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Topography of Sz'chuen.
JULY,
tulate the court, the real design is to spy out the condition of the country.
The young emperor's policy, especially so far as foreign nations are concerned, is yet a matter of speculation. The fortifications at the mouth of the Pei ho are said to have been greatly augmented and strengthened during the present year. Within the narrow precincts of the Yuen-ming Yuen, there are are no less than eight thousand armed men. Great numbers of the troops at the north have been furnished with European arms; and the Chinese government evidently thinks itself much better prepared now than it was in the last war to match and overcome the barbarians. This may be true; and it is equally true, also, that the British government is much better acquaint- ed with China, and in case of a second contest, would know when, and where and how to touch the weak points of the empire. Both governments, however, will rue the day, if it ever comes, when they go to war." Still such a calamity may come very soon. If Pá's letter has been refused by Su, by the authorities of Shánghái, and by the imperial officers at Tientsin, will the Queen deem all this as friendly to her foreign Secretary? And if she does not, what will she and her Cabinet propose to do? Will the
Will the "peace" concluded at Nánking, and in due course solemnly ratified, be “eternally preserved?"
ART. IV. Topography of the province of Sz'chuen: description of its tmons, productions, inhabitants, &c. (Continued from page 327.)
IV. The department of Shunking lies in the fertile valleys of the Kiáling river and its tributaries, having Páuning fú on the north, Chungking fú on the south, Suiting fú on the east, and Tungchuen fú west; the chief town is in the same latitude as Ningpo. The region is well watered, and the plains between the hills amply repay the labors of the husbandmen, producing large quantities of silk as well as grains and fruits; the department is rather celebrated for its oranges. The mountains called Nán-ming furnish considerable salt, procured from pits in the same manner as previously described.
V The department of Süchau lies on the Yunnan frontier along the Yangtsz' kiang, between Tungking fú and Ningyuen fú, in one of
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