Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8. 1898.

Te Aroha News, Volume XIV, Issue 2076, 8 February 1898, Page 2

Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8. 1898.

Last week Lora Salisbury warned the British public against believing all the statements published in the newspapers about the complications in the Far East. To how many of us are not the cables from Europe and from the Old Country especially, still the salt of newspaper reading ? How we grumble when through the inclemency of the elements the Press Asssociation messages have to be omit’ed from their familiar corner on the fifth page of the ‘Herald.’ We, in our wisdom, from a close study of recent cablegrams, affected to disoern the hand of Russia in the rising -of the Afridis on the northern frontier of India, Abdurraham Khan, Ameer of Afghanistan, we stated, with the temerity of ignorance, was but a puppet in the hands of the all-powerful, in the White Czar’s dominions, war party led by Muravieff, who, in order to distract the attention of England from Russian intrigue in the Far East, had egged on the hilltribes to revolt. Certainly, from, the tenor of many articles appearing in English newspapers towards the end of last year, such a deduction was not unnatural, and we fell into error in good company. The Khan was more than suspected; but, as it transpired, we have it on the authority of an experienced Indian officer with whom we had the pleasure of conversing on the subject, without good reason, of conniving at the fanatioal outbreaks of the Swat Valley. Of any such connivance the highest authorities in India completely exonerate him, we now learn with no little satisfaction. Abdurrahman is an able man and a brilliant general, and although his control over the savage highland tribes is only nominal, jn ©vent of his raising a Jehad or Holy War, they would rally round him. and provide a formidable force which it would tax England severely to repel. Russia has apparently come to the conclusion such is the latest opinion on the subject, in high official circles, that India is not the valuable asset it is represented to be : that China is the only prize in the East worth fighting for. We cannot pretend to have any sympathy with the ancient empire of China as at present constituted. The system of government in vogue is the most infamous of any country having any pretensions to civilization. We are told in the only work on China within our reach that the government of that country is in theory most carefully organised, although in practice it is feared it is far otherwise. The theory may be beautiful : f but, in practice,the horrors of administration as it obtained under IsmailPashainEgypt shrink into insignificance in comparison. For the purpose of collecting revenue China is mapped out into districts, each of which is farmed to an official at a stated rent for a period of one year only. The farmer of taxes pays down, say £IOOO, to the imperial’ revenue,and in return is invested % the emperor with absolute power over the inhabitants of the district for the term, however,” of one year only. Not only can he levy heavy taxes, but, he is at liberty to kill, maim' and torture at his pleasure those whom he suspects of not giving in correct returns of their wealth for taxati n purposes We know these things to be true, and we feel, alien as we are to the Chinese race, they ought to be changed in the name of suffering humanity. Whether the task falls to England alone or to a combination of European Powers, we for one trust that the oppression under which this peaceful, intelligent, and docile race have for centuries groaned may at last be alleviated. We should not forget that the Chinese, as a people, must not be judged by the coolies, who swarm in the colonies, and whom we in our ignorance are apt to confound with the genuine celestial,