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September 29, 1900.]
role of confidential adviser to the Foreign Office. Its communications have been able, they have been frequent, but they have been wholly non- effective, because the China Association had not the force, and did not attempt to get the force of public opinion behind it. Now, gentlemen, that being the system upon which the business of the China Association has been conducted since its origin, I feel I owe an apology to the members of the last Committee, to the members of the Association for the complaint I made at the lest annual meeting that the Committee did not take the members of the Association or the public sufficiently into their confidence and did not advocate sufficiently the opinions of the members. You were so good as to elect me on the Committee, possibly with the view of in- fusing a little more energy into the Association. I found since I joined this Committee-when they did me the honour of electing me Chair- man-I found that the system on which the China Association was worked deprecated all agitation, deprecated all appeals to public men. deprecated appeals to public opinion, deprecated the publication of any correspondence in which possibly harsh words would be found to offend the ears of those in authority. It had adopted and continued up to this day the role of con- fidential adviser to the Foreign Office. There- fore, I found some members, most influential members of the Committee, were against call- ing public meetings or appealing to public opinion in Hongkong. The whole system under which the China Association was being worked is totally opposed to all agitation. What is the position in China?
or
even
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE RÉPORT.
accounts.
Captain ANDERSON seconded, and the report was adopted unanimously.
The CHAIRMAN-The only other business before you is the election of the committee.
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certain that the new Association which is being of special notice, that the Roman Catholic started at home-the China League and Cathedraland a Protestant Mission Compound which does intend to take a leaf out of the Navy were fortified and guarded two weeks before League book, and to appeal to publication of any Legation in Peking had made a sand pamphlets and leaflets and by holding public bag. Up to this time Committees from the meetings will not be in the end a much more powerful representation of British opinion in encouragement, when reporting what they con- different missions had met with very littlo China than the China Association. I beg to move, gentlemen, the adoption of the report and The gathering of the Americans at the sidered the situation to the Diplomatic Corps. Methodist Compound was an effort on their part to protect the native Christians. No for eign minister was willing to assume any re- sponsibilty for the protection of the latter. Many of the n issionaries felt that at such a time they could not bo deserted. As a con- sequence something of a compromise was made, to the American fort, the French Minister the American Minister sealing 20 marines
North Cathedral proved to be a splendid sending 30 soldiers to the Cathedral. The fort, surrounded as it is by a very strong and high wall. The American Compound was weak- ened by its proximity to the city wall and later had to be entirely abandoned, a retreat being Mr. MACKIE suggested that the list of mem-made into the British Logation. During the bers be revised. They had an income from 4 two weeks spent at the mission compound active members. The other 15 who did not pay should steps were taken for defence and fortification. either have their names removed or pay their The organisation here effected was one that lat- er proved to be of great value when the siege proper began. A general meeting was held and the following Committees were appointed :-
1. General Committee for Public Comfort and Oversight.
The voting papers were then distributed, and in the meantime the CHAIRMAN read a lotter from Mr. F. Henderson, resigning his office as Honorary Secretary, on account of his early departure from the colony. moved that, in the circumstances, the resigna- The Chairman tion be accepted and that the Hongkong Branch of the Association tender him their most hearty thanks for his valuable services during the last five years. (Applause).
money.
The CHAIRMAN explained that members ab- sent from Hongkong had not as a rule been required to pay subscriptions.
It was then proposed by Mr. WILCOX, seconded by Mr. LEWIS, that Mr. White be admitted a member of the Association.
Carried.
The following Committee was elected :-Hon. C. P. Chater, Mr. E. W. Mitchell, Sir Thos. Jackson, Mr. C. S. Sharp, Hon. T. H. White- lead, Mossrs. J. J. Francis, J. MacKie and R. C. Wilcox.
THE STORY OF PEKING.
(I.) DURING THE SIEGE.
A GRAPHIC NARRATIVE.
[The following account is specially written for us by a doctor who was among the lesieged gar- at Peking.] rison of the Legations and surrounding buildings
2. Committee on Fortifications.
on Food and Water Supply. on Sanitation.
3.
4.
5.
-6.
7.
on care of Native Refugees. in charge of armed Natives, in charge of Chinese labour. Captain Hall of the U. S. Marinos was in command of the military defences and of the 40 volunteers and marines,
THE WORK OF FORTIFICATION.
