Washington sentinel., 1901-03-23
How TIE Chinese Argue.
Sir R0'syf Hart, i4 He Foyt4igEkIy
Eeyfe5O

NEr RO'sTk Hdrf, ~ me FOrkQfghtI
Fevfe5O
The position the Chinese take up may
be said to be this: 1--WE did not invite
you foreigners here" they say" you
crossed the seas Of your own accord and
more or less forced yourselves on Us.
We generously permitted the trade you
were at FIRST satisfied with, but what
return drd You make2 To the trade W.
sanctioned you added opium smuggling,
and when we tried 20 STOP il you made
war on usl We do not deny Chinese
consumers kept alive a demand for the
drug, but both consumption and impor-
tation were illegal and prohibited
when we found it was running our people
and depicting our treasury we vaiDy
attempted to induce you to abandon
the trade and we then had to take action
against it ourselves. War ensued; but
we we're no warriors, and you won and
then dictated treaties which gave you
Hong Kong and opened several ports,
while opium still remained contrabaud.
Several years OF peaceful intercourse
followed and then Hongkong began to
trouble us; it was originally ceded to
be a careening place tor ships simply,
but situated on the direct route to the
new ports it grew into au emporium and
also, Gloss to our ports and rivers, II
became a smuggling centre; IN your
treaties you had undertaken a certain
control Of aEy junk traffic that should
spring up, but when that traffic became
considerable you dropped the promised
| control, and our revenue suffered.
Originally uninhabited, Hongkong now
became the home of numerous Chinese
settlers, many otthem outlaws who dare
not live on the mainland; these became
| British subjects, and you gave the British
flag TO their junks VIII 'ch were ore day
British and another Chinese just as It
suited their purpose, aud out OF this
came the arrow war, followed by new
| treaties, additional ports, legalized
opium, and fresh stipulations, in their
turn the causes Of fresh troubles
Your legalIzed opium has been a curse
| IL every province 1t penetrated and
/ your EEAA0dA " AlAAAAA VI ANNAN NdoN AAA@
import has forced us to attempt a dau-
| gerous remedy: we have legalIzsd native
opium-not because we approve Of it
but to compete with and drive out the
foreign drug, and it IS expelling It, and
when we have only the native produc-
ton to deal with, and thus have the
| business in our own hands, we hope to
| stop the habit in our own way. Your
| missionaries have everywhere been
teaching good lessons aud benevolently
opening hospitals and dispensing medi.
| cine for the rehei OF the sick and
the afflicted, but wherever they 60
| trouble goes with them and, instead oi
the welcome their good intentions merit,
localities and officials turn against them,
| When called on to indemnify them for
| losses, we find to our establishment that
| it is the exactions Of would be million
| aires we have to satisfy You
| have demanded and obtained the privil
eye Of trading from port to port on the
coast ard now you want the inlanC
waters thrown open to your steamers
| Your newspapers vilify our officials anS
government and, translated into Chin
ese. circulate very mischievous reading
but yet they have their uses, for, b.
their thu eats and sugg stiOns, they war;
us what you may some day do and 81
help us indirectly, although that doe
not couduce TO mutual respect or liking
All these things weaken official authOi
| lty-thereiore the official world
, against, and they hurt many nativ
r traders therefore the trading classe
! are indignant. What countries civ
e aliens the extraterritorial status' WIS
{ | countries allow aliens to compete
f their Soasting trader What countri'
c throw open their inland waters to oth'
flags? An6 vet all these things &c
e compel us TO grant youl Why can "
v not treat US ss you treat others"