We'stated last week that the project of making certain roads alongside the Ningpo Joss-House was causing strong irritation among the Ningpo Chinese, This feeling culminated on Sunday ina serious riot, uring which a number of houses were burned down and several lives lost.
'A Chinese mob assembled on Sunday afternoon in the Quarter of the French Settlement nest the Ningpo Joss House, attacked the house of the Inspector of Roads, maltreated M. Percebois and his family, gutted and' subsequently set fire to hi house; attacked the neighboring house, occupied by Miss Maclean, a missionary Indy, seriously maltreating the occupant: and went on to burn down M. Charrier's Stables (in the neighbourhood) and a number of adjacent Chinese houses.
Bight Chinese met their death in the riot, one being shot during the first attack on Mr. Percebois, and the others shot or Dayonetted later in the evening.
The Volunteer Force was called out at 9pm, and warning of their arrival induced the rioters to disperse; the streets wore nearly empty when the men reached the ground. While it lasted, the incen-charism seems to have been of the most determined character, the rioters thrusting wisps of burning straw into the promis they wished to destroy.
Rumours had "reached the Chief of the French Police that an outbreak was imminent, and the heads of the Ningpo Guild had indeed represented to the Taotai, and the latter to the French Consul, that the excitement of the people was becoming serious, Still the extent of the danger was not fully credited. The leaders of the Ningpo community affirm, and there seems reason to believe them that the riot occurred against their wish and wholly without pre-arrangement. But public feeling was excited to the point at which an incident suffices to cause explosion.
The immediate cause in the present instance seems to have been a collision, about 2.at., between some Ningpo men and the Police. The Police declare the Chinese attacked them; the Chinese, that the Police first used violence. However this may be, the fact remains that a policeman on his beat at the western end of the Rue clu Consular was maltreated by a crowd of about 200 Chinese. He was hit in the side, his sword taken hold of from behind and pulled from the scabbard, his shako knocked off, and the man was otherwise beaten badly. Some Europeans passing came to the rescue, and conveyed him to the Central Station. The next thing heard at the Station was through Mr, Percebois, the Inspector of Roads, who came in with his wife and five children. Mr. Percebois showed wounds on his head, and stated that his house had been surrounded, the windows smashed in, the rooms gutted, and that the place was also being set on fire. He had been injured by stones, while his wife had been dragged by the hair along the ground. She managed to escape down the Rue Wekwei however, and three sailors from the mail steamer Zigre—who were also assaulted, and one of whom lost his and brought them to the Station. Barbe, Chef de Police, sent to advise the Consul-General of the disturbance, and went with the Police at hand, under arms, to disperse the crowd. When they arrived they found a great number of Chinamen, dancing in rings, with the clothes of Mrs. Percebois parcelled out amongst them, after having gutted the house and smashed everything to minute arums, The house was a perfect wreck from top to bottom. The police fired three or four shots, as M. Barbe states, in the air, to intimidate the mob.
'M. Barbe at this time received instructions from the Consul-General advis ing prudence and a quiet bearing, and he accordingly prepared to retire his men, feeling that, with weapons in their hands, they might be apt to retaliate for the stones flung at them. Another reason for retiring was that a report had renched M. Barbe that the Municipal Hall, which he was compelled to leave comparatively unguarded, had been attacked by section of the mob. While they were coming back, M. Barbe states that he heard some shots fired, but that they were not by his men, As soon as they got back, the Municipal Compound was partly surrounded, and the mob began to tear down some wooden railings and smash lamp posts. Opposite the main entrance two Europeans in a trap were stopped and compelled to go back. Sentries were then placed all round the compound, inside.
About 7 o'clock the mob again came to the charge, and set fire to M. Percebois' house. 'M. Charrier's stables, exactly opposite, were also set fire to, as well as some new Chinese houses in the Rue Hué, in the same neighborhood. The mob prevented the mafoos from taking out the carriages stored at M. Charrier's, which wore therefore destroyed, but the ponies got away. About this time a lieutenant of the French gun-vessel Cowlewsre came on the spot with twenty men, and took command of the situation, Fifteen volunteers were sent under a sergeant of police to protect the gasworks, and remained there. The police did not return to the scone of the fray.
At9 o'clock the East Gate Police Station, where only four men were placed, was attacked, and twenty sailors from the U.S. 8. Ashuelot (of whom a detachment of eighty with one gun had been landed) were sent there. Forty more were temporarily stationed in the Consular Compound and the remaining twenty at the Hotel Municipal, where they were quartered in the large hall. A hundred and fifty Chinese soldiers from Kaou-chang-meat were also sent in by the Chinese authorities, at the request of the Consul-General. The Chihsien was asked to secure ten of the leaders of the mob, in order to afford a clue to the real raisers of the disturbance, but up till 10 p.m. only three prisoners had been made. Many of the Chinese in the neighborhood of the fires and of the Municipal Hall began to remove their effects, owing to warnings they had received from the rioters that their houses would be burnt down, M. Barbe's detectives had reported on Saturday morning that an incen diary attack was being planned, but he had hoped that it only related to 9 mass gathering of the Ningpo men, such as had already been held.
About 6.30 M. Voisin, Chairman of the French Municipal Council, sent a request to Mr. Fearon, Chairman of the English Council, for the support of the S. V. to which Mr. Fearon replied that he would lose no time in taking steps to give the desired aid, Mr. Fearon did so after consultation with the Consuls and the Commanders of the Naval forces, The foregoing relates almost wholly to the attack on French property, but with this the mob had not stopped, Following up the attack on M. Percebois' house, they at the same time assailed the neighboring one, tenanted by Miss Maclean, late of the Union Chapel Mission. Here they knocked in the windows, and assaulted the inmates —Miss Maclean, and Messrs. D. Cranston and Weir (chief-engineer of the steamer Gordon Castle.) Mr. Weir escaped with fortunately slight injuries, but Mx, Cranston received a severe wound on the head from stone, as well as other injuries, which have necessitated his removal to Hospital, Miss Maclean was thrown down the stair of the house and roughly treated, but upon her calling out to_ the mob in Chinese that she was not French, they desisted, and friendly hands helped her to a place of safety. The furniture of this house was then partially saved by foreigners who went to the scene after the French police had checked the mob. The appearance of number of foreigners and the Chinese authorities—the Chehsien and Magistrate of the French Mixed Court—restored a season of quiet; but still the mass of Chinese remained on the open space between the places attacked and the Ningpo joss-house, and surged about excitedly, At this time there were probably over 5,000 Chinese on the ground. The Chehsien and his chair were the objects of hostile demonstrations, but he was ultimately allowed to pass through. One Chinaman had been shot, either by the police, by Mr, Pereebois, or by a friend who had been with him when the house was attacked, and round the body a dense mass of his countrymen were gathered, About 6.30 foreigners began to leave the scene, under the impression that the worst hind happened, but as it became dusk the rioters returned to work. They flung stones very freely at passers-by—Mr. Fisher (of Messrs. Muller & Fisher) was cut on the temple and mouth, and had some teeth knocked in, while driving along the Rue clu Consular in his carriage with Captain Lowell; and, we believe, other cases occurred. At 7 p.m. the fire-bell again announced that incendiarism had been resumed, and it was found that the premises mentioned in the particulars furnished us by M. Barbe, had been fired. A number of (French) volunteers and firemen were stoned; and shots were fired and bayonets brought into use, with the result that at least five more of the rioters lost their lives, while several were sent to hospital dangerously wounded, We should remark here that, throughout the whole affair, the Fire Brigade did efficient and valuable work. We canna
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.