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out that local authorities were always compelled to give these assurances to save their reputations, and that he considered it was deliberately misleading to make such assertions at a time like the present, when, in his opinion, the situation was grave.
General Yang considered that the punishment of the gentry implicated was much He added too light, and would simply encourage them to further acts of violence. the significant remark that, if trouble did occur, it was not the starving poor he would slay, but the gentry.
The general is taking especial precautions to avoid trouble when the popular treasurer leaves his yamen.
He is confident, and has repeatedly made the remark that his troops will obey his orders to a man.
Other officers have commented on the weakness of the governor; and "Ts'en was bad but Yang is worse" is becoming quite a common saying.
The general has told the governor that he will not have his troops scattered in small companies (of 126 men) in different parts of the province; he has demanded that they shall be concentrated, in battalions (504) at least, at the larger places, such as Hsiang-T'an, Iyang, and Changteh. The governor does not agree, and is endeavouring, to all appearances, to make the Hunan regular troops as ineffective as possible.
The local authorities' unconcealed distrust of the Hunan troops is known to Generol Yang and his officers, some of whom have spoken to me about it. General Yang bitterly resents the attitude of the local authorities in giving credence to aspersions on the trustworthiness of his men, spread by malicious gentry. He is convinced that his men would obey any orders he gave them, and that the statement that his soldiers were forbidden to fire because they could not be trusted owes its origin to the same source which carefully disseminated the rumour that 500 deserted on the 18th April, whereas they were acting under definite secret orders received from him and had been forbidden to disclose their destination. I regret that this slur on the reputation of a forse whose conduct has been exemplary and a perfect model of rigid discipline has, owing to pressure of work, gone uncontradicted since my telegram No. 30 of the 18th April to Hankow.
My private opinion regarding the trustworthiness of the troops is based on conversations with the general, the officers, sergeants and corporals, every single one of whom displays the clearest knowledge of the case, obviously carefully argued out among them.
The spirit" Hunan for the Hunanese" does not, I think, exist in the mind of the Hunan soldier. He considers himself a soldier of the army of China, and he wishes to see China strong, united, and capable of taking her place as a world Power. In the opinion of the Hunan soldier a very small number of the gentry have, from motives of personal greed and blind, unreasoning conservatism, attempted to ruin Hunan, and deserve exemplary punishment. In addition they feel that their obedience to orders has caused them to be unjustly stigmatised as incapable and untrustworthy. The failure to vindicate their honour constitutes a dangerous factor in the present situation.
Their unbounded admiration for the Viceroy of Wuchang, their oft-reiterated comment, "He has resolution and a fixed purpose," seems to prove that they would support a strong Government truly and loyally. If, however, a settlement is patched up and the gentry are whitewashed, if the Central Government by their weakness degrade the China the soldiers wish to see respected as a Power, it is impossible to say how these troops will act should trouble break out again in Hunan.
To sum up the situation briefly: the causes which led to the riots still exist, intensified owing to the pin-pricks of insufficient punishment, aggravated by the weakness of the Central Government. In addition, the loyalty of the men on whom the local officials ought to rely is being criminally and maliciously strained in a manner which can only cause apprehension to those who are watching the situation,
I have refused two offers from the local authorities to have the consulate guard of forty-two men, specially picked by General Yang, changed for Hupei or provincial troops. I rely on the Hunan men absolutely, and my confidence in them has, am glad to learn, been widely commented on by people in Changsha and is deeply appreciated by the troops themselves.
I have, &c.
(In the absence of and at the request of
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I agree generally with Mr. Hewlett, except as to the serious nature of the Boxer band's movement.
The Wuchang Viceroy's memorial, after denouncing the true authors of the outbreak in forcible language, tails off into mild suggestion when his Excellency comes to the question of the penalties deserved by the gentry; but the report of the board amounts almost to a justification of their conduct, since the penalties prescribed are merely such as would follow on any breach of official decorum.
It is certainly regrettable that the Viceroy did not plainly vindicate the conduct of the Hunan regular troops, and slurred over the length of the period during which the treasurer's party let the destruction of foreign and Government property continue unchecked, and the outstanding fact that the Japanese steam-ship company's premises alone were protected by guards, who passively watched the destruction of adjoining British property by a handful of unarmed men.
E. H. FRASER, Consul-General.
Hankow, June 9, 1910.
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
Wai-wu Pu to Mr. Max Müller,
Memorandum communicated by Mr. En Hou.
TELEGRAM from the Governor of Hunan to the Wai-wu Pu.
Your telegram of the 12th June received.
"Everything is quiet at Ning Hsiang, I Yang, and Liu Yang. I have sent detachments of soldiers, and have distributed them at different places to prevent disturbance. The most careful arrangements have been made.
"Two cases of piracy have occurred in the district of Siang-Yin, and the magistrate has reported that the criminals have been captured and severely punished. No serious cases of burning buildings have happened. The district of Hsiang-yin bordering on the River Siang makes it easy for bandits to conceal themselves. I have now sent gun-boats to patrol this district and capture pirates. It is difficult to avoid robbery cases occurring in the departments and districts of Hunan, bnt there are no cases of large bodies of rebels making a disturbance.
"I have heard of Boxers at Hua Shih, in the district of Hsiang-t'an, taking measures to create a disturbance, and soldiers were at once sent there. The ringleaders were executed on the spot and the others dispersed without trouble. I shall continue to take precautions from time to time, and will not venture to be in any way remiss."
A reply from Yang Wen-ting, dated the 12th June. June 13, 1910.
0
Mr. Hewlett),
E. H. FRASER.
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