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This expedition to Ch'ao-
the soldiers who retook Chaochoufu.
choufu proved a complete farce, Ma sent up about 700 men under
his nephew of the same name, and fent'ungs Lan and Chu, with
orders to divide into three bodies and thus advance to the attack.
Lan and Chu, who never intended to fight, held off, and Ma's
nephew and his men walked into an ambush. A short fight ensued
in which young Ma and a few of his men were killed, and that was
the end of the affair. The Chaochoufu expedition did not return
to Swatow till after the revolution was an accomplished fact
there. That event was consummated without fighting at E a.m.
the 30th instant, and was announced by the firing of a feu-de-jole
followed by the beating of drums and blowing of bugles.
On
(Continued April 2). The establishment of the new looal
government was announced in a despatch dated March 30th and signed by t'uanchang Mo Ch'ing-y. Reference was made to the "misdeeds" of President Yhan, and protection in accordance with Treaty was
promised to all foreign merchants and missionaries, their lives
and properties. There was some friction over the selection of
the head of the local government, but strife was fortunately
Law and order were avoided, and the choice fell upon Mo-
maintained, but the Chinese, as usual on such occasions, were very
much alarmed, and the wildest rumours were current, which caused
many to flee from Swatow. As far as foreigners were concerned, there was nothing to fear beyond the possibility of their being within the area of hostilities in case troops were sent from
Canton to put down the rebellion.
It was this consideration which
led to the sending of the telegram to Peking through the American Consul, as, though some of the Consular body, myself included, were quite ready to go out to the Canton troops, if they arrived, and endeavour to avert or divert hostilities, others considered that
we should not interfere unless we knew that the step would be approved by the Diplomatic body. The important thing, therefore,
WBS
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