A MISSING EMPEROR.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 11562, 15 June 1900, Page 2

A MISSING EMPEROR.

Webe there not suoh a vein of sadness running through what little is known of the Emperor of China— or the late Emperor, for we know not how to desoribe him — there would be material for a comio opera of the Gilbertian school surpassing even the improbabilities of " The Mikado." During the short time when he actually ruled, in the period which elapsed between his majority and his deposition by the Dowager Empress and her anti-foreign following, he proved himself to be alive to the real interests of his country. He saw that dry-rot had attacked the national tree, and that the only way to save it was to lop off superfluous branches and severely root-prune it. But the reactionary element proved too strong for him, and he disappeared from ken. Reports came of Mb death by violence, then we heard that he was attacked by incurable disease. Next this was contra, dieted, and we were told that he was interned in a fortress, a close prisoner. In Wednesday's issue appeared this cable message :— The Emperor of China, through the Shanghai correspondent of the Daily Express, appeals to Europe to depose the Dowager-Empress and enthrone him at Nanking to jointly proteot and regenerate the Empire, governing through him, and controlling the Customs, and opening the China door to those guaranteeing the integrity of the Empire. The appeal came through Wehgtunghs, the .fcmperor's confidant in his exile, three of the Viceroys supporting it. It is possible that this message may be what the Americans call a " fake," as only the day before a oable from Hong Kong stated that the Chinese people themselves did not know whother the Emperor was alive or not. But tho same correspondent has on previous occasions shown himself exceptionally well posted in the internal workings of what passes for politics in China, and in a recent issue of the Express tells a tale which would rightly be scouted as ' wild imagination if told of any other ; country than China. According to this i account, one day, about the middle of ) last December, a well-dressod young man '_ I_CJ_ _ • , J._i Jll.J! _, _ _ _ I I

j left a river boat at Ch'i-chou, a port on p the Yangtae, 110 miles below Hankow. Stepping ashore, his attention was at once arrested by the sight of a woman crouching down before a house door and _ wailing. He asked her what was the L matter. She replied that she had been . the owner of an opium house, and that a , few days before Borne soldiers from the little gunboats hard by came demanding a , large sum of money, on receipt of which they would allow her to continue her business ; but that if it was not forthcoming her house would be officially sealed, the business stopped, and she driven out. She had found no means of raising such a sum, and, consequently, the place had been olosed. When the

stranger heard the tale, he told the woman to enter her house, assuring her that no evil consequences would follow, and she, seeing that her comforter was apparently a mandarin on his way to office, followed his advice. Before long the loungers on the decks of the little gunboat saw what had happened, and arrested the traveller and took him to the department mandarin of the Ch'i-ohou. Then a remarkable interview took place, the prisoner refusing either to kneel before the high official or to give his name. The mandarin was so perplexed by the attitude of the young man that he sent a Bpeoial messenger to the Viceroy of Wuchang, by whom he was directed to give the prisoner 300 tael of silver and let him go. But the mysterious stranger refused to be released, even when offered 3000 tael, and was finally sent on to the Court at Wuohang. When the prisoner arrived at Wuohang he again refused to kneel before the mandarin, and in reply to questions gave his surname as "Heaven,"

i and his personal name as " Earth," i the Chinese Emperor being regarded as i the earthly representative of heaven. As i he professed to be related to the Son of I > Heaven, he waß asked to write an account of the ancestry whioh he had in common with the Emperor. Here it must be explained that such words as Court, Imperial, and the assumed designations of Chinese Sovereigns, have to be written with a blank before them, and ought, acI cording to propriety, to be made the commencement of a new column, being written either two or three spaces above the upper level of the text. But on examining the dooument prepared by the prisoner it was found that while Writing with all the taste and aoouraoy of a soholar he had not observed these formalities. Seeing this apparent lack of respeot towards the sacred .persons of the Emperor and his ancestors, the mandarin sharply reproved the prisoner, and ordered him to reoeive 80 blows with the bamboo on the i palm 'of his hand, The punishment hay- 1 i

