Chapter VI: Front Matter (6)

I transmit herewith, for the information of the Congress, a report of a commission appointed by me on January 20, 1899, to investigate affairs in the Philippine Islands.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 21, 1900_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, in response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of February 19, 1900, calling upon him to inform the House of Representatives--

1. If "Charles E. Macrum, as consul of the American Government, informed the State Department that his official mail had been opened and read by the British censor at Durban, and if so, what steps, if any, have been taken in relation thereto; and

2. "What truth there is in the charge that a secret alliance exists between the Republic of the United States and the Empire of Great Britain."

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 5, 1900_.

_To the Senate_:

In response to the following resolution of the Senate of January 17, 1900, requesting the President--

If in his judgment not incompatible with the public interest, to
communicate to the Senate all communications which have been received by
him or by any Department or officer, civil or military, from Aguinaldo
or any other person undertaking to represent the people in arms against
the United States in the Philippine Islands, or any alleged government
or public authority of said people, and all replies to such
communications;

Also, the proclamation sent by him to be issued to the people of the
Philippine Islands, as actually directed by him to be issued, and the
same as actually proclaimed by General Otis, if in any respect it was
altered or any part of it was omitted;

Also, to inform the Senate whether any approval or disapproval was
expressed by his authority, or that of the War Department, of such
change, if any;

Also, all constitutions, forms of government, or proclamations issued
by Aguinaldo, or any congress or legislative assembly or body claiming
to be such, or convention of the people of the Philippine Islands, or
any part thereof, or claiming to represent them or any part thereof,
of which information may have come to him or to any Department of the
Government;

Also, all instructions given by him to the commissioners of the
Philippine Islands, or either of them;

Also, any information which may have come to him, or any Department of
the Government, since January 1, 1898, in regard to any plans of the
people in arms against the United States for the pillage of Manila, for
risings in the city, or for the destruction of foreign property and the
massacre of foreign residents;

Also, any information that may have come to him, or any Department
of the Government, of the treatment of the other inhabitants of the
Philippines by those in arms against the authority of the United States,
and of the attitude and feeling of such other inhabitants or tribes
toward the so-called government of Aguinaldo and his armed followers;

Also, any information that may have come to him, or any Department of
the Government, of the treatment of prisoners, either Spanish or
American, by the people in arms against the authority of the United
States;

Also, any information that may have come to him, or any Department of
the Government, as to any aid or encouragement received by Aguinaldo and
his followers from persons in the United States; as to what pamphlets,
speeches, or other documents emanating from the United States and
adverse to its authority and to its policy were circulated in whole or
in part among the Filipinos in arms against the United States, among the
other inhabitants of the islands, or among the soldiers of the United
States, and any information as to the effect, if any, of such pamphlets,
speeches, and other documents, or of similar utterances in the United
States upon the course of the rebellion against the United States;

Also, any further or other information which would tend to throw light
upon the conduct and events of the insurrection against the authority
of the United States in the Philippine Islands, and of the military
movements for its suppression since January 1, 1898.

And that the President be further requested to communicate, without
delay, so much of such information as is now in his possession or in
that of any Department at Washington, without waiting to obtain so much
of said information as may require considerable delay or communication
with the Philippine Islands, and to communicate the remainder of the
information as soon thereafter as it can be obtained,

I transmit herewith the following papers:

First. Copies of all communications which have been received by me, or by any Department or officer, civil or military, from Aguinaldo, or any other person undertaking to represent the people in arms against the United States in the Philippine Islands, or any alleged government or public authority of said people, and copies of all replies to such communications, so far as such communications and replies have been reported to me or to any Executive Department. Said copies of documents are appended hereto marked "I."

Second. Copy of instructions relating to a proclamation sent to General Otis and of the proclamation issued by General Otis pursuant thereto. Said copies of documents are appended hereto, marked "II." No disapproval of the said proclamation was expressed by my authority or that of the War Department. It was, in fact, approved by me, although no formal communication to that effect was sent to General Otis.

Also, among the papers marked "II," a letter of instructions to Maj.-Gen. Wesley Merritt, commanding the army in the Philippines, under date of May 28, 1898, and a proclamation issued by him to the people of the Philippines dated August 14, 1898.

Third. Copies of English translations of all constitutions, forms of government, or proclamations issued by Aguinaldo, or any congress or legislative assembly or body claiming to be such, or convention of the people of the Philippine Islands, or any part thereof, or claiming to represent them, or any part thereof, of which information has come to me or to any Department of the Government. Said copies of documents are appended hereto marked "III."

Fourth. Copies of all written instructions given by me to the commissioners to the Philippine Islands, or either of them. Said copies of documents are appended hereto marked "IV."

Fifth. Such information as has come to me, or any Department of the Government, since January 1, 1898, in regard to any plans of the people in arms against the United States for the pillage of Manila, for risings in the city, or for the destruction of foreign property and the massacre of foreign residents. Said copies of documents are appended hereto marked "V."

