The first care of Count de Rochechouart, after the massacre of Tientsin, was to seek out, by all possible means, the instigators and the authors of this lamentable tragedy. All the information which he could procure at Peking implied the culpability of the Chifu, the Chihsien, and General Chen-Kwojui, "Count de Rochechouart thought it right to impart his suspicions to his Excellency Tseng-kwo-fan, begging him to open an enquiry into the conduct of these magistrates, and to punish them. A few days later, the French Charge a'Affaires went to Tientsin, and there acquired the said certainty that the acts attributed to these magistrates were real and incontestable. He then pressed more earnestly on the Viceroy of Chihli, the necessity for chastising these wretches. He pointed out, at the same time, that, martial law having been decreed at Tientsin, it was not necessary to conform to the habitual formalities of Chinese procedure, and that a summary judgment would have the double advantage of allaying the just resentment of the French Government, and of re-establishing security, by showing the inhabitants of Tientsin that the Central Goverment intended to chastise the authors and the instigators of these atrocious crimes.
Count Rochechouart, not having been able to persuade his Excellency Tseng-kwo-fan to share these views, and the difficulty of the situation having rather increased than lessened, thinks it right to impart, to the members of the Tsw a i colleagues, the motives which led him to insist that capital punishment should be ous and' inclined to believe in the most absurd stories. 'Two of his false witnesses displeasing the Chifu, by the weakness and vacillation of their deposition, their death wes decided on, Although martial law had not yet been proclaimed at Tientsin, the Chilsien had not energy to refuse' the Chifu an order for summary execution. In carrying out their execution without ful6lling the numerous formalities enacted by the Chinese aw, he exceeded his powers; and thus found himself bound for ever to the nan for whom he had compromised himself. At the present moment, these two functionaries throw the blame upon each other.
The Chifu had thus assured himself of the aid of the Chihsien, when a deputation of the people came to offer him an umbrella and an engraved tablet, in_proof of approbation. The false depositions had had their effect, and the people were henceforth (ed to follow the Chihsien, in the path ich he had opened. The latter refused the presents which were offered him, saying, "Thave done my duty; and these execttions are only the prelude of a much graver affair, which I am pursuing at this moment." After receiving such marks of popularity, the Chita no longer hesitated to launch, in concert with the Chihsien, his incendiary proclamations. OF three false witnesses, only one survived, namely, Oo-In-chang, the object of whose depositions was to show the reality of the doctrines set forth in the proclamations. He pretended that he had been carried off and enchanted by Christians employed by the Missionaries.
He went so far as to accuse one Wong-san of glamouring and attracting, by magic, proselytes into the Mission establishment. The Chihsien demanded, in consequence, that Wong-san and the others accused of sorcery should be immediately given up to him. The next day, when the French Con-Sul was leaving Chunghow's Yamen, to meet his death at his post, the Chihsien
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.