THE NEW CHINA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 109, 16 January 1912, Page 5

THE NEW CHINA.

A NAVAL REVIEW. By Cable—Press Association—Copyright. Pekin, January 14. Sun-Yat-Sen reviewed the Yangtse warships, which were beflagged in honor of the occasion. The British, German and American warships did not acknowledge the salute of the President's yacht. ABDICATION OF ROYALTY. CHINA WANTS MONEY. ROYALTY IN PERIL. HORRORS IN THE INTERIOR. Received U5, 12.30 a.m. Pekin, January 15. The Manchu soldiery arid people at Pekin are determined to throw in their lot with the Chinese. Secret meetings of Manchus of all classes accordingly decided that abdication was necessary to save the. country from chaos. The Dowager-Empress recognised that the Government was powerless without a foreign loan. Yuan-Shih-Kai is now negotiating with the Powers, hoping that a loan is procurable, provided the Throne abdicates. If the loan is not forthcoming, Yuan-Shih-Kai retires with the throne; otherwise he remains. He has made the best arrangements possible. All the princes favor abdication.

The main problem is to ensure the security of their persons and property, and the payment of the pensions, particularly to a Manchu prince who draws 700,000 taels monthlv.

The Imperial family will retain the family property and the ancestral temples. It is proposed the provisional government headquarters shall be at Tientsin, as the Republican ministers fear to reside at Pekin.

A telegram from the provinces gives shocking accounts of murders, rape and arson. Hundreds of women are suiciding to escape assaults. Many women, principally Manchus, have thrown themselves into wells at Shensi to escape violation. Murders and looting are of daily occurrence.

Yuan-Shih-Kai, telegraphing and writing to Feng, states there were wholesale suicides of women at Hsuanhua, where the bandits proclaimed it a republic.

The Shanghai Revolutionaries are mov ing northwards by four routes. Twenty-five thousand have left Wuchang.

A vivid account of incidents connected with the beginning of the revolution in China has been contributed to the West China Missionary News by a resident of Chengtu, in the province of Szechuan, which has been the heart of the disturbance. For a long time there was great uncertainty as to the real object of the Tong Chi Hueh, or Railway Pro-, tection League, which formed the nucleus out of which the revolt grew. but on September 6 a student managed to convey the Viceroy i a Chengtu "information concerning the plans of the League. Next morning the Viceroy sent word to the leaders of the League that he had received from Pekin an important message about which he wished to consult them privately. Six of them accepted his invitation, and as soon as they reached the official residence they were seized. Papers that were found in their possession revealed details of their plans, and the officials were enabled to discover additional documents and arrest two more of the leaders. The correspondent of the missionary journal states that the sudden action of the authorities took everybody by surprise, but soon a crowd of students and thousands of the populace gathered outside the Viceroy's residence and clamoured lor the release of their leaders. The gates of the city were closed and troops called out, but the great gathering continued to make hostile demonstrations, and at length the soldiers who were protecting the official buildings were ordered to fire on the mob. The result was that twenty-six people were killed, and the people were cowed bv the action of the authorities. The safety of the city was preserved, but the revolution had begun During the next day a'desultory struggle went on outside the city between the Viceroy's troops and the militia, and the residents in Chengtu were in a very disturbed state. Reports on September 0 to the effect that the revolutionaries were approaching the city caused a panic, but .it subsided quickly. There 'was considerable fighting some distance awav, but Chengtu was not assailed, though other centres were not so fortunate. °