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THE CHENGCHOW MURDERS.
CHINA'S REPARATION.
On the 2nd inst. there was issued the follow ing Imperial Decree, for the translation of which we are indebted to the N.-C. Daily News :--
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
"With reference to the massacre of the English missionaries Bruce and Lowis, at Chengchow, Hunan province, a short time ago, we have already in response to the memorial of the Governor given commands that C'hen Hsi. nien, district magistrate of Yuanlinghsien; Liu Liangju, First-Captain of the Chengchow garrison battalion Chang Yao-k'nei, Lieut.- Colonel of the Yi battalion; the former district magistrate of Yuanlinghsien, Wan Chao-hain; and Major-General Yen Wuliu, Brigadier Commanding the Yi Brigade; should be first cashiered and reduced to the ranks for the purpose of undergoing trial. We have now received another memorial from the said Governor Yu Lien-san stating that when the riot first began, the late Mr. Lowis fled from the mission premises and in passing the yamen of the First-Captain, Liu Liang-ju, the latter shut his yamên gates, refusing to receive the said missionary, in consequence of which said missionary was beaten to death by the mob. With regard to the Major-General. Yen Wa liu, when the mioh was passing his yamen en route to the chapel he remained inactive as if ignorant of the purpose of the rioters and omit ted to render the necessary protection to the missionaries and mission premises, while as to Wan Chao-hsin, the former Chibhsien of Yuan- lingbsien, knowing that he was so soon to be superseded he purposely took no notice of the current rumours, omitting to use any efforts to put a stop to them. In consequence of this it brought about the said serious riot. With regard to the other officials of Chengchow, their faults were of various degrees; such as either failure to give the proper protection or they did not beforehand take the necessary steps to give such protection. All were, however, deserving of punishment, We have again and again commanded our military and civil officials to give every protection to foreigners and missions, yet our orders have not been observed, as witness the recent serious affair in Chengchow. Now in the case of the First-Captain Liu Liang-ju, his guilt was doub ly serious above all others in that he did not give protection when he was able to do so, and we particularly execrate the man's conduct. We hereby command that he be summarily ex- ecuted. The cashiered Major-General Yen Wa-lin of the Yi Brigade is sentenced to await decapitation in gaol; Chang Yao-k'uei, Lieu- tenant-Colonel of the Yi battalon, and Chao Yu-tien, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Kueiyang battalion, are hereby cashiered and dismissed for ever from the army; Wu Chih-chun, prefect to Chengchow, is also cashiered and dismissed for ever from the public service; he is also to be exiled for five years. The cashiered ex-district magistrate Wan Chao-hsin is commanded to be banished to the utmost limits of the Empire and is never to be liberated or allowed to return
home. These punishments are awarded as a warning to all.”
The N.-C. Daily News of the 5th inst. says:-One very salutary effect of the Imperial Decree commanding the summary decapitation of the First Captain of the Chengchow (Hunan) garrison, Liu Liang-ju, an official holding a substantive post of the 4th grade and in posses- sion of that all-important-in Chinese eyes— insignia of rank, a properly constituted yamen, is the immense significance it will have in the minds of the whole mandarinate of China, inas- much as it establishes that most beloved of all things to the official mind-East as well as West-" a precedent." The importance of this diplomatic victory of Sir Ernest Satow over the Chinese officials of Peking and Hunan in obtaining such
drastic Decree cannot be estimated, for it establishes a precedent for the future settlement of all anti- missionary riots involving the loss
of life. One, or even two dozen or so, military officers of substantive rank sentenced to decapi- tation is of small consequence in the eyes of the Chinese Government and the mandarinate in general. But they declare that if the British Government have succeeded in getting the pre- cedent now of a military officer summarily executed for failing in his duty in giving the
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necessary protection to an ordinary foreigner of | no official rank even, why not as easily the heads of civil mandarins of the same (Tao'ai's) or pre- higher grades in the future? It is this
which has struck terror and disgust cedent into the hearts of all Chinese officials who have heard of this Imperial Decree of the 2nd instant with reference to the punishments of officials implicated in the Chengohow massacre case, and certainly we may expect more perfect protection of foreigners in the interior hereafter on the part of all mandarins, unless from those who do not care to preserve their heads,
[November 17, 1902.
Mrs.
Blanche from being too haughtiness of aggressive, while, she brought out to the full the sweeter side of the character. At the termina- tion of the third act she was particularly good, and the house lost no opportunity of showing its sincere appreciation of this fact. Slade is to be congratulated on a singularly appearance on the boards successful first
Mr. the Hongkong theatre.
Balloch, of who, as Hartley Chilworth, alias Mr. Owen, Was associated with Mrs. Slade in her strongest scenes, was entirely admirable, and in his return, after several years of absence, the A.D.C. is most fortunate this year. His THE A D.C.'S PERFORMANCE OF ease of manner was all that could be desired,
LIBERTY HALL.”
It was felt no doubt by the members of the Hongkong Amateur Dramatic Club that when they undertook to produce Mr. R. C. Carton's four-aot drama Liberty Hall they were setting themselves a task of no small dificulty, one far more exacting than had fallen to the lot of their nearest predecessors who have upheld the standard of amateur acting in Hongkong. All Mr. Carton's plays are interesting, but all. of them require good acting to make them successes from the point of view of the audience. Liberty Hall, since its first appear. ance at the S. James's Theatre, London, in December, 1892, Las established itself as a public favourite, and it has been revived in London within the present year, as well as once or twice in the interval, if we are not mistaken. In the provinces, too, it has always managed to please the spectators. It has just about the right admixture of sentiment and humour to take the fancy of an English audience, and, though having of course Do pretensions to being a great play, must always be considered a pretty cue.
