Mexico weekly ledger., 1895-08-15
From China to America.
AN OFFICIAL OF THE CELESTIAL
GOVERNMENT ON A VISIT
TO HIS HOME IN
AUDRAIN.
W. X. Roberts Talks OF His Trip From
the Orient to the Golden Gate
An interesting Sea Voy-
age The Chinese and
Their Country.

I lHoh yStio III nv Oh3H'Sg
Chinese government, called on The
LEDGER to-day and told US something
of the customs and conditions OF he
people and country where he has con-
cluded to make his home. In the
course of the conversation Mr.. Rob-
erts spoke of his trip from China to
the Golden Gate and said the interest
ing features of his journey homeward
began with Hong Kong. Living in
the thoroughly Chinese town, Swallow,
had made Mr.. Roberts thoroughly
appreciative of any OF the evidences
OF Western civilization. The numer
GUS sea-going craft i'll h spacious
harbor, comprising vessels OF steam
and sail, carrying the emblems of a
dozen different ~nationalities, and the
junks, sampans and fishing boats of
the native race, gave an inkling of
the commercial Importance of this
port, while the dry docks, ship yards
and factories in view showed that GER
tain vital energies exist here that are
not tolerated on the mainland, hard
by. He was forcibly impressed in
this vision of power and prosperity
by the fact that the weak points of
Chinese logic with regard to the opera
ton OF mines and mills and factories
is taken ruthless advantage of by the
enterprisipg inhabitants of the "Malta
and Gibraltar of the East" as our
British cousins are pleased to term
this colony. "Fung Shut" literally the
sacred elements of the earth and at
m~osphere), the greatest enemy of
progress in China, seems to possess
no potentially in Hong Kong, for the
iIillsides, properly sacred to the dead,
according to Confucianism, are desc
Grated with mansions, parks and tram
ways, while houses are built much
higher and the streets wider than the
ancient code allows.
"Now,' said Mr.. Roberts, Gin Swa-
tow, a few years ago, some enterpris-
ing Chinese, contaminated with for
eign ideas, started to lay water pipes
from a spring outside the city walls,
whereby the people might be supplied
with wholesome water at 4 trivial
cost. But the wise Jossmen found
that several graves would be disturbed
by the laying of such pipes and that
the "Fung Shut" of the vicinity would
be hopelessly d~emoralized. So the
water company was ordered to quit,
and the city of Swallow, as of yore,
gets its water hauled from ponds sev-
eral miles across the bay in leaky and
pe~stilential boats, and the natives re-
joice, even as they die of cholera and
the black plague, that the "Fung
Shui'' is still maintained in its original
purity and that the foreign devil and
his native imitators have been
thwarted."
Continuing, Mr.. Roberts said, s'Let
us take a glance at al evening scene
in the streets of Hong Kong. The
Chinese of course form the great sub
stratum of population, but permeat-
ing their hosts are tall, dark visaged,
red -turbanned natives of Hindostan,
Sikh policemen, as they are called,
while moving here and there by twos
or threes, or orderly squads, in neat
white uniforms, are the fair-faced
soldiers of Britain, their quick step
startling the leisurely- gated Asiatics
from their roadway. An occasional
Parsee, Bengal or European trader,
or a struggling Japanese or a Malay
sailor about completes the human
types met with, while a pandemonium
of barbarous tongues, of bugles, ac-
cordeons, squeaky Chinese flutes and
fiddles and a commingIing of electric
lights with dangling Chinese lanterns
| give the principal sounds that greet
the ear and the objects that attract
the vision"
At Nagaski, Japan, Mr.. Roberts
found a people whose every move
ment appeared to denote satisfaction
with their lot in life. Instead of the
haggard, suspicious Chinese physiog-
nomy, he was greeted on every hand
with CHEEKY smiles and the, to him,
unusual spectacle of male and female
enjoying equally every privilege of
outdoor sports and dissipation and
likewise sharing equally every class
of labor. The ship he vas on was
coaled by coolies comprising both
sexes, who worked and joked side by
side all the day and night he remained
there. The natives of Nagaski were
much elated over the arrival of a
captive Chinese battle ship, and they
would point with pride at the numer-
GUS evidences of deadly work by
Japanese shot and shell upon her
decks and hull. AS the ship left the
harbor of Nagaski they were enter
tanned by strains of "Home, Sweet
kHome," from the band of the United
States steamer Charleston. Then the
ship proceeded through the Inland
Sea and the vision rested upon Ger
glories that should only be described
by poets to the manor born. Island
after island the good ship sped by,
each apparently vieing with the 9TH
ers in presenting some peculiar charm
of outline or disposal of heritage upon
its fertile valleys or garden-terraced
slopes.
For numbers and variety in shape
and rig the sailing craft of this sea
certainly beats the world, MFR. Rob
erts says. They YER constantly in
sight ON every hand and sometimes
hundreds could be counted within the
eyes range. Some were rugged old
style junk, others half junk, half
yacht, others entire foreign masts
and sails upon a hull of Japanese or
Chinese junk pattern. They were
suggestive of the transformation from
Oriental to Occidental methods that
is now said to be prevalent through
out the Mikado's realm.
At Kobe he found more captive war
ships and great enthusiasm among
the people who came to view them
During the four days stay in Yoke
hama his ship vas moored near
enough the United States steamer
Baltimore for him to hear national
airs from her band every morning al
the hosting of "Old Glory" A
monster Russian battleship unfortu-
-uzno,, fba 3Raltimnre'i as