THE THELTUGA REPUBLIC.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 89, 10 December 1912, Page 8

THE THELTUGA REPUBLIC.

The American ‘Outlook’ in a recent issue points out that China is not the first of Asiatic republics. The first republic in the Far East of waich there is a record was established in Northern Manchuria 28 years ago. in 1884 gold was discovered on the Tholtuga, one of the Manchuiian tributaries of the Amur River. The field was rich almost beyond piecedent, and miners rushed to it from

all parts of Eastern Siberia. The field was sixty miles south cf Russian territory, and hundreds of miles from the nearest Chinese outpost. The miners wore a mixed lot cf Russians, Tartars, Chinese, Manchus, Mongols, and Bifdats, with over 4000 escaped convicts amongst them. Robbery, claim-jumping, murder and crime of every sort became so prevalent that at last the non-criminal Russian peasants who'made up the largest portion of the population, held a mass meeting to consider the position. It was finally decided to establish a republic, modelled after the United States. A President and other Ministers were elected, a police force was formed, a penal code was drawn up, and a bench of Judges was appointed. The administration was capable, vigilant, and vigorous. Crime was followed by punishment with almost the same certainty as effect followed cause. In two weeks the mining camp was as safe a place of residence as St. Petersburg, and in two weeks more it was as orderly as a well-managed Sunday-school. A postal system was inaugurated, sanitation laws were framed and enforced, and a free public hospital was erected. At the end of 1886 Theltuga was probably the best governed place in Asia. Then the Russian Government took action/ The Theltuga republic, it decided, was “exciting the minds of the people of Siberia.” A military cordon was established on the Siberian border, and Russia proceeded to starve the republic out. This succeeded so well that when a Chinese military expedition, fitted out at Russia’s instigation, marched against the republican 1887, it found only a few sick men in hospital. The rest had fled. The Chinese tied the survivors to trees and poured water over them till they froze to death. Thus successfully was the first Chinese republic stamped out.