RISING IN CHINA

Otago Witness, Issue 3006, 25 October 1911, Page 29

RISING IN CHINA

RUN ON NATIVE BANKS. FEEDING THE POOR. PEKING, October 16. In view of possible severe, fighting the British Consul has ordered all British missionaries to leave Wuchang, Hankow, and Hangyang. Owing to the scarcity of dollars there are continuous runs on the native banks

in Peking. The Minister of Finance will issue one

million ta-ela to relieve the stringency. [Six to eight silver taels are about equal to £l.] Rice has risen 20 per cent.

October 17. The Government has advanced the banks abundance of silver to meet their ' present requirements. | On the other hand it is feared in China j that there will be a difficulty in meeting in November the instalment of the banks' indemnity, as Wuchang is the chief collecting centre of the indemnity payments from a large portion of the Empire. j The Viceroy at Nanking has disarmed the ninth division, a modern army, supplying in its place provincial troops. This is tne second instance of disarmament within two years, and it explains" the Throne's anxiety concerning the trustworthiness of modern drilled troops. Six transports have been chartered at Shanghai to convey troops to the Yangtee, also some from Mukden. It is officially reported that Yuan-Shih-Kai has accepted the viceroyalty. Reuter's correspondent says that his acceptance has caused optimism officially. It is believed that his mere name will terrify the revolutionists. ! An edict to distribute rice to the poor means the opening of the Peking granaries and the sale of cheap grain. Yen Chang's headquarters are 70 miles northward of Hankow. PEKING, October 17. . The troubles at Szechuan continue, and the Government affects to regard the situation in the west as more serious than that at Wuchang, owing to the impossibility of rapid transport. The semi-official press at Peking are endeavouring to prove that the Japanese are at the bottom of the revolution in Wuchang. Admiral Sa Cheng Ping has reached Hankow in a gunboat. He assured the ! Consuls there would be no danger to the concessions when hostilities commenced. Four thousand well-equipped Northern Imperial troops are encamped near Hankow awaiting reinforcements. Two thousand rebels, with artillery, have crossed the Yangtse to oppose the Imperials' advance. Foreign warships are flocking to Hankow.

Renter advises that the revolutionists offer 1000 taels for the capture of exViceroy Jui Cheng. It is reported that the Manchu women in Peking are- changing into Chinese dress.

The Chunchuses are extremely active in tha north of Manchuria, and Russian troops have been ordered to repress them. October 18. With a view to making a flank advance 10,000 troops are entraining at Tsinaafu for Taku, and 10,000 are being shipped to Yangtsze.

LONDON, October 18,

The Daily Mail's Hankow correspondent reports that the revolutionists are carefully fortifying their positions and enrolling enthusiastic volunteers. Numbers of northern troops on arrival are joining those at Yuan Shih Kai's disposal, but they are reported to be disaffected and unreliable.

Thousands of non-combatants are quitting Hankow. The British and Japanese admirals are defending the foreign concessions. Thirteen foreign warships are at their disposal.

that

BERLIN, October 17. Official advices state that parties from the German warships Leipzig, Tiger, and Vatedand, assisted by volunteers recruited fro.-n the' German residents at Hankow, engaged in street fighting with the Chinese mob. SLAUGHTER OF MANCHUS ' STOPPED. ,

PEKING, October 18. The troops going south are in excellent spirits. The slaughter of the Manchus at Wuchang and Hankow has ceased-, and r th« republicans have ordered their follower* to spare all who submit to the new Government.

A man who was causing a.. disturbance was pursued and killed in the British concession at Hankow. Orders have been issued that nobody must enter the concession.

Parties from other warships besides Germans participated in the fight against tha -

Hankow mob.

Despatches are being sent wirelessly from Hankow to Tsingtau by means of the German warships' apparatus. A revolutionary force is surrounding Kiu-kiang, and demands its surrender. The fall of Nanking is reported to ba imminent. The French Legation haa learned that the Viceroy of Nanking id missing.

Correspondents at Szechuan ascribe th« origin of the unrest to the Peking Government's decision concerning'the Szechuan railway and the international loan, the latter being concerned with tho Echang Kweifa line, a section of th« trunk railway whereon- the Chinese claini to have spent 4,000,000 taels. The railway officials and the students at a railway school organised a spirited protest, and a deputation was unavailingly sent to Peking. Despite its organisers' exhortations, riots, pillage, and .. incendiarism occurred in many localities, and the peopla everywhere resolved not to pay taxe« unless the local company was empowered to continue to build the Szechuan - railway. The situation subsequently v became worse.