Sixth. The information which has come to me, or any Department of the Government, of the treatment of the other inhabitants of the Philippines by those in arms against the authority of the United States, and of the attitude and feeling of such other inhabitants or tribes toward the so-called government of Aguinaldo and his armed followers, is contained in the preliminary statement of the Philippine Commission, dated November 2, 1899, in the report of the Philippine Commission, dated January 31, 1900, and transmitted by me to Congress February 2, 1900, together with the preliminary statement, and the report of Maj.-Gen. E. S. Otis, United States Volunteers, commanding the Department of the Pacific and Eighth Army Corps, dated August 31, 1899, and transmitted to Congress with the report of the Secretary of War, dated November 29, 1899, with the accompanying documents.

Seventh. The information which has come to me, or any Department of the Government, of the treatment of prisoners, either Spanish or American, by the people in arms against the authority of the United States, is contained in the same documents.

Eighth. The information that has come to me, or any Department of the Government, as to any aid or encouragement received by Aguinaldo and his followers from persons in the United States, as to what pamphlets, speeches, or other documents emanating from the United States, and adverse to its authority and to its policy, were circulated, in whole or in part, among the Filipinos in arms against the United States, among the other inhabitants of the islands, or among the soldiers of the United States, and any information as to the effect, if any, of such pamphlets, speeches, and other documents, or of similar utterances in the United States upon the course of the rebellion against the United States is contained in the same documents, and the copies of documents appended hereto marked "VI."

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 15, 1900_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In response to the resolution of the Senate of March 12, 1900, calling for the correspondence touching the request of the Government of the South African Republics for my intervention with a view to the cessation of hostilities, I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State furnishing the requested papers.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 21, 1900_.

_To the Senate_:

In response to the resolution of the Senate of January 23, 1900, requesting the President, "if in his opinion it is not incompatible with the public interest, to furnish the Senate with copies of the correspondence with the Republic of Colombia in relation to the Panama Canal and to the treaty between this Government and New Granada concluded December 12, 1846, not heretofore communicated," I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, March 27, 1900_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of March 24, 1900, reading as follows:

WHEREAS the commercial community of the United States is deeply
interested in ascertaining the conditions which are to govern trade
in such parts of the Chinese Empire as are claimed by various foreign
powers to be within their "areas of interest"; and

WHEREAS bills are now pending before both Houses of Congress for the
dispatch of a mission to China to study its economic condition:
Therefore, be it

_Resolved_, That the President of the United States be requested
to transmit to the House of Representatives, if not incompatible with
the public service, such correspondence as may have passed between the
Department of State and various foreign Governments concerning the
maintenance of the "open door" policy in China,

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 2, 1900_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a copy of a letter from Mr. Ferdinand W. Peck, Commissioner-General of the United States to the Paris Exposition of 1900, dated November 17, 1899, submitting a detailed statement of the expenditures incurred under authority of law.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 17, 1900_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State in response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of March 23, 1900, calling for copies of any and all letters on file in the Department of State from citizens of the United States resident in the South African Republic from January 1, 1899, to the present time, making complaints of treatment by the South African Republic.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 3, 1900_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I herewith return, without approval, House bill No. 4001, entitled "An act authorizing the rights of settlers on the Navajo Indian Reservation, Territory of Arizona." My objections to the bill are embodied in the following statement:

This tribe has a population of about 20,500 souls, of whom 1,000 dress in the manner of white men, 250 can read, and 500 use enough English for ordinary conversation. Last year they cultivated 8,000 acres, and possessed approximately 1,000,000 sheep, 250,000 goats, 100,500 cattle, 1,200 swine, and very considerable herds of horses and ponies.

Prior to January last the reservation, which is in the extreme northeastern portion of the Territory of Arizona, consisted of lands set apart for the use of these Indians under the treaty of June 1, 1863 (15 Stat., 667), and subsequent executive orders. On account of the conditions naturally prevailing in that section, the reservation, as then constituted, was altogether inadequate for the purpose for which it was set apart. There was not a sufficient supply of grass or water within its borders for the flocks and herds of the tribe, and in consequence more than one-third of the Indians were habitually off the reservation with their flocks and herds, and were in frequent contention and strife with whites over pasturage and water.

After most careful inquiry and inspection of the reservation as it then existed, and of adjacent land by efficient officers in the Indian service, the Commission of Indian Affairs, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Interior, recommended that the limits of the reservation be extended westward so as to embrace the lands lying between the Navajo and Moqui Indian reservations on the east and the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers and the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve on the west. This recommendation was supported by a very numerously signed petition from the white residents of that section, and also by a letter from the Governor of the Territory of Arizona, in which it was said:

I understand that a petition has been forwarded asking that the western
limit be fixed at the Little Colorado River, as being better for all
concerned and less liable to cause friction between the Indians and the
whites. I earnestly hope that the prayer of the petitioners be granted,
for the reason that the Little Colorado could be made a natural dividing
line, distinct and well defined, and would extend the grazing territory
of the Navajoes to a very considerable extent without seriously
encroaching upon the interests of white settlers who have their property
in that neighborhood.

I think great care should be exercised in questions of this nature
because of possible serious friction which may occur if the interests of
all concerned are not carefully protected.

