ing it is indispensable. It is our belief that, in all western countries where missionaries live among the people, there must be some reasonable course agreed upon by which they can live together in harmony, and that this is the reason why the teachers and professors of Christianity do not desire to raise causeless trouble. We have heard it stated that in whatever country missionaries reside they obey the laws and customs of that country, and are not permitted to assert their independence of them. Whoever resists the laws of the land, or opposes the rulers; whoever takes upon himself power, or encroaches on the rights of others; whoever causes scandal to the reputation of families or persons; whoever maltreats people, or damages them in any way; or, lastly, whoever excites suspicion in the minds of others, and thereby ill-will and hatred are stirred up through the community; in short, whoever commits any illegal acts of this nature, is forcibly restrained. Therefore, those who build churches and preach Christian doctrines in China should chiefly take pains not to provoke the suspicion and dislike of the native gentry and people, but act so that mutual confidence may be strengthened. If this were done, they could easily arrange matters, and all would go on well; the two classes living side by side in friendly relations, and no attempt made to destroy churches and chapels. If the Romish missionaries will permit what properly comes into their calling to be usually known openly and fully by the people at large, the latter will then have no grounds for maligning and opposing them. Further, if they refuse to do what their converts wish them to do, and do not interfere with the jurisdiction of the local rulers, or trust to their power to carry their own ends against all opposers, a course which can only draw on them the angry hatred of gentry and people, then will the common people live at peace with them, and our officials will protect and defend them. If all the unlawful and irritating acts which have come to the ears of the Prince and his colleagues, as having been committed by Romish missionaries now in China, be true, then it cannot be denied that there is in this empire what amounts to a countless number of independent and uncontrolled hostile states. Can any man imagine that it will be possible long to maintain peace under such a state of things, and prevent both our officials and people from hating them cordially? We candidly say that we know of no way of preventing such a calamity. We fear, wherever the ignorant converts learn how the Tien-tsin affair has been settled, that their spirits will rise to greater excesses, which will stir up greater strife, and their vain boasts will arouse the bitter hatred of the common people to a more deadly degree, till the smothered irritation suddenly bursts out into riots and outrages. The local officials will be unable to manage such a flame; the high provincial authorities will find it too strong for them; and even the Foreign Office will be powerless to restrain and punish. If the Chinese people become of one mind on this point, and rise against these secretaries, then, though the Emperor himself send his high officers with troops to punish the offenders, it will be impossible to exterminate the people. Much less, when the rage of great multitude has been aroused, will they be inclined to quietly allow men to be executed. If at such a crisis the affair could not be restrained, and the two parties led to see that it was possible for them to live in harmony, then things have come to a bad pass; and the high officers to whom pertains the conduct of the relations between this and other countries cannot relieve themselves from great blame. The most vital point in happily conducting any business between two states is to get the good will of the people; for if this be not done, and one tries to coerce them, they will some time or other resist, and the highest powers of the state will find themselves unable to control this popular sentiment. If those in China, to whom the highest affairs of both parties have been intrusted, can now do nothing to restore harmony and prevent disasters, they should surely know that foreigners living among the natives and traders of every nation may ere long be in the midst of great peril. If they together cannot agree upon some mode of regulating this matter, it is clear that henceforth it will be impossible to regulate anything. The desire of the Prince and his colleagues to preserve friendly relations between this and other countries is so earnest that they now present eight rules, which they have drawn up as a means to this end, and inclose them for your excellency's perusal, as well as to the other foreign ministers, desiring that the same may be fully examined.

EIGHT RULES, WITH REMARKS.
Rule first.

The establishment of asylums for training up children by the Romanists has hitherto not been reported to the authorities; and as these institutions are carefully kept private, this management continually gives rise to suspicion and excites ill-will. The best way to remove this feeling of mistrust among the people would be to close all foreign asyJums. But if this cannot be done, let the names of those among the converts who are shown to be unable to rear their own children be reported to the local officials, giving the names of the children, the day they were taken into the asylum, and when they were sent home, or whether any other person had adopted them for their own children. By

this means all the facts would be known. The children of natives who have not become Roman Catholics can be cared for by persons selected from among the gentry by the local rulers, under the direction of the provincial authorities. Each class will thus do its own good work in this line, and all suspicion will be allayed.

