The Savannah morning news., 1901-03-04
MISSIONARIES AND LOOT.
The Chinese Question Discussed
From n Missionary Standpoint.

Editor Morning News: In your issue OK
this date l regret to see an article pur-
porting to emanate from the London
Mails Pexin correspondent" in which it
is alleged that certain missionaries have
shown great greed for loot" since the oc-
cupation of Pekin by the allied Powers
"A percentage of the missionary force
was keen on the scent Of loot. 4he
day after the legation in Pekin was re-
ueved. a prominent missionary, accom-
panied by a number OF Christian Chlnese'
invaded the residence of Prince, ana
made a big haul" and incidents IKE
This were numerous" when the pur-
chasing period commenced the mission
aries not only attended the sales, put
opened loot marts themselves sehul,ls
their Chinese converts out to provide me
stock" Then an officer whose name Is
not given is introduced TO our hotlce' Wlo
testtes how one missionary sussea'Su
mat a certain town be burned, ana threat
e,sd tba inhabitants OF another with the
destruction of their town, and even went
50 far as to offer his services IN pun
lin a wounded Chinaman out Oh ms MS
trv by killing him on the spot
The Christian Chinese are represented
as thieves who embraced every opportuhi-
II to I'LL their carts with plumber from l"e
desolated homes of their countrymen' etc''
etc, etc The whole animus of the ar
ticle is an evident desire to discredlt
Christian missionaries and their converts
i'm the eyes of the Christian world, ana Is
in keeping with many such efforts that
have been made since the beglhhlhs VI
the trouble in China to make II appeal
that of all black sheep the Chnstlah ms
sionaries are the blacklist. Ihat many
hundreds of native Chinese ChIistidn9
have been murdered is well known 10
those who have had reliable information;
hut this intelligent CD and unbiased ~
correspondent of the London Mail tells Us
how on a certain expedition inquiries were
made and no evidence was developed lhal
any native Christians had been murueIeu,
etc The inference of course, being thaI
there were none to be murdered. mis-
sionary appeals to an officer for ADVICE az
to how to collect a bill against the lhl,eu
States government for rent OF the mission
compound, which had been used by the
American troops for a time. ADVISING
him to forward his claim to Washington
the officer added How would you al
wise me to go about collecting claim
against your Board of Missions LOT an
the money / have contributed TO foreign
missions since l carried my hrst hlchel
Ia Sunday-school? 1t was obtained I'M
/ do not now approve" The artlcle closes
with a statement to the effect that mis-
sionaries are in i'll odor with the troops,
BECAUSE OF inhospitality, failure 10 alu
in hospital work, etc
IT is not my purpose TO attempt any
refutation of these statements Suince 1t
10 say that they are eX parte, ana theIe
Is no possibility for us at TINS uis'ahce
to get at the facts, ana see whether the
hoo
That there is prejudice against the ms
sionaries among the troops may be true
but this does not prove that the troops
ere correctly informed. That an ofhcer-
. who may or may not be Chrlsllah no"
should want to collect claim against
the board for all mis- contributions TO mis-
sions, because of what he has learhed
since the relief expedition started 10
Pexin. shows, not that the work of mis-
sions is a fraud and failure, but that
chat particular officer is exceedingly
short-sighted. How is it possible to judge
as TO the success or failure OF missions
during this present reign OF terror I'D
China? How unjust to blame the cause
of missions for occurrences which nave
tpanspired during time of anarchy! Ana
how unjust and unwisc to conclude that
the work of missions has been wrongly
prosecuted because the officer has dis
a
sionaries!
But | have called attention to these
charges in order to bring to the attention
of your readers "a letter which appeared
in the North China News, Oct. L. l9J0 Inc
writer is Mr. X. f.. Bredoa, commission
er of customs at Shanghai, a gentleman
who stands next to Sir Robert Hart IN
that service, and was, during the siege
of Pekin. a member of the General Pur-
1ntf lat
ing from a man well known in official cir
Giles. ought 10 be sufficient to set at rest
this charge against missionaries on the
score Of looting, etc, coming from an
anonymous correspondent, and based
chiefly on the evidence of an unnamed
officer
TO the Editor of the North China News:
Sir-I regret TO see published in some
papers, and reproduced in others, the fol-
lowing statement regarding missionary
behavior during the legation siege at
Pekin: Their conduct during and since
the siege has not been creditable They
have exhibited anything but a Christian
spirit, and have the reputation of being
the biggest looters in Pekin." l cannot
conceive where the writer gets justihca-
ton for such a statement. l was during
the siege, member of the General Pur-
poses Committee. which had surveillance
p OF practically everything nut the Hshllusf
ard in that position had the best possible
opportunity of knowing what was going
on, and | can say that the conduct of
the missionaries was, in my opinion, not
only creditable, but admirable. All that
went to make our life moderately COM
Portable and safe was done by mission
aries or under their auspices. The help
fulness and unseinshness shown by the
missionary ladies, many Of whom had the
) burdens Of heavy family cares of their
own TO bear. were beyond all praise As
TO the native Christians, many of whom
were men of a class far superior to that
fiom which they are generally supposed
TO be drawn. they supplied willingly all
the labor we had. and without which VIC
could never have held out Their mis-
sonary teachers led them in every work
and in many positions of danger
] heard in the legation, before We were
enabled to leave it, that the missionaries
had taken quantities of loot. l took spe-
cial pains as a Committeeman, 10 inves-
tigate the truth of this assertion, and |
found absolutely nothing to confirm it.
The missionaries did no footing
during the siege, and l believe none after
IL. for they all had 20 make their ar
engagements to get out of the legation as
fast as they could. to find quarters for
themselves and their fiocks. and they had
no time fhen, and the fed was quickly
occupied by others. / feel that
my experience of the legation siege has
raised very considerably nv opinion OF tbe