his district. In the words of Sir Rutherford Alcock, "Each province
+constitutes a separate state in its administration; to compensate
+for this the emperor can appoint and remove every official, from the
+Governor-General downwards, at his pleasure. And they are each and all
+individually and collectively held responsible for all that may happen
+in the limits of their jurisdiction." By the custom of the country,
+therefore, the guilt of the highest official is assumed whenever any
+disturbance of the peace takes place or crime is committed within his
+government. He may transfer it, if he can, and ferret out evidence in
+his own exculpation; but errors of judgment, pleas of good intentions,
+and palliatives of that kind are not admitted, and not offered. Why
+foreigners have never appealed to this fundamental principle of Chinese
+administration, and have preferred relying on their own crude procedure
+and strange methods of collecting evidence while practically acquiescing
+in the immunity of Chinese officials, has never been satisfactorily
+explained. For it is only in matters concerning foreigners that the
+persons of Chinese officials are held sacred. The Government have
+no scruples with regard even to the highest in rank when they make
+themselves obnoxious to the powers that be. Degradation, deprivation,
+chains, imprisonment, and the headsman's broadsword, are ever ready to
+vindicate the majesty of the law when the Court awards the penalty. But
+foreigners are treated as outside the law, which is the gravamen of the
+Chinese offence against them. The constitution of the country afforded
+them a clear ground for demanding that the traditional principle of
+responsibility should be put in force for their protection. It was, in
+fact, applied spontaneously by Li Hung-chang in the province of which
+he was viceroy, with the result that Chihli was exempt from outrages
+on foreigners for nearly a quarter of a century. Why was the system
+not extended to all the provinces of the empire? Had not the foreign
+representatives the natural right of demanding the benefit of Chinese
+institutions, or did they consider their exotic substitute as preferable?
+
+A wrong road can never lead to a right destination; sins of omission
+and commission have alike to be atoned for, and the cost accumulates
+at compound interest. The result of sparing prefects and governors the
+consequences of the evil deeds permitted within their jurisdiction is that
+the Western Powers are now confronted with the more serious dilemma of
+sparing the throne itself and tolerating the continuance of anti-foreign
+outrages, or of doing stern justice towards the guilty even though the
+heavens should fall. A retrospective glance over the history of sixty
+years might help towards a solution even of this momentous problem. Have
+the sacrifices of principle that have hitherto been made in order to save
+the empire, or the dynasty, been efficacious to these ends? The answer of
+history is No; on the contrary, they have accelerated the ruin of both.
+
+The provoking cause of recent outbreaks against foreigners in all
+parts of the Chinese empire may be gathered from the proceedings of
+the conspirators, from their placards and lampoons, and from their
+secret correspondence. The keynote of all these is general detestation
+of foreigners, special enmity to Christianity and its accessories, and
+aversion to the symbols of material progress. Hatred of foreigners now
+shows itself as a passion which binds the provinces together as nothing
+else has ever been known to do. Their expulsion is a cause which is
+held to justify the vilest deeds done in its name. Nor is the present
+state of things a growth of yesterday. The ferment has been working for
+forty years--to go no further back--with many sporadic outbreaks to
+mark its progress. It was not nipped in the bud, as it might perhaps
+have been. Exhibitions of ill-feeling had been habitually disregarded
+by foreigners, who in their readiness to blame each other for provoking
+them, were accustomed to repel obvious explanations, and to go far afield
+for theories which would exonerate themselves at the expense of their
+neighbours. If stones were thrown or abusive epithets shouted, "It was
+only the children." Only the children! As if more conclusive testimony to
+any prevailing sentiment were possible.[34] In Peking itself the foreign
+Ministers set the example of palliating these abuses, and the only wonder
+is that the fire has smouldered so long without bursting into flame.
+During thirty years--to speak only of the recent period--missionaries
+in the interior have encountered the growing hostility of the people,
+which they have ascribed, perhaps too exclusively, to the machinations of
+"literati and gentry," forgetting that the torch would be applied in vain
+to a substance that was not inflammable.
+
+Not that the machinations of the official and literary classes of the
+country are by any means to be held of little account, for they have
+been the most potent factor in fomenting and directing the passions
+of the people. What corresponds in China to a newspaper press has been
+constantly employed in vilifying the character and execrating the designs
+of foreigners, and holding them up continually to the contempt and hatred
+of the Chinese people. There was no effective means of contradicting the
+calumnies which were daily poured forth from every centre of population.
+Attempts have, indeed, been made by special counterblasts in the form
+of missionary publications in the chief citadel of hostility, and in a
+less polemic form in the periodicals in the Chinese language conducted by
+foreigners, yet these have had little more effect on the popular beliefs
+than a leading article in the 'Times' has upon the flood of anti-English
+literature that is poured out every day from Continental journals. From
+an observation of the calumnies which are so unquestioningly accepted
+by European populations we may partly judge of the effect of a constant
+stream of the same class of vituperative literature among the still more
+ignorant people of China. The features of both are the same. In Europe, as
+in China, there is no crime that the lowest savages have ever committed
+which is not attributed, with impassioned eloquence and with the finest
+literary skill, to those who are held up to the popular animosity. In
+Europe, as in China, the ruling powers encourage the virulence of the
+press. In countries where the Government exercises direct control, and in
+others where the connection is less official, extravagances are permitted
+which can serve no other purpose than that of making the objects of
+the invective so odious that a quarrel with them is rendered popular in
+advance. European Governments thus play with fire, as the Chinese have
+done, but in the case of the latter the incendiary policy has worked out
+its logical result.
+
+Nor should it be forgotten that since, in these days, the Chinese have
+the fullest access to European literature, the calumnies of one nation
+by another are calculated to confirm their conviction of the turpitude of
+all. Neither is their armoury confined to the international amenities of
+the Western press. The charges habitually, and as a matter of course, made
+against their own countrymen by British writers and speakers would justify
+a stranger people, already predisposed thereto, in forming the worst
+opinion of English character. During the saturnalia of a general election,
+when the fountains of the great deep are broken up, no baseness, no
+falsity, no treachery, is too gross to be attributed, not to the rabble,
+but to the chosen leaders of the people. Such things being circulated
+throughout the world, preserved in indelible ink, can the enemies of the
+British nation, or at least the prejudiced Chinese, be greatly blamed for
+accepting the character of our people on such unimpeachable evidence?
+Should we not judge them on analogous testimony? From whatever sources
+they gather their ideas, however,--whether from the study of foreign
+newspapers, from their own observation of the ways of foreign men and
+women, or from the gross libels published by their literati,--there is no
+reason to doubt that the unfavourable opinion which the Chinese entertain
+of foreigners is held by them in good faith.
+
+
+III. IMMEDIATE PROVOCATION.
+
+    Shock of the Japanese war--European spoliation of
+    China--Anarchy apprehended therefrom--Reminiscence of Taiping
+    rebellion--Proposals for moderating foreign inroads--Lawlessness
+    of foreign Powers--Chinese yield to force but nurse
+    resentment--The missionary irritant.
+
+What has caused the chronic anti-foreign movement to swell suddenly to
+imperial dimensions, and to explode simultaneously in the capital and in
+distant provinces, is a larger question than we can attempt to answer.
+As contributory causes, however, there are certain facts lying on the
+surface of foreign relations which are too suggestive to be passed over.
+The Japanese war of 1894-95, and the train of events following it, noted
+in a previous chapter, struck at the vital centre of the Chinese empire.
+Foreigners of all nations applied force to China, not to defend person
+or property, but to divide up the empire in disregard of the Government
+and the people, both assumed to be moribund. The partition of China was
+discussed in the Western press as a matter in which the Government and
+natives of the country had no concern. Open doors, spheres of influence,
+concessions, protectorates--the various modes in which the Chinese oyster
+was to be cooked and served--were treated solely as questions of rivalry
+and preponderance between the Western Powers. The people were not indeed
+ignored, for the aggressors reckoned on them as their most valuable
+asset, the raw material of prospective armies, the source of labour supply
+for excavations and earthworks, and of the payable traffic for railways
+and other exotic enterprises. But there is more in human nature than a
+capacity to dig or obey a drill-sergeant, and it is precisely the elements
+which were disregarded by political, financial, and industrial adventurers
+which have risen up in judgment against them. The grandiose pronouncements
+of the foreign press during the last two or three years were by no means
+lost on the Chinese Government. These writings showed that the ambitions
+of foreign countries had no limits, while the gratification of them was
+absolutely incompatible with the retention of any semblance of independent
+authority by the rulers of the country.
+
+Reasoning after the fact, and from effect to cause, is apt to be
+fallacious, but when the circuit is completed by the joining of prediction
+with realisation, some confidence may be felt in the soundness of
+the conclusion. Those who have observed the condition of China with
+a sympathetic eye have been for years labouring under the deepest
+apprehension for the peace of the country. The Japanese war accentuated
+this feeling, and the subsequent ruthless proceedings of the Western
+Powers deepened the apprehension. As the forces of aggression could in
+nowise be restrained, anxious, but inadequate and altogether ineffectual,
+attempts were made to avert their worst effects. Warnings were not
+wanting that "dangers which might have slept for generations to come
+had been suddenly brought within the range of practical politics, and
+that unless measures of precaution were taken in time, what happened in
+1894-95 would sooner or later happen again, ... that the Chinese Empire
+would be brought to the verge of disruption; for all the forces, external
+and internal, which make for anarchy would be let loose, and the empire
+would be powerless alike to resist dismemberment by the aggressive Powers
+or the subversion of authority by internal upheaval." The paper from
+which we quote, doubtless one of many such drawn up in 1896, goes on to
+say: "However desirous some, or even all, of the Great Powers might be
+of saving China from dissolution, they would be paralysed by their own
+jealousies, and they would perhaps be more concerned to avert a general
+war among themselves than to prevent calamity in China. A crisis might
+thus arise more direful in its consequences than the chronic crisis in
+the Ottoman Empire, and a reign of havoc would follow in which millions
+would perish where the loss of thousands now excites the indignation of
+the civilised world.[35] No circumstances would be wanting to intensify
+the horror, for it would not be even civil war, but promiscuous rapine
+as aimless and as uncontrollable as a forest fire. A generation has
+scarcely passed since China was desolated by the scourge of the Taiping
+rebellion, which is thought to have destroyed a population equal to that
+of a first-class European State; and a new outbreak of the like kind
+would be more hopeless, inasmuch as the factors which were eventually
+brought into play to extinguish the conflagration in 1862-64 would now
+be wanting, or would be rendered inoperative by the complex circumstances
+above indicated."
+
+The spectre was anarchy, the provocatives aggression and dismemberment;
+and the permanent interests of international commerce were appealed to
+to avert the calamities foreshadowed. "Dismemberment, from the point
+of view of the general interests of trade, would be little better than
+anarchy." Severe pressure was being put on the Chinese Government--even
+in 1896, when these and similar forebodings were uttered--to permit
+free communication by steam and rail, and the development of the mineral
+resources of their country. It was from such sources that the immediate
+danger to the integrity of the territory and the peace of the State was
+apprehended, while, on the other hand, the need for the innovations was
+freely granted. "The Chinese having neither men nor appliances capable
+of undertaking either the construction or management of railways, must
+be wholly dependent on foreigners for their inauguration. This state of
+things, fully recognised on all sides, has led speculators and promoters
+of all nations to besiege the Chinese authorities with offers of the
+means of construction and with demands for concessions. But considering
+the relative positions of China and the Western nations, it cannot
+but be admitted that the Chinese have done well to refuse to listen
+to such proposals. Rival concessionaires working under the ægis of
+extra-territoriality in the interior would be the axe at the root of the
+tree of China's integrity."
+
+The problem of preserving the independence and integrity of China,
+while permitting the opening of the interior of the country to foreign
+enterprise, was felt to be one of the gravest importance, not to be
+settled by the clamour either of rival concession-hunters or the intrigue
+of rival States. "Inland residence," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock, in 1868,
+"will bring weakness to the nation and death to the Government, and must
+eventuate in greater anarchy than has yet been seen.... Right of residence
+in the interior is hardly compatible with an extra-territorial clause."
+
+The essential condition of safety for the country was evidently,
+therefore, to bar the acquisition of territorial rights by any foreign
+Government or company. With this view it was urged that at least the
+ownership and control of railways and mines should be retained in the
+hands of the Government itself, under a competent organisation in which
+foreign skill and experience should be effectively represented. As
+the then existing railway line of 200 miles was of such a character, a
+development of the same system was recommended for the larger schemes
+which were thought to be impending. The foreign Powers were urged
+to assist China in putting her house in order and in adapting her
+administration to the exigencies of the time.
+
+Such were among the proposals made in 1896, and not disapproved by
+the Powers to which they were addressed. But common action thereon by
+foreigners was hindered by mutual rivalry and distrust, while the Chinese
+Government on its part showed neither inclination nor capacity--any more
+than it had ever done--to meet its difficulties by comprehensive measures.
+It preferred the ancient system of resisting, in detail and in secret, the
+advances of foreigners,--a policy of traps and snares and entanglements.
+Possibly the paralysis of despair had already reached the nerve centres
+of Chinese statesmanship, or the desperate scheme of a general expulsion
+of foreigners had begun to fascinate the leading spirits. Certain it is
+no practical _rapprochement_ was effected, or even seriously attempted,
+between the contending forces.
+
+Meantime, however, the invaders would brook no delay,--they had no
+time for temporising tactics. The "ugly rush" began--syndicate rivalled
+syndicate, and Government Government, in dividing up the _corpus vile_.
+Within twelve months of the period just referred to Germany led the way
+in the dismemberment of China by cutting off a slice of Shantung; Russia
+promptly followed in Liaotung; then Great Britain took Weihai-wei as a
+set-off, and assumed an interest in the central zone keener than that
+of the Chinese Government itself. Other Powers followed with imperious
+demands for portions of Chinese territory, on no ground whatever
+except that China was weak. Every law save the law of the strongest
+was suspended. Justice and mercy were thrown to the winds. And yet the
+orgies of spoliation were followed by no change in the outward forms of
+diplomatic relations with the Chinese Government. Foreign representatives
+continued to negotiate as if the power of that Government remained intact,
+though to assume, for one purpose, that there was neither sentient
+organism nor sovereign authority in China, and for another, that the
+Government retained its full competence,[36] was obviously to bring chaos
+into their intercourse. As a consequence, diplomatic correspondence
+with China since 1898--the British share of which, so far as has been
+published, extends to a thousand pages--is but a harvest of Dead Sea
+Fruit.
+
+But Chinese relations being a compound of courtesy and force on the
+part of foreign Powers, it is not difficult to divine which of the two
+must be the dominant factor. Though they bowed their heads in morose
+silence before their conquerors, Chinese statesmen retained sufficient
+vitality to discriminate between platonic diplomacy and the "mailed
+fist," yielding in all things to menace, in nothing to argument. To
+seize territory, under this _régime_, presented less difficulty than to
+obtain redress for trivial injuries. Aggressive Powers were respected
+according to the measure of their aggression, while those who concerned
+themselves with the preservation of the empire met with no recognition
+whatever. British schemes were thwarted at every point, while other
+Powers ran riot throughout the territory. For this reason the Chinese
+Government collectively, and individual mandarins, have been stigmatised
+as anti-British, as if to be so were a blot upon their escutcheons. No
+doubt they are; but to assume on that account that the Chinese rulers
+are pro-Russian, pro-French, or pro-German is more than the premisses
+seem to warrant. History and tradition are alike opposed to such an
+idea. That peculiar kind of patriot, the friend of every country but
+his own, is not much in evidence in China. The vainest and most jealous
+nation on earth was not likely in a moment to suppress its self-love,
+invert its whole character, and welcome an army of foreign adventurers,
+no matter of what nationality, who came in the guise not of servants but
+masters. And, setting sentiment aside, the Chinese were not blind to the
+material consequences of the foreign schemes which were pressed on them,
+but were as keenly alive to the danger of intrusting railway and mining
+enterprises to foreigners as they had always shown themselves to be
+when their military and naval armaments were concerned. The memorials of
+provincial authorities clearly prove this. If, therefore, they admitted
+the disruptive agency into their country, it was from no love of the
+interlopers, but solely by way of submission to superior force, and under
+the same mental reservation with which they had subscribed to all their
+previous treaty engagements.
+
+The chronic missionary irritant mentioned in previous chapters had been
+steadily spreading, and the hostility evoked by it as steadily increasing.
+Christianity being the only character in which foreigners had presented
+themselves to the view of the masses, the extirpation of it stood in the
+forefront of the anti-foreign programme. The disasters which the governing
+classes had always apprehended from the extension of foreign missions had
+suddenly assumed the form of a concrete reality. All that its opponents
+had for generations foretold became fact: their administration was being
+undermined, their traditions set at nought, their very territory wrenched
+from them in the name of the foreign religion. Propagandism was finally
+unmasked by the German Emperor in the uncompromising manner characteristic
+of that potentate. The Name that is above every name was openly made
+subservient to the lust of conquest. China saw at last that she was really
+doomed through the instrumentality of the religion which she had engaged
+herself to tolerate.
+
+
+IV. THE DYNASTIC FACTOR.
+
+    Irregularity of the succession--Defensive position of the
+    empress-dowager--Cantonese reformers influence emperor--Regent's
+    alarm, vengeance and reaction--The new heir-apparent.
+
+Ever since the _coup d'état_ in January 1875, whereby the empress-regent
+by her own fiat placed her infant nephew on the throne of her deceased
+son, to the exclusion of more legitimate heirs, the dynastic question
+has been regarded by Chinese patriots as a certain source of future
+trouble.[37] The imperial dignity was not the only matter involved in the
+succession, but a vast amount of property also, and so many members of
+the imperial clan were interested in the result that it was deemed certain
+that the partisans of legitimacy would lie in wait for an opportunity of
+enforcing the claims of the rightful heir. As it is customary to attribute
+the acts of statesmen to personal motives, it has never been doubted that
+the interest of the empress-regent in setting the reigning emperor on the
+throne was sufficiently explained by her own lust of power. We know what
+is done, but do not always know what is prevented, and in the case of
+the families of both the elder brothers who were passed over, there may
+have been practical as well as judicial reasons to justify even a _coup
+d'état_ which supplanted them. From what has recently been revealed of
+the character of Prince Tuan, for example, the exclusion of his progeny
+may possibly have been a providential deliverance.
+
+Be these things as they may, however, and be her ulterior motives what
+they may, the solicitude of the empress-regent has been constantly
+directed to protecting the weak point in her dynastic defences. The
+childlessness of the present emperor, as well as the misfortunes of
+the empire since he assumed the reins of power in 1889, of course added
+indefinitely to her anxiety, while at the same time serving to keep alive
+the pretensions of the elder branches.
+
+Speaking, as we have done throughout, only of what is apparent, the
+succession question was brought to the point of incandescence by certain
+events in 1898. Great and justifiable discontent had arisen in the
+provinces with the manner in which the affairs of the empire had been
+conducted, resulting in humiliation and calamity. The idea of doing
+something to stem the tide of misgovernment by enforcing the lessons
+of recent misfortune was freely discussed. But the Chinese have not
+discovered any method of remedying grievances except insurrections
+in one form or another, on a small or on a large scale. A movement of
+this character has been on foot in the Canton province ever since the
+Japanese war. These revolutionary conspiracies have indeed been so well
+organised, and so powerfully supported, that once, if not oftener, the
+provincial city of Canton has narrowly escaped capture. The agitation has
+been directed nominally against the Manchu Government. Whether directly
+associated with the insurrectionary propaganda or not, another body
+afterwards challenged public notice under the name of Reformers. As in the
+case of the insurrectionary movement, many Government officials secretly
+gave their adhesion to the cause, and inspired the leaders with confidence
+in the ultimate success of their schemes.
+
+Reform had been preached continuously to China from every foreign pulpit
+for forty years. "Reform or perish" was the regular formula--words so
+easily written that no resident, tourist, publicist, foreign official,
+or any one with a pen or a tongue, refrained from reiterating them
+continually. Individually every Chinese official with whom foreigners came
+in contact joined in the cry. But though the general demand was unanimous,
+there was diversity in the details, and in such a case the details were
+everything. A dozen writers, each insisting on the necessity of thorough
+reform, would postulate separately some indispensable preliminary to any
+reform whatsoever. These indispensable preliminaries, added together,
+would have left nothing for the substantive portion of the programme; by
+them Chinese administration would have been renovated from top to bottom.
+Such was the difficulty which friends and critics experienced in knowing
+where to begin in their efforts to reduce the general to the particular.
+
+In 1898, however, a bold attempt was made to launch a comprehensive scheme
+of reform by imperial fiat. A Cantonese named Kang Yu-wei, backed by a
+body of opinion,--of the extent and value of which different estimates may
+be formed, "financed," of course, as popular leaders must be,--obtained
+the ear of the emperor, and induced him to promulgate a budget of edicts
+of startling novelty. Being deemed revolutionary, they excited alarm
+in the Imperial Court. What were the specific grounds of alarm may be
+easily surmised. Foreigners who refer it exclusively to the question of
+reform may possibly take as partial a view of this as they have done of
+other Court movements. What is known is, that the empress-regent, always
+ready to strike when her interest or her schemes have been threatened,
+pounced on the unfortunate emperor, and by force of will and the parental
+authority which counts for so much in China, and in virtue of the Great
+Seal which she had reserved when handing over her trust, made him revoke
+his revolutionary edicts, hunted out his dangerous counsellors and
+punished them as traitors. The embers of reform were thus for the time
+ruthlessly stamped out. Of the ethics of these proceedings it is needless
+to speak: not ethics but strength decided the issue; nature's primeval law
+was not suspended in favour of the adventurous spirits who flew at such
+high game. A reaction against all reform naturally set in, and the old
+struggle was renewed: between conservation and revolution, viewed from
+the Chinese Court side; between purity and corruption, viewed from that
+of the Reformers.
+
+But the quarrel cannot be restricted to so simple an issue as either of
+these. The question between the Reformers and the Court was complicated by
+sundry important considerations. In the first place, the capture of the
+Emperor by Kang Yu-wei was directly inspired by the teaching of foreign
+missionaries. In the second place, the movement originated in the same
+southern provinces whence the Taiping rebellion itself had sprung, and
+where conspiracies against the Government had been active since 1895.
+And thirdly, the reform agitation was ostentatiously patronised by the
+foreign, or at least by the English, press, while the leaders of the
+insurgents found a safe asylum, if not an effective base of operations,
+in Hongkong and in foreign countries. Taking these circumstances
+together, therefore, whatever may be thought of the intrinsic merits
+of the double agitation, it could scarcely be expected that the Powers
+which saw themselves so seriously menaced should draw any such fine
+distinction between the ostensible objects of the reformers and of the
+revolutionaries, as to regard the one with complacency while suppressing
+the other. The most abject of governments and the most timid of animals
+will resist to the death an attack which threatens their existence. There
+would be nothing unnatural, therefore, in the resentment of the Imperial
+Government against its disaffected people being, by the process which
+is so familiar to us in family quarrels, temporarily diverted from the
+domestic to the foreign enemy, against whom the combined hostility of all
+parties in the Chinese State might, for the time being, be concentrated.
+
+Without, however, attempting to assign their relative values to all or
+any of these factors in the question, it seems evident that the events of
+1898 revealed the elements of a drama in which the contending factions in
+the Court were forced to show their colours. The course of the conflict
+during the year and a half following the autumn of 1898 has probably
+been obscured rather than elucidated by the contradictory reports and
+fluctuating comments which have been so freely disseminated with but
+slight regard to the authenticity of their origin. But the nomination of
+a grandson of Prince Tun as heir-apparent, which was decreed in January
+1900, looks like a belated, if not compulsory, recognition of the prior
+claims of that Princes family, and a confession that the Emperor Kwanghsu
+has kept the rightful heir twenty-five years out of his inheritance;
+for the grandson now selected possesses no right which the grandson set
+aside in 1875 did not possess. The relations of Prince Tuan, the father
+of the emperor designate, with the empress-regent are as obscure as
+the intricacies of palace politics usually are to contemporary foreign
+observers. Fortunately, however (in one sense), the cross-currents and
+undercurrents of the Court, the question who are confederates and who
+rivals, who betrayers and who betrayed, in the imperial camp, are matters
+which have to a great extent been deprived of their significance. Under
+normal conditions the dynastic imbroglio might have had a perturbing
+influence on the policy of foreign Powers, but the explosion of last
+summer has relegated all such domestic questions to a secondary place.
+When the correspondent of the 'Times' could report that there was "no
+Government" in Peking, the _personnel_ of that Government lost its
+practical interest. The old order, with its sins and sorrows, has indeed
+passed away, but to find a substitute for it is a problem that will tax
+the wisdom as well as the forbearance of the world. The anarchy which
+has been so long dreaded is actually upon us, and the prospective horrors
+of it are assuredly not lessened by the outbreak being signalised in the
+capital rather than in the provinces.
+
+
+V. THE CHINESE OUTBREAK.
+
+    Chinese methods of expelling foreigners--Secret societies--The
+    Boxers.
+
+Considering as a whole, therefore, the succession of crushing blows which
+during the past six years have been dealt against the integrity of China
+by open enemies and dissimulating friends, we may conceive, at least
+partially, the hatred of foreigners which exists in the country. In this
+case we are not driven to assume any wide difference between the Chinese
+and races more nearly allied to ourselves, nor need we seek to account
+for their demonstrations by defects in their moral or religious training.
+Had even the whole population of China been miraculously converted to
+Christianity, as suggested by Sir Robert Hart ('Fortnightly Review,'
+November 1900), it is not permissible to assume that they would have
+continued turning the other cheek to so many smiters. If we suppose the
+case of any Western nation subjected to the experiences through which
+the Chinese have had to pass at the hands of foreign dictators, the mode
+in which it would act may afford us some measure by which to gauge the
+excesses of the Chinese.
+
+The origin and organisation of the recent outbreak will no doubt be a
+topic of discussion for some time to come, and it is not within our
+province to anticipate the final verdict on it. But, as in certain
+contagious diseases which become constitutional, the angry symptoms first
+show themselves at the point of infection, it is interesting to note
+that the German sphere in Shantung enjoys the distinction of being the
+cradle of the principal agency producing the cataclysm. The prominence
+suddenly attained by the Boxer movement is probably fortuitous, due to
+its casual connection with high personages. Secret societies are nothing
+new, nor societies of divers sorts which have scarcely the pretence of
+secrecy. As weeds spring up where cultivation is neglected, these social
+growths may be considered in the light of spontaneous efforts to occupy
+ground left vacant by the constituted Government,--a sort of excrescence
+of autonomy rising and falling according as the administration is less or
+more efficient. The members of these societies may be ascetics who follow
+strict rules of living, defenders of popular rights, or mere "bullies"
+who may be hired. They bear virtuous titles, but it is safe to assume that
+the ostensible object of the associations is in practice invariably lost
+in schemes of a different complexion. Sometimes in collision, at other
+times in collusion, with the established Government, these societies are
+a mobile factor, a sort of shifting ballast, always to be reckoned with
+in the Chinese economy.
+
+As the Boxers are an athletic corps, drilled and exercised, it was
+natural to inquire, when their imposing force stood revealed, how
+such a formidable movement could have been organised among the Chinese
+people without the fact becoming known to the foreign residents in the
+country. One answer is, that those who saw what was going on and warned
+their countrymen were decried as alarmists, and then held their peace.
+The wisest were but little wiser than their neighbours, for as weather
+prophets easily forecast the character of the following season, while
+they are at fault as regards that of the next twenty-four hours, so those
+who are able to predict with confidence the remote future in China are
+often the most blind to the nearer future which is reckoned by days or
+months. But incredulity was excusable in the present case, for the extent
+and apparent suddenness of the movement were really unprecedented. Such a
+force has not been mobilised and kept in the field in a militant condition
+without immense effort and liberal supplies, for though pillage might
+go far, it would not go all the way in supporting so large a body for
+any length of time. The junction of the Boxers with imperial troops, the
+relations of the commanders to members of the imperial family, and the
+influence of the movement on the question of the dynastic succession, are
+all matters on which light will be welcome; for as no military invasion
+of the territory has ever called forth such a general enthusiasm of
+resistance, interesting, indeed, will be the discovery of the real genesis
+of a rising at once spontaneous and aggressive.
+
+The most practical observation, however, that foreign nations have been
+forced to make during the crisis is that, whatever might have been the
+separate designs of those who presided over the general movement, the
+rallying flag of the combination was the extermination of foreigners.
+That was the pretext which, for the time being at least, reconciled
+all antagonisms and satisfied all consciences. It seemed as if the
+long-accumulated hatred of the Chinese had gathered to a head, and its
+whole force had been concentrated in one supreme effort to sweep the
+aliens throughout the empire into the sea. That elaborate preparation had
+been made to carry this into effect seems to be placed beyond doubt, the
+rulers of China evidently conceiving that the effort would be successful.
+
+The excuse put forward in palliation of an anti-crusade headed by the
+highest personages in the empire bears an interesting family resemblance
+to the apology usually made for rebels. Being beguiled by false prophets,
+they believed they would succeed;[38] and success would have justified the
+venture. The facts are such as no subsequent negotiations, no treaties,
+no modifications of government, no reform, no professions of any kind,
+can ever explain away.
+
+
+VI. THE CRUX.
+
+    Concert of foreign Powers unstable--Divergent aims--Aggressive
+    and non-aggressive Powers--Unpromising outlook--The progress of
+    Russia the only permanent element.
+
+If conflicting forces in China have been united in an effort to expel
+the foreigners, so the non-Chinese world has been forced into temporary
+agreement in order to extinguish a conflagration which endangered all
+interests. But the Powers assembled to execute judgment and restore order
+in China present a picturesque diversity of ulterior aims. Their unity
+can hardly, therefore, be expected to survive the emergency which gave it
+birth. After the storm has passed--if it does pass--the permanent policy
+of the several Powers may be expected to resume its normal sway. Of the
+character of these different policies we are not left in doubt, for in the
+history of the past six years it has been revealed in overt acts bearing
+a higher authority than the most solemn official manifestoes.
+
+The principal Powers concerned may be ranged in three groups--the
+aggressive, the non-aggressive, and the absorbent. Under the first
+must be ranked Japan, France, and Germany. Facts which cannot lie have
+proved that these three Powers have long cherished designs upon the
+territory of China. No doubt they flatter themselves with the belief
+that their rule over such portions of Chinese soil as may come under
+their control would be a blessing to mankind, an opinion which it would
+serve no good purpose to controvert. And they reckon that, in addition
+to the higher civilisation which they propose to confer on the Chinese
+people and Government, they will secure material advantages for their
+own populations. The ruling characteristic, however, of this policy is
+that it is factitious, adventurous, and ideal, in search of interests
+to defend rather than framed for the defence of interests existing. It
+is essentially, therefore, an aggressive policy, though, in a sense,
+also progressive. Dividing the world into communities to be conquered
+and nations who are fitted to conquer them, it represents the primeval
+moving power in ethnic evolution. But it is a policy quite unsuited for
+co-operation, and the attempt to yoke together Governments, certain of
+whom are moved empirically by facts as they exist and as they arise,
+and others by the desire of creating facts, ends--as all concerts
+of antagonistic interests must end--most likely in explosion. A safe
+calculation may be made as to the action of a non-aggressive Power,
+under given circumstances, as the action of a man of business may be
+approximately inferred from obvious considerations of pecuniary advantage.
+But in the case of States with ideal policies, like France and Germany,
+no such forecast can be made. This radical divergence between the aims of
+the Powers who are called upon to decree the fate of China must render a
+sincere agreement between them, under any circumstances, impossible; and
+if the policy of one of them should happen to be directed by a political
+genius ambitious of distinction, the course of the whole would be subject
+to aberrations incalculable. It is true that the Governments which have
+marked out for themselves these extensive plans of aggression may begin
+to perceive that their proceedings in China have been somewhat in advance
+of any justification, also that they have been reckoning without their
+host, and that to found and maintain empires in further Asia may put a
+strain upon their resources out of proportion to the material gains to
+be derived from the enterprise. Perceiving that their "vaulting ambition
+may o'erleap itself" and land them on the off-side of the horse, they may
+show themselves willing, for the moment, to attenuate the significance
+of their previous energy. The discovery that the conquest of China
+involves something more than a military promenade may induce them to
+make professions which, however sincere for the time being, accord but
+indifferently with established facts. In the procession of history,
+however, it is the facts and not the words which ultimately prevail.
+
+And this is the only canon by which it is safe to interpret the
+apocalyptic exchange of notes just announced between Great Britain and
+Germany, whose significance, like that of the conversation of a Chinese,
+lies in the things which are not said. Considered as a convention, it
+must be classed with those elastic bargains of which several examples
+occur in the preceding narrative, in which one party has a definite
+aim and the other not, and which is therefore destined to be employed
+exclusively to the advantage of the former. _Vigilantibus non dormientibus
+servit lex._ Without knowing what secret inducements led to such a
+declaration of policy between Great Britain and Germany it is impossible
+to assign a value to it. Its most authoritative expositors in the German
+press rejoice in the fact that it pins Great Britain down to the only
+policy which she has ever pursued, or ever will,--a policy in which her
+public utterances have throughout coincided with her overt acts,--that,
+namely, of opening Chinese and all other markets not for herself but
+for the whole world on equal terms. An agreement, however, which does
+not arrest French encroachments in the south, Russian appropriations in
+the north, nor German exclusive exploitations in Shantung or elsewhere,
+contributes little to that maintenance of the integrity of China which is
+its professed object. Neither the world at large nor China herself will
+benefit greatly by a verbal restriction on the one Power to whom the "open
+door" and the integrity of China are articles of political religion and
+of undeviating practice. And the clause which solemnly reserves to the
+two parties the right of consulting together in certain contingencies
+gives to the transaction a very platonic character. But a covenant whose
+meaning is veiled is always a hazardous operation, even in private life,
+where the power of definite interpretation lies with the more aggressive
+of the two parties.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The non-aggressive Powers may be defined as those whose citizens have
+established in the country a substantial position, which their Governments
+have been slow to protect. The principal representatives of this group
+are Great Britain and the United States, whose interests in China have
+many times been defined as commercial, and not territorial. They have
+acted consistently on the conviction that there is no country in the
+world where conquest for the sake of commerce was less justifiable than
+in China, which possesses a large population inured to labour, accustomed
+to the luxuries of a civilised society, and with unsurpassed aptitude
+for business. No special credit is due to the two Anglo-Saxon nations for
+their recognition of these circumstances, except in so far as it indicates
+an intelligent appreciation of their own interests. They desire, as an
+ordinary trader or manufacturer would, that a good customer may be kept
+on his legs, and that a promising inheritance shall not be alienated
+from the next generation of their merchants. Their policy, however, being
+essentially passive and conservative, suffers from the defects of these
+qualities, and is liable to be overborne by the more energetic action of
+the Powers which we have ventured to place in the aggressive class.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There remains the third group, which consists of one member, and that is
+Russia. Although Russia is in effect more aggressive than all the others
+put together, her annexations have been conducted under a different
+formula from those of Germany, France, or Japan. It is not merely that she
+has avoided hostilities, and effected her purpose by patient and adroit
+diplomacy, but that her acquisitions of Chinese territory have not been
+of the "wild-cat" order, but genuine integral additions to her existing
+possessions. The expansion of Russia, whether a matter to be deplored
+or applauded, is at any rate a natural growth, unduly forced at times,
+but steady and progressive. It is the shadow of this secular advance of
+Russia that covers the whole Far Eastern situation, and has in fact done
+so for nearly fifty years. The character of her progress could not be
+better described, even with the lights we now possess, than it was by Sir
+Rutherford Alcock as far back as 1855. With rare clearness of vision and
+firmness of touch he thus foretold the position which Russia was destined
+to occupy in the Far East:--
+
+    China has long been impotent. Russia has within the last few
+    years, by force of diplomacy, appropriated half the province
+    of Manchuria, the ancient patrimony of the reigning dynasty,
+    and with it the command of the river Amur. If this other great
+    Leviathan ... has not yet swallowed the whole empire, it can only
+    be that, great as are its capacities, there are limits imposed by
+    nature to the powers of deglutition and digestion in the largest
+    boa-constrictor or predatory animal yet discovered. In the mean
+    time the danger is more immediate and menacing to Europe than
+    to China, perhaps; for Russia has at Sakhalin, the mouth of the
+    Amur, and the adjoining coasts of the Western continent, laid the
+    foundation for a position as menacing to European commerce as any
+    now existing at the opposite extremity in the Baltic. Stretching
+    with giant arms across the whole breadth of Northern Asia and
+    Europe from fastnesses at each end, Asiatic hordes, directed by
+    Western genius and science, are held in leash, ready to let slip
+    over the fair and fertile south of both continents. The wealthiest
+    regions of both Europe and Asia are at once threatened by this
+    modern colossus.... China, India, and the kingdoms of Southern
+    Europe form but the three different stages of invading progress.
+    Long before the whole of such a gigantic scheme of rule and
+    conquest can have its accomplishment in China--the most helpless
+    as well as the richest of all the victims--Russia will be enabled
+    to reap the first-fruits and take instalments of the larger and
+    more distant spoil, by controlling the trade of Northern China
+    and the rich European trade so recently developed in its seas.
+
+Russia alone has a policy independent at once of accidents, autocrats,
+shifting governing bodies, and of all personalities, weak or strong.
+With the accumulated force of past achievements, an unbroken tradition,
+and great military forces massed on a frontier which is no frontier,
+Russia among the other Powers now masquerading in the Far East is as the
+iron vessel floating among the earthenware pots. Russian publicists, in
+order to strengthen the dominant position to which they aspire, have been
+proclaiming with increasing insistency that they are the only nation who
+can deal with the Chinese Question because they are themselves an Asiatic
+people. They justify this pretension by their primitive Asiatic military
+ethics, and it is an instructive spectacle to see their forces massacring
+Chinese populations wholesale while their diplomatists are ostentatiously
+shielding those in high places from the just consequences of their
+crimes. The German Emperor has said many clever and some foolish things,
+but perhaps he never did a wiser one than in making over his schemes of
+vengeance to his august ally, for the work is more becoming to an Asiatic
+than a Teutonic people.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+From an areopagus composed of these incongruous elements great
+achievements are expected, but the comparison between the end and the
+means inspires little confidence as to the result. The task itself is
+gigantic enough to appal the boldest political experimenter that ever
+lived, while its complexity involves insoluble contradictions. China,
+the very Government itself, has been guilty of outrages against foreign
+nations such as no nation can forgive another. The foreign Powers have
+been openly and persistently defied--their people massacred throughout
+the empire. Yet the nations so hated and flouted assume that they
+have a mission to fulfil in setting up a stable Government in China, a
+Government to be created for their own convenience, with which they may
+in future negotiate,--a puppet Government, therefore, yet one which is to
+maintain peace and good order throughout a vast empire by the prestige
+of its authority over a loyal and devoted people. As buttresses to the
+stability of the new _régime_, "the loyal southern viceroys," as they
+are termed--loyal to whom, or to what?--deriving authority, it is to be
+presumed, from the Government which is to be patronised by foreigners, are
+expected to meet the convenience of the dictators and prevent anarchy in
+the provinces. In short, the subjective Chinaman, as we have ventured to
+call the fabulous animal so often evolved from Western consciousness, is
+once more to be brought on the scene, and do everything that is expected
+of him.
+
+A puppet Government is an intelligible thing, but of a puppet pulled by
+a dozen strings no clear conception can be formed. Such, however, has
+been the anomalous history of foreign relations with China, that the
+identical state of things now threatening has not been absent from the
+minds of observers for a whole generation. The missionary question alone
+was thought likely to result in a deadlock between China and the Powers.
+More than thirty years ago Sir Rutherford Alcock was impressed with the
+destructive effect of "each treaty Power dictating to the Government and
+coercing its officers in their jurisdiction wherever Christians were
+concerned." This, he thought, "would tend to paralyse and bring into
+contempt the executive, leading to a process of disintegration fatal to
+the existence of the Empire." What was then thought applicable to the
+missionary field now affects the whole range of international intercourse
+and of Chinese government. We are, in fact, confronted by two anarchies
+of most serious portent--anarchy in the administration of China, and
+anarchy among the foreign Powers who are so active in that country. From
+the beginning of the intervention to protect the Legations anarchy among
+the Allies has been the predominant feature: it was that which frustrated
+effective action in June, and led to such severe loss and suffering.
+Anarchy alone can account for the lawless proceedings at Tientsin,
+Peking, and on the Chinese coast, which on any other hypothesis would be a
+disgrace to civilisation. Anarchy has characterised all the utterances of
+the Western Powers. Beginning at the wrong end with great swelling words
+full of sound and fury, the Powers who assumed to lead have gradually
+toned down their threats as they obtained more light on the situation
+and on their own incapacity to deal with it. The latest expression of
+this incapacity is the Anglo-German Agreement, already referred to, which
+perpetuates the fallacy of excluding the Chinese factor from the China
+question. Yet out of, even by means of, this confusion it is expected that
+order may be established in China! _Similia similibus!_
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In this desperate imbroglio the ultimate advantage will no doubt fall
+to those members of the unnatural coalition who have the clearest views
+and the firmest resolution in giving effect to them. The dubious and
+vacillating Powers frittering away their political forces, espousing every
+contradiction in succession, and turning in weariness from the disgusting
+scenes in which they will have reluctantly participated, will in all
+probability leave the path open for their neighbours who have steadier
+aims and fewer scruples.
+
+Russia has been in real, though not nominal or legal, possession of
+Manchuria since 1896. She has absorbed in times past many stony deserts
+and barren solitudes, but in Manchuria she has for the first time
+acquired a rich territory with an all-important sea-base and a virile
+population, whereby her dominant position in Eastern Asia has been
+rendered inexpugnable. China lies at her feet. Obviously, therefore,
+her interests in that empire are not only distinct from, but opposed to,
+those of every other Power: for while they may desire (1) to support an
+efficient government and keep the empire of China on its legs, and (2) to
+cut off slices of the territory for their own use,--two contradictory and
+mutually destructive policies,--Russia has no need to be anxious, either
+as to the efficiency of any Chinese Government or as to her own ulterior
+interests in the territory. The looser the substance to be absorbed the
+more painless will be the process of absorption. Once established in
+strength in Manchuria, disorder on her frontier may afford the perhaps not
+unwelcome opportunity of restoring order on her own terms,--of, in fact,
+continuing the process by which Siberia with Central and North-Eastern
+Asia have, in the course of two hundred years, been gradually incorporated
+into the Russian Empire. "It may well be doubted," wrote Sir Rutherford
+Alcock in 1868, "if this vast empire (of China) is not too large to be
+any longer governed from Peking. It is impossible to conceive a more
+disadvantageous site for the capital." Disadvantageous, perhaps, to
+China, whose centre of gravity lies a thousand miles to the south; but
+not disadvantageous to a Power whose strength is consolidated five hundred
+miles to the north.[39]
+
+And the veto which Russia has exercised over the acts of the Chinese
+Government since 1895, whereby she has been able, at her pleasure, to
+frustrate the enterprises of other Powers, is not likely to fall into
+abeyance when that Government has been prostrated by its own folly. For
+the weaker the Chinese Government becomes the greater will be its need of
+correction and guidance. But we have only to imagine half-a-dozen Powers,
+each aspiring, and some of them fully resolved, to exercise their special
+veto over the proposals of the others, to realise the tragic complexity
+of the international problems which now present themselves for solution.
+A government holding together three hundred millions of people ripened
+for rebellion, potentially at war with the rest of the world, and yet
+governing under multiple tutelage--such is the prospect before us. Of
+all the legacies which the nineteenth bequeaths to the twentieth century,
+there is none more portentous than that of the sick giant of the Far East.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [33] See vol. i. p. 38.
+
+ [34] Mr Freeman-Mitford, in 'The Attaché at Peking,' recently
+    published, tells the following good story illustrative of this
+    (p. 168). M. de Mas, the Spanish Minister, happening to be at
+    the house of Hêng-Chi, and knowing that he had a little son of
+    whom he was inordinately proud, thought it would be a very pretty
+    compliment if he asked to see the little boy, who was accordingly
+    produced, sucking his thumb after the manner of his years. Him his
+    father ordered to pay his respects to M. de Mas--that is to say,
+    shake his united fists at him in token of salutation; instead of
+    which the child, after long silence and much urging, taking his
+    thumb deliberately out of his mouth roared out "Kwei-tzu" (devils)
+    at the top of his voice and fled.
+
+ [35] Referring to the massacre of Armenian Christians, with regard
+    to which Germany took up a very different attitude from that now
+    assumed towards China--a circumstance, by the way, which serves
+    to reduce the "Christian" factor in the present intervention to
+    its proper value.
+
+ [36] Or, as M. Paul Boell expresses it, "Traitant la Chine tantôt
+    comme un pouvoir tout à fait formidable, tantôt comme une
+    puissance nègre de septième ordre."
+
+ [37] Kwanghsu, being first cousin to the deceased Emperor Tungchih,
+    could not, according to Chinese usage, be his heir. In adopting
+    him, therefore, as posthumous heir to the previous Emperor
+    Hsienfêng, his uncle, the Regent left her own son, the Emperor
+    Tungchih, without an heir, promising to supply the want from
+    the future offspring of Kwanghsu, or by some other adoption; but
+    against this procedure strong protests were made. The arrangement,
+    however, conferred upon the Dowager-Empress, as the widow of
+    Hsienfêng, the authority of a mother over his heir, a circumstance
+    which to a large extent accounts for the filial deference the
+    reigning emperor has always paid to his adoptive mother.
+
+ [38] Thirty years ago the great Nanking viceroy, Tsêng Kwo-fan,
+    assured the Government in a memorial to the throne that if the
+    question of treaty revision could not be satisfactorily arranged
+    with foreigners, he had forces enough under his orders to drive
+    them all into the sea.
+
+ [39] The question of removing the capital to a more convenient site
+    has been discussed academically--by foreigners--for many years,
+    their view being that Nanking would be the most suitable. No doubt
+    a central point open to the sea would be more convenient for the
+    maritime Powers, but that is evidently not an advantage which
+    commends itself to the Chinese themselves. During the Japanese war
+    their strategists urged the removal of the Court from Peking to
+    Signan fu in Shensi, simply on the ground of the inaccessibility
+    of the latter site. The transport was prepared and the Emperor
+    was ready, but the Empress-Dowager vetoed the project.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK'S LATER YEARS.
+
+    Retirement--Literary work--Social and charitable
+    occupations--Geographical Society--Borneo--Failing health--Active
+    to the end.
+
+
+After twenty-seven years' service in the Far East Sir Rutherford Alcock
+spent the remaining twenty-seven years of his life in his own country,
+not in the placid enjoyment of a well-earned leisure or in mere literary
+recreation, but in labours incessant for the good of his countrymen.
+Though the scene had changed, the methodical habits of his business life
+remained unaltered, and were directed in their full activity to the duties
+that presented themselves in England.
+
+During his whole active life Sir Rutherford had cherished the hope of
+occupying his years of leisure with work for the sick and needy. His
+visit to England, 1856-58, perhaps gave the definite direction to this
+aspiration, and led him to see that hospitals, schools, prisons, and
+similar institutions would afford the best available medium through
+which he could reach the object of his desires. No sooner, therefore,
+was he released from official service than the ex-army surgeon returned
+to his first love. The associations of his youth were bound up with the
+two hospitals in Westminster where he had studied. There, accordingly,
+after the lapse of forty years, his active connection with the medical
+schools was resumed. Residing in the immediate vicinity, Sir Rutherford
+was able to devote a large share of his time to the affairs of Westminster
+Hospital, giving back with interest what he had received from his nursing
+mother. He was a regular visitor there: before long he joined the Board,
+and became a prominent figure at its meetings. Being appointed one of the
+vice-presidents, an office he held till his death, he was, through his
+constant attendance, the working chairman of the board. There was much
+good work waiting to be done in the control and direction of the routine
+service of the establishment, and still more in the way of improvements
+required to adapt the machine to the needs of the time. Hospitals in
+general were by no means in a satisfactory condition thirty years ago,
+and the Westminster was certainly no better than its neighbours. The
+sanitary state of the establishment was antiquated and unfavourable to
+the patients. But the structural changes necessary to improve this and to
+extend the accommodation, and the heavy expenditure involved, demanded
+first-rate financial and organising capacity, as well as unremitting
+labour,--desiderata which Sir Rutherford was eminently qualified to
+supply. The nursing was at such a low level as amounted almost to a
+scandal. Drastic remedies, in short, and in many directions, were called
+for. But reform from within is proverbially an unpromising undertaking,
+the _personnel_ being identified with conservative traditions. That kind
+of parsimony which is in effect the worst extravagance, inasmuch as it
+yields no adequate return, was a serious obstacle to improvement. It was
+not their fault, but that of the system of which they were but creatures,
+that nurses and other attendants were so perfunctory and so inefficient.
+It was the system, therefore, that had to be reformed, and into that work
+Sir Rutherford Alcock threw himself _con amore_. In his labours for the
+improvement of the hospital he was supported throughout by the cordial
+co-operation of the late Lady Augusta Stanley. We are indebted to his
+colleague, Mr George Cowell, F.R.C.S., for a short reference to the work
+initiated and carried through by Sir Rutherford Alcock, and for a warm
+tribute to the zeal and ability which he brought into the service:--
+
+    Most of the many valuable reports on such subjects as the nursing,
+    admission of out-patients, structural alterations, and improved
+    sanitation were written by him, and endorsed by the committees
+    over which he so ably presided. The writer of this notice
+    remembers the early controversies with reference to the nursing,
+    and the growing complaints which failed to receive attention until
+    Sir Rutherford came on the scene. Hospital committees in those
+    days were not so liberal as they are now, and all increase in
+    the wages of the nurses was absolutely refused for many years.
+    The result of this parsimony was that as the general rate of
+    wages increased, the best nurses were enticed away by better pay
+    elsewhere, and Westminster had gradually come to be nursed by a
+    lower and lower class, and indeed thirty years ago it was not an
+    unheard-of thing to convict a nurse for consuming brandy ordered
+    for the patient. The medical staff were obliged to make a stand
+    against this crying evil, and at last, with the assistance of Sir
+    Rutherford, and in spite of the determined opposition of the then
+    senior physician, a change was made, and the cost of the nursing
+    was doubled at a bound.
+
+Sir Rutherford was chairman of the Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital for
+sixteen years, and of the Hospital for Women in Soho Square, to both
+of which institutions he rendered great services. He was member of the
+Council of the House of Charity for assisting those who have seen better
+days, and chairman of the Nursing Home founded by Lady Augusta Stanley,
+in which he took a keen interest. He was also a Poor Law Guardian and
+a leader in sundry charitable and other parochial work, his experiences
+of which he likened to the steps of a dancing-master--"two forward and
+one backward, with no very sensible advance in any one direction." One
+important step forward he did, however, succeed in making, and that was
+in obtaining trained nurses for sick inmates of workhouses. His efforts,
+while connected with St George's Union, were specially devoted to the
+treatment of the sick: he also took a great interest in the emigration of
+pauper children to Canada.
+
+As a member of the committee of the Charity Organisation Society he
+laboured for many years in a variety of ways to bring about unity of
+action between that body and the Board of Guardians. In connection with
+the Westminster District Board of Works, Board of Parochial Trustees,
+Western Dispensary, and Westminster Nursing Committee, he rendered
+innumerable services to the populous districts controlled by these
+organisations. Having been elected to the Board of Works in 1875, Sir
+Rutherford was at once placed upon the Sanitary Committee, to which the
+Board delegated the administration of the Public Health Acts then in
+force. The vestry clerk of St Margaret's and St John's records that the
+Sanitary Committee of the District Board of Works was Sir Rutherford's
+favourite field of work--an impression which was no doubt also formed by
+the executive officers of the other spheres of his multifarious activity.
+The members of the Board were at that time greatly occupied in combating
+the evils resulting from the overcrowded and insanitary condition of
+their district, and Sir Rutherford was largely instrumental in urging
+upon the Home Office the necessity of legislation to compel medical
+practitioners and heads of families to give notice of cases of infectious
+diseases--efforts which eventually resulted in the Act of Parliament of
+1889.
+
+In 1881 he was appointed a member of the Royal Commission to investigate
+the London smallpox and fever hospitals, to the formation of which he
+had contributed powerfully by his reports and articles and labours in the
+Medical Conference. In 1882 he presided over the Health Department of the
+Social Science Congress.
+
+In all the social and philanthropic objects to which he devoted himself he
+was an original worker, never a follower of routine or one to say ditto
+to another man's opinions. Whatever he undertook he did thoroughly, and
+with a single eye to the main purpose. His various activities brought him
+into contact with all sorts and conditions of men, but chiefly with those
+on the pathetic side of social life--the unfortunate, the debilitated,
+the improvident, the suffering. He shirked none of his obligations to the
+meanest of these, and would suffer the greatest personal inconvenience
+rather than fail in fulfilment of the smallest promise, or in gratifying
+the slightest request. This punctilious observance of the minor duties
+was remarked as a prominent feature in his character. An intimate friend
+writes, "How I wish I could convey even a faint idea of his kindly and
+sympathetic friendship, which left the feeling that he was on a plane
+above one in his lofty sense of love and duty." Pure philanthropy,
+genuine economy, and sound finance being his guiding principles in all
+social undertakings, and whatever he undertook being pushed through to
+a successful issue, he by degrees acquired a reputation for efficiency
+and tenacity. It was not surprising that his energetic character should
+have gained him the credit of aggressiveness, or, as Mr Co well puts
+it, "bellicose individuality," which, however, served him in good stead
+in every post he occupied. We have already seen throughout his official
+career how he was stimulated by controversy: he was at his best as a
+fighting man.
+
+The high qualities which Sir Rutherford devoted to his labours of love
+received flattering recognition from the Queen, who applied to him to draw
+up the regulations and rules of the institution by which deserving nurses
+were to be benefited in commemoration of her Majesty's Jubilee. This
+honour he accepted from her Majesty on the condition that he should have
+for colleagues in the work Sir James Paget and the Duke of Westminster, a
+request which was graciously granted. The balance of the Women's Jubilee
+offering of 1887 was £70,000, of which fund the three were appointed
+trustees. They decided that it should be applied to the foundation of
+an institution to promote the education and maintenance of nurses for
+the sick poor in their own homes. When the scheme had been matured a
+royal charter of incorporation was granted, wherein the governing body
+was styled "The Queen Victoria Jubilee Institute for Nurses," the three
+trustees being appointed to act permanently in that capacity, and also as
+members of the Council of the Institute. "Sir Rutherford," says the Rev.
+Arthur Peile, Master of St Katharine's, "continued to the last to take
+an unfailing interest in the work, and in many valuable ways aided the
+committee and council by his advice. From his wide grasp of the subject
+in its various bearings he was able to make important suggestions."
+The Diamond Jubilee and the incidents connected with the celebration
+interested Sir Rutherford greatly during the last year of his life, and
+the medal he received on the occasion was valued by him more highly than
+any other distinction, because he knew that the bestowal of it was the
+spontaneous act of the Queen herself, for whom he had a deep personal
+affection.
+
+To the larger public Sir Rutherford Alcock was perhaps best known by his
+work in connection with the Royal Geographical Society, on the committee
+of which he served for twenty years. Elected President in 1876, it
+fell to him to receive Sir George Nares on his return from his Arctic
+expedition in that year, and Mr H. M. Stanley on his return from the
+Congo in 1877. His various presidential addresses to the Society itself,
+and to the geographical section of the British Association, are replete
+with well-digested summaries of the progress of geographical exploration
+throughout the world. His comprehensive treatment of the subject assisted
+very much, if not to make geography a science, at least to lift it out
+of the region of mere technical knowledge, and to assign to the study of
+it the social and political significance now universally attached to the
+description of the earth's surface. Personally he did much to stimulate
+enterprise of that kind in various regions. As Chairman of the African
+Exploration Fund, he took an active share in the labours which resulted in
+the despatch of Mr Keith Johnston and Mr Joseph Thomson to East Africa,
+and, by bringing the country into notice, had such important results in
+the direction of the opening up of that part of the continent. Speaking
+of him a few days after his death, the President, Sir Clements Markham,
+said: "Judicious, patient, and courteous, he was esteemed by us all,
+and his able advice helped us out of many a difficulty. The period of
+his presidency will always be remembered for the energy with which he
+advocated African exploration, the result of his efforts being represented
+by the memorable expeditions of Joseph Thomson."
+
+We have already had occasion to remark on the personal interest which Sir
+Rutherford had taken during the earlier years of his service in China and
+Japan in the London Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862.[40] Indeed the Japanese
+"show" in the latter was virtually organised by him. His well-known
+sympathy with, and interest in, all industrial and artistic collections
+led to his being chosen as British Commissioner to the Paris Exhibition
+of 1878.
+
+About the same time a question of imperial concern claimed Sir
+Rutherford's active intervention: that was colonisation in the Eastern
+Archipelago. Borneo, the largest island in the world after Australia,
+has from time to time excited considerable interest in Great Britain.
+The romantic career of the Rajah of Sarawak, Sir James Brooke, on the
+west coast, had much to do with bringing that part of the world into
+public notice. Adopting as his country the domain made over to him by the
+native chiefs, Rajah Brooke laboured among his people like a missionary
+of civilisation, trampled out the savage customs of the natives, and
+after many trials gained the confidence of the people by his justice and
+firmness, and eventually brought the country into a state of prosperity
+and good order. In this he was loyally seconded by Captain Keppel, now
+Admiral of the Fleet, whose 'Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido' is a
+graphic story of their joint adventures among pirates and head-hunters.
+Coal having been found in Labuan, adjoining the Rajah's territory, that
+island was acquired by Great Britain in 1847, under treaty from the Sultan
+of Brunei, who engaged not to make any cession of his territory without
+her Majesty's consent, and established as a Crown colony.
+
+The Netherlands and Spain claimed between them, upon a vague tenure,
+enormous tracts of the coast of Borneo and the adjoining archipelago,
+effectually blocking all progress in these regions. There still remained,
+however, an important section of the northern part of that immense island
+unappropriated by the white man. Portions of this tract had been leased
+to an American citizen, who transferred it to an American company; but
+being unable to furnish the capital either to pay the stipulated rent
+or to develop so enormous a property, in 1877 the holders were glad
+to part with all their rights to an English association consisting of
+Baron von Overbeck and Mr (now Sir) Alfred Dent, who undertook to pay
+the agreed tribute to the Sultans of Borneo and Sooloo. Possessing this
+immense estate, with the sovereign rights inherent in the proprietor, the
+English association made arrangements to develop the property. Agents
+were sent out to occupy certain points on the coast, and a provisional
+government, suited to the requirements of the place, was set up. But the
+administration putting too heavy a strain upon a private individual, Mr
+Dent set to work to find assistance in his undertaking.
+
+At this juncture, 1879, Sir Rutherford Alcock, impressed by the important
+strategical position of the island of Borneo, lying close to the track of
+vessels traversing the China Sea, its possession of several good harbours,
+and prospective coal supply, joined Mr Dent in his efforts to place the
+British occupation of the Bornean harbours on a secure basis. As a first
+step it was necessary to organise a company with sufficient capital to
+take over the government and utilise the resources of the territory. This
+may well have seemed at the time not only an arduous but an impossible
+undertaking; for nothing short of a royal charter could supply the
+necessary guarantee to attract capitalists, and to assure them that their
+property investment would eventually be productive. The era had long gone
+past when royal charters were granted to merchant adventurers. Such an
+institution, therefore, seemed an anachronism, opposed to the spirit of
+the age. Nor was the political colour of the British Government at the
+time encouraging to imperial schemes of any description. In spite of these
+difficulties the knowledge of affairs and insistency of Sir Rutherford
+Alcock and the other promoters enabled them eventually to succeed in
+pushing their enterprise with the Government to the point of obtaining a
+charter of incorporation in November 1881. On the faith of this charter a
+company was formed, of which the capital now stands at £2,000,000, under
+the title of the "British North Borneo Company." Sir Rutherford Alcock
+became the chairman, which post he continued to fill during the ten
+years which may be considered the probationary stage of the company. To
+him it owed much of its success in overcoming the numerous difficulties
+incidental to starting so novel a venture; and among his other labours in
+its behalf he drew up a full and elaborate handbook of North Borneo. It
+was not a trading, but a governing and a land-owning company, its revenues
+consisting of royalties paid by private adventurers for the privileges
+of mining, agriculture, and so forth, licences and the necessary taxes
+on commerce. But the interests of a dividend-earning and a governing
+company were so nearly incompatible that no little ingenuity as well as
+patient effort were required to bring about reconciliation between the
+two elements.
+
+The affairs of the company have been conducted with great perseverance,
+the exploitation of the territory by means of planting, mining, and
+industries of various kinds having been handed over to subsidiary
+companies created for the purpose, while the parent body maintains its
+position as overlord, administering the whole territory.
+
+But amidst his numerous preoccupations in England Sir Rutherford never
+loosened his grasp on the events which were transpiring in the distant
+field to which his official life had been devoted. As the only competent
+and persistent critic of these events, he did as much as one man could to
+turn the eyes of his countrymen towards their most important interests
+in Further Asia. Nearly every passing event was noticed briefly by
+him in the columns of the daily press, while the permanent features of
+the Far Eastern problem, which are only now beginning to dawn upon the
+consciousness of the nation, were copiously dealt with in the monthly
+magazines and in the more stately pages of the 'Edinburgh Review.' Sir
+Rutherford's contributions to periodical literature, forming a tolerably
+complete repertory of the questions arising out of the intercourse of
+Europe with Eastern Asia, would fill many volumes. As late as 1896 the
+subject was still uppermost in his mind. "In China," he then wrote,
+"there is a far larger Eastern question than what is occupying us at
+Constantinople. An open port for Russia, a railroad across Russia, with
+the French scheming for our commerce in the Indo-Chinese peninsula,--the
+whole situation is full of danger to all our interests in China." And
+during the last year of his life the thought of all that had been lost
+to the country through sheer neglect seemed to weigh heavily on his
+mind. That his constant premonitions of coming changes passed practically
+unheeded by the public to whom they were addressed is unfortunately true;
+and it is trite to say that it would have been well for this country
+if the warnings of such serious writers as this had been taken to heart
+before instead of after the deluge. But that would have been a historical
+anomaly, for mankind has learned little since the days of Noah.
+
+Under the valid plea of advancing age and failing health Sir Rutherford
+during his last years relinquished one after another the offices which
+he had filled with so much earnestness and good faith. Deafness alone
+obliged him to retire from the active chairmanship of the Westminster
+Hospital, though his attendances at the weekly meetings of the Board
+were unremitting to the very end. As late as July 1897 he took a leading
+part in measures he deemed urgent for the wellbeing of the institution.
+During the Jubilee celebrations he was able to receive a formal visit
+from a party of twelve Dyak police from British North Borneo, under the
+command of Mr Wardrop. The Committee of the Jubilee Nurses continued to
+meet at his house, and he did work for the institution during the summer.
+While at Wimbledon with his family in August, he was seized by an illness
+from which he rallied sufficiently to be brought home to his house at
+Westminster, where he came under the medical care of his old friend and
+physician, Dr Lionel Beale. Among the few friends who were admitted to see
+him during the last month of his life were the Dean of Westminster, Lord
+Lister, Mr Edmund Bagshawe of Bath, and one or two others. His strength
+was then gradually failing, though he retained his intellect unimpaired
+till within a few days of the end, on November 2, 1897. He was buried in
+Merstham churchyard. His widow, nearly his own age, survived him sixteen
+months, dying in March 1899. How much the maintenance of the husband's
+long life of active usefulness owed to the support and encouragement of
+a judicious and devoted wife must remain behind the veil. She had her
+reward.
+
+  [Illustration: MAP OF EASTERN ASIA
+   TO ILLUSTRATE
+   THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA IN THE VICTORIAN ERA
+   BY ALEXANDER MICHIE]
+
+It may be interesting in conclusion to add a few words of Sir Rutherford
+Alcock's estimate of himself, which occur in a letter to the friend who
+had pressed him on the subject of biography, written within a year of his
+death. "In worldly things," he said, "I have been exceptionally favoured
+by opportunities, many of them unanticipated, and rather fortuitous than
+by any efforts or merits. My early life was marked by a great rashness,
+and a readiness to accept responsibilities which savoured much of
+presumption and confidence from conceit in my powers to deal with whatever
+fell in my way--very different from my retrospect in old age and the
+sobered estimate my judgment is now disposed to form of all I undertook
+and accomplished, and the risks I accepted, through my fifty years of
+active life."
+
+If, however, age be the season appropriate for judgment, youth is the time
+for laying up the materials for it; and he who takes no risks achieves
+nothing worthy of being judged. We estimate the man by his record rather
+than by his own review of it, falling back on the criterion, valid in all
+circumstances, "By their fruits ye shall know them."
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [40] In 1863 the University of Oxford conferred upon him the degree
+    of D.C.L.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+  Adkins, Mr, reports foreign atrocities, i. 302, 303;
+    in charge of Peking legations, i. 355;
+    intimate with Hangki, ii. 140;
+    on mixed commission regarding redress of commercial grievances,
+      ii. 212;
+    interview with Li, ii. 244, 245.
+
+  Alabaster, Sir Challoner, ii. 206, 359.
+
+  Alcock, John Rutherford--
+    _Chronological sequence of career_--
+      Birth and early years, i. 1, 2;
+      medical education, i. 2-4; visit to Paris, i. 2;
+      medical work, i.8; campaign in Portugal, i. 14-20;
+      campaign in Spain, i. 21, 22;
+      publications on surgery, i. 23, 24;
+      appointed Inspector of Anatomy, i. 25;
+      marriage, i. 26;
+      paralysis of hands, i. 27;
+      appointed consul at Foochow, i. 29, 116;
+      residence at Amoy, i. 116, 117;
+      at Foochow, i. 117-122;
+      Consular Reports (1845-46), i. 123;
+      appointed to Shanghai, i. 126;
+      Tsingpu affair, i. 129-133;
+      Taiping occupation of Shanghai, i. 138, 141;
+      custom-house plans, i. 148, 151-154;
+      promoted to Canton consulate, i. 156;
+      death of his wife, i. 158;
+      literary work, i. 159;
+      first furlough, i. 159;
+      Memorandum requested by Foreign Office, i. 332;
+      appointed Consul-General in Japan and granted title of
+        Plenipotentiary, ii. 14;
+      arrival in Yedo, ii. 15-17;
+      journey up the Inland Sea, ii. 36, 42;
+      expedition to Fujiyama, ii. 41, 42;
+      leaves Yedo on furlough (1862), ii. 50;
+      made K.C.B., ii. 70;
+      completes 'The Capital of the Tycoon,' ii. 70;
+      made D.C.L. of Oxford University (1863), ii. 484 _note_;
+      returns to Yedo, ii. 70;
+      second marriage, ii. 73;
+      recalled by Earl Russell, ii. 87, 88;
+      leaves Japan, ii. 91;
+      publishes 'Art and Art Industries of Japan,' ii. 102;
+      publishes Japanese Grammar, ii. 103;
+      appointed minister to China, ii. 130;
+      efforts against coolie trade, ii. 168, 171, 172;
+      favours Burlingame mission, ii. 194, 195;
+      departure for Europe, ii. 218;
+      criticisms of Far Eastern events, ii. 476, 477;
+      work for Westminster Hospital, ii. 478-480;
+      various public and charitable works, ii. 480, 481, 483;
+      receives Jubilee medal from the Queen, ii. 483;
+      work regarding colonisation in Borneo, ii. 485-488;
+      illness and death, ii. 488, 489.
+    _Personal characteristics_--
+      Aggressiveness, ii. 482.
+      Alertness, ii. 16, 100.
+      Appearance, i. 117.
+      Appreciative faculty, ii. 139.
+      Art, love of, i. 2, 4, ii. 101.
+      Common-sense, i. 27.
+      Courage and nerve, i. 15-17, 27, ii. 100, 126.
+      Courtesy, ii. 484.
+      Duty, devotion to, i. 15, 18, 157, ii. 16, 101, 138, 482.
+      Energy, i. 26, 116, ii. 16, 482, 484.
+      Enthusiasm, i. 27.
+      Formality, ii. 139.
+      Geniality to intimates, ii. 139.
+      Grasp of fundamentals and breadth of view, i. 116, 122, 143, 162,
+        166, 204.
+      Hospitality, ii. 139.
+      Industry, ii. 139.
+      Judgment and farsightedness, i. 18, 163, ii. 484.
+      Kindness and sympathy, ii. 482.
+      Loyalty, ii. 138.
+      Lucidity of style, i. 26, 166.
+      Practical philosophy, i. 161.
+      Reserve, i. 158, ii. 121.
+      Resolution, ii. 101.
+      Responsibility, fearlessness of, i. 20, 166, 437, ii. 16, 489.
+      Thoroughness and earnestness of purpose, i. 18, 27, ii. 16, 181,
+        361, 481.
+
+  Alcock, Lady, marriage of, ii. 73;
+    death of, ii. 489.
+
+  Alcock, Mrs (_née_ Bacon), marriage of, i. 26;
+    arrival in Foochow, i. 120;
+    death of, i. 158.
+
+  America, Americans (_see also_ Powers)--
+    British support advantageous to, i. 437.
+    Burlingame mission to, ii. 192, 193, 196, 197.
+    Chinese trade with, i. 168, 177;
+      Chinese traders in, i. 270;
+      "dummy" Chinaman evolved by, i. 338, 339;
+      action against Chinese emigration, ii. 174;
+      Chinese youths educated in, ii. 394, 395.
+    Custom-house co-operation omitted in treaty of, i. 146;
+      customs not levied by, at Shanghai in Taiping rebellion, i. 149.
+    Disputes of French and British with (1849), i. 435.
+    Foochow developed by, i. 121, 122, 241.
+    Japan, naval demonstration off, ii. 2;
+      Mr Harris's treaty, ii. 3, 5, 39, 99;
+      Minister remains in Yedo during assassination period, ii. 36;
+      Japanese mission to, ii. 47;
+      artillery officers declined by Japanese, ii. 110.
+    Korean expedition from, ii. 178, 179.
+    Li's visit to, ii. 387.
+    Missionaries from, in Yangtze expedition, i. 370.
+    Non-aggressive policy of, ii. 468.
+    Opium included in Tientsin treaty at instance of, i. 342.
+    Shipping industry in, i. 224, 228-230.
+    Silk industry of, i. 191.
+    Taiping rebellion, joint action with British at Shanghai during,
+      i. 138.
+    Tientsin Conference attended by (1854), i. 311;
+      at Tientsin later with Lord Elgin, i. 331.
+    Toleration clause in treaty of, ii. 224.
+
+  Amoy--
+    Alcock's residence at, i. 116, 117.
+    Opening of, i. 115.
+    'Times' pronouncement against, i. 114.
+
+  Amur, the, Russian acquisitions on, ii. 252, 422.
+
+  Anatomy Act, Alcock appointed Inspector under, i. 25, 26.
+
+  Anderson, Dr John, cited, ii. 267.
+
+  Annam, French conquest of, ii. 253, 324, 325.
+
+  A'Pak, exploit of, against lorchas, i. 304, 305.
+
+  Arbuthnot, G., on Japanese currency, ii. 19, 22, 23.
+
+  Arrow, crew of, seized by Chinese, i. 309;
+    Lord Elgin's view of incident, i. 323, 324.
+
+  Atami, Springs of, Alcock's visit to, ii. 32, 42.
+
+  'Attaché at Peking, The,' cited, ii. 444 _note_.
+
+  Australia, attitude of, towards Chinese emigrants, ii. 174.
+
+  Austria, envoy from, received in audience at Peking, ii. 320, 321.
+
+
+  Baber, Colborne, ii. 150, 272, 359.
+
+  Bacon, Miss. _See_ Alcock, Mrs.
+
+  Baldwin, Major, assassination of, ii. 91.
+
+  Balfour, the Right Hon. A. J., speech of, regarding Russian ports,
+    ii. 425, 430, 432.
+
+  Balfour, Captain George, i. 124, 128.
+
+  Bernard, W. D., cited, i. 63.
+
+  Biegeleben, M., ii. 320, 321.
+
+  Bird, Lieutenant, assassination of, ii. 91.
+
+  Birileff, Count, at Tsushima, ii. 111-114.
+
+  Blakiston, Captain, cited, i. 370.
+
+  Bonham, Sir George, succeeds Sir J. Davis at Hongkong, i. 131;
+    rebuffed by Seu, i. 165;
+    applies to Alcock for information, i. 166;
+    asked to defend Nanking against Taipings, i. 312;
+    Alcock's despatch to (1852), i. 428-432.
+
+  Borneo, Alcock's interest in British development of, ii. 485-488.
+
+  Bowring, Sir John, demands right of entry into Canton, i. 160;
+    Russian despatches brought to, i. 233;
+    plenipotentiary at Hongkong, i. 309;
+    dealings with Yeh, i. 310, 313, 314;
+    visit to Tientsin, i. 311;
+    protects factories at Canton, i. 312;
+    influenced towards strong measures, i. 315;
+    policy of, i. 319, 323 _note_;
+    superseded, i. 319, 320.
+
+  Boxers, ii. 462, 463.
+
+  Bright, the Right Hon. John, confidence of, in Sir R. Hart,
+      ii. 164-166;
+    attitude of, towards China trade, ii. 365, 366.
+
+  Brodie, Sir Benjamin, i. 25.
+
+  Brown, J. McLeavy, ii. 194.
+
+  Brown, Major-General, i. 385, 386, 392.
+
+  Browne, Colonel Horace, ii. 266, 267.
+
+  Bruce, the Hon. Frederick--Tientsin treaty brought home by, i. 335;
+    repulsed at Taku forts, i. 348;
+    British minister at Peking, i. 355;
+    prohibits Englishmen from visiting Peking, i. 363;
+    adopts determined attitude, i. 367;
+    refuses to defend Ningpo, i. 377;
+    Gordon's interview with, i. 383;
+    supports Burgevine's cause, i. 384, 385;
+    implicated in the Lay-Osborn flotilla failure, i. 389, 390;
+    applauds Gordon's resentment against Li, i. 392;
+    policy and diplomacy, i. 401-404, 407;
+    correspondence with Prince Kung, i. 404-406, 409;
+    confuses legal authority of himself and Supreme Court, ii. 124,
+      125;
+    succeeded by Alcock, ii. 130;
+    anecdote of his housekeeper, ii. 152;
+    relations with Inspector-General of Customs in Peking, ii. 156,
+      159, 160.
+
+  Burgevine, General, i. 382, 384-387.
+
+  Burlingame, the Hon. Anson, mission of, as Chinese envoy, ii. 192-198;
+    Alcock's approval of the mission, ii. 194, 195;
+    Alcock's subsequent view, ii. 217;
+    British Government influenced by mission, ii. 208, 209;
+    negotiates American treaty giving full privileges to Chinese
+      immigrants, ii. 174;
+    asserts Chinese welcome to missionaries, ii. 232.
+
+  Burma--
+    Browne, Colonel H., expedition under, ii. 266, 267.
+    King of, ii. 269.
+
+
+  Campbell, Duncan, ii. 333.
+
+  Canton--
+    Alcock promoted to consulate of, i. 156.
+    Arrogant hostility and excesses of population, i. 72, 92, 95-99,
+      107, 274, 415, 419.
+    Arrow incident, i. 309, 323, 324.
+    Blockade of river (1839), i. 61, 63.
+    Commerce carried on during hostilities, i. 68, 69, ii. 158.
+    Conditions of life in, in early days, i. 33, 34, 46.
+    D'Aguilar's destruction of river defences, i. 102, 103.
+    Davies, Sir John, policy of, i. 94, 99-104, 106-108.
+    Entry, right of, refused, i. 98, 107, 114, 160, 165, 310, 333, 338.
+    Factories attacked (1846), i. 99;
+      burned (1856), i. 317.
+    Foochow sensitive to disturbances in, i. 119, 314.
+    French attack feared, ii. 326-328.
+    Merchants in, imprisoned, i. 53, 55;
+      views of, disparaged, i. 254;
+      characteristics of, i. 255;
+      influence of, i. 315;
+      friction between Sir J. Davis and, ii. 119.
+    "Merchants' War," i. 316 _seq._
+    Naval construction attempted at, ii. 396.
+    Occupation of, by Allied troops, i. 328, 342-345;
+      Kowloon concession obtained during occupation, i. 286;
+      evacuated by Allies, i. 396.
+    Portuguese relief of, in sixteenth century, i. 259;
+      Portuguese crews slaughtered by Cantonese, i. 304, 305.
+    Revolutionary conspiracies in neighbourhood of, ii. 456.
+    Shameen site acquired, i. 330.
+    Smuggling insignificant at, i. 144, 145.
+    Taipings at, i. 312.
+    War of 1839-42--blockade of river, i. 63;
+      destruction of Bogue forts and junks, i. 66;
+      forts restored, i. 67;
+      recaptured, i. 68;
+      fire-raft attempts, i. 71;
+      British attack stopped by Elliot, i. 71;
+      ransom taken for the city, i. 72, 91;
+      departure of British troops, i. 72;
+      evil effects of ransoming, i. 108.
+    War of 1857 ("The Merchants' War"), i. 316 _seq._
+    Weddell's bombardment of (1655), i. 292.
+
+  'Capital of the Tycoon, The,' passages quoted from, ii. 10, 15,
+      31, 32, 71-73;
+    independent judiciary advocated in, ii. 126.
+
+  Ceylon, growth of tea trade with, i. 184, 185.
+
+  Challenger, i. 235-238.
+
+  Chamberlain, Basil Hall, quoted, ii. 96 _note_.
+
+  Chang Chih-tung, rudeness of, regarding the Czarevitch, ii. 322, 323;
+    characteristics and policy of, ii. 380, 381.
+
+  Chang Yi, ii. 317.
+
+  Chantrey, Sir F. L., Alcock's studies under, i. 2.
+
+  Chefoo--
+    Convention of. _See under_ Treaties.
+    Czarevitch to be received at, ii. 322.
+    Early exploration of, i. 221, 222.
+
+  Chêkiang, Taiping campaign in, i. 380, 394.
+
+  Chesney, Colonel, i. 99, 100.
+
+  China (_for particular persons, towns, &c., see their titles_)--
+    Admiralty board, ii. 317, 318, 392, 393.
+    Army--
+      Abuses in, ii. 398.
+      Arms, diversity of, ii. 391, 393, 399.
+      Discipline lax, i. 137.
+      Honour, military, non-existent in, i. 140.
+      Li's efforts for, ii. 188, 190, 391, 397.
+    Black Flags, ii. 325.
+    Boxers, ii. 462, 463.
+    _Chose jugée_, instance of, ii. 280.
+    Commerce. _See that title._
+    Commercial community in Britain keenly alive to affairs in, i. 87.
+    Consuls. _See below under_ Foreigners.
+    Coolie trade, i. 295, ii. 168-174.
+    Corruption and laxity inherent in government of, i. 155, 192.
+    Court--
+      Audience, right of, approved by Li, ii. 186;
+        granted by Emperor Tungchih (1873), ii. 260, 261;
+        by Kwanghsu (1891), ii. 318-320.
+      Chinese, not Manchu, influence predominant at, i. 84.
+      Dynastic arrangements of the Empress-Dowager, ii. 264, 313,
+        455 _and note_, 456.
+      Flight of, i. 354, ii. 436;
+        proposed removal during Japanese War, ii. 474 _note_.
+    Custom-house. _See below under_ Taxation.
+    Decentralisation the principle of government, i. 388, 402, 407, 408.
+    Drift, policy of, ii. 324.
+    Emigration, ii. 168, 169, 171-174.
+    "Ever Victorious Army," campaign of, i. 382-387;
+      disbandment of, i. 393.
+    Exhibition of 1851, represented at, i. 200-202, ii. 101, 102.
+    Foreigners--
+      Aims of, i. 368.
+      Assistance from, distrusted, i. 387;
+        made use of, ii. 385, 386;
+        faithfully rendered, ii. 393, 394.
+      Co  nciliatory and subservient attitude of British, i. 35-41, 56,
+        118, 253, 415;
+        of Portuguese, i. 287.
+      Confidence between native merchants and, i. 48.
+      Consistent attitude of, desirable, i. 340, ii. 222.
+      Consular Courts, drawbacks of, ii. 125, 126, 354, 356, 357.
+      Consular officials, peculiar responsibilities of, i. 30, 79, 85,
+          92 _note_, 128, 130, ii. 353, 354, 360;
+        numbers and qualifications of, ii. 358, 359.
+      Degradation and indignities imposed upon, i. 33, 35-40, 55-58,
+        60, 118, 163, 411, 415.
+      Force, policy of, the condition of security for, i. 39, 40, 61,
+        80, 90, 106, 119, 426, 437-439, ii. 221, 222.
+      Hatred and contempt for, i. 313, 419, ii. 29, 440, 441, 443-446,
+        461, 463, 464.
+      Ignorance of Chinese prevalent among, i. 338, 339, 361, 362, 398.
+      Immunity for wrongs against, i. 436, 440, 441.
+      Inland residence, Alcock's view of, ii. 450, 451.
+      Legation, British. _See_ Great Britain--Peking.
+      Legations, diplomatic difficulties of, i. 398-401;
+        relieved by military force, ii. 437.
+      Life-and-death jurisdiction over, claimed by government, i. 57.
+      Negotiation with, Chinese view of, ii. 274 _note_, 437.
+      Pioneers, general character of, i. 31-33.
+      Policy adopted towards--"rule by misrule," i. 35, 403;
+        perfidy and denial of human rights, i. 36, 78-80, 84, 85, 90, 342;
+        resistance and ejection, 38, 111, 311, 331, 366, 367, ii. 437;
+        degradation in the eyes of the people, i. 163, 411;
+        "refractory subjects" treatment, i. 313.
+      Proclamations and placards against, i. 56, 58, 65, 70, 96, 314,
+        317, 342, 360, 435, ii. 236, 242.
+      Supreme Court for China and Japan, ii. 355-358.
+    Fortifications, ii. 397.
+    Futai, position of, i. 381.
+    Helplessness and paradoxical position of, ii. 418, 421, 422, 433,
+      452.
+    Hong merchants, i. 40 _note_.
+    Hoppo, position of, i. 44, 45.
+    Illegality of administration in, i. 43.
+    International ethics of, i. 86.
+    Japanese War (1894), Li's responsibilities regarding, ii. 386, 387;
+      no reasonable cause for, ii. 410;
+      deprecated by Russia, ii. 411;
+      sinking of the Kowshing, ii. 410, 411;
+      bombardment of Têngchow, i. 220;
+      China's defeat, ii. 411-413;
+      universal applause, ii. 413, 414;
+      indemnity exacted, ii. 415;
+      indemnity supplied by Russian loan, ii. 421;
+      results of the war, ii. 447;
+      proposed removal of Chinese Court during, ii. 474 _note_.
+    Junks--
+      Build and appearance of, i. 246, 247.
+      Chinese authorities' control of, i. 113, 275, 308.
+      Coasting trade conducted by, in China and Japan, i. 246.
+      Convoy system, i. 302-304.
+      Grain fleet blockaded at Shanghai (1845), i. 131-133;
+        blockaded by French in Tongking quarrel, ii. 332.
+      "Shantung junks," i. 220.
+      Value of trade by, at Foochow, i. 209.
+    Korea, relations with. _See_ Korea.
+    Lorchas, tonnage of, i. 247;
+      atrocities connected with, i. 304, 305;
+      colonial registers granted to, i. 305, 309.
+    Maritime Customs. _See below under_ Taxation--Custom-house.
+    Missionaries. _See that title._
+    Moral force the sanction of rule, ii. 370 _and note_, 385.
+    Navy--
+      Beginnings of, ii. 396.
+      Board of Admiralty, ii. 317, 318, 392, 393.
+      British instruction in, ii. 395.
+      Li's efforts for, ii. 391, 396.
+      Nepotism in, ii. 398-400.
+      Organisation lacking in, ii. 401, 412, 413.
+      Peiyang Squadron, ii. 395, 400.
+      Tradition, unhampered by, ii. 398.
+    Nepotism in, ii. 398-400.
+    Opium trade. _See that title._
+    Passports, two forms of, ii. 267.
+    Piracy. _See that title._
+    Populace, excesses of, connived at by Government, i. 95, 97, 98,
+        364;
+      coerced by Government, i. 108, 109;
+      feared by Government, i. 109, 424;
+      direct diplomatic negotiations with, i. 109-111.
+    "Progress," no word for, ii. 136.
+    Provincial officials, smuggling undertaken by, i. 44, 45;
+      power of, ii. 184, 372;
+      responsibility of, ii. 441, 442.
+    Punishments, difficulties of ensuring, i. 426, 427;
+      not inflicted for wrongs against foreigners, i. 436, 440, 441.
+    Real estate, importance of, i. 176, 177, 434;
+      missionary problem complicated by question of, ii. 234, 235.
+    Rhubarb exported from, i. 168.
+    Salt trade, i. 210, 439-442, ii. 188.
+    Smuggling. _See that title._
+    Supreme Court, award given against Alcock by, ii. 124;
+      independence of, ii. 354;
+      removal of, to Shanghai, ii. 355;
+      subordinated to British legation, ii. 358.
+    Taiping Rebellion--
+      Burgevine's defection to rebels, i. 386.
+      Canton, at, Yeh asks British aid against, i. 312.
+      Chêkiang campaign against, i. 380, 394.
+      Commerce continued during, i. 148.
+      Devastation caused by, i. 375, 377, 378, 350, 381, 394, ii. 449.
+      End of, i. 394.
+      Foreign desperadoes attacked by, i. 303.
+      Imperial measures against, i. 381;
+        view of, i. 395, 396.
+      Magnitude of, i. 135.
+      Maritime Customs the important outcome of, i. 142.
+      Nanking, capture of, i. 136.
+      Ningpo, capture of, i. 376, 377.
+      Russian attitude towards, i. 394, 395.
+      Shanghai captured, i. 136;
+        besieged by Imperial troops, i. 137;
+        collision between foreigners and troops, i. 137, 138;
+        French bombardment of city, i. 139;
+        rebel refugees in, i. 141, 142;
+        departure of rebels from, i. 156.
+      Yangtze, rebel strongholds and operations on the, i. 369, 371-375.
+    Taotai, status of, i. 129.
+    Taxation--
+      Custom-house--
+        Chefoo Convention provisions of, ii. 277, 278, 280, 281, 286, 287.
+        Hongkong, station at, desired by Chinese, i. 276;
+          refused, ii. 216;
+          established, i. 276, ii. 288.
+        Korea, established in, ii. 295.
+        Macao, established at, ii. 288.
+        Maritime Customs Inspector, position and work of, in Peking,
+          ii. 156-160, 162-167.
+        Revision of treaty made an affair of, ii. 213, 216, 217.
+        Shanghai, at, unsatisfactory conditions of, i. 145-147, 435,
+          436;
+          customs collected by consuls, i. 148;
+          promissory notes cancelled by British Government, i. 148, 155;
+          American exemption, i. 149;
+          re-establishment of custom-house, i. 151;
+          period of free trade, i. 152;
+          Alcock's scheme of mixed control, i. 152-154.
+      Inland, proposed commutation of, ii. 214-216, 218;
+        commutation provided by treaty (1869), ii. 219, 220;
+        area of, increased by Chefoo Convention, ii. 277, 278, 280, 281.
+      Likin taxes, German minister's view of, ii. 218;
+        nature of, ii. 280 _note_;
+        grievance of, ii. 285.
+      Native trade, on, i. 210.
+    Tributaries, position towards, ii. 258.
+    Tsungli-Yamên--
+      Audience difficulties raised by, ii. 319, 320.
+      Ch'ing, Prince, a member of, ii. 154, 313.
+      Circular addressed to Provincial Governors by, ii. 182, 183.
+      Creation of, i. 360.
+      Etiquette, codification of, suggested for, ii. 279.
+      Formosa riots, action regarding, ii. 205.
+      Function of, i. 399.
+      Gordon's representations to, ii. 292.
+      Helplessness of, ii. 419.
+      Ito's attempt to negotiate with, ii. 302.
+      Korean expedition urged by, ii. 408.
+      Kung, Prince, a member of, i. 360;
+        dismissed by Empress, ii. 312.
+      Margary murder, action regarding, ii. 267.
+      Maritime Customs Inspector, attitude towards, ii. 160.
+      Mixed commission regarding redress of commercial grievances,
+        represented on, ii. 211.
+      Yangchow affair, action in, ii. 202.
+    War with Great Britain (1839-1842). _See under_ Canton;
+      with Great Britain (1857), i. 316 _seq._;
+      with Great Britain and France (1860), i. 349-354;
+      with Japan (1894). _See above_ Japanese War;
+    Women, position of, ii. 140, 141.
+
+  Chinese--
+    Appearances valued by, i. 192.
+    Commercial aptitude and honesty of, i. 33, 34, 263-270, ii. 28.
+    Industry of, i. 284.
+    Japanese contrasted with, ii. 8, 27-29, 130, 131, 259.
+    Kindliness of, i. 289, ii. 155.
+    Manchus contrasted with, i. 80, 81, 83, 84.
+    Toleration of, ii. 228, 233.
+    War customs of, i. 352.
+
+  Ch'ing, Prince, anecdote of, ii. 153, 154;
+    efficiency of, as president of Tsungli-Yamên, ii. 313.
+
+  Chinnery, George, i. 298.
+
+  Choshiu. _See_ Nagato, Prince of.
+
+  Christianity (_see also_ Missionaries), toleration clause for,
+    in Tientsin treaty, i. 332;
+    Chinese view of, ii. 349.
+
+  Ch'un, Prince, son of, adopted as Emperor by Empress-mother, ii. 262;
+    made Empress's coadjutor, ii. 264, 313;
+    voyage of, ii. 316, 317;
+    illness and death of, ii. 318;
+    memorial regarding Vatican mission submitted to, ii. 344.
+
+  Chunghou, Tientsin massacre foreseen by, ii. 239;
+    mission to France, ii. 241;
+    to Russia, ii. 291;
+    establishes arsenal at Tientsin, ii. 392.
+
+  Chungking, residence in, opposed, ii. 278;
+    persecutions of Christians in, ii. 351.
+
+  Chusan, capture and occupation of, i. 64;
+    reoccupied, i. 75;
+    retained till 1846, i. 91;
+    restored, i. 99;
+    contrasted with Hongkong, i. 273.
+
+  Clarendon, Lord, Mr Burlingame's success with, ii. 197, 198, 208, 209;
+    reprimands Mr Medhurst, ii. 207, 208;
+    trusted by Lord Palmerston, ii. 365.
+
+  Cochin China, French conquests in, ii. 253, 324.
+
+  Commerce--
+    China, in--
+      Alcock's despatch on trade between Europe, India, and China,
+          i. 204-206;
+        his investigations prior to revision of treaty, ii. 181.
+      Aptitude of Chinese for, i. 33, 34, 263-270, ii. 28.
+      Arbitrary interference of Chinese Government with, i. 35.
+      Balance of trade against China, i. 42, 171.
+      British treaty the model for others, ii. 6.
+      Chefoo Convention, internal taxation area increased by, ii. 277,
+        278, 280, 281.
+      Chinese language essential to commercial agents, i. 253.
+      Code of law, establishment of, suggested, ii. 279.
+      Co-hong system, i. 40 _note_, 266.
+      Compradoric system, i. 266, 267.
+      Confidence between Chinese and foreigners, i. 48.
+      Drawbacks to, i. 169, 170.
+      Imports and exports, nature of, i. 168;
+        present value of, i. 171 _note_;
+        shipments from United Kingdom in various years, i. 203.
+      Intercourse of British and Americans with China caused by, i. 167.
+      Losses in early days, i. 172-175.
+      Merchants in Britain, Chinese affairs closely followed by
+          (1839-40), i. 87-89;
+        merchants in China, aims and work of, i. 248-253;
+        complaints of, i. 253, 254, ii. 119;
+        influence of, i. 254, 315;
+        characteristics of, i. 255-263;
+        representations of, to Lord Elgin, i. 322.
+      "Merchants' War," i. 316 _seq._
+      Mixed Commission regarding redress of grievances, ii. 211, 212.
+      Native trade, i. 207-210.
+      Peking, in, ii. 148, 149.
+      Pioneer expeditions (1859), i. 220.
+      Ports overcrowded with goods, i. 224;
+        number open in 1861, i. 402.
+      Precarious position of, i. 35, 412, 413, 419.
+      Real estate a valuable asset, i. 176, 177.
+      Shipments from United Kingdom in various years, values of, i. 203.
+      Simplicity of, i. 168.
+      Transit of goods, ii. 214-216, 218-220.
+      Value of, in 1839, i. 87.
+      War no bar to, i. 68, 69, 148, ii. 158.
+    Gold discoveries a stimulus to, i. 227.
+    Japan, in--
+      Development of, ii. 116-118.
+      Merchants, preference of, for Yokohama to Kanagawa, ii. 17, 18, 123;
+        regret of, at Alcock's recall, ii. 89;
+        interests of, at variance with diplomatic, ii. 119-124, 126.
+      Methods of, ii. 27, 28.
+      Profits of, in early days, ii. 20 _note_, 29.
+      Value of, annually, ii. 117 _note_.
+    Opium, Silk, Tea. _See those titles._
+    Straits, with, suggested by Alcock, i. 208.
+
+  Comprador, position of, i. 266, 267.
+
+  Confucianism, i. 229.
+
+  Consular Court system, drawbacks of, ii. 125, 126, 354, 356, 357.
+
+  Cooke, Wingrove, quoted, i. 252, 253, 300, 303-305, 339;
+    cited, i. 317, 322, 323 _and note_, 325.
+
+  Coolie trade, i. 295, ii. 168-174.
+
+  Cooper, W. M., on coolie trade, ii. 170.
+
+  Cowell, George, appreciation of Alcock, ii. 479, 480.
+
+  Curzon, the Hon. George, speech regarding Russian pledge concerning
+    Korea, ii. 424, 430.
+
+  Czarevitch, visit of, to China and Japan, ii. 321-323.
+
+
+  Daimios. _See under_ Japan.
+
+  Davis, Sir John, Manchus and Chinese contrasted by, i. 80, 81;
+    policy of, in Canton, i. 94, 99-104, 106-108;
+    diplomatic negotiations with the populace, i. 109-111;
+    succeeds Sir H. Pottinger, i. 116;
+    policy regarding Foochow, i. 119;
+    Canton merchants' complaints against, ii. 119;
+    decision of, reversed by Supreme Court, ii. 124.
+
+  De Mas, M., anecdote of, ii. 444 _note_.
+
+  De Quincey cited, i. 133 _note_.
+
+  Delamarre, M., ii. 230 _note_.
+
+  Delaplace, Mgr., ii. 341, 342, 394.
+
+  Detring, G., accompanies Prince Ch'un on his voyage, ii. 317;
+    relations with Capt. Fournier, ii. 327;
+    summoned to Tientsin, ii. 328;
+    assists Li regarding Mr Dunn's mission, ii. 345.
+
+  Dunn, J. G., ii. 344-346.
+
+  Dupont, M., Alcock's studies under, i. 5.
+
+  Dutch--
+    Japanese instructed by, ii. 98.
+    Macao, commercial establishment at, i. 291.
+    Nagasaki, ii. 10, 11.
+    Portuguese commercial rivalry with, i. 291.
+    Promptness of, as paymasters, i. 11.
+
+
+  East India Company--
+    Commercial methods of, i. 175.
+    Employees pampered by, i. 211-214, 260.
+    Macao, commercial establishment at, i. 291.
+    Officials of, employed in Chinese consular posts, i. 38, 80.
+    Opium trade of, i. 198, 199.
+    Shipping of, i. 211-215.
+    Subservience of, towards Chinese, i. 37, 38, 88, 253.
+    Tea trade developed by, i. 182, 183.
+
+  Eitel, Dr, cited, i. 63, 199 _note_, 273, 301.
+
+  Elgin, Earl of, cruise in the Furious, i. 223;
+    contrasts Hongkong and Chusan, i. 273;
+    on Tientsin conference (1854), i. 311;
+    conduct of Hongkong affairs, i. 320-329;
+    aversion to his Chinese mission, i. 320, 323-327;
+    services in Indian Mutiny, i. 321;
+    concludes Tientsin treaty, i. 331, 334;
+    hurried departure from Tientsin, i. 333, 335, 336;
+    visit to Japan, i. 335, 336;
+    diplomatic success there, i. 347, ii. 1, 5, 6, 99;
+    defends his China policy in House of Lords, i. 337;
+    predisposed to illusions regarding Chinese, i. 339;
+    misgivings as to Chinese good faith, i. 340, 347;
+    return to Shanghai, i. 343, 347;
+    negotiates with Treaty Commissioners at Shanghai, i. 343, 344;
+    estimate of, i. 346-348;
+    voyage up the Yangtze (1558), i. 347, 370;
+    second mission to China, i. 349;
+    negotiations with Prince Kung, i. 329, 352, 353;
+    succeeded by his brother, i. 355.
+
+  Elliot, Captain Charles, subservience of, to Chinese, i. 40, 41, 54;
+    offers to suppress opium trade, i. 48, 49;
+    surrenders opium cargoes, i. 53, 54;
+    imprisoned in Canton, i. 53, 55;
+    appointed joint-plenipotentiary with Rear-Admiral Elliot, i. 64;
+    left in sole charge, i. 65-71;
+    recalled, i. 74;
+    confidence of, in Chinese, i. 66, 69, 70;
+    contradictory nature of his commission, i. 92 _note_;
+    strictures on opium trade, i. 199.
+
+  Elliot, Rear-Admiral the Hon. George, i. 63-65.
+
+  Empress--Dowager of China, Prince Ch'un the coadjutor of, ii. 264, 313;
+    _coup d'état_ executed by, ii. 264, 313, 455;
+    enmity with Prince Kung, ii. 264, 312;
+    attitude towards Li, ii. 264, 329, 387;
+    view of Tongking affair, ii. 329, 334;
+    characteristics of, ii. 373;
+    power of, ii. 455 _and note_;
+    reformers punished by, ii. 458.
+
+  Eulenberg, Count, i. 366, ii. 40.
+
+  Evans, General de Lacy, appreciation of Alcock, i. 14;
+    Alcock under, in Spanish Legion, i. 21.
+
+  "Ever--Victorious Army," campaign of, i. 382-387;
+    disbandment of, i. 393.
+
+  Exhibition of 1851, Alcock's collection of exhibits for, i. 200-202,
+      ii. 101, 102;
+    influence of, on foreign trade, i. 227.
+
+  Exhibition of 1862, Alcock's collection of samples for, ii. 102, 484.
+
+  Exhibition, Paris, Alcock British Commissioner to, ii. 485.
+
+
+  Favier, Bishop, ii. 144, 346, 347.
+
+  Foochow--
+    Alcock's appointment as consul at, i. 116;
+      his commercial researches at, i. 200.
+    American enterprise a stimulus to tea trade at, i. 121, 122, 241.
+    Canton disturbances reflected in, i. 119, 314.
+    Naval construction attempted at, ii. 396;
+      naval school at, ii. 400.
+    Opening of (1844), i. 115;
+      further development of, i. 240.
+    Situation and importance of, i. 117, 119, 120.
+    'Times' pronouncement against, i. 114.
+    Trade at, nature of, i. 118, 121, 122, 241;
+    sea-borne trade at, i. 209.
+
+  Formosa--
+    French blockade of, ii. 333.
+    Japanese invasion of, ii. 255.
+    Missionary riots in, ii. 203-205, 207.
+
+  Fortune, Robert, i. 182, 183.
+
+  Fournier, Captain, ii. 327-330.
+
+  France, French (_see also_ Powers)--
+    Aggressive policy of, ii. 465, 466.
+    British cordially supported by, in China, i. 377, 379;
+      in Japan, ii. 45, 81, 105;
+      regarding Chinese emigration, ii. 172.
+    Cochin China, conquest of, ii. 253, 324.
+    Concession of land obtained by (1849), i. 138, 139, 435;
+      extorted by (1895), ii. 419.
+    Coolie trade, efforts against, ii. 172.
+    Customs Inspector proposed by Alcock from consular service of, i. 153.
+    Elgin followed to Tientsin by, i. 331.
+    Loan to China, ii. 421.
+    Missionary enterprise of, ii. 175-177, 224, 225, 229-232, 234, 237,
+        238, 253;
+      protectorate of Christians the aim of, ii. 336-342, 346-352.
+    Peking campaign (1860), i. 349-354.
+    Russia supported by, after Japanese War, ii. 415;
+      their approval of French acquisitions, ii. 419.
+    Shanghai settlement and "concession" of, i. 138, 139, 435.
+    Silk industry of, i. 191.
+    Taipings' support by British resented by, i. 141.
+    Tientsin Conference attended by (1854), i. 311.
+    Tongking quarrel, ii. 325-334.
+    Yangtze expedition of MM. Simon and Dupuis, i. 371.
+
+  Freeman-Mitford, Mr, anecdote cited from, ii. 444 _note_.
+
+  Fujiyama, Alcock's expedition to, ii. 41, 42.
+
+  Futai, position of, i. 381.
+
+
+  Germany, Germans (_see also_ Powers)--
+    Aggressive policy of, ii. 465, 466.
+    Alcock, appreciation of, by Peking resident, ii. 138.
+    Anglo-German agreement, ii. 467, 468, 473.
+    Armenian massacres, attitude towards, ii. 449 _note_.
+    Chinese attitude towards, i. 366.
+    Influence of, increasing, ii. 253, 254.
+    Japanese attitude towards, ii. 40.
+    Kiaochow. _See that title._
+    Korean expedition of, ii. 179.
+    Military instruction of Chinese undertaken by, ii. 395.
+    Missionaries kept to their nationality, ii. 338.
+    Peking, legation established in, ii. 254.
+    Propagandism unmasked by, ii. 454.
+    Russia supported by, after Japanese War, ii. 415.
+    Shantung sphere of, disturbances in, ii. 462.
+    Silk industry of, i. 191.
+    Toleration clause in treaty of, ii. 225 _note_.
+    Transit duty extension, Count Bernstorff on, ii. 218.
+
+  Gibson, Mr, ii. 204-206, 208.
+
+  Giquel, Prosper, i. 394.
+
+  Gordon, Captain C. G., commands the "Ever-Victorious Army," i. 383-387;
+    quarrels with Li, i. 392, 393;
+    honoured by Chinese Government, i. 395;
+    attempts at intercourse with Chinese, i. 399;
+    appreciated by Li, ii. 189;
+    summoned by Chinese Government, ii. 291, 292.
+
+  Gorogiu, function of the, ii. 108.
+
+  Grant, Sir Hope, i. 348, 349, 352.
+
+  Granville, Lord, negotiates ratification of Chefoo Convention,
+    ii. 284-287.
+
+  Great Britain (_see also_ Powers)--
+    Anglo-German agreement, ii. 467, 468, 473.
+    Borneo, colonisation in, ii. 485-487.
+    Good faith of, recognised by Chinese, i. 83, ii. 190.
+    Inconsistent policy of, in China, i. 432, 433.
+    Japanese War, attitude towards, ii. 413-416, 433.
+    Loan offered to China, ii. 420;
+      forced on her, ii. 434.
+    Narrowness of view among politicians in, i. 319.
+    Naval instruction of Chinese undertaken by, ii. 395.
+    Non-aggressive policy of, ii. 468.
+    Peking, Legation in--
+      Chinese Secretaryship, ii. 132, 362, 363, 367.
+      Deterioration in personnel of, ii. 360-362, 364, 366, 367.
+      Establishment of, i. 355.
+      Intelligence department defective, ii. 415, 423.
+      Subordination of, to Inspector-General of Customs, ii. 165, 166.
+      Supreme Court for a time subordinate to, ii. 358.
+    Russian acquisitions, attitude towards, ii. 423-433.
+    Weihai-wei seized by, ii. 434.
+    Yedo, Legation in, assaulted, ii. 36-38;
+      indemnity demanded, ii. 65, 66;
+      burnt, ii. 62 and _note_.
+
+  Greenwell, Dora, appreciation of 'Life's Problems' expressed by, i. 159.
+
+  Gros, Baron, i. 321, 349, ii. 230.
+
+  Gurdon, Lieutenant, ii. 205.
+
+  Guthrie, G. J., Alcock's medical studies under, i. 2;
+    recommends Alcock to Mr O'Meara, i. 9.
+
+
+  Hakodate, opening of, for ships' supplies, ii. 4;
+    neglected by merchants, ii. 12;
+    Russian representative at, ii. 104.
+
+  Hankow--
+    Abandonment of, by inhabitants in Taiping scare, i. 374.
+    Consular officer established at, i. 373.
+    Development of, i. 224, 225.
+    Elgin's voyage to (1858), i. 347.
+    Hope's visit to (1861), i. 223.
+
+  Harris, Townsend, ii. 3, 5, 39, 99.
+
+  Hart, Sir Robert, temporarily Inspector-General of Chinese Maritime
+      Customs, i. 387;
+    implicated in the Lay-Osborn flotilla failure, i. 388-390;
+    an authority on Gordon's reconciliation with Li, i. 193;
+    position and work of, as Inspector-General of Customs in Peking,
+      ii. 157, 160, 162-167;
+    appointed British Minister in China, but resigns post, ii. 166;
+    on Mixed Commission regarding redress of commercial grievances,
+      ii. 211-215;
+    action in the Margary murder case, ii. 274;
+    influence on the Chefoo Convention, ii. 276;
+    invites Gordon to help Chinese, ii. 292;
+    obtains recall of Tibetan mission, ii. 310;
+    obtains peace with France, ii. 333;
+    'Fortnightly Review' paper cited, ii. 461.
+
+  Hodges, Colonel, takes Alcock on to his staff, i. 9, 10;
+    appreciation of Alcock, i. 14.
+
+  Holt, Mr, ii. 203, 204, 208.
+
+  Hong merchants, i. 40 _note_.
+
+  Hongkong--
+    Administration of, i. 277, 278.
+    Advantages of site, i. 273, 274, 277, 284.
+    Alcock's visit to (1869), ii. 219.
+    Bank of, i. 284, 285.
+    British contempt for, i. 115;
+      Government's attitude towards, i. 276.
+    Buildings in, i. 282, 283.
+    Cession of, and occupation by British, i. 67.
+    Chinese traders and mechanics in, i. 73;
+      shipowners in, i. 247, 308;
+      escaped criminals numerous, i. 275;
+      improvement of general character, i. 277-282, 284.
+    Chusan contrasted with, i. 273.
+    Coolie trade, efforts against, ii. 168, 169.
+    Cost of voyage to, in early days, i. 258.
+    Customs station at, desired by Chinese, i. 276;
+      refused, ii. 216;
+      established, i. 276, ii. 288.
+    Development of, i. 73, 274-286.
+    Dislike of, by diplomatic and consular officials, i. 273, 276,
+        320, ii. 355;
+      by Chinese Government, i. 275, ii. 216.
+    Early record of (1816), i. 272.
+    Elgin's aversion to, i. 273, 320.
+    Emigration from, ii. 173.
+    Industries of, i. 283, 284.
+    International character of, i. 285.
+    Junk trade under Chinese control, i. 113, 275, 308.
+    Kiying House, i. 316.
+    Macao contrasted with, i. 287, 294.
+    Piracy headquarters at, i. 302, 305.
+    Pottinger, Sir H., first governor of, i. 112.
+    Reformers safe in, ii. 459.
+    Schools in, i. 281, 282.
+    Supreme Court in, ii. 354, 355.
+    Tonnage entered and cleared at, in 1898, i. 277 _note_.
+    Yokohama guard despatched from, ii. 77.
+
+  Hong-tjyong-on, ii. 299-302.
+
+  Hope, Admiral Sir James, Yangtze formally opened by, i. 223;
+    commands British naval contingent in Peking campaign, i. 349;
+    repulsed at Taku forts (1859), i. 350;
+    visits Peking, i. 365;
+    relations with Taipings, i. 370-373, 375-379;
+    opinion on Taiping Rebellion, i. 375;
+    vigorous policy of, i. 376;
+    friendship with Admiral Protêt, i. 379;
+    comradeship with Ward, i. 382;
+    advises strong measures in Japan, ii. 55;
+    scheme for offensive measures in Japan, ii. 59;
+    correspondence with Capt. Birileff regarding Tsushima, ii. 111-114.
+
+  Hoppo, position of, i. 44, 45.
+
+  Hsienfêng, Emperor, death of, i. 397.
+
+  Hu Lin-yi, ii. 377.
+
+  Huang, Governor-General, i. 342, 343.
+
+  Hunter, W. C., quoted, i. 34, 46-48, ii. 20 _note_;
+    cited, i. 82.
+
+  Hwang-chu-ke, massacre of Englishmen at, i. 104, 108.
+
+
+  Ignatieff, General, assists Sir H. Grant, i. 353, 354;
+    negotiates cession of Vladivostock, i. 357, 358;
+    attitude towards British Legation and Chinese, i. 359.
+
+  Ilipu, Commissioner, i. 76, 77, 81.
+
+  India--
+    Alcock's visit to (1869), ii. 219.
+    Calcutta Convention, ii. 312.
+    Chinese imports from, i. 168.
+    East India Company. _See that title._
+    Elgin's opportune arrival in, i. 321.
+    Gordon summoned from, ii. 292.
+    Opium trade. _See that title._
+    Tea trade, i. 182-186.
+    Tibetan expedition, ii. 305-310.
+
+  Inouyé, Count, British Legation building burnt by, ii. 62 _note_;
+    return from Europe and mission to Choshiu, ii. 80, 81;
+    mission to Korea, ii. 302.
+
+  Ito, Count, return from Europe and mission to Choshiu, ii. 80, 81;
+    mission to Peking, ii. 302.
+
+
+  Japan (_for particular persons, towns, see their titles_)--
+    Aggressive policy of, ii. 254-256, 465, 466.
+    Art of, ii. 102, 103.
+    Assassination period in, ii. 35-38.
+    Chinese War. _See under_ China.
+    Consuls in, peculiar responsibilities of, ii. 121.
+    Currency of, ii. 18-27.
+    Customs of, ii. 33.
+    Czarevitch's visit to, ii. 323.
+    Daimios--
+      Coinage of, ii. 25, 26.
+      Hostility of, to foreigners, ii. 38-41, 43.
+      Legation guards provided by, ii. 51, 53.
+      Processions of, ii. 34, 56.
+      Tycoon's relation to, ii. 38, 60-65, 67, 68, 76, 93.
+    Elgin's visit to, i. 335, 336;
+      his diplomatic success, i. 347, ii. 1, 5, 6, 99.
+    Exhibition of 1862, represented at, ii. 102, 484.
+    Foreigners, supervision of, ii. 8;
+      early pleasant relations with, ii. 9, 29-31;
+      hatred of, ii. 38-41, 43, 58, 77, 93;
+      retrograde policy towards, ii. 47-49;
+      use made of, ii. 95-98, 130, 131, 191, 255;
+      help of, declined when unasked, ii. 110.
+    Formosa invaded by, ii. 255.
+    Gorogiu, function of the, ii. 108.
+    Hong's vendetta pursued in, ii. 300, 301.
+    Inland Sea, Alcock's expedition up, ii. 36, 42;
+      Prince of Nagato's blockade of, ii. 69, 76, 77.
+    Korea, treaty with, ii. 256, 257;
+      Korean outbreak against, ii. 294, 297, 298;
+      equality with China in, ii. 302, 303, 389;
+      aggression in, ii. 406, 407, 409.
+    Liao-tung claimed by, ii. 429.
+    Liuchiu Islands claimed by, ii. 256.
+    Opening of, to foreign intercourse (1858), i. 225.
+    Portuguese expelled from, i. 291.
+    Prosperity of, ii. 32.
+    "Rudeness," term for, ii. 34 _note_.
+    Russian admiral in, i. 395.
+    Samurai, anecdote of, ii. 33 _note_ 1.
+    Silk industry of, i. 188, 191 _note_.
+    Sport in, ii. 127-129.
+
+  Japanese--
+    Chinese contrasted with, ii. 8, 27, 29, 130, 131, 259.
+    Combination, power of, ii. 94.
+    Imitation, faculty of, ii. 94-97.
+    Practical comprehension of circumstances, ii. 7.
+    Seriousness of, ii. 94.
+    Tenacity and resolution of, ii. 16, 93.
+
+  Junks. _See under_ China.
+
+
+  Kanagawa--
+    American treaty signed at, ii. 39.
+    Massacre of Russians at, ii. 35.
+    Moss, Mr, arrested for shooting game near, ii. 123, 128.
+    Opening of (1859), ii. 12.
+    Riding party from, attacked, ii. 55-57.
+    Yokohama preferred to, by foreign merchants, ii. 17, 18, 123.
+
+  Kang Yu-wei, reform programme of, ii. 457, 458.
+
+  Kashgaria, rebellion in, ii. 290, 291.
+
+  Kennedy, Vice-Admiral Sir W. R., cited, i. 317, 318.
+
+  Keppel, Admiral, diary entry regarding opium clipper, i. 217;
+    appreciation of Dent's hospitality, i. 294, 316;
+    operations against war-junks, i. 317, 318;
+    aids Consul Medhurst in Yangchow affair, ii. 202;
+    report on Formosa missionary affair, ii. 204;
+    details force to aid Mr Gibson, ii. 205;
+    appreciation of Chunghou, ii. 239.
+
+  Kiaochow, German seizure of, ii. 421;
+    British opinion, ii. 423;
+    Russian attitude, ii. 431.
+
+  Kim Ok Kun, ii. 298-302.
+
+  Kishen, appointment of, to negotiate with British, i. 65;
+    conciliatory manner of, i. 67;
+    good faith and courtesy of, i. 81, 82.
+
+  Kiying, Commissioner, appointed to treat with Sir H. Pottinger,
+      i. 76, 77;
+    courtesy of, i. 82;
+    pleasant nature of intercourse with, i. 94, 95;
+    impotence of, before Cantonese, i. 97;
+    high-handed manner of, after restoration of Chusan, i. 99;
+    agreement concluded with (1847), i. 103, 107;
+    effects postponement of foreign entry into Canton, i. 107;
+    popular memorial to Sir J. Davis inspired by, i. 110;
+    affability of, to governor of Hongkong, i. 112, 113;
+    supplementary treaty with, i. 113;
+    no redress from, against a Chih-hsien, i. 426.
+
+  Korea--
+    American expeditions to, ii. 178, 179.
+    China, tribute embassies to, ii. 148;
+      reverence for, ii. 259;
+      embassy of condolence from, ii. 404, 405;
+      privileges of, ii. 406.
+    Foreign ferment in, ii. 295.
+    French annexation of, ii. 176, 177.
+    Hong honoured by Court, ii. 301, 302.
+    Japanese, treaty with, ii. 256, 257;
+      brutality of, ii. 259;
+      equality of, with China, ii. 302, 303, 389;
+      aggression of, ii. 406, 407, 409.
+    Jesuit propagandism in, ii. 175.
+    Opening of, by China, ii. 259.
+    Port Hamilton incident, ii. 303, 305.
+    Russian pledge regarding, ii. 424, 425.
+    Söul, _émeute_ in, ii. 294, 296-298.
+
+  Kowloon, concession of, acquired by Parkes, i. 286, 330.
+
+  Kuldja, Russian claims regarding, ii. 290-293.
+
+  Kung, Prince, Lord Elgin's negotiations with, i. 329, 352, 353;
+    signs Peking treaty, i. 354;
+    deceived by Ignatieff, i. 358;
+    member of Tsungli-Yamên, i. 360;
+    Gordon's interviews with, i. 383;
+    implicated in the Lay-Osborn flotilla failure, i. 389, 390;
+    executes _coup d'état_, i. 397, 398;
+    correspondence with British Minister, i. 403-406, 409;
+    high-handed tone of, i. 410;
+    intimate relations with British Legation, ii. 134, 135;
+    efforts against coolie trade, ii. 171, 172;
+    declines responsibility for Korean persecutions, ii. 176;
+    action in Yangchow affair, ii. 202;
+    circular regarding missionaries, ii. 231;
+    Sir T. Wade's remonstrance to, on Chinese official tone, ii. 244;
+    present at audience of foreign Ministers, ii. 261;
+    imperial claims of, ii. 263;
+    enmity between Empress and, ii. 264, 312;
+    action regarding Margary case, ii. 274;
+    dismissed by Empress, ii. 312;
+    efforts regarding Pei-t'ang Cathedral, ii. 342;
+    moderating influence of, ii. 374;
+    vetoes proposed assassination of Li, ii. 387.
+
+  Kuper, Rear-Admiral Sir Augustus, attack on Satsuma, ii. 67;
+    operations against Prince of Nagato, ii. 80, 81;
+    appeals to Foreign Office regarding Alcock's recall, ii. 89.
+
+  Kwanghsu, Emperor, selected by Empress, ii. 263;
+    comes of age, ii. 318;
+    childlessness of, ii. 456;
+    reform programme adopted by, ii. 458.
+
+  Kweiliang, i. 334, 360.
+
+
+  Lane-Poole, Stanley, cited, i. 117, 316.
+
+  Lang, Captain, ii. 396, 400, 412.
+
+  Lay, H. N., residence of, at Foochow, i. 118 _note_;
+    Inspector-General of Customs, i. 155;
+    negotiates Tientsin treaty, i. 331;
+    Osborn flotilla fiasco, i. 387-391;
+    summary of Chinese affairs (1858-63), i. 409, 410;
+    fidelity to Chinese Government, ii. 160;
+    observation on residence of Ministers, ii. 261;
+    representative of consular training school, ii. 363.
+
+  Lay-Osborn flotilla, i. 387-391;
+    Wênsiang and Prince Kung discredited by failure of scheme,
+      ii. 375, 391.
+
+  Lekin, likin. _See under_ China--Taxation.
+
+  Lhassa, Bengali's friendly visits to, ii. 305;
+    Indian expedition attempted, ii. 306-310;
+    protracted negotiations at, ii. 311, 312.
+
+  Li Han-Chang, ii. 272.
+
+  Li Hung-Chang, foreigners enlisted by, i. 381, 382;
+    dismisses Burgevine, i. 385, 387;
+    rejects the Lay-Osborn flotilla, i. 391;
+    Gordon's quarrel with, i. 392, 393;
+    memorial of, regarding revision of treaty, ii. 184-190;
+    influence of, in foreign affairs, ii. 190, 264, 313, 314;
+    succeeds Tsêng Kwo-fan and Chunghou, ii. 242;
+    interview with Consul Adkins, ii. 244, 245;
+    negotiates opening of Korea, ii. 259;
+    ascendancy of, in imperial counsels, ii. 264, 329;
+    appointed to treat with Sir T. Wade on Margary murder, ii. 274, 275;
+    negotiates Chefoo Convention, ii. 275-277;
+    Gordon's interviews with, ii. 292;
+    action in Korean _émeute_, ii. 294;
+    Count Ito's negotiations with, ii. 302;
+    arranges voyage of Prince Ch'un, ii. 316;
+    deputed to meet the Czarevitch at Chefoo, ii. 322;
+    Annam negotiations, ii. 325;
+    summons Mr Detring to Tientsin, ii. 328;
+    concludes Fournier Convention, ii. 329;
+    arranges Vatican mission, ii. 345;
+    opposed by Tso Tsung-tang, ii. 379;
+    characteristics and policy of, ii. 381-386;
+    promotes naval and military reform, ii. 382, 391, 396, 397;
+    no anti-foreign outbreaks in province of, ii. 383, 442;
+    responsibilities of, regarding Japanese War, ii. 386, 387;
+    progressive efforts of, ii. 395;
+    opposed to Korean expedition, ii. 408;
+    agrees to Manchurian branch of Siberian railway, ii. 423.
+
+  Liao-tung--
+    Japanese occupation of, ii. 414;
+      cession of, for indemnity, ii. 415.
+    Russian acquisition of, ii. 422, 423.
+
+  'Life's Problems,' appreciation of, i. 159.
+
+  Likatchoff, Commodore, ii. 112, 114.
+
+  Lin, Commissioner, measures of, against opium trade, i. 51-54;
+    demands life-and-death jurisdiction, i. 57;
+    reply of, to Macaese, i. 58;
+    superseded, i. 65;
+    custom-house administration of, i. 435.
+
+  Lindsay, W. S., cited, i. 237;
+    quoted, i. 242.
+
+  Liuchiu Islands, ii. 256.
+
+  Livadia, treaty of, ii. 291.
+
+  Lorchas. _See under_ China.
+
+  Lowder, Mrs, Alcock's marriage with, ii. 73.
+
+
+  Macao (_see also_ Portuguese)--
+    British refugees expelled from, i. 58, 272, 293;
+      plenipotentiaries repair to, i. 65.
+    Celebrities of, i. 297, 298.
+    Clerks from, i. 259.
+    Coolie trade at, ii. 169, 174.
+    Custom-house established at, ii. 288.
+    Elliot's retirement to, i. 41.
+    Hongkong contrasted with, i. 287, 294.
+    Peacefulness and salubrity of, i. 287, 288, 292-294.
+    Piracy tolerated at, i. 295, 296.
+    Population of, i. 294, 295.
+    Portuguese occupation of, i. 289-291.
+
+  Macaulay, T. B., ii. 307.
+
+  MacCunn, James, cited, i. 243 _note_.
+
+  Macdonald, Sir Claude, ii. 432.
+
+  MacDonnell, Sir Richard, i. 277, 305, 306.
+
+  Manchuria--
+    Chinese troops in, ii. 291.
+    Russian acquisition of coast, ii. 252, 469, 473.
+    Siberian railway to pass through, ii. 423.
+
+  Manchus--
+    Chinese contrasted with, i. 80, 81;
+      complementary to, i. 83, 84.
+    Courtesy of, i. 82, 368, ii. 140, 153.
+    Moderation and humanity of, i. 81.
+    Women, position of, ii. 140, 141.
+
+  Margary, Augustus Raymond, ii. 266, 267.
+
+  Markham, Sir Clements, appreciation of Alcock, ii. 484.
+
+  Mas, M. de, anecdote of, ii. 444 _note_.
+
+  Mayers, W. F., ii. 363.
+
+  Meadows, Taylor, Alcock compared with, i. 161, ii. 224;
+    distinguished services of, ii. 359;
+    representative of consular training school, ii. 363.
+
+  Medhurst, Mr, foreign atrocities reported by, i. 302;
+    map made by, i. 432;
+    action in Yangchow affair, ii. 199-201;
+    reprimanded by Lord Clarendon, ii. 207, 208.
+
+  Mikado of Japan, sanction of, necessary to treaties, ii. 39, 63, 85;
+    sanction obtained, ii. 90;
+    Tycoon's relation to, ii. 60-65, 71-73, 76, 85, 92, 93;
+    expulsion of foreigners ordered by, ii. 63;
+    administrative functions assumed by, ii. 92, 255.
+
+  Missionaries--
+    Alcock's views on, ii. 223, 224, 227, 230, 231, 237.
+    American, on Yangtze expedition, i. 370.
+    Charges against, ii. 236.
+    Chinese view of, ii. 177-179.
+    Control of, Chinese scheme for, ii. 246-248.
+    Disunion among the Powers caused by, ii. 237.
+    French enterprise regarding, ii. 175-177, 224, 225, 229-232, 234,
+        237, 238, 253;
+      their aim a protectorate of Christians, ii. 336-342, 346-352.
+    Hongkong, in, i. 281.
+    "Indiscretions" of, emphasised by their Governments, ii. 243.
+    Irritation and disruption caused by, ii. 203-205, 207, 224, 226-233,
+      238, 246, 248, 249, 454.
+    Kang Yu-wei inspired by, ii. 458.
+    Korea, in, ii. 175, 177-179.
+    Li's advice regarding, ii. 187;
+      his policy towards, ii. 383, 442.
+    Publications of, ii. 445.
+    Russian Peking establishment, i. 356, ii. 154.
+    Tientsin massacre, ii. 238, 239;
+      French ambassador's note on, ii. 237;
+      results of, ii. 240-244.
+    Tsingpu attack, i. 129.
+
+  Mito, Prince of, ii. 35, 38, 40, 41.
+
+  Mongol market in Peking, ii. 147, 148.
+
+  Montauban, General (Count Palikao), i. 349, 351-353.
+
+  Morrison, Robert, i. 297, 298.
+
+  Moss, Mr, ii. 123, 124, 128.
+
+  Mouravieff-Amurski, Count, at Yedo, ii. 35;
+    warns Japanese against British designs, ii. 111;
+    gives assurances regarding Russian fleet, ii. 426.
+
+  Mutsu, Count, anecdote of, ii. 96 _note_.
+
+
+  Nagasaki--
+    Alcock's arrival at, ii. 14.
+    Coins not used in trade at, ii. 18.
+    Dutch trade at, ii. 10, 11.
+    Legation from Korea conveyed to, ii. 294.
+    Opened for ships' supplies, ii. 4.
+    Welcome to foreigners at, ii. 9.
+
+  Nagato, Prince of, hostile action of, ii. 67, 69, 76, 77;
+    operations against, ii. 77-81;
+    Japanese students sent to Europe by, ii. 80;
+    justifies his anti-foreign action, ii. 82;
+    results of his defeat, ii. 86.
+
+  Namoa, typical sale of opium at, i. 47, 48.
+
+  Nanking--
+    Capital, proposed as, ii. 474 _note_.
+    Important position of, i. 134.
+    Lay-Osborn flotilla, connection with, i. 391.
+    Robertson's mission to, i. 133, 428.
+    Taipings at, British aid asked against, i. 312;
+      Admiral Hope's dealings with, i. 371, 372.
+    Treaty. _See under_ Treaties.
+
+  Napier, Lord, experiences of, in China, i. 38-40;
+    views on Chinese government, ii. 439.
+
+  Neale, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward St John, in charge of British Legation
+      at Yedo, ii. 50;
+    attack on British Legation described by, ii. 51, 52;
+    congratulated by Japanese on his escape, ii. 54;
+    action after Richardson murder, ii. 58;
+    negotiations with Japanese, ii. 62-67.
+
+  Newchwang, i. 219, 222.
+
+  Ningpo--
+    A'Pak's exploit at, i. 304, 305.
+    Characteristics of, i. 116.
+    Occupation of, by British, i. 76.
+    Opening of, i. 115.
+    Piratical stronghold near, i. 306.
+    Taipings, captured by, i. 376, 377;
+      captured from, i. 380;
+      base of British and French during Chêkiang campaign, i. 394.
+    'Times' pronouncement against, i. 114.
+
+
+  Oliphant, Laurence, cited, i. 223, 336, 337, 347, ii. 2;
+    quoted, i. 341, ii. 9 _note_, 11 _note_;
+    wounded by Japanese, ii. 36, 37;
+    invalided home, ii. 46.
+
+  Opium trade--
+    Alcock's attitude towards, i. 194-198, 417-419.
+    Cash payments the rule in, i. 43, 171, 192.
+    Chefoo Convention, introduced into, ii. 281, 283;
+      stimulated by, ii. 289.
+    Clippers, i. 193, 215-217.
+    Contraband before 1858, i. 44-48, 192;
+      legalisation of, urged by Alcock, i. 418;
+      effected, i. 199;
+      recognised by Tientsin treaty, i. 332, 341.
+    Elliot's offer to suppress, i. 48, 49;
+      his attitude towards, i. 199.
+    Foochow, at, i. 121.
+    Hostility of Chinese attitude towards, i. 417-419.
+    Importance of, i. 193, 194, 196, 197, 417, 418.
+    Lin's measures against, i. 51-54.
+    Postal communication dependent on, i. 193, 216, 217.
+    Smuggling connected with, i. 44-48.
+    Surrender of opium at Canton, i. 53, 54 _and note_.
+    Transit dues, proposed increase of, ii. 219;
+      duty trebled, ii. 284, 286.
+    Value of, i. 192.
+
+  Osborn, Captain Sherard, Yangtze explored by, i. 223, 347;
+    in command of flotilla refused by Chinese, i. 388;
+    cited, ii. 2.
+
+
+  Paget, Sir James, appreciation of Alcock, i. 23, 24.
+
+  Palikao, Count, i. 349, 351-353.
+
+  Palmerston, Lord, successful Chinese policy of, i. 88, 100, 101, 104,
+      131;
+    the China dissolution, i. 319;
+    change in foreign policy after death of, ii. 364, 365.
+
+  Paris, Alcock's first visit to, i. 2-7;
+    Campbell's mission to, ii. 333.
+
+  Parkes, Sir Harry, interpreter to Alcock, i. 117;
+    appreciation of Alcock, i. 120, 121;
+    accompanies Alcock to Shanghai, i. 126;
+    despatched with Robertson to Nanking, i. 133;
+    compiles returns of sea-borne trade at Foochow, i. 209;
+    obtains Kowloon concession, i. 286, 330;
+    action regarding the Arrow incident, i. 309;
+    remonstrates with Yeh, i. 314;
+    Lord Elgin's appreciation of, i. 326 _note_;
+    commissioner at Canton, i. 328, 330;
+    successful administration there, i. 397;
+    deplores Lord Elgin's hurried departure from Tientsin, i. 335;
+    reward offered for head of, i. 342;
+    seized and imprisoned by Chinese, i. 352;
+    released, i. 354;
+    visits Peking, i. 365;
+    attached by Lord Elgin to Admiral Hope, i. 370;
+    describes abandonment of Hankow, i. 374;
+    attack on, in Japan, ii. 90;
+    succeeds Alcock in Japan, ii. 130;
+    views on Chinese action regarding Formosa and Japan, ii. 255;
+    negotiates treaty regarding Korea, ii. 297;
+    death of, ii. 302;
+    representative of consular training school, ii. 363.
+
+  Pechili Gulf, cruise in, i. 220-223;
+    defences suggested for, ii. 381;
+    fortifications of ports in, ii. 397.
+
+  Peiho river, demonstration off mouth of (1840), i. 64;
+    defences of (1860), 350.
+    _See also_ Taku forts.
+
+  Peking--
+    Blockade of, a means of coercing Government, i. 416, 428-431.
+    British Legation. _See under_ Great Britain.
+    Campaign of 1860, i. 349-354.
+    _Chose jugée_, case of, ii. 280.
+    Convention signed at (1886), ii. 310.
+    Disadvantages of, as site for capital, ii. 474 _and note_.
+    Distant view of, ii. 143.
+    Elgin's error in omitting to visit, i. 334-337 _and note_.
+    Fur market, ii. 149.
+    German Legation established in, ii. 254.
+    Health of, ii. 144 _note_.
+    Hostility of natives in, i. 364.
+    Inaccessibility of, ii. 142.
+    Innovations after 1884, ii. 315.
+    Insanitary condition of, ii. 144, 145.
+    Lama temple, ii. 145, 146.
+    Legations, diplomatic difficulties of, i. 398-401;
+      relieved by military force (1900), ii. 437.
+    Macaulay's mission to, ii. 307, 308.
+    Maritime Customs Inspector established in, ii. 156.
+    Mules and camels, ii. 147.
+    Pei-t'ang Cathedral, erection of, ii. 341;
+      transfer of, ii. 346, 347.
+    Prohibitions against English visitors, i. 363.
+    Residence of British representative at, suggested in merchants'
+        memorial (1839), i. 89;
+      residence included in Tientsin treaty, i. 332, 336;
+      right of residence suspended, i. 337, 346.
+    Russian mission in, i. 356, ii. 154.
+    Sarat Chandra Das, visit of, ii. 308-310.
+    Social Life in, ii. 138-142.
+    Street traffic in, ii. 149-153.
+    Summer retreat from, ii. 154, 155.
+    Temple of Heaven, ii. 146.
+    Treaty signed at (1860), i. 354.
+
+  Pin Ch'un, ii. 137, 186.
+
+  Piracy--
+    Alcock's views on, i. 208.
+    British action against, i. 299, 301, 305-307.
+    Chinese attitude towards, i. 299-301.
+    Foreigners engaged in, in China, i. 302;
+      foreigners subjected to, i. 306, 307.
+    Hongkong headquarters of, i. 302, 305.
+    Portuguese leniency to, i. 295, 296;
+      their earlier assistance against, i. 289, 290.
+    Prevalence of, i. 194, 209, 218.
+    Steam traffic a blow to, i. 307.
+    Taiping Rebellion complicated by, i. 275.
+
+  Popoff, M., i. 357, 395.
+
+  Port Arthur--
+    British evacuation of, ii. 426.
+    Ch'un, Prince, meets British Admiral at, ii. 317.
+    Fortifications of, ii. 397.
+    French abstain from attacking, ii. 332;
+      French syndicate entrusted with construction works at, ii. 335.
+    Russian acquisition of, ii. 424-427.
+
+  Portugal, Alcock's work as army surgeon in, i. 14-18;
+    on Anglo-Portuguese Commission regarding claims of British
+      auxiliaries, i. 25.
+
+  Portuguese (_see also_ Macao)--
+    Chinese cupidity conciliated by, i. 287.
+    Convoy trade carried on by, i. 304, 305.
+    Ming dynasty supported by, i. 291.
+    Obligations to Great Britain disregarded by, i. 58 and _note_.
+
+  Pottinger, Sir Henry, i. 74, 112-114.
+
+  Powers, Western--
+    Anarchy among, ii. 472, 473.
+    Audience granted to, by Emperor Tungchih, ii. 261;
+      by Kwanghsu, ii. 318-320.
+    British covertly attacked by, to Japanese government, ii. 107-110.
+    Chefoo Convention, feeling regarding, ii. 276, 277, 281.
+    Classification of, ii. 465.
+    Danger to be apprehended from, i. 163, 420.
+    "Dummy" Chinaman evolved by, i. 338, 339, ii. 472.
+    Korea, inaction regarding, ii. 411.
+    Missionary problem, unity not possible regarding, ii. 237.
+    Rivalry of, i. 262, ii. 447, 451, 475.
+    Spoliation of China by, ii. 417, 418, 447, 452.
+    Taiping Rebellion, attitude towards, i. 394.
+
+  "Progress," no Chinese equivalent for, ii. 136.
+
+  Protêt, Admiral, i. 377, 379.
+
+
+  Queen Victoria Jubilee Institute for Nurses, Alcock's work for,
+    ii. 482, 483.
+
+
+  Real estate, value of, in the Far East, i. 176, 177, 434.
+
+  Rennie, Dr, quoted, i. 362-366, ii. 146.
+
+  Rhubarb, Chinese export of, i. 168.
+
+  Richardson, Mr, murder of, ii. 38, 56, 57;
+    redress for, ii. 65, 66.
+
+  Robertson, Vice-Consul, i. 133, 428, ii. 210.
+
+  Royal Geographical Society, Alcock's work for, ii. 483, 484.
+
+  Roze, Admiral, ii. 177.
+
+  "Rudeness," Japanese term for, ii. 34 _note_.
+
+  Russell, Earl, approves Alcock's measures, ii. 45, 86;
+    negotiates with Japanese envoys, ii. 49;
+    advocates firm policy in Japan, ii. 59, 76;
+    recalls Alcock, ii. 87, 88;
+    desires Alcock's return to Japan, ii. 89.
+
+  Russia, Russians (_see also_ Powers)--
+    Absorbent policy of, ii. 469, 470, 473, 474.
+    Akbar despatches incident, i. 233.
+    Amur, acquisitions on the, ii. 252, 429.
+    Ascendancy of, in China, ii. 422, 434, 473, 475.
+    British friction with, ii. 321.
+    Czarevitch visits China, ii. 321-323.
+    Elgin followed to Tientsin by, i. 331.
+    French in concert with, ii. 415;
+      their acquisitions approved by, ii. 419.
+    Japan--squadron at Yedo, ii. 35;
+      represented by M. Goskavitch, ii. 104;
+      Tsushima affair, ii. 111-114.
+    Japanese War deprecated by, ii. 411;
+      Japanese claims modified by, ii. 415.
+    Kuldja incident, ii. 290-293.
+    Li protected by, ii. 387, 415.
+    Liao-tung acquired by, ii. 422, 423.
+    Livadia, treaty of, ii. 291.
+    Loan to China guaranteed by, ii. 421.
+    Manchurian coast acquired by, ii. 252, 469.
+    Military ethics of, ii. 470, 471.
+    Peking, establishment in, i. 356, ii. 154.
+    Port Hamilton incident, ii. 303-305.
+    Protectorate of Christians assumed by, ii. 349, 350.
+    Respect accorded to, by Chinese, i. 357;
+      by Japanese, i. 357, ii. 104.
+    Siberian railway, beginning of, ii. 323;
+      Manchurian branch of, ii. 423.
+    Taiping Rebellion, attitude towards, i. 394, 395.
+    Talien-wan seized by, ii. 427;
+      'Times' extract on the proceeding, ii. 428-432.
+    Tea supply of, i. 186.
+    Tientsin massacre, ii. 239, 241.
+    Toleration clause in treaty of, ii. 224.
+    Vladivostock, acquisition of, i. 358;
+      Czarevitch's visit to, ii. 323.
+
+
+  Salisbury, Lord, additional article to the Chefoo Convention signed by,
+      ii. 287;
+    speech regarding Russian ports, ii. 426, 430;
+    Russia conciliated by, ii. 429.
+
+  Samqua, i. 151, 434, 435.
+
+  Samurai, status of, ii. 33 _note_ 2.
+
+  Sarat Chandra Das, ii. 306, 308-310.
+
+  Satsuma, Prince of, riding party attacked by retinue of, ii. 58;
+    attack on, ii. 67, 68;
+    appeals to Mikado against Prince of Nagato, ii. 69;
+    friendly to foreigners, ii. 76.
+
+  Seventh Prince. _See_ Ch'un, Prince.
+
+  Seward, George F., ii. 174, 178.
+
+  Seymour, Sir Michael, naval commander-in-chief at Hongkong, i. 309;
+    relations with Sir J. Bowring, i. 315;
+    operations in the "Merchants' War," i. 317.
+
+  Shanghai--
+    Alcock appointed to, i. 126;
+      testimonial to him from foreign residents in, i. 157, 158;
+      his visit to (1869), ii. 218.
+    Apathy of residents regarding Exhibition samples, i. 200, 201.
+    Capture of, in first China War, i. 75.
+    Chamber of Commerce at, reviews Supplementary Convention, ii. 219.
+    Chunghou, condemned at meetings in, ii. 241.
+    Custom-house. _See under_ China--Taxation.
+    Development of, i. 124-126.
+    French concession in, i. 139.
+    Inland trade from, i. 210.
+    Kim assassinated in, ii. 301.
+    Lindsay's mission to (1832), i. 115.
+    Naval construction attempted at, ii. 396.
+    Neighbourhood of, i. 126, 127.
+    Opening of (1843), i. 115.
+    Self-reliance of community in, i. 140.
+    Silk trade facilitated by opening of, i. 188.
+    Smuggling centre at, i. 144.
+    Supreme Court for China and Japan established at, ii. 355-358.
+    Taipings, danger from, i. 377-379.
+    Thirty mile radius established round, i. 128, 372, 376, 383, 384.
+    Tientsin treaty negotiations conducted at, i. 343, 347.
+    Tonnage famine at, i. 232, 233.
+    Tsingpu affair, i. 129-133.
+    Yokohama guard of Beloochis sent from, ii. 78.
+
+  Shantung--
+    German seizure of port in, ii. 421;
+      British opinion on seizure, ii. 423;
+      Russian attitude, ii. 431.
+    Scenery of, i. 221.
+    Unrest most violent in, ii. 462.
+
+  Shaw, Sir Charles, sketch of career of, i. 12-14;
+    appreciation of Alcock, i. 14-17, 21, 22.
+
+  Shimadso Saburo, ii. 58, 59 _and note_.
+
+  Shimoda, opening of, ii. 4.
+
+  Shimonoséki, Straits of, blockaded by Prince of Nagato, ii. 69, 76, 77;
+    forts at, captured by Allies, ii. 83.
+
+  Shimonoseki treaty, ii. 387, 418.
+
+  Shipping--
+    Convoy system in China, i. 302-304.
+    Disguise of boats for Chinese coasting trade, i. 246, 247.
+    East India Company's, i. 211-215.
+    Gold discoveries' effect on, i. 227-231.
+    Hanseatic and Scandinavian, i. 218, 219.
+    Junks. _See under_ China.
+    Lorchas. _See under_ China.
+    Merchant owners, i. 217, 218, 224.
+    Navigation Law repealed, i. 230.
+    Opium clippers, i. 193, 215-217.
+    Piracy. _See that title._
+    Revival of British, i. 231, 237, 239.
+    Silk cargoes, i. 235, 236.
+    Steam brought into general use, i. 243-245;
+    effect on piracy, i. 307.
+    Tea clippers, i. 239-243.
+
+  Shore, the Hon. Henry N., cited, i. 213 _note_.
+
+  Silk, Chinese trade in, importance of, i. 168, 187-191 _and note_, 203;
+    shipping of, i. 235, 236;
+    Japanese trade in, ii. 116.
+
+  Smith, Arthur, cited, ii. 368.
+
+  Smuggling--
+    Alcock's efforts against, i. 143, 145;
+      extract from his report on, i. 145-147.
+    Elliot's offer to suppress, i. 48, 49.
+    England, in, i. 213.
+    Prevalence of, i. 44, 45, 143, 195, 301.
+    Salt merchants vigilant against, i. 442.
+    Trade disastrously affected by, i. 147.
+
+  Solomon, King, Chinese characteristics of, ii. 369 _note_.
+
+  Spain, Alcock's work as army surgeon in, i. 21, 22;
+    on Commission regarding payment of Foreign Legion, i. 24, 25;
+    rheumatic fever contracted at San Sebastian, i. 27.
+
+  Stanley, Lady Augusta, Alcock's work with, ii. 479, 480.
+
+  Staveley, Brigadier-General, i. 365, 379, 383, 385.
+
+  Stirling, Sir James, Japanese treaty of, ii. 4.
+
+  Swatow, ii. 206.
+
+  Swinhoe, Consul, ii. 181, 204, 359.
+
+
+  Taiping Rebellion. _See under_ China.
+
+  Taku forts, British repulse at, i. 222, 223, 348;
+    strengthened by Chinese, i. 350;
+    captured by Allies, i. 351;
+    occupied by Allies, i. 355;
+    captured (1900), ii. 436.
+
+  Talien-wan--
+    British suggestion regarding, ii. 425.
+    Fortifications of, ii. 397.
+    Russian seizure of, ii. 427.
+    'Times' letter on, ii. 428-432.
+
+  Tao-kuang, Emperor, i. 50, 51.
+
+  Taotai, status of, i. 129.
+
+  Tartars, i. 81.
+
+  Taxation. _See under_ China.
+
+  Tea trade--
+    Clippers, i. 239-243.
+    Consumption of tea, quality and quantity of, i. 180, 181.
+    Duties heavy, i. 178-181, 186.
+    Foochow famous for, i. 121, 122, 240, 241.
+    Hankow a new centre for, i. 225.
+    Importance of, in early Chinese trade, i. 168;
+      decline of, i. 184-186.
+
+  Thomson, J., quoted, i. 269.
+
+  Tibet, Bengali's friendly visits to, ii. 305;
+    Indian expedition attempted, ii. 306-310;
+    attack on British Sikkim, ii. 311.
+
+  Tientsin--
+    Arsenal established at, by Chunghou, ii. 392.
+    Ch'un, Prince, introduced to foreigners at, ii. 316.
+    Conference at (1840), i. 65;
+      (1854), i. 311.
+    Elgin's treaty. _See_ Treaties--Tientsin;
+      his hurried departure from, i. 333, 335, 336.
+    Gordon's interviews with Li at, ii. 292.
+    Gutzlaff's expedition to, i. 115.
+    Massacre at. _See under_ Missionaries.
+    Peking campaign, base of Allied troops during, i. 351;
+      garrison left in, i. 355.
+    Treaty of. _See under_ Treaties.
+
+  Ting, Admiral, ii. 400, 408.
+
+  Tông-chow, i. 219, 220.
+
+  Tongking, French conquest of, ii. 326.
+
+  Trade. _See_ Commerce.
+
+  Treaties--
+    Alcock's stand for integrity of, ii. 101.
+    Anglo-German Agreement, ii. 467, 468, 473.
+    Calcutta Convention, ii. 312.
+    Chefoo Convention, negotiation and provisions of, ii. 275-280, 310,
+        311;
+      criticism of, ii. 280, 251;
+      ratification of, ii. 284, 287.
+    Disregard of, chronic, ii. 214, 359.
+    Fournier Convention, ii. 329.
+    Japan--Commodore Perry's, ii. 2;
+      Townsend Harris's, ii. 3, 5, 39, 99;
+      Sir J. Stirling's, ii. 4;
+      Lord Elgin's, ii. 5, 6, 99.
+    Li-Ito Convention, ii. 302, 303, 389, 408, 409.
+    Livadia, ii. 291.
+    "Most-favoured-nation" clause, ii. 3, 5, 6, 215, 232.
+    Nanking, signing of, i. 75, 76;
+      Chinese hostility to, i. 78, 79, 91, 93, 97;
+      supplement to, i. 112-114;
+      English opposition to, i. 114;
+      working of, summed up by Alcock, i. 162, 411-428;
+      evaded by Chinese, i. 333, ii. 214;
+      restrictions of boundary imposed by, i. 415.
+    Peking (1860), i. 354;
+      (1886), ii. 310.
+    St Petersburg, ii. 293.
+    Shimonoseki, ii. 387, 418.
+    Tientsin, ports opened by, i. 219;
+      signing of, i. 331, 334;
+      provisions of, i. 332, 341;
+      residence at Peking a stipulation of, i. 332-335;
+      Chinese view of, i. 334-336, 341, 342, 346, 348;
+      suspension of residence clause, i. 337, 346;
+      ratified at Peking, i. 354;
+      regarded as model for other Powers, ii. 6;
+      revision preparations, ii. 180-183;
+      revision discussed, ii. 211-218;
+      supplementary convention signed, ii. 218;
+      reviewed, ii. 219, 220;
+      not ratified, ii. 220, 221.
+    Toleration clauses, ii. 224, 225.
+    Yeh's contempt for, i. 333.
+
+  Tsên-Yü-ying, ii. 270-273.
+
+  Tsêng, the Marquis, negotiates ratification of Chefoo Convention,
+      i. 284-287;
+    negotiates treaty at St Petersburg, ii. 293;
+    Annam negotiations, ii. 325;
+    member of Tsungli-Yamên, ii. 351.
+
+  Tsêng Kwo-Chuan, i. 381, 391.
+
+  Tsêng Kwo-fan, operations in Taiping Rebellion, i. 381, 391, 393;
+    memorial regarding revision of treaty, ii. 184;
+    intercourse with foreigners, ii. 189;
+    action in Yangchow affair, ii. 199-203;
+    action regarding Tientsin massacre, ii. 240, 243;
+    volunteer levies under, ii. 377;
+    characteristics of, ii. 378;
+    expulsion of foreigners suggested by, ii. 464 _note_.
+
+  Tsushima, designs on, attributed to British, ii. 108, 109, 111;
+    to French, ii. 110;
+    Russian occupation of, ii. 111-114.
+
+  Tsingpu affair, i. 129-135, 415, 423, 424.
+
+  Tso Tsung-tang, ii. 291, 278, 279.
+
+  Tsungli-Yamên. _See under_ China.
+
+  Tuan, Prince, characteristic action of (1900), ii. 437;
+    progeny of, not in the succession, ii. 456;
+    relations of, with Empress Regent obscure, ii. 460.
+
+  Tun, Prince, imperial claims of son of, ii. 263;
+    grandson of, nominated heir-apparent, ii. 460.
+
+  Tungchih, Emperor, i. 397, ii. 260-262.
+
+  Tycoon of Japan, Lord Elgin's treaty with, ii. 6, 7;
+    guards of, at foreign legations, ii. 36, 38, 44, 51-53;
+    Daimios' relation to, ii. 38-41, 60-65, 67, 68, 76, 93;
+    autograph letter to the Queen, ii. 46;
+    the Queen's reply, ii. 48;
+    envoys sent by, to Great Britain, ii. 48, 49;
+    second mission, ii. 74, 75;
+    Mikado's relation to, ii. 71-73, 85, 92;
+    regret at Alcock's recall, ii. 88.
+
+
+  United States. _See_ America.
+
+
+  Vatican, appeal to, ii. 343.
+
+  'Village Life in China' cited, ii. 368.
+
+  Vladivostock, Russian acquisition of, i. 358;
+    Czarevitch at, ii. 323.
+
+
+  Wade, Sir Thomas, action in Taiping Rebellion, i. 138, ii. 133;
+    Inspector of Customs at Shanghai, i. 154;
+    at Peking with Alcock (1865), ii. 131;
+    career and characteristics of, ii. 132-134;
+    views of, on Maritime Customs Inspectorship, ii. 163, 164;
+    on supplementary convention to Tientsin treaty, ii. 220;
+    _chargé d'affaires_ at Peking, ii. 239, 244;
+    views of, on audience of foreign Ministers, ii. 261, 262;
+    negotiations regarding Margary case, ii. 270-275, 278;
+    negotiates Chefoo Convention, ii. 275-279;
+    views of, on Chinese legislation, ii. 279.
+
+  Ward, Mr, i. 382.
+
+  Weihai-wei--
+    British seizure of, ii. 434.
+    Chinese forlorn hope at, i. 222, 301.
+    Early exploration of, i. 222.
+    Fortifications of, ii. 397.
+
+  Wênsiang, member of Tsungli-Yamên, i. 360;
+    discredited by Lay-Osborn flotilla fiasco, i. 389, ii. 375, 391;
+    intimate relations with British Legation, ii. 134, 135;
+    concurs in strong measures against rioters, ii. 207;
+    dislike of Hongkong, ii. 216;
+    circular regarding control of missions attributed to, ii. 246;
+    efforts regarding Pei-t'ang Cathedral, ii. 342;
+    high qualities of, ii. 374-376.
+
+  Westminster Hospital, Alcock's work for, ii. 478-480.
+
+  Winchester, Consul, on Japanese currency, ii. 18, 23.
+
+  Wolseley, Lieutenant-Colonel, i. 371, 373.
+
+  Wu, i. 151, 434, 435.
+
+  Wusung--
+    Challenger on the bar at, i. 236.
+    Hong captured at, ii. 301.
+    Opium trade at, i. 193.
+    Thirty mile radius, included in, i. 372, 376.
+
+
+  Yakub-beg, ii. 290, 291.
+
+  Yangchow riot, ii. 198-203, 207.
+
+  Yangtze river--
+    Advance of 200 miles up (1842), i. 74;
+      Lord Elgin's voyage to Hankow (1858), i. 347, 370.
+    Blockade of, suggested, i. 430.
+    Opening of, i. 223, 369, 373.
+
+  Yedo--
+    Alcock's arrival at, ii. 15-17.
+    British Legation. _See under_ Great Britain.
+    Choshiu's establishment at, destroyed, ii. 83.
+    Hostility to foreigners, ii. 35.
+    Legations, withdrawal of, to Yokohama, ii. 36;
+      foreign guards at, ii. 45;
+      improved residence for, ii. 50.
+    Social conditions in, ii. 122.
+
+  Yeh, Viceroy, evades demands for right of entry into Canton, i. 160;
+    hostile to native shipowners, i. 309;
+    asks British aid against Taipings, i. 312;
+    attitude towards foreigners, i. 312-314;
+    offers reward for English heads, i. 317;
+    contemptuous of treaties, i. 333;
+    superseded, i. 342;
+    capture and death of, i. 328.
+
+  Yerburgh, Mr, ii. 427.
+
+  Yokohama--
+    Foreigners' residence prepared by Japanese at, ii. 13;
+      improved, ii. 90.
+    Garrison of British troops in, ii. 77, 78, 84.
+    Legations' withdrawal to, during assassination period, ii. 36.
+    Merchants' preference for, to Kanagawa, i. 18, 122, 123.
+    Tycoon's inability to maintain order in, ii. 74.
+
+  Yuan Shih-kai, ii. 406.
+
+  Yunnan--
+    Burmese expedition and murder of Mr Margary, ii. 266, 267;
+      negotiations regarding, ii. 267-276;
+      settlement of affair, ii. 278.
+    Rebellion in, ii. 290.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS.
+
+
+
+
+
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+    The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Englishman in China During the Victorian Era, Vol. 2, by Alexander Michie.
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Englishman in China During the
+Victorian Era, Vol. II (of 2), by Alexander Michie
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Englishman in China During the Victorian Era, Vol. II (of 2)
+       As Illustrated in the Career of Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+              K.C.B., D.C.L., Many Years Consul and Minister in China
+              and Japan
+
+Author: Alexander Michie
+
+Release Date: December 31, 2013 [EBook #44548]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA, VOL II ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="tnbox">
+<p class="center"><b>Transcriber's Note:</b></p>
+<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
+Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation in the original
+document have been preserved.</p>
+
+<p>Index inconsistencies with the text have been regularized with the
+  text.</p>
+
+  <p>The index to this book contains links to Volume I of this two-volume work.
+  The links are designed to work when the book is read on line.  If you want to download
+  both volumes and use the index, you will need to change the links to point to the file name of Volume I
+  on your own device.</p>
+  <p>Download Volume I from <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm">http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42732</a></p>
+
+</div>
+
+<h1>
+THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA
+</h1>
+
+<div class="blockquot p6">
+<p>
+<span class='smcap'>Chap. xxiii.</span>: <i>Tsze-kung asked, saying, "Is there one word which
+may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?" The Master
+said, "Is not <span class='smcap'>Reciprocity</span> such a word? What you do not
+want done to yourself, do not do to others."</i>
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter p6"><a name="fp" id="fp"></a>
+<img src="images/i-fp.jpg" width="368" height="600" alt="" />
+<p class="caption">Very truly yours<br />
+Rutherford Alcock<br />
+<span class="s08">J. Thomson, photo.</span><br />
+<span class="s08">Walker &amp; Cockerell, ph. sc.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center p6">
+<span class="b20">THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA</span><br />
+<br />
+
+<span class="b13">DURING THE VICTORIAN ERA</span></p>
+
+<p class="center p4"><span class="s08">AS ILLUSTRATED IN</span><br />
+THE CAREER OF<br />
+<br />
+<span class="b13">SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK, K.C.B., D.C.L.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">MANY YEARS CONSUL AND MINISTER IN</span><br />
+<span class="s08">CHINA AND JAPAN</span></p>
+
+<p class="center p4"><span class="s08">BY</span><br />
+
+<span class="b13">ALEXANDER MICHIE</span><br />
+
+<span class="s08">AUTHOR OF</span><br />
+<span class="s08">'THE SIBERIAN OVERLAND ROUTE,' 'MISSIONARIES</span><br />
+<span class="s08">IN CHINA,' ETC.</span></p>
+
+<p class="center p4">VOL. II.</p>
+
+<p class="center p4">WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS<br />
+EDINBURGH AND LONDON<br />
+MDCCCC</p>
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_v' name='Page_v'>[v]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME.
+</h2>
+<hr class="l15" />
+
+<table summary="Table of Contents">
+<col width="5%" />
+<col width="5%" />
+<col width="5%" />
+<col width="75%" />
+<col width="10%" />
+  <tr>
+    <td><span class="s08">CHAP.</span></td>
+    <td colspan="4" class="tdr"><span class="s08">PAGE</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XIX.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="4">JAPAN&mdash;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">I.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE TREATIES AND THEIR NEGOTIATORS</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1"  >1</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">II.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE OPERATION OF THE TREATIES</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_12"  >12</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">III.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">ASSASSINATION PERIOD, 1860-61</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_34"  >34</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">IV.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">NEGOTIATIONS AND RENEWED ASSASSINATIONS, 1862-64</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_44"  >44</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">V.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE TYCOON'S DILEMMA</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_60"  >60</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">VI.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE CRISIS</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_75"  >75</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">VII.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE BIRTH OF NEW JAPAN</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_92"  >92</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">VIII.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE DIPLOMATIC BODY&mdash;TSUSHIMA</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_104"  >104</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">IX.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">TRADE AND TRADERS</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_115"  >115</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XX.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="4">SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK IN PEKING, 1865-1869&mdash;</td>
+          </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">I.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE BRITISH LEGATION</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_130"  >130</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">II.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">FOREIGN LIFE IN PEKING</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_138"  >138</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">III.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE FOREIGN CUSTOMS UNDER THE PEKING CONVENTION</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_156"  >156</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">IV.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">EMIGRATION</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_168"  >168</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">V.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">KOREA</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_175"  >175</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXI.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="4">THE REVISION OF THE TREATY&mdash;</td>
+          </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">I.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">PREPARATION</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_180"  >180</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">II.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE BURLINGAME MISSION</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_192"  >192</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">III.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">CHINESE OUTRAGES&mdash;YANGCHOW AND FORMOSA</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_198"  >198</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">IV.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">REVISION NEGOTIATIONS AND CONCLUSION</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_210"  >210</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXII.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="3">MISSIONARY PROBLEM&mdash;TIENTSIN MASSACRE OF 1870</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_223"  >223</a><span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_vi' name='Page_vi'>[vi]</a></span></td>
+  </tr>
+
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXIII.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="4">THE EXPANSION OF INTERCOURSE&mdash;</td>
+    </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">I.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">RUSSIA AND FRANCE ADVANCING</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_250"  >250</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">II.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">JAPAN AGGRESSIVE</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_255"  >255</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">III.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">KOREA OPENED</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_256"  >256</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">IV.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE FIRST IMPERIAL AUDIENCE&mdash;SUCCESSION OF KWANGHSU</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_260"  >260</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXIV.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="4">THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875&mdash;CHEFOO CONVENTION, 1876&mdash;RATIFICATION, 1885&mdash;</td>
+          </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">I.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_265"  >265</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">II.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">CHEFOO CONVENTION, 1876</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_275"  >275</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">III.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE RATIFICATION, 1885</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_282"  >282</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXV.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="4">A CHAIN OF INCIDENTS&mdash;</td>
+    </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">I.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">DISPUTE WITH RUSSIA RE KULDJA</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_290"  >290</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">II.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">KOREAN IMBROGLIO, 1882-85</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_293"  >293</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">III.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE PORT HAMILTON EPISODE, 1885-87</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_303"  >303</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">IV.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">TIBET</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_305"  >305</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">V.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE CRUISE OF THE SEVENTH PRINCE, 1886</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_312"  >312</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">VI.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE EMPEROR ASSUMES THE GOVERNMENT, 1889</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_318"  >318</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">VII.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE VISIT OF THE CZAREVITCH, 1891</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_321"  >321</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXVI.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="3">THE TONGKING QUARREL</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_324"  >324</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXVII.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="3">THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE OF CHRISTIANS</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_336"  >336</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXVIII.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="3">BRITISH SERVICES: DIPLOMATIC, CONSULAR, AND JUDICIAL</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_353"  >353</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXIX.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="3">CHINA AND HER RULERS</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_368"  >368</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXX.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="3">CHINA'S AWAKENING</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_388"  >388</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXXI.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="3">THE COLLAPSE</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_403"  >403</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXXII.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="3">THE RESETTLEMENT OF THE FAR EAST</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_417"  >417</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXXIII.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="4">THE OUTCOME&mdash;</td>
+          </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">I.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE SITUATION IN PEKING</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_435"  >435</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">II.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE CHRONIC CAUSE</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_440"  >440</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">III.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">IMMEDIATE PROVOCATION</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_447"  >447</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">IV.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE DYNASTIC FACTOR</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_455"  >455</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">V.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE CHINESE OUTBREAK</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_461"  >461</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr" colspan="3">VI.</td>
+    <td class="tdh">THE CRUX</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_464"  >464</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">XXXIV.</td>
+    <td class="tdh" colspan="3">SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK'S LATER YEARS</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_476"  >476</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="4">INDEX</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_490"  >490</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_vii' name='Page_vii'>[vii]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE SECOND VOLUME.
+</h2>
+
+<table summary="Illustrations">
+<col width="90%" />
+<col width="10%" />
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2" class="tdr"><span class="s08">PAGE</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#fp"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>LORD ELGIN</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#i006">6</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>PRINCE KUNG</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#i134">134</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>WÊNSIANG</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#i136">136</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>MANCHU (TARTAR) WOMEN</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#i138">138</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>MANCHU WOMEN</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#i140">140</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>CHINESE WOMEN</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#i142">142</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>CHINESE STREET SCENE DURING RAINY SEASON</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#i144">144</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>LI HUNG-CHANG AT THE AGE OF FIFTY</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#i184">184</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>RUINS OF FRENCH CATHEDRAL AT TIENTSIN, BURNED JUNE 20, 1870</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#i240">240</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>PEI-T'ANG CATHEDRAL IN PEKING, PURCHASED BY CHINESE GOVERNMENT</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#i340">340</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>MINISTERS OF THE YAMÊN OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: H.E. SHÊN KUEI-FÊN; H.E. TUNG HSÜN; H.E. MAO CHANG-TSI</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#i416">416</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<h3>
+MAPS.
+</h3>
+
+<table summary="maps">
+<col width="90%" />
+<col width="10%" />
+  <tr>
+    <td>BAY OF YEDO</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#i004">4</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>MAP OF EASTERN ASIA</td>
+    <td class="tdr"><a href="#map"><i>At end</i></a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<p class="p6">
+In the contents under chapter
+xix. the date of Commodore Perry's
+expedition is by a misprint given
+as 1883-84 instead of 1853-54.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_1' name='Page_1'>[1]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p class="center p6 b15">
+THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA.
+</p>
+<hr class="l15" />
+
+<h2 class="chap1">
+CHAPTER XIX.<br />
+<br />
+
+<span class="s08">JAPAN</span>.</h2>
+
+<h3 class="chap1">
+I. THE TREATIES AND THEIR NEGOTIATORS.
+</h3>
+
+<p class="ch_summ">
+Commodore Perry's expedition, 1853-54&mdash;Townsend Harris&mdash;Count Poutiatine&mdash;Lord
+Elgin&mdash;The treaties of 1858&mdash;The solidarity of Western
+Powers&mdash;The practical attitude of the Japanese&mdash;Their yielding to
+circumstances&mdash;The condition of the country&mdash;The character of the
+people&mdash;Nagasaki&mdash;The Dutch&mdash;Their two hundred years' imprisonment.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A mystery hung over the island empire, which had
+been sealed against foreign intercourse for two hundred
+years, and its mere seclusion, apart from the weird
+romance that gilded such fragments of its history
+as were known, invested the efforts to reopen the
+country with a romantic charm. It was in Japan
+that Lord Elgin achieved the real diplomatic success
+of his life, in the briefest possible time, at the least
+possible cost, and with the most far-reaching consequences;
+for undoubtedly he hastened the entry
+of the Land of the Rising Sun into the family of
+nations.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_2' name='Page_2'>[2]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The poetical side of the mission was done ample
+justice to by Laurence Oliphant in his 'Narrative,'
+by Captain Sherard Osborn in the pages of 'Blackwood,'
+and elsewhere. The prosaic side and the
+practical issues of this rediscovery of an old world
+were not so clearly apprehended by them or by any
+other contemporary writer. The Powers of Europe
+and America had long been watching for opportunities
+to effect an opening in the barrier, but all
+tentatives proved in vain until force was resorted to.
+This was first done by the United States, whence
+a naval squadron under Commodore Perry appeared
+off the coast in 1853, repeating the visit, on a still
+more imposing scale, in 1854. The apparition deeply
+impressed the minds of the Japanese Government
+and people, who, Lafcadio Hearn tells us, speak to
+this day of the "black ships," birds of omen foreshadowing
+events for which it behoved them to prepare
+themselves. Black, indeed, they were, grim
+of aspect, huge in bulk, and looming larger than they
+really were, with their high sides, great paddle-boxes,
+and "smoke-stacks." The ships were armed with a
+few guns of such calibre and power as had not till
+then been placed on any floating battery. Jonathan
+is never second-best in naval artillery. Commodore
+Perry with his three black ships, the steamers Powhattan,
+Susquehanna, and Mississippi, and his squadron
+of sailing-vessels, opened the door of Japan&mdash;not very
+wide, it is true, yet so that it could never again be
+closed. The rudimentary treaty he made was little
+more than a covenant to supply wood and water to
+needy ships and to be merciful to their crews. A
+similar treaty was made by the English Admiral Stirling
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_3' name='Page_3'>[3]</a></span>
+in 1854, and it included the "most-favoured-nation"
+clause, only excepting from its application
+the privileges enjoyed by China and Holland.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To carry the work forward to a more practical stage
+a man of affairs was required, and he was found in
+the person of Townsend Harris, who was accredited
+to Japan under the title of Consul-General for the
+United States. Mr Harris had been nearly two years
+in the country when Lord Elgin, with his modest
+escort, arrived and made his acquaintance. With
+infinite patience Mr Harris had been prosecuting
+his negotiations, against wind and current, it would
+seem, until a propitious gale wafted his venture
+into port. The black ships had gone, but another
+fleet more numerous was assembled on the neighbouring
+coast, whence their fame had reached the
+secluded empire. Riding on the shoulders of the
+Anglo-French exploits in China, and not obscurely
+hinting at the prospect of the allies shortly visiting
+Japan, Mr Harris induced his Japanese friends to
+"hurry up" with his treaty, that it might not only
+serve as a model of moderation for the other Powers
+when they also should come to negotiate, but provide
+in advance friendly mediation between them and
+Japan. Lord Elgin justified the forewarnings of
+Mr Harris by appearing in the Bay of Yedo within
+a few weeks after the signature of the American
+treaty.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+How much both Mr Harris's treaty and the one
+which Lord Elgin was about to sign owed to the
+previous Russian negotiations cannot be estimated.
+Admiral Count Poutiatine concluded a treaty in 1855,
+and improved it in 1857, on the basis of Sir James
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_4' name='Page_4'>[4]</a></span>
+Stirling's opening the ports of Nagasaki, Hakodate,
+and Shimoda for ship's supplies, with sundry minor
+privileges. When Lord Elgin reached the Bay of
+Yedo in August 1858 he found Count Poutiatine
+already there with a frigate and a gunboat.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i004" id="i004"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p004.jpg" width="298" height="400" alt="" />
+<p class="caption">BAY OF YEDO.<br />
+
+<span class="s08">
+<i>Walker &amp; Cockerell sc.</i></span>
+</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_5' name='Page_5'>[5]</a></span>
+This convergence of the great Powers of the world
+upon a single object, that of breaking down the
+seclusion of Japan, was clearly recognised, and its
+proximate effect weighed, by the Japanese statesmen
+of the day. Too wise to oppose an uncompromising
+resistance to the pressure, they employed their skill
+more profitably in deflecting its course. In accordance
+with this policy, Lord Elgin's demand, backed as it was
+by the prestige of his recent achievements in China,
+was promptly conceded, and within the short space
+of fourteen days from his arrival in the bay a treaty
+was concluded of the same tenor as the American, of
+which Lord Elgin had obtained a copy from Mr Harris,
+who also lent him the invaluable services of his Dutch
+interpreter, Mr Heusken. By the two treaties three
+of the chief ports of the empire were opened to foreign
+trade within one year, and two more at later dates.
+In some respects the English was an advance on the
+American treaty. By the latter the import tariff had
+been reduced from the old Dutch rate of 35 per cent
+to a general rate of 5 per cent <i>ad valorem</i>. The
+British treaty specifically provided that cotton and
+woollen manufactured goods should be included in the
+class of merchandise paying 5 per cent. The immunities
+of extra-territoriality were unreservedly conceded,
+and were only rescinded by the revised treaties, the
+first of which was made with Great Britain in 1894,
+coming into force in July 1899.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One general remark applies to all treaties made
+between foreign powers and China or Japan, that
+the interests of each separate Power were safeguarded
+by the virtual solidarity which existed among them,
+through the operation of that convenient diplomatic
+save-all, the "most-favoured-nation" clause. This
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_6' name='Page_6'>[6]</a></span>
+comprehensive provision inserted in the treaties secured
+for all the Powers the advantages gained by any one
+of their number. Faith in this ultimate protection
+may have led occasionally to slipshod negotiations.
+There might even be a temptation in some cases to
+seek special credit for moderation, with the foreknowledge
+that the exactions of any of the Powers
+would inure to the benefit of all. Lord Elgin wrote
+the simple truth when he said that, "as regards
+all these important commercial privileges, I have
+to fight the battles of the Western trading nations
+single-handed." This feature had been particularly
+noticeable in the negotiations in China, where it was
+so well understood that the English treaty would
+be the common standard that it mattered little that
+the signature of some of the others was hurried forward
+so as to take priority of the British in point
+of date. The treaty which Lord Elgin negotiated
+with Japan was destined to occupy the same ruling
+position as the treaty with China, and therefore it
+devolved upon him to make provision for all manner
+of contingencies which no experience could enable him
+to foresee. Considering that these treaties were drawn
+up with so little knowledge of the circumstances of
+the country and of the future exigencies of trade,
+the fact that they have stood the test of forty
+years' experience redounds greatly to the credit of
+the negotiants.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i006" id="i006"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p006.jpg" width="381" height="550" alt="" />
+<p class="caption">LORD ELGIN.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Lord Elgin had to learn what a Daimio was from
+Count Poutiatine, who probably had but just acquired
+the knowledge himself. It is strange at the present
+day to read the solemn preamble, "Her Majesty the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_7' name='Page_7'>[7]</a></span>
+Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
+Ireland and his Majesty the Tycoon of Japan." "It
+was not till some time later that it was discovered
+that there was a still higher power than the Shôgun,"
+said Earl Russell in 1865. The imperfect knowledge,
+however, attests the general soundness of the principles
+adopted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It must be admitted that on the Japanese side,
+also, nothing seemed wanting to render the treaty a
+workable instrument. The Japanese negotiators were
+animated by a more practical spirit than any Chinese
+diplomatist with whom foreigners had had dealings.
+There was no idea in their minds of blind obstruction;
+they were bent, if not upon efficient working,
+at least on the minimising of friction and risk.
+And though it is probable, indeed quite certain, that
+no treaty whatever could have been made without
+substantial force in the background, intelligently
+apprehended by the Japanese Government, yet, that
+being conceded, it was clearly their object to make
+the best of the position in which they actually
+found themselves. Under no other circumstances
+could treaties so complete in detail and so effective
+for their purpose have been concluded.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To judge of the acts of the pioneers of foreign
+intercourse, or to form a just opinion of the conditions
+under which the treaties came into force,
+it would be necessary for the critic to regard the
+whole surroundings as a painter does his subject,
+not representing what he knows or may afterwards
+discover to be there, but considering only what
+actually meets his eye. This, of course, is next to
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_8' name='Page_8'>[8]</a></span>
+impossible in the case of Japan, where the transformation
+resulting from the contact with foreigners
+was so rapid and so kaleidoscopic, and while foreign
+knowledge of things Japanese has increased at so
+marvellous a rate, that only a series of mutoscopic
+photographs could have preserved the sequence.
+Opinions were at first, and for some time after,
+unduly affected by the preconception of a certain
+analogy between China and Japan founded on geographical
+propinquity, and in a measure on language:
+this bias influenced the first influx of foreigners in
+1859, who were largely drawn from the commercial
+ports of China. Yet those who had been habituated
+to the manners and customs of the Chinese
+were at once struck, not by the similarities, but by
+the violent contrasts, which the two peoples presented.
+These visitants had left behind them filth
+and squalor; they met cleanliness and tidiness of
+an extreme type. They left behind vagueness of
+thought, slovenliness of action; and they encountered
+pedantic precision. They left behind indifference and
+stolidity, with ignorance cherished as a proud possession;
+and they encountered a keen and intelligent
+appetite for knowledge. These features met the
+stranger before even his ship had cast anchor, or
+he had set foot on shore. He soon perceived, also,
+that existence was carried on under an elaborate
+prescription which left but a narrow margin to spontaneous
+action, and such a minute supervision that
+a sparrow could hardly cross the road without being
+noted by the official guardians of the peace; that
+every function, whether of official or private life,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_9' name='Page_9'>[9]</a></span>
+was under the undisputed control of the same
+vigilant organisation.<a name='FA_1' id='FA_1' href='#FN_1' class='fnanchor'>[1]</a> On entering the narrow
+waters approaching the harbour of Nagasaki, he
+would pass under forts where through a telescope
+he could see guns and gunners' quarters all spick
+and span. If there happened to be another vessel
+approaching from seaward, he would know it by
+the booming of two guns from the outermost fort,
+the signal being taken up and passed on by those
+inland, and so all the way to Yedo. This, he learned,
+was the mode of announcing to the capital the
+appearance of any foreign craft off the coast. On
+entering the inner harbour he would see boats full of
+men who looked like women, pushing off to his ship;
+and then a posse of officers, each armed with two
+sharp swords, would come on board. They, by means
+of a very imperfect interpreter, would at once ply the
+master with questions on every conceivable subject, as
+if he were competing in an examination in universal
+knowledge. The tedious catechism, with its admixture
+of seeming frivolity, would have been exasperating
+but for the imperturbable suavity of the catechists.
+Every answer was promptly, yet deliberately, committed
+to writing. Such was, and is, the custom of
+the race.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nagasaki being still, in the first half of 1859, the
+gate of Japan, and the only sample of the country
+known to foreigners, the bright welcome with which
+it greeted the new arrivals was of happy augury.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_10' name='Page_10'>[10]</a></span>
+It was there, also, that the first observations of the
+ways of Japanese commerce were made, for Nagasaki
+had carried on trade with China and with Holland
+for two hundred years,&mdash;a trade which was conducted
+on the one side by officials of the Government, who
+fixed the prices of the commodities exchanged, and
+which was all but strangled by monopoly. The restricted
+annual "turn-over" must have required a
+high percentage of profit to support the Dutch
+factory, and the privilege of trading on so petty a
+scale seemed to be dearly bought by the perpetual
+imprisonment of the agents. The unfortunate Dutchmen
+were confined, with their whole establishment
+of warehouses, residences, &amp;c., within an area of less
+than three acres of reclaimed foreshore called Deshima,
+thus described by Sir Rutherford Alcock in 'The
+Capital of the Tycoon':&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+A low fan-shaped strip of land, dammed out from the waters
+of the bay, the handle being towards the shore and truncated.
+One large wide street, with two-storeyed houses on each side,
+built in European style, gives an air of great tidiness; but they
+look with large hollow eyes into each other's interiors in a
+dismal sort of way, as if they had been so engaged for six
+generations at least, and were quite weary of the view....
+But the view from the Dutch commissioner's residence, with its
+quaint Japanese garden and its fine sweep down the bay, is
+very charming.... There flitted before me a vision of the
+solitary chiefs of the factory in long succession taking up their
+present station in long rotation and looking forward upon the
+fair bay with which their sight alone may be gladdened. How
+often must the occupants of this lone post have strained their
+eyes looking in vain for the solitary ship bringing tidings from
+Europe and home!
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The imprisonment of the Dutch was aggravated by
+many degrading conditions imposed by the Japanese
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_11' name='Page_11'>[11]</a></span>
+Government. Their position bore some analogy to that
+of the English and other foreigners in Canton previous
+to 1839. In both cases the Europeans endured indignities
+at the hands of Asiatics for the sake of profit,
+but beyond that point it is the differences rather than
+the resemblances which are significant. The humiliation
+of the Dutch in the island of Deshima was indeed
+unmitigated so far as it went, but it was neither
+capricious nor spiteful. Once the yoke was peacefully
+adjusted, what remained of life to the Dutchman
+was made as agreeable to him as to a cockatoo in a
+cage. His jailors had no particular animus against
+him; they had a purpose of their own to serve in
+keeping open, through the foreigners, a channel of
+communication with the West, and they had as valid
+reasons of State for tethering him as one may have
+for tying up his ox or his ass. These purposes once
+served, however, the Japanese did not revel in harshness
+or cruelty.<a name='FA_2' id='FA_2' href='#FN_2' class='fnanchor'>[2]</a> With the Chinese it was otherwise.
+They also had a political object in restricting the barbarians,
+only they were never satisfied with its attainment,
+but continued heaping up insults on their victims
+to the utmost limits of their submissiveness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The petty trade which the new-comers were able
+to do at Nagasaki was, in the beginning, managed
+through the existing agency of the Dutch, from whom,
+however, there was nothing useful to be learned, much
+indeed to be unlearned; and in a few months it was
+the Dutch themselves who had to go to school to the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_12' name='Page_12'>[12]</a></span>
+interlopers. As commerce had been kept entirely in
+the hands of the Government officials, there had been
+no opportunity for the rise of any mercantile class
+among the natives: that was to be a product of the
+new era.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+II. THE OPERATION OF THE TREATIES.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Japanese preparations for trade at Yokohama&mdash;Mr Alcock's arrival as
+consul-general&mdash;Assumes the rank of Minister&mdash;The situation as
+he found it&mdash;The establishment of diplomatic intercourse at the
+capital&mdash;The location of the foreign settlement&mdash;The currency&mdash;The
+low value of gold&mdash;Its rapid exportation&mdash;Friction caused by
+conditions of exchange&mdash;Efforts of Mr Alcock to set matters right&mdash;Report
+by Secretary of H.B.M. Treasury&mdash;Japanese double standard,
+gold and copper&mdash;Japanese courage in meeting difficulties&mdash;The
+Daimios' coinage&mdash;Beginnings of trade&mdash;Amenities of residence&mdash;The
+charm of the people&mdash;The two Japans, official and non-official&mdash;Complete
+despotism and complete submission.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The treaties of 1858 took their proper effect at the
+two ports of Hakodate and Kanagawa; but the former
+being remote from any centre of population, and its
+trading resources so obviously limited, it attracted
+little attention in commercial circles. It was in the
+more southerly port that the new foreign interests
+became concentrated; and it was so near the capital&mdash;only
+seventeen miles distant&mdash;that the political and
+commercial currents soon acted and reacted on each
+other with direct, and sometimes violent, effect. To
+Kanagawa, therefore, the merchants of all nations
+gathered in anticipation of the official opening of the
+port on the 1st of July 1859.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We say "Kanagawa," to follow the official nomenclature,
+but in reality the adventurers who came there
+to seek their fortunes did not land at that place, but
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_13' name='Page_13'>[13]</a></span>
+three miles away from it, at an obscure village called
+Yokohama. There the Japanese Government had
+decided should be the future settlement for foreigners,
+and they had made costly preparations, according to
+their lights, for the accommodation of the strangers.
+Roads were marked out, a certain number of wooden
+bungalows had been run up, a few shops had been
+opened in the quarter which was designed for native
+occupation, a custom-house was built, with warehouses
+attached, and stone landing-places had been constructed
+for boats and lighters. The area thus marked out
+for the native and foreign business quarter was a
+narrow strip along the sea-shore, having in its flank
+and rear an immense lagoon, or, as it was called,
+"the swamp," intersected by boat channels, where
+punting after wildfowl provided amusement for idle
+foreigners. Being an inlet of the bay, the swamp made
+a peninsula of Yokohama, which had just been connected
+with the <i>tokaido</i>, the great trunk road between
+the capital of the Tycoon and that of the Mikado, by
+a new causeway and several good bridges, admitting
+of boat traffic between the swamp and the sea.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the middle of the swamp, in rear of Yokohama,
+was a reclaimed portion whereon was erected an extensive
+range of buildings connected by a causeway with
+the dry land of the settlement. From its balconies
+there waved pendants of cotton cloth bearing the
+legend, "This place is designed for the amusement
+of foreigners," a class of amusement of which there
+has never been any lack in Japan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such were some of the outward and visible preparations
+made by the Japanese Government, on its own
+initiative, for the reception of the foreigners under the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_14' name='Page_14'>[14]</a></span>
+new treaties,&mdash;preparations which surprised and somewhat
+disconcerted the representatives of the Western
+Governments when they arrived on the eve of the
+opening of the port.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr Alcock, who had recently returned to his post
+as consul at Canton, was chosen as the first representative
+of Great Britain in Japan, with the rank
+of consul-general. As this rank placed the representative
+of the leading Power in an inferior position to
+his colleagues, and consequently derogated from the
+influence he could exercise on the Japanese, Mr Alcock
+took it upon himself to assume the title of Plenipotentiary,
+placing his resignation in the hands of his
+Government in case they should disavow his action.
+At the same time he recommended that the future
+British representative should bear the title of Minister
+Resident. So far from disavowing his action, the
+Government appointed him Envoy Extraordinary and
+Minister Plenipotentiary, a higher rank than that
+suggested by him, and he was authorised to at once
+assume the title, although so unusual a proceeding as
+the transfer of a consular official to the diplomatic
+service involved considerable delay while the needful
+formalities were being arranged. The appointment,
+however, was coupled with the conditions that the
+step should not be made a precedent, and that it
+should confer no claim to future diplomatic employment
+in the countries of the West.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr Alcock was conveyed from China in one of her
+Majesty's ships, arriving at the port of Nagasaki
+in June 1859. There he found a fleet of foreign merchantmen
+already in the harbour, and some fifteen
+British subjects resident on shore, under the ægis of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_15' name='Page_15'>[15]</a></span>
+the old Dutch conventions supplemented by more
+recent enactments. Mr Alcock remained some days,
+and having made arrangements for the carrying on of
+trade under the new treaties, left a consul in charge
+of British interests and proceeded to Yedo, where he
+arrived on June 26.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is a date to be remembered as that of the practical
+initiation of diplomatic intercourse with the ruling
+Power in Japan. The difference between a mission to
+negotiate treaties and one to carry them into effect is
+thus set forth by Sir Rutherford Alcock in the preface
+to his valuable work, 'The Capital of the Tycoon,' in
+terms the simple truth of which must commend itself
+to every candid reader:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+The Ambassadors Extraordinary had only to extort certain
+privileges on paper; it was the business of the resident Ministers
+to make of these paper-concessions realities&mdash;practical,
+everyday realities. As this was the very thing the rulers of
+the country had determined to prevent, it cannot be matter of
+wonder that there was not, and never could be, any real
+accord, whatever the outward professions of good faith and
+amity. Hence also it naturally followed that, although the
+original negotiators were received with smiles, and their path
+was strewn with flowers, their successors had only the poisoned
+chalice held to their lips, thorns in their path, and the scowl
+of the two-sworded braves and Samurai to welcome them
+whenever they ventured to leave their gates&mdash;while the
+assassin haunted their steps, and broke their rest in the still
+hours of the night with fell intent to massacre.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+To say the situation was novel is to say little. The
+forces at work in the Japanese state economy were
+either unknown to, or, what was perhaps even worse,
+misunderstood by, foreign Powers. The lurid history
+of previous intercourse, followed by rigid exclusion for
+two centuries, would have sufficed to establish one
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_16' name='Page_16'>[16]</a></span>
+factor in the problem, the iron resolution of the Japanese
+rulers. With such men neutrality or indifference
+was out of the question, while there was nothing as
+yet to indicate what was henceforth to be the ruling
+motive of Japanese policy. Both parties were embarking
+on an unknown voyage, and the avoidance of
+shipwreck depended in a very large measure on the
+character of those who had to discover for themselves
+the winds and currents, the rocks and shoals, through
+which they had to steer. The leadership among the
+foreign Powers was tacitly assigned to Great Britain,
+and it was a born leader who was commissioned to
+represent her. Mr Alcock had had fifteen years' experience
+of Asiatic relations, during which time he
+had proved himself the possessor of those qualities
+which were now in special request. These were
+indomitable energy, earnestness of purpose much beyond
+the common run of official service, fearlessness
+of responsibility, and alertness to grasp the nettle
+danger in order to avert greater evils, and a spirit
+which would neither shirk nor postpone an unpleasant
+duty nor tolerate lukewarmness nor dilatoriness in
+others. He was fifty years old&mdash;matured in character
+and experience, while yet in the prime of his intellectual
+vigour.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr Alcock arrived in Yedo Bay in time to arrange
+for the opening of trade at the appointed date, July 1.
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+Nagasaki to Yedo! Two centuries lie between these points,
+so near on the map, but so far and completely separated by
+the determined policy of the Japanese rulers. A policy of
+isolation so effectually carried out that no foreigner, though he
+might under the Dutch flag gain access to Nagasaki, could
+force or find his way to the capital.
+</p>
+</div>
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_17' name='Page_17'>[17]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Steaming up the Bay of Yedo, and leaving Kanagawa
+unvisited, Mr Alcock anchored as close to the capital as
+the depth of water would allow, and at once informed
+the Foreign Minister that he had come to stay. This
+was done advisedly, as he has explained, to obviate all
+discussion as to his place of residence, for he knew that
+efforts had been made&mdash;<i>more Sinico</i>&mdash;through Lord
+Elgin to induce her Majesty's Government to postpone
+the residence in Yedo for a couple of years, and to keep
+their representative at a distance. His first object was
+to obtain a suitable residence for himself and the Legation
+staff, in which assistance was cheerfully rendered
+by the Government officials, as soon as they saw he was
+resolved to remain in the capital. Diplomatic intercourse
+became thus an established fact.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The opening of the trading-port did not prove quite
+so simple, for the consul-general found he had been
+forestalled in the choice of a site for the merchants'
+residence, which the Government had, as we have seen,
+prepared at great expense some three miles away from
+Kanagawa, the port named in the treaty. Interpreting
+this hurried action of the Japanese as covering the
+ulterior design of segregating the foreigners from the
+natives by thrusting them to a distance from the
+trunk road which led through Kanagawa, of keeping
+them in a kind of imprisonment like the Dutch at
+Deshima, and of retaining the power to stop their
+supplies, whether of the materials of trade or of
+sustenance, Mr Alcock warmly contested the action
+of the Government. In the end he extorted from
+them the concession of a commercial site at Kanagawa
+itself, which, however, was never taken up.
+Events proved too strong for the consul-general,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_18' name='Page_18'>[18]</a></span>
+for the merchants of all nations as they arrived
+settled in Yokohama, where there was deep water for
+shipping and every convenience for business. And it
+soon began also to be felt that there was an element of
+safety in this foreign settlement being removed from
+the great imperial road along which armed processions
+were continually passing to and from the capital.
+Within a year the controversy had died a natural
+death, and Yokohama speaks for itself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The second obstacle to the free course of trade was
+a more deep-rooted one, being nothing less than that
+chronic bugbear of commerce and finance, the currency.
+There was no circulating medium in Japan in the least
+degree adequate for the service of international commerce.
+The trade in miniature that had been carried
+on in Nagasaki had been a simple exchange of commodities
+without the intervention of the precious metals.
+Mr Consul Winchester says that neither in the Dutch
+nor in the Chinese factories was a Japanese coin ever
+seen. But the commerce inaugurated in 1859 could
+brook no such limitations, while the extent of its requirements
+was of course absolutely unknown to the
+negotiators of the treaties. In this state of doubt and
+ignorance on both sides it seemed that the best temporary
+provision that the circumstances admitted of
+was for the Tycoon's Government to undertake, after
+twelve months, to make all foreign money current in
+Japan at its natural value, and that until the expiration
+of that period Japanese coin should be supplied
+in exchange for foreign, weight for weight. Yet it was
+a monstrous stipulation to insert in any international
+treaty, and could never, in fact, be enforced.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The amazing laxity in this respect with which
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_19' name='Page_19'>[19]</a></span>
+the treaties of 1858 were drawn opened the door to
+unfathomed abuses in the matter of currency. The
+coin which was in the minds of the American and
+English negotiators was what was then current on
+the coast of China, the dollar, or more specifically
+the Mexican dollar. Yet, as was afterwards pointed
+out by Mr G. Arbuthnot, Secretary to her Majesty's
+Treasury, no provision was made in the treaties expressly
+for exchanging that, but only British and
+American money. In his opinion the Tycoon's Government
+might have refused altogether to receive the
+Mexican dollar, which was the only coin tendered to
+them, and thus the currency clause in the treaty
+would have been a dead letter from the first. But
+since they did not know the weakness of the ground
+which the foreigners had chosen, they had to fight
+out the question under all the disadvantages of a
+false position.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+By the treaty provisions, then, as interpreted by
+both sides, the foreign merchants who chose to import
+specie were to be supplied in exchange with current
+coin of the realm whereby they could purchase the
+produce of the country without awaiting the slow
+and uncertain realisation of imported merchandise.
+But the Japanese, apart from any question of good
+faith, had vastly under-estimated the demand which
+this agreement was to make on their mintage resources.
+They could only supply tens where thousands
+were required, and in consequence of their scarcity
+native silver coins were soon run up to a high premium.
+These coins were needed not alone for the purchase of
+produce, but for the more lucrative investment in the
+gold coinage of the country; for an extraordinary
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_20' name='Page_20'>[20]</a></span>
+anomaly presented itself to the foreign traders in the
+relative value of silver and gold in Japan. The ratio
+between the two metals throughout the commercial
+world was at that time about fifteen to one, but in
+Japan, owing partly to the fact that the silver <i>ichibu</i>
+was a token coin, and yet interchangeable, weight
+for weight, with foreign silver coins, the ratio in the
+market was reduced to five to one. Nothing could
+better show how completely the country had been isolated
+than this simple phenomenon. Since the seclusion
+of Japan no such opportunity of profit without risk had
+ever tempted merchant adventurers outside the dreams
+of romance.<a name='FA_3' id='FA_3' href='#FN_3' class='fnanchor'>[3]</a> It could not be the intention of the
+treaty-makers to deprive Japan of her gold, yet the
+exportation of it was not only not prohibited, it was expressly
+sanctioned by treaty, the export of copper coins
+alone being forbidden; and once the conduit was opened
+no power could arrest the flow from the higher to the
+lower level. The currency question presented many
+intricacies and anomalies against which the foreign
+representatives struggled in the dark, but the ratio of
+gold to silver was the ruling factor which underlay the
+whole problem, and until every <i>koban</i> was exported,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_21' name='Page_21'>[21]</a></span>
+or the relative value of gold and silver had been assimilated
+to that of the outer world, there could be no
+settlement of the currency question in Japan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the mean time the friction caused by the unsatisfied
+demands of the traders was considerable; it
+became in time ludicrous. There was a daily exchange
+held at the custom-house, and various arbitrary systems
+of distribution were adopted by the officials there.
+The discovery that a kind of manhood suffrage was recognised,
+and that an employee received as much as his
+employer, led to applications being made in the names
+of servants and even of fictitious persons, to each of
+whom an allotment was granted. Again, the discovery
+that allotments were also made <span lang="la"><i>pro rata</i></span> according to
+the amount applied for led to the applications being
+sent in for ever larger and larger sums until billions
+and quintillions were reached. By such devices, no
+doubt, some of the applicants may have gained a
+momentary advantage over their neighbours, but at
+no time did the merchants receive a sufficiency of
+Japanese coin to carry on the most restricted business.
+At one time, about a year after the opening, it was
+estimated that there was in the hands of foreign merchants
+one million and a half of dollars which were not
+exchangeable, and were a "drug in the market."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Their wants were, however, partially supplied in
+another manner. For among the anomalies of the
+place and period one must be mentioned which had
+a quite peculiar bearing on the supply of currency for
+commercial purposes. The precious coin, which was
+doled out homœopathically to merchants, was supplied
+to foreign officials in liberal measure. Every minister,
+consul, and assistant; every admiral, captain, and lieutenant;
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_22' name='Page_22'>[22]</a></span>
+every paymaster, for himself and for the service
+of his ship, received his quota of Japanese money
+on a scale graduated according to rank. The amount
+put in circulation by these means was given by Mr
+Winchester as $2,000,000 per annum. The recipients,
+whether directly or through agents, were able to sell
+their surpluses to the merchants, of course at a handsome
+profit, and no doubt abuses grew out of what
+was in its original intention a simple measure of
+justice to salaried officers. The practice was condemned
+by Mr Arbuthnot, and was discontinued by
+order of the Foreign Office in 1864, on the initiative of
+the Prussian Government, whose agent in Japan had
+voluntarily renounced the privilege. But, oddly enough,
+the official exchange was resumed by request of the
+Japanese Government, and continued for several years
+longer, until, in fact, foreign and native coin had found
+their common level.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Trade certainly suffered much in the beginning from
+the incongruous state of the currency, which was greatly
+more complicated than we have attempted to outline.
+Even after the year of probation foreign coins were
+neither received by traders at their value nor exchangeable
+in accordance with the treaties. Whether the
+Government was at the bottom of the obstruction or
+was overruled by circumstances beyond its control
+was uncertain, but the British consul-general made
+masterful exertions to set the matter right. Currency
+reform, however, has baffled so many generations of
+expert economists that, even assuming the goodwill of
+the native Government, an alien official new to the
+country must have found it difficult to accomplish
+much, with the time and means at his disposal. Earl
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_23' name='Page_23'>[23]</a></span>
+Russell in 1862 "declined to pronounce on so large
+and intricate a question," and would not even discuss
+it with the Japanese envoys.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Japanese currency formed the subject of four
+elaborate reports by the Secretary to her Majesty's
+Treasury, extending over twelve months, from December
+1862 to December 1863, drawn up after personal
+conference with Sir Rutherford Alcock and
+on information derived from various other sources,
+especially from a series of very able papers by Consul
+Winchester. In each of these reports Mr Arbuthnot
+remarks on the paucity of data, and in each he qualifies
+the deductions of the preceding one. Had the series
+been still further extended, it is even doubtful if
+finality of judgment would have been reached; for in
+his third report he says, "The whole question, both as
+regards the condition of the currency and the real
+intentions of the Japanese Government, is involved in
+so much obscurity that no sound judgment can yet be
+formed on the subject" (May 1863).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It would be a mere weariness to the reader to
+attempt to elucidate a problem which an expert
+student found perplexing, but a few salient points
+brought out in Mr Arbuthnot's review may repay
+citation, as illustrative of the general state of relations
+beyond the immediate question of the currency. "We
+found," he says, "the Japanese with a carefully devised
+system of coinage, presenting indeed anomalies, when
+regarded from a European point of view, but apparently
+well adapted to their domestic wants; and their coins
+were found on assay in London to be well manufactured."
+The Chinese had no such system, and the
+evolution of a metallic currency entitled to such high
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_24' name='Page_24'>[24]</a></span>
+praise, in a country from which the rest of the world
+had been long shut off, is one of the most striking
+evidences of the high originating faculty of the
+Japanese.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As to the stipulation in the treaties that foreign coin
+should be current in Japan on a par with native, weight
+for weight (not a word said about purity), it was not
+only preposterous and absolutely unworkable, but it
+was imposed by the ignorance of the foreign negotiators
+against the superior knowledge of the Japanese; for it
+is remarkable that in the negotiations carried on by
+the Americans in 1854 the Japanese took up the impregnable
+ground that "American coin was only
+bullion to them." Force alone&mdash;or the fear of it&mdash;drove
+them from that position in 1858, and in yielding
+to the unreasoning pressure of the subsequent negotiators
+the Japanese probably consoled themselves with
+their resources of secret evasion to save them from the
+worst consequences of the obligation&mdash;a characteristic
+of the whole treaty-making campaign.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It appeared to Mr Arbuthnot that the Japanese had
+a double standard&mdash;itself "a contradiction in terms"&mdash;gold
+and copper; silver occupying the position of a
+token currency between the two, at a highly artificial
+value, strictly governed by law. The fact was exemplified
+in many ways. Art objects in silver
+contained more metal than the coin paid for them,
+the work of the artificer thrown into the bargain.
+Gold and copper, on the other hand, bore about the
+same relationship to each other as prevailed in other
+countries. It was silver alone that was maintained at
+a conventional level three times above its value in the
+outer world. And the philosophy of this is explained
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_25' name='Page_25'>[25]</a></span>
+by Mr Winchester, who tells us that, whereas the
+supply of gold and copper was in many hands, the
+sources of the supply of silver were in the exclusive
+control of the Tycoon's Government, which derived
+great advantage from maintaining the silver coinage at
+a high fictitious level.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The efforts of the Japanese to readjust the currency
+to meet the demands of the treaty were naturally first
+directed to silver, which was recoined and revalued,
+but confusion was worse confounded by all these
+attempts. Eventually the gold <i>koban</i>, worth intrinsically
+18s. 4d. sterling, or 4 <i>bus</i> of the intrinsic
+value of 1s. 4d., was reduced to a sterling value of
+5s. 6d., but was still rated at 4 <i>bus</i>, while the copper
+coinage was disestablished and iron substituted of no
+intrinsic value. "I am aware of no other example,"
+says Mr Arbuthnot, "of so sudden and violent a
+rending of the monetary regulations of a country;
+certainly of none which has been produced by the
+interference of foreigners."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The effect of these inquiries by the Treasury was
+to discourage further interference by foreign Governments,
+to trust much to that great solvent of anomalies,
+the silent operation of commerce; while the
+only complete remedy was recognised as the establishment
+of a mint under European regulations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The problem was still further complicated by the
+separate coinage of the Daimios. Their <i>nibukin</i>, as
+a general rule, passed only at first in their own provinces,
+but gradually they filtered down to the open
+ports, and at one time considerable embarrassment
+arose from the mixture of the coinage thus caused.
+In 1871-72 the Imperial Government, then just come
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_26' name='Page_26'>[26]</a></span>
+to supreme power, took the matter up with the
+thoroughness they showed in all their doings. They
+gave secret notice to the foreign Ministers of their
+intention to call in all princes' <i>nibukin</i>, and thereupon
+issued an order that during one week these
+coins should be brought into the custom-houses at
+the treaty ports, where they would be fastened up
+in sealed packets of $100 value, and notified that coins
+so stamped within the week would be accepted by
+the Government as legal tender, but that thereafter
+their use would be prohibited. Now, as the Daimios'
+money stood at about 90 per cent discount at the
+time, the fact that some of the foreign officials who
+had access to this confidential information were also
+merchants created immediate speculation, with the result
+that within a fortnight these silver-gilt <i>nibukin</i>
+rose from 90 per cent discount to 2 or 3 per cent
+premium, the officially sealed packets being a most
+convenient form for the payment of duties.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The alacrity with which the Government applied
+heroic remedies to a disastrous predicament was typical
+of the energy of the Japanese, which has been displayed
+since in wider fields. They do not sit down
+and bemoan their troubles, but at once arm themselves
+against them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When to the inherent difficulties common to currency
+problems generally were superadded the complexities
+of the monetary system of a non-commercial
+and long-secluded country, surprise should be felt
+that the regulation of the circulating medium in
+Japan was accomplished so soon, rather than that it
+took so many years to arrive at the solution. The
+Tycoon's Government did not live long enough to
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_27' name='Page_27'>[27]</a></span>
+settle the currency, but left the problem as a legacy
+to the Restoration. A good many years elapsed before
+the Mikado's Government succeeded in evolving
+order out of chaos.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the mean time, in spite of many drawbacks,
+trade was making headway in other directions besides
+the exportation of gold, and quaint indeed were the
+beginnings of it. The staple products happened to
+be the same in Japan as in China, tea and silk, and
+they soon began to be regularly brought down to
+Yokohama for sale. But business was at first on
+such a lilliputian scale, and was introduced in so
+dainty a manner, that to merchants accustomed to
+the large transactions of China the whole affair wore
+something of the air of comic opera, or as if children
+were playing at being merchants. This impression
+was strengthened by the aspect of the fragile wooden
+structures with their sliding doors and windows, but
+without sitting accommodation, wherein business was
+transacted, which to those habituated to the massive,
+if inelegant, buildings of Hongkong and Shanghai
+irresistibly suggested the idea of a doll's house. The
+Chinese methods also were inverted. Instead of sending
+samples of substantial quantities, such as a thousand
+chests of tea or fifty bales of silk, and the owner
+or his broker coming to chaffer in the silk-room or
+the tea-room of the foreign merchant, the latter had to
+go the round of the Japanese shops to find out what
+they had got. Early every morning the leading merchants
+might be seen booted to the thighs&mdash;for the
+rain was frequent and the roads unmade&mdash;trudging
+up and down the Japanese bazaar to see what novelties
+had come to hand. The more zealous would
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_28' name='Page_28'>[28]</a></span>
+sometimes make a second round in the afternoon, in
+case there might be some late as well as early worms
+to be picked up. The bodily fatigue and consumption
+of time involved in this process would have rendered
+a large business impossible. There were as yet no
+Japanese merchants properly so called, and their endless
+parley resembled more the tenacious higgling of
+peasants than the negotiations of men of business.
+Moreover, the native dealers seemed scarcely conscious
+of any law which should hold them to a bargain in
+the event of a more acceptable offer turning up.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Conclusions unfavourable to Japanese commercial
+morality have been drawn from some of those early&mdash;and
+later&mdash;experiences; but commercial like other
+kinds of specialised morality has necessarily something
+of a professional character. The <i>akindo</i>, or merchant,
+was a sort of pariah in Japan, his social status being
+inferior to those of the peasant and the handicraftsman.
+His sense of honour was not, therefore, sustained
+by tradition or stimulated by <i>esprit de corps</i>.
+There being no mercantile body in Japan, there was
+no mercantile code, at least none applicable to international
+trade, and those unwritten laws without
+which large commerce is impossible had not yet been
+called into being. Contrasts between the two neighbouring
+nations have just been mentioned very much
+to the advantage of the Japanese; but in matters of
+commerce, it must be conceded, the advantage lay
+entirely with the Chinese, a nation of traders from
+their birth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the sale of lacquer ware and objects of art the
+Japanese were much more at home than in dealing in
+raw products of foreign manufactures, and the treasures
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_29' name='Page_29'>[29]</a></span>
+which were in the early days exposed in the shops of
+Yokohama would make a modern dealer sigh for opportunities
+which are no more. Speaking roundly, it
+would have been safe to buy the stock indiscriminately
+at the sellers' own prices, when fortune would have
+awaited the investor as surely as if he had bought up
+the gold coinage at the ratio of 5 to 1. The same
+remark would apply to such of the raw produce of
+Japan as had been in large demand in China; and
+conversely the rule applied also to selected articles of
+foreign manufacture, which the Japanese were satisfied
+to buy at a price mid-way between the high level of
+the Dutch monopoly and the low level of what would
+remunerate the free importer. Therefore the sudden
+inroad of open trade on a market artificially confined
+resulted in profitable trading while a new equilibrium
+was being found; but such prosperity was in its nature
+evanescent.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Irrespective of the material aims which attracted
+foreign residents to Japan, the life itself presented
+several novel and interesting features. Nothing could
+have been pleasanter than the social relations which
+sprang up between the foreign communities and the
+unofficial natives. The strangers were received everywhere
+with open arms, and the residence among a
+smiling people (excluding altogether the meretricious
+allurements of the country, which have also not been
+without their influence) and amid enchanting scenery
+was found to add a new pleasure to existence. Here
+again we must resort for illustration to a comparison
+with China, where strangers at the best were sullenly
+tolerated, where one might live a lifetime without
+entering a house, or seeing a respectable woman, or
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_30' name='Page_30'>[30]</a></span>
+making a friend save on a business footing. The
+Japanese of Yokohama and Kanagawa, as well as in
+the surrounding villages and temples, never failed in
+courtesy and hospitality to passers-by, and were eager
+for conversation with foreigners. A useful smattering
+of the language was soon acquired under the stimulus
+of a quick-witted and sympathetic people alert to jump
+at the meaning and patient to help the novice to find
+his words. The women of the household were always
+charming, and if their domestic conversation sometimes
+startled the stranger by its freedom, there was neither
+malice nor any such impropriety as leaves an evil
+odour in its trail. Friendships were formed, not deep
+perhaps, but genuine as far as they went, and certainly
+not the less sincere on the Japanese than on
+the foreign side.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The intelligence also of the common people enhanced
+both the pleasure and the value of friendly intercourse
+with them: apt as they were to receive, they were no
+less ready to impart, information. Their appreciation
+of their country&mdash;its beauties, history, traditions, and
+folk-lore&mdash;was conscious and unrestrained, indeed it
+amounted to a passion. This afforded endless subject
+for talk. Everything save the politics of the day
+might be freely discussed, and though the first-arrived
+foreigners came poorly prepared to assimilate
+so much that was novel, they could not help carrying
+away a good deal from their frequent confabulations.
+The native guide-books formed a reservoir of suggestive
+topics: surprisingly minute they were, noting
+every gem of scenery or point of interest, with the
+legends of history, romance, or mythology attaching
+to them. So accurate were these itineraries that
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_31' name='Page_31'>[31]</a></span>
+with their contents well studied foreigners might
+make excursions inland lasting several days without
+the aid of guide or the necessity of inquiring
+the way.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It need not, of course, be said that the mutual
+intelligence of Japanese and foreigners did not penetrate
+below the surface of every-day phenomena. Of
+their festivals, their pilgrimages, their votive offerings
+to temples and shrines, their ancestral worship,
+and their whole relation to the Unseen&mdash;call it religion,
+superstition, or idolatry&mdash;the strangers had no comprehension.
+Although its outward symbols were passing
+constantly under their eyes, esoteric Japan was
+to them a sealed book, as the mental processes of the
+Oriental always are to the Occidental, whose imagination
+is cramped by the syllogism, and whose faith
+languishes for demonstration. There was, however,
+ample outside the region of mysticism, outside the
+concerns of trade, and equally apart from political
+questions, to nourish the best relations between
+Japanese and foreigners.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The impressions of the British Minister on his
+journeys of relaxation are by no means the least interesting
+portion of his important work, 'The Capital
+of the Tycoon.' Having shaken off the official incubus,
+and breathing the free air of the country, the intercourse
+with the common people in which he was able
+to indulge was fruitful of reflections of a brighter hue
+than any that were prompted by his strenuous life in
+the capital. He observes:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+They are really a kindly people when not perverted by their
+rulers and prompted to hostility.... I had begun to forget I
+was in Japan, so much goodwill was shown.... There may
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_32' name='Page_32'>[32]</a></span>
+be a good deal of tyranny and oppression, but the people show
+no marks of it.... The feudal lord is everything and the
+lower and labouring classes nothing. Yet what do we see?
+Peace, plenty, apparent content, and a country more perfectly
+and carefully cultivated and kept, with more ornamental
+timber everywhere, than can be matched even in England....
+The material prosperity of a population estimated at
+thirty millions, which has made a garden of Eden of this
+volcanic soil, and had grown in numbers and in wealth by
+unaided native industry.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Such were the observations made during a few days'
+rest at the mineral springs of Atami, and they coincided
+exactly with the opinions formed by those whose
+daily intercourse lay with these same common people,
+in which term, of course, were included such town
+populations as foreigners had acquaintance with. A
+contemporary writer, Nagasaki, 1859, remarked: "The
+Government of Japan is the most absolute despotism
+in the world, and perfectly successful.... For the
+present it is consistent with great prosperity and
+contentment on the part of the people, but it seems
+to me it is only their exclusive policy that has kept
+it so."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The great, industrious, prosperous masses of Japan,
+enjoying the gifts of the gods with thankful hearts, and
+drinking the cup of life as presented to them without
+any acidulating scruples, seemed to be happiest of all
+in this, that they were not burdened with the dignity
+of wearing swords. The storms that convulsed the
+upper regions passed over their humble heads without
+interrupting the cast of a fishing-net or hindering by a
+day the gathering of their harvest. How different the
+life of the nobles and their following! their humanity
+dominated by an elaborate and intolerable ceremonial,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_33' name='Page_33'>[33]</a></span>
+settling their quarrels at the sword's point, and ever
+on the alert for bloody intrigue.<a name='FA_4' id='FA_4' href='#FN_4' class='fnanchor'>[4]</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For there were two Japans, that of the people and
+that of the ruling class, separated by an impassable
+gulf. "The very existence of the plebeian seems
+unrecognised by the patrician in his lordly progress,"
+wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock. "And for that very
+reason there may be more real liberty among the mass
+of the people than we imagine."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The members of the official class were distinguished
+by carrying in their girdle two heavy swords with a
+razor's edge, one long, one short. The functionaries
+of the custom-house, with whom alone the foreign
+lay community had contact, also wore swords as
+part of their official uniform, which they placed with
+delicate ceremony on a rack in front of them as they
+sat on their mats at the receipt of custom,&mdash;for there
+were no chairs, and the habitual posture was squatting
+on the hams and heels. To the aristocratic
+caste the Japanese people were as absolutely submissive
+as if every two-sworded man wielded the
+power of life and death, which, so far as the common
+people were concerned, was not far from the
+simple truth.<a name='FA_5' id='FA_5' href='#FN_5' class='fnanchor'>[5]</a> The only great concourses of armed
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_34' name='Page_34'>[34]</a></span>
+men which the foreign residents were in the way of
+seeing were the Daimio processions, which, hundreds,
+sometimes thousands strong, were constantly travelling
+along the highroad; and in the long town of Kanagawa
+they could observe the people prostrated by the
+sides of the road with heads abased while the great man
+with his scowling retainers passed. Residents in Yedo&mdash;that
+is, the <i>personnel</i> of the foreign Legations&mdash;had
+less agreeable experience of these feudal swordsmen,
+who, living in idleness during their prince's sojourn in
+the capital, were quick in quarrel, especially in their
+cups, and far from agreeable to meet in the streets.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+III. ASSASSINATION PERIOD, 1860-61.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Storms begin&mdash;Russians murdered at Kanagawa&mdash;Two Dutchmen in
+Yokohama&mdash;Prince regent assassinated&mdash;Servant of French Minister
+attacked&mdash;Mr Heusken, secretary to American Legation, murdered&mdash;Ministers
+withdraw to Yokohama&mdash;And return to Yedo&mdash;First
+murderous attack on British Legation, 1861&mdash;Mr Oliphant wounded&mdash;Attempt
+on a Japanese Minister&mdash;The causes of these outrages&mdash;Partly
+anti-foreign feeling&mdash;Foreign treaties imposed by force on
+Tycoon never received sanction of emperor&mdash;Hence universal hostility
+to foreigners&mdash;Internecine jealousy&mdash;Mr Alcock makes ascent of
+Fujiyama&mdash;Against the wish of Japanese Ministers&mdash;Makes a second
+overland journey from Nagasaki to Yedo&mdash;Sullen attitude of Daimios.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The ports had not been many months opened when
+storms began to disturb the political sky, and the
+idyllic charm of the new life became tempered by
+assassination. The why and the wherefore of these
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_35' name='Page_35'>[35]</a></span>
+outrages was imperfectly understood at the time,
+though it has since been copiously expounded. The
+uncertainty as to the moving cause or causes rendered
+precautions difficult, and the only safe resource was a
+watchful eye and the nimble revolver.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Much bad feeling had been displayed towards the
+foreign diplomatic staff in Yedo, and assaults had been
+frequent, but nothing of a tragic nature had occurred
+until the arrival of a Russian squadron of ten ships,
+with Count Mouravieff-Amurski on board. He landed
+in August 1859 with an escort of 300 men in Yedo,
+where he was safe; but an officer and two men at
+Kanagawa, buying provisions, were cut to pieces by
+armed Japanese. This was what Sir Rutherford
+Alcock designated as "first blood." The next was
+the assassination of a native linguist employed in the
+British Legation. Early in 1860 two Dutch shipmasters,
+one over sixty years of age, were hacked to
+pieces in Yokohama. Next the prince regent himself
+was, within the precincts of the castle, set upon by an
+armed band of retainers of the Prince of Mito and
+killed, his head being carried off to assure the said
+prince of the accomplishment of an act of long-meditated
+revenge.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before the end of the year 1860 the Italian servant
+of the French Minister had to defend himself at the
+entrance of the Legation from the murderous attack
+of a couple of two-sworded men; and the year 1861
+was ushered in by the assassination of Mr Heusken,
+secretary to the American Legation, on his way from
+the Prussian Minister, whom he had been assisting
+in the negotiation of his treaty. This crime filled
+the cup for the time being. The Government proved
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_36' name='Page_36'>[36]</a></span>
+itself unable or unwilling to protect the diplomatic
+body from their bloodthirsty assailants, and three out
+of the four foreign representatives&mdash;the Dutch minister
+not being at the time resident in Yedo&mdash;made a protest
+to the Tycoon's Government, struck their flags,
+and withdrew to Yokohama. The American Minister
+alone remained in Yedo. Soon the Prussian and Dutch
+returned thither, leaving only the British and French
+representatives in Yokohama, where they remained
+until specially invited back to the capital under conditions
+which they had demanded of the Government.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The following summer witnessed the most desperate
+attempt of all to exterminate the inmates of at least
+one of the Legations. Mr Alcock had just returned
+from a long, venturesome, dangerous, but most fruitful
+journey overland from south to north&mdash;from Nagasaki
+to Yedo&mdash;which included a sea passage through the
+Inland Sea, when an assault was made on the Legation
+at midnight on 4th July 1861. The Tycoon's guard of
+150 men are charitably credited with having been
+asleep, for they opposed no obstacle to the entrance of
+a band of men who cut an opening through a substantial
+bamboo stockade at the outer gate, and on
+their way thence to the apartments of the Legation
+staff, a distance of some three hundred yards, killed,
+at intervals, four men, some of whom defended themselves,
+and a barking dog. The scene is fully and
+graphically described in 'The Capital of the Tycoon.'
+The central object of the attack seems to have been the
+Minister himself, who however escaped unhurt, while
+two members of the Legation were wounded,&mdash;Laurence
+Oliphant, who had recently come out as secretary of
+Legation, having a very severe sword-cut in the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_37' name='Page_37'>[37]</a></span>
+arm and another in the neck. Being more than
+common tall, Mr Oliphant's head was saved by the
+intervention of a low beam, in which a deep sword-cut
+was found. If that brilliant writer had seen Yedo
+rose-tinted in 1858, he had now at least a chance of
+judging it in a greyer light. The guard did not put
+in an appearance until after the assailants had been
+beaten off from, or at least baffled in, their attempt
+on that portion of the temple buildings which was
+occupied by the Minister, and a fierce struggle ensued
+in the precincts, in which two of the assailants were
+killed and one badly wounded, while twelve of the
+guard were wounded and one of the Tycoon's bodyguard
+killed. The details of Japanese sword-play
+are not pleasant matters to dwell upon, but a few
+words from Mr Alcock's notes of the tragedy will
+suffice to give an idea of the manner in which these
+massacres were carried out. "I have seen many a
+battlefield," he says, "but of sabre wounds I never
+saw any so horrible. One man had his skull shorn
+clean through from the back and half the head sliced
+off to the spine, while his limbs only hung together
+by shreds." "There is probably not in all the annals
+of our diplomacy an example of such a bloodthirsty
+and deliberate plot to massacre a whole Legation."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This is a sufficiently full list of the outrages of what
+may be called the Yedo period, to distinguish it from a
+subsequent chapter of history which was opened in connection
+with the new port in the Inland Sea, but which
+is beyond the range of the present work.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The only conclusions to be drawn from these occurrences,
+and those yet to be related, were&mdash;(1) that
+either the Tycoon's Government itself or some powerful
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_38' name='Page_38'>[38]</a></span>
+faction was in deadly opposition to the admission
+of foreigners into the country, and (2) that the
+Tycoon's Government was either unable or unwilling
+to protect the persons of foreigners either within the
+capital or out of it; (3) that certain great Daimios
+were concerned in these murderous outrages. The
+Prince of Mito's men assassinated the regent, and
+were most probably the assailants of the British Legation,
+while the Prince of Satsuma's retainers killed
+Richardson. Another great Daimio, whose forts commanded
+the western gate of the Inland Sea, put himself
+a year later in a state of war with all the foreign
+nations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The motives of these powerful feudatories were not
+free from ambiguity, for they might be animated by a
+<span lang="la"><i>bonâ fide</i></span> desire to expel the foreigners, or they might
+be plotting to embroil the Government with the
+Western Powers. It was evident that the authority
+of the Tycoon over the great Daimios was far from
+absolute, and that at any rate he dared not enforce it
+in defence of the hated foreigners.<a name='FA_6' id='FA_6' href='#FN_6' class='fnanchor'>[6]</a> Thus the Legations
+were left to the mercy of a ferocity which has known
+no parallel. The midnight attempt on the British Legation
+on July 4, 1861, typified the whole situation. The
+inmates were ignorant whence the several attacks on
+them came, the imperial and Daimio's guard were
+asserted to have slept through the crucial stage of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_39' name='Page_39'>[39]</a></span>
+the assault, and the provoking cause of the attempt
+to exterminate the English was unknown. In such a
+maze of occult forces it was almost as difficult to adopt
+precautions as against earthquakes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+What lay at the root of all these troubles, according
+to the deliberate opinion of Mr Alcock, was that the
+foreign treaties had been forced on the Government
+against its will and in violation of the fundamental laws
+of the empire. He says the treaties were not sanctioned
+by the Mikado, and that therefore the opposition of the
+Daimios was on strictly legitimate lines. Also that the
+law of the seventeenth century which made it a capital
+offence for a foreigner to land in Japan had not been
+repealed. The Tycoon's Ministers had been scared into
+signing even Commodore Perry's almost platonic treaty;
+for though that officer had strict orders to use no force,
+he did not impart this information to the Japanese, and
+they could not otherwise interpret the naval demonstration
+than as an intimation that the ship's guns would
+support the commodore's demands. The case of Mr
+Harris's treaty of 1858 was even clearer. It had been
+drawn up, but the signature postponed <i>sine die</i> until
+the great nobles should have been gained over, and Mr
+Harris retired to his retreat at Shimoda to wait events.
+The news of the forcing of the Peiho forts by the Anglo-French
+squadron and the imposing of a treaty on the
+Emperor of China was conveyed express to Mr Harris
+by the steam frigate Mississippi. Another vessel, the
+Powhattan, arrived fortuitously at the same time, in
+which Mr Harris proceeded to Kanagawa, where commissioners
+were sent down at once to meet him, and in
+three days the treaty was signed. Of course the Allies
+who had forced the door of China, having no quarrel
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_40' name='Page_40'>[40]</a></span>
+whatever with Japan, had no more thought of coercing
+that country than the United States had in 1853 and
+1854; but it was perhaps scarcely conceivable to the
+oriental mind that any nation should deny itself the
+exercise of a power it consciously possessed. Naturally,
+therefore, the Japanese were predisposed to believe in
+the aggressive purposes of the invaders of China. No
+less natural was it that subsequent evidence of the
+self-imposed limitation of their pressure on China
+should lead the Tycoon's advisers to deplore the panic-haste
+with which they had been hustled into making
+treaties against the will of the great council of the
+Empire. In the interval between the signing and the
+execution of the treaties the Government had time for
+reflection on all that: the malcontent majority of
+Daimios had also time to consider what resistance they
+could offer to innovations which they detested.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The reactionary policy that had set in was also
+clearly shown in the obstacles thrown in the way of
+the negotiation of the Prussian treaty. Count Eulenberg
+had been six months at work, and as his treaty
+was but a copy of those already signed there was no
+reason in the thing itself for the obstruction. But
+Prussia was not then a nation from which there was
+much to be feared at such a distance, and therefore the
+true disposition of the Japanese Government had free
+play.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Tycoonate itself was a perpetual cause of jealousy
+among the three great families, one of which
+was Mito, who had themselves pretensions to the
+honour; and the combination of their private grievances
+with a quasi-patriotic and probably sincere
+hatred of foreign intruders raised a storm against
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_41' name='Page_41'>[41]</a></span>
+the Tycoon with which his advisers found it hard to
+cope. The Government being committed to the protection
+of foreigners, massacres of the latter offered
+a ready means of gratifying the double passion of
+hatred of them and of the Tycoon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But although the foreign representatives and the
+Tycoon were thus to an unknown extent the objects of
+a common enmity, it was yet impossible for them to
+make common cause, for they were not in harmony.
+The Government would willingly have got rid of the
+treaties or reduced them to a dead letter. The foreign
+Ministers, on the other hand, had no choice but to
+insist on the fulfilment of the engagements into which
+the Government had entered. Not for them to count
+the cost, the difficulties, or the danger: relaxation of
+their demands would have aggravated all three. So
+there was nothing for it but the "rigour of the game."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The British Minister held decided views on the importance
+of keeping alive all rights and privileges by
+exercising them. China would have taught him, if
+the knowledge did not come by nature, the value of
+the modern principle of "effective occupation" as the
+only valid sanction of an abstract title. The treaties
+of 1858 conferred upon the representatives of Foreign
+Powers the right of travelling throughout Japan. The
+Tycoon's Government desired to restrict or nullify the
+privilege, no doubt for reasons quite sufficient from
+their point of view. Mr Alcock on his part saw good
+reasons for opposing this tendency from the outset.
+Consequently, as a first experiment, he organised a
+journey by the <i>tokaido</i> to the "matchless" mountain,
+Fujiyama, distant about eighty miles from the capital.
+Every effort was made by the Government officials to
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_42' name='Page_42'>[42]</a></span>
+dissuade him from the undertaking; dangers natural
+and supernatural were conjured up, a more convenient
+season was recommended. At length their pleas for the
+abandonment or delay of the expedition having been
+exhausted without any effect on the resolution of the
+Minister, the officials became helpful in the preparations
+and most careful to provide for the success of
+the journey. The party&mdash;eight Europeans in all with
+a large native contingent&mdash;set out on September 4,
+1860, rather late in the year for the ascent, which
+was, nevertheless, successfully accomplished, and for
+the first time the foot of the stranger trod the sacred
+summit, the object of constant religious pilgrimages.
+The whole journey, including a detour to the hot
+springs of Atami, occupied one month: it was fruitful
+in first-hand information, and replete with agreeable
+experiences.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A more important journey was undertaken eight
+months later, on the occasion of a return voyage from
+China and Hongkong, whither the Minister had gone
+on certain legal business. Being at Nagasaki, Mr
+Alcock arranged to travel in the company of Mr de
+Wit, the head of the Dutch mission, across the island
+of Kiusiu, then by junk up the Inland Sea to Hiogo,
+thence by the highroad to Yedo. The proposal met
+with the same kind of opposition from the Japanese
+authorities as the going to Fujiyama the previous
+year had done: the dangers of the journey were depicted
+in strong colours, and the unsettled state of the
+country was alleged as a cogent reason why a foreigner
+should not trust himself on the highroad. When these
+arguments proved unavailing, and the journey was
+finally resolved upon, the authorities endeavoured to
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_43' name='Page_43'>[43]</a></span>
+minimise both its pleasure and its usefulness by an
+attempt to extort from the two Ministers an undertaking
+in writing never to go in advance of the escort
+or to leave the highroad. The plea for the latter
+restriction was that the road alone was under imperial
+control, the land on either side belonging to the
+Daimios. The feudatories on their part took effective
+measures to enforce the condition by supplying guards
+through their respective domains, who blocked up
+every byway, and in the towns and villages where the
+party rested screened off the side streets even from
+view by means of large curtains stretched on high
+poles, emblazoned with the Prince's arms. When the
+party landed at Hiogo to resume the journey by the
+<i>tokaido</i>, they were met by a "Governor" of Foreign
+Affairs, sent expressly from Yedo to warn the foreign
+Ministers once more of the dangers of the road, and to
+persuade them to complete their journey by sea. This
+had become such a stereotyped formula that the two
+diplomats paid no attention to the warning, though
+they had some reason afterwards to think that on this
+single occasion the cry of wolf was genuine; for the
+assassins who attacked the English Legation on the
+night of the return of the party to Yedo were said to
+have tracked the foreigners the whole way from Hiogo.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These two interesting and&mdash;the second one especially&mdash;arduous
+journeys, each of one month's duration,
+settled the question of the right of the foreign representatives
+to travel through the length and breadth of
+Japan. They also afforded much insight into the state
+of the country and the real feeling of the general
+population. But they were only interludes in the
+drama of sensational diplomacy, which had now to
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_44' name='Page_44'>[44]</a></span>
+be resumed with redoubled energy. The Legations
+had been two years located in Yedo, and no progress
+whatever had been made towards establishing
+a state of security for foreign life. Matters were,
+indeed, going from bad to worse. One point had
+been gained after the murder of the American secretary
+in January&mdash;the Government had formally
+assumed the responsibility for the protection of the
+foreigners. Moreover, strong guards of the Tycoon's
+men were posted in the different Legations; but,
+as we have seen, they added nothing to the sense
+of security. The demonstration of the inadequacy of
+all these precautions left the conditions of foreign
+life in the capital in worse plight than ever. The
+attack on the British Legation therefore called for
+a fresh review of the position.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+IV. NEGOTIATIONS AND RENEWED ASSASSINATIONS,
+1862-64.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+British and French guards brought to Yedo&mdash;Marks a new era&mdash;Decided
+position of British Government&mdash;Concessions asked by Japanese, refused
+by Mr Alcock, granted by Earl Russell to Japanese envoys&mdash;Retrogression&mdash;Position
+of foreign Ministers assimilating to that of
+the Dutch at Deshima&mdash;Mr Alcock's departure for Europe, 1862&mdash;Bad
+effects of Lord Russell's concessions to Japanese&mdash;Encouraged them to
+make fresh demands&mdash;The building of a British Legation in Yedo&mdash;<span lang='fr_FR'><i>Chargé
+d'affaires</i></span> resides mostly in Yokohama&mdash;Colonel Neale's account
+of the system of guarding the Legation&mdash;Midnight attack on the
+guards&mdash;British sentries murdered&mdash;Suspicious behaviour of Government&mdash;British
+guard increased&mdash;Admiral Hope's opinion&mdash;Attack on
+an English riding party and murder of Mr Richardson on highroad&mdash;Admiral
+Hope's proposal to "nip assassination in the bud."
