[Subinclosure.]
Mr. Johnson et
al. to Mr. Fowler.
Ichow, Shantung, August 14, 1899.
Sir: We beg to acknowledge the receipt of
recent communications from you, as follows: No. 1266, inclosing copy
of minister’s dispatch, No. 365; No. 1272, inclosing note from Mr.
McMullan, in re postal route; No. 1281, inclosing copy minister’s
dispatch, No. 376; No. 1324, inclosing copy minister’s dispatch, No.
392, and No. 1327, inclosing copy of minister’s dispatch, No.
393.
We desire, once more, to express our appreciation of the energy with
which you have prosecuted this case, and, moreover, we hereby
request you to be so kind as to convey to his excellency, Minister
Conger, our thanks for the renewed pressure which he is bringing to
bear in our interest. There can be little doubt that a determined
attitude and persevering pressure from above will now enable us to
bring these cases to a creditable termination.
Since forwarding our last letter, that dated July 31, we have renewed
our demand upon the prefect for the payment of the promised
indemnity to the Christians. We first wrote a letter, and then,
receiving no reply except a card, we went in person and presented
him the copy of the letter from the tsungli yamen to Minister
Conger. He
[Page 178]
explained that
the expected remittance of silver had not arrived from Chinanfu and
assured us, as usual, that it would be here sooner or later. We then
informed him that the condition of the Christians who were robbed is
very pitiable, especially in the Iswei district, where the summer
crops which they have been able to plant have been destroyed by a
severe hailstorm. We suggested that he personally advance part of
the indemnity for the relief of the immediate necessities of the
Christians. We pointed out that, at his instance, the acting county
magistrate had already advanced sufficient funds to the Catholics to
cover all their losses in this county.
He promised to take the matter into consideration, and last night a
committee of the gentry called to notify us that the prefect would
cause the magistrate I to advance a sum which was, after some
discussion, fixed at 300,000 “large” cash, or nearly one-fifth of
our entire claim. This sum he promises to pay to-morrow.
This morning a secretary of the Chu Chou yamen arrived to negotiate
for a settlement of the Liu Ts’un cases. He claims to have brought
down with him, in custody, one of the ringleaders in the robbery at
Liu Ts’un, together with a representative of Liu Ts’un. We have sent
for the Christian involved and shall try to settle the matter.
At the written request of the magistrate of Ji Chao County we have
sent to him, to be forwarded to Man T’ang Yu, the refugee Christians
who have found an asylum with us for the past eight months. In spite
of the statement to the contrary, in the letter from the tsungli
yamen to Minister Conger, there has been no reparation whatever made
to the despoiled Christians at Man T’ang Yu. The arrangement alleged
to have been made by the local gentry evidently refers to the
written promise of settlement which the three foreigners extracted
from the Ho Chia Lou people when the latter attempted to frighten
the visitors away by an armed demonstration, as related in the first
letter written to you by us concerning these riot cases.
That promise was not kept. On the contrary, most of the rioting was
done after it had been given.
In reference to our recent demand that the Ji Chao magistrate arrest
the chief ringleader at Ho Chia Lou, Ho Wën Chih (not Ho Yen Man, as
the tsungli yamen’s letter, above referred to, insists on having
it), the magistrate replied that he had again sent constables, but
Ho Wën Chih had fled. We consider it important that this man be
arrested, so as to prove to the people in that region that they can
not with impunity organize armed attacks upon American citizens
going quietly about their business under treaty guaranties.
We remain, etc.,
- Charles F. Johnson.
- Wm. P. Chalfant.
- Wallace S. Faris.
