July 29, 1898.
A poor tailor of forty-five, who had seen fire in the Turko-Russian war, became so excited over the conflict between the United States and Spain that he made up his mind to go to the front.
"Are you crazy ?" asked his wife, pointing to their four children.
"I can't help it, my dear," was the old soldier's reply. "God and good people will take care of you and the young ones. My blood is up. If I had to face death for Russia, which had done nothing but evil to our people, how much more readily ought I to fight for this country, which has been so good to us? Ah! you are only a woman. What do you know about these things? I am going to enlist." And he did.
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
found duly marked on the map in our Desk Hong List, but it has as yet no existence except on paper.
Our readers will be aware of the fact that the French Municipal Council six months ago notified the native authorities that it was their intention to efface the existence of what is known as the Ningpo Joss House near the Rue du Consulat. Every facility, and indeed encouragement, was offered to the parties in- terested to remove coffins or bodies, which it has been the disgraceful custom to deposit in the area named, pending removal to the parish or district in which the departed were born, but the notification was disregarded. Saturday, however, was the last day and our friends in the Concession resolving to take no half measures SERIOUS `RIOTING AT held to be a pestilence-breeding institution. The set about the task of obliterating what has been
SHANGHAI.
serious results of their summary action we do not for a moment think were anticipated, but it is sufficient to say that they carried their point. Commencing at six o'clock on Saturday a large gang of men in the employ of the French Municipality entered upon the work of demoli
and portions of the walls surrounding the cemetery were rased in the course of less than
THE NINGPO JOSS HOUSE CLAIMED BY THE FRENCH.
MANY CHINESE KILLED AND WOUNDED.
tion;
half-an-hour. It was then that the natives rea-
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and indignation The ends of most of the streets were protected was everywhere rampant. by the police and marines, and foreigners were only permitted to enter at their own risk. The news of the disturbance naturally spread like wildfire in a small place like Shang hai and
many Englishmen and foreig- ners ventured into the Concession just for “look-see." The danger of this action was apparently overlooked, infuriated mob gathered there every foreigner for to the
must be French. Mr. T. W. Kingsmill, the well-known land agent and surveyor, drove through the crowd and was struck on the head by a large stone, whilst, some time later, Mr. A. Korff, of Messrs Melchers and Co., was also attacked and somewhat seriously injured by a stone. One of the rioters flung a huge chunk of brick or a tile at an Englishman which only just missed its mark, whilst stones were freely directed against any foreigner that chanced to appear upon the scene.
In the evening a spirit of disorder prevailed and the police, aided by the sailors, Volunteers, and members of the fire brigade, kept an active gil, rumours that the rioters intended firing the Concession having gained currency. Screeoh- [SPECIAL TELEGRAMS TO THE "DAILY PRESS."]lised that earnestness was the keystone of the ing and howling were freely indulged in but no
SHANGHAI, 17th July, Serious rioting has occurred on the French of Chinese gathered vituperating, and question-serious form and it at once became evident that Frenchmen's action, and large and angry crowds attempt was made at violence. With the dawn, however, aggressiveness was resumed in a more Concession, resulting in a number of Chinese ing the foreigners right to interfere with their being killed and wounded.
ancient usages. The filthy moat separating the The French Municipality claiming the Ning city from the French town bad its Chinese bank po Joss-house and an unused cemetery on the lined with a frenzied mob whilst the walls were French Concession for a proposed School, Hos-alive with screaming, vengeance-rowing stran- pital, and Abattoir, after fruitless parleys with gers at the shrine of Hygeia, and only consist. the Taotai seized the cemetery, pulling down ent in their superstition. Still the work pro- the walls yesterday. The force included landing gressed, but the Council, prepared for any con- parties from the French gunboat Eclaireur tingency, had the whole of their police, native and M. M. steamer Oceanien, Police, and French and foreign. close at hand whilst a detachment Volunteers, altogether two hundred.
of eighty odd men, fully armed and equipped, from the French cruiser l'Eclaireur landed to to assist in case of any outbreak, with fifty men from the Messagories' steamer Océanien. As the morning wore on it was evident that trouble was in store. Shouting and idle threats gave place to stone-throwing, initiated, we were informed, by boys from the city wall. This and gangs of ruffianly rowdies on the French example of mob warfare was taken up by others,
side of the ditch, as well as across, hurled mis- siles of the most dangerous kind at the police and workmen. A crowd inside the Joss House num-
The Ningpo population were greatly excited all Ningpo shops were shut, and all Ningpo servants ordered to leave foreign employ.
The Police Station at the south end of the French bund was attacked this morning. The Frenchmen fired, killing fifteen, and twenty-nine wounded were brought to the hospital, one of them in a dying condition.
A hundred and fifty men were landed to-day
from the Italian man-of-war Marco Polo.
