Arizona republican., 1900-09-11

Sheng is an unusually handsome China man. with broad. open forehead. and he reveals few traces of the Mongolian except in the setting of the eyes. He impresses you at once as man of the world His manners are exquisite. and his courtesy is proveIbial but he has been guilty of breaking many promises. and in the cunning game of diplomacy he is an expert. If Li is permitted to carry on negotiations for the Chinese government it will be Sheng who will do the heavy work for his old master. He has great capacity, but his record shows that he is absolutely without scruples and that his rapacity far eX- ceeds that of the ordinary Chinese of ficial of high rank. He has been eN- posed again and again. but old Ii in each case has shielded him from dis grace and ruin.
 Ut is impossible to convince any Chinese of the value of time or of hon. esty in any diplomatic negotiations. Cunning is the chief weapon and they will attempt to use this in sowing dis sensionS among the powers. Perhaps the strongest card the foreign enVoys can play will be the stOppage of the tribute rice which at this season is be ing brought from all parts of the em- pire to the imperial granary. Without this rice it would be impossible to main tain the small army of officials and hangers-On about the imperial court. and hence it would be good stroke to tie up these loads of tribute rice until the government agrees to make re- pdration for it's recent acts. Nothing produces greater excitement in China in official circles than the stoppage of the tribute rice. for the yamens con- tain hundreds of officials who must b. fed and to buy this rice would require a very long purse.
 ENGLANDS HOLD.
 "England's hold upon China has been the rich trade of the Yangtse valley. which is worth all h. rest ct the em- pire. If England -a1 retain her grasp on the Yangtse she -un afford to see large territory g:a"tcd to the other powers. for she will s,ill cone out the victor. No one has any ided of the re- sources of this great valley. whose trade has only fairly begun U b. exploited. Tn fact. this valley alone is richer than the whole of South Africa. and. prop erly handled, will bring in d much larg- CT revenue.
 When l was in China l frequently pointed out to diplomatic officials the folly of training the Chinese in arms. The people are good natural fighters if they have any confidence in their off cers. but from the way the Chinese army has been handled it is a wonder that any fighting can be got out of it. A governor of a province is supposed to maintain so many men. but when was in China not one of these felloW-. except Iii Hung Chang. ever attempted to keep his military force in efficient condition. Here is the way the thing is managed: The viceroy or shantung. for instance. is supposed to have 3 2.009 men under arms. He actually has this number on the books and draws q few cents day for each and a ration of 1iae. Instead he will probably not carry 'oo men. but will depend upon forced leVies should any ceremonial occasion arise in which he must produce troops. He keeps banners and uniforms in stock and he can swell in a day his beg garly force to the full complement of '',ooO. Meanwhile. the pay and ratlons for this dummy force cut no small figure in the revenues of his office There is no efficiency among the men and the greater part have no modern weapons. Give the Chinaman good weapons and proper drill and he makes an excellent fighter. who can march on small rations and who may be counted on far better than most Orientals."