Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-10-26

n " flMa | lonel and the colonlst
Is ~ 'r n3,, the official s1sa. eye . the
stantly endeavoring to usurp functions to
which it has no right. and the civilians are an
unreasonable body Of incapable people, impos-
sible 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 allowed
free hand to ''pacify' the country 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
opacity" itself fast enough by commerce and
agriculture. which it will never do SO long as it
Is happy hunting ground for crosses and pro-
motions. 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 helm in Hanoi with their eyes
nxed on the Qual d'Orsay. Tongkinese society
is perpetual triangular duel.
SEEING ALL SIDES
do not fatter myself for moment that the
foregoing win be believed as a calm statement
OF fact. Let me therefore hasten to give a few
OF the experiences upon which 1t is based. The
hrst person with whom l had any conversation
after setting foot in Tongking was well-in-
formed, Intelligent burgeois who had passed
SIX years there. began by saying was sorry
to hear Of the heavy casualties OF a column
then operating In the interior, a hundred men
having been lost in one action. "Ie'll get
there, all the same" he replied, speaking Of
the officer in command HE wants his third
star, and what does he care if it costs him five
hundred men. He'll get it, too. allezI' There
Is the civilians view Of the military. Now for
the functlonary's view, and I should not tell
this story if M. Richards terrible death
let me throw word of gratitude and re-
spect over toward his ''vast and wandering
grave"-had not united my tongue. When
was at Hanoi asked him, on the strength of my
official letter, for escort of a few men to ac-
company me to place one days march into the
interior. Certainly" he replied, with pleas
ure. They shall be ready the day after tomor-
row." The same evening was dining with him
and when entered the drawing room he took
me on one side and said: by the way. about
that escort, l am exceedingly annoyed. but it is
impossible" And answering my look of sur
prise, for my official letter had been given for
the very purpose of making such facilities GER
tain, he continued: The general replies that
he has not five men Of whom he can dispose at
the moment-il ma pas cling hommes disponi-
Dles en- ce moment. Frankly, you know, you
should properly have asked him in the
first place, and not me-" The governor
generals annoyance and embarrassment
at having to acknowledge to a stranger
this humiliatng snub we're so visible that
OF course l dropped the subject, and his
secretary's whispered request afterward not to
reopen 1t was unnecessary. But l 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-officio COM
mander-in-chief. He saw the point instantly
and replied, Eyes, that is my title too" and
after pause, 'but 1 delegate my powers
settlement, je deleguo mes pouvoirs!' After
hninO Inn, aol
mission to go alone at my own risk, so my pro-
posed journey was doubly impossible. At the
time the general had not five men ''dispon-
bles there were, Of course, ten times that
number kicking their heels in barracks The
governor general had promised the escort;
therefore the general refused it. That was the
only and the universal explanation offered me-
And 1t was the true one.
DISCoURAGING IMPROVEMENTS.
To pass on again to the civilian colonist
Half way up the river between Haiphong and
Hanoi I noticed heaps of fresh mud lying along
the bank. Then you have been dredging,
after all, L asked. Hush" was the reply,
cause the administration would not allow us to
do 1t openly, and we stuck here every day.
Why not? Heaven only knows. 1t is simply
incredible, and therefore will not waste nv
words in telling what "radminIstration" denies.
They should take for their motto Mephisto-
pheles' words to Faust, II am the spirit that
Denies" Whatever you want, though it cost
the government not a penny, though il be a
boon to the com nunity, though it be the OPEN
ing up Of the country 30 enthusiastically
toasted, the authorities ar absolutely certain
TO refuse your request. L LIS is no joke-if you
think So stop the first man not "functionary''
you meet in the street in Haiphong
and ask him. 1t is almost as easy to get
into parliament in London as to get a conces-
sion OF land for any purpose whatever in Tong
rim oil h. hoIo
public offer, although the land almost throws
its crops and its minerals in your face, and al
though the inhabitants are pirates" by thou
sands simply and solely for the employment
and sustenance which welcomed capital and
encouraged enterprise alone can furnish. II
the government ofTongking were administering
hostile province which it desired to crush out
Of existence it could not do much better than
follow Its tactics OF today. And when it does
give privileges what are they, too often?
Take the "Magasins Generaux" at Haiphong,
monopoly OF custom house examina-
on the wharves Of one firm, to whom and
whose terms everybody must come In vain
the whole community protested and protested
The monopoly was granted, and the chambers of
| commerce OF both Haiphong and Hanoi imme-
dlately and unanimously resigned and the
Chinese merchants have sent in a declaration
that unless this additional restriction is re-
moved they will leave in body. And single
| example-my materials In all these instances
| are superabundant, and 1t Is only space that
| limits me to a single one-will show the prac-
teal evil of this monopoly. The storage of
coal per ton per month costs (for Comparison
| l employ French currency at Hong Kong
| (Kowloon Godowns) 20 confines: at SHANGHAI
| (Jardine, Matheson l. Coz, 2S centimes: at
Haiphong (Magasins 'Generaux), 4 francs! The
last resolution OF the chambers Of commerce ia
truly pathetic. "The government consulted
Us" they say, land then took no notice what
ever of all that We said. 1t is therefore useless
| to maintain an institution whose powers are
purely illusory. Please let US CO."
THE GOVERNOR GENERAL.
80 much for the colonist and the government
impersonal What is his attitude toward the
personal governor general? He sees him come.
he watches him while he is learning the b c
| of Tongking affairs, he reads few official de-
crees, he hears a few official after-dinner
speeches eulogizing France, Tongking, the
| governor general. and the colonist himself and
then some day . telegram comes and the colo
NAL sees him 60. The heads Of the colonial
government succeed each other in Saigon and
Hanoi like the figures Of Q shadow panto-
mime; the long procession has not halted for
| twenty years. N. Richaud boosted to me with
Q laugh that he was tolerated longer than any
Of his predecessors. His term Of Office was
thirteen months! Before the governor general
comes he is unknown; while in the east even
his public speeches are addressed to Paris: he
returns and is forgotten. It ia the merest farce