621
caused them to be hurriedly closed again. The Government,
realising that a large number of secret society men were
still at large, now instituted a thorough house to house
search in the Northern part of the City, and in the course
of the day some 1,000 arrests were made. Of these about
70 failed to give any satisfactory account of themselves
and were taken to the Eastern Parade Ground and either
strangled or decapitated. The fact that a large proportion
of the conspirators were queueless led to the arrest of
any one who dared to show himself without a queue. All
however, given a fair hearing, and those who could
account for themselves or got foreigners to give security
were,
for them were at once released.
In the afternoon the Southern Gates were again open-
ed, and a proclamation issued ordering the shop people to
resume business and offering rewards for the capture of
the conspirators dead or alive.
On Sunday the two main Southern Gates were open till
dusk, and the streets had resumed to some extent their
ordinary appearance. The City was absolutely quiet, though
(
19953 REC2
RES! 19 JUN 11
soldiers were everywhere, and the search parties were
still making arrests in the Northern City.
The origin of the conspiracy without doubt lies
in the still smouldering animosity between Chinese
and Manchu. Many of the conspirators had been in Japar
where their resentment against the Manchu dynasty had
been actively fanned by the Japanese, who have always
an eye to their own advantage. If the authorities
had delayed to act a few days longer, the conspiracy
would almost certainly have succeeded, since large
reinforcements were expected by the revolutionaries
on the 28th and 29th. The newly enrolled Provincial
troops, in view of their well known revolutionary
tendencies, were confined to barracks outside the
City, and took no part in the fighting. They were
further rendered powerless for good or evil by the
removal of the bolts of their rifles. On the whole
the steps taken by the authorities after the outbreak
were
soldiers