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The question now, therefore, entered on a new
+phase. Since reliance on the Government afforded
+no sense of security, the foreigners must abandon
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_45' name='Page_45'>[45]</a></span>
+the position or find some more effective protection,
+not to supersede, but to supplement, that which was
+afforded by the Government. There was fortunately
+a British despatch vessel, the Ringdove, at the
+moment at Yokohama, to the commander of which
+Mr Alcock appealed for a guard of marines and
+bluejackets. These arrived the next day, twenty-five
+all told, with Captain Craigie himself at their
+head, and they were happily accompanied by a detachment
+of fifteen men from the French transport
+Dordogne, brought up by the French Minister, Mons.
+de Bellecourt, always a staunch supporter of his
+British colleague. That gentleman, on hearing the
+tragic news at Yokohama, where he had been staying,
+returned promptly to his post with this most
+welcome reinforcement for the defence of the Legations.
+This simple proceeding marked the beginning
+of a new era in the foreign relations with Japan&mdash;the
+era in which the Powers represented there took
+the law into their own hands, with highly important
+consequences to Japan and to the world. The
+British naval guard was reinforced within a few
+months by a mounted escort of twelve men drawn
+from the force then in China. This step was strongly
+objected to by the Tycoon's Ministers, but the answer
+was complete: the Government's acknowledged incompetence
+had forced this measure of self-defence
+on the Legations. The position taken up by Mr
+Alcock was confirmed in the most explicit manner
+by Earl Russell a year later, who thus addressed the
+Japanese envoys in London:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+Her Majesty's Government will not agree to any proposal
+which may be made by the Ministers of the Tycoon having for
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_46' name='Page_46'>[46]</a></span>
+its object to preclude the representatives of the Queen in
+Japan from maintaining a cavalry escort for the protection
+of her Majesty's servants in that country. The Tycoon cannot
+ensure the safety of the British officers within the precincts of
+the capital and its immediate neighbourhood; and even if the
+Tycoon were to engage to do so, it is notorious that he would
+not have the power to fulfil his engagement.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+This plain speaking defined the status of "old"
+Japan, and gave the clue to the remarkable train
+of events which followed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Much anxiety and many sinister rumours, but no
+serious outrages, disturbed the peace of the Legations
+and the general foreign community during the remainder
+of the year 1861. Mr Oliphant was sent
+home in consequence of his wounds, and the occasion
+was taken advantage of to have certain private conferences
+with the Japanese Foreign Ministers, at which
+that gentleman assisted, when the "past, present, and
+future" were confidentially discussed. Mr Oliphant,
+thus thoroughly "posted," was able personally to explain
+the state of affairs to her Majesty's Ministers,
+which greatly assisted them in forming their decisions.
+He was also the bearer of an autograph letter from
+the Tycoon to her Majesty the Queen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Japanese Government had long been pressing
+the foreign representatives for the relaxation of some
+of the articles in the treaties, which were not to come
+into operation until a subsequent date. These provided
+for the opening of Yedo for general residence
+on 1st January 1862, and for the opening of the
+trading ports of Hiogo, Osaka, and Ní-í-gata on
+1st January 1863. The Tycoon's Government was
+most anxious to postpone all these privileges to an
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_47' name='Page_47'>[47]</a></span>
+indefinite period, nominally seven years, and as the
+foreign Ministers in Yedo had no such authority&mdash;Mr
+Alcock had been instructed to grant "no concessions
+without equivalents"&mdash;the Government prepared
+to despatch special envoys to the five Courts
+of Europe with which they had treaties. A similar
+mission to the United States the previous year had
+been so well received as to encourage the second effort.
+The principle involved in the Japanese plea was precisely
+the same as that which had kept Canton
+closed for so many years, notwithstanding the treaty
+provision opening it; but there was this difference
+of fact between the two cases, that whereas the
+danger apprehended and alleged by the Japanese was
+probably real, that which had been put forward by
+the Chinese was false, and manufactured by the authorities
+themselves.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Japanese were now in full retrogression, and
+every point they might gain was certain to become
+a new fulcrum for forcing more and more concessions
+from the foreign Powers. This was proved in many
+kinds of ways. For example, the restrictions placed
+on the foreign envoys, by which they were kept
+as prisoners in their Legations, and were attended in
+their walks abroad by officious guards who prevented
+them from seeing more than could be helped, and
+forbade intercourse with the people, were almost
+tantamount to those formerly imposed on the Dutch
+in Deshima. Mr Oliphant frankly speaks of his
+"jailors." Then repression, and yet more repression&mdash;as
+much repression, in fact, as the foreigners could
+be brought to endure&mdash;was the unvarying rule.
+Even when they were themselves seeking favours,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_48' name='Page_48'>[48]</a></span>
+and had therefore every inducement to show their
+liberal side to the foreign Minister, the rule of repression
+was rigorously maintained. Mr Alcock relates
+how this determination prevented him from
+presenting the Queen's reply to the Tycoon's letter.
+First, the audience was delayed on frivolous grounds;
+then the ceremonial was varied. Among other things
+it was proposed to place the envoy at double the
+distance from the Tycoon which had been observed
+on a previous occasion. Being anxious to take his
+leave, to present his <span lang="la"><i>locum tenens</i></span>, and to deliver
+the Queen's autograph, Mr Alcock waived these innovations
+under protest&mdash;"being reluctant at the
+last moment to stand upon a point of mere etiquette";
+but "having found my desire was strong not to
+raise difficulties on any minor points, it had been
+resolved [by the Japanese] to profit by the circumstance
+to gain some further advantages derogatory
+to the position of the British Minister," and
+so after everything had been arranged according to
+their own wishes the Court officials returned the
+following day to say they had made a mistake, and
+that, in fact, sundry further restrictions must be
+observed. This was too much, and the Minister
+quitted the capital without his audience, March 1862.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The same tactics were observed by the envoys in
+Europe. When the mission reached London and had
+laid their case before the same Foreign Secretary who
+had instructed the Minister in Japan to "make no
+concessions without equivalents," he at once conceded
+the whole of the Japanese demands unconditionally,
+for the nominal conditions were merely that the rest
+of the treaty should stand. A detailed memorandum of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_49' name='Page_49'>[49]</a></span>
+the agreement was drawn up and formally signed by
+Earl Russell and the three Japanese envoys on June 6,
+1862. Having succeeded beyond all expectation in
+their demands, the Japanese envoys evidently concluded
+that the Foreign Office was of plastic substance,
+and within two days they had formulated a list of
+nine further concessions which they desired to discuss.
+This, however, was too much for Lord Russell's patience,
+and as the envoys had "completed their business
+and taken their leave," he declined to enter on
+any fresh questions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The effect of Lord Russell's concessions could not
+be otherwise than detrimental, the only open question
+being whether his insistence on opening the ports on
+the agreed dates would have been a greater or a
+lesser evil. Mr Alcock points out the family likeness
+between the Japanese pleas for suspension of treaty
+rights and those with which we had so long been
+familiar in China. "The time," he says, allowed to
+the authorities of Canton to "soothe the people and
+prepare the way" was deliberately used by them to
+"create the very difficulties which they alleged already
+to exist, and make it each year more and more impossible
+to admit the foreigners,"&mdash;a comment on the
+Japanese proposal which leaves little doubt as to his
+opinion of that transaction. Yet there were cogent
+reasons for the course actually adopted, if the premisses
+be granted that the ports could only be opened
+by force, and that England would have been left alone
+to employ the necessary force. The most that can be
+said, then, for the concessions to the Japanese is that
+they represented the choice of evils. No one was
+benefited by them. They did not help the Tycoon
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_50' name='Page_50'>[50]</a></span>
+or avert the catastrophe to his dynasty. They did
+not lessen the friction, or the danger to foreign life
+and interests, or interrupt the long series of assassinations
+of foreigners in Japan; nor did they obviate the
+necessity of using force in that country, to avoid which
+was the principal inducement to her Majesty's Government
+to violate its own principle. The analogy with
+China was, in fact, complete; the old lesson was once
+more driven home, that there is no safety in doing
+wrong. As Sir Rutherford Alcock puts it, "To
+retrograde safely and with dignity is often more
+difficult for nations and their governments than to
+advance."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+During the year 1861 an important improvement
+was inaugurated in respect to the housing of the
+foreign Legations. Hitherto they had been accommodated
+in temples neither suited to Western modes
+of living nor, as had been proved, adapted for defence.
+Independent sites were now allotted on a commanding
+ridge within the city, where the respective Ministers
+might have buildings erected on their own plans.
+These were promptly put in hand, and soon after
+Mr Alcock was able to bring his first arduous campaign&mdash;a
+term applicable in its double sense&mdash;to a
+close. Having brought the various business of the
+Legation into a state convenient for transfer to new
+hands, he left Yedo in March 1862, a few days before
+the arrival of the future <i>chargé d'affaires</i>, Lieutenant-Colonel
+Edward St John Neale. The Minister was
+accompanied to England by Moriyama, the chief interpreter
+to the Japanese Foreign Office, who was
+charged with special instructions to the three envoys
+then in England.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_51' name='Page_51'>[51]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From the time that Colonel Neale took charge of
+the British Legation events chased each other rapidly.
+While the new buildings were in progress the <i>chargé
+d'affaires</i> divided his time between Yedo and Yokohama,
+and while in the capital continued to reside in
+the temple called To-zen-ji, where the Legation had
+been located from the beginning. The inner buildings
+were guarded by the mounted escort and by the naval
+contingent, which had been renewed as one British
+warship took the place of another during the year.
+In the outer enclosure there was a guard of 500
+Japanese, the retainers of a certain Daimio who was
+intrusted by the Tycoon with the protection of the
+Legation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In order to understand what follows, it is necessary
+to give Colonel Neale's account of the arrangements
+which were in force for the protection of the British
+Legation:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+I found on my arrival that the usual precautions had been
+taken by the authorities, and which consisted in placing
+numerous guards, entirely surrounding this residence, in detached
+wooden huts: the number of these guards, according to
+the Japanese return which I obtained, amounted to no less
+than 535 men, partly of the Tycoon's bodyguard, but chiefly
+composed of the retainers of a Daimio named Matsudaira
+Temba no Kami, who had been chosen and charged by the
+Government with the protection of this Legation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Small parties of these men came down at short intervals
+during the night to the very doors of this residence, and remained
+for a short time with our own sentries, leaving behind
+them one man at each post to aid in challenging persons
+approaching and demanding the parole, which was in the
+Japanese language, and issued at sunset each evening.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These dispositions were uninterruptedly observed up to the
+evening of the 26th June. At midnight on that day the
+several British sentinels were at their post, and challenging
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_52' name='Page_52'>[52]</a></span>
+with vigilance the Japanese guards, who, in parties of two or
+three, descended from the heights overhanging this building at
+the back for the purpose of relieving their men.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+What took place at midnight on the 26th June
+may also be best described in Colonel Neale's own
+language:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+At half an hour after midnight the British sentry posted at
+the door adjoining my bedroom challenged some approaching
+object in my hearing, and received in answer the right parole;
+but the sentry sharply challenged again in an anxious and
+eager manner, as if some circumstance excited his suspicion,
+after which he walked three or four steps towards the object
+approaching. I rose in bed to hear the result, and in an
+instant the deadened sound of a rapid succession of heavy
+blows and cuts reached my ears, given in less than two
+minutes, and at every one of which followed a cry of anguish
+from the unfortunate sentry. Silence succeeded for the
+moment, and was followed by the beating of drums from
+the heights and the gathering of Japanese guards with their
+red lanterns.... The assassin having left the sentry at my
+door, went on towards the corner of the residence occupied by
+the guard, a distance of twenty paces, where he met Corporal
+Crimp, R.M., coming alone on his rounds to visit the sentry at
+my door. A conflict appears instantly to have taken place
+between them: a revolver-shot was heard about the moment
+the guard was turning out, but nothing further.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The corporal was found dead with sixteen sword and
+lance wounds: the sentry had nine sword-wounds&mdash;"every
+cut had severed the member it was aimed at";
+but he survived long enough to tell of the instant
+desertion of the Japanese sentry who was posted with
+him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This attack was marked by several distinguishing
+features:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+1. The assassins belonged to the Legation guard,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_53' name='Page_53'>[53]</a></span>
+or were their comrades; the only weapon found on the
+ground was a lance of the precise pattern of those of
+the Daimio's guard, which was twelve feet long, and,
+according to Colonel Neale, no man carrying such a
+weapon could have passed the strong barricade or
+crawled through the brushwood: presumably, therefore,
+the lance was supplied from the armoury within the
+Legation. According to the Japanese Ministers, there
+was but a single assassin. In their anxiety to maintain
+their contention that the wounds were all inflicted by
+the same man, the Ministers explained to Colonel Neale
+a little of the science of Japanese sword-play. "They
+have attained the climax of dexterity. The sword is
+always carried at the side, and adepts in the use of it
+wound the moment it is drawn." The fatal stroke,
+upwards, is given in the act of drawing. Hence, placing
+the hand on the hilt is equivalent to presenting a cocked
+revolver, and if the assailant is not disabled in the act
+it is too late for defence. One only, being wounded
+by a pistol-bullet and having committed suicide, was
+found, and though they could not help admitting that
+the man was a retainer of the Daimio who supplied the
+guard, the Ministers yet drew a vain distinction between
+him and the men actually on duty. It could not,
+however, be denied that he, or they, were allowed
+free ingress and egress through hundreds of men carefully
+posted as described by Colonel Neale, and already
+alert and sounding the alarm, or that the huts of the
+Japanese were within 150 feet of the spot where two
+Englishmen were murdered, and while the assassin (or
+assassins) was inflicting sixteen wounds on one victim
+and nine on the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+2. The intended attack was publicly known beforehand:
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_54' name='Page_54'>[54]</a></span>
+for several days the Japanese servants had refused
+to remain in the Legation overnight, absenting
+themselves against orders. The Government also were
+aware of the plot, and of the day when it was to be
+put in execution, which was on the recurrence of a
+festival, and, according to the Japanese calendar, the
+anniversary of the attack in 1861. The actual day
+having passed, one of the Governors of Foreign Affairs
+was deputed by the Council to call and congratulate
+Colonel Neale on his escape. Colonel Neale remarked
+that he had no reason for anxiety. The Governor
+smiled and took leave. But the "ides of March ...
+had not gone," In the darkness of that very night the
+attack was made. Colonel Neale, recounting the circumstances
+to the Council of Foreign Affairs, asked
+why the Governor had not warned him of what was
+impending, instead of congratulating him on his supposed
+escape; but "the Gorogiu, to my great surprise,
+replied that I was quite right in my observations, and
+they regretted they had not thought of warning me."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+3. The Japanese Ministers treated the whole matter
+with apparent indifference, months having elapsed before
+any information was communicated to the British
+Minister respecting either the cause of the attack or
+the execution of justice on the instigators, and then it
+was only such information as had been common property
+for two months. All that the Japanese Ministers had
+to say by way of explanation to the foreign envoys was
+that the attack proceeded from the unsettled state of
+public feeling and from the Japanese nation clinging to
+the old <i>régime</i>; but that they, the Ministers, hoped
+gradually to modify this national feeling so that the
+foreigners might live in the country without apprehension,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_55' name='Page_55'>[55]</a></span>
+&amp;c. But in the meantime? Well, they "had
+given strict orders to increase the protection." Tragicomedy
+could not well go further. Evidently matters
+must soon reach a climax.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the first outward and visible consequence of the
+assassination of the two marines, an infantry guard of
+twenty-five men from the 67th Regiment was sent over
+from China in addition to the naval guard and the
+cavalry escort; and thus another step was taken
+towards the <span lang='fr_FR'><i>dénoûment</i></span> of the plot. Then the word
+"retribution" was revived in the diplomatic correspondence,
+after having been launched by the Foreign
+Office in 1861 but arrested <span lang="la"><i>in transitu</i></span>, so that it did
+not reach the Japanese authorities. It was Admiral
+Hope, a man who never shrank from speaking his mind
+or backing his opinion, who put the case in a pointed
+form to the British Admiralty. "Deeply as I should
+lament the adoption of hostile measures against the
+Japanese," he wrote on August 28, "after the best
+consideration I have been able to give to the subject I
+cannot avoid the conclusion that it is absolutely necessary
+to nip this assassination-system in the bud; and
+that not to take effectual measures for doing so now
+will be merely to postpone the evil day to a future, but
+not far distant, occasion."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If further impetus had been wanting to develop this
+idea, the Japanese lost no time in supplying it; for the
+next assassination which has left a dark blood-stain on
+the annals of the time was perpetrated on the highroad
+between Yedo and Kanagawa on September 14, 1862.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The victims were a party of three gentlemen and
+one lady from Yokohama who had crossed the bay
+in a boat to Kanagawa, where their horses awaited
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_56' name='Page_56'>[56]</a></span>
+them on the <i>tokaido</i>. This broad road not being
+macadamised made an agreeable riding-course, and
+it was beautified with lines of old trees, one section
+in particular near where the tragedy occurred being
+known as "The Avenue." The party proceeded
+from Kanagawa towards Yedo, not intending to go
+farther than Kawasaki, which was the limit of authorised
+excursions in that direction. On the way they
+met the <i>cortège</i> of a Daimio, the first indication of
+which was several <i>norimono</i> (the heavy palanquin
+in which the nobles of Japan travel) with armed
+attendants, forming an irregular train with considerable
+intervals between. When passing these
+<i>norimono</i> the foreigners walked their horses. In the
+intervals where the road was clear they cantered,
+and this mode of alternate progression continued for
+three or four miles. Then a regular procession was
+met, preceded by about a hundred men marching
+in single file on either side of the road. The foreign
+party thereupon proceeded at a foot's pace, keeping
+close to the left side, until they reached "the main
+body, which was then occupying the whole breadth
+of the road." The English party halted on approaching
+the main body, according to one of the survivors;
+but according to another, they were stopped "when
+they had got about twelve men deep in the procession,"
+by "a man of large stature<a name='FA_7' id='FA_7' href='#FN_7' class='fnanchor'>[7]</a> issuing from
+the main body," who, swinging his sword with both
+hands, cut at the two leading foreigners, Mr Richardson
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_57' name='Page_57'>[57]</a></span>
+and Mrs Borrodaile, as their horses were being turned
+round, and then rushed on the other two. Whereupon
+the advance-guard, who had been described as marching
+in single file, closed in upon the retreating riders.
+They were all able by the speed of their horses to
+get clear of their assailants; but Mr Richardson was
+so terribly hacked that after going some distance
+he fell from his horse, dying, or, as his companions
+thought, dead. He lived, however, until the Daimio's
+procession reached the spot, when several of his retainers
+proceeded to butcher and mutilate the dying
+man in the most shocking manner. It speaks well
+for all three gentlemen that Mrs Borrodaile escaped
+substantially unhurt, though a sword-stroke aimed
+at her head cut away her hat as she stooped to avoid
+the blow. She saw Mr Richardson fall, and her two
+wounded companions, unable to render help, urged
+her to ride on. She miraculously arrived at Yokohama,
+bespattered with blood and in a state of very natural
+agitation. Mr Clarke and Mr Marshall, exhausted by
+their wounds, managed to reach Kanagawa, where they
+were properly cared for at the American consulate.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This tragedy made a more vivid impression on the
+world at large than previous ones had done, for
+several reasons. The cumulative effect of so many
+cold-blooded massacres was beginning to tell, and the
+Japanese cup was nearly full. There was a lady
+in the case who galloped seven miles for dear life,
+her horse falling twice under her. The chief victim
+was a fine specimen of a young Englishman, and very
+popular. The crime touched the general foreign community
+in Japan in a special manner, since the party
+belonged to, or were the guests of, Yokohama, where
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_58' name='Page_58'>[58]</a></span>
+there were also newspapers and press correspondents
+to make literature of the event.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some friction was created between the foreign community
+and the British representative by the ghastly
+circumstances of this murder. The community, seeing
+their own comrades slaughtered without mercy,
+were incensed, and called for vengeance, which they
+deemed to be within reach, for the Daimio's retinue
+were sleeping at Hodogaya, a station but a few miles
+off. There was force enough afloat and on shore to
+effect the capture of the murderers red-handed, and
+the residents called for this to be done. Reasons of
+policy and expediency influenced Colonel Neale in a
+contrary sense, in which he was fully supported by
+the Foreign Office when the reports reached England.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Richardson murder, like that at the British
+Legation, had its special characteristics, though of a
+different order. The outrage was unpremeditated;
+the Government was not implicated: it was a fortuitous
+collision between the spirit and traditions of
+two opposed civilisations. The deed might be construed
+as the natural punishment of a breach of
+good manners&mdash;for Japanese etiquette, of which the
+party seemed to have been ignorant, required them
+to dismount&mdash;or, as the spontaneous expression of
+feudal Japan's deep hatred of the foreigner, concentrated
+in the act of a single moment. There was
+no need on this occasion to hazard guesses as to the
+responsible author of the crime, or to keep up a long
+train of make-believe negotiations. The <i>cortège</i> belonged
+to the Prince of Satsuma, and was escorting
+his father, Shimadso Saburo, who went afterwards
+to the Mikado and said he had been grossly insulted
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_59' name='Page_59'>[59]</a></span>
+by the foreigners on the road, and had ordered them
+to be cut down.<a name='FA_8' id='FA_8' href='#FN_8' class='fnanchor'>[8]</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The problem was thus reduced to its simplest
+expression. The circumstances supplied precisely
+what was wanting to give shape and point to
+Admiral Hope's proposal to "nip this assassination-system
+in the bud"; and a month after the event
+he followed up his previous despatch to the Admiralty
+by a detailed scheme of reprisals, with the amount
+and precise distribution of the force required to give
+effect to it. And he concludes his despatch appropriately
+with the remark, that "should it be found
+necessary to use measures of coercion especially
+against Satsuma, ... the position and confirmation
+of his principality render him peculiarly open
+to attack."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were now two reclamations on the Japanese
+Government&mdash;redress for the murder of the two
+marines at the Legation in June, and for the killing
+and wounding of the Richardson party in September.
+The British <i>chargé d'affaires</i> pressed both demands,
+without committing himself to specific threats until
+the mind of her Majesty's Government should be
+known. Lord Russell's instructions were sent on
+24th December 1862, and would reach Japan some
+time in February. They were peremptory as to the
+use of force in case of need, whether against the
+Government or the Prince of Satsuma.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_60' name='Page_60'>[60]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+V. THE TYCOON'S DILEMMA.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Strife of parties in Japan&mdash;Impotence of Tycoon&mdash;His prospective overthrow&mdash;Orders
+issued by Mikado to drive foreigners out of Japan&mdash;Prevarications
+of Tycoon&mdash;Plots and counterplots&mdash;French and English
+troops in Yokohama&mdash;Compensation paid for the Richardson
+murder, but assassin not yet brought to justice&mdash;Demand made on
+Prince of Satsuma&mdash;Bombardment of his castle by Admiral Kuper&mdash;Happy
+results&mdash;Offensive attitude of Prince of Nagato&mdash;Firing on
+foreign ships of war&mdash;Sir R. Alcock's return from furlough&mdash;Publication
+of his book 'The Capital of the Tycoon'&mdash;His exposition of the
+political status of parties in Japan&mdash;Dubious attitude of Tycoon&mdash;And
+Mikado&mdash;Utmost limit of concession to Japanese pleas of weakness
+reached.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+During the interval that elapsed between the tragedy
+of September 1862 and the expiation of the crime,
+revelations of a startling character were made respecting
+the strife which was raging among the various
+parties in the State&mdash;the Tycoon, the Mikado, the
+great Daimios, and the lesser Daimios, who followed
+the Tycoon and the Mikado respectively. These revelations,
+however, though they lit up as by lurid lightning-flashes
+some corners of the landscape, left the whole
+in a fog more treacherous than total darkness. The
+foreign officials who were called upon to act in the
+midst of it confessed themselves unable to unravel the
+mystery that surrounded them, nor is it any part of our
+task to make such an attempt. It was the chaos which
+preceded order, a period when the elemental forces
+were in the melting-pot, a phase of foreshortened evolution
+such as had never till then been dreamed of.
+However trying such an ordeal was to the foreign
+agents who had to go through it, the stress upon
+them was as nothing compared to that which lay
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_61' name='Page_61'>[61]</a></span>
+upon the principalities and powers of the country
+itself during the agony of their national birth-throes&mdash;a
+circumstance which has to be borne in mind
+when judging of the behaviour of the Japanese
+Government in that trying time; for truly the defence
+of their proceedings stood much in need of extenuating
+circumstances.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We have seen that the British Government had
+already confessed its belief that the Tycoon's Government
+was incompetent to maintain order where
+foreigners were concerned. Yet until that Government
+itself should plead incompetence, foreign States
+could only hold it wholly accountable for all that was
+done affecting their interests. But the Tycoon's
+Government fought tooth and nail against such admission,
+resorting to every subterfuge to maintain their
+status, while yet evading the responsibilities of the
+position. The success of this ambiguous policy required
+that the foreign representatives should be kept in
+ignorance of the relations which subsisted between the
+different parties in the Japanese State. Hence secrecy
+and misdirection governed their diplomatic intercourse.
+The treaties themselves having been tainted from their
+origin with deception, every stage of their execution
+was marked by dissimulation, which came gradually to
+light as the pressure from within and from without
+caused now one corner, now another, of the curtain to
+be raised.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Tycoon was between the upper and the nether
+millstone,&mdash;foreigners pressing him for fulfilment of his
+obligations, while a power greater than his own was
+demanding the complete repudiation, or at least the
+substantial curtailment, of all these obligations. The
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_62' name='Page_62'>[62]</a></span>
+straits he was put to to keep up his two faces were
+pitiable and desperate, for he had to make the Mikado
+and the Daimios believe he was as much opposed to
+the foreigners as they were, while to foreigners he was
+professing loyalty and throwing the blame of the
+reaction on the hostile Daimios. Instigated by them,
+the Mikado had fully asserted his authority, and
+the Tycoon was no longer able to pose as the
+sovereign ruler of Japan. The allocation of a site
+for the foreign Legations on Gotenyama, a popular
+pleasure-ground in Yedo, was attacked, and the
+Tycoon ordered to rescind the grant, which he endeavoured
+to do by proposing the substitution of
+another site. This being refused by the British <i>chargé
+d'affaires</i>, the Japanese sentry on the buildings under
+construction was assassinated, and soon after the whole
+building was blown up and burned.<a name='FA_9' id='FA_9' href='#FN_9' class='fnanchor'>[9]</a> So ambiguous
+had become the attitude of the Tycoon, that Colonel
+Neale was in doubt whether this conflagration pleased
+or displeased the Yedo Government. (Six months
+later the buildings occupied by the United States
+Legation were likewise destroyed by fire.) The
+hostile Daimios, in the name of the Mikado, were, in
+fact, putting strong pressure on the Tycoon, while
+those Daimios who had favoured the treaties had
+been punished by confiscation of their revenues. The
+Tycoon's position was fast becoming untenable, and
+in the last extremity his advisers decided to take
+the foreign representatives for the first time into
+their confidence.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_63' name='Page_63'>[63]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In January 1863 a Governor of Foreign Affairs
+informed Colonel Neale that the Mikado was angry
+because he had not been consulted about the treaties,
+either before or after the signing of them; and that
+his Majesty had ordered the Tycoon repeatedly to
+drive foreigners out of the country. "But," replied
+the British <i>chargé d'affaires</i>, "that is wholly inconsistent
+with what the Gorogiu previously told Sir
+Rutherford Alcock." "Quite so," rejoined the Governor;
+"only what the Ministers told Sir Rutherford
+Alcock was false." "But if one member of the
+Gorogiu can thus give the other the lie, what
+security have we that some successor of yours will
+not equally disavow what you say? so that at one
+time we have the Mikado reported as friendly and at
+another as hostile to foreign treaties and trade, and
+we shall never know which to believe." This not
+very promising beginning of "confidences" was quickly
+followed by singular confessions and proposals&mdash;part
+of the system of "frauds, stratagems, and deceptions
+practised by the Tycoon's Government," as Colonel
+Neale characterises them. The Tycoon's Government
+was ordered to communicate officially to the foreign
+representatives the mandate of the Mikado to drive
+out foreigners and close the ports. In obedience to
+this order a Governor of Foreign Affairs, in announcing
+the fact to the French Minister, softened its
+effect by explaining that this was carrying out the
+Mikado's orders "officially"; but <span lang='fr_FR'>"ce n'est là qu'un
+stratagème nécessaire pour tromper le peuple japonnais."</span>
+In developing his plan of campaign the
+Governor laid bare to the French Minister the intention
+of the Tycoon to deceive the Mikado by pretending
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_64' name='Page_64'>[64]</a></span>
+to share his views about foreigners; he was
+in like manner to deceive the Daimios. Ogasawara,
+the Minister who was responsible for carrying out
+the edict against foreigners, being <span lang='fr_FR'>"un homme très
+capable,"</span> would find a means of avoiding the execution;
+he would himself go to Kioto and make the
+Mikado listen to reason; if he refused, then he would
+pick a quarrel and employ force against the sovereign.
+In that case would the foreign Powers assist the
+Tycoon? All this, however, must be kept from Hitotsubashi,
+the First Minister of the Tycoon, "whose views
+were as yet uncertain whether to carry out the expulsive
+orders from Kioto or not. Ogasawara had
+formed the plan to declare himself the enemy of
+foreigners in order to deceive the high officers even
+of the Tycoon who might not be favourable to his
+scheme; but everything was to be done to "save
+Japan." Finally, Ogasawara was to come the day
+following himself to interview the foreign Ministers
+at Yokohama, but not a word of all this would he
+utter "for fear of indiscretions." He would only
+speak briefly to the point of the notification of the
+Mikado's order of expulsion. And if the foreign
+Ministers would be good enough to frame their reply
+to that message in such severe terms as would make
+an impression on the agitators in Kioto and Yedo,
+it would assist the patriotic schemes of this bustling
+statesman. So everybody in Japan from the highest
+to the lowest was to be bamboozled&mdash;even one's own
+colleagues in the Tycoon's service&mdash;and the only
+people with whom faith was to be kept were the detested
+foreigners, as represented by the Ministers of
+England and France! Well might Colonel Neale recoil
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_65' name='Page_65'>[65]</a></span>
+in disgust from such a brewage of "fraud, stratagem,
+and deception." The Tycoon's officers had in all this
+one definite object in view, which was to induce the
+foreign squadrons then menacing Yedo to transfer
+themselves to Osaka and Hiogo and menace some
+one in that part of the empire. And, curiously
+enough, the presence of the French troops which had
+recently arrived in Yokohama was not only tolerated
+by the Tycoon, but they were to serve him as a lever
+whereby the astute Ogasawara was to work on the
+feelings of the Mikado, by representing to his sovereign
+the indignation of the foreign Governments and the
+difficulty of giving effect to an order for general expulsion,
+which would include a body of well-armed troops.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For while such comedies were being enacted at
+Yokohama the Tycoon himself was at Kioto under
+the friendly surveillance of the Mikado and his faithful
+Daimios, and it was a reasonable enough calculation
+that the vicinity of foreign fleets might tend to
+moderate the counsels of these recalcitrants, to ease
+the tension between the contending factions, and
+lighten the burden of the Tycoon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meantime the pressure of the British demands for
+redress of the two grievances was met by evasions
+and delays until the ultimatum stage was reached in
+June 1863. The pecuniary indemnity charged on the
+Tycoon, amounting to £110,000, was then paid under
+circumstances so peculiar as to be worth recounting
+as affording further insight into the agitations of the
+period. After exhaustive negotiations, leading to an
+ultimatum, an agreement was made whereby the
+Government was to pay the amount demanded by
+seven instalments, commencing 18th June 1863. On
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_66' name='Page_66'>[66]</a></span>
+the 17th June Ogasawara, third member of the
+Gorogiu, wrote a curt note to say the money could
+not be paid owing to an "unforeseen circumstance,"
+and postponing payment till 22nd June. On the
+19th the same Minister wrote to Colonel Neale that
+he intended to have left Yedo for Yokohama for an
+interview, but was prevented by sudden illness. This
+was followed by an intimation from the Government
+that no payment whatever would be made. Diplomatic
+relations were thereupon broken off by the
+British <i>chargé d'affaires</i>, and the conduct of affairs
+was placed in the hands of the admiral. This brought
+about the interview with the French Minister above
+alluded to, when the Japanese emissaries promised
+to pay at once the whole amount due under the
+agreement with Colonel Neale, and the specie was
+actually conveyed in four cartloads to the British
+Legation on 24th June. The only explanation given
+of this strange shuffle was that the numerous enemies
+of the Tycoon and of foreigners were on the watch,
+and threatened terrible consequences if any money
+should be paid to the foreigners. That difficulty,
+however, had been surmounted by the resourceful
+Japanese Machiavel issuing strict orders that the
+payment should be kept a dead secret from all except
+the Governors of Foreign Affairs themselves,&mdash;the
+four cartloads of silver, drawn each by a dozen or
+two of men, grunting laboriously at the task, from
+the Japanese custom-house to the British Legation,
+remaining for this purpose conveniently invisible to
+a cloud of hostile witnesses.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The demands made on the Tycoon in respect of the
+attack on the British Legation and on the Richardson
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_67' name='Page_67'>[67]</a></span>
+party being thus satisfied, it only remained to carry out
+the second portion of Earl Russell's instructions and
+exact equal satisfaction from the Prince of Satsuma,
+over whom the Yedo Government had shown itself to
+have no control whatever. Much delay had occurred,
+due to a variety of circumstances&mdash;mainly to the aggressive
+acts of another great Daimio, Choshiu, who
+possessed the western key of the Inland Sea. This
+might have necessitated a concentration of the British
+squadron in that spot&mdash;which actually came to pass a
+year later. Finally, however, Rear-Admiral Sir Augustus
+Kuper proceeded in August to the Bay of Kagoshima,
+the stronghold of the Satsuma principality,
+Colonel Neale accompanying him to present the demand
+on the prince with which he had been intrusted
+by the British Government.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The sole reply vouchsafed by the Daimio was a recommendation
+to Colonel Neale to return to Yedo and
+treat with the Tycoon, as Satsuma had no relations
+with Great Britain. It was now the admiral's turn to
+act, and his first step in the way of reprisal was the
+seizing of three steamers, then lying in the bay, which
+were soon burned to relieve the squadron of their
+charge. Thereupon the Daimio's forts opened fire, and
+a hot engagement ensued in the midst of a terrific gale,
+which the prince's people afterwards said was reckoned
+on as a condition favourable for his attack on the
+foreign ships. There was considerable loss of life on
+both sides; much damage was done to the Daimio's
+defences, arsenal, and magazines. But the inhabitants
+of the town escaped injury from the conflagration, they
+having previously been removed to places of safety.
+The squadron returned to the Bay of Yedo.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_68' name='Page_68'>[68]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Within a short time the Prince of Satsuma sued for
+terms, paid the indemnity demanded, £25,000, promised
+to punish the murderer of Richardson, when caught,
+and became a good friend to the English, to the extent
+at least of desiring to cultivate relations with them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Thus happily ended the first hostile encounter between
+Japan and any Western Power, the first demonstration
+of the superiority of foreign arms, and, as some
+think, the baptism of fire which was the inaugurating
+rite by which Japan entered into the comity and the
+competition of the Western nations, and into that path
+of material progress which has since led to such astonishing
+results.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The attitude of the Yedo Government in this affair
+may be said to have been one of placid observation.
+They had nothing to regret in the chastisement inflicted
+on a prince who set their authority at defiance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the interval of time between the settlement of
+the indemnities for the two outrages and the departure
+of the fleet for Kagoshima the Tycoon's Ministers had
+drawn closer and closer to the foreign representatives,
+and English steamers were chartered for conveyance
+of the Tycoon's troops to Osaka with the knowledge
+and approval of the British authorities. The defence
+of Yokohama was by the Government voluntarily confided
+to the English and French admirals, and sanguine
+hopes were held out to the foreign representatives that
+if the Tycoon should succeed in his endeavours at
+Kioto, foreign relations would assume a totally different
+aspect on his return to his capital.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the other hand, while the negotiations with the
+Yedo Government had been dragging their slow length
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_69' name='Page_69'>[69]</a></span>
+along, another of the great princes had taken arms
+against the foreign Powers indiscriminately. The
+Daimio Choshiu had made a strong stand against
+foreign intercourse, and in a well-reasoned and moderately
+worded letter addressed to the Tycoon in May
+1862 he urged union between that high officer and the
+Mikado in order that the country might be placed in a
+condition to resist foreigners. The territory of the
+Prince of Nagato, as he was also designated, commanded
+the narrow strait of Shimonoséki, which connects
+the Suwonada, or Inland Sea, with the outer
+waters. This had become the regular route of steamers
+between the Bay of Yedo and the south of Japan, as at
+this day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Moved by an impulse which was not cleared up at
+the time, if ever it has been since, Choshiu began in
+July 1863 to fire from his forts and from armed vessels
+in the straits on passing steamers. French, American,
+and Dutch war-vessels were successively bombarded as
+they entered the passage. The fire was returned, and
+damage inflicted on the Daimio's batteries; but such
+was the power of their guns and their precision of aim
+that many were killed and wounded on the foreign
+ships, some of which were obliged to retire without
+getting through the strait. The prince remained obdurate
+and continued his hostile proceedings, a steamer
+belonging to the Tycoon and another belonging to
+Satsuma, said to be the friend and ally of Choshiu,
+coming in for the customary salutation as they passed.
+He embargoed or destroyed trading junks attempting
+to pass the straits, and thus established an effective
+blockade of the great commercial artery of Japan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was droll to find Satsuma, soon after the affair of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_70' name='Page_70'>[70]</a></span>
+Kagoshima, appealing to the Mikado against these outrages
+of Nagato, and opposing the reactionary policy of
+his quondam ally. Satsuma had had his lesson; Nagato
+had yet to receive his.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Sir Rutherford Alcock returned to his post after two
+years' furlough. His distinguished services had been
+recognised by the Queen's Government, who conferred
+on him the honour of Knight Commander of the Bath.
+In the same year, 1862, he completed his valuable
+work, 'The Capital of the Tycoon,' which for the first
+time brought the real Japan of that day to the knowledge
+of the reading world. This, the most important
+single literary work left by the busy pen of Sir Rutherford
+Alcock, is a storehouse of information on the history,
+civilisation, politics, religion, art, and industry of
+Japan, carefully sifted and presented in the most
+attractive form. It contains, moreover, a vivid narrative
+of the reopening of international intercourse
+with that country, and of the stirring incidents which
+marked the earlier years of its progress. It is also a
+philosophical study at first hand of the most remarkable
+political evolution that history records. Considering
+the official activity and high tension under which the
+materials were gathered, the writing of such a book, of
+a Japanese Grammar, and other literary and artistic
+studies, is a proof of the intellectual detachment which
+is usually associated with the higher order of mind.
+This work of a single pioneer observer has well borne
+the scrutiny of the innumerable host of students, grave
+and gay, who have followed in the same path. After
+forty years its authority remains intact. A short
+extract will at once show the character of the book and
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_71' name='Page_71'>[71]</a></span>
+afford a convenient summary of the then Government
+of Japan:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+That the Mikado is the hereditary sovereign of the empire,
+the descendant of a long and uninterrupted line of sovereigns
+of the same dynasty, and the only sovereign <i>de jure</i> recognised
+by all Japanese from the Tycoon to the lowest beggar&mdash;a true
+sovereign in all the legal attributes of sovereignty; and that
+the Tycoon receives investiture from him as his lieutenant or
+generalissimo, <i>and as such only</i>, the head of the executive, is
+known to most readers of the present day. True, the Mikados
+have been shorn of much of their power since Yoritomo, in
+1143, profiting by civil commotions among the princes of the
+land, and armed with power as generalissimo to humble these
+turbulent chiefs, only suppressed the troubles to arrogate to
+himself the greater part of the sovereign power under the
+title given by a grateful master of Ziogun. Another Pepin
+d'Héristal and mayor of the palace, he did not care to dethrone
+the descendant of an illustrious line of emperors, and was
+content with holding the reins, and transmitting the same
+privilege to his descendants. And so the power continued
+divided in great degree, the shadow from the substance, until
+later, towards the close of the sixteenth century, a peasant's
+son and favourite attendant of the actual generalissimo, but
+known in Japanese history by the name he afterwards assumed
+of Taiko Sama, raised himself, apparently by great abilities as
+well as daring, to the seat of power on his master's death, and
+stripped the reigning Mikado of the last remains of secular
+power.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Since that time the successive emperors, or Mikados, are
+brought into the world, and live and die within the precincts
+of their Court at Miaco (Kioto), the boundaries of which they
+never pass during their whole life. Is it possible to conceive a
+less desirable destiny? But the Zioguns, or Tycoons, as they
+are styled in European treaties, have long been undergoing a
+somewhat analogous process, under which all substantial power
+has been transferred from them to the principal Daimios, or
+Princes, who form a Great Council of State, and whose nominee
+the Tycoon himself has become, as well, I believe, as all his
+chief Ministers or councillors. They exercise, if they do not
+claim, the right of removing both Tycoon and Ministers, and
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_72' name='Page_72'>[72]</a></span>
+a voice potential in all affairs of State. For legislative changes
+even the almost forgotten Mikado must indeed give his consent,
+never of course refused when any unanimity prevails....
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Mikado of the day is the exact type of the last descendant
+of Clovis, sitting "sad and solitary, effeminate and
+degenerate," doomed only to wield "a barren sceptre" and sigh
+away a burdensome and useless existence of mock pageantry;
+never permitted to pass the gates of his prison-palace....
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This double machinery of a titular sovereign who only
+reigns, and a lieutenant of the empire who only governs and
+does not reign, from generation to generation, is certainly
+something very curious; and by long continuance it seems
+to have led to a duplicate system such as never existed in any
+other part of the world, carried out to almost every detail of
+existence. Every office is doubled; every man is alternately
+a watcher and watched. Not only the whole administrative
+machinery is in duplicate, but the most elaborate system of
+check and countercheck, on the most approved Machiavellian
+principle, is here developed with a minuteness and perfection
+as regards details difficult at first to realise. As upon all this
+is grafted a system of more than oriental mendacity, we feel
+launched into a world of shadows and make-believes hard to
+grapple with in the practical business of life. Of their mendacity
+and cynical views respecting it I had many illustrations.
+One of the official gentry upon a particular occasion having
+been found by a foreign Minister in deliberate contradiction
+with himself, was asked, somewhat abruptly perhaps, how he
+could reconcile it to his conscience to utter such palpable
+untruths. With perfect calmness and self-possession he replied,
+"I told you last month that such and such a thing had
+been done, and now I tell you the thing has not been done at
+all. I am an officer whose business it is to carry out the
+instructions I receive and to say what I am told to say.
+What have I to do with its truth or falsehood?"...
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To return to the Tycoon and the governors of the early
+middle ages, with its suzerain and feudatories, its fiefs and
+a phantom king, with hereditary mayors of the palace and
+chiefs with 10,000 retainers, each one holding himself as good
+as the Tycoon, who must live in constant dread of open revolt
+or secret assassination, what a pleasant state of existence for all
+parties it reveals! Each of these territorial magnates or great
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_73' name='Page_73'>[73]</a></span>
+Daimios is practically independent of the Tycoon when within
+his own territory, with power of life and death over all his
+subjects and dependants; ... even an imperial passport will
+not secure an intruder's life....
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Power has passed in no small degree from the Tycoon's
+hands, as it formerly did from the Mikado's, and now remains
+chiefly in an executive Council of State, consisting of five
+Ministers, and these again held in no small check, if not in
+subservience, by the Daimios and feudal chiefs of the higher
+order, amounting to some 360. Although these do not actually
+form a Chamber of Lords nor assemble in a body at stated
+periods, nothing legislative, it is said, can be done without their
+assent obtained.... They hold themselves too high to demean
+themselves by taking part in the administration, or holding office,
+under the Tycoon. But neither the Tycoon nor the Ministers,
+separately or collectively, can venture upon a change in their
+laws and customs without their sanction and a further confirmation
+by the phantom sovereign of Miaco....
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the mean time, between the Mikado who nominally
+wields the sceptre&mdash;the Tycoon, a youth who no less nominally
+governs the kingdom, and is but fourth in rank in the Japan
+red-book, for three of the Mikado's officers take precedence&mdash;and
+the Daimios great and small, ... the administrative
+machinery of the realm seems to be kept in order.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Another incident of the year was Sir Rutherford
+Alcock's second marriage to a friend of the earlier
+Shanghai days, the widow of the Rev. T. Lowder, first
+consular chaplain of that settlement. They had been
+both widowed about the same time. They were about
+the same age too, and the union, based on a deep-rooted
+and matured affection, proved an exceptionally happy
+one during thirty-five years, till death divided them.
+Lady Alcock accompanied her husband on his return to
+Japan, where they arrived in March 1864.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+During the two years of the Minister's absence affairs
+in Japan had, as we have seen, been advancing rapidly&mdash;whether
+towards a reasonable solution or to a catastrophe
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_74' name='Page_74'>[74]</a></span>
+was as yet doubtful. The agitation against the
+foreign treaties had been gathering force and consistency;
+the Tycoon's position was becoming more and
+more precarious, his existence being pledged to the
+annulment of the hated treaties. Encouraged by the
+success which had attended his mission to Europe in
+1862, he despatched another in the beginning of 1864,
+to represent to the European Governments that the
+public feeling in Japan was growing worse every day,
+that the Tycoon would not be able to protect foreigners
+in Yokohama, and that, in short, the port must be
+closed and foreign trade confined to Hakodate and
+Nagasaki. The mission, already on its way, was met
+by Sir Rutherford Alcock in Shanghai, where he had an
+opportunity of personal conference with the envoys.
+The situation was thus summarised by the Minister in
+a despatch to the Foreign Office, 31st March 1864:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+It is just two years since I left Japan in order to be present
+in London when the first mission sent by the Tycoon to the
+treaty Powers in Europe should arrive. Returning to my post
+a month ago, I met a second mission on its way to the same
+Courts. These two embassies seem to me to form very significant
+events in the history of Japan and its relations with
+foreign States.... I consider the signing of the protocol
+of June 1862 (afterwards adopted with unimportant modifications
+by all the other Powers), freely granting without
+abatement all that the Tycoon asked, was the culminating act
+and fitting end of the conciliatory policy so consistently adhered
+to from the beginning. It was impossible to concede
+more without abandoning the treaties altogether. Thenceforth
+it only remained to gather the promised fruit of greater security
+to life, and freer intercourse within narrowed limits, which, for
+the moment at least, appeared unattainable in the wider range
+of five ports and two cities.... The avowed object of the
+second mission is to declare that all the hopes held out by the
+Tycoon of the probable results of the first concessions have
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_75' name='Page_75'>[75]</a></span>
+been illusory.... The only fruit has been indiscriminate
+aggression, increased insecurity, calling for measures of coercion
+on the part of all the treaty Powers; finally, a decree for the
+expulsion of foreigners, with a mission from the Tycoon to
+declare his utter inability to maintain the treaties, and to
+suggest a surrender of all the rights and privileges they were
+framed to secure in perpetuity.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The mission was not successful in its main purpose,
+and soon returned to Japan to report progress.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+VI. THE CRISIS.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Foreign rights must be sustained by force or definitively abandoned&mdash;Organises
+a retaliatory demonstration against Nagato&mdash;Forts at
+Shimonoséki attacked by international squadron, after delays&mdash;Satisfactory
+results&mdash;Nagato claims authority of Mikado for his attacks
+on foreign ships&mdash;His defeat gave courage to Tycoon&mdash;Anti-foreign
+measures promptly withdrawn&mdash;The treaties of 1858 ratified
+by Mikado&mdash;Sir R. Alcock's recall&mdash;Lord Russell's <i>amende</i>.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The Tycoon's Government had actually succeeded by
+patient persistence in evil-doing in making Yedo "too
+hot to hold" the foreign representatives, who had
+in consequence gradually accustomed themselves to
+residence in the freer air of Yokohama. "Incendiarism
+and assassination had done their work and effected the
+end for which they were employed," writes Sir Rutherford
+Alcock, who goes on to remark that "the recovery
+of this lapsed right" (of residence in the capital) "will
+have now to follow, not precede, other measures." So
+far had the foreign nations retreated before the forces
+of reaction, forces which necessarily acquired cohesion
+and momentum with each retrograde step of the
+opposing Powers. The country, meaning thereby the
+official hierarchy, was now at least, if not before,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_76' name='Page_76'>[76]</a></span>
+practically unanimous. Mikado, Daimios, the Tycoon
+himself, however they may have been embittered by
+their mutual jealousies, were now united, and passionately
+united, in the determination to expel the
+foreigners, so far as it might be possible,&mdash;on which
+latter point, however, there was room for great differences
+of opinion. The Prince of Nagato might be a
+rebel against the Tycoon's or the Mikado's authority,
+both of whom had disavowed his proceedings, but his
+determination to block the passage of the Inland Sea
+and suppress all trade but his own was an important
+part of the national policy of expulsion. It appeared
+that the only friend of foreigners at that time was the
+Prince of Satsuma, who had become a changed man
+since his stronghold was bombarded, and he began to
+see that the restoration of imperial rule and deposition
+of the Tycoon might be accomplished by the assistance
+of foreigners. That event was undoubtedly accelerated
+by the policy of the first two British ministers in Japan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The new position was reviewed under a sense of deep
+personal responsibility by Sir Rutherford Alcock in
+several despatches during the spring of 1864, and, as
+we have seen, the conclusion he arrived at was that the
+utmost limit of concession to Japanese exigencies had
+been reached: everything had been given up to them
+that could be given up without abandoning the treaties
+entirely and leaving the country. There was not even
+room left for negotiation. "No attempt at a compromise
+of such conflicting pretensions could possibly
+succeed." "Compromise or concession is plainly impossible
+in the nature of things." Moreover, Earl
+Russell had enjoined on both the <i>chargé d'affaires</i> and
+the Minister to stand firmly for their rights. His latest
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_77' name='Page_77'>[77]</a></span>
+instruction to Sir Rutherford Alcock on his departure
+from England was, "You will in any case require from
+the Tycoon and the Daimios the execution of the
+treaty." In the face of a determination to annul the
+treaties this necessitated some vigorous action.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The most obvious and most straightforward course
+indicated was to deal a decisive blow against the Prince
+of Nagato, who for nearly twelve months had set the
+whole of the Western Powers at defiance. He was
+more accessible from the salt water than even Satsuma;
+he was repudiated, hypocritically or not, by his
+sovereign; and a punitive expedition to Shimonoséki
+would not involve detriment to trade or inflict injury
+on innocent people. Such an operation had, moreover,
+much to recommend it from the point of view of general
+Japanese policy; for "in attacking in his stronghold
+the most violent and rash of his class, it may be
+possible," said the British Minister, "by one blow to
+paralyse the whole body of Daimios.... The command
+of the Inland Sea and the whole internal trade
+of that portion of Japan which must of necessity be in
+our hands during any operations would do more, probably,
+to bring the Court of the Mikado and of Yedo
+to a sense of the danger and folly of entering upon
+hostilities with the treaty Powers than any course
+of diplomacy.... The alternative is a probable
+catastrophe, and a war of a protracted kind at no
+distant period."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About this time the appeals which for two years had
+been made in vain to the British military authorities in
+China for a sufficient force to give security at Yokohama
+were listened to, and a regiment of infantry, the 20th,
+and of marines, were detached from Hongkong and a
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_78' name='Page_78'>[78]</a></span>
+force of Beloochis from Shanghai. One of the anomalies
+of an unprecedented situation was that the Government,
+which was concerting measures to expel all foreigners,
+was nevertheless constrained to provide accommodation
+for these troops, "which were not to make war, but to
+prevent acts which would lead to war." For all that,
+the presence of foreign troops on the sacred soil was far
+from palatable, even though the Tycoon might secretly
+acquiesce in the reasoning by which the British Minister
+had commended a measure which was in any case an
+unavoidable necessity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The arrival of these troops had a marked effect on
+the tactics of the Tycoon. For ten months his Government,
+which had been powerless and passive regarding
+the warlike proceeding of Choshiu, now became alarmed
+lest the foreigners were about to take the law into their
+own hands with that recalcitrant Prince. The Tycoon's
+Ministers began to affect much concern for his punishment
+and repression. They would at once move against
+him, and until the result of their efforts was known
+they urged that the British garrison should remain
+absolutely passive in Yokohama.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For effective action against the Daimio Choshiu it was
+necessary that an agreement should be come to among
+the treaty Powers, three of whom had been in actual
+collision with his batteries and armed ships. Individually
+Great Britain had not received this direct provocation,
+and was only interested in the general question
+of the obstruction to commerce and in the maintenance
+of the political status of the Powers. How the concert
+was brought about would be an interesting inquiry,
+but we may safely conclude that the achievement owed
+much to two causes, one positive and one negative.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_79' name='Page_79'>[79]</a></span>
+The former was the strong will, clear sight, and absolute
+fearlessness of responsibility of the British Minister;
+the latter was the non-existence of any ocean
+telegraph. For, as we have so frequently seen nearer
+home, the direct efforts of the Great Powers to arrive
+at any agreement for common action are always protracted,
+often abortive, and seldom successful. The
+decision in this case had to be taken by the agents on
+the spot, personally intimate with each other, acting
+on general principles and on a free interpretation of
+the instructions from their Governments. And so it
+came to pass that within three months after Sir Rutherford
+Alcock's arrival in Japan the Ministers of France,
+the United States, the Netherlands, and Great Britain
+had signed a protocol in which they agreed to make
+a fresh representation in the nature of an ultimatum
+to the Tycoon's Government, calling upon it to adopt
+means to put an end to the hostilities of the Prince
+of Nagato, and informing it that on no account would
+their Governments allow the port of Yokohama to be
+closed. This agreement of May 1864 was the natural
+sequel to a declaration of 25th July 1863, by which
+the same four Powers had intimated to the Tycoon
+the necessity of reopening the Inland Sea, but which
+had remained without any acknowledgment by the
+Government. The new <i>note identique</i> addressed to
+the Gorogiu was equally left unacknowledged by that
+body.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nothing therefore remained but to take the respective
+naval commanders into counsel. The Ministers
+had no authority over them, but it was quickly found
+that the concert of admirals and captains was as perfect
+as that of the diplomatic body. The ships of the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_80' name='Page_80'>[80]</a></span>
+four Powers&mdash;Great Britain, France, United States,
+and Netherlands&mdash;were placed under the command of
+Vice-Admiral Sir Augustus Kuper, and a plan of action
+was settled upon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The advance to Shimonoséki was still, however,
+delayed by two circumstances. The first was the
+return from Europe of two Japanese students, out
+of five who had been sent there the previous year
+by that very Prince of Choshiu against whom coercive
+measures were about to be undertaken. These young
+men, hearing while abroad of the proceedings of their
+chief, and convinced, from what they had seen in
+Europe, of the overwhelming resources of the Powers,
+that Choshiu was bringing disaster on himself in forcing
+battle on such antagonists, resolved to hurry back
+to Japan with the express object of warning their
+prince of his danger. The arrival of the two youths
+in Yedo was thought by the foreign Ministers to offer
+some chance of coming to terms with Choshiu without
+the arbitrament of arms, and accordingly facilities were
+afforded by Vice-Admiral Kuper for landing the two
+travellers at the nearest convenient point to their
+prince's territory. They were intrusted with overtures
+of peace in the form of a long memorandum
+from the British Minister, reviewing the whole situation,
+and explaining the attitude of the Powers and
+the hopelessness of the armed resistance of any Daimio.
+The messengers brought back to the rendezvous, where
+a light-draught vessel waited for them, an oral reply
+from the prince explaining his attitude and asking for
+three months' delay to enable Choshiu to confer with
+the Mikado and Tycoon, by whose orders he had done
+what he had done, and without whose consent he dare
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_81' name='Page_81'>[81]</a></span>
+not change his policy. It is interesting to recall the
+fact that the names of the two youthful emissaries
+were Ito and Inouyé, who have since played so distinguished
+and honourable a part in the development
+of their country.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The second cause of suspension of action against
+Choshiu was the news of a convention concluded in
+Paris between the Japanese envoys and the French
+Foreign Minister, dated June 20, 1864, in which this
+very object of the reopening of the Straits of Shimonoséki
+was provided for. Were this convention to be
+ratified by the Tycoon the immediate cause of dispute
+would be removed. The matter, however, was disposed
+of with more than its accustomed promptitude
+by the Japanese Government, who curtly refused to
+ratify the French convention. The Tycoon's Ministers
+declared themselves unable to carry out the agreement,
+and to ratify it would merely be to add another
+to their too onerous obligations. Admiral Kuper was
+finally given a free hand on August 25, and before
+the middle of September the forts and ships of the
+recalcitrant prince were completely destroyed by the
+Allied squadrons, not without considerable resistance
+and some loss to the assailants. The action was conducted
+with admirable harmony among the officers
+engaged, and the reciprocity of compliments between
+the respective commanders-in-chief, especially between
+the French and English admirals, is edifying reading
+in these later days.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The negotiations which followed on board the British
+flagship ended in the most satisfactory manner.
+Choshiu submitted with a good grace, while apologetically
+throwing the blame of his hostile proceedings
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_82' name='Page_82'>[82]</a></span>
+on the two higher authorities, the Mikado and the
+Tycoon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All the Daimios had been notified of the decision
+of the Mikado and the Tycoon to break off relations
+with foreigners from 20th June 1863. Three days
+after this notice its purport was confirmed, and a
+positive order given to "make military preparations
+with diligence that the ugly barbarians may be swept
+out." This was promptly followed by a third yet
+more explicit. "Bearing this in mind" (the date of
+expulsion, 20th June 1863), "you must omit nothing
+which is required to complete the maritime defences
+of your province, and you must be ready to sweep
+them off should they attack you unawares." A liberal
+interpretation of these imperial decrees might be held
+to cover the aggressive proceedings of the most powerful
+Daimio in the empire, whose province happened to
+command its most important strategic position, and
+who watched the continual passing of foreign ships
+under the guns of his forts. The time when Choshiu
+commenced his attacks on passing ships coincided so
+exactly with the date assigned by the Mikado for the
+general rupture with foreigners, that it is hardly
+possible to dissociate his act from the scheme of
+his suzerain. When subsequently called before the
+council, Choshiu boldly defied both Tycoon and Mikado,
+declaring that he alone had obeyed the imperial mandate,
+and deserved gratitude for executing single-handed
+the law of the empire for the extermination
+of foreigners. The rupture was decreed for June 20.
+The American steamer Pembroke was fired on on the
+25th, being, no doubt, the first foreign vessel to pass
+the straits after the 20th. Whatever ulterior designs
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_83' name='Page_83'>[83]</a></span>
+this great feudatory may have entertained, therefore,
+he was not altogether without provocation in making
+a raid on the Mikado's capital, which he did in the
+month of August following, and for which he was
+condemned by his suzerain to a term of seclusion
+within his palace, the usual form of punishment of
+an offending feudatory, which implies much more than
+would appear from this mild definition.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the capture of the forts at Shimonoséki the
+Government at once stepped in and assumed all the
+obligations, pecuniary and other, which the issue of
+the collision imposed on the Prince of Nagato. The
+town of Shimonoséki had been spared, but held to
+ransom. A convention was signed whereby the Tycoon
+agreed to pay an indemnity of three million dollars,
+which was eventually paid in full, the last instalment
+of it after the fall of the Shôgunate.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Taking heart of grace from his defeat by foreigners,
+the Tycoon, if not the Mikado also, began to coerce
+Choshiu on his own account. Not being able to
+reach him conveniently in his principality, the Tycoon's
+Government set to work to destroy his vast establishment
+at Yedo. The fire brigade was employed in this
+work, and such was the extent of it that several thousand
+men were said to be engaged for three days in
+burning down the buildings and fittings. Moreover,
+when categorically questioned by the foreign Minister
+whether, now that Satsuma and Choshiu had been
+brought under control, "the Tycoon would find it
+possible to give full effect to the treaties, and to
+deal with any recalcitrant or rebellious Daimios," the
+confidential Minister of the Tycoon replied without
+hesitation, "Yes, certainly."
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_84' name='Page_84'>[84]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The defeat of the two most warlike of the Daimios
+illuminated the situation and cleared the way for more
+intelligent action all round. To the Japanese Government
+it was once for all demonstrated that it was not
+by force of arms that the "ugly barbarians" were to be
+driven from the country. The foreign fleets were for
+the time being invincible, and the Powers had also
+shown themselves ready not only to act, but to act
+together. There was, besides, a strong garrison of
+foreign troops in Yokohama&mdash;a British force of 1200
+men of all arms, with a marked tendency to increase.
+The Mikado and the Tycoon wisely acquiesced in the
+situation, so far as foreigners were concerned, not
+necessarily abandoning their policy, but at any rate
+deferring its execution.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Their immediate attention was directed to the internal
+commotions of the country, which could not now
+be long in coming to an explosion. A new planet had
+intersected their system and upset its balance. There
+could be no rest, therefore, until a new equilibrium was
+found. Foreign forces chastising the great feudatories,
+with the tacit acquiescence and for the benefit of the
+suzerain, could only be a step either towards dissolution
+and subjugation, or towards renaissance and national
+unity. Feudalism had had its day and served its turn;
+it was wholly incompatible with the new relations
+which had been imposed on the country by the foreign
+Powers. But where is the State, ancient or modern,
+that could entirely remodel itself, as it were, on the
+field of battle and in front of the enemy? That must
+remain the proud speciality of Japan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The effect of the action at Shimonoséki on the
+position of foreigners was at once made apparent in
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_85' name='Page_85'>[85]</a></span>
+various ways. The Tycoon's Government had laid a
+secret embargo on raw silk sent to market at Yokohama
+as part and parcel of the general imperial design
+of closing that port, or, in the alternative, of a gigantic
+scheme of Government monopoly of the whole foreign
+trade, such being the only form of commerce for which
+the Japanese officials had any real sympathy. The
+stoppage had lasted three months. After Choshiu's
+defeat the restrictions were at once officially withdrawn,
+though considerable efforts were still required
+to give full effect to the withdrawal. Once more, also,
+"the Tycoon resolved to abandon the policy of equivocation
+and duplicity," and to inform the Mikado frankly
+of the impossibility of closing the port or of refusing to
+maintain the treaties.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The moment seemed opportune for raising the question
+of the ratification of the treaties by the Mikado, in
+respect to which Sir Rutherford Alcock made certain
+plain statements in a letter addressed to the Tycoon in
+person. "There exists," he said, "a want of accord on
+the subject of foreign relations between the Mikado and
+Tycoon.... The Mikado, by requiring the abrogation
+of treaties, has reduced the Tycoon to the alternative of
+either disobeying his legitimate sovereign or bringing
+on his country all the calamities of war.... The only
+solution of the difficulty that promises either peace or
+security is the ratification of the treaties by the
+Mikado." The four foreign representatives simultaneously
+pressed the same consideration on the Government,
+eliciting from the Japanese Ministers the
+admission, "We perfectly agree with you, it should now
+take place."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It now became the business of the British Minister to
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_86' name='Page_86'>[86]</a></span>
+show to his Government that the proceedings at Shimonoséki
+fulfilled in every point the instructions he had
+received from the Foreign Office. This he did in a
+despatch dated September 28, 1864, and so convincingly
+that Earl Russell wrote in reply&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+Your despatch of the 28th of September is a successful vindication
+of the policy you have pursued.... My despatches
+of the 26th of July were written with a view to discourage
+the interruption of a progressive trade by acts of hostility, and to
+forbid recourse to force while the treaty was generally observed.
+Those despatches, you will understand, remain in full force.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the documents you have sent me, which arrived by the
+last mail, show that the silk trade was almost wholly interrupted
+by the Tycoon, who seemed to be preparing to abet or
+to abandon the project of driving out foreigners according to
+the boldness or the timidity of our demeanour.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In this position there could be no better course than to
+punish and disarm the Daimio Prince Nagato.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+That course had these three separate advantages:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+1. It gave the best promise of concurrence of the four
+Powers, as France, Holland, and the United States had all
+been sufferers from the Prince of Choshiu's violations of treaty,
+while we were most exposed to risk and loss by any Japanese
+attack on Yokohama.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+2. It involved proceeding only against a rebellious vassal,
+and not against the Mikado or the Tycoon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+3. If the operation should prove successful, the four Powers
+were under no obligation to undertake further hostilities unless
+fresh provocation should be received.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Her Majesty's Government have received with great satisfaction
+the account of the naval operations of the four
+squadrons, and their result, contained in your despatch of
+September 28. Those operations were conducted in the most
+gallant manner; the loss was not considerable; the four
+Powers acted in harmony together; no defenceless city suffered
+during the hostilities; and the terms granted to the offending
+Daimio were moderate towards him, and sufficient for us.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I have only to add, that I am commanded to express to you
+her Majesty's full approbation of your conduct.
+</p>
+</div>
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_87' name='Page_87'>[87]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So far so good. But the slow mail service of those
+days, and the entire absence of the telegraph, admitted
+of wonderful interpolations in correspondence with such
+far-off countries as Japan. Events marched quicker
+than the course of post could follow them, and despatches
+were sometimes written which the writer
+would have given a good deal to recall. Such was the
+case here. We have said that soon after Sir Rutherford
+Alcock's return to Japan he addressed some
+weighty despatches to the Foreign Office on the situation,
+undoubtedly leading up to the ultimate employment
+of force in vindication of the foreign treaties.
+This was in full accord with the spirit of Earl Russell's
+instructions dated December 17, 1863. These were&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<ul class="none">
+<li>
+1. To require from the Tycoon and the Daimios the
+execution of the engagements of the treaty.
+</li>
+
+<li>
+2. To consult the admiral and any military officer
+who may be sent to Japan as to the means of
+strengthening and holding our position in
+Yokohama.
+</li>
+
+<li>
+3. To endeavour to procure from Hongkong the
+services of a regiment of infantry.
+</li>
+
+<li>
+4. The admiral to be authorised to land marines and
+destroy the batteries which have been erected
+for the evident purpose of interrupting the
+passage of our merchandise, &amp;c.; but he must
+take care that no unarmed and peaceable town
+should be bombarded.
+</li>
+</ul>
+
+<p>
+But when the Foreign Secretary received the
+Minister's despatches of May, following the terms of
+these instructions to their only logical conclusion, he
+became alarmed at the prospect of active measures, and
+by despatch of August 8 he recalled the Minister under
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_88' name='Page_88'>[88]</a></span>
+the pretext of the need of a personal consultation on the
+state of affairs. This was followed up by some temporising
+despatches, saying the Inland Sea was of no
+consequence; that the Tycoon was professing an intention
+to do all that was necessary; and that the Tycoon
+and Mikado, seeing the British forces strong though
+passive, would gradually drop all hostile policy. How
+were these vacillating utterances to be reconciled with
+the position so decidedly taken up eight months before?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A disturbing influence had intervened, causing Lord
+Russell to see Japan at an oblique angle. Certain
+other brave words of the Foreign Secretary in that
+year, 1864, in connection with the Danish Duchies, had
+also had their current turned awry and lost the name
+of action. Japan was but an echo. Of course, after
+the definite energetic policy of the Queen's representative
+in Japan had proved a brilliant success, had
+involved no complications, had, in fact, been the means
+of temporarily uniting four of the treaty Powers, Lord
+Russell was ready enough to make the <i>amende</i> to Sir
+Rutherford Alcock, though to have cancelled his order
+of recall would have been too frank an admission of
+error to expect from any statesman. In this manner
+was the career of Sir Rutherford Alcock in Japan
+brought to an abrupt, but highly honourable, conclusion.
+He received his letter of recall while in the act
+of completing the final convention with the Tycoon
+respecting the affair of the Prince of Choshiu. The
+announcement was heard in Japan almost with consternation.
+The Tycoon's Ministers were particularly
+grieved about it, and they sent a strongly-worded
+letter to Earl Russell to be laid before the Queen,
+dwelling on the important services the envoy had
+rendered to their country, and begging that he might
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_89' name='Page_89'>[89]</a></span>
+be sent back to them as soon as the urgent affairs that
+required his presence in England had been settled.
+The mercantile communities of the treaty ports were no
+less warm in their commendation of the services rendered
+to them and to general commerce by the decided
+measures adopted by the Minister, and in their regret
+at his departure. "The principal triumph of your
+success," they said in a farewell address, "lies in the
+fact that you have accomplished all this not only
+without causing a collision between her Majesty's
+Government and that of the Tycoon, but by actually
+strengthening the Government from which you obtained
+the concessions, as well as by acting in such a
+way as to secure the cordial co-operation of the foreign
+Ministers resident at this port."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Admiral Kuper took so serious a view of the loss
+of a representative of such unrivalled experience and
+virility, that he took it on himself to address to the
+Minister privately a weighty appeal, on public and
+patriotic grounds, to postpone his departure until at
+least he had time to refer again to the Foreign Office,
+which on subsequent information must certainly take a
+different view of the action of their Minister. That
+the admiral correctly appreciated the attitude of the
+Foreign Office is sufficiently shown by Lord Russell's
+despatches already quoted, and by that dated January
+31, 1865, which concludes, "I shall wish you to return
+at once to Yokohama, to perform in Japan such additional
+meritorious services as may be expected from
+your tried ability and long experience." But Sir
+Rutherford Alcock did not consider that the episode
+would have left him the prestige necessary for further
+useful service in Japan, and he declined to return to
+that country.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_90' name='Page_90'>[90]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sir Rutherford remained at his post long enough
+to secure the fulfilment of the primary objects of the
+Allied expedition against Choshiu: the reopening of
+trade, which had been practically closed both at
+Yokohama and Nagasaki, and a number of most important
+improvements in the conditions of foreign
+residence in Yokohama. These comprised a parade-ground
+and racecourse, hospitals, slaughter-houses,
+filling in of swamp, a clear and convenient site for
+consular buildings, a good carriage-road seven miles
+in circuit, away from the town, and various other
+extensions of the comforts of foreign residents.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ratification of the treaties, too, by the Mikado
+was virtually arranged. The very day before Sir
+Rutherford Alcock embarked for England he was
+enabled to report to his Government that the law
+interdicting intercourse and putting all foreigners
+under the ban of outlawry had been modified, and
+its hostile provisions repealed. This was considered
+tantamount to the Mikado's acknowledgment of the
+Tycoon's treaties, and thus the vice of illegality
+which had attached to them from their origin was
+at last removed. A year later the Mikado distinctly
+and in so many words approved of the treaties.
+This, therefore, may fairly be considered Sir Rutherford
+Alcock's last service to his country in Japan. It
+was not, however, till 1868, after the attack on Sir
+H. Parkes while on his way to the palace of the
+Mikado, that an edict was published, over the imperial
+sign manual, decreeing that the lives of foreigners in
+Japan were thenceforth to be deemed as sacred as
+the lives of the subjects of the empire.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But it would not have been Japan without an
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_91' name='Page_91'>[91]</a></span>
+assassination to mark the close of the Minister's
+eventful career. Two officers of the British garrison,
+Major Baldwin and Lieutenant Bird, on an excursion
+on horseback to the romantic district of Kamakura,
+and near the celebrated bronze statue of Buddha, were
+stealthily attacked in broad day by a couple of two-sworded
+men, and mercilessly cut down. One of them
+lived late into the night, spoke, and drank tea, when
+the assassins, or accomplices in the crime, paid another
+visit to the dying man and, as in the case of Richardson,
+despatched him with ghastly ferocity. The Tycoon
+might truthfully say, "An enemy hath done this"; but
+the position of the Government had been so much
+strengthened by the collapse of Choshiu that the
+Tycoon's officers were no longer afraid of pursuing
+the criminals and bringing them to justice, especially
+as they happened to be <i>ronin</i>, or masterless men.
+"Twelve similar onslaughts," wrote Sir Rutherford,
+"have been made on foreigners, and in no one instance
+has justice had its due." For "even in the
+only case where men were executed, the Government
+did not venture in exposing their heads to declare
+their crime, or admit that it was for an attack upon
+foreigners." The present case was to prove an exception
+to the hitherto unbroken rule. Within a
+month certain accomplices in the crime were brought
+to punishment in Yokohama, and there one of the
+principals, who was executed in presence of British
+officers, died boasting of his crime and claiming the
+highest patriotic sanction for it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sir Rutherford and Lady Alcock took their departure
+from Yokohama on December 24, 1864.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_92' name='Page_92'>[92]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+VII. THE BIRTH OF NEW JAPAN.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Four years of civil strife&mdash;Cessation of efforts to eject foreigners&mdash;The
+adoption of foreign appliances&mdash;Educational missions&mdash;Unanimity of
+Japanese in cultivating foreign intercourse&mdash;The merits of those who
+promoted the movement&mdash;Sir R. Alcock's services in the cause of
+Japanese progress&mdash;His services to Japanese art.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+"Is this the commencement of a civil war?" wrote
+the British Minister during his first year of residence
+in Japan. When he left the civil war was well advanced.
+Feverish energy was being displayed by every
+party in the State. There was a race for foreign ships
+and armaments among the Daimios; the Tycoon was
+involved in a struggle for existence; the legitimate
+sovereign was asserting his authority, and the feudatories
+were rallying to his support. Neither the
+immediate nor the remote issues were clear, but the
+sword was out of the scabbard, and would not be
+sheathed again until a new order of things should be
+established.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The civil strife, which ended within four years in
+the abolition of feudalism and the assumption by the
+Mikado by divine right of all administrative functions,
+may be called revolution, restoration, or merely evolution,
+according to the point of view from which we
+regard it. The hand of the foreigner had loosened
+the stone from the mountain-side, but it rolled down
+by its own laws. The introduction of foreigners into
+the country brought down vengeance on the Tycoon
+as the responsible agent. To abase him and transfer
+the sceptre to another house was perhaps as far as
+the views of the hostile princes in the first instance
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_93' name='Page_93'>[93]</a></span>
+extended. The consummation of the movement in the
+unification of the State, though its natural fruit, grew
+and ripened with a rapidity which bewildered the
+lookers-on. From the moment when the goal was
+descried a profound unanimity of sentiment urged
+the leaders towards it, the territorial magnates being
+themselves the first to propose the abolition of the
+privileges, titles, and responsibilities of their order,
+which stood in the way of nationality in the larger
+sense. But wide and manifold as were the issues
+raised in the course of the brief but fierce struggle,
+it concerns us chiefly to remember that the avowed
+impulse which gave the first impetus to the whole
+was the passionate purpose of expelling the foreigner.
+This was the rallying cry that brought the entire
+nation into line. The presence of the foreigner on
+the soil sacred to the gods was an insult and a
+deep humiliation. The manifestoes of the Daimios,
+their invective against the Tycoon, the distress of
+the Mikado and his constant imploring appeals for
+help to purge the land of its defilement, testify to
+the sincerity and universality of the feeling. In that
+sentiment there was no difference between Tycoon
+and Mikado, the Daimios attached to the one and
+those attached to the other: they were only divided
+as to the time and the means, the risks and the
+consequences.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From the first the foreigners had evidence of the
+tenacious character of the Japanese: their persistency
+in face of difficulties and discouragements, and, above
+all, their readiness, not only to risk, but deliberately
+to sacrifice, their lives in the pursuit of an object.
+Such a spirit would render any people formidable,&mdash;most
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_94' name='Page_94'>[94]</a></span>
+formidable when united in a common purpose;
+and their genius for combination is one of their most
+typical characteristics. What these qualities have
+already led to the world has partly seen; what they
+will hereafter lead to is perhaps as much hidden from
+our generation as the phenomena of the present were
+from the preceding one. But from the earliest days
+of the new intercourse it was hardly possible to misconstrue
+the seriousness of the Japanese people, though
+their refinement of taste, especially in art, their pleasant
+vices, and their addiction to light and frivolous
+recreation, often masked their more solid qualities.
+One word may possibly reconcile the seeming contradiction.
+They are an intensely vital people, living every
+part of their lives earnestly, which, however, is no
+synonym for solemnly. The gravest and the gayest
+have their appointed place in the social system, whose
+parts appear to be co-ordinated as if the whole were a
+direct inspiration of nature itself, elastic, accommodating,
+ever renewing itself, and yet so highly organised
+that there is no unemployed surplus, no waste material,
+nothing that does not find an effective place in the
+great cosmic product. That many practical men have
+misjudged the Japanese is beyond doubt. Indeed it is
+the so-called practical men who are the most apt to
+misjudge human phenomena, seeing that their system
+leaves out of account all they do not understand, which
+is usually a good deal. It was long thought that
+the Japanese were mere copyists and imitators, and
+disparaging epithets have been applied to them under
+that misapprehension. But, rightly considered, their
+very imitation was the clearest proof of their depth.
+They had been overcome by the foreigner, therefore
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_95' name='Page_95'>[95]</a></span>
+they would help themselves to his weapons&mdash;all his
+weapons, educational, scientific, ethical, and not merely
+the machinery of war. This was not imitation, but
+adaptation and assimilation. It was no more imitation
+than what is seen every day among Americans,
+for instance, who so successfully "exploit" the ideas of
+Europe, and improve on them. It gradually dawned
+upon the intelligent few who watched the process from
+the beginning that the adaptation of European customs
+and costume was nothing but a strict application of
+the laws of evolution. The Japanese began spontaneously
+to appropriate ideas from the dress of Europeans;
+modifications, scarce perceptible, were adopted
+at first by servants. Certain malefactors advertised
+for by the Yedo police as early as 1862 were described
+as wearing "riding trousers and coats of tight foreign
+fashion." Each article of attire was adopted on its
+merits, for convenience and for no other reason, one
+of the first items being buttons. Strange combinations
+were sometimes seen, such as a billycock hat,
+or policeman's cast-off coat with a few buttons left on,
+surmounting a pair of bare legs shod with wooden
+clogs. Such bizarre combinations were not uncommon
+during the time of transition. The growing habits of
+travel necessitated a revolution in the coiffure. The
+ancient custom of shaving part of the head and training
+the truncated queue required a staff of skilled
+barbers to accompany every travelling party. The
+expense and inconvenience were intolerable, and so
+the old head-dressing had to go the way of obsolete
+things.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Japanese deliberately resolved to learn every
+secret thing that any foreign nation possessed. To do
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_96' name='Page_96'>[96]</a></span>
+this they had to be conciliatory, so as to gain access to
+schools, laboratories, arsenals, factories of every kind.
+Japanese swarmed in the workshops of Europe and
+America; they took military, naval, mercantile, and
+industrial service wherever they could get it.<a name='FA_10' id='FA_10' href='#FN_10' class='fnanchor'>[10]</a> In such
+pursuits an outlandish costume would have been a
+severe handicap, not merely marking them as strangers,
+but hampering them for the mechanical work they
+might be engaged in. To be the comrades of the foreign
+workmen they must dress like them, and minimise
+all personal peculiarities. It is often said by those
+who regret the change that the native dress was so
+becoming, and that the Japanese looked ever so much
+nicer in their own than in foreign garb&mdash;which may
+be true, though irrelevant. To look nice was not what
+they were aiming at. They had to join the family of
+nations, to become men of the world, to comply with
+all civilised observances, and as much as in them lay
+to avoid attracting notice to their nationality. Such
+a programme necessitated adoption of the common
+costume of the Western nations, and if we do not
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_97' name='Page_97'>[97]</a></span>
+accuse German, French, English, and Americans of
+being imitators, who for similar reasons adopt a
+uniform society habit, why should the Japanese be
+imitators when doing the very same thing? Let the
+world not deceive itself,&mdash;there is something more
+serious than copying in the development of the Japanese
+nationality. Borrowers they have undoubtedly
+been, and that on a grand scale. Religion, philosophy,
+language, literature, art, and artistic manufacture they
+took bodily from China, apparently through Korea.
+But who shall say they have not improved upon their
+teachers? That is a kind of borrowing which may yet
+carry Japan very far. We should not forget that even
+a Shakespeare may be an incorrigible borrower.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From the first appearance of Commodore Perry's
+"black ships" in 1853 one idea took complete possession
+of the Japanese ruling classes, and inspired all
+their manifestoes. How far the common people were
+in sympathy with their rulers there was no evidence
+available to show. The idea was that their nation
+was weak, and in its seclusion had been outstripped
+by the nations of the West, and that they must make
+every exertion to arm themselves in order to be able
+to cope with and to expel the barbarians. All their
+temporising with the enemy had this end in view, and
+they followed it up with such zeal, intelligence, and
+national harmony, as to excite both wonder and admiration.
+In the building up of their nation, and giving
+it a status among the military and industrial Powers,
+the Japanese freely and extensively employed foreigners
+in all capacities, dispensing with their services
+when done with as naturally as a builder dispenses
+with his temporary scaffolding. They used foreigners
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_98' name='Page_98'>[98]</a></span>
+from the outset, but have never allowed foreigners to
+use them. They have thus remained the masters in
+their own house, and therein has lain their strength,
+present and prospective. Teaching they have recompensed
+with coin; and though confidences have been
+received with courtesy, their own plans and purposes
+have been veiled from the most honoured of their
+tutors. Their attitude has remained what it was in
+the days of the Dutch monopoly, when instruction in
+Western lore, including naval and military science,
+was freely imparted to them, while the uses to which
+it was applied were studiously hidden from the teachers.
+Though the Dutch, for example, taught the
+Japanese mathematics and triangulation so successfully
+that the pupils were able to make accurate surveys
+and construct maps of the country and charts of its
+sea-coasts, yet the Dutch were never permitted to see
+the finished result.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In looking back on the work of those foreign Governments
+and their agents who by their interference shook
+this new nation into life, it is obvious that they did
+not, any of them, know what they were doing. There
+was a divinity shaping their ends which they, with
+their conventional concessions to the modern spirit,
+had no idea of. If we are to pass judgment at all on
+those men, it must not be by the ulterior consequences
+which they did not and could not foresee, but on the
+merits of the problem which immediately presented
+itself to them. The demand for free intercourse with
+Japan being shared by all the nations of Christendom
+was bound to be satisfied one day: it was but a question
+of a favourable opportunity. Commodore Perry
+and the United States Government made their opportunity.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_99' name='Page_99'>[99]</a></span>
+Townsend Harris had his opportunity made
+for him, and with great adroitness, and not too much
+scruple, he took advantage of it to force the half-open
+door. Lord Elgin, in his turn, did a smart thing in
+sandwiching in a full treaty with Japan between his
+earlier and later negotiations with China. Each in his
+degree contributed to the general result without any
+apparent sense of responsibility for unsettling an
+ancient polity of which they were ignorant, and to
+which they were blind. Lord Elgin was indeed
+visited by the qualms of conscience which were as
+natural to him as they were honourable, but the
+particular consequences of which he had a passing
+dread were not those which followed. In any case,
+his act was momentary: its results remained to be
+dealt with by those who came after. The heat and
+burden of the day fell upon those who had to "stub
+the Thurnaby waste" which the cavaliers had gaily
+cantered round,&mdash;to reduce theories and compliments
+to everyday practice. Here was not only a labour but
+a responsibility, not of the attenuated abstract order,
+but one which was apt to knock violently at their door
+every morning and every night. For whatever might
+be the remote effects, the immediate issues were always
+urgent, and what a conscientious man had to do was to
+shape a daily course among unknown rocks and whirlpools
+such as would eventually lead to a successful
+ocean voyage. It is surely a test of good pilotage in
+such emergencies that no step need be retraced; that
+to whatever extent temporary exigencies may hasten
+or retard, they should never deflect the general movement
+from its true direction; that the years achievement
+should be homogeneous with the day's doings.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_100' name='Page_100'>[100]</a></span>
+It is a test which would eliminate the time-server
+from political life, but it was in all important particulars
+well responded to in the short career of Sir
+Rutherford Alcock in Japan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It would be idle to conjecture the probable course of
+events had a different spirit prevailed among the first
+diplomatic representatives in Japan. Had they been a
+weak and yielding body, or had they been connected
+with the bureaux of their respective Governments by
+electric wire; still more, had each step taken by them
+formed a bone of contention between opposing factions
+in their legislatures, all alike ignorant of the situation,
+the proceedings of the Ministers would not only have
+been deprived of all initiative, but would have been
+liable to paralysis at every critical moment. Under
+such conditions foreign policy in Japan would have
+been like driftwood in a whirlpool; the forces of reaction
+must have gained courage; the position of
+foreigners would have been rendered untenable; and
+what might have happened in the country itself it
+would, as we have said, be quite idle to imagine. In
+those days no Power would have interfered to maintain
+order or to defend treaties had England held aloof.
+There is no need to carry hypothesis further than this
+in order to appreciate the good fortune not only of
+Great Britain herself, but of Japan and the world,
+in having as pioneer representative a man so alert,
+so capable, so clear, and with such unshakable nerve
+as Sir Rutherford Alcock; for it is the man on the spot
+in distant countries who shapes the policy of his
+Government, if it is to have a policy at all, and this
+historic service the first Minister sent to Japan did
+effectually render to his country. Amid difficulties unprecedented,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_101' name='Page_101'>[101]</a></span>
+emergencies incessant, and an elemental
+strife ever raging, the terms of which were inscrutable,
+two immutable principles guided the Minister to a clear
+issue. The first was duty, at all costs and hazards;
+the second, the integrity of the treaties. Whatever
+might be argued about the policy or the ethics of
+making them, once made, retreat from their engagements
+was impossible and compromise futile. Matters
+had to be pushed to an issue. The whole term of Sir
+Rutherford Alcock's service in Japan was filled up with
+a warfare against the temptation to temporise in the
+hope that things would be better,&mdash;a temptation to
+which, as we have seen, her Majesty's Government for
+a time succumbed. In perplexing situations the best
+solvent is simplicity, and the Minister found his safety
+in directness of aim and inflexibility of purpose.
+Standing on that rock, the mystifications with which
+he was surrounded lost their power to disturb him.
+"Fortunately," he wrote to Earl Russell, "whether
+the Tycoon was playing a comedy or not, the course
+plainly indicated is the same, the assertion of a fixed
+determination not to be driven out, and to maintain
+the rights secured under treaties, by force, if all other
+means fail."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To the man who perceived and successfully carried
+out this simple rule of action his countrymen owe no
+common debt.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As it is proverbially the busiest people who have
+the most leisure, the British Minister found time in the
+midst of his harassing labours to employ his æsthetic
+gifts for the benefit of the public. It fell to his lot,
+as the reader may remember, while consul in Shanghai,
+to contribute samples of the art, industry, and natural
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_102' name='Page_102'>[102]</a></span>
+products of China to the Great Exhibition of 1851,
+neither the native Government nor the foreign mercantile
+community being sufficiently interested to assist
+in the work. A similar service was asked of him in
+Japan for the Exhibition of 1862, and it was performed
+under similar conditions, neither the native
+Government nor the foreign residents taking any part
+in it. The task had a special fascination for Sir
+Rutherford, for Japanese art was a new and rich field
+for the student as for the dilettante. The Japanese
+had originally borrowed their whole art, with their
+literature and religion, from China, but they had improved
+or at least transformed it so much as to make it
+their own, though it is contended that in ceramics they
+had never succeeded in overtaking the Chinese. For
+five hundred years they had worked on the Chinese
+idea; but at last in the eleventh century <span class="s08">A.D.</span> native
+schools sprang up, and thenceforth Japanese artists
+followed their own inspiration, which was that of
+nature, producing, in the fulness of time, the exquisite
+results with which the world is now so familiar. The
+introduction of this Japanese work to the connoisseurs
+of Europe through the London Exhibition of 1862 was
+effected through the personal exertions of Sir Rutherford
+Alcock, who added immensely to the obligations
+under which he laid his countrymen by the publication
+in 1878 of a short but comprehensive work on 'Art
+and Art Industries of Japan.' Like the collecting of
+objects for the Exhibition, the writing of this book
+was evidently a labour of love. It reviews with a
+sympathy which almost rises to enthusiasm not only
+the finished product, but the stages of the evolution
+of Japanese art, having its origin in a loving fellowship
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_103' name='Page_103'>[103]</a></span>
+with nature and in a special affinity with what
+may be called its humorous side. The genius of
+Japan has taken a different form from that of the
+West, where "the great works of the sculptor and
+the painter are seen by but few," whereas the art
+work of Japan, "which is always in sight, tends to
+cultivate the taste of the million by bringing constantly
+before their eyes objects of taste, not less
+effective because they are unconsciously felt and enjoyed."
+It is art pressed into the service of the life
+of the people "which can give a priceless value to
+the commonest and least costly material by the mere
+impress of genius and taste, ... which is the most
+precious, tested by any true estimate of value and
+utility." The volume is well worth perusal by those
+who are interested in art, not only for its philosophical
+yet simple analysis of the subject generally, but for
+the instructive way in which universal principles are
+adapted to the popularised art of Japan. To read this
+book, one would imagine the writer had devoted the
+whole of the three years and a half he spent in Japan
+to the cultivation of the industrial fine arts.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Japanese language, too, attracted the interest
+of the busy Minister, who during his stay in Yedo
+brought out a grammar and phrase-book in Japanese
+and English. They have, as a matter of course, been
+superseded by the more recondite studies of later
+students; but as a first step towards familiarising the
+language to visitors and strangers these introductory
+works cannot be denied their meed of merit.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_104' name='Page_104'>[104]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+VIII. THE DIPLOMATIC BODY&mdash;TSUSHIMA.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Four Western Powers represented in Tokio&mdash;Russia only in Hakodate by
+consul&mdash;And naval officers&mdash;Cordial Anglo-French relations&mdash;Temptations
+to intrigue&mdash;Secret communications to Japanese&mdash;Representatives
+of the Powers arousing suspicions of each other's designs&mdash;Letters cited&mdash;The
+Tsushima incident&mdash;Admiral Sir James Hope obtains its evacuation
+by Russians.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+During the first few years there were four representatives
+of the Western Powers resident in or near
+the Tycoon's capital: they were the Ministers of Great
+Britain, the United States, France, and Holland.
+Russia had accredited no Minister, but intrusted her
+interests to the very capable hands of M. Goskavitch,
+consul at Hakodate, the treaty port in the northern
+island of the Japanese group. What was no doubt
+deemed of at least equal importance, she maintained
+a powerful squadron on the western coast of Japan,
+whose actual strength was magnified to the view by
+their incessant activity, which had the character of
+a continuous demonstration on the coast both of China
+and Japan; and the principle of direct action by naval
+officers without the medium of diplomacy, at the ports
+of Nagasaki and Hakodate, was so different from that
+of any other Power, that the Daimios declared to the
+Tycoon that any of the foreigners could be safely
+insulted except the Russians. Their manœuvres in
+force round Hongkong, meaningless to the ordinary
+professional or political eye, played probably a corroborative
+part in the impressions they were making on
+the rulers of the neighbouring countries. Prussia
+had not yet come effectually on the scene when the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_105' name='Page_105'>[105]</a></span>
+decisive operations against the two great Daimios,
+which really determined the future course of events,
+were undertaken.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The relations of the resident foreign Ministers among
+themselves were marked by substantial harmony, in
+some instances rising to great cordiality. The foreign
+diplomatic body thus presented a united front to the
+forces, open or covert, that were opposed to them.
+Such differences of opinion as arose in the course of
+business either were not of a nature, or were not
+allowed, to interfere with the pursuit of the national
+interests of each, which were inextricably bound up
+in the common interests of all. United, the influence
+of the Powers was practically irresistible; divided,
+they would have fallen an easy prey to the devices
+of what, for want of another term, must be spoken of
+as the common enemy, Japan. It is not pleasant to
+think of Japan in this way, since she was on her
+defence in a position forced upon her; yet overruling
+circumstances had, in fact, placed the parties in temporary
+antagonism&mdash;the world against Japan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The key to the success of European diplomacy of
+the earlier period was without doubt the Anglo-French
+alliance, which had culminated in the coercion
+of imperial China, and was spending its ebbing strength
+in suppressing the great Taiping insurrection against
+that empire. Being possessed of mobile forces within
+call, the two Powers were always in a position to act
+when circumstances called for action, and they had
+become accustomed to co-operation. Hence the
+potency of their united counsels.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Minister of France as well as the admiral on
+the station had the instructions of the Imperial
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_106' name='Page_106'>[106]</a></span>
+Government to support England in her Far Eastern
+policy,&mdash;"for," said the calculating Emperor Napoleon
+III., "though our interests in that part of the world
+are trivial, we may find our account in the friendship
+of England in quarters where our interests are vital."
+That the Ministers of the two countries, therefore,
+should be on terms of official intimacy and mutual
+confidence was only natural, and it was a tower of
+strength to them both. But we gather from the
+despatches that personal respect and attachment
+went hand in hand with the official <i>liaison</i>; and
+whether it was Sir Rutherford Alcock or Colonel
+Neale on the one side, or M. Duchesne de Bellecourt
+or Leon Roche on the other, their expressions towards
+their colleagues were always of the warmest.
+So completely confidential were their relations, that
+when something was insinuated by third parties
+which, if credited, would have necessitated explanations
+between the two, it was simply dismissed as
+unworthy of consideration. There were not wanting
+those who would have regarded with equanimity a
+little more coldness between the Allied colleagues.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For, notwithstanding their good fraternal relations,
+it cannot be said that the foreign officials in Japan
+were uniformly successful in resisting the besetting
+sin of diplomacy, the common temptation to intrigue.
+In certain cases it was resorted to as the natural
+means of advancing the solid interests of a particular
+country; in other cases, where no national interest
+could be served by it, it would appear that intrigue
+was its own allurement, followed for the mere pleasure
+of the game. The political situation in Japan was
+sufficiently complicated to afford occasion for both
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_107' name='Page_107'>[107]</a></span>
+these motives of action. The unstable Government
+of the country, oppressed by conflicting obligations
+and consciously struggling for existence, offered an
+ideal theatre for volunteer experimentation by those
+on whom no ulterior responsibility rested.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Be that as it may, however, secret communications
+did pass between certain foreign officials and the
+Japanese Government of a kind which betrayed the
+design of undermining the interests of other Powers
+and frustrating their policy, presumably for the benefit
+of those whose zeal in the cause of international
+honour impelled them to adopt the <i>rôle</i> of international
+informers. It need hardly be said that Great
+Britain was a principal object of these occult practices;
+neither need it be denied that she suffered from their
+effects in the estimation of the Japanese Government,
+which was naturally credulous of any disparagement
+of the Powers it dreaded so much. In the incandescent
+condition of the intercourse of those earlier years,
+had any of the foreign agents spoken well of his neighbours
+he would have obtained no hearing for his
+praise; but given vilification for its motive, the representation
+would find its way straight to the
+Japanese heart, since nothing could be too vile to be
+believed of the intentions of any of the foreign nations.
+The spy system was congenial to the Japanese, woven
+into their whole administration; while as regards
+foreigners, they had had ample experience centuries
+before of the lengths Christian nations would go in
+traducing each other for the sake of gaining a little
+favour of the rulers of Japan. It was entirely in
+keeping with their medieval experiences that these
+dastardly barbarians should now be ready to stab
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_108' name='Page_108'>[108]</a></span>
+each other in the back. Whatever reception, therefore,
+on other grounds, might be accorded to gratuitous
+information conveyed through prejudiced channels, no
+surprise was occasioned by it, and as little doubt of
+its truth, so long as its burden was evil. This much
+has to be borne in mind as a tribute to the intelligence
+of the writers of letters such as the following, addressed
+to the Gorogiu, or Bureau of Foreign Affairs, and
+conveyed to them with ostentatious secrecy. In 1860
+one Government agent wrote&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+Last year towards the middle of the second month the
+English created great difficulties in China in consequence of
+the war they waged by sea and land. They had violated the
+treaties in a shameful manner, and as this excited the indignation
+of the Chinese they attacked the English on the river,
+and captured three men-of-war. Feeling herself humbled by
+this defeat, England swore revenge. She uttered the most
+unjust menaces against China, and at the very moment the
+Chinese commenced their conferences upon this subject four or
+five months ago the English suddenly ordered forty-seven men-of-war
+from London. These vessels are at present at Chusan,
+and await the signal for action. Within two or three months
+the men-of-war will leave for the north. The merchant vessel
+Dayspring brought us all this news on the 12th instant.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On speaking about this important news to Mr &mdash;, the
+British Consul residing here, he gave me the following information
+in a strictly private manner.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"At last," said Mr &mdash;, "the war with China is decided
+upon. We have for a long time been searching for a good
+harbour where we shall be able to put the sick and wounded.
+We have chosen Tsushima, where we intend to send the sick
+and wounded, and as soon as the war has commenced we have
+resolved to take possession of that island."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr &mdash; communicated this to me as a great secret, and
+I now give you this information in a strictly private manner.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+You will perceive that this is a question of the utmost
+importance, and you must take it into serious consideration
+without delay, and with the utmost attention.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_109' name='Page_109'>[109]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Four years ago the English, who had for a long time coveted
+an excellent little island called Perim, took possession of it,
+informing the Turkish Government that they only wished
+to place their invalids on that island, and this false pretext
+was matter for serious discussion. The Turks were perfectly
+aware of the deceitful conduct of the English. They did not
+ignore that fourteen or fifteen years before, while fighting with
+the Chinese, the English had stolen Hongkong under the
+same pretences.... But while they were deliberating the
+English sent their invalids to Perim, and immediately built
+forts and stole this island in the most disgraceful manner.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the English are wonderful impostors, it is your duty
+not only to take care of Tsushima, but also of the smallest
+island in your empire: this must be done with the utmost
+watchfulness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I inform you of this danger in the most private and secret
+manner.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+And a year or two later, when the intercourse between
+the British Minister and the Tycoon was charged
+with contentious, almost with explosive, matter, missives
+were passed in from philanthropic onlookers of
+a tenor which excited no surprise, but a good deal of
+genuine exultation, in the minds of the Japanese Ministers.
+It was well known some time before that it
+had been sought to prevent a settlement of outstanding
+difficulties between the two countries by the assurance
+volunteered to the Tycoon's Government that
+Great Britain was quite unable to make war on Japan,
+and the following letter is only one of a series of
+such international amenities which shunned the light
+of day:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+Japan was opened by us, ... and after we had settled
+down here the other Powers made their appearance. The intentions
+of ... in opening this country to foreign intercourse
+was to increase the welfare and prosperity of its
+inhabitants. While we were doing our utmost for this nation
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_110' name='Page_110'>[110]</a></span>
+some English men-of-war suddenly appeared here to demand
+indemnities for a murder which, although unjustifiable, was not
+a <i>casus belli</i>. As long as the ambitious, warlike, and quarrelsome
+Englishmen are here, the object we have in view cannot
+be obtained. They must, therefore, be driven out of this
+country. You cannot consent to their demands. Do not fear
+the English; there are other nations in Japan, and if you require
+assistance you may rest assured we shall give you moral
+and material support.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+But in vain was the snare set by these fowlers in the
+sight of the bird. The notion of setting a thief to
+catch a thief was not uncongenial to Japanese habits
+of thought, but a generous offer of armed assistance
+against a foreign Power savoured too much of the
+wooden horse even for such inexperienced internationalists
+as the New Japan. Having expressed their appreciation&mdash;had
+it been the Chinese Government it
+would have taken the form of praise for their loyal
+obedience&mdash;the Government intimated that they would
+exhaust their own resources before putting these
+friendly foreign Powers to the trouble of intervening
+on their behalf. The Japanese have always been wary
+about accepting help unasked for. The United States
+frigate Niagara, which brought back the envoys in
+1860, brought also a staff of artillery officers whose
+services were tendered to the Tycoon, but declined.
+And it was said the American officers were rather
+astonished by the proofs afforded them in Yedo of the
+efficiency of armament and proficiency of the gunners
+which Japan was already able to show.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One of the vigilant observers of political portents
+about that time became convinced that the French had
+designs upon Tsushima, a belief which was no doubt in
+some way also communicated to the Japanese Government;
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_111' name='Page_111'>[111]</a></span>
+but by that time&mdash;1863&mdash;it was too late for
+any Power to flirt with that "excellent little island,"
+for since the first warning given the Japanese in 1860,
+above cited, the island had been made the subject of
+definitive arrangements. The incident itself, though
+of brief duration and leaving no visible trail behind it,
+nevertheless deserves to be remembered as a landmark
+of history.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When Count Mouravieff was in Yedo in 1859, he
+took the trouble to warn the Tycoon's Government
+that the English harboured aggressive designs against
+the island of Tsushima, which is a long double or "twin"
+island, possessing wonderful harbours, and situated
+midway between the main island of Japan and the
+southern coast of Korea. On March 13, 1861, the
+Russians landed from the corvette Possadnik in
+Tsushima, and saying their ship wanted repairs, began
+to build houses on shore. Captain Birileff had forced
+the Prince of Tsushima to receive him at his capital,
+which created an intense feeling of indignation, especially
+in the ranks of the nobles, who each saw
+himself exposed to similar intrusions. The Daimio
+repeatedly requested the Russians to leave, but was
+always told the ship required further repairs. In consequence
+of reports from his own officers and the
+Japanese Government, Vice-Admiral Sir James Hope
+looked in at Tsushima himself in the month of August,
+and observing what was going on there, he addressed
+a letter to Captain Birileff, of which the substance was
+as follows: The prolonged stay of his Imperial Majesty's
+corvette Possadnik, the erection of buildings, &amp;c., having
+created alarm in Yedo, the admiral had the intention
+to communicate on the subject as early as possible
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_112' name='Page_112'>[112]</a></span>
+with Commodore Likatchoff. Would Captain Birileff
+meantime facilitate this correspondence by replying to
+the questions&mdash;(1) Should the Japanese Government
+appeal to the treaty, which conveys no right either to
+create establishments ashore, to survey the Japanese
+coast without Government sanction, or even to enter
+a non-treaty port except in case of necessity, would
+Captain Birileff's orders admit of his leaving Tsushima
+immediately on the request of the Japanese authorities?
+(2) Was it Captain Birileff's intention to leave
+Tsushima in October as previously stated to Commander
+Ward, leaving the buildings to whomsoever wanted
+them?... (3) Had the captain orders to create a
+permanent establishment there?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The reply of Captain Birileff was to the effect that
+the officers of his Imperial Majesty were accountable
+only to their own chiefs; ... that he was quite
+astonished to hear of the alarms in Yedo, seeing that
+only two months before the Prince of Bungo had been
+sent to Tsushima expressly from Yedo to grant permission
+to the corvette to remain there; that the same
+prince gave him the opportunity of visiting the Prince
+of Tsushima, who was instructed to supply workmen and
+all that might be necessary for the construction of the
+buildings in question; that if the Japanese Government
+were annoyed by the surveying operations, they
+should address their complaint to the Russian diplomatic
+agent; that he had no orders for the occupation
+of the island, and the nature of the buildings which the
+admiral had done him the honour to visit would not
+show any such intention; and finally, that when he
+spoke of leaving in October it had referred only to
+himself personally. So far Captain Birileff.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_113' name='Page_113'>[113]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was no "Prince of Bungo," but a Governor of
+Foreign Affairs named Bungo, who had been despatched
+in haste from the capital to endeavour by any means to
+induce the Russians to leave Tsushima, and was, for his
+want of success, disgraced.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sir James Hope forthwith proceeded in search of
+Commodore Likatchoff to Olga Bay, whence he addressed
+to him a letter dated September 5, pointing out
+the irregularity of the proceedings at Tsushima, the bad
+effect they were having on the relations of foreigners
+generally in Yedo, and that he could not recognise any
+establishment on Japanese territory not sanctioned by
+treaty&mdash;which resolutions he would make known to
+the authorities concerned.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To this the Russian commodore courteously replied
+from Hakodate, September 23, excusing himself from
+entering on any international questions, and pointing
+out that in their hydrographical labours the Russians
+were only following the excellent example set them by
+the British surveying officers whom they met on their
+respective missions, and that no complaint had ever
+been made by the Japanese Government. As for the
+"absurd rumours" alluded to, the Possadnik had
+already received orders for another destination, before
+receipt of the admiral's letters, and nothing consequently
+need be said to calm the doubts and
+alarms, <span lang='fr_FR'>"si même elles auraient véritablement raison
+d'exister."</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Admiral Hope acknowledged this letter, "with much
+satisfaction," from Chefoo, October 22, and remarked
+that, so far as the surveying operations of the ships in
+his squadron were concerned, they were carried out
+with the full consent of the Japanese Government, at
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_114' name='Page_114'>[114]</a></span>
+whose special request Japanese officers and interpreters
+were accommodated on board during the whole of the
+cruise. He added that it was not so much the surveying
+operations of the Possadnik as the preparation for
+a permanent settlement on shore that disquieted the
+Japanese Government; and, moreover, that the Japanese
+Ministers had distinctly stated that the matter had
+been the subject of remonstrance to the commodore,
+through M. Goskavitch, the consul at Hakodate, and to
+Captain Birileff by an officer specially deputed for the
+purpose (Bungo).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The question extended itself to St Petersburg, where
+Prince Gortchakoff had remarked to Lord Napier, then
+British ambassador, on the tone of Admiral Hope's
+letter to Commodore Likatchoff, which, he said, but for
+the conciliatory disposition of the latter, might have
+led to serious misunderstanding. Lord Napier, in
+reply, observed that "Admiral Hope was a man of a
+frank, downright, energetic character, who used the
+language natural to him without any intention of
+giving offence."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the Russians had abandoned the island, Prince
+Gortchakoff called on Lord Napier to declare that the
+English would never take possession of Tsushima, whereupon
+the ambassador reminded his Excellency that the
+English had "offered to sign a treaty binding ourselves
+and the other Powers having engagements with
+Japan to make no acquisitions in those seas." "I
+think," concludes the ambassador in his letter to the
+Foreign Office, "that Admiral Hope will do well to
+assure himself that the buildings have really been
+evacuated." This precaution had already been taken,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_115' name='Page_115'>[115]</a></span>
+and the admiral reported on November 10 that the
+Russians had evacuated on September 29.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There the incident ended, but not its historical
+significance.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+IX. TRADE AND TRADERS.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Commerce increases in spite of adverse political situations&mdash;And of efforts
+of Japanese government to repress it&mdash;The <i>personnel</i> of the mercantile
+community&mdash;British predominance&mdash;Relations of merchants to Ministers&mdash;Interests
+and duties not always identical&mdash;Sumptuary laws&mdash;Discharges
+of firearms forbidden&mdash;Seizure of Mr Moss&mdash;Wounding
+of a Japanese policeman&mdash;Trial and sentence of Mr Moss&mdash;His liberation
+in Hongkong&mdash;Sues the Minister and obtains damages&mdash;Legal
+supremacy at Hongkong&mdash;Defects of the consular jurisdiction&mdash;The
+recreation of shooting.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+These fierce struggles, the sudden arousing to intensity
+of dormant passions, the dislocation of the whole
+structure of Japanese polity, represented to the
+foreign nations merely the risks and sacrifices incidental
+to the expansion of their commerce. In order
+to compel the Government to permit the people to
+exchange the products of their soil for the merchandise
+of the strangers within their gates, the labour,
+anxiety, and expense which we have only faintly indicated
+were voluntarily incurred by the Western treaty
+Powers, and by them in turn forced on the reluctant
+rulers of Japan. An <i>a priori</i> judgment of the probable
+effect of the sanguinary conditions into which official
+intercourse had been thrown would probably have concluded
+that peaceful commerce could not under such
+circumstances exist. The restrictions resulting from
+an ill-regulated currency, and from the direct interference
+of the Government, might have been deemed
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_116' name='Page_116'>[116]</a></span>
+sufficient of themselves to check the development
+of trade. When to these inimical influences were
+superadded the further facts that the foreign traders
+went in peril of their lives, that the communities of
+Nagasaki and Yokohama were at different times in
+such danger that provisional arrangements were made
+for conveying them, bag and baggage, on board ship, a
+condition of things less favourable to international
+traffic could scarcely be conceived. Yet these difficulties,
+and a score of others which could be enumerated,
+served only to bring into clear recognition the
+inherent vitality of commerce, which, like running water,
+finds its way through or round almost any obstacle.
+There were, on the other hand, circumstances favourable
+to trade. In Japan, as has been already hinted, the
+traders of the country had neither part nor lot in the
+strife that raged above and around them, and for the
+most part they could pursue their peaceful avocations
+without fear or hindrance. So the quality of commerce
+was not strained; but, shedding its benefits on buyer
+and seller alike, it grew from small beginnings till it
+attained to a volume of world-wide importance, accumulating
+momentum as it progressed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The total amount of foreign trade was a little over
+one million sterling per annum for the first three years
+of the open ports. In the fourth year, 1863, the development
+of Japanese produce, especially the more
+precious commodities, silk and the eggs of the silkworm,
+began to tell on the gross values, and the
+exports for that year amounted to two and a half
+millions sterling, the imports of foreign goods being
+£811,000. The year 1864, notwithstanding its crowded
+events of anti-commercial character, witnessed a notable
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_117' name='Page_117'>[117]</a></span>
+advance in the value of foreign trade, which in that
+year doubled itself. The same thing occurred again in
+1865, when the figures reached a total of eight millions
+sterling, being double the returns for 1864.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Thus the foreign trade of Japan had fairly established
+itself as "a going concern," advancing in war
+and peace, but with great fluctuations and many vicissitudes
+to those engaged in it. From the purely commercial
+standpoint the result justified the anticipations
+of the Powers who opened Japan to the world. The
+event proved that when the materials of trade exist
+there trade is sure to follow on the removal of obstructions.
+And the materials of trade are not wanting
+wherever there is a population that wears clothes and
+builds houses.<a name='FA_11' id='FA_11' href='#FN_11' class='fnanchor'>[11]</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is obvious to remark that had it been in the power
+of the Japanese Government to place an effective interdict
+on foreign commerce at its sources within their
+own jurisdiction, and beyond the reach of treaty obligations,
+it would have been the surest means of causing
+the withdrawal of foreigners from the country. That
+the Government had the will to do so was shown by
+their repeated partial attempts at preventing produce
+from reaching the open ports, and even inducing a temporary
+exodus therefrom of the native population.
+Why their measures of repression were not more
+thorough may be conjectured to have been connected
+with the circumstance that the advantages of the
+foreign trade soon began to be felt in quarters with
+which it was not convenient for the Tycoon to inter-meddle.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_118' name='Page_118'>[118]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As in China, so in Japan, the relations of the
+merchants to their official representatives exercised a
+certain influence on events. The trade was carried
+on at first by a very small number of people. In
+1861 there were not 200 foreign residents in all the
+ports of Japan, the British nationality predominating
+in Yokohama, the Dutch at Nagasaki. The
+British residents in the former port seem to have
+numbered about fifty. It was a small body to carry
+the burden of inaugurating commercial intercourse
+with an empire of thirty millions of people. Nor
+was it individually a community of any particular
+weight, being mostly composed of young men, not
+themselves principals, but, in the beginning at least,
+a considerable number of them occupying the position
+of delegates of mercantile houses in China. It was
+their representative character which lent importance
+to the foreign merchants in Japan. They represented,
+first of all, the establishments of which they were
+subordinates or offshoots; they represented their respective
+nations; and they, in a larger sense, represented
+the commercial creed of Christendom. The
+present sketch would be wanting in symmetry if no
+account were taken of the relationship of these handfuls
+of traders to their own national authorities, both being
+engaged in the struggle for the development and security
+of commerce under the trying conditions of the time
+and country. But of course any such inquiry practically
+limits itself to those of British nationality, for
+two reasons: British trade and British diplomacy were
+pre-eminently representative of all others by the preponderance
+of the interests involved; in addition to
+which, the strong individuality and matured experience
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_119' name='Page_119'>[119]</a></span>
+of the first British envoy were such that his
+colleagues tacitly assigned to him the leading <i>rôle</i>,
+so that his was the personality which exerted the
+dominant influence in shaping events from the opening
+of the ports.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The tendency to divergence of view between the
+merchants and their official representatives has already
+been remarked upon in connection with affairs in
+China: it was most pronounced in times of difficulty
+such as were chronic for more than twenty years in
+Canton, where it was so acute at one time that English
+Chambers of Commerce made formal complaint to the
+Foreign Office that its representative in China&mdash;Sir
+John Davis&mdash;refused to see the merchants in Canton,
+who desired to present their views to him in time of
+danger. The antagonism was natural: it is generically
+the same that one hears constantly in this country in
+the form of complaints and criticisms of Government,
+Government servants, and generally of all in authority&mdash;with,
+however, this difference, that in the many-sided
+life of a large society there are buffers between the
+critics and the criticised. They do not meet face to
+face unless it be in such circumstances as on the floor
+of "the House" with "a substantial piece of furniture"
+between; whereas in nascent communities composed of
+a few scores of individuals, where there is no tempering
+medium, where the parties are never out of each other's
+sight, differences are apt to become accentuated like
+village scandals. Nothing escapes censure; the smallest
+indiscretions have a magnifying lens constantly applied
+to them, and a sinister colour is given to innocent
+trifles. Interests are not diversified, shaded off, or
+balanced as in adult nations, but are narrow, concentrated,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_120' name='Page_120'>[120]</a></span>
+and highly sensitive. Between Minister and
+merchants there was of course a general identity of
+interest. They had a common test to apply to all
+their proceedings and aspirations, the furtherance of
+commerce. The official would, perhaps, add the
+qualifying adjective "legitimate," in the interpretation
+of which differences of opinion might arise; and he
+would naturally give a wider scope to the commercial
+idea than those actually engaged in trade could or
+ought to do.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Minister represents the interests of Great Britain
+as a whole; the merchants represent trade generally,
+but each of them his own interests particularly, and
+these various interests cannot always coincide. An
+Englishman would naturally give a preference to the
+manufactures of his own country, but as a merchant he
+has to study the requirements of the country in which
+he trades, and if he cannot supply them at all, or so
+well, by articles manufactured in his own country, he
+is obliged to seek them elsewhere. Officials are apt to
+look askance on this as not fostering the trade of Great
+Britain; and while recognising the necessity, the fact
+does not warm their sympathy for the merchants of
+their own country. There are times also when, from
+the international point of view, the general interests of
+the country may override the special interests of the
+small British community in Japan. If policy requires
+intimate relations between the Governments, the tendency
+must inevitably be for the British Minister to
+minimise the just causes of complaint of his countrymen
+in order to avoid irritation. But the sufferers
+can hardly be expected to appreciate sacrifices so
+forced on them; and so from one cause and another
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_121' name='Page_121'>[121]</a></span>
+there will never be wanting grounds of dissatisfaction,
+and possibly estrangement.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the ultimate object being definitely agreed upon
+between the two parties, there would still remain room
+for variance in the means, questions of tactics, of the
+nearer or the further view, of the present generation
+and the next, and so on <i>ad infinitum</i>. Where there
+was a third party influencing and opposing legitimate
+commerce by direct or indirect means, as the Government
+of China or Japan, whose machinations called
+for strong measures of resistance, the occasions of
+impatience and dissatisfaction would be frequent,
+and friction between the representative and his constituents
+would naturally result. But perhaps the
+most antagonistic of all to harmony was the fact
+already pointed out, that in extra-territorialised countries
+like China and Japan the representatives of the
+treaty Powers were necessarily intrusted with exceptional
+authority over the persons of their nationals&mdash;for
+they had to assume the functions denied to the
+native Governments, of giving the law to the settlers
+and punishing evil-doers. What an invidious and
+onerous position this entailed on British officials will
+presently be shown. Yet it was a temporary necessity,
+for which nobody was blamable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In treating of the period of the consulship in Shanghai,
+a certain distance or aloofness between Consul
+Alcock and the community of his nationals was remarked
+upon, due to difference of age, taste, culture,
+or temperament. This characteristic was rather accentuated
+than otherwise by the local circumstances
+of Japan. The Minister was ten years older, while
+the community was about as much younger than in
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_122' name='Page_122'>[122]</a></span>
+Shanghai, so that the disparity of age was increased.
+The mere conditions of life also placed a material gulf
+between the diplomatic representatives in Yedo and
+the lay residents of Yokohama. The capital city being
+closed to all but the diplomatic body, visitors not
+only required a pass from one of the Ministers, but,
+in the absence of available accommodation, strangers
+had to rely on the hospitality of the foreign Legations.
+The curiosity to see Yedo, which in the early days
+so attracted tourists and travellers, threw a heavy
+and most unfair burden of entertainment on the Ministers,
+the principal victim of these birds of passage
+being of course the representative of Great Britain.
+So long, therefore, as the Legations remained in Yedo
+the barrier was effectual against personal intercourse
+between the Ministers and the permanent residents
+in Yokohama, even had mutual affinity been stronger
+than it was. Like most things, this local separation
+between the communities and their representative had
+its advantages and disadvantages. While on the one
+hand it was not conducive to intimacy, on the other
+the risk of personal friction was eliminated by it.
+Nor was direct intercourse at all necessary in the
+conduct of business, seeing the regular official medium
+of communication was the local consuls, who had
+nothing of the Olympian about them, and were felt
+by the residents to be men of like passions with themselves,
+with easy manners, the spirit of good fellowship,
+and imbued with the characteristic sporting
+proclivities of Englishmen at home and abroad, always
+an effective bond of sympathy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The relations of Sir Rutherford Alcock with the
+mercantile community had not been very happily inaugurated,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_123' name='Page_123'>[123]</a></span>
+for he clearly felt officially aggrieved by
+their settling in Yokohama, instead of waiting till
+accommodation could be found for them in Kanagawa;
+so much so, indeed, that he seemed almost
+to deplore the absence of means of coercing them
+into obedience to his will.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While the sore as to the location of the settlement
+was still somewhat raw, the Minister found yet
+another grievance against the merchants in the fabulous
+demands for Japanese coins which a few of them
+had put forward, by way of burlesquing the system
+of distribution by the native authorities. The severity
+with which this schoolboyish escapade was pilloried,
+and the community of Yokohama held up to the
+opprobrium of the world, was felt by them as going
+beyond what the merits of the case warranted, and
+the incident did not tend to mollify acerbities on
+either side.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A year later evidence of a certain widening of
+the breach became more conspicuous in the course
+of a rather exceptional lawsuit, in which a merchant
+was heavily mulcted for an offence of which the general
+opinion was that he was not guilty. A certain
+Mr Moss was arrested, cruelly maltreated, and hidden
+from his official protector, the consul, by a posse of
+Japanese police, for having shot game in the vicinity
+of Kanagawa. When faced by these armed men, Mr
+Moss cocked his gun and threatened any one who
+should approach to lay hands on him. The party
+was numerous enough to surround and wrest the
+gun from him, which somehow went off, wounding
+one of the men badly in the arm. The Minister
+ordered the consul to prosecute Mr Moss for murder,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_124' name='Page_124'>[124]</a></span>
+in the Queen's name, the consul himself being judge,
+sitting with two assessors. The accused was sentenced
+to pay a fine of 1000 dollars (£225) and to
+be deported from Japan. The assessors dissented, on
+the ground that the Japanese evidence was falsified
+to order, and that the prisoner was in their opinion
+innocent of the charge on which he was tried. In
+consequence of this dissent the judgment had to be
+referred to the Minister, who added to the consul's
+sentence three months' imprisonment in Hongkong,
+whither the culprit was conveyed in a British ship of
+war. After a week's incarceration in the Hongkong
+jail the warrant for imprisonment was found defective,
+and Mr Moss was released. He was then advised
+to bring an action against Sir Rutherford Alcock in
+the Supreme Court at Hongkong, which occupied
+twelve months, and ended in a jury awarding damages
+against the Minister for false imprisonment, that being
+the only part of the sentence which could be brought
+within the jurisdiction of the Hongkong court. As
+regards the original sentence of fine and deportation,
+the Foreign Office, by advice of their law officers,
+had long before quashed the conviction and ordered
+the fine to be remitted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A parallel case had occurred in Canton in 1846.
+Sir John Davis instructed the consul there to levy
+a fine on a British subject for an alleged offence.
+Whether just or not, it was illegal, and on appeal
+to the Supreme Court in Hongkong, of which colony
+Sir John Davis himself was governor, the judgment of
+the consul was reversed, and the fine of 200 dollars refunded.
+Even Sir Frederick Bruce, with all his circumspection,
+did not escape falling into the same error
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_125' name='Page_125'>[125]</a></span>
+with regard to the division of legal authority between
+himself and the Supreme Court. "From a careful
+perusal of ... her Majesty's Order in Council," he
+writes, "the chief superintendent of trade [himself] in
+cases arising under this section is the Supreme Court
+in China: it is for him to prescribe to the consul the
+course he is to pursue, and the Supreme Court at
+Hongkong cannot interfere in such matters." Her
+Majesty's Government, however, replied: "You fall
+into an error by confounding two distinct questions....
+You are mistaken in treating the question which
+you have referred to them for decision as depending
+upon the 4th and following articles of the Order in
+Council," and so on. So that had it fallen to his
+lot to give a decision involving a penalty, he would
+have been sued not before himself, but before the
+Supreme Court at Hongkong, and would have sustained
+the same reverse as Sir Rutherford Alcock
+had done.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These bald facts of the case supplied a striking
+illustration of the vices of the consular court system,
+which was in vogue in China for twenty years until
+the establishment of the Supreme Court for China and
+Japan in 1865. Consuls were called upon to exercise
+judicial functions, and Ministers those of Courts of
+Appeal, without the slightest preparatory training, and
+as often as not without natural aptitude. In criminal
+cases they were at once prosecutors and judges, it
+might even be executioners as well. The state of
+conflict in which they lived with the native authorities,
+of whom they were accustomed to demand in vain
+the punishment of malefactors, placed British officers
+under continual temptation to prove how promptly
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_126' name='Page_126'>[126]</a></span>
+they could bring to justice their own nationals accused
+of offences against the natives. This idea of giving
+object-lessons to Chinese and Japanese pervades the
+consular and diplomatic records. English officials seem
+to have been oppressed with the reflection of what the
+natives would think of the failure of justice in any
+particular case, and they were ever apprehensive of
+political dangers or embarrassments as contingent on
+misunderstood lenity to "white men"&mdash;natural and
+proper feelings on the part of mere political agents,
+but quite foreign to the administration of justice
+according to the rules and maxims of civilised nations.
+It seems not unlikely that the obvious lessons of the
+Moss case itself as to the incompatibility of judicial
+and administrative functions, and the unfair responsibility
+which their combination threw upon the consular
+and diplomatic officers, hastened the realisation
+of the scheme of an independent judiciary which was
+so strongly advocated by Sir Rutherford Alcock in
+'The Capital of the Tycoon.'
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These various incidents, and sundry vexatious restrictions
+imposed on them from time to time for their own
+security, no doubt disposed the residents to look askance
+at many acts of the Minister, the reasons for
+which failed to impress them. But though the surface
+of the relations between the Minister and the merchants
+was thus perturbed, and regrettable, in the common
+interest, as the lukewarmness of personal sympathy
+may have been, the residents never failed in their
+respect for the high and sterling qualities of the
+Minister, and the courageous manner in which he
+fought for his country's interests. It only needed an
+emergency to give definite expression to this feeling,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_127' name='Page_127'>[127]</a></span>
+and no testimony could be stronger, more genuine, or
+less conventional than the farewell addresses in which
+the merchants of Yokohama and Nagasaki summed up
+the brilliant record of a man of whom they never
+ceased to feel proud. Instead of detracting from the
+value of such spontaneous testimony, the minor differences
+only lent emphasis to it, and set the seal of deep
+conviction on what in an ordinary case might have
+passed as the language of mere compliment.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As shooting has been alluded to as an occasion of
+trouble, a word or two on the subject of this amusement
+may have an interest for certain readers. To
+the Japanese the pursuit of game seemed to be as
+strange a form of sport as the other vagaries of the
+foreigner. Firearms were not in use with them, cold
+steel being the regulation weapon of offence. There
+was a tradition that the discharge of firearms within
+twenty-five miles of the Tycoon's palace was prohibited
+by law,&mdash;what law or how promulgated was never
+clearly made out, though the motive was intelligible
+enough. For whatever reason, such game as there
+was in the country had evidently not been disturbed;
+the pheasants were not wilder than the English stall-fed
+variety. Small shooting-parties were in the habit
+of going out for a day, or half a day, from Yokohama
+and Kanagawa with dogs and native beaters among
+the coppices where the birds lay. The country itself
+was so charming to walk or ride over, the peasant-folk
+were so polite and merry, that heavy bags were not
+needed to attract sportsmen. Still, a good shot with
+industry and a shrewd acquaintance with the habits
+of the game could often get several brace of the
+splendid green pheasant of the country (<i>Phasianus versicolor</i>)
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_128' name='Page_128'>[128]</a></span>
+in an afternoon; while at rarer intervals the
+finger would tremble on the trigger as one of those
+magnificent birds called locally the "copper" pheasant
+(Soemerring's), with tail feathers as long as a peacock's,
+would rise from the furrows and sail grandly
+into the impenetrable thicket. Objections had been
+taken by the Japanese officials to this form of amusement,
+because it was not the policy of the rulers to
+familiarise the people with the sight of firearms, still
+less to facilitate their acquiring them. In accordance
+with representations from the authorities, the British
+consul had requested his nationals in 1859 to desist
+for a time until some arrangement was come to. This
+they did, but in the following season resumed the
+sport, in which there were no keener participants than
+the British consular officers. A contemporary writer
+in September 1860 thus refers to the return of the
+shooting season: "There being nothing to do, we are
+all looking forward anxiously to the 1st October, on
+which day the first onslaught on the feathered race
+takes place. The weather is now hot, but we are all
+in very good health.... We live in a beautiful
+country, among a civil, amicable, kind-hearted, and
+intelligent people. We can roam over the country
+without let or hindrance." It is curious to note by
+the way how tenacious the Englishman is of the
+punctilio of his game laws, carrying his observance
+of them into countries where he and his laws are
+alike strangers, and where in many cases the principles
+are not applicable to the local conditions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A new element in the sport appeared with the
+advent of cold weather, in the form of flocks of wildfowl,
+chiefly geese, which spread themselves over the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_129' name='Page_129'>[129]</a></span>
+low-lying grounds, mostly at some miles distant from
+the settlements. They were "geese," indeed, quite
+unsophisticated, having no fear of man before their
+eyes&mdash;inherited instinct apparently at fault. "Their
+tameness was shocking" at first, but they wonderfully
+soon learned to be wary with a foreigner and a gun.
+The morning's bag of one early riser, riding six miles
+and back to a nine o'clock breakfast, late in November,
+dwindled rapidly from 12 to 6, 4, 2. The birds were
+shot within 200 yards of the <i>tokaido</i>, and in full view
+of many curious spectators, armed and unarmed. Men
+were hired on the spot to carry the game along the
+six miles of highroad and through the long street of
+Kanagawa, the whole proceeding, in short, enjoying
+the utmost possible publicity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The unfortunate Mr Moss, however, a few days later,
+toiled a whole day and bagged one, with the consequences
+we have seen. Whether it was law or
+not, the evidence supplied by the birds themselves
+of prescriptive immunity from gunpowder attack was
+overwhelming. Hitherto the heavy winged wildfowl
+had felt safe so long as they kept out of sword-range
+of the human biped, but the new experience of a
+detonating missile fatal at fifty yards broke up in a
+week the habits of generations, and forced them to
+promptly readjust themselves to their environment.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_130' name='Page_130'>[130]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XX.
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK IN PEKING, 1865-1869.</span>
+</h2>
+
+<h3>
+I. THE BRITISH LEGATION.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Contrast between Peking and Yedo&mdash;Finds old comrade Wade&mdash;The
+Manchu statesmen, Kung and Wênsiang&mdash;Material progress pressed
+upon them&mdash;Their failure to appreciate foreign advice.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Sir Rutherford Alcock had spent only a few
+months in England when he was appointed to succeed
+Sir Frederick Bruce as Minister to China, he
+himself being succeeded in Japan by Sir Harry
+Parkes. Sir Rutherford reached his post in Peking
+at the close of 1865. The change of scene from
+Japan back to China was even more striking than
+that from China to Japan had been in 1859. The excitement
+of shooting the rapids was succeeded by the
+weariness of meandering among mud-shoals&mdash;the same
+medium to work in, only under different conditions.
+Fundamentally the international problem was identical
+in Japan and China&mdash;the conflict between aggression
+and resistance. Rational dread of, and natural repulsion
+to, foreigners, inspired alike the policies of both
+countries. Where they differed was in the manner
+of meeting the invasion. Japan braced herself nervously
+to the effort, and, distinguishing between what
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_131' name='Page_131'>[131]</a></span>
+was feasible and what was not, organised a counter-invasion
+unsuspected by foreign nations, whom she
+subdued by their own strength. China, on the other
+hand, opposed a fatalistic and unreasoning resistance,
+making no intelligent counter-stroke and showing no
+true anticipation of the issues of the struggle. The
+energy of ambitious youth on the one side; on the
+other mere inertia, irresponsive to the stimulus of
+pride, shame, patriotism, or even material interest.
+Bearing this contrast in mind, we may partly understand
+the prosaic <i>rôle</i> which foreign representatives
+were doomed in China to play from the time the
+capital was forced open by Anglo-French arms in
+1860.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The position of the new British Minister was different
+from that which he had occupied in Japan, where, being
+first in the field, he had to make precedents, whereas
+in China he had to follow the course which had been
+marked out during the previous four years. In judging
+of the wisdom of that course, it is fair to apply the same
+retrospective criterion that we proposed in the case of
+Japan&mdash;namely, to consider the situation so far as it
+was known and could be realised at the time. Notwithstanding
+all that had gone before, China in
+general, and Peking in particular, remained as great
+mysteries to foreigners as Japan itself. The pioneer
+diplomatists had to create their diplomacy out of
+their own consciousness, working upon an idea which
+they imported, and not on the objective facts, which
+were mere chaos to them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sir Rutherford Alcock had the happiness to find the
+Peking Legation in charge of his old vice-consul, Thomas
+Wade, from whom he had been officially separated for
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_132' name='Page_132'>[132]</a></span>
+ten years. Mr Wade was Chinese secretary and secretary
+of Legation, offices which were some years later
+separated, to the infinite detriment of both. For the
+secretary of Legation, drawn from the ranks of the
+diplomatic service, had neither knowledge of nor interest
+in Chinese affairs, nor aught to do but wait idly
+for the contingency which might make him <i>chargé
+d'affaires</i>, reckoning every month spent in the country
+as a penance entitling him to swift promotion to a more
+congenial sphere. And the Chinese secretaryship, by
+itself, offered no attraction to an ambitious man. But
+in 1865 the combination of offices was most important,
+especially in the hands of a man of so much distinction
+as Mr Wade. As the custodian of the Bruce tradition,
+if indeed he had not a large share in its evolution, he
+bridged the gulf between the outgoing and the incoming
+Minister, much as the Permanent Under-Secretary
+does at the Foreign Office.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As Mr (afterwards Sir Thomas) Wade, in the capacity
+of secretary, <i>chargé d'affaires</i>, and Minister Plenipotentiary,
+represented Great Britain at the Chinese
+Court for the best part of a quarter of a century, a
+term equal to that of the other six Ministers put together,
+a brief reference to his personality seems necessary
+to a just comprehension of the course of affairs
+during his long residence in Peking.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr Wade began life as a soldier. He had been in the
+"Black Watch," but, being the only officer who could
+not speak Gaelic, found it congenial to exchange into the
+98th Regiment, with which he served in China during
+the first war. He was adjutant of the regiment, which
+was commanded by Colonel Campbell, afterwards Lord
+Clyde. When peace was made in 1842, he resigned
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_133' name='Page_133'>[133]</a></span>
+his commission and betook himself to the study of
+Chinese and of Chinese subjects. After qualifying as
+interpreter he became Chinese secretary to the Superintendency
+of Trade, which until 1858 was domiciled in
+Hongkong. Transferred to the consular service, he
+was for some years interpreter and vice-consul at
+Shanghai, where it fell to his lot to command the local
+volunteers in the attack on the Chinese Imperial camps
+in 1854. He was the first executive head of the Maritime
+Customs, established in the same year, his services
+being lent by his chief to start the new institution.
+Attached to Lord Elgin in his two missions to China,
+he was appointed secretary of Legation and Chinese
+secretary under Sir Frederick Bruce when the Legation
+was installed in Peking.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Wheresoever Mr Wade's lot was cast he was beloved
+for his Irish geniality, open-mindedness, and sincerity.
+He was the soul of honour, and was possessed by the
+spirit of chivalry much beyond the common measure.
+His best friends would never wish to forget his endearing
+infirmities of temper, associated as they were with
+the generous <i>amende</i> which never failed to follow an
+over-hasty word. A well-read man, with a memory
+like Macaulay's, a brilliant <i>raconteur</i> and inimitable
+mimic, he was the delight of every society. The services
+which he was enabled, by many years of arduous
+labour, to render to succeeding generations of students
+of Chinese are incalculable, and if his work begins
+now to be superseded by that of others, this is but
+the common fate of pioneers in every department of
+research.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sir Thomas Wade's character may thus be fitly and
+fairly summed up in the hackneyed epithet, "a scholar
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_134' name='Page_134'>[134]</a></span>
+and a gentleman,"&mdash;but not therefore a statesman.
+His mind was cast in another and a finer mould than
+befits the political arena; and, unnatural as the inference
+may seem, it is open to question whether his extensive
+knowledge of China was the best qualification
+for dealing at first hand with current affairs, even in
+that country. Profound researches into Chinese literature
+and philosophy tend to overshadow and induce a
+distaste for the jarring questions of the day. Seen
+through the luminous haze of its classic history, China
+presents to the contemplative mind an object of reverence
+unlike any other existing State, for the thread of
+its continuity since the time before Abraham is unbroken.
+Grander than hewn stone or graven bronze,
+the monuments of China are written books, and a
+living race, the heirs of all her ages, to be conversed
+with and interrogated. The burden of such vast
+homogeneous antiquity may well oppress the mere
+man of politics: he needs a certain alloy of Philistinism
+and a limitation of view to enable him to
+concentrate his attention on the exigencies of the
+passing hour.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i134" id="i134"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p134.jpg" width="406" height="550" alt="" />
+<p class="caption">PRINCE KUNG.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Relations which might be called intimate had been
+established between the two Manchu statesmen, Prince
+Kung and Wênsiang, and the foreign representatives.
+When these high personages were forced to assume
+responsibility for international relations, they were not
+only unversed in foreign affairs but untrained to any
+kind of business. The work of the six Boards was
+carried on by expert secretaries, and the presidency of
+one of them would have been no qualification for the
+new duty thrust upon the emperor's Ministers of transacting
+business with foreign officials standing on an
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_135' name='Page_135'>[135]</a></span>
+equality with themselves. Their older colleague, Hangki,
+had gained a little foreign knowledge by observation
+and hearsay while filling the lucrative office of
+<i>hoppo</i> at Canton; but the two younger men mistrusted
+him, perhaps with reason, possibly from the suspicion
+naturally aroused by his possession of superior knowledge.
+Prince Kung and Wênsiang recognised that they
+had everything to learn, and they were apt and eager
+scholars. Considering all the circumstances, it is indeed
+marvellous how they adjusted themselves by innate
+tact to the novel position, and how quickly they assimilated
+new knowledge. Many illuminating discussions
+were carried on between them and the foreign representatives,
+who on their part were no less desirous of
+imparting than the Chinese were of acquiring information
+respecting the outer world. In these interesting
+symposia Mr Wade naturally played the prominent
+part. On the enchanted ground of Chinese history and
+literature, also, the interlocutors made endless excursions
+together; and Chinese philosophy being directed
+to conduct rather than speculation, it was possible to
+deduce from the teaching of the sages authority for the
+adoption of almost any useful measure. Between the
+modern innovator, therefore, though in foreign garb,
+and the ancient moralists there was no such intellectual
+disagreement as sympathetic explanations could
+not resolve.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It might have been justifiable to conclude that the
+Chinese were being influenced for good by the well-meant
+counsels so copiously addressed to them, were it
+not that the tutorial being so entirely incompatible
+with the diplomatic function, no useful result could be
+expected from their strained combination. It was as if
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_136' name='Page_136'>[136]</a></span>
+one were to teach a novice the moves in a game which
+the two were at the same time playing for serious
+stakes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These interminable interviews and voluminous memoranda
+were wholly unproductive, owing, no doubt, to
+the fact that the ideas of the parties ran on parallel
+lines destined never to come to any point of fertile
+contact. The burden of the cry of the Western people
+was "progress," a word without equivalent in the
+language, and expressing an idea which had no place
+in the conception of the Chinese. Incessant repetition
+with varying illustrations were to the Chinese
+as flowers of rhetoric wasted on a deaf man, and that
+simply because the basis of the Chinese political
+thought lay at the opposite pole from that of the
+European. On one occasion a distinguished American
+promoter was expatiating to the governor of
+Formosa on the advantages of railway communication,
+his most telling example being his own experience
+in being rushed along after an early breakfast from
+his house in Albany to New York, where he spent
+the day transacting important business and got
+wheeled back again to Albany for dinner. The
+governor stopped him, and asked what in the name
+of sanity possessed him to lead such a wearing life,
+as the last thing he (the governor) would dream of
+doing would be to live a hundred miles from his
+work. Though the earliest public advocate of railroads
+in China, the governor regarded their utility
+from a far different point of view.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i136" id="i136"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p136.jpg" width="386" height="550" alt="" />
+<p class="caption">WÊNSIANG.<br />
+<span class="s08"><i>From a photo by J. Thomson, Grosvenor Street, W.</i></span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+So eager were the foreigners for progress, which in
+their mind included the regeneration of the Chinese
+empire and the development of its full capacity
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_137' name='Page_137'>[137]</a></span>
+for self-defence, that they were wont to rejoice
+over the slightest indications of a beginning being
+made. Thus the mission of a man of no standing as
+a secretary of the Tsungli-Yamên, who was sent to
+Europe in 1866 to take observations, was hailed as
+the beginning of the new era, and commended so
+warmly by the foreign Ministers to their Governments
+that the emissary was received like the Queen
+of Sheba by King Solomon, and shown&mdash;at least
+in Great Britain&mdash;everything that was admirable
+from the Western point of view. He was as far,
+however, from appreciating the triumph of science as
+was Cetewayo, the Zulu, whose admiration of England
+focussed itself on the elephant "Jumbo" at the
+Zoological Gardens, or the Scotswoman who, after
+being shown over the British Museum, had carried
+away from it one impression, and that of the "graund
+mat" at the door. The Chinese Government's appreciation
+of Western progress was by no means increased
+by the mission of Pin, which rather indeed
+produced a contrary effect. China soon began to
+put forth fresh claims to go her own way, her own
+way being directly opposed to the kind of progress
+which was being pressed upon her.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Chinese in following the doctrines of the sages
+felt they were under the guidance of Heaven, so
+that innovations appeared to them tainted with
+impiety. So deeply did the worship of the past
+pervade their field of thought, that when high
+officials ventured to introduce something new, they
+usually endeavoured to disarm opposition by gilding
+their proposals with well-selected texts from the
+classics.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_138' name='Page_138'>[138]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+II. FOREIGN LIFE IN PEKING.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Social influence of the Alcock family&mdash;Sir Rutherford's relations with
+his staff&mdash;No social relations with natives&mdash;Manchu courtesy to
+English ladies&mdash;Community of foreigners sociable yet non-cohesive&mdash;Description
+of city&mdash;Foreign residency&mdash;Objects of interest&mdash;The
+streets&mdash;Mules&mdash;Camels&mdash;Mongol market&mdash;Fur sales&mdash;Absence of
+regulations&mdash;Street anecdotes&mdash;Summer residences.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+By the end of 1865 the foreign life in Peking,
+official, social, and private, had already settled into
+the grooves prescribed by local conditions, within which
+it has, more or less, run ever since.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i138" id="i138"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p138.jpg" width="334" height="550" alt="" />
+<p class="caption">MANCHU (TARTAR) WOMEN.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Nevertheless, the advent of Sir Rutherford and
+Lady Alcock, with their daughter, now Lady Pelly,
+introduced an element into the social atmosphere of
+Peking which has afforded the happiest reminiscences
+to those who came under its influence. We have
+seen that Sir Rutherford Alcock, by force of character,
+conviction, and sense of duty, naturally assumed
+the lead among his peers wherever he happened
+to be placed. A German resident in Peking at the
+time we are speaking of says, "I remember very well
+that fine English gentleman, who was conscious of
+representing the greatest country of the world, and
+did it well." The official personality of the British
+Minister could not be more truly depicted than in
+these simple words; but this natural pre-eminence
+extended far beyond the official sphere, and made
+itself felt for the general good in the common relations
+of life. His dealings with subordinates were
+marked by thoroughgoing loyalty; his rule was to
+give his confidence without reserve to those who
+merited it, to support and defend them in the discharge
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_139' name='Page_139'>[139]</a></span>
+of their duty. He was accessible, always
+ready to listen to the opinions even of his juniors,
+and though exacting as regards work, he never spared
+himself, but set an example of industry to those who
+served under him. He possessed that rare faculty of
+appreciation which enables a man to command services
+which no money could buy. The survivors of
+his staff to this day speak of him in affectionate
+terms as the best of chiefs. In business he was
+strictly, perhaps even rigidly, formal, and his manner
+was intolerant of laxity in others. When the official
+crust was put off like a suit of armour, the genial
+depths of his nature were reached, but the number
+of those who enjoyed this experience seems never to
+have been large. Select, but few, were the friends
+of his bosom.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The foreign residents in Peking did not number many,
+and, with the exception of the Legations, were rather
+widely scattered over a city of vast distances. The
+original community consisted of about sixty persons,
+distributed over the four Legations, the customs' staff,
+and missionary establishments. It was a community
+of young men "about twenty-four years of age,"
+eminently social, no member being a stranger to
+the rest, and all living in friendly intercourse. The
+Legations may almost be said to have sat with
+open doors, so easy were their interchanges of informal
+visits. During the time of Sir Rutherford
+and Lady Alcock their hospitalities rendered the
+British Legation the chief centre of social interest,
+while the unaffected kindness which inspired these
+courtesies endeared its inmates to all their fellow-residents.
+That, indeed, was the golden age of the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_140' name='Page_140'>[140]</a></span>
+British Legation, and, it may be added, of the general
+social life of the Chinese capital, a period when life-long
+friendships were formed. The time had not yet
+come for international rivalries to mar the cordiality of
+personal intercourse. Indeed in the convivialities of
+Peking national distinctions were absolutely lost, and
+so to a great extent were the distinctions of rank.
+On the racecourse, which was early instituted, as in
+the billiard-room, picnic excursions, and the like, all
+were free and all were equal.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i140" id="i140"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p140.jpg" width="334" height="550" alt="" />
+<p class="caption">MANCHU WOMEN.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+When we speak of the "social" life of Peking, it
+must be understood as referring exclusively to that
+of the foreign residents among themselves, for between
+them and the natives there was no such intimacy.
+But in those early days the high Chinese
+officials seemed to have been more genial than those
+of a later epoch. In the winter of 1860-61, for
+example, Hangki, formerly <i>hoppo</i> of Canton, was in
+the habit of receiving Mr Adkins familiarly at his
+private residence,&mdash;a practice which was afterwards
+gradually discontinued. The arrival of the two ladies
+at the British Legation was the signal for a display
+of courtesy by the Manchu Ministers, who from time
+to time sent them seasonable presents of plants,
+flowers, and other things, thus establishing agreeable
+personal relations with the Minister. That the
+advent of ladies to the Legations should have evoked
+the natural politeness of the high officials need not
+be a matter for wonder if it be remembered that
+the Chinese contempt for women is not shared by
+the Manchus. It is well known that their women
+are free from most of the trammels which contract
+the lives of their Chinese sisters. Their unbound
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_141' name='Page_141'>[141]</a></span>
+feet symbolise liberty of locomotion generally, and
+they show themselves unveiled and unabashed in
+public thoroughfares. They have the coquetries common
+to the sex, among which may be reckoned a
+passion for floral decoration of the head, and the
+universal practice of painting the face and lips. This
+is done in a thoroughgoing manner, and as if the
+paint were "laid on with a trowel," leaving a sharply
+defined margin on cheek and neck between the pink
+and white and the sallow ground on which the colour
+is overlaid, giving it the appearance of a mask which
+might be easily removed. Even young children are
+subjected to the cosmetic treatment; and the very
+aged do not discard the artificial flowers in the
+remnant of their hair. As the fairest Chinese have
+no such natural colour as is thus imitated, it is
+rather difficult to divine whence they derived the
+notion of an ideal human skin.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is not to be wondered at that the first European
+girls who appeared in Peking should have excited
+some curiosity. One young lady, probably the first
+arrival, whose fresh and fair complexion suggested
+the acme of the cosmetic art, excited intense interest
+among the Mongol and Manchu ladies. On one occasion
+she was met in the street by a great princess,
+who was so struck by her appearance that she
+stopped her <i>cortège</i>, alighted from her cart, and
+stood before the English girl and gently rubbed her
+cheeks to find out, as she naively said, how the colour
+was put on!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The foreign residents at Peking, happy as their
+circumstances were, lacked some of the principal elements
+of a community properly so called. They had,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_142' name='Page_142'>[142]</a></span>
+in fact, little in common besides their æsthetic culture
+and their Christian civilisation, the literature,
+philosophy, and the social tenets of the West. They
+had no head, no centre, no neutral meeting-ground
+even except the racecourse and the open fields, and
+were thus always either hosts or guests to each other.
+The assumed identity of their high political interests
+gave an appearance of solidarity to the diplomatic
+section; but the fusion of the other elements in the
+society was far from complete, and, in short, outside
+of the region of recreation and conviviality the residents
+could not be said to be animated by any unifying
+purpose, nor to have any communal existence. Individual
+isolation prevented the aggregate from attaining
+collective force.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i142" id="i142"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p142.jpg" width="550" height="444" alt="" />
+<p class="caption">CHINESE WOMEN.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+These sterilising conditions were aggravated by
+another feature of the situation which had an important
+bearing on social life. Peking was one of the
+most inaccessible capitals in the world. The great
+tourist-stream passed it by. It stirred no human
+emotion unless it were languid aversion or inarticulate
+curiosity. The dilettante element which has ventilated
+Japan so well and kept her in constant touch
+with cosmopolitan life-currents has been absent in
+Northern China. Peking with its particular concerns
+has been thus permitted to lie secluded from the
+world, neither generating fruitful ideas nor inviting
+or profiting by their importation from without; nor,
+in short, making itself intelligible or interesting to
+mankind other than as an archaic curiosity. China,
+with its immense wealth and resources, weighed less in
+the consideration of the nations than the petty kingdom
+of Greece or the deadly swamps of Africa. Considerations
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_143' name='Page_143'>[143]</a></span>
+of that kind help to explain the bewilderment
+with which the action of these neglected forces has been
+received during the past few years, and the disarray
+of the organs of European opinion when suddenly
+called on to deal with the phenomenon of Peking as
+a daily "headline."
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Of the city itself it may be noted that it is magnificently
+laid out within high and massive walls, the
+gates and corners surmounted by bastions and imposing
+towers pierced with three tiers of gun-ports. The
+main streets are straight and extravagantly wide.
+Spaciousness is the dominant expression of the whole&mdash;the
+back-yard is a feature of the meanest one-storeyed
+hovels. It has not occurred to the Pekingese to economise
+earth-space by vertical architecture ground-ward
+or sky-ward. Viewed from an elevation, the city has
+the appearance of a vast park: the tree-foliage seen
+in perspective seems to cover the whole area, only
+picked out by yellow and green roofs of imperial and
+other conspicuous buildings. The palace, a city in
+itself of 10,000 inhabitants, occupies an immense
+<i>enclave</i> symmetrically placed in the centre of the
+whole.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From such a coign of vantage as the high wall
+affords, Peking presents at once an impressive and a
+pleasing spectacle. It gives the distance necessary to
+lend enchantment to the view. The soothing hum of
+a great population; the sweetness of an atmosphere
+untainted, if it be summer, or spiced by the aromatic
+herbs which grow promiscuously between the interstices
+of the bricks, if it be autumn,&mdash;enfolds the scene in that
+kind of soft drapery which memory throws over common
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_144' name='Page_144'>[144]</a></span>
+things long past. One lingers, loth to renew a
+closer acquaintance with the crowd below, which no
+longer hums but utters wild discordant cries,&mdash;with
+the horrors of the streets, which are of the earth,
+earthy. The area contained between the rectilinear
+arteries of the city is dismally laid out on the plan
+of the rabbit-warren. These wide streets are alternately
+deep mire and deep dust at the best, but at
+the worst, receptacles of indescribable abominations.
+The witty and wise Bishop Favier, when describing
+these to a friend in France, was asked, How could
+a population living in such insanitary conditions
+resist a visitation of cholera. "Cholera!" exclaimed
+the Father; "it could never enter. It would be asphyxiated
+at the gate!"<a name='FA_12' id='FA_12' href='#FN_12' class='fnanchor'>[12]</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The dust is acrid to nose and eyes, from the dessicated
+refuse of generations, for the streets are watered
+by long scoops from standing pools of sewage which
+overflow in the summer rains and obliterate the
+roadway, so that animals harnessed between shafts
+not unfrequently meet with a cruel death by drowning
+in these fœtid thoroughfares.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i144" id="i144"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p144.jpg" width="550" height="329" alt="" />
+<p class="caption">CHINESE STREET SCENE DURING RAINY SEASON.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Such hints as these will be sufficient to suggest to
+the least imaginative that peculiar unattractiveness
+of the Peking streets which has been a determining
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_145' name='Page_145'>[145]</a></span>
+factor in the habits of the foreign residents. Life
+would be intolerable to Western folks if it were not
+removed from the sights, noises, and odours of the
+streets; and fortunately the ruling local principle of
+spaciousness lends itself to the solution without running
+counter to any native practice or prejudice. The
+Legations, the customs, and the missionaries are in
+their various degrees established in "compounds"
+large enough to accommodate the members of their
+staffs in separate buildings with ample elbow-room, as
+in an Indian cantonment, interspaced with trees and
+sometimes gardens, the whole surrounded by a high
+wall and capable of defence. These seductive oases in
+a wilderness of garbage, in a city of great distances,
+naturally conduce to stay-at-home habits and to segregation,
+which it requires some energy to overcome.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nor is Peking life wanting in more mundane compensations.
+The city itself contains many "objects
+of interest," which in the earlier years of foreign intercourse
+were open to the curious. The well-known
+"Lama temple," reputed to contain 2000 inmates,
+which has for many years been dangerous to enter,
+was in those days a much-frequented resort, where
+the stranger was welcome to go over the establishment
+and listen to the Buddhist litanies: a certain
+bass voice, or perhaps a succession of bass voices, in
+the choir, indeed, attained celebrity among foreigners.
+In the refectory of that monastery one was obliged,
+out of respect, to eat, or feign to eat, the unmitigated
+fat of the sheep's tail, fished from out the broth, not
+with a hook, as was the custom in the Jewish Church,
+but by the deft fingers of the chief lama. Now, on
+the contrary, the foreigner who enters the gate is
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_146' name='Page_146'>[146]</a></span>
+hustled, robbed, and stoned. This great change in
+the attitude of the lamas has never been satisfactorily
+explained, but it is presumed that the manners and
+customs of some of the visitors to the temple may
+have had something to do with it. There have been
+visitors who, with the keen acquisitiveness of the
+world-tourist, have slipped small "josses" into their
+pockets out of what, perhaps, appeared to them the
+superfluous number of molten images ranged round
+the shelves of the great Buddha's sanctuary.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Temple of Heaven, too, that grand altar to the
+Living God, standing in an immense park enclosed by
+a lofty wall, was then, and for many years remained,
+open to all comers. This was perhaps due less to any
+intentional liberality of the authorities than to the
+negligence of the gatekeepers and the Board of Works.
+For a long time access was gained over a broken part
+of the outer wall left unrepaired. At one period English
+residents played cricket within the vast enclosure;
+at another Billingsgate and brickbats were the ordinary
+salutations which greeted the would-be visitor&mdash;the
+change being probably due to the slow awakening of
+the officials. So with many other places within and
+without the city, for in some cases where direct request
+was made for extension of the accommodation,
+the effect of drawing official attention to the subject
+was to restrict the privileges which had actually been
+enjoyed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Notwithstanding the occasional rudeness of which
+Dr Rennie has given us so faithful a picture, the most
+unartistic of men could hardly fail to take pleasure in
+the daily traffic of the streets, provided only his nerves,
+visual and olfactory, were not too delicate. The true
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_147' name='Page_147'>[147]</a></span>
+lord of the roads is apt from his commonplaceness to
+be overlooked by those who owe him most&mdash;that universal
+conveyancer, the sagacious, tireless mule. He
+does not belong to the "five great families"&mdash;the fox,
+weasel, hedgehog, snake, and rat&mdash;which the Chinese
+hold in mystic awe because they have learned the secret
+of immortality; but if utility to man were a criterion
+of merit, they would surely fall down and worship
+this indispensable hybrid. Hot or cold, wet or dry,
+the mule never fails to respond to the severest call
+upon his strength and courage.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With the approach of winter an antediluvian rival
+is introduced upon the scene, in the shape of the well-known
+two-humped camel, which is then shaggy, dignified,
+and in really grand form. Intolerant of heat,
+but impervious to cold, the camels, after passing the
+summer on the grass-lands of the Mongolian plateau,
+are brought down in droves to the great fair held on
+a large open space outside the Northern Wall. The
+coming of the camels with their bronzed and heavily
+booted riders is like a whiff of the free air of the desert.
+The Pekingese use this patient but surly beast of
+burden chiefly for carrying coal from the mines in the
+Western Hills to the city; but immense numbers are
+employed in transporting tea from the navigable limit
+of the Peiho to Siberia and Russia, not entering Peking
+city at all.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A roomy encampment between the British and
+Russian Legations is allotted to the Mongols, and
+serves as a market-place where the products of the
+desert are exchanged for the utensils and gewgaws of
+civilisation. The staple of the Mongol trade is frozen
+meat&mdash;mutton, venison, furred and feathered game;
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_148' name='Page_148'>[148]</a></span>
+and without refrigerator or other appliance the carcasses
+remain fresh in their skins till the end of the
+three winter months. These simple-minded herdsmen,
+chaffering with shrewd Chinese hucksters, or sitting,
+where they seem to have been born, between the high
+humps of their slow-moving beasts, form picturesque
+groups in the imperial city, the more interesting that
+their appearance is pathetically suggestive of an order
+which is passing away. The Grand Khan, dispensing
+favours to his loyal tributaries, has come ominously
+near to being a mere tradition. These very sheepskin-coated
+camel-drivers are the only buffer remaining between
+the receding empire and the advancing tide of
+foreign encroachment from the north.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Other evidences of that imperial grandeur which
+lent some justification to the title "Middle Kingdom"
+were still occasionally to be met with. Though Siam,
+and even Burma, had fallen indefinitely into arrears,
+dust-begrimed embassies from Korea or Nepaul, with
+their trains of pack-mules bearing tribute and merchandise
+(duty free for the benefit of the officials),
+might still be seen defiling through the massive gates
+of the city, preserving to our day a living picture of
+the Asiatic mission of the antique type. For what
+were they but interesting survivals, shadows of departed
+greatness?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Peking is not a commercial city, but essentially an
+imperial camp. Trade proper is confined to an outer
+or Chinese city, which is but a walled-in suburb
+sparsely built over. Through traffic, for obvious fiscal
+reasons, shuns the capital; but there is sufficient local
+commerce, of which gold and silver smelting forms a
+not unimportant part, to support many bankers and
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_149' name='Page_149'>[149]</a></span>
+merchants who are domiciled in the outer city. It has
+been remarked that Chinese trade may be seen at its
+best in the settlement of Maimaichên, which faces
+Kiachta on the Russo-Chinese frontier, or in the Straits
+Settlements or Rangoon, where nothing hinders the
+merchants from accumulating and displaying their
+wealth. Even Peking, however, affords some glimpses
+of the far-reaching enterprise of the Chinese traders.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+What a suggestive display, for instance, is the fur-market,
+also of necessity a "winter exhibition"! Acres
+and acres of ground are covered with skins of every
+conceivable species of quadruped, spread out from dawn
+till near noon. Here are daily laid out for sale under
+the blue sky (and what a light to make purchases in!)
+the commonest and the most precious furs from Manchuria,
+the Amur, and even Kamtschatka, the total
+value of which must be enormous. Let us learn from
+the history of the Hudson's Bay Company what organisation
+of energy, what confidence, what variety of
+enterprise and skill, are required to bring these costly
+commodities from such vast distances to this great sale-room,
+and we shall not make light of the vitality of
+the Chinese.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+The amenities of the street traffic, though not of
+special importance, call for mention as illustrating
+certain phases of foreign contact with the Chinese. If
+we may take Japan for comparison, in nothing is the
+contrast between the two systems more apparent than
+in municipal administration. The antithesis may be
+expressed in one word,&mdash;in Japan, excessive regulation;
+in China, absence of regulation. Whether there be
+any rule of the road in China is of little interest,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_150' name='Page_150'>[150]</a></span>
+seeing that, like other rules, it might be disregarded
+and there would be no one to enforce it. The traffic
+adjusts itself with little friction. China employs no
+police,&mdash;things arrange themselves by their own interaction,
+as the pebbles do on the sea-shore; and for most
+of the purposes of life the people are their own law-makers
+and their own executive. The Chinese system
+of government is to govern as little as possible&mdash;to let
+the country rule itself. So when a strange element
+demanded accommodation in the busy streets and congested
+gateways of Peking, without rules or supervision,
+it had to find its level among the rest by
+friction and concussion. It would have been an interesting
+process to watch in its initial stages. Amid a
+good deal of clamour and language of a racy description
+applied to man and beast and their respective ancestors,
+there is rarely a serious road quarrel among the Chinese.
+One excellent custom of polite society tends to restrict
+the area of disputes on the highway, leaving collisions
+to be fought out by grooms, carters, chair-bearers, or
+boatmen, as the case may be, while the masters maintain
+an imperturbable reserve.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr Colborne Baber, who had a way of his own of
+solving the minor problems of Chinese intercourse,
+was once in a cart, sitting well back and unobserved,
+in a narrow street that admitted neither of turning
+nor of passing another vehicle, when a cart was met
+about half way. The drivers began to vociferate, each
+calling on the other to give way. The opposition
+carter claimed the precedence on the ground that his
+vehicle carried women, and it looked as if he would
+gain his point when Baber himself, becoming impatient,
+thrust out his head and called out that in his cart
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_151' name='Page_151'>[151]</a></span>
+there was a foreign devil, and without further discussion
+the rival jehu backed out.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Those who ride do not recognise each other on the
+road, even though they be friends; for if they did so,
+etiquette would require both to stop and dismount and
+go through formal salutations on foot. Foreigners,
+ignoring this rule, and their servants not unwilling to
+profit by the prestige of their masters in accosting
+bystanders from the saddle, are sometimes grievously
+misdirected when not lectured on their bad manners.
+The natives on their part are seldom averse from
+presuming on the foreigner's ignorance of what is due
+to him. Between the one and the other, or as a result of
+the mere chapter of accidents, collisions were inevitable
+in the streets. How were they to be dealt with in
+the absence of constituted authority? If aggression
+towards a foreigner on the part of a great man's
+servants were submitted to, there would be no end to
+it, they being 500 to 1. On the other hand, insolence
+promptly resented and vigorously punished never
+failed to elicit the approval not only of the spectators,
+but even of the great man himself, who perhaps had
+secret grievances of his own against his lackeys, which
+he was not sorry to see partially paid off by proxy. In
+all cases the sympathy of the Chinese goes with the
+side that successfully asserts itself. Of this hundreds
+of examples could be given&mdash;perhaps not one on the
+converse side.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A writer in the 'Whitehall Review' some years ago,
+among interesting reminiscences of the 'Sixties, relates
+some incidents to show the primitive means by which
+equilibrium was established between natives and
+foreigners in the Peking streets. <span lang='fr_FR'><i>Place aux dames.</i></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_152' name='Page_152'>[152]</a></span>
+The experience of the first foreign female who had
+been seen is thus amusingly told. Mr Bruce's housekeeper,
+an old family retainer who had followed the
+fortunes of her master all over the world,
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+saw no particular reasons for not acting in Peking as she
+had done in Cairo or Constantinople, and the first morning
+after her arrival sallied forth, basket on arm, to do her marketing
+for the day. When I add that she knew not a word of
+Chinese, that none of the natives spoke English, that she was
+about five feet high and ten feet round the crinoline, and was
+the first female European ever seen by the Pekingese, her enterprise
+will be judged to have been braver than she knew. However,
+nothing daunted, she entered a butcher's shop, closely
+pressed upon by an inquisitive and delighted crowd. Before
+she could even look at a joint or chop she was hemmed in, and
+one waggish native, bolder than the rest, gave her a substantial
+dig in the crinoline, shouting in Chinese, "Let's see if she's
+solid." But the laugh was not for long on his side. Seizing
+a chopper from the block, Mrs A. made a mighty blow at his
+head, which he happily evaded. In less than a second the
+shop was clear, the terrified natives tumbling over each other
+in their haste to get away. A European who came upon the
+scene at the moment beheld the startling sight of some 500
+Chinese rushing up the principal street pursued by an infuriated
+old woman armed with a chopper. With some difficulty she
+was persuaded to abandon the chase and resume her basket,
+which she had dropped in her excitement. But it is on record
+that for a good two years thereafter Mrs A. was allowed to
+shop in peace, and became a "Black Douglas" to troublesome
+Chinese children in the vicinity of the Legation.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+In later years she talked in what she called "broken
+China."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Another "adjustment to environment" is thus described:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+A curious little industry sprang up in the environs of the
+city, consequent on the horsey proclivities of the Europeans.
+This was getting run over, which was generally accomplished
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_153' name='Page_153'>[153]</a></span>
+by rushing in front of the horses and throwing the hands up.
+One of two things always happened. Either the horse shied
+and the rider came off, to the huge delight of the Chinese mob,
+or the gesticulating party was knocked down. In this latter
+event, cautioned as we all were to give no offence, if possible,
+to the natives, a dollar was generally handed as salve to the
+artful victim, whose screams and yells that he had been killed
+never failed to draw a large and sympathising crowd of friends,
+who regarded the "foreign devil" with most unfriendly looks.
+In one village at last it became intolerable, and we decided if
+any further attempt was made we would run down the culprits
+intentionally. As usual, on our next visit three or four young
+<i>gamins</i> essayed the usual dodge. Being fully prepared for it,
+nobody was unseated, and we turned our horses back at full
+gallop, three or four Chinese being hurled into the hedge by
+our horses. We did not stop to offer dollars, but were never
+afterwards stopped.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Following the same train of reflection, he gives
+examples of the drastic manner in which the Russians
+asserted their prerogatives on the road, which
+we do not quote, as they were probably exceptional
+cases.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The never-failing courtesy of the Manchus rises
+superior to such unpleasant encounters. An example
+of this was related to the writer by a member of
+the British Legation. In riding through a narrow
+place, narrowed probably by the cesspool occupying
+more than its fair share of the street, he met the
+<i>cortège</i> of a grandee at a spot where it seemed
+impossible to pass, and it looked as if the solitary
+horseman must turn back. As he thought of doing
+so he observed the occupant of the sedan call a
+halt and direct his bearers to make room for the
+stranger. Observing closely the features of him
+who showed so much consideration for a foreigner,
+the Englishman was pleased, some time afterwards,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_154' name='Page_154'>[154]</a></span>
+to recognise in him Prince Ch'ing, who succeeded
+Prince Kung as President of the Tsungli-Yamên in
+1884.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The lives of the foreign residents were by no
+means confined within the four walls of the city.
+The environs without fences or trespass notices make
+charming excursion-grounds for riding-parties. For
+longer expeditions there are the never-failing attractions
+of the Ming Tombs, the Great Wall, the
+passes into Mongolia, and various other distant points.
+The city is beautifully situated in the centre of a
+mountain crescent, whose nearest point is thirteen
+miles distant. The first object of quest when the
+Legations had been established was a sanatorium or
+summer retreat&mdash;for the thermometer reaches 100
+Fahr. in June&mdash;and the Western Hills were explored.
+Some of the most beautiful spots there are
+occupied by Buddhist temples or monasteries, whose
+builders have shown as nice a taste in the selection
+of their sites as their brethren the monks of the
+West have always done. These religious houses,
+laid out with a view to the accommodation of pilgrims
+and strangers, are regularly used by Chinese
+grandees as health-resorts or shelters from political
+storms. The Russian mission, while it was alone in
+Peking, had set the example twenty years before of
+resorting to the hill temples in the dog-days. Arrangements
+with the priests for the occupation of
+certain portions of one of the temples were soon made
+by Mr Parkes, who was on a visit to the capital, and
+ever since 1861 official Peking, with one notable exception,
+has on the approach of summer migrated
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_155' name='Page_155'>[155]</a></span>
+bodily from the oppressive atmosphere of the great
+city to the exhilarating air of the Western Hills.
+The social life of the city was reproduced at the
+temples, but in a less conventional form, every one
+residing there being considered on a holiday. The
+country round offered many temptations to excursions,
+and amateurs of geology, botany, and natural
+history were never at a loss for something to interest
+them in their rambles among the hills. Residence
+so far from town brought the foreigners into friendly
+contact also with their rustic neighbours, whose innate
+good qualities, moderation, contentment, and kindliness
+were displayed in a very favourable light.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the sojourn at the hills also brought the
+foreigner into occasional contact with Chinese of
+high rank, who welcomed such opportunities of showing
+civility to the strangers. At other times disagreeable
+collisions with the retainers of a great
+personage were experienced. So popular were the
+temples of the Western Hills as a summer resort that
+they were always full, and consequently disputes
+about accommodation were liable to occur, especially
+when some grasping priest would let the same premises
+to two different occupants, leaving them, or rather
+their servants, to fight for the possession.<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_156' name='Page_156'>[156]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+III. THE FOREIGN CUSTOMS UNDER THE PEKING
+CONVENTION.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Centralised in Peking&mdash;Encouraged by British Ministers&mdash;Assumed imperial
+form after the treaties of 1858&mdash;Extension to all the ports&mdash;Original
+international basis becomes purely Chinese&mdash;Shows capacity
+for larger functions than collection of duties&mdash;Becomes a diplomatic
+auxiliary&mdash;British Government leans upon it&mdash;The Chinese faithfully
+served by it&mdash;Interpreter of the intentions of the foreign Governments&mdash;Inspector-General
+gains influence over British Minister&mdash;Pleases
+Board of Trade&mdash;And maintains confidential relations with British
+Government&mdash;While remaining faithful to China&mdash;Services rendered
+by the Customs to all commercial nations.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+It was a source of unmixed satisfaction to Sir
+Rutherford Alcock, on assuming office in Peking, to
+find the maritime customs, the bantling of Shanghai,
+firmly established in the capital and gathering strength
+and influence. As its functions pertained exclusively
+to trade, Sir Frederick Bruce had been originally of
+opinion that the inspector-general should be located
+in the commercial centre, Shanghai, and he took exception
+to the institution being domiciled in Peking,
+where trade was expressly excluded by treaty. Sir
+Frederick, however, soon saw reason to modify his
+views. When it began to appear to him that the
+customs might prove a convenient auxiliary to the
+diplomacy of the treaty Powers, he cultivated the
+institution and encouraged it to occult activity in the
+political sphere. Sir Frederick Bruce's interests in
+the fortunes of the customs, however, could never be
+so ardent as that of its parent, Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+and its monthly nurse, Mr Wade. The presence of
+these two in the British Legation afforded a fresh
+guarantee of the prosperity of the customs, which
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_157' name='Page_157'>[157]</a></span>
+they were both well satisfied to see in the competent
+hands of Mr Hart. For as the institution was a creation
+without precedent, the form of its development
+must be largely influenced by the personal qualities of
+its head. Whatever character it might have assumed
+under its original inspector-general, Lay, it could
+hardly have been the same service that has grown
+and spread under the directing hand of Sir Robert
+Hart. It is impossible to dissociate the Chinese
+customs as it stands from the vigorous self-sustained
+intellect that has moulded and still controls it, for
+it is assuredly not such a going concern as can be
+made over to any new head without the risk of
+changes more or less organic.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The story of the first decade of the maritime customs
+was told clearly, briefly, and modestly in a monograph
+which Mr Hart prepared for Mr Bruce in 1864, published
+as a Blue Book of thirteen pages (No. 1, 1865).
+Up to the date of the Tientsin treaty of 1858 the
+operations of the foreign collectorate were confined
+to the single port of Shanghai, the inspectors holding
+the appointment from the governor-general at Nanking,
+who was Imperial Commissioner for Foreign Trade.
+The new treaty gave the foreign Powers an interest
+in the Chinese customs which they did not possess
+before, because the war indemnities were to be paid
+by instalments out of the collections of duty, so that
+during the time when these payments were being
+made the maintenance of the machinery for collecting
+the duties was a matter of international concern. The
+new treaty also provided for a uniform system of duty
+collection for all the trading-ports; and then the institution
+assumed an imperial and dropped its provincial
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_158' name='Page_158'>[158]</a></span>
+character, the inspector-general receiving his
+commission from the Central Government.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Considering that the mission of the foreign customs
+was to subvert time-honoured native systems, it was
+received with surprising graciousness at most of the
+trading centres. The first port to which the new
+system was extended was Canton, the leader in
+welcoming its advent there being the <i>hoppo</i>, the one
+functionary in the empire whose privileges seemed
+to be most directly threatened by the new-comer.
+By one of those anomalies which are so common and
+yet so inexplicable in Chinese affairs, arrangements
+for opening the office in Canton were carried on
+without interruption during the hostilities of 1859.
+Patience, tact, and resolution were nevertheless required
+to overcome the innumerable difficulties of
+detail incidental to substituting rigorous inspection
+and remorseless collection for the chaos of unaccountability
+which had previously reigned unchallenged. A
+very few years, however, served to reduce all obstruction,
+and to bring trader and official, foreigner and
+Chinese, into working harmony.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For the first time in history a true account was rendered
+to the Imperial Government, accompanied by a
+substantial revenue on which it could depend. Naturally
+the agency, though foreign, which yielded such
+tangible fruit, commended itself to the statesmen of the
+capital, who frankly recognised, as did the provincial
+authorities themselves, that the result obtained was
+wholly beyond the competence of any native organisation.
+Though, therefore, the customs service was
+essentially of a provisional, stop-gap character, it had
+on that very account a surer guarantee of permanence
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_159' name='Page_159'>[159]</a></span>
+than could have been derived from any paper covenant
+by which the Chinese Government could have been
+bound, for that would have provoked disputation and
+evasion. The spasmodic attempt to formalise the service
+on a basis of international obligation which was
+made in 1898 was perhaps the first thing that really
+imperilled its constitution. In its origin, indeed, the
+foreign customs had been international, the three
+treaty Powers being each represented on the inspectorate;
+but with the expansion in 1858 this character
+was abandoned, and the customs became a purely
+Chinese concern operated by foreign employees, the
+staff being selected from among all nations indiscriminately,
+according to personal merit.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Almost from the time of the transference of the inspectorate
+to the capital the customs showed capacities
+of wider range than are comprised within the routine
+of a custom-house. Profoundly impressed as were
+the imperial statesmen with the value of the new
+revenue-producer, they soon began to perceive that the
+institution might be put to other and greater uses.
+Plurality of function in itself was no stumbling-block
+to them, for it is the system on which Chinese administration
+is carried on. In the very first year they had
+intrusted the inspector-general and his deputy with the
+organisation of a navy, with the evident approval of the
+British Minister. That functionary, indeed, seemed as
+little disposed as the Chinese themselves to see incongruity
+in the various forms of customs activity, especially
+when he regarded its extra official services as
+rendered to himself; and he really stood much in need
+of services of that kind.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Her Majesty's first representative in Peking, helpless
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_160' name='Page_160'>[160]</a></span>
+and despairing, was, in fact, fain to throw himself on
+the support of the first inspector-general, Mr Lay, and
+then of his successor, Mr Hart, as having knowledge
+and influence with the Chinese Government which was
+not possessed by the British Legation. It did not
+apparently occur to Mr Bruce that such knowledge
+was strictly limited, and that the influence could be of
+very little use to him, and might be too dearly purchased.
+Having no other resource, however, he was
+perhaps not unwilling to shut his eyes to the false
+position in which he was placing himself in leaning
+upon the paid servants of the Chinese Government to
+assist him in carrying out a policy which was totally
+repugnant to that Government. The fidelity of both
+Mr Lay and Mr Hart to the master whom they served
+being beyond question, the diplomatic prestige conferred
+on them by the British Minister, as well as
+the knowledge and influence derived from the other
+side, must, in all matters of controversy, be thrown
+into the Chinese scale.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As this interesting truth dawned upon the minds
+of the Tsungli-Yamên, they saw in their English employee
+a providential instrument for drawing the
+sting from the threatening language which was sometimes
+applied to them by the foreign representatives.
+Of these, the only one who had as yet any serious
+matter to discuss with the Chinese was the representative
+of Great Britain. It was assumed on the
+British side that nothing proposed by that Power
+was contrary to the interests of China: so far,
+indeed, did this theory inspire their action, that the
+welfare of the Chinese seemed at times to overshadow
+that of their own empire in the minds of the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_161' name='Page_161'>[161]</a></span>
+British representatives. No doubt there was an ideal
+point of view from which the interests of China and
+her Western neighbours might seem ultimately to
+blend, but Chinese statesmen were in nowise able to
+take in such a large perspective. They continued to
+regard the foreign invasion, with all its pretences of
+goodwill, as an unmitigated calamity to be opposed
+wherever possible. No man can pronounce a certain
+judgment as to whether, with their imperfect knowledge,
+they were more right or more wrong in following
+their obstructive instincts. Reforms, progress,
+and the opening up of the country to foreigners, were
+being persistently pressed upon them; they fully expected
+these concessions to be demanded of them
+when the time came&mdash;and it was already drawing
+near&mdash;when the treaties should be revised. Admitting,
+moreover, that some one, or more, of the Powers
+might have been considerate enough to forego, or indefinitely
+postpone, advantages for themselves rather
+than imperil the wellbeing of the Chinese State,
+there were already six instead of the original three
+treaty Powers to be reckoned with; nor was there
+any limit to the further increase of their numbers.
+Supposing, then, that, relying on the benignant intentions
+of the English, they should, in the revision
+of their treaty, admit such innovations as inland
+steam navigation, inland residence, railways, and so
+forth, would not these successes stimulate the other
+Powers, when their turn for revision came,&mdash;France
+in 1870, Germany in 1871, and others later,&mdash;to advance
+still farther the outposts of the foreign invasion,
+each, in a spirit of generous emulation, striving
+to surpass the achievements of his predecessor;
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_162' name='Page_162'>[162]</a></span>
+and all with the complacent consciousness that they
+were doing good to China? These endless contingencies
+were more than Chinese statesmen could cope
+with, and the apprehension of them had no other
+effect than to consolidate their resistance in small as
+well as in great things. They were learning to mistrust
+the efficacy of their ancient imperial policy of
+dividing and ruling, and with good reason had lost
+confidence in their capacity to distinguish in embryo
+between what was trivial and what was laden with
+deep consequences.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Resistance, therefore, tempered by the fear of force,
+seemed their only refuge. Some of the dangers
+ahead, of which they had glimpses, might have been
+obviated by a bolder policy; but being unable to
+formulate such a policy for themselves, and unwilling
+to accept it cut and dried from others, there was
+nothing left them but indiscriminate resistance. Under
+such conditions no harmony was possible between the
+Chinese and Western Governments; and not knowing
+how far they might with safety evade the pressure put
+upon them, the Chinese had recourse to the Inspector-General
+of Customs, as Louis XI. had recourse to his
+astrologer whenever he felt himself in a difficult crisis.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Tsungli-Yamên, accustomed to act on hand-to-mouth
+views of policy, would do anything to
+relieve the pressure of the moment, but nothing to
+prevent a recurrence of it. Indisposed to follow up
+the sequences of cause and effect, they would in emergencies
+become impatient of ratiocination and attempt
+to reach the foregone conclusion by a shorter cut.
+Common gossip in China thus fairly summarised their
+attitude in certain crises of this kind. If discussion
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_163' name='Page_163'>[163]</a></span>
+with the British Legation ran high, the Yamên would
+send for the inspector-general and ask simply, "Does
+this mean war?" The answer being "No," the question
+ceased to trouble the Yamên, and the foreign
+Minister would be allowed to rage at his pleasure.
+Their Excellencies would even help him out with the
+opprobrious terms he was searching for, and then listen
+placidly to the remainder of the tirade. Great Britain
+having not only the preponderating interest, but being
+still the leading Power in the Far East, it was obviously
+a great advantage for the Chinese that it should be
+that Power which came particularly under the influence
+of the inspector-general. To tie the hands of
+the British Government for a whole generation was,
+indeed, an achievement worthy of a master of policy;
+but it was by no means the only service which might
+be rendered to China even by an Inspector-General of
+Customs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The same agency was destined in later days to unravel
+many tangled skeins in China's international relations.
+It brought Gordon to her rescue in 1880; by
+sheer innate ability in the use of the most unpromising
+means, it brought about peace with France in
+1885; and, though with less success, it procured the
+attempted intervention of Great Britain with Japan
+in 1894.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+How far these great potentialities were foreseen in
+the earlier years of the Customs service is doubtful.
+Even in their parental complacency Sir Rutherford
+Alcock and Mr Wade may well have failed to realise,
+as an uninterested outsider might have done, the nature
+of the power that was being nursed in their infant
+Hercules. Certain it is that they reckoned it as a
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_164' name='Page_164'>[164]</a></span>
+factor on their own side. It is clear that Sir Rutherford
+Alcock, so far from regarding the inspector-general as
+an opponent, commended him to the Foreign Office as
+a valuable auxiliary. Mr Wade clung to the same
+belief for a good many years longer.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first to perceive the tendency of the new relationship
+which events were bringing about was, no doubt,
+the inspector-general himself. China, he saw, could be
+best served by a virtual control of the British Legation.
+The nascent power was, however, too precious to be
+trusted to personal accidents, and the inspector-general
+wisely availed himself of circumstances as they arose
+to widen his basis of influence by establishing such
+relations with the Home Government as might save
+him from being wholly dependent on the life or the
+caprice of the representative for the time being at
+Peking. Such to an ordinary man might have appeared
+a hopeless ambition, considering the circumstance
+of distance and other adverse conditions. Yet
+by gradual steps this too was accomplished. A well-directed
+stroke or a happy accident established the
+inspector-general in high favour with the Board of
+Trade when under the presidency of Mr John Bright.
+He had summed up the results of the treaty revision<a name='FA_13' id='FA_13' href='#FN_13' class='fnanchor'>[13]</a>
+negotiations in 1868 in a congratulatory letter to the
+British Minister which has been many times published.
+As a masterly exposition of the State of China in its
+relation to foreign Powers it was warmly indorsed by
+Sir Rutherford Alcock, and is well worth perusal
+even at this day. The Board of Trade was much
+impressed by a presentment of the Chinese case so
+much in sympathy with the views often expressed
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_165' name='Page_165'>[165]</a></span>
+by Mr Cobden and Mr Bright, and which are traditional
+in the Board of Trade. Their policy was noninterference
+in the affairs of China, based largely on
+their disparagement of the value of British interests
+in that country. In commenting on this closely
+reasoned State Paper, the Board of Trade specially
+selected for illustration of its merit the following
+passage: "Of course, force will wrest anything from
+China: but wherever there is action there is reaction;
+and as sure as natural laws continue to act, so sure
+it is that appeals to force in one age will give to the
+men of a later day a heritage of vengeance,&mdash;the
+Europeans of some future day may wish that their
+forefathers had not sown the seeds of hatred in the
+bayonet-ploughed soil of Cathay."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nor was this the only result of the happy success
+of the new customs diplomacy, for, as the connecting
+link between commerce and politics, the Board of
+Trade was a potent agency in determining the political
+action of the Government, more especially when there
+was a strong man at the head of it and a weak one
+at the Foreign Office.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The rising power in China did not seek fresh conquests,
+but was adroit in seizing on such as came in
+its way, and circumstances having brought it in direct
+touch with the Foreign Office, that department was
+drawn into close relation with the Chinese customs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The result of all this, briefly stated, was the partial
+effacement of the Legation and the gradual promotion
+of Sir Robert Hart to the first place in the confidence
+of the British Government. As the Foreign
+Office had, since the suppression of the Taiping
+rebellion and the death of Lord Palmerston, been
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_166' name='Page_166'>[166]</a></span>
+most reluctant either to busy itself or to inform itself
+respecting affairs in China, and was, moreover, anxious
+to minimise the cost of the Legation in Peking, it
+was rather predisposed to accept volunteer assistance
+in the management of British interests in China.
+The Legation was then, as now, without any intelligence
+department, the cost of which was saved under
+the vague belief that all needful information might
+be obtained from the customs. Thus relegated to a
+secondary place, the Legation was more and more
+neglected by Her Majesty's Government, until at
+last representatives were selected at random and sent
+out without instructions, in blind reliance on the
+good offices of the Inspector-General of Customs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before this final stage had been reached, however,
+such an opportunity occurred, through the death of
+Sir Harry Parkes, of legitimising the irregular connection,
+as a death sometimes provides in certain relations
+of domestic life, and Sir Robert Hart was himself
+appointed British Minister. This step was recognised
+as so far appropriate to the circumstances that it conjoined
+responsibility with power, which had been too
+long divorced from each other. But just as the new
+Minister was about to assume his duties a hitch
+occurred with the Tsungli-Yamên, whose views as to
+the succession to the post of head of the customs
+not coinciding with Sir Robert Hart's, he thereupon
+resigned the office of British Minister and resumed his
+Chinese service. The incident made no difference in
+the confidence which Sir Robert Hart inspired in the
+Foreign Office, which had, in fact, drifted into a position
+of dependence on the inspector-general. This close relationship
+continued until the Japanese war in 1894,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_167' name='Page_167'>[167]</a></span>
+when the British Government, the victim of many
+illusions, found itself in a condition of bewilderment,
+like King Lear on the heath, quite unfurnished with
+the means of coping with the superior intelligence of
+the other European Powers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Throughout all these years the attitude of the inspector-general
+towards his Chinese employers was
+absolutely above suspicion. He served them loyally
+throughout, and if the British Government imagined
+he was using his highly paid position under the
+Chinese Government in any way to promote other
+than Chinese interests, that was a gratuitous assumption
+on their part for which they alone were responsible,
+and for which, as for all false strategy, the inevitable
+penalty must be paid.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Among the important international services rendered
+by the foreign customs, the effective lighting of the
+coast deserves the first place. Next to that may
+be reckoned the compilation of accurate statistics of
+foreign trade with China, more complete perhaps
+than exists in any other country. The reports of
+the commissioners of customs at the various ports
+are also replete with varied and useful information
+concerning the commerce, industry, and agriculture,
+with other conditions of the life of the Chinese.
+Special subjects assigned to individual men are treated
+as exhaustively as if investigated by a Royal Commission.
+These valuable papers constitute a modern
+Chinese Repository to which there is but one drawback&mdash;its
+inaccessibility.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_168' name='Page_168'>[168]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+IV. EMIGRATION.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Extensive emigration of Chinese labourers in consequence of gold discoveries&mdash;Great
+abuses&mdash;Attempt to diminish same by international
+action&mdash;Tripartite treaty concluded in Peking&mdash;Not ratified by
+France and England&mdash;Who send out amended treaty, but negotiations
+never resumed by Chinese&mdash;Opposition of British colonies and
+the United States to Chinese emigration.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The first public question with which Sir Rutherford
+Alcock was called upon to deal was that of the emigration
+or exportation of Chinese coolies. Among the
+consequences of the gold discoveries of the middle of
+the century was a demand for human labour, which
+China of all countries was best able to supply. Voluntary
+emigration to California and Australia (the "Old"
+and the "New Gold Mountain") was considerable; but
+it did not meet the requirements of those enterprises
+in tropical and subtropical countries which, if not
+originated, were at least stirred into activity by the
+impulse radiating from the gold mines. The contractor
+was called into requisition, and Chinese were carried
+off in shiploads to Cuba, Peru, Chili, "where they
+were sold into virtual slavery" under agreements
+over which there was no legal supervision. Terrible
+abuses characterised the traffic; mutiny and massacre
+on the high seas were among the natural consequences.
+"Another coolie tragedy" was as common a newspaper
+heading in the 'Fifties as "another missionary outrage"
+in the subsequent decades of the nineteenth century.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Hongkong being the most convenient shipping port,
+it was natural that thence should emanate the first
+efforts to suppress the abuses of the traffic. The
+"Chinese Passengers Act" passed by the Colonial
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_169' name='Page_169'>[169]</a></span>
+Legislature in 1855 was a well-considered step in that
+direction, and the establishment of responsible emigration
+agencies was another. Such efforts, however,
+could only be partially successful; for while they
+cleared the colony from participation in a nefarious
+trade, they made no impression on the trade itself.
+Indeed, by throwing it into the least reputable
+channels, the fate of the victims may even have been
+rendered less endurable by the restrictive measures
+conceived for their benefit. The Portuguese settlement
+of Macao remained open, and there the coolie
+traffic flourished exceedingly, to the pecuniary advantage
+of that colony and of the maternal Government,
+which levies an annual tribute from its Far Eastern
+offspring. The trade was also carried on in a more
+or less clandestine and irregular manner at Canton,
+Swatow, and other Chinese ports, under non-British
+flags.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For years the colonial press was filled with the
+horrors of the traffic. Such paragraphs as the following
+were continually appearing in the Hongkong
+newspapers:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+At Macao the coolie trade is still rampant, with all its
+abominations. The inquiries instituted, or said to have been
+instituted, by Governor Amaral, have ended in smoke. Day
+after day some additional iniquity comes to light in connection
+with this horrible traffic. Coolies kidnapped, imprisoned in
+barracoons, flogged to make them consent to sign the iniquitous
+contract that binds them to a life of slavery, marched with
+a strong guard to testify at the Government offices to their
+signature as given voluntarily and freely, half-starved, exposed
+to blindness and disease on board ship in transit to the place of
+their exile, tossed overboard, or left on some barren isle to die,
+if loss of sight or sickness renders them useless to their
+masters. Such are the grand features of the Macao coolie
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_170' name='Page_170'>[170]</a></span>
+trade, supported by the governor in his official acts, and the semi-official
+paper he edits. Such are the horrors of a slave-trade
+worse than that of the poor African negro, which all nations
+ought to unite to put an end to.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Foreigners could of course have had no success whatever
+in such man-hunting schemes without the interested
+co-operation of the natives. How this was
+obtained may be gathered from such reports as that of
+Mr W. M. Cooper, acting consul at Swatow, one of the
+principal entrepots.
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+Nowhere [he says] is population more dense than in the
+plains of the Han. There is a constant tendency, where the
+struggle for existence is so keen, and no drain exists as that
+caused by recruiting for an army, towards the formation of a
+scum of bad characters, whom their idleness or ill-deeds drive
+to prey on the more industrious. These, frequently discarded
+by their families, are seen by the official and the village elder
+on their way to the coolie-house with a sense of relief and
+satisfaction; and not seldom is the coolie-broker aided in his
+object of obtaining men by persons of this class, and frequently
+by the relations of the men themselves. Thus the trade is
+allowed to take root with the concurrence of the heads of the
+people, who not only rid themselves by means of it of a
+nuisance and a burden, but make money by the transaction; and
+a connection is formed which the broker, in his thirst for
+dollars, becoming gradually hardened and more ruthless, is not
+slow to avail himself of in carrying out, with greater boldness,
+evil designs on his victim.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+But if the atrocities incident to the capture and
+embarkation cried aloud for a remedy, the brutalities
+of the middle passage were no less heinous; and
+though the light could not easily penetrate the scenes
+enacted in the distant mines and plantations which
+were the ultimate destination of the coolies, enough
+was known to show that their lot in Spanish-American
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_171' name='Page_171'>[171]</a></span>
+and other countries and colonies was far from
+enviable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To efface this blot on civilisation was the first object
+which engaged the attention of Sir Rutherford Alcock
+in Peking. The Chinese Government itself had remained
+for many years callous to the cruelties perpetrated on
+its subjects; but this was in keeping with its tolerant
+habit, its blindness to things disagreeable, and its
+constitutional aversion to overt action of any kind.
+The Peking authorities seem, however, to have been
+at last aroused by the interest in the question evinced
+by foreign Governments, and in 1866 the Chinese
+Ministers were induced to join the foreign Powers in
+devising means to ameliorate the condition of the
+emigrants. The suggestions of Prince Kung were
+practical and well directed towards a solution of the
+problem.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The problem, however, was by no means simple;
+for to be effective, regulations must be of universal
+obligation, and receive the sanction of all the interested
+Powers. There was no desire in any quarter to arrest
+the stream of honest and free emigration; on the
+contrary, it was welcomed as an outlet for destitute
+Chinese. To impose restrictions on Hongkong while
+the neighbouring colony was lawless and free; to place
+obstacles in the way of emigration to Demerara and
+Trinidad, where the coolies were happy and contented,
+thereby driving them in greater numbers to territories
+where they were enslaved,&mdash;was obviously no gain to
+humanity. The question, however, was as urgent as
+it was difficult.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yet there were circumstances in the situation favourable
+to a satisfactory issue. Chief among these was
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_172' name='Page_172'>[172]</a></span>
+the fact that France and England were still working
+loyally together in matters of cosmopolitan concern.
+Sir Rutherford Alcock found his French colleagues in
+Peking as amenable as he had found those in Yedo.
+The consequence was that, as the result of the winter's
+labours, a tripartite convention for the regulation of
+coolie emigration was signed in March 1866 by the
+British and French Ministers and Prince Kung. The
+convention was approved by the Ministers of Russia,
+the United States, and Prussia, though they were
+not parties to it. But the French Government took
+exception to certain of its provisions, and deferred
+ratification until these should be modified. The
+British Colonial Office and Emigration Board fell in
+with the views of the French Government. The
+settlement of the question was thereupon shifted from
+Peking to Paris and London, when voluminous correspondence
+ensued between the two Foreign Offices,
+extending through the years 1866, 1867, and into 1868.
+The co-operation between the two Governments was
+hearty and complete; and the amount of patient labour
+devoted to the task, especially by the French Foreign
+Office, which had not the auxiliary machinery at its
+disposal which existed in the Government departments
+in England, was in the highest degree creditable to
+both. It may suffice to say that after eighteen months
+of earnest work a <span lang='fr_FR'>"Projet de Règlement International
+d'Emigration"</span> was completed in twenty-three articles
+with subsidiary forms, and was despatched to Peking
+at the end of 1867, the discussions having resulted in
+the retention of almost the entire text of the original
+convention&mdash;a fact which reflected no small credit on
+the Ministers in Peking who had drawn it up.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_173' name='Page_173'>[173]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But when the time came for resuming negotiations
+in the Chinese capital, the Government there had
+relapsed into its habitual apathy respecting the welfare
+of its people. Possibly, also, the zeal of the resident
+Ministers of France and England may have cooled
+during the interval which had elapsed since their
+previous efforts. Their attention was becoming engrossed
+with other subjects. Effective co-operation
+between the three parties was evidently no longer
+feasible. The attempt to regulate emigration by a
+comprehensive international agreement was tacitly
+abandoned, and the evils of the coolie trade were
+left to be dealt with sporadically.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Free emigration from Hongkong&mdash;that is to say,
+of emigrants who paid their own passage&mdash;proceeded
+all the while on an extensive scale. But the laws
+of the colony did not permit contract emigration
+except to British colonies, and under elaborate supervision
+both at embarkation and after arrival at the
+field of labour. Although coolie ships could not be
+despatched from Hongkong, a certain amount of indirect
+participation in the traffic was maintained for
+some years by residents in the colony who supplied
+fittings for the coolie ships preparatory to their proceeding
+to the port of embarkation. Colonial legislation,
+however, gradually put an end to this, and
+successive ordinances so narrowed the field of the
+contractors' operations that the trade, both direct
+and indirect, was practically extinguished so far as
+Hongkong was concerned. A declaration by the
+Chief Justice in 1873 summed up the various prohibitory
+laws by enacting that the coolie trade would be
+treated as a slave trade, aiding or abetting which
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_174' name='Page_174'>[174]</a></span>
+would be felony. In the year following, the Portuguese
+Government, yielding to the friendly pressure that had
+been for a long time put upon them, passed a law
+prohibiting the coolie trade at Macao.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While the emigrants were so anxiously protected at
+the outset of their voyage, the immigration of Chinese
+into the United States and the Australian colonies was
+exciting interest of a different kind in those countries.
+Legislation was continuously directed against the influx
+of Chinese, and not legislation only, but barbarous ill-treatment
+and outrages on a par with those perpetrated
+against foreigners in China. Mr Secretary Seward on
+his round-the-world tour in 1871 expressed himself
+highly favourable to Chinese labour in the United
+States, and his views afforded great encouragement
+to emigration to California for some years after. The
+treaty concluded at Washington in 1868 by Mr Burlingame
+accorded full privileges to Chinese in the
+United States. But a sharp reaction occurred in the
+views of American statesmen, and in 1880 the Chinese
+Government, by treaty made in Peking, consented to
+a modification of the Washington treaty of 1868,
+which would allow the United States to limit or
+suspend, though not absolutely to prohibit, Chinese
+immigration. This step towards prohibition was completed
+in another convention signed at Washington
+in 1894. Why the Chinese Government should have
+gratuitously consented to attach a stigma to their
+country and people is one of those inexplicable
+matters which abound in the history of China's
+foreign relations.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_175' name='Page_175'>[175]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+V. KOREA.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Comes into the sphere of international relations in 1866&mdash;Illegal propagandism
+followed by persecutions&mdash;France adopts the cause of the
+missions&mdash;Calls upon China as suzerain to punish Koreans&mdash;Which
+failing, French Minister proclaims annexation of Korea&mdash;Naval expedition
+repulsed&mdash;American naval expedition repulsed in 1871.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+It was in the year 1866 that foreign aggression
+first complicated the relations between China and her
+tributaries. The kingdom of Korea had with more
+consistency and more success than either China or
+Japan secluded itself absolutely from foreign intrusion.
+Nevertheless, the ubiquitous Jesuit had found his way
+there, under desperate subterfuges; for if the foreigner
+in general was proscribed, the foreign religionist was
+anathema to the rulers of Korea. The laws of the
+country were draconic in their severity against all
+priests or pretenders to supernatural authority; but
+the zeal of the Catholic propaganda defied the laws,
+though not always with impunity. "Persecutions,"
+in fact, occasionally broke out, and "massacres" was
+a not inappropriate description of the repressive measures
+adopted by the Government in vindication of
+what it considered the law of the State. The French
+Government, or at least its representative in Peking,
+resolved to espouse the cause of the persecuted missionaries
+in 1866, and to make reprisals on the King
+of Korea. But that country being a vassal state, the
+demand was first made formally on the suzerain, that
+he should cause the Korean persecutors to be punished
+and the missionaries avenged. This was not
+only prejudging the particular case, but was yet
+another instance of foreigners forcing a formula on
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_176' name='Page_176'>[176]</a></span>
+China, and making her answerable to a tribunal of
+whose jurisdiction she had no cognisance. The relations
+of China to the surrounding States which
+acknowledged her suzerainty were vague and various,
+imperfectly understood by Western States, as was sufficiently
+proved in the Burma Convention concluded
+between Great Britain and China in 1886. But the
+French <i>chargé d'affaires</i> recognised no debatable
+ground such as even in the international comity of
+the West differentiates one dependent State from
+another, and one suzerain Power from another. In the
+British system alone the diversity in the relations of
+the members to the head is sufficient to exclude the
+application of any general rule. While the touchstone
+of war would no doubt reduce all to one level, yet in
+the matter of administrative responsibility what single
+rule could embrace, for example, India, Malta, the self-governing
+colonies, the Transvaal, and the African
+Protectorates? M. de Bellonet, however, was not
+embarrassed by any dubitations about the clean-cut
+rule to be enforced on China and Korea. He simply
+demanded that the suzerain should punish the vassal,
+failing which, he would take the affair into his own
+hands. Logical, no doubt, and not unreasonable,
+assuming the quarrel to be just. But the French
+<i>chargé</i> went a step further in adjudging the actual
+dissolution of the family compact and sequestration
+of the inferior kingdom. On Prince Kung's declining
+responsibility for the Korean persecutions, M. de
+Bellonet, without further ado, annexed Korea to the
+empire of France, dethroned the king, and posted
+placards about the streets of Peking promulgating
+the fact. To Prince Kung he addressed a weighty
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_177' name='Page_177'>[177]</a></span>
+despatch, in which he said, "The same day on which
+the King of Korea laid his hands on my unhappy
+countrymen was the last of his reign. He himself
+declared its end, which I, in my turn, solemnly declare
+to-day."<a name='FA_14' id='FA_14' href='#FN_14' class='fnanchor'>[14]</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This was carrying the question beyond the scope of
+international law.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Taking an analogy from common life, a father may
+neglect to correct a mischievous son, and thus leave his
+neighbours free to take the law into their own hands,
+but their right to chastise or prosecute does not include
+that of annulling the parental relationship, and of
+making a bondman of the offender. Force, of course,
+may effect such a rupture in the connection between
+nations, but in this case the force had not yet been
+applied. Admiral Roze proceeded with a squadron to
+the mouth of the Han, the waterway to the Korean
+capital, bombarded forts, and left his name to an island
+which faces the port of Chemulpo. The incident was
+then at an end.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But not the effects of it. It was to Chinese and
+Koreans a flash of the Röntgen rays that revealed the
+innermost hearts of the foreigners with a vividness not
+to be forgotten; it was the whole missionary question,
+from the Eastern point of view, in a nutshell. To
+violate the laws and teach the natives to do so, and
+then appeal to foreign Governments to back them in
+this insidious form of rebellion&mdash;that was the function
+of the missionaries. The foreign Government thereupon
+lays claim to the territory, and so the conspiracy
+is crowned. In the face of such an unveiling of motives
+the chance of the Chinese statesmen being led by the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_178' name='Page_178'>[178]</a></span>
+friendly counsel poured constantly into their ears by
+the foreign Ministers in Peking must have been small
+indeed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About the same time a small American vessel called
+the General Sherman, with a cargo of notions and some
+passengers, including one English missionary, made her
+way through the archipelago which fringes the coast
+into the inner waters of Korea. She was never again
+heard of, and the fate of crew and passengers was for
+long a matter of report and surmise. At last, in 1868, a
+United States ship of war, the Shenandoah, was sent to
+the Korean coast to get information about the General
+Sherman. Nothing whatever was learned. Then Mr
+George F. Seward, consul-general in Shanghai, advocated
+a mission to Korea with a sufficient force to
+ensure respect. His persevering recommendations
+prevailed with the Government at Washington, and a
+squadron was equipped in 1871 to proceed to Korea and
+attempt to open the country, the admiral being furnished
+with copies of the Japan treaties of 1854 and
+1858 as models. The Americans at once came into
+collision with the Korean troops, bombarded their
+forts, and defeated with considerable loss a military
+force marshalled to resist them. But no negotiations
+were possible. The Korean Government remained
+impervious to remonstrance and uncompromising in its
+refusal of intercourse. The following characteristic
+letter, addressed by the Korean authorities to Admiral
+Rogers, tersely expresses their attitude of resolute
+isolation:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+In the year 1868 a man of your nation, whose name was
+Febiger, came here and communicated and went away; why
+cannot you do the same? In 1866 a people called the French
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_179' name='Page_179'>[179]</a></span>
+came here, and we refer you to them for what happened. This
+people has lived 4000 years in the enjoyment of its own
+civilisation, and we want no other. We trouble no other
+nation&mdash;why do you trouble us? Our country is in the
+extreme east, and yours in the extreme west; for what purpose
+do you come so many thousand miles across the sea?
+Is it to inquire about the ship destroyed [the General
+Sherman]? Her men committed piracy and murder, and
+they were punished with death. Do you want our land?
+That cannot be. Do you want intercourse with us? That
+cannot be either.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The American ships withdrew, as the French had
+done, leaving the peninsula once more to its fate.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Previously to this a piratical expedition was attempted
+by a German in a North-German steamer,
+instigated and piloted by a French priest. Its purpose
+was to desecrate the tombs of the kings, with a view to
+carrying off the golden treasures with which they were
+believed to be buried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The three fiascos left no outward trace in the current
+of affairs in China, and diplomatic intercourse proceeded
+in the capital as if the Korean peninsula did not exist.
+Let it not be supposed, however, that the statesmen of
+Peking failed to take these exhibitions to heart, although
+they maintained the strictest reserve on the
+subject. Christian proselytism and foreign domination
+were once more discovered in active alliance, justifying
+all the suspicions of the Asiatic nations.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_180' name='Page_180'>[180]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XXI.
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">THE REVISION OF THE TREATY.</span>
+</h2>
+
+<h3>
+I. PREPARATION.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Struggle for the observance of the treaty&mdash;Hope in the prospective revision&mdash;Information
+gathered by British Minister&mdash;Chinese apprehensive
+of force being used&mdash;Imperial Government consult provincial officials&mdash;Interesting
+memorials in reply&mdash;Especially from Li Hung-chang&mdash;His
+liberal views respecting foreigners&mdash;And wise advice to the throne.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The conflict between foreign aggressions and Chinese
+resistance had proceeded without intermission on either
+side for seven years. In the struggle the Chinese
+had gained many successes, but the fruits of them
+had not been secured beyond the risk of reprisal.
+Both sides were ill at ease. The foreigners on their
+part had been buoyed up under their grievances by
+the hope of a readjustment of international relations,
+which had been provided for in the treaties of Tientsin
+and Peking.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The decennial period was at hand when revision of
+the treaty of Tientsin might be claimed. To that
+important juncture all eyes looked forward. The
+foreigners hoped for freer intercourse; the Chinese
+wished to restrict what already existed. Great preparations
+were made for the revision campaign. On
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_181' name='Page_181'>[181]</a></span>
+the part of the foreigners opinions were invited from
+all the trading-ports as to the points where modification
+could be advantageously claimed, and memorials
+from the Chambers of Commerce both in China and
+in Great Britain, from individuals, professional men,
+and from missionaries, poured in upon the British
+Minister during the years 1867 and 1868, extending
+even into 1869.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sir R. Alcock had even taken every possible pains to
+acquaint himself with the local circumstances of the
+various treaty ports by personal inspection and personal
+communication&mdash;a practice which public opinion
+urged in vain upon his successors, who had much
+greater need of such local observations. Following
+up this tour of his own, he delegated to a subordinate
+the task of studying the conditions under which trade
+was carried on in the interior, in the districts most
+likely to be affected by any probable changes in the
+treaty. Under this roving commission Consul Swinhoe
+made an extensive tour through the canal district of
+the Yangtze delta, and finished up with an expedition
+to Szechuan in 1869, on which he was accompanied by
+delegates of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The importance attached by foreigners to the occasion
+naturally stirred the Chinese Government also
+to make special exertions to meet the coming contest.
+From the measures to which they resorted it is evident
+that they were apprehensive lest force should be applied
+by the foreigners to gain their ends; for the idea of
+free negotiation and of voluntary agreement had not
+yet been assimilated by the Chinese. To them the
+foreigner represented force and nothing else. They
+had never really comprehended the reasons for the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_182' name='Page_182'>[182]</a></span>
+withdrawal of the Allies when in possession of Peking,
+and though the immediate danger of war was removed,
+the shadow of it never ceased to haunt the dreams of
+Chinese statesmen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mistrusting their own resources, the Central Government
+appealed to the provinces for confidential advice;
+and as these communications throw light on the inner&mdash;though
+not the innermost&mdash;thoughts of the Chinese,
+which it is difficult otherwise to gauge, some of them
+are worth perusing in the actual words of the writers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The secret circular addressed by the Tsungli-Yamên
+to the high officials throughout the empire in 1867
+opened abruptly with the proposition, "The barbarian
+question is one of old standing"; it then proceeded
+to review the difficulties and the dangers of "our
+present conjuncture," arising mainly from the improvement
+of communications and armaments combined with
+the earth-hunger of the various European nations.
+The foreigner at one time stood in awe of the Central
+Power, but that was before railways and steamships
+had been invented; and while the numbers who came
+to China were as yet insignificant, and were conveniently
+restricted to one spot, where they could be
+managed, now they occupy so many positions as to
+form a strategic cordon round the empire. Moreover,
+they are united in interest, and cannot suddenly be
+either isolated or weakened. How, then, can we confront
+them with our isolation and weakness? It is
+to be feared that we have no one who, taking a comprehensive
+view of the whole situation, can create
+disunion among our enemies through their own rivalries
+and insatiable avarice. Yet it is just here that
+the germ of an effective policy should be sought. If,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_183' name='Page_183'>[183]</a></span>
+however, circumstances render such a scheme at present
+impracticable, its execution may be deferred. We must
+be patient under suffering, diligently strengthening
+ourselves, and abide in hope. We bear in mind the
+calamities of 1860, and how to save the State the
+emperor was entreated to conclude a treaty. It was
+evident that the treaty, hastily concluded, would
+remain a fruitful source of future difficulty; nevertheless,
+good faith required that it should be fulfilled,
+and even the very fulfilment of it be turned into a
+means of limitation and restraint. The time for
+revision being now at hand, you are requested to give
+your suggestions as to the means of avoiding a rupture
+with foreigners, and in case of a rupture, what will
+ensure safety. The principal points likely to be
+brought forward at the revision conferences are here
+submitted for your consideration. To simply declare
+the whole impracticable is easy; the difficulty will be
+to devise a plan for safely avoiding concession. Deal
+with the matter, therefore, in a practical way, and
+not by an empty thesis; and let your memorial reach
+us not later than December. The points are&mdash;(1) The
+audience question. (2) The question of an embassy to
+foreign countries, which had been repeatedly urged by
+the various foreign Ministers in Peking. The arguments
+in favour of such a measure are, that "to know
+your adversary as he knows you" is a maxim of
+practical wisdom, and that it would be of great
+advantage to have the means of appealing from an
+unreasonable foreign Minister in Peking to his own
+Government. (3) Telegraphs and railways. (4) Residence
+of merchants in the interior. (5) Salt trade and
+coal-mining. (6) Extension of missions.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_184' name='Page_184'>[184]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such was the substance of the Tsungli-Yamên's
+circular to the governors-general and governors of
+provinces. The memorials in reply were distinguished
+by some plain speaking. Amid a good deal that was
+vaporous and fantastic, such as would characterise any
+general council, there were propositions of sound statecraft,
+maxims which it would have been good for the
+Central Government to lay to heart, and side-lights
+on their traditional conceptions of national policy
+well deserving to be studied by the Powers which
+have relations with the Chinese. One clause in the
+memorial of Tsêng Kwo-fan, for example, went to the
+root of the administrative difficulties which caused
+then, and still cause, the major portion of the angry
+friction between Chinese and foreign officials. He
+reminded the emperor, in fact, that he had a court
+of appeal in the provinces; so that though he might,
+under pressure, be forced to concede points to the
+foreign nations in Peking, yet it was the memorialist
+himself and his peers in the provinces who would have
+the last word to say. The elliptic and allusive style
+usually assumed in Chinese documents may allow this
+hint to be interpreted either as a veiled defiance of,
+or as an assurance of support to, the throne&mdash;perhaps
+both subtly compounded. But the practical inference
+remains, that, as experience has often proved, the
+provinces revise the decisions of the capital, and the
+execution rests with them.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i184" id="i184"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p184.jpg" width="421" height="550" alt="" />
+<p class="caption">LI HUNG-CHANG AT THE AGE OF FIFTY.<br />
+<span class="s08"><i>From a photo by J. Thomson, Grosvenor Street, W.</i></span>
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The memorial, however, which is most interesting to
+foreigners, because the plainest to their comprehension,
+is that of Li Hung-chang, at that period Governor-General
+of the Hu-kwang; and as it affords a key to
+that statesman's subsequent career and the unique
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_185' name='Page_185'>[185]</a></span>
+position he has occupied in regard to the foreign relations
+of the empire, it seems well worthy of reproduction.
+Omitting the preamble, and certain classic
+references without which a Chinese State Paper would
+be no more complete than a speech in Parliament or
+a leader in the 'Times' fifty years ago would have
+been without a Latin quotation, the substance of the
+memorial runs as follows:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+The humble opinion of the writer is, that in conducting business
+with foreigners the point of the greatest importance is to
+avoid exciting their contempt; that contempt once excited, they
+will thwart us at every turn, and even in affairs that are really
+practicable they will contrive a thousand schemes and devices
+to throw obstacles in the way of their practicability. But if
+they feel respect for China, all matters can be mutually arranged;
+and even difficult questions can be settled by compromise
+or agreement.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Foreigners, however, are not the only persons who are
+influenced by this feeling: it animates alike the minds of
+the whole human race.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is often said that foreigners are crafty and malign and
+full of unexpected ruses: but is it not the fact that Chinese
+are the same; or rather that the outrageous craft and malignity
+of the Chinese exceeds even that of foreigners? The truth is,
+that at present foreigners are powerful and the Chinese feeble.
+And whence arises the power of the former? It certainly is
+not innate in them, but depends upon the fact that "the
+requisites of Government are sufficiency of food, sufficiency
+of military equipment, and the confidence of the people in
+their ruler" (Confucian Analects). And how is the weakness
+of China to be accounted for? This also is not innate, but is
+a result of the truth of the above axiom not being sufficiently
+recognised. The present condition of foreign countries resembles
+that of China before the union, or is perhaps even still more
+formidable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the course of time foreigners came to China, opened
+numerous marts, and conveyed their merchandise everywhere.
+They traded at as many as five ports, and all with no other
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_186' name='Page_186'>[186]</a></span>
+object but that of making the wealth of China contribute to
+their own. A little consideration shows that those who ventured
+to come to this country must have placed their reliance
+upon something to have rendered them so fearless; and there is
+not the slightest reason why that which they confided in should
+not also become a source of confidence to China.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Many persons have offered their views upon the several
+questions now under consideration, and it is useless to take
+the trouble to recapitulate them. But all such appliances as
+telegraphs, railways, locomotives, and steamships&mdash;the things on
+which foreigners rely&mdash;can without exception be learned by the
+Chinese. It is often alleged that these inventions are attended
+with harm: how is it, then, that in foreign countries every
+district has its trains and steamers, every locality its telegraphs
+and railways? Natives of China, too, have travelled abroad
+and can bear testimony that these things, so far from being
+harmful, are advantageous.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Imperial audience is distinctly stipulated for in the treaty
+of 1860, and it is next to impossible to withdraw it; especially
+as his sainted Majesty Kanghsi admitted Japanese to his presence,
+and there will be no difficulty in ascertaining the ceremony
+then employed. And again, during the negotiations with the
+Russians on the boundary and trade questions, which took place
+about the same period, they were treated as an equal Power. It
+is but right, indeed, to consider such Powers as upon a footing
+of equality with ourselves.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The idea of the writer is to wait until the majority of the
+emperor, and then to receive all the representatives in a side-hall
+as was done by his sacred Majesty Kanghsi. It will,
+however, first be necessary to arrange distinctly whether such
+interviews are to take place once or twice a-year. Otherwise
+an impropriety will be caused by their constantly demanding
+audiences every few days on frivolous questions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such a course presents no difficulties from our point of view,
+and from theirs it is a <span lang="la"><i>sine quâ non</i></span>. Moreover, they would see
+how the imperial magnanimity extends to every region. Their
+request may with great propriety be granted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As to the appointment of an envoy, in the fourth year of
+Tungchih, Pin Ch'un and others were sent on a visit to the
+several foreign countries, and the Tsungli-Yamên has lately
+written to state that Chih kang and others have now proceeded
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_187' name='Page_187'>[187]</a></span>
+thither. Thus the mission has been continuous, and it would
+be well to adhere to this system.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The question of separate missions at the Courts of the
+several Powers, however, still remains for deliberation. In
+discussing these questions persons are apprehensive, either that
+the emperor's commission will be disgraced, or that there will
+be an extravagant expenditure of the imperial funds. But
+such persons are not acquainted with the whole bearing of the
+subject.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Memorialist is of opinion that this question is eminently
+susceptible of a satisfactory solution. After selecting reliable
+and trustworthy men to reside at foreign Courts, it will be
+necessary to appoint subordinates and interpreters, who can be
+exchanged every three or every five years. Interpreters, indeed,
+should be selected from each country to which an envoy proceeds&mdash;a
+system which would give us the double advantage of
+facilitating public business, and of affording us an opportunity
+to display our amicable desires. Far from being detrimental,
+the project is attended with great advantages.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The matter of missionary extension is beset with greater
+difficulties than the rest, especially as it is not a State question
+with foreign Governments.<a name='FA_15' id='FA_15' href='#FN_15' class='fnanchor'>[15]</a> At the present moment innumerable
+churches are being erected in every province, district, and
+department for the explanation of their canon and the preaching
+of their faith; and the common people are one-half of them
+deceived, and the other half led to join them for evil purposes.
+Instructions should be issued to the superintendents of northern
+and southern trade, as well as to the generals, viceroys, governors,
+customs superintendents, and taotais, to become intimate with the
+foreign officials with whom they are in communication. Then,
+when anything is to be arranged, there would be no harm in
+telling them distinctly that when the common people misbehave
+the local functionaries must adjudicate; and that when it happens
+that the people refuse to become proselytes, the officials can on
+no account insist upon their doing so against their will&mdash;for
+such a course would but raise riots and disturbances, to the detriment
+of international amity. At the approaching revision of the
+treaty all possible arguments must be used with regard to this
+point, and on no account must any further clause be added.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With reference to the remaining points&mdash;viz., coal mines,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_188' name='Page_188'>[188]</a></span>
+importation of salt, erection of inland warehouses, inland steam
+navigation, and the like&mdash;these, although comparatively unimportant
+matters, nevertheless entail serious consequences. If
+their introduction is harmless, there is no necessity to waste
+words and ink in the raising of disputes and complications; but
+if, on the other hand, there are among them concessions which
+we are unwilling to make, it will be very proper to "explain
+the circumstances to them and argue the rights of the case,"
+and they will hardly wish to press embarrassments upon us.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Should they, however, take advantage of their strength to
+impose upon our weakness by dividing our territory and sharing
+among them the fat of the land, in such a pressing crisis the
+greatest firmness would be necessary. But there need be no
+great apprehension of such a contingency, for the simple reason
+that, with the exception of Russia, foreign countries are all too
+distant from China, and the acquisition of its territory would be
+nothing but an embarrassment to them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The fact is, that the prosperity of foreign countries is inseparably
+connected with the welfare of the Chinese people;
+and instead of draining that people to the last drop, would they
+not rather prefer to use, without exhausting&mdash;to take, and still
+leave a residue?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The present occasion of treaty revision with the English is
+a most important juncture. The English treaty once disposed
+of, there will be no difficulty with the other Powers. The
+danger to be apprehended is that during the revision of next
+year they will employ coercion to extort concession. This,
+however, may be known previously; and should it be the case,
+it will of course be necessary to select experienced troops and
+able officers to confront them. Should nothing of the sort
+occur, negotiations should be entered upon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In short, supposing we are to cherish a feeling of revenge and
+devise schemes to subvert foreign Powers, it will be necessary
+to wait until&mdash;with large armies and abundant supplies, with
+no rebel or Mohammedan outbreaks in the provinces, and no
+difficulties in the capital&mdash;we can cope with them without
+hesitation. We shall be a match then for all adversaries; but
+otherwise we cannot engage in a rash and random conflict.
+Even when it is supposed that we are ready for the struggle,
+it will still be necessary to exercise extreme and continual
+caution, and to wait until our spirit is high, and our aspect,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_189' name='Page_189'>[189]</a></span>
+therefore, formidable. Then should there be no war, the question
+would be disposed of; but in the event of our taking the
+field, it would not be unvictoriously.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Memorialist, however, has had several years' experience in
+conducting business with foreigners, and is thoroughly familiar
+with their character. He has found that, no matter what they
+are engaged in, they act honourably without deceit or falsehood.
+But although it is possible to acquire a general knowledge of
+their mode of action in the conduct of their own affairs, yet
+there is no means of becoming thoroughly acquainted with the
+details and motives of their conduct. Their bearing, however,
+in military matters affords clear evidence of their straightforwardness.
+There is the instance of the Englishman Gordon,
+late commander-in-chief at Soochow, who, having organised
+3000 troops of the Ever-Victorious Army, took the field
+against the rebels. Subsequently, at the capture of Soochow,
+the memorialist himself observed that officer personally leading
+in advance of his troops with a courage and <i>sang-froid</i> worthy
+of all praise. He subsequently became the recipient of the
+imperial commendation and reward.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The writer has also, in conjunction with Tsêng Kwo-fan, acting
+viceroy of the two Kiang, been associated with foreigners in
+organising foreign-drilled infantry and cavalry, and in making
+arrangements for the building of steam-vessels. He is
+thoroughly convinced that they are actuated by upright and
+amicable principles, and entertain no feelings of animosity
+towards China. With the knowledge of these facts before
+us, it is possible to draw our conclusions upon other matters.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is from these considerations, therefore, that the writer
+suggests the policy to be pursued in intercourse with foreigners.
+There seems to be no necessity to dispose of the several questions
+hastily and on the instant, nor do the resident foreign
+Ministers at Peking apparently intend to insist upon an immediate
+settlement.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It would be well if H.I.M. on attaining his majority were
+himself to adopt the policy suggested, and in that case no
+difficult questions would arise.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+6th year, 11th month, 6th day.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+As perhaps the best essay yet extant in translating
+the Chinese imperial tradition into the language of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_190' name='Page_190'>[190]</a></span>
+the modern world, this paper of Li Hung-chang's is
+full of instruction for foreign diplomatists. Read in
+the light of the subsequent thirty years, we see that
+it sets forth the principles which have inspired the
+whole public life of the most prominent man in China.
+His recognition of the honourable character of foreigners,
+as he knew them, represented a notable
+advance on the like testimony of Commissioner Lin
+in 1841, inasmuch as Lin deduced from it the ease
+by which their good faith could be abused, while Li
+made it a ground of confidence in co-operation with
+them. His recommendation to his contemporaries, to
+cultivate intimacy with foreign officials in order to
+obviate misunderstandings in the execution of the
+treaties, was only preaching that which he has consistently
+practised throughout his official life. He
+was the first high official who braved public opinion
+by sitting with open doors. This conciliatory temper
+and open mind has made Li Hung-chang the lubricator
+in many jarring conflicts; and it kept him, contrary to
+constitutional usage, for twenty-five years at the diplomatic
+outpost of the capital.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+His delicate handling of the suggestion of the
+Central Government, to resist by hostile means the
+proposals of foreigners, is also characteristic of the
+man who had seen war and hated it. While bowing
+to the imperial will, he proposed postponement of its
+execution. In a similar case many years afterwards
+a memorial of Li's was quoted as an incitement to war
+with Japan, whereas it was an extinguisher, in diplomatic
+form, put upon the bellicose proposal of another.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Not the least interesting part of Li's memorial is
+the ground on which he advocates reform&mdash;the proved
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_191' name='Page_191'>[191]</a></span>
+superiority of foreign nations. His argument takes
+the identical form, and is expressed in the very words,
+used by the Daimios of Japan; and the circumstances
+of the two countries in their foreign relations were in
+the main so similar, that it cannot but be instructive
+to observe how they comported themselves respectively
+under the stress of the foreign irruption. Both
+had been overawed by foreign forces, and both sought
+revenge by using the strength of their opponents for
+their own regeneration. The difficulty, as we see it,
+in the carrying out of the scheme of regeneration was
+of the same nature in both countries&mdash;the want of
+unity and centralisation. Japan was divided up into
+feudal principalities; China into provinces and prefectures
+as independent as self-governing British
+colonies. The councils of the Daimios bore a rough
+analogy to the consultations with the governors and
+governors-general of China. The enemy was the same,
+and the means of overcoming him are as clearly laid
+down in Li Hung-chang's memorial as in the most
+perfervid of the Japanese manifestoes. How, then,
+did it come about that the same leaven should have
+fermented with such miraculous rapidity in the one
+country, while in the other it has been buried in a
+torpid mass? Obviously this is a matter which will
+repay the consideration of those who concern themselves
+with the state and prospects of China.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_192' name='Page_192'>[192]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+II. THE BURLINGAME MISSION.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Mysterious inception&mdash;American Minister becomes Chinese envoy to
+Western countries&mdash;Objects of mission concealed&mdash;Its first adventure&mdash;Mr
+Burlingame concludes treaty at Washington&mdash;Persuades British
+Government to adopt new policy in China.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Three processes&mdash;separate, though not independent&mdash;were
+going on simultaneously during the year 1868:
+the revision of the British treaty in Peking; an
+epidemic of anti-foreign demonstrations in the provinces;
+and the progress of the Burlingame mission
+in Europe. One of them cannot be understood without
+the other; but taking the revision of the treaty as the
+object towards which the other two converged, it will
+be simpler to reserve the special consideration of the
+treaty question until we have given a short outline of
+the accessory episodes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Of the eight questions submitted to the provincials,
+one was disposed of, and that in a surprisingly precipitate
+manner, a month before even the memorials of the
+various authorities were sent in. An embassy to Europe
+and America was appointed, equipped, and despatched
+in the month of November 1867, and with a foreigner
+at its head. A proceeding so contrary to Chinese
+tradition naturally excited curiosity as to its origin,&mdash;a
+curiosity which has been tantalised but not to this
+day satisfied, though the mission itself soon became
+ancient history. It is certain none of the representatives
+of foreign Powers then in the capital were
+consulted, or in any way taken into confidence with
+regard to the scheme&mdash;except, of course, the one who
+transferred himself from the service of his own country
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_193' name='Page_193'>[193]</a></span>
+to that of China. "No one," wrote Sir Rutherford
+Alcock, "knew that the Chinese were on the eve of
+a revolution which would materially change the aspect
+of affairs." This by way of explaining an important
+memorandum he had just written on the state of
+China, which would have been of a different tenor
+had any hint of what was intended been given to
+him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the embassy was the first that China had sent
+to a foreign country, and as it was commissioned under
+some urgent demand which evidently would brook no
+delay, its composition, character, and objects are all
+interesting to the student of Chinese politics. There
+were three envoys, two Chinese and one foreign. The
+latter was the Hon. Anson Burlingame, Minister of the
+United States to China, who of course was the spokesman
+of the mission. A better selection for the purpose
+could not have been made, had even a larger choice
+of men been open to the Chinese. Mr Burlingame had
+been an active politician in his time, and was a practised
+orator. If we add the epithet "sophisticated
+rhetorician," which was ten years later applied to a
+still more eminent personage, that is little more than
+to say he was a special pleader. And he was engaged
+on special pleader's duty. Whatever the genesis of
+the mission, therefore, it was a master stroke of the
+Chinese Government, eclipsing all their other contrivances
+to resist the expected demands of foreigners at
+the revision of the treaties. It was the first open
+attempt by the Chinese to apply the homœopathic
+principle to their international affairs in using the
+foreigner as an antidote to the foreigner.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Burlingame mission left Peking with the ostensible
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_194' name='Page_194'>[194]</a></span>
+approval of the foreign representatives. The
+support of the British Minister was given in the most
+practical way by the permission granted to the acting
+Chinese secretary, Mr J. McLeavy Brown, to accept
+the secretaryship of the mission&mdash;a favour the more
+marked in that Mr Brown happened to be the <i>locum
+tenens</i> of Mr Wade, who had just gone on leave, so
+that his departure left the British Legation destitute
+at a season of the year when it was impossible to
+call up substitutes from the ports, and at a time
+when the greatest burden of work was in prospect.
+And yet the true object of the mission was concealed
+from Sir Rutherford Alcock. "I do not know what
+Mr Burlingame's instructions may ultimately be," he
+wrote in January 1868, adding, "but it is very obvious
+what is the work which devolves upon him." Sir
+Rutherford's judgment of its purpose seems to have
+been based on his own inferences from the facts of
+the situation and his unquestioning faith in Mr Burlingame's
+loyalty to his professed principles.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He had known Mr Burlingame for two years as the
+<i>doyen</i> of the diplomatic body, the most fervid champion
+of that "co-operative policy" whereby the treaty
+Powers agreed to act as a united body in pursuit
+of identical objects. He could not suppose that his
+late colleague had turned his back on those common
+objects without notice. Although, therefore, the
+suddenness and secrecy of the move might have
+suggested misgivings as to the mission being intended
+to promote the views of the diplomatic body in Peking,
+yet it is beyond question that Sir Rutherford Alcock
+heartily favoured the embassy. His confidence in it
+is further attested by a very long and elaborate
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_195' name='Page_195'>[195]</a></span>
+memorandum which he addressed to Prince Kung,
+indicating the uses to which the embassy should be
+put in bringing about an understanding with the
+Powers, whereby Chinese interests would be safeguarded
+while the treaty rights of foreigners should
+be amply fulfilled. "I see in the mission a hope of
+improvement and a material change in the whole
+aspect of affairs.... Proves there are Ministers
+with power and influence in the councils of the
+emperor who believe the time has come for breaking
+with the past.... After a long night of weariness
+and futile efforts, daylight begins to appear.... I
+hail the appointment of a representative to the
+Western Powers as the beginning of a new era."
+Such was the Minister's valediction in his report to
+the Foreign Office. But he had been mightily deceived.
+The night had indeed been long, but it was not the
+true dawn which was welcomed with this joyful acclamation.
