CONTENTS
PREFACE…2
CHAPTER I.
THE IMBROGLIO…3
CHAPTER II.
MY CAPTURE…11
CHAPTER III.
MY IMPRISONMENT… 17
CHAPTER IV.
PLEADING WITH MY GAOLERS FOR LIFE… 22
CHAPTER V.
THE PART MY FRIENDS PLAYED…28
CHAPTER VI.
THE SEARCH FOR A DETECTIVE…34
CHAPTER VII.
THE GOVERNMENT INTERVENE…38
CHAPTER VIII.
RELEASED…43
APPENDIX…49

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 1

PREFACE
　My recent detention in the Chinese Legation, 49 Portland Place,London, has excited so much interest, has brought me so manyfriends and has raised so many legal, technical and internationalpoints of law, that I feel I should be failing in my duty did I notplace on public record, all the circumstances connected with thehistorical event.
　I must beg the indulgence of all readers for my shortcomingsin English composition, and confess that had it not been for thehelp rendered by a good friend, who transcribed my thoughts, Icould never have ventured to appear as the Author of an Englishbook.
SUN YAT SENLondon, 1897.

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 2

KIDNAPPED IN LONDON
Jan. 1897
CHAPTER I
THE IMBROGLIO
　When in 1892 I settled in Macao, a small island near the mouthof the Canton river, to practise medicine, I little dreamt that in fouryears time I should find myself a prisoner in the Chinese Legationin London, and the unwitting cause of a political sensation whichculminated in the active interference of the British Governmentto procure my release. It was in that year however; and at Macao,that my first acquaintance was made with political life; and therebegan the part of my career which has been the means of bringingmy name so prominently before the British people.I had been studying medicine, during the year 1886, in Can-ton at the Anglo-American Mission, under the direction of the ven-erable Dr. Kerr, when in 1887 I heard of the opening of a Collegeof Medicine at Hong Kong, and determined immediately to availmyself of the advantages it offered.
　After five years' study (1887-1892) I obtained the diploma en-titling me to style myself "Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery, HongKong."
　Macao has belonged to Portugal for 360 years; but although theGovernment is Europeanised, the inhabitants are mostly Chinese,and the section of the population which styles itself Portuguese,consists really of Eurasians of several in-bred generations.In my newly selected home, I found the Chinese authoritiesof the native hospital willing to help me forward in the matter ofaffording me opportunities to practise European medicine and
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 3

surgery. They placed a ward at my disposal, supplied me with drugsand appliances from London, and granted me every privilegewhereby to secure my introduction amongst them on a fair footing.This event deserves special notice as marking a new and sig-nificant departure in China; for never before had the Board of Di-rectors of any Chinese hospital throughout the length and breadthof the great empire given any direct official encouragement to West-ern medicine. Many patients, more especially surgical cases, cameto my wards, and I had the opportunity of performing several ofthe major operations before the Directors. On the other hand, Ihad difficulty from the first with the Portuguese authorities. It wasnot the obstructive ignorance of the East, but the jealousy of theWest, which stepped in to thwart my progress. The law of Portugalforbids the practice of medicine, within Portuguese territory, byany one who is not possessed of a Portuguese diploma, obtainableonly in Europe. Under this rule the Portuguese doctors took ref-uge and fought my claims to practise. They first forbade me to prac-tise amongst, or prescribe for, Portuguese; the dispensers in thepharmacies were not allowed to dispense prescriptions from thepen of a doctor of any alien nationality; consequently my progresswas hampered from the first. After futile attempts to establish my-self in Macao, and at considerable pecuniary loss, for I had settleddown little dreaming of opposition, I was induced to go to Canton.It was in Macao that I first learned of the existence of a po-litical movement which I might best describe as the formation ofa "Young China" party. Its objects were so wise, so modest, andso hopeful, that my sympathies were at once enlisted in its behalf,and I believed I was doing my best to further the interests of mycountry by joining it. The idea was to bring about a peaceful re-formation, and we hoped, by forwarding modest schemes of reformto the Throne, to initiate a form of government more consistentwith modern requirements. The prime essence of the movementwas the establishment of a form of constitutional government to
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 4

supplement the old-fashioned, corrupt, and worn-out system un-der which China is groaning.
　It is unnecessary to enter into details as to what form of ruleobtains in China at present. It may be summed up, however, in afew words. The people have no say whatever in the managementof Imperial, National, or even Municipal affairs. The mandarins, orlocal magistrates, have full power of adjudication, from which thereis no appeal. Their word is law, and they have full scope to practisetheir machinations with complete irresponsibility, and every off-icer may fatten himself with impunity. Extortion by officials is aninstitution; it is the condition on which they take office; and it isonly when the bleeder is a bungler that the government steps inwith pretended benevolence to ameliorate but more often to com-plete the depletion.
　English readers are probably unaware of the smallness of theestablished salaries of provincial magnates. They will scarcely creditthat the Viceroy of, say, Canton, ruling a country with a popula-tion larger than that of Great Britain, is allowed as his legal salarythe paltry sum of £60 a year; so that, in order to live and maintainhimself in office, accumulating fabulous riches the while, he re-sorts to extortion and the selling of justice. So-called education andthe results of examinations are the one means of obtaining officialnotice. Granted that a young scholar gains distinction, he proceedsto seek public employment, and, by bribing the Peking authorities,an official post is hoped for. Once obtained, as he cannot live onhis salary, perhaps he even pays so much annually for his post, li-cence to squeeze is the result, and the man must be stupid indeedwho cannot, when backed up by government, make himself richenough to buy a still higher post in a few years. With advancementcomes increased licence and additional facility for self-enrichment,so that the cleverest "squeezer" ultimately can obtain money enoughto purchase the highest positions.

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 5

This official thief, with his mind warped by his mode of life,is the ultimate authority in all matters of social, political, and crim-inal life. It is a feudal system, an imperium in imperio, an unjustautocracy, which thrives by its own rottenness. But this system offattening on the public vitals--the selling of power-is the chief meansby which the Manchu Dynasty continues to exist. With this legal-ised corruption stamped as the highest ideal of government, whocan wonder at the existence of a strong undercurrent of dissatis-faction among the people?
　The masses of China, although kept officially in ignorance ofwhat is going on in the world around them, are anything but a stu-pid people. All European authorities on this matter state that thelatent intellectual ability of the Chinese is considerable; and manyplace it even above that of the masses in any other country, Eu-ropean or Asiatic. Books on politics are not allowed; daily news-papers are prohibited in China; the world around, its people andpolitics, are shut out; while no one below the grade of a mandarinof the seventh rank is allowed to read Chinese geography, far lessforeign. The laws of the present dynasty are not for public reading;they are known only to the highest officials. The reading of bookson military subjects is, in common with that of other prohibitedmatter, not only forbidden, but is even punishable by death. Noone is allowed, on pain of death, to invent anything new, or to makeknown any new discovery. In this way are the people kept in dark-ness, while the government doles out to them what scraps of in-formation it finds will suit its own ends.
　The so-called "Literati" of China are allowed to study only theChinese classics and the commentaries thereon. These consist ofthe writings of ancient philosophers, the works of Confucius andothers. But of even these, all parts relating to the criticism of theirsuperiors are carefully expunged, and only those parts are publishedfor public reading which teach obedience to authorities as the es-sence of all instruction. In this way is China ruled--or rather
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 6

misruled-namely, by the enforcement of blind obedience to allexisting laws and formalities.
　To keep the masses in ignorance is the constant endeavour ofChinese rule. In this way it happened, that during the last Japa-nese incursion, absolutely nothing was known of the war by themasses of China, in parts other than those where the campaign wasactually waged. Not only did the people a short way inland neverhear of the war, but the masses had never even heard of a peoplecalled Japanese; and even where the whisper had been echoed, itwas discussed as being a "rebellion" of the "foreign man."With this incubus hanging over her, China has no chance ofreform except it come from the Throne; and it was to induce theThrone to modify this pernicious state of things that the "YoungChina" party was formed. Hoping that the Peking authorities, bytheir more extended contact during recent years with foreign di-plomatists, might have learned something of constitutional rule, andmight be willing to aid the people in throwing off their deplorableignorance, I ventured, with others, to approach them, beseechingthem, in all humility, to move in this direction for the welfare ofChina. These petitions only resulted in the infliction of many rig-orous punishments. We had seized the moment when the Japa-nese were threatening Peking, and the Emperor, fearing that harshdealings with the reformers might alienate many of his people, tookno notice of them until peace was assured. Then an edict was is-sued denouncing the petitioners and commanding the immediatecessation of all suggestions of reform.
　Finding the door closed to mild means, we grew more concretein our notions and demands, and gradually came to see that somedegree of coercion would be necessary. In all quarters we foundsupporters. The better classes were dissatisfied with the behaviourof our armies and fleets, and knew that corruption in its worst formswas the cause of their failure. This feeling was not confined to one
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 7

locality, but was wide-spread and deep-rooted, and promised to takeshape and find expression in decided action.
　The headquarters of the "Young China" party was really inShanghai, but the scene of action was to be laid in Canton. Theparty was aided in its course by one or two circumstances. Firstamong these was the existence of discontented soldiery. Three-fourths of the Cantonese contingent were disbanded when the warin the North had ceased in 1895. This set loose a number of idle,lawless men; and the small section of their comrades who were re-tained in service were no better pleased than those dismissed. Eitherdisband all or retain all, was their cry; but the authorities were deafto the remonstrance. The reform party at once enlisted the sym-pathies of these men in their cause, and so gained numericalstrength to their military resources.
　Another chance coincidence hastened events. For some rea-son or other a body of police, discarding their uniform, set to workto loot and plunder a section of the city. After an hour or two, theinhabitants rose, and obtaining mastery of the quondam police, shutsome half-dozen of the ringleaders up in their Guildhall. The super-intendent of the official police then sent out a force to releasethe marauders, and proceeded forthwith to plunder the Guildhallitself. A meeting of the inhabitants was immediately held, and adeputation of 1000 men sent to the Governor's residence to ap-peal against the action of the police. The authorities, however, toldthe deputation that such a proceeding was tantamount to a rebel-lion, and that they had no right to threaten their superiors. Theythereupon arrested the ringleaders of the deputation, and sent theothers about their business. The discontents soon became disaf-fected, and, the "Young China" party making advance, they read-ily joined the reformers.
　Yet a third and a fourth incident helped to swell their ranks.The Viceroy, Li Han Chang (brother of the famous Viceroy Li), put
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 8

a fixed tariff on all official posts throughout his two provinces,Kwang-Tung and Kwang-Si. This was an innovation which meanta further "squeeze" of the people, as the officials, of course, madethe people pay to indemnify them for their extra payments. Thefourth, and the most characteristically Chinese, method of extor-tion was afforded in the occasion of the Viceroy's birthday. Theofficials in his provinces combined to give their master a present,and collected money to the amount of a million taels (about£200,000). Of course the officials took the money from the richermerchants in the usual way, by threats, by promises, and by black-mailing. A follower of Li Han Chang, Che Fa Nung by name, furtherangered all the "Literati" by selling, to all who could afford to pay,diplomas of graduation for 3000 taels (about £500) each. The richermen and the "Literati" became thereby disaffected and threw intheir lot with "Young China."
　In this way the reform movement acquired great strength andcoherence and wide-spread influence, and brought matters all toosoon to a climax. The plan was to capture the city of Canton anddepose the authorities, taking them by surprise and securing themin as quiet a way as possible, or, at any rate, without blood-shed.To ensure a complete coup, it was considered necessary to bringan overwhelming force to bear; consequently, two bodies of menwere employed, one in Swatow and the other from the banks ofthe West river. These places were fixed upon as the Swatow men,for instance, were totally ignorant of the Cantonese language. Al-though only 180 miles north of Canton, the language of Swatowdiffers as much from that of Canton as English does from Italian.It was deemed wise to bring strangers in, as they were more likelyto be staunch to the cause, since they could not communicate with,and therefore could not be tampered with by, Cantonese men. Norwould it be safe for them to disband or desert, as they would beknown as strangers, and suspicion would at once fall on them werethey found in Canton after the disturbance.
　It was arranged that on a certain day in October, 1895, these
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 9

men should march across country, one body from the south-west,the other from the north-east, towards Canton. All proceeded sat-isfactorily, and they commenced their advance. Frequent meetingsof the Committee of Reformers were held, and arms, ammunitionand dynamite were accumulated at the headquarters. The soldiersadvancing across the country were to be still further strengthenedby a contingent of four hundred men from Hong Kong. The dayfor the assemblage came and the southern men were halted withinfour hours march of the city. A guard of one hundred men, fullyarmed, was stationed around the Committee in their Guild; run-ners, some thirty in number, were despatched to the disaffectedover the city to be ready for the following morning. Whilst the con-spirators sat within their hall a telegram was received to the effectthat the advancing soldiers had been stayed in their progress, andthe reform movement forthwith became disconcerted. It was im-possible to recall the messengers, and others could not be foundwho knew where the disaffected were resident. Further news cameto hand rendering it impossible to proceed, and the cry arose "Sauvequi peut." A general stampede followed, papers were burnt, armshidden, and telegrams despatched to Hong Kong to stop the con-tingent from that place. The telegram to the Hong Kong agent, how-ever, only reached him after all his men had been got on boarda steamer, which also carried many barrels of revolvers. Insteadof dismissing the men as he should have done, he allowed themto proceed, and they landed on the wharf of Canton only to findthemselves placed under arrest. The leaders in Canton fled, someone way, some another; I myself, after several hairbreadth escapes,getting on board a steam launch in which I sailed to Macao. Re-maining there for twenty-four hours only, I proceeded to Hong Kong,where, after calling on some friends, I sought my old teacher andfriend, Mr. James Cantlie. Having informed him that I was in trou-ble through having offended the Cantonese authorities, and fear-ing that I should be arrested and sent to Canton for execution, headvised me to consult a lawyer, which I immediately proceededto do.

