The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 8, 1904, Page 14

‘14 THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL. crowning victory of in 1805, which gave Great Britain and puted command event in naval ed in world-wide struggle now go- for the possession stronghold of the es of opinion may 1 re regarding the Por Arthur, there is now oubt as to the the harbor as »r that it is abso- a d t assault surse, its defend- range and ary genius to s the superior ad- ts natural situation gs afford. It is safe to tung Pen- i to play t a decisive war of the andpoint, t so little is re been written len rise of Port Ar- eral way t nated of the Chi- > well remem- nce of known to the veyed its waters As survey were oc- zvous for the us » fortify il the v nearly so, Li ted with the than Russia n power, was the ve ulti- He never ceased ith distrust to inveigh against jes of China and and traitors to the and the most venerated very irony of fate that and fear of Japan should m at last into the camp of enemy, Russia; but it is heless true. Like Achilles’ wrath 4 anclent Greece, the uncompro- list t and hatred of China's er and statesman toward me at last the “direful spring of woes unnumbered” for his own country. Dearly has China paid already for his mistake; more dearly still she may yet suffer for it in future. Beyond all question, Li Hung Chang's unreasoning fear and distrust of Japan ‘was the crowning mistake of his public life, and whatever fate may finally be- Japan bec PoRTION OF YTHE W 16 OCCURED WHOLLY BY DOCKS . \ THE HEAVY N SUN PrTs R fall Port Arthur it will forever remain a monument alike to the wisdom and the folly of the man who foundéd it. The idea of fortifying Port Arthur had its inception in a diplomatic episode commonly known at the time as the “Formosan difficu " The incident has long since passed out of memory, but at the time of its occurrence was gen- erally regarded as an important land- mark in Oriental h indeed, it has since proven to be. Late in 1572 a Japanese tr: was cast ashore on mosa and the entire crew some.of them eaten . by aborigines of the island the Government of the Mikado demand- ed instant and condign punishment of the responsible native chiefs of the isl- and. The Peking officials, however, with that proverbial insincerity so fatal to Chinese diplomacy, refused compli- ance with the demand on the ground that China was not responsible for the acts of savages, whom she could neith- er restrain nor control. With as ish- ing promptness the Japanese Govern- ment dispatched an armed expedition to Formosa, and in a few months prac- tically reduced the whole island to sub- jection. The incident was exceedingly un- fortunate, happening as it did at the very outset of friendly treaty rela- tions betwen the two Asiatic empirés. Only a few months previously a ry, as, ling vessel Y TOPICS TRAGIC. MONUMENT TO LI HUN definite treaty of friendly alliance be- tween them had been ratified,” by the terms of which Japan and China had ‘mutually bound themselves to support each other in case of foreign -attack - or invasion. The auspicious relations thus inaugurated between the' two, countries were: thus. suddenly put-to a ere strain, The delicacy of the situation was further complicated by the fact that during all her past his- tory Janan had been regarded. by China "as a “tributary state,” owing fealty to the mother empire. The recognition of .Japan as an independent nation, which the treaty of alliance betwen the two countries necessarily implied, had-been ‘strenu- ously opposed by Li Hung Chang from the first. Like many other Chinese officials, the Viceroy regarded the ensions ‘of the Japanese a§ g plece arrogant presumption if. not- of In his opinion the Government of China had made a serious mistake by entering into any compact with a dependent and suzerain state and that by so doing of downright ‘impudence. —CONSUL- China mad not only relin claim to Japanese fealt: thereby encouraged them pampered self-inportance. The angry astonishment and indig- nation of the Viceroy may therefore be readily imagined at the sudden ap- pearance before his yamen door of a Japanese envoy, demanding a heavy indemnity from China for the Formo- 1ished her but had in their OF THF. CHAN [HCE - =an outrage and for the costs of the recent military expedition there. The Viceroy’s suspicions were great- ly intensified by the fact that the envoy from Japan appeared before him superbly dressed in European court costume, attended by a large official retinue similarly decked out and sup- ported by a menacing fleet of modern war vessels. The spectacle was not only impos- ing, but the event in itself was alto- gether unique in Oriental history. It was only too gpparent that the two great powers of Rastern Asia had met at the parting of the Wway. As has al- 1eady been