108 



CHINA. 



they refused to pay the fines exacted. Such acts 

 had been committed in other times without being 

 followed by a general attack on foreigners. When 

 any new outrage was reported by the missionaries 

 the ministers made representations to the Chinese 

 Government, and the Tsung-li-Yamen courteously 

 expressed doubt, demanded proofs, and promised 

 to have the Governor of Shantung or the Viceroy 

 of Pechili investigate the case. That nothing was 

 done to check the disturbances beyond the punish- 

 ment of a few insignificant Boxers was in keeping 

 with the ordinary history of foreign relations with 

 China. Mr. Conger was the first minister who 

 warned the Tsung-li-Yamen that unless the Chi- 

 nese authorities re-established security for the life 

 and property of Americans strong measures would 

 be taken by the United States to protect them. 

 A joint representation was made by the ministers 

 in January, 1900, calling attention to the secret 

 societies as obnoxious to the missions, not as a 

 danger to Europeans, and especially to the Great 

 Sword Society. The ministers knew little about 

 the Boxers at that time, nor later, until their fanat- 

 ical crusade spread through north China and mil- 

 lions of adepts from all classes were sworn to unite 

 in the expulsion of foreigners and the redemption 

 of the leased ports. 



When Monsignor Favier's letter convinced M. 

 Pichon of the dangerous situation in Pekin itself, 

 the ministers of the powers had almost persuaded 

 themselves that the crisis was past. A meeting 

 of the diplomatic corps was called by the French 

 minister, who impressed his own apprehensions 

 upon his colleagues. A note was prepared de- 

 manding permission and facilities for bringing up 

 to Pekin guards for the legations. In case this 

 were refused a majority of the representatives 

 agreed to the suggestion of the German minister, 

 that they should recommend to their governments 

 the concentration of a naval force at Shanhaikwan, 

 whence a passage to Pekin could be forced by an 

 international body of troops. The Tsung-li- 

 Yamen, as was expected, objected to the bringing 

 of foreign troops to Pekin as an insult to China, 

 and an action that would fan the flame of anti- 

 foreign feeling. Ample protection by Chinese 

 troops was promised. The ministers would not 

 discuss the question, declaring that the guards 

 must come, with or without the consent of the 

 Chinese Government. Prince Ching had an audi- 

 ence with the Empress Dowager, and induced her 

 to consent to the arrival of guards rather than 

 face a rupture with the powers. The French and 

 Russian guards had already landed, and the 

 Tsung-li-Yamen was informed that the force 

 would be larger if the Government persisted in 

 refusing its acquiescence. The ministers accepted 

 the representation of the Tsung-li-Yamen that the 

 Boxers were rebels against the Government, but 

 they were now aware that the soldiers were mak- 

 ing common cause with these rebels, and this mu- 

 tinous attitude of the army was the chief reason 

 alleged for sending for their own troops to protect 

 them. Their departure from Taku was delayed, 

 to give time to the Chinese Government to recon- 

 sider its decision. The Government had already 

 repaired the strip of the Tientsin Railroad that had 

 been demolished by the Boxers, who were told in 

 a proclamation that it was Government property, 

 paid for by Government funds. 



It was rumored that the Chinese Empress in- 

 tended to flee with the Emperor and court to Sin- 

 gan Fu, in Shensi, in order to escape from the 

 Boxers. The Russian minister was instructed to 

 support any Chinese authority in Pekin that was 

 able to maintain order in case the regular Govern- 

 ment collapsed. On June 1 the Church of England 



missionaries Robinson and Norman were murdered 

 by Boxers at Yung-Ching, 40 miles south of Pekin. 

 Sir Claude MacDonald demanded of the Govern- 

 ment that it should rescue the latter, who had been 

 carried off and was not known to be dead. The 

 ministers of the Yamen gave the stereotyped reply 

 that the Government could only refer the matter 

 to the viceroy, who had already been instructed 

 to send troops to the spot. Prince Ching admitted, 

 when the British minister warned him that failure 

 to suppress the Boxers was leading straight to 

 foreign intervention, that the Government was re- 

 luctant to deal harshly with the anti-foreign move- 

 ment because it was popular. He did not conceal 

 the fact that the ignorant conservative advisers 

 of the Empress Dowager had enlisted her sympa- 

 thies in favor of the anti-foreign crusade, and that 

 the intelligent statesmen who appreciated the seri- 

 ousness of the situation were powerless to remedy 

 the matter. A force of 6,000 Chinese troops had 

 been ordered up from Tientsin to guard the rail- 

 road. 



The legation guards were delayed on their jour- 

 ney at Tientsin, where the governor declined to 

 furnish engines and cars until the foreign com- 

 manders threatened to take these by force and 

 proceed without his permission. The total number 

 of foreign troops introduced Russian, French, 

 American, Japanese, British, German, Italian, and 

 Austrian was 450. Immense throngs looked on 

 in complete silence when the troops marched 

 through Pekin, where they arrived on June 1. 

 Three days later all traffic on the Tientsin Rail- 

 road was suspended, the Boxers having overcome 

 the Chinese troops guarding the line and torn up 

 the rails for long distances. The Russian minister 

 offered the assistance of Russian troops to sup- 

 press the Boxer outbreak. The Boxers from the 

 south and east began to pour into Pekin about 

 June 7, after Kang-Yi with secret instructions 

 from the Empress Dowager had annulled the order 

 for their dispersal just given by two Chinese com- 

 missioners and enforced by Gen. Nieh's troops. 

 At the same time Tung-Fuhsian'sKansu troops left 

 their camp south of Pekin and were quartered by 

 order of the Empress inside of the city walls. Box- 

 ers streamed in by tens of thousands and stalked 

 the streets, with their long swords and bright red 

 badges, breathing destruction to the foreign devils 

 and performing their magic rites in open places in 

 sight of the Pekin people, who up to this time had 

 believed that the Empress Dowager would sup- 

 press these lawless hordes. When the American 

 missionaries were in danger at Tungchau and 

 Paoting-Fu, the Tsung-li-Yamen promised strin- 

 gent measures, and imperial edicts were issued 

 insisting that the Boxers must reform, otherwise 

 the Grand Secretary, Yung-Lu, would order Gen. 

 Tung-Fuhsiang and Gen. Ma-Yukun to attack 

 and destroy them. 



On June 7 a decree was published ascribing the 

 trouble to the favor shown to converts in lawsuits 

 and the admission of bad characters into the Chris- 

 tian bodies, and stating that bad characters among 

 the Boxers, making use of the anti-Christian 

 feeling aroused by these causes, had destroyed 

 chapels and state railroads. Ringleaders in such 

 proceedings must be punished not those whom 

 they misled and fresh authority was given to 

 generals to effect the arrest of such ringleaders. 

 The American Methodist compound was put 'into 

 a defensible condition and stocked with provisions 

 for a siege. Before June 9 all foreigners except 

 those who had been gathered into the legations or 

 the north cathedral of the Roman Catholics were 

 quartered, about 70 altogether, besides 600 con- 

 verts whom the missionaries refused to abandon. 