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 10

CHAPTER II
MY CAPTURE
　I did not see Mr. Cantlie again, as Mr. Dennis, who directed mysteps, constrained me to get away at once.
　In two days time I went by Japanese steamer to Kobe, whence,after a few days' stay, I proceeded to Yokohama. There I changedmy Chinese attire for a European costume a la Japanese. I removedmy queue, allowed my hair to grow naturally and cultivated mymoustache. In a few days I sailed from Yokohama for the Haw-aiian Islands and there took up my quarters in the town of Hon-olulu, where I had many relations, friends and well-wishers.Wherever I went, whether in Japan, Honolulu, or America, I foundall intelligent Chinese imbued with the spirit of reform and eagerto obtain a form of representative government for their native land.Whilst walking in the streets of Honolulu I met Mr. and Mrs.Cantlie and family, who were then on their way to England. Theydid not at first recognise me in my European dress, and their Jap-anese nurse at once addressed me in the Japanese language, tak-ing me for a countryman. This happened frequently, Japaneseeverywhere at first taking me for one of themselves and only find-ing their mistake when they spoke to me.
　I left Honolulu in June, 1896, for San Francisco, where I re-mained for a month before proceeding eastward. There I met manyof my countrymen and was well received by them. I spent threemonths in America, and came to Liverpool by the s.s. Majestic. InNew York I was advised to beware the Chinese Minister to the Un-ited States, as he is a Manchurian, and has but little sympathy withChinese generally and a reformer in particular.On October 1st, 1896, I arrived in London and put up at Haxell's
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 11

Hotel in the Strand. I went next day to Mr. Cantlie's, at 46 Devon-shire Street, Portland Place, W., where I received a hearty welcomefrom my old friend and his wife. Lodgings were found for me at8 Gray's Inn Place, Gray's Inn, Holborn. Henceforward I proceededto settle down to enjoy my stay in London and to become ac-quainted with the many sights, the museums and the historical re-lics in this the very centre of the universe. What impressed me,a Chinaman, most was the enormous vehicular traffic, the endlessand unceasing stream of omnibusses, cabs, carriages, wagons, andwheeled conveyances of humbler character which held the streets;the wonderful way in which the police controlled and directed thetraffic, and the good humour of the people. The foot passengersare, of course, many, but they are not in such crowds as we findin Chinese streets. For one thing, our streets are much narrower,being, in fact, mere alleys; and, in the second place, all our goodsare conveyed by human carriage, everything being slung from abamboo pole carried across the shoulders. Yet even in the widestreets of Hong Kong our foot passenger traffic is in swarms.I was just beginning to know Holborn from the Strand, and Ox-ford Circus from Piccadilly Circus, when I was deprived of my lib-erty in the fashion so fully described by the public press of thecountry.
　I had been frequently at Mr. Cantlie's, almost daily in fact, andspent most of my time in his study. One day at luncheon he al-luded to the Chinese Legation being in the neighbourhood, and jok-ingly suggested that I might go round and call there; whereat hiswife remarked, "You had better not. Don't you go near it; they'llcatch you and ship you off the China." We all enjoyed a good laughover the remark, little knowing how true the womanly instinct was,and how soon we were to experience the reality. While dining oneevening at Dr. Manson's, whom I had also known in Hong Kong,as my teacher in medicine, I was jokingly advised by him alsoto keep away from the Chinese Legation. I was well warned,
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 12

therefore; but as I did not know where the Legation was, the warn-ing was of little use. I knew that to get to Devonshire Street I hadto get off the omnibus at Oxford Circus, and from thence go straightnorth up a wide street till I found the name Devonshire on the cor-ner house. That was the extent of my knowledge of the locality atthis time.
　On Sunday morning, October 11th, at almost half-past ten, Iwas walking towards Devonshire Street, hoping to be in time togo to church with the doctor and his family, when a Chinaman ap-proached in a surreptitious manner from behind and asked, in Eng-lish, whether I was Japanese or Chinese. "I replied, I am Chinese."He then inquired from what province I came, and when I told himI was from Canton he said, "We are countrymen, and speak the samelanguage; I am from Canton." It should be observed that Englishor "Pidgin," that is "business" English, is the common language be-tween Chinamen from different localities. A Swatow and a Can-tonese merchant, although their towns are but writes 180 milesapart (less than the distance between London and Liverpool), maybe entirely ignorant of each other's spoken language. The writtenlanguage is the same all over China, but the written and spokenlanguages are totally different, and the spoken languages are many.A Swatow merchant, therefore, doing business in Hong Kong witha Cantonese man, speaks English, but writes in the common lan-guage of China. While upon this subject it may be well to state thatthe Japanese written language is the same in its characters as thatused by the Chinese; so that a Chinaman and a Japanese when theymeet, although having no spoken words in common, can figure toeach other on the ground or on paper, and frequently make imag-inary figures on one hand with the forefinger of the other to theirmutual understanding.
　My would-be Chinese friend, therefore, addressed me in Eng-lish until he found my dialect. We then conversed in the Canto-nese dialect. Whilst he was talking we were slowly advancing along
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 13

the street, and presently a second Chinaman joined us, so that Ihad now one on each side. They pressed me to go in to their"lodgings" and enjoy a smoke and chat with them. I gently de-murred, and we stopped on the pavement. A third Chinaman nowappeared and my first acquaintance left us. The two who remainedfurther pressed me to accompany them, and I was gradually, andin a seemingly friendly manner, led to the upper edge of the pave-ment, when the door of an adjacent house suddenly opened andI was half-jokingly and half-persistently compelled to enter by mycompanions, one on either side, who reinforced their entreaties bya quasi-friendly push. Suspecting nothing, for I knew not what houseI was entering, I only hesitated because of my desire to get to Mr.Cantlie's in time for church, and I felt I should be too late did Idelay. However, in good faith I entered, and was not a little sur-prised when the front door was somewhat hurriedly closed and bar-red behind me. All at once it flashed upon me that the house mustbe the Chinese Legation, thereby accounting for the number ofChinamen in mandarin attire, and for the large size of the house;while I also recollected that the Minister resided somewhere in theneighbourhood of Devonshire Street, near to which I must then be.I was taken to a room on the ground floor whilst one or twomen talked to me and to each other. I was then sent upstairs, twomen, one on either side, conducting and partly forcing me to as-cend. I was next shown into a room on the second floor and toldI was to remain there. This room, however, did not seem to satisfymy captors, as I was shortly afterwards taken to another on thethird floor with a barred window looking out to the back of thehouse. Here an old gentleman with white hair and beard came intothe room in rather a bumptious fashion and said:"Here is China for you; you are now in China."Sitting down, he proceeded to interrogate me.

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 14

　Asked what my name was, I replied "Sun."
　"Your name," he replied, "is Sun Wen; and we have a telegramfrom the Chinese Minister in America informing us that you werea passenger to this country by the s.s. Majestic; and the Ministerasks me to arrest you."
　"What does that mean?" I enquired.
　To which he replied:
　"You have previously sent in a petition for reform to the Tsung-Li-Yamen in Peking asking that it be presented to the Emperor. Thatmay be considered a very good petition; but now the Tsung-Li-Yamen want you, and therefore you are detained here until we learnwhat the Emperor wishes us to do with you."
　"Can I let my friend know I am here?" I asked."No," he replied; "but you can write to your lodging for yourluggage to be sent you."
　On my expressing a wish to write to Dr. Manson, he providedme with pen, ink and paper. I wrote to Dr. Manson informing himthat I was confined in the Chinese Legation, and asking him to tellMr. Cantlie to get my baggage sent to me. The old gentleman,however,-whom I afterwards learned to be Sir HallidayMacartney,-objected to my using the word "confined," and askedme to substitute another. Accordingly I wrote: "I am in the Chi-nese Legation; please tell Mr. Cantlie to send my luggage here."He then said he did not want me to write to my friend, andasked me to write to my hotel. I informed him that I was not ata hotel, and that only Mr. Cantlie knew where I was living. It wasvery evident my interrogator was playing a crafty game to get hold
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 15

of my effects, and more especially my papers, in the hope of find-ing correspondence whereby to ascertain who my Chinese accom-plices or correspondents were. I handed him the letter to Dr.Manson, which he read and returned, saying, "That is all right." Iput it in an envelope and gave it to Sir Halliday Macartney in allgood faith that it would be delivered.

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 16

CHAPTER III
MY IMPRISONMENT
　Sir Halliday then left the room, shut the door and locked it,and I was a prisoner under lock and key. Shortly afterwards I wasdisturbed by the sound of carpentry at the door of my room, andfound that an additional lock was being fixed thereto. Outside thedoor was stationed a guard of never less than two people, one ofwhom was a European; sometimes a third guard was added. Dur-ing the first twenty-four hours the Chinese guards at the door fre-quently came in and spoke to me in their own dialect, which Iunderstood fairly well. They did not give me any information asto my imprisonment--nor did I ask them any questions--further thanthat the old gentleman who had locked me up was Sir Halliday Ma-cartney, the Ma-Ta-Jen, as they called him: Ma standing for"Macartney," Ta-Jen being the equivalent for "His Excellency." Thisis in the same category with the name under which the ChineseMinister passes here, Kung-Ta-Jen. Kung is his family name or sur-name; Ta-Jen indicates his title, meaning "His Excellency." He nevergives his real name in public matters, thereby compelling everyforeigner to unconsciously style him "His Excellency." I often won-der if he deals with the British government under this cognomensolely; if he does, it is a disparagement and slight that is meant.Court and diplomatic etiquette in China is so nice, that the mereinflection of a syllable is quite enough to change the meaning ofany communication to the foreigner from a compliment to a slight.This is constantly striven after in all dealings with foreigners, andit requires a very good knowledge of Chinese literature and cul-ture indeed, to know that any message delivered to a foreigner doesnot leave the Chinese diplomatist hugging himself with delight athaving insulted a foreigner of high rank, without his knowing it.To the people around him he thereby shows his own preeminence,and how the "foreign devils"-the Yang Quei Tze-are his inferiors.
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 17

Several hours after my imprisonment, one of the guard cameinto my room and told me that Sir Halliday Macartney had ord-ered him to search me. He proceeded to take my keys, pencil andknife. He did not find my pocket in which I had a few bank notes;but he took the few unimportant papers I had. They asked me whatfood I wanted, and at my request brought me some milk which Idrank.
　During the day two English servants came to light the fire, bringcoals and sweep the room. I asked the first who came to take aletter out for me, and being promised that this would be done, Iwrote a note addressed to Mr. Cantlie, 46 Devonshire Street, W.When the second servant came I did the same thing. I did not, ofcourse, know till later what had happened to my letters, but bothmen said they had sent them. That (Sunday) evening an Englishwoman came in to make up my bed. I did not address her at all.All that night I had no sleep, and lay with my clothes on.On the following day-Monday, 12th October-the two Englishservants came again to attend to the room, and brought coals, wa-ter and food. One said he had sent the note with which I had en-trusted him, while the other, Cole, said he could not get out to doso. I suspected, however, that my notes had never reached theirdestination.
　On Tuesday, the 13th, I again asked the younger manservant-not Cole-if he had delivered my letter and had seen Mr. Cantlie.He said he had; but as I still doubted him, he swore he had seenMr. Cantlie, who on receiving the note said, "All right!" Having nomore paper, I wrote with pencil on the corner of my handkerchief,and asked him to take it to my friend. At the same time I put ahalf-sovereign in his hand, and hoped for the best I was dubiousabout his good faith, and I found that my suspicions were but toowell-founded; for I ascertained subsequently he went immediatelyto his employers and disclosed all.

