the fields; men engaged in tillage, who had never handled a weapon more formidable than a hoe, were pushed forward, musket in hand, and many of them left to raid their own countrymen for rations, until brought to the shambles on the battlefields, or disbanded.
Reform, one would suppose in the case of China, to be effective, would begin, not in wild schemes for arming the the Empire in defence of the very institutions which are the cause of her impotency, and of a system of corruption which would render her land forces and fleet useless in a struggle against any third-rate power, but begin with the government itself. The system of administration must be made worthy of respect, so as to be supported by the patriotic endeavour of the whole nation.
This can never be the case in China so long as the government figures as one in the first rank of Asiatic despotisms, so long as there are no railways, no public press, no public opinion, no modern facilities for intercourse, and no encouragement for the development of great industries, except what China has been forced to concede by Treaty stipulations, notably by clauses contained in the Treaty of Shimonosaki, which has thrown open some new ports to trade. Under Article VI, it is stipulated that Japanese subjects shall be free to engage in all sorts of industries in the cities and open ports of the Empire, and be free to import all sorts of machinery for manufacturing purposes. By the provisions of the Treaty of Tientsin, Great Britain and all other powers under the most favoured nation concessions, share in the benefits conferred upon Japan. China, indeed, has again been reluctantly thrust forward as the direct result of her own immobility. But in order that she may hold together, and voluntarily proceed along the path of progress, it is essential first that the Government should