stated, Li was profound- ly distrustful of the Japanese. With this amazing exhibition of their perfidy —as he chose to regard it—he decided promptly to make no compromise with them, but to accept at once, if need be, the wager of battle. He had only re- cently armed his model army with the latest improved breech-loading rifles and provided himself with a large fleet of European-built war vessels, and, as “guardian of the empire,” he decided WOR 'S DIPLOMACY -~ ~ EDO BATTLES NEOBLIC OPINION to take matters entirely into his own hands. It has always been the policy of the United States Gdvernment in the Orient to encourage, as far as pos- sible, the closest political relations be- tween China and Japan. In further- ance of this policy and in order to af- ford a neutral but entirely, friendly meeting ground for the discus- sion of their differences, the American Consulate at Tientsin was placed at the disposal of the Japanese envoy as his temporary official ubode pending the negotiations. It was due to this circumstance that the writer was able to witness the re- markable interview which followed and which now figures so prominently in all the biographies of Li Hung Chang. Scarcely had the distinguished guest from the Land of the Rising Sun been conducted to the conventional “seat of honor” when the Viceroy, in a rude and boisterous veice, began upbraiding the Japanese with bad faith and with base ingratitude to- ward China. After listening quietly to this blustering tirade against his coun- try, the Japanese envoy, with true Oriental courtesy and politeness, in- quired blandly after the Viceroy's healiis, about which he really appear- ed quite solicitous. The Viceroy, how- ever, was not to be turned aside so easily from his purpose and kept on with his angry lecture about the “law- less encroachments of one state upon — ¥ JUSTICE AND CCORDING to native traditions the people of Abyssinia, like the Semites of the Holy Land, trace their descent from Abraham, 1 founder of Oxoum, their first cap The first historical allu- sion to Abyssinia occurs in the ancient Hebrew book of Kings (Ix:1-13), the “Queen of Sheba” being generally re- r of Shoa, formerly an independent kingdom in the southern _part' of Abyssinia. The Abyssinians themselves have no doubt that it was their queen who traveled so far to test Solomon’s wisdom with *“hard ques- tions.” They also believe that a son was born of this visit, and that the great.Solomon was the father of the first Menelik, from whom the dynasty now reigning over Abyssinia is de- scended. To this visit to the court of Solomon is likewise attributed the in- troduction into Abyssinia of the He- braic legislation, Queen Sheba bringing back with her from Jerusalem laws &nd judges for the better dispensation of justice in her own country. Until within quite recent times there were still to be seen in Abyssinia twelve persons who pretended to be the suc- cessors of the original judges of Jeru- salem. The Hebraic law, however, has not ‘been the sole law of Abyssinia during all these years. The advent of Greek Chtistianity insthe fourth century (333 A. D.) and the dominance of Byzantine influence which ensued led to impor- tant modifications in the practical ad- ministration of justice by the native courts. The attempt was made to draft a code which, while embodying many of the better features of the Ro- man legislation, would still preserve the principles of the more ancient He- braic code. One sees to this day a strange mingling of Hebraic and Ro- man law, ."\e archaic principles of the former and .he letter of the Byzantine jurisprudence strangely fused and confused. The primitive principle of lex talionis and the barbarian system of compositions were mnever entirely ebolished, notwithstanding the pres- ence in Abyssinia of a whole class of legists who prided themselves on their knowledge of the corpus juris civilis of garded as a Justinian. So far as cririnal law is concerned there was little in Roman jurisprudence which was worth imitat- ing, and though the Abyssinians trace their criminal as well as their civil law to Justinian, as a matter of fact the Mosaic code still exercises the mote potent influence. The influence of the Old Testament is also felt in the manner of procedure in criminal cases. As among the an- clent Hebrews, criminal trials in Abys- einia are exceedingly simple. Witnesses are summoned and cross-questioned be- fore the assembled natives, after which the Judge pronounces sentence, inspir- ing himself from the “Fatha Negust,” the code supposed to be derived from Justinian. The sentence is carried out immediately, the penalties consisting of mutilation, whipping or death. There are no prisons. Progressive as is the reigning monarch, he still scorns the idea of building prisons and employing honest men to wait upon