Evening star., 1900-10-01
The Palais Royal, : G y;
be gained for some change Of the situation

be gained for some change of the situation
which would prevent war; --gEs
Finally. Ma Tung, aforesaid, also came
forward and pleaded with his Chinese col
leagues. This put his Manchu brethren to
a boiling heat of anger. cries of 'Degener-
ate blood" Chinese traitor and like COM
pliments being audibly heard over the
Manchu side of the crowded auditorium
but, nothing daunted, Ma Tung went on to
say: Your majesty, IL we must fight, pray
do not let, 1t be inside the city of Pekin,
but outside. near the coast, if possible.
The misery here will be incalculable if
your majesty orders the troops to attack
the legations and aid the Boxers. Affairs
will then be beyond recall l am advocat-
ing for the greatest good of all of US, and
not from any private motives Of my own
as seems to be the idea Having said this,
he looked toward the place where his
Manchu brethren were, and then kept
silent. The empress dowager glared at Ma
Tung all the time he was speaking, and
when he had stopped looked at kang VI.
as II she expected reply to Ma Tung' S
words from the formers lips. Thereupon
kang VI came forward and said If. as
they say (meaning the Chinese party, the
war ought to be carried outside the capi-
tal l would suggest that your majesty ap-
point Hsu Ching eng to proceed out of
Pekin and try to stop the foreign relief
forces half way, as he Is well acquainted
with international intercourse and persona
grata among foreigners This was to show
Ching-ch eng for being the first to oppose
the Manchu policy, and apparently hoped
that he would be killed some way while
travelling through the disturbed region out
side Of Pekin. oh. yes went on the en-
press dowager. that Is very true; and I
also order Ma Tung to go with Hsu Ching
ch'eng on this mission Remonstrance was
OF no avail, and the two high commission
ers had to go that same afternoon.
The Emperor OverruIed.
II should here mention that during the
whole Of the time while the Chinese party
were arguing with the Manchus in this to
be ever notable grand council, his majesty
the emperor maintained moody and even
fearful silence; and what could he do?
Bereft of power and influence, despised
Of the Manchus. silence was doubtless his
only way Of showing passive dissent of his
Manchu mobiles and ministers policy. But
when at last it appeared to his majesty
that the warlike policy of his countrymen
was about TO prevail. his majesty could no
longer contain himself, and turned impuls-
lively to the empress dowager, who sat
foot so in front of his left, and begged
her to reconsider her decision to fight all
foreign nations. saying that the movement
once inaugurated by the government would
make peace an impossibility in the future
and destruction of the country imminent.
His majesty was going on to say something
more. but seemed to pull himself suddenly
up, for. instead of listeninS to his majesty
as court etiquette tequffed. the empress
dowager openly affronted the emperor by
ignoring his words and turning her back on
his majesty. This was the last stroke on
the Chinese party, whose words were SIM
ply drowned in the uproaf Of the Manchus
who unanimously SHOUTED for war to the
knife. and who looked with deep hate on
their Chinese colleagues, whom they now
considered as enemies and traitors to their
cause.
This turn of affairs preyented the Chi
nese party from resunings their paece argu-
ments with the empress dowager for some
time. Their aim was to get her to issue
decree for the dispersal first. and. IL op-
posed, the suppression of the whole Boxer
body in the country. Without military
power themselves. their only hope lay in
Yuan Shih-Kai, govefnor df Shantung, and
General Mich. the only Chinese command
ants Of corps who would be able to obey
the empress dowagers decree and enable
the Chinese party to push their policy of
destroying the Boxers, overawe the turbu-
lent Manchus and restore peace to the
checkmated all the moves of the Chinese
party and matters looked very black that
day. There was no more discipline OBJ
served in the city after that day among the
crowds of armed Boxers. Kansu troops and
the Manchu soldiers Of Yung LUIS head
quarters command, the Middle Corps of the
Wuwei army oD the Grand Army of the
North All was confusion from that date.
"The Manchu party presented themselves
at the palace on the Doth Of June, the day
after the murder of the German minister.
and got the empress dowager to issue
decree to Yung Lu. as generalissimo Of the
grand army OF the north, commanding him
to bring his army into Pekin and for
mally attack the legations, destroy them
and then, leaving Pekin Tor Tien Tsan, to