One hundred years ago
THE NEWS of the week is terribly bad for China. To put the matter broadly, neither the Chinese soldiers nor the Chinese sailors will fight for their coun- try. Marshal Yamagata advances steadi- ly towards Moukden, carrying, or rather Occupying, every fortified place on his way, and is now within fifty miles of the Manchurian capital. The Chinese sol- diers fly before him, either to Moukden or Newchang; but it does not appear that they intend to defend either place, and before December both will proba- bly be in Japanese hands. Further south again, Marshal Oyama, with his two corps d'armee, is carrying the outposts of Port Arthur, and in a day or two expects to take the arsenal itself, which, indeed, according to a telegram from the Amer- ican Minister, has already fallen. The Japanese Fleet lies outside the harbour, and inside is the Chinese Fleet, which had orders to go to Wie-hai-wei, but disobeyed them. It is therefore caught in a sort of trap; and when the arsenal falls, must either be blown up or surren- der. The Chinese officers of all grades appear to be panic-stricken, and the sol- diers, without pay or commissariat, dev- astate the country. The immense forces round Pekin remain motionless — in theory, to protect the capital; in reality, because they are a horde rather than an army; while Li Hung Chang, who was supposed to be the only organiser in China, has been dismissed from his Vice-royalty of Pechili and summoned to Pekin. The huge Empire lies, in fact, in a welter of confusion.
The Spectator 10 November 1894
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