down rebels and keeping the peace, and with considerable economy to the Government.

We have said nothing so far as to the respective merits of the policies of the 'open door' and of spheres of influence,' of which so much has been written, because we think that matters have gone much beyond that point. The one issue is whether British influence or Russian influence shall be predominant in Peking-and when we say British we mean Anglo-Saxon, for we hope we may count on America; and this need not exclude German co-operation. If British, we know that that influence will be used to keep the door open to the trade of the world. There may be at the same time spheres of development, which in that case would be spheres of peaceful exploitation. To that there could be no objection, and probably it would have considerable economic advantages. Two competing companies cannot, with advantage to themselves or to the nation at large, build railways in the same place and at the same time.

There

is room for all, and there need be no jealousy. But if Russian influence were to prevail at Peking, spheres of interest would soon become spheres of dominion. The door would not remain open long, and each Power would be forced in self-defence to make the most of such territory as it could lay hold of.

In that case a most serious problem would be before this country. There are few, we suppose, who would advocate a complete submission to Russian domination. If the worst came to the worst the country would doubtless say, 'At least we must keep hold of the Yangtze Valley.' But few have probably considered what that means, and how, in the case supposed, we are to accomplish it. In the first place the Yangtze Valley is an area as large and as populous as the whole of Hindostan, excluding Madras. Assume that we were to annex at one gulp the whole of Bengal, the North-West and Central Provinces, and Bombay; we shall then have some idea of what the task of government would be. An area of half a million square miles and a population of two hundred millions-the most intensely conservative and bigoted in the world-cannot be disposed of as one disposes of a waste in Central Africa. Even if the disruption of China were complete and the central authority had ceased to exist, it would probably be more than all the military force of the United Kingdom could cope with for a number of years, for it would be folly to expect that we should be received with open arms by the people. The annexation of a few hundred square miles in Kowloon, even though the cession was made by the central Government in due form, gave the

Hong Kong authorities no small trouble, and required all the available forces in the colony to be called out. Riots and out

breaks against missionaries in recent years, even at the open ports, teach us what opposition our officers might expect; and if the mass of the people came to believe that the English were going to take their country, it would probably be war to the death. If, on the other hand, the central power were still existent, with Russia ruling at Peking in the name of the Emperor, our difficulties would be infinitely increased, for we should have against us not merely the people, but the military force of Russia and China combined. We do not say that the task would be insuperable, but we do say, and say it advisedly, that it would be an easier task to establish a British Protectorate at Peking and govern the whole of China in the name and by authority of the Emperor, than it would be to govern any part of it without such authority.

If it ever becomes necessary to take possession of the Yangtze Valley we can only hope to do so successfully by using the existing machinery of government. If dismemberment is threatened, and a crisis becomes unavoidable, it would be wise to endeavour to get the Court to abandon Peking and revert to Nanking, as the ancient capital of the Empire, or to some other city in the central provinces. The step would be a serious one, and should only be taken in the face of imminent danger, as for instance an advance in force by Russia on Peking. There is some reason to believe that the young Emperor, if he could only free himself from the trammels that surround him at present, would favour such a step. It is a waste of time to try to follow the palace intrigues that go on in Peking, even if we had accurate information-which we have not-of what is taking place. But roughly speaking, there seems to be a widening rift between two sections of the Manchu party, headed by Prince Ching on the one side, and Jang Lu on the other. The Empress-Dowager, hitherto predominant, is growing old, and if the Emperor survives the clash of faction, a time may come when he will make a bid for freedom and throw himself for safety into the arms of England. He probably knows that it was through the British authorities that his friend and adviser, Kang Yu Wei, got safely out of the clutches of the Empress-Dowager. Having himself warned Kang of the danger impending at Peking, he cannot have been unconcerned as to his ultimate fate, knowing that all the less prominent of the reform leaders were summarily executed. We cannot, of course, know how far the truth has reached his ears, but the probability is that the fact of Kang's escape to a British colony under the

protection of a British man-of-war has somehow come to his knowledge. There are other facts which would seem to show that the Emperor is well disposed towards England. He spent a portion of his time for several years in the study of English, and is supposed to have made considerable progress. Just before the coup d'état he sent for a number of the publications of the Shanghai Society for the diffusion of Christian and general knowledge among the Chinese, which include translations of such works as Mackenzie's 'Nineteenth Century.' This society, we may remark, under the able guidance of British and American missionaries, notably the Rev. T. Richard and Dr. Allen, has been doing most important service in promoting the cause of reform and progress. It was from its publications and from personal intercourse with its members that Kang Yu Wei and his associates mainly drew their inspiration, and it may be assumed that they imbued the Emperor with some of their own sympathy.

The transfer of the Court to Nanking would present a series of advantages. It would remove the Emperor and his entourage from the immediate focus of disturbance. It would put an end to the faction conflicts that now divide the Court, and would perhaps get rid of the Manchu element altogether. The Reform party, on whom the Emperor relied before the coup d'état, were exclusively Chinese. The reactionaries of the EmpressDowager's party were mainly Manchus. The hope of the Empire rests with the Chinese, or, as we might term them, the National party. An Emperor freed from Manchu domination, reigning at Nanking and supported by an Anglo-Saxon Union, would give the best promise of future stability and progress.