The investigation which preceded this recommendation, and upon which it was in part based, showed that with the boundaries of the reservation thus extended the Indians would be able to obtain within the limits of the reservation sufficient grass and water for their flocks and herds, and the Government would therefore be justified in confining them to the reservation, thus avoiding the prior contention and friction between them and the whites.

It appearing that but little aid had been extended to these Indians by the Government for many years, that they had taken on habits of industry and husbandry, which entitled them to encouragement, and that it was neither just nor possible to confine them to the limits of a reservation which would not sustain their flocks and herds, an order was issued by me January 8 last, extending the reservation boundaries as recommended. The Indians have accepted this as an evidence of the good faith of the Government toward them, and it is now the belief of those charged with the administration of Indian affairs that further contention and friction between the Indians and whites will be avoided, if this arrangement is not disturbed.

The present bill proposes to open to miners and prospectors, and to the operation of the mining laws, a substantial portion of this reservation, including a part of the lands covered by the recent order. There has been no effort to obtain from the Indians a concession of this character, nor has any reason been presented why, if these lands are to be taken from them--for that will practically result from this bill, if it becomes a law, even though not so intended--it should not be done in pursuance of negotiations had with the Indians as in other instances.

The Indians could not understand how lands given to them in January as necessary for their use should be taken away without previous notice in May of the same year. While the Indians are the wards of the Government, and must submit to that which is deemed for their best interests by the sovereign guardian, they should, nevertheless, be dealt with in a manner calculated to give them confidence in the Government and to assist them in passing through the inevitable transition to a state of civilization and full citizenship. Believing that due consideration has not been given to the status and interests of the Indians, I withhold my approval from the bill.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 12, 1900_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In reply to the resolution of the Senate, dated March 2, 1900, I send herewith copy of an order to the provost marshal general of Manila, dated March 8, 1900, and the various endorsements and reports thereon, whereby it appears that the traffic in wine, beer, and liquor in the city of Manila is now controlled under a rigidly enforced high-license system; that the number of places where the liquor is sold has greatly decreased; that all such places are required to be closed at 8:30 in the evening on week days and to be kept closed on Sundays, and that the orderly condition of the city compares favorably with cities of similar size in the United States.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 12, 1900_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In response to a resolution of the Senate of April 11, 1900, reading as follows:

_Resolved_, That the President be, and is hereby, requested, if not
incompatible with public interest, to inform the Senate whether persons
have been executed in Puerto Rico by the Spanish method of garrote since
he has been governing that country as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and
Navy of the United States; and if so, the President is requested to
inform the Senate why this mode of execution was adopted.

I transmit herewith copies of reports from Brig.-Gen. George W. Davis, United States Volunteers, military governor of Puerto Rico, which contain the information called for.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 19, 1900_.

_To the Senate_:

In response to the following resolution of the Senate of April 28, 1900:

_Resolved_, That the President be, and he is hereby requested, if
not incompatible with the public interest, to inform the Senate whether
General Torres, one of the officers of the Philippine army, came to
General Otis with a flag of truce on February 5, 1899, the day after
the fighting commenced between our forces and those of the Filipinos,
and stated to General Otis that General Aguinaldo declared that
fighting had been begun accidentally, and was not authorized by him,
and that Aguinaldo wished to have it stopped, and that to bring about
a conclusion of hostilities he proposed the establishment of a neutral
zone between the two armies of a width that would be agreeable to
General Otis, so that during the peace negotiations there might be no
further danger of conflict between the two armies, and whether General
Otis replied that fighting having once begun, must go on to the grim
end. Was General Otis directed by the Secretary of War to make such an
answer? Did General Otis telegraph the Secretary of War on February 9,
1899, as follows: "Aguinaldo now applies for a cessation of hostilities
and conference. Have declined to answer?" And did General Otis
afterwards reply? Was he directed by the Secretary of War to reply, and
what answer, if any, did he or the Secretary of War make to the
application to cease fighting?

The President is also requested to inform the Senate whether the flag of
the Philippine Republic was ever saluted by Admiral Dewey or any of the
vessels of his fleet at any time since May 1, 1898. "Did Admiral Dewey,
at the request of Aguinaldo, or any officer under him, send the vessels
_Concord_ and _Raleigh_ to Subig Bay to assist Aguinaldo's
forces in the capture of the Spanish garrison at that place? Did said
vessels assist in the capture of the Spanish garrison, and after the
capture did they turn the prisoners thus taken over to the Philippine
forces?"

I herewith transmit a copy of a cable dispatch to General Otis, dated April 30, 1900, and of his reply, dated May 1, 1900.

General Otis was not directed by the Secretary of War to make such an answer as is set forth in the resolution, nor were any answers to communications upon the subject of the cessation of hostilities prescribed by the Secretary of War to General Otis, but he was left to exercise in respect thereof his own judgment, based upon his superior knowledge of the conditions surrounding the troops under his command.

