The Boxer Movement.

Southland Times, Issue 14712, 3 August 1900, Page 3

The Boxer Movement.

♦ -■ - — i The Rev. A. Sowerby, who has been for t.venty years in China and has just reached London from Paoting-fu, speaking of the nature and extent of the Boxer movement, said to an interviewer : — The movement, which began in January, was the dircc: outcome ot the action of the ex-Guveri.or of Shantung, one of the g-tatesl anti foreign men in China, who originated it. He then enlisted the sympathies of lhe Empress Dowager, who ever s!nce has fostered the movement by edic's and by preventing its suppression. The Boxers themselves, who have a varie!y of camps and number several thousands, aie the lower c'ass of the popu- i lation of North Shantung and bouth and ' East Chi-P, and the scum of those livicg c along the Grand Canal. The movement, as far as I kno*, does not exist in other parte of the country. Tbty have ( no official leaders, wear no uniform, and have very little organisation. In fact, they could not sand a day if they ] were propetly opposed by Chinese troops. < The Chinese people never go in for such movements as this unlesa thiy are ,t:r/ed up to do so, and the secret of the whole ( matter is the chagrin and anger tf the ( Empress Dowager — first at her inability to put down the reform party, and secondly at the countenance given by foreigners to that j pai ty and to the protection afforded to Rang 1 the r» former. It is difficult to follow all ] the workings of the Oriental mind, and impossible to understand how so astute a !a^y as the Empress Dowager has allowed mat- ■ ters to come to such a pass that the inter- , vention of foreign troops is needed. The exp'anation probably is lhat the Boxerß are ' now getting even beyond Imperial control. If this be not so, it is difficult to understand how any official allowed the wrecking of the railway, which is a paying corc^rr. The Empress took advantage of the so-called patriotism of the Boxers to keep her out of thd way of the serious difficulty. Within the past few montbs a large and important section of hr army under Gener-il Tung has been gadually deserting, partly owing to the faot that they get no pay, but ehii fly, as destrters from the army told me, because it is generally believed that war between China and a foreign Power is imminent. First and foremost, the Boxer movement is aDti-foreign rather than anti-missionary.