In the summer of 1891, when the Kolao Hnis(') were engaged in illuminating the Yangtsze valley with the flames of foreign property, the worthy residents of the leading river port, fearing they might be down in the programme for a visit, held a public meeting and appointed a committee to organise a scheme of self-defence. This idea, however, did not meet with universal approval, for some folks of experience and influence considered the native authorities could be depended on with every confidence, and that the bosh plan of defence was to have none at all. In their opinion, any steps taken in this direction would alienate the sympathy of the mandarins, and be calculated to highly irritate the people. Even Her Majesty's Consul wrote: "The undersigned has full confidence in both the goodwill and power of the higher authorities. There has been a marked improvement during the last twenty years in the personnel of the Chinese officials, and in their good-will towards us." It will thus be Seen that, at the beginning, there was no suspicion of, nor bias against the mandarins, Dut the very opposite.
This fond declusion about the good-will and power of the authorities to protect was soon rudely dispelled, and that by these very gentlemen themselves. As alarms of intended attacks became common, so also did statements by the authorities that they could not protect, or would not be respon sible for, the safety of foreigners at the places threatened. "Hence ladies and children had to be turned out of house and home at midnight, and rushed on board the gunboats; while ultimately all ladies had to be withdrawn from the native city, and the gentlemen who remained euupelled to keep nightly armed watch at each other's houses all ready for the enemy. Thus the hot months wore slowly on, an anxious time for all, but chiefly so for Her Majesty's Consul, Vice-Consul, and Interpreter—and frequently post-master too when that officer was sick—then all represented by the same gentleman. In spite of the immense mag-nitride of the interests at stake, and the serious results which would have followed his breaking down, Her Majesty's service, hard-pressed and undermanned, could spare him no assistance. He, however, was a host in himself, and like' a gallant captain stuck to his vessel although without a crew, and brought her safely through the storm.
At first it was hoped that proclamations would meet the case, and unimpeachable documents of this description were obtained; even highly satisfactory Imperial Edict came to hand, without, however, relieving the tension in the feast. mandarins seemed to have got it into their heads that, once they had announced them-twere free of all further responsibility in selves unable to protect foreigners, they
the matter, How feeble they considered themselves to be, when it was a question of rioting, may be judged from the fact that one gentleman, living almost under the shadow of the viceregal yamen, received repeated notices to leave, or the Viceroy would not be answerable for the ce sequences. He stayed on and survived it, but these were before the days when death might be che penalty for neglecting such advice.
Not only did the mandarins declare themselves powerless to give protection, they also strongly objected to anything being done by the foreigners to protect themselves. When it was arranged to hold a rehearsal of the Defence Committee's scheme, and all residents were requested to arm and repair one evening to their appointed posts, the Viceroy got to hear of it, and contrived to get the Ministers in Peking to telegraph to their various Consuls forbidding the turn-out, It was thus brought about that the defenceschemenever got beyond the paper stage. Still less was it the will of His Excellency that the gunboats should be allowed to interfere in any riots. To permit this would have spoiled the success of them completely. When all other arguments had been exhausted, the Consul in company with one of Her Majesty's commanders, during an interview, informed him that they had been authorised to ope fire on a mob of rioters, and to take other military measures if necessary to protect life,
ing to His Excellency it was quite contrary but he simply would not have it. Accord: to international law for foreign Powers to take measures to punish rioters, or to protect their people on Chinese soil until the Viceroy asked them [Blue Book, pp. 66,67}. Further, in order to secure that his reading of international luw should be the only one given effect to, three days Inter Sir Holliday Macartney called at the Foreign Ottice on "behalf of His Excellency the Viceroy with the cool request that ' orders might be sent by telegraph to the Admiral, that commanders of Her Majesty's ships would not lind men, and would not fire on rioters, unless asked by the Chinese authorities" [Blue Book, p. 28]. As Hor Majesty's government aid not soo" the necessity of falling in with this suggestion, in a short time Sir Holliday was back at the Foreign Office again with a still more urgent request from the Viceroy at Wuchang—he not being the man to take no for an answer—*'to have the instructions by which Her Majesty's naval officers were authorised if necessary to land armed parties, and: to fire upon rioters who threatened to molest European communities, altered or withdrawn" {Blue Book, p. 35]. Fortunately he succeeded no better at the second time of asking than at the first. But for this the riot' programme would have yone merrily forward. It was only when His Excellency was finally convinced of the firm determination of the foreign forces to have a hand in the yama that it was at Length given up. The tension was removed, the alarms ceased, and things returned to their normal condition.
But what had the Consul to do with all this? Much on every ground. Had he been a never-have-any-dispute-with-the-native-authorities man; had he conceived it, to be his duty to back up all their evil-intentioned proposals, what " blaze there would have been! But by constant watehfulness he contrived to be aware of every thing that was afoot; with infinite pains he kept his government as well informed as himself; and with unflinching resolution he met every move of the enemy, prepared to land men and open fire the moment it became necessary, and so succeeded in preserving the peace unbroken.
Of equal importance was another service rendered by him at that time. The idea had been carefully spread abroad that the anti-foreign rioters were also rebels against the Chinese government which, for its own sake, would spare no pains to put them down; and this became the generally accepted theory. He, however, was able to demonstrate to the complete' conviction of both the foreign and native high author ties that it was these sume rioters who were carrying on the diffusion of incendiary anti foreign literature. This fact was admitted in the various memorials of the Viceroys, and in the Imperial Edict, and so important did the Chinese government profess to regard the need for putting a stop to this that SirHalliday Macartney wrote to the Foreign Ottice: The Imperial government has determined on taking most stringent measures for their suppression (the anti-foreign pam-For and arrested, and on being found guilty, blets.) Their authors are to be sought
executed at once, and without waiting for, the customary Imperial authorisation to carry out the sentence" [Blue Book, p. 121}, But the pamphlet men proved to be as well hidden from the Chinese authorities, os previously the actual rioters
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.