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CANTON NOTES.
[FROM THE “CHUNG NGOI BAN PO”] The Black Flag chief Liu Yung-fu arrived at Canton with about 2,000 of his soldiers on the 30th ult. The soldiers were quartered partly in the Chang-shau Monastery and partly out- side the East Gate. As soon as he arrived, Liu went to pay his respects to the Viceroy and the other high officials,
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
the men-of-war. Imagine then the difficulties the Commission will encounter in Chengtu, a thouand miles by water from the nearest gun. boat. and the chief criminals the ex-Viceroy, the present Taotai, and the ex-Chief of Police, Cheo. Everyone knows that the fact of riot continuing a second day without any check in a vice-regal city, by Chinese customs, condemns the Vice- roy; that Ched put out the placards, in which it stated that he had clear proof that foreigners Owing to the proposed rebellion, the Cantonstole small children, is not disputed; that the officers have done all in their power to protect the Taotai of Western Szechuan refused to give city. The Tartar General, together with some aid is not denied; these are the three chief other military officers, patrol the city wall the criminals. Let the American Commission whole night. Li Ka-chuck, who is in charge first sit at Shanghai, summon these men of the police force, has been ordered by Viceroy before them, satisfy themselves in regard Tan to reinforce the police in Shameen for the to their guilt, give an adequate sentence protection of foreigners.
for their crimes and see it carried into effect. Then, if they wish to fix the guilt of the lesser criminals, let them come up to Chengtu and sit. But if these three men are not first punished, any such Commission coming to Chengtu will be a farce. If the Commission has not authority enough to summon these men to Shanghai, they have not authority enough to effect anything in Chengtu; if they cannot get evidence enough at Shanghai to convict them, they will not get evidence enough to convict any official at Chengtu.-Mercury correspondent.
The large mansion named Wong Kä-chi, in Sheang-man-ti, and the large house in Ham- ba-lan were nailed up by the order of the magistrate of Pun-u on the 29th ultimo, for they have been found to be the dens of the conspirators. All the suspected houses and the opium divans are visited by the police every night. 1,500 soldiers have been sent from the ports in Chang-chow, near Whampoa, to patrol the streets day and night.
A large firm named Kwang Tai, in Hoo-pon Street, was plundered by a band of robbers on the 24th alt. at 6 p.m. A pan named Li Pun- kwai had received $2,000 from some other shop on that day. The scoundrels had got wind of this and the attack was made. When the rob bers got into the house in question, Li Pan- kwai offered resistance and in the struggle he was shot dead. The case has been reported to
the local Magistrate and two hundred dollars have been offered as a reward for the capture of the murderer and sixty dollars for any of the other robbers. The deceased's family offers a further reward of one thousand dollars for the arrest of the chief offender.
On the 23rd instant a medicine shop in Ching-hoi-mun was robbed by several men, who got into the house under the pretence of buying medicine. When they got in they closed the door after them and tied up all the inmates. They carried away booty of only about eighty
dollars.
Viceroy Tan has been instructed by wire from Peking to take over the office of Governor in combination with his own office. The 28th ult. was appointed for his taking over the seal.
CHUNGKING,
EXECUTIONS OF THE CHENTU RIOTERS DENIED DEGRADATION A FARCE.
11
Chungking, 14th October.
It was reported here, and the same reports appeared in the Shanghai papers, that some of the Chinese had been executed in Chengtu for complicity in the late riots (by the is
way "riot
the best term to use for an attack planned and carried out with official sanction ?) I wrote immediately to Chengtu, to a trusty native, inquiring as to the truth of the report. He replied that at the time first reported no executions had taken place at all. Subse quently he reported nine executions, but none of these were charged with any connection with the riot, but assaults and robberies. In a letter, written 2nd October, he again says that up to that time no one had been executed because of the riot. On the contrary, an umbrella, inscribed with ten thousand names (wan ming shan), was about to be presented to the retiring Viceroy, who is desirous of leaving, as a testimony of
their gratitude to him for preventing the punishment of the rioters. Cheo, of the placard fame, who Was appointed to go to Yachon as Taotai of Southern Szech. uen and whose appointment was cancelled from Peking, and who was also to be degraded and prevented from holding any office, is now in the likin office at Chengtu, solacing himself with soft squeezes and adding to his pile. What does degradation, and preventing from 1.olding any office, amount to when the supposed degraded man is immediately given such a fine position, even though it does not possess a seal and so may not be what the Chinese technically
call an "office ?"
TIENTSIN.
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.]
16th October. News of the Mahommedan rebellion is very difficult to obtain here. The local officials pro- bably know nothing themselves; if they do they are exceedingly costive in their communicative- Dess. The troops which for the past year have been encamped on the coast between Taku and Shanhaikwan are being transferred to the West in large numbers.
The American Chêngta Commission is now in Shansi, close on Taiyuanfu. Its leader did not hesitate to represent to the Department in Washington the dangers which might arise to the mission from the Hwei-hwei, if the latter came eastward, but the Department would not hear the voice of the charmer.