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 18

On the fourth day of my imprisonment Mr. Tang, as he is called,came to see me, and I recongised in him the man who had kid-napped me. He sat down and proceeded to converse with me."When I last saw you," he began, "and took you in here, I didso as part of my official duty; I now come to talk with you as a friend.You had better confess that you are Sun Wen; it is no use denyingit, everything is settled." In a vein of sarcasticpseudo flattery hecontinued: "You are well known in China, the Emperor and theTsung-Li-Yamen are well acquainted with your history; it is surelyworth your while dying with so distinguished a name as you havemade for yourself upon you." (This is a species of Oriental flatteryscarcely perhaps to be appreciated by Western minds; but it is con-sidered everything in China, how and under what name and rep-utation you die.) "Your being here," he proceeded, "means life ordeath. Do you know that?"
　"How?" I asked. "This is England, not China. What do you pro-pose to do with me? If you wish extradition, you must let my im-prisonment be known to the British Government; and I do not thinkthe Government of this country will give me up.""We are not going to ask legal extradition for you," he replied."Everything is ready; the steamer is engaged; you are to be boundand gagged and taken from here, so that there will be no distur-bance; and you will be placed on board in safe keeping. OutsideHong Kong harbour there will be a Chinese gunboat to meet you,and you will be transferred to that and taken to Canton for trialand execution."
　I pointed out that this would be a risky proceeding, as I mighthave the chance of communicating with the English on board onthe way. This, however, Tang declared would be impossible, as, saidhe, "You will be as carefully guarded as you are here, so that allpossibility of escape will be cut off." I then suggested that the
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 19

officers on board might not be of the same mind as my captors,and that some of them might sympathise with me and help me."The steamboat company," replied Tang, "are friends of Sir Hal-liday Macartney's and will do what they are told."In reply to my questions he told me that I should be taken byone of the "Glen" Line of Steamers, but that my departure wouldnot take place that week (this was October 14th), as the Ministerwas unwilling to go to the expense of exclusively chartering thesteamer, and he wished to have the cargo shipped first, so that onlythe passenger tickets would have to be paid for."Some time next week," he added, "the cargo will be embarkedand you will go then."
　On my remarking that this was a very difficult plan to put intoexecution, he merely said:
　"Were we afraid of that, we could kill you here, because thisis China, and no one can interfere with us in the Legation."For my edification and consolation he then quoted the case ofa Korean patriot, who, escaping from Korea to Japan, was inducedby a countryman of his to go to Shanghai, where he was put to deathin the British concession. His dead body was sent back by the Chi-nese to Korea for punishment, and on arrival there it was deca-pitated, while the murderer was rewarded and given a high politicalpost. Tang was evidently fondly cherishing the belief that he wouldbe similarly promoted by his government for arresting me and se-curing my death.
　I asked him why he should be so cruel, to which he replied:"This is by order of the Emperor, who wants you captured at
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 20

any price, alive or dead."
　I urged that the Korean case was one of the causes of the Jap-anese war, and that my capture and execution might lead to furthertrouble and great complications.
　"The British Government," I said, "may ask for the punish-ment of all the members of this Legation; and, as you are a coun-tryman of mine, my people in the province of Kwang Tung mayrevenge themselves on you and your family for your treatment ofme."
　He then changed his tone, desisted from his arrogant utteran-ces, and remarked that all he was doing was by the direction ofthe Legation, and that he was merely warning me in a friendly wayof my plight.

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 21

CHAPTER IV
PLEADING WITH MY GAOLERS FOR LIFE
　At twelve o'clock the same night Tang returned to my roomand re-opened the subject. I asked him, if he was really a friendof mine, what he could do to help me.
　"That is what I came back for," he replied, "and I want to doall I can, and will let you out by-and-by. Meantime," he continued,"I am getting the locksmith to make two duplicate keys, one foryour room and one for the front door."
　Tang had to take this step, he said, as the keys were kept bythe confidential servant of the Minister, who would not part withthem.
　To my inquiry as to when he could let me out, he stated thatit would be impossible till the following day, and that he could pro-bably manage it at two a.m. Friday morning.
　As he left the room he counselled me to be ready to get outon the Friday.
　After his departure I wrote down a few words on a paper togive to the servants to take to Mr. Cantlie.
Next morning, Thursday, October 15th, I gave the note to theservant; but, as Tang told me on the afternoon of that day, it washanded by the servant to the Legation authorities.Tang declared that by my action I had spoiled all his plans forrescuing me, and that Sir Halliday Macartney had scolded him verymuch for telling me how they intended to dispose of me.
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 22

I thereupon asked him if there was any hope for my life, towhich he replied:
　"Yes, there is still great hope; but you must do what I tell you."He advised me to write to the Minister asking for mercy. ThisI agreed to do, and asked for pen, ink and paper. These Tang toldCole to bring me.
　I asked, however, that Chinese ink and paper should be sup-plied me, as I could not write to the Chinese Minister in English.To this Tang replied:
　"Oh, English is best, for the Minister is but a figure-head; every-thing is in Macartney's hands, and you had better write to him."When I asked what I should write, he said:
　"You must deny that you had anything to do with the Cantonplot, declare that you were wrongly accused by the mandarins, andthat you came to the Legation to ask for redress."I wrote to his dictation a long letter to this effect in Tang'spresence.
　Having addressed the folded paper to Sir Halliday Macartney(whose name Tang spelt for me, as I did not know how) I handedit to Tang, who went off with it in his possession, and I never sawthe intriguer again.
　This was no doubt a very stupid thing to have done, as I therebyfurnished my enemies with documentary evidence that I had comevoluntarily to the Legation. But as a dying man will clutch at any-thing, as I, in my strait, was easily imposed upon.
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 23

Tang had informed me that all my notes had been given upby the servants, so that none of them had reached my friends out-side. I then lost all hope, and was persuaded that I was face to facewith death.
　During the week I had written statements of my plight on anyscraps of paper I could get and throw them out of the window. Ihad at first given them to the servants to throw out, as my windowdid not look out on the street; but it was evident all of them hadbeen retained. I therefore attempted to throw them out at my ownwindow myself, and by a lucky shot one fell on the leads of theback premises of the next house.
　In order to make these missives travel further I weighted themwith coppers, and, when these were exhausted, two-shilling pie-ces, which, in spite of the search, I had managed to retain on myperson. When the note fell on the next house I was in hopes thatthe occupants might get it. One of the other notes, striking a rope,fell down immediately outside my window. I requested a servant-not Cole--to pick it up and give it me; but instead of doing so hetold the Chinese guards about it, and they picked it up.Whilst searching about, the letter on the leads of the next housecaught their attention, and, climbing over, they got possession ofthat also, so that I was bereft of that hope too. These notes theytook to their masters.
　I was now in a worse plight than ever, for they screwed up mywindow, and my sole means of communication with the outsideworld seemed gone.
　My despair was complete, and only by prayer to God could Igain any comfort. Still the dreary days and still more dreary nightswore on, and but for the comfort afforded me by prayer. I believeI should have gone mad. After my release I related to Mr. Cantlie
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 24

how prayer was my one hope, and told him how I should neverforget the feeling that seemed to take possession of me as I rosefrom my knees on the morning of Friday, October 16th-a feelingof calmness, hopefulness and confidence, that assured me my prayerwas heard, and filled me with hope that all would yet be well. I there-fore resolved to redouble my efforts, and made a determined ad-vance to Cole, beseeching him to help me.
　When he came in I asked him: "Can you do anything for me?"His reply was the question: "What are you?"
　"A political refugee from China," I told him.
　As he did not seem to quite grasp my meaning, I asked himif he had heard much about the Armenians. He said he had, so Ifollowed up this line by telling him that just as the Sultan of Tur-key wished to kill all the Christians of Armenia, so the Emperorof China wished to kill me because I was a Christian, and one ofa party that was striving to secure good government for China."All English people," I said, "sympathise with the Armenians,and I do not doubt they would have the same feeling towards meif they knew my condition."
　He remarked that he did not know whether the English Gov-ernment would help me, but I replied that they would certainlydo so, otherwise the Chinese Legation would not confine me sostrictly, but would openly ask the British Government for my legalextradition.
　"My life," I said to him, "is in your hands. If you let the matterbe known outside, I shall be saved; if not, I shall certainly be ex-ecuted. Is it good to save a life or to take it? Whether is it moreimportant to regard your duty to God or to your master?-to
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 25

honour the just British, or the corrupt Chinese Government?"I pleaded with him to think over what I had said, and to giveme an answer next time he came, and tell me truly whether hewould help me or not.
　He went away, and I did not see him till next morning. It maywell be imagined how eager I was to learn his decision. While en-gaged putting coals on the fire he pointed to a paper he had placedin the coal scuttle. On the contents of that paper my life seemedto depend. Would it prove a messenger of hope, or would the doorof hope again be shut in my face? Immediately he left the roomI picked it up and read:
　"I will try to take a letter to your friend. You must not writeit at the table, as you can be seen through the keyhole, and theguards outside watch you constantly. You must write it on your bed."I then lay down on my bed, with my face to the wall, and wroteon a visiting card to Mr. Cantlie. At noon Cole came in again, andI pointed to where my note was. He went and picked it up, andI gave him all the money I had about me-£20. Mr. Cantlie's notein reply was placed by Cole behind the coal scuttle, and by a sig-nificant glance he indicated there was something there for me. Whenhe had gone, I anxiously picked it up, and was overjoyed to readthe words: "Cheer up! The Government is working on your behalf,and you will be free in a few days." Then I knew God had ans-wered my prayer.
　During all this time I had never taken off my clothes. Sleep camebut seldom, only in snatches, and these very troubled. Not untilI received my friend's cheering news did I get a semblance of realrest.
　My greatest dread was the evil that would befall the cause
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 26

for which I had been fighting, and the consequences that wouldensue were I taken to China and killed. Once the Chinese got methere, they would publish it abroad that I had been given up bythe British Government in due legal fashion, and that there wasno refuge in British territory for any of the other offenders. Themembers of "the Party" will remember the part played by Englandin the Taiping rebellion, and how by English interference that greatnational and Christian revolution was put down. Had I been takento China to be executed, the people would have once more believedthat the revolution was again being fought with the aid of Britain,and all hopes of success would be gone.
　Had the Chinese Legation got my papers from my lodgings,further complications might have resulted to the detriment of manyfriends. This danger, it turned out, had been carefully guarded againstby a thoughtful lady. Mrs. Cantlie, on her own responsibility, hadgone to my lodgings, carefully collected my papers and correspon-dence, and within a few hours of her becoming acquainted withmy imprisonment, there and then destroyed them. If some of myfriends in various parts of the world have had no reply to their let-ters, they must blame this considerate lady for her wise and promptaction, and forgive my not having answered them, as I am minustheir addresses, and in many cases do not even know their names.Should the Chinese authorities again entrap me, they will find nopapers whereby my associates can be made known to them.I luckily did not think of poison in my food, but my state ofmind was such that food was repulsive to me. I could only get downliquid nourishment, such as milk and tea, and occasionally an egg.Only when my friend's note reached me could I either eat or sleep.
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 27

