Mr. Conger to Mr.
Hay.
Legation of the United States,
Pekin, China, January 15,
1900.
No. 312.]Sir: I have the honor to inclose herewith a
translation of an imperial decree published on the 11th instant, which
has special reference to the missionary troubles in the province of
Shantung.
It is believed by some to be a considerable step backward from the decree
of the 4th instant, of which I transmitted a copy in my dispatch No.
307, of the 6th instant, and that the Throne believing the first decree
was a little too severe or sweeping, this has been issued as a sort of
tranquilizing measure, that the so-called “Boxers” and other secret
organizations, reading between the lines, will find a degree of
encouragement and will continue their persecutions and depredations, and
so the decree will do more harm than good.
This is particularly the view of the German minister, and he has, in
consequence, made a verbal protest to the Tsungli Yamen.
I confess that I myself have some anxiety as to the effect of its strange
wording; but since we have been so strongly assured that the rebellion
would be at once putd own, and that General Yuan Shih-kai, the newly
appointed governor, was just the man to do it, I have thought best to
presume that they mean what they say and to let them have a reasonable
chance to accomplish it before pressing them further.
The English minister shares my view of the matter, and for the present we
shall neither of us take any formal action concerning this last
decree.
I have the honor to be, etc.,
[Inclosure 1.]
A decree published in the Pekin Gazette January
11, 1900.
Recently the practice of robbery and pillage has increased very much
in all the provinces. Repeated missionary cases have occurred, and
these have in most instances been attributed to the acts of leagues
or societies of bad characters, rebels, etc. We
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have been requested to cause that these
outlaws be rigorously arrested and severely dealt with.
It must be borne in mind, however, that a discrimination should be
made in the nature and object of leagues or societies. There are
reckless and worthless fellows who associate themselves together and
become joined in sworn brotherhood and, relying on their numbers,
create trouble and make disturbances. Persons who league together
for such purposes the law certainly can not pardon.
If law-abiding and loyal people, attending to their proper duties of
life, should combine together to study and practice the skill of
experts in any art of science (of militia) for the purpose of
serving their own protection, or where villages band together for
the mutual protecting and guarding their villages and hamlets, this
is moreover nothing more or less than carrying out the duty of
keeping watch and rendering mutual help.
Should the local officers, when cases occur, not exercise extra care
in making a due discrimination between them, and carelessly listen
to rumors, and regard all societies as being composed of evil doers,
and punish men recklessly with death, this would result in there
being no discrimination made between the good and the bad. The
people’s minds would therefore be in fear and doubt, as the good and
the bad would be treated alike. Not only would the temper of the
people be disquieted, but the action of the officials would be bad
and improper.
Our dynasty has manifested great kindness and love toward our people
for over two hundred years. The people have been eating the produce
and living on the soil, and they have all been imbued with natural
goodness. How is it, then, that they willingly become banditti and
create trouble and thus seek punishment? The whole matter rests on
the viceroy and governors of the provinces, who should be cautious
in the selection of virtuous officers, and reform and put in order
the administration of the local places, so that the people may be at
rest and live in tranquillity.
When cases of litigation arise between Christians and non-Christians,
they should be dealt with in a just and equitable manner and not the
least partiality shown. The officials should try to give full
satisfaction to the general wishes of the people, and then when
cases arise they will naturally be able to fully conciliate the
popular feeling. Whenever the Christians and non-Christians have
cases which they consider of great importance, these may be reduced
or changed into cases of minor importance, and in the same way there
may be cases among the Christians and non-Christians that after all
turn out to amount to nothing at all. A strong foundation of
administration of government and good relations between foreign
powers rest on this (i. e., peace and quiet prevailing).
All the viceroys and governors have been the recipients of our
greatest favor, and they should act in concert with us and consider
the difficult questions of the present time. They should be in
sympathy with the Court and exercise kindness toward the masses in
like manner as ourselves. They should vigorously interest the local
officers to deal with this class of cases (missionary cases). They
should ascertain if they (the parties to the case in hand) are
banditti or not, and whether they have caused trouble or not—it
makes no difference as to what band, league, or society they belong
to, or whether they are Christians or not.
The people should protect and guard their own native places and their
households. They should not listen to idle rumors which lead to
calamities and the movement of troops. They must not presume or act
on their own authority and insult their village neighbors. Thus
quiet and peace will prevail, and our mind, which is exercised both
night and day, be relieved. This is our earnest desire.
Let this decree be promulgated for general information.
