Mr. Conger to Mr. Day.

No. 34.]

Sir: I have the honor to transmit to you herewith copies of the correspondence with the United States consul general at Shanghai, and my note to the Tsung-li Yamên, in regard to a complaint of maltreatment by the Chinese made by Mr. E. D. Chapin, a citizen of the United States and a missionary residing at Wuhu.

I have, etc.,

E. H. Conger.
[Inclosure 1 in No. 34.]

Mr. Goodnow to Mr. Conger.

Sir: I hand you herewith letter to me from Z. Charles Beale, superintendent of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, Wuhu, and letter from the Rev. E. D. Chapin, missionary of that alliance, which explain themselves. I see by Dr. Wilcox’s dispatches that they have submitted to him practically the same papers which he forwarded to Washington for instructions. It seems to me (and Mr. Chapin, who is here in Shanghai, agrees with me) that no further monetary damages, either for the missionary in person or for the mission, can be asked for. Mr. Chapin would be well satisfied if an escort could be given him to the town where the trouble occurred and the authorities there be instructed to obtain for him a building which he could lease for missionary purposes, and if the authorities be instructed from Peking to protect him fully. Mr. Chapin desires to make no further claim for damages for himself and believes it would weaken his influence in that region if exemplary damages were asked for the mission. Mr. Chapin leaves here shortly for Wuhu, and if you ask and obtain the escort and the instructions to the local Chinese officials I have indicated above, he desires to be [Page 213] notified either by you directly or through me, at Wuhu, in care of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.

I have, etc.,

John Goodnow,
Consul-General.
[Sub-inclosure.]

Mr. Beale to Mr. Goodnow.

Dear Sir: Your favor of the 2d to hand. Mr. Chapin and Mr. Alexander have written out a full account of their trouble to Mr. Wilcox. He said that he thought it would have to go to Washington; I don’t think so. Mr. Chapin came this a.m., and he says that the officials begged them to accept a fixed amount for their damages, which they did; but this will not cover the mission’s demand. I believe also that if there is to be peace in Hunan some strong protest should be made, and these men returned in honor with a strong escort; if toot, there will be future trouble. However, I am sure that our Government will take it up in a wise and vigorous manner.

I have nothing new to add about the trouble myself. Mr. Chapin is forwarding to you a detailed account.

Thanking you for the interest you have taken, I am, etc.,

Z. Chas. Beale,
Supt. Christian and Missionary Alliance in Central China.
[Subinclosure No. 2.]

Mr. Chapin to Mr. Goodnow.

Dear Sir: Having reached Wuhu and consulted with our local superintendent, he has asked me to prepare a written statement of our troubles in western Hunan for transmission to you.

On May the 17th, of this year, Mr. B. Alexander, a British subject, and myself (E. D. Chapin), an American subject, left Ch’ang-teh-fu, where we have a mission station, for a bookselling and preaching trip up the Uen River, in western Hunan, traveling in our own boat, a large native one. After a comparatively quiet trip, with some trouble at a few places, we reached Hong-Kiang, a large and busy place, on the 17th of June. Wishing to remain at that place for a time we dismissed our crew and lived in our boat, going ashore to sell books and tracts on the streets; we also had hopes of being able to rent a place for a mission station. We had two days of comparative quiet, selling books, but the local officials showed a secretly hostile spirit from the first—outwardly friendly, but doing as little as possible in the way protection, in the hope of driving us from the place. The bad element of the city crowded the river banks, shouting that they would beat and kill the “foreign devil.” We suggested to the officials that the people, if thus freely permitted to curse and threaten us without restraint, would have sufficient courage for something more than words, but they did nothing to put a stop to it.

