August 15, 1895.j
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT,
were not far from the river, and the boatmen, | right to expose the lives of others. The rules for seeing what was going on ashore, ran the boat close in to the bank, so the lady and gentlemen were able to get on board just in time before anything serious had happened, and get away without loss of time from the hostile neighbour. hood. It is the first instance for many years of an anti-foreign feeling near Ningpo and the incident has caused some uneasiness at that Settlement. The matter bas been reported to the Consular authorities.-China Gazette.
CORRESPONDENCE.
[We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinion a expressed by our Correspondents.]
THE KUCHENG MASSACRE. TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS. DEAR SIR, -The receut
shameful and oowardly massacre at Kutieu must I am sure have aroused the greatest possible anger and Indignation in the hearts of Englishmen through out the Far East; yea! and throughout the hole British Empire. No Englishman could sit still and see defenceless womeu and children done to death by a wretched, cowardly, and in human set of Bonds that are to day gloating over their crimes and intoxicated by the hideous suc- cess of their acts, almost within earshot of this colony.
Is nothing to be done? Already much valuable time has been lost. If they had been French priests that had been slaughtered instead of delicate English girls, French guns would already be at the gates of Kutien, and yet we Britishers are virtually doing nothing. It makes one's blood boil to think of it. True, a gunboat has been sent to Foochow, but what of that. Is it not possible and would it not be right to send a military expedition to this hole of iniquity and lay the place in ruins, kill the ruffians in the same way as they have done our sisters, and then talk of compensation ? Vengeance would be truly sweet when such dastardly acts of brutality are perpetrated against our own flesh and blood. Even in Amoy the people are up and doing and yet we in Hongkong with troops and guns to spare are lying waiting, I suppose, for the Bri- tish Minister to ask for a few dollars from the Taungli Yamen, which is generally considered sufficient. Is this what would have been done fifty years ago, or say in the days of Sir Harry Parkes ? Never!
Call an indignation meeting and ask the Go- vernment if they cannot by force of arms insist on the immediate execution of these devils in human shape, not only the miserable hounds that did the bloody work with their own hands, but also the Viceroy and all his wretched and deceit ful colleagues. If China cannot do it, let us do it. We are ready and willing, ayo, more than willing, anxious to do it..
Japan has brought China to her knees, lot England bring her to grovel in the dust at our feet begging for quarter, which she would not get. Complete humiliation if not annihilation is the only reward fit for China, the scum of the whole world.
I conclude by calling on all Englishmen, that is, Briti bers, to be loud in their cries for vengeance. I am dear sir, yours faithfully,
INDIGNANT BRITISHER Hongkong, 7th August, 1895
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TO THE EDITOR OF THE · DAILY PRESS.” SIB,-Now that the barst of "
anger and in- dignation" at the recent cruel massacre at Ka- cheng has vented itself, it is not unreasonable to hope that men's minds may be ready to consider the matter from the standpoint of practical
common sense.
Much as any person must deplore the slaughter of his countrymen, especially of women and childreu, we should not shut our eyes to this. that the responsibility rests in the first place on those who expose helpless children to the mercies of a fanatical and barbarous population.
It is vain to censure our Government for not. protecting its subjects who wilfully place them selves beyond its protection. It were wiser to point out how this Government could render aby recurrence of such a massacre impossible,
It has only to forbid any British subject, mis sionary or other, to take children to the interior of China.
Personally I have the highest opinion of the calling of a missionary, who offers his life for the spiritual welfare of heathens, but I deny hị
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his conduct are to be found in the 10th chapter of St. Matthew, and I ask anyone to read this chapter and then to say whether they are more suitable for a married or an unmarried man. There are many unmarried clergymen to whom mission work might be intrusted. If it be said that female workers are wanted too, it is equally true that many unmarried women are available. Even if missionary women prefer the position of wives to missionary men, this again cannot be objected to on civil grounds, but, the moment there is a child in the case, the right of the State steps in, and it should be the duty of the British Consul to have the mother and child removed to the nearest treaty port.
Force may or may not be legitimately em- ployed in furthering trade, but the use of mili- tary power in connection with missions compro- mises the whole object of the institution. We must remember that the missionary in China is necessarily a "revolutionist" inasmuch as he endeavours to induce men to depart from the ways of their ancestors, and as such he should be willing to take the consequences, and not look for the protection of gunboats.
If on the murder of a missionary another were to take his place, and on his murder another, and if so on the broach were ever filled by a fresh zealot, the Chinese might learn to respect aud to listen to the message of such brave gospellers, but if, on the contrary, they learn to regard the missionary as the forerunner of the gunboat, they are scarcely likely to heed his preaching.
If, as has been suggested, troops are sent to raz Kucheng to the ground, I venture to say that there will be an end to Christianity in that part of China for a long time to come.
That our Government should insist on the phuishment of the authors of the late massacre is reasonable, and this being done, they should take thoso measures which are in their power to pro- rent the recurrence of such horrors. The use of force is to be deprecated in the interests of the missions themselves.
Let the public of Hougkong assemble again and petition Government to prohibit their sub- jects from taking children to places where they missionary renounce for ever the protection of are exposed to outrage and death. Let the the gunboat and the posibility of embroiling his country in war, and then let him go forth trusting to the protection of Heaven to preach
li› gospel of pesos.—Yours faithfully,
Hongkong, 10th August, 1895.