NOTE. It is the rule in China that the conductors of foundling and infant asylums shall report all particulars concerning those who are received or discharged to the local authorities. The relatives can always come and see the children at the asylum afterward; when they have grown up, it is allowable for childless people to adopt them, or for their parents to take them home. Whatever might have been the sect they belonged to, they still adhered to it; for it was considered to be a good work enough to carefully nurture the children in the asylum. We have learned that the rules in other countries respecting such institutions are similar to those in force here. It is only those established in this land by foreigners which are not so regulated. In them, the time when the children are received is not inquired into, nor is any report made to the officials; nobody is allowed to adopt them after they enter, nor can their own parents ever reclaim them, nor even see them afterward. Is it surprising that such things excite suspicions among the people? It is on these grounds that, though it has been fully proved, since the riot at Tien-tsin, that there was in that city no gouging out of eyes, or cutting open hearts, even to this moment people retain their former fears and suspicions. It is indeed possible to stop their mouths, but no one can quiet their apprehensions; and who can assure us that another outbreak will not be caused by their mistrust? If the asylums now under the control of foreigners could be all closed, and they do all this good work in their own countries, then all the children of China needing this care could be reared in native establishments, of which there are many in every province. Why need foreigners trouble themselves about this work? for in showing that they have good desire to relieve the poor, they only arouse suspicion and ill-will. Therefore if each party would attend, in this respect, to their own modes and spheres of actions, it is quite certain that amicable relations would be less likely to be endangered.

Rule second.

Chinese women should not be permitted to enter churches and chapels, nor foreign women to propagate the doctrines in China; in order to exhibit the reserve and strict propriety of the tenets of Christianity, and prevent all reproach among the people.

NOTE. Among the Chinese, the unsullied reputation and modest demeanor of females is very highly esteemed. The rules for separating the sexes are very strict, both in regard to their personal intercourse and the seclusion of their apartments. Since these requirements have been relaxed by the Romanists, women and girls go into their churches, which surprises all who hear of it; in these missionary-halls men and women are not separated, and when they remain there a long time, the people are led to despise them, and suspect that everything there is not altogether as proper as purity requires.

Rule third.

Missionaries residing in China ought to conform to the laws and usages of the empire. They ought not to be permitted to set up an independent style and authority, nor should they resist the laws of the land, and oppose the orders of its magistrates; they should not assume power, nor encroach on the rights of others, injuring their reputation and causing scandal in communities. They should not misuse or oppress the people, acts which lead men to suspect their designs, and provoke the indignant hatred of all classes; nor, lastly, should they malign the holy doctrines of the Chinese sages, and thus arouse public resentment. Every missionary ought to come under the authority of the local magistrates, therefore, in all these respects. Native Roman Catholics should be placed in the same position under the laws as other Chinese; and except in the contributions to theatrical plays and idolatrous processions and festivals, from which they are exempt, they are bound to perform their quota of public labor and calls for corvee and other services from the local magistrates. Still more are they required to pay their part of public taxes in money and kind, and their faith cannot be in the least degree pleaded as a reason for not paying their rents and assessments. In all these things, foreign missionaries are not to protect them or abet their resistance. Cases at law arising between the people and the converts are to be examined equitably, and then decided entirely by the local magistrates. No missionary can be permitted to take sides in them as a partisan, nor shall he conceal a plaintiff or defendant, when they are converts, and prevent their appearance in court, in order to embarrass the matter, and prevent it settlement. If he overpass his station, and interfere in this manner in legal affairs, the officials can send his letters or reports of his personal application to the high provincial authorities for transmission to the Foreign Office, and if the thing is proved the missionary shall be deported. In all cases connected with marriages, tenements, and lands, coming into court from among the Roman Catholics, if they endeavor

to make their cases succeed against the people by the representations of the missionaries on their behalf, they shall be liable for doing this to heavier penalties from their own rulers.

