ii 4 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



protect their coasts and borders, but now they must maintain navies. But in 

 the present condition of China, the navy is not well organized, the forts and 

 fortifications have been destroyed and abandoned. The ports have been leased 

 to foreigners. All the doors have been opened. Certain foreign railroads can 

 go straight into Chinese territory. The condition of Manchuria and Tibet is 

 critical. Neighboring nations are seeking an entrance. We can not rely on 

 our dependencies for support. If we want to develop a strong army and navy, 

 what is the best way to do so? Suggest the best plan to follow. 



'Nanking Kiangsu. — 1. Western countries have established commercial cen- 

 ters and subsidized and protected great enterprises, railroad and steamship 

 lines for transportation, banks and newspapers as a key to unlock the country's 

 resources, postal routes and telegraph lines to spread news very quickly, and 

 schools for education. In what order as to importance should we establish 

 these things in China, according to the western principle? 



2. Post offices are now gradually being established all over China. Tell 

 by what postal routes and over what distances letters can be sent and how 

 many offices there are. Should we establish any more? How improve the 

 postal service? 



3. At what place to the south of Europe are the Caucus. Has it any other 

 name? Russia took it and established many new laws — what are these laws 

 and when established? 



4. Opium and salt taxes. In the last few years many provinces have paid 

 different amounts toward the war indemnity to foreign countries, because the 

 taxes in these provinces are different. There is much squeezing and the people 

 suffer. Now we ought to get a good way to conduct this business. Suggest a 

 plan. 



Canton, Kwangtung. — 1. Western countries all use gold coinage. They 

 have the cent and shilling for local exchange and these have a fixed value. 

 The government of China is planning to change its currency to a gold basis. 

 The dollar and the cent of China ought to have a fixed value so as to expedite 

 the payment of taxes and benefit the country. Discuss this proposition. 



3. Industrial schools are good for the poor people. If China has this kind 

 of schools the necessity of importing foreign goods will be done away with. 

 Philanthropic societies in all the districts of China have done good work in 

 aiding the poorer classes of the community. If we want to use a part of the 

 funds of such societies to build industrial schools, so that the poor may have 

 an education — to earn a living, besides being fed — in addition to these funds, 

 what other way could be employed to secure money for this purpose? 



4. Foreign countries have power to manage their own affairs in the treaty 

 ports of China. When the Chinese have trouble with a foreigner, they do not 

 have the same or equal standing in the court or in the community at large. 

 We want to alter the law and adopt some of the laws of foreign countries and 

 to establish a code for international relations so that if we have affairs with 

 foreigners, we can have the right to administer justice so that foreigners can 

 not be unjustly shielded. 



The introduction of even such meager questions in western sci- 

 ences was an entering wedge which, aside from the more recent decision 

 to eliminate the classical requirements entirely, was destined to lift 

 the Chinese out of their medieval scholasticism into the full light of 

 modern knowledge. The reform edict of the dowager was accompanied 

 by other edicts providing for sending young men abroad to study, for the 



