Forest Administration in China 585 



promotes public welfare. The present administration has aimed, 

 with determined efforts, to unify all China in one concerted action 

 and to concentrate the power at Pekin. Many railroads which 

 were once strongly opposed to nationalization under the Manchu 

 rule are now being nationalized. A centralized system of tax 

 collection and financial control has been inaugurated to displace 

 the provincial system of financial management. While the pres- 

 ent administration has been severely criticized for its dictator- 

 like policy, no progressive mind can sincerely doubt that the 

 national problems of China, with her international entanglements 

 without and her confused system and disconcerted actions with- 

 in, are not to be solved by any meek, passive, laisses faire policy 

 of the old ways ; on the contrary, it must be met by a vigorous, 

 responsible, guiding and enlightened policy of the truest kind. 



Suggested Policy of Administration. 



a. General Considerations — In taking up this part of the essay, 

 the writer must acknowledge his limitations in the knowledge, not 

 to say experience, of any administrative work. Hence the dis- 

 cussions should be viewed only from the theoretical standpoint. 



In such a vast country as China, it is really an open question 

 whether such administration as a Forest Service, an administra- 

 tion which is secondary in importance to Army, Navy and Finance, 

 should be centralized or decentralized. In the opinion of Dr. 

 Nagao Ardgo, an eminent Japanese jurisprudent and Constitu- 

 tional Adviser to China, the central government should consist 

 only of such important departments as Army, Navy, Finance, 

 Foreign Affairs and the Court of Justice, leaving such depart- 

 ments as Agriculture, Commerce, Communication, etc., to each 

 Province. The central cabinet should be non-partisan. The polit- 

 ical arena is thus limited to each Province. This novel idea has 

 few supporters. Viewed from the standpoint of efficiency, a cen- 

 tralized service seems the most desirable. True, the vastness of 

 the country may cause unavoidable delay in the work, but devel- 

 opment of the means of communication is rapidly coming to sup- 

 ply this deficiency. On the other hand, a centralized organiza- 

 tion is not without distinct advantages ; it is responsible for the 

 success of the work and is therefore responsive to public opinion. 



