To the Editor of the "Nonrn-Cursa Daty News,"
Sin,—With reference to a letter, which appeared in your paper, dated the 28th of June, and signed "A Peitaiho Refugee," the following facts should I think be made known From the arrival of H.M.S. Humber a Peitaiho on the J7th of June, to her departure on the 19th, Commander H. Davison was in command and solely xesponsible for the safety of the inhabitants of that place. On his departure for the command of the men left behind was turned over to Lieutenant Roper. Why "A Peitaiho Refugee" should have made such obviously inemrect and misleading statements that Major Parsons (an Fofticer in civil employment on leave from Burma) had entrenched this plice and arranged to defend that, is past comprehensic 'Phot 105 men armed with tithe should have kept in-check, as stated Peitaihn Refugee," the' forces (said to number 18,000 men) under Generals Sung and Ma, and afterwards a large body of Manchu troops, is rather amazing. If such was the case, one can quite imagine that this small force, said' to be able to pacify lange tracts of country and keep in cheek thousands of Chinese foreign-drilled troops, could ill be spared when Tientsin, with a garrison of 3,000 men and guns, was, so hard pressed by an investing force of Ohinese numbering about 5,000 or 6,000 men.
As to establishing Peitaiho T should say be most unsuitable, 2 's no landing place, and for about six days out of seven would he impossible to disembark sick on account of the heavy seas running, Railway communication is also destroyed ith Tientein. only reasonable to suppose that had it been necessary to abandon Peitsiho sooner than the 22nd of June, the Europeans from Tongshan and Shanhaikuan would have yot away in much the same manner or they did on the occasion in question. There is no rowen. why we should think otherwise. If Peitaiho had not existed, the force of seamen from Tongshan would have made their way to the coast and found their way back by junk to Taku.
"4 Peitaiho Refugee" appears to ima gine that there was only one person in that part of the country who was able to make use of the brains he was blessed with, but there were others who were capable of the same effort.
It is a pity that "A Peitaiho Refugee"
tate facts alone, instead of drawing on his imagination as was done in mapy instances in the letter.
Tam, ete,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.