The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-22

treason in directly contravening the In
structions issued to him by the Ministers
of the Crown at the time of his appoint
ment to the legation in Seoul.
The Viscount is profound believer in
Buddhism and therefore holds the doctrine
of fatality. When required to choose be-
tween obeying his instructions or suffering
the cause of progress in Korea to go by the
board, he seems to have thought that ne
himself was the particular link destined to
complete the circle of the Kingdoms fate.
He is therefore quite resigned to the ills
that have overtaken him. Since his incar-
ceration he has refused to see any OF his
friends or relatives and devoted his time
to religious meditation aid the perusal OF
the sutras.
The Tai Won-kun is firmly established
i'll the seat of power in Seoul and is begin
ming to show that his old imperiousness
and cruel instincts are as dominant as
ever. 1t was he who dictated the shame
full edict reviling and deposing the MUIR
dered Queen. 1t was supposed at first that
the King had signed the edIct, but the
truth now ascertained is that he declared
that he would rather have his hand cut off
than perform such an act.
Thus the edict appeared over the sigma
lures of the Cabinet Ministers only. The
general belief is that the situation has
many elements of instability. Above all,
the Tai Won-kun himself is an object of
suspicion. Twice in the past ne endeav-
ored to depose his son, the King, seeking
to replace him, first, by another son, and
secondly, by his favorite grandson. To
procure the crown for the latter is still be-
lieved to he the most cherished desire of
the old Princes life, and, if he pursues 1t,
fresh disturbances must be anticipated.
Meanwhile the grotesque proposal that
the King should assume the title of EN-
peror has been abandoned in Difference to
the protests of the foreign powers. espe-
cially Japan. To save their face the
Korean Ministers contriyed kind OF mock
pageant, in which the title was solemnly
offered to the King, and, by prearrange-
ment, solemnly declined.
The proposals of surrender made by the
Black Flag chief Liu to the Japanese
commanders included a stipulation that
Liu himself should receive 100000 and
each of his men $40 with free passage to
the mainland. 1t was certainly one OF the
coolest conceivable proposals, coming from
general in such q hopeless position.
1t has been ascertained that the destruc-
ton of the steamer Kungpai was due to an
explosion of gunpowder, not to the blow
ing up of her boilers, as was at first sup
posed. OF the foreigners on board at the
time six lost their lives, the third engineer
alone being saved. About 500 Chinese per-
ished. The disaster occurred on the morn
ing of the 14th OF October. The steamer
had on board 700 soldiers when the powder
explosion set her on fire. The crew worked
hard for more than half an hour to extin-
guish the flames, but in vain, and another
explosion, probably from the boilers. fol-
lowed. The captain and chief officer,
being wounded by the first explosion, were
laid in boat to be brought in shore, but
the soldiers crowding into the boat, the
davits broke and the boat was smashed by
the heavy sea running at the time. The
steamer sank in shallow water and the
survivors, one foreigner and 200 soldiers,
were sitting on the wreck for seventeen
hours, the sea being too heavy for any boat
to reach them