The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-08-20
THE GRowING STORM IN CHINA.

Newspaper readers PROBABLY do not need
TO be put on their guard against believing all
that they read about events in China. Dis
patches kindly inform US what the Emperor
is DOING and what the Tsung-n Yameu, or
Council Of Government, is planning, what
the Foreign Ministers have said, and what
reply they have received; when in fact even
the best-informed residents of Picking and
Tientsin are ignorant on these points. The
debates in the 1sung-li Yamen are con.
Quoted with closed doors, and not even the
foreign Ministers know what passes there
in. The boy Emperor has no confdants
and never spoke to white man in his life.
AS for the foreign Ministers it would be as
much as their places are worth to tell their
secrets to newspapers; they report exclu-
sively to their Governments. The only solid
fact which has shed light on the attitude of
the Chinese Government is the decree pub
lished in the Picking Gazette. which enjoins
upon Cinnamon to be tolerant of the mission
aries, and commands every official in the
empire to protect foreigners against mobs.
This decree would be of more Importance if
the Government at Peking had the power to
enforce it.
The situation remains just as it was. The
Yang tse-Kiang is full of European and
of their guns foreigners are safe. Beyond
that range they are not safe at ALL bowling,
raging mobs. crazed by hunger and mad
dened by prejudice against teachers who
denOunce their religion, are threatening the
missionaries from the Pearl River to the
northern limits of Human. 1t is impossible
for the navy to land q force which could
conduct a campaign in the interior. At
Shanghai, Tientsin and other centers where
there are number of foreign merchants,
the latter have enrolled themselves in mill
tary companies and thrown up works round
their residence quarter. These measures of
defense are natural enough, though to a
soldiers eye they seem calculated rather to
provoke than to repel attack.
From the one man in China who may be
suspected of understanding the situation
Ii Hung Chang-not a word is heard. He
must be familiar with what is going on, but
his lips are sealed. He las an army of his
own, which is commanded by European off
GERS. 1t is not on the march. He sits sulen
in his palace at Tienisin, and not a single
reporter has been able to get at him. If the
Viceroy had come TO the conclusion, in his
secret mind, that the movement which is
now on foot was too strong to be controlled
by any force which the Government could
lhuICu URdlHoG IL, lie WUuiQ De likely 20 IOl-
low the course he is now pursuing. Waits
and estrays of conversations with him have
made the world acquainted with his views
on many subjects. Being brOad-minded and
cultured he has no individual objection to
the missionaries, but he has pointed out
more than once that they are thorn in the
side OF the Chinese Cover nment which is
put to constant trouble and expense for
their protection. He does not see that
they do any good; their list of converts is
small; they irritate the ignorant Chinese,
and furnish an objective point to every mob
which goes forth in quest of blood and
raDlne Ii he had made up his mind that
continuance of Outrages, involving a heavy
expense both to the Christian nations for the
maintenance of fleets in Chinese waters and
to China for the suppression of the mobs,
would be likely to lead to a temporary with
drawal of the missionaries, SO as to remove
source Of discord, he would probably be as
silent and invisible as he is.
The last dispatch from Shanghai states
that the missionaries were considering the
expediency of closing the missions and re-
turning home. Such course might have
the effect of saving valuable lives and avert
ing disorders which certainly could not enure
to the advantage of religion.