Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1895-12-05

luIy AFTER.
AS long as Sir Harry Parks lived
Great Britain dominated the east. He
was the British minister to Tokyo and
afterward at Pekin, a man of master
full manners, tremendous energies, I'M
t1inChing determination and a degree
of craft that seldom belongs to bully.
He was the dictator of the diplomatic
corps in both countries. He took a
pronounced position on every question
that arose and always had powerful
fleet at hand to sustain his opinions.
Both the Chinese and Japanese hated
him intensely, and when he died there
was no one to fill his place. The
moral atmosphere he created was
gradually dissipated, and the weaker
men who followed him were not able
to maintain tor more than a few years
the prestige he acquired.
Sir Robert Hart, the Englishman
who has charge of the collection of
customs duties for the Chinese govern
ment, and Sir Halliday Mccartney,
who is the legal adviser of it's lega-
ton in London, have done their best
to maintain British power in the east,
but, being in the employ of the Chi
neSe government and anxious to retain
their very lucrative positions, they
have been unable to assert themselves
against the stronger influence of the
car, and Russia has now entirely sup
planted British influence at Pekin.
France follows closely after, as recent
events have shown, and, by some in
trigue that has never been explained,
Germany was entrapped into an ALI"
ance that has bewildered the diplor
matists of Europe. They do not yet
understand it's origin or it's object
But, while Germany may feel aggriev-
ed at the manner in which Russia has
played with her, her pride only has
suffered, for she never before took an
active interest or exercised an influ-
ence in the east.
But the time is approaching, and it
may come within the next twelve
mCrths, when Germany, England and
other powers of Europe will be COM
PEELED to decide whether Russia may
peacefully occupy the northern portion
of the Chinese empire and the Korean
peninsula. Japan is now the only ma
ton to offer resistance, and her people
are willing to fight the Russians over
that question now, next year or at
any other time when the crisis may
arrive. There is nothing in Japan so
conspicuous as the courage and patriot
ism of the people, and while they will
make most energetic and determined
resistance to the aggressions of the
car it would be impossible for them
to maintain the integrity of the east
alone. England would be naturally
and necessarily their ally, because she
has even more to lose on the one hand
and more to gain on the other than
Japan.
The interests and the natural inCli
nation of the United States would be
toward Russia, because she has al
ways been our consistent ally, and her
friendship and support have been Of
fered us whenever it has been needed.
But above and beyond all sentimental
reasons the completion of the great
Siberian railway to an open and con-
venient port is of great Importance to
our commerce 1t is difficult to see
what reasonable opposition Great Brit
ain or Japan can offer to the construc-
ticn of this railway through the Chi
nese or Korean territory. 1t would be
the wedge that would open Gina to
civilization, and all the nations OF Eu-
rope as we'll as the United States
would share in it's advantages. But
European diplomacy cannot dissolve
the connection between politics and
commerce.
Public opinion on this point in Eng
land may be judged from the follow
ing extract from a recent issue of the
London Times:
But if Germany may well feel ag
grieved at the cavalier treatment
which she has received at the hands of
France and Russia she has suffered
only negatively. Ours has been the
positive loss. The first fruits of the
Franco-Russian understanding were
the convention between France and
China, by which the latter not only
signed away territory coded to her
by us little more than a year ago on
the express condition that she sh",ld
not transfer it without our consent to
any other power, but actually recog-
nized French claims over a province
which forms an integral part of the
British empire. England's preponder
ancy however much it might be ridi-
culed as a thing of the past, was too
fresh in the memory of the tsung Ii
yamen for the distracted members OF
that board to face with equanimity the
prospect of setting her at defiance.
The pressure exerted by the French
representative. with his Russian col
league at his back, in order to enforce
the immediate signature OF the con-
vcntion in the teeth of England's pro-
test gives the measure of the import
aOCC which he Mt any rate alta rhpd IN