criminals. Be- eides, the sight of culprits here and there minus hand or foot is supposed to exercise a great deterrent influence on those evilly disposed. The penalty for a thief’s first offense is whipping; a second offense is punished by amputa- tion of the guilty hand, while for a third offense the thief atones by the loss of the foot which ran to carry him away from condign punishment. The death penalty is inflicted on homicides, traitors and persons guilty of sacrilege, though executions for the latter offense are now of very rare oc- currence. In accordance with Hebraic traditions, even accidental homicide is capitally punishable. But, contrary to Scriptural injunction, a ransom is often accepted by the family of the victim in lieu of blood revenge. The “price of blood” is a sum equal to about $250. In cases of homicide after sentence is pronounced the relatives of the per- son slain claim the perpetrator, who in default of a ransom is executed sum- marily, often with the utmost cruelty. According to the Abyssinian code, the culprit must be dispatched by the same blow as was struck his victim—e. g., if the victim was killed by a club, the murderer must be clubbed to death by the victim's relatives; if he was killed CRIME UNDER MENELIK — | . By MAYNARD SHIPLEY i by a spear, the murderer must be speared, though this law of talion does not prohibit any form of preliminary torture, such as gouging out the vic- tim’s eyes and exposing the sockets to the rays of a tropical sun. There are no laws like those of the Koran, pro- hibiting unnecessary cruelty, and the Abyssinians, despite their nominal ac- ceptance of the precepts of Christian- ity, are an extremely cruel people. < Paradoxical as the statement may ap- pear, they are also of a very forgiv- ing nature, and often go to great pains to prevail upon an aggrieved person to forgive an injury committed by a third party, even when they themselves have no selfish interest in the matter. When once aroused, however, their cruelty knows no bounds. In order to avold needless torture, whenever he can, the Emperor demands to judge g o and execute an assassin himself. In such cases the criminal is summarily hanged to a tree in the market place of Addis-Ababa (the present capital). In cases of accidental homicide, or in the case ¢f homicide committed under strong passions, of jealousy or pro- voked rage, the Emperor does all in his power to induce the relatives of the victim to accept a pecuniary in- demnity. Sometimes the generous The American people are more or less fortunate in having at least one thing in their country which has seemed not to have excited envy in other geograph- ical regions—rattlesnakes—to be found in various varieties from Southern Can- ada to Patagonia. But dreadful and deadly as these reptiles may be, there is much in regard to them to interest people who love the study of nature. Of rattlesnakes there are at least a dozen, probably fifteen, different spe- cies. The kind most common east of the Mississippl is the one popularly known as the banded rattlesnake. At one time it was very common in East- ern Massachusetts, although happily at present very rare there, and com- mon only in thinly inhabited districts of more southern and western States. It varies greatly In color, and may be brownish yellow or black, with a series of dark spots edged with yellow and of variable shape running along the back and side. The head is very large and triangular in shape. This snake often attains a large size, that is, five feet in length. This specles is 'still quite common in the Yosemite Valley, where it is one of the few wonders of nature not always appreclated by trav- elers. I myself had one experience in entering the valley with a fine speci- men. “We were staging, and at a point where shying" on the: part of ‘the six horses would have been highly impru- . UNIQUE DIVERSITY OF X3 RATTLERS | dent, to say the least, as on one side of the road was a cliff of some 200 feet; on the other, so far as I could see, not much excedt a few thousand feet of atmcesphere. This autoerat of the road- way was enjoying a sun bath and not ready to move, so we decided discre- tion the better part of valor and waited about fifteen minutes, when his lord- ship moved on at a very leisurely pace. I know one of the party who appre- clated very- much that he preferred an oppesite direction to our own. The notion formerly entertained that the rattler could charm its intended victim is a mere superstition, now quite ex- ploded. It is its sluggishness which makes it dangerous, as it may be un- knowingly stepped upon. However, it never attacks spontaneously or pur- sues a retreating enemy. The structure from which the rep- tile takes its name, “the rattle,” con- sists mainly of three or more solid horny rings placed at the end of the