I also transmit a copy of a cable dispatch from General Otis, sent from Manila February 8, 1899, received in Washington February 9, 1899, being the same dispatch to which he refers in his reply of May 1, 1900 as misleading. So far as I am informed, General Otis did not afterwards reply, except as set forth in his dispatch of May 1, 1900. He was not directed by the Secretary of War to reply, and no answer was made by him or the Secretary of War to an application to cease fighting. There appears to have been no such application.

I further transmit a copy of a letter from the Secretary of the Navy to Admiral George Dewey, dated May 14, 1900, and a copy of the Admiral's reply, dated May 17, 1900.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 22, 1900_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers, relative to the status of Chinese persons in the Philippine Islands.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 22, 1900_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the information of Congress, a communication from the Secretary of Agriculture, forwarding a report on the progress of the beet-sugar industry in the United States during the year 1899. It embraces the observations made by a special agent on the various phases of the beet-sugar industry of the Hawaiian Islands; also the results of analyses of sugar-beets received by the Department of Agriculture from the different States and Territories, together with much other information relating to the sugar industry.

Your attention is invited to the recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture that 20,000 copies of the report be printed for the use of the Department, in addition to such number as may be desired for the use of the Senate and House of Representatives.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 26, 1900_.

_To the Senate_:

I transmit herewith, in answer to the resolution of the Senate of May 22, 1900, a report from the Secretary of State showing that the consul of the United States at Pretoria was directed on May 8, 1900, to forward copies of the constitutions of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State by return mail. Translations thereof will be communicated to the Senate at the earliest practicable date.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 2, 1900_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith, in further reply to the resolution of the Senate of April 10, 1900, having reference to Senate Document No. 336, Fifty-sixth Congress, first session, a further report from the Secretary of State, showing the places of residence of experts, clerks, officers, and employees of the Commission of the United States to the Paris Exposition of 1900, as well as the items of expenditures of the Commission for the months of January, February, and March, 1900, amounting to $211,583.25.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 6, 1900_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In further response to the resolution of the Senate of January 17, 1900, requesting, among other things, information tending to throw light upon the conduct and events of the insurrection against the authority of the United States in the Philippine Islands, I transmit herewith a correspondence between the Secretary of War and the officers of the Second Division of the Eighth Army Corps.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 3, 1900_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

At the outgoing of the old and the incoming of the new century you begin the last session of the Fifty-sixth Congress with evidences on every hand of individual and national prosperity and with proof of the growing strength and increasing power for good of Republican institutions. Your countrymen will join with you in felicitation that American liberty is more firmly established than ever before, and that love for it and the determination to preserve it are more universal than at any former period of our history.

The Republic was never so strong, because never so strongly intrenched in the hearts of the people as now. The Constitution, with few amendments, exists as it left the hands of its authors. The additions which have been made to it proclaim larger freedom and more extended citizenship. Popular government has demonstrated in its one hundred and twenty-four years of trial here its stability and security, and its efficiency as the best instrument of national development and the best safeguard to human rights.

When the Sixth Congress assembled in November, 1800, the population of the United States was 5,308,483. It is now 76,304,799. Then we had sixteen States. Now we have forty-five. Then our territory consisted of 909,050 square miles. It is now 3,846,595 square miles. Education, religion, and morality have kept pace with our advancement in other directions, and while extending its power the Government has adhered to its foundation principles and abated none of them in dealing with our new peoples and possessions. A nation so preserved and blessed gives reverent thanks to God and invokes His guidance and the continuance of His care and favor.

In our foreign intercourse the dominant question has been the treatment of the Chinese problem. Apart from this our relations with the powers have been happy.

The recent troubles in China spring from the antiforeign agitation which for the past three years has gained strength in the northern provinces. Their origin lies deep in the character of the Chinese races and in the traditions of their Government. The Taiping rebellion and the opening of Chinese ports to foreign trade and settlement disturbed alike the homogeneity and the seclusion of China.

Meanwhile foreign activity made itself felt in all quarters, not alone on the coast, but along the great river arteries and in the remoter districts, carrying new ideas and introducing new associations among a primitive people which had pursued for centuries a national policy of isolation.

The telegraph and the railway spreading over their land, the steamers plying on their waterways, the merchant and the missionary penetrating year by year farther to the interior, became to the Chinese mind types of an alien invasion, changing the course of their national life and fraught with vague forebodings of disaster to their beliefs and their self-control.

For several years before the present troubles all the resources of foreign diplomacy, backed by moral demonstrations of the physical force of fleets and arms, have been needed to secure due respect for the treaty rights of foreigners and to obtain satisfaction from the responsible authorities for the sporadic outrages upon the persons and property of unoffending sojourners, which from time to time occurred at widely separated points in the northern provinces, as in the case of the outbreaks in Sze-chuen and Shan-tung.

Posting of antiforeign placards became a daily occurrence, which the repeated reprobation of the Imperial power failed to check or punish. These inflammatory appeals to the ignorance and superstition of the masses, mendacious and absurd in their accusations and deeply hostile in their spirit, could not but work cumulative harm. They aimed at no particular class of foreigners; they were impartial in attacking everything foreign.

