HOSTILE ATTACKS ON CHINESE MISSIONS.
The steamer City of Pekin brings details of the destruction of the American Presbyterian Church at Shuklung, near Canton, the mention of which was contained in the oriental mail. It seems that anti-missionary riots began in the prefectorial town of Tung Kan, in June, as the result of the posting of placards containing vile charges against Christians. The mob appeared in Shuklung on June 19, and pulled down the church. Luckily, all the missionaries escaped, but a Chinese convert, Kaing Lap, was overtaken, beaten to death, and his body thrown into the river. Several Christian families in the vicinity were subjected to indignities and robbed. Some soldiers then appeared on the scene, and effected the arrest of two rioters. The next point of attack was the Roman Catholic Church. Those inside the church fired at the mob, and held them at bay for some time. At this juncture soldiers came and dispersed the mob, thus saving the building from sharing the same fate as the American church. On June 2 the church at Sam Kong, a village of Tsan Shing, was sacked, and a girl aged nineteen, belonging to a native preacher's family, was carried away. Fortunately, in the middle of the night the Christian Brothers were able to secretly open the door of the house where the girl had been taken, and she was conveyed safely to Canton. Simultaneously with this disturbance an anti-missionary demonstration took place at Liu Pou. Under cover of darkness a native preacher with his family had to seek safety in flight. The church, however, was left unmolested, as it was owned by a man of the powerful Wan family, who protected the building. In Tung Kung City the vilest and most exciting rumors were current, and had it not been for the proximity of the church of the Rhenish Mission to the mandarin's residence, and for the daily protection of its premises by a squad of soldiers, who had been applied for by the missionaries at an early stage of the riots, it would in all probability have to be added to the list of demolished churches in this district. A complaint against the Tung Kung magistrate has been filed with the American Consul at Canton, and an investigation will be made. A dispatch from Tientsin to the London Times, dated August 27, says: "An imperial edict which has just appeared condemns the officers responsible for the recent outrages on missionaries, and orders that they be beheaded. The actual criminals are rebuilding the chapels, and liberal compensation will be given to relatives of the victims. Li Hung Chang has expressed regret to the British Minister."—Christian Work.