+How quickly the gloom settled down again on
+that scene of fruitless toil will presently be seen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The mission was introduced to the notice of the
+world by a humorous prelude, which may be quoted
+for the sake of the light it incidentally throws on the
+chronic state of China. On their way from Peking to
+Tientsin, seventy or eighty miles, the envoys halted at
+a large market-town, where a report met them of a
+phenomenon not very uncommon in those parts, especially
+in winter&mdash;a band of marauders who had been
+annoying the neighbourhood. The mission took refuge
+in an inn, resolved to stand a siege until aid should
+come. In this strait Mr Burlingame seems never to
+have thought of applying either to the local authorities
+of the town or to the Government he was serving,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_196' name='Page_196'>[196]</a></span>
+but despatched urgent messages to Peking, where
+there were escorts kept at the Russian and British
+Legations, and to Tientsin, where was the British
+gunboat Dove. His appeals were answered with
+alacrity from both sides. From Peking came a relief
+party of British and Russian soldiers in charge of members
+of the two Legations; from Tientsin a party of
+mounted bluejackets under Lieutenant Dunlop. They
+met at the half-way house where the mission lay, but
+nothing could be seen or heard of the besiegers. Mr
+Burlingame's party reached their port of embarkation
+without further adventure. Indeed the only serious
+matter that arose out of the imbroglio was a difference
+of opinion between one Vodkansky of the Cossack
+guard and Mulvaney, a sturdy Hibernian of the
+British escort, which the latter proposed to settle by
+the means in vogue among heroes before the days
+of Agamemnon. Tragic consequences were, however,
+averted by the soothing diplomacy of the representative
+of her Majesty's Legation, Mr Conolly, and the
+two Burlingame relief expeditions returned to their
+respective stations nothing the worse for a couple
+of days' outing in the bracing November air.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr Burlingame made his <i>début</i> in the United States,
+first by eloquent speeches in San Francisco, and next
+by what assumed the form of serious negotiations at
+Washington. An orator cannot reasonably be held
+accountable for every detail of his orations, but Mr
+Burlingame's mission may be most favourably summarised
+by a few carefully chosen words of his own:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+1st. It was the object of the mission to disabuse the foreign
+Powers of an impression they were supposed to entertain, that
+the Chinese Government had entered upon a retrograde policy.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_197' name='Page_197'>[197]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+2nd. To deprecate a precipitate and unfriendly attempt on
+their part to enter upon a policy which might make all progress
+impossible from its menacing tone and "violent shock
+to the feelings, and even prejudices, of the people."
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Translated into practice, these propositions meant
+that China wished to be let alone; and that, we may
+safely assume, represented the whole extent of Mr
+Burlingame's instructions. This claim was embodied
+in a convention which he made at Washington, comprising
+certain "additional articles" to the American
+treaty of 1858, the purport of which was that the United
+States undertook to apply no pressure to China, which,
+it may be presumed, that Power had never the intention
+of doing. The convention was for several reasons
+not welcomed at Peking, but it served the only purpose
+which perhaps it was ever expected to serve, that of
+giving the keynote to the representations which the
+envoy was afterwards to make to the various Powers
+in Europe.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The next Government to which Mr Burlingame
+addressed himself was that of Great Britain, over
+which he obtained a more important success than over
+that of the United States. In fact, he persuaded Lord
+Clarendon to discard all the information that ever
+reached the Foreign Office from its own responsible
+agents in China&mdash;men who were bound by every consideration
+of loyalty and public duty to report only
+what was true, and to accept instead thereof the
+protestations of an agent hired to make out a case; for
+it is superfluous to add that Mr Burlingame was far
+indeed from representing the true state of facts. He
+succeeded in so altering the course of the British Government
+that their agent in China was discredited, stultified,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_198' name='Page_198'>[198]</a></span>
+and rendered powerless to effect the objects for
+which he had been labouring. This was the first step
+of the Foreign Office in the new departure which had
+many evil results&mdash;that, namely, of taking their cue
+not from agents in their own pay, but from others over
+whom they could exercise no control, and who had alien
+interests to serve.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From the Chinese point of view the Burlingame
+mission was a decided success.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+III. CHINESE OUTRAGES&mdash;YANGCHOW AND FORMOSA.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Missions attacked at Yangchow&mdash;Redress refused by Chinese and enforced
+by consul&mdash;With naval assistance&mdash;Satisfactory issue&mdash;Continuous
+outrages in Formosa&mdash;Government affords no relief&mdash;Disturbances
+quelled by British forces&mdash;Lawlessness near Swatow&mdash;Communications
+with interior controlled by bandits&mdash;Order restored by Consul Alabaster
+with naval force&mdash;Peace and good feeling between Chinese and
+foreigners resulting from these various measures&mdash;Which were approved
+by Imperial Government&mdash;Disapproved by British Government in
+consequence of Mr Burlingame's representations&mdash;Consuls punished&mdash;Lord
+Clarendon, prompted by Mr Burlingame, sends fresh instructions
+to Minister and consuls.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The year 1868 was marked by serious anti-foreign
+outbreaks in widely distant provinces of the empire.
+At Yangchow, a wealthy city on the Grand Canal,
+twelve miles from the left bank of the Yangtze river,
+a favourite resort for retired officials, rich salt merchants,
+and gentry, the Inland missionaries under the
+orders of Mr Hudson Taylor established themselves.
+In no locality in China could they have been less
+welcome, for there they met their natural enemies
+in the greatest force. Before long an attack on them
+was organised at the instigation of the literati and
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_199' name='Page_199'>[199]</a></span>
+gentry, and with the connivance of the local authorities.
+"The onslaught was sudden and severe, the mob
+set fire to the premises, the ladies and children of the
+mission had to be thrown out of the windows to save
+their lives." There was no mistake, therefore, as to
+the murderous intentions of the assailants. The
+nearest British consul was at Shanghai, the consulate
+at Chinkiang, twelve miles from the scene of the
+outrage, being in charge of an assistant, Mr Clement
+Allen. That young officer hastened instantly to the
+assistance of the missionaries, and made his protest
+against the culpable negligence, to say no more, of
+the Chinese officials, who on their part made a great
+to-do of hushing the matter up and repairing the
+injured house. Consul Medhurst promptly followed
+up the representations made by Mr Allen by personal
+appeal to the viceroy at Nanking, fifty miles distant.
+The mind of that high official had already been prejudiced
+by ingeniously falsified reports of the transaction
+supplied to him by the prefect of Yangchow,
+and in consequence he refused Mr Medhurst's request
+to depute an official to accompany him to that city
+for the purpose of investigating the facts. Thereupon
+Mr Medhurst, availing himself of the arrival of H.M.'s
+ship Rinaldo at Chinkiang, obtained from her commander
+a sufficient escort to accompany him to
+Yangchow; and then only did the viceroy, Tsêng
+Kwo-fan, appoint an officer, though of totally inadequate
+rank, to co-operate with the consul. The
+Chinese officer did not, however, keep his appointment,
+and Mr Medhurst proceeded without him, and
+placed in the hands of the prefect at Yangchow a
+written demand for redress, one of the items being
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_200' name='Page_200'>[200]</a></span>
+the seizure and punishment of the gentry, whose
+names were submitted. The prefect at once declared
+his inability to deal with men of such influence, all
+being of higher rank than himself. As nothing,
+therefore, could be settled at Yangchow, the prefect
+agreed to accompany Mr Medhurst to Nanking to
+lay the whole matter before the viceroy. A deputy
+from the viceroy, however, met Mr Medhurst at
+Chinkiang and endeavoured to dissuade him from
+proceeding to Nanking, offering instead to accompany
+him back to Yangchow, according to the original
+programme. Mr Medhurst, in his turn, persuaded
+the deputy to return with him to Nanking on H.M.'s
+ship Rinaldo, which was to start from Chinkiang the
+following morning. But the deputy Chang did not
+keep that appointment, any more than he had kept
+his previous one. The prefect of Yangchow also
+found means of evading his promise to accompany
+the consul into the presence of the viceroy. After
+much pressure on the one side and evasion on the
+other, the viceroy offered to settle the matter by a
+charitable gratuity to the missionaries in lieu of
+damages, and showed his anxiety to get the affair
+patched up quickly by sending an official of rank to
+follow Mr Medhurst on board H.M.'s ship Rinaldo,
+where he spent two hours in attempting to persuade
+the consul to accept the terms offered. Matters were,
+in fact, in a fair way of settlement when, "just at this
+juncture," the commander of the Rinaldo fell sick
+and determined to proceed with his ship to Shanghai,
+the consul being thus left in a humiliating and helpless
+position, as Sir Rutherford Alcock describes it.
+The Chinese officials at once changed their tone, withdrew
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_201' name='Page_201'>[201]</a></span>
+from negotiations, and nothing more could be
+done with them. The action of the naval officer in
+abandoning the consul was freely criticised at the
+time, and being in consequence asked by the Admiralty
+for an explanation, he stated, among other things,
+"that it never entered his head that the presence
+simply of a small man-of-war could have the effect
+of influencing the viceroy." He also stated that he
+had "been given to understand that the viceroy had
+expressed his willingness to comply with Mr Medhurst's
+requests, and would send a letter to that
+effect that night or the next morning." The gallant
+officer did not appear to perceive that the withdrawal
+of his ship before the viceroy's promise had been fulfilled
+completely changed the situation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nothing was left for the consul, then, but to lay the
+whole case before H.M.'s Minister, and in doing so he
+made these observations: "I can call to mind, out of
+my experience of British relations with China, scarcely
+one instance in which the outrage complained of has
+been more unprovoked on the part of the sufferers,
+and in which the evidence of neglect and culpability
+on the part of the local authorities has been more
+marked and incontrovertible. Few cases can have
+occurred, moreover, in which the power to grant
+prompt and reasonable redress was more within the
+reach of the supreme provincial authority."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Minister, in his turn, had no resource but to call
+upon the admiral on the station "to repair the mischief
+by sending such naval force to the mouth of the Grand
+Canal as shall enable him, if necessary, to apply
+effective pressure both on the local authorities and
+populace at Yangchow and on the viceroy at Nanking,"
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_202' name='Page_202'>[202]</a></span>
+to whom the consul was once more instructed to
+address himself. Of course the Minister had before
+this applied in the usual form to the Tsungli-Yamên,
+and with the usual result. They deprecated hasty conclusions
+until they themselves had full information
+from the local authorities; but they admitted without
+hesitation that, assuming the facts, full redress must
+be granted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Minister's representations to the Central Government
+were renewed with greater emphasis on
+receipt of the news of the collapse of the consul's
+negotiations. Prince Kung then expressed his readiness
+to make the compensations demanded; but as
+regarded the punishment of the instigators of the
+outrage, he contented himself with tacitly indorsing
+the plea of the viceroy, "that the gentry indicated
+were men of high rank, and incapable of wilful disregard
+of treaty provisions, for which reason they need
+not be called to account." In reply the Minister stated
+that immunity to such offenders, more especially if
+highly placed, is wholly incompatible with the treaty
+rights of foreigners. A new inquiry, however, was
+instituted at Yangchow, and the Viceroy Tsêng, who
+had just been gazetted to another post, was warned
+not to leave Nanking until the affair was concluded.
+After an interval of two months, Consul Medhurst,
+escorted by a naval force despatched to his aid by
+Admiral Keppel, sent his cards once more to the
+Nanking viceroy. The old tactics were repeated, and
+negotiations threatened to be indefinitely protracted,
+but eventually promises were given for the full redress
+demanded. Promises, however, had been given before,
+and it was deemed not unreasonable in the circumstances
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_203' name='Page_203'>[203]</a></span>
+to demand a material guarantee. There happened
+to be lying at anchor opposite the city a small
+steamer recently built for the viceroy, which he was
+induced to place under the orders of Captain Heneage,
+R.N., pending the execution of the arrangements.
+The end of the discussion was a complete and satisfactory
+settlement of the whole affair, which included
+the deprivation of the prefect and the magistrate of
+Yangchow. The after-effects have been no less satisfactory.
+For the last thirty years Yangchow has
+been the most peaceable missionary field in the
+whole empire. We have set forth this incident in
+some detail, because it was typical, isolated, and free
+from all obscurities.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While these events were passing on the Yangtze,
+similar troubles, which had been threatening for some
+time, came to a head in the island of Formosa. Outbreaks
+of mob-violence against the property and person of
+both missionaries and merchants took place in different
+parts of the island. At Banca, in the Tamsui district,
+two English merchants, Messrs Kerr and Bird, were
+murderously assaulted by a ferocious armed mob, and
+Mr Holt, the acting vice-consul at Tamsui, reported in
+October 1868 that "remonstrance, expostulation, despatches,
+letters, messages, and visits having alike failed
+in securing common justice" from the mandarin, he
+might be "driven at any moment to strike his consular
+flag and close communication with the authorities.
+Our lives are threatened by people who have proved
+that the will to murder us is not wanting," and with
+whom the authorities either could not or would not
+interfere. Mr Holt held his ground until assistance
+reached him, and he made no secret of his intention to
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_204' name='Page_204'>[204]</a></span>
+back his diplomacy by a show of force whenever he got
+the chance. "Short of destruction of life and property,"
+he wrote, "I intend using any means in my power to
+enforce that justice that the people who are supposed
+to administer it deny me. On the arrival of the gunboat
+I will at once inform your Excellency of the
+measures concerted between the commander and myself."
+Vice-Admiral Keppel reported to the Admiralty
+in December that "the opportune arrival of H.M. gunboat
+Janus and the United States Aroostook was followed
+by a full compliance with the demands of her
+Majesty's consul."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Matters did not run quite so smoothly at the other
+end of the island, where missionaries as well as merchants
+were the object of attack. The campaign was
+carried on with vigour for some six months. Redress
+was not only unobtainable from the Chinese authorities,
+but even personal access to them was rendered impossible
+by the obstruction of the mob. Mr George
+Jamieson was obliged to forego a visit to the magistrate
+at Taiwan in April on the latter confessing that
+he could not protect him from violence. Mr Gibson,
+five months later, found his road to the mandarin
+ambuscaded by three parties of sixty or seventy men
+each, armed with jingalls, swords, and spears. Outrage
+succeeded outrage during the whole period. The
+state of affairs was of course a subject of serious remonstrance
+with the Central Government, of whom the
+Minister first demanded, as in the Yangchow case, a
+joint inquiry into the facts. For this purpose the
+consul, Mr Swinhoe, who had been absent on other
+duty, was ordered to his proper post. At the same
+time Vice-Admiral Keppel was requested to send an
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_205' name='Page_205'>[205]</a></span>
+adequate naval force to support the consul's position
+and prevent further outbreaks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Yamên went through the form of ordering to
+the spot a commissioner, who, however, left it again
+immediately, thus turning the orders of the Yamên into
+ridicule. This proceeding naturally encouraged the hostility
+of the local officials and of the mob who executed
+their behests. The situation became most threatening.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The squadron detached by Admiral Keppel for active
+operations at Takow and its neighbourhood consisted of
+three corvettes and five gunboats, to be reinforced if
+necessary by the flagship Rodney, carrying eighty-two
+guns. Before this imposing force arrived, however, the
+task they were intended to achieve had been already
+accomplished. "Driven to despair, and believing life
+and property to be in great danger, Mr Gibson, without
+waiting for instructions, called upon Lieutenant
+Gurdon of the gunboat Algerine to take possession of
+the Chinese fort, which resulted in a loss of life and a
+destruction of Government stores."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr Gibson's action was somewhat euphemistically
+described as "without waiting for instructions," seeing
+that he had positive instructions to maintain his
+ground until a naval force should arrive. Both the
+operation itself and certain details of its execution
+were adverted upon so severely, first by Sir Rutherford
+Alcock and then by the British Government, that,
+notwithstanding Commodore Jones's commendation of
+"the most brilliant exploit I have heard of in these
+seas," Lieutenant Gurdon fell under the displeasure of
+the Lords of the Admiralty, as the acting consul did
+under that of the Foreign Office. The object of the
+joint adventure, however, was attained, and the spirit
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_206' name='Page_206'>[206]</a></span>
+of outrage among the Chinese completely subdued.
+This happened in December.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There remained, however, yet another centre of
+turbulence which greatly impeded the operation of
+the treaty, at the port of Swatow. The villages which
+lie between that seaport and the district city of Chow-chow-fu,
+some 12 miles up the river Han, had banded
+themselves together to oppose foreign intercourse with
+the latter city. Not only were the business and property
+of foreign merchants interfered with, but a
+British man-of-war gig in the river was fired upon,
+and when the men landed to identify the offender they
+were overpowered by the whole population of the
+nearest village. This hostile attitude, resembling very
+much that of the Canton villages twenty years before,
+steadily increased until the native officials themselves
+were not safe in passing to and from the district city.
+Strong representations were made to the high
+authorities of the province at Canton. The viceroy
+had promised to send a military force to quell the
+riotous villages, but before he had proved the sincerity
+of his intention the Gordian knot was cut by British
+initiative in January 1869. The late Sir Challoner
+Alabaster, a man of uncommon resolution, was at
+that time acting consul at Swatow; and he, having
+secured the co-operation of Commodore Jones, led a
+force of marines and bluejackets against the offending
+villages. A stout resistance was offered at first, but
+when several of the villages had been taken and
+destroyed the whole eighteen made their submission.
+Thereafter the district enjoyed perfect peace and
+security. In the following March Sir Rutherford
+Alcock was able to telegraph to Lord Clarendon that
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_207' name='Page_207'>[207]</a></span>
+"the accounts from all the ports showed that peace
+and order had been restored; that at Yangchow and
+Formosa entire security and an improved position had
+been obtained; that there was no more cause for
+anxiety at any point; that the best understanding
+existed with the foreign body at Peking; and that the
+relations with China had never been more satisfactory."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The bearing of these occurrences on the revision of
+the treaty may not at first sight be quite clear, but it
+is interesting to note in what manner they were connected
+with that operation in the mind of Sir Rutherford
+Alcock. He calculated that the necessity of using
+force to vindicate foreign treaty rights, of which both
+he and his predecessor had constantly warned them,
+would bring home to the Peking authorities the alternative
+which they would always have to face in case of
+failure to carry out the treaties. How very differently
+these outrages and the enforced redress affected the
+situation in Peking will now be seen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The action taken at Yangchow and in Formosa
+having been fully explained to the Tsungli-Yamên,
+Wênsiang and the other Ministers expressed their
+entire concurrence. But what satisfied the Government
+of China produced quite another impression on
+that of Great Britain. Lord Stanley, as Foreign
+Secretary, had written on November 20, 1868: "Mr
+Medhurst appears to have acted with great prudence
+and firmness, and you will convey to him my approval
+of his proceedings.... I have to instruct you [Sir R.
+Alcock] to press the case in question upon the Chinese
+Government." Two months later Mr Medhurst was
+reprimanded by Lord Clarendon for his action, and
+the "full satisfaction for the outrage" was attributed
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_208' name='Page_208'>[208]</a></span>
+exclusively to the "readiness with which the Central
+Government took measures that proved effectual." The
+change of Government which had in the interval taken
+place in England (December 9, 1868) was hardly sufficient
+to account for so diametrical a change of view
+in a matter of imperial concern. Another agency had
+effected the conversion of the British Government. Mr
+Burlingame had arrived fresh from fervid denunciations
+in the United States of the "tyrannic policy" and the
+"throat policy" of Great Britain as applied to China,
+and adroitly seizing on the repression of the Yangchow
+and Formosa outrages as flagrant examples, he succeeded
+in incensing Lord Clarendon against the various
+British officials concerned in these troubles, whom his
+lordship visited with punishment which scarcely stopped
+short of vindictiveness. Mr Medhurst, indeed, a man
+of long and distinguished service, had only a black
+mark set against his name; but Mr Gibson was publicly
+censured and degraded, and ordered to make an
+apology to the Chinese officials whose lawless aggressions
+he had lawlessly repelled. With some inconsistency,
+Lord Clarendon, about the same time, approved
+the conduct of Acting-Consul Holt at Tamsui, who
+succeeded in adjusting most serious misunderstandings
+with the Chinese through no other means than the
+visible force of the small gunboat Janus, for whose
+arrival he waited before preferring his demands.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+That the sudden change in the policy of the British
+Government was the work of Mr Burlingame was
+frankly avowed by Lord Clarendon himself, who based
+the fresh instructions to the Minister in China on the
+arrangements he had concluded with the Chinese representative.
+In his letter of condemnation, January
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_209' name='Page_209'>[209]</a></span>
+14, 1869, he, moreover, intimated that he could not
+wait before pronouncing judgment for Sir Rutherford
+Alcock's complete report on the Yangchow affair,
+because his "communication with Mr Burlingame ...
+rendered it necessary that he should not defer making
+his observations." That a British Secretary of State
+could have so demeaned his office would not have been
+believed save on his own confession. He of course
+carried the Admiralty with him, and the same influence
+which inspired the new instructions issued to
+the Minister and consuls inspired those issued to the
+commanding officers on the China station.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Taken textually, the negotiations between Mr Burlingame
+and Lord Clarendon were of a platonic character.
+H.M.'s Government undertook to apply no
+pressure to China. It would have been a simple matter
+to refrain from applying pressure, and a tacit resolution
+to that effect with corresponding instruction to the
+Minister in Peking would have secured the object. To
+make it a subject of direct pledge to the Chinese Government
+seemed one of those gratuitous acts which
+all diplomatic experience condemns as fraught with
+future embarrassments. To save appearances, however,
+a nominal equivalent was taken. "Mr Burlingame
+was requested to bear in mind, and to make
+known to the Chinese Government, that we should
+henceforward have a right to expect on its part the
+faithful fulfilment of treaty engagements, the prompt
+redress of grievances referred to the Central Government,
+and friendly treatment of British subjects by
+the Chinese authorities"&mdash;as if all that had not been
+already stipulated for under the solemn sanction of
+the existing treaty.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_210' name='Page_210'>[210]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+IV. REVISION NEGOTIATIONS AND CONCLUSION.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Lukewarmness of British Government&mdash;Sir R. Alcock's misgivings as to
+success&mdash;Mixed commission in Peking to consider details&mdash;Mr Hart's
+predominance&mdash;Treaty becomes a custom-house concern&mdash;Increase of
+duties being the Chinese aim&mdash;Sir Rutherford Alcock attributes failure
+to Mr Burlingame's misrepresentations&mdash;Merchants oppose the treaty&mdash;Ratification
+refused by British Government&mdash;Inferences from this
+fiasco&mdash;Chinese influenced by force alone.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Let us now revert to the cause and origin of the
+Burlingame mission&mdash;the revision of the treaty of
+Tientsin. The instruction for revision was given by
+Lord Stanley on August 16, 1867, in such general
+terms as the following:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+Her Majesty's Government neither wish, nor have they
+the right, to impose sacrifices on China, even though they
+may be convinced that the inconvenience of such sacrifices
+will be only temporary, whereas the benefit which will result
+from them will be lasting.... We must reconcile ourselves
+to waiting for the gradual development of that [better] system,
+and content ourselves with reserving for revision at a future
+period any new arrangement we may come to in 1868....
+You will of course act openly with the representatives of other
+Powers, inviting and availing yourself of their co-operation.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+A note of misgiving as to the policy of asking for
+the revision runs through the whole correspondence.
+After the preliminary labours of sifting the voluminous
+memorials from merchants and others, Sir Rutherford
+Alcock sums up their demands thus: "All their wants
+turn upon three or four cardinal defects, not of the
+treaties so much as in their execution." And he adds
+the significant reflection: "The question arises, if
+nothing is to be gained by demanding a revision, ...
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_211' name='Page_211'>[211]</a></span>
+whether much would not be lost, and an opportunity
+thrown away, which might, by reserving the right, be
+turned to better account when the emperor's majority
+is declared. I believe the true policy of foreign Powers
+would be to wait; ... to this conclusion ... all the
+representatives of foreign Powers now in Peking are
+led." "The Chinese," he also says, "would go much
+faster and better if left alone."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The question naturally suggested by these remarks&mdash;why
+a task involving enormous labour, of which
+only negative results were to be expected, was entered
+upon at all at such an inopportune moment&mdash;remains
+unanswered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It would be insufferably tedious, and of no practical
+utility, to track the windings of a maze leading nowhere,
+for the revised treaty was never ratified. But the
+labours of two whole years could not but leave landmarks
+to guide succeeding travellers over the same
+ground. It could not be but that with so much
+beating of the bushes the game would be started, if
+not brought to bag. It was a reconnaissance in force
+which, for the first time, compelled the respective
+parties to the struggle to reveal their true character
+and intentions. Such a discovery was perhaps not
+too dearly bought by the time and trouble expended
+on it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first definite step in the process of revision was
+the nomination of a mixed commission of British and
+Chinese "to devise means of securing a more prompt
+redress of commercial grievances." The members were
+Mr Fraser, second secretary to the British Legation;
+Mr Hart, Inspector-General of Customs; and two
+secretaries of the Tsungli-Yamên&mdash;a heavy preponderance
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_212' name='Page_212'>[212]</a></span>
+on the Chinese side of the question. To the same
+commission was added another British member, Mr
+Adkins. And here it is not impertinent to observe
+that the absence of both the Chinese secretary, Mr
+Wade, and the acting Chinese secretary, Mr Brown,
+left the Legation in a condition too crippled to engage
+on work which would have taxed its full strength. The
+members of the commission held many sittings, reporting
+proceedings from time to time to their respective
+principals, the Tsungli-Yamên and the British Minister.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It needs no great effort of imagination to divine, in
+a body thus composed, whose would be the dominant
+voice. Mr Hart conducted the proceedings throughout.
+The discussion had not gone far when it was found
+hopeless to revise the provisions of the treaty in any
+sense compatible with progress or freer intercourse;
+and the dangerous questions which had caused the
+Government so much anxiety, and which had inspired
+both the Burlingame mission and the various secret
+memorials, being thus happily ruled outside the controversy,
+the Chinese Ministers seem to have given
+themselves no further concern about the revision.
+This distant attitude of theirs was severely commented
+on by a contemporary writer in 'Fraser's
+Magazine,' who said:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+After ten years of conciliatory blandishments on our part,
+the high Chinese authorities had so far disobeyed the spirit
+of the treaty that, although they had not actually prevented
+our Minister from corresponding and visiting with them, yet
+they had had the audacity to render all such intercourse absolutely
+nugatory, and had constrained him, after a long and
+successful diplomatic career, to descend to the extremely humiliating
+position of treating with them indirectly through the
+medium of Mr R. Hart.
+</p>
+</div>
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_213' name='Page_213'>[213]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As, however, the proceedings became focussed on a
+tariff revision destined to add to the duty receipts, a
+"collector of revenue wanting money," as Mr Hart
+described himself, was the most fitting negotiator,
+and the Chinese ministers were well pleased to leave
+him free to make his own bargain, so long as it yielded
+that result.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To give colour to the Chinese demand for higher
+duties a bold formula was resorted to, and supported by
+equally bold reasoning. The expedient was a rearrangement
+of the method of collection of inland dues on
+foreign merchandise, which was then, as it continues to
+be, the great bone of contention between foreign traders
+and the Chinese authorities. The treaties conferred
+on merchants the right of compounding for all inland
+taxation of their merchandise by a single payment
+at the port of entry; but the practices of the Chinese
+officials had rendered the privilege a nullity. In the
+new negotiations Mr Hart, on the part of the Chinese,
+took the high ground of maintaining, with subtle
+dialectic, that the protection which foreigners claimed
+was not in fact given by the treaties. So strongly
+did the Chinese entrench themselves in this contention,
+that heavy artillery was required to dislodge
+them. "Could any negotiators be so dull or incompetent,"
+wrote Sir R. Alcock in reply, "as to sign a
+treaty of commerce with an Eastern potentate, extorted
+at the point of the bayonet, and leave this
+unlimited power in his hands to turn against us the
+next moment, or whenever he pleased, and nullify
+all that had been stipulated, destroying the trade
+for which alone war had been made?" Defeated in
+argument, the Chinese next begged that what they
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_214' name='Page_214'>[214]</a></span>
+could not claim as a right might yet be accorded
+to them as a favour, thus copying the tactics of
+the Japanese in an analogous case.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As this proved to be the crux of the whole transaction,
+the rock on which the convention eventually
+split, it is useful to consider how the subject was treated
+in the negotiations. The treaties of Nanking, 1842,
+and of Tientsin, 1858, provided for the transit of British
+goods throughout the empire on payment of a fixed
+charge. But in securing exemption from arbitrary
+imposts in the interior, the treaty of Nanking signally
+failed; that of Tientsin had proved equally ineffective,
+and why? From inherent difficulties in the nature of
+things&mdash;obstacles absolutely insuperable so long as the
+country remained under the same organic conditions.
+Such were the propositions with which the British
+Minister entered upon the discussion of the subject;
+and as no proposal was made for changing the organic
+conditions of the empire, the prospect of obtaining a
+satisfactory fulfilment of those treaty provisions did not
+seem very encouraging.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But then a suggestion, apparently emanating from
+Consul Robertson at Canton, was made for simplifying
+the problem by doing away with the option which had
+been reserved in the treaties for foreign merchants,
+either to pay the commutation at the port of landing,
+or to allow their goods to run the gantlet of the
+Chinese customs stations. Instead of this, it was suggested
+that a single compulsory payment, amounting
+to half the import tariff, might be levied on the landing
+of the goods, which should thereafter be freed
+from all other imposts throughout the empire. It was
+not unnatural that a "collector of revenue" should
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_215' name='Page_215'>[215]</a></span>
+appropriate this conception, and introduce it into the
+revised treaty; but then the doubt immediately arose
+on the other side, whether the promised exemption
+would be any more of a reality than it had been under
+the existing <i>régime</i>. If the difficulties in the way of
+fulfilling the stipulation in the treaty of Tientsin and
+Nanking were really insuperable, would they now disappear
+merely because the Chinese Government received
+an increased import duty? In considering Mr
+Hart's proposal, "the question would be," according to
+Sir Rutherford Alcock, "Could we obtain a sufficient
+guarantee that such additional import due would
+effectually exempt British goods from all other dues,
+local, provincial, and what not?" And again, "Security
+for exemption from all but the fixed 2½ per cent was
+the one question on which depended the value of any
+revision."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A necessary condition of any successful treaty was
+the assent of all the other Powers to its provisions,
+seeing that under their most-favoured-nation clauses
+any one of them by holding aloof could render the
+treaty inoperative. The various foreign representatives
+were therefore kept informed of the progress of
+negotiations. In this way their opinions were obtained
+from time to time as to the merits of the
+various proposals. On the subject of the compulsory
+payment of transit dues the opinions which the British
+Minister received from his colleagues were all unfavourable.
+They considered that some "additional guarantee
+would be necessary against failure, and as against
+security for additional losses which would be entailed
+upon the merchants." To give effect to the new proposals
+an edict was to be published acquainting all
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_216' name='Page_216'>[216]</a></span>
+provincial officials with what had been agreed upon.
+But still the diplomatic body maintained "that nothing
+is really certain but the addition of 2½ per
+cent to the import duties. This will be rigorously
+exacted and paid; but whether the equivalent exemption
+from all other taxation will be obtained
+must be held doubtful, ... seeing that in the past
+the same provincial authorities have shown the most
+persistent disregard of treaty stipulations and proclamations."
+"Under such circumstances," Sir Rutherford
+adds, "it would seem reasonable that, during the
+first year at least, all amounts collected under the
+new arrangements ... should be carried to a separate
+account ... to meet claims for compensation." In
+the end, however, he saw reason to waive this proviso,
+to disregard the views of his colleagues, and
+to assent to the new impost, without any guarantee.
+Attempts to obtain concessions from the Chinese in
+the way of freer intercourse proved, as we have said,
+hopeless from the first. The renewal of the Chinese
+demand to establish a customs station in Hongkong&mdash;that
+"immense smuggling depot"&mdash;was refused on
+the British side; while the British request for recognition
+of Hongkong as a port of call for goods
+in transit to Canton was in like manner refused on
+the Chinese side, because it "would give the place
+a respectable name" as well as make it the "great
+emporium of the south." Hongkong, it is fair to remember,
+was, not unnaturally, odious in the eyes of
+the Chinese. The more prosperous the colony became,
+the more they hated it; and the more patriotic
+among them&mdash;as, for instance, the Minister Wênsiang&mdash;detested
+it the most.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_217' name='Page_217'>[217]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ruling factor in eliminating all measures of
+progress from the negotiations and reducing the whole
+to a customs question was Mr Burlingame.
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+After the arrival of the mission to Washington [wrote Sir
+Rutherford on February 27, 1869] the hopes which the
+signature of the additional articles was calculated to excite
+undoubtedly exercise a very prejudicial effect on my efforts....
+With Mr Burlingame's enthusiastic reception, and the
+prompt signature of the convention by which the United
+States Government pledged itself to leave China free to adopt
+or reject all such innovations and internal improvements, and
+even to use its influence with other Powers for the same
+end, they gained precisely the assurance they wanted....
+From that moment further progress or successful negotiation
+became impossible.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+He added in a subsequent despatch to Lord Clarendon:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+One result stands out more clearly than any other, and
+it is this: what we have gained by the last year's preliminary
+negotiations is not likely to be withdrawn. But if it was
+difficult to negotiate for large concessions before the assurance
+authoritatively given by your lordship to Mr Burlingame, ...
+it is now out of the question to hope for more than has already
+been conceded.... Strong in the assurances of two of the
+treaty Powers, ... it is quite certain that no further progress
+can be made at present. It simply remains for her
+Majesty's Government to determine whether they will carry
+out the revision on the basis proposed and already assented
+to by the Chinese Government, or defer the revision altogether
+to some later period.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The provisional report of the negotiations having
+been submitted by the Foreign Office to the other
+treaty Powers for their opinion, most of them contented
+themselves with amicable generalities, the only
+definite criticism elicited being that of the North
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_218' name='Page_218'>[218]</a></span>
+German Confederation. Going straight to the core
+of the matter, in May 1869, Count Bernstorff wrote
+as follows, basing his remarks upon the opinion of
+the German merchants:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+Although the advantages which are to be expected for trade
+in general from the abolition of the "lekin taxes" would not
+be too dearly bought by this extension of the transit duty
+to all commodities, yet, on the other hand, the treaty Powers
+certainly have the right of demanding the abolition of the
+taxes levied contrary to treaty, even without giving anything
+in return, and they might probably obtain this result by
+common action. And then, moreover, it appears, from existing
+circumstances in China, exceedingly questionable whether
+this tax, even if abolished by imperial edict in consequence
+of a treaty, would not, nevertheless, still be levied by the
+mandarins, although perhaps in another shape, since now
+indeed they have their assignments thereon.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Doubts on the part of the Foreign Office led to
+further correspondence backwards and forwards, closing
+with the following ambiguous despatch, dated 29th
+September, which was transmitted by telegram, a
+very slow process in those days:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+If you should not have concluded an arrangement before this
+reaches you, her Majesty's Government think it would be better
+to protract negotiations rather than accept now a limited arrangement,
+which would be binding for so long a period as ten
+years, and which would not comprise a satisfactory arrangement
+respecting transit duties, and which might compromise the right
+of her Majesty's Government to take part in the negotiations of
+other Powers for a revision of their treaties.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Should you, however, have completed any arrangement, you
+may be assured that the best view will be taken of it here.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The supplementary convention was, in fact, signed
+in October, and Sir Rutherford Alcock took his leave
+immediately after, visiting the Yangtze, Shanghai,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_219' name='Page_219'>[219]</a></span>
+Hongkong, and India on his way to Europe. At
+these places he explained in general terms the bearing
+of the treaty, the Indian Government being specially
+concerned in the increase of the Chinese import duty
+on opium, to which the trade generally were absolutely
+indifferent.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The supplementary convention was exhaustively reviewed
+by the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce
+in a memorial addressed to Lord Clarendon (December
+31, 1869). To the practical view of the merchants
+the treaty consisted of three clauses: one making compulsory
+what had previously been optional&mdash;the payment
+of half the import duty in commutation of inland
+dues on foreign merchandise; one doubling the export
+duty on raw silk; and the third more than doubling
+the import duty on opium. Of these, the first alone
+was deemed important. The consideration offered by
+the Chinese Government for the compulsory payment&mdash;that
+they would frank imported goods through nine
+of the eighteen provinces of China&mdash;was not regarded
+as an equivalent; for the treaty of Tientsin contained
+the same undertaking without the geographical limitation,
+but it had not been fulfilled. The ground
+alleged for this non-observance of the existing treaty
+had been the existence of insurmountable obstacles
+in connection with provincial and imperial finance.
+These obstacles, the merchants observed, were "now
+assumed to have been suddenly overcome," an assumption
+which they considered illusory. The question
+of transit dues was not new to them: it had
+been threshed out on all sides during weary years; it
+was the recurrent topic of the day with them, as it
+was destined to continue to be for a generation longer;
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_220' name='Page_220'>[220]</a></span>
+and the merchants could not therefore believe that
+the difficulties against which they had been hopelessly
+struggling were suddenly removed by magic. They
+were not shown how the revolution was to be effected.
+In short, "the conclusion," they said, "was irresistible,
+that to a very great extent the commutation of
+transit dues, which is made compulsory by the new
+treaty, will simply become an additional tax on trade
+without any return whatever; and that the provincial
+authorities will as heretofore tax goods in transit very
+much as they please, the treaty stipulation to the
+contrary notwithstanding,"&mdash;a conclusion supported by
+arguments which could not be refuted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sir Thomas Wade some years later expressed the
+same views as the merchants had done. "I doubted,"
+he said, "the good faith of officials when breach of
+faith could only be established by the evidence of those
+subject to their authority and entirely in their power....
+I have since found reason to believe that the
+control of taxation in the provinces is a matter of no
+small trouble to the Central Government as at present
+constituted, if indeed it be possible at all." Nevertheless,
+he adds, "I have found occasion to regret that
+the convention has not been allowed at least a term
+of probation." A term of probation was the alternative
+suggested by the merchants also, but it seems never to
+have received any consideration from the Foreign Office.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The representation which the Shanghai Chamber of
+Commerce based upon their review of the treaty was
+adopted by influential commercial bodies in England,
+who in a "monstrous deputation," as Mr Hammond
+called it, urged on the Secretary for Foreign Affairs the
+non-ratification of the treaty. The British Government
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_221' name='Page_221'>[221]</a></span>
+gave way, not, as they candidly admitted, convinced
+by the reasoning, but overawed by the electoral
+pressure of the merchants; and the supplementary
+convention was allowed to fall through.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Thus ended the first attempt to negotiate a treaty
+with China as a perfectly free agent. The conclusion
+to be drawn not only from the negative result, but
+from the whole process of the negotiations&mdash;from the
+memorials from the provinces, and still more from the
+Privy Council, the six boards, and the censorates&mdash;is,
+as stated by Sir Rutherford Alcock in May 1869, "that
+the old spirit of arrogance of the days of Lin and Yeh
+is still in full vigour, and the assumption of superiority
+over the barbarian absolutely unmeasured. That the
+anti-foreign element amongst the official and educated
+classes has suffered no diminution whatever; that if
+some two or three leading men take a clearer view of
+the political situation, they are evidently without
+power to take action upon it; and so the vessel of
+State is allowed to drift whichever way the tide of
+prejudice and ignorance may set. There are still
+some documents," he added, "wanting to complete the
+series, especially the answer of Li Hung-chang and
+a second memorial of Tsêng Kwo-fan [<a href="#Page_184"  >p. 184</a> <i>seq.</i>],
+which it would be desirable to obtain as showing the
+policy advocated by two of the most prominent men
+in the empire at this moment."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One sentence of Sir Rutherford Alcock sums up the
+case China <i>v.</i> the West: "Pressure, indeed, there must
+always be here if anything is to be achieved for the
+advancement of foreign interests and commerce. In
+one way or other, however we may disguise it, our
+position in China has been created by force&mdash;naked,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_222' name='Page_222'>[222]</a></span>
+physical force; and any intelligent policy to improve
+or maintain that position must still look to force in
+some form, latent or expressed, for the results."
+Whether the Western nations, singly or collectively,
+are justified in using their force for such a purpose
+is a question which is not affected by this plain statement
+of the case. That the policy of the Western
+Powers has been largely influenced by sentimental
+consideration towards China is true; but their action
+has never been consistent with their professions, and
+their oscillation between coercion and submission has
+led to disastrous consequences.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i222" id="i222"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p222.jpg" width="174" height="273" alt="" />
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_223' name='Page_223'>[223]</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XXII.
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">MISSIONARY PROBLEM&mdash;TIENTSIN MASSACRE OF 1870.</span>
+</h2>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Importance of missionary question long foreseen by Consul Alcock&mdash;Introduction
+of missionaries under two French treaties&mdash;Toleration of
+Christians under treaties of 1858&mdash;Forced upon China&mdash;Ardour of
+missionary spirit uncontrollable&mdash;Negligence of treaty-makers in
+providing no regulations for admission of the propaganda&mdash;Contrasted
+with the care bestowed on trade regulations&mdash;Religious toleration of
+the Chinese&mdash;Christian intolerance&mdash;Surreptitious article in French
+Convention of 1860&mdash;Giving large privileges to missionaries in the
+interior&mdash;Its abuse complained of by Chinese&mdash;Enforced restitution of
+old property&mdash;Bitter injustice&mdash;Disintegrating action of the propaganda&mdash;Abuses
+of extra-territoriality&mdash;Interference in local affairs&mdash;Detaching
+natives from their allegiance&mdash;Causes of strife&mdash;Chinese
+Government culpable in permitting abuses&mdash;Disputes about land and
+houses&mdash;Chinese official laxity compensated for by unofficial illegitimate
+methods&mdash;Attacks on missions fomented thereby&mdash;No remedy
+possible without the unanimous consent of the Powers&mdash;Each having
+different objects&mdash;Fruits of widespread hostility to missions appeared
+in 1868&mdash;Riot and outrage&mdash;Culminated in Tientsin massacre of 1870&mdash;Details
+of the occurrence&mdash;Treated cavalierly by Imperial Government&mdash;Culpability
+of officials&mdash;Pressure by foreign Ministers induces
+Chinese to execute sixteen criminals&mdash;Apologetic mission of Chunghou
+to France&mdash;Suspicions of his complicity unfounded&mdash;Causes of the
+hostility to foreigners&mdash;Government fear of reprisals by France&mdash;They
+begin to take the missionary question seriously&mdash;Issue an
+important circular&mdash;Badly received by the Powers.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+No subject more seriously engaged the attention of Sir
+Rutherford Alcock during his whole term of service
+than that of the Christian propaganda. While it was
+yet in embryo, and long before the untoward consequences
+now so familiar had declared themselves, the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_224' name='Page_224'>[224]</a></span>
+evil to come formed the theme of many anxious
+despatches. For, with the exception of Mr T. T.
+Meadows, he was the only one of the early consuls
+who attempted to read the horoscope of China with
+a conscious participation in the responsibility for its
+welfare. Their warnings were, of course, wasted on
+the desert air, for statesmen whose hands are on the
+lever of events are like the signalmen on a busy railway,
+recking nothing of the origin or destination of the
+train, careful only that it pass their own "point" in
+safety. The thin end of the entering wedge destined
+to split China into fragments, unless anticipated (as in
+fact it has been) in its disruptive work by some ruder
+allied agency, was clearly discerned by Consul Alcock
+while at Shanghai. Under cover of the first French
+treaties in 1844 and 1846 missionaries effected a legal
+lodgment on the coast of China, from which they cast
+longing eyes on the vast interior of the country.
+Rivalry between the Christian sects brought fresh
+pressure to bear on the plenipotentiaries, and the
+"toleration clause" was introduced into all the treaties
+negotiated at Tientsin in 1858, and in the German
+treaty of 1861.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Russia led the way, followed by the United States,
+Great Britain, and France. The "clause" was substantially
+the same in all, the toleration of Christianity
+being based on its moral character exclusively&mdash;<span lang='fr_FR'>"Hommes
+de bien qui ne cherchent pas d'avantages
+matériels"</span> (Russian); "Teaching men to do good,
+and to do to others as they would have others do
+to them" (American); "Inculcates the practice of
+virtue, and teaches man to do as he would be done
+by" (English); <span lang="fr_FR">"Ayant pour objet essentiel de porter
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_225' name='Page_225'>[225]</a></span>
+les hommes à la vertu"</span> (French).<a name='FA_16' id='FA_16' href='#FN_16' class='fnanchor'>[16]</a> Yet this apparent
+unanimity concealed essential differences in aim and
+motive. Russia, France, and the United States, to
+leave England out of the account, each meant something
+specifically distinct from the other by the practically
+identical clause.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+What the Chinese would have said, had they been
+free to discuss the demand made upon them, we can
+hardly conjecture; but in the position in which they
+actually found themselves they would have subscribed
+to any form of words submitted to them, their sole
+anxiety then being to get rid of the barbarians on
+any terms. Had the preamble run, "Whereas the
+Christian religion as practised for 1800 years has not
+brought peace but a sword upon the earth, has set
+the father against the son, nation against nation,
+instigated crimes without number, sided with the
+oppressor and the unrighteous judge, and is daily
+prostituted for political ends," the Chinese would
+have signed the toleration clause just the same.
+The phraseology was nothing to them, whence it
+follows that the responsibility for the consequences
+rests on the Powers who imposed the form as well
+as the substance of the obligations. These Powers
+placed themselves in a self-contradictory position both
+towards China and the Church, for the only ground
+on which they claimed protection for missionaries in
+the framing of the treaty is the one which they cannot
+so much as consider in the fulfilment of it. The
+ethical and religious side of the propaganda is to the
+executive official a negligible quantity, while he can
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_226' name='Page_226'>[226]</a></span>
+take cognisance only of that aspect of Christianity
+which was studiously kept out of sight in the treaty&mdash;its
+political character, the temper of the missionaries
+and of the people among whom they work, and
+all that makes for good or bad relations between them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Amid mixed and perverted motives there is doubtless
+in all sections of the propaganda a residuum of
+pure zeal in a holy cause. The medieval solicitude
+for "saving the heathen" survives, and men and
+women, fired with the conviction that they are engaged
+in such a godlike enterprise, constitute an
+ever-living force with which statesmen have to lay
+their account. It can neither be reasoned with nor
+turned aside, and is the more intractable in that
+the logical effect of its inspiration is to place it
+above civil law, but under a divine law of its own
+interpreting, the interpretation varying indefinitely
+with the divisions of the force, each division, and
+sometimes each individual, selecting such portions of
+the code and bending them to such meaning as may
+support the objects and the methods of the sect. To
+introduce such a complex ferment into the Chinese
+body politic was a psychological experiment on a
+colossal scale, and also irrevocable. It was, therefore,
+an experiment which demanded the kind of precaution
+used in handling dangerous chemicals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yet absolutely no thought was bestowed on the
+subject; the explosive was imported with less ceremony
+than is bestowed on a bale of long cloth, and
+left to spread according to its own laws in the living
+tissue into which it was injected. So far at least as
+the English treaty was concerned, we have it on the
+authority of the actual negotiator that the Christian
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_227' name='Page_227'>[227]</a></span>
+clause was an after-thought "shoved in" at the last
+moment. The same authority adds, "The treaty was
+left to carry out itself"&mdash;in other respects besides
+that of the missionary question. Sir Rutherford
+Alcock speaks of "the futility of grafting on to a
+treaty of commerce, forced upon the Chinese under
+circumstances which left them no power to refuse, a
+proselytising agency for the conversion of the nation
+to Christianity.... Whatever aims at these ends
+under the stipulation of a treaty of commerce and
+amity introduces a cause of distrust and an element
+of disturbance. This we have done, and are now
+reaping the fruit." But a rose-cutting would not be
+grafted with the insouciance with which this spiritual
+element was incongruously inserted in a commercial
+treaty. Commenting directly upon the toleration
+clause itself, Sir Rutherford wrote: "It is only
+necessary to read carefully the words of the article
+to be aware that in the whole range of the treaty,
+from the 1st to the 56th article, there is nothing
+stipulated for so difficult to secure as the fulfilment
+in its integrity of this one clause."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The foreign Powers generally seemed to court the
+very "disturbance" apprehended by "leaving the
+treaty to carry out itself," washing their hands of
+their own careless work. We have seen what pains
+were taken to allow the treaty to operate smoothly
+in its main purpose by elaborating a scheme of trade
+regulations far more complete than the treaty itself.
+But as foreign trade had been carried on by the
+Chinese for centuries, and the merchants of the respective
+countries were thoroughly at home with each
+other, commerce was the least likely source of friction.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_228' name='Page_228'>[228]</a></span>
+Of the new dynamic element introduced into the
+treaties, it seems never to have occurred to the
+negotiators that any regulation was necessary at all.
+Missionaries were permitted to enter and settle in
+the interior, where everything was strange, for practical
+purposes beyond the orbit of their countries' laws,
+while protected against the jurisdiction of the Government
+under which they were to live. Men who could
+withstand the temptation offered by such a state of
+things are not born every day. Without rule of
+conduct save their individual judgment, with no
+previous understanding with the Chinese provincial
+officials as to relative rights and duties, they were
+left to find such accommodation to their surroundings
+as their several idiosyncrasies and the untried
+conditions of Chinese social life might determine.
+The missionary in the interior had thus all the
+qualities of a "foreign body" setting up irritation
+in the organism,&mdash;a state of things, however, which
+his absolute faith in the sanctity of his mission perhaps
+prevented him from comprehending.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One trait in the national character was highly
+favourable to the reception of a foreign religion.
+The Chinese were of all nations the most tolerant of
+opinion. They had already accepted and assimilated
+two foreign religions&mdash;Buddhism and Mohammedanism;
+indeed they had also, two hundred years
+before, accepted and retained Christianity until it
+was expelled in convulsions provoked by the foreign
+missionaries themselves. Its second advent need not
+have caused convulsions had it come as the others
+had done, with clean hands, as a religion and nothing
+else. The tolerance of the Chinese has been referred
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_229' name='Page_229'>[229]</a></span>
+to materialism and contemptuous apathy, which is
+by no means an exhaustive account of the matter.
+They were not, any more than Hindus, naked savages
+without language or literature: if anything, they
+were over-civilised. Proud they were, indeed, and
+conceited, and in its religious aspect they affected
+to regard Christianity as but a wave breaking on a
+rock. Their rock was a unique philosophy, scarcely
+to be called a system, which stands for religion,
+differing from other philosophic systems in eschewing
+speculation and attending to the ethics of common
+life,&mdash;the only philosophy that may be said ever to
+have transfused itself into the blood of a people.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The culture of the Chinese, however, was merely
+an obstacle to the realisation of the Catholic ideal of
+saving the heathen, as the grandest natural scenery
+was regarded merely as a hindrance to medieval
+travel. "Unhappy infidels, who spend their lives
+in smoke and their eternity in flames," was Father
+le Jeune's epigrammatic summary of the whole case
+in Quebec. So deep-rooted is the tradition of the
+reprobation of the heathen, that it generally requires
+many years' experience before a foreign missionary is
+led by contact with facts to see that Chinese ethics
+form the natural basis for the Christian superstructure.
+Some missionaries, indeed, go so far as to use
+the writings of Confucius as a text-book. Before
+reaching this ripe stage, however, the foreign missionary
+has it in his power to do more mischief than he
+can perhaps ever undo.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was one treaty stipulation which has not
+been left to chance for its fulfilment&mdash;the additional
+article inserted in the French Convention of Peking
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_230' name='Page_230'>[230]</a></span>
+in 1860. An astute missionary, acting as interpreter
+to Baron Gros, managed to interpolate in the Chinese
+text a clause of his own which had no place in the
+French&mdash;the ruling version&mdash;and was quite unknown
+to the French Envoy.<a name='FA_17' id='FA_17' href='#FN_17' class='fnanchor'>[17]</a> By that clause full permission
+was accorded to French missionaries to purchase land
+and erect buildings thereon throughout the empire;
+and further, all churches, schools, cemeteries, lands,
+and buildings which had been owned by persecuted
+Christians (Chinese) in previous centuries were to be
+paid for, and the money handed to the French representative
+in Peking for transmission to the Christians
+in the localities concerned. This astounding demand,
+in our eyes at once so truculent and so impracticable,
+seems to have been to the Chinese neither more nor
+less oppressive than the rest of the treaty, and they
+signed without demur, under the usual mental reservation.
+But it was in germ an official recognition of a
+French protectorate over Chinese Christians, and of
+corporate communities of Christians held qualified to
+be served heirs to those who had been persecuted in
+the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries&mdash;a germ
+which might be cultivated with greater or less success,
+according to the skill of those who had the care
+of it. Some effort of imagination is required in order
+to realise what is implied in this surreptitious article.
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+We must suppose [wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock] a French
+army entering London and there dictating the conditions of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_231' name='Page_231'>[231]</a></span>
+peace, and among others one that all Church property confiscated
+by Henry VIII. should forthwith be restored to the
+Roman Catholic Church by the present holders, however acquired,
+and without compensation, and that the French Government
+could be appealed to in order to enforce the rigorous
+execution of the stipulation.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+How the stipulation was enforced is thus described
+by Prince Kung in his circular of 1871, more fully
+noticed below:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+During the last few years the restitution of chapels in every
+province has been insisted upon without any regard for the
+feeling of the masses, the missionaries obstinately persisting in
+their claims. They have also pointed out fine handsome houses
+(belonging to, or occupied by, the gentry or others) as buildings
+once used as churches, and these they have compelled the people
+to give up. But what is worst, and what wounds the dignity
+of the people, is that they often claim as their property <i>yamêns</i>,
+places of assembly, temples held in high respect by the literates
+and the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. Buildings which
+were once used as chapels have been in some cases sold years
+ago by Christians; and, having been sold and resold by one of
+the people to another, have passed through the hands of several
+proprietors. There is also a large number of buildings which
+have been newly repaired at very considerable expense, of which
+the missionaries have insisted on the restitution, refusing at
+the same time to pay anything for them. On the other hand,
+there are some houses which have become dilapidated, and the
+missionaries put in a claim for the necessary repair. Their
+conduct excites the indignation of the people whenever they
+come in contact with each other, and it becomes impossible for
+them to live quietly together.<a name='FA_18' id='FA_18' href='#FN_18' class='fnanchor'>[18]</a>
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Bitter consequences have resulted from the enforced
+operation of the interpolated clause, for the French
+Government, as is shown above, took full advantage of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_232' name='Page_232'>[232]</a></span>
+the pious fraud. Neither did the Chinese themselves,
+on discovering the truth, openly resent this example of
+how the foreign religion <span lang="fr_FR">"porte les hommes à la vertu."</span>
+The fraud was more than condoned by missionaries of
+all nations and sects, whose legal title to residence in
+the interior of China, distant from all authority, rests
+solely on the interpolated French clause, the benefit of
+which accrues to them under the most-favoured-nation
+privilege. British Protestant missionaries, not altogether
+satisfied with this tainted title, in a long letter
+to their Minister, Sir Rutherford Alcock, claimed the
+right of inland residence on another ground. They
+adduced the public declaration of Mr Burlingame, that
+"China invites Protestant missionaries to plant the
+shining Cross on every hill and in every valley"; to
+which the answer was simple, that the Chinese Government
+disavowed the promises of the envoy, and
+repudiated the implied obligation. The British
+Government disapproved of the claim under the
+French treaty, though in rather ambiguous terms,
+because it rested "on no sound foundation, but on an
+interpolation of words in the Chinese version alone in
+the French treaty with China." Since then, however,
+the pretensions of the French missionaries have been
+vindicated less by the interpolated clause itself than by
+the vigorous exercise of all the rights conferred by it,
+and very much more. The clause thus lent material
+force to the spiritual ferment, accelerating by many
+degrees its disintegrating action. It may be alleged,
+in palliation of the light-heartedness with which the
+whole subject was treated by the negotiators of the
+treaties, that they could not have foreseen such a
+development of their innocent toleration clause; but
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_233' name='Page_233'>[233]</a></span>
+the circumstance only emphasises the urgent need
+there was for a clear definition of what was really
+meant by it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But if toleration be the note of Chinese polity&mdash;concerning
+not religion alone, but almost every matter
+affecting government&mdash;it may be asked, What is it in
+the propagation of Christianity that excites the hostility
+of people and rulers? It is that the missionaries
+present themselves to Chinese view as the instruments
+of powerful nations bent on the ruin of the empire.
+They enter the country with a talisman of extra-territoriality;
+their persons are sacred; the law of
+the land cannot lay hands on them. That is the first
+stage. The second is, that they seek to extra-territorialise
+their converts also, whose battles they fight in
+the provincial courts and in the rustic communes, and
+so make it of material advantage to the people to bear
+the banner of the Cross. Many missionaries are really
+zealous in the work of alienating the Chinese from their
+natural allegiance, and of encouraging them to seek the
+protection of foreign Powers as against the native
+authorities. Thus a revolution of the most vital nature
+is in progress, and is being pushed on with all the
+energy which Christian, combined with ecclesiastical
+and political, zeal can throw into the work. Village is
+set against village, clan against clan, family against
+family, and a man's foes in China are too often they of
+his own household.<a name='FA_19' id='FA_19' href='#FN_19' class='fnanchor'>[19]</a>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_234' name='Page_234'>[234]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+No doubt the Chinese Government are to blame for
+having allowed such a state of things to grow up; but
+it is part and parcel of their drifting attitude towards
+everything. It is not that their apprehensions are not
+aroused, but that they lack initiative to avert the
+danger which they fear. While in theory they do
+not admit the claim of any foreign Power to protect
+Chinese subjects, yet in practice the thing goes on,
+and is acquiesced in. So formidable, indeed, have
+the foreign missionaries become, that most of the
+provincial authorities are afraid as well as jealous
+of them; and peace-loving viceroys give the simple
+injunction to their prefects and magistrates that on
+no account must they permit dispute with foreigners
+or native Christians. This means that the Chinese
+Christian must be upheld, right or wrong, and the
+Christian would be very un-Chinese if he did not
+take advantage of such a privilege to trounce his
+heathen neighbours.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The right given in the French treaty of acquiring
+land and building houses in the interior is one of the
+most constant causes of local quarrel. Real estate in
+China, being held not on personal but on family tenure,
+can only be rightfully alienated by the common consent.
+A dissentient member holding out, or reviving his claim
+for purposes of extortion after assent has been given
+and transfer made, may become a convenient instrument
+in the hands of agitators against the foreigners; and
+where there is no such dissentient it is not unusual for
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_235' name='Page_235'>[235]</a></span>
+the local authorities to create one by forcible means. A
+case in point may be mentioned in illustration. A
+building was made over to the Baptist Missionary
+Society by a Chinese family, every precaution being
+taken to obtain the unanimous consent of its various
+branches. When the deed had been signed by the
+head of the family and other responsible members, the
+local magistrate examined the chief of the clan,
+denounced him, and punished him severely by
+bastinado. Two of the signatories, thus intimidated,
+disowned their own act, thereby invalidating the deed
+by non-unanimity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nearly all the attacks on missionaries proceed in
+one form or another from that fecund nursery of
+feuds, the land question. Whatever the merits of
+the dispute, the foreigner is <span lang="la"><i>prima facie</i></span> in the
+wrong; for he is an alien, an intruder, and he
+erects buildings which are outlandish, offensive to
+taste, and of sinister influence; and whosoever, albeit
+the most disreputable member of a family of three
+or four generations, proclaims a grievance by which
+he has lost his birthright, is sure of a sympathetic
+following. Thus without taking into account individual
+indiscretions, or infirmities of temper, open attacks
+on time-honoured customs, and so forth, there is
+a perennial root of bitterness in missionary enterprise
+in the interior of China, which throws out
+shoots culminating in murder and fiendish ferocity;
+and all this without even a distant approach to
+the kernel of Christianity which lies behind the
+outworks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For what the Chinese authorities have failed to
+do by the legitimate means at their command, their
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_236' name='Page_236'>[236]</a></span>
+underlings and the circle of gentry that surrounds
+each provincial centre attempt to do by illegitimate
+and criminal methods. Hatred of missions and
+converts shows itself by violent outbreaks in which
+innocent and guilty suffer a common fate; mobs are
+excited by false suggestions, scholars write inflammatory
+placards filled with the foulest calumnies,
+and the higher officials "let it work"&mdash;secretly applauding,
+but ready, if called to account, to exculpate
+themselves and blame the poor ignorant
+people.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The charges which form the staple of these attacks
+turn largely upon the murder of children in
+order to make use of eyes, members, blood, &amp;c., in
+certain Christian rites; and they are so extravagant
+and absurd that foreigners are apt to doubt that
+even the most ignorant among the people really believe
+in the crimes which are alleged against Christians.
+The best authorities, however,&mdash;as, for example,
+the late Sir Thomas Wade,&mdash;do not question
+the sincerity of the popular belief; and indeed if
+we compare these charges with those made against
+the Jews by influential sections of Christians in
+Europe, we shall be surprised at their practical
+identity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For this deplorable state of things no one has
+been able to suggest a remedy. What has been
+done cannot be undone. To mend it even would
+require such united action among the Great Powers
+as it is hardly possible in the present state of the
+world to conceive. France, indeed, on the morrow
+of the Tientsin massacre, did appeal to the co-operative
+principle as a protection to all foreign interests
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_237' name='Page_237'>[237]</a></span>
+in China. The French ambassador in London addressed
+the Foreign Office in these terms:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+<span lang='fr_FR'>Bien que les victimes de ces attentats soient presque exclusivement
+des Français, on ne saurait contester que des faits
+pareils révèlent l'existence de dangers qui menacent indistinctement
+tous les étrangers résidant en Chine. C'est en considérant
+leurs intérèts comme solidaires dans ces contrées de l'extrême
+Orient que les Puissances européennes peuvent arriver à assurer
+à leurs nationaux les garanties et les sécurités stipulées dans les
+traités.</span>
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+In the subsequent action of France in China,
+however, there has been no trace of regard for
+any such principle of solidarity. Indeed, were the
+Powers ever so amicably disposed towards each
+other on other questions, they could not agree in
+this, the objects of their policy being absolutely
+irreconcilable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"We cannot doubt," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+"that the missionary question is the main cause
+of disturbance in our relations with China, and of
+danger to the Chinese Government itself no less than
+to all foreigners resident in the country, missionaries
+and laymen alike." He recommended in 1868 that
+"the treaty Powers should, if possible, come to some
+understanding on the religious and missionary question
+as the necessary preliminary to any united action for
+the common benefit, the acquisition of increased facilities
+for trade, &amp;c." And he says, "As regards Chinese
+converts, any attempt to extend a protectorate over
+them would of necessity either fail or be subversive
+of the whole government of China." But in the same
+paper he states that "France, with no trade in the
+East, is ambitious of a protectorate over Roman
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_238' name='Page_238'>[238]</a></span>
+Catholic missions"; and that "with regard to converts
+protection has been partially extended to them
+under the ægis of the French Government, and
+that persistent efforts were being made to make
+that protection effectual." These efforts have been
+still more persistent during the generation that has
+since passed. With France the protectorate over
+native Christians is the great objective of her
+Chinese diplomacy&mdash;not the ultimate end, indeed, but
+the lever by which that end may be attained. To
+suggest to France, therefore, the abandonment of
+this policy would be about as hopeless as asking her
+to give up her colonies as the preliminary to an
+international conference. And while France protects
+the proselytising machinery of the Roman Catholic
+Church and its consequent usurpation of the Chinese
+authority, it would seem of little avail to place other
+missionaries under restriction.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+The fruits of this war of the social elements began
+to be harvested in 1868, as Sir Rutherford Alcock
+observed; but that was only the beginning of a long
+series of conflicts which have marked the progress
+of missionary work in China up to the present day.
+Riot, outrage, and massacre are its regular landmarks.
+The outbreaks have so much in common that it would
+serve no useful purpose to trace them in detail, or
+attempt to apportion praise or blame to this or that
+individual or sect. The one which has left the reddest
+mark on history, and, being enacted in the presence
+of a foreign mercantile community, brought the several
+factors in the question into a clearer light than can
+ever be thrown upon outrages in remote parts of the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_239' name='Page_239'>[239]</a></span>
+interior, is the Tientsin massacre of 21st June 1870.
+This occurred six months after Sir Rutherford Alcock
+left China, while Mr Wade was <i>chargé d'affaires</i> for
+Great Britain, and Count Rochechouart for France,
+in Peking.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The massacre of sixteen French Sisters of Charity,
+including an Irish girl, Alice Sullivan, a French consul,
+and several French subjects, also&mdash;unwittingly,
+according to the imperial edict treating of the occurrence&mdash;a
+Russian merchant and his wife, was the
+work of an organised band, led by the city fire brigade,
+under the direction of the civic authorities. The crime
+had been planned for some time: it was preceded by
+the murder of an isolated English missionary, Mr
+Williamson, near Tientsin, and by an attempted anti-foreign
+rising in Nanking, which was promptly suppressed
+by the viceroy, Ma, who was soon after himself
+assassinated. (He was a Mohammedan.) The
+impending outrage in Tientsin was foreseen, and
+warning given, several days before. An Englishman
+was attacked on the 19th for no reason. The official
+highest in rank on the spot&mdash;not, however, a territorial
+authority&mdash;was Chunghou, a Manchu, holding
+the office of Imperial Commissioner for Trade, and
+very friendly to foreigners. Admiral Keppel says of
+him that he was the most finished Chinese gentleman
+he had ever met, with the exception of the
+viceroy of Canton (probably meaning Kiying). The
+governor of the province was Tsêng Kwo-fan, whose
+capital was Paoting-fu, some 100 miles in the interior;
+and his subordinates, the prefect and magistrate, were
+the authorities at Tientsin immediately responsible
+for the massacre. Chunghou had warned the Peking
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_240' name='Page_240'>[240]</a></span>
+Government several weeks before of the progress of
+the agitation against the French mission.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Imperial Government immediately on the occurrence
+issued an edict describing the massacre as "a
+quarrel between the people and the missionaries resulting
+in a fight," but were promptly driven from that
+position and pressed, not only by the French, but by
+all the foreign representatives, to investigate and do
+justice in the case, Count Rochechouart demanding
+the capital punishment of the three mandarins who
+had instigated the massacre. On this the Chinese
+Government remarked in a secret edict, "Rochechouart,
+with boundless arrogance, demands the execution of the
+Fu and Hsien, a demand ten thousand times to be
+rejected." Under pressure, however, the Government
+ordered the governor-general, Tsêng, to proceed to the
+spot and investigate. After a protracted journey he
+reached Tientsin and commenced to take evidence, not
+of the crime committed, but of the suspicions which
+had been excited against the Sisters of Mercy, whom,
+after ransacking their cemeteries for mutilated children,
+he eventually acquitted. He then suspended the magistrates
+<i>pro formâ</i>, and spoke of sending for troops to
+catch the rioters! On receiving the viceroy's report
+another imperial decree was issued repeating the original
+falsehoods, and causing much disappointment to
+the foreign Ministers. Renewed pressure from them,
+not without hints of stronger measures, resulted in the
+offer of fifteen of the mob to be executed, which, being
+unanimously rejected, the Chinese Government, apparently
+thinking it was the number that was inadequate,
+threw in five more, making twenty in all. Sixteen
+were actually beheaded, the remaining four being saved
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_241' name='Page_241'>[241]</a></span>
+by the timely arrival of the Russian Minister, who
+protested against the execution of the men accused
+of murdering the Russians, because he did not believe
+in their guilt. Compensation was paid by the Chinese
+officials to the families of the executed men, which,
+with the honours done to their dead bodies, showed
+that they were sacrificed not for crime, but for reasons
+of State. Of course pecuniary compensation was made
+on account of the victims of the massacre, the Chinese
+Government being never hard to deal with where
+money is concerned. The prefect and the magistrate
+who had busied themselves after the tragedy in
+torturing Christians, in order to extort from them
+confessions which would justify the massacre, were
+nominally banished, though it was perfectly understood
+that this was a pure matter of form.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i240" id="i240"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p240.jpg" width="550" height="357" alt="" />
+<p class="caption">RUINS OF FRENCH CATHEDRAL AT TIENTSIN, BURNED JUNE 20, 1870.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+As part of the reparation for the massacre the
+Imperial Commissioner for Northern Trade, Chunghou,
+was despatched in the early part of 1871 on a
+mission to France to express the regret of the Chinese
+Government for what had occurred. This official, the
+first man of rank who was ever sent out of China,
+received but an indifferent reception from the President
+of the French Republic. Being the highest authority
+in Tientsin at the time of the massacre, and having
+known of the preparations for an outbreak of some
+kind, Chunghou was severely blamed by Europeans
+on the coast of China, who alleged that the massacre
+could have been prevented had he put forth
+his authority. Meetings were even held on the subject
+in Shanghai, and remonstrances were sent to
+Europe against Chunghou's being received anywhere
+as an ambassador until he should exonerate himself
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_242' name='Page_242'>[242]</a></span>
+from all share in the Tientsin atrocity. These representations,
+no doubt, had something to do with the
+attitude of the French Provisional Government, which,
+on other grounds also, was probably little disposed
+in that year to occupy itself with the affairs either
+of the Church or of China.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There is reason to believe, however, that Chunghou's
+conduct during the affair of Tientsin was not
+inconsistent with innocence; for although he was a
+man in authority, it was only as superintendent of
+trade, having no control whatever over the hierarchy of
+territorial officials, who were under the orders of the
+viceroy, Tsêng Kwo-fan. Beyond his personal attendants
+it is not probable that Chunghou could move
+a corporal's guard in Tientsin, and his position was
+such that the local authorities and their myrmidons
+looked with the keenest jealousy on any departure of
+the superintendent of trade from the strict line of his
+own functions. He dared not, in fact, move a finger
+against officers who owed allegiance to the viceroy,
+and in apprising the Peking Government of the rumours
+which were current, Chunghou probably considered
+that he had gone as far as public duty warranted.
+These somewhat anomalous relations between two high
+dignitaries of the empire were put an end to when Li
+Hung-chang succeeded Tsêng Kwo-fan as viceroy of
+Chihli; for he was appointed also the successor of
+Chunghou as superintendent of trade, and resided for
+the most part of his time in the commercial port,
+Tientsin. The two offices continue to be combined in
+one person.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Most of the typical features of a missionary outrage
+were in this case exemplified&mdash;ferocious placards and
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_243' name='Page_243'>[243]</a></span>
+brochures, circulation of calumnies against the missionaries,
+guilt of the local authorities, their immunity from
+punishment, and the official publication of travestied
+versions of the occurrence. There was also, we may
+add, a lurking disposition on the part of foreign
+Governments to give credit to the Chinese charges
+against the missionaries. Finding themselves unable
+by pressure on the Chinese to obtain satisfaction
+for past or security against future outrages, they
+were seldom indisposed to cover their impotence by
+throwing the blame on their own people.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was, consequently, readiness in certain foreign
+official quarters to dwell on undefined "indiscretions."
+It was too easily assumed in the beginning that the
+practice of the Sisters of Charity of purchasing destitute
+children reasonably excited the suspicions of the
+people. As a matter of fact, however, as was admitted
+afterwards, this alleged practice of the Sisters was
+entirely imaginary. It was also assumed that the
+massacre was a spontaneous act of the populace, who
+believed the stories of kidnapping. But in view of the
+fact that these agitations arose simultaneously in distant
+parts of the empire, this theory of sporadic action
+could not be sustained: besides, as Tsêng Kwo-fan
+himself shrewdly enough pointed out, no child had
+been missed from any family at Tientsin, and the idea
+of a disciplined fire brigade and a great city mob
+being suddenly roused to fury by the abstract idea
+that somewhere children had been kidnapped by
+somebody is too altruistic for ordinary belief. The
+mob needed an instigator, and the instigator was
+well known.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the diplomatic correspondence which ensued,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_244' name='Page_244'>[244]</a></span>
+admitted on all hands to be most unsatisfactory, the
+British <i>chargé d'affaires</i> had occasion to complain to
+Prince Kung that in the communications that passed
+foreign Ministers and their Governments were spoken
+of as vassals, which, coming two years after Mr Wade's
+warm support of the Burlingame mission, was instructive
+as regards the progress in liberal ideas which had
+been claimed for the Chinese.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Another consequence of this affair may be noted.
+The instructions to British naval officers in China,
+which had been dictated by Mr Burlingame in 1869,
+were virtually reversed after the Tientsin massacre.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was the general belief at the time that, literally
+by the fortune of war, the Chinese Government narrowly
+escaped a signal retribution for its continued
+guerilla warfare against foreigners as represented by
+the missionary vanguard. Information travelled slowly
+then. The nearest telegraph stations to Peking were
+Kiachta on the Russian frontier and Colombo, and
+there was only periodical communication with either,
+so that it happened that the official news of the
+massacre reached the British Foreign Office on July
+25th. If we recall what was transpiring in the
+capitals of Europe during that month of July 1870,
+we may permit ourselves the speculation that events
+might have taken quite another turn had the news
+from China reached the Tuileries a month earlier
+than it did. The Chinese Government themselves
+were strongly imbued with this idea. In an interesting
+interview which Consul Adkins had with Li
+Hung-chang in October, after he had succeeded to
+the viceroyalty of Chihli, in which the incident was
+discussed, the viceroy could not conceal his anxiety.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_245' name='Page_245'>[245]</a></span>
+The pith of a Chinese interview usually lies, like that
+of a lady's letter, in the postscript, and as Mr Adkins
+was taking leave the governor-general asked him, "Do
+you think France will make war next year?" (It is
+worth noting that in his report of the interview Mr
+Adkins expressed himself "reassured by the governor-general's
+tone and manner." "I take for granted," he
+wrote, "that he will not tolerate any outrage on
+foreigners within his jurisdiction;" and this forecast of
+Mr Adkins has, we believe, been completely borne out
+by the event.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But although the Chinese had escaped a great peril,
+they were somewhat shaken in their sense of security
+for the future. The attacks on missionaries had no
+doubt gone further than was altogether safe, since
+the indignation of the foreign Powers had been roused
+almost to the pitch of war. The provincial authorities
+having had their own way so long, threatened to
+be too strong for the Central Government, and were
+likely to embroil them with foreign nations; while
+in their turn the "literati and gentry," unemployed
+officials and the leaders of disorder in the great provincial
+cities, were also becoming too demonstrative
+for the provincial rulers. It was clear to the authorities
+that they were face to face with a dangerous
+situation, and, contrary to their traditional practice,
+they began to devise measures in order to meet it.
+The missionary, they now saw, was with them for
+good, the hope of expelling him by intimidation
+must be relegated to fanatics of the non-practical
+school, and it would be imbecile to shut their eyes
+any longer to facts. No doubt they had allowed
+things to go too far in the admission of foreigners
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_246' name='Page_246'>[246]</a></span>
+into the interior, trusting to the resourcefulness of
+the provinces in insidious means of repression, but
+to retrace their steps was now impossible. They
+could no longer hope to expel the missionary, but
+they would contrive some means to mitigate the
+dangers of his presence. They would, in short, endeavour
+to supply, in concert with the treaty Powers,
+that culpable omission in the treaties by henceforth
+regulating the missions and defining their rights
+and obligations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The result of these cogitations was an elaborate
+scheme for the control of missions which was published
+in the summer of 1871, and was addressed to
+the French Government, and by them communicated
+to the others. That the Chinese Ministers of themselves
+took so unprecedented an initiative it is not
+necessary to believe. The circular was attributed to
+that greatest of all Chinese statesmen, Wênsiang,
+but the unseen hand that has done so much to assist
+China out of her international difficulties may easily
+be traced in this notable State Paper. In the preamble
+the case is stated much as we have endeavoured
+to set it forth: "Trade has in no degree occasioned
+differences between China and the Powers. The same
+cannot be said of the missions, which engender ever-increasing
+abuses. Although in the first instance it
+may have been declared that the primary object of
+the missions was to exhort men to virtue, Catholicism,
+in causing vexation to the people, has produced a
+contrary effect in China." The circular submitted
+eight rules for the government of missionary relations
+with the people and officials in the provinces. The
+rules referred to (1) the management of orphanages,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_247' name='Page_247'>[247]</a></span>
+which it was proposed either to close altogether or to
+place under severe restrictions; (2) the mixed attendance
+of women and men at public worship, which,
+being contrary to Chinese propriety, scandalised the
+people; (3) the legal status of missionaries in the
+interior, and the evil consequences of the <span lang='la'><i>imperia in
+imperio</i></span> which had resulted through the missionaries'
+separating themselves, and even their native converts,
+from the jurisdiction of the local authorities; (4) the
+restriction of proceedings in the case of riots to the
+persons actively participating in the same; (5) the
+clear definition of passports, so that missionaries
+should not be able to move about at will, leaving no
+trace; (6) the need of strict examination into the
+character and antecedents of converts; (7) the etiquette
+to be observed by missionaries in intercourse
+with officials, the missionaries not to arrogate official
+style; and (8) the reclamation of alleged sites of
+ancient churches to be stopped, great injustice having
+been done to Chinese through their being obliged to
+surrender properties which they had honestly bought
+and paid for.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Many things have happened since 1871, and each
+transaction with foreigners has involved greater and
+greater encroachment on the Chinese prerogatives.
+Thus the objection taken in 1871 to the missionaries'
+arrogating official style has now been so completely
+waived that the Chinese Government itself bestows
+official rank on missionaries, and has sanctioned a
+rule of etiquette for their intercourse with the high
+Chinese authorities. Thus "bishops are authorised
+to demand to see viceroys and governors of provinces;
+vicars-general and archdeacons are authorised
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_248' name='Page_248'>[248]</a></span>
+to demand to see provincial treasurers, judges,
+and taotais; other priests are authorised to demand
+to see prefects of the first and second class, independent
+prefects, sub-prefects, and other functionaries.
+The various orders of ecclesiastics are to visit
+and write to the corresponding orders of Chinese
+officials on terms of equality, and these officials will
+naturally respond, according to their rank, with the
+same courtesies."<a name='FA_20' id='FA_20' href='#FN_20' class='fnanchor'>[20]</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This famous circular of 1871 unfortunately perished
+at its birth: it was roughly attacked in the foreign
+press, and met with a very cold reception by the
+Foreign Offices. The English and American Governments
+seemed satisfied with the reflection that the
+strictures on missionary practices applied specially
+to Catholics, and pleased to be able on that account
+to dismiss it from consideration. From that day to
+this the evils complained of have gone on increasing
+and accumulating year by year, outrages and
+massacres following each other without interruption,
+and the exacerbation of feeling between foreign missionaries
+and the Chinese population going on with
+accelerated speed. The political results to China
+have assumed in these later years the very concrete
+form of territorial spoliation, and the Chinese
+have had abundant experience of the religion which
+makes nations strong and the people virtuous. That
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_249' name='Page_249'>[249]</a></span>
+is not to say, however, that there is not good seed
+already germinating under the snow, which may
+hereafter bear the peaceable fruits of righteousness.
+Meanwhile the naked unregulated forces are in open
+conflict, and he would be a bold prophet who should
+forecast the issue.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i249" id="i249"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p249.jpg" width="216" height="235" alt="" />
+
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_250' name='Page_250'>[250]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">THE EXPANSION OF INTERCOURSE.</span>
+</h2>
+
+<h3>
+I. RUSSIA AND FRANCE ADVANCING.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Influx of treaty Powers&mdash;Diversion of Chinese foreign policy into new
+channels&mdash;Aggrandisement of Russia&mdash;And France&mdash;At the expense
+of China&mdash;Affecting whole policy of China for thirty years&mdash;The rise
+of German influence&mdash;And Japanese.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Up to this stage the foreign relations of China have
+been traced from what is practically a single point
+of view&mdash;the English&mdash;without sensible distortion of
+their true proportions. But the events of 1857-60,
+and the treaties by which they were crowned, introduced
+new factors and a wider ramification of
+international connections. The arms of England and
+France opened the door to an influx of Powers eager
+to reap where they had not sown; and though the
+full effect was not realised till many years later,
+the shifting of foreign intercourse from an essentially
+Anglo-Chinese to a Sino-cosmopolitan basis became
+a potential reality on the day that Peking surrendered
+to the Allies. Foreseeing such a result, the
+negotiators of the treaties of 1858 advisedly refrained
+from pressing the Chinese Government more than was
+essential to the freedom of commerce, on the ground
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_251' name='Page_251'>[251]</a></span>
+that other Powers less restrained than the authors of
+the treaties by a sense of moral responsibility might
+take undue advantage of concessions extorted from the
+vanquished. This prevision has been borne out by
+events, for the original "three treaty Powers" soon
+became thirteen, and the old solicitude for the conservation
+of China was gradually discovered to be
+confined to the small minority who had a substantial
+commercial stake in the country. With the increase
+in their number there naturally also appeared diversity
+of interest, scarce perceptible in the beginning,
+but ever widening with the progress of events until
+at length a stage of violent antagonism in the policy
+of the Powers was reached. The division among
+their enemies, which Chinese statesmen have deplored
+their inability to compass, has thus been
+brought about without their aid; but so far from
+realising the Chinese dream of ruling the barbarians,
+the division has only exposed the empire to the
+ravages of rival spoilers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is impossible to do more than glance at the
+several channels into which the foreign relations of
+China have branched off since 1860. Yet they intersect
+each other at so many points as to form a
+network which can only be intelligently considered
+as a whole. The quasi-biographical form of the
+present work may be appropriately dropped, so far
+as China is concerned, with the beginning of 1870,
+when the more immediate subject of it disappears
+from the stage of action to reappear as a perspicacious
+critic surveying the scene from a distant but
+commanding standpoint.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Two developments of far-reaching importance found
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_252' name='Page_252'>[252]</a></span>
+their proximate starting-point, though not their
+origin, in the crisis which laid China prostrate in
+1858 and 1860. These were the extension of the
+Russian empire to the Pacific Ocean, and the creation
+of that Asiatic empire which had been the dream of
+France for two centuries. China being by these
+vast territorial aggressions placed between the upper
+and the nether millstone, the anticipated advance of
+the two Powers has exerted an influence on her
+destiny scarcely less potent than the Japanese war
+itself, with which it so effectively co-operated. The
+soldier-statesmen of Russia foreseeing, what the war
+of 1854-55 was soon to demonstrate, that the sea
+route to their Pacific possessions was at the mercy
+of the maritime Powers, resolved to make a dash for
+a line of communication by land, and in pursuance of
+this adventurous conception forced their way down
+the Amur in spite of the feeble remonstrance of the
+Chinese wardens of the marches. What was thus
+taken by the strong hand in 1854 was formally ceded
+in 1858, when, first, the Amur province, with the
+free navigation of the river, and, next, an undefined
+condominium in the Usuri province, were granted by
+treaty to Russia. This was but a step towards the
+absolute cession, two years later, of that territory,
+including the whole Manchurian sea-coast, 600 miles
+in length. These extensive cessions, giving Russia
+the command of North-Eastern Asia, were extorted
+from China while <i>in extremis</i> as a direct result of
+the Anglo-French victories.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So with the French establishment in the south-eastern
+section of the Continent. The expedition sent
+to the Far East in conjunction with that of Great
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_253' name='Page_253'>[253]</a></span>
+Britain was, on completion of its work in China,
+withdrawn to Cochin-China, and, in an alliance of
+brief duration with Spain, invaded that dependency
+of the empire of Annam&mdash;a vassal of China&mdash;and
+captured Saigon. The Spanish partnership being
+thereupon dissolved, the French empire of "Indo-China"
+was inaugurated with a free hand. Zeal for
+religion was the motive of the invasion: "The emperor
+wished to put a stop to the constantly recurring persecutions
+of Christians in Cochin-China, and to secure
+them the efficacious protection of France." The record
+of the phenomenal progress of the new French empire
+since the treaty of Saigon in 1862 has been related by
+many eloquent pens. M. F. Garnier, the heroic
+explorer; M. de Carné, his colleague; M. Lanier, M.
+Deschamps, M. de Lanessan, and a host of enthusiastic
+French writers, have depicted in glowing terms not
+only the process, but the motives and aspirations, of
+the French "empire-builders."<a name='FA_21' id='FA_21' href='#FN_21' class='fnanchor'>[21]</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The pressure, latent and active, of these two powerful
+neighbours has given its tone to the policy of China
+during thirty years, and in such a way that her
+relations with the commercial nations who did not
+menace her integrity have been relegated to a
+secondary place.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The new German influence in the Far East, which
+had its modest beginnings in the treaties so reluctantly
+concluded by the Japanese and Chinese in 1861, has
+grown in importance <i>pari passu</i> with the rapid
+development of the German empire itself, ably
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_254' name='Page_254'>[254]</a></span>
+seconded, it must always be allowed, by the personal
+qualities of the Ministers who have been successively
+chosen to represent the Fatherland at Peking and
+Tokio. The first resident Minister to China was Baron
+Rehfues, who opened the Legation in Peking in 1866,
+under the treaty of 1861.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Another nation destined to play a leading <i>rôle</i> among
+the Powers in the Western Pacific was during the same
+period rising like the sun in the eastern sky. Nor was
+it very long before the nascent Power of Japan began
+to make its weight felt in the conflicts and concerts of
+the Far Eastern world.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is obvious that under these various influences
+operating from without, and the reflex action set up
+within the State itself, the character of China as a
+political and diplomatic entity could not any longer be
+what it had been in the years before the war. What
+had been simple became complex; no international
+issue could be raised in an isolated form; nor could
+China make any move, whether voluntary or involuntary,
+without facing the critical observation of many
+interested parties. This multiple responsibility to
+Powers by no means at one in their aims, and each
+assuming over her a status of superiority, could have
+no other effect than to reduce to nullity any efforts
+China might make either to improve herself or please
+the Powers. It was impossible to please them all.
+Decades before the Japanese war, more than one of
+them had offered her armed assistance in thwarting
+the designs of a third,&mdash;which things Chinese statesmen
+pondered in silence.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_255' name='Page_255'>[255]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+II. JAPAN AGGRESSIVE.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p class="center">
+Extraordinary progress of Japan&mdash;Nation becomes restless&mdash;Invades
+Formosa&mdash;Bought off by China.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The civil war in Japan had been fought with characteristic
+energy during three years, when a revolution,
+the like of which was never before seen, established the
+new empire on the double foundations of hereditary
+monarchy and popular suffrage. The effect of the
+revolution was to concentrate the whole strength of
+the State under the government of the Mikado, and
+thus enable it to give free play to the widest
+ambitions. With incredible rapidity the nation made
+itself efficient for every enterprise of peace or war.
+The best that the Western world had to teach was
+eagerly appropriated by a people just aroused from a
+long sleep, and anxious to make up lost time. They
+went so fast, indeed, that onlookers shook their heads,
+and their best friends would have applied the brake
+had it been possible. But the nation was self-reliant,
+and in its first adolescence it began to be aggressive.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Within six years of the revolution of 1868 an
+expedition was sent to invade the Chinese island of
+Formosa. Through the good offices of Sir Thomas
+Wade, British Minister in Peking, war between the
+two empires was averted, and the Japanese forces
+withdrawn. They were virtually bought off, a proceeding
+characterised by Sir H. Parkes as pusillanimous
+on the part of the empire of China. The transaction
+really sealed the fate of China, in advertising to the
+world that here was a rich empire which was ready to
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_256' name='Page_256'>[256]</a></span>
+pay, but not ready to fight. The euphemisms under
+which the ransom was disguised deceived no one unless
+it were the Chinese themselves. The vast cessions to
+Russia, incredible as they appeared, had at least the
+palliation of a dire emergency, and verbal equivalents
+in the shape of promises of deliverance therefrom. The
+submission to Japan, on the other hand, was made in a
+time of comparative ease.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The incident had yet a further significance. The
+pretext of the Japanese invasion was injuries done to
+shipwrecked Liuchiuans, a people whom China till
+then and for some years later considered her own
+vassals, and who had for centuries paid her regular
+tribute. Such an episode was therefore a sure mark
+of imperial decadence;&mdash;a definite step, moreover,
+in the downward process, to be followed not long
+after by the Japanese boldly asserting a claim to the
+Liuchiu Islands, against which China could only interpose
+an inarticulate protest. The meaning of these
+indications was not likely to be lost either on the
+Japanese, who were more immediately concerned, or
+on other less interested onlookers. And what has the
+subsequent history of China been but a development of
+the symptoms?
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+III. KOREA OPENED.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Japan concludes commercial treaty with Korea&mdash;Establishes working
+relations&mdash;Exciting jealousy in China&mdash;The suzerain&mdash;China replies
+by opening Korea to the whole world.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The expanding life of Japan was soon to overflow
+in another direction. The kingdom of Korea lay within
+twelve hours' steaming from the Japanese coast: it had
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_257' name='Page_257'>[257]</a></span>
+a historic and a mythical interest for Japan; it had
+been the source of her culture as well as the scene of
+her conquests and ultimate defeat. With the exception
+of piratical raids on the coast towns of China, Korea
+was the only foreign field into which Japanese arms
+had been carried, and the prowess of their peninsular
+heroes was cherished as a sacred treasure by a people
+singularly tenacious of their heroic legends. After an
+interval of three centuries the new Japan directed its
+ambition to the scene of its medieval exploits; and the
+"hermit kingdom" was at last dragged from its seclusion
+and forced to play an unwilling part in the international
+game. The modern spirit had tempered the
+military passion, commerce and industry supplied the
+ballast to adventure, and instead of landing an army of
+200,000 men, as they had done in 1592, the Japanese,
+in 1876, re-established themselves in the peninsula
+through the peaceable agency of a treaty of amity
+and commerce&mdash;a weapon newly borrowed from the
+armoury of Europe. This movement of the Japanese
+was by no means intended to "open" Korea&mdash;except
+to themselves. On the contrary, it appears that that
+very astute people ingratiated themselves with the
+king's Government by aiding, or professing to aid, them
+to keep the country closed to all other nations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But, like every other attempt to isolate an international
+question, the exclusive effort of the Japanese
+not only failed, but resulted in opening Korea instead
+of closing it. They could not lock themselves in: the
+key was on the outside of the door. Although they
+disguised their feelings, the Chinese authorities had
+been gravely disturbed by the attacks of the French
+and the Americans on Korea in 1867 and 1871. The
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_258' name='Page_258'>[258]</a></span>
+audacious advance of the Japanese aroused them to
+the extent of considering the merits of a counter-move;
+for Korea was the secular battle-ground between China
+and Japan, the historic stepping-stone between the two
+countries. And Korea was a vassal to China, if ever
+one State did occupy such a relation to another. By
+old tradition, by effective conquest, by solemn engagement,
+by regular tributary missions, by the prerogative
+of investiture, by the obeisance of the sovereign
+before the Chinese envoys sent on great occasions,
+by every kind of acknowledgment which the servant
+could render to the master, was the suzerainty of
+China established.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+China's relations to her tributaries was perhaps the
+best feature in her imperial character. There was
+protection, nominal or real, but never a shadow of
+domination. The ceremonial once settled, the most
+complete independence was accorded to the vassal
+State, the imperial object being never oppression or
+exploitation, but the girdling of the empire with a
+cordon of contented States looking with filial eyes
+towards the Dragon throne. Of these filial States
+Korea was the most important, on account of its
+geographical position as commanding one of the main
+approaches to the Middle Kingdom, or, as the king
+himself once expressed it in a memorial to the
+emperor, as "the lips protecting the teeth." For
+China the Korean peninsula has been a strategical
+stronghold, but its importance was increased a hundredfold
+when the statesmen of Peking came to
+realise what they had done in giving away the whole
+Manchurian sea-coast, leaving them no outlet to the
+Sea of Japan excepting through Korea, which, moreover,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_259' name='Page_259'>[259]</a></span>
+was studded all round with excellent harbours, useful
+to friends and tempting to enemies.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The wise policy which the emperors had observed
+towards their tributaries had borne valuable fruit in
+Korea. For two hundred years the Peking Government
+had dealt so benignly with king and people as to
+have inspired feelings of genuine affection combined
+with deep reverence for the "big country." Whether
+collectively or individually, officially or privately, the
+Chinese were warmly welcomed everywhere without
+ever abusing the courtesy of their hosts&mdash;in marked
+contrast, it must be observed, to the Japanese, whose
+record in Korea has been one of unbroken brutality,
+producing a general feeling of aversion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If anything, therefore, could excite the jealousy of
+Chinese statesmen, it would be to see this filial dependency
+being tampered with by strangers, more
+especially by their hereditary foes, the Japanese.
+Better all the world in Korea with Japan excluded,
+than Japan in with the rest of the world kept out.
+Slow of apprehension, and still slower of action, her
+unpractical conservatism in high places reducible only
+by sap and mine, China brooded over the Korean
+problem for some years before any result of the incubation
+appeared. The conclusion eventually arrived at
+was to neutralise the Japanese action by opening Korea
+to the whole world under treaty. The realisation of
+this scheme was as usual placed in the hands of
+Li Hung-chang, who on the one hand recommended
+the Korean king to conclude commercial treaties with
+foreign Powers, and on the other encouraged the latter
+to open negotiations. Hence the general opening of the
+country in 1882, with its train of tragic consequences.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_260' name='Page_260'>[260]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The terms of the foreign treaties with Korea had not
+been thoroughly thought out, and the very ambiguity
+was perpetuated which it was the interest of China to
+clear away. The treaties purported to be made with
+an independent State, whereas Korea was a vassal, and
+the inconsistency was attempted to be remedied by a
+separate letter from the king to the Powers with whom
+he had concluded treaties, declaring, notwithstanding,
+that the Chinese emperor was his suzerain.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+IV. THE FIRST IMPERIAL AUDIENCE&mdash;SUCCESSION
+OF KWANGHSU.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+End of the minority of Emperor Tungchih&mdash;Audience of the foreign
+Ministers in 1873&mdash;Under derogatory conditions&mdash;Death of the young
+emperor&mdash;Empress regent's <i>coup d'état</i> in selecting successor&mdash;Her own
+nephew&mdash;Eighteen years' minority of Emperor Kwanghsu.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+An event looked forward to for twelve long years
+with patient expectation, and with hope, lively at the
+beginning but fading away towards the end of the
+period, that it would prove the sovereign remedy for
+the defects of Chinese intercourse with the world, was
+the assumption of power by the young emperor, who
+attained his majority in 1873. The diplomatic body
+busied themselves greatly in preparations for their
+first audiences with the sovereign to whom they were
+accredited. The Chinese on their part were no less
+anxiously engaged in devising means of lightening the
+blow to their prestige in consenting to receive foreigners
+at all, while dispensing with the prescribed prostrations.
+Obliged to yield the main point, the Court
+officials minimised its significance by imposing sundry
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_261' name='Page_261'>[261]</a></span>
+derogatory conditions as to the building in which the
+audience was to be granted, and by the terms in which
+it was referred to in the imperial decree, which represented
+the foreign Ministers as "imploring an audience,"
+and by other like devices.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first to be admitted to the presence was the
+representative of Japan, who held the rank of ambassador.
+Next came the resident Ministers of
+Russia, the United States, Great Britain, France, and
+Holland, in a body; and lastly, the French Minister
+separately, in order to convey the reply of his Government
+to the mission of Chunghou respecting the
+Tientsin massacre of 1870. The several letters of
+credence were placed on a table. The emperor
+"seemed to be speaking" to Prince Kung, though no
+sound was heard. The prince in his turn addressed a
+few words to the five Ministers, in Chinese, purporting
+to be what the emperor had spoken in Manchu, and
+the audience was at an end, the whole ceremony lasting
+about five minutes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+By long anticipation a superstitious halo had formed
+round the abstract question of audience: it grew into
+a kind of fetish. Mr Lay shrewdly observed that the
+object of the "resident Minister" clause in the treaties
+had been misunderstood by foreigners in being regarded
+by them as an end instead of only a means.
+Mr Wade, who was British Minister at the time,
+made no such mistake; for though he consistently
+laid stress on ceremonial, it was, as he has frequently
+explained, because with the Chinese form was more
+than substance, and included it. A proper regulation
+of official etiquette was in his estimation the principal
+key to the remedy of material wrongs. From this
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_262' name='Page_262'>[262]</a></span>
+point of view a five minutes' audience of the Son of
+Heaven, even in dumb show and once a-year, was a
+step of real importance. "The empire," wrote Mr
+Wade, "has for the first time in its history broken
+with the tradition of isolated supremacy&mdash;not, it may
+be, with a good grace, but still past recall; and while
+I would anxiously deprecate a too sanguine estimate
+of its results, I am as little disposed to undervalue the
+change that has been effected."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But whatever hopes of a practical kind were raised
+by this ceremonial innovation were doomed to speedy
+extinction, for the emperor did not survive to grant
+a second reception. He died within the year, and
+was succeeded by another infant, involving a second
+minority much longer than the preceding one. Eighteen
+years, in fact, elapsed between the first imperial
+audience and the second.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Emperor Tungchih, though but eighteen years
+of age, left a legend behind him. The gossip of the
+capital assigned to him considerable independence of
+character, and a certain audacity in breaking bounds
+without the discreet chaperonage enjoyed by the Prince
+Siddhârtha in his explorations beyond the palace precincts
+of King Suddhôdana. He was, if common report
+belied him not, a true son of his mother in certain
+respects, though of her masterful statecraft, and the
+qualities which become a great monarch, he was too
+young to have given proofs. Leaving no heir, the
+deficiency was promptly supplied by the resourcefulness
+of the empress-mother. As the widow of the
+Emperor Hsienfêng and co-regent, she adopted a
+posthumous heir to that monarch to replace his own
+son. Her choice fell on the infant son of Prince Ch'un,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_263' name='Page_263'>[263]</a></span>
+the youngest brother of Hsienfêng. The mother of
+the adopted child was the empress-regent's own
+sister, and by thus enthroning her nephew the regent
+assured herself another long lease of power. The proceeding
+was irregular, there being two older brothers
+of Prince Ch'un alive and having sons. The nearest
+heir was the infant grandson of Prince Tun, the fifth
+son of Tao-kuang, but though Prince Tun himself
+had thirty years before been given in adoption to an
+uncle, the claim of his descendants to the imperial
+inheritance being thereby weakened, he seems never
+to have renounced his rights. At the time of the
+decease of Tungchih there was so much apprehension
+of disturbances in Peking, both on account of
+the succession and the form of the regency, that the
+'Times' (February 4, 1875) wrote, "A battle on this
+question would seem almost inevitable, and notwithstanding
+the proverbial slowness of the East in most
+things, in crises like the present aspirants to Eastern
+thrones are wont to display both energy and readiness
+when the moment arrives for a <i>coup d'état</i>."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The next in seniority of the sons of Tao-kuang
+was Prince Kung, whose title was uncompromised
+by alienation, and he had a son eligible. Whatever
+may have been the reasons for setting aside the claims
+of the two elder brothers to occupy the Dragon throne,
+they were considered to have been wrongfully set aside,
+and of this more will doubtless be heard in the fulness
+of time. Since, for reasons well understood, no natural
+heir to the present monarch can succeed him, there
+must be fresh recourse to adoption when or before
+the necessity arises, and what influences, native or
+alien, may then be concentrated on the imperial succession
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_264' name='Page_264'>[264]</a></span>
+is a speculation on which it would be profitless
+to enter.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The empress-regent's <i>coup d'état</i> of January 1875,
+when on a bitterly cold night her infant nephew
+was taken out of his warm bed, conveyed into the
+palace, and proclaimed emperor the following morning,
+answered the scheming lady's expectations, for she
+has ruled the Chinese empire from that day to this.
+By the same stroke she was enabled to disembarrass
+herself of her original confederate, Prince Kung, to
+whose ambition she dealt a crushing blow in ousting
+his family from the succession. The two had come to
+hate each other with more than common virulence;
+and now that Prince Ch'un had been set on an
+unassailable pedestal as father of the reigning sovereign,
+the regent placed her trust and confidence in
+him, and shared with him the sweets of empire. Inasmuch,
+however, as the regent was a woman, and her
+imperial brother-in-law neither a man of affairs nor
+in a position to assume any outward share in the
+Government, it was necessary to bring in a practical
+statesman to stand between them and the outer world.
+This position of confidence was occupied for twenty
+years by the grand secretary, Li Hung-chang.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_265' name='Page_265'>[265]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875&mdash;CHEFOO CONVENTION,
+1876&mdash;RATIFICATION, 1885.</span></h2>
+
+<h3>
+I. THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Efforts to reach China from Burma&mdash;Expedition under Colonel Browne&mdash;Mr
+Margary appointed interpreter&mdash;Meets party at Bhamo&mdash;Precedes
+them into China, and is assassinated at Manwyne&mdash;Discussion thereon
+with the Chinese Government&mdash;Tsên Yü-ying, Governor of Yunnan&mdash;British
+Minister charges him with the murder&mdash;Demands his arraignment&mdash;Sends
+commission from Peking to Yunnan to take evidence&mdash;Unsuccessful.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Ever since the conquest of British Burma, and more
+especially since the treaty concluded with the King of
+Burma in 1862, political and commercial speculation
+had been busied with the mountainous country which
+divides it from the empire of China. The fact that
+next to nothing was known of that wild region, combined
+with the prospect of reopening the old caravan
+route which had been some time closed by disturbances
+among the frontier tribes and by Chinese insurgents,
+constituted a great stimulus to exploration. To this
+end projects were from time to time considered by
+the Indian Government&mdash;sometimes at the instance
+of enthusiastic officials, sometimes urged by the superior
+authority of the British Government under pressure
+from mercantile bodies in England. South-western
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_266' name='Page_266'>[266]</a></span>
+China, however, was as jealously guarded from intrusion
+as the sea-coast had been, and no progress
+was made in penetrating its mystery.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After the failure of an exploring expedition under
+Colonel Edward B. Sladen in 1868, the Indian Government,
+in furtherance of the wishes of the Government
+at home, sanctioned yet another attempt six years later,
+though with decided misgivings as to any successful
+issue. Arrangements were made during 1874, and
+the expedition, under Colonel Horace Browne, was
+despatched from Burma <i>viâ</i> Bhamo in the beginning
+of 1875. The British Minister in China had been
+asked for his co-operation, and in particular he was
+requested to furnish Colonel Browne with a competent
+interpreter. It was arranged that this official,
+armed with a Chinese passport issued by the Government
+at Peking, should make his own way through
+China from the coast and join Colonel Browne at
+Bhamo.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The choice of her Majesty's Minister fell upon one of
+the most promising officers in the consular service,
+Mr Augustus Raymond Margary, who proceeded from
+Shanghai by way of the Yangtze to the province of
+Yunnan, and in five months accomplished his perilous
+pioneering journey with perfect success, arriving on
+the 17th of January at the rendezvous, where he was
+received with the warmest feelings by Colonel Browne
+and his party, and with surprise and admiration by the
+Burmese.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On being joined by Mr Margary, the mission prepared
+to start from Bhamo towards China. Everything
+seemed auspicious for the expedition. On arriving at
+the Burmese frontier, however, the party were met by
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_267' name='Page_267'>[267]</a></span>
+sinister rumours of armed opposition to their passage
+through the Kakhyen hills. Margary, having just
+come safely through these districts, volunteered to
+proceed alone to ascertain the truth of the reports
+which they had heard. How he was treacherously
+assassinated at Manwyne, the first city within the
+Chinese border, and how Colonel Browne's mission was
+assailed and driven back by armed bands, has been told
+by Dr John Anderson in 'A Narrative of the two Expeditions
+to Western China' of 1868 and 1875, and by
+Sir Rutherford Alcock, the sympathetic editor of Mr
+Margary's 'Letters and Journals,' as well as in numerous
+Government publications.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It became then a question of the gravest import to
+fix the guilt of this treachery, and to consider what
+means could be adopted for avenging the death of
+a young Englishman within Chinese territory, and
+bearing a passport from the Government of Peking.
+"Whether it be Burmese, Kakhyens, Shan tribes, or
+Chinese that are in question, it is impossible we can
+accept a defeat of this nature, brought on, too, by
+our own spontaneous acts," was the conclusion of Sir
+Rutherford Alcock. Governments which resorted to
+the assassination of individuals under their own safe
+conduct must be deterred, by persuasion or by force,
+from the use of such tactics. The demand for redress
+which was made direct to the Tsungli-Yamên was
+followed by a wrangling and evasive discussion as to
+the conditions on which the passport had been granted.
+These, it must be admitted, had not been so definitely
+stated as they might have been. Passports, as Mr
+Wade, then Minister in Peking, explained, were
+granted in two forms&mdash;for "business," meaning trade,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_268' name='Page_268'>[268]</a></span>
+or for "pleasure," rendered in Chinese "tour or travel."
+It was in the latter form that the passport for Colonel
+Browne was applied for, and the Chinese made a
+plausible defence of their position on this narrow
+ground, asserting that the subsequent declaration
+that the mission was intended to open a trade route
+through Chinese provinces, where they alleged no
+trading rights for foreigners existed, could not be
+covered by a passport granted for pleasure.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The voluminous discussion on international rights
+which followed, although academical in form and irrelevant
+to the question at issue, betrayed the animus
+of the Chinese Government in regard to commercial
+concessions in the interior; but it is possible that the
+true motive for the repulse of Colonel Browne's expedition,
+of which Mr Margary's murder was but an incident,
+lay deeper. Europeans are accustomed to make
+light of oriental suspicions, and the idea that Colonel
+Browne's party was the vanguard of a hostile force
+to be treacherously introduced into Chinese territory
+under passport may seem too fantastic to have been
+entertained in good faith. Yet if we consider on
+what trivial grounds even the civilised Powers of
+Europe will at times suspect each other of the most
+grandiose designs, and how often the suspicion is
+justified, we need not dismiss as incredible the fact
+that, in a frontier province which had recently been
+the scene of a formidable rebellion, an armed escort
+accompanying a foreign tourist party should have
+caused sincere misgivings in the minds of the authorities.
+Nor do the facts of the case exclude the possibility
+of such suspicions being suggested from without,
+even if they did not arise spontaneously within. Apart
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_269' name='Page_269'>[269]</a></span>
+from these special considerations, the chances of success
+would probably have been greater if the mission had
+started from the Chinese side, where the right of travel
+and exploration had already been established.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The verbal polemic over the conditions of the
+passport did not, however, touch the matter in hand,
+which was the murder of a British official for whom
+the Chinese Government, both imperial and provincial,
+were expressly responsible. It is not necessary at this
+day to pronounce judgment on the identity of the
+actual criminal. The murder was the result of a
+conspiracy in which Chinese and Burmese were both
+implicated. They were alike interested in preventing
+the passage of the mission, and the strong opposition
+of the Burma Government was not unknown to Mr
+Margary, for he had noted it in his Journal.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The King of Burma, the father of the well-known
+Theebaw, was a learned pandit and a devout Buddhist,
+as severe in regard to heretics as the crowned heads
+of Europe were in the days of the Inquisition. The
+Court of Ava, in its claims to obeisance from foreigners,
+was almost as exacting as the Son of Heaven himself,
+and the priests lorded it over the community
+with the arrogance of a pampered caste. Thus foreign
+intercourse was heavily hampered, and a good understanding
+rendered almost impossible. Fears for their
+prerogatives must have inspired the royal and priestly
+coterie with aversion to that restless element which
+was always trying to "open up" other people's country
+and to explore trade routes. Hence the motive for
+obstructing the passage of a foreign expedition between
+Burma and China was as strong on the Burmese as
+on the Chinese side.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_270' name='Page_270'>[270]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Tsên Yü-ying, the Chinese governor, held an exceptionally
+strong position in his province, and the officials
+stood very much in awe of him. Though not a pure
+Chinese, having been born in the mountains of
+Kwangsi, of aboriginal parentage on one side, his personal
+prestige was very great. A fighting man from
+his youth, he had acquired an immense reputation in
+suppressing the Mohammedan rebellion in Yunnan.
+This he did in oriental style, extirpating the rebels so
+far as he could, root and branch. To save the trouble
+of burying many thousands of old people and children,
+he had them drowned in the Tali Lake. The military
+commander who was told off for this pleasing duty
+palliated the massacre, when in after years narrating
+these occurrences, by saying there were not really
+10,000 but only 3000 thrown into the lake. This
+official had remonstrated with the governor against
+the sentence, saying that such severity was not in
+accordance with Tao li (principle); but Tsên replied,
+"You have nothing to do with Tao li; you must
+conform to the Leu li" (Penal Code).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Tsên Yü-ying was therefore something greater than
+an ordinary provincial governor, and wielded something
+more than the authority belonging to his office.
+Not only was he responsible, as all governors are,
+for what was done within his government, but it is
+difficult to conceive of any important incident occurring
+there without his personal sanction. But which
+was the leader in the plot, whether the acting-governor
+Tsên Yü-ying or the King of Burma, is comparatively
+unimportant; suffice it that her Majesty's Minister
+fixed, on grounds which satisfied himself, though of
+course on inferential evidence only, the instigation
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_271' name='Page_271'>[271]</a></span>
+of the crime on the governor-general Tsên Yü-ying;
+and whether the direct guilt were brought home to
+him or not, there could be no question about his
+responsibility under the Chinese principle of administration.
+"From the governor-general downwards they
+are each and all individually and collectively held
+responsible for all that may happen in the limits of
+their jurisdiction." Accordingly, after much preliminary
+discussion, Mr Wade demanded that that
+high official should be censured for neglect of duty,
+and, on later information, that he should be brought
+for trial to Peking. To this demand the Peking
+Government refused to listen, and after feigning for
+many months to have no knowledge of what had
+taken place, they produced a report from the governor-general
+himself inculpating certain subordinates,
+of whom he seemed willing to make a nominal sacrifice.
+This report was so openly mendacious that Sir Thomas
+Wade threatened to haul down his flag if it were
+published.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Unluckily for the successful prosecution of the
+demand for the arraignment of the viceroy, the British
+Minister became entangled in a cat's-cradle of negotiations
+for the revision of the treaty of Tientsin, with
+which the Yunnan outrage got so mixed up that the
+different questions never could be, or at any rate
+never were, separated again. Throwing the net is
+the tactical device in which the Chinese excel. The
+demand for reparation for the murder was alternately
+put forward, modified, and withdrawn according as the
+general propositions were shuffled about, and thus the
+effect of a concentrated attack on the essential point
+was lost. The minister on his own showing found
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_272' name='Page_272'>[272]</a></span>
+himself in a succession of dilemmas, while the Chinese
+defensive position was clear throughout: it was to
+refuse everything, evade when direct refusal was
+dangerous, and in short to baffle all attempts of the
+British Minister to get to close quarters with the
+question. Sir Thomas Wade was several times brought
+by these elusive tactics to the point of threatening
+withdrawal of the Legation, which in itself the Chinese
+would have welcomed as a householder might the
+"positively last visit" of a tax-collector, but for the
+ulterior consequences to be apprehended.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After many months of fruitless labour Sir Thomas
+Wade resolved to send a commission of his own to
+Yunnan to collect evidence as to Margary's murder.
+His right to do so was at first contested by the Chinese;
+but after considering the matter, and getting the best
+advice at their command, they assented, and named
+High Commissioners to meet the British officials. The
+Hon. T. G. Grosvenor, secretary of Legation, was
+detached for this duty, assisted by two of the most
+competent men in the consular service&mdash;Mr Colborn
+Baber and Mr Arthur Davenport. On the Chinese
+side were appointed the viceroy of the Hu Kwang,
+Li Han-chang, elder brother of Li Hung-chang, another
+official to whom Sir Thomas Wade objected strongly,
+but in vain, and Tsên Yü-ying himself, the inculpated
+party. The promises made to the British Minister
+before he would allow the mission to set out were
+broken as soon as it was fairly on its way, and Sir
+Thomas Wade had serious thoughts of recalling it,
+foreseeing that it was destined merely to waste time.
+What possible hope, indeed, could there be of isolated
+foreigners collecting evidence in a distant city against
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_273' name='Page_273'>[273]</a></span>
+the high provincial officials? No evidence was taken.
+The British Commissioner was simply presented with
+the original report, to which was added the so-called
+"confession" of thirteen savages "kidnapped to do
+duty as prisoners at the bar." These savages could
+not speak Chinese, nor was their language understood
+by any one in the viceregal court; it was evident
+that they had never been near the scene of the
+crime, nor did they look in the least like men who
+were pleading guilty to a capital charge.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The motive of the Chinese in yielding to the appointment
+of the British commission, after refusing
+their assent to it, only occurred to Sir Thomas
+Wade when they recommended that Mr Grosvenor
+should remain in Yunnan until the case was closed.
+No coercive measures, they calculated, would be taken
+against them while these hostages remained in their
+hands. From first to last the only question that
+occupied the mind of the Chinese Government was
+whether force would be applied or not. And if
+they read&mdash;as of course they did&mdash;the English newspapers
+of the day they would see that the contingency
+of war was dwelt upon throughout the year 1875 as
+the sole alternative to the condign punishment of the
+Governor-General of Yunnan-Kweichow. This was,
+indeed, from time to time directly threatened by Sir
+Thomas Wade, and he had applied for the Flying
+Squadron to come on from India to support his demands.
+When at last, after eighteen months' struggle,
+he abandoned the negotiations, and "abruptly left
+Peking" for Shanghai in order to be in direct telegraphic
+communication with the Home Government, he
+wrote, "I had, in the last fortnight, again and again
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_274' name='Page_274'>[274]</a></span>
+threatened either to remove the Legation or to recommend
+to her Majesty's Government the extremest
+measure of coercion unless I had secured a very
+moderate form of reparation."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When Prince Kung realised the fact that the British
+Minister had actually left the capital he became suddenly
+serious, and sent after him to say there had been
+a misunderstanding, which would have been cleared
+away if he had only waited. At the same time the
+prince had recourse to his foreign adviser, the Inspector-General
+of Customs, who stood to the Government
+somewhat in the relation of a "medicine-man."
+The inspector-general had taken an active part, both
+direct and indirect, in the comedy of the preceding
+eighteen months&mdash;whether as an ally or an opponent
+of the British Minister seems not to have been quite
+clear to the comprehension of the latter.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An imperial decree was immediately despatched
+to the Grand Secretary, Li Hung-chang, instructing
+him to detain the British Minister on his way
+through Tientsin, in order to confer with him on
+the Margary case. This proposal Sir Thomas Wade
+declined on several grounds: among others, that at
+a previous stage of the negotiations the promises
+made by Li Hung-chang had been repudiated by
+the Peking Government. This effort to stop him
+at Tientsin having failed, Mr Hart was despatched
+in hot haste after Sir Thomas Wade to Shanghai,
+ostensibly to discuss the "commercial question," but
+really to induce the British Minister to re-enter the
+arena of negotiation,<a name='FA_22' id='FA_22' href='#FN_22' class='fnanchor'>[22]</a> in which the Chinese felt themselves
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_275' name='Page_275'>[275]</a></span>
+safe. Sir Thomas, therefore, consented to meet
+a special commissioner, but without committing himself
+as to the scope of the intended conference. The
+High Commissioner was Li Hung-chang, and the
+place of meeting Chefoo, the locality being selected
+by Sir Thomas Wade himself. There was concluded
+the famous Chefoo Convention.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+II. CHEFOO CONVENTION, 1876.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Negotiations with Li Hung-chang at Chefoo&mdash;Mr Hart assisting&mdash;Sir
+Thomas Wade hurried into making an unsatisfactory settlement&mdash;Chefoo
+convention analysed&mdash;Net result an increase in the customs
+dues&mdash;Criticised by the merchants.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+It was in the month of September, the summer not
+yet over, during which season the sea air and fine
+beach of Chefoo made it at that time the best health
+resort for the China coast. Visitors from Peking
+occasionally varied their summer residence at the
+Western Hills by spending a few weeks at Chefoo,
+and in 1876 there were several members of the diplomatic
+body taking their holiday at the watering-place,
+the meeting of the British and Chinese plenipotentiaries
+constituting for them an added attraction.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sir Thomas Wade had originally no intention of
+concluding a formal convention, nor had he authority
+for closing the Yunnan question without further reference
+to his Government; but circumstances proved too
+strong for him to keep to his resolution. He, in
+fact, found himself in such a position of difficulty
+as is perhaps best described by the word "cornered"&mdash;the
+advantage of the game having passed
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_276' name='Page_276'>[276]</a></span>
+entirely to the other side. The Chinese commissioner
+was powerfully reinforced by the inspector-general,
+supported by the local commissioner of customs
+for Chefoo; and the neutrality of those of the
+diplomatic body who were on the spot was believed
+to be benevolent to the Chinese. The "co-operative
+policy" of Mr Burlingame's day had for the time being
+at least lapsed, and particularist views among the
+Powers or their representatives began to prevail. The
+British Minister, deeming the matter in dispute with
+the Chinese a purely British concern, did not hold
+it incumbent on him to hamper his negotiations by
+daily consultations with his colleagues, who on their
+part resented his reticence, claiming it as a right
+that, considering how their national interests might
+be affected by the result, they should be kept informed
+of the progress of the negotiations. Sir
+Thomas Wade admits that, among other considerations,
+it was the impatience of these colleagues of
+his to see the discussion definitely terminated which
+induced him to close the case without waiting for
+further instructions from his Government.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It must be borne in mind that the problem before
+the Chinese High Commissioner had never
+varied: it was the extremely simple one, how to
+screen the ex-governor Tsên Yü-ying, whether guilty
+or innocent, without encountering a British armed
+force. The fate of the negotiations depended entirely
+on the probable movement of the Flying Squadron,
+which was lying at Talien-wan, a hundred miles off.
+No greater service could have been rendered to the
+Chinese Government than to assure the High Commissioner
+that he had nothing to fear from the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_277' name='Page_277'>[277]</a></span>
+British ships. The foreign Ministers who were present
+had their Intelligence Departments in full activity,
+and they had a shrewd notion of the limitations
+of the Flying Squadron, which they were free to
+communicate to the Chinese plenipotentiary. They
+were aware that the time&mdash;September 1876&mdash;was
+not opportune for the British Government to embark
+on distant enterprises of indefinite possibilities. From
+one source or another the assurance was given to
+the Chinese negotiator, and once convinced, on whatever
+evidence, that the British guns would fire
+nothing but salutes, Li Hung-chang felt himself
+master of the situation. It then became his turn
+to force a settlement, and he at once assumed a
+peremptory tone with the British Minister, notifying
+him that he would leave Chefoo on a certain day,
+convention or no convention. Sir Thomas Wade had,
+or thought he had, no choice but to capitulate to
+superior force. Pressed by his diplomatic colleagues,
+as has been said, as well as by the expressed desire
+of his own Government to get the tedious matter
+settled, he had to accept the best agreement he could
+get, and the Chefoo convention was the result.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The fear of coercion being eliminated, the negotiation
+became reduced to a custom-house affair like
+the treaty revision of 1869, the Chinese seizing the
+occasion to renew their former efforts to obtain an
+increase of revenue from foreign trade. Instead of
+adding to the import duty on foreign merchandise
+as in 1869, they now proposed to extend the area
+of internal taxation, and in particular they prepared
+the way for an indefinite increase in the opium
+revenue. This was the substantial part of the convention.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_278' name='Page_278'>[278]</a></span>
+New ports were opened in harmony with
+the scheme.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A clause referring to residence at Chungking in
+Szechuan provided that British merchants would not
+be allowed to reside there so long as no steamers
+had access to the port. When, under this contingent
+clause, it was attempted to make the conditional
+permission effective by sending steamers to the port,
+the Chinese Government offered opposition, and the
+right was abandoned by Great Britain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As for the Yunnan affair, the settlement of it gravitated
+to the form which had been universally condemned.
+"Do not let the nation lay itself open to
+the contempt of an Asiatic people by accepting money
+for life treacherously taken by official order," wrote
+Sir R. Alcock in July 1875. But "the series of bad
+precedents" was once more followed, and "blood-money
+was accepted for the life of a British subject."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was thought important to publish far and wide
+the terms of settlement, and a proclamation with
+Sir T. Wade's <i>imprimatur</i> was posted throughout
+the country. It was remarked, however, that this
+proclamation embodied the very falsities against the
+publication of which the British Minister had previously
+protested under threat of breaking off diplomatic
+relations. The guilt of notoriously innocent parties
+was assumed in it, but their pardon granted on
+the fictitious ground that the evidence against them
+would not suffice to convict by the processes of
+British law.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A separate article provided for a mission of exploration
+by way of Szechuan and Tibet in the
+following year.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_279' name='Page_279'>[279]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A subject on which Sir Thomas Wade had long
+set his heart was an improvement in the terms of
+intercourse between foreign and Chinese officials, with
+a view of putting an end to the habitual assumption
+of superiority of the Chinese. This was treated in
+a few empty words providing that the Tsungli-Yamên
+should invite foreign representatives to consider with
+them a code of etiquette, a clause imposing no obligation
+whatever on either party.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Another question which had greatly occupied the
+minds of both the British Government and its
+successive representatives ever since 1833 was the
+establishment of a code of laws to regulate the civil
+and criminal relations between foreigners and Chinese
+at the treaty ports and elsewhere. This had formed
+a feature in the supplementary convention of 1869,
+the undertaking in which did not, however, extend
+beyond the general terms that "it is further agreed
+that England and China shall in consultation draw
+up a commercial code."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Strongly approving, however, of the abstract idea
+that China should adopt a written code of commercial
+law as a first step towards a general legal reform,
+Sir T. Wade nevertheless uttered a useful caution to
+those ardent reformers who see in a good code of
+laws a panacea for either national or international
+grievances. "No nation," he says, "worked harder
+at its legislation than China; but in the way of
+justice there are at least two serious impediments&mdash;an
+ignorance which renders due appreciation of the
+value of evidence, especially in criminal cases, impossible;
+and a dishonesty that would be fatal to the administration
+of any laws, no matter how enlightened."
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_280' name='Page_280'>[280]</a></span>
+He illustrates this by relating an instance of the
+obstinate nature of the <i>chose jugée</i> in China.
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+In a case [he says] the termination of which is just announced
+at Peking, we have a woman wrongly convicted, on
+a confession extorted from her by torture, of the murder of
+a husband who died a natural death, the injustice being so
+patent that the fellow-provincials of the accused appealed to
+Peking. Orders being issued for a rehearing of the case, the
+former decision was affirmed in the province, and this a second
+and again a third time. The proceedings were then removed
+to Peking; and it is in the end established that magistrates of
+districts, prefects of departments, the governor of the province,
+and the high officer charged with the public instruction of the
+province, who had been specially commissioned to rehear the
+case, have all more or less combined to conceal the delinquency
+of the first authority who heard it; with whose guilt the rest,
+his seniors, had associated themselves either through carelessness
+or from a corrupt motive. These proceedings lasted over
+two years.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+One point, however, was definitively gained in connection
+with jurisprudence, the recognition of the
+British Supreme Court as a means of discharging treaty
+obligations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The convention as a whole was subjected to the
+same kind of criticism as that of 1869 had been. The
+Chambers of Commerce pointed out that it sanctioned
+Chinese exactions which had been up to that time
+consistently resisted as violations of the treaty of
+Tientsin. Imposts, condemned by the Chinese themselves,<a name='FA_23' id='FA_23' href='#FN_23' class='fnanchor'>[23]</a>
+which were to be abolished altogether by the
+terms of the Alcock convention, were by the Chefoo
+agreement not only recognised as lawful, but the area
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_281' name='Page_281'>[281]</a></span>
+of their levy, within which the taxes were to be freed
+from all restrictions whether as to their amount or
+incidence, greatly extended. It would appear, therefore,
+said the merchants, "better to revert to the clear
+and simple provisions of the treaty of Tientsin, and
+insist on their being carried out without evasion."
+So far, they say, from simplifying the question of
+the taxation of foreign goods, the obliquely worded
+clauses in the Chefoo convention tend to quite the
+opposite result. "New elements of obscurity have
+been introduced, and if twenty years have been spent
+wrangling over the comparatively simple wording of
+the Tientsin treaty, it is to be feared that no person
+now living will see the end of the controversies which
+will rage over the indefinite arrangement set forth in
+the Chefoo convention."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Opium was also for the first time introduced into a
+treaty, for the purpose of increasing the Chinese revenue
+from it and of making the maritime customs, supported
+by the British Government, the agent for its collection.
+The Chinese had always been at liberty to levy what
+internal taxation they pleased on opium; but, said the
+Chamber of Commerce, for the "English Government
+to make itself even indirectly answerable for the collection
+from Chinese of an impost of indefinite amount,
+varying at each port according to the caprice or the
+necessities of local authorities who are not even specified,
+would surely be to introduce a most inconvenient
+precedent." The convention was left for nine years
+unratified by the British Government. It could not be
+ratified because, among other reasons, five of the treaty
+Powers took the same objection as the British and other
+merchants had taken to the curtailment of the area of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_282' name='Page_282'>[282]</a></span>
+exemption from inland taxation&mdash;in other words, to the
+legal sanction extended by the agreement to unlimited
+exactions of the Chinese tax-collectors which had up
+till then been resisted as illegal.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+During the eight years following the signature of the
+Chefoo convention incessant discussion and agitation
+on the subject of the duties on opium and general merchandise
+kept the British Legation in Peking, and in a
+lesser degree the Foreign Office at home, in full activity.
+The question was turned over in all its aspects, threshed
+out on this side and on that, and numerous schemes
+were proposed for readjusting the imposts. The British
+Minister displayed the utmost ingenuity in evolving
+variations on the central theme, in which ethical, political,
+and sentimental considerations played their part,
+but without advancing the solution of the problem.
+The problem was altogether too simple for such recondite
+treatment. The Chinese throughout all the tortuous
+disquisitions pressed towards the one object of a
+substantial increase in their revenue, by whatever
+means it might be arrived at; and eventually they
+attained their object, as those generally do who concentrate
+their attention on a single point.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+III. THE RATIFICATION, 1885.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Ratification postponed&mdash;Tedious discussion during nine years&mdash;Chinese
+claiming large increase in opium duty&mdash;Ultimately granted&mdash;By
+agreement signed in 1885&mdash;Hongkong and Macao made stations for
+collecting opium duties.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The convention simmered for nine years before its
+final ratification. The two Governments skirmished in
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_283' name='Page_283'>[283]</a></span>
+the air all that time, misconceiving each other's aims
+and avoiding close quarters. The policy of Great
+Britain with regard to opium had been fatally deflected
+by unpractical considerations. The article had been
+placed by the trade regulations appended to the treaty
+in the exceptional position of being excluded from the
+privilege accorded to all other merchandise of exemption
+from inland taxation by payment of a fixed charge.
+The Chinese authorities were therefore at liberty to tax
+the article in transit to any extent they pleased. For
+reasons connected with their own administration, this
+unlimited power of taxation in transit was not deemed
+sufficient to produce the desired amount of revenue,
+and they were intent on supplying the deficiency by an
+enhanced import tariff. The difference between the
+two forms of taxation was that the inland duty was
+collected in a Chinese sieve, while the import duty
+was levied with the formalities of a banker's counter.
+Naturally, therefore, the Chinese Government missed
+no opportunity of pressing for an increase on the tariff
+fixed by treaty. It was the main object sought by
+them in the unratified convention of 1869. Failing
+then, they renewed their efforts in the Chefoo convention
+of 1876, seeking the same end by an inverted
+process, like taking a sea-fort from the land side.
+Instead of reviving the discredited proposal, they
+effected a turning movement by extending the area
+of the inland dues until it included the port of landing.
+Why, having full licence over the whole empire, a few
+acres added to their tax-collecting province should have
+been deemed of such vital importance is not perhaps at
+first sight self-evident. The reason was that under the
+proposed system the machinery of the Imperial maritime
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_284' name='Page_284'>[284]</a></span>
+customs could be employed in collection, with the
+protection of the foreign consuls.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The concession was set forth in cryptic form in the
+convention, but the Chinese knew very well what
+interpretation they intended to give to the clause.
+That intention remained unaltered, though tactics
+varied. By the light of the vague and pointless correspondence
+carried on for seven years with the British
+Government they saw their way to advancing considerably
+beyond the position gained by the convention.
+They consequently raised their demands in proportion
+as they found the British Government yielding, until
+eventually they reached a vantage-ground where they
+could safely unmask and make direct for their object,
+an increase in the import tariff pure and simple.
+Eighty taels were added to the thirty allowed by the
+old treaty, and the opium duty was thus really trebled
+at a stroke.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The negotiations which led up to the convention are
+chiefly interesting as showing how easily the Foreign
+Office was chased from cover to cover by the Chinese
+Minister. Having once got the enemy "on the run,"
+the Marquis Tsêng did not relax his pursuit until,
+notwithstanding one or two rear-guard actions, he
+capitulated without conditions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After seven years of active deliberation the definitive
+diplomatic conference was opened by Lord Granville
+in January 1883. As a preliminary, the basis of the
+negotiations was rigidly defined by Mr (now Lord)
+Currie, in accordance with the Chefoo convention, thus:
+the regulation of the <i>likin</i> taxation, and specification
+of the barriers at which collections were to be made.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But, as we have hinted, the Chinese aspirations
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_285' name='Page_285'>[285]</a></span>
+had in the mean time far transcended the scope of
+any provision of any treaty. No longer content with
+regulating <i>likin</i>, their first step in the conference was
+to induce Lord Granville to abandon the preliminary
+stipulation he had so carefully laid down. The Chinese
+Minister proposed a general commutation rate, uniform
+at all the ports, supporting the claim by sundry
+specious arguments. The <i>likin</i> barriers had been a
+chronic grievance of the merchants. The marquis held
+out a prospect of their abolition as a consequence of
+the single-payment commutation of inland dues on
+which he was intent. It is a feature of Chinese
+bargains of every description that something definite
+should be conceded on the one side, and something
+indefinite promised on the other,&mdash;the "bird in the
+hand" invariably for the Chinese. There was nothing
+surprising, therefore, in the time-honoured formula
+being employed in these diplomatic interchanges.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In moving from his base, Lord Granville, of course,
+ceded everything; but he made a final stand at the
+amount, declaring that "he could not agree that the
+<i>likin</i> payment should be fixed at more than 70 taels";
+moreover, that he "would require full information as to
+the guarantees which would be given that opium would
+not be subject to any further payment while in transit."
+One such guarantee was already provided for in the
+convention, which stipulates "that the nationality of
+the person possessing or carrying the merchandise would
+be immaterial." This was deemed of great importance
+to trade, because since it was not always possible for
+a foreign owner, or even a deputy of his own race,
+to accompany a parcel of goods into the interior,
+the permission for Chinese to accompany them was
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_286' name='Page_286'>[286]</a></span>
+essential to the working of the transit business. The
+contention of the merchant had always been, that the
+exemption from dues was a privilege attaching to the
+goods, and not to the temporary owner or transport
+agent. On the other hand, as the goods could not
+speak, the option of sending either a native or a
+foreigner at the merchant's own choice was considered
+a useful check on illicit exactions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The confident manner in which the marquis brushed
+away both of Lord Granville's ultimata showed how
+well he had profited by his experience of Foreign Office
+diplomacy. To Lord Granville's maximum of 70 taels
+(the sum actually agreed upon with the Chinese Government)
+the marquis said he was sorry, but his
+instructions did not permit of his accepting less than
+80 taels per pecul. It is not customary to ask for
+proofs of good faith from ambassadors acting "on
+instructions," and Lord Granville simply yielded the
+point, while entering a mild protest against being
+forced by a Chinese <i>non possumus</i>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And the right of the foreigner to accompany his
+goods, on which so much stress had been laid, was
+disposed of with exquisite assurance by the Chinese
+Minister, who was confident that such a mere detail
+"would not be allowed to stand in the way of a
+settlement," notwithstanding that it involved a reversal
+of the Chefoo convention.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And as to the guarantees for fulfilment, the Marquis
+Tsêng was sure that "the strongest guarantee
+would consist in the moral obligation" on the part
+of the Chinese Government to carry out arrangements
+of their own proposing. Thus, by sheer persistence,
+the Chinese gained every point, securing not only a
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_287' name='Page_287'>[287]</a></span>
+threefold duty on opium, but the assistance of her
+Majesty's Government in its collection, for that was
+the meaning of transferring the levy from the interior
+to the seaport. The agreement, concluded by Lord
+Granville in June, was signed by Lord Salisbury in
+July 1885, under the title of an "Additional Article
+to the Chefoo Convention."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is right to add, on the authority of recent
+observers, that the convention has worked smoothly,
+no complaints being heard of inland exactions in contravention
+of its terms. It thus appears that the
+moral guarantee on which the Marquis Tsêng spoke so
+confidently was after all of some validity. But as
+the only source from which complaints could come
+would be those foreign agents who were by the terms
+of the convention expressly excluded from conveying
+or accompanying opium into the country, the negative
+evidence is not absolutely conclusive.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It would have been most interesting to gain from so
+enlightened a Minister as Tsêng some insight into the
+causes of the continual friction and recrimination which
+attend the operation of the commercial articles in the
+Chinese treaties, but his despatches have reference
+only to the question of the moment. "The Imperial
+Government," he says, "have often been held responsible
+for the friction caused in working arrangements
+but ill-adapted to the state of the country, and which a
+better knowledge of its internal conditions would have
+shown to those who framed them are incapable of
+execution." "The present scheme," he intimates,
+"being in harmony with existing institutions," may be
+expected to work smoothly. Existing institutions,
+therefore, are opposed to local taxation and in favour
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_288' name='Page_288'>[288]</a></span>
+of single commutations. When, however, a different
+thesis has to be sustained, we are assured by other
+authorities that "existing institutions" claim arbitrary,
+variable, and unlimited taxation of goods in transit for
+the benefit of the provincial exchequers, and that it is
+the attempt to commute these by a payment at the
+port which is the true cause of the friction and
+disputation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The natural corollary followed the ratification of the
+Chefoo convention. The desire of the Chinese Government,
+cherished for nearly thirty years, to establish
+a customs station in Hongkong was virtually consummated
+in the following year. The trade of the
+colony had been vexed by a perpetual blockade by
+so-called revenue cruisers which harried every native
+vessel entering or leaving the harbour. The hope of
+getting the investment relaxed may have induced the
+acquiescence of the colony in any alternative. The
+Chinese sought to grip the opium supply by the
+neck, which could only be done by their obtaining
+control over the harbour of Hongkong. This was
+conceded, and a customs station was established on
+the Chinese side of the anchorage, while an office was
+opened in the city of Victoria.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a second "neck" to the opium supply&mdash;Macao.
+The arrangement made with Hongkong without
+a corresponding agreement with Macao would have
+merely driven the trade from the one to the other.
+Overtures were therefore made to the Portuguese, who,
+unlike the English, were offered a valuable consideration
+for admitting the control of the Chinese customs into
+their waters. They then obtained for the first time a
+treaty of independent sovereignty for the colony.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_289' name='Page_289'>[289]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The effect of all these negotiations and arrangements,
+whether intended or not, was to stimulate the cultivation
+of Chinese opium to a high degree, and this,
+according to the impartial testimony of an ex-German
+Minister, is, apart from the increase to the Chinese
+revenue, the net result of the anti-opium agitation.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i289" id="i289"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p289.jpg" width="178" height="207" alt="" />
+
+</div>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XXV.
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">A CHAIN OF INCIDENTS.</span>
+</h2>
+
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_290' name='Page_290'>[290]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+I. DISPUTE WITH RUSSIA <i>RE</i> KULDJA.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Insurrection in Kashgaria&mdash;Russia occupies Kuldja&mdash;Engaging to evacuate
+when country settled&mdash;Tso Tsung-tang's march&mdash;Death of Yakub-beg&mdash;China
+reoccupies Kashgaria&mdash;Calls upon Russia to retire from
+Kuldja&mdash;Relations become strained&mdash;Chunghou concludes treaty with
+Russia&mdash;Violently repudiated by empress&mdash;War threatened&mdash;Gordon
+summoned&mdash;Dispute arranged by Marquis Tsêng.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The dilatoriness of China in making a stand against
+Japanese pretensions in Korea may be partly explained
+by her serious preoccupations elsewhere. She
+had been immersed in a sea of troubles. She seemed
+to be enveloped in rebellion. In the south-west
+the province of Yunnan had been severed from the
+imperial rule, and in its recovery the land was
+almost depopulated. In the north-west there were also
+Mohammedan risings, and in far-distant Kashgaria,
+separated from China by a thousand miles of desert
+and militarily untenable by her, the adventurer known
+as Yakub-beg set up an independent government,
+which he maintained for some years. Anarchy on
+her frontier afforded to Russia the pretext of occupying
+Chinese territory to maintain order; but she
+was scrupulous in assuring the Peking Government
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_291' name='Page_291'>[291]</a></span>
+that this step was provisional, and that she was
+ready to restore Kuldja as soon as the Chinese were
+again in a position to resume the government of the
+town and territory. The time came sooner than was
+expected. The famous march of Tso Tsung-tang, who
+halted to grow grain for the support of his army,
+and the disaffection in his camp leading to the demise
+of Yakub, enabled China to reoccupy the revolted districts.
+Russia, on being asked to redeem her pledge
+as to Kuldja, made conditions which were not acceptable,
+and a diplomatic campaign was entered upon. A
+high Manchu official, Chunghou, the same who had
+been sent to France in 1871, was despatched to Prussia,
+where he concluded the treaty of Livadia, which was so
+repugnant to the empress-regent and her advisers that
+not only was it repudiated at Peking, but the envoy
+was delivered to the Board of Punishments. Relations
+became strained between Russia and China, and on
+both sides there were hints of a resort to force. In
+view of this eventuality the Chinese Government were
+recommended to apply for the services of their old
+champion, Gordon, who, unknown to them, had taken
+service with Lord Ripon, the then new Viceroy of
+India, and, equally unknown to them, had precipitately
+resigned that service. The Chinese had a large
+body of troops in Manchuria; the long line of Russian
+communication was very weak along that frontier; the
+governor of Eastern Siberia, declaring himself unable to
+resist a Chinese attack, had urged the Government at
+St Petersburg to come to terms at once with China,
+and wait for a suitable opportunity to recover what
+they might be obliged to cede. The Chinese Government
+hoped that if Gordon would come to their assistance,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_292' name='Page_292'>[292]</a></span>
+and take command of their Manchurian levies,
+his name would be a host in itself, and his appearance
+on the scene would at any rate convince the
+Russian Government that China was in earnest.
+With this view an invitation was sent to General
+Gordon in a telegram from Sir Robert Hart, which
+found him in Bombay. The invitation was unconditional;
+it indicated no purpose and named no price.
+Gordon took it entirely on trust, closed at once, and
+proceeded to China. Having been given no clue as to
+what service was expected from him, Gordon, nevertheless,
+not only came to a conclusion of his own on
+the subject, but supplied his views to the newspapers
+before leaving India, and at every port of call on the
+route. He declared he was going to China to induce
+her to make peace, for she was unable to do otherwise.
+In this he was of an opposite opinion from the Russian
+governor-general. But whatever the merit of his
+opinion, the object of the Chinese in sending for him
+was of course frustrated by his published declarations.
+These being communicated to the Government at
+Peking, they saw that so far from stiffening them in
+their negotiations with Russia, Gordon's presence would
+seriously embarrass them, and they accordingly endeavoured
+to prevent his coming. Through Sir Robert
+Hart they sent a message to meet Gordon at Chefoo,
+requesting him to proceed no farther. Disregarding
+this request, he continued his journey to Tientsin,
+where he had interviews with his old friend the Viceroy
+Li; and he also made his way to Peking, where
+by the aid of an indifferent Cantonese interpreter he
+made representations to the Tsungli-Yamên, some of
+which the interpreter dared not reproduce in Chinese.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_293' name='Page_293'>[293]</a></span>
+Gordon left without seeing either Sir Robert Hart, on
+whose authority alone he had come to China, or the
+British Minister, Sir Thomas Wade. The advice he
+left with the Chinese Ministers was to renounce the
+endeavour to organise an army on Western models,
+and not to waste money on modern weapons, but to
+trust rather to numbers and the Fabian strategy
+which was natural to them. This being promptly
+published in foreign journals, was regarded as highly
+paradoxical, if not cynical; but it was recalled to
+mind fifteen years later, when China was being defeated
+in the pitched battles against which Gordon
+had warned them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Kuldja dispute was eventually disposed of by
+the Chinese Minister, Marquis Tsêng, who negotiated
+a treaty at St Petersburg, by which the territory was
+nominally receded to China, while its strategical positions
+were retained in the occupation of Russia, thus
+rendering the whole region untenable by Chinese
+troops.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+II. KOREAN IMBROGLIO, 1882-1885.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Outbreak in 1882&mdash;Conspiracy of the king's father&mdash;Attack on Japanese
+legation&mdash;Chinese troops control the capital&mdash;Foreign innovations&mdash;Brought
+bad elements to the surface&mdash;Conspiracy in 1884&mdash;Assassinations&mdash;Treachery
+of king's confidant&mdash;Kim Ok Kun's escape to Japan&mdash;The
+avenger&mdash;His elaborate preparations&mdash;Assassination of Kim&mdash;Joy
+in the Korean Court&mdash;Honours to the assassin&mdash;Japan dissatisfied&mdash;Count
+Ito's mission&mdash;Japan secures equal rights with China in
+Korea.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The Russian question settled, China had leisure to
+attend to Korean affairs, of which the importance was
+becoming more and more clear to her statesmen. The
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_294' name='Page_294'>[294]</a></span>
+scare on the north-west was in another form transferred
+to the north-east, where there was the double
+risk of complications arising from both Russian and
+Japanese encroachment on Korea. The opening of the
+country to foreign intercourse, intended as a protection
+against such dangers, was soon discovered to be inadequate.
+A procession of events, dating from the
+signing of the treaties and culminating in 1885, transformed
+the kingdom from a vassal to a quasi-independent
+State.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first link in the chain, so far as visible effects
+were concerned, was an <span lang="fr_FR"><i>émeute</i></span> which took place in
+Söul in 1882. The father of the king had occupied a
+position as regent curiously resembling that of the
+Empress-Dowager of China, and being ambitious to
+regain the authority which he had laid down on the
+king's coming of age, raised a conspiracy to depose
+him. In connection with the plot a mob was let
+loose on the Japanese legation, where a desperate
+struggle ensued, in which, and in the running fight
+which they made towards the seaport, a number of
+Japanese were killed. The survivors were conveyed
+to Nagasaki in a British ship-of-war. What provocation
+the Japanese had given for this savage onslaught
+is not a matter on which we need enter. The
+point is that it afforded justification for sharp reprisals.
+Perceiving this, and being in a position of unaccustomed
+preparedness, the Chinese Government&mdash;that
+is to say, Li Hung-chang&mdash;adopted prompt measures
+for anticipating action on the part of the Japanese.
+They despatched an envoy with a body of troops and
+a naval squadron to the seaport of the capital where
+they at once put down the conspiracy, re-established
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_295' name='Page_295'>[295]</a></span>
+the king's authority, and by a clever but wonderfully
+common oriental ruse captured the Usurper, and
+carried him off to China as a State prisoner. The
+Chinese troops remained in the vicinity of the capital,
+and a Resident on the Indian pattern was installed
+at the Korean Court.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before long a foreign element began to be introduced
+into the Korean administration. Among other things
+a branch of the Chinese customs service was established,
+and, as in China, many duties besides that of
+raising a revenue soon claimed the attention of the
+foreign commissioner. No more effective first step in
+the regeneration of such a country could have been
+undertaken than an honest administration of its maritime
+revenue. It was a measure both good in itself
+and prolific of beneficial results in many directions.
+Other reforms, however, were projected which required
+a certain preparation of the soil and a careful consideration
+of social forces and conditions. The introduction
+of foreign ideas of any kind into a country which,
+so far as politics were concerned, might be considered
+virgin soil, was, to say the least, a hazardous experiment.
+Undigested schemes for the Europeanisation or
+the Japonisation of a Government which had up till
+then banished foreign intercourse entirely from its
+shores was likely to have an effect analogous to that
+of suddenly administering strong meat to the victim of
+protracted privation. Korean affairs were even less
+understood by foreigners than Western affairs were
+by the Koreans, so that the yeast thrown into the
+Korean dough produced risings for which Western
+foreigners at least, whatever may be said of the
+Japanese, were quite unprepared. Factions sprang
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_296' name='Page_296'>[296]</a></span>
+up like fungoid growths in an excavation, sordid
+ambitions were set in motion, and the royal Court
+became a hotbed of intrigue towards which the
+most flagitious elements in the capital were naturally
+drawn.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The agitation which was fed from these various
+sources broke out into open violence in 1884, when two
+of the king's Ministers were assassinated by a band of
+conspirators. It would be futile to attempt to unravel
+the plot; its visible consequences only need be considered
+as further links in the chain of events, and
+also as affording some curious evidence of the manner
+in which the new alien civilisation was beginning to
+adapt itself to that which was ingrained in the
+Korean character. The professed object of the plot
+was understood to be the severance of the Chinese tie
+through the instrumentality of the Japanese, and the
+king himself was believed to be privy to this scheme.
+It is probable that the high political and patriotic
+ideal was but the rallying flag under which diverse
+schemers might pursue their several ambitions. The
+Koreans are credited with a special dose of the subtlety
+which belongs to Asiatic races, and whatever the real
+intentions of the king may have been, the conspirators
+were false to him. A concise contemporary account of
+the fray given in a message to the 'Times' states
+that&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+The rising against the King of Korea is the outcome of reactionary
+intrigues similar to the movement in 1882, when the
+present king's father was captured and taken as a State prisoner
+to China. Defective accounts only have been received of
+the recent events. On the night of December 4, during an
+entertainment, there was an alarm of fire near the palace; Min
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_297' name='Page_297'>[297]</a></span>
+chong ik, the queen's nephew, who was recently travelling in
+Europe, rushed out, met some assassins, and was stabbed, with
+many others. The conspirators then attacked the king, who
+applied to the Japanese Minister for the protection of his guard.
+Before morning six of the Ministers were killed. On the 6th
+the Koreans again attacked the palace, the Chinese troops being
+present. A fight ensued, and the Japanese guard lost three
+men killed and five wounded. Being overpowered, the Japanese
+abandoned the palace, retiring to the Japanese Legation, the
+king being carried off by the Chinese. The tumult increased,
+and thirty Japanese residents were massacred by the Chinese.
+On the 7th the Korean mob attacked the Japanese Legation,
+which was destroyed, and the Minister with his guard forced
+his way out amid showers of missiles. They stormed the
+gates and retreated to the seaport of Chemulpo. On the
+following day the king sent friendly messages to the Japanese
+Minister.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At a recent date the Chinese garrison consisted nominally of
+3000 men, but the force has been much depleted. The Japanese
+numbered 120, and these were about to be withdrawn
+when the outbreak occurred. The situation is critical, each side
+accusing the other of aggression; but it is expected that the
+affair will be settled amicably, neither Power desiring a quarrel
+for the benefit of interested spectators. The Japanese may insist
+on steps being taken to secure their Minister for the future
+from such outrages. Each Power has appointed an officer to
+investigate the facts before deciding on a definite course. Further
+complications are, however, certain to arise from the
+anomalous position of Korea. After the Kuldja scare China
+perceived the supreme strategic importance of the peninsula,
+and that a great Power occupying it would control Chinese external
+policy. The Government promoted the foreign treaties
+in 1882 with the objects of interesting the commercial Powers
+in the integrity of Korea, and of obtaining a recognition of its
+vassalage. Later treaties, beginning with that negotiated by
+Sir Harry Parkes last year, assumed the independence of Korea.
+The exercise of Chinese sovereignty is exposing Korea to the
+double peril of her own troubles and of China's possible wavering
+at a critical moment. The Chinese and Korean interests
+are, in the absence of commerce, purely political, Korea's importance
+consisting in its commanding position.
+</p>
+</div>
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_298' name='Page_298'>[298]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And the Japanese shortly after tabulated the casualties
+as follows:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+Seven officials killed by progressives, 7 progressives killed by
+Korean troops, 38 Korean soldiers killed by Japanese troops, 95
+rioters killed by Japanese, 67 progressives imprisoned, 11 beheaded,
+with shocking barbarities at execution.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The immediate purpose of the leaders of the plot
+appears to have been to destroy the influence of
+the powerful family to which the queen belonged,
+and had they contented themselves with the murder
+of any number of that family, it was not considered
+likely that either king or people would have
+greatly deplored the crime. But the chief assassin,
+Kim Ok Kun, struck at the two Ministers who
+were the king's right hand, and who had, moreover,
+endeared themselves to the nation by the exceptional
+purity of their public life and their beneficence
+in times of scarcity. Execrated alike by the
+sovereign and his people, Kim Ok Kun sought an
+asylum in Japan, where he was entertained for a
+number of years while engaged in hatching further
+plots against the peace of his native land.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Naturally his presence in Japan caused umbrage
+to China. The King of Korea lived in terror of
+his machinations, for Kim had a considerable following,
+by whose aid he hoped to make a descent on
+Korea and effect a revolution in the government.
+The guilt of Kim Ok Kun's betrayal of his sovereign
+was the more heinous from his having been
+confidential adviser to the Crown during all the
+negotiations with foreigners, between whom and the
+king he was the constant referee. He carried into
+exile the innermost royal secrets. The king's resentment
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_299' name='Page_299'>[299]</a></span>
+against Kim was naturally embittered by his
+impotence to avenge the treachery to which he had
+been a victim.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For the preservation of peace and of friendly relations
+an agreement was entered into between the
+three Governments to the effect that Kim should
+not be permitted to leave Japan for any other country
+excepting China or the United States. On these
+conditions the refugee became an embarrassment to
+the Government of Japan, which felt bound to protect
+him against counterplots while preventing him
+from carrying out his seditious designs. Nevertheless
+Nemesis was on the track of the assassin, and the
+way in which the quarry was hunted down by the
+avenger of blood affords a greater insight into the
+nature of the tragedy than do any of the contemporary
+comments. It also serves to illustrate certain
+points in the Korean character which are decidedly
+not without interest to students of current history.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A member of an important Korean family named
+Hong had been implicated in Kim's conspiracy, and
+by Korean law his whole family were held guilty
+of the treason. The king fully exonerated the head
+of the family, being convinced that no blame attached
+to him personally. Nevertheless, the old man was so
+dejected by the disgrace brought on his name, that he
+forthwith poisoned himself with his whole house. A
+young man distantly connected with the family of
+Hong, and bearing their surname, took upon himself
+the duty of avenging these deaths, and set to work in
+a systematic manner to compass the murder of Kim.
+The private vengeance of Hong-tjyong-on fitted in well
+with his patriotic duty, and his scheme was favoured
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_300' name='Page_300'>[300]</a></span>
+by the Korean king. About three years after Kim's
+flight, Hong made his way to Japan, bearing secret
+letters from the king outlawing Kim and his followers
+and authorising their capture or assassination. Hong's
+plan was to ingratiate himself with Kim as a supporter
+of his schemes, but his recent arrival direct from Korea
+without any credentials from the revolutionary party
+in that country rendered Kim suspicious of the would-be
+recruit. Unable to gain the access which he required
+to the person of his victim, Hong saw that
+he would have to adopt more elaborate means to
+effect his purpose. He went therefore to Europe,
+where he must have spent five or six years at least
+in acquiring a European education, European manners,
+and a perfect knowledge of European ways. He was
+courteous, refined, and intelligent, a great favourite
+in society (especially in religious circles), and made
+in particular many warm friends in France. Having
+thoroughly shaken off Korea, he thought he might
+now present himself in Japan in a character that
+would disarm all suspicion. Accordingly he made his
+way thither, and succeeded in attaching himself to
+Kim, talked progress and revolution, and thereby insinuated
+himself into the confidence of the arch-conspirator,
+becoming gradually master of his secret plots
+and schemes. The arrangements of the Japanese
+Government for the protection of Kim's person seem
+to have been so efficient that, in order to accomplish
+his purpose, Hong perceived that it was necessary to
+induce Kim to leave Japan. This seemed the most
+difficult part of his enterprise, and a far-fetched scheme
+had to be contrived in order to furnish Kim with a
+plausible reason for proceeding to China. Between
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_301' name='Page_301'>[301]</a></span>
+the plots which Kim may have had in his mind and
+those which Hong for his own purposes suggested to
+him, it is not possible, neither is it necessary, to distinguish.
+Hong's own account of the matter was, that
+Kim had been concerting some movement on Korea
+from a Russian base, but was prevented from proceeding
+to Vladivostock by the vigilance of the
+Japanese Government. The agreement between the
+three Powers would not, however, be violated by his
+proceeding to Shanghai, where he would find the
+means of continuing his voyage to Vladivostock, for
+neither of the travellers apprehended any difficulty
+in eluding the surveillance of the Chinese officials
+and taking passage in a trading steamer to the
+Russian port.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Kim eventually fell in with this proposal, and left
+Japan with a Japanese servant, accompanied by Hong.
+They arrived in Shanghai on the 27th of March 1894,
+repaired to a Japanese hotel, and reported themselves
+at the Japanese consulate. The following day Hong,
+having first put on Korean upper garments, murdered
+Kim, and fled, but was captured at Wusung by the
+foreign municipal police of Shanghai, and by them
+detained in custody until claimed by the Chinese
+authorities under instructions from Li Hung-chang.
+The news of the assassination was received by the
+Chinese Government with a sense of relief and "sombre
+acquiescence," but at the Korean Court with almost
+a frenzy of delight. The king gave a banquet in
+honour of the event, to which he invited all the foreign
+Ministers. The Chinese Government ordered a man-of-war
+to convey the murderer and the remains of the
+victim to Korea. The former was covered with
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_302' name='Page_302'>[302]</a></span>
+honours, while the remains of Kim were treated with
+savage indecency and his family put to death.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Thus did the assassin of 1884 expiate his crime
+exactly ten years later.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The issue of the plot of 1884 was not agreeable to
+the Japanese, who were particularly affronted by the
+fact that the Chinese were in a position to snatch
+the king out of their hands and to afford him military
+protection against all comers. But Japan was
+in no humour to relinquish her own policy in Korea,
+which was quite incompatible with the suzerain status
+of China, and with the very concrete form in which
+it had just been manifested. One of the leading
+statesmen of Japan, Count Inouye, was sent to
+Korea to investigate the whole affair, and inquire
+into the relative position of China and Japan in
+the peninsula. The result of his inquiries was a
+determination to follow up by orthodox diplomacy
+the disintegrating effects which the risings in 1882
+and 1884 had no doubt been intended to subserve.
+China being in the throes of a war with France, the
+moment was particularly favourable for preferring
+demands upon her. An embassy was therefore despatched
+to Peking, under Count Ito, in March 1885.
+He counted much on the friendly offices of the British
+Minister, Sir Harry Parkes, in smoothing the way to
+amicable negotiations with China, but unhappily the
+Japanese ambassador arrived at Peking almost on the
+day of Sir Harry's death. After vain attempts to deal
+with the Tsungli-Yamên the Japanese mission withdrew
+to Tientsin, where negotiations were entered into
+by Li Hung-chang, extending over several weeks.
+Count Ito's mission was successful in concluding a
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_303' name='Page_303'>[303]</a></span>
+treaty by which China and Japan were put on a
+footing of equality in the peninsula so far as regards
+military protection. The troops of both countries were
+to be withdrawn, and neither party was to send a force
+in future without giving written notice to the other.
+This arrangement was a surrender in substance of
+China's suzerainty over Korea, though she retained
+the ceremonial form in full vigour for nine years
+after.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+III. THE PORT HAMILTON EPISODE, 1885-1887.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Sudden occupation of Korean harbour by Great Britain&mdash;Questioned by
+China, Japan, and Korea&mdash;Position condemned by naval authority&mdash;Abandoned
+on guarantee from China against occupation by other
+Powers.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+"In view of potentialities" the British Government
+on April 14, 1885, sent instructions to Vice-Admiral
+Dowell to occupy Port Hamilton, an island harbour on
+the coast of Korea. This high-handed proceeding was
+justified on the plea of necessity&mdash;the necessity, as
+explained by Lord Granville, of anticipating the
+"probable occupation of the island by another Power."
+Naturally the measure disturbed neighbouring States,
+as well as the Government of Korea itself. China and
+Japan asked for explanations, and an agreement with
+the former, as suzerain of Korea, was about to be
+signed for the temporary use of the harbour by Great
+Britain, when the Russian Minister at Peking interposed
+with an intimation that if China consented to
+the occupation of Port Hamilton by Great Britain,
+Russia would compensate herself by the seizure of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_304' name='Page_304'>[304]</a></span>
+some other point of the Korean littoral. The protest
+of the Korean Government thus became merged in
+negotiations with China, but was never withdrawn.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While these <span lang="fr_FR"><i>pour-parlers</i></span> were going on, the position
+of Port Hamilton was unequivocally condemned as a
+naval station by a succession of three admirals commanding
+the China Squadron; and as the immediate
+occasion of the occupation of the harbour had happily
+passed, there remained no ostensible reason for prolonging
+it. Before abandoning the island, however,
+the British Government hoped that some arrangement
+might be come to for an international guarantee of the
+integrity of Korea, which being already a bone of
+contention between certain Powers, and unable to
+defend its own independence, constituted a constant
+menace to the peace of the Far East. The proposal
+met with no favour from the Chinese Government, for
+the reason probably that it would have involved an
+organic change in its own relations with Korea. The
+next proposal came from the Korean Government itself,
+which suggested a <i>modus vivendi</i> by opening as treaty
+ports both Port Hamilton and Port Lazareff, which
+latter was the point Russia would have seized if she
+had seized anything. This idea was approved of by
+the British Government, but nothing came of it.
+Eventually the evacuation was agreed to on the
+assurance from China that neither Port Hamilton
+nor any other portion of Korean territory would in
+future be occupied by any other Power. This pledge
+China was enabled to give on the strength of an
+equivalent guarantee which she had received from
+Russia, that Power being then the only one considered
+as likely to cherish aggressive designs on
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_305' name='Page_305'>[305]</a></span>
+the Korean peninsula. These engagements were
+exchanged in November 1886, eighteen months after
+the occupation, and the British flag was finally hauled
+down on the island on February 27, 1887.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The net visible result of the incident was to confirm
+China in her suzerainty, since the negotiations were
+made with her and not with Korea, and to obtain a
+specific pledge from Russia that she would keep her
+hands off Korea "under any circumstances." It was
+argued seven years afterwards that Russia had broken
+her pledge by her interferences in Korean affairs, but
+in 1895 a new state of circumstances had been brought
+about. China in that year ceased to be the suzerain
+of Korea, and obligations which were valid under the
+old <i>régime</i> necessarily lapsed. A new page of history
+was turned, and Korea attained the status of a
+nominally independent kingdom.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+IV. TIBET.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Lhassa visited by Babu Sarat Chandra Das&mdash;Proposed commercial expedition&mdash;Originated
+by Secretary of State&mdash;Envoy sent to Peking to
+obtain passport&mdash;Opposition organised by Chinese and Tibetans&mdash;Mission
+withdrawn.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The year 1885 witnessed the first act in the ill-advised
+policy&mdash;as to its method, not its object&mdash;of
+the Indian Government of opening commercial relations
+with Tibet. A learned Bengali pandit, versed
+in Tibetan, had made two successful visits to Lhassa,
+where he gained the friendship of the lamas, who
+invited him to come again. A fair prospect of opening
+commercial relations by gradually disarming prejudices
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_306' name='Page_306'>[306]</a></span>
+and apprehension was thus presented. Having duly
+reported his experiences to the Government of India,
+the babu waited their pleasure as to further developments
+at Darjeeling, where he occupied the post
+of Government schoolmaster. An English civilian,
+making the acquaintance of the babu in that hot-weather
+retreat, conceived the idea of an official
+mission to Lhassa, in which the services of the babu
+might be utilised as guide and interpreter. The
+Indian Government was averse from the enterprise on
+economical if on no other grounds, but direct pressure
+being brought to bear on the India Office in London,
+the ambitious young statesman who then presided
+over its counsels is said to have espoused the proposal
+and overruled the reluctant Government of
+India.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Of the organisation and procedure of the mission
+nothing very complimentary can be said. Instead
+of following the line of least resistance, of driving
+in the thin end of the wedge, in accordance
+with the commonplace maxims consecrated by all
+human experience, the reverse process was followed
+in every single particular. Sarat Chandra Das had
+shown the way, and the entry he had effected could
+have been gradually widened by himself and others of
+his own class until the obstacles to free commercial
+intercourse had been overcome. The experience of a
+hundred years had shown to the world the invincible
+prejudices of the Tibetan rulers against foreign visitors.
+The babu had in his own person conquered these
+prejudices by his mastery of Buddhistic lore, as well
+as by his gentleness and consummate tact; but the
+mission, which had its origin in the information he
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_307' name='Page_307'>[307]</a></span>
+supplied, discarded his methods and proceeded on
+military lines. Its <i>personnel</i> included politicals and
+scientists, but no commercial agent, and as Mr Gundry
+has well said, "The Under Secretary of State, while
+stating that the object of the mission was to confer
+with the Chinese commissioners and the Lhassa
+Government as to the resumption of commercial
+relations between India and Tibet," added in Parliament
+that, "looking to the delicate nature of the
+mission, it had not been thought advisable to appoint
+a special commercial representative." An armed force
+of some 300 men sent on a "delicate mission" which,
+though essentially commercial, yet had nothing commercial
+in its composition! Could anything be conceived
+more certain to arouse the sleeping suspicions
+of the Tibetans? It was but repeating on a larger
+scale the deplorable fiasco of Colonel Browne's
+attempted march from Burma to China in 1875.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first act in this little drama was performed
+in Peking when the envoy, Macaulay, arrived with
+his staff for the ostensible purpose of applying for
+a passport for Tibet. For such a purpose there
+was no need to have sent a special messenger to
+Peking at all, as a passport could have been much
+more easily obtained by the British Minister there
+and transmitted by post in the ordinary course of
+business. The passport could not, of course, be refused
+in plain terms by the Chinese Government, but the
+personal demand for it gave them the opportunity of
+cross-examining the intended envoy as to the objects
+of his proposed mission. It may well be believed, from
+the self-contradictory explanation of the mission tendered
+to the British Parliament, that the envoy in
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_308' name='Page_308'>[308]</a></span>
+Peking failed to allay the suspicions of the Chinese
+Government. On the contrary, his presence intensified
+them exceedingly. The sole effect of the preliminary
+expedition to Peking was, in fact, to forewarn the
+Chinese Government, so that they, in concert with
+the rulers of Tibet, should be prepared to interpose
+obstacles to the advance of the mission, but in such
+a way as not openly to compromise the good faith of
+the Chinese Government. The journey of the envoy
+to Peking, therefore, sealed the fate of his own mission,
+and at the same time closed Tibet against more
+judicious advances in the future.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The most interesting episode in connection with this
+abortive effort was the appearance of the Babu Sarat
+Chandra Das himself in the Chinese capital. By
+sheer force of intellect he succeeded in a few days in
+obtaining the confidence of the inner circle of the lamas
+there. Having been brought in contact with a certain
+Manchu official, the pandit showed very unobtrusively
+a familiarity with the more recondite tenets
+of Buddhism which captivated the Manchu, whose
+heart was set on improving his knowledge of the
+sacred mysteries.<a name='FA_24' id='FA_24' href='#FN_24' class='fnanchor'>[24]</a> The babu could speak no Chinese,
+but it was not difficult among the thousands of lamas
+in Peking to find a competent Tibetan interpreter.
+The fame of the pandit spread rapidly among the
+ranks of the priesthood, whose chiefs competed for
+the honour of sitting at the feet of the Indian
+Gamaliel. In expounding the doctrines, while enjoying
+the hospitality, of different groups of lamas,
+the popularity of the pandit grew from day to day,
+until he was at length constrained to take up his
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_309' name='Page_309'>[309]</a></span>
+quarters at the great Yellow Temple, outside the north
+wall of Peking, and live with the brethren. They invested
+him with the yellow robe and the other ecclesiastical
+insignia, and treated him altogether as one of
+the initiated. It required all his acumen to prevent
+his status as a Buddhist lama from clashing with his
+position as a subordinate of the Indian envoy, on whom
+he was in attendance. He had to pay frequent visits
+to the British Legation, where it would have been
+impossible for him to appear in his religious vestments
+without exciting inconvenient gossip, and perhaps incurring
+the disapproval of his superior officer. The
+custom of travelling in Peking in closed carts enabled
+the babu to play the double part of Jekyll and Hyde
+with perfect success. He would leave the Temple as
+a lama, drive to a friend's rooms in the city, where his
+Indian costume was kept ready, in which he proceeded
+in another cab and in another character to the British
+Legation, returning to reassume his yellow robes and
+then repair to the Temple.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+During the time when the envoy designate remained
+in Peking a very high personage arrived from Tibet,
+and it was on his conferences with the Chinese Court
+that the success of the intended mission depended.
+It would be presumptuous on the part of any foreigner
+to attempt to divine what passed between the delegate
+from the Grand Lama and the Chinese Ministers; but
+were it possible for any one to penetrate into those
+secret counsels, the babu was the man to do it. There
+is no doubt that he did. In fact, he had positive information
+that the Indian mission to Tibet would be
+stopped at the instance of the Chinese Government,
+and that the issue of the passport was an empty
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_310' name='Page_310'>[310]</a></span>
+form. Such information would naturally be unwelcome
+to the envoy, and the sequel seems to show
+that the warning was disregarded. The expedition
+was organised, fully equipped, ready for a march into
+Tibet. Had it proceeded it is highly improbable that
+the babu would have accompanied it as interpreter,
+for he could not have exonerated himself from the
+imputation of bad faith towards his Tibetan hosts
+in acting as guide to an armed force into a country
+where he had been received and reinvited as a private
+guest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+What would have been the consequence of the mission
+proceeding into Tibet it is, of course, impossible to
+say, but the circumstances of its recall were not conducive
+to satisfactory relations between China and
+Great Britain. Mistrusting the effectiveness of the
+Tibetan opposition to the Indian mission&mdash;for the force
+could very likely have made good its passage to Lhassa&mdash;the
+Chinese Government resorted to diplomatic means
+of stopping its advance. Its never-failing emergency
+man, the Inspector-General of Customs, was called
+upon, and he intervened with the British Government
+with such good effect that they sent orders to India to
+stop the Tibetan mission. Thus the Indian Government
+was a second time overruled: first, in being made
+to organise the mission against its will; and secondly,
+in being forced to recall it when its recall involved
+immeasurable loss of influence in future dealings with
+China. An attempt was made to cover the retreat
+in a cloud of verbiage by a convention signed at
+Peking in 1886, which, however, only made the case
+worse, in that it was a retrograde step, virtually cancelling
+the right of visiting Tibet, which had been
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_311' name='Page_311'>[311]</a></span>
+conferred by the Chefoo convention of ten years before.
+The same treaty which embodied this renunciation,
+perhaps the weakest to which any British representative
+ever set his name, also fostered the illusions which
+have been so detrimental to the welfare of China, by
+promising a continuance of the tribute missions from
+Burma after that country had become an integral part
+of the Indian Empire.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The fruits of this diplomatic surrender were not
+long in showing themselves, for it was soon followed by
+an invasion of British Sikkim from the Tibetan side.
+This aggression of the lamas was of necessity resisted by
+the Indian Government, and an unexpected opportunity
+was thus offered to them of settling the whole
+Tibetan question by the rapid march of a small force
+to Lhassa. There is good reason to believe that this
+solution of the difficulty was the one which commended
+itself to the practical statesmen and soldiers of India;
+but their action was paralysed by the orders of the
+Home Government, which continued to be ruled by
+influences which were neither military nor political nor
+practical. Discussions between the Indian Government
+and the Chinese <i>amban</i> or Resident at Lhassa, professing
+to speak for the Tibetan Lama Government,
+were protracted year after year, and seemed interminable.
+At last even the Chinese themselves grew
+weary of the comedy, and experienced in Tibet
+something of the difficulty which occasionally beset
+them in China&mdash;that is to say, they were unable to
+exorcise the demon they had invoked. They had
+stirred up the Tibetans to the point of obstructing
+the Macaulay mission, but seemed really to lose control
+of the force after it had been set in motion. After
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_312' name='Page_312'>[312]</a></span>
+some years of futile talk the statesmen of China would
+perhaps have hailed with satisfaction the advance of a
+British force to Lhassa to cut the Gordian knot; but
+they dared not, of course, give such a hint as was
+conveyed to Captain Fournier, <span lang='fr_FR'>"Avancez donc,"</span><a name='FA_25' id='FA_25' href='#FN_25' class='fnanchor'>[25]</a> and
+the Indian Government, not having the wit to divine
+it, had to submit to a long-drawn-out and permanent
+humiliation, that was in no wise mended by the
+Calcutta convention of 1890, which, professing only to
+settle the existing frontiers, did not even settle them.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+V. THE CRUISE OF THE SEVENTH PRINCE, 1886.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Character and position of Prince Ch'un&mdash;Had been misunderstood by
+foreigners while he was in seclusion&mdash;An amiable and progressive
+man&mdash;His visit to Port Arthur in 1886&mdash;Intercourse with many
+foreigners.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The spring of 1884 witnessed a ministerial crisis of
+the first order in Peking. For twenty-four years
+Prince Kung, uncle to the deceased emperor Tungchih,
+had held a position equivalent to Chancellor of the
+empire. To the outside world he was only known as
+Minister for Foreign Affairs and head of the Tsungli-Yamên.
+During the greater part of the time he had
+been at feud with the empress-regent, from whom his
+power was derived, but, being indispensable to her, he
+was tolerated for want of a competent successor. The
+troubles in Tongking caused an agitation in the capital,
+and the empress seized the opportunity to dismiss
+Prince Kung with most of his colleagues of the Yamên
+and introduce a fresh set. The eminent position of the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_313' name='Page_313'>[313]</a></span>
+prince, however, was one difficult to fill; but the substitution
+was effected by a kind of <i>coup d'état</i> by which
+the empress brought the younger brother of Prince
+Kung out of his retirement and made him virtually,
+as far as it was possible, her coadjutor in the Government.
+But the peculiar status of Prince Ch'un, as
+father to the reigning emperor, rendered him immune
+from responsibility, since in China the son could not
+place the father under discipline. For this reason the
+prince could not in his own name exercise any of the
+great functions of the State. He was therefore obliged
+to keep in the background, while the executive service
+was performed by his nominees. Thus in foreign affairs
+he was efficiently represented by the Grand Secretary
+Li Hung-chang, and by Prince Ch'ing, a junior member
+of the imperial family, who was made president of the
+Tsungli-Yamên, and holds the office to the present
+day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whatever the true motives may have been for recasting
+the Tsungli-Yamên&mdash;and it would be hazardous
+for any foreigner to dogmatise about such matters&mdash;a
+great improvement was remarked in the efficiency of
+that body. Prince Ch'ing, though new to public affairs,
+acquitted himself like a gentleman, and gained the
+goodwill of all the foreign Legations by his laborious
+efforts to learn his work and to bring justice and
+reason as well as courtesy into the transaction of
+business. The circumstances of the time were also
+favourable to improvement; for being at war with
+one great Power, China was naturally most anxious
+to conciliate the others. While this amenable temper
+lasted, business was despatched by the Tsungli-Yamên
+with a celerity never before known, and good use
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_314' name='Page_314'>[314]</a></span>
+was made of the opportunity to clear off legacies
+of arrears that had been accumulating in the foreign
+legations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Seventh Prince, so long as he was in seclusion,
+had stood in the opinion of foreigners for everything
+that was fanatical, obstructive, and irreconcilable, the
+head of the war party, and so forth. Even Sir Rutherford
+Alcock, in an article on Chinese Statesmen in 1871,
+adopted this popular estimate, calling him "violently
+hostile, joining with Wo in all efforts to make the
+anti-foreign faction predominate."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The announcement of Prince Ch'un, therefore, as
+the successor of Prince Kung not unnaturally aroused
+apprehension of a reactionary policy. His first public
+act, however, in so far as it was his, dispelled the misconception
+under which foreigners had been labouring
+for many years: it was to conclude a peace with France
+in the face of a rabid opposition. This misconception
+of Prince Ch'un's character and policy is only an
+example of how vain it is for foreigners to attempt
+to sound the currents of Chinese politics, more especially
+where palace factions are concerned.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The advent of the Seventh Prince having removed
+all friction between the empress-regent and
+the Government, it was a signal for tentative reforms
+and what foreigners call progress. Li Hung-chang
+had to a considerable extent imbued the Court with
+his own ideas. He assured them there was no
+danger in adopting foreign methods and foreign manners,&mdash;on
+the contrary, that to do so was the only
+means of safety to the empire. Within a few months
+of his taking the reins, the Prince established a precedent
+which amounted to a small revolution in its
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_315' name='Page_315'>[315]</a></span>
+way. He began to transact business through his agents
+with foreigners in the capital itself, which had been up
+to that time strictly preserved from all contamination
+of foreign trade. The two "stores" which existed were
+not traders by right, but were under the special
+protection of certain foreign Ministers, who had represented
+to the Government the necessity of such
+agencies for the supply of necessaries for the use of
+their Legations. This was followed in course of time
+by the introduction of novelties in the palace, such
+as electric light, toy railways and steam launches
+in the imperial pleasure-grounds. The telegraph wire
+itself was introduced into the city during the summer
+of 1884, it having been previously jealously
+kept at a distance of thirteen miles, from superstitious
+fears concerning the sinister influence which
+the electric wire might exert over the fortunes of
+the capital. However real such fears may be in the
+minds of the Chinese, and however convenient they
+may be as a defence against proposals from without,
+they invariably yield to the pressure of necessity.
+While the terminus of the telegraph line was
+at Tungchow, the inconvenience of having to send
+mounted messengers thirteen miles to despatch and
+receive messages was for some time felt almost entirely
+by the foreign Legations; but when the war crisis
+with France arose, and the Chinese Government itself
+was sending urgent messages requiring immediate
+answers to the southern provinces and to Europe, the
+absurdity of losing more time between the Tsungli-Yamên
+and the telegraph station than was occupied
+by the transmission of the message and its reply
+from Europe became so striking, that the order was
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_316' name='Page_316'>[316]</a></span>
+given to bring the telegraph into the city. No more
+was heard of geomantic difficulties.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The most important object, however, which Li
+Hung-chang sought to gain through the activity
+of the Seventh Prince, was so to interest his Highness
+in the scheme of national defence, which had
+been growing under the viceroy's initiative, that
+this department of the work of Government should
+be transformed from a provincial to an imperial
+concern. With this end in view an expedition on
+salt water was arranged for the Prince; and insignificant
+as the feat must appear in Western eyes,
+yet for a Manchu prince, who had never seen the
+sea, to be allowed to trust himself on the treacherous
+element at all, or on such a strange monster
+as a steamer, must be accepted as a decided proof
+that the old order was changing, giving place to
+the new. The prince was undoubtedly nervous, not
+knowing what should befall him on his expedition.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first ordeal through which he had to pass
+was that of personal contact with foreigners, of whom
+he had perhaps never seen one in Peking. His introduction
+was carefully organised by Li Hung-chang,
+and it was at Tientsin that the prince first met
+with foreign officials, who waited upon him at separate
+audiences. The foreigners were as much
+charmed with his Highness as he expressed himself
+to have been with them, so that he embarked on his
+cruise free from anxiety. His attendants, however,&mdash;on
+whom and on Li Hung-chang all the responsibility
+of course rested,&mdash;continued to feel anxious
+during their passage across the Gulf. This feeling
+became for a moment acute when, on landing at Port
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_317' name='Page_317'>[317]</a></span>
+Arthur, they were met by a British admiral and
+staff with a guard of honour. It is an actual fact
+that the sight of strange armed men waiting for the
+prince, working on oriental traditions, did suggest a
+trap, for the idea of capture by treachery is never
+wholly absent from the Chinese mind. The Government
+had taken the wise precaution of attaching to
+the prince an experienced and capable foreigner in
+whom he reposed perfect confidence, and Mr Detring
+explained foreign customs and forms of courtesy to
+the prince and his suite in a way which completely
+reassured them. Among all the dignitaries in the
+prince's suite, however, there was not one capable
+of taking in the entirely novel ideas which were
+presented to them. One man only, of quite subordinate
+rank&mdash;whether a Manchu or a Chinese by
+birth is unknown to the writer&mdash;a confidential agent
+of the Seventh Prince in business matters, seized
+the entire programme of foreign etiquette the moment
+it was explained to him, and through him the whole
+ceremony passed smoothly and agreeably to all parties.
+The name of this official was Chang Yi, who has since
+been taking a leading part in mining, railway, and
+other progressive enterprises in China.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On his return to Peking Prince Ch'un in a memorial
+to the Throne reported fully the incidents of his cruise
+to the gulf ports. Not long after a naval board was
+established in Peking, with the prince at its head.
+As a step in the direction of centralising the naval
+authority, which included also the direction of the
+land defences, the establishment of a Board of Admiralty
+in the capital was certainly a progressive
+one; but as its members possessed neither knowledge
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_318' name='Page_318'>[318]</a></span>
+nor experience of naval or military affairs its authority
+was much attenuated, almost every question
+having to be referred back to Li Hung-chang in
+Tientsin. Any chance that might have existed of
+Prince Ch'un himself inspiring the new Board and
+bringing it up to a state of efficiency was lost
+through his Highness falling into ill-health, from
+which he never recovered, but after a lingering illness
+died in 1890.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+VI. THE EMPEROR ASSUMES THE GOVERNMENT, 1889.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+The Emperor Kwanghsu comes of age in 1889&mdash;Audience of foreign
+Ministers arranged&mdash;Derogatory conditions&mdash;Second audience refused
+by Ministers&mdash;Accepted by Austrian and British envoys.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+In 1889 his Majesty Kwanghsu attained his majority
+and married. But his coming of age was a
+somewhat gradual process, with intervals between each
+step, as if the empress-regent, who alone determined
+the time and the seasons, were either mistrustful
+of the capacity of her nephew or reluctant to lay
+down the reins of authority. The emperor, kept in
+leading-strings, was allowed to assume some of the
+functions of an autocrat, but not all. This slow unfolding
+of the imperial blossom had this result among
+others, that it procured a welcome respite from the
+bitter ordeal of granting an audience to the representatives
+of foreign States. It was well understood
+that the foreigners had for sixteen years been looking
+forward to the emperor's assumption of power
+as to the consummation of their diplomatic function,
+and that as soon as a decent interval had been
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_319' name='Page_319'>[319]</a></span>
+allowed to the young monarch after his majority,
+the subject would become pressing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It had been discussed in whispers for nearly two
+years, when, to the astonishment of everybody, including
+even the members of the Tsungli-Yamên
+themselves, an imperial decree was issued in December
+1890 in kindly terms ordering preparations
+to be made to receive the foreign Ministers after
+the Chinese New Year&mdash;that is, in the February
+following. Since nobody owned to having been in the
+secret, the act was set down to the emperor's gracious
+initiative, and was hailed with enthusiasm as
+the opening of a new era. The Great Wall had at
+last fallen; the pretensions to superiority for which
+the Chinese had made such great sacrifices were
+suddenly abandoned, and henceforth equality with
+foreign nations was to be the basis of their diplomatic
+intercourse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The hope was shortlived, for as soon as the details
+of the imperial reception came to be arranged with the
+Tsungli-Yamên all the old difficulties appeared in an
+aggravated form. The foreign ministers, having pondered
+the question for eighteen years, had unanimously
+resolved that they would not accept an audience in the
+building used for the reception of tributary princes,
+where the ceremony of 1873 had taken place, but
+only in the imperial palace, or not at all. The
+whole value of the audience was the acknowledgment
+it signified of international equality. The idea that it
+would facilitate business must have been long before
+abandoned. The form, therefore, was everything, and
+the Chinese Ministers were resolved that the "tributary"
+form should be adhered to. They became urgent
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_320' name='Page_320'>[320]</a></span>
+in their appeals to the reasonableness of the foreign
+Ministers. They had gone to expense in renovating
+the hall, Tz-kwang-ko; they had no other place available;
+the imperial decree must be obeyed, and this
+admitted of no postponement.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yielding to these arguments, the foreign Ministers
+agreed to a compromise. They would, for this time
+only, repair to the Tz-kwang-ko, but never again. The
+ceremony took place therefore on 5th March 1891.
+There were two receptions&mdash;first an audience to the
+various foreign Ministers separately, next a general
+reception of the whole of them. The diplomatic body
+soon felt the consequences of their retrograde step, for
+when they came to discuss details of the audience of
+the following year, the Chinese interposed a simple <i>non
+possumus</i> to every demand which implied the acknowledgment
+of equality. A reception within the palace
+without the <i>kotow</i> could not even be discussed. No
+accommodation between the opposing views being
+possible, there was no audience in 1892. The diplomatic
+body were solidly united in maintaining the
+dignity of their respective countries, and by ceasing to
+solicit, they left the onus of discovering a solution of
+the question on the Chinese themselves. The audience
+was of no practical value to the foreigners, while the
+withholding of it placed the Chinese so much in the
+wrong that they might safely have been left to their
+own devices.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before, however, the pressure to extricate themselves
+and their sovereign from an untenable position had
+become too severe, a diversion in their favour was
+created by the flying visit of an Austrian envoy, who
+seemed ready to present his credentials on any terms
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_321' name='Page_321'>[321]</a></span>
+whatever, so that the formalities were quickly got over,
+and he enabled to conclude his mission. The Chinese
+availed themselves of this unexpected opportunity, and
+the emperor granted an audience to M. Biegeleben in
+another hall or pavilion outside the palace, which
+thenceforth became known locally as the Palais
+Biegeleben.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At the end of 1892, not long after the Biegeleben
+incident, a new British Minister arrived in Peking. Not
+apparently considering himself bound by the compact
+to which his predecessor was a party, he, without the
+knowledge of his diplomatic colleagues, accepted an
+audience on the same derogatory terms as the Austrian
+envoy had done, and the reactionary policy of the
+Chinese thus enjoyed a complete, if temporary, triumph.
+This proceeding of the British Minister was deeply
+resented by the diplomatic body, most of all by the
+Russian Minister, Count Cassini, himself a new arrival,
+and the circumstance did not tend to smooth the
+subsequent intercourse between the parties.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+VII. THE VISIT OF THE CZAREVITCH, 1891.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Worthy reception in Peking impossible&mdash;Attempted substitution of provincial
+reception&mdash;Czarevitch visits only the Russian communities in
+China.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Closely connected in point of time, and possibly by
+a more vital link, with the imperial audience was the
+voyage of the Czarevitch to India, China, and Japan in
+1890-91. There was no precedent in China for the
+reception of the member of any foreign royal family.
+In the days before the first audience the Duke of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_322' name='Page_322'>[322]</a></span>
+Edinburgh, while in command of the Galatea, visited
+Peking, but strictly <i>incognito</i>, no visits being exchanged
+with any Chinese. But times had changed considerably
+in the twenty years that had since elapsed, and with an
+emperor of full age on the throne things that were
+winked at during his minority could no longer be so
+lightly treated. The Chinese Government were, in
+fact, perfectly conscious of the responsibility which lay
+upon them to show courtesy to so distinguished a visitor
+as the heir to the throne of Russia, and they took
+timely measures for his reception.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The position of the audience question convinced the
+Ministers that it would be impossible to receive him
+worthily in Peking, since to do so would be to admit
+equality with foreign States. The first care of the
+Chinese, therefore, was to induce his Imperial Highness
+to stay away from the capital. The Russian Government
+were told that Li Hung-chang, representing the
+Chinese Emperor, would meet the Czarevitch at Chefoo,
+and that his reception by other Governors of provinces
+would be deemed equivalent to one by the emperor in
+person. The Russian Government fell into the trap,
+and the programme of provincial receptions would have
+been carried out but for the eccentricity of Chang Chih-tung,
+the governor-general of the Hu provinces on the
+Yangtze. He, with the other provincials, had received
+the instructions about the reception of the Czarevitch,
+but he alone treated the order with contempt, not even
+deigning to answer it or to explain his reason. The
+order did not emanate from Peking, and he would not
+accept a mandate from an equal. Evidently the emperor
+had no hand in drawing up the programme, and
+this Chang had the best means of knowing, for he had
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_323' name='Page_323'>[323]</a></span>
+a brother in the Inner Council. This action of a high
+authority throws full light on the difference between
+an imperial and a provincial transaction, as the Chinese
+themselves regard it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In keeping with this independent attitude of Chang
+was the rudeness with which he received the officer
+deputed by the Russian admiral to arrange details of
+the reception at Wuchang. In this way the intended
+imposture was exposed. But if the Russian Government
+had been too easily led into a false position, it
+must be admitted they extricated themselves cleverly,
+by simply demanding a yellow chair for the Czarevitch,
+a colour reserved exclusively for the emperor. As
+this could not be conceded the official ceremonies fell
+through, and the Czarevitch contented himself with
+visiting the Russian communities at the Chinese ports.
+He then proceeded to Japan, where a brilliant reception
+awaited him; and from Japan to Vladivostock,
+where he turned the first sod of the Trans-Siberian
+Railway, 19th May 1891.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i323" id="i323"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p323.jpg" width="304" height="147" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_324' name='Page_324'>[324]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">THE TONGKING QUARREL.</span>
+</h2>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Rapid advance of French towards China proper&mdash;The Black Flags&mdash;Discussions
+between France and China&mdash;Attempted negotiations&mdash;Conquest
+of Tongking decided upon&mdash;Chinese feared attack on Canton&mdash;City defenceless&mdash;Negotiation
+with France recommended&mdash;Captain Fournier
+concludes convention with Li Hung-chang in Tientsin&mdash;Strong opposition
+in the capital&mdash;Collision between forces in Tongking&mdash;French make
+war on China&mdash;Peace concluded through customs agency, April 1885&mdash;The
+Li-Fournier convention ratified.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The progress of the French in the annexation of Cochin
+China, Annam, and Tongking was phenomenally rapid.
+These aggressions on her tributary States were far from
+agreeable to China, but no effective means of resistance
+was proposed. The Chinese policy, wrote Sir R. Alcock,<a name='FA_26' id='FA_26' href='#FN_26' class='fnanchor'>[26]</a>
+"has been one of drift, and letting things slide into irretrievable
+confusion and disaster for want of courage
+and decisive action at the right time. Between the
+Dupuis and Garnier expeditions, in which a handful
+of men were seizing towns, storming citadels, and terrorising
+the Annamite mandarins and king into virtual
+submission to any terms dictated to them, and Captain
+Rivière's very similar proceedings in 1883, there was
+abundant time and opportunity for China either to
+fight or to negotiate with effect, but she did neither."
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_325' name='Page_325'>[325]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When, however, the advance of the French brought
+them within measurable distance of the southern provinces
+of China proper, a more serious view of the invasion
+was forced upon the Government. A body of
+irregular troops, called the Black Flags, for some time
+stood in the way of the French, who designated them
+"pirates." The status of these Black Flags was, indeed,
+somewhat ambiguous, as they had been virtually outlawed
+by the Chinese. But when it was seen that they
+were harassing the French, the provincial authorities
+recognised that they were fighting the battle of China
+and of her tributary. The Annamese Government had,
+in the first instance, invited the assistance of the Black
+Flags, and the Chinese Government officially encouraged
+them, while hoping to evade direct responsibility
+for doing so. The French had made the useless mistake
+of wounding China in a tender spot by destroying the
+seal granted to the Annamese sovereign by the emperor,
+and it was probably this insult rather than the territorial
+seizures which induced China to reinforce the
+Black Flags by a body of imperial troops, and to lay
+down distinctly the line which she would consider herself
+bound to defend.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The annexation of Annam became the subject of protracted
+discussions between France and China. The
+diplomacy of the Marquis Tsêng in Paris, and of Li
+Hung-chang in China&mdash;a convention had actually been
+concluded between the latter and the French Minister,
+Bourrée&mdash;failed to arrest the progress of France, and
+the question between the two countries reached a burning
+point after the capture by the French of Sontay
+and Bacninh in the spring of 1884.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Chinese envoy had declared to M. Ferry that a
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_326' name='Page_326'>[326]</a></span>
+French advance on these places would be regarded by
+his Government as a <i>casus belli</i>. Seeing, however, that
+no action was taken by China after their actual capture,
+the French took fresh courage, and their programme of
+conquest became so much expanded that what had been
+the dream of a few became the definitive policy of the
+Republic. "The conquest of Tongking had been decided
+upon in principle," wrote Admiral Jaurèguiberry to
+Captain Rivière at the time when M. de Freycinet was
+declaring that there should be no policy of aggression.
+The taking of the two citadels sealed the policy of the
+admiral and falsified that of the Foreign Minister.
+From that point may be dated the important position
+which France has since assumed in claiming to direct,
+in conjunction with Russia, the destinies of the Chinese
+Empire.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the fall of the two cities the Chinese officials of
+the southern provinces were filled with consternation.
+They feared that the successes of the French would
+encourage them, if not to invade China, at least to force
+a settlement with her on their own terms. They had
+before them the brochure of Captain Rivière, commander
+of the French forces in Tongking, in which he
+advocated a quarrel with China as a preliminary to the
+seizure of the three southern provinces, Kwangtung,
+Kwangsi, and Yunnan. An obvious step towards the
+execution of such a design would be an attack on the
+provincial capital, Canton, an event which was not only
+anticipated by the authorities, but was thought feasible,
+and even probable, by disinterested onlookers. How
+little prepared were the Chinese to resist such an attack
+will be best understood by the measures they took to
+avert it.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_327' name='Page_327'>[327]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An officer of the Chinese customs service, Mr G.
+Detring, returning from furlough, brought with him
+the details of the Marquis Tsêng's abortive negotiations
+in Paris. He arrived in China immediately after the
+capture of the two strongholds of Sontay and Bacninh.
+In proceeding from Hongkong to take up his
+official post at Canton he accepted a passage in the
+French <i>aviso</i> Volta, which conveyed Rear-Admiral
+Lespès to the latter city. She was commanded
+by Commandant Fournier, with whom Mr Detring had
+been some years before on terms of intimacy in the
+north of China. The principal topic discussed on
+the passage was naturally Tongking, and, judging from
+subsequent developments, it is reasonable to suppose
+that the seeds of the settlement eventually concluded
+between China and France were sown during that
+short but interesting voyage. When Mr Detring
+reported himself to the provincial authorities they
+evinced the greatest anxiety as to what they conceived
+to be the threatening attitude of the French against
+Canton. Asked if their river defences were in a position
+to resist attack, they frankly avowed that they
+were not; but yet, being personally responsible for
+the defence, they dared not confess the true state of
+affairs to the Imperial Government. The viceroy
+of Canton and the governor of Yunnan were already
+under censure, and the military commanders in Tongking
+were even threatened with decapitation "pour
+encourager les autres." The Canton authorities
+were thus, in fact, in the dilemma in which Chinese
+provincial officials have so frequently found themselves
+in dealing with foreign exigencies&mdash;responsible yet
+helpless. Since they were avowedly incapable of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_328' name='Page_328'>[328]</a></span>
+resistance, the viceroy and governor were advised at
+once to open negotiations with the French, and, as a
+first step, to report the actual position frankly to the
+Central Government,&mdash;in other words, to Li Hung-chang,
+who in this, as in all other crises, had to bear
+the burden of every initiative. Having had experience
+of the capacity of Mr Detring, first in the negotiating
+of the Chefoo convention, and subsequently during
+several years of official intercourse at Tientsin, Li
+Hung-chang moved the Central Government to
+summon the Canton commissioner of customs to Tientsin
+for consultation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The way being thus partially opened to negotiation,
+Rear-Admiral Lespès held himself in readiness to proceed
+to Tientsin in response to any invitation that
+might be conveyed to him. Captain Fournier was
+sent on in advance to the rendezvous at Chefoo, where
+he was to remain until the real views of the Chinese
+Government respecting a settlement of the Tongking
+dispute had been ascertained. The French having
+set their hearts on extorting a large indemnity, it
+was emphatically declared to them that China would
+never pay one farthing. Any negotiation, therefore,
+would be futile unless this question was first eliminated.
+Having paved the way with Li Hung-chang, Mr
+Detring next proceeded to Chefoo to invite Captain
+Fournier to Tientsin. From previous good relations he
+was <span lang="la"><i>persona grata</i></span> with Li, and on that account was
+thought a not unfit agent with whom to discuss preliminaries
+in anticipation of the arrival of his admiral.
+But that there should be no mistake about the indemnity,
+Captain Fournier was once more told that unless
+it were dropped it would be useless his proceeding to
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_329' name='Page_329'>[329]</a></span>
+Tientsin. His doing so, therefore, was a tacit withdrawal
+of that important item in the French demands.
+Both parties being equally desirous of a settlement, all
+official technical difficulties were promptly overcome,
+and Captain Fournier, from a mere herald of the
+French admiral, was by telegraphic instructions from
+Paris at once promoted to the rank of plenipotentiary
+for France, and this notwithstanding that there was
+an accredited representative of the Republic eighty
+miles off in Peking. The two negotiators, in short,
+fell into each other's arms, and the convention of May
+11, 1884, was the result.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The peace so suddenly and irregularly patched up
+was not, however, destined to endure. Li Hung-chang,
+knowing better than any of his peers the risks
+of a war with France, had stretched his authority to
+the uttermost in concluding a treaty which practically
+ceded Annam and Tongking to that Power. For though
+in this as in all his other acts he carried with him the
+approval of the empress-dowager, he knew that he had
+to brave the ferocious opposition of the ignorant
+fanatics of the capital, which he himself described as
+the "howling of dogs." The moment the announcement
+was made, indeed, the furies were let loose upon
+him, and he had practically no support but that of the
+empress-dowager; for the Tsungli-Yamên, so far as
+they were not opposed to the treaty, were invertebrate.
+It is necessary to bear in mind this critical
+position of Li Hung-chang in order to understand the
+series of blunders, misunderstandings, recriminations,
+and actual war which ensued.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After the ratification of the treaty, arrangements had
+to be made for the withdrawal of the Chinese forces
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_330' name='Page_330'>[330]</a></span>
+from the territory which had been ceded to France.
+Captain Fournier, in an interview with Li Hung-chang,
+presented a memorandum fixing the dates on which
+the troops were to evacuate the several positions specified.
+A long discussion appears to have taken place,
+in which it is not difficult, from the circumstances
+above referred to, to divine what the viceroy's attitude
+must have been. He wished to avoid the invidious
+responsibility of asking the Central Government to
+order the withdrawal of the troops from Langson, as
+to do so would obviously add fuel to the fire of
+those powerful functionaries who were clamouring for
+the repudiation of the treaty, and for the negotiator's
+head. In vain endeavouring to obtain from Fournier
+an indefinite delay in carrying out the stipulation for
+the retirement of the Chinese troops, Li perhaps
+trusted that the French commanders in Tongking
+would themselves cut the knot by marching forward
+with an adequate force and brushing away the Chinese
+troops opposing them. The accomplished fact would
+then have settled everything.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It has been said that the clever interpreter, instead
+of translating all the viceroy's arguments and explaining
+his difficulties, summed the whole up to Captain
+Fournier in two words, "Avancez donc"&mdash;advice which
+would no doubt have been sufficient if only the French
+military commander, Colonel Dugenne, had marched
+with a reasonable force, or even if he had carried with
+him a competent interpreter, through whom he might
+have communicated with the Chinese commander. The
+latter officer, however, when called upon to evacuate
+the post, pleaded that he had received no instructions
+to that effect, and asked for time to communicate
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_331' name='Page_331'>[331]</a></span>
+with Peking. The letter to the French commander
+containing these reasonable pleas for delay was either
+wrongly translated or left untranslated for months.
+In the meantime Colonel Dugenne advanced with a
+small party, and was forced to retreat with loss, for
+which he was not unjustly recalled by his own
+authorities; and thereupon ensued the Franco-Chinese
+war.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This was not, however, the only <i>contretemps</i> in connection
+with this lamentable outbreak. The Chinese
+commander had actually telegraphed to Li Hung-chang
+for instructions; but, still unwilling to face the
+responsibility, the latter left the reply to his council,
+among whom there happened to be for the moment
+his evil genius, Chang Pei-lun, a fire-eating member
+of the Tsungli-Yamên, who was on his way to take
+up the post of governor of Fukien province and
+Imperial Commissioner of the Foochow arsenal.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Laudable efforts were made to repair the mischief,
+and in the conferences which followed in Paris peace
+was more than once all but assured; but owing to
+a series of accidents and misunderstandings, in which
+the authorities at Peking, the French representative
+there, the French commanders on the Chinese coast,
+and the telegraph were all implicated, the die was
+cast in August 1884, and the war was continued till
+the following April.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For reasons of their own the French Government
+were averse to calling the hostilities "war," preferring
+reprisals and "intelligent destruction." By
+whatever name it may be called, the French did not
+distinguish themselves greatly in the conduct of the
+operations. Their only feat of arms was the destruction,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_332' name='Page_332'>[332]</a></span>
+at their anchorage in the river Min, of the
+Chinese ships belonging to the Foochow squadron,
+and of the arsenal, which, as Li Hung-chang bitterly
+reflected, had been erected by "French genius."
+Admiral Courbet found his destructive work easy,
+having entered the river and taken up a position
+in the rear of the batteries during time of peace.
+The subsequent operations in Formosa were without
+result; and the French Government refused permission
+to Admiral Courbet to attack Port Arthur, on
+the non-military ground of wishing to save the prestige
+of <span lang='fr_FR'>"notre ami Li Hung-chang."</span> So far as the
+naval operations were concerned, even when most
+successful in intelligent destruction, they were quite
+ineffective towards ending the war until the method
+which has never failed to bring the Chinese Government
+to terms was resorted to&mdash;the stoppage of the
+grain-supply to the capital. This was accomplished
+by a patrol of the coast for the purpose of intercepting
+vessels carrying rice to Tientsin. The work
+performed during the winter and spring of 1885 by
+the French cruisers, in keeping the sea without any
+base and performing their patrol duties in all weathers,
+excited the admiration of seamen. It should be mentioned
+that they were precluded from acting offensively
+against the Yangtze by tacit understanding with Great
+Britain and other Powers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If the breach of the peace between France and
+China was a historical curiosity, the eventual settlement
+of the dispute resembled a dramatic extravaganza.
+The final incident of the war in Tongking
+was the defeat of the French, followed by a panic,
+caused apparently by General Négrier being wounded.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_333' name='Page_333'>[333]</a></span>
+The force then made a disorderly retreat before
+imaginary pursuers. In the meantime the empress-dowager
+had given positive orders that peace should
+be made on any terms. Both parties had thus come
+round to the <span lang="la"><i>status quo ante bellum</i></span>&mdash;that is to say,
+they were both equally urgent to obtain peace, as
+they had been in May 1884. The agent in bringing
+this about was Sir Robert Hart; and it was effected,
+as great things usually are, by the adroit use of
+very simple means. During the blockade of Formosa
+a small Chinese lighthouse tender was captured by
+the French admiral and detained. As she was essentially
+non-combatant, and was serving the interests
+of humanity in supplying the numerous lighthouses
+on the coast of China for the benefit of the commerce
+of all nations, Sir Robert Hart instructed his very
+capable London agent, Mr Duncan Campbell, to go
+to Paris and represent the case to the French
+Ministers, with a view to obtaining the release of so
+useful and harmless a vessel. In this manner the
+door was opened to the larger negotiation. Mr
+Campbell executed his delicate mission with so
+much tact, that in the amicable conversations which
+ensued between him and certain French officials the
+idea of putting an end to a war of which both parties
+were tired, and which, moreover, seemed objectless,
+was ventilated; and in a few days authority was
+telegraphed from Peking to Mr Campbell to sign a
+protocol.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This was done before the news of the French
+reverse at Langson reached Paris. After such a
+military success M. Jules Ferry could not imagine
+that the Chinese Government would adhere to the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_334' name='Page_334'>[334]</a></span>
+terms of the protocol, and therefore he kept the
+whole negotiation secret from the Chambers. In the
+meanwhile the mishap to the French troops, being
+greatly exaggerated, excited such intense feeling in
+France that M. Ferry, <i>le Tonkinois</i>, was obliged to
+resign, with the treaty which might have saved him
+in his pocket. As for the empress-dowager, she
+recked nothing of the success of her brave troops
+on the outskirts of the empire, but thought only of
+the enormous expense of the war, which had been
+unpleasantly brought home to her, and of matters
+affecting her own convenience. She therefore had
+no thought of going back on the treaty, but was
+even more urgent than before to have it promptly
+signed and ratified. The honours of the peace thus
+fell in a few days to M. Ferry's successor.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And what was the outcome of a year's fighting
+which cost China 100,000,000 taels and France some
+proportionate amount? A simple reaffirmation of the
+Li-Fournier convention of May 1884! The convention
+itself was short and simple&mdash;one clause only exciting
+much interest during the negotiations, and that provoked
+a hot discussion, not on the substance, but on
+the verbal form. It was a stipulation by which the
+two contracting parties consciously meant different
+things, and each fought hard for a phrase sufficiently
+subtle to allow each to interpret it in his own way
+when the time came for the fulfilment of the treaty
+provisions. The French were most desirous of binding
+the Chinese to employ French industries in all their
+new undertakings. China was equally resolute in
+avoiding any such obligation. In the end each was
+satisfied that he could read the treaty clause in his
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_335' name='Page_335'>[335]</a></span>
+own favour. But the final victory in the struggle
+would go to the side that was most persistent in forcing
+its meaning into practice. The French Ministry had
+announced to the Chambers a great victory for French
+manufacturing industries, which were represented as
+having by it obtained a monopoly in China. The
+text of the treaty, even in the French version, did
+not, indeed, bear this out; but the French had the
+<i>primâ facie</i> argument on their side, that the introduction
+of a clause in a treaty referring to the Chinese
+patronage of French industries, however worded, must
+have meant something more than merely to register
+the common fact that China was at liberty to deal
+with whom she pleased. In the end a compromise
+was effected by China's giving to a French syndicate
+the contract for excavating the basin and dock at
+Port Arthur and certain orders for material, among
+which was a famous military balloon, wonderfully
+symbolic of the whole proceeding.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i335" id="i335"></a>
+<img src="images/i-367.jpg" width="289" height="168" alt="" />
+</div>
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_336' name='Page_336'>[336]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE OF CHRISTIANS.</span>
+</h2>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Alliance with Church the corner-stone of French conquest&mdash;Persistence
+of French ambitions in the Far East&mdash;Protectorate of native Christians&mdash;Its
+abuse by the propaganda&mdash;Forcible erection of cathedrals
+in Peking&mdash;Imperial family aggrieved thereby&mdash;Negotiations for
+removal of church from palace grounds&mdash;Mr Dunn's mission to Rome&mdash;Vatican
+to send a nuncio&mdash;French Government vetos&mdash;French minister
+vetos transfer of cathedral&mdash;Unless transaction placed in his
+hands.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The claim of France to protect Christians against
+the native authorities in the Far East constitutes
+the basis and the origin of her present political position
+in those countries. The propagation of the faith
+was, indeed, a recognised element in the adventures
+of other countries besides France; but she has, since
+the eclipse of Portugal and Spain, enjoyed the distinction
+of a working alliance with the Church in
+furthering the foreign domination of both. "Church
+and State, linked in alliance close and potential, played
+faithfully into each other's hands," says Parkman
+('Jesuits in North America'). In the reign of Louis
+XIV. the kingdom of Siam was the object of their
+joint attention. A missionary bishop persuaded the
+most Christian king that to establish the Church in
+Siam and convert king and country to the Catholic
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_337' name='Page_337'>[337]</a></span>
+faith would open an effectual door for the extension
+of French commerce. A century later another bishop
+persuaded another Louis to interfere in the affairs of
+Annam, and only the events of 1789 cut short an
+expedition that was being prepared of politico-ecclesiastical
+propagandism. Napoleon III. took up the
+cause, and actually effected the conquest of Cochin
+China; and Gambetta was so enthusiastic on the
+subject that, while persecuting the Catholics in France,
+he was ready to expend the forces of the Republic
+in protecting them in distant countries.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There is here, therefore, irrespective of persons or
+forms of government, an unbroken tradition, which
+furnishes a key to the successive operations of France
+in the Far East. Thus when she resolved to join
+England in hostilities against China in 1857 a pretext
+was ready to hand in the murder of a Catholic
+priest in the interior of the country, his presence there
+being a defiance of the laws of the empire. There has
+been flux and reflux in French policy, but no change
+in its direction; and though prudence has from time
+to time set limits to its full expression, the claim
+to a special representation of Chinese Christians has
+been consistently pursued as a cardinal object of the
+French military, naval, and diplomatic forces in the
+Far East.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The treaties of 1858 for the first time authorised
+travelling into the interior, and placed French subjects,
+whether missionary or not, who availed themselves
+of the permission, under the protection of
+their own country. But ever since the convention
+of Peking in 1860 it has been sought by indirect
+and unobtrusive means to assume the protectorate
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_338' name='Page_338'>[338]</a></span>
+over native Christians as well. The interpolated
+clause in the Chinese, which was no part of the
+authentic French version of the convention, lent a
+certain colour to the pretension by seeming to recognise
+communities of Chinese Christians as legal units
+and fit subjects of international agreement between
+China and France. Nevertheless, "French interference
+between the Chinese authorities and the subjects
+of the empire of China has never had any treaty
+warrant or justification by the law of nations," wrote
+Sir Rutherford Alcock in the 'Nineteenth Century,'
+November 1886; and he added, "China has the
+remedy in her own hands, to a certain extent, by
+refusing to admit the pretension." The Chinese
+Government had long been alive to the danger, as
+its elaborate appeal to the reason of the Powers in
+1871 amply testified, but its eyes were opened still
+wider by the lesson of the Tongking war. A disposition
+was thereafter evinced to withstand the claim
+of the French, and the action of Germany afforded
+sufficient support to the Chinese position, had the
+Government only had the courage and perspicacity
+to lean upon it. For in the Catholic propaganda
+were missionaries of German origin, who were not
+permitted to divest themselves of their nationality,
+but were made to apply for their passports into the
+interior not to the French, but the German, Legation
+in Peking. Had Italy and Spain been equally independent,
+the question of the French, or any other
+protectorate, could scarcely have been entertained
+without introducing the element of separate foreign
+nationalism into the constitution of the Christian
+communities in China, which would not, perhaps,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_339' name='Page_339'>[339]</a></span>
+have been agreeable to the views of the Catholic
+propagandists, for they naturally aspired to maintain
+their independence as a compact ecclesiastical
+organisation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The dread of the French protectorate was much
+accentuated by the enforced restitution of ancient
+buildings, the most conspicuous examples of which
+occurred in the city of Peking itself, and even within
+the area of the imperial palace. The sites of three
+ancient churches being claimed by the French Minister,
+the emperor's Government was compelled to violate
+its sense of justice by evicting the existing owners.
+The original building of one of the three was found
+practically intact, though hidden by the houses built
+round and against its walls. These of course had to
+be cleared away, regardless of the rights of their
+occupants. The interior fittings and decorations of
+the church had disappeared, but, strange to say,
+much of the wood carving and other ornaments were
+gradually recovered from the old-curiosity shops, where
+the parts not destroyed had, by the instinct of the
+Wardour Street craft, been preserved, begrimed with
+the dust of a hundred years and hopelessly unsaleable.
+By patiently collecting these disjointed fragments and
+piecing them together like a Chinese puzzle, the Fathers
+were able gradually to restore the church to something
+like its original state, so that it became itself an interesting
+relic of the golden age of the Jesuits in Peking.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The other two churches had been demolished, and
+the sites converted to secular uses, requiring some
+ingenuity to identify. When these sites were, under
+the new dispensation, cleared of superincumbent buildings,
+churches were erected as much exceeding the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_340' name='Page_340'>[340]</a></span>
+original as the glory of the Jewish temple, rebuilt
+after the Captivity, excelled that of the former house.
+The restrictions imposed by the Government on the
+style of the buildings, the last vestige of power which
+they dared assert, bore lightly on the astute constructors
+of the new churches. In deference to a
+common Chinese objection, perhaps partly superstitious,
+to lofty structures overlooking them, a limit
+was set to the height of the new buildings. But
+remonstrances after completion were easily disposed
+of by the pious Fathers inviting the objectors to go
+and measure the towers! The Chinese seem to have
+the same constitutional dislike of a demonstration
+that they have to a straight line or a right angle,
+and a challenge like this never failed to put them to
+silence. As to their neglect to exercise their right of
+supervision during construction, the shortest way to
+characterise it is merely to say it was Chinese. The
+same kind of negligence also allowed roofs of cathedrals,
+not in the capital alone, but in distant provinces, to
+be covered with yellow tiles, a colour reserved exclusively
+for imperial use. It is true the process was
+disguised, for the benefit of those who chose to be
+blind, by the tiles being whitewashed before being
+sent aloft, leaving to the slow action of the weather
+the gradual revelation of the imperial colour, which
+might then, indeed, be represented as the act of
+Heaven. Nothing is too transparent to deceive those
+who are willing to be deceived.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i340" id="i340"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p340.jpg" width="550" height="418" alt="" />
+<p class="caption">PEI-T'ANG CATHEDRAL IN PEKING, PURCHASED BY CHINESE GOVERNMENT.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The cathedral around which the greatest interest
+centred, however, was the one which was erected
+within the palace grounds. The site had been
+granted by the great Emperor Kanghsi, the most
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_341' name='Page_341'>[341]</a></span>
+imperial of the Manchu line, to the learned fathers
+who cured his fever by administering Jesuits' bark,
+then a new discovery, and whom he reckoned on
+attaching to his house by the favours bestowed on
+them. The new building was presumably erected
+on or near the site of the old, against the most urgent
+protests of the Court. Every inducement was offered
+to the French&mdash;larger and better sites, perhaps other
+compensations as well&mdash;if they would forego their demand
+for the resumption of the ground; but the
+French Government being set upon marking its ascendancy
+by a permanent sign, compelled the erection of
+the Pei-t'ang Cathedral on the spot indicated. The
+Lazarists, who had succeeded to the Jesuits in North
+China, had a kindly bishop at their head, who conceded
+much in the structure of the new building to
+soothe the feelings of the imperial family. Nevertheless,
+stunted as they were, from the point of view
+of architectural symmetry, the double towers of the
+cathedral were visible from the palace, and the two
+belfries commanded a view over a large part of the
+precincts. The building was therefore an eyesore to
+the inmates for twenty years, on the common ground
+on which it would have been offensive even to a provincial
+population, but still more as a staring monument
+of the deepest humiliation the dynasty had
+endured.<a name='FA_27' id='FA_27' href='#FN_27' class='fnanchor'>[27]</a> The empress-dowager bore the grievance,
+but not with resignation, for soon after the affairs of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_342' name='Page_342'>[342]</a></span>
+the empire assumed a settled aspect she urged her
+Ministers to find a way to get rid of the obnoxious
+building.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Monseigneur Delaplace had, in his former diocese
+of Chêkiang, rendered good service to the Government
+in opposing the rebels, for which he was granted
+high Chinese rank. Being dissatisfied with the action
+of France after the Tientsin massacre of 1870, he
+extricated his mission from the control of the French
+Legation in Peking, and from that date till his death
+in 1882 conducted its affairs in direct communication
+with the Tsungli-Yamên. Fully recognising how
+hateful his cathedral was to the Chinese, he co-operated
+with Prince Kung and Wênsiang in their efforts
+to remove it, and in 1874 he actually concluded an
+agreement with them to that effect. But the contract
+was vetoed by the French Government. The
+sore was thus reopened and continued to fester until
+1881, when there was so much excitement in the
+capital that the Church and mission were thought
+to be in great danger. During the Tongking troubles
+the question of the cathedral was allowed to rest, but
+no sooner was peace assured than the Court again
+became restless, and with renewed urgency sought a
+remedy for its grievance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The negotiations, which proved successful, were
+entered upon in an irregular manner, such as has
+characterised so many of the Chinese official acts.
+An Englishman in Peking, who had had business
+dealings with the Government, was asked one day by
+the confidential factotum of Prince Ch'un whether he
+could render assistance in the matter of the Pei-t'ang.
+The case was explained at length, and the foreigner,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_343' name='Page_343'>[343]</a></span>
+not being then aware of the negotiations of 1874,
+suggested, as the most obvious course, trying to make
+an arrangement with the Lazarist mission. The
+Manchu shook his head, to signify the futility of that
+proceeding. The enterprise thus seemed desperate,
+unless the Imperial Government should exercise its
+sovereign right of expropriation,&mdash;much too drastic a
+measure for any Chinese Government to attempt.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One hope only seemed to remain, a direct appeal
+to the Vatican. This led to a long conversation on
+the Papacy, and the Manchu official,<a name='FA_28' id='FA_28' href='#FN_28' class='fnanchor'>[28]</a> being a pious
+and even a learned Buddhist, became intensely interested
+in hearing much that was new to him respecting
+the position and prerogatives of the European
+Dalai Lama. Nor did the "great Western Saint,"
+whose vicegerent the Pope claims to be, fail to evoke
+the deep reverence of both the Manchu and the
+Chinese who were present, so that one might be almost
+justified in appropriating words uttered on a
+different occasion,&mdash;they were "not very far from the
+kingdom" ruled by "the Western Saint."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the interesting question was, How was the
+Vatican to be approached? By a qualified secret
+agent intrusted with the full confidence of the
+Chinese Court. The mission would be by no means
+easy, for should its object become known, it would be
+thwarted in advance from mere jealousy, if from no
+other motive, by Lazarist and perhaps other Catholic
+missions, so that access to the Supreme Pontiff would
+be blocked at the outset. The mission would also be
+certain to arouse the strenuous hostility of the French
+Government. After discussing the problem from all
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_344' name='Page_344'>[344]</a></span>
+sides for three hours, the Manchu cut it short by the
+abrupt question, "Will you go?" "No," said the
+foreigner; "such an undertaking requires quite other
+qualities than any I possess. But," he added, after
+considering the matter, "I think I know the man who
+might carry it through." "Where is he? in Peking?
+Bring him here," were rapped out like musketry-fire,
+showing how urgent was the subject. The agent recommended
+to him was Mr J. G. Dunn, a man of
+genius and of varied accomplishments, a Catholic, and
+having an extensive personal acquaintance with the
+propaganda. He was at once invited to Peking,
+when another long conference ensued, and Mr Dunn
+was requested to draw up a memorandum on the
+whole scheme for the information of Prince Ch'un.
+After waiting some time for a response Mr Dunn left
+the capital, decidedly disappointed, for he was eager
+for a service so congenial to his character and feelings.
+Indeed had the mission been created for the man, or
+the man for the mission, the harmony between means
+and ends could hardly have been closer.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Several months elapsed before the question emerged
+again from official obscurity, and the manner of it is
+worth relating if only for the side-light it throws on
+Chinese methods. Li Hung-chang paid a visit to the
+capital in 1885, and soon after his return to Tientsin he
+requested his secretaries to find out where Mr Dunn
+was and to invite him by telegraph to come to see the
+viceroy. Not knowing why he was sent for, any more
+than Gordon did when summoned from India five years
+before, Mr Dunn came, and Li at once entered on the
+Pei-t'ang question, showing him his own memorandum
+on the subject. The affair having been placed by
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_345' name='Page_345'>[345]</a></span>
+Prince Ch'un in the hands of Li Hung-chang to be
+carried through, Mr Dunn was promptly commissioned,
+and in concert with the viceroy's secretary, the very
+capable officer who now represents China at Washington,
+the emissary's instructions and credentials were
+drawn up. There were two separate instructions, and
+no little confusion was caused thereby.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On leaving China for Rome, Mr Dunn stipulated that
+a competent intermediary should be appointed to interpret
+his correspondence to Li Hung-chang, a
+duty which was intrusted to the commissioner of
+customs in Tientsin. The utility of this provision
+was soon made manifest, for when telegrams began to
+arrive from Rome, their purport was unintelligible, as
+they seemed irrelevant to the expropriation of the
+cathedral, which was Mr Dunn's special mission.
+Irritated by this apparent aberration, the viceroy's
+idea was to recall the emissary. But when it was
+suggested that the copies of his credentials should be
+first carefully examined the position became clearer.
+One part of his instructions was then found to be
+directed towards the question of the Christian protectorate,
+and Mr Dunn was, in fact, diplomatising
+with the Pope with a view to his appointing a nuncio
+or apostolic delegate to China to represent all the
+Catholic missions. The Chinese had not fully mastered
+this idea, and even Li Hung-chang, who has a wonderful
+memory, had forgotten the existence of the second
+section of his instructions, which no doubt Mr Dunn
+had drawn up himself. The Tsungli-Yamên, languid
+and bemused, hesitated to express any opinion, and
+assumed their habitual passive attitude. One person
+alone really grasped the importance of having the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_346' name='Page_346'>[346]</a></span>
+Church in China represented by the delegate of a
+Power "which has no armies or fleets wherewith to
+threaten or attack." The empress-dowager, when the
+nomination of Mgr. Agliardi was announced, and his
+coming depended on formal imperial invitation, sent the
+urgent message to the Yamên, "Get that man here;
+lose no time."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr Dunn's negotiations with the Vatican of course
+soon leaked out; notices appeared in the press; Mr
+Punch had his little joke that though there was
+evidently a good deal <i>doing</i>, the question was, Who
+was <i>Dunn</i>? The French Government took the matter
+up energetically through their Minister in Rome, and
+their diplomatic efforts having failed, they presented an
+ultimatum to the Pope which compelled him to cancel
+the appointment of his nuncio. France threatening to
+terminate the concordat, withdraw the subvention to
+the Church in France, and sequestrate its ministers,
+the Holy Father had no option but to submit. With
+tears in his eyes he deplored his impotence to respond
+to the invitation of China under such a truculent
+menace to "his children in France."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While these things were going on in Rome the
+transference of the Pei-t'ang Cathedral, which had
+been settled in principle through Mr Dunn, was then
+taken up by the Lazarist Mission, and the popular Père
+Favier was deputed by the Bishop of Peking to proceed
+to Rome and to Paris to obtain from the Vatican and
+the General of the Lazarist Order the specific authority
+to negotiate the transfer. Having brought back the
+necessary powers, a convention was shortly concluded
+between Bishop Tagliabue and Li Hung-chang. The
+Church made an excellent bargain, as it generally does:
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_347' name='Page_347'>[347]</a></span>
+a new site of about thrice the area was granted close
+to the old on the opposite side of the broad roadway,
+and a bountiful compensation in money was
+made for the trouble and cost of removal. But after
+the agreement was signed the French Government
+interposed its veto so far as to insist on being the
+intermediary through whose hands the transaction
+should pass. France also, it was said, had previously
+essayed to <span lang="fr_FR"><i>marchander</i></span> with China for her consent,
+but withdrew when it became clear that further obstruction
+might entail untoward consequences. To
+mark its satisfaction at the final solution of this
+question, the Chinese Government eulogised all those
+who had helped to bring it about, and bestowed
+high rank on Bishop Tagliabue and the Abbé Favier
+(now bishop).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This transaction supplied a crucial test of French
+policy and pretensions in China, the first concrete
+expression of both that had been obtained since the
+forcible restitution of Church property immediately
+after the capture of Peking. The coercion, indeed, was
+applied on this occasion to the Roman Pontiff and the
+Catholic Church rather than to the Chinese Government;
+but the latter were not so dull as not to see
+to what ulterior objects the French scheme might be
+extended, given convenient circumstances. They were,
+in fact, really alarmed, and the question was discussed
+with some warmth in the Chinese as well as in the
+European press. "The end is not yet," wrote Sir
+Rutherford Alcock; "China may be less open to intimidation
+than heretofore, and assert her undoubted
+right to refuse the recognition of an assumed protectorate
+over Roman missions, irrespective of the nationality
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_348' name='Page_348'>[348]</a></span>
+of their members." The French press espoused
+the cause of the protectorate warmly, treating it as
+a most valuable national asset. The Chinese press
+took up the question in reply. Their view of the position
+was comprehensively summed up in a native newspaper
+in October 1886 in the following terms:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+It has been said by them of old time that when a man is
+found acting injuriously to his own family but benevolently to
+strangers his behaviour is unnatural, and there is something
+hidden under the cloak of outward kindness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We have from time to time printed translations from various
+foreign newspapers on the subject of the relations between
+the Chinese Government and the Pope. Some days ago we
+reproduced an article on the same subject from the 'Temps,'
+a French newspaper of the highest authority. These articles
+all indicate that the French Government is greatly troubled
+at the prospect of losing what is called the right to protect
+Christians in China. This is a question which has not hitherto
+been much considered by Chinese statesmen. Those of
+them who have been in Europe, or who have studied political
+affairs there, know something of the importance of the issues
+which are covered up in that apparently harmless word "protection";
+but it is hardly to be expected that the Ministers and
+statesmen who have scarcely travelled beyond the walls of
+Peking can realise the full significance of the phrase. Nothing
+is better calculated to quicken the apprehension of the Government
+on this point than the extraordinary excitement of
+the French Government, which insists on protecting the Christians
+in China whether they desire this protection or not.
+For now that the French have so plainly shown their secret
+designs, it would be impossible for China to acquiesce, by
+word or deed, in the pretensions which France sets up. It is
+rather suspicious that the French Government, the greatest
+enemy of Christianity, which is constantly oppressing the
+priests and confiscating their property in France, should be
+so intensely desirous of protecting Christians in China, where
+this protection is not required. A leading French statesman,
+Gambetta, who died a few years ago, left as a legacy to his
+followers the doctrine that the Church should be suppressed
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_349' name='Page_349'>[349]</a></span>
+in France but supported in all foreign countries. Gambetta
+was a man who had no reverence for Heaven, and no religion,
+and seems to have regarded Christianity as a disease which
+he wished his own country to be rid of, but was not sorry to
+see it spreading elsewhere. It is necessary to keep these ideas
+in mind in order to understand the action of the French Government
+to-day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It would be out of place here to discuss what Christianity
+is. Like Buddhism, it had a very pure origin, and the living
+principles of both are mercy, benevolence, and peace. But
+both religions have in course of ages been overlaid with
+doctrines and practices which have obscured the simplicity of
+their origin, and even changed their character. But the greatest
+misfortune to Christianity is that it has been made use of
+by princes as a pretext for wars of aggression. In fact, nearly
+all the wars of Europe for the last thousand years have been
+in some way connected with religion. This is sometimes made
+a reproach against Christianity, which professes to be founded
+on peace and self-sacrifice, but the reproach is scarcely just.
+Rather it is the peaceful character of Christianity which has
+induced ambitious statesmen to make use of it to work out
+their own designs, just as in private life unscrupulous men
+are sometimes enabled to carry out questionable plans by using
+the names of men of blameless character. We are only now
+concerned with the political aspect of Christianity, not its
+merits as a religion. The modern history of Turkey affords
+the best illustration of the danger of allowing foreign Powers
+to interfere in matters of religion. During the last hundred
+years Russia has several times made war on Turkey, always on
+the pretext of protecting Christians, and it is this which is
+fast breaking up the Turkish empire. It is interesting to
+observe that Russia and France follow the same policy in this
+matter. When the French Legation withdrew from Peking
+on the 2nd day of the 7th moon of the 10th year of Kwanghsu
+(22nd August 1884), the affairs of the Christians were transferred
+to the Russian Legation. The Ministers of the Tsungli-Yamên
+remember very well how eagerly the Russian Minister
+assumed the office of protector of Christians, going to
+even greater lengths in the way of protection than the French
+themselves had done. The reason for this is plain. Russia,
+although she has none now, expects to have by-and-by many
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_350' name='Page_350'>[350]</a></span>
+Christians in Mongolia and Manchuria who may be extremely
+useful to her in her aggressive designs on China. Therefore
+the Russian officials, always looking very far ahead, were most
+anxious to establish a right of interference for the protection
+of Christians. And they could do this without reproach when
+they were acting not for themselves but for France during
+war-time; well knowing that, whatever position she succeeded
+in establishing for France, Russia could claim for herself when
+the proper time came. But the more anxious Russia and
+France are to assert the right of interfering with Chinese
+Christians, the more resolute China should be in resisting all
+such interference. The only safety for China is to treat
+Christians, whether Chinese or foreign, exactly as all other
+people are treated&mdash;to make no distinctions. Foreign missionaries
+have the right to travel and reside in the interior; they
+can exercise this right without getting passports from the
+French Minister. The Catholic missions are composed of men
+of all nations, but they all have Ministers in Peking to whom
+they can apply for passports. Let the Germans get their
+passports from the German Legation, the Spaniards from the
+Spanish, Italians, Belgians, and Hollanders from their respective
+Legations, but no European State has any right to arrogate
+to itself the position of protector of missionaries in general.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is satisfactory to learn that the head of the Catholic
+Church is of this opinion, and although grateful to France for
+what she has done in the past, is now desirous of being free
+from French protection in the future. To carry out these
+views, the Pope is about to send to China a very high official
+to reside in Peking and perform the functions of a Minister.
+As the Pope has no troops and no territory, but is merely a
+kind of Dalai Lama, there is no danger to China from opening
+direct relations with him. The affairs of the missionaries can
+then be dealt with in an open and straightforward manner, as no
+fear of political traps will lurk behind. The Christians when
+they know they are no longer protected by a military State
+will understand that their security will depend on their own
+wisdom in avoiding offence. And the officials and people, on
+the other hand, will gradually learn that the Christians are
+only anxious to lead virtuous lives, without any political ambition,
+and they will respect them. The Imperial Government
+will then also be able to extend its favour to all Christians
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_351' name='Page_351'>[351]</a></span>
+and missionaries without the fear of nursing traitors in its
+bosom. The missionaries have among them men of great
+learning and much skill in sciences, which the Emperor Kanghsi&mdash;who
+must always stand as the model for Chinese rulers&mdash;knew
+very well how to utilise. The present generation possesses
+men no less capable of rendering good services to China,
+and there would be no reason for not using them if the suspicion
+of their being agents of the French Government were
+once cleared away.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Notwithstanding so much clear thinking, however,
+the action of the Chinese continued, as before, nebulous.