CHAPTER V
THE PART MY FRIENDS PLAYED
　Outside the Legation, I of course knew nothing of what wasgoing on. All my appeals, all my winged scraps I had thrown outat the window, all my letters I had handed officially to Sir HallidayMacartney and Tang, I knew were useless, and worse than useless,for they but increased the closeness of my guard and renderedcommunication with my friends more and more an impossibility.However, my final appeal on Friday morning, October 16th,had made an impression, for it was after that date that Cole beganto interest himself in my behalf. Cole's wife had a good deal to dowith the initiative, and it was Mrs. Cole who wrote a letter to Mr.Cantlie on Saturday, October 17th, 1896, and so set the machin-ery going. The note reached Devonshire Street at 11 p.m.. Imaginethe Doctor's feelings when he read the following:"There is a friend of yours imprisoned in the Chinese Legationhere since last Sunday. They intend sending him out to China, whereit is certain they will hang him. It is very sad for the poor man,and unless something is done at once, he will be taken away andno one will know it. I dare not sign my name; but this is the truth,so believe what I say. Whatever you do must be done at once, orit will be too late. His name is, I believe, Lin Yin Sen."No time was evidently to be lost. Late as it was, after ascer-taining Sir Halliday Macartney's address, Mr. Cantlie set out to findhim. He little knew that he was going straight to the head centreof all this disgraceful proceeding. Luckily or unluckily for me, onewill never know which, he found the house, 3 Harley Place, shutup. It was 11:15 p.m. on Saturday night, and the policeman on dutyin the Marylebone Road eyed him rather suspiciously as he emergedfrom the compound in which the house stands. The policeman said
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 28

that the house was shut up for six months, the family having goneto the country. Mr. Cantlie asked how he knew all this, and the po-liceman retorted that there had been a burglary attempted threenights previously, which led to close enquiries who the tenantswere; therefore, the information he had, namely a six months'"anticipated" absence, was evidently definite and precise. Mr. Cant-lie next drove to Marylebone Lane Police Office, and laid the mat-ter before the Inspector on duty. He next went to Scotland Yardand asked to see the officer in charge. A Detective Inspector re-ceived him in a private room, and consented to take down his ev-idence. The difficulty was to get anyone to believe so improbablea story. The Police authority politely listened to the extraordinarynarrative, but declared that it was impossible for Scotland Yard totake the initiative, and Mr. Cantlie found himself in the street about1 a.m., in no better plight than when he set out.Next morning Mr. Cantlie went to Kensington to consult witha friend as to whether or not there was any good in asking the headof the Chinese Customs in London to approach the Legation pri-vately, and induce them to reconsider their imprudent action andill-advised step.
　Not receiving encouragement in that direction, he went againto 3 Harley Place, in hopes that at least a caretaker would be inpossession, and in a position to at least tell where Sir Halliday Ma-cartney could be found or reached by telegram. Beyond the con-firmation of the policeman's story that burglary had been attempted,by seeing the evidence of "jemmies" used to break open the door,no clue could be found as to where this astute orientalised diplom-atist was to be unearthed.
　Mr. Cantlie then proceeded to Dr. Manson's house, and there,at his front door, he saw a man who proved to be Cole, my atten-dant at the Legation. The poor man had at last summoned up cour-age to disclose the secret of my imprisonment, and in fear and
Kidnapped in London, Jan 1897 29

trembling sought out Mr. Cantlie at his house; but being told hehad gone to Dr. Manson's, he went on there and met both the doc-tors together. Cole then presented two cards I had addressed toMr. Cantlie, stating:
　"I was kidnapped on Sunday last by two Chinamen, and for-cibly taken into the Chinese Legation. I am imprisoned, and in aday or two I am to be shipped off to China, on board a specially-chartered vessel. I am certain to be beheaded. Oh! woe is me."Dr. Manson heartily joined with his friend in his attempt to re-scue me, and proceeded to interrogate Cole. Mr. Cantlie remarked:"Oh, if Sir Halliday Macartney were only in town, it would beall right. It is a pity he is away; where can we find him?"Cole immediately retorted:
　"Sir Halliday is in town, he comes to the Legation every day;it was Sir Halliday who locked Sun in his room, and placed me incharge, with directions to keep a strict guard over the door, thathe should have no means of escape."
　This information was startling, and placed the difficulty of re-lease on a still more precarious footing. The proceedings would haveto be still more carefully undertaken, and the highest authoritieswould have to be called in, were these crafty and masterful mento be outwitted.
　Cole, in answer to further interrogations, said that it was givenout in the Legation that I was a lunatic; that I was to be removedto China on the following Tuesday (that was in two days more);that he did not know by what line of ships I was going, but a manof the name of McGregor, in the City, had something to do withit. It also came out that two or three men dressed as Chinese
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 30

sailors had been to the Legation during the week, and Cole hadno doubt their visit had something to do with my removal, as hehad never seen men of that description in the house before.Cole left, taking a card with the names of my two friends uponit to deliver to me, in the hopes that its advent would allay my fears,and serve as a guarantee that Cole was actually working on my be-half at last. The two doctors then set out to Scotland Yard to trythe effects of a further appeal in that direction. The inspector onduty remarked: "You were here at 12:30 a.m. this morning. I amafraid it is no use your coming here again so soon." The paramountdifficulty was to know where to go to represent the fact that a man'slife was in danger; that the laws of the country were being outraged;that a man was to be practically given over, in the Metropolis ofthe British Empire, to be murdered.
　On quitting the premises they took counsel together, and de-cided to invade the precincts of the Foreign Office. They were toldthe resident clerk would see them at five p.m.. At that hour theywere received, and delivered their romantic tale to the willing earsof the courteous official. Being Sunday, of course nothing furthercould be done, but they were told that the statement would be laidbefore a higher authority on the following day. But time was pres-sing, and what was to be done? That night might see the tragedycompleted and the prisoner removed on board a vessel bound forChina. What was most dreaded was that a foreign ship would beselected; and under a foreign flag the British authorities were pow-erless. The last hope was that, if I were removed before they suc-ceeded in rousing the authorities and the vessel actually got away,that it might be stopped and searched in the Suez Canal; but, wereI shipped on board a vessel under a flag other than British, this hopewould prove a delusion. With this dread upon them, they decidedto take the decisive step of going to the Legation, and telling theChinese that they were acquainted with the fact that Sun was aprisoner in their hands, and that the British Government and the
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 31

police knew of their intention to remove him to China for exe-cution. Dr. Manson decided he should go alone, as Mr. Cantlie's namein connection with Sun's was well known at the Legation.Accordingly Dr. Manson called alone at 49 Portland Place. Thepowdered footman at the door was asked to call one of the English-speaking Chinamen. Presently the Chinese interpreter, my captorand tormentor, Tang himself, appeared. Dr. Manson said he wantedto see Sun Yat Sen. A puzzled expression fell over Tang's face, asthough seeking to recall such a name. "Sun!, Sun! there is no suchperson here." Dr. Manson then proceeded to inform him that hewas quite well aware that Sun was here; that he wished to informthe Legation that the Foreign Office had been made cognisant ofthe fact; and that Scotland Yard was posted in the matter of Sun'sdetention. But a Chinese diplomatist is nothing if not a capable liar,and Tang's opportunity of lying must have satisfied even his Orien-tal liking for the role. With the semblance of truth in his every wordand action, Tang assured his interrogator that the whole thing wasnonsense, and that no such person was there. His openness andfrankness partly shook Dr. Manson's belief in my condition, andwhen he got back to Mr. Cantlie's he was so impressed with theapparent truthfulness of Tang's statement, that he even suggestedthat the tale of my imprisonment might be a trick by myself tosome end-he knew not what. Thus can my countrymen lie; Tangeven shook the belief of a man like Dr. Manson, who had lived inChina twenty-two years; who spoke the Amoy dialect fluently; andwas thereby more intimately acquainted with the Chinese and theirways than nine-tenths of the people who visit the Far East. How-ever, he had to dismiss the thought, as no ulterior object could beseen in a trick of the kind. Tang is sure to rise high in the serviceof his country; a liar like that is sure to get his reward amongst agoverning class who exist and thrive upon it.
　It was seven o'clock on Sunday evening when the two doctorsdesisted from their labours, parted company, and considered they
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 32

had done their duty. But they were still not satisfied that I was safe.The danger was that I might be removed that very night, especiallysince the Legation knew the British Government were now awareof the fact, and that if immediate embarkation were not possible,a change of residence of their victim might be contemplated. Thiswas a very probable step indeed, and, if it had been possible, thereis no doubt it would have been accomplished. Luckily for me, theMarquis Tseng, as he is called, had shortly before left London forChina, and given up his residence. Had it not been so, it is quitepossible the plan of removal to his house would have recommendeditself to my clever countryman; and when it was accomplished, theywould have thrown themselves upon the confidence and goodfriendship of the British, and asked them to search the house. Thatruse could not be carried out; but the removal to the docks wasquite feasible. It was expected I was to sail on Tuesday, and, as theship must be now in dock, there was nothing more likely than thatthe "lunatic" passenger should be taken on board at night, to escapethe excitement and noise of the daily traffic in the streets.
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 33

CHAPTER VI
THE SEARCH FOR A DETECTIVE
　With all this in his mind Mr. Cantlie set forth again, this timeto search out some means of having the Legation watched. He calledat a friend's house and obtained the address of Slater's firm of pri-vate detectives in the City. Hither he went; but Slater's office wasclosed.
　On Sunday it would seem no detectives are required. Can notrouble arise on Sunday in England? It must be remembered thatthe division of the month is but an artificial and mundane con-venience, and crime does not always accommodate itself to suchvagaries of the calendar as the portioning the month into weeks.However, there was the hard fact, Slater's office was shut, andneither shouting, bellringing, nor hard knocks could elicit any re-sponse from the granite buildings in Basinghall Street.A consultation in the street with a policeman and the friendlycabman, who was taken into the secret of my detention, ended ina call at the nearest police station. Here the tale had to be unfoldedagain, and all the doubts as to the doctor's soberness and sanityset at rest before anything further could be attempted."Where was the place?"
　"Portland Place, West."
　"Oh! it is no good coming here, you must go back to the WestEnd; we belong to the City police."
　To the doctor's mind neither eastern nor western police wereof any avail.

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 34

"However," he persisted, "could a detective not be obtained towatch the house?"
　"No. It was out of the power of the City police to interfere inthe West End work."
　"Have you not some old police constable, a reserve man, whowould be willing to earn a little money at a job of the kind?" Mr.Cantlie asked.
　"Well, there might be-let us see."
　And here a number of men fell goodnaturedly to discussingwhom they could recall to memory. Well, yes; they thought so-and-so would do.
　"Where does he live?"
　"Oh! he lives in Leytonstone. You could not get him tonight;this is Sunday, you know."
　Sunday I should think it was, and my head in the balance. Af-ter a long discussion a man's name was suggested, and they got ridof the persistent doctor. The man's address was Gibston Square,Islington.
　But before starting thence, Mr. Cantlie thought he would givethe newspapers the whole tale, so he drove to the Times Office andasked for the sub-editor. A card to fill in was handed him as to thenature of his business; and he wrote:
　"Case of Kidnapping at the Chinese Legation!"
　This was 9 p.m., and he was told no one would be in until 10p.m..

