MONTH.

I. THE BOXERS AND THEIR BACKERS.

To the Imperial Righteous Harmony Boxers.-You are summoned for such and such a date. Exalt the Dynasty. Kill the foreigners. Whoever disobeys this summons will lose his head.

Such is the "whip" to which the Chinese nationalists are responding all over China.

"Kill the Foreigners!" A succinct formula. It may be more accurately translated "Death to the DevilsDeath!" It is, as the Boxer interviewed in London by the Express said, "the only way" to get rid of them. Did not Mr. Winston Churchill say much the same thing about the Boers? His famous phrase about the necessity of reducing the personnel of these stubborn burghers by a prolonged process of attrition, has ever since he uttered it been diligently translated into fact by our armies in South Africa. "Kill! Kill! Kill!" Now the Yellow man adopts our watchword, and does his best to better our instructions.

66

CAPARISONS ARE ODOROUS."

There is more excuse for them than there is for us. He is, at least, defending his own country. He is not invading other people's land. No one can deny that he has exhausted all the resources of peaceful protest. He must either submit to the intrusion of the Foreign Devils, or settle the business once for all by killing them wholesale. Human suffering is no deterrent. Chinese philosophy is familiar with all the cynical excuses which Christian warriors employ as anodynes to their conscience. The anonymous writer of "The New Battle of Dorking," which Mr. Grant Richards has just published, points out that the soldier allows no question of the aggregate of suffering to influence him in the performance of what he believes to be his duty :

All London might be in flames before his eyes, our streets be swimming in blood; men, women, and children falling in thousands under the pitiless hail of shell-fire. But the "Cease Fire" would not be sounded on that account, any more than under similar conditions before Paris we should sound it ourselves.

We did not spare Cronje's laager; we should not spare Paris; still less will the French spare London. Morally, all three

cases are on the same level.

And so the Chinese Nationalist cheerfully slays the pale-faced foreign devil, who, if not slain, will sooner or later seize his fatherland:

THE DRAGON AT BAY.

"Death to the Devils-Death!" It is inconvenient for the devils in question-ourselves to wit-but no honest man can for a single moment deny, that if we were in their place we should act as they have done - only perhaps more so. We are eating up their country and we know it. We are maintaining a vast army of missionaries to undermine the whole religious faith of the nation, and we are sending out a still greater army of adventurers and speculators whose one object is to enrich themselves with the wealth of China. We have acted in China-we the Europeans-more as Brigands than as Christians. From the opium war down to the seizure of Wei-Hai-Wei, the white man has treated the yellow man as if he had no rights to be respected, and then we forget that even a yellow man may have wrongs to be redressed. Never have we endeavoured to do unto the Chinese as we would that the Chinese should do unto us. We have trampled them under our feet as if they were worms, and

not men.

To-day the worm has turned.

And behold, we are discovering that it is no worm, but a veritable dragon, breathing forth fiery death!

HOW THE YELLOW MAN FEELS IT.

It is not difficult to understand the Boxers' point of view. There is not a man amongst us worth his salt who would not be a Boxer to-morrow if any foreigners dared to treat us as we have uniformly treated the Chinese. And the curious thing is that this high-handed method of dealing with our yellow-skinned brother has come to be regarded as quite right, proper, and humane. Of this a very interesting illustration was afforded us only the other day. Sir Howard Vincent, M.P., is a philanthropist. He is an enthusiastic patriot who honestly believes that But the Englishman is one of the most humane of men. the notion of treating a Chinaman as he would treat an Englishman is absolutely inconceivable to him. Of which read the following little anecdote in proof. In the Daily Mail of June 23rd Sir Howard Vincent is describing his journey from Taku to Pekin. He says:

We enter the Peiho-a narrow entrance, a narrow river, a course like the Suez Canal. We steam slowly. Our swell washes the banks. The inhabitants of a mud hut jeer at us. "Full steam ahead," says the captain down the tube. A dozen extra revolutions, and we lash the waters into such a storm that the effects of the jeering family on the bank are swept into the stream. He laughs best who laughs last.

Just think of that. A Chinese bargee on the bank shouts a jibe at a passing foreigner. Thereupon the foreigner, by way of repartee, deliberately hurls the effects of the jeering family on the bank" into the

stream. And the civilised, Christian, philanthropic M.P. chronicles the incident with complacent approval. But what must the Chinese family have thought as their "effects," as dear to them as Mr. Vincent's furniture is to him, and far less easily replaceable, were swept away into the stream? "Foreign devil!" indeed must have been their reflection, and devilish it was, no doubt.

So the cry has gone forth, "Death to the DevilsDeath!" a much more respectable formula than the British variant of "Death to the Republics-Death!" For devils deserve to die, whereas the assassination of Republics is universally reprobated by mankind.

