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view to compelling Ko to resign. On the 24th March a collision between Ko's troops and those commanded by Ou-yang-Wu appeared inevitable. Altogether some 3,000 troops were converging on Kiukiang where Ko had at his disposal 1,500 men. Rumours of reinforcements for both sides amounting to an open breach between north and south were current in the Yang-tsze Valley. It was commonly believed that an active coalition had been formed between the provinces of Anhui, Kiangsi, Kuangtung, Fukien, and possibly Hunan, to resist the authority of Yuan Shih Kai and that civil war was imminent. Fortu- nately, Wang Chih-hsiang, the official deputed by Yuan Shih Kai to arrange the matter of the munitions of war, was still in the province, and after some negotiation succeeded in persuading General Ko to resign and leave Kiukiang. This was a further triumph for the Kiangsi provincial authorities. In December last they refused to accept the civil administrator appointed by Peking; in February they threatened civil war unless Peking withdrew the embargo on the munitions of war purchased by the Provincial Government; in March they again threatened recourse to arms, unless an officer, backed by the Central Government, were forthwith removed from his post. In all three cases the Central Government, who claim to be able to enforce their will on the provinces, submitted to the dictation of the Kiangsi officials. The latter now only recognise the authority of Peking when it coincides with their own wishes. The murder of Sung chiao jen, under circumstances which enabled suspicion to be cast by their political opponents on the President and Premier at Peking, has further alienated the sympathies of the Yang-tsze provinces and strengthened the movement towards secession.
Kiangsi is also suffering from distress in the interior, due partly to the destruction of a large proportion of the crops by the floods of last summer and partly to the inclemency of the past winter.
Hupei.
In spite of a succession of disquieting rumours and some affrays between disorderly soldiers and the city guards, the authorities have been successful in preventing any serious breach of the peace in Wuchang during the past quarter, but a strong feeling of uneasiness as to the future exists among the inhabitants. The presence of a large number of disbanded soldiers is the most dangerous factor in the local situation. The rumours of impending trouble were particularly numerous towards the end of March, and many of the merchant class thought it more prudent to leave Wuchang and take up their residence in Hankow. On the nights of the 28th and 29th March special precautions were taken and the city was carefully picketed, but no disturbances of a serious nature actually occurred, A cousiderable force of Pei-yang troops have recently been sent down to Hankow as a precaution against disaffection amongst the local levies, and possibly, also, to strengthen the hands of General Li Yuan Hung in case of a struggle with the south.
Serious rioting has been reported from other parts of Hupei, and bands of disbanded soldiers returning to their homes have been guilty of many acts of violence.
His Majesty's consul at Ichang reports that lawlessness still continues in the country districts. At Kinchou, a former Manchu stronghold, there are some 15,000 Manchus in a state of destitution, and attempts to transport them to other parts of the province have so far failed.
Honan, Shensi, and Kansu.
The long-continued drought in this part of China, resulting in a total or partial failure of the crops, gives cause for considerable anxiety. A little rain has fallen recently, but much distress prevails. The state of affairs not unnaturally tends to increase the general disorder and swell the numbers of the robber bands. The country round Honan-fu is said to be very diaturbed. Trade is almost at a standstill, and many of the merchants are leaving Honan altogether. The military authorities, however, have been doing their best to disperse the robber bands wherever their depredations have been excessive, and latest reports are of a more hopeful nature.
Szechuan
The province of Szechuan would appear to be in the control of the secret societies which continue to impose upon the peaceful inhabitants in the guise of political parties in the Republican interest, while not disdaining at the same time to share in the spoils of the more or less organised raids of the rubber gangs affiliated
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