The cause of the trouble: The Chinese claimed that they had many good reasons for this uprising. It has often been charged by many non-Christian people in California that the missionaries were to blame for the present outbreak. I think this is unjust. I believe they are truly good men and have the good of China at heart. They have wrought a wonderful work. In fact, whatever China has accomplished is due to the preaching and teaching of these faithful missionaries. It is true that Romish missions have sometimes become political machines. Men have joined the Romish Church, and even whole villages have turned their ancestral halls into Romish chapels in order to further their causes in the courts through the influence of French consuls.
I can give you many incidents of this character, but one is sufficient. Several of the Congregational and Presbyterian Christians in the village of Lung How Lee, of the Hoy Ping District, not far from Canton, had a piece of land there and were building a free schoolhouse, which was almost completed, when the enemies of the Mission rose and destroyed the building; worse than this, several of the rioters met and outraged a girl relative of one of the Christians. This girl, because of her disgrace, committed suicide by hanging. The Christians had the perpetrators before the District Magistrate, who was about to punish them; when suddenly all their relatives, together with the accomplices, about seventy in number, went to Canton and joined the Catholic Church. They then got their priests and the French Consul to plead for their imprisoned relatives before the Chinese Governor. The result was that every one of the culprits was released and the cases dismissed. These infamous criminals, as soon as they were set at liberty, committed further outrages; they attacked the Christians, drove them from their homes and village, and plundered all they had. All these crimes were committed before the eyes of the Catholic priests. How could they tolerate such detestable acts. It makes our blood boil to see such outrages. We are at a loss to understand why the Catholic priests admitted such people to their churches, and why the French Consul so blindly used his influence to liberate such criminals. These things have not only occurred repeatedly in the Kwong Tung Province of South China, but also throughout the whole Empire. The Catholic people have not only wronged the Christians, but also the non-Christians, and thus a strong sentiment is created against them.
Whenever there is a chance to pay back, these people will inflict a heavy blow. In fact, these Catholics have already suffered the consequences of their wrong-doing; this is why there were so many more Catholics massacred than Protestants in the recent uprising.
But why should the people have killed the Christians at all? Well, in a time of anti-foreign uprising the people are easily misled. The rioter, and those anxious to plunder would surely say: "The Christians are just the same as the Catholics," so they killed them to effect robbery.
It is also true that the missionaries, especially those of Catholic faith, have often been, by ignorant people, charged with decoying children into their missionary compound and then killing them in order to gouge their eyes out and secure their hearts from which to make medicines. And again, we have heard silly rumors like these: The foreigners send their missionaries to China to first win the hearts of the people, and then come with armies to take China for their own. All these different rumors have had their origin in Buddhist and Taoist priests, who have shown most bitter jealousy toward Christianity and missionaries.
While these absurd rumors have done a great deal of mischief by inciting the people in the recent outbreak, they are very insignificant when compared with the bitter feeling aroused by the greedy grabbing of Chinese territory by the different Powers. All praise to the United States, for she is the only nation that does not covet Chinese territory. The other Powers are all eager and are doing their utmost to have China partitioned, so that they may each seize upon the territory they covet. In fact Russia had already taken Port Arthur, Newchang and other important places, and had practically taken in possession the whole of Shen King Province and Manchuria, and still they want the Pechili Province.
Germany had taken Kiachau and a large strip of valuable land from the Shan Tung Province, and now she wants more; she wants that whole Province, and God alone knows what else she is after.
Great Britain took Hong Kong and then Wei-hai-wei, and lately grabbed Kowloon and for some time past her covetous eye has been firmly fixed on the Yangtse valley.
France made seizure of Anam and Tong King several years ago and since then she is scheming to extend her northern boundary line far into the Quang Se and Yun Nan Provinces; she is planning soon to grab the beautiful island of Hainan.
Japan has also become insatiable. She has already grabbed the Island of Formosa and now she is waiting impatiently to take forcible possession of the Foo Kien Province. And even Italy has become avaricious. She tried to grab San Mon Bay several years ago, but being single-handed, she failed in her attempt. And perhaps she is now using the power of the Allies to accomplish her greedy design. When the news of this grabbing reached from one end of the Empire to the other, does any one wonder that the Chinese felt harsh toward the foreigners? If anyone has any doubt in this regard, let him just put himself in a Chinaman's place and he will know it at once. So, I say, the greedy grabbing for territory by the different Powers is the principal cause for the recent uprising.