New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-04-11

1aplng T6DeIllO0 was NJ It's uiu 1Sdht 'A"i
Fan was in the field. In fact. the interview had
taken place at his camp in Ngankin, on the Yang
Use River. The Viceroy first rendered Wing mill
tary command which, the score Of lack Of quail
fcation he asked leave to decline. He was then,
shortly after. in 1854 at his own sugges-
ton, dispatched abroad to purchase ma
chinery for the manufacture of arms, for which
purpose the expenditure of large sum OF money
was intrusted to him. On this GRAND he visited
France and England as well as the United States,
hut finally gave his orders here. On returning with
his purchases to China in 1863, what lie had done
was so satisfactory to his chief that he was adj
vanced TO the next higher grade of Official rank,
viz, the Fourth. The machinery he had bought
was the foundation of the Shanghai Arsenal. lt IL
curious to remark that the first work of man whose
supreme ambition it was. from Christian motives,
to set his country forward in civilization, shonld
have been the establishment OF an arsenal but II
quite consisted with 1ung Wings ideas, when
were intensely patriotic
From 1868 to 1870 he was variously employed, in
different places, being under command now OF
one superior and now of another. Among
the work that he did during this period, that OF
translation was prominent. lie transiated ih19 20
Chinese Parsonss Law of Contracts, and book OF
English law. He also translated large portions OF
Colton's Geography, deeming that geographical
knowledge was as likely to prove beneficial TO MS
Bmt the thing that lay nearest his heart. and
that was continually before him. was the question
of how to accomplish the plan he had so many years
held in hope. He now had ample opportunity 10
expOnnd and advocate it, and he did so with mex
haustible perseverance. The main argument
he used was this: China, in her international
relations in her commercial and other intercourse
with foreign peoples suffers disadvantage ana
much detriment from want OF men capable by
education Of acting as her representatives she Is
forced to employ, In many most important places
that ought to be occupied by her own citizens,
foreigners by whom her interests are liable to be
neglected or BETRAYED. Her forts her ships of war;
her military forces, her Customs, are largely III
charge of foreigners. How was II proper, he asked
that Arson Burlngame an American should DE ner
chief agent IN Arranging treaty Win MS T TSn
country and other western Governments ihls
was his general line of reasoning.
The most to whom he brought the matter heard
him with Indifference. But there were three men
upon whom Inc made an imprcsson-all men of high
rank and commanding influence. They were the
Viceroy, Tsang Koh Fan, already named ; Ii Hung
incc of Chilli and the foremost Of Chinese
statesmen, and Ting vi Tcheang, then Governor
Of the Province Of kiang Su Yet these men con-
WINGED as they were by Wings reasons and avOw-
ejIy favorable to his project. with all their
Gminencc of position aud their influence, were not
ready TO venture the attempt to carry 1t through
with the Imperial Government. All the forces OF
conservatism would be opposed to it; the obstacles
were too many: the risks were too great; the time
for il had not come.
In 1867. however. the Governor Ting, who was
the most willing OF the three had made repre-
sensations to an Imperial Minister named wan
Cheang, on the strength of which he was advised
to address 4 memorial on the subject 10 the In
perial Council, at Picking. Wan Cheang under
taking to commend It to the attention oil the Council
The situation was ut TINS lnncture mod
reached the Council, the mother OF Wan Cheang
died, by which event he was, under the law OF
Chinese high official etiquette retired from pubic
life three entire years, aud the whole business was
SET back 10 where II had BEEN These were years OF
great Trial to Yung Wing. lie was prosperlng, in-
deed in point of view, but the hope to winch he
wns devoted was so long deferred that his heart
was often sick. Understand that he was leading
there I'm China an essentially solitary life. lie had
soon after his return in 1850, IN accordance with
10 ,.., AZ Nyh
his native dress, and identified himself not only
thus externally, hut also IN large measure IN
every other respect with ms own people. Especially
from the time he became a Chinese GoVerllment
Official he had dwclt IN Chinese society. ana had
disappeared almost wholly from other society. lie
had his books he kept up diligently win what
was going on in the world of learning and letters
outside-iC was ms only TesOurce-but hc was eX'
ceedingly alone and lonely Notwithstanding. The
acknowledgements To his endeavOr that faced HIM
were so numerous and So solid that he was some
times haltdisposed to give 1t all up but only half
disposed.
of the nature of an announcement exactly, but
it did cxcellently well as an antldOe 10 the elect
upon his spirits of his discouragenents. 1t began
TO come to his ears and then that his American
and English friends in China were whispering
il among themselves that he was failure
that he had had noble chance, Dut
that be was an impracticable, and had not
known how to improve lt-that this scheme oil ms
was utterly visionary and could never he success,
ful. Whenever Wing heard OF tins, he set ms teet
and took new hold. But altogether his faith ana
manhood were put 20 an extreme test.
The end came though, as 1t always does N S"T IN
the month of June, 1870, occurred the Woid tragedy
at Ticnsin called the TienLsin Massacre, III which
considerable number of French Roman Catholic
missionaries, male and female, were murdered by
Chinese mob. IL followed that commission ap-
pointed 10y the foreign powers, dplomatcalIS rep
resented in China, met that same year at llehi-
sin To investigate the outrage and determine
the satisfaction that was 10 be required Tor IT, to-
gethcT with a like commission appointed by the
(.nNsrptnant authorized
10 u settlement. The Chinese Commission con-
sisted of five and three OF these five were the three
men of whom mention has been made the VlcerOys
Tsang Koh Fan and Ii Hung Chang, and the Gov
ernOr Ting Vi Tcheang
An OPPORTUNITY SEIZED
Yung Wing was at this time under official control
of the last named, who on being summoned to
Tientsin sent him word-for he was at n distance
from him-to join the Commission az Ticntsn as soon
as possible for his services would be needed there.
Wing, though fastening arrived late on the scene.
and found the business concluded. But on receiy-
ing an account of the difficulties that had attended
its transaction, and observing that the commits
siOner5 were conscious Of their disadvantage in IT,
he perceived an suspicious occasion for making a
stroke in behalf of his scheme, and he made the
most of il. He Testated his arguments, enforcing
them by the illustration of the case In hand, and
insisted. with the utmost earnestness, that there
Oupbt 10 be no delay. And this time he prevailed
The three friends of his idea being together and
countenaDcing one another, then and there agreed
that they would at once take action, TO have the
thing he proposed DONE and would east their united
influence with the Government i'll IFS favor.
They kept their agreement They set their
names to memorial recommending the
education of a corps of young men abroad
for the Government service and at the Government
expense this memorial they forwarded to Pekin (;
they backed il there by all means IN their power
and TO the effect that in the month of August 1871,
the measure recommended was by the Imperial
Government adopted, and sum equal to 81 ,5OO,-
900 appropriated for its execution.
Mandarin lung Wing was scarcely able to support
the JOY of his triumph. For two days, as he has
told the writer, he could neither eat nor sleep. He
walked on ar, and he wOrshpped God. Ii
was sixteen years after his return to China,