The San Francisco call., 1898-05-20
THE PARTITION OF cHIha.

1I IHILE the partition of China was never dis l K / cussed by statesmen as proposition of prac-
 tical politics until the war with Japan exposed the weakness of the old giant empire as matter of
 fact the partition has been going on by degrees ever since the development of steam power in ocean navi- gaon brought the aggressive nations of Europe into close communication with the Orient. China has been shorn of many of her provinces, and partition Is already well advanced.
 The situation IS much better understood in the Orient than here. To the foreign residents of Chinese ports the partition Of the empire is not much a policy to be possibly undertaken in the future a process under way at the present time The Shang- ha Press recently pointed out that since 1858 the territory lost by China comprises the Amoor region, 2e883o square miles; French Indo- China, I4o63o square miles, Saghalien Island 24 $40 square miles, and Fornosa, 14,o78 square miles The last named island taken by Japan All the rest of the lost territory has passed into the hands of European powers.
 In addition to these wide regions of territory now clearly lost China has virtually surrendered control over Korea and Manchuria. Thus it will be that Great Britain France and Russia seized consider able part of the Chinese empire before they began dis cussng the advisability of dividing it. Each has taken care to have good share of the spells before ad-
 ntting that any spoliation was to be made The partition of China has, in fact been going at a rapid for years, and yet European dipomatists have sufficient composure of countenance to be able to discuss the subject if it were new proposition never before heard of.
 It is the consciousness of the extent which China has been pundered in the past that makes the various nations watch each other with such jealousy and picon now. They know that what was so easily done in the past be as easily repeated. More over, Germany has entered the field rival spoli- ator to the other powers and the competitor is not likely to be content with small share of the spells.
 In recent speech Lord Salisbury informed Parlia- ment that Great Britain had taken Wei Hai Wei to encourage Chinese reform and to show Japan and Korea naval power" The phrase is good one, but the encouragement of reform and the display of naval force might have been accomplished without sezing Chinese port directly opposite the port taken by the Russians. There Is suspicion that Salisbury desired to make show of power for the warning of other people than those of Korea and Japan
 Even after the extensive spoation of territory to which the empire has been subjected, there remains to China territory larger than that of the United States. It is known to have coal fields more than twenty-five times as extensive as those of Great Britain, and is rich in gold, silver lead tin and iron It contains upward of 3oooooo industrious people and is the largest single market in the world The temptations greed are therefore immense and if the United States expects to share in the Chinese trade for the development of the commerce of her Pacific Coast she will have to keep close watch on what is being done there from this time forth.