The number of revolutio' ,at Hankow is 2000, not 10,000, as previously stated.

An unconfirmed Shanghai telegratf states that the rebels have captured Nan. king.

FIGHTING NEAR HANKOW. PEKING, October 18. Two thousand Imperials, supported bf a cruiser, are engaging 2000 rebels neai Hankow.

Th« foreign warships are landing men.

Admiral Sa Cheng Peng, on his arrival at Hankow, ordered his cruisers to land men to join the 2000 Imperials undei General Chang Piao. The rebels, observing the movement, gave battle, the cruisers meantime engaging in desultory shelling. The rebels drove back the Imperial* until their ammunition was exhaustedi when they retired. At Wuchang the rebels on the previout night had tried to capture Chang Piao'f camp.

The Imperials have captured the Hankow railway station, and reinforcement* are rapidly detraining. The casualties were: Revolutionaries 300, and the Imperials fewer. Admiral Winsloe is in command of tht foreign naval forces at Hankow.

October 19.

Fighting of an Indecisive charactei took place at the Hankow railway station throughout the afternoon. The position was shiurply contested, and was continually changing hands, until the Imperial troops finally got possession. Anti-Mandhu demonstrations took placa during the celebrations in honour of the birthday of Confucius.

Some of the disaffected districts in tha south have compelled the lowering of tha Imperial flags. Competent authorities believe that tha recent inactivity of the rebels ha* jeopardised their chances of success. The rebels complain of the bad leaden

„hip of Li-Huan-Hung, who was coerced into leading them. Correspondents on tno other hand emphasise the statement that the rebels retreating from "Wuchang are not pursued or harassed.

COMMANDER JOINS THE REBELS. PEKING, October 19. Advices from Shanghai state that-the commander of a corps at Kiu-kiang joined the revolutionaries, who later on captured Kiu-kiang and a fort opposite. Several towns in the Szechuan province are in the hands of the rebels. It is not clear whether this movement is connected with the Hankow revolt. The missionaries in North-west Honan are preparing to leave.

PROTECTION OF GERMANS. BERLIN; October 19. 1 It is officially stated that the cruiser Gneisenau will remain at Nanking, as the river is falling, but Vice-admiral von Krosigk will proceed to Hankow aboard the gunboat litis. The newspapers state that the Germans who were engaged in the recent fight with the mob acted, after consultation with the ofchev foreign commanders, solely for the protection of the Germans, who were ent!"i:! -"''"'"" LONDON, October 18. The Times reports that the Berlin semiofficial press maintains that the activity of the Powers in China must be confined rigidly to the protection of their respective subjects and "their trade. FIGHTING AT HANKOW. BERLIN, October 19. A wireless message .received at Wei-hai-wei states that fighting has been resumed at Hankow. PEKING, Oetober 19. The official accounts describe the fight at the Hankow railway station as a mere skirmish. The Imperial troops captured three rebels and a quantity of tionFour torpedo boats have arrived at Taku.

It is estimated that 21,000 Imperial troops and 70 guns have been despatched to Hankow.

The provincial authorities at Canton are importing large supplies of arms and ammunition.

October 20.

Details concerning Wednesday's fight state that in the hope that the proximity of the foreign concessions would protect them until reinforcements arrived, 1500 Imperial troops encamped at the river railway station, ten kilometres from the central station at Hankow.

The republicans attempted to turround them. Two thousand men were sent across the Yangtsze from Wuchang in the night time. The force crossed north-east-wards, and reached the neighbourhood of the camp at dawn. The attack immediately began. The warships landed parties under cover of the guns, but otherwise they did not prominently participate beeau*e a direct fire would have endangered their own troops, while a flank fire would have involved a bombardment over the foreign concessions, besides exposing the gnnboats to the Touchang batteries. Ultimately the exhaustion of their ammunition and the arrival of Imperial reinforcements forced the republicans to retreat. Some re-entered the native city of Hankow, and others crossed to Wuchang. Subsequently the republicans were reinforced from Wuchang, and the firing was continued at the railway station behind the French and German concessions.

