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ish all orime committed." He thus took the blame, and afterwards petitioned for punishment, but as he was in favour at court, he was not punished for the faithful action of the people. This time also the people are acting for faithful reasons, and so cannot be called mobs, but they are only stupid to mix up with the mobs.
As you missionaries are known to be kind hearted men who treat others as you would be treated yourselves, we dare say this matter, too, can be easily settled, and that you will take pity on the present difficulties of our Government and the Emperor,
THE BEGINNING OF THE TROUBLE.
In the July number of the Church Missionary Intelligencer (the organ of the Church Mission ary Society) there is an extract from a private letter by the late Rev. R. W. Stewart, dated 27th March, giving an account of the trouble a turbulent political sect, calling themselves Vegetarians" were giving the Chinese authori ties in the neighbourhood of Kücheng. Mr. Stewart wrote :-
|
Oh, such weapons!
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
One man we observed wash- ing his sword in a pool, not to cleanse it from blood, but mud and rust.
Two nights ago I was writing very late, pro. posing to start on a long itineration next morn ing. I had just finished my quarter's accounts for Hongkong and my mail, about 4 a.m., when I was startled by calls of my name outside the house. Our native clergyman and several lead- ing Christians had made their way across the river to bring me news that on information received the mandarin had suddenly ordered all the gates of the city to be walled that night to resist a rising among the Vegetarians! We had besides ourselves about 100 women and children in our compound. We talked and prayed and planned till daylight, when we woke everybody up, and first turned our attention to the schools. It was impossible to send these women and girls home, the rain began and fell in torreuts, and no chairs could be got for them, and with their small feet the women could not walk, so the only thing was to send them into the city. We first sounded the neighbouring village people as to whether they would house them, but they were too frightened, and thought only of protecting themselves.
By daylight every gateway had been built up the only ingress was by a ladder belonging to our chapel on the wall. They started off, a wou-
dorful procession of women and children, nearly 100, and we watched them making their way slowly by the little ferryboat over the river and then up the ladder: it must have taken quite an hour that short journey of 150 yards. This done, the next thing was, what were our Z.M.S. ladies and ourselves to do? We first thought of our mountain house at Wha-sang, some ten or twelve miles away, but the raiu came down so hard, and the chairs, being locked up inside the city, could not be obtained for love or money, so this was clearly impossible; the poor little chil- dren could never do it on foot in such weather, and on such mountain paths.
(August 21, 1895.
HONGKONG.
Heavy showers have fallen during the last The mandaria in charge of the city came to week, but Tytam reservoir is still far from be- us in state to-day, preceded by a magnificenting full, although Pokfulam reservoir is over- bodyguard of eight soldiers, or at least meu of flowing. The Customs seizure in British waters the opium-smoking type, with soldiers' coats, has had a singular sequel, a suspicious death wherever they got them, but they had stocking- having occurred, which the police at first thought less feet, and only one bad a military cap. They had some connection with the firing that took stopped to have a good look at us, especially place during the seizure. The Coroner is hold. admiring Mildred and Kathleen, and thening a thorough investigation into the mysterious slouched on. The procession was dominated by affair. On Thursday the Sanitary Board met, a man with a bamboo wand, such as schoolmasters and on the following day a meeting of the use for their naughty scholars, only rather Legislative Council was held, when Bills of longer-whether to smack the boys who came
considerable interest were passed. The enquiry too close to the great man, or to urge on the respecting the fire which broke out at 70,
Jervois Street concluded on Thursday, when the braves to the conflict, we did not know,
premises were released. The most important feature in the case was the point raised on the question of a solicitor's right of cross-examina- tion in such cases. The Gymkhana meeting on Saturday was very successful. In the evening a crowded audience assembled at the City Hall on the occasion of Mr, G. G. Brady's farewell concert. Mr. Brady leaves the colony to-day to the regret of every resident. He is unques- tionably the ablest amateur elocutionist, comic singer, and entertainer in general that has been heard in the colony. The half yearly meeting of the Hongkong and Whompos Dock Co., Limited, was held on Mouday."
The mandarin begged to know if I had not even one gun to lend him to defend the city "No," I said," not one; we missionaries don't And no cannon ?" he asked have such things.” again. Fancy asking a man if he had any
cannon about him!
One thing gained is, the officials see the dif- ference between Vegetarian and Christian. This very official has been abusing our convert in our late persecutions, saying that Vegetarians were better than they To-day he exclaimed that "truly there was a wide difference between us," I hope he won't forget it when the trouble
over.
THE CHINKIANG AND NORTH- WESTERN RAILWAY.
The death rate last month was, for the British and Foreign Community, civil population, 26.4, and for the Chinese community 21.7.
The maximum temperature last month was 91.3, on the 20th, and the minimum 73.4, on the 4th. The mean for the month was 82.1. The rainfall amounted to 18.87 inches.
