Evening star., 1900-07-25

InenC IN t,ek1n. lHeTe was every reason
to believe now that the imperial authori-
ties had obtained the upper hand of the
revolutionists in the capital, and that they
both could and would protect foreigners and
safely deliver them into the hands of the
allies.
Opposes Forward Movement by
Allies.
When asked what the probable effect
would be of a forward movement on the
part of the allied forces Minister WI said ::
1T is hard for me to speak on this sub
ject without possibly being misunderstood.
l had all along been in favor of an instant
advance on Fekin, when we believed that
the ministers We're in desperate straits In
view of the information of the past few
days, and especially In view of Ii Hung
Chang's statement as cabled to this coun-
try yesterday. l have changed my opinion.
! believe now that an advance Of the allies
at this late date would be apt to do more
harm than good. 1t might fan into greater
fury the flames of revolt, which have been
largely subdued in Pekin. You must re-
member this side that it is very diff
cult for you to judge the Chinese, and
equally so for them to judge you The
minds of the two races work on different
lines, and given the same premises from
which to judge they will naturally arrive
at different conclusions. If the allies should
make a forward movement now 1t would be
heralded by every Boxer outpost from Tien
Tsin to Pekin as an advance of the barba-
rians who coming to sack the imperial
city. In that case the first and most prob
able result would be for the revolutionists
to murder all the foreigners in spite of the
imperial government. and then prepare to
defend Pekin against the invasion.
''If the allied forces move at all they
should wait until the imperial troops have
escorted the foreign ministers out of Pekin
and well on the road to Tien Tsin, and they
should make 1t unmistakably plain to the
Chinese that they were advancing merely
to receive their countrymen and not to at
tack our capital. 1t is easy enough for me
to understand the movements of the allies,
but their actions will be very differently
interpreted by the mass of the Chinese.
''If the information have been receiving
from Chinese officials is correct. and 1 sin
cerely believe 1t is, the imperial government
is now in position to protect foreigners
and safely escort them to T1en Tsin 1t
would be much better for the allies to give
our government a chance to do its best and
quietly wait for the ministers and their
military escort to reach Tien Tsin.'
The Second Despatch to ConRer
Mr.. WI says that he hopes that the re-
ply of Minister Conger at Pekin to the sec
ond message sent to him by Mr.. Hay will
be received with more expedition than the
first, which came to hand last Friday. That
message and response took nine days. The
second message was sent by Mr.. WI Sun
day, the 22d and he believes that as a re-
suit of the improved conditions and the
possibility of restored communication be-
tween Shanghai and the northern cities of
the empire an answer ought to come to
hand within a more reasonable time than
the first. Evidently Mr.. WI places some
hope on the talk of the removal Of the
foreign ministers to Tien Tsin, and he sus-
gests that possibly one of the important
messages received from China in the near
future will be "Conger is in Tien Tsin."
The Proposed Mediation.
The reply of the Chinese government to
President McKinley's conditional consent 70
act as mediator In the pending difficulties
is not expected here for some days, as the
tsung Ii yamen will want time in which
to consider the conditions laid down by the
President.
The belief is not concealed here that the
chances for successful mediation are slight.
Mediation cannot be forced upon a party
to a cause; 1t must be acceptable to all the
parties. If the United States is to mediate
in China's interest she must first secure the
assent of all the powers who have suffered
in life or property at Pekin.
The difficulties in the way of such an un-
dertaking are likely to be many and Sc
rious in view of the exhibition of feeling in
Europe. But it is said here that the United
States will cheerfully undertake the task,
provided its conditions are met. If it does
not succeed in inducing the European pow
ers to be lenient in their treatment of the
imperial government of China the United
States government will not be drawn into
further hostilities after we have taken care
of our own affairs, but we will withdraw,
taking care, however, to let it be under
stood that this government will not allow
it's proper interests in China to be injured
by the action of any of the powers that
may choose to remain obdurate.
Proposed Move From Pekin.
Assuming from Sheng's dispatch that a
movement was on foot on the 18th to get
the foreign ministers started from Pekin
to Tien Tsin under escort of imperial
troops, the State Department would not be
surprised to get definite news of them
from the headquarters of the allied forces
in a short time. The distance from Tien
Tsin to Pekin is seventy-five miles, and
at this season the trip is usually made by
road from Pekin to Tong Choo, a point on
the Pei-ho twelve miles below the capital,
and the remainder of the way by boat This
trip now would take four days, supposing
the escort of imperial troops met with no
aSi lot frnrN f1,1 trort
move from Pekin was made within two
days after Sheng's information was re-
ceived it would be possible that the lega-
TONERS and their escort are now in touch
with the headquarters of the allies, al
ways supposing that nothing serious hap
pened to the party on the noad.
NINTH INFANTRY IN CHINA.
Lieut.. Col. Coolidge Reports It's Ar
rival and Subsequent Operations.