Government with the Boxer rising. The American mission buildings at Tung-Chau near Peking were looted and burned, and seventy-five native Christians were massacred, many of them being burned alive. These were but a few of the appalling murders committed by the fanatical Boxers. The Roman Catholic missions were especially marked for attack and their missionaries suffered most severely in several provinces.

On June 17 the Taku forts fired on the ships of the allied squadron, but after six hours' engagement the forts were silenced and captured. British, German, French, Russian and Japanese warships took part in the engagement.

A force of 2,500 men, representing all nationalities, under Admiral Seymour, left Tien-tsin on June 10 for the relief of Peking, and as Tien-tsin was in danger of being taken by a Chinese force that laid siege to it, reinforcements were sent from Taku. These arrived at Tien-tsin on June 23.

Admiral Seymour was checked at Lang-fang, about half-way to Peking, by the Imperial Army of General Tung-fuh-siang. Finding the railway onward entirely destroyed, and because his forces were short of provisions and he was hampered with wounded from fighting the hordes of Boxers that opposed him on June 13 and 14, he was forced to withdraw on Tien-tsin. A relieving force was sent up from the coast, and on June 26 he reached Tien-tsin. The place had been heavily bombarded and had a narrow escape from capture by the Chinese.

Meanwhile in Peking serious events were taking place. On June 11 M. Sugiyama, the Chancellor of the Japanese Legation, was brutally murdered, unarmed and alone, by the soldiers of General Tung. A lying decree was published, attributing this crime to the action of the mob outside the city. Railway shops, locomotives and rolling stock at Feng-tai Junction were destroyed and all telegraphic lines were cut. A deputation from the Tsung-li-Yamên, headed by Chi Hsiu, called upon the British Minister on the 12th with protestations of friendship for England, and assured him that all the trouble was over and that China regarded it as her solemn duty to protect her guests, the foreign legations. The very next day the Boxers began the work of destruction of property owned by foreigners. All foreign-owned houses in the city were destroyed, including the property of all the missions-two large Roman Catholic cathedrals, the Imperial Chinese Bank, the Electric Light Works, the Mint, the Russo-Chinese Bank, the Austrian, Italian, Belgian and Dutch Legations, the Imperial Maritime Custom House and the new Post Office, together with many private dwellings. The railway to Tien-tsin was entirely destroyed and even the very telegraph poles were sawed off close to the ground. The summer residences of the British Legation outside the city were wrecked, and the foreign cemetery monuments broken down. Graves were dug into and bodies were taken out and burned. In the North Cathedral about 2,000 Christian refugees who had

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fled from the massacres in the country took shelter, where they were bravely and successfully defended by Monsignor Favier with forty marines for two months before relief came. sands of native Christians were slain in their homes amid scenes of most horrible atrocity, and Prince Tuan with his brother Duke Lan and Chao-Shu-Chiao rode around "in their carts to gloat over the spectacle." All through the nights of the 13th and 14th the massacre continued. On the 16th rescue parties were sent out by several of the legations, which succeeded in saving several hundreds of the women and children who had hidden away and so escaped death, and more than 1,200 were taken for safety to the palace grounds of Prince Su, near the British Legation. On the same day the Boxers set fire to a foreign drug store in the native city. The flames spread to the booksellers' street and burned up all the principal shops in Pekin, with their merchandise of gold, silver, silks and furs, manuscripts, books and curios. On the 19th the foreign ministers were informed by the Tsung-li-Yamên that the allied fleets had captured the Taku forts on the 17th, and as this was equivalent to a declaration of war they must all leave Peking for Tien-tsin within twenty-four hours or otherwise protection could not be guaranteed to them. The diplomatic body decided to accept the ultimatum, but informed the Yamên that it was practically impossible to depart in twenty-four hours with such a numerous convoy of women and children, and asked to be received by Prince Ching and Prince Tuan at the Tsung-li-Yamên on the following day to arrange for their departure with suitable escort. No reply came from the Yamên, and on the morning of the 20th the diplomatic body met at the French Legation, and it was proposed but not seconded that all the Ministers should go. to the Yamên together. The German Minister, Baron von Ketteler, proceeding to the Yamên with Mr. Cordes, his secretary of the legation, was murdered by a Manchu official in full uniform, wearing a mandarin's button and feather in his hat, who fired a rifle at the Minister, killing him instantly. The secretary was shot at and wounded, but escaped as by a miracle.

