New-York tribune., 1899-05-14
DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA.
,oRp CHARLES BERESFORD'S REPORT
TO THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE..
NEED OF THE "oPEN-DooR" PoLICY-ARMY
PRACTICALLY USELESS-AMERICAN
TRADE GROWING.

In EpDrOdTN OI iIlS year AuIlllIdl l<OTQ NUdIicS
Beresford passed through the United States on
ts way from China to England He had been
.tudying the questions of commerce and trade of
Great Britain and the whole Anglo Saxon race
nth China. at the request of the Associated
rbambers of Commerce of Great Britain He
landed in San Francisco on February 10, and
sailed from New-York on March 3. Since his
return TO England he has been employed upon
,be work Of drawing up his report to the Asso-
c,ated Chambers of Commerce. and this work is
,ust now published under the title OF "The
preak- Up of China" in one volume, by Harper
Bros.
Lord Beresford visited the principal cities
along the Chinese coast In almost every in
stance he was received by the viceroy OF the
province who not only expressed his opinion
on commercial and political matters. but al
most Invariably allowed the British Admiral
70 visit the arsenals. navy yards and barracks
of the Chinese troops, and requested him to
write his opinion Of the condition of the army
and navy The author after making inquiries,
receiving opinions and talking with British,
American and German merchants in the differ
ont cities is Of the opinion that unless the policy
of the "open door" is enforced In China in the
near future 1t is more than probable that the
(hlnoSe
and partitioned among the European Powers.
The "sphere- influence" method Of partition
Ing China is. in his opinion. dangerous, since 1t
constantly causes International complications
which disturb trade To-day France, Germany
and Russia are all in possession OF certain por-
tlons Of the Chinese Empire, each of which
norton is under what is called the influence
Of its Government-that is. trade with that
&c ipnit ted ErpnChmPn.
Germans or Russians. as the case may be. If
this policy is enlarged there are many diff
culties likely to follow. not the least of which
will be strained relations between the European
Powers. not only in regard to commerce and
trade but in the matters Of boundaries and of
government on the other hand if the integrity
Of the Chinese Empire is maintained and the
entire country thrown open to the trade of all
nations, the resources OF China are nkey 10
benefit the whole world.
Without specifically going into the question
Of the increasing Russian influence in China.
Lord Berceford shows In the reports received
by him from different viceroys that although
some years ago Americans and Englshmen
were respected more than any other foreigners,
and Russian influence has become
Nan King intimatcd that formerly in the prov
ince under his control the name Of Britain was
better respected than that Of any other, but
that now the name Of Russia is most feared"
When this Chinese officer heard that two thou
sand troops had been put at Lord Beresfords
disposal for organization according to European
methods with view 10 demonstrating. If posi-
be that the organization of the entire Chinese
Army was feasible. he said that such q pro-
&C oe6ing. II carried out. would lead to the dis
of China az other countries would
insist upon acting similarly in various parts Of
the empire 1t appears that His Excellency
took different view from that OF other viceroys
on the question OF China asking Great Britain
for assistance He said that Russia would not
allow China to do anything Of the sort
CHINA'S ARMY USELESS.
With the exception OF one division Of the
army. under the command OF General Yuan
sh- Kai. consisting Of about seventy-hve hun
dire d men, the entire Chinese Army. consisting
Of something like two hundred thousand men,
Is practically useless. Not the least interesting
portions of the book are two chapters. one on
Japan to-day from the commercial point OF
view and the other or some observations made
by Lord Beresford during his short months
stay in the United States.
NEED OF TRAINED ARMY.
The author recommends that some method be
adopted by which the Chinese Army shall be or
ganized under one head. drilled and trained by
European officers and fitted to maintain order
and protect personal property and life. whether
OF foreigners or natives within the empire, and
that the merchants Of any or all nations have
equal rights to carry commerce and trade
with all others in the civilized countries OF the
earth He sees less need for the increase and
training Of the navy, as the difficulties and him
derances to commerce In China to-day are inter-
nal rather than external These hinderances
are classified by the reports received from Chi
nese officials and foreign residents under the
general heads Of antiquated Chinese systems of
duties and tolls exacted on all the rivers run
ming from one province TO another and along
the coast the extraordinary amount OF piracy
which fourishes on all the waterways; the diff
Guilty Of receiving fair treatment at the hands Of
TAO Chinese inhabitants. who distrust any plans
Tr increasing trade, and the political compica-
lions arising from the control OF special terri
tories by European Powers. At Nan-King. for
instance. the Viceroy. Liu Kwen VI. gave the
following reasons for the difficulty of trade un-
der the present situation. and the probability OF
in the future:
First-That the llkin collectorates had been
taken away from the finances necessary for pro-
vincial administration. and were now devoted
10 paying the interests on a foreign loan; fur
ther taxation would be necessary to carry on
the Government.
Second-That the people were annoyed at
their taxes being paid to the foreigner.
Third-Because II was necessary to reduce his
military forces owing to want OF money
He added that there was a large number of
poor ana homeless refugees coming into his
province from the northern nart ~ KianoSu
flooded out by the Yellow River and that he had
not enough troops to maintain order among
them.
PIRACY INCREASING.
In Canton the Chamber OF Commerce sent
TO Lord Beresford. expressing the
views Of the British firms trading there concern
ing the difficulties Of trade. In the course of the
report they complained of the Indebtedness OF
the rules which governed the trade Of the mort