The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-03-30
THE Civil war IN C0REA
Insurgents Demand That All Foreign.
'ers b. Expelled.
THE SITUATION IS SERIOUS
Government Hos No Troops to Cope with
the Insurgents Who Are Advancing
Upon Seoul-Influence Of Am.
erican Representative.

Toxic, March -. via San Francisco
March 29.-The state of affairs In Corea
| goes from bad to worse. The insur-
| gents in the province have adopted a
| new tone. dictated, of course. by adher-
| ents of the party of the kings father
| They say the men by whom the king
was persuaded To seek asylum in the
Russian Legation are traitors to the
country aud must be eXtermnated
But they also proclaim that all for
eigners must be expelled from the
Kingdom. They have pushed to point
not more than ten miles from Seoul
and the government has no troops to
cope with them The raising of several
new battalions of royal guards has been
ordered by edict, but money to pay
them is not forthcoming. even If they
could be organized quickly enough to
meet the emergency.
The whole situation is rapidly grow
ing insupportable. and a general idea
| gains ground that the departure of the
king from the Russian legation will be
the signal for the downfall of the pres
ent cabinet. 1t has been the pretext
by the pro- Russian party that the
kings residence in the palace Is out of
the question so long as Japanese troops
have their barracks in the immediate
vicinity. The troops were placed there
originally by desire of the Corean gov
ernment. but in the Japanese author
tiles have neither need nor occasion
to keep them there they are about to
be removed.
The United States representative in
Seoul is winning golden opinions
among the Japanese at the crisis. His
influence. they report, Is steadily eX-
erted in the cause of right and Justice
Strong and in great part successful
efforts are said to have been made by
him to mitigate the cruelties practiced
by the cabinet against its political OPP
pOnents and to lessen the brutalities
resorted to by the legal tribunals in
their examination of prisoners.
NEW WAR LOAN.
The japanese government has an
nounced another issue of the war loan
amounting to 100000 yen. Only lO.-
100000. however. are offered for public
subscription. the remaining $4,000. 900
worth of bonds having been taken by
the Bank of Japan. The minimum sell
ing price of the bonds Is to be their
face value, and the rate of interest 5
per cent. as before.
Detailed accounts from Kiangyin.
which lies midway between the mouth
=,
miles up the river. show that mutiny
on a large scale among the soldiers
there was only prevented by the eXplO-
sion of magazine. The insurrection
was planned. the programme being to
Kill the general I'm command get DOS
session of the magazines and rifles, and
then master the city. the foreign in
structors being sent away by boat to
Shanghai.
Already the work has commenced.
Rifles had begun to crack. and the mu-
tineers were removing the contents Of
the magazines when the principal of
the three, containing about seven
tons Of gunpowder blew up. The cause
of the explosion is not known, since all
In or near the magaZine-to the num-
Der of about 300-were shattered to
pieces. The catastrophe was so terri
Bile that it completely cowed the SOL
diers. and they desisted from further
acts of violence.