Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1880-11-27
SATURDAY PRESS.
The Rousing Of the Chinese.
NOVEMBER 81, 1850.

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direction of peace in the Chinese policy
owing to the presence of a Russian squad.
ron in the Pacific and certain military
preparations in Turkestan, still the Russia n
Government doubts whether war is we,
issues of to.days disputes between Russia
and China, and in spite of Colonel Gordon's
alleged influence, we see clearly that the
party in China which is determined to as
sert and uphold the claim of the Empire to
territory which has formerly belonged to
her, no matter at what sacrifice, is likely in
the long run to gain the upper hand. The
action with reference to the Portuguese ut
Macao, taken contemporaneously with the
renewal of warlike movements in Central
Asia, proves that all this is but portion
of plan, not perhaps deliberately laid
down beforehand, but which has neverthe-
less been steadily worked out since the
capture Of Talifoo and the complete sup
preston of the Mahommedan Kingdom of
Yunnan. The strange prophecy which was
passed from hand to hand at the crisis of
the Chinese Empire only seventeen years
ago" The Taepings will be destroyed first,
the Mahommedans next, the Foreign Devils
last lis to all appearance being fulfilled,
How soon the foreign DEVILS as VIC and other
Europeans are called, are to be dealt with
none can say. But the change which has
taken place in the attitude of China is al
together surprising. Only six years since,
Sir Henry Rawinson, whom some consider
the greatest authority on Asiatic affairs,
laughed to scorn the notion that the Chinese
could ever overpass the greatest desert and
reconquer the Dungans and Yakoob Khan.
Yet we have seen the thing done, and done
too in the grimmest, most determined
fashion recorded in history.
The over.conident Europeans who now
laugh at their bad organization, and the
absurd manner in which they throw away
their opportunities, are tho very same men
who have all along declared that the
Chinese would never do anything, that they
had no capacity whatever to understand
the advantages Of Western civilization, and
must, sooner or later, either break up or
fall under European control. Stupid stereo-
typed people, they would go on to endless
ages with their chopsticks and their pigtais,
their silly bows and arrows, and their rows
of counting balls, while they eschewed all
the real culture we stood ready to give
them-at n price. But now we begin to
comprehend that there is a methodica cal
culation in oil this slow improvement.
Whilst China has been arming herself with
the best European weapons, young China
men have been sent to England, America,
Germany, and France to learn all that is to
be learned in the way Of modern science
and moderen engineering. Colonel Gordon,
though reported to think much of all this
n mistake, perceives how strong spirit Of
improvement is alive. What is singular is
that the residents in China will see nothing
of this. They observe that Li.Hung-
Chang's line of steamers on the Yang-tse-
Kiang proved a failure, though it was
started with great flourish they perceive,
too, that the new gun boats soon get out
of trim and are badly handled; but they
quite forget that the line of steamers be.
tween Rangoon and the Straits settlements
belongs to Chinese merchants, and that,
whenever at two ends of a trade there are
Cinnamon, the Chinese trade comes into
their hands entirely, the Europeans being
merely the carriers. Only few days ago
San Francisco was startled by the novelty
of steamer bearing the Chinese hag be-
ing the first native vessel sent across the
Pacific by the Chinese to open regular
line. The Japanese, whom we are accus-
toned to think their superiors in inteli-
gcnce, are really nowhere with them in
pure matters of business, and it remains to
DO seen whether the Cinnamon will not
outstrip the clever islanders even in civil
ization whenever they make start in earn
est. Underneath the stolidity and marvel
Ions industry of the Chinese is to be found,
as the Able Hue said long ago, that power
of organization, that capacity to endure
fatigue and to submit to privation, that
astonishing and iudomitablo perseverance,
in short, which, properly led, might make
them the most formidable of all existing
peoples. A nation of perhaps 100000, 900,
all educated to certain point, and all
writing the same language, may some fine
day discover among their Tartar rulers or
themselves man capable of using these
stupendous masses and stirring the naturally
peaceful disposition of the Chinese people.
All the while, too, there is every reason
to believe that the birth.rate of the Chinese
population is higher than that Of any
European country, even than that of
Russia. No long time will be needed there
fore to replace the losses by famine and the
devastation of the last quarter of a century.
Now tho Chinese are the only Asiatic
people at the present day who freely leave
their own country to seek their fortunes
elsewhere. Already they are operating
through tho whole of the Indian archi.
pelago, and wherever they go they seem to
absorb large proportion of the trade. The
Dutch, who have very keen eye for a
coming rival, have shut thom ont of Java |;
but in our own territories they increase
hugely, and are becoming most important
population. Further a6eld, as we see their
immigration bids fair to be one of the diff
culties Of the future. There can be no
doubt whatever, for example, that under
the Constitution of the United States--to
say nothing of American treaties with
China-the Chinese have perfect right to
land and settle in American territory, and
TO be protected against injury when there.
Prince kung aud LII urged this most
strongly in their conversation with General
Grant. Yet it is quite clear that the Ameri-
cans of the Western States do not intend
to be numbered with men of another race
whom they can neither kill at discretion
like the Indians, intimidate like tho negroes,
nor sssimilate like the lrishman. Here is
sooner or later the making Of very pretty
nnnrral far thonuh tha Chinese rnlars do