The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1900-12-20
PLUNDERING IN CHINA.
DR.. Martin Tells How Mission
aries Figured In 1t.
SAYS THEY TOOK NO GUILTY PART.

OLA i 4OOA W. " - IL a a - -
He Was In Picking During aud After
the Siege and Describes the CTR
cumstances Under which Much Of
the Property of the Fugitive Chi
nese Was Appropriated.
DR.. W. A. Z. Martin, who was In Pc
king during and for some weeks after
the siege, spoke as follows recently,
says the New York sun, regarding sto-
ries that have come from China accus-
ing missionaries Of having taken part
Ia the footing there:
"In the public mind lOOtlng seems 20
be the synonym of stealing, and such
Il is. and even worse, when accom-
panied by violence. but when a city
has been taken by force of arms and
the population have fled away, leaving
the goods I'm their houses exposed TO
the first conner, It puts Oh another
phase
"In the case of Picking more than
half the dwellings were abandoned
Goods of all descriptions were scatter
ed over the floors Of fOrsaken houses.
For at least n fortnight after the ar
rival of the army of rescue the soldiers
were. with the seeming connivance Of
their leaders. allowed to run riot in ap
proprialing whatever they found tit to
carry away.
"Many Of them disdained anything
less valuable than nuggets Of silver
Under these circumstances IL would
not be strange If some native Chris
tians and some Missionaries did profit
by their opportunities. may as well
begin with the confession that myself
perpetrated very fragrant instance of
looting happened to know OF grain
shop, just opposite the new university
which had been abandoned, and | pro
posed to two missionaries To accom-
pany me, with a view to securing any
grain that was left behind.
1--WE carried away no less than 200
bushels Of wheat, which we stored up
TO supply the wants Of our poor Chris
tlans I'm the coming winter. There
was not even a dog on the ground to
protect the property, and when called
aloud 10 the owner 10 come and re
celve payment for his goods echo was
the only answer. | left lord with the
missionaries that should the owner
ever come forward with his claims ]
would pay for them.
"Now, to my certain knowledge the
lootlug charged on many missionaries
Is not a crime Of deeper dye than that
of which | confess myself to be guilty
Some Of them. with the consent Of
our authorities, took possession OF
abandoned houses, where they found
shelter for their unhappy converts
whose dwellings had been reduced &c
ashes. Some Of them collected quaint
ties of furs and silks and sold them AT
auction In order to provide fund for
maintaining destitute Christians.
"Unhesltatlngly do | say that any
missionary convicted OF enrichlng him
self from the spolls Of the defeated
enemy would be n fit subject for In
vestlgaton and reprlmand. AS for n
native Christian who might appropri-
ate such goods left without an owner
the case would be entirely different.
He violates no law and ought there
fore to suffer no penalty. Should be
carry away such articles from an In
habIted house his act takes on n new
complexion and becomes robbery. For
that he deserves punishment, though.
TO confess the truth, many soldiers OF
all natlonalties in the army Of rescue
were guilty Of that very act
"ThOse Of whose violence i heard
most complaints before leaving Picking
were the disciplined Chinese under
British leadership, and next after them
In the black list come the names OF
Russians and French. | myself detect
ed one American soldier In attempting
to loot a house which he supposed to
be occupied only by Chinese, but where
some American missionaries had found
refuge.
"Now, suppose among many thou
sands Of converts some few have been
able to profit by the vast quantities OF
abandoned goods exposed before their
eyes. Suppose even that two or three
have been tempted. partly by revenge
for the destruction Of their own prop
erty, to seize that Of their enemies. Is
It lust that on account Of these excep-
tional cases the far greater multitude
who have been left without house or |
home or means of livelihood, should be |
refused compensation for their lossesf
zone morning at the beginning of |
the siege saw forlorn party Of ma
tive Christians pass the gate Of the |
United States legation en- route for a |
place Of asylum which had been Sc
cured for them. They had been liter
ally raked up out of the ashes Of their
burned dwellings, and one Of their
number, trudging along painfully Oh |
foot, like her poorest sisters, was an |
aged woman whose son two years ago |
was minister plenipotentiary In France.
II. E. Ching Chang, for ten years one |
of my own students. Her house had
been burned and many Of her family
killed. Her ancestors and all Of her
relatives had been Christians for seven
generations.
Now, is It reasonable that this lady
should be refused indemnity for her
losses even If It should be found that
some native Christians have taken care
to indemnify themselves? Any dlplo-
macy worthy of the name ought to
provide for due investigation prior to
the award of indemnity. Claims ought
In all cases to be duly attested. Chris