Nelson Chronicle, Colne Observer, and Clitheroe Division News. — 1900-06-22 (Nelson, Lancashire, England)

FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 1900.  THE SUICIDE OF CHINA.  LIE rupture in China which has been sprung upon the world is an incident of the gravest character, apart altogether from the acts of violence which have accompanied it, for it is not unlikely to prove a preliminary to the entire break-up of the Chinese Empire. Nominally the Boxer movement is a protest against foreign aggression, and in all conscience China has of late years had to stand enough from foreign Powers, which have lone after the other appropriated large portions of territory without so much as a "By your leave!" But even if it should be granted, as in fairness it must, that the feeling of the Chinese towards all foreigners is one of justifiable resentment and hostility, there is good reason to believe that the Boxers, far from being impelled by genuine patriotic sentiment, are merely the • puppets of the autocratic and scheming woman who at present holds in her unscrupulous hands the reins of imperial power. The recent resuscitation of the Reform party and its overthrow by the Empress, to the accompaniment of ruthless measures of retaliation, are events of too recent occurrence to be ignored in seeking the true inwardness of the present outbreak. Unquestionably the Empre,s is fomenting the Boxer movement for her own purposes, and for the massacres of European missionaries and native Christians, which have for the last few days shocked the civilised world, she must be held responsble. Thanks to the footing which at icast half-a-dozen Continental Powers obtained in China a couple of years ago, Europe has a great stake in the peace and order of that country, and happily there is already at command on the spot military and naval force enough to quell the Boxer rising. Whether behind the Boxers there is a genuine national movement remains to be seen, but if so the work of the Powers will be of a far more serious character. General GORDON once said that the Chinese, properly disciplined and offi ci•ri,d, might become the equals of the best soldiery in the world. The tradition of his " ever victrious army " is still cherished by the natives, and the behaviour of the British Chinese regiment at Wei-Hai-Wei only the other day in rescuing the boundary delimitation officers and firing upon their own people is proof that GORDON was right. But under mandarin rule, which, like the Bourbons, has learnt nothing and forgotten nothing for centuries, the native soldiery cannot be called formidable, save in numbers. Absolutely without fear of death, and blindly obedient, the Chinese can only hurl themselves en masse against an invader, and if that. invader happens to be properly equipped with modern guns, the result is a foregone conclusion. The casualties sustained at the mouth of the Yangtse are deplorable enough, and, proportionately, all the ships engaged seem to have suffered about equally. The loss, however, was the result of a treacherous night attack, and was promptly avenged at the dawn of day by the mixed brigade of all the Powers. Without taking an alarmist view, it may be assumed: that there will be much bloodshed before peace is restored. The Boxers have proclaimed the Celestial equivalent of a 'jehad against all , foreigners; the central Government openly sympathises, and will not, or cannot, stand in the way. Hence the insurrection will have to be subdued by brute force let the sacrifice of life be what it may, for the struggle which has opened is one of civilisation against barbarism, and the success of the Boxer movement, if permitted, would fling the whole Celestial Empire into a state of chaos. But after quiet has been secured a greater task than the suppression of a lawless band of murderers will arise. Those European Powers—four of them up to date—whose subjects have been victimised in the Boxer massacres and in the measures which have been taken for the quelling of the insurrection will not be slow to require other satisfaction which is due from a Government which is again proved for the hundredth time to be incapable of keeping order within its own borders. That means unmistakably a further cession of territory—possibly a formal partition of the entire Empire into spheres of influence, a diplomatic phrase whose meaning is pretty well understood. The breakup of China is an event which has long loomed upon the political horizon, and it is almost incredible that the European Powers, who are working hand in hand with the United States and Japan, will be able, or will even try, again to patch up an Empire which is rotten to the ccre.