Show I i O KNOW RELIEF ISNEAR Minister Conger Gets Another Dispatch 0 Through Stating that Situation of Legations is Desperate v 1 Nearing of the Allied Forces Gives Ihe Besieged Hope Under Rifle Fire Day With Frequent Desperate AttacksHe AtacksHe Gives List of the Brave Band of Marines MarinesWho Who Fell in Defense Fel ir of the Envoys Washington Aug 116The Acting Secretary of State mad public the following extract from a dispatch received re-ceived this morning from Mr Conger I was handed to Mr Adee by Mr Wu who explained that he had received It a midnight from the Taotal of Shanghai by whom it had been received re-ceived by way of Tsl Nan August 15th It Is undated but would I seem to have left Peking some time between August 5th and llth It follows CIPHER IS SAFE Secretary of State Washington Our cipher Is safe May It not bo sufficient authenticity We have been Imprisoned and completely besieged since Juno 23rd Continued artillery and rifle tiring un til July 17th only rifle since but dally with frequently desperate attacks one last night Have already reported our losses French Kalian Belgian Austrian Dutch legations and all other foreign property Peking destroyed Dr Ingllis child dead et Marines Fanning Fan-ning Fisher Tumor King Tutcher Kennly and Thomas killed All other Americans alive Inform Secretary Nearing aWed forces give us hone CONGER ANSWERED INQUIRIES This latest dispatch from Minister Conger was scanned with eager interest in-terest but It brought little Information Informa-tion beyond that already at hand In one respect however It gave the Government Gov-ernment strong encouragement as it Was almost a categorical answer to the inquiries of the State department This was the first definiteknowledge that we were In direct touch with our Minister roral of his dispatches up to today had conveyed Information without reference to the repeated inquiries in-quiries of the Government SITUATION IS DESPERATE That the situation Is desperate Is shown by his statement that one of the attacks upon the legation occurred the night before the dispatch was sent In response to a request of the Stated State-d Mr Conger gives the Ust t I ofthe braveban3of American marines whp fell In defense of the legation < It isvevlrtent thai the Minister Is Informed as to the approacfh of the column a ho suys the nearing of the allied forces gives us hope gves HAS DISPATCHES SENT CHAFFEE Two dispatches to GQn Chalice sent on the 12th and Mth were sent also in duplicate to Minister Conger sc that he Is well advised by this time of the movement of the troops and of Gen Chaffeos authority to negotiate at the walls of Peking Beyond the Important diplomatic exchanges ex-changes of the day and the receipt of the Conger message the chief interest in-terest centprcd In the exact whereabouts where-abouts of the allied army TUl G CHOW OCCUPIED From Japanese sources came the most advanced Information first in Toklo advice that Thug Chow had been occupied and later In the day In an official dispatch from the Japanese Japan-ese Foreign ofllce to Minister Taka hlra conllrmlng the report This last dispatch said that Tung Chow was occupied without resistance by the Japanese force at daybreak on the 12th The Chinese apparently retreated toward Peking Large quantities df arms and rice < were captured at the same time tmc ACCEPTED El OFFICIALS The Minister l promptly communicated communi-cated his Information to the Department Depart-ment of Slate and It was accepted by the officials Including the Secretary of Val as the latest and most authentic ievs column of the whereabouts of the relief AT GATES OF PEKING Some days had elapsed however since this occupation of Tung Chow and there had been ample time to covcrl the twelve miles between that place and Peking Whether the allleJ forces actually were there was the all absorbing question of which every one In official and In unolllclal life awaited word with keen anxiety Secretary Root was satisfied that Tuiig Chow had been left behind and this was one of the reasons why It was icgarded as futile to consider III 1 Hung Changs proposition for an arm istlce at Tung Chow ATTACK ON PEKING EXPECTED A dispatch was received during the day from Admiral Kemey conveying the Japanese report of the occupation of Tung Chow and adding the statement state-ment also on Japanese authority that the attack on Peking was expected to be made yesterday A dispatch was sent to Gen Chaffee but Us contents were not made public Although