The evening times., 1900-07-10
The Chinese situation.

People who DO not read between the lines
| will bs apt to take a good deal of comfort
from reports from China. published today,
which allege that the Empress Dowager is
again in control az Pekin. and that Prince
Ching, who is loyal to her. is fighting the
/ Boxer chief. Prince Tuan, and is protecting
{ the ministers and legations The unfor-
tunate fact that these stories all appear
10 emanate from that monstrous liar.
! Sheng. Director Of Telegraphs, at Shanghai.
/ is calculated TO discredit them utterly.
! Sheng is and always has been in communI-
/ cation with Pekin, and knows what has
been going on in that city from the start.
/ He has repeatedly manufactured news to
! suit the exigencies Of the situation from a
! Chinese point OF view. and nothing he may
say is entitled to the slightest attention.
unless It be corrOborated by some truthful
authority.
Nevertheless. it is barely possible that
! Prince Ching has saved the foreigners, al
though. if that were the case. it is abso-
lutely inconceivable that either Sir Robert
Hart or one Of the ministers should no,
have been able to get message through
to Tientsin or Shanghai There were
funds IN plenty at the legations. and run
ners could have been engaged if sufficient
inducements were offered no matter what
difficulties might have to be overcome. \
few hundred dollars make a low caste
Chinaman independent for life. The pris-
Oners IN Pekin could ard wculd have given
thousands 10 let the world know Of their
situation during the past twelve days In
fact, it must be remembered that, I'D 70
June p. runners were sent out from the
capital. and two or three OF them reached
Tientsin. Sir Robert Hart's last message
begging the relief forces to hasten. and
representing that food and ammunition
were almost exhausted, was dated June
26. From that time nothing official has
come from Pekin. But a few days later
the Chinese in Tientsin. Taku. shanghai
and ChefOO simultaneously began to chat
ter about an assault and massacre which
they declared had occurred on June 80 or
/ July l. II nothing Of the lind happened
it would surely be 10 the advantage or the
/ Chinese officials TO give scme assurance Of
the fact 10 the powers; and the Empress
| DOwager or Prince Ching. assuming the
truth Of the reports that they are in com
mand, could readily furnish the diploma
! lists with means TO communicate with
their Governments.
Sir Robert Hart's appeal for help. as we
have said above. was written on June 20.
On the night OF that day we are reasonably
certain that the first general assault upon
the legations took place, and the fighting
was probably continuous from that time
until the end. So. il Will be noted that
the probabilities all point to the conclusion
that June IS wss the last date upon which
any word could be gotten out from the
British compound. The weight Of evidence
is all on the side OF the native story OF a
massacre on June 30 or July I. Any tes-
timony 10 the contrary must be held worth
less in the absence Of a message of a date
subsequent TO the first instant. from some
one OF the legation people. Neither the
German nor the Russian Government
places the least reliance upon the reas-
suring statements OF Sheng. They do not
match with the facts as the same are
known. and they belle all reasonable as
sumptiOns and probabilities.