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representatives at Peking who had reliable infor- mation and attached the right importance to it." The French Minister was, of course, kept well advised by Bishop Favier, who is certainly the best informed man on current Chinese affairs in Peking. Mr. Landor does not regard Sir Claude Macdonald in the same light, and does not hesitate to charge him with having "always believed and concurred in the views of the last person who spoke to him, especially when he was misinformed." Mr. Landor no doubt has strong support for such a charge or he would not make it, but he does not give his authority, and he was not in Peking at the time. Sir Claude Macdonald was not the only minister who was misled, and he was unfortunate in not having an adviser of such magnificent resource- fulness of information as his French colleague possessed. In the estimation of most people in China, Sir Claude Macdonald did well, under the circumstances; had he known the Chinese character more intimately, he undoubtedly would have done better.
Mr. Landor gives a detailed account, familar to our readers, of the tragic exodus of the Belgian engineers and their families from Paotingfu, and describes the Seymour relief expedition, the capture of the Taku forts and the siege of Tientsin. His description of the looting scenes that were daily enacted in Tien- tain is excellent, and he takes a sensible view of the matter. He says:-
It is difficult to decide whether looting is at any time right or wrong, but in all fairness it must be kept in mind that the case of Tientsin was a special one. The main portion of the city was already on fire, most of the houses had already been broken into and looted by the Boxers, and presently everything that remained would be destroyed by the flames. It certainly seemed a pity to let so much beautiful and valuable pro- perty be wasted. Was it not, then, the lesser evil to allow these men, who had fought hard, to reap what benefit they could from the misfortune of others, especially since "the others " doomed to misfortune in any case? To prevent looting was impossible. The authorities, there fore, seemed to have followed the only sensible line by giving the soldiers and marines a day's free hand.
were
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
servile, submissive manner towards every Euro- pean that went by!
Describing the national characteristics of the looters, he pictures a party of British, as follows:--
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"My won't my girl be happy when she rees all this? was the very first thought of Tommy "She'll know right and Jack about the loot. enough what to do with it all." All the pockets of Tommy and Jack were soon stuffed to bursting with silver-gilt combs, small carvings, hairpins, elaborate ornaments for the hair, and silver charms of all kinds and sizes, of which Chinese chesta of drawers were brimful, It was interesting to watch them, the younger ones especially, loot, loot, loot, not for themselves, but for the friends and relations at home.
The Japanese somewhat resembled the British in their methods, but
The point where a marked difference lay be tween the two was in the true and keen artistic sense of the beautiful inborn in the sons of the
Mikado's empire, and altogether absent in the British Tommy. All that was ancient, refined in line and taste, or pleasing to the eye in colour, had for a Japanese more fascination than any. thing of ten times its intrinsic value. I went into a house that had been entered by a couple of Japanese privates. They had found a cabinet of old china, and each soldier was revolving in carefully examining the design. his supple fingers a cup or a vase or a dish, and
"Kekko neh" ("How lovely "), exclaimed one soldier, looking into the work with the eye of a connoisseur.
'Sajo deska; taihenjoso" (" Yes, indeed; first rate"), announced his neighbour, drawing in his breath in sign of admiration, while he tried to decipher the mark on the bottom of each cup. And here a long conversation began on the age. of the crockery, how graceful in shapes, how fine in texture and make each piece was, and how skilful the artist that painted it. And here comes the principal point of my story. Such was their admiration for the wares they handled, that, instead of smashing them, as less artistic troops did those articles that could not be carried away, these Japanese soldiers carefully replaced each article on its shelf.
The American soldier was somewhat differ- ent
What did he care for works of art? He had heard that some of the porcelain was worth large sums, but he really could not tell a 5-cent teapot from a 1,000 dollar one. All that he looked for in the houses of rich " Chinos," as he conveniently called the Chinese, was gold bar, or silver, the latter for choice, in four and a quarter pound lumps (sycee). If he could not get gold or silver, he preferred to have nothing, but he looked and looked until he generally found what he wanted. Mr. Landor devotes several chapters to the
The accounts of the lo ting published in Eng; land and America were rot accurate, and seemed to be mostly written by persons who had some ulterior motive in shewing the soldiers of some one nation or another at their worst. I main- tain that, if looting is to be looked upon as a crime, the soldiers of all nations, none excepted, disgraced themselves alike. The Russian, the American, the Japanese, the French, all looted alike. They one and all were looters of the very first water. I say it and I maintain it. But on the other hand, I cannot see that in this paroissionary question, and details the terrible ticular case of the Chinese war, looting was a criminal offence. On the contrary, it was the only way by which the natives could be punished for their outrages on our men, women, and children; and, degrading as it may seem to those who had ne chance of taking part in it, there is no doubt that the only portion of this war which will cause
the Chinese some future reflection will be the burning and looting of Tientsiv.
Those who know the Chinese well will realise the truth of the last few lines, and further when he points out that
one
the same
It was a constant remark among the Allied officers that China would be a paradise if
could keep the
in Chine e behaviour that they displayed after their defeat. They bowed and "chin-chinned to every "foreign devil" that went by, those sitting down springing upon their feet each time that a soldier passed. Tea and cold water were served out to anybody who wanted it, and the stolid, blant Chinaman behaved to everybody with a civility never before shown by the sons of the Heavenly Empire.