the officials regarded It as unimportant It doubtless made the American commander aware of the fact that thero was no deviation In the American attitude A dispatch also was sent to Minister Congor advisory In character giving him the benefit of the latest development I SPECIAL CABINET MEETING Trie appeal irom ian juung iiianig came first to the Chinese Minister hO I early In the day conveyed t to the Department 3 partment of State Although It was not the regular day for 0 meeting of the Cabinet word was conveyed to those Cabinet officers In the city that n special Cabinet session would be held at 1 oclock Secrctan Root who has boon n guiding factor In the Chinese negotiations was with the President before the meeting opened presenting the Chinese communications and the dispatch of Instructions already sent to Chaffee ANSWER CABLED EARL LI With the President at the Cabinet table ta-ble veru Secretaries Root Gage Ton T-on te PostmasterGeneral Smith The conclusions reached can be stated best by reference to the succinct xe sponsc ly of the tfnltcd States Government Govern-ment set forth In official announcement announce-ment After the Cabinet meeting the monl ACerthc was sent to the Chl I ncso Minister who laId In the day cabled ca-bled It to LI Jung Chang Thus the issue was framed and ua alterably T eUnltcd States declined to elnc consider the PJosltonot Hnn Chang for a halt rind an nrmiitiee a the city of Tung Chow Even the su promo appeal of the venerable Chinese statesman that he Chinese Shat empire > would be shakenby an advance of the allies beyond TunS Chow was not heed Pd The answer of the United States Is that our position Is the same nov as it has been from the outset namely that the Ministers must be delivered at the walls of Peking and in such cir cumstances as will meet the Judgment of the military commanders on the spot CHAFFEES AUTHORITY It will be observed that the American Ameri-can memorandum of reply gives LI Hung CJiang practically nothing be yond a repetition of two dispatches heretofore sent lo Gen Chaffec The first dispatch of August 12th gives a sharp response to Earl Lis first communication com-munication laying down the condition that the forces composing the relief expedition shall be permitted to entor Peking unmolested The second dispatch dis-patch of August lltlv rficrely ampll fles Gen Chaffees authority In anticipation antici-pation of Chinas acceptance of the American demand that the relief column col-umn must enter Peking RESTS WITH AMERICAN SOLDIER The second order to Gen Chaffee Is predicated solely upon the presence of the allied forces at Peking It speclll cally states that if the Chinese authorities au-thorities are willing to deliver the le gatloners to the rejlef column at Peking Pe-king then Gen Chaffe3 Is authorized to make and carry out on arrangement In concert with the other commanders without awaiting the slow process of a reference to Washington Whether this arrangement rhus freely committed to Gen Chaffee Is tb > be an armistice a truce or some other device of military science Is for him to decide at Poking The two dispatches to Gon Chaffee contemplate action only at Peking and it is for him to determlne pon thj manner of delivery at > the Inner gate or at the outer wall Thus there can be no misunderstanding misunderstand-ing pf the Issue as made up liCHung Qhangs appeal for an armistice at Tung Ghovls rejected itiul the continually con-tinually reiterated dqmand of the United States tlKlffMho Ministers oe delivered to the allied troops at Peking Is reinforced The appeal of China and the prompt response of the American Gocrnmertt were the subject of supreme Interest throughout the day Coming at a moment mo-ment when the allied armies were In the shadow of the great Avails of Peking > Pe-king the circumstances In which the correspondence occurred were of a peculiarly pe-culiarly momentous character WU CABLES TO LI Mr Wu the Chinese Minister promptly telegraphed to LI Hung Chang tonight the contents of tine memorandum handed lo him today by Acting Secretary Adee giving the Instructions In-structions which have been sent to Gen Chaffee regarding his course In dealing with the Chinese situation The Minister Min-ister while regarding the situation as critical hopes that the Instructions to the allied commanders may have reached them in time to provide for negotiations ne-gotiations with a representative of his Government whereby the Ministers will be escorted from Peking in safety |