The Dominion. SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 1908. THE NEW CHINA.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 265, 1 August 1908, Page 4

The Dominion. SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 1908. THE NEW CHINA.

So much attention has been given in recent times to the rise of Japan, and its bearing upon tho white civilisations of the Pacific, that China, despite such momentous events as the Tatsu Maru incident and the anti-opium Edict, has receded from its old position as a vo'ry popular subject for prophecy. Lately,however, the eyes of Western people have been; turned again towards the great Yellow Empire, and .there is a revival of interest in China's future. Some six or seven weeks ago Sir Robert Hart, the ; famous Inspector-General of the Chinese Maritime Customs, returned to England after a fifty-four year's' exile in the East. As- Sir Robert, whose namo has much the same meaning in respoct to China a3 Lord Cromer's in respect to Egypt, is probably better qualified to speak upon the land in which' he lived so long than ■ any other human being, he was. promptly besieged by tho British Press. (Since no Opinion on any quarter of foreign affairs could be so authoritative as this famous man's views upon China, and as final and authoritative opinions on any subject are extremely rare, particular interest attaches to his estimate of China'd present condition and future prospects. Ho confirms to tho full the. reports of a great awakening in the Empire. Once, and, indeed, until very lately, a vast and sluggish realm for the Western Powers to fight over and carve up, China is to-day practically a modern Power, in ideas and- in strength and decision of purpose, if not in guns and ships. ■ China, says Sin Robert Hart, is in a splendid condition. Progress is in the air, and tho people are b.eing knitted together, assimilating European ideas in every arena of activity—steam, electricity, education, armies, navies, and manufactures of every kind. A nation of 400,000,000 people, which has been asleep for centuries, almost unconscious of tho rapid development of tho outside world, is naturally unable all at-once'to assimilato Western ideas very rapidly'. But when.it has becomo up-to-date, .'its power will be almost beyond calculation. Perhaps'the most'significant thing that has happened in China has been the inauguration of the anti-opium movement, and the'vigorous support that it is receiving throughout the country. Nothing but a new-born spirit of "nationalism " "could account for such'.a wonderful" en : thusiasm, and Sir Robert Hart declares* his belief'that-" the.next generation of Chinese will be;non-opium smokers." .

It is in, commcrcc, according' to. Sir Eobeet Hart, that China will , make her enormous power felt in years to come. The Chinese have a genius for commerce and commercial'organisation, and, as all the world knows, commercial morality is nowhere so high'as in China.' This has been ,a commonplace for many years with all merchants engaged in the '.Chinese trade. Where a .Japanese regards a contract as an estimate, to be'cheerfully repudiated if its . fulfilment', would be inconvenient, a Chinese looks'.upon a bargain as a sacred compact.'. . This may appear a little difficult" of belief to people brought up on miJmorics/.bf 'BRET'HARTE's verses,;-and confirmed in' their, suspicion of "Ah-Sin "by : sad experiences of'some Chinese shopkeepers; but Sir Robert Hart says that the commercial integrity of the Chinese is unquestioned the world over. China has still far to go in commerce— almost. the whole way. For a time progress will be slow. It will take time to, collect, capital, to get establish•ments erected,' and to get workmen to do th"e : necessary labour—to organise, in short, the vastest of the races. The task of Japan has been to break down the old Samurai traditions, and to rescue cqmmerco from tho list of things contemptible and sot the commercial caste on a level with the worshipped military caste. In China,-on the other hand, the soldier has been esteemed the lowest of men. There is a Chinese proverb which says "Good iron is not used for nails, nor were soldiers made of good men." The business - before China, therefore, 'is, while enlarging the scopo of its commer-' cial instinct, to break down the spirit of anti-militarism that still survives. *•

In his book, " These from the Larid of Sinim," Sir Robert Hart said 'some things tho" yellow peril " that appear to have been'misunderstood.,' He did not meah that 'China would Bo'an armed menace to i ' .white tcivilisation, or even a " peril to white commerce. The Chinese, ho says, are not an aggressive race. Indeed, thoy'aro peaceably inclined and the' reverse of warliko. But they are aliyo to'the heccssity for a naval and military power - great enough to enable them to grow commercially great without danger from foreign aggressions. They are now organising their naval and military forces, and they are not afraid of fighting, to tho death. It is not as a warliko power tliat China is formidable' but as a commercial, forcc. China is a big place, and is self-supporting. Her can livo at ,a less''expense than other'people, and can therefore produce more cheaply, and it'will probably.-be a vo'ry long time beforo. thero are trades unions aiid a minimum wage in China. A remarkable testimony to the spread of, a noW' : military spirit amongst the Chinese was repoi'ted from Sydney the other day. There is in that city a large Chinese community, which "included many very alert aud ehrowd patriots, A meeting

of these was lield recently to form an association to support the navy movement in China. Some enthusiastic speeches woro made, the keynote of which was that it was urgently necessary to make China self-reliant and independent of the humiliating charity of other nations. As a result of that meeting a Chineso Navy Association of Australasia has been formed, and a fund has been established which will bo handed over when a constitutional Government is sot up in the Fatherland. The impression left by Sin Robert Hart's observations is not an unpleasant one. . Very few people, even amongst those who are most suspicious of Japanese designs on Australasia, believe nowadays that Ohina contemplates an ultimate war upon tho white races. No doubt China reorganised may, in time,, inflict great injury upon her commercial rivals, but that cannot be avoided. To say, however, that there is a " yellow peril" in the military sense is not only a flat contradiction of Sir Robert Hart's opinion, but a denial of the obvious enough fact that dreams of territorial aggrandisement oversea cannot bo entertained by China Until she has set her enormous house in order. While tho white races must be ceaselessly on their guard against Any process of admixture of the colours, they have no occasion,' unless tho best witnesses are all wrong, to expect from China anything but an ultimate civilisation of the best kind. The old piles of China's ancient civilisation, however deeply buried in the dust and drift of ages, are probably sound and durable still, and strong enough to give stability to the new building.