Almost the only accurate accounts of Chinese opinion which reached
the Legations before the murder of the German Ambassador came from the missionaries in North China, They hear reports not only from their converts, but from the subordinate officials, whom those converts irritate by defying their authority. The French Bishop, for instance, Dr. Favier, distinctly warned M. Pichon, the French Ambassador, of what was coming. The Kolnische Volkszeitung now states that, according to the Bishop of South Shantung, the people are more bitterly hostile than before the war. They are excited by the "stern vengeance" taken by the Allied troops in the province of Chih-li. It must be remembered that in Shantung the bitterness is directed specially against Germans, and that Dr. Anzer would therefore make careful inquiries. The hatred is natural and cannot be helped. for if ever a proud nation suffered humiliation China has done; but we hope the Legations, warned by experience, are now taking some pains to keep themselves informed on the movements of Chinese opinion. The next uprising when it comes will be far more terrible and more widely spread than the last.
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