m-mmmmm^mmmmmmmmm^itmitmilA ng been administered, the case was remanded with secret instructions that tho prisoner Bhould be closely watched, the result being that most of his inner garments were found to be marked with the Imperial Dragon. When the Viceroy received the report of the mandarin he gave orders that the mys- p terious stranger should be brough t beforo his own High Court. The Viceroy then made the discovery that not only did the age and appearance of the prisoner correspond with that of tho Emperor, but that certain moles on the face were also identical. In characteristic Chinese fashion the diffloulty was solved. A young man of similar age to that of the stranger was found, and agreed to personate him in succeeding trials, while the real prisoner was sent down to Li-Kun-Yi, the Viceroy of Nanking, with whom it is believed that he stayed until a "reconciliation" was effected between himself and the Dowager Empress. Before publishing this extraordinary story the editor of the Daily Express referred it to one of the highest authorities on Chinese* affairs in London, by whom he was assured that if the Emperor i*eally did escape from the Palace there was nothing improbable in the account of his adventures.

On the fonrth page will be found some interesting items in reference to the Transvaal war, reportß of the meetings yesterday of policyholders in the Australian Mutual Provident Society and of the Hawke's Bay Board of Babbit Trustees, sporting and football news, and our Hastings, Waipawa, and Wairoa correspondents' letters. The business announcements of Messrs) Baker and Tabuteau are inserted to-day on our fourth page. Miss Isabella M*Landress, M.A., of Otago, has been appointed first assistant in the Girls' High School at Napier. Captain Edwin wired at noon yesterday :— North to east and south-east gale after 16 hours from now, with heavy rain, heavy sea, and very high tides ; indications of flood. The Hawke's Bay Hockey Assooiation ! intend, weather permitting, to start their 1 banner competition on Saturday (to- > morrow) at Napier Park, when the Napier s A and United teams will try conclusions 3 at 3 p.m.

By the Ormazan, whioh will sail for South Afrioa from Wellington this morning, Lieutenant Hovell, son of Dean Hovell, of Napier, and Lieutenant Collett, of Waipawa, will proceed to the front to join the fourth and fifth contingents respectively. In the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club's notices elsewhere the train arrangements are advertised for this club's winter meeting on the 20th and 22nd instants. It will be noticed that the Railway Department have granted a concession to the Danevirke residents which will enable them to return home on the night of the last day of the races. Interesting extract from a letter sent by a romantic member of the Fourth l Contingent: — "The beautiful sunrises and Bunsets '. I never saw anything so grand. Long before the sun rises the lovely hues the sky assumes are wondrous in tho extreme. Firßt deep red, then orange, then all the myriad colors of the rainbow. It is as though the prismatic Bhafts were projected by an immense limelight. And then, without any warning, the huge red orb of day leaps up from the waters. The moonrises are equally glorious." ri The secretaries of the ball committee of the Napier Rifle Volunteers have made arrangements with Bugler - Sergeant Slater, of the 3rd East Coast Battalion, to decorate the Garrison Hall for the company's annual ball, which takes place on Wednesday, Ilth July. The committee have decided to spare no expense in making the ball a success, and have instrnoted the secretaries to obtain special bunting, &o, for the occasion. The decorations will excel anything of the kind ever seen in Napier before. The tickets are now ready, and can be procured from members of the company and at Messrß Eagleton's and Ross's, tobacconists, Hastings-street. News from the Cape states that Private W. W. D. Whytehead, formerly of Auokland, and lately of the Yorkshire Imperial Yeomanry, was killed in action at Swartkopjesfontein, near Boshof, on April 2lßt, when under Lord Methuen. Hiß age was 29 years. Whytehead was well known in Auokland, Upper Thames, Paeroa, ond in the Karangahake and Coromandel districts, where he worked as a miner for several years. He then went to Opotiki, but subsequently joined one of the direct steamers. He wbb last in the s.s. Tekoa, and on arrival in England left sea and joined the Yeomanry. He was a son of Mr T. B. Whytehead, subeditor of the New Zealand Herald a quarter of a century ago. The bracelet and necklace for presentation at the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club'B w.nter meeting are now on view at Messrs J. M. Crerar's, Hastings-street. Both trophies are magnificent specimens of the jeweller's art. The bracelet takes the form of a bangle, wrought from 18-carat polished gold, with a large single diamond mounted on double bars. The purity of the stone is quite equal to that of previous years. The neoklace is of filigree gold, with a pendant of 27 pearls, the centre poarl being large, with two oiroles of smaller ones. The pendant . is made so as to enable the possessor to have it mounted as a brooch. Both pieces of jewellery have been mounted by Mr F. W. Collins, of Napier, and reflect great oredit on his ability. The Gold and Silversmiths Company of London suppliod the gems. In connection with the spilling of blood in the streets of Sydney between members .. of the Permanent Artillery and the "push," as in the earliest chronicled report of a trouble which overtook man, woman was said to be the main cause, so in this latest phase of life, the fair sex is credited by one of the military aa being at the bottom of the disturbance. "Yon see," says this authority, "the girls of the larrikins liko plenty of dash and glitter, and when the Boldier comes along in his regimentals, they jußt leave * their 'blokes' and come after him in a crowd. The girls will hit their own 'blokes' if

