Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-09-25
FORM0SA.
The Cyprus az the China sess-s'orv or
Fiaht,ns Dutch Tatier-Custems Of the
a~f.racSa

fI,ondo, standsrd1
There are few spots left In this mitter-os-
f,,, world which have 30 much OF the ideal
ahout them as Formosa. The land OF A..
ian,js The garden OF the Hesperides, and
,ha stand af Gree have had their day.
Cynrus Is NOT the island II once was, and
Gamma Is forgotten; hut there still fingers
some omipce about Formosa-the Cyprus
"a the China seas. IL seems to have been
The one spot that struck the early dis
coyerers by lis beauty, and. u DIR. Bridges
ia m he believed. IL j. rs beautiful as ever.
There lies vale in Ida. says Lord Tenny-
son. loveiier
Than ALI the valleys of Ionifn hills:
4 he swimming vapor slopes ahwar The glsn,
PMS Tor h her arm. aud erccps from pine TO pine,
and loltsrs, slowly drawn. 90 either hand
'rhc lawns end m,Ssdow-ledges. midway down,
iIang rlch I'm flower, aud FAR below them roars
pIs long brook falllnr thronyh the clown ravins,
In cataract after cataract. W The sea.
And this is DR.. Bridges's description Of
Formosa put INTO nobler language. a. AZ
Cyprus. too. there still remains the worship
OF the Goddess OF Love as II was carried on
formerly IN the prehistoric times OF the Pho
nieians. The tribes or the east coast are
ruled by women, aud their religion is in
the hands Of the priestesses OF the F0rmo-
SIN Astarte. The west part o! the island
Is. indeed. in the hands OF the unr)mlntic
Chinaman; but no Chinaman ventures TO
cross the mountain range that runs
down the centre OF the island and d.
yides the Formosans from the foreign dew
lis. For in Formosa the Cinnamon are
oddly enough, the civilized element en-
croaching on the b1rbarous. Then there
Is. too. the romance Of history attaching 10
Formos,. In the middle OF the seventeenth
century II tailor named lllorn came TO the
Dutch settlement in Formosl and waXed
extremely rich. His wealth increased so
vastly that he Owned three thousand ships,
and then he went and settled In japan.
There he became ambitious. He thrSted
for empire, and became sort %.
Rslph the Rover OF the China seas. He
seized the province OF Foh-kien. aud en-
tered into negotiations with the Tartar dy-
nasty for the purpose OF being recognized
as an independent sovereign; but they ~.
him TO Pckin and put him in prison. His
son Coxinga was equal to the situation,
for. packing up his goods, he sailed t. For
mosa. In 1861 he expelled the Dutch and
ANONYMOUSLY defeated tue squadron sent
Out from Holland TO reinstate them. at
time when Dutch guns were being heard
In the Thames, aud Holland wIs mistress
Of the sea.
Apart, however, from it, romance. For
mosa has many solid advantages. There l.
coal 1t Kelung, worked in European fash
ion since 1871, with a shaft three hundred
feet deep: and tins in itself ought to rem
der FOrmOsa worth having, when one
thinks that coal is sent from Cardiff to
supply the vessels at Singapore and
Java. There is sulphur IN Abundance,
and in Formosa are found the gigantic
laures whose wood Is distilled FOR cam
phor. though Formosan camp1or is run
close by that OF Japan and Borneo, and also
by the artificial camphOr now produced so
easily by passing chlorine gas througa tur-
penline. There il rice, too, In Abundance.
for F0rmOsa Is the "granary Of China
while the tea Of the island is traded cx-
tCnsiyely TO America. The island ia pro-
crossing fast. The capital. Tamsui, hls
1901 600 inhabitants, and the second cap
Ital some 10000. and the whole west
side is populated as thickly rs China
or Belgium. There are roads and
4 telegraph, and even some talk Of rail
way. Cor the late Governor Ting was very
enlightened. With all these advantages,
and with fewer European interests to dam
one wonders that Admiral Lespes sailed
away after bombardng Keluns. and that
can only he explained on the now we'll
known truism that bombardment + not
war: il is only commandments trlIism en-
dorsed BY the prime ministers OF several
leading nations, and notably by Sir. Glad
stone and NJ. Ferry.
Ten years ago the world was somewhat
excited about Formo.a. for the japanese
were going, in spite OF the Chinese, t.
avcuge tho murder OF a crew Oi JIpIuese
sailors shipwrecked on the east coast. The
situation was somewhat akin to that which
exists at Present between us and Holland
with regard 10 the capture OF the Nisero.
The Chinese explained that they had no
control whatever over the Inhabitants OF
the east coast. The japanese replied that
il they had not, they ought to have, and
that in that case they should send an
expedition to FOrmosa themselves - ayenge
their countrymen. They did send an ex-
petition, and the war between Japan and
China was looked forward 10 with great
interest by all nations who had munitions
Of war 10 sells but Sir Thomas Wade,
our envoy at Pekin. 10 the immense dis
gust Of all commercial spirits, arranged
a compromise. The japanese cleared
out Of Formos5. relinquished all claim,
to it, and accepted $4,000 tales dam.
ages. On this occasion they were somewhat
well received by the savage tribes. and
even by the Chinese settlers. but the Chi
nese authorities since then have devoted
themselves rather carefully in Formasa to
Obviate any such contretemps for the
future. When, for instsncc. they opened
the mines OF kelunR, they informed the
inhabitants they did not intend to disturb
the old mines, but only open new Ones-a
delicate consideration for vested inter-
ests which does not obtain usually with
mandarins. With regard 10 the say
age tribes, they have made projects for
them once for all, and getting
rid OF thorn in their side. Some OF the
customs OF these savage tribes are, by the
way. peculiar. They make point Of bath
ing every day in cold water-a custom
which. though il does not strike English
men az an eccentricity, seems strange TO
most other nations, and in this instance is
a standing joke among Chinese writers.
The FOrmOsans are a remarkable healthy
people. II. however. any one i really III
their remedy is simple, and il applies -
all diseases. The patient is strung up by the
neck ard let down with a run. This gem
orally Kills Oh cures him. and II the for
ncr, il is a subject Of great reioIcing. He
i left out to dry in the sun until mummi-
fed, and his relatives spend the interval in
weeping and orgies. This. Of course, oc-
cupieS some time. so death in the family
is rather an advantage than otherwise.
Their marriage customs are also strange.
\ young man at twenty-One i provided
with wife. Till the age Of forty he Is not
permitted openly 10 visit her. lie can
only do 50 by stealth, and IL lie falls out
with her divorce is easy, the man re-
rciying back all his presents. a mln very
often marie. and divorces four or five
times year. No children born before the
mother has reached thirty-seven are in any
case permitted to live, so that the evils OF
divorce are mitigated. and. in fact. are so
well arranged for that il the French should
seize the island, they will be provided at
once with the experience OF divorce sys-
lem which has stood the test OF centuries.
Prophecies or y Highland Seer.
iBelgrsvisl
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