It is stated in a telegram from Simla to the
Times, which must be based on at least demi-official information, that an Edict signed by both the Emperor and the Dowager-Empress has been posted up in Thibet, declaring that as the European Powers have been victorious in Northern China, any one killing missionaries or their converts is to be beheaded. The information reaches Simla from Sikkim, and if the story is true, severe pressure must have been applied by Russia, probably at French instigation, before such a proclamation could have been issued. As at present informed, however, we distrust the telegram. There are no Protestant missionaries in Thibet, nor so far as we know any Catholic, and if there are a few of the latter on the Eastern slope, Thibet is the last place where the Chinese would acknowledge defeat. Their power there is based on terror alone, and the Lamas are even now sending a deputation to St. Petersburg, which must be directed against China.
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