then may one accomplish the splitting of the bamboo-i. e., the difficult task. The Book of History says: Hold fast the golden mean.' And again, 'Only with decision of character can there be completion of a work. These words. sum up the case.

"In modifying the government, the most important things to be considered are two In the first place, the old customs were good, but, having been in operation a long time, a great many abuses and obstructions have grown up. The administration of the law should be thoroughly reformed and restored to its early condition. In the second place, what is lacking in the Chinese law should be supplied by an admixture of Western law, so that in time we may gradually become wealthy and strong.

"The object of the establishment of this Board of Administration is to promote the independence of China. China's weakness is due to her poverty. The strength of foreign powers is due to their wealth. Deliverance from poverty, therefore, is the very beginning and foundation of independence. But the commencement of reform ought not by any means to wait upon the attainment of wealth. At present China has but a slender thread of life-merely the loyalty of her people; and at a time when bands of brigands are spread abroad, mutually deceiving and inciting one another, if the very first thing done is to search the Empire for money, it will shortly be said that of the thousand benefits promised and the hundred ills from which men are to be delivered, not one of the former has been gained nor one of the latter removed. Such a method is a direct oppression of the people and will alienate men's hearts. Though you may have very excellent plans, they will be difficult to carry out. But let us first remove one or two of the abuses complained of throughout the Empire, and carry into execution one or two of the things most desired,

and we will cause the people of the whole Empire to know that the reforms projected by the court really have in view the promotion of the prosperity of the people and the removal of the ills from which they suffer.

"In all matters let there be a purpose to search out the facts, and afterwards every edict issued will operate like running water. Heretofore, there have been debts to the foreign powers unpaid; now there is the pressure of the indemnity, amounting to more than 20,000,000 taels per annum. How are we to obtain such a sum? There are but two roads to wealth—one is to increase the revenues [literally, open the springs'], and the other is to economize in expenditure. An increase of the revenues will be either too gradual to meet the pressing demand, or it will be a case of 'seeking money and incurring odium.' This, therefore, is not so good as practicing economy in expenditure. Economy in expenditure means nothing else than the discharge of useless troops and the saving of their pay, the discharge of extra officials and the saving of their salaries, the abolition of useless offices and factories and the saving of the money spent on them. Pay for soldiers, official salaries, and other expenditures are all the very flesh and blood of the people of the Empire.

"In the south and east certain provinces have begun the adoption of Western customs, and say there is nothing to fear or suspect in Western methods. But the people of the north and west are simple in their habits; their eyes and ears have had no broad experience, and to abruptly order them to change their manners is no wiser than the sounding of a cymbal for a deaf man to hear or the endeavor to peel a water nut with a lotus stem. In reforming the customs, therefore, it is decidedly difficult to make a plan of universal adaptability which may be put in operation among all the people of the whole

Empire. The plan must be adjusted to the character of the locality and developed according to the circumstances and prosperity of the people. Moreover, in adopting Western methods, we must remember that there are differences in Western forms of government and in Western industries.

concerns.

"If we desire to obtain the material benefits of their civilization, we must first learn their hearts. The hearts of Western men are interested in the public welfare, while those of the Chinese, for the most part, are devoted to selfish Thus naturally the two races are very unlike, and in endeavoring to adopt their civilization we get no more than the outside. Though ten thousand men should join together in the effort and labor through a hundred years, it would be very difficult to complete the transformation.

"From the first year of T'ung-chih (1862) down to the present, there has never been a time when we have not talked of foreign affairs.

Institutions

and factories have grown up like a forest, and ships and cannon have outnumbered the clouds; yet in thirty years what effective change has been completed? The reason for our failure is that while among Western people in their undertakings a thousand men are of one mind to secure the prosperity of the stateand securing the prosperity of the state benefits individuals as well-among the Chinese, in their affairs, a hundred men have a hundred minds, each seeking his own advantage, and while some profit and others do not, the state does not obtain the least benefit. It is for this reason that shares are not sold and that corporations are dissolved. In undertakings which the foreigner finds profitable, the Chinese, in their endeavors to imitate, find nothing but losses to make good. The hearts of the Chinese must first be rectified, and then they may imitate the excellent methods of the West; but to straighten the foundations and to cleanse the fountain, this is not a task for one man."

THE

TAHITI

HROUGH the courtesy of Mr. S. P. Langley the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE is able to publish this month the diary of his recent trip to Tahiti. The diary is published as it was written from day to day, without any alterations, and is an entertaining story of several weeks passed in a fascinating part of the globe.

