The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-08-28
NEWS .0F THE.1.az=L
FAR EAST


large guns being mounted.
The London Gazette published an or
der in co'incH Or the Government of
Weihaiwei und, a commissioner.
Things are reported, from German
sources. to be looking black on the Man
churia-Corean border. The Russians
thought at first to be able to put down
the risings that occurred with couple
of regiments. But now they have nearly
10000 troops there. Great secrecy is OBJ
served as to the movement of the troops
and engagements fought.
disastrous fire broke out in the CEN
ter of the foreign business quarter at
Foochow. The hongs burnt were those
of Gilman & Co, John Gittins & Co.. old
and new; Odeil & Co., Robert Anderson
& Co., the Chartered Bank of India, ETC.;
F. Cave Thomas & Co., Fraser, Ramsay
Co, r. r. Westall, and considerable
Chinese property.
Captain E. G Pretyman, Civil Lord of
the Admiralty, replied to a question by
Mr.. Gibson Rowles in the House of Com
mons last week, to the effect that it has
been decided to retain the present site
of the Royal Naval dock at Hongkong.
although the engineers opinion is unfav-
orable. G10G,000 have already been spent
by the Government, and they are I'M
able to consent to suspend the work.
A Tokyo telegram to the. Mainichi says:
1t was previously arranged that the al
lied troops should be withdrawn from
North China on or before the LIST of July,
force being left by each Power for
garrison duty, but the condition of af-
fairs in China made it impossible to carry
out the arrangement. Recently another
decision was made, according to which
the troops will leave within five days
from the LIST September next.
According to L'Echo de Chine, the news
from Shansi is of the worst Tung
Fuhsiang and Prince Tuan are securing
the country with numbers of troops I'M
der their command. There is no news
of the Belgian missionaries in Mongolia.
Ii Hung Chang has been asked to fur
nish an assurance that they are safe.
but the Chinese plenipotentiary refused
to give a precise answer on the subject.
4. must be stated, however, that no con-
firmation whatever of this bad news
from Shansi seems to have come from
other than French sources.
According TO DR.. Morrison, the Times
correspondent. the French are pressing
Ii Hung Chang for the concession of
a direct railway from Tien-tsin to Pao-
tingfu.
The Jeh- jeh Sin-wen of Tien-tsn states
that there is some likelihood that Prince
Su will be selected by the Throne to
go to England to offer the condolences
of the Emperor of China to King Ed
ward in connection with the death of the
late Great Queen, and also to offer con-
CALCULATIONS on his Majesty's accession
to the Throne. Prince Su is quite a
young man, of progressive views. and
says the NC. Daily News, has been
often heard to express the desire of visit
ing Europe for the purpose of borrow
ing western civilization and sciences for
his native land
1t is officially reported from Hsian, says
the NC. Daily News, that the Empress
Dowager has appointed in a special de-
cree Lien Fang (nuanchu) and Hsu Shou-
p'eng as Vice-Presidents of the Wai-wu-
pu or Mi..lstry of Foreign Affairs. which
is to take the place Of the obsolete
Tsungli : amen. With reference to the
Manchu Vice-President Lien Fang, he
was last year a Chang Ching or first
class secretary of the Tsungli Yamen,
whilst the Chinese Vice-President, Hsu
Shou-p'eng, was at the same period Chi
nese Minister to Corea. When Ii Hung
Chang went up to Peking last autumn
to conduct peace negotiations both Lien
Fang and Hsu Shou-p'eng were attached
to LIS staff as secretaries. 1t is not yet
known who are to be the Presidents of
the new Foreign Office.
AS already noted in these columns,
says the NC. Daily News, Viceroy Lii
Hung Changs pet troops consisting of his
fellow provincials of Anhwei, under Cen
eral Lu Pen-yuan, have sadly disappoint-
ed His Excellency, who when sending
them off some 5000 odd strong, the other
day, to crush the allied villages. express
ed confidently his opinion that the NAL
contents would soon be scattered and
disbanded by General Lu Pen-yuan. An
official dispatch from Picking to the local
mandarins now states that Viceroy Ii
Hung Chang, finding the allied villagers
too strong for summary measures. has
ordered up the troops of General Chang
Kua-ti and those of General Ma to as
sist General Lu Pen-yuan, who is hard
pushed by the enemy. 1t will perhaps
be remembered that these Anhwei troops
acted similarly during the war with
Japan in 1915.
Lord Cranborne, replying to questions
in the House, said that he had no reason
to believe that. any Government desired
to retain its troops permanently at
shanghai With regard to the Tien-tsin
dispute, the British Amba ssador had been
informed by Russia that pending the
QueolioH y OeclSlOn the status quo shall
remain. enabling the Railway admins
tration to operate without Russian OBJ
struction. Later Lord Cranborne said
that the Government recognized that its
duty in China !. was soon to enter on
serious negotiations about the improve
ment of waterways on the inland navi-
cation route, the lekin question in gem
erai. and the protection of foreign resi-
dents In China and their right to live in
the walled cities. Referring to Tien-tsin,
Lord Cranborne is reported to have said
-tnat, though the Russian military au-
thoriues had not shown. a careful de-
fence or the agreement, occasionally the
Russian Government had received Great
Brttain's representations in different
spirit-whatever this may mean.
Mr. Joostens, the Belgian Minister, was
engaged few days since with some Ger
man soldiers in putting up the corner
posts OF the new Belgian Legation that
VIII be erected at Picking on the site of
the home of old Hsu Tung, the mos,
intensely anti-foreign man who encourae.
ed the Boxer fzzle. Hsu committee
suicide on the entrance of the Allies
INTO the capital, and his son was be-