The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-09-11


The Chinese seem to be winning all
along the line. Everything that the
powers appeared to gain at the time
of the occupation of Picking has been
lost, bit by bit, and now the ultimate
settlement Of the question between the
powers and China seems as far away
az ever. The protocol still remains un-
signed, Ii Hung Chang remains too
sick to attend to official business and |
mo one else seems to have authority to !
act The hatred of the foreigner in
stead Of decreasing has increased. |
There is little chance of the indemnity |
being pail N it is due.
The official expedition of Prince Chun !
TO Germany, to personally apologize for
the murder of the German Ambassador.
has proved anything but what it was
intended that it should. The ceremony
will not be a public humiliation of Chi
ma, through her envoy, Tut Prince
Chun will have a private or semi-pri-
Vate interview with the Emperor, and
will read an address. What that ad-
dress may contain is by no means
known. 1t will be delivered by Prince
Chun in Chinese, and translated by the
Chinese Ambassador to Germany. 1t
might be well for the German court to
have some interpreters of it's own,
though after all that would not mat
ter. One may be perfectly certain that
whatever the address of Prince Chun
may be when delivered to the German
Emperor, it will not be the same ad-
dress which will be reported back to
the Chinese Imperial court
The only power that has made any
headway has been Russia. The govern
ment of the Car has got a firm hold
upon Manchuria, and once having got
its grasp upon it. it will never relax it.
cost what it may. When you have an
almost unlimited number of recruits to
y draw from, and can pay your soldiers
or not as it may suit you, why keeping
big army in Manchuria is the easiest
thing in the world.
The Western powers have been de-
feated by Chinese procrastination and
their own jealousies. Upon these latter
the Chinese reckoned. They are the
shrewdest people on the face of the
earth. 1t costs them no twinge of con-
science to say one thing today, and do
the exact opposite tomorrow. Such
conduct would be and is regarded as
meritorious in a Chinese statesman. In
dealing with the Chinese, the Western
powers are at a distinct DISADVANTAGE.
Their standards are distinctly different
from the Oriental standards.
Both Give and Warren Hastings
understood this in India, and always
maintained that unless you met Orien-
tai diplomacy with similar diplomacy
you lost the fruits of your material vic
tories. Both Of them were enormously
successful in India. and both of them
were bounded by opponents when they
reached home. Give was driven to
suicide in Claremont House. now occu-
pied by the Duchess Of Albany. Warren
Hastings was stripped of his honors
but lived to be received standing by all
the members of the House Of Com
mons, an honor which has occurred to
few If any outside OF Royalty.
To occupy Picking and then to eva
Suate 1t has only given the Chinese an
idea that the Western powers were
forced to leave. The Chinese cannot
understand magnanimity. He must
be kept under heel until he has per-
formed what he has promised to do. 1t
was exactly the same story when the |
French and the British combination
destroyed the Summer Palace of the
Emperor, and then negotiations were
entered into to stop the further adj
vance of the allied troops toward Pc
king. The Chinese to the present day
believe that the Emperor called down
fire from heaven to burn his own
palace, and that the portent frightened ,
1he "Barbarians" or Foreign Devils and
they retired panic stricken The in
demnity paid at that time was explain
ed as money given to the poor Devils"
in order to take them, home.
From all the above it would appear
that the future of Western policy in
China has not been by any means set
tied by the events of last year. The
Western nations have sacrificed both I
blood and treasure. They did succeed
in rescuing their representatives in re-
turn, and some Christian converts for
the time being, but beyond that they
have made little or no progress. The
anti-foreign feeling is as strong as
ever. The Boxer movement is said to |
be as strong as ever, and Chinese pro-
crastination is as successful as ever. |
The Western powers have not much to |
boast of.