144
Captains De Gaspari, Furlani, Servici, and Di Maria. The three transports are commanded by Naval officers and fly the man-of-war ensign. The transport Nevasa arrived on the night of the 20th inst. from Taku.
The transport Uganda left on the 21st inst for Calcutta.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
ing, fighting, building barricades, digging trenches night and day.
隔离
The Legations, except the British, are utterly destroyed by shell shot;
the Italian American, Belgian, and Holland burned to the ground. The British also much shattered. The American marines still The British transport Antillian, of Liverpool, hold their position on City wall commanding arrived on the 22nd inst. and went to the the Legations; after a brilliant sortie on the man-of-war anchorage. She brings the follow-night of July, Captain Myers drove back ing for the Hongkong Garrison :-Lients. hordes of Kansu troops, himself slightly G. T. H. Dickson, O. D. L. Williams, H. Hill, wounded; captured flags and banners. Greatest and 106 men of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers: and credit is due to Secretary Squiers whose mili- for Wei-hai-wei :-Major T. W. Powles, Capt. tary experience and energy are invaluable. H. M. Elliott, Lients. H. L. Stephenson, E. The present dangers are treachery and the Wighton, 2nd Lieut. F. W. Loveday and 126 entrance into the City of the defeated Chinese men of the 2nd Co. Southern Division R.G.A., army. Our anxiety is intense and (we hope for) Capt. M. H. Roberts, 2nd Lieute. J. A.
early relief.
COLTMAN." Forsyth, R. R. Punnett, R. G. Harman, B. T. Haslewood, one warrant officer and 118 men of the 15th Southern R. G. A., Capts. G. E. Galbraith, K. E. Haynes, Lieut. D. Clapham and 59 men of the 15th Co Western Div. R, G. A She also brought Maxims or Pompoms Det. 1. R. A., in charge of Capt. C. W. J. Orr and 7 men; & siege train in command of Lieut. Col. T. Perrott, with Capt. H. S. de Brett, D. 8. O., as Adjutant, Major Dobell of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, Lieut. T. Biggan of the R. A. M. Corps; Lieut. W. A. Quennell. IO.M., of the A. O. Dept.; 29 horses and males and 14 guns. The above are the first lot of troops arrived here from Cape Town. The siege-train was that intended for the bombard- ment of Pretoria.
The City of Cambridge arrived on the 22nd with No. 4 Coolie Corps and part of the 54th Native Field Hospital, two British officers ac- companying the former and one the latter.
The transports Vadala and Islanda arrived from Taku on the 22nd The Sunda left for Shanghai.
The hospital ship. Carthage arrived late on Wednesday from Bombay
The transports Muttra, Ula, Ugundo, and Clive sailed late on Wednesday for Taku. The Upada followed on the 23rd inst, while the storeship Humber proceeded to Shanghai. The Vadalu and Islanda left on the 23rd for Calcutta.
The German cruiser Hertha arrived on the 23rd from Swatow, which she left on the 22nd instant.
A NEWSPAPER MESSAGE.
The most fascinating document, however, consists in the despatch of an able newspaper correspondent: this has not been, and of course cannot yet be, made public, although permission has been given to quote the casualty list as far as it relates to the dead. 'Italians 7, Russians 3, including Mr. Hitsoff of the Bank, Germans 10, French 9, Austrians 4, including Comman- der Tomanore of the Zenta, Americans 7, Japa- nese 8, consisting of Captain Ando, five marines, and two interpreters, Mr. Wagner, of the Cus- toms, and Mr. Gruintgens, an engineer. The British loss must therefore be ten or twelve, and, as we already know, includes (aptain Strautz, R.M.L.I., and Mr. D. Oliphant (he has an elder brother in the City) and young Mr. Warren both of the Consular Service.
The wounded have numbered in all from the beginning 138, and include Captain Halliday (R.M.L.I.), V.S. surgeon Lyppitt and Captain Myers, who are all doing well. The experience is the same 28 that in Tientsin, namely, that the wounds are all aseptic and heal quickly. When the gallant Strautz met his fate, he was on the Wall along with Captain Shiba and Dr. Morrison, the last-men- tioned being wounded: and, as far as I can make out, this incident happened on or about the 16th ult.
A LOSS TO CHINA.
The French Legation was sapped and blown up, but happily Messrs. Pichon was at the time residing with his British colleague. In their anxiety to get at the British Legation the ( hi- The Italian cruiser Stromboli and the three
nese themselves fired perhaps the most venerat- transports under her convoy left Hongkonged building in the Empire, viz. the famous on the 23rd for Taku.
On Thursday night the British gunboat Library, a loss which is in Chinese life and let- Britomart arrived from Singapore.
TIENTSIN.
(FROM OUR OWn correspondent.]
Tientsin, 1st August.
PEKING DESPATCHES.
A whole batch of despatches came on from Peking ten days ago, dated July 21st, and we have also received single messages, dated the 23rd and 24th, from the Japanese and British Ministers; the la ter however but confirm the news given on the former date. Sir Robert Hart writes to Mr. Drew to wire the I. M. C. in London Peking staff and families still safe: Hart and Bredon." The American Mission people instruct their agent to wire America as follows:-" Peking and Tung how Americans all safe: also the Walkers, hapins, Smiths, Wyckoffs. Verity, Hobart, Terry, McKay safe in Peking. Wire friends. All property destroyed."
•
Doctoroltman sends for transmission the following: On June 23 Von Ketteler mur- dered, and his Secretary wounded while en route to the Tsung Li Yamen by Chinese troops. Foreign residents have been besieged since then, and under daily fire from hinese artillery and rifles. Fortunately cowardice has prevented successful rushes; our losses are 60 killed and 70 wounded, theirs are more than one thousand. No word from outside world. Food plenty, rice, horses.
