To the Editor of the Nonrn-Cunva Darty News, Dear, Siz,—Will you be good enough to give insertion to the enclosed letter? Yours, Dear Mr,———,—We have had a stirring time of it. Depression of trade left 'a deficiency in the local exchequer, and at the beginning of this year heavy taxes were levied upon every possible usable article—straw shoes one cash a pair, eggs one cash, and, if not sold, taxed on return home again. The principal tax was levied at the time of the Rebellion, by Dzing-viti-meng. The burden became unbearable. The Si-wu men issued placards in all cities and vil ayes far and near, inviting the people to go en masse to Ningpo, and in the meantime some of their leading men came down to Dazing-viti-meng's sons, who appealed to the mandarins. They, true to their policy, dosed them with $1,000, and sent them home with a promise not to tax them in the future, if they concealed the matter from the Fung-wha people. It answered until the deception was known. Then an outburst of rage, peculiarly Chinese, broke out, which resulted in pulling down houses and burning them at Si-wu, and stranding and burning boats. From there, on they came to Ningpo, a fair description of the doings at which place is given in the N.-C. Daily News.
The people of Ningpo were thoroughly in sympathy with the provinces. All classes spoke out loudly, even in presence of the soldiery. Iheard them. The shops in the main streets were closed, but not any more. The mandarins have had to give way on all and every pointatissue, The Chu-shan isa devilish affair for barbarity, equal to anything written. The place is outside Chusan The people enjoyed immunity from taxation—in fact they had thesame privilege as Pootoo. For some generations, by hard work, they had done a great deal on the Island, when down went the mandarins claiming 1,000 cash a mow direct impost. The people said, "Make us canals, then we will pay imperial taxation, but not until then."
Some soldiers were ordered down, with only powder and guns and no shot, to frighten them. The soldiers committed onto zages upon the copie, when they got excited and a fight ensued. How many soldiers and mandarins were killed I don't Know. A gunboat went down and shelled the hovels till nearly all were in ruins, The old men came in a company and in-forceded. One man gave up his two sons as hostages—one had his arms and legs cut off, the other was split from top to bottom like a fish.
Men, women, and children were slaughtered in a style only equalled by the Turk last year. They brought away the head man of the Island because he had most land. Ho behaved like a gentleman, but was condemned to die, and so far as I have heard was the only man wept over by a Chinese crowd, Yours truly, 20th August.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.