The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-13
CHINA TRIES FOR EDUCATION Earnest Efforts Made to
 Learn of West. MUST HAVE A NAVY Some Incidents of The Big Budget
 Campaigu. Family Feuds Are Coming of It--Heavy Loss of Money Lender Be-
 cause of . ForEer Who
 Conamitted sui-
BY w. HAMILTON RHODES.

learn from the West can no longer be charged against the Chinese govern ment Since 1905 no less than four separate Imperial Missions have been despatched from Picking to Europe. There was in 1906 the important jour- ney of certain High Commissioners, commanded to examine and report on the political systems of the leading Powers, a Journey immediately follow ed by the famous decree promising Constitution for the Chinese Empire. Since then there have been two other Missions, sent out to investigate the working of representative institutions and to study the financial methods In different countries
 Today the Imperial Commissioners charged with the duty of -re-organizlng the Chinese navy are in England with view to examining the dockyards. ai- senais. and shipbuilding yards of the words greatest maritime Power. Lat or on they intend to visit France and Germany for the same purpose. The visit of this Mission goes to show that scheme which has been long con- sidered and discussed by the Chfnese government is now toAbe definitely cAf- ried out. The Inspection of the naval yards and bases of the Great Powers is step in a large and far-reachinB program for the reconstruction and re- organization of the Chinese navy. Whether the Mission has also been given authority to place orders for warships does not seem to be known for certain, but Is not improbable. While patriotic Chinese desire that the vessels of the future navy should be built in China. it is not likely that the native yards. with their present re- sources at least. would be able to un- dertake the work of constructing ships of considerable size and power. The Chinese government will. in any case, be inclined to observe caution in the work of reconstruction. They have not been fortunate with their navy in the past Their first essay in . fleet of modern vessels was destroyed by the French in the battle at Feocnow | in 1884. Ih the war With Japan ten years later China had a number of effi- cient and powerful ships, with crews drilled in modern lines. But bad ad- ministration. among other things. feft the fleet without proper supply of ammunition, with the result that the Japanese at the battles of the Kalu River and Wei-hai-wei swept China's naval forces off the seas
 Since then the Chinese navy has been a negligible quantity. There are three or four small protected cruisers. some |! !gunboats and coAst2pAtrol vessels. and small flotilla Of torpedo-b boats. Some | of the gunboats have been recently built in Japan. and Hong Kong. and in the native yards. and are employed on the rivers in the work of suppressing piracy and smuggling. In the sea- going vessels considerable efforts have been made in the last few years to improve the amount and methods of training. and occasionally practice cruises have been carried out But the | oir nN ahA the scarcity of well-trained officers and the difficulty of obtaining funds have all crippled the work of improve ment
 Studying In Japan.
 A number of students have been re- gently sent to Japan for naval train ing, while there have been allowed to serve as midshipmen on British war ships The Chinese are shaking of their apathy and striving to learn from the West, not because they admire the principles and practices of European civilization, but because they wish to obtain the strength to keep of foreign aggression and to assert their sover- eign rights in the face of the world.
 London theatre managers view with uneasiness the proposal of the Censor ship Committee to allow unlicensed plays to be produced at the risk of prosecution of manager and author for impropriety. Almost unanimously they declared this week that the Censorship, with a right of appeal to a higher au- thority, would be far better and more business-like than the complicated regulations proposed. Those in Central London. too. are unanimous In de- sire to continue to have their theatres licensed by the Lord Chamberlain. and not by the County Council as suggest ed.
 No meeting of the managers socia- ties in London has yet been held. but opinion of individual managers was overwhelmingly in favor Of opposing any bill that may be brought into Par llament to give effect to the commit tees report.
 So far, as the theatre managers are concerned, little fault Is found win the recommendation that a single h- cense should serve for theatres and music halls, both of which should be free to produce whatever enter tainment is thought most to the taste of the public. There Is no doubt that the production of playlets at variety theatres would. if the proposal become law, be enormously increased, and to that the theatre managers have no particular objection.
 The adventurous lady calling her. self Miss Sheilah ONeill, who recently
 
 for a taxi license to Scotland Yard, has now another daring scheme on hand She proposes to fly across the Irish Sea to spend Christmas with her rela- tiyes in Ireland. The machine, a bi- plane with several Improvements oD existing types of her own invention, will be delivered to her at Shellbeach in a few days. She will then begin to learn aviation, and in about a fort. night apparently will fly across to Ireland. This will be very smart bit of work. She has decided on every thing, even to her costume. It will consist of thick wollen jersey. a cap, and knIcker- bockers She Is not a bit nervous about the feat. Anyone. she says, who has guided taxi through the mazes of London traffic is not go. ing to be scared by journey in mid air. There is clearly a new and very remunerative occupation open to all the unemployed hansome cabbies # they only knew it.
 Suicide Was . FOrgeP.
 A good deal of attention has been excited by the statement in a Sunday paper that firm of money-lenders has been very heavily hit by recent sui eide of a gentleman who was suppos- cd to be possessed of considerable wealth. The story goes that some eighteen months ago he negotiated sJme bills with a firm of money -lenderS on the strength of the signature of a well known and worry wealthy Peer Those hiIta when they became dna