In writing on anti-foreign riots in China, we have 'éotistantly urged that they ave ullitiately due, hot to the popular hatred of foreigners, but to éffidial inspiration, The leading sentiment which inspires. the people in the interior when. foreigners make their appearance is cittiosity, and so keettly commercial apeéoplé as the Chinese, nine-tenths of whose conversation is occupied. with the two subjects of food and aioney, sre not insensible to the advantages. from a pecuniary' point of view of ihe establishment i their town of people with money to spend. That the officials if they are not actually behind the. rioters:. could check them in @ moment if. they chose to do so, is the conviction of all who know China; it is oily superficial writers at home who would make excuses "for -these outbreaks by the plea thatthe Chinese' people lave e deep-seated hatred. of the- intrusive foreigner. The "experience of the: successful endeavour recently made by members. of the Southern Presbyterian Mission to establish themselves in. Chit shonfuj-a large 2} city it the north west of this province, fully confirms the view that we have constantly taken.
Chiichoufu, our correspondent tells us, is 8 very ancient city ante-dating the time of Confucius, that is to say, at least tivo thousand five hundred years old, Its name is written Siichou on some of the maps, and it is situated on the old bank of the Yellow River, and when "China's Sorrow" still flowed through Kiangsu to the sea, it was an even more important city than it is now, 'There is still water in the old bed, but not enough to make navigation possible, Until the effort just made, Chuchou has succeeded in' preventing foreigners establishing a station within its walls, though it has permitted them to pass through; but within the past year. the Roman Catholics and the Southern Presbyterians, to the latter of whom our correspondent belongs, have succeeded in making good their footing on its previously inhospitable soil, In November, 1895, our correspondent with a companion and native assistants rented an inn in Chuchou and opened medical dispensary. For three weeks business was brisk; in fact, so thronged were the doors that, though the people were not ill-disposed, the officials tind to send guard to preserve order... Only about a fortnight had passed, however, when the landlord of the inn began to be disquieted; he had been threatened, he said, by influential persons in the city, that unless he turned out the foreigners, his house would be pulled down about his ears, Our correspondent reported this to the prefect, the magistrate being away, und the reply he reodived was that while the Treaty obliged lim, the prefect, to protect foreigners, it did not oblige him to protect his own people. Remonstrance had no effect on his obduracy, the landlord's fears naturally increased, and it was wisely decided to withdraw the mission for a time, Thus the first act ended in the temporary triumph of the obstructive official.
The matter was then laid before Col. Denby, U.S. Minister at Peking, to whom his nationals never appeal in vain for assistance. Colonel Denby reported the action of the prefect to the T'sungli Yamen, and when asked for an explauation the prefect denied the charge and promised protection in the future, Colonel Denby then referred the matter as to the farther steps to be taken to General Jones, the U.S. Consul at Chin-Ikiang; in where juriedi¢tion Biangew is
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.