One Of The Principal Stipulations Of
This Treaty Was That The French Should Be Allowed To Occupy Langson And
Other Places In Tonquin.
When the French commander sent a force under
Colonel Dugenne to occupy Langson it was opposed in the Bacle defile and
repulsed with some loss.
The Chinese exonerated themselves from all
responsibility by declaring that the French advance was premature, because
no date was fixed by the Fournier Convention, and because there had not
been time to transmit the necessary orders. On the other hand, M. Fournier
declared on his honor that the dates in his draft were named in the
original convention. The French government at once demanded an apology,
and an indemnity fixed by M. Jules Ferry, in a moment of mental
excitement, at the ridiculous figure of $50,000,000. An apology was
offered, but such an indemnity was refused, and eventually France obtained
one of only $800,000.
After the Bacle affair hostilities were at once resumed, and for the first
time the French carried them on not only against the Black Flags, but
against the Chinese. M. Jules Ferry did not, however, make any formal
declaration of war against China, and he thus gained an advantage of
position for his attack on the Chinese which it was not creditable to
French chivalry to have asserted. The most striking instance of this
occurred at Foochow, where the French fleet, as representing a friendly
power, was at anchor above the formidable defenses of the Min River.
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