tail. Sne'-2s and men shed their skin skin differently. With man the outer skin s thrown off in very minute sep- arate particles, pot often noticeable. In snakes all the skin is shed at once, even the skin of the eyeballs being shed with the rest, thus making the snake a little blind during this period. With each molt'a new ring, or rattle, forms. The older of these wedr away in time, although I have seen a snake with twenty rattling rings. It is the shaking of those rings by a violent wagging of the end of the tail which produces the noted rattle. The deadly bite of the rattlesnake is effected by a very ingenious mechanism. The rat- tler poisons by biting. The only sting it possesses is a pair of peculiarly mod- ified teeth. The outer margin of the upper jaw is furnished on either side with one large curved and very pointed tooth. This is the poison fang. The deadly effect of this poison most people know. If one escapes with his life after being bitten it is to suffer from pro- longed illness or lgss of limb. The rattlesnake strikes its prey to kill it. Having struck, it waits quietly for it to dle; then begins to devour it. It always devours its prey entire, being able to swallow an animal much thick- er than its own body. In fact, the snake really drags itself over the crea- ture it devours, belng enabled to do so by the elasticity of its skin and by the extraordinarily loose condition of the bones of its jaws. Even after it has passed into the stomach the form of the prey may be visible for some time, although digestion takes place very quickly. Often we see serpents represented in figures as bending their bodies in a series of vertical folds. This is a mis- take, as a snake’s body can be bent only from side to side. A. C. monarch even goes so far as to ad- vance the blood money himself, in or- der to save a subject’s life. Formerly it was no uncommon sight to see a relative of the victim fastened to the condemned man (for greater security) going from place to place begging for contributions toward “the price of blood.” The attempt to carry out to the let- ter the ancient law of talion in capital cases sometimes gives rise to amusing consequences. The following instance, kindly communicated to the author by Hon. George R. Clerk, Charge d'Af- faires of the British consulate at Addis- Ababa, rivals the “pound of flesh” story immortalized by Shakespeare: A man who was gathering plums fell from the tree on top of his friend below and killed him, but escaped himself un- injured. The family of the man who was killed demanded from the Emperor Menelik the life of the other. His Maj- esty pointed out that it was an acci- dent, but the plaintiffs persisted. “Very well,” said the Emperor. “By the law of Abyssinia you have the right to demand this man’s life, but the law also says that‘he must suffer the same death as his victim. Therefore he shall stand under the tree and one of you shall.fall from the tree on top of him.” As none of the plaintiffs showed any readiness to carry out th2 sentence in their own person the man escaped. ’ Among other survivals of Roman and Hebraic institutions in Abyssinia are the penalties of crucifixio.. and lap- idation, both for sacrilege. The crimi- nal who Is convicted of this offense s either crucified or stoned to death with solemn ceremonies. If his penalty is to be lapidation, he is stripped of his clothing before the assembled na- tives, the priest crying aloud, “Stone the criminal! ané if there be one among you who does not tirow at him three stones let him be accursed and declared an enemy of the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ!” Another institution of Hebraic origin is the “city of refuge,” of which there are two -in Abyssinia, Oxoum and Adona. As in nearly all barbaric nis To ¥ive emphasis to s, ne finally handed the ow paper upon s epigram another.” rude remark: envoy a plece of yell which was written a famou ¥ on the subject, from the Chinese clas- .lc’;.o those who knew the Viceroy in- timately his rudeness of speech “:13 not wholly unexpected under the \'-.rA cumstances, but the completeness with which he lost his temper and his ut- ter lack of tactfulness and courtesy toward an official guest was a com- plete surprise to every ome. Without the least display of irritation or even of surprise at Li's rudeness, the - voy quietly replied that he had only availed himself of the present oppor- tunity to present his respects to the Viceroy and to make his distinguished acquaintance. He then added that he had been accredited by the Mikado to the court of Peking and entrusted with an important mission affecting the peace and dignity of both coun- tries; but that until after first present- ing his credentials to the Emperor at Peking it would be exceedingly 111‘1&: jcate for him to discuss internationai questions with