AN EXPLANATION.
PAX.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "DAILY PRESS.
SIR-The sentence in my speech at the in- dignation meeting which you criticize was brought out on the spur of the moment and was unhappily not properly guarded. What I wished to ay was that I did not believe that any one in the room would deliberately set to work to write a treatise against Christi nity as a civilizing agency. At the moment I recognized the omis- sions, but in a speech it is difficult to stop to mud one's utterances.
典
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J. S. BURDON,
Bishop.
HONGKONG.
129
The terrible massacre of missionaries at Kucheng has occupied the attention of every. body in the colony and the feeling on the awful subject has been most intense An indignation meeting, over which Sir Fielding Clarke, the Chief Justice, presided, was held in the City Hall passed amidst a loud burst of applause. On on Thursday, and a denunciatory resolution was Wednesday His Excellency the Governor, Sir William Robinson, distributed the prizes to the pupils attending the Belilios Public School for Girls. He afterwards went to the Vic- toria Recreation Club aud in the presence of a large number of members presented Mr. W. Stopaui with te Royal Humane Society's bronze medal for conspicuous bravery in saving the life of a companion, who was thrown into the sea owing to the upsetting of a boat. All the defendants in the arson case have been dis missed. been returned to the Harbour Master's office. The long lost Bokhara rock buoy has On Saturday the half yearly meting of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank was held. At an extraordinary meeting of the Green Island resolved to reduce the capital of the Company. Cement Co., Limited, held on Monday, it was On the same day an appeal was heard before the Full Court against the decision of the Magis trate in a case in which Captain Lunt, of the steamer Fushun, was charged with using his vessel for illegally conveying opium. The case was dismissed by the Magistrate, whose decision Court on Tuesday between the Magistrate and was upheld. There was a "tiff" at the Police
Mr. Gedge on the subject of the cross-examina- tion of witnesses at fire inquiries.
turned from leave of absence by the Empress of
The Chief Justice, Sir Fielding Clarke, re- China.-
It is notified that the Bremer Channel of the is now open to navigation. Canton River has been cleared of torpedoes and
The longkong, Canton, and Macao Steam. boat Company's steamers were decorated on Tues- day in honour of the sixtieth birthday of Captain Lefavour, the popular Commodore of the Com- pany's fleet.
On leaving the Dock Company's hands she will H.M.S. Leander went into dock on Tuesday. proceed home, her term of service on this station having expired. Her relief, the Pique, which
was detained at Jeddah in connection with the recent troubles there, is shortly expected.
The official inquiry into the outrage in British waters by Chinese customs officials at Pokfulam took place on Saturday. Mr. H. M. Hillier, the T. Sercombe Smith was appointed by the Hong- Commissioner of Customs, held the inquiry. Mr. kong Government to assist in the investigation.
Co held on Wednesday a unanimous vote of full At a private meeting of the Panjom Mining confidence in the directors was passed on the motion of Mr. Orange. The meeting was held to consider what action should be taken with regard to the temporary failure of the cyanide
process.
The stamp revenue in July amounted to $18,641, which is less than the amount collected in the corresponding month of 1894 by $8,533. The falling off is in the probate duty, which in July, 1894, amounted to $15,573, as against 81,647 last mouth. Most of the other items show an increase.
Hongkong, 12th August, 1895. [The portion of Bishop Burdon's letter omitted as indicated by the asterisks gives information concerning the origin of the Kucheng Massacre
The five men charged with committing arson and has been incorporated with our reportat 371, Queen's Road Central, were discharged ED. D. P.]
Roused perhaps by the reports of the proposed establishment of the “ Ewo” and other spinning mills, says the Kabe Herald, Messrs. Tata and Co. are reported to have under consideration the establishment of a cotton spinning concern. at Shanghai on joint account with the Japanese Cotton Spinners Union. A party is said to have been despatched to Shanghai to inspect
the situation.
Our readers, says the Shanghai Mercury, will regret to hear of the death of Mr. Parkhill, Chief Tide Surveyor, I. M. Customs, and Harbour Master at Chefoo. His loss will be keenly felt by those whose privilege it was to serve with hin, and the deepest sympathy is felt for the sorrowing sons and daughters he has left behind. Mr Parkbill joined the Customs service in 1860, and bad just completed his 58th year. His funeral took place ou "the 7th instant, all Chefoo attending it.
by the Magistrate on the 13th inst. His Wor- ship found that the evidence showed that prima facie the house had been set on fire but there was no evidence to connect any of the de. fendants with the act.'
A notification by the Acting Colonial Surgeop that a sporadic case of plague had occurred on the first floor of No. 27, Tsung San Lane, was received at the Sanitary Board Office on Friday morning. The patient, a boy nine years of age, was transferred to the Kennedytown Hospită), where he died at 2.30 a.m. on Saturday.
At the Police Court on Monday, before Hon. H. E, Wodehouse, a house boy was summoned for leaving Major Moore's service without leave. and also for disobeying lawful orders. Major Moore said that on the 9th inst, he was ill in bed at the Peak Hotel when defendant, who was paid $15 a month, was very inattentive and in solent. He slammed the door, refused to obey orders, and then left his employ. A fine of $10 was imposed.
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