Orders to sign the Protocol have reached Pekin from Sian,
but other symptoms are not so favourable. It is said that the prohibition on the import of arms is already being evaded, and that the Chinese arsenals are working furiously. Statements that Prince Tuan and General Tung are levying an army in Kansu " with the approval of the Empress " are believed by Chinamen, who also report that the " Grand Council of the Empire," which is consulted on extraordinary occasions, has decreed that Pekin shall be abandoned, and a new capital established in Ronan. " The Emperor and the Legations cannot reside in the same city." Prince Chun, too, who was sent to Berlin to apologise for the murder of the German Ambassador, has stopped in Basle, the German Emperor having demanded ' humiliations which he dare not concede without express orders, and it is even possible that he may return, to the intense irritation of William II., who thinks that a ceremony of humiliation will convince Germany of his success. All these signs mean the same thing, that the Chinese do not intend to acknowledge defeat, and are aware that Europe is too weary of its enterprise to begin it again. The old Colossus trusts to its weight to overcome the dragging power of the European motors, and probably is justified in its faith. One thing is certain, that Europe fails entirely to obtain information as to the real feelings, or projects, or resources of the Chinese Court.
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