CHINESE IN AUSTRALIA. SYDNEY, October 20. Mr Tong, the editor of the Tong Wah Times, declares that a large proportion of the Chinese residents in Australia aro sympathisers with the leaders of the rebellion, and are extremely anxious for the •vexthrow of the Manchu dynasty. October 21. The editor of ths Tung Wah Times in Hxh city has received a number of letters

threatening him with personal violence for the expression of anti-revolutionary doctrines in his paper. The editor has reported to the police that his correspondents threaten that if he hoists the dragon flag on Sunday in honour of the birthday of Confucius it will" be pulled down by violence. REBELS" FvEFULSED. LONDON, October 20. The Telegraph's Shanghai correspondent states that the rebels at Hankow are reported to have been forced back, losing 2000 men. It is rumoured that an armistice has been arranged. Twenty thousand refugees have arrived at Shanghai. The Telegraph's Peking correspondent reports 'that Yin Chang, with eight battalions and six batteries, crossed the Yangtsze, and turned the rebels' positionf The investment is complete, and it is hoped that a bombardment will be avoided .in order to save the Hanyang arsenal, which is valued at 30,000,000 taels.

The collapse of the • rebels at any minute is possible. A quarter of a million troops are under arms in China.

Yuan-Shih-Kai, in accepting his appointment, secured from the Throne the opening of a Parliament in 1912, the appointment of a purely Chinese Cabinet, plenaa-y power to make his ora terms with the rebels, and full control of the entire Yang-tsze Valley. REPORTED SUCCESS OF REBELS. NEW YORK, October 20. The Chinese newspapers in' San Francisco publish an announcement of the success of the rebels, who are reported to have captured Ching-kiang-fu and also Kiang-si. LONDON, October 20. Router's St. Petersburg correspondent states that Japanese sources report that the Chuncbuses in Manchuria have promised the insurgents to organise a revolution there.

A MISSIONARY INTERVIEWEDLONDON, October 20. Doctor Sommerville, of the London Mission at Wuchang, on being interviewed in London, declared that the outbreak at Szechuan was almost entirely economic, and was due to the ill-advised efforts of the Chinese to subscribe money for railway construction instead of applying it to a proper purpose. The treasurers had squandered in rubber speculations, precipitating acute distress and unrest. The troubles at Hupeh, on the other hand, were purely revolutionary and anti-Manchu. Some Frenchmen prominently participated therein. A club connected with the American Boone University existed at Wuchang. The discovery of an indiscreet photograph of a meeting of the club led to the execution of several of the Boone students.

Dr Sommerville said he was surprised at Yuan-Shih-Kai's appointment, inasmuch as the rebellious forces in Wuchang were largely due to his creation. Possibly when in power as a true Chinaman he felt bound to make every sacrifice to save his family.

Dr Sommerville added that as Handying and the native city of Hankow were in the rebels' hands, the gunboats would probably be forced to bombard from the north, and the Boone University, and tha Wesleyan, London, American, and Swedish Mission Hospitals and Schools would then be in the line of fire between the gunboats and the rebel camps.

REPORTED PALL OF HANKOW. LONDON, October 20. The Daily Mail's Peking correspondent states that it is reported that the loyalists were repulsed to the north-west" of Hankow, their lossea numbering 700 men. The Daily Chronicle's Shanghai representative cays it is reported that there has been a eecond battle, lasting 10 hours, chiefly at the station below the Japanese concession at Hankow, and that the rebels were victorious.

The correspondent proceeds to show that Li Yuan Heng, by subtle strategy, started the revolution. He seized the Viceroy Jui Cheng, and, using his seal, despatched a messenger to the manager of the Hanyang arsenal, urging him to come to the Viceroy's aid. Then, whilst the men were absent, the revolutionaries seized the arsenal. The' manager, however, was afterwards retained at his post under the revolutionary standard. The correspondent adds that the Imperials at Hankow have retired northwards. This is believed to be a strategic movement to join the Imperials who are arriving by train. , Reuter's Hankow correspondent reports the rebels as winning. LONDON, October 20. The Times' Peking correspondent states that the Government has modified its arrangements, and will now send from Manchuria and Shantung only a few thousand troops. This decison is attributed to the feeling that the two divisions now entraining for Hankow are sufficient to deal with the situation. Some think that Yuan Shih Kai will assume the command of the Imperial troops. [Jui Cheng, formerly Taotai of Shanghai, is a native of Manchuria. He was judicial adviser to the Japanese after the capture of Peking in 1900, subsequently appointed to organise a modern force of gendarmerie, and is credited with being an enlightened official.] LONDON, October 20.