The Shanghai Volunteer Corps were called out to-day as a demonstration and ordered to
hold themselves in readiness for an alarm to. night. The Sikh Police, fully armed, are holding the bridges between the English and
French Concessions.
drastic measures would have to be resorted to. Shortly after eight o'clock the rioters made a raid on the police station at Namtao and suc- ceeded in pulling down portions of the wall. Things reached such a pass, the rioters throw- boos, that the sailors had to fire on the mob, ing stones and arming themselves with bam-
four or five being killed and several wounded. Subsequently the mob were again fired on with fatal results, it being estimated that al- together some fifteen lost their lives in addition should be added that one of the more prominent to many wounded. On Saturday afternoon it
rioters was wounded in the eye with a bayonet his injuries having since terminated fatally.
bering some hundreds of men had to be cleared by the sailors at the point of the bayonet, two of them having commenced to harangue the crowd in
the Concession. There is no English terms which were considered as inciting to riot. What was actually said, however, is not known, but the authorities deemed it right to disperse
force so far on the French Concession, which is fully protected,
Shanghai, 18th July. No business has been transacted here to-day, all the Ningpo banks and shops being closed.
The trouble is now settled on the basis of the temporary repair of the breaches made in the cemetery walls, the Ningpoese being allowed three months in which to remove the coffins and hand over the cemetery.
SHANGHAI, 21st July. The strike of Ningpo men has ended to-day, though the settlement arrived at can hardly be considered permanent.
the crowd and the whole were bundled into the
After the firing consternation prevailed among the Chinese, and some surprise was ex-
and they were told what to expect, they ap- pressed at the decided action taken by the French as, although every warning was given,
parently did not think the threats would be carried out. The police station yesterday after. formed of large bales of cotton blocked the noon was rigidly guarded and a barricade bridge over the creek at the extreme limit of One of our representatives made a complete tour of the Concession yester day and by the courtesy of the French officials was allowed to pass the sentries at the more im. open and the streets cleared. Crying and dis-portant points. Machine guns were mounted in mal wailing predominated as the work continued
the station yard in view of possibilities and the and stone-throwing was again indulged in, this police and marines were all fully armed and time to a more serions extent than before. The accoutred. Looking over the barricade one police, though armed, charged the mob with could see the crowd of angry natives surveying truncheons and three of the ringleaders were
the scene, but at the same time they were mak- arrested and taken to the Police Station, from ing no demonstration. Continuing along the whence they will be arraigned before the Mixed Creek the dead body of a young and well-dressed Court magistrate.
Chinaman lay festering in the hot July sun under the city wall uncared for and seemingly unowned. In the course of a conversation with a Ningpo man we were told that the majority of those killed had taken no active part in the disturbance and the young man just referred to appeared to have lost his life from a stray bullet. The other bodies are, we understand, in the custody of relatives and include that of a decrepit old woman who could never have been accused of violence. Such however are the de crees of Fate, the innocent too frequently suffer- ing for the guilty. Coming along the Quai de France yesterday afternoon we witnessed the horrifying spectacle of a Chinaman killed in the riot being carried by coolies on an open board. Trouble had not even been taken to wash the poor fellow, blood still oozing from the mouth and a shocking wound in the neck. At the French Municipal Police Station separ- ated only by a narrow creek from the famous Joss House a strong contingent of police and sailors was on duty. A rope had been stretched across the bridge, a big crowd of Chinese having formed up. They were however prevented from crossing. The French Municipal Hall was guarded by Volunteers whilst 150 sailors from the Italian cruiser Marco Polo, who arrived in 'the Normand from Woosung at 1.30 p.m., were
Shortly before noon the Taotai was informed of the contretemps and that the mob would be THE DETAILED REPORT. fired on, and he at once, rising to the occasion, Shanghai, 18th July. detailed troops for duty on the city walls and Early on Saturday morning a landing party his own special gendarmerie for service on the from the French cruiser l'Eclaireur marched Defence Creek Bridges. This action had ap- up to the Ningpo Joss House and took posses-parently a salutary effect and for some time a sion, on behalf of the French Municipality, of species of quietude prevailed, although the the vacant piece of ground opposite the Ningpo crowd distributed themselves into small angry Joss House on the west side of the Rue Palikao groups, with looks and matterings indicative of and the south side of the Rue de Ningpo. The thunder. They were not allowed to come near French municipality, supported by Count de the Joss House, the police and bluejackets Bezaure, the Consul General, are acting on the patrolling the streets at within call distances principle that if a foreigner requires land on and moving them along with dogged per- the Concession belonging to Chinese, he has the sistency. The French Volunteers were right to buy it, and they are prépared to pay
moned and ordered to be ready in case of need, the owners the assessed value for it. The land whilst many civilians offered themselves for is wanted for a School, a Hospital, and possibly service should additional help be required. The an Abattoir, all institutions for the benefit of French Municipal Hall, Consulate, and other the Chinese residents in the Concession and its public buildings were guarded at the point of vicinity. No trouble was experienced on Satur- the bayonet. day morning, because care had been taken to have a sufficient force at hand to preserve order. It is intended hereafter to take possession of the Ningpo Joss House itself on the same terms, and the much-required extension of the Rue de Ningpo to the Quai de la Brèche will then be made by the Municipality. It will be
sum-
In the afternoon the streets became even more crowded than in the early morning and it was impossible to check the influx, the greater part presumably coming from the City-dirty, unwashed hordes and nothing more. The Rue Palikao and other streets abutting on to the end of the Concession were particularly crowded
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