+They seemed never able to seize the bull by the horns,
+but drifted on, allowing themselves constantly to be put
+in the wrong, hoping perhaps to accomplish by illegitimate
+means what was within their legal competence.
+Afraid or unwilling to control the provincial authorities,
+they allowed outrages to be perpetrated for which they
+refused redress until coercion was applied, thus affording
+to foreign Powers a not in all cases unwelcome pretext
+for extending their protection even to Chinese
+Christians. Within a month of the consummation of
+the transfer of the Pei-t'ang Cathedral, and after
+the Marquis Tsêng, fresh from Europe, had taken
+his seat at the Board, the Tsungli-Yamên had fallen
+into its chronic apathy with regard to Christians.
+A missionary named Bodinier arrived in Peking from
+distant Kweichow for the purpose of soliciting the
+intervention or intercession of the French Legation
+in favour of the persecuted Christians in that province.
+While he was on his journey the Catholics
+of Chungking in Szechuan were being similarly maltreated.
+Certain disturbances in that great commercial
+mart culminated in the attack on the house of a
+wealthy Christian family, which resisted the assailants,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_352' name='Page_352'>[352]</a></span>
+several of whom were killed in the affray. The magistrates,
+who had been supine during the time when
+the mischief was brewing, thereupon arrested the head
+of the Lo family and condemned him to death,&mdash;an
+exercise of authority which was held to be arbitrary,
+and invidiously directed against Christians. Here was
+an occasion when the Central Government should have
+taken prompt action, and so deprived the French
+Government of any pretext for interference. It was a
+moment when that Government was less apt than usual
+to put forth its power in the Christian cause. M.
+Constans was Minister in China, and he was personally
+not at all disposed to assume the protection of Chinese
+Christians. Nevertheless, the case being urgent, and
+the Tsungli-Yamên either cowardly or indifferent, M.
+Constans broke through the rule he had laid down
+for himself so far as to telegraph to Paris for instructions.
+The reply was prompt, doubtless inspired by
+the propaganda at home, to the effect that he should
+take up the case of Mr Lo. Thus the Chinese threw
+away a golden opportunity of showing to the world
+that the Chinese Christians did not stand in need
+of any foreign aid. An impartial investigation might
+have shown, indeed, that the Christians were the
+aggressors, and the local Chinese officials might have
+been vindicated from the charges made against them.
+But the Government's inaction constantly puts it in
+the wrong even when it may be substantially in the
+right. The same fatal course has been regularly pursued
+even to our day, with results patent to all.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_353' name='Page_353'>[353]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">BRITISH SERVICES: DIPLOMATIC, CONSULAR, AND
+JUDICIAL.</span>
+</h2>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Necessity for administrative and judicial control over British subjects&mdash;Consular
+courts&mdash;Supreme court for China and Japan&mdash;<i>Personnel</i> of
+the consular service&mdash;Functions of the diplomatic representatives&mdash;Absence
+of distinction explained by apathy of Home Government&mdash;Need
+of reform.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The frequent references throughout this work to the
+part played by British agents in the development of
+intercourse with China seem to call for a short account
+of the character and status of the official machinery
+which served for so many years as the principal
+working joint between the two opposed systems of
+civilisation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The relations between Great Britain and China were
+necessarily at first experimental. The consuls appointed
+to the five ports were selected with no special training,
+and the chief superintendent, to whom they looked
+for guidance, was scarcely better furnished than themselves.
+Yet, as has been shown, the remoteness of the
+consuls from their chief, and of both from the Government
+they served, threw them much upon their own
+resources. How the demand for independent initiative
+was responded to by some of the individuals concerned
+has been incidentally noticed in previous chapters.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_354' name='Page_354'>[354]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From the time when it assumed direct relations with
+China, the need of an effective control over British
+subjects resorting to that country weighed heavily
+on the British Government; for in exempting them
+from native jurisdiction the Government took on itself
+the responsibility for the good behaviour of its people.
+The exercise of this control was necessarily tentative,
+proceeding step by step as occasions arose. The unceasing
+solicitude of the Government for the orderly conduct
+of its subjects in China is testified by a long series of
+Orders in Council conferring on the consuls and their
+superintendent an almost despotic authority over the
+persons of the British residents. The operation of
+this arbitrary system was more satisfactory than could
+have been expected, thanks to the high character of
+the parties concerned and the common-sense which
+governed their mutual relations. In their double capacity,
+however, of protectors of Chinese and foreigners
+against the inroads of British subjects, and of the
+latter against the inroads of the Chinese, the consuls
+soon discovered that the one part of their duty was easy
+and the other difficult; and it is no matter for wonder,
+therefore, if, following the line of least resistance, some
+of them should have leaned to the side of repression
+rather than to that of the encouragement of their
+countrymen. This was noticeable even in judicial
+proceedings, where the consul was supreme over his
+own nationals, but had no authority over their opponents.
+Some check on the consequences of consular
+idiosyncrasies and defective legal knowledge
+was maintained by a supreme court in Hongkong,
+independent alike of the superintendent of trade and
+of the governor of the colony, to which court appeals
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_355' name='Page_355'>[355]</a></span>
+lay from consular decisions. This prerogative of the
+colonial court was not unnaturally irksome to the
+diplomatic and consular servants of the Foreign Office,
+and was doubtless one cause of the coolness, not to
+say antipathy, with which the colony has generally
+been regarded by them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The treaties of 1858 and 1860 were followed by
+a great development in all three services&mdash;diplomatic,
+consular, and judicial. Some years previously the
+China consular service began to be treated as a career
+for which special preparation was required, the entry
+being by competitive examination, through which
+a certain number of students were annually sent out
+to China, there to complete their education and then
+take their part in executive work. When additional
+ports were opened, therefore, making about twenty
+in all, in 1861, there was the full complement of
+qualified men ready to occupy the new consular posts,
+each of them competent to be his own interpreter.
+Diplomatic functions were at the same time withdrawn
+from Hongkong, where they had been merely nominal
+for eighteen years, and became centred in the Chinese
+capital. A few years later the judicial authority, so
+far as it related to the communities at the Chinese
+ports, was also withdrawn from Hongkong, and was
+conferred upon the Supreme Court for China and
+Japan, having its headquarters in Shanghai, established
+by the Queen's Order in Council of 1864. The new
+court was inaugurated by Sir Edmund Hornby, who
+brought to the work practical experience gained in
+the Levant, the assistant judge being Mr C. W. Goodwin,
+Barrister of the Inner Temple. This establishment
+has furnished a solvent for many of the difficulties connected
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_356' name='Page_356'>[356]</a></span>
+with British residence in the Far East. Adapted
+with judgment to local circumstances, the court has
+proved of immense assistance to the consuls, who, subordinated
+judicially to the chief judge, could now obtain
+from him proper guidance in their difficulties, a facility
+of which they availed themselves freely.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although a great advance on what preceded it, the
+Supreme Court could not of course escape from all the
+drawbacks which affected the consular courts. As between
+British subjects, it enjoyed the full powers of
+law courts in the mother country; but as between
+British subjects on the one hand, and the natives of
+the country, or non-British residents, on the other, the
+authority of the British court could only be exercised
+over the former. This one-sided action has been to
+some extent compensated in later times by the judicial
+qualifications of consuls representing other Western
+nationalities, who administer their own laws with the
+same impartiality as the British courts do theirs. But
+as regards the Chinese no such compensation operates,
+for although the treaties make provision for the judicial
+action of the Chinese authorities, their conceptions of
+equity and forms of procedure being wholly alien to
+those of the Western nations, their decisions seldom
+satisfy the foreign litigant. An attempt to supply
+a connecting-link between two radically different juridical
+ideals was made in the setting up of mixed courts
+for the purpose of dealing with petty cases between
+natives and foreigners within the settlements of Shanghai.
+These courts have been occasionally presided over
+by honest and competent judges, assisted by able foreign
+assessors; but as the native magistrates, being men of
+low rank, could always be overruled by the local executive,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_357' name='Page_357'>[357]</a></span>
+they lacked the power to make their decisions
+effective.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As it was impossible to set up a separate judicial
+establishment at each treaty port where there was
+but a handful of residents, the consuls had to continue
+to perform magisterial duty with all the inconveniences
+attending their double function. Efforts
+were made by the Home Government to minimise
+these disadvantages by infusing a modicum of legal
+knowledge into the service, for which purpose they
+offered inducements to consular officials who should
+qualify as barristers. Notwithstanding all this, however,
+the simple fact that a consul is bound in his
+administrative capacity to take a part in matters
+which may afterwards come before him as a judge
+perpetuates an element of incongruity demanding an
+uncommon degree of tact on the part of the official.
+Some of the worst consequences to be apprehended
+from this state of things are partially obviated by
+the judge or assistant judge of the Supreme Court
+going on circuit, when important cases in the consular
+districts require it; but that expedient is only possible
+at rare intervals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The wisdom with which the Supreme Court has
+been directed is attested by the absence of incident
+in its history, and by the universal tacit approval of
+its proceedings. Its success, indeed, soon came to be
+accepted so much as a matter of course that the true
+source of it was forgotten. It was, however, recalled
+vividly to the public memory by a certain retrograde
+movement. After a quarter of a century of
+satisfactory working her Majesty's Government took
+a step which was equivalent to pulling out the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_358' name='Page_358'>[358]</a></span>
+corner-stone of the edifice&mdash;the absolute independence
+of the bench. In order to effect an economy in
+salaries, it was ordained that the two incompatible
+offices&mdash;the judicial and political&mdash;should be merged
+into one, making the chief judge consul-general, and
+the assistant judge consul for Shanghai. By this move
+the judges became subordinate to the Legation in
+Peking, and the Supreme Court itself was subjected
+to all the evils of the dual function under which the
+consuls had been labouring. Thanks to the exceptional
+qualities of the holders of the double office, no glaring
+scandal arose out of the unnatural combination; but
+the protests of the community, and of the incumbent
+of the two offices himself, were strong enough to induce
+the Foreign Office, after a few years' trial, to
+retrace their false step and restore the judge to his
+independence.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+The twenty consular establishments in China on
+which the Select Committee of the House of Commons
+reported in 1872 were manned by forty "effectives on
+duty," besides a considerable contingent on furlough.
+The ten posts subsequently created employ on an
+average twenty more. Two complete generations of
+officials have passed through the consular mill in fifty
+years, which may be moderately reckoned at two
+hundred men, all of them selected by a competitive
+examination only one degree less stringent than that
+for the Indian Civil Service, and nearly all of them
+men of varied accomplishments. They have been
+placed in every part of the wide empire of China,
+and during their career have been shifted about so
+that every one has had chances of interesting himself
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_359' name='Page_359'>[359]</a></span>
+in localities strongly contrasted with each other, both
+as regards official labour and personal recreation and
+study. From a body of highly educated men so situated,
+it was naturally to be expected that much enlightenment
+would be obtained concerning China and
+its people, and considerable progress made in the
+promotion of amiable intercourse between them and
+foreigners. These expectations have not been disappointed.
+In the period immediately following the
+peace of 1860 remarkable activity was shown by British
+consular officers. The names of Meadows, Markham,
+Alabaster, Oxenham, recall many exploits of exploration
+in the interior during very troublous times.
+Swinhoe, Baber, Hosie, Bourne, Spence, Davenport,
+Parker, have continued the work and greatly extended
+its area. Others have distinguished themselves in the
+held of literary research, and some have found their
+appropriate reward in honourable appointments in
+English universities. On the whole, there has been
+lack of neither energy nor capacity in the British
+consular service; and yet it is a matter of common
+remark, even by its members themselves, that in their
+primary duty of promoting and defending the interests
+of British commerce they have been unsuccessful.
+Treaty rights, they admit, have not been safeguarded
+at the Chinese ports, and this in spite of every apparent
+incentive to exertion in their defence. A distinction,
+however, must be drawn between an apparent incentive
+which is general and remote, such as the patriotic
+desire for the advancement of their country's interests,
+and those influences which are nearer and more personal.
+The attitude of the China consuls can only
+be fairly estimated in its relation to that of their
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_360' name='Page_360'>[360]</a></span>
+chief, and his again in relation to that of the Home
+Government. "Like master, like man," is an adage
+which fits the case, and it is to Peking and to London
+we must look for the key to the character of the consular
+rank and file.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+The British Ministers at Peking have been selected
+without any fixed rule. The first of the series was
+taken from the diplomatic circle. The succeeding
+three, whose term of office covered a period of twenty
+years, were chosen from among the veterans of the
+consular service. The next two were taken from the
+junior ranks of diplomacy, and the seventh was a
+military officer from Africa. The appointment of Sir
+Robert Hart in 1885, which was cancelled by his wish,
+afforded further illustration of the extreme catholicity
+of the Government's elective faculty.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The witnesses examined before the Select Committee
+of the House of Commons in 1872 were unanimous in
+insisting on the necessity for long and special training
+for the office of consul in China, and this principle has
+been strictly followed by the Government. But for
+the higher post of superintendent of all the consuls
+the Government has, at least since 1885, acted on the
+theory that no such qualification is necessary. But
+the task of a Minister to China is by no means an
+easy one. It may be left undone, or it may be
+done so badly that it were better not to be done at
+all, but to discharge the duties of the office in a
+creditable manner requires not only high training but
+large capacity. The Minister has to conduct his
+own diplomatic duties in the capital, in which not
+the Chinese alone but all or nearly all his foreign
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_361' name='Page_361'>[361]</a></span>
+colleagues are openly or secretly thwarting him. He
+has at the same time to direct the proceedings of
+twenty or thirty officers placed at great distances,
+whom he has never seen, and every one of whom is
+superior to himself in the knowledge of the conditions
+to be dealt with. For such a duty it is
+obvious that an officer sent from Europe must be
+incompetent, the circumstances of the service in
+China differing essentially from those prevailing elsewhere.
+The new incumbent, unless he were a born
+genius, could never get beyond the elementary lessons
+of experience before, overtaken by promotion, he shakes
+the Chinese dust off his feet for ever. Much might
+of course be learned by personal observation at the
+consular ports and conference with local officials and
+people in the provinces, but it is somewhat singular
+that this obvious source of intelligence has been taken
+advantage of almost exclusively by those of the British
+Ministers who stood the least in need of it. Indeed
+the only one of them who made it a rule to visit the
+treaty ports at intervals was Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+whose long experience convinced him of the necessity
+of constantly refreshing and extending his knowledge
+of local circumstances and people.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A service dispersed over such a large area as the
+Chinese empire, carried on by despatches between
+parties who were strangers to each other, and one
+of whom at least had no personal knowledge of the
+subjects treated, must have been characterised by
+an absence of reality, and must have tended more
+and more towards a perfunctory routine. For this,
+however, the system of appointing Ministers who were
+strangers to the country was not wholly responsible.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_362' name='Page_362'>[362]</a></span>
+Long before the Ministers were so selected the secretaries
+began to be sent from European schools, and thus
+the consular service, disheartened by inadequate pay and
+a constant menace of further diminution, saw the few
+prizes of their profession withdrawn from their reach.
+To serve his time quietly, therefore, to earn his pension
+and retire without a stain on his character, became
+more or less the consular ideal. Ambition was starved
+among those who had to bear the burden and heat of
+a thirty years' residence in China, when they saw good
+posts thrown away upon men imported for two or three
+years, who were almost useless, and who themselves
+deplored their enforced idleness. The disadvantages
+attending these exotic importations have been often
+insisted upon. An old member of the consul staff
+comments upon it in the following practical manner:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+In every country administered by the British Crown, or at
+every Court at which there is a British representative, the
+administrator or envoy has from the moment of his entering on
+the duties of his office the assistance of an experienced staff,
+well versed in the local history and traditions, or finds himself
+in the midst of a society the language and usages of which are
+familiar to him. In China, where we have been fighting and
+negotiating for over fifty years, we are not so fortunate. A
+Minister proceeds there, and on his arrival finds himself in a
+new and to him unknown country, the staff which he may
+bring with him being like himself utterly unacquainted with
+the East and its peoples. The Minister is obliged either to
+grope his way unassisted, or to rely on the aids and advice of
+experienced (but not always disinterested) outsiders. Under
+these circumstances his only wise course is to put himself
+entirely in the hands of the permanent local staff, which, for
+this purpose, means the Chinese Secretary. That officer, the
+real motive force of the Legation, occupies a position of greater
+importance than that of the nominal head of the mission, but,
+with an irony which is not uncommon in Government administration,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_363' name='Page_363'>[363]</a></span>
+he is the least appreciated member of the staff. His
+salary is that of the junior ranks in the consular service, and
+yet it is to him that the seniors in that service look for instructions
+which he is incompetent to give them: the result may be
+imagined. Why should these things be? The Indian Government
+has in its service many men of brilliant attainments, and
+of knowledge gained in long years of service in the East, who
+might be called upon to fill the post of Minister which would
+be suitable and congenial to them. And there is an abundance
+of choice of junior Legation officers in the well-trained consular
+service. Would it not be very advantageous if the working
+hands in the Legation were chosen from the most competent
+Chinese scholars in the consular service?
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Considering their initial qualifications, their social
+standing, and their great opportunities, it must be admitted
+that the men of distinction who have emerged
+from the consular service during the last fifty years
+seems disproportionately small. It is perhaps invidious
+to mention names in this connection, but in
+response to inquiries addressed to veterans in the
+service, four men only are placed in the first rank
+as the best representatives of the consular training
+school. These are Sir Harry Parkes, Mr T. T.
+Meadows, Mr H. N. Lay, and Mr W. F. Mayers.
+Sir Robert Hart, it should be mentioned, left the
+service so early, and Sir Rutherford Alcock joined
+it so late, in life, that their distinguished careers can
+scarcely be claimed as the product of the consular
+nursery.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+It is impossible to look back over the forty years
+which have elapsed since the new relations were
+established in China without being struck by a
+certain change which passed over the character of
+the diplomatic and consular services between the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_364' name='Page_364'>[364]</a></span>
+first decade of that period and the second. The
+anxious years of the rebellion evoked much active
+energy on the part of British officials. The serious
+opposition to the operation of the treaties was met
+by very vigorous action on the part of the consuls
+at the ports and of the Minister at the capital. The
+years 1868 and 1869 may be considered to have
+marked the culminating-point of the British official
+effort to enforce observance of the treaties in letter
+and spirit, and to protect all commercial interests.
+The change which came over the diplomatic and
+consular services at the end of the first decade of
+diplomatic relations may be likened to the rising
+followed by the receding of a tide. Up till the
+years we have specified, whatever the difficulties
+which beset their office, the consuls showed earnestness
+in the defence of the interests confided to them,
+and acted on the conviction that their exertions were
+pleasing to those who were set in authority over
+them. Their sense of duty was sustained by the
+hope of distinction. After 1869 the discovery was
+made that the situation had been undergoing a
+change of which the service had been unaware.
+What was formerly deemed a merit had become a
+demerit in consular officers, and on this discovery
+zeal naturally fell to a discount. It was but a
+reflex of the change that had crept over the spirit
+of the British Foreign Office, a change which also
+had escaped notice until circumstances forced it into
+publicity. This seems to have originated with the
+removal from the scene of Lord Palmerston, the
+statesman who for forty years had stood in a general
+way for what was manly and straightforward in the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_365' name='Page_365'>[365]</a></span>
+British national character. Though he left a tried
+and trusted colleague, Lord Clarendon, in charge of
+the Foreign Office, and a sturdy permanent Under-Secretary,
+perhaps the last custodian of the Palmerstonian
+tradition, and who remained at his post for
+five years longer, yet it was made evident by results
+that the spirit which had animated that great department
+of State had vanished. The Foreign Office
+became nerveless and invertebrate, sentimental and
+unstable. Those who had to do with it in the time
+of Palmerston, Layard, and Hammond know that
+since their time the officials bearing the same titles
+have been of quite another calibre, have been swayed
+by different influences, and above all have exhibited
+no such knowledge of the affairs with which they
+had to deal as their predecessors of the Palmerstonian
+era. Many explanations may be given for
+the new departure without disparagement of the
+capacities of the individuals concerned. Such explanations
+interest those who may desire to promote
+reform in the constitution and the inspiration of the
+Foreign Office. It suffices us merely to note the
+fact by way of accounting for some of the shortcomings
+which have been laid to the charge of our
+representation in China. We have seen how easily
+one Foreign Secretary yielded to the meretricious
+solicitations of the envoy Burlingame, and how another
+allowed himself to be cajoled by the Marquis Tsêng.
+After these, and sundry other such, exhibitions it was
+impossible for any Minister serving the country in the
+Far East to place the old reliance on the support of
+his Government. With John Bright, the implacable
+opponent of Palmerston and his works, installed at the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_366' name='Page_366'>[366]</a></span>
+Board of Trade, whose word was law on such matters
+as Chinese commercial treaties, and apparently more
+anxious to undo the work of Palmerston than to
+promote a trade which both he and his department
+unaffectedly despised, it was not likely that the commercial
+communities trading with China should cherish
+any hope of redress of grievances from a Government
+whose face seemed set against them. Apathy, therefore,
+became the principle, to keep the peace at all
+sacrifices the avowed policy of British diplomacy in
+China. The apparent exception to this rule in the
+attempted reclamations in connection with the Margary
+murder in 1875 afforded in its abortive ending a new
+corroboration of the rule. The diplomatic and consular
+establishments went on grinding out routine despatches
+and publishing statistical reports, but with the tacit
+understanding that whatsoever is more than these
+cometh of evil. Under such conditions it was of little
+consequence how the Peking representation might be
+filled, since it has not for thirty years risen above
+the level of comedy, the term applied to it by
+those who have grown old in its service.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Such was the situation of affairs when the greatest
+crisis in the history of China, or of foreign relations
+with that country, was sprung upon the world in 1894.
+A Legation equal only to clerical routine suddenly called
+upon to play a part in a commotion which unhinged
+the policy of the world was totally inadequate to the
+strain, and as a consequence of the impotence of the
+Foreign Office and its agent in China, the interests of
+Great Britain and, what was only second in importance,
+the interests of the Chinese empire were allowed to go
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_367' name='Page_367'>[367]</a></span>
+by default. The Chinese were, and perhaps even still
+remain, unconscious of the reasons of the collapse of
+their empire. Perhaps something of the same kind
+might be said of the British Foreign Office in regard
+to the interests of Great Britain in China. Certainly
+there is as yet little sign of a determination to reform
+the mechanism of the country's representation, and
+this, perhaps, because the preliminary step thereto
+would be the reform of the Foreign Office itself.
+And so the Legation goes on under the nominal headship
+of a Minister who must be guided entirely by his
+Chinese Secretary, an official of inferior rank and
+position to the body of consuls whom he has to
+control, and for whose authority they can never have
+genuine respect.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The recent upheaval has offered many new opportunities
+of distinction for the consuls, especially in
+the interior of China. That these openings have infused
+new life into the consular ranks has been shown
+in many ways during the last few years; and if natural
+selection be allowed to operate freely and the best
+men be not discouraged in their efforts for their
+country's benefit by undue interferences from Peking,
+where there is neither knowledge nor capacity to
+guide them, it is still possible that the consular service
+may play a valuable part in the reconstruction
+of the foreign relations of China.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_368' name='Page_368'>[368]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">CHINA AND HER RULERS.</span>
+</h2>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Longevity of the State&mdash;Government by prestige&mdash;Necessity of adaptation
+to European ideas&mdash;The Empress-dowager&mdash;Prince Kung&mdash;Wênsiang&mdash;Hu
+Lin-yi&mdash;Tsêng Kwo-fan&mdash;Tso Tsung-tang&mdash;Chang Chih-tung&mdash;Li
+Hung-chang&mdash;His long and consistent career&mdash;Efforts at reorganising
+national forces.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The long continuance of a State more populous than
+any other on record is a phenomenon which to thoughtful
+minds can hardly fail to evoke a feeling akin to
+reverence. De Quincey declared if he met a Chinaman
+he would make obeisance to him, saying, "There goes
+a man 2000 years old." Be the causes of this national
+longevity what they may, the fact should make us
+pause to consider on what foundation does this great
+vital national system rest? The most realistic word-painter
+of China represents the country as a collection
+of villages, each being a unit of self-government,<a name='FA_29' id='FA_29' href='#FN_29' class='fnanchor'>[29]</a> and
+in describing "village life" in minute detail, seems to
+depict the great empire, of which each village is a
+pattern in miniature. Dynasties may come and
+dynasties may go, but the Chinese families, their
+industries and their customs, go on for ever. It is
+remarkable with what ease the people adapt themselves
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_369' name='Page_369'>[369]</a></span>
+to changes in their ruling powers, regardless
+of race or origin; indeed it is a noteworthy fact that
+the rulers have for many centuries been more often
+foreign than native.<a name='FA_30' id='FA_30' href='#FN_30' class='fnanchor'>[30]</a> Foreign, however, not quite in
+the sense in which the word is so easily translated
+"barbarian" by the Chinese, and applied by them to
+the hated Aryans of the West. The rulers of China
+have been of cognate races, more or less imbued with
+the same generic ideas as the Chinese themselves, and
+with tastes akin to theirs. How this succession of
+dynasties, each established by violence, has coexisted
+with the continuity of the grand national idea of the
+emperor being the Son of Heaven can only be explained
+by the very practical character of the race,
+who accept the usurper as divinely appointed from the
+moment he has proved himself successful. What holds,
+and has held together from ancient times, this great
+aggregate of mankind in common usages and ideas
+is naturally a mystery to Occidentals, the cohesive
+principle not being perceptible to them. China occupies
+the unique position of a State resting on moral
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_370' name='Page_370'>[370]</a></span>
+force,<a name='FA_31' id='FA_31' href='#FN_31' class='fnanchor'>[31]</a> a conception almost as alien to the Western
+mind as material progress is to the Eastern, hence
+the proposition is apt to be received with amused
+contempt. Yet a State administered without police,
+and ruled without an army, is a something which
+cannot be explained away. Government by prestige
+is, other things being equal, surely the most economical
+as well as the most humane of all species
+of government; but an obvious consequence is that
+in emergencies the Government is beholden to
+volunteers, and is often driven to enlist the services
+of banditti and other forces proscribed by the law.
+Imperial prestige, which embraces the relations of
+the surrounding tributaries, is but an expansion of
+the authority of the head of the family and of the
+elders of the village, which rests on moral sanction
+only. The first collision, however, with the material
+forces of Christendom proved that in the system of
+the modern world the Chinese principle of government
+was an anachronism, and that moral must succumb
+to physical force. Yet in the midst of the world's
+triumph in the pricking of the great Chinese bubble,
+it had been well to reflect what the kind of bubble
+was that was being pricked. China with her self-contained,
+self-secreted knowledge, could not be expected
+to foresee how the impact of the West was
+likely to affect her ancient polity. She had nothing
+wherewith to compare herself, and no criterion of good
+or evil except her own isolated experience; nor did
+she know aught of human development except what
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_371' name='Page_371'>[371]</a></span>
+was, so to speak, forcibly injected into her, but never
+assimilated. What, then, could she do to be saved
+but to take herself entirely to pieces like a house that
+has to be rebuilt on a new plan, and so fit herself
+for the companionship and competition of the worldly
+Powers, from whose pressure she could by no means
+escape? She had to put away the wisdom of ages,
+the traditions of a civilisation unbroken for thousands
+of years, and convert herself into a mechanical, scientific,
+and military Power. Something more radical
+than reform is involved in such a root-and-branch
+change: it was not improvement but transformation
+that was demanded.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+That some such essential changes are necessary to the
+preservation of the Chinese empire is probably recognised
+by all who interest themselves in the subject&mdash;including
+a large ever-increasing number of the Chinese
+themselves; but the gravity of the revolution may well
+cause misgivings both as to its possibility and its incalculable
+effects. Who among the Chinese rulers is
+sufficient for such things?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is not always possible to locate the nervous centre
+of any Government in the West, whether its form be
+autocratic or representative. With regard to that of
+China we may safely say it is never possible&mdash;at least
+for any foreigner. The attempts which have been from
+time to time made to assign acts of Government to
+the will or influence of certain individuals have in
+general proved in the sequel to have been far from
+hitting the mark. The monarch under whose authority
+the whole machine moves is not necessarily the directing
+will: indeed he is very often little better than a
+puppet. "The eunuchs, concubines, and play-actors,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_372' name='Page_372'>[372]</a></span>
+who constituted the Court of the late Emperor Hsien-fêng,
+the father of the present young emperor, had
+more influence probably in bringing on the war that
+led the Allies to Peking than any of the high officers
+or Ministers," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock in 1871.
+Another writer put it in a more paradoxical form:
+"There is in China something more powerful than
+the Emperor, and that is the Viceroy; more powerful
+than the Viceroy, and that is the Taotai; more powerful
+than the Taotai, and that is the Weiyuen," meaning
+that the power of obstruction, extending through
+every grade of officialdom, is most widely diffused at
+the base. Official responsibility and moral responsibility
+do not therefore coincide&mdash;men in highest positions
+being unable to do the things they would, while
+the things they would not they are often obliged to
+do. The Government is consequently carried on by
+continual compromise beyond the limits to which we
+are accustomed in Western Governments, because it is
+not confronted with outspoken opposition with which it
+can reason, but with a network of secret machinations
+which can only be met by correlative tactics. But
+though Government in China may seem by this state
+of things to be reduced to an almost passive condition,
+yet the individuality of statesmen is not altogether
+destroyed. In some respects, indeed, the circumstances
+we have noted rather favour the influence of men of
+mark; for where the complicated machine is held in
+a state of equilibrium by innumerable neutralising
+checks, it would appear that any determined will
+could set it in motion in a given direction. The
+character of Chinese statesmen, therefore, is not a
+factor to be ignored in considering either the present
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_373' name='Page_373'>[373]</a></span>
+or the future of China, although the very partial
+knowledge of them which is accessible to Europeans
+must constantly lead to erroneous conclusions.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Of the statesmen who have appeared since the
+opening of Peking in 1860, it would probably be fair
+to consider the two emperors as negligible quantities.
+The potent personage in the empire during that period
+is no doubt the Empress-dowager, who has, in so far
+as any one can be said to have done so, ruled China
+for forty years. Apart from ethical considerations,
+which have less to do with matters of government
+than could be wished, the empress's characteristics are
+clearness of purpose, strength of will, a ready accommodation
+of means to ends, and frank acceptance of
+the inevitable. There are no signs of the bigot or
+the doctrinaire about her. Mundane in her objects,
+she is practical in seeking them; and if to hold an
+entirely anomalous position of authority opposed to
+legitimacy and the traditions of the dynasty and the
+empire be evidence of success, then the empress-dowager
+must be admitted to be a successful woman. In the
+position she has occupied, and still occupies, she would
+appear to be the principal force in the State. Whatever
+may be her power of initiative, which is so
+attenuated in the high State functionaries, her power
+of veto probably stands pre-eminent.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The anomalous relations which have subsisted between
+the empress-dowager and her imperial nephew
+are too intricate for us to attempt to unravel them.
+But the facts resulting from them, which are patent
+to the world, point to conditions which are not without
+danger to the empire. Indeed the Emperor himself
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_374' name='Page_374'>[374]</a></span>
+constituted such a danger from the moment when
+as an infant he was placed on the Dragon Throne by
+usurped authority. His personal imperfections added
+materially to that danger, and his final efforts to free
+himself from the leading-strings of his patroness have
+indefinitely enhanced the evil by destroying the personal
+prestige of the sovereign. For what can be
+thought of a Son of Heaven who has his prerogatives
+doled out to him and again withdrawn by the will
+of another, and where is the force to meet the crisis
+in the State which may yet result from the illegitimacy
+of the emperors succession? The worship
+accorded throughout the empire to the Son of Heaven
+may indeed be transferred unimpaired to a new possessor
+of that dignity. But a reigning emperor shorn
+of his governing faculty must, one would think, put
+the allegiance of the people to a severe strain. How
+far such considerations may go in weakening the ties
+of loyalty in the provinces and in letting loose the
+spectre of rebellion cannot be known, but it may be
+guessed and feared.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Leaving out the Camarilla of the Court, of whom
+nothing certain can be predicated, the executive
+statesmen who have to outward appearance directed
+the public affairs of the Chinese empire for forty years
+may almost be counted on the fingers of one hand.
+Prince Kung, the highest in station and nearest to the
+throne, was rather a moderating than an active force
+in the State, and his attention was very much divided
+between public affairs and those of more personal concern.
+His colleague, Wênsiang, was a more energetic
+character. By common consent he was the most
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_375' name='Page_375'>[375]</a></span>
+conscientious as well as the most liberal-minded
+statesman that China has produced during the sixty
+years of foreign intercourse. Mr Adkins, who knew
+him intimately in the early days, says: "He was courteous
+in manner and a lively conversationalist. He once
+told me over the teacups that, if he could have his
+will, every brick and stone of Hongkong city should
+be torn down and thrown into the sea." This was
+not the kind of language he held at a later period;
+for, in a private interview with Sir Rutherford
+Alcock in 1869, while admitting the hostility of his
+class and that he himself had originally shared all
+their prejudices, he declared that his long and intimate
+relations with the foreign Legations had opened
+his eyes to the favourable side of the foreign character
+and progressive policy. Perhaps the best
+account of this Manchu statesman is that given by
+Sir Rutherford Alcock himself in an article in
+'Fraser's Magazine,' 1871:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+Wênsiang is by far the most distinguished, both from his
+superior knowledge and his intellectual grasp of the position
+occupied by China in its relations with foreign States.... As
+a member of the Grand Secretariat, and vested with other high
+functions, his influence is very great, both personal and official&mdash;subject,
+nevertheless, to such attenuation as the active hostility
+of a very powerful party of anti-foreign functionaries within
+and without the palace can effect. This party, if party that can
+properly be called which is composed of nearly the whole of the
+educated classes of the empire&mdash;officials, literati, and gentry&mdash;are
+unceasing in their opposition to all progressive measures,
+whether emanating from the Foreign Board or elsewhere. But
+Wênsiang is held in especial hatred as the known advocate of
+a policy of progressive improvement with foreign aid and appliances.
+The failure of the Lay-Osborn fleet very nearly
+effected his ruin, and that of his patron the prince [Kung] also,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_376' name='Page_376'>[376]</a></span>
+and has ever since told against his influence. The cost and
+humiliation of that most disastrous experiment were all visited
+on his head, and it has no doubt tended not solely to impair his
+power, but also to render him more timid and less disposed to
+make any further venture in the same direction. He has the
+reputation among his own people of being honest, and foreigners
+know him to be patriotic and earnest in what he believes to be
+for the good of his country, while far in advance of all his contemporaries
+in enlightened views as to how in the actual situation
+of affairs that end may best be served. Upon occasions he
+can be both bitter and sarcastic, and speaks out his mind plainly
+enough against the pretensions of foreigners to shape everything
+to their own ends in China. He nevertheless gets little credit
+from the opposite faction for patriotism or a disinterested love
+of his country, and of late there has been remarked, with failing
+health, an expression of weariness, as if he were losing heart
+and hope, and began to feel unequal to any further struggle.
+With the ever-increasing demands for better execution of
+treaties&mdash;in things often materially and legally impossible in
+the present state of affairs, for larger facilities and increased
+privileges on the foreign side, and the gathering of hostile
+elements in front and all round him proceeding from the
+Chinese national party, who would refuse everything, and, if
+left to themselves, precipitate the country into another war
+with the Western Powers, he may well feel weary.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Wênsiang, in short, suffered the fate of those who are
+too liberal and too far advanced for their surroundings,
+and became a martyr to his own disappointment.
+Old before his time, and overwhelmed with
+difficulties which he was unable to surmount, his
+mind became depressed, and his death in 1876 cost
+China the ablest, the best, and most devoted of
+her public men. No doubt there have been good
+and well-meaning men since his time, both in the
+Tsungli-Yamên, the Great Council, and in the provincial
+governments; but none of them has shown
+any quality of leadership, and all have for the most
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_377' name='Page_377'>[377]</a></span>
+part been content with the maxim, "Sufficient for
+the day is the evil thereof."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The comparatively early death of Hu Lin-yi, a
+Hunanese, Governor of the province of Hupei, who,
+in conjunction with Kuanwen, the Governor-General
+of the Hu provinces, originated the scheme
+for repressing the Taiping rebellion, prevented him
+from receiving the credit of that notable achievement.
+The institutions of the country paralysed
+its defence, for a provincial army was an object of
+dread to the Manchu rulers, while they possessed no
+imperial organisation to cope with the calamity.
+No attempt, therefore, could be made to organise
+a force to resist the rebellion, and so the devastation
+was allowed to spread from province to province
+without check. Hu Lin-yi set himself to
+overcome this difficulty, and thought out a scheme
+by which the rebellion might be overcome. Before
+taking any action, however, it was necessary that he
+should bring the Peking Government to his views,
+which he accomplished by first converting the Governor-General,
+who was a Manchu. The two thereupon
+joined in a memorial to the throne, praying
+that they might be permitted to raise in the
+Central Provinces a mobile military force to repel
+the invasion of the insurgents.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The nucleus of this force already existed in the
+province of Hunan, where volunteer levies under the
+leadership of Tsêng Kwo-fan, the father of the late
+Marquis Tsêng, Minister to Great Britain, had done
+good service in several small engagements with the
+rebels. The execution of the general scheme of defence
+against the rebels fell naturally, therefore, to the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_378' name='Page_378'>[378]</a></span>
+lot of Tsêng, who during his subsequent governor-generalship
+of the Lower Yangtze had the honour
+of putting an end to the ravages of the Taipings.
+No man was held in higher esteem among the counsellors
+of the Chinese empire than this sagacious
+statesman. At once moderate and resolute, he perceived
+the need of accommodation to the exigencies
+of the new time, and though he would have resisted
+the ingress of foreigners to the uttermost, he had
+the wisdom to see that this was no longer possible,
+and the advice tendered to his sovereign, while
+tempered to the susceptibilities of the Court, was
+distinctly in favour of respecting the treaties and
+avoiding conflict with foreign nations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A contemporary of Tsêng Kwo-fan, and his equal
+in rank and authority, was Tso Tsung-tang, best
+known as the Conqueror of Kashgar, where he was
+credited with military exploits which history will
+scarcely ratify. He was a thoroughgoing man, blunt
+in manner, but straightforward, and loyal to his
+engagements. He was somewhat rash and uncompromising,
+seeking the end sometimes without considering
+the means, and his opinion on matters of
+State would have carried no weight but for his
+reputation for exemption from the prevailing vice of
+his class&mdash;financial corruption. This character obtained
+him toleration for many originalities. On one
+occasion he camped outside the walls of Peking for
+several days because he refused to pay the customary
+exactions of the officials in charge of the gates, so that
+his audience of the emperor seemed likely to be indefinitely
+postponed. But high officials in China of
+austere views have usually a man of business in attendance
+who oils the wheels while saving the face of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_379' name='Page_379'>[379]</a></span>
+their master. Tso's money matters were in the hands
+of a very politic gentleman of this class, and so the
+Grand Secretary's entry into the city was duly arranged.
+Tso had a lofty idea of the dignity of his country, and
+of the necessity for its defending itself against all
+enemies. To this end he threw his energies into the
+development of the arsenal and shipbuilding-yard at
+the Pagoda anchorage in the Foochow river. He was
+generally considered an opponent of his younger contemporary,
+Li Hung-chang, the one being held to
+stand for the old conservatism of China, and the other
+for its liberalisation. They were for many years the two
+chief provincials, the one being Imperial Commissioner
+for the southern and the other for the northern ports
+of China. It was customary for the emperor to refer
+important questions connected with foreign affairs to
+these two advisers, whose opinions must very often
+have neutralised each other. In the end Tso recognised
+the necessity for a change of policy for the preservation
+of the empire, but being himself too old to change
+he recommended his rival, Li Hung-chang, to the
+Throne as the fitting man to introduce needed innovations.
+If the records are to be implicitly trusted
+Tso would appear to have undergone a sort of death-bed
+repentance, for in his political testament, a document
+which is regarded with a kind of sacred authority
+in China, he recommended to the throne the
+improvements he had steadfastly opposed, including
+even the introduction of railways into the country.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although out of the chronological order, we may
+mention here another eminent official, distinguished by
+many of the characteristics of Tso Tsung-tang, who has
+been Governor of the province of Shansi, Governor-General
+of the Canton provinces, and is now Governor-General
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_380' name='Page_380'>[380]</a></span>
+of the central provinces. Wherever he has
+been, Chang Chih-tung has proved himself bold and
+original. His open mind has led him to take up
+schemes warmly without counting the cost, and under
+his inspiration immense sums have been spent in
+both his viceroyalties for which but little return was
+obtained, and of which indeed it was scarcely possible
+to render a clear account. His reputation for purity,
+however, has saved him from the consequences of his
+recklessness, both in the eyes of the people and of the
+Government, and enabled him to hold office long
+enough to show some results of his expensive enterprises.
+The great ironworks which he set up in
+Hanyang, with very little consideration as to how they
+were to become effective, have at last produced iron of
+a quality sufficient to make inferior rails, thus giving
+an earnest of the ultimate realisation of his dream of
+rendering China independent of foreign countries.
+Chang's literary power is of a very high order, his
+style is terse and incisive, and this is a weapon which
+renders him formidable in a country which cultivates
+literature as a religion. To say that Chang Chih-tung
+is the opponent of foreigners is merely to credit
+him with the ordinary patriotism of his countrymen.
+But though he often treats strangers with the studied
+discourtesy which characterised the older generation of
+Chinese officials, he has never allowed his prejudices to
+stand in the way of free intercourse with any foreigner
+whom he thought he could make subservient to some
+purpose of his own. As a statesman Chang Chih-tung
+has failed through intensity and want of comprehensiveness.
+In fact he is not a statesman, but a
+sciolist, and a trenchant essayist, unaccustomed to
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_381' name='Page_381'>[381]</a></span>
+accommodate his ideas to the circumstances of actual
+life. He, too, has been a bitter opponent of Li Hung-chang,
+which, however, did not hinder him from composing
+a most fulsome panegyric on that statesman
+on the occasion of his seventieth birthday, in which
+he was credited with all the attributes of all the
+heroes of Chinese mythology. The many fantastic
+schemes which Chang has originated would in any
+Western country have relegated their author to the
+custody of the Commissioners of Lunacy. One of these
+was to prevent foreign ships entering the Gulf of
+Pecheli by sinking tiers of junks between Shantung
+and Talien-wan; another was to catch the Japanese
+soldiers in a gigantic locust-trap, consisting of a deep
+trench to be dug at their supposed landing-place near
+Shanhai-kwan, and the fact of this proposal being
+seriously adopted and some miles of the trench actually
+dug by the Chinese soldiers reveals more of the
+military impotence of China than the most voluminous
+dissertations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Without carrying the exhaustive process further, it
+is safe to say that whatever concrete statesmanship
+there has been in China during the past generation has
+been embodied in the person of Li Hung-chang. He
+alone has a continuous record, has followed a definite
+line, and kept his ideals, like a captive balloon, strictly
+attached to the earth on which he had to work. He
+also was a literate of distinction, having taken the
+highest degree, that of the Hanlin College. But
+though his literary tastes have not been left wholly
+uncultivated, they have never intruded themselves into
+his conduct of affairs, so that an estimate of his position
+cannot be based upon his writings, but only on his
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_382' name='Page_382'>[382]</a></span>
+actions. He indulged in no speculations, propounded
+no theories, but was eminently a man of fact. Contrary
+to all Chinese tradition he laid himself out for
+personal intercourse with foreigners, from whom he was
+never weary of learning, and in doing so he braved the
+odium of his peers, and incurred the charge of treason
+as a truckler to barbarians. Living in the eyes of the
+world, both of his own and foreign countries, for a
+period of nearly forty years, he has been the one
+familiar figure in modern China. His accessibility has
+afforded to travellers and visitors endless opportunities
+of delineation, so that if ever a Chinese of rank was
+known throughout the world it must be Li Hung-chang.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The interest attaching to this statesman consists in
+his having in his own person, and without a party,
+stood between the Old World and the New, having
+devoted his life to working out in practice a <i>modus
+vivendi</i> between them. His methods have been wholly
+empirical and opportunist, and hence no synthesis of his
+plan of operations is available, except such as we may
+compose out of the facts themselves. A few cardinal
+principles, nevertheless, stand out clearly in the life-work
+of this statesman. One is that of reorganising
+the defensive forces of the empire in accordance with
+the lessons learned from foreign raids; a second has
+been so to observe the treaties made with foreigners
+as to afford them no ground for complaint; and a
+third, when causes of difference arose, whether by
+inadvertence or by design, to agree with the adversary
+quickly. The following out of the first two
+might very well have entailed upon Li the reproach
+of favouring foreigners; the following out of the third
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_383' name='Page_383'>[383]</a></span>
+may with greater justice have earned for him the
+character of a peace-at-any-price man. So consistently
+did he follow the line of action dictated by these principles,
+that no attacks on foreigners or on Christian
+missions have ever been tolerated within his jurisdiction.
+During the twenty-four years of his governor-generalship
+of Chihli, whose population is one of the
+most turbulent in the empire, there was not a single
+missionary outrage, his instructions to his district
+officials being peremptory, that, right or wrong, they
+must have no questions with foreigners. Had the
+other viceroys been similarly minded and equally
+resolute, no attacks on missionaries would have been
+recorded throughout the Chinese Empire. Though
+Li Hung-chang was as much anti-foreign at heart
+as every true Chinaman must be, he endeavoured,
+crudely following the example of the Japanese, to employ
+foreign men and appliances in order the more effectually
+to resist them. His pacific tendencies were no
+proof of pusillanimity, but rather of a deep consciousness,
+derived from personal experience, of the incapacity
+of China to resist foreign attack. Li Hung-chang's
+external policy, therefore, may be defined as the
+strengthening of the country to meet invasion, and
+the avoidance, while such preparations were being
+made, of every cause of collision with foreigners.
+These cardinal points had to be kept in view, like guiding
+stars, amid the exigencies of daily affairs, which
+alone were sufficient to fill up the measure of one
+man's capacity. The administration of two populous
+provinces, the superintendency of the maritime trade of
+half the empire, and incessant consultations concerning
+imperial affairs generally, constituted a burden which
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_384' name='Page_384'>[384]</a></span>
+no one man could bear. While to these were added
+the whole details of national defence, naval and military
+reorganisation, the construction of a navy on
+foreign lines, the whole of which was undertaken by Li
+Hung-chang, working not only without a party but
+practically without a staff, and at the mercy of technical
+advisers who owed him no allegiance. The briefest
+recapitulation of the duties so undertaken would be
+enough to stagger the credulity of the most active
+administrator of the West; the recital would suffice,
+without any proof from experience, to show that these
+labours of Hercules could never, in fact, be performed.
+But the difference between performance and non-performance
+marks the chasm which divides the Chinese
+from the Western world, and distinguishes the order of
+ideas and practice which make for the preservation,
+from those which tend to the disintegration, of the
+Chinese empire itself. The task from which the mass
+of Chinese statesmen have recoiled, and which has only
+been attempted in a persistent manner by Li Hung-chang
+himself, was probably beyond the power of any
+man and of any party.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+But here the inquiry suggests itself, why a strong-headed
+and practical-minded man should have devoted
+a lifetime to impossible achievements, and why
+in a nation of great intellects the task should have
+been virtually relegated to one man? The Chinese
+are not fools; their mental capacity is second to that
+of no other race. Their culture is excessive, though
+narrow; and if we find them exhibiting in great
+national affairs no more intelligence than that shown
+by children in building castles of sand, it is natural
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_385' name='Page_385'>[385]</a></span>
+to conclude that there is some fundamental misconception
+either on their part or on ours of the
+problem before them. But if we consider the Chinese
+as belonging to the world of moral force, then their
+misconception of all that belongs to the world of
+physical force is not only explicable, but it is inevitable;
+for between the two there is no common
+ground on which even a compromise might be effected,
+and the one must eternally misunderstand the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The burden of the memorials of the Chinese high
+functionaries on this subject have been that the
+Middle Kingdom being overcome by the brute force
+of the rebellious barbarians, the obvious way to restore
+the lapsed authority of the empire was to
+acquire the instruments of foreign strength. This
+they diligently set themselves to do, but apparently
+without the slightest comprehension of the secret of
+the strength of the foreigners. The Chinese being
+what they were, could no more win the secret of the
+Western power by buying its weapons than a musical
+tyro could hope to rival the greatest artistes by possessing
+himself of a Stradivarius. Guns, ships, explosives
+of the latest type, are worse than dummies without
+the organised human force that gives them life. The
+element which would have infused vitality into the new
+organisation was the one thing beyond their imagination,
+and so far as they did comprehend it, it
+inspired them with aversion and awe, for it meant
+in their eyes delivering the keys of power into the
+hands of strangers. What was needed to regenerate
+the army, to create a navy, to reform the finances,
+was the liberal importation of men. This necessity
+was no doubt partially perceived by Li Hung-chang
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_386' name='Page_386'>[386]</a></span>
+and his like, but never entirely even by him; for
+he remained throughout the one-eyed man among
+the blind, groping after something which he could
+only guess at. Teachers from Europe and America
+were employed in the country, and natives were
+sent to foreign countries to be instructed; but the
+spirit of the new instruction was never allowed to
+vitalise the organisation, and consequently all the
+knowledge that was acquired by both methods remained
+barren and unfruitful. Thus Li Hung-chang's
+efforts fell short of their object, and China
+continued to be the land of moral force for the
+iron-shod physical forces to trample on.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From the earliest period of his career Li Hung-chang
+stood out far in advance of his fellows, and
+in all the troubles which have beset the empire
+during his time, it is he who has been thrust into
+the breach and made to bear the brunt of its misfortunes.
+Being the only man who did anything, he
+was naturally made responsible for all, and critics,
+both foreign and native, have had an easy task in
+laying bare his failures, which his contemporaries
+have escaped by confining themselves to official routine
+and playing for their own safety. Though the
+burden of the State has fallen upon the shoulders
+of Li Hung-chang more than upon any other individual,
+he has never flinched from the responsibility.
+The occurrences of 1894 and subsequently
+threw him into greater prominence than ever before.
+Forced to carry on the war with Japan, during
+which the defences of the empire for which he was
+responsible completely broke down, he was next also
+forced to make peace with that Power on very
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_387' name='Page_387'>[387]</a></span>
+humiliating conditions. Seldom was a more pathetic
+scene witnessed than the virtual controller of the
+Chinese empire lying at the feet of a victorious
+enemy in a foreign country, with the bullet of an
+assassin in his cheek. More tragic still was his
+return to the capital with the treaty of Shimonoseki.
+An intense feeling against Li had been roused
+throughout the country. The provincial officials with
+singular unanimity denounced his treachery as they
+considered it, for the treaty was in their eyes no less
+disgraceful than the conduct of the war, for both of
+which Li alone was deemed responsible. The sentiment
+of the provinces was echoed in Peking, where
+his enemies in high places had almost secured the
+capital punishment of the negotiator, and failing that,
+his assassination, from which fate he was only saved
+by the veto of Prince Kung and the subsequent protection
+of the empress-dowager. He was also in an
+important sense under the protection of Russia, that
+Power having undertaken to hold him harmless from
+the consequences of his surrender to the Japanese.
+In order to take him out of the way of the conspiracies
+in Peking, Russia requested that an Imperial prince
+might be sent to the coronation ceremony in 1896.
+That being impossible by the laws of the empire,
+which Russia very well knew, a substitute of the
+highest rank had to be found, and thus Li Hung-chang
+was designated, by the approval of the empress-dowager
+and by the consent&mdash;reluctant it is believed&mdash;of
+the Emperor, for the mission of congratulation to
+the Czar. After the festivities at Moscow, Li made
+the tour of Europe and the United States, meeting
+everywhere with a distinguished reception.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_388' name='Page_388'>[388]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XXX.
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">CHINA'S AWAKENING.</span>
+</h2>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Prestige gained, 1880-90&mdash;Yields to Japan in Korea while reasserting full
+suzerainty&mdash;The lessons of adversity&mdash;Schemes for naval and military
+reforms&mdash;Purchase and manufacture&mdash;Provincial system antagonistic
+to reform&mdash;Li Hung-Chang's efforts&mdash;Faithful service of foreign
+experts&mdash;Drill-instructors&mdash;Creation of a navy&mdash;Coast fortification&mdash;Superior
+efficiency of navy compared with army&mdash;Corruption and
+nepotism&mdash;Awakening of China apparent, not real.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+The service of the navy in the conveyance of troops and
+of a special envoy to Korea in 1882 was the first which
+that luckless force was able to render to China. The
+service was repeated on two other occasions: when a
+High Commissioner was sent on a mission of imperial
+condolence in 1890, and again when an assassin was
+rescued from the revenge of counter-assassins and conveyed
+safely from China to Korea in 1894. The little
+kingdom thus played a considerable part in the awakening
+scenes of the suzerain empire.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On a retrospective view, indeed, it would appear that
+during the period in question China passed the culminating-point
+in her efforts to regain national prestige.
+She had just asserted herself in an unexpected manner
+in her dealings with Russia, playing a very different
+part in regard to her distant and worthless possessions
+in the north-west from what she had done twenty years
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_389' name='Page_389'>[389]</a></span>
+before in regard to the integral part of her proper
+territories in the north-east, which she had surrendered
+with scarcely a protest. The world began to respect
+China as a power. Her decisive action in Korea
+showed that she was no longer disposed to permit her
+neighbours to trifle with the question of her suzerainty
+in that kingdom, and for ten years she was pre-eminent
+there in fact as well as of right. Yet with a significant
+qualification. For, being challenged by Japan while at
+war with France in 1885, she was unable to vindicate
+her sole supremacy in Korea, and was constrained to
+admit her rival into partnership. Thus was the first
+irrevocable step taken towards the future realisation of
+the Japanese designs on the peninsula. A <i>condominium</i>
+must ever be destructive to the policy of the less energetic
+member, and the treaty concluded between Li
+Hung-chang and Count Ito in 1885 was the fatal prelude
+to the events of ten years later. As the treaties
+granting to Russia a coequal right of navigating the
+Amur and a joint ownership of the Usuri province
+constituted the virtual surrender of Chinese rights, so
+any treaty with Japan, no matter on what conditions,
+respecting Korea, was a virtual abdication of the Chinese
+suzerainty. The right in common to send troops into
+Korea on notice given could have no other effect than
+to deliver up the kingdom to the Power which was the
+most alert in taking advantage of the agreement. In
+giving up half her rights China retreated from an
+inexpugnable position, and left herself no footing for
+defending the remaining half, when its turn came to
+be assailed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But with the irony which is the very pathos of
+human and national decline, the outward pretence to
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_390' name='Page_390'>[390]</a></span>
+authority became more demonstrative as the substance
+of the claim slipped away. Not for two hundred and
+fifty years had China asserted her prerogative with
+such uncompromising arrogance as when she sent an
+imperial mission of condolence to the royal Court in
+1890, years after the keystone of her Korean arch had
+been pulled away. It was also about this period that
+the Chinese Minister to England lent his name to a
+manifesto warning the world of the coming resurrection
+of China. "The sleep and the awakening" strictly
+followed the law above alluded to, that hollowness, not
+solidity, makes the loudest sound.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But so many interests are now inextricably interwoven
+with the destinies of China that her effort at
+reform and its failure compel us to give attention to
+the opening of a new chapter in the world's history.
+The humiliating foreign invasions, the three rebellions
+that shook the empire, and the numerous minor
+risings, had all left their impression. The lessons
+taught by these adversities had been taken to heart,
+and the rulers of the empire were called upon to devise
+a remedy. The first and most obvious desideratum
+was, of course, naval and military reform, or rather
+regeneration, whereby they might be strengthened to
+speak with their enemies in the gates. On this subject
+Chinese statesmen were absolutely at one with their
+officious foreign advisers: it was a subject which inspired
+many of the early homilies of the British
+Minister, if no others. There was, however, this
+essential difference in the conception of the means of
+carrying out the reform, that the foreign advisers of
+China were completely prepossessed by the notion that
+an imperial executive, if it did not exist, must be
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_391' name='Page_391'>[391]</a></span>
+promptly created, while nothing was further from
+the imagination of the Chinese. They were entirely
+prepossessed by their tradition and the state of
+things actually existing, which they did not dream
+of changing. That was the provincial system on
+which the administration of the empire rested. The
+fiasco of the Lay-Osborn flotilla, which was the
+first crude attempt to mix the oil and vinegar of
+the two conflicting systems, revealed the fundamental,
+irreconcilable divergence between the two sets of
+ideas, which rendered all advice from the one side to
+the other futile, and co-operation impossible. That
+palpable failure of the Central Government was calculated
+to discourage fresh innovations from the same
+quarter, and the incident was constantly referred to by
+diplomatists as having blighted the promising career
+of Wênsiang as a reformer, he being the minister personally
+responsible for the scheme.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Chinese, nevertheless, proceeded according to
+their own lights to set their house in order in so far as
+its defensive services were concerned. The successful
+employment of foreign arms and foreign auxiliaries in
+the suppression of the Taiping rebellion showed them
+the way. It was a natural but a fatal error, which the
+Chinese have not to this day abjured, to attach too
+much importance to the arms, and too little to the man
+using them. They accordingly commenced in a rather
+wild and wayward manner to buy weapons and munitions,
+and then to set up in their own country the
+means of manufacturing the simpler kinds. The chief
+promoter, if not the originator, of these novelties was
+Li Hung-chang, who continued to be the presiding
+genius of military and naval reform, no matter in what
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_392' name='Page_392'>[392]</a></span>
+province his official duties happened to lie. The personal
+authority wielded by the Grand Secretary in provinces
+beyond his own government was really a step
+towards centralisation of the executive, and with time
+and an adequate succession of followers in the same
+path there is no telling what changes in the Government
+system might not have been evolved from such a
+nucleus. But the one-man power was unequal to any
+great result; it also weakened with age, opposition,
+and discouragement. The actual reforms inaugurated
+remained strictly provincial, and even local. There
+was no evidence of initiative or supervision from the
+Central Government. The nearest approach to it was
+the establishment of an arsenal at Tientsin by Chunghou,
+the first superintendent of trade for the northern
+ports, and a member of the imperial clan. It would
+almost appear as if the Government had no concern
+with the more distant parts of the country, and the
+strange anomaly presented itself to the onlookers
+of large sums being expended on the most modern
+artillery and in the manufacture of thousands of arms
+of precision while the Peking field force was equipped
+with bows and arrows.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There came a time at last when the necessity of
+some kind of centralisation was forced on the Government.
+It was after Prince Kung had been sent into
+retirement in 1884, when his younger brother, the
+father of the emperor, had decided to "come out" and
+take a part in the executive government, and especially
+after Prince Ch'un had made a short cruise in salt
+water in 1886, that a Naval Board was established in
+Peking itself with the prince at its head. The institution
+was of course laughed at, as the beginnings of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_393' name='Page_393'>[393]</a></span>
+things usually are, and its inefficiency was indeed
+glaring enough. It would have taken a generation in
+slow-moving China for such a board to have learned
+the rudiments of its duties.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+What we are at the moment concerned with is the
+naval and military reform of the twenty-five years
+preceding the advent of Prince Ch'un to power. In
+the purchase of war material no single system was
+followed. The provincial rulers at Canton, Foochow,
+Nanking, and Tientsin no doubt had to sanction what
+was done within their respective provinces&mdash;a check
+which might be perfunctory or conscientious&mdash;but
+practically the management was in the hands of
+subordinate officials without knowledge or training or
+visible responsibility. As in war each Chinese regiment
+fights for its own hand, or runs away as the case
+may be, so in the supply of arms each local official did
+pretty much what seemed right in his own eyes.
+Hence the heterogeneous composition of <i>matériel</i>, one
+small body of troops carrying in a campaign thirteen
+different patterns of rifle, with ammunition still more
+curiously diversified.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Concerning the arsenals established under the
+auspices of the various governors-general from Canton
+even to Kirin in Manchuria, and under the technical
+management of foreigners, the most remarkable point
+to be noted&mdash;and it applies generally to the employment
+of foreigners in China&mdash;is the faithful service the
+Chinese have been able to command in circumstances
+where it was hardly to be expected. An ignorant
+employer and an expert employee is a combination apt
+to engender the worst abuses, and the way the Chinese
+selected their foreign executive&mdash;a marine engineer
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_394' name='Page_394'>[394]</a></span>
+here, a surgeon of a marching regiment there, a naval
+lieutenant somewhere else&mdash;was not the way, one would
+have thought, to obtain either honesty or efficiency.
+Yet the foreigners selected either possessed or acquired
+adequate qualifications, and one and all rendered
+devoted service to their employers. The position of
+these foreigners, however, never was or could be one
+of authority: whatever they did was under the orders
+of their Chinese superior, who was often too ignorant
+to weigh the reasons for what was done. In course of
+time the natives themselves became more instructed,
+but whether their half-knowledge was a help or a
+hindrance to the work of their foreign experts is
+problematical. Of the quality or quantity of the
+<i>matériel</i> turned out in the various Chinese arsenals it
+were useless to speak. It produced an illusory sense
+of security, and for a time imposed equally on native
+and foreigner.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nor was training entirely neglected. Drill-masters
+were engaged. Schools were established in connection
+with the arsenals, where naval instruction especially
+was carried to a high standard. Students sent to
+Europe proved themselves most apt to assimilate the
+instruction given to them. Of those who distinguished
+themselves at Greenwich may be mentioned
+the present Minister to the Court of St James's.
+Cadets were also received into the British navy, and
+some very expert officers were turned out by these
+means. A large number of youths were at one time
+selected to be educated in the United States, remaining
+there long enough to learn to read and write
+English, and to become enamoured of Western life.
+This educational experiment was interesting in many
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_395' name='Page_395'>[395]</a></span>
+ways. The youths who were sent to America under
+the care and at the instigation of the Cantonese,
+Yung Wing, who had himself been educated in the
+United States, were domiciled for the most part with
+private families there; and they so imbibed the influence
+of their surroundings that a high sense of
+honour was developed in them. The writer can speak
+from personal experience of the fidelity and efficiency
+of some of these students. Captain Clayson, who had
+several serving under him in the "Peiyang Squadron,"
+has said that although on their return to China the
+authorities had distributed them in services other than
+those for which they had been trained, yet because of
+the school discipline they had been subjected to, and
+the sense of honour developed by their contact with
+Western people, he found them far more useful and
+trustworthy than the men who had been trained in
+Chinese naval schools. This experience seems to suggest
+that there are good moral qualities of the Chinese
+waiting, like the mineral ores in their country, for an
+awakening influence. In all these progressive efforts
+Li Hung-chang retained the lead, and his own
+province was well in advance in educational enterprises.
+Besides a military school with German, and
+a naval school with English, instructors, he set up
+within a mile of his Yamên a fairly furnished medical
+school with a hospital attached. His special corps
+of foreign-drilled troops was the best equipped and
+best disciplined force in the empire.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While all this progress was being made in the direction
+of military efficiency, the naval requirements of the
+country were not neglected. The failure of the undigested
+Lay-Osborn scheme showed the Chinese that
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_396' name='Page_396'>[396]</a></span>
+the naval problem must be attacked in a different
+fashion. It was a false start, and they must begin
+again. Accordingly, profiting by what they had heard
+and seen of the efficient service rendered in their narrow
+waters by foreign gunboats, the Chinese Government
+contracted with the Armstrong firm for a small
+flotilla carrying one heavy gun with a wide range of
+fire. These craft were little more than floating gun-carriages;
+but notwithstanding broad beam and flat
+bottoms, they were moderately sea-worthy. They
+were known as the Alphabeticals, from being named
+after the Greek letters. This modest flotilla was the
+nucleus of the Chinese navy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Attempts at naval construction were made at Shanghai,
+Foochow, and Canton; but beyond providing work
+and training for native artificers, and acting occasionally
+as transports on a small scale, despatch-carriers,
+and official yachts, the vessels turned out
+from native yards rendered no service to the country.
+The Chinese navy as a potential military arm only took
+shape when Li Hung-chang was able to carry the
+Government with him so far as to purchase effective
+war-ships in Europe, to institute a system of training
+under competent foreign officers, and to establish naval
+harbours with docks and workshops. Two iron-clad
+battleships, a respectable squadron of cruisers, and
+some smaller craft, manned by trained crews and
+officered by men who had received a regular naval
+education and perfectly understood their duties, constituted
+the fighting navy of China. The two English
+officers who supervised the training, Captain Tracy at
+Foochow and Captain Lang in the Gulf of Pechili, were
+thoroughly satisfied with the capacity of both officers
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_397' name='Page_397'>[397]</a></span>
+and men, and what was distinguished as the Peiyang or
+Northern Squadron was brought up by the latter officer
+to such a state of efficiency that he reckoned that a
+further two years' drill would enable the Chinese to
+take its place, on a small scale, among the best equipped
+fleets in the world.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And while the navy was developing so satisfactorily,
+coast fortifications also made great progress. The
+mouths of rivers were all defended by the best modern
+guns; three naval ports in the Gulf of Pechili&mdash;Port
+Arthur, Weihai-wei, and Talien-wan&mdash;were fortified at
+great expense, and everything externally evinced a
+determination on the part of China to place herself in
+a position of independence, delivered from the fear of
+foreign attack, except of course by land, and even that
+had been partially provided for, as we have seen, by
+the military establishments in Manchuria.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Between the naval and the military preparations,
+however, there was an immense disparity. The force
+for which Li Hung-chang was personally responsible
+was carefully drilled, armed, fed, and paid, and, given
+competent leading, would no doubt have rendered a
+good account of itself; but the army as a whole was
+never brought to a state approaching efficiency. The
+navy, on the other hand, possessed the best ships and
+the best armament that money could buy, with the
+most modern appliances for war, and its <i>personnel</i> was
+subjected to the most careful discipline. The fortress
+guns were also of the newest and best pattern, and
+nothing was spared, apparently, to fit them for the
+purpose for which they were intended. It was generally
+conceded that the fortresses so armed were safe from
+attack by sea.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_398' name='Page_398'>[398]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The explanation of the great difference between the
+organisation of the sea and the land forces seems to be
+that the former, being a new creation, was beyond the
+range of criticism and was unhampered by any traditions,
+while the reform of the army was merely
+patching a worn-out garment. The immemorial conditions
+of military service were unchanged. No army
+was formed, but a series of local levies raised without
+cohesion or central control. The foreign instructors
+were kept strictly to their class-work, were subordinated
+to the people whom they had to instruct, and
+possessed no kind of authority. They were allowed
+to drill the men, while the officers for the most part
+held themselves above the drudgery of the parade-ground.
+The few who had acquired a smattering of
+military education in Europe were as helpless as the
+foreign drill-masters to move their wholly ignorant
+superiors. Hence abuses of the most grotesque kind
+did not creep but rushed into every camp and every
+school, reducing the scientific teaching to a hollow
+farce.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The familiar factors of peculation and nepotism
+had an important influence on these naval and military
+developments in China. Such things are no
+monopoly of the Chinese. If corruption could ruin
+a State, it would not be necessary to look so far
+afield as China for national disasters. But the form
+which the vice takes in China has a determining
+effect on the administration quite irrespective of the
+waste of resources and diminution of efficiency which
+are common to corruption in all its forms. Thus if
+we have to reconcile the lavish purchases of material
+with the attenuation of <i>personnel</i>, we need
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_399' name='Page_399'>[399]</a></span>
+only reflect that the former bring large emoluments
+with little labour to the official employed, while the
+training of men involves much work and little profit.
+Further, if we want an explanation of the infinite
+diversity of the arms which are furnished to the
+troops, we may find it in the excessive competition
+among officials for a share of the traffic, and the
+interest which the higher authorities have in passing
+without inspection what is purveyed by their subordinates.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nepotism in China is part and parcel of the
+family system, which is the palladium of the nation.
+Every military corps raised is essentially territorial;
+and if ever it is moved from one province to another,
+it looks to a territorial chief, and no stranger can
+command it. Li Hung-chang's disciplined troops, if
+not all of his own clan, were at least the natives
+of his province and spoke his dialect. His subordinate
+officials were blood relations and family adherents.
+It needs no argument to show how such
+a survival of feudalism militates against national
+organisation. Pure feudalism, indeed, would be less
+detrimental; for under it territorial exclusiveness
+would at least be balanced by territorial responsibility,
+but under the short-service system of China
+a governor or governor-general may during his
+three years' term throw everything into confusion
+and half ruin the finances of a province with which
+he is precluded from having any territorial tie, and
+then proceed to another and repeat the performance.
+The navy, though, as we have said, exempt
+from the incubus of tradition, was nevertheless unable
+to withstand the pressure of immemorial heredity.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_400' name='Page_400'>[400]</a></span>
+As the first and principal naval school happened
+to be at Foochow, it was natural that new
+battleships and cruisers should be officered and
+manned in the first instance by natives of Fukien
+province. The admiral, however, hailed from another
+province&mdash;that of Li Hung-chang. Though brave
+and capable, Admiral Ting was uneducated, and
+found it hard to hold his own among the captains
+and lieutenants who had been to Greenwich and
+could speak and write English, and some of them
+French. Neither the Chinese admiral nor the English
+co-admiral&mdash;who was led to believe he possessed
+authority, but was deceived&mdash;were able to repress
+the intrigues which ran riot among the Foochow
+officers,&mdash;intrigues having for their object the complete
+control of the fleet, the power of keeping out
+and admitting whom they chose without reference
+to qualifications, and the general determination to
+subordinate the naval service to their personal and
+family advantage. The presence of Captain Lang
+was a hindrance to their schemes, and they intrigued
+him out. But as the fleet belonged to the
+north, they were unable to exclude northern seamen
+from the country round Weihai-wei, who proved
+when the day of trial came the most intelligent and
+the staunchest force that China possessed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Peiyang Squadron was the nearest approach
+to an imperial navy that China ever possessed, and
+yet it was so far provincial that it could not be
+sent into the central or southern waters without
+creating jealousy on the part of the local authorities,
+just as if it had been a foreign force. In
+1891, when anti-foreign riots in various places on
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_401' name='Page_401'>[401]</a></span>
+the Yangtze threatened to endanger the peace of
+the empire, the Imperial Government allowed foreign
+ships of war to proceed up the river for the purpose
+of preventing outbreaks rather than offend the
+susceptibilities of the provincial authorities by employing
+their own naval forces on that duty. During
+that critical period the Peiyang Squadron was
+cruising in Japanese waters while the Great River
+was being patrolled by foreign gunboats.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These various evidences of martial energy procured
+for China the credit of a real awakening, and ensured
+her the respect due to a serious Power. Yet
+the unsoundness of the foundation on which her
+new prestige rested was no secret to any one who
+took the trouble to consider the facts, for all the
+weaknesses we have mentioned, with many more,
+were notorious to every foreign resident in China;
+nor was there a naval officer of any nation who
+did not regard the fighting value of the Chinese
+fleet as nothing. Ships were good, officers and men
+in themselves were passable, but without organisation,
+while the whole force was governed by other
+than militant principles. The attempted military reorganisation
+could, in fact, have no vitality except
+as a branch of a general reform of the administration,
+the keystone of which was fiscal. Of this,
+however, the Chinese rulers seemed to take no heed,
+contenting themselves with snatching at what was
+superficial and conspicuous to the eye. The Chinese
+florists in the spring-time supply to hawkers shrubs
+covered with blossom which is so cleverly attached
+by fine wire to the twigs as almost to deceive
+the elect. This is practically what the Chinese
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_402' name='Page_402'>[402]</a></span>
+Government bad been doing with their national
+defences, so that on the first trial they collapsed
+like a sapless flower. These experiences have an
+important bearing on the large problem of Chinese
+reform and reorganisation, and indeed on the continued
+existence of the empire.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i402" id="i402"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p436.jpg" width="245" height="190" alt="" />
+</div>
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_403' name='Page_403'>[403]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">THE COLLAPSE.</span>
+</h2>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+China clings to universal sovereignty&mdash;Demonstration of same towards
+Korea&mdash;Irritating to Japanese&mdash;Their aspirations in Korea&mdash;Insurrection
+in southern districts&mdash;Chinese troops sent there&mdash;Japanese
+simultaneously occupy Korean capital&mdash;War between China and
+Japan&mdash;China defeated&mdash;Causes and consequences&mdash;General sympathy
+with Japan.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+We have seen that up to the end of 1892 the Chinese
+Government clung to the figment of universal sovereignty.
+Perhaps it was the figment that clung to
+them, they not knowing how to drop it. When they
+had, under stress, seemed to concede the principle of
+equality, it was not done heartily, but to serve a
+momentary purpose. Like a belligerent who continues
+a guerilla warfare after concluding peace, they fought
+inch by inch for the rags of the old prerogative after
+having by treaty surrendered it. It had been long
+predicted that their refusal or inability to bring their
+theories into agreement with patent facts, and to come
+into line with the Powers of the world, must lead to
+tragic consequences. Foreign nations laughed at the
+Chinese pretension as an innocent archaic survival.
+But those individuals to whose lot it fell, in their own
+persons, to suffer the continued humiliation which was
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_404' name='Page_404'>[404]</a></span>
+a consequence of the survival, did not find the comedy
+of the situation quite so congenial. The high-spirited
+nation living in the closest neighbourhood to China,
+using its language and literature, was naturally more
+galled by the Chinese assumption than those distant
+peoples who only suffered in the persons of their diplomatic
+agents. Though it would be more than the
+evidence warrants to say that the pretension of the
+Chinese Government was directly provocative of the
+events of 1894, yet it is certain that it had a full share
+in filling the cup. Nowhere had the Chinese conception
+of supremacy been exemplified in a more uncompromising
+form than in her relations with Korea. Her
+position as suzerain was a reality. She had in times
+past defended her tributary at great cost, had marked
+the relationship by permanent monuments, and had
+maintained the rites necessary to keep her title alive.
+As late as 1890 the tributary formalities were repeated
+conspicuously before the world. In that year the
+"Grand" Queen-Dowager Chao of Korea died. According
+to custom the king despatched a messenger to
+Peking to report the death to his suzerain. The envoy
+presented his papers kneeling before the vice-president
+of the Board of Rites. He was the bearer of a petition
+from the king descanting on the miseries of his country,
+and expressing regret that, owing to the straitened circumstances
+of his Court, he might be unable to carry
+out all the ceremonies required for the entertainment
+of the usual mission of condolence from the emperor;
+therefore, as "an infant trusting to the tender mercies
+of his parents," the king begged that not a mission, but
+a message only, might be returned to him by the hands
+of his own envoy. The imperial decree in reply to this
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_405' name='Page_405'>[405]</a></span>
+petition, while admitting the facts of the situation as
+set forth by the king, nevertheless announced that the
+customary usage must be maintained, only an important
+concession would be made to the poverty of Korea in
+the route which would be followed by the new mission.
+Previous envoys had made the whole journey between
+the two capitals by land, and after entering Korean
+territory they had to pass many stations in their slow
+march to the capital, involving much expense to the
+country through which they travelled. All this would
+be saved on the present occasion by the two commissioners
+travelling by sea, and landing at Chemulpo, a
+few miles only from the capital. The king had to submit
+to the modified burden, if such he really considered
+it. The ceremonies observed were elaborate and impressive.
+Frequent prostrations by Korean officials
+before the emperor's tablet, and before the Imperial
+Commissioners, introduced the proceedings; afterwards
+the king was taken charge of by the Chinese master of
+ceremonies, led through a complicated ritual, and told
+to bend, kneel, <i>kotow</i>, and stand erect at so many different
+stages that the mere reading of the official
+account of them is bewildering. The reporter's conclusion
+gives the gist of the whole ceremonial from the
+Chinese point of view: "The emperor's consideration
+for his vassal State as evinced by his thoughtfulness in
+matters pertaining to the mission is fathomless. How
+admirable and satisfactory! And how glorious!"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All this was unexceptionably correct, and in its fantastic
+way expressed an actuality not to be contested.
+Yet to the Japanese, with their antagonistic policy, we
+can well understand that this renewed assertion of the
+Chinese suzerainty, after the convention of 1885, must
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_406' name='Page_406'>[406]</a></span>
+have been highly irritating. Scarcely less so was the
+superior position habitually assigned to the Chinese
+Resident over all the other foreign representatives at
+the Korean Court. He alone at all times had the ear
+of the king; he was the only one privileged to enter
+the palace in his sedan chair, the others having to
+leave theirs at the gate and walk. While abstaining
+from interference in small things, the Chinese Resident
+did, in fact, direct the national policy of Korea so far as
+such a thing could be said to exist.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the affairs of Korea formed the occasion, if not
+the cause, of the Japanese War in 1894, it might seem
+desirable to refer once more to the troubles and misgovernment
+of that country. To explain them would
+be quite impossible, for to say that there are wheels
+within wheels, intrigue within intrigue, the whole revolving
+round a pivot of sordid corruption, is perhaps
+the only general account that can be given of the state
+of the Government and of its official hierarchy. But
+the conflict between China and Japan held on its way
+through the labyrinth of local intrigue, and eventually
+produced a result which, strange to say, seems never to
+have been anticipated by any one outside the Government
+circles of Japan. The energetic Chinese Resident
+at the Korean Court may perhaps have been needlessly
+ostentatious in asserting the legitimate paramountcy of
+China, but the aggression of the Japanese in various
+parts of the country, and the extravagant claims they
+founded upon these aggressions, really called for a
+champion of Korean independence, a function which
+Yuan Shih-kai<a name='FA_32' id='FA_32' href='#FN_32' class='fnanchor'>[32]</a> filled with considerable ability. The
+subordination of Korea to China was nowhere visible
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_407' name='Page_407'>[407]</a></span>
+except in Court relations. The subjugation of the
+peninsula by the Japanese, on the other hand, was
+rapidly bringing the population itself into bondage
+to alien merchants, adventurers, and usurers, actively
+supported by their own Government. If they had had
+the patience to wait a few years, the Japanese must
+have won Korea by energetic infiltration alone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But these things did not move fast enough for the
+settled ambition of Japan, which she with diligence,
+unanimity, and wonderful secrecy determined to develop
+by force of arms. It would be idle to seek for
+the causes of the war elsewhere than in this forward
+national policy of Japan. Alert as she had been to
+seize every chance that offered of detaching Korea
+from her allegiance to China, her preparations were
+not sufficiently complete to justify her unmasking her
+whole policy until 1894, when the grand opportunity
+for which she had been waiting, if she did not actively
+assist in bringing it about, presented itself. What
+proved to be an ill-advised interference of China in
+the internal affairs of Korea furnished the occasion.
+An insurrection had broken out in the southern part
+of the peninsula, and the king had no forces to put
+it down. Various versions had been circulated of the
+extent and character of the insurrection; but when
+it had continued for some time, and nothing was done
+to check it, the advisers of the Chinese Government
+became apprehensive of interference by some foreign
+Power for the restoration of order. Strangely enough,
+Japan was the very last quarter from which this
+danger was anticipated. The Chinese at length summoned
+resolution to send a force to the king's assistance
+to put down the insurrection, but whether the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_408' name='Page_408'>[408]</a></span>
+king in his heart desired this armed interference it
+is impossible for us to say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Li Hung-chang was personally opposed to any
+such expedition, and when goaded to action from
+Peking, where the bellicose spirit had been generated,
+he pointed out that no request had been received
+from the king. This omission was also remarked upon
+by the practical Admiral Ting, and both may have
+hoped that the absence of so important a link in the
+chain would enable them to avoid the overt action
+which they had the best grounds for deprecating.
+Such a hope, if it existed, was of brief duration; for
+the King of Korea was induced, by influences brought
+to bear on him, "to place himself in order" and implore
+his suzerain for assistance, which the suzerain could no
+longer withhold. Then was Li Hung-chang pressed
+by that body whose characteristic was the negation
+of initiative, the Tsungli-Yamên, and like a sluggish
+horse which once takes the bit in its teeth, the Yamên
+became as impatient for action as in all its previous
+history it had been resolute in evasion. When but
+a few days had elapsed since the issue of the order,
+and the troops were not yet embarked, the Ministers,
+quite ignorant of what was involved in sending a military
+force across the sea, began to jeer Li Hung-chang
+on his delay, hinting that he was perhaps growing stale
+with age. The troops were, nevertheless, despatched
+all too soon. On their landing at Yashan in Southern
+Korea, the insurrection immediately collapsed: such
+was the prestige of the imperial authority.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In order to comply with the letter of the Li-Ito
+convention China notified Japan officially of
+the despatch of these troops, some 2000 in all, and
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_409' name='Page_409'>[409]</a></span>
+of the purpose for which they were sent. But
+Japan had no need to wait for any such formal
+intimation. She had her Intelligence Department,
+remarkably alert. Japanese&mdash;not perhaps always
+known as such&mdash;were employed in the Chinese official
+bureaus, even in the most confidential departments,
+while Japanese in disguise swarmed in all the military
+centres. The Chinese telegraph service has no secrets
+from any one who thinks it worth his while to possess
+them. Consequently every detail of the preparation,
+every point in the discussion, and every step in embarkation,
+was punctually telegraphed by the Japanese
+consul to the Foreign Office in Tokio. Hence it was
+that Japanese troops arrived in Korea simultaneously
+with the Chinese, only they numbered 10,000 against
+2000, and instead of being assigned to the region of the
+insurrection, in accordance with the provisions of the
+Li-Ito convention, they marched straight to the capital
+and took possession of the king. The insurrection
+having collapsed, the Chinese troops were under orders
+of withdrawal, and would have returned home in the
+same transports that conveyed them to Korea but for
+the unaccountable, and of course illegitimate, presence
+of Japanese troops at the capital. Notwithstanding
+the provocation to retain the Chinese troops in Korea
+as a counterbalance to those, five times more numerous,
+which had been sent by Japan, the Chinese authorities
+were advised by their best friends to recall their troops,
+even though the Japanese should thereby be apparently
+left in possession of the field. The Chinese would in that
+case have maintained an unassailably correct position,
+and Japan would have had to dispense with her pretexts
+for war. Evacuation by the Chinese had been
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_410' name='Page_410'>[410]</a></span>
+actually decided upon, and the steamer Kowshing was
+chartered for the purpose of bringing back the troops.
+Before the measure was carried out, however, other
+counsels prevailed, and that very ship was employed in
+conveying more troops to reinforce the first expedition,
+and in the midst of pretended negotiations for an
+arrangement between the two Powers, the Japanese
+sank the Kowshing on the high sea with all on
+board.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is usual, as a matter of form, if nothing else, to
+assign some specific cause for a war; but though
+many able writers have essayed to explain the Japanese
+action in 1894, they have all of them left the
+question in greater obscurity than they found it. Nor
+did the formal declaration of war by the Mikado throw
+any light on the subject. A Japanese statesman
+being asked what the war was about, replied bluntly,
+"It is to defeat China," and the most elaborate exposition
+of motives or policy does not carry us perceptibly
+further than this concise and straightforward statement.
+The Chinese Government itself held precisely
+the same view as to the object of the war, though its
+perceptions were so obscured that it was quite unaware
+of its incapacity for defence. Neither did it during the
+actual progress of hostilities realise the cause of its
+defeat. Indeed there is no evidence to show that
+China has even to this day discovered the secret of
+her impotence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The course and immediate consequence of the war
+itself have been set forth in many books, and are so
+well known as to render it superfluous to enter into
+any detail here. A few general points only need be
+mentioned as a key to what followed.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_411' name='Page_411'>[411]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+1. Russia took unusual pains to dissuade Japan from
+engaging in the war, pointing out in clear terms that
+her interests would not allow her to be an indifferent
+spectator of any changes on the continent of Asia.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+2. Great Britain next endeavoured to patch up the
+supposed quarrel&mdash;which could never be defined in
+words&mdash;between China and Japan, and on the day on
+which her agent in Tokio expressed himself confident
+that the differences, so far as he understood them,
+would be arranged without recourse to war, the British
+chartered transport Kowshing was sunk with 1200 men
+on board.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+3. The solution of the question which would have
+reconciled the views of the four Powers more immediately
+concerned was the neutralisation of Korea. Great
+Britain, Russia, and Japan were of one mind on this
+subject, and China would have hailed such an escape
+from her chronic embarrassment respecting Korea.
+Why, then, was no attempt made to bring about such
+a solution? Want of co-ordination, it would appear;
+diplomatic paralysis. Though the views of each Power
+separately ascertained were identical, none of them
+would speak first, and there was no fifth party to
+assume the initiative in bringing them to a common
+understanding. The blame of this must be equally
+distributed, though in point of fact there were degrees
+of responsibility which it would be useless now to
+recall. It is only one example the more of the great
+gap which often yawns between professional diplomacy
+and practical politics.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The issue of the war was a foregone conclusion, both
+by sea and land. China had no army, and the more
+numerous her levies the more helpless they were before
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_412' name='Page_412'>[412]</a></span>
+a disciplined enemy. The navy failed precisely
+where it was expected to fail. It was an incomplete
+machine, neglected and in disorder, deficient in many
+essential things. Worst of all, there was no heart in
+it. Captain Lang, R.N., and other British officers had
+been expelled from the service through a conspiracy of the
+captains in 1890, and thenceforth its deterioration became
+rapid. The efficiency of the navy for its main
+purpose was the last thing considered by the cabal.
+They relied absolutely on the diplomatic resources of
+Li Hung-chang to save them from any possible trial of
+strength, and refused to face an alternative even by
+way of argument. Bravery was by no means lacking
+in the ranks, nor professional education among the
+officers. There were some who had Nelson's maxims
+at the tip of their tongue, and there were some who
+added to a thorough naval training the spirit of devotion
+which makes heroes. But these qualities were
+isolated and incoherent; there was no tradition to
+render them fruitful, no martial spirit, no disgrace for
+the coward, no honour for the valiant. The fleet was
+a body, defective enough at that, but without a soul.
+The minds of the captains being set on quite other
+objects than the efficiency of their service, when the
+crisis threatened they were intent only on evading
+collisions. The valour of the admiral, the fine sense
+of duty of individual officers, and the fighting qualities
+of a considerable body of the seamen, were swamped
+in the prevailing pusillanimity of the service; the
+choice spirits were discouraged by the fatuous neglect
+at headquarters to supply the ordinary necessaries of
+warfare. It was the writer's fortune to make a passage
+in a Chinese protected cruiser in September 1894, a
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_413' name='Page_413'>[413]</a></span>
+few days before the great naval action off the Yalu,
+and it was most pathetic to hear the defects pointed
+out by the captain and first lieutenant&mdash;defects in ammunition
+for the guns mounted, absence of gun crews,
+so that in action men would have to be taken from one
+gun to another and put to work for which they had
+no training, everywhere the ship spoiled for want of
+the ha'porth of tar. That particular vessel was not
+disgraced in the Yalu fight, but was brought into Port
+Arthur by the superhuman exertions of her officers, her
+iron deck beams twisted by the fire and her plates red
+hot. A second conversation with the captain and first
+lieutenant after the action was but a painful commentary
+on that of the week before. The one was prediction,
+the other fulfilment. Perhaps the state of the
+navy could not be more forcibly illustrated than by
+the fact that the fleet was led into action at the Yalu
+by a German military officer.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+China was indeed defeated, amid the applause of
+Europe and the whole world, and the primeval law of
+violence received a new consecration. This is the one
+outcome of the war which seems likely to leave a
+permanent impress on the surface of our civilisation,
+for the spontaneous outburst from the four corners of
+the earth cannot be referred to any venal or wire-pulling
+agency. There had been foreign wars in China
+before, wars entered upon after long discussion and
+accumulating causes of quarrel. Their merits divided
+the opinion of the world&mdash;they divided even the nations
+that waged them; and the opposition was on one occasion
+strong enough to overturn a British Government
+that had actually entered into hostilities against China.
+But in 1894 there was not a dissentient voice. The
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_414' name='Page_414'>[414]</a></span>
+cause of the war was not known and not inquired into,
+the universal enthusiasm was simply for the victor, as
+such, without regard to anything but his military
+prowess. That was what the world fell down and
+worshipped. Not any righteous cause, or racial sympathy,
+or community of interest, inspired their acclamations;
+for none of these things were considered or
+understood by the masses who chorussed the triumph
+of the conqueror of China. English pens and tongues
+beyond all others urged the victorious Power to make
+crushing conditions of peace, and in the clamour traditional
+landmarks were forgotten. The policy of saving
+China, the great English milch cow, from destruction,
+which had been patiently followed by Great Britain for
+forty years, was thus suddenly submerged in a wave of
+warlike enthusiasm.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Press-made feeling was both stronger and had more
+influence on the action of Government in England than
+in any other country. The war had upset the balance
+of power in Asia, but the press took no heed of that,
+and urged with conspicuous success that the Japanese
+should on no account be hindered in their seizure of
+the spoils. Other countries, keeping a cooler outlook
+on eventualities, were unable to regard the occupation
+of Liao-tung by Japanese forces with the equanimity
+with which it was viewed in England, though they
+made no objection to the enormous indemnities forced
+from China, which might indeed be philosophically
+regarded by them as a tax levied specially on British
+trade. Being threatened in her weakest frontier by
+this ambitious military Power, Russia had intimated
+before war began, in no ambiguous terms, that she
+could not tolerate such a neighbour, and on the conclusion
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_415' name='Page_415'>[415]</a></span>
+of peace she took steps to give effect to that
+resolution. Russia had throughout the war been extremely
+nervous about the possible action of Great
+Britain, and would have gone considerable lengths to
+come to an understanding with her; but towards the
+end, when the pretensions of the Japanese began to
+assume extravagant dimensions, their moral effect on
+the Great Powers enabled her to dispense with English
+favour by drawing France and Germany to her
+support. The gravity of the Japanese demands was
+the factor that drew the three Powers together, and
+Li Hung-chang, when he went as envoy to Japan in
+March 1895, assented to the indemnity and the surrender
+of territory on the assurance given him that
+the more excessive the conditions of peace he might
+be forced to sign, the more certain were they to be
+revised by the intervention of the Powers. The three
+Powers proved strong enough to induce Japan to give
+up Liao-tung for an increased indemnity, and the
+future of the Far East thus was arranged in conferences
+from which Great Britain had excluded herself.
+There were several reasons for the abstention of
+the British Government from taking a share in this
+settlement. One was the complete failure of their
+Intelligence Department before, during, and after the
+war. But the fervour of the nation in deprecating
+interference with the Japanese was a sufficient, and
+no doubt a welcome, warrant for the inaction of the
+Government. An experienced observer of English
+public life remarked afterwards that he had never
+known a situation in which the press, metropolitan
+and provincial, had displayed such entire unanimity
+and lavished such unmixed praise on the Government
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_416' name='Page_416'>[416]</a></span>
+for its isolation. And yet it was a unanimity of
+nescience, of simple abdication, the surrender of a
+position in the Far East which had been built up
+for two generations on the permanent interests of
+the country, and which, sacrificed at the critical
+moment, is gone beyond recall. The "new diplomacy,"
+uninstructed popular impulse, never had a freer
+field; for the Government which it dominated was
+scarcely more enlightened, and decidedly more apathetic,
+than the nation itself.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i416a" id="i416a"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p450.jpg" width="306" height="176" alt="" />
+</div>
+<div class="figcenter p6"><a name="i416" id="i416"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p416.jpg" width="339" height="550" alt="" />
+<p class="caption">MINISTERS OF THE YAMÊN OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
+<br />
+H.E. Shên Kuei-fên.<br />
+H.E. Tung Hsün.<br />
+H.E. Mao Chang-tsi.<br />
+
+<span class="s08"><i>From a photo by J. Thomson, Grosvenor Street, W.</i></span></p>
+
+</div>
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_417' name='Page_417'>[417]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">THE RESETTLEMENT OF THE FAR EAST.</span>
+</h2>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+An unsettlement&mdash;Interference of Russia, Germany, and France&mdash;China
+reduced to dependence&mdash;Disintegration proceeds&mdash;France forces China
+to violate her treaties with England&mdash;Russian approval&mdash;The loans
+pressed upon China&mdash;Russia vetoes English loan, substituting a French
+one, Russia standing security&mdash;Germany seizes Kiaochow&mdash;Russia seizes
+Port-Arthur&mdash;England's remonstrance unheeded&mdash;A diplomatic correspondence
+explained&mdash;British public aroused to importance of
+the Far Eastern question&mdash;Call upon Government to take protective
+action.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+It would perhaps be in stricter accordance with facts
+to describe what ensued on the Chinese collapse as a
+process of unsettlement than resettlement, since no
+man now living is likely to see the end of the
+dislocation effected by the transactions of 1895.
+The crude ingredients of national policy, stripped of
+the international decencies with which they were
+wont to be invested, were then thrown into the
+caldron; elementary forces, naked and undisguised,
+confronted each other; and the scramble which
+moderate men had hoped to see indefinitely postponed
+was entered into with the zest of a Cornish
+wrecking raid. The officious interference of quasi-friendly
+Powers to save the derelict empire from
+mutilation proved, according to unvarying experience,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_418' name='Page_418'>[418]</a></span>
+a remedy which was worse than the disease. Russia,
+Germany, and France proceeded to treat China as a
+No Man's Land; disintegration was the order of the
+day. The example was, of course, contagious. Other
+Powers, with no more substantial ground of claim
+than was afforded by the defencelessness of China,
+began whetting their knives to carve the moribund
+carcass.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A momentous transformation had been effected in
+a few months. China now occupied the paradoxical
+position of a protected State without protection; of a
+sovereign State shorn of the power of fulfilling her
+obligations. To this impossible situation the Government
+itself had been an efficient contributor. During
+the progress of the war China had, of her own motion,
+thrown herself on the mercy of the world. Before all
+the Powers, great and small, with whom she had intercourse,
+she humbled herself in the dust, imploring them
+collectively, separately, or anyhow, to save her from
+her relentless foe. She, the titular mistress of the
+world, grovelled thus at the feet of Powers to whom
+she would not, even then, in plain words, have conceded
+equality. And when assistance eventually came
+it was imposed on her by external force. She could
+make no conditions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The revolution which the revised treaty of Shimonoseki
+effected in the international status of China
+was naturally first realised by those who had brought
+it about. China ceased to be a free agent; she
+became a vassal, and not to one Power only. And
+the intervening Powers lost no time in demonstrating
+the fact, France taking the lead. Within two months
+of the revision of the treaty of Shimonoseki the French
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_419' name='Page_419'>[419]</a></span>
+Minister in Peking compelled China to sign a treaty
+granting to France large territorial concessions on
+which she had long had her eye, with commercial
+privileges never before granted to any Power. But
+the stipulations of the French convention were in
+open conflict with those of an existing treaty with
+this country, inasmuch as they gave to France a
+portion of the Shan States, which had been expressly
+reserved as a neutral zone in the treaty between
+China and Great Britain. The British Minister,
+pointing this out before the French treaty was
+concluded, protested against its signature. The
+Ministers of the Yamên admitted the justice of his
+contention, nor can it be said the protest was unheeded.
+With the Yamên it was a question solely
+of the balance of power, and feeling that the French
+force was the heaviest in the scale, they yielded to
+that and signed the treaty with France in direct
+violation of that which they had previously signed
+with Great Britain. As if to leave no ambiguity
+as to the true significance of the change of status
+which had come over China, the Russian Minister
+on the day following made a formal visit to the
+Tsungli-Yamên, with more than the customary display,
+to congratulate the Chinese Ministers on what
+they had done, and to assure them of the approval
+of his Government.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This novel application of the law of force threw
+out of gear the whole system of Chinese national
+engagements, and was quite incompatible with normal
+diplomatic relations. Formerly the struggle had lain
+between China and all the Powers, her obligations to
+whom were observed in proportion to the amount of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_420' name='Page_420'>[420]</a></span>
+coercion applied by, or to be apprehended from, each.
+From this resulted a chronic demand for the fulfilment
+of agreements, and constant reclamations for
+non-fulfilment. But now the native reluctance to
+observe treaties was potentially reinforced by the
+action of foreign Powers in not only condoning,
+but explicitly insisting upon, China's violating her
+engagements.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It may be that this species of <span lang='fr_FR'><i>force majeure</i></span> was
+not wholly unwelcome to the Chinese. It certainly
+widened the field for their favourite tactics of playing
+off one foreign Power against another. A better
+answer than heretofore was now available to all demands
+and remonstrances. "We should for our part
+be most happy to do as you desire, but&mdash;what would
+Russia say, what would France say?" Thus diplomacy
+in China at once degenerated into a "tug of war"
+contest, China herself being merely the rope which
+was pulled. She was virtually ruled out of the active
+management of her own affairs and became the <i>corpus
+vile</i> for rival aggressors.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Aggression sometimes assumed strange forms. One
+of the first which the treaty of peace with Japan
+developed was a remarkable competition in lending
+money to the Chinese. The indemnities to be paid
+to Japan were heavy, and it was obvious that China
+must borrow. But before she had time to take any
+step in that direction money was being thrust upon
+her. First in the ranks were English loan-mongers,
+who had had some experience in the business. Their
+negotiations were slow and halting; and when they
+had at last concluded a contract it was only to be
+told that Russia objected to the transaction, and
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_421' name='Page_421'>[421]</a></span>
+required that China should borrow from French capitalists,
+who were willing to lend on the guarantee of
+Russia. The Chinese Government were absolutely
+passive, not willingly, but of necessity; they had not
+asked for the guarantee which Russia volunteered, and
+were quite willing to accept the loan of £16,000,000
+sterling on the English terms. But Russia simply
+insisted on their taking the French money, under an
+ominous threat, while she herself stood security for
+the solvency of China, thereby assuming the position
+of first mortgagee on the revenues of that empire.
+That accomplished, Russia stipulated that China should
+contract no further loan for a period of six months.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The precedent set by Russia and France of ignoring
+the Government of China as an efficient factor in
+negotiations respecting her territory or her obligations
+was followed to the letter by Germany when in
+November 1897 she took possession of the most important
+naval harbour on the Chinese coast, with
+an adequate hinterland, carrying elastic rights extending
+over an immense area of country. Admiral
+von Diedrichs reduced the question of the acquisition
+to its very simplest expression. "Common-sense," he
+submitted to the Chinese commandant, "must tell you
+on which side the superior force lies, and therefore you
+would be wise to make way for me without resistance."
+With the prize in her hands, Germany next demanded
+a formal title to what she had seized, and instead of
+giving the German Minister his passports the Chinese
+Government granted the request.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In this unceremonious manner was the new status
+of China embodied in monumental facts. She was
+the common victim, having no power to bind or loose
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_422' name='Page_422'>[422]</a></span>
+save in accordance with the dictates of her masters.
+The Chinese Government seemed to have abdicated
+sovereign functions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After France and Germany it was Russia's turn to
+give tangible evidence of the real ascendancy she had
+gained over the Chinese Imperial Government. Hers
+was the only true mastery. The others might wrest
+provinces and extort concessions from a prostrate
+Government, but Russia alone reached the cerebral
+centre and controlled&mdash;so far as outward effect went&mdash;the
+volition of the organism. Negotiations, partly revealed
+in 1895, showed conclusively the scope and
+direction of her Chinese policy. It was profound and
+practical, continuing on the lines that had proved so
+successful in the past. The basis of it was an ostensible
+friendship for China, out of which grew a protective
+alliance, and the peculiar kind of partnership
+which had constituted the intermediate stage in the
+previous great territorial acquisitions of Russia. The
+joint right of the two Powers&mdash;to the exclusion of all
+others&mdash;to navigate the Amur and the Songari, and
+the joint possession of the Usuri territory&mdash;"details
+to be hereafter settled"&mdash;was now to be applied to the
+coast and harbours of Liao-tung, of which Russia was
+to have the use, afterwards defined in a treaty as the
+"usufruct." The gentlest methods were to be used,
+and so far as mere phrases were concerned, a matter on
+which the Chinese always were punctilious, the utmost
+consideration for their feelings was to be shown.
+Russia had two immediate objects in view, both of
+cardinal importance to her. The first was to obtain a
+terminus for the Great Siberian Railway more southerly
+than Vladivostock, which could only be obtained in
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_423' name='Page_423'>[423]</a></span>
+Korean or Chinese territory. The second&mdash;the necessary
+corollary of the first&mdash;was to bring the territory
+through which the railway should run within the
+Russian administration. The sanction of China to a
+branch of the Siberian Railway being carried through
+Manchuria to a terminus on the Liao-tung littoral was
+formally given in conferences between Li Hung-chang
+and the Czar on the occasion of the coronation at
+Moscow in 1896. The details were afterwards developed
+in a way of which it is probable the Chinese
+Government had little foresight; but it would have
+made no difference, for to Russia nothing could be
+denied.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Out of these comprehensive projects of Russia&mdash;projects
+which belonged to the very highest order of
+imperial statecraft&mdash;arose a strange unequal duel
+between Russian and British diplomacy, which has
+also left its mark on history. Her Majesty's Government
+and their agents abroad having been found
+wanting in the matter of information during the
+upheaval of the Far East, it appeared to be their <i>rôle</i>
+to ignore and deny the facts upon which other Powers
+were acting. In particular the whole Russian scheme
+of utilising Chinese territory and controlling the
+Chinese Government was discredited with considerable
+vehemence. The consequence of this attitude of
+scepticism was that whatever Great Britain might
+resolve to do must be done in the dark. Assured by
+their agents in the Far East that the bay of Kiaochow
+was worthless, the British Government satisfied themselves
+that Germany had made a poor bargain in
+taking it. Dismissing as a phantasy the whole string
+of facts concerning Russia's plans, the British Government
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_424' name='Page_424'>[424]</a></span>
+exposed themselves to collision with those plans,
+and received in consequence a series of diplomatic
+humiliations, entailing upon the country permanent
+disadvantages of a most substantial kind. Towards
+the end of 1898, soon after the German seizure of
+Kiaochow, a harbour which had also proved a convenient
+winter rendezvous for the Russian fleet, the
+announcement came from China that the latter had
+received permission from the Chinese Government to
+winter at Port Arthur on the opposite coast of Liao-tung.
+Thereupon a discussion was raised between
+London and St Petersburg concerning the prospective
+designs of Russia. This discussion was stamped from
+its origin with futility by previous communications
+with the Russian Government, the purport of which
+was inferred from a speech by Mr Balfour in
+February 1896. On that occasion he declared that
+the British Government would not only not oppose,
+but would hail with satisfaction, the acquisition by
+Russia of an ice-free port in the Pacific. As her
+Majesty's Government held Russia to the pledge she
+gave in 1886 to respect the integrity of the Korean
+coast, it followed that the ice-free harbour contemplated
+by Mr Balfour could only be in Chinese
+territory, which, as affecting the dominating power of
+Russia in the Far East, was greatly in advance of
+what the occupation of a Korean harbour would have
+been. Korea had been safe-guarded from encroachment
+because it was the stepping-stone to China, but
+the Russian lodgment on the inner waters of China
+itself deprived Korea of most of its strategical value.
+Hence Russia kept silence when Mr Curzon stated in
+Parliament that the pledge held good which preserved
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_425' name='Page_425'>[425]</a></span>
+the integrity of Korea, a pledge which had lost its
+significance. This acquiescence in Russia's taking an
+ice-free port on the Chinese coast was in direct contradiction
+to other no less authoritative statements of the
+British Government. As, for instance, the resolution
+passed by the House of Commons, and accepted by
+the Government, pledging them to maintain the
+integrity of China, followed by the statement by the
+Under Secretary of State that the Liao-tung coast
+with its harbours constituted an integral part of the
+Chinese dominions. It is obvious that this confusion
+arose either from lack of information or lack of interest
+in the subject, coupled in either case with absent-mindedness
+on the part of the British Government.
+But these inconsistencies of the members of the British
+Government made no difference to the steady prosecution
+of the Russian plans, which were now developed
+with great rapidity. These pretensions were signalised
+by two memorable incidents, following each other so
+closely as to be practically simultaneous, in January
+1898. The first was a new loan to the Chinese under
+negotiation by British financiers, to assist which her
+Majesty's Government was strongly urged by the
+China merchants to give its guarantee to the lenders
+as Russia had done in the case of the previous loan.
+On being asked by the Foreign Office what securities
+it would be proper to demand from the Chinese Government
+as the equivalent of such British guarantee,
+the British Minister at Peking replied that one of the
+conditions should be the opening of Talien-wan as a
+treaty port by the Chinese Government. Whether
+he had considered in what way this concession was
+to benefit the position of Great Britain was not disclosed.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_426' name='Page_426'>[426]</a></span>
+The proposal was promptly vetoed by the
+Russian Government, whose ambassador in London
+urged strongly that "if we insisted on making Talien-wan
+an open port we should be encroaching on the
+Russian sphere of influence, and denying her in future
+that right to the use of Port Arthur to which the
+progress of events had given her a claim,"&mdash;adding,
+that without having any designs on the territory,
+"it was generally admitted that Russia might claim
+a commercial <span lang='fr_FR'><i>débouché</i></span> upon the open sea, and that
+in order to enjoy that advantage fully she ought to
+be at liberty to make such arrangements with China
+as she could obtain with respect to the commercial
+<i>régime</i> which was to prevail there."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The second incident was that two British war-vessels
+which were anchored in Port Arthur&mdash;where, of
+course, they had the same right to be as any other
+foreign man-of-war&mdash;"made a bad impression" on the
+Russian Government, and formed the subject of complaint
+to the British Secretary of State. While denying
+the right of Russia to comment on the movements
+of British ships in Chinese waters, Lord Salisbury
+nevertheless allowed the vessels in question to depart,
+a movement which was reported with much colour of
+truth in Peking and St Petersburg as having been
+made by the order of Russia.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Thus within one month the exposition of the Russian
+designs was expanded from the first assurance of Count
+Muravieff that the wintering of the ships was merely
+for the temporary convenience of the fleet, to the
+assertion of vague territorial rights over the coast and
+harbours of Liao-tung. And Lord Salisbury observed
+with plaintive naïveté in the month of March, that
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_427' name='Page_427'>[427]</a></span>
+whereas his Government "had always looked with
+favour upon the idea of Russia obtaining an ice-free
+port on the Pacific, Russia had now given a most unfortunate
+extension to this policy." It appears that
+the eyes of the British Government were not opened
+to the gravity of the situation until Russia, alleging
+that an ice-free port on the Chinese coast (no
+longer the Pacific) was a vital necessity to her,
+thereupon took possession of Port Arthur and Talien-wan.
+The British Government at the eleventh hour
+opposed the proceeding, for the reason that "the influence
+of Russia over the Government of Peking will be
+so increased to the detriment of that of her Majesty's
+Government, if the Russians are to have a lease of Port
+Arthur and Talien-wan, that it seems desirable for us
+to make some counter-move." Thus the British Government
+were brought to see, when too late, what
+those interested in Far Eastern affairs had been endeavouring
+to tell them years before; and there seems
+to be no doubt that the final discovery of the truth
+was due to the efforts of one or two persistent writers
+in the press during January and February 1898, but
+chiefly to the action of a small independent section of
+the British House of Commons led by Mr Yerburgh.
+On such trifling accidents do great events sometimes
+hang, that it seems probable that had Mr Yerburgh's
+movement taken effect three months earlier British
+ships would not have been withdrawn from Port
+Arthur, neither would China have been ousted from
+the possession of her only two naval harbours north of
+the Yangtze&mdash;at least not just then. It would serve no
+good purpose to follow the various explanations given
+by Ministers of the British Crown of their diplomatic
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_428' name='Page_428'>[428]</a></span>
+encounters with Russia. They will have little interest
+for the historian. But a clear account of these transactions
+given in a letter to the 'Times,' May 19, 1898,
+may very well serve as a guide to future inquirers
+into these matters:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p class="center">
+<i>The Legend of Talien-wan.</i>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before the recent diplomatic struggle in the Far East is
+allowed to pass away from the public mind, may I be permitted
+to say a few words on one of its aspects which seems to have
+received very little attention?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The bad faith of the Russian Government has been strongly,
+and not unreasonably, condemned; but no attempt has been
+made to explain it, except on the popular hypothesis that a
+double dose of original sin is normal in the Muscovite. It does
+not seem to have occurred to any writer on the subject that
+the Russians themselves may have a grievance, that they may
+have acted under a sense of injury, or that, in their view, the
+good faith of the British Government is not above reproach. I
+believe they are mistaken; but it is none the less true that the
+chain of facts on which they rely will well bear the interpretation
+they place upon it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The great blot on the recently published "Correspondence
+respecting the affairs of China" (No. 1, 1898) is that it takes
+no account of its immediate <span lang="de_DE"><i>Vorgeschichte</i></span>. It relates to a
+diplomatic struggle of which we last heard officially as far back
+as 1887, when the Blue-book on Port Hamilton was published.
+Since then many important things have happened, notably the
+Chino-Japanese war and the intervention of Russia, France, and
+Germany in the settlement of Shimonoseki. To ignore these
+events is really to delude the public; for the chapter of Far
+Eastern politics which begins with the German descent on
+Kiaochow is little short of meaningless if the story of Shimonoseki
+is passed over. Indeed the legend of Talien-wan itself
+belongs to a policy which may easily be traced back half a
+century. It is, however, not necessary for my purpose that I
+should go behind the Shimonoseki intervention. What was the
+object of that transaction? No one who has given any attention
+to Far Eastern affairs has ever been under the slightest
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_429' name='Page_429'>[429]</a></span>
+illusion on this point. The great problem of Russian statesmanship
+since the foundation of the empire has been to reach the
+open sea, first in the Baltic, then in the Euxine and the Mediterranean,
+and, after the Crimean war, in the Pacific. Since
+Muravieff and Nevelskoy opened the Amur Russia has neglected
+no opportunity of pushing southward in order to get beyond the
+line of winter ice, and every embarrassment of China has been
+skilfully used by her to bring her nearer her goal. We in
+England have consistently resisted this policy, and in 1886 we
+thought to have finally defeated it when, by seizing Port Hamilton,
+we extracted a pledge from Russia that she would not
+occupy Korean territory "under any circumstances whatever."
+To all outward seeming Russian expansion in the Far East was
+thus stopped in the ice-bound harbour of Vladivostock. This,
+however, was not the view of Russia herself. She was still
+confident that an opportunity would be afforded her of realising
+her ambition, for there were other harbours on the Pacific besides
+those of Korea, and if the road to them was longer and
+more difficult, Russian patience was equal to the task of covering
+it. In these circumstances Japan, victorious in her war with
+China, claimed and obtained the cession of the Liao-tung
+peninsula, and thus threatened to shut the door for ever
+against Russian access to the Pacific. The intervention of
+the Powers which Russia thereupon organised was ostensibly
+directed to the protection of the integrity and independence
+of China, but no intelligent politician doubted at the time,
+or has doubted since, that its real aim was to keep the Pacific
+door open for Russia.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Shortly after this event Lord Salisbury came into office.
+The problem which then most urgently demanded his attention
+was that of Armenia. Largely by its attitude in the Far East
+the Rosebery Cabinet had left our relations with Russia in a
+distinctly strained condition, and the one obvious remedy of the
+Armenian horrors&mdash;the coercion of the Sultan&mdash;was blocked
+by Russia. Lord Salisbury directed himself to the conciliation
+of Russia, wisely recognising that nothing could be done in the
+Near East without Russian goodwill and assistance. What
+were the means he employed? I cannot say what private
+negotiations may have taken place between the two Governments,
+but we seem to have a sufficiently significant illustration
+of the direction in which the Premier was disposed to
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_430' name='Page_430'>[430]</a></span>
+make concessions to Russia in a speech delivered by Mr Balfour
+at Bristol on February 3, 1896. In that speech a British
+Minister announced for the first time that this country would
+not oppose Russian expansion to the Pacific. "I, for my part,
+frankly state," he said, "that, so far from regarding with fear
+and jealousy a commercial outlet for Russia in the Pacific
+Ocean which would not be ice-bound half the year, I should
+welcome such a result as a distinct advance in this far-distant
+region." This statement made a profound impression all over
+the world, as well it might, seeing that it implied the abandonment
+of a policy which had been consistently and vigilantly
+adhered to by Great Britain from the time of Lord Clarendon
+to that of Lord Rosebery.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A few days after Mr Balfour's Bristol speech&mdash;on February
+20&mdash;it fell to Mr Curzon to explain in a negative way the
+scope of his leader's pronouncement. An impression had got
+abroad that the new policy implied the surrender of the pledge
+given by Russia in 1886 with regard to the occupation of
+Korean territory, and the Under Secretary was asked in the
+House of Commons for his views on the subject. Mr Curzon
+replied that "her Majesty's Government consider that the pledge
+given by the Russian Government is still binding." Was this
+a disavowal of the new Russophile policy. Obviously not: for
+later in the year, at the Guildhall banquet, Lord Salisbury made
+to Russia the friendliest overtures he has ever made in public
+speech. At the same time he especially accentuated the novelty
+of his attitude by asserting that "it is a superstition of an
+antiquated diplomacy that there is any necessary antagonism
+between Russia and Great Britain."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The position, then, of the Government was apparently this:
+they had abandoned the traditional hostility of this country to
+Russian expansion towards the ice-free Pacific on condition that
+it did not trench on Korean territory. It followed, then, that
+they were not disposed to offer any hindrance to the acquisition
+by Russia of a port on Chinese territory, westward of the
+Korean frontier&mdash;that is, somewhere between the mouth of the
+Yalu and Port Arthur. This must be clear to anybody who
+cares to glance at a map. The upshot of the speeches of Mr
+Balfour and Lord Salisbury and of the statement of Mr Curzon
+was, in short, to invite Russia, whenever she might feel so disposed,
+to plant the Russian flag on the southern coast of Manchuria.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_431' name='Page_431'>[431]</a></span>
+This, at any rate, was the view taken in Russia, and,
+for my part, I can see no escape from it. It is not a little significant
+of the satisfaction caused in Russia by this interpretation
+of the policy of Great Britain that, on November 25, a
+fortnight after Lord Salisbury's speech, the Tsar at last consented
+in principle to the British proposals for coercing the
+Sultan of Turkey on the Armenian question.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now we come to the events of last November, when Germany
+suddenly swooped down on Kiaochow. This step is
+known to have been very distasteful to the Russian Government.
+It was the first appearance of a European Power in the
+northern waters of China, in a region which Russia had persuaded
+herself was reserved for her own domination. Long
+before the murder of the unfortunate German missionaries in
+Shantung it was well known in St Petersburg that Germany
+had her eyes on Kiaochow, and the Russian Minister at
+Peking had more than once warned Li Hung-chang and urged
+him to fortify the bay. The disappointment of Russia became
+intensified when it was observed that the step taken by Germany,
+was not resented in this country, and fears of an Anglo-German
+alliance in the Far East began to possess the Russian
+mind. Then suddenly there came the Talien-wan incident,
+and Russia found herself once more confronted by the danger
+which had threatened her in the treaty of Shimonoseki.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The real significance of the Talien-wan incident has never
+yet been fully set forth. Had Talien-wan been made a treaty
+port, and thus given more or less of an international status,
+Russia would have been practically shut out for ever from the
+ice-free ocean. The only stretch of coast on which she could
+obtain this outlet was, as I have already shown, the southern
+coast of Manchuria from the Korean frontier on the Yalu to
+Port Arthur. Now, if we examine this coast-line carefully we
+shall find that there is only one spot capable of being transformed
+into a commercial port, and that is Talien-wan. The
+China Sea Directory (vol. iii.), published by the Hydrographic
+Department of the Admiralty, gives us the fullest particulars
+on this subject. It traces the coast-line in microscopic detail
+and shows us that it has only five possible harbours. The first,
+westward from the Yalu, is Taku-shan, the approach to which
+is frozen during the winter months. The second is Pi-tse-wo,&mdash;here
+the water is too shallow even for large junks. The third
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_432' name='Page_432'>[432]</a></span>
+is Yen-tao Bay, the anchorage of which is bad, and in places
+dangerous. The fourth is Talien-wan, and the fifth Port
+Arthur. Talien-wan has all the advantages which are absent
+from the other ports. It is ice-free, spacious, well sheltered,
+with excellent anchorage and considerable commercial possibilities.
+Is it surprising that Russia should have felt aggrieved
+when it was proposed to make Talien-wan a treaty port?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As a matter of fact, I believe Russia regarded this proposal
+as an attempt to evade the assurance given by Mr Balfour in
+his Bristol speech. She looked upon it as the design of a
+powerful Anglo-German combination to exclude her for ever
+from the China seas. It was to her mind a conspiracy of the
+most dangerous kind, and she bent all her efforts to defeat it.
+When she had defeated it she lost no time in securing her
+position. She took Port Arthur as well as Talien-wan, for the
+simple reason that her interpretation of the situation convinced
+her that a commercial port overlooked by a great citadel in
+foreign hands would be a vantage to her foes rather than a prize
+to herself. Can she be altogether blamed for taking this view?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The mistake the Russian Government made was in attaching
+a serious meaning to the casual blunders of our Government,
+and in imagining that these blunders marked a connected purpose,
+if not a consistent policy. They were not to know that
+the Russophile passage in Mr Balfour's Bristol speech was a mere
+oratorical tag; that our friendly attitude towards Germany at
+Kiaochow was only a sort of amiable tolerance of an act the
+scope and consequence of which we had not measured; and that
+our proposal to open Talien-wan was made at the suggestion of
+our Minister at Peking, who, of course, knew what he was about,
+while it was acquiesced in at home by Ministers who simply did
+not know what they were doing. That Sir Claude Macdonald
+designed the Talien-wan move as a check to Russia I have no
+doubt; that Lord Salisbury never dreamed of this aspect of it I
+am equally convinced.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+However that may be, one thing, I think, is clear. The sense
+of injury and the complaints of bad faith are not all on one side.
+In diplomacy, as in most of the affairs in this world, it is a wise
+rule not to believe your opponent to be as stupid as he looks.
+Russia at any rate paid us this compliment during the recent
+negotiations. The result, no doubt, is that she has overreached
+us. But whose fault is it?
+</p>
+</div>
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_433' name='Page_433'>[433]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Russian flag once hoisted over Port Arthur and
+Talien-wan (by what nominal authority makes no difference
+whatever to the fact) placed the new relation of
+China to the rest of the world beyond all discussion.
+China did not willingly surrender her territory: she
+looked in vain for help, but found none. She weighed
+in the balance the words and acts of one great Power
+against the words and acts of another, and had no choice
+but to place herself under authority of the strongest,
+finally and irrevocably. That fact must be taken as the
+master-key to her subsequent policy in all its phases.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These several events succeeding each other in close
+order awoke the British public from their optimistic
+dream, and forced them to reflect that there was after
+all something more in these Far Eastern readjustments
+than had occurred to them when cheering on gallant
+little Japan to the spoliation of China. The result
+obtained was certainly not that which was contemplated
+either by the nation or the Government when Great
+Britain settled down into her isolation. When the
+truth of the situation had revealed itself to the public
+there was naturally a loud call for something to be
+done to safeguard the commercial interests of the
+country, if not to recover lost prestige; but the
+Government were as far from having definite aims
+in China as they had ever been, and while goading
+them to action, the public was scarcely in a position
+to advise what that action should be. Neither
+had the Government, in spite of all that had taken
+place, fully realised to what extent China had added
+impotence to reluctance, for they continued to deal
+with China very much as if the events of 1895 to
+1898 had never happened. They were reluctant to recognise
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_434' name='Page_434'>[434]</a></span>
+the fact that Russia, in possession of the Liao-tung
+or Kwan-tung peninsula and of the railway line
+connecting it with Siberia, held a noose round the neck
+of the Peking Government, which she could tighten or
+relax, conceal or parade, as circumstances required, and
+that until some other Power or Powers were prepared
+to speak with equal authority Russia must be paramount,
+not by virtue of any convention, but as the outcome
+of accomplished facts.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Two measures adopted by Great Britain to rectify the
+preponderance of Russia were the seizure, under a form
+of negotiation, of the harbour of Weihai-wei and the
+forcing of money upon the Chinese by way of loan.
+The value of these strokes of policy has not yet become
+apparent.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i434" id="i434"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p470.jpg" width="253" height="161" alt="" />
+</div>
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_435' name='Page_435'>[435]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="s08">THE OUTCOME.</span>
+</h2>
+
+<h3>
+I. THE SITUATION IN PEKING.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p class="center">
+A magnified repetition of experiences in Canton&mdash;Chinese unchanged&mdash;International
+usages inapplicable.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Since the foregoing chapters were put into the
+printer's hands the Far Eastern Question has reached
+a crisis in which its ruling factors have been suddenly
+exposed in their nakedness. But the searchlight now
+thrown upon them casts a blacker shadow on the
+unilluminated portions of the field. The events of
+1900, while revealing the landmarks of past foreign
+relations with China, have deepened the obscurity of
+all that concerns the future of the Chinese State itself,
+as well as of the position of the foreign Powers in
+relation to it and to one another. International comity
+is seen to have made no progress in sixty years; on
+the contrary, the gulf that divides China from the
+world yawns wider than ever, of which a striking
+example is afforded by the telegrams lately exchanged
+between the Chinese and the German Emperors. They
+speak in tongues unknown to one another and are
+mutually unintelligible, so that they have no common
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_436' name='Page_436'>[436]</a></span>
+ground but that of brute force. Intercourse imposed
+on them against their will and conscience has resulted,
+naturally enough, in exhibiting the Chinese as the
+enemies of the human family.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The capture of the Taku forts and the occupation
+of Peking by foreign troops were but a repetition of
+similar incidents forty years before; and it is instructive
+to observe how closely the lines of the
+old precedents have been followed. Prisoners taken
+treacherously, or envoys held as hostages; the threat
+to kill them if foreign troops menaced the capital;
+the devices to arrest the advance of the Allied forces;
+the proposal to negotiate only when the Chinese
+case became desperate; the ineradicable belief in the
+credulity of foreigners; and the flight of the Court
+when all other expedients failed,&mdash;were but another
+rehearsal, with variations, of previous performances
+at Canton, Nanking, and Peking. The parallel is
+completed by the efforts of foreign Powers to coax
+the emperor back to his capital. Nothing has been
+changed, only the scale has been magnified, and the
+civilised world, instead of one or two Powers, has
+become directly interested in the catastrophe. Official
+intercourse with China has thus continued on the
+lines on which it began. The first British envoy
+was treated as a malefactor, imprisoned, his letters
+were intercepted, his communications cut off, his servants
+withdrawn; he was guarded and threatened
+by armed men posted at his door, and reduced to
+dangerous subterfuges in order to get a message conveyed
+to his countrymen outside. Canton in 1834
+was simply Peking in 1900, in embryo. A naval
+force was required to relieve Lord Napier from his
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_437' name='Page_437'>[437]</a></span>
+perilous situation then,<a name='FA_33' id='FA_33' href='#FN_33' class='fnanchor'>[33]</a> as a combined naval and
+military force has been required to relieve the foreign
+Ministers in Peking now. The cycle has been completed.
+Every link in the chain connecting the opening
+with the closing incidents of diplomatic intercourse
+has been, on one side at least, homogeneous. Whatever
+and whoever may have altered, the Chinese
+certainly have not. Commissioner Lin, Viceroy Yeh,
+Prince Tuan, the empress-dowager, and all wielding
+authority, whether in name or not, have been true to
+the Chinese ideal. They have all alike been blind to
+the consequences of their acts, which have throughout
+been characterised by the strategy of fools&mdash;momentary
+success followed by overwhelming reverses,
+resulting at each succeeding encounter in a further
+invasion of the frontiers of their political independence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The crisis has been sufficiently prolonged to enable
+the world to perceive what the Chinese mean by the
+term negotiation. To them it signifies what it has
+always done, a palaver to gain time, to hoodwink
+an opponent, to escape from a threatened danger, to
+purchase immunity by promises; a device to manage,
+or, as they themselves express it, "to soothe and
+bridle barbarians." As little now as at any former
+period can they conceive the idea of a fair bargain
+between equals. They but temporise as with a savage
+or a dangerous beast. "Get rid of the barbarians" is
+their unvarying <span lang='fr_FR'><i>mot d'ordre</i></span>, and it matters but little
+to them what instruments are employed in carrying it
+out. The office is one from which every statesman
+instinctively shrinks, since if he fails in taming the
+barbarians his case is referred to the Board of Punishments,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_438' name='Page_438'>[438]</a></span>
+and if he succeeds he incurs the contempt of
+all classes for the concessions by which he has purchased
+peace. It is hardly possible for him in any case
+to escape degradation. Be it therefore Lin, Kishen,
+Kiying, Yeh, Kweiliang, Wênsiang, Chunghou, Li Hung-chang,
+or any one else, Chinese negotiators, whatever
+their apparent success in averting a danger, are morally
+certain to come to a bad end; and for the reason
+which caused the failure of Lord Napier in 1834, the
+impossibility of reconciling two principles which are
+wholly incompatible. As negotiation under such conditions
+can only be nugatory, a lengthened experience
+has made it clear that neither the negotiator nor the
+negotiation avails anything, but solely the manner in
+which the Chinese are held to their engagements, even
+when imposed on them by force, and the strictness with
+which the common duties of civilised nations are exacted
+from them, with or without written agreements.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One feature in the recent Peking episode distinguishes
+it from previous experiences. A Government communicating
+with foreign Powers through its own envoys,
+doling out through them garbled information, while
+isolating the envoys of those same Powers within its
+capital, and planning, and if not doing its best to effect,
+their extermination, at least openly approving the attempt,
+is surely unexampled in human history. The
+proposal of such a Government, on the failure of its
+plans to "negotiate for peace," would be the most sardonic
+of practical jokes if we could disconnect it from
+the evidence implied in the proposal of the estimate of
+foreign nations which is ingrained in the Chinese moral
+constitution. Obviously, however, such a Government
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_439' name='Page_439'>[439]</a></span>
+has placed itself beyond the pale of international relations,
+and it is hardly possible to conceive any restoration
+of the old or evolution of a new <i>régime</i> which can
+place China in the rank of civilised Powers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We are, in fact, thrust back on the conclusion
+arrived at by Lord Napier in 1834: "That Government
+is not in a position to be dealt with or treated
+by civilised nations according to the same rules as
+are acknowledged and practised among themselves."
+Yet, instead of being treated with less, the Chinese
+Government has received greater consideration than
+is accorded by one Western State to another. Prerogatives
+implying superiority have been conceded to
+it by consent of all the foreign Powers&mdash;a false principle
+which has now produced its natural result.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The usages of Western Courts, therefore, being wholly
+inapplicable in China, no matter what Government may
+rule there, international relations of the European type
+must be, as they have hitherto been, an illusory ideal,
+and some new form of intercourse, corresponding more
+closely to the realities of the case, must take the
+place of that which has proved so totally unworkable.
+Should foreign nations, by reason of differences
+among themselves or the magnitude of the problem,
+hesitate to act up to this view of the situation, the
+continuance of a status which is essentially false to
+the facts must lead to some still more tragic catastrophe
+than any that has yet taken place.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_440' name='Page_440'>[440]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+II. THE CHRONIC CAUSE.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Hostility of Government and people&mdash;Fostered by immunity&mdash;Cause of
+animosity as set forth by Chinese&mdash;Incitements to outrage&mdash;Chinese
+press calumnies&mdash;Compared with European&mdash;Effect on the Chinese of
+international vituperation.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+It must be admitted that the attitude of the Chinese
+has been quite consistent: from first to last they have
+resisted the foreign impact <span lang="la"><i>per fas et nefas</i></span>, using such
+weapons as they could command, while avoiding, according
+to their lights, the risk of reprisals. Their lights
+have indeed deceived them, their resistance has failed,
+and their methods stand condemned. But it is beside
+the question to inveigh against their barbarity, for
+"what is bred in the bone comes out in the flesh,"
+and in human relations there are permanent facts
+which have to be accepted, like the skin of the
+Ethiopian and the spots of the leopard. Since
+foreigners have, for their own purposes, broken into
+a hornet's nest, it is idle for them to prescribe the
+manner of retaliation unless they are prepared to go
+through with their aggression and to enforce obedience
+to their own canon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The constant feature in all Chinese attacks on
+foreigners has been the immunity from punishment
+of the real instigators. Massacres of foreigners have
+been condoned, for the blood-money exacted for them
+was no punishment to criminals who did not contribute
+to the payment. All attempts on the part
+of foreign agents to make guilty officials responsible
+for their outrages have been frustrated by the Government,
+who have invariably held the persons of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_441' name='Page_441'>[441]</a></span>
+officials exempt from punishment at the instance of,
+or for injuries done to, foreigners. In Chinese eyes
+injury to foreigners is meritorious in the abstract, and
+to be rewarded rather than punished. Foreign Powers
+have in practice acquiesced in this fatal principle, for
+though on rare occasions they have successfully insisted
+on the removal of some obnoxious official, the
+Government have taken care to nullify the penalty
+by promoting him to a better post. The various
+attempts that have been made by foreign representatives
+to collect evidence to support a legal charge
+against the instigators of outrages have been baffled
+by the inflexible determination of the Government to
+shield the official as well as the non-official leaders of
+riots. The foreign method of seeking redress, being
+thus foredoomed to failure, is obviously not suited to
+the circumstances.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But while foreigners were pursuing their object by a
+hopeless path, the Chinese administration itself provided
+the simpler and more efficacious remedy of
+holding the chief authority of every province responsible
+for misgovernment, as well as for crimes and
+misdemeanours committed within his district. In the
+words of Sir Rutherford Alcock, "Each province constitutes
+a separate state in its administration; to
+compensate for this the emperor can appoint and
+remove every official, from the Governor-General downwards,
+at his pleasure. And they are each and all
+individually and collectively held responsible for all
+that may happen in the limits of their jurisdiction."
+By the custom of the country, therefore, the guilt of
+the highest official is assumed whenever any disturbance
+of the peace takes place or crime is committed
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_442' name='Page_442'>[442]</a></span>
+within his government. He may transfer it, if he can,
+and ferret out evidence in his own exculpation; but
+errors of judgment, pleas of good intentions, and palliatives
+of that kind are not admitted, and not offered.
+Why foreigners have never appealed to this fundamental
+principle of Chinese administration, and have
+preferred relying on their own crude procedure and
+strange methods of collecting evidence while practically
+acquiescing in the immunity of Chinese officials,
+has never been satisfactorily explained. For it is only
+in matters concerning foreigners that the persons of
+Chinese officials are held sacred. The Government
+have no scruples with regard even to the highest in
+rank when they make themselves obnoxious to the
+powers that be. Degradation, deprivation, chains,
+imprisonment, and the headsman's broadsword, are
+ever ready to vindicate the majesty of the law when
+the Court awards the penalty. But foreigners are
+treated as outside the law, which is the gravamen of
+the Chinese offence against them. The constitution
+of the country afforded them a clear ground for demanding
+that the traditional principle of responsibility
+should be put in force for their protection. It was, in
+fact, applied spontaneously by Li Hung-chang in the
+province of which he was viceroy, with the result that
+Chihli was exempt from outrages on foreigners for
+nearly a quarter of a century. Why was the system
+not extended to all the provinces of the empire?
+Had not the foreign representatives the natural right
+of demanding the benefit of Chinese institutions, or
+did they consider their exotic substitute as preferable?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A wrong road can never lead to a right destination;
+sins of omission and commission have alike to be atoned
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_443' name='Page_443'>[443]</a></span>
+for, and the cost accumulates at compound interest.
+The result of sparing prefects and governors the consequences
+of the evil deeds permitted within their jurisdiction
+is that the Western Powers are now confronted
+with the more serious dilemma of sparing the throne
+itself and tolerating the continuance of anti-foreign
+outrages, or of doing stern justice towards the guilty even
+though the heavens should fall. A retrospective glance
+over the history of sixty years might help towards a
+solution even of this momentous problem. Have the
+sacrifices of principle that have hitherto been made in
+order to save the empire, or the dynasty, been efficacious
+to these ends? The answer of history is No;
+on the contrary, they have accelerated the ruin of
+both.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The provoking cause of recent outbreaks against
+foreigners in all parts of the Chinese empire may be
+gathered from the proceedings of the conspirators,
+from their placards and lampoons, and from their secret
+correspondence. The keynote of all these is general
+detestation of foreigners, special enmity to Christianity
+and its accessories, and aversion to the symbols of
+material progress. Hatred of foreigners now shows
+itself as a passion which binds the provinces together
+as nothing else has ever been known to do. Their
+expulsion is a cause which is held to justify the
+vilest deeds done in its name. Nor is the present
+state of things a growth of yesterday. The ferment
+has been working for forty years&mdash;to go no further
+back&mdash;with many sporadic outbreaks to mark its
+progress. It was not nipped in the bud, as it
+might perhaps have been. Exhibitions of ill-feeling
+had been habitually disregarded by foreigners,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_444' name='Page_444'>[444]</a></span>
+who in their readiness to blame each other for provoking
+them, were accustomed to repel obvious explanations,
+and to go far afield for theories which would
+exonerate themselves at the expense of their neighbours.
+If stones were thrown or abusive epithets
+shouted, "It was only the children." Only the children!
+As if more conclusive testimony to any prevailing
+sentiment were possible.<a name='FA_34' id='FA_34' href='#FN_34' class='fnanchor'>[34]</a> In Peking itself the
+foreign Ministers set the example of palliating these
+abuses, and the only wonder is that the fire has smouldered
+so long without bursting into flame. During
+thirty years&mdash;to speak only of the recent period&mdash;missionaries
+in the interior have encountered the growing
+hostility of the people, which they have ascribed,
+perhaps too exclusively, to the machinations of "literati
+and gentry," forgetting that the torch would be
+applied in vain to a substance that was not inflammable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Not that the machinations of the official and literary
+classes of the country are by any means to be held of
+little account, for they have been the most potent
+factor in fomenting and directing the passions of the
+people. What corresponds in China to a newspaper
+press has been constantly employed in vilifying the
+character and execrating the designs of foreigners, and
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_445' name='Page_445'>[445]</a></span>
+holding them up continually to the contempt and
+hatred of the Chinese people. There was no effective
+means of contradicting the calumnies which were daily
+poured forth from every centre of population. Attempts
+have, indeed, been made by special counterblasts
+in the form of missionary publications in the chief
+citadel of hostility, and in a less polemic form in the
+periodicals in the Chinese language conducted by foreigners,
+yet these have had little more effect on the
+popular beliefs than a leading article in the 'Times'
+has upon the flood of anti-English literature that is
+poured out every day from Continental journals. From
+an observation of the calumnies which are so unquestioningly
+accepted by European populations we may partly
+judge of the effect of a constant stream of the same
+class of vituperative literature among the still more
+ignorant people of China. The features of both are the
+same. In Europe, as in China, there is no crime that
+the lowest savages have ever committed which is not
+attributed, with impassioned eloquence and with the
+finest literary skill, to those who are held up to the
+popular animosity. In Europe, as in China, the ruling
+powers encourage the virulence of the press. In countries
+where the Government exercises direct control,
+and in others where the connection is less official, extravagances
+are permitted which can serve no other
+purpose than that of making the objects of the invective
+so odious that a quarrel with them is rendered
+popular in advance. European Governments thus play
+with fire, as the Chinese have done, but in the case
+of the latter the incendiary policy has worked out its
+logical result.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nor should it be forgotten that since, in these days,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_446' name='Page_446'>[446]</a></span>
+the Chinese have the fullest access to European literature,
+the calumnies of one nation by another are calculated
+to confirm their conviction of the turpitude of all.
+Neither is their armoury confined to the international
+amenities of the Western press. The charges habitually,
+and as a matter of course, made against their
+own countrymen by British writers and speakers would
+justify a stranger people, already predisposed thereto,
+in forming the worst opinion of English character.
+During the saturnalia of a general election, when the
+fountains of the great deep are broken up, no baseness,
+no falsity, no treachery, is too gross to be attributed,
+not to the rabble, but to the chosen leaders of the
+people. Such things being circulated throughout the
+world, preserved in indelible ink, can the enemies of
+the British nation, or at least the prejudiced Chinese,
+be greatly blamed for accepting the character of our
+people on such unimpeachable evidence? Should we
+not judge them on analogous testimony? From whatever
+sources they gather their ideas, however,&mdash;whether
+from the study of foreign newspapers, from their own
+observation of the ways of foreign men and women,
+or from the gross libels published by their literati,&mdash;there
+is no reason to doubt that the unfavourable
+opinion which the Chinese entertain of foreigners is
+held by them in good faith.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_447' name='Page_447'>[447]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+III. IMMEDIATE PROVOCATION.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Shock of the Japanese war&mdash;European spoliation of China&mdash;Anarchy
+apprehended therefrom&mdash;Reminiscence of Taiping rebellion&mdash;Proposals
+for moderating foreign inroads&mdash;Lawlessness of foreign Powers&mdash;Chinese
+yield to force but nurse resentment&mdash;The missionary irritant.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+What has caused the chronic anti-foreign movement
+to swell suddenly to imperial dimensions, and to explode
+simultaneously in the capital and in distant provinces,
+is a larger question than we can attempt to answer.
+As contributory causes, however, there are certain facts
+lying on the surface of foreign relations which are too
+suggestive to be passed over. The Japanese war of
+1894-95, and the train of events following it, noted
+in a previous chapter, struck at the vital centre of
+the Chinese empire. Foreigners of all nations applied
+force to China, not to defend person or property, but
+to divide up the empire in disregard of the Government
+and the people, both assumed to be moribund. The
+partition of China was discussed in the Western press
+as a matter in which the Government and natives of
+the country had no concern. Open doors, spheres of
+influence, concessions, protectorates&mdash;the various modes
+in which the Chinese oyster was to be cooked and
+served&mdash;were treated solely as questions of rivalry and
+preponderance between the Western Powers. The
+people were not indeed ignored, for the aggressors
+reckoned on them as their most valuable asset, the
+raw material of prospective armies, the source of labour
+supply for excavations and earthworks, and of the
+payable traffic for railways and other exotic enterprises.
+But there is more in human nature than a
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_448' name='Page_448'>[448]</a></span>
+capacity to dig or obey a drill-sergeant, and it is
+precisely the elements which were disregarded by political,
+financial, and industrial adventurers which have
+risen up in judgment against them. The grandiose pronouncements
+of the foreign press during the last two
+or three years were by no means lost on the Chinese
+Government. These writings showed that the ambitions
+of foreign countries had no limits, while the
+gratification of them was absolutely incompatible with
+the retention of any semblance of independent authority
+by the rulers of the country.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Reasoning after the fact, and from effect to cause,
+is apt to be fallacious, but when the circuit is completed
+by the joining of prediction with realisation,
+some confidence may be felt in the soundness of the
+conclusion. Those who have observed the condition
+of China with a sympathetic eye have been for years
+labouring under the deepest apprehension for the peace
+of the country. The Japanese war accentuated this
+feeling, and the subsequent ruthless proceedings of
+the Western Powers deepened the apprehension. As
+the forces of aggression could in nowise be restrained,
+anxious, but inadequate and altogether ineffectual,
+attempts were made to avert their worst effects.
+Warnings were not wanting that "dangers which
+might have slept for generations to come had been
+suddenly brought within the range of practical politics,
+and that unless measures of precaution were taken in
+time, what happened in 1894-95 would sooner or later
+happen again, ... that the Chinese Empire would
+be brought to the verge of disruption; for all the
+forces, external and internal, which make for anarchy
+would be let loose, and the empire would be powerless
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_449' name='Page_449'>[449]</a></span>
+alike to resist dismemberment by the aggressive Powers
+or the subversion of authority by internal upheaval."
+The paper from which we quote, doubtless one of many
+such drawn up in 1896, goes on to say: "However
+desirous some, or even all, of the Great Powers might
+be of saving China from dissolution, they would be
+paralysed by their own jealousies, and they would
+perhaps be more concerned to avert a general war
+among themselves than to prevent calamity in China.
+A crisis might thus arise more direful in its consequences
+than the chronic crisis in the Ottoman Empire,
+and a reign of havoc would follow in which millions
+would perish where the loss of thousands now excites
+the indignation of the civilised world.<a name='FA_35' id='FA_35' href='#FN_35' class='fnanchor'>[35]</a> No circumstances
+would be wanting to intensify the horror, for it
+would not be even civil war, but promiscuous rapine
+as aimless and as uncontrollable as a forest fire. A
+generation has scarcely passed since China was desolated
+by the scourge of the Taiping rebellion, which is
+thought to have destroyed a population equal to that
+of a first-class European State; and a new outbreak
+of the like kind would be more hopeless, inasmuch as
+the factors which were eventually brought into play
+to extinguish the conflagration in 1862-64 would now
+be wanting, or would be rendered inoperative by the
+complex circumstances above indicated."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The spectre was anarchy, the provocatives aggression
+and dismemberment; and the permanent interests of
+international commerce were appealed to to avert the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_450' name='Page_450'>[450]</a></span>
+calamities foreshadowed. "Dismemberment, from the
+point of view of the general interests of trade, would
+be little better than anarchy." Severe pressure was
+being put on the Chinese Government&mdash;even in 1896,
+when these and similar forebodings were uttered&mdash;to
+permit free communication by steam and rail, and
+the development of the mineral resources of their
+country. It was from such sources that the immediate
+danger to the integrity of the territory and
+the peace of the State was apprehended, while, on
+the other hand, the need for the innovations was
+freely granted. "The Chinese having neither men
+nor appliances capable of undertaking either the construction
+or management of railways, must be wholly
+dependent on foreigners for their inauguration. This
+state of things, fully recognised on all sides, has led
+speculators and promoters of all nations to besiege
+the Chinese authorities with offers of the means of
+construction and with demands for concessions. But
+considering the relative positions of China and the
+Western nations, it cannot but be admitted that the
+Chinese have done well to refuse to listen to such
+proposals. Rival concessionaires working under the
+ægis of extra-territoriality in the interior would be
+the axe at the root of the tree of China's integrity."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The problem of preserving the independence and
+integrity of China, while permitting the opening of
+the interior of the country to foreign enterprise, was
+felt to be one of the gravest importance, not to be
+settled by the clamour either of rival concession-hunters
+or the intrigue of rival States. "Inland
+residence," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock, in 1868,
+"will bring weakness to the nation and death to the
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_451' name='Page_451'>[451]</a></span>
+Government, and must eventuate in greater anarchy
+than has yet been seen.... Right of residence in
+the interior is hardly compatible with an extra-territorial
+clause."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The essential condition of safety for the country was
+evidently, therefore, to bar the acquisition of territorial
+rights by any foreign Government or company.
+With this view it was urged that at least the ownership
+and control of railways and mines should be retained
+in the hands of the Government itself, under
+a competent organisation in which foreign skill and
+experience should be effectively represented. As the
+then existing railway line of 200 miles was of such a
+character, a development of the same system was
+recommended for the larger schemes which were
+thought to be impending. The foreign Powers were
+urged to assist China in putting her house in order
+and in adapting her administration to the exigencies
+of the time.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such were among the proposals made in 1896, and
+not disapproved by the Powers to which they were
+addressed. But common action thereon by foreigners
+was hindered by mutual rivalry and distrust, while the
+Chinese Government on its part showed neither inclination
+nor capacity&mdash;any more than it had ever done&mdash;to
+meet its difficulties by comprehensive measures. It
+preferred the ancient system of resisting, in detail
+and in secret, the advances of foreigners,&mdash;a policy of
+traps and snares and entanglements. Possibly the
+paralysis of despair had already reached the nerve
+centres of Chinese statesmanship, or the desperate
+scheme of a general expulsion of foreigners had begun
+to fascinate the leading spirits. Certain it is no
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_452' name='Page_452'>[452]</a></span>
+practical <i>rapprochement</i> was effected, or even seriously
+attempted, between the contending forces.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meantime, however, the invaders would brook no
+delay,&mdash;they had no time for temporising tactics. The
+"ugly rush" began&mdash;syndicate rivalled syndicate, and
+Government Government, in dividing up the <i>corpus vile</i>.
+Within twelve months of the period just referred to
+Germany led the way in the dismemberment of China
+by cutting off a slice of Shantung; Russia promptly
+followed in Liaotung; then Great Britain took Weihai-wei
+as a set-off, and assumed an interest in the central
+zone keener than that of the Chinese Government
+itself. Other Powers followed with imperious demands
+for portions of Chinese territory, on no ground whatever
+except that China was weak. Every law save
+the law of the strongest was suspended. Justice and
+mercy were thrown to the winds. And yet the orgies
+of spoliation were followed by no change in the outward
+forms of diplomatic relations with the Chinese
+Government. Foreign representatives continued to
+negotiate as if the power of that Government remained
+intact, though to assume, for one purpose, that there
+was neither sentient organism nor sovereign authority
+in China, and for another, that the Government retained
+its full competence,<a name='FA_36' id='FA_36' href='#FN_36' class='fnanchor'>[36]</a> was obviously to bring chaos
+into their intercourse. As a consequence, diplomatic
+correspondence with China since 1898&mdash;the British
+share of which, so far as has been published, extends
+to a thousand pages&mdash;is but a harvest of Dead Sea
+Fruit.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_453' name='Page_453'>[453]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But Chinese relations being a compound of courtesy
+and force on the part of foreign Powers, it is not difficult
+to divine which of the two must be the dominant
+factor. Though they bowed their heads in morose
+silence before their conquerors, Chinese statesmen retained
+sufficient vitality to discriminate between platonic
+diplomacy and the "mailed fist," yielding in all things
+to menace, in nothing to argument. To seize territory,
+under this <i>régime</i>, presented less difficulty than to
+obtain redress for trivial injuries. Aggressive Powers
+were respected according to the measure of their
+aggression, while those who concerned themselves with
+the preservation of the empire met with no recognition
+whatever. British schemes were thwarted at
+every point, while other Powers ran riot throughout
+the territory. For this reason the Chinese Government
+collectively, and individual mandarins, have
+been stigmatised as anti-British, as if to be so were
+a blot upon their escutcheons. No doubt they are;
+but to assume on that account that the Chinese
+rulers are pro-Russian, pro-French, or pro-German is
+more than the premisses seem to warrant. History
+and tradition are alike opposed to such an idea.
+That peculiar kind of patriot, the friend of every
+country but his own, is not much in evidence in
+China. The vainest and most jealous nation on earth
+was not likely in a moment to suppress its self-love,
+invert its whole character, and welcome an army of
+foreign adventurers, no matter of what nationality,
+who came in the guise not of servants but masters.
+And, setting sentiment aside, the Chinese were not
+blind to the material consequences of the foreign
+schemes which were pressed on them, but were as
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_454' name='Page_454'>[454]</a></span>
+keenly alive to the danger of intrusting railway and
+mining enterprises to foreigners as they had always
+shown themselves to be when their military and naval
+armaments were concerned. The memorials of provincial
+authorities clearly prove this. If, therefore,
+they admitted the disruptive agency into their country,
+it was from no love of the interlopers, but solely by
+way of submission to superior force, and under the
+same mental reservation with which they had subscribed
+to all their previous treaty engagements.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The chronic missionary irritant mentioned in previous
+chapters had been steadily spreading, and the hostility
+evoked by it as steadily increasing. Christianity being
+the only character in which foreigners had presented
+themselves to the view of the masses, the extirpation
+of it stood in the forefront of the anti-foreign programme.
+The disasters which the governing classes
+had always apprehended from the extension of foreign
+missions had suddenly assumed the form of a concrete
+reality. All that its opponents had for generations
+foretold became fact: their administration was being
+undermined, their traditions set at nought, their very
+territory wrenched from them in the name of the
+foreign religion. Propagandism was finally unmasked
+by the German Emperor in the uncompromising manner
+characteristic of that potentate. The Name that is
+above every name was openly made subservient to
+the lust of conquest. China saw at last that she
+was really doomed through the instrumentality of the
+religion which she had engaged herself to tolerate.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_455' name='Page_455'>[455]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+IV. THE DYNASTIC FACTOR.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Irregularity of the succession&mdash;Defensive position of the empress-dowager&mdash;Cantonese
+reformers influence emperor&mdash;Regent's alarm, vengeance
+and reaction&mdash;The new heir-apparent.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Ever since the <i>coup d'état</i> in January 1875, whereby
+the empress-regent by her own fiat placed her infant
+nephew on the throne of her deceased son, to the exclusion
+of more legitimate heirs, the dynastic question
+has been regarded by Chinese patriots as a certain
+source of future trouble.<a name='FA_37' id='FA_37' href='#FN_37' class='fnanchor'>[37]</a> The imperial dignity was
+not the only matter involved in the succession, but a
+vast amount of property also, and so many members
+of the imperial clan were interested in the result that
+it was deemed certain that the partisans of legitimacy
+would lie in wait for an opportunity of enforcing the
+claims of the rightful heir. As it is customary to
+attribute the acts of statesmen to personal motives,
+it has never been doubted that the interest of the
+empress-regent in setting the reigning emperor on the
+throne was sufficiently explained by her own lust of
+power. We know what is done, but do not always
+know what is prevented, and in the case of the families
+of both the elder brothers who were passed over, there
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_456' name='Page_456'>[456]</a></span>
+may have been practical as well as judicial reasons to
+justify even a <i>coup d'état</i> which supplanted them.
+From what has recently been revealed of the character
+of Prince Tuan, for example, the exclusion of
+his progeny may possibly have been a providential
+deliverance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Be these things as they may, however, and be her
+ulterior motives what they may, the solicitude of the
+empress-regent has been constantly directed to protecting
+the weak point in her dynastic defences. The
+childlessness of the present emperor, as well as the
+misfortunes of the empire since he assumed the reins
+of power in 1889, of course added indefinitely to her
+anxiety, while at the same time serving to keep alive
+the pretensions of the elder branches.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Speaking, as we have done throughout, only of what
+is apparent, the succession question was brought to the
+point of incandescence by certain events in 1898.
+Great and justifiable discontent had arisen in the
+provinces with the manner in which the affairs of the
+empire had been conducted, resulting in humiliation
+and calamity. The idea of doing something to stem
+the tide of misgovernment by enforcing the lessons
+of recent misfortune was freely discussed. But the
+Chinese have not discovered any method of remedying
+grievances except insurrections in one form or
+another, on a small or on a large scale. A movement
+of this character has been on foot in the Canton
+province ever since the Japanese war. These revolutionary
+conspiracies have indeed been so well organised,
+and so powerfully supported, that once, if not oftener,
+the provincial city of Canton has narrowly escaped
+capture. The agitation has been directed nominally
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_457' name='Page_457'>[457]</a></span>
+against the Manchu Government. Whether directly
+associated with the insurrectionary propaganda or
+not, another body afterwards challenged public notice
+under the name of Reformers. As in the case of the
+insurrectionary movement, many Government officials
+secretly gave their adhesion to the cause, and inspired
+the leaders with confidence in the ultimate success
+of their schemes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Reform had been preached continuously to China
+from every foreign pulpit for forty years. "Reform
+or perish" was the regular formula&mdash;words so easily
+written that no resident, tourist, publicist, foreign
+official, or any one with a pen or a tongue, refrained
+from reiterating them continually. Individually every
+Chinese official with whom foreigners came in contact
+joined in the cry. But though the general demand was
+unanimous, there was diversity in the details, and in
+such a case the details were everything. A dozen
+writers, each insisting on the necessity of thorough
+reform, would postulate separately some indispensable
+preliminary to any reform whatsoever. These indispensable
+preliminaries, added together, would have left
+nothing for the substantive portion of the programme;
+by them Chinese administration would have been renovated
+from top to bottom. Such was the difficulty
+which friends and critics experienced in knowing
+where to begin in their efforts to reduce the general
+to the particular.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In 1898, however, a bold attempt was made to
+launch a comprehensive scheme of reform by imperial
+fiat. A Cantonese named Kang Yu-wei, backed by
+a body of opinion,&mdash;of the extent and value of which
+different estimates may be formed, "financed," of
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_458' name='Page_458'>[458]</a></span>
+course, as popular leaders must be,&mdash;obtained the ear
+of the emperor, and induced him to promulgate a
+budget of edicts of startling novelty. Being deemed
+revolutionary, they excited alarm in the Imperial
+Court. What were the specific grounds of alarm
+may be easily surmised. Foreigners who refer it
+exclusively to the question of reform may possibly
+take as partial a view of this as they have done
+of other Court movements. What is known is, that
+the empress-regent, always ready to strike when her
+interest or her schemes have been threatened, pounced
+on the unfortunate emperor, and by force of will and
+the parental authority which counts for so much in
+China, and in virtue of the Great Seal which she had
+reserved when handing over her trust, made him revoke
+his revolutionary edicts, hunted out his dangerous counsellors
+and punished them as traitors. The embers of
+reform were thus for the time ruthlessly stamped out.
+Of the ethics of these proceedings it is needless to
+speak: not ethics but strength decided the issue;
+nature's primeval law was not suspended in favour
+of the adventurous spirits who flew at such high
+game. A reaction against all reform naturally set
+in, and the old struggle was renewed: between conservation
+and revolution, viewed from the Chinese
+Court side; between purity and corruption, viewed
+from that of the Reformers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the quarrel cannot be restricted to so simple
+an issue as either of these. The question between
+the Reformers and the Court was complicated by
+sundry important considerations. In the first place,
+the capture of the Emperor by Kang Yu-wei was
+directly inspired by the teaching of foreign missionaries.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_459' name='Page_459'>[459]</a></span>
+In the second place, the movement originated
+in the same southern provinces whence the Taiping
+rebellion itself had sprung, and where conspiracies
+against the Government had been active since 1895.
+And thirdly, the reform agitation was ostentatiously
+patronised by the foreign, or at least by the English,
+press, while the leaders of the insurgents found a
+safe asylum, if not an effective base of operations,
+in Hongkong and in foreign countries. Taking these
+circumstances together, therefore, whatever may be
+thought of the intrinsic merits of the double agitation,
+it could scarcely be expected that the Powers
+which saw themselves so seriously menaced should
+draw any such fine distinction between the ostensible
+objects of the reformers and of the revolutionaries,
+as to regard the one with complacency while suppressing
+the other. The most abject of governments
+and the most timid of animals will resist to
+the death an attack which threatens their existence.
+There would be nothing unnatural, therefore, in the
+resentment of the Imperial Government against its
+disaffected people being, by the process which is so
+familiar to us in family quarrels, temporarily diverted
+from the domestic to the foreign enemy, against
+whom the combined hostility of all parties in the
+Chinese State might, for the time being, be concentrated.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Without, however, attempting to assign their relative
+values to all or any of these factors in the question, it
+seems evident that the events of 1898 revealed the
+elements of a drama in which the contending factions
+in the Court were forced to show their colours. The
+course of the conflict during the year and a half following
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_460' name='Page_460'>[460]</a></span>
+the autumn of 1898 has probably been obscured
+rather than elucidated by the contradictory reports
+and fluctuating comments which have been so freely
+disseminated with but slight regard to the authenticity
+of their origin. But the nomination of a grandson
+of Prince Tun as heir-apparent, which was decreed
+in January 1900, looks like a belated, if not compulsory,
+recognition of the prior claims of that Princes family,
+and a confession that the Emperor Kwanghsu has
+kept the rightful heir twenty-five years out of his
+inheritance; for the grandson now selected possesses
+no right which the grandson set aside in 1875 did not
+possess. The relations of Prince Tuan, the father of
+the emperor designate, with the empress-regent are
+as obscure as the intricacies of palace politics usually
+are to contemporary foreign observers. Fortunately,
+however (in one sense), the cross-currents and undercurrents
+of the Court, the question who are confederates
+and who rivals, who betrayers and who
+betrayed, in the imperial camp, are matters which
+have to a great extent been deprived of their significance.
+Under normal conditions the dynastic imbroglio
+might have had a perturbing influence on
+the policy of foreign Powers, but the explosion of
+last summer has relegated all such domestic questions
+to a secondary place. When the correspondent of the
+'Times' could report that there was "no Government"
+in Peking, the <i>personnel</i> of that Government lost its
+practical interest. The old order, with its sins and
+sorrows, has indeed passed away, but to find a substitute
+for it is a problem that will tax the wisdom
+as well as the forbearance of the world. The anarchy
+which has been so long dreaded is actually upon us,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_461' name='Page_461'>[461]</a></span>
+and the prospective horrors of it are assuredly not
+lessened by the outbreak being signalised in the
+capital rather than in the provinces.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+V. THE CHINESE OUTBREAK.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p class="center">
+Chinese methods of expelling foreigners&mdash;Secret societies&mdash;The
+Boxers.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Considering as a whole, therefore, the succession of
+crushing blows which during the past six years have
+been dealt against the integrity of China by open
+enemies and dissimulating friends, we may conceive,
+at least partially, the hatred of foreigners which exists
+in the country. In this case we are not driven to
+assume any wide difference between the Chinese and
+races more nearly allied to ourselves, nor need we
+seek to account for their demonstrations by defects
+in their moral or religious training. Had even the
+whole population of China been miraculously converted
+to Christianity, as suggested by Sir Robert
+Hart ('Fortnightly Review,' November 1900), it is
+not permissible to assume that they would have
+continued turning the other cheek to so many
+smiters. If we suppose the case of any Western
+nation subjected to the experiences through which
+the Chinese have had to pass at the hands of
+foreign dictators, the mode in which it would act
+may afford us some measure by which to gauge
+the excesses of the Chinese.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The origin and organisation of the recent outbreak
+will no doubt be a topic of discussion for some
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_462' name='Page_462'>[462]</a></span>
+time to come, and it is not within our province to
+anticipate the final verdict on it. But, as in certain
+contagious diseases which become constitutional, the
+angry symptoms first show themselves at the point
+of infection, it is interesting to note that the German
+sphere in Shantung enjoys the distinction of being
+the cradle of the principal agency producing the
+cataclysm. The prominence suddenly attained by
+the Boxer movement is probably fortuitous, due to
+its casual connection with high personages. Secret
+societies are nothing new, nor societies of divers
+sorts which have scarcely the pretence of secrecy.
+As weeds spring up where cultivation is neglected,
+these social growths may be considered in the light
+of spontaneous efforts to occupy ground left vacant
+by the constituted Government,&mdash;a sort of excrescence
+of autonomy rising and falling according as the
+administration is less or more efficient. The members
+of these societies may be ascetics who follow strict
+rules of living, defenders of popular rights, or mere
+"bullies" who may be hired. They bear virtuous
+titles, but it is safe to assume that the ostensible
+object of the associations is in practice invariably
+lost in schemes of a different complexion. Sometimes
+in collision, at other times in collusion, with
+the established Government, these societies are a
+mobile factor, a sort of shifting ballast, always to
+be reckoned with in the Chinese economy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the Boxers are an athletic corps, drilled and
+exercised, it was natural to inquire, when their imposing
+force stood revealed, how such a formidable
+movement could have been organised among the
+Chinese people without the fact becoming known to
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_463' name='Page_463'>[463]</a></span>
+the foreign residents in the country. One answer is,
+that those who saw what was going on and warned
+their countrymen were decried as alarmists, and
+then held their peace. The wisest were but little
+wiser than their neighbours, for as weather prophets
+easily forecast the character of the following season,
+while they are at fault as regards that of the next
+twenty-four hours, so those who are able to predict
+with confidence the remote future in China are often
+the most blind to the nearer future which is reckoned
+by days or months. But incredulity was excusable
+in the present case, for the extent and apparent
+suddenness of the movement were really unprecedented.
+Such a force has not been mobilised and
+kept in the field in a militant condition without
+immense effort and liberal supplies, for though pillage
+might go far, it would not go all the way in supporting
+so large a body for any length of time. The
+junction of the Boxers with imperial troops, the
+relations of the commanders to members of the imperial
+family, and the influence of the movement on
+the question of the dynastic succession, are all matters
+on which light will be welcome; for as no military
+invasion of the territory has ever called forth such
+a general enthusiasm of resistance, interesting, indeed,
+will be the discovery of the real genesis of a rising
+at once spontaneous and aggressive.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The most practical observation, however, that
+foreign nations have been forced to make during the
+crisis is that, whatever might have been the separate
+designs of those who presided over the general movement,
+the rallying flag of the combination was the
+extermination of foreigners. That was the pretext
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_464' name='Page_464'>[464]</a></span>
+which, for the time being at least, reconciled all
+antagonisms and satisfied all consciences. It seemed
+as if the long-accumulated hatred of the Chinese had
+gathered to a head, and its whole force had been concentrated
+in one supreme effort to sweep the aliens
+throughout the empire into the sea. That elaborate
+preparation had been made to carry this into effect
+seems to be placed beyond doubt, the rulers of China
+evidently conceiving that the effort would be successful.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The excuse put forward in palliation of an anti-crusade
+headed by the highest personages in the
+empire bears an interesting family resemblance to the
+apology usually made for rebels. Being beguiled by
+false prophets, they believed they would succeed;<a name='FA_38' id='FA_38' href='#FN_38' class='fnanchor'>[38]</a> and
+success would have justified the venture. The facts
+are such as no subsequent negotiations, no treaties, no
+modifications of government, no reform, no professions
+of any kind, can ever explain away.
+</p>
+
+<h3>
+VI. THE CRUX.
+</h3>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p>
+Concert of foreign Powers unstable&mdash;Divergent aims&mdash;Aggressive and
+non-aggressive Powers&mdash;Unpromising outlook&mdash;The progress of Russia
+the only permanent element.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+If conflicting forces in China have been united in
+an effort to expel the foreigners, so the non-Chinese
+world has been forced into temporary agreement in
+order to extinguish a conflagration which endangered
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_465' name='Page_465'>[465]</a></span>
+all interests. But the Powers assembled to execute
+judgment and restore order in China present a picturesque
+diversity of ulterior aims. Their unity can
+hardly, therefore, be expected to survive the emergency
+which gave it birth. After the storm has passed&mdash;if it
+does pass&mdash;the permanent policy of the several Powers
+may be expected to resume its normal sway. Of the
+character of these different policies we are not left in
+doubt, for in the history of the past six years it has
+been revealed in overt acts bearing a higher authority
+than the most solemn official manifestoes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The principal Powers concerned may be ranged in
+three groups&mdash;the aggressive, the non-aggressive, and
+the absorbent. Under the first must be ranked Japan,
+France, and Germany. Facts which cannot lie have
+proved that these three Powers have long cherished
+designs upon the territory of China. No doubt they
+flatter themselves with the belief that their rule
+over such portions of Chinese soil as may come under
+their control would be a blessing to mankind, an
+opinion which it would serve no good purpose to
+controvert. And they reckon that, in addition to
+the higher civilisation which they propose to confer
+on the Chinese people and Government, they will
+secure material advantages for their own populations.
+The ruling characteristic, however, of this policy is
+that it is factitious, adventurous, and ideal, in search
+of interests to defend rather than framed for the
+defence of interests existing. It is essentially, therefore,
+an aggressive policy, though, in a sense, also
+progressive. Dividing the world into communities to
+be conquered and nations who are fitted to conquer
+them, it represents the primeval moving power in
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_466' name='Page_466'>[466]</a></span>
+ethnic evolution. But it is a policy quite unsuited
+for co-operation, and the attempt to yoke together
+Governments, certain of whom are moved empirically
+by facts as they exist and as they arise, and others
+by the desire of creating facts, ends&mdash;as all concerts
+of antagonistic interests must end&mdash;most likely in
+explosion. A safe calculation may be made as to
+the action of a non-aggressive Power, under given
+circumstances, as the action of a man of business
+may be approximately inferred from obvious considerations
+of pecuniary advantage. But in the case of
+States with ideal policies, like France and Germany,
+no such forecast can be made. This radical divergence
+between the aims of the Powers who are called
+upon to decree the fate of China must render a
+sincere agreement between them, under any circumstances,
+impossible; and if the policy of one of them
+should happen to be directed by a political genius
+ambitious of distinction, the course of the whole would
+be subject to aberrations incalculable. It is true that
+the Governments which have marked out for themselves
+these extensive plans of aggression may begin to perceive
+that their proceedings in China have been
+somewhat in advance of any justification, also that
+they have been reckoning without their host, and that
+to found and maintain empires in further Asia may
+put a strain upon their resources out of proportion to
+the material gains to be derived from the enterprise.
+Perceiving that their "vaulting ambition may o'erleap
+itself" and land them on the off-side of the horse, they
+may show themselves willing, for the moment, to
+attenuate the significance of their previous energy.
+The discovery that the conquest of China involves
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_467' name='Page_467'>[467]</a></span>
+something more than a military promenade may induce
+them to make professions which, however sincere for
+the time being, accord but indifferently with established
+facts. In the procession of history, however,
+it is the facts and not the words which ultimately
+prevail.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And this is the only canon by which it is safe to
+interpret the apocalyptic exchange of notes just announced
+between Great Britain and Germany, whose
+significance, like that of the conversation of a Chinese,
+lies in the things which are not said. Considered as
+a convention, it must be classed with those elastic
+bargains of which several examples occur in the preceding
+narrative, in which one party has a definite
+aim and the other not, and which is therefore destined
+to be employed exclusively to the advantage of the
+former. <span lang="la"><i>Vigilantibus non dormientibus servit lex.</i></span>
+Without knowing what secret inducements led to
+such a declaration of policy between Great Britain
+and Germany it is impossible to assign a value to
+it. Its most authoritative expositors in the German
+press rejoice in the fact that it pins Great Britain
+down to the only policy which she has ever pursued,
+or ever will,&mdash;a policy in which her public utterances
+have throughout coincided with her overt acts,&mdash;that,
+namely, of opening Chinese and all other markets not
+for herself but for the whole world on equal terms.
+An agreement, however, which does not arrest French
+encroachments in the south, Russian appropriations
+in the north, nor German exclusive exploitations in
+Shantung or elsewhere, contributes little to that
+maintenance of the integrity of China which is its
+professed object. Neither the world at large nor
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_468' name='Page_468'>[468]</a></span>
+China herself will benefit greatly by a verbal restriction
+on the one Power to whom the "open door"
+and the integrity of China are articles of political
+religion and of undeviating practice. And the clause
+which solemnly reserves to the two parties the right
+of consulting together in certain contingencies gives
+to the transaction a very platonic character. But a
+covenant whose meaning is veiled is always a hazardous
+operation, even in private life, where the power
+of definite interpretation lies with the more aggressive
+of the two parties.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+The non-aggressive Powers may be defined as those
+whose citizens have established in the country a substantial
+position, which their Governments have been
+slow to protect. The principal representatives of this
+group are Great Britain and the United States, whose
+interests in China have many times been defined as
+commercial, and not territorial. They have acted consistently
+on the conviction that there is no country
+in the world where conquest for the sake of commerce
+was less justifiable than in China, which possesses a
+large population inured to labour, accustomed to the
+luxuries of a civilised society, and with unsurpassed
+aptitude for business. No special credit is due to the
+two Anglo-Saxon nations for their recognition of these
+circumstances, except in so far as it indicates an intelligent
+appreciation of their own interests. They desire,
+as an ordinary trader or manufacturer would, that a
+good customer may be kept on his legs, and that a
+promising inheritance shall not be alienated from the
+next generation of their merchants. Their policy,
+however, being essentially passive and conservative,
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_469' name='Page_469'>[469]</a></span>
+suffers from the defects of these qualities, and is liable
+to be overborne by the more energetic action of the
+Powers which we have ventured to place in the
+aggressive class.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+There remains the third group, which consists of
+one member, and that is Russia. Although Russia
+is in effect more aggressive than all the others put
+together, her annexations have been conducted under
+a different formula from those of Germany, France,
+or Japan. It is not merely that she has avoided
+hostilities, and effected her purpose by patient and
+adroit diplomacy, but that her acquisitions of Chinese
+territory have not been of the "wild-cat" order, but
+genuine integral additions to her existing possessions.
+The expansion of Russia, whether a matter to be deplored
+or applauded, is at any rate a natural growth,
+unduly forced at times, but steady and progressive.
+It is the shadow of this secular advance of Russia
+that covers the whole Far Eastern situation, and has
+in fact done so for nearly fifty years. The character
+of her progress could not be better described, even
+with the lights we now possess, than it was by Sir
+Rutherford Alcock as far back as 1855. With rare
+clearness of vision and firmness of touch he thus foretold
+the position which Russia was destined to occupy
+in the Far East:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+China has long been impotent. Russia has within the last
+few years, by force of diplomacy, appropriated half the province
+of Manchuria, the ancient patrimony of the reigning dynasty,
+and with it the command of the river Amur. If this other
+great Leviathan ... has not yet swallowed the whole empire,
+it can only be that, great as are its capacities, there are limits
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_470' name='Page_470'>[470]</a></span>
+imposed by nature to the powers of deglutition and digestion in
+the largest boa-constrictor or predatory animal yet discovered.
+In the mean time the danger is more immediate and menacing
+to Europe than to China, perhaps; for Russia has at Sakhalin,
+the mouth of the Amur, and the adjoining coasts of the Western
+continent, laid the foundation for a position as menacing to
+European commerce as any now existing at the opposite extremity
+in the Baltic. Stretching with giant arms across the
+whole breadth of Northern Asia and Europe from fastnesses at
+each end, Asiatic hordes, directed by Western genius and science,
+are held in leash, ready to let slip over the fair and fertile
+south of both continents. The wealthiest regions of both
+Europe and Asia are at once threatened by this modern
+colossus.... China, India, and the kingdoms of Southern
+Europe form but the three different stages of invading progress.
+Long before the whole of such a gigantic scheme of rule and
+conquest can have its accomplishment in China&mdash;the most
+helpless as well as the richest of all the victims&mdash;Russia will
+be enabled to reap the first-fruits and take instalments of the
+larger and more distant spoil, by controlling the trade of
+Northern China and the rich European trade so recently
+developed in its seas.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+Russia alone has a policy independent at once of
+accidents, autocrats, shifting governing bodies, and
+of all personalities, weak or strong. With the accumulated
+force of past achievements, an unbroken tradition,
+and great military forces massed on a frontier which is
+no frontier, Russia among the other Powers now masquerading
+in the Far East is as the iron vessel floating
+among the earthenware pots. Russian publicists, in
+order to strengthen the dominant position to which
+they aspire, have been proclaiming with increasing
+insistency that they are the only nation who can
+deal with the Chinese Question because they are
+themselves an Asiatic people. They justify this pretension
+by their primitive Asiatic military ethics,<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_471' name='Page_471'>[471]</a></span>
+and it is an instructive spectacle to see their forces
+massacring Chinese populations wholesale while their
+diplomatists are ostentatiously shielding those in high
+places from the just consequences of their crimes.
+The German Emperor has said many clever and some
+foolish things, but perhaps he never did a wiser one
+than in making over his schemes of vengeance to his
+august ally, for the work is more becoming to an
+Asiatic than a Teutonic people.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+From an areopagus composed of these incongruous
+elements great achievements are expected, but the
+comparison between the end and the means inspires
+little confidence as to the result. The task itself is
+gigantic enough to appal the boldest political experimenter
+that ever lived, while its complexity involves
+insoluble contradictions. China, the very Government
+itself, has been guilty of outrages against foreign
+nations such as no nation can forgive another. The
+foreign Powers have been openly and persistently
+defied&mdash;their people massacred throughout the empire.
+Yet the nations so hated and flouted assume
+that they have a mission to fulfil in setting up a
+stable Government in China, a Government to be
+created for their own convenience, with which they
+may in future negotiate,&mdash;a puppet Government, therefore,
+yet one which is to maintain peace and good
+order throughout a vast empire by the prestige of its
+authority over a loyal and devoted people. As buttresses
+to the stability of the new <i>régime</i>, "the loyal
+southern viceroys," as they are termed&mdash;loyal to whom,
+or to what?&mdash;deriving authority, it is to be presumed,
+from the Government which is to be patronised by<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_472' name='Page_472'>[472]</a></span>
+foreigners, are expected to meet the convenience of the
+dictators and prevent anarchy in the provinces. In
+short, the subjective Chinaman, as we have ventured
+to call the fabulous animal so often evolved from
+Western consciousness, is once more to be brought
+on the scene, and do everything that is expected of
+him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A puppet Government is an intelligible thing,
+but of a puppet pulled by a dozen strings no
+clear conception can be formed. Such, however, has
+been the anomalous history of foreign relations with
+China, that the identical state of things now threatening
+has not been absent from the minds of observers for a
+whole generation. The missionary question alone was
+thought likely to result in a deadlock between China
+and the Powers. More than thirty years ago Sir
+Rutherford Alcock was impressed with the destructive
+effect of "each treaty Power dictating to the Government
+and coercing its officers in their jurisdiction
+wherever Christians were concerned." This, he thought,
+"would tend to paralyse and bring into contempt the
+executive, leading to a process of disintegration fatal
+to the existence of the Empire." What was then
+thought applicable to the missionary field now affects
+the whole range of international intercourse and of
+Chinese government. We are, in fact, confronted by
+two anarchies of most serious portent&mdash;anarchy in the
+administration of China, and anarchy among the
+foreign Powers who are so active in that country.
+From the beginning of the intervention to protect
+the Legations anarchy among the Allies has been the
+predominant feature: it was that which frustrated
+effective action in June, and led to such severe loss
+and suffering. Anarchy alone can account for the<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_473' name='Page_473'>[473]</a></span>
+lawless proceedings at Tientsin, Peking, and on the
+Chinese coast, which on any other hypothesis would
+be a disgrace to civilisation. Anarchy has characterised
+all the utterances of the Western Powers.
+Beginning at the wrong end with great swelling words
+full of sound and fury, the Powers who assumed to
+lead have gradually toned down their threats as they
+obtained more light on the situation and on their own
+incapacity to deal with it. The latest expression of
+this incapacity is the Anglo-German Agreement, already
+referred to, which perpetuates the fallacy of
+excluding the Chinese factor from the China question.
+Yet out of, even by means of, this confusion it is
+expected that order may be established in China!
+<span lang="la"><i>Similia similibus!</i></span>
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+In this desperate imbroglio the ultimate advantage
+will no doubt fall to those members of the unnatural
+coalition who have the clearest views and the firmest
+resolution in giving effect to them. The dubious and
+vacillating Powers frittering away their political forces,
+espousing every contradiction in succession, and turning
+in weariness from the disgusting scenes in which
+they will have reluctantly participated, will in all probability
+leave the path open for their neighbours who
+have steadier aims and fewer scruples.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Russia has been in real, though not nominal or
+legal, possession of Manchuria since 1896. She has
+absorbed in times past many stony deserts and barren
+solitudes, but in Manchuria she has for the first time
+acquired a rich territory with an all-important sea-base
+and a virile population, whereby her dominant
+position in Eastern Asia has been rendered inexpugnable.
+China lies at her feet. Obviously, therefore,<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_474' name='Page_474'>[474]</a></span>
+her interests in that empire are not only distinct
+from, but opposed to, those of every other Power:
+for while they may desire (1) to support an efficient
+government and keep the empire of China on its legs,
+and (2) to cut off slices of the territory for their
+own use,&mdash;two contradictory and mutually destructive
+policies,&mdash;Russia has no need to be anxious, either
+as to the efficiency of any Chinese Government or
+as to her own ulterior interests in the territory.
+The looser the substance to be absorbed the more
+painless will be the process of absorption. Once
+established in strength in Manchuria, disorder on
+her frontier may afford the perhaps not unwelcome
+opportunity of restoring order on her own terms,&mdash;of,
+in fact, continuing the process by which Siberia with
+Central and North-Eastern Asia have, in the course
+of two hundred years, been gradually incorporated
+into the Russian Empire. "It may well be doubted,"
+wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock in 1868, "if this vast
+empire (of China) is not too large to be any longer
+governed from Peking. It is impossible to conceive
+a more disadvantageous site for the capital." Disadvantageous,
+perhaps, to China, whose centre of
+gravity lies a thousand miles to the south; but not
+disadvantageous to a Power whose strength is consolidated
+five hundred miles to the north.<a name='FA_39' id='FA_39' href='#FN_39' class='fnanchor'>[39]</a>
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_475' name='Page_475'>[475]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And the veto which Russia has exercised over the
+acts of the Chinese Government since 1895, whereby
+she has been able, at her pleasure, to frustrate the
+enterprises of other Powers, is not likely to fall into
+abeyance when that Government has been prostrated
+by its own folly. For the weaker the Chinese Government
+becomes the greater will be its need of correction
+and guidance. But we have only to imagine half-a-dozen
+Powers, each aspiring, and some of them fully
+resolved, to exercise their special veto over the proposals
+of the others, to realise the tragic complexity of
+the international problems which now present themselves
+for solution. A government holding together
+three hundred millions of people ripened for rebellion,
+potentially at war with the rest of the world, and
+yet governing under multiple tutelage&mdash;such is the
+prospect before us. Of all the legacies which the nineteenth
+bequeaths to the twentieth century, there is none
+more portentous than that of the sick giant of the
+Far East.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="i475" id="i475"></a>
+<img src="images/i-p475.jpg" width="159" height="183" alt="" />
+
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_476' name='Page_476'>[476]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<span class="s08">SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK'S LATER YEARS.</span>
+</h2>
+
+<div class="ch_summ">
+<p class="center">
+Retirement&mdash;Literary work&mdash;Social and charitable occupations&mdash;Geographical
+Society&mdash;Borneo&mdash;Failing health&mdash;Active to the end.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+After twenty-seven years' service in the Far East
+Sir Rutherford Alcock spent the remaining twenty-seven
+years of his life in his own country, not in
+the placid enjoyment of a well-earned leisure or in
+mere literary recreation, but in labours incessant for
+the good of his countrymen. Though the scene had
+changed, the methodical habits of his business life
+remained unaltered, and were directed in their full
+activity to the duties that presented themselves in
+England.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+During his whole active life Sir Rutherford had
+cherished the hope of occupying his years of leisure
+with work for the sick and needy. His visit to
+England, 1856-58, perhaps gave the definite direction
+to this aspiration, and led him to see that hospitals,
+schools, prisons, and similar institutions would afford
+the best available medium through which he could
+reach the object of his desires. No sooner, therefore,
+was he released from official service than the ex-army
+surgeon returned to his first love. The associations<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_477' name='Page_477'>[477]</a></span>
+of his youth were bound up with the two hospitals in
+Westminster where he had studied. There, accordingly,
+after the lapse of forty years, his active connection
+with the medical schools was resumed. Residing
+in the immediate vicinity, Sir Rutherford was
+able to devote a large share of his time to the
+affairs of Westminster Hospital, giving back with
+interest what he had received from his nursing
+mother. He was a regular visitor there: before
+long he joined the Board, and became a prominent
+figure at its meetings. Being appointed one of the
+vice-presidents, an office he held till his death, he
+was, through his constant attendance, the working
+chairman of the board. There was much good work
+waiting to be done in the control and direction of
+the routine service of the establishment, and still
+more in the way of improvements required to adapt
+the machine to the needs of the time. Hospitals in
+general were by no means in a satisfactory condition
+thirty years ago, and the Westminster was certainly
+no better than its neighbours. The sanitary state of
+the establishment was antiquated and unfavourable to
+the patients. But the structural changes necessary
+to improve this and to extend the accommodation,
+and the heavy expenditure involved, demanded first-rate
+financial and organising capacity, as well as unremitting
+labour,&mdash;desiderata which Sir Rutherford
+was eminently qualified to supply. The nursing was
+at such a low level as amounted almost to a scandal.
+Drastic remedies, in short, and in many directions,
+were called for. But reform from within is proverbially
+an unpromising undertaking, the <i>personnel</i> being
+identified with conservative traditions. That kind of<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_478' name='Page_478'>[478]</a></span>
+parsimony which is in effect the worst extravagance,
+inasmuch as it yields no adequate return, was a
+serious obstacle to improvement. It was not their
+fault, but that of the system of which they were
+but creatures, that nurses and other attendants were
+so perfunctory and so inefficient. It was the system,
+therefore, that had to be reformed, and into that
+work Sir Rutherford Alcock threw himself <span lang="it_IT"><i>con amore</i></span>.
+In his labours for the improvement of the hospital
+he was supported throughout by the cordial co-operation
+of the late Lady Augusta Stanley. We
+are indebted to his colleague, Mr George Cowell,
+F.R.C.S., for a short reference to the work initiated
+and carried through by Sir Rutherford Alcock, and
+for a warm tribute to the zeal and ability which
+he brought into the service:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+Most of the many valuable reports on such subjects as the
+nursing, admission of out-patients, structural alterations, and
+improved sanitation were written by him, and endorsed by the
+committees over which he so ably presided. The writer of this
+notice remembers the early controversies with reference to the
+nursing, and the growing complaints which failed to receive
+attention until Sir Rutherford came on the scene. Hospital
+committees in those days were not so liberal as they are now,
+and all increase in the wages of the nurses was absolutely
+refused for many years. The result of this parsimony was that
+as the general rate of wages increased, the best nurses were
+enticed away by better pay elsewhere, and Westminster had
+gradually come to be nursed by a lower and lower class, and
+indeed thirty years ago it was not an unheard-of thing to convict
+a nurse for consuming brandy ordered for the patient. The
+medical staff were obliged to make a stand against this crying
+evil, and at last, with the assistance of Sir Rutherford, and in
+spite of the determined opposition of the then senior physician,
+a change was made, and the cost of the nursing was doubled at
+a bound.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_479' name='Page_479'>[479]</a></span></p>
+<p>
+Sir Rutherford was chairman of the Westminster
+Ophthalmic Hospital for sixteen years, and of the
+Hospital for Women in Soho Square, to both of which
+institutions he rendered great services. He was member
+of the Council of the House of Charity for assisting
+those who have seen better days, and chairman
+of the Nursing Home founded by Lady Augusta
+Stanley, in which he took a keen interest. He was
+also a Poor Law Guardian and a leader in sundry charitable
+and other parochial work, his experiences of
+which he likened to the steps of a dancing-master&mdash;"two
+forward and one backward, with no very sensible
+advance in any one direction." One important step
+forward he did, however, succeed in making, and that
+was in obtaining trained nurses for sick inmates of
+workhouses. His efforts, while connected with St
+George's Union, were specially devoted to the treatment
+of the sick: he also took a great interest in the
+emigration of pauper children to Canada.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As a member of the committee of the Charity Organisation
+Society he laboured for many years in a variety
+of ways to bring about unity of action between that
+body and the Board of Guardians. In connection with
+the Westminster District Board of Works, Board of
+Parochial Trustees, Western Dispensary, and Westminster
+Nursing Committee, he rendered innumerable
+services to the populous districts controlled by these
+organisations. Having been elected to the Board of
+Works in 1875, Sir Rutherford was at once placed
+upon the Sanitary Committee, to which the Board
+delegated the administration of the Public Health Acts
+then in force. The vestry clerk of St Margaret's and
+St John's records that the Sanitary Committee of the<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_480' name='Page_480'>[480]</a></span>
+District Board of Works was Sir Rutherford's favourite
+field of work&mdash;an impression which was no doubt also
+formed by the executive officers of the other spheres of
+his multifarious activity. The members of the Board
+were at that time greatly occupied in combating the
+evils resulting from the overcrowded and insanitary
+condition of their district, and Sir Rutherford was
+largely instrumental in urging upon the Home Office
+the necessity of legislation to compel medical practitioners
+and heads of families to give notice of cases of
+infectious diseases&mdash;efforts which eventually resulted
+in the Act of Parliament of 1889.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In 1881 he was appointed a member of the Royal
+Commission to investigate the London smallpox and
+fever hospitals, to the formation of which he had contributed
+powerfully by his reports and articles and
+labours in the Medical Conference. In 1882 he presided
+over the Health Department of the Social Science
+Congress.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In all the social and philanthropic objects to which
+he devoted himself he was an original worker, never
+a follower of routine or one to say ditto to another
+man's opinions. Whatever he undertook he
+did thoroughly, and with a single eye to the main
+purpose. His various activities brought him into
+contact with all sorts and conditions of men, but
+chiefly with those on the pathetic side of social life&mdash;the
+unfortunate, the debilitated, the improvident, the
+suffering. He shirked none of his obligations to the
+meanest of these, and would suffer the greatest personal
+inconvenience rather than fail in fulfilment of
+the smallest promise, or in gratifying the slightest
+request. This punctilious observance of the minor<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_481' name='Page_481'>[481]</a></span>
+duties was remarked as a prominent feature in his
+character. An intimate friend writes, "How I wish
+I could convey even a faint idea of his kindly and
+sympathetic friendship, which left the feeling that he
+was on a plane above one in his lofty sense of love
+and duty." Pure philanthropy, genuine economy, and
+sound finance being his guiding principles in all social
+undertakings, and whatever he undertook being pushed
+through to a successful issue, he by degrees acquired
+a reputation for efficiency and tenacity. It was not
+surprising that his energetic character should have
+gained him the credit of aggressiveness, or, as Mr
+Co well puts it, "bellicose individuality," which, however,
+served him in good stead in every post he
+occupied. We have already seen throughout his
+official career how he was stimulated by controversy:
+he was at his best as a fighting man.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The high qualities which Sir Rutherford devoted
+to his labours of love received flattering recognition
+from the Queen, who applied to him to draw up the
+regulations and rules of the institution by which
+deserving nurses were to be benefited in commemoration
+of her Majesty's Jubilee. This honour he accepted
+from her Majesty on the condition that he should have
+for colleagues in the work Sir James Paget and the
+Duke of Westminster, a request which was graciously
+granted. The balance of the Women's Jubilee offering
+of 1887 was £70,000, of which fund the three were
+appointed trustees. They decided that it should be
+applied to the foundation of an institution to promote
+the education and maintenance of nurses for the sick
+poor in their own homes. When the scheme had been
+matured a royal charter of incorporation was granted,<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_482' name='Page_482'>[482]</a></span>
+wherein the governing body was styled "The Queen
+Victoria Jubilee Institute for Nurses," the three
+trustees being appointed to act permanently in that
+capacity, and also as members of the Council of the
+Institute. "Sir Rutherford," says the Rev. Arthur
+Peile, Master of St Katharine's, "continued to the
+last to take an unfailing interest in the work, and
+in many valuable ways aided the committee and
+council by his advice. From his wide grasp of the
+subject in its various bearings he was able to make
+important suggestions." The Diamond Jubilee and
+the incidents connected with the celebration interested
+Sir Rutherford greatly during the last year of his life,
+and the medal he received on the occasion was valued
+by him more highly than any other distinction, because
+he knew that the bestowal of it was the spontaneous
+act of the Queen herself, for whom he had a deep
+personal affection.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To the larger public Sir Rutherford Alcock was
+perhaps best known by his work in connection with
+the Royal Geographical Society, on the committee of
+which he served for twenty years. Elected President
+in 1876, it fell to him to receive Sir George Nares on
+his return from his Arctic expedition in that year,
+and Mr H. M. Stanley on his return from the Congo
+in 1877. His various presidential addresses to the
+Society itself, and to the geographical section of the
+British Association, are replete with well-digested
+summaries of the progress of geographical exploration
+throughout the world. His comprehensive treatment
+of the subject assisted very much, if not to make
+geography a science, at least to lift it out of the
+region of mere technical knowledge, and to assign to<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_483' name='Page_483'>[483]</a></span>
+the study of it the social and political significance
+now universally attached to the description of the
+earth's surface. Personally he did much to stimulate
+enterprise of that kind in various regions. As Chairman
+of the African Exploration Fund, he took an
+active share in the labours which resulted in the
+despatch of Mr Keith Johnston and Mr Joseph
+Thomson to East Africa, and, by bringing the country
+into notice, had such important results in the direction
+of the opening up of that part of the continent.
+Speaking of him a few days after his death, the
+President, Sir Clements Markham, said: "Judicious,
+patient, and courteous, he was esteemed by us all,
+and his able advice helped us out of many a difficulty.
+The period of his presidency will always be
+remembered for the energy with which he advocated
+African exploration, the result of his efforts being
+represented by the memorable expeditions of Joseph
+Thomson."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We have already had occasion to remark on the
+personal interest which Sir Rutherford had taken
+during the earlier years of his service in China and
+Japan in the London Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862.<a name='FA_40' id='FA_40' href='#FN_40' class='fnanchor'>[40]</a>
+Indeed the Japanese "show" in the latter was virtually
+organised by him. His well-known sympathy with,
+and interest in, all industrial and artistic collections led
+to his being chosen as British Commissioner to the
+Paris Exhibition of 1878.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About the same time a question of imperial concern
+claimed Sir Rutherford's active intervention: that was
+colonisation in the Eastern Archipelago. Borneo, the<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_484' name='Page_484'>[484]</a></span>
+largest island in the world after Australia, has from
+time to time excited considerable interest in Great
+Britain. The romantic career of the Rajah of
+Sarawak, Sir James Brooke, on the west coast, had
+much to do with bringing that part of the world
+into public notice. Adopting as his country the
+domain made over to him by the native chiefs, Rajah
+Brooke laboured among his people like a missionary
+of civilisation, trampled out the savage customs of
+the natives, and after many trials gained the confidence
+of the people by his justice and firmness, and
+eventually brought the country into a state of prosperity
+and good order. In this he was loyally
+seconded by Captain Keppel, now Admiral of the
+Fleet, whose 'Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido'
+is a graphic story of their joint adventures among
+pirates and head-hunters. Coal having been found
+in Labuan, adjoining the Rajah's territory, that island
+was acquired by Great Britain in 1847, under treaty
+from the Sultan of Brunei, who engaged not to make
+any cession of his territory without her Majesty's
+consent, and established as a Crown colony.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Netherlands and Spain claimed between them,
+upon a vague tenure, enormous tracts of the coast
+of Borneo and the adjoining archipelago, effectually
+blocking all progress in these regions. There still
+remained, however, an important section of the
+northern part of that immense island unappropriated
+by the white man. Portions of this tract had been
+leased to an American citizen, who transferred it to
+an American company; but being unable to furnish
+the capital either to pay the stipulated rent or to
+develop so enormous a property, in 1877 the holders<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_485' name='Page_485'>[485]</a></span>
+were glad to part with all their rights to an English
+association consisting of Baron von Overbeck and Mr
+(now Sir) Alfred Dent, who undertook to pay the
+agreed tribute to the Sultans of Borneo and Sooloo.
+Possessing this immense estate, with the sovereign
+rights inherent in the proprietor, the English association
+made arrangements to develop the property.
+Agents were sent out to occupy certain points on
+the coast, and a provisional government, suited to
+the requirements of the place, was set up. But
+the administration putting too heavy a strain upon
+a private individual, Mr Dent set to work to find
+assistance in his undertaking.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this juncture, 1879, Sir Rutherford Alcock, impressed
+by the important strategical position of the
+island of Borneo, lying close to the track of vessels
+traversing the China Sea, its possession of several
+good harbours, and prospective coal supply, joined Mr
+Dent in his efforts to place the British occupation of
+the Bornean harbours on a secure basis. As a first
+step it was necessary to organise a company with
+sufficient capital to take over the government and
+utilise the resources of the territory. This may well
+have seemed at the time not only an arduous but
+an impossible undertaking; for nothing short of a
+royal charter could supply the necessary guarantee
+to attract capitalists, and to assure them that their
+property investment would eventually be productive.
+The era had long gone past when royal charters were
+granted to merchant adventurers. Such an institution,
+therefore, seemed an anachronism, opposed to
+the spirit of the age. Nor was the political colour
+of the British Government at the time encouraging<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_486' name='Page_486'>[486]</a></span>
+to imperial schemes of any description. In spite of
+these difficulties the knowledge of affairs and insistency
+of Sir Rutherford Alcock and the other promoters
+enabled them eventually to succeed in pushing
+their enterprise with the Government to the point
+of obtaining a charter of incorporation in November
+1881. On the faith of this charter a company was
+formed, of which the capital now stands at £2,000,000,
+under the title of the "British North Borneo Company."
+Sir Rutherford Alcock became the chairman,
+which post he continued to fill during the ten years
+which may be considered the probationary stage of
+the company. To him it owed much of its success
+in overcoming the numerous difficulties incidental to
+starting so novel a venture; and among his other
+labours in its behalf he drew up a full and elaborate
+handbook of North Borneo. It was not a trading,
+but a governing and a land-owning company, its
+revenues consisting of royalties paid by private
+adventurers for the privileges of mining, agriculture,
+and so forth, licences and the necessary taxes on
+commerce. But the interests of a dividend-earning
+and a governing company were so nearly incompatible
+that no little ingenuity as well as patient effort
+were required to bring about reconciliation between
+the two elements.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The affairs of the company have been conducted
+with great perseverance, the exploitation of the territory
+by means of planting, mining, and industries of
+various kinds having been handed over to subsidiary
+companies created for the purpose, while the parent
+body maintains its position as overlord, administering
+the whole territory.<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_487' name='Page_487'>[487]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But amidst his numerous preoccupations in England
+Sir Rutherford never loosened his grasp on the events
+which were transpiring in the distant field to which
+his official life had been devoted. As the only competent
+and persistent critic of these events, he did as
+much as one man could to turn the eyes of his
+countrymen towards their most important interests
+in Further Asia. Nearly every passing event was
+noticed briefly by him in the columns of the daily
+press, while the permanent features of the Far Eastern
+problem, which are only now beginning to dawn upon
+the consciousness of the nation, were copiously dealt
+with in the monthly magazines and in the more
+stately pages of the 'Edinburgh Review.' Sir Rutherford's
+contributions to periodical literature, forming a
+tolerably complete repertory of the questions arising
+out of the intercourse of Europe with Eastern Asia,
+would fill many volumes. As late as 1896 the subject
+was still uppermost in his mind. "In China," he
+then wrote, "there is a far larger Eastern question
+than what is occupying us at Constantinople. An
+open port for Russia, a railroad across Russia, with
+the French scheming for our commerce in the Indo-Chinese
+peninsula,&mdash;the whole situation is full of
+danger to all our interests in China." And during
+the last year of his life the thought of all that had
+been lost to the country through sheer neglect seemed
+to weigh heavily on his mind. That his constant
+premonitions of coming changes passed practically unheeded
+by the public to whom they were addressed
+is unfortunately true; and it is trite to say that it
+would have been well for this country if the warnings
+of such serious writers as this had been taken to<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_488' name='Page_488'>[488]</a></span>
+heart before instead of after the deluge. But that
+would have been a historical anomaly, for mankind
+has learned little since the days of Noah.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Under the valid plea of advancing age and failing
+health Sir Rutherford during his last years relinquished
+one after another the offices which he had filled with
+so much earnestness and good faith. Deafness alone
+obliged him to retire from the active chairmanship of
+the Westminster Hospital, though his attendances at
+the weekly meetings of the Board were unremitting
+to the very end. As late as July 1897 he took a
+leading part in measures he deemed urgent for the
+wellbeing of the institution. During the Jubilee
+celebrations he was able to receive a formal visit from
+a party of twelve Dyak police from British North
+Borneo, under the command of Mr Wardrop. The
+Committee of the Jubilee Nurses continued to meet
+at his house, and he did work for the institution during
+the summer. While at Wimbledon with his family
+in August, he was seized by an illness from which he
+rallied sufficiently to be brought home to his house
+at Westminster, where he came under the medical
+care of his old friend and physician, Dr Lionel Beale.
+Among the few friends who were admitted to see
+him during the last month of his life were the Dean
+of Westminster, Lord Lister, Mr Edmund Bagshawe
+of Bath, and one or two others. His strength was
+then gradually failing, though he retained his intellect
+unimpaired till within a few days of the end, on
+November 2, 1897. He was buried in Merstham
+churchyard. His widow, nearly his own age, survived
+him sixteen months, dying in March 1899. How
+much the maintenance of the husband's long life of<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_489' name='Page_489'>[489]</a></span>
+active usefulness owed to the support and encouragement
+of a judicious and devoted wife must remain
+behind the veil. She had her reward.
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="map" id="map"></a>
+<img src="images/i-map.jpg" width="563" height="600" alt="" />
+<p class="caption">
+MAP OF
+EASTERN ASIA
+TO ILLUSTRATE
+THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA IN THE VICTORIAN ERA<br />
+<span class='smcap'>By Alexander Michie</span><br />
+<a href="images/map-l.jpg">View larger image.</a></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>
+It may be interesting in conclusion to add a few
+words of Sir Rutherford Alcock's estimate of himself,
+which occur in a letter to the friend who had pressed
+him on the subject of biography, written within a year
+of his death. "In worldly things," he said, "I have
+been exceptionally favoured by opportunities, many
+of them unanticipated, and rather fortuitous than by
+any efforts or merits. My early life was marked by
+a great rashness, and a readiness to accept responsibilities
+which savoured much of presumption and confidence
+from conceit in my powers to deal with whatever
+fell in my way&mdash;very different from my retrospect
+in old age and the sobered estimate my judgment is
+now disposed to form of all I undertook and accomplished,
+and the risks I accepted, through my fifty
+years of active life."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If, however, age be the season appropriate for judgment,
+youth is the time for laying up the materials for
+it; and he who takes no risks achieves nothing worthy
+of being judged. We estimate the man by his record
+rather than by his own review of it, falling back on
+the criterion, valid in all circumstances, "By their
+fruits ye shall know them."<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_490' name='Page_490'>[490]</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<h2>
+INDEX.
+</h2>
+
+<hr class="l15" />
+
+<div class="index">
+<ul class="idx">
+
+<li class="alpha">Adkins, Mr, reports foreign atrocities, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_302">302</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_303">303</a>;
+  in charge of Peking legations, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_355">355</a>;
+  intimate with Hangki, ii. <a href="#Page_140"  >140</a>;
+  on mixed commission regarding redress of commercial grievances, ii. <a href="#Page_212"  >212</a>;
+  interview with Li, ii. <a href="#Page_244"  >244</a>, <a href="#Page_245"  >245</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alabaster, Sir Challoner, ii. <a href="#Page_206"  >206</a>, <a href="#Page_359"  >359</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alcock, John Rutherford&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li><i>Chronological sequence of career</i>&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>Birth and early years, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_2">2</a>;
+    medical education, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_2">2</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_4">4</a>; visit to Paris, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_2">2</a>;
+    medical work, i.8; campaign in Portugal, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_14">14</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_20">20</a>;
+    campaign in Spain, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_22">22</a>;
+    publications on surgery, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_24">24</a>;
+    appointed Inspector of Anatomy, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_25">25</a>;
+    marriage, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_26">26</a>;
+    paralysis of hands, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_27">27</a>;
+    appointed consul at Foochow, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_116">116</a>;
+    residence at Amoy, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_117">117</a>;
+    at Foochow, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_117">117</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_122">122</a>;
+    Consular Reports (1845-46), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_123">123</a>;
+    appointed to Shanghai, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_126">126</a>;
+    Tsingpu affair, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_129">129</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_133">133</a>;
+    Taiping occupation of Shanghai, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_141">141</a>;
+    custom-house plans, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_151">151</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_154">154</a>;
+    promoted to Canton consulate, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_156">156</a>;
+    death of his wife, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_158">158</a>;
+    literary work, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_159">159</a>;
+    first furlough, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_159">159</a>;
+    Memorandum requested by Foreign Office, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_332">332</a>;
+    appointed Consul-General in Japan and granted title of Plenipotentiary, ii. <a href="#Page_14"  >14</a>;
+    arrival in Yedo, ii. <a href="#Page_15"  >15</a>-<a href="#Page_17"  >17</a>;
+    journey up the Inland Sea, ii. <a href="#Page_36"  >36</a>, <a href="#Page_42"  >42</a>;
+    expedition to Fujiyama, ii. <a href="#Page_41"  >41</a>, <a href="#Page_42"  >42</a>;
+    leaves Yedo on furlough (1862), ii. <a href="#Page_50"  >50</a>;
+    made K.C.B., ii. <a href="#Page_70"  >70</a>;
+    completes 'The Capital of the Tycoon,' ii. <a href="#Page_70"  >70</a>;
+    made D.C.L. of Oxford University (1863), ii. <a href="#Page_484"  >484</a> <i>note</i>;
+    returns to Yedo, ii. <a href="#Page_70"  >70</a>;
+    second marriage, ii. <a href="#Page_73"  >73</a>;
+    recalled by Earl Russell, ii. <a href="#Page_87"  >87</a>, <a href="#Page_88"  >88</a>;
+    leaves Japan, ii. <a href="#Page_91"  >91</a>;
+    publishes 'Art and Art Industries of Japan,' ii. <a href="#Page_102"  >102</a>;
+    publishes Japanese Grammar, ii. <a href="#Page_103"  >103</a>;
+    appointed minister to China, ii. <a href="#Page_130"  >130</a>;
+    efforts against coolie trade, ii. <a href="#Page_168"  >168</a>, <a href="#Page_171"  >171</a>, <a href="#Page_172"  >172</a>;
+    favours Burlingame mission, ii. <a href="#Page_194"  >194</a>, <a href="#Page_195"  >195</a>;
+    departure for Europe, ii. <a href="#Page_218"  >218</a>;
+    criticisms of Far Eastern events, ii. <a href="#Page_476"  >476</a>, <a href="#Page_477"  >477</a>;
+    work for Westminster Hospital, ii. <a href="#Page_478"  >478</a>-<a href="#Page_480"  >480</a>;
+    various public and charitable works, ii. <a href="#Page_480"  >480</a>, <a href="#Page_481"  >481</a>, <a href="#Page_483"  >483</a>;
+    receives Jubilee medal from the Queen, ii. <a href="#Page_483"  >483</a>;
+    work regarding colonisation in Borneo, ii. <a href="#Page_485"  >485</a>-<a href="#Page_488"  >488</a>;
+    illness and death, ii. <a href="#Page_488"  >488</a>, <a href="#Page_489"  >489</a>.</li></ul></li>
+<li>  <i>Personal characteristics</i>&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>    Aggressiveness, ii. <a href="#Page_482"  >482</a>.</li>
+<li>    Alertness, ii. <a href="#Page_16"  >16</a>, <a href="#Page_100"  >100</a>.</li>
+<li>    Appearance, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_117">117</a>.</li>
+<li>    Appreciative faculty, ii. <a href="#Page_139"  >139</a>.</li>
+<li>    Art, love of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_4">4</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_101"  >101</a>.</li>
+<li>    Common-sense, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_27">27</a>.</li>
+<li>    Courage and nerve, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_15">15</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_27">27</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_100"  >100</a>, <a href="#Page_126"  >126</a>.</li>
+<li>    Courtesy, ii. <a href="#Page_484"  >484</a>.</li>
+<li>    Duty, devotion to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_157">157</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_16"  >16</a>, <a href="#Page_101"  >101</a>, <a href="#Page_138"  >138</a>, <a href="#Page_482"  >482</a>.</li>
+<li>    Energy, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_116">116</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_16"  >16</a>, <a href="#Page_482"  >482</a>, <a href="#Page_484"  >484</a>.</li>
+<li>    Enthusiasm, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_27">27</a>.</li>
+<li><span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_491' name='Page_491'>[491]</a></span></li>
+<li>    Formality, ii. <a href="#Page_139"  >139</a>.</li>
+<li>    Geniality to intimates, ii. <a href="#Page_139"  >139</a>.</li>
+<li>    Grasp of fundamentals and breadth of view, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_204">204</a>.</li>
+<li>    Hospitality, ii. <a href="#Page_139"  >139</a>.</li>
+<li>    Industry, ii. <a href="#Page_139"  >139</a>.</li>
+<li>    Judgment and farsightedness, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_163">163</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_484"  >484</a>.</li>
+<li>    Kindness and sympathy, ii. <a href="#Page_482"  >482</a>.</li>
+<li>    Loyalty, ii. <a href="#Page_138"  >138</a>.</li>
+<li>    Lucidity of style, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_166">166</a>.</li>
+<li>    Practical philosophy, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_161">161</a>.</li>
+<li>    Reserve, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_158">158</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_121"  >121</a>.</li>
+<li>    Resolution, ii. <a href="#Page_101"  >101</a>.</li>
+<li>    Responsibility, fearlessness of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_437">437</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_16"  >16</a>, <a href="#Page_489"  >489</a>.</li>
+<li>    Thoroughness and earnestness of purpose, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_27">27</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_16"  >16</a>, <a href="#Page_181"  >181</a>, <a href="#Page_361"  >361</a>, <a href="#Page_481"  >481</a>.</li>
+</ul></li></ul></li>
+
+<li>Alcock, Lady, marriage of, ii. <a href="#Page_73"  >73</a>;
+  death of, ii. <a href="#Page_489"  >489</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Alcock_Mrs" id="Alcock_Mrs">Alcock, Mrs</a> (<i>née</i> Bacon), marriage of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_26">26</a>;
+  arrival in Foochow, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_120">120</a>;
+  death of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_158">158</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="America" id="America">America</a>, Americans (<i>see also</i> <a href="#Powers">Powers</a>)&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>British support advantageous to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_437">437</a>.</li>
+<li>  Burlingame mission to, ii. <a href="#Page_192"  >192</a>, <a href="#Page_193"  >193</a>, <a href="#Page_196"  >196</a>, <a href="#Page_197"  >197</a>.</li>
+<li>  Chinese trade with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_177">177</a>;
+    Chinese traders in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_270">270</a>;
+    "dummy" Chinaman evolved by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_338">338</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_339">339</a>;
+    action against Chinese emigration, ii. <a href="#Page_174"  >174</a>;
+    Chinese youths educated in, ii. <a href="#Page_394"  >394</a>, <a href="#Page_395"  >395</a>.</li>
+<li>  Custom-house co-operation omitted in treaty of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_146">146</a>;
+    customs not levied by, at Shanghai in Taiping rebellion, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_149">149</a>.</li>
+<li> Disputes of French and British with (1849), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_435">435</a>.</li>
+<li>  Foochow developed by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_241">241</a>.</li>
+<li>  Japan, naval demonstration off, ii. <a href="#Page_2"  >2</a>;
+    Mr Harris's treaty, ii. <a href="#Page_3"  >3</a>, <a href="#Page_5"  >5</a>, <a href="#Page_39"  >39</a>, <a href="#Page_99"  >99</a>;
+    Minister remains in Yedo during assassination period, ii. <a href="#Page_36"  >36</a>;
+    Japanese mission to, ii. <a href="#Page_47"  >47</a>;
+    artillery officers declined by Japanese, ii. <a href="#Page_110"  >110</a>.</li>
+<li>  Korean expedition from, ii. <a href="#Page_178"  >178</a>, <a href="#Page_179"  >179</a>.</li>
+<li>  Li's visit to, ii. <a href="#Page_387"  >387</a>.</li>
+<li>  Missionaries from, in Yangtze expedition, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_370">370</a>.</li>
+<li>  Non-aggressive policy of, ii. <a href="#Page_468"  >468</a>.</li>
+<li>  Opium included in Tientsin treaty at instance of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_342">342</a>.</li>
+<li>  Shipping industry in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_228">228</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_230">230</a>.</li>
+<li>  Silk industry of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_191">191</a>.</li>
+<li>  Taiping rebellion, joint action with British at Shanghai during, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_138">138</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tientsin Conference attended by (1854), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_311">311</a>;
+    at Tientsin later with Lord Elgin, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_331">331</a>.</li>
+<li>  Toleration clause in treaty of, ii. <a href="#Page_224"  >224</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Amoy&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Alcock's residence at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_117">117</a>.</li>
+<li>  Opening of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_115">115</a>.</li>
+<li>  'Times' pronouncement against, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_114">114</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Amur, the, Russian acquisitions on, ii. <a href="#Page_252"  >252</a>, <a href="#Page_422"  >422</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Anatomy Act, Alcock appointed Inspector under, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_26">26</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Anderson, Dr John, cited, ii. <a href="#Page_267"  >267</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Annam, French conquest of, ii. <a href="#Page_253"  >253</a>, <a href="#Page_324"  >324</a>, <a href="#Page_325"  >325</a>.</li>
+
+<li>A'Pak, exploit of, against lorchas, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_305">305</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Arbuthnot, G., on Japanese currency, ii. <a href="#Page_19"  >19</a>, <a href="#Page_22"  >22</a>, <a href="#Page_23"  >23</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Arrow, crew of, seized by Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_309">309</a>;
+  Lord Elgin's view of incident, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_323">323</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_324">324</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Atami, Springs of, Alcock's visit to, ii. <a href="#Page_32"  >32</a>, <a href="#Page_42"  >42</a>.</li>
+
+<li>'Attaché at Peking, The,' cited, ii. <a href="#Page_444"  >444</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+
+<li>Australia, attitude of, towards Chinese emigrants, ii. <a href="#Page_174"  >174</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Austria, envoy from, received in audience at Peking, ii. <a href="#Page_320"  >320</a>, <a href="#Page_321"  >321</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Baber, Colborne, ii. <a href="#Page_150"  >150</a>, <a href="#Page_272"  >272</a>, <a href="#Page_359"  >359</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bacon, Miss. <i>See</i> <a href="#Alcock_Mrs">Alcock, Mrs.</a></li>
+
+<li>Baldwin, Major, assassination of, ii. <a href="#Page_91"  >91</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Balfour, the Right Hon. A. J., speech of, regarding Russian ports, ii. <a href="#Page_425"  >425</a>, <a href="#Page_430"  >430</a>, <a href="#Page_432"  >432</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Balfour, Captain George, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_128">128</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bernard, W. D., cited, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_63">63</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Biegeleben, M., ii. <a href="#Page_320"  >320</a>, <a href="#Page_321"  >321</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bird, Lieutenant, assassination of, ii. <a href="#Page_91"  >91</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Birileff, Count, at Tsushima, ii. <a href="#Page_111"  >111</a>-<a href="#Page_114"  >114</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Blakiston, Captain, cited, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_370">370</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bonham, Sir George, succeeds Sir J. Davis at Hongkong, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_131">131</a>;
+  rebuffed by Seu, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_165">165</a>;
+  applies to Alcock for information, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_166">166</a>;
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_492' name='Page_492'>[492]</a></span>
+  asked to defend Nanking against Taipings, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_312">312</a>;
+  Alcock's despatch to (1852), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_428">428</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_432">432</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Borneo, Alcock's interest in British development of, ii. <a href="#Page_485"  >485</a>-<a href="#Page_488"  >488</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bowring, Sir John, demands right of entry into Canton, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_160">160</a>;
+  Russian despatches brought to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_233">233</a>;
+  plenipotentiary at Hongkong, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_309">309</a>;
+  dealings with Yeh, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_314">314</a>;
+  visit to Tientsin, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_311">311</a>;
+  protects factories at Canton, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_312">312</a>;
+  influenced towards strong measures, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_315">315</a>;
+  policy of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_323">323</a> <i>note</i>;
+  superseded, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_320">320</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Boxers, ii. <a href="#Page_462"  >462</a>, <a href="#Page_463"  >463</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bright, the Right Hon. John, confidence of, in Sir R. Hart, ii. <a href="#Page_164"  >164</a>-<a href="#Page_166"  >166</a>;
+  attitude of, towards China trade, ii. <a href="#Page_365"  >365</a>, <a href="#Page_366"  >366</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Brodie, Sir Benjamin, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_25">25</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Brown, J. McLeavy, ii. <a href="#Page_194"  >194</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Brown, Major-General, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_385">385</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_386">386</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_392">392</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Browne, Colonel Horace, ii. <a href="#Page_266"  >266</a>, <a href="#Page_267"  >267</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bruce, the Hon. Frederick&mdash;Tientsin treaty brought home by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_335">335</a>;
+  repulsed at Taku forts, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_348">348</a>;
+  British minister at Peking, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_355">355</a>;
+  prohibits Englishmen from visiting Peking, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_363">363</a>;
+  adopts determined attitude, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_367">367</a>;
+  refuses to defend Ningpo, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_377">377</a>;
+  Gordon's interview with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_383">383</a>;
+  supports Burgevine's cause, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_384">384</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_385">385</a>;
+  implicated in the Lay-Osborn flotilla failure, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_389">389</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_390">390</a>;
+  applauds Gordon's resentment against Li, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_392">392</a>;
+  policy and diplomacy, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_401">401</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_404">404</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_407">407</a>;
+  correspondence with Prince Kung, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_404">404</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_406">406</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_409">409</a>;
+  confuses legal authority of himself and Supreme Court, ii. <a href="#Page_124"  >124</a>, <a href="#Page_125"  >125</a>;
+  succeeded by Alcock, ii. <a href="#Page_130"  >130</a>;
+  anecdote of his housekeeper, ii. <a href="#Page_152"  >152</a>;
+  relations with Inspector-General of Customs in Peking, ii. <a href="#Page_156"  >156</a>, <a href="#Page_159"  >159</a>, <a href="#Page_160"  >160</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Burgevine, General, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_382">382</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_384">384</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_387">387</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Burlingame, the Hon. Anson, mission of, as Chinese envoy, ii. <a href="#Page_192"  >192</a>-<a href="#Page_198"  >198</a>;
+  Alcock's approval of the mission, ii. <a href="#Page_194"  >194</a>, <a href="#Page_195"  >195</a>;
+  Alcock's subsequent view, ii. <a href="#Page_217"  >217</a>;
+  British Government influenced by mission, ii. <a href="#Page_208"  >208</a>, <a href="#Page_209"  >209</a>;
+  negotiates American treaty giving full privileges to Chinese immigrants, ii. <a href="#Page_174"  >174</a>;
+  asserts Chinese welcome to missionaries, ii. <a href="#Page_232"  >232</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Burma&mdash;
+  Browne, Colonel H., expedition under, ii. <a href="#Page_266"  >266</a>, <a href="#Page_267"  >267</a>.
+  King of, ii. <a href="#Page_269"  >269</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Campbell, Duncan, ii. <a href="#Page_333"  >333</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Canton&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Alcock promoted to consulate of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+<li>  Arrogant hostility and excesses of population, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_95">95</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_415">415</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_419">419</a>.</li>
+<li>  Arrow incident, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_323">323</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_324">324</a>.</li>
+<li>  Blockade of river (1839), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_63">63</a>.</li>
+<li>  Commerce carried on during hostilities, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_69">69</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_158"  >158</a>.</li>
+<li>  Conditions of life in, in early days, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_46">46</a>.</li>
+<li>  D'Aguilar's destruction of river defences, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_103">103</a>.</li>
+<li>  Davies, Sir John, policy of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_99">99</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_106">106</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_108">108</a>.</li>
+<li>  Entry, right of, refused, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_333">333</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_338">338</a>.</li>
+<li>  Factories attacked (1846), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_99">99</a>;
+    burned (1856), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_317">317</a>.
