LI HUNG CHANG'S DIARY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1618, 9 December 1912, Page 4

LI HUNG CHANG'S DIARY.

FURTHER EXTRACTB. NAPOLEON AND GORDON. The following are some further Mtriicl.i; from tho diary of Li Jf iiiik Chain;, un published in the London "Observer":— "So Napoleon, marched all I'h'in (llblhiiWi from France in the miilst of winter I _ lie was cither a very bravo and ilelvnniii'iil man or a very foolish one, for even now, willi tho best of HvcnmmwlttlioiiH 'ft/id soldiers to guard us instead of Jl|(hliii|( its, it is a lons and tiresome journey, Some of tho country is vcr,y bountiful, but there are hundreds of miles that aredreary wastes and lit only for nheop and goats and oven wild wolves. There ure always wolves whore there are sheep. Tt is the same- in the life of man and the lives of nations.

"I do not want to bo thought of as a wolf by my fellow men. lint I have l/con called worso names, evon to 'fOTcign devils,' which is ridiculous! Gordon said once that ho knew it was my ambition to overthrow the monarchy and mako myself Emperor of iho wliolo Middle Kingdom. This thought conies to me now when. I am in the country Napoleon wanted to rule. Gordon was a good friend in time of need, but I was,still a greater friend to him, and ho could havo done nothing but for my money and influence in keeping tho liver Victorious Army together. I had no ambition ever to go ■as Emperor to the northern capital (Pekin). "The train is bustling with life and excitement now, for we are coining to tho frontier. ... I wonder if I will meet Herr Knipp."

Gordon and tho Rebellion. Writing a few days later while the guest of the German Government, Li. Hung Chang refers at length once more to Goneral Gordon, the English commander of the "Ever-Victorious Army," which he employed so successfully in putting down the Taiping rebellion in 1863: — "The English will want to know just what caused the trouble between General Gordon and myself, and I will have to tell them that I w'as not- at all jealous of him, as has been charged so many times. Why should I be? He'was .directly under my orders, and nothing pleased me better than to see hijn win so many battles with the 'Ever-Victorious Army' and drive the Wangs (leaders' of the Taipings) into Soochow. "Gordon was not over-anxious for the end of the rebellion, and I knew that he had secretly memoralised the Throne to make him General-in-Chief of all"the armies of China, including those of the different viceroys. He did not know that no person had power to grant him such unlimited authority, and his foreign pride made him think he was above myself dn power. He made mistakes,' and many of them, .but I overlooked them all, thinking only of the. great good he had rendered the country;

' "Hi 6 final mistake, however, I could not overlook; and my memorial to the Throne was the cause of his dismissal forever from the service of China.

A "Grievous Mistake," "This grievous mistake of his was the accusation that I had' treacherously caused the murder of the Wangs upon' ray own barge. The very, truth of this matter ' is. 'here written for the. second time.; the first time, was in my. report to the. Grand Council at the Northern Capital, mads in- the year 1866, just before I myself took the .field' against the Shantung rebels.

"General Mow Wang told the other Wangs at Soochow that he would not surrender to the Imperial forces, but would continue fighting for ten years. .He was killed upon this, statement, and Chung Wang sent word to me that he intended to surrender.' I immediately informed hiy own lieuteritnt. General Ching; and Chung Wang and eight other Generals, with their men, surrendered. .We were most friendly disposed when the fighting was all over, and it was myself who proposed that we .have a feast in celebration. To. this Chung Wang, Lah Wang and General Ching quickly, assented, and soon/the banquet Was set" on', board my private boat.

"In the meantime, General Gordon,-.\vhp: thought he "'had not. been accorded-'full glory for the complete surrender'of the Taipings, moved the 'Ever-Victorious Army' away from Soochow to its old headquarters at Quinsan. This' was against my. orders, and also against the counsel of General Clung, but Gordon claimed there was a large amount, of pay duo' him "and his men. This was true, but it was also true that he had not been promised and should not have expected pay until : the Soochow army had' surrendered. He was feeling ill and w,as waiting for. replies to' his memorials sent to the Throne.' His last memorial, as I knew through See Lurid H'eh, who wrote it, was very much against, me.

The End of the Banquet, . " ..' "When the banquet was set and we were in the midst of our jqyousness report was brought to me-that'two, boats had pulled out from the shore' and we're coming directly to my boat. I Vent to. the near side and looked. It was about the hour of the cock (7 p.m.),' and I could not discern plainly, but it seemed to mo as if Gordon himself captained one of the boats.'

"I went back to the feast and told the Wangs I believed Gordon was coming. Ching turned very white and whispered to me that he was afraid—of wh'aV bo did not say; but before we—Ching, Lah Wang and myself—had time to reach that end of the boat whioh was pointed to tho shore, Imperial officers'and soldiers clambered aboard from both sides and began cutting everyone they met. They killed Lah Wang by my side, and one fellow stabbed General Ching, but only slightly. An officer was coming toward me with his sword, biit he fell to his knees when I raised my hand.

"Ching, Lu'Klen, Tu-Kiang, General Tung, and myself all succeeded in getting into one of the soldier boats, and the poleman pushed us to the shore. Immediately I issued orders to all the troops in the city to. make nn attempt to capture those of the attacking party, but the feeling against the. Wangs was so strong that I think but little attempt was made to carry out my orders. That night I learned that all the members of the banqueting party remaining aboard were decapitated and their bodies thrown into the river. Among these were a deep personal friend whom I loved very much, and a young nephew of mine from Wu-Sang. "I will have Pen Loh (his English secretary) make a translation of this and a number of copies, and if I am asked anything about this in England this true statement will be the answer."

Evidently the Viceroy was not questioned regarding the Wang massacres by his English entertainers, for this line appears among his notes made two weeks later on board the Atlantic liner:— "Only Gladstone mentioned Gordon to me in England.' I guess most people have forgotten him."