Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-25
CHINA SENDS GIFTS
Tang Shao Vi Heads Special
Embassy to United States.
BEARS NOTE TO AMERICANS
To Express Gratitude for Remission
of Boxer Indemnity Is Mission.
INDUSTRIAL AID IS SOUGHT
Development Of Northern China Is
Cause Which Envoy Would Ad-
vance-Tour Of World.
BEARS NOTE TO AMERICANS
INDUSTRIAL AID IS SOUGHT

PEKING, September 25.-Bearing a letter
to the people of the United States from
the hand of the Emperor of China, Tang
Shao vi, who is Chinese official Of high
standing left here yesterday morning for
America by way of Japan. By the time
he returns to Picking he will have made
tour of the world.
| Tang Shao Yis mission is to thank the
United States government for the remis-
sion of portion of the Boxer indemnity
and to try to enlist the aid of Americans
in the development Of northern China.
Tang Shao vi, who is accompanied by
numerous suite. is making this tour on
instructions contained in an imperial edict
| issued last June. From America he will
continue his travels to Great Britain,
France, Germany, Russia and home
| through Siberia.
The diplomatic representatives here Of
America, Great Britain, Japan, France
and Germany, together with number of
| British and French bankers and a score
of officials of the foreign board. of which
| Tang Shao vi is vice president, were
present at the railroad station to bid the
envoy farewell. He was escorted to the
station by a detachment of Chinese SOL
diers and the guard of the American Ie-
cation.
Many Valuable Presents.
Tang Shao-Yi is taking with him a
number of valuable presents for Ameri-
can officials, which include ten ancient
porcelains. relics of the Manchu conquest
taken from the palace of the present rul-
ing family at Mukden, and other valuable
porcelains and jades obtained in the
Picking markets.
| The dowager empress is sending special
presents to President Roosevelt, as we'll
as several valuable jades to Mrs. Nicho-
| las Longworth. the Presidents daughter,
in remembrance of Mrs. Longworth's visit
to Picking in 1905.
The dowager empress recently presented
| a rare Yungching vase to the Smithso-
MAN Institution in acknowledgment of the
| restoration by the United States of one
| of the ancestral tablets of the reigning
family that was looted from Picking in
1900. The gifts being sent out by Tang
| hao-Yi-they are so numerous that sew
| eral cars required for their trans
tation-are an expression of the ma
tional sense of obligation for the remis-
sion by. America of part of the Boxer"
| indemnity.
| The mission is composed of Tang-Shao-
| vi. Its chief; Prince Tsaifu. second son of
Prince Ching, and a prince of the fourth
grade: Chung Men Yew, who. it is said.
is to succeed Minister Wu-Ting-Fang. and
| Yung kdai, both at one time in the diplo
matte service at Washington. and eighteen
| secretaries who represent various govern
|
ments of public works, agriculture and
| communications.
With it go fifteen Chinese students, who
are to enter American colleges. Five ad-
ditional secretaries are preceding lie mis-
sion direct to Europe and will join Tang
! Shao-Yi there.
Political Possibilities Great.
| The mission of Tang Shao-Yi is replete
with political possibilities, and its out
l ;e h4tr dad io{a
est by some of the European powers in
terested in Manchuria. Efforts have been
made to discredit it, but the sendoff given
| the envoy yesterday morning indicates
that no matter what is thought of his
| purposes, personally he is regarded as
a most able diplomat.
| The 'dowager empress received Tang
Shao-Yi in farewell audience last Monday
Previous to this he was decorated with
the Order of the Double Dragon, first
| class.
This is a high honor. Ii Hung Chang
was among those to whom it was &C
| corded in the past.
/ Tang-Shao-Yi has been given penary
powers, with the rank of ambassador.
| This together with the other honors
| conferred. indicates the Importance at
| tached by the dowager empress and
Grand Councillor Yuan Shat kai to his
| mission.
| Tang-Shao-Yi Will study the financial,
| industrial and political conditions in the
countries he visits, giving particular at
| tention to international relations, and his
reports will be used to elaborate the re-
| forms promised the people of China under
| the new constitution sum equal to
that set aside for the entertainment of
| the American fleet in Chinese waters has
been given Tang-Shao-Yi to meet the
expenses of this mission.
There is reason to believe that after
| Tang Shao?Yis return from this trip he
will be made minister of finance of the
empire.
| The mission will spend a fortnight in
Shanghai and three weeks in Japan, |
| where TangShao-Yi will confer with the
Toxic authorities on Chino-Japanese ques-
| tons.
! Japan would seem to be more or less
concerned with what Tang Shao-Yi may
| do and say his trip around the world. |
| She does not view with equanimty his
| carrying Chinese grievances over the
| Manchurian situation to America and else
where, and it is declared here that some
of the other powers look at this matter
| in the same light.
| 1t is felt by foreigners in Picking that
! Tang-Shao-Yi is about to make effort
| to remove the obstacles to Chinas free
dom in Manchuria by securing American
sympathy and support through American
not be popular with some of the powers
| interested in Manchuria. The mission has
| been characterized here in some quarters
| as a political blunder.
| Tang Shao-Yi will leave Yokohama No
| vember on the steamer Mongolia for
San Francisco.