NOTE.-In China every person belonging to the literary class, or who takes up the profession of a Buddhist, or Tauist priest, or even the Lamas, which do not belong to any strictly Chinese sect, all, without exception, obey the laws of the empire. Each member of these sects submits to the decision of the magistrates in all matters of right and wrong in which he may be interested. We are informed that in other countries, missionaries, living among the people, everywhere conform to the laws and usages of the land. They are not permitted to set up an independant style and authority, resisting the laws of the land, and opposing the orders of the magistrates. They do not there assume unauthorized power, nor encroach on the rights of others, injuring their good name and causing scandal; nor do they oppress and insult people, leading men to suspect their designs, and provoking the indignation and hatred of all classes. It is, therefore, but right that missionaries who come to China to practice their profession should, in these respects, be amenable to the authority of the magistrates. Is it not altogether out of their proper position for them to exhibit such hauteur and pride, and dispute precedence with the officials, as they do? Those natives who profess this creed, having always been Chinese subjects, are still more bound to observe their proper duties, seeing that they noways differ from other people. They ought, most assuredly, to live in friendly relations with their countrymen, whether in town or country, and cultivate that spirit of neighborly regard which is seemly; and whenever an occasion arises demanding united effort to accomplish some public work, or it is necessary for the whole village to join its men and means to effect an object, then, for them to cast about how they can avoid doing their share, and escape their obligations because of their faith, is to prejudge for themselves their own rights. Can they be surprised if others sharply judge their claims too? In all cases where they resist the payment of taxes, refuse to do government work, interfere with the orders of magistrates, or insult and oppress the people, the foreign missionary has no right to make himself a party to the case. Some of the converts are perverse and lawless men; and to secrete such fellows so that they shall not be delivered to the authorities for just punishment is really a most heinous offense. Every man who joins the Romish Church desires to be protected: and in the provinces the missionaries take up all cases of complaint in which converts are implicated, and go into court to protest and interfere before the officials. There was a case in Szchuen, in which some women belonging to the church deceitfully refused to give up the crops of their land for rent, according to contract; and when the landlords asked it, they rose against the people and killed and wounded several. The French bishop presumed to issue his decision in the matter, and to this day none of these women have been examined or expiated their crime, which has, ever since the occurrence, greatly irritated the people of that province.

In Kweichau Province the Romanists always designate themselves as belonging to the Roman Catholic Church, in every paper which they present in court in cases wherein they are parties, expecting thereby to get some help to succeed. Everybody can see how such a course only adds to the bitterness and trouble. Furthermore, in all parts of the land, whenever a betrothal has been arranged between two families, if one of them subsequently joins the church, but the other does not, then the former compels the latter to break the engagement and cancel the marriage. Sometimes, in a family, the father or elder brother joins, while the son or younger brother does not ; whereupon, the father reports his son to the officers as disobedient, and the elder brother denounces his younger brother as insolent; and the missionary takes part in such affairs and helps his people. The irritation which a variety of such cases as those now adduced has produced among the people is intense.

Rule fourth.

The laws which govern foreigners and natives living together ought to be calculated to promote mutual peace and bear equally on each. For instance, in cases of a serious nature involving life, the law should require life to be forfeited; each side to punish its own criminals according to its own laws, that the feelings of justice in men may be satisfied. Whether it be the native or foreign official who judges the case, let him simply decide its criminality as it comes before him; and after that has been done, let there be no further examination as to the amount of compensation or indemnity to be paid. Still more, let it be settled that each case is to be confined to its participants, and no one is to be allowed to demand that the gentry or traders, who had nothing to do with it, pay an indemnity. When an official tries a case wherein Romish converts and natives are involved, whichever of these two parties are proven to have been the aggressor in wronging the other, let the same law apply to all, and the same sentence be meted out to each, so that no partiality be exhibited. Whenever a Romanist is arrested for any misdemeanor that involves a breach of the laws, whatever the offense may be, he shall be examined by the local authorities. If he be accused by others before the courts, he

shall, as the law provides, be seized and tried; and in neither case shall a missionary be permitted to protect converts from just sentence, or hinder their appearance before the authorities. In all cases where it can be shown that the missionary has screened persons in this way, or tried to thwart the orders of the officials, not only shall the real criminals be punished as the law directs, but the missionary himself shall suffer the same punishment for having resisted the course of law; or, if this cannot be, he shall be deported.

