New-York tribune., 1891-09-27

force of about 9, 600 men, twice as lialS % "ao
,,.,on, oIlotted N the entire Asiatic stauon
hos tbus beon made available for such ser
vice as may 10 required of 1t. lhis ioioo -
ample. Even if the disturbances are az s,e"'
as has been reported in European capitais uhe9
are not likely to call for acts OF armed reS's,d"oe
II may be that native officials OF high degrees
have instirated the riots, and are coyertiy pro-
toct;nc those that engage in them, but IN any
case our marines are competent to shield the
small body of American traders and mission
arie, who have recklessly penetrated INTO inc
interior. No military function Is calleu 10, '"",
is not purely defensive. IL must be remehloeIeu
that foreigners have no conventional Il9nts De-
vond tho twenty-three ports when the Nn,heSo
Government has thrown open to tfa1e' IL lor
any purpose religious or cOmmerclaI, Foreigners
90 into the interior and undertake to trade and
nronaoote beliefs where the people are unwlll-
inc to receive them they 60 in contraventon OF
nositiye law and at their own risk. Inc state
Donartment has notified this fact to our mission
aries again and again. China has never accept
cd the liberal principles of international law
with regard TO the rights Of aliens, and Tor ex-
cellent reasons Such rights as Aliens possess
are purely conventional. and under the opera
tion of the most-favore1 nation clause common
to all. As officially expressed by secretary
Bayard: tho treaties as they stand permit for
oipners 10 resort TO China for trade, for curiosity
or as teachers in established schools, but even
then only to certain carefully defined and lin
tied localities where they must pursue their
business with "due regard to the feelings OF
the people"
Missionaries in their zeal are apt to pay too
little heed to this positive law. They have as
sumed many privileges in the selection of resi-
dences and in the acquisition of land that are
not sanctioned by treaty, and when violently
elected from districts they had unlawfully in
vaded they have put their Governments to
great deal of trouble. Happily, the Tsung-h-
Yamen has been most conciiatory and reason
able in its responses to the diplomatic protests
these events have drawn out Without conced-
ing its liability for damages thus inflicted and
without admitting any rights to aliens beyond
those expressly allowed in the treaties, it has
permitted the local provincial authorities to toll
crate alien reSdency In neighborhoods not
opened by treaty law, and has pursued the policy
of indemnifcation to sufferers from mob vlo-
lence when their religious operations have been
thus tolerated. III is uuSSuOu "htuHOi N'''
liberal treatment has not been abused rather
than appreciated. 1t will be well to learn the
circumstances attending the Yang tse-Kfang
outrages before assuming that all the wrong Is
on the side of the Chinese. Our diplomatic
records are full of correspondence showing that
this assumption in the past has often proved in
correct In any event, It is well to bear in mind
that the United States are in no position to de-
ncunce China for not protecting foreign resi-
dents. The horrible atrocities at Rock Springs
and Seattle are somewhat too recent to permit
us to indulge in dissertations upon the incom-
potency Of the Chinese Government in dealing
with rioters. In recent dispatch r, our State
Department the Chinese Minister observed that
:" in China, 30 far as is known, not single
American has lost his life by mob violence,
while An every caee where injury has been done
to the property and rights of American citizens
by conspiracy and mobs punishment has been
promptly inflicted on the guilty and full pecuni-
ary indemnity has been made by the authorities"
We believe this to be an accurate statement OF
fact, and until we can present its like we should
be exceedingly chary of rebuke and denuncia-
ton in our comments upon disorders in China.