Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1871-11-23

lstantinople, arriving there on the 29tl
of June. From there we made excurs
ions to the Sea of Marmora, Scutari
the Black Sea, md other interesting
localities, and on the 18th of July W,
embarked for Varna, on the European
shore Of the Black Sea. From Warn;
we went to Rustchuk, and thence VI
the Danube, between the Principalitie
of Servia and Wallachia, to Pesth, il
Hungary, by steamer, and from Pesth
| by rail, to Vienna. 5.
EUROPE-ROME.
The residue of the journey was OF
routes known to everybody and which
carried US through Venice, Florence
Rome, Naples, Genoa, Turin, Susa
over Mount Gents, instead of under it
asyou may travel now through the grea
tunnel from Chambery into France
We visited Geneva and Mount Blanc
Berne, the federal capital of Switzer
land, and thence proceeded to Paris
From Paris we went to Cologne, Ber
lin, Hamburg, London, and then by
4 way of Liverpool and Queenstown t.
New York, and from there home t.
Auburn.
i CHINA.
My observations, so to speak, begar
in China, which was the first country
reached after leaving the United States
| My stay there was so long and full o.
incident that I do not think any news
paper could be found willing to publish
it. dined with the Cabinet immed
lately after my arrival in Pekin,- and g
few days subsequently Prince Kung,
regent of the Emperor, who is child
dined with me at United States Lega'
ton. We discussed the Burlingame
treaty, and all the relations of China
with foreign nations. The Prince ex-
pressed the determination of the Min.
istry, so far as in their power, to bring
China into intimate, cordial and equal
relations of friendship and intercourse,
not only with the United States, but
with all the Western powers.
RADICALS AND CONSERVATIVES.
The government of China is beset by
by two antagonistic forces, the foreign
residents in: China demanding from
the Western powers continued demon
strations of force to impel the Govern
ment into the acceptance of our modern
ideas, and, on the other hand, the re-
sistance of the native educated classes,
who are strongly sustained in popular
sympathy by the prejudioes ofthe la
boring classes against every form OF
Improvement and invention by which
/ the employment oftheir own hands can
be diminished. But it is too long a
story to tell you here of the real condi-
ton and prospects of China. The diff
fieulty Is this: / think the whole Wes-
tern population of China does not ex-
ceed ten thousand souls, merchants
and missionaries included; and the diff
ference of language and habits OF
thought are SO complete, and commun-
ication is so difficult, that it is impossi-
BILE for so small a foreign intellect force
to reach the common mind of the four
hundfea millions who are content with
their ewn knowledge, and entertain
the conviction that their land is really
the central one of the whole earth, and
that they haveia divine appointment to
rule it. ie.-9
TRADE OF CHINA.
= Nothing in our own country can. be
compared to the internal trade and nav
igation of that empire. People live by
Lll0 bflOuo<tlOo Ol lLo 1ltCAo anu N<bhoAOs
Floating taverns and store-hOuses ac-
commodate them at every point The
need of China for foreign trade is there
fore small. Moreover, the fear of dis
coHtent on the part of foreign powers,
prevents the Government from raising
any considerable revenue from foreign
trade. But the skill and boldness of
Chinese baakers are the surprise of the
East. The activity and efficiency of
the merchants, and the magnitude of
their operations are a wonder. With
rates of interest seldom lower than six
teen per cent. the merchant carries on
trade with all the distant cities of the
empire, and with Mongolia, the most
distant regions of Thibet, Siam, and
Cochin China; while the revenue de-
rived from the foreign trade of this
immense population amounts only to
fifteen millions of dollars. only one
half of which / think goes to the Inn
perial Treasury, and the residue is APP
portioned to the treasury of the dis
tricts where the foreign trade is carried
on. Besides this commerce through
inland navigation, you find in China
that the ship of the desert is employed
with wonderful effect. You can scarce
Iy conceive the amount of traffic car
ried on the backs of camels, not only
in the interior of China, but extending
northward and westward far into the
Empire of Russia.
-sf.ai. III JAPAN.
The progressive character of the jap
anese is remarkable. The Emperor
and his ministers unreservedly employ
Europeans and Americans to educate
the people in Western ideas. They
have introduced European and Amer
lean carriages on the roads, and steam
ers on the rivers. They even have a
regular postoffice, and a daily stage line
between Yokohama and Yeddo. Tele-
graph wires extend throughout the Is
land; a railroad was already in con-
struction, and / think it is now COM
pleted, They have also established a
mint, with machinery equal TO that of
the mint at Philadelphia. Nor are
these Improvements conducted mainly
by European enterprise. The Japa-
nese borrow less from Europe in pro-
portion to what they achieve, than we
do here; and all the works have men,
toned, while they employ European
skill and attention, are still neverthe-
less conducted mainly by the japanese
themselves. f
LITERATURE-EDUcA DUcATION-GOVERN-
MENT.
was not interviewed by any Japanese
reporter, and infer, therefore, that
there is no japanese press. But every
body in Japan reads and writes, and
bookstores are as numerous in Yeddo
as in Boston. They have literature
and history of their own, but unfortu-
nately it was all sealed book to me.
I believe that all the japanese people
are politicians, although they have not
the advantages of a political press.
But with all material and moral pro-