+  Foochow sensitive to disturbances in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_314">314</a>.</li>
+<li>  French attack feared, ii. <a href="#Page_326"  >326</a>-<a href="#Page_328"  >328</a>.</li>
+<li>  Merchants in, imprisoned, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_55">55</a>;
+    views of, disparaged, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_254">254</a>;
+    characteristics of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_255">255</a>;
+    influence of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_315">315</a>;
+    friction between Sir J. Davis and, ii. <a href="#Page_119"  >119</a>.</li>
+<li>  "Merchants' War," i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_316">316</a> <i>seq.</i></li>
+<li>  Naval construction attempted at, ii. <a href="#Page_396"  >396</a>.</li>
+<li>  Occupation of, by Allied troops, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_328">328</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_342">342</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_345">345</a>;
+    Kowloon concession obtained during occupation, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_286">286</a>;
+    evacuated by Allies, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_396">396</a>.</li>
+<li>  Portuguese relief of, in sixteenth century, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_259">259</a>;
+    Portuguese crews slaughtered by Cantonese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_305">305</a>.</li>
+<li>  Revolutionary conspiracies in neighbourhood of, ii. <a href="#Page_456"  >456</a>.</li>
+<li>  Shameen site acquired, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_330">330</a>.</li>
+<li>  Smuggling insignificant at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_145">145</a>.</li>
+<li>  Taipings at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_312">312</a>.</li>
+<li>  War of 1839-42&mdash;blockade of river, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_63">63</a>;
+    destruction of Bogue forts and junks, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_66">66</a>;
+    forts restored, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_67">67</a>;
+    recaptured, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_68">68</a>;
+    fire-raft attempts, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_71">71</a>;
+    British attack stopped by Elliot, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_71">71</a>;
+    ransom taken for the city, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_91">91</a>;
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_493' name='Page_493'>[493]</a></span>
+    departure of British troops, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_72">72</a>;
+    evil effects of ransoming, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_108">108</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a name="War_1857" id="War_1857">War of 1857</a> ("The Merchants' War"), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_316">316</a> <i>seq.</i></li>
+<li>  Weddell's bombardment of (1655), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_292">292</a>.</li>
+<li>'Capital of the Tycoon, The,' passages quoted from, ii. <a href="#Page_10"  >10</a>, <a href="#Page_15"  >15</a>, <a href="#Page_31"  >31</a>, <a href="#Page_32"  >32</a>, <a href="#Page_71"  >71</a>-<a href="#Page_73"  >73</a>;
+  independent judiciary advocated in, ii. <a href="#Page_126"  >126</a>.</li>
+  </ul></li>
+
+<li>Ceylon, growth of tea trade with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_185">185</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Challenger, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_235">235</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_238">238</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chamberlain, Basil Hall, quoted, ii. <a href="#Page_96"  >96</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+
+<li>Chang Chih-tung, rudeness of, regarding the Czarevitch, ii. <a href="#Page_322"  >322</a>, <a href="#Page_323"  >323</a>;
+  characteristics and policy of, ii. <a href="#Page_380"  >380</a>, <a href="#Page_381"  >381</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chang Yi, ii. <a href="#Page_317"  >317</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chantrey, Sir F. L., Alcock's studies under, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_2">2</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chefoo&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>Convention of. <i>See under</i> <a href="#Chefoo">Treaties</a>.</li>
+<li>Czarevitch to be received at, ii. <a href="#Page_322"  >322</a>.</li>
+<li>Early exploration of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_222">222</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Chêkiang, Taiping campaign in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_380">380</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_394">394</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chesney, Colonel, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_100">100</a>.</li>
+
+<li>China (<i>for particular persons, towns, &amp;c., see their titles</i>)&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Admiralty board, ii. <a href="#Page_317"  >317</a>, <a href="#Page_318"  >318</a>, <a href="#Page_392"  >392</a>, <a href="#Page_393"  >393</a>.</li>
+<li>  Army&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>    Abuses in, ii. <a href="#Page_398"  >398</a>.</li>
+<li>    Arms, diversity of, ii. <a href="#Page_391"  >391</a>, <a href="#Page_393"  >393</a>, <a href="#Page_399"  >399</a>.</li>
+<li>    Discipline lax, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_137">137</a>.</li>
+<li>    Honour, military, non-existent in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_140">140</a>.</li>
+<li>    Li's efforts for, ii. <a href="#Page_188"  >188</a>, <a href="#Page_190"  >190</a>, <a href="#Page_391"  >391</a>, <a href="#Page_397"  >397</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>  Black Flags, ii. <a href="#Page_325"  >325</a>.</li>
+<li>  Boxers, ii. <a href="#Page_462"  >462</a>, <a href="#Page_463"  >463</a>.</li>
+<li>  <i>Chose jugée</i>, instance of, ii. <a href="#Page_280"  >280</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#commerce">Commerce</a>. <i>See that title.</i></li>
+<li>  Commercial community in Britain keenly alive to affairs in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_87">87</a>.</li>
+<li>  Consuls. <i>See below under</i> <a href="#Foreigners">Foreigners</a>.</li>
+<li>  Coolie trade, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_295">295</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_168"  >168</a>-<a href="#Page_174"  >174</a>.</li>
+<li>  Corruption and laxity inherent in government of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_192">192</a>.</li>
+<li>  Court&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>    Audience, right of, approved by Li, ii. <a href="#Page_186"  >186</a>;
+      granted by Emperor Tungchih (1873), ii. <a href="#Page_260"  >260</a>, <a href="#Page_261"  >261</a>;
+      by Kwanghsu (1891), ii. <a href="#Page_318"  >318</a>-<a href="#Page_320"  >320</a>.</li>
+<li>    Chinese, not Manchu, influence predominant at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+<li>    Dynastic arrangements of the Empress-Dowager, ii. <a href="#Page_264"  >264</a>, <a href="#Page_313"  >313</a>, <a href="#Page_455"  >455</a> <i>and note</i>, <a href="#Page_456"  >456</a>.</li>
+<li>    Flight of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_354">354</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_436"  >436</a>;
+      proposed removal during Japanese War, ii. <a href="#Page_474"  >474</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>  <a name="Custom_house" id="Custom_house">Custom-house</a>. <i>See below under</i> <a href="#taxation">Taxation</a>.</li>
+<li>  Decentralisation the principle of government, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_388">388</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_402">402</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_407">407</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_408">408</a>.</li>
+<li>  Drift, policy of, ii. <a href="#Page_324"  >324</a>.</li>
+<li>  Emigration, ii. <a href="#Page_168"  >168</a>, <a href="#Page_169"  >169</a>, <a href="#Page_171"  >171</a>-<a href="#Page_174"  >174</a>.</li>
+<li>  "Ever Victorious Army," campaign of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_382">382</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_387">387</a>;</li>
+<li>    disbandment of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_393">393</a>.</li>
+<li>  Exhibition of 1851, represented at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_200">200</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_202">202</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_101"  >101</a>, <a href="#Page_102"  >102</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a name="Foreigners" id="Foreigners">Foreigners</a>&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>    Aims of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_368">368</a>.</li>
+<li>    Assistance from, distrusted, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_387">387</a>;
+      made use of, ii. <a href="#Page_385"  >385</a>, <a href="#Page_386"  >386</a>;
+      faithfully rendered, ii. <a href="#Page_393"  >393</a>, <a href="#Page_394"  >394</a>.</li>
+<li>    Conciliatory and subservient attitude of British, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_35">35</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_415">415</a>;
+      of Portuguese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_287">287</a>.</li>
+<li>    Confidence between native merchants and, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_48">48</a>.</li>
+<li>    Consistent attitude of, desirable, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_340">340</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_222"  >222</a>.</li>
+<li>    Consular Courts, drawbacks of, ii. <a href="#Page_125"  >125</a>, <a href="#Page_126"  >126</a>, <a href="#Page_354"  >354</a>, <a href="#Page_356"  >356</a>, <a href="#Page_357"  >357</a>.</li>
+<li>    Consular officials, peculiar responsibilities of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_92">92</a> <i>note</i>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_130">130</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_353"  >353</a>, <a href="#Page_354"  >354</a>, <a href="#Page_360"  >360</a>;
+      numbers and qualifications of, ii. <a href="#Page_358"  >358</a>, <a href="#Page_359"  >359</a>.</li>
+<li>    Degradation and indignities imposed upon, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_35">35</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_55">55</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_411">411</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_415">415</a>.</li>
+<li>    Force, policy of, the condition of security for, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_426">426</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_437">437</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_439">439</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_221"  >221</a>, <a href="#Page_222"  >222</a>.</li>
+<li>    Hatred and contempt for, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_419">419</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_29"  >29</a>, <a href="#Page_440"  >440</a>, <a href="#Page_441"  >441</a>, <a href="#Page_443"  >443</a>-<a href="#Page_446"  >446</a>, <a href="#Page_461"  >461</a>, <a href="#Page_463"  >463</a>, <a href="#Page_464"  >464</a>.</li>
+<li>    Ignorance of Chinese prevalent among, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_338">338</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_339">339</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_361">361</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_362">362</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_398">398</a>.</li>
+<li>    Immunity for wrongs against, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_436">436</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_440">440</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_441">441</a>.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_494' name='Page_494'>[494]</a></span></li>
+<li>    Inland residence, Alcock's view of, ii. <a href="#Page_450"  >450</a>, <a href="#Page_451"  >451</a>.</li>
+<li>    Legation, British. <i>See</i> <a href="#peking">Great Britain&mdash;Peking</a>.</li>
+<li>    Legations, diplomatic difficulties of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_398">398</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_401">401</a>;
+      relieved by military force, ii. <a href="#Page_437"  >437</a>.</li>
+<li>    Life-and-death jurisdiction over, claimed by government, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_57">57</a>.</li>
+<li>    Negotiation with, Chinese view of, ii. <a href="#Page_274"  >274</a> <i>note</i>, <a href="#Page_437"  >437</a>.</li>
+<li>    Pioneers, general character of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_31">31</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_33">33</a>.</li>
+<li>    Policy adopted towards&mdash;"rule by misrule," i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_403">403</a>;
+      perfidy and denial of human rights, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_78">78</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_342">342</a>;
+      resistance and ejection, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_311">311</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_331">331</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_366">366</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_367">367</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_437"  >437</a>;
+      degradation in the eyes of the people, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_411">411</a>;
+      "refractory subjects" treatment, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_313">313</a>.</li>
+<li>    Proclamations and placards against, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_317">317</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_342">342</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_360">360</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_435">435</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_236"  >236</a>, <a href="#Page_242"  >242</a>.</li>
+<li>    Supreme Court for China and Japan, ii. <a href="#Page_355"  >355</a>-<a href="#Page_358"  >358</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>  Fortifications, ii. <a href="#Page_397"  >397</a>.</li>
+<li>  Futai, position of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_381">381</a>.</li>
+<li>  Helplessness and paradoxical position of, ii. <a href="#Page_418"  >418</a>, <a href="#Page_421"  >421</a>, <a href="#Page_422"  >422</a>, <a href="#Page_433"  >433</a>, <a href="#Page_452"  >452</a>.</li>
+<li>  Hong merchants, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_40">40</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+<li>  Hoppo, position of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_45">45</a>.</li>
+<li>  Illegality of administration in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_43">43</a>.</li>
+<li>  International ethics of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_86">86</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a name="Japanese_War" id="Japanese_War">Japanese War</a> (1894), Li's responsibilities regarding, ii. <a href="#Page_386"  >386</a>, <a href="#Page_387"  >387</a>;
+    no reasonable cause for, ii. <a href="#Page_410"  >410</a>;
+    deprecated by Russia, ii. <a href="#Page_411"  >411</a>;
+    sinking of the Kowshing, ii. <a href="#Page_410"  >410</a>, <a href="#Page_411"  >411</a>;
+    bombardment of Têngchow, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_220">220</a>;
+    China's defeat, ii. <a href="#Page_411"  >411</a>-<a href="#Page_413"  >413</a>;
+    universal applause, ii. <a href="#Page_413"  >413</a>, <a href="#Page_414"  >414</a>;
+    indemnity exacted, ii. <a href="#Page_415"  >415</a>;
+    indemnity supplied by Russian loan, ii. <a href="#Page_421"  >421</a>;
+    results of the war, ii. <a href="#Page_447"  >447</a>;
+    proposed removal of Chinese Court during, ii. <a href="#Page_474"  >474</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+<li>  <a name="Junks" id="Junks">Junks</a>&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>    Build and appearance of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_247">247</a>.</li>
+<li>    Chinese authorities' control of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_308">308</a>.</li>
+<li>    Coasting trade conducted by, in China and Japan, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_246">246</a>.</li>
+<li>    Convoy system, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_302">302</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_304">304</a>.</li>
+<li>    Grain fleet blockaded at Shanghai (1845), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_131">131</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_133">133</a>;</li>
+<li>      blockaded by French in Tongking quarrel, ii. <a href="#Page_332"  >332</a>.</li>
+<li>    "Shantung junks," i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_220">220</a>.</li>
+<li>    Value of trade by, at Foochow, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_209">209</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>  Korea, relations with. <i>See</i> <a href="#korea">Korea</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a name="Lorchas" id="Lorchas">Lorchas</a>, tonnage of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_247">247</a>;
+    atrocities connected with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_305">305</a>;
+    colonial registers granted to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_309">309</a>.</li>
+<li>  Maritime Customs. <i>See below under</i> <a href="#taxation">Taxation&mdash;Custom-house</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#missionaries">Missionaries</a>. <i>See that title.</i></li>
+<li>  Moral force the sanction of rule, ii. <a href="#Page_370"  >370</a> <i>and note</i>, <a href="#Page_385"  >385</a>.</li>
+<li>  Navy&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>    Beginnings of, ii. <a href="#Page_396"  >396</a>.</li>
+<li>    Board of Admiralty, ii. <a href="#Page_317"  >317</a>, <a href="#Page_318"  >318</a>, <a href="#Page_392"  >392</a>, <a href="#Page_393"  >393</a>.</li>
+<li>    British instruction in, ii. <a href="#Page_395"  >395</a>.</li>
+<li>    Li's efforts for, ii. <a href="#Page_391"  >391</a>, <a href="#Page_396"  >396</a>.</li>
+<li>    Nepotism in, ii. <a href="#Page_398"  >398</a>-<a href="#Page_400"  >400</a>.</li>
+<li>    Organisation lacking in, ii. <a href="#Page_401"  >401</a>, <a href="#Page_412"  >412</a>, <a href="#Page_413"  >413</a>.</li>
+<li>    Peiyang Squadron, ii. <a href="#Page_395"  >395</a>, <a href="#Page_400"  >400</a>.</li>
+<li>    Tradition, unhampered by, ii. <a href="#Page_398"  >398</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>  Nepotism in, ii. <a href="#Page_398"  >398</a>-<a href="#Page_400"  >400</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#Opium_Trade">Opium trade</a>. <i>See that title.</i></li>
+<li>  Passports, two forms of, ii. <a href="#Page_267"  >267</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#Piracy">Piracy</a>. <i>See that title.</i></li>
+<li>  Populace, excesses of, connived at by Government, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_364">364</a>;
+    coerced by Government, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_109">109</a>;
+    feared by Government, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_424">424</a>;
+    direct diplomatic negotiations with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_109">109</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_111">111</a>.</li>
+<li>  "Progress," no word for, ii. <a href="#Page_136"  >136</a>.</li>
+<li>  Provincial officials, smuggling undertaken by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_45">45</a>;
+    power of, ii. <a href="#Page_184"  >184</a>, <a href="#Page_372"  >372</a>;
+    responsibility of, ii. <a href="#Page_441"  >441</a>, <a href="#Page_442"  >442</a>.</li>
+<li>  Punishments, difficulties of ensuring, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_426">426</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_427">427</a>;
+    not inflicted for wrongs against foreigners, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_436">436</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_440">440</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_441">441</a>.</li>
+<li>  Real estate, importance of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_434">434</a>;
+    missionary problem complicated by question of, ii. <a href="#Page_234"  >234</a>, <a href="#Page_235"  >235</a>.</li>
+<li>  Rhubarb exported from, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_168">168</a>.</li>
+<li>  Salt trade, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_439">439</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_442">442</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_188"  >188</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#Smuggling">Smuggling</a>. <i>See that title.</i></li>
+<li>  Supreme Court, award given against Alcock by, ii. <a href="#Page_124"  >124</a>;
+    independence of, ii. <a href="#Page_354"  >354</a>;
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_495' name='Page_495'>[495]</a></span>
+    removal of, to Shanghai, ii. <a href="#Page_355"  >355</a>;
+    subordinated to British legation, ii. <a href="#Page_358"  >358</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a name="Taiping" id="Taiping">Taiping</a> Rebellion&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>    Burgevine's defection to rebels, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_386">386</a>.</li>
+<li>    Canton, at, Yeh asks British aid against, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_312">312</a>.</li>
+<li>    Chêkiang campaign against, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_380">380</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_394">394</a>.</li>
+<li>    Commerce continued during, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_148">148</a>.</li>
+<li>    Devastation caused by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_375">375</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_377">377</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_378">378</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_350">350</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_394">394</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_449"  >449</a>.</li>
+<li>    End of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_394">394</a>.</li>
+<li>    Foreign desperadoes attacked by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_303">303</a>.</li>
+<li>    Imperial measures against, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_381">381</a>;
+      view of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_395">395</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_396">396</a>.</li>
+<li>    Magnitude of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_135">135</a>.</li>
+<li>    Maritime Customs the important outcome of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_142">142</a>.</li>
+<li>    Nanking, capture of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_136">136</a>.</li>
+<li>    Ningpo, capture of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_376">376</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_377">377</a>.</li>
+<li>    Russian attitude towards, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_394">394</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_395">395</a>.</li>
+<li>    Shanghai captured, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_136">136</a>;
+      besieged by Imperial troops, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_137">137</a>;
+      collision between foreigners and troops, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_138">138</a>;
+      French bombardment of city, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_139">139</a>;
+      rebel refugees in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_142">142</a>;
+      departure of rebels from, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+<li>    Yangtze, rebel strongholds and operations on the, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_369">369</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_371">371</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_375">375</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>  Taotai, status of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_129">129</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a name="taxation" id="taxation">Taxation</a>&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>    Custom-house&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>      Chefoo Convention provisions of, ii. <a href="#Page_277"  >277</a>, <a href="#Page_278"  >278</a>, <a href="#Page_280"  >280</a>, <a href="#Page_281"  >281</a>, <a href="#Page_286"  >286</a>, <a href="#Page_287"  >287</a>.</li>
+<li>      Hongkong, station at, desired by Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_276">276</a>;
+        refused, ii. <a href="#Page_216"  >216</a>;
+        established, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_276">276</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_288"  >288</a>.</li>
+<li>      Korea, established in, ii. <a href="#Page_295"  >295</a>.</li>
+<li>      Macao, established at, ii. <a href="#Page_288"  >288</a>.</li>
+<li>      Maritime Customs Inspector, position and work of, in Peking, ii. <a href="#Page_156"  >156</a>-<a href="#Page_160"  >160</a>, <a href="#Page_162"  >162</a>-<a href="#Page_167"  >167</a>.</li>
+<li>      Revision of treaty made an affair of, ii. <a href="#Page_213"  >213</a>, <a href="#Page_216"  >216</a>, <a href="#Page_217"  >217</a>.</li>
+<li>      Shanghai, at, unsatisfactory conditions of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_145">145</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_435">435</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_436">436</a>;
+        customs collected by consuls, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_148">148</a>;
+        promissory notes cancelled by British Government, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_155">155</a>;
+        American exemption, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_149">149</a>;
+        re-establishment of custom-house, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_151">151</a>;
+        period of free trade, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_152">152</a>;
+        Alcock's scheme of mixed control, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_152">152</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_154">154</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>    Inland, proposed commutation of, ii. <a href="#Page_214"  >214</a>-<a href="#Page_216"  >216</a>, <a href="#Page_218"  >218</a>;
+      commutation provided by treaty (1869), ii. <a href="#Page_219"  >219</a>, <a href="#Page_220"  >220</a>;
+      area of, increased by Chefoo Convention, ii. <a href="#Page_277"  >277</a>, <a href="#Page_278"  >278</a>, <a href="#Page_280"  >280</a>, <a href="#Page_281"  >281</a>.</li>
+<li>    <a name="Likin" id="Likin">Likin</a> taxes, German minister's view of, ii. <a href="#Page_218"  >218</a>;
+      nature of, ii. <a href="#Page_280"  >280</a> <i>note</i>;
+      grievance of, ii. <a href="#Page_285"  >285</a>.</li>
+<li>    Native trade, on, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_210">210</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>  Tributaries, position towards, ii. <a href="#Page_258"  >258</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a name="Tsungli" id="Tsungli">Tsungli</a>-Yamên&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>    Audience difficulties raised by, ii. <a href="#Page_319"  >319</a>, <a href="#Page_320"  >320</a>.</li>
+<li>    Ch'ing, Prince, a member of, ii. <a href="#Page_154"  >154</a>, <a href="#Page_313"  >313</a>.</li>
+<li>    Circular addressed to Provincial Governors by, ii. <a href="#Page_182"  >182</a>, <a href="#Page_183"  >183</a>.</li>
+<li>    Creation of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_360">360</a>.</li>
+<li>    Etiquette, codification of, suggested for, ii. <a href="#Page_279"  >279</a>.</li>
+<li>    Formosa riots, action regarding, ii. <a href="#Page_205"  >205</a>.</li>
+<li>    Function of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_399">399</a>.</li>
+<li>    Gordon's representations to, ii. <a href="#Page_292"  >292</a>.</li>
+<li>    Helplessness of, ii. <a href="#Page_419"  >419</a>.</li>
+<li>    Ito's attempt to negotiate with, ii. <a href="#Page_302"  >302</a>.</li>
+<li>    Korean expedition urged by, ii. <a href="#Page_408"  >408</a>.</li>
+<li>    Kung, Prince, a member of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_360">360</a>;
+      dismissed by Empress, ii. <a href="#Page_312"  >312</a>.</li>
+<li>    Margary murder, action regarding, ii. <a href="#Page_267"  >267</a>.</li>
+<li>    Maritime Customs Inspector, attitude towards, ii. <a href="#Page_160"  >160</a>.</li>
+<li>    Mixed commission regarding redress of commercial grievances, represented on, ii. <a href="#Page_211"  >211</a>.</li>
+<li>    Yangchow affair, action in, ii. <a href="#Page_202"  >202</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>  War with Great Britain (1839-1842). <i>See under</i> <a href="#War_1857">Canton</a>;
+    with Great Britain (1857), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_316">316</a> <i>seq.</i>;
+    with Great Britain and France (1860), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_349">349</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_354">354</a>;
+    with Japan (1894). <i>See above</i> <a href="#Japanese_War">Japanese War</a>;
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_496' name='Page_496'>[496]</a></span></li>
+<li>Women, position of, ii. <a href="#Page_140"  >140</a>, <a href="#Page_141"  >141</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Chinese&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Appearances valued by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_192">192</a>.</li>
+<li>  Commercial aptitude and honesty of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_263">263</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_270">270</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_28"  >28</a>.</li>
+<li>  Industry of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_284">284</a>.</li>
+<li>  Japanese contrasted with, ii. <a href="#Page_8"  >8</a>, <a href="#Page_27"  >27</a>-<a href="#Page_29"  >29</a>, <a href="#Page_130"  >130</a>, <a href="#Page_131"  >131</a>, <a href="#Page_259"  >259</a>.</li>
+<li>  Kindliness of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_289">289</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_155"  >155</a>.</li>
+<li>  Manchus contrasted with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+<li>  Toleration of, ii. <a href="#Page_228"  >228</a>, <a href="#Page_233"  >233</a>.</li>
+<li>  War customs of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_352">352</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Ch'ing, Prince, anecdote of, ii. <a href="#Page_153"  >153</a>, <a href="#Page_154"  >154</a>;
+  efficiency of, as president of Tsungli-Yamên, ii. <a href="#Page_313"  >313</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chinnery, George, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_298">298</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Choshiu. <i>See</i> <a href="#Nagato">Nagato, Prince of</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Christianity (<i>see also</i> <a href="#missionaries">Missionaries</a>), toleration clause for, in Tientsin treaty, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_332">332</a>;
+  Chinese view of, ii. <a href="#Page_349"  >349</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Ch_un" id="Ch_un">Ch'un</a>, Prince, son of, adopted as Emperor by Empress-mother, ii. <a href="#Page_262"  >262</a>;
+  made Empress's coadjutor, ii. <a href="#Page_264"  >264</a>, <a href="#Page_313"  >313</a>;
+  voyage of, ii. <a href="#Page_316"  >316</a>, <a href="#Page_317"  >317</a>;
+  illness and death of, ii. <a href="#Page_318"  >318</a>;
+  memorial regarding Vatican mission submitted to, ii. <a href="#Page_344"  >344</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chunghou, Tientsin massacre foreseen by, ii. <a href="#Page_239"  >239</a>;
+  mission to France, ii. <a href="#Page_241"  >241</a>;
+  to Russia, ii. <a href="#Page_291"  >291</a>;
+  establishes arsenal at Tientsin, ii. <a href="#Page_392"  >392</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chungking, residence in, opposed, ii. <a href="#Page_278"  >278</a>;
+  persecutions of Christians in, ii. <a href="#Page_351"  >351</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chusan, capture and occupation of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_64">64</a>;
+  reoccupied, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_75">75</a>;
+  retained till 1846, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_91">91</a>;
+  restored, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_99">99</a>;
+  contrasted with Hongkong, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_273">273</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Clarendon, Lord, Mr Burlingame's success with, ii. <a href="#Page_197"  >197</a>, <a href="#Page_198"  >198</a>, <a href="#Page_208"  >208</a>, <a href="#Page_209"  >209</a>;
+  reprimands Mr Medhurst, ii. <a href="#Page_207"  >207</a>, <a href="#Page_208"  >208</a>;
+  trusted by Lord Palmerston, ii. <a href="#Page_365"  >365</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cochin China, French conquests in, ii. <a href="#Page_253"  >253</a>, <a href="#Page_324"  >324</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="commerce" id="commerce">Commerce</a>&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  China, in&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>    Alcock's despatch on trade between Europe, India, and China, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_204">204</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_206">206</a>;
+      his investigations prior to revision of treaty, ii. <a href="#Page_181"  >181</a>.</li>
+<li>    Aptitude of Chinese for, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_263">263</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_270">270</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_28"  >28</a>.</li>
+<li>    Arbitrary interference of Chinese Government with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_35">35</a>.</li>
+<li>    Balance of trade against China, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_171">171</a>.</li>
+<li>    British treaty the model for others, ii. <a href="#Page_6"  >6</a>.</li>
+<li>    Chefoo Convention, internal taxation area increased by, ii. <a href="#Page_277"  >277</a>, <a href="#Page_278"  >278</a>, <a href="#Page_280"  >280</a>, <a href="#Page_281"  >281</a>.</li>
+<li>    Chinese language essential to commercial agents, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_253">253</a>.</li>
+<li>    Code of law, establishment of, suggested, ii. <a href="#Page_279"  >279</a>.</li>
+<li>    Co-hong system, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_40">40</a> <i>note</i>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_266">266</a>.</li>
+<li>    Compradoric system, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_267">267</a>.</li>
+<li>    Confidence between Chinese and foreigners, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_48">48</a>.</li>
+<li>    Drawbacks to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_170">170</a>.</li>
+<li>    Imports and exports, nature of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_168">168</a>;
+      present value of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_171">171</a> <i>note</i>;
+      shipments from United Kingdom in various years, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_203">203</a>.</li>
+<li>    Intercourse of British and Americans with China caused by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_167">167</a>.</li>
+<li>    Losses in early days, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_172">172</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_175">175</a>.</li>
+<li>    Merchants in Britain, Chinese affairs closely followed by (1839-40), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_87">87</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_89">89</a>;
+      merchants in China, aims and work of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_248">248</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_253">253</a>;
+      complaints of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_254">254</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_119"  >119</a>;
+      influence of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_315">315</a>;
+      characteristics of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_255">255</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_263">263</a>;
+      representations of, to Lord Elgin, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_322">322</a>.</li>
+<li>    "Merchants' War," i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_316">316</a> <i>seq.</i></li>
+<li>    Mixed Commission regarding redress of grievances, ii. <a href="#Page_211"  >211</a>, <a href="#Page_212"  >212</a>.</li>
+<li>    Native trade, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_207">207</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_210">210</a>.</li>
+<li>    Peking, in, ii. <a href="#Page_148"  >148</a>, <a href="#Page_149"  >149</a>.</li>
+<li>    Pioneer expeditions (1859), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_220">220</a>.</li>
+<li>    Ports overcrowded with goods, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_224">224</a>;
+      number open in 1861, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_402">402</a>.</li>
+<li>    Precarious position of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_412">412</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_413">413</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_419">419</a>.</li>
+<li>    Real estate a valuable asset, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_177">177</a>.</li>
+<li>    Shipments from United Kingdom in various years, values of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_203">203</a>.</li>
+<li>    Simplicity of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_168">168</a>.</li>
+<li>    Transit of goods, ii. <a href="#Page_214"  >214</a>-<a href="#Page_216"  >216</a>, <a href="#Page_218"  >218</a>-<a href="#Page_220"  >220</a>.</li>
+<li>    Value of, in 1839, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_87">87</a>.</li>
+<li>    War no bar to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_148">148</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_158"  >158</a>.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_497' name='Page_497'>[497]</a></span></li>
+<li>  Gold discoveries a stimulus to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_227">227</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>  Japan, in&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>    Development of, ii. <a href="#Page_116"  >116</a>-<a href="#Page_118"  >118</a>.</li>
+<li>    Merchants, preference of, for Yokohama to Kanagawa, ii. <a href="#Page_17"  >17</a>, <a href="#Page_18"  >18</a>, <a href="#Page_123"  >123</a>;
+      regret of, at Alcock's recall, ii. <a href="#Page_89"  >89</a>;
+      interests of, at variance with diplomatic, ii. <a href="#Page_119"  >119</a>-<a href="#Page_124"  >124</a>, <a href="#Page_126"  >126</a>.</li>
+<li>    Methods of, ii. <a href="#Page_27"  >27</a>, <a href="#Page_28"  >28</a>.</li>
+<li>    Profits of, in early days, ii. <a href="#Page_20"  >20</a> <i>note</i>, <a href="#Page_29"  >29</a>.</li>
+<li>    Value of, annually, ii. <a href="#Page_117"  >117</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>  <a href="#Opium_Trade">Opium</a>, <a href="#Silk">Silk</a>, <a href="#Tea">Tea</a>. <i>See those titles.</i></li>
+<li>  Straits, with, suggested by Alcock, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_208">208</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Comprador, position of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_267">267</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Confucianism, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_229">229</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Consular Court system, drawbacks of, ii. <a href="#Page_125"  >125</a>, <a href="#Page_126"  >126</a>, <a href="#Page_354"  >354</a>, <a href="#Page_356"  >356</a>, <a href="#Page_357"  >357</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cooke, Wingrove, quoted, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_300">300</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_303">303</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_339">339</a>;
+  cited, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_317">317</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_322">322</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_323">323</a> <i>and note</i>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_325">325</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Coolie trade, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_295">295</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_168"  >168</a>-<a href="#Page_174"  >174</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cooper, W. M., on coolie trade, ii. <a href="#Page_170"  >170</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cowell, George, appreciation of Alcock, ii. <a href="#Page_479"  >479</a>, <a href="#Page_480"  >480</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Curzon, the Hon. George, speech regarding Russian pledge concerning Korea, ii. <a href="#Page_424"  >424</a>, <a href="#Page_430"  >430</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Czarevitch, visit of, to China and Japan, ii. <a href="#Page_321"  >321</a>-<a href="#Page_323"  >323</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha"><a href="#Daimios">Daimios</a>. <i>See under</i> Japan.</li>
+
+<li>Davis, Sir John, Manchus and Chinese contrasted by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_81">81</a>;
+  policy of, in Canton, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_99">99</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_106">106</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_108">108</a>;
+  diplomatic negotiations with the populace, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_109">109</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_111">111</a>;
+  succeeds Sir H. Pottinger, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_116">116</a>;
+  policy regarding Foochow, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_119">119</a>;
+  Canton merchants' complaints against, ii. <a href="#Page_119"  >119</a>;
+  decision of, reversed by Supreme Court, ii. <a href="#Page_124"  >124</a>.</li>
+
+<li>De Mas, M., anecdote of, ii. <a href="#Page_444"  >444</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+
+<li>De Quincey cited, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_133">133</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+
+<li>Delamarre, M., ii. <a href="#Page_230"  >230</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+
+<li>Delaplace, Mgr., ii. <a href="#Page_341"  >341</a>, <a href="#Page_342"  >342</a>, <a href="#Page_394"  >394</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Detring, G., accompanies Prince Ch'un on his voyage, ii. <a href="#Page_317"  >317</a>;
+  relations with Capt. Fournier, ii. <a href="#Page_327"  >327</a>;
+  summoned to Tientsin, ii. <a href="#Page_328"  >328</a>;
+  assists Li regarding Mr Dunn's mission, ii. <a href="#Page_345"  >345</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Dunn, J. G., ii. <a href="#Page_344"  >344</a>-<a href="#Page_346"  >346</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Dupont, M., Alcock's studies under, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Dutch&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Japanese instructed by, ii. <a href="#Page_98"  >98</a>.</li>
+<li>  Macao, commercial establishment at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_291">291</a>.</li>
+<li>  Nagasaki, ii. <a href="#Page_10"  >10</a>, <a href="#Page_11"  >11</a>.</li>
+<li>  Portuguese commercial rivalry with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_291">291</a>.</li>
+<li>  Promptness of, as paymasters, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_11">11</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li><a name="East_India_Co" id="East_India_Co">East India Company</a>&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Commercial methods of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_175">175</a>.</li>
+<li>  Employees pampered by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_211">211</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_260">260</a>.</li>
+<li>  Macao, commercial establishment at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_291">291</a>.</li>
+<li>  Officials of, employed in Chinese consular posts, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_80">80</a>.</li>
+<li>  Opium trade of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_199">199</a>.</li>
+<li>  Shipping of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_211">211</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_215">215</a>.</li>
+<li>  Subservience of, towards Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_253">253</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tea trade developed by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_183">183</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Eitel, Dr, cited, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_199">199</a> <i>note</i>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_301">301</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Elgin, Earl of, cruise in the Furious, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_223">223</a>;
+  contrasts Hongkong and Chusan, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_273">273</a>;
+  on Tientsin conference (1854), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_311">311</a>;
+  conduct of Hongkong affairs, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_320">320</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_329">329</a>;
+  aversion to his Chinese mission, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_323">323</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_327">327</a>;
+  services in Indian Mutiny, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_321">321</a>;
+  concludes Tientsin treaty, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_331">331</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_334">334</a>;
+  hurried departure from Tientsin, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_333">333</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_335">335</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_336">336</a>;
+  visit to Japan, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_335">335</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_336">336</a>;
+  diplomatic success there, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_347">347</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_1"  >1</a>, <a href="#Page_5"  >5</a>, <a href="#Page_6"  >6</a>, <a href="#Page_99"  >99</a>;
+  defends his China policy in House of Lords, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_337">337</a>;
+  predisposed to illusions regarding Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_339">339</a>;
+  misgivings as to Chinese good faith, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_340">340</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_347">347</a>;
+  return to Shanghai, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_347">347</a>;
+  negotiates with Treaty Commissioners at Shanghai, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_344">344</a>;
+  estimate of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_346">346</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_348">348</a>;
+  voyage up the Yangtze (1558), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_370">370</a>;
+  second mission to China, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_349">349</a>;
+  negotiations with Prince Kung, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_329">329</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_352">352</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_353">353</a>;
+  succeeded by his brother, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_355">355</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Elliot, Captain Charles, subservience of, to Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_54">54</a>;
+  offers to suppress opium trade, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_49">49</a>;
+  surrenders opium cargoes, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_54">54</a>;
+  imprisoned in Canton, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_55">55</a>;
+  appointed joint-plenipotentiary with Rear-Admiral Elliot, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_64">64</a>;
+  left in sole charge, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_65">65</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_71">71</a>;
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_498' name='Page_498'>[498]</a></span>
+  recalled, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_74">74</a>;
+  confidence of, in Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_70">70</a>;
+  contradictory nature of his commission, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_92">92</a> <i>note</i>;
+  strictures on opium trade, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_199">199</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Elliot, Rear-Admiral the Hon. George, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_63">63</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_65">65</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Empress&mdash;Dowager of China, Prince Ch'un the coadjutor of, ii. <a href="#Page_264"  >264</a>, <a href="#Page_313"  >313</a>;
+  <i>coup d'état</i> executed by, ii. <a href="#Page_264"  >264</a>, <a href="#Page_313"  >313</a>, <a href="#Page_455"  >455</a>;
+  enmity with Prince Kung, ii. <a href="#Page_264"  >264</a>, <a href="#Page_312"  >312</a>;
+  attitude towards Li, ii. <a href="#Page_264"  >264</a>, <a href="#Page_329"  >329</a>, <a href="#Page_387"  >387</a>;
+  view of Tongking affair, ii. <a href="#Page_329"  >329</a>, <a href="#Page_334"  >334</a>;
+  characteristics of, ii. <a href="#Page_373"  >373</a>;
+  power of, ii. <a href="#Page_455"  >455</a> <i>and note</i>;
+  reformers punished by, ii. <a href="#Page_458"  >458</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Eulenberg, Count, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_366">366</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_40"  >40</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Evans, General de Lacy, appreciation of Alcock, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_14">14</a>;
+  Alcock under, in Spanish Legion, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_21">21</a>.</li>
+
+<li>"Ever-Victorious Army," campaign of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_382">382</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_387">387</a>;
+  disbandment of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_393">393</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Exhibition of 1851, Alcock's collection of exhibits for, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_200">200</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_202">202</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_101"  >101</a>, <a href="#Page_102"  >102</a>;
+  influence of, on foreign trade, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_227">227</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Exhibition of 1862, Alcock's collection of samples for, ii. <a href="#Page_102"  >102</a>, <a href="#Page_484"  >484</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Exhibition, Paris, Alcock British Commissioner to, ii. <a href="#Page_485"  >485</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Favier, Bishop, ii. <a href="#Page_144"  >144</a>, <a href="#Page_346"  >346</a>, <a href="#Page_347"  >347</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Foochow&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Alcock's appointment as consul at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_116">116</a>;
+    his commercial researches at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_200">200</a>.</li>
+<li>  American enterprise a stimulus to tea trade at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_241">241</a>.</li>
+<li>  Canton disturbances reflected in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_314">314</a>.</li>
+<li>  Naval construction attempted at, ii. <a href="#Page_396"  >396</a>;
+    naval school at, ii. <a href="#Page_400"  >400</a>.</li>
+<li>  Opening of (1844), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_115">115</a>;
+    further development of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_240">240</a>.</li>
+<li>  Situation and importance of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_120">120</a>.</li>
+<li>  'Times' pronouncement against, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_114">114</a>.</li>
+<li>  Trade at, nature of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_241">241</a>;
+  sea-borne trade at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_209">209</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Formosa&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  French blockade of, ii. <a href="#Page_333"  >333</a>.</li>
+<li>  Japanese invasion of, ii. <a href="#Page_255"  >255</a>.</li>
+<li>  Missionary riots in, ii. <a href="#Page_203"  >203</a>-<a href="#Page_205"  >205</a>, <a href="#Page_207"  >207</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Fortune, Robert, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_183">183</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fournier, Captain, ii. <a href="#Page_327"  >327</a>-<a href="#Page_330"  >330</a>.</li>
+
+<li>France, French (<i>see also</i> <a href="#Powers">Powers</a>)&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Aggressive policy of, ii. <a href="#Page_465"  >465</a>, <a href="#Page_466"  >466</a>.</li>
+<li>  British cordially supported by, in China, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_377">377</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_379">379</a>;
+    in Japan, ii. <a href="#Page_45"  >45</a>, <a href="#Page_81"  >81</a>, <a href="#Page_105"  >105</a>;
+    regarding Chinese emigration, ii. <a href="#Page_172"  >172</a>.</li>
+<li>  Cochin China, conquest of, ii. <a href="#Page_253"  >253</a>, <a href="#Page_324"  >324</a>.</li>
+<li>  Concession of land obtained by (1849), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_435">435</a>;
+    extorted by (1895), ii. <a href="#Page_419"  >419</a>.</li>
+<li>  Coolie trade, efforts against, ii. <a href="#Page_172"  >172</a>.</li>
+<li>  Customs Inspector proposed by Alcock from consular service of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_153">153</a>.</li>
+<li>  Elgin followed to Tientsin by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_331">331</a>.</li>
+<li>  Loan to China, ii. <a href="#Page_421"  >421</a>.</li>
+<li>  Missionary enterprise of, ii. <a href="#Page_175"  >175</a>-<a href="#Page_177"  >177</a>, <a href="#Page_224"  >224</a>, <a href="#Page_225"  >225</a>, <a href="#Page_229"  >229</a>-<a href="#Page_232"  >232</a>, <a href="#Page_234"  >234</a>, <a href="#Page_237"  >237</a>, <a href="#Page_238"  >238</a>, <a href="#Page_253"  >253</a>;
+    protectorate of Christians the aim of, ii. <a href="#Page_336"  >336</a>-<a href="#Page_342"  >342</a>, <a href="#Page_346"  >346</a>-<a href="#Page_352"  >352</a>.</li>
+<li>  Peking campaign (1860), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_349">349</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_354">354</a>.</li>
+<li>  Russia supported by, after Japanese War, ii. <a href="#Page_415"  >415</a>;
+    their approval of French acquisitions, ii. <a href="#Page_419"  >419</a>.</li>
+<li>  Shanghai settlement and "concession" of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_435">435</a>.</li>
+<li>  Silk industry of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_191">191</a>.</li>
+<li>  Taipings' support by British resented by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_141">141</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tientsin Conference attended by (1854), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_311">311</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tongking quarrel, ii. <a href="#Page_325"  >325</a>-<a href="#Page_334"  >334</a>.</li>
+<li>  Yangtze expedition of MM. Simon and Dupuis, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_371">371</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Freeman-Mitford, Mr, anecdote cited from, ii. <a href="#Page_444"  >444</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+
+<li>Fujiyama, Alcock's expedition to, ii. <a href="#Page_41"  >41</a>, <a href="#Page_42"  >42</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Futai, position of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_381">381</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Germany, Germans (<i>see also</i> <a href="#Powers">Powers</a>)&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Aggressive policy of, ii. <a href="#Page_465"  >465</a>, <a href="#Page_466"  >466</a>.</li>
+<li>  Alcock, appreciation of, by Peking resident, ii. <a href="#Page_138"  >138</a>.</li>
+<li>  Anglo-German agreement, ii. <a href="#Page_467"  >467</a>, <a href="#Page_468"  >468</a>, <a href="#Page_473"  >473</a>.</li>
+<li>  Armenian massacres, attitude towards, ii. <a href="#Page_449"  >449</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+<li>  Chinese attitude towards, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_366">366</a>.</li>
+<li>  Influence of, increasing, ii. <a href="#Page_253"  >253</a>, <a href="#Page_254"  >254</a>.</li>
+<li>  Japanese attitude towards, ii. <a href="#Page_40"  >40</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#Kiaochow">Kiaochow</a>. <i>See that title.</i></li>
+<li>  Korean expedition of, ii. <a href="#Page_179"  >179</a>.</li>
+<li>  Military instruction of Chinese undertaken by, ii. <a href="#Page_395"  >395</a>.</li>
+<li>  Missionaries kept to their nationality, ii. <a href="#Page_338"  >338</a>.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_499' name='Page_499'>[499]</a></span></li>
+<li>  Peking, legation established in, ii. <a href="#Page_254"  >254</a>.</li>
+<li>  Propagandism unmasked by, ii. <a href="#Page_454"  >454</a>.</li>
+<li>  Russia supported by, after Japanese War, ii. <a href="#Page_415"  >415</a>.</li>
+<li>  Shantung sphere of, disturbances in, ii. <a href="#Page_462"  >462</a>.</li>
+<li>  Silk industry of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_191">191</a>.</li>
+<li>  Toleration clause in treaty of, ii. <a href="#Page_225"  >225</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+<li>  Transit duty extension, Count Bernstorff on, ii. <a href="#Page_218"  >218</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Gibson, Mr, ii. <a href="#Page_204"  >204</a>-<a href="#Page_206"  >206</a>, <a href="#Page_208"  >208</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giquel, Prosper, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_394">394</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gordon, Captain C. G., commands the "Ever-Victorious Army," i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_383">383</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_387">387</a>;
+  quarrels with Li, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_392">392</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_393">393</a>;
+  honoured by Chinese Government, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_395">395</a>;
+  attempts at intercourse with Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_399">399</a>;
+  appreciated by Li, ii. <a href="#Page_189"  >189</a>;
+  summoned by Chinese Government, ii. <a href="#Page_291"  >291</a>, <a href="#Page_292"  >292</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gorogiu, function of the, ii. <a href="#Page_108"  >108</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Grant, Sir Hope, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_348">348</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_349">349</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_352">352</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Granville, Lord, negotiates ratification of Chefoo Convention, ii. <a href="#Page_284"  >284</a>-<a href="#Page_287"  >287</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Great Britain (<i>see also</i> <a href="#Powers">Powers</a>)&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Anglo-German agreement, ii. <a href="#Page_467"  >467</a>, <a href="#Page_468"  >468</a>, <a href="#Page_473"  >473</a>.</li>
+<li>  Borneo, colonisation in, ii. <a href="#Page_485"  >485</a>-<a href="#Page_487"  >487</a>.</li>
+<li>  Good faith of, recognised by Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_83">83</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_190"  >190</a>.</li>
+<li>  Inconsistent policy of, in China, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_432">432</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_433">433</a>.</li>
+<li>  Japanese War, attitude towards, ii. <a href="#Page_413"  >413</a>-<a href="#Page_416"  >416</a>, <a href="#Page_433"  >433</a>.</li>
+<li>  Loan offered to China, ii. <a href="#Page_420"  >420</a>;
+    forced on her, ii. <a href="#Page_434"  >434</a>.</li>
+<li>  Narrowness of view among politicians in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_319">319</a>.</li>
+<li>  Naval instruction of Chinese undertaken by, ii. <a href="#Page_395"  >395</a>.</li>
+<li>  Non-aggressive policy of, ii. <a href="#Page_468"  >468</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a name="peking" id="peking">Peking</a>, Legation in&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>    Chinese Secretaryship, ii. <a href="#Page_132"  >132</a>, <a href="#Page_362"  >362</a>, <a href="#Page_363"  >363</a>, <a href="#Page_367"  >367</a>.</li>
+<li>    Deterioration in personnel of, ii. <a href="#Page_360"  >360</a>-<a href="#Page_362"  >362</a>, <a href="#Page_364"  >364</a>, <a href="#Page_366"  >366</a>, <a href="#Page_367"  >367</a>.</li>
+<li>    Establishment of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_355">355</a>.</li>
+<li>    Intelligence department defective, ii. <a href="#Page_415"  >415</a>, <a href="#Page_423"  >423</a>.</li>
+<li>    Subordination of, to Inspector-General of Customs, ii. <a href="#Page_165"  >165</a>, <a href="#Page_166"  >166</a>.</li>
+<li>    Supreme Court for a time subordinate to, ii. <a href="#Page_358"  >358</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>  Russian acquisitions, attitude towards, ii. <a href="#Page_423"  >423</a>-<a href="#Page_433"  >433</a>.</li>
+<li>  Weihai-wei seized by, ii. <a href="#Page_434"  >434</a>.</li>
+<li>  Yedo, <a name="Legation" id="Legation">Legation</a> in, assaulted, ii. <a href="#Page_36"  >36</a>-<a href="#Page_38"  >38</a>;
+    indemnity demanded, ii. <a href="#Page_65"  >65</a>, <a href="#Page_66"  >66</a>;
+    burnt, ii. <a href="#Page_62"  >62</a> and <i>note</i>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Greenwell, Dora, appreciation of 'Life's Problems' expressed by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_159">159</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gros, Baron, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_321">321</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_349">349</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_230"  >230</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gurdon, Lieutenant, ii. <a href="#Page_205"  >205</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Guthrie, G. J., Alcock's medical studies under, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_2">2</a>;
+  recommends Alcock to Mr O'Meara, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_9">9</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Hakodate, opening of, for ships' supplies, ii. <a href="#Page_4"  >4</a>;
+  neglected by merchants, ii. <a href="#Page_12"  >12</a>;
+  Russian representative at, ii. <a href="#Page_104"  >104</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hankow&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Abandonment of, by inhabitants in Taiping scare, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_374">374</a>.</li>
+<li>  Consular officer established at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_373">373</a>.</li>
+<li>  Development of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_225">225</a>.</li>
+<li>  Elgin's voyage to (1858), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_347">347</a>.</li>
+<li>  Hope's visit to (1861), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_223">223</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Harris, Townsend, ii. <a href="#Page_3"  >3</a>, <a href="#Page_5"  >5</a>, <a href="#Page_39"  >39</a>, <a href="#Page_99"  >99</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hart, Sir Robert, temporarily Inspector-General of Chinese Maritime Customs, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_387">387</a>;
+  implicated in the Lay-Osborn flotilla failure, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_388">388</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_390">390</a>;
+  an authority on Gordon's reconciliation with Li, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_193">193</a>;
+  position and work of, as Inspector-General of Customs in Peking, ii. <a href="#Page_157"  >157</a>, <a href="#Page_160"  >160</a>, <a href="#Page_162"  >162</a>-<a href="#Page_167"  >167</a>;
+  appointed British Minister in China, but resigns post, ii. <a href="#Page_166"  >166</a>;
+  on Mixed Commission regarding redress of commercial grievances, ii. <a href="#Page_211"  >211</a>-<a href="#Page_215"  >215</a>;
+  action in the Margary murder case, ii. <a href="#Page_274"  >274</a>;
+  influence on the Chefoo Convention, ii. <a href="#Page_276"  >276</a>;
+  invites Gordon to help Chinese, ii. <a href="#Page_292"  >292</a>;
+  obtains recall of Tibetan mission, ii. <a href="#Page_310"  >310</a>;
+  obtains peace with France, ii. <a href="#Page_333"  >333</a>;
+  'Fortnightly Review' paper cited, ii. <a href="#Page_461"  >461</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hodges, Colonel, takes Alcock on to his staff, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_10">10</a>;
+  appreciation of Alcock, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_14">14</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Holt, Mr, ii. <a href="#Page_203"  >203</a>, <a href="#Page_204"  >204</a>, <a href="#Page_208"  >208</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hong merchants, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_40">40</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+
+<li>Hongkong&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Administration of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_278">278</a>.</li>
+<li>  Advantages of site, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_284">284</a>.</li>
+<li>  Alcock's visit to (1869), ii. <a href="#Page_219"  >219</a>.</li>
+<li>  Bank of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_285">285</a>.</li>
+<li>  British contempt for, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_115">115</a>;
+    Government's attitude towards, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_276">276</a>.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_500' name='Page_500'>[500]</a></span></li>
+<li>  Buildings in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_283">283</a>.</li>
+<li>  Cession of, and occupation by British, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_67">67</a>.</li>
+<li>  Chinese traders and mechanics in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_73">73</a>;
+    shipowners in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_247">247</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_308">308</a>;
+    escaped criminals numerous, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_275">275</a>;
+    improvement of general character, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_277">277</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_284">284</a>.</li>
+<li>  Chusan contrasted with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_273">273</a>.</li>
+<li>  Coolie trade, efforts against, ii. <a href="#Page_168"  >168</a>, <a href="#Page_169"  >169</a>.</li>
+<li>  Cost of voyage to, in early days, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_258">258</a>.</li>
+<li>  Customs station at, desired by Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_276">276</a>;
+    refused, ii. <a href="#Page_216"  >216</a>;
+    established, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_276">276</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_288"  >288</a>.</li>
+<li>  Development of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_274">274</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_286">286</a>.</li>
+<li>  Dislike of, by diplomatic and consular officials, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_320">320</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_355"  >355</a>;
+    by Chinese Government, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_275">275</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_216"  >216</a>.</li>
+<li>  Early record of (1816), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_272">272</a>.</li>
+<li>  Elgin's aversion to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_320">320</a>.</li>
+<li>  Emigration from, ii. <a href="#Page_173"  >173</a>.</li>
+<li>  Industries of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_284">284</a>.</li>
+<li>  International character of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_285">285</a>.</li>
+<li>  Junk trade under Chinese control, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_308">308</a>.</li>
+<li>  Kiying House, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_316">316</a>.</li>
+<li>  Macao contrasted with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_294">294</a>.</li>
+<li>  Piracy headquarters at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_302">302</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_305">305</a>.</li>
+<li>  Pottinger, Sir H., first governor of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_112">112</a>.</li>
+<li>  Reformers safe in, ii. <a href="#Page_459"  >459</a>.</li>
+<li>  Schools in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_282">282</a>.</li>
+<li>  Supreme Court in, ii. <a href="#Page_354"  >354</a>, <a href="#Page_355"  >355</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tonnage entered and cleared at, in 1898, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_277">277</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+<li>  Yokohama guard despatched from, ii. <a href="#Page_77"  >77</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Hong-tjyong-on, ii. <a href="#Page_299"  >299</a>-<a href="#Page_302"  >302</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hope, Admiral Sir James, Yangtze formally opened by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_223">223</a>;
+  commands British naval contingent in Peking campaign, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_349">349</a>;
+  repulsed at Taku forts (1859), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_350">350</a>;
+  visits Peking, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_365">365</a>;
+  relations with Taipings, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_370">370</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_373">373</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_375">375</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_379">379</a>;
+  opinion on Taiping Rebellion, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_375">375</a>;
+  vigorous policy of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_376">376</a>;
+  friendship with Admiral Protêt, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_379">379</a>;
+  comradeship with Ward, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_382">382</a>;
+  advises strong measures in Japan, ii. <a href="#Page_55"  >55</a>;
+  scheme for offensive measures in Japan, ii. <a href="#Page_59"  >59</a>;
+  correspondence with Capt. Birileff regarding Tsushima, ii. <a href="#Page_111"  >111</a>-<a href="#Page_114"  >114</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hoppo, position of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hsienfêng, Emperor, death of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_397">397</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hu Lin-yi, ii. <a href="#Page_377"  >377</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Huang, Governor-General, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_342">342</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_343">343</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hunter, W. C., quoted, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_46">46</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_48">48</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_20"  >20</a> <i>note</i>;
+  cited, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hwang-chu-ke, massacre of Englishmen at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_108">108</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Ignatieff, General, assists Sir H. Grant, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_353">353</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_354">354</a>;
+  negotiates cession of Vladivostock, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_357">357</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_358">358</a>;
+  attitude towards British Legation and Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_359">359</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ilipu, Commissioner, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_81">81</a>.</li>
+
+<li>India&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Alcock's visit to (1869), ii. <a href="#Page_219"  >219</a>.</li>
+<li>  Calcutta Convention, ii. <a href="#Page_312"  >312</a>.</li>
+<li>  Chinese imports from, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_168">168</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#East_India_Co">East India Company</a>. <i>See that title.</i></li>
+<li>  Elgin's opportune arrival in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_321">321</a>.</li>
+<li>  Gordon summoned from, ii. <a href="#Page_292"  >292</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#Opium_Trade">Opium trade</a>. <i>See that title.</i></li>
+<li>  Tea trade, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_182">182</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_186">186</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tibetan expedition, ii. <a href="#Page_305"  >305</a>-<a href="#Page_310"  >310</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Inouyé, Count, British Legation building burnt by, ii. <a href="#Page_62"  >62</a> <i>note</i>;
+  return from Europe and mission to Choshiu, ii. <a href="#Page_80"  >80</a>, <a href="#Page_81"  >81</a>;
+  mission to Korea, ii. <a href="#Page_302"  >302</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ito, Count, return from Europe and mission to Choshiu, ii. <a href="#Page_80"  >80</a>, <a href="#Page_81"  >81</a>;
+  mission to Peking, ii. <a href="#Page_302"  >302</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Japan (<i>for particular persons, towns, see their titles</i>)&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Aggressive policy of, ii. <a href="#Page_254"  >254</a>-<a href="#Page_256"  >256</a>, <a href="#Page_465"  >465</a>, <a href="#Page_466"  >466</a>.</li>
+<li>  Art of, ii. <a href="#Page_102"  >102</a>, <a href="#Page_103"  >103</a>.</li>
+<li>  Assassination period in, ii. <a href="#Page_35"  >35</a>-<a href="#Page_38"  >38</a>.</li>
+<li>  Chinese War. <i>See under</i> <a href="#Japanese_War">China</a>.</li>
+<li>  Consuls in, peculiar responsibilities of, ii. <a href="#Page_121"  >121</a>.</li>
+<li>  Currency of, ii. <a href="#Page_18"  >18</a>-<a href="#Page_27"  >27</a>.</li>
+<li>  Customs of, ii. <a href="#Page_33"  >33</a>.</li>
+<li>  Czarevitch's visit to, ii. <a href="#Page_323"  >323</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a name="Daimios" id="Daimios">Daimios</a>&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>    Coinage of, ii. <a href="#Page_25"  >25</a>, <a href="#Page_26"  >26</a>.</li>
+<li>    Hostility of, to foreigners, ii. <a href="#Page_38"  >38</a>-<a href="#Page_41"  >41</a>, <a href="#Page_43"  >43</a>.</li>
+<li>    Legation guards provided by, ii. <a href="#Page_51"  >51</a>, <a href="#Page_53"  >53</a>.</li>
+<li>    Processions of, ii. <a href="#Page_34"  >34</a>, <a href="#Page_56"  >56</a>.</li>
+<li>    Tycoon's relation to, ii. <a href="#Page_38"  >38</a>, <a href="#Page_60"  >60</a>-<a href="#Page_65"  >65</a>, <a href="#Page_67"  >67</a>, <a href="#Page_68"  >68</a>, <a href="#Page_76"  >76</a>, <a href="#Page_93"  >93</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>  Elgin's visit to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_335">335</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_336">336</a>;
+    his diplomatic success, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_347">347</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_1"  >1</a>, <a href="#Page_5"  >5</a>, <a href="#Page_6"  >6</a>, <a href="#Page_99"  >99</a>.</li>
+<li>  Exhibition of 1862, represented at, ii. <a href="#Page_102"  >102</a>, <a href="#Page_484"  >484</a>.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_501' name='Page_501'>[501]</a></span></li>
+<li>  Foreigners, supervision of, ii. <a href="#Page_8"  >8</a>;
+    early pleasant relations with, ii. <a href="#Page_9"  >9</a>, <a href="#Page_29"  >29</a>-<a href="#Page_31"  >31</a>;
+    hatred of, ii. <a href="#Page_38"  >38</a>-<a href="#Page_41"  >41</a>, <a href="#Page_43"  >43</a>, <a href="#Page_58"  >58</a>, <a href="#Page_77"  >77</a>, <a href="#Page_93"  >93</a>;
+    retrograde policy towards, ii. <a href="#Page_47"  >47</a>-<a href="#Page_49"  >49</a>;
+    use made of, ii. <a href="#Page_95"  >95</a>-<a href="#Page_98"  >98</a>, <a href="#Page_130"  >130</a>, <a href="#Page_131"  >131</a>, <a href="#Page_191"  >191</a>, <a href="#Page_255"  >255</a>;
+    help of, declined when unasked, ii. <a href="#Page_110"  >110</a>.</li>
+<li>  Formosa invaded by, ii. <a href="#Page_255"  >255</a>.</li>
+<li>  Gorogiu, function of the, ii. <a href="#Page_108"  >108</a>.</li>
+<li>  Hong's vendetta pursued in, ii. <a href="#Page_300"  >300</a>, <a href="#Page_301"  >301</a>.</li>
+<li>  Inland Sea, Alcock's expedition up, ii. <a href="#Page_36"  >36</a>, <a href="#Page_42"  >42</a>;
+    Prince of Nagato's blockade of, ii. <a href="#Page_69"  >69</a>, <a href="#Page_76"  >76</a>, <a href="#Page_77"  >77</a>.</li>
+<li>  Korea, treaty with, ii. <a href="#Page_256"  >256</a>, <a href="#Page_257"  >257</a>;
+    Korean outbreak against, ii. <a href="#Page_294"  >294</a>, <a href="#Page_297"  >297</a>, <a href="#Page_298"  >298</a>;
+    equality with China in, ii. <a href="#Page_302"  >302</a>, <a href="#Page_303"  >303</a>, <a href="#Page_389"  >389</a>;
+    aggression in, ii. <a href="#Page_406"  >406</a>, <a href="#Page_407"  >407</a>, <a href="#Page_409"  >409</a>.</li>
+<li>  Liao-tung claimed by, ii. <a href="#Page_429"  >429</a>.</li>
+<li>  Liuchiu Islands claimed by, ii. <a href="#Page_256"  >256</a>.</li>
+<li>  Opening of, to foreign intercourse (1858), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_225">225</a>.</li>
+<li>  Portuguese expelled from, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_291">291</a>.</li>
+<li>  Prosperity of, ii. <a href="#Page_32"  >32</a>.</li>
+<li>  "Rudeness," term for, ii. <a href="#Page_34"  >34</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+<li>  Russian admiral in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_395">395</a>.</li>
+<li>  Samurai, anecdote of, ii. <a href="#Page_33"  >33</a> <i>note</i> 1.</li>
+<li>  Silk industry of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_191">191</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+<li>  Sport in, ii. <a href="#Page_127"  >127</a>-<a href="#Page_129"  >129</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Japanese&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Chinese contrasted with, ii. <a href="#Page_8"  >8</a>, <a href="#Page_27"  >27</a>, <a href="#Page_29"  >29</a>, <a href="#Page_130"  >130</a>, <a href="#Page_131"  >131</a>, <a href="#Page_259"  >259</a>.</li>
+<li>  Combination, power of, ii. <a href="#Page_94"  >94</a>.</li>
+<li>  Imitation, faculty of, ii. <a href="#Page_94"  >94</a>-<a href="#Page_97"  >97</a>.</li>
+<li>  Practical comprehension of circumstances, ii. <a href="#Page_7"  >7</a>.</li>
+<li>  Seriousness of, ii. <a href="#Page_94"  >94</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tenacity and resolution of, ii. <a href="#Page_16"  >16</a>, <a href="#Page_93"  >93</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li><a href="#Junks">Junks</a>. <i>See under</i> China.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Kanagawa&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  American treaty signed at, ii. <a href="#Page_39"  >39</a>.</li>
+<li>  Massacre of Russians at, ii. <a href="#Page_35"  >35</a>.</li>
+<li>  Moss, Mr, arrested for shooting game near, ii. <a href="#Page_123"  >123</a>, <a href="#Page_128"  >128</a>.</li>
+<li>  Opening of (1859), ii. <a href="#Page_12"  >12</a>.</li>
+<li>  Riding party from, attacked, ii. <a href="#Page_55"  >55</a>-<a href="#Page_57"  >57</a>.</li>
+<li>  Yokohama preferred to, by foreign merchants, ii. <a href="#Page_17"  >17</a>, <a href="#Page_18"  >18</a>, <a href="#Page_123"  >123</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Kang Yu-wei, reform programme of, ii. <a href="#Page_457"  >457</a>, <a href="#Page_458"  >458</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kashgaria, rebellion in, ii. <a href="#Page_290"  >290</a>, <a href="#Page_291"  >291</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kennedy, Vice-Admiral Sir W. R., cited, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_317">317</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_318">318</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Keppel, Admiral, diary entry regarding opium clipper, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_217">217</a>;
+  appreciation of Dent's hospitality, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_316">316</a>;
+  operations against war-junks, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_317">317</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_318">318</a>;
+  aids Consul Medhurst in Yangchow affair, ii. <a href="#Page_202"  >202</a>;
+  report on Formosa missionary affair, ii. <a href="#Page_204"  >204</a>;
+  details force to aid Mr Gibson, ii. <a href="#Page_205"  >205</a>;
+  appreciation of Chunghou, ii. <a href="#Page_239"  >239</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Kiaochow" id="Kiaochow">Kiaochow</a>, German seizure of, ii. <a href="#Page_421"  >421</a>;
+  British opinion, ii. <a href="#Page_423"  >423</a>;
+  Russian attitude, ii. <a href="#Page_431"  >431</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kim Ok Kun, ii. <a href="#Page_298"  >298</a>-<a href="#Page_302"  >302</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kishen, appointment of, to negotiate with British, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_65">65</a>;
+  conciliatory manner of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_67">67</a>;
+  good faith and courtesy of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kiying, Commissioner, appointed to treat with Sir H. Pottinger, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_77">77</a>;
+  courtesy of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_82">82</a>;
+  pleasant nature of intercourse with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_95">95</a>;
+  impotence of, before Cantonese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_97">97</a>;
+  high-handed manner of, after restoration of Chusan, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_99">99</a>;
+  agreement concluded with (1847), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_107">107</a>;
+  effects postponement of foreign entry into Canton, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_107">107</a>;
+  popular memorial to Sir J. Davis inspired by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_110">110</a>;
+  affability of, to governor of Hongkong, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_113">113</a>;
+  supplementary treaty with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_113">113</a>;
+  no redress from, against a Chih-hsien, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_426">426</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="korea" id="korea">Korea</a>&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  American expeditions to, ii. <a href="#Page_178"  >178</a>, <a href="#Page_179"  >179</a>.</li>
+<li>  China, tribute embassies to, ii. <a href="#Page_148"  >148</a>;</li>
+<li>    reverence for, ii. <a href="#Page_259"  >259</a>;
+    embassy of condolence from, ii. <a href="#Page_404"  >404</a>, <a href="#Page_405"  >405</a>;
+    privileges of, ii. <a href="#Page_406"  >406</a>.</li>
+<li>  Foreign ferment in, ii. <a href="#Page_295"  >295</a>.</li>
+<li>  French annexation of, ii. <a href="#Page_176"  >176</a>, <a href="#Page_177"  >177</a>.</li>
+<li>  Hong honoured by Court, ii. <a href="#Page_301"  >301</a>, <a href="#Page_302"  >302</a>.</li>
+<li>  Japanese, treaty with, ii. <a href="#Page_256"  >256</a>, <a href="#Page_257"  >257</a>;
+    brutality of, ii. <a href="#Page_259"  >259</a>;
+    equality of, with China, ii. <a href="#Page_302"  >302</a>, <a href="#Page_303"  >303</a>, <a href="#Page_389"  >389</a>;
+    aggression of, ii. <a href="#Page_406"  >406</a>, <a href="#Page_407"  >407</a>, <a href="#Page_409"  >409</a>.</li>
+<li>  Jesuit propagandism in, ii. <a href="#Page_175"  >175</a>.</li>
+<li>  Opening of, by China, ii. <a href="#Page_259"  >259</a>.</li>
+<li>  Port Hamilton incident, ii. <a href="#Page_303"  >303</a>, <a href="#Page_305"  >305</a>.</li>
+<li>  Russian pledge regarding, ii. <a href="#Page_424"  >424</a>, <a href="#Page_425"  >425</a>.</li>
+<li>  Söul, <i>émeute</i> in, ii. <a href="#Page_294"  >294</a>, <a href="#Page_296"  >296</a>-<a href="#Page_298"  >298</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Kowloon, concession of, acquired by Parkes, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_330">330</a>.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_502' name='Page_502'>[502]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>Kuldja, Russian claims regarding, ii. <a href="#Page_290"  >290</a>-<a href="#Page_293"  >293</a>.</li>
+<li>Kung, Prince, Lord Elgin's negotiations with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_329">329</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_352">352</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_353">353</a>;
+  signs Peking treaty, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_354">354</a>;
+  deceived by Ignatieff, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_358">358</a>;
+  member of Tsungli-Yamên, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_360">360</a>;
+  Gordon's interviews with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_383">383</a>;
+  implicated in the Lay-Osborn flotilla failure, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_389">389</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_390">390</a>;
+  executes <i>coup d'état</i>, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_397">397</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_398">398</a>;
+  correspondence with British Minister, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_403">403</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_406">406</a>, 409;
+  high-handed tone of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_410">410</a>;
+  intimate relations with British Legation, ii. <a href="#Page_134"  >134</a>, <a href="#Page_135"  >135</a>;
+  efforts against coolie trade, ii. <a href="#Page_171"  >171</a>, <a href="#Page_172"  >172</a>;
+  declines responsibility for Korean persecutions, ii. <a href="#Page_176"  >176</a>;
+  action in Yangchow affair, ii. <a href="#Page_202"  >202</a>;
+  circular regarding missionaries, ii. <a href="#Page_231"  >231</a>;
+  Sir T. Wade's remonstrance to, on Chinese official tone, ii. <a href="#Page_244"  >244</a>;
+  present at audience of foreign Ministers, ii. <a href="#Page_261"  >261</a>;
+  imperial claims of, ii. <a href="#Page_263"  >263</a>;
+  enmity between Empress and, ii. <a href="#Page_264"  >264</a>, <a href="#Page_312"  >312</a>;
+  action regarding Margary case, ii. <a href="#Page_274"  >274</a>;
+  dismissed by Empress, ii. <a href="#Page_312"  >312</a>;
+  efforts regarding Pei-t'ang Cathedral, ii. <a href="#Page_342"  >342</a>;
+  moderating influence of, ii. <a href="#Page_374"  >374</a>;
+  vetoes proposed assassination of Li, ii. <a href="#Page_387"  >387</a>.</li>
+<li>Kuper, Rear-Admiral Sir Augustus, attack on Satsuma, ii. <a href="#Page_67"  >67</a>;
+  operations against Prince of Nagato, ii. <a href="#Page_80"  >80</a>, <a href="#Page_81"  >81</a>;
+  appeals to Foreign Office regarding Alcock's recall, ii. <a href="#Page_89"  >89</a>.</li>
+<li>Kwanghsu, Emperor, selected by Empress, ii. <a href="#Page_263"  >263</a>;
+  comes of age, ii. <a href="#Page_318"  >318</a>;
+  childlessness of, ii. <a href="#Page_456"  >456</a>;
+  reform programme adopted by, ii. <a href="#Page_458"  >458</a>.</li>
+<li>Kweiliang, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_334">334</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_360">360</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Lane-Poole, Stanley, cited, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_316">316</a>.</li>
+<li>Lang, Captain, ii. <a href="#Page_396"  >396</a>, <a href="#Page_400"  >400</a>, <a href="#Page_412"  >412</a>.</li>
+<li>Lay, H. N., residence of, at Foochow, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_118">118</a> <i>note</i>;
+  Inspector-General of Customs, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_155">155</a>;
+  negotiates Tientsin treaty, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_331">331</a>;
+  Osborn flotilla fiasco, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_387">387</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_391">391</a>;
+  summary of Chinese affairs (1858-63), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_409">409</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_410">410</a>;
+  fidelity to Chinese Government, ii. <a href="#Page_160"  >160</a>;
+  observation on residence of Ministers, ii. <a href="#Page_261"  >261</a>;
+  representative of consular training school, ii. <a href="#Page_363"  >363</a>.</li>
+<li>Lay-Osborn flotilla, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_387">387</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_391">391</a>;
+  Wênsiang and Prince Kung discredited by failure of scheme, ii. <a href="#Page_375"  >375</a>, <a href="#Page_391"  >391</a>.</li>
+<li><a href="#Likin">Lekin, likin</a>. <i>See under</i> China&mdash;Taxation.</li>
+<li>Lhassa, Bengali's friendly visits to, ii. <a href="#Page_305"  >305</a>;
+  Indian expedition attempted, ii. <a href="#Page_306"  >306</a>-<a href="#Page_310"  >310</a>;
+  protracted negotiations at, ii. <a href="#Page_311"  >311</a>, <a href="#Page_312"  >312</a>.</li>
+<li>Li Han-Chang, ii. <a href="#Page_272"  >272</a>.</li>
+<li>Li Hung-Chang, foreigners enlisted by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_382">382</a>;
+  dismisses Burgevine, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_385">385</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_387">387</a>;
+  rejects the Lay-Osborn flotilla, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_391">391</a>;
+  Gordon's quarrel with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_392">392</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_393">393</a>;
+  memorial of, regarding revision of treaty, ii. <a href="#Page_184"  >184</a>-<a href="#Page_190"  >190</a>;
+  influence of, in foreign affairs, ii. <a href="#Page_190"  >190</a>, <a href="#Page_264"  >264</a>, <a href="#Page_313"  >313</a>, <a href="#Page_314"  >314</a>;
+  succeeds Tsêng Kwo-fan and Chunghou, ii. <a href="#Page_242"  >242</a>;
+  interview with Consul Adkins, ii. <a href="#Page_244"  >244</a>, <a href="#Page_245"  >245</a>;
+  negotiates opening of Korea, ii. <a href="#Page_259"  >259</a>;
+  ascendancy of, in imperial counsels, ii. <a href="#Page_264"  >264</a>, <a href="#Page_329"  >329</a>;
+  appointed to treat with Sir T. Wade on Margary murder, ii. <a href="#Page_274"  >274</a>, <a href="#Page_275"  >275</a>;
+  negotiates Chefoo Convention, ii. <a href="#Page_275"  >275</a>-<a href="#Page_277"  >277</a>;
+  Gordon's interviews with, ii. <a href="#Page_292"  >292</a>;
+  action in Korean <i>émeute</i>, ii. <a href="#Page_294"  >294</a>;
+  Count Ito's negotiations with, ii. <a href="#Page_302"  >302</a>;
+  arranges voyage of Prince Ch'un, ii. <a href="#Page_316"  >316</a>;
+  deputed to meet the Czarevitch at Chefoo, ii. <a href="#Page_322"  >322</a>;
+  Annam negotiations, ii. <a href="#Page_325"  >325</a>;
+  summons Mr Detring to Tientsin, ii. <a href="#Page_328"  >328</a>;
+  concludes Fournier Convention, ii. <a href="#Page_329"  >329</a>;
+  arranges Vatican mission, ii. <a href="#Page_345"  >345</a>;
+  opposed by Tso Tsung-tang, ii. <a href="#Page_379"  >379</a>;
+  characteristics and policy of, ii. <a href="#Page_381"  >381</a>-<a href="#Page_386"  >386</a>;
+  promotes naval and military reform, ii. <a href="#Page_382"  >382</a>, <a href="#Page_391"  >391</a>, <a href="#Page_396"  >396</a>, <a href="#Page_397"  >397</a>;
+  no anti-foreign outbreaks in province of, ii. <a href="#Page_383"  >383</a>, <a href="#Page_442"  >442</a>;
+  responsibilities of, regarding Japanese War, ii. <a href="#Page_386"  >386</a>, <a href="#Page_387"  >387</a>;
+  progressive efforts of, ii. <a href="#Page_395"  >395</a>;
+  opposed to Korean expedition, ii. <a href="#Page_408"  >408</a>;
+  agrees to Manchurian branch of Siberian railway, ii. <a href="#Page_423"  >423</a>.</li>
+<li>Liao-tung&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Japanese occupation of, ii. <a href="#Page_414"  >414</a>;
+    cession of, for indemnity, ii. <a href="#Page_415"  >415</a>.</li>
+<li>  Russian acquisition of, ii. <a href="#Page_422"  >422</a>, <a href="#Page_423"  >423</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>'Life's Problems,' appreciation of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_159">159</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Likatchoff, Commodore, ii. <a href="#Page_112"  >112</a>, <a href="#Page_114"  >114</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lin, Commissioner, measures of, against opium trade, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_51">51</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_54">54</a>;
+  demands life-and-death jurisdiction, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_57">57</a>;
+  reply of, to Macaese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_58">58</a>;
+  superseded, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_65">65</a>;
+  custom-house administration of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_435">435</a>.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_503' name='Page_503'>[503]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>Lindsay, W. S., cited, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_237">237</a>;
+  quoted, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_242">242</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Liuchiu Islands, ii. <a href="#Page_256"  >256</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Livadia, treaty of, ii. <a href="#Page_291"  >291</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a href="#Lorchas">Lorchas</a>. <i>See under</i> China.</li>
+
+<li>Lowder, Mrs, Alcock's marriage with, ii. <a href="#Page_73"  >73</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Macao" id="Macao">Macao</a> (<i>see also</i> <a href="#Portuguese">Portuguese</a>)&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  British refugees expelled from, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_293">293</a>;
+    plenipotentiaries repair to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_65">65</a>.</li>
+<li>  Celebrities of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_298">298</a>.</li>
+<li>  Clerks from, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_259">259</a>.</li>
+<li>  Coolie trade at, ii. <a href="#Page_169"  >169</a>, <a href="#Page_174"  >174</a>.</li>
+<li>  Custom-house established at, ii. <a href="#Page_288"  >288</a>.</li>
+<li>  Elliot's retirement to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_41">41</a>.</li>
+<li>  Hongkong contrasted with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_294">294</a>.</li>
+<li>  Peacefulness and salubrity of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_292">292</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_294">294</a>.</li>
+<li>  Piracy tolerated at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_296">296</a>.</li>
+<li>  Population of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_295">295</a>.</li>
+<li>  Portuguese occupation of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_289">289</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_291">291</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Macaulay, T. B., ii. <a href="#Page_307"  >307</a>.</li>
+
+<li>MacCunn, James, cited, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_243">243</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+
+<li>Macdonald, Sir Claude, ii. <a href="#Page_432"  >432</a>.</li>
+
+<li>MacDonnell, Sir Richard, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_306">306</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Manchuria&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Chinese troops in, ii. <a href="#Page_291"  >291</a>.</li>
+<li>  Russian acquisition of coast, ii. <a href="#Page_252"  >252</a>, <a href="#Page_469"  >469</a>, <a href="#Page_473"  >473</a>.</li>
+<li>  Siberian railway to pass through, ii. <a href="#Page_423"  >423</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Manchus&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Chinese contrasted with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_81">81</a>;
+    complementary to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+<li>  Courtesy of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_368">368</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_140"  >140</a>, <a href="#Page_153"  >153</a>.</li>
+<li>  Moderation and humanity of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_81">81</a>.</li>
+<li>  Women, position of, ii. <a href="#Page_140"  >140</a>, <a href="#Page_141"  >141</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Margary, Augustus Raymond, ii. <a href="#Page_266"  >266</a>, <a href="#Page_267"  >267</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Markham, Sir Clements, appreciation of Alcock, ii. <a href="#Page_484"  >484</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mas, M. de, anecdote of, ii. <a href="#Page_444"  >444</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+
+<li>Mayers, W. F., ii. <a href="#Page_363"  >363</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Meadows, Taylor, Alcock compared with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_161">161</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_224"  >224</a>;
+  distinguished services of, ii. <a href="#Page_359"  >359</a>;
+  representative of consular training school, ii. <a href="#Page_363"  >363</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Medhurst, Mr, foreign atrocities reported by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_302">302</a>;
+  map made by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_432">432</a>;
+  action in Yangchow affair, ii. <a href="#Page_199"  >199</a>-<a href="#Page_201"  >201</a>;
+  reprimanded by Lord Clarendon, ii. <a href="#Page_207"  >207</a>, <a href="#Page_208"  >208</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mikado of Japan, sanction of, necessary to treaties, ii. <a href="#Page_39"  >39</a>, <a href="#Page_63"  >63</a>, <a href="#Page_85"  >85</a>;
+  sanction obtained, ii. <a href="#Page_90"  >90</a>;
+  Tycoon's relation to, ii. <a href="#Page_60"  >60</a>-<a href="#Page_65"  >65</a>, <a href="#Page_71"  >71</a>-<a href="#Page_73"  >73</a>, <a href="#Page_76"  >76</a>, <a href="#Page_85"  >85</a>, <a href="#Page_92"  >92</a>, <a href="#Page_93"  >93</a>;
+  expulsion of foreigners ordered by, ii. <a href="#Page_63"  >63</a>;
+  administrative functions assumed by, ii. <a href="#Page_92"  >92</a>, <a href="#Page_255"  >255</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="missionaries" id="missionaries">Missionaries</a>&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Alcock's views on, ii. <a href="#Page_223"  >223</a>, <a href="#Page_224"  >224</a>, <a href="#Page_227"  >227</a>, <a href="#Page_230"  >230</a>, <a href="#Page_231"  >231</a>, <a href="#Page_237"  >237</a>.</li>
+<li>  American, on Yangtze expedition, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_370">370</a>.</li>
+<li>  Charges against, ii. <a href="#Page_236"  >236</a>.</li>
+<li>  Chinese view of, ii. <a href="#Page_177"  >177</a>-<a href="#Page_179"  >179</a>.</li>
+<li>  Control of, Chinese scheme for, ii. <a href="#Page_246"  >246</a>-<a href="#Page_248"  >248</a>.</li>
+<li>  Disunion among the Powers caused by, ii. <a href="#Page_237"  >237</a>.</li>
+<li>  French enterprise regarding, ii. <a href="#Page_175"  >175</a>-<a href="#Page_177"  >177</a>, <a href="#Page_224"  >224</a>, <a href="#Page_225"  >225</a>, <a href="#Page_229"  >229</a>-<a href="#Page_232"  >232</a>, <a href="#Page_234"  >234</a>, <a href="#Page_237"  >237</a>, <a href="#Page_238"  >238</a>, <a href="#Page_253"  >253</a>;
+    their aim a protectorate of Christians, ii. <a href="#Page_336"  >336</a>-<a href="#Page_342"  >342</a>, <a href="#Page_346"  >346</a>-<a href="#Page_352"  >352</a>.</li>
+<li>  Hongkong, in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_281">281</a>.</li>
+<li>  "Indiscretions" of, emphasised by their Governments, ii. <a href="#Page_243"  >243</a>.</li>
+<li>  Irritation and disruption caused by, ii. <a href="#Page_203"  >203</a>-<a href="#Page_205"  >205</a>, <a href="#Page_207"  >207</a>, <a href="#Page_224"  >224</a>, <a href="#Page_226"  >226</a>-<a href="#Page_233"  >233</a>, <a href="#Page_238"  >238</a>, <a href="#Page_246"  >246</a>, <a href="#Page_248"  >248</a>, <a href="#Page_249"  >249</a>, <a href="#Page_454"  >454</a>.</li>
+<li>  Kang Yu-wei inspired by, ii. <a href="#Page_458"  >458</a>.</li>
+<li>  Korea, in, ii. <a href="#Page_175"  >175</a>, <a href="#Page_177"  >177</a>-<a href="#Page_179"  >179</a>.</li>
+<li>  Li's advice regarding, ii. <a href="#Page_187"  >187</a>;
+    his policy towards, ii. <a href="#Page_383"  >383</a>, <a href="#Page_442"  >442</a>.</li>
+<li>  Publications of, ii. <a href="#Page_445"  >445</a>.</li>
+<li>  Russian Peking establishment, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_356">356</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_154"  >154</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tientsin massacre, ii. <a href="#Page_238"  >238</a>, <a href="#Page_239"  >239</a>;
+    French ambassador's note on, ii. <a href="#Page_237"  >237</a>;
+    results of, ii. <a href="#Page_240"  >240</a>-<a href="#Page_244"  >244</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tsingpu attack, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_129">129</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Mito, Prince of, ii. <a href="#Page_35"  >35</a>, <a href="#Page_38"  >38</a>, <a href="#Page_40"  >40</a>, <a href="#Page_41"  >41</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mongol market in Peking, ii. <a href="#Page_147"  >147</a>, <a href="#Page_148"  >148</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Montauban, General (Count Palikao), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_349">349</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_351">351</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_353">353</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Morrison, Robert, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_298">298</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Moss, Mr, ii. <a href="#Page_123"  >123</a>, <a href="#Page_124"  >124</a>, <a href="#Page_128"  >128</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mouravieff-Amurski, Count, at Yedo, ii. <a href="#Page_35"  >35</a>;
+  warns Japanese against British designs, ii. <a href="#Page_111"  >111</a>;
+  gives assurances regarding Russian fleet, ii. <a href="#Page_426"  >426</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mutsu, Count, anecdote of, ii. <a href="#Page_96"  >96</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Nagasaki&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Alcock's arrival at, ii. <a href="#Page_14"  >14</a>.</li>
+<li>  Coins not used in trade at, ii. <a href="#Page_18"  >18</a>.</li>
+<li>  Dutch trade at, ii. <a href="#Page_10"  >10</a>, <a href="#Page_11"  >11</a>.</li>
+<li>  Legation from Korea conveyed to, ii. <a href="#Page_294"  >294</a>.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_504' name='Page_504'>[504]</a></span></li>
+<li>  Opened for ships' supplies, ii. <a href="#Page_4"  >4</a>.</li>
+<li>  Welcome to foreigners at, ii. <a href="#Page_9"  >9</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li><a name="Nagato" id="Nagato">Nagato</a>, Prince of, hostile action of, ii. <a href="#Page_67"  >67</a>, <a href="#Page_69"  >69</a>, <a href="#Page_76"  >76</a>, <a href="#Page_77"  >77</a>;
+  operations against, ii. <a href="#Page_77"  >77</a>-<a href="#Page_81"  >81</a>;
+  Japanese students sent to Europe by, ii. <a href="#Page_80"  >80</a>;
+  justifies his anti-foreign action, ii. <a href="#Page_82"  >82</a>;
+  results of his defeat, ii. <a href="#Page_86"  >86</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Namoa, typical sale of opium at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_48">48</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nanking&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Capital, proposed as, ii. <a href="#Page_474"  >474</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+<li>  Important position of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_134">134</a>.</li>
+<li>  Lay-Osborn flotilla, connection with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_391">391</a>.</li>
+<li>  Robertson's mission to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_428">428</a>.</li>
+<li>  Taipings at, British aid asked against, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_312">312</a>;
+    Admiral Hope's dealings with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_371">371</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_372">372</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#Nanking_Treaty">Treaty</a>. <i>See under</i> Treaties.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Napier, Lord, experiences of, in China, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_38">38</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_40">40</a>;
+  views on Chinese government, ii. <a href="#Page_439"  >439</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Neale, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward St John, in charge of British Legation at Yedo, ii. <a href="#Page_50"  >50</a>;
+  attack on British Legation described by, ii. <a href="#Page_51"  >51</a>, <a href="#Page_52"  >52</a>;
+  congratulated by Japanese on his escape, ii. <a href="#Page_54"  >54</a>;
+  action after Richardson murder, ii. <a href="#Page_58"  >58</a>;
+  negotiations with Japanese, ii. <a href="#Page_62"  >62</a>-<a href="#Page_67"  >67</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Newchwang, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_222">222</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ningpo&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  A'Pak's exploit at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_305">305</a>.</li>
+<li>  Characteristics of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_116">116</a>.</li>
+<li>  Occupation of, by British, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_76">76</a>.</li>
+<li>  Opening of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_115">115</a>.</li>
+<li>  Piratical stronghold near, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_306">306</a>.</li>
+<li>  Taipings, captured by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_376">376</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_377">377</a>;
+    captured from, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_380">380</a>;
+    base of British and French during Chêkiang campaign, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_394">394</a>.</li>
+<li>  'Times' pronouncement against, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_114">114</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Oliphant, Laurence, cited, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_336">336</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_347">347</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_2"  >2</a>;
+  quoted, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_341">341</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_9"  >9</a> <i>note</i>, <a href="#Page_11"  >11</a> <i>note</i>;
+  wounded by Japanese, ii. <a href="#Page_36"  >36</a>, <a href="#Page_37"  >37</a>;
+  invalided home, ii. <a href="#Page_46"  >46</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Opium_Trade" id="Opium_Trade">Opium trade</a>&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Alcock's attitude towards, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_194">194</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_417">417</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_419">419</a>.</li>
+<li>  Cash payments the rule in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_192">192</a>.</li>
+<li>  Chefoo Convention, introduced into, ii. <a href="#Page_281"  >281</a>, <a href="#Page_283"  >283</a>;
+    stimulated by, ii. <a href="#Page_289"  >289</a>.</li>
+<li>  Clippers, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_215">215</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_217">217</a>.</li>
+<li>  Contraband before 1858, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_44">44</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_192">192</a>;
+    legalisation of, urged by Alcock, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_418">418</a>;
+    effected, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_199">199</a>;
+    recognised by Tientsin treaty, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_332">332</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_341">341</a>.</li>
+<li>  Elliot's offer to suppress, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_49">49</a>;
+    his attitude towards, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_199">199</a>.</li>
+<li>  Foochow, at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_121">121</a>.</li>
+<li>  Hostility of Chinese attitude towards, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_417">417</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_419">419</a>.</li>
+<li>  Importance of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_417">417</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_418">418</a>.</li>
+<li>  Lin's measures against, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_51">51</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_54">54</a>.</li>
+<li>  Postal communication dependent on, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_217">217</a>.</li>
+<li>  Smuggling connected with, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_44">44</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_48">48</a>.</li>
+<li>  Surrender of opium at Canton, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_54">54</a> <i>and note</i>.</li>
+<li>  Transit dues, proposed increase of, ii. <a href="#Page_219"  >219</a>;
+    duty trebled, ii. <a href="#Page_284"  >284</a>, <a href="#Page_286"  >286</a>.</li>
+<li>  Value of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_192">192</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Osborn, Captain Sherard, Yangtze explored by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_347">347</a>;
+  in command of flotilla refused by Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_388">388</a>;
+  cited, ii. <a href="#Page_2"  >2</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Paget, Sir James, appreciation of Alcock, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_24">24</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Palikao, Count, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_349">349</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_351">351</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_353">353</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Palmerston, Lord, successful Chinese policy of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_131">131</a>;
+  the China dissolution, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_319">319</a>;
+  change in foreign policy after death of, ii. <a href="#Page_364"  >364</a>, <a href="#Page_365"  >365</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Paris, Alcock's first visit to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_2">2</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_7">7</a>;
+  Campbell's mission to, ii. <a href="#Page_333"  >333</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Parkes, Sir Harry, interpreter to Alcock, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_117">117</a>;
+  appreciation of Alcock, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_121">121</a>;
+  accompanies Alcock to Shanghai, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_126">126</a>;
+  despatched with Robertson to Nanking, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_133">133</a>;
+  compiles returns of sea-borne trade at Foochow, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_209">209</a>;
+  obtains Kowloon concession, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_330">330</a>;
+  action regarding the Arrow incident, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_309">309</a>;
+  remonstrates with Yeh, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_314">314</a>;
+  Lord Elgin's appreciation of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_326">326</a> <i>note</i>;
+  commissioner at Canton, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_328">328</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_330">330</a>;
+  successful administration there, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_397">397</a>;
+  deplores Lord Elgin's hurried departure from Tientsin, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_335">335</a>;
+  reward offered for head of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_342">342</a>;
+  seized and imprisoned by Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_352">352</a>;
+  released, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_354">354</a>;
+  visits Peking, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_365">365</a>;
+  attached by Lord Elgin to Admiral Hope, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_370">370</a>;
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_505' name='Page_505'>[505]</a></span>
+  describes abandonment of Hankow, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_374">374</a>;
+  attack on, in Japan, ii. <a href="#Page_90"  >90</a>;
+  succeeds Alcock in Japan, ii. <a href="#Page_130"  >130</a>;
+  views on Chinese action regarding Formosa and Japan, ii. <a href="#Page_255"  >255</a>;
+  negotiates treaty regarding Korea, ii. <a href="#Page_297"  >297</a>;
+  death of, ii. <a href="#Page_302"  >302</a>;
+  representative of consular training school, ii. <a href="#Page_363"  >363</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pechili Gulf, cruise in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_220">220</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_223">223</a>;
+  defences suggested for, ii. <a href="#Page_381"  >381</a>;
+  fortifications of ports in, ii. <a href="#Page_397"  >397</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Peiho river, demonstration off mouth of (1840), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_64">64</a>;
+  defences of (1860), 350.
+  <i>See also</i> <a href="#Taku">Taku forts</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Peking&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Blockade of, a means of coercing Government, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_416">416</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_428">428</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_431">431</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#Legation">British Legation</a>. <i>See under</i> Great Britain.</li>
+<li>  Campaign of 1860, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_349">349</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_354">354</a>.</li>
+<li>  <i>Chose jugée</i>, case of, ii. <a href="#Page_280"  >280</a>.</li>
+<li>  Convention signed at (1886), ii. <a href="#Page_310"  >310</a>.</li>
+<li>  Disadvantages of, as site for capital, ii. <a href="#Page_474"  >474</a> <i>and note</i>.</li>
+<li>  Distant view of, ii. <a href="#Page_143"  >143</a>.</li>
+<li>  Elgin's error in omitting to visit, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_334">334</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_337">337</a> <i>and note</i>.</li>
+<li>  Fur market, ii. <a href="#Page_149"  >149</a>.</li>
+<li>  German Legation established in, ii. <a href="#Page_254"  >254</a>.</li>
+<li>  Health of, ii. <a href="#Page_144"  >144</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+<li>  Hostility of natives in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_364">364</a>.</li>
+<li>  Inaccessibility of, ii. <a href="#Page_142"  >142</a>.</li>
+<li>  Innovations after 1884, ii. <a href="#Page_315"  >315</a>.</li>
+<li>  Insanitary condition of, ii. <a href="#Page_144"  >144</a>, <a href="#Page_145"  >145</a>.</li>
+<li>  Lama temple, ii. <a href="#Page_145"  >145</a>, <a href="#Page_146"  >146</a>.</li>
+<li>  Legations, diplomatic difficulties of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_398">398</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_401">401</a>;
+    relieved by military force (1900), ii. <a href="#Page_437"  >437</a>.</li>
+<li>  Macaulay's mission to, ii. <a href="#Page_307"  >307</a>, <a href="#Page_308"  >308</a>.</li>
+<li>  Maritime Customs Inspector established in, ii. <a href="#Page_156"  >156</a>.</li>
+<li>  Mules and camels, ii. <a href="#Page_147"  >147</a>.</li>
+<li>  Pei-t'ang Cathedral, erection of, ii. <a href="#Page_341"  >341</a>;
+    transfer of, ii. <a href="#Page_346"  >346</a>, <a href="#Page_347"  >347</a>.</li>
+<li>  Prohibitions against English visitors, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_363">363</a>.</li>
+<li>  Residence of British representative at, suggested in merchants' memorial (1839), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_89">89</a>;
+    residence included in Tientsin treaty, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_332">332</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_336">336</a>;
+    right of residence suspended, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_346">346</a>.</li>
+<li>  Russian mission in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_356">356</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_154"  >154</a>.</li>
+<li>  Sarat Chandra Das, visit of, ii. <a href="#Page_308"  >308</a>-<a href="#Page_310"  >310</a>.</li>
+<li>  Social Life in, ii. <a href="#Page_138"  >138</a>-<a href="#Page_142"  >142</a>.</li>
+<li>  Street traffic in, ii. <a href="#Page_149"  >149</a>-<a href="#Page_153"  >153</a>.</li>
+<li>  Summer retreat from, ii. <a href="#Page_154"  >154</a>, <a href="#Page_155"  >155</a>.</li>
+<li>  Temple of Heaven, ii. <a href="#Page_146"  >146</a>.</li>
+<li>  Treaty signed at (1860), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_354">354</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Pin Ch'un, ii. <a href="#Page_137"  >137</a>, <a href="#Page_186"  >186</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Piracy" id="Piracy">Piracy</a>&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Alcock's views on, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_208">208</a>.</li>
+<li>  British action against, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_305">305</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_307">307</a>.</li>
+<li>  Chinese attitude towards, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_299">299</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_301">301</a>.</li>
+<li>  Foreigners engaged in, in China, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_302">302</a>;
+    foreigners subjected to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_307">307</a>.</li>
+<li>  Hongkong headquarters of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_302">302</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_305">305</a>.</li>
+<li>  Portuguese leniency to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_296">296</a>;
+    their earlier assistance against, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_290">290</a>.</li>
+<li>  Prevalence of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_218">218</a>.</li>
+<li>  Steam traffic a blow to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_307">307</a>.</li>
+<li>  Taiping Rebellion complicated by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_275">275</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Popoff, M., i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_357">357</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_395">395</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Port Arthur&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  British evacuation of, ii. <a href="#Page_426"  >426</a>.</li>
+<li>  Ch'un, Prince, meets British Admiral at, ii. <a href="#Page_317"  >317</a>.</li>
+<li>  Fortifications of, ii. <a href="#Page_397"  >397</a>.</li>
+<li>  French abstain from attacking, ii. <a href="#Page_332"  >332</a>;
+    French syndicate entrusted with construction works at, ii. <a href="#Page_335"  >335</a>.</li>
+<li>  Russian acquisition of, ii. <a href="#Page_424"  >424</a>-<a href="#Page_427"  >427</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Portugal, Alcock's work as army surgeon in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_14">14</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_18">18</a>;
+  on Anglo-Portuguese Commission regarding claims of British auxiliaries, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_25">25</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Portuguese" id="Portuguese">Portuguese</a> (<i>see also</i> <a href="#Macao">Macao</a>)&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Chinese cupidity conciliated by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_287">287</a>.</li>
+<li>  Convoy trade carried on by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_305">305</a>.</li>
+<li>  Ming dynasty supported by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_291">291</a>.</li>
+<li>  Obligations to Great Britain disregarded by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_58">58</a> and <i>note</i>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Pottinger, Sir Henry, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_112">112</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_114">114</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Powers" id="Powers">Powers</a>, Western&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Anarchy among, ii. <a href="#Page_472"  >472</a>, <a href="#Page_473"  >473</a>.</li>
+<li>  Audience granted to, by Emperor Tungchih, ii. <a href="#Page_261"  >261</a>;
+    by Kwanghsu, ii. <a href="#Page_318"  >318</a>-<a href="#Page_320"  >320</a>.</li>
+<li>  British covertly attacked by, to Japanese government, ii. <a href="#Page_107"  >107</a>-<a href="#Page_110"  >110</a>.</li>
+<li>  Chefoo Convention, feeling regarding, ii. <a href="#Page_276"  >276</a>, <a href="#Page_277"  >277</a>, <a href="#Page_281"  >281</a>.</li>
+<li>  Classification of, ii. <a href="#Page_465"  >465</a>.</li>
+<li>  Danger to be apprehended from, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_420">420</a>.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_506' name='Page_506'>[506]</a></span></li>
+<li>  "Dummy" Chinaman evolved by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_338">338</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_339">339</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_472"  >472</a>.</li>
+<li>  Korea, inaction regarding, ii. <a href="#Page_411"  >411</a>.</li>
+<li>  Missionary problem, unity not possible regarding, ii. <a href="#Page_237"  >237</a>.</li>
+<li>  Rivalry of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_262">262</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_447"  >447</a>, <a href="#Page_451"  >451</a>, <a href="#Page_475"  >475</a>.</li>
+<li>  Spoliation of China by, ii. <a href="#Page_417"  >417</a>, <a href="#Page_418"  >418</a>, <a href="#Page_447"  >447</a>, <a href="#Page_452"  >452</a>.</li>
+<li>  Taiping Rebellion, attitude towards, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_394">394</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>"Progress," no Chinese equivalent for, ii. <a href="#Page_136"  >136</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Protêt, Admiral, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_377">377</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_379">379</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Queen Victoria Jubilee Institute for Nurses, Alcock's work for, ii. <a href="#Page_482"  >482</a>, <a href="#Page_483"  >483</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Real estate, value of, in the Far East, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_434">434</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rennie, Dr, quoted, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_362">362</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_366">366</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_146"  >146</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rhubarb, Chinese export of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_168">168</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Richardson, Mr, murder of, ii. <a href="#Page_38"  >38</a>, <a href="#Page_56"  >56</a>, <a href="#Page_57"  >57</a>;
+  redress for, ii. <a href="#Page_65"  >65</a>, <a href="#Page_66"  >66</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Robertson, Vice-Consul, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_428">428</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_210"  >210</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Royal Geographical Society, Alcock's work for, ii. <a href="#Page_483"  >483</a>, <a href="#Page_484"  >484</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Roze, Admiral, ii. <a href="#Page_177"  >177</a>.</li>
+
+<li>"Rudeness," Japanese term for, ii. <a href="#Page_34"  >34</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+
+<li>Russell, Earl, approves Alcock's measures, ii. <a href="#Page_45"  >45</a>, <a href="#Page_86"  >86</a>;
+  negotiates with Japanese envoys, ii. <a href="#Page_49"  >49</a>;
+  advocates firm policy in Japan, ii. <a href="#Page_59"  >59</a>, <a href="#Page_76"  >76</a>;
+  recalls Alcock, ii. <a href="#Page_87"  >87</a>, <a href="#Page_88"  >88</a>;
+  desires Alcock's return to Japan, ii. <a href="#Page_89"  >89</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Russia, Russians (<i>see also</i> <a href="#Powers">Powers</a>)&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Absorbent policy of, ii. <a href="#Page_469"  >469</a>, <a href="#Page_470"  >470</a>, <a href="#Page_473"  >473</a>, <a href="#Page_474"  >474</a>.</li>
+<li>  Akbar despatches incident, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_233">233</a>.</li>
+<li>  Amur, acquisitions on the, ii. <a href="#Page_252"  >252</a>, <a href="#Page_429"  >429</a>.</li>
+<li>  Ascendancy of, in China, ii. <a href="#Page_422"  >422</a>, <a href="#Page_434"  >434</a>, <a href="#Page_473"  >473</a>, <a href="#Page_475"  >475</a>.</li>
+<li>  British friction with, ii. <a href="#Page_321"  >321</a>.</li>
+<li>  Czarevitch visits China, ii. <a href="#Page_321"  >321</a>-<a href="#Page_323"  >323</a>.</li>
+<li>  Elgin followed to Tientsin by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_331">331</a>.</li>
+<li>  French in concert with, ii. <a href="#Page_415"  >415</a>;
+    their acquisitions approved by, ii. <a href="#Page_419"  >419</a>.</li>
+<li>  Japan&mdash;squadron at Yedo, ii. <a href="#Page_35"  >35</a>;
+    represented by M. Goskavitch, ii. <a href="#Page_104"  >104</a>;
+    Tsushima affair, ii. <a href="#Page_111"  >111</a>-<a href="#Page_114"  >114</a>.</li>
+<li>  Japanese War deprecated by, ii. <a href="#Page_411"  >411</a>;
+    Japanese claims modified by, ii. <a href="#Page_415"  >415</a>.</li>
+<li>  Kuldja incident, ii. <a href="#Page_290"  >290</a>-<a href="#Page_293"  >293</a>.</li>
+<li>  Li protected by, ii. <a href="#Page_387"  >387</a>, <a href="#Page_415"  >415</a>.</li>
+<li>  Liao-tung acquired by, ii. <a href="#Page_422"  >422</a>, <a href="#Page_423"  >423</a>.</li>
+<li>  Livadia, treaty of, ii. <a href="#Page_291"  >291</a>.</li>
+<li>  Loan to China guaranteed by, ii. <a href="#Page_421"  >421</a>.</li>
+<li>  Manchurian coast acquired by, ii. <a href="#Page_252"  >252</a>, <a href="#Page_469"  >469</a>.</li>
+<li>  Military ethics of, ii. <a href="#Page_470"  >470</a>, <a href="#Page_471"  >471</a>.</li>
+<li>  Peking, establishment in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_356">356</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_154"  >154</a>.</li>
+<li>  Port Hamilton incident, ii. <a href="#Page_303"  >303</a>-<a href="#Page_305"  >305</a>.</li>
+<li>  Protectorate of Christians assumed by, ii. <a href="#Page_349"  >349</a>, <a href="#Page_350"  >350</a>.</li>
+<li>  Respect accorded to, by Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_357">357</a>;
+    by Japanese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_357">357</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_104"  >104</a>.</li>
+<li>  Siberian railway, beginning of, ii. <a href="#Page_323"  >323</a>;
+    Manchurian branch of, ii. <a href="#Page_423"  >423</a>.</li>
+<li>  Taiping Rebellion, attitude towards, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_394">394</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_395">395</a>.</li>
+<li>  Talien-wan seized by, ii. <a href="#Page_427"  >427</a>;
+    'Times' extract on the proceeding, ii. <a href="#Page_428"  >428</a>-<a href="#Page_432"  >432</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tea supply of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_186">186</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tientsin massacre, ii. <a href="#Page_239"  >239</a>, <a href="#Page_241"  >241</a>.</li>
+<li>  Toleration clause in treaty of, ii. <a href="#Page_224"  >224</a>.</li>
+<li>  Vladivostock, acquisition of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_358">358</a>;
+    Czarevitch's visit to, ii. <a href="#Page_323"  >323</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Salisbury, Lord, additional article to the Chefoo Convention signed by, ii. <a href="#Page_287"  >287</a>;
+  speech regarding Russian ports, ii. <a href="#Page_426"  >426</a>, <a href="#Page_430"  >430</a>;
+  Russia conciliated by, ii. <a href="#Page_429"  >429</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Samqua, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_434">434</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_435">435</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Samurai, status of, ii. <a href="#Page_33"  >33</a> <i>note</i> 2.</li>
+
+<li>Sarat Chandra Das, ii. <a href="#Page_306"  >306</a>, <a href="#Page_308"  >308</a>-<a href="#Page_310"  >310</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Satsuma, Prince of, riding party attacked by retinue of, ii. <a href="#Page_58"  >58</a>;
+  attack on, ii. <a href="#Page_67"  >67</a>, <a href="#Page_68"  >68</a>;
+  appeals to Mikado against Prince of Nagato, ii. <a href="#Page_69"  >69</a>;
+  friendly to foreigners, ii. <a href="#Page_76"  >76</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Seventh Prince. <i>See</i> <a href="#Ch_un">Ch'un, Prince</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Seward, George F., ii. <a href="#Page_174"  >174</a>, <a href="#Page_178"  >178</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Seymour, Sir Michael, naval commander-in-chief at Hongkong, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_309">309</a>;
+  relations with Sir J. Bowring, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_315">315</a>;
+  operations in the "Merchants' War," i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_317">317</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shanghai&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Alcock appointed to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_126">126</a>;
+    testimonial to him from foreign residents in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_158">158</a>;
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_507' name='Page_507'>[507]</a></span>
+    his visit to (1869), ii. <a href="#Page_218"  >218</a>.</li>
+<li>  Apathy of residents regarding Exhibition samples, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_201">201</a>.</li>
+<li>  Capture of, in first China War, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_75">75</a>.</li>
+<li>  Chamber of Commerce at, reviews Supplementary Convention, ii. <a href="#Page_219"  >219</a>.</li>
+<li>  Chunghou, condemned at meetings in, ii. <a href="#Page_241"  >241</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#Custom_house">Custom-house</a>. <i>See under</i> China&mdash;Taxation.</li>
+<li>  Development of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_124">124</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_126">126</a>.</li>
+<li>  French concession in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_139">139</a>.</li>
+<li>  Inland trade from, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_210">210</a>.</li>
+<li>  Kim assassinated in, ii. <a href="#Page_301"  >301</a>.</li>
+<li>  Lindsay's mission to (1832), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_115">115</a>.</li>
+<li>  Naval construction attempted at, ii. <a href="#Page_396"  >396</a>.</li>
+<li>  Neighbourhood of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_127">127</a>.</li>
+<li>  Opening of (1843), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_115">115</a>.</li>
+<li>  Self-reliance of community in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_140">140</a>.</li>
+<li>  Silk trade facilitated by opening of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_188">188</a>.</li>
+<li>  Smuggling centre at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_144">144</a>.</li>
+<li>  Supreme Court for China and Japan established at, ii. <a href="#Page_355"  >355</a>-<a href="#Page_358"  >358</a>.</li>
+<li>  Taipings, danger from, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_377">377</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_379">379</a>.</li>
+<li>  Thirty mile radius established round, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_372">372</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_376">376</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_383">383</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_384">384</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tientsin treaty negotiations conducted at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_347">347</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tonnage famine at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_233">233</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tsingpu affair, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_129">129</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_133">133</a>.</li>
+<li>  Yokohama guard of Beloochis sent from, ii. <a href="#Page_78"  >78</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Shantung&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  German seizure of port in, ii. <a href="#Page_421"  >421</a>;
+    British opinion on seizure, ii. <a href="#Page_423"  >423</a>;
+    Russian attitude, ii. <a href="#Page_431"  >431</a>.</li>
+<li>  Scenery of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_221">221</a>.</li>
+<li>  Unrest most violent in, ii. <a href="#Page_462"  >462</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Shaw, Sir Charles, sketch of career of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_12">12</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_14">14</a>;
+  appreciation of Alcock, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_14">14</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_22">22</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shimadso Saburo, ii. <a href="#Page_58"  >58</a>, <a href="#Page_59"  >59</a> <i>and note</i>.</li>
+
+<li>Shimoda, opening of, ii. <a href="#Page_4"  >4</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shimonoséki, Straits of, blockaded by Prince of Nagato, ii. <a href="#Page_69"  >69</a>, <a href="#Page_76"  >76</a>, <a href="#Page_77"  >77</a>;
+  forts at, captured by Allies, ii. <a href="#Page_83"  >83</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shimonoseki treaty, ii. <a href="#Page_387"  >387</a>, <a href="#Page_418"  >418</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shipping&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Convoy system in China, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_302">302</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_304">304</a>.</li>
+<li>  Disguise of boats for Chinese coasting trade, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_247">247</a>.</li>
+<li>  East India Company's, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_211">211</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_215">215</a>.</li>
+<li>  Gold discoveries' effect on, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_227">227</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_231">231</a>.</li>
+<li>  Hanseatic and Scandinavian, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_218">218</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_219">219</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#Junks">Junks</a>. <i>See under</i> China.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#Lorchas">Lorchas</a>. <i>See under</i> China.</li>
+<li>  Merchant owners, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_218">218</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_224">224</a>.</li>
+<li>  Navigation Law repealed, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_230">230</a>.</li>
+<li>  Opium clippers, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_215">215</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_217">217</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#Piracy">Piracy</a>. <i>See that title.</i></li>
+<li>  Revival of British, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_239">239</a>.</li>
+<li>  Silk cargoes, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_236">236</a>.</li>
+<li>  Steam brought into general use, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_243">243</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_245">245</a>;
+  effect on piracy, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_307">307</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tea clippers, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_239">239</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_243">243</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Shore, the Hon. Henry N., cited, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_213">213</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Silk" id="Silk">Silk</a>, Chinese trade in, importance of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_187">187</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_191">191</a> <i>and note</i>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_203">203</a>;
+  shipping of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_236">236</a>;
+  Japanese trade in, ii. <a href="#Page_116"  >116</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Smith, Arthur, cited, ii. <a href="#Page_368"  >368</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Smuggling" id="Smuggling">Smuggling</a>&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Alcock's efforts against, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_145">145</a>;
+    extract from his report on, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_145">145</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_147">147</a>.</li>
+<li>  Elliot's offer to suppress, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_49">49</a>.</li>
+<li>  England, in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_213">213</a>.</li>
+<li>  Prevalence of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_301">301</a>.</li>
+<li>  Salt merchants vigilant against, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_442">442</a>.</li>
+<li>  Trade disastrously affected by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_147">147</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Solomon, King, Chinese characteristics of, ii. <a href="#Page_369"  >369</a> <i>note</i>.</li>
+
+<li>Spain, Alcock's work as army surgeon in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_22">22</a>;
+  on Commission regarding payment of Foreign Legion, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_25">25</a>;
+  rheumatic fever contracted at San Sebastian, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_27">27</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Stanley, Lady Augusta, Alcock's work with, ii. <a href="#Page_479"  >479</a>, <a href="#Page_480"  >480</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Staveley, Brigadier-General, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_365">365</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_379">379</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_383">383</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_385">385</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Stirling, Sir James, Japanese treaty of, ii. <a href="#Page_4"  >4</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Swatow, ii. <a href="#Page_206"  >206</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Swinhoe, Consul, ii. <a href="#Page_181"  >181</a>, <a href="#Page_204"  >204</a>, <a href="#Page_359"  >359</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha"><a href="#Taiping">Taiping Rebellion</a>. <i>See under</i> China.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Taku" id="Taku">Taku</a> forts, British repulse at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_348">348</a>;
+  strengthened by Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_350">350</a>;
+  captured by Allies, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_351">351</a>;
+  occupied by Allies, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_355">355</a>;
+  captured (1900), ii. <a href="#Page_436"  >436</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Talien-wan&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  British suggestion regarding, ii. <a href="#Page_425"  >425</a>.</li>
+<li>  Fortifications of, ii. <a href="#Page_397"  >397</a>.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_508' name='Page_508'>[508]</a></span></li>
+<li>  Russian seizure of, ii. <a href="#Page_427"  >427</a>.</li>
+<li>  'Times' letter on, ii. <a href="#Page_428"  >428</a>-<a href="#Page_432"  >432</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Tao-kuang, Emperor, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_51">51</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Taotai, status of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_129">129</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tartars, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_81">81</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a href="#taxation">Taxation</a>. <i>See under</i> China.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Tea" id="Tea">Tea</a> trade&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Clippers, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_239">239</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_243">243</a>.</li>
+<li>  Consumption of tea, quality and quantity of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_181">181</a>.</li>
+<li>  Duties heavy, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_178">178</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_186">186</a>.</li>
+<li>  Foochow famous for, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_241">241</a>.</li>
+<li>  Hankow a new centre for, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_225">225</a>.</li>
+<li>  Importance of, in early Chinese trade, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_168">168</a>;
+    decline of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_184">184</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_186">186</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Thomson, J., quoted, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_269">269</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tibet, Bengali's friendly visits to, ii. <a href="#Page_305"  >305</a>;
+  Indian expedition attempted, ii. <a href="#Page_306"  >306</a>-<a href="#Page_310"  >310</a>;
+  attack on British Sikkim, ii. <a href="#Page_311"  >311</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tientsin&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Arsenal established at, by Chunghou, ii. <a href="#Page_392"  >392</a>.</li>
+<li>  Ch'un, Prince, introduced to foreigners at, ii. <a href="#Page_316"  >316</a>.</li>
+<li>  Conference at (1840), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_65">65</a>;
+    (1854), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_311">311</a>.</li>
+<li>  Elgin's treaty. <i>See</i> Treaties&mdash;Tientsin;
+    his hurried departure from, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_333">333</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_335">335</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_336">336</a>.</li>
+<li>  Gordon's interviews with Li at, ii. <a href="#Page_292"  >292</a>.</li>
+<li>  Gutzlaff's expedition to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_115">115</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#missionaries">Massacre at</a>. <i>See under</i> Missionaries.</li>
+<li>  Peking campaign, base of Allied troops during, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_351">351</a>;
+    garrison left in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_355">355</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#Tientsin">Treaty of</a>. <i>See under</i> Treaties.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Ting, Admiral, ii. <a href="#Page_400"  >400</a>, <a href="#Page_408"  >408</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tông-chow, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_220">220</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tongking, French conquest of, ii. <a href="#Page_326"  >326</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Trade. <i>See</i> <a href="#commerce">Commerce</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Treaties&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Alcock's stand for integrity of, ii. <a href="#Page_101"  >101</a>.</li>
+<li>  Anglo-German Agreement, ii. <a href="#Page_467"  >467</a>, <a href="#Page_468"  >468</a>, <a href="#Page_473"  >473</a>.</li>
+<li>  Calcutta Convention, ii. <a href="#Page_312"  >312</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a name="Chefoo" id="Chefoo">Chefoo</a> Convention, negotiation and provisions of, ii. <a href="#Page_275"  >275</a>-<a href="#Page_280"  >280</a>, <a href="#Page_310"  >310</a>, <a href="#Page_311"  >311</a>;
+    criticism of, ii. <a href="#Page_280"  >280</a>, <a href="#Page_251"  >251</a>;
+    ratification of, ii. <a href="#Page_284"  >284</a>, <a href="#Page_287"  >287</a>.</li>
+<li>  Disregard of, chronic, ii. <a href="#Page_214"  >214</a>, <a href="#Page_359"  >359</a>.</li>
+<li>  Fournier Convention, ii. <a href="#Page_329"  >329</a>.</li>
+<li>  Japan&mdash;Commodore Perry's, ii. <a href="#Page_2"  >2</a>;
+    Townsend Harris's, ii. <a href="#Page_3"  >3</a>, <a href="#Page_5"  >5</a>, <a href="#Page_39"  >39</a>, <a href="#Page_99"  >99</a>;
+    Sir J. Stirling's, ii. <a href="#Page_4"  >4</a>;
+    Lord Elgin's, ii. <a href="#Page_5"  >5</a>, <a href="#Page_6"  >6</a>, <a href="#Page_99"  >99</a>.</li>
+<li>  Li-Ito Convention, ii. <a href="#Page_302"  >302</a>, <a href="#Page_303"  >303</a>, <a href="#Page_389"  >389</a>, <a href="#Page_408"  >408</a>, <a href="#Page_409"  >409</a>.</li>
+<li>  Livadia, ii. <a href="#Page_291"  >291</a>.</li>
+<li>  "Most-favoured-nation" clause, ii. <a href="#Page_3"  >3</a>, <a href="#Page_5"  >5</a>, <a href="#Page_6"  >6</a>, <a href="#Page_215"  >215</a>, <a href="#Page_232"  >232</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a name="Nanking_Treaty" id="Nanking_Treaty">Nanking</a>, signing of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_76">76</a>;
+    Chinese hostility to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_97">97</a>;
+    supplement to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_112">112</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_114">114</a>;
+    English opposition to, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_114">114</a>;
+    working of, summed up by Alcock, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_411">411</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_428">428</a>;
+    evaded by Chinese, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_333">333</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_214"  >214</a>;
+    restrictions of boundary imposed by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_415">415</a>.</li>
+<li>  Peking (1860), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_354">354</a>;
+    (1886), ii. <a href="#Page_310"  >310</a>.</li>
+<li>  St Petersburg, ii. <a href="#Page_293"  >293</a>.</li>
+<li>  Shimonoseki, ii. <a href="#Page_387"  >387</a>, <a href="#Page_418"  >418</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a name="Tientsin" id="Tientsin">Tientsin</a>, ports opened by, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_219">219</a>;
+    signing of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_331">331</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_334">334</a>;
+    provisions of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_332">332</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_341">341</a>;
+    residence at Peking a stipulation of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_332">332</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_335">335</a>;
+    Chinese view of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_334">334</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_336">336</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_341">341</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_342">342</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_346">346</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_348">348</a>;
+    suspension of residence clause, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_346">346</a>;
+    ratified at Peking, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_354">354</a>;
+    regarded as model for other Powers, ii. <a href="#Page_6"  >6</a>;
+    revision preparations, ii. <a href="#Page_180"  >180</a>-<a href="#Page_183"  >183</a>;
+    revision discussed, ii. <a href="#Page_211"  >211</a>-<a href="#Page_218"  >218</a>;
+    supplementary convention signed, ii. <a href="#Page_218"  >218</a>;
+    reviewed, ii. <a href="#Page_219"  >219</a>, <a href="#Page_220"  >220</a>;
+    not ratified, ii. <a href="#Page_220"  >220</a>, <a href="#Page_221"  >221</a>.</li>
+<li>  Toleration clauses, ii. <a href="#Page_224"  >224</a>, <a href="#Page_225"  >225</a>.</li>
+<li>  Yeh's contempt for, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_333">333</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Tsên-Yü-ying, ii. <a href="#Page_270"  >270</a>-<a href="#Page_273"  >273</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tsêng, the Marquis, negotiates ratification of Chefoo Convention, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_284">284</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_287">287</a>;
+  negotiates treaty at St Petersburg, ii. <a href="#Page_293"  >293</a>;
+  Annam negotiations, ii. <a href="#Page_325"  >325</a>;
+  member of Tsungli-Yamên, ii. <a href="#Page_351"  >351</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tsêng Kwo-Chuan, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_391">391</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tsêng Kwo-fan, operations in Taiping Rebellion, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_391">391</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_393">393</a>;
+  memorial regarding revision of treaty, ii. <a href="#Page_184"  >184</a>;
+  intercourse with foreigners, ii. <a href="#Page_189"  >189</a>;
+  action in Yangchow affair, ii. <a href="#Page_199"  >199</a>-<a href="#Page_203"  >203</a>;
+  action regarding Tientsin massacre, ii. <a href="#Page_240"  >240</a>, <a href="#Page_243"  >243</a>;
+  volunteer levies under, ii. <a href="#Page_377"  >377</a>;
+  characteristics of, ii. <a href="#Page_378"  >378</a>;
+  expulsion of foreigners suggested by, ii. <a href="#Page_464"  >464</a> <i>note</i>.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_509' name='Page_509'>[509]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>Tsushima, designs on, attributed to British, ii. <a href="#Page_108"  >108</a>, <a href="#Page_109"  >109</a>, <a href="#Page_111"  >111</a>;
+  to French, ii. <a href="#Page_110"  >110</a>;
+  Russian occupation of, ii. <a href="#Page_111"  >111</a>-<a href="#Page_114"  >114</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tsingpu affair, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_129">129</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_415">415</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_423">423</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_424">424</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tso Tsung-tang, ii. <a href="#Page_291"  >291</a>, <a href="#Page_278"  >278</a>, <a href="#Page_279"  >279</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a href="#Tsungli">Tsungli-Yamên</a>. <i>See under</i> China.</li>
+
+<li>Tuan, Prince, characteristic action of (1900), ii. <a href="#Page_437"  >437</a>;
+  progeny of, not in the succession, ii. <a href="#Page_456"  >456</a>;
+  relations of, with Empress Regent obscure, ii. <a href="#Page_460"  >460</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tun, Prince, imperial claims of son of, ii. <a href="#Page_263"  >263</a>;
+  grandson of, nominated heir-apparent, ii. <a href="#Page_460"  >460</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tungchih, Emperor, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_397">397</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_260"  >260</a>-<a href="#Page_262"  >262</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tycoon of Japan, Lord Elgin's treaty with, ii. <a href="#Page_6"  >6</a>, <a href="#Page_7"  >7</a>;
+  guards of, at foreign legations, ii. <a href="#Page_36"  >36</a>, <a href="#Page_38"  >38</a>, <a href="#Page_44"  >44</a>, <a href="#Page_51"  >51</a>-<a href="#Page_53"  >53</a>;
+  Daimios' relation to, ii. <a href="#Page_38"  >38</a>-<a href="#Page_41"  >41</a>, <a href="#Page_60"  >60</a>-<a href="#Page_65"  >65</a>, <a href="#Page_67"  >67</a>, <a href="#Page_68"  >68</a>, <a href="#Page_76"  >76</a>, <a href="#Page_93"  >93</a>;
+  autograph letter to the Queen, ii. <a href="#Page_46"  >46</a>;
+  the Queen's reply, ii. <a href="#Page_48"  >48</a>;
+  envoys sent by, to Great Britain, ii. <a href="#Page_48"  >48</a>, <a href="#Page_49"  >49</a>;
+  second mission, ii. <a href="#Page_74"  >74</a>, <a href="#Page_75"  >75</a>;
+  Mikado's relation to, ii. <a href="#Page_71"  >71</a>-<a href="#Page_73"  >73</a>, <a href="#Page_85"  >85</a>, <a href="#Page_92"  >92</a>;
+  regret at Alcock's recall, ii. <a href="#Page_88"  >88</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">United States. <i>See</i> <a href="#America">America</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Vatican, appeal to, ii. <a href="#Page_343"  >343</a>.</li>
+
+<li>'Village Life in China' cited, ii. <a href="#Page_368"  >368</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Vladivostock, Russian acquisition of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_358">358</a>;
+  Czarevitch at, ii. <a href="#Page_323"  >323</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Wade, Sir Thomas, action in Taiping Rebellion, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_138">138</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_133"  >133</a>;
+  Inspector of Customs at Shanghai, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_154">154</a>;
+  at Peking with Alcock (1865), ii. <a href="#Page_131"  >131</a>;
+  career and characteristics of, ii. <a href="#Page_132"  >132</a>-<a href="#Page_134"  >134</a>;
+  views of, on Maritime Customs Inspectorship, ii. <a href="#Page_163"  >163</a>, <a href="#Page_164"  >164</a>;
+  on supplementary convention to Tientsin treaty, ii. <a href="#Page_220"  >220</a>;
+  <i>chargé d'affaires</i> at Peking, ii. <a href="#Page_239"  >239</a>, <a href="#Page_244"  >244</a>;
+  views of, on audience of foreign Ministers, ii. <a href="#Page_261"  >261</a>, <a href="#Page_262"  >262</a>;
+  negotiations regarding Margary case, ii. <a href="#Page_270"  >270</a>-<a href="#Page_275"  >275</a>, 278;
+  negotiates Chefoo Convention, ii. <a href="#Page_275"  >275</a>-<a href="#Page_279"  >279</a>;
+  views of, on Chinese legislation, ii. <a href="#Page_279"  >279</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ward, Mr, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_382">382</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Weihai-wei&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  British seizure of, ii. <a href="#Page_434"  >434</a>.</li>
+<li>  Chinese forlorn hope at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_301">301</a>.</li>
+<li>  Early exploration of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_222">222</a>.</li>
+<li>  Fortifications of, ii. <a href="#Page_397"  >397</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Wênsiang, member of Tsungli-Yamên, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_360">360</a>;
+  discredited by Lay-Osborn flotilla fiasco, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_389">389</a>, ii. <a href="#Page_375"  >375</a>, <a href="#Page_391"  >391</a>;
+  intimate relations with British Legation, ii. <a href="#Page_134"  >134</a>, <a href="#Page_135"  >135</a>;
+  concurs in strong measures against rioters, ii. <a href="#Page_207"  >207</a>;
+  dislike of Hongkong, ii. <a href="#Page_216"  >216</a>;
+  circular regarding control of missions attributed to, ii. <a href="#Page_246"  >246</a>;
+  efforts regarding Pei-t'ang Cathedral, ii. <a href="#Page_342"  >342</a>;
+  high qualities of, ii. <a href="#Page_374"  >374</a>-<a href="#Page_376"  >376</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Westminster Hospital, Alcock's work for, ii. <a href="#Page_478"  >478</a>-<a href="#Page_480"  >480</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Winchester, Consul, on Japanese currency, ii. <a href="#Page_18"  >18</a>, <a href="#Page_23"  >23</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Wolseley, Lieutenant-Colonel, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_371">371</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_373">373</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Wu, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_434">434</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_435">435</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Wusung&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Challenger on the bar at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_236">236</a>.</li>
+<li>  Hong captured at, ii. <a href="#Page_301"  >301</a>.</li>
+<li>  Opium trade at, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_193">193</a>.</li>
+<li>  Thirty mile radius, included in, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_372">372</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_376">376</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li class="alpha">Yakub-beg, ii. <a href="#Page_290"  >290</a>, <a href="#Page_291"  >291</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Yangchow riot, ii. <a href="#Page_198"  >198</a>-<a href="#Page_203"  >203</a>, <a href="#Page_207"  >207</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Yangtze river&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Advance of 200 miles up (1842), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_74">74</a>;
+    Lord Elgin's voyage to Hankow (1858), i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_370">370</a>.</li>
+<li>  Blockade of, suggested, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_430">430</a>.</li>
+<li>  Opening of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_369">369</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_373">373</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Yedo&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Alcock's arrival at, ii. <a href="#Page_15"  >15</a>-<a href="#Page_17"  >17</a>.</li>
+<li>  <a href="#Legation">British Legation</a>. <i>See under</i> Great Britain.</li>
+<li>  Choshiu's establishment at, destroyed, ii. <a href="#Page_83"  >83</a>.</li>
+<li>  Hostility to foreigners, ii. <a href="#Page_35"  >35</a>.</li>
+<li>  Legations, withdrawal of, to Yokohama, ii. <a href="#Page_36"  >36</a>;
+    foreign guards at, ii. <a href="#Page_45"  >45</a>;
+    improved residence for, ii. <a href="#Page_50"  >50</a>.</li>
+<li>  Social conditions in, ii. <a href="#Page_122"  >122</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Yeh, Viceroy, evades demands for right of entry into Canton, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_160">160</a>;
+  hostile to native shipowners, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_309">309</a>;
+  asks British aid against Taipings, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_312">312</a>;
+  attitude towards foreigners, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_312">312</a>-<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_314">314</a>;
+  offers reward for English heads, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_317">317</a>;
+  contemptuous of treaties, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_333">333</a>;
+  superseded, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_342">342</a>;
+  capture and death of, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_328">328</a>.
+<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_510' name='Page_510'>[510]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>Yerburgh, Mr, ii. <a href="#Page_427"  >427</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Yokohama&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Foreigners' residence prepared by Japanese at, ii. <a href="#Page_13"  >13</a>;
+    improved, ii. <a href="#Page_90"  >90</a>.</li>
+<li>  Garrison of British troops in, ii. <a href="#Page_77"  >77</a>, <a href="#Page_78"  >78</a>, <a href="#Page_84"  >84</a>.</li>
+<li>  Legations' withdrawal to, during assassination period, ii. <a href="#Page_36"  >36</a>.</li>
+<li>  Merchants' preference for, to Kanagawa, i. <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_123">123</a>.</li>
+<li>  Tycoon's inability to maintain order in, ii. <a href="#Page_74"  >74</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Yuan Shih-kai, ii. <a href="#Page_406"  >406</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Yunnan&mdash;
+<ul class="idx">
+<li>  Burmese expedition and murder of Mr Margary, ii. <a href="#Page_266"  >266</a>, <a href="#Page_267"  >267</a>;
+    negotiations regarding, ii. <a href="#Page_267"  >267</a>-<a href="#Page_276"  >276</a>;
+    settlement of affair, ii. <a href="#Page_278"  >278</a>.</li>
+<li>  Rebellion in, ii. <a href="#Page_290"  >290</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnotes'>
+
+<h2 class="chap1">
+FOOTNOTES
+</h2>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_1'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_1'>[1]</a></span> "We are never for a moment unwatched; ... if my servant runs after
+a butterfly, a two-sworded official runs after him."&mdash;Laurence Oliphant,
+Letter from Yedo, July 1861.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_2'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_2'>[2]</a></span> "As a general rule, our guardians exercise their functions with civility;
+when they are impertinent, one has to submit as one would to one's jailor....
+With entire humility, one is in no danger whatever."&mdash;Oliphant, 2nd
+July 1861.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_3'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_3'>[3]</a></span> The effect of the commercial isolation of Japan on the value of general
+commodities was no less striking. The first foreign traders might have
+bought with eyes shut nearly every article that was offered to them, so
+great was the disparity of prices between Japan and her nearest markets.
+Mr Hunter gives an interesting example. "I had in go-downs," he says,
+"8000 piculs of sapan-wood imported from Manila unsaleable at one dollar
+and a quarter per picul, which was about its cost. Immediately that the
+opening of the port of Simoda to foreign trade was announced officially, an
+English vessel was chartered to carry it there. Brief&mdash;it was sold for 35
+dollars per picul, and the proceeds were invested in Japanese vegetable
+wax at a cost of 6½ dollars, and sold for $17 the picul (133⅓ lb. English)," so
+that in the short voyage from China to Japan and back the capital multiplied
+seventy times!
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_4'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_4'>[4]</a></span> A story is told of two Samurai meeting on a bridge which was too
+narrow to allow of their passing each other. Neither being willing to
+give way, they were about to settle the difficulty at the point of the sword,
+when a peasant, strolling along the dry bed of the stream, offered to extricate
+them without loss of dignity on either side. Amused at his impertinence,
+and curious to see how he would effect his purpose, they consented
+to humour him; and when each, following his instructions, was seated in
+one of the baskets at either end of the pole he was carrying, he swung it
+round on to the opposite shoulder, asked pardon, bowed, and went on his
+way, leaving them each facing in the direction in which he would proceed.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_5'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_5'>[5]</a></span> Ieyasu says the Samurai are the masters of the four classes. Agriculturists,
+artisans, and merchants may not behave in a rude manner towards
+Samurai. The term for a rude man is, "other than expected fellow"; and
+a Samurai is not to be interfered with in cutting down a fellow who has
+behaved to him in a manner other than is expected. The Samurai are
+grouped into direct retainers, secondary retainers and nobles, and retainers
+of high and low grade; but the same line of conduct is equally allowable
+to them all towards an "other than expected fellow."
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_6'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_6'>[6]</a></span> "All my old friends have disappeared," writes Laurence Oliphant on
+his return to Yedo as secretary of Legation. "One who was an especial
+favourite of mine when I was here last, ripped himself up a short time
+ago; and two of the other commissioners are disgraced, and it is supposed
+have followed his example. This was all on account of their friendship
+for foreigners. Every one, down to the lowest interpreter, who has
+had anything to do with the introduction of foreigners, has disappeared
+or been disgraced."
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_7'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_7'>[7]</a></span> This man, Murioka by name, became afterwards well known to
+foreigners, and was always ready to talk freely about the whole transaction.
+When asked why he struck at a lady he would reply, "How
+should I know, never having seen a foreign woman, least of all on
+horseback?"
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_8'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_8'>[8]</a></span> It was a common thing for a Daimio to rid himself of the irksome
+obligations of his position by abdicating in favour of his son. On better
+acquaintance Shimadso Saburo proved a most genial old gentleman. Three
+years later he entertained Sir Harry and Lady Parkes at his capital most
+hospitably.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_9'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_9'>[9]</a></span> Count Inouyé, the foremost statesman of the new Japan, is said to have
+confessed that he set fire to the British Legation with his own hand with
+the express object of embarrassing the Tycoon's Government.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_10'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_10'>[10]</a></span> The following souvenir of Count Mutsu, Foreign Minister of Japan,
+who died in 1897, told by Mr J. F. Lowder and quoted in 'Things Japanese'
+by Mr Basil Hall Chamberlain, affords a graphic illustration of this
+point. "In the very early Sixties, when he was in his nineteenth or twentieth
+year, he was in Nagasaki desirous of acquiring a knowledge of English. A
+lady of my acquaintance taking an interest in him used to devote an hour
+or two every morning to teaching him to read and write, but it was not
+long before he came to me despairing of his slow progress, and asking
+whether I could not give him a berth on board ship where nothing but
+English was spoken. Believing him to be physically too weak to stand
+such an ordeal, I endeavoured to dissuade him, but without success; and
+so with some misgivings I shipped him as a cabin-boy, which was the only
+position I could obtain for him, on board a small British schooner that used
+in those days to voyage between Nagasaki and Shanghai. How long he
+remained on board I cannot say, but my recollection is that it was a very
+considerable time."
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_11'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_11'>[11]</a></span> The foreign trade of Japan now (1900) approximates 40 millions
+sterling, exports and imports being very nearly balanced.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_12'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_12'>[12]</a></span> There is more truth than may appear in the bishop's paradox. Peking
+is singularly free from epidemics, except occasionally of smallpox. When
+Shanghai suffered so severely from cholera in 1862, there were two British
+regiments quartered there&mdash;one, the 67th, within the native city, amid
+filth and stagnant water; the other, the 31st, in the foreign settlement, in
+quarters carefully selected by the surgeon, Dr Rennie. The 31st lost a
+third of its strength; the 67th suffered very little. Writing in August
+1860 from Peitang, a town 500 yards square in the midst of a great swamp,
+into which 17,000 men were huddled, Sir Hope Grant says: "Notwithstanding
+the pestilential nature of the place, our troops, wonderful to say,
+never enjoyed better health."
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_13'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_13'>[13]</a></span> See <i>infra</i>, "Revision of the Treaty," <a href="#Page_210"  >pp. 210-222</a>.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_14'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_14'>[14]</a></span> <span lang="la"><i>Vide</i></span> 'U.S. Diplomatic Corresp.,' vol. ii. for 1867, p. 424.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_15'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_15'>[15]</a></span> He now knows better.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_16'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_16'>[16]</a></span> Germany in her treaty made no profession, but simply stipulated for
+toleration.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_17'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_17'>[17]</a></span> M. Eugene Simon, one of the most distinguished of the French consuls
+in China, in his book, <span lang='fr_FR'>'La Cité Chinoise,'</span> awards the credit of this performance
+to M. Delamarre, <span lang='fr_FR'>"un prêtre des Missions étrangères,"</span> who acted
+as Baron Gros' interpreter. <span lang='fr_FR'>"Je tiens,"</span> says M. Simon, <span lang='fr_FR'>"le fait de plusieurs
+sources, et entre autres de M. Delamarre, qui se glorifait beaucoup de sa
+supercherie."</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_18'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_18'>[18]</a></span> Compare "Jesuits' Estates Act" in Canada, 1890, for which Mr Mercier
+was decorated by the Pope.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_19'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_19'>[19]</a></span> It will be understood that a concise view of the general mission question
+is all that is here aimed at, no distinction being drawn between branches
+of the propaganda. Important as are their differences viewed from the
+foreign standpoint, they are practically ignored by the Chinese, as we see
+from the impartiality with which they visit resentment on all. Our
+concern is with the impression produced by the propaganda as a whole,
+gathered as far as possible from Chinese evidence and not from the
+hypothetical arguments of foreign disputants. In other words, it is the
+political bearing of the movement which alone we are endeavouring to
+illustrate.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_20'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_20'>[20]</a></span> This measure was intended by the Chinese Government to facilitate
+the local settlement of disputes where the facts were known, and so obviate
+incessant appeals to the Central Government. It has not fulfilled its purpose,
+partly because an important section of the propaganda declined to
+avail itself of the concession offered to them. Indeed the form of the
+concession implies a hierarchy which only Catholic missions possess.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_21'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_21'>[21]</a></span> For an unvarnished narrative of both the French and the Russian
+advances the reader cannot do better than consult Mr Gundry's 'China
+and her Neighbours,' Chapman &amp; Hall, 1893.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_22'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_22'>[22]</a></span> "Experience shows us that in the eyes of the Chinese negotiation is
+a sign of weakness."&mdash;Sir <span class='smcap'>F. Bruce.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_23'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_23'>[23]</a></span> "<i>Likin</i> is in its nature an oppressive institution only continued in force
+owing to the necessity of providing resources to meet the army expenditure
+in the north-west."&mdash;'Peking Gazette,' January 18, 1875.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_24'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_24'>[24]</a></span> See <i>infra</i>, <a href="#Page_343"  >p. 343</a>.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_25'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_25'>[25]</a></span> See <i>infra</i>, <a href="#Page_330"  >p. 330</a>.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_26'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_26'>[26]</a></span> 'Contemporary Review,' December 1884.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_27'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_27'>[27]</a></span> The effect of these imposing edifices, which dwarf into insignificance
+the most pretentious native buildings, is well exemplified in the approach
+to Canton, where the French cathedral church, erected on the site of the
+Viceroy Yeh's <i>yamên</i>, is the only object visible, and where the idea of a
+permanent memorial of defeat is well realised. It is not a conciliatory
+policy; irresistible force is required to maintain it.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_28'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_28'>[28]</a></span> See <i>supra</i>, <a href="#Page_308"  >p. 308</a>.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_29'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_29'>[29]</a></span> Village Life in China. By Arthur Smith, D.D.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_30'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_30'>[30]</a></span> An ingenious friend, who was kind enough to read this passage in MS.,
+sent me the following suggestive note: "King Solomon was a thorough
+Chinaman, crafty, gaining the throne although the fourth and youngest son
+of his mother; killing off the kingdom-maker, Joab, and murdering the
+lawful heir, Adonijah. His fondness for pomp and joss pidjin, witness the
+Queen of Sheba and the Temple; love of trade, his ventures with King
+Hiram to Ophir. His apathy in military affairs, leading to the breaking
+up of the empire. His love of sententious maxims, Proverbs. His truly
+Chinese and non-Hebrew syncretism, worshipping Ashtoreth, Moloch, and
+Chemosh, as well as Jehovah. Now David, judging by the weak characters
+of his children, was, like many famous men in history, the reverse of prepotent.
+Solomon was a son of erewhile widow Bathsheba. Uriah being a
+Hittite, she was presumably one also. So Solomon would be practically
+a Hittite&mdash;i.e., Mongolian or Tartar; a striking example of the newly-named
+but long-observed phenomenon called telegony or 'throwing back.'
+Solomon 'threw back' to the first sire, Uriah."
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_31'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_31'>[31]</a></span> "The boasted influence that the Government of China possesses over its
+subjects is almost entirely <i>moral</i>, and they really do not possess the power
+to cope with a popular tumult, which is the object of their greatest dread."&mdash;H.
+Parkes, at Foochow, May 1, 1846, <i>æt.</i> seventeen.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_32'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_32'>[32]</a></span> The same who is now governor of Shantung.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_33'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_33'>[33]</a></span> See <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42732/42732-h/42732-h.htm#Page_38">vol. i. p. 38</a>.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_34'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_34'>[34]</a></span> Mr Freeman-Mitford, in 'The Attaché at Peking,' recently published,
+tells the following good story illustrative of this (p. 168). M. de Mas, the
+Spanish Minister, happening to be at the house of Hêng-Chi, and knowing
+that he had a little son of whom he was inordinately proud, thought it
+would be a very pretty compliment if he asked to see the little boy, who
+was accordingly produced, sucking his thumb after the manner of his years.
+Him his father ordered to pay his respects to M. de Mas&mdash;that is to say,
+shake his united fists at him in token of salutation; instead of which the
+child, after long silence and much urging, taking his thumb deliberately
+out of his mouth roared out "Kwei-tzÅ­" (devils) at the top of his voice
+and fled.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_35'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_35'>[35]</a></span> Referring to the massacre of Armenian Christians, with regard to which
+Germany took up a very different attitude from that now assumed towards
+China&mdash;a circumstance, by the way, which serves to reduce the "Christian"
+factor in the present intervention to its proper value.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_36'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_36'>[36]</a></span> Or, as M. Paul Boell expresses it, <span lang="fr_FR">"Traitant la Chine tantôt comme
+un pouvoir tout à fait formidable, tantôt comme une puissance nègre de
+septième ordre."</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_37'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_37'>[37]</a></span> Kwanghsu, being first cousin to the deceased Emperor Tungchih,
+could not, according to Chinese usage, be his heir. In adopting him,
+therefore, as posthumous heir to the previous Emperor Hsienfêng, his
+uncle, the Regent left her own son, the Emperor Tungchih, without an
+heir, promising to supply the want from the future offspring of Kwanghsu,
+or by some other adoption; but against this procedure strong protests
+were made. The arrangement, however, conferred upon the Dowager-Empress,
+as the widow of Hsienfêng, the authority of a mother over his
+heir, a circumstance which to a large extent accounts for the filial deference
+the reigning emperor has always paid to his adoptive mother.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_38'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_38'>[38]</a></span> Thirty years ago the great Nanking viceroy, Tsêng Kwo-fan, assured
+the Government in a memorial to the throne that if the question of treaty
+revision could not be satisfactorily arranged with foreigners, he had forces
+enough under his orders to drive them all into the sea.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_39'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_39'>[39]</a></span> The question of removing the capital to a more convenient site has
+been discussed academically&mdash;by foreigners&mdash;for many years, their view
+being that Nanking would be the most suitable. No doubt a central point
+open to the sea would be more convenient for the maritime Powers, but
+that is evidently not an advantage which commends itself to the Chinese
+themselves. During the Japanese war their strategists urged the removal
+of the Court from Peking to Signan fu in Shensi, simply on the ground of
+the inaccessibility of the latter site. The transport was prepared and the
+Emperor was ready, but the Empress-Dowager vetoed the project.
+</div>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='FN_40'>
+<span class='label'><a href='#FA_40'>[40]</a></span> In 1863 the University of Oxford conferred upon him the degree
+of D.C.L.
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center p4">
+THE END.
+</p>
+
+<p class="center p4">
+PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS.
+</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Englishman in China During the
+Victorian Era, Vol. II (of 2), by Alexander Michie
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+</pre>
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+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Englishman in China During the
+Victorian Era, Vol. II (of 2), by Alexander Michie
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Englishman in China During the Victorian Era, Vol. II (of 2)
+       As Illustrated in the Career of Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+       K.C.B., D.C.L., Many Years Consul and Minister in China
+       and Japan
+
+Author: Alexander Michie
+
+Release Date: December 31, 2013 [EBook #44548]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA, VOL II ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+
+  Inconsistent hyphenation, capitalization, diacritics and spelling
+  in the original document have been preserved. Obvious typographical
+  errors have been corrected.
+
+  Index inconsistencies with the text have been regularized with the
+  text.
+
+  Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
+
+
+
+
+THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXIII.: Tsze-kung asked, saying, "Is there one word which may
+serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?" The Master said, "Is not
+RECIPROCITY such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do
+to others."
+
+
+
+
+  [Illustration: Signature
+   J. Thomson, photo.
+   Walker & Cockerell, ph. sc.]
+
+
+
+
+     THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA
+     DURING THE VICTORIAN ERA
+
+     AS ILLUSTRATED IN
+     THE CAREER OF
+     SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK, K.C.B., D.C.L.
+     MANY YEARS CONSUL AND MINISTER IN
+     CHINA AND JAPAN
+
+     BY
+     ALEXANDER MICHIE
+
+     AUTHOR OF
+     'THE SIBERIAN OVERLAND ROUTE,' 'MISSIONARIES
+     IN CHINA,' ETC.
+
+     VOL. II.
+
+     WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS
+     EDINBURGH AND LONDON
+     MDCCCC
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME.
+
+
+         CHAP.                                                    PAGE
+
+         XIX. JAPAN--
+
+               I. THE TREATIES AND THEIR NEGOTIATORS                 1
+
+              II. THE OPERATION OF THE TREATIES                     12
+
+             III. ASSASSINATION PERIOD, 1860-61                     34
+
+              IV. NEGOTIATIONS AND RENEWED ASSASSINATIONS,
+                  1862-64                                           44
+
+               V. THE TYCOON'S DILEMMA                              60
+
+              VI. THE CRISIS                                        75
+
+             VII. THE BIRTH OF NEW JAPAN                            92
+
+            VIII. THE DIPLOMATIC BODY--TSUSHIMA                    104
+
+              IX. TRADE AND TRADERS                                115
+
+          XX. SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK IN PEKING, 1865-1869--
+
+               I. THE BRITISH LEGATION                             130
+
+              II. FOREIGN LIFE IN PEKING                           138
+
+             III. THE FOREIGN CUSTOMS UNDER THE PEKING CONVENTION  156
+
+              IV. EMIGRATION                                       168
+
+               V. KOREA                                            175
+
+         XXI. THE REVISION OF THE TREATY--
+
+               I. PREPARATION                                      180
+
+              II. THE BURLINGAME MISSION                           192
+
+             III. CHINESE OUTRAGES--YANGCHOW AND FORMOSA           198
+
+              IV. REVISION NEGOTIATIONS AND CONCLUSION             210
+
+        XXII. MISSIONARY PROBLEM--TIENTSIN MASSACRE OF 1870        223
+
+       XXIII. THE EXPANSION OF INTERCOURSE--
+
+               I. RUSSIA AND FRANCE ADVANCING                      250
+
+              II. JAPAN AGGRESSIVE                                 255
+
+             III. KOREA OPENED                                     256
+
+              IV. THE FIRST IMPERIAL AUDIENCE--SUCCESSION OF
+                  KWANGHSU                                         260
+
+        XXIV. THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875--CHEFOO CONVENTION,
+              1876--RATIFICATION, 1885--
+
+               I. THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875                   265
+
+              II. CHEFOO CONVENTION, 1876                          275
+
+             III. THE RATIFICATION, 1885                           282
+
+         XXV. A CHAIN OF INCIDENTS--
+
+               I. DISPUTE WITH RUSSIA RE KULDJA                    290
+
+              II. KOREAN IMBROGLIO, 1882-85                        293
+
+             III. THE PORT HAMILTON EPISODE, 1885-87               303
+
+              IV. TIBET                                            305
+
+               V. THE CRUISE OF THE SEVENTH PRINCE, 1886           312
+
+              VI. THE EMPEROR ASSUMES THE GOVERNMENT, 1889         318
+
+             VII. THE VISIT OF THE CZAREVITCH, 1891                321
+
+        XXVI. THE TONGKING QUARREL                                 324
+
+       XXVII. THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE OF CHRISTIANS                336
+
+      XXVIII. BRITISH SERVICES: DIPLOMATIC, CONSULAR, AND
+              JUDICIAL                                             353
+
+        XXIX. CHINA AND HER RULERS                                 368
+
+         XXX. CHINA'S AWAKENING                                    388
+
+        XXXI. THE COLLAPSE                                         403
+
+       XXXII. THE RESETTLEMENT OF THE FAR EAST                     417
+
+      XXXIII. THE OUTCOME--
+
+               I. THE SITUATION IN PEKING                          435
+
+              II. THE CHRONIC CAUSE                                440
+
+             III. IMMEDIATE PROVOCATION                            447
+
+              IV. THE DYNASTIC FACTOR                              455
+
+               V. THE CHINESE OUTBREAK                             461
+
+              VI. THE CRUX                                         464
+
+       XXXIV. SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK'S LATER YEARS                  476
+
+       INDEX                                                       490
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE SECOND VOLUME.
+
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+
+     SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK                              _Frontispiece_
+
+     LORD ELGIN                                                      6
+
+     PRINCE KUNG                                                   134
+
+     WENSIANG                                                      136
+
+     MANCHU (TARTAR) WOMEN                                         138
+
+     MANCHU WOMEN                                                  140
+
+     CHINESE WOMEN                                                 142
+
+     CHINESE STREET SCENE DURING RAINY SEASON                      144
+
+     LI HUNG-CHANG AT THE AGE OF FIFTY                             184
+
+     RUINS OF FRENCH CATHEDRAL AT TIENTSIN, BURNED
+     JUNE 20, 1870                                                 240
+
+     PEI-T'ANG CATHEDRAL IN PEKING, PURCHASED BY CHINESE
+     GOVERNMENT                                                    340
+
+     MINISTERS OF THE YAMEN OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: H.E. SHEN
+     KUEI-FEN; H.E. TUNG HSUeN; H.E. MAO CHANG-TSI                  416
+
+
+MAPS.
+
+     BAY OF YEDO                                                     4
+
+     MAP OF EASTERN ASIA                                      _At end_
+
+
+
+
+In the contents under Chapter XIX. the date of Commodore Perry's
+expedition is by a misprint given as 1883-84 instead of 1853-54.
+
+
+
+
+THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+JAPAN.
+
+
+I. THE TREATIES AND THEIR NEGOTIATORS.
+
+    Commodore Perry's expedition, 1853-54--Townsend Harris--Count
+    Poutiatine--Lord Elgin--The treaties of 1858--The solidarity of
+    Western Powers--The practical attitude of the Japanese--Their
+    yielding to circumstances--The condition of the country--The
+    character of the people--Nagasaki--The Dutch--Their two hundred
+    years' imprisonment.
+
+A mystery hung over the island empire, which had been sealed against
+foreign intercourse for two hundred years, and its mere seclusion, apart
+from the weird romance that gilded such fragments of its history as were
+known, invested the efforts to reopen the country with a romantic charm.
+It was in Japan that Lord Elgin achieved the real diplomatic success of
+his life, in the briefest possible time, at the least possible cost, and
+with the most far-reaching consequences; for undoubtedly he hastened the
+entry of the Land of the Rising Sun into the family of nations.
+
+The poetical side of the mission was done ample justice to by Laurence
+Oliphant in his 'Narrative,' by Captain Sherard Osborn in the pages of
+'Blackwood,' and elsewhere. The prosaic side and the practical issues of
+this rediscovery of an old world were not so clearly apprehended by them
+or by any other contemporary writer. The Powers of Europe and America had
+long been watching for opportunities to effect an opening in the barrier,
+but all tentatives proved in vain until force was resorted to. This was
+first done by the United States, whence a naval squadron under Commodore
+Perry appeared off the coast in 1853, repeating the visit, on a still more
+imposing scale, in 1854. The apparition deeply impressed the minds of
+the Japanese Government and people, who, Lafcadio Hearn tells us, speak
+to this day of the "black ships," birds of omen foreshadowing events for
+which it behoved them to prepare themselves. Black, indeed, they were,
+grim of aspect, huge in bulk, and looming larger than they really were,
+with their high sides, great paddle-boxes, and "smoke-stacks." The ships
+were armed with a few guns of such calibre and power as had not till
+then been placed on any floating battery. Jonathan is never second-best
+in naval artillery. Commodore Perry with his three black ships, the
+steamers Powhattan, Susquehanna, and Mississippi, and his squadron of
+sailing-vessels, opened the door of Japan--not very wide, it is true, yet
+so that it could never again be closed. The rudimentary treaty he made was
+little more than a covenant to supply wood and water to needy ships and
+to be merciful to their crews. A similar treaty was made by the English
+Admiral Stirling in 1854, and it included the "most-favoured-nation"
+clause, only excepting from its application the privileges enjoyed by
+China and Holland.
+
+To carry the work forward to a more practical stage a man of affairs was
+required, and he was found in the person of Townsend Harris, who was
+accredited to Japan under the title of Consul-General for the United
+States. Mr Harris had been nearly two years in the country when Lord
+Elgin, with his modest escort, arrived and made his acquaintance. With
+infinite patience Mr Harris had been prosecuting his negotiations,
+against wind and current, it would seem, until a propitious gale wafted
+his venture into port. The black ships had gone, but another fleet more
+numerous was assembled on the neighbouring coast, whence their fame had
+reached the secluded empire. Riding on the shoulders of the Anglo-French
+exploits in China, and not obscurely hinting at the prospect of the allies
+shortly visiting Japan, Mr Harris induced his Japanese friends to "hurry
+up" with his treaty, that it might not only serve as a model of moderation
+for the other Powers when they also should come to negotiate, but provide
+in advance friendly mediation between them and Japan. Lord Elgin justified
+the forewarnings of Mr Harris by appearing in the Bay of Yedo within a
+few weeks after the signature of the American treaty.
+
+How much both Mr Harris's treaty and the one which Lord Elgin was about
+to sign owed to the previous Russian negotiations cannot be estimated.
+Admiral Count Poutiatine concluded a treaty in 1855, and improved it in
+1857, on the basis of Sir James Stirling's opening the ports of Nagasaki,
+Hakodate, and Shimoda for ship's supplies, with sundry minor privileges.
+When Lord Elgin reached the Bay of Yedo in August 1858 he found Count
+Poutiatine already there with a frigate and a gunboat.
+
+  [Illustration: BAY OF YEDO.
+   _Walker & Cockerell sc._]
+
+This convergence of the great Powers of the world upon a single object,
+that of breaking down the seclusion of Japan, was clearly recognised, and
+its proximate effect weighed, by the Japanese statesmen of the day. Too
+wise to oppose an uncompromising resistance to the pressure, they employed
+their skill more profitably in deflecting its course. In accordance with
+this policy, Lord Elgin's demand, backed as it was by the prestige of
+his recent achievements in China, was promptly conceded, and within the
+short space of fourteen days from his arrival in the bay a treaty was
+concluded of the same tenor as the American, of which Lord Elgin had
+obtained a copy from Mr Harris, who also lent him the invaluable services
+of his Dutch interpreter, Mr Heusken. By the two treaties three of the
+chief ports of the empire were opened to foreign trade within one year,
+and two more at later dates. In some respects the English was an advance
+on the American treaty. By the latter the import tariff had been reduced
+from the old Dutch rate of 35 per cent to a general rate of 5 per cent _ad
+valorem_. The British treaty specifically provided that cotton and woollen
+manufactured goods should be included in the class of merchandise paying
+5 per cent. The immunities of extra-territoriality were unreservedly
+conceded, and were only rescinded by the revised treaties, the first of
+which was made with Great Britain in 1894, coming into force in July 1899.
+
+One general remark applies to all treaties made between foreign powers and
+China or Japan, that the interests of each separate Power were safeguarded
+by the virtual solidarity which existed among them, through the operation
+of that convenient diplomatic save-all, the "most-favoured-nation" clause.
+This comprehensive provision inserted in the treaties secured for all the
+Powers the advantages gained by any one of their number. Faith in this
+ultimate protection may have led occasionally to slipshod negotiations.
+There might even be a temptation in some cases to seek special credit
+for moderation, with the foreknowledge that the exactions of any of the
+Powers would inure to the benefit of all. Lord Elgin wrote the simple
+truth when he said that, "as regards all these important commercial
+privileges, I have to fight the battles of the Western trading nations
+single-handed." This feature had been particularly noticeable in the
+negotiations in China, where it was so well understood that the English
+treaty would be the common standard that it mattered little that the
+signature of some of the others was hurried forward so as to take priority
+of the British in point of date. The treaty which Lord Elgin negotiated
+with Japan was destined to occupy the same ruling position as the treaty
+with China, and therefore it devolved upon him to make provision for all
+manner of contingencies which no experience could enable him to foresee.
+Considering that these treaties were drawn up with so little knowledge of
+the circumstances of the country and of the future exigencies of trade,
+the fact that they have stood the test of forty years' experience redounds
+greatly to the credit of the negotiants.
+
+   [Illustration: LORD ELGIN.]
+
+Lord Elgin had to learn what a Daimio was from Count Poutiatine, who
+probably had but just acquired the knowledge himself. It is strange at the
+present day to read the solemn preamble, "Her Majesty the Queen of the
+United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and his Majesty the Tycoon
+of Japan." "It was not till some time later that it was discovered that
+there was a still higher power than the Shogun," said Earl Russell in
+1865. The imperfect knowledge, however, attests the general soundness of
+the principles adopted.
+
+It must be admitted that on the Japanese side, also, nothing seemed
+wanting to render the treaty a workable instrument. The Japanese
+negotiators were animated by a more practical spirit than any Chinese
+diplomatist with whom foreigners had had dealings. There was no idea in
+their minds of blind obstruction; they were bent, if not upon efficient
+working, at least on the minimising of friction and risk. And though it
+is probable, indeed quite certain, that no treaty whatever could have
+been made without substantial force in the background, intelligently
+apprehended by the Japanese Government, yet, that being conceded, it
+was clearly their object to make the best of the position in which they
+actually found themselves. Under no other circumstances could treaties so
+complete in detail and so effective for their purpose have been concluded.
+
+To judge of the acts of the pioneers of foreign intercourse, or to form a
+just opinion of the conditions under which the treaties came into force,
+it would be necessary for the critic to regard the whole surroundings
+as a painter does his subject, not representing what he knows or may
+afterwards discover to be there, but considering only what actually meets
+his eye. This, of course, is next to impossible in the case of Japan,
+where the transformation resulting from the contact with foreigners was
+so rapid and so kaleidoscopic, and while foreign knowledge of things
+Japanese has increased at so marvellous a rate, that only a series of
+mutoscopic photographs could have preserved the sequence. Opinions were
+at first, and for some time after, unduly affected by the preconception
+of a certain analogy between China and Japan founded on geographical
+propinquity, and in a measure on language: this bias influenced the first
+influx of foreigners in 1859, who were largely drawn from the commercial
+ports of China. Yet those who had been habituated to the manners and
+customs of the Chinese were at once struck, not by the similarities,
+but by the violent contrasts, which the two peoples presented. These
+visitants had left behind them filth and squalor; they met cleanliness
+and tidiness of an extreme type. They left behind vagueness of thought,
+slovenliness of action; and they encountered pedantic precision. They
+left behind indifference and stolidity, with ignorance cherished as a
+proud possession; and they encountered a keen and intelligent appetite
+for knowledge. These features met the stranger before even his ship had
+cast anchor, or he had set foot on shore. He soon perceived, also, that
+existence was carried on under an elaborate prescription which left but
+a narrow margin to spontaneous action, and such a minute supervision
+that a sparrow could hardly cross the road without being noted by the
+official guardians of the peace; that every function, whether of official
+or private life, was under the undisputed control of the same vigilant
+organisation.[1] On entering the narrow waters approaching the harbour
+of Nagasaki, he would pass under forts where through a telescope he could
+see guns and gunners' quarters all spick and span. If there happened to be
+another vessel approaching from seaward, he would know it by the booming
+of two guns from the outermost fort, the signal being taken up and passed
+on by those inland, and so all the way to Yedo. This, he learned, was
+the mode of announcing to the capital the appearance of any foreign craft
+off the coast. On entering the inner harbour he would see boats full of
+men who looked like women, pushing off to his ship; and then a posse of
+officers, each armed with two sharp swords, would come on board. They,
+by means of a very imperfect interpreter, would at once ply the master
+with questions on every conceivable subject, as if he were competing in
+an examination in universal knowledge. The tedious catechism, with its
+admixture of seeming frivolity, would have been exasperating but for the
+imperturbable suavity of the catechists. Every answer was promptly, yet
+deliberately, committed to writing. Such was, and is, the custom of the
+race.
+
+Nagasaki being still, in the first half of 1859, the gate of Japan,
+and the only sample of the country known to foreigners, the bright
+welcome with which it greeted the new arrivals was of happy augury. It
+was there, also, that the first observations of the ways of Japanese
+commerce were made, for Nagasaki had carried on trade with China and
+with Holland for two hundred years,--a trade which was conducted on the
+one side by officials of the Government, who fixed the prices of the
+commodities exchanged, and which was all but strangled by monopoly. The
+restricted annual "turn-over" must have required a high percentage of
+profit to support the Dutch factory, and the privilege of trading on so
+petty a scale seemed to be dearly bought by the perpetual imprisonment
+of the agents. The unfortunate Dutchmen were confined, with their whole
+establishment of warehouses, residences, &c., within an area of less than
+three acres of reclaimed foreshore called Deshima, thus described by Sir
+Rutherford Alcock in 'The Capital of the Tycoon':--
+
+    A low fan-shaped strip of land, dammed out from the waters of
+    the bay, the handle being towards the shore and truncated. One
+    large wide street, with two-storeyed houses on each side, built in
+    European style, gives an air of great tidiness; but they look with
+    large hollow eyes into each other's interiors in a dismal sort of
+    way, as if they had been so engaged for six generations at least,
+    and were quite weary of the view.... But the view from the Dutch
+    commissioner's residence, with its quaint Japanese garden and
+    its fine sweep down the bay, is very charming.... There flitted
+    before me a vision of the solitary chiefs of the factory in long
+    succession taking up their present station in long rotation and
+    looking forward upon the fair bay with which their sight alone
+    may be gladdened. How often must the occupants of this lone post
+    have strained their eyes looking in vain for the solitary ship
+    bringing tidings from Europe and home!
+
+The imprisonment of the Dutch was aggravated by many degrading conditions
+imposed by the Japanese Government. Their position bore some analogy to
+that of the English and other foreigners in Canton previous to 1839. In
+both cases the Europeans endured indignities at the hands of Asiatics for
+the sake of profit, but beyond that point it is the differences rather
+than the resemblances which are significant. The humiliation of the Dutch
+in the island of Deshima was indeed unmitigated so far as it went, but
+it was neither capricious nor spiteful. Once the yoke was peacefully
+adjusted, what remained of life to the Dutchman was made as agreeable
+to him as to a cockatoo in a cage. His jailors had no particular animus
+against him; they had a purpose of their own to serve in keeping open,
+through the foreigners, a channel of communication with the West, and
+they had as valid reasons of State for tethering him as one may have
+for tying up his ox or his ass. These purposes once served, however, the
+Japanese did not revel in harshness or cruelty.[2] With the Chinese it was
+otherwise. They also had a political object in restricting the barbarians,
+only they were never satisfied with its attainment, but continued heaping
+up insults on their victims to the utmost limits of their submissiveness.
+
+The petty trade which the new-comers were able to do at Nagasaki was,
+in the beginning, managed through the existing agency of the Dutch, from
+whom, however, there was nothing useful to be learned, much indeed to be
+unlearned; and in a few months it was the Dutch themselves who had to go
+to school to the interlopers. As commerce had been kept entirely in the
+hands of the Government officials, there had been no opportunity for the
+rise of any mercantile class among the natives: that was to be a product
+of the new era.
+
+
+II. THE OPERATION OF THE TREATIES.
+
+    Japanese preparations for trade at Yokohama--Mr Alcock's arrival
+    as consul-general--Assumes the rank of Minister--The situation
+    as he found it--The establishment of diplomatic intercourse
+    at the capital--The location of the foreign settlement--The
+    currency--The low value of gold--Its rapid exportation--Friction
+    caused by conditions of exchange--Efforts of Mr Alcock to set
+    matters right--Report by Secretary of H.B.M. Treasury--Japanese
+    double standard, gold and copper--Japanese courage in meeting
+    difficulties--The Daimios' coinage--Beginnings of trade--Amenities
+    of residence--The charm of the people--The two Japans, official
+    and non-official--Complete despotism and complete submission.
+
+The treaties of 1858 took their proper effect at the two ports of Hakodate
+and Kanagawa; but the former being remote from any centre of population,
+and its trading resources so obviously limited, it attracted little
+attention in commercial circles. It was in the more southerly port that
+the new foreign interests became concentrated; and it was so near the
+capital--only seventeen miles distant--that the political and commercial
+currents soon acted and reacted on each other with direct, and sometimes
+violent, effect. To Kanagawa, therefore, the merchants of all nations
+gathered in anticipation of the official opening of the port on the 1st
+of July 1859.
+
+We say "Kanagawa," to follow the official nomenclature, but in reality
+the adventurers who came there to seek their fortunes did not land at
+that place, but three miles away from it, at an obscure village called
+Yokohama. There the Japanese Government had decided should be the
+future settlement for foreigners, and they had made costly preparations,
+according to their lights, for the accommodation of the strangers. Roads
+were marked out, a certain number of wooden bungalows had been run up,
+a few shops had been opened in the quarter which was designed for native
+occupation, a custom-house was built, with warehouses attached, and stone
+landing-places had been constructed for boats and lighters. The area thus
+marked out for the native and foreign business quarter was a narrow strip
+along the sea-shore, having in its flank and rear an immense lagoon, or,
+as it was called, "the swamp," intersected by boat channels, where punting
+after wildfowl provided amusement for idle foreigners. Being an inlet
+of the bay, the swamp made a peninsula of Yokohama, which had just been
+connected with the _tokaido_, the great trunk road between the capital
+of the Tycoon and that of the Mikado, by a new causeway and several good
+bridges, admitting of boat traffic between the swamp and the sea.
+
+In the middle of the swamp, in rear of Yokohama, was a reclaimed portion
+whereon was erected an extensive range of buildings connected by a
+causeway with the dry land of the settlement. From its balconies there
+waved pendants of cotton cloth bearing the legend, "This place is designed
+for the amusement of foreigners," a class of amusement of which there has
+never been any lack in Japan.
+
+Such were some of the outward and visible preparations made by the
+Japanese Government, on its own initiative, for the reception of the
+foreigners under the new treaties,--preparations which surprised and
+somewhat disconcerted the representatives of the Western Governments when
+they arrived on the eve of the opening of the port.
+
+Mr Alcock, who had recently returned to his post as consul at Canton,
+was chosen as the first representative of Great Britain in Japan, with
+the rank of consul-general. As this rank placed the representative of the
+leading Power in an inferior position to his colleagues, and consequently
+derogated from the influence he could exercise on the Japanese, Mr Alcock
+took it upon himself to assume the title of Plenipotentiary, placing his
+resignation in the hands of his Government in case they should disavow
+his action. At the same time he recommended that the future British
+representative should bear the title of Minister Resident. So far from
+disavowing his action, the Government appointed him Envoy Extraordinary
+and Minister Plenipotentiary, a higher rank than that suggested by him,
+and he was authorised to at once assume the title, although so unusual
+a proceeding as the transfer of a consular official to the diplomatic
+service involved considerable delay while the needful formalities were
+being arranged. The appointment, however, was coupled with the conditions
+that the step should not be made a precedent, and that it should confer
+no claim to future diplomatic employment in the countries of the West.
+
+Mr Alcock was conveyed from China in one of her Majesty's ships,
+arriving at the port of Nagasaki in June 1859. There he found a fleet
+of foreign merchantmen already in the harbour, and some fifteen British
+subjects resident on shore, under the aegis of the old Dutch conventions
+supplemented by more recent enactments. Mr Alcock remained some days,
+and having made arrangements for the carrying on of trade under the new
+treaties, left a consul in charge of British interests and proceeded to
+Yedo, where he arrived on June 26.
+
+It is a date to be remembered as that of the practical initiation of
+diplomatic intercourse with the ruling Power in Japan. The difference
+between a mission to negotiate treaties and one to carry them into effect
+is thus set forth by Sir Rutherford Alcock in the preface to his valuable
+work, 'The Capital of the Tycoon,' in terms the simple truth of which must
+commend itself to every candid reader:--
+
+    The Ambassadors Extraordinary had only to extort certain
+    privileges on paper; it was the business of the resident Ministers
+    to make of these paper-concessions realities--practical, everyday
+    realities. As this was the very thing the rulers of the country
+    had determined to prevent, it cannot be matter of wonder that
+    there was not, and never could be, any real accord, whatever
+    the outward professions of good faith and amity. Hence also it
+    naturally followed that, although the original negotiators were
+    received with smiles, and their path was strewn with flowers,
+    their successors had only the poisoned chalice held to their lips,
+    thorns in their path, and the scowl of the two-sworded braves and
+    Samurai to welcome them whenever they ventured to leave their
+    gates--while the assassin haunted their steps, and broke their
+    rest in the still hours of the night with fell intent to massacre.
+
+To say the situation was novel is to say little. The forces at work in the
+Japanese state economy were either unknown to, or, what was perhaps even
+worse, misunderstood by, foreign Powers. The lurid history of previous
+intercourse, followed by rigid exclusion for two centuries, would have
+sufficed to establish one factor in the problem, the iron resolution of
+the Japanese rulers. With such men neutrality or indifference was out
+of the question, while there was nothing as yet to indicate what was
+henceforth to be the ruling motive of Japanese policy. Both parties were
+embarking on an unknown voyage, and the avoidance of shipwreck depended
+in a very large measure on the character of those who had to discover for
+themselves the winds and currents, the rocks and shoals, through which
+they had to steer. The leadership among the foreign Powers was tacitly
+assigned to Great Britain, and it was a born leader who was commissioned
+to represent her. Mr Alcock had had fifteen years' experience of Asiatic
+relations, during which time he had proved himself the possessor of those
+qualities which were now in special request. These were indomitable
+energy, earnestness of purpose much beyond the common run of official
+service, fearlessness of responsibility, and alertness to grasp the
+nettle danger in order to avert greater evils, and a spirit which would
+neither shirk nor postpone an unpleasant duty nor tolerate lukewarmness
+nor dilatoriness in others. He was fifty years old--matured in character
+and experience, while yet in the prime of his intellectual vigour.
+
+Mr Alcock arrived in Yedo Bay in time to arrange for the opening of trade
+at the appointed date, July 1.
+
+    Nagasaki to Yedo! Two centuries lie between these points, so
+    near on the map, but so far and completely separated by the
+    determined policy of the Japanese rulers. A policy of isolation so
+    effectually carried out that no foreigner, though he might under
+    the Dutch flag gain access to Nagasaki, could force or find his
+    way to the capital.
+
+Steaming up the Bay of Yedo, and leaving Kanagawa unvisited, Mr Alcock
+anchored as close to the capital as the depth of water would allow, and
+at once informed the Foreign Minister that he had come to stay. This was
+done advisedly, as he has explained, to obviate all discussion as to
+his place of residence, for he knew that efforts had been made--_more
+Sinico_--through Lord Elgin to induce her Majesty's Government to
+postpone the residence in Yedo for a couple of years, and to keep their
+representative at a distance. His first object was to obtain a suitable
+residence for himself and the Legation staff, in which assistance was
+cheerfully rendered by the Government officials, as soon as they saw he
+was resolved to remain in the capital. Diplomatic intercourse became thus
+an established fact.
+
+The opening of the trading-port did not prove quite so simple, for the
+consul-general found he had been forestalled in the choice of a site
+for the merchants' residence, which the Government had, as we have seen,
+prepared at great expense some three miles away from Kanagawa, the port
+named in the treaty. Interpreting this hurried action of the Japanese
+as covering the ulterior design of segregating the foreigners from the
+natives by thrusting them to a distance from the trunk road which led
+through Kanagawa, of keeping them in a kind of imprisonment like the Dutch
+at Deshima, and of retaining the power to stop their supplies, whether of
+the materials of trade or of sustenance, Mr Alcock warmly contested the
+action of the Government. In the end he extorted from them the concession
+of a commercial site at Kanagawa itself, which, however, was never taken
+up. Events proved too strong for the consul-general, for the merchants
+of all nations as they arrived settled in Yokohama, where there was deep
+water for shipping and every convenience for business. And it soon began
+also to be felt that there was an element of safety in this foreign
+settlement being removed from the great imperial road along which armed
+processions were continually passing to and from the capital. Within a
+year the controversy had died a natural death, and Yokohama speaks for
+itself.
+
+The second obstacle to the free course of trade was a more deep-rooted
+one, being nothing less than that chronic bugbear of commerce and finance,
+the currency. There was no circulating medium in Japan in the least
+degree adequate for the service of international commerce. The trade in
+miniature that had been carried on in Nagasaki had been a simple exchange
+of commodities without the intervention of the precious metals. Mr Consul
+Winchester says that neither in the Dutch nor in the Chinese factories
+was a Japanese coin ever seen. But the commerce inaugurated in 1859
+could brook no such limitations, while the extent of its requirements
+was of course absolutely unknown to the negotiators of the treaties.
+In this state of doubt and ignorance on both sides it seemed that the
+best temporary provision that the circumstances admitted of was for the
+Tycoon's Government to undertake, after twelve months, to make all foreign
+money current in Japan at its natural value, and that until the expiration
+of that period Japanese coin should be supplied in exchange for foreign,
+weight for weight. Yet it was a monstrous stipulation to insert in any
+international treaty, and could never, in fact, be enforced.
+
+The amazing laxity in this respect with which the treaties of 1858 were
+drawn opened the door to unfathomed abuses in the matter of currency.
+The coin which was in the minds of the American and English negotiators
+was what was then current on the coast of China, the dollar, or more
+specifically the Mexican dollar. Yet, as was afterwards pointed out by
+Mr G. Arbuthnot, Secretary to her Majesty's Treasury, no provision was
+made in the treaties expressly for exchanging that, but only British and
+American money. In his opinion the Tycoon's Government might have refused
+altogether to receive the Mexican dollar, which was the only coin tendered
+to them, and thus the currency clause in the treaty would have been a dead
+letter from the first. But since they did not know the weakness of the
+ground which the foreigners had chosen, they had to fight out the question
+under all the disadvantages of a false position.
+
+By the treaty provisions, then, as interpreted by both sides, the foreign
+merchants who chose to import specie were to be supplied in exchange with
+current coin of the realm whereby they could purchase the produce of the
+country without awaiting the slow and uncertain realisation of imported
+merchandise. But the Japanese, apart from any question of good faith,
+had vastly under-estimated the demand which this agreement was to make on
+their mintage resources. They could only supply tens where thousands were
+required, and in consequence of their scarcity native silver coins were
+soon run up to a high premium. These coins were needed not alone for the
+purchase of produce, but for the more lucrative investment in the gold
+coinage of the country; for an extraordinary anomaly presented itself to
+the foreign traders in the relative value of silver and gold in Japan. The
+ratio between the two metals throughout the commercial world was at that
+time about fifteen to one, but in Japan, owing partly to the fact that
+the silver _ichibu_ was a token coin, and yet interchangeable, weight for
+weight, with foreign silver coins, the ratio in the market was reduced to
+five to one. Nothing could better show how completely the country had been
+isolated than this simple phenomenon. Since the seclusion of Japan no such
+opportunity of profit without risk had ever tempted merchant adventurers
+outside the dreams of romance.[3] It could not be the intention of the
+treaty-makers to deprive Japan of her gold, yet the exportation of it
+was not only not prohibited, it was expressly sanctioned by treaty, the
+export of copper coins alone being forbidden; and once the conduit was
+opened no power could arrest the flow from the higher to the lower level.
+The currency question presented many intricacies and anomalies against
+which the foreign representatives struggled in the dark, but the ratio of
+gold to silver was the ruling factor which underlay the whole problem,
+and until every _koban_ was exported, or the relative value of gold and
+silver had been assimilated to that of the outer world, there could be no
+settlement of the currency question in Japan.
+
+In the mean time the friction caused by the unsatisfied demands of the
+traders was considerable; it became in time ludicrous. There was a daily
+exchange held at the custom-house, and various arbitrary systems of
+distribution were adopted by the officials there. The discovery that a
+kind of manhood suffrage was recognised, and that an employee received
+as much as his employer, led to applications being made in the names of
+servants and even of fictitious persons, to each of whom an allotment
+was granted. Again, the discovery that allotments were also made _pro
+rata_ according to the amount applied for led to the applications being
+sent in for ever larger and larger sums until billions and quintillions
+were reached. By such devices, no doubt, some of the applicants may have
+gained a momentary advantage over their neighbours, but at no time did
+the merchants receive a sufficiency of Japanese coin to carry on the most
+restricted business. At one time, about a year after the opening, it was
+estimated that there was in the hands of foreign merchants one million
+and a half of dollars which were not exchangeable, and were a "drug in
+the market."
+
+Their wants were, however, partially supplied in another manner. For among
+the anomalies of the place and period one must be mentioned which had a
+quite peculiar bearing on the supply of currency for commercial purposes.
+The precious coin, which was doled out homoeopathically to merchants, was
+supplied to foreign officials in liberal measure. Every minister, consul,
+and assistant; every admiral, captain, and lieutenant; every paymaster,
+for himself and for the service of his ship, received his quota of
+Japanese money on a scale graduated according to rank. The amount put in
+circulation by these means was given by Mr Winchester as $2,000,000 per
+annum. The recipients, whether directly or through agents, were able to
+sell their surpluses to the merchants, of course at a handsome profit, and
+no doubt abuses grew out of what was in its original intention a simple
+measure of justice to salaried officers. The practice was condemned by
+Mr Arbuthnot, and was discontinued by order of the Foreign Office in
+1864, on the initiative of the Prussian Government, whose agent in Japan
+had voluntarily renounced the privilege. But, oddly enough, the official
+exchange was resumed by request of the Japanese Government, and continued
+for several years longer, until, in fact, foreign and native coin had
+found their common level.
+
+Trade certainly suffered much in the beginning from the incongruous state
+of the currency, which was greatly more complicated than we have attempted
+to outline. Even after the year of probation foreign coins were neither
+received by traders at their value nor exchangeable in accordance with
+the treaties. Whether the Government was at the bottom of the obstruction
+or was overruled by circumstances beyond its control was uncertain, but
+the British consul-general made masterful exertions to set the matter
+right. Currency reform, however, has baffled so many generations of expert
+economists that, even assuming the goodwill of the native Government,
+an alien official new to the country must have found it difficult to
+accomplish much, with the time and means at his disposal. Earl Russell
+in 1862 "declined to pronounce on so large and intricate a question," and
+would not even discuss it with the Japanese envoys.
+
+Japanese currency formed the subject of four elaborate reports by the
+Secretary to her Majesty's Treasury, extending over twelve months, from
+December 1862 to December 1863, drawn up after personal conference
+with Sir Rutherford Alcock and on information derived from various
+other sources, especially from a series of very able papers by Consul
+Winchester. In each of these reports Mr Arbuthnot remarks on the paucity
+of data, and in each he qualifies the deductions of the preceding one. Had
+the series been still further extended, it is even doubtful if finality
+of judgment would have been reached; for in his third report he says, "The
+whole question, both as regards the condition of the currency and the real
+intentions of the Japanese Government, is involved in so much obscurity
+that no sound judgment can yet be formed on the subject" (May 1863).
+
+It would be a mere weariness to the reader to attempt to elucidate a
+problem which an expert student found perplexing, but a few salient
+points brought out in Mr Arbuthnot's review may repay citation, as
+illustrative of the general state of relations beyond the immediate
+question of the currency. "We found," he says, "the Japanese with a
+carefully devised system of coinage, presenting indeed anomalies, when
+regarded from a European point of view, but apparently well adapted to
+their domestic wants; and their coins were found on assay in London to be
+well manufactured." The Chinese had no such system, and the evolution of
+a metallic currency entitled to such high praise, in a country from which
+the rest of the world had been long shut off, is one of the most striking
+evidences of the high originating faculty of the Japanese.
+
+As to the stipulation in the treaties that foreign coin should be current
+in Japan on a par with native, weight for weight (not a word said about
+purity), it was not only preposterous and absolutely unworkable, but
+it was imposed by the ignorance of the foreign negotiators against the
+superior knowledge of the Japanese; for it is remarkable that in the
+negotiations carried on by the Americans in 1854 the Japanese took up the
+impregnable ground that "American coin was only bullion to them." Force
+alone--or the fear of it--drove them from that position in 1858, and in
+yielding to the unreasoning pressure of the subsequent negotiators the
+Japanese probably consoled themselves with their resources of secret
+evasion to save them from the worst consequences of the obligation--a
+characteristic of the whole treaty-making campaign.
+
+It appeared to Mr Arbuthnot that the Japanese had a double
+standard--itself "a contradiction in terms"--gold and copper; silver
+occupying the position of a token currency between the two, at a highly
+artificial value, strictly governed by law. The fact was exemplified in
+many ways. Art objects in silver contained more metal than the coin paid
+for them, the work of the artificer thrown into the bargain. Gold and
+copper, on the other hand, bore about the same relationship to each other
+as prevailed in other countries. It was silver alone that was maintained
+at a conventional level three times above its value in the outer world.
+And the philosophy of this is explained by Mr Winchester, who tells us
+that, whereas the supply of gold and copper was in many hands, the sources
+of the supply of silver were in the exclusive control of the Tycoon's
+Government, which derived great advantage from maintaining the silver
+coinage at a high fictitious level.
+
+The efforts of the Japanese to readjust the currency to meet the demands
+of the treaty were naturally first directed to silver, which was recoined
+and revalued, but confusion was worse confounded by all these attempts.
+Eventually the gold _koban_, worth intrinsically 18s. 4d. sterling, or 4
+_bus_ of the intrinsic value of 1s. 4d., was reduced to a sterling value
+of 5s. 6d., but was still rated at 4 _bus_, while the copper coinage was
+disestablished and iron substituted of no intrinsic value. "I am aware of
+no other example," says Mr Arbuthnot, "of so sudden and violent a rending
+of the monetary regulations of a country; certainly of none which has been
+produced by the interference of foreigners."
+
+The effect of these inquiries by the Treasury was to discourage further
+interference by foreign Governments, to trust much to that great solvent
+of anomalies, the silent operation of commerce; while the only complete
+remedy was recognised as the establishment of a mint under European
+regulations.
+
+The problem was still further complicated by the separate coinage of
+the Daimios. Their _nibukin_, as a general rule, passed only at first in
+their own provinces, but gradually they filtered down to the open ports,
+and at one time considerable embarrassment arose from the mixture of the
+coinage thus caused. In 1871-72 the Imperial Government, then just come to
+supreme power, took the matter up with the thoroughness they showed in all
+their doings. They gave secret notice to the foreign Ministers of their
+intention to call in all princes' _nibukin_, and thereupon issued an order
+that during one week these coins should be brought into the custom-houses
+at the treaty ports, where they would be fastened up in sealed packets
+of $100 value, and notified that coins so stamped within the week would
+be accepted by the Government as legal tender, but that thereafter their
+use would be prohibited. Now, as the Daimios' money stood at about 90 per
+cent discount at the time, the fact that some of the foreign officials who
+had access to this confidential information were also merchants created
+immediate speculation, with the result that within a fortnight these
+silver-gilt _nibukin_ rose from 90 per cent discount to 2 or 3 per cent
+premium, the officially sealed packets being a most convenient form for
+the payment of duties.
+
+The alacrity with which the Government applied heroic remedies to a
+disastrous predicament was typical of the energy of the Japanese, which
+has been displayed since in wider fields. They do not sit down and bemoan
+their troubles, but at once arm themselves against them.
+
+When to the inherent difficulties common to currency problems
+generally were superadded the complexities of the monetary system of a
+non-commercial and long-secluded country, surprise should be felt that the
+regulation of the circulating medium in Japan was accomplished so soon,
+rather than that it took so many years to arrive at the solution. The
+Tycoon's Government did not live long enough to settle the currency, but
+left the problem as a legacy to the Restoration. A good many years elapsed
+before the Mikado's Government succeeded in evolving order out of chaos.
+
+In the mean time, in spite of many drawbacks, trade was making headway
+in other directions besides the exportation of gold, and quaint indeed
+were the beginnings of it. The staple products happened to be the same
+in Japan as in China, tea and silk, and they soon began to be regularly
+brought down to Yokohama for sale. But business was at first on such
+a lilliputian scale, and was introduced in so dainty a manner, that to
+merchants accustomed to the large transactions of China the whole affair
+wore something of the air of comic opera, or as if children were playing
+at being merchants. This impression was strengthened by the aspect of
+the fragile wooden structures with their sliding doors and windows, but
+without sitting accommodation, wherein business was transacted, which to
+those habituated to the massive, if inelegant, buildings of Hongkong and
+Shanghai irresistibly suggested the idea of a doll's house. The Chinese
+methods also were inverted. Instead of sending samples of substantial
+quantities, such as a thousand chests of tea or fifty bales of silk, and
+the owner or his broker coming to chaffer in the silk-room or the tea-room
+of the foreign merchant, the latter had to go the round of the Japanese
+shops to find out what they had got. Early every morning the leading
+merchants might be seen booted to the thighs--for the rain was frequent
+and the roads unmade--trudging up and down the Japanese bazaar to see
+what novelties had come to hand. The more zealous would sometimes make a
+second round in the afternoon, in case there might be some late as well
+as early worms to be picked up. The bodily fatigue and consumption of time
+involved in this process would have rendered a large business impossible.
+There were as yet no Japanese merchants properly so called, and their
+endless parley resembled more the tenacious higgling of peasants than
+the negotiations of men of business. Moreover, the native dealers seemed
+scarcely conscious of any law which should hold them to a bargain in the
+event of a more acceptable offer turning up.
+
+Conclusions unfavourable to Japanese commercial morality have been
+drawn from some of those early--and later--experiences; but commercial
+like other kinds of specialised morality has necessarily something of a
+professional character. The _akindo_, or merchant, was a sort of pariah
+in Japan, his social status being inferior to those of the peasant and
+the handicraftsman. His sense of honour was not, therefore, sustained by
+tradition or stimulated by _esprit de corps_. There being no mercantile
+body in Japan, there was no mercantile code, at least none applicable
+to international trade, and those unwritten laws without which large
+commerce is impossible had not yet been called into being. Contrasts
+between the two neighbouring nations have just been mentioned very much
+to the advantage of the Japanese; but in matters of commerce, it must be
+conceded, the advantage lay entirely with the Chinese, a nation of traders
+from their birth.
+
+In the sale of lacquer ware and objects of art the Japanese were much
+more at home than in dealing in raw products of foreign manufactures,
+and the treasures which were in the early days exposed in the shops of
+Yokohama would make a modern dealer sigh for opportunities which are
+no more. Speaking roundly, it would have been safe to buy the stock
+indiscriminately at the sellers' own prices, when fortune would have
+awaited the investor as surely as if he had bought up the gold coinage
+at the ratio of 5 to 1. The same remark would apply to such of the raw
+produce of Japan as had been in large demand in China; and conversely
+the rule applied also to selected articles of foreign manufacture,
+which the Japanese were satisfied to buy at a price mid-way between
+the high level of the Dutch monopoly and the low level of what would
+remunerate the free importer. Therefore the sudden inroad of open trade
+on a market artificially confined resulted in profitable trading while
+a new equilibrium was being found; but such prosperity was in its nature
+evanescent.
+
+Irrespective of the material aims which attracted foreign residents to
+Japan, the life itself presented several novel and interesting features.
+Nothing could have been pleasanter than the social relations which
+sprang up between the foreign communities and the unofficial natives.
+The strangers were received everywhere with open arms, and the residence
+among a smiling people (excluding altogether the meretricious allurements
+of the country, which have also not been without their influence) and
+amid enchanting scenery was found to add a new pleasure to existence.
+Here again we must resort for illustration to a comparison with China,
+where strangers at the best were sullenly tolerated, where one might live
+a lifetime without entering a house, or seeing a respectable woman, or
+making a friend save on a business footing. The Japanese of Yokohama and
+Kanagawa, as well as in the surrounding villages and temples, never failed
+in courtesy and hospitality to passers-by, and were eager for conversation
+with foreigners. A useful smattering of the language was soon acquired
+under the stimulus of a quick-witted and sympathetic people alert to jump
+at the meaning and patient to help the novice to find his words. The women
+of the household were always charming, and if their domestic conversation
+sometimes startled the stranger by its freedom, there was neither malice
+nor any such impropriety as leaves an evil odour in its trail. Friendships
+were formed, not deep perhaps, but genuine as far as they went, and
+certainly not the less sincere on the Japanese than on the foreign side.
+
+The intelligence also of the common people enhanced both the pleasure and
+the value of friendly intercourse with them: apt as they were to receive,
+they were no less ready to impart, information. Their appreciation of
+their country--its beauties, history, traditions, and folk-lore--was
+conscious and unrestrained, indeed it amounted to a passion. This afforded
+endless subject for talk. Everything save the politics of the day might
+be freely discussed, and though the first-arrived foreigners came poorly
+prepared to assimilate so much that was novel, they could not help
+carrying away a good deal from their frequent confabulations. The native
+guide-books formed a reservoir of suggestive topics: surprisingly minute
+they were, noting every gem of scenery or point of interest, with the
+legends of history, romance, or mythology attaching to them. So accurate
+were these itineraries that with their contents well studied foreigners
+might make excursions inland lasting several days without the aid of guide
+or the necessity of inquiring the way.
+
+It need not, of course, be said that the mutual intelligence of Japanese
+and foreigners did not penetrate below the surface of every-day phenomena.
+Of their festivals, their pilgrimages, their votive offerings to temples
+and shrines, their ancestral worship, and their whole relation to the
+Unseen--call it religion, superstition, or idolatry--the strangers had
+no comprehension. Although its outward symbols were passing constantly
+under their eyes, esoteric Japan was to them a sealed book, as the mental
+processes of the Oriental always are to the Occidental, whose imagination
+is cramped by the syllogism, and whose faith languishes for demonstration.
+There was, however, ample outside the region of mysticism, outside the
+concerns of trade, and equally apart from political questions, to nourish
+the best relations between Japanese and foreigners.
+
+The impressions of the British Minister on his journeys of relaxation
+are by no means the least interesting portion of his important work,
+'The Capital of the Tycoon.' Having shaken off the official incubus, and
+breathing the free air of the country, the intercourse with the common
+people in which he was able to indulge was fruitful of reflections of
+a brighter hue than any that were prompted by his strenuous life in the
+capital. He observes:--
+
+    They are really a kindly people when not perverted by their rulers
+    and prompted to hostility.... I had begun to forget I was in
+    Japan, so much goodwill was shown.... There may be a good deal
+    of tyranny and oppression, but the people show no marks of it....
+    The feudal lord is everything and the lower and labouring classes
+    nothing. Yet what do we see? Peace, plenty, apparent content, and
+    a country more perfectly and carefully cultivated and kept, with
+    more ornamental timber everywhere, than can be matched even in
+    England.... The material prosperity of a population estimated at
+    thirty millions, which has made a garden of Eden of this volcanic
+    soil, and had grown in numbers and in wealth by unaided native
+    industry.
+
+Such were the observations made during a few days' rest at the mineral
+springs of Atami, and they coincided exactly with the opinions formed
+by those whose daily intercourse lay with these same common people, in
+which term, of course, were included such town populations as foreigners
+had acquaintance with. A contemporary writer, Nagasaki, 1859, remarked:
+"The Government of Japan is the most absolute despotism in the world,
+and perfectly successful.... For the present it is consistent with great
+prosperity and contentment on the part of the people, but it seems to me
+it is only their exclusive policy that has kept it so."
+
+The great, industrious, prosperous masses of Japan, enjoying the gifts of
+the gods with thankful hearts, and drinking the cup of life as presented
+to them without any acidulating scruples, seemed to be happiest of all in
+this, that they were not burdened with the dignity of wearing swords. The
+storms that convulsed the upper regions passed over their humble heads
+without interrupting the cast of a fishing-net or hindering by a day
+the gathering of their harvest. How different the life of the nobles and
+their following! their humanity dominated by an elaborate and intolerable
+ceremonial, settling their quarrels at the sword's point, and ever on the
+alert for bloody intrigue.[4]
+
+For there were two Japans, that of the people and that of the ruling
+class, separated by an impassable gulf. "The very existence of the
+plebeian seems unrecognised by the patrician in his lordly progress,"
+wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock. "And for that very reason there may be more
+real liberty among the mass of the people than we imagine."
+
+The members of the official class were distinguished by carrying in
+their girdle two heavy swords with a razor's edge, one long, one short.
+The functionaries of the custom-house, with whom alone the foreign lay
+community had contact, also wore swords as part of their official uniform,
+which they placed with delicate ceremony on a rack in front of them
+as they sat on their mats at the receipt of custom,--for there were no
+chairs, and the habitual posture was squatting on the hams and heels. To
+the aristocratic caste the Japanese people were as absolutely submissive
+as if every two-sworded man wielded the power of life and death, which,
+so far as the common people were concerned, was not far from the simple
+truth.[5] The only great concourses of armed men which the foreign
+residents were in the way of seeing were the Daimio processions, which,
+hundreds, sometimes thousands strong, were constantly travelling along
+the highroad; and in the long town of Kanagawa they could observe the
+people prostrated by the sides of the road with heads abased while the
+great man with his scowling retainers passed. Residents in Yedo--that is,
+the _personnel_ of the foreign Legations--had less agreeable experience
+of these feudal swordsmen, who, living in idleness during their prince's
+sojourn in the capital, were quick in quarrel, especially in their cups,
+and far from agreeable to meet in the streets.
+
+
+III. ASSASSINATION PERIOD, 1860-61.
+
+    Storms begin--Russians murdered at Kanagawa--Two Dutchmen
+    in Yokohama--Prince regent assassinated--Servant of French
+    Minister attacked--Mr Heusken, secretary to American Legation,
+    murdered--Ministers withdraw to Yokohama--And return to
+    Yedo--First murderous attack on British Legation, 1861--Mr
+    Oliphant wounded--Attempt on a Japanese Minister--The causes
+    of these outrages--Partly anti-foreign feeling--Foreign
+    treaties imposed by force on Tycoon never received sanction of
+    emperor--Hence universal hostility to foreigners--Internecine
+    jealousy--Mr Alcock makes ascent of Fujiyama--Against the wish of
+    Japanese Ministers--Makes a second overland journey from Nagasaki
+    to Yedo--Sullen attitude of Daimios.
+
+The ports had not been many months opened when storms began to disturb the
+political sky, and the idyllic charm of the new life became tempered by
+assassination. The why and the wherefore of these outrages was imperfectly
+understood at the time, though it has since been copiously expounded.
+The uncertainty as to the moving cause or causes rendered precautions
+difficult, and the only safe resource was a watchful eye and the nimble
+revolver.
+
+Much bad feeling had been displayed towards the foreign diplomatic staff
+in Yedo, and assaults had been frequent, but nothing of a tragic nature
+had occurred until the arrival of a Russian squadron of ten ships, with
+Count Mouravieff-Amurski on board. He landed in August 1859 with an escort
+of 300 men in Yedo, where he was safe; but an officer and two men at
+Kanagawa, buying provisions, were cut to pieces by armed Japanese. This
+was what Sir Rutherford Alcock designated as "first blood." The next was
+the assassination of a native linguist employed in the British Legation.
+Early in 1860 two Dutch shipmasters, one over sixty years of age, were
+hacked to pieces in Yokohama. Next the prince regent himself was, within
+the precincts of the castle, set upon by an armed band of retainers of the
+Prince of Mito and killed, his head being carried off to assure the said
+prince of the accomplishment of an act of long-meditated revenge.
+
+Before the end of the year 1860 the Italian servant of the French Minister
+had to defend himself at the entrance of the Legation from the murderous
+attack of a couple of two-sworded men; and the year 1861 was ushered in
+by the assassination of Mr Heusken, secretary to the American Legation,
+on his way from the Prussian Minister, whom he had been assisting in the
+negotiation of his treaty. This crime filled the cup for the time being.
+The Government proved itself unable or unwilling to protect the diplomatic
+body from their bloodthirsty assailants, and three out of the four foreign
+representatives--the Dutch minister not being at the time resident in
+Yedo--made a protest to the Tycoon's Government, struck their flags, and
+withdrew to Yokohama. The American Minister alone remained in Yedo. Soon
+the Prussian and Dutch returned thither, leaving only the British and
+French representatives in Yokohama, where they remained until specially
+invited back to the capital under conditions which they had demanded of
+the Government.
+
+The following summer witnessed the most desperate attempt of all to
+exterminate the inmates of at least one of the Legations. Mr Alcock had
+just returned from a long, venturesome, dangerous, but most fruitful
+journey overland from south to north--from Nagasaki to Yedo--which
+included a sea passage through the Inland Sea, when an assault was made
+on the Legation at midnight on 4th July 1861. The Tycoon's guard of 150
+men are charitably credited with having been asleep, for they opposed no
+obstacle to the entrance of a band of men who cut an opening through a
+substantial bamboo stockade at the outer gate, and on their way thence
+to the apartments of the Legation staff, a distance of some three hundred
+yards, killed, at intervals, four men, some of whom defended themselves,
+and a barking dog. The scene is fully and graphically described in 'The
+Capital of the Tycoon.' The central object of the attack seems to have
+been the Minister himself, who however escaped unhurt, while two members
+of the Legation were wounded,--Laurence Oliphant, who had recently come
+out as secretary of Legation, having a very severe sword-cut in the arm
+and another in the neck. Being more than common tall, Mr Oliphant's head
+was saved by the intervention of a low beam, in which a deep sword-cut
+was found. If that brilliant writer had seen Yedo rose-tinted in 1858,
+he had now at least a chance of judging it in a greyer light. The guard
+did not put in an appearance until after the assailants had been beaten
+off from, or at least baffled in, their attempt on that portion of the
+temple buildings which was occupied by the Minister, and a fierce struggle
+ensued in the precincts, in which two of the assailants were killed and
+one badly wounded, while twelve of the guard were wounded and one of the
+Tycoon's bodyguard killed. The details of Japanese sword-play are not
+pleasant matters to dwell upon, but a few words from Mr Alcock's notes
+of the tragedy will suffice to give an idea of the manner in which these
+massacres were carried out. "I have seen many a battlefield," he says,
+"but of sabre wounds I never saw any so horrible. One man had his skull
+shorn clean through from the back and half the head sliced off to the
+spine, while his limbs only hung together by shreds." "There is probably
+not in all the annals of our diplomacy an example of such a bloodthirsty
+and deliberate plot to massacre a whole Legation."
+
+This is a sufficiently full list of the outrages of what may be called
+the Yedo period, to distinguish it from a subsequent chapter of history
+which was opened in connection with the new port in the Inland Sea, but
+which is beyond the range of the present work.
+
+The only conclusions to be drawn from these occurrences, and those yet to
+be related, were--(1) that either the Tycoon's Government itself or some
+powerful faction was in deadly opposition to the admission of foreigners
+into the country, and (2) that the Tycoon's Government was either unable
+or unwilling to protect the persons of foreigners either within the
+capital or out of it; (3) that certain great Daimios were concerned
+in these murderous outrages. The Prince of Mito's men assassinated the
+regent, and were most probably the assailants of the British Legation,
+while the Prince of Satsuma's retainers killed Richardson. Another great
+Daimio, whose forts commanded the western gate of the Inland Sea, put
+himself a year later in a state of war with all the foreign nations.
+
+The motives of these powerful feudatories were not free from ambiguity,
+for they might be animated by a _bona fide_ desire to expel the
+foreigners, or they might be plotting to embroil the Government with the
+Western Powers. It was evident that the authority of the Tycoon over the
+great Daimios was far from absolute, and that at any rate he dared not
+enforce it in defence of the hated foreigners.[6] Thus the Legations were
+left to the mercy of a ferocity which has known no parallel. The midnight
+attempt on the British Legation on July 4, 1861, typified the whole
+situation. The inmates were ignorant whence the several attacks on them
+came, the imperial and Daimio's guard were asserted to have slept through
+the crucial stage of the assault, and the provoking cause of the attempt
+to exterminate the English was unknown. In such a maze of occult forces
+it was almost as difficult to adopt precautions as against earthquakes.
+
+What lay at the root of all these troubles, according to the deliberate
+opinion of Mr Alcock, was that the foreign treaties had been forced on the
+Government against its will and in violation of the fundamental laws of
+the empire. He says the treaties were not sanctioned by the Mikado, and
+that therefore the opposition of the Daimios was on strictly legitimate
+lines. Also that the law of the seventeenth century which made it a
+capital offence for a foreigner to land in Japan had not been repealed.
+The Tycoon's Ministers had been scared into signing even Commodore Perry's
+almost platonic treaty; for though that officer had strict orders to
+use no force, he did not impart this information to the Japanese, and
+they could not otherwise interpret the naval demonstration than as an
+intimation that the ship's guns would support the commodore's demands. The
+case of Mr Harris's treaty of 1858 was even clearer. It had been drawn up,
+but the signature postponed _sine die_ until the great nobles should have
+been gained over, and Mr Harris retired to his retreat at Shimoda to wait
+events. The news of the forcing of the Peiho forts by the Anglo-French
+squadron and the imposing of a treaty on the Emperor of China was conveyed
+express to Mr Harris by the steam frigate Mississippi. Another vessel,
+the Powhattan, arrived fortuitously at the same time, in which Mr Harris
+proceeded to Kanagawa, where commissioners were sent down at once to meet
+him, and in three days the treaty was signed. Of course the Allies who
+had forced the door of China, having no quarrel whatever with Japan, had
+no more thought of coercing that country than the United States had in
+1853 and 1854; but it was perhaps scarcely conceivable to the oriental
+mind that any nation should deny itself the exercise of a power it
+consciously possessed. Naturally, therefore, the Japanese were predisposed
+to believe in the aggressive purposes of the invaders of China. No less
+natural was it that subsequent evidence of the self-imposed limitation of
+their pressure on China should lead the Tycoon's advisers to deplore the
+panic-haste with which they had been hustled into making treaties against
+the will of the great council of the Empire. In the interval between the
+signing and the execution of the treaties the Government had time for
+reflection on all that: the malcontent majority of Daimios had also time
+to consider what resistance they could offer to innovations which they
+detested.
+
+The reactionary policy that had set in was also clearly shown in the
+obstacles thrown in the way of the negotiation of the Prussian treaty.
+Count Eulenberg had been six months at work, and as his treaty was but a
+copy of those already signed there was no reason in the thing itself for
+the obstruction. But Prussia was not then a nation from which there was
+much to be feared at such a distance, and therefore the true disposition
+of the Japanese Government had free play.
+
+The Tycoonate itself was a perpetual cause of jealousy among the three
+great families, one of which was Mito, who had themselves pretensions
+to the honour; and the combination of their private grievances with a
+quasi-patriotic and probably sincere hatred of foreign intruders raised
+a storm against the Tycoon with which his advisers found it hard to cope.
+The Government being committed to the protection of foreigners, massacres
+of the latter offered a ready means of gratifying the double passion of
+hatred of them and of the Tycoon.
+
+But although the foreign representatives and the Tycoon were thus to an
+unknown extent the objects of a common enmity, it was yet impossible for
+them to make common cause, for they were not in harmony. The Government
+would willingly have got rid of the treaties or reduced them to a dead
+letter. The foreign Ministers, on the other hand, had no choice but to
+insist on the fulfilment of the engagements into which the Government had
+entered. Not for them to count the cost, the difficulties, or the danger:
+relaxation of their demands would have aggravated all three. So there was
+nothing for it but the "rigour of the game."
+
+The British Minister held decided views on the importance of keeping alive
+all rights and privileges by exercising them. China would have taught
+him, if the knowledge did not come by nature, the value of the modern
+principle of "effective occupation" as the only valid sanction of an
+abstract title. The treaties of 1858 conferred upon the representatives
+of Foreign Powers the right of travelling throughout Japan. The Tycoon's
+Government desired to restrict or nullify the privilege, no doubt for
+reasons quite sufficient from their point of view. Mr Alcock on his part
+saw good reasons for opposing this tendency from the outset. Consequently,
+as a first experiment, he organised a journey by the _tokaido_ to the
+"matchless" mountain, Fujiyama, distant about eighty miles from the
+capital. Every effort was made by the Government officials to dissuade
+him from the undertaking; dangers natural and supernatural were conjured
+up, a more convenient season was recommended. At length their pleas
+for the abandonment or delay of the expedition having been exhausted
+without any effect on the resolution of the Minister, the officials
+became helpful in the preparations and most careful to provide for the
+success of the journey. The party--eight Europeans in all with a large
+native contingent--set out on September 4, 1860, rather late in the year
+for the ascent, which was, nevertheless, successfully accomplished, and
+for the first time the foot of the stranger trod the sacred summit, the
+object of constant religious pilgrimages. The whole journey, including a
+detour to the hot springs of Atami, occupied one month: it was fruitful
+in first-hand information, and replete with agreeable experiences.
+
+A more important journey was undertaken eight months later, on the
+occasion of a return voyage from China and Hongkong, whither the Minister
+had gone on certain legal business. Being at Nagasaki, Mr Alcock arranged
+to travel in the company of Mr de Wit, the head of the Dutch mission,
+across the island of Kiusiu, then by junk up the Inland Sea to Hiogo,
+thence by the highroad to Yedo. The proposal met with the same kind of
+opposition from the Japanese authorities as the going to Fujiyama the
+previous year had done: the dangers of the journey were depicted in strong
+colours, and the unsettled state of the country was alleged as a cogent
+reason why a foreigner should not trust himself on the highroad. When
+these arguments proved unavailing, and the journey was finally resolved
+upon, the authorities endeavoured to minimise both its pleasure and its
+usefulness by an attempt to extort from the two Ministers an undertaking
+in writing never to go in advance of the escort or to leave the highroad.
+The plea for the latter restriction was that the road alone was under
+imperial control, the land on either side belonging to the Daimios. The
+feudatories on their part took effective measures to enforce the condition
+by supplying guards through their respective domains, who blocked up every
+byway, and in the towns and villages where the party rested screened off
+the side streets even from view by means of large curtains stretched on
+high poles, emblazoned with the Prince's arms. When the party landed
+at Hiogo to resume the journey by the _tokaido_, they were met by a
+"Governor" of Foreign Affairs, sent expressly from Yedo to warn the
+foreign Ministers once more of the dangers of the road, and to persuade
+them to complete their journey by sea. This had become such a stereotyped
+formula that the two diplomats paid no attention to the warning, though
+they had some reason afterwards to think that on this single occasion
+the cry of wolf was genuine; for the assassins who attacked the English
+Legation on the night of the return of the party to Yedo were said to have
+tracked the foreigners the whole way from Hiogo.
+
+These two interesting and--the second one especially--arduous journeys,
+each of one month's duration, settled the question of the right of the
+foreign representatives to travel through the length and breadth of Japan.
+They also afforded much insight into the state of the country and the
+real feeling of the general population. But they were only interludes
+in the drama of sensational diplomacy, which had now to be resumed with
+redoubled energy. The Legations had been two years located in Yedo, and no
+progress whatever had been made towards establishing a state of security
+for foreign life. Matters were, indeed, going from bad to worse. One point
+had been gained after the murder of the American secretary in January--the
+Government had formally assumed the responsibility for the protection of
+the foreigners. Moreover, strong guards of the Tycoon's men were posted
+in the different Legations; but, as we have seen, they added nothing to
+the sense of security. The demonstration of the inadequacy of all these
+precautions left the conditions of foreign life in the capital in worse
+plight than ever. The attack on the British Legation therefore called for
+a fresh review of the position.
+
+
+IV. NEGOTIATIONS AND RENEWED ASSASSINATIONS, 1862-64.
+
+    British and French guards brought to Yedo--Marks a new
+    era--Decided position of British Government--Concessions asked
+    by Japanese, refused by Mr Alcock, granted by Earl Russell to
+    Japanese envoys--Retrogression--Position of foreign Ministers
+    assimilating to that of the Dutch at Deshima--Mr Alcock's
+    departure for Europe, 1862--Bad effects of Lord Russell's
+    concessions to Japanese--Encouraged them to make fresh
+    demands--The building of a British Legation in Yedo--_Charge
+    d'affaires_ resides mostly in Yokohama--Colonel Neale's
+    account of the system of guarding the Legation--Midnight
+    attack on the guards--British sentries murdered--Suspicious
+    behaviour of Government--British guard increased--Admiral
+    Hope's opinion--Attack on an English riding party and murder
+    of Mr Richardson on highroad--Admiral Hope's proposal to "nip
+    assassination in the bud."
+
+The question now, therefore, entered on a new phase. Since reliance on
+the Government afforded no sense of security, the foreigners must abandon
+the position or find some more effective protection, not to supersede,
+but to supplement, that which was afforded by the Government. There was
+fortunately a British despatch vessel, the Ringdove, at the moment at
+Yokohama, to the commander of which Mr Alcock appealed for a guard of
+marines and bluejackets. These arrived the next day, twenty-five all
+told, with Captain Craigie himself at their head, and they were happily
+accompanied by a detachment of fifteen men from the French transport
+Dordogne, brought up by the French Minister, Mons. de Bellecourt,
+always a staunch supporter of his British colleague. That gentleman,
+on hearing the tragic news at Yokohama, where he had been staying,
+returned promptly to his post with this most welcome reinforcement for
+the defence of the Legations. This simple proceeding marked the beginning
+of a new era in the foreign relations with Japan--the era in which the
+Powers represented there took the law into their own hands, with highly
+important consequences to Japan and to the world. The British naval guard
+was reinforced within a few months by a mounted escort of twelve men
+drawn from the force then in China. This step was strongly objected to
+by the Tycoon's Ministers, but the answer was complete: the Government's
+acknowledged incompetence had forced this measure of self-defence on the
+Legations. The position taken up by Mr Alcock was confirmed in the most
+explicit manner by Earl Russell a year later, who thus addressed the
+Japanese envoys in London:--
+
+    Her Majesty's Government will not agree to any proposal which
+    may be made by the Ministers of the Tycoon having for its object
+    to preclude the representatives of the Queen in Japan from
+    maintaining a cavalry escort for the protection of her Majesty's
+    servants in that country. The Tycoon cannot ensure the safety of
+    the British officers within the precincts of the capital and its
+    immediate neighbourhood; and even if the Tycoon were to engage to
+    do so, it is notorious that he would not have the power to fulfil
+    his engagement.
+
+This plain speaking defined the status of "old" Japan, and gave the clue
+to the remarkable train of events which followed.
+
+Much anxiety and many sinister rumours, but no serious outrages,
+disturbed the peace of the Legations and the general foreign community
+during the remainder of the year 1861. Mr Oliphant was sent home in
+consequence of his wounds, and the occasion was taken advantage of to
+have certain private conferences with the Japanese Foreign Ministers, at
+which that gentleman assisted, when the "past, present, and future" were
+confidentially discussed. Mr Oliphant, thus thoroughly "posted," was able
+personally to explain the state of affairs to her Majesty's Ministers,
+which greatly assisted them in forming their decisions. He was also the
+bearer of an autograph letter from the Tycoon to her Majesty the Queen.
+
+The Japanese Government had long been pressing the foreign representatives
+for the relaxation of some of the articles in the treaties, which were
+not to come into operation until a subsequent date. These provided for
+the opening of Yedo for general residence on 1st January 1862, and for
+the opening of the trading ports of Hiogo, Osaka, and Ni-i-gata on 1st
+January 1863. The Tycoon's Government was most anxious to postpone all
+these privileges to an indefinite period, nominally seven years, and as
+the foreign Ministers in Yedo had no such authority--Mr Alcock had been
+instructed to grant "no concessions without equivalents"--the Government
+prepared to despatch special envoys to the five Courts of Europe with
+which they had treaties. A similar mission to the United States the
+previous year had been so well received as to encourage the second effort.
+The principle involved in the Japanese plea was precisely the same as that
+which had kept Canton closed for so many years, notwithstanding the treaty
+provision opening it; but there was this difference of fact between the
+two cases, that whereas the danger apprehended and alleged by the Japanese
+was probably real, that which had been put forward by the Chinese was
+false, and manufactured by the authorities themselves.
+
+The Japanese were now in full retrogression, and every point they might
+gain was certain to become a new fulcrum for forcing more and more
+concessions from the foreign Powers. This was proved in many kinds of
+ways. For example, the restrictions placed on the foreign envoys, by
+which they were kept as prisoners in their Legations, and were attended
+in their walks abroad by officious guards who prevented them from seeing
+more than could be helped, and forbade intercourse with the people, were
+almost tantamount to those formerly imposed on the Dutch in Deshima.
+Mr Oliphant frankly speaks of his "jailors." Then repression, and yet
+more repression--as much repression, in fact, as the foreigners could
+be brought to endure--was the unvarying rule. Even when they were
+themselves seeking favours, and had therefore every inducement to show
+their liberal side to the foreign Minister, the rule of repression was
+rigorously maintained. Mr Alcock relates how this determination prevented
+him from presenting the Queen's reply to the Tycoon's letter. First,
+the audience was delayed on frivolous grounds; then the ceremonial was
+varied. Among other things it was proposed to place the envoy at double
+the distance from the Tycoon which had been observed on a previous
+occasion. Being anxious to take his leave, to present his _locum tenens_,
+and to deliver the Queen's autograph, Mr Alcock waived these innovations
+under protest--"being reluctant at the last moment to stand upon a point
+of mere etiquette"; but "having found my desire was strong not to raise
+difficulties on any minor points, it had been resolved [by the Japanese]
+to profit by the circumstance to gain some further advantages derogatory
+to the position of the British Minister," and so after everything had been
+arranged according to their own wishes the Court officials returned the
+following day to say they had made a mistake, and that, in fact, sundry
+further restrictions must be observed. This was too much, and the Minister
+quitted the capital without his audience, March 1862.
+
+The same tactics were observed by the envoys in Europe. When the mission
+reached London and had laid their case before the same Foreign Secretary
+who had instructed the Minister in Japan to "make no concessions without
+equivalents," he at once conceded the whole of the Japanese demands
+unconditionally, for the nominal conditions were merely that the rest of
+the treaty should stand. A detailed memorandum of the agreement was drawn
+up and formally signed by Earl Russell and the three Japanese envoys on
+June 6, 1862. Having succeeded beyond all expectation in their demands,
+the Japanese envoys evidently concluded that the Foreign Office was of
+plastic substance, and within two days they had formulated a list of nine
+further concessions which they desired to discuss. This, however, was
+too much for Lord Russell's patience, and as the envoys had "completed
+their business and taken their leave," he declined to enter on any fresh
+questions.
+
+The effect of Lord Russell's concessions could not be otherwise than
+detrimental, the only open question being whether his insistence on
+opening the ports on the agreed dates would have been a greater or a
+lesser evil. Mr Alcock points out the family likeness between the Japanese
+pleas for suspension of treaty rights and those with which we had so long
+been familiar in China. "The time," he says, allowed to the authorities
+of Canton to "soothe the people and prepare the way" was deliberately
+used by them to "create the very difficulties which they alleged already
+to exist, and make it each year more and more impossible to admit the
+foreigners,"--a comment on the Japanese proposal which leaves little doubt
+as to his opinion of that transaction. Yet there were cogent reasons for
+the course actually adopted, if the premisses be granted that the ports
+could only be opened by force, and that England would have been left
+alone to employ the necessary force. The most that can be said, then,
+for the concessions to the Japanese is that they represented the choice
+of evils. No one was benefited by them. They did not help the Tycoon or
+avert the catastrophe to his dynasty. They did not lessen the friction,
+or the danger to foreign life and interests, or interrupt the long
+series of assassinations of foreigners in Japan; nor did they obviate the
+necessity of using force in that country, to avoid which was the principal
+inducement to her Majesty's Government to violate its own principle. The
+analogy with China was, in fact, complete; the old lesson was once more
+driven home, that there is no safety in doing wrong. As Sir Rutherford
+Alcock puts it, "To retrograde safely and with dignity is often more
+difficult for nations and their governments than to advance."
+
+During the year 1861 an important improvement was inaugurated in
+respect to the housing of the foreign Legations. Hitherto they had been
+accommodated in temples neither suited to Western modes of living nor, as
+had been proved, adapted for defence. Independent sites were now allotted
+on a commanding ridge within the city, where the respective Ministers
+might have buildings erected on their own plans. These were promptly put
+in hand, and soon after Mr Alcock was able to bring his first arduous
+campaign--a term applicable in its double sense--to a close. Having
+brought the various business of the Legation into a state convenient for
+transfer to new hands, he left Yedo in March 1862, a few days before the
+arrival of the future _charge d'affaires_, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward St
+John Neale. The Minister was accompanied to England by Moriyama, the chief
+interpreter to the Japanese Foreign Office, who was charged with special
+instructions to the three envoys then in England.
+
+From the time that Colonel Neale took charge of the British Legation
+events chased each other rapidly. While the new buildings were in progress
+the _charge d'affaires_ divided his time between Yedo and Yokohama, and
+while in the capital continued to reside in the temple called To-zen-ji,
+where the Legation had been located from the beginning. The inner
+buildings were guarded by the mounted escort and by the naval contingent,
+which had been renewed as one British warship took the place of another
+during the year. In the outer enclosure there was a guard of 500 Japanese,
+the retainers of a certain Daimio who was intrusted by the Tycoon with
+the protection of the Legation.
+
+In order to understand what follows, it is necessary to give Colonel
+Neale's account of the arrangements which were in force for the protection
+of the British Legation:--
+
+    I found on my arrival that the usual precautions had been taken by
+    the authorities, and which consisted in placing numerous guards,
+    entirely surrounding this residence, in detached wooden huts: the
+    number of these guards, according to the Japanese return which I
+    obtained, amounted to no less than 535 men, partly of the Tycoon's
+    bodyguard, but chiefly composed of the retainers of a Daimio named
+    Matsudaira Temba no Kami, who had been chosen and charged by the
+    Government with the protection of this Legation.
+
+    Small parties of these men came down at short intervals during
+    the night to the very doors of this residence, and remained for a
+    short time with our own sentries, leaving behind them one man at
+    each post to aid in challenging persons approaching and demanding
+    the parole, which was in the Japanese language, and issued at
+    sunset each evening.
+
+    These dispositions were uninterruptedly observed up to the evening
+    of the 26th June. At midnight on that day the several British
+    sentinels were at their post, and challenging with vigilance the
+    Japanese guards, who, in parties of two or three, descended from
+    the heights overhanging this building at the back for the purpose
+    of relieving their men.
+
+What took place at midnight on the 26th June may also be best described
+in Colonel Neale's own language:--
+
+    At half an hour after midnight the British sentry posted at the
+    door adjoining my bedroom challenged some approaching object in my
+    hearing, and received in answer the right parole; but the sentry
+    sharply challenged again in an anxious and eager manner, as if
+    some circumstance excited his suspicion, after which he walked
+    three or four steps towards the object approaching. I rose in
+    bed to hear the result, and in an instant the deadened sound of
+    a rapid succession of heavy blows and cuts reached my ears, given
+    in less than two minutes, and at every one of which followed a cry
+    of anguish from the unfortunate sentry. Silence succeeded for the
+    moment, and was followed by the beating of drums from the heights
+    and the gathering of Japanese guards with their red lanterns....
+    The assassin having left the sentry at my door, went on towards
+    the corner of the residence occupied by the guard, a distance
+    of twenty paces, where he met Corporal Crimp, R.M., coming alone
+    on his rounds to visit the sentry at my door. A conflict appears
+    instantly to have taken place between them: a revolver-shot was
+    heard about the moment the guard was turning out, but nothing
+    further.
+
+The corporal was found dead with sixteen sword and lance wounds: the
+sentry had nine sword-wounds--"every cut had severed the member it was
+aimed at"; but he survived long enough to tell of the instant desertion
+of the Japanese sentry who was posted with him.
+
+This attack was marked by several distinguishing features:--
+
+1. The assassins belonged to the Legation guard, or were their comrades;
+the only weapon found on the ground was a lance of the precise pattern of
+those of the Daimio's guard, which was twelve feet long, and, according to
+Colonel Neale, no man carrying such a weapon could have passed the strong
+barricade or crawled through the brushwood: presumably, therefore, the
+lance was supplied from the armoury within the Legation. According to the
+Japanese Ministers, there was but a single assassin. In their anxiety to
+maintain their contention that the wounds were all inflicted by the same
+man, the Ministers explained to Colonel Neale a little of the science of
+Japanese sword-play. "They have attained the climax of dexterity. The
+sword is always carried at the side, and adepts in the use of it wound
+the moment it is drawn." The fatal stroke, upwards, is given in the act of
+drawing. Hence, placing the hand on the hilt is equivalent to presenting
+a cocked revolver, and if the assailant is not disabled in the act it
+is too late for defence. One only, being wounded by a pistol-bullet and
+having committed suicide, was found, and though they could not help
+admitting that the man was a retainer of the Daimio who supplied the
+guard, the Ministers yet drew a vain distinction between him and the men
+actually on duty. It could not, however, be denied that he, or they, were
+allowed free ingress and egress through hundreds of men carefully posted
+as described by Colonel Neale, and already alert and sounding the alarm,
+or that the huts of the Japanese were within 150 feet of the spot where
+two Englishmen were murdered, and while the assassin (or assassins) was
+inflicting sixteen wounds on one victim and nine on the other.
+
+2. The intended attack was publicly known beforehand: for several days
+the Japanese servants had refused to remain in the Legation overnight,
+absenting themselves against orders. The Government also were aware of
+the plot, and of the day when it was to be put in execution, which was
+on the recurrence of a festival, and, according to the Japanese calendar,
+the anniversary of the attack in 1861. The actual day having passed, one
+of the Governors of Foreign Affairs was deputed by the Council to call
+and congratulate Colonel Neale on his escape. Colonel Neale remarked that
+he had no reason for anxiety. The Governor smiled and took leave. But
+the "ides of March ... had not gone," In the darkness of that very night
+the attack was made. Colonel Neale, recounting the circumstances to the
+Council of Foreign Affairs, asked why the Governor had not warned him of
+what was impending, instead of congratulating him on his supposed escape;
+but "the Gorogiu, to my great surprise, replied that I was quite right in
+my observations, and they regretted they had not thought of warning me."
+
+3. The Japanese Ministers treated the whole matter with apparent
+indifference, months having elapsed before any information was
+communicated to the British Minister respecting either the cause of the
+attack or the execution of justice on the instigators, and then it was
+only such information as had been common property for two months. All that
+the Japanese Ministers had to say by way of explanation to the foreign
+envoys was that the attack proceeded from the unsettled state of public
+feeling and from the Japanese nation clinging to the old _regime_; but
+that they, the Ministers, hoped gradually to modify this national feeling
+so that the foreigners might live in the country without apprehension,
+&c. But in the meantime? Well, they "had given strict orders to increase
+the protection." Tragicomedy could not well go further. Evidently matters
+must soon reach a climax.
+
+As the first outward and visible consequence of the assassination of
+the two marines, an infantry guard of twenty-five men from the 67th
+Regiment was sent over from China in addition to the naval guard and the
+cavalry escort; and thus another step was taken towards the _denoument_
+of the plot. Then the word "retribution" was revived in the diplomatic
+correspondence, after having been launched by the Foreign Office in
+1861 but arrested _in transitu_, so that it did not reach the Japanese
+authorities. It was Admiral Hope, a man who never shrank from speaking
+his mind or backing his opinion, who put the case in a pointed form
+to the British Admiralty. "Deeply as I should lament the adoption of
+hostile measures against the Japanese," he wrote on August 28, "after
+the best consideration I have been able to give to the subject I
+cannot avoid the conclusion that it is absolutely necessary to nip this
+assassination-system in the bud; and that not to take effectual measures
+for doing so now will be merely to postpone the evil day to a future, but
+not far distant, occasion."
+
+If further impetus had been wanting to develop this idea, the Japanese
+lost no time in supplying it; for the next assassination which has left a
+dark blood-stain on the annals of the time was perpetrated on the highroad
+between Yedo and Kanagawa on September 14, 1862.
+
+The victims were a party of three gentlemen and one lady from Yokohama who
+had crossed the bay in a boat to Kanagawa, where their horses awaited them
+on the _tokaido_. This broad road not being macadamised made an agreeable
+riding-course, and it was beautified with lines of old trees, one section
+in particular near where the tragedy occurred being known as "The Avenue."
+The party proceeded from Kanagawa towards Yedo, not intending to go
+farther than Kawasaki, which was the limit of authorised excursions in
+that direction. On the way they met the _cortege_ of a Daimio, the first
+indication of which was several _norimono_ (the heavy palanquin in which
+the nobles of Japan travel) with armed attendants, forming an irregular
+train with considerable intervals between. When passing these _norimono_
+the foreigners walked their horses. In the intervals where the road was
+clear they cantered, and this mode of alternate progression continued
+for three or four miles. Then a regular procession was met, preceded
+by about a hundred men marching in single file on either side of the
+road. The foreign party thereupon proceeded at a foot's pace, keeping
+close to the left side, until they reached "the main body, which was
+then occupying the whole breadth of the road." The English party halted
+on approaching the main body, according to one of the survivors; but
+according to another, they were stopped "when they had got about twelve
+men deep in the procession," by "a man of large stature[7] issuing from
+the main body," who, swinging his sword with both hands, cut at the two
+leading foreigners, Mr Richardson and Mrs Borrodaile, as their horses
+were being turned round, and then rushed on the other two. Whereupon the
+advance-guard, who had been described as marching in single file, closed
+in upon the retreating riders. They were all able by the speed of their
+horses to get clear of their assailants; but Mr Richardson was so terribly
+hacked that after going some distance he fell from his horse, dying, or,
+as his companions thought, dead. He lived, however, until the Daimio's
+procession reached the spot, when several of his retainers proceeded to
+butcher and mutilate the dying man in the most shocking manner. It speaks
+well for all three gentlemen that Mrs Borrodaile escaped substantially
+unhurt, though a sword-stroke aimed at her head cut away her hat as she
+stooped to avoid the blow. She saw Mr Richardson fall, and her two wounded
+companions, unable to render help, urged her to ride on. She miraculously
+arrived at Yokohama, bespattered with blood and in a state of very natural
+agitation. Mr Clarke and Mr Marshall, exhausted by their wounds, managed
+to reach Kanagawa, where they were properly cared for at the American
+consulate.
+
+This tragedy made a more vivid impression on the world at large than
+previous ones had done, for several reasons. The cumulative effect of so
+many cold-blooded massacres was beginning to tell, and the Japanese cup
+was nearly full. There was a lady in the case who galloped seven miles
+for dear life, her horse falling twice under her. The chief victim was a
+fine specimen of a young Englishman, and very popular. The crime touched
+the general foreign community in Japan in a special manner, since the
+party belonged to, or were the guests of, Yokohama, where there were also
+newspapers and press correspondents to make literature of the event.
+
+Some friction was created between the foreign community and the British
+representative by the ghastly circumstances of this murder. The community,
+seeing their own comrades slaughtered without mercy, were incensed,
+and called for vengeance, which they deemed to be within reach, for the
+Daimio's retinue were sleeping at Hodogaya, a station but a few miles
+off. There was force enough afloat and on shore to effect the capture of
+the murderers red-handed, and the residents called for this to be done.
+Reasons of policy and expediency influenced Colonel Neale in a contrary
+sense, in which he was fully supported by the Foreign Office when the
+reports reached England.
+
+The Richardson murder, like that at the British Legation, had its
+special characteristics, though of a different order. The outrage was
+unpremeditated; the Government was not implicated: it was a fortuitous
+collision between the spirit and traditions of two opposed civilisations.
+The deed might be construed as the natural punishment of a breach of good
+manners--for Japanese etiquette, of which the party seemed to have been
+ignorant, required them to dismount--or, as the spontaneous expression
+of feudal Japan's deep hatred of the foreigner, concentrated in the
+act of a single moment. There was no need on this occasion to hazard
+guesses as to the responsible author of the crime, or to keep up a long
+train of make-believe negotiations. The _cortege_ belonged to the Prince
+of Satsuma, and was escorting his father, Shimadso Saburo, who went
+afterwards to the Mikado and said he had been grossly insulted by the
+foreigners on the road, and had ordered them to be cut down.[8]
+
+The problem was thus reduced to its simplest expression. The circumstances
+supplied precisely what was wanting to give shape and point to Admiral
+Hope's proposal to "nip this assassination-system in the bud"; and a month
+after the event he followed up his previous despatch to the Admiralty by
+a detailed scheme of reprisals, with the amount and precise distribution
+of the force required to give effect to it. And he concludes his despatch
+appropriately with the remark, that "should it be found necessary to use
+measures of coercion especially against Satsuma, ... the position and
+confirmation of his principality render him peculiarly open to attack."
+
+There were now two reclamations on the Japanese Government--redress for
+the murder of the two marines at the Legation in June, and for the killing
+and wounding of the Richardson party in September. The British _charge
+d'affaires_ pressed both demands, without committing himself to specific
+threats until the mind of her Majesty's Government should be known. Lord
+Russell's instructions were sent on 24th December 1862, and would reach
+Japan some time in February. They were peremptory as to the use of force
+in case of need, whether against the Government or the Prince of Satsuma.
+
+
+V. THE TYCOON'S DILEMMA.
+
+    Strife of parties in Japan--Impotence of Tycoon--His prospective
+    overthrow--Orders issued by Mikado to drive foreigners out of
+    Japan--Prevarications of Tycoon--Plots and counterplots--French
+    and English troops in Yokohama--Compensation paid for the
+    Richardson murder, but assassin not yet brought to justice--Demand
+    made on Prince of Satsuma--Bombardment of his castle by
+    Admiral Kuper--Happy results--Offensive attitude of Prince of
+    Nagato--Firing on foreign ships of war--Sir R. Alcock's return
+    from furlough--Publication of his book 'The Capital of the
+    Tycoon'--His exposition of the political status of parties in
+    Japan--Dubious attitude of Tycoon--And Mikado--Utmost limit of
+    concession to Japanese pleas of weakness reached.
+
+During the interval that elapsed between the tragedy of September 1862
+and the expiation of the crime, revelations of a startling character were
+made respecting the strife which was raging among the various parties
+in the State--the Tycoon, the Mikado, the great Daimios, and the lesser
+Daimios, who followed the Tycoon and the Mikado respectively. These
+revelations, however, though they lit up as by lurid lightning-flashes
+some corners of the landscape, left the whole in a fog more treacherous
+than total darkness. The foreign officials who were called upon to act in
+the midst of it confessed themselves unable to unravel the mystery that
+surrounded them, nor is it any part of our task to make such an attempt.
+It was the chaos which preceded order, a period when the elemental forces
+were in the melting-pot, a phase of foreshortened evolution such as had
+never till then been dreamed of. However trying such an ordeal was to
+the foreign agents who had to go through it, the stress upon them was
+as nothing compared to that which lay upon the principalities and powers
+of the country itself during the agony of their national birth-throes--a
+circumstance which has to be borne in mind when judging of the behaviour
+of the Japanese Government in that trying time; for truly the defence of
+their proceedings stood much in need of extenuating circumstances.
+
+We have seen that the British Government had already confessed its
+belief that the Tycoon's Government was incompetent to maintain order
+where foreigners were concerned. Yet until that Government itself should
+plead incompetence, foreign States could only hold it wholly accountable
+for all that was done affecting their interests. But the Tycoon's
+Government fought tooth and nail against such admission, resorting
+to every subterfuge to maintain their status, while yet evading the
+responsibilities of the position. The success of this ambiguous policy
+required that the foreign representatives should be kept in ignorance
+of the relations which subsisted between the different parties in the
+Japanese State. Hence secrecy and misdirection governed their diplomatic
+intercourse. The treaties themselves having been tainted from their
+origin with deception, every stage of their execution was marked by
+dissimulation, which came gradually to light as the pressure from within
+and from without caused now one corner, now another, of the curtain to be
+raised.
+
+The Tycoon was between the upper and the nether millstone,--foreigners
+pressing him for fulfilment of his obligations, while a power greater
+than his own was demanding the complete repudiation, or at least the
+substantial curtailment, of all these obligations. The straits he was
+put to to keep up his two faces were pitiable and desperate, for he had
+to make the Mikado and the Daimios believe he was as much opposed to the
+foreigners as they were, while to foreigners he was professing loyalty
+and throwing the blame of the reaction on the hostile Daimios. Instigated
+by them, the Mikado had fully asserted his authority, and the Tycoon was
+no longer able to pose as the sovereign ruler of Japan. The allocation of
+a site for the foreign Legations on Gotenyama, a popular pleasure-ground
+in Yedo, was attacked, and the Tycoon ordered to rescind the grant, which
+he endeavoured to do by proposing the substitution of another site. This
+being refused by the British _charge d'affaires_, the Japanese sentry on
+the buildings under construction was assassinated, and soon after the
+whole building was blown up and burned.[9] So ambiguous had become the
+attitude of the Tycoon, that Colonel Neale was in doubt whether this
+conflagration pleased or displeased the Yedo Government. (Six months
+later the buildings occupied by the United States Legation were likewise
+destroyed by fire.) The hostile Daimios, in the name of the Mikado, were,
+in fact, putting strong pressure on the Tycoon, while those Daimios who
+had favoured the treaties had been punished by confiscation of their
+revenues. The Tycoon's position was fast becoming untenable, and in the
+last extremity his advisers decided to take the foreign representatives
+for the first time into their confidence.
+
+In January 1863 a Governor of Foreign Affairs informed Colonel Neale
+that the Mikado was angry because he had not been consulted about the
+treaties, either before or after the signing of them; and that his
+Majesty had ordered the Tycoon repeatedly to drive foreigners out of
+the country. "But," replied the British _charge d'affaires_, "that is
+wholly inconsistent with what the Gorogiu previously told Sir Rutherford
+Alcock." "Quite so," rejoined the Governor; "only what the Ministers told
+Sir Rutherford Alcock was false." "But if one member of the Gorogiu can
+thus give the other the lie, what security have we that some successor
+of yours will not equally disavow what you say? so that at one time
+we have the Mikado reported as friendly and at another as hostile to
+foreign treaties and trade, and we shall never know which to believe."
+This not very promising beginning of "confidences" was quickly followed
+by singular confessions and proposals--part of the system of "frauds,
+stratagems, and deceptions practised by the Tycoon's Government," as
+Colonel Neale characterises them. The Tycoon's Government was ordered to
+communicate officially to the foreign representatives the mandate of the
+Mikado to drive out foreigners and close the ports. In obedience to this
+order a Governor of Foreign Affairs, in announcing the fact to the French
+Minister, softened its effect by explaining that this was carrying out the
+Mikado's orders "officially"; but "ce n'est la qu'un stratageme necessaire
+pour tromper le peuple japonnais." In developing his plan of campaign the
+Governor laid bare to the French Minister the intention of the Tycoon to
+deceive the Mikado by pretending to share his views about foreigners; he
+was in like manner to deceive the Daimios. Ogasawara, the Minister who was
+responsible for carrying out the edict against foreigners, being "un homme
+tres capable," would find a means of avoiding the execution; he would
+himself go to Kioto and make the Mikado listen to reason; if he refused,
+then he would pick a quarrel and employ force against the sovereign. In
+that case would the foreign Powers assist the Tycoon? All this, however,
+must be kept from Hitotsubashi, the First Minister of the Tycoon, "whose
+views were as yet uncertain whether to carry out the expulsive orders from
+Kioto or not. Ogasawara had formed the plan to declare himself the enemy
+of foreigners in order to deceive the high officers even of the Tycoon who
+might not be favourable to his scheme; but everything was to be done to
+"save Japan." Finally, Ogasawara was to come the day following himself to
+interview the foreign Ministers at Yokohama, but not a word of all this
+would he utter "for fear of indiscretions." He would only speak briefly
+to the point of the notification of the Mikado's order of expulsion. And
+if the foreign Ministers would be good enough to frame their reply to that
+message in such severe terms as would make an impression on the agitators
+in Kioto and Yedo, it would assist the patriotic schemes of this bustling
+statesman. So everybody in Japan from the highest to the lowest was to
+be bamboozled--even one's own colleagues in the Tycoon's service--and the
+only people with whom faith was to be kept were the detested foreigners,
+as represented by the Ministers of England and France! Well might Colonel
+Neale recoil in disgust from such a brewage of "fraud, stratagem, and
+deception." The Tycoon's officers had in all this one definite object
+in view, which was to induce the foreign squadrons then menacing Yedo to
+transfer themselves to Osaka and Hiogo and menace some one in that part of
+the empire. And, curiously enough, the presence of the French troops which
+had recently arrived in Yokohama was not only tolerated by the Tycoon,
+but they were to serve him as a lever whereby the astute Ogasawara was
+to work on the feelings of the Mikado, by representing to his sovereign
+the indignation of the foreign Governments and the difficulty of giving
+effect to an order for general expulsion, which would include a body of
+well-armed troops.
