Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-09
1.-THE POWERS IN CHINA
THOSE WHICH HAVE VITAL INTER-
EsTs IN THAT COUNTRY.
Something About the Attitudes of the
Various Countries Toward the
Celestial Empire.


/ jects which govern the policy OF each OIL
| them in the far east. For the moment the
| six powers which are sufficiently interested
| in China to make large sacrifices or run
| considerable risks are, so to speak, bound
\ together by the necessity of saving their
| legations or avenging the frightful insult
| which would be involved in their massacre
/ or Imprisonment us hostages; but each one
| of the six has separate designs, interests
| or fears future loss. The six are Rus
| sa Great Britain, France, Germany, the
United States and Japan, the remaining
| states of Europe either from absence OF
motive, as in the Austrian case, or from
! want of easily available force, occupying
\ rather the position of benevolent lockers on.
| Even Portugal, in spite OF the imminent
| danger of Macao, and Holland, with its
| thousands of Chinese subjects, must per-
| force await the unfolding of the drama
| without any substantial interference or
| the powers which will, and, indeed, must.
| act, Russia is, on the whole. the one most
| concerned 1t is absolutely necessary for
Russia, if she would turn her vast posses
sions in northern Asia to full account, to
possess herself by force by agreement
| OF ManchurIa and Corea, and at the same
time to keep a certain control over the
whole of northern China, sufficient, at all
events, to prevent sudden action, whether
warlike or popular, against her Pacific
provinces. She, therefore, desires an or
derby but weak China, favorable to herself,
| out IN any case not 1aNOTaDle 10 Japan,
which also desires Corea. To this end Rus
STA will use any necessary number of troops,
but will watch with Jealousy any Japanese
interference and remain almost morbidly
anxious that the new emperor or premier
| should neither be hostile to herself nor
strong enough to make a strong and inde
pendent China. Her natural. or, as 1t were,
instructive, course will be to help Europe to
defend avenge the legations, to dethrone
the empress, TO enthrone the emperor and
to construct under him fairly effective
governing committee or cabinet for the
res oratiOn of order. She might not have
influence enough with an Individual. At
the same time she will discourage the use
of japanese troops, and will pour into Man
churia by land and by sea all available
forces of her own, SO that, however affairs
may turn out, the thing she wants and
means to have will be in her actual posses
sion. The second power in China is Great
Britain. which has the strongest fleet off
the coast, and which can in month throw
10000 Englishmen, Sikhs and Rajpoots,
under competent officers, upon any given
point Great Britain has, 1t is true, no
territorial interest in China, her statesmen
dreading acutely the necessity for govern
ing any great number of Chinese, but her
commercial interest is very peremptory.
Not only is her trade with China far the
greatest of any State-for you must count
in 1t the Indian as well as the home trade,
which brings ii up to f2i.UN, pp-but she
regards China as the great market Of the
future, losing which she may, as her popu-
latiOn increases, lose much of her grand
prosperity. 1t is therefore a great inter-
est with her-an interest. II may he, worth
great war-that China should be so gov
erned as to be orderly and prosperous. and
that the empire, far, at least. as the
central and southern provinces are con-
cerred, should hold together and be indie
pendent OF any separate influence other
than her own, which. again, she has no
desire to push if her freedom to trade is
effectually guaranteed. Her position is
slightly complicated by the necessity her
government feels of protecting missionaries
but apart from that she does not wish to
annex any province of China, or to govern
China, or to interfere in any way with the
Chinese method of mana giug their own af-
fairs. Her natural. or, q ii were, instinct
i've, method Of action Will be to strengthen
her feet till it can guard the treaty ports
10 send as many Sikhs and Rajpoots to
Pekin VIII give her real weight in the
final settlement, and to support any en-
peror under whom a strong minister can
rule The stronger this minister the better
for British interests. provided he is fairly
just about trade and governs in the inter
est OF China rather than Of any separate
power She would regard a revolt of the
viceroys with apprehension, as tending
either TO partition or to an anarchy fatal
10 prosperity. and, therefore, to external
commerce, and in general would greatly
prefer an Independent and orderly China to
any other settlement
The third power interested in China is
France, because besides some trade. she
like Russia, enjoys a territorial contiguity
IndO China now French marches with
China, and was TIL recently counted among
the many dependencies of Pekln France
is always afraid of disturbance in Yunnan-
winch has just occurred-and always hop
Ing to obtain Yunnan and SZechucn-where
also there is disturbance-and thus to form
what would be in the aggregate n great
oriental empire. possibly self supporting
She has a considerable garrison in Tonouin
and can send strong division to Taku, but
her commercial interest in China is not of
the first class, and her territorial interest
desire Str
Her natural or instructive policy therefore
after the legations have been saved or
avenged, will be to support Russia, at the
price of her claim to Yunnan being fully ac-
knoWledged. 1t is difficult to Imagine any
cause strong enough TO make her step aside
from this policy. though she is a little
hampered by her claim. which is important
TO her in Europe. to he the right arm in
ASA or the Roman Catholic Church That
church is in frishtfuI danger in China in
faet; may he extirpated and the papacy
would resent bitterly any settlement Which
did not provide for its safety A settlement
on the Observation-Disclosures lines
would s" provide and France will have to
take that into consideration.
The fourth power interested in China is
'Iermany. She has a great trade to defend
she has hopes of sill greater trade. and
territorial dominion that she may uIti-
mately possess one or two provinces of the
empire IN fun sovereignty As she will
never get them from a strong China her
a n
m"rcial interest only. but it is probable that
TO avoid a great and risky adventure she
Will give this the preference In that case
hcF natural or instructive method will be 10
JON IN the concert till the legations are res
cued or avenged and then to support Great
E1ta1n, but always with the proviso that
she is not finally to surrender her own
hopes She viii not be anxious for a very
strong or independent China, hut will not
be hostile 10 one, or resist a settlement
which seems likely to be satisfactory to the
general commercial interest of Europe
America has no interest in China after
the LEGATIONS are protected or avenged ex-
cept the commercial one. She would not
accept territory If offered her and has no
desire for influence" if only her comTnerCe
Is 1ree and her missionaries protected
against outrage. These two objects how
ever. her statesmen appear to feel very
strongly. and they must in the final settle
ment induce her-almost compel her-to
support Great Britain, which alone on both
those points sees with her eve to eve Her
natural or instructive policy will be In Give
that support probably with an emphasis
better prnp0rtiOred to her great rank in
the world than to her immediate interest in
China. As she is always potentially n great
nd ~. -