Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE,THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1911. THE CHINESE REVOLUTION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12588, 19 October 1911, Page 4

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE,THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1911. THE CHINESE REVOLUTION.

The upheaval m China appears to be of an extensive and serious character. The revolutionaries are m very • strong force and seesm likely to' overwhelm the Government troops at several points. It may be that history is going to repeat itself and we shall see the passing of N the Manchu, rule for some other dynasty or a commohvealtl^ that will hold .the race together aiid 'elevate «the Ipeople a notch further m the scale of civilisation. It seemed a, few months , back that there were great chahges^.coming m China by peaceful,* cohstitutibn,ai; methods. Politics hitherto had consisted -almost wholly of palace intrigues, A new/reform movement was born, which had at its base the essential /principle of democracy. The decree of 1906 provided for the gradual transformation > of the government into a parliamentary system m ten years. As a beginning representative assemblies were established m the various provincesl Dtifihg the past year a National Assembly was convened." Strictly, speaking, this was *but the be^ ginning of a National Assembly, , its members" half chosen by the Emperor and half by the. provincial assemblies. The men sent up from the provinces were men of character and force, who became the mouthpiece of the demand for progressive ideas m China. The National Assembly began by criticising tlie Emperor's ministe.rs and private ad.visers. It called upon*" then! to appear before it v ertpUvin ""various acts. It passed resolutions -m favor of the immediate formulation of a constitution. Whilst this demand was resisted it wis at least successful m accelerating the programme ,of "■ reform- The Trince Regent promised a ■"" multitude of administrative' „ reforms, including the creation** Of a responsible Cabinet withiri a year. A census was to: be undertaken at once, preparatory for a Parliament to assemble m 1913. ; To promise reforms j was one .thing, to grant them another. The C&ino- Japanese . war m 1896 made plain the hopelessness and rottenness of China aiid the Chinese people from a collective and national standpoint. The late Dowager Empress,; one ,6f the greatest women m history, held things together .with a following of the best men m; Chinese, officialdom who were greatly devoted to her, but upon her decease the most proihinent statesmen were shelved by Prince Chun ; the Regent, and all ithe-.impdrtant-positions, we are assuredby»a Writer: m the .New York Outlook, . who /speaks with the authority -given by a long residence m China, are held either by old men m their dotage or young princes of the present reigning family^ ignorant of all things modern, and filled with conceit, arrogance and a desire to fill tlieir purses. There never was a time m the last fifty years when the Imperial Government of China was so. headless and officialdom So "invertebrate. The much-talked-df- 'nibdern a"rmy is declared by.' the same authority 'to be a farce. The officers are. 'few ahd inexperienced, the discipline slack,- the pay. uncertain, and the whole': 'organisation .^permeat^d with an unrest' that' 'may at any 'moment turn it into dangerous^ mob.*' 'Financially the Govertontfent is Approaching a crisis. The creditf limit tor Moregn countries is about. reached unless better arrangements are made for financing prospective railways, and ,the , national resources of the country. It is? a notorious fact that hardly one single Chinese limited com* pany has become a success from the sti^ndpooint of the shareholders. Since the Chinese took over the Peking-Hang-kow railway from tlie Belgians m 1908 no regular repairs or replacements have been made. The profits have been squandered and both rpad-bed and rolling stock are going to ruin. The present system of government is hopeless. The Central Government has little hold upon the provinces' and f^earsf! thefli. The taxes and revenues are practicably /farmed out, and but a small percentage* of ; the amount taken from the , people ' ever reaches the Central Government. The whole effort is to get money at any cost. As an example, when, the railway from' Peking to Kalgari, 145 miles nortti, was opehed the amount of traffici/tfid profits was large. The Government established six more likin (customs) stations to collect duties on all traffic. Within a few months the cars were running empty and. the goods Were being transported m the good old fashioned way— pacjcad on jnules t and' camels.' The people have, no'cohfiderice m the officials or the Regent and during the last two years this lack of confidence has broadened into utter contempt The only thing that has held the powers tliat be m place was the l^ck of a leader for tlie people. It remains to be seen whether the present .revolution will produce the "leaderi The only thing that could now save China, m the opinion of the writer quoted, would be the appearance of a strong virile leader, who by his character and ability could make the people forget their own petty commercial selves and hammer into them the idea 01. doing something without expecting an immediate money return. China, with

her wealth, natural resources, and millions of hard-working, industrius" individuals, is. too great, a prize, to be lost .for lack of a master. The master, will arrive and China's millions will be hamftieredinto ; shape. If he does not from within m the course of. the present contest' he will assuredly come ih the near future from the neighboring islands of Japan. r '

The various Banks will observe Labor Day, Monday, 23rd inst.",^s a holiday.**