they interfere white they are putting their arms round the neck of a khaM warrior, and while the unfortunate rejected'one sits and mopes, his girl pokes him in the rib 3 and Bhows off her new boy as if he were* Bobs.'" When a fight follows on the lines indicated, the lady in question, instead of putting down the disturbance, does all she can to induce the men to fight. Yesterday afternoon a pretty ceremony took place at the Napier Cathedral, when Mr Percy Kelly, youngest son of Mr George Kelly, was married to Mißs May Fenton, daughter of Mr W. H. Fenton. The bride was attired in a grey dress trimmed with oream surah silk, with hat to match. The bridesmaids were Miss Nita Kelly and MiBB Emily Fenton, wearing brown costumeß trimmed with white silk and white hats. \Mr L. Bowen

i attended the bridegroom. The ceremony i was performed by the Dean of Waiapn, The bridegroom's presents to the brides- ' maids were gold bracelets, and to the 1 bride a gold bracelet set with diamonds After the ceremony the friends of the happy couple assembled at the residence of the bride's parents, where good wisheß for their future happiness and prosperity were showered upon them. The pair were the recipients of numerous handsome and useful presents, and left by the afternoon train for Waipukurau, en route to Wanganui, where they will spend their honeymoon. A London correspondent, writing on May sth, says: — The despatch from General Frenoh, published in last night* a Gazette, is most agreeable reading; it refers to the operations round Colesberg. Lord Roberts, in transmitting the de--1 spatch to the War Office, Bays : "Iconour with the general officer commanding in thinking that the discipline, courage, and endurance of the officers, non-commis-sioned officers and men employed in these operations are deserving of high commendation, and I am glad to observe that the Royal Horse Artillery and New Zoa-

land Mounted Rifles appear to have ' speoially distinguished themselves." The 3 events oovered by General French, who j dates his despatch Rensburg Camp, Feb- . ruary 2nd, extend from December 15th, • 1899, to January 25th, 1900, and comprise i the seizure of Arundel (December 16th), i the various actions near Bensburg, in- . oluding the disaster to the Suffolks (January . 6th), the engagement at ' Slingersfontein (January Ilth), and the 1 reconnaissance toßeitfonteinPleisesPass (January 25th). General Frenoh makes , speoial mention of Major Robin, commanding the New Zealand Mounted Infantry, for the work he and his men accomplished, and among those whom he brings to the notice of the Commander-in-Chief is Captain W. E. N. Madocks. Don't commit suicide I Don't abuse yonr family I I know you have got a Wretohed Cold, and one of thoso Dry. Booking Coughs, that worry The life out of one. ', Don't upset the happinets of yonc home however, Bnt get a tottle of Db. Pascall's Conon Mixtube right away. Prioe, ls 6d and 2s 6d. Agent— Ecoles, Chemißt, Dn. Pascall's Couon Mixtubi Is taken by men, women, andohildron all over tho country, it onrei Courts and Coldi quiokly. Aren't. . > ■ ' Booms Chemist, ; **"'». ;.v v :-.,- : ,- --.... ', - .. --"\ ■ ' . ,' ' . ' . ■ : . " . rY?:i7'

