Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-04-20

PEKING, CHINA.
The i. G." These letters. meaningless at
home. call up instantly in the mind of every
foreigner in China a very distinct and striking
image-they familiar here in the far
east as H. r. H. or D. T. are at home. And
aremarkable proportion of those who hear them
tremble. For the image is that of the benev-
Client desPot. whose outStretched hand unites or
sewers the Celestial kingdom and the outside
barbarian world; through whose fingers five
hundred millions of dollars have run into the
Golfers of the Son of Heaven and never a one of
them stuck; TO whom the proudest Cinnamon
that ever wore pigtails turn for advice in diff
Guilty or danger when other helpers fail; who
has STAYED off a war by writing a Telegram; who
has declined with thanks the prOffered dignity
OF an envoy extraordinary and minister plenl-
pOtentlary of her Britannia majesty: who has
ringed China round with an administrative
commercial organization the whole world can
not surpass; who. finally. born to struggle for
the poets bays. has labOred late and cary all
his life over dollars and duties. with dlplO-
matte nut which other people have failed to
crack, thrown to him now and then for reiaxa-
ton The L. g.. signifies person and post:
the former Is Sir Robert Hart. X. &. VI. g., the
latter Is inspector general of the imperial CHI
nese maritime customs. And the transcend
ence of the customs service III China may be
judged from the fact that a commissioner once
took personal atfront and quilted the sacred
editice when missionary implOred the Al
mighty to deliver this people from their
wicked customs" just as Mrs. Gladstone is
sald 10 have interpreted pioUs allusion to
''One above" as polite reference to her hus-
band IN the drawing-roOm upstairs
THE MOST INTERESTING FOREIGNER.
After the above. / fear it will seem an anti
climax to say that Sir Robert Hart is far and
away the most interesting and influential for
eigner in China. To begin with, his power is
enormous. Chinese. so far as his own field Is
concerned. l. much the same as English to him.
and with the Tsung-h Iamen he has the Infu-
ence which thirty years of close dealing with
Chinese officials gives him. backed by the
proud boast that they have never regretted
taking ms advice. Then he handles the SER
vice he has created from nothing to one which
employs nearly 5000 people. presides over an
annual foreign trade of -lSS000.OO0, collects
S20O0O.GuO Year. clears Y. 900 900 tons of ship
ping annually and lights I.SOO miles of coast.
exactly as an engineer handles machine he has
cOnstTUCted-just as tenderly and Just ruth
lessiy. And vet very few of the men whose
livelihood and prospects are absolutely and at
every moment IN his hands without the posi-
bIiity of appeal or even protest would willingly
see anybody else in his place. The mere IL
Responsibility of the Il. G." would ruin most
men
FREE HAND.
Yet SIR Robert owes all his success to his free
hand. Does he learn of an old friend or school
mate fallen upon evil times? send your boy
to me-" he telegraphs. and the youngsters fu-
ture depends then only upOn his own ability
and industry. When there particularly
bad piece of work to be done by one of his sub
OrdlnateS. IN delimiting the new TOngking-
Chinese frOntier-mOnths of lonely labor. i'll
sayagery and solitude, with never a breath to
draw that might not bring fever with it, whom
did he send? His brother Yet his avowal of
nepOt.sm Is INTERESTINGLY frank. Il have never"
He says. advanced a worse man over a better.
yet if promotion is due to one of two men of
deserts and nf iS of
flesh and blood. II would be simply unnatural
10 pass HIM over. More than once already he
has brought ont the son of some companion of
his bOyhOod. seen him grow up in the service
from student TO commissioner. save his cOmpe-
tency and retire, leaving his bcnefactOr and chief
still working the same number of hours every
day at his desk.
FIRM RULER.
But he rules with a despotsm that car
might envy. Any subordinate reported to the
81 q. by commissioner of customs of one
of the ports. for drunkenness or discrediting
the service in any way. Is instantly dismissed.
Dut commissioner who should be discovered
10 have reported a subordinate unjustly would
be fired from his high post rs soon as a tele-
gram could reach HIM His secretary and rep
resentatiye in England. Iir. Duncan Campbell
e. VI. e.. who has already distinguished him
SELF IN diplomacy on behalf OF China and his
chief ut Paris and Lisbon. Is expected TO be
absolutely inipersonIl Ill putting all applicants
return. and - a sop to nature. he Is permitted
10 send out one of his own friends. otherwise
properly qualified TO certain number of I'M
partial appointments. So the benevolent
HepOtIsm works.
HIS SERVICE.
Sir Robert Hart left the consular service for
the customs-it was barely in existence then
in 1853. and in 1863 he became inspector-gen-
eraL And during the thirty years that have
lntt-Yeued he has been home twice. once for
twelve months and once Tor six-that Is he has
bad In his whole lifetime less holiday than one
of his sUbOrdInates gets every five wears He
has never been to the western hills few miles
away. to which all the foreigners III Picking re-
treat IN summer. and he has never even seen
the great wall. two days journey distant But
next spring. he says. he is certainly going
home Pooh say people in the customs
service, when 1 tell them this; hes been
going home IN the spring for the last ten
Years. As for the services he has rendered to
China. to England and TO the world the states
men of Europe know them very well. and il
would take a volume to tell them TO others.
TREATY BETWEEN FRANCE AND CHINA
Besides the creation of the customs service
itself. which viii be his Immortality to take
the latest example. it was ne alone who con-
cluded the treaty between France and China
All negotiations had failed and matters looked
very black and threatening Then az usual
the ministers Of the IsuIg-li Namen came to
Sir Robert He agreed 20 take up the task on
hls TWO luNarldblc COntltiOu--that he should
have free hand. aud that his connection with
the affair should be kept profound secret till
he either succeeded or failed Then negotia-
ton began by telegraph in cipher b, tween his
den III Picking aud the Quai d'Orsay and
very awkward ones they were. Month after
month they proceeded and at last when SO. 900
taeis mad been spent III kilograms, the end was
reached the protocol was signed III Paris and
SIR Robert got into his chair and went to the,
Isung-h lamen. The ministers were there
and lie sat down 10 a cup OF tea with them. Bv
and by he remarked. with the apparent indif-
ference of the Oriental diplomat. 1T Is exactly
nine months to-day since YOU placed the nego-
tIaiIons with France in my hands"
''AND THE CHILD Is BORN"
instantly cried one OF tine ministers. seeing the
point and delighted at the truly Chinese way
OF conveying the information. And the funny
part OF the business that all this time "A
special French envoy had been residing az
1lentsln- chatting At the slow progress he was
making. and not having the least idea that
other negotiations had been on foot until no
received word from home that he might re-
turn. a all was arranged. He was so angry
that lie would not speak To Sir Robert After
sending the last telegram settling the French
business. SIR Robert went 10 the funeral ser
vice of Sir Harry Parkes. the British minister
who had Just died. As he entered the chapel