'THE very interesting letter from Lincbingchou which wil! be found in another column tells x very serious story; and it will not be surprising if this story is repeated in maw other places, as long as the present system of ug money from the aves been several! roings lately people of China continues. There
that the Boxer snake was only scotched and not killed; but it is so confidently believed that, whatever the spirit of local officio's, the Peking Government and the highest provincial officials are determined to keep the pence between Chinese and foreigners, that the signs of recrudescence of Boxerism have been lightly regarded, perhaps too lightly. Our correspondent, who may be implicity relied on not to have in any way coloured or exaggerated the facts, tells us that, the entire American mission at Tuningfu, a town in the south of Chibli, between Shantung and Honan. had been forced to leave the town, and had passed through Linchingchou with an escort on the 2ist instant. The cause was the sudden rise of a new anti-foreign sect—Boxers in a new guise—calling themselves "Tsai Yuan," or "Orehardists." They are known, we are told, to have been in existence last spring, and have been arming and preparing for operations at Changtéfa, Northern Honan, a little to the west of Tamingfu. Nothing was known of their plans until the day set for the massacre of the foreigners in Tamingfu had actually passed; it seems that the " Orehardists" had planned to enter the city while the examina tions were being held, but the Liser-ary Chancellor failed to put in an appearance, and the date was po-t-poned. As soon as the plot known, the district magistrate was informed, but did nothing; and whew the missionaries tried to communi-ete with the S. Minister at Peking, their message was delayed on vations pretexts and finally turned to them. The missionaries fortunately succeeded in getting an English friend in Honan to telegraph for them, and to the astonishment of the 'Tamingfu officials, they received a long and peremptory gram from the Viceroy Yuan' Shih-kai, ordering them 'o prot-ct the mis-ionari-s at ay cost, Tueir slis-gust as this frustration of their efforts to prevent the news gettin, to. Poking.(as./laudly expressed: The General at once ordered in several regiments, but it was evidently unsafe to trust the lives of women and children to such officials, and equally evident that no useful missionary work could be done there for some time, so the whole American colony came away.
The difficulties in the way of such men as H. E. Yuan Shih-kai, H. E. Chou Fu, and other Governors in provinces overran by the Boxers in 1900, must not be under-rated. Not the least of these is the ignorance, indifference, and rapacity of the officials to whom reforms and the protection of foreigners have been committed. For the misguided pea-sentry, illiterate and oppressed, there is much to be said. When they are squeezed they are told that iv is the foreigner for whom their last cash is being taken, and they (feel they are acting as patriots when they attack the foreigner. For the officials no such excuse can be admitted. They are not illiterate but are a fine body of scholars, and there are books without number, the reading of which would make them understand their country's wants and how those wants cin' be supplied; and there are edicts without number ordering them to protect foreigners and the foreign religion, How chililish they are in some matters, no: withstanding all their scholarship, is shown by their attempt to prevent the news of the impending insurreetion reaching Peking. That they had the power, if they had had the will, to. protect. the foreigners is shown by the rapidity with which troops were gathered at Tamingfu when H, E, Yuan prodded them to action with his urgent telegram. Such dilatoriness and duplicity as the officials displayed are actually criminal, and it 1s to be hoped that, after due enquiry has been nade, they will be severely punished. It is not through any care of theirs that we are not now mourning the massacre of over a score of white men, women, and children. They should be punished, first, for neglecting their obvious duty, and secondly, for attempting to prevent the news reaching their superiors. That the telegraphic offices should. have the power to refuse obviously improper telegrams is quite right; but it isa criminal act to refri-e to transmit the message when men and women in danger of their lives, and realising that the native force on the spot to crush a rising against them is totally inadequate, seek to send.an appeal to their Minister or Consul. Much gratitude is {ls meanwhile to the -|U. S. Minister and H. E. Yuan for heir prompt and effec: ive action.
As to the up-ising of the O chardists, it is not expected to be serious; it may spread to other portions of North China, but it is not likely to assume alarming proportions. The Chinese Government understands that it must protect the foreigners: that another Boxer upty of Eh There is one facto however, in the situation whose seal weight it is difficult to estimate, though it cannot be disguised tha: it is regarded as having a very malign educated. Chinese spect by many
Before the Boxer rising, she notorious Kang Yi, the "Lord High Extortioner," as he was generally called, was sent south from Peking to collect all the money he could to raise a new amy for the defence of China, and he was followed by the equally notorious Li Ping-hong, who was sent to test the loyalty of the Yangtze Viveroys. Strangely enough, H. E, Vich Liang has just been sent to the South from Pekin; on a similar mission to Kang Y's: he is to collect all the money he em for the reorganisation of China's armies, It is possible that there is nothing menacing in his mission, except that the officials will have to screw more money out of the people, and so increase the popular discontent; but we may hope that there is no such plot at the back of his appointment as there was at the back of that of Kang Yi. Still, it is well for all foreigners in Chins to be on their gu
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.