The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-05-29 00:00:00

THE MURDER OF MR. MARGARY.

From Hong-Kong the mail has brought news to the
15th of April. The papers give some additional de-
tails respecting Mr. Margary's murder and the- action
taken in that matter by Mr. Wade, the British
Minister at Peking. The China Mail says :
A Peking correspondent of the Courier thus tells the
story :—"The true, i.e. official, version of the massacre is as
follows. Mr. Margary, accompanied by his teacher and two
boys, had ridden on about an hour ahead in order to make
arrangements at what he supposed to be a friendly Yamen.
On arriving at the door he was admitted without difficulty
or delay, and as soon as he had got inside he was seized by
order of the mandarin, bound, and summarily. decapitated.
The same outrage was then perpetrated upon his followers,
and the four bleeding heads stuck in a row upon the city
wall. Two or three thousand soldiers—at least so runs the
story, here, however, palpably exaggerated—then went to
attack the rest of the party ; but it appears that they got scent
~cif something wrong, made a running fight of it, and escaped
• across the frontier. Two of the black servants were wounded,
though not dangerously. The version given by the North China
• Daily News adds that the rest of the party escaped with the
loss of all their effects, but that three of the Europeans were
wounded. What makes the murder additionally atrocious is
the factlhat the mandarin who ordered the execution was
the brother of one who had shown Mr. Margary much kind.
ness in former years. It is also noteworthy that, in a letter
to Mr. Medhurst of the 28th of January, recording his safe
arrival at Bhamo, Mr. Margary mentions this very town of
Manwyne, which by the way is a town in Yunnan at the foot
of the Kakyen Pass, where he is said to have been murdered,
as a locality where he had spent a week in comparative quiet
and enjoyment, while his man Liu went in advance to com-
municate with Colonel Browne, at Bhamo. The attack is
stated to have happened near Momein, in the Chinese juris-
diction of Teng-yuela-chow. Teng-yuch-chow, says the News,
is a town duly mastered in the " Tsin-shen," or Chinese
Civil List, as a residence of a " Ting" magistrate under the
prefecture of Yung-chang foo, in the province of Yunnan.
Taking the whole of the circumstances together, there can be
little doubt that the murder was, in every sense of the word,
official. Mr. Wade, as we previously understood, has, it
seems, taken up the matter very warmly, even going so far
as to threaten to haul down his flag unless immediate steps .
in satisfaction were taken by the Chinese. An interview
was held with Prince Kung on the 24th of March, in whilh
it was promised that all demands would be complied with
Mr. Medhurst, H. B M.'s Consul at Shanghai, has received
a despatch from Mr. Wade, dated the 31st of Marcia. confirm-
ing the news of Mr. Margary's death, and stating that pass-
ports had been obtained to enable two English officers, ac-
companied by a Chinese official, to proceed to Yunnan to in-
vestigate the affair; and Prince Kung has given a positive
assurance that no one accused of participation in the outraee
shall be sentenced until the officers sent by Mr. Wade
shall have an opportunity of hearing the evidence against
them.
The China Mail, in its summary of news, states
that Admiral Ryder has-proceeded to Peking to sup-
port Mr. Wade's demand respecting the murder of
Mr. Margary. It is stated that China has agreed to
pay 150,0U0 taels to Ar. Mar,gary's family, and that a
Commission of one Chinese and two British Comular
officers will immediately proceed to Yunnan to bring
the guilty parties to justice.

GAME IN THE UNITED STATES.
Game of all varieties (a correspondent of Land and
Water says) is abundant in most parts of the United
States, despite the terrible storms of last winter and
the intense cold weather. In Wisconsin, Minnesota,
and lowa, grouse and quail were frozen and starved in
considerable quantities, being shut out from the coverts
and feeding grounds by the deep snov. The spring
migration of aquatic birds was large, and immense
numbers of wild geese and ducks a7e now breeding
along the chain of lakes bordering on Canada.
A strange phenomenon occurred last winter at
Lake Huron. The intense cold froze the lake
over completely, leaving no holes in the ice, or
any open channel for the ducks, vhich were loth
to leave while water remained open. Here the ducks
in search of water died in large numbers from thirst and
starvation. At one spot, a large aperture was cut
in the ice, and hundreds of fish rusted to the spot
and threw themselves upon the ice in the struggle to
get air. Tais attests to the severity oi the winter, as
Lake Huron had not been frozen comiletely over for
years before. Snipe are plentiful, and several reports
are heard of large bags made during the season. The
principal varieties of waterfowl at the snaller lakes are
seaup duck. fresh-water shelldrakes and ruffled heads.
Mallards, teal, and wood-ducks are generally protected
by the game laws until September 1. Cf large. game.;
deer are abundant in Minnesota, and through all
the Western States, although many were killed
during the close or breeding season, & mean and
reprehensible_pracVe which should be summarily
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