In his Diary of 10th of 8th Moon, 1890, the Chinese Minister to Western Europe, Heueh, writes the followi "On looking up the Records of our Foreign Office T came on Marquis Tsong's despatch to the Tsungli Yamen and the Viceroy of Chihli in 1882, about a private letter to him by Hennessy the former Governor of Hongkong who had written to the Pope's Secretary of Foreign Affairs ({Chacapina). Its substance was that last year during an interview with Li Hung-chang they talked about the impossibility of Chinese subjects and Christians being at peace and the desire to re-establish the method of the Emperor Kanghi by which it is necessary that the Pope should send Minister to Peking who would be treated in the same way as the Foreign Ministers, ete. This idea is very far-reaching, At present missionaries in establishing. churches in all the provinces have incessant lawsuits with the people, and, as Roman Catholicism is protected by france, the evils are still worse. Now France itself is very severe on Roman Catholics, but when her missionaries go abroad she professes to protect Christians, but really only uses them as a weapon in her political schemes, The Pope in ruling the Christians of all nations relies upon their deep devotion in matters of faith to secure obedience to their respective rulers. If we compare the authority of each of these powers, the secular, and the ecclesiastical, the Pope's is the, highest. If we settle matters through the Pope, not letting a tyrannical nation interfere with them, nor letting soldiers and trade affairs be mixed up, then when a ditliculty in Christian Missions arises we can settle matters reasonably and kindly, and there will be no need of the help of a representative.
As to the latter half of the Despatch the substance is this One or two hundred years ago when England established the Kast India Company and first introduced opium into China and then forcibly sold opium, it occasioned frequent strife. Then " Treaty was made, In the Treaty the advantages of trade and the authority which should be given to missionaries were mixed up together. According to the Treaty, China should hand over all Roman Catholic converts to the protection of France. This Article is of very grave danger to China. During the period when Napoleon III used this Article it was not for good. At present the evil is more apparent. Before foreigners had interfered with China the followers of Roman Catholicism numbered over a million, now its followers are only 400,000, and Chinese high mandarins of State talking of Protestantism say that it spreads very little in China, therefore it is not worth notice. Sir Thomas Wade the English Minister also says that although Protestant missionaries spend a great. deal of money they have in all not 4,000 Chinese converts.
sump. The governments of foreign nations and the Treaties of foreign nations again and again interfere with Chinese affairs to the injury of their missions, therefore those who really follow Roman Catholicism are now less by half-a-million than they formerly were. And the increase of 4,000 as followers of Protestantism are for the most part only empty names, they are not real Christians,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.