' ' fr"-*"*---—**"- ' " '" Our special correspondent at Wellington wired last night;— " The Hon. J. G. Ward, acting-Premier, received the following telegram from the Premier late last night, dated May 28th, «t« Sydney :— 'Hon. J. G. Ward, acting-Premier,—Wel-come. Encountered extremely heavy weather when 800 miles from Baratonga. Deoided to run before it and make for Tonga. Then deoided to go to Fiji; arrived safe to-day. Leave to-morrow for Levuka, then Savage Island and Baratonga. A British protectorate has been proclaimed over Tonga and Savage Islands. The first news we got was that yo« have the plague in New Zealand. I asked the date of the information, and ■was told 2nd of May. The suspeoted case at Auckland filtered through Noumea. _ Later news, dated 16th, set the position correct. They are very careful at all the islands, and properly so. My health is much improved. All the party are well. Tell friends. Hope M'Kenzie is improved in health and all my colleagues well. — B. J. Seddon, Suva, May 28th." _ Trooper Harding, a robust representative of the Woodville district, a member of No. 2 company of the Firat Contingent, one of the returned invalids, had the misfortune to contract the scourge enteric fever at Koodooßrand, at whioh place he was last actively engaged. He was a unit in_ the fighting column that relieved Kimberley. In speaking of that experience he states that the newspaper "yarns" to the effect that the New Zealanders were among the first to enter the town were a long way out. Ab a matter of fact, they never went into the town at all. They camped about four miles out, and nothing was seen or heard by them ofthe rejoioing incidental to the relief. The reading of troopers' letters published in the New Zealand papers, says Trooper Harding, constituted one of the prinoipal sources of amusement in camp, so full were they of false and ridiculous statements. While laid up with the fever Harding lost the run of his uniform, and was sent from Kimberley to Cape Town mpyjamis. When convalescent he was provided with an Imperial khaki uniform and helmet, whioh made him a prominent figure amongst his comrades yesterday. Harding says the New Zealanders stood the climate well until the rainy season came on, when the fever began to knock them over like ninepins.— N.Z. Times. „GEM UNIVEBSAI*" Plates, lor general work, give heautifal detail and aro easy to develop. "GEM SPECIAL POBTBAIT" Mates, for shntter work, are coated with an ertra rapid emulsion of flno grain. All sizos in stock. A. Ecolm, Chemist and Importer ot Photo. Material, Napier and Hastings, «SS£. I,ES ' THOTOOBAPHIC DEPABT* MEUT.-Booeived this day, ex Maori, a large assortment ot Platino-Matt Papers, ''Sylvio," jyjj?., "Enammo" Paper, Ao., from the oeleoratod makers, Missbs W«lwhotos aito WAnn. Prices right. A, Ecowts, Chemist, Napior an^ Hastings J. D. BBIASCO, of Hastings-street, invites a Jißit from those desiring new. TJmhrellas. He has the largest and most varied stock in tho Worth Island to select from, and guarantees his Umbrellas from one to two years, Uinhrollns Te-oovered from 2s 6d. J. D. BBIASCO'S CITY DYE WOBKS, Dyers and Cleaners of ladies' and Gents' Clothing, in pflk, Wool, Cotton, and Mixed Matorials, Macintosh and Covert Coats, 40. Olove Cloaners and Beathor Dressers. Hastings-street. J. 8. Welsman's Special Proprietary Medicines —the Liver Mixture for biliousness and indigestion, Dyßentery Mixturo, Neuralgia Mixture, Qninine and Iron Tonic, Wine, Wind Mixture for Infants, ko.. Pocock's Hair Lotion, Corn Paint, 40., io. Tbe Pharmaoy, Hastings.street. —Advt. The Hawko's Bay Permanent Building and Investment Society are now prepared to advance money on mortgago on freehold and leasehold securities on the new reduced tables of redemption paymonts ns low as 5 per cent per annum, whioh aro lower than any othor society iv the oolony. Apply to tho sooretary, J, B. Fielder, at tho Sooiety'B office, or Joshua Bennett, Hastings. —Advt. I CB PASCALL'S Couan Hixttjei ouro* Agent— Ecoles, Chemist,