Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1857-07-03
THE WILMINGTON JOURNAL
Eastern ImmoblIIty.

ton out of the question: the world is cassible into
the nations protesting christianity and those follow.
ing, or protesting any other mode of belief Chris
tianity and what is known as western civiiZation''
are coextensve, and it must be confessed coaggres.
sive Where the civilization of christendom is typi-
fed TO those outside Of the pale of the christian church
by bible bearing missionary, western civilization
is represented by thousands of bayonet soldiers
grasping temporal dominion and paving the way for
pecuniary ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. Approaching the east
only as traders or conquerors few in numbers and
separated by difference of language and antagonlsm
of interests-the men OF Europe or America are
strangely surprised that the eastern world does not
yiLld up its cherished customs, traditions and modes
of thought and action at the dctaon OF handful Of
men with whom they have no community of feeling
and little OF no intercourse upon equal terms.
Little allowance is made for the Uis inertia of half
world, nor is the fact taken into consideration that
absorption is work that can hardly be effected by
smaller body upon larger The whole population
of the British Islands poured into Hindostan would
hardly be sixth part OF the population they would
be called upon to absorb-little over fifteenth OF
that of China The operation of one upon sx-or up
on fifteen may be something-but will the operation
OF the larger and preponderatiDg mass be nothing
The mass public opinion or public custom absorbs
into it, or carries away with it all opposing forces,
but where that mass is so immensely one way, as is
in the far east what wonder that the greatly prepon-
derating body retains its own distinctive character.
There are not more than fifty thousand Europeans
not certainly seventyfVc thousand civil and mill
taTy in all the vast Anglolndan Empire. What
pressure can this handful bring TO bear upon the set.
tied usages and modes thought of people OF near
y two hundred millions, whose language they DO
not understand and who do not understand theirs ?
The lille progress made in Europeansingt the Hindoo
mind is not so much TO be wondered at that any
body should look for greater.
From the Western borders Of India to the Eastern
limits of the Chinese Empire is an immense tract,
and contains full two.thirds Of the human race and
the seats Of the Oldest civilization in being with
many of the arts of life and institutions of govern
ment, dating back 10 period beyond that departed
era Of early European development known as CLASH
cal antiquity. Is this great mass of humanity ex.
pected TO be Angcised or Gallcised, or American.
ised, or Russianised or rooted out by few people
coming in ships from mere petty provinces, so far as
population is concerned
But have the people of the East been characterized
by the immoblity attributed to them, or have not
rather their mutations changes enterprises, conquests
and re- onquest~, been simply unknown to US, and,
therefore, uncounted. China has had more different
dynastes within the range of authentic history, than
France if we except the last seventy years of that
cow very mutable country The present Tartar dy-
nasty is little older than the Hanovarian line which
now occupies the British throne, and they are inter-
Iopcrs even in England. The Chinese in fact count
more dynasties, within any given number OF centu-
res, than any of the older Western nations. The
traveller through HndOstan can trace the ages OF
different native conQuering lines OF soVerelgns by
their great public works, put up at time when the
boosted seats of Western progress the scenes OF
barbarcus violence. The best that the East India
Company has yet done, or been able to do, in that
country has been to make imperfect reservations
OF the noble works for promoting irrigation, made
under the Mognl and preceding dynasties. The
great canals Of China the great tanks and aqueducts
of India the mighty monuments of both, were never
made by i stolid, unprogressive people. And, as
illustrating the proposition already stated, of the i'm
possibility of very small body of people absorbing
or changing the manners and customs AMI modes and
thought and action OF an exceedingly numerous and,
in their own way, organized people, We mag mention
the fact that neither Mongol nor Mantchou invasions
and conquosts of China changed the character of the
larger people, but that on the contrary, the native
places and seats of the conquerng tribes became in
time Chinese, and mere territories of the Empre.--
Afghan and Persian, Tartar and Buddhist, have swept
over conquered India but the great race has held
its own, and India is Hndoo to-day, as it ever has
been.
Great revolutions, affecting not single isolated
tribe, but the inhabitants of continent, world,
as might say, are necessarily slow. China far ex.
ceeds in population all christendom- nearly doubles
Europe with lis five "great powers" and little pow
ers by the hundred-may lose by war, pesti'ence or
famine, number equal to all the inhabitants of our
continent and the gap hardly be perceived. Such
vast masses Of population must move slow, and can
hardly be moved at abby the outside pressure, which
bears proportion to the volume of the body to be
moved We speak now, Of course of revolutions
affecting the pcope-tbcr form and pressure, and not
the mere handful Of men who. may represent their
government
But beneath the surface there are vast Strings
upheavals Of men by the millions and tens of millions
movements Of the nature of which western specu.
lators as ignorant as the orcntals OF western
doings China is in The midst Of one of these move
mens, and her vast system rent and torn as badly
as Europe ever was. The rebels move from province
to province, obsCurely and mysterousy to us, yet
trayersing regions each of which contains more men
and yaster cities than our whole Union. The old
organization has become efetc, faith and confidence
and earnestness have gone from among men, and
such stirring necessary for the publication
of the body polite. In the meantime, the position Of