The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-05-24

After a vast deal of newspaper dis
cussion, based OF newspaper report
ing, after the opinions unfavorable
from foreign and American men who
have been in China and charge "loot-
ing by the missionaries; after an open
confession by Rev. Gilbert Reid that
he was guilty of looting; after Mark
Twain's reiterated charges, it now
seems that injustice has been. done, in
~tentionally or otherwise, and that the
".looting," or whatever of it occurred,
was not of the barbaric kind reported.
Mr.. Reid is very open in his confess
sion. He says
For weeks I was busy in seeking pro-
lection for the friendly disposed, and in
encouraging shops to reopen their
doors with proper passports. Now and
then 1 branched out to loot from those
who were u enemies, and 1 only re-
greet I didn't have more time to loo
from such despicable wretches, instead
of leaving so much to others, including
not a few loot critics. If, however,
those from whom I have looted want
their things back, let them meet me
face to face, and 1 will take the matter
int consideration"
Rev. DR.. Ament was much cenSured
and denounced. His recent statement
it this:
Lii Hung Chang sent a representa-
| tive to confer with us about the in
demnity to be collected. We agreed
that return was to be made in kind
for houses destroyed, grain taken or
| destroyed and cattle killed or carried
away by h Boxers. Now, then, how
abou the widows and orphans? Lis
@~-,-a.c-;oDo- cosI sS,,nNnco x,or ola
one-third to the sum total to provide
for them That was an amicahle
agreement. Perhaps I was not diplo-
matte in my statement Of that agree
ment. The word extra may have been
misleading. 1t has caused censure on
this country. We took that one-thlrd
and eQualiZed it over the whole dis
trict for such unpropertied but desti-
tute and bereft widows and orphans"
It is contended that his last expla-
nation differs from and c~ontradicts in
points his first explanation. We do
not know that this is. Minister Conger
returned from China has made a a "
orable statement generating the mis-
s~ionaries from the most g%rievous
charge of vandalic lootings. we quote
the significant part of his statement:
There were really no acts on the
part of missionaries that were not en-
tirely justified, when the circumstanc-
es are known. The missionaries did not
loot. The missionaries there found 70,
900 destitute men n women on their
hands. There was no government, nc
organized authority. There were the
houses Of men who had been firing or
the foreign quarter. directing the at
tack, leaders Of the Boxers; their prop
erty had been abandoned as a result
of a state of war, and when taken in or.
der to succor hundreds of suffering anC
destitute Chinese, whose lives tn
original owners had been laborlng Il
destroy. The winter was coming OF
and measures of some kind were i'm
, perative, and the appropriation of tn
I property for the INC in view was un
questionably justified. That briefl!
was the situation"
/ 1t will be remembered that the emf
, nent correspondent of the London
Times, who has resided in China TO
| twenty years. gave a very different &C
! count. No one who respects a Chris
tian ministry should be anxious {