THE OLD & THE NEW.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1714, 3 April 1913, Page 6

THE OLD & THE NEW.

A TALK ABOUT CHINA,

CONSUL'S OPINIONS.

ON OUR RESTRICTION LAWS,

"Do you think your country is quite developed? Do you think your population is big enough? Six millions only in all Australasia, and London alono had seven millions ;>t last census!" • These questions were asked by Mr. ICwei Cliib, the Chinese Consul, who arrived by the Ulimaroa yesterday from Sydney. Mr. Cuili is u travelled citizen of the iiepuoiic, and lie holds strong views on migration, and particularly on the restrictive laws against people ot Ills own nation in iorce in Australasia. "Perlmps Uy and by you will alter a little," lie saiu. "Why, your Asiatic taws ult'ect even me. AVhen 1 wanted to coiue out this time, I applied to the shipping company lor passages, and they would not givo me them. 1 complained to your Jtigli Commissioner, Jlr. Mackenzie, and, of course, 1 got tlie tickets. I asked Atr. Mackenzie, 'Do our people givo you a lot of trouble?' He had to say 'No.' I said, 'Do they interfere with your labour and your social laws?' He said, 'Oil, that's another matter.' But against this you are a Christian country. And you are against the law of .Nature, which may be taken to be God's will, and I don't think a people can go against God's law too much. JTou must alter by and byelit only a few years. I think—lor you must have people. Wo are foreigners, we look at your affairs impartially, and we do not Have our vision obscured by any blue glasses of prejudice. Protection and Restriction. "Supposing soiuo of our people come in and settle some of your unused land, and make it fruitful, is there any harm at all being done to you? Surely that would bo better than allowing no one to come in, and retarding development. It seems to me you have adopted, protection and restriction too soon. You should develop as America has developed—by welcoming everybody—but you are not. Your protective duties, and your restriction laws are very much more strict than those in America. Our people never enjoy' politics, so you need not tear that they will interfere in your politics, Iliey have lived too many hundreds of years under a despotism to liavo learned much about political questions. They never give in foreign countries; they aro useful aiul i peace-loving. It is truo that they have certain vices, notably gambling and opium smoking, but they are being stamped out now in China witli strictness that 6eems in some eases almost cruelly severe. "Sometimes I make fun of my Lnghsli friends and their boast that the llnion Jack floats from sunset to sunrise all over the world. 1 .say to then! that our people are in every land, and that the sun never sets on them. Some time ago when I was in South America, in Peru, 1 went up a mountain railway, many thousands of feet, up the Andes, and there I met 40 Chinese men. I understand from_ the Government there, too, that the Chinoso had done good work, and had been very helpful in developing the country. The Cantonese thrive in every climate tinder the sun, and tlio peculiar philosophy of their raco makes them cc-ntentcd, industrious people. "They arc much like you Anglo-Saxons, th' 3 Cantonese. They were (long ago immigrants, to Canton. I should think that u thousand years ago there were not many people in Canton, except savages. Now the Contonese arc a great people, and they are still emigrating to nearly every country in the world. They even camo to Australia before you Englishmen came." Millionaires not Wanted. Mr. Chili went on to speak of the groftli and development of China. "Wo expect to grow up easily and happily under our popular-Government," lie said. "Long ago wo had Socialism in China; now wo have a democracy. But although wo have had hundreds of years of des- ( potism, wo liavo kept freo of some of the troubles which liavo perplexed Western nations. We hare no millionaires in China, for instance. Wo don't want them, and wo hope wo will never have any. Wo liavo enough to support ourselves very well, and we enjoy ourselves more than people do in most other countries. Sinoo we opened tlio door we have lost plenty of laid, and plenty • of l interests of ono sort and another, but we have gained a great deal. We knowall about the newest machinery, and modern methods of manufacture, and from the foreigner also wo have got a lot of new philosophy. • For (his wo owe a great deal to the Christian missionaries, and the influence of the foreigners has helped us a great deal to' change our Government. The political revolution camo quite easily, but tlio social evolution will be a slow process. We have been three thousand years longer- than you under the family, system, and our society is still subject to it. It will always be difficult for our people to adopt militarism or conscription for this' reason. Not to bo Isolated Any Longer. If wo had not thrown our country open to Western people we would probably have become like, the Egyptian, or the Hindu, or the Persian;We might indeed have vanished from the earth as h'avo some of tlio aboriginal races—as your own is doiue, I am told. And yet wo often judge the aboriginal too ■ harshly. The Australian, for instance, was isolated from all the rest of tlio world; lie had no chance of that development which is stimulated by_ intercourse with other people. So with our country. Our religions are quite good, and our. jihilosophy also, but we hail no opportunities siicli as those'enjoyed by the Mediterranean nations to mix with others. And lcok at the countries on the boundaries of China —Siberia, Mongolia, Tibet, Turkestan, Siam, and oven Japan. From none of them could wo learn very much. Fortunately wo are not to b& isolated any longer. "Now, under our popular Government, the progress of China will be rapid and easy. Our social system will be remodelled slowly, for tho Chinese havo been conservative for 3000 years, and we havo such a lot to do. It has been possible to do so littlo since tho new Government was established, rerhnps our people will not want to go abroad so much when China is good for them, and they can remain at home in comfort, getting fair play under the law. At any rate they will never go far from home to light. Our people tire not warlike."