The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-14

tiated times without number, where the
missionaries have been selected as interpre-
tiers, as advisers. as heads of educational
institutions supported by the imperial gov
eminent, and last, and most significant Of
all, as custodians and distributors of funds
supplied by the government in times of
famine and pestilence and food A certain
class. bitterly opposed to missionary infiu-
ence, has endeavored to prove that they
are hated and despised by the imperial
officials. one exalted parsonage having been
quoted as praying to be delivered from
opium and ionaries"-bracketing them
together as two evils, the outgrowth OF
western teaching and example But, as
have shown, the facts disprove this; as in
dividuals the missionaries are not disliked,
nor is their religion despised, however much
or little ground it is making. The antagon-
ism manifested now and then is not per-
sonal. but political; an expression of dis
trust for all foreigners which is fostered
and Encouraged by the conservative literai
and by manadrins who perceive in such
hostility a sure road to the favor of the
dowager Empress. AS to this mysterious
potentate, a gentleman intimately asso-
''She is dazed and terrified by the impend
ing crisis; being woman. she Is naturally
conservative and clings to old customs and
methods. In the change that is slowly and
inexorably going on, she does not know
what to do. While she is fearless In the
advancement of measures of which she has
a clear comprehension, she is timid in
dealing with things which she does not
understand and whose possibilities for
good or evil are yet to be tested. She would
not hesitate an instant to order the be-
heading Of the Emperor himself II she
thought it would be for the welfare of con-
sentative China, but when it is a question
of meeting foreign encroachment she is
utterly at a loss"
TO PLACATE RUSSIA.
For this reason she has turned ready
ear to the counsels of Prince Ito and is
ready to follow his expressed wish ito
unite the yellow races against the white"
1t was this indecision also that led to the
restoration of Ii Hung Chang after his
temporary and enforced retirement upon
his return from Europe and the United
States. He alone of all her officials knew
and understood the foreigners and could
match their cunning with a cunning sur
passing their own. He had incurred her
cordial dislike, but at the same time she
was unable to dispense with his services;
nor will she or her successor, whatever
the outcome, be able to find substitute
for him. Ii Hung Chang is fixture. and
one that is remarkably wide awake, Chi
nese though he be. Up to this time the
dowager Empress has thought it the part
of wisdom to placate Russia, and as
man thoroughly versed in Chinese affairs
during the past forty years said yesterday:
whoever shakes the tree, Russia grathers
up the fruit" This same man, who is a
trusted adviser of the prince of the i'm
perial family, implored the government not
to give the Russians a foothold upon the
seaboard but to put them off, If it were
possible, with a slice of one of the less
valuable provinces in the interior.
''No." was the reyly, and a strikingly
Chinese view Of the question,
"the Emperor is the father Of the people;
the province you name is thickly settled,
and should he give it UP he would be plac-
ing his children under an authority which
they do not know; the land in Shingking
is thinly settled; there are not many Chi
nese, and he will give them that"
The advantages of Port Arthur as a ma
val station for Russian war vessels, enabl-
ing them to concentrate troops at the very
doors Of the citadel, was of no consequence
at least nothing to be considered COM
pared to the surrender of a part Of the
empire in which the Emperor's children"
are especially numerous.
AS matters now stand, Picking belongs to
Russia whenever she chooses to take it
with the permission or perhaps in spite Of
the rival powers.
CHINESE STUDENTS.
The Chinese are much slower than the
Japanese in adopting European inventions
and customs. but the Chinese show just
as much appreciation of foreign education
as do the Japanese. The mission schools
and universities are crowded with students,
and there are now in many parts of China
schools supported by the government, like
the new Imperial University in Picking.
where the modern languages, the natural
sciences and mathematics are taught, and
in which the young students, with their in
herited love of learning, are applying them
selves to their work with incredible dill
gence. Happy are the teachers in such
schools. There is no coercion, no driving
the pupils to their books; they are only
too eager and anxious to be taught, and
the schools hum with industry like hive
of bees. I visited a number Of these
schools; one literary society, in which all
the essays and declamations were in En-
glish, and in which the critics submitted
their reports in the same language. The
selections read were from Irving and Emer-
son, and they were read distinctly, intelli-
gently and appreciatively. I must digress
in order to explain that the criticisms re-
lated rather to the manner of the students
on the platform than to the subject mat
ter of the essay or defamation where the
latter was original. One young man was
taken to task because he neglected to bow
a shocking breach Of politeness to the
courtly Chinese. He was also reproved by
the chairman, a lad somewhat younger
than himself, who sagely advised him
never to forget to be polite" The fault
really lay in the embarrassment of the
speaker in the presence of strange foreign
ers and not to intentional disregard Of the
proprieties.
AS have said, the missionaries In the
of their schools have most
wis elv refrained from foreipnizinG their