The Hankow rebels advanced on Thursday, and found that the Imperialists had abandoned their camp. They thereupon occupied it, capturing some baggage and ammunition.

The Chinese gunboat has also retired several miles down the river.

The Imperialists are encamped 10 miles from Hankow.

FINANCIAL CRISIS. PEKING, October 21. Tlie Government is in great straits, and is applying to the banks at the Legations for financial assistance. October 22. An edict, which is unparalleled in Manchu history, offers an amnesty to all classes of the civil and military rebels who are surrendering. There are the wildest rumours that the rebels are capturing cities and burning boats. The Viceroy's yamen at Tainanfu was burned. There are signs of grave unrest at Tientsin. The missionaries are warned that a revolutionary outbreak near Peking is imminent. The foreign diplomats are considering China's foreign and financial obligations. China requests the postponement of the payment of the Boxers' indemnity by instalments,, and is eagerly seeking a loan. Yuan Shih Kai refuses to be reappointed to Wuchang, being dissatisfied with Yin Chang's preparations, and regards the latter boastful and incapable. Yuan Shih Kai demands the supreme naval and military command. The capture of Ichang is confirmed. It is rumoured that the Sachengpingi flagship was sunk or captured. The fall of Changsha is imminent. " HONGKONG, October 21.

The foreign banks are making continuous large shipments of silver, including British dollars, to North China owing to the Chinese paper currency being discredited. The market has been practically depleted of specie. SHANGHAI, October 21.

Several of the native banks have suspended payment. The bankers and merchants' guilds are negotiating to avert a crisis.

NEW YORK, October 21.

Cables received at San Francisco by the Chinese republican leaders confirm the defeat of the Imperial forces at Hankow. It is reported that the Imperial warships were sunk, and that Admiral Shah had retired to Kiukiang. The rebels were expecting a great accession of strength as the result of the battle.

MELBOURNE, October 22.

The Victorian Branch of the Young China League has received a cablegram from headquarters stating that the re-

volutionaries won a great victory at Hankow. Over a thousand Imperial troops were killed, and only 20 or 30 rebels were killed. REBELS AGGRESSIVE. PEKING, October 22. The rebels attacked the Imperialists at Seven-mile, Creek, and the latter fled far to the northward. The Red Cross Society failed to secure recognition by the leaders of the Imperial troops, and consequently many of the wounded were not cared for, and were subsequently killed or mutilated by civilian sympathisers of the revolutionaries. SYDNEY, October 23.

The revolutionary flag was hoisted by the Chinese Masonic Society in Sydney yesterday. There was no demonstration. The revolutionary spirit is spreading.

IMPERIAL TROOPS ROUTED. PEKING, October 23. Many of the shells fired by the Chinese • gunboats at Hankow were merely painted wood—the outcome of corrupt practices. j The foreign Consuls at Hankow have ' proclaimed their neutrality. J The Third Brigade of Imperialists was completely routed at Hana.u, and stampeded northward. It afterwards returned to Sin-yan-chau to await reinforcements. I The rebels are fortifying the hills round Yin-ehang, and are nearing Sin-yan-chau with 20,000 men. It is believed that the rebels hold the passes connecting Honan and Hupeh, cutting off the retreat of .3000 Imperialists from Hankow. The passes are also reI garded as impassable for Yin-chang 1 forces.

The rebels hold Kwang-chau, which is 60 miles from Hankow, where the river is narrowest. They purpose harassing Sachen-ping's fleet. It is stated in Shanghai that the Government's application for a loan has been refused on the ground that it would mean a breach of neutrality, which the powers desire ,to observe. Consular reports confirm the fall of Changsha.

A CRITICAL SITUATION. PEKING, October 23. The National Assembly has been opened. The Speech from the Throne did not mention the rebellion. An official despatch to the British Legation states that unless Yin-chang obtains a decisive victory within a few days the whole of the Yangtse Valley will be ablaze.

