CHINA. 



115 



States seeks to remain in peace and friendship. 

 The United States would continue to act concur- 

 rently with the other powers in opening up com- 

 munication with Pekin and rescuing American 

 officials and missionaries, in affording protection 

 to American life and property and guarding legiti- 

 mate American interests everywhere in China, and 

 in aiding to prevent the spread of disorders and 

 the recurrence of such disasters. The solution 

 sought by the United States was one that should 

 bring about permanent safety and peace in China, 

 preserve China as a territorial and administrative 

 entity, protect all rights guaranteed to friendly 

 powers by treaty and international law, and safe- 

 guard to the world the principle of equal and im- 

 partial trade with all parts of the Chinese Empire. 



On July 3 the Chinese Emperor appealed to the 

 Mikado to intervene for the salvation of China, 

 and proposed an alliance, on the ground that if 

 China's independence were destroyed the position 

 of Japan would become untenable; occupied in 

 suppressing the insurgents, China might fail to 

 resist successfully the invaders, and hence en- 

 treated Japan to restore peace and save the Chi- 

 nese Empire from the ambition of the strong West- 

 ern powers. The Japanese Emperor replied that 

 if China suppressed the rising and rescued the 

 ministers the powers would recognize her sincerity, 

 and thus calamity to the empire would be averted ; 

 that Japan had sent troops solely for these objects, 

 and in the ultimate negotiations would act a help- 

 ful part provided China rescued the foreigners and 

 suppressed the rebellion. A message sent at the 

 same time to the Czar explained that measures 

 were taken on the insistence of the Russian min- 

 ister against agitators who stirred up hatred to 

 Christians; but already eminent persons and 

 princes as well as the common people and the troops 

 were roused by false rumors, and the Government 

 had to stay its hand for fear that repression would 

 cause a general rising against foreigners. This 

 attitude led the powers to suspect connivance, and 

 their military measures had complicated the situ- 

 ation and weakened hopes of a peaceful issue. The 

 Emperor applied to the Czar, on the strength of 

 two centuries of friendship between the two coun- 

 tries, to indicate what measures would be calcu- 

 lated to save China and to take the initiative in 

 carrying them out. The Czar replied on July 13 

 that, guided by traditional friendship for China, 

 and wishing to see the misfortunes and complica- 

 tions threatening the Celestial Empire averted, the 

 Russian Government was willing to render assist- 

 ance to the legitimate Government in China in 

 suppressing the agitation, and would confine its 

 efforts solely to the restoration of order and tran- 

 quillity. The Czar hoped that the Emperor of 

 China would take determined steps to pacify the 

 country and secure the safety of the lives and 

 property of Russians and other foreigners, but the 

 absence of exact information regarding the fate of 

 the legations rendered it difficult to intervene in 

 China's favor at that moment. 



On July 17 an imperial edict was issued ex- 

 pressing regret at the murder of the Japanese 

 attache and the German minister, and the desire 

 of the Chinese Government to punish the mur- 

 derers and to pay compensation for the death or 

 loss of property of missionaries or merchants and 

 to protect the legations. The origin of the conflict 

 was the long-standing antagonism of the people 

 of China to Christians and their missions. The 

 fall of the Taku forts precipitated the meeting of 

 force with force. The Imperial Government, hav- 

 ing due regard to the importance of international 

 intercourse, was still unwilling to interrupt diplo- 

 matic relations, although the fighting at Tientsin 





could only be regarded as an act of hostility. In 

 communicating this edict to Secretary Hay the 

 Chinese minister, Wu-Ting-Fang, presented a tele- 

 graphic message from the Chinese Emperor to 

 President McKanley, in which he placed special 

 reliance on the United States, which sought only 

 international commerce, and had so long main- 

 tained friendly relations with China that neither 

 country suspected or distrusted the other, to devise 

 measures and take the initiative in bringing about 

 a concert of the powers for the settlement of the 

 difficulty into which China had irresistibly been 

 driven, incurring well-nigh universal indignation 

 because the recent outbreaks of mutual antipathy 

 between the people and the Christian missions had 

 led the foreign powers to suspect that the attitude 

 of the Imperial Government was favorable to the 

 people and prejudicial to the missions, with the 

 result that the Taku forts had been attacked and 

 captured, and consequently there had been a clash- 

 ing of the forces with calamitous results. To this 

 message, dated July 19, President McKinley re- 

 plied on July 23, saying that the United States 

 Government, desiring nothing but what was just 

 and equitable, as the Emperor recognized, had 

 landed troops to rescue the legation from danger 

 and afford protection to Americans, and all the 

 powers publicly avowed a similar motive. Infer- 

 ring from the Emperor's message that the malefac- 

 tors besieging the legations, far from receiving 

 favor or encouragement, were actually in rebellion 

 against the imperial authorities, the President 

 urged upon the Chinese Government to give a pub- 

 lic assurance whether the foreign ministers were 

 alive, and, if so, in what condition; to put them in 

 immediate and free communication with their re- 

 spective governments, and to remove all danger 

 to their lives and liberty, and to place the im- 

 perial authorities in communication with the re- 

 lief expedition, so that co-operation could be se- 

 cured between them for the liberation of the lega- 

 tions, the protection of foreigners, and the restora- 

 tion of order. If these objects were secured the 

 Government of the United States believed that no 

 obstacle would be found to exist on the part of the 

 powers to an amicable settlement of all questions 

 arising out of the recent trouble, and it proffered 

 its friendly offices, with the assent of the other 

 powers, to secure such a settlement on the fulfill- 

 ment of these conditions. Simultaneously with the 

 appeal for President McKinley's mediation a tele- 



fram from the Emperor to the President of the 

 rench Republic stated that rebels had taken ad- 

 vantage of hostilities between the people and the 

 Christians to commit depredations, and the foreign 

 nations as a consequence suspected the court of 

 displaying partiality toward the people and jeal- 

 ousy toward the Christians, whereupon occurred 

 the capture of the forts and subsequent military 

 action, and a succession of misfortunes rendering 

 the situation complicated and dangerous. China 

 looked chiefly to France, which hud settled other 

 questions by conciliatory methods, to settle the 

 difficulties that now by the force of c n. uin-iancea 

 pressed so hard upon her as to bring down uni- 

 versal wrath; therefore the Emperor hoped that 

 the President of the republic would timi moans to 

 arrange matters and would take the initiative in 

 changing the situation. M. Loubet replied to tin- 

 Emperor that his request could not be examined 

 until effective protection and complete liberty for 

 their communication* with their governments were 

 secured to the Froiu-h repreaentauv in IVkin ami 

 his colleagues: until Prince Tuun ami the high 

 officials responsible for the existing state of utTuirs 

 were removed from power pending their inevitable 

 punishment; until the authorities and troops 



