Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-27
LIFE AT ToNGKING.
Society Divided Into Three Glasses,
Each Mad at the other.
A PERPETUAL TRIANGULAR DUEL.
Frances Oppression Toward Her Asiatic
C0ionists.
THE WORLDS. MOST EXPENSIVE PORT

1
into three classes And each of the three is
at daggers drawn with the other two. They
are the official, the military and the civil
lian-the Governor General, the Colonel
and the colonists To the official eye the
military class is constantly endeavoring
to usurp functions to which it has no right,
and the civilians are an unreasonable body
of incapable people, impossible to satisfy.
The military class are furious against the
Government. represented by the officials,
for their reduced numbers, and cling
all the more tenaciously to privileges
which only belonged to them as an army
of occupation; and they desire to be allow
ed free hand to "pacify" the eountrS by
the only means known to them-the sword.
The civilian colonist finally, detests the
military, in the conviction that If he could
| only once get rid of nearly all OF them the
country would ''pacify" itself fast enough
by commerce and agriculture, which it will
never do 50 long as it is a happy hunting
ground for crosses and promotions. And
how can he feel either respect or sympathy
for the Governors who come and go like the
leaves on the trees, and who must needs hold
the kelm in Hanoi with their eyes fixed on
the Quai d'Orsay. Tongkinese society is u
perpetual triangular duel.
l do not latter myself for moment that
the foregoing will be believed as a calm
statement OF fact. Let me therefore hasten
to give few of the experiences upon which
it is based. The first person with whom 1
had any conversation after setting foot in
Tongking was a well-informed, intelligent
bourgeois who had passed six years there.
began by saying was sorry to hear of the
Z. .. Rlar,
in the interior, 100 men having been lost in
one action.
He'll get there, all the same" he re-
piled, speaking of the officer in command.
''He wants his third star, and what does he
care if it costs him 800 men. He'll get it,
too, allezP'
There is the civilians view of the mill
tary. Now for the functlonary's view, and
should not tell this story if M. Richards
terrible death-let me throw a word of grati-
tude and respect over toward his "vast and
wandering grave"-had not united my
tongue.
AN INJURED OFFICER.
strength of my official letter, for an escort of
few men to accompany me to place one
days march into the interior.
They shall be ready the day after to-mor-
row."
The same evening was dining with him
and when entered the drawing room he
took me one side and said, "By the way,
about that escort, 1 am exceedingly annoyed,
but it is impossible" And answering my
look of surprise, for my official letter had
been given for the very purpose OF making
such facilities certain, he continued: "The
General replies that he has not five men of
whom he can dispose at the moment-il ma
pas cling hommes disponibles en- ce moment.
Frankly, you know, you should have asked
him, in the first place, and not me-"
The Governor Generals annoyance and
embarrassment at having to acknowledge to
stranger this humiliating snub we're so
visible that of course dropped the subject
and his secretary's whispered request after
ward not to reopen it was unnecessary. But
could not help asking him next day as we
were driving whether in French colonies as
in English, the chief civil authority was
not ex otficio Commander-in-Chief.
He saw the point instantly and replied,
eyes, that is my title. too," and after a
pause, "but delegate my powers-seule-
ment, je delegue mes pouvoirsl'
After thus being refused an escort, was
was refused permission to 60 alone at my
own risk. so my proposed journey was
doubly impossible. At the time the Gen.
eral had not five men "disponibles' there
were, of course, ten times that number kick
ing their heels in the barracks. The Gov
ernor General had promised the escort,
therefore the General refused it. That was
the only and the universal explanation of
fered me. And it was the true one
IT, 10 -;
Half way up the river between Haiphong
and Hanoi noticed heaps of fresh mud
lying along the bank. ''Then you have
been dredging, after all, asked.
"Hush," was the reply, 1--WE have been
doing little of it at night, because the ad-
ministration would not allow US to do it
openly, and we stuck here every day."
Why not? Heaven only knows. II is
simply incredible, and therefore will not
waste my words in telling what "lAdmin-
istration" denies. They should take for
their motto Mephistopheles' words to Faust,
81 am the spirit that Denies" Whatever
you want, though it cost the Government
not penny, though it be boon to the COM
munity, though it be the opening up of the
country so enthusiastically toasted, the au
thorities are absolutely certain to refuse
your request. This is no joke-if you think
SO, stop the first man. not "functionary,"
you meet in the street in Haiphong and ask
him.
CRUSHING THE CoLoNIsTs.
1t is almost as easy to get into Parliament
in London as to get concession of land for
any purpose whatever in Tongking, al
though the whole vast country is on public
offer, although the land almost throws its
crops and its minerals in your face, and al
though the inhabitants are "pirates' by
thousands simply and solely for the en-
pluyment and sustenance which welcomed
capital and encouraged enterprise alone can
furnish. II the Government of Tongkng
were administering hostile province which
it desired to crush out of existence, it could
not do much better than follow its tactics of
to-day. And when it does given privileges.
what are they, too often? Take the
"Magasins Generaux" at Haiphong.
monopoly of custom house examina-
ton granted in the warehouses and
on the wharves of one firm, to whom and
whose terms everybody must come. In vain
the whole community protested and pro-
tested. The monopoly was granted, and
Chambers of Commerce of both Haiphong
and Hanoi Immediately and unanimously
resigned, and the Chinese merchants have
sent in a declaration that unless this ad-
ditioDal restriction is removed they will
leave in body. And single example
my materials in all these instances are
superbundant, it is only space that limits
me to O single one-will show the practical
evil of this monopoly. The storage of coal
per ton per month costs (for comparison 1
employ French currency at Hongkong
| (Kowloon Godowns), 20 centimes; at Shang-
| hal (Jardine Matheson & Co.., % centimes:
at Haiphong (Magasins Generaux) francsl
The last resolution OF the Chambers OF Com
merce is truly pathetic. The Government