Evening star., 1900-10-01
EMPEROR AND EMPRESS
CHINESE VERSION OF THEIR RE-
sPONsIBILITY FOR OUTRAGEs.
Meeting of the Manchu and Chinese
High Ofhcials-The Emperor
OyerruIed.

A Chinese official contributes to the North
China Herald the following account of
events in Pekin during the siege of the le-
cations:
"On June 16 the empress dowager sud
denly issued a decree summoning all the
Manchu princes. dukes. mobiles and high
Chinese. and Manchu) officials Of the six
boards and nine ministries to be present at
grand council to be held at once in the
palace. The suspicious part OF this was
that when all had gathered at the palace
those who were Manchus were first called
by the empress dowager to a secret au-
dience. while all Of Chinese descent were
| left In the waiting room. After the Man
chus had ended their secret council and had
come back to the waiting room they were
again called back, this time with those OF
Chinese descent, into the empress dowageTs 5
council room. When all had prostrated
themselves before the empress dowager
and emperor they waited for her to speak
first.
"She said: The foreign powers have
browbeaten and prosecuted US In such q
manner that We cannot endure this any
longer. We must. therefore. combine to
fight all foreigners to the last to save our
face in the eyes OF the world. All our
Manchu princes, dukes and mobiles and min
listers, high and low, unanimous in this
determination for war to the knife. and 1
approve Of their patriotic choice 1, there
fore, give you all this announcement, and
expect all to do their duty to their coun-
try
Ministers Protest.
upon this Hsu Ching-ch'eng (Chinese).
ex-minister to Russia, president Of the Man
churian railway etc, knelt forward before
the empress dowager and begged her to re-
consider her decision. as there were many
things to be considered before such feat
as fighting all the foreign powers could
possibly be thought Of Hereupon Kang
VI sharply interrupted: You are mistaken.
| This will not be like our former wars with
foreign countries. We have now the Boxers
with us. They are invulnerable to bullet
| or sword. and we will simply walk over
| the enemy this time
Yuan Chang (Chinese), former taotai
| of Wuhu, and now a tsung-n-yamen minis
| ter, then said: Your majesty I myself
was an eye witness Of the prowess OF these
| Boxers when they yesterday attacked the
| legations. for, living myself near them, I
| went out In plain clothes to see their late
| battlefield. I saw the whole place filed
| headmen, too! With my own eyes / saw
| that every one Of them had a bullet or two
| in their breasts or backs. That, your mai
esty, does not prove kang Yis boast of the
| Boxers being nvulnerable to bulletsr Inc
| empress dowager: You must be mistaken
The bodies sou saw must have been those
| of local outlaws. 1t Is impossible that they
We're Boxers. This closed Yuan Chang 8
mouth. who dared not go further in con-
| traiicton Of his mistress. Then TsenR
Kuanglan (Chinese). Marques Tseng (son
of the late minister to Great Brittany, went
forward and knelt before the empress dow
| ager. saying: I beg your majesty to re-
| consider your decision. II we must fight
! we ought not to fight in such an indiscrim-
inare manner How can we fight success
| fully the whole world? We should choose
/ our enemies. We have also a number of
| countries who have always been friendly
| with us, and against whom we have not the
least complaint Are we to fight them also!
Above all. l pray your majesty to protect
| the legations. These must be our first care
| and duty, whatever we may afterward do
| Others of the Chinese party also spoke in
| the same strain. They saw all the Man
| chus present but one (Na Tung. minister of
] the tsung II yamen) determined on war,
| and looking daggers at the speakers of
| the Chinese party, and so they only dared
to urge that II there must be war, some
| choice should be made of whom to fight.
hoping that by these measures time could