The San Francisco call., 1896-12-28
PERU TIED TIGHT
To THE WHARF
Uneventful Passage Of Fif-
teen Days From
Yokohama.
Secret of Ii Hung ChaDg's Great
Influence With the Impe-
rial Power.
Chinese Passengers Fumigated at
Quarantine as a Precautionary
Measure.

The Pacific Mail steamer Peru. Captain
de Friele, from Hongkong and Yoko-
hama, passed in yesterday afternoon
about 5 o'clock, and lay at quarantine till
IL O'Clock last night No sickness was
reported aboard, but number Of Chinese
passengers were taken over to the island
and fumigated as a precautionary meas
ure, as the plague and fever is one several
Chinese ports. The cabin passengers
were Rev. Mr.. and Mrs. C. o. Gill and G.
6. LOTHIAN.
The Peru experienced strong gales from
tie west, southwest and north-northwest
to the meridian. thence moderate and
squally weather to the Golden Gate. She
left Yokohama on Decempe IS, and made
the voyage in 10 days 3 hours and %
minutes.
The British bark Forfarshire arrived in
yesterday afternoon from Newcastle, n.
S. w. On Noyem Der last she buried at
sea August Thisen, a seaman 19 years DID,
The steamship Peru brought very
large quantity of Oriental mail. In the
Hongkong Daily Press of November %
last is q story from the North China Daily
News which shows the source of Lii Hung
Chang'5 influence and grip with the En-
according to the story, lies chiefly with
the doTager Empress. The article says:
native correspondent st Peking tells US
again the story OF the course taken by Ii IN
1874, when the Emperor Tung Chin was
dying, which so bound the Empress Dowager
to him. At that moment there was formid-
able party in the palace opposed TO the TWO
DoWager Empresses. anxious 10 put them ana
their party out OF the way and raise 10 the
throne the dissolute son OF Prince kung, now
dead. The Dowager Empresses appealed TO Ii,
then Viceroy of Chilli, and as such the lawful
protector OF the dynasty He did not lose
moment, but made a secret forced march 20
Peking, accompanied by his personal guard OF
1000 Well-armed men-horse, foot and artil-
lery, all Anhui men-On whose devotion he
could rely under any circumstances The
march of eighty miles was made in thirty-six
hours and timed 10 arrive at Peking a. mid
night.
Prince who was en- adherent of the Dow
ager Empress had been placed in charge OF the
Chungwen Gate with a guard OF his personal
retainers with orders to open 1t only to Ii and
his force At midnight Ii and his Anhui men
were admitted and marched at once into the
Forbidden City in dead silence. Every man
held chopstick in his mouth 10 prevent his
talking and the metal trappings OF the horses
were allsmufi Arrived within the forbidden
precincts the Manehu balnermen on duty at
the various palace gates were all replaced by
Lis men, the empresses having sent out
eunuchs to point out which detachments were
doubtful or had almost openly declared for the
conspirators. These were a. once disarmed,
bound and hurried of to the prisons of the
Board of Punishments.
The artillery was posted to command the en-
frances 10 the Forbidden City, the cavalry was
set to patrol the grounds and pick up any
stray conspirators who could be found and the
infantry were stationed so to surround the
palace, where lay the Dowager En- presses an
the present Emperor, kuang HsU, then child
about years old. When day broke the sur
prise OF such OF the conspirators as had not
been arrested during the night was complete.
The disahected were quietly made away with
or sent into perpetual exile in the Heilung-
chang region, and the next day Prince Chua's
Little son was proclaimed Emperor. with the
title of Kusng Hsu- It turned out that neither
Prince kung nor his son had any connection
with the conspiracy, and they were unharmed,
Prince kuDg remaining, as he always has
been, a staneh friend of II. E. Lii
Everything being settled Ii marched back
to Ten tsin with his troops as uuosten ntgtiously
as he had come, and so secretly had every
thing been done that only those directly con