NOTE. The missionary Mabileau was killed in a riot in Szchuen in the year 1867. The authorities had arrested a man named Yen, who, being proven to be guilty, was executed for the crime. But the missionary M. Mihière persistently declared that the gentry had stirred up the quarrel, and forced them to pay an indemnity of 80,000 taels. The fact is, that the row was caused by some ignorant poor men, who suddenly broke out into these violent acts; but to turn around and compel quiet scholars of respectability and wealth to pay so much money has, with other high-handed acts, provoked deep indignation.

Again, when the missionary M. Rigaud was killed in a riot in the province of Szeliuen in 1869, there is not the least doubt that it was caused by the acts of the converts in compelling certain persons to annul a marriage contract. The governor general, Li Hung-chang, and the Manchu commander-in-chief, Chung, jointly examined into the affair, and they have long since condemned and executed Ho Tsai by decapitation, and Lin Fuh by strangling, proven to have murdered the missionary and converts. But [while the government did this] the converts who killed their countrymen, two men named Wang Hiah-ting and Chang Tien-hing, who, for several years, had been carrying on such a system of extortion, ravishing, plundering, burning, and killing, that they were long known as head rascals, have never yet been brought into court, although their crimes have been proved. In another instance the native priest, Tan Pu-chin, who headed a mob that killed Chao Yung-lin and over two hundred others in a hamlet, where they were surrounded, has, we are now informed by the missionary, M. Mihière, gone beyond sea, and there is no clew by which he could be traced. These things have still more aroused the hatred of the people of Szhuen.

Rule fifth.

Whenever a French missionary goes to any province to preach, the passport given to him should state the names of the province and prefecture to which he is going with great explicitness. If it mentions that his mission work is in a certain province, he should not be allowed to avail himself of the passport to secretly go elsewhere; and if it plainly describes the name and other particulars of the holder, he should not be permitted to turn it over to another man when he pleases. When he passes the barriers and customs-stations, such a passport should not enable him to take dutiable goods through.. to the loss and detriment of the revenue. On reaching his place of destination, he ought to present the passport to the local officers for verification. If they find that the name and the place, as given in the passport, do not tally with the bearer, or that it has been passed over to a Chinese convert to enable him to act as a missionary, in either case the passport shall be defaced and canceled. If it be further ascertained that money has been unlawfully paid for the transfer of the passport, or any other illegality has been connected with it, the pretended missionary shall be severely punished, and the foreign missionary sent out of the country. The name and surname of the missionary who holds a passport shall be written in Chinese characters, and these alone shall be regarded as evidence, so that he may be readily recognized wherever he goes. If the holder returns bome or dies, or if he changes his calling and no longer preaches, then the passport should be returned to the Chinese to be canceled. In whatever province or place insurrection exists, it is forbidden to issue passports to foreigners to go to those regions, and therefore, hereafter, when a missionary shall request a passport for a province in which military operations are carried on, its delivery shall be suspended, in order that the real purpose of a passport (i. e., a paper to protect one) may be manifested.

NOTE.-In the record of cases connected with missions in Kweichau Province, there appears the name of the missionary Chao, but in the Foreign Office there is no record of a passport having been issued to a missionary of that name to go to Kweichau. In his note respecting it M. Devéria, the interpreter, [at the French legation,] says: "I have examined the old records, and find that there was a priest named Chao who died from the effects of his wounds; but the man here meant is a man named Jui-lo-sz, who obtained a passport on the 16th of August, 1865, and was therein wrongly named Chao." It appears that on that day passport No. 325 was issued to a man named Jui-lo-sz to go to Szchuen, but in the list for Kweichau there are no persons named either Chao or Jui-lo-sz to be found. If, therefore, the names and surnames of missionaries and their destinations be mixed and changed in this manner, how can any trust be reposed in the passport as a surety for protecting its holder? In another case a missionary, M. Spilngaert, [he who killed a Russian,] after acting in that capacity

CHINA.

became a servant in the Prussiau legation, but the passport granted at first was never afterward returned to this office. If passports can be thus inconsiderately transferred to other persons, or carelessly left to fall into other people's hands, not only shall we have many troubles arising from persons assuming false names and characters, but if they get into the hands of brigands or thieves, the injury done to the reputation of His Majesty will be very serious; and where, then, will be the good name of the church?

