THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1911. REVOLUTION IN CHINA.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10451, 17 October 1911, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1911. REVOLUTION IN CHINA.

The intelligence, which has come to hand by cable during the last few days would indicate that a revolution of a far-reaching character has broken' put in China, and that unless this is speedily suppressed it will overwhelm, the whole of the Empire. The most serious aspect of the situation is the disaffection which is said to exist in the army and navy. I.f tlie reports in this connection be true, the possibility of quelling the revolutionary spirit would seem to be exceedingly remote. The condition which has obtained in China during the last few months has been bitterly distressing. Millions of people have been on the verge of starvation, and the Mandiu dynasty has used oppressive measure's against those engaged in the riots for rice. For 'Seme years past China has been endeavouring to put its system of Government in order, but despite the optimistic opinions expressed by the late Sir Robert Hart, the effort has ended in> partial failure. The Chinese Army ha«, it is true, been reorganised under from Yuan-Shi-Kai, and Japanese officers have been employed l to direct the training. This, however, ha.s not; materially assisted in improving the-, social conditions of the millions of people whose only 'sustenance has been a miserable supply of rice. The desperation of the people has produced a revolution, and this bids fair tc end in the overthrow of the Man--chu dynasty and the placing of the internal affairs of the vast Empire in better order. A recent writer says:—"Wherever one moves the ah-' scrbing topic of conversation is hostility to the Man chu dynasty. It is beyond doubt that in the event of an uprising the whole of Yunnan and a large faction of S/.echuan would entirely withhold support from the Government, and many of the mandarins would readily join the anti-dyn-astic movement. It is probable that ir- the whole of the Empire no province more than Yunnan has a greater proportion of population constantly in rebellion." The hastening of Imperial troops to the scone of immediate disaffection can hardly be expected to stem the tide of the rebellion, more particularly when it is

known that these troops are in sympathy with the revolutionaries. The position is one of intense gravity, and the outcome of the rising will be awaited 'with anxiety in all parts of the world. A correspondent of the London "TinW recently said:— "Even in. far western Yunnan the desire for reform and the idea of patriotism are penetrating. The disappearance of opium from tlie province can only he desoribed as wonderful. Prohibition has caused less distress to the agricultural population than wias generally anticipated'. From the beginning, tQie cultivators were wise enough to recognise that the officials were in earnest, and, abandoning opium, they turned their attention to the possibilities of less profitable crops—chiefly buck-wheat and different varieties of beans'—with encouraging results. Everywhere the soldiery are being regularly drilled on more modern methods; and, in place of the old style, slovenly-dressed ruffian, wearing a coat that was once red, and armed with an umibrella and an opium pipe, who formerly acted as escort to the foreign travellers in Yunnan, one now gets an alert, active individual, who carries a Mauser rifle of recent pattern, and knows more or less how to use it. But the change tihat will tell most for the good l of the province is the spread of the . education movement."