There is a slight atmosphere of, say, twenty years ago in Liberty Hall, but that perhaps is not disagreeable to the majority, for whom the very much remoter Tom Robertson has his charm still.
The AD.C., as we have said, undertook no light task in Liberty Hall, and no doubt when the play had been decided upon, the allocation of the parts was not among the least of the difficulties.
It may be stated, however, that this very delicate operation in an amateur club seems to have been admirably performed. The few old members were entrusted with characters well suited to their proved capabilities, while the new recruits, to one of whom fell one of the three parts on which the making of the play depends, showed that their talents had been gauged to a nicety. We must take the oppor- tunity here to pay a thoroughly deserved tribute to the most excellence stage-management of Mr. E. W. Mitchell, Secretary of the A.D.C. who is said (though it is hoped that this is not true) to be making the production of Liberty Hall his last essay as stage-manager. Anyone who has had anything to do with theatricals knows how essential a good stage-manager is to a good performance.
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and even in those speeches given to Owen in which the author has scarcely escaped the charged of plati ade, Mr. Balloch managed to reconcile his hearers. His voice is of a Mr. singularly sympathetic and pleasing tone. Hay is no stranger to Hongkong audiences. His successes in the near past are fresh in our memories. Yet he was able in the role of William Todman to add more laurels to his record. His assumption of the part of the broken-down old bookseller was wonderfully kept up. Looking like the ben volent old man in A Pair of Spectacles, his carriage and actions were in excellent accord. Perhaps his concep tion of the part was too senile, too pathetic, but the merits of his acting are not to be denied. As Gerald Harringay, Surgeon Norris had to grapple with a difficult and at first not alto- gether sympathetic part. Having got through the opening scene he improved very distinctly and had his audience with him at the end. Mrs. Norris as Amy Chilworth, Gerald's sweetheart, filled her rôle very gracefully and was at her best in the third act. Mr. John Hays who
" villain' impersonated the
of the piece, Briginshaw, the valgar owner of the emporium where everything, even the proprietor,' is in the gross, was excellent beyond expectations. Hitherto seen only in very small parts, Mr. Hays realised himself splendidly last night, and, though we think a suaver Briginshaw would be more akin to the author's design, he 08 that the blustering almost convinced attitude was the right one. Mr. Looker
$ trifle too slow- made Mr. Pedrick indeed in the first act there was a slight drag generally-but he had a part which gave Mr. A. G. Ward, how- him but little scope. ever, in another small part, that of Mr. flickson, made a distinct hit and his exit in the third act, the only one in which he appeared, was capital. Miss Bird as Miss Hickson was iuimitably quaint, with her corkscrew curls and galoshes, and shared with Mr. Ward the distinction of getting the utmost out of a minor rôle. Mrs. Hastings played Crafer, the tempestuous servant, with a great sense of humour, and if she made the character a little too refined that was but natural. Mr. Hett's Binks was very amusing, but he rather overdid the, cockney accent; weakened, it would have been more realistic,
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Finally Mr. H. W. Bird's Luscombe must be seen to be admired; it was an admirable render- ing of an almost inarticulate port.
We must not forget to add that the new scenery was made by the staff of the A.D.C., from designs by Mr. H. W. Bird.
The following was the full cast:- Blanche Chil-(daughters of the late Sir
worth
Amy Chilworth Noruan
Chilworth Mr. Owen (Hartley Chilworth) Hon. Gerald Harringay...... William Todinan
J. Briginshaw... Mr. Pedrick (solicitor) Mr. Hickson
Mrs. M. W. Slade Mrs. Leigh Norris
Mr. G. Balloch Surgeon Norris, B.N. Mr. C. H. P. Hay Mr. John Hays Mr. H. W. Looker Mr. A. G. Ward
It is not necessary to enter here into the plot of Mr. Carton's drama. The story is simple enough, that of the pride of birth brought into contact with humble surroundings, as typified by the interior of a failing bookseller's shop in unromantic Bloomsbury. In the characters of Blanche Chilworth, who will not accept her un- known cousin's offer to live on at Chilworth, which has passed from her late father's posses sion to his, and who therefore goes with her sister to her maternal uncle's offered refuge in Bloomsbury; and of Hartley Chilworth, the cousin, with a reputation of being "eccentric," who hides his identity and lives as lodger in the same Bloomsbury shop-in these characters and in that of Todman the old bookseller, the In interest of Liberty Hall principally lies. securing for the representation of these parts such performers as Mrs. M. W. Slade, and Messrs. G. Balloch and C. H. P. Hay (who have already made their mark on the local stage), the A.D.J. has every reason to congratulate itself. Mrs. Slade had not been before Thursday's audience more than a few minutes before it was felt that Hongkong had a talented and charming | addition to the ranks of its amateur actresses. In fact, it was generally agreed among those who had seen the most A.D.C. performances | 'Cello Solo ... here that her Blanche Chilworth was as good
Liberty Hall was repeated on Friday before as any impersonation by a Hongkong lady they could remember. She managed to prevent the a well-filled house, those present including H.E,
Miss Hickson (his sister) Robert Binks (a shopboy) Crafer (Todman's servant) Luscombe
Miss Bird
Mr. Hett
Mrs. Hastings Mr. Bird
By permission of Capt. White, R.N., and officers, the band of H.M.S. Ocean performed, to everyone's satisfaction, the following pro- gramme Överture.
Selection Valse...
**
"Zampa," The Emerald Isle,"
"Schatz,”
Herold Sullivan
Strauss "The Broken Melody," Van Biene