FRANCE, ANNAM, AND CHINA. I29 



assailed on all sides by an ambuscade. Riviere sounded a retreat 

 but was hard pressed, and in trying to save the mountain cannon, he 

 fell at the head of his column. 



Then followed the terrible cry, that reverberated throughout 

 France, en revanche I 



France exploded with wrath, for the sad fate of Riviere and the 

 reverse to the French arms, kindled the military ardour of the French 

 people, and the Prime Minister, De Freycinet, entering the Tribune, 

 re-echoed the national sentiment by uttering the stirring words, which 

 he sent in a telegraphic message to the survivors in Tonquin, that 

 " France will avenge the death of her glorious children.^' 



No time was lost in despatching reinforcements to the ex- 

 tent of 10,000 men to the East, under the command of General 

 Boufet, to avenge the death of Rivifere, and retrieve the disaster. 

 The fleet bombarded Hufe, the capital of Annam, which was cap- 

 tured, and King Tu-Duc dies from a broken heart, or, as some say, 

 an evil hand killed him, and his son, who succeeds him, loses no time 

 in suing for peace ; and on the 23rd of August, 1884, a Treaty of 

 Peace was signed at Hufe, which gave great umbrage to China, and 

 considering the terms of this Treaty, this was not to be wondered at. 

 The following were its principal provisions : — 



I. — Payment of War Indemnity. 



II. — The occupation of the Hue forts by a French garrison until the complete 

 payment of the indemnity. 



III. — The recall of the Annaraite troops operating in the Delta of the Red River, 

 and these troops to be placed at General Bouet's disposal, in order to pursue the 

 Black Flags. 



IV. — Confirmation of the French Protectorate over all Annam, already estab- 

 lished in principle by the Treaty of 1874, but with complete guarantees, which were 

 wanting in the latter Treaty. 



A comparison of these terms of peace with the previous Treaty 

 of 1874 is important. With the exception of Article III, the condi- 

 tions imposed by France on Annam are analogous, and, provided 

 the indemnity was not increased, they are in full accord with the 

 provisions, (at that time unfulfilled), of all the former Treaties. 



But this Treaty of 1884, gave serious umbrage to China, 

 especially in regard to the second Article, with reference to the 

 occupation of the forts of Hufe and the capital of Annam, until a 

 complete payment of the indemnity ; for in consequence of the im- 

 pecuniosity of the Government of Annam, the Chinese Govern- 

 ment believed it would result in an indefinite occupation, and 



K. 



