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 INDOCHINA

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INDOCHINA

persecution continued. In 1844 Cochin China was divided into the Vicariates Apostolic of Eastern and Western Cochin China, while in 1846 the Vicariates Apostolic of Western and Southern Tong-king replaced the ancient Vicariate of Western Tong-king. Cam- bodia and the northern provinces of Cochin China were formed into new vicariates in 1850. The acces- sion of Tu-duc in 1848 was quickly followed by an edict setting a price on the heads of the missionaries. In 1851 a second edict was issued, accusing the Chris- tians of conspiracy against the emperor, and ordering the European priests to be east into the sea or the rivers and the native priests to be cut in two. The fir.st result of this sanguinary edict was the decapita- tion of Fathers Augustin Schoffler (ISol) and Bonnard (1852). In 1855 a universal prosscription of Christians was issued: Christian mandarins were commanded to al)jure the Faith within a month, all others within six months, while a reward of $480 was offered for the detention of each European, and $160 for the deten- tion of each native prie.st. The persecution was now renewed with increased fury, and at last Napoleon III determined to intervene. The ships, however, which accompanied the French envoys, were separated in a storm, and, thus deprived of the force necessary to impress the native potentate, the embassy failed to achieve anything tangible. Before departing M. de Montigny, the French plenipotentiary, was seized with the unlucky thought of threatening Annam with French vengeance, if the execution of Christians con- tinued. This only led the Annamite authorities to suspect the Christians of having invited French inter- vention, and thenceforth a political motive for persecu- tion was added to the religious one. On 20 July, 1856, Father Tru was beheaded, and the general mas- sacre of Christians began. The Spanish bishop, Mgr. Diaz, was executed in 1857; in January, 1858, a town occupied by the Christians was set aflame, and all the iidialiitants butchered. Roused by the slaughter of their countrymen, France and Spain took action in the autumn of 1858 to demand redress for the vio- lences committed against the Christians of the An- namite Empire (then estimated at 600,000). On'.n August, 1858, the joint expedition under Vice-admiral Rigault de Genouilly and Colonel Lanzanrote seized Turan, and defied every attempt of the Annamites to dislodge them. Having vainly awaited reinforce- ments for some months, Genouilly, finding that sick- ness was decimating his troops, changed his tactics, sailed southwards, and seized Saigon early in 1859, but, through lack of proper forces, was again pre- vented from pressing his advantage home. Seeing no immediate hope of reinforcements, since France was fully occupied with the war against Italy, Genouilly retained only the fort to the south of Saigon, sailed back to Turan, and resumed possession of that town. The persecution meanwhile raged with unabated vigour: Bishop Hermosilla, and three other Spanish bishops, twenty-eight Dominicans, and thousands of Christians were tortured and executed. Two other European priests, who had been imprisoned and tortured, were only saved from execution by the Peace of June, 1862. But perhaps the greatest glory of this self-sacrificing mission lies in the number of native Christians who joyfully laid down their lives for the Faith. Within the space of a little more than four years (1857-62), the list of martyrs included 115 Annamite priests (one-third of the native clergy), 100 Annamite nuns, and more than 5000 of the faithful. This list of executions gives only a faint idea of the horrors of the time. .\\\ the pri.sons were filled with confessors of the Faith; eighty convents and almost one hundred towns, the centres of the Christian com- munity, were razed to the ground, and their inhabi- tants scattered throughout the land. According to the most conservative estimate, of the 300,000 Chris- tians thus dispersed, about 40,000 died of ill-treat-

ment, starvation, and unheard-of miseries, while all the possessions of the remainder were confiscated.

The Peace of 1862, which brought to a close this terrible period, was in no way due to a change in Tu-duc's feelings, but entirely to his fear lest the revolutionary party, which had taken up arms in Tong-king, should secure the support of France. According to this treaty Annam ceded to France the southern provinces of Cochin Cliina (Bien-hoa, Saigon, and Mytho), paid an indemnity of $4,000,000 to France and Spain, and guaranteed freedom of re- ligious worship, provided that no compulsion should be used to force the natives to become Christians against their will — a strange proviso in view of the "compulsion" which had been used during the pre- ceding years. Relieved of the ban of proscription and fertilized by the blood of so many martyrs, the mis- sions began again to yield abundant fruit. The fear- lessness shown by the Christians in the face of torture and death had greatly impressed the natives, who, seeing that converts were no longer viewed with marked displeasure by the administration, now has- tened to seek instruction in the Christian Faith. In 1865 the baptisms of adults numbered 1:^65; in 1809 the number baptized was 4005. A still greater num- ber of .\nnamites came to the missionaries, and, while declaring that they themselves were too old to change their religion, begged that their children might be received into the Church. In 1SC)3 Mgr. Miche used his influence with King Norodom of Cambodia to bring about the treaty, according to which Cambodia placed itself under the protection of France.

W'hile the Christians in the South were thus enjoy- ing complete freedom from interference, their brethren in other districts of the Annamite Empire were not equally favoured. Removed from the centre of French power in the peninsula, they were subjected to many molestations and annoyances owing to the hatred of the mandarins. The ill-feeling among the pagan natives culminated in the assassination of Francis Gamier and four companions by the Black Flags on 21 December, 187:3. Fearful of the conse- quences, the mandarins had already yieldetl to the influence of Mgr. Puginier and Mgr. Sohier, and ex- pressed their readiness to sign a convention guaran- teeing the freedom and security of Christians and foreigners, when a letter was received from M. Phi- lastre, French Inspector of Native .\ffairs at Saigon, ordering the suspension of all negotiations until his arrival. Disregarding every dictate of prudence and the reiterated warnings and entreaties of Mgr. Pugi- nier, this functionary ordered the immediate evacu- ation of Tong-king, and thus made France break faith with the huge body of Christians, who had ac- cepted Garnier's proposals, and promised to assist PVance in its endeavour to secure liberty of worship and civil recognition for Christians. Misinterpreting the French departure for weakness, as Mgr. Puginier had foreseen, the pagans now prepared to surfeit their hatred against the Christians. The whole Vicaricate of Western Tong-king was completely wrecked; that of Southern Tong-king was left a heap of ruins. In view of this system of universal butchery the missionaries had given the faitliful permission to take up arms, when the per.'^ecution came to an abrupt close in a remarkable manner. In the Province of Nghe-an (Northern Annam) one of those periodical local revolts, with which Annamite history is littered, had assumed threatening proportions: the royal forces had been signally defeated in several engage- ments, a large tract of country had within a short period fallen into the hands of the reljcls, and it needed only the defection of certain high dignitaries, then wavering in their allegiance, to ensure the com- plete success of the revolution. In this crisis the mandarins hastened to summon to the defence of legitimate authority the Christians, whom they had