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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND to discover the method of death, whether they enteric cases at Tientsin from the Paotingfu are to be shot, hanged, or beheaded; the soldiers expedition. Red-tape will at any time strangle all say that decapitation, either before or after all the best intentions in the world; it is com death, is to be an essential part of the punish-pliance with the formalities of rules drawn up ment so as to impress the native mind; in this in times of peace, which are inapplicable in case we may asume that the axe, and not the the great emergencies of war, that is the cause ropa or rifle, will be the means of death. After of all medical scandals. I myself saw one or his sentence Ting Jung showed an agony of two incidents last week which, if multiplied a fear and rage, indulging in the very antics of. few times, would have created a grave case of supreme passion. He went home, threw his official bungling. Things were urgently wanted official hat on tl.e floor, jumped upon it and tried but were not to be found. "I know there are to pulverise the button, shouting in the mean- lots of them at Weihaiwei," said one of the time the Chinese analogue of the old Hebrew attendants, but this was not of much use in plaint of putting one's trust in princes.
Tientsin.
THE INTERNATIONAL ENT: NTE.
They say that there was no original in- tention that the troops should winter in Pao- tingfa, but as the French suddenly announced their intention of doing so, the Commander-in- Chief thought i best to meet this move by a joint occupation. The military entente is maintained, thanks to the admirable "andtact commonsense of the commanders; but none the less is there a latent and constant distrust of each other in little sub-groups among the Powera. The Russians are at their old and well-tried policy of advancing their public interest by individual and unauthorised initiative, knowing that if they succeed, St. Petersburg will sooner or later endorse their efforts and reward their zeal. Europe has the emphatic assertion that Russia does not sock territorial aggcandisement, but nevertheless have the Russian consular authorities notified the other consulates here that their military leaders regard the eastern bank of the Peiho, right opposite the three foreign settlements, as the conquest of war; and that they will not recognize land transfers to foreigners which are dated later than June 20th, 1900. This is nothing less than colossal and am- azing impudence, to say nothing of in- justice; coupled with the persistent efforts to secure the railway, it points to an occult and deep-laid scheme of attaining predominance in Tientsin. Russian trade in this port is entirely confined to the transport tea business; when the railway is completed to Talienwan this will diminish to microscopic proportions. If they keep their grip on the railway-a railway, remember, that is in pawn to English cap- italists and that has been built and run by Englishmen and our river fails to improve, the whole trade of our port will be at the mercy of the Russians. I personally cannot believe that any Europeans could ever perpe- trate the enormity of confiscating the property of great numbers of Chinese private owners To my knowledge not a few of our "boys" and followers have invested their little savings on this ground and great numbers of them lived before this upheaval in the villages that used to cover the ground. Notices are up forbidding those poor folk to rebuild; and it looks as if confiscation pure and simple were in the air. Not a few British merchants have holdings on this ground; it will be curious to see if the his- tory of Messrs. Jardine at Hankow is repeated in Tientsin.
PEACE PROSPECTS.
A private note from hang Yen-mow in Peking received here two days ago stated that negotiations would probably begin, as far as the Chinese were concerned, in about a week. This is poor diplomatic news to send, but it is practically all I have to say on the public situa. tion. The mere fact that the First Beugel Lancers, the Royal Welsh and others have left us for the South shows that the military and political authorities are inclining to the view that Southern China may soon be the centre of
interest.
WINTER ACCOMMODATION.
After an exceptionally hot autumn, the cold weather has suddenly sprung upon us, and the one idea of the military is now to get into shel- tered quarters. It is a large and very serious problem, by no means settled yet. The health of the troops has on the whole been admirable, and the generous measures of the Indian Gor. ernment have not yet been put to the test as regards field hospitals and medical comforts. I think, however, it was an indiscretion to make Weihaiwei the chief and almost only store for these comforts. The Indian Government, ́as far as it was concerned, was resolved to have no medical scandal; but none the less might one have happened if there had been a big influx of
THE REPORTED SUICIDES,
The Chinese are retailing stories of the sui cide of great officials with much zest, but as there is no means of corroboration, and as there are excellent reasons why such rumours should be spread in these critical times, it is well not to place too much credit in them. The notori- ous extortioner Kang Yi and the arch-villain Yü Hsien have been already got rid of by this easy method-just as Nana Sahib was after the In- dian Mutiny.
SOME CHINESE TRICKS.
[February 9, 1901.
be mentioned for the Victoria Cross for conspicuous gallantry in the field; unhap- pily death interfered to this case. I refer to Mr. Philip Donaldson. The honours list, while containing no unexpected names, has a shocking lot of omissions, and this quite apart from the inevitable bad luck that inevitably attends many heroic actions. One or two of the finest things done here were by the man in command of the men present; they could not of course recommend or even refer to themselves. Everybody is lost in wonder at the omission of two names-all the more mark. ed because all the other officers of equal rank have received C. B's.
PEKING ITEMS.
