THE KUCHENG MASSACRE.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVII, Issue 2582, 7 August 1895, Page 2

THE KUCHENG MASSACRE.

> LATER DETAILS. AN, APPEAL TC tAE p6WERS. 1 Bp Kt6(jrifph.— 'Presii kssocio-txon^-C.opyrUikf. .-, i- . ■ f Shanqbal, August f. lie authors of the'outrages Euoneng fkfe members *of a , 'tariai* composed, of- the rabble of y&Vc«y. ... .4 ■! u.i \.i iWomen were subjected to the most revolting cruelty, . v ~ 1 .j.n- o At , Euoheuir 'there wAt A scene of great hisses Saunders, in attempting, to escape, were hacked to pieces, and-IQPP Chinese soldiers who were near at hand and witnessed the outrage took no steps to prevent it. 1 * The burning. n£ the mission-house occupied Wr£ tours. • ■ Chine of the women were horribly tortured. The United States Mission near Hankow was destroyed, but the occupants escaped without injury. _ • A meeting of foreign residents here has been held, and has decided to reddest the various Consuls to appeal to the European Powers denandihg tepatitloA. IfadeTved aitgifst'#, 7.50 yo.m. ■ ■ SiilNditAt. ’August 8. r fee Elirijpeahs id thlh otty, hire appeal- ; IAo- to the PoweVw Mr protection, add pro- ; te|t, Agaihst r tfie inade4uate ; pdhishment indicted for outrages qn, t'qreigners>‘ . Sydney, August 6.

the secretary of the, Church Missionary Society received a letter 'from Miss.GordonV one of the laches killed at iv uchcii; l ', About the same time a.s_th'e came anthe massacre. ; _ ,; In this letter she began by quoting the Psalm “In God Iput my trust: I-will' not be afraid what man can do unto me.” She goes on to say:— _ ; “ A number of people called vegetarians banded together to defy the Mandarin one day, when he caught four of them and put them in prison. The others eurwntided his house and said they VWiila sim it übfrh and kill him if fte ‘did, Wbt i'eieftse their 's.6 fie )ihd fe ‘reteasb'them,. Not 6hiy id.bflt lie had to sepd his sectotary to be beaten by their bwh hands. This ha'ppehed in Kuohehg city quite close to ha,■. ’ • . “They have persecuted the Christians, and haye threatened more than once to pull down the chapels, but the missionaries as yet have not been threatened at all, although they have expressed their hatred of us.”

Received August 6,‘10.20 p.m, Melbourne, August 6.: Mrs Saunders states that her daughters should have been on their holidays at the time of their murder. They had intended returning home on furlough. Special,—Received A.ugtist 8) 7.50 port.., . ' Shanghai, August 3. ; The victims of the Kucheng atrocity Ml no #arnihg, and trerfi taken entirely by surprise-. ’ ■ ' The assaSsiftS wete fifty. MMMrs: 6f A secret 1 Society; add it is,:KelieVed that this Outbreak is part Of a general plot against forcighoty. ' ■ The EeV Philips, missionary, escaped,-, blit waS forced to look on at the murder of Jlis co-workers, and was powerless to interfere and unable to seouro-assistanoo. : revolting; cruelties. , ■■ THE VICTIMS RUTHLESSLY ’ ' , BUTCHERED, EXTRAORDINARY APATHY OP THE AUTHORITIES. Received August 7, 1 a.m. Shanghai, August 6. ■, Further details of a horrible nature have been received from Kucheng., , The ladies 'begged, for, their lives, offering to surrender their property and jewels, but the leader of the band ordered them to, be killed. : ;«Miss Nellie Saunders was hacked about by the ruffian's weapon, and thrown still alive into Dr Stewart’s biasing house. Miss Topsy Saunders: and Miss Gordofi were speared;. , ■ Missed BrAlhhnd Newcombe wore speared; and thrown over a precipice. Miss Marshall’s throat Was cut. , _ ’ Pour of Dr Stewart’s children were impaled and severely wounded, but apparently were not killed. Although there Wore a thousand soldiers in Kucheng, hone were sent to the rescue ; until the massacre was completed and the murderers had decamped with the plunder. , ‘‘‘l ; ?.i , . . The Chinese Government has ordered the Miscreants to be punished. ; . There were 1 thirty native teachers and two thousand members at the Kucheng station. , „ , Reports .from Hankow; state that the western provinces are in- a" disturbed and dangerous condition. Chapels and hospitals have been destroyed, and foreigners are fleeing for their lives.