Mr, Landor is of opinion that taking things all round the Chinese themselves were the people who mostly benefitted by the looting. He says:- There were crowds of them outside every house where looting went on, and they sneaked in and out carrying away valuable things. They had the advantage of knowing where to find them. Even Boxers and Imperial soldiers had bastily thrown off their uniform coats, and returned to the city disguised as coolies or peaceful citizens, Their greed was disgusting, and among themselves they acted like wild beasts.
The Chinese
whom one saw in Tientsin soon after its fall were
ruffians of the very first water. Their faces alone were a sufficient certificate. What ghastly, mur- derous expressions were concealed under the
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I
sufferings of those unfortunate men, women and children who were martyred in the interior, The author apparently takes it for gran ed that the many Chinese officials who ill-treated. imprisoned, tortured and murdered these defenceless people, or gave them over to the brutal and murderous mobs to do with them as
they desired, have all been adequately punished, but we very much doubt, and in fact feel convinced, that not only do many of these scoundrels still go unpunished, but that they still hold office. This is confirmed by the experience of Major Periera on his recent mission, when he found a Chinese official who had handcuffed refugee mission- aries, and who was supposed to have been banished into exile, actually holding office! It should be the duty of the Ministers to see that the whole of these guilty officials are actually punished. Mr. Landor pays a well-deserved tribute to the Rev. Timothy Richards, who, he thinks, "has done more practical good in China than probably any other missionary in the coun- try." In his very strong comparison between Mr. Richards and missionaries in general, the author overlooks one fact, namely, that the work of the former is mainly literary; he is chiefly engaged in publishing in Chinese standard foreign works, and his occupation naturally predispores the educated Chinese in his favour. It is not the lot of the average missionary to meet only the native literati, or engage in such interesting and attractive work, which, perhaps, in many cases is just as well,
The author endorses an opinion to which we have frequently given rent, though we are much afraid the responsible heads of missions,' in their seal, are not likely to act upon it. He refers to
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[August 26, 1901,
The criminal error of despatching to dangerous and lonely places in the interior of China, without protection or assistance, young, inexperienced girls who have a most imperfect knowledge of the country, the language, and the customs and manners of the natives,
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It is great men and women with powerful brains the greatest we have, if any at all—that ought to be sent out, not those for whom we can find no As for women, the wives use at home. of missionaries might be al owed to accompany their husbands, but I maintain that it is criminal to send young women into the interior, where they can do little good, and are helpless in case of danger.
Most people, who are not blinded by religion, will agree with him, and those who have a knowledge of the interior will understand that it is absolutely indelicate for any young, well nurtured women to reside in the interior and engage in mission work, and such. indelicacy is emphasised when they acquire a knowledge of the language. By preventing the women and children, and most certainly we think the latter who are not free agents-the author points out that
Shocking outrages, such as have occurred in the Boxer trouble, would be prevented or greatly minimised; huge sums of money, now absolutely waste 1, could be spared to do good at home, where it is more needed than in China, and much unnecessary friction could be prevented, making the relations of heathens and foreign devils in- finitely pleasanter.
Mr. Landor discusses the soldiers of the different nationalities at some length. It will be remembered that he was compelled to attach himself to the Japanese, and he naturally depicts the doings of these excellent soldiers most. He was more impressed with the Japanese than the other allies, and after them he puts the Russians, Other correspondents have put the latter last, though all are unanimous in according the Japanese a front place as soldiers in the North- China campaign." The author says that whilst other nationalities collapsed in hundreds, he never saw a single Russian soldier fall out of the ranks. His statement is courteous but of little value, because being with the Japanese he could not be with the Russians or other allies, nor is his statement substantiated by the recently published Russian report on the campaign. Comparisons are apt to be odious, and they are certainly unneces sary when the author is unable to do justice
to
all from actual experience of each. In numerous instances the author's judg. ment is too hasty and too sweeping, and he frequently errs from want of knowledge of the country and the people, and having to rely on the impressions of others. Yet his book is certainly very interesting and for the most part accurate, and few will deny his ability as a graphic and entertaining writer. His second volume is made up of the entry of the allied forces into Peking and a lengthy description of the siege of the legations and the Peitang Cathedral on information supplied by those who experienced these tragic events.
Mr. M. Kato, the Japanese Consul, courte- ously informs us that eight Japanese sesmen were recently rescued and brought to this port by the British transport Chingtu, which arrived in the harbour on the 18th inst. from Taku. They were taking a barge of about 150 tous from Osaka to Keelung in Formoss, when they met with a typhoon on the 1st inst. off the coast of the island of Okinawa, the largest of the Loochoo group. The barge had been drift. ing on the open sea for eight days when on the morning of the 9th August, the Chingtu met her at 32 deg. 14 min. N. 123 deg. 55 min. E. about 100 miles from Shanghai, and rescued the men. She was stripped of sails, mast and everything on the deck, and the food and water were nearly exhausted. The rescued men spoke very pathe tically of the kindness of Capt. Williams, the officers and the men of the transport, as well as the officers and men of the · British troops who were travelling on board her. Capt. Wil- liams was very indignant at the conduct of a steamer with black' hull_and yellow funnel which is reported by the Japanese seamen to have passed the disabled barge, but to have coldly steamed away two days before the Chingtu met
her.
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