+
+For while such comedies were being enacted at Yokohama the Tycoon himself
+was at Kioto under the friendly surveillance of the Mikado and his
+faithful Daimios, and it was a reasonable enough calculation that the
+vicinity of foreign fleets might tend to moderate the counsels of these
+recalcitrants, to ease the tension between the contending factions, and
+lighten the burden of the Tycoon.
+
+Meantime the pressure of the British demands for redress of the two
+grievances was met by evasions and delays until the ultimatum stage was
+reached in June 1863. The pecuniary indemnity charged on the Tycoon,
+amounting to L110,000, was then paid under circumstances so peculiar as
+to be worth recounting as affording further insight into the agitations
+of the period. After exhaustive negotiations, leading to an ultimatum,
+an agreement was made whereby the Government was to pay the amount
+demanded by seven instalments, commencing 18th June 1863. On the 17th
+June Ogasawara, third member of the Gorogiu, wrote a curt note to say
+the money could not be paid owing to an "unforeseen circumstance," and
+postponing payment till 22nd June. On the 19th the same Minister wrote
+to Colonel Neale that he intended to have left Yedo for Yokohama for an
+interview, but was prevented by sudden illness. This was followed by an
+intimation from the Government that no payment whatever would be made.
+Diplomatic relations were thereupon broken off by the British _charge
+d'affaires_, and the conduct of affairs was placed in the hands of the
+admiral. This brought about the interview with the French Minister above
+alluded to, when the Japanese emissaries promised to pay at once the whole
+amount due under the agreement with Colonel Neale, and the specie was
+actually conveyed in four cartloads to the British Legation on 24th June.
+The only explanation given of this strange shuffle was that the numerous
+enemies of the Tycoon and of foreigners were on the watch, and threatened
+terrible consequences if any money should be paid to the foreigners. That
+difficulty, however, had been surmounted by the resourceful Japanese
+Machiavel issuing strict orders that the payment should be kept a dead
+secret from all except the Governors of Foreign Affairs themselves,--the
+four cartloads of silver, drawn each by a dozen or two of men, grunting
+laboriously at the task, from the Japanese custom-house to the British
+Legation, remaining for this purpose conveniently invisible to a cloud of
+hostile witnesses.
+
+The demands made on the Tycoon in respect of the attack on the British
+Legation and on the Richardson party being thus satisfied, it only
+remained to carry out the second portion of Earl Russell's instructions
+and exact equal satisfaction from the Prince of Satsuma, over whom the
+Yedo Government had shown itself to have no control whatever. Much delay
+had occurred, due to a variety of circumstances--mainly to the aggressive
+acts of another great Daimio, Choshiu, who possessed the western key
+of the Inland Sea. This might have necessitated a concentration of the
+British squadron in that spot--which actually came to pass a year later.
+Finally, however, Rear-Admiral Sir Augustus Kuper proceeded in August to
+the Bay of Kagoshima, the stronghold of the Satsuma principality, Colonel
+Neale accompanying him to present the demand on the prince with which he
+had been intrusted by the British Government.
+
+The sole reply vouchsafed by the Daimio was a recommendation to Colonel
+Neale to return to Yedo and treat with the Tycoon, as Satsuma had no
+relations with Great Britain. It was now the admiral's turn to act, and
+his first step in the way of reprisal was the seizing of three steamers,
+then lying in the bay, which were soon burned to relieve the squadron
+of their charge. Thereupon the Daimio's forts opened fire, and a hot
+engagement ensued in the midst of a terrific gale, which the prince's
+people afterwards said was reckoned on as a condition favourable for
+his attack on the foreign ships. There was considerable loss of life
+on both sides; much damage was done to the Daimio's defences, arsenal,
+and magazines. But the inhabitants of the town escaped injury from the
+conflagration, they having previously been removed to places of safety.
+The squadron returned to the Bay of Yedo.
+
+Within a short time the Prince of Satsuma sued for terms, paid the
+indemnity demanded, L25,000, promised to punish the murderer of
+Richardson, when caught, and became a good friend to the English, to the
+extent at least of desiring to cultivate relations with them.
+
+Thus happily ended the first hostile encounter between Japan and any
+Western Power, the first demonstration of the superiority of foreign arms,
+and, as some think, the baptism of fire which was the inaugurating rite
+by which Japan entered into the comity and the competition of the Western
+nations, and into that path of material progress which has since led to
+such astonishing results.
+
+The attitude of the Yedo Government in this affair may be said to
+have been one of placid observation. They had nothing to regret in the
+chastisement inflicted on a prince who set their authority at defiance.
+
+In the interval of time between the settlement of the indemnities for the
+two outrages and the departure of the fleet for Kagoshima the Tycoon's
+Ministers had drawn closer and closer to the foreign representatives, and
+English steamers were chartered for conveyance of the Tycoon's troops
+to Osaka with the knowledge and approval of the British authorities.
+The defence of Yokohama was by the Government voluntarily confided to
+the English and French admirals, and sanguine hopes were held out to
+the foreign representatives that if the Tycoon should succeed in his
+endeavours at Kioto, foreign relations would assume a totally different
+aspect on his return to his capital.
+
+On the other hand, while the negotiations with the Yedo Government had
+been dragging their slow length along, another of the great princes
+had taken arms against the foreign Powers indiscriminately. The Daimio
+Choshiu had made a strong stand against foreign intercourse, and in a
+well-reasoned and moderately worded letter addressed to the Tycoon in
+May 1862 he urged union between that high officer and the Mikado in order
+that the country might be placed in a condition to resist foreigners. The
+territory of the Prince of Nagato, as he was also designated, commanded
+the narrow strait of Shimonoseki, which connects the Suwonada, or Inland
+Sea, with the outer waters. This had become the regular route of steamers
+between the Bay of Yedo and the south of Japan, as at this day.
+
+Moved by an impulse which was not cleared up at the time, if ever it has
+been since, Choshiu began in July 1863 to fire from his forts and from
+armed vessels in the straits on passing steamers. French, American, and
+Dutch war-vessels were successively bombarded as they entered the passage.
+The fire was returned, and damage inflicted on the Daimio's batteries;
+but such was the power of their guns and their precision of aim that
+many were killed and wounded on the foreign ships, some of which were
+obliged to retire without getting through the strait. The prince remained
+obdurate and continued his hostile proceedings, a steamer belonging to
+the Tycoon and another belonging to Satsuma, said to be the friend and
+ally of Choshiu, coming in for the customary salutation as they passed.
+He embargoed or destroyed trading junks attempting to pass the straits,
+and thus established an effective blockade of the great commercial artery
+of Japan.
+
+It was droll to find Satsuma, soon after the affair of Kagoshima,
+appealing to the Mikado against these outrages of Nagato, and opposing
+the reactionary policy of his quondam ally. Satsuma had had his lesson;
+Nagato had yet to receive his.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sir Rutherford Alcock returned to his post after two years' furlough. His
+distinguished services had been recognised by the Queen's Government,
+who conferred on him the honour of Knight Commander of the Bath. In
+the same year, 1862, he completed his valuable work, 'The Capital of
+the Tycoon,' which for the first time brought the real Japan of that
+day to the knowledge of the reading world. This, the most important
+single literary work left by the busy pen of Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+is a storehouse of information on the history, civilisation, politics,
+religion, art, and industry of Japan, carefully sifted and presented in
+the most attractive form. It contains, moreover, a vivid narrative of
+the reopening of international intercourse with that country, and of the
+stirring incidents which marked the earlier years of its progress. It is
+also a philosophical study at first hand of the most remarkable political
+evolution that history records. Considering the official activity and high
+tension under which the materials were gathered, the writing of such a
+book, of a Japanese Grammar, and other literary and artistic studies, is
+a proof of the intellectual detachment which is usually associated with
+the higher order of mind. This work of a single pioneer observer has well
+borne the scrutiny of the innumerable host of students, grave and gay, who
+have followed in the same path. After forty years its authority remains
+intact. A short extract will at once show the character of the book and
+afford a convenient summary of the then Government of Japan:--
+
+    That the Mikado is the hereditary sovereign of the empire, the
+    descendant of a long and uninterrupted line of sovereigns of the
+    same dynasty, and the only sovereign _de jure_ recognised by all
+    Japanese from the Tycoon to the lowest beggar--a true sovereign
+    in all the legal attributes of sovereignty; and that the Tycoon
+    receives investiture from him as his lieutenant or generalissimo,
+    _and as such only_, the head of the executive, is known to most
+    readers of the present day. True, the Mikados have been shorn
+    of much of their power since Yoritomo, in 1143, profiting by
+    civil commotions among the princes of the land, and armed with
+    power as generalissimo to humble these turbulent chiefs, only
+    suppressed the troubles to arrogate to himself the greater part
+    of the sovereign power under the title given by a grateful master
+    of Ziogun. Another Pepin d'Heristal and mayor of the palace, he
+    did not care to dethrone the descendant of an illustrious line of
+    emperors, and was content with holding the reins, and transmitting
+    the same privilege to his descendants. And so the power continued
+    divided in great degree, the shadow from the substance, until
+    later, towards the close of the sixteenth century, a peasant's son
+    and favourite attendant of the actual generalissimo, but known
+    in Japanese history by the name he afterwards assumed of Taiko
+    Sama, raised himself, apparently by great abilities as well as
+    daring, to the seat of power on his master's death, and stripped
+    the reigning Mikado of the last remains of secular power.
+
+    Since that time the successive emperors, or Mikados, are brought
+    into the world, and live and die within the precincts of their
+    Court at Miaco (Kioto), the boundaries of which they never pass
+    during their whole life. Is it possible to conceive a less
+    desirable destiny? But the Zioguns, or Tycoons, as they are
+    styled in European treaties, have long been undergoing a somewhat
+    analogous process, under which all substantial power has been
+    transferred from them to the principal Daimios, or Princes,
+    who form a Great Council of State, and whose nominee the Tycoon
+    himself has become, as well, I believe, as all his chief Ministers
+    or councillors. They exercise, if they do not claim, the right
+    of removing both Tycoon and Ministers, and a voice potential in
+    all affairs of State. For legislative changes even the almost
+    forgotten Mikado must indeed give his consent, never of course
+    refused when any unanimity prevails....
+
+    The Mikado of the day is the exact type of the last descendant
+    of Clovis, sitting "sad and solitary, effeminate and degenerate,"
+    doomed only to wield "a barren sceptre" and sigh away a burdensome
+    and useless existence of mock pageantry; never permitted to pass
+    the gates of his prison-palace....
+
+    This double machinery of a titular sovereign who only reigns,
+    and a lieutenant of the empire who only governs and does not
+    reign, from generation to generation, is certainly something
+    very curious; and by long continuance it seems to have led to a
+    duplicate system such as never existed in any other part of the
+    world, carried out to almost every detail of existence. Every
+    office is doubled; every man is alternately a watcher and watched.
+    Not only the whole administrative machinery is in duplicate,
+    but the most elaborate system of check and countercheck, on the
+    most approved Machiavellian principle, is here developed with a
+    minuteness and perfection as regards details difficult at first
+    to realise. As upon all this is grafted a system of more than
+    oriental mendacity, we feel launched into a world of shadows and
+    make-believes hard to grapple with in the practical business of
+    life. Of their mendacity and cynical views respecting it I had
+    many illustrations. One of the official gentry upon a particular
+    occasion having been found by a foreign Minister in deliberate
+    contradiction with himself, was asked, somewhat abruptly perhaps,
+    how he could reconcile it to his conscience to utter such palpable
+    untruths. With perfect calmness and self-possession he replied, "I
+    told you last month that such and such a thing had been done, and
+    now I tell you the thing has not been done at all. I am an officer
+    whose business it is to carry out the instructions I receive and
+    to say what I am told to say. What have I to do with its truth or
+    falsehood?"...
+
+    To return to the Tycoon and the governors of the early middle
+    ages, with its suzerain and feudatories, its fiefs and a
+    phantom king, with hereditary mayors of the palace and chiefs
+    with 10,000 retainers, each one holding himself as good as the
+    Tycoon, who must live in constant dread of open revolt or secret
+    assassination, what a pleasant state of existence for all parties
+    it reveals! Each of these territorial magnates or great Daimios
+    is practically independent of the Tycoon when within his own
+    territory, with power of life and death over all his subjects
+    and dependants; ... even an imperial passport will not secure an
+    intruder's life....
+
+    Power has passed in no small degree from the Tycoon's hands, as
+    it formerly did from the Mikado's, and now remains chiefly in an
+    executive Council of State, consisting of five Ministers, and
+    these again held in no small check, if not in subservience, by
+    the Daimios and feudal chiefs of the higher order, amounting to
+    some 360. Although these do not actually form a Chamber of Lords
+    nor assemble in a body at stated periods, nothing legislative, it
+    is said, can be done without their assent obtained.... They hold
+    themselves too high to demean themselves by taking part in the
+    administration, or holding office, under the Tycoon. But neither
+    the Tycoon nor the Ministers, separately or collectively, can
+    venture upon a change in their laws and customs without their
+    sanction and a further confirmation by the phantom sovereign of
+    Miaco....
+
+    In the mean time, between the Mikado who nominally wields the
+    sceptre--the Tycoon, a youth who no less nominally governs the
+    kingdom, and is but fourth in rank in the Japan red-book, for
+    three of the Mikado's officers take precedence--and the Daimios
+    great and small, ... the administrative machinery of the realm
+    seems to be kept in order.
+
+Another incident of the year was Sir Rutherford Alcock's second marriage
+to a friend of the earlier Shanghai days, the widow of the Rev. T. Lowder,
+first consular chaplain of that settlement. They had been both widowed
+about the same time. They were about the same age too, and the union,
+based on a deep-rooted and matured affection, proved an exceptionally
+happy one during thirty-five years, till death divided them. Lady Alcock
+accompanied her husband on his return to Japan, where they arrived in
+March 1864.
+
+During the two years of the Minister's absence affairs in Japan had, as we
+have seen, been advancing rapidly--whether towards a reasonable solution
+or to a catastrophe was as yet doubtful. The agitation against the foreign
+treaties had been gathering force and consistency; the Tycoon's position
+was becoming more and more precarious, his existence being pledged to
+the annulment of the hated treaties. Encouraged by the success which
+had attended his mission to Europe in 1862, he despatched another in
+the beginning of 1864, to represent to the European Governments that the
+public feeling in Japan was growing worse every day, that the Tycoon would
+not be able to protect foreigners in Yokohama, and that, in short, the
+port must be closed and foreign trade confined to Hakodate and Nagasaki.
+The mission, already on its way, was met by Sir Rutherford Alcock in
+Shanghai, where he had an opportunity of personal conference with the
+envoys. The situation was thus summarised by the Minister in a despatch
+to the Foreign Office, 31st March 1864:--
+
+    It is just two years since I left Japan in order to be present in
+    London when the first mission sent by the Tycoon to the treaty
+    Powers in Europe should arrive. Returning to my post a month
+    ago, I met a second mission on its way to the same Courts. These
+    two embassies seem to me to form very significant events in the
+    history of Japan and its relations with foreign States.... I
+    consider the signing of the protocol of June 1862 (afterwards
+    adopted with unimportant modifications by all the other Powers),
+    freely granting without abatement all that the Tycoon asked, was
+    the culminating act and fitting end of the conciliatory policy
+    so consistently adhered to from the beginning. It was impossible
+    to concede more without abandoning the treaties altogether.
+    Thenceforth it only remained to gather the promised fruit of
+    greater security to life, and freer intercourse within narrowed
+    limits, which, for the moment at least, appeared unattainable in
+    the wider range of five ports and two cities.... The avowed object
+    of the second mission is to declare that all the hopes held out
+    by the Tycoon of the probable results of the first concessions
+    have been illusory.... The only fruit has been indiscriminate
+    aggression, increased insecurity, calling for measures of coercion
+    on the part of all the treaty Powers; finally, a decree for the
+    expulsion of foreigners, with a mission from the Tycoon to declare
+    his utter inability to maintain the treaties, and to suggest a
+    surrender of all the rights and privileges they were framed to
+    secure in perpetuity.
+
+The mission was not successful in its main purpose, and soon returned to
+Japan to report progress.
+
+
+VI. THE CRISIS.
+
+    Foreign rights must be sustained by force or definitively
+    abandoned--Organises a retaliatory demonstration against
+    Nagato--Forts at Shimonoseki attacked by international squadron,
+    after delays--Satisfactory results--Nagato claims authority of
+    Mikado for his attacks on foreign ships--His defeat gave courage
+    to Tycoon--Anti-foreign measures promptly withdrawn--The treaties
+    of 1858 ratified by Mikado--Sir R. Alcock's recall--Lord Russell's
+    _amende_.
+
+The Tycoon's Government had actually succeeded by patient persistence in
+evil-doing in making Yedo "too hot to hold" the foreign representatives,
+who had in consequence gradually accustomed themselves to residence in the
+freer air of Yokohama. "Incendiarism and assassination had done their work
+and effected the end for which they were employed," writes Sir Rutherford
+Alcock, who goes on to remark that "the recovery of this lapsed right"
+(of residence in the capital) "will have now to follow, not precede, other
+measures." So far had the foreign nations retreated before the forces of
+reaction, forces which necessarily acquired cohesion and momentum with
+each retrograde step of the opposing Powers. The country, meaning thereby
+the official hierarchy, was now at least, if not before, practically
+unanimous. Mikado, Daimios, the Tycoon himself, however they may have been
+embittered by their mutual jealousies, were now united, and passionately
+united, in the determination to expel the foreigners, so far as it might
+be possible,--on which latter point, however, there was room for great
+differences of opinion. The Prince of Nagato might be a rebel against
+the Tycoon's or the Mikado's authority, both of whom had disavowed his
+proceedings, but his determination to block the passage of the Inland Sea
+and suppress all trade but his own was an important part of the national
+policy of expulsion. It appeared that the only friend of foreigners at
+that time was the Prince of Satsuma, who had become a changed man since
+his stronghold was bombarded, and he began to see that the restoration of
+imperial rule and deposition of the Tycoon might be accomplished by the
+assistance of foreigners. That event was undoubtedly accelerated by the
+policy of the first two British ministers in Japan.
+
+The new position was reviewed under a sense of deep personal
+responsibility by Sir Rutherford Alcock in several despatches during
+the spring of 1864, and, as we have seen, the conclusion he arrived at
+was that the utmost limit of concession to Japanese exigencies had been
+reached: everything had been given up to them that could be given up
+without abandoning the treaties entirely and leaving the country. There
+was not even room left for negotiation. "No attempt at a compromise of
+such conflicting pretensions could possibly succeed." "Compromise or
+concession is plainly impossible in the nature of things." Moreover, Earl
+Russell had enjoined on both the _charge d'affaires_ and the Minister to
+stand firmly for their rights. His latest instruction to Sir Rutherford
+Alcock on his departure from England was, "You will in any case require
+from the Tycoon and the Daimios the execution of the treaty." In the face
+of a determination to annul the treaties this necessitated some vigorous
+action.
+
+The most obvious and most straightforward course indicated was to deal
+a decisive blow against the Prince of Nagato, who for nearly twelve
+months had set the whole of the Western Powers at defiance. He was more
+accessible from the salt water than even Satsuma; he was repudiated,
+hypocritically or not, by his sovereign; and a punitive expedition to
+Shimonoseki would not involve detriment to trade or inflict injury on
+innocent people. Such an operation had, moreover, much to recommend it
+from the point of view of general Japanese policy; for "in attacking
+in his stronghold the most violent and rash of his class, it may be
+possible," said the British Minister, "by one blow to paralyse the whole
+body of Daimios.... The command of the Inland Sea and the whole internal
+trade of that portion of Japan which must of necessity be in our hands
+during any operations would do more, probably, to bring the Court of the
+Mikado and of Yedo to a sense of the danger and folly of entering upon
+hostilities with the treaty Powers than any course of diplomacy.... The
+alternative is a probable catastrophe, and a war of a protracted kind at
+no distant period."
+
+About this time the appeals which for two years had been made in vain to
+the British military authorities in China for a sufficient force to give
+security at Yokohama were listened to, and a regiment of infantry, the
+20th, and of marines, were detached from Hongkong and a force of Beloochis
+from Shanghai. One of the anomalies of an unprecedented situation was that
+the Government, which was concerting measures to expel all foreigners,
+was nevertheless constrained to provide accommodation for these troops,
+"which were not to make war, but to prevent acts which would lead to war."
+For all that, the presence of foreign troops on the sacred soil was far
+from palatable, even though the Tycoon might secretly acquiesce in the
+reasoning by which the British Minister had commended a measure which was
+in any case an unavoidable necessity.
+
+The arrival of these troops had a marked effect on the tactics of the
+Tycoon. For ten months his Government, which had been powerless and
+passive regarding the warlike proceeding of Choshiu, now became alarmed
+lest the foreigners were about to take the law into their own hands with
+that recalcitrant Prince. The Tycoon's Ministers began to affect much
+concern for his punishment and repression. They would at once move against
+him, and until the result of their efforts was known they urged that the
+British garrison should remain absolutely passive in Yokohama.
+
+For effective action against the Daimio Choshiu it was necessary that an
+agreement should be come to among the treaty Powers, three of whom had
+been in actual collision with his batteries and armed ships. Individually
+Great Britain had not received this direct provocation, and was only
+interested in the general question of the obstruction to commerce and in
+the maintenance of the political status of the Powers. How the concert
+was brought about would be an interesting inquiry, but we may safely
+conclude that the achievement owed much to two causes, one positive and
+one negative. The former was the strong will, clear sight, and absolute
+fearlessness of responsibility of the British Minister; the latter was
+the non-existence of any ocean telegraph. For, as we have so frequently
+seen nearer home, the direct efforts of the Great Powers to arrive at
+any agreement for common action are always protracted, often abortive,
+and seldom successful. The decision in this case had to be taken by the
+agents on the spot, personally intimate with each other, acting on general
+principles and on a free interpretation of the instructions from their
+Governments. And so it came to pass that within three months after Sir
+Rutherford Alcock's arrival in Japan the Ministers of France, the United
+States, the Netherlands, and Great Britain had signed a protocol in which
+they agreed to make a fresh representation in the nature of an ultimatum
+to the Tycoon's Government, calling upon it to adopt means to put an end
+to the hostilities of the Prince of Nagato, and informing it that on no
+account would their Governments allow the port of Yokohama to be closed.
+This agreement of May 1864 was the natural sequel to a declaration of 25th
+July 1863, by which the same four Powers had intimated to the Tycoon the
+necessity of reopening the Inland Sea, but which had remained without any
+acknowledgment by the Government. The new _note identique_ addressed to
+the Gorogiu was equally left unacknowledged by that body.
+
+Nothing therefore remained but to take the respective naval commanders
+into counsel. The Ministers had no authority over them, but it was quickly
+found that the concert of admirals and captains was as perfect as that
+of the diplomatic body. The ships of the four Powers--Great Britain,
+France, United States, and Netherlands--were placed under the command of
+Vice-Admiral Sir Augustus Kuper, and a plan of action was settled upon.
+
+The advance to Shimonoseki was still, however, delayed by two
+circumstances. The first was the return from Europe of two Japanese
+students, out of five who had been sent there the previous year by that
+very Prince of Choshiu against whom coercive measures were about to be
+undertaken. These young men, hearing while abroad of the proceedings
+of their chief, and convinced, from what they had seen in Europe, of
+the overwhelming resources of the Powers, that Choshiu was bringing
+disaster on himself in forcing battle on such antagonists, resolved to
+hurry back to Japan with the express object of warning their prince of
+his danger. The arrival of the two youths in Yedo was thought by the
+foreign Ministers to offer some chance of coming to terms with Choshiu
+without the arbitrament of arms, and accordingly facilities were afforded
+by Vice-Admiral Kuper for landing the two travellers at the nearest
+convenient point to their prince's territory. They were intrusted with
+overtures of peace in the form of a long memorandum from the British
+Minister, reviewing the whole situation, and explaining the attitude of
+the Powers and the hopelessness of the armed resistance of any Daimio. The
+messengers brought back to the rendezvous, where a light-draught vessel
+waited for them, an oral reply from the prince explaining his attitude
+and asking for three months' delay to enable Choshiu to confer with the
+Mikado and Tycoon, by whose orders he had done what he had done, and
+without whose consent he dare not change his policy. It is interesting
+to recall the fact that the names of the two youthful emissaries were Ito
+and Inouye, who have since played so distinguished and honourable a part
+in the development of their country.
+
+The second cause of suspension of action against Choshiu was the news
+of a convention concluded in Paris between the Japanese envoys and the
+French Foreign Minister, dated June 20, 1864, in which this very object of
+the reopening of the Straits of Shimonoseki was provided for. Were this
+convention to be ratified by the Tycoon the immediate cause of dispute
+would be removed. The matter, however, was disposed of with more than its
+accustomed promptitude by the Japanese Government, who curtly refused to
+ratify the French convention. The Tycoon's Ministers declared themselves
+unable to carry out the agreement, and to ratify it would merely be to
+add another to their too onerous obligations. Admiral Kuper was finally
+given a free hand on August 25, and before the middle of September the
+forts and ships of the recalcitrant prince were completely destroyed by
+the Allied squadrons, not without considerable resistance and some loss
+to the assailants. The action was conducted with admirable harmony among
+the officers engaged, and the reciprocity of compliments between the
+respective commanders-in-chief, especially between the French and English
+admirals, is edifying reading in these later days.
+
+The negotiations which followed on board the British flagship ended in
+the most satisfactory manner. Choshiu submitted with a good grace, while
+apologetically throwing the blame of his hostile proceedings on the two
+higher authorities, the Mikado and the Tycoon.
+
+All the Daimios had been notified of the decision of the Mikado and
+the Tycoon to break off relations with foreigners from 20th June 1863.
+Three days after this notice its purport was confirmed, and a positive
+order given to "make military preparations with diligence that the ugly
+barbarians may be swept out." This was promptly followed by a third yet
+more explicit. "Bearing this in mind" (the date of expulsion, 20th June
+1863), "you must omit nothing which is required to complete the maritime
+defences of your province, and you must be ready to sweep them off should
+they attack you unawares." A liberal interpretation of these imperial
+decrees might be held to cover the aggressive proceedings of the most
+powerful Daimio in the empire, whose province happened to command its most
+important strategic position, and who watched the continual passing of
+foreign ships under the guns of his forts. The time when Choshiu commenced
+his attacks on passing ships coincided so exactly with the date assigned
+by the Mikado for the general rupture with foreigners, that it is hardly
+possible to dissociate his act from the scheme of his suzerain. When
+subsequently called before the council, Choshiu boldly defied both Tycoon
+and Mikado, declaring that he alone had obeyed the imperial mandate, and
+deserved gratitude for executing single-handed the law of the empire for
+the extermination of foreigners. The rupture was decreed for June 20.
+The American steamer Pembroke was fired on on the 25th, being, no doubt,
+the first foreign vessel to pass the straits after the 20th. Whatever
+ulterior designs this great feudatory may have entertained, therefore, he
+was not altogether without provocation in making a raid on the Mikado's
+capital, which he did in the month of August following, and for which he
+was condemned by his suzerain to a term of seclusion within his palace,
+the usual form of punishment of an offending feudatory, which implies much
+more than would appear from this mild definition.
+
+On the capture of the forts at Shimonoseki the Government at once stepped
+in and assumed all the obligations, pecuniary and other, which the issue
+of the collision imposed on the Prince of Nagato. The town of Shimonoseki
+had been spared, but held to ransom. A convention was signed whereby the
+Tycoon agreed to pay an indemnity of three million dollars, which was
+eventually paid in full, the last instalment of it after the fall of the
+Shogunate.
+
+Taking heart of grace from his defeat by foreigners, the Tycoon, if
+not the Mikado also, began to coerce Choshiu on his own account. Not
+being able to reach him conveniently in his principality, the Tycoon's
+Government set to work to destroy his vast establishment at Yedo. The fire
+brigade was employed in this work, and such was the extent of it that
+several thousand men were said to be engaged for three days in burning
+down the buildings and fittings. Moreover, when categorically questioned
+by the foreign Minister whether, now that Satsuma and Choshiu had been
+brought under control, "the Tycoon would find it possible to give full
+effect to the treaties, and to deal with any recalcitrant or rebellious
+Daimios," the confidential Minister of the Tycoon replied without
+hesitation, "Yes, certainly."
+
+The defeat of the two most warlike of the Daimios illuminated the
+situation and cleared the way for more intelligent action all round.
+To the Japanese Government it was once for all demonstrated that it was
+not by force of arms that the "ugly barbarians" were to be driven from
+the country. The foreign fleets were for the time being invincible, and
+the Powers had also shown themselves ready not only to act, but to act
+together. There was, besides, a strong garrison of foreign troops in
+Yokohama--a British force of 1200 men of all arms, with a marked tendency
+to increase. The Mikado and the Tycoon wisely acquiesced in the situation,
+so far as foreigners were concerned, not necessarily abandoning their
+policy, but at any rate deferring its execution.
+
+Their immediate attention was directed to the internal commotions of the
+country, which could not now be long in coming to an explosion. A new
+planet had intersected their system and upset its balance. There could
+be no rest, therefore, until a new equilibrium was found. Foreign forces
+chastising the great feudatories, with the tacit acquiescence and for the
+benefit of the suzerain, could only be a step either towards dissolution
+and subjugation, or towards renaissance and national unity. Feudalism had
+had its day and served its turn; it was wholly incompatible with the new
+relations which had been imposed on the country by the foreign Powers. But
+where is the State, ancient or modern, that could entirely remodel itself,
+as it were, on the field of battle and in front of the enemy? That must
+remain the proud speciality of Japan.
+
+The effect of the action at Shimonoseki on the position of foreigners
+was at once made apparent in various ways. The Tycoon's Government had
+laid a secret embargo on raw silk sent to market at Yokohama as part and
+parcel of the general imperial design of closing that port, or, in the
+alternative, of a gigantic scheme of Government monopoly of the whole
+foreign trade, such being the only form of commerce for which the Japanese
+officials had any real sympathy. The stoppage had lasted three months.
+After Choshiu's defeat the restrictions were at once officially withdrawn,
+though considerable efforts were still required to give full effect to the
+withdrawal. Once more, also, "the Tycoon resolved to abandon the policy
+of equivocation and duplicity," and to inform the Mikado frankly of the
+impossibility of closing the port or of refusing to maintain the treaties.
+
+The moment seemed opportune for raising the question of the ratification
+of the treaties by the Mikado, in respect to which Sir Rutherford Alcock
+made certain plain statements in a letter addressed to the Tycoon in
+person. "There exists," he said, "a want of accord on the subject of
+foreign relations between the Mikado and Tycoon.... The Mikado, by
+requiring the abrogation of treaties, has reduced the Tycoon to the
+alternative of either disobeying his legitimate sovereign or bringing
+on his country all the calamities of war.... The only solution of the
+difficulty that promises either peace or security is the ratification
+of the treaties by the Mikado." The four foreign representatives
+simultaneously pressed the same consideration on the Government, eliciting
+from the Japanese Ministers the admission, "We perfectly agree with you,
+it should now take place."
+
+It now became the business of the British Minister to show to his
+Government that the proceedings at Shimonoseki fulfilled in every point
+the instructions he had received from the Foreign Office. This he did in
+a despatch dated September 28, 1864, and so convincingly that Earl Russell
+wrote in reply--
+
+    Your despatch of the 28th of September is a successful vindication
+    of the policy you have pursued.... My despatches of the 26th of
+    July were written with a view to discourage the interruption of a
+    progressive trade by acts of hostility, and to forbid recourse to
+    force while the treaty was generally observed. Those despatches,
+    you will understand, remain in full force.
+
+    But the documents you have sent me, which arrived by the last
+    mail, show that the silk trade was almost wholly interrupted by
+    the Tycoon, who seemed to be preparing to abet or to abandon the
+    project of driving out foreigners according to the boldness or
+    the timidity of our demeanour.
+
+    In this position there could be no better course than to punish
+    and disarm the Daimio Prince Nagato.
+
+    That course had these three separate advantages:--
+
+    1. It gave the best promise of concurrence of the four Powers,
+    as France, Holland, and the United States had all been sufferers
+    from the Prince of Choshiu's violations of treaty, while we were
+    most exposed to risk and loss by any Japanese attack on Yokohama.
+
+    2. It involved proceeding only against a rebellious vassal, and
+    not against the Mikado or the Tycoon.
+
+    3. If the operation should prove successful, the four Powers were
+    under no obligation to undertake further hostilities unless fresh
+    provocation should be received.
+
+    Her Majesty's Government have received with great satisfaction
+    the account of the naval operations of the four squadrons, and
+    their result, contained in your despatch of September 28. Those
+    operations were conducted in the most gallant manner; the loss was
+    not considerable; the four Powers acted in harmony together; no
+    defenceless city suffered during the hostilities; and the terms
+    granted to the offending Daimio were moderate towards him, and
+    sufficient for us.
+
+    I have only to add, that I am commanded to express to you her
+    Majesty's full approbation of your conduct.
+
+So far so good. But the slow mail service of those days, and the entire
+absence of the telegraph, admitted of wonderful interpolations in
+correspondence with such far-off countries as Japan. Events marched
+quicker than the course of post could follow them, and despatches were
+sometimes written which the writer would have given a good deal to recall.
+Such was the case here. We have said that soon after Sir Rutherford
+Alcock's return to Japan he addressed some weighty despatches to the
+Foreign Office on the situation, undoubtedly leading up to the ultimate
+employment of force in vindication of the foreign treaties. This was in
+full accord with the spirit of Earl Russell's instructions dated December
+17, 1863. These were--
+
+  1. To require from the Tycoon and the Daimios the execution of the
+    engagements of the treaty.
+
+  2. To consult the admiral and any military officer who may be sent
+    to Japan as to the means of strengthening and holding our position
+    in Yokohama.
+
+  3. To endeavour to procure from Hongkong the services of a regiment
+    of infantry.
+
+  4. The admiral to be authorised to land marines and destroy the
+    batteries which have been erected for the evident purpose of
+    interrupting the passage of our merchandise, &c.; but he must take
+    care that no unarmed and peaceable town should be bombarded.
+
+But when the Foreign Secretary received the Minister's despatches of
+May, following the terms of these instructions to their only logical
+conclusion, he became alarmed at the prospect of active measures, and
+by despatch of August 8 he recalled the Minister under the pretext of
+the need of a personal consultation on the state of affairs. This was
+followed up by some temporising despatches, saying the Inland Sea was of
+no consequence; that the Tycoon was professing an intention to do all
+that was necessary; and that the Tycoon and Mikado, seeing the British
+forces strong though passive, would gradually drop all hostile policy.
+How were these vacillating utterances to be reconciled with the position
+so decidedly taken up eight months before?
+
+A disturbing influence had intervened, causing Lord Russell to see Japan
+at an oblique angle. Certain other brave words of the Foreign Secretary
+in that year, 1864, in connection with the Danish Duchies, had also had
+their current turned awry and lost the name of action. Japan was but
+an echo. Of course, after the definite energetic policy of the Queen's
+representative in Japan had proved a brilliant success, had involved no
+complications, had, in fact, been the means of temporarily uniting four of
+the treaty Powers, Lord Russell was ready enough to make the _amende_ to
+Sir Rutherford Alcock, though to have cancelled his order of recall would
+have been too frank an admission of error to expect from any statesman.
+In this manner was the career of Sir Rutherford Alcock in Japan brought
+to an abrupt, but highly honourable, conclusion. He received his letter
+of recall while in the act of completing the final convention with the
+Tycoon respecting the affair of the Prince of Choshiu. The announcement
+was heard in Japan almost with consternation. The Tycoon's Ministers were
+particularly grieved about it, and they sent a strongly-worded letter
+to Earl Russell to be laid before the Queen, dwelling on the important
+services the envoy had rendered to their country, and begging that he
+might be sent back to them as soon as the urgent affairs that required
+his presence in England had been settled. The mercantile communities of
+the treaty ports were no less warm in their commendation of the services
+rendered to them and to general commerce by the decided measures adopted
+by the Minister, and in their regret at his departure. "The principal
+triumph of your success," they said in a farewell address, "lies in
+the fact that you have accomplished all this not only without causing a
+collision between her Majesty's Government and that of the Tycoon, but
+by actually strengthening the Government from which you obtained the
+concessions, as well as by acting in such a way as to secure the cordial
+co-operation of the foreign Ministers resident at this port."
+
+Admiral Kuper took so serious a view of the loss of a representative
+of such unrivalled experience and virility, that he took it on himself
+to address to the Minister privately a weighty appeal, on public and
+patriotic grounds, to postpone his departure until at least he had time to
+refer again to the Foreign Office, which on subsequent information must
+certainly take a different view of the action of their Minister. That
+the admiral correctly appreciated the attitude of the Foreign Office is
+sufficiently shown by Lord Russell's despatches already quoted, and by
+that dated January 31, 1865, which concludes, "I shall wish you to return
+at once to Yokohama, to perform in Japan such additional meritorious
+services as may be expected from your tried ability and long experience."
+But Sir Rutherford Alcock did not consider that the episode would have
+left him the prestige necessary for further useful service in Japan, and
+he declined to return to that country.
+
+Sir Rutherford remained at his post long enough to secure the fulfilment
+of the primary objects of the Allied expedition against Choshiu: the
+reopening of trade, which had been practically closed both at Yokohama and
+Nagasaki, and a number of most important improvements in the conditions
+of foreign residence in Yokohama. These comprised a parade-ground and
+racecourse, hospitals, slaughter-houses, filling in of swamp, a clear
+and convenient site for consular buildings, a good carriage-road seven
+miles in circuit, away from the town, and various other extensions of the
+comforts of foreign residents.
+
+The ratification of the treaties, too, by the Mikado was virtually
+arranged. The very day before Sir Rutherford Alcock embarked for England
+he was enabled to report to his Government that the law interdicting
+intercourse and putting all foreigners under the ban of outlawry had
+been modified, and its hostile provisions repealed. This was considered
+tantamount to the Mikado's acknowledgment of the Tycoon's treaties, and
+thus the vice of illegality which had attached to them from their origin
+was at last removed. A year later the Mikado distinctly and in so many
+words approved of the treaties. This, therefore, may fairly be considered
+Sir Rutherford Alcock's last service to his country in Japan. It was
+not, however, till 1868, after the attack on Sir H. Parkes while on his
+way to the palace of the Mikado, that an edict was published, over the
+imperial sign manual, decreeing that the lives of foreigners in Japan were
+thenceforth to be deemed as sacred as the lives of the subjects of the
+empire.
+
+But it would not have been Japan without an assassination to mark the
+close of the Minister's eventful career. Two officers of the British
+garrison, Major Baldwin and Lieutenant Bird, on an excursion on horseback
+to the romantic district of Kamakura, and near the celebrated bronze
+statue of Buddha, were stealthily attacked in broad day by a couple of
+two-sworded men, and mercilessly cut down. One of them lived late into
+the night, spoke, and drank tea, when the assassins, or accomplices
+in the crime, paid another visit to the dying man and, as in the case
+of Richardson, despatched him with ghastly ferocity. The Tycoon might
+truthfully say, "An enemy hath done this"; but the position of the
+Government had been so much strengthened by the collapse of Choshiu that
+the Tycoon's officers were no longer afraid of pursuing the criminals
+and bringing them to justice, especially as they happened to be _ronin_,
+or masterless men. "Twelve similar onslaughts," wrote Sir Rutherford,
+"have been made on foreigners, and in no one instance has justice had its
+due." For "even in the only case where men were executed, the Government
+did not venture in exposing their heads to declare their crime, or admit
+that it was for an attack upon foreigners." The present case was to
+prove an exception to the hitherto unbroken rule. Within a month certain
+accomplices in the crime were brought to punishment in Yokohama, and there
+one of the principals, who was executed in presence of British officers,
+died boasting of his crime and claiming the highest patriotic sanction
+for it.
+
+Sir Rutherford and Lady Alcock took their departure from Yokohama on
+December 24, 1864.
+
+
+VII. THE BIRTH OF NEW JAPAN.
+
+    Four years of civil strife--Cessation of efforts to eject
+    foreigners--The adoption of foreign appliances--Educational
+    missions--Unanimity of Japanese in cultivating foreign
+    intercourse--The merits of those who promoted the movement--Sir R.
+    Alcock's services in the cause of Japanese progress--His services
+    to Japanese art.
+
+"Is this the commencement of a civil war?" wrote the British Minister
+during his first year of residence in Japan. When he left the civil war
+was well advanced. Feverish energy was being displayed by every party
+in the State. There was a race for foreign ships and armaments among
+the Daimios; the Tycoon was involved in a struggle for existence; the
+legitimate sovereign was asserting his authority, and the feudatories were
+rallying to his support. Neither the immediate nor the remote issues were
+clear, but the sword was out of the scabbard, and would not be sheathed
+again until a new order of things should be established.
+
+The civil strife, which ended within four years in the abolition of
+feudalism and the assumption by the Mikado by divine right of all
+administrative functions, may be called revolution, restoration, or merely
+evolution, according to the point of view from which we regard it. The
+hand of the foreigner had loosened the stone from the mountain-side, but
+it rolled down by its own laws. The introduction of foreigners into the
+country brought down vengeance on the Tycoon as the responsible agent.
+To abase him and transfer the sceptre to another house was perhaps as
+far as the views of the hostile princes in the first instance extended.
+The consummation of the movement in the unification of the State, though
+its natural fruit, grew and ripened with a rapidity which bewildered
+the lookers-on. From the moment when the goal was descried a profound
+unanimity of sentiment urged the leaders towards it, the territorial
+magnates being themselves the first to propose the abolition of the
+privileges, titles, and responsibilities of their order, which stood
+in the way of nationality in the larger sense. But wide and manifold as
+were the issues raised in the course of the brief but fierce struggle, it
+concerns us chiefly to remember that the avowed impulse which gave the
+first impetus to the whole was the passionate purpose of expelling the
+foreigner. This was the rallying cry that brought the entire nation into
+line. The presence of the foreigner on the soil sacred to the gods was
+an insult and a deep humiliation. The manifestoes of the Daimios, their
+invective against the Tycoon, the distress of the Mikado and his constant
+imploring appeals for help to purge the land of its defilement, testify
+to the sincerity and universality of the feeling. In that sentiment there
+was no difference between Tycoon and Mikado, the Daimios attached to the
+one and those attached to the other: they were only divided as to the time
+and the means, the risks and the consequences.
+
+From the first the foreigners had evidence of the tenacious character
+of the Japanese: their persistency in face of difficulties and
+discouragements, and, above all, their readiness, not only to risk, but
+deliberately to sacrifice, their lives in the pursuit of an object. Such
+a spirit would render any people formidable,--most formidable when united
+in a common purpose; and their genius for combination is one of their
+most typical characteristics. What these qualities have already led to
+the world has partly seen; what they will hereafter lead to is perhaps as
+much hidden from our generation as the phenomena of the present were from
+the preceding one. But from the earliest days of the new intercourse it
+was hardly possible to misconstrue the seriousness of the Japanese people,
+though their refinement of taste, especially in art, their pleasant
+vices, and their addiction to light and frivolous recreation, often masked
+their more solid qualities. One word may possibly reconcile the seeming
+contradiction. They are an intensely vital people, living every part of
+their lives earnestly, which, however, is no synonym for solemnly. The
+gravest and the gayest have their appointed place in the social system,
+whose parts appear to be co-ordinated as if the whole were a direct
+inspiration of nature itself, elastic, accommodating, ever renewing
+itself, and yet so highly organised that there is no unemployed surplus,
+no waste material, nothing that does not find an effective place in the
+great cosmic product. That many practical men have misjudged the Japanese
+is beyond doubt. Indeed it is the so-called practical men who are the
+most apt to misjudge human phenomena, seeing that their system leaves out
+of account all they do not understand, which is usually a good deal. It
+was long thought that the Japanese were mere copyists and imitators, and
+disparaging epithets have been applied to them under that misapprehension.
+But, rightly considered, their very imitation was the clearest proof of
+their depth. They had been overcome by the foreigner, therefore they
+would help themselves to his weapons--all his weapons, educational,
+scientific, ethical, and not merely the machinery of war. This was not
+imitation, but adaptation and assimilation. It was no more imitation than
+what is seen every day among Americans, for instance, who so successfully
+"exploit" the ideas of Europe, and improve on them. It gradually dawned
+upon the intelligent few who watched the process from the beginning that
+the adaptation of European customs and costume was nothing but a strict
+application of the laws of evolution. The Japanese began spontaneously
+to appropriate ideas from the dress of Europeans; modifications, scarce
+perceptible, were adopted at first by servants. Certain malefactors
+advertised for by the Yedo police as early as 1862 were described as
+wearing "riding trousers and coats of tight foreign fashion." Each article
+of attire was adopted on its merits, for convenience and for no other
+reason, one of the first items being buttons. Strange combinations were
+sometimes seen, such as a billycock hat, or policeman's cast-off coat with
+a few buttons left on, surmounting a pair of bare legs shod with wooden
+clogs. Such bizarre combinations were not uncommon during the time of
+transition. The growing habits of travel necessitated a revolution in the
+coiffure. The ancient custom of shaving part of the head and training the
+truncated queue required a staff of skilled barbers to accompany every
+travelling party. The expense and inconvenience were intolerable, and so
+the old head-dressing had to go the way of obsolete things.
+
+The Japanese deliberately resolved to learn every secret thing that any
+foreign nation possessed. To do this they had to be conciliatory, so as
+to gain access to schools, laboratories, arsenals, factories of every
+kind. Japanese swarmed in the workshops of Europe and America; they took
+military, naval, mercantile, and industrial service wherever they could
+get it.[10] In such pursuits an outlandish costume would have been a
+severe handicap, not merely marking them as strangers, but hampering them
+for the mechanical work they might be engaged in. To be the comrades of
+the foreign workmen they must dress like them, and minimise all personal
+peculiarities. It is often said by those who regret the change that
+the native dress was so becoming, and that the Japanese looked ever so
+much nicer in their own than in foreign garb--which may be true, though
+irrelevant. To look nice was not what they were aiming at. They had to
+join the family of nations, to become men of the world, to comply with
+all civilised observances, and as much as in them lay to avoid attracting
+notice to their nationality. Such a programme necessitated adoption of
+the common costume of the Western nations, and if we do not accuse German,
+French, English, and Americans of being imitators, who for similar reasons
+adopt a uniform society habit, why should the Japanese be imitators when
+doing the very same thing? Let the world not deceive itself,--there is
+something more serious than copying in the development of the Japanese
+nationality. Borrowers they have undoubtedly been, and that on a grand
+scale. Religion, philosophy, language, literature, art, and artistic
+manufacture they took bodily from China, apparently through Korea. But who
+shall say they have not improved upon their teachers? That is a kind of
+borrowing which may yet carry Japan very far. We should not forget that
+even a Shakespeare may be an incorrigible borrower.
+
+From the first appearance of Commodore Perry's "black ships" in 1853
+one idea took complete possession of the Japanese ruling classes, and
+inspired all their manifestoes. How far the common people were in sympathy
+with their rulers there was no evidence available to show. The idea was
+that their nation was weak, and in its seclusion had been outstripped by
+the nations of the West, and that they must make every exertion to arm
+themselves in order to be able to cope with and to expel the barbarians.
+All their temporising with the enemy had this end in view, and they
+followed it up with such zeal, intelligence, and national harmony, as to
+excite both wonder and admiration. In the building up of their nation, and
+giving it a status among the military and industrial Powers, the Japanese
+freely and extensively employed foreigners in all capacities, dispensing
+with their services when done with as naturally as a builder dispenses
+with his temporary scaffolding. They used foreigners from the outset,
+but have never allowed foreigners to use them. They have thus remained
+the masters in their own house, and therein has lain their strength,
+present and prospective. Teaching they have recompensed with coin; and
+though confidences have been received with courtesy, their own plans and
+purposes have been veiled from the most honoured of their tutors. Their
+attitude has remained what it was in the days of the Dutch monopoly,
+when instruction in Western lore, including naval and military science,
+was freely imparted to them, while the uses to which it was applied were
+studiously hidden from the teachers. Though the Dutch, for example, taught
+the Japanese mathematics and triangulation so successfully that the pupils
+were able to make accurate surveys and construct maps of the country and
+charts of its sea-coasts, yet the Dutch were never permitted to see the
+finished result.
+
+In looking back on the work of those foreign Governments and their
+agents who by their interference shook this new nation into life, it is
+obvious that they did not, any of them, know what they were doing. There
+was a divinity shaping their ends which they, with their conventional
+concessions to the modern spirit, had no idea of. If we are to pass
+judgment at all on those men, it must not be by the ulterior consequences
+which they did not and could not foresee, but on the merits of the
+problem which immediately presented itself to them. The demand for free
+intercourse with Japan being shared by all the nations of Christendom
+was bound to be satisfied one day: it was but a question of a favourable
+opportunity. Commodore Perry and the United States Government made their
+opportunity. Townsend Harris had his opportunity made for him, and with
+great adroitness, and not too much scruple, he took advantage of it to
+force the half-open door. Lord Elgin, in his turn, did a smart thing in
+sandwiching in a full treaty with Japan between his earlier and later
+negotiations with China. Each in his degree contributed to the general
+result without any apparent sense of responsibility for unsettling an
+ancient polity of which they were ignorant, and to which they were blind.
+Lord Elgin was indeed visited by the qualms of conscience which were as
+natural to him as they were honourable, but the particular consequences
+of which he had a passing dread were not those which followed. In any
+case, his act was momentary: its results remained to be dealt with by
+those who came after. The heat and burden of the day fell upon those who
+had to "stub the Thurnaby waste" which the cavaliers had gaily cantered
+round,--to reduce theories and compliments to everyday practice. Here was
+not only a labour but a responsibility, not of the attenuated abstract
+order, but one which was apt to knock violently at their door every
+morning and every night. For whatever might be the remote effects, the
+immediate issues were always urgent, and what a conscientious man had to
+do was to shape a daily course among unknown rocks and whirlpools such
+as would eventually lead to a successful ocean voyage. It is surely a
+test of good pilotage in such emergencies that no step need be retraced;
+that to whatever extent temporary exigencies may hasten or retard, they
+should never deflect the general movement from its true direction; that
+the years achievement should be homogeneous with the day's doings. It is
+a test which would eliminate the time-server from political life, but it
+was in all important particulars well responded to in the short career of
+Sir Rutherford Alcock in Japan.
+
+It would be idle to conjecture the probable course of events had a
+different spirit prevailed among the first diplomatic representatives
+in Japan. Had they been a weak and yielding body, or had they been
+connected with the bureaux of their respective Governments by electric
+wire; still more, had each step taken by them formed a bone of contention
+between opposing factions in their legislatures, all alike ignorant of
+the situation, the proceedings of the Ministers would not only have been
+deprived of all initiative, but would have been liable to paralysis at
+every critical moment. Under such conditions foreign policy in Japan
+would have been like driftwood in a whirlpool; the forces of reaction must
+have gained courage; the position of foreigners would have been rendered
+untenable; and what might have happened in the country itself it would,
+as we have said, be quite idle to imagine. In those days no Power would
+have interfered to maintain order or to defend treaties had England held
+aloof. There is no need to carry hypothesis further than this in order
+to appreciate the good fortune not only of Great Britain herself, but of
+Japan and the world, in having as pioneer representative a man so alert,
+so capable, so clear, and with such unshakable nerve as Sir Rutherford
+Alcock; for it is the man on the spot in distant countries who shapes
+the policy of his Government, if it is to have a policy at all, and this
+historic service the first Minister sent to Japan did effectually render
+to his country. Amid difficulties unprecedented, emergencies incessant,
+and an elemental strife ever raging, the terms of which were inscrutable,
+two immutable principles guided the Minister to a clear issue. The first
+was duty, at all costs and hazards; the second, the integrity of the
+treaties. Whatever might be argued about the policy or the ethics of
+making them, once made, retreat from their engagements was impossible
+and compromise futile. Matters had to be pushed to an issue. The whole
+term of Sir Rutherford Alcock's service in Japan was filled up with
+a warfare against the temptation to temporise in the hope that things
+would be better,--a temptation to which, as we have seen, her Majesty's
+Government for a time succumbed. In perplexing situations the best solvent
+is simplicity, and the Minister found his safety in directness of aim and
+inflexibility of purpose. Standing on that rock, the mystifications with
+which he was surrounded lost their power to disturb him. "Fortunately,"
+he wrote to Earl Russell, "whether the Tycoon was playing a comedy or
+not, the course plainly indicated is the same, the assertion of a fixed
+determination not to be driven out, and to maintain the rights secured
+under treaties, by force, if all other means fail."
+
+To the man who perceived and successfully carried out this simple rule of
+action his countrymen owe no common debt.
+
+As it is proverbially the busiest people who have the most leisure, the
+British Minister found time in the midst of his harassing labours to
+employ his aesthetic gifts for the benefit of the public. It fell to his
+lot, as the reader may remember, while consul in Shanghai, to contribute
+samples of the art, industry, and natural products of China to the
+Great Exhibition of 1851, neither the native Government nor the foreign
+mercantile community being sufficiently interested to assist in the
+work. A similar service was asked of him in Japan for the Exhibition of
+1862, and it was performed under similar conditions, neither the native
+Government nor the foreign residents taking any part in it. The task
+had a special fascination for Sir Rutherford, for Japanese art was a new
+and rich field for the student as for the dilettante. The Japanese had
+originally borrowed their whole art, with their literature and religion,
+from China, but they had improved or at least transformed it so much as
+to make it their own, though it is contended that in ceramics they had
+never succeeded in overtaking the Chinese. For five hundred years they
+had worked on the Chinese idea; but at last in the eleventh century A.D.
+native schools sprang up, and thenceforth Japanese artists followed their
+own inspiration, which was that of nature, producing, in the fulness of
+time, the exquisite results with which the world is now so familiar.
+The introduction of this Japanese work to the connoisseurs of Europe
+through the London Exhibition of 1862 was effected through the personal
+exertions of Sir Rutherford Alcock, who added immensely to the obligations
+under which he laid his countrymen by the publication in 1878 of a short
+but comprehensive work on 'Art and Art Industries of Japan.' Like the
+collecting of objects for the Exhibition, the writing of this book was
+evidently a labour of love. It reviews with a sympathy which almost
+rises to enthusiasm not only the finished product, but the stages of the
+evolution of Japanese art, having its origin in a loving fellowship with
+nature and in a special affinity with what may be called its humorous
+side. The genius of Japan has taken a different form from that of the
+West, where "the great works of the sculptor and the painter are seen by
+but few," whereas the art work of Japan, "which is always in sight, tends
+to cultivate the taste of the million by bringing constantly before their
+eyes objects of taste, not less effective because they are unconsciously
+felt and enjoyed." It is art pressed into the service of the life of the
+people "which can give a priceless value to the commonest and least costly
+material by the mere impress of genius and taste, ... which is the most
+precious, tested by any true estimate of value and utility." The volume
+is well worth perusal by those who are interested in art, not only for
+its philosophical yet simple analysis of the subject generally, but for
+the instructive way in which universal principles are adapted to the
+popularised art of Japan. To read this book, one would imagine the writer
+had devoted the whole of the three years and a half he spent in Japan to
+the cultivation of the industrial fine arts.
+
+The Japanese language, too, attracted the interest of the busy Minister,
+who during his stay in Yedo brought out a grammar and phrase-book in
+Japanese and English. They have, as a matter of course, been superseded by
+the more recondite studies of later students; but as a first step towards
+familiarising the language to visitors and strangers these introductory
+works cannot be denied their meed of merit.
+
+
+VIII. THE DIPLOMATIC BODY--TSUSHIMA.
+
+    Four Western Powers represented in Tokio--Russia only in
+    Hakodate by consul--And naval officers--Cordial Anglo-French
+    relations--Temptations to intrigue--Secret communications to
+    Japanese--Representatives of the Powers arousing suspicions
+    of each other's designs--Letters cited--The Tsushima
+    incident--Admiral Sir James Hope obtains its evacuation by
+    Russians.
+
+During the first few years there were four representatives of the
+Western Powers resident in or near the Tycoon's capital: they were the
+Ministers of Great Britain, the United States, France, and Holland.
+Russia had accredited no Minister, but intrusted her interests to the
+very capable hands of M. Goskavitch, consul at Hakodate, the treaty port
+in the northern island of the Japanese group. What was no doubt deemed
+of at least equal importance, she maintained a powerful squadron on the
+western coast of Japan, whose actual strength was magnified to the view
+by their incessant activity, which had the character of a continuous
+demonstration on the coast both of China and Japan; and the principle of
+direct action by naval officers without the medium of diplomacy, at the
+ports of Nagasaki and Hakodate, was so different from that of any other
+Power, that the Daimios declared to the Tycoon that any of the foreigners
+could be safely insulted except the Russians. Their manoeuvres in force
+round Hongkong, meaningless to the ordinary professional or political
+eye, played probably a corroborative part in the impressions they were
+making on the rulers of the neighbouring countries. Prussia had not yet
+come effectually on the scene when the decisive operations against the two
+great Daimios, which really determined the future course of events, were
+undertaken.
+
+The relations of the resident foreign Ministers among themselves
+were marked by substantial harmony, in some instances rising to great
+cordiality. The foreign diplomatic body thus presented a united front to
+the forces, open or covert, that were opposed to them. Such differences of
+opinion as arose in the course of business either were not of a nature, or
+were not allowed, to interfere with the pursuit of the national interests
+of each, which were inextricably bound up in the common interests of all.
+United, the influence of the Powers was practically irresistible; divided,
+they would have fallen an easy prey to the devices of what, for want of
+another term, must be spoken of as the common enemy, Japan. It is not
+pleasant to think of Japan in this way, since she was on her defence in
+a position forced upon her; yet overruling circumstances had, in fact,
+placed the parties in temporary antagonism--the world against Japan.
+
+The key to the success of European diplomacy of the earlier period was
+without doubt the Anglo-French alliance, which had culminated in the
+coercion of imperial China, and was spending its ebbing strength in
+suppressing the great Taiping insurrection against that empire. Being
+possessed of mobile forces within call, the two Powers were always in a
+position to act when circumstances called for action, and they had become
+accustomed to co-operation. Hence the potency of their united counsels.
+
+The Minister of France as well as the admiral on the station had the
+instructions of the Imperial Government to support England in her Far
+Eastern policy,--"for," said the calculating Emperor Napoleon III.,
+"though our interests in that part of the world are trivial, we may find
+our account in the friendship of England in quarters where our interests
+are vital." That the Ministers of the two countries, therefore, should be
+on terms of official intimacy and mutual confidence was only natural, and
+it was a tower of strength to them both. But we gather from the despatches
+that personal respect and attachment went hand in hand with the official
+_liaison_; and whether it was Sir Rutherford Alcock or Colonel Neale on
+the one side, or M. Duchesne de Bellecourt or Leon Roche on the other,
+their expressions towards their colleagues were always of the warmest.
+So completely confidential were their relations, that when something was
+insinuated by third parties which, if credited, would have necessitated
+explanations between the two, it was simply dismissed as unworthy of
+consideration. There were not wanting those who would have regarded with
+equanimity a little more coldness between the Allied colleagues.
+
+For, notwithstanding their good fraternal relations, it cannot be said
+that the foreign officials in Japan were uniformly successful in resisting
+the besetting sin of diplomacy, the common temptation to intrigue. In
+certain cases it was resorted to as the natural means of advancing the
+solid interests of a particular country; in other cases, where no national
+interest could be served by it, it would appear that intrigue was its own
+allurement, followed for the mere pleasure of the game. The political
+situation in Japan was sufficiently complicated to afford occasion for
+both these motives of action. The unstable Government of the country,
+oppressed by conflicting obligations and consciously struggling for
+existence, offered an ideal theatre for volunteer experimentation by those
+on whom no ulterior responsibility rested.
+
+Be that as it may, however, secret communications did pass between certain
+foreign officials and the Japanese Government of a kind which betrayed the
+design of undermining the interests of other Powers and frustrating their
+policy, presumably for the benefit of those whose zeal in the cause of
+international honour impelled them to adopt the _role_ of international
+informers. It need hardly be said that Great Britain was a principal
+object of these occult practices; neither need it be denied that she
+suffered from their effects in the estimation of the Japanese Government,
+which was naturally credulous of any disparagement of the Powers it
+dreaded so much. In the incandescent condition of the intercourse of those
+earlier years, had any of the foreign agents spoken well of his neighbours
+he would have obtained no hearing for his praise; but given vilification
+for its motive, the representation would find its way straight to the
+Japanese heart, since nothing could be too vile to be believed of the
+intentions of any of the foreign nations. The spy system was congenial
+to the Japanese, woven into their whole administration; while as regards
+foreigners, they had had ample experience centuries before of the lengths
+Christian nations would go in traducing each other for the sake of gaining
+a little favour of the rulers of Japan. It was entirely in keeping with
+their medieval experiences that these dastardly barbarians should now
+be ready to stab each other in the back. Whatever reception, therefore,
+on other grounds, might be accorded to gratuitous information conveyed
+through prejudiced channels, no surprise was occasioned by it, and as
+little doubt of its truth, so long as its burden was evil. This much has
+to be borne in mind as a tribute to the intelligence of the writers of
+letters such as the following, addressed to the Gorogiu, or Bureau of
+Foreign Affairs, and conveyed to them with ostentatious secrecy. In 1860
+one Government agent wrote--
+
+    Last year towards the middle of the second month the English
+    created great difficulties in China in consequence of the war
+    they waged by sea and land. They had violated the treaties in
+    a shameful manner, and as this excited the indignation of the
+    Chinese they attacked the English on the river, and captured three
+    men-of-war. Feeling herself humbled by this defeat, England swore
+    revenge. She uttered the most unjust menaces against China, and
+    at the very moment the Chinese commenced their conferences upon
+    this subject four or five months ago the English suddenly ordered
+    forty-seven men-of-war from London. These vessels are at present
+    at Chusan, and await the signal for action. Within two or three
+    months the men-of-war will leave for the north. The merchant
+    vessel Dayspring brought us all this news on the 12th instant.
+
+    On speaking about this important news to Mr ----, the British
+    Consul residing here, he gave me the following information in a
+    strictly private manner.
+
+    "At last," said Mr ----, "the war with China is decided upon.
+    We have for a long time been searching for a good harbour where
+    we shall be able to put the sick and wounded. We have chosen
+    Tsushima, where we intend to send the sick and wounded, and as
+    soon as the war has commenced we have resolved to take possession
+    of that island."
+
+    Mr ---- communicated this to me as a great secret, and I now give
+    you this information in a strictly private manner.
+
+    You will perceive that this is a question of the utmost
+    importance, and you must take it into serious consideration
+    without delay, and with the utmost attention.
+
+    Four years ago the English, who had for a long time coveted
+    an excellent little island called Perim, took possession of
+    it, informing the Turkish Government that they only wished to
+    place their invalids on that island, and this false pretext was
+    matter for serious discussion. The Turks were perfectly aware of
+    the deceitful conduct of the English. They did not ignore that
+    fourteen or fifteen years before, while fighting with the Chinese,
+    the English had stolen Hongkong under the same pretences.... But
+    while they were deliberating the English sent their invalids to
+    Perim, and immediately built forts and stole this island in the
+    most disgraceful manner.
+
+    As the English are wonderful impostors, it is your duty not only
+    to take care of Tsushima, but also of the smallest island in your
+    empire: this must be done with the utmost watchfulness.
+
+    I inform you of this danger in the most private and secret manner.
+
+And a year or two later, when the intercourse between the British Minister
+and the Tycoon was charged with contentious, almost with explosive,
+matter, missives were passed in from philanthropic onlookers of a tenor
+which excited no surprise, but a good deal of genuine exultation, in the
+minds of the Japanese Ministers. It was well known some time before that
+it had been sought to prevent a settlement of outstanding difficulties
+between the two countries by the assurance volunteered to the Tycoon's
+Government that Great Britain was quite unable to make war on Japan,
+and the following letter is only one of a series of such international
+amenities which shunned the light of day:--
+
+    Japan was opened by us, ... and after we had settled down here
+    the other Powers made their appearance. The intentions of ...
+    in opening this country to foreign intercourse was to increase
+    the welfare and prosperity of its inhabitants. While we were
+    doing our utmost for this nation some English men-of-war suddenly
+    appeared here to demand indemnities for a murder which, although
+    unjustifiable, was not a _casus belli_. As long as the ambitious,
+    warlike, and quarrelsome Englishmen are here, the object we have
+    in view cannot be obtained. They must, therefore, be driven out
+    of this country. You cannot consent to their demands. Do not
+    fear the English; there are other nations in Japan, and if you
+    require assistance you may rest assured we shall give you moral
+    and material support.
+
+But in vain was the snare set by these fowlers in the sight of the bird.
+The notion of setting a thief to catch a thief was not uncongenial to
+Japanese habits of thought, but a generous offer of armed assistance
+against a foreign Power savoured too much of the wooden horse even for
+such inexperienced internationalists as the New Japan. Having expressed
+their appreciation--had it been the Chinese Government it would have taken
+the form of praise for their loyal obedience--the Government intimated
+that they would exhaust their own resources before putting these friendly
+foreign Powers to the trouble of intervening on their behalf. The Japanese
+have always been wary about accepting help unasked for. The United States
+frigate Niagara, which brought back the envoys in 1860, brought also a
+staff of artillery officers whose services were tendered to the Tycoon,
+but declined. And it was said the American officers were rather astonished
+by the proofs afforded them in Yedo of the efficiency of armament and
+proficiency of the gunners which Japan was already able to show.
+
+One of the vigilant observers of political portents about that time became
+convinced that the French had designs upon Tsushima, a belief which was
+no doubt in some way also communicated to the Japanese Government; but
+by that time--1863--it was too late for any Power to flirt with that
+"excellent little island," for since the first warning given the Japanese
+in 1860, above cited, the island had been made the subject of definitive
+arrangements. The incident itself, though of brief duration and leaving
+no visible trail behind it, nevertheless deserves to be remembered as a
+landmark of history.
+
+When Count Mouravieff was in Yedo in 1859, he took the trouble to warn
+the Tycoon's Government that the English harboured aggressive designs
+against the island of Tsushima, which is a long double or "twin" island,
+possessing wonderful harbours, and situated midway between the main
+island of Japan and the southern coast of Korea. On March 13, 1861, the
+Russians landed from the corvette Possadnik in Tsushima, and saying their
+ship wanted repairs, began to build houses on shore. Captain Birileff had
+forced the Prince of Tsushima to receive him at his capital, which created
+an intense feeling of indignation, especially in the ranks of the nobles,
+who each saw himself exposed to similar intrusions. The Daimio repeatedly
+requested the Russians to leave, but was always told the ship required
+further repairs. In consequence of reports from his own officers and the
+Japanese Government, Vice-Admiral Sir James Hope looked in at Tsushima
+himself in the month of August, and observing what was going on there,
+he addressed a letter to Captain Birileff, of which the substance was as
+follows: The prolonged stay of his Imperial Majesty's corvette Possadnik,
+the erection of buildings, &c., having created alarm in Yedo, the admiral
+had the intention to communicate on the subject as early as possible
+with Commodore Likatchoff. Would Captain Birileff meantime facilitate
+this correspondence by replying to the questions--(1) Should the Japanese
+Government appeal to the treaty, which conveys no right either to create
+establishments ashore, to survey the Japanese coast without Government
+sanction, or even to enter a non-treaty port except in case of necessity,
+would Captain Birileff's orders admit of his leaving Tsushima immediately
+on the request of the Japanese authorities? (2) Was it Captain Birileff's
+intention to leave Tsushima in October as previously stated to Commander
+Ward, leaving the buildings to whomsoever wanted them?... (3) Had the
+captain orders to create a permanent establishment there?
+
+The reply of Captain Birileff was to the effect that the officers of his
+Imperial Majesty were accountable only to their own chiefs; ... that he
+was quite astonished to hear of the alarms in Yedo, seeing that only two
+months before the Prince of Bungo had been sent to Tsushima expressly
+from Yedo to grant permission to the corvette to remain there; that the
+same prince gave him the opportunity of visiting the Prince of Tsushima,
+who was instructed to supply workmen and all that might be necessary
+for the construction of the buildings in question; that if the Japanese
+Government were annoyed by the surveying operations, they should address
+their complaint to the Russian diplomatic agent; that he had no orders
+for the occupation of the island, and the nature of the buildings which
+the admiral had done him the honour to visit would not show any such
+intention; and finally, that when he spoke of leaving in October it had
+referred only to himself personally. So far Captain Birileff.
+
+It was no "Prince of Bungo," but a Governor of Foreign Affairs named
+Bungo, who had been despatched in haste from the capital to endeavour by
+any means to induce the Russians to leave Tsushima, and was, for his want
+of success, disgraced.
+
+Sir James Hope forthwith proceeded in search of Commodore Likatchoff to
+Olga Bay, whence he addressed to him a letter dated September 5, pointing
+out the irregularity of the proceedings at Tsushima, the bad effect they
+were having on the relations of foreigners generally in Yedo, and that he
+could not recognise any establishment on Japanese territory not sanctioned
+by treaty--which resolutions he would make known to the authorities
+concerned.
+
+To this the Russian commodore courteously replied from Hakodate, September
+23, excusing himself from entering on any international questions, and
+pointing out that in their hydrographical labours the Russians were only
+following the excellent example set them by the British surveying officers
+whom they met on their respective missions, and that no complaint had ever
+been made by the Japanese Government. As for the "absurd rumours" alluded
+to, the Possadnik had already received orders for another destination,
+before receipt of the admiral's letters, and nothing consequently need be
+said to calm the doubts and alarms, "si meme elles auraient veritablement
+raison d'exister."
+
+Admiral Hope acknowledged this letter, "with much satisfaction," from
+Chefoo, October 22, and remarked that, so far as the surveying operations
+of the ships in his squadron were concerned, they were carried out with
+the full consent of the Japanese Government, at whose special request
+Japanese officers and interpreters were accommodated on board during
+the whole of the cruise. He added that it was not so much the surveying
+operations of the Possadnik as the preparation for a permanent settlement
+on shore that disquieted the Japanese Government; and, moreover, that
+the Japanese Ministers had distinctly stated that the matter had been
+the subject of remonstrance to the commodore, through M. Goskavitch,
+the consul at Hakodate, and to Captain Birileff by an officer specially
+deputed for the purpose (Bungo).
+
+The question extended itself to St Petersburg, where Prince Gortchakoff
+had remarked to Lord Napier, then British ambassador, on the tone of
+Admiral Hope's letter to Commodore Likatchoff, which, he said, but for
+the conciliatory disposition of the latter, might have led to serious
+misunderstanding. Lord Napier, in reply, observed that "Admiral Hope was
+a man of a frank, downright, energetic character, who used the language
+natural to him without any intention of giving offence."
+
+As the Russians had abandoned the island, Prince Gortchakoff called
+on Lord Napier to declare that the English would never take possession
+of Tsushima, whereupon the ambassador reminded his Excellency that the
+English had "offered to sign a treaty binding ourselves and the other
+Powers having engagements with Japan to make no acquisitions in those
+seas." "I think," concludes the ambassador in his letter to the Foreign
+Office, "that Admiral Hope will do well to assure himself that the
+buildings have really been evacuated." This precaution had already been
+taken, and the admiral reported on November 10 that the Russians had
+evacuated on September 29.
+
+There the incident ended, but not its historical significance.
+
+
+IX. TRADE AND TRADERS.
+
+    Commerce increases in spite of adverse political
+    situations--And of efforts of Japanese government to repress
+    it--The _personnel_ of the mercantile community--British
+    predominance--Relations of merchants to Ministers--Interests
+    and duties not always identical--Sumptuary laws--Discharges of
+    firearms forbidden--Seizure of Mr Moss--Wounding of a Japanese
+    policeman--Trial and sentence of Mr Moss--His liberation in
+    Hongkong--Sues the Minister and obtains damages--Legal supremacy
+    at Hongkong--Defects of the consular jurisdiction--The recreation
+    of shooting.
+
+These fierce struggles, the sudden arousing to intensity of dormant
+passions, the dislocation of the whole structure of Japanese polity,
+represented to the foreign nations merely the risks and sacrifices
+incidental to the expansion of their commerce. In order to compel the
+Government to permit the people to exchange the products of their soil for
+the merchandise of the strangers within their gates, the labour, anxiety,
+and expense which we have only faintly indicated were voluntarily incurred
+by the Western treaty Powers, and by them in turn forced on the reluctant
+rulers of Japan. An _a priori_ judgment of the probable effect of the
+sanguinary conditions into which official intercourse had been thrown
+would probably have concluded that peaceful commerce could not under such
+circumstances exist. The restrictions resulting from an ill-regulated
+currency, and from the direct interference of the Government, might have
+been deemed sufficient of themselves to check the development of trade.
+When to these inimical influences were superadded the further facts that
+the foreign traders went in peril of their lives, that the communities
+of Nagasaki and Yokohama were at different times in such danger that
+provisional arrangements were made for conveying them, bag and baggage, on
+board ship, a condition of things less favourable to international traffic
+could scarcely be conceived. Yet these difficulties, and a score of others
+which could be enumerated, served only to bring into clear recognition
+the inherent vitality of commerce, which, like running water, finds its
+way through or round almost any obstacle. There were, on the other hand,
+circumstances favourable to trade. In Japan, as has been already hinted,
+the traders of the country had neither part nor lot in the strife that
+raged above and around them, and for the most part they could pursue their
+peaceful avocations without fear or hindrance. So the quality of commerce
+was not strained; but, shedding its benefits on buyer and seller alike,
+it grew from small beginnings till it attained to a volume of world-wide
+importance, accumulating momentum as it progressed.
+
+The total amount of foreign trade was a little over one million sterling
+per annum for the first three years of the open ports. In the fourth year,
+1863, the development of Japanese produce, especially the more precious
+commodities, silk and the eggs of the silkworm, began to tell on the gross
+values, and the exports for that year amounted to two and a half millions
+sterling, the imports of foreign goods being L811,000. The year 1864,
+notwithstanding its crowded events of anti-commercial character, witnessed
+a notable advance in the value of foreign trade, which in that year
+doubled itself. The same thing occurred again in 1865, when the figures
+reached a total of eight millions sterling, being double the returns for
+1864.
+
+Thus the foreign trade of Japan had fairly established itself as "a going
+concern," advancing in war and peace, but with great fluctuations and many
+vicissitudes to those engaged in it. From the purely commercial standpoint
+the result justified the anticipations of the Powers who opened Japan to
+the world. The event proved that when the materials of trade exist there
+trade is sure to follow on the removal of obstructions. And the materials
+of trade are not wanting wherever there is a population that wears clothes
+and builds houses.[11]
+
+It is obvious to remark that had it been in the power of the Japanese
+Government to place an effective interdict on foreign commerce at its
+sources within their own jurisdiction, and beyond the reach of treaty
+obligations, it would have been the surest means of causing the withdrawal
+of foreigners from the country. That the Government had the will to do so
+was shown by their repeated partial attempts at preventing produce from
+reaching the open ports, and even inducing a temporary exodus therefrom
+of the native population. Why their measures of repression were not more
+thorough may be conjectured to have been connected with the circumstance
+that the advantages of the foreign trade soon began to be felt in quarters
+with which it was not convenient for the Tycoon to inter-meddle.
+
+As in China, so in Japan, the relations of the merchants to their
+official representatives exercised a certain influence on events. The
+trade was carried on at first by a very small number of people. In 1861
+there were not 200 foreign residents in all the ports of Japan, the
+British nationality predominating in Yokohama, the Dutch at Nagasaki.
+The British residents in the former port seem to have numbered about
+fifty. It was a small body to carry the burden of inaugurating commercial
+intercourse with an empire of thirty millions of people. Nor was it
+individually a community of any particular weight, being mostly composed
+of young men, not themselves principals, but, in the beginning at least,
+a considerable number of them occupying the position of delegates of
+mercantile houses in China. It was their representative character which
+lent importance to the foreign merchants in Japan. They represented,
+first of all, the establishments of which they were subordinates or
+offshoots; they represented their respective nations; and they, in
+a larger sense, represented the commercial creed of Christendom. The
+present sketch would be wanting in symmetry if no account were taken
+of the relationship of these handfuls of traders to their own national
+authorities, both being engaged in the struggle for the development and
+security of commerce under the trying conditions of the time and country.
+But of course any such inquiry practically limits itself to those of
+British nationality, for two reasons: British trade and British diplomacy
+were pre-eminently representative of all others by the preponderance of
+the interests involved; in addition to which, the strong individuality
+and matured experience of the first British envoy were such that his
+colleagues tacitly assigned to him the leading _role_, so that his was the
+personality which exerted the dominant influence in shaping events from
+the opening of the ports.
+
+The tendency to divergence of view between the merchants and their
+official representatives has already been remarked upon in connection with
+affairs in China: it was most pronounced in times of difficulty such as
+were chronic for more than twenty years in Canton, where it was so acute
+at one time that English Chambers of Commerce made formal complaint to the
+Foreign Office that its representative in China--Sir John Davis--refused
+to see the merchants in Canton, who desired to present their views to him
+in time of danger. The antagonism was natural: it is generically the same
+that one hears constantly in this country in the form of complaints and
+criticisms of Government, Government servants, and generally of all in
+authority--with, however, this difference, that in the many-sided life of
+a large society there are buffers between the critics and the criticised.
+They do not meet face to face unless it be in such circumstances as on
+the floor of "the House" with "a substantial piece of furniture" between;
+whereas in nascent communities composed of a few scores of individuals,
+where there is no tempering medium, where the parties are never out
+of each other's sight, differences are apt to become accentuated like
+village scandals. Nothing escapes censure; the smallest indiscretions
+have a magnifying lens constantly applied to them, and a sinister colour
+is given to innocent trifles. Interests are not diversified, shaded
+off, or balanced as in adult nations, but are narrow, concentrated, and
+highly sensitive. Between Minister and merchants there was of course a
+general identity of interest. They had a common test to apply to all
+their proceedings and aspirations, the furtherance of commerce. The
+official would, perhaps, add the qualifying adjective "legitimate," in the
+interpretation of which differences of opinion might arise; and he would
+naturally give a wider scope to the commercial idea than those actually
+engaged in trade could or ought to do.
+
+The Minister represents the interests of Great Britain as a whole; the
+merchants represent trade generally, but each of them his own interests
+particularly, and these various interests cannot always coincide. An
+Englishman would naturally give a preference to the manufactures of his
+own country, but as a merchant he has to study the requirements of the
+country in which he trades, and if he cannot supply them at all, or so
+well, by articles manufactured in his own country, he is obliged to seek
+them elsewhere. Officials are apt to look askance on this as not fostering
+the trade of Great Britain; and while recognising the necessity, the fact
+does not warm their sympathy for the merchants of their own country. There
+are times also when, from the international point of view, the general
+interests of the country may override the special interests of the small
+British community in Japan. If policy requires intimate relations between
+the Governments, the tendency must inevitably be for the British Minister
+to minimise the just causes of complaint of his countrymen in order to
+avoid irritation. But the sufferers can hardly be expected to appreciate
+sacrifices so forced on them; and so from one cause and another there will
+never be wanting grounds of dissatisfaction, and possibly estrangement.
+
+But the ultimate object being definitely agreed upon between the two
+parties, there would still remain room for variance in the means,
+questions of tactics, of the nearer or the further view, of the present
+generation and the next, and so on _ad infinitum_. Where there was a
+third party influencing and opposing legitimate commerce by direct or
+indirect means, as the Government of China or Japan, whose machinations
+called for strong measures of resistance, the occasions of impatience and
+dissatisfaction would be frequent, and friction between the representative
+and his constituents would naturally result. But perhaps the most
+antagonistic of all to harmony was the fact already pointed out, that in
+extra-territorialised countries like China and Japan the representatives
+of the treaty Powers were necessarily intrusted with exceptional authority
+over the persons of their nationals--for they had to assume the functions
+denied to the native Governments, of giving the law to the settlers and
+punishing evil-doers. What an invidious and onerous position this entailed
+on British officials will presently be shown. Yet it was a temporary
+necessity, for which nobody was blamable.
+
+In treating of the period of the consulship in Shanghai, a certain
+distance or aloofness between Consul Alcock and the community of his
+nationals was remarked upon, due to difference of age, taste, culture, or
+temperament. This characteristic was rather accentuated than otherwise
+by the local circumstances of Japan. The Minister was ten years older,
+while the community was about as much younger than in Shanghai, so
+that the disparity of age was increased. The mere conditions of life
+also placed a material gulf between the diplomatic representatives in
+Yedo and the lay residents of Yokohama. The capital city being closed
+to all but the diplomatic body, visitors not only required a pass from
+one of the Ministers, but, in the absence of available accommodation,
+strangers had to rely on the hospitality of the foreign Legations. The
+curiosity to see Yedo, which in the early days so attracted tourists
+and travellers, threw a heavy and most unfair burden of entertainment on
+the Ministers, the principal victim of these birds of passage being of
+course the representative of Great Britain. So long, therefore, as the
+Legations remained in Yedo the barrier was effectual against personal
+intercourse between the Ministers and the permanent residents in Yokohama,
+even had mutual affinity been stronger than it was. Like most things,
+this local separation between the communities and their representative
+had its advantages and disadvantages. While on the one hand it was not
+conducive to intimacy, on the other the risk of personal friction was
+eliminated by it. Nor was direct intercourse at all necessary in the
+conduct of business, seeing the regular official medium of communication
+was the local consuls, who had nothing of the Olympian about them, and
+were felt by the residents to be men of like passions with themselves,
+with easy manners, the spirit of good fellowship, and imbued with the
+characteristic sporting proclivities of Englishmen at home and abroad,
+always an effective bond of sympathy.
+
+The relations of Sir Rutherford Alcock with the mercantile community
+had not been very happily inaugurated, for he clearly felt officially
+aggrieved by their settling in Yokohama, instead of waiting till
+accommodation could be found for them in Kanagawa; so much so, indeed,
+that he seemed almost to deplore the absence of means of coercing them
+into obedience to his will.
+
+While the sore as to the location of the settlement was still somewhat
+raw, the Minister found yet another grievance against the merchants
+in the fabulous demands for Japanese coins which a few of them had put
+forward, by way of burlesquing the system of distribution by the native
+authorities. The severity with which this schoolboyish escapade was
+pilloried, and the community of Yokohama held up to the opprobrium of
+the world, was felt by them as going beyond what the merits of the case
+warranted, and the incident did not tend to mollify acerbities on either
+side.
+
+A year later evidence of a certain widening of the breach became more
+conspicuous in the course of a rather exceptional lawsuit, in which a
+merchant was heavily mulcted for an offence of which the general opinion
+was that he was not guilty. A certain Mr Moss was arrested, cruelly
+maltreated, and hidden from his official protector, the consul, by a posse
+of Japanese police, for having shot game in the vicinity of Kanagawa.
+When faced by these armed men, Mr Moss cocked his gun and threatened
+any one who should approach to lay hands on him. The party was numerous
+enough to surround and wrest the gun from him, which somehow went off,
+wounding one of the men badly in the arm. The Minister ordered the consul
+to prosecute Mr Moss for murder, in the Queen's name, the consul himself
+being judge, sitting with two assessors. The accused was sentenced to pay
+a fine of 1000 dollars (L225) and to be deported from Japan. The assessors
+dissented, on the ground that the Japanese evidence was falsified to
+order, and that the prisoner was in their opinion innocent of the charge
+on which he was tried. In consequence of this dissent the judgment had
+to be referred to the Minister, who added to the consul's sentence three
+months' imprisonment in Hongkong, whither the culprit was conveyed in a
+British ship of war. After a week's incarceration in the Hongkong jail the
+warrant for imprisonment was found defective, and Mr Moss was released.
+He was then advised to bring an action against Sir Rutherford Alcock in
+the Supreme Court at Hongkong, which occupied twelve months, and ended
+in a jury awarding damages against the Minister for false imprisonment,
+that being the only part of the sentence which could be brought within
+the jurisdiction of the Hongkong court. As regards the original sentence
+of fine and deportation, the Foreign Office, by advice of their law
+officers, had long before quashed the conviction and ordered the fine to
+be remitted.
+
+A parallel case had occurred in Canton in 1846. Sir John Davis instructed
+the consul there to levy a fine on a British subject for an alleged
+offence. Whether just or not, it was illegal, and on appeal to the Supreme
+Court in Hongkong, of which colony Sir John Davis himself was governor,
+the judgment of the consul was reversed, and the fine of 200 dollars
+refunded. Even Sir Frederick Bruce, with all his circumspection, did
+not escape falling into the same error with regard to the division of
+legal authority between himself and the Supreme Court. "From a careful
+perusal of ... her Majesty's Order in Council," he writes, "the chief
+superintendent of trade [himself] in cases arising under this section is
+the Supreme Court in China: it is for him to prescribe to the consul the
+course he is to pursue, and the Supreme Court at Hongkong cannot interfere
+in such matters." Her Majesty's Government, however, replied: "You fall
+into an error by confounding two distinct questions.... You are mistaken
+in treating the question which you have referred to them for decision as
+depending upon the 4th and following articles of the Order in Council,"
+and so on. So that had it fallen to his lot to give a decision involving
+a penalty, he would have been sued not before himself, but before the
+Supreme Court at Hongkong, and would have sustained the same reverse as
+Sir Rutherford Alcock had done.
+
+These bald facts of the case supplied a striking illustration of the vices
+of the consular court system, which was in vogue in China for twenty years
+until the establishment of the Supreme Court for China and Japan in 1865.
+Consuls were called upon to exercise judicial functions, and Ministers
+those of Courts of Appeal, without the slightest preparatory training,
+and as often as not without natural aptitude. In criminal cases they were
+at once prosecutors and judges, it might even be executioners as well.
+The state of conflict in which they lived with the native authorities, of
+whom they were accustomed to demand in vain the punishment of malefactors,
+placed British officers under continual temptation to prove how promptly
+they could bring to justice their own nationals accused of offences
+against the natives. This idea of giving object-lessons to Chinese and
+Japanese pervades the consular and diplomatic records. English officials
+seem to have been oppressed with the reflection of what the natives would
+think of the failure of justice in any particular case, and they were
+ever apprehensive of political dangers or embarrassments as contingent on
+misunderstood lenity to "white men"--natural and proper feelings on the
+part of mere political agents, but quite foreign to the administration
+of justice according to the rules and maxims of civilised nations. It
+seems not unlikely that the obvious lessons of the Moss case itself as
+to the incompatibility of judicial and administrative functions, and the
+unfair responsibility which their combination threw upon the consular
+and diplomatic officers, hastened the realisation of the scheme of an
+independent judiciary which was so strongly advocated by Sir Rutherford
+Alcock in 'The Capital of the Tycoon.'
+
+These various incidents, and sundry vexatious restrictions imposed on them
+from time to time for their own security, no doubt disposed the residents
+to look askance at many acts of the Minister, the reasons for which failed
+to impress them. But though the surface of the relations between the
+Minister and the merchants was thus perturbed, and regrettable, in the
+common interest, as the lukewarmness of personal sympathy may have been,
+the residents never failed in their respect for the high and sterling
+qualities of the Minister, and the courageous manner in which he fought
+for his country's interests. It only needed an emergency to give definite
+expression to this feeling, and no testimony could be stronger, more
+genuine, or less conventional than the farewell addresses in which the
+merchants of Yokohama and Nagasaki summed up the brilliant record of a
+man of whom they never ceased to feel proud. Instead of detracting from
+the value of such spontaneous testimony, the minor differences only lent
+emphasis to it, and set the seal of deep conviction on what in an ordinary
+case might have passed as the language of mere compliment.
+
+As shooting has been alluded to as an occasion of trouble, a word or two
+on the subject of this amusement may have an interest for certain readers.
+To the Japanese the pursuit of game seemed to be as strange a form of
+sport as the other vagaries of the foreigner. Firearms were not in use
+with them, cold steel being the regulation weapon of offence. There was a
+tradition that the discharge of firearms within twenty-five miles of the
+Tycoon's palace was prohibited by law,--what law or how promulgated was
+never clearly made out, though the motive was intelligible enough. For
+whatever reason, such game as there was in the country had evidently not
+been disturbed; the pheasants were not wilder than the English stall-fed
+variety. Small shooting-parties were in the habit of going out for a day,
+or half a day, from Yokohama and Kanagawa with dogs and native beaters
+among the coppices where the birds lay. The country itself was so charming
+to walk or ride over, the peasant-folk were so polite and merry, that
+heavy bags were not needed to attract sportsmen. Still, a good shot with
+industry and a shrewd acquaintance with the habits of the game could
+often get several brace of the splendid green pheasant of the country
+(_Phasianus versicolor_) in an afternoon; while at rarer intervals the
+finger would tremble on the trigger as one of those magnificent birds
+called locally the "copper" pheasant (Soemerring's), with tail feathers
+as long as a peacock's, would rise from the furrows and sail grandly
+into the impenetrable thicket. Objections had been taken by the Japanese
+officials to this form of amusement, because it was not the policy of the
+rulers to familiarise the people with the sight of firearms, still less
+to facilitate their acquiring them. In accordance with representations
+from the authorities, the British consul had requested his nationals in
+1859 to desist for a time until some arrangement was come to. This they
+did, but in the following season resumed the sport, in which there were
+no keener participants than the British consular officers. A contemporary
+writer in September 1860 thus refers to the return of the shooting season:
+"There being nothing to do, we are all looking forward anxiously to the
+1st October, on which day the first onslaught on the feathered race takes
+place. The weather is now hot, but we are all in very good health....
+We live in a beautiful country, among a civil, amicable, kind-hearted,
+and intelligent people. We can roam over the country without let or
+hindrance." It is curious to note by the way how tenacious the Englishman
+is of the punctilio of his game laws, carrying his observance of them into
+countries where he and his laws are alike strangers, and where in many
+cases the principles are not applicable to the local conditions.
+
+A new element in the sport appeared with the advent of cold weather, in
+the form of flocks of wildfowl, chiefly geese, which spread themselves
+over the low-lying grounds, mostly at some miles distant from the
+settlements. They were "geese," indeed, quite unsophisticated, having no
+fear of man before their eyes--inherited instinct apparently at fault.
+"Their tameness was shocking" at first, but they wonderfully soon learned
+to be wary with a foreigner and a gun. The morning's bag of one early
+riser, riding six miles and back to a nine o'clock breakfast, late in
+November, dwindled rapidly from 12 to 6, 4, 2. The birds were shot within
+200 yards of the _tokaido_, and in full view of many curious spectators,
+armed and unarmed. Men were hired on the spot to carry the game along the
+six miles of highroad and through the long street of Kanagawa, the whole
+proceeding, in short, enjoying the utmost possible publicity.
+
+The unfortunate Mr Moss, however, a few days later, toiled a whole day
+and bagged one, with the consequences we have seen. Whether it was law
+or not, the evidence supplied by the birds themselves of prescriptive
+immunity from gunpowder attack was overwhelming. Hitherto the heavy winged
+wildfowl had felt safe so long as they kept out of sword-range of the
+human biped, but the new experience of a detonating missile fatal at fifty
+yards broke up in a week the habits of generations, and forced them to
+promptly readjust themselves to their environment.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [1] "We are never for a moment unwatched; ... if my servant
+    runs after a butterfly, a two-sworded official runs after
+    him."--Laurence Oliphant, Letter from Yedo, July 1861.
+
+ [2] "As a general rule, our guardians exercise their functions with
+    civility; when they are impertinent, one has to submit as one
+    would to one's jailor.... With entire humility, one is in no
+    danger whatever."--Oliphant, 2nd July 1861.
+
+ [3] The effect of the commercial isolation of Japan on the value
+    of general commodities was no less striking. The first foreign
+    traders might have bought with eyes shut nearly every article that
+    was offered to them, so great was the disparity of prices between
+    Japan and her nearest markets. Mr Hunter gives an interesting
+    example. "I had in go-downs," he says, "8000 piculs of sapan-wood
+    imported from Manila unsaleable at one dollar and a quarter per
+    picul, which was about its cost. Immediately that the opening
+    of the port of Simoda to foreign trade was announced officially,
+    an English vessel was chartered to carry it there. Brief--it was
+    sold for 35 dollars per picul, and the proceeds were invested in
+    Japanese vegetable wax at a cost of 61/2 dollars, and sold for $17
+    the picul (133-1/3 lb. English)," so that in the short voyage from
+    China to Japan and back the capital multiplied seventy times!
+
+ [4] A story is told of two Samurai meeting on a bridge which was too
+    narrow to allow of their passing each other. Neither being willing
+    to give way, they were about to settle the difficulty at the
+    point of the sword, when a peasant, strolling along the dry bed of
+    the stream, offered to extricate them without loss of dignity on
+    either side. Amused at his impertinence, and curious to see how
+    he would effect his purpose, they consented to humour him; and
+    when each, following his instructions, was seated in one of the
+    baskets at either end of the pole he was carrying, he swung it
+    round on to the opposite shoulder, asked pardon, bowed, and went
+    on his way, leaving them each facing in the direction in which he
+    would proceed.
+
+ [5] Ieyasu says the Samurai are the masters of the four classes.
+    Agriculturists, artisans, and merchants may not behave in a rude
+    manner towards Samurai. The term for a rude man is, "other than
+    expected fellow"; and a Samurai is not to be interfered with in
+    cutting down a fellow who has behaved to him in a manner other
+    than is expected. The Samurai are grouped into direct retainers,
+    secondary retainers and nobles, and retainers of high and low
+    grade; but the same line of conduct is equally allowable to them
+    all towards an "other than expected fellow."
+
+ [6] "All my old friends have disappeared," writes Laurence Oliphant
+    on his return to Yedo as secretary of Legation. "One who was an
+    especial favourite of mine when I was here last, ripped himself
+    up a short time ago; and two of the other commissioners are
+    disgraced, and it is supposed have followed his example. This was
+    all on account of their friendship for foreigners. Every one, down
+    to the lowest interpreter, who has had anything to do with the
+    introduction of foreigners, has disappeared or been disgraced."
+
+ [7] This man, Murioka by name, became afterwards well known to
+    foreigners, and was always ready to talk freely about the whole
+    transaction. When asked why he struck at a lady he would reply,
+    "How should I know, never having seen a foreign woman, least of
+    all on horseback?"
+
+ [8] It was a common thing for a Daimio to rid himself of the irksome
+    obligations of his position by abdicating in favour of his son.
+    On better acquaintance Shimadso Saburo proved a most genial old
+    gentleman. Three years later he entertained Sir Harry and Lady
+    Parkes at his capital most hospitably.
+
+ [9] Count Inouye, the foremost statesman of the new Japan, is said
+    to have confessed that he set fire to the British Legation with
+    his own hand with the express object of embarrassing the Tycoon's
+    Government.
+
+ [10] The following souvenir of Count Mutsu, Foreign Minister of
+    Japan, who died in 1897, told by Mr J. F. Lowder and quoted in
+    'Things Japanese' by Mr Basil Hall Chamberlain, affords a graphic
+    illustration of this point. "In the very early Sixties, when
+    he was in his nineteenth or twentieth year, he was in Nagasaki
+    desirous of acquiring a knowledge of English. A lady of my
+    acquaintance taking an interest in him used to devote an hour or
+    two every morning to teaching him to read and write, but it was
+    not long before he came to me despairing of his slow progress, and
+    asking whether I could not give him a berth on board ship where
+    nothing but English was spoken. Believing him to be physically too
+    weak to stand such an ordeal, I endeavoured to dissuade him, but
+    without success; and so with some misgivings I shipped him as a
+    cabin-boy, which was the only position I could obtain for him, on
+    board a small British schooner that used in those days to voyage
+    between Nagasaki and Shanghai. How long he remained on board I
+    cannot say, but my recollection is that it was a very considerable
+    time."
+
+ [11] The foreign trade of Japan now (1900) approximates 40 millions
+    sterling, exports and imports being very nearly balanced.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK IN PEKING, 1865-1869.
+
+
+I. THE BRITISH LEGATION.
+
+    Contrast between Peking and Yedo--Finds old comrade Wade--The
+    Manchu statesmen, Kung and Wensiang--Material progress pressed
+    upon them--Their failure to appreciate foreign advice.
+
+Sir Rutherford Alcock had spent only a few months in England when he was
+appointed to succeed Sir Frederick Bruce as Minister to China, he himself
+being succeeded in Japan by Sir Harry Parkes. Sir Rutherford reached
+his post in Peking at the close of 1865. The change of scene from Japan
+back to China was even more striking than that from China to Japan had
+been in 1859. The excitement of shooting the rapids was succeeded by the
+weariness of meandering among mud-shoals--the same medium to work in,
+only under different conditions. Fundamentally the international problem
+was identical in Japan and China--the conflict between aggression and
+resistance. Rational dread of, and natural repulsion to, foreigners,
+inspired alike the policies of both countries. Where they differed was
+in the manner of meeting the invasion. Japan braced herself nervously
+to the effort, and, distinguishing between what was feasible and what
+was not, organised a counter-invasion unsuspected by foreign nations,
+whom she subdued by their own strength. China, on the other hand,
+opposed a fatalistic and unreasoning resistance, making no intelligent
+counter-stroke and showing no true anticipation of the issues of the
+struggle. The energy of ambitious youth on the one side; on the other mere
+inertia, irresponsive to the stimulus of pride, shame, patriotism, or even
+material interest. Bearing this contrast in mind, we may partly understand
+the prosaic _role_ which foreign representatives were doomed in China to
+play from the time the capital was forced open by Anglo-French arms in
+1860.
+
+The position of the new British Minister was different from that which he
+had occupied in Japan, where, being first in the field, he had to make
+precedents, whereas in China he had to follow the course which had been
+marked out during the previous four years. In judging of the wisdom of
+that course, it is fair to apply the same retrospective criterion that we
+proposed in the case of Japan--namely, to consider the situation so far as
+it was known and could be realised at the time. Notwithstanding all that
+had gone before, China in general, and Peking in particular, remained as
+great mysteries to foreigners as Japan itself. The pioneer diplomatists
+had to create their diplomacy out of their own consciousness, working upon
+an idea which they imported, and not on the objective facts, which were
+mere chaos to them.
+
+Sir Rutherford Alcock had the happiness to find the Peking Legation
+in charge of his old vice-consul, Thomas Wade, from whom he had been
+officially separated for ten years. Mr Wade was Chinese secretary and
+secretary of Legation, offices which were some years later separated, to
+the infinite detriment of both. For the secretary of Legation, drawn from
+the ranks of the diplomatic service, had neither knowledge of nor interest
+in Chinese affairs, nor aught to do but wait idly for the contingency
+which might make him _charge d'affaires_, reckoning every month spent
+in the country as a penance entitling him to swift promotion to a more
+congenial sphere. And the Chinese secretaryship, by itself, offered no
+attraction to an ambitious man. But in 1865 the combination of offices was
+most important, especially in the hands of a man of so much distinction
+as Mr Wade. As the custodian of the Bruce tradition, if indeed he had not
+a large share in its evolution, he bridged the gulf between the outgoing
+and the incoming Minister, much as the Permanent Under-Secretary does at
+the Foreign Office.
+
+As Mr (afterwards Sir Thomas) Wade, in the capacity of secretary, _charge
+d'affaires_, and Minister Plenipotentiary, represented Great Britain at
+the Chinese Court for the best part of a quarter of a century, a term
+equal to that of the other six Ministers put together, a brief reference
+to his personality seems necessary to a just comprehension of the course
+of affairs during his long residence in Peking.
+
+Mr Wade began life as a soldier. He had been in the "Black Watch," but,
+being the only officer who could not speak Gaelic, found it congenial to
+exchange into the 98th Regiment, with which he served in China during the
+first war. He was adjutant of the regiment, which was commanded by Colonel
+Campbell, afterwards Lord Clyde. When peace was made in 1842, he resigned
+his commission and betook himself to the study of Chinese and of Chinese
+subjects. After qualifying as interpreter he became Chinese secretary to
+the Superintendency of Trade, which until 1858 was domiciled in Hongkong.
+Transferred to the consular service, he was for some years interpreter and
+vice-consul at Shanghai, where it fell to his lot to command the local
+volunteers in the attack on the Chinese Imperial camps in 1854. He was
+the first executive head of the Maritime Customs, established in the same
+year, his services being lent by his chief to start the new institution.
+Attached to Lord Elgin in his two missions to China, he was appointed
+secretary of Legation and Chinese secretary under Sir Frederick Bruce when
+the Legation was installed in Peking.
+
+Wheresoever Mr Wade's lot was cast he was beloved for his Irish geniality,
+open-mindedness, and sincerity. He was the soul of honour, and was
+possessed by the spirit of chivalry much beyond the common measure. His
+best friends would never wish to forget his endearing infirmities of
+temper, associated as they were with the generous _amende_ which never
+failed to follow an over-hasty word. A well-read man, with a memory like
+Macaulay's, a brilliant _raconteur_ and inimitable mimic, he was the
+delight of every society. The services which he was enabled, by many
+years of arduous labour, to render to succeeding generations of students
+of Chinese are incalculable, and if his work begins now to be superseded
+by that of others, this is but the common fate of pioneers in every
+department of research.
+
+Sir Thomas Wade's character may thus be fitly and fairly summed up in
+the hackneyed epithet, "a scholar and a gentleman,"--but not therefore
+a statesman. His mind was cast in another and a finer mould than befits
+the political arena; and, unnatural as the inference may seem, it is
+open to question whether his extensive knowledge of China was the best
+qualification for dealing at first hand with current affairs, even in
+that country. Profound researches into Chinese literature and philosophy
+tend to overshadow and induce a distaste for the jarring questions of
+the day. Seen through the luminous haze of its classic history, China
+presents to the contemplative mind an object of reverence unlike any
+other existing State, for the thread of its continuity since the time
+before Abraham is unbroken. Grander than hewn stone or graven bronze, the
+monuments of China are written books, and a living race, the heirs of all
+her ages, to be conversed with and interrogated. The burden of such vast
+homogeneous antiquity may well oppress the mere man of politics: he needs
+a certain alloy of Philistinism and a limitation of view to enable him to
+concentrate his attention on the exigencies of the passing hour.
+
+  [Illustration: PRINCE KUNG.]
+
+Relations which might be called intimate had been established between
+the two Manchu statesmen, Prince Kung and Wensiang, and the foreign
+representatives. When these high personages were forced to assume
+responsibility for international relations, they were not only unversed
+in foreign affairs but untrained to any kind of business. The work of the
+six Boards was carried on by expert secretaries, and the presidency of
+one of them would have been no qualification for the new duty thrust upon
+the emperor's Ministers of transacting business with foreign officials
+standing on an equality with themselves. Their older colleague, Hangki,
+had gained a little foreign knowledge by observation and hearsay while
+filling the lucrative office of _hoppo_ at Canton; but the two younger men
+mistrusted him, perhaps with reason, possibly from the suspicion naturally
+aroused by his possession of superior knowledge. Prince Kung and Wensiang
+recognised that they had everything to learn, and they were apt and eager
+scholars. Considering all the circumstances, it is indeed marvellous how
+they adjusted themselves by innate tact to the novel position, and how
+quickly they assimilated new knowledge. Many illuminating discussions were
+carried on between them and the foreign representatives, who on their part
+were no less desirous of imparting than the Chinese were of acquiring
+information respecting the outer world. In these interesting symposia
+Mr Wade naturally played the prominent part. On the enchanted ground of
+Chinese history and literature, also, the interlocutors made endless
+excursions together; and Chinese philosophy being directed to conduct
+rather than speculation, it was possible to deduce from the teaching of
+the sages authority for the adoption of almost any useful measure. Between
+the modern innovator, therefore, though in foreign garb, and the ancient
+moralists there was no such intellectual disagreement as sympathetic
+explanations could not resolve.
+
+It might have been justifiable to conclude that the Chinese were being
+influenced for good by the well-meant counsels so copiously addressed to
+them, were it not that the tutorial being so entirely incompatible with
+the diplomatic function, no useful result could be expected from their
+strained combination. It was as if one were to teach a novice the moves
+in a game which the two were at the same time playing for serious stakes.
+
+These interminable interviews and voluminous memoranda were wholly
+unproductive, owing, no doubt, to the fact that the ideas of the parties
+ran on parallel lines destined never to come to any point of fertile
+contact. The burden of the cry of the Western people was "progress," a
+word without equivalent in the language, and expressing an idea which
+had no place in the conception of the Chinese. Incessant repetition
+with varying illustrations were to the Chinese as flowers of rhetoric
+wasted on a deaf man, and that simply because the basis of the Chinese
+political thought lay at the opposite pole from that of the European.
+On one occasion a distinguished American promoter was expatiating to the
+governor of Formosa on the advantages of railway communication, his most
+telling example being his own experience in being rushed along after an
+early breakfast from his house in Albany to New York, where he spent the
+day transacting important business and got wheeled back again to Albany
+for dinner. The governor stopped him, and asked what in the name of
+sanity possessed him to lead such a wearing life, as the last thing he
+(the governor) would dream of doing would be to live a hundred miles from
+his work. Though the earliest public advocate of railroads in China, the
+governor regarded their utility from a far different point of view.
+
+  [Illustration: WENSIANG.
+   _From a photo by J. Thomson, Grosvenor Street, W._]
+
+So eager were the foreigners for progress, which in their mind included
+the regeneration of the Chinese empire and the development of its full
+capacity for self-defence, that they were wont to rejoice over the
+slightest indications of a beginning being made. Thus the mission of a man
+of no standing as a secretary of the Tsungli-Yamen, who was sent to Europe
+in 1866 to take observations, was hailed as the beginning of the new era,
+and commended so warmly by the foreign Ministers to their Governments
+that the emissary was received like the Queen of Sheba by King Solomon,
+and shown--at least in Great Britain--everything that was admirable from
+the Western point of view. He was as far, however, from appreciating the
+triumph of science as was Cetewayo, the Zulu, whose admiration of England
+focussed itself on the elephant "Jumbo" at the Zoological Gardens, or the
+Scotswoman who, after being shown over the British Museum, had carried
+away from it one impression, and that of the "graund mat" at the door.
+The Chinese Government's appreciation of Western progress was by no means
+increased by the mission of Pin, which rather indeed produced a contrary
+effect. China soon began to put forth fresh claims to go her own way, her
+own way being directly opposed to the kind of progress which was being
+pressed upon her.
+
+The Chinese in following the doctrines of the sages felt they were under
+the guidance of Heaven, so that innovations appeared to them tainted with
+impiety. So deeply did the worship of the past pervade their field of
+thought, that when high officials ventured to introduce something new,
+they usually endeavoured to disarm opposition by gilding their proposals
+with well-selected texts from the classics.
+
+
+II. FOREIGN LIFE IN PEKING.
+
+    Social influence of the Alcock family--Sir Rutherford's relations
+    with his staff--No social relations with natives--Manchu
+    courtesy to English ladies--Community of foreigners sociable yet
+    non-cohesive--Description of city--Foreign residency--Objects
+    of interest--The streets--Mules--Camels--Mongol market--Fur
+    sales--Absence of regulations--Street anecdotes--Summer
+    residences.
+
+By the end of 1865 the foreign life in Peking, official, social, and
+private, had already settled into the grooves prescribed by local
+conditions, within which it has, more or less, run ever since.
+
+  [Illustration: MANCHU (TARTAR) WOMEN.]
+
+Nevertheless, the advent of Sir Rutherford and Lady Alcock, with their
+daughter, now Lady Pelly, introduced an element into the social atmosphere
+of Peking which has afforded the happiest reminiscences to those who came
+under its influence. We have seen that Sir Rutherford Alcock, by force of
+character, conviction, and sense of duty, naturally assumed the lead among
+his peers wherever he happened to be placed. A German resident in Peking
+at the time we are speaking of says, "I remember very well that fine
+English gentleman, who was conscious of representing the greatest country
+of the world, and did it well." The official personality of the British
+Minister could not be more truly depicted than in these simple words; but
+this natural pre-eminence extended far beyond the official sphere, and
+made itself felt for the general good in the common relations of life.
+His dealings with subordinates were marked by thoroughgoing loyalty; his
+rule was to give his confidence without reserve to those who merited
+it, to support and defend them in the discharge of their duty. He was
+accessible, always ready to listen to the opinions even of his juniors,
+and though exacting as regards work, he never spared himself, but set an
+example of industry to those who served under him. He possessed that rare
+faculty of appreciation which enables a man to command services which no
+money could buy. The survivors of his staff to this day speak of him in
+affectionate terms as the best of chiefs. In business he was strictly,
+perhaps even rigidly, formal, and his manner was intolerant of laxity in
+others. When the official crust was put off like a suit of armour, the
+genial depths of his nature were reached, but the number of those who
+enjoyed this experience seems never to have been large. Select, but few,
+were the friends of his bosom.
+
+The foreign residents in Peking did not number many, and, with the
+exception of the Legations, were rather widely scattered over a city of
+vast distances. The original community consisted of about sixty persons,
+distributed over the four Legations, the customs' staff, and missionary
+establishments. It was a community of young men "about twenty-four years
+of age," eminently social, no member being a stranger to the rest, and all
+living in friendly intercourse. The Legations may almost be said to have
+sat with open doors, so easy were their interchanges of informal visits.
+During the time of Sir Rutherford and Lady Alcock their hospitalities
+rendered the British Legation the chief centre of social interest, while
+the unaffected kindness which inspired these courtesies endeared its
+inmates to all their fellow-residents. That, indeed, was the golden age of
+the British Legation, and, it may be added, of the general social life of
+the Chinese capital, a period when life-long friendships were formed. The
+time had not yet come for international rivalries to mar the cordiality
+of personal intercourse. Indeed in the convivialities of Peking national
+distinctions were absolutely lost, and so to a great extent were the
+distinctions of rank. On the racecourse, which was early instituted, as
+in the billiard-room, picnic excursions, and the like, all were free and
+all were equal.
+
+  [Illustration: MANCHU WOMEN.]
+
+When we speak of the "social" life of Peking, it must be understood as
+referring exclusively to that of the foreign residents among themselves,
+for between them and the natives there was no such intimacy. But in those
+early days the high Chinese officials seemed to have been more genial than
+those of a later epoch. In the winter of 1860-61, for example, Hangki,
+formerly _hoppo_ of Canton, was in the habit of receiving Mr Adkins
+familiarly at his private residence,--a practice which was afterwards
+gradually discontinued. The arrival of the two ladies at the British
+Legation was the signal for a display of courtesy by the Manchu Ministers,
+who from time to time sent them seasonable presents of plants, flowers,
+and other things, thus establishing agreeable personal relations with the
+Minister. That the advent of ladies to the Legations should have evoked
+the natural politeness of the high officials need not be a matter for
+wonder if it be remembered that the Chinese contempt for women is not
+shared by the Manchus. It is well known that their women are free from
+most of the trammels which contract the lives of their Chinese sisters.
+Their unbound feet symbolise liberty of locomotion generally, and they
+show themselves unveiled and unabashed in public thoroughfares. They have
+the coquetries common to the sex, among which may be reckoned a passion
+for floral decoration of the head, and the universal practice of painting
+the face and lips. This is done in a thoroughgoing manner, and as if the
+paint were "laid on with a trowel," leaving a sharply defined margin on
+cheek and neck between the pink and white and the sallow ground on which
+the colour is overlaid, giving it the appearance of a mask which might
+be easily removed. Even young children are subjected to the cosmetic
+treatment; and the very aged do not discard the artificial flowers in the
+remnant of their hair. As the fairest Chinese have no such natural colour
+as is thus imitated, it is rather difficult to divine whence they derived
+the notion of an ideal human skin.
+
+It is not to be wondered at that the first European girls who appeared in
+Peking should have excited some curiosity. One young lady, probably the
+first arrival, whose fresh and fair complexion suggested the acme of the
+cosmetic art, excited intense interest among the Mongol and Manchu ladies.
+On one occasion she was met in the street by a great princess, who was
+so struck by her appearance that she stopped her _cortege_, alighted from
+her cart, and stood before the English girl and gently rubbed her cheeks
+to find out, as she naively said, how the colour was put on!
+
+The foreign residents at Peking, happy as their circumstances were,
+lacked some of the principal elements of a community properly so called.
+They had, in fact, little in common besides their aesthetic culture and
+their Christian civilisation, the literature, philosophy, and the social
+tenets of the West. They had no head, no centre, no neutral meeting-ground
+even except the racecourse and the open fields, and were thus always
+either hosts or guests to each other. The assumed identity of their high
+political interests gave an appearance of solidarity to the diplomatic
+section; but the fusion of the other elements in the society was far
+from complete, and, in short, outside of the region of recreation and
+conviviality the residents could not be said to be animated by any
+unifying purpose, nor to have any communal existence. Individual isolation
+prevented the aggregate from attaining collective force.
+
+  [Illustration: CHINESE WOMEN.]
+
+These sterilising conditions were aggravated by another feature of
+the situation which had an important bearing on social life. Peking
+was one of the most inaccessible capitals in the world. The great
+tourist-stream passed it by. It stirred no human emotion unless it
+were languid aversion or inarticulate curiosity. The dilettante element
+which has ventilated Japan so well and kept her in constant touch with
+cosmopolitan life-currents has been absent in Northern China. Peking with
+its particular concerns has been thus permitted to lie secluded from the
+world, neither generating fruitful ideas nor inviting or profiting by
+their importation from without; nor, in short, making itself intelligible
+or interesting to mankind other than as an archaic curiosity. China, with
+its immense wealth and resources, weighed less in the consideration of the
+nations than the petty kingdom of Greece or the deadly swamps of Africa.
+Considerations of that kind help to explain the bewilderment with which
+the action of these neglected forces has been received during the past few
+years, and the disarray of the organs of European opinion when suddenly
+called on to deal with the phenomenon of Peking as a daily "headline."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Of the city itself it may be noted that it is magnificently laid out
+within high and massive walls, the gates and corners surmounted by
+bastions and imposing towers pierced with three tiers of gun-ports. The
+main streets are straight and extravagantly wide. Spaciousness is the
+dominant expression of the whole--the back-yard is a feature of the
+meanest one-storeyed hovels. It has not occurred to the Pekingese to
+economise earth-space by vertical architecture ground-ward or sky-ward.
+Viewed from an elevation, the city has the appearance of a vast park:
+the tree-foliage seen in perspective seems to cover the whole area, only
+picked out by yellow and green roofs of imperial and other conspicuous
+buildings. The palace, a city in itself of 10,000 inhabitants, occupies
+an immense _enclave_ symmetrically placed in the centre of the whole.
+
+From such a coign of vantage as the high wall affords, Peking presents
+at once an impressive and a pleasing spectacle. It gives the distance
+necessary to lend enchantment to the view. The soothing hum of a great
+population; the sweetness of an atmosphere untainted, if it be summer,
+or spiced by the aromatic herbs which grow promiscuously between the
+interstices of the bricks, if it be autumn,--enfolds the scene in that
+kind of soft drapery which memory throws over common things long past. One
+lingers, loth to renew a closer acquaintance with the crowd below, which
+no longer hums but utters wild discordant cries,--with the horrors of the
+streets, which are of the earth, earthy. The area contained between the
+rectilinear arteries of the city is dismally laid out on the plan of the
+rabbit-warren. These wide streets are alternately deep mire and deep dust
+at the best, but at the worst, receptacles of indescribable abominations.
+The witty and wise Bishop Favier, when describing these to a friend in
+France, was asked, How could a population living in such insanitary
+conditions resist a visitation of cholera. "Cholera!" exclaimed the
+Father; "it could never enter. It would be asphyxiated at the gate!"[12]
+
+The dust is acrid to nose and eyes, from the dessicated refuse of
+generations, for the streets are watered by long scoops from standing
+pools of sewage which overflow in the summer rains and obliterate the
+roadway, so that animals harnessed between shafts not unfrequently meet
+with a cruel death by drowning in these foetid thoroughfares.
+
+  [Illustration: CHINESE STREET SCENE DURING RAINY SEASON.]
+
+Such hints as these will be sufficient to suggest to the least imaginative
+that peculiar unattractiveness of the Peking streets which has been
+a determining factor in the habits of the foreign residents. Life
+would be intolerable to Western folks if it were not removed from the
+sights, noises, and odours of the streets; and fortunately the ruling
+local principle of spaciousness lends itself to the solution without
+running counter to any native practice or prejudice. The Legations, the
+customs, and the missionaries are in their various degrees established
+in "compounds" large enough to accommodate the members of their staffs
+in separate buildings with ample elbow-room, as in an Indian cantonment,
+interspaced with trees and sometimes gardens, the whole surrounded by a
+high wall and capable of defence. These seductive oases in a wilderness of
+garbage, in a city of great distances, naturally conduce to stay-at-home
+habits and to segregation, which it requires some energy to overcome.
+
+Nor is Peking life wanting in more mundane compensations. The city itself
+contains many "objects of interest," which in the earlier years of foreign
+intercourse were open to the curious. The well-known "Lama temple,"
+reputed to contain 2000 inmates, which has for many years been dangerous
+to enter, was in those days a much-frequented resort, where the stranger
+was welcome to go over the establishment and listen to the Buddhist
+litanies: a certain bass voice, or perhaps a succession of bass voices, in
+the choir, indeed, attained celebrity among foreigners. In the refectory
+of that monastery one was obliged, out of respect, to eat, or feign to
+eat, the unmitigated fat of the sheep's tail, fished from out the broth,
+not with a hook, as was the custom in the Jewish Church, but by the deft
+fingers of the chief lama. Now, on the contrary, the foreigner who enters
+the gate is hustled, robbed, and stoned. This great change in the attitude
+of the lamas has never been satisfactorily explained, but it is presumed
+that the manners and customs of some of the visitors to the temple may
+have had something to do with it. There have been visitors who, with the
+keen acquisitiveness of the world-tourist, have slipped small "josses"
+into their pockets out of what, perhaps, appeared to them the superfluous
+number of molten images ranged round the shelves of the great Buddha's
+sanctuary.
+
+The Temple of Heaven, too, that grand altar to the Living God, standing
+in an immense park enclosed by a lofty wall, was then, and for many
+years remained, open to all comers. This was perhaps due less to any
+intentional liberality of the authorities than to the negligence of the
+gatekeepers and the Board of Works. For a long time access was gained
+over a broken part of the outer wall left unrepaired. At one period
+English residents played cricket within the vast enclosure; at another
+Billingsgate and brickbats were the ordinary salutations which greeted
+the would-be visitor--the change being probably due to the slow awakening
+of the officials. So with many other places within and without the city,
+for in some cases where direct request was made for extension of the
+accommodation, the effect of drawing official attention to the subject
+was to restrict the privileges which had actually been enjoyed.
+
+Notwithstanding the occasional rudeness of which Dr Rennie has given us so
+faithful a picture, the most unartistic of men could hardly fail to take
+pleasure in the daily traffic of the streets, provided only his nerves,
+visual and olfactory, were not too delicate. The true lord of the roads
+is apt from his commonplaceness to be overlooked by those who owe him
+most--that universal conveyancer, the sagacious, tireless mule. He does
+not belong to the "five great families"--the fox, weasel, hedgehog, snake,
+and rat--which the Chinese hold in mystic awe because they have learned
+the secret of immortality; but if utility to man were a criterion of
+merit, they would surely fall down and worship this indispensable hybrid.
+Hot or cold, wet or dry, the mule never fails to respond to the severest
+call upon his strength and courage.
+
+With the approach of winter an antediluvian rival is introduced upon
+the scene, in the shape of the well-known two-humped camel, which is
+then shaggy, dignified, and in really grand form. Intolerant of heat,
+but impervious to cold, the camels, after passing the summer on the
+grass-lands of the Mongolian plateau, are brought down in droves to
+the great fair held on a large open space outside the Northern Wall.
+The coming of the camels with their bronzed and heavily booted riders
+is like a whiff of the free air of the desert. The Pekingese use this
+patient but surly beast of burden chiefly for carrying coal from the
+mines in the Western Hills to the city; but immense numbers are employed
+in transporting tea from the navigable limit of the Peiho to Siberia and
+Russia, not entering Peking city at all.
+
+A roomy encampment between the British and Russian Legations is allotted
+to the Mongols, and serves as a market-place where the products of the
+desert are exchanged for the utensils and gewgaws of civilisation. The
+staple of the Mongol trade is frozen meat--mutton, venison, furred and
+feathered game; and without refrigerator or other appliance the carcasses
+remain fresh in their skins till the end of the three winter months.
+These simple-minded herdsmen, chaffering with shrewd Chinese hucksters,
+or sitting, where they seem to have been born, between the high humps of
+their slow-moving beasts, form picturesque groups in the imperial city,
+the more interesting that their appearance is pathetically suggestive
+of an order which is passing away. The Grand Khan, dispensing favours to
+his loyal tributaries, has come ominously near to being a mere tradition.
+These very sheepskin-coated camel-drivers are the only buffer remaining
+between the receding empire and the advancing tide of foreign encroachment
+from the north.
+
+Other evidences of that imperial grandeur which lent some justification to
+the title "Middle Kingdom" were still occasionally to be met with. Though
+Siam, and even Burma, had fallen indefinitely into arrears, dust-begrimed
+embassies from Korea or Nepaul, with their trains of pack-mules bearing
+tribute and merchandise (duty free for the benefit of the officials),
+might still be seen defiling through the massive gates of the city,
+preserving to our day a living picture of the Asiatic mission of the
+antique type. For what were they but interesting survivals, shadows of
+departed greatness?
+
+Peking is not a commercial city, but essentially an imperial camp. Trade
+proper is confined to an outer or Chinese city, which is but a walled-in
+suburb sparsely built over. Through traffic, for obvious fiscal reasons,
+shuns the capital; but there is sufficient local commerce, of which
+gold and silver smelting forms a not unimportant part, to support many
+bankers and merchants who are domiciled in the outer city. It has been
+remarked that Chinese trade may be seen at its best in the settlement of
+Maimaichen, which faces Kiachta on the Russo-Chinese frontier, or in the
+Straits Settlements or Rangoon, where nothing hinders the merchants from
+accumulating and displaying their wealth. Even Peking, however, affords
+some glimpses of the far-reaching enterprise of the Chinese traders.
+
+What a suggestive display, for instance, is the fur-market, also of
+necessity a "winter exhibition"! Acres and acres of ground are covered
+with skins of every conceivable species of quadruped, spread out from dawn
+till near noon. Here are daily laid out for sale under the blue sky (and
+what a light to make purchases in!) the commonest and the most precious
+furs from Manchuria, the Amur, and even Kamtschatka, the total value of
+which must be enormous. Let us learn from the history of the Hudson's
+Bay Company what organisation of energy, what confidence, what variety of
+enterprise and skill, are required to bring these costly commodities from
+such vast distances to this great sale-room, and we shall not make light
+of the vitality of the Chinese.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The amenities of the street traffic, though not of special importance,
+call for mention as illustrating certain phases of foreign contact
+with the Chinese. If we may take Japan for comparison, in nothing is
+the contrast between the two systems more apparent than in municipal
+administration. The antithesis may be expressed in one word,--in Japan,
+excessive regulation; in China, absence of regulation. Whether there be
+any rule of the road in China is of little interest, seeing that, like
+other rules, it might be disregarded and there would be no one to enforce
+it. The traffic adjusts itself with little friction. China employs no
+police,--things arrange themselves by their own interaction, as the
+pebbles do on the sea-shore; and for most of the purposes of life the
+people are their own law-makers and their own executive. The Chinese
+system of government is to govern as little as possible--to let the
+country rule itself. So when a strange element demanded accommodation
+in the busy streets and congested gateways of Peking, without rules
+or supervision, it had to find its level among the rest by friction
+and concussion. It would have been an interesting process to watch in
+its initial stages. Amid a good deal of clamour and language of a racy
+description applied to man and beast and their respective ancestors, there
+is rarely a serious road quarrel among the Chinese. One excellent custom
+of polite society tends to restrict the area of disputes on the highway,
+leaving collisions to be fought out by grooms, carters, chair-bearers, or
+boatmen, as the case may be, while the masters maintain an imperturbable
+reserve.
+
+Mr Colborne Baber, who had a way of his own of solving the minor problems
+of Chinese intercourse, was once in a cart, sitting well back and
+unobserved, in a narrow street that admitted neither of turning nor of
+passing another vehicle, when a cart was met about half way. The drivers
+began to vociferate, each calling on the other to give way. The opposition
+carter claimed the precedence on the ground that his vehicle carried
+women, and it looked as if he would gain his point when Baber himself,
+becoming impatient, thrust out his head and called out that in his cart
+there was a foreign devil, and without further discussion the rival jehu
+backed out.
+
+Those who ride do not recognise each other on the road, even though they
+be friends; for if they did so, etiquette would require both to stop and
+dismount and go through formal salutations on foot. Foreigners, ignoring
+this rule, and their servants not unwilling to profit by the prestige
+of their masters in accosting bystanders from the saddle, are sometimes
+grievously misdirected when not lectured on their bad manners. The
+natives on their part are seldom averse from presuming on the foreigner's
+ignorance of what is due to him. Between the one and the other, or as a
+result of the mere chapter of accidents, collisions were inevitable in
+the streets. How were they to be dealt with in the absence of constituted
+authority? If aggression towards a foreigner on the part of a great man's
+servants were submitted to, there would be no end to it, they being 500 to
+1. On the other hand, insolence promptly resented and vigorously punished
+never failed to elicit the approval not only of the spectators, but even
+of the great man himself, who perhaps had secret grievances of his own
+against his lackeys, which he was not sorry to see partially paid off
+by proxy. In all cases the sympathy of the Chinese goes with the side
+that successfully asserts itself. Of this hundreds of examples could be
+given--perhaps not one on the converse side.
+
+A writer in the 'Whitehall Review' some years ago, among interesting
+reminiscences of the 'Sixties, relates some incidents to show the
+primitive means by which equilibrium was established between natives and
+foreigners in the Peking streets. _Place aux dames._ The experience of the
+first foreign female who had been seen is thus amusingly told. Mr Bruce's
+housekeeper, an old family retainer who had followed the fortunes of her
+master all over the world,
+
+    saw no particular reasons for not acting in Peking as she had
+    done in Cairo or Constantinople, and the first morning after her
+    arrival sallied forth, basket on arm, to do her marketing for the
+    day. When I add that she knew not a word of Chinese, that none of
+    the natives spoke English, that she was about five feet high and
+    ten feet round the crinoline, and was the first female European
+    ever seen by the Pekingese, her enterprise will be judged to have
+    been braver than she knew. However, nothing daunted, she entered
+    a butcher's shop, closely pressed upon by an inquisitive and
+    delighted crowd. Before she could even look at a joint or chop
+    she was hemmed in, and one waggish native, bolder than the rest,
+    gave her a substantial dig in the crinoline, shouting in Chinese,
+    "Let's see if she's solid." But the laugh was not for long on his
+    side. Seizing a chopper from the block, Mrs A. made a mighty blow
+    at his head, which he happily evaded. In less than a second the
+    shop was clear, the terrified natives tumbling over each other
+    in their haste to get away. A European who came upon the scene
+    at the moment beheld the startling sight of some 500 Chinese
+    rushing up the principal street pursued by an infuriated old woman
+    armed with a chopper. With some difficulty she was persuaded to
+    abandon the chase and resume her basket, which she had dropped
+    in her excitement. But it is on record that for a good two years
+    thereafter Mrs A. was allowed to shop in peace, and became a
+    "Black Douglas" to troublesome Chinese children in the vicinity
+    of the Legation.
+
+In later years she talked in what she called "broken China."
+
+Another "adjustment to environment" is thus described:--
+
+    A curious little industry sprang up in the environs of the city,
+    consequent on the horsey proclivities of the Europeans. This was
+    getting run over, which was generally accomplished by rushing in
+    front of the horses and throwing the hands up. One of two things
+    always happened. Either the horse shied and the rider came off, to
+    the huge delight of the Chinese mob, or the gesticulating party
+    was knocked down. In this latter event, cautioned as we all were
+    to give no offence, if possible, to the natives, a dollar was
+    generally handed as salve to the artful victim, whose screams and
+    yells that he had been killed never failed to draw a large and
+    sympathising crowd of friends, who regarded the "foreign devil"
+    with most unfriendly looks. In one village at last it became
+    intolerable, and we decided if any further attempt was made we
+    would run down the culprits intentionally. As usual, on our next
+    visit three or four young _gamins_ essayed the usual dodge. Being
+    fully prepared for it, nobody was unseated, and we turned our
+    horses back at full gallop, three or four Chinese being hurled
+    into the hedge by our horses. We did not stop to offer dollars,
+    but were never afterwards stopped.
+
+Following the same train of reflection, he gives examples of the drastic
+manner in which the Russians asserted their prerogatives on the road,
+which we do not quote, as they were probably exceptional cases.
+
+The never-failing courtesy of the Manchus rises superior to such
+unpleasant encounters. An example of this was related to the writer by a
+member of the British Legation. In riding through a narrow place, narrowed
+probably by the cesspool occupying more than its fair share of the street,
+he met the _cortege_ of a grandee at a spot where it seemed impossible
+to pass, and it looked as if the solitary horseman must turn back. As
+he thought of doing so he observed the occupant of the sedan call a halt
+and direct his bearers to make room for the stranger. Observing closely
+the features of him who showed so much consideration for a foreigner, the
+Englishman was pleased, some time afterwards, to recognise in him Prince
+Ch'ing, who succeeded Prince Kung as President of the Tsungli-Yamen in
+1884.
+
+The lives of the foreign residents were by no means confined within the
+four walls of the city. The environs without fences or trespass notices
+make charming excursion-grounds for riding-parties. For longer expeditions
+there are the never-failing attractions of the Ming Tombs, the Great
+Wall, the passes into Mongolia, and various other distant points. The
+city is beautifully situated in the centre of a mountain crescent, whose
+nearest point is thirteen miles distant. The first object of quest when
+the Legations had been established was a sanatorium or summer retreat--for
+the thermometer reaches 100 Fahr. in June--and the Western Hills were
+explored. Some of the most beautiful spots there are occupied by Buddhist
+temples or monasteries, whose builders have shown as nice a taste in
+the selection of their sites as their brethren the monks of the West
+have always done. These religious houses, laid out with a view to the
+accommodation of pilgrims and strangers, are regularly used by Chinese
+grandees as health-resorts or shelters from political storms. The Russian
+mission, while it was alone in Peking, had set the example twenty years
+before of resorting to the hill temples in the dog-days. Arrangements
+with the priests for the occupation of certain portions of one of the
+temples were soon made by Mr Parkes, who was on a visit to the capital,
+and ever since 1861 official Peking, with one notable exception, has on
+the approach of summer migrated bodily from the oppressive atmosphere of
+the great city to the exhilarating air of the Western Hills. The social
+life of the city was reproduced at the temples, but in a less conventional
+form, every one residing there being considered on a holiday. The country
+round offered many temptations to excursions, and amateurs of geology,
+botany, and natural history were never at a loss for something to interest
+them in their rambles among the hills. Residence so far from town brought
+the foreigners into friendly contact also with their rustic neighbours,
+whose innate good qualities, moderation, contentment, and kindliness were
+displayed in a very favourable light.
+
+But the sojourn at the hills also brought the foreigner into occasional
+contact with Chinese of high rank, who welcomed such opportunities of
+showing civility to the strangers. At other times disagreeable collisions
+with the retainers of a great personage were experienced. So popular were
+the temples of the Western Hills as a summer resort that they were always
+full, and consequently disputes about accommodation were liable to occur,
+especially when some grasping priest would let the same premises to two
+different occupants, leaving them, or rather their servants, to fight for
+the possession.
+
+
+III. THE FOREIGN CUSTOMS UNDER THE PEKING CONVENTION.
+
+    Centralised in Peking--Encouraged by British Ministers--Assumed
+    imperial form after the treaties of 1858--Extension to all the
+    ports--Original international basis becomes purely Chinese--Shows
+    capacity for larger functions than collection of duties--Becomes
+    a diplomatic auxiliary--British Government leans upon it--The
+    Chinese faithfully served by it--Interpreter of the intentions
+    of the foreign Governments--Inspector-General gains influence
+    over British Minister--Pleases Board of Trade--And maintains
+    confidential relations with British Government--While remaining
+    faithful to China--Services rendered by the Customs to all
+    commercial nations.
+
+It was a source of unmixed satisfaction to Sir Rutherford Alcock, on
+assuming office in Peking, to find the maritime customs, the bantling of
+Shanghai, firmly established in the capital and gathering strength and
+influence. As its functions pertained exclusively to trade, Sir Frederick
+Bruce had been originally of opinion that the inspector-general should be
+located in the commercial centre, Shanghai, and he took exception to the
+institution being domiciled in Peking, where trade was expressly excluded
+by treaty. Sir Frederick, however, soon saw reason to modify his views.
+When it began to appear to him that the customs might prove a convenient
+auxiliary to the diplomacy of the treaty Powers, he cultivated the
+institution and encouraged it to occult activity in the political sphere.
+Sir Frederick Bruce's interests in the fortunes of the customs, however,
+could never be so ardent as that of its parent, Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+and its monthly nurse, Mr Wade. The presence of these two in the British
+Legation afforded a fresh guarantee of the prosperity of the customs,
+which they were both well satisfied to see in the competent hands of Mr
+Hart. For as the institution was a creation without precedent, the form
+of its development must be largely influenced by the personal qualities
+of its head. Whatever character it might have assumed under its original
+inspector-general, Lay, it could hardly have been the same service that
+has grown and spread under the directing hand of Sir Robert Hart. It
+is impossible to dissociate the Chinese customs as it stands from the
+vigorous self-sustained intellect that has moulded and still controls it,
+for it is assuredly not such a going concern as can be made over to any
+new head without the risk of changes more or less organic.
+
+The story of the first decade of the maritime customs was told clearly,
+briefly, and modestly in a monograph which Mr Hart prepared for Mr Bruce
+in 1864, published as a Blue Book of thirteen pages (No. 1, 1865). Up
+to the date of the Tientsin treaty of 1858 the operations of the foreign
+collectorate were confined to the single port of Shanghai, the inspectors
+holding the appointment from the governor-general at Nanking, who was
+Imperial Commissioner for Foreign Trade. The new treaty gave the foreign
+Powers an interest in the Chinese customs which they did not possess
+before, because the war indemnities were to be paid by instalments out
+of the collections of duty, so that during the time when these payments
+were being made the maintenance of the machinery for collecting the duties
+was a matter of international concern. The new treaty also provided for a
+uniform system of duty collection for all the trading-ports; and then the
+institution assumed an imperial and dropped its provincial character, the
+inspector-general receiving his commission from the Central Government.
+
+Considering that the mission of the foreign customs was to subvert
+time-honoured native systems, it was received with surprising graciousness
+at most of the trading centres. The first port to which the new system was
+extended was Canton, the leader in welcoming its advent there being the
+_hoppo_, the one functionary in the empire whose privileges seemed to be
+most directly threatened by the new-comer. By one of those anomalies which
+are so common and yet so inexplicable in Chinese affairs, arrangements for
+opening the office in Canton were carried on without interruption during
+the hostilities of 1859. Patience, tact, and resolution were nevertheless
+required to overcome the innumerable difficulties of detail incidental to
+substituting rigorous inspection and remorseless collection for the chaos
+of unaccountability which had previously reigned unchallenged. A very few
+years, however, served to reduce all obstruction, and to bring trader and
+official, foreigner and Chinese, into working harmony.
+
+For the first time in history a true account was rendered to the Imperial
+Government, accompanied by a substantial revenue on which it could depend.
+Naturally the agency, though foreign, which yielded such tangible fruit,
+commended itself to the statesmen of the capital, who frankly recognised,
+as did the provincial authorities themselves, that the result obtained
+was wholly beyond the competence of any native organisation. Though,
+therefore, the customs service was essentially of a provisional, stop-gap
+character, it had on that very account a surer guarantee of permanence
+than could have been derived from any paper covenant by which the Chinese
+Government could have been bound, for that would have provoked disputation
+and evasion. The spasmodic attempt to formalise the service on a basis
+of international obligation which was made in 1898 was perhaps the first
+thing that really imperilled its constitution. In its origin, indeed,
+the foreign customs had been international, the three treaty Powers being
+each represented on the inspectorate; but with the expansion in 1858 this
+character was abandoned, and the customs became a purely Chinese concern
+operated by foreign employees, the staff being selected from among all
+nations indiscriminately, according to personal merit.
+
+Almost from the time of the transference of the inspectorate to the
+capital the customs showed capacities of wider range than are comprised
+within the routine of a custom-house. Profoundly impressed as were the
+imperial statesmen with the value of the new revenue-producer, they soon
+began to perceive that the institution might be put to other and greater
+uses. Plurality of function in itself was no stumbling-block to them,
+for it is the system on which Chinese administration is carried on. In
+the very first year they had intrusted the inspector-general and his
+deputy with the organisation of a navy, with the evident approval of the
+British Minister. That functionary, indeed, seemed as little disposed as
+the Chinese themselves to see incongruity in the various forms of customs
+activity, especially when he regarded its extra official services as
+rendered to himself; and he really stood much in need of services of that
+kind.
+
+Her Majesty's first representative in Peking, helpless and despairing,
+was, in fact, fain to throw himself on the support of the first
+inspector-general, Mr Lay, and then of his successor, Mr Hart, as
+having knowledge and influence with the Chinese Government which was
+not possessed by the British Legation. It did not apparently occur to Mr
+Bruce that such knowledge was strictly limited, and that the influence
+could be of very little use to him, and might be too dearly purchased.
+Having no other resource, however, he was perhaps not unwilling to
+shut his eyes to the false position in which he was placing himself in
+leaning upon the paid servants of the Chinese Government to assist him in
+carrying out a policy which was totally repugnant to that Government. The
+fidelity of both Mr Lay and Mr Hart to the master whom they served being
+beyond question, the diplomatic prestige conferred on them by the British
+Minister, as well as the knowledge and influence derived from the other
+side, must, in all matters of controversy, be thrown into the Chinese
+scale.
+
+As this interesting truth dawned upon the minds of the Tsungli-Yamen, they
+saw in their English employee a providential instrument for drawing the
+sting from the threatening language which was sometimes applied to them
+by the foreign representatives. Of these, the only one who had as yet any
+serious matter to discuss with the Chinese was the representative of Great
+Britain. It was assumed on the British side that nothing proposed by that
+Power was contrary to the interests of China: so far, indeed, did this
+theory inspire their action, that the welfare of the Chinese seemed at
+times to overshadow that of their own empire in the minds of the British
+representatives. No doubt there was an ideal point of view from which
+the interests of China and her Western neighbours might seem ultimately
+to blend, but Chinese statesmen were in nowise able to take in such a
+large perspective. They continued to regard the foreign invasion, with
+all its pretences of goodwill, as an unmitigated calamity to be opposed
+wherever possible. No man can pronounce a certain judgment as to whether,
+with their imperfect knowledge, they were more right or more wrong in
+following their obstructive instincts. Reforms, progress, and the opening
+up of the country to foreigners, were being persistently pressed upon
+them; they fully expected these concessions to be demanded of them when
+the time came--and it was already drawing near--when the treaties should
+be revised. Admitting, moreover, that some one, or more, of the Powers
+might have been considerate enough to forego, or indefinitely postpone,
+advantages for themselves rather than imperil the wellbeing of the Chinese
+State, there were already six instead of the original three treaty Powers
+to be reckoned with; nor was there any limit to the further increase of
+their numbers. Supposing, then, that, relying on the benignant intentions
+of the English, they should, in the revision of their treaty, admit such
+innovations as inland steam navigation, inland residence, railways,
+and so forth, would not these successes stimulate the other Powers,
+when their turn for revision came,--France in 1870, Germany in 1871,
+and others later,--to advance still farther the outposts of the foreign
+invasion, each, in a spirit of generous emulation, striving to surpass the
+achievements of his predecessor; and all with the complacent consciousness
+that they were doing good to China? These endless contingencies were more
+than Chinese statesmen could cope with, and the apprehension of them had
+no other effect than to consolidate their resistance in small as well
+as in great things. They were learning to mistrust the efficacy of their
+ancient imperial policy of dividing and ruling, and with good reason had
+lost confidence in their capacity to distinguish in embryo between what
+was trivial and what was laden with deep consequences.
+
+Resistance, therefore, tempered by the fear of force, seemed their only
+refuge. Some of the dangers ahead, of which they had glimpses, might have
+been obviated by a bolder policy; but being unable to formulate such
+a policy for themselves, and unwilling to accept it cut and dried from
+others, there was nothing left them but indiscriminate resistance. Under
+such conditions no harmony was possible between the Chinese and Western
+Governments; and not knowing how far they might with safety evade the
+pressure put upon them, the Chinese had recourse to the Inspector-General
+of Customs, as Louis XI. had recourse to his astrologer whenever he felt
+himself in a difficult crisis.
+
+The Tsungli-Yamen, accustomed to act on hand-to-mouth views of policy,
+would do anything to relieve the pressure of the moment, but nothing to
+prevent a recurrence of it. Indisposed to follow up the sequences of cause
+and effect, they would in emergencies become impatient of ratiocination
+and attempt to reach the foregone conclusion by a shorter cut. Common
+gossip in China thus fairly summarised their attitude in certain crises
+of this kind. If discussion with the British Legation ran high, the Yamen
+would send for the inspector-general and ask simply, "Does this mean
+war?" The answer being "No," the question ceased to trouble the Yamen,
+and the foreign Minister would be allowed to rage at his pleasure. Their
+Excellencies would even help him out with the opprobrious terms he was
+searching for, and then listen placidly to the remainder of the tirade.
+Great Britain having not only the preponderating interest, but being still
+the leading Power in the Far East, it was obviously a great advantage for
+the Chinese that it should be that Power which came particularly under
+the influence of the inspector-general. To tie the hands of the British
+Government for a whole generation was, indeed, an achievement worthy of a
+master of policy; but it was by no means the only service which might be
+rendered to China even by an Inspector-General of Customs.
+
+The same agency was destined in later days to unravel many tangled skeins
+in China's international relations. It brought Gordon to her rescue in
+1880; by sheer innate ability in the use of the most unpromising means, it
+brought about peace with France in 1885; and, though with less success, it
+procured the attempted intervention of Great Britain with Japan in 1894.
+
+How far these great potentialities were foreseen in the earlier years
+of the Customs service is doubtful. Even in their parental complacency
+Sir Rutherford Alcock and Mr Wade may well have failed to realise, as an
+uninterested outsider might have done, the nature of the power that was
+being nursed in their infant Hercules. Certain it is that they reckoned
+it as a factor on their own side. It is clear that Sir Rutherford Alcock,
+so far from regarding the inspector-general as an opponent, commended him
+to the Foreign Office as a valuable auxiliary. Mr Wade clung to the same
+belief for a good many years longer.
+
+The first to perceive the tendency of the new relationship which events
+were bringing about was, no doubt, the inspector-general himself.
+China, he saw, could be best served by a virtual control of the British
+Legation. The nascent power was, however, too precious to be trusted to
+personal accidents, and the inspector-general wisely availed himself
+of circumstances as they arose to widen his basis of influence by
+establishing such relations with the Home Government as might save
+him from being wholly dependent on the life or the caprice of the
+representative for the time being at Peking. Such to an ordinary man
+might have appeared a hopeless ambition, considering the circumstance
+of distance and other adverse conditions. Yet by gradual steps this too
+was accomplished. A well-directed stroke or a happy accident established
+the inspector-general in high favour with the Board of Trade when under
+the presidency of Mr John Bright. He had summed up the results of the
+treaty revision[13] negotiations in 1868 in a congratulatory letter to
+the British Minister which has been many times published. As a masterly
+exposition of the State of China in its relation to foreign Powers it was
+warmly indorsed by Sir Rutherford Alcock, and is well worth perusal even
+at this day. The Board of Trade was much impressed by a presentment of
+the Chinese case so much in sympathy with the views often expressed by Mr
+Cobden and Mr Bright, and which are traditional in the Board of Trade.
+Their policy was noninterference in the affairs of China, based largely
+on their disparagement of the value of British interests in that country.
+In commenting on this closely reasoned State Paper, the Board of Trade
+specially selected for illustration of its merit the following passage:
+"Of course, force will wrest anything from China: but wherever there is
+action there is reaction; and as sure as natural laws continue to act,
+so sure it is that appeals to force in one age will give to the men of
+a later day a heritage of vengeance,--the Europeans of some future day
+may wish that their forefathers had not sown the seeds of hatred in the
+bayonet-ploughed soil of Cathay."
+
+Nor was this the only result of the happy success of the new customs
+diplomacy, for, as the connecting link between commerce and politics, the
+Board of Trade was a potent agency in determining the political action of
+the Government, more especially when there was a strong man at the head
+of it and a weak one at the Foreign Office.
+
+The rising power in China did not seek fresh conquests, but was adroit in
+seizing on such as came in its way, and circumstances having brought it
+in direct touch with the Foreign Office, that department was drawn into
+close relation with the Chinese customs.
+
+The result of all this, briefly stated, was the partial effacement of
+the Legation and the gradual promotion of Sir Robert Hart to the first
+place in the confidence of the British Government. As the Foreign Office
+had, since the suppression of the Taiping rebellion and the death of
+Lord Palmerston, been most reluctant either to busy itself or to inform
+itself respecting affairs in China, and was, moreover, anxious to minimise
+the cost of the Legation in Peking, it was rather predisposed to accept
+volunteer assistance in the management of British interests in China. The
+Legation was then, as now, without any intelligence department, the cost
+of which was saved under the vague belief that all needful information
+might be obtained from the customs. Thus relegated to a secondary place,
+the Legation was more and more neglected by Her Majesty's Government,
+until at last representatives were selected at random and sent out
+without instructions, in blind reliance on the good offices of the
+Inspector-General of Customs.
+
+Before this final stage had been reached, however, such an opportunity
+occurred, through the death of Sir Harry Parkes, of legitimising
+the irregular connection, as a death sometimes provides in certain
+relations of domestic life, and Sir Robert Hart was himself appointed
+British Minister. This step was recognised as so far appropriate to the
+circumstances that it conjoined responsibility with power, which had
+been too long divorced from each other. But just as the new Minister
+was about to assume his duties a hitch occurred with the Tsungli-Yamen,
+whose views as to the succession to the post of head of the customs not
+coinciding with Sir Robert Hart's, he thereupon resigned the office of
+British Minister and resumed his Chinese service. The incident made no
+difference in the confidence which Sir Robert Hart inspired in the Foreign
+Office, which had, in fact, drifted into a position of dependence on the
+inspector-general. This close relationship continued until the Japanese
+war in 1894, when the British Government, the victim of many illusions,
+found itself in a condition of bewilderment, like King Lear on the heath,
+quite unfurnished with the means of coping with the superior intelligence
+of the other European Powers.
+
+Throughout all these years the attitude of the inspector-general towards
+his Chinese employers was absolutely above suspicion. He served them
+loyally throughout, and if the British Government imagined he was using
+his highly paid position under the Chinese Government in any way to
+promote other than Chinese interests, that was a gratuitous assumption on
+their part for which they alone were responsible, and for which, as for
+all false strategy, the inevitable penalty must be paid.
+
+Among the important international services rendered by the foreign
+customs, the effective lighting of the coast deserves the first place.
+Next to that may be reckoned the compilation of accurate statistics of
+foreign trade with China, more complete perhaps than exists in any other
+country. The reports of the commissioners of customs at the various
+ports are also replete with varied and useful information concerning the
+commerce, industry, and agriculture, with other conditions of the life
+of the Chinese. Special subjects assigned to individual men are treated
+as exhaustively as if investigated by a Royal Commission. These valuable
+papers constitute a modern Chinese Repository to which there is but one
+drawback--its inaccessibility.
+
+
+IV. EMIGRATION.
+
+    Extensive emigration of Chinese labourers in consequence of
+    gold discoveries--Great abuses--Attempt to diminish same by
+    international action--Tripartite treaty concluded in Peking--Not
+    ratified by France and England--Who send out amended treaty,
+    but negotiations never resumed by Chinese--Opposition of British
+    colonies and the United States to Chinese emigration.
+
+The first public question with which Sir Rutherford Alcock was called upon
+to deal was that of the emigration or exportation of Chinese coolies.
+Among the consequences of the gold discoveries of the middle of the
+century was a demand for human labour, which China of all countries was
+best able to supply. Voluntary emigration to California and Australia
+(the "Old" and the "New Gold Mountain") was considerable; but it did not
+meet the requirements of those enterprises in tropical and subtropical
+countries which, if not originated, were at least stirred into activity
+by the impulse radiating from the gold mines. The contractor was called
+into requisition, and Chinese were carried off in shiploads to Cuba,
+Peru, Chili, "where they were sold into virtual slavery" under agreements
+over which there was no legal supervision. Terrible abuses characterised
+the traffic; mutiny and massacre on the high seas were among the natural
+consequences. "Another coolie tragedy" was as common a newspaper heading
+in the 'Fifties as "another missionary outrage" in the subsequent decades
+of the nineteenth century.
+
+Hongkong being the most convenient shipping port, it was natural
+that thence should emanate the first efforts to suppress the abuses
+of the traffic. The "Chinese Passengers Act" passed by the Colonial
+Legislature in 1855 was a well-considered step in that direction, and
+the establishment of responsible emigration agencies was another. Such
+efforts, however, could only be partially successful; for while they
+cleared the colony from participation in a nefarious trade, they made
+no impression on the trade itself. Indeed, by throwing it into the least
+reputable channels, the fate of the victims may even have been rendered
+less endurable by the restrictive measures conceived for their benefit.
+The Portuguese settlement of Macao remained open, and there the coolie
+traffic flourished exceedingly, to the pecuniary advantage of that colony
+and of the maternal Government, which levies an annual tribute from its
+Far Eastern offspring. The trade was also carried on in a more or less
+clandestine and irregular manner at Canton, Swatow, and other Chinese
+ports, under non-British flags.
+
+For years the colonial press was filled with the horrors of the traffic.
+Such paragraphs as the following were continually appearing in the
+Hongkong newspapers:--
+
+    At Macao the coolie trade is still rampant, with all its
+    abominations. The inquiries instituted, or said to have been
+    instituted, by Governor Amaral, have ended in smoke. Day after day
+    some additional iniquity comes to light in connection with this
+    horrible traffic. Coolies kidnapped, imprisoned in barracoons,
+    flogged to make them consent to sign the iniquitous contract that
+    binds them to a life of slavery, marched with a strong guard to
+    testify at the Government offices to their signature as given
+    voluntarily and freely, half-starved, exposed to blindness and
+    disease on board ship in transit to the place of their exile,
+    tossed overboard, or left on some barren isle to die, if loss of
+    sight or sickness renders them useless to their masters. Such
+    are the grand features of the Macao coolie trade, supported by
+    the governor in his official acts, and the semi-official paper he
+    edits. Such are the horrors of a slave-trade worse than that of
+    the poor African negro, which all nations ought to unite to put
+    an end to.
+
+Foreigners could of course have had no success whatever in such
+man-hunting schemes without the interested co-operation of the natives.
+How this was obtained may be gathered from such reports as that of Mr W.
+M. Cooper, acting consul at Swatow, one of the principal entrepots.
+
+    Nowhere [he says] is population more dense than in the plains
+    of the Han. There is a constant tendency, where the struggle
+    for existence is so keen, and no drain exists as that caused by
+    recruiting for an army, towards the formation of a scum of bad
+    characters, whom their idleness or ill-deeds drive to prey on the
+    more industrious. These, frequently discarded by their families,
+    are seen by the official and the village elder on their way to
+    the coolie-house with a sense of relief and satisfaction; and
+    not seldom is the coolie-broker aided in his object of obtaining
+    men by persons of this class, and frequently by the relations of
+    the men themselves. Thus the trade is allowed to take root with
+    the concurrence of the heads of the people, who not only rid
+    themselves by means of it of a nuisance and a burden, but make
+    money by the transaction; and a connection is formed which the
+    broker, in his thirst for dollars, becoming gradually hardened and
+    more ruthless, is not slow to avail himself of in carrying out,
+    with greater boldness, evil designs on his victim.
+
+But if the atrocities incident to the capture and embarkation cried aloud
+for a remedy, the brutalities of the middle passage were no less heinous;
+and though the light could not easily penetrate the scenes enacted in the
+distant mines and plantations which were the ultimate destination of the
+coolies, enough was known to show that their lot in Spanish-American and
+other countries and colonies was far from enviable.
+
+To efface this blot on civilisation was the first object which engaged
+the attention of Sir Rutherford Alcock in Peking. The Chinese Government
+itself had remained for many years callous to the cruelties perpetrated
+on its subjects; but this was in keeping with its tolerant habit, its
+blindness to things disagreeable, and its constitutional aversion to
+overt action of any kind. The Peking authorities seem, however, to have
+been at last aroused by the interest in the question evinced by foreign
+Governments, and in 1866 the Chinese Ministers were induced to join
+the foreign Powers in devising means to ameliorate the condition of the
+emigrants. The suggestions of Prince Kung were practical and well directed
+towards a solution of the problem.
+
+The problem, however, was by no means simple; for to be effective,
+regulations must be of universal obligation, and receive the sanction of
+all the interested Powers. There was no desire in any quarter to arrest
+the stream of honest and free emigration; on the contrary, it was welcomed
+as an outlet for destitute Chinese. To impose restrictions on Hongkong
+while the neighbouring colony was lawless and free; to place obstacles
+in the way of emigration to Demerara and Trinidad, where the coolies
+were happy and contented, thereby driving them in greater numbers to
+territories where they were enslaved,--was obviously no gain to humanity.
+The question, however, was as urgent as it was difficult.
+
+Yet there were circumstances in the situation favourable to a satisfactory
+issue. Chief among these was the fact that France and England were
+still working loyally together in matters of cosmopolitan concern. Sir
+Rutherford Alcock found his French colleagues in Peking as amenable as he
+had found those in Yedo. The consequence was that, as the result of the
+winter's labours, a tripartite convention for the regulation of coolie
+emigration was signed in March 1866 by the British and French Ministers
+and Prince Kung. The convention was approved by the Ministers of Russia,
+the United States, and Prussia, though they were not parties to it.
+But the French Government took exception to certain of its provisions,
+and deferred ratification until these should be modified. The British
+Colonial Office and Emigration Board fell in with the views of the French
+Government. The settlement of the question was thereupon shifted from
+Peking to Paris and London, when voluminous correspondence ensued between
+the two Foreign Offices, extending through the years 1866, 1867, and
+into 1868. The co-operation between the two Governments was hearty and
+complete; and the amount of patient labour devoted to the task, especially
+by the French Foreign Office, which had not the auxiliary machinery at its
+disposal which existed in the Government departments in England, was in
+the highest degree creditable to both. It may suffice to say that after
+eighteen months of earnest work a "Projet de Reglement International
+d'Emigration" was completed in twenty-three articles with subsidiary
+forms, and was despatched to Peking at the end of 1867, the discussions
+having resulted in the retention of almost the entire text of the original
+convention--a fact which reflected no small credit on the Ministers in
+Peking who had drawn it up.
+
+But when the time came for resuming negotiations in the Chinese capital,
+the Government there had relapsed into its habitual apathy respecting
+the welfare of its people. Possibly, also, the zeal of the resident
+Ministers of France and England may have cooled during the interval
+which had elapsed since their previous efforts. Their attention was
+becoming engrossed with other subjects. Effective co-operation between
+the three parties was evidently no longer feasible. The attempt to
+regulate emigration by a comprehensive international agreement was tacitly
+abandoned, and the evils of the coolie trade were left to be dealt with
+sporadically.
+
+Free emigration from Hongkong--that is to say, of emigrants who paid
+their own passage--proceeded all the while on an extensive scale. But
+the laws of the colony did not permit contract emigration except to
+British colonies, and under elaborate supervision both at embarkation and
+after arrival at the field of labour. Although coolie ships could not be
+despatched from Hongkong, a certain amount of indirect participation in
+the traffic was maintained for some years by residents in the colony who
+supplied fittings for the coolie ships preparatory to their proceeding
+to the port of embarkation. Colonial legislation, however, gradually put
+an end to this, and successive ordinances so narrowed the field of the
+contractors' operations that the trade, both direct and indirect, was
+practically extinguished so far as Hongkong was concerned. A declaration
+by the Chief Justice in 1873 summed up the various prohibitory laws by
+enacting that the coolie trade would be treated as a slave trade, aiding
+or abetting which would be felony. In the year following, the Portuguese
+Government, yielding to the friendly pressure that had been for a long
+time put upon them, passed a law prohibiting the coolie trade at Macao.
+
+While the emigrants were so anxiously protected at the outset of their
+voyage, the immigration of Chinese into the United States and the
+Australian colonies was exciting interest of a different kind in those
+countries. Legislation was continuously directed against the influx
+of Chinese, and not legislation only, but barbarous ill-treatment and
+outrages on a par with those perpetrated against foreigners in China. Mr
+Secretary Seward on his round-the-world tour in 1871 expressed himself
+highly favourable to Chinese labour in the United States, and his views
+afforded great encouragement to emigration to California for some years
+after. The treaty concluded at Washington in 1868 by Mr Burlingame
+accorded full privileges to Chinese in the United States. But a sharp
+reaction occurred in the views of American statesmen, and in 1880 the
+Chinese Government, by treaty made in Peking, consented to a modification
+of the Washington treaty of 1868, which would allow the United States to
+limit or suspend, though not absolutely to prohibit, Chinese immigration.
+This step towards prohibition was completed in another convention signed
+at Washington in 1894. Why the Chinese Government should have gratuitously
+consented to attach a stigma to their country and people is one of those
+inexplicable matters which abound in the history of China's foreign
+relations.
+
+
+V. KOREA.
+
+    Comes into the sphere of international relations in 1866--Illegal
+    propagandism followed by persecutions--France adopts the
+    cause of the missions--Calls upon China as suzerain to punish
+    Koreans--Which failing, French Minister proclaims annexation
+    of Korea--Naval expedition repulsed--American naval expedition
+    repulsed in 1871.
+
+It was in the year 1866 that foreign aggression first complicated the
+relations between China and her tributaries. The kingdom of Korea had with
+more consistency and more success than either China or Japan secluded
+itself absolutely from foreign intrusion. Nevertheless, the ubiquitous
+Jesuit had found his way there, under desperate subterfuges; for if
+the foreigner in general was proscribed, the foreign religionist was
+anathema to the rulers of Korea. The laws of the country were draconic
+in their severity against all priests or pretenders to supernatural
+authority; but the zeal of the Catholic propaganda defied the laws,
+though not always with impunity. "Persecutions," in fact, occasionally
+broke out, and "massacres" was a not inappropriate description of the
+repressive measures adopted by the Government in vindication of what it
+considered the law of the State. The French Government, or at least its
+representative in Peking, resolved to espouse the cause of the persecuted
+missionaries in 1866, and to make reprisals on the King of Korea. But
+that country being a vassal state, the demand was first made formally on
+the suzerain, that he should cause the Korean persecutors to be punished
+and the missionaries avenged. This was not only prejudging the particular
+case, but was yet another instance of foreigners forcing a formula on
+China, and making her answerable to a tribunal of whose jurisdiction
+she had no cognisance. The relations of China to the surrounding States
+which acknowledged her suzerainty were vague and various, imperfectly
+understood by Western States, as was sufficiently proved in the Burma
+Convention concluded between Great Britain and China in 1886. But the
+French _charge d'affaires_ recognised no debatable ground such as even
+in the international comity of the West differentiates one dependent
+State from another, and one suzerain Power from another. In the British
+system alone the diversity in the relations of the members to the head
+is sufficient to exclude the application of any general rule. While the
+touchstone of war would no doubt reduce all to one level, yet in the
+matter of administrative responsibility what single rule could embrace,
+for example, India, Malta, the self-governing colonies, the Transvaal, and
+the African Protectorates? M. de Bellonet, however, was not embarrassed
+by any dubitations about the clean-cut rule to be enforced on China and
+Korea. He simply demanded that the suzerain should punish the vassal,
+failing which, he would take the affair into his own hands. Logical, no
+doubt, and not unreasonable, assuming the quarrel to be just. But the
+French _charge_ went a step further in adjudging the actual dissolution
+of the family compact and sequestration of the inferior kingdom. On
+Prince Kung's declining responsibility for the Korean persecutions, M.
+de Bellonet, without further ado, annexed Korea to the empire of France,
+dethroned the king, and posted placards about the streets of Peking
+promulgating the fact. To Prince Kung he addressed a weighty despatch, in
+which he said, "The same day on which the King of Korea laid his hands on
+my unhappy countrymen was the last of his reign. He himself declared its
+end, which I, in my turn, solemnly declare to-day."[14]
+
+This was carrying the question beyond the scope of international law.
+
+Taking an analogy from common life, a father may neglect to correct a
+mischievous son, and thus leave his neighbours free to take the law into
+their own hands, but their right to chastise or prosecute does not include
+that of annulling the parental relationship, and of making a bondman
+of the offender. Force, of course, may effect such a rupture in the
+connection between nations, but in this case the force had not yet been
+applied. Admiral Roze proceeded with a squadron to the mouth of the Han,
+the waterway to the Korean capital, bombarded forts, and left his name to
+an island which faces the port of Chemulpo. The incident was then at an
+end.
+
+But not the effects of it. It was to Chinese and Koreans a flash of the
+Roentgen rays that revealed the innermost hearts of the foreigners with
+a vividness not to be forgotten; it was the whole missionary question,
+from the Eastern point of view, in a nutshell. To violate the laws and
+teach the natives to do so, and then appeal to foreign Governments to
+back them in this insidious form of rebellion--that was the function of
+the missionaries. The foreign Government thereupon lays claim to the
+territory, and so the conspiracy is crowned. In the face of such an
+unveiling of motives the chance of the Chinese statesmen being led by
+the friendly counsel poured constantly into their ears by the foreign
+Ministers in Peking must have been small indeed.
+
+About the same time a small American vessel called the General Sherman,
+with a cargo of notions and some passengers, including one English
+missionary, made her way through the archipelago which fringes the coast
+into the inner waters of Korea. She was never again heard of, and the
+fate of crew and passengers was for long a matter of report and surmise.
+At last, in 1868, a United States ship of war, the Shenandoah, was
+sent to the Korean coast to get information about the General Sherman.
+Nothing whatever was learned. Then Mr George F. Seward, consul-general in
+Shanghai, advocated a mission to Korea with a sufficient force to ensure
+respect. His persevering recommendations prevailed with the Government at
+Washington, and a squadron was equipped in 1871 to proceed to Korea and
+attempt to open the country, the admiral being furnished with copies of
+the Japan treaties of 1854 and 1858 as models. The Americans at once came
+into collision with the Korean troops, bombarded their forts, and defeated
+with considerable loss a military force marshalled to resist them. But
+no negotiations were possible. The Korean Government remained impervious
+to remonstrance and uncompromising in its refusal of intercourse. The
+following characteristic letter, addressed by the Korean authorities to
+Admiral Rogers, tersely expresses their attitude of resolute isolation:--
+
+    In the year 1868 a man of your nation, whose name was Febiger,
+    came here and communicated and went away; why cannot you do the
+    same? In 1866 a people called the French came here, and we refer
+    you to them for what happened. This people has lived 4000 years
+    in the enjoyment of its own civilisation, and we want no other.
+    We trouble no other nation--why do you trouble us? Our country
+    is in the extreme east, and yours in the extreme west; for what
+    purpose do you come so many thousand miles across the sea? Is it
+    to inquire about the ship destroyed [the General Sherman]? Her men
+    committed piracy and murder, and they were punished with death.
+    Do you want our land? That cannot be. Do you want intercourse with
+    us? That cannot be either.
+
+The American ships withdrew, as the French had done, leaving the peninsula
+once more to its fate.
+
+Previously to this a piratical expedition was attempted by a German in
+a North-German steamer, instigated and piloted by a French priest. Its
+purpose was to desecrate the tombs of the kings, with a view to carrying
+off the golden treasures with which they were believed to be buried.
+
+The three fiascos left no outward trace in the current of affairs in
+China, and diplomatic intercourse proceeded in the capital as if the
+Korean peninsula did not exist. Let it not be supposed, however, that
+the statesmen of Peking failed to take these exhibitions to heart,
+although they maintained the strictest reserve on the subject. Christian
+proselytism and foreign domination were once more discovered in active
+alliance, justifying all the suspicions of the Asiatic nations.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [12] There is more truth than may appear in the bishop's paradox.
+    Peking is singularly free from epidemics, except occasionally
+    of smallpox. When Shanghai suffered so severely from cholera in
+    1862, there were two British regiments quartered there--one, the
+    67th, within the native city, amid filth and stagnant water; the
+    other, the 31st, in the foreign settlement, in quarters carefully
+    selected by the surgeon, Dr Rennie. The 31st lost a third of its
+    strength; the 67th suffered very little. Writing in August 1860
+    from Peitang, a town 500 yards square in the midst of a great
+    swamp, into which 17,000 men were huddled, Sir Hope Grant says:
+    "Notwithstanding the pestilential nature of the place, our troops,
+    wonderful to say, never enjoyed better health."
+
+ [13] See _infra_, "Revision of the Treaty," pp. 210-222.
+
+ [14] _Vide_ 'U.S. Diplomatic Corresp.,' vol. ii. for 1867, p. 424.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE REVISION OF THE TREATY.
+
+
+I. PREPARATION.
+
+    Struggle for the observance of the treaty--Hope in the prospective
+    revision--Information gathered by British Minister--Chinese
+    apprehensive of force being used--Imperial Government consult
+    provincial officials--Interesting memorials in reply--Especially
+    from Li Hung-chang--His liberal views respecting foreigners--And
+    wise advice to the throne.
+
+The conflict between foreign aggressions and Chinese resistance had
+proceeded without intermission on either side for seven years. In the
+struggle the Chinese had gained many successes, but the fruits of them had
+not been secured beyond the risk of reprisal. Both sides were ill at ease.
+The foreigners on their part had been buoyed up under their grievances
+by the hope of a readjustment of international relations, which had been
+provided for in the treaties of Tientsin and Peking.
+
+The decennial period was at hand when revision of the treaty of Tientsin
+might be claimed. To that important juncture all eyes looked forward. The
+foreigners hoped for freer intercourse; the Chinese wished to restrict
+what already existed. Great preparations were made for the revision
+campaign. On the part of the foreigners opinions were invited from all the
+trading-ports as to the points where modification could be advantageously
+claimed, and memorials from the Chambers of Commerce both in China and in
+Great Britain, from individuals, professional men, and from missionaries,
+poured in upon the British Minister during the years 1867 and 1868,
+extending even into 1869.
+
+Sir R. Alcock had even taken every possible pains to acquaint himself
+with the local circumstances of the various treaty ports by personal
+inspection and personal communication--a practice which public opinion
+urged in vain upon his successors, who had much greater need of such
+local observations. Following up this tour of his own, he delegated to
+a subordinate the task of studying the conditions under which trade was
+carried on in the interior, in the districts most likely to be affected by
+any probable changes in the treaty. Under this roving commission Consul
+Swinhoe made an extensive tour through the canal district of the Yangtze
+delta, and finished up with an expedition to Szechuan in 1869, on which
+he was accompanied by delegates of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce.
+
+The importance attached by foreigners to the occasion naturally stirred
+the Chinese Government also to make special exertions to meet the coming
+contest. From the measures to which they resorted it is evident that they
+were apprehensive lest force should be applied by the foreigners to gain
+their ends; for the idea of free negotiation and of voluntary agreement
+had not yet been assimilated by the Chinese. To them the foreigner
+represented force and nothing else. They had never really comprehended
+the reasons for the withdrawal of the Allies when in possession of Peking,
+and though the immediate danger of war was removed, the shadow of it never
+ceased to haunt the dreams of Chinese statesmen.
+
+Mistrusting their own resources, the Central Government appealed to the
+provinces for confidential advice; and as these communications throw light
+on the inner--though not the innermost--thoughts of the Chinese, which it
+is difficult otherwise to gauge, some of them are worth perusing in the
+actual words of the writers.
+
+The secret circular addressed by the Tsungli-Yamen to the high officials
+throughout the empire in 1867 opened abruptly with the proposition, "The
+barbarian question is one of old standing"; it then proceeded to review
+the difficulties and the dangers of "our present conjuncture," arising
+mainly from the improvement of communications and armaments combined
+with the earth-hunger of the various European nations. The foreigner at
+one time stood in awe of the Central Power, but that was before railways
+and steamships had been invented; and while the numbers who came to
+China were as yet insignificant, and were conveniently restricted to one
+spot, where they could be managed, now they occupy so many positions as
+to form a strategic cordon round the empire. Moreover, they are united
+in interest, and cannot suddenly be either isolated or weakened. How,
+then, can we confront them with our isolation and weakness? It is to
+be feared that we have no one who, taking a comprehensive view of the
+whole situation, can create disunion among our enemies through their own
+rivalries and insatiable avarice. Yet it is just here that the germ of
+an effective policy should be sought. If, however, circumstances render
+such a scheme at present impracticable, its execution may be deferred. We
+must be patient under suffering, diligently strengthening ourselves, and
+abide in hope. We bear in mind the calamities of 1860, and how to save
+the State the emperor was entreated to conclude a treaty. It was evident
+that the treaty, hastily concluded, would remain a fruitful source of
+future difficulty; nevertheless, good faith required that it should be
+fulfilled, and even the very fulfilment of it be turned into a means of
+limitation and restraint. The time for revision being now at hand, you are
+requested to give your suggestions as to the means of avoiding a rupture
+with foreigners, and in case of a rupture, what will ensure safety. The
+principal points likely to be brought forward at the revision conferences
+are here submitted for your consideration. To simply declare the whole
+impracticable is easy; the difficulty will be to devise a plan for safely
+avoiding concession. Deal with the matter, therefore, in a practical way,
+and not by an empty thesis; and let your memorial reach us not later than
+December. The points are--(1) The audience question. (2) The question
+of an embassy to foreign countries, which had been repeatedly urged by
+the various foreign Ministers in Peking. The arguments in favour of such
+a measure are, that "to know your adversary as he knows you" is a maxim
+of practical wisdom, and that it would be of great advantage to have the
+means of appealing from an unreasonable foreign Minister in Peking to his
+own Government. (3) Telegraphs and railways. (4) Residence of merchants in
+the interior. (5) Salt trade and coal-mining. (6) Extension of missions.
+
+Such was the substance of the Tsungli-Yamen's circular to the
+governors-general and governors of provinces. The memorials in reply
+were distinguished by some plain speaking. Amid a good deal that was
+vaporous and fantastic, such as would characterise any general council,
+there were propositions of sound statecraft, maxims which it would have
+been good for the Central Government to lay to heart, and side-lights
+on their traditional conceptions of national policy well deserving to be
+studied by the Powers which have relations with the Chinese. One clause
+in the memorial of Tseng Kwo-fan, for example, went to the root of the
+administrative difficulties which caused then, and still cause, the major
+portion of the angry friction between Chinese and foreign officials.
+He reminded the emperor, in fact, that he had a court of appeal in the
+provinces; so that though he might, under pressure, be forced to concede
+points to the foreign nations in Peking, yet it was the memorialist
+himself and his peers in the provinces who would have the last word to
+say. The elliptic and allusive style usually assumed in Chinese documents
+may allow this hint to be interpreted either as a veiled defiance of, or
+as an assurance of support to, the throne--perhaps both subtly compounded.
+But the practical inference remains, that, as experience has often proved,
+the provinces revise the decisions of the capital, and the execution rests
+with them.
+
+  [Illustration: LI HUNG-CHANG AT THE AGE OF FIFTY.
+   _From a photo by J. Thomson, Grosvenor Street, W._ ]
+
+The memorial, however, which is most interesting to foreigners, because
+the plainest to their comprehension, is that of Li Hung-chang, at that
+period Governor-General of the Hu-kwang; and as it affords a key to that
+statesman's subsequent career and the unique position he has occupied
+in regard to the foreign relations of the empire, it seems well worthy
+of reproduction. Omitting the preamble, and certain classic references
+without which a Chinese State Paper would be no more complete than a
+speech in Parliament or a leader in the 'Times' fifty years ago would
+have been without a Latin quotation, the substance of the memorial runs
+as follows:--
+
+    The humble opinion of the writer is, that in conducting business
+    with foreigners the point of the greatest importance is to avoid
+    exciting their contempt; that contempt once excited, they will
+    thwart us at every turn, and even in affairs that are really
+    practicable they will contrive a thousand schemes and devices to
+    throw obstacles in the way of their practicability. But if they
+    feel respect for China, all matters can be mutually arranged;
+    and even difficult questions can be settled by compromise or
+    agreement.
+
+    Foreigners, however, are not the only persons who are influenced
+    by this feeling: it animates alike the minds of the whole human
+    race.
+
+    It is often said that foreigners are crafty and malign and full
+    of unexpected ruses: but is it not the fact that Chinese are the
+    same; or rather that the outrageous craft and malignity of the
+    Chinese exceeds even that of foreigners? The truth is, that at
+    present foreigners are powerful and the Chinese feeble. And whence
+    arises the power of the former? It certainly is not innate in
+    them, but depends upon the fact that "the requisites of Government
+    are sufficiency of food, sufficiency of military equipment, and
+    the confidence of the people in their ruler" (Confucian Analects).
+    And how is the weakness of China to be accounted for? This also is
+    not innate, but is a result of the truth of the above axiom not
+    being sufficiently recognised. The present condition of foreign
+    countries resembles that of China before the union, or is perhaps
+    even still more formidable.
+
+    In the course of time foreigners came to China, opened numerous
+    marts, and conveyed their merchandise everywhere. They traded
+    at as many as five ports, and all with no other object but that
+    of making the wealth of China contribute to their own. A little
+    consideration shows that those who ventured to come to this
+    country must have placed their reliance upon something to have
+    rendered them so fearless; and there is not the slightest reason
+    why that which they confided in should not also become a source
+    of confidence to China.
+
+    Many persons have offered their views upon the several questions
+    now under consideration, and it is useless to take the trouble
+    to recapitulate them. But all such appliances as telegraphs,
+    railways, locomotives, and steamships--the things on which
+    foreigners rely--can without exception be learned by the Chinese.
+    It is often alleged that these inventions are attended with
+    harm: how is it, then, that in foreign countries every district
+    has its trains and steamers, every locality its telegraphs and
+    railways? Natives of China, too, have travelled abroad and can
+    bear testimony that these things, so far from being harmful, are
+    advantageous.
+
+    Imperial audience is distinctly stipulated for in the treaty of
+    1860, and it is next to impossible to withdraw it; especially as
+    his sainted Majesty Kanghsi admitted Japanese to his presence,
+    and there will be no difficulty in ascertaining the ceremony then
+    employed. And again, during the negotiations with the Russians
+    on the boundary and trade questions, which took place about the
+    same period, they were treated as an equal Power. It is but right,
+    indeed, to consider such Powers as upon a footing of equality with
+    ourselves.
+
+    The idea of the writer is to wait until the majority of the
+    emperor, and then to receive all the representatives in a
+    side-hall as was done by his sacred Majesty Kanghsi. It will,
+    however, first be necessary to arrange distinctly whether such
+    interviews are to take place once or twice a-year. Otherwise an
+    impropriety will be caused by their constantly demanding audiences
+    every few days on frivolous questions.
+
+    Such a course presents no difficulties from our point of view, and
+    from theirs it is a _sine qua non_. Moreover, they would see how
+    the imperial magnanimity extends to every region. Their request
+    may with great propriety be granted.
+
+    As to the appointment of an envoy, in the fourth year of Tungchih,
+    Pin Ch'un and others were sent on a visit to the several foreign
+    countries, and the Tsungli-Yamen has lately written to state
+    that Chih kang and others have now proceeded thither. Thus the
+    mission has been continuous, and it would be well to adhere to
+    this system.
+
+    The question of separate missions at the Courts of the several
+    Powers, however, still remains for deliberation. In discussing
+    these questions persons are apprehensive, either that the
+    emperor's commission will be disgraced, or that there will be an
+    extravagant expenditure of the imperial funds. But such persons
+    are not acquainted with the whole bearing of the subject.
+
+    Memorialist is of opinion that this question is eminently
+    susceptible of a satisfactory solution. After selecting reliable
+    and trustworthy men to reside at foreign Courts, it will be
+    necessary to appoint subordinates and interpreters, who can be
+    exchanged every three or every five years. Interpreters, indeed,
+    should be selected from each country to which an envoy proceeds--a
+    system which would give us the double advantage of facilitating
+    public business, and of affording us an opportunity to display
+    our amicable desires. Far from being detrimental, the project is
+    attended with great advantages.
+
+    The matter of missionary extension is beset with greater
+    difficulties than the rest, especially as it is not a State
+    question with foreign Governments.[15] At the present moment
+    innumerable churches are being erected in every province,
+    district, and department for the explanation of their canon and
+    the preaching of their faith; and the common people are one-half
+    of them deceived, and the other half led to join them for evil
+    purposes. Instructions should be issued to the superintendents
+    of northern and southern trade, as well as to the generals,
+    viceroys, governors, customs superintendents, and taotais, to
+    become intimate with the foreign officials with whom they are
+    in communication. Then, when anything is to be arranged, there
+    would be no harm in telling them distinctly that when the common
+    people misbehave the local functionaries must adjudicate; and
+    that when it happens that the people refuse to become proselytes,
+    the officials can on no account insist upon their doing so
+    against their will--for such a course would but raise riots and
+    disturbances, to the detriment of international amity. At the
+    approaching revision of the treaty all possible arguments must be
+    used with regard to this point, and on no account must any further
+    clause be added.
+
+    With reference to the remaining points--viz., coal mines,
+    importation of salt, erection of inland warehouses, inland
+    steam navigation, and the like--these, although comparatively
+    unimportant matters, nevertheless entail serious consequences. If
+    their introduction is harmless, there is no necessity to waste
+    words and ink in the raising of disputes and complications; but
+    if, on the other hand, there are among them concessions which
+    we are unwilling to make, it will be very proper to "explain the
+    circumstances to them and argue the rights of the case," and they
+    will hardly wish to press embarrassments upon us.
+
+    Should they, however, take advantage of their strength to
+    impose upon our weakness by dividing our territory and sharing
+    among them the fat of the land, in such a pressing crisis the
+    greatest firmness would be necessary. But there need be no great
+    apprehension of such a contingency, for the simple reason that,
+    with the exception of Russia, foreign countries are all too
+    distant from China, and the acquisition of its territory would be
+    nothing but an embarrassment to them.
+
+    The fact is, that the prosperity of foreign countries is
+    inseparably connected with the welfare of the Chinese people; and
+    instead of draining that people to the last drop, would they not
+    rather prefer to use, without exhausting--to take, and still leave
+    a residue?
+
+    The present occasion of treaty revision with the English is a
+    most important juncture. The English treaty once disposed of,
+    there will be no difficulty with the other Powers. The danger
+    to be apprehended is that during the revision of next year they
+    will employ coercion to extort concession. This, however, may be
+    known previously; and should it be the case, it will of course
+    be necessary to select experienced troops and able officers to
+    confront them. Should nothing of the sort occur, negotiations
+    should be entered upon.
+
+    In short, supposing we are to cherish a feeling of revenge and
+    devise schemes to subvert foreign Powers, it will be necessary to
+    wait until--with large armies and abundant supplies, with no rebel
+    or Mohammedan outbreaks in the provinces, and no difficulties in
+    the capital--we can cope with them without hesitation. We shall be
+    a match then for all adversaries; but otherwise we cannot engage
+    in a rash and random conflict. Even when it is supposed that we
+    are ready for the struggle, it will still be necessary to exercise
+    extreme and continual caution, and to wait until our spirit is
+    high, and our aspect, therefore, formidable. Then should there
+    be no war, the question would be disposed of; but in the event of
+    our taking the field, it would not be unvictoriously.
+
+    Memorialist, however, has had several years' experience in
+    conducting business with foreigners, and is thoroughly familiar
+    with their character. He has found that, no matter what they are
+    engaged in, they act honourably without deceit or falsehood. But
+    although it is possible to acquire a general knowledge of their
+    mode of action in the conduct of their own affairs, yet there is
+    no means of becoming thoroughly acquainted with the details and
+    motives of their conduct. Their bearing, however, in military
+    matters affords clear evidence of their straightforwardness.
+    There is the instance of the Englishman Gordon, late
+    commander-in-chief at Soochow, who, having organised 3000 troops
+    of the Ever-Victorious Army, took the field against the rebels.
+    Subsequently, at the capture of Soochow, the memorialist himself
+    observed that officer personally leading in advance of his
+    troops with a courage and _sang-froid_ worthy of all praise. He
+    subsequently became the recipient of the imperial commendation
+    and reward.
+
+    The writer has also, in conjunction with Tseng Kwo-fan, acting
+    viceroy of the two Kiang, been associated with foreigners in
+    organising foreign-drilled infantry and cavalry, and in making
+    arrangements for the building of steam-vessels. He is thoroughly
+    convinced that they are actuated by upright and amicable
+    principles, and entertain no feelings of animosity towards China.
+    With the knowledge of these facts before us, it is possible to
+    draw our conclusions upon other matters.
+
+    It is from these considerations, therefore, that the writer
+    suggests the policy to be pursued in intercourse with foreigners.
+    There seems to be no necessity to dispose of the several
+    questions hastily and on the instant, nor do the resident foreign
+    Ministers at Peking apparently intend to insist upon an immediate
+    settlement.
+
+    It would be well if H.I.M. on attaining his majority were himself
+    to adopt the policy suggested, and in that case no difficult
+    questions would arise.
+
+    6th year, 11th month, 6th day.
+
+As perhaps the best essay yet extant in translating the Chinese imperial
+tradition into the language of the modern world, this paper of Li
+Hung-chang's is full of instruction for foreign diplomatists. Read in
+the light of the subsequent thirty years, we see that it sets forth
+the principles which have inspired the whole public life of the most
+prominent man in China. His recognition of the honourable character of
+foreigners, as he knew them, represented a notable advance on the like
+testimony of Commissioner Lin in 1841, inasmuch as Lin deduced from it
+the ease by which their good faith could be abused, while Li made it
+a ground of confidence in co-operation with them. His recommendation
+to his contemporaries, to cultivate intimacy with foreign officials in
+order to obviate misunderstandings in the execution of the treaties, was
+only preaching that which he has consistently practised throughout his
+official life. He was the first high official who braved public opinion by
+sitting with open doors. This conciliatory temper and open mind has made
+Li Hung-chang the lubricator in many jarring conflicts; and it kept him,
+contrary to constitutional usage, for twenty-five years at the diplomatic
+outpost of the capital.
+
+His delicate handling of the suggestion of the Central Government,
+to resist by hostile means the proposals of foreigners, is also
+characteristic of the man who had seen war and hated it. While bowing to
+the imperial will, he proposed postponement of its execution. In a similar
+case many years afterwards a memorial of Li's was quoted as an incitement
+to war with Japan, whereas it was an extinguisher, in diplomatic form,
+put upon the bellicose proposal of another.
+
+Not the least interesting part of Li's memorial is the ground on which
+he advocates reform--the proved superiority of foreign nations. His
+argument takes the identical form, and is expressed in the very words,
+used by the Daimios of Japan; and the circumstances of the two countries
+in their foreign relations were in the main so similar, that it cannot
+but be instructive to observe how they comported themselves respectively
+under the stress of the foreign irruption. Both had been overawed by
+foreign forces, and both sought revenge by using the strength of their
+opponents for their own regeneration. The difficulty, as we see it, in
+the carrying out of the scheme of regeneration was of the same nature in
+both countries--the want of unity and centralisation. Japan was divided
+up into feudal principalities; China into provinces and prefectures as
+independent as self-governing British colonies. The councils of the
+Daimios bore a rough analogy to the consultations with the governors
+and governors-general of China. The enemy was the same, and the means of
+overcoming him are as clearly laid down in Li Hung-chang's memorial as in
+the most perfervid of the Japanese manifestoes. How, then, did it come
+about that the same leaven should have fermented with such miraculous
+rapidity in the one country, while in the other it has been buried in a
+torpid mass? Obviously this is a matter which will repay the consideration
+of those who concern themselves with the state and prospects of China.
+
+
+II. THE BURLINGAME MISSION.
+
+    Mysterious inception--American Minister becomes Chinese envoy
+    to Western countries--Objects of mission concealed--Its first
+    adventure--Mr Burlingame concludes treaty at Washington--Persuades
+    British Government to adopt new policy in China.
+
+Three processes--separate, though not independent--were going on
+simultaneously during the year 1868: the revision of the British treaty
+in Peking; an epidemic of anti-foreign demonstrations in the provinces;
+and the progress of the Burlingame mission in Europe. One of them cannot
+be understood without the other; but taking the revision of the treaty
+as the object towards which the other two converged, it will be simpler
+to reserve the special consideration of the treaty question until we have
+given a short outline of the accessory episodes.
+
+Of the eight questions submitted to the provincials, one was disposed of,
+and that in a surprisingly precipitate manner, a month before even the
+memorials of the various authorities were sent in. An embassy to Europe
+and America was appointed, equipped, and despatched in the month of
+November 1867, and with a foreigner at its head. A proceeding so contrary
+to Chinese tradition naturally excited curiosity as to its origin,--a
+curiosity which has been tantalised but not to this day satisfied, though
+the mission itself soon became ancient history. It is certain none of the
+representatives of foreign Powers then in the capital were consulted,
+or in any way taken into confidence with regard to the scheme--except,
+of course, the one who transferred himself from the service of his own
+country to that of China. "No one," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock, "knew
+that the Chinese were on the eve of a revolution which would materially
+change the aspect of affairs." This by way of explaining an important
+memorandum he had just written on the state of China, which would have
+been of a different tenor had any hint of what was intended been given to
+him.
+
+As the embassy was the first that China had sent to a foreign country,
+and as it was commissioned under some urgent demand which evidently
+would brook no delay, its composition, character, and objects are all
+interesting to the student of Chinese politics. There were three envoys,
+two Chinese and one foreign. The latter was the Hon. Anson Burlingame,
+Minister of the United States to China, who of course was the spokesman of
+the mission. A better selection for the purpose could not have been made,
+had even a larger choice of men been open to the Chinese. Mr Burlingame
+had been an active politician in his time, and was a practised orator. If
+we add the epithet "sophisticated rhetorician," which was ten years later
+applied to a still more eminent personage, that is little more than to say
+he was a special pleader. And he was engaged on special pleader's duty.
+Whatever the genesis of the mission, therefore, it was a master stroke of
+the Chinese Government, eclipsing all their other contrivances to resist
+the expected demands of foreigners at the revision of the treaties. It was
+the first open attempt by the Chinese to apply the homoeopathic principle
+to their international affairs in using the foreigner as an antidote to
+the foreigner.
+
+The Burlingame mission left Peking with the ostensible approval of
+the foreign representatives. The support of the British Minister was
+given in the most practical way by the permission granted to the acting
+Chinese secretary, Mr J. McLeavy Brown, to accept the secretaryship of
+the mission--a favour the more marked in that Mr Brown happened to be
+the _locum tenens_ of Mr Wade, who had just gone on leave, so that his
+departure left the British Legation destitute at a season of the year when
+it was impossible to call up substitutes from the ports, and at a time
+when the greatest burden of work was in prospect. And yet the true object
+of the mission was concealed from Sir Rutherford Alcock. "I do not know
+what Mr Burlingame's instructions may ultimately be," he wrote in January
+1868, adding, "but it is very obvious what is the work which devolves upon
+him." Sir Rutherford's judgment of its purpose seems to have been based on
+his own inferences from the facts of the situation and his unquestioning
+faith in Mr Burlingame's loyalty to his professed principles.
+
+He had known Mr Burlingame for two years as the _doyen_ of the diplomatic
+body, the most fervid champion of that "co-operative policy" whereby the
+treaty Powers agreed to act as a united body in pursuit of identical
+objects. He could not suppose that his late colleague had turned his
+back on those common objects without notice. Although, therefore, the
+suddenness and secrecy of the move might have suggested misgivings as
+to the mission being intended to promote the views of the diplomatic
+body in Peking, yet it is beyond question that Sir Rutherford Alcock
+heartily favoured the embassy. His confidence in it is further attested
+by a very long and elaborate memorandum which he addressed to Prince
+Kung, indicating the uses to which the embassy should be put in bringing
+about an understanding with the Powers, whereby Chinese interests would
+be safeguarded while the treaty rights of foreigners should be amply
+fulfilled. "I see in the mission a hope of improvement and a material
+change in the whole aspect of affairs.... Proves there are Ministers with
+power and influence in the councils of the emperor who believe the time
+has come for breaking with the past.... After a long night of weariness
+and futile efforts, daylight begins to appear.... I hail the appointment
+of a representative to the Western Powers as the beginning of a new era."
+Such was the Minister's valediction in his report to the Foreign Office.
+But he had been mightily deceived. The night had indeed been long, but
+it was not the true dawn which was welcomed with this joyful acclamation.
+How quickly the gloom settled down again on that scene of fruitless toil
+will presently be seen.
+
+The mission was introduced to the notice of the world by a humorous
+prelude, which may be quoted for the sake of the light it incidentally
+throws on the chronic state of China. On their way from Peking to
+Tientsin, seventy or eighty miles, the envoys halted at a large
+market-town, where a report met them of a phenomenon not very uncommon
+in those parts, especially in winter--a band of marauders who had been
+annoying the neighbourhood. The mission took refuge in an inn, resolved
+to stand a siege until aid should come. In this strait Mr Burlingame
+seems never to have thought of applying either to the local authorities
+of the town or to the Government he was serving, but despatched urgent
+messages to Peking, where there were escorts kept at the Russian and
+British Legations, and to Tientsin, where was the British gunboat Dove.
+His appeals were answered with alacrity from both sides. From Peking came
+a relief party of British and Russian soldiers in charge of members of
+the two Legations; from Tientsin a party of mounted bluejackets under
+Lieutenant Dunlop. They met at the half-way house where the mission lay,
+but nothing could be seen or heard of the besiegers. Mr Burlingame's
+party reached their port of embarkation without further adventure. Indeed
+the only serious matter that arose out of the imbroglio was a difference
+of opinion between one Vodkansky of the Cossack guard and Mulvaney, a
+sturdy Hibernian of the British escort, which the latter proposed to
+settle by the means in vogue among heroes before the days of Agamemnon.
+Tragic consequences were, however, averted by the soothing diplomacy
+of the representative of her Majesty's Legation, Mr Conolly, and the
+two Burlingame relief expeditions returned to their respective stations
+nothing the worse for a couple of days' outing in the bracing November
+air.
+
+Mr Burlingame made his _debut_ in the United States, first by eloquent
+speeches in San Francisco, and next by what assumed the form of
+serious negotiations at Washington. An orator cannot reasonably be held
+accountable for every detail of his orations, but Mr Burlingame's mission
+may be most favourably summarised by a few carefully chosen words of his
+own:--
+
+    1st. It was the object of the mission to disabuse the foreign
+    Powers of an impression they were supposed to entertain, that the
+    Chinese Government had entered upon a retrograde policy.
+
+    2nd. To deprecate a precipitate and unfriendly attempt on their
+    part to enter upon a policy which might make all progress
+    impossible from its menacing tone and "violent shock to the
+    feelings, and even prejudices, of the people."
+
+Translated into practice, these propositions meant that China wished
+to be let alone; and that, we may safely assume, represented the whole
+extent of Mr Burlingame's instructions. This claim was embodied in a
+convention which he made at Washington, comprising certain "additional
+articles" to the American treaty of 1858, the purport of which was that
+the United States undertook to apply no pressure to China, which, it may
+be presumed, that Power had never the intention of doing. The convention
+was for several reasons not welcomed at Peking, but it served the only
+purpose which perhaps it was ever expected to serve, that of giving the
+keynote to the representations which the envoy was afterwards to make to
+the various Powers in Europe.
+
+The next Government to which Mr Burlingame addressed himself was that
+of Great Britain, over which he obtained a more important success than
+over that of the United States. In fact, he persuaded Lord Clarendon
+to discard all the information that ever reached the Foreign Office
+from its own responsible agents in China--men who were bound by every
+consideration of loyalty and public duty to report only what was true,
+and to accept instead thereof the protestations of an agent hired to
+make out a case; for it is superfluous to add that Mr Burlingame was
+far indeed from representing the true state of facts. He succeeded in so
+altering the course of the British Government that their agent in China
+was discredited, stultified, and rendered powerless to effect the objects
+for which he had been labouring. This was the first step of the Foreign
+Office in the new departure which had many evil results--that, namely, of
+taking their cue not from agents in their own pay, but from others over
+whom they could exercise no control, and who had alien interests to serve.
+
+From the Chinese point of view the Burlingame mission was a decided
+success.
+
+
+III. CHINESE OUTRAGES--YANGCHOW AND FORMOSA.
+
+    Missions attacked at Yangchow--Redress refused by Chinese
+    and enforced by consul--With naval assistance--Satisfactory
+    issue--Continuous outrages in Formosa--Government affords no
+    relief--Disturbances quelled by British forces--Lawlessness near
+    Swatow--Communications with interior controlled by bandits--Order
+    restored by Consul Alabaster with naval force--Peace and
+    good feeling between Chinese and foreigners resulting from
+    these various measures--Which were approved by Imperial
+    Government--Disapproved by British Government in consequence of Mr
+    Burlingame's representations--Consuls punished--Lord Clarendon,
+    prompted by Mr Burlingame, sends fresh instructions to Minister
+    and consuls.
+
+The year 1868 was marked by serious anti-foreign outbreaks in widely
+distant provinces of the empire. At Yangchow, a wealthy city on the Grand
+Canal, twelve miles from the left bank of the Yangtze river, a favourite
+resort for retired officials, rich salt merchants, and gentry, the Inland
+missionaries under the orders of Mr Hudson Taylor established themselves.
+In no locality in China could they have been less welcome, for there they
+met their natural enemies in the greatest force. Before long an attack
+on them was organised at the instigation of the literati and gentry, and
+with the connivance of the local authorities. "The onslaught was sudden
+and severe, the mob set fire to the premises, the ladies and children of
+the mission had to be thrown out of the windows to save their lives."
+There was no mistake, therefore, as to the murderous intentions of the
+assailants. The nearest British consul was at Shanghai, the consulate at
+Chinkiang, twelve miles from the scene of the outrage, being in charge
+of an assistant, Mr Clement Allen. That young officer hastened instantly
+to the assistance of the missionaries, and made his protest against the
+culpable negligence, to say no more, of the Chinese officials, who on
+their part made a great to-do of hushing the matter up and repairing the
+injured house. Consul Medhurst promptly followed up the representations
+made by Mr Allen by personal appeal to the viceroy at Nanking, fifty miles
+distant. The mind of that high official had already been prejudiced by
+ingeniously falsified reports of the transaction supplied to him by the
+prefect of Yangchow, and in consequence he refused Mr Medhurst's request
+to depute an official to accompany him to that city for the purpose of
+investigating the facts. Thereupon Mr Medhurst, availing himself of the
+arrival of H.M.'s ship Rinaldo at Chinkiang, obtained from her commander
+a sufficient escort to accompany him to Yangchow; and then only did the
+viceroy, Tseng Kwo-fan, appoint an officer, though of totally inadequate
+rank, to co-operate with the consul. The Chinese officer did not, however,
+keep his appointment, and Mr Medhurst proceeded without him, and placed
+in the hands of the prefect at Yangchow a written demand for redress, one
+of the items being the seizure and punishment of the gentry, whose names
+were submitted. The prefect at once declared his inability to deal with
+men of such influence, all being of higher rank than himself. As nothing,
+therefore, could be settled at Yangchow, the prefect agreed to accompany
+Mr Medhurst to Nanking to lay the whole matter before the viceroy.
+A deputy from the viceroy, however, met Mr Medhurst at Chinkiang and
+endeavoured to dissuade him from proceeding to Nanking, offering instead
+to accompany him back to Yangchow, according to the original programme. Mr
+Medhurst, in his turn, persuaded the deputy to return with him to Nanking
+on H.M.'s ship Rinaldo, which was to start from Chinkiang the following
+morning. But the deputy Chang did not keep that appointment, any more
+than he had kept his previous one. The prefect of Yangchow also found
+means of evading his promise to accompany the consul into the presence
+of the viceroy. After much pressure on the one side and evasion on the
+other, the viceroy offered to settle the matter by a charitable gratuity
+to the missionaries in lieu of damages, and showed his anxiety to get
+the affair patched up quickly by sending an official of rank to follow
+Mr Medhurst on board H.M.'s ship Rinaldo, where he spent two hours in
+attempting to persuade the consul to accept the terms offered. Matters
+were, in fact, in a fair way of settlement when, "just at this juncture,"
+the commander of the Rinaldo fell sick and determined to proceed with
+his ship to Shanghai, the consul being thus left in a humiliating and
+helpless position, as Sir Rutherford Alcock describes it. The Chinese
+officials at once changed their tone, withdrew from negotiations, and
+nothing more could be done with them. The action of the naval officer
+in abandoning the consul was freely criticised at the time, and being in
+consequence asked by the Admiralty for an explanation, he stated, among
+other things, "that it never entered his head that the presence simply
+of a small man-of-war could have the effect of influencing the viceroy."
+He also stated that he had "been given to understand that the viceroy had
+expressed his willingness to comply with Mr Medhurst's requests, and would
+send a letter to that effect that night or the next morning." The gallant
+officer did not appear to perceive that the withdrawal of his ship before
+the viceroy's promise had been fulfilled completely changed the situation.
+
+Nothing was left for the consul, then, but to lay the whole case before
+H.M.'s Minister, and in doing so he made these observations: "I can call
+to mind, out of my experience of British relations with China, scarcely
+one instance in which the outrage complained of has been more unprovoked
+on the part of the sufferers, and in which the evidence of neglect and
+culpability on the part of the local authorities has been more marked
+and incontrovertible. Few cases can have occurred, moreover, in which the
+power to grant prompt and reasonable redress was more within the reach of
+the supreme provincial authority."
+
+The Minister, in his turn, had no resource but to call upon the admiral
+on the station "to repair the mischief by sending such naval force
+to the mouth of the Grand Canal as shall enable him, if necessary, to
+apply effective pressure both on the local authorities and populace at
+Yangchow and on the viceroy at Nanking," to whom the consul was once
+more instructed to address himself. Of course the Minister had before
+this applied in the usual form to the Tsungli-Yamen, and with the usual
+result. They deprecated hasty conclusions until they themselves had
+full information from the local authorities; but they admitted without
+hesitation that, assuming the facts, full redress must be granted.
+
+The Minister's representations to the Central Government were renewed
+with greater emphasis on receipt of the news of the collapse of the
+consul's negotiations. Prince Kung then expressed his readiness to
+make the compensations demanded; but as regarded the punishment of the
+instigators of the outrage, he contented himself with tacitly indorsing
+the plea of the viceroy, "that the gentry indicated were men of high
+rank, and incapable of wilful disregard of treaty provisions, for which
+reason they need not be called to account." In reply the Minister stated
+that immunity to such offenders, more especially if highly placed, is
+wholly incompatible with the treaty rights of foreigners. A new inquiry,
+however, was instituted at Yangchow, and the Viceroy Tseng, who had just
+been gazetted to another post, was warned not to leave Nanking until the
+affair was concluded. After an interval of two months, Consul Medhurst,
+escorted by a naval force despatched to his aid by Admiral Keppel, sent
+his cards once more to the Nanking viceroy. The old tactics were repeated,
+and negotiations threatened to be indefinitely protracted, but eventually
+promises were given for the full redress demanded. Promises, however, had
+been given before, and it was deemed not unreasonable in the circumstances
+to demand a material guarantee. There happened to be lying at anchor
+opposite the city a small steamer recently built for the viceroy, which
+he was induced to place under the orders of Captain Heneage, R.N.,
+pending the execution of the arrangements. The end of the discussion
+was a complete and satisfactory settlement of the whole affair, which
+included the deprivation of the prefect and the magistrate of Yangchow.
+The after-effects have been no less satisfactory. For the last thirty
+years Yangchow has been the most peaceable missionary field in the whole
+empire. We have set forth this incident in some detail, because it was
+typical, isolated, and free from all obscurities.
+
+While these events were passing on the Yangtze, similar troubles, which
+had been threatening for some time, came to a head in the island of
+Formosa. Outbreaks of mob-violence against the property and person of
+both missionaries and merchants took place in different parts of the
+island. At Banca, in the Tamsui district, two English merchants, Messrs
+Kerr and Bird, were murderously assaulted by a ferocious armed mob, and
+Mr Holt, the acting vice-consul at Tamsui, reported in October 1868 that
+"remonstrance, expostulation, despatches, letters, messages, and visits
+having alike failed in securing common justice" from the mandarin, he
+might be "driven at any moment to strike his consular flag and close
+communication with the authorities. Our lives are threatened by people
+who have proved that the will to murder us is not wanting," and with whom
+the authorities either could not or would not interfere. Mr Holt held
+his ground until assistance reached him, and he made no secret of his
+intention to back his diplomacy by a show of force whenever he got the
+chance. "Short of destruction of life and property," he wrote, "I intend
+using any means in my power to enforce that justice that the people who
+are supposed to administer it deny me. On the arrival of the gunboat I
+will at once inform your Excellency of the measures concerted between the
+commander and myself." Vice-Admiral Keppel reported to the Admiralty in
+December that "the opportune arrival of H.M. gunboat Janus and the United
+States Aroostook was followed by a full compliance with the demands of
+her Majesty's consul."
+
+Matters did not run quite so smoothly at the other end of the island,
+where missionaries as well as merchants were the object of attack. The
+campaign was carried on with vigour for some six months. Redress was
+not only unobtainable from the Chinese authorities, but even personal
+access to them was rendered impossible by the obstruction of the mob.
+Mr George Jamieson was obliged to forego a visit to the magistrate
+at Taiwan in April on the latter confessing that he could not protect
+him from violence. Mr Gibson, five months later, found his road to the
+mandarin ambuscaded by three parties of sixty or seventy men each, armed
+with jingalls, swords, and spears. Outrage succeeded outrage during the
+whole period. The state of affairs was of course a subject of serious
+remonstrance with the Central Government, of whom the Minister first
+demanded, as in the Yangchow case, a joint inquiry into the facts. For
+this purpose the consul, Mr Swinhoe, who had been absent on other duty,
+was ordered to his proper post. At the same time Vice-Admiral Keppel was
+requested to send an adequate naval force to support the consul's position
+and prevent further outbreaks.
+
+The Yamen went through the form of ordering to the spot a commissioner,
+who, however, left it again immediately, thus turning the orders of the
+Yamen into ridicule. This proceeding naturally encouraged the hostility
+of the local officials and of the mob who executed their behests. The
+situation became most threatening.
+
+The squadron detached by Admiral Keppel for active operations at Takow
+and its neighbourhood consisted of three corvettes and five gunboats, to
+be reinforced if necessary by the flagship Rodney, carrying eighty-two
+guns. Before this imposing force arrived, however, the task they were
+intended to achieve had been already accomplished. "Driven to despair,
+and believing life and property to be in great danger, Mr Gibson, without
+waiting for instructions, called upon Lieutenant Gurdon of the gunboat
+Algerine to take possession of the Chinese fort, which resulted in a loss
+of life and a destruction of Government stores."
+
+Mr Gibson's action was somewhat euphemistically described as "without
+waiting for instructions," seeing that he had positive instructions
+to maintain his ground until a naval force should arrive. Both the
+operation itself and certain details of its execution were adverted
+upon so severely, first by Sir Rutherford Alcock and then by the British
+Government, that, notwithstanding Commodore Jones's commendation of "the
+most brilliant exploit I have heard of in these seas," Lieutenant Gurdon
+fell under the displeasure of the Lords of the Admiralty, as the acting
+consul did under that of the Foreign Office. The object of the joint
+adventure, however, was attained, and the spirit of outrage among the
+Chinese completely subdued. This happened in December.
+
+There remained, however, yet another centre of turbulence which greatly
+impeded the operation of the treaty, at the port of Swatow. The villages
+which lie between that seaport and the district city of Chow-chow-fu,
+some 12 miles up the river Han, had banded themselves together to oppose
+foreign intercourse with the latter city. Not only were the business and
+property of foreign merchants interfered with, but a British man-of-war
+gig in the river was fired upon, and when the men landed to identify the
+offender they were overpowered by the whole population of the nearest
+village. This hostile attitude, resembling very much that of the Canton
+villages twenty years before, steadily increased until the native
+officials themselves were not safe in passing to and from the district
+city. Strong representations were made to the high authorities of the
+province at Canton. The viceroy had promised to send a military force to
+quell the riotous villages, but before he had proved the sincerity of his
+intention the Gordian knot was cut by British initiative in January 1869.
+The late Sir Challoner Alabaster, a man of uncommon resolution, was at
+that time acting consul at Swatow; and he, having secured the co-operation
+of Commodore Jones, led a force of marines and bluejackets against the
+offending villages. A stout resistance was offered at first, but when
+several of the villages had been taken and destroyed the whole eighteen
+made their submission. Thereafter the district enjoyed perfect peace
+and security. In the following March Sir Rutherford Alcock was able to
+telegraph to Lord Clarendon that "the accounts from all the ports showed
+that peace and order had been restored; that at Yangchow and Formosa
+entire security and an improved position had been obtained; that there
+was no more cause for anxiety at any point; that the best understanding
+existed with the foreign body at Peking; and that the relations with China
+had never been more satisfactory."
+
+The bearing of these occurrences on the revision of the treaty may not at
+first sight be quite clear, but it is interesting to note in what manner
+they were connected with that operation in the mind of Sir Rutherford
+Alcock. He calculated that the necessity of using force to vindicate
+foreign treaty rights, of which both he and his predecessor had constantly
+warned them, would bring home to the Peking authorities the alternative
+which they would always have to face in case of failure to carry out the
+treaties. How very differently these outrages and the enforced redress
+affected the situation in Peking will now be seen.
+
+The action taken at Yangchow and in Formosa having been fully explained
+to the Tsungli-Yamen, Wensiang and the other Ministers expressed their
+entire concurrence. But what satisfied the Government of China produced
+quite another impression on that of Great Britain. Lord Stanley, as
+Foreign Secretary, had written on November 20, 1868: "Mr Medhurst appears
+to have acted with great prudence and firmness, and you will convey to
+him my approval of his proceedings.... I have to instruct you [Sir R.
+Alcock] to press the case in question upon the Chinese Government." Two
+months later Mr Medhurst was reprimanded by Lord Clarendon for his action,
+and the "full satisfaction for the outrage" was attributed exclusively
+to the "readiness with which the Central Government took measures that
+proved effectual." The change of Government which had in the interval
+taken place in England (December 9, 1868) was hardly sufficient to account
+for so diametrical a change of view in a matter of imperial concern.
+Another agency had effected the conversion of the British Government.
+Mr Burlingame had arrived fresh from fervid denunciations in the United
+States of the "tyrannic policy" and the "throat policy" of Great Britain
+as applied to China, and adroitly seizing on the repression of the
+Yangchow and Formosa outrages as flagrant examples, he succeeded in
+incensing Lord Clarendon against the various British officials concerned
+in these troubles, whom his lordship visited with punishment which
+scarcely stopped short of vindictiveness. Mr Medhurst, indeed, a man of
+long and distinguished service, had only a black mark set against his
+name; but Mr Gibson was publicly censured and degraded, and ordered to
+make an apology to the Chinese officials whose lawless aggressions he
+had lawlessly repelled. With some inconsistency, Lord Clarendon, about
+the same time, approved the conduct of Acting-Consul Holt at Tamsui, who
+succeeded in adjusting most serious misunderstandings with the Chinese
+through no other means than the visible force of the small gunboat Janus,
+for whose arrival he waited before preferring his demands.
+
+That the sudden change in the policy of the British Government was the
+work of Mr Burlingame was frankly avowed by Lord Clarendon himself, who
+based the fresh instructions to the Minister in China on the arrangements
+he had concluded with the Chinese representative. In his letter of
+condemnation, January 14, 1869, he, moreover, intimated that he could not
+wait before pronouncing judgment for Sir Rutherford Alcock's complete
+report on the Yangchow affair, because his "communication with Mr
+Burlingame ... rendered it necessary that he should not defer making his
+observations." That a British Secretary of State could have so demeaned
+his office would not have been believed save on his own confession. He
+of course carried the Admiralty with him, and the same influence which
+inspired the new instructions issued to the Minister and consuls inspired
+those issued to the commanding officers on the China station.
+
+Taken textually, the negotiations between Mr Burlingame and Lord Clarendon
+were of a platonic character. H.M.'s Government undertook to apply
+no pressure to China. It would have been a simple matter to refrain
+from applying pressure, and a tacit resolution to that effect with
+corresponding instruction to the Minister in Peking would have secured the
+object. To make it a subject of direct pledge to the Chinese Government
+seemed one of those gratuitous acts which all diplomatic experience
+condemns as fraught with future embarrassments. To save appearances,
+however, a nominal equivalent was taken. "Mr Burlingame was requested to
+bear in mind, and to make known to the Chinese Government, that we should
+henceforward have a right to expect on its part the faithful fulfilment
+of treaty engagements, the prompt redress of grievances referred to the
+Central Government, and friendly treatment of British subjects by the
+Chinese authorities"--as if all that had not been already stipulated for
+under the solemn sanction of the existing treaty.
+
+
+IV. REVISION NEGOTIATIONS AND CONCLUSION.
+
+    Lukewarmness of British Government--Sir R. Alcock's misgivings
+    as to success--Mixed commission in Peking to consider
+    details--Mr Hart's predominance--Treaty becomes a custom-house
+    concern--Increase of duties being the Chinese aim--Sir
+    Rutherford Alcock attributes failure to Mr Burlingame's
+    misrepresentations--Merchants oppose the treaty--Ratification
+    refused by British Government--Inferences from this
+    fiasco--Chinese influenced by force alone.
+
+Let us now revert to the cause and origin of the Burlingame mission--the
+revision of the treaty of Tientsin. The instruction for revision was
+given by Lord Stanley on August 16, 1867, in such general terms as the
+following:--
+
+    Her Majesty's Government neither wish, nor have they the
+    right, to impose sacrifices on China, even though they may be
+    convinced that the inconvenience of such sacrifices will be only
+    temporary, whereas the benefit which will result from them will be
+    lasting.... We must reconcile ourselves to waiting for the gradual
+    development of that [better] system, and content ourselves with
+    reserving for revision at a future period any new arrangement we
+    may come to in 1868.... You will of course act openly with the
+    representatives of other Powers, inviting and availing yourself
+    of their co-operation.
+
+A note of misgiving as to the policy of asking for the revision runs
+through the whole correspondence. After the preliminary labours of sifting
+the voluminous memorials from merchants and others, Sir Rutherford Alcock
+sums up their demands thus: "All their wants turn upon three or four
+cardinal defects, not of the treaties so much as in their execution." And
+he adds the significant reflection: "The question arises, if nothing is to
+be gained by demanding a revision, ... whether much would not be lost, and
+an opportunity thrown away, which might, by reserving the right, be turned
+to better account when the emperor's majority is declared. I believe the
+true policy of foreign Powers would be to wait; ... to this conclusion
+... all the representatives of foreign Powers now in Peking are led." "The
+Chinese," he also says, "would go much faster and better if left alone."
+
+The question naturally suggested by these remarks--why a task involving
+enormous labour, of which only negative results were to be expected, was
+entered upon at all at such an inopportune moment--remains unanswered.
+
+It would be insufferably tedious, and of no practical utility, to track
+the windings of a maze leading nowhere, for the revised treaty was never
+ratified. But the labours of two whole years could not but leave landmarks
+to guide succeeding travellers over the same ground. It could not be but
+that with so much beating of the bushes the game would be started, if not
+brought to bag. It was a reconnaissance in force which, for the first
+time, compelled the respective parties to the struggle to reveal their
+true character and intentions. Such a discovery was perhaps not too dearly
+bought by the time and trouble expended on it.
+
+The first definite step in the process of revision was the nomination of
+a mixed commission of British and Chinese "to devise means of securing a
+more prompt redress of commercial grievances." The members were Mr Fraser,
+second secretary to the British Legation; Mr Hart, Inspector-General of
+Customs; and two secretaries of the Tsungli-Yamen--a heavy preponderance
+on the Chinese side of the question. To the same commission was added
+another British member, Mr Adkins. And here it is not impertinent to
+observe that the absence of both the Chinese secretary, Mr Wade, and the
+acting Chinese secretary, Mr Brown, left the Legation in a condition too
+crippled to engage on work which would have taxed its full strength. The
+members of the commission held many sittings, reporting proceedings from
+time to time to their respective principals, the Tsungli-Yamen and the
+British Minister.
+
+It needs no great effort of imagination to divine, in a body thus
+composed, whose would be the dominant voice. Mr Hart conducted the
+proceedings throughout. The discussion had not gone far when it was found
+hopeless to revise the provisions of the treaty in any sense compatible
+with progress or freer intercourse; and the dangerous questions which had
+caused the Government so much anxiety, and which had inspired both the
+Burlingame mission and the various secret memorials, being thus happily
+ruled outside the controversy, the Chinese Ministers seem to have given
+themselves no further concern about the revision. This distant attitude
+of theirs was severely commented on by a contemporary writer in 'Fraser's
+Magazine,' who said:--
+
+    After ten years of conciliatory blandishments on our part, the
+    high Chinese authorities had so far disobeyed the spirit of the
+    treaty that, although they had not actually prevented our Minister
+    from corresponding and visiting with them, yet they had had the
+    audacity to render all such intercourse absolutely nugatory,
+    and had constrained him, after a long and successful diplomatic
+    career, to descend to the extremely humiliating position of
+    treating with them indirectly through the medium of Mr R. Hart.
+
+As, however, the proceedings became focussed on a tariff revision destined
+to add to the duty receipts, a "collector of revenue wanting money," as Mr
+Hart described himself, was the most fitting negotiator, and the Chinese
+ministers were well pleased to leave him free to make his own bargain, so
+long as it yielded that result.
+
+To give colour to the Chinese demand for higher duties a bold formula was
+resorted to, and supported by equally bold reasoning. The expedient was
+a rearrangement of the method of collection of inland dues on foreign
+merchandise, which was then, as it continues to be, the great bone of
+contention between foreign traders and the Chinese authorities. The
+treaties conferred on merchants the right of compounding for all inland
+taxation of their merchandise by a single payment at the port of entry;
+but the practices of the Chinese officials had rendered the privilege a
+nullity. In the new negotiations Mr Hart, on the part of the Chinese,
+took the high ground of maintaining, with subtle dialectic, that the
+protection which foreigners claimed was not in fact given by the treaties.
+So strongly did the Chinese entrench themselves in this contention, that
+heavy artillery was required to dislodge them. "Could any negotiators
+be so dull or incompetent," wrote Sir R. Alcock in reply, "as to sign a
+treaty of commerce with an Eastern potentate, extorted at the point of
+the bayonet, and leave this unlimited power in his hands to turn against
+us the next moment, or whenever he pleased, and nullify all that had been
+stipulated, destroying the trade for which alone war had been made?"
+Defeated in argument, the Chinese next begged that what they could not
+claim as a right might yet be accorded to them as a favour, thus copying
+the tactics of the Japanese in an analogous case.
+
+As this proved to be the crux of the whole transaction, the rock on which
+the convention eventually split, it is useful to consider how the subject
+was treated in the negotiations. The treaties of Nanking, 1842, and of
+Tientsin, 1858, provided for the transit of British goods throughout
+the empire on payment of a fixed charge. But in securing exemption from
+arbitrary imposts in the interior, the treaty of Nanking signally failed;
+that of Tientsin had proved equally ineffective, and why? From inherent
+difficulties in the nature of things--obstacles absolutely insuperable
+so long as the country remained under the same organic conditions. Such
+were the propositions with which the British Minister entered upon the
+discussion of the subject; and as no proposal was made for changing the
+organic conditions of the empire, the prospect of obtaining a satisfactory
+fulfilment of those treaty provisions did not seem very encouraging.
+
+But then a suggestion, apparently emanating from Consul Robertson at
+Canton, was made for simplifying the problem by doing away with the option
+which had been reserved in the treaties for foreign merchants, either
+to pay the commutation at the port of landing, or to allow their goods
+to run the gantlet of the Chinese customs stations. Instead of this, it
+was suggested that a single compulsory payment, amounting to half the
+import tariff, might be levied on the landing of the goods, which should
+thereafter be freed from all other imposts throughout the empire. It
+was not unnatural that a "collector of revenue" should appropriate this
+conception, and introduce it into the revised treaty; but then the doubt
+immediately arose on the other side, whether the promised exemption would
+be any more of a reality than it had been under the existing _regime_. If
+the difficulties in the way of fulfilling the stipulation in the treaty
+of Tientsin and Nanking were really insuperable, would they now disappear
+merely because the Chinese Government received an increased import duty?
+In considering Mr Hart's proposal, "the question would be," according to
+Sir Rutherford Alcock, "Could we obtain a sufficient guarantee that such
+additional import due would effectually exempt British goods from all
+other dues, local, provincial, and what not?" And again, "Security for
+exemption from all but the fixed 21/2 per cent was the one question on which
+depended the value of any revision."
+
+A necessary condition of any successful treaty was the assent of
+all the other Powers to its provisions, seeing that under their
+most-favoured-nation clauses any one of them by holding aloof could
+render the treaty inoperative. The various foreign representatives were
+therefore kept informed of the progress of negotiations. In this way their
+opinions were obtained from time to time as to the merits of the various
+proposals. On the subject of the compulsory payment of transit dues the
+opinions which the British Minister received from his colleagues were
+all unfavourable. They considered that some "additional guarantee would
+be necessary against failure, and as against security for additional
+losses which would be entailed upon the merchants." To give effect to
+the new proposals an edict was to be published acquainting all provincial
+officials with what had been agreed upon. But still the diplomatic body
+maintained "that nothing is really certain but the addition of 21/2 per
+cent to the import duties. This will be rigorously exacted and paid;
+but whether the equivalent exemption from all other taxation will be
+obtained must be held doubtful, ... seeing that in the past the same
+provincial authorities have shown the most persistent disregard of
+treaty stipulations and proclamations." "Under such circumstances," Sir
+Rutherford adds, "it would seem reasonable that, during the first year
+at least, all amounts collected under the new arrangements ... should be
+carried to a separate account ... to meet claims for compensation." In the
+end, however, he saw reason to waive this proviso, to disregard the views
+of his colleagues, and to assent to the new impost, without any guarantee.
+Attempts to obtain concessions from the Chinese in the way of freer
+intercourse proved, as we have said, hopeless from the first. The renewal
+of the Chinese demand to establish a customs station in Hongkong--that
+"immense smuggling depot"--was refused on the British side; while the
+British request for recognition of Hongkong as a port of call for goods
+in transit to Canton was in like manner refused on the Chinese side,
+because it "would give the place a respectable name" as well as make it
+the "great emporium of the south." Hongkong, it is fair to remember, was,
+not unnaturally, odious in the eyes of the Chinese. The more prosperous
+the colony became, the more they hated it; and the more patriotic among
+them--as, for instance, the Minister Wensiang--detested it the most.
+
+The ruling factor in eliminating all measures of progress from the
+negotiations and reducing the whole to a customs question was Mr
+Burlingame.
+
+    After the arrival of the mission to Washington [wrote Sir
+    Rutherford on February 27, 1869] the hopes which the signature
+    of the additional articles was calculated to excite undoubtedly
+    exercise a very prejudicial effect on my efforts.... With Mr
+    Burlingame's enthusiastic reception, and the prompt signature
+    of the convention by which the United States Government pledged
+    itself to leave China free to adopt or reject all such innovations
+    and internal improvements, and even to use its influence with
+    other Powers for the same end, they gained precisely the assurance
+    they wanted.... From that moment further progress or successful
+    negotiation became impossible.
+
+He added in a subsequent despatch to Lord Clarendon:--
+
+    One result stands out more clearly than any other, and it is this:
+    what we have gained by the last year's preliminary negotiations is
+    not likely to be withdrawn. But if it was difficult to negotiate
+    for large concessions before the assurance authoritatively given
+    by your lordship to Mr Burlingame, ... it is now out of the
+    question to hope for more than has already been conceded....
+    Strong in the assurances of two of the treaty Powers, ... it is
+    quite certain that no further progress can be made at present. It
+    simply remains for her Majesty's Government to determine whether
+    they will carry out the revision on the basis proposed and already
+    assented to by the Chinese Government, or defer the revision
+    altogether to some later period.
+
+The provisional report of the negotiations having been submitted by the
+Foreign Office to the other treaty Powers for their opinion, most of
+them contented themselves with amicable generalities, the only definite
+criticism elicited being that of the North German Confederation. Going
+straight to the core of the matter, in May 1869, Count Bernstorff wrote
+as follows, basing his remarks upon the opinion of the German merchants:--
+
+    Although the advantages which are to be expected for trade in
+    general from the abolition of the "lekin taxes" would not be
+    too dearly bought by this extension of the transit duty to all
+    commodities, yet, on the other hand, the treaty Powers certainly
+    have the right of demanding the abolition of the taxes levied
+    contrary to treaty, even without giving anything in return,
+    and they might probably obtain this result by common action.
+    And then, moreover, it appears, from existing circumstances
+    in China, exceedingly questionable whether this tax, even if
+    abolished by imperial edict in consequence of a treaty, would not,
+    nevertheless, still be levied by the mandarins, although perhaps
+    in another shape, since now indeed they have their assignments
+    thereon.
+
+Doubts on the part of the Foreign Office led to further correspondence
+backwards and forwards, closing with the following ambiguous despatch,
+dated 29th September, which was transmitted by telegram, a very slow
+process in those days:--
+
+    If you should not have concluded an arrangement before this
+    reaches you, her Majesty's Government think it would be better
+    to protract negotiations rather than accept now a limited
+    arrangement, which would be binding for so long a period as ten
+    years, and which would not comprise a satisfactory arrangement
+    respecting transit duties, and which might compromise the right
+    of her Majesty's Government to take part in the negotiations of
+    other Powers for a revision of their treaties.
+
+    Should you, however, have completed any arrangement, you may be
+    assured that the best view will be taken of it here.
+
+The supplementary convention was, in fact, signed in October, and Sir
+Rutherford Alcock took his leave immediately after, visiting the Yangtze,
+Shanghai, Hongkong, and India on his way to Europe. At these places
+he explained in general terms the bearing of the treaty, the Indian
+Government being specially concerned in the increase of the Chinese import
+duty on opium, to which the trade generally were absolutely indifferent.
+
+The supplementary convention was exhaustively reviewed by the Shanghai
+General Chamber of Commerce in a memorial addressed to Lord Clarendon
+(December 31, 1869). To the practical view of the merchants the treaty
+consisted of three clauses: one making compulsory what had previously been
+optional--the payment of half the import duty in commutation of inland
+dues on foreign merchandise; one doubling the export duty on raw silk;
+and the third more than doubling the import duty on opium. Of these, the
+first alone was deemed important. The consideration offered by the Chinese
+Government for the compulsory payment--that they would frank imported
+goods through nine of the eighteen provinces of China--was not regarded as
+an equivalent; for the treaty of Tientsin contained the same undertaking
+without the geographical limitation, but it had not been fulfilled. The
+ground alleged for this non-observance of the existing treaty had been
+the existence of insurmountable obstacles in connection with provincial
+and imperial finance. These obstacles, the merchants observed, were
+"now assumed to have been suddenly overcome," an assumption which they
+considered illusory. The question of transit dues was not new to them:
+it had been threshed out on all sides during weary years; it was the
+recurrent topic of the day with them, as it was destined to continue to
+be for a generation longer; and the merchants could not therefore believe
+that the difficulties against which they had been hopelessly struggling
+were suddenly removed by magic. They were not shown how the revolution was
+to be effected. In short, "the conclusion," they said, "was irresistible,
+that to a very great extent the commutation of transit dues, which is
+made compulsory by the new treaty, will simply become an additional tax
+on trade without any return whatever; and that the provincial authorities
+will as heretofore tax goods in transit very much as they please, the
+treaty stipulation to the contrary notwithstanding,"--a conclusion
+supported by arguments which could not be refuted.
+
+Sir Thomas Wade some years later expressed the same views as the merchants
+had done. "I doubted," he said, "the good faith of officials when breach
+of faith could only be established by the evidence of those subject to
+their authority and entirely in their power.... I have since found reason
+to believe that the control of taxation in the provinces is a matter of
+no small trouble to the Central Government as at present constituted,
+if indeed it be possible at all." Nevertheless, he adds, "I have found
+occasion to regret that the convention has not been allowed at least a
+term of probation." A term of probation was the alternative suggested by
+the merchants also, but it seems never to have received any consideration
+from the Foreign Office.