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 35

Away then he went to Islington in search of his "man." Aftera time the darkly-lit square was found, and the number proving cor-rect, the abode was entered. But again disappointment followed;for "he could not go, but he thought he knew a man that would."Well, there was no help for it; but where did this man live? He wasa wonderful chap; but the card bearing his address could not befound. High and low was it looked for: drawers and boxes, old pack-ets of letters and unused waist-coats were searched and turned out.At last, however, it was unearthed, and then it was known that theman was not at home, but was watching a public-house in the City.Well, even this was overcome, for the Doctor suggested thatone of the numerous children that crowded the parlour should besent with a note to the home address of the detective, whilst thefather of the flock should accompany the Doctor to the City insearch of the watcher. At last the hansom cab drew up at a littledistance from a public-house, somewhere in the neighbourhood ofthe Barbican, and the place was reconnoitred. But no watcher couldbe seen around, and a futile search was settled in this way: thatthe public-house should be watched until eleven o'clock, when thehouse closed, at which time in all probability the "man" would beforthcoming. Mr. Cantlie left his erstwhile friend outside the houseand set off again for the Times Office. There he was received in"audience" and his statement was taken down, and the publicationof the tale was left to the Times' discretion. By this time it was11.30 p.m. on Sunday, and at last the restless Doctor sought hishome. He was somewhat chagrined to find that at 12 midnight hisexpected detective had not yet appeared, but, nothing daunted, heprepared to keep watch himself. He said good-night to his wife, andset out to observe the Legation, ready to interfere actively if need be.However, as he strode forth with valiant intent, the Doctor en-countered his expected "man" in the street, and immediately postedhim. His Gibston Square friend had proved himself reliable and senthis deputy. The windows of the Legation, late as it was,-past twelve
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 36

at night,-were still lit up, indicating a commotion within, the re-sult, no doubt, of Dr. Manson's intimation that their evil ways wereno longer unknown. The "man" was placed in a hansom cab inWeymouth Street, under the shadow of a house on the south sideof the street, between Portland Place and Portland Road. It was abeautiful moonlight night, and both the Legation entrances couldbe clearly seen. The hansom cab was a necessary part of the sen-tinel on duty, as, supposing I had been hurried from the house acrossthe pavement and into a carriage, I should have been carried be-yond the reach of a person on foot in a few minutes. Cabs cannotbe had at any moment in the early morning hours; hence the nec-essary precaution of having the watchman in a position by whichhe could follow in pursuit, if he were required so to do. The news-papers had it, that the cab was intended to carry me off when therescue party had freed me, but this is another part of the story whichI will relate later on.
　At 2 a.m. the Doctor got to bed, and having informed the Gov-ernment, told the police, given the tale to the newspapers, postedprivate detectives for the night, his day's work was finished and prac-tically my life was saved, although I did not know it.
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 37

CHAPTER VII
THE GOVERNMENT INTERVENE
　On Monday, October 19th, Slater's office was again asked fordetectives, and, when they came, they were posted with instruc-tions to watch the Legation night and day.
　At 12 noon, by appointment at the Foreign Office, Mr.Cantliesubmitted his statement in writing. The Foreign Office were evi-dently anxious that some less official plan of release should be ef-fected than by their active interference, in the hopes thatinternational complications might be averted.
　Moreover, the proofs of my detention were mere hearsay, andit was unwise to raise a question which seemed to be founded onan improbable statement. As a step in the evidence, enquiry wasmade at the "Glen" Line Office, and when it was found that a pas-sage had been asked for, the Government then knew by direct ev-idence that the tale was not only true, but that actual steps for itsexecution had been carefully laid. From this moment the affairpassed into Government hands, and my friends were relieved oftheir responsibility.
　Six detectives were told off by Government for duty outsidethe Legation, and the police in the neighbourhood were made cog-nisant of the facts and apprised to be vigilant. The police had, moreover, my photograph, which I had hadtaken in America in my European dress. To the eye of the fore-igner, who has not travelled in China, all Chinese are alike, so thatan ordinary photograph was not likely to be of much assistance;but in this photograph I wore a moustache and had my hair"European fashion."

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 38

No Chinaman wears a moustache until he has attained the"rank" of grandfather; but even in the country of early marriages,I, who have not yet attained the age of thirty, can scarcely aspireto the "distinction."
　On Thursday, October 22nd, a writ of Habeas Corpus was madeout against either the Legation or Sir Halliday Macartney, I knownot which, but the Judge at the Old Bailey would not agree to theaction, and it fell through.
　On the afternoon of the same day a special correspondent ofthe Globe called at Mr. Cantlie's house and asked him if he knewanything about a Chinaman that had been kidnapped by the Chi-nese Legation. Well, he thought he did; what did the Globe knowabout it? The Doctor said he had given the information to the Timeson Sunday, October 18th, five days before, and further supple-mented it by additional information on Monday, October 19th, andthat he felt bound to let the Times make it public first. However,Mr. Cantlie said, "Read over what you have written about the cir-cumstance, and I will tell you if it is correct." The information theGlobe had received proving correct, the Doctor endorsed it, butrequested his name not to be mentioned.
　Of course many persons were acquainted with the circumstan-ces long before they appeared in print. Some two or three hun-dred people knew of my imprisonment by Tuesday morning, andit was a wonder that the ever eager correspondents did not knowof it before Thursday afternoon. However, once it got wind therewas no hushing the matter up, for from the moment the Globe pub-lished the startling news, there was no more peace at 46 Devon-shire Street, W..
　Within two hours after the issue of the fifth edition of the Globe,Mr. Cantlie was interviewed by a Central News and a Daily Mailreporter. He was too reticent to please them, but the main outlines
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 39

were extracted from him.
　The two searchers after truth next called at the Chinese Le-gation and asked to see Sun. They were met by the everready andomnipresent Tang, who denied all knowledge of such a man. Tangwas shown the report in the Globe, at which he laughed merrilyand said the whole thing was a huge imposition. The Central Newsreporter, however, said it was no good denying it, and that if Sunwas not given up, he might expect 10,000 men here to-morrow topull the place about his ears. Nothing, however, moved Tang, andhe lied harder than ever.
　Sir Halliday Macartney was next unearthed at the Midland Ho-tel and interviewed. His statements are best gathered from the Pressreports.

Interviews with Sir Halliday Macartney
　Sir Halliday Macartney, Counsellor of the Chinese Legation, visited the For-eign Office at 3.30 yesterday afternoon. In conversation with a press represen-tative, Sir Halliday said: I am unable to give you any information about the mandetained at the Legation, beyond what has already appeared in print. On beinginformed that the Foreign Office had just issued an announcement to the effectthat Lord Salisbury had requested the Chinese Minister to release the prisoner,Sir Halliday admitted that this was so, and in answer to a further question as towhat would be the result of the request, replied: "The man will be released, butthis will be done strictly without prejudice to the rights of the Legation involved."In course of a later conversation with a representative of the press, Sir Hal-liday Macartney said: Sun Yat Sen is not the name of the man whom we havein detention upstairs. We have no doubt of his real identity, and have been fromtime to time fully informed of all his movements since he set foot in England.He came of his own free will to the Legation, and was certainly not kidnappedor forced or inveigled into the premises. It is quite a usual thing for solitary China-men in London to call here to make casual inquiries, or to have a chat with acountryman. There appears, moreover, to be some ground for suspecting that thispeculiar visitor, believing himself unknown, came with some idea of spying onus and getting some information. Nobody knew him by sight. When he called he
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 40

got into conversation with one of our staff, and was afterwards introduced to me.We chatted for a while, and some remarks he made led me after he had gone tosuspect he might be the person we were having watched. These suspicions beingconfirmed, he was, on returning the following day, detained, and he is still underdetention pending instructions from the Chinese Government.Speaking on the international side of the matter, Sir Halliday said: The manis not a British, but a Chinese, subject. We contend that for certain purposes theLegation is Chinese territory, where the Chinese Minister alone has jurisdiction.If a Chinaman comes here voluntarily, and if there are charges or suspicions againsthim, we contend that no one outside has any right to interfere with his detention.It would be quite different if he were outside this building, for then he would beon British territory, and we could not arrest him without a warrant.Answering further questions, Sir Halliday mentioned that the man was nottreated like a prisoner, and every consideration had been paid to his comfort. SirHalliday ridiculed the statement which has appeared that the captive might besubjected to torture or undue pressure. He added a statement that a letter ofinquiry had been received from the Foreign Office on the subject, which wouldreceive immediate attention.
　The Central News says: Sir Halliday Macartney, on his return to the ChineseLegation from the Foreign Office, proceeded to the bedside of the Minister KungTa Jen, and explained to him that Lord Salisbury had insisted upon the releaseof Sun Yat Sen.
　It is not for me to discuss the behaviour of Sir Halliday Ma-cartney; I leave that to public opinion and to his own conscience.In his own mind, I have no doubt, he has reasons for his action;but they seem scarcely consistent with those of a sane man, letalone the importance of the position he occupies. I expect Tangexpressed the position pretty exactly when he told me that "theMinister is but a figure-head here, Macartney is the ruler."Various reports of an intended rescue crept into the newspa-pers. The following is an example:
　An Intended Rescue

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 41

In reference to the arrest of Sun Yat Sen, it has been ascertained that hisfriends had arranged a bold scheme to bring about his rescue. Had they not beendefinitely assured by the Foreign Office and Scotland Yard that no harm what-ever should come to him, his rescue was to be effected by means of breaking thewindow of his room, and descending from the roof of No. 51 Portland Place, theresidence of Viscount Powerscourt. His friends had succeeded in informing himof the plan they intended to pursue, and although information which was sub-sequently obtained pointed to the fact that Sun Yat Sen was being kept hand-cuffed, a promise of inside assistance in opening the window satisfied his friendsof the feasibility of the plan. Indeed, so far matured was the scheme, that a cabwas held in waiting to convey Sun Yat Sen to the home of a friend. By the prisoner'sfriends it is declared that Long, the interpreter at the Legation, was one of theChinamen who actually decoyed Sun into the Legation, though he was invariablythe most positive subsequently in denying that such a man had ever been insidethe Legation walls. His friends declare that Sun was dressed in English clothes,and so far from his being a typical Oriental, when dressed according to Westernfashion was invariably taken for an Englishman. He is declared to be a man ofunbounded good nature and of the gentlest disposition in Hong Kong, and thevarious places where he practised medicine he obtained a reputation for skill andbenevolence towards the poor. He is believed to have been in a great extent thetool of the Canton conspirators, though he never hesitated to condemn the crueland oppressive Government of the Viceroy of Canton. He is said to have jour-neyed throughout Canton in the interests of his society, and the plot itself isdeclared to be the most widespread and formidable since the present Emperorcommenced to reign.
　The real facts are these. Cole sent the following communica-tion to Mr. Cantlie on October 19th, 1896: "I shall have a good op-portunity to let Mr. Sun out on to the roof of the next house inPortland Place to-night. If you think it advisable, get permission fromthe occupants of the house to have someone waiting there to re-ceive him. If I am to do it, find means to let me know." Mr. Cantliewent with this letter to Scotland Yard and requested that a con-stable be posted with himself on the roof of the house in question;but the Scotland Yard authorities, thinking it was an undignifiedproceeding, dissuaded him from his purpose, and gave it as theirfirm conviction that I should walk out by the front door in a dayor two.

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 42

CHAPTER VIII
RELEASED
　On October 22nd Cole directed my attention to the coal scut-tle, and when he left the room I picked up a clipping from a news-paper, which proved to be the Globe. There I read the account ofmy detention, under the heading: "Startling Story! Conspirator Kid-napped in London! Imprisonment at the Chinese Embassy!" Andthen followed a long and detailed account of my position. At lastthe Press had interfered, and I felt that I was really safe. It cameas a reprieve to a condemned man, and my heart was full ofthankfulness.
　Friday, October 23rd, dawned, and the day wore on, and stillI was in durance. At 4.30 p.m., however, on that day, my Englishand Chinese guards came into the room and said "Macartney wantsto see you downstairs." I was told to put on my boots and hat andovercoat. I according did so, not knowing whither I was going. Idescended the stairs, and as it was to the basement I was beingconducted, I believed I was to be hidden in a cellar whilst the housewas being searched by the command of the British Government.I was not told I was to be released, and I thought I was to enteranother place of imprisonment or punishment. It seemed too goodto be true that I was actually to be released. However, Mr. Cantliepresently appeared on the scene in company with two other men,who turned out to be Inspector Jarvis from Scotland Yard, and anold man, the messenger from the Foreign Office.Sir Halliday Macartney then, in the presence of these gentle-men, handed me over the various effects that had been taken fromme, and addressed the Government officials to the following effect:"I hand this man over to you, and I do so on condition thatneither the prerogative nor the diplomatic rights of the Legation
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 43

are interfered with," or words to that effect. I was too excited tocommit them to memory, but they seemed to me then, as they donow, senseless and childish.
　The meeting related above took place in a passage in the base-ment of the house, and I was told I was a free man. Sir Hallidaythen shook hands with us all, a post-Judas salutation, and we wereshown out by a side-door leading to the area. From thence we as-cended the area steps, and issued into Weymouth Street from theback door of the Legation.
　It will perhaps escape observation and pass out of mind as buta minor circumstance that we were sent out by the back door ofthe Legation.
　The fact of the rescue was the all important measure in theminds of the little group of Englishmen present; not so, however,with my astute countryman; not so especially with Sir Halliday Ma-cartney, that embodiment of retrograde orientalism.The fact that the representatives of the British Government wereshown out by the back door, as common carrion, will redound tothe credit of the Minister and his clientelle in the high courts oftheir country. It was intended as a slight and insult, and it was car-ried out as only one versed in the Chinese methods of dealing withforeigners can appreciate. The excuse, no doubt, was that the hallwas crowded with reporters; that a considerable throng of peoplehad assembled in the street outside the building; that the ForeignOffice was anxious that the affair should be conducted quietly with-out demonstration. These, no doubt, were the reasons present inthe ever-ready minds of these Manchurian rapscallions and theircaretaker Macartney.
　To English ways of looking at things, the fact of my release wasall that was cared for; but to the Chinese the manner of the release
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 44

