ADVISER TO CHINA.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1509, 3 August 1912, Page 5

ADVISER TO CHINA.

DR. MORRISON OP PEKING. By Telegraph-Press Association-Copyright (Kec. August 2, 10.15 p.m.) Poking, August 2. Dr. G. E. Morrison, "Tho Times" correspondent at Poking, has been appointed political advisor to tho President of China for a period of five years. Tho appointment is most popular with all classes of Chinese. A FAMOUS JOURNALIST. Dr. G. E Morrison, the Peking correspondent of "The Times," is a very remarkable man. of whom sorao mest interesting details were recently given j n a striking interview by Mr. ]?. A. Mackenzie, in the "London Magazine." Dr. G. E. Morrison, for thirteen rears past has had his homo in tho Chineso capital, travelling largely from province to province. He lias helped to make as well as record history," says Mr. Mackenzie.

Dr Morrison's life has been full of adventure. Born forty-oight years ago at Gcelong, the son of a famous Australian schoolmaster and sprung from a noted family of athletes, lie early showed Vr IS ii lnwarlls exploration. Leaving Melbourno University in his eighteenth s " e S r ' ii „ sn, PP ft d as a common sailor in a boutn Sea 'blackbirder/ in order to expose the abuses of tho Kanaka labour traffic. After a trip to New Guinea and back, partly in a Chinese junk, ho walked alone from Normantoii to Gecltme, across the whole width of Australia, carrying Ins *swag' and his 'billy,' and covering 2043 miles in 123 days. While conducting an expedition to New Guinea ho received two ugly spear-wounds from the natives, and for a time was left for dead.

"Niue months nffn,, nt Edinburgh. Professor Cheine removed the second spear-point from his liody. At Edinburgh he completed bis medical studies, started at Melbourne, and qualified. Emigrant to America, assistant purser on a fruit stoAmcr, Senior Medical Officer at the Rio Tiuto copper mines in Spain, Physician to the Shoeref of Wnzan' in Morocco, and finrgeon-in-rhargc of (ho Ballarat Hospital—tho years to como were a strange medley. A journey of JiOOO miles from Shanghai to the Burmese frontier, across China, completed at tho cost of .£lB, resulted in a bcok. That book had a totally unexpected outcome. Morrison, while on a visit to London, was asked to call at the office of "Tho Times," and was offered the post of travelling correspondent, with orders to proceed immediately to Main.

"In 1597 ho settled down in Peking, an almost unknown man. Within two years his name was familiar in every Foreign Office in Europe; his announcements had been more than onco debated in Parliament; and officialism found that it had to deal with ft man whosq prescionco in getting at the fundamental facts was almost uucniiny.