The 23d of June being the dragon-boat festival, the officials requested us to remain on board, and we consented, merely asking that they prevent roughs from making us trouble on the boat. In the afternoon, however, a crowd gathered, and while the few soldiers on duty stood and looked on with scarcely a protest, they began stoning the boat. One of the soldiers did seize an offender, but his superior struck him and made him release his prisoner. Seeing the weakness of the authorities the mob redoubled their attack, and were in a fair way to demolish our boat had not the soldiers from the gunboats nearby succeeded in getting her away from the bank and taking us across the river. We were anchored beside three native gunboats at the time of the disturbance, but they were as useless as washtubs. We were kept anchored below the city for ten days, while the officials used every plea and excuse they could invent to induce us to leave. Feeling that they could protect us if they chose we refused to go, and they asked us then to give them time to quiet the people before we returned to the city. We told them we would wait any reasonable time.

Hong-Kiang, being neither a Fu nor a Hsien city, has only subordinate officials, [Page 214] and is governed by the magistrate of Huei-tong-hsien. This magistrate came down in person to investigate the difficulty, and showed an apparent readiness to suppress the trouble. His methods, however, seemed to us rather mild; he contented himself with exhorting the people not to molest us, and although in his proclamation he threatened offenders with punishment, yet he made no arrests. We ventured to suggest that more rigid measures than mere exhortation would be more effectual; but he said that to make any arrests, or to use force at that time, would cause a wholesale uprising, in which not only we, but also himself, would be killed; in fact, the city was being nightly posted with placards to that effect. The magistrate claimed that his forces were insufficient, but two garrisons of soldiers were within call if he had chosen to call them; he assured us, however, that all that was necessary was to thoroughly exhort the people and all would be well. So on the 4th of July he sent down men to take our boat back to the city. A short time after arriving back a crowd gathered as before, beginning with words, proceeding to deeds, giving us a very severe stoning. At the time there was hardly a man on the scene from any of tile officials on the shore, and the gunboat did scarcely anything. We were anchored outside the official boat of the commander in chief of the gunboats of the place; but seeing that his own boat was being damaged, his men, instead of doing anything to disperse the mob, simply pushed our boat forward so that his escaped, while ours was exposed to the full force of the stoning. They then began to beg us to go aboard one of the smaller gunboats, as before, and escape. We at first refused to do so, as we knew that they were well able to protect us on our own boat if they chose to do so; however, as the side of the boat was crushed in, and very large stones coming into the cabin, we found that we could no longer stay aboard safely, so we went on board one of the gunboats on their promise that they would also, as soon as possible, push off our boat as well. However, we had hardly left our boat before some of the mob got aboard, armed with swords and knives. The natives with us had a very narrow escape in getting off the boat. As soon as the mob began getting aboard our boat the soldiers on her immediately jumped into the water and swam away to safety. Finding that we were not on board, the mob, after smashing our boxes open and looting whatever they could find, broke open a case of kerosene and, firing that, soon reduced the boat and its contents to ashes; all this within an oar’s length of three gunboats armed with small cannon, muskets, swords, and spears. We were meanwhile some distance below on another gunboat, and as the people were putting off in small boats to follow us, as soon as our natives had joined us we dropped down the stream some distance, the captain of the gunboat absolutely refusing to take us to Ch’ang-teh-fu, as he said he would be killed on the road as well as we. We could not procure a boat ourselves, and so we were kept waiting there, not knowing how soon we might be attacked.

