III
THE FIRST CHINESE TREATIES
It was not possible for the great empires of China and Japan to maintain permanently their policy of seclusion described in the preceding chapters. The maritime commerce of the world was rapidly increasing. The ships of Western nations were traversing all seas. The application of steam to navigation was beginning to bring the distant parts of the globe nearer together. It was contrary to the spirit of the age that a vessel in distress or requiring aid and supplies should be treated as an intruder in the ports of any people. The exchange of commodities was coming to be regarded as not only a legitimate transaction, but as one from which no nation had a right to exclude its inhabitants.
The efforts of China to resist the progress of the world in shipping and commerce were destined to an early and humiliating failure. The traffic carried on through Canton, notwithstanding its vexatious conditions, was increasing; and the Chinese people, realizing its advantages, were showing a marked interest in its growth. The unsatisfactory methods by which this trade was conducted could not fail, however, sooner or later, to bring about a conflict between the authorities and the foreign merchants or their governments; and it was plain that a radical change could be accomplished
