The herald., 1895-06-11
THE MASSACRE N China
1t Is Thought the Story Has
Been Exaggerated
CHENG TU FAR REMOVED
No Official or Confrmatory News Is
Received
IENG TU FAR REMOVED
The State Department at Washington Thinks
There HAS Been a r1istake Made in
the Name of the Place
Associated Press Special Wire.


American missionaries in Cheng Tu, and
strong hopes are sentertained that the
! Rffair may be less serious than the mea-
ger reports indicate.
1t is stated at the legation that Ching
Tu is large city in the interior OF
China. The people are far removed from
the centers of foreign commerce, such as
Canton and Shanghai. Recently, how
ever, by the treaty of peace this interior
city was one OF several places TO be
opened to foreigners and foreign com
merce. This. it is explained, has agitatsd
the people who lived by themselves irom
time immem orsial. The missionaries are
the only foreigners who have heretofore
settled in Cheng Tu. Their number is
not known. 1t is said that the mum Der
of missionaries, including their families
in the entire province OF See Chun, OF
which Cheng Tu is the capital, amust be
less than 100 including all nat Qualities.
The missionary headquarters is at Cheng
Tu, it is said, are not exceeding ten mis-
sionaries, the rest being scattered through
the province. But this statement is based
only on the general information OF Chi
nese officials, as there are no exact de
& tails as to the extent of the missionary
service throughout China. The Tsung-
li-yamen seeks to secure from each Tor
eign government complete list OF ms
sionaries at their place OF service, but
this was not given. 1t is learned that the
emperor of China and the Tsung- i-ya-
men have given every possible protection
to the missionaries, although it has been
found impossible to guard against mob
violence, particularly at remote interior
points.
The Chinese government has asked for
eign governments to appreciate these
ifficulties, and has advised that the mis-
sions should be kept within safe limits.
But the zeal of the missionaries has led
them to push inward without fear of re-
suits to places where Chinese officials
have had difficulty in afording full pro
lection.
Notwithstanding this the auth critics
at Pekin have done their utmost TAey
}have placed upon the vioeroys OF the rro-
Ninc-s the responsibility of protecting
the missl JnaIies churches, etc.. the
7viceroys understanding that they will be
degraded II mobs are.perm tied to disturb
the missions As result the viceroys
and their projects OF police are active in
restraining outbreaks.
The Official Gazette of China, recently
| received here. shows that change has
been made in the viceroy at Cheng Tu,
| and that n new one has Just assumed the
duties. This added to the agitation OF
topenng the city to foreigners. may ac-
lturred
1t is stated that WI Chang, the place
p to which the French warship has been
4 sent, is another large interior town near
the river Yang tseK lang. The river
i affords inland navigation to large YES
Il sells up to WI Chang. but in not navi
Il gable further up. 1t is probable, there
= fore, that the French ship goes to WI
Chang as it is the furthest western pert
reached by navigation and is on the way
to the remote point OF Cheng Tu.
At the French legation no information
hadsbeen received concerning the reported
massacre. The French ambassador,
NJ. G. Patenotre, who represented his gov
! crnment at Pekin some ten years ago and
who negotiated the treaty by which
Tonquip became a French province. ex-
pressed his doubt OF the correctness of
the report that the Chinese were inter
cepting dispatches bearing upon the al.
legged dsma ssacIe. When he was in China
Z ten year. ago, he said, dispatches were
never intercepted, and he bad always had
free com muncatlon beth with his gov
crnment and with the admiral of the
French fleet. He says 1t is possible 70 +
a French gun boat TO go up the Gang-tse
kiang river, which is navigable as far as
Eanchow.
Minister Patenotre, bv referring to
some documents at the legation, stated
that there were about 100 Catholic m is
sIons in China, of which sixty -four were
s French and twenty-five Italian. Concern
/ ing the nun ber of Protestant missions he
y. haG>no specific knowledge. The number
! of missionaries at a post varies from two
to ten or more.
The state department has received no
disnatches from Minister DENLY or other
ofaiApls in China regarding the reported
missionary massacre at Cheng Tu. There
are no records at the department shown g
the numb ber OF missionaries at Cheng
Tu. There is telegraph line to Cheng
Il Tu and the state department officials
think there should be no difficulty in
learning all the facts in the cose and as
no report of the massacre had been re-
ceived by the department it was thought
that the outrage may have consisted of
the destruction of property only and not
y resulted in the death OF any OF the mis-
sionaries. 1t is said at the state depart
ment if the Chong Tu mentioned in the
DISPATCHES is the point on the Yang-tse
klang, it is probable that there sre five
or six Protestant missionaries and two or
three Catholic missionaries at the place.
This afternoon the state department
81 officials after investigating the reports,
said they thought an error had been made
in the transmission of the name Of the
place where the massacre had taken place.
Il It is believed this name instead of being
Cheng Tu sh ould DO Chang Te, the capt.
tal of Human.
In this place there are a numbe OF for
feeling is very strong. In 1898 there
VI were threatening demonstrations by The
people ard the missionaries were kept for
sometme in a state of terrorism by the
display of placards abusing the foreign
dsvils'' and warning the natives against
initiating with them. The condition oi
Affairs was regarded by the United States
minister, Mr. Denby, as grave enough to
warrant representations TO the Chinese
government and the facts were made tho
subject of several reports from the m
lister to the state department. Chang rc
il accessible to small gunboats, and 4
British warship visited the neigh oorhood
several years ago.
SHANGHAI, June TO- The report ot
the total destruction OF the missions on
Cheng Tu. katting and Yoachopu has
been confirmed. The local officials re-
~ fused protection to the m issiunaries un'
til the mob had completed the worl; OF
demolition of the buildings. The mis-
\ sion stations at other places have been
threatened. About twenty adults. beside
q number of children, have taken refue,
at Cheng Tu and Namen. Niccroy Lin
ID blamed for the affair.
NEW YORK, June l0.--Ofhcials Of th,
Methodist Missionary society ot this cit}
are very hopeful that the report " tht
massacre OF missionaries at Cheng lt
have been exaggerated. DR.. Stephen j.
Baldwin. recording secretary, said: ''I
sf do not thin that the rumors arc subse
,f luent to the assurances we received by