desires of his hosts. No such limit, however, was imposed on the frequency of his contributions to the coffers of the Dowager Empress, and during his viceroyalty he poured countless sums into the exchequer of that masterful lady. In return, according to common rumour, he has unquestionably received good measure, pressed down and running over; for through good report and evil report she has invariably supported him by her influence, and though she has not been able to save him from disgrace, she has succeeded in breaking his falls and has prevented his being trodden underfoot by his enemies. But not only are the coming guests welcomed, but the parting guests are speeded on their way by similar kind attentions. It is almost as temporarily ruinous to a man's pocket to receive an appointment as it is to return to Peking after the occupancy of a fat post. So completely is this system looked upon as a matter of course that it is part of the ordinary business of the native bankers to advance the money required by penniless aspirants to office. Not long since a well-known official found that he was expected to pay nearly a million. sterling for his appointment to a rich charge. Having no means of his own, he betook himself, after the usual custom, to the bankers, who formed a syndicate to supply the amount. In due time the money was paid and the official entered upon his duties. Unfortunately the bankers, possessed with a vaulting ambition to recoup themselves at the earliest possible date, pressed unreasonably for the return of their money. In vain the mandarin set all the usual machinery at work to gather in the spoils; and so increasingly exacting became his creditors that he was driven to make the fatal mistake of out-heroding Herod in his demands for illegal taxes. For a time the people possessed their souls in patience, but at length the point of endurance was passed, and a loud outcry against his avarice and cruelty went up to the Throne, with such circumstance and persistency that the Emperor was obliged to remove him from his post. The dismissal of this man was an unmixed good. The people were relieved from an intolerable tyranny; and the man himself was punished for his misdeeds. As to his bankers, it is unnecessary to waste compassion on them for the loss of their money, more especially as they have since doubtless repaid themselves by later and better conducted enterprises.

In every practice, however bad, it is possible to find some trace of good, and we cannot deny that even this iniquitous system has one small advantage. It unquestionably exercises, as a rule, a moderating influence upon the conduct of the mandarins. Men who have given such substantial hostages to fortune are less likely to commit themselves to any act which might interfere with their official careers than those who have no such restraining motive. Admitting that corruption is inevitable, it is well that this pecuniary obligation should serve as an additional inducement to them so to act as to retain their

offices until at least the completion of the three years term. The test of good government which is accepted at Peking is neither stringent nor heart-searching. If no widespread complaints are made, if order is preserved, and if the voice of the turtle is heard in the land, the presiding official is accepted as one who is worthy of further employment. The main object of every mandarin is, therefore, to keep his subjects quiet, and, as the case above quoted shows, this desirable state of things is plainly inconsistent with excessive extortion. Mean though the motive is, the necessity of repaying the debt incurred in the purchase of office superinduces a moderate attitude on the part of the mandarins, and puts a check on any unusual display of avarice. So far the people are gainers.

But it is still more patent that the widespread corruption is an almost insuperable obstacle to the introduction of reforms into the administration of the Empire. In a system by which there are vast potentialities for accumulating wealth, and where no shame attaches to the employment of official pilfering, it is impossible to suppose that the body of men whose sordid interests it so effectually serves would be willing to enact a self-denying ordinance to the detriment of their own pockets. The absence of all public opinion in China makes it hopeless to expect that a movement in the direction of peaceful reform can ever emanate from the people. Any progressive action, therefore, must be initiated by the official classes, and these are the last people in the world who would ever attempt to overthrow a system from which they derive so great and direct advantages. The only means by which reforms can be introduced with any chance of success is by so arranging that they should redound to the pecuniary gain of the central Government. The one enlightened measure which is credited to the Empire within the last forty years has been the establishment of the customs service, which is now doing such excellent work under the guidance of Sir Robert Hart. Having begun in a small way, this service now collects a revenue of over 22,000,000 taels, every tael of which is accounted for to the Imperial Exchequer, Blind to principle, and completely ignorant of political morality, it would have been hopeless to have induced the Government to adopt the innovation if it had not been possible to convince them of the very practical advantage which would acrue to the Peking Treasury from its acceptance. Under the old arrangement the custom dues were levied by the provincial authorities, who kept the lion's share for themselves and forwarded the surplus to the capital. The extraction of such substantial illegal gains from the pockets of these hereditary peculators was long and bitterly resented, and the proposal that the Foreign Service should collect the duties payable on cargoes carried in native craft as well as in foreign ships was successfully resisted. If when the success of the system by which foreign duties are collected by foreigners has become so plain and palpable it has

been found impossible to extend the arrangement to the collection of native duties, it seems hopeless to expect that any widespread system of reform in the administration of the province can ever be introduced. This becomes the more plain when it is recollected that, while the principal men whose incomes were affected by the customhouse reform might be almost counted on the fingers of two hands, any general reorganisation would affect the incomes of every mandarin serving outside the capital. The opposition to it would be, therefore, overwhelming, and any prospect of its institution must be relegated ad calendas Græcas.

The only possible directions in which progress can at the present time be made in China are those which can be brought about by the introduction of railways and the opening of mines, and we have lately been informed by Li Hungchang that his whole weight, whatever that may be, will be thrown in their favour. Such utterances. as Li favoured us with are easily made, and when it is expected that they will serve the useful purpose of supplying a quid pro quo in the shape of favours to be granted to China, we can readily understand his desire to give them publicity. But to make railways-to take their case first-in China is no easy matter. The same obstacle which makes administrative reforms impossible makes the construction of railways in the ordinary way next to impossible. Money is wanted for their construction, and this, putting aside the idea of a foreign loan, can only be obtained from the wealthy non-official classes. But these sections of the community know as well as others that to hand over money to the officials for the construction of railways is as futile a proceeding, except in so far as the advantage to the mandarins is concerned, as throwing it into the sea.

