my ho
June 4, 1898. }
the opening of the granaries when yesterday the hsien or district magistrate put out a pro- clamation arranging to open them when rice touched 50 cash a pint, whereupon every owner of rice wished to hold on to his stock till the top price was reached. All this "the stupid people with empty stomachs and otherwise were unkind enough to resent. They promptly and liberally bespattered the proclamation, and became vulgarly clamorous for the immediate opening of the granaries.
It added to the general ill-feeling when the new Imperial "subscription of ten per cent. on house and shop rent, payable monthly from to-day, was foolishly persevered with. Had it been postponed till the harvest it would have been paid, if not cheerfully yet with a murmur. ing only: To-day a certain brass-smith's shop in the main street was reached about noon by the sub-magistrate who was supervising the "subscription." The brass-smith complained that the payment would put the climax on his business and he would have to close shop. Whereupon the yamên runners intimated they could save him the trouble by doing it for him, and proceeded to carry off his signboard. The neighbours who had called round during the discussion tried to prevent this, and failing, one by one began to "close the market."
The rioting started before they had time to organise and petition the officials, and before the officials had decided what steps to take, the "stupid people" with their empty stomachs and otherwise took the matter in hand and proceeded, some to carry one official outside the city, others to attack the yamens. Pillage was not their object, for after smashing up everything breakable in our district magistrate's yamen they went into the residential portions of the gamen, wrecked his furniture and house- hold goods, tore his silks and satins to shreds and steeped all they could in tubs of unpleasant ness. The prefect's yamen suffered in like fashion though in a minor degree, but the Taotai's was as mercilessly treated as the district magistrate's.
He, in official robes, with his seal in his uplifted band, on his knees begged the "dear' people to go away.
But the dear people with empty stomachs and otherwise throw stones; his lieutenant's head was badly broken, and the unfortunate Tantai himself did not get off scot free.
In the meantime the obnoxious opium Taotai received a very unsavoury crowd of sane culottes. He managed to escape; for here the case was
different and his visitors took more interest in
his furniture, his dollars and his wines than in himself. Some indulged too freely and were found lying drunk in the streets afterwards. Too much champagne on an empty stomach- or otherwise is not good.
The New Depot from which alone opium may now be bought and which has only been open & week, all spick and span with paint, and at night usually brilliant with foreign lamps, was the scene of the greatest excitement. Opium ran like syrup; the crowd seemed almost wholly made up of opium smokers and they got well nigh to fighting for it, and for the dollars in the till. Some scooped up the opium in their shoes, some in the palm of the hand, others took their shirts off and mopped up all they could, running off home with it as fast as their legs could carry them, the opium leaving an admit- able spoor behind that even a blind man could have followed with his поко. The writer whose body was smudged with stains and his shirt dripping described. The building was completely wrecked, and it seemed as if every third house in certain quarters was cooking its evening meal with the remains of tables, chairs, or floor boards.
B&W one man
as
CHINA ÖVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
to the memory of the officials to resupply their | 1 min. 50 secs.); it just a little disparages the vanishing stock. Already two shops have been merit of this performance that the pony was wrecked. The Mandarins are really powerless, allowed 7 lbs., and that Svend, who held the for as I wrote you recently, the military force, record at 1 min. 504 secs., was under a penalty which often does good police duty, has been so of 7 lbs. The course, which by the bye has recklessly cut down that the Brigadier General been very carefully remeasured to satisfy has scarcely enough men left to form a body. Shanghai sceptics (it was found 15 yards too guard for the Taotai. To-day has given the long, in 2,200) was too hard for fine times, and proof.
the conditions of wind and weather were not st 20th May.
their best.
Fortunately no attack was made on the for- eign community, though it was seriously mooted during the attack on the Opium Depôt. Better counsels prevailed, "the foreigners are powerful and would not stand it." Threatening language was heard in the streets, and as we might at any moment be at the mercy of a mob it was deemed advisable to get as many of the ladies to the Island as would go, the men returning to their respective posts of duty.
Proclamations have this evening been issued fixing rice at 28 cash a pint and promising to immediately open the granaries. The result is a rush on the rice shops which now are selling at a loss of 7 or 8 cash a pint and have to trust
A special courier leaves this afternoon, of whom I avail myself. After much persuasion the people have opened their shops again. There was much joking yesterday as they closed them, the chief point being that they would have a Sunday like the foreigners and all go to Church. To-day the late district magistrate has been suspended by the Taotai and the new likin officer takes his place; the two sub-magistrates have also been suspended. The Taotai, prefect, new magistrate, and other officials are eating pie of the humblest. They are going the round of all the business streets on foot, in plain clothes, with their seals in their hands, bowing to right and bowing to left, begging the
dear people'
to continue their business like good children, and the day is hot as July. How wet and weary and woB- begone they look we have not ventured to go and see.-)
-Ñ. C. Daily News correspondent.
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G
SUICIDE OF A GERMAN SUBJECT AT SHANGHAI,
Shanghai, 19th May.
