THE CRISIS IN CHINA

Evening Post, Volume LX, Issue 104, 30 October 1900, Page 6

TH E CRISIS IN CHINA

WOMEN MISSIONARIES IN CHINA. , The Hongkong Daily Express recently \ entered a strong protest against allowing women missionaries to go into the in- 1 terior of China. "We hope," wrote our Far East contemporary, "that the British Government will, no matter what may be 3 the opposition, absolutely refuse to allow, I in future, any women to accompany mis- < sionaries into the interior of China. They j cannot, perhaps, prevent men from foolishly going in search of a ' martyr's ■ crown-; they can only decline to afford I them protection beyond the treaty port limits ; but £hey can, we think, justly ' refuse to allow them to take their female '• relatives, it is monstrous that young ; and innocent children should be wantonly - exposed to th« horrible cruelties that were 1 inflicted upoii the hapless little ones in ' Sfaansi. They are not free agents in* ■ the matter, and they should be proteoted from the frightful risks their progenitors I cheerfuWy uaoertake. The Roman Catho- : lie lnissiouaries, being celibate, do not ' expose tender m&tnts to the savage bru- ] tahties of Celestial mobs. Neither should ■ their" confreres. Let thesm also take the> * vow of celibacy and net drag tenderly .nurtured women into the squalid cities ' and villages of the 'Central Kingdom, ( to be exposed to studied insult and open ' violence. We have had enough of this ] kind of tiling. It is fciawe that the Gov- • ernment intervened aad put down its foot | in this matter. It is extremely doubtful, • we think, whether the presence of women missionaries in China works for good at ' all. Their influence among converts may ' be beneficial, but bo counterbalance that ' they arouse among, the mass of the population a great deal of prejudice, from ( the status they claim for their sex, which ! is totally opposed to Chinese iderts. We are not arguing that the Chinesa are right, but we arc of opinion that Chris- ■ tianity should not be forced upon them. At any rate it is not ihe best prepara- ; i tion of the ground to go and scratch up ' a crop of prejudices. Neither is it de- ; sirable that anti-missionary outrages should, be provoked, or excuses for their occurrence be furnished. If Christian ! missions are to achieve success m the most unpromising soil of the Celestial '' Empire, it will only be through careful ; living down of prejudices and an apostolic example. The road for the mis- : sionary in China is a hard one, with little success to cheer him on the thorny ; way. But if he elects to travel it he ' should not expect to drag with him wife ; or children." ; MUSCULAR CHRISTIANITY. , The North China Daily News, on the authority of the besieged, says that the defence of the Legations pales before the ; defence of the Peitang, or Roman Catholic Mission, at Pekin. There were there Bishop Favier, six or seven priests, some : twenty Sisters, and some 2000 native converts, men women, and children, with 30 French and 10 Italian guards, only 40 rifles in all. When one of the guards ' fell his rifle was handed to a native convert. The enemy exploded five mines altogether under the besieged, in one of which some 80 persons, principally women and children, and five Italian guards i were killed. The Italian officer was buried in it for three-quarters of an hour, ' and was got out almost unhurt. After the relief, another large mine was disccovered under the church itself, whose explosion would' have caused a tremendous loss of life. Electric conductors were fountf in this nyne. Tho Peitang beat the Legations in one thing, in that the converts succeeded in capturing one of the enemy's guns with its ammunition, and in making ammunition for it when the captured suppply came to an end. For two months there was no communication between the Peitang and the Legations, and neither know how the others were faring. At the end the rations at the Peitang Avere reduced to two ounces of rice a day a head, with a little horse-meat for the fighting men, and if the relief had not come when it did, the majority of the 2000 converts, the priests, and the Sisters must have died of starvation. THE MARCH THROUGH THE IMPERIAL PALACE. A military promenade was mada on 28th August through the central pavilion of tho Imperial Palace at Pekin. Tho Russian general led the way with an imposing staff; then came the Diplomatic Body, llun 800 Russians, followed by the Japanese staff and 800 mon, the British with 400, and after them came the Americans, French, Germans, Italians, and Austrians. Both at the gales of entrance and departure 'the Russians were in overmastering numbers, tho other Powers, even Japan, were in the background. The whole .spectacle was clearly designed to emphasiso the position now asserted by the Russian in Pekin. Within the entnAice Cbing-hsin, formerly Master of Ceremonies, and 1 other prominent exoiheiais in (heir roba.«, received the procession and conducted it through the buildings. They can thus represent to the Dowager-Empress that the foreign bar-

banana, being dttMVous to enter the pnl;ioe, wei'o admitted, shown to their positions, given refreshments, and conducted out. '1 he puluce was aiU.Twa.rds closed bj> foreign guards, the idea being that ii the palace were desecrated or destroyed there would be no hope of reconstituting the Court in Pekin, its removal c New here bt'ing strongly opposed in the ki lei lists of Russia and Japim. Much regret is iell/ on accuunt of the action of the British in first, occupying the rail -way terminus, and then withdrawing from ib because of the absurd Chinese rumour t h;«.l the station was thrudtencd by 16,000 Boxer*, the (■.lution being Mian occupied by the Russians. Though the"6i'cupation of Pekin is nominally eonjoiut, British officers canhou oven visit the Summer Pnlauo without permission, which is reluctantly given by the Russian general. There is <i similar anomaly in entering the Empress's palace, the buildings of which are within tho Forbidden City, but outside tho Imperial Palace.