Juveixe from the Peking Gazette of the 14th of January, we should be living on the verge of a voleano; we have an account of a regular naval battle on the Tahu, resulting in the capture of no less than 88 vessels of various size, the sinking of two, and the seizure of nineteen robbers, and more than a hundred stands of arms. Now we daresay many of the readers of the aforesaid Gazette will have felt much impressed with the importance of this affair, will suppose that some system of organised resistance to the authority of the Government is at the bottom of it, and will feel convinced that Yang Chang-scun, the Suen-foo of Chekiang, is a man of great indepen. dence of mind and energy of character. Looked at from another point of view, the great raid on the salt smugglers is a very mild affair, but discloses the utter venality of the officials and their incompetence to deal with the simplest matters. No portion of the empire is more free from popular discontent, and'in none does the engine of government appear to work with more smoothness, than in that portion of the province of Chekiang which comprises the prefectures of Hangchow, Kiahing, and Shauhing; yet we find that salt can be produced in this district, and sent into other prefectures in such quantities that forty boatloads, consisting of some 10,000 packages, are captured at one time in the interior waters of the district. Now we know that every creek in the district has its Customs barriers at small intervals, where the legitimate trade of the provinees heavily taxed. We know also that the salt trafic is hemmed about with such restrictions that it becomes virtually a close trade. A couple of yearsago, noless than three millions of taels were suddenly withdrawn from Shanghai, as earnest money, before drawing by lot the names of the fortunate individuals to whom were to be apportioned shares in this strictly protected traffic. Yet, \in spite of all this, we find the Suen-foo of Chekiang reporting, at a time of perfect peace and good order, a seizure of forty boats drawn up in battle array onthe Tahu. More than this, we daresay a large proportion of our readers have examined, on the const of Hangchow Bay, the by-no-means in. significant salt-wells which dot the foreshore; we daresay they would be surprised to learn that it is from those selfsame wells, that the smuggled salt seized in the Tabu in all probability originally came. In other words, in the midst. of a settled and orderly population, and under the eyes of hundreds of officials, it is possible to proceed on a gigantic scale with a manu. facture of salt destined never to receive the Government stamp. Now we would like to ask the Chinese Govern. ment, which is so liberal of ill names to its own people, who is more repre. sensible, the so-called "nefarious" trader, or the mandarins who year after year take squeezes to shut their eyes to What is going on. We imagine that, if everything were known, the public spirit which promoted the seizure was
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.