The San Francisco call., 1895-11-02
PROGRESS IN JAPAN,
Maritime Enterprise to Be
Encouraged by Liberal
Subsidies.
SHIPBUILDING IS ACTIVE.
Inhuman Treatment of Native
Christians in the WenchoW
Districts.
PUNISHMENT OF COMPLAINANTS.
Grewsome Execution of Seven of the
Participants in the Kucheng
Massacre.
PUNISHMENT OF CoMPLAINANTs.

" S"i oSO' CiAOhS opOdhlhSi lllC JILL plO-
vides for state subsidies to steamers navi-
eating foreign waters, and for an increased
supply of trained officers and seamen.
The lowest rate of subsidy proposed is 25
sen Q3 cents gold) mile per ton, increas-
ing by 10 per cent for every additional 500
tons of displacement, and by 20 per cent
for every additional mile of speed. The
total sum to appropriated annually for
the purpose is million yen. The lines to
be opened are to America, Australia.
Europe, Vladivostock and the China
coasts.
A keen spirit of enterprise in the direc-
ton of building dockyards has been de-
veloped in Japan since the war. At
present the only private dockyards in the
country are a large dock at Nagasaki,
where vessels of almost any size can be
repaired, and about thirty small docks at
Osaka, where great building activity pre-
walls, no less than eighty-four steamers,
aggregating "a 4,320 tons, haying been con-
structed there last year. The Govern
ment does all its work at the fine state
owned dockvards of Yokosuka and Sasebo.
No less than seven projects for new docks
are now on foot, and efforts are being
made to prevent ruinous competition by
amalgamating these numerous companies.
According to reports sent from Wenchow
to Shanghai the action of the local author
tiles toward the native Christians at the
former place is incredibly inhuman and
unjust In spite of warning given to the
Taotai by the British Consul no official
steps were taken to protect the Christians
against an anticipated riot, and the result
was that, week later, all attack was made
on them, several of their houses being
rided and destroyed and the inmates
driven out. At first the Taotai refused to
send magistrate to investigate the out
rage. He said that Fenglin, where it had
occurred, was too remote for such consid-
Grafton.
By and by some other business called for
the magistrates presence at a place a
days journey beyond Fengln. This was
a month after the pillaglng and burning.
On his return journey the magistrate
called at Fenglin and reported that no
damage whatever had been done. Finally
the matter came up for trial The
four Christian complainants were treated
like the commonest criminals; were kept
kneeling for five hours on hard stone
| floor without being allowed even to rest
their hands on the ground; were required
| to sign document acknowledging that
they had laid false accusation and that
| they had received back all their goods, and
| promising that they would hold no more
Christian services at Fenglin, and were
| finally sent to prison and tortured on the
pretense of not having paid their taxes
Three of them have been released at the
urgent instance of the British Consul, but
the fourth is still held on a charge of pre-
ferring false accusations. Apart from this
most oppressive conduct on this occasion
the Wenchow Taotai had already given
proof of strong anti-foreign bias. 1t is
feared that further and grosser outrages
must be expected in his district.
The political assassination plot that ere.
ated so much curiosity in Japan has
dwindled to very Insignificant dimensions
Two men only are now in custody, and
! there is no evidence to show that they had
accomplices among any of the politca
! parties. The principal of them is a youth
whose Imagination was fired by hustings
speeches and election scenes, and who
coming to the capital with an idea ot
learning politics as one learns trade
|
| ton journals and resolved to sacrifice hin.
self for his country's good, as he supposed
The Tsung-li Yamen, according to latest
advices, has advised the Emperor of China
to punish Taotai Chou, Chief Commits
sioner of the Cheng-tu police, who issued
all anti-foreign proclamation after the re.
cent riots in Szechuan.
| The levies raised by China during the
late war are causing good deal of trouble
| AT Wucheng pretty state of affairs ex
lists. The Governor has received i'm.
| perative orders from Peking to disband the
Hupeh troops, and does not dare to carry
out the orders. The men threatened to at.
| tack and destroy the yamens in the CITY
and to attack the foreign buildings, both
houses and chapels. No foreigners were to
| be killed, the object of the proposed at
| tack on their property being to involve
the high officials il difficulties with for
| eign Governments. The Governor yielded
and postponed the disbandment; but he
| called 500 Human soldiers into the city to
keep order, and is calling in more. Fortu.
nately the mutinous soldiers are all
Hupeh men and have family connections
in the province which makes it difficult
for them to rise.
| Disbanded Chinese soldiers are perpe.
| trating various outrages in the neighbor
hood of Shanghai. Recently three of them
stole two little girls and brought them into
| the settlement for sale. They succeeded in
disposing of one, but were interrupted in
the case of the second by two Chinese
| detectives.
| A terrible explosion has occurred ir
the extensive coal mine opened by the
Viceroy of Marking at Man Gan-san, il
| Hupeh province, little above Hankow
The mine was in charge of two Belgian ex.
perts, M. Koene, the engineer IN charge
of the mine, and NJ. Baumogoger, the
foreman coke-burner. The explosion was
cansed by the ignition of ''fire-damp,
and the first report that reached HankoW
was that 100 men had been killed. DR.
| Cuypers Immediately left Hanyang TO,
the SCENE of the disaster in coopapv NJ; \