The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-10-22 00:00:00

• blished and well-trodden commercial highways to East-
ern Thibet and Tartary.
Some misapprehension has arisen in various
quarters as to the proposed route from Rangoon
to Esmok. On this important point The Telegraph

says :
Further, "J. C." speaks of Captain Sprye's proposed
route from Rangoon to Esmok as though it were to be
by the Irrawaddy. Now, British Pegu, as this writer
should be aware, is divided by the Yomah range of
mountains, called the backbone of Pegu, into Western
and Eastern Pegu, and the Irrawaddy flows through the
Western half. Commerce with Western China has
been very long attempted by this most circuitous and
difficult route from the sea to Bhamo ; but the attempts,
although made by many men of enterprise, have been
absolute failures. We venture to recommend "J. C."
to read the pamphlets issued by the projectors of the
land route, which we have felt it our duty to advocate.
Re might, too, we think, with great advantage, search
after the reports of Richardson, M'Cleod, O'Riley, and
others, on the geography of this part of Eastern Asia.
had he been acquainted with the results of their travels,
he would have known that the country from our north-
east frontier of Pegu to Esmok is not destitute of roads,
and that it is not "inhabited by predatory and barbarous
tribes who lend a nominal obedience to either the Bur-
man or the Chinese Government ;" but the contrary.

Considerable ignorance prevails as to the Bur-
mese territory intervening between our Indian
dominions and the western boundaries of China.
Our contemporary, however, feels warranted in

saying—
The territory to which "J. C." refers, belongs to the
two Burman Shan Princes of Kiang-Tung and Iliang-
Rung (than whom, the pamphlets of the projectors state,
there are throughout Eastern Asia none more civilised
or more desirous of commercial intercourse with our
nation), and is net unknown. So long ago as 1835,
1836, and 1831, British ()faders traVeised it, and found
the ',each coveted with Caravans carrying to and fro
front the Chinese western frontier vast quantities of
cotton, teas, opium, &c., and saw numerous and exten-
sive tea and poppy plantations west of that Chinese
frontier. " Fine teas" are a matter of taste, and the
taste of Captain Osborn may be as good as that of
"J. C." The former states that the best teas come
from the west; the latter, that you must seek them
in the eastern provinces. We will not argue the point.
We will only add, on positiie authority, that the teas
from the extreme west have a good demand even in the
imperial city of Pekin. Did we feel justified in giving
publicity to the whole of the information in the private
pamphlets of the projectors which are heibte its, *e
could add much on this point ; and could, moreover,
give details of much interest, in political and military
points of view, with reference to the intervening states
of the two tributary Burman Shan princes above refer-
red to.
No do-1-

those already largely engaged in
trading with China may at first sight apprehend

some untoward disturbance of present arrange-

meets as likely to lid iirodiiced 1i aliening up a
direct trade with Western dhina. The nniounded

nature of these fettifi is tliits eirkiged

Tti4e is yet Mie great etior in the letter of " J. C."
requiring present notice. He is, it would seem, more or
less interested in the existing trade with China and Sin-

gapore, and assumes that he sees in this proposal an
encroachment on that trade. Now, one of the grounds

of the projectors of this project is that it will open np a
toh,olly new trade. They affirm that it will in no way
interfere with the existing trade with Eastern China.
Nay, more, that it will not retard its extension. The
east and west extremities of that *gat enipire are so very

far apart, that there can be no doubt extensive distinct
trades will be established. Be this, however, as it may,

and without adierting to :the military and political
aspedts of the I.le haire reason td think
dafitain Bprye, years since, submitted to our Ministers
--we are well assured that on the success of this project

.. _ ......_ .
depends, for our own country and for India, vast com-
mercial interests for long ages to come : and possibly,

also, the yet more important considerations of a higher
morality, and a purer faith throughout the celestial

empire.
The real difficulty, however, as we have stated,
lies with the Foreign Office. This we think is

proved by the fact that the Chambers of Com-
merce of Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford

Halifax, and Huddersfield have—some of them
repeatedly—memorialised the Government on

the subject, and represented its important bear-
ing on the interests not only of our home manu-
facturers, merchants and shipowners, but of our

traders in all parts of India. Lord J. RUSSELL,

however, professes to be wiser than the united
wisdom of all our great trading and commercial

communites. This folly is well exposed in a

recent city article of the Times, thus :

Lord John Russell thinks that " much inconvenience"
Might arise from such a "novel" proposition. More-
over, that it would be "impossible to protect British
trade at so inland a city," or "to exercise dte control

over British subjects." Next to the possibility of any-
thing that might tense " ineonvenience to the Poteign
Office, the idee,o allowing " British subjects" to run
tritliont leading strings has always been the most dis-
tasteful to that department. The Chambers of Com•
Mem have likewise been furnished with a hint that

they know nothing of the true interests of trade) since
the very measures for which they are now praying, tinder
the idea of extending it, would only bring it into
jeopardy. " Redress for any wrong done in such a re-
mote corner as Esmok," observes his lordship, " could
in all probability only be obtained by applying pressure
at places more accessible, and so placing in jeopardy the
more important interests of British trade on the sea-
board of China." The foreign Office doctrine there-
fore is, that we must shut ourselves from the trade
of the largest continents and provinces) provided
any diplomatic correspondence that Might arise out of it
would have to be carried on with authorities resident at
some other locality. ills lordship's words, in fact, may
be paraphrased as follows :—lt is bad to trade in the
Sea of Azoff or at Odessa, because any disputes would
leave to be settled at St. Petersburg, and might com-
promise our trade in the Baltic. Avoid likewise all
intercourse with San Francisco, because the necessity of
an appeal to Washington would not only create much
inconvenience to the foreign Office, but might interrupt
our transactions with New York or New Orleans. In
like manner let the Canadians hold no traffic with
Chicago, the difficulty of controlling British subjects at
"so inland a town" being especially formidable. It is
to be hoped that no one will be disappointed with this'
official view. It may be a question whether the new
route will be found so practicable or advantageous as it
Would seem to be from all the evidence at present pos-
Bossed ; but there can be no question, supposing, past
experience to be worth, anything, that, if it is to be
opened up, the task will be performed by private enter-
prise, not only unassisted, but obstructed, so far as
official power extends ; and that it will be only when
everything has been fully accomplished by private
energy that the Government will step in to encumber it
with help.
It is clearly insufferable that a Government
department, little capable of forming a correct
opinion on a great commercial question, should be
allowed much longer to act as an obstruction to the
extension and development of so important a part
of our. trade. It is already openly urged " that
the time has already arrived when all matters
relating to our trade with other countries,
together with our consuls in them, should be
transferred from the department of Diplomatic
State Duplicity' to that of a Secretary of State
for Commerce." Be this as it may, we feel
assured that sooner or later the opinions of the
commercial world and the interests of the whole
community will be respected, and their wishes
realised by the successful establishment of a direct
trade with Western China, to the great profit of
the Chinese themselves, as well as to our fellow
subjects in India, and to British trade generally.
In the meantime, let all interested in procuring a
better and cheaper supply of teas, silks, &c.,—
and who is not ?—agitate this question and court
for it, in all its aspects, the amplest discussion.