The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-07-16
Now 81 Days Since Europeans
Have Been Heard From.

Washington, July 15.-Such news as
came to Washington from China today
was distinctly bad. 1t consisted OF a
cablegram to Minister Wa from Sheng,
the imperial director of posts and tsle-
graphs at Shanghai and, according to the
minister, was in reply to the urgent
messages he himself had sent yesterday
to that official asking him to try to Sc
cure some news from the Chinese capital.
This eablegram Minister WI regarded as
of such Importance as to carry it in
person directly to Secretary Hay who
was waiting at home for news. The
message as resolved from the cipher was
as follows:
"Pe<in news of July 18th says THAT
Gen. Tuam Fuh Slang, in disobedienoe
Of imperial orders, was about to use
guns. Legations and the government
VIII be in peril.
This news is corroborative of that con-
tanned in recent cablegram from Con-
sui General Goodnow at Shanghai, al
though the consular generals despatch
gave his Pekin news the date OF the 9th,
saying that the final attack upon the le-
cations with guns was about to begin
on the 7th 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 goony forecast given OF the end
of the terrible struggle of the legattoners
against the inevitable, the significant
feature of the message is the coupling of
the fate Of the imperial government with
that of foreign ministers. Officers here,
derive some satisfaction from this por-
tion of the despatch as it sustains them
in the position they have held from the
at war with Christendom, but is con-
fronting a formidable insurrection. 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 droit man, may know
more of the actual happenings at Pekin
than he is willing to reveal at once. 1t is
feared that he is trying to prepare the
way for the disclosure Of terrible news,
hoping that by letting it come out grad
uaIly, the blow will not fall with such
severity and perhaps with such disas-
trous results to his own people as might
be the case if the whole story were i'm
parted to the world at once. This news,
it may be noted, comes entirely from
Chinese sources.
1t is now 21 days since word has come
directly from any of the unf ortunates
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 represent
ed the situation of the legationers as des-
perate ana implored help. The last word
from Minister Conger came to the State
Department from Pekin under date Of
June 18. At that time he asked that
Seymour's international relief column,
which was even then doomed to fail,
should signal it's approach when near
Pekin, That was just one month and
three days ago and it would be an un-
precedented defense for such an inade-
quate and ill-ftted and provisioned force
as was at the command of the foreign
ministers to hold out for that length of
time.
Minister Wu's cablegram from Sheng,
above given should not be taken as an
answer to the cipher message he forward
ed at Secretary Hay S request to China
in the effort to get it through to Minister
Conger. That message went to Yonan
Shih Kai, the governor Of the province
OF Shan Tung. That official has replied
informally that he has no news himself,
but it Is assumed that he viii take
prompt steps to forward the cipher mes
sage. His status at this critieal juneture
is unfortunately not beyond suspicion,
though Mr.. WI retains full confidence
in him. Secretary Long had two cable