THE ORIGIN OF THE TERM "BOXER."

The so-called "Boxers" is a slang term by which is described a Chinese nationalist organisation which calls itself I-ho-ch'uan, or the League of United Patriots.

What is the origin of its popular designation " Boxers" (says a writer in the Times) is uncertain. This name may have been given them from the prominence its members appear to attach to gymnastics in their training, or by a pun on the last character in their Chinese name, ch'uan also meaning "fists"-the characters are different, but the pronunciation the same.

Patriots they are in their own estimation. Boxers they will always be called by Europeans.

HANDS OFF!

Their object is simple. What they say to us Mr. Gladstone said to Austria in speaking of the Balkan Peninsula, "Hands off" Whatever may be the ultimate development of the Boxers, they are at present the avant garde of the Chinese army, the unofficial popular wing of the national forces, at the head of which stands the Empress. According to the extremely interesting and apparently authentic report of an interview between the

Empress and Wang, the Governor of Pekin, published by the North China Herald, the Empress did not originate the League of Patriots, any more than Mr. Chamberlain originated the Primrose League. But as Mr. Chamberlain was prompt to profit by the zeal of the Primrose Dames, so her Imperial Majesty was quick to avail herself of the help of the Boxers. Wang, before his sudden promotion to the Governorship of Pekin, was a censor or sixth grade official. "Recently" Wang the censor had an interview with the Empress, which resulted in his sudden promotion.

THE EMPRESS AND THE BOXERS.

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6

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The conversation between them is thus reported The EMPRESS "You are a native of this province and so ought to know. What do you think of the Boxers' in Chi-li? Do you really think that when the time comes for action they will really join the troops in fighting the foreign devils'?"

WANG: "I am certain of it, your Majesty. Moreover, the tenets taught the members of the society are, Protect to the death the Heavenly dynasty (Ten Ch'ao) and death to the devils' ('Kuei-tze'). For your servant's own part, so deeply do I believe in the destiny of the society to crush the devils' that young and old of your servant's family are now practising the incantations of the Boxers,' every one of us having joined the society to Protect the Heavenly dynasty' and drive the 'devils' into the sea. Had I the power given me I would willingly lead the 'Boxers' in the van of the avenging army when the time comes, and before that time do all I can to assist them in organising and arming them."

The Empress Dowager nodded her head in approval, and after ruminating in her mind, cried Aye! It is a grand society! But I am afraid that, having no experienced men at their head just now, these 'Boxers' will act rashly and get the Government into trouble with these 'Yang kuei-tze,' before everything is ready."

Then after another pause, "That's it. These 'Boxers' must have some responsible men in Chi-li and Shan-tung to guide their conduct."

The next morning she appointed Wang to the Governorship of Pekin, where he has apparently been guiding the Boxers' conduct ever since.

THE GREAT CONSPIRACY.

The Boxer movement is, therefore, only the popular and irresponsible form of the opposition to foreigners which is the dominating principle of the Manchu Government of China to-day. The Pekin correspondent of the North China Herald, the same who reported the conversation between Wang and the Empress, published in that paper on May 16th a solemn warning as to the impending revolt, which no one seems to have noticed. He said :I write in all seriousness and sincerity to inform you that there is a great secret scheme, having for its aim to crush all foreigners in China and wrest back the territories "leased" to them. The chief leaders of this movement are the Empress Dowager, Prince Ching, Prince Tuan (the heir-apparent's father), Kang Yi, Chao Shu-chiao, and Li Ping-heng. The forces to be used to achieve this end are all Manchus, viz. :-the Pekin Field Force (50,000 men), under Prince Ching; the Husheng Corps or "Glorified Tigers" (10,000 strong), under Prince Tuan; and the various Banner Corps of the Imperial Guards (aggregating 12,000 men), under Kang Yi and others. These 72,000 men are to form the nucleus of the "Army of Avengers," whilst the "Boxers" are to be counted upon as auxiliaries to the great fight, that is more imminent than foreigners in Pekin or elsewhere dream. All Chinese of the upper classes know this. . . . Not only have the "Boxers" increased tenfold in numbers since the beginning of the year in Shan-tung and Chi-li, but even the Imperial Prefecture of Shuntien (Pekin) and the three north-eastern provinces (Manchuria) are now filled with the ramifications of this dangerous society.

Lord Charles Beresford six months ago and more defended the war in South Africa to a French interviewer on the ground that everyone knew a great struggle was imminent in China and therefore it was necessary to polish off old Kruger before the Chinese trouble began.

The work of polishing off old Kruger has not been so simple or so rapidly accomplished as the Jingoes believed, and the Chinese trouble has burst upon us at a time when Lord Roberts cannot spare a single man from the immense army he has accumulated in South Africa.

