CHINA. 



117 



wound the feelings of all China's people, high and 

 low, while a compliance with his request would 

 win their gratitude. At the same time he memo- 

 rialized the Imperial Government to appoint an en- 

 voy with authority to negotiate an armistice with 

 the military commanders. Authority was sent to 

 Gen. Chaffee from Washington on Aug. 12 to 

 make an arrangement in concert with the other 

 commanders to receive the ministers at the gate 

 of the city, if it could be done with regard to 

 their safety, in which case the United States would 

 agree to an armistice for a specified time, with a 

 view to arranging terms of peace. Another mes- 

 sage from Mr. Conger mentioned attacks by im- 

 perial troops, on receipt of which a warning was 

 sent to Li-Hung-Chang that the instructions could 

 not be carried out nor the advance of the forces 

 on Pekin be stayed while these attacks continued. 

 Li-Hung-Chang made his final appeal, and Mr. 

 Adee agreed in principle to an armistice to be 

 arranged in concert with the other powers on the 

 very day when the allied troops made their entry 

 into Pekin. On Aug. 19 he approached the powers 

 with a request that they should appoint plenipo- 

 tentiaries with powers to open negotiations for the 

 settlement of all difficulties, they having accom- 

 plished the sole purpose of the march on Pekin, 

 which they all declared to be the deliverance of 

 the ministers, who were found to be in good health. 

 Li was ready to conduct the negotiations in Pekin 

 or in Tientsin, or wherever the powers chose. The 

 Japanese Government advised the Chinese Govern- 

 ment to appoint plenipotentiaries acceptable to the 

 powers, suggesting the Viceroys of Nanking and 

 Wuchang, and offered to further the negotiations, 

 but only on the conditions that China should ex- 

 press regrets, acknowledge formally its errors, and 

 spontaneously offer to make a complete indemnity. 

 The good offices of Japan on behalf of the Dowager 

 Empress and the Emperor were volunteered pre- 

 vious to the capture of Pekin, with a statement 

 of the purpose to get hold of Prince Tuan, Kang- 

 Yi, and other officials held to be chiefly responsible. 

 Li-Hung-Chang memorialized the Empress to re- 

 main in Pekin. Her flight and the disappearance 

 of every vestige of the imperial authority from the 

 capital left Li-Hung-Chang, who was personally 

 distrusted by some of the powers, with no recog- 

 nizable Government to which he could refer peace 

 proposals. Russia, as well as the United States 

 and Japan, was willing to treat with him as 

 prim a facie the accredited representative of the 

 fugitive court, but Russia's willingness made 

 England suspicious, because he was believed to 

 have been the chief agent in extending Russian in- 

 fluence in China. He was formerly the chief ad- 

 viser of the Empress Dowager, but in the present 

 crisis he had taken a stand with the southern 

 viceroys against the Manchu party, and when 

 ummoned to Pekin went only to Shanghai, and 

 rom there memorialized the Empress to dismiss 

 the war clique from power and destroy the Boxers, 

 or his disobedience he was even deprived of his 

 ippointment as Viceroy of Pechili before the court 

 ?ft Pekin. His proposal for the powers to appoint 

 lenipotentiaries was not definitely accepted by 

 my of them. The admirals would not even let 

 lim go to Pekin or communicate with the local 

 authorities unless he was accepted as the Chinese 

 envoy by the powers. From this decision the 

 merican and Russian admirals dissented. The 

 nited States Government based its refusal to 

 treat with him on the ground that China had failed 

 to fulfill the conditions laid down in the American 

 leclarations. On Aug. 25 the Russian Government 

 Kplained its policy in a circular, declaring that 

 immediate objects it had in view at the outset 



were to protect the Russian legation and save 

 Russian subjects from the criminal designs of Chi- 

 nese rebels, and to help the Chinese Government 

 in its struggle with them in the interest of the 

 re-establishment of legal order. AH the powers 

 had the same objects in view, and since a compara- 

 tively insignificant detachment of tlu- allied forces 

 had succeeded in relieving the legations and chas- 

 ing the rebels away from the capital, Ruaaia sug- 

 gested as the fundamental principles to guide the 

 powers in China the maintenance of a common 

 agreement among tiicm-.cl\cs. the niainicinnK-e of 

 the former organization in China, the avoidance of 

 everything tending to a partition of tin- ( iiinese 

 Empire, and the establishment by the powers of 

 a legal central government at Pekin able alone to 

 preserve order and tranquillity. Russia had occu- 

 pied Newchwang and invaded Manchuria for the 

 purpose of warding off the aggressive acts of Chi- 

 nese rebels; but as soon as lasting order could be 

 established and indispensable measures taken for 

 the protection of railroad construction which China 

 had assured by formal agreement. then Ku--ian 

 troops would be recalled from Manchuria, provided 

 the action of other powers placed no obstacles in 

 the way. The establishment of a legal central 

 government with which the powers could co-oper- 

 ate in the establishment of order was rendered 

 difficult by the departure from the capital of the 

 Emperor and Empress Dowager and the Tsung-li- 

 Yamen. Under such circumstances the Russian 

 Government saw no good reason for the ministers 

 accredited to the Chinese Government remaining 

 in Pekin, and therefore intended to withdraw the 

 Russian minister and the Russian troops to Tien- 

 tsin. As soon as a legal Chinese Government should 

 again take the reins of power and appoint a repre- 

 sentative with full authority to negotiate. Ru- 

 after coming to an agreement with the other 

 powers, would send a plenipotentiary to the place 

 appointed for the negotiations. The United States 

 Government was in full accord with this policy, 

 seeing no prospect of the Chinese Emperor and 

 Empress Dowager returning to Pekin while it \va* 

 occupied by foreign troops, or of successful negotia- 

 tions until the Chinese Government wa- iv estab- 

 lished in its capital. On Aug. 29 the Secretary of 

 State sent a circular note appealing to the po\\ ri - 

 to conclude peace wtih China, and indicating the 

 readiness of the United States to withdraw from 

 Pekin in order to permit the imperial court to 

 return. The powers, however, could not easily 

 agree on the terms to be exacted from China. The 

 United States Government, while making the Rus- 

 sian policy its own. was unwilling to act with 

 Russia or to raise any obstacle to a common agree- 

 ment. Pursuing an independent course, it reduced 

 its force in Pekin to the proportions of a legation 

 guard. A part of the Russian troops had already 

 been withdrawn, and gradually the others were re- 

 called. The Chinese Government intimated its in- 

 tention to return to Pekin and open negotiations 

 as soon as the foreign troops evacuated Chin.-,' 

 territory, and also its purpose to punish officials 

 who were implicated in the anti-foreign movement. 

 Certain officials were executed, degraded, or exiled, 

 and others were falsely reported to have been 

 punished or to have committed Miicide. Some of 

 those, however, who were believed by the powers 

 to be most guilty seemed to be still held in high 

 favor at court, "it was not till Nov. 14 that an 

 imperial edict was promulgated depriving Prince- 

 Tuan and Chuang of all rank and offices and hand- 

 ing them over to the imperial elan court for pun- 

 ishment, and decreeing the banishment of Yu- 

 Hsien to the frontiers. The Russian Government 

 suggested that in case of a divergence of views the 



