[untitled]
I
a recent letter Dr. Samuel Cochran told of the honors paid to the
memory of President McKinley in a significant service held at the
Methodist University, Nanking, China, on Sept. 22. The Consul, formerly
a Methodist [325][326] minister, gave
an appropriate address. The Viceroy, prevented by illness from being
present in person, sent a mandarin of lofty position as his representative.
A group of dignified officials to the number of thirty-five, wearing
magnificent robes of brocade in many colors, were there in official
capacity, the literary order seated on one side of the chapel, and
the military opposite. British and German consuls attended in uniform,
and a large contingent came from the warships in the harbor. The
boy from Canton, Ohio, who became by God’s grace soldier, statesman
and President of his nation, was literally mourned around the globe.
Considering how lately the fires of persecution were blazing in
China, this incident is a remarkable tribute to Mr. McKinley’s wisdom
and goodness. The Viceroy of this province deserves our gratitude
for his kind interference in behalf of foreigners in the Yangtse
[sic] valley in 1900. “Destroy all foreigners,” was the fiendish
order of the Empress. This brave Viceroy changed this to “Protect
all foreigners,” and proceeded to do so.
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