The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-07

salary of the secretary is S2625, which
at the present value of silver is more
than $1,000. There is a house in the
legation compound for the use of
the secretary, ana the position is by
no means a bad one. The interpreter
OF the legation is Fleming d. Cheshire,
a young man who is somewhere between
40 and 80 years of age. He is an American
who has lived in China for eighteen or
twenty years, and who speaks Chinese
huently. He has been connected with the
legation at Picking for years, and much of
his Chinese he learned in Peking. He
found that the only way to learn the Ian
guage was by living among the people,
and while he was studying it he shaved his
head and wore a Chinese pigtail, dres sing
in Chinese clothes. He kept this up until
he mastered the mandarin and common
dialects and he is now an indispensable
part of the legation. He is dark-faced,
black-mustached, very intelligent young
man. and he has house near that of the
Minister, in which he keeps bachelors
hall.
Quite a number of Americans are con-
nected with the imperial customs of China
The duties on exports and imports are col
lected by foreigners under an inspector
general, the famous Sir Robert Hart.
There are about 1000 men in the customs,
and these are scattered all over China.
They receive good salaries, but they are
entirely subject to Sir Robert Hart, and
they are more afraid of losing their offices
than our Government clerks were before
our civil service rules were inaugurated.
They tell a story in Peking in illustration
of the arbitrary way in which Sir Robert
Hart makes his changes. They say he has
a great board fastened against the walls of
has hall, IN which there are pegs, each OF
which bears the name of an official. The
holes are marked with the names OF the
different positions, and If John Smiths peg
IS IN the Shanghai hole it shows that John
Smith IS In charge of the customs at Shang
hal. Now and then the inspector-general
comes home very late. He may have been
out to dinner. He may have taken little
champagne, and upon getting into his own
hall ne may bunglingly use this board as a
hat-rack. In doing so he may knock down
number OF pegs, which his Chinese boy
sticks back at random before his imperial
highness gets up. When he comes out in
the mornlng-so the story goes-he looks
with little surprise at the appointment
board.
"Ah," says he, "John Smith has been
changed from Shanghai to Hankow. | had
forgotten all about that. | must send off
the order at once"
And off it goes. Tom Jones, who was
getting $4,000 year at Tientsin, is like as
not put off to Annoy, where the salary is
halt that, and all sorts of queer changes
occur
The head of our consular service in China
is Thomas r. Jernigan, the Consul General
at Shanghai. He is a straight, slender
North Carolinian of about As, who got his
nrst diplomatic experience as Consul to
Kobe, Japan. He is a gentleman, and he
has proved himself to be a much better
diplomat than those who have given him
orders. he held on TO the two Japanese
students who were afterward tortured to
death until hereceived positive orders from
Secretary OF State Gresham to give them up,
and ne then acqulesced almost under pro-
test. Mr.. Jernlgan made a most efficient
Consul at Kobe, and he is a refresh
ing change from the incompetent,
broken down politicians who have
held the place in the near past.
During my stay in China the position was
held by the Vice-Consul-General. a namby-
pamby Anglomaniac dude, who went by
the title of William Dulaney Hunter, and
who licked his lips in order to make his
words soft and girl-like. The Marshal of
the legation was George A. Shufeldt, q son
of Admiral Shufeldt, very good fellow,
and its brains and standing were at this
time kept up by Walter S. Emons Young
New Yorker, who has lived in Shanghai
for some years, and who was acting as one
of the Judges of the mixed courts and in
terpreter. He has since left the legation
and is now one of the partners in a large
trading company in Shanghai The Con-
sui at Tientsin is Sheridan P. Read, who
was for some time connected with Russell
q Co., and who is related to ex-Secretary
Foster and Josiah Quincy, some time since
Consul. Connected also with the consulate