Tahiti was discovered in 1606 by Quiros, who named it La Sagittaria. One hundred and sixty one years later Captain Wallis rediscovered the island.

and called it after his sovereign King George. The native name, formerly spelled Otaheite, asserted itself, however, and is now alone used. Tahiti was Captain Cook's favorite center when exploring the Pacific. It was on this island he observed the Transit of Venus on his first great voyage of exploration in the Pacific. English missionaries settled in Tahiti near the close of the eighteenth century, and for some years met with considerable success. France declared a protectorate over Tahiti and the Society Islands in 1842, and in 1880 formally annexed the group.

than half of the colored men can read an addressed envelope or write a receipt. The following diagram shows the reading and writing ability of American men of voting age in each element. There are 21,329,819 males of voting age in the United States. Of this great army of men 19,003,524 read and write and 2,326,295 are capable of neither-that is, of the total male population who are of voting age in the United States 891 in every 1,000 are literate and 109 are illiterate.*

* See Census Bulletin no. 106.

T

E

R

T

E

TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY

HE month of November marked

Tthe practical completion of the

The

Trans-Siberian Railway. For Russia and Siberia the road has tremendous possibilities. It means to her vast Siberian territory the development and prosperity which the first belting of the American continent brought to the West. For Europe, especially western Europe, it means even more perhaps than to Russia. The road marks the inauguration. of a new route to the Far East. Siberian Railway will gradually supplant the Suez route, and make Russia, not England, the mistress of the world route to the Far East. An article that appeared in this Magazine in September, 1901, dwelt at length on the construction and meaning of this Trans-Asiatic railway. The Manchurian branch of the railway, with map, was described in the August, 190c, number.

of New Zealand, describing the icebergs seen during a voyage from Bluff, N. Z., to London :

"During passage passed icebergs as follows: September 6, 1901, latitude 53° 24' S., longitude 142° 16' W., passed a very large berg (over a mile long and over 600 feet high). Temperature of air, 37°; water, 41°. September 7, on the same parallel, between 140° W. and 135° W., passed 77 large bergs and numerous small ones, weather getting thick and dirty and ice very thick; kept ship off to N. N. E. September 8, latitude. 51° S.,.longitude 131° 30' W., passed 11 large bergs and numerous small ones. Air, 45°; water, 44. On the parallel and 124° W. passed 10 large bergs and of 50° 20' S. and between 128° 30′ W. numerous small pieces. Temperature of air, 47°; water, 44°.

"Bergs were mostly of the table form, with sheer precipitous sides, showing clearly each stratum of snow in formation. In height they ranged from 370 feet to over 600 feet (height determined by sextant and distance). A number seemed of irregular shape, having been longer adrift and wasted by action of seas and heat. From the date last given no further ice was seen, the vessel making casting just north of the average ice-line shown on the chart.

"September 27, in latitude 20° S., longitude 30° W., between 6.30 and 7

a. m., we passed through a belt of whirlwinds 5 to 6 miles wide, extending to the horizon in either direction. Previous to this the wind had been blowing a moderately fresh breeze, varying from east to S. E., with rainy, dirty weather without any interval. The vessel passed into the belt. The whirlwinds were simply in hundreds and quite close to each other, so that the water was torn up into whirls in opposite directions. every few feet, one blowing spray over the vessel on one side and another on the other side. The vessel passed out of the belt quite as suddenly into a fresh breeze from N. N. W. and the weather cleared up."

IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES

SUCCESSFUL exploratory trip

A the Canadian Rockies by Messrs. Henry G. Bryant and Walter D. Wilcox. The outfit consisted of fourteen pack and saddle horses, two experienced packers, and a cook, three tents and provisions

was carried out last summer in

sufficient to last two months.

Their main purpose was to explore and map a portion of the Rocky Mountains south of the Canadian Pacific Railway, between the Kootenai and Elk Rivers. This region is part of the main chain of the Rockies. It is about 75 miles long and from 25 to 30 miles wide, and had been hitherto unexplored, except for Captain Palliser's rapid journey over Kananaskis Pass many years ago.

The most important results obtained by Messrs. Bryant and Wilcox were the exploration and inapping of the upper part of the Palliser River and of the headwaters of several rivers flowing into the Elk, some important data about the Kananaskis Lake region, and the correction of errors in regard to the altitude and other details of the Kananaskis Pass. During the journey four passes were crossed and five large valleys explored, in the course of which a num

ber of lakes and other interesting features were discovered, mountain ascents made, and a valuable series of photographs secured to illustrate the scenery and methods of travel. A small collection of fossils and stones was made for the benefit of geological knowledge of the region, and a set of panoramic views and roughly triangulated points will provide material for a new map of this very picturesque and interesting part of the Rockies.

An article by Mr. Wilcox, describing the work done and illustrated with maps and photographs, will appear in an early number of this Magazine.