The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-01-09
81 FEAR"

Virgil no mean poet of his day, and
a gentleman who was in close asso-
citation with the best thought and the
most powerful men of his day, when
depicting a period of warfare long an
terror to his time got off the following
line which has been quoted over and
over again. Virgil was describing the
Trojan war; a matter which interested
the politicians of that remote age, but
which would probably not get more
than ten lines in a newspaper of the
present day However both Homer and
Virgil made good slash at it, and New
Workers, Londoners, Parisians, San
Franciscans, and Chicagoans manage
to pick up something of the past litera-
ture.
Among virgips lines there occurs to
ones mind,
Equo ne credite, Teucri
Qucquidsid est, timco Danaos ct dona ierentes.'
That is the position in the Chinese
question at the present moment. That
the Chinese mean what they say no
sane man could believe, outside. of
diplomatic and official circles. The
Chinese government has pretended col
lapse, just as the warriors, depicted by
Homer and Virgil some two to four
thousand years ago. respectively, got
out of their difficulties by telling lies
and afterwards accepting hard knocks.
1t is quite an interesting question
whether the Tsung Ii Yamen is not
a direct descendant of some of the
Homeric chieftans, and whether the
spirit of Achilles, PatrOclus, Dardanas,
and many others does not inspire that
supposed august body.
But no! the gentlemen of the Tsung
Ii Yamen have never shown them
selves skillful in anything but retreat
and they have accomplished that in
very prompt form when required. What
the American and European pawers are
now negotiating with are these Tsung
Ii Yamen men and the court. To the
surprise of many people, to the salts
faction of others, the Chinese govern
ment practically says: I'VE have made
pretty bad break We are sorry for
what has been done. A few mission
.
some employees of the railroads have
been accidently killed, we have got
away with a merchant or two, but all
/ this was to our absolute personal ad-
vantage"
/ Now, in a very uncomfortable way
the western powers have taken pos
session of Picking, their troops are
boiling their camp kettles in the most
sacred of the Chinese enclosures, and
what in heavens name can be done,
say the Chinese grandees. Up to the
( present they have hoped for the annihi-
lation of the foreign devil" by the in
! tervention of the Gods. But there must
be realization among the Chinese that
the Gods are on the side of the big
gest and best drilled battalions.
Having realized all this, the Chinese
government has, suddenly, to the sur
prise of the Western Powers asked for
an armistice, The German operations
have made the Chinese ruling powers
very uncomfortable and anything
would be preferable to their continu-
ance. 1t is probably one of the clever
est moves that that astute fox Ii Hung
Chang could have played. He under
stands the Western Nations thorough.
ly. His surprise at the orders of The
court is well acted, but should take nC
one i'm. 1t is this sudden apparent
acquiesence in the Western view which
should be so thoroughly distrusted.
1t was a most damnable creed il
Europe some six or eight hundred years
ago that no faith should be kept with
the Saracen, and Europe paid dearly
for the fallacy. 1t is undoubtedly 6
similar idea which inspires the Chinese
government. Their ready acquiescence
in the Western demands, means only
a determination to get the West by the
hip, as soon as it withdraws its mill
tary power. 1t is a real case of fearing
the Greeks (the Chinese) and the gifts
they bring" What the Chinese govern.
ment is after now is to put the West
erners off their guard. However the
Chinese do not understand the persis-
tence of the Western race.