The secret society called the Ko-lao-huei is very strong in western Hunan, and it is freely confessed that many of the soldiers, and even of the smaller officials themselves, are members of it, which doubtless accounts in part for their unwillingness to do anything against their fellow-members. After dark that night the magistrate of Huei-tong-hsien came down the river and said that if we would not put the matter in the hands of our consul he would pay any amount of damages we chose to ask, and would guarantee that as soon as he could quiet the people we would be able to return in peace, and that he himself would rent us a house and protect us in it. We told him, however, that we could not then discuss those matters; that the first thing was to get us down the river in safety. He then procured us a small boat, in which, escorted by a gunboat, we came down to Ch’ang-teh-fu. We were told that the Ko-lao-huei had sent messengers ahead for the people to kill us, but by traveling night and day, and taking the oars ourselves much of the way, we succeeded in getting ahead of their messengers, and reached Ch’ang-teh-fu safely on the 8th of July. The magistrate sent a man down to Ch’ang teh-fu to settle with us, the negotiations being carried on through the Hsien magistrate of that place. Ten days were spent in trying to get us by all manner of means to promise that we would not refer the matter to our consul, hut we told them we should make them no such promise, as we considered that they had failed in their duty and should be reported. They then asked if we would allow them to settle the matter as far as cash compensation was concerned, and we consented, on the distinct understanding that it would not affect the question of reporting their remissness. They accordingly paid us, on July 19, the equivalent of $1,864 (Mexican) for the loss of boat, all our personal effects, money in cash, traveling expenses, etc. They endeavored to obtain from us a receipt for the amount made out in such a form as to practically acknowledge the settlement of the whole matter, but we gave them a receipt which simply stated that, having received payment in full for pecuniary losses, we would not again make claim for them.

In stating the matter for your consideration, we would just say that so far as concerned the magistrate of Huei-tong-hsien we have no complaint to make, unless it be for weakness in his dealing with the matter. He appeared honest in his endeavors to suppress the trouble, but was certainly mistaken in thinking that merely exhorting [Page 215] the people was sufficient. Since we left the place we have heard that he has made a number of arrests, but can not say whether it is true.

As to the smaller local officials, however, they were determined to drive us away, if possible, and were largely responsible for the trouble. If their local forces were insufficient, which is not the case, there was a garrison of soldiers within a day’s journey of the place, at Uen cheo-fu, and another at Tsing-cheo.

The officials also tried to shift the blame upon us by accusing one of our native colporteurs of quarreling with the people on the streets, destroying their property, etc. We, however, investigated these things, and while it may be that he was somewhat rash in his words against idolatry, yet the ridiculous charges they made, we are convinced, are utterly untrue.

I inclose Mr. Alexander’s Chinese name and my own; also the names of the officials concerned.

Having. I believe, covered the ground, I will close.

Yours, very respectfully,

E. D. Chapin
[Inclosure 2 in No. 34.]

Mr. Conger to the Tsung-li Yamên.

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States of America, has the honor to inform your highness and your excellencies of the Tsung-li Yamên that he has received through the United States consul-general at Shanghai a detailed report, which is inclosed herewith, of an unjustifiable and unprovoked attack upon an American missionary, Mr. E. D. Chapin, and his English associate, Mr. B. H. Alexander, by a riotous mob at Hong-Kiang, in the Province of Hunan, which resulted in the burning of their boat, the loss of their clothes, books, and other belongings, great personal violence, and, with their lives threatened, their final expulsion from the locality.

The details of the affair are very carefully given in the inclosed report, together with a frank account of a prompt and satisfactory settlement between the local officials and Mr. Chapin of the pecuniary damage sustained.

But in view of the oft-repeated injunctions of His Imperial Majesty, and your own keen sense of justice, I am sure that your highness and your excellencies will readily agree with me that a matter of such grave importance should not be permitted to end thus.

The peace and safety of the missionaries who are in China pursuing their calling under sacred treaty rights must be assured, good order among your people should be preserved, and respect for authority and compliance with law ought to be enforced, to the end that more serious future trouble may be avoided, life spared, and property protected.

In order, therefore, that the missionaries may peaceably teach and practice their faith at Hong-kiang, and that the people of said place may definitely understand that they must not harass or persecute them, and especially because of the facts set forth, the undersigned is constrained to respectfully request that Mr. Chapin be furnished a strong escort and be honorably conducted into Hong-kiang, and the authorities there directed to find a safe and suitable place which he can lease for missionary purposes, and that they be peremptorily instructed to render him and his associates full and complete protection in their work.

That this procedure may have the fullest potency, and its result be [Page 216] that which is best and most to be desired, it should be speedy and effective.

Hence it is requested that the matter shall have the immediate consideration of your highness and your excellencies and the undersigned notified of the result.

The undersigned avails, etc.,

E. H. Conger.