wiped out all the triumph of British diplomacy in obtaining it. Bothhad their triumph, and no doubt it brought them equal gratification.It was not an imposing party that proceeded to the ChineseLegation that Friday afternoon in October; but one member of it,the venerable old messenger from the Foreign Office, had a smallnote concealed in the depths of his great-coat pocket that seemedto bear great weight. It must have been short and to the point, forit took Macartney but two or three seconds to master its contents.Short it may have been, but it bore the sweet message of freedomfor me, and an escape from death, and what I dreaded more, thecustomary exquisite torture to which political prisoners in Chinaare submitted to procure confession of the names of accomplices.In Weymouth Street a considerable crowd had assembled, andthe everpresent newspaper reporter tried to inveigle me there andthen into a confession. I was, however, speedily put into a fourw-heeled cab, and, in company with Mr. Cantlie, Inspector Jarvis, andthe messenger, driven off towards Scotland Yard. On the way thitherInspector Jarvis gravely lectured me on my delinquencies, andscolded me as a bad boy, and advised me to have nothing to doany more with revolutions. Instead of stopping at Scotland Yard,however, the cab drew up at the door of a restaurant in Whitehall,and we got out on the pavement. Immediately the newspaper mensurrounded me; where they came from I could not tell. We hadleft them a mile away in Portland Place, and here they were againthe moment my cab stopped. There is no repressing them: one manhad actually, unknown to us, climbed up on the seat beside thedriver. He it was that stayed the cab at the restaurant, knowing wellthat if once I was within the precincts of Scotland Yard they couldnot get at me for some time. Unless the others-some dozen innumber-were on the roof of my cab, I cannot understand wherethey sprang from. I was hustled from the pavement into the backpremises of the hostelry with much more violence than ever wasexpended upon me when originally taken within the Chinese
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 45

Legation, and surrounded by a crowd thirsting for knowledge aseagerly as my countrymen thirsted for my head. Pencils executedwonderful hieroglyphics which I had never seen before, and I didnot know until that moment that English could be written in whatseemed to me cuneiform characters. I found out afterwards it wasin shorthand they were writing.
　I spoke until I could speak no more, and it was only when Mr.Cantlie called out "Time, gentlemen!" that I was forcibly rescuedfrom their midst and carried off to Scotland Yard. At the Yard Iwas evidently regarded as a child of their own delivery, and Jarvis'shonest face was a picture to behold. However, the difficult labourwas over, and here I was free to make my own confession. I wasdetained there for an hour, during which time I made a full state-ment of the circumstances of my capture and detention. This wasall taken down and read over to me, and I appended my signatureand bade a cordial adieu to my friends in the police force. Mr. Cant-lie and myself then hied ourselves homewards, where a hospitablewelcome was accorded me, and over an appetising dinner, a toastto my "head" was drunk with enthusiasm.
　During the evening I was frequently interviewed, and it was notuntil a late hour that I was allowed to rest. Oh! that first night'ssleep! Shall I ever forget it? For nine hours did it last, and whenI awoke it was to the noise of children romping on the floor aboveme. It was evident by their loud, penetrating voices some excite-ment was on hand, and as I listened I could hear the cause of it."Now, Colin, you be Sun Yat Sen, and Neil will be Sir Halliday Ma-cartney, and I will rescue Sun." Then followed a turmoil; Sir Hal-liday was knocked endways, and a crash on the floor made mebelieve that my little friend Neil was no more. Sun was broughtout in triumph by Keith, the eldest boy, and a general amnesty wasdeclared by the beating of drums, the piercing notes of a tin whis-tle, and the singing of "The British Grenadiers." This was home andsafety, indeed; for it was evident my youthful friends were prepared
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 46

to shed the last drop of their blood on my behalf.During Saturday, October 24th, I was interviewing all day. Theone question put was, "How did you let the doctors know?" andthe same question was addressed to Mr. Cantlie many scores oftimes. We felt, however, that our tongues were tied; as, by ans-wering the query, we should be incriminating those who, withinthe Legation walls, had acted as my friends, and they would losetheir positions. However, when Cole resolved to resign his appoint-ment, so that none of the others should be wrongly suspected, therewas no object in hiding who had been the informant. It is all verywell to say that I bribed him; that is not the case. He did not under-stand that I gave him the money by way of fee at all; he believedI gave it him to keep for me; he told Mr. Cantlie he had the £20the day he got it, and offered to give it to him for safe keeping. WhenI came out Cole handed the money back to me, but it was the leastI could do to urge him to keep it. I wish it had been more, but itwas all the ready money I had. Cole had many frights during thistime, but perhaps the worst scare he got was at the very first start.On the Sunday afternoon, October 18th, when he had made uphis mind to help me practically, he took my notes to Mr. Cantlie,in his pocket, at 46 Devonshire Street. The door was opened andhe was admitted within the hall. The doctor was not at home, sohe asked to see his wife. Whilst the servant was gone to fetch hermistress, Cole became conscious of the presence of a Chinamanwatching him from the far end of the hall. He immediately sus-pected that he had been followed or rather anticipated, for herewas a Chinaman, pigtail and all, earnestly scrutinising him froma recess. When Mrs. Cantlie came down she beheld a man, trem-bling with fear and pale from terror, who could hardly speak. Thecause of this alarm was a model of a Chinaman, of most life-likeappearance, which Mr. Cantlie had brought home with him amongsthis curios from Hong Kong. It has frightened many other visitorswith less tender consciences than Cole's, whose overwrought nervesactually endowed the figure with a halo of terrible reality.
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 47

Mrs. Cantlie relieved Cole's mind from his fear and sent him in tofind her husband at Dr. Manson's. My part of the tale is nearly ended;what further complications in connection with this affair may ar-ise I cannot say. There is not time, as yet, to hear how the papersin other English-speaking countries will deal with the subject, andas Parliament has not yet assembled I cannot say what questionsappertaining to the event may be forthcoming. I have, however,found many friends since my release. I have paid several pleasantvisits to the country. I have been dined and feasted, and run a goodchance of being permanently spoiled by my well-wishers in andaround London.

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 48

APPENDIX
　I append a few of the numerous articles called forth by my ar-rest. The first is a letter from Professor Holland to The Times, andis headed:

　The Case of Sun Yat Sen
　To the Editor of THE TIMES

　Sir,--The questions rasied by the imprisonment of Sun Yat Sen are two innumber. First, was the act of the Chinese Minister in detaining him an unlawfulact? And secondly, if so, what steps could properly have been taken to obtainhis release had it been refused?
The reply to the former question is not far to seek. The claim of an Am-bassador to exercise any sort of domestic jurisdiction, even over members of hissuite, is now little heard of, although, in 1603, Sully, when French Ambassador,went so far as to sentence one of his attaches to death, handing him over to theLord Mayor for execution. I can recall but one instance of an attempt on the partof a Minister to exercise constraint against a person unconnected with his mis-sion. In 1642, Leitao, Portuguese Minister at the Hague, detained in his housea horse-dealer who had cheated him. The result was a riot, in which the hotelwas plundered, and Wicquefort remarks upon the transaction that Leitao, whohad given public lectures on the Law of Nations, ought to have know qu'il ne luiestoit pas permis de faire une prison de sa maison. Sun Yat Sen, while on Britishsoil as a subditus temporarius, was under the protection of our Laws, and his con-finement in the Chinese Legation was a high offence against the rights of the Brit-ish Crown.
　The second question, though not so simple, presents no serious difficulty.A refusal on the part of the Chinese Minister to release his prisoner would havebeen a sufficient ground for requesting him to leave the country. If this modeof proceeding would have been too dilatory for the exigencies of the case, it canhardly be doubted that the circumstances would have justified an entry upon theLegation premises by the London police. An Ambassador's hotel is said to be"extra-territorial," but this too compendious phrase means no more than that thehotel is for certain purposes inaccessible to the ordinary jurisdiction of the coun-try in which it stands. The exemptions thus enjoyed are, however, strictly definedby usage, and new exemptions cannot be deduced from a metaphor. The case
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 49

of Gyllenburg, in 1717, showed that if a Minister is suspected of conspiring againstthe Government to which he is accredited he may be arrested and his cabinetsmay be ransacked. The case of the coachman of Mr. Gallatin, in 1827, establishesthat, after courteous notice, the police may enter a Legation in order to take intocustody one of its servants who has been guilty of an offence elsewhere. Thereis also a general agreement that, except possibly in Spain and in the South Amer-ican Republics, the hotel is no longer an asylum for even political offenders. Stillless can it be supposed that an illegal imprisonment in a Minister's residence willnot be put an end to by such action of the local police as may be necessary. It seems needless to inquire into the responsibility which would rest uponthe Chinese authorities if Sun Yat Sen was, as he alleges, kidnapped in the openstreet, or would have rested upon them had they removed him through the streets,with a view to shipping him off to China. Acts of this kind find no defenders. Whatis admitted to have occurred is sufficiently serious, and was doubtless due to ex-cess of zeal on the part of the subordinates of the Chinese Legation. Internationallaw has long been ably taught by Dr. Martin at the Tung-wen College of Peking,and the Imperial Government cannot be supposed to be indifferent to a strictconformity to the precepts of the science on the part of its representatives at for-eign Courts.
　I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
T. E. HOLLAND
Oxford, October 24th.

　Another legal opinion is referred to below:
　Legal Opinion
　Mr. Cavendish, one of the best authorities on the law of extradition, informedan interviewer at Bow Street yesterday that, speaking from memory, he couldcite no case at all parallel with the case of Sun Yat Sen. The case of the ZanzibarPretender was, of course, in no way parallel, for he took refuge in the GermanConsulate. He threw himself on the hospitality of the German Government, which,following the procedure sanctioned by International Law, refuses to give him up,and conveyed him to German territory on the mainland. Sun Yat Sen's case wasthat of an alleged Chinese subject, having come within the walls of the Legationof his own country, was arrested by representative of his own Government for
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 50

an offence against that Government. Mr. Cavendish assumed that if the facts wereas stated, the case could only be dealt with by diplomatic representation on thepart of our Foreign Office, and not by any known legal rule. The next is a letter from Mr. James G. Wood to the same pa-per discussing some of the points of law rasied in Professor Holland'sletter:

To the Editor of THE TIMES
Sir,-The second question proposed by Professor Holland, though fortunately,under the circumstances, not of present importance, is deserving of careful con-sideration. I venture to think his answer to it unsatisfactory. It is suggested that on a refusal by the Chinese Minister to release his pri-soner, "it can hardly be doubted that the circumstances would have justified anentry on the Legation premises by the London police." But why there should notbe such a doubt is not explained. This is not solving the question but guessingat its solution. The London police have no roving commission to release personsunlawfully detained in London houses; and anyone attempting to enter for sucha purpose could be lawfully resisted by force.
The only process known to the law as applicable to a case of unlawful de-tention is a writ of habeas corpus, and this is where the real difficulty lies. Couldsuch a writ be addressed to an Ambassador or any member of the Legation? Orif it were, and it were disregarded, could process of contempt follow? I ventureto think not; and I know of no precedent for such proceeding. I agree that the phrase that an Ambassador's hotel is extra-territorial is sometaphysical as to be misleading. It is, in fact, inaccurate. The more careful writ-ers do not use it. The true proposition is not that the residence is extraterritorialin the sense in which a ship is often said to be so, but the Minister himself is deemedto be so; and as a consequence he and the members of his family and suite aresaid to enjoy a complete immunity from all civil process. It is not a question ofwhat may or may not be done in the residence, but what may or may not be doneto individuals. That being so, the process I have mentioned appears to involvea breach of the comity of nations.
To adduce cases where the police have under a warrant entered an Embassy
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 51

to arrest persons who have committed an offence elsewhere to found the prop-osition that "the local police may take action to put an end to an illegalimprisonment," begun and continued within the Embassy, does not land us onsafe ground. There is no common feature in the two cases. I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
JAMES G. WOOD
October 27th.

