Mr. Cologan to the Tsung-li Yamên.
Highness and Excellencies: It is with pain that in my capacity as dean of the diplomatic corps, and by direction of all the foreign representatives, I have to inform your highness and your excellencies that on yesterday afternoon some very violent and disgraceful attacks were committed against foreigners.
[Page 233]It is not necessary to mention them in detail. It is sufficient to state that the father of a member of the legation of the United States of America was severely wounded, and that a member of the British legation and an English lady, a French citizen, and two Japanese subjects were wounded or attacked and insulted—all while proceeding from the railroad station.
I must add that the police officials who were present, and from whom protection was demanded, refused to interfere.
About the same time the Marchioness Salvago Raggi, a lady of the diplomatic corps, was the victim of railleries, threats, and annoying insults as she passed in her chair, going from the Pei t’ang to the Hsi t’ang.
All of my honorable colleagues charge me to communicate to your highness and your excellencies that acts of this character are absolutely intolerable. That they were committed by a mob is not a sufficient excuse to reach the gravity and responsibility of the case, because there are evidently leaders of this agitation against foreigners. In fact, for several days we have been informed that such threats were being made against us.
I therefore, in the name of my honorable colleagues, request of the Tsung-li Yamên that without loss of a single moment the Chinese Government take energetic measures to guarantee the security of the representatives of foreign nations, the free circulation of their staffs, and of foreigners of every nationality in Peking.
The diplomatic corps require also an immediate reply to this note, which should make known to us what are the measures and precautions taken to the end of enabling me to examine and understand them.
This affair is a very serious one for China, and I can not recommend too strongly to your highness and your excellencies that you give it prompt and very serious consideration.
I improve the occasion to reiterate to your highness and your excellencies the assurance of my high consideration.