Five months of the rule of Yuan Shih-kai in Shantung have made it evident that with his hands effectually tied from Peking, there is little to be hoped for from his desire to have peace and tranquillity until there is more pressure upon the Central Government or whatever takes the place of that somewhat imaginary quantity. It is an instructive fact that within the period of about a mouth, there have been engagements between Boxers and Chinese troops, or else between Boxers and Roman Catho-lies in three differentyplaces, two of them in Chihli and one in Shantung, one of the former being within fifty li of the provincial capital Paotingfu, a score or so being reported as killed.
After the t was over the provincial authorities went gut td the spot to be sure that it was still in situ, or for other obscure purposes. In another instance near Ts'angchou, the Roman Catholics were well armed, and had a "battle" -with the Boxers, in which Killed, but it was done by their own men, important leader of the latter was
as is alleged by mistake, but they do not, explain why it was necessary to have a "battle" if noone was to be killed. The magistrate was absent at Paotingfu, attending to. troubles, which had. atvsett from his previous dealing with the Boxers, which had been too severe to suit the milk-and-water enthusiasm of some of the leading provincial authorities.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.