The sun., 1906-02-07
Is Revolution in China Imminent"

The announcement that the British
Foreign Office means to send forthwith
ten regiments of troops with their equip
ment and supply to Victoria, British
Columbia, viewed in connection with our
recent despatch Of an additional mill
tary force to the Philippines, bears
witness to the apprehension of general
uprising against foreigners in middle
and south China, coupled with reso-
lutte attempt to overthrow the Manchu
dynasty. What is likely to be the atti-
tude of foreign Powers toward such a
movement?
SO far as the protection Of foreigners
resident in China and the enforcement
Of treaty rights are concerned, it might
at the first glance be expected that all
the Powers interested in China would
act in harmony. Ostensibly and tenn
porarily all might do so, but all are not
believed to be equally sincere in the
professed desire to uphold the present
Pekin Government ands to preserve
intact China's territorial Integrity, No
careful observer of Germany's Chinese
policy imagines that the Emperor WILL
IAN is content with the acquisition Of
Kiaochou, in view Of the fact that the
high handed seizure of that harbor and
the contiguous district was followed by
initial steps toward the exploitation and
absorption Of the great province of Sham
tung.
That Russia has not reaounced her
project Of expansion at the expense of
China, but has merely shifted her geo.
graphical objective, must be inferred
from the demands made at Pekin by
the Russian Minister, who is engaged
in negotiating a treaty by which he may
secure concessions equivalent to those
recently granted to Japan. We learn
that he lays most stress upon mining
grants in Mongolia and commercial
privileges in Chinese Turkestan. The
latter demand implies a reversion to the
plan partly carried out in 1871, when
Russia seized the province Of Kuldja and
retained it for ten years. If this prov
ince and Kashgar, from which YAKUB
Khan was ousted by the Chinese, should
through an assertion of commercial
ascendency fall ultimately into Russia's
hands, the whole of central Asia west
of the desert of Cobb would lie within
the Cars dominions.
Much more serious, from the point
of view of Chinese independence, is the
claim brought forward to mining con-
cessons in Mongolia and to special privi-
leges at Urga and Kalgan, important
posts on the Siberian caravan route,
the last named town being only 1875
miles northwest Of Pekin. Under the
circumstances it is obvious that neither
Russia nor Germany can be trusted to
make any strenuous effort to uphold
China's territorial integrity, and it must
also be admitted that since Japan ac-
quired lease of the Liaotung penin-
sula, together with important railway
and mining franchises in Manchuria, she
is much less deeply interested than she
was three years ago in averting par
tition of the Chinese Empire. AS for
France, notwithstanding her entente
cordidle with Great Britain and her ami
cable relations with the United States,
she could hardly be relied upon to oppose
Russia's programme in Mongolia and
Turkestan. The main burden, therefore,
of sustaining the present Pekin Gov
ernment, to which We owe our CONNER
cisl privileges sd which Of late has