CURRENT TOPICS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIII, Issue 10600, 8 March 1895, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

Victory continues to crown the Japanese arms; the Chinese are said to be will-

THE CHINESE PUZZLE.

ing to make great concessions ; the peace negotiations are proceeding smoothly; the European Powers are exerting their influence towards limiting the arena of conflict; and everybody is asking; What is to be the outcome of it all? The Japanese have declared their intention of making peace only at Pekin, and it was reported a week or so ago that the Chinese Court was preparing to flee as soon as the capital was seriously menaced. Evidently the Japanese are pushing rapidly towards their goal, for the news that they have undertaken not to blockade the Gulf of Pe-chi-li indicates that they are preparing to attack Peldn from the seaward as well as from the landward side. There is no reason why the Japanese should not, by an advance np the Peiho River, repeat the “promenade” to Pekin which was achieved by a small British force in 1860. Their land forces, however, appear more likely to reach Pekin first by way of the sacred city of Moukden, near which their last recorded triumph was won. By delaying the peace negotiations it is quite possible for the Japanese to carry out their boastful programme. The success of Japan so far is the more remarkable when it is known that the Chinese have for over ten years past been contemplating and preparing for aggres give operations against Japan. Prom documents published by the London Times , it appears that in . 1882, reports were made to the Emperor of China that the Japanese had designs upon Corea, and he was advised to invade Japan. Li Hung Chang coincided in the advice, but cautiously counselled careful preparation for years, and particularly the strengthening of the fleet. The Viceroy at that time considered it would bo “ hazardous ” to send the Chinese fleet to fight Japan in the enemy’s own waters; events have proved that Japan is still superior to China in naval armaments, even when operating in Chinese waters.

THE TEEMS OP PEACE.

There seems to be a general expectation that the Japanese will impose harsh, terms as the price of peace, including the sovereignty of Corea

and Formosa, the payment of a heavy war indemnity and the adoption of certain administrative reforms by China under Japanese direction. This view is combated by the National Observer, which holds that the one object of Japan ia to obtain a lasting peace. It declares that" moderation will be the key-note of the Japanese

terms; but moderation after the -capture of Pekin, if that be possible; moderation, not because the Japanese are inclined to Jba- moderate—4hoir mature -ia far other--

wise—but because their overmastering desire is to take and keep tbe foreign finger out of the far Eastern pie, and they feel that moderation ia their beat ally in aecuring this objects?* This view of the case is supported by a recent article in the Kobe Chronicle , a Japanese paper that is presumed to speak the mind of the ruling powers in the Land of the Rising Sun, That journal, after alluding to the strong bonds of race, religion and sympathy that unite China and Japan, asks: Why should not Japan play Prussia in the far East? Why should not China be made to conclude eventually an offensive and defensive alliance with Japan ? “Japan, China and Corea, under guidance, might well form a triple alliance capable of preserving the integrity of the East against either Russian or any other Western aggression. The integrity of China seems to us important for Japanese security, and we may again repeat our conviction that it would now be a very serious mistake to aid in the ruin of that empire to which Japan owes so much.” This aspect of the case may be reassuring to China, but it is not likely to bo relished by tho European nations who want to see the East divided against itself, so that the commercial conquest of it may bo rendered easy.

OPINIONS OP THE COMBATANTS,

Among outside “ barbarians” there is a remarkable consensus of opinion that the Japanese are in

every way superior to the Chinese, but a new light is thrown upon the subject of their relative merits by finding out what the two nations think of each other. The Kobe Chronicle asserts that the Japanese have a feeling amounting almost to veneration for their cousins the Chinese.” In Japan the home training of children is based upon Chinese ethics; the sarvices of the Buddhist temples are recited in Chinese wordsIt is the ambition of thousands of poor students, who can never hope to go to Europe, to visit China> “ For the religious, too, China is the Japanese paradise. Add to these indubitable facts that the social system, the customs, the worship of ancestors, the ethics of both civilisations are the same, and it is utterly impossible to believe that Japan really hates China.” How far this feeling is reciprocated by the people of older civilisation may be inferred from an incident that occurred at Chemulpo four years ago. Mr A. H. Savage Landor, in his book on Cores, says be asked a Chinaman what he thought of the Japanese. “Pff,” he began, looking at me from under his huge round spectacles, as if he thought the subject too insignificant to waste his time upon, " The Japanese,” he exploded, with an air of contempt, "no belong men. You see Japanese man dlnnk. He can no speak tluth, he no can be honest man. He bny something, nevel pay. Japanese belong bad, bad, bad, bad man. He always speak lie, lie, lie, lie,” and be emphasised Ms words with a crescendo as he curled up what he possessed in the shape of a nose —for it was so flat that it hardly deserved the name ; indeed, to give strength to his peech, he spat with violence on the ground, as if to clear his mouth, as it were, of the unclean sound of the word “ Japanese.”

In the art of war the Celestials believe themselves to be in advance

CHINESE STRATEGY.

of the world of beefeating barbarians. It seems that the capture of Port Arthur was not in any sense a Japanese victory, but was a masterpiece of Chinese strategy. That is the view set forth in a Chinese newspaper, the Clmng-Psi' Yet-Yao, whichdeclares that General Tso’s masterly retreat, after handing over Port Arthur as a bait to the enemy, *' stamps him as one of the greatest military commanders China has ever seen.” Here is its version of the affair:—

Knowing Pekin to be-the ultimate goal of the Japanese general, Tso was satisfied that should a too obstinate resistance bo offered at any point, the Japanese would leave the Chinese uuconqnered in his rear and would push on to the capital; whereas if an important place like Port Arthur should fall into their hands the little men would enjoy the sensation as children do a new toy, and it would delay them in their march while the road to Pekin was rendered impregnable. General Tso, therefore, inflicted alLthe loss possible upon the Japanese without allowing them to fee absolutely discouraged and then, when defeat was staring his opponents in the face, gave the signal to his troops to retreat, which they did in good order. So great was the loss of the Japanese that it was not till some hours after the last Chinese soldier had departed that they-ventured to enter the forts. General Tso displayed marked military skill in his defensive tactics, and by ordering half charges of powder to be need in the big guns and filling the shells and torpedoes with sand, deluded the innocent commander of the Japanese fleet into the belief that the sea forts and defences of Port Arthur were innocuous. As a result the Japanese fleet boldly ventured close to the forts and within the line of the torpedo defences, and before they discovered their mistake, three men-of-war, seven transports and twenty-one torpedo boats ware sunk by the Chinese Are” and submarine mines.

That would be considered a piece of exquisite fooling if it were met with in a Gilbertian comic opera, but apparently it is by such transparent “ taradiddles ” that the Emperor of China and his higher officials are deceived, and through them the common people, who only receive their news through Court journals. If the Celestials are not masters of strategy, they are facile 'princeps in the art of lying.