Stevens County tribune., 1879-07-03
THE HEATHEN CHINEE.
HosU He Treats NGtiUe Christians in
HIS OscSa Country.

HOsU He Treats NdttVe Christians in
HIS Oacsa Country.
Foochow Herald
Another outrage, more serious than any
we have yet recorded in these pages, has been
perpetrated on the native Christians and
preachers of the English Church Mission in
the town of Yik-kau. On the I'd day of the
present Chinese moon Oath ultimo) the "
tive preachers and several of the Christian
residents of the district we're induced by the
Mandarins to present themselves at the town
of Yik-kau for the purpose apparently of
holding a friendly consultation with the
Mandarins and literati, in order to make
some arrangement with reference to the out
rage on the Mission Chapel, which we noticed
in recent issue. The literati at once de-
manded written engagement from the
Christians that they would at the, expiry of
present year abandon their chapel at Yik- kau
and their right to exercise their religion in
that town and its neighborhood. This, of
course, the Christians refused to agree to, but
at the same time they expressed their willing
ness to sign an agreement to the effect that
if they were found guilty of doing any thing
wrong or disgraceful they might at once be ex
PEELED fr ON the town. They asked for moth
ing beyond the restoration to them of their
chapel and their right to be tolerated as
Christians.
The Mandarins appear to have approved
of these proposals, and to have epplauded the
Christians for their eonciliatory bearing and
conduct. But the gentry and literati would
have nothing less then their expulsion from
the place. The meeting then broke up, and
the Christians retired to lodging house iu
the town. Very shortly afterward the Man
/ RI rin O., oil dol.
dreds of people rushed, at the signal to the
lodging house where the Christians had re:
tired for the night, dragged four of the.u
into the street, beat them most barbarously
with all manner of weapons and inflicted
severe wounds on the unfortunate men, leav-
ing them, as was supposed, dead. Two of
these poor men were then thrown like dogs
into the river, but managed to scramble to
the other bank, and crept away till they
were found by the yamen runners, who placed
them in sedan chair and sent them to
| the nearest mission station in the district.
| The other two men were taken up as dead
and the brutal literdti, aided by their hired
| followers, set fire to their clothing and
| queues. These two sufferers were ultimately
rescued, and also sent in a chair to the near
est mission station. From the station they
were sent on by boat to this port, where they
arrived on the Goth of March, and were placed
in the Mission Hospital under the care of
DR.. Taylor.
The unfortunate men were, we are inform
ed, unable to walk or stand when they ar
rived in Foochow, and one of them was de-
lirlious and is still in very precarious con-
dition. The outrage on the chapel at Yik-
kau some few weeks ago was brought by the
English Missionaries to the notice of q. B.
MS Consul, who, we learn, agreed to rsp-
resent the case to the Chinese authoritiesS
AS usual, the native officials promised to ex-
anime into the matter. Instead, however, Of
Furnishing the offenders, they wrote COM
plainingly to II. B. M. 8 Consul that the
matter was greatly exaggerated, and made
the usual excuses, but meanwhile did moth
ing. ID. B. M. s Consul appears to have
taken the same view of the case as the Chi
nese authorities and, we hear, has censured
the missionaries for having reported (as the
Mandarins are pleased to term it, such an
Insignificant affair!