6

Let us sum up what we have been endeavouring to make clear. The concessions' granted by the Chinese Government during the last two or three years are of the greatest value; but a sense of insecurity prevails, which threatens to make them nugatory, besides endangering our general trade. This insecurity is due to the weakness of the central Government and the double danger of internal revolt and foreign aggression. England, the United States, Germany, and Japan, whose interests, being commercial and not territorial, are coincident, should combine to prevent the further dismemberment of China, and, as an equivalent, should require that China place herself in their hands for purposes of reform. But in this combination some one must take the lead. England should do this, because she has the largest interests and because, as the pioneer in the opening up of the China trade, she has hitherto been the

predominant partner. If other nations refuse to join, England should proceed alone, as she did in Egypt. In doing this no time should be lost, because every day makes the task more difficult. The justification for our action is that our selfinterest requires it; at the same time we ask for nothing that all the world is not welcome to share in. But we owe it as a duty to ourselves and to our posterity to see that our commercial interests are not left dependent on the goodwill of any foreign Power. Finally, we are bound, in the interests of our Indian Empire, to see that there be no such disturbance of the balance of power in the East as will endanger the safety of that great trust.

We have not space enough to refer in detail to what we have termed the latent resources of China. Our readers will understand that when we speak of the decay of China we mean the decay of that system which calls itself the Government. The great mass of the nation is as full of healthy and vigorous life as ever. But, accustomed as they have been through countless generations to obey, they can in no way influence or control their fate. Political evils must be borne as best they can. Their one remedy, when things are desperate, is the sacred right of rebellion. But amid all the misgovernment the work of the nation goes on. The productive powers of the country are as vigorous as ever. If the taxes yield a small amount, it is because of the peculation and corruption that are rampant. If the soldier is inefficient, it is because he is badly paid, badly fed, and placed under ignorant and incompetent officers, who only seek to fill their purses at his expense. All this might be changed by the magician's wand, as has been done in Egypt. With a population sixty times as large as that of Egypt, and of a character far superior to the fellaheen in all the manly virtues, it may easily be perceived what a magnificent country China might become.

We can only notice briefly the latest contribution to our knowledge of China, 'The Yangtze Valley and Beyond.' Many and various as Mrs. Bishop's wanderings have been, we doubt whether she ever encountered more formidable difficulties than she did on this journey into the upper regions of the Yangtze basin, difficulties due not so much to natural obstacles-though these were not inconsiderable as to official opposition and to the unrestrained lawlessness of certain sections of the population. It would have been no small achievement for any one to accomplish a journey of one thousand two hundred miles, occupying a space of four months, through a country without roads and among a people seldom friendly and sometimes

actively hostile. Such a task Mrs. Bishop set herself, with no other escort than some chair coolies hired for the occasion, and one native servant; and she carried it to a successful conclusion, not, however, without serious personal danger, which might easily have had fatal consequences.

We pass over her earlier chapters, which deal with Shanghai, Hankow, and other well-known places on the lower basin of the Yangtze, merely premising that the reader who desires the latest information regarding these places will here find it in a condensed but trustworthy form. From Shanghai to Ichang, a distance of a thousand miles, the journey is performed with ease and rapidity in one of the regular trading steamers. At Ichang begins the section of the river known as the Yangtze Gorges,' leading up to Chungking, the centre of the trade of Szechuen. This part has long been familiar to English readers in the graphic pages of Mr. Little. We note, in passing, that Mr. Little has taken the opportunity of a third edition of his book to add a chapter describing the manner in which he took his small steamer up the rapids. It was a bold piece of work, successfully managed, but it does not in the least solve the problem of steam navigation on these waters. Our own opinion is that, though something may be done to improve the worst rapids by blasting and other agencies, the difference in height between the two termini will always make the carriage of goods by the water route an expensive matter. The true connecting link between the upper and lower sections of the Yangtze Valley must be a railway, notwithstanding that an extremely mountainous stretch lies between. This, however, by the way. Mrs. Bishop made the journey, like everyone else, in a native boat dragged up the rapids by main force. against the stream. She asked a missionary at Ichang what one did to kill time on the way up. Most people,' said he, 'have enough to do looking after their lives.' And certainly for a traveller who wants a little excitement we commend this journey.

Mrs. Bishop's journey proper began at Wanhsien, a point on the Yangtze about half-way between Ichang and Chungking. Thence she struck inland, travelling nearly due west through a region which has never been described before, until she passed beyond the confines of Chinese jurisdiction, and entered one of those semi-independent territories which fringe the western border of Szechuen. Among these people, termed the Mantze, she was received with a politeness and hospitality which contrasted favourably with the rude impertinence and frequent insults which she had been subjected to in some of