THE PLUM-CAKE THEORY OF CHINA

The origin of the mischief lies far away back. But the immediate source of the present outbreak lies near at hand. The real author of the revolt is the German Emperor. It was his sudden seizure of Kiao-Chau that started the whole thing. He was the first to give practical effect to what may be called the plum-cake theory of China. Speaking at the Bankers' Banquet in the City on the 27th ult. Sir Michael Hicks-Beach said :

Ever since the war between China and Japan there have been persons, not in this country alone, who have seemed to look upon the great Chinese Empire as if it were a kind of plum-cake which might be divided among the different civilized Powers of the world as easily and unresistingly as a cake is cut up by schoolboys, provided the Powers did not quarrel among themselves. I doubt if any one would put forward that view now. It has never been the view of her Majesty's Government. We have always desired that there should be a stable Chinese Government in China, able to enforce decent order and security, and ready to give the facilities to which we are entitled by treaty, and increased facilities, if possible, for our commerce and our trade.

AND ITS RESULT.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer forgets that, whatever may have been the theory of Her Majesty's Government, they insisted upon taking a slice of the Chinese cake despite all protests. The chief outbreak of the Boxers has taken place in Shantung, the province in which both Kiao Chau and Wei-Hai-Wei are situated. A wellinformed correspondent of the Times, signing himself

"Shanghai," in describing the origin of the outbreak, says:

The seizure of Kiao Chau by Germany, as one of the measures of punishment for the murder of two Catholic missionaries in Shan-tung, and the consequent acquisition (practically seizure) of Port Arthur and Ta-lien Bay by Russia, of Wei-Hai-Wei by England, and of Kwang Chau by France, gave rise to a general belief among the Chinese that the chief source of international complications lies in missionary propaganda, and that if missionaries and converts could be once got rid of things would run smoothly.

That was the idea which led to the present revolt.

the missionaries; and fifthly, the payment of a contribution of 4,000 oz. of silver.

We may therefore take it for granted that the political and religious factors act and react upon each other. The missionary is hated because he is the most conspicuous foreigner, because he directly attacks the superstitions of the people, and most of all because he is constantly used as a pretext by encroaching Governments for the seizure of Chinese territory, or for levying fines on the Chinese Exchequer. Therefore it was inevitable, whenever the day of the rising took place, the first brunt of the popular fury would fall upon the missionaries.

Pei-ho

Huar-tsun

Anting

Tsai yu cheng

Langfang

Wu-tsing

"Yufa

Hun-ho

Lang-ho

Tungngan

Peitsang

Yung tsing

Pa-chau

SCALE OF MILES 8 12 16 RAILWAY ROAD

Slang tsing

Lutai

Yanku

Yang-kiu.chwang
Chung-liang

cheng Sinho
Pei-ho

Koku

reitang

EG.OF TAKU

EPE CHILI

II.

THE EXTENT OF THE OUTBREAK.

a

In the month of May, the movement of the Boxers, although troublesome, was generally poohpoohed as a comparatively insignificant manifestation of riotous and predatory individuals whom slight display of vigour would reduce to obedience. The attack on the Belgian railway line in the province of Shansi, in the neighbourhood of Pekin, created something of a scare, but those who wrote most seriously about it were derided as alarmists. Governments, however, were uneasy, and on May 31st the railway from Tientsin brought to the Chinese capital a composite force of 340 armed men, of whom seventy-five were British. Some demur was made by the Chinese Government to admitting them within the walls, but ultimately they were received and allowed to garrison their respective Legations.

lacking in tact may safely be assumed from Lord Salisbury's fervent appeal to the English Church missionaries to temper their enthusiasm by Christian prudence. Hence it is not surprising that the fury of the Boxers should be directed principally against mission houses and churches. The Chinese prefer the Russian to all other Europeans, as they do not dream of making propaganda for the Greek Orthodox faith in China. The Boxers are not by any means the only secret society which aims at the extirpation of the missionaries. The Society of the Long Knife, which attacked the Franciscan missionaries on the borders of Shantung, offered to spare the lives of the Christians on the following terms :

Firstly, renunciation of the Roman Catholic faith in a written document to be certified by the mandarin of the district; secondly, all church vessels and religious pictures and books to be burned; thirdly, the churches to be transformed into pagodas and provided with heathen images; fourthly, the expulsion of

AT FIRST OFFICIALLY DISCOUNTENANCED

The popular ferment, however, shows no signs of abating. On June 3 Hung-tsun was sacked and burnt. Two days later two Anglican missionaries, Messrs. Norman and Robinson, met a martyr's death in Yung-Chen, where they were put to death with the usual fiendish concomitants of Chinese executions. The following day came out an