The Supposed Chinese Revolutionist
From the China Mail, Hong Kong, Dec. 3rd, 1896 Sun Yat Sen, who has recently been in trouble in London through the Chi-nese Minister attempting to kidnap him for execution as a rebel, is not unlikelyto become a prominent character in history. Of course, it would not be right tostate, until a duly constituted court of law has found, that a man is definitely con-nected with any illegal movement, or that any movement with which he is con-nected is definitely anti-dynastic. The only suggestion of Dr. Sun Yat Sen beinga rebel in any sense comes from the Chinese Legation in London and the officialsof Canton. But without any injury to him it may be safely said that he is a re-markable man, with most enlightened views on the undoubtedly miserable stateof China's millions, and that there are many Chinese who feel very strongly onthe subject and try now and then to act very strongly. The allegation of the of-ficials is that these people tried to accomplish a revolution in October, 1895, andthat Sun Yat Sen was a leader in the conspiracy. Foreigners, even those residentin the Far East, had little knowledge how near the long-expected break-up of Chinathen was. As it happened, the outbreak missed fire, and what little attention itdid attract was of the contemptuous sort. The situation was, however, one of asgreat danger as any since the Tai Pings were suppressed, and the organisationwas much more up-to-date and on a more enlightened basis than even that greatrebellion. In fact, it was the intelligence of the principal movers that caused themovement to be discountenanced at an early stage as premature, instead of strug-gling on with a more disastrous failure in view, for the revolution is only post-poned, not abandoned for ever. The origin of the movement cannot be specificallytraced; it arose from the general dissatisfaction of Chinese with Manchu rule, andit came to a head on the outbreak of war between China and Japan. The mal-contents saw that the war afforded an opportunity to put their aspirations into
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 52

shape, and they promptly set to work. At first, that is to say before China hadbeen so soundly thrashed all along the line, they had in view purely lawful andconstitutional measures, and hoped to effect radical changes without resort to vi-olence. Dr. Sun worked hard and loyally to fuse the inchoate elements of dis-affection brought into existence by Manchu misgovernment, and to give the wholereform movement a purely constitutional form, in the earnest hope of raising hiswretched country out of the Slough of Despond in which it was and is sinkingdeeper daily. His was the master mind that strove to subdue the wild uncontrol-lable spirits always prominent in Chinese reactionary schemes, to harmonise con-flicting interests, not only as between various parties in his own country but alsoas between Chinese and foreigners, and as between various foreign Powers. Themost difficult problem was to work out the sequel of any upheaval-to anticipateand be ready in advance to deal with all the complications bound to ensue assoon as the change took place. Moreover he had to bear in mind that any greatreform movement must necessarily depend very largely on the aid of foreigners,of nations and individuals as well, while there is throughout China an immensemass of anti-foreign prejudice which would have to be overcome somehow. Thetask was stupendous, hopeless in fact, but he recognised that the salvation of Chinadepended and still depends on something of the sort being some day renderedpossible, and that the only way to accomplish it was to try, try, try again. Thatis to say, last year's attempt was not likely to succeed, but was likely to bringsuccess a stage nearer, and in that sense it was well worth the effort to an ardentpatriot. Dr. Sun was the only man who combined a complete grasp of the sit-uation with a reckless bravery of the kind which alone can make a national re-generation. He was born in Honolulu, and had a good English education. He hastravelled extensively in Europe and America, and is a young man of remarkableattainments. He was for some time a medical student in Dr. Kerr's School inTientsin, and afterwards was on the staff of the Alice Memorial Hospital in HongKong. He is of average height, thin and wiry, with a keenness of expression andfrankness of feature seldom seen in Chinese. An unassuming manner and an ear-nestness of speech, combined with a quick perception and resolute judgment, goto impress one with the conviction that he is in every way an exceptional typeof his race. Beneath his calm exterior is hidden a personality that cannot but bea great influence for good in China sooner or later, if the Fates are fair. In China,any advocate of reform or any foe of corruption and oppression is liable to beregarded as a violent revolutionist, and summarily executed. It has been the samein the history of every country when freedom and enlightenment were in theirinfancy, or not yet born. The propaganda had therefore to be disseminated withthe greatest care, and at imminent peril. First, an able and exhaustive treatise onpolitical matters was published in Hong Kong, and circulated all over China, espe-
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 53

cially in the south, where it created a sensation, early in 1895. It was most cau-tiously worded, and the most censorious official could not lay his finger on a wordof it and complain; but it depicted in vivid colours the beauties of enlightenedand honest government, contrasted with the horrors of corrupt and tyrannicalmisgovernment. This feeler served to show how much voluntary reform couldbe expected of Chinese officialdom, for it had as much effect as a volume of ser-mons thrown among a shoal of sharks. Then it became no longer possible to con-trol the spirits of insurrection. Steps were at once taken to organise a rebellion,with which it is alleged, but not yet proved, that Dr. Sun Yat Sen was associated.Before the war there had been insurrectionary conspiracies-in fact, such thingsare chronic in China. The navy was disaffected, because of certain gross injus-tices and extortions practised on the officers and men by the all-powerful man-darins. The commanders of land forces and forts were not much different, andmany civilian officials were willing to join in a rising. No doubt much of the sup-port accorded to the scheme was prompted by ulterior motives, for there are moreof that sort than of any other in China. The rebellion was almost precipitated inMarch, when funds were supplied from Honolulu, Singapore, Australia, and else-where; but men of the right sort were still wanting, and arms had not been ob-tained in great quantity, and wiser counsels prevailed. It would have been betterperhaps if wiser counsels had prevailed in October, but wisdom cannot come with-out experience, and for the sake of the experience the leaders of the abortive re-volution do not greatly regret their action. Some indeed drew out as soon as itbecame certain that violent measures were to be adopted; but the penalty of deathwould not be obviated by that, and it was at imminent risk of his life that Dr.Sun had been travelling throughout the length and breadth of China, preachingthe gospel of good government and gathering recruits for constitutional reform.His allies, never very confident in pacific methods, planned a bold coup d'état,which might have gained a momentary success, but made no provision for whatwould happen in the next few moments. Men were drafted to Hong Kong to beprepared for an attack on Canton; arms and ammunition were smuggled incement-casks; money was subscribed lavishly, foreign advisers and commanderswere obtained, and attempts were made, without tangible result, to secure theco-operation of the Japanese Government. What would have been the result ifthe verbal sympathy of Japanese under-officials had been followed by active sym-pathy in higher quarters, none can tell; the indemnity, the Liaotung Settlement,the commercial treaty, the whole history of the relations between Japan and Chinaand Europe since the war might have been totally different. Every detail of theplot was arranged, but before the time for striking the blow, treachery steppedin. A prominent Chinese merchant of Hong Kong had professed adherence to thereform movement, for he had much to gain by it; then he concluded that he could
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 54

gain more by playing into the hands of the official vampires, for he was connectedwith one of the many syndicates formed to compete for railway and mining con-cessions in China after the war. So he gave information, and the cement was ex-amined, with the result that the whole coup d'état was nothing more than a flashin the pan. Dr. Sun happened to be in Canton at the time, and was accused ofactive participation in the violent section of the reform movement. In China, tobe innocent is not to be safe; an accusation is none the less dangerous for beingutterly unfounded. Sun had to fly for his life, without a moment's deliberationas to friends or property or anything else; and for two or three weeks he was afugitive hiding in the labyrinthine canals and impenetrable pirate-haunts of thegreat Kwang-Tung Delta. A report has been published that forty or fifty of his sup-posed accomplices were executed, and a reward was offered for his arrest, buthe got away to Honolulu and thence to America. The story goes that this indom-itable patriot immediately set to work converting the Chinese at the WashingtonEmbassy to the cause of reform, and that afterwards he tried to do the same inLondon; that one of the Chinese in the Legation at Washington had professedsympathy with the apostle of enlightenment, and then thought more money couldbe made on the other side, and so telegraphed to the London Embassy to arrestSun and kidnap him back to China by hook or by crook. However that may be,he was captured and confined in a most outrageous manner in the London Le-gation, whatever Plausible piffle may be put forward by Sir Halliday Macartney,or any servile prevaricator; and it is due to Dr. Cantlie, Sun's friend and teacherin Hong Kong, that one of the best men China has ever produced was rescuedby British justice from the toils of treacherous mandarindom. All who know Dr.Cantlie-and he is well known in many parts of the world-agree that a moreupright, honourable and devoted benefactor of humanity has never breathed. Dr.Sun is in good hands, and under the protection of such a man as Dr. Cantlie therecan be little doubt that he will pursue his chosen career with single-hearted en-thusiasm and most scrupulous straight-forwardness of methods, until at last thegood work of humanising the miserable condition of the Chinese Empire is broughtto a satisfactory state of perfection.

A leading article in The Times of Saturday, October 24th, 1896,discusses the question very fully:
While the "Concert of Europe" is supposed to be making steady progress to-wards the establishment of harmony amongst the constituent Powers, the ordi-narily smooth course of diplomatic intercourse has been ruffled by a curiousviolation of law and custom at the Chinese Legation- a violation which might
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 55

have led to tragic consequences, but which has so turned out as to present chieflya ludicrous side for our consideration. Through a communication made on Thurs-day to our contemporary the Globe, it became known that a Chinese visitor toEngland, a doctor named Sun Yat Sen, was imprisoned at the house of the Chi-nese Minister, and that it was supposed to be the intention of his captors to sendhim under restraint to his own country, there to receive such measure of justiceas a Chinese tribunal might be expected to extend to an alleged conspirator. For-tunately for the prisoner, he had studied medicine at Hong Kong, where he hadmade the acquaintance and had won the friendly regard of Mr. Cantlie, the Deanof the Hong Kong Medical College, and of Dr. Manson, both of whom are nowresiding in London. Sun Yat Sen was sufficiently supplied with money, and hesucceeded in finding means of communication with these English friends, whoat once took steps to inform the police authorities and the Foreign Office of whatwas being done, while, at the same time, they employed detectives to watch theLegation, in order to prevent the possibility of the prisoner being secretly con-veyed away. Lord Salisbury, as soon as he was informed of what had occurred,made a demand for the immediate release of the prisoner, who was forthwith setat liberty, and was taken away by Mr. Cantlie and Dr. Manson, who attended inorder to identify him as the person they had known. He has since furnished rep-resentatives of the Press with an account of the circumstances of his capture anddetention, an account which differs in important respects from that of the Chi-nese authorities. If the Chinese had accomplished their supposed object, and hadsmuggled Sun Yat Sen on shipboard, to be tried and probably executed in China,our Foreign Office would have had to deal with an offence against the comityof nations for which it would have been necessary to demand and obtain the pu-nishment of all concerned. The failure of the attempt may perhaps be held tobring it too near the confines of comic opera to furnish a subject for anythingmore than serious remonstrance.
The offence alleged against Sun Yat Sen is that his medical character is amere cloak for other designs, and that he is really Sun Wên, the prime over ina conspiracy which was discovered in 1894, and which had for its object the de-thronement of the present reigning dynasty, The first step of the conspirators wasto be the capture of the Viceroy of Canton, who was to be kidnapped when in-specting the arsenal; but the plot, like most plots, leaked out or was betrayed,and fifteen of the ringleaders were arrested and decapitated. Sun Wên saved him-self by timely flight, and made his way through Honolulu and America to thiscountry, being all the time carefully watched by detectives. On reaching England,at the beginning of the present month, he called upon his old friends, Mr. Cantlieand Dr. Manson, and prepared to commence a course of medical study in London.
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 56

