THB CHINESE CRISIS. London, September 4.

North Otago Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 7273, 22 October 1891, Page 4

THB CHINESE CRISIS. London, September 4.

The Britiih Consulate at lohang wm destroyed by the mob which attaoked the Europeans'' on Tuesday. The French gunboat Aipio has left Kin-Kiang for the scene of the dii. orders, tad her commander has re* otived ttclngent instructions to aot decisively. ▲dvioet reoeived here annotmoe that (he ooadltion of affain fa China fa now ■o grate that the Emperor it oooalder* Ing (he advisability of calling out the entire military rtiouroet of the Empire. If compelled to do to he proposes to give the imperial troops the best type of imill arms that can be prooared without exhaustive experiment* inf. The Allgemeine Zeiturg, in an editorial on the despatch from China published yeitordty, to the effect that tbetituation in Obina is exceedingly gra?e, eayi: , The disturbances in Central China and the anxiety that has been produced in all treaty ports have come as an unpl«i«mt a«rak»Dor from the sonne of seourity into whloh we had allowed ourselves to link throagh a mistaken belief that Obina had become a thoroughly civilised country, and that the Chinese people entertained only friendly feelings for foreigner*. The weakness of the central Gorernment is the most disturbing fact, for we looked mainly to its influence and example to remove the popular hostility. So long m the Fekin authorities were supreme and the writ of the Emperor ran unquestioned throughout tho provinces there was little or no groand for uxiety, m disoreet diplomatic pressure was always sufficient to obtain the needed redress. But there are waves of bottUe opinion paising through the millions of Chinese which they cannot oontrol, and which threatens to embarrass and deitroy them. The grave fsota in (be situation are the youth of ftba Xmperor, the absence of any per* sons with supreme influence and weight with the throne since the death of the Prince Chan, and the nnfriendly laipieions that unmistakably prevail among the court faction and Li Hung Chang. The central Government has no better ohance of esoaping from the d fficulties which surround it than to plaoe its interests unreservedly in the hands of Li Hnng Chang, who, notwithstanding many temptations and harsh treatment, has prored himself the loyal serrant of the Imperial bouse during the Wat thirty years. If the duty of the Chinese Government is to take prompt aotion, it is the duty of the foreign powers to protect the inteieats of their subject?, and (o main, tain the bard-earned position of neutrality which has been acquired, is net less clear. It is gratifying to find tbat the Governments of France, America, EogUnd, and Russia are completely in agreement with ourselves as to the necessity of upholding the rights of fr reigners in China, and providing for their general security by force. There is general distrust in the best Informed circles in London of the exouie so sedulously propagated by the Chinese Government and its agents tbat the recent succession of outrages on foreigners, and that the wave of anti*foreign feeling passing over China are due to the machinations of secret scoieties. The allegation is a very conTenant one for the Chinese authorities, as it ia well known tbat they kill tho members of the chief secret societies without mercy, the mere possession of a small ticket, with its fire apparently meaningless words, however innocent the possessor may be, be'ng of itself a capital effence without the usual right of appeal. It is thought that the outbreak was caused by the general relaxations in the last five years or more of the pressure kept applied to Chinese officials, local and Imperial, by Foreign Ministers and Consnls to " keep them up to the mark," in regard to treaty obligations and their general duties to Europeans, This relaxation is due to the desire of every European Government, for reasons of one sort or another, to aUnd well with the Pckin Government, and the consequence was tbat the pressure on the petty looal officials abated in a like manner, and also the pressure by the latter on the mobs and on tbeir leaders, the literati and the gentry, who are consumed with hatred of foreigners. It is pointed out also by persons in authority to speak on the matter that the places where all these outrages bare taken place are precisely those into whioh' European charity was poured during the recent famine.

Alexander Graham Bell, Thomaa Ediaon, Eliho Thomson, Frank J. Sprague, Franklin J. Pop* and nearly ft icore of othen are named as baviog begun their eleotrioal studiei and experiments ai poor men. They are now ■II wealthy, having taken the current at a time when it Jed on to fortnnt. Klopstock, the German poet, was once visited by lome atudenti from Gottingen to have the meaning of one of hie ataczu explained. After reading the Btanzt be replied: <I oaonot remember what I meatt when I wrote it, bat I remember it wit the facet thing I ever wrote and you cannot do better than devote your livea to the diioovery of iti meaning. 1 The acarcity of meat in Munich ia ■o great that the police hare given ordera that do dogs ahould be slaughtered for eating purposes unless adjudged aonnd by veterinary aurgeont, Three batcbera were arrested for alaughteriDg and telling meat of stolen do^a, One bntcber waa aentenoed to two tnontha' Impiiaonment for ilaughtering tkirty itolen mongrels. AH the ch'ldren in school ia Prussia siroberiog 4 000,000, on a certain day were examined, and the color of thair tyes and hair carefully registered. It wm foond that 4297 per oent had blue eyat, and 24*31 per cent brown, while no lesa than 72 per cent had blonde fcair, 26 per cent bro<rn and only I*2l per cent black hair. Only G's3 per cent, again, are of branette comfltx'on. There are twenty-threa sores of land to every iobabiiant of the globe.