No. 74.
Mr. Low to
Mr. Fish.
Legation of the
United States,
Peking, June 7, 1873.
(Received August 6.)
No. 262.]
Sir: I have the honor to send herewith extracts
from two dispatches of the British consul at Tien-tsin to Her Majesty’s
minister in Peking; also a sketch showing the location of the new
fortifications now in process of erection at Hsin Chêng, (the new military
camp between Tientsin and Taku,) and that portion of the river which the new
forts will command.
Having visited that locality and made inquiries on the spot, the British
consul is able to furnish some additional information, and many interesting
[Page 187]
particulars in regard to what
we already know. The report as a whole agrees with that made to me by Mr.
Consul Sheppard, a copy of which went forward with my No. 259 of 22d
ultimo.
Within the last few days there have been landed at Tien-tsin two large
breech-loading Krupp guns, (said to be 260–pounders,) and 20 field-guns (4
batteries) of same pattern. The two large guns are, I hear, intended for the
new fortification at Hsin Chêng.
As to the object of the Chinese in making these extensive military
preparations, I have no information in addition to what has already been
communicated to the department. I see no reason, however, to modify the
opinions contained in previous dispatches on the subject.
I have, &c.,
[Inclosure 1.]
Extract from the British consul’s dispatch to Her
Britannic Majesty’s minister.
* * * * * * *
In company with the acting French consul and M. Coutenson,* I
proceeded by boat to Hsin Chêng on the afternoon of the 26th instant. We
arrived there on the morning of the 27th, and found the landing-place
thronged with fatigue-parties, carts, and coolies, employed in conveying
lime, bricks, &c., to the works.
We asked one of the soldiers which was the shortest way to the nearest of
the large recently constructed earth-works, and he immediately pointed
it out to us, whereupon we walked through the camps, no opposition of
any sort being offered to our doing so, and ascended the work itself,
which is a circular tower 31 feet high and 303 feet in circumference.
The two others are of similar dimensions, and all will be inclosed by a
new wall, which is now being constructed, and which, we were told, would
be, on each of its four sides, 970 feet in length, while its breadth
would be 170 feet and its height 28 feet. A canal large enough for a
gun-boat to steam in is to be made outside the new wall, and when this
has been completed, the old high-road between Tien-tsin and Taku
(passing east and west through Hsin Chêng, and now temporarily blocked
on either side during the progress of the works) will be re-opened, and
the Au Huei and Honan militia all withdrawn from the eighteen camps
which they now occupy, into the new town. I have only time to add that
we were well received by General Wu, the commander-in-chief. * * * *
*
[Inclosure 2.]
Extract from a dispatch from the British consul at
Tien-tsin to Her Majesty’s minister.
I have the honor to inclose copy of a general plan of Hsin Chêng, on the
Peiho River, kindly placed at my disposal by M. de Coutenson, military
attaché of the French legation, in whose company I visited the place on
the 27th ult.
I have added some explanatory remarks, and though Hsin Chêng itself
appears in the plan on too large a scale, the general idea conveyed is
sufficiently accurate.
The new, town (so Hsin Chêng may be translated) is a square to be
surrounded by a wall and a navigable canal, (so we were told on the
spot,) the former of which is now in course of construction. We were
told that this wall would be 970 feet long on each of the four sides,
170 feet wide, and 26 feet high, but these measurements, I believe, are
exaggerated.
The commander-in-chief, with whom we breakfasted, told us that he had
20,000 men under his command in the eighteen temporary intrenched camps
now in the neighborhood. The men will all be removed from these into
Hsin Chêng when the works now in progress are completed, pending which
the old Taku road has also been blocked up, as we saw on the east side
of the town, and a new road made to the southward of the position.
[Page 188]
The intrenched positions at the bends of the river, both above and below
this town, marked “a” and “c” on the plan, will, I believe, be retained.
The latter, indeed, is not in the Hsin Chêng but in the Taku military
district, and is garrisoned only by artillery.
We were much struck by the fine appearance of the “hwai yung” (soldiery)
at Hsin Chêng, and the heartiness with which they worked. I mentioned
this to an officer who accompanied us over the works, and he said it was
because no opium-smoking was allowed in the camps, and the men were kept
under very strict discipline.
General Wu had previously informed us that the punishment for
opium-smoking was slitting or excision of the upper lip for the first
offense, and decapitation for the second.
Hsin Chêng is by river about fifteen miles above Taku, and five miles
below Koku, the adjoining country on the river-side being well wooded,
but that on the south and southeast a barren plain. It seems to be a
well-chosen position for defensive warfare.
Tasked the general’s secretary if they had any torpedoes, and he said
“yes.” They are called shun to lei, or “submarine thunder,” and he
explained that they were exploded by a galvanic battery.
The general has been studying the geography and history of the western
nations, and mentioned with special admiration the names of Washington,
Napoleon, and Mahomet. He seemed to find a good deal of satisfaction in
contrasting the population and area of China with England, France, and
the other European countries. * * *
