In addition to the numerous letters from correspondents in Shantung and Chihli pointing out the danger impending from the encouragement given by the Chinese Government to the Boxers, we published on the 10th of January last a translation of a letter received here by a Chinese official of Taotai rank whose home is in Chinanfu, the capital of Shantung, from his family on the subject of the disturbed condition of Shantung. In this letter the writer, who was the brother of the recipient, predicted what is now happening, and the following extract from it is especially interesting at the present moment "We are having a general panic caused 1036 by the reign of terror now running rampant Vehrough the province, arising through the depredations and atrocities of bandits upon the villages and towns, where they are murdering and pillaging all who ever had anything to do with foreigners and foreign missionaries. To the question: Where is the Governor, and what is he doing that he allows all this to take place under his eyes? the answer is: So great and deep is the hatred of Governor Yii against everything foreign and against all Chinese who have had anything to do with foreigners that, flinging to the four winds all prudential motives of maintaining peace within his dominion, which should be the true duty of every official, our Governor has, to the astonishment and terror of ull law-abiding people, actually given open help and encouragement to the. bandits and desperadoes of the province who have joined themselves together under patriotic designations asa cloak to their true aim of pillage and robbery. Put into so many words the encouragement of the Governor to the ruffians calling themselves "Patriots and Champions of Peace (Yi-hdtuan)' and to those whose original society is the Great Sword Association (Ta-tao-hui)' really means: Go forth and slay. pillage, and exterminate all foreigners and Chinese who are their converts, and I will forgive your sins for having formed associations and societies which are prohibited by Imperial decree and are an abomination to the Empress Dowager.'
"With such countenance and encourage-mont from the highest official of the province, what subordinate officer would dare to bring these ruffians to punishment when the penalty is denunciation to the Throne and loss of rank and office? This has already been the lot of several civil and military officials because they felt it their duty to preserve peace by attacking the bandits and scattering them so as to prevent them from doing the same to the unfortunate Christian villagers in the towns and hamlets which cover the countryside of our native province. Is it, therefore, to be wondered at that, being given the freedom, as it were, of the country side—the walled district cities, etc., are comparatively quiet owing to the local officials being for obvious reasons determined to preserve the peace in their own vicinity,—these so-called patriots have indulged to the utmost extent in their pastime of hunting for, and pillaging Chinese converts and missionaries, and murdering also a number of the more obdurate Also as a pastime, chapels and houses are either demolished or burned down after they have been stripped of everything valiiable, and sometimes even non-converts have also been involved in the general ruin because some one remembered that some ears ago so and so, lent a plough-share or a bushel of rice to a neighbour there who belonged to the condemned religion "So far, although the foreigners in the mission stations throughout the smaller towns are actually in great fear of attack, none of them have been molested by these ruffians, but this cannot last long. for Knowing that they have the license of the highest official in the province, these bandits are bound in the near future to
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.