Yesterday (July 16th 7) there was a flag of truce and a message from Jung-Lu requesting (to know if) Macdonald willing truce; reply, willing, provided Chinese come no closer: shell fire ceased, quiet now. Hope the means of relief having defeated the Chinese are near- ing, as we are all exhausted by constant watch-
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Hanlin College, with its invaluable and superb
ters almost equivalent to that which Western civilization suffered when Alexandria was bom- barded. It is by no means impossible that this atrocious war may live in history on the ill-fame of this incident rather than on its own awful and inherent demerits.
THE CHINESE HEDGE.
We learn from private sources that both Jung Lu and the Tsung Li Yamen have been in communication with Sir Claude and the Ministers by the medium of Wan Tuan, and that the Imperial Government, fearing the conse- quence of so terrible a crime as Von Kettler's death, are now keen on ascribing the murder to bandits and blackguards-the City canaille- but they forget that Herr Cordes is alive to prove they lie right up to the hilt.
Every line received now but proves that the hedging movement began the moment they knew that Tientsin City was captured by the time the Allied army is at the walls of their city, the Manchus will be more foreign than the foreigners themselves. I shall refer to their duplicity later on.
BRITISH DELAY CAUSES DISSATISFACTION,
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The military situation here is unchanged; there are active preparations for an immediate advance, but no actual advance, although it is daily promised for to-morrow. There is much reason for thinking the vacillation which haunts British policy and plans like a curse of the Gods is weakening the entente cordiale in general, and the good feeling between Japan and England in particular. The Islanders were ready to push on ten days ago, and chafed restively under the delay of Lieut. General Gasolee's arrival. Now that he has come, and has only some 4,000 odd instead of the promised 9,000, they show actual consternation, and not a little soreness of spirit. Not knowing all the circumstances which have caused 4,000 troops
[August 25, 1900.
out of 8,000 to be deviated elsewhere, condem nation is imprudent; but unless considerations of the gravest gravity, such as danger to foreign life in the Yangtze Valley, have caused the Home authorities thus to change their plans, there can be no doubt as to their unwisdom. I will merely state that the decision has already been issued in a loss of confidence in British assurances by the Japanese, that it has indefinitely postponed the relief of Peking, and so once again jeopardised the lives of belated foreigners in that Capital. The Japanese consider that we are not playing the game, and that they are being left.
THE RESULT OF INACTIVITY.
portion to the lives and interests involved is of
A nice adjustment of forces in the exact pro
course impossible. No sane man stands for such; but considering England's historic position in China, her vast preponderance of commercial. 7 and political interest, and the great number of British lives still at stake in Peking (and in a less degree still in Tientsin) it seems pitiable that so small a force has come North.
The delay has moreover been utterly misunderstood by the (hinese who credit to pusillanimity what is due to prudence. The Allies inactivity has once more renewed the enemy's evanescent courage and confidence. They have strongly entrenched themselves at Peitsang three and half miles out of Tientsin on the Peking Road, and they are massing great forces on our left flank seven miles to our West. I am utterly sceptical of all Chinese numbers, still I will quote what they say-45,000 in the former place, 15.000 in the latter. Just as I write we have another bit of news from the Japanese Legation in the Capita (July 26th). Ju Lu (our Viceroy), Tung-fu-shiang and General Jung have memorialized the Throne to allow half of Tung-fu-shiang's troops to be sent to Tientsin at once, and there to combine with those of Yuan Shih Kai (from Shantung) and from the Yangtze to recapture Tientsin and Li Peng-Heng
Nobody pays any attention to this rubbish; but Taku; this is permitted by Imperial rescript. it points to two things: (1) that the Chinese are concentrating; (2) that we should attack and beat them one by one before such con. centration is possible, as it means much greater casualties to us. The same late Peking news announces that two of the chief Boxers have been killed, one by troops, the other by the folk of his own town. I have not heard who they are, but as they are those in the employ of our Viceroy Ju-Lu and by him recommended to the Throne, they are probably Chang-te-cheng and Wang Teli-cheng, with whom I hope to deal in my next letter.
THE UNMOUNTED GUNS.
Admiral
Our twelve-pounders are mounted on their field carriages, but another six days are neces- sary to finish those of the 4 in. and 4.7 in. q.f.s. This is typical of our lack of method. It has been evident any time during the last three weeks that these fine machines would have to go to Peking for battery purposes. Bruce has again landed a naval brigade, but numerically much inferior to the late one; in- cluding the Marines (350 to 400) it will approx- imate to 600. The seamen of course, are all gun- ners. This unexpected landing is doubtless due to a ruse to eke out the eniguous numbers of our troops. Admiral Seymour is at Woosung,
2nd August.
IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES.
A foreign expert is busy in the Viceregal Yamen in Tientsin, and is unearthing numerous and important documents of a serious nature. The Viceroy's day-book gives some remarkable in- formation, and of a nature which is utterly incompatible with professions of Official in- nocence re the Boxer Sedition. For example: Taels 10,000 to the head I-Ho-Chuan, Chang Te Cheng, for food: Taels 1,435 for white flour to Yang Shoo Chen for five days rations to 2,290 I-Ho-Chuan: Tls. 40 to a wounded Boxer: Tls. 100 to the family of Ma Kun Sun, a Boxer shot in battle: Tis. 70 to the family of Chen-ü- ting, balance of Tis. 100, of which Tls. 30 had been paid for a wound.
Still more heinous, and to be remembered against Ju-lu, is £100 for the heads of two American marines killed in the advance from Taku to Tientsin. We have seen no proclama- tions about head-money, and had hoped the Chinese had given up this barbarous practice;
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