PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TIC.O. 882
5 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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Rough Translation of a Pamphlet put in the Market Places near Pan Tin.
We have heard that there are not two suns in the sky, and not two kings to rule over the people. There are also not two doctrines in the world. In these troubled times the heresies are spreading everywhere, and it is not to be wondered at, that the doctrine of the Lean is neglected, that humanity and righteousness are slighted, and the heresies looked at as the right doctrine.
Bad customs are now thought to be good; we are at a loss what to do; the wicked ways of the barbarians are:-That they have not the five social relations, the nine degrees of relationship. A man is allowed to sleep with his sisters, there are no social or family ties. Brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law are playing in a licentious way with each other. They are wild owls and wild beasts. Who can say this is a good and righteous doctrine? See, what good and righteous is in all this? All is heresy. Earnestly thinking, we must say, nothing is better than the holy doctrine. Our holy men have fixed the doctrine of the Lean not to err to the left or to the right. We have our odes and historical records to regulate our ways, our ceremonies and music to bring our mind in order. There are the brotherly duties, reciprocity and faithfulness, to shew us the rules of life, that all people under Heaven can enter into the road of the doctrine of the Lean. We have all this from generation to generation, never vanishing away; now in this disturbed time we have always to suffer from the barbarous inroads of the barbarians. They fetter our men, revile our women; where is there still something left of the heavenly good nature? The human beings are trodden down. Nothing of & compassionate heart is to be seen. When the eyes see these things, our heart is wounded. Those who have a soul cannot restrain their anger to see how the laws are broken. Every human heart must be wounded.
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By this time the barbarians have entered our country. Calamities are nearing our walls. Who can be silent to stand at the side with folded arms? Is once Ngan Tin (alias Pan Tin) lost, then is the lip lost and the teeth will be cold." Serious danger is now everywhere brewing. This cannot be treated in a leisurely way. Should our ancestors loose their bliss? Thinking over this I say, whether there is victory or defeat, one must use all strength. We must not be quiet to wait for the dangers coming along. When our people should live on in quietness and our borders remain strong we must not postpone our plans and go on without definite resolutions.
To fight the barbarians, I propose in a rough way: (1.) To get the funds. It is the best plan that the six confederations (six market places) keep together as we hear. But the outlay for the soldiers should not be collected by an extraordinary field tax. It is also not right that the various confederations should pay the costs. Some of these places have a large population, and many fields. In these places it could be arranged in this way, but for instance Thonglak (alias market of peace) could not do this. It is a small place and there is not a large population. How can we follow these orders? To say that the head village of this rising should defray all the expenses
also not right. The barbarians are not only preparing to fight Ngan Tin (alias Pan Tin), they will go on to the other villages. What is then to be done? We should use the usual field tax. Let first the six confederations come together to ask our Government for help. Will the soldiers not come to help us, then let us ask the Mandarin for the present not to collect the field tax, that we can use the money to meet the barbarians. This would not be rebellions. Afterwards in peaceful times we could pay our duties to the Government. Should the Government not have compassion with us, nothing would be left than to fight against it. That is the best plan I can propose.
II. Soldiers. In using men it is very important to select several hundreds of valorous men in a small camp. From them officers over a thousand and over a hundred soldiers should be selected. Besides this we must have a large camp. The military rules, rewards and punishments, should be settled by the Commander. Should some of the soldiers retreat when we are advancing, they must be beheaded. When the rules are strict one will certainly fear to break them. What is to be feared that the army will not follow the orders? Speaking of engaging soldiers, it is important not to have many, but drilled ones, who will lay down their lives. With cowards nothing can be done. But we must know that one man in a rage will stand against ten thousand men. us beware of this. It is not necessary to have many men but good drilled ones.
III. The Country. (Where the encounter may take place.)-The country be- tween Sham Chun and Pan Tin is very hilly; would the barbarians move, they would run into our falls, all could be killed, no trace of them to be left. From henceforth nobody should be allowed to praise the mighty force of the barbarians to frighten the soldier's heart. Nobody should speak of the righteousness of the barbarians slaves.
Let
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IV. The Christians. The proselytes of the foreign doctrine who have inter- course with the barbarians, and sold the country to them, should all be killed, and nobody left alive of their families. Do not say to speak of this is premature. I have now given my plans lest nobody can afterwards say that these things were not discussed beforehand.
Regarding the minutes of the military plans, these cannot now be made known yet.
DEAR SIR,
MANY thanks for your kind letter of the 31st May, and the trouble to send my
Li Long, June 2, 1899. last letter to Hong Kong. To-day I got a letter from my friend Mr. Maus, Rhenish mis- sionary of Thongha. He writes that he has seen you the other day. His returning to Thongha had a good effect on the population of that region. The rich Puntis of the large village Pan Tin feared that they would be punished by a visit of your Indian force be- cause they had taken part in the Thai Poo riot. The literati of Pan Tin had a meeting with the headmen of the six large market places in their neighbourhood. A Hakka graduate of the market Thonglak, two miles away from Pan Tin, where some of our Christians live, took a prominent part in instigating the people first to kill the Christians and then to see what can be done to drive the Indians away.
Most of the collected Elders of the various villagers were very reluctantly promis- ing some help, but after all they came to an agreement that they would send 500 men from each market place when the Indian troops should really come to Pan Tin. Mean- while the stupid people of that village were going on to make a many intrenchments between their village and Li Long. All the women and children fled to other villages. Upon the invitation, a many rowdies came from everywhere to help the men of Pan Tin. The Hakkas of the various villages between here and Sham Chun who are willing to come under the British Government and who are already looked at as Britishers by the Pan Tin people, fear the many members of the secret societies will make use of the excitement in the disturbed region to rise again and connect themselves with the gathered rowdies in Pan Tin. The Hakka women in our neighbourhood are already beginning to flee, not fearing the Indian soldiers, as they say, but the secret societies of the neighbouring district Kwei Shen.
After all, it seems now that some of the rich Chinese in Pan Tin begin to fear that they have put themselves in a very dangerous position. Soon after Mr. Maus' return to his station, two of them visited him to ask him whether they can be sure that the English soldiers will not come to besiege their village. He told them what he heard from you and scolded them to be so stupid to go on in such a way as they did, and that they had certainly nothing to fear from the Indian troops, but that their own Mandarin will perhaps punish them. They promised him to exhort their people to be quiet and to do their field work. It is now only to be feared that they will not easily get rid of the rowdies gathered in Pan Tin. The best would be that the Tung Kon Mandarin would come to nip this dangerous rising in the bud.
I am very glad when the young Chinese, Tung, who was not in our service, can be of some use to you. He is not an educated Chinese. He was born in British Guinea, [? Guiana] and came only four years ago to Li Long.
YOUR EXCELLENCY,
Enclosure 6 in No. 215.
I am, etc.,
MART SCHAUB.
June 8, 1899. I FORWARD accompanying correspondence for your information. But I would call Your Excellency's attention especially to the last two paragraphs in Lieutenant- Colonel O'Gorman's letter. In the first of these paragraphs he desires to be furnished with authority as to how to act in case these German missionaries appealed to him for help. I am aware that Your Excellency is under the impression that it would be wise to render them help if they sorely needed it in order to prevent their own nation step- ping in. This may be so, but what I fear is that these missionaries, if they are aware that they have only to appeal for help to get it, will be likely to trade on this, and stir up the very trouble that it is to everyone's interest to avert.
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The concluding paragraph of Lieutenant-Colonel O'Gorman's letter shows that he entertains a somewhat similar opinion.
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