19th December. To Guard against the Secret Societies.
From dispatches to hand from the North it would appear that the unsuccessful attempt to destroy the palaces at K'aiféng and their inmates by fire on the 20th ultimo, has turned out more fortunate to the Manchus than would, perhaps, at first sight seem to the ordinary observer. The failure of the attempt and the capture of some of the incendiaries has revealed a formidable and widespread conspiracy against the Empress Dowager and the Manchu power she represents, which would have taken the Government entirely by surprise and perhaps have swept away the whole dynastic fabric from existence, but for the revelations made by the unlucky tortured captives, who, all but one, are stated to have remained resolutely silent in spite of every form of torture that could be devised by their inquisitors to make them confess. The one who had confessed courageously went through all the tortures in company with his comrades except at the last act, which it is alleged consisted of making the prisoners " breathe fire" through their nostrils—their mouths being stuffed up. After this person who, by the way, is said to have been only eighteen years of age, had confessed the whole plot as he knew it his comrades cried out a chorus of curses at him. They were than also forced to put a mark on the so-called "voluntary" confession by having a pen put into each man's band while one of his torturers guided the pen. One part of the "confession" declared that a numerous body of men had been specially detailed off to destroy the Chén-ting-Peking Railway—if all else had failed—and take up some of the rails as the Imperial train came on, whilst other bands of armed men had been ordered to fire at the Imperial train wherever chanco offered en route. This being communicated to Viceroy Yuan Shih-kai H.E. with his usual promptitude and energy at once made provision to guard against this por-all available troops analer his jurisdiction tion of the great conspiracy by ordering to be ready to camp along the whole railway route from Chénting to Peking, thus making one continuous line of armed troops on both sides of the railway whilst mounted troops are to scour the whole country side within fifteen li of each side of the railway and scatter any party of men, exceeding two or three in number, at the same tue arresting any suspicious characters in sight at the time of the expected passing of the Imperial train, "The: troops detailed for the. purpose, camped in the vicinity of Poking, have already started for their destination and the thoroughness of the Viceroy Yuan's arrangements for the protection of the Court travelling through his jurisdiction will it is expected prevent any unpleasant accidents en route.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.