The National tribune., 1900-07-12

him entrance and repudiated the treaty.
The Taku forts were necessarily bonn
barded and captured.
The danger lay in the fact that q sat
isfactory basis of Intercourse had not been
reached.
The Emperor and his officials claimed
for China the sovereignty of the world,
and that it was only by his sufferance
alone that intercourse was permitted.
There was an attempt to poison foreign
residents at Hong Kong, and the. Viceroy
de6ed British power and offered a reward
for British heads of $50 at first and at
terward 500.
While preparation for war was pro
crossing by the British and the French,
Imperial commissioners appeared. who de-
clared they had full power and presented
them. Negotiations ensued, and a treaty
was in preparation when the commission
ers began to stipulate other netho IL,
which meant delay.
1t fell to the lot of Lord Elgin's Sec
retary, Mr.. Loeb, afterward Lord Loeb,
to negotiate with the Chinese for the sur
render of the forts and the landing Of the
British and French forces.
Mr.. Parkes, afterward Sir Harry
Parkes, accompanied Mr.. Loch with
small escort to arrange for the entrance
of Lord Elgin into Pekin, which the Chi
nese Government had given them to un-
derstand was in accordance with their
feelings.
Twenty-six British subjects carrying a
flag of truce were seized in defiance of
honor and of the law of nations. Thir
teen OF them were brutally murdered, and
13 were returned alive, but bore the marks
Of the cruelties and indignities that had
been heaped upon them.
A force of 5000 men was landed by the
allies at Pehtang, which was found to be
deserted, and they proceeded to Tien
Tsin, which they occupied, and on to Pc
lrgr htar TfN NAN1.f . b.
rendered. The Imperial Summer Palace
was burned. This has been condemned
as unnecessary. Lord Elgin's defense was
that the treatment of Mr.. Parkes and his
comrades deserved signal punishment, and
no other course would have so humbled
the Government with SO little harm to the
people.
Today the troops of Great Britain and
America are marching over the same
ground, and the same alarm is going over
the world of the murder and imminent
danger TO all foreigners
But how is this to end-this collision
Of the Orient and the Occident?
1t Is very plain that the dream Of Ii
Hung Chang and other progressive states
men Of the Empire that the hope o. China
lies in its being thrown open to Western
science and art is not TO be realized in a
day, year-perhaps a century We re-
call It's thousands Of years of unchangins
conditions and the extraordinary progress
that has been made within the last 40
years.
1t Is not quite 40 years since Anson
Burlingame was sent as Ambassador to
China by Abraham Lincoln. This was In
1851. In 1867 he announced his intention
Of returning home; but Prince Kung tho
Regent of the Empire, appointed him Spe-
cial Ambassador to the United States and
the great European powers for the pur-
pose Of framing treaties Of amity with
those nations-an honor never before con-
ferred on n foreigner.
This position Mr. Burlngame accepted.
and arrived in the United States In March,
1868. In July supplementary articles to
the treaty of 1858 were signed at Wash
tngton, and soon after were ratified by the
chinese Government. This marked the
first official acceptance by China of the
principles of international law.
Mr.. Burlingame then visited England.
France, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, and
Prussia. In all but France, where he was
to return later, he negotiated important
treaties. He was taken suddenly III In
81. Petersburg with pneumonia and died
after an illness of a few days. This was
In June of 1870 popular outbreak
hgsins1 foreigners occurred at Tien Tsin,
which ended in a dreadful massacre. Its
Victims We're the French Consul. the Vice.
Consul, the interpreter of the French Ie
Eapon at Pekin and his wife, a Catholic
priest, nine sisters of charity, n French
snb1ect and his wife, and three Russians.
The French Consulate, the Cathedral and