The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-21

SELF tOfRoCfuA on nIn uoue " MS Wnuom 0oE~
man partner.
The murder Of German missionaries fur
nished precisely the pretext required, and
the occupation Of Kiao Chou Bay, promptly
ensued, against which the Gear, az. We have
seen, had no moral claim TO protest. Recog-
mixing, on his part, that the hour had come
to throw of the mask, he proceeded, him
self, to occupy Port Arthur.
1t remains for France to show her hand,
and then we shall begin to hear the talk
about spheres Of influence which preceded
the partition Of Africa. It Is already evil
dent tina to Russia will fall all that part
of Chinese territory which lies north and
northeast of the Great Wall, and that Ger
many aims to control the whole province Of
Shan Tung, which is rich in mineral treas
ures, especially coal.
We may note, in passing, that 1t was
pointed out, years ago, by RIoHTHoFEN
that the naval power possessing the coal
fields of Shan TunR, which are easily &C.
cessible from the sea, would have a re-
doubtable advantage over It's rivals In the
Pacific. What France Is likely to demand,
a glance at the map will indicate. To com
mand the Gulf Of Tonquin she needs the
lSlHuu VI Ilhi IVAN bhu WIG WObbolh Ohu VI
the Kwang Tung province, including the
Lien Chou peninsula. She would thus in
| clude In her sphere Of influence the prov
inces Of Kwang So and Yum Nan, to which
she has long wished to become purveyor.
1t Is, Of course, absurd to suppose that
England and Japan will remain uncon-
cerned spectators Of o division of the
Chinese seacoast. They have 10 In their
! power, by concerted action, to nip the
whole scheme of partition In the bud and
to drive the Russians out of Port Arthur
and the Germans out of Kiao Chou Bay, or,
IL they do not desire to resort to such heroic
measures, they can secure for themselves
ample slices of the Middle Kingdom.
Great Britain secured not long ago from
the Pekin Government the right to fortify
certain points on the mainland near the
island Of Hong Kong, M she would, un-
| doubtedly, claim most of tho province of
Kwang Tung, including, Of course, the city
Of Canton, as within her sphere of influ.
ence. 1t would not be surprising II she
also insisted on occupying some of the
islands near Shanghai and the entrance to
the Yang-tse-Kiang.
1t Is more difficult to say what would be
uoho " chphht "hiShp oiICduy lOuBcu az
Wei Hal Wei, might be disposed to dis
pute the province Of Shan Tung with the
Germans. She would probably be satisfied,
however, with the province of Fuh Keen,
which lies directly opposite to Formosa,
contains some IS, 0Oo, 900 inhabitants, and
boasts of two treaty ports, Fuh Chou Foo
and Annoy.
Even IL the coastwise provinces here men.
toned should pass under the ascendancy Of
the five naval powers to which we have re-
ferred, there would still remain to the
Manchu dynasty an enormous empire, and
it would become the interest of its Euro
pean ~neighbors to guarantee its stability.
The reigning family would cease, however,
to nave any motive for residing in Pekin
after Manchuria had fallen practically un-
der Russian sway, and it would undoubt-
eddy choose q more southern city for it's
capital, either Nankin or some other place
further west.