Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-01-17
ii HUNG CHANG ON LOOTTNG
His Interview With an ,Ameri-
can Correspondent.
WOULD AMEND COMMANDMENTS

WOULD AMEND COMMANDMENTS
"Thou Shalt Not Steal, But
Thou Mayest Loot"
This IL How He Would Make the Eighth
Commandment Read-The Old Chinese
Statesman and Diplomat INDUCES in
Some Very Sarcastic Comments.
The New York Commercial Adyer-
tiser prints the following account, sent
by mail. Of an interview which its
correspondent had at Pekin with Ii
Hung Chang In November:
Iii Hung Chang spent four hours
yesterday interviewing me. had gone
to interview him. The conversation
was conducted through DIR. George
Mark, the great Chinaman's physician
and Interpreter. Three servants stood
Immediately behind His Excellency
dancing attendance on his immediate
wants. Most Of their time was occupied
In keeping pipe, with stem three
feet long, well filed and lighted, held
up to the mouth Of the Viceroy without
effort to himself.
AFTER shaking hands according to
the Chinese fashion the man who Is
10 Pekin to get the Chinese Imperial
Government out OF its muddle aud the
great powers of the world out Of theirs
advanced and shook my hand after the
hearty American way.
"Said /. Your Exoellency, the
people Of the United States know you
better than any other man OF your
race, and look to you as the one man
more than any other who can rise to
the emergency and bring your own
country and the great powers of the
world out of this crisis. in way that
| will serve the best interests of all the
world
80 am too old; am more than 10,
was his answer.
But, you are now here working on
| the inhtter?'
ITO this he said something to the
interpreter which the latter explained
| by saying; His Exoellercy meant to
be modest when he said he was too old
That added DR.. Mark, is the way in
| China.
eli Hung Chang at once began firing
| questions at me, mschine-Qun fashion.
| How long have you bee in pekinY'
he asked.
six days, said !.
Have you secured any lootf'
Not Bit
"'Where are you liviug2'
At the house of DR.. -, n mis- ;.
sionary. There is no hotel ia Pekin. )
F" How much loot did DR., - SO.
oure?'
| 'sI don,t know
At this point Iii said something to
the interpreter and laughed heartily.
! asked what HIS Excellency was say
| ing, aud DIR. Mark said he was feeling
10 excellent spirits and had cracked
| joke about the missionaries lootipg.
"'Do you know Mr.. -, one of the
secretaries Of the - legatiorY' asked
Ii.
"Yes,'
His wife is very wealthy, is che
notY,
| "'I have understood go.
DO you know that Mr.. and Mrs.
----hHye purchased at nominal prices
tens of thousands OF dollars worth of
loot from American soldiers and others? p
know nothing about that
| DO YOU know that DR.. - of the
missionary Socisty, and DIR. - of
another missionary society, have Sc.
cured vast quantities of loot in the
shape OF silver, valuable furs and jade,
and have held frequent auction sales
here In Pekin and realized enormous
sums Of money from these sales?
Yes, have heard much about this
and have seen some articles sold, but
do not know how the missionaries
secured them.
+" Do you not imagine China will
know when the day Of reckoning comes
aud the indemnities are demanded?'
Have you maintained secret ser.
vice. Your ExoellencyY' asked.
The aged diplomat made another
joking remark In answer
Yours is Christian nation, con-
tinued Ii. The nation that entered
Paotlng the other day, looted it, and
murdered innocent and inoffensiye
Chinese citizens. is also Christian
nation, believe (meaning Francel,
Lately have been looking at what
you call your Ten Commandments. The
eighth one says, Thou shalt Iot steal. )
Now, | want to improve that one, in
view OF what ! have seen practiced by
Christian people, including the mis-
sionaries who have come here to teach
our people not to be heathens. As the
easiest way out of the position in
which the Christians, by their acts,
have placed themselves, and to meet
the immediate pressing needs, sup-
gest that the eighth commandment
read, Thou shalt not steal, but thou
4 mayest loot.
:" Hut, Your. 'Excellency,' said I,
have you heard the missionary side
| OF the question? The native converte
are destitute: all mission property has
been destroyed, and through no fault of
the Christians, but ON account of this
| Boxer uprising that the Chinese I'm.
pet iaI Government failed to nut down,
Hundreds Of native and foreign Chris
tians have been murdered by these out
laws
"Li asked: Dan you find any excuse
| iu your Bible for systematically and
deliberately. stealing as the Christian
people Of the world have done and are
now doing In China, both individually
aud as nations In most casesP The
disciples Of Christ did not steal or loot
when He was oruoified. Missionaries
are looked upon as willing to be
turn the other, and to meet death
rather than turn the least from where
duty calls. They were the first to seek
cover OF the eunbo ,ts last summer and
leave the native Christians. 1t was not
imagined for moment by the mis-
sionaries severest critics that some of
| them would become thieves when the
| opportunity came for 1t, but soms Of
the most prominent ones have simply
been consumed by the disease or cpl
I ~ la1 tl-e Al.