man people. At the same time the Young Czechs, who were originally organized as a thoroughly radical party, have, by reason of the pressure exerted by the Feudals and Clericals, gradually lost every vestige of a progressive tendency, and survive as a lamentable caricature of the will of the people. It follows that a permanent national reconciliation can be effected only by a complete demolition of the Clerical dominion; and it is equally certain that the Clerical party, which enjoys the protection of the highest court circles, will spare no efforts to overthrow every government not vested with extraordinary powers.

I have shown that the national question, owing to its complications, will be extremely difficult to solve. The extraordinary conditions here involved will require the application of extraordinary remedies; and, although experimental legislation will undoubtedly be fraught with perils, its exercise, under the present circumstances, will be imperative. As it is, the only normal method yet untried the dissolution of the present Diet preparatory to a reëlection— would result only in intensifying the situation; and the radical wings of all parties, profiting by the general excitement and bitterness, would undoubtedly find accessions to their ranks. Hence, a strong, independent, and absolutely unhampered Government will be required to grapple with the problem; and every statesman, however radical his personal views, will recognize the necessity for the vigorous exercise of state authority.

It may, therefore, be taken for granted that the only opposition which a temporary absolutism will encounter will proceed from the professional politicians. All others will regard the remedy as a dose which, however unpleasant, must nevertheless be administered. Upon the whole, it is probable that immediately upon the establishment of a new official method of procedure, excluding obstructionary feats, and introducing German as the language of mediation, the points of contention between the two nations will be removed; for the economic conditions have become so serious as to justify the hope that the prosaic needs of the stomach will eventually obliterate the differences caused by discordant national "ideals."

I shall take advantage of the present opportunity to correct a serious misconception pervading foreign circles in regard to the Austrian question. It has become customary to consider the Austrian Empire as a moribund confederation of states whose complete dissolution will ensue upon the death of the present monarch. Even among

ourselves the opinion has gained ground that in such an event the socalled interior provinces of Austria would become annexed to Bavaria, and that such territorial extension would enable the latter state to sever its connection with the German Empire and to organize as a first-rate power. It is asserted, furthermore, that Hungary would then become established as an independent kingdom, which would eventually absorb all the Slavic provinces, and in this way grow to an empire under the Czech hegemony.

But these views are purely speculative. While it is undeniable that the present constitutional crisis has shaken the internal organization of the Empire, the sense of union existing among the various states is still too strong to admit of the wide dissemination of pangermanic or panslavistic ideas. Only recently the question of succession has again been clearly enunciated, while faithlessness to the dynasty is restricted to the small circles of a few provinces. Furthermore, the acquisition of these disaffected elements by a neighboring state would be a questionable gain, inasmuch as the methods of disintegration now employed in Austria would then be extended also to the other country.

The preservation of the union between Hungary and Austria must be regarded as indispensable. And, as the present monarchy, notwithstanding frequent internal and external crises, has repeatedly demonstrated its vitality, we may confidently expect that an outlet from the present dilemma will be ultimately found; so that the dark prophecies of those who would place the Austrian Empire in the same category as Turkey or China must be regarded as neither more nor less than puerile fancies. MAURICE BAUMFELD.

CHINA AGAINST THE WORLD.

THE NATIONAL UPRISING AGAINST FOREIGNERS.

It has for some time been clear to observers of Chinese affairs that a great anti-foreign uprising among the Chinese masses was inevitable. This anticipation has been fulfilled sooner than was expected. The great dimensions which the Boxer movement has already taken on make it necessary to regard this revolt not as a local, factional disturbance, but as a national resistance to foreign interference.

Heretofore the Chinese have given little evidence of national patriotism. They are clannish in the extreme, and full of local prejudices. It would be possible to raise an army in one province against the people of another, and the industrial rivalries between different sections are very intense. The dynasty and the political unity of the empire have never called forth any enthusiasm. Of course, it may be said that in a world state there would be no room for patriotism; and, up to very recent times, the Chinese have been in the position of a world state, free from the competition of other nations. All this, however, has been changed in the last few years. The present invasion of China by foreign enterprise and industry has awakened a dormant sense of nationalism, and has taught the Chinese that they have common interests to defend.

