326
The main army of General Nogi arrived to-day and Tainanfoo was occupied, although it was the intention to make the attack on An- ping and Tainanfoo on the 23rd, but as the Chinese would not fire on the Japanese men-of- war when they approached this morning the latter were forced to take charge of it.
Loss of life during the day--four Chinese. Five thousand Black Flags surrendered to the navy and the Japanese are now studying how to feed them. They will be sent as soon as possible to the mainland.
Thus the brave (?) Black Flags fought: sisting until the last."
$1
JAS. W. DAVIDSON,
re-
It appears that after the Thales had left, the Japanese not being satisfied that Liu was not on board, sent the Yaeyamakan in pursuit of her. She was overtaken about twenty miles from Amoy and another search was made, the vessel being detained about ten hours. The Japanese wished to take off seven passengers whose character they considered doubtful, but Captain Bathurst protested, and eventually the Thales was allowed to proceed, two Japanese officers being placed on board in charge of the passengers in ques- tion, the matter to be referred to the British Consul at Amoy for decision as to the right of detention. Consul Gardner, on the matter com. ing before him, decided to release the men.
THE HONGKỎNG WEEKLY PRESS AND
sent down to Foochow for execution. The re- maining condemned criminals are to be banished for life, but whether this will be done at once is not known. The examination of the untried prisoners will then commence, and it is thought that the investigation, as far as it will detain the Commission at Kucheng, will be brought to a close by the end of the month. The Viceroy has undertaken to continue the search for those implicated for an indefinite time, and as captures are made the arrested are to be sent down to Foochow for triál.-Echo.
THE COUP D'ETAT AT SEOUL.
ASSASSINATION OF THE QUEEN OF KOREA.
THE
MURDER OF THIRTEEN LADIES-IN-WAITING.
Chemulpo, 12th October. THE JAPANESE IMPLICATED.
I wrote to you on the 8th inst., and little thought then there would be any necessity for me to write again so soon, but on the very day I wrote that letter an atrocity of the most cruel nature took place. It was a murder committed in broad daylight, and the victims were fourteen Korean ladies, amongst whom was the Queen of Korea. The other thirteen were her maids-in-waiting, and these were
THE KUCHENG COMMISSION. butchered and burned by Japanese.
APPROACHING A TERMINATION.
RETURN TO FOOCHOW.
[SPECIAL TELEGRAMS TO THE “DAILY PRESS."]
FOOCHOW, 23rd October, 4.10 p.m. The Commission leaves Kucheng to-morrow. Except the four leaders no more have been
executed.
Hereafter the prisoners will be tried at Foochow
The guilty [with the exception of those on whom the capital sentence has been passed] are to be banished.
FооCHоw, 24th October. The Commission cannot return from Kucheng till Saturday.
FOOCHOW, 27th October, 12.45 p.m. The Kucheng Commission has just returned to Foochow.
80
Foochow, 19th October. Last Saturday we reported another crisis in the proceedings. The deadlock had continued long that H.B.M. Consul thought it advisable to have a personal interview with the Viceroy and he left Kucheng on Thurs- day, the 10th, for this purpose, arriving in Foochow on Saturday morning. He was accompanied
W. by Rev.
Banister. It W88 # curious coincidence that Admiral Buller should have arrived in the river on the same day-no pre-arrangement of this had been planned. Mr. Mansfield's interview with His Excellency took place on Monday and was somewhat prolonged. We do not, of course, know all that took place, but judging from results which we do know to have been entirely satisfactory, we may believe that Mr. Mansfield felt, for the first time since this investiga- tion commenced, the effect of the moral sup- port his Government had seen fit at last to give him. The progress which Mr. Mansfield had made in this business up to the time of this crisis appears to those who know the Chinese officials and their ways well marvellous. No Consul less intimately acquainted with the Chinese or, by the study of their character over the best part of a lifetime, equally able to deal with them, could have effected what he has done. Backed now by the support he has been given, he will be able to bring the investigation a satisfactory issue; but no strength of the support ought to be withdrawn until the work is completed,
to
Mr. Mansfield should have arrived at Kucheng last evening. We understand the programme to be that fourteen of the criminals are to be executed at Kucheng at once and the four leaders
HOW IT OCCURRED.
