The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-08-06
VICEROYLIAND HISMASTER
The Statesman Who Really Rules the
Chinese Empire.

R@AS eAs RESOURCES anu EOSsA-
bilities Of Climatic Life of the
Young Emperor.
From the New York sun.
The Viceroy Ii Hung Chang is the real
head Of the Chinese government. The
strong determination in his face is in
rather striking contrast to the few pic
lures of the young emperor which have
reached the public. These show him to
be young man of amiable and weak dis
position, which, in view Of his life and
education, is not a matter of wonder. He
leads an entirely artificial existence, sur
rounded by courtiers and excluded from
any participation in the life of his people,
or, for that matter, in genuine life Of any
KIND. He has tutors, Wallets and toys,
every luxury thatiunlimited resources can
supply, but not real knowledge of life
Even when he gives an audience to for
elgner, or to petitioning subject. it is in
the presence of his viceroys, of whom Ii
Hung Chang is, of course, the foremost.
This old man of Chihli is not only vice
roy, but occupies the place of premier of
the empire, although he has no title be-
yond that of viceroy.
The viceroy is a man unlike his COM
patriots In the matter of physique. He is
very tall, measuring more than six feet in
hight, and his build is proportionately
heaVy. he is not a Mauchu. like the pres
ent emperor, but full blooded Chinaman,
and 1t is said that any disturbance look
ing TO restoration of the native line
would bring Ii Hung Chang close to the
throne, despite his age. He is II years
OLD, and his chances are probably aided
by the fact that he is the head of an army
OF $4,000 men who have been drilled by
foreign officers
Ihls army is now stationed at Tien
Isln, point which the Japanese will
probably attack. 1t lies on the direct road
TO Pek1n, some sixteen miles up the Peiho
river. At the mouth of the river, how
ever, is the strongly fortified town of
1aku, ana the harbOr is also protected by
par, which IS practically impossible to
the Japanese fleet except at certain tides
Ii Hung Chang was born in the Anu
Hel province on Feb. 16 1928 In 1860
when he was governor of the Thiang-Si
province, he assisted Col. Gordon in sup
pressing the Tapping rebellion. Later
the other Thiang province was added to
MS rule and he was created viceroy of
the united countries in 1865. A year later
he was made minister plenipotentiary,
and in the following year became viceroy
OF Hong kuang. In 1868 he became
grand chancellor. This is not the first
tlme that he has been in disgrace. for in
1870, after the Tien-TSin massacre, his
titles were taken from him and he was
punished in other ways, on the ground
thaU ne had not assisted the general in
command. But he remained for less than
Two years In imperial disfavor, and in
1877 he was restored to the Office of grand
chancellor When Mrs. Margary was
killed in Southwestern China four
years later Ii acted as mediator. His
position as viceroy of the metropolitan
provinces of Pe-Chih-L makes him the
actual ruler and chief administrator of
the entire empire. In this position he
| has shown himself to be rather more
liberal than his pred ecessors, or his coun-
trymen generally. He permits coal min
ing and coast steamer traffic to be carried
on by the English, and the fact that he is
| thought to be favora bic to railroads is
quoted as another instance of his broad
views. He has also founded a steamship
line and is favorable to European explora-
tion of China. No negotiations between
| China and the other powers have been
| conducted of late years without his par
ticipatiou, and often the ambassador or
ministers never go further than his pal
ace at Tien-Tsin. He represents the pro
gressive party in China, and his intro
European industrial methods has been &C
complished with the greatest opposition
from the mandarins of every degree
The emperor, whose name is K uang
Hsu, is still young. and in view of his
previous training the dismissal of the
premier is rather surprising. He will be
% years old in two weeks, and for months
there have been the most elaborate prep
aratlons making to celebrate the event
Viceroy Ii made special ap plication for
place in the line of the imperial pro
cession which is to honor the event, but
probably now he will be a less enthusi-
astic participant in the birthday celebra-
ton. The young king is known by sight
to very few people, for he cannot appear
in public, and when he goes abroad it is
usually in a close sedan chair, with
guards along each side of the road to pre-
vent intruders from staring at his sacred
person. This seclusion is maintained by
the popular superstition that the
emperor's bodyguard is a fierce band
of watchers and that to venture
near 1t means certain death. Various
events have happened which have illus
trated the practical falsity of this state
ment, but the superstition survives The
imperial train was not long ago attacked
by brlgands as il was on its way from the
lake in the park of Yuen Ming Yuen,
which is only eight miles outside the walls
OF Pekln to the palace grounds. The train
contained hundreds of Courtiers and at
PENDANTS, but Iust at nightfall the robbers
attacked the rear of the long line and cut
of several of the wagons, which were
filled with handsome costumes and plate.
The holiness of the crime startled every
one, but only the most meagre details
reached the public until some months
after it happened
In Russia anybody who inquiries even
casually as to the whereabouts of the
car is supposed to have some sinister
purpose in asking the question, and peo-
pie who have any curiosity on that sub
ject have learned either to inquire dis
creetly or to keep their mouths shut The
situation is almost the. same in China,
where only the slightest information con
corning the Young emperor's life and
movements ever reaches the public. He
lives in the great palace, surrounded by
wall through which nobody but the court
officials ever penetrates without special
permission. He was kept in seclusion
throughout his youth, the dowager en-
presses acting as regents He had in his
palace yard miniature models of men of
war, train Of cars which was an exact
model of the first railroad train ever run
in China, and every toy that wealth could
procure hut to show the complete
artihciahty of his real life it
will only be necessary to con-
slder that he has never seen one of
his own of-war, or never ridden in a
real steam car He learns as much of