In reply to an edict ordering him to co-operate in suppressing the revolution, Yuan Shih Kai states that his foot has not healed, and he enumerates other complaints from which he is suffering, rendering him unable to work at present. A rescript has been issued ordering Yuan iShih Kai to resume his duties when better. Yuan Shih Kai's reply is ironical. He will be dismissed ostensibly owing to injuries to his head and foot.

Saehen-ping and Yin-chang in a joint despatch etate that though the Imperialists were' at first successful at Hankow, there were so many wounded that the force was enfeebled, and as it was unable to secure reinforcements it had to retreat to the fleet, which is out of coal and rice. The report concludes: '' We are now awaiting death.''

SUN-TAT-SEN'S PREPARATIONS. SECRET SOCIETIES USED. Under the headings " The Real Power in China," " Land of Vast Secret Societies," the London Daily Express last year described Dr Sun-yat-sen's preparations for a revolution. The writer said :

" After ceaseless preparations for 10 years, scores of premature revolts, large importations of arms, and • the secret drilling' of men even, it is said, in the United States, warning has been conveyed to foreign legations in Pekin that at last the great Chinese rebellion may be imminent. Although tha Tartar Manchus have reigned at Pekin for six centuries, they are still regarded as foreigners by the Chinese, and innumerable efforts have been made in the past to drive them from the country. Concerted action was never achieved, however, and

it was not until Dr Sun-yat-sen, the organiser of the resolution, began to form his plan for welding the people into u nation and establishing a Chinese republic after the j model of the United States, that the dyi nasty was seriously threatened. If the anticipations of Europeans in China are correct, he has now perfected his preparations for overhrowing the dynasty and sweeping the whole posse of mandarins out of existence.

"It is by means of the vast organisation of secret societies with which China is honeycombed from Mukden to Canton that he has conducted his campaign. Every Chinese rebellion and riot for the past 600 years has been inspired and aided by one or other of these societies, and they are all bound together by common sentiment and interest. Greatest of all the secret societies is the Sanhohu, or Triad, of which Dr Sun-yat-sen is believed to be the "head centre." Some authorities estimate the , number of its members at 2,500.000. but | others declare it includes at least 10,000,000 lof the 50,000,000 adult males in China. Its : power' reaches as far as Liverpool, San Francisco, and Sydney, and no delinquent member is ever safe from its emissaries. Many efforts have been made by the central Government to stem the tide. A reward of £IO,OOO, payable on delivery, was offered for Dr Sun-yat-sen's head, and an effort was made to kidnap him in London. But ! althousrh the Government could threaten, it could not execute its threats. Arms have been smuggled across the Russian frontier, and gun-running has been common on the north coast. Only a few months ago a Chinese wai-ship captured a Japanese vessel filled with rifles and ammunition."

CHINA HONEYCOMBED WITH FEELING.

Colonel G. W. S. Patterson, who has made eight visits to China during the last 10 years, was seen by a representative of the Auckland Star on Monday with respect to the revolt against the Manchus. He said: " The whole country is honeycombed with the feeling;., to overthrow the Manchu rulers, and from what I could learn the same feeling also pretty weli prevails in the Imperial Army. It is something like the Jacobite societies that existed in Great Britain for many' years after the Stuairts were driven off the throne. The Taiping rebellion had the same object. The Chinese are taxed so much, and the struggle to live has become so keen, that the people are ready to revolt, fesling sure that things cannot be worse. Probably the fact tha* the rice crop is so very light all over the East this season has precipitated the revolt, as the price has now reached a record figure. China is a very rich country, but •wants proper governing. Ever since the Japanese war with China some 20 years ago the Chinese have been picking the best non-commissioned officers from foreign countries to train their troops. When I was over there I saw German, Swiss, and Englishmen training the men, and I can assure you that Chinese make first-claes soldiers. As a people they have the greatest endurance of any living man, for they can go longer on scanty food than anyone else. When I went inland 2000 miles four coolies carried me, and would go for eight hours without rest or food. Such men when trained must make excellent soldiers. Chinese students have heen studying Western methods both in England, on the Continent, and also in the United States. " The cutting off of pigtails is largely da© to the protests from these students who have returned home, but with the poorer class it may encourage revolt, as that was imposed as a mark of servitude by the Manchus some 250 years ago."