The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-11-12

vasta.ion, dried up canals Abandoned fields.
withcred forests, and every few miles dis
mantlcd and ruined cities" Yet. twelve years
ago, before the rebellion against Chinese
authority ard It, relatively civilized Institutions,
kuldja supported in comfort and prosperity
some three hundred and ATTY thousand souls.
Another instance IL presented by tue lat " pub
lis led .ccount Il the English embassy to Yakub
Knan tiellew's "Cisnmeer and Kashear'0
The commercial ana economical conditions Of
this district, liza inadequate irrigation, and tim
tied production are analogous to the state OF
thugs In western rurkIstan. and the English
visitors with equal reason might have supposed
kashgar unequal 70 the maintenance OF more
than milton u Inhabitants. The proofs. how
ever, all about them that scarcely more tnan
decade ago. before the insurrecton OF 1894 ex
PEELED the Chinese functionaries and made room
for fakub's rise to power this territory nour-
ished a population computed at not less than
Ave millions OF souls, aud maintained an Inn
portant trade with other provinces Of China.
In the face OF facts like these II ts scarcely pru
dent to undervdlue the plssi ole fruits Of an
honest and wise policy or to affirm doematcallv
that ~ neither by its agricultural nor by its min
eral wealth, nor by its commerce, nor by the
revenue to he derived from 1t, Gan Central Asia
ever repay tho Russians for what II has already
cost"
hut Ia the policy Of Russia toward her sub
tects in Turkistan honest and wiser Is the new
regime at all comparable with the Judicious
rule Of the Chinese empire in its frontier prov
inces, or does II afford little more stimulus to
the development Of production than the old
government by ameer and khan2 This IL n
question which the writer of the book before
US undoubtedly had OPP 1rtunities for answer
ing: vet. here again. his categorical statements
are SO far weakened by hts admissions thlt We
are constrained to sift his materials and frame
opinion for ourselves. Mr.. Schuvler's jud q
ment l. expressed IN the following sweeping
terms:
No matter what institutions the Russians
NAV introduce into Central Asia. Il would
seem homeless to ex ect anything Ike good gov
ernment until either tho ch tracter OF the officials
Is changed or they are submitted to a stricter
disciplne and inspection. II seems almost i'm q.
possible for tussiAn ad Illustrator to conceive
Of such a thing A. legality. Under Mussuiman
rule his tthe subjectsl khfns aud his beks were
tvraunical. but still they were Mussulmans. mel
Of own race and of his own belief. With similar
character. and holding TO the same customs and
traditions. Cruel and tyranntcal a. they were In
which rus ON fOrb de them to ov rstep. And
were these bounds TOO greatly or too frequently
pissed the popular di,Cunteut was sucn a. u
Drive them from power But for tue Russians
there seem to be no limits.
This is certainly grave indictment and
the evidence ought to be ample and con
elusive. Now what are the facts, or rather
siuce the Russian side Of the story has
not been heard. what is n reasonable
Inference from all the data scattered through
these bulky volumes7 We may premise that
In 1873 when Mr. Schuyler visited Central Asia.
neither khokani nor Khiya had been CON
quered. and the Russian possessions In Turks
tan then comprised only the province OF Semi
reHh nncluding KuldjaJ that portion Of tho
lara l-na q 4 "A 10
a sui Government with its seat at SamArc nd,
and the province Of the Syr DirYa with its capt
tai At Tashkent. T. 81 hippens that while de-
scribsng 10 detail the state Of things In these
several districts, our American traveller can
md nothing but praise for the Russian func-
tlonares In Semiretch aud the zsr,fshan
whereas. in tue third province above named.
which Is directly controlled by Gen.
Kaufman. he discovers the most shocking
EXAMPLES Of official ml,conduct aud corruption.
thus. writing Of the Zartfshln, he says " II is
impossible no; to oc struck with the din rencs
between the Administration ia sam are iud aud
that in Iashkent. Nearly all tho officials see II
to have II heart the welfare of tse country and
to be earnest In their wJ'k. they are f1r the
most part the remainder Of what arr He'd the
'rchefn0ef men, many # them hav = been
with ia t General IN his Arst Centrl Asiitic
c mpagn" Again speaking OF Gen. kuip
koisky, Governor General Of Sem,retch, No
man" he sals "is more thoroughly acquainted
with the country over which he rules. II any
one can pus down corruption In rurkistan and
restore TO the Russians the conf iencs OF the
natives, il he A very short stay In Semiretch
is enough to convince any one Of the vast differ
ence between the administration Of that province
and the rule Of the otlcills at rishk mt" On
the other h iud, the rtue u Gen. Kaufman
seems to exert Ipcu our traveller peculiarly
inf ann itory effect. aud the latter rarely adj
duces proof Of the ofic II misr lie Nhich he
finds confined TO the province Of the Syr-D irya
without connecting ~ more or less directly with
the GOV rnor General. II j. well known that
MIR. scnuyler's views on this subj, set got INTO
pnht s5ahN tiWc 40; bot whether II was owing
totbe Indignant pres al atoms OF the Generals
friends, and the alleged unfhrness Of this dis
crimination against Kaufman, that the writer's
withdrawal from ST. Petersburg WAS requested
from our q pvernment, We cannot say. That's
matter IN which we take no Interest, but are
concerned that an American book should be
found to level comprehensive reproach at the
policy and administration of friendly power
upon obviously defective grounds. q -anting all
that IL here said OF lnsinuated concerning Gen.
Klufmann's Official character To he tru'. the
fault IL personal, not national aud the writers
own experience above cited) IN Seniiretch and
the ZIidisD an valley should, We think. have
prompted him to weigh and measure hls words
wuen lie came t. formulate his conclusions. Bs
that as It may. we must continue to believe that,
with mills, factories. and folndries building,
commerce fostered. roads repaired and railways
promised. with war, famine, and pesiilence
avert-d, with family ami possessions aafe hence
forth from rape and foray within the sh alter OF
the Russian lines, the Mussulman merchant and
aericnlturist Will prefer even the shadow OF
Gen kaufminn's palace o. the nelghborhoOd
u sucn fellow believers as the lutely-deposcd
Khan Of Khokand, or that most debauched Of
living rulers, the present Ameer Of Bukhlra
Turning from ITS economical ana political sug
gestiOns 10 its pictures OF sDclh life, we ind
this book much more satisfactory, There Is,
PERHAPS, n little too much elting, tea drinking,
and dancing, but IN hi, fondness for recalling
these diversions, tn author reminds Us Of an
other yersl tile and pleasant tr weller Mr. Ross
Browne, wh9, II Wil. .e trmonuered, was At one
time our Minister TO Cui.a. On the whlle, W,
incline ~ think that Mr.. So, rr would h,,.
done well 20 cudeuse what In this work Is really
new and the fruit of original observation into
single oct vo volume II convenient -iX', Ike
THAT. for instance. lust tlb izhed ia Lrudnn las