Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-07-28

nRroi mi rli a3 THE DIPLOMATIC
g41<Rs II MOVING TOWARDS

Undex Guafd Ok Troops of jung Lu,
Gonnxa6 1der-fn-C chief Of the Chi
neHe Arm x--snId to he the Out
con< Al stormy Interview he
tween ~ Hung Chang and the
F0reIxu Consuls--A Suspicious
Letter From sir Claude Mcdonald.
LONDON, July n, 1870 a. m.-This
n1orning' s reports from Shanghai reit-
crate the allegation that the surviving
members Of tie diplomatic corps have
already left Pekin on their way to Tien
Tsin, and add that the foreigners are
being escorted BY troops Of Jung-Lu,
commander-tn-chief of the Chinese
forces.
This move is stated to be the out
come Of very stormy interviews be-
tween - Hung Chang and the foreign
consails and to have been taken in the
hope Of abating the wrath of the
powers and delaying the advance of the
allies toward Pekin
Advices received from the same
sources state that half the foreigners
ia Pekin have been killed or wounded,
o. have died as the result of the pri-
vations they had undergone
simultaneously comes cable des-
patch to the Daily Mail from Shanghai
announcing that a letter had been re-
ceived from Sir Claude Macdonald, the
British minister to China. under date
Of Pekin, July 6, saying the legations
were
Under Constant Fire.
and that three were still standing, but
that the foreigners were receiving no
assistance from the authorities. Owing
to the cowardice Oh the Chinese, Sir
Claude wrote, it was hoped the lega-
tioners would be able to hold out for a
fortnight, but if they were pressed
their resistance could not last more
than four days at the most.
The text of the Shanghai despatch to
the Daily Mail follows:
SHANGHAI, July 27.-A letter just
received here from Sir Claude Mac
Donald, dated Pekin, July 6, follows:
We are receiving no assistance
from the authorities. Three legations
are still standing. including the Brit
ish. We also hold part of the city
walls The Chinese are Smelling us
from the city with three-inch gun,
and some smaller ones and are sniping
us. We may be annihilated any day.
Our ammunition and food are short
We would have persisted by this
time only
The Chinese Are Cowards.
and have no organized plan of attack.
If we are not pressed we may hold out
fortnight longer; otherwise, four
days at THE UTMOST
=. y anticIa only slight resistance
Sir Claude concludes by advising
the relief force to approach by the
eastern gate or by way Of the river.
The losses of the foreigners in
Pekin up to July s were forty killed and
slightly wounded
Some Of the Statements above ara
strlkingly similar to the published YER
sion of Sir Claude MacDonald's letter
of July 4. If not the same letters, the
Chinese artillery would seem to be
strangely ineffective, as the casualties
were the same according to the letters
OF both dates. AS lending color to the
suggestion that the communications
are identical, 1t may be stated that the
Belgian foreign Office this morning re-
ceived a dispatch from Shanghai I'M
der te-day's date, mentioning the re-
ceipt of a letter from Sir Claude Mac
Donald, dated July 4, in which it was
stated that the besieged foreigners in
Pekin
Were Reduced to Horse Flesh.
The Belgian consul at Shanghai also
reports that servant of the German
minister who left Pekin July 3, states
that the British legation was only at
tackled at night, and if supplied he be-
Iieyed could hold out.
The alleged departure of the min