The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-04-18

ins msn in free trade Ensiapd work higher wage. than does the worlsins man in the protected countries of Eu- rope.
 TAe Turin Pnnsees.
 Is q tarif a panacea. then. in the commercial world ?rhe genesis of the American tarin bill. and President Taft's summoning of . special session of congres. to deal with 1t. are very instructive In this connection. We are told by the opposition. (and the state ment is true. though their deductions from 1t are not) that nothing 10 more harmful to business than uncertainty. President Taft has said the same. but he ascribes the paralyzing uncertainty in his country to the tariff. Tariffs do not relieve the commercial world from uncertainty; what they do is to intro duce an extraneous element of self interested motives into the political world.
 Tn carrying out their hospitable prac- tfce of entertaining distinguished per sons. the Authors Club have never had as their guest e more interesting man than Sir Robert Hart, who q few nights since occupied the place of honor at a dinner of the club at whitehall court. Following the usual rule at these func- tons. there was a set subject for com versation after dinner, and the selec- ton of the Far East as the topic gave the company the opportunity of hear ing something of China from the lips of Sir Robert Hart, whose long of1f- cial connection with the Chinese Em- pfre enables him to speak with greater authority than any other Engifshman.
 Sir Robert said in part:
 The Chinese are in Q general way. Q homogeneous people. but, of course spread over some 100000 square miles of earth's surface. divided into some two dozens provinces. which are each large enough to be Kingdoms themselves the smallest having a pop ulation of six or seven millions, and the largest of sixty or seventy. while there is general similitude. there are in- finite differences. the outcome of cli- mate, environment. occupation, etc. The Chinaman of today may be considered the product of heredity, education and custom. Ask him why he does so sond so. he replies: Berry old custom" and that old custom has come down through perhaps . hundred or more generations. and is now as much part of his nature as acquired habit could possibly be.
 Possibly. heredity has had more weight in China than elsewhere. its influence coming down from a far away past into the life of today in 8 continuous stream. and with so little disturbance from without among that exclusive and seif-centered people. Education In China has been of its own kind. and has had for object ra- ther the formation of character and the performance of duty than the spread of what our Western world considers knowledge. The great teach CT to whom all China has long looked up was .of course. Confucius. who lived some 500 years before Christ; he did not claim inspiration or originality; he simply .transmitted" the wisdom of ed man in his position in the world of men. and taught him his duty in that environment. You have husbands and wives--you have parents and children you have brothers and sisters--you have friends and relations--you have neIghbors and acouaintances--you have your Emperor and his representa- tives. the officials. Each of thees re. lations has It's duties; fulfil them and you will be right--fail to fulfil them and i'll will follow"
 No Preof Required.
 There is nothing controversial nothing that requires proof-in such teachings, and so sensible man-and the Chinese are very sensible people accepted the Confucian- teaching, rev. cred it. and lived the life. The Con- fucian books Illustrate many points connected with character and life and every Ci1inaman who could give his children any schooling sent them to teachers who taught them these simple truths, and the influence of such teach ing permeated the whole social edifice, and is not restricted to the library or schooiroom. The result Is q singular ly law-abfding people, intelligent fru- gal, industrious. and contented. They have, during their long life and ex- periences of possibly every kind. and the outcome is common sense view of life and it's surroundings. The teach ing has. however. the defects of it's qualities: 1t has been excellent for do. mestic use, but, for foreign intercourse it does not supply what the times call for--the strength which enables a peo- pie to hold it's own against assailants Circumstances have forced this on the attention of government and people. and a new departure is being made. Confucian teaching will not monopo- ike the studies of the future. and all that science can teach, or ability to do can perform. will sooner or later be possessed in full. and this change will 6mecr the 1nSLructlOnal DaiHnce oL tuo future, and will necessitate from the future a kind of action that the past has not had to provide for.
 The Chinaman is, however. in no hurry; he takes, things quietly and goes slowly. but he will go surely. Years ago the Prime Minister. Wen Haiang. said to me: "Ypu had better let us sleep on; if you VII awaken un, we'll go further and faster than you'll liks:" They are awake now. and the new le@rning is at work all over tfs country, but mistakes will be made and the crop will not yield so much or so quickly as has been anticipated. It ia no easy task to force 400.o00,Oo0 peo' pie into line. and yet time Will see changes, and the apostles Of the new learning will have scholars. and the end will be the product of evolution at work. and the Attest will survive. !. The government. marching with the