An outbreak in Shan-tung, in which German missionaries were slain, was the too natural result of these malevolent teachings. The posting of seditious placards, exhorting to the utter destruction of foreigners and of every foreign thing, continued unrebuked. Hostile demonstrations toward the stranger gained strength by organization.

The sect, commonly styled the Boxers, developed greatly in the provinces north of the Yang-Tse, and with the collusion of many notable officials, including some in the immediate councils of the Throne itself, became alarmingly aggressive. No foreigner's life, outside of the protected treaty ports, was safe. No foreign interest was secure from spoliation.

The diplomatic representatives of the powers in Peking strove in vain to check this movement. Protest was followed by demand and demand by renewed protest, to be met with perfunctory edicts from the Palace and evasive and futile assurances from the Tsung-li Yamen. The circle of the Boxer influence narrowed about Peking, and while nominally stigmatized as seditious, it was felt that its spirit pervaded the capital itself, that the Imperial forces were imbued with its doctrines, and that the immediate counselors of the Empress Dowager were in full sympathy with the antiforeign movement.

The increasing gravity of the conditions in China and the imminence of peril to our own diversified interests in the Empire, as well as to those of all the other treaty governments, were soon appreciated by this Government, causing it profound solicitude. The United States from the earliest days of foreign intercourse with China had followed a policy of peace, omitting no occasions to testify good will, to further the extension of lawful trade, to respect the sovereignty of its Government, and to insure by all legitimate and kindly but earnest means the fullest measure of protection for the lives and property of our law-abiding citizens and for the exercise of their beneficent callings among the Chinese people.

Mindful of this, it was felt to be appropriate that our purposes should be pronounced in favor of such course as would hasten united action of the powers at Peking to promote the administrative reforms so greatly needed for strengthening the Imperial Government and maintaining the integrity of China, in which we believed the whole western world to be alike concerned. To these ends I caused to be addressed to the several powers occupying territory and maintaining spheres of influence in China the circular proposals of 1899, inviting from them declarations of their intentions and views as to the desirability of the adoption of measures insuring the benefits of equality of treatment of all foreign trade throughout China.

With gratifying unanimity the responses coincided in this common policy, enabling me to see in the successful termination of these negotiations proof of the friendly spirit which animates the various powers interested in the untrammeled development of commerce and industry in the Chinese Empire as a source of vast benefit to the whole commercial world.

In this conclusion, which I had the gratification to announce as a completed engagement to the interested powers on March 20, 1900, I hopefully discerned a potential factor for the abatement of the distrust of foreign purposes which for a year past had appeared to inspire the policy of the Imperial Government, and for the effective exertion by it of power and authority to quell the critical antiforeign movement in the northern provinces most immediately influenced by the Manchu sentiment.

Seeking to testify confidence in the willingness and ability of the Imperial administration to redress the wrongs and prevent the evils we suffered and feared, the marine guard, which had been sent to Peking in the autumn of 1899 for the protection of the legation, was withdrawn at the earliest practicable moment, and all pending questions were remitted, as far as we were concerned, to the ordinary resorts of diplomatic intercourse.

The Chinese Government proved, however, unable to check the rising strength of the Boxers and appeared to be a prey to internal dissensions. In the unequal contest the antiforeign influences soon gained the ascendancy under the leadership of Prince Tuan. Organized armies of Boxers, with which the Imperial forces affiliated, held the country between Peking and the coast, penetrated into Manchuria up to the Russian borders, and through their emissaries threatened a like rising throughout northern China.

Attacks upon foreigners, destruction of their property, and slaughter of native converts were reported from all sides. The Tsung-li Yamen, already permeated with hostile sympathies, could make no effective response to the appeals of the legations. At this critical juncture, in the early spring of this year, a proposal was made by the other powers that a combined fleet should be assembled in Chinese waters as a moral demonstration, under cover of which to exact of the Chinese Government respect for foreign treaty rights and the suppression of the Boxers.

The United States, while not participating in the joint demonstration, promptly sent from the Philippines all ships that could be spared for service on the Chinese coast. A small force of marines was landed at Taku and sent to Peking for the protection of the American legation. Other powers took similar action, until some four hundred men were assembled in the capital as legation guards.

Still the peril increased. The legations reported the development of the seditious movement in Peking and the need of increased provision for defense against it. While preparations were in progress for a larger expedition, to strengthen the legation guards and keep the railway open, an attempt of the foreign ships to make a landing at Taku was met by a fire from the Chinese forts. The forts were thereupon shelled by the foreign vessels, the American admiral taking no part in the attack, on the ground that we were not at war with China and that a hostile demonstration might consolidate the anti-foreign elements and strengthen the Boxers to oppose the relieving column.

Two days later the Taku forts were captured after a sanguinary conflict. Severance of communication with Peking followed, and a combined force of additional guards, which was advancing to Peking by the Pei-Ho, was checked at Langfang. The isolation of the legations was complete.

The siege and the relief of the legations has passed into undying history. In all the stirring chapter which records the heroism of the devoted band, clinging to hope in the face of despair, and the undaunted spirit that led their relievers through battle and suffering to the goal, it is a memory of which my countrymen may be justly proud that the honor of our flag was maintained alike in the siege and the rescue, and that stout American hearts have again set high, in fervent emulation with true men of other race and language, the indomitable courage that ever strives for the cause of right and justice.

