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CAUSES FOR THANKFULNESS

A safe stronghold our God is still
A trusty shield and weapon;
He'll help us clear from all the ill
That hath us now o'ertaken.
The ancient prince of hell
Hath risen with purpose fell;
Strong mail of craft and power
He weareth in this hour,
On earth is not his fellow.

With force of arms we nothing can,
Full soon were we down-ridden :
But for us fights the proper Man,
Whom God himself hath bidden.

Ask ye, who is this same?
Christ Jesus is His name,
The Lord Sabbaoth's Son;

He, and no other one,
Shall conquer in the battle.

God's word, for all their craft and force,
One moment shall not linger,

But spite of hell, shall have its course;
'Tis written by His finger.

And though they take our life,
Goods, honour, children, wife,
Yet is their profit small;

These things shall vanish all,

The city of God remaineth.-LUTHER.

Trans. by T. CARLYLE.

CAUSES FOR THANKFULNESS

THERE is serious danger lest the magnitude of our sorrow may cause us to forget God's many mercies vouchsafed during this time of terrible trial. Horror at the deeds of cruelty perpetrated may blind our eyes to many acts of kindness which have been shown by friendly officials and people at considerable risk to themselves. No one can have read the foregoing letters without being impressed by the many times help and deliverance have come when hope seemed wellnigh gone, and the answer of death had been already written within.

Foremost, and calling for devout thankfulness, is the fact that the Viceroys and Governors of the greater part of China refused to obey the imperial edicts which commanded them to exterminate all foreigners. The importance of this cannot be exaggerated, nor can we over-estimate the obligation due to those officials who at serious risk took this firm and noble stand.

With all available forces concentrated for the relief of T'ien-tsin and Peking, the result hung painfully in the doubtful balance for long. Had the southern and western officials merely relaxed for a moment their firm control, there is little doubt that the whole foreign community in China would have been blotted out of existence. He who maketh the wrath of inan to praise Him also restraineth the remainder.

Dr. Griffith John, writing on August 15, said:

I should like to state that the refugees from Shan-si are loud in their praise of the treatment received by them from all the officials in

Hupeh. It corresponds with testimony borne by all refugees from all parts to the kindness of the officials of this province. This of course is to be ascribed to the goodwill of our Viceroy, Chang Chih-tong.

Similar kindness has been shown by others, notably by Tuan, the Acting - Governor of Shen-si. This man has simply laid himself out to help the distressed. No fewer than ninety foreigners passed through his hands. To these he gave safe escort, not only through his own territory, but through dangerous country which was beyond his correct jurisdiction. As a mark of his goodwill, he gave to most of these presents of tea, provisions for the journey, and even personal keepsakes. The following extracts from some of his telegrams to the Consuls in Shanghai will indicate his noble and friendly attitude :

A report came from Chen-pien-hsien stating that at Siao-ho Creek -a place under Mongolian control-some foreign residents have been persecuted. Without limiting myself to judicial boundaries, I despatched a party of cavalry and infantry together with the Yü-lin Brigade-General and Intendant of Circuit, to proceed at full speed, with a view to disperse the mob. . . . When report of relief comes to hand I will give orders to have the missionaries escorted to Han-kow. If travelling expenses are not sufficient they will be furnished here in advance.

With regard to some in trouble in Shan-si, he despatched his deputy, Yao-ru-chen, that he might personally investigate, and then telegraphed the result to Shanghai. The following excerpt from The North China Herald, speaking of this same official, says:—

The interim Manchu Governor of Shen-si, Tuan Fang, has so protected the lives and property of some eighty foreigners that, humanly speaking, it is owing to his care that they are now alive.

When the Edicts of the 20th to the 25th of June, that gave imperial sanction to the murder of foreigners, reached Si-an, that humane governor was so distressed that he wept in the presence of other high officials, and could neither eat nor sleep for some time. He immediately suppressed these drastic Edicts, and issued stringent orders that at any cost and all hazard order was to be maintained.

When the Boxers made a determined attempt to effect a rising, Tuan Ta-jên sent his mounted bodyguard and seized and beheaded the ringleaders of the "Righteous - Harmony - Fists." When huge

placards were secretly posted, charging foreigners with the drought and distress in the province, and calling upon patriotic volunteers to join in exterminating the foes of their peace and prosperity, the governor, within a few hours, had these inflammatory posters torn down and counter proclamations took their place.

When a number of men, who were professedly praying for rain, assembled to ruin the property, and possibly take the life of a Swedish missionary, the governor had the premises guarded by a cordon of cavalry that galloped to the place.

When several parties of missionaries were leaving for Han-kow he voluntarily telegraphed to the Viceroy Chang to meet and protect the travellers. He further sent his own bodyguard to escort the missionaries. As their route passed through the north-west of Ho-nan, he commanded the Shen-si escort not to leave the missionaries until they were met by the escort from Chang Chih-tung.

The vigilance and humanity of this energetic and enlightened Manchu Governor ought to be publicly known, and, I hope, may in some way be hereafter officially acknowledged.

In another instance the Lan-chau Tao-t'ai lent a sum of tls. 1110 (equal to £150) and a bodyguard to some of our missionaries who had been cut off from supplies. The friends were robbed of tls. 330 (£50) on the border of the Kansuh and Shen-si provinces. This sum Governor Tuan, mentioned above, refunded to them in Han-kow.

When the friends at Chau-kia-k'eo, in Ho-nan, had been rioted, they were hidden by a friendly official in his Yamên for five days. The superior officials and the people were all demanding their lives, and in great trouble this man came and said, "If your God does not help you now there is nothing more to be done." That very day Li-hung-chang's message to protect the foreigners arrived, and was the means under God of saving their lives.

Nearly all the refugees from Ho-nan had to travel through the neighbouring province of Gan-hwuy. Here the officials treated them with great kindness and consideration. In recognition of this, H.B.M. Consul in Shanghai wrote to Mr. Stevenson, saying:

I telegraphed to Viceroy Liu-kuen-yi asking him to thank the officials of Gan-hwuy and Kiang-su for the assistance they had rendered

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