No. 224.
Mr. Frederick F. Low to Mr. Fish.
Sir: It becomes my painful duty to inform you that on the 21st instant a terrible riot occurred at Tien-tsin, which resulted in the death of sixteen French subjects, three Russians, and the destruction of the French consulate, Roman Catholic cathedral, and the establishment of the Sisters of Charity. In addition to the foreigners killed, several native Christians, as well as the servants employed in and about the mission establishment and consulate, were put to death. The exact number of these unfortunate Chinese it is, as yet, impossible to ascertain. This tragedy was enacted on the afternoon of the 21st instant, news of which reached Pekin on the evening of the 22d. The scene of the riot was in the Chinese city, some two miles distant from the “Concession,” where most of the foreigners reside. Notwithstanding this, the excitement and alarm among all foreigners living on the “Concession” at Tien-tsin have been great, fearing an attack upon the foreign settlement, without regard to nationality. As no foreigner has, as yet, dared to venture into the Chinese city, where the outrages were committed, our information in regard to the origin of this sad affair is meager, and much of it contradictory. Most of the information comes through Chinese channels, and it is necessary to hear all sides in order to come to any reasonable conclusion as to the truth of the matter. Even now I am only able to give you my opinion as to the facts, which may be modified or changed entirely by future evidence.
In order that you may be able to see and understand the whole case clearly, it is important that you should have before you the history of these Catholic establishments and their management in China, which appear to have been the sole cause of the riot.
At many of the principal places in China open to foreign residence the Sisters of Charity have established institutions, each of which appears to combine in itself a foundling hospital and orphan asylum. Finding that the Chinese were averse to placing children in their charge, the managers of these institutions offered a certain sum per head for all the children placed under their control given to them, it being understood that a child once in their asylum no parent, relative, or guardian could claim or exercise any control over it. It has been for some time asserted by the Chinese, and believed by most of the non-Catholie foreign population residing here, that the system of paying bounties induced the kidnapping of children for these institutions for the sake of the reward. It is also asserted, and I believe it to be true, that the priests or Sisters, or both, have been in the habit of holding out inducements to have children brought to them in the last stages of [Page 356] illness, for the purpose of being baptized in articulo mortis. In this way many children have been taken to these establishments in the last stages of disease, baptized there, and soon after taken away dead. All these acts, together with the secrecy and seclusion which appear to be a part and parcel of the regulations which govern institutions of this character everywhere, have created suspicions in the minds of the Chinese, and these suspicions have engendered an intense hatred against the Sisters on the part of all the common people who live any where near a mission; and any rumor concerning the Sisters or their acts, however improbable and absurd, found thousands of willing and honest believers among the ignorant and superstitious people. Some time about the end of May or beginning of June an epidemic prevailed at the Sisters’ institution at Tien-tsin, and a considerable number of the children died. In some way the report got abroad that the Sisters were killing the children to get their eyes and hearts for the purpose of manufacturing some sort of a medical specific, much sought after in Europe, and commanding a fabulous price. This report spread from one to another, and soon the belief became general among the common people, not only in Tien-tsin, but for many miles around. I heard of the excitement as early as the 5th of June. Crowds of people assembled from time to time near the mission buildings, indulged in excited and angry conversation, and on more than one occasion demanded of the Sisters that the children should be liberated. It is said that one day the crowd became so noisy and violent that the Sisters, fearing violence from the mob, consented that an examination should be made by a committee of five. The consul, hearing of the disturbance, made his appearance about this time, and, although the committee had been selected and were then in the building, he stopped the whole proceeding and drove the committee from the building with angry words; and some say he used his cane in expelling them. Subsequently the district magistrate took a man who had been industriously spreading the reports, who said he could point out the persons that were guilty of acts of sorcery and other crimes, to question him in the presence of the Sisters, and when confronted by them admitted that all his stories were without foundation and false. This appeared to quiet matters for a few days, but the excitement soon revived again, apparently more intense than before, the populace now demanding the release of the children as a sine qua non. The day prior to the outbreak the district magistrate, who is about on a par, in point of rank and authority, with the mayor of one of our cities, called upon the French consul and stated that unless permission be given for a thorough examination of the Sisters’ establishment, it was difficult to foretell the result. The consul, construing this language into a threat, replied that, the magistrate being inferior in rank to the consul, no negotiation could take place between them for the purpose indicated, or any other. On the afternoon of the 21st the mob assembled in front of the consulate, making a great noise and throwing stones and other missiles at the building. Seeing the impracticability of dispersing the mob unaided, the consul started for the yam un (office) of Chang-how, the highest officer living in Tien-tsin, for the purpose of asking assistance to quell the riotous proceedings. Notwithstanding Chang how’s statement, that the consul fired a pistol at him in his yamun, I don’t believe it. The consul undoubtedly reached the yamun of Chang how in a state of excitement bordering upon insanity, told his business, and started out again, accompanied by some mandarins. When he reached the street he met the mob, noisy and turbulent, and in the excitement he, I doubt not, shot two or three shots from his revolver at the crowd. [Page 357] This appears to have been the signal for the bloody work of the mob. The consul and his clerk were immediately killed; and as all accounts agree substantially with the report of Air. Meadows,-as to. the subsequent action of the mob, I beg to refer you to Mr. Meadows’s letters, which accompany this dispatch. As an evidence of the widespread knowledge of what was going on at Tien-tsin, and the evident determination of the people generally that no information should reach Pekin until their fancied wrongs had been avenged, I would refer to the fact that the courier that was intrusted with Mr. Meadows’s letter was intercepted some distance this side of Tien-tsin, seized, beaten terribly, and carried back to Tien-tsin vi et armis. Several couriers dispatched to the other legations received similar treatment; so that for two or three days the foreign residents of Pekin were considerably excited, fearing that the contagion might spread to this city. The news, being known among the natives here quite as soon as it was by legations, caused considerable commotion for a while. The native workmen engaged in the erection of a building for the Sisters in this city quit their work, and the servants at the Catholic establishments and some at the French legation took “French leave.”