By June 19 the legations were cut off. An identical note from the Yamen ordered each minister to leave Peking, under a promised escort, within twenty-four hours. To gain time they replied, asking prolongation of the time, which was afterwards granted, and requesting an interview with the Tsung-li Yamen on the following day. No reply being received, on the morning of the 20th the German minister, Baron von Ketteler, set out for the Yamen to obtain a response, and on the way was murdered.

An attempt by the legation guard to recover his body was foiled by the Chinese. Armed forces turned out against the legations. Their quarters were surrounded and attacked. The mission compounds were abandoned, their inmates taking refuge in the British legation, where all the other legations and guards gathered for more effective defense. Four hundred persons were crowded in its narrow compass. Two thousand native converts were assembled in a nearby palace under protection of the foreigners. Lines of defense were strengthened, trenches dug, barricades raised, and preparations made to stand a siege, which at once began.

From June 20 until July 17, writes Minister Conger, "there was scarcely an hour during which there was not firing upon some part of our lines and into some of the legations, varying from a single shot to a general and continuous attack along the whole line." Artillery was placed around the legations and on the over-looking palace walls, and thousands of 3-inch shot and shell were fired, destroying some buildings and damaging all. So thickly did the balls rain, that, when the ammunition of the besieged ran low, five quarts of Chinese bullets were gathered in an hour in one compound and recast.

Attempts were made to burn the legations by setting neighboring houses on fire, but the flames were successfully fought off, although the Austrian, Belgian, Italian, and Dutch legations were then and subsequently burned. With the aid of the native converts, directed by the missionaries, to whose helpful co-operation Mr. Conger awards unstinted praise, the British legation was made a veritable fortress. The British minister, Sir Claude MacDonald, was chosen general commander of the defense, with the secretary of the American legation, Mr. E.G. Squiers, as chief of staff.

To save life and ammunition the besieged sparingly returned the incessant fire of the Chinese soldiery, fighting only to repel attack or make an occasional successful sortie for strategic advantage, such as that of fifty-five American, British, and Russian marines led by Captain Myers, of the United States Marine Corps, which resulted in the capture of a formidable barricade on the wall that gravely menaced the American position. It was held to the last, and proved an invaluable acquisition, because commanding the water gate through which the relief column entered.

During the siege the defenders lost 65 killed, 135 wounded, and 7 by disease--the last all children.

On July 14 the besieged had their first communication with the Tsung-li Yamen, from whom a message came inviting to a conference, which was declined. Correspondence, however, ensued and a sort of armistice was agreed upon, which stopped the bombardment and lessened the rifle fire for a time. Even then no protection whatever was afforded, nor any aid given, save to send to the legations a small supply of fruit and three sacks of flour.

Indeed, the only communication had with the Chinese Government related to the occasional delivery or dispatch of a telegram or to the demands of the Tsung-li Yamen for the withdrawal of the legations to the coast under escort. Not only are the protestations of the Chinese Government that it protected and succored the legations positively contradicted, but irresistible proof accumulates that the attacks upon them were made by Imperial troops, regularly uniformed, armed, and officered, belonging to the command of Jung Lu, the Imperial commander in chief. Decrees encouraging the Boxers, organizing them under prominent Imperial officers, provisioning them, and even granting them large sums in the name of the Empress Dowager, are known to exist. Members of the Tsung-li Yamen who counseled protection of the foreigners were beheaded. Even in the distant provinces men suspected of foreign sympathy were put to death, prominent among these being Chang Yen-hoon, formerly Chinese minister in Washington.

With the negotiation of the partial armistice of July 14, a proceeding which was doubtless promoted by the representations of the Chinese envoy in Washington, the way was opened for the conveyance to Mr. Conger of a test message sent by the Secretary of State through the kind offices of Minister Wu Ting-fang. Mr. Conger's reply, dispatched from Peking on July 18 through the same channel, afforded to the outside world the first tidings that the inmates of the legations were still alive and hoping for succor.

This news stimulated the preparations for a joint relief expedition in numbers sufficient to overcome the resistance which for a month had been organizing between Taku and the capital. Reinforcements sent by all the co-operating Governments were constantly arriving. The United States contingent, hastily assembled from the Philippines or dispatched from this country, amounted to some 5,000 men, under the able command first of the lamented Colonel Liscum and afterwards of General Chaffee.

Toward the end of July the movement began. A severe conflict followed at Tientsin, in which Colonel Liscum was killed. The city was stormed and partly destroyed. Its capture afforded the base of operations from which to make the final advance, which began in the first days of August, the expedition being made up of Japanese, Russian, British, and American troops at the outset.

Another battle was fought and won at Yangtsun. Thereafter the disheartened Chinese troops offered little show of resistance. A few days later the important position of Ho-si-woo was taken. A rapid march brought the united forces to the populous city of Tung Chow, which capitulated without a contest.