His re-
A German subject named Fuchs committed suicide by shooting himself through the heart with a revolver in a shop in the Astor Road, occupied by a German butcher named Pasch, on Tuesday. Every endeavour has been made to keep the affair as quiet as possible, and it was only with the utmost difficulty that any details could be learnt. It appears that the nnfortunate man was in the employ of Messrs. Arnhold, Karberg & Co. in Canton, and be- came involved in some financial embarrassment and came up to Shanghai, where he was ar- rested on a warrant a few days ago. latives in Germany were communicated with by telegraph, and on their undertaking to make themselves responsible for his liabilities, he was liberated, and was to have left for the South again. At about 11 o'clock on Tuesday morn ing the deceased was in an upstairs room in Mr. Pasch's house, when a shot was heard, and on an investigation being made, he was found lying on the floor with a recently discharged revolver beside him, shot through the heart. Dr. Zedelius was at once sent for, but on his arrival he pronounced life to be extinct. An enquiry was held at the German Consulate General, but no information of what transpired was obtainable. The deceased was buried in the New Cemetery yesterday afternoon.-N. C. Daily News.
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TIENTSIV,
If rain does not soon fall there will be severe
drought in Chihli; already the gaunt word
44
famine is in evidence and the outlook is a source of anxiety. With the exception of s heavy fall of snow in January, no moisture has reached the soil since November last.
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.]
TIENIN, 21st May. Racing has dwarfed Reuter during the week and Tientsin has given its whole attention to matters equine. The Spring Meeting has pro- duced little to raise it above the general average; only one record was lowered, and no phenomenal horse appeared. Mr. Sommer, the popular representative of Tai Lai, took seven events with three ponies, in all cases riding himself, but, omitting this one exception, the honours were easy. Osman proved himself the best horse on the post by taking the Champions (2 mins. 41 secs.), the Tientsin Stakes (3 mins. 55 secs.; 1 miles), and the Hsing Tai Hsing Souvenir (3 mins. 54 secs.); Moribund was just as indubitably the best sprinter, taking the Tse-chu-Lin Stakes (1⁄2 mile; 59 secs.). Toatai's Cup (1 mile; 2 mins. 83 secs.), and the Con- cordia Cup (2 mins. 74 secs.); both these ponies belong to the Tai Lai stable. features of the meeting were Mr. James Wilson's fine victory in the Tientsin Derby with Dun- lea (Mr. C. R. Morling up; 3 mins. 163 secs.), the Doctors' long postponed success in the Maidens with the Clown (Dr. Robertson up; mile; 1 min. 313 secs), and the local record established by Mr. Wilson's Briar Root in the Flyaway Cup (Mr. Morling up; 7 furlongs;
The other
The Pei Ho is running low, and 9 miles be. low Tientsin has a depth of 6 feet 5 in. Only four tow boats can negociate the shallow reaches and the traders of the port are again forced to utilize small native boats to get the cargo up. The improvement scheme is now formally ap proved and the Consular body is consulting with the Board as to how to raise the Tls.150,000 which constitutes the foreign contribution. The banks are holding off, possibly on the ground that
6
per cent. with capital security is not good enough in these days. A week or two at most will see the work begun, and not a day too soon however early it comes. Tientsin has prac- tically ceased to be a seaport.
Prince Henry of Prussia arrived last week and went straight through to Peking. His attitude towards the High Provinical Authori ties has aroused the liveliest commotion in Chi- nese circles; it was something quite unexpected and altogether calculated to disturb the self- complacency of officialdom. It may safely be postulated that in so amiable and accomplished a man as His Royal Highness this attitude of cold and haughty reserve was deliberate; and was a part of settled policy. While many would! be delighted to see the Peking people receive an effective snubbing, a goodly number here feel regret that our amiable and well meaning Viceroy, Wang Wen-she, was the first to feel the sting of the new order of affairs. The old man has gone so consistently out of way to do the correct thing to foreigners that a good deal of sympathy is felt for him. His age and ex- perience, too, seemed to deserve respect from youth, and he had done his utmost in the puno tilions observance of the claims of hospitality and courtesy. He was most unmistakably crest- fallen on the occasion, as no intimation was conveyed that the Prince's official demeanour might be one thing and his personal sentiments quite another.
The Chinese of course put it all down to Baron Von Heyking, who to them is the em- bodiment of all that is dangerous and unscrupu lous in Western policy. Nicholas Macchiavelli himself could not arouse stronger detestation than the strong man who so ably represents the Fatherland in Peking at the moment. Mr Paviloy and his people generally mask their mail by velvet; they add Suaviter in modo to fortiter in re; the Baron makes no bones of matters, he goes straight at the big wigs of the Yamen and frightens them into compliance. As an Anglicized native observed to me the other day, when he shouts 'heads' the Taungli Yamen proceeds to stand on its pate until he cries' heels,' when down it comes into normal position."
65
There is a very strong belief in official circles that the Germans have already discovered the emptiness of the Kianchao nut and are looking about for another and a better; that the delay of the Prince's visit has been primarily due to the fact that they could not quite see where to make their next demand, and that his presence in Peking would show the forthcoming move in the game. China's extreme haste and will. ingness to give guarantees that such and such provinces shall not be handed over to others is explained on this ground. The Japanese Government has been carefully informed of. Chinese fears (by the Chinese) in regard to German aspirations in Fukien.
Much political curiosity is felt here with rogard to the extraordinary Reuter re Mr. Chamberlain's speech to his constituents. What was the cause of so unexpected a thunder bolt P 'It hardly seems adequate to so great an issuGY