The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 1900. THE ADVANCE ON PEKIN.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 183, 3 August 1900, Page 4

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 1900. THE ADVANCE ON PEKIN.

For the causa that laoks assistance, For the witng that needs raristanw, For the future in the disUnoo, And tin tood that vo out da,

The information to hand to-day with regard to the position in China must prove the immediate prelude to more exciting news than we have yet received. The forces of the Allies, it is announced, are on the march, and expect to reach Pokin within a week. "We shall no doubt be able to follow their movements closely, for, of course, as they advance, they will keep the line of communication between them clear to the coast. Hence, within the next few days, if the anticipation of a speedy advance is well founded, we should be in possession of much fuller information respecting a great deal at present shrouded in obscurity. Hitherto we Have been at the mercy of every, lie and deceit the authorities in Pekin could summon to their aid. We have no knowledge of the actual strength, in numbers at any rate, of the opposition the Allies may have to encounter, nor do we know what individual or party directs matters at Pekin. Of late we have been driven by contradictory reports between one theory and another, until most folks have to confess themselves completely baffled and unable to come to any conclusion.

The advance of the Allies will be to us as a light carried through the darkness of the land. To the Chinese, that light must be made to appear as the torch of destruction. The suggestion of the German Emperor that Europe should weep to its revenge, as if little heedful of the promptings of Christian clemency and forgiveness was made at a time when it appeared certain that the Legations had been horribly massacred, and indignant wrath filled our hearts. But even then we were not blind to the hyperbolism of sentiment somewhat out of keeping with the higher ethics of our modern civilisation. It is not in the spirit of savage revenge that the Allies advance on Pekin. But it would hardly do'to let the Chinese know that, since they would inevitably misinterpret clemency for weakness. They must be taught in the first instance, at any rate, to believe that they have to do with a foe as implacable and merciless as they would be themselves had they the power. In dealing with the Boers, who are of our own Ace, Great Britain has learned the danger of pursuing a too generous policy. In dealing with the Chinese the utmost sternness is necessary. The London "Times" strikes the right note when it declares that the Powers must make China understand that the direst retribution will await her if she dares to play false. The safety of the Legations depends in a very large measure on the Allies impressing by word and deed on the Chinese authorities the latters' responsibility for any further outrages The actual extent of that responsibilty we have great difficulty in determining. At one time it seems as if the troops and Boxers were under control; at another time it looks as if they were completely oujof hand, and entirely swayed by the passion of the moment. For example, it is riot by any means clear that in their recent cessation of attacks on the Legation the Chinese troops obeyed the orders of those anxious to save the Europeans, or, as is now sug-

! gested, had merely run short of ami munition.

Much must depend on the position within Pckin and the temper of the place what effect the advance of the Allies will have on the fate of the Legations. If authority is strongly vested in certain individr uals who can be held personally responsible for any outrage, the chances are that they will not dare for their own sakes to.permit the Europeans to perish. If, on the other hand, the army and mob have the upper hand, the restraint of personal responsibility will be absent; and it is not unlikely that the prospect of a foreign force marching on Pekin, and in all probability driving the Chinese before it, would determine them to gratify their hatred of the Europeans by carrying the Legations by storm and massacring men, women and children. One important obstacle that lies in the way of the troops being able to carry out this design, supposing they entertain it, is the fact that they have been forced to withdraw a large body of men, and no doubt guns, too, from the siege operations to meet the enemy approaching from Tientsin. Perhaps, therefore, the latter may be able to engage the attention of the Chinese forces sufficiently to relieve the pressure on the besieged Europeans, so that they may hold out till rescued. -

The Allies calculate on being able to reach Pekin in a. week from the date they set out. Of course, so far as the actual distance is concerned, the journey can easily be accomplished in the time. But it remains to be seen what opposition the Chinese will be able to oft'er, and also what obstacles they can manage to throw in the way of the advance. In the war of 1860, the Allies, in their march on Pekin, were only twice opposed by the Chinese in force, and nothing had been done by the enemy that would greatly hamper the movements of the invaders. But things have changed since then. The Chinese army of to-day is a much more formidable foe, and, as Lord Wolseley pointed out in 1860, the Chinese, could easily, from the character of the country, put such impediments in the way as would render a rapid march quite impossible. So far as we are aware, the Allies can have but little trustworthy information regarding the numbers and armed strength of the Chinese,or the steps, if any, they may have taken to oppose "invasion. It does not seem probable that the resistance can bo either formidable or prolonged. Yet so many have boon the surprises sprung upon us by the wily and inscrutable Chinaman that we must hold ourselves prepared for a longer delay than is now expected.