Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1879-01-02

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n i slnnsgn % hear 0Rce more Of
China - h Great Power in Asia We
ass prose q forget that The Chinese d.
vide nth she Enslish and he Rnssians
tie SUPREMACY Of The Eastern Continent.
Every other sovereignty i - subordi
nate 10 Ghese three - Belgium. Dem
marx, and Portugal are to the Great
Powers Of Europe. China however,
appeared until within the past few
years, "a be 6xed ID her policy Of peace
and seclu1o and TO decline any rela-
tons, hosAilf or friendly, with loreign
counlriesa either upon her seaboard o.
81 her Aland borders. The treaties
= whNA AEurope forced upon The GoveFu-
lnent 6t rekin were regarded with un-
concealed detestation, and were borne
only as q part Of the harsh order Of ma
ture, to which Oriental patience always
resigns itself. This delicate reserve
was supposed by many to be the result
Of political weakness and social decay,
and that frequent rebelliOns Of which
the outer world heard vaguely were ac-
cepted as evidence that The hour Of dis
solution was at hand. Never did the
Celestial Empire seem no near its
downfall and partition as some sixteen
years ago, before the Taepings were
queIled by the "Ever Victorious Army"
OF Gordon, and when the Panthay king
dom IN Yunnan was apparently estab-
lished as a strong and an aggressive
State. The triumph Of the M1ssulman
rebels in Yunnan was followed by the
news of other conflicts between Islam
and the Chinese on the northwestern
frontiers Of the Empire, and there also
The faith Of Mohammed was visibly
gaining ground. The Moslem revival,
Of which signs had become visible in
every country Of Africa and ASA, from
Morocco to the Malayan Archipelago,
had begun to work, it was believed,
upon the passionate and ignorant popn-
lations OF Eastern Turkestan and the
halE-independent provinces OF Chinastill
further to the north and east. The fer
meut in these unknown regions was not
proved to be connected with the activ-
ity OF the Panthays, and It is even pro-
bable that the interposItion Of Thibet
prevented any unity Of purpose. But
the two movements were parts of the
same great wave of MusSulman advance.
The famous Chinese Emperors of the
18th and 18th centuries had labored 10
establish IN the northwest . chain Of
vassal governments. not organized strict
iy on the social model oi the "Flowery
Land" bot loyal and submissive TO The
rule Of Pekin. The last OF them. Kien
Lung, had attempted to stamp out Mo-
hammedanism in the six Cities" in
cluding Kashgar, but he failed. The
Tungan Mussulmans continued to -four
ish under Chinese rule, and in 1862
there was a general rising in the north
west, which ended in ;he destruction
or expulsion Of the Chinese garrisons
everywhere. In Kashgar the native
Mussulmans fell under the power OF
invaders of thoir own faith from Kho-
kand, reinforced by the fanatics whom
Russia was driving eastward out OF the
Khanates. The ablest leaders OF these,
Yakoob Beg, whose singular story has
lately been told IN q very interesting
and instructive volume by Mr.. Boulger,
made for himself q kingdom in Kashgar,
and assumed TO treat almost on equal
terms with England and Russia. HIS
power, many predicted, would over
throw and devour the tottering Chinese
dominion and might rise TO height to
be compared with that OF the greatest
of Asiatic conquerOrs and despots. II
was evenimagined that he might check
the advance Of Russia, and he became,
m fact by treaty, an ally OF England
II was possible, indeed, that he would
succumb TO the strength and persever-
ance Of Russia, but few foresaw the
fate that actually befell him. The At.
alik Ghazi, as he was styled, lived tc
witness the triumphant advance of a
Chinese army, and 10 leave his distrac.
ted kingdom at his decease TO be pre-.
sently trampled under foot by a con-
quering Chinese General. The sur
prising character of this reverse of TOR.
tune would hardly be yealized, perhaps
by US If il were not that China, as mis-.
tress of Kashgar, has recovered the
spirit she showed when she was a vic
torious and an organizing power IN Cen.
tral Asia, and has called upon Russia tC
restore the province Of Kuldja. which
was annexed seven years ago by the
Gar Generals.
Russia, while watching cautiously both
the Ameer Of Kashgar and the Chinese
vas inyoIyed I'm ouarreis with some n
The lesser Mussulman potentates whC
had established themselves as 'indepen.
dent Princes within the Chinese from.
tier. A Tungan ruler had made him
self master Of Kuldja, q province made
very valuable by its position both fOl
commercial and strategical reasons, bu
most precious TO Russia as a Level
wherewith to open the gates of Chins
10 trade or conquest. The country il
enclosed between two towering noun
tain ranges, the southern being thC
Tian-Shan. II is watered by the grea
river III, which is also the main line o
internal traffic. Driven Ike wedge
into the Chinese territory, as il hal
been described, Kuldja threatens Kash
gar on the one side and the Tungan dis
iricts OF the other. In 1871 the Rus.
sans, fearing that Yakoob Beg woulC
anticipate them in seizing this natura
stronghold. marched upon il. and occu
pied il after campaign OF few days
Il was annexed sin perPetuity," ac
cording to the Generals proclamation
R,.f ae that fsraa RuSsaa was anxious n