It is a very difficult one, it is extremely difficult to estimate what will be the state of British influence and what the British position will be in China twelve months hence
a shorter period. So far our trade and commerce and shipping have not suffered materially, but our political influence in China seems at the mo- ment to be absolutely nil. Only five years ago. before war broke out between China and Japan. Great Britain stood in the paramount position in China. We were supposed to be supreme in Peking. The Government might, if they had wished, stopped the war, but they failed to interfere to prevent the war between China and Japan. Anyone knowing the history of the events knows that if we had told the Chinese Government that they must not
go to and insisted
on the settlement of the Corean question between
On the 8th of June last it was the general Japan there would
China and impression outside of the Legations in Peking have been по war. After the war stood
that the situation had grown suddenly very by and allow-serious, and that neither life nor property, un- ed Franco, Russia and Germany to what they pleased. It may have been a wise all the missionaries from Tungchow and the do guarded, was safe. That morning at 2 o'clock step and probably was a wise step that the teachers in the Congregational College thers Japanese were not allowed to reap any terri- torial result from their successful endeavours
fled to Peking. Soon after their entire property in China. Other Powers stepped in; they took Friday the 8th word was sent to all the mission was burned and looted by a mob of Boxers. On possession to a greater or less extent of that compounds and Customs Lane that it was con- which Japan was prevented from acquiring.sidered best for people to congregate. This wasisters to abandon their plan of proceeding over.
war
We
But Great Britain did nothing; she proclaimed most loudly and apparently in the strongest possible language that the 'open door' should be preserved, that the integrity of China should be preserved, that rights which she possessed by treaty and which under her influence had been granted to every other nation by the most- favoured-nation clauses, should be maintained in the strongest possible manner. door has not been maintained and cannot be The open maintained. What was the next declaration The declaration that whatever happened in the North, whatever happened in the South, Great Britain would have a definite, clour sphere of influence on the Yangtze, and no one would be allowed to interfere with it.
Great Britain has dono absolutely nothing since, either to secure that sphere of influence definitely; to an- nounce her intention to maintain thut sphere of influence; and to prevent other powers from interfering in any way. Russian influence prevails largely in connection with the main lines of railway running from Peking into these Yangtze provinces, and it is impossible for us to say at the present moment, at the present state of the political situation-it is utterly impossible for us to say twelve months hence whether German influence or British in- fluence will prevail in the Yangtze Valley. It seems, gentlemen, as if we had come to an ex- tremely critical point indeed in the history of Great Britain's political influence and political authority in the Far East.
I am not at all
THE TROUBLE BEGINS.
done through a meeting of the American mis- sionaries, who at the same time cabled President McKinley for relief. on the morning of June the 4th, and after that The last train left Peking date no foreigner was able to leave Peking.
EARLY PREPARATIONS.
went outside the walls was shot and killed The Japanese Chancellor who a few days later
the 8th found about 70 Americans gathered by the Imperial soldiers. The night of June in the American Methodist Compound. They asked the U. 8. Minister for a contingent the Legation. To these were added 20 armed of marines and received a guard of 20 from
men from among themselves, making a protecting force of forty men. Early the next morning preparations were male to fortify the place, food supplies were brought in and pre- parations made for a siege. Committees were appointed. and by noon a complete organization and those who understood best the Chinese was effected. The situation grew worse daily character were apprehensive of coming evil. Chinese Christians, some torn and beaten, others burned, came pouring in from outlying districts with tales of massacre and rapine that se med almost unthinkable. But among those gathered at this place were Eastern China, who had watched the gathering men from all over North.
clouds for months, although they had sounded an alarm in the ears of deaf diplomatists. At this time telegraphic communication was opeu with the world. And it is a significant fact, worthy
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In a few days the entire compound had the appearance of a fort. The seven hundred native Christians who had fled there for refuge soon proved themselves to be a very valuable native converts at this compound that directed auxiliary. In fact it was the work done by these the attention of one or two of the ministers to the practicability of protecting them for the sake of the use to which they could be put in the manual labour of fortifying. Mr. F. D. Gamewell was the chairman here of the com- mittee on fortifications. Mr. Gamewell is a man about 42 years of age. He comes from South Carolina and has spent about 20 years in Ci. 1.a, gineering at the Methodist College in Peking. He is a teacher of Physics and Mechanical En-
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THE FIRST MURDER OF A EUROPEAN,
On the morning of June the 20th the murder the Tsungli Yamen had promised would escort of Baron von Ketteler by the very soldiers whom us safely to Tientsin caused the Foreign Min land under Chinese guard to Tientsin.
The death of Baron von Ketteler must be the foreigners in Peking. Had von Ketteler considered as a vicarious sacrifice.for the rest of
not met his death at the hands of the treach erous Chinese troops we would have been the Diplomatic Corps, as announced the night ordered out of Peking according to the plan of
German Minister opened the eyes of those who before, to a certain death. The killing of the favoured proceeding to Tientsin, and from that time the siege of Paking proper began. These who had maintained that the Government was still dealing honestly, were at last forced by a terrible lesson to acknowledge that they had underestimated the danger. And it is to be said to the credit of Sir Claude McDonald acknowledged that they had made a mistake that he was the only Minister in the siege who in not dealing differently with the Chinese.
ORGANISATION AND FOOD.
As stated above, when all the foreigners ro- treated into the British Legation no fortifica- tions had been begun by any Legation in Poking, save a couple of nseless barricades had given 24 hours for the foreigners to leave across Legation Street. The Tsungli Yamen
Kettler's death was the one cause of the con Peking, beginning at 5 o'clock on the 19th. Von
tion. The organization of the siege began a centration of all foreigners in the British Lega....
once. Food was brought in from every availab place within the lines of defence. Captain Ha
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