The Bee-Hive. — 1870-09-03 (London, England)

CITINA.— The letters anct papers received from China by the Overland Mail contain full details of the massacre of the French consul and sisters of mere,, at Tientsin on the 21st ("June. There are various accounts of the recurrelive, but they are drawn almost entirely fiom Chinese sources, all the Europeans present having been mit. dered. The hatighai correspondent of the " Times " says :—lt seems that the mob began to assemble during the forenoon of the 21st, in the neighbourhood of the Kellett consulate and mission' buildings, and by noon had reached some 6,000 or 7.000 men. Communication was going on during the morning between the consulate and the yarnen, in regard apparently to some kidnapper who had been caught, and who declared himself to be an employe of the French priests. About noon the Freed] Consul, M. Fontauier, went himself to the yamen, accompanied by his assistant, M. Simon, no doubt to remonstrate With the Governor on his supineness in vie* of the threntening aspect of affairs. M. Fontanier was, the Chinese say, greatly excited, and it seems certain thet tt stormy interview ensued, that the attendants eventually tried to thrust M. Fontanier forth from the ha:l, that shots were fired by the latter and by M. Simon, that they eventually reached the street, and were at once cut to pieces by the mob. It is not ckar whether the attack on the mission premises octurred before or after the Murder of the French consul; but the two occurrences were very nearly s.multaneous. The establishment of the L-zaristes, the Jesuits, and the Shters of Charity were burnt and their inmates Murdered with titcinustances of brutal atrocity. Their bodies were/ ripped open, their breasts cut off their eyes scoot:lei out, and their remains cast into their own burning house. All the native inmates of the missions were also, it is said, burnt to death ; the children only were said, several hundred in number, and even of these between thirty and kitty were unknowingly suffocated in a large cave where they lied taken refuge at the first approach of the mob. The body of a p:iest is so mutilated as to be hardly recognizt.ble. and two others are missing, supposed to have been also burnt. In the meantime the mob had attacked the French Consulate, murdered and fearfu ly mutilated M. and Mdme. Thomassin. guests of the Consul, who had just arrived from Shanghai, and sacked and burnt the Another Frenchman, named Chalmaison, who Kept a stoic near the est .blieiment of the Sisters of Mercy, were also killed his wife escaped, but was afterwards recognised and murdered. Two Russian gentlemen and n lady— the latter bad only been married four days—were met and killed as they happened to be passing the frightful scene. The attack seems to have been directed entirely against the French, and no member of ,ny nationality was touched, except the three Russians, who were killed by mistake. Several persons of other nationalaties—English, German, and S,viss—who were living in the Chinese quarter, came down to the foreign 6ettlenient next day unmolested, and the settlement itself was not approached by the rioters. The mob consisted, it is bald, chiefly of the native Fire Brigade, swollen, however, by all this bravos and rowdies of Tien-tsin.