The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 1908. THE CHINESE BOYCOTT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2165, 14 April 1908, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 1908. THE CHINESE BOYCOTT.

Wo liavo heard a good deal in recent years of the “Yellow Peril,” but present indications are that instead of the threatened Asiatic invasion the “Yellow Quarrel” will for some time to come occupy chief attention when the Eastern nations aro being considered. It is many years now since the catch phrase, “The Awakening of the Chinese Giant” first became familiar in newspaper headlines, and as time went on with tho great Celestial Empire just as inert, just as incapable as ever of serious action against the more energetic nations, it seemed to indicate a condition improbable of fulfilment. However, within tho last year or two there have been some definite signs that tho huge conglomeration of humanity contained in a population of 400,000,000 souls had at last discovered sufficient cohesion to frame a scheme of self-protection, and the reports from tho well-known correspondent, F. MacKenzie, provided ample evidence that any attempt at further inroads by foreign Powers would meot with some further obstacle than the mutual jealousy of the big nations which in the past has alone saved China from dismemberment. According to Mr MacKenzie, China is in a fair way to possess very shortly as lino an army as there is in the world, and with such an immense population to pick and choose,from slio should then be thoroughly capable of defending herself from any foreign foe. It is many years since that great Britisher, General Gordon, declared tho Chinese, if properly led, would make the finest soldiers in the world, and according to the London Daily Mail’s correspondent their bravery will not in tho future bo an unrealisable asset through the lack of capable officers. However, it is characteristic of the Chinese that their first serious effort to assert a standing amongst modern nations has been by tho employment of peaceful rather than by warlike methods. Closo students of the Oriental peoples liavo long recognised tho superiority of tho Chinaman over his neighbor the Jap;,in' commercial matters, and it is a striking tribute to the innate shrewdness of the wily Celestial that in fighting for his position lie assaiis his foe at his most vulnerable point. It is difficult at this distance from the scene of action to ascertain precisely what tho details of theTatsa Maru incident amounted to. Suifico it to say that a Japanese steamer had been seized by China early in February, and the pugnacious little Jap apparently, considered tho.occasion opportune to give bis big Celestial brother another reminder that ho was still top dog in tho East. In doing so, it is alleged that the little brown mail with a very line fleet and a huge halo of martial glory unnecessarily humiliated the Chinese Giant. There were two ways out of an awkward predicament. One was to refuse to accept the liu- I miliating terms aud take instead the alternative of war. This would mean bringing out the new army, not yet completely organised for actual war, and possibly got an awful licking that would put the Chinese visions of independence to sleep for another decade. Wherefore “John” allowed himself to bo humbled, but inwardly vowed that the victory should prove an expensive one to the neighbor who, to use his own words, “had not played the game.” Chineso merchants immediately commenced a boycott of all Japanese goods, and so thoroughly

was it carried out and so cffectivo tile damage done that vory soon tho Japs wore “Bquoaling.” The British Ambassador was sent down to Canton to intorveno on behalf of the Japauoso, but apparently without avail, for the boycott still continues. Tho latest information is to tho effect that tho Chinaman intends to persist in tho boycott till it lias cost Japan £60,000,000. Verily John is a scientific hater. Tho figures quoted aro large, and it is difficult to see how tho boast can bo mado good. Japan’s total foroign trade amounts to close on £90,000,000 annually, of which about 14 per cent is dono with China, this amount being almost oqunlly divided amongst imports and exports. However, ovon if tho boycott damngo does nob amount to £60,000,000, it is incontestable that if cut off entirely from all trade with China, tho loss to Japan would bo considerably greater than any war. Quito the most remarkable feature of tho situation is tho insight it gives into tho earnest patriotism that evidently animates | tho Chinese peoplo. It is a funda- ; mental law of tho commercial world j that tho highways of commerce can- ! not be interfered with*without dam--1 age to both parties concerned, and it ' is cortain that the boycott now being carried on must also recoil to some extent on tho Chinese traders themselves. Wo hear a good deal about patriotism nowadays, and a largo proportion thereof can bo readily sum- | mod up in tho trite saying that “talk Ms cheap.” After all, the Chinaman | who allows his pocket to suffer in order that the enemy of his country Mr. MacKeuzic, China is a fair way ably higher ground than the noisy, thoughtless colonial Britisher who yells himself hoarse with “Sons of the Sea,” “Soldiers of the King,” and such like outpourings of his raucous voice, but patronises the foreign made article every time he enters a shop if he thinks that by so doing he can save tho price of a drink. There aro" certainly moro things to be learnt from the Chinaman than how to shuffle cards, to grow vegetables, or put a silky gloss on white shirts. Those who would limit his capacity to the occupations he is restricted to iu tho Dominion, for instance, obviously do him an injustice, and his method of waging war on a neighbor who has rendered himself objectionable should provide an object lesson to tho rest of tho world.