At about four o'clock on the morning of the 8th inst. some two hundred Korean soldiers who are being drilled by the Japanese and, as stated in my former letter, were denominated the Household Troops, along with some forty Japanese spshis (or were supposed to be such), all armed with swords, went to the Tai-won- kun's place and asked him to come to the palace as he had promised them to do, but which promise he had not hitherto kept. The old prince was unwilling to do as requested, but was forced in some way or other to yield to their demands. On arriving at the palace some were let in by side doors; therefore it was evident that there were already traitors inside to admit them. Others forced open some of the inner gates, whilst others climbed over the wall. Strange to say, also a Japanese military officer with a small guard forced his way into the grounds of the palace, killing one of the officers belonging to the Palace Guard, who made, but a faint resistance. The Palace Guards also made but a poor stand. Out of some thirty officers that should have been there, only thirteen were in the palace at the time, and some of these, I understand, were traitors. After a few volleys were fired the palace was in the possession of the assassins. While these things were going on the Japanese soshis surrounded the Queen's quarters and tered her apartments, and commenced the carn- age by killing all the ladies-in-waiting present. The Queen and another lady were dragged by the hair of their heads and placed in sacks. They were then carried to the wood at the rear of the palace, which is called the Deer Park, where they were murdered and burned. The assassins had prepared for their purposes a pile on which the bodies were laid and oil poured over them. This being done the torch was applied and the bodies were reduced to ashes.
THE TAIWON-KUN.
en-
But where was the Tai-won-kun all this time, may we ask? The fact is the old Prince was taken to the palace with the assassins, so as to make it appear that it was he who had given orders to commit the atrocities and not the Japanese His enmity to the Queen was well known, but I am afraid the Japanese have caught a Tartar in the old prince, who will pay them back in their own coin with interest to boot. Besides the Queen and the thirteen ladies, some fifteen Koreans lost their lives.
The Tai-won-kun has turned up in the palace and it has been discovered that he was taken to the Japanese Legation.
QUEEN'S MOTHER COMMITS SUICIDE. The following day the, Queen's mother was so frightened and beside herself that she com- mitted suicide. Yet, up to the time of writing, the death of the Queen has not been officially announced, but it is only rumoured that she has been disgraced by orders of the King and in
[October 30, 1859.
consequence her funeral will be simply noblesse, and public mourning will not be indulged in.
FOREIGN MINISTERS CONFER AND HAVE
AUDIENCES.
The following day the Foreign Ministers held a conference. Two of the Ministers had a private and confidential audience with the King, at which the Japanese Minister wished to be present, but the old Tai-won-kun refused and told the Japanese Minister that he could not. The Japanese Minister demanded an audience, but the Tai-wan-kun was firm and his demands were of no avail. The Japanese will find that the old gentleman (the Tai-won kun) is not like his son.
A TRIBUTE TO JAPANESE CIVILISATION! This is Japanese civilisation with a vengeance. No matter how nice the Japanese may dress themselves in European finery in the shape of civil, military, and naval uniforms, it is merely veneer, for their savage and deceptive nature still remains. This is the second time these instituted atrocities have taken place, this time of a more bloody nature than the last, as it was merely against a defenceless woman.
JAPANESE COMPLICITY.
Count Inouye was a valuable man, and ought to have remained in Korea while it was in such an unsettled state, but instead he was replaced by a man of inferior diplomatic cast, who, although a general, has not seen duty for over ten years, but during this period he has secluded himself, studying Buddhist litera- ture. Certainly any bad light reflected on the policy of the Japanese in Korea will have to be borne by him, but one thing is a fact, or seems to be-that is, that the Japanese have all along been preparing for this little game. I know of many little incidents which come to my mind now, which prove to me plainly that their little undertaking was known to the Japanese authorities before it was carried out. For instance, they expected some European war vessels on the 8th, as well as a Japanese man-of-war on the 9th. But the latter only arrived here on the 11th and left again on the 12th. The steamer Owari Maru also arrived unexpectedly on the 10th with nothing on board, and apparently she had got nothing to take in,
FOREIGN GUARDS.
Guards from the Russian cruiser Koryetz and the U.S. cruiser Yorktown left for Seoul on the 10th. The fray is thickening and the rope of the Japanese is lengthening, and the next thing we may hear is that it has broken.- Mercury correspondent.
Shanghai, 22nd October..
The Russian representative at Seoul has handed in to the Korean Government a protest against the Tai-won-kun's interference in State affairs; demanding that the King shall take the government into his own hands. This protest will be followed, if necessary, by an ultimatum, which will be supported by a considerable Rus sian squadron, which should by this time have arrived at Chemulpo.
The action taken by General Miara was taken against the remonstrances of the Japanese advisers to the Korean Government. We learn that the foreign representatives at Seoul unité in denouncing the Japanese murderers of the Queen, of whose death there is unfortunately little doubt.-N. C. Daily News.
A Seoul telegram published by the Japanese papers states that the re-coronation of the King on being denominated Emperor of Korea had been fixed for the 20th inst., the selection of the Empress Consort being made at the same time. The age of the Empress Consort, it is declared by proclamation, shall be above thirteen years. (The King is now forty-two years of age and the late Queen was forty-five.) The Foreign Ministers at Seoul, however, have, refused to acknowledge the proposed re-corona- tion or the selection of another Empress Con sort. The solar calendar will be used from the day of the coronation instead of the present lunar calendar:
The Normandie, which arrived at Shanghai on the 20th inst. from Moji, rescued two Japanese at sea. They had been out for fifteen days and during the last three days had no provisions.
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