Waco evening news. (Waco, Tex.) 1888-1889, 1888-12-11
CHINA ANDITS PROGRESS.
INTERESTING DESCRIPTIVE LECTURE
BY GEN. JAMES n. WILSON.

The Social and Political Status Of the Co
lestial Empirc-New ideas from the West
Nee nsesivsd with Cerdiaiity-Astscraey
Of Science ~ I
Maj. Gen. James II. Wilson delivered
lecture before the American Geograph.
ical society, In Chickering hall, New
York city. during the course Of which
he said:
In China the family Is the political
unit, and II one member goes astray the
whole family may become extinct II the
emperor pleases. No man can be gov
ernor in his own province, and no gov.
ernor Is allowed to surround himself
with officials who are his own relatives.
Nepotism IL unknown.
The great rivers of China flow east to
the Pacific, and the populations gather
In the deltas In towns and villages. A
popularity Of the great cities is that they
are surrounded with great brick walls,
with bitches. parapets and gates. and the
gates are regularly opened and closed
every morning, Us they were 600 yeass
ago. The new capital Of Formosa has
such a wall. after the manner Of the
middle ages. The crystallized labor Of
Japan Il seen in these great walls Of
cities, the great wall Of the nation that
separates It from outlying provinces and
the grand canal. They spend every year
large sums to keep the grand canal open
Yet Il Is inadequately supplied with re-
serve stores Of water.
He spoke Of the civil service system Of
China a. democratic institution, that
gave every man chance to advance
equal to that Of his neighbors. There Is
no nobility. only the autocracy Of sci.
ence. The last examination comprised
the competition Of 81, 900 students Of ma.
ture age, Of whom only thirty succeeded.
The learning relates to Chinese history
and jurisprudence and the philosophy Of
Confucius, but has nothing to do with
modern sciences. There u . college liz
China presided over by an American,
ment Is very slow to admit new ideas. It
| ity. 1t Is not best for the native China
| man to know too much Of modern eel.
snce.
Gen. Wilson spoke Of the successive
destruction of Chinese dynasties as
.nscparable from the Chinese sys-
tenn. As far as It Is practicable,
wherever there Is q Cinnamon In
Office, there Is o Tartar to watch him.
The operation Of the censorship is inquis-
;torial and offensive. The whole empire
Is held in subsection by the army and the
censor. The present emperor IL only II
years old. He is the nephew Of the late
Emperor; for the first time In many
years the direct male issue failed. For
some years the practical sway was held
by two women, the wife and sister OF
the late emperor. But recently one Of
them died, and the empress dowager was
left in practical supremacy.
She Is never seen by foreigners. She
Is a remarkable woman. She selects the
emperor's wives, and has begun by
choosing as his first wife her favorite
niece. The imperial clan occupies a
the middle Of the city Of Pekin.
The high officials win not hold inter.
course with foreigners No diplomat
has ever seen the empress dowager or the
| emperor. Not even the great men Of
China can approach the throne without
permission, and then they must be pros
trate. There u no such thing a. popular
education. The people have nothing to
do with the government. The govern
ment is absolutely isolated, and holds no
communication with the people. Ideas
never reach the throne from the people.
The foreigners are confined to q very
small part of the seaboard, except that
missionaries axe allowed to 20 to the in
terror. The foreign merchant does not
deal with the Chinese merchant directly,
but through servants. Improvements 60
on slowly. Yet in the interior may be
found kerosene, cotton cloth, needles and
matches.
II The Tai-ping rebellion had its origin
with o Disappointed student. The an.
tipathy Of tho rebels to foreigners he'd to
the establishment Of the "ever Veto
rious" army, under the celebrated Capt.
Ward, and the development Of the hair
SCARED to first shipping the rebels and
The result was that after he had deserted
to both sides several times the Chinese
lost him ono night while crossing river.
Gen. Wilson quoted one OF the me
MORALS recently sent to the emperor BY
high Chinese official, written, accord
ing to Chinese customs, on his deathbed
advocating the building Of railroads
mining, the construction of ships, coas'
defenses and other progressive things
That this and other similar memorials
have reached the eyes Of the emperor L
known by the fact that many such me
, MORALS have been printed In the Chimes,
official paper, which has been published
about 900 years, not daily, but every
now and then. But the ideas OF TIN
; government progress slowly. The cen
sors are conservative and slow to NOV,
and suspicious Of foreigners. although
they have admitted that the foreigner
: are not necessarily enemies.
} American watches and clocks are max
ing rapid progress in China. The onl,
drawback Is the fact that American
trade marks are counterfeited.
The Chinese students who began thei
course Of study here. but who were re
; called by the censors, complain bitterl,
Of their treatment, and despair OF tn
progress Of China while the prescn