The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-04-27
FAITH IN
REFORMERS
Rev. W. Ashnore
Says They Can
Save China.
DECLARES WI TING
: FANG A HUMBUG
The Diplomat Imperilled Lives oil
Besieged Foreigners in
Peking.

Rev. William Ashmore, missionary in
the Orient for just half a century, and
who is returning to the Inflated Chinese
Empire on the steamer China after
vacation of two years in the Eastern
States, was the guest of Rev. William NJ.
Kincaid during his short stay in Homo
lulu. Rev. Mr.. Ashmore has the causes
of the events leading up to the Boxer up
rising at his fingers tips. ne has stud
led Chinese characteristics during the
average lifetime of a man, knows the
language thoroughly and has been in
touch with the common people most of
the time.
He lays the blame for the recent dis
astrous disturbances to the officials, liter
airy men and the gentry or the Chinese
Empire. He asserts that the miSSionar-
| les in the Empire have known for the
past three or four years that an uprising
| was imminent and often told their mis-
givings to the diplomats, but in nearly
| all cases the diplomats discredited the
stories.
1.-THE diplomats said DR.. Ashmore,
"are mainly in touch with the officials
of the empire, and it has been the first
duty of the latter to pull the wool over
! the eyes of the foreign representatives
and give them information of a deceptive
character. The Chinese officials knew
too well the approaching crisis, but care
| fully avoided giving the diplomats the
slightest inkling of 1t. The result was
/ that the foreigners were entirely unpre-
pared for what occurred at Picking last
year.
| Minister WI Ting Fang, the Chinese
representative at Washington, is to my
mind a humbug. 1t was asserted last
year that he imperilled the lives of those
shut up in Picking, by using every means
in his power to delay the sending of
| troops to the beleaguered diplomats. He
palavered over the matter, and it was
only due to the persistent requests of the
United States Government that he final
ly was induced to open up communica-
| lions with Picking. He did his level best
! to stop the troops from going to Picking.
Had he succeeded in Withholding infor-
nation about the situation there the
| chances are that, in three days more
| the besieged would have been put to the
sword. Wu Ting Fang is man who has
| received a splendid education, and stud
led law in England. He afterwards came
to Hongkong and practiced before the
| courts and it was then that Ii Hung
| Chang was attracted to am. Lii needed
man versed in the law and acquainted
with the English tongue, and WI was
soon advanced until he rose to his pres
! ent office.
st think there is a very hopeful future
| for China as soon as these present trou-
| bles are settled. I look for a great
change. The great drawbacks in China
and the great source of opposition to
! foreign intercourse, are the official and
| literary classes of the empire. The off,
cial classes number but a few tens of
I ~
| Der a few millions. The officials don't
want any foreigners there, as they inter
fere with their methods of dealing with
the people. The, foreigner is born an ag-
1 gressive person. He IS a terrible fellow
| to push things, while the Chinaman sits
still. The one wants to push forward,
and the other wants to sit still, and there
| comes a clash.
| 'The Reform movement, I think. is the
/ salvation of China. There is a class of
men among the Reformers who are good
men, who recognize the fact that they
cannot reform China without foreign as
sstance. They don't want to lose their
! country and are making a persistent eff
! fort to assist the Empire. There are
practically two parties in China now, the
/ Conservative and the Reform The for
mer doesn't want to see any change. The
latter desire a change, but SO far they
have been showed UNDER
/ DR.. Ashmore went to China as mis-
! sionary from Ohio and under the aus
pices of the Baptist Missionary Union, in
| 1850. He went around the Horn in the
ship Claiming and was $50 days on the
voyage. He first went to Siam, where
| he remained seven years, and afterwards
went to Hongkong, where he was in
| charge of the Baptist mission for three
years. Since then he has been at the sea-
port town of Swallow, Southern China,
which happily escaped Boxer vengeance.
| When DR.. Ashmore went to Siam, the
| China Sea and the straits through which
| the vessel passed were infested by pi-
rates, but the Claiming escaped them.
/ Since the foreigners have come to almost
rule the seas in those waters, the pirates
| who formerly menaced the merchant ma
rina of l1atinra Ial1-ir,sr thar h