The Washington weekly post., 1900-09-04

mFut Was brought about.
II began In the province OF Shantung
~ nat province there has reigned a yiJ-
lent agitation against foreigners ever since
shina var with Japan This took form
nrst IN f.s9 ~ the assassination OF two
German Catholic missionaries These
brought about the establishment OF
German foofhold in Shanfung and the
Gulf ef Pechili. and az result Of that
fact the English and Russian soothosds
~ the same region The Chinese govern
msnt Vas compelled 90 cede to Germany
ria Chau. To England. Wei-Hai-Wsi. and
70 Russia. Port Arthur and Talisn-wS1.
This caused redoubied hatred of the for
eigners among the people Of North China.
1t was ih .nis region and under these ciT-
cumstsnees that the Boxer movement was
born.
Encouraged by the Csurt.
Was IL encouraged by the officials of
the Chinese court? That it was so en-
couraged seems 20 stand out clearly in the
interview with Mgr. Amer. the Roman
Catholic Bishop of Meridional Shantung,
Tshich appeared first in the Vienna news
paper Vaterlsnd and was afterward re-
produced in the London Times of June 9
last Following the territorial concessions
made TO Europeans in Shantung, says
Bishop Amer. the Pekin court sent TO
that province a VieeTOy Of the name OF
Hu Shien. 10 stir up a movement against
the foreigners. This Yu Shien. with whom
Bishop Amer has a personal acquaint-
ance, and who al one time was consider
ing the question OF being converted TO
Christianity. without, however. reaching
q decision on the subject. appears 10 be
a somewhat singular parsonage He or
dered his subordinates 10 begin hostile
acts toward the foreigners The unhappy
iuncionaTies mad no choice but to obey,
and they accordingly stirred up the peo-
pie IN the manner ordered. The people
responded but feebly 10 :hese efforts. The
Vieeroy then turned 10 the secret societies
OF his province and particularly 10 the
Blg knife Society. Even then he did not
Ind sufficient compliance with his wishes
ne was obliged TO turn TO the affiliated
members in the neighboring provinces 10
stir up troubles An this took place in
the months Of May. June. and July of
last year. Al this time Bishop Amer
warned the Chinese government that the
Big Knife sect was very likely to turn
against the reigning dynasty. The chief
or the sect. the bishop informed the gov
ernment, regarded himself as the Emper-
or or CHINA He was a learned man
named Chan, the enemy of the Manchus
and OF the reigning house, and on sew
eral occasions had shown himself before
the people clad in yellow garments; in
other words, decked out in the imperial
colors
Here. then, is all that We kRow-that
functionary of the Pekin court. charg-
cd with the organization of an anG-for-
elgn movement. lad recourse finally in
despair OF accomplishing his object in any
other way, tC a secret society that was
inlmical TO the reigning DYNASTY. and
whose chief was a pretender to the
throne. The movement spreading and
passing beyond the boundaries of Shan
tung province, the Chinese government
woke up to find that il had insanely put
in motion all the secret societies of the
empire. And thus the mass OF the people
was swept away in the whirlwind.
THE present agitation. therefore.
seems to be- the work of the secret So
cieties I'm general II bears, in the cur
rent language of the day. the name of
insurrection of the Boxers although
there is no reason for believing tnat
there is such thing as a society of Box
ers.
This insurrection is defined in two
words. 1t is directed against the for
eigners of he Occident. and against the
foreigners from nearer home against the
eonquering Manchurian. who has i'm
posed his domination and his dynasty up
on old China"
Why the Government Aids Them.
After touching upon the fact that all
the Chinese secret societies are practf-
cally but beds of seditiOn against the
reigning Manchu dynasty and are al
ways meditating some future revolt and
q restoration of the dethroned Mings NJ
de Castelllane points out that I'm the
present disturbance there is the curious
spectacle of these societies for once en-
listed on the side of the AIanchu govern
rlent
The Boxer movement. so-called" he
says, $50 distinctly apti-0ccidental in
character, is no longer anti Manchurian
or anti-dynastic A correspondent of the
London Times, who signs himself 'Shang-
hal. relates that, according TO the Chi
nese press. the banners of the associa-
tiOn bear the inscription: Long live TIE
dynasty; out with the foreigners
Frenchman connected with the manage
ment of the railroads of the Franco-Bel
gian concession from Pekin TO Hankow
confirms this Information in a letter to
one of his friends that afterward was
printed in La Liberte. The motto of the
Boxers. he says, is this: 'Pao Sing. Me-
Yang which means, Support the dynas-
ty; exterminate the foreigners
THE dynasty, that is 10 say the EN-
press Dowager. could do nothing less than
recognize loyal demonstrations like this.
From the very beginning the European
press has taken note of the weakness of
the Empress for the Boxers. IL should be
borne in mind that the movement was or
ganiZed in the province of Shantung by
the governor. Yu Shien. When Yu .shien
was removed on the demand OF the Ger
man government land II was A removal
unaccompanied with any disgrace and 70
a post or equal importance), his Success
or. Yuen Shih kai, serenely persevered
in the same line of conduct, and his stand
ing at court was in no wise impaired by
the fact. When the Empress was forced
TO give some appearance of satisfaction
to the foreign governments for the out
RACES at the beginning OF the present
troubles, she issued a decree against the
secret societies. But this decree WAS
WOrded in equivocal terms and expressly
excepted societies which had for their OBJ
iects corporal exercise and preparation
foT military service-that is 10 say, the
athletic societies. IL was believed and
said that this exception covered the case
of the Boxers. This, IL is true, does rc:
accord with the opinion above expressed
that there does not exist any society Of
Boxers. But we believe that the eXceD-
ton in the decree is only an excuse fur
nished by the government TO all secret
societies 10 which the proper argument
for them 10 make, In case questions arise
is thus indicated. All they have TO saw
10 come under the exception. is: Why
We are gymnasts, acting together solely
with the idea of furnishing soldiers for
the government
0ARky'S AWE or GEN. LEE.