any subordinate Chi- nese official. It was perhaps the first time in his official career that the Bismarck of China had ever received a genuine diplomatic snub, and he felt it ac- cordingly. . For a man of Li's impe- rious temper such a stinging rebuke was no trifiing affair. It is safe to say that he never forgot it or forgave the giver of it. The humiliation which it caused him was all the more morti- fying to his official pride seeing that it came from a despised Japanese. The interview was then abruptly ended, and the envoy soon after took leave of the Viceroy and proceeded to Peking, where, soon afterward, he succeeded in obtaining a satisfactory Indemnity and the most honorable and advanta- geous settlement for his country of the Formosan difficulty. Before the ink was fairly dry on the Peking convention, however, Li was actively engaged in warllke prepara- tions, fully determined that sooner or later he would get even with the Jap- anese, whom he now felt doubly cer- tain were China’s most deadly and dangerous foes. The first intimation to the outer world of Li's continued hostility toward Japan was given in a memorial which appeared soon after in the Peking Ga- zette, setting forth that “as the Jap- anese had lately engaged in a warlike enterprise against the aborigt o Formosa, it is nece: Yy to provide in all directions for coast defenses.” This was followed sho afterward with an imperial ate, directing the metropolitan Viceroy to strengthen to the utmost the naval defenses of the China seas, and Li no time in se- lecting Port Arthur as its principal naval stronghold. For a period of fit- teen years the Viceroy devoted the best energies of his life toward completion of the work. It was his p hobby, and when at last the hs and its fortifications were comple crossed the China Sea, accompanied by his entire fleet, to inspect in person the great garrison which he had come to lcok upon as the imperishable monu- ment of his fame. He was received at Port Arthur in magnificent state by Admiral Tir As his flagship entered the harbor cae Viceroy was saluted with a salvo of 100 guns from the sur- rounding forts. The maneuvers of the fleet, the booming of the great Krupp guns and the brilliant illuminations of the harbor at night all gratified the Viceroy immensely. Delighted with the spectacle, he returned to Peking and presented the Empress Dowager a me- morial asking for the promotion of the pofficers who had ministered to his gratification. His gratulation was short lived. In less than three years his splendid fleet was destroyed or sunk, Admiral Ting was no more, and Port Arthur, the idol of his heart, had fallen Into the hands of the enemy— the enemy, alas! which his own mis- trust and mistaken statecraft had fatally conjured up. IN ABYSSINIA & | countries, the church also offers the fleeing criminal sanctuary. In order to claim the right of shelter In an Abyssinian church, the fugitive must, when arriving under the gate, ring the bell and declare three times in a loud volce his desirs for sanctuary. Henceforth his person is held inviola- ble. If the refugees are numerous they put up tents, or construct huts, in the cemetery which surrounds the church. A few years ago the father still had the power of life and death over his children and might kill them sum- marily not only for grave crimes, but even for trivial offenses. Two noted travelers in Abyssinla came upon a father who was upbralding his daugh- ter for some slight offense; the girl, becoming vexed, answered In like an- gry tones, whereupon the father killed her Instantly with a stone. The by- standers seemed to think the father was in the right In doing what he pleased with his own, and offereq him their sympathy in his misfortune! Now the Emperor alone has absolute and arbitrary power of life and death over hl:‘ -rlilblj:efl" though certain Rases havas the right to Inflict the deat capital cases. » penal.ty s Cruel and savage as are the penalti prescribed by the Abyssinian copge. !;:; are rigorously carried out, and what they lack In reformative influence they make up for in the ecertainty with Which they are inflicted. In a country where detection and punishment are both almost certain to follow erime, crime tends to disappear.. Less than a’ half-century ago murder and rapine were the order of the day in Abyssinia. Now, thanks to the wigorous adminis- tratlon of Menelik II and his chiefs, human life and property are safer in the greater part of Abyssinia than in New York or California. The influence of European civilization also is becoming manifest, and the presence im Addis-Ababa of the diplo- matic representatives of four great Eu- Topean nations cannot but result in the final overthrow of the last vestige of savagery in the empire of the present ‘wise and humane Negus, Menelik 1, “King of Kings.”