The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-07-16

Washington, July 15.-Such news as
came to Washington today from China
was distinctly bad. 1t consisted of a
cablegram to Minister WI from Sheng,
the imperial director Of posts and tele-
graphs at Shanghai only. According
TO the minister it was in reply to the
urgent message he himself had sent
yesterday TO that official, asking him
TO try to secure some news from the
Chinese camp. This cablegram Min
lister WI regarded as of sufficient i'm
portance TO carry in person directly to
Secretary Hay at the latter's home
The message was as follows
Pekin news of July says that Gen
eral Tuan Fuh Slang, in obedience to
imperial orders, was about TO use guns
Legations and the government will be
in peril"
This news cOrrobOrates that con-
tanned in a recent cablegram from
Consul General Goodnow at Shanghai,
although the consul generals dispatch
gives his Pekin news the date of the
9Th, saying that the final attack upon
the legations with guns was about to
begin on the eth of July. 1t is sur
missed here that Mr.. Goodnow got his
news from Sheng, who is certainly in
position TO secure the first news from
Pekin.
China Fighting Instruction.
Aside from the gloomy forecast given
OF the end of the terrible struggle of
the legations against the inevitable, the
significant feature Of the message is
| the coupling of the fate of the imper-
ial government with that of the for
eign ministers. Officials here get some
satisfaction from this portion of the
d1Spdtch, as il SuStainS them in the
position they have held from the first,
/ that the Chinese government is not at
war with Christendom, but is confront
ing formidable Instruction.
There still remains a suspicion that
while Mr.. WI is undoubtedly acting
with perfect sincerity, Sheng, who is
represented to be clever and adroit
man, may know more of the actual
happenings at Pekin than he is willing
to reveal at once. 1t is feared that he
is trying to prepare the way for the
disclosure of the terrible news, hoping
| that by letting it come out gradually
/ the blow will not fall with such sever
ity and perhaps with such disastrous
results to his own people as might be
the case if the whole story was inn
parted to the world at once This
news, it may be noted, comes entirely
/
Long Time Since News Game.
1t is now twenty-One days since a
! word has come directly from any of
/ the unfortunates besieged in the Iega-
/ tiOnS at Pekin. The last message from
| there was from Sir Robert Hart. the
| Englishman in charge of the Chinese
| customs service, and was of undoubted
authenticity. 1t represented the situa-
/ ton of the legationers as desperate
and implored help. The last word from
Minister COnger came to the state de-
apartment under date of July - Al
that time he asked that Seymour's in
! ternatiOnal relief column, which was
| even then doomed to fail, should sig
nal its approach when nearing Pekin
That was just one month and three
| days ago, and it would be an unpre-
+ cedented defense for such an made.
quate and ill-ftted and provisioneC
force as was at the command of the
/ foreign ministers to hold out for thai
| length of time
Minister Wu's cablegram from Sheng
ahoTe given. should not be taken a!
an answer to the cipher message HI
forwarded at Secretary Hays reques
to China, in the effort to get it through
to Minister Conger. That message wen
TO Yos Nan Shiki. the governor of the
province of Shan Tung. That officia
has replied that he has no news him
self, but it is assumed that he will tax,
/ prompt steps to forward the cipher
message. His status at this critica
juncture is unfortunately not beyond