+
+The representation which the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce based upon
+their review of the treaty was adopted by influential commercial bodies in
+England, who in a "monstrous deputation," as Mr Hammond called it, urged
+on the Secretary for Foreign Affairs the non-ratification of the treaty.
+The British Government gave way, not, as they candidly admitted, convinced
+by the reasoning, but overawed by the electoral pressure of the merchants;
+and the supplementary convention was allowed to fall through.
+
+Thus ended the first attempt to negotiate a treaty with China as a
+perfectly free agent. The conclusion to be drawn not only from the
+negative result, but from the whole process of the negotiations--from the
+memorials from the provinces, and still more from the Privy Council, the
+six boards, and the censorates--is, as stated by Sir Rutherford Alcock in
+May 1869, "that the old spirit of arrogance of the days of Lin and Yeh is
+still in full vigour, and the assumption of superiority over the barbarian
+absolutely unmeasured. That the anti-foreign element amongst the official
+and educated classes has suffered no diminution whatever; that if some
+two or three leading men take a clearer view of the political situation,
+they are evidently without power to take action upon it; and so the vessel
+of State is allowed to drift whichever way the tide of prejudice and
+ignorance may set. There are still some documents," he added, "wanting to
+complete the series, especially the answer of Li Hung-chang and a second
+memorial of Tseng Kwo-fan [p. 184 _seq._], which it would be desirable to
+obtain as showing the policy advocated by two of the most prominent men
+in the empire at this moment."
+
+One sentence of Sir Rutherford Alcock sums up the case China _v._ the
+West: "Pressure, indeed, there must always be here if anything is to be
+achieved for the advancement of foreign interests and commerce. In one
+way or other, however we may disguise it, our position in China has been
+created by force--naked, physical force; and any intelligent policy to
+improve or maintain that position must still look to force in some form,
+latent or expressed, for the results." Whether the Western nations,
+singly or collectively, are justified in using their force for such a
+purpose is a question which is not affected by this plain statement of the
+case. That the policy of the Western Powers has been largely influenced
+by sentimental consideration towards China is true; but their action
+has never been consistent with their professions, and their oscillation
+between coercion and submission has led to disastrous consequences.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [15] He now knows better.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+MISSIONARY PROBLEM--TIENTSIN MASSACRE OF 1870.
+
+    Importance of missionary question long foreseen by Consul
+    Alcock--Introduction of missionaries under two French
+    treaties--Toleration of Christians under treaties of 1858--Forced
+    upon China--Ardour of missionary spirit uncontrollable--Negligence
+    of treaty-makers in providing no regulations for admission of
+    the propaganda--Contrasted with the care bestowed on trade
+    regulations--Religious toleration of the Chinese--Christian
+    intolerance--Surreptitious article in French Convention of
+    1860--Giving large privileges to missionaries in the interior--Its
+    abuse complained of by Chinese--Enforced restitution of old
+    property--Bitter injustice--Disintegrating action of the
+    propaganda--Abuses of extra-territoriality--Interference in
+    local affairs--Detaching natives from their allegiance--Causes of
+    strife--Chinese Government culpable in permitting abuses--Disputes
+    about land and houses--Chinese official laxity compensated
+    for by unofficial illegitimate methods--Attacks on missions
+    fomented thereby--No remedy possible without the unanimous
+    consent of the Powers--Each having different objects--Fruits
+    of widespread hostility to missions appeared in 1868--Riot and
+    outrage--Culminated in Tientsin massacre of 1870--Details of the
+    occurrence--Treated cavalierly by Imperial Government--Culpability
+    of officials--Pressure by foreign Ministers induces Chinese
+    to execute sixteen criminals--Apologetic mission of Chunghou
+    to France--Suspicions of his complicity unfounded--Causes of
+    the hostility to foreigners--Government fear of reprisals
+    by France--They begin to take the missionary question
+    seriously--Issue an important circular--Badly received by the
+    Powers.
+
+
+No subject more seriously engaged the attention of Sir Rutherford Alcock
+during his whole term of service than that of the Christian propaganda.
+While it was yet in embryo, and long before the untoward consequences now
+so familiar had declared themselves, the evil to come formed the theme of
+many anxious despatches. For, with the exception of Mr T. T. Meadows, he
+was the only one of the early consuls who attempted to read the horoscope
+of China with a conscious participation in the responsibility for its
+welfare. Their warnings were, of course, wasted on the desert air, for
+statesmen whose hands are on the lever of events are like the signalmen on
+a busy railway, recking nothing of the origin or destination of the train,
+careful only that it pass their own "point" in safety. The thin end of the
+entering wedge destined to split China into fragments, unless anticipated
+(as in fact it has been) in its disruptive work by some ruder allied
+agency, was clearly discerned by Consul Alcock while at Shanghai. Under
+cover of the first French treaties in 1844 and 1846 missionaries effected
+a legal lodgment on the coast of China, from which they cast longing
+eyes on the vast interior of the country. Rivalry between the Christian
+sects brought fresh pressure to bear on the plenipotentiaries, and the
+"toleration clause" was introduced into all the treaties negotiated at
+Tientsin in 1858, and in the German treaty of 1861.
+
+Russia led the way, followed by the United States, Great Britain, and
+France. The "clause" was substantially the same in all, the toleration
+of Christianity being based on its moral character exclusively--"Hommes
+de bien qui ne cherchent pas d'avantages materiels" (Russian); "Teaching
+men to do good, and to do to others as they would have others do to
+them" (American); "Inculcates the practice of virtue, and teaches man
+to do as he would be done by" (English); "Ayant pour objet essentiel de
+porter les hommes a la vertu" (French).[16] Yet this apparent unanimity
+concealed essential differences in aim and motive. Russia, France, and the
+United States, to leave England out of the account, each meant something
+specifically distinct from the other by the practically identical clause.
+
+What the Chinese would have said, had they been free to discuss the
+demand made upon them, we can hardly conjecture; but in the position in
+which they actually found themselves they would have subscribed to any
+form of words submitted to them, their sole anxiety then being to get
+rid of the barbarians on any terms. Had the preamble run, "Whereas the
+Christian religion as practised for 1800 years has not brought peace but a
+sword upon the earth, has set the father against the son, nation against
+nation, instigated crimes without number, sided with the oppressor and
+the unrighteous judge, and is daily prostituted for political ends,"
+the Chinese would have signed the toleration clause just the same. The
+phraseology was nothing to them, whence it follows that the responsibility
+for the consequences rests on the Powers who imposed the form as well
+as the substance of the obligations. These Powers placed themselves in
+a self-contradictory position both towards China and the Church, for
+the only ground on which they claimed protection for missionaries in the
+framing of the treaty is the one which they cannot so much as consider in
+the fulfilment of it. The ethical and religious side of the propaganda
+is to the executive official a negligible quantity, while he can take
+cognisance only of that aspect of Christianity which was studiously kept
+out of sight in the treaty--its political character, the temper of the
+missionaries and of the people among whom they work, and all that makes
+for good or bad relations between them.
+
+Amid mixed and perverted motives there is doubtless in all sections of
+the propaganda a residuum of pure zeal in a holy cause. The medieval
+solicitude for "saving the heathen" survives, and men and women, fired
+with the conviction that they are engaged in such a godlike enterprise,
+constitute an ever-living force with which statesmen have to lay their
+account. It can neither be reasoned with nor turned aside, and is the more
+intractable in that the logical effect of its inspiration is to place
+it above civil law, but under a divine law of its own interpreting, the
+interpretation varying indefinitely with the divisions of the force, each
+division, and sometimes each individual, selecting such portions of the
+code and bending them to such meaning as may support the objects and the
+methods of the sect. To introduce such a complex ferment into the Chinese
+body politic was a psychological experiment on a colossal scale, and also
+irrevocable. It was, therefore, an experiment which demanded the kind of
+precaution used in handling dangerous chemicals.
+
+Yet absolutely no thought was bestowed on the subject; the explosive was
+imported with less ceremony than is bestowed on a bale of long cloth, and
+left to spread according to its own laws in the living tissue into which
+it was injected. So far at least as the English treaty was concerned,
+we have it on the authority of the actual negotiator that the Christian
+clause was an after-thought "shoved in" at the last moment. The same
+authority adds, "The treaty was left to carry out itself"--in other
+respects besides that of the missionary question. Sir Rutherford Alcock
+speaks of "the futility of grafting on to a treaty of commerce, forced
+upon the Chinese under circumstances which left them no power to refuse, a
+proselytising agency for the conversion of the nation to Christianity....
+Whatever aims at these ends under the stipulation of a treaty of commerce
+and amity introduces a cause of distrust and an element of disturbance.
+This we have done, and are now reaping the fruit." But a rose-cutting
+would not be grafted with the insouciance with which this spiritual
+element was incongruously inserted in a commercial treaty. Commenting
+directly upon the toleration clause itself, Sir Rutherford wrote: "It is
+only necessary to read carefully the words of the article to be aware that
+in the whole range of the treaty, from the 1st to the 56th article, there
+is nothing stipulated for so difficult to secure as the fulfilment in its
+integrity of this one clause."
+
+The foreign Powers generally seemed to court the very "disturbance"
+apprehended by "leaving the treaty to carry out itself," washing their
+hands of their own careless work. We have seen what pains were taken to
+allow the treaty to operate smoothly in its main purpose by elaborating
+a scheme of trade regulations far more complete than the treaty itself.
+But as foreign trade had been carried on by the Chinese for centuries,
+and the merchants of the respective countries were thoroughly at home
+with each other, commerce was the least likely source of friction. Of
+the new dynamic element introduced into the treaties, it seems never to
+have occurred to the negotiators that any regulation was necessary at
+all. Missionaries were permitted to enter and settle in the interior,
+where everything was strange, for practical purposes beyond the orbit
+of their countries' laws, while protected against the jurisdiction of
+the Government under which they were to live. Men who could withstand
+the temptation offered by such a state of things are not born every day.
+Without rule of conduct save their individual judgment, with no previous
+understanding with the Chinese provincial officials as to relative
+rights and duties, they were left to find such accommodation to their
+surroundings as their several idiosyncrasies and the untried conditions
+of Chinese social life might determine. The missionary in the interior
+had thus all the qualities of a "foreign body" setting up irritation in
+the organism,--a state of things, however, which his absolute faith in
+the sanctity of his mission perhaps prevented him from comprehending.
+
+One trait in the national character was highly favourable to the
+reception of a foreign religion. The Chinese were of all nations the
+most tolerant of opinion. They had already accepted and assimilated two
+foreign religions--Buddhism and Mohammedanism; indeed they had also, two
+hundred years before, accepted and retained Christianity until it was
+expelled in convulsions provoked by the foreign missionaries themselves.
+Its second advent need not have caused convulsions had it come as the
+others had done, with clean hands, as a religion and nothing else. The
+tolerance of the Chinese has been referred to materialism and contemptuous
+apathy, which is by no means an exhaustive account of the matter.
+They were not, any more than Hindus, naked savages without language
+or literature: if anything, they were over-civilised. Proud they were,
+indeed, and conceited, and in its religious aspect they affected to regard
+Christianity as but a wave breaking on a rock. Their rock was a unique
+philosophy, scarcely to be called a system, which stands for religion,
+differing from other philosophic systems in eschewing speculation and
+attending to the ethics of common life,--the only philosophy that may be
+said ever to have transfused itself into the blood of a people.
+
+The culture of the Chinese, however, was merely an obstacle to the
+realisation of the Catholic ideal of saving the heathen, as the grandest
+natural scenery was regarded merely as a hindrance to medieval travel.
+"Unhappy infidels, who spend their lives in smoke and their eternity in
+flames," was Father le Jeune's epigrammatic summary of the whole case in
+Quebec. So deep-rooted is the tradition of the reprobation of the heathen,
+that it generally requires many years' experience before a foreign
+missionary is led by contact with facts to see that Chinese ethics form
+the natural basis for the Christian superstructure. Some missionaries,
+indeed, go so far as to use the writings of Confucius as a text-book.
+Before reaching this ripe stage, however, the foreign missionary has it
+in his power to do more mischief than he can perhaps ever undo.
+
+There was one treaty stipulation which has not been left to chance for its
+fulfilment--the additional article inserted in the French Convention of
+Peking in 1860. An astute missionary, acting as interpreter to Baron Gros,
+managed to interpolate in the Chinese text a clause of his own which had
+no place in the French--the ruling version--and was quite unknown to the
+French Envoy.[17] By that clause full permission was accorded to French
+missionaries to purchase land and erect buildings thereon throughout
+the empire; and further, all churches, schools, cemeteries, lands, and
+buildings which had been owned by persecuted Christians (Chinese) in
+previous centuries were to be paid for, and the money handed to the
+French representative in Peking for transmission to the Christians in
+the localities concerned. This astounding demand, in our eyes at once so
+truculent and so impracticable, seems to have been to the Chinese neither
+more nor less oppressive than the rest of the treaty, and they signed
+without demur, under the usual mental reservation. But it was in germ an
+official recognition of a French protectorate over Chinese Christians,
+and of corporate communities of Christians held qualified to be served
+heirs to those who had been persecuted in the seventeenth and eighteenth
+centuries--a germ which might be cultivated with greater or less success,
+according to the skill of those who had the care of it. Some effort
+of imagination is required in order to realise what is implied in this
+surreptitious article.
+
+    We must suppose [wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock] a French army
+    entering London and there dictating the conditions of peace, and
+    among others one that all Church property confiscated by Henry
+    VIII. should forthwith be restored to the Roman Catholic Church by
+    the present holders, however acquired, and without compensation,
+    and that the French Government could be appealed to in order to
+    enforce the rigorous execution of the stipulation.
+
+How the stipulation was enforced is thus described by Prince Kung in his
+circular of 1871, more fully noticed below:--
+
+    During the last few years the restitution of chapels in every
+    province has been insisted upon without any regard for the feeling
+    of the masses, the missionaries obstinately persisting in their
+    claims. They have also pointed out fine handsome houses (belonging
+    to, or occupied by, the gentry or others) as buildings once used
+    as churches, and these they have compelled the people to give up.
+    But what is worst, and what wounds the dignity of the people,
+    is that they often claim as their property _yamens_, places of
+    assembly, temples held in high respect by the literates and the
+    inhabitants of the neighbourhood. Buildings which were once used
+    as chapels have been in some cases sold years ago by Christians;
+    and, having been sold and resold by one of the people to another,
+    have passed through the hands of several proprietors. There is
+    also a large number of buildings which have been newly repaired
+    at very considerable expense, of which the missionaries have
+    insisted on the restitution, refusing at the same time to pay
+    anything for them. On the other hand, there are some houses which
+    have become dilapidated, and the missionaries put in a claim for
+    the necessary repair. Their conduct excites the indignation of
+    the people whenever they come in contact with each other, and it
+    becomes impossible for them to live quietly together.[18]
+
+Bitter consequences have resulted from the enforced operation of the
+interpolated clause, for the French Government, as is shown above, took
+full advantage of the pious fraud. Neither did the Chinese themselves,
+on discovering the truth, openly resent this example of how the foreign
+religion "porte les hommes a la vertu." The fraud was more than condoned
+by missionaries of all nations and sects, whose legal title to residence
+in the interior of China, distant from all authority, rests solely on the
+interpolated French clause, the benefit of which accrues to them under
+the most-favoured-nation privilege. British Protestant missionaries, not
+altogether satisfied with this tainted title, in a long letter to their
+Minister, Sir Rutherford Alcock, claimed the right of inland residence
+on another ground. They adduced the public declaration of Mr Burlingame,
+that "China invites Protestant missionaries to plant the shining Cross on
+every hill and in every valley"; to which the answer was simple, that the
+Chinese Government disavowed the promises of the envoy, and repudiated the
+implied obligation. The British Government disapproved of the claim under
+the French treaty, though in rather ambiguous terms, because it rested
+"on no sound foundation, but on an interpolation of words in the Chinese
+version alone in the French treaty with China." Since then, however, the
+pretensions of the French missionaries have been vindicated less by the
+interpolated clause itself than by the vigorous exercise of all the rights
+conferred by it, and very much more. The clause thus lent material force
+to the spiritual ferment, accelerating by many degrees its disintegrating
+action. It may be alleged, in palliation of the light-heartedness with
+which the whole subject was treated by the negotiators of the treaties,
+that they could not have foreseen such a development of their innocent
+toleration clause; but the circumstance only emphasises the urgent need
+there was for a clear definition of what was really meant by it.
+
+But if toleration be the note of Chinese polity--concerning not
+religion alone, but almost every matter affecting government--it may
+be asked, What is it in the propagation of Christianity that excites
+the hostility of people and rulers? It is that the missionaries present
+themselves to Chinese view as the instruments of powerful nations bent
+on the ruin of the empire. They enter the country with a talisman of
+extra-territoriality; their persons are sacred; the law of the land cannot
+lay hands on them. That is the first stage. The second is, that they seek
+to extra-territorialise their converts also, whose battles they fight
+in the provincial courts and in the rustic communes, and so make it of
+material advantage to the people to bear the banner of the Cross. Many
+missionaries are really zealous in the work of alienating the Chinese from
+their natural allegiance, and of encouraging them to seek the protection
+of foreign Powers as against the native authorities. Thus a revolution
+of the most vital nature is in progress, and is being pushed on with all
+the energy which Christian, combined with ecclesiastical and political,
+zeal can throw into the work. Village is set against village, clan against
+clan, family against family, and a man's foes in China are too often they
+of his own household.[19]
+
+No doubt the Chinese Government are to blame for having allowed such a
+state of things to grow up; but it is part and parcel of their drifting
+attitude towards everything. It is not that their apprehensions are not
+aroused, but that they lack initiative to avert the danger which they
+fear. While in theory they do not admit the claim of any foreign Power
+to protect Chinese subjects, yet in practice the thing goes on, and
+is acquiesced in. So formidable, indeed, have the foreign missionaries
+become, that most of the provincial authorities are afraid as well as
+jealous of them; and peace-loving viceroys give the simple injunction
+to their prefects and magistrates that on no account must they permit
+dispute with foreigners or native Christians. This means that the Chinese
+Christian must be upheld, right or wrong, and the Christian would be very
+un-Chinese if he did not take advantage of such a privilege to trounce
+his heathen neighbours.
+
+The right given in the French treaty of acquiring land and building houses
+in the interior is one of the most constant causes of local quarrel. Real
+estate in China, being held not on personal but on family tenure, can
+only be rightfully alienated by the common consent. A dissentient member
+holding out, or reviving his claim for purposes of extortion after assent
+has been given and transfer made, may become a convenient instrument
+in the hands of agitators against the foreigners; and where there is no
+such dissentient it is not unusual for the local authorities to create
+one by forcible means. A case in point may be mentioned in illustration.
+A building was made over to the Baptist Missionary Society by a Chinese
+family, every precaution being taken to obtain the unanimous consent of
+its various branches. When the deed had been signed by the head of the
+family and other responsible members, the local magistrate examined the
+chief of the clan, denounced him, and punished him severely by bastinado.
+Two of the signatories, thus intimidated, disowned their own act, thereby
+invalidating the deed by non-unanimity.
+
+Nearly all the attacks on missionaries proceed in one form or another
+from that fecund nursery of feuds, the land question. Whatever the merits
+of the dispute, the foreigner is _prima facie_ in the wrong; for he is
+an alien, an intruder, and he erects buildings which are outlandish,
+offensive to taste, and of sinister influence; and whosoever, albeit
+the most disreputable member of a family of three or four generations,
+proclaims a grievance by which he has lost his birthright, is sure of
+a sympathetic following. Thus without taking into account individual
+indiscretions, or infirmities of temper, open attacks on time-honoured
+customs, and so forth, there is a perennial root of bitterness in
+missionary enterprise in the interior of China, which throws out shoots
+culminating in murder and fiendish ferocity; and all this without even
+a distant approach to the kernel of Christianity which lies behind the
+outworks.
+
+For what the Chinese authorities have failed to do by the legitimate means
+at their command, their underlings and the circle of gentry that surrounds
+each provincial centre attempt to do by illegitimate and criminal methods.
+Hatred of missions and converts shows itself by violent outbreaks in
+which innocent and guilty suffer a common fate; mobs are excited by false
+suggestions, scholars write inflammatory placards filled with the foulest
+calumnies, and the higher officials "let it work"--secretly applauding,
+but ready, if called to account, to exculpate themselves and blame the
+poor ignorant people.
+
+The charges which form the staple of these attacks turn largely upon the
+murder of children in order to make use of eyes, members, blood, &c.,
+in certain Christian rites; and they are so extravagant and absurd that
+foreigners are apt to doubt that even the most ignorant among the people
+really believe in the crimes which are alleged against Christians. The
+best authorities, however,--as, for example, the late Sir Thomas Wade,--do
+not question the sincerity of the popular belief; and indeed if we compare
+these charges with those made against the Jews by influential sections of
+Christians in Europe, we shall be surprised at their practical identity.
+
+For this deplorable state of things no one has been able to suggest a
+remedy. What has been done cannot be undone. To mend it even would require
+such united action among the Great Powers as it is hardly possible in
+the present state of the world to conceive. France, indeed, on the morrow
+of the Tientsin massacre, did appeal to the co-operative principle as a
+protection to all foreign interests in China. The French ambassador in
+London addressed the Foreign Office in these terms:--
+
+    Bien que les victimes de ces attentats soient presque
+    exclusivement des Francais, on ne saurait contester que des
+    faits pareils revelent l'existence de dangers qui menacent
+    indistinctement tous les etrangers residant en Chine. C'est en
+    considerant leurs interets comme solidaires dans ces contrees de
+    l'extreme Orient que les Puissances europeennes peuvent arriver a
+    assurer a leurs nationaux les garanties et les securites stipulees
+    dans les traites.
+
+In the subsequent action of France in China, however, there has been no
+trace of regard for any such principle of solidarity. Indeed, were the
+Powers ever so amicably disposed towards each other on other questions,
+they could not agree in this, the objects of their policy being absolutely
+irreconcilable.
+
+"We cannot doubt," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock, "that the missionary
+question is the main cause of disturbance in our relations with China,
+and of danger to the Chinese Government itself no less than to all
+foreigners resident in the country, missionaries and laymen alike." He
+recommended in 1868 that "the treaty Powers should, if possible, come
+to some understanding on the religious and missionary question as the
+necessary preliminary to any united action for the common benefit, the
+acquisition of increased facilities for trade, &c." And he says, "As
+regards Chinese converts, any attempt to extend a protectorate over them
+would of necessity either fail or be subversive of the whole government of
+China." But in the same paper he states that "France, with no trade in the
+East, is ambitious of a protectorate over Roman Catholic missions"; and
+that "with regard to converts protection has been partially extended to
+them under the aegis of the French Government, and that persistent efforts
+were being made to make that protection effectual." These efforts have
+been still more persistent during the generation that has since passed.
+With France the protectorate over native Christians is the great objective
+of her Chinese diplomacy--not the ultimate end, indeed, but the lever
+by which that end may be attained. To suggest to France, therefore, the
+abandonment of this policy would be about as hopeless as asking her to
+give up her colonies as the preliminary to an international conference.
+And while France protects the proselytising machinery of the Roman
+Catholic Church and its consequent usurpation of the Chinese authority, it
+would seem of little avail to place other missionaries under restriction.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The fruits of this war of the social elements began to be harvested in
+1868, as Sir Rutherford Alcock observed; but that was only the beginning
+of a long series of conflicts which have marked the progress of missionary
+work in China up to the present day. Riot, outrage, and massacre are its
+regular landmarks. The outbreaks have so much in common that it would
+serve no useful purpose to trace them in detail, or attempt to apportion
+praise or blame to this or that individual or sect. The one which has
+left the reddest mark on history, and, being enacted in the presence of a
+foreign mercantile community, brought the several factors in the question
+into a clearer light than can ever be thrown upon outrages in remote parts
+of the interior, is the Tientsin massacre of 21st June 1870. This occurred
+six months after Sir Rutherford Alcock left China, while Mr Wade was
+_charge d'affaires_ for Great Britain, and Count Rochechouart for France,
+in Peking.
+
+The massacre of sixteen French Sisters of Charity, including an Irish
+girl, Alice Sullivan, a French consul, and several French subjects,
+also--unwittingly, according to the imperial edict treating of the
+occurrence--a Russian merchant and his wife, was the work of an organised
+band, led by the city fire brigade, under the direction of the civic
+authorities. The crime had been planned for some time: it was preceded
+by the murder of an isolated English missionary, Mr Williamson, near
+Tientsin, and by an attempted anti-foreign rising in Nanking, which
+was promptly suppressed by the viceroy, Ma, who was soon after himself
+assassinated. (He was a Mohammedan.) The impending outrage in Tientsin
+was foreseen, and warning given, several days before. An Englishman was
+attacked on the 19th for no reason. The official highest in rank on the
+spot--not, however, a territorial authority--was Chunghou, a Manchu,
+holding the office of Imperial Commissioner for Trade, and very friendly
+to foreigners. Admiral Keppel says of him that he was the most finished
+Chinese gentleman he had ever met, with the exception of the viceroy of
+Canton (probably meaning Kiying). The governor of the province was Tseng
+Kwo-fan, whose capital was Paoting-fu, some 100 miles in the interior;
+and his subordinates, the prefect and magistrate, were the authorities at
+Tientsin immediately responsible for the massacre. Chunghou had warned the
+Peking Government several weeks before of the progress of the agitation
+against the French mission.
+
+The Imperial Government immediately on the occurrence issued an edict
+describing the massacre as "a quarrel between the people and the
+missionaries resulting in a fight," but were promptly driven from that
+position and pressed, not only by the French, but by all the foreign
+representatives, to investigate and do justice in the case, Count
+Rochechouart demanding the capital punishment of the three mandarins
+who had instigated the massacre. On this the Chinese Government
+remarked in a secret edict, "Rochechouart, with boundless arrogance,
+demands the execution of the Fu and Hsien, a demand ten thousand times
+to be rejected." Under pressure, however, the Government ordered the
+governor-general, Tseng, to proceed to the spot and investigate. After
+a protracted journey he reached Tientsin and commenced to take evidence,
+not of the crime committed, but of the suspicions which had been excited
+against the Sisters of Mercy, whom, after ransacking their cemeteries
+for mutilated children, he eventually acquitted. He then suspended the
+magistrates _pro forma_, and spoke of sending for troops to catch the
+rioters! On receiving the viceroy's report another imperial decree was
+issued repeating the original falsehoods, and causing much disappointment
+to the foreign Ministers. Renewed pressure from them, not without hints
+of stronger measures, resulted in the offer of fifteen of the mob to be
+executed, which, being unanimously rejected, the Chinese Government,
+apparently thinking it was the number that was inadequate, threw in
+five more, making twenty in all. Sixteen were actually beheaded, the
+remaining four being saved by the timely arrival of the Russian Minister,
+who protested against the execution of the men accused of murdering the
+Russians, because he did not believe in their guilt. Compensation was paid
+by the Chinese officials to the families of the executed men, which, with
+the honours done to their dead bodies, showed that they were sacrificed
+not for crime, but for reasons of State. Of course pecuniary compensation
+was made on account of the victims of the massacre, the Chinese Government
+being never hard to deal with where money is concerned. The prefect and
+the magistrate who had busied themselves after the tragedy in torturing
+Christians, in order to extort from them confessions which would justify
+the massacre, were nominally banished, though it was perfectly understood
+that this was a pure matter of form.
+
+  [Illustration: RUINS OF FRENCH CATHEDRAL AT TIENTSIN, BURNED JUNE 20,
+   1870.]
+
+As part of the reparation for the massacre the Imperial Commissioner for
+Northern Trade, Chunghou, was despatched in the early part of 1871 on
+a mission to France to express the regret of the Chinese Government for
+what had occurred. This official, the first man of rank who was ever sent
+out of China, received but an indifferent reception from the President of
+the French Republic. Being the highest authority in Tientsin at the time
+of the massacre, and having known of the preparations for an outbreak
+of some kind, Chunghou was severely blamed by Europeans on the coast of
+China, who alleged that the massacre could have been prevented had he put
+forth his authority. Meetings were even held on the subject in Shanghai,
+and remonstrances were sent to Europe against Chunghou's being received
+anywhere as an ambassador until he should exonerate himself from all share
+in the Tientsin atrocity. These representations, no doubt, had something
+to do with the attitude of the French Provisional Government, which, on
+other grounds also, was probably little disposed in that year to occupy
+itself with the affairs either of the Church or of China.
+
+There is reason to believe, however, that Chunghou's conduct during the
+affair of Tientsin was not inconsistent with innocence; for although he
+was a man in authority, it was only as superintendent of trade, having
+no control whatever over the hierarchy of territorial officials, who
+were under the orders of the viceroy, Tseng Kwo-fan. Beyond his personal
+attendants it is not probable that Chunghou could move a corporal's guard
+in Tientsin, and his position was such that the local authorities and
+their myrmidons looked with the keenest jealousy on any departure of the
+superintendent of trade from the strict line of his own functions. He
+dared not, in fact, move a finger against officers who owed allegiance
+to the viceroy, and in apprising the Peking Government of the rumours
+which were current, Chunghou probably considered that he had gone as
+far as public duty warranted. These somewhat anomalous relations between
+two high dignitaries of the empire were put an end to when Li Hung-chang
+succeeded Tseng Kwo-fan as viceroy of Chihli; for he was appointed also
+the successor of Chunghou as superintendent of trade, and resided for the
+most part of his time in the commercial port, Tientsin. The two offices
+continue to be combined in one person.
+
+Most of the typical features of a missionary outrage were in this case
+exemplified--ferocious placards and brochures, circulation of calumnies
+against the missionaries, guilt of the local authorities, their immunity
+from punishment, and the official publication of travestied versions of
+the occurrence. There was also, we may add, a lurking disposition on the
+part of foreign Governments to give credit to the Chinese charges against
+the missionaries. Finding themselves unable by pressure on the Chinese
+to obtain satisfaction for past or security against future outrages, they
+were seldom indisposed to cover their impotence by throwing the blame on
+their own people.
+
+There was, consequently, readiness in certain foreign official quarters
+to dwell on undefined "indiscretions." It was too easily assumed in the
+beginning that the practice of the Sisters of Charity of purchasing
+destitute children reasonably excited the suspicions of the people.
+As a matter of fact, however, as was admitted afterwards, this alleged
+practice of the Sisters was entirely imaginary. It was also assumed that
+the massacre was a spontaneous act of the populace, who believed the
+stories of kidnapping. But in view of the fact that these agitations arose
+simultaneously in distant parts of the empire, this theory of sporadic
+action could not be sustained: besides, as Tseng Kwo-fan himself shrewdly
+enough pointed out, no child had been missed from any family at Tientsin,
+and the idea of a disciplined fire brigade and a great city mob being
+suddenly roused to fury by the abstract idea that somewhere children had
+been kidnapped by somebody is too altruistic for ordinary belief. The mob
+needed an instigator, and the instigator was well known.
+
+In the diplomatic correspondence which ensued, admitted on all hands to
+be most unsatisfactory, the British _charge d'affaires_ had occasion to
+complain to Prince Kung that in the communications that passed foreign
+Ministers and their Governments were spoken of as vassals, which, coming
+two years after Mr Wade's warm support of the Burlingame mission, was
+instructive as regards the progress in liberal ideas which had been
+claimed for the Chinese.
+
+Another consequence of this affair may be noted. The instructions to
+British naval officers in China, which had been dictated by Mr Burlingame
+in 1869, were virtually reversed after the Tientsin massacre.
+
+It was the general belief at the time that, literally by the fortune
+of war, the Chinese Government narrowly escaped a signal retribution
+for its continued guerilla warfare against foreigners as represented by
+the missionary vanguard. Information travelled slowly then. The nearest
+telegraph stations to Peking were Kiachta on the Russian frontier and
+Colombo, and there was only periodical communication with either, so that
+it happened that the official news of the massacre reached the British
+Foreign Office on July 25th. If we recall what was transpiring in the
+capitals of Europe during that month of July 1870, we may permit ourselves
+the speculation that events might have taken quite another turn had the
+news from China reached the Tuileries a month earlier than it did. The
+Chinese Government themselves were strongly imbued with this idea. In
+an interesting interview which Consul Adkins had with Li Hung-chang in
+October, after he had succeeded to the viceroyalty of Chihli, in which the
+incident was discussed, the viceroy could not conceal his anxiety. The
+pith of a Chinese interview usually lies, like that of a lady's letter,
+in the postscript, and as Mr Adkins was taking leave the governor-general
+asked him, "Do you think France will make war next year?" (It is worth
+noting that in his report of the interview Mr Adkins expressed himself
+"reassured by the governor-general's tone and manner." "I take for
+granted," he wrote, "that he will not tolerate any outrage on foreigners
+within his jurisdiction;" and this forecast of Mr Adkins has, we believe,
+been completely borne out by the event.)
+
+But although the Chinese had escaped a great peril, they were somewhat
+shaken in their sense of security for the future. The attacks on
+missionaries had no doubt gone further than was altogether safe, since
+the indignation of the foreign Powers had been roused almost to the pitch
+of war. The provincial authorities having had their own way so long,
+threatened to be too strong for the Central Government, and were likely
+to embroil them with foreign nations; while in their turn the "literati
+and gentry," unemployed officials and the leaders of disorder in the great
+provincial cities, were also becoming too demonstrative for the provincial
+rulers. It was clear to the authorities that they were face to face with
+a dangerous situation, and, contrary to their traditional practice, they
+began to devise measures in order to meet it. The missionary, they now
+saw, was with them for good, the hope of expelling him by intimidation
+must be relegated to fanatics of the non-practical school, and it would be
+imbecile to shut their eyes any longer to facts. No doubt they had allowed
+things to go too far in the admission of foreigners into the interior,
+trusting to the resourcefulness of the provinces in insidious means of
+repression, but to retrace their steps was now impossible. They could no
+longer hope to expel the missionary, but they would contrive some means to
+mitigate the dangers of his presence. They would, in short, endeavour to
+supply, in concert with the treaty Powers, that culpable omission in the
+treaties by henceforth regulating the missions and defining their rights
+and obligations.
+
+The result of these cogitations was an elaborate scheme for the control
+of missions which was published in the summer of 1871, and was addressed
+to the French Government, and by them communicated to the others. That the
+Chinese Ministers of themselves took so unprecedented an initiative it is
+not necessary to believe. The circular was attributed to that greatest of
+all Chinese statesmen, Wensiang, but the unseen hand that has done so much
+to assist China out of her international difficulties may easily be traced
+in this notable State Paper. In the preamble the case is stated much as
+we have endeavoured to set it forth: "Trade has in no degree occasioned
+differences between China and the Powers. The same cannot be said of the
+missions, which engender ever-increasing abuses. Although in the first
+instance it may have been declared that the primary object of the missions
+was to exhort men to virtue, Catholicism, in causing vexation to the
+people, has produced a contrary effect in China." The circular submitted
+eight rules for the government of missionary relations with the people and
+officials in the provinces. The rules referred to (1) the management of
+orphanages, which it was proposed either to close altogether or to place
+under severe restrictions; (2) the mixed attendance of women and men at
+public worship, which, being contrary to Chinese propriety, scandalised
+the people; (3) the legal status of missionaries in the interior, and the
+evil consequences of the _imperia in imperio_ which had resulted through
+the missionaries' separating themselves, and even their native converts,
+from the jurisdiction of the local authorities; (4) the restriction of
+proceedings in the case of riots to the persons actively participating
+in the same; (5) the clear definition of passports, so that missionaries
+should not be able to move about at will, leaving no trace; (6) the need
+of strict examination into the character and antecedents of converts;
+(7) the etiquette to be observed by missionaries in intercourse with
+officials, the missionaries not to arrogate official style; and (8) the
+reclamation of alleged sites of ancient churches to be stopped, great
+injustice having been done to Chinese through their being obliged to
+surrender properties which they had honestly bought and paid for.
+
+Many things have happened since 1871, and each transaction with foreigners
+has involved greater and greater encroachment on the Chinese prerogatives.
+Thus the objection taken in 1871 to the missionaries' arrogating official
+style has now been so completely waived that the Chinese Government
+itself bestows official rank on missionaries, and has sanctioned a rule
+of etiquette for their intercourse with the high Chinese authorities.
+Thus "bishops are authorised to demand to see viceroys and governors of
+provinces; vicars-general and archdeacons are authorised to demand to see
+provincial treasurers, judges, and taotais; other priests are authorised
+to demand to see prefects of the first and second class, independent
+prefects, sub-prefects, and other functionaries. The various orders
+of ecclesiastics are to visit and write to the corresponding orders of
+Chinese officials on terms of equality, and these officials will naturally
+respond, according to their rank, with the same courtesies."[20]
+
+This famous circular of 1871 unfortunately perished at its birth: it was
+roughly attacked in the foreign press, and met with a very cold reception
+by the Foreign Offices. The English and American Governments seemed
+satisfied with the reflection that the strictures on missionary practices
+applied specially to Catholics, and pleased to be able on that account to
+dismiss it from consideration. From that day to this the evils complained
+of have gone on increasing and accumulating year by year, outrages and
+massacres following each other without interruption, and the exacerbation
+of feeling between foreign missionaries and the Chinese population going
+on with accelerated speed. The political results to China have assumed
+in these later years the very concrete form of territorial spoliation,
+and the Chinese have had abundant experience of the religion which makes
+nations strong and the people virtuous. That is not to say, however,
+that there is not good seed already germinating under the snow, which may
+hereafter bear the peaceable fruits of righteousness. Meanwhile the naked
+unregulated forces are in open conflict, and he would be a bold prophet
+who should forecast the issue.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [16] Germany in her treaty made no profession, but simply stipulated
+    for toleration.
+
+ [17] M. Eugene Simon, one of the most distinguished of the French
+    consuls in China, in his book, 'La Cite Chinoise,' awards the
+    credit of this performance to M. Delamarre, "un pretre des
+    Missions etrangeres," who acted as Baron Gros' interpreter.
+    "Je tiens," says M. Simon, "le fait de plusieurs sources, et
+    entre autres de M. Delamarre, qui se glorifait beaucoup de sa
+    supercherie."
+
+ [18] Compare "Jesuits' Estates Act" in Canada, 1890, for which Mr
+    Mercier was decorated by the Pope.
+
+ [19] It will be understood that a concise view of the general
+    mission question is all that is here aimed at, no distinction
+    being drawn between branches of the propaganda. Important as
+    are their differences viewed from the foreign standpoint, they
+    are practically ignored by the Chinese, as we see from the
+    impartiality with which they visit resentment on all. Our concern
+    is with the impression produced by the propaganda as a whole,
+    gathered as far as possible from Chinese evidence and not from
+    the hypothetical arguments of foreign disputants. In other words,
+    it is the political bearing of the movement which alone we are
+    endeavouring to illustrate.
+
+ [20] This measure was intended by the Chinese Government to
+    facilitate the local settlement of disputes where the facts
+    were known, and so obviate incessant appeals to the Central
+    Government. It has not fulfilled its purpose, partly because an
+    important section of the propaganda declined to avail itself of
+    the concession offered to them. Indeed the form of the concession
+    implies a hierarchy which only Catholic missions possess.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+THE EXPANSION OF INTERCOURSE.
+
+
+I. RUSSIA AND FRANCE ADVANCING.
+
+    Influx of treaty Powers--Diversion of Chinese foreign policy into
+    new channels--Aggrandisement of Russia--And France--At the expense
+    of China--Affecting whole policy of China for thirty years--The
+    rise of German influence--And Japanese.
+
+Up to this stage the foreign relations of China have been traced from
+what is practically a single point of view--the English--without sensible
+distortion of their true proportions. But the events of 1857-60, and
+the treaties by which they were crowned, introduced new factors and a
+wider ramification of international connections. The arms of England
+and France opened the door to an influx of Powers eager to reap where
+they had not sown; and though the full effect was not realised till many
+years later, the shifting of foreign intercourse from an essentially
+Anglo-Chinese to a Sino-cosmopolitan basis became a potential reality
+on the day that Peking surrendered to the Allies. Foreseeing such a
+result, the negotiators of the treaties of 1858 advisedly refrained from
+pressing the Chinese Government more than was essential to the freedom
+of commerce, on the ground that other Powers less restrained than the
+authors of the treaties by a sense of moral responsibility might take
+undue advantage of concessions extorted from the vanquished. This
+prevision has been borne out by events, for the original "three treaty
+Powers" soon became thirteen, and the old solicitude for the conservation
+of China was gradually discovered to be confined to the small minority
+who had a substantial commercial stake in the country. With the increase
+in their number there naturally also appeared diversity of interest,
+scarce perceptible in the beginning, but ever widening with the progress
+of events until at length a stage of violent antagonism in the policy of
+the Powers was reached. The division among their enemies, which Chinese
+statesmen have deplored their inability to compass, has thus been brought
+about without their aid; but so far from realising the Chinese dream of
+ruling the barbarians, the division has only exposed the empire to the
+ravages of rival spoilers.
+
+It is impossible to do more than glance at the several channels into
+which the foreign relations of China have branched off since 1860. Yet
+they intersect each other at so many points as to form a network which
+can only be intelligently considered as a whole. The quasi-biographical
+form of the present work may be appropriately dropped, so far as China
+is concerned, with the beginning of 1870, when the more immediate subject
+of it disappears from the stage of action to reappear as a perspicacious
+critic surveying the scene from a distant but commanding standpoint.
+
+Two developments of far-reaching importance found their proximate
+starting-point, though not their origin, in the crisis which laid China
+prostrate in 1858 and 1860. These were the extension of the Russian empire
+to the Pacific Ocean, and the creation of that Asiatic empire which had
+been the dream of France for two centuries. China being by these vast
+territorial aggressions placed between the upper and the nether millstone,
+the anticipated advance of the two Powers has exerted an influence on her
+destiny scarcely less potent than the Japanese war itself, with which it
+so effectively co-operated. The soldier-statesmen of Russia foreseeing,
+what the war of 1854-55 was soon to demonstrate, that the sea route
+to their Pacific possessions was at the mercy of the maritime Powers,
+resolved to make a dash for a line of communication by land, and in
+pursuance of this adventurous conception forced their way down the Amur
+in spite of the feeble remonstrance of the Chinese wardens of the marches.
+What was thus taken by the strong hand in 1854 was formally ceded in 1858,
+when, first, the Amur province, with the free navigation of the river,
+and, next, an undefined condominium in the Usuri province, were granted
+by treaty to Russia. This was but a step towards the absolute cession, two
+years later, of that territory, including the whole Manchurian sea-coast,
+600 miles in length. These extensive cessions, giving Russia the command
+of North-Eastern Asia, were extorted from China while _in extremis_ as a
+direct result of the Anglo-French victories.
+
+So with the French establishment in the south-eastern section of the
+Continent. The expedition sent to the Far East in conjunction with that
+of Great Britain was, on completion of its work in China, withdrawn to
+Cochin-China, and, in an alliance of brief duration with Spain, invaded
+that dependency of the empire of Annam--a vassal of China--and captured
+Saigon. The Spanish partnership being thereupon dissolved, the French
+empire of "Indo-China" was inaugurated with a free hand. Zeal for religion
+was the motive of the invasion: "The emperor wished to put a stop to
+the constantly recurring persecutions of Christians in Cochin-China, and
+to secure them the efficacious protection of France." The record of the
+phenomenal progress of the new French empire since the treaty of Saigon
+in 1862 has been related by many eloquent pens. M. F. Garnier, the heroic
+explorer; M. de Carne, his colleague; M. Lanier, M. Deschamps, M. de
+Lanessan, and a host of enthusiastic French writers, have depicted in
+glowing terms not only the process, but the motives and aspirations, of
+the French "empire-builders."[21]
+
+The pressure, latent and active, of these two powerful neighbours has
+given its tone to the policy of China during thirty years, and in such a
+way that her relations with the commercial nations who did not menace her
+integrity have been relegated to a secondary place.
+
+The new German influence in the Far East, which had its modest beginnings
+in the treaties so reluctantly concluded by the Japanese and Chinese in
+1861, has grown in importance _pari passu_ with the rapid development of
+the German empire itself, ably seconded, it must always be allowed, by the
+personal qualities of the Ministers who have been successively chosen to
+represent the Fatherland at Peking and Tokio. The first resident Minister
+to China was Baron Rehfues, who opened the Legation in Peking in 1866,
+under the treaty of 1861.
+
+Another nation destined to play a leading _role_ among the Powers in the
+Western Pacific was during the same period rising like the sun in the
+eastern sky. Nor was it very long before the nascent Power of Japan began
+to make its weight felt in the conflicts and concerts of the Far Eastern
+world.
+
+It is obvious that under these various influences operating from without,
+and the reflex action set up within the State itself, the character
+of China as a political and diplomatic entity could not any longer
+be what it had been in the years before the war. What had been simple
+became complex; no international issue could be raised in an isolated
+form; nor could China make any move, whether voluntary or involuntary,
+without facing the critical observation of many interested parties.
+This multiple responsibility to Powers by no means at one in their aims,
+and each assuming over her a status of superiority, could have no other
+effect than to reduce to nullity any efforts China might make either to
+improve herself or please the Powers. It was impossible to please them
+all. Decades before the Japanese war, more than one of them had offered
+her armed assistance in thwarting the designs of a third,--which things
+Chinese statesmen pondered in silence.
+
+
+II. JAPAN AGGRESSIVE.
+
+    Extraordinary progress of Japan--Nation becomes restless--Invades
+    Formosa--Bought off by China.
+
+The civil war in Japan had been fought with characteristic energy during
+three years, when a revolution, the like of which was never before seen,
+established the new empire on the double foundations of hereditary
+monarchy and popular suffrage. The effect of the revolution was to
+concentrate the whole strength of the State under the government of the
+Mikado, and thus enable it to give free play to the widest ambitions. With
+incredible rapidity the nation made itself efficient for every enterprise
+of peace or war. The best that the Western world had to teach was eagerly
+appropriated by a people just aroused from a long sleep, and anxious to
+make up lost time. They went so fast, indeed, that onlookers shook their
+heads, and their best friends would have applied the brake had it been
+possible. But the nation was self-reliant, and in its first adolescence
+it began to be aggressive.
+
+Within six years of the revolution of 1868 an expedition was sent to
+invade the Chinese island of Formosa. Through the good offices of Sir
+Thomas Wade, British Minister in Peking, war between the two empires was
+averted, and the Japanese forces withdrawn. They were virtually bought
+off, a proceeding characterised by Sir H. Parkes as pusillanimous on
+the part of the empire of China. The transaction really sealed the fate
+of China, in advertising to the world that here was a rich empire which
+was ready to pay, but not ready to fight. The euphemisms under which
+the ransom was disguised deceived no one unless it were the Chinese
+themselves. The vast cessions to Russia, incredible as they appeared, had
+at least the palliation of a dire emergency, and verbal equivalents in
+the shape of promises of deliverance therefrom. The submission to Japan,
+on the other hand, was made in a time of comparative ease.
+
+The incident had yet a further significance. The pretext of the Japanese
+invasion was injuries done to shipwrecked Liuchiuans, a people whom China
+till then and for some years later considered her own vassals, and who
+had for centuries paid her regular tribute. Such an episode was therefore
+a sure mark of imperial decadence;--a definite step, moreover, in the
+downward process, to be followed not long after by the Japanese boldly
+asserting a claim to the Liuchiu Islands, against which China could only
+interpose an inarticulate protest. The meaning of these indications was
+not likely to be lost either on the Japanese, who were more immediately
+concerned, or on other less interested onlookers. And what has the
+subsequent history of China been but a development of the symptoms?
+
+
+III. KOREA OPENED.
+
+    Japan concludes commercial treaty with Korea--Establishes working
+    relations--Exciting jealousy in China--The suzerain--China replies
+    by opening Korea to the whole world.
+
+The expanding life of Japan was soon to overflow in another direction.
+The kingdom of Korea lay within twelve hours' steaming from the Japanese
+coast: it had a historic and a mythical interest for Japan; it had been
+the source of her culture as well as the scene of her conquests and
+ultimate defeat. With the exception of piratical raids on the coast towns
+of China, Korea was the only foreign field into which Japanese arms had
+been carried, and the prowess of their peninsular heroes was cherished
+as a sacred treasure by a people singularly tenacious of their heroic
+legends. After an interval of three centuries the new Japan directed its
+ambition to the scene of its medieval exploits; and the "hermit kingdom"
+was at last dragged from its seclusion and forced to play an unwilling
+part in the international game. The modern spirit had tempered the
+military passion, commerce and industry supplied the ballast to adventure,
+and instead of landing an army of 200,000 men, as they had done in 1592,
+the Japanese, in 1876, re-established themselves in the peninsula through
+the peaceable agency of a treaty of amity and commerce--a weapon newly
+borrowed from the armoury of Europe. This movement of the Japanese was by
+no means intended to "open" Korea--except to themselves. On the contrary,
+it appears that that very astute people ingratiated themselves with
+the king's Government by aiding, or professing to aid, them to keep the
+country closed to all other nations.
+
+But, like every other attempt to isolate an international question, the
+exclusive effort of the Japanese not only failed, but resulted in opening
+Korea instead of closing it. They could not lock themselves in: the key
+was on the outside of the door. Although they disguised their feelings,
+the Chinese authorities had been gravely disturbed by the attacks of the
+French and the Americans on Korea in 1867 and 1871. The audacious advance
+of the Japanese aroused them to the extent of considering the merits of a
+counter-move; for Korea was the secular battle-ground between China and
+Japan, the historic stepping-stone between the two countries. And Korea
+was a vassal to China, if ever one State did occupy such a relation to
+another. By old tradition, by effective conquest, by solemn engagement,
+by regular tributary missions, by the prerogative of investiture, by
+the obeisance of the sovereign before the Chinese envoys sent on great
+occasions, by every kind of acknowledgment which the servant could render
+to the master, was the suzerainty of China established.
+
+China's relations to her tributaries was perhaps the best feature in
+her imperial character. There was protection, nominal or real, but never
+a shadow of domination. The ceremonial once settled, the most complete
+independence was accorded to the vassal State, the imperial object being
+never oppression or exploitation, but the girdling of the empire with a
+cordon of contented States looking with filial eyes towards the Dragon
+throne. Of these filial States Korea was the most important, on account
+of its geographical position as commanding one of the main approaches
+to the Middle Kingdom, or, as the king himself once expressed it in a
+memorial to the emperor, as "the lips protecting the teeth." For China the
+Korean peninsula has been a strategical stronghold, but its importance was
+increased a hundredfold when the statesmen of Peking came to realise what
+they had done in giving away the whole Manchurian sea-coast, leaving them
+no outlet to the Sea of Japan excepting through Korea, which, moreover,
+was studded all round with excellent harbours, useful to friends and
+tempting to enemies.
+
+The wise policy which the emperors had observed towards their tributaries
+had borne valuable fruit in Korea. For two hundred years the Peking
+Government had dealt so benignly with king and people as to have inspired
+feelings of genuine affection combined with deep reverence for the "big
+country." Whether collectively or individually, officially or privately,
+the Chinese were warmly welcomed everywhere without ever abusing the
+courtesy of their hosts--in marked contrast, it must be observed, to
+the Japanese, whose record in Korea has been one of unbroken brutality,
+producing a general feeling of aversion.
+
+If anything, therefore, could excite the jealousy of Chinese statesmen, it
+would be to see this filial dependency being tampered with by strangers,
+more especially by their hereditary foes, the Japanese. Better all the
+world in Korea with Japan excluded, than Japan in with the rest of the
+world kept out. Slow of apprehension, and still slower of action, her
+unpractical conservatism in high places reducible only by sap and mine,
+China brooded over the Korean problem for some years before any result
+of the incubation appeared. The conclusion eventually arrived at was to
+neutralise the Japanese action by opening Korea to the whole world under
+treaty. The realisation of this scheme was as usual placed in the hands of
+Li Hung-chang, who on the one hand recommended the Korean king to conclude
+commercial treaties with foreign Powers, and on the other encouraged the
+latter to open negotiations. Hence the general opening of the country in
+1882, with its train of tragic consequences.
+
+The terms of the foreign treaties with Korea had not been thoroughly
+thought out, and the very ambiguity was perpetuated which it was the
+interest of China to clear away. The treaties purported to be made with an
+independent State, whereas Korea was a vassal, and the inconsistency was
+attempted to be remedied by a separate letter from the king to the Powers
+with whom he had concluded treaties, declaring, notwithstanding, that the
+Chinese emperor was his suzerain.
+
+
+IV. THE FIRST IMPERIAL AUDIENCE--SUCCESSION OF KWANGHSU.
+
+    End of the minority of Emperor Tungchih--Audience of the foreign
+    Ministers in 1873--Under derogatory conditions--Death of the
+    young emperor--Empress regent's _coup d'etat_ in selecting
+    successor--Her own nephew--Eighteen years' minority of Emperor
+    Kwanghsu.
+
+An event looked forward to for twelve long years with patient expectation,
+and with hope, lively at the beginning but fading away towards the end
+of the period, that it would prove the sovereign remedy for the defects
+of Chinese intercourse with the world, was the assumption of power by
+the young emperor, who attained his majority in 1873. The diplomatic
+body busied themselves greatly in preparations for their first audiences
+with the sovereign to whom they were accredited. The Chinese on their
+part were no less anxiously engaged in devising means of lightening
+the blow to their prestige in consenting to receive foreigners at all,
+while dispensing with the prescribed prostrations. Obliged to yield the
+main point, the Court officials minimised its significance by imposing
+sundry derogatory conditions as to the building in which the audience
+was to be granted, and by the terms in which it was referred to in the
+imperial decree, which represented the foreign Ministers as "imploring an
+audience," and by other like devices.
+
+The first to be admitted to the presence was the representative of Japan,
+who held the rank of ambassador. Next came the resident Ministers of
+Russia, the United States, Great Britain, France, and Holland, in a body;
+and lastly, the French Minister separately, in order to convey the reply
+of his Government to the mission of Chunghou respecting the Tientsin
+massacre of 1870. The several letters of credence were placed on a table.
+The emperor "seemed to be speaking" to Prince Kung, though no sound was
+heard. The prince in his turn addressed a few words to the five Ministers,
+in Chinese, purporting to be what the emperor had spoken in Manchu, and
+the audience was at an end, the whole ceremony lasting about five minutes.
+
+By long anticipation a superstitious halo had formed round the abstract
+question of audience: it grew into a kind of fetish. Mr Lay shrewdly
+observed that the object of the "resident Minister" clause in the
+treaties had been misunderstood by foreigners in being regarded by them
+as an end instead of only a means. Mr Wade, who was British Minister at
+the time, made no such mistake; for though he consistently laid stress
+on ceremonial, it was, as he has frequently explained, because with
+the Chinese form was more than substance, and included it. A proper
+regulation of official etiquette was in his estimation the principal key
+to the remedy of material wrongs. From this point of view a five minutes'
+audience of the Son of Heaven, even in dumb show and once a-year, was a
+step of real importance. "The empire," wrote Mr Wade, "has for the first
+time in its history broken with the tradition of isolated supremacy--not,
+it may be, with a good grace, but still past recall; and while I would
+anxiously deprecate a too sanguine estimate of its results, I am as little
+disposed to undervalue the change that has been effected."
+
+But whatever hopes of a practical kind were raised by this ceremonial
+innovation were doomed to speedy extinction, for the emperor did not
+survive to grant a second reception. He died within the year, and was
+succeeded by another infant, involving a second minority much longer than
+the preceding one. Eighteen years, in fact, elapsed between the first
+imperial audience and the second.
+
+The Emperor Tungchih, though but eighteen years of age, left a legend
+behind him. The gossip of the capital assigned to him considerable
+independence of character, and a certain audacity in breaking bounds
+without the discreet chaperonage enjoyed by the Prince Siddhartha in his
+explorations beyond the palace precincts of King Suddhodana. He was,
+if common report belied him not, a true son of his mother in certain
+respects, though of her masterful statecraft, and the qualities which
+become a great monarch, he was too young to have given proofs. Leaving
+no heir, the deficiency was promptly supplied by the resourcefulness of
+the empress-mother. As the widow of the Emperor Hsienfeng and co-regent,
+she adopted a posthumous heir to that monarch to replace his own son.
+Her choice fell on the infant son of Prince Ch'un, the youngest brother
+of Hsienfeng. The mother of the adopted child was the empress-regent's
+own sister, and by thus enthroning her nephew the regent assured herself
+another long lease of power. The proceeding was irregular, there being two
+older brothers of Prince Ch'un alive and having sons. The nearest heir
+was the infant grandson of Prince Tun, the fifth son of Tao-kuang, but
+though Prince Tun himself had thirty years before been given in adoption
+to an uncle, the claim of his descendants to the imperial inheritance
+being thereby weakened, he seems never to have renounced his rights. At
+the time of the decease of Tungchih there was so much apprehension of
+disturbances in Peking, both on account of the succession and the form of
+the regency, that the 'Times' (February 4, 1875) wrote, "A battle on this
+question would seem almost inevitable, and notwithstanding the proverbial
+slowness of the East in most things, in crises like the present aspirants
+to Eastern thrones are wont to display both energy and readiness when the
+moment arrives for a _coup d'etat_."
+
+The next in seniority of the sons of Tao-kuang was Prince Kung, whose
+title was uncompromised by alienation, and he had a son eligible. Whatever
+may have been the reasons for setting aside the claims of the two elder
+brothers to occupy the Dragon throne, they were considered to have been
+wrongfully set aside, and of this more will doubtless be heard in the
+fulness of time. Since, for reasons well understood, no natural heir
+to the present monarch can succeed him, there must be fresh recourse
+to adoption when or before the necessity arises, and what influences,
+native or alien, may then be concentrated on the imperial succession is
+a speculation on which it would be profitless to enter.
+
+The empress-regent's _coup d'etat_ of January 1875, when on a bitterly
+cold night her infant nephew was taken out of his warm bed, conveyed
+into the palace, and proclaimed emperor the following morning, answered
+the scheming lady's expectations, for she has ruled the Chinese empire
+from that day to this. By the same stroke she was enabled to disembarrass
+herself of her original confederate, Prince Kung, to whose ambition she
+dealt a crushing blow in ousting his family from the succession. The two
+had come to hate each other with more than common virulence; and now that
+Prince Ch'un had been set on an unassailable pedestal as father of the
+reigning sovereign, the regent placed her trust and confidence in him, and
+shared with him the sweets of empire. Inasmuch, however, as the regent
+was a woman, and her imperial brother-in-law neither a man of affairs
+nor in a position to assume any outward share in the Government, it was
+necessary to bring in a practical statesman to stand between them and the
+outer world. This position of confidence was occupied for twenty years by
+the grand secretary, Li Hung-chang.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [21] For an unvarnished narrative of both the French and the Russian
+    advances the reader cannot do better than consult Mr Gundry's
+    'China and her Neighbours,' Chapman & Hall, 1893.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875--CHEFOO CONVENTION, 1876--RATIFICATION,
+1885.
+
+
+I. THE MURDER OF MR MARGARY, 1875.
+
+    Efforts to reach China from Burma--Expedition under Colonel
+    Browne--Mr Margary appointed interpreter--Meets party at
+    Bhamo--Precedes them into China, and is assassinated at
+    Manwyne--Discussion thereon with the Chinese Government--Tsen
+    Yue-ying, Governor of Yunnan--British Minister charges him with the
+    murder--Demands his arraignment--Sends commission from Peking to
+    Yunnan to take evidence--Unsuccessful.
+
+Ever since the conquest of British Burma, and more especially since the
+treaty concluded with the King of Burma in 1862, political and commercial
+speculation had been busied with the mountainous country which divides
+it from the empire of China. The fact that next to nothing was known
+of that wild region, combined with the prospect of reopening the old
+caravan route which had been some time closed by disturbances among the
+frontier tribes and by Chinese insurgents, constituted a great stimulus to
+exploration. To this end projects were from time to time considered by the
+Indian Government--sometimes at the instance of enthusiastic officials,
+sometimes urged by the superior authority of the British Government under
+pressure from mercantile bodies in England. South-western China, however,
+was as jealously guarded from intrusion as the sea-coast had been, and no
+progress was made in penetrating its mystery.
+
+After the failure of an exploring expedition under Colonel Edward B.
+Sladen in 1868, the Indian Government, in furtherance of the wishes of the
+Government at home, sanctioned yet another attempt six years later, though
+with decided misgivings as to any successful issue. Arrangements were
+made during 1874, and the expedition, under Colonel Horace Browne, was
+despatched from Burma _via_ Bhamo in the beginning of 1875. The British
+Minister in China had been asked for his co-operation, and in particular
+he was requested to furnish Colonel Browne with a competent interpreter.
+It was arranged that this official, armed with a Chinese passport issued
+by the Government at Peking, should make his own way through China from
+the coast and join Colonel Browne at Bhamo.
+
+The choice of her Majesty's Minister fell upon one of the most promising
+officers in the consular service, Mr Augustus Raymond Margary, who
+proceeded from Shanghai by way of the Yangtze to the province of Yunnan,
+and in five months accomplished his perilous pioneering journey with
+perfect success, arriving on the 17th of January at the rendezvous, where
+he was received with the warmest feelings by Colonel Browne and his party,
+and with surprise and admiration by the Burmese.
+
+On being joined by Mr Margary, the mission prepared to start from Bhamo
+towards China. Everything seemed auspicious for the expedition. On
+arriving at the Burmese frontier, however, the party were met by sinister
+rumours of armed opposition to their passage through the Kakhyen hills.
+Margary, having just come safely through these districts, volunteered
+to proceed alone to ascertain the truth of the reports which they had
+heard. How he was treacherously assassinated at Manwyne, the first city
+within the Chinese border, and how Colonel Browne's mission was assailed
+and driven back by armed bands, has been told by Dr John Anderson in 'A
+Narrative of the two Expeditions to Western China' of 1868 and 1875, and
+by Sir Rutherford Alcock, the sympathetic editor of Mr Margary's 'Letters
+and Journals,' as well as in numerous Government publications.
+
+It became then a question of the gravest import to fix the guilt of
+this treachery, and to consider what means could be adopted for avenging
+the death of a young Englishman within Chinese territory, and bearing a
+passport from the Government of Peking. "Whether it be Burmese, Kakhyens,
+Shan tribes, or Chinese that are in question, it is impossible we can
+accept a defeat of this nature, brought on, too, by our own spontaneous
+acts," was the conclusion of Sir Rutherford Alcock. Governments which
+resorted to the assassination of individuals under their own safe conduct
+must be deterred, by persuasion or by force, from the use of such tactics.
+The demand for redress which was made direct to the Tsungli-Yamen was
+followed by a wrangling and evasive discussion as to the conditions on
+which the passport had been granted. These, it must be admitted, had
+not been so definitely stated as they might have been. Passports, as Mr
+Wade, then Minister in Peking, explained, were granted in two forms--for
+"business," meaning trade, or for "pleasure," rendered in Chinese "tour
+or travel." It was in the latter form that the passport for Colonel
+Browne was applied for, and the Chinese made a plausible defence of their
+position on this narrow ground, asserting that the subsequent declaration
+that the mission was intended to open a trade route through Chinese
+provinces, where they alleged no trading rights for foreigners existed,
+could not be covered by a passport granted for pleasure.
+
+The voluminous discussion on international rights which followed, although
+academical in form and irrelevant to the question at issue, betrayed the
+animus of the Chinese Government in regard to commercial concessions in
+the interior; but it is possible that the true motive for the repulse
+of Colonel Browne's expedition, of which Mr Margary's murder was but an
+incident, lay deeper. Europeans are accustomed to make light of oriental
+suspicions, and the idea that Colonel Browne's party was the vanguard of
+a hostile force to be treacherously introduced into Chinese territory
+under passport may seem too fantastic to have been entertained in good
+faith. Yet if we consider on what trivial grounds even the civilised
+Powers of Europe will at times suspect each other of the most grandiose
+designs, and how often the suspicion is justified, we need not dismiss
+as incredible the fact that, in a frontier province which had recently
+been the scene of a formidable rebellion, an armed escort accompanying a
+foreign tourist party should have caused sincere misgivings in the minds
+of the authorities. Nor do the facts of the case exclude the possibility
+of such suspicions being suggested from without, even if they did not
+arise spontaneously within. Apart from these special considerations, the
+chances of success would probably have been greater if the mission had
+started from the Chinese side, where the right of travel and exploration
+had already been established.
+
+The verbal polemic over the conditions of the passport did not, however,
+touch the matter in hand, which was the murder of a British official for
+whom the Chinese Government, both imperial and provincial, were expressly
+responsible. It is not necessary at this day to pronounce judgment on
+the identity of the actual criminal. The murder was the result of a
+conspiracy in which Chinese and Burmese were both implicated. They were
+alike interested in preventing the passage of the mission, and the strong
+opposition of the Burma Government was not unknown to Mr Margary, for he
+had noted it in his Journal.
+
+The King of Burma, the father of the well-known Theebaw, was a learned
+pandit and a devout Buddhist, as severe in regard to heretics as the
+crowned heads of Europe were in the days of the Inquisition. The Court of
+Ava, in its claims to obeisance from foreigners, was almost as exacting as
+the Son of Heaven himself, and the priests lorded it over the community
+with the arrogance of a pampered caste. Thus foreign intercourse was
+heavily hampered, and a good understanding rendered almost impossible.
+Fears for their prerogatives must have inspired the royal and priestly
+coterie with aversion to that restless element which was always trying to
+"open up" other people's country and to explore trade routes. Hence the
+motive for obstructing the passage of a foreign expedition between Burma
+and China was as strong on the Burmese as on the Chinese side.
+
+Tsen Yue-ying, the Chinese governor, held an exceptionally strong position
+in his province, and the officials stood very much in awe of him. Though
+not a pure Chinese, having been born in the mountains of Kwangsi, of
+aboriginal parentage on one side, his personal prestige was very great.
+A fighting man from his youth, he had acquired an immense reputation in
+suppressing the Mohammedan rebellion in Yunnan. This he did in oriental
+style, extirpating the rebels so far as he could, root and branch. To save
+the trouble of burying many thousands of old people and children, he had
+them drowned in the Tali Lake. The military commander who was told off for
+this pleasing duty palliated the massacre, when in after years narrating
+these occurrences, by saying there were not really 10,000 but only 3000
+thrown into the lake. This official had remonstrated with the governor
+against the sentence, saying that such severity was not in accordance with
+Tao li (principle); but Tsen replied, "You have nothing to do with Tao
+li; you must conform to the Leu li" (Penal Code).
+
+Tsen Yue-ying was therefore something greater than an ordinary provincial
+governor, and wielded something more than the authority belonging to
+his office. Not only was he responsible, as all governors are, for what
+was done within his government, but it is difficult to conceive of any
+important incident occurring there without his personal sanction. But
+which was the leader in the plot, whether the acting-governor Tsen Yue-ying
+or the King of Burma, is comparatively unimportant; suffice it that her
+Majesty's Minister fixed, on grounds which satisfied himself, though of
+course on inferential evidence only, the instigation of the crime on the
+governor-general Tsen Yue-ying; and whether the direct guilt were brought
+home to him or not, there could be no question about his responsibility
+under the Chinese principle of administration. "From the governor-general
+downwards they are each and all individually and collectively held
+responsible for all that may happen in the limits of their jurisdiction."
+Accordingly, after much preliminary discussion, Mr Wade demanded that
+that high official should be censured for neglect of duty, and, on later
+information, that he should be brought for trial to Peking. To this
+demand the Peking Government refused to listen, and after feigning for
+many months to have no knowledge of what had taken place, they produced a
+report from the governor-general himself inculpating certain subordinates,
+of whom he seemed willing to make a nominal sacrifice. This report was so
+openly mendacious that Sir Thomas Wade threatened to haul down his flag
+if it were published.
+
+Unluckily for the successful prosecution of the demand for the arraignment
+of the viceroy, the British Minister became entangled in a cat's-cradle of
+negotiations for the revision of the treaty of Tientsin, with which the
+Yunnan outrage got so mixed up that the different questions never could
+be, or at any rate never were, separated again. Throwing the net is the
+tactical device in which the Chinese excel. The demand for reparation
+for the murder was alternately put forward, modified, and withdrawn
+according as the general propositions were shuffled about, and thus the
+effect of a concentrated attack on the essential point was lost. The
+minister on his own showing found himself in a succession of dilemmas,
+while the Chinese defensive position was clear throughout: it was to
+refuse everything, evade when direct refusal was dangerous, and in short
+to baffle all attempts of the British Minister to get to close quarters
+with the question. Sir Thomas Wade was several times brought by these
+elusive tactics to the point of threatening withdrawal of the Legation,
+which in itself the Chinese would have welcomed as a householder might
+the "positively last visit" of a tax-collector, but for the ulterior
+consequences to be apprehended.
+
+After many months of fruitless labour Sir Thomas Wade resolved to send
+a commission of his own to Yunnan to collect evidence as to Margary's
+murder. His right to do so was at first contested by the Chinese; but
+after considering the matter, and getting the best advice at their
+command, they assented, and named High Commissioners to meet the British
+officials. The Hon. T. G. Grosvenor, secretary of Legation, was detached
+for this duty, assisted by two of the most competent men in the consular
+service--Mr Colborn Baber and Mr Arthur Davenport. On the Chinese side
+were appointed the viceroy of the Hu Kwang, Li Han-chang, elder brother
+of Li Hung-chang, another official to whom Sir Thomas Wade objected
+strongly, but in vain, and Tsen Yue-ying himself, the inculpated party.
+The promises made to the British Minister before he would allow the
+mission to set out were broken as soon as it was fairly on its way, and
+Sir Thomas Wade had serious thoughts of recalling it, foreseeing that
+it was destined merely to waste time. What possible hope, indeed, could
+there be of isolated foreigners collecting evidence in a distant city
+against the high provincial officials? No evidence was taken. The British
+Commissioner was simply presented with the original report, to which was
+added the so-called "confession" of thirteen savages "kidnapped to do
+duty as prisoners at the bar." These savages could not speak Chinese, nor
+was their language understood by any one in the viceregal court; it was
+evident that they had never been near the scene of the crime, nor did they
+look in the least like men who were pleading guilty to a capital charge.
+
+The motive of the Chinese in yielding to the appointment of the British
+commission, after refusing their assent to it, only occurred to Sir Thomas
+Wade when they recommended that Mr Grosvenor should remain in Yunnan
+until the case was closed. No coercive measures, they calculated, would
+be taken against them while these hostages remained in their hands. From
+first to last the only question that occupied the mind of the Chinese
+Government was whether force would be applied or not. And if they read--as
+of course they did--the English newspapers of the day they would see that
+the contingency of war was dwelt upon throughout the year 1875 as the
+sole alternative to the condign punishment of the Governor-General of
+Yunnan-Kweichow. This was, indeed, from time to time directly threatened
+by Sir Thomas Wade, and he had applied for the Flying Squadron to come on
+from India to support his demands. When at last, after eighteen months'
+struggle, he abandoned the negotiations, and "abruptly left Peking" for
+Shanghai in order to be in direct telegraphic communication with the
+Home Government, he wrote, "I had, in the last fortnight, again and again
+threatened either to remove the Legation or to recommend to her Majesty's
+Government the extremest measure of coercion unless I had secured a very
+moderate form of reparation."
+
+When Prince Kung realised the fact that the British Minister had actually
+left the capital he became suddenly serious, and sent after him to
+say there had been a misunderstanding, which would have been cleared
+away if he had only waited. At the same time the prince had recourse
+to his foreign adviser, the Inspector-General of Customs, who stood
+to the Government somewhat in the relation of a "medicine-man." The
+inspector-general had taken an active part, both direct and indirect, in
+the comedy of the preceding eighteen months--whether as an ally or an
+opponent of the British Minister seems not to have been quite clear to
+the comprehension of the latter.
+
+An imperial decree was immediately despatched to the Grand Secretary,
+Li Hung-chang, instructing him to detain the British Minister on his
+way through Tientsin, in order to confer with him on the Margary case.
+This proposal Sir Thomas Wade declined on several grounds: among others,
+that at a previous stage of the negotiations the promises made by Li
+Hung-chang had been repudiated by the Peking Government. This effort to
+stop him at Tientsin having failed, Mr Hart was despatched in hot haste
+after Sir Thomas Wade to Shanghai, ostensibly to discuss the "commercial
+question," but really to induce the British Minister to re-enter the
+arena of negotiation,[22] in which the Chinese felt themselves safe. Sir
+Thomas, therefore, consented to meet a special commissioner, but without
+committing himself as to the scope of the intended conference. The High
+Commissioner was Li Hung-chang, and the place of meeting Chefoo, the
+locality being selected by Sir Thomas Wade himself. There was concluded
+the famous Chefoo Convention.
+
+
+II. CHEFOO CONVENTION, 1876.
+
+    Negotiations with Li Hung-chang at Chefoo--Mr Hart
+    assisting--Sir Thomas Wade hurried into making an unsatisfactory
+    settlement--Chefoo convention analysed--Net result an increase
+    in the customs dues--Criticised by the merchants.
+
+It was in the month of September, the summer not yet over, during which
+season the sea air and fine beach of Chefoo made it at that time the
+best health resort for the China coast. Visitors from Peking occasionally
+varied their summer residence at the Western Hills by spending a few weeks
+at Chefoo, and in 1876 there were several members of the diplomatic body
+taking their holiday at the watering-place, the meeting of the British
+and Chinese plenipotentiaries constituting for them an added attraction.
+
+Sir Thomas Wade had originally no intention of concluding a formal
+convention, nor had he authority for closing the Yunnan question without
+further reference to his Government; but circumstances proved too
+strong for him to keep to his resolution. He, in fact, found himself in
+such a position of difficulty as is perhaps best described by the word
+"cornered"--the advantage of the game having passed entirely to the
+other side. The Chinese commissioner was powerfully reinforced by the
+inspector-general, supported by the local commissioner of customs for
+Chefoo; and the neutrality of those of the diplomatic body who were on
+the spot was believed to be benevolent to the Chinese. The "co-operative
+policy" of Mr Burlingame's day had for the time being at least lapsed,
+and particularist views among the Powers or their representatives began
+to prevail. The British Minister, deeming the matter in dispute with
+the Chinese a purely British concern, did not hold it incumbent on him
+to hamper his negotiations by daily consultations with his colleagues,
+who on their part resented his reticence, claiming it as a right that,
+considering how their national interests might be affected by the result,
+they should be kept informed of the progress of the negotiations.
+Sir Thomas Wade admits that, among other considerations, it was the
+impatience of these colleagues of his to see the discussion definitely
+terminated which induced him to close the case without waiting for further
+instructions from his Government.
+
+It must be borne in mind that the problem before the Chinese High
+Commissioner had never varied: it was the extremely simple one, how to
+screen the ex-governor Tsen Yue-ying, whether guilty or innocent, without
+encountering a British armed force. The fate of the negotiations depended
+entirely on the probable movement of the Flying Squadron, which was lying
+at Talien-wan, a hundred miles off. No greater service could have been
+rendered to the Chinese Government than to assure the High Commissioner
+that he had nothing to fear from the British ships. The foreign Ministers
+who were present had their Intelligence Departments in full activity, and
+they had a shrewd notion of the limitations of the Flying Squadron, which
+they were free to communicate to the Chinese plenipotentiary. They were
+aware that the time--September 1876--was not opportune for the British
+Government to embark on distant enterprises of indefinite possibilities.
+From one source or another the assurance was given to the Chinese
+negotiator, and once convinced, on whatever evidence, that the British
+guns would fire nothing but salutes, Li Hung-chang felt himself master of
+the situation. It then became his turn to force a settlement, and he at
+once assumed a peremptory tone with the British Minister, notifying him
+that he would leave Chefoo on a certain day, convention or no convention.
+Sir Thomas Wade had, or thought he had, no choice but to capitulate to
+superior force. Pressed by his diplomatic colleagues, as has been said, as
+well as by the expressed desire of his own Government to get the tedious
+matter settled, he had to accept the best agreement he could get, and the
+Chefoo convention was the result.
+
+The fear of coercion being eliminated, the negotiation became reduced
+to a custom-house affair like the treaty revision of 1869, the Chinese
+seizing the occasion to renew their former efforts to obtain an increase
+of revenue from foreign trade. Instead of adding to the import duty on
+foreign merchandise as in 1869, they now proposed to extend the area
+of internal taxation, and in particular they prepared the way for an
+indefinite increase in the opium revenue. This was the substantial part
+of the convention. New ports were opened in harmony with the scheme.
+
+A clause referring to residence at Chungking in Szechuan provided that
+British merchants would not be allowed to reside there so long as no
+steamers had access to the port. When, under this contingent clause, it
+was attempted to make the conditional permission effective by sending
+steamers to the port, the Chinese Government offered opposition, and the
+right was abandoned by Great Britain.
+
+As for the Yunnan affair, the settlement of it gravitated to the form
+which had been universally condemned. "Do not let the nation lay itself
+open to the contempt of an Asiatic people by accepting money for life
+treacherously taken by official order," wrote Sir R. Alcock in July
+1875. But "the series of bad precedents" was once more followed, and
+"blood-money was accepted for the life of a British subject."
+
+It was thought important to publish far and wide the terms of settlement,
+and a proclamation with Sir T. Wade's _imprimatur_ was posted throughout
+the country. It was remarked, however, that this proclamation embodied the
+very falsities against the publication of which the British Minister had
+previously protested under threat of breaking off diplomatic relations.
+The guilt of notoriously innocent parties was assumed in it, but their
+pardon granted on the fictitious ground that the evidence against them
+would not suffice to convict by the processes of British law.
+
+A separate article provided for a mission of exploration by way of
+Szechuan and Tibet in the following year.
+
+A subject on which Sir Thomas Wade had long set his heart was an
+improvement in the terms of intercourse between foreign and Chinese
+officials, with a view of putting an end to the habitual assumption
+of superiority of the Chinese. This was treated in a few empty words
+providing that the Tsungli-Yamen should invite foreign representatives to
+consider with them a code of etiquette, a clause imposing no obligation
+whatever on either party.
+
+Another question which had greatly occupied the minds of both the
+British Government and its successive representatives ever since 1833
+was the establishment of a code of laws to regulate the civil and
+criminal relations between foreigners and Chinese at the treaty ports
+and elsewhere. This had formed a feature in the supplementary convention
+of 1869, the undertaking in which did not, however, extend beyond the
+general terms that "it is further agreed that England and China shall in
+consultation draw up a commercial code."
+
+Strongly approving, however, of the abstract idea that China should adopt
+a written code of commercial law as a first step towards a general legal
+reform, Sir T. Wade nevertheless uttered a useful caution to those ardent
+reformers who see in a good code of laws a panacea for either national
+or international grievances. "No nation," he says, "worked harder at its
+legislation than China; but in the way of justice there are at least
+two serious impediments--an ignorance which renders due appreciation
+of the value of evidence, especially in criminal cases, impossible; and
+a dishonesty that would be fatal to the administration of any laws, no
+matter how enlightened." He illustrates this by relating an instance of
+the obstinate nature of the _chose jugee_ in China.
+
+    In a case [he says] the termination of which is just announced
+    at Peking, we have a woman wrongly convicted, on a confession
+    extorted from her by torture, of the murder of a husband who
+    died a natural death, the injustice being so patent that the
+    fellow-provincials of the accused appealed to Peking. Orders
+    being issued for a rehearing of the case, the former decision
+    was affirmed in the province, and this a second and again a third
+    time. The proceedings were then removed to Peking; and it is in
+    the end established that magistrates of districts, prefects of
+    departments, the governor of the province, and the high officer
+    charged with the public instruction of the province, who had been
+    specially commissioned to rehear the case, have all more or less
+    combined to conceal the delinquency of the first authority who
+    heard it; with whose guilt the rest, his seniors, had associated
+    themselves either through carelessness or from a corrupt motive.
+    These proceedings lasted over two years.
+
+One point, however, was definitively gained in connection with
+jurisprudence, the recognition of the British Supreme Court as a means of
+discharging treaty obligations.
+
+The convention as a whole was subjected to the same kind of criticism
+as that of 1869 had been. The Chambers of Commerce pointed out that it
+sanctioned Chinese exactions which had been up to that time consistently
+resisted as violations of the treaty of Tientsin. Imposts, condemned by
+the Chinese themselves,[23] which were to be abolished altogether by
+the terms of the Alcock convention, were by the Chefoo agreement not
+only recognised as lawful, but the area of their levy, within which
+the taxes were to be freed from all restrictions whether as to their
+amount or incidence, greatly extended. It would appear, therefore, said
+the merchants, "better to revert to the clear and simple provisions of
+the treaty of Tientsin, and insist on their being carried out without
+evasion." So far, they say, from simplifying the question of the taxation
+of foreign goods, the obliquely worded clauses in the Chefoo convention
+tend to quite the opposite result. "New elements of obscurity have
+been introduced, and if twenty years have been spent wrangling over the
+comparatively simple wording of the Tientsin treaty, it is to be feared
+that no person now living will see the end of the controversies which will
+rage over the indefinite arrangement set forth in the Chefoo convention."
+
+Opium was also for the first time introduced into a treaty, for the
+purpose of increasing the Chinese revenue from it and of making the
+maritime customs, supported by the British Government, the agent for its
+collection. The Chinese had always been at liberty to levy what internal
+taxation they pleased on opium; but, said the Chamber of Commerce, for
+the "English Government to make itself even indirectly answerable for the
+collection from Chinese of an impost of indefinite amount, varying at each
+port according to the caprice or the necessities of local authorities who
+are not even specified, would surely be to introduce a most inconvenient
+precedent." The convention was left for nine years unratified by the
+British Government. It could not be ratified because, among other reasons,
+five of the treaty Powers took the same objection as the British and other
+merchants had taken to the curtailment of the area of exemption from
+inland taxation--in other words, to the legal sanction extended by the
+agreement to unlimited exactions of the Chinese tax-collectors which had
+up till then been resisted as illegal.
+
+During the eight years following the signature of the Chefoo convention
+incessant discussion and agitation on the subject of the duties on opium
+and general merchandise kept the British Legation in Peking, and in a
+lesser degree the Foreign Office at home, in full activity. The question
+was turned over in all its aspects, threshed out on this side and on
+that, and numerous schemes were proposed for readjusting the imposts. The
+British Minister displayed the utmost ingenuity in evolving variations
+on the central theme, in which ethical, political, and sentimental
+considerations played their part, but without advancing the solution of
+the problem. The problem was altogether too simple for such recondite
+treatment. The Chinese throughout all the tortuous disquisitions pressed
+towards the one object of a substantial increase in their revenue, by
+whatever means it might be arrived at; and eventually they attained their
+object, as those generally do who concentrate their attention on a single
+point.
+
+
+III. THE RATIFICATION, 1885.
+
+    Ratification postponed--Tedious discussion during nine
+    years--Chinese claiming large increase in opium duty--Ultimately
+    granted--By agreement signed in 1885--Hongkong and Macao made
+    stations for collecting opium duties.
+
+The convention simmered for nine years before its final ratification.
+The two Governments skirmished in the air all that time, misconceiving
+each other's aims and avoiding close quarters. The policy of Great
+Britain with regard to opium had been fatally deflected by unpractical
+considerations. The article had been placed by the trade regulations
+appended to the treaty in the exceptional position of being excluded
+from the privilege accorded to all other merchandise of exemption from
+inland taxation by payment of a fixed charge. The Chinese authorities
+were therefore at liberty to tax the article in transit to any extent
+they pleased. For reasons connected with their own administration, this
+unlimited power of taxation in transit was not deemed sufficient to
+produce the desired amount of revenue, and they were intent on supplying
+the deficiency by an enhanced import tariff. The difference between
+the two forms of taxation was that the inland duty was collected in a
+Chinese sieve, while the import duty was levied with the formalities of
+a banker's counter. Naturally, therefore, the Chinese Government missed
+no opportunity of pressing for an increase on the tariff fixed by treaty.
+It was the main object sought by them in the unratified convention of
+1869. Failing then, they renewed their efforts in the Chefoo convention of
+1876, seeking the same end by an inverted process, like taking a sea-fort
+from the land side. Instead of reviving the discredited proposal, they
+effected a turning movement by extending the area of the inland dues
+until it included the port of landing. Why, having full licence over the
+whole empire, a few acres added to their tax-collecting province should
+have been deemed of such vital importance is not perhaps at first sight
+self-evident. The reason was that under the proposed system the machinery
+of the Imperial maritime customs could be employed in collection, with
+the protection of the foreign consuls.
+
+The concession was set forth in cryptic form in the convention, but the
+Chinese knew very well what interpretation they intended to give to the
+clause. That intention remained unaltered, though tactics varied. By the
+light of the vague and pointless correspondence carried on for seven years
+with the British Government they saw their way to advancing considerably
+beyond the position gained by the convention. They consequently raised
+their demands in proportion as they found the British Government yielding,
+until eventually they reached a vantage-ground where they could safely
+unmask and make direct for their object, an increase in the import tariff
+pure and simple. Eighty taels were added to the thirty allowed by the old
+treaty, and the opium duty was thus really trebled at a stroke.
+
+The negotiations which led up to the convention are chiefly interesting
+as showing how easily the Foreign Office was chased from cover to cover
+by the Chinese Minister. Having once got the enemy "on the run," the
+Marquis Tseng did not relax his pursuit until, notwithstanding one or two
+rear-guard actions, he capitulated without conditions.
+
+After seven years of active deliberation the definitive diplomatic
+conference was opened by Lord Granville in January 1883. As a preliminary,
+the basis of the negotiations was rigidly defined by Mr (now Lord) Currie,
+in accordance with the Chefoo convention, thus: the regulation of the
+_likin_ taxation, and specification of the barriers at which collections
+were to be made.
+
+But, as we have hinted, the Chinese aspirations had in the mean time
+far transcended the scope of any provision of any treaty. No longer
+content with regulating _likin_, their first step in the conference
+was to induce Lord Granville to abandon the preliminary stipulation
+he had so carefully laid down. The Chinese Minister proposed a general
+commutation rate, uniform at all the ports, supporting the claim by sundry
+specious arguments. The _likin_ barriers had been a chronic grievance
+of the merchants. The marquis held out a prospect of their abolition as
+a consequence of the single-payment commutation of inland dues on which
+he was intent. It is a feature of Chinese bargains of every description
+that something definite should be conceded on the one side, and something
+indefinite promised on the other,--the "bird in the hand" invariably for
+the Chinese. There was nothing surprising, therefore, in the time-honoured
+formula being employed in these diplomatic interchanges.
+
+In moving from his base, Lord Granville, of course, ceded everything; but
+he made a final stand at the amount, declaring that "he could not agree
+that the _likin_ payment should be fixed at more than 70 taels"; moreover,
+that he "would require full information as to the guarantees which would
+be given that opium would not be subject to any further payment while in
+transit." One such guarantee was already provided for in the convention,
+which stipulates "that the nationality of the person possessing or
+carrying the merchandise would be immaterial." This was deemed of great
+importance to trade, because since it was not always possible for a
+foreign owner, or even a deputy of his own race, to accompany a parcel of
+goods into the interior, the permission for Chinese to accompany them was
+essential to the working of the transit business. The contention of the
+merchant had always been, that the exemption from dues was a privilege
+attaching to the goods, and not to the temporary owner or transport agent.
+On the other hand, as the goods could not speak, the option of sending
+either a native or a foreigner at the merchant's own choice was considered
+a useful check on illicit exactions.
+
+The confident manner in which the marquis brushed away both of Lord
+Granville's ultimata showed how well he had profited by his experience of
+Foreign Office diplomacy. To Lord Granville's maximum of 70 taels (the sum
+actually agreed upon with the Chinese Government) the marquis said he was
+sorry, but his instructions did not permit of his accepting less than 80
+taels per pecul. It is not customary to ask for proofs of good faith from
+ambassadors acting "on instructions," and Lord Granville simply yielded
+the point, while entering a mild protest against being forced by a Chinese
+_non possumus_.
+
+And the right of the foreigner to accompany his goods, on which so much
+stress had been laid, was disposed of with exquisite assurance by the
+Chinese Minister, who was confident that such a mere detail "would not
+be allowed to stand in the way of a settlement," notwithstanding that it
+involved a reversal of the Chefoo convention.
+
+And as to the guarantees for fulfilment, the Marquis Tseng was sure that
+"the strongest guarantee would consist in the moral obligation" on the
+part of the Chinese Government to carry out arrangements of their own
+proposing. Thus, by sheer persistence, the Chinese gained every point,
+securing not only a threefold duty on opium, but the assistance of her
+Majesty's Government in its collection, for that was the meaning of
+transferring the levy from the interior to the seaport. The agreement,
+concluded by Lord Granville in June, was signed by Lord Salisbury in July
+1885, under the title of an "Additional Article to the Chefoo Convention."
+
+It is right to add, on the authority of recent observers, that the
+convention has worked smoothly, no complaints being heard of inland
+exactions in contravention of its terms. It thus appears that the moral
+guarantee on which the Marquis Tseng spoke so confidently was after all
+of some validity. But as the only source from which complaints could come
+would be those foreign agents who were by the terms of the convention
+expressly excluded from conveying or accompanying opium into the country,
+the negative evidence is not absolutely conclusive.
+
+It would have been most interesting to gain from so enlightened a
+Minister as Tseng some insight into the causes of the continual friction
+and recrimination which attend the operation of the commercial articles
+in the Chinese treaties, but his despatches have reference only to the
+question of the moment. "The Imperial Government," he says, "have often
+been held responsible for the friction caused in working arrangements but
+ill-adapted to the state of the country, and which a better knowledge of
+its internal conditions would have shown to those who framed them are
+incapable of execution." "The present scheme," he intimates, "being in
+harmony with existing institutions," may be expected to work smoothly.
+Existing institutions, therefore, are opposed to local taxation and in
+favour of single commutations. When, however, a different thesis has
+to be sustained, we are assured by other authorities that "existing
+institutions" claim arbitrary, variable, and unlimited taxation of goods
+in transit for the benefit of the provincial exchequers, and that it is
+the attempt to commute these by a payment at the port which is the true
+cause of the friction and disputation.
+
+The natural corollary followed the ratification of the Chefoo convention.
+The desire of the Chinese Government, cherished for nearly thirty years,
+to establish a customs station in Hongkong was virtually consummated
+in the following year. The trade of the colony had been vexed by a
+perpetual blockade by so-called revenue cruisers which harried every
+native vessel entering or leaving the harbour. The hope of getting the
+investment relaxed may have induced the acquiescence of the colony in
+any alternative. The Chinese sought to grip the opium supply by the neck,
+which could only be done by their obtaining control over the harbour of
+Hongkong. This was conceded, and a customs station was established on the
+Chinese side of the anchorage, while an office was opened in the city of
+Victoria.
+
+There was a second "neck" to the opium supply--Macao. The arrangement
+made with Hongkong without a corresponding agreement with Macao would
+have merely driven the trade from the one to the other. Overtures were
+therefore made to the Portuguese, who, unlike the English, were offered a
+valuable consideration for admitting the control of the Chinese customs
+into their waters. They then obtained for the first time a treaty of
+independent sovereignty for the colony.
+
+The effect of all these negotiations and arrangements, whether intended or
+not, was to stimulate the cultivation of Chinese opium to a high degree,
+and this, according to the impartial testimony of an ex-German Minister,
+is, apart from the increase to the Chinese revenue, the net result of the
+anti-opium agitation.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [22] "Experience shows us that in the eyes of the Chinese negotiation
+    is a sign of weakness."--Sir F. BRUCE.
+
+ [23] "_Likin_ is in its nature an oppressive institution only
+    continued in force owing to the necessity of providing resources
+    to meet the army expenditure in the north-west."--'Peking
+    Gazette,' January 18, 1875.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+A CHAIN OF INCIDENTS.
+
+
+I. DISPUTE WITH RUSSIA _RE_ KULDJA.
+
+    Insurrection in Kashgaria--Russia occupies Kuldja--Engaging to
+    evacuate when country settled--Tso Tsung-tang's march--Death
+    of Yakub-beg--China reoccupies Kashgaria--Calls upon Russia
+    to retire from Kuldja--Relations become strained--Chunghou
+    concludes treaty with Russia--Violently repudiated by empress--War
+    threatened--Gordon summoned--Dispute arranged by Marquis Tseng.
+
+The dilatoriness of China in making a stand against Japanese pretensions
+in Korea may be partly explained by her serious preoccupations elsewhere.
+She had been immersed in a sea of troubles. She seemed to be enveloped in
+rebellion. In the south-west the province of Yunnan had been severed from
+the imperial rule, and in its recovery the land was almost depopulated.
+In the north-west there were also Mohammedan risings, and in far-distant
+Kashgaria, separated from China by a thousand miles of desert and
+militarily untenable by her, the adventurer known as Yakub-beg set up
+an independent government, which he maintained for some years. Anarchy
+on her frontier afforded to Russia the pretext of occupying Chinese
+territory to maintain order; but she was scrupulous in assuring the Peking
+Government that this step was provisional, and that she was ready to
+restore Kuldja as soon as the Chinese were again in a position to resume
+the government of the town and territory. The time came sooner than was
+expected. The famous march of Tso Tsung-tang, who halted to grow grain
+for the support of his army, and the disaffection in his camp leading to
+the demise of Yakub, enabled China to reoccupy the revolted districts.
+Russia, on being asked to redeem her pledge as to Kuldja, made conditions
+which were not acceptable, and a diplomatic campaign was entered upon.
+A high Manchu official, Chunghou, the same who had been sent to France
+in 1871, was despatched to Prussia, where he concluded the treaty of
+Livadia, which was so repugnant to the empress-regent and her advisers
+that not only was it repudiated at Peking, but the envoy was delivered
+to the Board of Punishments. Relations became strained between Russia
+and China, and on both sides there were hints of a resort to force. In
+view of this eventuality the Chinese Government were recommended to apply
+for the services of their old champion, Gordon, who, unknown to them,
+had taken service with Lord Ripon, the then new Viceroy of India, and,
+equally unknown to them, had precipitately resigned that service. The
+Chinese had a large body of troops in Manchuria; the long line of Russian
+communication was very weak along that frontier; the governor of Eastern
+Siberia, declaring himself unable to resist a Chinese attack, had urged
+the Government at St Petersburg to come to terms at once with China, and
+wait for a suitable opportunity to recover what they might be obliged
+to cede. The Chinese Government hoped that if Gordon would come to their
+assistance, and take command of their Manchurian levies, his name would
+be a host in itself, and his appearance on the scene would at any rate
+convince the Russian Government that China was in earnest. With this view
+an invitation was sent to General Gordon in a telegram from Sir Robert
+Hart, which found him in Bombay. The invitation was unconditional; it
+indicated no purpose and named no price. Gordon took it entirely on trust,
+closed at once, and proceeded to China. Having been given no clue as to
+what service was expected from him, Gordon, nevertheless, not only came
+to a conclusion of his own on the subject, but supplied his views to the
+newspapers before leaving India, and at every port of call on the route.
+He declared he was going to China to induce her to make peace, for she
+was unable to do otherwise. In this he was of an opposite opinion from
+the Russian governor-general. But whatever the merit of his opinion, the
+object of the Chinese in sending for him was of course frustrated by his
+published declarations. These being communicated to the Government at
+Peking, they saw that so far from stiffening them in their negotiations
+with Russia, Gordon's presence would seriously embarrass them, and they
+accordingly endeavoured to prevent his coming. Through Sir Robert Hart
+they sent a message to meet Gordon at Chefoo, requesting him to proceed no
+farther. Disregarding this request, he continued his journey to Tientsin,
+where he had interviews with his old friend the Viceroy Li; and he also
+made his way to Peking, where by the aid of an indifferent Cantonese
+interpreter he made representations to the Tsungli-Yamen, some of which
+the interpreter dared not reproduce in Chinese. Gordon left without seeing
+either Sir Robert Hart, on whose authority alone he had come to China,
+or the British Minister, Sir Thomas Wade. The advice he left with the
+Chinese Ministers was to renounce the endeavour to organise an army on
+Western models, and not to waste money on modern weapons, but to trust
+rather to numbers and the Fabian strategy which was natural to them. This
+being promptly published in foreign journals, was regarded as highly
+paradoxical, if not cynical; but it was recalled to mind fifteen years
+later, when China was being defeated in the pitched battles against which
+Gordon had warned them.
+
+The Kuldja dispute was eventually disposed of by the Chinese Minister,
+Marquis Tseng, who negotiated a treaty at St Petersburg, by which the
+territory was nominally receded to China, while its strategical positions
+were retained in the occupation of Russia, thus rendering the whole region
+untenable by Chinese troops.
+
+
+II. KOREAN IMBROGLIO, 1882-1885.
+
+    Outbreak in 1882--Conspiracy of the king's father--Attack on
+    Japanese legation--Chinese troops control the capital--Foreign
+    innovations--Brought bad elements to the surface--Conspiracy
+    in 1884--Assassinations--Treachery of king's confidant--Kim
+    Ok Kun's escape to Japan--The avenger--His elaborate
+    preparations--Assassination of Kim--Joy in the Korean
+    Court--Honours to the assassin--Japan dissatisfied--Count Ito's
+    mission--Japan secures equal rights with China in Korea.
+
+The Russian question settled, China had leisure to attend to Korean
+affairs, of which the importance was becoming more and more clear to her
+statesmen. The scare on the north-west was in another form transferred
+to the north-east, where there was the double risk of complications
+arising from both Russian and Japanese encroachment on Korea. The opening
+of the country to foreign intercourse, intended as a protection against
+such dangers, was soon discovered to be inadequate. A procession of
+events, dating from the signing of the treaties and culminating in 1885,
+transformed the kingdom from a vassal to a quasi-independent State.
+
+The first link in the chain, so far as visible effects were concerned,
+was an _emeute_ which took place in Soeul in 1882. The father of the
+king had occupied a position as regent curiously resembling that of the
+Empress-Dowager of China, and being ambitious to regain the authority
+which he had laid down on the king's coming of age, raised a conspiracy
+to depose him. In connection with the plot a mob was let loose on the
+Japanese legation, where a desperate struggle ensued, in which, and
+in the running fight which they made towards the seaport, a number of
+Japanese were killed. The survivors were conveyed to Nagasaki in a British
+ship-of-war. What provocation the Japanese had given for this savage
+onslaught is not a matter on which we need enter. The point is that it
+afforded justification for sharp reprisals. Perceiving this, and being in
+a position of unaccustomed preparedness, the Chinese Government--that is
+to say, Li Hung-chang--adopted prompt measures for anticipating action
+on the part of the Japanese. They despatched an envoy with a body of
+troops and a naval squadron to the seaport of the capital where they at
+once put down the conspiracy, re-established the king's authority, and by
+a clever but wonderfully common oriental ruse captured the Usurper, and
+carried him off to China as a State prisoner. The Chinese troops remained
+in the vicinity of the capital, and a Resident on the Indian pattern was
+installed at the Korean Court.
+
+Before long a foreign element began to be introduced into the Korean
+administration. Among other things a branch of the Chinese customs service
+was established, and, as in China, many duties besides that of raising a
+revenue soon claimed the attention of the foreign commissioner. No more
+effective first step in the regeneration of such a country could have
+been undertaken than an honest administration of its maritime revenue. It
+was a measure both good in itself and prolific of beneficial results in
+many directions. Other reforms, however, were projected which required
+a certain preparation of the soil and a careful consideration of social
+forces and conditions. The introduction of foreign ideas of any kind into
+a country which, so far as politics were concerned, might be considered
+virgin soil, was, to say the least, a hazardous experiment. Undigested
+schemes for the Europeanisation or the Japonisation of a Government which
+had up till then banished foreign intercourse entirely from its shores
+was likely to have an effect analogous to that of suddenly administering
+strong meat to the victim of protracted privation. Korean affairs were
+even less understood by foreigners than Western affairs were by the
+Koreans, so that the yeast thrown into the Korean dough produced risings
+for which Western foreigners at least, whatever may be said of the
+Japanese, were quite unprepared. Factions sprang up like fungoid growths
+in an excavation, sordid ambitions were set in motion, and the royal Court
+became a hotbed of intrigue towards which the most flagitious elements in
+the capital were naturally drawn.
+
+The agitation which was fed from these various sources broke out into
+open violence in 1884, when two of the king's Ministers were assassinated
+by a band of conspirators. It would be futile to attempt to unravel the
+plot; its visible consequences only need be considered as further links in
+the chain of events, and also as affording some curious evidence of the
+manner in which the new alien civilisation was beginning to adapt itself
+to that which was ingrained in the Korean character. The professed object
+of the plot was understood to be the severance of the Chinese tie through
+the instrumentality of the Japanese, and the king himself was believed
+to be privy to this scheme. It is probable that the high political and
+patriotic ideal was but the rallying flag under which diverse schemers
+might pursue their several ambitions. The Koreans are credited with a
+special dose of the subtlety which belongs to Asiatic races, and whatever
+the real intentions of the king may have been, the conspirators were false
+to him. A concise contemporary account of the fray given in a message to
+the 'Times' states that--
+
+    The rising against the King of Korea is the outcome of reactionary
+    intrigues similar to the movement in 1882, when the present
+    king's father was captured and taken as a State prisoner to
+    China. Defective accounts only have been received of the recent
+    events. On the night of December 4, during an entertainment,
+    there was an alarm of fire near the palace; Min chong ik, the
+    queen's nephew, who was recently travelling in Europe, rushed
+    out, met some assassins, and was stabbed, with many others. The
+    conspirators then attacked the king, who applied to the Japanese
+    Minister for the protection of his guard. Before morning six of
+    the Ministers were killed. On the 6th the Koreans again attacked
+    the palace, the Chinese troops being present. A fight ensued, and
+    the Japanese guard lost three men killed and five wounded. Being
+    overpowered, the Japanese abandoned the palace, retiring to the
+    Japanese Legation, the king being carried off by the Chinese. The
+    tumult increased, and thirty Japanese residents were massacred
+    by the Chinese. On the 7th the Korean mob attacked the Japanese
+    Legation, which was destroyed, and the Minister with his guard
+    forced his way out amid showers of missiles. They stormed the
+    gates and retreated to the seaport of Chemulpo. On the following
+    day the king sent friendly messages to the Japanese Minister.
+
+    At a recent date the Chinese garrison consisted nominally of 3000
+    men, but the force has been much depleted. The Japanese numbered
+    120, and these were about to be withdrawn when the outbreak
+    occurred. The situation is critical, each side accusing the other
+    of aggression; but it is expected that the affair will be settled
+    amicably, neither Power desiring a quarrel for the benefit of
+    interested spectators. The Japanese may insist on steps being
+    taken to secure their Minister for the future from such outrages.
+    Each Power has appointed an officer to investigate the facts
+    before deciding on a definite course. Further complications are,
+    however, certain to arise from the anomalous position of Korea.
+    After the Kuldja scare China perceived the supreme strategic
+    importance of the peninsula, and that a great Power occupying it
+    would control Chinese external policy. The Government promoted
+    the foreign treaties in 1882 with the objects of interesting the
+    commercial Powers in the integrity of Korea, and of obtaining a
+    recognition of its vassalage. Later treaties, beginning with that
+    negotiated by Sir Harry Parkes last year, assumed the independence
+    of Korea. The exercise of Chinese sovereignty is exposing Korea
+    to the double peril of her own troubles and of China's possible
+    wavering at a critical moment. The Chinese and Korean interests
+    are, in the absence of commerce, purely political, Korea's
+    importance consisting in its commanding position.
+
+And the Japanese shortly after tabulated the casualties as follows:--
+
+    Seven officials killed by progressives, 7 progressives killed
+    by Korean troops, 38 Korean soldiers killed by Japanese troops,
+    95 rioters killed by Japanese, 67 progressives imprisoned, 11
+    beheaded, with shocking barbarities at execution.
+
+The immediate purpose of the leaders of the plot appears to have been to
+destroy the influence of the powerful family to which the queen belonged,
+and had they contented themselves with the murder of any number of that
+family, it was not considered likely that either king or people would have
+greatly deplored the crime. But the chief assassin, Kim Ok Kun, struck at
+the two Ministers who were the king's right hand, and who had, moreover,
+endeared themselves to the nation by the exceptional purity of their
+public life and their beneficence in times of scarcity. Execrated alike
+by the sovereign and his people, Kim Ok Kun sought an asylum in Japan,
+where he was entertained for a number of years while engaged in hatching
+further plots against the peace of his native land.
+
+Naturally his presence in Japan caused umbrage to China. The King of Korea
+lived in terror of his machinations, for Kim had a considerable following,
+by whose aid he hoped to make a descent on Korea and effect a revolution
+in the government. The guilt of Kim Ok Kun's betrayal of his sovereign was
+the more heinous from his having been confidential adviser to the Crown
+during all the negotiations with foreigners, between whom and the king
+he was the constant referee. He carried into exile the innermost royal
+secrets. The king's resentment against Kim was naturally embittered by
+his impotence to avenge the treachery to which he had been a victim.
+
+For the preservation of peace and of friendly relations an agreement
+was entered into between the three Governments to the effect that Kim
+should not be permitted to leave Japan for any other country excepting
+China or the United States. On these conditions the refugee became an
+embarrassment to the Government of Japan, which felt bound to protect him
+against counterplots while preventing him from carrying out his seditious
+designs. Nevertheless Nemesis was on the track of the assassin, and the
+way in which the quarry was hunted down by the avenger of blood affords
+a greater insight into the nature of the tragedy than do any of the
+contemporary comments. It also serves to illustrate certain points in the
+Korean character which are decidedly not without interest to students of
+current history.
+
+A member of an important Korean family named Hong had been implicated
+in Kim's conspiracy, and by Korean law his whole family were held guilty
+of the treason. The king fully exonerated the head of the family, being
+convinced that no blame attached to him personally. Nevertheless, the old
+man was so dejected by the disgrace brought on his name, that he forthwith
+poisoned himself with his whole house. A young man distantly connected
+with the family of Hong, and bearing their surname, took upon himself the
+duty of avenging these deaths, and set to work in a systematic manner to
+compass the murder of Kim. The private vengeance of Hong-tjyong-on fitted
+in well with his patriotic duty, and his scheme was favoured by the Korean
+king. About three years after Kim's flight, Hong made his way to Japan,
+bearing secret letters from the king outlawing Kim and his followers and
+authorising their capture or assassination. Hong's plan was to ingratiate
+himself with Kim as a supporter of his schemes, but his recent arrival
+direct from Korea without any credentials from the revolutionary party in
+that country rendered Kim suspicious of the would-be recruit. Unable to
+gain the access which he required to the person of his victim, Hong saw
+that he would have to adopt more elaborate means to effect his purpose. He
+went therefore to Europe, where he must have spent five or six years at
+least in acquiring a European education, European manners, and a perfect
+knowledge of European ways. He was courteous, refined, and intelligent,
+a great favourite in society (especially in religious circles), and made
+in particular many warm friends in France. Having thoroughly shaken off
+Korea, he thought he might now present himself in Japan in a character
+that would disarm all suspicion. Accordingly he made his way thither, and
+succeeded in attaching himself to Kim, talked progress and revolution, and
+thereby insinuated himself into the confidence of the arch-conspirator,
+becoming gradually master of his secret plots and schemes. The
+arrangements of the Japanese Government for the protection of Kim's person
+seem to have been so efficient that, in order to accomplish his purpose,
+Hong perceived that it was necessary to induce Kim to leave Japan. This
+seemed the most difficult part of his enterprise, and a far-fetched scheme
+had to be contrived in order to furnish Kim with a plausible reason for
+proceeding to China. Between the plots which Kim may have had in his mind
+and those which Hong for his own purposes suggested to him, it is not
+possible, neither is it necessary, to distinguish. Hong's own account of
+the matter was, that Kim had been concerting some movement on Korea from
+a Russian base, but was prevented from proceeding to Vladivostock by the
+vigilance of the Japanese Government. The agreement between the three
+Powers would not, however, be violated by his proceeding to Shanghai,
+where he would find the means of continuing his voyage to Vladivostock,
+for neither of the travellers apprehended any difficulty in eluding the
+surveillance of the Chinese officials and taking passage in a trading
+steamer to the Russian port.
+
+Kim eventually fell in with this proposal, and left Japan with a Japanese
+servant, accompanied by Hong. They arrived in Shanghai on the 27th of
+March 1894, repaired to a Japanese hotel, and reported themselves at the
+Japanese consulate. The following day Hong, having first put on Korean
+upper garments, murdered Kim, and fled, but was captured at Wusung by the
+foreign municipal police of Shanghai, and by them detained in custody
+until claimed by the Chinese authorities under instructions from Li
+Hung-chang. The news of the assassination was received by the Chinese
+Government with a sense of relief and "sombre acquiescence," but at the
+Korean Court with almost a frenzy of delight. The king gave a banquet in
+honour of the event, to which he invited all the foreign Ministers. The
+Chinese Government ordered a man-of-war to convey the murderer and the
+remains of the victim to Korea. The former was covered with honours, while
+the remains of Kim were treated with savage indecency and his family put
+to death.
+
+Thus did the assassin of 1884 expiate his crime exactly ten years later.
+
+The issue of the plot of 1884 was not agreeable to the Japanese, who were
+particularly affronted by the fact that the Chinese were in a position to
+snatch the king out of their hands and to afford him military protection
+against all comers. But Japan was in no humour to relinquish her own
+policy in Korea, which was quite incompatible with the suzerain status
+of China, and with the very concrete form in which it had just been
+manifested. One of the leading statesmen of Japan, Count Inouye, was sent
+to Korea to investigate the whole affair, and inquire into the relative
+position of China and Japan in the peninsula. The result of his inquiries
+was a determination to follow up by orthodox diplomacy the disintegrating
+effects which the risings in 1882 and 1884 had no doubt been intended
+to subserve. China being in the throes of a war with France, the moment
+was particularly favourable for preferring demands upon her. An embassy
+was therefore despatched to Peking, under Count Ito, in March 1885. He
+counted much on the friendly offices of the British Minister, Sir Harry
+Parkes, in smoothing the way to amicable negotiations with China, but
+unhappily the Japanese ambassador arrived at Peking almost on the day of
+Sir Harry's death. After vain attempts to deal with the Tsungli-Yamen the
+Japanese mission withdrew to Tientsin, where negotiations were entered
+into by Li Hung-chang, extending over several weeks. Count Ito's mission
+was successful in concluding a treaty by which China and Japan were put
+on a footing of equality in the peninsula so far as regards military
+protection. The troops of both countries were to be withdrawn, and neither
+party was to send a force in future without giving written notice to the
+other. This arrangement was a surrender in substance of China's suzerainty
+over Korea, though she retained the ceremonial form in full vigour for
+nine years after.
+
+
+III. THE PORT HAMILTON EPISODE, 1885-1887.
+
+    Sudden occupation of Korean harbour by Great Britain--Questioned
+    by China, Japan, and Korea--Position condemned by naval
+    authority--Abandoned on guarantee from China against occupation
+    by other Powers.
+
+"In view of potentialities" the British Government on April 14, 1885,
+sent instructions to Vice-Admiral Dowell to occupy Port Hamilton, an
+island harbour on the coast of Korea. This high-handed proceeding was
+justified on the plea of necessity--the necessity, as explained by Lord
+Granville, of anticipating the "probable occupation of the island by
+another Power." Naturally the measure disturbed neighbouring States,
+as well as the Government of Korea itself. China and Japan asked for
+explanations, and an agreement with the former, as suzerain of Korea, was
+about to be signed for the temporary use of the harbour by Great Britain,
+when the Russian Minister at Peking interposed with an intimation that
+if China consented to the occupation of Port Hamilton by Great Britain,
+Russia would compensate herself by the seizure of some other point of the
+Korean littoral. The protest of the Korean Government thus became merged
+in negotiations with China, but was never withdrawn.
+
+While these _pour-parlers_ were going on, the position of Port Hamilton
+was unequivocally condemned as a naval station by a succession of three
+admirals commanding the China Squadron; and as the immediate occasion
+of the occupation of the harbour had happily passed, there remained
+no ostensible reason for prolonging it. Before abandoning the island,
+however, the British Government hoped that some arrangement might be
+come to for an international guarantee of the integrity of Korea, which
+being already a bone of contention between certain Powers, and unable
+to defend its own independence, constituted a constant menace to the
+peace of the Far East. The proposal met with no favour from the Chinese
+Government, for the reason probably that it would have involved an organic
+change in its own relations with Korea. The next proposal came from the
+Korean Government itself, which suggested a _modus vivendi_ by opening
+as treaty ports both Port Hamilton and Port Lazareff, which latter was
+the point Russia would have seized if she had seized anything. This
+idea was approved of by the British Government, but nothing came of it.
+Eventually the evacuation was agreed to on the assurance from China that
+neither Port Hamilton nor any other portion of Korean territory would in
+future be occupied by any other Power. This pledge China was enabled to
+give on the strength of an equivalent guarantee which she had received
+from Russia, that Power being then the only one considered as likely to
+cherish aggressive designs on the Korean peninsula. These engagements were
+exchanged in November 1886, eighteen months after the occupation, and the
+British flag was finally hauled down on the island on February 27, 1887.
+
+The net visible result of the incident was to confirm China in her
+suzerainty, since the negotiations were made with her and not with Korea,
+and to obtain a specific pledge from Russia that she would keep her hands
+off Korea "under any circumstances." It was argued seven years afterwards
+that Russia had broken her pledge by her interferences in Korean affairs,
+but in 1895 a new state of circumstances had been brought about. China in
+that year ceased to be the suzerain of Korea, and obligations which were
+valid under the old _regime_ necessarily lapsed. A new page of history was
+turned, and Korea attained the status of a nominally independent kingdom.
+
+
+IV. TIBET.
+
+    Lhassa visited by Babu Sarat Chandra Das--Proposed commercial
+    expedition--Originated by Secretary of State--Envoy sent to
+    Peking to obtain passport--Opposition organised by Chinese and
+    Tibetans--Mission withdrawn.
+
+The year 1885 witnessed the first act in the ill-advised policy--as to its
+method, not its object--of the Indian Government of opening commercial
+relations with Tibet. A learned Bengali pandit, versed in Tibetan, had
+made two successful visits to Lhassa, where he gained the friendship
+of the lamas, who invited him to come again. A fair prospect of opening
+commercial relations by gradually disarming prejudices and apprehension
+was thus presented. Having duly reported his experiences to the Government
+of India, the babu waited their pleasure as to further developments at
+Darjeeling, where he occupied the post of Government schoolmaster. An
+English civilian, making the acquaintance of the babu in that hot-weather
+retreat, conceived the idea of an official mission to Lhassa, in which
+the services of the babu might be utilised as guide and interpreter. The
+Indian Government was averse from the enterprise on economical if on no
+other grounds, but direct pressure being brought to bear on the India
+Office in London, the ambitious young statesman who then presided over its
+counsels is said to have espoused the proposal and overruled the reluctant
+Government of India.
+
+Of the organisation and procedure of the mission nothing very
+complimentary can be said. Instead of following the line of least
+resistance, of driving in the thin end of the wedge, in accordance with
+the commonplace maxims consecrated by all human experience, the reverse
+process was followed in every single particular. Sarat Chandra Das had
+shown the way, and the entry he had effected could have been gradually
+widened by himself and others of his own class until the obstacles to free
+commercial intercourse had been overcome. The experience of a hundred
+years had shown to the world the invincible prejudices of the Tibetan
+rulers against foreign visitors. The babu had in his own person conquered
+these prejudices by his mastery of Buddhistic lore, as well as by his
+gentleness and consummate tact; but the mission, which had its origin
+in the information he supplied, discarded his methods and proceeded on
+military lines. Its _personnel_ included politicals and scientists, but
+no commercial agent, and as Mr Gundry has well said, "The Under Secretary
+of State, while stating that the object of the mission was to confer with
+the Chinese commissioners and the Lhassa Government as to the resumption
+of commercial relations between India and Tibet," added in Parliament
+that, "looking to the delicate nature of the mission, it had not been
+thought advisable to appoint a special commercial representative." An
+armed force of some 300 men sent on a "delicate mission" which, though
+essentially commercial, yet had nothing commercial in its composition!
+Could anything be conceived more certain to arouse the sleeping suspicions
+of the Tibetans? It was but repeating on a larger scale the deplorable
+fiasco of Colonel Browne's attempted march from Burma to China in 1875.
+
+The first act in this little drama was performed in Peking when the envoy,
+Macaulay, arrived with his staff for the ostensible purpose of applying
+for a passport for Tibet. For such a purpose there was no need to have
+sent a special messenger to Peking at all, as a passport could have been
+much more easily obtained by the British Minister there and transmitted
+by post in the ordinary course of business. The passport could not, of
+course, be refused in plain terms by the Chinese Government, but the
+personal demand for it gave them the opportunity of cross-examining the
+intended envoy as to the objects of his proposed mission. It may well
+be believed, from the self-contradictory explanation of the mission
+tendered to the British Parliament, that the envoy in Peking failed to
+allay the suspicions of the Chinese Government. On the contrary, his
+presence intensified them exceedingly. The sole effect of the preliminary
+expedition to Peking was, in fact, to forewarn the Chinese Government,
+so that they, in concert with the rulers of Tibet, should be prepared to
+interpose obstacles to the advance of the mission, but in such a way as
+not openly to compromise the good faith of the Chinese Government. The
+journey of the envoy to Peking, therefore, sealed the fate of his own
+mission, and at the same time closed Tibet against more judicious advances
+in the future.
+
+The most interesting episode in connection with this abortive effort
+was the appearance of the Babu Sarat Chandra Das himself in the Chinese
+capital. By sheer force of intellect he succeeded in a few days in
+obtaining the confidence of the inner circle of the lamas there. Having
+been brought in contact with a certain Manchu official, the pandit
+showed very unobtrusively a familiarity with the more recondite tenets of
+Buddhism which captivated the Manchu, whose heart was set on improving
+his knowledge of the sacred mysteries.[24] The babu could speak no
+Chinese, but it was not difficult among the thousands of lamas in Peking
+to find a competent Tibetan interpreter. The fame of the pandit spread
+rapidly among the ranks of the priesthood, whose chiefs competed for the
+honour of sitting at the feet of the Indian Gamaliel. In expounding the
+doctrines, while enjoying the hospitality, of different groups of lamas,
+the popularity of the pandit grew from day to day, until he was at length
+constrained to take up his quarters at the great Yellow Temple, outside
+the north wall of Peking, and live with the brethren. They invested him
+with the yellow robe and the other ecclesiastical insignia, and treated
+him altogether as one of the initiated. It required all his acumen to
+prevent his status as a Buddhist lama from clashing with his position as
+a subordinate of the Indian envoy, on whom he was in attendance. He had
+to pay frequent visits to the British Legation, where it would have been
+impossible for him to appear in his religious vestments without exciting
+inconvenient gossip, and perhaps incurring the disapproval of his superior
+officer. The custom of travelling in Peking in closed carts enabled the
+babu to play the double part of Jekyll and Hyde with perfect success.
+He would leave the Temple as a lama, drive to a friend's rooms in the
+city, where his Indian costume was kept ready, in which he proceeded in
+another cab and in another character to the British Legation, returning
+to reassume his yellow robes and then repair to the Temple.
+
+During the time when the envoy designate remained in Peking a very high
+personage arrived from Tibet, and it was on his conferences with the
+Chinese Court that the success of the intended mission depended. It would
+be presumptuous on the part of any foreigner to attempt to divine what
+passed between the delegate from the Grand Lama and the Chinese Ministers;
+but were it possible for any one to penetrate into those secret counsels,
+the babu was the man to do it. There is no doubt that he did. In fact,
+he had positive information that the Indian mission to Tibet would be
+stopped at the instance of the Chinese Government, and that the issue
+of the passport was an empty form. Such information would naturally be
+unwelcome to the envoy, and the sequel seems to show that the warning
+was disregarded. The expedition was organised, fully equipped, ready
+for a march into Tibet. Had it proceeded it is highly improbable that
+the babu would have accompanied it as interpreter, for he could not have
+exonerated himself from the imputation of bad faith towards his Tibetan
+hosts in acting as guide to an armed force into a country where he had
+been received and reinvited as a private guest.
+
+What would have been the consequence of the mission proceeding into Tibet
+it is, of course, impossible to say, but the circumstances of its recall
+were not conducive to satisfactory relations between China and Great
+Britain. Mistrusting the effectiveness of the Tibetan opposition to the
+Indian mission--for the force could very likely have made good its passage
+to Lhassa--the Chinese Government resorted to diplomatic means of stopping
+its advance. Its never-failing emergency man, the Inspector-General of
+Customs, was called upon, and he intervened with the British Government
+with such good effect that they sent orders to India to stop the Tibetan
+mission. Thus the Indian Government was a second time overruled: first,
+in being made to organise the mission against its will; and secondly, in
+being forced to recall it when its recall involved immeasurable loss of
+influence in future dealings with China. An attempt was made to cover the
+retreat in a cloud of verbiage by a convention signed at Peking in 1886,
+which, however, only made the case worse, in that it was a retrograde
+step, virtually cancelling the right of visiting Tibet, which had been
+conferred by the Chefoo convention of ten years before. The same treaty
+which embodied this renunciation, perhaps the weakest to which any British
+representative ever set his name, also fostered the illusions which have
+been so detrimental to the welfare of China, by promising a continuance of
+the tribute missions from Burma after that country had become an integral
+part of the Indian Empire.
+
+The fruits of this diplomatic surrender were not long in showing
+themselves, for it was soon followed by an invasion of British Sikkim
+from the Tibetan side. This aggression of the lamas was of necessity
+resisted by the Indian Government, and an unexpected opportunity was
+thus offered to them of settling the whole Tibetan question by the rapid
+march of a small force to Lhassa. There is good reason to believe that
+this solution of the difficulty was the one which commended itself to the
+practical statesmen and soldiers of India; but their action was paralysed
+by the orders of the Home Government, which continued to be ruled by
+influences which were neither military nor political nor practical.
+Discussions between the Indian Government and the Chinese _amban_ or
+Resident at Lhassa, professing to speak for the Tibetan Lama Government,
+were protracted year after year, and seemed interminable. At last even
+the Chinese themselves grew weary of the comedy, and experienced in Tibet
+something of the difficulty which occasionally beset them in China--that
+is to say, they were unable to exorcise the demon they had invoked. They
+had stirred up the Tibetans to the point of obstructing the Macaulay
+mission, but seemed really to lose control of the force after it had been
+set in motion. After some years of futile talk the statesmen of China
+would perhaps have hailed with satisfaction the advance of a British force
+to Lhassa to cut the Gordian knot; but they dared not, of course, give
+such a hint as was conveyed to Captain Fournier, "Avancez donc,"[25] and
+the Indian Government, not having the wit to divine it, had to submit to
+a long-drawn-out and permanent humiliation, that was in no wise mended
+by the Calcutta convention of 1890, which, professing only to settle the
+existing frontiers, did not even settle them.
+
+
+V. THE CRUISE OF THE SEVENTH PRINCE, 1886.
+
+    Character and position of Prince Ch'un--Had been misunderstood by
+    foreigners while he was in seclusion--An amiable and progressive
+    man--His visit to Port Arthur in 1886--Intercourse with many
+    foreigners.
+
+The spring of 1884 witnessed a ministerial crisis of the first order
+in Peking. For twenty-four years Prince Kung, uncle to the deceased
+emperor Tungchih, had held a position equivalent to Chancellor of the
+empire. To the outside world he was only known as Minister for Foreign
+Affairs and head of the Tsungli-Yamen. During the greater part of the
+time he had been at feud with the empress-regent, from whom his power
+was derived, but, being indispensable to her, he was tolerated for want
+of a competent successor. The troubles in Tongking caused an agitation
+in the capital, and the empress seized the opportunity to dismiss Prince
+Kung with most of his colleagues of the Yamen and introduce a fresh set.
+The eminent position of the prince, however, was one difficult to fill;
+but the substitution was effected by a kind of _coup d'etat_ by which the
+empress brought the younger brother of Prince Kung out of his retirement
+and made him virtually, as far as it was possible, her coadjutor in the
+Government. But the peculiar status of Prince Ch'un, as father to the
+reigning emperor, rendered him immune from responsibility, since in China
+the son could not place the father under discipline. For this reason the
+prince could not in his own name exercise any of the great functions of
+the State. He was therefore obliged to keep in the background, while the
+executive service was performed by his nominees. Thus in foreign affairs
+he was efficiently represented by the Grand Secretary Li Hung-chang, and
+by Prince Ch'ing, a junior member of the imperial family, who was made
+president of the Tsungli-Yamen, and holds the office to the present day.
+
+Whatever the true motives may have been for recasting the
+Tsungli-Yamen--and it would be hazardous for any foreigner to dogmatise
+about such matters--a great improvement was remarked in the efficiency of
+that body. Prince Ch'ing, though new to public affairs, acquitted himself
+like a gentleman, and gained the goodwill of all the foreign Legations by
+his laborious efforts to learn his work and to bring justice and reason
+as well as courtesy into the transaction of business. The circumstances
+of the time were also favourable to improvement; for being at war with
+one great Power, China was naturally most anxious to conciliate the
+others. While this amenable temper lasted, business was despatched by
+the Tsungli-Yamen with a celerity never before known, and good use was
+made of the opportunity to clear off legacies of arrears that had been
+accumulating in the foreign legations.
+
+The Seventh Prince, so long as he was in seclusion, had stood in the
+opinion of foreigners for everything that was fanatical, obstructive,
+and irreconcilable, the head of the war party, and so forth. Even Sir
+Rutherford Alcock, in an article on Chinese Statesmen in 1871, adopted
+this popular estimate, calling him "violently hostile, joining with Wo in
+all efforts to make the anti-foreign faction predominate."
+
+The announcement of Prince Ch'un, therefore, as the successor of Prince
+Kung not unnaturally aroused apprehension of a reactionary policy.
+His first public act, however, in so far as it was his, dispelled the
+misconception under which foreigners had been labouring for many years:
+it was to conclude a peace with France in the face of a rabid opposition.
+This misconception of Prince Ch'un's character and policy is only an
+example of how vain it is for foreigners to attempt to sound the currents
+of Chinese politics, more especially where palace factions are concerned.
+
+The advent of the Seventh Prince having removed all friction between the
+empress-regent and the Government, it was a signal for tentative reforms
+and what foreigners call progress. Li Hung-chang had to a considerable
+extent imbued the Court with his own ideas. He assured them there was no
+danger in adopting foreign methods and foreign manners,--on the contrary,
+that to do so was the only means of safety to the empire. Within a few
+months of his taking the reins, the Prince established a precedent which
+amounted to a small revolution in its way. He began to transact business
+through his agents with foreigners in the capital itself, which had been
+up to that time strictly preserved from all contamination of foreign
+trade. The two "stores" which existed were not traders by right, but
+were under the special protection of certain foreign Ministers, who had
+represented to the Government the necessity of such agencies for the
+supply of necessaries for the use of their Legations. This was followed
+in course of time by the introduction of novelties in the palace, such
+as electric light, toy railways and steam launches in the imperial
+pleasure-grounds. The telegraph wire itself was introduced into the city
+during the summer of 1884, it having been previously jealously kept at
+a distance of thirteen miles, from superstitious fears concerning the
+sinister influence which the electric wire might exert over the fortunes
+of the capital. However real such fears may be in the minds of the
+Chinese, and however convenient they may be as a defence against proposals
+from without, they invariably yield to the pressure of necessity. While
+the terminus of the telegraph line was at Tungchow, the inconvenience of
+having to send mounted messengers thirteen miles to despatch and receive
+messages was for some time felt almost entirely by the foreign Legations;
+but when the war crisis with France arose, and the Chinese Government
+itself was sending urgent messages requiring immediate answers to the
+southern provinces and to Europe, the absurdity of losing more time
+between the Tsungli-Yamen and the telegraph station than was occupied
+by the transmission of the message and its reply from Europe became so
+striking, that the order was given to bring the telegraph into the city.
+No more was heard of geomantic difficulties.
+
+The most important object, however, which Li Hung-chang sought to gain
+through the activity of the Seventh Prince, was so to interest his
+Highness in the scheme of national defence, which had been growing under
+the viceroy's initiative, that this department of the work of Government
+should be transformed from a provincial to an imperial concern. With this
+end in view an expedition on salt water was arranged for the Prince; and
+insignificant as the feat must appear in Western eyes, yet for a Manchu
+prince, who had never seen the sea, to be allowed to trust himself on the
+treacherous element at all, or on such a strange monster as a steamer,
+must be accepted as a decided proof that the old order was changing,
+giving place to the new. The prince was undoubtedly nervous, not knowing
+what should befall him on his expedition.
+
+The first ordeal through which he had to pass was that of personal
+contact with foreigners, of whom he had perhaps never seen one in
+Peking. His introduction was carefully organised by Li Hung-chang, and
+it was at Tientsin that the prince first met with foreign officials,
+who waited upon him at separate audiences. The foreigners were as much
+charmed with his Highness as he expressed himself to have been with them,
+so that he embarked on his cruise free from anxiety. His attendants,
+however,--on whom and on Li Hung-chang all the responsibility of course
+rested,--continued to feel anxious during their passage across the Gulf.
+This feeling became for a moment acute when, on landing at Port Arthur,
+they were met by a British admiral and staff with a guard of honour. It
+is an actual fact that the sight of strange armed men waiting for the
+prince, working on oriental traditions, did suggest a trap, for the idea
+of capture by treachery is never wholly absent from the Chinese mind. The
+Government had taken the wise precaution of attaching to the prince an
+experienced and capable foreigner in whom he reposed perfect confidence,
+and Mr Detring explained foreign customs and forms of courtesy to the
+prince and his suite in a way which completely reassured them. Among all
+the dignitaries in the prince's suite, however, there was not one capable
+of taking in the entirely novel ideas which were presented to them. One
+man only, of quite subordinate rank--whether a Manchu or a Chinese by
+birth is unknown to the writer--a confidential agent of the Seventh Prince
+in business matters, seized the entire programme of foreign etiquette the
+moment it was explained to him, and through him the whole ceremony passed
+smoothly and agreeably to all parties. The name of this official was Chang
+Yi, who has since been taking a leading part in mining, railway, and other
+progressive enterprises in China.
+
+On his return to Peking Prince Ch'un in a memorial to the Throne reported
+fully the incidents of his cruise to the gulf ports. Not long after a
+naval board was established in Peking, with the prince at its head. As a
+step in the direction of centralising the naval authority, which included
+also the direction of the land defences, the establishment of a Board
+of Admiralty in the capital was certainly a progressive one; but as its
+members possessed neither knowledge nor experience of naval or military
+affairs its authority was much attenuated, almost every question having
+to be referred back to Li Hung-chang in Tientsin. Any chance that might
+have existed of Prince Ch'un himself inspiring the new Board and bringing
+it up to a state of efficiency was lost through his Highness falling into
+ill-health, from which he never recovered, but after a lingering illness
+died in 1890.
+
+
+VI. THE EMPEROR ASSUMES THE GOVERNMENT, 1889.
+
+    The Emperor Kwanghsu comes of age in 1889--Audience of foreign
+    Ministers arranged--Derogatory conditions--Second audience refused
+    by Ministers--Accepted by Austrian and British envoys.
+
+In 1889 his Majesty Kwanghsu attained his majority and married. But his
+coming of age was a somewhat gradual process, with intervals between
+each step, as if the empress-regent, who alone determined the time and
+the seasons, were either mistrustful of the capacity of her nephew
+or reluctant to lay down the reins of authority. The emperor, kept
+in leading-strings, was allowed to assume some of the functions of an
+autocrat, but not all. This slow unfolding of the imperial blossom had
+this result among others, that it procured a welcome respite from the
+bitter ordeal of granting an audience to the representatives of foreign
+States. It was well understood that the foreigners had for sixteen years
+been looking forward to the emperor's assumption of power as to the
+consummation of their diplomatic function, and that as soon as a decent
+interval had been allowed to the young monarch after his majority, the
+subject would become pressing.
+
+It had been discussed in whispers for nearly two years, when, to the
+astonishment of everybody, including even the members of the Tsungli-Yamen
+themselves, an imperial decree was issued in December 1890 in kindly
+terms ordering preparations to be made to receive the foreign Ministers
+after the Chinese New Year--that is, in the February following. Since
+nobody owned to having been in the secret, the act was set down to the
+emperor's gracious initiative, and was hailed with enthusiasm as the
+opening of a new era. The Great Wall had at last fallen; the pretensions
+to superiority for which the Chinese had made such great sacrifices were
+suddenly abandoned, and henceforth equality with foreign nations was to
+be the basis of their diplomatic intercourse.
+
+The hope was shortlived, for as soon as the details of the imperial
+reception came to be arranged with the Tsungli-Yamen all the old
+difficulties appeared in an aggravated form. The foreign ministers, having
+pondered the question for eighteen years, had unanimously resolved that
+they would not accept an audience in the building used for the reception
+of tributary princes, where the ceremony of 1873 had taken place, but only
+in the imperial palace, or not at all. The whole value of the audience was
+the acknowledgment it signified of international equality. The idea that
+it would facilitate business must have been long before abandoned. The
+form, therefore, was everything, and the Chinese Ministers were resolved
+that the "tributary" form should be adhered to. They became urgent in
+their appeals to the reasonableness of the foreign Ministers. They had
+gone to expense in renovating the hall, Tz-kwang-ko; they had no other
+place available; the imperial decree must be obeyed, and this admitted of
+no postponement.
+
+Yielding to these arguments, the foreign Ministers agreed to a compromise.
+They would, for this time only, repair to the Tz-kwang-ko, but never
+again. The ceremony took place therefore on 5th March 1891. There were
+two receptions--first an audience to the various foreign Ministers
+separately, next a general reception of the whole of them. The diplomatic
+body soon felt the consequences of their retrograde step, for when they
+came to discuss details of the audience of the following year, the Chinese
+interposed a simple _non possumus_ to every demand which implied the
+acknowledgment of equality. A reception within the palace without the
+_kotow_ could not even be discussed. No accommodation between the opposing
+views being possible, there was no audience in 1892. The diplomatic
+body were solidly united in maintaining the dignity of their respective
+countries, and by ceasing to solicit, they left the onus of discovering
+a solution of the question on the Chinese themselves. The audience was of
+no practical value to the foreigners, while the withholding of it placed
+the Chinese so much in the wrong that they might safely have been left to
+their own devices.
+
+Before, however, the pressure to extricate themselves and their sovereign
+from an untenable position had become too severe, a diversion in their
+favour was created by the flying visit of an Austrian envoy, who seemed
+ready to present his credentials on any terms whatever, so that the
+formalities were quickly got over, and he enabled to conclude his mission.
+The Chinese availed themselves of this unexpected opportunity, and the
+emperor granted an audience to M. Biegeleben in another hall or pavilion
+outside the palace, which thenceforth became known locally as the Palais
+Biegeleben.
+
+At the end of 1892, not long after the Biegeleben incident, a new British
+Minister arrived in Peking. Not apparently considering himself bound
+by the compact to which his predecessor was a party, he, without the
+knowledge of his diplomatic colleagues, accepted an audience on the same
+derogatory terms as the Austrian envoy had done, and the reactionary
+policy of the Chinese thus enjoyed a complete, if temporary, triumph. This
+proceeding of the British Minister was deeply resented by the diplomatic
+body, most of all by the Russian Minister, Count Cassini, himself a
+new arrival, and the circumstance did not tend to smooth the subsequent
+intercourse between the parties.
+
+
+VII. THE VISIT OF THE CZAREVITCH, 1891.
+
+    Worthy reception in Peking impossible--Attempted substitution
+    of provincial reception--Czarevitch visits only the Russian
+    communities in China.
+
+Closely connected in point of time, and possibly by a more vital link,
+with the imperial audience was the voyage of the Czarevitch to India,
+China, and Japan in 1890-91. There was no precedent in China for the
+reception of the member of any foreign royal family. In the days before
+the first audience the Duke of Edinburgh, while in command of the Galatea,
+visited Peking, but strictly _incognito_, no visits being exchanged with
+any Chinese. But times had changed considerably in the twenty years that
+had since elapsed, and with an emperor of full age on the throne things
+that were winked at during his minority could no longer be so lightly
+treated. The Chinese Government were, in fact, perfectly conscious of the
+responsibility which lay upon them to show courtesy to so distinguished a
+visitor as the heir to the throne of Russia, and they took timely measures
+for his reception.
+
+The position of the audience question convinced the Ministers that it
+would be impossible to receive him worthily in Peking, since to do so
+would be to admit equality with foreign States. The first care of the
+Chinese, therefore, was to induce his Imperial Highness to stay away
+from the capital. The Russian Government were told that Li Hung-chang,
+representing the Chinese Emperor, would meet the Czarevitch at Chefoo,
+and that his reception by other Governors of provinces would be deemed
+equivalent to one by the emperor in person. The Russian Government
+fell into the trap, and the programme of provincial receptions would
+have been carried out but for the eccentricity of Chang Chih-tung,
+the governor-general of the Hu provinces on the Yangtze. He, with the
+other provincials, had received the instructions about the reception of
+the Czarevitch, but he alone treated the order with contempt, not even
+deigning to answer it or to explain his reason. The order did not emanate
+from Peking, and he would not accept a mandate from an equal. Evidently
+the emperor had no hand in drawing up the programme, and this Chang had
+the best means of knowing, for he had a brother in the Inner Council. This
+action of a high authority throws full light on the difference between an
+imperial and a provincial transaction, as the Chinese themselves regard
+it.
+
+In keeping with this independent attitude of Chang was the rudeness with
+which he received the officer deputed by the Russian admiral to arrange
+details of the reception at Wuchang. In this way the intended imposture
+was exposed. But if the Russian Government had been too easily led into a
+false position, it must be admitted they extricated themselves cleverly,
+by simply demanding a yellow chair for the Czarevitch, a colour reserved
+exclusively for the emperor. As this could not be conceded the official
+ceremonies fell through, and the Czarevitch contented himself with
+visiting the Russian communities at the Chinese ports. He then proceeded
+to Japan, where a brilliant reception awaited him; and from Japan to
+Vladivostock, where he turned the first sod of the Trans-Siberian Railway,
+19th May 1891.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [24] See _infra_, p. 343.
+
+ [25] See _infra_, p. 330.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+THE TONGKING QUARREL.
+
+    Rapid advance of French towards China proper--The Black
+    Flags--Discussions between France and China--Attempted
+    negotiations--Conquest of Tongking decided upon--Chinese
+    feared attack on Canton--City defenceless--Negotiation with
+    France recommended--Captain Fournier concludes convention
+    with Li Hung-chang in Tientsin--Strong opposition in the
+    capital--Collision between forces in Tongking--French make war
+    on China--Peace concluded through customs agency, April 1885--The
+    Li-Fournier convention ratified.
+
+
+The progress of the French in the annexation of Cochin China, Annam, and
+Tongking was phenomenally rapid. These aggressions on her tributary States
+were far from agreeable to China, but no effective means of resistance was
+proposed. The Chinese policy, wrote Sir R. Alcock,[26] "has been one of
+drift, and letting things slide into irretrievable confusion and disaster
+for want of courage and decisive action at the right time. Between the
+Dupuis and Garnier expeditions, in which a handful of men were seizing
+towns, storming citadels, and terrorising the Annamite mandarins and
+king into virtual submission to any terms dictated to them, and Captain
+Riviere's very similar proceedings in 1883, there was abundant time and
+opportunity for China either to fight or to negotiate with effect, but
+she did neither."
+
+When, however, the advance of the French brought them within measurable
+distance of the southern provinces of China proper, a more serious view of
+the invasion was forced upon the Government. A body of irregular troops,
+called the Black Flags, for some time stood in the way of the French, who
+designated them "pirates." The status of these Black Flags was, indeed,
+somewhat ambiguous, as they had been virtually outlawed by the Chinese.
+But when it was seen that they were harassing the French, the provincial
+authorities recognised that they were fighting the battle of China and of
+her tributary. The Annamese Government had, in the first instance, invited
+the assistance of the Black Flags, and the Chinese Government officially
+encouraged them, while hoping to evade direct responsibility for doing so.
+The French had made the useless mistake of wounding China in a tender spot
+by destroying the seal granted to the Annamese sovereign by the emperor,
+and it was probably this insult rather than the territorial seizures which
+induced China to reinforce the Black Flags by a body of imperial troops,
+and to lay down distinctly the line which she would consider herself bound
+to defend.
+
+The annexation of Annam became the subject of protracted discussions
+between France and China. The diplomacy of the Marquis Tseng in Paris,
+and of Li Hung-chang in China--a convention had actually been concluded
+between the latter and the French Minister, Bourree--failed to arrest the
+progress of France, and the question between the two countries reached
+a burning point after the capture by the French of Sontay and Bacninh in
+the spring of 1884.
+
+The Chinese envoy had declared to M. Ferry that a French advance on these
+places would be regarded by his Government as a _casus belli_. Seeing,
+however, that no action was taken by China after their actual capture,
+the French took fresh courage, and their programme of conquest became so
+much expanded that what had been the dream of a few became the definitive
+policy of the Republic. "The conquest of Tongking had been decided upon
+in principle," wrote Admiral Jaureguiberry to Captain Riviere at the
+time when M. de Freycinet was declaring that there should be no policy
+of aggression. The taking of the two citadels sealed the policy of the
+admiral and falsified that of the Foreign Minister. From that point may be
+dated the important position which France has since assumed in claiming to
+direct, in conjunction with Russia, the destinies of the Chinese Empire.
+
+On the fall of the two cities the Chinese officials of the southern
+provinces were filled with consternation. They feared that the successes
+of the French would encourage them, if not to invade China, at least to
+force a settlement with her on their own terms. They had before them the
+brochure of Captain Riviere, commander of the French forces in Tongking,
+in which he advocated a quarrel with China as a preliminary to the seizure
+of the three southern provinces, Kwangtung, Kwangsi, and Yunnan. An
+obvious step towards the execution of such a design would be an attack on
+the provincial capital, Canton, an event which was not only anticipated
+by the authorities, but was thought feasible, and even probable, by
+disinterested onlookers. How little prepared were the Chinese to resist
+such an attack will be best understood by the measures they took to avert
+it.
+
+An officer of the Chinese customs service, Mr G. Detring, returning from
+furlough, brought with him the details of the Marquis Tseng's abortive
+negotiations in Paris. He arrived in China immediately after the capture
+of the two strongholds of Sontay and Bacninh. In proceeding from Hongkong
+to take up his official post at Canton he accepted a passage in the French
+_aviso_ Volta, which conveyed Rear-Admiral Lespes to the latter city. She
+was commanded by Commandant Fournier, with whom Mr Detring had been some
+years before on terms of intimacy in the north of China. The principal
+topic discussed on the passage was naturally Tongking, and, judging from
+subsequent developments, it is reasonable to suppose that the seeds of the
+settlement eventually concluded between China and France were sown during
+that short but interesting voyage. When Mr Detring reported himself to the
+provincial authorities they evinced the greatest anxiety as to what they
+conceived to be the threatening attitude of the French against Canton.
+Asked if their river defences were in a position to resist attack, they
+frankly avowed that they were not; but yet, being personally responsible
+for the defence, they dared not confess the true state of affairs to the
+Imperial Government. The viceroy of Canton and the governor of Yunnan
+were already under censure, and the military commanders in Tongking
+were even threatened with decapitation "pour encourager les autres." The
+Canton authorities were thus, in fact, in the dilemma in which Chinese
+provincial officials have so frequently found themselves in dealing with
+foreign exigencies--responsible yet helpless. Since they were avowedly
+incapable of resistance, the viceroy and governor were advised at once
+to open negotiations with the French, and, as a first step, to report the
+actual position frankly to the Central Government,--in other words, to Li
+Hung-chang, who in this, as in all other crises, had to bear the burden
+of every initiative. Having had experience of the capacity of Mr Detring,
+first in the negotiating of the Chefoo convention, and subsequently during
+several years of official intercourse at Tientsin, Li Hung-chang moved
+the Central Government to summon the Canton commissioner of customs to
+Tientsin for consultation.
+
+The way being thus partially opened to negotiation, Rear-Admiral Lespes
+held himself in readiness to proceed to Tientsin in response to any
+invitation that might be conveyed to him. Captain Fournier was sent on
+in advance to the rendezvous at Chefoo, where he was to remain until
+the real views of the Chinese Government respecting a settlement of the
+Tongking dispute had been ascertained. The French having set their hearts
+on extorting a large indemnity, it was emphatically declared to them that
+China would never pay one farthing. Any negotiation, therefore, would be
+futile unless this question was first eliminated. Having paved the way
+with Li Hung-chang, Mr Detring next proceeded to Chefoo to invite Captain
+Fournier to Tientsin. From previous good relations he was _persona grata_
+with Li, and on that account was thought a not unfit agent with whom to
+discuss preliminaries in anticipation of the arrival of his admiral. But
+that there should be no mistake about the indemnity, Captain Fournier
+was once more told that unless it were dropped it would be useless his
+proceeding to Tientsin. His doing so, therefore, was a tacit withdrawal
+of that important item in the French demands. Both parties being equally
+desirous of a settlement, all official technical difficulties were
+promptly overcome, and Captain Fournier, from a mere herald of the French
+admiral, was by telegraphic instructions from Paris at once promoted to
+the rank of plenipotentiary for France, and this notwithstanding that
+there was an accredited representative of the Republic eighty miles off
+in Peking. The two negotiators, in short, fell into each other's arms,
+and the convention of May 11, 1884, was the result.
+
+The peace so suddenly and irregularly patched up was not, however,
+destined to endure. Li Hung-chang, knowing better than any of his
+peers the risks of a war with France, had stretched his authority to
+the uttermost in concluding a treaty which practically ceded Annam and
+Tongking to that Power. For though in this as in all his other acts he
+carried with him the approval of the empress-dowager, he knew that he
+had to brave the ferocious opposition of the ignorant fanatics of the
+capital, which he himself described as the "howling of dogs." The moment
+the announcement was made, indeed, the furies were let loose upon him,
+and he had practically no support but that of the empress-dowager; for
+the Tsungli-Yamen, so far as they were not opposed to the treaty, were
+invertebrate. It is necessary to bear in mind this critical position
+of Li Hung-chang in order to understand the series of blunders,
+misunderstandings, recriminations, and actual war which ensued.
+
+After the ratification of the treaty, arrangements had to be made for the
+withdrawal of the Chinese forces from the territory which had been ceded
+to France. Captain Fournier, in an interview with Li Hung-chang, presented
+a memorandum fixing the dates on which the troops were to evacuate the
+several positions specified. A long discussion appears to have taken
+place, in which it is not difficult, from the circumstances above referred
+to, to divine what the viceroy's attitude must have been. He wished
+to avoid the invidious responsibility of asking the Central Government
+to order the withdrawal of the troops from Langson, as to do so would
+obviously add fuel to the fire of those powerful functionaries who were
+clamouring for the repudiation of the treaty, and for the negotiator's
+head. In vain endeavouring to obtain from Fournier an indefinite delay in
+carrying out the stipulation for the retirement of the Chinese troops, Li
+perhaps trusted that the French commanders in Tongking would themselves
+cut the knot by marching forward with an adequate force and brushing away
+the Chinese troops opposing them. The accomplished fact would then have
+settled everything.
+
+It has been said that the clever interpreter, instead of translating all
+the viceroy's arguments and explaining his difficulties, summed the whole
+up to Captain Fournier in two words, "Avancez donc"--advice which would no
+doubt have been sufficient if only the French military commander, Colonel
+Dugenne, had marched with a reasonable force, or even if he had carried
+with him a competent interpreter, through whom he might have communicated
+with the Chinese commander. The latter officer, however, when called upon
+to evacuate the post, pleaded that he had received no instructions to
+that effect, and asked for time to communicate with Peking. The letter
+to the French commander containing these reasonable pleas for delay was
+either wrongly translated or left untranslated for months. In the meantime
+Colonel Dugenne advanced with a small party, and was forced to retreat
+with loss, for which he was not unjustly recalled by his own authorities;
+and thereupon ensued the Franco-Chinese war.
+
+This was not, however, the only _contretemps_ in connection with this
+lamentable outbreak. The Chinese commander had actually telegraphed
+to Li Hung-chang for instructions; but, still unwilling to face the
+responsibility, the latter left the reply to his council, among whom
+there happened to be for the moment his evil genius, Chang Pei-lun, a
+fire-eating member of the Tsungli-Yamen, who was on his way to take up
+the post of governor of Fukien province and Imperial Commissioner of the
+Foochow arsenal.
+
+Laudable efforts were made to repair the mischief, and in the conferences
+which followed in Paris peace was more than once all but assured; but
+owing to a series of accidents and misunderstandings, in which the
+authorities at Peking, the French representative there, the French
+commanders on the Chinese coast, and the telegraph were all implicated,
+the die was cast in August 1884, and the war was continued till the
+following April.
+
+For reasons of their own the French Government were averse to calling the
+hostilities "war," preferring reprisals and "intelligent destruction." By
+whatever name it may be called, the French did not distinguish themselves
+greatly in the conduct of the operations. Their only feat of arms was
+the destruction, at their anchorage in the river Min, of the Chinese
+ships belonging to the Foochow squadron, and of the arsenal, which, as
+Li Hung-chang bitterly reflected, had been erected by "French genius."
+Admiral Courbet found his destructive work easy, having entered the river
+and taken up a position in the rear of the batteries during time of peace.
+The subsequent operations in Formosa were without result; and the French
+Government refused permission to Admiral Courbet to attack Port Arthur,
+on the non-military ground of wishing to save the prestige of "notre ami
+Li Hung-chang." So far as the naval operations were concerned, even when
+most successful in intelligent destruction, they were quite ineffective
+towards ending the war until the method which has never failed to bring
+the Chinese Government to terms was resorted to--the stoppage of the
+grain-supply to the capital. This was accomplished by a patrol of the
+coast for the purpose of intercepting vessels carrying rice to Tientsin.
+The work performed during the winter and spring of 1885 by the French
+cruisers, in keeping the sea without any base and performing their patrol
+duties in all weathers, excited the admiration of seamen. It should be
+mentioned that they were precluded from acting offensively against the
+Yangtze by tacit understanding with Great Britain and other Powers.
+
+If the breach of the peace between France and China was a historical
+curiosity, the eventual settlement of the dispute resembled a dramatic
+extravaganza. The final incident of the war in Tongking was the defeat
+of the French, followed by a panic, caused apparently by General Negrier
+being wounded. The force then made a disorderly retreat before imaginary
+pursuers. In the meantime the empress-dowager had given positive orders
+that peace should be made on any terms. Both parties had thus come round
+to the _status quo ante bellum_--that is to say, they were both equally
+urgent to obtain peace, as they had been in May 1884. The agent in
+bringing this about was Sir Robert Hart; and it was effected, as great
+things usually are, by the adroit use of very simple means. During the
+blockade of Formosa a small Chinese lighthouse tender was captured by the
+French admiral and detained. As she was essentially non-combatant, and was
+serving the interests of humanity in supplying the numerous lighthouses
+on the coast of China for the benefit of the commerce of all nations, Sir
+Robert Hart instructed his very capable London agent, Mr Duncan Campbell,
+to go to Paris and represent the case to the French Ministers, with a
+view to obtaining the release of so useful and harmless a vessel. In
+this manner the door was opened to the larger negotiation. Mr Campbell
+executed his delicate mission with so much tact, that in the amicable
+conversations which ensued between him and certain French officials the
+idea of putting an end to a war of which both parties were tired, and
+which, moreover, seemed objectless, was ventilated; and in a few days
+authority was telegraphed from Peking to Mr Campbell to sign a protocol.
+
+This was done before the news of the French reverse at Langson reached
+Paris. After such a military success M. Jules Ferry could not imagine
+that the Chinese Government would adhere to the terms of the protocol,
+and therefore he kept the whole negotiation secret from the Chambers. In
+the meanwhile the mishap to the French troops, being greatly exaggerated,
+excited such intense feeling in France that M. Ferry, _le Tonkinois_,
+was obliged to resign, with the treaty which might have saved him in his
+pocket. As for the empress-dowager, she recked nothing of the success of
+her brave troops on the outskirts of the empire, but thought only of the
+enormous expense of the war, which had been unpleasantly brought home to
+her, and of matters affecting her own convenience. She therefore had no
+thought of going back on the treaty, but was even more urgent than before
+to have it promptly signed and ratified. The honours of the peace thus
+fell in a few days to M. Ferry's successor.
+
+And what was the outcome of a year's fighting which cost China 100,000,000
+taels and France some proportionate amount? A simple reaffirmation of the
+Li-Fournier convention of May 1884! The convention itself was short and
+simple--one clause only exciting much interest during the negotiations,
+and that provoked a hot discussion, not on the substance, but on the
+verbal form. It was a stipulation by which the two contracting parties
+consciously meant different things, and each fought hard for a phrase
+sufficiently subtle to allow each to interpret it in his own way when the
+time came for the fulfilment of the treaty provisions. The French were
+most desirous of binding the Chinese to employ French industries in all
+their new undertakings. China was equally resolute in avoiding any such
+obligation. In the end each was satisfied that he could read the treaty
+clause in his own favour. But the final victory in the struggle would go
+to the side that was most persistent in forcing its meaning into practice.
+The French Ministry had announced to the Chambers a great victory for
+French manufacturing industries, which were represented as having by it
+obtained a monopoly in China. The text of the treaty, even in the French
+version, did not, indeed, bear this out; but the French had the _prima
+facie_ argument on their side, that the introduction of a clause in a
+treaty referring to the Chinese patronage of French industries, however
+worded, must have meant something more than merely to register the common
+fact that China was at liberty to deal with whom she pleased. In the
+end a compromise was effected by China's giving to a French syndicate
+the contract for excavating the basin and dock at Port Arthur and
+certain orders for material, among which was a famous military balloon,
+wonderfully symbolic of the whole proceeding.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [26] 'Contemporary Review,' December 1884.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE OF CHRISTIANS.
+
+    Alliance with Church the corner-stone of French
+    conquest--Persistence of French ambitions in the Far
+    East--Protectorate of native Christians--Its abuse by the
+    propaganda--Forcible erection of cathedrals in Peking--Imperial
+    family aggrieved thereby--Negotiations for removal of church
+    from palace grounds--Mr Dunn's mission to Rome--Vatican to send
+    a nuncio--French Government vetos--French minister vetos transfer
+    of cathedral--Unless transaction placed in his hands.
+
+
+The claim of France to protect Christians against the native authorities
+in the Far East constitutes the basis and the origin of her present
+political position in those countries. The propagation of the faith was,
+indeed, a recognised element in the adventures of other countries besides
+France; but she has, since the eclipse of Portugal and Spain, enjoyed
+the distinction of a working alliance with the Church in furthering the
+foreign domination of both. "Church and State, linked in alliance close
+and potential, played faithfully into each other's hands," says Parkman
+('Jesuits in North America'). In the reign of Louis XIV. the kingdom
+of Siam was the object of their joint attention. A missionary bishop
+persuaded the most Christian king that to establish the Church in Siam
+and convert king and country to the Catholic faith would open an effectual
+door for the extension of French commerce. A century later another bishop
+persuaded another Louis to interfere in the affairs of Annam, and only
+the events of 1789 cut short an expedition that was being prepared of
+politico-ecclesiastical propagandism. Napoleon III. took up the cause,
+and actually effected the conquest of Cochin China; and Gambetta was
+so enthusiastic on the subject that, while persecuting the Catholics in
+France, he was ready to expend the forces of the Republic in protecting
+them in distant countries.
+
+There is here, therefore, irrespective of persons or forms of government,
+an unbroken tradition, which furnishes a key to the successive operations
+of France in the Far East. Thus when she resolved to join England in
+hostilities against China in 1857 a pretext was ready to hand in the
+murder of a Catholic priest in the interior of the country, his presence
+there being a defiance of the laws of the empire. There has been flux
+and reflux in French policy, but no change in its direction; and though
+prudence has from time to time set limits to its full expression,
+the claim to a special representation of Chinese Christians has been
+consistently pursued as a cardinal object of the French military, naval,
+and diplomatic forces in the Far East.
+
+The treaties of 1858 for the first time authorised travelling into the
+interior, and placed French subjects, whether missionary or not, who
+availed themselves of the permission, under the protection of their own
+country. But ever since the convention of Peking in 1860 it has been
+sought by indirect and unobtrusive means to assume the protectorate over
+native Christians as well. The interpolated clause in the Chinese, which
+was no part of the authentic French version of the convention, lent a
+certain colour to the pretension by seeming to recognise communities
+of Chinese Christians as legal units and fit subjects of international
+agreement between China and France. Nevertheless, "French interference
+between the Chinese authorities and the subjects of the empire of China
+has never had any treaty warrant or justification by the law of nations,"
+wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock in the 'Nineteenth Century,' November 1886;
+and he added, "China has the remedy in her own hands, to a certain extent,
+by refusing to admit the pretension." The Chinese Government had long
+been alive to the danger, as its elaborate appeal to the reason of the
+Powers in 1871 amply testified, but its eyes were opened still wider by
+the lesson of the Tongking war. A disposition was thereafter evinced to
+withstand the claim of the French, and the action of Germany afforded
+sufficient support to the Chinese position, had the Government only
+had the courage and perspicacity to lean upon it. For in the Catholic
+propaganda were missionaries of German origin, who were not permitted to
+divest themselves of their nationality, but were made to apply for their
+passports into the interior not to the French, but the German, Legation in
+Peking. Had Italy and Spain been equally independent, the question of the
+French, or any other protectorate, could scarcely have been entertained
+without introducing the element of separate foreign nationalism into
+the constitution of the Christian communities in China, which would not,
+perhaps, have been agreeable to the views of the Catholic propagandists,
+for they naturally aspired to maintain their independence as a compact
+ecclesiastical organisation.
+
+The dread of the French protectorate was much accentuated by the enforced
+restitution of ancient buildings, the most conspicuous examples of which
+occurred in the city of Peking itself, and even within the area of the
+imperial palace. The sites of three ancient churches being claimed by the
+French Minister, the emperor's Government was compelled to violate its
+sense of justice by evicting the existing owners. The original building of
+one of the three was found practically intact, though hidden by the houses
+built round and against its walls. These of course had to be cleared away,
+regardless of the rights of their occupants. The interior fittings and
+decorations of the church had disappeared, but, strange to say, much of
+the wood carving and other ornaments were gradually recovered from the
+old-curiosity shops, where the parts not destroyed had, by the instinct
+of the Wardour Street craft, been preserved, begrimed with the dust of a
+hundred years and hopelessly unsaleable. By patiently collecting these
+disjointed fragments and piecing them together like a Chinese puzzle,
+the Fathers were able gradually to restore the church to something like
+its original state, so that it became itself an interesting relic of the
+golden age of the Jesuits in Peking.
+
+The other two churches had been demolished, and the sites converted to
+secular uses, requiring some ingenuity to identify. When these sites
+were, under the new dispensation, cleared of superincumbent buildings,
+churches were erected as much exceeding the original as the glory of
+the Jewish temple, rebuilt after the Captivity, excelled that of the
+former house. The restrictions imposed by the Government on the style of
+the buildings, the last vestige of power which they dared assert, bore
+lightly on the astute constructors of the new churches. In deference
+to a common Chinese objection, perhaps partly superstitious, to lofty
+structures overlooking them, a limit was set to the height of the new
+buildings. But remonstrances after completion were easily disposed of by
+the pious Fathers inviting the objectors to go and measure the towers! The
+Chinese seem to have the same constitutional dislike of a demonstration
+that they have to a straight line or a right angle, and a challenge
+like this never failed to put them to silence. As to their neglect to
+exercise their right of supervision during construction, the shortest
+way to characterise it is merely to say it was Chinese. The same kind of
+negligence also allowed roofs of cathedrals, not in the capital alone, but
+in distant provinces, to be covered with yellow tiles, a colour reserved
+exclusively for imperial use. It is true the process was disguised, for
+the benefit of those who chose to be blind, by the tiles being whitewashed
+before being sent aloft, leaving to the slow action of the weather the
+gradual revelation of the imperial colour, which might then, indeed, be
+represented as the act of Heaven. Nothing is too transparent to deceive
+those who are willing to be deceived.
+
+  [Illustration: PEI-T'ANG CATHEDRAL IN PEKING, PURCHASED BY CHINESE
+   GOVERNMENT.]
+
+The cathedral around which the greatest interest centred, however, was the
+one which was erected within the palace grounds. The site had been granted
+by the great Emperor Kanghsi, the most imperial of the Manchu line, to the
+learned fathers who cured his fever by administering Jesuits' bark, then
+a new discovery, and whom he reckoned on attaching to his house by the
+favours bestowed on them. The new building was presumably erected on or
+near the site of the old, against the most urgent protests of the Court.
+Every inducement was offered to the French--larger and better sites,
+perhaps other compensations as well--if they would forego their demand
+for the resumption of the ground; but the French Government being set
+upon marking its ascendancy by a permanent sign, compelled the erection
+of the Pei-t'ang Cathedral on the spot indicated. The Lazarists, who had
+succeeded to the Jesuits in North China, had a kindly bishop at their
+head, who conceded much in the structure of the new building to soothe
+the feelings of the imperial family. Nevertheless, stunted as they were,
+from the point of view of architectural symmetry, the double towers of the
+cathedral were visible from the palace, and the two belfries commanded
+a view over a large part of the precincts. The building was therefore
+an eyesore to the inmates for twenty years, on the common ground on
+which it would have been offensive even to a provincial population, but
+still more as a staring monument of the deepest humiliation the dynasty
+had endured.[27] The empress-dowager bore the grievance, but not with
+resignation, for soon after the affairs of the empire assumed a settled
+aspect she urged her Ministers to find a way to get rid of the obnoxious
+building.
+
+Monseigneur Delaplace had, in his former diocese of Chekiang, rendered
+good service to the Government in opposing the rebels, for which he was
+granted high Chinese rank. Being dissatisfied with the action of France
+after the Tientsin massacre of 1870, he extricated his mission from the
+control of the French Legation in Peking, and from that date till his
+death in 1882 conducted its affairs in direct communication with the
+Tsungli-Yamen. Fully recognising how hateful his cathedral was to the
+Chinese, he co-operated with Prince Kung and Wensiang in their efforts
+to remove it, and in 1874 he actually concluded an agreement with them
+to that effect. But the contract was vetoed by the French Government. The
+sore was thus reopened and continued to fester until 1881, when there was
+so much excitement in the capital that the Church and mission were thought
+to be in great danger. During the Tongking troubles the question of the
+cathedral was allowed to rest, but no sooner was peace assured than the
+Court again became restless, and with renewed urgency sought a remedy for
+its grievance.
+
+The negotiations, which proved successful, were entered upon in an
+irregular manner, such as has characterised so many of the Chinese
+official acts. An Englishman in Peking, who had had business dealings with
+the Government, was asked one day by the confidential factotum of Prince
+Ch'un whether he could render assistance in the matter of the Pei-t'ang.
+The case was explained at length, and the foreigner, not being then aware
+of the negotiations of 1874, suggested, as the most obvious course, trying
+to make an arrangement with the Lazarist mission. The Manchu shook his
+head, to signify the futility of that proceeding. The enterprise thus
+seemed desperate, unless the Imperial Government should exercise its
+sovereign right of expropriation,--much too drastic a measure for any
+Chinese Government to attempt.
+
+One hope only seemed to remain, a direct appeal to the Vatican. This led
+to a long conversation on the Papacy, and the Manchu official,[28] being a
+pious and even a learned Buddhist, became intensely interested in hearing
+much that was new to him respecting the position and prerogatives of the
+European Dalai Lama. Nor did the "great Western Saint," whose vicegerent
+the Pope claims to be, fail to evoke the deep reverence of both the Manchu
+and the Chinese who were present, so that one might be almost justified
+in appropriating words uttered on a different occasion,--they were "not
+very far from the kingdom" ruled by "the Western Saint."
+
+But the interesting question was, How was the Vatican to be approached? By
+a qualified secret agent intrusted with the full confidence of the Chinese
+Court. The mission would be by no means easy, for should its object become
+known, it would be thwarted in advance from mere jealousy, if from no
+other motive, by Lazarist and perhaps other Catholic missions, so that
+access to the Supreme Pontiff would be blocked at the outset. The mission
+would also be certain to arouse the strenuous hostility of the French
+Government. After discussing the problem from all sides for three hours,
+the Manchu cut it short by the abrupt question, "Will you go?" "No," said
+the foreigner; "such an undertaking requires quite other qualities than
+any I possess. But," he added, after considering the matter, "I think I
+know the man who might carry it through." "Where is he? in Peking? Bring
+him here," were rapped out like musketry-fire, showing how urgent was
+the subject. The agent recommended to him was Mr J. G. Dunn, a man of
+genius and of varied accomplishments, a Catholic, and having an extensive
+personal acquaintance with the propaganda. He was at once invited to
+Peking, when another long conference ensued, and Mr Dunn was requested to
+draw up a memorandum on the whole scheme for the information of Prince
+Ch'un. After waiting some time for a response Mr Dunn left the capital,
+decidedly disappointed, for he was eager for a service so congenial to
+his character and feelings. Indeed had the mission been created for the
+man, or the man for the mission, the harmony between means and ends could
+hardly have been closer.
+
+Several months elapsed before the question emerged again from official
+obscurity, and the manner of it is worth relating if only for the
+side-light it throws on Chinese methods. Li Hung-chang paid a visit to the
+capital in 1885, and soon after his return to Tientsin he requested his
+secretaries to find out where Mr Dunn was and to invite him by telegraph
+to come to see the viceroy. Not knowing why he was sent for, any more
+than Gordon did when summoned from India five years before, Mr Dunn came,
+and Li at once entered on the Pei-t'ang question, showing him his own
+memorandum on the subject. The affair having been placed by Prince Ch'un
+in the hands of Li Hung-chang to be carried through, Mr Dunn was promptly
+commissioned, and in concert with the viceroy's secretary, the very
+capable officer who now represents China at Washington, the emissary's
+instructions and credentials were drawn up. There were two separate
+instructions, and no little confusion was caused thereby.
+
+On leaving China for Rome, Mr Dunn stipulated that a competent
+intermediary should be appointed to interpret his correspondence to Li
+Hung-chang, a duty which was intrusted to the commissioner of customs in
+Tientsin. The utility of this provision was soon made manifest, for when
+telegrams began to arrive from Rome, their purport was unintelligible,
+as they seemed irrelevant to the expropriation of the cathedral, which
+was Mr Dunn's special mission. Irritated by this apparent aberration,
+the viceroy's idea was to recall the emissary. But when it was suggested
+that the copies of his credentials should be first carefully examined
+the position became clearer. One part of his instructions was then found
+to be directed towards the question of the Christian protectorate, and
+Mr Dunn was, in fact, diplomatising with the Pope with a view to his
+appointing a nuncio or apostolic delegate to China to represent all the
+Catholic missions. The Chinese had not fully mastered this idea, and even
+Li Hung-chang, who has a wonderful memory, had forgotten the existence
+of the second section of his instructions, which no doubt Mr Dunn had
+drawn up himself. The Tsungli-Yamen, languid and bemused, hesitated to
+express any opinion, and assumed their habitual passive attitude. One
+person alone really grasped the importance of having the Church in China
+represented by the delegate of a Power "which has no armies or fleets
+wherewith to threaten or attack." The empress-dowager, when the nomination
+of Mgr. Agliardi was announced, and his coming depended on formal imperial
+invitation, sent the urgent message to the Yamen, "Get that man here; lose
+no time."
+
+Mr Dunn's negotiations with the Vatican of course soon leaked out; notices
+appeared in the press; Mr Punch had his little joke that though there
+was evidently a good deal _doing_, the question was, Who was _Dunn_? The
+French Government took the matter up energetically through their Minister
+in Rome, and their diplomatic efforts having failed, they presented
+an ultimatum to the Pope which compelled him to cancel the appointment
+of his nuncio. France threatening to terminate the concordat, withdraw
+the subvention to the Church in France, and sequestrate its ministers,
+the Holy Father had no option but to submit. With tears in his eyes he
+deplored his impotence to respond to the invitation of China under such
+a truculent menace to "his children in France."
+
+While these things were going on in Rome the transference of the Pei-t'ang
+Cathedral, which had been settled in principle through Mr Dunn, was then
+taken up by the Lazarist Mission, and the popular Pere Favier was deputed
+by the Bishop of Peking to proceed to Rome and to Paris to obtain from
+the Vatican and the General of the Lazarist Order the specific authority
+to negotiate the transfer. Having brought back the necessary powers,
+a convention was shortly concluded between Bishop Tagliabue and Li
+Hung-chang. The Church made an excellent bargain, as it generally does:
+a new site of about thrice the area was granted close to the old on the
+opposite side of the broad roadway, and a bountiful compensation in money
+was made for the trouble and cost of removal. But after the agreement was
+signed the French Government interposed its veto so far as to insist on
+being the intermediary through whose hands the transaction should pass.
+France also, it was said, had previously essayed to _marchander_ with
+China for her consent, but withdrew when it became clear that further
+obstruction might entail untoward consequences. To mark its satisfaction
+at the final solution of this question, the Chinese Government eulogised
+all those who had helped to bring it about, and bestowed high rank on
+Bishop Tagliabue and the Abbe Favier (now bishop).
+
+This transaction supplied a crucial test of French policy and pretensions
+in China, the first concrete expression of both that had been obtained
+since the forcible restitution of Church property immediately after the
+capture of Peking. The coercion, indeed, was applied on this occasion
+to the Roman Pontiff and the Catholic Church rather than to the Chinese
+Government; but the latter were not so dull as not to see to what
+ulterior objects the French scheme might be extended, given convenient
+circumstances. They were, in fact, really alarmed, and the question was
+discussed with some warmth in the Chinese as well as in the European
+press. "The end is not yet," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock; "China may
+be less open to intimidation than heretofore, and assert her undoubted
+right to refuse the recognition of an assumed protectorate over Roman
+missions, irrespective of the nationality of their members." The French
+press espoused the cause of the protectorate warmly, treating it as a most
+valuable national asset. The Chinese press took up the question in reply.
+Their view of the position was comprehensively summed up in a native
+newspaper in October 1886 in the following terms:--
+
+    It has been said by them of old time that when a man is found
+    acting injuriously to his own family but benevolently to strangers
+    his behaviour is unnatural, and there is something hidden under
+    the cloak of outward kindness.
+
+    We have from time to time printed translations from various
+    foreign newspapers on the subject of the relations between the
+    Chinese Government and the Pope. Some days ago we reproduced an
+    article on the same subject from the 'Temps,' a French newspaper
+    of the highest authority. These articles all indicate that the
+    French Government is greatly troubled at the prospect of losing
+    what is called the right to protect Christians in China. This is
+    a question which has not hitherto been much considered by Chinese
+    statesmen. Those of them who have been in Europe, or who have
+    studied political affairs there, know something of the importance
+    of the issues which are covered up in that apparently harmless
+    word "protection"; but it is hardly to be expected that the
+    Ministers and statesmen who have scarcely travelled beyond the
+    walls of Peking can realise the full significance of the phrase.
+    Nothing is better calculated to quicken the apprehension of the
+    Government on this point than the extraordinary excitement of the
+    French Government, which insists on protecting the Christians
+    in China whether they desire this protection or not. For now
+    that the French have so plainly shown their secret designs, it
+    would be impossible for China to acquiesce, by word or deed, in
+    the pretensions which France sets up. It is rather suspicious
+    that the French Government, the greatest enemy of Christianity,
+    which is constantly oppressing the priests and confiscating their
+    property in France, should be so intensely desirous of protecting
+    Christians in China, where this protection is not required. A
+    leading French statesman, Gambetta, who died a few years ago,
+    left as a legacy to his followers the doctrine that the Church
+    should be suppressed in France but supported in all foreign
+    countries. Gambetta was a man who had no reverence for Heaven, and
+    no religion, and seems to have regarded Christianity as a disease
+    which he wished his own country to be rid of, but was not sorry
+    to see it spreading elsewhere. It is necessary to keep these ideas
+    in mind in order to understand the action of the French Government
+    to-day.
+
+    It would be out of place here to discuss what Christianity
+    is. Like Buddhism, it had a very pure origin, and the living
+    principles of both are mercy, benevolence, and peace. But both
+    religions have in course of ages been overlaid with doctrines and
+    practices which have obscured the simplicity of their origin,
+    and even changed their character. But the greatest misfortune
+    to Christianity is that it has been made use of by princes
+    as a pretext for wars of aggression. In fact, nearly all the
+    wars of Europe for the last thousand years have been in some
+    way connected with religion. This is sometimes made a reproach
+    against Christianity, which professes to be founded on peace and
+    self-sacrifice, but the reproach is scarcely just. Rather it is
+    the peaceful character of Christianity which has induced ambitious
+    statesmen to make use of it to work out their own designs, just as
+    in private life unscrupulous men are sometimes enabled to carry
+    out questionable plans by using the names of men of blameless
+    character. We are only now concerned with the political aspect of
+    Christianity, not its merits as a religion. The modern history of
+    Turkey affords the best illustration of the danger of allowing
+    foreign Powers to interfere in matters of religion. During the
+    last hundred years Russia has several times made war on Turkey,
+    always on the pretext of protecting Christians, and it is this
+    which is fast breaking up the Turkish empire. It is interesting
+    to observe that Russia and France follow the same policy in this
+    matter. When the French Legation withdrew from Peking on the 2nd
+    day of the 7th moon of the 10th year of Kwanghsu (22nd August
+    1884), the affairs of the Christians were transferred to the
+    Russian Legation. The Ministers of the Tsungli-Yamen remember
+    very well how eagerly the Russian Minister assumed the office
+    of protector of Christians, going to even greater lengths in the
+    way of protection than the French themselves had done. The reason
+    for this is plain. Russia, although she has none now, expects to
+    have by-and-by many Christians in Mongolia and Manchuria who may
+    be extremely useful to her in her aggressive designs on China.
+    Therefore the Russian officials, always looking very far ahead,
+    were most anxious to establish a right of interference for the
+    protection of Christians. And they could do this without reproach
+    when they were acting not for themselves but for France during
+    war-time; well knowing that, whatever position she succeeded in
+    establishing for France, Russia could claim for herself when the
+    proper time came. But the more anxious Russia and France are to
+    assert the right of interfering with Chinese Christians, the more
+    resolute China should be in resisting all such interference. The
+    only safety for China is to treat Christians, whether Chinese
+    or foreign, exactly as all other people are treated--to make no
+    distinctions. Foreign missionaries have the right to travel and
+    reside in the interior; they can exercise this right without
+    getting passports from the French Minister. The Catholic missions
+    are composed of men of all nations, but they all have Ministers in
+    Peking to whom they can apply for passports. Let the Germans get
+    their passports from the German Legation, the Spaniards from the
+    Spanish, Italians, Belgians, and Hollanders from their respective
+    Legations, but no European State has any right to arrogate to
+    itself the position of protector of missionaries in general.
+
+    It is satisfactory to learn that the head of the Catholic Church
+    is of this opinion, and although grateful to France for what
+    she has done in the past, is now desirous of being free from
+    French protection in the future. To carry out these views, the
+    Pope is about to send to China a very high official to reside
+    in Peking and perform the functions of a Minister. As the Pope
+    has no troops and no territory, but is merely a kind of Dalai
+    Lama, there is no danger to China from opening direct relations
+    with him. The affairs of the missionaries can then be dealt with
+    in an open and straightforward manner, as no fear of political
+    traps will lurk behind. The Christians when they know they are no
+    longer protected by a military State will understand that their
+    security will depend on their own wisdom in avoiding offence.
+    And the officials and people, on the other hand, will gradually
+    learn that the Christians are only anxious to lead virtuous
+    lives, without any political ambition, and they will respect
+    them. The Imperial Government will then also be able to extend
+    its favour to all Christians and missionaries without the fear
+    of nursing traitors in its bosom. The missionaries have among
+    them men of great learning and much skill in sciences, which the
+    Emperor Kanghsi--who must always stand as the model for Chinese
+    rulers--knew very well how to utilise. The present generation
+    possesses men no less capable of rendering good services to China,
+    and there would be no reason for not using them if the suspicion
+    of their being agents of the French Government were once cleared
+    away.
+
+Notwithstanding so much clear thinking, however, the action of the
+Chinese continued, as before, nebulous. They seemed never able to seize
+the bull by the horns, but drifted on, allowing themselves constantly to
+be put in the wrong, hoping perhaps to accomplish by illegitimate means
+what was within their legal competence. Afraid or unwilling to control
+the provincial authorities, they allowed outrages to be perpetrated for
+which they refused redress until coercion was applied, thus affording to
+foreign Powers a not in all cases unwelcome pretext for extending their
+protection even to Chinese Christians. Within a month of the consummation
+of the transfer of the Pei-t'ang Cathedral, and after the Marquis Tseng,
+fresh from Europe, had taken his seat at the Board, the Tsungli-Yamen had
+fallen into its chronic apathy with regard to Christians. A missionary
+named Bodinier arrived in Peking from distant Kweichow for the purpose
+of soliciting the intervention or intercession of the French Legation
+in favour of the persecuted Christians in that province. While he
+was on his journey the Catholics of Chungking in Szechuan were being
+similarly maltreated. Certain disturbances in that great commercial mart
+culminated in the attack on the house of a wealthy Christian family, which
+resisted the assailants, several of whom were killed in the affray. The
+magistrates, who had been supine during the time when the mischief was
+brewing, thereupon arrested the head of the Lo family and condemned him
+to death,--an exercise of authority which was held to be arbitrary, and
+invidiously directed against Christians. Here was an occasion when the
+Central Government should have taken prompt action, and so deprived the
+French Government of any pretext for interference. It was a moment when
+that Government was less apt than usual to put forth its power in the
+Christian cause. M. Constans was Minister in China, and he was personally
+not at all disposed to assume the protection of Chinese Christians.
+Nevertheless, the case being urgent, and the Tsungli-Yamen either cowardly
+or indifferent, M. Constans broke through the rule he had laid down for
+himself so far as to telegraph to Paris for instructions. The reply was
+prompt, doubtless inspired by the propaganda at home, to the effect that
+he should take up the case of Mr Lo. Thus the Chinese threw away a golden
+opportunity of showing to the world that the Chinese Christians did not
+stand in need of any foreign aid. An impartial investigation might have
+shown, indeed, that the Christians were the aggressors, and the local
+Chinese officials might have been vindicated from the charges made against
+them. But the Government's inaction constantly puts it in the wrong even
+when it may be substantially in the right. The same fatal course has been
+regularly pursued even to our day, with results patent to all.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [27] The effect of these imposing edifices, which dwarf into
+    insignificance the most pretentious native buildings, is well
+    exemplified in the approach to Canton, where the French cathedral
+    church, erected on the site of the Viceroy Yeh's _yamen_, is the
+    only object visible, and where the idea of a permanent memorial
+    of defeat is well realised. It is not a conciliatory policy;
+    irresistible force is required to maintain it.
+
+ [28] See _supra_, p. 308.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+BRITISH SERVICES: DIPLOMATIC, CONSULAR, AND JUDICIAL.
+
+    Necessity for administrative and judicial control over
+    British subjects--Consular courts--Supreme court for China and
+    Japan--_Personnel_ of the consular service--Functions of the
+    diplomatic representatives--Absence of distinction explained by
+    apathy of Home Government--Need of reform.
+
+
+The frequent references throughout this work to the part played by British
+agents in the development of intercourse with China seem to call for a
+short account of the character and status of the official machinery which
+served for so many years as the principal working joint between the two
+opposed systems of civilisation.
+
+The relations between Great Britain and China were necessarily at first
+experimental. The consuls appointed to the five ports were selected with
+no special training, and the chief superintendent, to whom they looked
+for guidance, was scarcely better furnished than themselves. Yet, as has
+been shown, the remoteness of the consuls from their chief, and of both
+from the Government they served, threw them much upon their own resources.
+How the demand for independent initiative was responded to by some of the
+individuals concerned has been incidentally noticed in previous chapters.
+
+From the time when it assumed direct relations with China, the need of an
+effective control over British subjects resorting to that country weighed
+heavily on the British Government; for in exempting them from native
+jurisdiction the Government took on itself the responsibility for the good
+behaviour of its people. The exercise of this control was necessarily
+tentative, proceeding step by step as occasions arose. The unceasing
+solicitude of the Government for the orderly conduct of its subjects in
+China is testified by a long series of Orders in Council conferring on
+the consuls and their superintendent an almost despotic authority over the
+persons of the British residents. The operation of this arbitrary system
+was more satisfactory than could have been expected, thanks to the high
+character of the parties concerned and the common-sense which governed
+their mutual relations. In their double capacity, however, of protectors
+of Chinese and foreigners against the inroads of British subjects, and of
+the latter against the inroads of the Chinese, the consuls soon discovered
+that the one part of their duty was easy and the other difficult; and
+it is no matter for wonder, therefore, if, following the line of least
+resistance, some of them should have leaned to the side of repression
+rather than to that of the encouragement of their countrymen. This was
+noticeable even in judicial proceedings, where the consul was supreme
+over his own nationals, but had no authority over their opponents. Some
+check on the consequences of consular idiosyncrasies and defective legal
+knowledge was maintained by a supreme court in Hongkong, independent
+alike of the superintendent of trade and of the governor of the colony,
+to which court appeals lay from consular decisions. This prerogative
+of the colonial court was not unnaturally irksome to the diplomatic and
+consular servants of the Foreign Office, and was doubtless one cause of
+the coolness, not to say antipathy, with which the colony has generally
+been regarded by them.
+
+The treaties of 1858 and 1860 were followed by a great development
+in all three services--diplomatic, consular, and judicial. Some years
+previously the China consular service began to be treated as a career for
+which special preparation was required, the entry being by competitive
+examination, through which a certain number of students were annually sent
+out to China, there to complete their education and then take their part
+in executive work. When additional ports were opened, therefore, making
+about twenty in all, in 1861, there was the full complement of qualified
+men ready to occupy the new consular posts, each of them competent to be
+his own interpreter. Diplomatic functions were at the same time withdrawn
+from Hongkong, where they had been merely nominal for eighteen years,
+and became centred in the Chinese capital. A few years later the judicial
+authority, so far as it related to the communities at the Chinese ports,
+was also withdrawn from Hongkong, and was conferred upon the Supreme Court
+for China and Japan, having its headquarters in Shanghai, established by
+the Queen's Order in Council of 1864. The new court was inaugurated by
+Sir Edmund Hornby, who brought to the work practical experience gained in
+the Levant, the assistant judge being Mr C. W. Goodwin, Barrister of the
+Inner Temple. This establishment has furnished a solvent for many of the
+difficulties connected with British residence in the Far East. Adapted
+with judgment to local circumstances, the court has proved of immense
+assistance to the consuls, who, subordinated judicially to the chief
+judge, could now obtain from him proper guidance in their difficulties,
+a facility of which they availed themselves freely.
+
+Although a great advance on what preceded it, the Supreme Court could
+not of course escape from all the drawbacks which affected the consular
+courts. As between British subjects, it enjoyed the full powers of law
+courts in the mother country; but as between British subjects on the one
+hand, and the natives of the country, or non-British residents, on the
+other, the authority of the British court could only be exercised over the
+former. This one-sided action has been to some extent compensated in later
+times by the judicial qualifications of consuls representing other Western
+nationalities, who administer their own laws with the same impartiality
+as the British courts do theirs. But as regards the Chinese no such
+compensation operates, for although the treaties make provision for the
+judicial action of the Chinese authorities, their conceptions of equity
+and forms of procedure being wholly alien to those of the Western nations,
+their decisions seldom satisfy the foreign litigant. An attempt to supply
+a connecting-link between two radically different juridical ideals was
+made in the setting up of mixed courts for the purpose of dealing with
+petty cases between natives and foreigners within the settlements of
+Shanghai. These courts have been occasionally presided over by honest and
+competent judges, assisted by able foreign assessors; but as the native
+magistrates, being men of low rank, could always be overruled by the local
+executive, they lacked the power to make their decisions effective.
+
+As it was impossible to set up a separate judicial establishment at
+each treaty port where there was but a handful of residents, the consuls
+had to continue to perform magisterial duty with all the inconveniences
+attending their double function. Efforts were made by the Home Government
+to minimise these disadvantages by infusing a modicum of legal knowledge
+into the service, for which purpose they offered inducements to consular
+officials who should qualify as barristers. Notwithstanding all this,
+however, the simple fact that a consul is bound in his administrative
+capacity to take a part in matters which may afterwards come before him as
+a judge perpetuates an element of incongruity demanding an uncommon degree
+of tact on the part of the official. Some of the worst consequences to be
+apprehended from this state of things are partially obviated by the judge
+or assistant judge of the Supreme Court going on circuit, when important
+cases in the consular districts require it; but that expedient is only
+possible at rare intervals.
+
+The wisdom with which the Supreme Court has been directed is attested
+by the absence of incident in its history, and by the universal tacit
+approval of its proceedings. Its success, indeed, soon came to be accepted
+so much as a matter of course that the true source of it was forgotten.
+It was, however, recalled vividly to the public memory by a certain
+retrograde movement. After a quarter of a century of satisfactory working
+her Majesty's Government took a step which was equivalent to pulling out
+the corner-stone of the edifice--the absolute independence of the bench.
+In order to effect an economy in salaries, it was ordained that the two
+incompatible offices--the judicial and political--should be merged into
+one, making the chief judge consul-general, and the assistant judge consul
+for Shanghai. By this move the judges became subordinate to the Legation
+in Peking, and the Supreme Court itself was subjected to all the evils of
+the dual function under which the consuls had been labouring. Thanks to
+the exceptional qualities of the holders of the double office, no glaring
+scandal arose out of the unnatural combination; but the protests of the
+community, and of the incumbent of the two offices himself, were strong
+enough to induce the Foreign Office, after a few years' trial, to retrace
+their false step and restore the judge to his independence.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The twenty consular establishments in China on which the Select Committee
+of the House of Commons reported in 1872 were manned by forty "effectives
+on duty," besides a considerable contingent on furlough. The ten posts
+subsequently created employ on an average twenty more. Two complete
+generations of officials have passed through the consular mill in fifty
+years, which may be moderately reckoned at two hundred men, all of them
+selected by a competitive examination only one degree less stringent
+than that for the Indian Civil Service, and nearly all of them men
+of varied accomplishments. They have been placed in every part of the
+wide empire of China, and during their career have been shifted about
+so that every one has had chances of interesting himself in localities
+strongly contrasted with each other, both as regards official labour
+and personal recreation and study. From a body of highly educated men
+so situated, it was naturally to be expected that much enlightenment
+would be obtained concerning China and its people, and considerable
+progress made in the promotion of amiable intercourse between them and
+foreigners. These expectations have not been disappointed. In the period
+immediately following the peace of 1860 remarkable activity was shown
+by British consular officers. The names of Meadows, Markham, Alabaster,
+Oxenham, recall many exploits of exploration in the interior during
+very troublous times. Swinhoe, Baber, Hosie, Bourne, Spence, Davenport,
+Parker, have continued the work and greatly extended its area. Others
+have distinguished themselves in the held of literary research, and
+some have found their appropriate reward in honourable appointments in
+English universities. On the whole, there has been lack of neither energy
+nor capacity in the British consular service; and yet it is a matter of
+common remark, even by its members themselves, that in their primary duty
+of promoting and defending the interests of British commerce they have
+been unsuccessful. Treaty rights, they admit, have not been safeguarded
+at the Chinese ports, and this in spite of every apparent incentive to
+exertion in their defence. A distinction, however, must be drawn between
+an apparent incentive which is general and remote, such as the patriotic
+desire for the advancement of their country's interests, and those
+influences which are nearer and more personal. The attitude of the China
+consuls can only be fairly estimated in its relation to that of their
+chief, and his again in relation to that of the Home Government. "Like
+master, like man," is an adage which fits the case, and it is to Peking
+and to London we must look for the key to the character of the consular
+rank and file.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The British Ministers at Peking have been selected without any fixed
+rule. The first of the series was taken from the diplomatic circle. The
+succeeding three, whose term of office covered a period of twenty years,
+were chosen from among the veterans of the consular service. The next
+two were taken from the junior ranks of diplomacy, and the seventh was a
+military officer from Africa. The appointment of Sir Robert Hart in 1885,
+which was cancelled by his wish, afforded further illustration of the
+extreme catholicity of the Government's elective faculty.
+
+The witnesses examined before the Select Committee of the House of
+Commons in 1872 were unanimous in insisting on the necessity for long and
+special training for the office of consul in China, and this principle
+has been strictly followed by the Government. But for the higher post of
+superintendent of all the consuls the Government has, at least since 1885,
+acted on the theory that no such qualification is necessary. But the task
+of a Minister to China is by no means an easy one. It may be left undone,
+or it may be done so badly that it were better not to be done at all, but
+to discharge the duties of the office in a creditable manner requires not
+only high training but large capacity. The Minister has to conduct his
+own diplomatic duties in the capital, in which not the Chinese alone but
+all or nearly all his foreign colleagues are openly or secretly thwarting
+him. He has at the same time to direct the proceedings of twenty or thirty
+officers placed at great distances, whom he has never seen, and every one
+of whom is superior to himself in the knowledge of the conditions to be
+dealt with. For such a duty it is obvious that an officer sent from Europe
+must be incompetent, the circumstances of the service in China differing
+essentially from those prevailing elsewhere. The new incumbent, unless
+he were a born genius, could never get beyond the elementary lessons of
+experience before, overtaken by promotion, he shakes the Chinese dust off
+his feet for ever. Much might of course be learned by personal observation
+at the consular ports and conference with local officials and people in
+the provinces, but it is somewhat singular that this obvious source of
+intelligence has been taken advantage of almost exclusively by those of
+the British Ministers who stood the least in need of it. Indeed the only
+one of them who made it a rule to visit the treaty ports at intervals
+was Sir Rutherford Alcock, whose long experience convinced him of the
+necessity of constantly refreshing and extending his knowledge of local
+circumstances and people.
+
+A service dispersed over such a large area as the Chinese empire, carried
+on by despatches between parties who were strangers to each other, and
+one of whom at least had no personal knowledge of the subjects treated,
+must have been characterised by an absence of reality, and must have
+tended more and more towards a perfunctory routine. For this, however,
+the system of appointing Ministers who were strangers to the country
+was not wholly responsible. Long before the Ministers were so selected
+the secretaries began to be sent from European schools, and thus the
+consular service, disheartened by inadequate pay and a constant menace
+of further diminution, saw the few prizes of their profession withdrawn
+from their reach. To serve his time quietly, therefore, to earn his
+pension and retire without a stain on his character, became more or less
+the consular ideal. Ambition was starved among those who had to bear
+the burden and heat of a thirty years' residence in China, when they saw
+good posts thrown away upon men imported for two or three years, who were
+almost useless, and who themselves deplored their enforced idleness. The
+disadvantages attending these exotic importations have been often insisted
+upon. An old member of the consul staff comments upon it in the following
+practical manner:--
+
+    In every country administered by the British Crown, or at
+    every Court at which there is a British representative, the
+    administrator or envoy has from the moment of his entering
+    on the duties of his office the assistance of an experienced
+    staff, well versed in the local history and traditions, or finds
+    himself in the midst of a society the language and usages of
+    which are familiar to him. In China, where we have been fighting
+    and negotiating for over fifty years, we are not so fortunate.
+    A Minister proceeds there, and on his arrival finds himself in
+    a new and to him unknown country, the staff which he may bring
+    with him being like himself utterly unacquainted with the East
+    and its peoples. The Minister is obliged either to grope his way
+    unassisted, or to rely on the aids and advice of experienced (but
+    not always disinterested) outsiders. Under these circumstances his
+    only wise course is to put himself entirely in the hands of the
+    permanent local staff, which, for this purpose, means the Chinese
+    Secretary. That officer, the real motive force of the Legation,
+    occupies a position of greater importance than that of the nominal
+    head of the mission, but, with an irony which is not uncommon in
+    Government administration, he is the least appreciated member of
+    the staff. His salary is that of the junior ranks in the consular
+    service, and yet it is to him that the seniors in that service
+    look for instructions which he is incompetent to give them: the
+    result may be imagined. Why should these things be? The Indian
+    Government has in its service many men of brilliant attainments,
+    and of knowledge gained in long years of service in the East,
+    who might be called upon to fill the post of Minister which would
+    be suitable and congenial to them. And there is an abundance of
+    choice of junior Legation officers in the well-trained consular
+    service. Would it not be very advantageous if the working hands in
+    the Legation were chosen from the most competent Chinese scholars
+    in the consular service?
+
+Considering their initial qualifications, their social standing, and their
+great opportunities, it must be admitted that the men of distinction
+who have emerged from the consular service during the last fifty years
+seems disproportionately small. It is perhaps invidious to mention
+names in this connection, but in response to inquiries addressed to
+veterans in the service, four men only are placed in the first rank as
+the best representatives of the consular training school. These are Sir
+Harry Parkes, Mr T. T. Meadows, Mr H. N. Lay, and Mr W. F. Mayers. Sir
+Robert Hart, it should be mentioned, left the service so early, and Sir
+Rutherford Alcock joined it so late, in life, that their distinguished
+careers can scarcely be claimed as the product of the consular nursery.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It is impossible to look back over the forty years which have elapsed
+since the new relations were established in China without being struck
+by a certain change which passed over the character of the diplomatic
+and consular services between the first decade of that period and the
+second. The anxious years of the rebellion evoked much active energy on
+the part of British officials. The serious opposition to the operation
+of the treaties was met by very vigorous action on the part of the
+consuls at the ports and of the Minister at the capital. The years 1868
+and 1869 may be considered to have marked the culminating-point of the
+British official effort to enforce observance of the treaties in letter
+and spirit, and to protect all commercial interests. The change which
+came over the diplomatic and consular services at the end of the first
+decade of diplomatic relations may be likened to the rising followed by
+the receding of a tide. Up till the years we have specified, whatever the
+difficulties which beset their office, the consuls showed earnestness in
+the defence of the interests confided to them, and acted on the conviction
+that their exertions were pleasing to those who were set in authority
+over them. Their sense of duty was sustained by the hope of distinction.
+After 1869 the discovery was made that the situation had been undergoing
+a change of which the service had been unaware. What was formerly deemed
+a merit had become a demerit in consular officers, and on this discovery
+zeal naturally fell to a discount. It was but a reflex of the change that
+had crept over the spirit of the British Foreign Office, a change which
+also had escaped notice until circumstances forced it into publicity.
+This seems to have originated with the removal from the scene of Lord
+Palmerston, the statesman who for forty years had stood in a general way
+for what was manly and straightforward in the British national character.
+Though he left a tried and trusted colleague, Lord Clarendon, in charge of
+the Foreign Office, and a sturdy permanent Under-Secretary, perhaps the
+last custodian of the Palmerstonian tradition, and who remained at his
+post for five years longer, yet it was made evident by results that the
+spirit which had animated that great department of State had vanished.
+The Foreign Office became nerveless and invertebrate, sentimental
+and unstable. Those who had to do with it in the time of Palmerston,
+Layard, and Hammond know that since their time the officials bearing
+the same titles have been of quite another calibre, have been swayed
+by different influences, and above all have exhibited no such knowledge
+of the affairs with which they had to deal as their predecessors of the
+Palmerstonian era. Many explanations may be given for the new departure
+without disparagement of the capacities of the individuals concerned.
+Such explanations interest those who may desire to promote reform in the
+constitution and the inspiration of the Foreign Office. It suffices us
+merely to note the fact by way of accounting for some of the shortcomings
+which have been laid to the charge of our representation in China. We
+have seen how easily one Foreign Secretary yielded to the meretricious
+solicitations of the envoy Burlingame, and how another allowed himself
+to be cajoled by the Marquis Tseng. After these, and sundry other such,
+exhibitions it was impossible for any Minister serving the country in
+the Far East to place the old reliance on the support of his Government.
+With John Bright, the implacable opponent of Palmerston and his works,
+installed at the Board of Trade, whose word was law on such matters
+as Chinese commercial treaties, and apparently more anxious to undo
+the work of Palmerston than to promote a trade which both he and his
+department unaffectedly despised, it was not likely that the commercial
+communities trading with China should cherish any hope of redress of
+grievances from a Government whose face seemed set against them. Apathy,
+therefore, became the principle, to keep the peace at all sacrifices the
+avowed policy of British diplomacy in China. The apparent exception to
+this rule in the attempted reclamations in connection with the Margary
+murder in 1875 afforded in its abortive ending a new corroboration of
+the rule. The diplomatic and consular establishments went on grinding out
+routine despatches and publishing statistical reports, but with the tacit
+understanding that whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Under
+such conditions it was of little consequence how the Peking representation
+might be filled, since it has not for thirty years risen above the level
+of comedy, the term applied to it by those who have grown old in its
+service.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Such was the situation of affairs when the greatest crisis in the history
+of China, or of foreign relations with that country, was sprung upon
+the world in 1894. A Legation equal only to clerical routine suddenly
+called upon to play a part in a commotion which unhinged the policy of
+the world was totally inadequate to the strain, and as a consequence of
+the impotence of the Foreign Office and its agent in China, the interests
+of Great Britain and, what was only second in importance, the interests
+of the Chinese empire were allowed to go by default. The Chinese were,
+and perhaps even still remain, unconscious of the reasons of the collapse
+of their empire. Perhaps something of the same kind might be said of
+the British Foreign Office in regard to the interests of Great Britain
+in China. Certainly there is as yet little sign of a determination to
+reform the mechanism of the country's representation, and this, perhaps,
+because the preliminary step thereto would be the reform of the Foreign
+Office itself. And so the Legation goes on under the nominal headship
+of a Minister who must be guided entirely by his Chinese Secretary, an
+official of inferior rank and position to the body of consuls whom he has
+to control, and for whose authority they can never have genuine respect.
+
+The recent upheaval has offered many new opportunities of distinction for
+the consuls, especially in the interior of China. That these openings
+have infused new life into the consular ranks has been shown in many
+ways during the last few years; and if natural selection be allowed to
+operate freely and the best men be not discouraged in their efforts for
+their country's benefit by undue interferences from Peking, where there is
+neither knowledge nor capacity to guide them, it is still possible that
+the consular service may play a valuable part in the reconstruction of
+the foreign relations of China.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+CHINA AND HER RULERS.
+
+    Longevity of the State--Government by prestige--Necessity
+    of adaptation to European ideas--The Empress-dowager--Prince
+    Kung--Wensiang--Hu Lin-yi--Tseng Kwo-fan--Tso Tsung-tang--Chang
+    Chih-tung--Li Hung-chang--His long and consistent career--Efforts
+    at reorganising national forces.
+
+
+The long continuance of a State more populous than any other on record is
+a phenomenon which to thoughtful minds can hardly fail to evoke a feeling
+akin to reverence. De Quincey declared if he met a Chinaman he would
+make obeisance to him, saying, "There goes a man 2000 years old." Be the
+causes of this national longevity what they may, the fact should make us
+pause to consider on what foundation does this great vital national system
+rest? The most realistic word-painter of China represents the country as
+a collection of villages, each being a unit of self-government,[29] and
+in describing "village life" in minute detail, seems to depict the great
+empire, of which each village is a pattern in miniature. Dynasties may
+come and dynasties may go, but the Chinese families, their industries
+and their customs, go on for ever. It is remarkable with what ease the
+people adapt themselves to changes in their ruling powers, regardless
+of race or origin; indeed it is a noteworthy fact that the rulers have
+for many centuries been more often foreign than native.[30] Foreign,
+however, not quite in the sense in which the word is so easily translated
+"barbarian" by the Chinese, and applied by them to the hated Aryans of
+the West. The rulers of China have been of cognate races, more or less
+imbued with the same generic ideas as the Chinese themselves, and with
+tastes akin to theirs. How this succession of dynasties, each established
+by violence, has coexisted with the continuity of the grand national
+idea of the emperor being the Son of Heaven can only be explained by the
+very practical character of the race, who accept the usurper as divinely
+appointed from the moment he has proved himself successful. What holds,
+and has held together from ancient times, this great aggregate of mankind
+in common usages and ideas is naturally a mystery to Occidentals, the
+cohesive principle not being perceptible to them. China occupies the
+unique position of a State resting on moral force,[31] a conception almost
+as alien to the Western mind as material progress is to the Eastern, hence
+the proposition is apt to be received with amused contempt. Yet a State
+administered without police, and ruled without an army, is a something
+which cannot be explained away. Government by prestige is, other things
+being equal, surely the most economical as well as the most humane of all
+species of government; but an obvious consequence is that in emergencies
+the Government is beholden to volunteers, and is often driven to enlist
+the services of banditti and other forces proscribed by the law. Imperial
+prestige, which embraces the relations of the surrounding tributaries,
+is but an expansion of the authority of the head of the family and of
+the elders of the village, which rests on moral sanction only. The first
+collision, however, with the material forces of Christendom proved that
+in the system of the modern world the Chinese principle of government
+was an anachronism, and that moral must succumb to physical force. Yet
+in the midst of the world's triumph in the pricking of the great Chinese
+bubble, it had been well to reflect what the kind of bubble was that was
+being pricked. China with her self-contained, self-secreted knowledge,
+could not be expected to foresee how the impact of the West was likely to
+affect her ancient polity. She had nothing wherewith to compare herself,
+and no criterion of good or evil except her own isolated experience; nor
+did she know aught of human development except what was, so to speak,
+forcibly injected into her, but never assimilated. What, then, could she
+do to be saved but to take herself entirely to pieces like a house that
+has to be rebuilt on a new plan, and so fit herself for the companionship
+and competition of the worldly Powers, from whose pressure she could by
+no means escape? She had to put away the wisdom of ages, the traditions
+of a civilisation unbroken for thousands of years, and convert herself
+into a mechanical, scientific, and military Power. Something more radical
+than reform is involved in such a root-and-branch change: it was not
+improvement but transformation that was demanded.
+
+That some such essential changes are necessary to the preservation of
+the Chinese empire is probably recognised by all who interest themselves
+in the subject--including a large ever-increasing number of the Chinese
+themselves; but the gravity of the revolution may well cause misgivings
+both as to its possibility and its incalculable effects. Who among the
+Chinese rulers is sufficient for such things?
+
+It is not always possible to locate the nervous centre of any Government
+in the West, whether its form be autocratic or representative. With
+regard to that of China we may safely say it is never possible--at
+least for any foreigner. The attempts which have been from time to time
+made to assign acts of Government to the will or influence of certain
+individuals have in general proved in the sequel to have been far from
+hitting the mark. The monarch under whose authority the whole machine
+moves is not necessarily the directing will: indeed he is very often
+little better than a puppet. "The eunuchs, concubines, and play-actors,
+who constituted the Court of the late Emperor Hsien-feng, the father of
+the present young emperor, had more influence probably in bringing on
+the war that led the Allies to Peking than any of the high officers or
+Ministers," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock in 1871. Another writer put it in
+a more paradoxical form: "There is in China something more powerful than
+the Emperor, and that is the Viceroy; more powerful than the Viceroy,
+and that is the Taotai; more powerful than the Taotai, and that is the
+Weiyuen," meaning that the power of obstruction, extending through every
+grade of officialdom, is most widely diffused at the base. Official
+responsibility and moral responsibility do not therefore coincide--men
+in highest positions being unable to do the things they would, while the
+things they would not they are often obliged to do. The Government is
+consequently carried on by continual compromise beyond the limits to which
+we are accustomed in Western Governments, because it is not confronted
+with outspoken opposition with which it can reason, but with a network
+of secret machinations which can only be met by correlative tactics. But
+though Government in China may seem by this state of things to be reduced
+to an almost passive condition, yet the individuality of statesmen is
+not altogether destroyed. In some respects, indeed, the circumstances
+we have noted rather favour the influence of men of mark; for where the
+complicated machine is held in a state of equilibrium by innumerable
+neutralising checks, it would appear that any determined will could set
+it in motion in a given direction. The character of Chinese statesmen,
+therefore, is not a factor to be ignored in considering either the present
+or the future of China, although the very partial knowledge of them which
+is accessible to Europeans must constantly lead to erroneous conclusions.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Of the statesmen who have appeared since the opening of Peking in 1860,
+it would probably be fair to consider the two emperors as negligible
+quantities. The potent personage in the empire during that period is
+no doubt the Empress-dowager, who has, in so far as any one can be
+said to have done so, ruled China for forty years. Apart from ethical
+considerations, which have less to do with matters of government than
+could be wished, the empress's characteristics are clearness of purpose,
+strength of will, a ready accommodation of means to ends, and frank
+acceptance of the inevitable. There are no signs of the bigot or the
+doctrinaire about her. Mundane in her objects, she is practical in seeking
+them; and if to hold an entirely anomalous position of authority opposed
+to legitimacy and the traditions of the dynasty and the empire be evidence
+of success, then the empress-dowager must be admitted to be a successful
+woman. In the position she has occupied, and still occupies, she would
+appear to be the principal force in the State. Whatever may be her power
+of initiative, which is so attenuated in the high State functionaries,
+her power of veto probably stands pre-eminent.
+
+The anomalous relations which have subsisted between the empress-dowager
+and her imperial nephew are too intricate for us to attempt to unravel
+them. But the facts resulting from them, which are patent to the world,
+point to conditions which are not without danger to the empire. Indeed
+the Emperor himself constituted such a danger from the moment when as
+an infant he was placed on the Dragon Throne by usurped authority. His
+personal imperfections added materially to that danger, and his final
+efforts to free himself from the leading-strings of his patroness have
+indefinitely enhanced the evil by destroying the personal prestige
+of the sovereign. For what can be thought of a Son of Heaven who has
+his prerogatives doled out to him and again withdrawn by the will of
+another, and where is the force to meet the crisis in the State which
+may yet result from the illegitimacy of the emperors succession? The
+worship accorded throughout the empire to the Son of Heaven may indeed be
+transferred unimpaired to a new possessor of that dignity. But a reigning
+emperor shorn of his governing faculty must, one would think, put the
+allegiance of the people to a severe strain. How far such considerations
+may go in weakening the ties of loyalty in the provinces and in letting
+loose the spectre of rebellion cannot be known, but it may be guessed and
+feared.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Leaving out the Camarilla of the Court, of whom nothing certain can
+be predicated, the executive statesmen who have to outward appearance
+directed the public affairs of the Chinese empire for forty years may
+almost be counted on the fingers of one hand. Prince Kung, the highest in
+station and nearest to the throne, was rather a moderating than an active
+force in the State, and his attention was very much divided between public
+affairs and those of more personal concern. His colleague, Wensiang, was a
+more energetic character. By common consent he was the most conscientious
+as well as the most liberal-minded statesman that China has produced
+during the sixty years of foreign intercourse. Mr Adkins, who knew him
+intimately in the early days, says: "He was courteous in manner and a
+lively conversationalist. He once told me over the teacups that, if he
+could have his will, every brick and stone of Hongkong city should be torn
+down and thrown into the sea." This was not the kind of language he held
+at a later period; for, in a private interview with Sir Rutherford Alcock
+in 1869, while admitting the hostility of his class and that he himself
+had originally shared all their prejudices, he declared that his long and
+intimate relations with the foreign Legations had opened his eyes to the
+favourable side of the foreign character and progressive policy. Perhaps
+the best account of this Manchu statesman is that given by Sir Rutherford
+Alcock himself in an article in 'Fraser's Magazine,' 1871:--
+
+    Wensiang is by far the most distinguished, both from his superior
+    knowledge and his intellectual grasp of the position occupied
+    by China in its relations with foreign States.... As a member of
+    the Grand Secretariat, and vested with other high functions, his
+    influence is very great, both personal and official--subject,
+    nevertheless, to such attenuation as the active hostility of a
+    very powerful party of anti-foreign functionaries within and
+    without the palace can effect. This party, if party that can
+    properly be called which is composed of nearly the whole of
+    the educated classes of the empire--officials, literati, and
+    gentry--are unceasing in their opposition to all progressive
+    measures, whether emanating from the Foreign Board or elsewhere.
+    But Wensiang is held in especial hatred as the known advocate of a
+    policy of progressive improvement with foreign aid and appliances.
+    The failure of the Lay-Osborn fleet very nearly effected his ruin,
+    and that of his patron the prince [Kung] also, and has ever since
+    told against his influence. The cost and humiliation of that most
+    disastrous experiment were all visited on his head, and it has no
+    doubt tended not solely to impair his power, but also to render
+    him more timid and less disposed to make any further venture in
+    the same direction. He has the reputation among his own people of
+    being honest, and foreigners know him to be patriotic and earnest
+    in what he believes to be for the good of his country, while
+    far in advance of all his contemporaries in enlightened views
+    as to how in the actual situation of affairs that end may best
+    be served. Upon occasions he can be both bitter and sarcastic,
+    and speaks out his mind plainly enough against the pretensions
+    of foreigners to shape everything to their own ends in China. He
+    nevertheless gets little credit from the opposite faction for
+    patriotism or a disinterested love of his country, and of late
+    there has been remarked, with failing health, an expression of
+    weariness, as if he were losing heart and hope, and began to feel
+    unequal to any further struggle. With the ever-increasing demands
+    for better execution of treaties--in things often materially and
+    legally impossible in the present state of affairs, for larger
+    facilities and increased privileges on the foreign side, and
+    the gathering of hostile elements in front and all round him
+    proceeding from the Chinese national party, who would refuse
+    everything, and, if left to themselves, precipitate the country
+    into another war with the Western Powers, he may well feel weary.
+
+Wensiang, in short, suffered the fate of those who are too liberal and
+too far advanced for their surroundings, and became a martyr to his own
+disappointment. Old before his time, and overwhelmed with difficulties
+which he was unable to surmount, his mind became depressed, and his death
+in 1876 cost China the ablest, the best, and most devoted of her public
+men. No doubt there have been good and well-meaning men since his time,
+both in the Tsungli-Yamen, the Great Council, and in the provincial
+governments; but none of them has shown any quality of leadership, and
+all have for the most part been content with the maxim, "Sufficient for
+the day is the evil thereof."
+
+The comparatively early death of Hu Lin-yi, a Hunanese, Governor of the
+province of Hupei, who, in conjunction with Kuanwen, the Governor-General
+of the Hu provinces, originated the scheme for repressing the Taiping
+rebellion, prevented him from receiving the credit of that notable
+achievement. The institutions of the country paralysed its defence, for
+a provincial army was an object of dread to the Manchu rulers, while they
+possessed no imperial organisation to cope with the calamity. No attempt,
+therefore, could be made to organise a force to resist the rebellion,
+and so the devastation was allowed to spread from province to province
+without check. Hu Lin-yi set himself to overcome this difficulty, and
+thought out a scheme by which the rebellion might be overcome. Before
+taking any action, however, it was necessary that he should bring the
+Peking Government to his views, which he accomplished by first converting
+the Governor-General, who was a Manchu. The two thereupon joined in a
+memorial to the throne, praying that they might be permitted to raise in
+the Central Provinces a mobile military force to repel the invasion of
+the insurgents.
+
+The nucleus of this force already existed in the province of Hunan, where
+volunteer levies under the leadership of Tseng Kwo-fan, the father of the
+late Marquis Tseng, Minister to Great Britain, had done good service in
+several small engagements with the rebels. The execution of the general
+scheme of defence against the rebels fell naturally, therefore, to the
+lot of Tseng, who during his subsequent governor-generalship of the Lower
+Yangtze had the honour of putting an end to the ravages of the Taipings.
+No man was held in higher esteem among the counsellors of the Chinese
+empire than this sagacious statesman. At once moderate and resolute, he
+perceived the need of accommodation to the exigencies of the new time, and
+though he would have resisted the ingress of foreigners to the uttermost,
+he had the wisdom to see that this was no longer possible, and the advice
+tendered to his sovereign, while tempered to the susceptibilities of the
+Court, was distinctly in favour of respecting the treaties and avoiding
+conflict with foreign nations.
+
+A contemporary of Tseng Kwo-fan, and his equal in rank and authority,
+was Tso Tsung-tang, best known as the Conqueror of Kashgar, where he was
+credited with military exploits which history will scarcely ratify. He
+was a thoroughgoing man, blunt in manner, but straightforward, and loyal
+to his engagements. He was somewhat rash and uncompromising, seeking the
+end sometimes without considering the means, and his opinion on matters of
+State would have carried no weight but for his reputation for exemption
+from the prevailing vice of his class--financial corruption. This
+character obtained him toleration for many originalities. On one occasion
+he camped outside the walls of Peking for several days because he refused
+to pay the customary exactions of the officials in charge of the gates,
+so that his audience of the emperor seemed likely to be indefinitely
+postponed. But high officials in China of austere views have usually a
+man of business in attendance who oils the wheels while saving the face
+of their master. Tso's money matters were in the hands of a very politic
+gentleman of this class, and so the Grand Secretary's entry into the city
+was duly arranged. Tso had a lofty idea of the dignity of his country,
+and of the necessity for its defending itself against all enemies.
+To this end he threw his energies into the development of the arsenal
+and shipbuilding-yard at the Pagoda anchorage in the Foochow river. He
+was generally considered an opponent of his younger contemporary, Li
+Hung-chang, the one being held to stand for the old conservatism of China,
+and the other for its liberalisation. They were for many years the two
+chief provincials, the one being Imperial Commissioner for the southern
+and the other for the northern ports of China. It was customary for the
+emperor to refer important questions connected with foreign affairs to
+these two advisers, whose opinions must very often have neutralised each
+other. In the end Tso recognised the necessity for a change of policy for
+the preservation of the empire, but being himself too old to change he
+recommended his rival, Li Hung-chang, to the Throne as the fitting man to
+introduce needed innovations. If the records are to be implicitly trusted
+Tso would appear to have undergone a sort of death-bed repentance, for
+in his political testament, a document which is regarded with a kind of
+sacred authority in China, he recommended to the throne the improvements
+he had steadfastly opposed, including even the introduction of railways
+into the country.
+
+Although out of the chronological order, we may mention here another
+eminent official, distinguished by many of the characteristics of
+Tso Tsung-tang, who has been Governor of the province of Shansi,
+Governor-General of the Canton provinces, and is now Governor-General of
+the central provinces. Wherever he has been, Chang Chih-tung has proved
+himself bold and original. His open mind has led him to take up schemes
+warmly without counting the cost, and under his inspiration immense sums
+have been spent in both his viceroyalties for which but little return
+was obtained, and of which indeed it was scarcely possible to render a
+clear account. His reputation for purity, however, has saved him from
+the consequences of his recklessness, both in the eyes of the people and
+of the Government, and enabled him to hold office long enough to show
+some results of his expensive enterprises. The great ironworks which he
+set up in Hanyang, with very little consideration as to how they were to
+become effective, have at last produced iron of a quality sufficient to
+make inferior rails, thus giving an earnest of the ultimate realisation
+of his dream of rendering China independent of foreign countries. Chang's
+literary power is of a very high order, his style is terse and incisive,
+and this is a weapon which renders him formidable in a country which
+cultivates literature as a religion. To say that Chang Chih-tung is
+the opponent of foreigners is merely to credit him with the ordinary
+patriotism of his countrymen. But though he often treats strangers with
+the studied discourtesy which characterised the older generation of
+Chinese officials, he has never allowed his prejudices to stand in the
+way of free intercourse with any foreigner whom he thought he could make
+subservient to some purpose of his own. As a statesman Chang Chih-tung has
+failed through intensity and want of comprehensiveness. In fact he is not
+a statesman, but a sciolist, and a trenchant essayist, unaccustomed to
+accommodate his ideas to the circumstances of actual life. He, too, has
+been a bitter opponent of Li Hung-chang, which, however, did not hinder
+him from composing a most fulsome panegyric on that statesman on the
+occasion of his seventieth birthday, in which he was credited with all
+the attributes of all the heroes of Chinese mythology. The many fantastic
+schemes which Chang has originated would in any Western country have
+relegated their author to the custody of the Commissioners of Lunacy.
+One of these was to prevent foreign ships entering the Gulf of Pecheli
+by sinking tiers of junks between Shantung and Talien-wan; another was
+to catch the Japanese soldiers in a gigantic locust-trap, consisting of a
+deep trench to be dug at their supposed landing-place near Shanhai-kwan,
+and the fact of this proposal being seriously adopted and some miles
+of the trench actually dug by the Chinese soldiers reveals more of the
+military impotence of China than the most voluminous dissertations.
+
+Without carrying the exhaustive process further, it is safe to say that
+whatever concrete statesmanship there has been in China during the past
+generation has been embodied in the person of Li Hung-chang. He alone has
+a continuous record, has followed a definite line, and kept his ideals,
+like a captive balloon, strictly attached to the earth on which he had
+to work. He also was a literate of distinction, having taken the highest
+degree, that of the Hanlin College. But though his literary tastes have
+not been left wholly uncultivated, they have never intruded themselves
+into his conduct of affairs, so that an estimate of his position cannot
+be based upon his writings, but only on his actions. He indulged in no
+speculations, propounded no theories, but was eminently a man of fact.
+Contrary to all Chinese tradition he laid himself out for personal
+intercourse with foreigners, from whom he was never weary of learning, and
+in doing so he braved the odium of his peers, and incurred the charge of
+treason as a truckler to barbarians. Living in the eyes of the world, both
+of his own and foreign countries, for a period of nearly forty years, he
+has been the one familiar figure in modern China. His accessibility has
+afforded to travellers and visitors endless opportunities of delineation,
+so that if ever a Chinese of rank was known throughout the world it must
+be Li Hung-chang.
+
+The interest attaching to this statesman consists in his having in his
+own person, and without a party, stood between the Old World and the
+New, having devoted his life to working out in practice a _modus vivendi_
+between them. His methods have been wholly empirical and opportunist, and
+hence no synthesis of his plan of operations is available, except such as
+we may compose out of the facts themselves. A few cardinal principles,
+nevertheless, stand out clearly in the life-work of this statesman. One
+is that of reorganising the defensive forces of the empire in accordance
+with the lessons learned from foreign raids; a second has been so to
+observe the treaties made with foreigners as to afford them no ground
+for complaint; and a third, when causes of difference arose, whether
+by inadvertence or by design, to agree with the adversary quickly. The
+following out of the first two might very well have entailed upon Li the
+reproach of favouring foreigners; the following out of the third may with
+greater justice have earned for him the character of a peace-at-any-price
+man. So consistently did he follow the line of action dictated by these
+principles, that no attacks on foreigners or on Christian missions have
+ever been tolerated within his jurisdiction. During the twenty-four years
+of his governor-generalship of Chihli, whose population is one of the most
+turbulent in the empire, there was not a single missionary outrage, his
+instructions to his district officials being peremptory, that, right or
+wrong, they must have no questions with foreigners. Had the other viceroys
+been similarly minded and equally resolute, no attacks on missionaries
+would have been recorded throughout the Chinese Empire. Though Li
+Hung-chang was as much anti-foreign at heart as every true Chinaman
+must be, he endeavoured, crudely following the example of the Japanese,
+to employ foreign men and appliances in order the more effectually to
+resist them. His pacific tendencies were no proof of pusillanimity, but
+rather of a deep consciousness, derived from personal experience, of the
+incapacity of China to resist foreign attack. Li Hung-chang's external
+policy, therefore, may be defined as the strengthening of the country to
+meet invasion, and the avoidance, while such preparations were being made,
+of every cause of collision with foreigners. These cardinal points had to
+be kept in view, like guiding stars, amid the exigencies of daily affairs,
+which alone were sufficient to fill up the measure of one man's capacity.
+The administration of two populous provinces, the superintendency of the
+maritime trade of half the empire, and incessant consultations concerning
+imperial affairs generally, constituted a burden which no one man could
+bear. While to these were added the whole details of national defence,
+naval and military reorganisation, the construction of a navy on foreign
+lines, the whole of which was undertaken by Li Hung-chang, working not
+only without a party but practically without a staff, and at the mercy of
+technical advisers who owed him no allegiance. The briefest recapitulation
+of the duties so undertaken would be enough to stagger the credulity of
+the most active administrator of the West; the recital would suffice,
+without any proof from experience, to show that these labours of Hercules
+could never, in fact, be performed. But the difference between performance
+and non-performance marks the chasm which divides the Chinese from the
+Western world, and distinguishes the order of ideas and practice which
+make for the preservation, from those which tend to the disintegration,
+of the Chinese empire itself. The task from which the mass of Chinese
+statesmen have recoiled, and which has only been attempted in a persistent
+manner by Li Hung-chang himself, was probably beyond the power of any man
+and of any party.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+But here the inquiry suggests itself, why a strong-headed and
+practical-minded man should have devoted a lifetime to impossible
+achievements, and why in a nation of great intellects the task should
+have been virtually relegated to one man? The Chinese are not fools;
+their mental capacity is second to that of no other race. Their culture is
+excessive, though narrow; and if we find them exhibiting in great national
+affairs no more intelligence than that shown by children in building
+castles of sand, it is natural to conclude that there is some fundamental
+misconception either on their part or on ours of the problem before them.
+But if we consider the Chinese as belonging to the world of moral force,
+then their misconception of all that belongs to the world of physical
+force is not only explicable, but it is inevitable; for between the two
+there is no common ground on which even a compromise might be effected,
+and the one must eternally misunderstand the other.
+
+The burden of the memorials of the Chinese high functionaries on this
+subject have been that the Middle Kingdom being overcome by the brute
+force of the rebellious barbarians, the obvious way to restore the
+lapsed authority of the empire was to acquire the instruments of foreign
+strength. This they diligently set themselves to do, but apparently
+without the slightest comprehension of the secret of the strength of the
+foreigners. The Chinese being what they were, could no more win the secret
+of the Western power by buying its weapons than a musical tyro could hope
+to rival the greatest artistes by possessing himself of a Stradivarius.
+Guns, ships, explosives of the latest type, are worse than dummies without
+the organised human force that gives them life. The element which would
+have infused vitality into the new organisation was the one thing beyond
+their imagination, and so far as they did comprehend it, it inspired them
+with aversion and awe, for it meant in their eyes delivering the keys of
+power into the hands of strangers. What was needed to regenerate the army,
+to create a navy, to reform the finances, was the liberal importation
+of men. This necessity was no doubt partially perceived by Li Hung-chang
+and his like, but never entirely even by him; for he remained throughout
+the one-eyed man among the blind, groping after something which he could
+only guess at. Teachers from Europe and America were employed in the
+country, and natives were sent to foreign countries to be instructed;
+but the spirit of the new instruction was never allowed to vitalise the
+organisation, and consequently all the knowledge that was acquired by both
+methods remained barren and unfruitful. Thus Li Hung-chang's efforts fell
+short of their object, and China continued to be the land of moral force
+for the iron-shod physical forces to trample on.
+
+From the earliest period of his career Li Hung-chang stood out far in
+advance of his fellows, and in all the troubles which have beset the
+empire during his time, it is he who has been thrust into the breach and
+made to bear the brunt of its misfortunes. Being the only man who did
+anything, he was naturally made responsible for all, and critics, both
+foreign and native, have had an easy task in laying bare his failures,
+which his contemporaries have escaped by confining themselves to official
+routine and playing for their own safety. Though the burden of the State
+has fallen upon the shoulders of Li Hung-chang more than upon any other
+individual, he has never flinched from the responsibility. The occurrences
+of 1894 and subsequently threw him into greater prominence than ever
+before. Forced to carry on the war with Japan, during which the defences
+of the empire for which he was responsible completely broke down, he
+was next also forced to make peace with that Power on very humiliating
+conditions. Seldom was a more pathetic scene witnessed than the virtual
+controller of the Chinese empire lying at the feet of a victorious enemy
+in a foreign country, with the bullet of an assassin in his cheek. More
+tragic still was his return to the capital with the treaty of Shimonoseki.
+An intense feeling against Li had been roused throughout the country. The
+provincial officials with singular unanimity denounced his treachery as
+they considered it, for the treaty was in their eyes no less disgraceful
+than the conduct of the war, for both of which Li alone was deemed
+responsible. The sentiment of the provinces was echoed in Peking, where
+his enemies in high places had almost secured the capital punishment of
+the negotiator, and failing that, his assassination, from which fate he
+was only saved by the veto of Prince Kung and the subsequent protection
+of the empress-dowager. He was also in an important sense under the
+protection of Russia, that Power having undertaken to hold him harmless
+from the consequences of his surrender to the Japanese. In order to take
+him out of the way of the conspiracies in Peking, Russia requested that
+an Imperial prince might be sent to the coronation ceremony in 1896.
+That being impossible by the laws of the empire, which Russia very well
+knew, a substitute of the highest rank had to be found, and thus Li
+Hung-chang was designated, by the approval of the empress-dowager and by
+the consent--reluctant it is believed--of the Emperor, for the mission
+of congratulation to the Czar. After the festivities at Moscow, Li made
+the tour of Europe and the United States, meeting everywhere with a
+distinguished reception.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [29] Village Life in China. By Arthur Smith, D.D.
+
+ [30] An ingenious friend, who was kind enough to read this passage
+    in MS., sent me the following suggestive note: "King Solomon was a
+    thorough Chinaman, crafty, gaining the throne although the fourth
+    and youngest son of his mother; killing off the kingdom-maker,
+    Joab, and murdering the lawful heir, Adonijah. His fondness for
+    pomp and joss pidjin, witness the Queen of Sheba and the Temple;
+    love of trade, his ventures with King Hiram to Ophir. His apathy
+    in military affairs, leading to the breaking up of the empire.
