CHINA’S PROGRESS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1302, 24 September 1914, Page 4

CHINA’S PROGRESS.

BECOMING RAPIDLY MODERNISED. Mr Souter, a Chinese missionary, interviewed in Wellington, said that China was making rapid progress in modern civilisation. China's Postal Department handled 421,000,000 letters and parcels last year. It was really a wonderful service, largely carried out in the back country by a pony express, like they had in Western America not so very long ago. He had a friend who resided away up in the north-west province of Ghau-Su, who fifteen years ago used to get four mails a year—• now he get one every day. There were now 90,000 miles of telegraph line, including one which entered the mysterious city of Lbassa, the capital of Tibet. There are also 6000 miles of railroad, and another 2000 miles in course of construction. On the Yang-tse-Kiaug River there were two British, one Chinese, and two or three Japanese lines of steamers, which gave an excellent service. Education was rapidly developing. China had adopted the English university system, and there were universities in all the big centres. A fine one had recently been established in Hong Kong, through the liberality ct a Parsee backed by the British Government. Its degree now ranked with that of the London University, though the examinations at Hong Kong were said to be stiffer. He had found the Chinese possessed of extraordinary brain power and wonderful memories, A MORAL NATIONLast year 45,224 Chinese had been admitted to Christian Churches, as against 30,000 the previous year, and everywhere schools were being established for the training of the young. He attributed the greatness of China as a nation —it had stood through the ages when all oth ■ uiT.'had gone to pieces—to their sterling moral character, and to the te 'erence they paid to their parents. “Honour tby father and. thy mother that tby days may be long in the laud which the Lord thy God bath giv-'-m thee,” is a Commandment observed absolutely by the Chinese, and the days of the Chinese nation had been longer than those of any other nation.

It was very remarkable how the opium evil was dealt with in China. It is now illegal to grow the poppy, and illegal to use opium in any form. Any one found to be using opium was first warned, on the second offence be was fined and probably some of his property was confiscated. Then, it he still persisted, he was subject to capital punishment. What a change bad been effected by those drastic laws which were supported to the letter by Yuan-Shih-Kai. Four years ago there were opium shops and dens everywhere —they were part of the ordinary conventional life of the Chinese city and town. Now they were hidden away in some darkened cellar in an out-of-the-way alley. Opium smoking was now a dying vice, and people were much happier and brighter for its loss.