River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-10-04
CANTON.
The Position of the City in Case or
War

From the n. Y. Herald.
! The city of Canton is the wealthiest
/ and most active in China. Apart from
its large foreign trade it has great do
mestic trade, considerable portion of
which is carried in coasting vessels.
Any blockade of this port would very
seriously interfere with the commerce
of China, and it would certainly be the
objective of blockading squadront.
But in the city OF Canton a portion OF
ground is set apart for foreign residence
under conditions similar If not Identical
to those which prevail in the other
treaty ports of the empire. If the as
sumption that foreign residence deprives
hostile power of the right of blockade
be sound, Canton is free city, but no
nation would submit to a construction
being placed upon conventions made
with neutrals which should deprive her
of one of the most formidable means of
coercion and stultify, in great measure,
her naval forces.
The effect of blockade may be Judged
from the action of the British cover u
ment III regard to Canton in 1858. That
port was blockaded and all trade was
lnterdicted. The rights of residence OF
those foreigners who desired to remain
IA the settlement of Canton were IRE
spected" as far as circumstances would
permit, but no distinction was made be-
tween Chinese and foreign trade. The
blockade was intended to be effective,
and not even neutral steamer was per-
united to ascend the river without the
| permission of the British admiral.
In the narrative of Lord Elgin's mis-
sion to China may be found a short ac-
count of the blockade of Canton 1t is
there stated that the ambassadors
were anxious to effect the speedy re
moval of this restriction. The naval
authorities fully concurred with them
in this desire, and were no less anxious
| to putan end to a blockade which, while
| 1t tended to exercise 81
demoralizing influence upon the
| class of vessels specially employed in
enforcing it, had failed in the object it
was designed to accomplish. Instead OF
| preventing all trade with Canton, it had
| simply diverted it to the Broadway and
| other channels not guarded by our cruis-
! ers. Thus it WAS both Intellectual and
| illegal, Circumstance which, fortunate
/ ly, 1T did not occur to any neutral power
| to complain Of" The blockade was only
| partial. consequently it was illegal, and
according to the law of nations, any neu-
| trail power had just cause of complaint,
| Had the blockade been effective it would
! have been legal and no ground of COM
! plant by neutral powers would have ex-
! listed.
Fears of a rising against Europeans in
! the towns and cities of China in the
| event of a war are only too well ground
| ed. The present riot is only one in Sc
ries of outrages. Recently a French
missionary, Pere Terrasse, and sixteen
native Christians were massacred in
! Yunnan, near the Tonquin frontier. The
| little mission which met with such a
| tragic fate was established in the town of
| Yang pi, not far from Tall fu. 1t was
/ visited by Messrs. Colquhoun and
Wahab in their adventurous journey
across southern Asia, and the former
| has given us an interesting account of
! his meeting with Pere Terrasse. The
missionary accosted the traveller as he
entered the town with the single word
'Englishman?" uttered interrogatively
| and with a strong French accent.
! The person addressed. who was buried
in deep reverie, his thoughts
! thousands of miles awav from China at
| the time, looked up on hearing the Eng
| fish word and Immediately recognized
| no speaker was European. clad though
I've was in native dress and so far un-
| distlngulshable from the thousands o
| Chinese whom the explorer had encoun-
| tered on his route. A few minutes after
! ward the three Europeans were discuss
| ing bottle of Bordeaux and toasting
la belle France" the native land OF the
! exile, who had long abandoned all hope
/ of putting his foot upon its soil again.
| Though the natives in that part of China
| have by no means the best reputation
the missionary described them to the
travellers as simple, honest and not I'M
| kindly folk Very different was his Ian
guage when speaking of the local man
darins. whom he characterized as rob
bers and brigands. Nor was his opinion
of the Chinese soldiery much more
favorably. Adep's in the trade of
murder, he pronounced them utterly
deficient in the higher military quail.
| ties.