+    His love of sententious maxims, Proverbs. His truly Chinese and
+    non-Hebrew syncretism, worshipping Ashtoreth, Moloch, and Chemosh,
+    as well as Jehovah. Now David, judging by the weak characters of
+    his children, was, like many famous men in history, the reverse of
+    prepotent. Solomon was a son of erewhile widow Bathsheba. Uriah
+    being a Hittite, she was presumably one also. So Solomon would
+    be practically a Hittite--i.e., Mongolian or Tartar; a striking
+    example of the newly-named but long-observed phenomenon called
+    telegony or 'throwing back.' Solomon 'threw back' to the first
+    sire, Uriah."
+
+ [31] "The boasted influence that the Government of China possesses
+    over its subjects is almost entirely _moral_, and they really do
+    not possess the power to cope with a popular tumult, which is the
+    object of their greatest dread."--H. Parkes, at Foochow, May 1,
+    1846, _aet._ seventeen.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+CHINA'S AWAKENING.
+
+    Prestige gained, 1880-90--Yields to Japan in Korea while
+    reasserting full suzerainty--The lessons of adversity--Schemes for
+    naval and military reforms--Purchase and manufacture--Provincial
+    system antagonistic to reform--Li Hung-Chang's efforts--Faithful
+    service of foreign experts--Drill-instructors--Creation of a
+    navy--Coast fortification--Superior efficiency of navy compared
+    with army--Corruption and nepotism--Awakening of China apparent,
+    not real.
+
+
+The service of the navy in the conveyance of troops and of a special
+envoy to Korea in 1882 was the first which that luckless force was able
+to render to China. The service was repeated on two other occasions:
+when a High Commissioner was sent on a mission of imperial condolence
+in 1890, and again when an assassin was rescued from the revenge of
+counter-assassins and conveyed safely from China to Korea in 1894. The
+little kingdom thus played a considerable part in the awakening scenes of
+the suzerain empire.
+
+On a retrospective view, indeed, it would appear that during the period
+in question China passed the culminating-point in her efforts to regain
+national prestige. She had just asserted herself in an unexpected manner
+in her dealings with Russia, playing a very different part in regard to
+her distant and worthless possessions in the north-west from what she
+had done twenty years before in regard to the integral part of her proper
+territories in the north-east, which she had surrendered with scarcely a
+protest. The world began to respect China as a power. Her decisive action
+in Korea showed that she was no longer disposed to permit her neighbours
+to trifle with the question of her suzerainty in that kingdom, and for
+ten years she was pre-eminent there in fact as well as of right. Yet
+with a significant qualification. For, being challenged by Japan while at
+war with France in 1885, she was unable to vindicate her sole supremacy
+in Korea, and was constrained to admit her rival into partnership. Thus
+was the first irrevocable step taken towards the future realisation
+of the Japanese designs on the peninsula. A _condominium_ must ever be
+destructive to the policy of the less energetic member, and the treaty
+concluded between Li Hung-chang and Count Ito in 1885 was the fatal
+prelude to the events of ten years later. As the treaties granting to
+Russia a coequal right of navigating the Amur and a joint ownership of
+the Usuri province constituted the virtual surrender of Chinese rights,
+so any treaty with Japan, no matter on what conditions, respecting Korea,
+was a virtual abdication of the Chinese suzerainty. The right in common
+to send troops into Korea on notice given could have no other effect than
+to deliver up the kingdom to the Power which was the most alert in taking
+advantage of the agreement. In giving up half her rights China retreated
+from an inexpugnable position, and left herself no footing for defending
+the remaining half, when its turn came to be assailed.
+
+But with the irony which is the very pathos of human and national decline,
+the outward pretence to authority became more demonstrative as the
+substance of the claim slipped away. Not for two hundred and fifty years
+had China asserted her prerogative with such uncompromising arrogance
+as when she sent an imperial mission of condolence to the royal Court in
+1890, years after the keystone of her Korean arch had been pulled away. It
+was also about this period that the Chinese Minister to England lent his
+name to a manifesto warning the world of the coming resurrection of China.
+"The sleep and the awakening" strictly followed the law above alluded to,
+that hollowness, not solidity, makes the loudest sound.
+
+But so many interests are now inextricably interwoven with the destinies
+of China that her effort at reform and its failure compel us to give
+attention to the opening of a new chapter in the world's history. The
+humiliating foreign invasions, the three rebellions that shook the
+empire, and the numerous minor risings, had all left their impression.
+The lessons taught by these adversities had been taken to heart, and
+the rulers of the empire were called upon to devise a remedy. The first
+and most obvious desideratum was, of course, naval and military reform,
+or rather regeneration, whereby they might be strengthened to speak
+with their enemies in the gates. On this subject Chinese statesmen were
+absolutely at one with their officious foreign advisers: it was a subject
+which inspired many of the early homilies of the British Minister, if no
+others. There was, however, this essential difference in the conception of
+the means of carrying out the reform, that the foreign advisers of China
+were completely prepossessed by the notion that an imperial executive,
+if it did not exist, must be promptly created, while nothing was further
+from the imagination of the Chinese. They were entirely prepossessed
+by their tradition and the state of things actually existing, which
+they did not dream of changing. That was the provincial system on which
+the administration of the empire rested. The fiasco of the Lay-Osborn
+flotilla, which was the first crude attempt to mix the oil and vinegar
+of the two conflicting systems, revealed the fundamental, irreconcilable
+divergence between the two sets of ideas, which rendered all advice
+from the one side to the other futile, and co-operation impossible. That
+palpable failure of the Central Government was calculated to discourage
+fresh innovations from the same quarter, and the incident was constantly
+referred to by diplomatists as having blighted the promising career of
+Wensiang as a reformer, he being the minister personally responsible for
+the scheme.
+
+The Chinese, nevertheless, proceeded according to their own lights to set
+their house in order in so far as its defensive services were concerned.
+The successful employment of foreign arms and foreign auxiliaries in the
+suppression of the Taiping rebellion showed them the way. It was a natural
+but a fatal error, which the Chinese have not to this day abjured, to
+attach too much importance to the arms, and too little to the man using
+them. They accordingly commenced in a rather wild and wayward manner to
+buy weapons and munitions, and then to set up in their own country the
+means of manufacturing the simpler kinds. The chief promoter, if not the
+originator, of these novelties was Li Hung-chang, who continued to be the
+presiding genius of military and naval reform, no matter in what province
+his official duties happened to lie. The personal authority wielded by
+the Grand Secretary in provinces beyond his own government was really
+a step towards centralisation of the executive, and with time and an
+adequate succession of followers in the same path there is no telling what
+changes in the Government system might not have been evolved from such a
+nucleus. But the one-man power was unequal to any great result; it also
+weakened with age, opposition, and discouragement. The actual reforms
+inaugurated remained strictly provincial, and even local. There was no
+evidence of initiative or supervision from the Central Government. The
+nearest approach to it was the establishment of an arsenal at Tientsin by
+Chunghou, the first superintendent of trade for the northern ports, and a
+member of the imperial clan. It would almost appear as if the Government
+had no concern with the more distant parts of the country, and the strange
+anomaly presented itself to the onlookers of large sums being expended on
+the most modern artillery and in the manufacture of thousands of arms of
+precision while the Peking field force was equipped with bows and arrows.
+
+There came a time at last when the necessity of some kind of
+centralisation was forced on the Government. It was after Prince Kung had
+been sent into retirement in 1884, when his younger brother, the father of
+the emperor, had decided to "come out" and take a part in the executive
+government, and especially after Prince Ch'un had made a short cruise in
+salt water in 1886, that a Naval Board was established in Peking itself
+with the prince at its head. The institution was of course laughed at,
+as the beginnings of things usually are, and its inefficiency was indeed
+glaring enough. It would have taken a generation in slow-moving China for
+such a board to have learned the rudiments of its duties.
+
+What we are at the moment concerned with is the naval and military reform
+of the twenty-five years preceding the advent of Prince Ch'un to power. In
+the purchase of war material no single system was followed. The provincial
+rulers at Canton, Foochow, Nanking, and Tientsin no doubt had to sanction
+what was done within their respective provinces--a check which might be
+perfunctory or conscientious--but practically the management was in the
+hands of subordinate officials without knowledge or training or visible
+responsibility. As in war each Chinese regiment fights for its own hand,
+or runs away as the case may be, so in the supply of arms each local
+official did pretty much what seemed right in his own eyes. Hence the
+heterogeneous composition of _materiel_, one small body of troops carrying
+in a campaign thirteen different patterns of rifle, with ammunition still
+more curiously diversified.
+
+Concerning the arsenals established under the auspices of the various
+governors-general from Canton even to Kirin in Manchuria, and under
+the technical management of foreigners, the most remarkable point to
+be noted--and it applies generally to the employment of foreigners in
+China--is the faithful service the Chinese have been able to command in
+circumstances where it was hardly to be expected. An ignorant employer and
+an expert employee is a combination apt to engender the worst abuses, and
+the way the Chinese selected their foreign executive--a marine engineer
+here, a surgeon of a marching regiment there, a naval lieutenant somewhere
+else--was not the way, one would have thought, to obtain either honesty
+or efficiency. Yet the foreigners selected either possessed or acquired
+adequate qualifications, and one and all rendered devoted service to
+their employers. The position of these foreigners, however, never was or
+could be one of authority: whatever they did was under the orders of their
+Chinese superior, who was often too ignorant to weigh the reasons for what
+was done. In course of time the natives themselves became more instructed,
+but whether their half-knowledge was a help or a hindrance to the work of
+their foreign experts is problematical. Of the quality or quantity of the
+_materiel_ turned out in the various Chinese arsenals it were useless to
+speak. It produced an illusory sense of security, and for a time imposed
+equally on native and foreigner.
+
+Nor was training entirely neglected. Drill-masters were engaged. Schools
+were established in connection with the arsenals, where naval instruction
+especially was carried to a high standard. Students sent to Europe
+proved themselves most apt to assimilate the instruction given to them.
+Of those who distinguished themselves at Greenwich may be mentioned the
+present Minister to the Court of St James's. Cadets were also received
+into the British navy, and some very expert officers were turned out by
+these means. A large number of youths were at one time selected to be
+educated in the United States, remaining there long enough to learn to
+read and write English, and to become enamoured of Western life. This
+educational experiment was interesting in many ways. The youths who were
+sent to America under the care and at the instigation of the Cantonese,
+Yung Wing, who had himself been educated in the United States, were
+domiciled for the most part with private families there; and they so
+imbibed the influence of their surroundings that a high sense of honour
+was developed in them. The writer can speak from personal experience of
+the fidelity and efficiency of some of these students. Captain Clayson,
+who had several serving under him in the "Peiyang Squadron," has said that
+although on their return to China the authorities had distributed them in
+services other than those for which they had been trained, yet because
+of the school discipline they had been subjected to, and the sense of
+honour developed by their contact with Western people, he found them far
+more useful and trustworthy than the men who had been trained in Chinese
+naval schools. This experience seems to suggest that there are good moral
+qualities of the Chinese waiting, like the mineral ores in their country,
+for an awakening influence. In all these progressive efforts Li Hung-chang
+retained the lead, and his own province was well in advance in educational
+enterprises. Besides a military school with German, and a naval school
+with English, instructors, he set up within a mile of his Yamen a fairly
+furnished medical school with a hospital attached. His special corps of
+foreign-drilled troops was the best equipped and best disciplined force
+in the empire.
+
+While all this progress was being made in the direction of military
+efficiency, the naval requirements of the country were not neglected. The
+failure of the undigested Lay-Osborn scheme showed the Chinese that the
+naval problem must be attacked in a different fashion. It was a false
+start, and they must begin again. Accordingly, profiting by what they
+had heard and seen of the efficient service rendered in their narrow
+waters by foreign gunboats, the Chinese Government contracted with the
+Armstrong firm for a small flotilla carrying one heavy gun with a wide
+range of fire. These craft were little more than floating gun-carriages;
+but notwithstanding broad beam and flat bottoms, they were moderately
+sea-worthy. They were known as the Alphabeticals, from being named after
+the Greek letters. This modest flotilla was the nucleus of the Chinese
+navy.
+
+Attempts at naval construction were made at Shanghai, Foochow, and Canton;
+but beyond providing work and training for native artificers, and acting
+occasionally as transports on a small scale, despatch-carriers, and
+official yachts, the vessels turned out from native yards rendered no
+service to the country. The Chinese navy as a potential military arm only
+took shape when Li Hung-chang was able to carry the Government with him so
+far as to purchase effective war-ships in Europe, to institute a system of
+training under competent foreign officers, and to establish naval harbours
+with docks and workshops. Two iron-clad battleships, a respectable
+squadron of cruisers, and some smaller craft, manned by trained crews and
+officered by men who had received a regular naval education and perfectly
+understood their duties, constituted the fighting navy of China. The two
+English officers who supervised the training, Captain Tracy at Foochow
+and Captain Lang in the Gulf of Pechili, were thoroughly satisfied with
+the capacity of both officers and men, and what was distinguished as the
+Peiyang or Northern Squadron was brought up by the latter officer to such
+a state of efficiency that he reckoned that a further two years' drill
+would enable the Chinese to take its place, on a small scale, among the
+best equipped fleets in the world.
+
+And while the navy was developing so satisfactorily, coast fortifications
+also made great progress. The mouths of rivers were all defended by
+the best modern guns; three naval ports in the Gulf of Pechili--Port
+Arthur, Weihai-wei, and Talien-wan--were fortified at great expense,
+and everything externally evinced a determination on the part of China
+to place herself in a position of independence, delivered from the fear
+of foreign attack, except of course by land, and even that had been
+partially provided for, as we have seen, by the military establishments
+in Manchuria.
+
+Between the naval and the military preparations, however, there was an
+immense disparity. The force for which Li Hung-chang was personally
+responsible was carefully drilled, armed, fed, and paid, and, given
+competent leading, would no doubt have rendered a good account of
+itself; but the army as a whole was never brought to a state approaching
+efficiency. The navy, on the other hand, possessed the best ships and the
+best armament that money could buy, with the most modern appliances for
+war, and its _personnel_ was subjected to the most careful discipline.
+The fortress guns were also of the newest and best pattern, and nothing
+was spared, apparently, to fit them for the purpose for which they were
+intended. It was generally conceded that the fortresses so armed were safe
+from attack by sea.
+
+The explanation of the great difference between the organisation of
+the sea and the land forces seems to be that the former, being a new
+creation, was beyond the range of criticism and was unhampered by any
+traditions, while the reform of the army was merely patching a worn-out
+garment. The immemorial conditions of military service were unchanged.
+No army was formed, but a series of local levies raised without cohesion
+or central control. The foreign instructors were kept strictly to their
+class-work, were subordinated to the people whom they had to instruct,
+and possessed no kind of authority. They were allowed to drill the men,
+while the officers for the most part held themselves above the drudgery
+of the parade-ground. The few who had acquired a smattering of military
+education in Europe were as helpless as the foreign drill-masters to move
+their wholly ignorant superiors. Hence abuses of the most grotesque kind
+did not creep but rushed into every camp and every school, reducing the
+scientific teaching to a hollow farce.
+
+The familiar factors of peculation and nepotism had an important influence
+on these naval and military developments in China. Such things are no
+monopoly of the Chinese. If corruption could ruin a State, it would not
+be necessary to look so far afield as China for national disasters. But
+the form which the vice takes in China has a determining effect on the
+administration quite irrespective of the waste of resources and diminution
+of efficiency which are common to corruption in all its forms. Thus if we
+have to reconcile the lavish purchases of material with the attenuation of
+_personnel_, we need only reflect that the former bring large emoluments
+with little labour to the official employed, while the training of men
+involves much work and little profit. Further, if we want an explanation
+of the infinite diversity of the arms which are furnished to the troops,
+we may find it in the excessive competition among officials for a share of
+the traffic, and the interest which the higher authorities have in passing
+without inspection what is purveyed by their subordinates.
+
+Nepotism in China is part and parcel of the family system, which is the
+palladium of the nation. Every military corps raised is essentially
+territorial; and if ever it is moved from one province to another,
+it looks to a territorial chief, and no stranger can command it. Li
+Hung-chang's disciplined troops, if not all of his own clan, were at
+least the natives of his province and spoke his dialect. His subordinate
+officials were blood relations and family adherents. It needs no argument
+to show how such a survival of feudalism militates against national
+organisation. Pure feudalism, indeed, would be less detrimental; for under
+it territorial exclusiveness would at least be balanced by territorial
+responsibility, but under the short-service system of China a governor
+or governor-general may during his three years' term throw everything
+into confusion and half ruin the finances of a province with which he is
+precluded from having any territorial tie, and then proceed to another and
+repeat the performance. The navy, though, as we have said, exempt from the
+incubus of tradition, was nevertheless unable to withstand the pressure of
+immemorial heredity. As the first and principal naval school happened to
+be at Foochow, it was natural that new battleships and cruisers should be
+officered and manned in the first instance by natives of Fukien province.
+The admiral, however, hailed from another province--that of Li Hung-chang.
+Though brave and capable, Admiral Ting was uneducated, and found it
+hard to hold his own among the captains and lieutenants who had been to
+Greenwich and could speak and write English, and some of them French.
+Neither the Chinese admiral nor the English co-admiral--who was led to
+believe he possessed authority, but was deceived--were able to repress
+the intrigues which ran riot among the Foochow officers,--intrigues having
+for their object the complete control of the fleet, the power of keeping
+out and admitting whom they chose without reference to qualifications,
+and the general determination to subordinate the naval service to
+their personal and family advantage. The presence of Captain Lang was a
+hindrance to their schemes, and they intrigued him out. But as the fleet
+belonged to the north, they were unable to exclude northern seamen from
+the country round Weihai-wei, who proved when the day of trial came the
+most intelligent and the staunchest force that China possessed.
+
+The Peiyang Squadron was the nearest approach to an imperial navy that
+China ever possessed, and yet it was so far provincial that it could not
+be sent into the central or southern waters without creating jealousy
+on the part of the local authorities, just as if it had been a foreign
+force. In 1891, when anti-foreign riots in various places on the Yangtze
+threatened to endanger the peace of the empire, the Imperial Government
+allowed foreign ships of war to proceed up the river for the purpose
+of preventing outbreaks rather than offend the susceptibilities of the
+provincial authorities by employing their own naval forces on that duty.
+During that critical period the Peiyang Squadron was cruising in Japanese
+waters while the Great River was being patrolled by foreign gunboats.
+
+These various evidences of martial energy procured for China the credit
+of a real awakening, and ensured her the respect due to a serious Power.
+Yet the unsoundness of the foundation on which her new prestige rested was
+no secret to any one who took the trouble to consider the facts, for all
+the weaknesses we have mentioned, with many more, were notorious to every
+foreign resident in China; nor was there a naval officer of any nation
+who did not regard the fighting value of the Chinese fleet as nothing.
+Ships were good, officers and men in themselves were passable, but without
+organisation, while the whole force was governed by other than militant
+principles. The attempted military reorganisation could, in fact, have no
+vitality except as a branch of a general reform of the administration,
+the keystone of which was fiscal. Of this, however, the Chinese rulers
+seemed to take no heed, contenting themselves with snatching at what
+was superficial and conspicuous to the eye. The Chinese florists in the
+spring-time supply to hawkers shrubs covered with blossom which is so
+cleverly attached by fine wire to the twigs as almost to deceive the
+elect. This is practically what the Chinese Government bad been doing with
+their national defences, so that on the first trial they collapsed like a
+sapless flower. These experiences have an important bearing on the large
+problem of Chinese reform and reorganisation, and indeed on the continued
+existence of the empire.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+THE COLLAPSE.
+
+    China clings to universal sovereignty--Demonstration of same
+    towards Korea--Irritating to Japanese--Their aspirations in
+    Korea--Insurrection in southern districts--Chinese troops sent
+    there--Japanese simultaneously occupy Korean capital--War between
+    China and Japan--China defeated--Causes and consequences--General
+    sympathy with Japan.
+
+
+We have seen that up to the end of 1892 the Chinese Government clung
+to the figment of universal sovereignty. Perhaps it was the figment
+that clung to them, they not knowing how to drop it. When they had,
+under stress, seemed to concede the principle of equality, it was not
+done heartily, but to serve a momentary purpose. Like a belligerent
+who continues a guerilla warfare after concluding peace, they fought
+inch by inch for the rags of the old prerogative after having by
+treaty surrendered it. It had been long predicted that their refusal
+or inability to bring their theories into agreement with patent facts,
+and to come into line with the Powers of the world, must lead to tragic
+consequences. Foreign nations laughed at the Chinese pretension as an
+innocent archaic survival. But those individuals to whose lot it fell,
+in their own persons, to suffer the continued humiliation which was a
+consequence of the survival, did not find the comedy of the situation
+quite so congenial. The high-spirited nation living in the closest
+neighbourhood to China, using its language and literature, was naturally
+more galled by the Chinese assumption than those distant peoples who
+only suffered in the persons of their diplomatic agents. Though it would
+be more than the evidence warrants to say that the pretension of the
+Chinese Government was directly provocative of the events of 1894, yet it
+is certain that it had a full share in filling the cup. Nowhere had the
+Chinese conception of supremacy been exemplified in a more uncompromising
+form than in her relations with Korea. Her position as suzerain was a
+reality. She had in times past defended her tributary at great cost, had
+marked the relationship by permanent monuments, and had maintained the
+rites necessary to keep her title alive. As late as 1890 the tributary
+formalities were repeated conspicuously before the world. In that year the
+"Grand" Queen-Dowager Chao of Korea died. According to custom the king
+despatched a messenger to Peking to report the death to his suzerain.
+The envoy presented his papers kneeling before the vice-president of the
+Board of Rites. He was the bearer of a petition from the king descanting
+on the miseries of his country, and expressing regret that, owing to the
+straitened circumstances of his Court, he might be unable to carry out
+all the ceremonies required for the entertainment of the usual mission
+of condolence from the emperor; therefore, as "an infant trusting to the
+tender mercies of his parents," the king begged that not a mission, but a
+message only, might be returned to him by the hands of his own envoy. The
+imperial decree in reply to this petition, while admitting the facts of
+the situation as set forth by the king, nevertheless announced that the
+customary usage must be maintained, only an important concession would
+be made to the poverty of Korea in the route which would be followed by
+the new mission. Previous envoys had made the whole journey between the
+two capitals by land, and after entering Korean territory they had to
+pass many stations in their slow march to the capital, involving much
+expense to the country through which they travelled. All this would be
+saved on the present occasion by the two commissioners travelling by sea,
+and landing at Chemulpo, a few miles only from the capital. The king had
+to submit to the modified burden, if such he really considered it. The
+ceremonies observed were elaborate and impressive. Frequent prostrations
+by Korean officials before the emperor's tablet, and before the Imperial
+Commissioners, introduced the proceedings; afterwards the king was taken
+charge of by the Chinese master of ceremonies, led through a complicated
+ritual, and told to bend, kneel, _kotow_, and stand erect at so many
+different stages that the mere reading of the official account of them
+is bewildering. The reporter's conclusion gives the gist of the whole
+ceremonial from the Chinese point of view: "The emperor's consideration
+for his vassal State as evinced by his thoughtfulness in matters
+pertaining to the mission is fathomless. How admirable and satisfactory!
+And how glorious!"
+
+All this was unexceptionably correct, and in its fantastic way expressed
+an actuality not to be contested. Yet to the Japanese, with their
+antagonistic policy, we can well understand that this renewed assertion
+of the Chinese suzerainty, after the convention of 1885, must have
+been highly irritating. Scarcely less so was the superior position
+habitually assigned to the Chinese Resident over all the other foreign
+representatives at the Korean Court. He alone at all times had the ear
+of the king; he was the only one privileged to enter the palace in his
+sedan chair, the others having to leave theirs at the gate and walk. While
+abstaining from interference in small things, the Chinese Resident did,
+in fact, direct the national policy of Korea so far as such a thing could
+be said to exist.
+
+As the affairs of Korea formed the occasion, if not the cause, of the
+Japanese War in 1894, it might seem desirable to refer once more to
+the troubles and misgovernment of that country. To explain them would
+be quite impossible, for to say that there are wheels within wheels,
+intrigue within intrigue, the whole revolving round a pivot of sordid
+corruption, is perhaps the only general account that can be given of the
+state of the Government and of its official hierarchy. But the conflict
+between China and Japan held on its way through the labyrinth of local
+intrigue, and eventually produced a result which, strange to say, seems
+never to have been anticipated by any one outside the Government circles
+of Japan. The energetic Chinese Resident at the Korean Court may perhaps
+have been needlessly ostentatious in asserting the legitimate paramountcy
+of China, but the aggression of the Japanese in various parts of the
+country, and the extravagant claims they founded upon these aggressions,
+really called for a champion of Korean independence, a function which Yuan
+Shih-kai[32] filled with considerable ability. The subordination of Korea
+to China was nowhere visible except in Court relations. The subjugation
+of the peninsula by the Japanese, on the other hand, was rapidly bringing
+the population itself into bondage to alien merchants, adventurers, and
+usurers, actively supported by their own Government. If they had had
+the patience to wait a few years, the Japanese must have won Korea by
+energetic infiltration alone.
+
+But these things did not move fast enough for the settled ambition
+of Japan, which she with diligence, unanimity, and wonderful secrecy
+determined to develop by force of arms. It would be idle to seek for
+the causes of the war elsewhere than in this forward national policy
+of Japan. Alert as she had been to seize every chance that offered of
+detaching Korea from her allegiance to China, her preparations were not
+sufficiently complete to justify her unmasking her whole policy until
+1894, when the grand opportunity for which she had been waiting, if she
+did not actively assist in bringing it about, presented itself. What
+proved to be an ill-advised interference of China in the internal affairs
+of Korea furnished the occasion. An insurrection had broken out in the
+southern part of the peninsula, and the king had no forces to put it
+down. Various versions had been circulated of the extent and character of
+the insurrection; but when it had continued for some time, and nothing
+was done to check it, the advisers of the Chinese Government became
+apprehensive of interference by some foreign Power for the restoration of
+order. Strangely enough, Japan was the very last quarter from which this
+danger was anticipated. The Chinese at length summoned resolution to send
+a force to the king's assistance to put down the insurrection, but whether
+the king in his heart desired this armed interference it is impossible
+for us to say.
+
+Li Hung-chang was personally opposed to any such expedition, and when
+goaded to action from Peking, where the bellicose spirit had been
+generated, he pointed out that no request had been received from the
+king. This omission was also remarked upon by the practical Admiral Ting,
+and both may have hoped that the absence of so important a link in the
+chain would enable them to avoid the overt action which they had the
+best grounds for deprecating. Such a hope, if it existed, was of brief
+duration; for the King of Korea was induced, by influences brought to
+bear on him, "to place himself in order" and implore his suzerain for
+assistance, which the suzerain could no longer withhold. Then was Li
+Hung-chang pressed by that body whose characteristic was the negation
+of initiative, the Tsungli-Yamen, and like a sluggish horse which once
+takes the bit in its teeth, the Yamen became as impatient for action as
+in all its previous history it had been resolute in evasion. When but a
+few days had elapsed since the issue of the order, and the troops were
+not yet embarked, the Ministers, quite ignorant of what was involved in
+sending a military force across the sea, began to jeer Li Hung-chang on
+his delay, hinting that he was perhaps growing stale with age. The troops
+were, nevertheless, despatched all too soon. On their landing at Yashan
+in Southern Korea, the insurrection immediately collapsed: such was the
+prestige of the imperial authority.
+
+In order to comply with the letter of the Li-Ito convention China
+notified Japan officially of the despatch of these troops, some 2000
+in all, and of the purpose for which they were sent. But Japan had no
+need to wait for any such formal intimation. She had her Intelligence
+Department, remarkably alert. Japanese--not perhaps always known as
+such--were employed in the Chinese official bureaus, even in the most
+confidential departments, while Japanese in disguise swarmed in all the
+military centres. The Chinese telegraph service has no secrets from any
+one who thinks it worth his while to possess them. Consequently every
+detail of the preparation, every point in the discussion, and every step
+in embarkation, was punctually telegraphed by the Japanese consul to the
+Foreign Office in Tokio. Hence it was that Japanese troops arrived in
+Korea simultaneously with the Chinese, only they numbered 10,000 against
+2000, and instead of being assigned to the region of the insurrection,
+in accordance with the provisions of the Li-Ito convention, they marched
+straight to the capital and took possession of the king. The insurrection
+having collapsed, the Chinese troops were under orders of withdrawal,
+and would have returned home in the same transports that conveyed them to
+Korea but for the unaccountable, and of course illegitimate, presence of
+Japanese troops at the capital. Notwithstanding the provocation to retain
+the Chinese troops in Korea as a counterbalance to those, five times more
+numerous, which had been sent by Japan, the Chinese authorities were
+advised by their best friends to recall their troops, even though the
+Japanese should thereby be apparently left in possession of the field.
+The Chinese would in that case have maintained an unassailably correct
+position, and Japan would have had to dispense with her pretexts for war.
+Evacuation by the Chinese had been actually decided upon, and the steamer
+Kowshing was chartered for the purpose of bringing back the troops. Before
+the measure was carried out, however, other counsels prevailed, and that
+very ship was employed in conveying more troops to reinforce the first
+expedition, and in the midst of pretended negotiations for an arrangement
+between the two Powers, the Japanese sank the Kowshing on the high sea
+with all on board.
+
+It is usual, as a matter of form, if nothing else, to assign some specific
+cause for a war; but though many able writers have essayed to explain
+the Japanese action in 1894, they have all of them left the question in
+greater obscurity than they found it. Nor did the formal declaration of
+war by the Mikado throw any light on the subject. A Japanese statesman
+being asked what the war was about, replied bluntly, "It is to defeat
+China," and the most elaborate exposition of motives or policy does
+not carry us perceptibly further than this concise and straightforward
+statement. The Chinese Government itself held precisely the same view as
+to the object of the war, though its perceptions were so obscured that
+it was quite unaware of its incapacity for defence. Neither did it during
+the actual progress of hostilities realise the cause of its defeat. Indeed
+there is no evidence to show that China has even to this day discovered
+the secret of her impotence.
+
+The course and immediate consequence of the war itself have been set forth
+in many books, and are so well known as to render it superfluous to enter
+into any detail here. A few general points only need be mentioned as a
+key to what followed.
+
+1. Russia took unusual pains to dissuade Japan from engaging in the war,
+pointing out in clear terms that her interests would not allow her to be
+an indifferent spectator of any changes on the continent of Asia.
+
+2. Great Britain next endeavoured to patch up the supposed quarrel--which
+could never be defined in words--between China and Japan, and on the
+day on which her agent in Tokio expressed himself confident that the
+differences, so far as he understood them, would be arranged without
+recourse to war, the British chartered transport Kowshing was sunk with
+1200 men on board.
+
+3. The solution of the question which would have reconciled the views
+of the four Powers more immediately concerned was the neutralisation of
+Korea. Great Britain, Russia, and Japan were of one mind on this subject,
+and China would have hailed such an escape from her chronic embarrassment
+respecting Korea. Why, then, was no attempt made to bring about such a
+solution? Want of co-ordination, it would appear; diplomatic paralysis.
+Though the views of each Power separately ascertained were identical,
+none of them would speak first, and there was no fifth party to assume the
+initiative in bringing them to a common understanding. The blame of this
+must be equally distributed, though in point of fact there were degrees
+of responsibility which it would be useless now to recall. It is only one
+example the more of the great gap which often yawns between professional
+diplomacy and practical politics.
+
+The issue of the war was a foregone conclusion, both by sea and land.
+China had no army, and the more numerous her levies the more helpless
+they were before a disciplined enemy. The navy failed precisely where
+it was expected to fail. It was an incomplete machine, neglected and
+in disorder, deficient in many essential things. Worst of all, there
+was no heart in it. Captain Lang, R.N., and other British officers had
+been expelled from the service through a conspiracy of the captains in
+1890, and thenceforth its deterioration became rapid. The efficiency of
+the navy for its main purpose was the last thing considered by the cabal.
+They relied absolutely on the diplomatic resources of Li Hung-chang to
+save them from any possible trial of strength, and refused to face an
+alternative even by way of argument. Bravery was by no means lacking in
+the ranks, nor professional education among the officers. There were some
+who had Nelson's maxims at the tip of their tongue, and there were some
+who added to a thorough naval training the spirit of devotion which makes
+heroes. But these qualities were isolated and incoherent; there was no
+tradition to render them fruitful, no martial spirit, no disgrace for
+the coward, no honour for the valiant. The fleet was a body, defective
+enough at that, but without a soul. The minds of the captains being set
+on quite other objects than the efficiency of their service, when the
+crisis threatened they were intent only on evading collisions. The valour
+of the admiral, the fine sense of duty of individual officers, and the
+fighting qualities of a considerable body of the seamen, were swamped
+in the prevailing pusillanimity of the service; the choice spirits were
+discouraged by the fatuous neglect at headquarters to supply the ordinary
+necessaries of warfare. It was the writer's fortune to make a passage in a
+Chinese protected cruiser in September 1894, a few days before the great
+naval action off the Yalu, and it was most pathetic to hear the defects
+pointed out by the captain and first lieutenant--defects in ammunition
+for the guns mounted, absence of gun crews, so that in action men would
+have to be taken from one gun to another and put to work for which they
+had no training, everywhere the ship spoiled for want of the ha'porth of
+tar. That particular vessel was not disgraced in the Yalu fight, but was
+brought into Port Arthur by the superhuman exertions of her officers,
+her iron deck beams twisted by the fire and her plates red hot. A second
+conversation with the captain and first lieutenant after the action
+was but a painful commentary on that of the week before. The one was
+prediction, the other fulfilment. Perhaps the state of the navy could not
+be more forcibly illustrated than by the fact that the fleet was led into
+action at the Yalu by a German military officer.
+
+China was indeed defeated, amid the applause of Europe and the whole
+world, and the primeval law of violence received a new consecration. This
+is the one outcome of the war which seems likely to leave a permanent
+impress on the surface of our civilisation, for the spontaneous outburst
+from the four corners of the earth cannot be referred to any venal or
+wire-pulling agency. There had been foreign wars in China before, wars
+entered upon after long discussion and accumulating causes of quarrel.
+Their merits divided the opinion of the world--they divided even the
+nations that waged them; and the opposition was on one occasion strong
+enough to overturn a British Government that had actually entered into
+hostilities against China. But in 1894 there was not a dissentient
+voice. The cause of the war was not known and not inquired into, the
+universal enthusiasm was simply for the victor, as such, without regard
+to anything but his military prowess. That was what the world fell down
+and worshipped. Not any righteous cause, or racial sympathy, or community
+of interest, inspired their acclamations; for none of these things were
+considered or understood by the masses who chorussed the triumph of the
+conqueror of China. English pens and tongues beyond all others urged
+the victorious Power to make crushing conditions of peace, and in the
+clamour traditional landmarks were forgotten. The policy of saving China,
+the great English milch cow, from destruction, which had been patiently
+followed by Great Britain for forty years, was thus suddenly submerged in
+a wave of warlike enthusiasm.
+
+Press-made feeling was both stronger and had more influence on the action
+of Government in England than in any other country. The war had upset
+the balance of power in Asia, but the press took no heed of that, and
+urged with conspicuous success that the Japanese should on no account
+be hindered in their seizure of the spoils. Other countries, keeping a
+cooler outlook on eventualities, were unable to regard the occupation of
+Liao-tung by Japanese forces with the equanimity with which it was viewed
+in England, though they made no objection to the enormous indemnities
+forced from China, which might indeed be philosophically regarded by
+them as a tax levied specially on British trade. Being threatened in her
+weakest frontier by this ambitious military Power, Russia had intimated
+before war began, in no ambiguous terms, that she could not tolerate
+such a neighbour, and on the conclusion of peace she took steps to give
+effect to that resolution. Russia had throughout the war been extremely
+nervous about the possible action of Great Britain, and would have gone
+considerable lengths to come to an understanding with her; but towards
+the end, when the pretensions of the Japanese began to assume extravagant
+dimensions, their moral effect on the Great Powers enabled her to dispense
+with English favour by drawing France and Germany to her support. The
+gravity of the Japanese demands was the factor that drew the three Powers
+together, and Li Hung-chang, when he went as envoy to Japan in March
+1895, assented to the indemnity and the surrender of territory on the
+assurance given him that the more excessive the conditions of peace he
+might be forced to sign, the more certain were they to be revised by
+the intervention of the Powers. The three Powers proved strong enough
+to induce Japan to give up Liao-tung for an increased indemnity, and
+the future of the Far East thus was arranged in conferences from which
+Great Britain had excluded herself. There were several reasons for
+the abstention of the British Government from taking a share in this
+settlement. One was the complete failure of their Intelligence Department
+before, during, and after the war. But the fervour of the nation in
+deprecating interference with the Japanese was a sufficient, and no doubt
+a welcome, warrant for the inaction of the Government. An experienced
+observer of English public life remarked afterwards that he had never
+known a situation in which the press, metropolitan and provincial, had
+displayed such entire unanimity and lavished such unmixed praise on the
+Government for its isolation. And yet it was a unanimity of nescience,
+of simple abdication, the surrender of a position in the Far East which
+had been built up for two generations on the permanent interests of the
+country, and which, sacrificed at the critical moment, is gone beyond
+recall. The "new diplomacy," uninstructed popular impulse, never had
+a freer field; for the Government which it dominated was scarcely more
+enlightened, and decidedly more apathetic, than the nation itself.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+  [Illustration: MINISTERS OF THE YAMEN OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
+   H.E. Shen Kuei-fen.
+   H.E. Tung Hsuen.
+   H.E. Mao Chang-tsi.
+   _From a photo by J. Thomson, Grosvenor Street, W._]
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [32] The same who is now governor of Shantung.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+THE RESETTLEMENT OF THE FAR EAST.
+
+    An unsettlement--Interference of Russia, Germany, and
+    France--China reduced to dependence--Disintegration
+    proceeds--France forces China to violate her treaties with
+    England--Russian approval--The loans pressed upon China--Russia
+    vetoes English loan, substituting a French one, Russia
+    standing security--Germany seizes Kiaochow--Russia seizes
+    Port-Arthur--England's remonstrance unheeded--A diplomatic
+    correspondence explained--British public aroused to importance of
+    the Far Eastern question--Call upon Government to take protective
+    action.
+
+
+It would perhaps be in stricter accordance with facts to describe
+what ensued on the Chinese collapse as a process of unsettlement than
+resettlement, since no man now living is likely to see the end of the
+dislocation effected by the transactions of 1895. The crude ingredients of
+national policy, stripped of the international decencies with which they
+were wont to be invested, were then thrown into the caldron; elementary
+forces, naked and undisguised, confronted each other; and the scramble
+which moderate men had hoped to see indefinitely postponed was entered
+into with the zest of a Cornish wrecking raid. The officious interference
+of quasi-friendly Powers to save the derelict empire from mutilation
+proved, according to unvarying experience, a remedy which was worse than
+the disease. Russia, Germany, and France proceeded to treat China as a
+No Man's Land; disintegration was the order of the day. The example was,
+of course, contagious. Other Powers, with no more substantial ground of
+claim than was afforded by the defencelessness of China, began whetting
+their knives to carve the moribund carcass.
+
+A momentous transformation had been effected in a few months. China now
+occupied the paradoxical position of a protected State without protection;
+of a sovereign State shorn of the power of fulfilling her obligations.
+To this impossible situation the Government itself had been an efficient
+contributor. During the progress of the war China had, of her own motion,
+thrown herself on the mercy of the world. Before all the Powers, great
+and small, with whom she had intercourse, she humbled herself in the dust,
+imploring them collectively, separately, or anyhow, to save her from her
+relentless foe. She, the titular mistress of the world, grovelled thus at
+the feet of Powers to whom she would not, even then, in plain words, have
+conceded equality. And when assistance eventually came it was imposed on
+her by external force. She could make no conditions.
+
+The revolution which the revised treaty of Shimonoseki effected in the
+international status of China was naturally first realised by those
+who had brought it about. China ceased to be a free agent; she became a
+vassal, and not to one Power only. And the intervening Powers lost no time
+in demonstrating the fact, France taking the lead. Within two months of
+the revision of the treaty of Shimonoseki the French Minister in Peking
+compelled China to sign a treaty granting to France large territorial
+concessions on which she had long had her eye, with commercial privileges
+never before granted to any Power. But the stipulations of the French
+convention were in open conflict with those of an existing treaty with
+this country, inasmuch as they gave to France a portion of the Shan
+States, which had been expressly reserved as a neutral zone in the treaty
+between China and Great Britain. The British Minister, pointing this out
+before the French treaty was concluded, protested against its signature.
+The Ministers of the Yamen admitted the justice of his contention, nor
+can it be said the protest was unheeded. With the Yamen it was a question
+solely of the balance of power, and feeling that the French force was the
+heaviest in the scale, they yielded to that and signed the treaty with
+France in direct violation of that which they had previously signed with
+Great Britain. As if to leave no ambiguity as to the true significance
+of the change of status which had come over China, the Russian Minister
+on the day following made a formal visit to the Tsungli-Yamen, with more
+than the customary display, to congratulate the Chinese Ministers on what
+they had done, and to assure them of the approval of his Government.
+
+This novel application of the law of force threw out of gear the whole
+system of Chinese national engagements, and was quite incompatible with
+normal diplomatic relations. Formerly the struggle had lain between China
+and all the Powers, her obligations to whom were observed in proportion
+to the amount of coercion applied by, or to be apprehended from, each.
+From this resulted a chronic demand for the fulfilment of agreements, and
+constant reclamations for non-fulfilment. But now the native reluctance
+to observe treaties was potentially reinforced by the action of foreign
+Powers in not only condoning, but explicitly insisting upon, China's
+violating her engagements.
+
+It may be that this species of _force majeure_ was not wholly unwelcome to
+the Chinese. It certainly widened the field for their favourite tactics
+of playing off one foreign Power against another. A better answer than
+heretofore was now available to all demands and remonstrances. "We should
+for our part be most happy to do as you desire, but--what would Russia
+say, what would France say?" Thus diplomacy in China at once degenerated
+into a "tug of war" contest, China herself being merely the rope which
+was pulled. She was virtually ruled out of the active management of her
+own affairs and became the _corpus vile_ for rival aggressors.
+
+Aggression sometimes assumed strange forms. One of the first which the
+treaty of peace with Japan developed was a remarkable competition in
+lending money to the Chinese. The indemnities to be paid to Japan were
+heavy, and it was obvious that China must borrow. But before she had time
+to take any step in that direction money was being thrust upon her. First
+in the ranks were English loan-mongers, who had had some experience in
+the business. Their negotiations were slow and halting; and when they
+had at last concluded a contract it was only to be told that Russia
+objected to the transaction, and required that China should borrow from
+French capitalists, who were willing to lend on the guarantee of Russia.
+The Chinese Government were absolutely passive, not willingly, but of
+necessity; they had not asked for the guarantee which Russia volunteered,
+and were quite willing to accept the loan of L16,000,000 sterling on
+the English terms. But Russia simply insisted on their taking the French
+money, under an ominous threat, while she herself stood security for the
+solvency of China, thereby assuming the position of first mortgagee on the
+revenues of that empire. That accomplished, Russia stipulated that China
+should contract no further loan for a period of six months.
+
+The precedent set by Russia and France of ignoring the Government of China
+as an efficient factor in negotiations respecting her territory or her
+obligations was followed to the letter by Germany when in November 1897
+she took possession of the most important naval harbour on the Chinese
+coast, with an adequate hinterland, carrying elastic rights extending over
+an immense area of country. Admiral von Diedrichs reduced the question
+of the acquisition to its very simplest expression. "Common-sense," he
+submitted to the Chinese commandant, "must tell you on which side the
+superior force lies, and therefore you would be wise to make way for me
+without resistance." With the prize in her hands, Germany next demanded
+a formal title to what she had seized, and instead of giving the German
+Minister his passports the Chinese Government granted the request.
+
+In this unceremonious manner was the new status of China embodied in
+monumental facts. She was the common victim, having no power to bind or
+loose save in accordance with the dictates of her masters. The Chinese
+Government seemed to have abdicated sovereign functions.
+
+After France and Germany it was Russia's turn to give tangible evidence of
+the real ascendancy she had gained over the Chinese Imperial Government.
+Hers was the only true mastery. The others might wrest provinces and
+extort concessions from a prostrate Government, but Russia alone reached
+the cerebral centre and controlled--so far as outward effect went--the
+volition of the organism. Negotiations, partly revealed in 1895, showed
+conclusively the scope and direction of her Chinese policy. It was
+profound and practical, continuing on the lines that had proved so
+successful in the past. The basis of it was an ostensible friendship for
+China, out of which grew a protective alliance, and the peculiar kind of
+partnership which had constituted the intermediate stage in the previous
+great territorial acquisitions of Russia. The joint right of the two
+Powers--to the exclusion of all others--to navigate the Amur and the
+Songari, and the joint possession of the Usuri territory--"details to be
+hereafter settled"--was now to be applied to the coast and harbours of
+Liao-tung, of which Russia was to have the use, afterwards defined in a
+treaty as the "usufruct." The gentlest methods were to be used, and so far
+as mere phrases were concerned, a matter on which the Chinese always were
+punctilious, the utmost consideration for their feelings was to be shown.
+Russia had two immediate objects in view, both of cardinal importance
+to her. The first was to obtain a terminus for the Great Siberian
+Railway more southerly than Vladivostock, which could only be obtained
+in Korean or Chinese territory. The second--the necessary corollary of
+the first--was to bring the territory through which the railway should
+run within the Russian administration. The sanction of China to a branch
+of the Siberian Railway being carried through Manchuria to a terminus
+on the Liao-tung littoral was formally given in conferences between
+Li Hung-chang and the Czar on the occasion of the coronation at Moscow
+in 1896. The details were afterwards developed in a way of which it is
+probable the Chinese Government had little foresight; but it would have
+made no difference, for to Russia nothing could be denied.
+
+Out of these comprehensive projects of Russia--projects which belonged
+to the very highest order of imperial statecraft--arose a strange unequal
+duel between Russian and British diplomacy, which has also left its mark
+on history. Her Majesty's Government and their agents abroad having been
+found wanting in the matter of information during the upheaval of the Far
+East, it appeared to be their _role_ to ignore and deny the facts upon
+which other Powers were acting. In particular the whole Russian scheme
+of utilising Chinese territory and controlling the Chinese Government was
+discredited with considerable vehemence. The consequence of this attitude
+of scepticism was that whatever Great Britain might resolve to do must be
+done in the dark. Assured by their agents in the Far East that the bay
+of Kiaochow was worthless, the British Government satisfied themselves
+that Germany had made a poor bargain in taking it. Dismissing as a
+phantasy the whole string of facts concerning Russia's plans, the British
+Government exposed themselves to collision with those plans, and received
+in consequence a series of diplomatic humiliations, entailing upon the
+country permanent disadvantages of a most substantial kind. Towards the
+end of 1898, soon after the German seizure of Kiaochow, a harbour which
+had also proved a convenient winter rendezvous for the Russian fleet, the
+announcement came from China that the latter had received permission from
+the Chinese Government to winter at Port Arthur on the opposite coast
+of Liao-tung. Thereupon a discussion was raised between London and St
+Petersburg concerning the prospective designs of Russia. This discussion
+was stamped from its origin with futility by previous communications with
+the Russian Government, the purport of which was inferred from a speech by
+Mr Balfour in February 1896. On that occasion he declared that the British
+Government would not only not oppose, but would hail with satisfaction,
+the acquisition by Russia of an ice-free port in the Pacific. As her
+Majesty's Government held Russia to the pledge she gave in 1886 to
+respect the integrity of the Korean coast, it followed that the ice-free
+harbour contemplated by Mr Balfour could only be in Chinese territory,
+which, as affecting the dominating power of Russia in the Far East, was
+greatly in advance of what the occupation of a Korean harbour would have
+been. Korea had been safe-guarded from encroachment because it was the
+stepping-stone to China, but the Russian lodgment on the inner waters of
+China itself deprived Korea of most of its strategical value. Hence Russia
+kept silence when Mr Curzon stated in Parliament that the pledge held
+good which preserved the integrity of Korea, a pledge which had lost its
+significance. This acquiescence in Russia's taking an ice-free port on the
+Chinese coast was in direct contradiction to other no less authoritative
+statements of the British Government. As, for instance, the resolution
+passed by the House of Commons, and accepted by the Government, pledging
+them to maintain the integrity of China, followed by the statement by
+the Under Secretary of State that the Liao-tung coast with its harbours
+constituted an integral part of the Chinese dominions. It is obvious that
+this confusion arose either from lack of information or lack of interest
+in the subject, coupled in either case with absent-mindedness on the part
+of the British Government. But these inconsistencies of the members of
+the British Government made no difference to the steady prosecution of
+the Russian plans, which were now developed with great rapidity. These
+pretensions were signalised by two memorable incidents, following each
+other so closely as to be practically simultaneous, in January 1898.
+The first was a new loan to the Chinese under negotiation by British
+financiers, to assist which her Majesty's Government was strongly urged
+by the China merchants to give its guarantee to the lenders as Russia
+had done in the case of the previous loan. On being asked by the Foreign
+Office what securities it would be proper to demand from the Chinese
+Government as the equivalent of such British guarantee, the British
+Minister at Peking replied that one of the conditions should be the
+opening of Talien-wan as a treaty port by the Chinese Government. Whether
+he had considered in what way this concession was to benefit the position
+of Great Britain was not disclosed. The proposal was promptly vetoed by
+the Russian Government, whose ambassador in London urged strongly that
+"if we insisted on making Talien-wan an open port we should be encroaching
+on the Russian sphere of influence, and denying her in future that right
+to the use of Port Arthur to which the progress of events had given her a
+claim,"--adding, that without having any designs on the territory, "it was
+generally admitted that Russia might claim a commercial _debouche_ upon
+the open sea, and that in order to enjoy that advantage fully she ought
+to be at liberty to make such arrangements with China as she could obtain
+with respect to the commercial _regime_ which was to prevail there."
+
+The second incident was that two British war-vessels which were anchored
+in Port Arthur--where, of course, they had the same right to be as
+any other foreign man-of-war--"made a bad impression" on the Russian
+Government, and formed the subject of complaint to the British Secretary
+of State. While denying the right of Russia to comment on the movements
+of British ships in Chinese waters, Lord Salisbury nevertheless allowed
+the vessels in question to depart, a movement which was reported with much
+colour of truth in Peking and St Petersburg as having been made by the
+order of Russia.
+
+Thus within one month the exposition of the Russian designs was expanded
+from the first assurance of Count Muravieff that the wintering of the
+ships was merely for the temporary convenience of the fleet, to the
+assertion of vague territorial rights over the coast and harbours of
+Liao-tung. And Lord Salisbury observed with plaintive naivete in the month
+of March, that whereas his Government "had always looked with favour upon
+the idea of Russia obtaining an ice-free port on the Pacific, Russia had
+now given a most unfortunate extension to this policy." It appears that
+the eyes of the British Government were not opened to the gravity of the
+situation until Russia, alleging that an ice-free port on the Chinese
+coast (no longer the Pacific) was a vital necessity to her, thereupon
+took possession of Port Arthur and Talien-wan. The British Government
+at the eleventh hour opposed the proceeding, for the reason that "the
+influence of Russia over the Government of Peking will be so increased to
+the detriment of that of her Majesty's Government, if the Russians are to
+have a lease of Port Arthur and Talien-wan, that it seems desirable for
+us to make some counter-move." Thus the British Government were brought
+to see, when too late, what those interested in Far Eastern affairs had
+been endeavouring to tell them years before; and there seems to be no
+doubt that the final discovery of the truth was due to the efforts of one
+or two persistent writers in the press during January and February 1898,
+but chiefly to the action of a small independent section of the British
+House of Commons led by Mr Yerburgh. On such trifling accidents do great
+events sometimes hang, that it seems probable that had Mr Yerburgh's
+movement taken effect three months earlier British ships would not have
+been withdrawn from Port Arthur, neither would China have been ousted from
+the possession of her only two naval harbours north of the Yangtze--at
+least not just then. It would serve no good purpose to follow the various
+explanations given by Ministers of the British Crown of their diplomatic
+encounters with Russia. They will have little interest for the historian.
+But a clear account of these transactions given in a letter to the
+'Times,' May 19, 1898, may very well serve as a guide to future inquirers
+into these matters:--
+
+                        _The Legend of Talien-wan._
+
+    Before the recent diplomatic struggle in the Far East is allowed
+    to pass away from the public mind, may I be permitted to say a
+    few words on one of its aspects which seems to have received very
+    little attention?
+
+    The bad faith of the Russian Government has been strongly, and
+    not unreasonably, condemned; but no attempt has been made to
+    explain it, except on the popular hypothesis that a double dose of
+    original sin is normal in the Muscovite. It does not seem to have
+    occurred to any writer on the subject that the Russians themselves
+    may have a grievance, that they may have acted under a sense of
+    injury, or that, in their view, the good faith of the British
+    Government is not above reproach. I believe they are mistaken;
+    but it is none the less true that the chain of facts on which they
+    rely will well bear the interpretation they place upon it.
+
+    The great blot on the recently published "Correspondence
+    respecting the affairs of China" (No. 1, 1898) is that it takes
+    no account of its immediate _Vorgeschichte_. It relates to a
+    diplomatic struggle of which we last heard officially as far
+    back as 1887, when the Blue-book on Port Hamilton was published.
+    Since then many important things have happened, notably the
+    Chino-Japanese war and the intervention of Russia, France, and
+    Germany in the settlement of Shimonoseki. To ignore these events
+    is really to delude the public; for the chapter of Far Eastern
+    politics which begins with the German descent on Kiaochow is
+    little short of meaningless if the story of Shimonoseki is
+    passed over. Indeed the legend of Talien-wan itself belongs to
+    a policy which may easily be traced back half a century. It is,
+    however, not necessary for my purpose that I should go behind the
+    Shimonoseki intervention. What was the object of that transaction?
+    No one who has given any attention to Far Eastern affairs has
+    ever been under the slightest illusion on this point. The great
+    problem of Russian statesmanship since the foundation of the
+    empire has been to reach the open sea, first in the Baltic, then
+    in the Euxine and the Mediterranean, and, after the Crimean war,
+    in the Pacific. Since Muravieff and Nevelskoy opened the Amur
+    Russia has neglected no opportunity of pushing southward in order
+    to get beyond the line of winter ice, and every embarrassment
+    of China has been skilfully used by her to bring her nearer her
+    goal. We in England have consistently resisted this policy, and
+    in 1886 we thought to have finally defeated it when, by seizing
+    Port Hamilton, we extracted a pledge from Russia that she would
+    not occupy Korean territory "under any circumstances whatever."
+    To all outward seeming Russian expansion in the Far East was thus
+    stopped in the ice-bound harbour of Vladivostock. This, however,
+    was not the view of Russia herself. She was still confident that
+    an opportunity would be afforded her of realising her ambition,
+    for there were other harbours on the Pacific besides those of
+    Korea, and if the road to them was longer and more difficult,
+    Russian patience was equal to the task of covering it. In these
+    circumstances Japan, victorious in her war with China, claimed
+    and obtained the cession of the Liao-tung peninsula, and thus
+    threatened to shut the door for ever against Russian access to the
+    Pacific. The intervention of the Powers which Russia thereupon
+    organised was ostensibly directed to the protection of the
+    integrity and independence of China, but no intelligent politician
+    doubted at the time, or has doubted since, that its real aim was
+    to keep the Pacific door open for Russia.
+
+    Shortly after this event Lord Salisbury came into office. The
+    problem which then most urgently demanded his attention was that
+    of Armenia. Largely by its attitude in the Far East the Rosebery
+    Cabinet had left our relations with Russia in a distinctly
+    strained condition, and the one obvious remedy of the Armenian
+    horrors--the coercion of the Sultan--was blocked by Russia. Lord
+    Salisbury directed himself to the conciliation of Russia, wisely
+    recognising that nothing could be done in the Near East without
+    Russian goodwill and assistance. What were the means he employed?
+    I cannot say what private negotiations may have taken place
+    between the two Governments, but we seem to have a sufficiently
+    significant illustration of the direction in which the Premier
+    was disposed to make concessions to Russia in a speech delivered
+    by Mr Balfour at Bristol on February 3, 1896. In that speech a
+    British Minister announced for the first time that this country
+    would not oppose Russian expansion to the Pacific. "I, for my
+    part, frankly state," he said, "that, so far from regarding with
+    fear and jealousy a commercial outlet for Russia in the Pacific
+    Ocean which would not be ice-bound half the year, I should welcome
+    such a result as a distinct advance in this far-distant region."
+    This statement made a profound impression all over the world, as
+    well it might, seeing that it implied the abandonment of a policy
+    which had been consistently and vigilantly adhered to by Great
+    Britain from the time of Lord Clarendon to that of Lord Rosebery.
+
+    A few days after Mr Balfour's Bristol speech--on February 20--it
+    fell to Mr Curzon to explain in a negative way the scope of his
+    leader's pronouncement. An impression had got abroad that the new
+    policy implied the surrender of the pledge given by Russia in 1886
+    with regard to the occupation of Korean territory, and the Under
+    Secretary was asked in the House of Commons for his views on the
+    subject. Mr Curzon replied that "her Majesty's Government consider
+    that the pledge given by the Russian Government is still binding."
+    Was this a disavowal of the new Russophile policy. Obviously not:
+    for later in the year, at the Guildhall banquet, Lord Salisbury
+    made to Russia the friendliest overtures he has ever made in
+    public speech. At the same time he especially accentuated the
+    novelty of his attitude by asserting that "it is a superstition
+    of an antiquated diplomacy that there is any necessary antagonism
+    between Russia and Great Britain."
+
+    The position, then, of the Government was apparently this: they
+    had abandoned the traditional hostility of this country to Russian
+    expansion towards the ice-free Pacific on condition that it did
+    not trench on Korean territory. It followed, then, that they
+    were not disposed to offer any hindrance to the acquisition by
+    Russia of a port on Chinese territory, westward of the Korean
+    frontier--that is, somewhere between the mouth of the Yalu and
+    Port Arthur. This must be clear to anybody who cares to glance at
+    a map. The upshot of the speeches of Mr Balfour and Lord Salisbury
+    and of the statement of Mr Curzon was, in short, to invite Russia,
+    whenever she might feel so disposed, to plant the Russian flag
+    on the southern coast of Manchuria. This, at any rate, was the
+    view taken in Russia, and, for my part, I can see no escape from
+    it. It is not a little significant of the satisfaction caused in
+    Russia by this interpretation of the policy of Great Britain that,
+    on November 25, a fortnight after Lord Salisbury's speech, the
+    Tsar at last consented in principle to the British proposals for
+    coercing the Sultan of Turkey on the Armenian question.
+
+    Now we come to the events of last November, when Germany suddenly
+    swooped down on Kiaochow. This step is known to have been very
+    distasteful to the Russian Government. It was the first appearance
+    of a European Power in the northern waters of China, in a region
+    which Russia had persuaded herself was reserved for her own
+    domination. Long before the murder of the unfortunate German
+    missionaries in Shantung it was well known in St Petersburg that
+    Germany had her eyes on Kiaochow, and the Russian Minister at
+    Peking had more than once warned Li Hung-chang and urged him to
+    fortify the bay. The disappointment of Russia became intensified
+    when it was observed that the step taken by Germany, was not
+    resented in this country, and fears of an Anglo-German alliance
+    in the Far East began to possess the Russian mind. Then suddenly
+    there came the Talien-wan incident, and Russia found herself once
+    more confronted by the danger which had threatened her in the
+    treaty of Shimonoseki.
+
+    The real significance of the Talien-wan incident has never yet
+    been fully set forth. Had Talien-wan been made a treaty port, and
+    thus given more or less of an international status, Russia would
+    have been practically shut out for ever from the ice-free ocean.
+    The only stretch of coast on which she could obtain this outlet
+    was, as I have already shown, the southern coast of Manchuria
+    from the Korean frontier on the Yalu to Port Arthur. Now, if we
+    examine this coast-line carefully we shall find that there is only
+    one spot capable of being transformed into a commercial port, and
+    that is Talien-wan. The China Sea Directory (vol. iii.), published
+    by the Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty, gives us the
+    fullest particulars on this subject. It traces the coast-line in
+    microscopic detail and shows us that it has only five possible
+    harbours. The first, westward from the Yalu, is Taku-shan, the
+    approach to which is frozen during the winter months. The second
+    is Pi-tse-wo,--here the water is too shallow even for large junks.
+    The third is Yen-tao Bay, the anchorage of which is bad, and in
+    places dangerous. The fourth is Talien-wan, and the fifth Port
+    Arthur. Talien-wan has all the advantages which are absent from
+    the other ports. It is ice-free, spacious, well sheltered, with
+    excellent anchorage and considerable commercial possibilities. Is
+    it surprising that Russia should have felt aggrieved when it was
+    proposed to make Talien-wan a treaty port?
+
+    As a matter of fact, I believe Russia regarded this proposal
+    as an attempt to evade the assurance given by Mr Balfour in his
+    Bristol speech. She looked upon it as the design of a powerful
+    Anglo-German combination to exclude her for ever from the China
+    seas. It was to her mind a conspiracy of the most dangerous
+    kind, and she bent all her efforts to defeat it. When she had
+    defeated it she lost no time in securing her position. She took
+    Port Arthur as well as Talien-wan, for the simple reason that her
+    interpretation of the situation convinced her that a commercial
+    port overlooked by a great citadel in foreign hands would be a
+    vantage to her foes rather than a prize to herself. Can she be
+    altogether blamed for taking this view?
+
+    The mistake the Russian Government made was in attaching a
+    serious meaning to the casual blunders of our Government, and in
+    imagining that these blunders marked a connected purpose, if not
+    a consistent policy. They were not to know that the Russophile
+    passage in Mr Balfour's Bristol speech was a mere oratorical tag;
+    that our friendly attitude towards Germany at Kiaochow was only
+    a sort of amiable tolerance of an act the scope and consequence
+    of which we had not measured; and that our proposal to open
+    Talien-wan was made at the suggestion of our Minister at Peking,
+    who, of course, knew what he was about, while it was acquiesced in
+    at home by Ministers who simply did not know what they were doing.
+    That Sir Claude Macdonald designed the Talien-wan move as a check
+    to Russia I have no doubt; that Lord Salisbury never dreamed of
+    this aspect of it I am equally convinced.
+
+    However that may be, one thing, I think, is clear. The sense of
+    injury and the complaints of bad faith are not all on one side. In
+    diplomacy, as in most of the affairs in this world, it is a wise
+    rule not to believe your opponent to be as stupid as he looks.
+    Russia at any rate paid us this compliment during the recent
+    negotiations. The result, no doubt, is that she has overreached
+    us. But whose fault is it?
+
+The Russian flag once hoisted over Port Arthur and Talien-wan (by what
+nominal authority makes no difference whatever to the fact) placed the new
+relation of China to the rest of the world beyond all discussion. China
+did not willingly surrender her territory: she looked in vain for help,
+but found none. She weighed in the balance the words and acts of one great
+Power against the words and acts of another, and had no choice but to
+place herself under authority of the strongest, finally and irrevocably.
+That fact must be taken as the master-key to her subsequent policy in all
+its phases.
+
+These several events succeeding each other in close order awoke the
+British public from their optimistic dream, and forced them to reflect
+that there was after all something more in these Far Eastern readjustments
+than had occurred to them when cheering on gallant little Japan to
+the spoliation of China. The result obtained was certainly not that
+which was contemplated either by the nation or the Government when
+Great Britain settled down into her isolation. When the truth of the
+situation had revealed itself to the public there was naturally a loud
+call for something to be done to safeguard the commercial interests of
+the country, if not to recover lost prestige; but the Government were as
+far from having definite aims in China as they had ever been, and while
+goading them to action, the public was scarcely in a position to advise
+what that action should be. Neither had the Government, in spite of
+all that had taken place, fully realised to what extent China had added
+impotence to reluctance, for they continued to deal with China very much
+as if the events of 1895 to 1898 had never happened. They were reluctant
+to recognise the fact that Russia, in possession of the Liao-tung or
+Kwan-tung peninsula and of the railway line connecting it with Siberia,
+held a noose round the neck of the Peking Government, which she could
+tighten or relax, conceal or parade, as circumstances required, and
+that until some other Power or Powers were prepared to speak with equal
+authority Russia must be paramount, not by virtue of any convention, but
+as the outcome of accomplished facts.
+
+Two measures adopted by Great Britain to rectify the preponderance of
+Russia were the seizure, under a form of negotiation, of the harbour of
+Weihai-wei and the forcing of money upon the Chinese by way of loan. The
+value of these strokes of policy has not yet become apparent.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+THE OUTCOME.
+
+
+I. THE SITUATION IN PEKING.
+
+    A magnified repetition of experiences in Canton--Chinese
+    unchanged--International usages inapplicable.
+
+Since the foregoing chapters were put into the printer's hands the Far
+Eastern Question has reached a crisis in which its ruling factors have
+been suddenly exposed in their nakedness. But the searchlight now thrown
+upon them casts a blacker shadow on the unilluminated portions of the
+field. The events of 1900, while revealing the landmarks of past foreign
+relations with China, have deepened the obscurity of all that concerns
+the future of the Chinese State itself, as well as of the position of the
+foreign Powers in relation to it and to one another. International comity
+is seen to have made no progress in sixty years; on the contrary, the
+gulf that divides China from the world yawns wider than ever, of which a
+striking example is afforded by the telegrams lately exchanged between
+the Chinese and the German Emperors. They speak in tongues unknown to
+one another and are mutually unintelligible, so that they have no common
+ground but that of brute force. Intercourse imposed on them against their
+will and conscience has resulted, naturally enough, in exhibiting the
+Chinese as the enemies of the human family.
+
+The capture of the Taku forts and the occupation of Peking by foreign
+troops were but a repetition of similar incidents forty years before; and
+it is instructive to observe how closely the lines of the old precedents
+have been followed. Prisoners taken treacherously, or envoys held as
+hostages; the threat to kill them if foreign troops menaced the capital;
+the devices to arrest the advance of the Allied forces; the proposal to
+negotiate only when the Chinese case became desperate; the ineradicable
+belief in the credulity of foreigners; and the flight of the Court when
+all other expedients failed,--were but another rehearsal, with variations,
+of previous performances at Canton, Nanking, and Peking. The parallel is
+completed by the efforts of foreign Powers to coax the emperor back to his
+capital. Nothing has been changed, only the scale has been magnified, and
+the civilised world, instead of one or two Powers, has become directly
+interested in the catastrophe. Official intercourse with China has
+thus continued on the lines on which it began. The first British envoy
+was treated as a malefactor, imprisoned, his letters were intercepted,
+his communications cut off, his servants withdrawn; he was guarded and
+threatened by armed men posted at his door, and reduced to dangerous
+subterfuges in order to get a message conveyed to his countrymen outside.
+Canton in 1834 was simply Peking in 1900, in embryo. A naval force was
+required to relieve Lord Napier from his perilous situation then,[33] as a
+combined naval and military force has been required to relieve the foreign
+Ministers in Peking now. The cycle has been completed. Every link in the
+chain connecting the opening with the closing incidents of diplomatic
+intercourse has been, on one side at least, homogeneous. Whatever and
+whoever may have altered, the Chinese certainly have not. Commissioner
+Lin, Viceroy Yeh, Prince Tuan, the empress-dowager, and all wielding
+authority, whether in name or not, have been true to the Chinese ideal.
+They have all alike been blind to the consequences of their acts, which
+have throughout been characterised by the strategy of fools--momentary
+success followed by overwhelming reverses, resulting at each succeeding
+encounter in a further invasion of the frontiers of their political
+independence.
+
+The crisis has been sufficiently prolonged to enable the world to perceive
+what the Chinese mean by the term negotiation. To them it signifies what
+it has always done, a palaver to gain time, to hoodwink an opponent,
+to escape from a threatened danger, to purchase immunity by promises; a
+device to manage, or, as they themselves express it, "to soothe and bridle
+barbarians." As little now as at any former period can they conceive the
+idea of a fair bargain between equals. They but temporise as with a savage
+or a dangerous beast. "Get rid of the barbarians" is their unvarying
+_mot d'ordre_, and it matters but little to them what instruments are
+employed in carrying it out. The office is one from which every statesman
+instinctively shrinks, since if he fails in taming the barbarians his
+case is referred to the Board of Punishments, and if he succeeds he incurs
+the contempt of all classes for the concessions by which he has purchased
+peace. It is hardly possible for him in any case to escape degradation.
+Be it therefore Lin, Kishen, Kiying, Yeh, Kweiliang, Wensiang, Chunghou,
+Li Hung-chang, or any one else, Chinese negotiators, whatever their
+apparent success in averting a danger, are morally certain to come to a
+bad end; and for the reason which caused the failure of Lord Napier in
+1834, the impossibility of reconciling two principles which are wholly
+incompatible. As negotiation under such conditions can only be nugatory,
+a lengthened experience has made it clear that neither the negotiator
+nor the negotiation avails anything, but solely the manner in which the
+Chinese are held to their engagements, even when imposed on them by force,
+and the strictness with which the common duties of civilised nations are
+exacted from them, with or without written agreements.
+
+One feature in the recent Peking episode distinguishes it from previous
+experiences. A Government communicating with foreign Powers through its
+own envoys, doling out through them garbled information, while isolating
+the envoys of those same Powers within its capital, and planning, and
+if not doing its best to effect, their extermination, at least openly
+approving the attempt, is surely unexampled in human history. The
+proposal of such a Government, on the failure of its plans to "negotiate
+for peace," would be the most sardonic of practical jokes if we could
+disconnect it from the evidence implied in the proposal of the estimate
+of foreign nations which is ingrained in the Chinese moral constitution.
+Obviously, however, such a Government has placed itself beyond the pale
+of international relations, and it is hardly possible to conceive any
+restoration of the old or evolution of a new _regime_ which can place
+China in the rank of civilised Powers.
+
+We are, in fact, thrust back on the conclusion arrived at by Lord Napier
+in 1834: "That Government is not in a position to be dealt with or treated
+by civilised nations according to the same rules as are acknowledged and
+practised among themselves." Yet, instead of being treated with less, the
+Chinese Government has received greater consideration than is accorded by
+one Western State to another. Prerogatives implying superiority have been
+conceded to it by consent of all the foreign Powers--a false principle
+which has now produced its natural result.
+
+The usages of Western Courts, therefore, being wholly inapplicable in
+China, no matter what Government may rule there, international relations
+of the European type must be, as they have hitherto been, an illusory
+ideal, and some new form of intercourse, corresponding more closely to
+the realities of the case, must take the place of that which has proved so
+totally unworkable. Should foreign nations, by reason of differences among
+themselves or the magnitude of the problem, hesitate to act up to this
+view of the situation, the continuance of a status which is essentially
+false to the facts must lead to some still more tragic catastrophe than
+any that has yet taken place.
+
+
+II. THE CHRONIC CAUSE.
+
+    Hostility of Government and people--Fostered by immunity--Cause of
+    animosity as set forth by Chinese--Incitements to outrage--Chinese
+    press calumnies--Compared with European--Effect on the Chinese of
+    international vituperation.
+
+It must be admitted that the attitude of the Chinese has been quite
+consistent: from first to last they have resisted the foreign impact
+_per fas et nefas_, using such weapons as they could command, while
+avoiding, according to their lights, the risk of reprisals. Their lights
+have indeed deceived them, their resistance has failed, and their methods
+stand condemned. But it is beside the question to inveigh against their
+barbarity, for "what is bred in the bone comes out in the flesh," and in
+human relations there are permanent facts which have to be accepted, like
+the skin of the Ethiopian and the spots of the leopard. Since foreigners
+have, for their own purposes, broken into a hornet's nest, it is idle for
+them to prescribe the manner of retaliation unless they are prepared to go
+through with their aggression and to enforce obedience to their own canon.
+
+The constant feature in all Chinese attacks on foreigners has been the
+immunity from punishment of the real instigators. Massacres of foreigners
+have been condoned, for the blood-money exacted for them was no punishment
+to criminals who did not contribute to the payment. All attempts on the
+part of foreign agents to make guilty officials responsible for their
+outrages have been frustrated by the Government, who have invariably held
+the persons of officials exempt from punishment at the instance of, or
+for injuries done to, foreigners. In Chinese eyes injury to foreigners
+is meritorious in the abstract, and to be rewarded rather than punished.
+Foreign Powers have in practice acquiesced in this fatal principle, for
+though on rare occasions they have successfully insisted on the removal
+of some obnoxious official, the Government have taken care to nullify
+the penalty by promoting him to a better post. The various attempts that
+have been made by foreign representatives to collect evidence to support
+a legal charge against the instigators of outrages have been baffled by
+the inflexible determination of the Government to shield the official as
+well as the non-official leaders of riots. The foreign method of seeking
+redress, being thus foredoomed to failure, is obviously not suited to the
+circumstances.
+
+But while foreigners were pursuing their object by a hopeless path, the
+Chinese administration itself provided the simpler and more efficacious
+remedy of holding the chief authority of every province responsible for
+misgovernment, as well as for crimes and misdemeanours committed within
+his district. In the words of Sir Rutherford Alcock, "Each province
+constitutes a separate state in its administration; to compensate
+for this the emperor can appoint and remove every official, from the
+Governor-General downwards, at his pleasure. And they are each and all
+individually and collectively held responsible for all that may happen
+in the limits of their jurisdiction." By the custom of the country,
+therefore, the guilt of the highest official is assumed whenever any
+disturbance of the peace takes place or crime is committed within his
+government. He may transfer it, if he can, and ferret out evidence in
+his own exculpation; but errors of judgment, pleas of good intentions,
+and palliatives of that kind are not admitted, and not offered. Why
+foreigners have never appealed to this fundamental principle of Chinese
+administration, and have preferred relying on their own crude procedure
+and strange methods of collecting evidence while practically acquiescing
+in the immunity of Chinese officials, has never been satisfactorily
+explained. For it is only in matters concerning foreigners that the
+persons of Chinese officials are held sacred. The Government have
+no scruples with regard even to the highest in rank when they make
+themselves obnoxious to the powers that be. Degradation, deprivation,
+chains, imprisonment, and the headsman's broadsword, are ever ready to
+vindicate the majesty of the law when the Court awards the penalty. But
+foreigners are treated as outside the law, which is the gravamen of the
+Chinese offence against them. The constitution of the country afforded
+them a clear ground for demanding that the traditional principle of
+responsibility should be put in force for their protection. It was, in
+fact, applied spontaneously by Li Hung-chang in the province of which
+he was viceroy, with the result that Chihli was exempt from outrages
+on foreigners for nearly a quarter of a century. Why was the system
+not extended to all the provinces of the empire? Had not the foreign
+representatives the natural right of demanding the benefit of Chinese
+institutions, or did they consider their exotic substitute as preferable?
+
+A wrong road can never lead to a right destination; sins of omission
+and commission have alike to be atoned for, and the cost accumulates
+at compound interest. The result of sparing prefects and governors the
+consequences of the evil deeds permitted within their jurisdiction is that
+the Western Powers are now confronted with the more serious dilemma of
+sparing the throne itself and tolerating the continuance of anti-foreign
+outrages, or of doing stern justice towards the guilty even though the
+heavens should fall. A retrospective glance over the history of sixty
+years might help towards a solution even of this momentous problem. Have
+the sacrifices of principle that have hitherto been made in order to save
+the empire, or the dynasty, been efficacious to these ends? The answer of
+history is No; on the contrary, they have accelerated the ruin of both.
+
+The provoking cause of recent outbreaks against foreigners in all
+parts of the Chinese empire may be gathered from the proceedings of
+the conspirators, from their placards and lampoons, and from their
+secret correspondence. The keynote of all these is general detestation
+of foreigners, special enmity to Christianity and its accessories, and
+aversion to the symbols of material progress. Hatred of foreigners now
+shows itself as a passion which binds the provinces together as nothing
+else has ever been known to do. Their expulsion is a cause which is
+held to justify the vilest deeds done in its name. Nor is the present
+state of things a growth of yesterday. The ferment has been working for
+forty years--to go no further back--with many sporadic outbreaks to
+mark its progress. It was not nipped in the bud, as it might perhaps
+have been. Exhibitions of ill-feeling had been habitually disregarded
+by foreigners, who in their readiness to blame each other for provoking
+them, were accustomed to repel obvious explanations, and to go far afield
+for theories which would exonerate themselves at the expense of their
+neighbours. If stones were thrown or abusive epithets shouted, "It was
+only the children." Only the children! As if more conclusive testimony to
+any prevailing sentiment were possible.[34] In Peking itself the foreign
+Ministers set the example of palliating these abuses, and the only wonder
+is that the fire has smouldered so long without bursting into flame.
+During thirty years--to speak only of the recent period--missionaries
+in the interior have encountered the growing hostility of the people,
+which they have ascribed, perhaps too exclusively, to the machinations of
+"literati and gentry," forgetting that the torch would be applied in vain
+to a substance that was not inflammable.
+
+Not that the machinations of the official and literary classes of the
+country are by any means to be held of little account, for they have
+been the most potent factor in fomenting and directing the passions
+of the people. What corresponds in China to a newspaper press has been
+constantly employed in vilifying the character and execrating the designs
+of foreigners, and holding them up continually to the contempt and hatred
+of the Chinese people. There was no effective means of contradicting the
+calumnies which were daily poured forth from every centre of population.
+Attempts have, indeed, been made by special counterblasts in the form
+of missionary publications in the chief citadel of hostility, and in a
+less polemic form in the periodicals in the Chinese language conducted by
+foreigners, yet these have had little more effect on the popular beliefs
+than a leading article in the 'Times' has upon the flood of anti-English
+literature that is poured out every day from Continental journals. From
+an observation of the calumnies which are so unquestioningly accepted
+by European populations we may partly judge of the effect of a constant
+stream of the same class of vituperative literature among the still more
+ignorant people of China. The features of both are the same. In Europe, as
+in China, there is no crime that the lowest savages have ever committed
+which is not attributed, with impassioned eloquence and with the finest
+literary skill, to those who are held up to the popular animosity. In
+Europe, as in China, the ruling powers encourage the virulence of the
+press. In countries where the Government exercises direct control, and in
+others where the connection is less official, extravagances are permitted
+which can serve no other purpose than that of making the objects of
+the invective so odious that a quarrel with them is rendered popular in
+advance. European Governments thus play with fire, as the Chinese have
+done, but in the case of the latter the incendiary policy has worked out
+its logical result.
+
+Nor should it be forgotten that since, in these days, the Chinese have
+the fullest access to European literature, the calumnies of one nation
+by another are calculated to confirm their conviction of the turpitude of
+all. Neither is their armoury confined to the international amenities of
+the Western press. The charges habitually, and as a matter of course, made
+against their own countrymen by British writers and speakers would justify
+a stranger people, already predisposed thereto, in forming the worst
+opinion of English character. During the saturnalia of a general election,
+when the fountains of the great deep are broken up, no baseness, no
+falsity, no treachery, is too gross to be attributed, not to the rabble,
+but to the chosen leaders of the people. Such things being circulated
+throughout the world, preserved in indelible ink, can the enemies of the
+British nation, or at least the prejudiced Chinese, be greatly blamed for
+accepting the character of our people on such unimpeachable evidence?
+Should we not judge them on analogous testimony? From whatever sources
+they gather their ideas, however,--whether from the study of foreign
+newspapers, from their own observation of the ways of foreign men and
+women, or from the gross libels published by their literati,--there is no
+reason to doubt that the unfavourable opinion which the Chinese entertain
+of foreigners is held by them in good faith.
+
+
+III. IMMEDIATE PROVOCATION.
+
+    Shock of the Japanese war--European spoliation of
+    China--Anarchy apprehended therefrom--Reminiscence of Taiping
+    rebellion--Proposals for moderating foreign inroads--Lawlessness
+    of foreign Powers--Chinese yield to force but nurse
+    resentment--The missionary irritant.
+
+What has caused the chronic anti-foreign movement to swell suddenly to
+imperial dimensions, and to explode simultaneously in the capital and in
+distant provinces, is a larger question than we can attempt to answer.
+As contributory causes, however, there are certain facts lying on the
+surface of foreign relations which are too suggestive to be passed over.
+The Japanese war of 1894-95, and the train of events following it, noted
+in a previous chapter, struck at the vital centre of the Chinese empire.
+Foreigners of all nations applied force to China, not to defend person
+or property, but to divide up the empire in disregard of the Government
+and the people, both assumed to be moribund. The partition of China was
+discussed in the Western press as a matter in which the Government and
+natives of the country had no concern. Open doors, spheres of influence,
+concessions, protectorates--the various modes in which the Chinese oyster
+was to be cooked and served--were treated solely as questions of rivalry
+and preponderance between the Western Powers. The people were not indeed
+ignored, for the aggressors reckoned on them as their most valuable
+asset, the raw material of prospective armies, the source of labour supply
+for excavations and earthworks, and of the payable traffic for railways
+and other exotic enterprises. But there is more in human nature than a
+capacity to dig or obey a drill-sergeant, and it is precisely the elements
+which were disregarded by political, financial, and industrial adventurers
+which have risen up in judgment against them. The grandiose pronouncements
+of the foreign press during the last two or three years were by no means
+lost on the Chinese Government. These writings showed that the ambitions
+of foreign countries had no limits, while the gratification of them was
+absolutely incompatible with the retention of any semblance of independent
+authority by the rulers of the country.
+
+Reasoning after the fact, and from effect to cause, is apt to be
+fallacious, but when the circuit is completed by the joining of prediction
+with realisation, some confidence may be felt in the soundness of
+the conclusion. Those who have observed the condition of China with
+a sympathetic eye have been for years labouring under the deepest
+apprehension for the peace of the country. The Japanese war accentuated
+this feeling, and the subsequent ruthless proceedings of the Western
+Powers deepened the apprehension. As the forces of aggression could in
+nowise be restrained, anxious, but inadequate and altogether ineffectual,
+attempts were made to avert their worst effects. Warnings were not
+wanting that "dangers which might have slept for generations to come
+had been suddenly brought within the range of practical politics, and
+that unless measures of precaution were taken in time, what happened in
+1894-95 would sooner or later happen again, ... that the Chinese Empire
+would be brought to the verge of disruption; for all the forces, external
+and internal, which make for anarchy would be let loose, and the empire
+would be powerless alike to resist dismemberment by the aggressive Powers
+or the subversion of authority by internal upheaval." The paper from
+which we quote, doubtless one of many such drawn up in 1896, goes on to
+say: "However desirous some, or even all, of the Great Powers might be
+of saving China from dissolution, they would be paralysed by their own
+jealousies, and they would perhaps be more concerned to avert a general
+war among themselves than to prevent calamity in China. A crisis might
+thus arise more direful in its consequences than the chronic crisis in
+the Ottoman Empire, and a reign of havoc would follow in which millions
+would perish where the loss of thousands now excites the indignation of
+the civilised world.[35] No circumstances would be wanting to intensify
+the horror, for it would not be even civil war, but promiscuous rapine
+as aimless and as uncontrollable as a forest fire. A generation has
+scarcely passed since China was desolated by the scourge of the Taiping
+rebellion, which is thought to have destroyed a population equal to that
+of a first-class European State; and a new outbreak of the like kind
+would be more hopeless, inasmuch as the factors which were eventually
+brought into play to extinguish the conflagration in 1862-64 would now
+be wanting, or would be rendered inoperative by the complex circumstances
+above indicated."
+
+The spectre was anarchy, the provocatives aggression and dismemberment;
+and the permanent interests of international commerce were appealed to
+to avert the calamities foreshadowed. "Dismemberment, from the point
+of view of the general interests of trade, would be little better than
+anarchy." Severe pressure was being put on the Chinese Government--even
+in 1896, when these and similar forebodings were uttered--to permit
+free communication by steam and rail, and the development of the mineral
+resources of their country. It was from such sources that the immediate
+danger to the integrity of the territory and the peace of the State was
+apprehended, while, on the other hand, the need for the innovations was
+freely granted. "The Chinese having neither men nor appliances capable
+of undertaking either the construction or management of railways, must
+be wholly dependent on foreigners for their inauguration. This state of
+things, fully recognised on all sides, has led speculators and promoters
+of all nations to besiege the Chinese authorities with offers of the
+means of construction and with demands for concessions. But considering
+the relative positions of China and the Western nations, it cannot
+but be admitted that the Chinese have done well to refuse to listen
+to such proposals. Rival concessionaires working under the aegis of
+extra-territoriality in the interior would be the axe at the root of the
+tree of China's integrity."
+
+The problem of preserving the independence and integrity of China,
+while permitting the opening of the interior of the country to foreign
+enterprise, was felt to be one of the gravest importance, not to be
+settled by the clamour either of rival concession-hunters or the intrigue
+of rival States. "Inland residence," wrote Sir Rutherford Alcock, in 1868,
+"will bring weakness to the nation and death to the Government, and must
+eventuate in greater anarchy than has yet been seen.... Right of residence
+in the interior is hardly compatible with an extra-territorial clause."
+
+The essential condition of safety for the country was evidently,
+therefore, to bar the acquisition of territorial rights by any foreign
+Government or company. With this view it was urged that at least the
+ownership and control of railways and mines should be retained in the
+hands of the Government itself, under a competent organisation in which
+foreign skill and experience should be effectively represented. As
+the then existing railway line of 200 miles was of such a character, a
+development of the same system was recommended for the larger schemes
+which were thought to be impending. The foreign Powers were urged
+to assist China in putting her house in order and in adapting her
+administration to the exigencies of the time.
+
+Such were among the proposals made in 1896, and not disapproved by
+the Powers to which they were addressed. But common action thereon by
+foreigners was hindered by mutual rivalry and distrust, while the Chinese
+Government on its part showed neither inclination nor capacity--any more
+than it had ever done--to meet its difficulties by comprehensive measures.
+It preferred the ancient system of resisting, in detail and in secret, the
+advances of foreigners,--a policy of traps and snares and entanglements.
+Possibly the paralysis of despair had already reached the nerve centres
+of Chinese statesmanship, or the desperate scheme of a general expulsion
+of foreigners had begun to fascinate the leading spirits. Certain it is
+no practical _rapprochement_ was effected, or even seriously attempted,
+between the contending forces.
+
+Meantime, however, the invaders would brook no delay,--they had no
+time for temporising tactics. The "ugly rush" began--syndicate rivalled
+syndicate, and Government Government, in dividing up the _corpus vile_.
+Within twelve months of the period just referred to Germany led the way
+in the dismemberment of China by cutting off a slice of Shantung; Russia
+promptly followed in Liaotung; then Great Britain took Weihai-wei as a
+set-off, and assumed an interest in the central zone keener than that
+of the Chinese Government itself. Other Powers followed with imperious
+demands for portions of Chinese territory, on no ground whatever
+except that China was weak. Every law save the law of the strongest
+was suspended. Justice and mercy were thrown to the winds. And yet the
+orgies of spoliation were followed by no change in the outward forms of
+diplomatic relations with the Chinese Government. Foreign representatives
+continued to negotiate as if the power of that Government remained intact,
+though to assume, for one purpose, that there was neither sentient
+organism nor sovereign authority in China, and for another, that the
+Government retained its full competence,[36] was obviously to bring chaos
+into their intercourse. As a consequence, diplomatic correspondence
+with China since 1898--the British share of which, so far as has been
+published, extends to a thousand pages--is but a harvest of Dead Sea
+Fruit.
+
+But Chinese relations being a compound of courtesy and force on the
+part of foreign Powers, it is not difficult to divine which of the two
+must be the dominant factor. Though they bowed their heads in morose
+silence before their conquerors, Chinese statesmen retained sufficient
+vitality to discriminate between platonic diplomacy and the "mailed
+fist," yielding in all things to menace, in nothing to argument. To
+seize territory, under this _regime_, presented less difficulty than to
+obtain redress for trivial injuries. Aggressive Powers were respected
+according to the measure of their aggression, while those who concerned
+themselves with the preservation of the empire met with no recognition
+whatever. British schemes were thwarted at every point, while other
+Powers ran riot throughout the territory. For this reason the Chinese
+Government collectively, and individual mandarins, have been stigmatised
+as anti-British, as if to be so were a blot upon their escutcheons. No
+doubt they are; but to assume on that account that the Chinese rulers
+are pro-Russian, pro-French, or pro-German is more than the premisses
+seem to warrant. History and tradition are alike opposed to such an
+idea. That peculiar kind of patriot, the friend of every country but
+his own, is not much in evidence in China. The vainest and most jealous
+nation on earth was not likely in a moment to suppress its self-love,
+invert its whole character, and welcome an army of foreign adventurers,
+no matter of what nationality, who came in the guise not of servants but
+masters. And, setting sentiment aside, the Chinese were not blind to the
+material consequences of the foreign schemes which were pressed on them,
+but were as keenly alive to the danger of intrusting railway and mining
+enterprises to foreigners as they had always shown themselves to be
+when their military and naval armaments were concerned. The memorials of
+provincial authorities clearly prove this. If, therefore, they admitted
+the disruptive agency into their country, it was from no love of the
+interlopers, but solely by way of submission to superior force, and under
+the same mental reservation with which they had subscribed to all their
+previous treaty engagements.
+
+The chronic missionary irritant mentioned in previous chapters had been
+steadily spreading, and the hostility evoked by it as steadily increasing.
+Christianity being the only character in which foreigners had presented
+themselves to the view of the masses, the extirpation of it stood in the
+forefront of the anti-foreign programme. The disasters which the governing
+classes had always apprehended from the extension of foreign missions had
+suddenly assumed the form of a concrete reality. All that its opponents
+had for generations foretold became fact: their administration was being
+undermined, their traditions set at nought, their very territory wrenched
+from them in the name of the foreign religion. Propagandism was finally
+unmasked by the German Emperor in the uncompromising manner characteristic
+of that potentate. The Name that is above every name was openly made
+subservient to the lust of conquest. China saw at last that she was really
+doomed through the instrumentality of the religion which she had engaged
+herself to tolerate.
+
+
+IV. THE DYNASTIC FACTOR.
+
+    Irregularity of the succession--Defensive position of the
+    empress-dowager--Cantonese reformers influence emperor--Regent's
+    alarm, vengeance and reaction--The new heir-apparent.
+
+Ever since the _coup d'etat_ in January 1875, whereby the empress-regent
+by her own fiat placed her infant nephew on the throne of her deceased
+son, to the exclusion of more legitimate heirs, the dynastic question
+has been regarded by Chinese patriots as a certain source of future
+trouble.[37] The imperial dignity was not the only matter involved in the
+succession, but a vast amount of property also, and so many members of
+the imperial clan were interested in the result that it was deemed certain
+that the partisans of legitimacy would lie in wait for an opportunity of
+enforcing the claims of the rightful heir. As it is customary to attribute
+the acts of statesmen to personal motives, it has never been doubted that
+the interest of the empress-regent in setting the reigning emperor on the
+throne was sufficiently explained by her own lust of power. We know what
+is done, but do not always know what is prevented, and in the case of
+the families of both the elder brothers who were passed over, there may
+have been practical as well as judicial reasons to justify even a _coup
+d'etat_ which supplanted them. From what has recently been revealed of
+the character of Prince Tuan, for example, the exclusion of his progeny
+may possibly have been a providential deliverance.
+
+Be these things as they may, however, and be her ulterior motives what
+they may, the solicitude of the empress-regent has been constantly
+directed to protecting the weak point in her dynastic defences. The
+childlessness of the present emperor, as well as the misfortunes of
+the empire since he assumed the reins of power in 1889, of course added
+indefinitely to her anxiety, while at the same time serving to keep alive
+the pretensions of the elder branches.
+
+Speaking, as we have done throughout, only of what is apparent, the
+succession question was brought to the point of incandescence by certain
+events in 1898. Great and justifiable discontent had arisen in the
+provinces with the manner in which the affairs of the empire had been
+conducted, resulting in humiliation and calamity. The idea of doing
+something to stem the tide of misgovernment by enforcing the lessons
+of recent misfortune was freely discussed. But the Chinese have not
+discovered any method of remedying grievances except insurrections
+in one form or another, on a small or on a large scale. A movement of
+this character has been on foot in the Canton province ever since the
+Japanese war. These revolutionary conspiracies have indeed been so well
+organised, and so powerfully supported, that once, if not oftener, the
+provincial city of Canton has narrowly escaped capture. The agitation has
+been directed nominally against the Manchu Government. Whether directly
+associated with the insurrectionary propaganda or not, another body
+afterwards challenged public notice under the name of Reformers. As in the
+case of the insurrectionary movement, many Government officials secretly
+gave their adhesion to the cause, and inspired the leaders with confidence
+in the ultimate success of their schemes.
+
+Reform had been preached continuously to China from every foreign pulpit
+for forty years. "Reform or perish" was the regular formula--words so
+easily written that no resident, tourist, publicist, foreign official,
+or any one with a pen or a tongue, refrained from reiterating them
+continually. Individually every Chinese official with whom foreigners came
+in contact joined in the cry. But though the general demand was unanimous,
+there was diversity in the details, and in such a case the details were
+everything. A dozen writers, each insisting on the necessity of thorough
+reform, would postulate separately some indispensable preliminary to any
+reform whatsoever. These indispensable preliminaries, added together,
+would have left nothing for the substantive portion of the programme; by
+them Chinese administration would have been renovated from top to bottom.
+Such was the difficulty which friends and critics experienced in knowing
+where to begin in their efforts to reduce the general to the particular.
+
+In 1898, however, a bold attempt was made to launch a comprehensive scheme
+of reform by imperial fiat. A Cantonese named Kang Yu-wei, backed by a
+body of opinion,--of the extent and value of which different estimates may
+be formed, "financed," of course, as popular leaders must be,--obtained
+the ear of the emperor, and induced him to promulgate a budget of edicts
+of startling novelty. Being deemed revolutionary, they excited alarm
+in the Imperial Court. What were the specific grounds of alarm may be
+easily surmised. Foreigners who refer it exclusively to the question of
+reform may possibly take as partial a view of this as they have done of
+other Court movements. What is known is, that the empress-regent, always
+ready to strike when her interest or her schemes have been threatened,
+pounced on the unfortunate emperor, and by force of will and the parental
+authority which counts for so much in China, and in virtue of the Great
+Seal which she had reserved when handing over her trust, made him revoke
+his revolutionary edicts, hunted out his dangerous counsellors and
+punished them as traitors. The embers of reform were thus for the time
+ruthlessly stamped out. Of the ethics of these proceedings it is needless
+to speak: not ethics but strength decided the issue; nature's primeval law
+was not suspended in favour of the adventurous spirits who flew at such
+high game. A reaction against all reform naturally set in, and the old
+struggle was renewed: between conservation and revolution, viewed from
+the Chinese Court side; between purity and corruption, viewed from that
+of the Reformers.
+
+But the quarrel cannot be restricted to so simple an issue as either of
+these. The question between the Reformers and the Court was complicated by
+sundry important considerations. In the first place, the capture of the
+Emperor by Kang Yu-wei was directly inspired by the teaching of foreign
+missionaries. In the second place, the movement originated in the same
+southern provinces whence the Taiping rebellion itself had sprung, and
+where conspiracies against the Government had been active since 1895.
+And thirdly, the reform agitation was ostentatiously patronised by the
+foreign, or at least by the English, press, while the leaders of the
+insurgents found a safe asylum, if not an effective base of operations,
+in Hongkong and in foreign countries. Taking these circumstances
+together, therefore, whatever may be thought of the intrinsic merits
+of the double agitation, it could scarcely be expected that the Powers
+which saw themselves so seriously menaced should draw any such fine
+distinction between the ostensible objects of the reformers and of the
+revolutionaries, as to regard the one with complacency while suppressing
+the other. The most abject of governments and the most timid of animals
+will resist to the death an attack which threatens their existence. There
+would be nothing unnatural, therefore, in the resentment of the Imperial
+Government against its disaffected people being, by the process which
+is so familiar to us in family quarrels, temporarily diverted from the
+domestic to the foreign enemy, against whom the combined hostility of all
+parties in the Chinese State might, for the time being, be concentrated.
+
+Without, however, attempting to assign their relative values to all or
+any of these factors in the question, it seems evident that the events of
+1898 revealed the elements of a drama in which the contending factions in
+the Court were forced to show their colours. The course of the conflict
+during the year and a half following the autumn of 1898 has probably
+been obscured rather than elucidated by the contradictory reports and
+fluctuating comments which have been so freely disseminated with but
+slight regard to the authenticity of their origin. But the nomination of
+a grandson of Prince Tun as heir-apparent, which was decreed in January
+1900, looks like a belated, if not compulsory, recognition of the prior
+claims of that Princes family, and a confession that the Emperor Kwanghsu
+has kept the rightful heir twenty-five years out of his inheritance;
+for the grandson now selected possesses no right which the grandson set
+aside in 1875 did not possess. The relations of Prince Tuan, the father
+of the emperor designate, with the empress-regent are as obscure as
+the intricacies of palace politics usually are to contemporary foreign
+observers. Fortunately, however (in one sense), the cross-currents and
+undercurrents of the Court, the question who are confederates and who
+rivals, who betrayers and who betrayed, in the imperial camp, are matters
+which have to a great extent been deprived of their significance. Under
+normal conditions the dynastic imbroglio might have had a perturbing
+influence on the policy of foreign Powers, but the explosion of last
+summer has relegated all such domestic questions to a secondary place.
+When the correspondent of the 'Times' could report that there was "no
+Government" in Peking, the _personnel_ of that Government lost its
+practical interest. The old order, with its sins and sorrows, has indeed
+passed away, but to find a substitute for it is a problem that will tax
+the wisdom as well as the forbearance of the world. The anarchy which
+has been so long dreaded is actually upon us, and the prospective horrors
+of it are assuredly not lessened by the outbreak being signalised in the
+capital rather than in the provinces.
+
+
+V. THE CHINESE OUTBREAK.
+
+    Chinese methods of expelling foreigners--Secret societies--The
+    Boxers.
+
+Considering as a whole, therefore, the succession of crushing blows which
+during the past six years have been dealt against the integrity of China
+by open enemies and dissimulating friends, we may conceive, at least
+partially, the hatred of foreigners which exists in the country. In this
+case we are not driven to assume any wide difference between the Chinese
+and races more nearly allied to ourselves, nor need we seek to account
+for their demonstrations by defects in their moral or religious training.
+Had even the whole population of China been miraculously converted to
+Christianity, as suggested by Sir Robert Hart ('Fortnightly Review,'
+November 1900), it is not permissible to assume that they would have
+continued turning the other cheek to so many smiters. If we suppose the
+case of any Western nation subjected to the experiences through which
+the Chinese have had to pass at the hands of foreign dictators, the mode
+in which it would act may afford us some measure by which to gauge the
+excesses of the Chinese.
+
+The origin and organisation of the recent outbreak will no doubt be a
+topic of discussion for some time to come, and it is not within our
+province to anticipate the final verdict on it. But, as in certain
+contagious diseases which become constitutional, the angry symptoms first
+show themselves at the point of infection, it is interesting to note
+that the German sphere in Shantung enjoys the distinction of being the
+cradle of the principal agency producing the cataclysm. The prominence
+suddenly attained by the Boxer movement is probably fortuitous, due to
+its casual connection with high personages. Secret societies are nothing
+new, nor societies of divers sorts which have scarcely the pretence of
+secrecy. As weeds spring up where cultivation is neglected, these social
+growths may be considered in the light of spontaneous efforts to occupy
+ground left vacant by the constituted Government,--a sort of excrescence
+of autonomy rising and falling according as the administration is less or
+more efficient. The members of these societies may be ascetics who follow
+strict rules of living, defenders of popular rights, or mere "bullies"
+who may be hired. They bear virtuous titles, but it is safe to assume that
+the ostensible object of the associations is in practice invariably lost
+in schemes of a different complexion. Sometimes in collision, at other
+times in collusion, with the established Government, these societies are
+a mobile factor, a sort of shifting ballast, always to be reckoned with
+in the Chinese economy.
+
+As the Boxers are an athletic corps, drilled and exercised, it was
+natural to inquire, when their imposing force stood revealed, how
+such a formidable movement could have been organised among the Chinese
+people without the fact becoming known to the foreign residents in the
+country. One answer is, that those who saw what was going on and warned
+their countrymen were decried as alarmists, and then held their peace.
+The wisest were but little wiser than their neighbours, for as weather
+prophets easily forecast the character of the following season, while
+they are at fault as regards that of the next twenty-four hours, so those
+who are able to predict with confidence the remote future in China are
+often the most blind to the nearer future which is reckoned by days or
+months. But incredulity was excusable in the present case, for the extent
+and apparent suddenness of the movement were really unprecedented. Such a
+force has not been mobilised and kept in the field in a militant condition
+without immense effort and liberal supplies, for though pillage might
+go far, it would not go all the way in supporting so large a body for
+any length of time. The junction of the Boxers with imperial troops, the
+relations of the commanders to members of the imperial family, and the
+influence of the movement on the question of the dynastic succession, are
+all matters on which light will be welcome; for as no military invasion
+of the territory has ever called forth such a general enthusiasm of
+resistance, interesting, indeed, will be the discovery of the real genesis
+of a rising at once spontaneous and aggressive.
+
+The most practical observation, however, that foreign nations have been
+forced to make during the crisis is that, whatever might have been the
+separate designs of those who presided over the general movement, the
+rallying flag of the combination was the extermination of foreigners.
+That was the pretext which, for the time being at least, reconciled
+all antagonisms and satisfied all consciences. It seemed as if the
+long-accumulated hatred of the Chinese had gathered to a head, and its
+whole force had been concentrated in one supreme effort to sweep the
+aliens throughout the empire into the sea. That elaborate preparation had
+been made to carry this into effect seems to be placed beyond doubt, the
+rulers of China evidently conceiving that the effort would be successful.
+
+The excuse put forward in palliation of an anti-crusade headed by the
+highest personages in the empire bears an interesting family resemblance
+to the apology usually made for rebels. Being beguiled by false prophets,
+they believed they would succeed;[38] and success would have justified the
+venture. The facts are such as no subsequent negotiations, no treaties,
+no modifications of government, no reform, no professions of any kind,
+can ever explain away.
+
+
+VI. THE CRUX.
+
+    Concert of foreign Powers unstable--Divergent aims--Aggressive
+    and non-aggressive Powers--Unpromising outlook--The progress of
+    Russia the only permanent element.
+
+If conflicting forces in China have been united in an effort to expel
+the foreigners, so the non-Chinese world has been forced into temporary
+agreement in order to extinguish a conflagration which endangered all
+interests. But the Powers assembled to execute judgment and restore order
+in China present a picturesque diversity of ulterior aims. Their unity
+can hardly, therefore, be expected to survive the emergency which gave it
+birth. After the storm has passed--if it does pass--the permanent policy
+of the several Powers may be expected to resume its normal sway. Of the
+character of these different policies we are not left in doubt, for in the
+history of the past six years it has been revealed in overt acts bearing
+a higher authority than the most solemn official manifestoes.
+
+The principal Powers concerned may be ranged in three groups--the
+aggressive, the non-aggressive, and the absorbent. Under the first
+must be ranked Japan, France, and Germany. Facts which cannot lie have
+proved that these three Powers have long cherished designs upon the
+territory of China. No doubt they flatter themselves with the belief
+that their rule over such portions of Chinese soil as may come under
+their control would be a blessing to mankind, an opinion which it would
+serve no good purpose to controvert. And they reckon that, in addition
+to the higher civilisation which they propose to confer on the Chinese
+people and Government, they will secure material advantages for their
+own populations. The ruling characteristic, however, of this policy is
+that it is factitious, adventurous, and ideal, in search of interests
+to defend rather than framed for the defence of interests existing. It
+is essentially, therefore, an aggressive policy, though, in a sense,
+also progressive. Dividing the world into communities to be conquered
+and nations who are fitted to conquer them, it represents the primeval
+moving power in ethnic evolution. But it is a policy quite unsuited for
+co-operation, and the attempt to yoke together Governments, certain of
+whom are moved empirically by facts as they exist and as they arise,
+and others by the desire of creating facts, ends--as all concerts
+of antagonistic interests must end--most likely in explosion. A safe
+calculation may be made as to the action of a non-aggressive Power,
+under given circumstances, as the action of a man of business may be
+approximately inferred from obvious considerations of pecuniary advantage.
+But in the case of States with ideal policies, like France and Germany,
+no such forecast can be made. This radical divergence between the aims of
+the Powers who are called upon to decree the fate of China must render a
+sincere agreement between them, under any circumstances, impossible; and
+if the policy of one of them should happen to be directed by a political
+genius ambitious of distinction, the course of the whole would be subject
+to aberrations incalculable. It is true that the Governments which have
+marked out for themselves these extensive plans of aggression may begin
+to perceive that their proceedings in China have been somewhat in advance
+of any justification, also that they have been reckoning without their
+host, and that to found and maintain empires in further Asia may put a
+strain upon their resources out of proportion to the material gains to
+be derived from the enterprise. Perceiving that their "vaulting ambition
+may o'erleap itself" and land them on the off-side of the horse, they may
+show themselves willing, for the moment, to attenuate the significance
+of their previous energy. The discovery that the conquest of China
+involves something more than a military promenade may induce them to
+make professions which, however sincere for the time being, accord but
+indifferently with established facts. In the procession of history,
+however, it is the facts and not the words which ultimately prevail.
+
+And this is the only canon by which it is safe to interpret the
+apocalyptic exchange of notes just announced between Great Britain and
+Germany, whose significance, like that of the conversation of a Chinese,
+lies in the things which are not said. Considered as a convention, it
+must be classed with those elastic bargains of which several examples
+occur in the preceding narrative, in which one party has a definite
+aim and the other not, and which is therefore destined to be employed
+exclusively to the advantage of the former. _Vigilantibus non dormientibus
+servit lex._ Without knowing what secret inducements led to such a
+declaration of policy between Great Britain and Germany it is impossible
+to assign a value to it. Its most authoritative expositors in the German
+press rejoice in the fact that it pins Great Britain down to the only
+policy which she has ever pursued, or ever will,--a policy in which her
+public utterances have throughout coincided with her overt acts,--that,
+namely, of opening Chinese and all other markets not for herself but
+for the whole world on equal terms. An agreement, however, which does
+not arrest French encroachments in the south, Russian appropriations in
+the north, nor German exclusive exploitations in Shantung or elsewhere,
+contributes little to that maintenance of the integrity of China which is
+its professed object. Neither the world at large nor China herself will
+benefit greatly by a verbal restriction on the one Power to whom the "open
+door" and the integrity of China are articles of political religion and
+of undeviating practice. And the clause which solemnly reserves to the
+two parties the right of consulting together in certain contingencies
+gives to the transaction a very platonic character. But a covenant whose
+meaning is veiled is always a hazardous operation, even in private life,
+where the power of definite interpretation lies with the more aggressive
+of the two parties.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The non-aggressive Powers may be defined as those whose citizens have
+established in the country a substantial position, which their Governments
+have been slow to protect. The principal representatives of this group
+are Great Britain and the United States, whose interests in China have
+many times been defined as commercial, and not territorial. They have
+acted consistently on the conviction that there is no country in the
+world where conquest for the sake of commerce was less justifiable than
+in China, which possesses a large population inured to labour, accustomed
+to the luxuries of a civilised society, and with unsurpassed aptitude
+for business. No special credit is due to the two Anglo-Saxon nations for
+their recognition of these circumstances, except in so far as it indicates
+an intelligent appreciation of their own interests. They desire, as an
+ordinary trader or manufacturer would, that a good customer may be kept
+on his legs, and that a promising inheritance shall not be alienated
+from the next generation of their merchants. Their policy, however, being
+essentially passive and conservative, suffers from the defects of these
+qualities, and is liable to be overborne by the more energetic action of
+the Powers which we have ventured to place in the aggressive class.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There remains the third group, which consists of one member, and that is
+Russia. Although Russia is in effect more aggressive than all the others
+put together, her annexations have been conducted under a different
+formula from those of Germany, France, or Japan. It is not merely that she
+has avoided hostilities, and effected her purpose by patient and adroit
+diplomacy, but that her acquisitions of Chinese territory have not been
+of the "wild-cat" order, but genuine integral additions to her existing
+possessions. The expansion of Russia, whether a matter to be deplored
+or applauded, is at any rate a natural growth, unduly forced at times,
+but steady and progressive. It is the shadow of this secular advance of
+Russia that covers the whole Far Eastern situation, and has in fact done
+so for nearly fifty years. The character of her progress could not be
+better described, even with the lights we now possess, than it was by Sir
+Rutherford Alcock as far back as 1855. With rare clearness of vision and
+firmness of touch he thus foretold the position which Russia was destined
+to occupy in the Far East:--
+
+    China has long been impotent. Russia has within the last few
+    years, by force of diplomacy, appropriated half the province
+    of Manchuria, the ancient patrimony of the reigning dynasty,
+    and with it the command of the river Amur. If this other great
+    Leviathan ... has not yet swallowed the whole empire, it can only
+    be that, great as are its capacities, there are limits imposed by
+    nature to the powers of deglutition and digestion in the largest
+    boa-constrictor or predatory animal yet discovered. In the mean
+    time the danger is more immediate and menacing to Europe than
+    to China, perhaps; for Russia has at Sakhalin, the mouth of the
+    Amur, and the adjoining coasts of the Western continent, laid the
+    foundation for a position as menacing to European commerce as any
+    now existing at the opposite extremity in the Baltic. Stretching
+    with giant arms across the whole breadth of Northern Asia and
+    Europe from fastnesses at each end, Asiatic hordes, directed by
+    Western genius and science, are held in leash, ready to let slip
+    over the fair and fertile south of both continents. The wealthiest
+    regions of both Europe and Asia are at once threatened by this
+    modern colossus.... China, India, and the kingdoms of Southern
+    Europe form but the three different stages of invading progress.
+    Long before the whole of such a gigantic scheme of rule and
+    conquest can have its accomplishment in China--the most helpless
+    as well as the richest of all the victims--Russia will be enabled
+    to reap the first-fruits and take instalments of the larger and
+    more distant spoil, by controlling the trade of Northern China
+    and the rich European trade so recently developed in its seas.
+
+Russia alone has a policy independent at once of accidents, autocrats,
+shifting governing bodies, and of all personalities, weak or strong.
+With the accumulated force of past achievements, an unbroken tradition,
+and great military forces massed on a frontier which is no frontier,
+Russia among the other Powers now masquerading in the Far East is as the
+iron vessel floating among the earthenware pots. Russian publicists, in
+order to strengthen the dominant position to which they aspire, have been
+proclaiming with increasing insistency that they are the only nation who
+can deal with the Chinese Question because they are themselves an Asiatic
+people. They justify this pretension by their primitive Asiatic military
+ethics, and it is an instructive spectacle to see their forces massacring
+Chinese populations wholesale while their diplomatists are ostentatiously
+shielding those in high places from the just consequences of their
+crimes. The German Emperor has said many clever and some foolish things,
+but perhaps he never did a wiser one than in making over his schemes of
+vengeance to his august ally, for the work is more becoming to an Asiatic
+than a Teutonic people.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+From an areopagus composed of these incongruous elements great
+achievements are expected, but the comparison between the end and the
+means inspires little confidence as to the result. The task itself is
+gigantic enough to appal the boldest political experimenter that ever
+lived, while its complexity involves insoluble contradictions. China,
+the very Government itself, has been guilty of outrages against foreign
+nations such as no nation can forgive another. The foreign Powers have
+been openly and persistently defied--their people massacred throughout
+the empire. Yet the nations so hated and flouted assume that they
+have a mission to fulfil in setting up a stable Government in China, a
+Government to be created for their own convenience, with which they may
+in future negotiate,--a puppet Government, therefore, yet one which is to
+maintain peace and good order throughout a vast empire by the prestige
+of its authority over a loyal and devoted people. As buttresses to the
+stability of the new _regime_, "the loyal southern viceroys," as they
+are termed--loyal to whom, or to what?--deriving authority, it is to be
+presumed, from the Government which is to be patronised by foreigners, are
+expected to meet the convenience of the dictators and prevent anarchy in
+the provinces. In short, the subjective Chinaman, as we have ventured to
+call the fabulous animal so often evolved from Western consciousness, is
+once more to be brought on the scene, and do everything that is expected
+of him.
+
+A puppet Government is an intelligible thing, but of a puppet pulled by
+a dozen strings no clear conception can be formed. Such, however, has
+been the anomalous history of foreign relations with China, that the
+identical state of things now threatening has not been absent from the
+minds of observers for a whole generation. The missionary question alone
+was thought likely to result in a deadlock between China and the Powers.
+More than thirty years ago Sir Rutherford Alcock was impressed with the
+destructive effect of "each treaty Power dictating to the Government and
+coercing its officers in their jurisdiction wherever Christians were
+concerned." This, he thought, "would tend to paralyse and bring into
+contempt the executive, leading to a process of disintegration fatal to
+the existence of the Empire." What was then thought applicable to the
+missionary field now affects the whole range of international intercourse
+and of Chinese government. We are, in fact, confronted by two anarchies
+of most serious portent--anarchy in the administration of China, and
+anarchy among the foreign Powers who are so active in that country. From
+the beginning of the intervention to protect the Legations anarchy among
+the Allies has been the predominant feature: it was that which frustrated
+effective action in June, and led to such severe loss and suffering.
+Anarchy alone can account for the lawless proceedings at Tientsin,
+Peking, and on the Chinese coast, which on any other hypothesis would be a
+disgrace to civilisation. Anarchy has characterised all the utterances of
+the Western Powers. Beginning at the wrong end with great swelling words
+full of sound and fury, the Powers who assumed to lead have gradually
+toned down their threats as they obtained more light on the situation
+and on their own incapacity to deal with it. The latest expression of
+this incapacity is the Anglo-German Agreement, already referred to, which
+perpetuates the fallacy of excluding the Chinese factor from the China
+question. Yet out of, even by means of, this confusion it is expected that
+order may be established in China! _Similia similibus!_
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In this desperate imbroglio the ultimate advantage will no doubt fall
+to those members of the unnatural coalition who have the clearest views
+and the firmest resolution in giving effect to them. The dubious and
+vacillating Powers frittering away their political forces, espousing every
+contradiction in succession, and turning in weariness from the disgusting
+scenes in which they will have reluctantly participated, will in all
+probability leave the path open for their neighbours who have steadier
+aims and fewer scruples.
+
+Russia has been in real, though not nominal or legal, possession of
+Manchuria since 1896. She has absorbed in times past many stony deserts
+and barren solitudes, but in Manchuria she has for the first time
+acquired a rich territory with an all-important sea-base and a virile
+population, whereby her dominant position in Eastern Asia has been
+rendered inexpugnable. China lies at her feet. Obviously, therefore,
+her interests in that empire are not only distinct from, but opposed to,
+those of every other Power: for while they may desire (1) to support an
+efficient government and keep the empire of China on its legs, and (2) to
+cut off slices of the territory for their own use,--two contradictory and
+mutually destructive policies,--Russia has no need to be anxious, either
+as to the efficiency of any Chinese Government or as to her own ulterior
+interests in the territory. The looser the substance to be absorbed the
+more painless will be the process of absorption. Once established in
+strength in Manchuria, disorder on her frontier may afford the perhaps not
+unwelcome opportunity of restoring order on her own terms,--of, in fact,
+continuing the process by which Siberia with Central and North-Eastern
+Asia have, in the course of two hundred years, been gradually incorporated
+into the Russian Empire. "It may well be doubted," wrote Sir Rutherford
+Alcock in 1868, "if this vast empire (of China) is not too large to be
+any longer governed from Peking. It is impossible to conceive a more
+disadvantageous site for the capital." Disadvantageous, perhaps, to
+China, whose centre of gravity lies a thousand miles to the south; but
+not disadvantageous to a Power whose strength is consolidated five hundred
+miles to the north.[39]
+
+And the veto which Russia has exercised over the acts of the Chinese
+Government since 1895, whereby she has been able, at her pleasure, to
+frustrate the enterprises of other Powers, is not likely to fall into
+abeyance when that Government has been prostrated by its own folly. For
+the weaker the Chinese Government becomes the greater will be its need of
+correction and guidance. But we have only to imagine half-a-dozen Powers,
+each aspiring, and some of them fully resolved, to exercise their special
+veto over the proposals of the others, to realise the tragic complexity
+of the international problems which now present themselves for solution.
+A government holding together three hundred millions of people ripened
+for rebellion, potentially at war with the rest of the world, and yet
+governing under multiple tutelage--such is the prospect before us. Of
+all the legacies which the nineteenth bequeaths to the twentieth century,
+there is none more portentous than that of the sick giant of the Far East.
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+ [33] See vol. i. p. 38.
+
+ [34] Mr Freeman-Mitford, in 'The Attache at Peking,' recently
+    published, tells the following good story illustrative of this
+    (p. 168). M. de Mas, the Spanish Minister, happening to be at
+    the house of Heng-Chi, and knowing that he had a little son of
+    whom he was inordinately proud, thought it would be a very pretty
+    compliment if he asked to see the little boy, who was accordingly
+    produced, sucking his thumb after the manner of his years. Him his
+    father ordered to pay his respects to M. de Mas--that is to say,
+    shake his united fists at him in token of salutation; instead of
+    which the child, after long silence and much urging, taking his
+    thumb deliberately out of his mouth roared out "Kwei-tzu" (devils)
+    at the top of his voice and fled.
+
+ [35] Referring to the massacre of Armenian Christians, with regard
+    to which Germany took up a very different attitude from that now
+    assumed towards China--a circumstance, by the way, which serves
+    to reduce the "Christian" factor in the present intervention to
+    its proper value.
+
+ [36] Or, as M. Paul Boell expresses it, "Traitant la Chine tantot
+    comme un pouvoir tout a fait formidable, tantot comme une
+    puissance negre de septieme ordre."
+
+ [37] Kwanghsu, being first cousin to the deceased Emperor Tungchih,
+    could not, according to Chinese usage, be his heir. In adopting
+    him, therefore, as posthumous heir to the previous Emperor
+    Hsienfeng, his uncle, the Regent left her own son, the Emperor
+    Tungchih, without an heir, promising to supply the want from
+    the future offspring of Kwanghsu, or by some other adoption; but
+    against this procedure strong protests were made. The arrangement,
+    however, conferred upon the Dowager-Empress, as the widow of
+    Hsienfeng, the authority of a mother over his heir, a circumstance
+    which to a large extent accounts for the filial deference the
+    reigning emperor has always paid to his adoptive mother.
+
+ [38] Thirty years ago the great Nanking viceroy, Tseng Kwo-fan,
+    assured the Government in a memorial to the throne that if the
+    question of treaty revision could not be satisfactorily arranged
+    with foreigners, he had forces enough under his orders to drive
+    them all into the sea.
+
+ [39] The question of removing the capital to a more convenient site
+    has been discussed academically--by foreigners--for many years,
+    their view being that Nanking would be the most suitable. No doubt
+    a central point open to the sea would be more convenient for the
+    maritime Powers, but that is evidently not an advantage which
+    commends itself to the Chinese themselves. During the Japanese war
+    their strategists urged the removal of the Court from Peking to
+    Signan fu in Shensi, simply on the ground of the inaccessibility
+    of the latter site. The transport was prepared and the Emperor
+    was ready, but the Empress-Dowager vetoed the project.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK'S LATER YEARS.
+
+    Retirement--Literary work--Social and charitable
+    occupations--Geographical Society--Borneo--Failing health--Active
+    to the end.
+
+
+After twenty-seven years' service in the Far East Sir Rutherford Alcock
+spent the remaining twenty-seven years of his life in his own country,
+not in the placid enjoyment of a well-earned leisure or in mere literary
+recreation, but in labours incessant for the good of his countrymen.
+Though the scene had changed, the methodical habits of his business life
+remained unaltered, and were directed in their full activity to the duties
+that presented themselves in England.
+
+During his whole active life Sir Rutherford had cherished the hope of
+occupying his years of leisure with work for the sick and needy. His
+visit to England, 1856-58, perhaps gave the definite direction to this
+aspiration, and led him to see that hospitals, schools, prisons, and
+similar institutions would afford the best available medium through
+which he could reach the object of his desires. No sooner, therefore,
+was he released from official service than the ex-army surgeon returned
+to his first love. The associations of his youth were bound up with the
+two hospitals in Westminster where he had studied. There, accordingly,
+after the lapse of forty years, his active connection with the medical
+schools was resumed. Residing in the immediate vicinity, Sir Rutherford
+was able to devote a large share of his time to the affairs of Westminster
+Hospital, giving back with interest what he had received from his nursing
+mother. He was a regular visitor there: before long he joined the Board,
+and became a prominent figure at its meetings. Being appointed one of the
+vice-presidents, an office he held till his death, he was, through his
+constant attendance, the working chairman of the board. There was much
+good work waiting to be done in the control and direction of the routine
+service of the establishment, and still more in the way of improvements
+required to adapt the machine to the needs of the time. Hospitals in
+general were by no means in a satisfactory condition thirty years ago,
+and the Westminster was certainly no better than its neighbours. The
+sanitary state of the establishment was antiquated and unfavourable to
+the patients. But the structural changes necessary to improve this and to
+extend the accommodation, and the heavy expenditure involved, demanded
+first-rate financial and organising capacity, as well as unremitting
+labour,--desiderata which Sir Rutherford was eminently qualified to
+supply. The nursing was at such a low level as amounted almost to a
+scandal. Drastic remedies, in short, and in many directions, were called
+for. But reform from within is proverbially an unpromising undertaking,
+the _personnel_ being identified with conservative traditions. That kind
+of parsimony which is in effect the worst extravagance, inasmuch as it
+yields no adequate return, was a serious obstacle to improvement. It was
+not their fault, but that of the system of which they were but creatures,
+that nurses and other attendants were so perfunctory and so inefficient.
+It was the system, therefore, that had to be reformed, and into that work
+Sir Rutherford Alcock threw himself _con amore_. In his labours for the
+improvement of the hospital he was supported throughout by the cordial
+co-operation of the late Lady Augusta Stanley. We are indebted to his
+colleague, Mr George Cowell, F.R.C.S., for a short reference to the work
+initiated and carried through by Sir Rutherford Alcock, and for a warm
+tribute to the zeal and ability which he brought into the service:--
+
+    Most of the many valuable reports on such subjects as the nursing,
+    admission of out-patients, structural alterations, and improved
+    sanitation were written by him, and endorsed by the committees
+    over which he so ably presided. The writer of this notice
+    remembers the early controversies with reference to the nursing,
+    and the growing complaints which failed to receive attention until
+    Sir Rutherford came on the scene. Hospital committees in those
+    days were not so liberal as they are now, and all increase in
+    the wages of the nurses was absolutely refused for many years.
+    The result of this parsimony was that as the general rate of
+    wages increased, the best nurses were enticed away by better pay
+    elsewhere, and Westminster had gradually come to be nursed by a
+    lower and lower class, and indeed thirty years ago it was not an
+    unheard-of thing to convict a nurse for consuming brandy ordered
+    for the patient. The medical staff were obliged to make a stand
+    against this crying evil, and at last, with the assistance of Sir
+    Rutherford, and in spite of the determined opposition of the then
+    senior physician, a change was made, and the cost of the nursing
+    was doubled at a bound.
+
+Sir Rutherford was chairman of the Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital for
+sixteen years, and of the Hospital for Women in Soho Square, to both
+of which institutions he rendered great services. He was member of the
+Council of the House of Charity for assisting those who have seen better
+days, and chairman of the Nursing Home founded by Lady Augusta Stanley,
+in which he took a keen interest. He was also a Poor Law Guardian and
+a leader in sundry charitable and other parochial work, his experiences
+of which he likened to the steps of a dancing-master--"two forward and
+one backward, with no very sensible advance in any one direction." One
+important step forward he did, however, succeed in making, and that was
+in obtaining trained nurses for sick inmates of workhouses. His efforts,
+while connected with St George's Union, were specially devoted to the
+treatment of the sick: he also took a great interest in the emigration of
+pauper children to Canada.
+
+As a member of the committee of the Charity Organisation Society he
+laboured for many years in a variety of ways to bring about unity of
+action between that body and the Board of Guardians. In connection with
+the Westminster District Board of Works, Board of Parochial Trustees,
+Western Dispensary, and Westminster Nursing Committee, he rendered
+innumerable services to the populous districts controlled by these
+organisations. Having been elected to the Board of Works in 1875, Sir
+Rutherford was at once placed upon the Sanitary Committee, to which the
+Board delegated the administration of the Public Health Acts then in
+force. The vestry clerk of St Margaret's and St John's records that the
+Sanitary Committee of the District Board of Works was Sir Rutherford's
+favourite field of work--an impression which was no doubt also formed by
+the executive officers of the other spheres of his multifarious activity.
+The members of the Board were at that time greatly occupied in combating
+the evils resulting from the overcrowded and insanitary condition of
+their district, and Sir Rutherford was largely instrumental in urging
+upon the Home Office the necessity of legislation to compel medical
+practitioners and heads of families to give notice of cases of infectious
+diseases--efforts which eventually resulted in the Act of Parliament of
+1889.
+
+In 1881 he was appointed a member of the Royal Commission to investigate
+the London smallpox and fever hospitals, to the formation of which he
+had contributed powerfully by his reports and articles and labours in the
+Medical Conference. In 1882 he presided over the Health Department of the
+Social Science Congress.
+
+In all the social and philanthropic objects to which he devoted himself he
+was an original worker, never a follower of routine or one to say ditto
+to another man's opinions. Whatever he undertook he did thoroughly, and
+with a single eye to the main purpose. His various activities brought him
+into contact with all sorts and conditions of men, but chiefly with those
+on the pathetic side of social life--the unfortunate, the debilitated,
+the improvident, the suffering. He shirked none of his obligations to the
+meanest of these, and would suffer the greatest personal inconvenience
+rather than fail in fulfilment of the smallest promise, or in gratifying
+the slightest request. This punctilious observance of the minor duties
+was remarked as a prominent feature in his character. An intimate friend
+writes, "How I wish I could convey even a faint idea of his kindly and
+sympathetic friendship, which left the feeling that he was on a plane
+above one in his lofty sense of love and duty." Pure philanthropy,
+genuine economy, and sound finance being his guiding principles in all
+social undertakings, and whatever he undertook being pushed through to
+a successful issue, he by degrees acquired a reputation for efficiency
+and tenacity. It was not surprising that his energetic character should
+have gained him the credit of aggressiveness, or, as Mr Co well puts
+it, "bellicose individuality," which, however, served him in good stead
+in every post he occupied. We have already seen throughout his official
+career how he was stimulated by controversy: he was at his best as a
+fighting man.
+
+The high qualities which Sir Rutherford devoted to his labours of love
+received flattering recognition from the Queen, who applied to him to draw
+up the regulations and rules of the institution by which deserving nurses
+were to be benefited in commemoration of her Majesty's Jubilee. This
+honour he accepted from her Majesty on the condition that he should have
+for colleagues in the work Sir James Paget and the Duke of Westminster, a
+request which was graciously granted. The balance of the Women's Jubilee
+offering of 1887 was L70,000, of which fund the three were appointed
+trustees. They decided that it should be applied to the foundation of
+an institution to promote the education and maintenance of nurses for
+the sick poor in their own homes. When the scheme had been matured a
+royal charter of incorporation was granted, wherein the governing body
+was styled "The Queen Victoria Jubilee Institute for Nurses," the three
+trustees being appointed to act permanently in that capacity, and also as
+members of the Council of the Institute. "Sir Rutherford," says the Rev.
+Arthur Peile, Master of St Katharine's, "continued to the last to take
+an unfailing interest in the work, and in many valuable ways aided the
+committee and council by his advice. From his wide grasp of the subject
+in its various bearings he was able to make important suggestions."
+The Diamond Jubilee and the incidents connected with the celebration
+interested Sir Rutherford greatly during the last year of his life, and
+the medal he received on the occasion was valued by him more highly than
+any other distinction, because he knew that the bestowal of it was the
+spontaneous act of the Queen herself, for whom he had a deep personal
+affection.
+
+To the larger public Sir Rutherford Alcock was perhaps best known by his
+work in connection with the Royal Geographical Society, on the committee
+of which he served for twenty years. Elected President in 1876, it
+fell to him to receive Sir George Nares on his return from his Arctic
+expedition in that year, and Mr H. M. Stanley on his return from the
+Congo in 1877. His various presidential addresses to the Society itself,
+and to the geographical section of the British Association, are replete
+with well-digested summaries of the progress of geographical exploration
+throughout the world. His comprehensive treatment of the subject assisted
+very much, if not to make geography a science, at least to lift it out
+of the region of mere technical knowledge, and to assign to the study of
+it the social and political significance now universally attached to the
+description of the earth's surface. Personally he did much to stimulate
+enterprise of that kind in various regions. As Chairman of the African
+Exploration Fund, he took an active share in the labours which resulted in
+the despatch of Mr Keith Johnston and Mr Joseph Thomson to East Africa,
+and, by bringing the country into notice, had such important results in
+the direction of the opening up of that part of the continent. Speaking
+of him a few days after his death, the President, Sir Clements Markham,
+said: "Judicious, patient, and courteous, he was esteemed by us all,
+and his able advice helped us out of many a difficulty. The period of
+his presidency will always be remembered for the energy with which he
+advocated African exploration, the result of his efforts being represented
+by the memorable expeditions of Joseph Thomson."
+
+We have already had occasion to remark on the personal interest which Sir
+Rutherford had taken during the earlier years of his service in China and
+Japan in the London Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862.[40] Indeed the Japanese
+"show" in the latter was virtually organised by him. His well-known
+sympathy with, and interest in, all industrial and artistic collections
+led to his being chosen as British Commissioner to the Paris Exhibition
+of 1878.
+
+About the same time a question of imperial concern claimed Sir
+Rutherford's active intervention: that was colonisation in the Eastern
+Archipelago. Borneo, the largest island in the world after Australia,
+has from time to time excited considerable interest in Great Britain.
+The romantic career of the Rajah of Sarawak, Sir James Brooke, on the
+west coast, had much to do with bringing that part of the world into
+public notice. Adopting as his country the domain made over to him by the
+native chiefs, Rajah Brooke laboured among his people like a missionary
+of civilisation, trampled out the savage customs of the natives, and
+after many trials gained the confidence of the people by his justice and
+firmness, and eventually brought the country into a state of prosperity
+and good order. In this he was loyally seconded by Captain Keppel, now
+Admiral of the Fleet, whose 'Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido' is a
+graphic story of their joint adventures among pirates and head-hunters.
+Coal having been found in Labuan, adjoining the Rajah's territory, that
+island was acquired by Great Britain in 1847, under treaty from the Sultan
+of Brunei, who engaged not to make any cession of his territory without
+her Majesty's consent, and established as a Crown colony.
+
+The Netherlands and Spain claimed between them, upon a vague tenure,
+enormous tracts of the coast of Borneo and the adjoining archipelago,
+effectually blocking all progress in these regions. There still remained,
+however, an important section of the northern part of that immense island
+unappropriated by the white man. Portions of this tract had been leased
+to an American citizen, who transferred it to an American company; but
+being unable to furnish the capital either to pay the stipulated rent
+or to develop so enormous a property, in 1877 the holders were glad
+to part with all their rights to an English association consisting of
+Baron von Overbeck and Mr (now Sir) Alfred Dent, who undertook to pay
+the agreed tribute to the Sultans of Borneo and Sooloo. Possessing this
+immense estate, with the sovereign rights inherent in the proprietor, the
+English association made arrangements to develop the property. Agents
+were sent out to occupy certain points on the coast, and a provisional
+government, suited to the requirements of the place, was set up. But the
+administration putting too heavy a strain upon a private individual, Mr
+Dent set to work to find assistance in his undertaking.
+
+At this juncture, 1879, Sir Rutherford Alcock, impressed by the important
+strategical position of the island of Borneo, lying close to the track of
+vessels traversing the China Sea, its possession of several good harbours,
+and prospective coal supply, joined Mr Dent in his efforts to place the
+British occupation of the Bornean harbours on a secure basis. As a first
+step it was necessary to organise a company with sufficient capital to
+take over the government and utilise the resources of the territory. This
+may well have seemed at the time not only an arduous but an impossible
+undertaking; for nothing short of a royal charter could supply the
+necessary guarantee to attract capitalists, and to assure them that their
+property investment would eventually be productive. The era had long gone
+past when royal charters were granted to merchant adventurers. Such an
+institution, therefore, seemed an anachronism, opposed to the spirit of
+the age. Nor was the political colour of the British Government at the
+time encouraging to imperial schemes of any description. In spite of these
+difficulties the knowledge of affairs and insistency of Sir Rutherford
+Alcock and the other promoters enabled them eventually to succeed in
+pushing their enterprise with the Government to the point of obtaining a
+charter of incorporation in November 1881. On the faith of this charter a
+company was formed, of which the capital now stands at L2,000,000, under
+the title of the "British North Borneo Company." Sir Rutherford Alcock
+became the chairman, which post he continued to fill during the ten
+years which may be considered the probationary stage of the company. To
+him it owed much of its success in overcoming the numerous difficulties
+incidental to starting so novel a venture; and among his other labours in
+its behalf he drew up a full and elaborate handbook of North Borneo. It
+was not a trading, but a governing and a land-owning company, its revenues
+consisting of royalties paid by private adventurers for the privileges
+of mining, agriculture, and so forth, licences and the necessary taxes
+on commerce. But the interests of a dividend-earning and a governing
+company were so nearly incompatible that no little ingenuity as well as
+patient effort were required to bring about reconciliation between the
+two elements.
+
+The affairs of the company have been conducted with great perseverance,
+the exploitation of the territory by means of planting, mining, and
+industries of various kinds having been handed over to subsidiary
+companies created for the purpose, while the parent body maintains its
+position as overlord, administering the whole territory.
+
+But amidst his numerous preoccupations in England Sir Rutherford never
+loosened his grasp on the events which were transpiring in the distant
+field to which his official life had been devoted. As the only competent
+and persistent critic of these events, he did as much as one man could to
+turn the eyes of his countrymen towards their most important interests
+in Further Asia. Nearly every passing event was noticed briefly by
+him in the columns of the daily press, while the permanent features of
+the Far Eastern problem, which are only now beginning to dawn upon the
+consciousness of the nation, were copiously dealt with in the monthly
+magazines and in the more stately pages of the 'Edinburgh Review.' Sir
+Rutherford's contributions to periodical literature, forming a tolerably
+complete repertory of the questions arising out of the intercourse of
+Europe with Eastern Asia, would fill many volumes. As late as 1896 the
+subject was still uppermost in his mind. "In China," he then wrote,
+"there is a far larger Eastern question than what is occupying us at
+Constantinople. An open port for Russia, a railroad across Russia, with
+the French scheming for our commerce in the Indo-Chinese peninsula,--the
+whole situation is full of danger to all our interests in China." And
+during the last year of his life the thought of all that had been lost
+to the country through sheer neglect seemed to weigh heavily on his
+mind. That his constant premonitions of coming changes passed practically
+unheeded by the public to whom they were addressed is unfortunately true;
+and it is trite to say that it would have been well for this country
+if the warnings of such serious writers as this had been taken to heart
+before instead of after the deluge. But that would have been a historical
+anomaly, for mankind has learned little since the days of Noah.
+
+Under the valid plea of advancing age and failing health Sir Rutherford
+during his last years relinquished one after another the offices which
+he had filled with so much earnestness and good faith. Deafness alone
+obliged him to retire from the active chairmanship of the Westminster
+Hospital, though his attendances at the weekly meetings of the Board
+were unremitting to the very end. As late as July 1897 he took a leading
+part in measures he deemed urgent for the wellbeing of the institution.
+During the Jubilee celebrations he was able to receive a formal visit
+from a party of twelve Dyak police from British North Borneo, under the
+command of Mr Wardrop. The Committee of the Jubilee Nurses continued to
+meet at his house, and he did work for the institution during the summer.
+While at Wimbledon with his family in August, he was seized by an illness
+from which he rallied sufficiently to be brought home to his house at
+Westminster, where he came under the medical care of his old friend and
+physician, Dr Lionel Beale. Among the few friends who were admitted to see
+him during the last month of his life were the Dean of Westminster, Lord
+Lister, Mr Edmund Bagshawe of Bath, and one or two others. His strength
+was then gradually failing, though he retained his intellect unimpaired
+till within a few days of the end, on November 2, 1897. He was buried in
+Merstham churchyard. His widow, nearly his own age, survived him sixteen
+months, dying in March 1899. How much the maintenance of the husband's
+long life of active usefulness owed to the support and encouragement of
+a judicious and devoted wife must remain behind the veil. She had her
+reward.
+
+  [Illustration: MAP OF EASTERN ASIA
+   TO ILLUSTRATE
+   THE ENGLISHMAN IN CHINA IN THE VICTORIAN ERA
+   BY ALEXANDER MICHIE]
+
+It may be interesting in conclusion to add a few words of Sir Rutherford
+Alcock's estimate of himself, which occur in a letter to the friend who
+had pressed him on the subject of biography, written within a year of his
+death. "In worldly things," he said, "I have been exceptionally favoured
+by opportunities, many of them unanticipated, and rather fortuitous than
+by any efforts or merits. My early life was marked by a great rashness,
+and a readiness to accept responsibilities which savoured much of
+presumption and confidence from conceit in my powers to deal with whatever
+fell in my way--very different from my retrospect in old age and the
+sobered estimate my judgment is now disposed to form of all I undertook
+and accomplished, and the risks I accepted, through my fifty years of
+active life."
+
+If, however, age be the season appropriate for judgment, youth is the time
+for laying up the materials for it; and he who takes no risks achieves
+nothing worthy of being judged. We estimate the man by his record rather
+than by his own review of it, falling back on the criterion, valid in all
+circumstances, "By their fruits ye shall know them."
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+ [40] In 1863 the University of Oxford conferred upon him the degree
+    of D.C.L.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+  Adkins, Mr, reports foreign atrocities, i. 302, 303;
+    in charge of Peking legations, i. 355;
+    intimate with Hangki, ii. 140;
+    on mixed commission regarding redress of commercial grievances,
+      ii. 212;
+    interview with Li, ii. 244, 245.
+
+  Alabaster, Sir Challoner, ii. 206, 359.
+
+  Alcock, John Rutherford--
+    _Chronological sequence of career_--
+      Birth and early years, i. 1, 2;
+      medical education, i. 2-4; visit to Paris, i. 2;
+      medical work, i.8; campaign in Portugal, i. 14-20;
+      campaign in Spain, i. 21, 22;
+      publications on surgery, i. 23, 24;
+      appointed Inspector of Anatomy, i. 25;
+      marriage, i. 26;
+      paralysis of hands, i. 27;
+      appointed consul at Foochow, i. 29, 116;
+      residence at Amoy, i. 116, 117;
+      at Foochow, i. 117-122;
+      Consular Reports (1845-46), i. 123;
+      appointed to Shanghai, i. 126;
+      Tsingpu affair, i. 129-133;
+      Taiping occupation of Shanghai, i. 138, 141;
+      custom-house plans, i. 148, 151-154;
+      promoted to Canton consulate, i. 156;
+      death of his wife, i. 158;
+      literary work, i. 159;
+      first furlough, i. 159;
+      Memorandum requested by Foreign Office, i. 332;
+      appointed Consul-General in Japan and granted title of
+        Plenipotentiary, ii. 14;
+      arrival in Yedo, ii. 15-17;
+      journey up the Inland Sea, ii. 36, 42;
+      expedition to Fujiyama, ii. 41, 42;
+      leaves Yedo on furlough (1862), ii. 50;
+      made K.C.B., ii. 70;
+      completes 'The Capital of the Tycoon,' ii. 70;
+      made D.C.L. of Oxford University (1863), ii. 484 _note_;
+      returns to Yedo, ii. 70;
+      second marriage, ii. 73;
+      recalled by Earl Russell, ii. 87, 88;
+      leaves Japan, ii. 91;
+      publishes 'Art and Art Industries of Japan,' ii. 102;
+      publishes Japanese Grammar, ii. 103;
+      appointed minister to China, ii. 130;
+      efforts against coolie trade, ii. 168, 171, 172;
+      favours Burlingame mission, ii. 194, 195;
+      departure for Europe, ii. 218;
+      criticisms of Far Eastern events, ii. 476, 477;
+      work for Westminster Hospital, ii. 478-480;
+      various public and charitable works, ii. 480, 481, 483;
+      receives Jubilee medal from the Queen, ii. 483;
+      work regarding colonisation in Borneo, ii. 485-488;
+      illness and death, ii. 488, 489.
+    _Personal characteristics_--
+      Aggressiveness, ii. 482.
+      Alertness, ii. 16, 100.
+      Appearance, i. 117.
+      Appreciative faculty, ii. 139.
+      Art, love of, i. 2, 4, ii. 101.
+      Common-sense, i. 27.
+      Courage and nerve, i. 15-17, 27, ii. 100, 126.
+      Courtesy, ii. 484.
+      Duty, devotion to, i. 15, 18, 157, ii. 16, 101, 138, 482.
+      Energy, i. 26, 116, ii. 16, 482, 484.
+      Enthusiasm, i. 27.
+      Formality, ii. 139.
+      Geniality to intimates, ii. 139.
+      Grasp of fundamentals and breadth of view, i. 116, 122, 143, 162,
+        166, 204.
+      Hospitality, ii. 139.
+      Industry, ii. 139.
+      Judgment and farsightedness, i. 18, 163, ii. 484.
+      Kindness and sympathy, ii. 482.
+      Loyalty, ii. 138.
+      Lucidity of style, i. 26, 166.
+      Practical philosophy, i. 161.
+      Reserve, i. 158, ii. 121.
+      Resolution, ii. 101.
+      Responsibility, fearlessness of, i. 20, 166, 437, ii. 16, 489.
+      Thoroughness and earnestness of purpose, i. 18, 27, ii. 16, 181,
+        361, 481.
+
+  Alcock, Lady, marriage of, ii. 73;
+    death of, ii. 489.
+
+  Alcock, Mrs (_nee_ Bacon), marriage of, i. 26;
+    arrival in Foochow, i. 120;
+    death of, i. 158.
+
+  America, Americans (_see also_ Powers)--
+    British support advantageous to, i. 437.
+    Burlingame mission to, ii. 192, 193, 196, 197.
+    Chinese trade with, i. 168, 177;
+      Chinese traders in, i. 270;
+      "dummy" Chinaman evolved by, i. 338, 339;
+      action against Chinese emigration, ii. 174;
+      Chinese youths educated in, ii. 394, 395.
+    Custom-house co-operation omitted in treaty of, i. 146;
+      customs not levied by, at Shanghai in Taiping rebellion, i. 149.
+    Disputes of French and British with (1849), i. 435.
+    Foochow developed by, i. 121, 122, 241.
+    Japan, naval demonstration off, ii. 2;
+      Mr Harris's treaty, ii. 3, 5, 39, 99;
+      Minister remains in Yedo during assassination period, ii. 36;
+      Japanese mission to, ii. 47;
+      artillery officers declined by Japanese, ii. 110.
+    Korean expedition from, ii. 178, 179.
+    Li's visit to, ii. 387.
+    Missionaries from, in Yangtze expedition, i. 370.
+    Non-aggressive policy of, ii. 468.
+    Opium included in Tientsin treaty at instance of, i. 342.
+    Shipping industry in, i. 224, 228-230.
+    Silk industry of, i. 191.
+    Taiping rebellion, joint action with British at Shanghai during,
+      i. 138.
+    Tientsin Conference attended by (1854), i. 311;
+      at Tientsin later with Lord Elgin, i. 331.
+    Toleration clause in treaty of, ii. 224.
+
+  Amoy--
+    Alcock's residence at, i. 116, 117.
+    Opening of, i. 115.
+    'Times' pronouncement against, i. 114.
+
+  Amur, the, Russian acquisitions on, ii. 252, 422.
+
+  Anatomy Act, Alcock appointed Inspector under, i. 25, 26.
+
+  Anderson, Dr John, cited, ii. 267.
+
+  Annam, French conquest of, ii. 253, 324, 325.
+
+  A'Pak, exploit of, against lorchas, i. 304, 305.
+
+  Arbuthnot, G., on Japanese currency, ii. 19, 22, 23.
+
+  Arrow, crew of, seized by Chinese, i. 309;
+    Lord Elgin's view of incident, i. 323, 324.
+
+  Atami, Springs of, Alcock's visit to, ii. 32, 42.
+
+  'Attache at Peking, The,' cited, ii. 444 _note_.
+
+  Australia, attitude of, towards Chinese emigrants, ii. 174.
+
+  Austria, envoy from, received in audience at Peking, ii. 320, 321.
+
+
+  Baber, Colborne, ii. 150, 272, 359.
+
+  Bacon, Miss. _See_ Alcock, Mrs.
+
+  Baldwin, Major, assassination of, ii. 91.
+
+  Balfour, the Right Hon. A. J., speech of, regarding Russian ports,
+    ii. 425, 430, 432.
+
+  Balfour, Captain George, i. 124, 128.
+
+  Bernard, W. D., cited, i. 63.
+
+  Biegeleben, M., ii. 320, 321.
+
+  Bird, Lieutenant, assassination of, ii. 91.
+
+  Birileff, Count, at Tsushima, ii. 111-114.
+
+  Blakiston, Captain, cited, i. 370.
+
+  Bonham, Sir George, succeeds Sir J. Davis at Hongkong, i. 131;
+    rebuffed by Seu, i. 165;
+    applies to Alcock for information, i. 166;
+    asked to defend Nanking against Taipings, i. 312;
+    Alcock's despatch to (1852), i. 428-432.
+
+  Borneo, Alcock's interest in British development of, ii. 485-488.
+
+  Bowring, Sir John, demands right of entry into Canton, i. 160;
+    Russian despatches brought to, i. 233;
+    plenipotentiary at Hongkong, i. 309;
+    dealings with Yeh, i. 310, 313, 314;
+    visit to Tientsin, i. 311;
+    protects factories at Canton, i. 312;
+    influenced towards strong measures, i. 315;
+    policy of, i. 319, 323 _note_;
+    superseded, i. 319, 320.
+
+  Boxers, ii. 462, 463.
+
+  Bright, the Right Hon. John, confidence of, in Sir R. Hart,
+      ii. 164-166;
+    attitude of, towards China trade, ii. 365, 366.
+
+  Brodie, Sir Benjamin, i. 25.
+
+  Brown, J. McLeavy, ii. 194.
+
+  Brown, Major-General, i. 385, 386, 392.
+
+  Browne, Colonel Horace, ii. 266, 267.
+
+  Bruce, the Hon. Frederick--Tientsin treaty brought home by, i. 335;
+    repulsed at Taku forts, i. 348;
+    British minister at Peking, i. 355;
+    prohibits Englishmen from visiting Peking, i. 363;
+    adopts determined attitude, i. 367;
+    refuses to defend Ningpo, i. 377;
+    Gordon's interview with, i. 383;
+    supports Burgevine's cause, i. 384, 385;
+    implicated in the Lay-Osborn flotilla failure, i. 389, 390;
+    applauds Gordon's resentment against Li, i. 392;
+    policy and diplomacy, i. 401-404, 407;
+    correspondence with Prince Kung, i. 404-406, 409;
+    confuses legal authority of himself and Supreme Court, ii. 124,
+      125;
+    succeeded by Alcock, ii. 130;
+    anecdote of his housekeeper, ii. 152;
+    relations with Inspector-General of Customs in Peking, ii. 156,
+      159, 160.
+
+  Burgevine, General, i. 382, 384-387.
+
+  Burlingame, the Hon. Anson, mission of, as Chinese envoy, ii. 192-198;
+    Alcock's approval of the mission, ii. 194, 195;
+    Alcock's subsequent view, ii. 217;
+    British Government influenced by mission, ii. 208, 209;
+    negotiates American treaty giving full privileges to Chinese
+      immigrants, ii. 174;
+    asserts Chinese welcome to missionaries, ii. 232.
+
+  Burma--
+    Browne, Colonel H., expedition under, ii. 266, 267.
+    King of, ii. 269.
+
+
+  Campbell, Duncan, ii. 333.
+
+  Canton--
+    Alcock promoted to consulate of, i. 156.
+    Arrogant hostility and excesses of population, i. 72, 92, 95-99,
+      107, 274, 415, 419.
+    Arrow incident, i. 309, 323, 324.
+    Blockade of river (1839), i. 61, 63.
+    Commerce carried on during hostilities, i. 68, 69, ii. 158.
+    Conditions of life in, in early days, i. 33, 34, 46.
+    D'Aguilar's destruction of river defences, i. 102, 103.
+    Davies, Sir John, policy of, i. 94, 99-104, 106-108.
+    Entry, right of, refused, i. 98, 107, 114, 160, 165, 310, 333, 338.
+    Factories attacked (1846), i. 99;
+      burned (1856), i. 317.
+    Foochow sensitive to disturbances in, i. 119, 314.
+    French attack feared, ii. 326-328.
+    Merchants in, imprisoned, i. 53, 55;
+      views of, disparaged, i. 254;
+      characteristics of, i. 255;
+      influence of, i. 315;
+      friction between Sir J. Davis and, ii. 119.
+    "Merchants' War," i. 316 _seq._
+    Naval construction attempted at, ii. 396.
+    Occupation of, by Allied troops, i. 328, 342-345;
+      Kowloon concession obtained during occupation, i. 286;
+      evacuated by Allies, i. 396.
+    Portuguese relief of, in sixteenth century, i. 259;
+      Portuguese crews slaughtered by Cantonese, i. 304, 305.
+    Revolutionary conspiracies in neighbourhood of, ii. 456.
+    Shameen site acquired, i. 330.
+    Smuggling insignificant at, i. 144, 145.
+    Taipings at, i. 312.
+    War of 1839-42--blockade of river, i. 63;
+      destruction of Bogue forts and junks, i. 66;
+      forts restored, i. 67;
+      recaptured, i. 68;
+      fire-raft attempts, i. 71;
+      British attack stopped by Elliot, i. 71;
+      ransom taken for the city, i. 72, 91;
+      departure of British troops, i. 72;
+      evil effects of ransoming, i. 108.
+    War of 1857 ("The Merchants' War"), i. 316 _seq._
+    Weddell's bombardment of (1655), i. 292.
+
+  'Capital of the Tycoon, The,' passages quoted from, ii. 10, 15,
+      31, 32, 71-73;
+    independent judiciary advocated in, ii. 126.
+
+  Ceylon, growth of tea trade with, i. 184, 185.
+
+  Challenger, i. 235-238.
+
+  Chamberlain, Basil Hall, quoted, ii. 96 _note_.
+
+  Chang Chih-tung, rudeness of, regarding the Czarevitch, ii. 322, 323;
+    characteristics and policy of, ii. 380, 381.
+
+  Chang Yi, ii. 317.
+
+  Chantrey, Sir F. L., Alcock's studies under, i. 2.
+
+  Chefoo--
+    Convention of. _See under_ Treaties.
+    Czarevitch to be received at, ii. 322.
+    Early exploration of, i. 221, 222.
+
+  Chekiang, Taiping campaign in, i. 380, 394.
+
+  Chesney, Colonel, i. 99, 100.
+
+  China (_for particular persons, towns, &c., see their titles_)--
+    Admiralty board, ii. 317, 318, 392, 393.
+    Army--
+      Abuses in, ii. 398.
+      Arms, diversity of, ii. 391, 393, 399.
+      Discipline lax, i. 137.
+      Honour, military, non-existent in, i. 140.
+      Li's efforts for, ii. 188, 190, 391, 397.
+    Black Flags, ii. 325.
+    Boxers, ii. 462, 463.
+    _Chose jugee_, instance of, ii. 280.
+    Commerce. _See that title._
+    Commercial community in Britain keenly alive to affairs in, i. 87.
+    Consuls. _See below under_ Foreigners.
+    Coolie trade, i. 295, ii. 168-174.
+    Corruption and laxity inherent in government of, i. 155, 192.
+    Court--
+      Audience, right of, approved by Li, ii. 186;
+        granted by Emperor Tungchih (1873), ii. 260, 261;
+        by Kwanghsu (1891), ii. 318-320.
+      Chinese, not Manchu, influence predominant at, i. 84.
+      Dynastic arrangements of the Empress-Dowager, ii. 264, 313,
+        455 _and note_, 456.
+      Flight of, i. 354, ii. 436;
+        proposed removal during Japanese War, ii. 474 _note_.
+    Custom-house. _See below under_ Taxation.
+    Decentralisation the principle of government, i. 388, 402, 407, 408.
+    Drift, policy of, ii. 324.
+    Emigration, ii. 168, 169, 171-174.
+    "Ever Victorious Army," campaign of, i. 382-387;
+      disbandment of, i. 393.
+    Exhibition of 1851, represented at, i. 200-202, ii. 101, 102.
+    Foreigners--
+      Aims of, i. 368.
+      Assistance from, distrusted, i. 387;
+        made use of, ii. 385, 386;
+        faithfully rendered, ii. 393, 394.
+      Co  nciliatory and subservient attitude of British, i. 35-41, 56,
+        118, 253, 415;
+        of Portuguese, i. 287.
+      Confidence between native merchants and, i. 48.
+      Consistent attitude of, desirable, i. 340, ii. 222.
+      Consular Courts, drawbacks of, ii. 125, 126, 354, 356, 357.
+      Consular officials, peculiar responsibilities of, i. 30, 79, 85,
+          92 _note_, 128, 130, ii. 353, 354, 360;
+        numbers and qualifications of, ii. 358, 359.
+      Degradation and indignities imposed upon, i. 33, 35-40, 55-58,
+        60, 118, 163, 411, 415.
+      Force, policy of, the condition of security for, i. 39, 40, 61,
+        80, 90, 106, 119, 426, 437-439, ii. 221, 222.
+      Hatred and contempt for, i. 313, 419, ii. 29, 440, 441, 443-446,
+        461, 463, 464.
+      Ignorance of Chinese prevalent among, i. 338, 339, 361, 362, 398.
+      Immunity for wrongs against, i. 436, 440, 441.
+      Inland residence, Alcock's view of, ii. 450, 451.
+      Legation, British. _See_ Great Britain--Peking.
+      Legations, diplomatic difficulties of, i. 398-401;
+        relieved by military force, ii. 437.
+      Life-and-death jurisdiction over, claimed by government, i. 57.
+      Negotiation with, Chinese view of, ii. 274 _note_, 437.
+      Pioneers, general character of, i. 31-33.
+      Policy adopted towards--"rule by misrule," i. 35, 403;
+        perfidy and denial of human rights, i. 36, 78-80, 84, 85, 90, 342;
+        resistance and ejection, 38, 111, 311, 331, 366, 367, ii. 437;
+        degradation in the eyes of the people, i. 163, 411;
+        "refractory subjects" treatment, i. 313.
+      Proclamations and placards against, i. 56, 58, 65, 70, 96, 314,
+        317, 342, 360, 435, ii. 236, 242.
+      Supreme Court for China and Japan, ii. 355-358.
+    Fortifications, ii. 397.
+    Futai, position of, i. 381.
+    Helplessness and paradoxical position of, ii. 418, 421, 422, 433,
+      452.
+    Hong merchants, i. 40 _note_.
+    Hoppo, position of, i. 44, 45.
+    Illegality of administration in, i. 43.
+    International ethics of, i. 86.
+    Japanese War (1894), Li's responsibilities regarding, ii. 386, 387;
+      no reasonable cause for, ii. 410;
+      deprecated by Russia, ii. 411;
+      sinking of the Kowshing, ii. 410, 411;
+      bombardment of Tengchow, i. 220;
+      China's defeat, ii. 411-413;
+      universal applause, ii. 413, 414;
+      indemnity exacted, ii. 415;
+      indemnity supplied by Russian loan, ii. 421;
+      results of the war, ii. 447;
+      proposed removal of Chinese Court during, ii. 474 _note_.
+    Junks--
+      Build and appearance of, i. 246, 247.
+      Chinese authorities' control of, i. 113, 275, 308.
+      Coasting trade conducted by, in China and Japan, i. 246.
+      Convoy system, i. 302-304.
+      Grain fleet blockaded at Shanghai (1845), i. 131-133;
+        blockaded by French in Tongking quarrel, ii. 332.
+      "Shantung junks," i. 220.
+      Value of trade by, at Foochow, i. 209.
+    Korea, relations with. _See_ Korea.
+    Lorchas, tonnage of, i. 247;
+      atrocities connected with, i. 304, 305;
+      colonial registers granted to, i. 305, 309.
+    Maritime Customs. _See below under_ Taxation--Custom-house.
+    Missionaries. _See that title._
+    Moral force the sanction of rule, ii. 370 _and note_, 385.
+    Navy--
+      Beginnings of, ii. 396.
+      Board of Admiralty, ii. 317, 318, 392, 393.
+      British instruction in, ii. 395.
+      Li's efforts for, ii. 391, 396.
+      Nepotism in, ii. 398-400.
+      Organisation lacking in, ii. 401, 412, 413.
+      Peiyang Squadron, ii. 395, 400.
+      Tradition, unhampered by, ii. 398.
+    Nepotism in, ii. 398-400.
+    Opium trade. _See that title._
+    Passports, two forms of, ii. 267.
+    Piracy. _See that title._
+    Populace, excesses of, connived at by Government, i. 95, 97, 98,
+        364;
+      coerced by Government, i. 108, 109;
+      feared by Government, i. 109, 424;
+      direct diplomatic negotiations with, i. 109-111.
+    "Progress," no word for, ii. 136.
+    Provincial officials, smuggling undertaken by, i. 44, 45;
+      power of, ii. 184, 372;
+      responsibility of, ii. 441, 442.
+    Punishments, difficulties of ensuring, i. 426, 427;
+      not inflicted for wrongs against foreigners, i. 436, 440, 441.
+    Real estate, importance of, i. 176, 177, 434;
+      missionary problem complicated by question of, ii. 234, 235.
+    Rhubarb exported from, i. 168.
+    Salt trade, i. 210, 439-442, ii. 188.
+    Smuggling. _See that title._
+    Supreme Court, award given against Alcock by, ii. 124;
+      independence of, ii. 354;
+      removal of, to Shanghai, ii. 355;
+      subordinated to British legation, ii. 358.
+    Taiping Rebellion--
+      Burgevine's defection to rebels, i. 386.
+      Canton, at, Yeh asks British aid against, i. 312.
+      Chekiang campaign against, i. 380, 394.
+      Commerce continued during, i. 148.
+      Devastation caused by, i. 375, 377, 378, 350, 381, 394, ii. 449.
+      End of, i. 394.
+      Foreign desperadoes attacked by, i. 303.
+      Imperial measures against, i. 381;
+        view of, i. 395, 396.
+      Magnitude of, i. 135.
+      Maritime Customs the important outcome of, i. 142.
+      Nanking, capture of, i. 136.
+      Ningpo, capture of, i. 376, 377.
+      Russian attitude towards, i. 394, 395.
+      Shanghai captured, i. 136;
+        besieged by Imperial troops, i. 137;
+        collision between foreigners and troops, i. 137, 138;
+        French bombardment of city, i. 139;
+        rebel refugees in, i. 141, 142;
+        departure of rebels from, i. 156.
+      Yangtze, rebel strongholds and operations on the, i. 369, 371-375.
+    Taotai, status of, i. 129.
+    Taxation--
+      Custom-house--
+        Chefoo Convention provisions of, ii. 277, 278, 280, 281, 286, 287.
+        Hongkong, station at, desired by Chinese, i. 276;
+          refused, ii. 216;
+          established, i. 276, ii. 288.
+        Korea, established in, ii. 295.
+        Macao, established at, ii. 288.
+        Maritime Customs Inspector, position and work of, in Peking,
+          ii. 156-160, 162-167.
+        Revision of treaty made an affair of, ii. 213, 216, 217.
+        Shanghai, at, unsatisfactory conditions of, i. 145-147, 435,
+          436;
+          customs collected by consuls, i. 148;
+          promissory notes cancelled by British Government, i. 148, 155;
+          American exemption, i. 149;
+          re-establishment of custom-house, i. 151;
+          period of free trade, i. 152;
+          Alcock's scheme of mixed control, i. 152-154.
+      Inland, proposed commutation of, ii. 214-216, 218;
+        commutation provided by treaty (1869), ii. 219, 220;
+        area of, increased by Chefoo Convention, ii. 277, 278, 280, 281.
+      Likin taxes, German minister's view of, ii. 218;
+        nature of, ii. 280 _note_;
+        grievance of, ii. 285.
+      Native trade, on, i. 210.
+    Tributaries, position towards, ii. 258.
+    Tsungli-Yamen--
+      Audience difficulties raised by, ii. 319, 320.
+      Ch'ing, Prince, a member of, ii. 154, 313.
+      Circular addressed to Provincial Governors by, ii. 182, 183.
+      Creation of, i. 360.
+      Etiquette, codification of, suggested for, ii. 279.
+      Formosa riots, action regarding, ii. 205.
+      Function of, i. 399.
+      Gordon's representations to, ii. 292.
+      Helplessness of, ii. 419.
+      Ito's attempt to negotiate with, ii. 302.
+      Korean expedition urged by, ii. 408.
+      Kung, Prince, a member of, i. 360;
+        dismissed by Empress, ii. 312.
+      Margary murder, action regarding, ii. 267.
+      Maritime Customs Inspector, attitude towards, ii. 160.
+      Mixed commission regarding redress of commercial grievances,
+        represented on, ii. 211.
+      Yangchow affair, action in, ii. 202.
+    War with Great Britain (1839-1842). _See under_ Canton;
+      with Great Britain (1857), i. 316 _seq._;
+      with Great Britain and France (1860), i. 349-354;
+      with Japan (1894). _See above_ Japanese War;
+    Women, position of, ii. 140, 141.
+
+  Chinese--
+    Appearances valued by, i. 192.
+    Commercial aptitude and honesty of, i. 33, 34, 263-270, ii. 28.
+    Industry of, i. 284.
+    Japanese contrasted with, ii. 8, 27-29, 130, 131, 259.
+    Kindliness of, i. 289, ii. 155.
+    Manchus contrasted with, i. 80, 81, 83, 84.
+    Toleration of, ii. 228, 233.
+    War customs of, i. 352.
+
+  Ch'ing, Prince, anecdote of, ii. 153, 154;
+    efficiency of, as president of Tsungli-Yamen, ii. 313.
+
+  Chinnery, George, i. 298.
+
+  Choshiu. _See_ Nagato, Prince of.
+
+  Christianity (_see also_ Missionaries), toleration clause for,
+    in Tientsin treaty, i. 332;
+    Chinese view of, ii. 349.
+
+  Ch'un, Prince, son of, adopted as Emperor by Empress-mother, ii. 262;
+    made Empress's coadjutor, ii. 264, 313;
+    voyage of, ii. 316, 317;
+    illness and death of, ii. 318;
+    memorial regarding Vatican mission submitted to, ii. 344.
+
+  Chunghou, Tientsin massacre foreseen by, ii. 239;
+    mission to France, ii. 241;
+    to Russia, ii. 291;
+    establishes arsenal at Tientsin, ii. 392.
+
+  Chungking, residence in, opposed, ii. 278;
+    persecutions of Christians in, ii. 351.
+
+  Chusan, capture and occupation of, i. 64;
+    reoccupied, i. 75;
+    retained till 1846, i. 91;
+    restored, i. 99;
+    contrasted with Hongkong, i. 273.
+
+  Clarendon, Lord, Mr Burlingame's success with, ii. 197, 198, 208, 209;
+    reprimands Mr Medhurst, ii. 207, 208;
+    trusted by Lord Palmerston, ii. 365.
+
+  Cochin China, French conquests in, ii. 253, 324.
+
+  Commerce--
+    China, in--
+      Alcock's despatch on trade between Europe, India, and China,
+          i. 204-206;
+        his investigations prior to revision of treaty, ii. 181.
+      Aptitude of Chinese for, i. 33, 34, 263-270, ii. 28.
+      Arbitrary interference of Chinese Government with, i. 35.
+      Balance of trade against China, i. 42, 171.
+      British treaty the model for others, ii. 6.
+      Chefoo Convention, internal taxation area increased by, ii. 277,
+        278, 280, 281.
+      Chinese language essential to commercial agents, i. 253.
+      Code of law, establishment of, suggested, ii. 279.
+      Co-hong system, i. 40 _note_, 266.
+      Compradoric system, i. 266, 267.
+      Confidence between Chinese and foreigners, i. 48.
+      Drawbacks to, i. 169, 170.
+      Imports and exports, nature of, i. 168;
+        present value of, i. 171 _note_;
+        shipments from United Kingdom in various years, i. 203.
+      Intercourse of British and Americans with China caused by, i. 167.
+      Losses in early days, i. 172-175.
+      Merchants in Britain, Chinese affairs closely followed by
+          (1839-40), i. 87-89;
+        merchants in China, aims and work of, i. 248-253;
+        complaints of, i. 253, 254, ii. 119;
+        influence of, i. 254, 315;
+        characteristics of, i. 255-263;
+        representations of, to Lord Elgin, i. 322.
+      "Merchants' War," i. 316 _seq._
+      Mixed Commission regarding redress of grievances, ii. 211, 212.
+      Native trade, i. 207-210.
+      Peking, in, ii. 148, 149.
+      Pioneer expeditions (1859), i. 220.
+      Ports overcrowded with goods, i. 224;
+        number open in 1861, i. 402.
+      Precarious position of, i. 35, 412, 413, 419.
+      Real estate a valuable asset, i. 176, 177.
+      Shipments from United Kingdom in various years, values of, i. 203.
+      Simplicity of, i. 168.
+      Transit of goods, ii. 214-216, 218-220.
+      Value of, in 1839, i. 87.
+      War no bar to, i. 68, 69, 148, ii. 158.
+    Gold discoveries a stimulus to, i. 227.
+    Japan, in--
+      Development of, ii. 116-118.
+      Merchants, preference of, for Yokohama to Kanagawa, ii. 17, 18, 123;
+        regret of, at Alcock's recall, ii. 89;
+        interests of, at variance with diplomatic, ii. 119-124, 126.
+      Methods of, ii. 27, 28.
+      Profits of, in early days, ii. 20 _note_, 29.
+      Value of, annually, ii. 117 _note_.
+    Opium, Silk, Tea. _See those titles._
+    Straits, with, suggested by Alcock, i. 208.
+
+  Comprador, position of, i. 266, 267.
+
+  Confucianism, i. 229.
+
+  Consular Court system, drawbacks of, ii. 125, 126, 354, 356, 357.
+
+  Cooke, Wingrove, quoted, i. 252, 253, 300, 303-305, 339;
+    cited, i. 317, 322, 323 _and note_, 325.
+
+  Coolie trade, i. 295, ii. 168-174.
+
+  Cooper, W. M., on coolie trade, ii. 170.
+
+  Cowell, George, appreciation of Alcock, ii. 479, 480.
+
+  Curzon, the Hon. George, speech regarding Russian pledge concerning
+    Korea, ii. 424, 430.
+
+  Czarevitch, visit of, to China and Japan, ii. 321-323.
+
+
+  Daimios. _See under_ Japan.
+
+  Davis, Sir John, Manchus and Chinese contrasted by, i. 80, 81;
+    policy of, in Canton, i. 94, 99-104, 106-108;
+    diplomatic negotiations with the populace, i. 109-111;
+    succeeds Sir H. Pottinger, i. 116;
+    policy regarding Foochow, i. 119;
+    Canton merchants' complaints against, ii. 119;
+    decision of, reversed by Supreme Court, ii. 124.
+
+  De Mas, M., anecdote of, ii. 444 _note_.
+
+  De Quincey cited, i. 133 _note_.
+
+  Delamarre, M., ii. 230 _note_.
+
+  Delaplace, Mgr., ii. 341, 342, 394.
+
+  Detring, G., accompanies Prince Ch'un on his voyage, ii. 317;
+    relations with Capt. Fournier, ii. 327;
+    summoned to Tientsin, ii. 328;
+    assists Li regarding Mr Dunn's mission, ii. 345.
+
+  Dunn, J. G., ii. 344-346.
+
+  Dupont, M., Alcock's studies under, i. 5.
+
+  Dutch--
+    Japanese instructed by, ii. 98.
+    Macao, commercial establishment at, i. 291.
+    Nagasaki, ii. 10, 11.
+    Portuguese commercial rivalry with, i. 291.
+    Promptness of, as paymasters, i. 11.
+
+
+  East India Company--
+    Commercial methods of, i. 175.
+    Employees pampered by, i. 211-214, 260.
+    Macao, commercial establishment at, i. 291.
+    Officials of, employed in Chinese consular posts, i. 38, 80.
+    Opium trade of, i. 198, 199.
+    Shipping of, i. 211-215.
+    Subservience of, towards Chinese, i. 37, 38, 88, 253.
+    Tea trade developed by, i. 182, 183.
+
+  Eitel, Dr, cited, i. 63, 199 _note_, 273, 301.
+
+  Elgin, Earl of, cruise in the Furious, i. 223;
+    contrasts Hongkong and Chusan, i. 273;
+    on Tientsin conference (1854), i. 311;
+    conduct of Hongkong affairs, i. 320-329;
+    aversion to his Chinese mission, i. 320, 323-327;
+    services in Indian Mutiny, i. 321;
+    concludes Tientsin treaty, i. 331, 334;
+    hurried departure from Tientsin, i. 333, 335, 336;
+    visit to Japan, i. 335, 336;
+    diplomatic success there, i. 347, ii. 1, 5, 6, 99;
+    defends his China policy in House of Lords, i. 337;
+    predisposed to illusions regarding Chinese, i. 339;
+    misgivings as to Chinese good faith, i. 340, 347;
+    return to Shanghai, i. 343, 347;
+    negotiates with Treaty Commissioners at Shanghai, i. 343, 344;
+    estimate of, i. 346-348;
+    voyage up the Yangtze (1558), i. 347, 370;
+    second mission to China, i. 349;
+    negotiations with Prince Kung, i. 329, 352, 353;
+    succeeded by his brother, i. 355.
+
+  Elliot, Captain Charles, subservience of, to Chinese, i. 40, 41, 54;
+    offers to suppress opium trade, i. 48, 49;
+    surrenders opium cargoes, i. 53, 54;
+    imprisoned in Canton, i. 53, 55;
+    appointed joint-plenipotentiary with Rear-Admiral Elliot, i. 64;
+    left in sole charge, i. 65-71;
+    recalled, i. 74;
+    confidence of, in Chinese, i. 66, 69, 70;
+    contradictory nature of his commission, i. 92 _note_;
+    strictures on opium trade, i. 199.
+
+  Elliot, Rear-Admiral the Hon. George, i. 63-65.
+
+  Empress--Dowager of China, Prince Ch'un the coadjutor of, ii. 264, 313;
+    _coup d'etat_ executed by, ii. 264, 313, 455;
+    enmity with Prince Kung, ii. 264, 312;
+    attitude towards Li, ii. 264, 329, 387;
+    view of Tongking affair, ii. 329, 334;
+    characteristics of, ii. 373;
+    power of, ii. 455 _and note_;
+    reformers punished by, ii. 458.
+
+  Eulenberg, Count, i. 366, ii. 40.
+
+  Evans, General de Lacy, appreciation of Alcock, i. 14;
+    Alcock under, in Spanish Legion, i. 21.
+
+  "Ever--Victorious Army," campaign of, i. 382-387;
+    disbandment of, i. 393.
+
+  Exhibition of 1851, Alcock's collection of exhibits for, i. 200-202,
+      ii. 101, 102;
+    influence of, on foreign trade, i. 227.
+
+  Exhibition of 1862, Alcock's collection of samples for, ii. 102, 484.
+
+  Exhibition, Paris, Alcock British Commissioner to, ii. 485.
+
+
+  Favier, Bishop, ii. 144, 346, 347.
+
+  Foochow--
+    Alcock's appointment as consul at, i. 116;
+      his commercial researches at, i. 200.
+    American enterprise a stimulus to tea trade at, i. 121, 122, 241.
+    Canton disturbances reflected in, i. 119, 314.
+    Naval construction attempted at, ii. 396;
+      naval school at, ii. 400.
+    Opening of (1844), i. 115;
+      further development of, i. 240.
+    Situation and importance of, i. 117, 119, 120.
+    'Times' pronouncement against, i. 114.
+    Trade at, nature of, i. 118, 121, 122, 241;
+    sea-borne trade at, i. 209.
+
+  Formosa--
+    French blockade of, ii. 333.
+    Japanese invasion of, ii. 255.
+    Missionary riots in, ii. 203-205, 207.
+
+  Fortune, Robert, i. 182, 183.
+
+  Fournier, Captain, ii. 327-330.
+
+  France, French (_see also_ Powers)--
+    Aggressive policy of, ii. 465, 466.
+    British cordially supported by, in China, i. 377, 379;
+      in Japan, ii. 45, 81, 105;
+      regarding Chinese emigration, ii. 172.
+    Cochin China, conquest of, ii. 253, 324.
+    Concession of land obtained by (1849), i. 138, 139, 435;
+      extorted by (1895), ii. 419.
+    Coolie trade, efforts against, ii. 172.
+    Customs Inspector proposed by Alcock from consular service of, i. 153.
+    Elgin followed to Tientsin by, i. 331.
+    Loan to China, ii. 421.
+    Missionary enterprise of, ii. 175-177, 224, 225, 229-232, 234, 237,
+        238, 253;
+      protectorate of Christians the aim of, ii. 336-342, 346-352.
+    Peking campaign (1860), i. 349-354.
+    Russia supported by, after Japanese War, ii. 415;
+      their approval of French acquisitions, ii. 419.
+    Shanghai settlement and "concession" of, i. 138, 139, 435.
+    Silk industry of, i. 191.
+    Taipings' support by British resented by, i. 141.
+    Tientsin Conference attended by (1854), i. 311.
+    Tongking quarrel, ii. 325-334.
+    Yangtze expedition of MM. Simon and Dupuis, i. 371.
+
+  Freeman-Mitford, Mr, anecdote cited from, ii. 444 _note_.
+
+  Fujiyama, Alcock's expedition to, ii. 41, 42.
+
+  Futai, position of, i. 381.
+
+
+  Germany, Germans (_see also_ Powers)--
+    Aggressive policy of, ii. 465, 466.
+    Alcock, appreciation of, by Peking resident, ii. 138.
+    Anglo-German agreement, ii. 467, 468, 473.
+    Armenian massacres, attitude towards, ii. 449 _note_.
+    Chinese attitude towards, i. 366.
+    Influence of, increasing, ii. 253, 254.
+    Japanese attitude towards, ii. 40.
+    Kiaochow. _See that title._
+    Korean expedition of, ii. 179.
+    Military instruction of Chinese undertaken by, ii. 395.
+    Missionaries kept to their nationality, ii. 338.
+    Peking, legation established in, ii. 254.
+    Propagandism unmasked by, ii. 454.
+    Russia supported by, after Japanese War, ii. 415.
+    Shantung sphere of, disturbances in, ii. 462.
+    Silk industry of, i. 191.
+    Toleration clause in treaty of, ii. 225 _note_.
+    Transit duty extension, Count Bernstorff on, ii. 218.
+
+  Gibson, Mr, ii. 204-206, 208.
+
+  Giquel, Prosper, i. 394.
+
+  Gordon, Captain C. G., commands the "Ever-Victorious Army," i. 383-387;
+    quarrels with Li, i. 392, 393;
+    honoured by Chinese Government, i. 395;
+    attempts at intercourse with Chinese, i. 399;
+    appreciated by Li, ii. 189;
+    summoned by Chinese Government, ii. 291, 292.
+
+  Gorogiu, function of the, ii. 108.
+
+  Grant, Sir Hope, i. 348, 349, 352.
+
+  Granville, Lord, negotiates ratification of Chefoo Convention,
+    ii. 284-287.
+
+  Great Britain (_see also_ Powers)--
+    Anglo-German agreement, ii. 467, 468, 473.
+    Borneo, colonisation in, ii. 485-487.
+    Good faith of, recognised by Chinese, i. 83, ii. 190.
+    Inconsistent policy of, in China, i. 432, 433.
+    Japanese War, attitude towards, ii. 413-416, 433.
+    Loan offered to China, ii. 420;
+      forced on her, ii. 434.
+    Narrowness of view among politicians in, i. 319.
+    Naval instruction of Chinese undertaken by, ii. 395.
+    Non-aggressive policy of, ii. 468.
+    Peking, Legation in--
+      Chinese Secretaryship, ii. 132, 362, 363, 367.
+      Deterioration in personnel of, ii. 360-362, 364, 366, 367.
+      Establishment of, i. 355.
+      Intelligence department defective, ii. 415, 423.
+      Subordination of, to Inspector-General of Customs, ii. 165, 166.
+      Supreme Court for a time subordinate to, ii. 358.
+    Russian acquisitions, attitude towards, ii. 423-433.
+    Weihai-wei seized by, ii. 434.
+    Yedo, Legation in, assaulted, ii. 36-38;
+      indemnity demanded, ii. 65, 66;
+      burnt, ii. 62 and _note_.
+
+  Greenwell, Dora, appreciation of 'Life's Problems' expressed by, i. 159.
+
+  Gros, Baron, i. 321, 349, ii. 230.
+
+  Gurdon, Lieutenant, ii. 205.
+
+  Guthrie, G. J., Alcock's medical studies under, i. 2;
+    recommends Alcock to Mr O'Meara, i. 9.
+
+
+  Hakodate, opening of, for ships' supplies, ii. 4;
+    neglected by merchants, ii. 12;
+    Russian representative at, ii. 104.
+
+  Hankow--
+    Abandonment of, by inhabitants in Taiping scare, i. 374.
+    Consular officer established at, i. 373.
+    Development of, i. 224, 225.
+    Elgin's voyage to (1858), i. 347.
+    Hope's visit to (1861), i. 223.
+
+  Harris, Townsend, ii. 3, 5, 39, 99.
+
+  Hart, Sir Robert, temporarily Inspector-General of Chinese Maritime
+      Customs, i. 387;
+    implicated in the Lay-Osborn flotilla failure, i. 388-390;
+    an authority on Gordon's reconciliation with Li, i. 193;
+    position and work of, as Inspector-General of Customs in Peking,
+      ii. 157, 160, 162-167;
+    appointed British Minister in China, but resigns post, ii. 166;
+    on Mixed Commission regarding redress of commercial grievances,
+      ii. 211-215;
+    action in the Margary murder case, ii. 274;
+    influence on the Chefoo Convention, ii. 276;
+    invites Gordon to help Chinese, ii. 292;
+    obtains recall of Tibetan mission, ii. 310;
+    obtains peace with France, ii. 333;
+    'Fortnightly Review' paper cited, ii. 461.
+
+  Hodges, Colonel, takes Alcock on to his staff, i. 9, 10;
+    appreciation of Alcock, i. 14.
+
+  Holt, Mr, ii. 203, 204, 208.
+
+  Hong merchants, i. 40 _note_.
+
+  Hongkong--
+    Administration of, i. 277, 278.
+    Advantages of site, i. 273, 274, 277, 284.
+    Alcock's visit to (1869), ii. 219.
+    Bank of, i. 284, 285.
+    British contempt for, i. 115;
+      Government's attitude towards, i. 276.
+    Buildings in, i. 282, 283.
+    Cession of, and occupation by British, i. 67.
+    Chinese traders and mechanics in, i. 73;
+      shipowners in, i. 247, 308;
+      escaped criminals numerous, i. 275;
+      improvement of general character, i. 277-282, 284.
+    Chusan contrasted with, i. 273.
+    Coolie trade, efforts against, ii. 168, 169.
+    Cost of voyage to, in early days, i. 258.
+    Customs station at, desired by Chinese, i. 276;
+      refused, ii. 216;
+      established, i. 276, ii. 288.
+    Development of, i. 73, 274-286.
+    Dislike of, by diplomatic and consular officials, i. 273, 276,
+        320, ii. 355;
+      by Chinese Government, i. 275, ii. 216.
+    Early record of (1816), i. 272.
+    Elgin's aversion to, i. 273, 320.
+    Emigration from, ii. 173.
+    Industries of, i. 283, 284.
+    International character of, i. 285.
+    Junk trade under Chinese control, i. 113, 275, 308.
+    Kiying House, i. 316.
+    Macao contrasted with, i. 287, 294.
+    Piracy headquarters at, i. 302, 305.
+    Pottinger, Sir H., first governor of, i. 112.
+    Reformers safe in, ii. 459.
+    Schools in, i. 281, 282.
+    Supreme Court in, ii. 354, 355.
+    Tonnage entered and cleared at, in 1898, i. 277 _note_.
+    Yokohama guard despatched from, ii. 77.
+
+  Hong-tjyong-on, ii. 299-302.
+
+  Hope, Admiral Sir James, Yangtze formally opened by, i. 223;
+    commands British naval contingent in Peking campaign, i. 349;
+    repulsed at Taku forts (1859), i. 350;
+    visits Peking, i. 365;
+    relations with Taipings, i. 370-373, 375-379;
+    opinion on Taiping Rebellion, i. 375;
+    vigorous policy of, i. 376;
+    friendship with Admiral Protet, i. 379;
+    comradeship with Ward, i. 382;
+    advises strong measures in Japan, ii. 55;
+    scheme for offensive measures in Japan, ii. 59;
+    correspondence with Capt. Birileff regarding Tsushima, ii. 111-114.
+
+  Hoppo, position of, i. 44, 45.
+
+  Hsienfeng, Emperor, death of, i. 397.
+
+  Hu Lin-yi, ii. 377.
+
+  Huang, Governor-General, i. 342, 343.
+
+  Hunter, W. C., quoted, i. 34, 46-48, ii. 20 _note_;
+    cited, i. 82.
+
+  Hwang-chu-ke, massacre of Englishmen at, i. 104, 108.
+
+
+  Ignatieff, General, assists Sir H. Grant, i. 353, 354;
+    negotiates cession of Vladivostock, i. 357, 358;
+    attitude towards British Legation and Chinese, i. 359.
+
+  Ilipu, Commissioner, i. 76, 77, 81.
+
+  India--
+    Alcock's visit to (1869), ii. 219.
+    Calcutta Convention, ii. 312.
+    Chinese imports from, i. 168.
+    East India Company. _See that title._
+    Elgin's opportune arrival in, i. 321.
+    Gordon summoned from, ii. 292.
+    Opium trade. _See that title._
+    Tea trade, i. 182-186.
+    Tibetan expedition, ii. 305-310.
+
+  Inouye, Count, British Legation building burnt by, ii. 62 _note_;
+    return from Europe and mission to Choshiu, ii. 80, 81;
+    mission to Korea, ii. 302.
+
+  Ito, Count, return from Europe and mission to Choshiu, ii. 80, 81;
+    mission to Peking, ii. 302.
+
+
+  Japan (_for particular persons, towns, see their titles_)--
+    Aggressive policy of, ii. 254-256, 465, 466.
+    Art of, ii. 102, 103.
+    Assassination period in, ii. 35-38.
+    Chinese War. _See under_ China.
+    Consuls in, peculiar responsibilities of, ii. 121.
+    Currency of, ii. 18-27.
+    Customs of, ii. 33.
+    Czarevitch's visit to, ii. 323.
+    Daimios--
+      Coinage of, ii. 25, 26.
+      Hostility of, to foreigners, ii. 38-41, 43.
+      Legation guards provided by, ii. 51, 53.
+      Processions of, ii. 34, 56.
+      Tycoon's relation to, ii. 38, 60-65, 67, 68, 76, 93.
+    Elgin's visit to, i. 335, 336;
+      his diplomatic success, i. 347, ii. 1, 5, 6, 99.
+    Exhibition of 1862, represented at, ii. 102, 484.
+    Foreigners, supervision of, ii. 8;
+      early pleasant relations with, ii. 9, 29-31;
+      hatred of, ii. 38-41, 43, 58, 77, 93;
+      retrograde policy towards, ii. 47-49;
+      use made of, ii. 95-98, 130, 131, 191, 255;
+      help of, declined when unasked, ii. 110.
+    Formosa invaded by, ii. 255.
+    Gorogiu, function of the, ii. 108.
+    Hong's vendetta pursued in, ii. 300, 301.
+    Inland Sea, Alcock's expedition up, ii. 36, 42;
+      Prince of Nagato's blockade of, ii. 69, 76, 77.
+    Korea, treaty with, ii. 256, 257;
+      Korean outbreak against, ii. 294, 297, 298;
+      equality with China in, ii. 302, 303, 389;
+      aggression in, ii. 406, 407, 409.
+    Liao-tung claimed by, ii. 429.
+    Liuchiu Islands claimed by, ii. 256.
+    Opening of, to foreign intercourse (1858), i. 225.
+    Portuguese expelled from, i. 291.
+    Prosperity of, ii. 32.
+    "Rudeness," term for, ii. 34 _note_.
+    Russian admiral in, i. 395.
+    Samurai, anecdote of, ii. 33 _note_ 1.
+    Silk industry of, i. 188, 191 _note_.
+    Sport in, ii. 127-129.
+
+  Japanese--
+    Chinese contrasted with, ii. 8, 27, 29, 130, 131, 259.
+    Combination, power of, ii. 94.
+    Imitation, faculty of, ii. 94-97.
+    Practical comprehension of circumstances, ii. 7.
+    Seriousness of, ii. 94.
+    Tenacity and resolution of, ii. 16, 93.
+
+  Junks. _See under_ China.
+
+
+  Kanagawa--
+    American treaty signed at, ii. 39.
+    Massacre of Russians at, ii. 35.
+    Moss, Mr, arrested for shooting game near, ii. 123, 128.
+    Opening of (1859), ii. 12.
+    Riding party from, attacked, ii. 55-57.
+    Yokohama preferred to, by foreign merchants, ii. 17, 18, 123.
+
+  Kang Yu-wei, reform programme of, ii. 457, 458.
+
+  Kashgaria, rebellion in, ii. 290, 291.
+
+  Kennedy, Vice-Admiral Sir W. R., cited, i. 317, 318.
+
+  Keppel, Admiral, diary entry regarding opium clipper, i. 217;
+    appreciation of Dent's hospitality, i. 294, 316;
+    operations against war-junks, i. 317, 318;
+    aids Consul Medhurst in Yangchow affair, ii. 202;
+    report on Formosa missionary affair, ii. 204;
+    details force to aid Mr Gibson, ii. 205;
+    appreciation of Chunghou, ii. 239.
+
+  Kiaochow, German seizure of, ii. 421;
+    British opinion, ii. 423;
+    Russian attitude, ii. 431.
+
+  Kim Ok Kun, ii. 298-302.
+
+  Kishen, appointment of, to negotiate with British, i. 65;
+    conciliatory manner of, i. 67;
+    good faith and courtesy of, i. 81, 82.
+
+  Kiying, Commissioner, appointed to treat with Sir H. Pottinger,
+      i. 76, 77;
+    courtesy of, i. 82;
+    pleasant nature of intercourse with, i. 94, 95;
+    impotence of, before Cantonese, i. 97;
+    high-handed manner of, after restoration of Chusan, i. 99;
+    agreement concluded with (1847), i. 103, 107;
+    effects postponement of foreign entry into Canton, i. 107;
+    popular memorial to Sir J. Davis inspired by, i. 110;
+    affability of, to governor of Hongkong, i. 112, 113;
+    supplementary treaty with, i. 113;
+    no redress from, against a Chih-hsien, i. 426.
+
+  Korea--
+    American expeditions to, ii. 178, 179.
+    China, tribute embassies to, ii. 148;
+      reverence for, ii. 259;
+      embassy of condolence from, ii. 404, 405;
+      privileges of, ii. 406.
+    Foreign ferment in, ii. 295.
+    French annexation of, ii. 176, 177.
+    Hong honoured by Court, ii. 301, 302.
+    Japanese, treaty with, ii. 256, 257;
+      brutality of, ii. 259;
+      equality of, with China, ii. 302, 303, 389;
+      aggression of, ii. 406, 407, 409.
+    Jesuit propagandism in, ii. 175.
+    Opening of, by China, ii. 259.
+    Port Hamilton incident, ii. 303, 305.
+    Russian pledge regarding, ii. 424, 425.
+    Soeul, _emeute_ in, ii. 294, 296-298.
+
+  Kowloon, concession of, acquired by Parkes, i. 286, 330.
+
+  Kuldja, Russian claims regarding, ii. 290-293.
+
+  Kung, Prince, Lord Elgin's negotiations with, i. 329, 352, 353;
+    signs Peking treaty, i. 354;
+    deceived by Ignatieff, i. 358;
+    member of Tsungli-Yamen, i. 360;
+    Gordon's interviews with, i. 383;
+    implicated in the Lay-Osborn flotilla failure, i. 389, 390;
+    executes _coup d'etat_, i. 397, 398;
+    correspondence with British Minister, i. 403-406, 409;
+    high-handed tone of, i. 410;
+    intimate relations with British Legation, ii. 134, 135;
+    efforts against coolie trade, ii. 171, 172;
+    declines responsibility for Korean persecutions, ii. 176;
+    action in Yangchow affair, ii. 202;
+    circular regarding missionaries, ii. 231;
+    Sir T. Wade's remonstrance to, on Chinese official tone, ii. 244;
+    present at audience of foreign Ministers, ii. 261;
+    imperial claims of, ii. 263;
+    enmity between Empress and, ii. 264, 312;
+    action regarding Margary case, ii. 274;
+    dismissed by Empress, ii. 312;
+    efforts regarding Pei-t'ang Cathedral, ii. 342;
+    moderating influence of, ii. 374;
+    vetoes proposed assassination of Li, ii. 387.
+
+  Kuper, Rear-Admiral Sir Augustus, attack on Satsuma, ii. 67;
+    operations against Prince of Nagato, ii. 80, 81;
+    appeals to Foreign Office regarding Alcock's recall, ii. 89.
+
+  Kwanghsu, Emperor, selected by Empress, ii. 263;
+    comes of age, ii. 318;
+    childlessness of, ii. 456;
+    reform programme adopted by, ii. 458.
+
+  Kweiliang, i. 334, 360.
+
+
+  Lane-Poole, Stanley, cited, i. 117, 316.
+
+  Lang, Captain, ii. 396, 400, 412.
+
+  Lay, H. N., residence of, at Foochow, i. 118 _note_;
+    Inspector-General of Customs, i. 155;
+    negotiates Tientsin treaty, i. 331;
+    Osborn flotilla fiasco, i. 387-391;
+    summary of Chinese affairs (1858-63), i. 409, 410;
+    fidelity to Chinese Government, ii. 160;
+    observation on residence of Ministers, ii. 261;
+    representative of consular training school, ii. 363.
+
+  Lay-Osborn flotilla, i. 387-391;
+    Wensiang and Prince Kung discredited by failure of scheme,
+      ii. 375, 391.
+
+  Lekin, likin. _See under_ China--Taxation.
+
+  Lhassa, Bengali's friendly visits to, ii. 305;
+    Indian expedition attempted, ii. 306-310;
+    protracted negotiations at, ii. 311, 312.
+
+  Li Han-Chang, ii. 272.
+
+  Li Hung-Chang, foreigners enlisted by, i. 381, 382;
+    dismisses Burgevine, i. 385, 387;
+    rejects the Lay-Osborn flotilla, i. 391;
+    Gordon's quarrel with, i. 392, 393;
+    memorial of, regarding revision of treaty, ii. 184-190;
+    influence of, in foreign affairs, ii. 190, 264, 313, 314;
+    succeeds Tseng Kwo-fan and Chunghou, ii. 242;
+    interview with Consul Adkins, ii. 244, 245;
+    negotiates opening of Korea, ii. 259;
+    ascendancy of, in imperial counsels, ii. 264, 329;
+    appointed to treat with Sir T. Wade on Margary murder, ii. 274, 275;
+    negotiates Chefoo Convention, ii. 275-277;
+    Gordon's interviews with, ii. 292;
+    action in Korean _emeute_, ii. 294;
+    Count Ito's negotiations with, ii. 302;
+    arranges voyage of Prince Ch'un, ii. 316;
+    deputed to meet the Czarevitch at Chefoo, ii. 322;
+    Annam negotiations, ii. 325;
+    summons Mr Detring to Tientsin, ii. 328;
+    concludes Fournier Convention, ii. 329;
+    arranges Vatican mission, ii. 345;
+    opposed by Tso Tsung-tang, ii. 379;
+    characteristics and policy of, ii. 381-386;
+    promotes naval and military reform, ii. 382, 391, 396, 397;
+    no anti-foreign outbreaks in province of, ii. 383, 442;
+    responsibilities of, regarding Japanese War, ii. 386, 387;
+    progressive efforts of, ii. 395;
+    opposed to Korean expedition, ii. 408;
+    agrees to Manchurian branch of Siberian railway, ii. 423.
+
+  Liao-tung--
+    Japanese occupation of, ii. 414;
+      cession of, for indemnity, ii. 415.
+    Russian acquisition of, ii. 422, 423.
+
+  'Life's Problems,' appreciation of, i. 159.
+
+  Likatchoff, Commodore, ii. 112, 114.
+
+  Lin, Commissioner, measures of, against opium trade, i. 51-54;
+    demands life-and-death jurisdiction, i. 57;
+    reply of, to Macaese, i. 58;
+    superseded, i. 65;
+    custom-house administration of, i. 435.
+
+  Lindsay, W. S., cited, i. 237;
+    quoted, i. 242.
+
+  Liuchiu Islands, ii. 256.
+
+  Livadia, treaty of, ii. 291.
+
+  Lorchas. _See under_ China.
+
+  Lowder, Mrs, Alcock's marriage with, ii. 73.
+
+
+  Macao (_see also_ Portuguese)--
+    British refugees expelled from, i. 58, 272, 293;
+      plenipotentiaries repair to, i. 65.
+    Celebrities of, i. 297, 298.
+    Clerks from, i. 259.
+    Coolie trade at, ii. 169, 174.
+    Custom-house established at, ii. 288.
+    Elliot's retirement to, i. 41.
+    Hongkong contrasted with, i. 287, 294.
+    Peacefulness and salubrity of, i. 287, 288, 292-294.
+    Piracy tolerated at, i. 295, 296.
+    Population of, i. 294, 295.
+    Portuguese occupation of, i. 289-291.
+
+  Macaulay, T. B., ii. 307.
+
+  MacCunn, James, cited, i. 243 _note_.
+
+  Macdonald, Sir Claude, ii. 432.
+
+  MacDonnell, Sir Richard, i. 277, 305, 306.
+
+  Manchuria--
+    Chinese troops in, ii. 291.
+    Russian acquisition of coast, ii. 252, 469, 473.
+    Siberian railway to pass through, ii. 423.
+
+  Manchus--
+    Chinese contrasted with, i. 80, 81;
+      complementary to, i. 83, 84.
+    Courtesy of, i. 82, 368, ii. 140, 153.
+    Moderation and humanity of, i. 81.
+    Women, position of, ii. 140, 141.
+
+  Margary, Augustus Raymond, ii. 266, 267.
+
+  Markham, Sir Clements, appreciation of Alcock, ii. 484.
+
+  Mas, M. de, anecdote of, ii. 444 _note_.
+
+  Mayers, W. F., ii. 363.
+
+  Meadows, Taylor, Alcock compared with, i. 161, ii. 224;
+    distinguished services of, ii. 359;
+    representative of consular training school, ii. 363.
+
+  Medhurst, Mr, foreign atrocities reported by, i. 302;
+    map made by, i. 432;
+    action in Yangchow affair, ii. 199-201;
+    reprimanded by Lord Clarendon, ii. 207, 208.
+
+  Mikado of Japan, sanction of, necessary to treaties, ii. 39, 63, 85;
+    sanction obtained, ii. 90;
+    Tycoon's relation to, ii. 60-65, 71-73, 76, 85, 92, 93;
+    expulsion of foreigners ordered by, ii. 63;
+    administrative functions assumed by, ii. 92, 255.
+
+  Missionaries--
+    Alcock's views on, ii. 223, 224, 227, 230, 231, 237.
+    American, on Yangtze expedition, i. 370.
+    Charges against, ii. 236.
+    Chinese view of, ii. 177-179.
+    Control of, Chinese scheme for, ii. 246-248.
+    Disunion among the Powers caused by, ii. 237.
+    French enterprise regarding, ii. 175-177, 224, 225, 229-232, 234,
+        237, 238, 253;
+      their aim a protectorate of Christians, ii. 336-342, 346-352.
+    Hongkong, in, i. 281.
+    "Indiscretions" of, emphasised by their Governments, ii. 243.
+    Irritation and disruption caused by, ii. 203-205, 207, 224, 226-233,
+      238, 246, 248, 249, 454.
+    Kang Yu-wei inspired by, ii. 458.
+    Korea, in, ii. 175, 177-179.
+    Li's advice regarding, ii. 187;
+      his policy towards, ii. 383, 442.
+    Publications of, ii. 445.
+    Russian Peking establishment, i. 356, ii. 154.
+    Tientsin massacre, ii. 238, 239;
+      French ambassador's note on, ii. 237;
+      results of, ii. 240-244.
+    Tsingpu attack, i. 129.
+
+  Mito, Prince of, ii. 35, 38, 40, 41.
+
+  Mongol market in Peking, ii. 147, 148.
+
+  Montauban, General (Count Palikao), i. 349, 351-353.
+
+  Morrison, Robert, i. 297, 298.
+
+  Moss, Mr, ii. 123, 124, 128.
+
+  Mouravieff-Amurski, Count, at Yedo, ii. 35;
+    warns Japanese against British designs, ii. 111;
+    gives assurances regarding Russian fleet, ii. 426.
+
+  Mutsu, Count, anecdote of, ii. 96 _note_.
+
+
+  Nagasaki--
+    Alcock's arrival at, ii. 14.
+    Coins not used in trade at, ii. 18.
+    Dutch trade at, ii. 10, 11.
+    Legation from Korea conveyed to, ii. 294.
+    Opened for ships' supplies, ii. 4.
+    Welcome to foreigners at, ii. 9.
+
+  Nagato, Prince of, hostile action of, ii. 67, 69, 76, 77;
+    operations against, ii. 77-81;
+    Japanese students sent to Europe by, ii. 80;
+    justifies his anti-foreign action, ii. 82;
+    results of his defeat, ii. 86.
+
+  Namoa, typical sale of opium at, i. 47, 48.
+
+  Nanking--
+    Capital, proposed as, ii. 474 _note_.
+    Important position of, i. 134.
+    Lay-Osborn flotilla, connection with, i. 391.
+    Robertson's mission to, i. 133, 428.
+    Taipings at, British aid asked against, i. 312;
+      Admiral Hope's dealings with, i. 371, 372.
+    Treaty. _See under_ Treaties.
+
+  Napier, Lord, experiences of, in China, i. 38-40;
+    views on Chinese government, ii. 439.
+
+  Neale, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward St John, in charge of British Legation
+      at Yedo, ii. 50;
+    attack on British Legation described by, ii. 51, 52;
+    congratulated by Japanese on his escape, ii. 54;
+    action after Richardson murder, ii. 58;
+    negotiations with Japanese, ii. 62-67.
+
+  Newchwang, i. 219, 222.
+
+  Ningpo--
+    A'Pak's exploit at, i. 304, 305.
+    Characteristics of, i. 116.
+    Occupation of, by British, i. 76.
+    Opening of, i. 115.
+    Piratical stronghold near, i. 306.
+    Taipings, captured by, i. 376, 377;
+      captured from, i. 380;
+      base of British and French during Chekiang campaign, i. 394.
+    'Times' pronouncement against, i. 114.
+
+
+  Oliphant, Laurence, cited, i. 223, 336, 337, 347, ii. 2;
+    quoted, i. 341, ii. 9 _note_, 11 _note_;
+    wounded by Japanese, ii. 36, 37;
+    invalided home, ii. 46.
+
+  Opium trade--
+    Alcock's attitude towards, i. 194-198, 417-419.
+    Cash payments the rule in, i. 43, 171, 192.
+    Chefoo Convention, introduced into, ii. 281, 283;
+      stimulated by, ii. 289.
+    Clippers, i. 193, 215-217.
+    Contraband before 1858, i. 44-48, 192;
+      legalisation of, urged by Alcock, i. 418;
+      effected, i. 199;
+      recognised by Tientsin treaty, i. 332, 341.
+    Elliot's offer to suppress, i. 48, 49;
+      his attitude towards, i. 199.
+    Foochow, at, i. 121.
+    Hostility of Chinese attitude towards, i. 417-419.
+    Importance of, i. 193, 194, 196, 197, 417, 418.
+    Lin's measures against, i. 51-54.
+    Postal communication dependent on, i. 193, 216, 217.
+    Smuggling connected with, i. 44-48.
+    Surrender of opium at Canton, i. 53, 54 _and note_.
+    Transit dues, proposed increase of, ii. 219;
+      duty trebled, ii. 284, 286.
+    Value of, i. 192.
+
+  Osborn, Captain Sherard, Yangtze explored by, i. 223, 347;
+    in command of flotilla refused by Chinese, i. 388;
+    cited, ii. 2.
+
+
+  Paget, Sir James, appreciation of Alcock, i. 23, 24.
+
+  Palikao, Count, i. 349, 351-353.
+
+  Palmerston, Lord, successful Chinese policy of, i. 88, 100, 101, 104,
+      131;
+    the China dissolution, i. 319;
+    change in foreign policy after death of, ii. 364, 365.
+
+  Paris, Alcock's first visit to, i. 2-7;
+    Campbell's mission to, ii. 333.
+
+  Parkes, Sir Harry, interpreter to Alcock, i. 117;
+    appreciation of Alcock, i. 120, 121;
+    accompanies Alcock to Shanghai, i. 126;
+    despatched with Robertson to Nanking, i. 133;
+    compiles returns of sea-borne trade at Foochow, i. 209;
+    obtains Kowloon concession, i. 286, 330;
+    action regarding the Arrow incident, i. 309;
+    remonstrates with Yeh, i. 314;
+    Lord Elgin's appreciation of, i. 326 _note_;
+    commissioner at Canton, i. 328, 330;
+    successful administration there, i. 397;
+    deplores Lord Elgin's hurried departure from Tientsin, i. 335;
+    reward offered for head of, i. 342;
+    seized and imprisoned by Chinese, i. 352;
+    released, i. 354;
+    visits Peking, i. 365;
+    attached by Lord Elgin to Admiral Hope, i. 370;
+    describes abandonment of Hankow, i. 374;
+    attack on, in Japan, ii. 90;
+    succeeds Alcock in Japan, ii. 130;
+    views on Chinese action regarding Formosa and Japan, ii. 255;
+    negotiates treaty regarding Korea, ii. 297;
+    death of, ii. 302;
+    representative of consular training school, ii. 363.
+
+  Pechili Gulf, cruise in, i. 220-223;
+    defences suggested for, ii. 381;
+    fortifications of ports in, ii. 397.
+
+  Peiho river, demonstration off mouth of (1840), i. 64;
+    defences of (1860), 350.
+    _See also_ Taku forts.
+
+  Peking--
+    Blockade of, a means of coercing Government, i. 416, 428-431.
+    British Legation. _See under_ Great Britain.
+    Campaign of 1860, i. 349-354.
+    _Chose jugee_, case of, ii. 280.
+    Convention signed at (1886), ii. 310.
+    Disadvantages of, as site for capital, ii. 474 _and note_.
+    Distant view of, ii. 143.
+    Elgin's error in omitting to visit, i. 334-337 _and note_.
+    Fur market, ii. 149.
+    German Legation established in, ii. 254.
+    Health of, ii. 144 _note_.
+    Hostility of natives in, i. 364.
+    Inaccessibility of, ii. 142.
+    Innovations after 1884, ii. 315.
+    Insanitary condition of, ii. 144, 145.
+    Lama temple, ii. 145, 146.
+    Legations, diplomatic difficulties of, i. 398-401;
+      relieved by military force (1900), ii. 437.
+    Macaulay's mission to, ii. 307, 308.
+    Maritime Customs Inspector established in, ii. 156.
+    Mules and camels, ii. 147.
+    Pei-t'ang Cathedral, erection of, ii. 341;
+      transfer of, ii. 346, 347.
+    Prohibitions against English visitors, i. 363.
+    Residence of British representative at, suggested in merchants'
+        memorial (1839), i. 89;
+      residence included in Tientsin treaty, i. 332, 336;
+      right of residence suspended, i. 337, 346.
+    Russian mission in, i. 356, ii. 154.
+    Sarat Chandra Das, visit of, ii. 308-310.
+    Social Life in, ii. 138-142.
+    Street traffic in, ii. 149-153.
+    Summer retreat from, ii. 154, 155.
+    Temple of Heaven, ii. 146.
+    Treaty signed at (1860), i. 354.
+
+  Pin Ch'un, ii. 137, 186.
+
+  Piracy--
+    Alcock's views on, i. 208.
+    British action against, i. 299, 301, 305-307.
+    Chinese attitude towards, i. 299-301.
+    Foreigners engaged in, in China, i. 302;
+      foreigners subjected to, i. 306, 307.
+    Hongkong headquarters of, i. 302, 305.
+    Portuguese leniency to, i. 295, 296;
+      their earlier assistance against, i. 289, 290.
+    Prevalence of, i. 194, 209, 218.
+    Steam traffic a blow to, i. 307.
+    Taiping Rebellion complicated by, i. 275.
+
+  Popoff, M., i. 357, 395.
+
+  Port Arthur--
+    British evacuation of, ii. 426.
+    Ch'un, Prince, meets British Admiral at, ii. 317.
+    Fortifications of, ii. 397.
+    French abstain from attacking, ii. 332;
+      French syndicate entrusted with construction works at, ii. 335.
+    Russian acquisition of, ii. 424-427.
+
+  Portugal, Alcock's work as army surgeon in, i. 14-18;
+    on Anglo-Portuguese Commission regarding claims of British
+      auxiliaries, i. 25.
+
+  Portuguese (_see also_ Macao)--
+    Chinese cupidity conciliated by, i. 287.
+    Convoy trade carried on by, i. 304, 305.
+    Ming dynasty supported by, i. 291.
+    Obligations to Great Britain disregarded by, i. 58 and _note_.
+
+  Pottinger, Sir Henry, i. 74, 112-114.
+
+  Powers, Western--
+    Anarchy among, ii. 472, 473.
+    Audience granted to, by Emperor Tungchih, ii. 261;
+      by Kwanghsu, ii. 318-320.
+    British covertly attacked by, to Japanese government, ii. 107-110.
+    Chefoo Convention, feeling regarding, ii. 276, 277, 281.
+    Classification of, ii. 465.
+    Danger to be apprehended from, i. 163, 420.
+    "Dummy" Chinaman evolved by, i. 338, 339, ii. 472.
+    Korea, inaction regarding, ii. 411.
+    Missionary problem, unity not possible regarding, ii. 237.
+    Rivalry of, i. 262, ii. 447, 451, 475.
+    Spoliation of China by, ii. 417, 418, 447, 452.
+    Taiping Rebellion, attitude towards, i. 394.
+
+  "Progress," no Chinese equivalent for, ii. 136.
+
+  Protet, Admiral, i. 377, 379.
+
+
+  Queen Victoria Jubilee Institute for Nurses, Alcock's work for,
+    ii. 482, 483.
+
+
+  Real estate, value of, in the Far East, i. 176, 177, 434.
+
+  Rennie, Dr, quoted, i. 362-366, ii. 146.
+
+  Rhubarb, Chinese export of, i. 168.
+
+  Richardson, Mr, murder of, ii. 38, 56, 57;
+    redress for, ii. 65, 66.
+
+  Robertson, Vice-Consul, i. 133, 428, ii. 210.
+
+  Royal Geographical Society, Alcock's work for, ii. 483, 484.
+
+  Roze, Admiral, ii. 177.
+
+  "Rudeness," Japanese term for, ii. 34 _note_.
+
+  Russell, Earl, approves Alcock's measures, ii. 45, 86;
+    negotiates with Japanese envoys, ii. 49;
+    advocates firm policy in Japan, ii. 59, 76;
+    recalls Alcock, ii. 87, 88;
+    desires Alcock's return to Japan, ii. 89.
+
+  Russia, Russians (_see also_ Powers)--
+    Absorbent policy of, ii. 469, 470, 473, 474.
+    Akbar despatches incident, i. 233.
+    Amur, acquisitions on the, ii. 252, 429.
+    Ascendancy of, in China, ii. 422, 434, 473, 475.
+    British friction with, ii. 321.
+    Czarevitch visits China, ii. 321-323.
+    Elgin followed to Tientsin by, i. 331.
+    French in concert with, ii. 415;
+      their acquisitions approved by, ii. 419.
+    Japan--squadron at Yedo, ii. 35;
+      represented by M. Goskavitch, ii. 104;
+      Tsushima affair, ii. 111-114.
+    Japanese War deprecated by, ii. 411;
+      Japanese claims modified by, ii. 415.
+    Kuldja incident, ii. 290-293.
+    Li protected by, ii. 387, 415.
+    Liao-tung acquired by, ii. 422, 423.
+    Livadia, treaty of, ii. 291.
+    Loan to China guaranteed by, ii. 421.
+    Manchurian coast acquired by, ii. 252, 469.
+    Military ethics of, ii. 470, 471.
+    Peking, establishment in, i. 356, ii. 154.
+    Port Hamilton incident, ii. 303-305.
+    Protectorate of Christians assumed by, ii. 349, 350.
+    Respect accorded to, by Chinese, i. 357;
+      by Japanese, i. 357, ii. 104.
+    Siberian railway, beginning of, ii. 323;
+      Manchurian branch of, ii. 423.
+    Taiping Rebellion, attitude towards, i. 394, 395.
+    Talien-wan seized by, ii. 427;
+      'Times' extract on the proceeding, ii. 428-432.
+    Tea supply of, i. 186.
+    Tientsin massacre, ii. 239, 241.
+    Toleration clause in treaty of, ii. 224.
+    Vladivostock, acquisition of, i. 358;
+      Czarevitch's visit to, ii. 323.
+
+
+  Salisbury, Lord, additional article to the Chefoo Convention signed by,
+      ii. 287;
+    speech regarding Russian ports, ii. 426, 430;
+    Russia conciliated by, ii. 429.
+
+  Samqua, i. 151, 434, 435.
+
+  Samurai, status of, ii. 33 _note_ 2.
+
+  Sarat Chandra Das, ii. 306, 308-310.
+
+  Satsuma, Prince of, riding party attacked by retinue of, ii. 58;
+    attack on, ii. 67, 68;
+    appeals to Mikado against Prince of Nagato, ii. 69;
+    friendly to foreigners, ii. 76.
+
+  Seventh Prince. _See_ Ch'un, Prince.
+
+  Seward, George F., ii. 174, 178.
+
+  Seymour, Sir Michael, naval commander-in-chief at Hongkong, i. 309;
+    relations with Sir J. Bowring, i. 315;
+    operations in the "Merchants' War," i. 317.
+
+  Shanghai--
+    Alcock appointed to, i. 126;
+      testimonial to him from foreign residents in, i. 157, 158;
+      his visit to (1869), ii. 218.
+    Apathy of residents regarding Exhibition samples, i. 200, 201.
+    Capture of, in first China War, i. 75.
+    Chamber of Commerce at, reviews Supplementary Convention, ii. 219.
+    Chunghou, condemned at meetings in, ii. 241.
+    Custom-house. _See under_ China--Taxation.
+    Development of, i. 124-126.
+    French concession in, i. 139.
+    Inland trade from, i. 210.
+    Kim assassinated in, ii. 301.
+    Lindsay's mission to (1832), i. 115.
+    Naval construction attempted at, ii. 396.
+    Neighbourhood of, i. 126, 127.
+    Opening of (1843), i. 115.
+    Self-reliance of community in, i. 140.
+    Silk trade facilitated by opening of, i. 188.
+    Smuggling centre at, i. 144.
+    Supreme Court for China and Japan established at, ii. 355-358.
+    Taipings, danger from, i. 377-379.
+    Thirty mile radius established round, i. 128, 372, 376, 383, 384.
+    Tientsin treaty negotiations conducted at, i. 343, 347.
+    Tonnage famine at, i. 232, 233.
+    Tsingpu affair, i. 129-133.
+    Yokohama guard of Beloochis sent from, ii. 78.
+
+  Shantung--
+    German seizure of port in, ii. 421;
+      British opinion on seizure, ii. 423;
+      Russian attitude, ii. 431.
+    Scenery of, i. 221.
+    Unrest most violent in, ii. 462.
+
+  Shaw, Sir Charles, sketch of career of, i. 12-14;
+    appreciation of Alcock, i. 14-17, 21, 22.
+
+  Shimadso Saburo, ii. 58, 59 _and note_.
+
+  Shimoda, opening of, ii. 4.
+
+  Shimonoseki, Straits of, blockaded by Prince of Nagato, ii. 69, 76, 77;
+    forts at, captured by Allies, ii. 83.
+
+  Shimonoseki treaty, ii. 387, 418.
+
+  Shipping--
+    Convoy system in China, i. 302-304.
+    Disguise of boats for Chinese coasting trade, i. 246, 247.
+    East India Company's, i. 211-215.
+    Gold discoveries' effect on, i. 227-231.
+    Hanseatic and Scandinavian, i. 218, 219.
+    Junks. _See under_ China.
+    Lorchas. _See under_ China.
+    Merchant owners, i. 217, 218, 224.
+    Navigation Law repealed, i. 230.
+    Opium clippers, i. 193, 215-217.
+    Piracy. _See that title._
+    Revival of British, i. 231, 237, 239.
+    Silk cargoes, i. 235, 236.
+    Steam brought into general use, i. 243-245;
+    effect on piracy, i. 307.
+    Tea clippers, i. 239-243.
+
+  Shore, the Hon. Henry N., cited, i. 213 _note_.
+
+  Silk, Chinese trade in, importance of, i. 168, 187-191 _and note_, 203;
+    shipping of, i. 235, 236;
+    Japanese trade in, ii. 116.
+
+  Smith, Arthur, cited, ii. 368.
+
+  Smuggling--
+    Alcock's efforts against, i. 143, 145;
+      extract from his report on, i. 145-147.
+    Elliot's offer to suppress, i. 48, 49.
+    England, in, i. 213.
+    Prevalence of, i. 44, 45, 143, 195, 301.
+    Salt merchants vigilant against, i. 442.
+    Trade disastrously affected by, i. 147.
+
+  Solomon, King, Chinese characteristics of, ii. 369 _note_.
+
+  Spain, Alcock's work as army surgeon in, i. 21, 22;
+    on Commission regarding payment of Foreign Legion, i. 24, 25;
+    rheumatic fever contracted at San Sebastian, i. 27.
+
+  Stanley, Lady Augusta, Alcock's work with, ii. 479, 480.
+
+  Staveley, Brigadier-General, i. 365, 379, 383, 385.
+
+  Stirling, Sir James, Japanese treaty of, ii. 4.
+
+  Swatow, ii. 206.
+
+  Swinhoe, Consul, ii. 181, 204, 359.
+
+
+  Taiping Rebellion. _See under_ China.
+
+  Taku forts, British repulse at, i. 222, 223, 348;
+    strengthened by Chinese, i. 350;
+    captured by Allies, i. 351;
+    occupied by Allies, i. 355;
+    captured (1900), ii. 436.
+
+  Talien-wan--
+    British suggestion regarding, ii. 425.
+    Fortifications of, ii. 397.
+    Russian seizure of, ii. 427.
+    'Times' letter on, ii. 428-432.
+
+  Tao-kuang, Emperor, i. 50, 51.
+
+  Taotai, status of, i. 129.
+
+  Tartars, i. 81.
+
+  Taxation. _See under_ China.
+
+  Tea trade--
+    Clippers, i. 239-243.
+    Consumption of tea, quality and quantity of, i. 180, 181.
+    Duties heavy, i. 178-181, 186.
+    Foochow famous for, i. 121, 122, 240, 241.
+    Hankow a new centre for, i. 225.
+    Importance of, in early Chinese trade, i. 168;
+      decline of, i. 184-186.
+
+  Thomson, J., quoted, i. 269.
+
+  Tibet, Bengali's friendly visits to, ii. 305;
+    Indian expedition attempted, ii. 306-310;
+    attack on British Sikkim, ii. 311.
+
+  Tientsin--
+    Arsenal established at, by Chunghou, ii. 392.
+    Ch'un, Prince, introduced to foreigners at, ii. 316.
+    Conference at (1840), i. 65;
+      (1854), i. 311.
+    Elgin's treaty. _See_ Treaties--Tientsin;
+      his hurried departure from, i. 333, 335, 336.
+    Gordon's interviews with Li at, ii. 292.
+    Gutzlaff's expedition to, i. 115.
+    Massacre at. _See under_ Missionaries.
+    Peking campaign, base of Allied troops during, i. 351;
+      garrison left in, i. 355.
+    Treaty of. _See under_ Treaties.
+
+  Ting, Admiral, ii. 400, 408.
+
+  Tong-chow, i. 219, 220.
+
+  Tongking, French conquest of, ii. 326.
+
+  Trade. _See_ Commerce.
+
+  Treaties--
+    Alcock's stand for integrity of, ii. 101.
+    Anglo-German Agreement, ii. 467, 468, 473.
+    Calcutta Convention, ii. 312.
+    Chefoo Convention, negotiation and provisions of, ii. 275-280, 310,
+        311;
+      criticism of, ii. 280, 251;
+      ratification of, ii. 284, 287.
+    Disregard of, chronic, ii. 214, 359.
+    Fournier Convention, ii. 329.
+    Japan--Commodore Perry's, ii. 2;
+      Townsend Harris's, ii. 3, 5, 39, 99;
+      Sir J. Stirling's, ii. 4;
+      Lord Elgin's, ii. 5, 6, 99.
+    Li-Ito Convention, ii. 302, 303, 389, 408, 409.
+    Livadia, ii. 291.
+    "Most-favoured-nation" clause, ii. 3, 5, 6, 215, 232.
+    Nanking, signing of, i. 75, 76;
+      Chinese hostility to, i. 78, 79, 91, 93, 97;
+      supplement to, i. 112-114;
+      English opposition to, i. 114;
+      working of, summed up by Alcock, i. 162, 411-428;
+      evaded by Chinese, i. 333, ii. 214;
+      restrictions of boundary imposed by, i. 415.
+    Peking (1860), i. 354;
+      (1886), ii. 310.
+    St Petersburg, ii. 293.
+    Shimonoseki, ii. 387, 418.
+    Tientsin, ports opened by, i. 219;
+      signing of, i. 331, 334;
+      provisions of, i. 332, 341;
+      residence at Peking a stipulation of, i. 332-335;
+      Chinese view of, i. 334-336, 341, 342, 346, 348;
+      suspension of residence clause, i. 337, 346;
+      ratified at Peking, i. 354;
+      regarded as model for other Powers, ii. 6;
+      revision preparations, ii. 180-183;
+      revision discussed, ii. 211-218;
+      supplementary convention signed, ii. 218;
+      reviewed, ii. 219, 220;
+      not ratified, ii. 220, 221.
+    Toleration clauses, ii. 224, 225.
+    Yeh's contempt for, i. 333.
+
+  Tsen-Yue-ying, ii. 270-273.
+
+  Tseng, the Marquis, negotiates ratification of Chefoo Convention,
+      i. 284-287;
+    negotiates treaty at St Petersburg, ii. 293;
+    Annam negotiations, ii. 325;
+    member of Tsungli-Yamen, ii. 351.
+
+  Tseng Kwo-Chuan, i. 381, 391.
+
+  Tseng Kwo-fan, operations in Taiping Rebellion, i. 381, 391, 393;
+    memorial regarding revision of treaty, ii. 184;
+    intercourse with foreigners, ii. 189;
+    action in Yangchow affair, ii. 199-203;
+    action regarding Tientsin massacre, ii. 240, 243;
+    volunteer levies under, ii. 377;
+    characteristics of, ii. 378;
+    expulsion of foreigners suggested by, ii. 464 _note_.
+
+  Tsushima, designs on, attributed to British, ii. 108, 109, 111;
+    to French, ii. 110;
+    Russian occupation of, ii. 111-114.
+
+  Tsingpu affair, i. 129-135, 415, 423, 424.
+
+  Tso Tsung-tang, ii. 291, 278, 279.
+
+  Tsungli-Yamen. _See under_ China.
+
+  Tuan, Prince, characteristic action of (1900), ii. 437;
+    progeny of, not in the succession, ii. 456;
+    relations of, with Empress Regent obscure, ii. 460.
+
+  Tun, Prince, imperial claims of son of, ii. 263;
+    grandson of, nominated heir-apparent, ii. 460.
+
+  Tungchih, Emperor, i. 397, ii. 260-262.
+
+  Tycoon of Japan, Lord Elgin's treaty with, ii. 6, 7;
+    guards of, at foreign legations, ii. 36, 38, 44, 51-53;
+    Daimios' relation to, ii. 38-41, 60-65, 67, 68, 76, 93;
+    autograph letter to the Queen, ii. 46;
+    the Queen's reply, ii. 48;
+    envoys sent by, to Great Britain, ii. 48, 49;
+    second mission, ii. 74, 75;
+    Mikado's relation to, ii. 71-73, 85, 92;
+    regret at Alcock's recall, ii. 88.
+
+
+  United States. _See_ America.
+
+
+  Vatican, appeal to, ii. 343.
+
+  'Village Life in China' cited, ii. 368.
+
+  Vladivostock, Russian acquisition of, i. 358;
+    Czarevitch at, ii. 323.
+
+
+  Wade, Sir Thomas, action in Taiping Rebellion, i. 138, ii. 133;
+    Inspector of Customs at Shanghai, i. 154;
+    at Peking with Alcock (1865), ii. 131;
+    career and characteristics of, ii. 132-134;
+    views of, on Maritime Customs Inspectorship, ii. 163, 164;
+    on supplementary convention to Tientsin treaty, ii. 220;
+    _charge d'affaires_ at Peking, ii. 239, 244;
+    views of, on audience of foreign Ministers, ii. 261, 262;
+    negotiations regarding Margary case, ii. 270-275, 278;
+    negotiates Chefoo Convention, ii. 275-279;
+    views of, on Chinese legislation, ii. 279.
+
+  Ward, Mr, i. 382.
+
+  Weihai-wei--
+    British seizure of, ii. 434.
+    Chinese forlorn hope at, i. 222, 301.
+    Early exploration of, i. 222.
+    Fortifications of, ii. 397.
+
+  Wensiang, member of Tsungli-Yamen, i. 360;
+    discredited by Lay-Osborn flotilla fiasco, i. 389, ii. 375, 391;
+    intimate relations with British Legation, ii. 134, 135;
+    concurs in strong measures against rioters, ii. 207;
+    dislike of Hongkong, ii. 216;
+    circular regarding control of missions attributed to, ii. 246;
+    efforts regarding Pei-t'ang Cathedral, ii. 342;
+    high qualities of, ii. 374-376.
+
+  Westminster Hospital, Alcock's work for, ii. 478-480.
+
+  Winchester, Consul, on Japanese currency, ii. 18, 23.
+
+  Wolseley, Lieutenant-Colonel, i. 371, 373.
+
+  Wu, i. 151, 434, 435.
+
+  Wusung--
+    Challenger on the bar at, i. 236.
+    Hong captured at, ii. 301.
+    Opium trade at, i. 193.
+    Thirty mile radius, included in, i. 372, 376.
+
+
+  Yakub-beg, ii. 290, 291.
+
+  Yangchow riot, ii. 198-203, 207.
+
+  Yangtze river--
+    Advance of 200 miles up (1842), i. 74;
+      Lord Elgin's voyage to Hankow (1858), i. 347, 370.
+    Blockade of, suggested, i. 430.
+    Opening of, i. 223, 369, 373.
+
+  Yedo--
+    Alcock's arrival at, ii. 15-17.
+    British Legation. _See under_ Great Britain.
+    Choshiu's establishment at, destroyed, ii. 83.
+    Hostility to foreigners, ii. 35.
+    Legations, withdrawal of, to Yokohama, ii. 36;
+      foreign guards at, ii. 45;
+      improved residence for, ii. 50.
+    Social conditions in, ii. 122.
+
+  Yeh, Viceroy, evades demands for right of entry into Canton, i. 160;
+    hostile to native shipowners, i. 309;
+    asks British aid against Taipings, i. 312;
+    attitude towards foreigners, i. 312-314;
+    offers reward for English heads, i. 317;
+    contemptuous of treaties, i. 333;
+    superseded, i. 342;
+    capture and death of, i. 328.
+
+  Yerburgh, Mr, ii. 427.
+
+  Yokohama--
+    Foreigners' residence prepared by Japanese at, ii. 13;
+      improved, ii. 90.
+    Garrison of British troops in, ii. 77, 78, 84.
+    Legations' withdrawal to, during assassination period, ii. 36.
+    Merchants' preference for, to Kanagawa, i. 18, 122, 123.
+    Tycoon's inability to maintain order in, ii. 74.
+
+  Yuan Shih-kai, ii. 406.
+
+  Yunnan--
+    Burmese expedition and murder of Mr Margary, ii. 266, 267;
+      negotiations regarding, ii. 267-276;
+      settlement of affair, ii. 278.
+    Rebellion in, ii. 290.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS.
+
+
+
+
+
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