The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-29
No CONFIDENCE IN SHEbG
Shanghai Believes the Prince TO
Be Inscriptions.
Movement to Bribe Him to Give Au-
thcntic Information Abandoned
cItNities for Lying - Eye-Wituess
Tells Of TaIHr's Bombardmcnt.

seems to be certain regarding the situation
in the north, and this one thing Is tha
if We have a piece of news today it viii
be contIadicted tomorrow. This refers Il
details Of the situation. As 20 the mair
fact, there is no longer any doubt thai
we are CT the brink Of a cataclysm. Bust
ness men, the mission boards, and th'
newspapers are told that the wires be
tween Shanghai and the north, and be
tween Tientsin and Pekin are down, bu
If this is so our subtle Sheng taotai mus
have mastered the wireless system o
telegraphy, because we have it from th'
south that Ii Hung Chang was informed
from Pekin Of the fan OF the Taku forts
thirty-six hours after the attack of the
allies took place.
There being according to SheBg, no tele-
graphic communication between Ilen-sin
and Pekin and between Pekin and Canton,
the message must have been transmltte1
a distance of 1000 miles by some super
human agency. Sheng, who Sits all our
news for US, is about as INSCRIPTIONS an
old scoundrel as can be found in Chinese
officialdo1n and that is saying all that can
be said. 1t IS not felt that the slightest
reliance can be placed upon any state
ment he may make, and movement set
on foot to offer him large subscription
bride for a reliable report from Pekin has
been abandoned because it was realized
that he would pocket the bride and have
a despatch to suit the occasion manufac-
tured in his Office here.
Many Runors Current.
1t is hard to make choice of the rumors
that are flying about. But there is some
information of real importance to be de-
rived from the advices of the missionary
boards and from the business firms here
who are exhausting every means OF OBJ
tanning news. The direction Of affairs at
Pek1n has been entirely removed from
the hands of the Empress Regent, and the
Government" cannot be held responsible
for anything that happens hereafter. The
ultra conseryatives. Prince Tuan, General
Tung, Hsu Tung. and their party, have
everything their own way, and regarding
the Boxer uprising as a heaven-sent OPP
portunity to make an end of foreign in
reference in China, there is no telling TO
what lengths they will go.
Tuan has organized his rabble army into
eight banners corps after the Manchu
fashion. and there are enough northern
men from the army of General Tung to
give the mass the backbone that it needs to
make it formidable The native paper,
Chung Ngai Vat Pao," says that Of the
troops stationed as protection to the
foreign Legations one-half are Boxers.
When the time arrives for seeking an
explanation OF the astounding spread OF
the Boxer propaganda in the north, the
widespread famine in that quarter OF the
Empire Will have 10 be taken into eonsid-
Grafton. There has been but one rain in
the north this year. the wheat is lost.
and a missionary report states that there
are millions of hungry and starving
people, How the famine has been used
by the forwarders of the Boxer move
ment is shown by proclamation. printed
and circulated by thousands in Tientsin.
1t is by all odds the most interesting docu-
ment of its kind that has yet reached US
here. It is headed Sacred Edict: Issued
by the Lord of Wealth and Happiness"
and proceeds:
The Catholic and Protestant religions,
being insolent TO the gods and extinguish-
ing sanctity, rendering no Difference to
Buddha and engaging both heaven and
earth, the rain clouds now no longer visit
US. But 5000, 600 spirit soldiers will de-
scend from heaven and sweep the country
clean OF all foreigners. Then will the
gentle showers once more water our lands
And when the tread of soldiers and the
clash of steel are heard, heralding woes to
all our people, then Buddha's Patriotic
League Of Boxers will be able to protect
pie"
The edict goes on to state a home Of
happiness in which all are to share in &C
cordance with the number OF adherents
they gain-'.n you gain five adherents to
the faith, your whole family will be alb
solved from evil,' etc. Those who gain
no adherents are threatened with decapi-
tation, for until all foreigners have been
exterminated the rain can never visit u.s."
The edict concludes with divine pre-
scription" for those who have been so IN
fortunate as to have drunk water from
wells poisoned by the foreigners"
A Boxer Poster,
The collection Of street placards prom
ises to become something of fad A
placard was posted on June on the Mud
Wall near the University in Pekin. This
is in the most elegant Chinese verse, which
may be Transcribed as follows:
Our Emperor is about to become power
full
The leader of the Boxers is royal per-
son.
Within three months all foreigners will
be driven away.
During forty years the Empire has be-
come full of foreigners.
They have divided the hallowed land. =
1.-THE brethren need not fear.
There are 100, 900 (wha1?} in the north.
when the foreigners are driven away
we will return to our hills
Whether or not a resident of Shanghai
feels any appre Extensions as to the safety of
foreigners at this port depends wholly
upon Individual temperament. Extra po-
lice have been armed and three companies,
one Of them composed Of Americans, have
been formed for auxiliary police duty. The
French company boast a machine gun that
10 one knows how to work Most of US feel
little apprehension.
The source OF greatest danger lies in the
fact that quite all the war vessels of all
the powers have been withdrawn to the
north, leaving southern ports without any
protection whatever. Thus relieved of all re-
stralning influence southern Viceroys may
give the mob a free hand. But there is
some comfort in the thought that the peo-
pie in the south can get only very imperfect
reports of what their countrymen are do
ing around Pekin. If, however, there should
be an uprising here comparing in size TO
tie investment OF Tientsin, there is 10 ade-
quate means OF defence. and we should not
have even the small aid that was supplied
by IN foreign marines at Tientsin. All
would feel much more comfortable If we
could get any assurances that the warsnips
that are hurrying eastward would stop
south Of Chefoo.
BombardmeDt of T'nku.
very interesting account Of the bom-
bardment and capture of the Taku forts
has just been received here from a lady
who was aboard the Monocacy during the
battle. She tells of her arrival in Tientsin
on the evening OF the 18th, finding the