A STATE OF CHAOS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19906, 28 September 1926, Page 9

A STATE OF CHAOS.

ERA OF LAWLESSNESS. THE MILITARY IN CONTROL (Fbom Oub Own Cokbmpondaht.) - AUCKLAND, September 27. The internecine strife that convulses China at present is confusing to the average New Zealander who finds it hard to distinguish between the generals whose long names appear from time to time in the cable news and between the campaigns and disturbances that are recorded in various parts of the huge former empire. Some information on the general trend of events was given in an interview by the Kev. T. Cocker Brown, who has worked for a number of years' under the London Missionary Society in South China, and it at present visiting Auckland. “It is scarcely possible to exaggerate the chaos that exists in China,” said Mr Brown. , “Representative _ government has broken down, but that is not surprising, for it was absurd ever -to have attempted it. The Chinese were neither prepared nor sufficiently educated to carry on democratic institutions. It is safe to say that now, some years after the establishment of the Republic, only 5 per cent, of the people are really educated.” The Central Government, he continued, had ceased to function and the control of everything had fallen into the hands of the local military Mandarins who carried on by force of arms. Under the old regime the military element had not been prominent, for the Chinese were not inclined by nature to warlike displays. Whatever might be said of the Government in those times it had at least some order and system. Now even the provincial governments no longer existed. Every local military official was a law unto himself. His only concern was to collect the taxes—or rather tribute. The old government had given security to life and property, but under the new regime, outside t the foreign concessions, a wealthy man simply could not live, except by handing over large sums to the local government With this there had been an enormous increase in banditry. In many localities there was not much to choose between the bandit_ chief and the military governor. The aim of both was the same, to extract as much money as possible out of the region, and the methods they employed were scarce j distinguishable. In effect they generally shared the booty. Very often the bandit chief, being of local origin, was regarded with greater esteem, or rather with less aversion, than the governor. One of the most amusing features of the business was that many governors invested their gains in landed property within the boundaries of the foreign concessions, or banked them there. When fortune took an ill turn they retired to the protection of the foreigner. It was fair to say, however, that the Treaty Powers were endeavouring to stop this, as they did not wish to provide “funk holes for undesirables and their ill-gotten gains. Naturally the political troubles and civil wars had slowed down the development of the country, but the amount of work that had been done was astonishing. In the larger : oities factories were springing up, there being cotton, silk, and flour mills, and small engineering works for the most part. The country was gradually being covered with a network of roads. Some of these were being built for purely military purposes, but others had been promoted by the local governors, and sometimes even by the bandit chiefs. On the general grounds of convenience the cost was met by compelling the people along the route to provide either the money or. labour, whether they liked it or not.. “One very notable thing is the great number of daily newspapers, said Mr Brown. “There are over 100 of them in Shanghai alone There is scarcely a village that does not contain a few subscribers who read the news to others who are unable to read for themselves. The papers are mostly small, but they contain not only news and articles, but also literary essays. , Naturally this development is having a profound effect.” _ Speaking of the anti-foreign movement Mr Brown said that it was Toeing carried on largely by the students who had done little else for the past 18 months. These young fellows were wild, irresponsible, ana ill-informed, but they were imbued with strong national consciousness, and formed the only actively patriotic party in China. Their feeling was a natural one. Ihs.V «aw an ancient proud and numerous people in the humiliating position < of being virtually controlled from outside. For this, of course the Chinese themselves were chiefly to blame, but they felt their posi* tion none the less. The average Chinese considered himself on an absolute equality with the Europeaan who, he held, had been able, by a few tricks of science, to get the upper hand. The young men had set out to reform and reorganise the country. They had found themselves unable to do anything, so they kicked the first thing at hand. They dared not attack the Chinese military administration, but they could with impunity kick the foreign community, so they proceeded to do so. Mr Brown said he did not think the recent attacks on the British river shipping were any indication of a general tendency The Chinese general who had seized the steamers had always avoided trouble with the foreigners in the past. Apparently he acted because he wanted the vessels for convoy purposes in his military operations, but as things had turned out he had received a severe lesson.