Oriental

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 12, 1899

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 25, No. 28.

Oriental.—Since the introduction of the trolley in Corea, several children have been run over and killed in Seoul. The people, to the number of several hundred, burned one car and smashed another. The Japanese and European engineers narrowly escaped death. The ignorant people attribute the drought, which has continued for some time, to the construction of the electric railways,.....The Chinese Government has interdicted the export of rice from the Wuhu district, for the alleged reasons that China is on the eve of war, and the requirements of the people will not justify the exportation of this staple product.....Several important ports in the Philippines have been opened to trade, including San Fernando, on the west coast of Luzon; Aparri, on the north coast; Currimao, and all ports on the islands of Samar and Leyte. This revival of business will greatly relieve the stagnation in trade and the consequent hard times.....The greatest obstacle in the way of establishing a republican government in the Philippines is the difficulty in enforcing the “consent of the governed.” The effort is costing the United States about $300,000 a day. Besides the money expense, something over 700 lives have been sacrificed, and nearly 7,000 men have been wounded or invalided by disease. It is stated that General Otis recently received a letter signed by native women of the province of Cavite, declaring that if all the men were killed the women would still keep up the fight against the Americans.....An armed band of Chinese sacked and burned the French Consulate and Chinese custom-house at Meng Ting, Hunan Province, June 22. Consul de la Batie and the foreign staff at the custom-house escaped, but had to flee from Hunan....General King, who recently returned from the Philippines, says that the Filipinos are far better qualified for self-government than the Cubans, or the uneducated negroes of the South who have been granted citizenship.