Peking, 11th August. The Imperial Government appears to be in thorough earnest about the construction of the projected railway between Peking and Yangtsze ports. All preliminaries have already been
The Singapore Free Press says:-There is arranged and work of laying the first rails will some probablility, we hear. that the battalion begin as soon as possible. The Assistant Grand which will succeed the 5th Fusiliers here will be Secretary and President of Board of Civil the 2nd Batt. Royal Irish Regiment (18th). Appointments. Hsu Tang, has been appointed In another quarter there is a rumour that we are Comptroller-General of Railways, with special possibly to have the Rife Brigade from Hong- department at Peking attached to Board of Re-kong. venue, and the Viceroys and Governors through whose provinces the railway is to pass are to have the title of Coadjutors, with two Taotais in each province to be working Directors or Managers. Most of these appointments have already been made by the Throne.-N. C. Daily News.
THE FRENCH CLAIMS IN SZECHUEN.
Captain A. W. Miller, R.N.. who for the last two years has held the appointment of Staff Captain of the Naval Yard, left for home on Wednesday by the Empress of China. Captain Miller will be much missed in musical circles and by the large number of friends he made in the colony.
The steamer Cheang Hock Kian, which ar- rived on Thursday from Singapore, reports that We learn that the settlement of the French on the 13th August, at 11.30 a.m., she spoke the claims for the destruction of the numerous steamer Taichiow, about latitude 15° 27' 8, missions in Szechuen is making considerable longitude 110° 15′ E., with both valves broken; progress. The negociations are being conducted took a letter for her owners, and left her under in a somewhat curious, but doubtless an effective sail and repairing one engine for Cape Varella. way. The French Minister forced the Chinese
A sad fatal accident terminated a pionic în to accept Bishop Dunand as the French repre- which a number of Portuguese residents took a launch to Samshuipo We did not much like shutting ourselves up sentative at the Commission, the Chinese being part. They went in
on Thursday afternoon and some of them went inside the city, but there was nothing else for it only represented by the Provincial Judge. The -the mobs that were collecting might be down enquiry and negociation take place daily in the to the Cosmopolitan Docks and commenced to on us any moment; so we packed up a few things yamen of the latter at Chengtu and every even-fish near the gates. One of the members was a ing a full account is wired to Peking by the girl named Noémi Maria Sequeira, 15 years of and followed the schools into the city. They are lodged in our large chapel-rather a crowd! and Bishop for the information of his Minister and age, who was sometime afterwards missed. A we are in one of the American Mission houses by the Provincial Judge for that of the Tsung search was at once instituted and at length the It with four of our ladies. Three more from the Yamen. In this manner Peking and the dead body of the girl was found in the sea.
French Government are kept fully informed is supposed that the unfortunate girl accidentally country will come in to-morrow morning, I hope of everything that transpires. and instructions foll off the dock gates. An inquest will be held. The mandarin visited me this morning, but I
can be wired as to any difficulties that may could not find out on what information he was
arise. Stops have also been taken to secure that the Bishop's messages shall not be tam pered with in the way with which the Imperial Chinese Telegraph Administration has fami liarised us.
A vast mass of evidence has been forwarded to Peking against the Szechuen of ficials in this way over their own wires and so strong is the case already made out against the Viceroy Liu Ping chang that Prince Kung formed one of the Foreign Ministers that the ex-Viceroy had no chance of escape.-China Gazette.
acting. The story is that late that Wednes day evening an old man, a stranger, presented himself at the yamên with a letter which he said must at once be taken to the mandarin, or he would press in and deliver it himself. It was done, the stranger went his way, and the gates were instantly ordered to be built up.
The officials promised the citizens that if they will themselves guard the city for five days, sol-
diers will then have arrived from Foochow.
They are doing this zealously. The citizens in bodies of thirty or forty are stationed at short intervals round the wall day and night. They display their arms proudly in a row on the wall. The best things they have are sticks, for their three-pronged forks and swords are of so ancient a pattern, and have been used for so many other purposes during past ages, that they will do but little harm to the adversary.
Yesterday was wet and cold; however, the sentry at our part of the wall got over that difficulty by fixing his coat on a stick at the place where he was supposed to stand, while he himself sat in a warmer spot out of the wind.
There has been a good deal of talk about town to-day, says the Shanghai Mercury of the 18th inst., over a number of deaths which have oc curred amongst the sisters in charge of Sicawei. Four of these died yesterday after only a few bours' illness, undoubtedly from choleral, and this has given rise to a number of rumours about mysterious diseases and dark plots. All these stories are absolutely without foundation, as the physicians are certain the cause of death was cholera.
:
The report of the Director of Public Works for the first half of the present year states, under the heading of Tytam Water Works Extension, that" Good progress has been made with the raising of the main dam and overflow; the former has nearly reached its full height and the latter has been completed to a height of five feet, at which level it is proposed to allow it to remain till after the rains of this year." From this it would seem that the colony will only have the advantage of one half of the addition to the storage capacity next dry season.
On Saturday, at the Harbour Office, two sea- men were brought before Hon. Commander W. C. H. Hastings, Acting Marine Magistrate, on a charge of refusing to do their duty on the American barque, George S. Homer. On the previous day the mate of the ship was prosecuted for assaulting the men, and their defence was that they were afraid of being assaulted by the captain and the mate after leaving Hongkong. They were sent to gaol for three weeks. In the event of the ship starting before that time had . expired the men were to be sent on board again',