On August 14 the capital was reached. After a brief conflict beneath the walls the relief column entered and the legations were saved. The United States soldiers, sailors, and marines, officers and men alike, in those distant climes and unusual surroundings, showed the same valor, discipline, and good conduct and gave proof of the same high degree of intelligence and efficiency which have distinguished them in every emergency.

The Imperial family and the Government had fled a few days before. The city was without visible control. The remaining Imperial soldiery had made on the night of the 13th a last attempt to exterminate the besieged, which was gallantly repelled. It fell to the occupying forces to restore order and organize a provisional administration.

Happily the acute disturbances were confined to the northern provinces. It is a relief to recall and a pleasure to record the loyal conduct of the viceroys and local authorities of the southern and eastern provinces. Their efforts were continuously directed to the pacific control of the vast populations under their rule and to the scrupulous observance of foreign treaty rights. At critical moments they did not hesitate to memorialize the Throne, urging the protection of the legations, the restoration of communication, and the assertion of the Imperial authority against the subversive elements. They maintained excellent relations with the official representatives of foreign powers. To their kindly disposition is largely due the success of the consuls in removing many of the missionaries from the interior to places of safety. In this relation the action of the consuls should be highly commended. In Shan-tung and eastern Chi-li the task was difficult, but, thanks to their energy and the cooperation of American and foreign naval commanders, hundreds of foreigners, including those of other nationalities than ours, were rescued from imminent peril.

The policy of the United States through all this trying period was clearly announced and scrupulously carried out. A circular note to the powers dated July 3 proclaimed our attitude. Treating the condition in the north as one of virtual anarchy, in which the great provinces of the south and southeast had no share, we regarded the local authorities in the latter quarters as representing the Chinese people with whom we sought to remain in peace and friendship. Our declared aims involved no war against the Chinese nation. We adhered to the legitimate office of rescuing the imperiled legation, obtaining redress for wrongs already suffered, securing wherever possible the safety of American life and property in China, and preventing a spread of the disorders or their recurrence.

As was then said, "The policy of the Government of the United States is to seek a solution which may bring about permanent safety and peace to China, preserve Chinese territorial and administrative entity, protect all rights guaranteed to friendly powers by treaty and international law, and safeguard for the world the principle of equal and impartial trade with all parts of the Chinese Empire."

Faithful to those professions which, as it proved, reflected the views and purposes of the other co-operating Governments, all our efforts have been directed toward ending the anomalous situation in China by negotiations for a settlement at the earliest possible moment. As soon as the sacred duty of relieving our legation and its dependents was accomplished we withdrew from active hostilities, leaving our legation under an adequate guard in Peking as a channel of negotiation and settlement--a course adopted by others of the interested powers. Overtures of the empowered representatives of the Chinese Emperor have been considerately entertained.

The Russian proposition looking to the restoration of the Imperial power in Peking has been accepted as in full consonance with our own desires, for we have held and hold that effective reparation for wrongs suffered and an enduring settlement that will make their recurrence impossible can best be brought about under an authority which the Chinese nation reverences and obeys. While so doing we forego no jot of our undoubted right to exact exemplary and deterrent punishment of the responsible authors and abettors of the criminal acts whereby we and other nations have suffered grievous injury.

For the real culprits, the evil counselors who have misled the Imperial judgment and diverted the sovereign authority to their own guilty ends, full expiation becomes imperative within the rational limits of retributive justice. Regarding this as the initial condition of an acceptable settlement between China and the powers, I said in my message of October 18 to the Chinese Emperor:

I trust that negotiations may begin so soon as we and the other offended
Governments shall be effectively satisfied of Your Majesty's ability and
power to treat with just sternness the principal offenders, who are
doubly culpable, not alone toward the foreigners, but toward Your
Majesty, under whose rule the purpose of China to dwell in concord with
the world had hitherto found expression in the welcome and protection
assured to strangers.

Taking, as a point of departure, the Imperial edict appointing Earl Li Hung Chang and Prince Ching plenipotentiaries to arrange a settlement, and the edict of September 25, whereby certain high officials were designated for punishment, this Government has moved, in concert with the other powers, toward the opening of negotiations, which Mr. Conger, assisted by Mr. Rockhill, has been authorized to conduct on behalf of the United States.

General bases of negotiation formulated by the Government of the French Republic have been accepted with certain reservations as to details, made necessary by our own circumstances, but, like similar reservations by other powers, open to discussion in the progress of the negotiations. The disposition of the Emperor's Government to admit liability for wrongs done to foreign Governments and their nationals, and to act upon such additional designation of the guilty persons as the foreign ministers at Peking may be in a position to make, gives hope of a complete settlement of all questions involved, assuring foreign rights of residence and intercourse on terms of equality for all the world.

I regard as one of the essential factors of a durable adjustment the securement of adequate guarantees for liberty of faith, since insecurity of those natives who may embrace alien creeds is a scarcely less effectual assault upon the rights of foreign worship and teaching than would be the direct invasion thereof.

