The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-08-06

AT moment when all China is in the
throes of an insurrecuonary movements.
which is principally directed against
the foreigners and which has for its
aVOWed object the exclusion OF the
white races from Chinese territory,
there comes from the Roman Catholic
Bishop Biet, vicar apostolic Of Tibet,
the news that the grand lama has is
sued an edict proclaiming religious lib
erty IN the Forbidden Land" and
that he has repealed the strict Jaws
prescribing death to any white man
VINO entered his dOminiOns without
permission, or who attempted 20 en-
gage in missionary work
That this totally unexpected piece of
Intelligence should arrive at this pre-
Use juncture Will appear less astonish-
ing when it is explained that Tibet, al
though nominally a Yassal OF China.
has always maintained species of
more or less open resistance to the
wishes Of the Pekin government, 50
much so. that it was sufficient for the
Chinese authorities to desire a thing in
order to insure the gran1 lama doing
precisely the contrary. Hence it is in
Keeping with the past history of the
Fol hidden Land" that as soon as ever
the TEbetanS learned that the Chinese
had resolved to drive the foreigners out
or China that they themselves should
at once decide 10 throw their doors
wide open to the strangers.
Exclusion of the white races is the
natural instinct OF all duSky-hued ma
tiCns, alike in Asia and Africa. China.
Japan, Korea, the numerous independ-
ent states of central Asia, as we'll as
Arabia. Morocco, TUnis, Abyssinia,
" ere all closed II the foreigners in the
early part of the present century, and
whereas today iran can travel from
one end of Africa 10 the other without
firing a shot IN self-defenSe, it Was
impossible 100 years ago to venture into
the interior of the dark Continent With
out counting certain death at the hands
of the natives, who were firmly resolved
to keep the stranger from setting foot
on their territory.
Little by little the barriers thus
raised against the white races have
been removed. and Ole by one every
country has abandoned it's policy of eX-
clusiOn. Since the emperor of Korea
some fifteen years ago opened his ports
to foreign commerce ans sanctioned in
tercOurSe between his people and the
outer world, Tibet has been TO all in
tents and purposes the only land Of
the universe that kept it's doors closed.
1t is, therefore, a subject for COngratu-
lation that the closing year of a century
which has witnessed the throwing open
to western civilization of so many
Asiatic and African countries should
have been signalized by the removal of
the barriers of the last remaining ma
ton that had preserved it's soil ''unde-
filed" by the presence of the foreign
devils"
Inasmuch as the instruction is
spreading throughout the western and
southern portion of the empire, where
foreigners and native converts are be
ing tortured and massacTed in every
direction. the establishment of friendly
relations between the grand lama of
Tibet and the foreign powers will prove
of inestimable value to the latter. For
the Forbidden Land" instead of form
ing as hitherto an impenetrable barrier
against access to China from British
India, and from the Russian posses
SiOnS in central Asia, will, on the con-
trary, serve as a means of invading the
empire from a point which the Chinese
have always regarded as absolutely Sc
cure against all foreign attack.
Indeed, one may be tempted to be-
lieve that the grand lama has been
prompted to establish friendly relations
with the great powers by some idea Of
forming an offensive and defensive al
lance with them against China. For