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that they may eventually unite under one common
leader constitutes the great danger of allowing the
outbreak to remain unsuppressed,
That the rebels
are well provided with money is proved by the fact
that supplying them with munitions of war is the
most lucrative business in the Province.
Their
frequent captures of arms and treasure are undoubt-
edly of great assistance to them but as far as I
can learn their principal source of revenue is sub-
scriptions and contributions from other members of
the San Ho Hui and San Tien Hui secret societies,
to one of which every rebel and every sympathiser
belongs.
The headquarters of the societies are
said to be in Hongkong and they certainly have a
large membership both there and in the Straits.
Both societies have emissaries recruiting for them
in every district of this province and Kuangtung.'
One of these for whose head a reward of 500 taels
had been offered, was seized some two weeks ago in
the neighbourhood of this city and sumarily decapi-
tated together with two of his followers who were
arrested with him.
The Wuchow officials have asked me more than once
whether steps could not be taken at Hongkong to put a
stop to the illicit traffic in arms between that port
and the mainland. They assert that large quantities
of rifles and ammunition destined for the rebels are
cargo.
being constantly smuggled thence concealed in other
I informed them in reply that I believed that
the Hongkong Government took all the precautions that
could very well be expected of it and it was in their
own country that more vigilance was needed. It is
suspected that the bulk of their supplies reach the
rebels via Tonquin whence their conveyance into the
disturbed districts, which extend to within about 100
miles from the frontier, presents less difficulties
than via Hongkong and Kuangtung. The outbreak in the
north-east of this Prefecture is still unsubdued but
does not appear to be serious. It is entirely anti-
official and the ordinary inhabitants have not been
molested. It is improbable that there is any connec-
tion between this émeute and the rebellion in the
arrested
north