A few days later he disappeared, and on the evening of last Saturday Mr. Cantliewas informed of his position. Sun Wên, or Sun Yat Sen, whichever he may bealleges that he was walking in or near Portland Place on the 11th inst., when hewas accosted in the street by a fellow-countryman, who asked whether he wasChinese or Japanese; and, being told in reply that he was Chinese and a nativeof Canton, hailed him as a fellow provincial, and kept him in conversation untila second and then a third Chinaman joined them. One of the three left, whilethe other two walked slowly on until they reached the Legation, when the othersinvited Sun to enter, and supported the invitation by the exercise of a certainamount of force. As soon as he was inside, the door was shut and he was con-veyed upstairs to a room where, as he alleges, he was seen by Sir Halliday Ma-cartney, and in which he was afterwards kept close prisoner until released by theintervention of Lord Salisbury. The officials of the Chinese Legation, on the otherhand, assert that the man came to the Legation of his own accord on Saturday,the 10th, and entered into conversation, talking about Chinese affairs, and ap-pearing to want only a chat with some of his fellow-countrymen, after having whichhe went away; and that it was not until after he had gone that suspicion was ex-cited that he might be the notorious Sun Wên, who had fled from justice at home,whose passage through America and departure for England had already been tele-graphed to the Legation, and who was actually then being watched by a privatedetective in the employment of the Chinese Government. Sun came to the Le-gation a second time, on Sunday, the 11th, and then, evidence of his identity hav-ing been obtained, he was made prisoner. It had been supposed that he was aboutto return to Hong Kong as to a convenient base for further operations; and it wasthe intention of the Chinese Government to ask for his extradition as soon ashe arrived there. In the meanwhile the actual presence of the supposed conspir-ator in the Legation furnished a temptation which it was found impossible to re-sist, and he was locked up until instructions with regard to him could arrive fromPeking. There can be little doubt that these instructions, if they had been receivedand could have been acted upon, would have effectually destroyed his power toengage in any further conspiracies; and it may be assumed that the interventionof Lord Salisbury was not too early. Even as it was Sun appears to have sufferedconsiderable anxiety lest the food supplied to him at the Legation should be un-wholesome in its character.
The simple process of cutting a knot is often preferable to the labour of un-tying it, and we are not very much surprised that the Chinese Minister or his rep-resentative should have authorized the adoption of the course which has happilyfailed of success. But we cannot conceal our surprise that Sir Halliday Macartney,himself an Englishman, should have taken any part in a transaction manifestly
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 57

doomed to failure, and the success of which would have been ruinous to all en-gaged in it. The Chinese Minister is said to have surrendered his prisoner "withoutprejudice," as lawyers say, to his assumed rights; but he appears to have claimeda right which is not acknowledged by any civilized country, and which would beintolerable if it were exercised. It would be a somewhat similar proceeding if theTurkish Ambassador were to inveigle some of the leading members of the Ar-menian colony in London into the Embassy, in order to despatch them, gaggedand bound, as an offering to his Imperial Majesty the Sultan, or if Lord Dufferinhad in the same way made a private prisoner of Tynan, and had sent him to standhis trial at the Old Bailey. It is well recognised that the house of a foreign missionis regarded as a portion of the country from which the mission is sent, and thatnot only the Minister himself, but also the recognised members of his suite, en-joy an immunity from liability to the laws of the country to which the Ambas-sador is accredited; but this hardly entitles the Ambassador to exercise powersof imprisonment or of criminal jurisdiction, and the privileges of the Embassyas a place of refuge for persons unconnected with it are strictly limited to theground on which it stands. Even if the Chinese Minister could not have been pre-vented from keeping Sun in custody, he would have been liberated by the policeas soon as he was brought over the threshold to be conveyed elsewhere. It is for-tunate that he did not suffer from any form of illness; for if he had died duringhis imprisonment, it is very difficult to say what could have been done in con-sequence. Evidence would have been very hard to procure; and, even if it hadbeen procured, the persons of the Minister and of his servants would have beensacred. Probably the only course would have been to demand that the Ministershould be recalled, and that he should be put upon his trial in his own country;a demand which might perhaps have been readily complied with, but which mightnot improbably have led to what Englishmen would describe as a miscarriage ofjustice. We think that this country, almost as much as the prisoner, may be con-gratulated upon the turn of events; and we have no doubt that the Foreign Officewill find ways and means of making the rulers of the Celestial Empire understandthat they have gone a little too far, and that they must not commit any similaroffence in the future.

This Article called forth a remonstrance from Sir Halliday Ma-cartney, in which he stated his views:
To the Editor of The Times
Sir,-In your leading article of to-day, commenting on the alleged kidnapping
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 58

of an individual, a Chinese subject, calling himself, amongst numerous other alia-ses, by the name of Sun Yat Sen, you make some remarks with regard to me whichI cannot but consider as an exception to the fairness which in general charac-terises the comments of The Times.
After stating the case as given by the two opposite parties, in the surprisewhich you express at my conduct, you take it for granted that the statement ofSun Yat Sen is the correct one and that of the Chinese Legation the wrong one. I do not know why you make this assumption, for you undoubtedly do sowhen you say the case is as if the Turkish Ambassador had inveigled some ofthe members of the Armenian colony of London into the Embassy with a viewto making them a present to his Majesty the Sultan. Now, I repeat what I have said before-that in this case there was no invei-glement. The statement of Sun Yat Sen-or, to call him by his real name, SunWên-that he was caught in the street and hustled into the Legation by two sturdyChinamen is utterly false.
He came to the Legation unexpectedly and of his own accord, the first timeon Saturday, the 10th, the second on Sunday, the 11th. Whatever the pundits of international law may think of his detention, theymay take it as being absolutely certain that there was no kidnapping and thathe entered the Legation without the employment of force or guile. I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
Halliday Macartney
Richmond House
49 Portland Place, W.
Oct. 24th
Sir Halliday Macartney's remarks about my going under var-ious aliases, is no doubt intended to cast a slur upon my character;but Sir Halliday knows, no one better, that every Chinaman hasfour names at least to which he is entitled. 1st, the name one's par-ents bestow on their child. 2nd, the name given by the school-
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 59

master. 3rd, the name a young man wishes to be known by when hegoes out into society. 4th, the name he takes when he is married. Theonly constant part of the name is the first syllable-the surname, reallythe family name; the other part of the name varies according as itis the parent, the schoolmaster, etc., chooses. Whilst upon this sub-ject it may not be without interest to know that my accuser has var-ious aliases by which he is known to the Chinese. In addition to thename Ma-Ta-Jen, which means Macartney, His Excellency, he is alsoknown as Ma-Ka-Ni, and as Ma-Tsing-Shan, showing that no name isconstant in China except the family name.

From the Speaker, October 31st, 1896
The Dungeons of Portland Place
Sir Halliday Macartney is an official in the service of the Chinese Government.That fact seems to have deprived him of any sense of humour he might otherwisehave had, which, we imagine, would in no circumstances have been conspicuous.The Secretary of the Chinese Legation has struck an attitude of injured innocencein The Times. He is like Woods Pasha, when that undiscerning personage standsup for the Turkish Government in an English newspaper. What in a true Orientalwould seem natural and characteristic, in the sham Oriental is merely ridiculous.Sir Halliday Macartney assures the world that the Chinese medical gentleman whowas lately released from the Portland Place Bastille was not inveigled into the in-stitution. To the obvious suggestion that Sun Yat Sen would never have walked intothe Chinese Embassy of his own accord, had he known the real identity of his en-tertainers, Sir Halliday vouchsafes no reply. It is unquestionable that he saw the cap-tive, and took no measures to set him at liberty, till a peremptory requisition camefrom the Foreign Office. If it was not intended to deport Sun Yat Sen to China, whywas he kept a prisoner? Sir Halliday Macartney is in the pitiable position of an Eng-lishman who is forced by his official obligations to palliate in London what wouldbe the ordinary course of justice at Canton. A purely Chinese emissary would havesaid nothing. Having failed in his manoeuvre, he would have accepted the conse-quences of defeat with the fatalism of his race and native climate. The spectacleof Sir Halliday Macartney fussing and fuming in The Times like an Englishman, whenhe ought to hold his peace like a Chinaman, can only suggest to the authoritiesat Peking that their English representative here is a rather incompetent person. On the other hand, there is something in this Chinese kidnapping which isirresistibly diverting. Englishmen can never take the Chinaman seriously, in spite
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 60

of Charles Pearson's prediction that the yellow man will one day eat us up. Thepersonality of Ah Sin, especially when he wears a pigtail and his native costume,is purely comic to the average sightseer. If the men who decoyed Sun Yat Sen werepointed out to a London crowd, they would be greeted not with indignation, butwith mildly derisive banter. It might go hard with any Europeans who had tried thesame game; but Ah Sin, the childlike and bland, is a traditional joke. His strategyexcites no more resentment than the nodding of the ornamental mandarin on themantelpiece. The popular idea of Lord Salisbury's intervention in this case is pro-bably that the Chinaman's pigtail has been gently but decisively pulled, and thatsuch a lesson is quite sufficient without any public anger. Had a German or a French-man been kidnapped in similar circumstances, the situation would at once havebeen recognised as extremely serious. The capture and incarceration in PortlandPlace simply excite a smile. The newspapers have treated the incident as they treatthe announcement that Li Hung Chang, promoted to be Imperial Chancellor of China,had at the same time been punished for an unauthorised visit to the Empress Dow-ager. How can you be angry with a people whose solemnities frequently strike theOccidental mind as screaming farce? It is impossible to pass No. 40 Portland Placewith a romantic shudder. That middle-class dwelling, of substantial and comfortableaspect, is now a Bastille pour rire, and excites the mirth of tradesmen's boys, whomust feel strongly tempted, by way of celebrating the Fifth of November, to ringthe bell and introduce a Celestial guy to the puzzled servitors of the Embassy, witha fluent tirade in pigeon-English.
As for Sun Yat Sen, it cannot escape his notice that there is little curiosity toknow the precise reason why he is obnoxious to the Chinese Government. He issaid to have taken part in a conspiracy against the Viceroy of Canton, a statementwhich conveys no vivid impression to the popular mind. Political refugees-Italians,Poles, Hungarians-have commonly inspired a romantic interest in this country. Theyhave figured in our fiction, always a sure criterion of public sympathies. When thestoryteller takes the foreign conspirator in hand, you may be sure that the machi-nations, escapes, and so forth touch a responsive chord in the popular imagination.But no storyteller is likely to turn the adventures of Sun Yat Sen to such account,though they may be really thrilling, and though this worthy Celestial medico mayhave been quite a formidable person in his native land. Even the realistic descrip-tions by travellers of Chinese administration, the gentle coercion of witnesses inhis courts by smashing their ankles, the slicing of criminals to death, have not givena sinister background to the figure of the Heathen Chinese. The ignominious defeatof the Chinese arms in the late war has strengthened the conception of the yellowman as a rather grotesquely ineffectual object. If Sun Yat Sen were to deliver a lec-ture on his adventures, and paint the tyranny of the Viceroy of Canton in the deepest
Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 61

colours, or if Sir Halliday Macartney were to show that his late prisoner was a mon-ster of ferocity, compared to whom all the Western dynamiters were angels in is-guise, we doubt whether either story would command the gravity of the public. TheChinese have their virtues; they are a frugal, thrifty, and abstemious people; theypractise a greater respect for family ties than Western nations. The custom of wor-shipping their ancestor, though one of the chief stumbling-blocks to the Christianmissionaries, probably exercises a greater moral influence than the reverence forgenealogy here. But no audience in England or America would accept these virtuesas rebukes to the short-comings of the Anglo-Saxon civilisation. So deep is the gulfbetween Occident and Orient that the pride of neither will learn from the other,and both are indifferent to the warnings of prophets who foretell the triumph ofthe Caucasian in the Flowery Land or the submergement of Europe by the yellowflood of immigration. All Western notions are regarded in China with a contemptwhich even the travels of Li are not likely to dispel; and No. 40 Portland Place cannever recover that prestige of harmless nonentity it enjoyed before the pranks ofthe Chinese Embassy made it a centre of the ludicrous.
The following is a copy of the letter I sent to the newspapers thank-ing the Government and the Press for what they had done for me: To the Editor of the-
Sir,-Will you kindly express through your columns my keen appreciation ofthe action of the British Government in effecting my release from the ChineseLegation? I have also to thank the Press generally for their timely help and sym-pathy. If anything were needed to convince me of the generous public spirit whichpervaded Great Britain, and the love of justice which distinguishes its people, therecent acts of the last few days have conclusively done so. Knowing and feeling more keenly than ever what a constitutional Govern-ment and an enlightened people mean, I am prompted still more actively to pursuethe cause of advancement, education, and civilisation in my own well-beloved butoppressed country.
Yours faithfully, Sun Yat Sen
46 Devonshire Street
Portland Place, W.
Oct. 24

Kidnapped in London, Jan. 1897 62