The following telegram was authorised to be sent to the British Minister at Peking and the Foreign Office:—-
"Mass meeting British residents Hankow considers battalion urgently necessary protection British Concession—Pearce, Chairman."
A similar telegram was authorised to be sent to the China Association in London, asking the Association to urge the Government to send the help asked for. There were ninety-five British residents present at the meeting.
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Comment upon the foregoing would only be odious just now. By reproducing the correspondence, however, the reader will be able to ascertain the feelings of the British community when such persistent official indolence continued. Had the armies got out of hand, there might have been a much sadder story to tell.
THE SKETCH MAP OF THE BATTLEFIELDS.
It is necessary, in presenting the accompanying sketch map of the battlefields, to give some concise information descriptive of the sketch. The following written by my friend Mr. Stanley V. Boxer, B.Sc., will therefore be found of especial interest:—
"The first battle of any importance occurred on October the 18th. On that occasion the gunboats decided the issue. The Revolutionists were entrenched behind the Foreign Racecourse, and in the afternoon made an attack toward Kilometre Ten. In advancing, they were exposed to a cross fire from the cruisers. They fell back again on the Racecourse. Next day, however, the gunboats retired, and the Revolutionists, taking advantage of their absence, gained a victory, capturing some truckloads of ammunition, &c. The loyalist army retired to Nie K'ou, to wait arrival of reinforcements from the north.