Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-07-16
His Cable Says Chinese Were to lombard Legations,
July 7-Fightng at Tien Tsin Is Severe---
Both Sides Are Losing Heavily.
ALL BAD NEWS.

Washington, July l5.-Such news as
came to Washington, today, from
China was distinctly bad 1t consisted
of Il cabegram to Minister WI from
Sheng, the imperial director of posts
and teleeraphs at Shanghai and. ac-
cording To the minister. was in reply
to the urgent messages he himself had
sent yesterday. to that official asking
MIN to try to secure some news from
the Chinese capital
The cablegram Minister WI regarded
as of sufficient Importance as TO carry
in person directly to Secretary Hay
who was waiting at his home for news
The message. as resolved from the
cipher was as follows:
"Pekin. News Of July eth says that
Gen. Tuan Fuh Slang. in disobedience
Of imperial orders. was about to use
guns. legations and the government
will lie in peril.
This news is corrObOrative of that
contained in a recent cablegram from
Consul General GOOdnoW at Shanghai
although the consular generals dis
patch gave his Pekin news the date of
The 9Th. saying that the final attack
about to begin on the 9TH of July. 1t is
surmised here that Mr. Goodnow got
his news from Sheng, who is certainly
in position To secure the first news
from Pekin.
Aside from the gloomy forecast given
Of the end of the terrible struggle of
the leSationers against the inevitable,
the significant feature Of the message
is the coupling of the fate of the i'm
peTial government with that of the for
cign ministers.
Officers here, derive some satisfaction
from this portion of the dispatch as it
sustains them in the position they
have held from the first that the Chin
est government is not at war with
Christendom but is confronting a for
midabe Instruction.
There still remains a suspicion that
while Mr.. WI is undoubtedly acting
with perfect sincerity. that Sheng. who
is represented to be a clever and adroit
man. may know more Of the actual
happenings at Pckn than he Is willing
to reveal At once
1t is feared that he is trying to pre-
pare the way for the disclosure Of ter
rible news. hoping that by letting it
come out gradually the blow will not
fall with such severity and perhaps
with such disastrous results to his own
people as might be the case if the whole
story were impaired to the world at
once. This news, it may be noted.
comes entirely from Chinese sources
1t is now u days since a word come
directly from any of the unfortunates
besieged in the legations at Pekin. The
last message from there was from Sir
Robert Hart. the Englishman in charge
Of the Chinese customs service. and |
was Of undoubted authenticity. 1t rep
resented the situation of the legation
Frs as desperate and imploring help.
The last word from Minister Conger |
came to the state department from Pc |
kin under date of June IS At that /
time he asked that Seymour's interna- |
tional relief column which was even /
then doomed to fail, should signal its 4
approach when near Pekin.
That was just one month and three /
lays ago and it would be an unprece-
Tented defence for such an inadequate
and ill-fitted and provisioned force as II
was at the command of the foreign
ministers to hold out for that length OF II
line.
Minister Wu's cablegram from Sheng. II
above given should not be taken as an II
answer to the cipher message he for
warded at Secretary Hays request to II
China in the effort to get il through II
TO Minister Conger. That message
went to Yonan Shih-kai. the governor Il
Of the province of Shan Tung. That II
Dfticial has replied informally that he II
las no news himself. but it is assumed II
hat he will take prompt steps to for
ward the cipher message His status /
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