The French Government has sustained what it considers a heavy
blow in the Far East. Hitherto it has always been regarded as the protector of all Roman Catholic Missions in China, and has in that character exercised an iunnense in- fluence at the Court of Pekin. The Catholics are so numerous, and so much disliked by the population, that they require special protection ; and the French Ambassador assumed almost the position of a Resident, complaining constantly of the conduct of local officials. It came, in fact, to this, that all Roman Catholic converts in China were subjects of France rather than the Emperor. So irritated were the Chinese, that they asked the Pope to send a Legate to China, and the Pope nominated one, who, however, never started, the French Ministry having threatened, if he appeared in China, to suppress the Budget of Public Worship. The Chinese were apparently defeated; but they bethought themselves of another plan, and asked the German and Italian Governments to undertake the protection of Missions belonging to their own nationalities. Those Governments, of course, complied, and the practical result is that France now protects only her own converts and those of Portugal and Belgium. It ought in fairness to be added, that though the French object has been purely political, she has really protected the converts, who are liable all over China to sudden outbreaks of murderous fanaticism. This protection matter, too, is more serious than it looks, as it would be impossible to keep the peace between Europe and China if massacres of Christians occurred upon the Indo-Chinese or Japanese scale.
Previous page
