"and wo want nothing but to be allowed
to pursue our peaceful life again. "
These pious men rose in high favor with
the government , so high as to engender
the jealousy of the old generals.
Strange to relate , the monks rose equal
ly in favor among the people they had
conquered. Observing this , the generals
schemed to get rid of them. In a peti
tion to the government to "remove , "
which might mean imprison or destroy ,
the mouks , the generals contended that
these five men were stronger than the
army , than the government itself , and
were dangerous to the country in case of
a general uprising. So great was the
pressure brought to bear upon the reign
ing Manchn dynasty , and it was urged
so strongly that the monks were plan
ning for its overthrow , that three of the
five were killed in an attack made upon
them. Their death incensed the erst
while rebels and led them to revolt
against what they considered the unjust ,
ungrateful , and impious action of the
government which turned around and
slew those who saved it. The former
rebels formed societies everywhere with
one avowed intention to overthrow the
Tsiug or Manchu dynasty J These or
ganizations sprang up all over the coun
try. Their members , if caught , were
beheaded , without trial , but they
flourished in secret , and not only main
tained their strength but increased. For
a long period they remained quiescent ,
but the vow to destroy the Manchu
dynasty was handed down from father
to son , to be practically accomplished
when opportunity offered.
This society came into public view
again about fifty years ago , when Hung
Siutsuen , a religious fanatic , incited an
uprising which developed into the fam
ous Tai Ping rebellion. The old auti-
Mauchu society , which for years had ap
parently lain dormant , awoke at his
call , and combined forces with him.
These united societies became known as
the "Redheads , " and subsequently as
"Boxers , " at least to the foreigners
resident in the Chinese empire.
The lliso of Li Hung Cluing : .
How formidable a power the Red
heads became was demonstrated when
they had captured nearly half of the
provinces of the empire. They were
stronger than the government , and it
was only after the vigorous and brilliant
campaign of "Chinese" Gordon that
these provinces were restored to the
Manohn dynasty. It was this campaign
which brought forward , developed and
made famous Li Hung Chang , now the
doyen of the viceroys , who has upon his
aged shoulders the task of mediating
between his government and the ag
grieved nations for the destruction oi
whose representatives it must render an
accounting.
The people of China , noticeably since
the Tai Ping rebellion , have been dis
satisfied with the Tartar government.
The Tartars look upon the Chinese
proper as do the Russians upon the
Jews. The rulers of China have always
come from Tartary , never from the
South , and the favoritism shown for
Tartars has always been as thorns in the
side to the pure Chinese. The latter
must contribute to the support of every
male Tartar child , and the taxes imposed
press them hard and embitter feelings
already injured in many other ways.
Why the "Boxers , " who have always
been against , the Mauchus , should now
be aided by the imperial troops , be led
by Tuan , a Manohu prince , and be
secretly aided by the Empress Dowager ,
as is believed in many quarters , is ex
plicable only by the fact that the Boxers
have lost some of their enmity towards
the Manchus and are making common
cause with the latter in an effort to
drive the foreigners , or "white devils , "
out of the empire.
The opinion of the intelligent Chinese
in Greater New York as to the motive
actuating the present outbreak is in
teresting. There are about 10,000 Can
ton Chinese in Greater New York. With
the masses of these Guy Maine comes
in daily contact and knows , therefore ,
their feeling on the present situation in
China. Mr. Maine ( the phonetic spell
ing of the Chinese name ) is superinten
dent of the Chinese Guild of New York ,
an organization which aims to protect
and advance the Chinese of this city.
He is an American citizen and has em
braced Christianity. He was in China
during its war with Japan , the guest of
his brother in-law Dr. Mark , who is
physician and confidential secretary to
Li Hung Chang. Mr. Maine was the
official interpreter for the Chinese Gov
ernment when the constitutionality of
the Geary act was being tested and for
warded his reports directly to Li Hung
Chang for the Empress during the ses
sions before the Washington authorities
sent theirs. It is remarkable with what
unanimity the local Cantonese believe
that Russia id at the bottom of all the
present trouble and supporting the
Boxers.
"The Boxers are rabble , led by fan
atics and unscrupulous men who hope
to make personal gain out of the up
rising , and are utterly without money , "
said Mr. Maine. "Now , where have
their modern weapons and ammunition
come from ? The government has all it
can do to supply its regular troops and
no arms worth mentioning have been
captured from it by the rebels. There
is a secret supply source , and the finger
of suspicion points strongly to Russia.
It is our solemn belief that the object of
Li Hung Chang's visit to St. Petersburg
four years ago was to sign a secret treaty
between his government and Russia in
which the latter pledged itself to sup
port the Empress against all foreign
powers in return for certain concessions
of lands and privileges in the Chinese
empire. Now the boxers are given an
opportunity in the theatre of hostilities
in order to pave the way for Russia's
advance into the Chinese empire in a
way which will appear not of her seek
ing. This is to blind the allies helping
tier to accomplish her purpose. Russia -
is pulling the wool over the eyes of the
other nations and is '
making a cat's-paw
of the Boxers. It will make little differ
ence to her who wields power finally , the
empress or the young king , once she is
firmly intrenched on Chinese soil. She
has been preparing for this for years.
Any overt act against her by the Boxers
or Empress pending the settlement of
the present crisis counts for naught.
However , as we Chinese say , 'When the
water is clear we shall see the rook. ' "
New York Evening Post.
THE EXAMPLE OF IOWA.
Other Western states may find valua
ble suggestions in considering the con
ditions of the development of Iowa. In
an article on the "lowans" , in the At
lantic Monthly , by Mr. R. L. Hartt , the
story is told in the brief words : "From
prairie grass to wheat , from wheat to
clover , from clover to corn. Such are
the short and simple annals of the
lowans. "
The Hawkeye farmers learned by
costly experience what scientific agri
culturists frequently find it necessary to
preach in Kansas and Missouri today
that the richest soil may bo exhausted
by the continuous drain of any one crop
planted year after year. James A. Wil
son , no\y secretary of agriculture , and
other men of his stamp , exhorted on the
need of rotation of crops at a time when
the soil was in a bad way from much
planting of wheat , and the farmers ,
heeding their advice , began to sow
clover every fourth year. The abun
dance of forage naturally brought cows ,
and to fatten the cows corn was planted
extensively. Then hogs were imported
to clean up the corn wasted by the
stock. As a result Iowa ships fewer car
loads of grain today than she sent out
twenty years ago. Her agricultural
products are transformed at the home
and go out of the state in the shape of
shipments of fat stock and hogs. „
Missouri has already learned this les
son well. According to the statistics of
the department of agriculture , last year
the counties of this state shipped less
corn outside their own limits , in proportion
tion to the size of the crop , than those
of any other state in the Union. Most
of the 163 million bushels raised in Mis
souri last year was fed lo native stock.
Kansas is beginning to work along the
same lines. Until within the last two
or three years it had been exporting to
other states a large proportion of its
crops. Now it is consuming more and
more at home. The increase of its live
stock by one million head , from 1805 * to
1809 , shows the reason for this. On the
subject of crops Kansas has still much
to learn , for the richness of its soil has
prevented the matter from being
brought to its attention so vividly as it
has been to other less favored sections.
Kansas City Star.