Excerpt from A Retrospect of Political and Commercial Affairs in China During the Five Years 1873 to 1877
Five years ago, a small volume was published containing a reprint from the N orth-china Herald of the Retrospects of political and commercial events which are written every year in that paper, for the five years from 1868 to 187 2.
The project had been entertained of carrying back the work in another volume to 1863, in order to provide a fairly complete, even if very brief, sketch of events since the close of the last war. Partly from lack of encouragement, however, partly from other causes, this idea was not carried out; but it was resolved to carry forward the design and to publish a fresh volume at the expiry of another five years -at the close of 1877.
That period has arrived; and a second volume, covering the period from 1873 to 1877, is now published, with the conviction that it will be found a useful book of reference pending the appearance of a more pretentious history of our intercourse with China.
The Political articles are, as in the former volume, solely from the pen of the Editor, who is conscious that many defects can be charged against them. The excuse is that they do not pretend to be standard history, thoughtfully elaborated in the calm of a study, but simply retrospective sketches of each year’s events, written originally for publica tion in a newspaper.
The Commercial reviews, on the contrary, proceed from many different authors L. But in each case from experts in the subject treated of. The scope of these articles has continued to expand yearly since they were first undertaken, as their value has been recognised; and they form, it is believed, a careful and complete review of the course of the four chief staples of the China trade during the period treated of.
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