The Van Buren press., 1897-03-27
cHlNA'S NEW CAPITAL.
plan to Forsake Picking for ne"
sent of Government.

Hinder the current of the conservative
existence of the Chinese empire there
is working the spirit of change. IL
is truth strongly displayed BY the re-
cent visit of Ii lung Chang, CHINA
most powerful viceroy, to the rest OF the
world: but it is even more clearly shown
nv the fact that in the empire 'rulea
by its ancestors, where any departure
from what has been is thought wrong
there is talk of changing the capital. AS
vet it is merely talk, but its existence
and the radical change with which IL
deals shows plainly the recent progress
of Far Cathay.
Hankow, the city proposed as the ne"
seat of government, possesses from q
commercial point of view, radical aa-
yantapes over Pekin, and this fact ID
urged as the strong reason for the
change. Situated in the center OF CHINA
proper. on the banks of its great artery,
the Yangtze, by which large steamers
can penetrate to the heart OF the city,
Uankow has a great future before 1t.
With the awakenlng,o of more progress
sive spirit in the empire, it must become
n place of prime Importance. 1t Is al
ready the center Of the tea trade IN the
Yangtze valley, and during the tea sea-
son of May and June ihis crowdedwlth
BUYERS from all parts of the world. by
far the largest portion of this trade Is
! in the hands of Russian merchants, put
other nations are represented in the
neighborhood.
For a considerable time the British
have had settlement about half mile
| north of the Han, large tributary oil
the Yangtze, from which Hankow, inter-
| ally the mouth of the Han, takes It's
name. The French have also been III
possession of grant. Some time age
the Germans, taking the initiative, ap'
piled for and obtained settlement about
a mile north of the British concession
| Russia, whose interests in Hankow are
very great, promptly followed and OBJ
| tanned land also bordering on the river
between the British concession and the
| French and German settlements.
| In these settlements the introduction
of improvements has been rapid. a
| bund, or esplanadc, has been construct
ed. and other work is under way and be
ing rapidly pushed forward. The rivel
| rises 40 feet when it is within shor'
| distance of the bund wall, but occasion
ally it is subject 10 flood, on which oc
casons it is necessary to take boats VI
and down the bund and along thu
| streets. Both sides of the bund arr
planted with trees, and from the rive
the British concession has a pleasing
| appearance, looking not unlike por
ton of Shanghai bodily moved up tn
Yangtze.
Through the work of Europeans an'
the native rulers, progress in the cit.
has been considerable. A railway ha
lately been projected between Pellin an
Hankow. Should it be continued to Can
ton, rapid transit of passengers an
goods might be made between the tw
latter places The long, roundabout
and sometimes disagreeable passage Vi
the Yangtze and the dangerous Chin
sea could be done away with At pleasure
and the journey itself accomplished i
perhaps less than two days.
Immediately opposite Hankow cit
lies Wuchang, the principal residence
the most powerful viceroy in the EN-
pire after Ii Hung Chang-Chang Cll
Tung. He is a man of strong intel
lectual power, and has brought abou
many reforms. AT Wuchang there ar
large cotton mills, and at Hanyang, o.
the Hankow side of the river, are larg
iron works and arsenal, the formatio
of which has cost Chang Chi Tung a.
enormous amount of money. His right
hand man, Tsai Tastai, is a well-edu
Gated and most gentlemanlike mar
Until quite lately Englishmen held mos
of the important posts. They have bee
gradually superseded by Germans. Gel
: man interests are being pushed forwar
in every direction. Even the troops a
the garrison and fort at Wuchung ar
being placed under German officers 70
instruction.
In Hankow there are no Europea
shops. Most of the necessities of life
however, can be obtained from nativ
storekeepers. The climate is extremel
trying to foreigners, the thermomete
frequently going up to 1o3 and 1O4 /
summer, with perhaps only two or thre
degrees difference between midday an
midnight. At sunset all breezes di
away and radiation sets in, making
summer night in Hankow thing to b
looked forward to with dread. The VIII
tiers are very cold, but during spring an
autumn life at Hankow is delight
Chicago Tribune.