The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-06-01
REPLY 70 LEUNG CHFTSOBAR ASSOCIATION MEETS
a REMARKABLE LETTER FROM
CHINA.
Bears Signature Of Grandson OF Ii
Hung Chang-Thought to Have Been
Dictated by Ii.


A letter purporting to be from Ii !
Hung Chang, and expressing approval
of the refOrmers, together with senti- |
ments which the empress dowager
could not fail to regard as reasonable,
has caused much discussion and excite !
ment among the local Chinese. The /
extraordinary missiVe is an answer TO
the letter recently sent to Ii Hung
Chang by Leung Chi-tso, which was
made public. The signature appended
is that of the grandson of the great
Chinese statesman and the private seal
of the grandson was enclosed. The
Bow Wongs are divided on the ques-
ton of whether the letter was dictated,
as IT appears to have been, by Ii Hung
Chang, or is a fraud. A majority OF
them think that the letter is real, and
for that reason they decided at a meet
ing held few nights ago, when the
matter was discussed at length, that
it should be kept secret, lest it's con-
tents get Ii Hung Chang in trouble.
News of the letter having been received
had already leaked out, however, and
there is no doubt that the empress
dowager's representatives are aware of
its existence and contents, so that con-
cealment is now useless.
The letter from Ii Hung Chang, if it
be such, contains over 1000 words. 1t
reviews the history of China's foreign
relations for thirty-fve years, defines
LIS position, advises the reformers to
keep on with their work, and even goes
so far as to say that if they will work
quietly and patiently they may hope to
succeed before very long, as the en-
press is very old and must die soon
What action the empress would take If
she become convinced that her most
confidential adviser had written these
things, is quite easy to guess.
In Leung Chi-tso's letter to Ii Hung
Chang the reformer reminded the
statesman that he had sympathized
with reform only a year ago, and had
promised to help the reformers, instead
of which said Leung, you are now per-
scouting the members of the party of
progress" 1t is in reference to these
statements that the reply goes back
into Chinese affairs of many years ago.
The following is a partial translation.
of some of the most interesting portions
of the strange letter from the land of
intrigues and fleeing reformers:
For over thirty years Ii Hung
Chang has been a believer in opening
China to foreign influences, but he has
stood all alone. In the days of the
Tai Ping rebellion, which Ii Hung
Chang helped to suppress he had the
help of the British general Gordon,
whose skill put an end to the rebellion.
In that war Ii Hung Chang learned
that the foreigners were more skilled
than his countrymen, and he came to
| the conclusion that China should learn
! from the outside world. But no one else
held these views, and one man could do
nothing.
Then fifteen years ago there came
the war with France. Before the war
Ii Hung Chang spoke for peace. He
told his country men that France was
ton fnr1 flf~ fBn nd frin fI
point out why it was that her soldiers
were more skilled. But the mandarins
wanted war, and the result was that
some territory and a lot of gunboats
were taken. The same thing happened
| before the war with Japan which Ii
! Hung Chang tried to prevent.
| "All this time Ii Hung Chang has
| believed in educating Chinese in for
eign ways, but he has been alone among
the mandarins, and could do nothing.
| Now he is old and cannot do what the
young reformers are doing for their
country. He has only sympathy for
them in their work 1t is not Ii Hung
Chang who has ordered reformers be-
headed, nor are his agents after them.
1t is the empress, and Ii Hung Chang
cannot stop it. The prosecutor of re-
formers who was shot in Shanghai the
other day was not an agent of Ii, as
has been said but an agent of the en-
! press uOWaBer.
Lii Hung Chang is still alone among
the mandarins in believing in foreign
| education, and what can one old man
! do? He wants the young reformers 10
| keep on with the work, and hopes that
| they Will succeed in the end. If China
| is ever to have good government II
must come through the efforts of such
! young men who are now working in
the outside world for tie cause of re-
| form.
Let the work continue. The reform
ers must not be in hurry to do every
| thing at once. Let them work with pa
thence and perhaps there will come
day before long when they can work
more freely. The Empress-dowager is
an old woman now, and she surely can
not live much longer"
This remarkable letter naturally
caused a great stir among the Bow
! Wongs 1t was addressed to Leung
Chi-tso, who showed it to his friends
and the Bow WOngs. The brave young
reformer is now on Kauai, doing cam
paign work for the cause he represents.
II is the opinion of many Chinese that
1t written by a relative, so that 1t could
not be directly traced to him. Another
idea is that the foxy old statesman is
! trying to stand in with both sides, and
is paving the way for affiliation with
the reformers if their plans meet with
success.
AN ODD DISEASE.