Schiern, many years resident in Tientsin and A correspondent writes from Peking:-Mr. the foreign agent for Sheng's line called the Chinese Telegraphic Adminstration, has arrived in Peking, presumably on telegraphic service. Important Chinese employees formerly Sheng's are also in the Poking office, stated to be in the believe, in Peking. Tsuugli Yamen. No cable employees are, I
and everything else being dear. The railway The Chinese here are vory cheeky, rickshas is badly managed and it is a terrible matter getting any goods up to Peking by rail, and no small trouble taking up Chinese servants.
presented himself to Count von Waldersee the Prince Su, the Emperor's younger brother, other day and offered to go to Germany on the has been accepted. special mission of apology. I believe his offer
The Tientsin Provisional Government the other day had to deal with a charge-A Chinaman had cut off his queue prohibition against their having arms; and de-
very curious
The Chinese are said to be demurring at the and had rigged himself out as an American sailor, even to the detail of his underlinen: hemanding the right to re-construct the Taku
Forts in five years. then put himself at the head of a body of men and went forth to levy blackmail at discretion. They were discovered by the merest accident, and had a most ingenions defence. The man was, however, convicted and sentenced to death, for theft is at present a capital crime in the native city. Chinese ingenuity is hard to beat when it is beut to the perennial subject of squeeze: recently taken to the device of compliment. the clever rogues have Under the pretence of a profould admiration of the superhuman justice and equity of their for- eign municipal rulers, they have started the collection of subscriptions with which to present silk umbrellas and what-nots to our Aristides. The rogues go round; the residents don't know but that the foreigners are in the swim; they the Emperor has left Hsianfu; it was probably dare not refuse to pay, and so Autolycus gets Prince Su's departure from there which gave his own. The development is that the for-rise to the report, as, although he makes out he eigners have now had to forego these flattering.bas been in Poking all the time, there is reason tokens of civic and administrative integrity.
to believe he only reached Peking some ten days ago.
A SAD STORY.
The Peking and Tientsin Times publishes one of the most pathetic bits of correspondence I have ever read-the last two letters of Mrs At- water, of Fen-chou-fu. They repeat the story in brief of the massacres at Tai-yuan-fu and Tai-ku. The letters breathe the very spirit of Christian martyrdom, combined with courage and rare fortitude. The poor lady's latter mo- ments were intensely saddened by the terrible news that her own two daughters had been mas- sacred among the thirty-three victims of Hsien's devilish Latred at Tai-yuan-fu. She states that the proclamations at Fou-chou-fu stated that whoever killed a foreigner would bo doing the Governor a service. It is reading like this that makes one intolerant of the scrupu- losity which abets the escape of ruffians from justice.
UNSUBSTANTIAL RUMOURS.
The Phoenix is to be the guardship this winter at Taku, and is already housed in snug- ly at Sinho, about a mile above Tongka. Southerners are not to be in any way alarmed at the exceedingly silly reports about Chinese concentration and attack when the river is clos- ed. The foreign forces in North China are able to deal with any force the Chinese Empire could bring against them; and indeed the soldiers of all nations would wish for nothing better than that the Chinese would give them the chance of active operations.
THE NAVAL HONOURS.
Later.
The Renter announcing the naval honours has just come in. Most undoubtedly the Victoria Cross to Midshipman Basil Guy of the Barfleur has given the greatest satisfaction to Tientsin. This gallant lad's bravery is only surpassed by his modesty and self-repression: I had the plea- sure to be in the same mess with him for a time during his residence in Tientsin, and never once did I hear him talk shop, or make the remotest reference to his own action. It is a curious coincidence that the other Barfleur middie who was in the mess was also to
The general impression here is that the peace thers will be fresh trouble in the spring, but is a patched up affair after all: many opine whether caused by international complications or Chinese perversity is not quite clear.
There seems no truth in the assertion that
recent date, which is commendable.
Inote the following in Peking Orders of a
Committee for the Adminstration of Peking "The following decision of the International will be observed by the troops of all nationalities with the exception, for the present, of the French, to whom these decisions are not appli- cable:
Offences of Chinamen against individuals belonging to one of the contingents and vice gent to whom the individual belongs, no matter versa should always be doalt with by the contin-
in which district the offence may occur.
Offences of Chinese against Chinese are to be dealt with by the contingent occupying the district in which the offenco has occurred.
Persons implicated should, if necessary, be handed over to the contingent in question. Chinamen, either within or without Peking, As a general rule, passes are not required by and should not be furnished. To meet excep- tional cases where it is considered desirable to issue passes to Chinamen travelling to and from places at a considerable distance from Peking, French, Russinn, Japanese and Italian, has been an international pass in German, English, prepared. These will be numbered and a record of issues kept. The owners should be protected, but if they misconduct themselves, their passos should be confiscated and forwarded with a brief statement of the case to the office that has issued the pass.
ply of as much firewood as is r
As arrangemouts have been made for the sup- tion of buildings, for the purpose of fuel, is pro- required, demoli- hibited, except as regards such as are selected for destruction, with a view to punishing the own- ers."-P. and T. Times.
Among the list of officers previously posted for service in China, who in consequence of the tread of events have been ordered home, Major Kirkpatrick, Assistant Adjutant Gen- eral, Burma District.