The siege of the legations began at 4 P.M. on the afternoon of June 20. Meanwhile the diplomatic corps had received a reply to their request that some of the members of the Tsungli-Yamên should accompany them on their way to Tien-tsin. It stated that the country between Peking and Tien-tsin was infested by brigands and it would not be safe for the ministers to depart, therefore they must remain in Peking. The whole strength of the legation guards when the siege commenced was 18 officers and 389 men, American, Austrian, British, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Russian. Most of them were marines and bluejackets.

The Austrian Legation and the American Mission buildings were early abandoned. The group of buildings and enclosures that formed the British Legation was soon crowded with almost the whole foreign community. All the foreign

Ministers with their families, the missionaries, the Customs staff, including many women and children, were gathered within the high walls of the British Embassy. Here for nearly eight weeks the besieged made a most heroic defence, and warded off all attacks of the fanatical Boxers and the Chinese soldiers of Prince Tung. Every artifice of treachery and deceit was employed to destroy the brave defenders of the legation. Krupp guns were brought up, the adjoining buildings were fired, and supplies for the half-starved garrison were cut off. In their fury the Chinese soldiers set fire to the Hanlin Imperial Library, the centre of Chinese learning, and nearly all its priceless manuscripts and books were destroyed. The Dutch Legation was burned on the 22nd, but the French and German Legations long held out, although hard pressed. On July 14 a communication signed "Prince Ching and others " was sent to the British Minister, which asserted that the reinforcements of foreign troops had long ago been turned back by the Boxers, and it requested the ministers to go under their protection to reside at the Tsung-li-Yamên temporarily till arrangements could be made for their return home. This kind invitation was declined, and it was pointed out that no attacks had been made on the Chinese, but that the lives and property of foreigners were only being protected by the besieged against the attacks of Chinese Government troops. For a while after July 17 the organised attacks ceased, the Krupp guns were silent, and only sniping continued. Fearing treachery there was no relaxation of vigilance on the part of the besieged. Sand bags were piled upon the walls, and every weak point strengthened. The Chinese, too, went on building barricades, and were getting nearer to the defended positions. No provisions were allowed to reach the defenders of the legation. All these were on reduced rations, and the sufferings of the native Christians, nearly 3,000 in number, were very great. Many of their children and aged died from want of proper food. Within the besieged area of the British Legation there were 191 men, 147 women, 76 children, a garrison of 400 men, 2,750 refugees, about 400 native servants and some seventy more civilians in the adjoining defences. To provide all these with food for a two months' siege was a task of the greatest difficulty. The Tsung-li-Yamên sent in derision a present of 1,000 lb. of flour and some vegetables, but fearing poison no one dared to eat the flour. No sellers of fruit and ice were allowed by the Chinese to come in.

While Peking was in the midst of this reign of anarchy and terror no authentic news reached the outside world. For many days it was believed that the legations had been destroyed, and that all the Ministers and every European in Peking had been murdered. Meanwhile an army of relief was on the way from the coast. On July 6 Lord Salisbury had telegraphed to Mr. Whitehead at Tokio that Japan was the only Power that could act with any hope of success for the urgent purpose of saving the