The reported atrocities connected with the assassination of the Sisters seem too horrible and fiendish for belief. If true, it goes to show to what a pitch of frenzy the ignorant and superstitious Lan be wrought by rumors too absurd for belief by any educated and Christian people. The report now is that these poor creatures were taken out of the building; put to death by means of spears, knives, and swords; their eyes and hearts taken out; and their bodies thrown into the flames of the burning buildings. The fury of the mob seems to have been directed toward the teachers of the Catholic religion, in which the Chinese appear to have included all Frenchmen. This opinion must have originated in the fact that all the Roman Catholic missions in China are under the care and special protection of the French minister at Pekin, and the French consuls at the several open ports. In addition, all or nearly all French subjects residing in China are Catholics in faith, and worship at the various Catholic churches scattered through the empire. It is supposed that the killing of the three Russians was done by mistake, the mob supposing them to be Frenchmen. The truth of this theory appears to be established by the fact that there were a few English, Germans, and Swiss living in the city, not far from the scene of the riot, who were not harmed or molested, and by the additional fact that the Protestant chapels in the city were not injured beyond the carrying off of the movable furniture, books, &c. I hope, and am inclined to believe, that the fury of the mob is spent, and that all real danger to the foreign residents on the “Concession” is over, although the history of mobs, the world over, goes to prove this fact: that the motive which incites riots is, during their progress, often lost sight of, and their subsequent acts are controlled by persons who join them for purposes of robbery and plunder alone. It is only in this view of the case that there is danger in the future; and I shall not feel sure of quiet and order until a gunboat arrives at Tien-tsin. The British gunboat Opossum is said to be at Chefoo. If so, she will be likely to make her appearance at Tien-tsin in two or three days at furthest. I have no idea where any of the United States fleet are; but it is fair to presume they are all on the coast of Japan, where the climate is more agreeable than on the Chinese coast in summer.
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When the news of the massacre—for it can be called by no other name—reached Pekin, a meeting was called of all the representatives [Page 358] of the treaty powers residing here, to consult upon the measures necessary to adopt for the mutual protection of our countrymen. Although the information we had received was meager, disjointed, and much of it evidently unreliable, it was thought best, without waiting for details, to address a joint note to the government here, as being the best step to awaken the chief officials to a due sense of their responsibility, and induce them to adopt measures promptly to restore order and quiet; for prompt action on their part seemed necessary, not only for the safety of foreign residents in Tien-tsin, but in Pekin also. A copy of this note accompanies this. It is but just to say that the government here shows every disposition to do all in its power, but it is weak and effeminate, and requires the constant advice and aid of the foreign representatives to point out the proper steps to take. I inclose a copy of the note from Prince Kung, received on the 25th instant, stating what had been done toward quieting things at Tien-tsin. In addition to this, all the available troops in this vicinity have been brought into the ci% and posted in the neighborhood of the Catholic establishments for their protion. I also send herewith translations of all the decrees that have appeared up to. this date. In the foregoing I have endeavored to give you the substance of the best information that has reached me up to this day. Until further intelligence is received I forbear criticising the causes which led to this terrible affair, or speculating upon the probable or possible effects of it, upon the future intercourse of China with the western nations. Enough, however, is known to establish clearly three facts:
1st. That the action of the Sisters of Charity, or of those who controlled their institution, in the purchase of children, was the cause of the rumors which incited the mob.
2d. That the action of the mob was not directed against foreigners because they were foreigners. It appears, rather, to have been a religious crusade against Catholics; not particularly for the reason that Catholics were teaching the Christian religion, but because of their action in filling the asylums with children against the washes of the Chinese, and in a manner calculated to arouse prejudices and engender hatred. All French subjects were included in the category of those who committed these crimes, because the French government appeared to be the guardian and protector of the Catholic missions.
3d. That the action of the French consul was unwise, in not giving his consent for the use of any reasonable means to disabuse the minds of the people and allay the excitement; and also in firing his pistol into the crowd of people, which precipitated a bloody collision between natives and foreigners, thereby sacrificing his own life and the lives of others who had placed themselves under his protection.
I think I hazard nothing in saying that the representations of Great Britain, Russia, and North Germany agree with me in these opinions.
In thus expressing my opinions as to the causes of the riot, I do not desire to be understood as excusing or palliating this terrible crime, or the action of the officials; who, by their inertness, if not by direct complicity in the plot, failed to take any resolute action to quell the disturbance and protect the lives and property of those who were residing upon Chinese soil, in pursuance of treaty rights, and engaged in lawful undertakings, in accordance with the strict letter of treaty stipulations.