Although the present movement was at first directed against missions and missionaries, still it has a much broader basis than mere religious fanaticism. The Chinese are, perhaps, the least religious among nations. They are too matter-of-fact, too practical and prosaic for religious enthusiasm. Their national religion is hardly more than a code of social observances, and their religious activities are exhausted in ceremonies. They, therefore, do not oppose the Christian religion as such, but merely as interfering with their local customs and ideas. In most cases Christianity appealed in China to the poorer classes and the unhonored. Their connection with the missionaries gave the new converts a certain importance. They were often

defended against oppression, and enjoyed some advantages which brought upon them the envy of their neighbors. Moreover, they were looked upon as traitors to their native customs, and despised and persecuted by the unconverted Chinese. The missionaries, on account of their political influence, often obtained advantages, judicial and industrial, for their protégés which were keenly resented by the neighborhood.

Of far greater importance than the religious question, however, is the industrial revolution which has begun in China as a consequence of the introduction of foreign methods and enterprise. When we remember the keen and widespread distress caused by the industrial revolution in Great Britain at the beginning of this century, and when we compare the extent of population and resources of that kingdom with those of the Chinese Empire, we can, by stretching our imagination to the utmost, picture the far greater unrest and suffering that will necessarily be engendered by the great industrial changes impending in China. In China, as formerly throughout the Orient, manufactures are still "house industries"; that is, they are carried on according to ancient methods by families in their homes. The different handicrafts are organized into guilds, and China presents the same picture of industrial life that existed in the Europe of the Middle Ages. The concentration of industry in large factories has scarcely begun. Although there are large cities, still they do not bear that proportion to the rural population which obtains with the cities of Europe.

In order to introduce European industrial methods it was first of all necessary to improve the means of transportation. Already for twenty years past Chinese mandarins in high official positions have been discussing the advisability of establishing railways in the Empire; the chief supporters of railway enterprise being Li Hung Chang and Chang Chi Tung, the most influential among the viceroys. On the other hand, many reactionaries opposed the policy as tending to disturb the equilibrium of the population, and as threatening to rob of employment the multitude of carriers. It was also urged that the desecration of burial places and sacred shrines could not be avoided if railways were to be constructed. All the superstitious geomancy of China, which forbids the disturbance of the soil as disagreeable to the spirits that inhabit it, was utilized by the opposition.

A few small experiments in railway construction were made, and proved successful, as the Chinese people seemed eager to use the new

convenience. Then came the Chino-Japanese war, with the consequent invasion of China by foreign influence. The latter took the form especially of a demand for railway concessions, and within a few years construction grants for lines aggregating 10,000 kilometers in length were made by the Chinese Government to foreign corporations. In these grants, however, the Chinese Government reserved to itself the ultimate reversion of the railway and a large share in the profits. It also provided for the establishment, in connection with every line, of schools of railway engineering, where the youth of China might learn the methods of Western industrialism. For a time everything moved auspiciously. The carriers were as yet undisturbed in their employment. As a matter of fact, money was brought into the provinces, and work was abundant. The population seemed to take cheerfully to the new means of communication. As yet the true industrial revolution had not begun, because, with the exception of a few factories erected in Shanghai, the old house industries continued the sole method of production.

But a vague fear seized the Chinese masses. They saw that foreigners, disregardful of their customs and prejudices, were entering the land and carrying things with a high hand. The Government itself was not backward in fostering this feeling. While formal edicts were issued demanding that full protection be given to foreigners, the Empress and her advisers secretly encouraged the growing opposition to foreign enterprise. It is at present becoming known that she gave full warrant to the viceroys to use force in repelling unauthorized advances on the part of the representatives of foreign powers and industries, without waiting for instructions from Peking.

This fear finally came to a head in the province of Shantung. The Germans had been the first to seize a portion of the Chinese territory, at Kiaochow. Thence they pushed their railways into the interior of the province, and began the exploitation of the mines. They were, however, not very considerate or tactful in their treatment of the natives. By government regulation they fixed a very low maximum of wages, so that the neighboring population would not work for them; forcing them to import inferior coolies from other regions. From the first they met cases of serious popular resistance to their advance.

Now, there existed in Shantung a society, the Boxers, especially organized for the purpose of protecting the peasant population; and very naturally these were the first to oppose an organized and de