Two edicts have of late been issued on the subject, and both aptly illustrate the state of affairs described above. The first, which appeared last year, approved in principle of the construction of railways generally, and especially of a trunk line from Hankow, on the Yangtsze Kiang, to Peking. The edict was evidently designed to allay the fears likely to be entertained by possible shareholders that the management of the line would drift into the hands of the mandarins. 'We grant,' wrote the Emperor in condescending terms, the privilege of building the line to wealthy men and rich merchants of the various provinces, such as shall be able to show a capital of ten million taels and above, in shares or otherwise;' and he also points out the advantages which were likely to accrue to them from the increased traffic and the easy as well as speedy transmission of goods. At the same time they are assured that, as the line will be a purely commercial affair, the Government officials shall not interfere either with the gains or losses of the said company.'

The mercantile com

This benevolent pronouncement fell flat. munities have had some experience of mandarin-managed mercantile

affairs. The China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company' was a case in point. This undertaking was promoted by Li Hungchang, and while considerable sums found their way into the pockets of promoters and official managers, the shareholders were left with only small dividends with which to console themselves. 'Once bit twice shy' is a saying which has full force in China, and the invitation offered by the Chinese Imperial spider to the nonofficial fly to walk into his parlour was declined with thanks. This proposal having failed, the Emperor and his advisers are endeavouring to gain their end by other means.

A second edict has now been issued, in which it is stated that a loan of 30,000,000 taels has been raised in America for the construction of the line, and that, mirabile dictu, Shêng Taotai is to be the manager of the undertaking. It would have been bad enough to have put a mandarin of ordinary good character into the post, but to name Shêng for the office is to insure all the worst traditions of mandarin rule. Shêng is a man who has basked in the sunshine of Li Hungchang's favour, and who, like his patron, has filled his pockets from the proceeds of every undertaking with which he had been connected. It is notorious that at the outbreak of the war between China and Japan Shêng was commissioned to buy in Europe rifles and ammunition for the campaign. The result is well known. The weapons proved to be next to valueless. But, as it turned out, this was of no great importance, for the ammunition provided was so ill adapted for the purpose that it is difficult to imagine circumstances under which they could have been of any use. At the time he was dismissed from his office with contumely. But he is an able man and is well versed in the art of using his ill-gotten gains to smooth the way to future enterprises. The length of the line from Hankow to Peking is 700 miles. If the amount of the loan which is said to have been contracted in America is correct, it would give an average of between 5,000l. and 6,000l. per mile. This ought to be ample for the purpose, and we shall wait with some curiosity the fate of an undertaking which at least promises such excellent results for Shêng's pocket. Judging from the analogy of the one existing railway in China-that from Tientsin to Shanhai Kwan the line will be proceeded with so long as the money lasts, or until the funds are wanted for some other purpose. During the preparations for the celebration of the Dowager Empress's sixtieth birthday it was found necessary to stop the laying of the Tientsin. line, as the sums allotted for the purpose were wanted for the decorations of the Peking streets. Ex uno disce omnes, and with Shêng at the prow and Li at the helm it is possible that it will often be found necessary to divert portions of the funds in several directions.1

1 Since the above was in type a further secret edict has, according to a Reuter telegram, been issued, in which the sum required for railways has been raised from 30,000,000 taels to 40,000,000, twenty millions of which are to be furnished by the

The future of the mining industry in China shares the unfortunate condition of the railways. There is probably no other country in the world which conceals beneath its surface such rich mineral deposits as China. Every mineral from coal to gold exists in profusion, and might be a source of boundless wealth to the Empire. But here again official interference acts as a blight on all enterprise, and a recent attempt to open mines in the rich province of Szech'uen shows that the mandarins are as determined as ever to keep a tight hold on all such lucrative undertakings. It was proposed by some more than usually enterprising business men to form a company to develop the mineral resources of the province. They elaborated their proposal in the form of a memorial to the Throne, and in due course the document was returned to the viceroy of the province for his consideration. His answer was typical. He expressed surprise that private individuals should have ventured to have made such a proposition, and forthwith issued a proclamation warning the people to have nothing to do with the project, and ordering an official deputy to inspect the capabilities of the proposed mines. If the report should prove to be satisfactory he undertook to form a company to carry out the work. The result is not far to seek. If the work is undertaken at all, it will be done badly and the bulk of the profits will go to enrich the local officials.

Such being the condition of affairs in China, we may well despair of the future of the Empire. The whole system of administration is rotten to the core, and there is no sign or symptom of any effort towards progressive reforms. Ninety-nine out of every hundred mandarins are wedded by long habit and by personal interest to the existing system. A few men doubtless are conscious of a better way, but it would be a mistake to suppose from their rare enlightened sentiments that there is any disposition to throw off the trammels of corruption and wrong which have enwrapped the country for so many centuries. The whole weight of the nation is in the opposite scale, and the efforts of the infinitesimally small minority of would-be reformers can no more seriously affect the enduring outline of the national polity than the successive forests of beech and fir can determine the shape of the everlasting hills from which they spring.'

ROBERT K. DOUGLAS.

Tsungli Yamên from the last loan, and the northern and southern superintendencies will furnish 3,000,000 and 7,000,000 respectively.' Whence the remaining 20,000,000 taels are to come is not stated. This would seem to imply that the negotiations for the reported loan from America have broken down.