legations, and that Great Britain would furnish any financial assistance necessary, in addition to her forces already on the spot. Russia, jealous of Japan, was dilatory, and Germany hung back till sure of the maintenance of the accord existing among the Powers. All this caused delay. The expedition set out from Tien-tsin on August 4, headed by British and American troops, under Generals Gaselee and Chaffee. The Japanese division was commanded by General Yamaguchi, with General Fukushima as chief of staff. According to the British official figures there were 10,000 Japanese with fifty-four guns, 4,000 Russians with sixteen guns; British, 3,000 men with twelve guns; Americans, 2,000 men with six guns; French, 800 men with twelve small guns; Germans, 200 men; Austrians and Italians, 100 men; total, 20,100 men. The German general, Count Waldersee, was appointed on August 7 commander-in-chief of the international troops in the province of Chihli. On their way they were opposed by Chinese forces armed with artillery, and fighting behind entrenchments. The losses of the Ja Japanese in the several engagements that took place were severe-in one fight sixty Japanese were killed and 140 wounded, while four British were killed and twenty-one wounded. At Yang-tsun on the 6th another battle was fought, in which the heaviest losses were sustained by the Americans-the 14th Regiment losing sixty-five killed and wounded, and the 9th Regiment nine men. British losses were less than fifty. The troops suffered greatly from the heat. The combined forces took Tung-chau on the 12th. Peking was but thirteen miles distant, and the advance was made from there in four separate parallel columns. The Japanese were stopped in their intention of blowing up the eastern gate by Chinese sharpshooters on the city wall, or they would have entered Peking first. The British column had therefore the good fortune to enter on the south side through the Tung-pien gate ahead of them. General Gaselee reached the legation about 2:45 P.M. on August 13, General Chaffee about two hours later, and the Russians and Japanese brigade shortly after eight o'clock, all having entered through the Tung-pien-Men.

For two days before the relief came the Chinese kept up a furious bombardment and fusilade, and there were many casualties. Up to the last attempts were made to induce the besieged to come out, and on August 4 a decree was issued appointing Yung Lu to conduct the foreign Ministers to Tientsin safely, "in order once more to show the tenderness of the Throne for the men from afar." On the morning of the 14th the Empress-Dowager and the Imperial Court fled by the west gate of the city to the interior in the direction of Si-nganfu, the capital of Shansi. Surrender of the Imperial city was made to the Japanese on the 26th, and a detachment of the allied forces marched through, it was said to vindicate the honour of the civilised world. A column under the command of Sir A. Gaselee, consisting of 4,000, Germans, British, Italians, and French, left Peking on October 12 for Pao-ting-fu. This

movement had the effect only of increasing the difficulty of maintaining the Manchu dynasty on the throne. No fighting took place, and small French detachments had already taken possession of the city, forestalling the expedition. An Imperial edict on October 13 appointed Prince Ching with full powers to negotiate peace in conjunction with Li Hung Chang who had been made Viceroy of Chihli in July. Formal proposals were addressed by them in a Circular Note to the foreign Ministers, in which China admitted her liability to pay an indemnity, and was ready to reaffirm or modify the old commercial treaties, while asking that the Tsung-li-Yamên might be restored, the foreign troops withdrawn, and military operations by the foreign Powers might cease.

Throughout the trouble the Yang-tsze Viceroys endeavoured to preserve the peace in their provinces, and the British Government lent the Viceroy of Wuchang 500,000 taels (75,000l.) to pay provincial soldiers. British troops were landed at Shanghai in August to protect foreign interests wherever threatened.

The Russian Government on August 28 proposed an immediate evacuation of Peking and return to Tien-tsin. Lord Salisbury, however, considered that the time for withdrawal of the British forces had not arrived, while the Japanese Government urged that everything possible should be done to induce the speedy return of the Emperor and the Court to Peking.

The Chinese having attacked Russian settlements on the Amoor, Russian troops had repeated engagements with them in Manchuria, and signally defeated them. They captured Kirin in September with its arsenal, and at Mukden they despoiled the palace of its great collection of ancient manuscript copies of Greek and Roman classics. Accusations of cruelty and massacre of inoffending Chinese were made against the Russian troops in these Manchurian operations.

Sir Claude MacDonald, the British Minister, was in command during the siege of the Legations at Peking, and left Peking on October 20 to take the head of the Legation in Japan, vacant by the appointment of Sir Ernest Satow to succeed him as Minister in China. On the same day the Peace Commission first met, when the Chinese Commissioners proposed to pay an indemnity of 46,000,000l. in sixty instalments, and meanwhile to place the customs revenue under the control of the Powers.

The Concert of the Powers at the end of the year had not fully succeeded in fixing the terms to be imposed upon China. The chief difficulties came from the insistence of some of the Powers on extreme measures of punishment for the guilty officials, and the removal of the Emperor and Empress-Dowager from the domination of General Tung-fuh-siang was very necessary before the proposed execution of death sentences could be enforced.

A Joint Note on December 19 from the Powers gave China the conditions of peace as follows:

(1) An Imperial Prince to convey to Berlin regret for the murder of Baron von Ketteler.