No. 46.
Mr. Denby
to Mr. Bayard.
Peking, February 9, 1886. (Received April 7.)
Sir: I have the honor to report that lately there was a slight emeute at Chinkiang.
Certain missionaries of the Methodist Episcopal Mission had made contracts under which certain houses were to be huilt. The contractor undertook to throw up the job. The missionaries held him to his agreement. The contractor, unable to get any more money, undertook to take away the blinds in the veranda. Mr. Longdon, one of the missionaries, refused to allow this to be done. The contractor then ordered his men to bind the missionary. Mr. Woodville, another missionary, came to Mr. Longdon’s rescue. They were both bound and taken to the tipao. The consul, Mr. Bergholz, hearing of this, communicated with the taotai, and the tipao then released the missionaries. Mr. Bergholz demanded that the carpenters should be punished. The taotai declined to punish them until he could see the accounts of the parties. Mr. Bergholz refused to comply with this demand. The matter was brought to the attention of the acting consul-general, Mr. Smithers. Mr. Smithers procured the British and American admirals to send men-of-war to Chin-Kiang. There being no American man-of-war convenient, the British Admiral sent H. M. S. Wanderer and the [Page 75] United States vessel Marion shortly followed. Upon being informed that two ships were ordered to Chinkiang the taotai ordered the offenders to be arrested and canqued in front of the United States consulate. Beside this, they each received three hundred blows. The affair is now over and all is quiet.
I have not received any official account of the affair, but I send a statement of it now for fear of rumors reaching you before the true account does.
I may mention in this connection that the treatment of the Chinese question by the President in his message has been received with warm encomiums by the English press in China. The action of the Chinese in New York commending the energetic conduct of the Administration is received with great satisfaction. But it is argued, with some show of truth, that Americans will be hampered in China when they have grievances by the outrages committed in the Western States and Territories. Accounts of these outrages are all published in the Chinese papers. * * *
I had a discussion with Li Hung Chang about these difficulties, in which I tried to explain to him our dual form of government, and assured him that the United States Government would do all that it could to protect the Chinese against violence.
I have, &c.