The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-04-28

against missionaries In China
is that by their interference
with civil law they exasperate
the natives to the point of
uprsings and massacres. This sub
ject deserves the fullest investigation
and most careful treatment; for 1t is
no light thing to accuse ministers of
riot and murder. Yet l regret to write
that l find ground for this widespread
criticism.
A look at the setting of the facts
is first necessary. China has long
been regarded as a huge, hulking,
helpless incompetent among the ma
lions of the earth. She has never re-
ceived the consideration due to great
country. Foreign powers have never
trusted the lives of their subjects in
her keeping; wherever they go. there
goes the law of extra-territoriality.
An alien in China is not subject to
China; he knows no law but that OF
his own self-restraint or of his coun-
trys consulate.
Every White Man a Nabob.
A foreigner can do pretty much as
he pleases in China. Instead of being.
as his friends at home imagine him to
be. terror-stricken mortal. momen-
tarily afraid that the Chinese ogre
will demand his life, he is more nearly
an ogre himself.
Bitter experience with armies and
navies from over seas, and with the
loss of territory seized as penalty
for injury to foreigners, has made
Chinese officials fearful of these
strangers.
Every magistrate knows that he will
lose his job, if not his head. should aught
befall foreigner within his jurisdiction.
Instead OF being hooted down the street
as foreign devil" the foreigner swag-
gers along. expecting all other pedestrians.
and jnrickshas and carriages as WELL to
get out Of his way. The small urchin,
less discreet than his elders, sometimes
cries foreign devil" only at the risk of
feeling the foreigners stick.
The race question in the Southern States
is not half serious as the race question
In Asia. The white mans sense OF supe-
riority to the yellow expresses itself in
harshness that would shock America
We're it widely known. II a ricksha man
does not go fast enough beat him with
your stick. A secretary of the American
legation at Pekin told me as a joke that
he broke his light cane on coolies
shoulders. If Chinese gets in your way,
shove him aside, kick him or pull his
queue. When | have seen the way the
Chinese are frequently abused by white
men, l no longer marvel at the anti
foreign feeling which resides in most
native breasts. The wonder Is that the
Chinese have endured so much without
reprisal. For 1t does seem as IL the
natives have no rights which the for
eigners are bound to respect. The pres
ant outcry against the white man in
China HIS manifold Justification
Missionaries Above the Law.
AS an enlightened Chinese educa tor
said to me: "Anybody can do whatever
he wants to China at present" Thus
| it came to pass that the French treaty
| gave civil rank and authority to French
| missionaries.
There are ugly reports afloat con-
| corning the means by which this pro-
| vision was put into the document;
| but these do not necessarily concern
| the present discussion. The American
! and British missionaries. who would
be entitled to the same rights by the
most favored nation clause. prompts.
| ly disavowed any intention Of accept
| ing them.
Not so the French. They have been
| openly political agents, as have also,
in some cases the Germans. Tho
French bishops travel in the fun re-
| gala Of viceroys When he goes out
| .,
umbrellas. flags and all the other flum-
| merry of a Chinese governor. He de-
| mands to be received always in the
state beftting his rank, Upon this
| point Chinese officials, high and low,
| have spoken to me with greatest bit
| tcrness; and so also have men in the
consular and diplomatic service.
The Why of China's Latest Mas
sacre.
| Regardless of public opinion tho
| French missionaries have pressed to
| the limit their prerogatiVes. Columns
could be written of the manner in
which they have abused their power.
| Whole villages have been forclby i'm
| pressed to work for them. In the in
< terror, u few weeks ago, ] ran across
a case where they had imprisoned the
they insisted on the punishment OF two
men whom the Mayor had promised
to protect; vthe latter, his face" gone,
J wrought n dire Chinese revenge by
! committing suicide in their church.
Stralghtwny an uprising followed, in
which an entirely unoffenG.r" British
family was massacrcd as well MS the
1 French priests, and all the foreigners
in the place would have been slaught-
cred, had not n timely rain spersed
/ the mob
For all such crimes the French de-
mnnd eXorbitunt indennities. The most
! trivial offense against member OF
one Of the French churches must be
heavily atoneu for. This applies not