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New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 9139, 10 November 1890, Page 2

LorpWpesedey’s opinions about thefuture o{ the Ohineso nation are in everybody’s mouth. They were, as he told Mr Stead, who has given them to the world, forrrjed in the time of the great rebellion of the Taepings, when he was sent to Nankin and Hankow to obtain information for the British Government. To the apostle of the new Journalism Lord Wolseley spoke of the Chinese as the coming race. They have all the military virtues, and they have overwhelming numbers ; they have stood still for three centuries, being governed by the simple process of cutting off all the heads that have anything in them. A great commander is their only want. Under such a one they may break out of their country at any moment and sweep the earth. After possessing himself of the rest of the world, the Celestial will have a desperate fight with the AngloSaxon of Europe, America and Australia. That will bo the great battle of Armageddon. Possibly Lord Wolseley would like to command the Anglo-Saxon host on that occasion. He is not the first who has come to these views. They give us unpleasant visions of Chinese ironclads manoeuvring up and down our coasts and landing pigtailed warriors on our shores to test the quality of our Volunteers under the “ partially-paid system.” It is possible, on the other hand, that the Chinaman may prove too effete for his great man when he gets him. In that case the great man will assuredly call him, like the seer who invoked the spirits from the great deep, and he will as assuredly not come. In support of that view some soldier of repute has said that with a single English regiment in a position secure outflanking he would face the whole Chinese Empire,‘as the Spartans under Leonidas faced’ the Persian’myriads at Thermopylae, and beat them. The condition rather damages the argument, but the opinion is nob complimentary to the possessors of every military virtue.” \Vhich is it to bo —conqueror orcoward? That question time will aqs'yerfor lis. In the merntime it is more .interesting .to hear Lord Wolseley’s opinion pf Gordon’s feat in putting down the Taepings! Shorn the point Of view of humanity Gordon did right,” said,the General, but the case was by no means! so clear as some people imagine.” Lord Wolseley thinks Gordon right .for’,the: siipplo reason that the Taepings, who: wete w/thin Snkce of overthrowing the Tartar dynasty, jyere themselves far greater iuisehmf-makets, llkp ( locusts every place over which Gmy passed, Gordon’s work was good, according to Wolseley, only because the Taepings had “no constructive ability.” Wolseley may bo right or ha may ho wrong on the point, which is the centra of a°great controversy, many holding that the extinction of the Taepings was a

miafcartuno to humanity. But his opinion of the work of his great brother officer is very interesting. He said to Mr Stead, in the course of this interview, that he little thought when a boy that he would have one day to make a campaign in a desert. It was made in the rescue this very brother officer. They had drifted apart «f>er one great historic occasion to almost meet on another.

Our trade with Australia in XB&9 was exceptional. That was a very bad year of drought over most of the continent, but, of course, nowhere so bad as in New South Wales. But even Victoria, which in 1890 had an exportable surplus of three and three-quarter million bushels of wheat, took in 1889 nearly LIO,OOO worth of that cereal from New Zealand. Of oats the Victorinas took nearly a quarter of a million’s worth, but they have not at any time a climate fit for growing oats; instead they have the singular phantasy that a duty of fourteenpence and two-fifths per bushel will improve the conditions of soil and climate. The trade with the continent, it will be seen, was in 1889 large : the continental colonies taking two millions worth of our produce. We, on the other hand, bought LU,OOO worth of their wine and a similar trifle of fruit. We ought to set to work and increase our consumption of their wine if we are to have any chance of reciprocity with them in the times that are coming. The only way to do that is to sweep away the Australian i wine duty of tenpence a bottle, which will place a good sound bottle of wine before the public for less than two shillings. If it is only for the sake of the good business we do with the Australians in bad times, we owe them this favour, which will Some day restore the balance, We commend the matter once more to the Government, to the Parliamentary candidates, and to the electors. It is a matter also which concerns the Agriculand Pastoral Associations of New Zealand. They should see to it.

Two hundred forged notes among the Pentridge mechanics! It need surprise no one. The idea of reclaiming prisoners seems in Victoria to bo entirely absorbed in teaching them a trade. It is the firm belief of all these faddists, of whom there are some in our Colony, that if you can only teach a criminal a trade ho becomes at once an estimable and profitable member of the community. They forget that some of the most determined criminal-j are the most accomplished mechanics. Do wo not all remember the remark of the judge to the burglar who picked so many safe locks that with honesty he would have made a fortune i The mischief is that they will not be honest. The mischief of all the systems of reclamation is that they only make the criminals more cleverly dishonest. These forged notes at Pentridge are a magnificent crop of logical fruit.