Evening star., 1895-06-10
REPORTED MASSACRE
No News Received Of the Chinese
Tragedy.
USUAL PROTECTION OF MISSIONARIES
No Advices at Legations and State
Department.
AL PROTECTION OF MISSIONARIES
MAY BE ANOTHER PLACE

has yet been rec eiVed here In regard 10 the
latest report concerning the fate of the mis-
sionaries at Chengtu, capital OF the province
of Szchuen, western China, who are said to
have been massacred 1t is known, however,
that serious rioting occurred recently at
Chengtu, but affairs there have since been
reported quieter. although the rioting was
spreading in the country southwark.
Missionaries nt Chcngtu.
NEW YORK, June 1O.-The officials of the
Methodist Missionary Society in this city
are very hopeful that the report of a mas
sacre Of the. missionaries at Chengtu has
Keen exaggerated.
DR.. Stephen j. Baldwin, the recording sec
retary. said: Il do not think that these ru-
nc RS are subsequent to the assurances we
received by cable from our mission in
Chengtu. under date of June 3. The cable
read: Property destroyed; all safe; inform
Toronto This would indicate that all our
people are safe, although the property has
Leen destroyed"
The missionaries who are at Chengtu are
Rev. H. Olin Cady and his wife, H. l.. Cart
wright. NJ. D., and wife, Rev. ]. F. Peat
and wife, Rev. ]. o. Curnow and wife, Rev.
DR.. H. V. C. Hart, formerly of the Central
China Mission. and several of his associates
of the Canadian Methodist Church.
In the seventy-sixth annual report for
sion including dwellings, chapels, schools,
etc, is valued at $1,000.
The report was to the effect that mas
Sacre of all the persons connected with the
English, French and American missions at
Chengtu had occurred. Neither men, wo-
men nor children were spared, acc Crding to
the report.
A French gunboat was sent to investigate
the report.
No News Mt the Legation.
The Chinese legation has received no in
formation as to the reported massacre of
all missionaries in Chengtu. and strong
hopes are entertained that the affair may
be less serious than the meager reports in
dicate. 1t is stated at the legation that
Chengtu is a large city in the interior of
China. The people far removed from
the centers of foreign commerce, such as
Canton and Shanghai. Recently. however,
by the treaty of peace with Japan, this in
terror city was one of several places to be
opened to foreigners and foreign commerce.
This. 1t is explained has agitated the peo-
pie, who have lived by themselves from
time immemorial.
Tho missionaries are the only foreigners
who have settled heretofore at Chengtu.
Their number is not known. 1t is said.
however. that the number of missionaries,
including their families. in the entire prov
ince of Sc Chun, of which Chengtu is the
capital. must be less than 100. including all
nationalities. The missionary headquarters
are at Chengtu, where 1t is believed there are
not exceeding ten missionaries the rest
being scattered through the province. But
this estimate is based only on the general
Information of Chinese officials, there
are no exact details of the extent Of mis-
sionary service through China. The Tsung
Lii Yamen sought to secure from each for
eign government complete list of it's mis-
sionaries and their place Of service, but
this was not given.
Protection of Missfonarics.
1t is said that the Emperor of China and
the Tsung Ii Yamen have given every pos
sible protection to the missionaries. al
though it has been found impossible to
guard against mob violence, particularly
at remote interior points. The Chinese gov
ernment has asked foreign governments to
appreciate these difficulties, and has ad-
vised that the missions should be kept
within safe limits. But the zeal of the
missionaries has led them to push Inward
without fear of results to places where
the Chinese officials have had difficulty in
affording full protection.
Notwithstanding this the authorities at
Pekin have done their utmost. They have
placed upon the viceroys of the provinces
the responsibility of protecting the mis-
sionaries, churches, &c. The viceroys un-
derstand that they will be degraded If
mobs are permitted to disturb the mis-
s:ons AS a result the viceroys and their
projects. or police. are active in restrain
ing mob outbreaks.
The official gazette of China recently re-
ceved here shows that change has been
made in the viceroy at Ching Tu, and that
a new one has just assumed his duties
This added to the agitation of opening
the city to foreigners, may account for
the disturbances, although, as already,
stated, the fact that disturbances have
occurred Is not known to the Chinese Off
cials here
1t is said that WI Chang. the place to
which French ship has been sent, is an
other large interior town on the river
Yang-tse-Kiang. The river affords inland
Chang, but it Is unnavigahle further up
It is probable, therefore, that the French
ship goes to WI Chang, as 1T Is the FAR
thest western point reached by navigation,
and is on the way to the remoter point of
Chengtu.
At the French Embassy.
At the French embassy no information
had been received concerning the reported
massacre. The French ambassador, NJ.
Patenotre, who represented his government
at Pekin some ten years ago, and who ne
gotiated the treaty by which Tonquin be-
came a French province expressed his
doubts of the correctness of the report that
the Chinese were intercepting dispatches
hearing upon the alleged massacre. When
he was in China ten years ago, he said,
dispatches were never intercepted, and lie
always had free communication, both with
bis government and with the admiral of the
French fleet. He says it is possible for
French gunboat to go up the Iang-tse-
Kiang river, which is navigable as far as
Hankow. Minister Patenotre, by referring
to some document at the legation. ascer-
tanned that there were about 100 Catholic
missions in China, of which sixty-four We're
French and twenty-five Italian. Concern
ing the number of Protestant missions. he
rad no specific knowledge. The number of
missionaries at post varies from two or
three to ten or more.
At the British Embassy.
The British ambassador and all his sec
retaries are away on their vacations, so
that no information is available as to Brit
ish missions In China. 1t is said, however,
that they are extensive, and that many
English worlen have gone into western
China with the special purpose of over
coming the practice in some sections of
throwing babes in the rivers as a part of
the religious rites.
No Adviccs ut the State Department..
The State Department has received no
dispatches from Minister DENLY or other