The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-04-14
U. s. OFFICERS QUICK ACT
PREVENTS PROBABLE sLAUG IT, TER OF FOREIGNERS IN CHINA.
Drake of the U. s. S. Mon- terey Got wind ofa Rebel Plot Which Would Undoubtedly Huve Proved vsry Serious English aud French Gunboats Give Assistancs.

k Washington, April 1S.-The quick action and common sense treatment of a critical situation by an American naval officer in China recently saved the foreign residents in the province of sKWon Tung, along the east bank of the Canton river, from falling victims to a plot which, while directed primarily against the Manchurian dynasty inevit- ably would have culminated in an at tack on the foreign population. While this attack was averted by the precau- tionary measures taken by Commander F. J. Drake, commanding the U. s. S. Monterey, with the assistance of the English gunboats Sandpiper and Brito- mart, the French gunboat Avalanche, and the German tug Shameen, the coal ition known to have fomented the trouble extends to several provinces and official advices received both at the state and navy departments show that reactionary measures on 8 scale far larger than is admitted either by for eign representatives or the Chinese gov
 ernment have been planned by the rebels. ss- sz~
 Hearing that force of rebels with Hung Chun Fuk, a native of Wal Chow, had planned an attack on the vieeroy
 and Chinese officials of Canton during l the celebrations Of the Chinese New Year. during the night of January 2S- 29, Commander Drake prepared to de- fend the foreign residents. An armed
 force of 5000 men entered Canton sur- reptitiously several days before he learned the news and were hiding with | synlpathizers. As most of the foreign
 and official representatives of the vari- | ous nations resided in Shameen, Com-
 mander Drake first completed his plan | of defense for this section and then to 1 allay the excitement which prevailed he l officially informed the consulates and
 Chinese officials of his preparations and ! advised the commanders of the English l German and French gunboats of the line
 ot action to be pursued in case, Shameen
 island was attacked. The foreign
 commanders offered their co-operation
 and plans were perfected to meet any
 trouble that developed, whther on the l island or on water
 l Instead of visiting the Holy Temple
 in the inner city at midnight to offer
 incense, the viceroy and officials. con-
 trary to long custom, remained in their
 respective yamens securely guarded.
 Around the viceroy's yamen alone were
 assembled four thousand armed troops.
 By seven o'clock the gates to the inner
 city were closed and the streets were cleared.
 Many arrests were made that night.
 in which some compradores were in-
 plicated, and large amounts of stores
 were seized in houses and shops in
 Fong Chun and Patas, opposite to
 Shameen. Many other indications of
 the intended attack were found and the
 officials agreed that the rebels aban-
 doned their plot only because of Com-
 mander Drake's discovery and his
 prompt action and that of the other
 foreign commanders, in taking ample precautionary measures. Landing of
 an armed force from each of the for
 eign men-of-war had been agreed on
 by the American, English, German and
 French commanders at the first evil
 dence of attack on the foreign section. l Consular advices received at the state department from Canton call attention
 to the feeling of insecurity caused by
 the shortage of the rice crop the activ- ity of the reformers and the rebellion
 in Kwang Si.