The Powers have evidently decided that, massacre or no massacre,
there shall be a march to Pekin, and being urged by Americans, who half believe that their Minister may be rescued, they are said to have decided that it shall commence on July 30th or August 1st. No generalissimo has, however, been appointed, though there is a rumour that it may be the Russian War Minister, General Kurapotkin, who, we recol- lect, "can always get along with Englishmen." The use of seven languages hampers preparations, and as yet the accounts of transport are most unsatisfactory. There is too much reliance on the Peiho, which will be blocked or its waters let off, and the collection of animals does not advance rapidly. The number of men engaged will probably exceed sixty thousand, but of these nearly half must be left in garrison at Taku, Tientsin, Langfang, and other _places on the route, and the proportion of cavalry is still deficient. Of artillery there must be plenty, as most valuable pieces were captured in Tientsin, but the faster ammunition can be forwarded from Japan, Port Arthur. and Madras the better. There is sure not to be too much, and we doubt if the component divisions of the army can assist each other, each using weapons of different calibre. The idea that Pekin will not defend itself—which lies at the bottom of the absurd rumours that it has already been seized by Russians —is a mere illusion.
