NEWS FROM THE FAR EAST.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 78, 28 September 1907, Page 13

NEWS FROM THE FAR EAST.

NOTES AND JOTTINGS. How far China has to progress before justice and equity mark the administration of Government and officials rule in righteousness is illustrated by an incident reported "eeently from Canton. It appears that certain Joi.al officials there have a largo financial person.il ! interost in the manufacture of paper. Thess gentlemen have caused an ordinance to be issued making it incumbent on pawnbrokers to buy and Übe in thoir business only the paper the manufacture and sale of which the oificiais ars trying to promote. Failure to comply with th« ordinance is to bring Us penalty in the form of a new tax, the incidence of which will bo on the pawnbrokers, Supsrstition dies hard in the Ceb«;tinl Empire. Tkcro is great consternation in some quarters of Canton Lew us.? v .» believed that the builders oJ tht. new j eteeJ bridge ■ must — and intend to — obtain t|\vo virgins, immolate them, and lay them upon the rocks as a foundation for the pillars of the bridge, ' in order to propitiate the gods. Duko Lan, ,one of the Bo\er chiefs, who is supposed to be in durance vile at Sinkiang, on account of his share in the rising of 1900, seems to b& having a' very good time. It is reported that he is using the -Chekiang Guild House at. Ills residence, and as lie regarded thegrounds ns too small, he extended them by taking in the adjacent land. Ho draws from th© Treasury a monthly allowance ol TlsfiOO for his maintenance, always goes * out in an official chair borne by four persons, with a larga npmbsr of body guards, and is very fond of theatrical performances. • The officials from the Governor downwards are in the habit of going to his house to pay their respects twice a month. Professor Ladd, who has lately visited Korea, haa 1 contributed an interesting picture of. that country to a Tokio newspaper. It ha 3, ho. says, bountiful national resources, end if placed under good "administration will make rapid and- great progress in the future; but at. prascnt southern Korea presents a sad .aspect. Roads do not t*xist, and the hills are generally bald slopes conspicu ously f covered by tombstones. If worked in a niodern way, the land, however, will yield twice ths present crop in tho course of" ten or twenty years. Marquis Ito, with a view to the economic development of Korea, is assiduously encouraging the creation of forests, and has put into execution a plan for the planting of eighteen million trees, while he is also furthering as much as possible tho mining' and fishing industries. The Korean people are in general ignorant, superstitious, and credulous in the extreme, but they are a meek and peaceful race. The northern part of the coimtry is infested 'by robbers, and tho people there aro wild and courageous. Th-s Koreans are quite governable, and will jinake good workmen, but the corruption of the high class is beyond despription. In Professor Ladd's opinion, tho future welfare of Korea will b« fromoted by the support of Marquis to in the cx-ecution of his present policy. Should the Resident-General remain in office for another 6vo or ten ysars the professor believ-ss that the difficulties of ths country will ba all over, as a result of the progress and reforms which will then have been achieved. Ths great danger in Korean politics lies in the court — & view which events have abundantly supported since Professor Ladd expressed these opinions -^■bui Marquis Ito is quite, strong J enough to cope- with this problem. The ' Japanese in the country now number about 80,000, and they arc steadily increasing. tVith reference to the temporary ' prohibition of the "Mikado" in England, and ths instruction to the Fleet that naval bands were not to give selection* from the opera, a correspondent of the Japan Gazette points out thr.t th» "Mikado" i 3 actually played by the Im- j periaJi bands in Japan "itself. Within I this correspondent's own experience o£ the last few weeks selections from Sir Arthur Sullivan's popular opera have twice been given in Tokio, once in tho grounds of the exhibition, when tha performance was loudly applauded. It is reported that the Japanese Admiralty has adopted the improved highspeed fisfy-torpedo recently invented in,} Great 'Britain. The torpedo ■recordh i 35-3 knots speed at a distance of 2000 | yards, this bsing an increase of 9.3 knots as compared with the type hitherto used. A new torpedo, however, is now also on trial at the torpedo station at Yokosukfc, and this as said to show a greater speed than the British invention.