The matter of indemnity for our wronged citizens is a question of grave concern. Measured in money alone, a sufficient reparation may prove to be beyond the ability of China to meet. All the powers concur in emphatic disclaimers of any purpose of aggrandizement through the dismemberment of the Empire. I am disposed to think that due compensation may be made in part by increased guarantees of security for foreign rights and immunities, and, most important of all, by the opening of China to the equal commerce of all the world. These views have been and will be earnestly advocated by our representatives.

The Government of Russia has put forward a suggestion, that in the event of protracted divergence of views in regard to indemnities the matter may be relegated to the Court of Arbitration at The Hague. I favorably incline to this, believing that high tribunal could not fail to reach a solution no less conducive to the stability and enlarged prosperity of China itself than immediately beneficial to the powers.

Ratifications of a treaty of extradition with the Argentine Republic were exchanged on June 2 last.

While the Austro-Hungarian Government has in the many cases that have been reported of the arrest of our naturalized citizens for alleged evasion of military service faithfully observed the provisions of the treaty and released such persons from military obligations, it has in some instances expelled those whose presence in the community of their origin was asserted to have a pernicious influence. Representations have been made against this course whenever its adoption has appeared unduly onerous.

We have been urgently solicited by Belgium to ratify the International Convention of June, 1899, amendatory of the previous Convention of 1890 in respect to the regulation of the liquor trade in Africa. Compliance was necessarily withheld, in the absence of the advice and consent of the Senate thereto. The principle involved has the cordial sympathy of this Government, which in the revisionary negotiations advocated more drastic measures, and I would gladly see its extension, by international agreement, to the restriction of the liquor traffic with all uncivilized peoples, especially in the Western Pacific.

A conference will be held at Brussels December 11, 1900, under the Convention for the protection of industrial property, concluded at Paris March 20, 1883, to which delegates from this country have been appointed. Any lessening of the difficulties that our inventors encounter in obtaining patents abroad for their inventions and that our farmers, manufacturers, and merchants may have in the protection of their trade-marks is worthy of careful consideration, and your attention will be called to the results of the conference at the proper time.

In the interest of expanding trade between this country and South America, efforts have been made during the past year to conclude conventions with the southern republics for the enlargement of postal facilities. Two such agreements, signed with Bolivia on April 24, of which that establishing the money-order system is undergoing certain changes suggested by the Post-Office Department, have not yet been ratified by this Government. A treaty of extradition with that country, signed on the same day, is before the Senate.

A boundary dispute between Brazil and Bolivia over the territory of Acre is in a fair way of friendly adjustment, a protocol signed in December, 1899, having agreed on a definite frontier and provided for its demarcation by a joint commission.

Conditions in Brazil have weighed heavily on our export trade to that country in marked contrast to the favorable conditions upon which Brazilian products are admitted into our markets. Urgent representations have been made to that Government on the subject and some amelioration has been effected. We rely upon the reciprocal justice and good will of that Government to assure to us a further improvement in our commercial relations.

The Convention signed May 24, 1897, for the final settlement of claims left in abeyance upon the dissolution of the Commission of 1893, was at length ratified by the Chilean Congress and the supplemental Commission has been organized.

It remains for the Congress to appropriate for the necessary expenses of the Commission.

The insurrectionary movement which disturbed Colombia in the latter part of 1899 has been practically suppressed, although guerrillas still operate in some departments. The executive power of that Republic changed hands in August last by the act of Vice-President Marroquin in assuming the reins of government during the absence of President San Clemente from the capital. The change met with no serious opposition, and, following the precedents in such cases, the United States minister entered into relations with the new _de facto_ Government on September 17.

It is gratifying to announce that the residual questions between Costa Rica and Nicaragua growing out of the Award of President Cleveland in 1888 have been adjusted through the choice of an American engineer, General E.P. Alexander, as umpire to run the disputed line. His task has been accomplished to the satisfaction of both contestants.

A revolution in the Dominican Republic toward the close of last year resulted in the installation of President Jimenez, whose Government was formally recognized in January. Since then final payment has been made of the American claim in regard to the Ozama bridge.

The year of the exposition has been fruitful in occasions for displaying the good will that exists between this country and France. This great competition brought together from every nation the best in natural productions, industry, science, and the arts, submitted in generous rivalry to a judgment made all the more searching because of that rivalry. The extraordinary increase of exportations from this country during the past three years and the activity with which our inventions and wares had invaded new markets caused much interest to center upon the American exhibit, and every encouragement was offered in the way of space and facilities to permit of its being comprehensive as a whole and complete in every part.

It was, however, not an easy task to assemble exhibits that could fitly illustrate our diversified resources and manufactures. Singularly enough, our national prosperity lessened the incentive to exhibit. The dealer in raw materials knew that the user must come to him; the great factories were contented with the phenomenal demand for their output, not alone at home, but also abroad, where merit had already won a profitable trade.

Appeals had to be made to the patriotism of exhibitors to induce them to incur outlays promising no immediate return. This was especially the case where it became needful to complete an industrial sequence or illustrate a class of processes. One manufacturer after another had to be visited and importuned, and at times, after a promise to exhibit in a particular section had been obtained, it would be withdrawn, owing to pressure of trade orders, and a new quest would have to be made.