inhabitants in the centre of China. But Americans, Dutch, Germans, Russians, and French all want their own cables and telegraphs. Japan, and China herself, naturally emulate these exemplars. How was it possible for British citizens, now actively attacked and depleted by the Pacific cable enterprise of their own Government, to make headway against the conditions of trade, the facts of geography, and the ambitions of foreign nations thus briefly enumerated above?
Nevertheless, they have made a good struggle. It was in 1871 that British cable enterprise entered the Far East. In that year a cable was laid from Singapore to Cape St. James, near Saigon, in French Indo-China, and thence carried to our possession of Hong Kong. From that date till 1888, however, no more cables were laid by us on the coast of China, for at Hong Kong our passage up the coast was barred by a formidable rival, the Great Northern Telegraph Company of Denmark.
As soon as the Trans-Siberian route had been finished, connecting Russia by land-line with Vladivostok, this Danish company undertook to unite Vladivostok by cable with Japan, and Japan with Shanghai. This was done in 1871. As if this was not enough, they laid cables in the same year from Shanghai to Amoy, and thence to Hong Kong. The Asiatic coast was thus linked up continuously in 1871 from Vladivostok to Singapore, and the Danes had filled the area north of Hong Kong. In 1888 they duplicated their Vladivostok-Japan-Shanghai cables.
But as the years passed after 1871, it became more evident that, as the seat of government was in North China, the Danish company could not fail to exercise a preponderating influence with the Son of Heaven. Accordingly, in 1883-1884, the British company decided at all hazards to make a move north, and laid cables from Hong Kong to Foochow, and thence to the Danish stronghold of Shanghai. I remember, when proceeding on the magnificent waterway of the River Min to
