The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-06

strengthen the growing conviction that my government is thoroughly in eay- nest in its efforts to suppress the opium habit. By the first decree Prince kung and three other high officials Iu Pe- king have been appointed members of an Imperial Commission whose duty is to find out and to see that all offs- cials addicted to the use of the drug In Picking and in all the provinces. are cured of the habit, and that in cas-. any opium smoking official should be discovered. he and his superior foe falling to report the same should be both punished. The second commands that all the members of the diplomastc and consular corps abroad must give up their noxious pipe at once. while those too old in age or too inveterate in the use of the drug to do so must retire from the service. Our people In
 foreign countries are also urged to exert themselves in putting an end tc the use of opium. But the more eo'. couraging feature is the attitude of tue
 people towards the opium question.
 From the time when our daily ph-
 ner was first moulded in a tiny shee[
 to the present day when 1t leads ana
 molds public opinion. only forty yeAIs
 have elapsed. Journalism has renecte1
 and kept pace with the awakening ok
 the Chinese Empire. The fathers or
 Japanese journalism had no realization
 of tho relation between their profess sion and the progress of human soci- ety but after the China-Japan war when the number of newspapers was doubled and trebled. the editors were recruited from highly educated men, who soon imparted a dignity and an
 importance to their ranks. Newspaper
 dom has made rapid strides In the past six or seven years, due to the ex- cellent standard set by the magazines
 edited and published by the Cninehe
 students who were being educated tn
 Japan, and is gradually approaching
 manhood.
 T could continue indefinitely in the
 enumeration of unassailable signs ox
 the awakening of China. When the
 Marquis Tseng wrote of the awakening
 his words were of handful or oihcials and a score of private individuals, anu these men were impressed more wlth
 the material strength and prosperity than with the mental equipment ana moral forces of the West. Batteshipa and cruisers, rifles and cannons, arsen- als, dockyards, steamships and loco l motives, these and these only arous-
 ed their interest. They wanted the | products of Western civilization with out adopting that civilization; they ad-
 mired the wealth and strength Of vest | ern nations without attempting to un- derstand western learning, western cui- ture. western philosophy, and western l religion; they wanted new scholars l without opening new schools, new Fe- suits without new causes, new china 1 without introducing new conditions. ] Again, the people at large were stiii l sound asleep, and followed the actions | of the progressive officials with lns
 difference, if not with hostility. Now the whole spirit of the people is changed. It is the people who de- mand a constitutional form of govern | ment, it is the people who send their sons abroad or to the new ,schoois at
 home. it Is the people who read the nr~s- l papers and create public opinion, It is | the people that initiate and carry | through the social and moral reforms and it is the people, in short, tnak | would like to see a new China
 | What does this awakening or. China mean to the world? To my mind, # | means, in the first place. true and last% | ing peace in the Far East. The mo- ment China becomes strong enough ar | ter her awakening to maintain her soy- | ereiRn rights and protect herself from 1 aggression, the Far Eastern question | will have been solved Again, tha
 awakening of China means the devel- | opment of commerce. and the day is 1 not far distant when the Pacific ocean | will rival the Atlantic with the mum
 Der of ships that sail on its surface. | The world will then witness an expan-
 sion of trade never before known in
 it's history, and this trade will also Da
 a safeguard in the interests of uni-
 Versal peace