In a former letter I cautioned your readers about receiving panic looking figures about the Peking death rate this summer. I now find I have to eat the statistical leek as best I may. Foreign experts of a strongly sceptical turn of mind have gone into the matter and have come to the appalling conclusion that 50,000 probably understates the death roll. This is a terrific mouth's mortality in a population of 700,000; implying as it does that one in fourteen died within sixty days. The calculations have been checked by enquiries made of the coffin sellers, i-pos, and gate-keepers. The epidemic found its readiest victims in the large population of street nomads; the great crowds of idlers which used to be the feature of the streets and city life are woefully less. It is not generally known that the natives got profoundly dissatisfied with
the God of Pestilence and hustled his divinityship about a good deal. There was just a suggestion of waggery in their zeal when they left him for a time in some dis- used buildings belonging to the Japanese legation. On another occasion they thought it only just that the foreigner should help to mitigate the wrath of the god, so they carried the latter by force into a Roman Catholic Church in the southern part of the city. At the moment of their doing so their leader was suddenly seized with violent choleraic pains and was carried out of the building only to die in the street. The priests of course pointed the moral of so obvious and astounding a miracle.
The Viceroy of Chilli, the N. C. Day News says, has lately been instructing his ubordinates in the various district cities the in the future natives selling land to Ren Catholic mis. sionaries shall be excused from reporting first to the local authorities for permission, but shall be allowed to sell land the ordinary way in order to prevent otruction and disturbances by interested partes eager for blackmail, etc. Furthermorels of sale shall simply contain the mission of the purchasers and contain the name of the individual
the name-
We hear of the difficulties the officials are putting in the way of the Commission at ghall
no Kucheng, though that is near the coast, and the who by yamon of_its_Viceroy with range of guns from1 böförð
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the land as had been the practice
[November 7, 1895.
MISCELLANEOUS.
The standing committee of the Kobe Chamber of Commerce have decided to dispatch two repre- sentatives to Tokyo to make a representation to the Government concerning the present poor and inadequate accommodation at the Customs house compound of that port.
The U.S. man-of-war Concord, whilst proceed. ing down the river at Shanghai on the 31st October on her way to Foochow, ran on shore on a mud spit near Collyer's Dock. She was towed off next day at high water by the tug Samson, sustaining no damage.
Owing to the attempted insurrection in Canton the officials are now very much on the alert. Armed soldiers patrol the streets day and night and are said to be empowered to kill on the spot bad characters caught committing robberies and other serious offences. The city gates are closed at nine o'clock. Formerly they could be passed at any hour of the night on pay- ment of a few cash to the gatekeeper, but now they cannot be opened under any circumstances until the regular hour in the morning."
The N. C. Daily News saysThe strong policy of Sir Nicholas O'Conor, British Minister at Peking, in connection with the Szechuen riots and Kucheng massacre is evidently bearing fruit amongst the high provincial authorities. In Wuchang a battalion-the right wing of the Chênnan Brigade has been recently stationed at the north-east corner of the provincial capital of Hupeh, designed for the special protection of the numerous Protestant and Roman Catholic churches, chapels, and residences situated in this portion of the suburbs of Wuchang, namely, at Sanyuan, T'anhualin, Kuchiapa, and Huayuanshan. This action of the Wachang authorities is a new move. Special detachments of troops whose sole duty is to look after the safety of foreigners, it is reported, will also be stationed in the vicinity of foreign missionary chapels and residences in the interior towns of all the riverine provinces in accordance with the new regulations recently promulgated from Peking.
A statue of the late Dr. Muller has been siected in the grounds of the Imperial Univer- erty at Tokyo. The ceremony of unveiling took place on the 13th inst. In describing it the Japan Mail says:--Dr. Müller was the first German professor at the Tokyo Medical College, the embryo of the present College of Medicine in the Imperial University. He came to Japan in 1871, when few even among the Japanese pro- fessors of the College could speak German. In spite of serious difficulties he patiently laboured to impart his knowledge to his students, and thus laid the foundation of modern medicine in this country. Hearing of his death in January, 1894, his former pupils, including Surgeon- General Dr. Ishiguro, Professors Miyake, Ta- guchi, and Adachi, and a large number of other well-known Japanese, decided to erect a bronze statue of their esteemed master in the compound- of the University. The work has been executed: by Mr.Fujita Bunzo, the same sculptor that earned a reputation by casting the statue of Dr. Aoyama. The statue represents the German. Professor in his military uniform.
A mysterious crime has been committed on the Manila-Dagupan railway. On the 25th October, on the arrival of the 5 p.m. train from Manila at San Fernando at 8 p.m., it ras dis- covered that one of the third class compart- ments, was covered with blood and a woman's kerchief and shoes were also found. It was inferred that a crime had been committed and on the line being searched the body of a nativo: woman was found with several wounds upon it. caused by stabbing A letter was found in the train addressed by one woman to another warn- ing her that her husband, who had been in another part of the country, had returned and was looking for her to kill her on account of her infidelity during his absence. The theory is that the husband had met the woman and either by threats or promises had induced her, to travel with him in the train and when they were alone in the co partment had attacked her with a knife then thrown her out, afterwards leaving train himself at a point where the speed moderate enough to permit of this bein in safety. Another theory is that the
was a blind and that the object of the
was robbery. The body was not identified
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