Rule sixth.

The object of a missionary being to exhort men to reform and become good, he ought, before receiving a man into his church, to carefully inquire into his character, and learn whether he has been convicted of crime or any evil deed, and then accept or reject him, according to the facts. If he be accepted, then it should be so stated in the tithing-list of the place where he resides, just as is done with the members of monasteries and temples, so that evidence may exist upon the point. The number which each man can receive into the church should be limited, and he ought to report distinctly to the local magistrates on what day, month, and year he received each member, what had been his previous occupation, and that he had been convicted of no crime, nor taken an alias. In this way it would be easy to trace each person. If the member died or went away, this should likewise be reported. If no heinous misdemeanors can be alleged against a man when he is received, yet supposing he commits crimes after that date, he ought immediately to be excommunicated, and the same reported. Every month, or every quarter, the record of all these things should be made known to the local anthorities for their inspection, just as is done by them with nunneries, temples, By this monthly or quarterly examination the and houses of Budhists and Tanists. reputation of the Roman Catholic sect will receive no injury, but its members will, on the contrary, be able to live at peace with all.

NOTE.-In 1866 the governor of Kweichau reported that in the district of Kwei-ting several brigands, headed by one Yeu Shih-pao, had combined with two Roman Catholic converts named Yuen Yuh-siang and Hia Ching-hing, and under the guise of that sect had led a party of fellows, which attacked and killed Wang Kiang-pao and Tso Yenshau, severely wounded three others, plundered the houses of their contents, and carried off all the cattle and horses. In 1869 the same dignitary reported that the district magistrate of Tsun-i had sent him a public statement in which the writers declared that four men, named Sung, Tang, Tan, and Kien, who had formerly been rebels and pretended generals, had been received among the Roman Catholics. The injury inflicted upon the towns and villages since from these men was quite incalculable. There were also other restless disturbers of the peace in the neighborhood of Tsun-i, named Yang, Lin, Ching, Hioh, and Chao, who all joined themselves to the Romanists and managed everything connected with the church. They insulted and oppressed the orphans and the helpless, extorted money from the ignorant villagers, went in and out of the public courts, taking the oversight of such cases as related to their co-religionists, as if it was their business. If the magistrate tried to examine a case in which a Romanist was involved, and found that his case was groundless, then Yang and his comrades, at the head of a crowd of converts, would violently rush into the hall of justice and compel the magistrate to reverse his sentence. At other times, when these sectaries were detained under the surveillance of the police, these men would present the missionary's card and demand that the prisoners be instantly released. The cases, in short, are very numerous in which they have wrongfully possessed themselves of people's property, claimed their wives or daughters, or even destroyed their lives.

Rule seventh.

Missionaries living in China should conform to its usages and regulations, and carefully refrain from encroaching on the position of others, or overstepping their own proper functions. They should not presume to use official seals to stamp their letters, If they have any matters of their or write formal dispatches to officials of any rank. own to bring before the magistrates, not cases which involve others, or litigations of other people, let them do so in the same manner that native literary men adopt in addressing those in office, and state their affair clearly in the form of a petition, when it will be attended to and decided. If they wish to have a personal interview with the high authorities, they should adopt the ceremonies of the country and follow the practice of its literary men. Also, when they request an audience of the local magistrates; they should observe proper etiquette, and not rudely march into the public courts, to the great disturbance of official business.

NOTE.-In 1867 the Manchu commander-in-chief at Chingfu, in Szchuen, reported that the French Bishop Sinchon addressed the official board of consultation of that province in dispatches which he stamped with an official seal cast for the purpose. In 1868 Bishop Taury in Kweichau presumed to send an official communication on terms of equality to the Foreign Office, by the government post, in which he took upon himself