30 



ANN AM. 



of China, when she shall have decided to con- 

 struct railroads, to apply to the French Gov- 

 ernment, which will give facilities for procur- 

 ing the persons required, and to employ French 

 industry, without, however, conferring any ex- 

 clusive privilege in favor of France. The eighth 

 nrtide provides that the commercial stipula- 

 tions and the regulations to be added may be 

 revised after an interval of ten years from the 

 exchange of ratifications, but that they will re- 

 main in force for successive periods of ten years 

 unless one of the high contracting parties gives 

 notice of revision six months before that date 

 or ito return. In the same article France bound 

 herself to retire from Kclung, and to abandon 

 the right of search on the high seas immediately, 

 and to evacuate entirely the island of Formosa 

 and the Pescadores within a month after the 

 signing of the treaty. The ninth and last arti- 

 cle affirms the continuance in force of all former 

 treaties, agreements, and conventions between 

 China and France not modified by the present 

 treaty, and declares that the treaty would be 

 ratified immediately by the Emperor of China, 

 and that the exchange of ratifications should 

 take place at Peking with the least possible de- 

 lay after its ratification by the President of the 

 French Republic. 



The ETlt it Hoe. Gen. Roussel de Courcy, 

 who was reputed to be one of the most effi- 

 cient officers in the French army, soon experi- 

 enced one of those mishaps that have befallen 

 every French general in Tonquin. When he 

 arrived with 10,000 additional troops, the Chi- 

 nese evacuation was about completed. The 

 French army in Tonquin numbered at this 

 time 35,000 men. He had first to deal with 

 the filibuster state of the Black Flag "pirates," 

 who still disputed the mastery of the French 

 over the Red river country from the delta up 

 to the Chinese frontier. Leaving a good part 

 of his army engaged in the task of subjugating 

 that stubborn people, Gen. de Courcy proceeded 

 with a large force to Hu6 in order to present 

 his credentials as French resident at the An- 

 namite capital, and to assert in a more practical 

 shape the protectorate for which the way was 

 left clear by the withdrawal of Chinese oppo- 

 sition. Arriving on July 2, he established his 

 abode in the French legation building in the 

 official town. The marines were quartered in 

 thatched huts in the neighborhood of the lega- 

 tion, while the chasseurs and zouaves were sta- 

 tioned in Mongca, on the other side of the bar- 

 racks of the Annamite soldiery, at the farther 

 end of the long citadel, across the river from 

 the legation, and several thousand yards away. 

 These quarters, at the north end of the citadel, 

 had been imprudently selected by M. Paten6tre 

 for the French garrison in the treaty of June 6, 

 They consisted of straw huts in a filthy 

 condition, and were separated from the quar- 

 ters of the Annamite troops by a row of weak 

 breastworks. Suspecting no danger, the French 

 officers took no pains to strengthen this barrier, 

 and were careless about sentry-posts and the 



intelligence service. Suddenly, at one o clock 

 of the night after their arrival, the entire An- 

 namite garrison, consisting of about 30,000 

 men, made a concerted attack on the French 

 troops on both sides of the river. 1 heir highly 

 combustible barracks were first set on fire, 

 some with rockets and some by hand, and then 

 a hot infantry and artillery fire poured in upon 

 them, though without much effect. They were 

 unable to save the soldiers' effects from being 

 burned, but the provisions and ammunition 

 escaped destruction. They held their ground 

 until dawn, and then charged upon the An- 

 namite troops, who, with their usual coward- 

 ice, fled in wild disorder. From 1,200 to 1,600 

 Annamite corpses were left on the ground. 

 The French loss was reported as V2 killed and 

 wounded. Gen. de Courcy had taken the pre- 

 caution to leave strong posts along the line of 

 communications with the sea-coast. He tele- 

 graphed for re-enforcements to come up from 

 Haiphong ; and the French took possession of 

 the citadel, in which they found 1,000 cannon. 

 The rising of the soldiery was deliberately 

 plotted beforehand by the mandarins. Gen. 

 de Courcy had grounds for suspecting the 

 machinations of those bitter and wily foes of 

 French domination. On the 3d and 4th of 

 July he held long interviews with the An- 

 namite ministers, who showed a hostile spirit. 

 After the rout of the Annamite troops the 

 small French force were masters of the town. 

 The French commander hastened to get the 

 person of Regent Thuang into his possession. 

 He induced the regent to sign with him a 

 manifesto denouncing the ministry as guilty 

 of an act of odious aggression, and respectfully 

 summoning the King and the Queen-mother to 

 return to the palace, from which they had fled. 

 The royal palace, which was full of artistic 

 treasures, was guarded by the zouaves. Silver 

 bars, .of the value of 5,000,000 francs, were 

 found in the royal treasury, and other treasure 

 of equal amount was discovered subsequently. 

 The Annamite soldiers continued to fire upon 

 them from a safe distance for two or three 

 days. French flying columns patrolled the 

 environs in search of Thuyet, the prime min- 

 ister, who was the principal instigator of the 

 attack on the French legation and escort. A 

 second manifesto offered amnesty to all rebels 

 who surrendered within twelve days, with the 

 exception of a few of the ringleaders of the 

 plot. The Annamite troops remaining in the 

 city surrendered their arms and disbanded. 

 The first re-enforcements arrived July 10. 

 Thuyet held the person of the King. He was 

 at Camlo with a considerable body of troops. 

 The princes of the blood and the Queen-mother 

 returned to Hu6 in a few days. Thoxman, 

 uncle to the King Tu Due, was designated by 

 the royal family sole regent until the King's 

 return. The council was reconstituted. It 

 was made up of mandarins who were friendly 

 to the French. A number of high function- 

 aries chosen from among the partisans of the 



