excuse of some
kind must be offered the country, and such flimsy pretexts as the
necessity of upholding the sanctity of international law are
difficult to get away with. The Chinese press is full of the
incongruity of the situation, and outspoken of its amusement.

Besides keeping the Lao Hsi Kai affair constantly before the people, it
is relentless in its denunciation of Vice-President Feng's opium deal,
and the methods of the British opium-dealers. Columns in regard to
this transaction are published every day in the papers, throwing light
on some new phase of it, keeping the public constantly informed
regarding it, and asking the people at large to consider well the
advisability of allying themselves with such friends as the French and
English have proved within the last few months. Thus, in regard to the
opium deal we read:

High Official Offered Bribe of $5,000,000. A report is
current in the Capital that some time ago, a man
representing himself as the Manager of the Shanghai Opium
Combine, approached a certain high official and solicited
his good offices in consummating the opium transaction,
which is now being carried out by the Vice President.
According to the paper, the man promised the high official
five million dollars as a "birthday present," a
euphemistic term for bribery in this country, if the
Combine, through his influence, succeeded in concluding a
deal with the Government. The attempt fell through because
the high official is too honest to be thus corrupted.
Finding the authorities in Peking incorruptible, the
Combine turned its attention to Nanking.

Nanking being the residence of Baron Feng.

It is very interesting to watch this struggle, to see the various forces
at work. The passions of the Chinese are being played upon: the public
is constantly reminded of the insults and indignities that China has
suffered at the hands of those nations who are now urging her to join
with them. The people are not allowed to forget it is through force and
bribery that China has been reduced to her present plight; they are
asked to be skeptical of promises made by those nations who employ such
methods. It is having its effect, too, this press campaign. While the
foreign diplomats are working upon a handful of officials, the people
are being reminded of the wrongs they have suffered through the
machinations of these diplomats, representing predatory powers