Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1889-02-23
THE MARCH or TIE MoNeoL.
China, the Great Oriental Giant. Rousing
Itself tO Heal Activity.

China, the Grent Oriental Giant. Rousing
Itself to Heal Activity.
Tho vast progress Of China In recent years
q set In striking light In an article which.
under tho title of Tho March Of tho Mem
gol," has been contributed by Mr.. W. Il. Dun
lop to The Asiatic Quarterly Review. and re-
printed IN pamphlet form. Mr.. Dunlop dates
the new movement from the period soon nftcr
tho suppression "f tho TAPPING rebellion. when
the Chinese government flrst established the
imperial maritime customs. which. under the
wise and energetic control of Sir Rolrrt
Hart, the inspector general of customs at
Peking, has attained No remarkable q dcvcl-
opmcnt. II l. significant of the shrcwdnc~s
Of the Chincss TINT they perceived tho nd
vantage TO hc dcrivrl from disini.Sin; the
native collectors aud appointing Trustworthy
foreigners la their room. The experiment
was justifi,yl by large and immediate ris" Ia
the amount ~ the revenue from customs
duties which has ever since bSn steadily In
crcasins-a considerable part Of the surplus
having lrcn employed IN erecting lighthouses
along the immense seaboard of China, which
has now one of the b,St light,sl cnnsts In the
world.
IL Is sign Of the now spirit that guides the
co,nscls Of the government that there have
bri erected during the last year or two
many thousands VI miles Of telegraph virus
ra'inting through the empire Il Is now POS
sibc :" telegraph from London to Pcking or
Chung King, the principal town of the rich
AMI frr;ilcrrovincc of Szcchuch, city nearly
Ian miles in the interior of the country.
Meanwhile the extension of the Chincsc tcie-
graph System b, We arc told, procccling at a
rate which Llay shortly astonish even Ameri-
can trl'rgraphisis Railway extension ismorc
difficult AMI necessarily slower; but against
this Lille I" Ia at the splendid system Of inter
national water communication.
The total c,rist trade IN foreign built vcs-
srl,, outward an'l inward amounted In iSsG
Ia the ci"riious sum Of ,tks,.tSO tons. Here
a:nin the Chinese arc well aware IL the nd
vnntas.rs Ia Ia derived from en-, !oying for
ci.nc;s Only certain portion of the for
ci;ii commerce of the empire come. within
til" jurisdiction ~ the impartial maritime Gus
toms: hut this iortipn r,aclnsl ia issi the
hitherto unprecedented amount of u. .OuI.OUU
sterliiis-still triilin. amount when we CON
slider that China prna"r is estimated hy the
imperial s'aiisician>. with thu ns>i,,a.icr II
the ls~t native authorities tn have "a ipIp,ila-
ton of -. .WU.ikI souls.
The only practical obstacle TO trade II
startlin;; dimensions between China cnl the
outside world seems To bc the old "l.isin"
system of Internal transit ,lu,~. so,:ic notion
Of which may lr' derived from the fact that
on the great w,s, river trade route hctwc4n
Canton aiIi p.=s'. u distance of .nJ r,les,
merchandise II sail io have to ran tlI, AUNT
let of nearly i0O customs ,mrrir:S Tire gov
crnmcnt, however. has shown significant
>i.;IiS of Ri:i; alive Ia til, evil, which IL has
already mitigate I" s,ine extent, In the
i.Nih II vested Interests, hy allowin: the
l.i!.n rinrsr> in certain eases Ia bc com
iHn''-i 10y n iiicl payment for a transit
pas.
Tie Improvement IN the system Of national
d Vas is still more striking. huge arscuals
ui",cr foreign dirr:tinn are ,rringing up ia
various directions. and tho vast army Of
China Is bring gradually supplied with
weapons Of the lnt,~t pattern, while great
aat'allons nrc lE'in; necessarily drilled and
disciplined ly European officers. Tho Chinese
navy already consists oi iwcnty-six foreign
hu,lt nen-oi-war, some of them large and
powerful iron cln,ls. ami about one hundred
gunboats. built In IL" arsanalS of tho empire.
Referring to the notorious industry and cii-
tcr;rise ot tho Chinese abroad Mr. Dunlop
prupht~ieS that when tlir objects of tho 90.
l,N,ial empire enjoy rnlcr the new and more
enlightened policy the sane privileges and
opportunities at homic ~ arr afforded TO them
abroad. there will lr nn roo,:i for ,louh; az to
what is 20 bc the do;n;na;in; iowcr 81 the
future in the far east of Asia
Til, writer of the article on '''..'lic .iarft IL
tho .ionsol' is very Tar froia lsinS III only
Gn;ho riiy un ASia;ic affairs who ihin.. that
the solution Of the eastern quest in:,. tar as
i;as ian aggression IL Asia /, conct rn,l, will
oac day !'r found in an Ar;.o-Chincsc alli-
nn"c. l.on,ioa News.