“CHINESE GORDON.”

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 245, 26 September 1884, Page 2

“CHINESE GORDON.”

A lecture on the above subject was delivered by the Rev. J. J. Lewis at the Wesleyan Church last night, there being a large audience present. The proceedings .were opened by the Rev. A. Williams offering up an earnest prayer, invoking the aid of the Lord to assist this distinguished and Christian soldier from out of his present difficulty.

The Rev. J. J. Lewis rose amidst much applause, and after a few preliminary remarks said he had that evening to direct their attention to a man who, by his unaffected goodness, unfaltering courage, fearlessness of danger, and peculiar position in a native land, had won the sympathy and admiration of the whole breathing world, he meant Charles George, better known as Chinese Gordon. They had all heard of the two Kilkenny cats who would fight each other until nought was left buttheir tails, and such a man was Chinese Gordon, his fighting proclivities by far outdoing those of the heroes of Flodden Field and Culloden, and in the times of the struggles between Douglas and Harry Hotspur. Gordon was born on January 28th, 1833, and was the fourth son of the third soldier of the present generation of the family, only of a delicate constitution, which he afterwards braced to iron firmness. He was now described as being slight in his build, and below the average stature, light in his movements, sanguine, and even boyish in his conversation, and having within his breast a volcanic fire which has ever been known to flame forth to the terror of the name of illdoers. His first commission was that of a second lieutenant in the Engineers, and his earliest public work was the preparing of plans of forts at Pembroke Haven. At last he was called out to the Crimea to do hard and obscure as well as daring and conspicuous work. It was said by Dr. Johnston that a sailor was a man who went into a wooden prison with the chance of being drowned, and when they looked at Gordon’s work in the trenches during the Crimean War, it seemed that he did more like scavenger’s work with a chance of being shot. The lecturer here proceeded to give a graphic account of the hardships endured by the soldiers of the British army at that time until they were ultimately relieved by the Home Government. During this war it had been said by an officer that Gordon was remarkable for his fidelity and diligence, and if

any particularly skilful work had to be done by the young men, such as watching a new movement of the enemy, Gordon was generally told off to do that work, but hitherto nothing remarkable had been done by him. Directly after the Russian War was over he was employed in going through Russia, Turkey, and Armenia, arranging the Asiatic frontiers and deciding disputed questions as to boundaries and outlines. After some months of that he wrote asking that he might be released in order to be enabled to take a more dangerous and active part, but the answer came he must continue where he was. In the year 1857 a brief struggle arose between France and England on the one side and China on the other, the treaty of Tiensing having been broken by the latter country, which she violated by stopping British boats going up a certain river, and by taking and putting twenty-six prisoners to death. Gordon was called to take part in this struggle. The city of Pekin was invested, the rebels throwing the gates open. Here a disgraceful scene took place, the Emperor’s Palace was entered by the French soldiers who were allowed to do so, and to go hither and thither, helping themselves to everything they liked, and between 70,000 and 80,000 of the most valuable and choice articles of this world were abstracted, and the total loss amounted to no less than £4,000,000 sterling. For many years in the South Eastern provinces of the Chinese Empire a secret society had been, with great subtelty and with dangerous pretensions, spreading among the people. It was a communistic programme they put forward, and the lowest order of people flocked around the standard of the society. The object of the rebellion was to upset the dynasty and to establish a certain Prince called Hung, who declared himself to be the youngest son of Jesus Christ, and had decend>‘d from Heaven. This person had five subordinate Kings or Whangs under him. The rebels succeeded in taking such land in the of China as would cover the whole of England and France put together, and they continued to ravish the country in a most relentless and merciless manner. They then captured Nankin, and then destroy el one of the gieitest architectural globes of the world, which was about three centuries old. They were then within twenty miles of Shanghai, and the English, American and French merchants there, not only saw their industry paralized, but also their persons in serious danger, and they at once banded together to fight for themselves, though their number did not exceed 5000, but so brilliant was the course of those soldiers that they became known as the “ Victorious Army.” The first to take command of the army was an American with little principle, and he fell at an early period of the struggle. He was followed by another American of similar character, and his commission was soon cancelled owing to h’s outrageous conduct. Gordon was then promoted to the position, and when corresponding with his parents he again and again declared that he only accepted the position as his chief motive and one desire was to do good to a distracted country, and a panic-stricken people. He did not at first, set about fighting, but began reorganising his troops, soon had most efficient men under his command. He then m ule it known that pillage would not be a lowed, and that all should obey his word, but his plans were slightly interfered with. Che rebels pretended they were willing to submit to the Imperial Government, and by so doing obtained an opportunity to slaughter s >me of Gordon’s men. Gordon raved at t >'s, and in revenge assaulted the rebels at a rt in town and killed 5000, himself only losing 7. The reverend proc eded and gave a most clear descrip-t-on of Gordon’s further doings in China, which were merely wonderful. Gordon was undoubtedly gifted with a special Providence, as he was always to be found in the thick of

danger, and yet in almost every case he came out unscathed. He never carried a weapon, but only a cane, and with it would proceed in front of his men, and there directed their movements. On one of these occasions his men wavered, he turned round and with astounding coolness lit a cigar, and he then whirled his cane again, and the men rushed forward with undaunted courage to victory. At the end of the rebellion Gordon received from the Chinese Government the Decoration of the Star, and was presented with the Yellow Jacket, which about only twenty men in China have ever worn, and he was allowed to wear the Peacock’s Feather. He also received an address from the inhabitants expressing their appreciation and admiration of the line of conduct he had personally pursued in a position of unequalled difficulty, and surrounded by complications of every possible nature. Those facts spoke for themselves. He found a great nation rent in twain, the people imbruing their hands in each other’s blood, but he at the head of his army was enabled to restore confidence to the people in their Government, and to leave behind him a prosperous and well-ordered peace. Gordon’s great desire when he returned home was to do good to all the street Arabs and poor people that he could, and he far more enjoyed doing that than going out into fashionable circles or to dinner parties, &c. His house became an almshouse. He had a great aversion to popularity and praise, and never wore any decorations. He prized one medal which he received in China, but it was lost sight of for some time and when discovered was found to have the inscription defaced and had been sent to help in aiding the poor at Manchester. He was a man of prayer, who believed in and lived by his Bible/and was a thorough Christian, devoting his life to doing good.