March Slst.—(1) A decree ordering the infliction of severe penalties upon certain rowdies who have been arrested by the office of Gendarmerie for having been concerned in ariot attended by robbery that had its origin in a quarrel between two women in Peking. The same office reports that rowdies and bad characters frequently collect outside the three front or southern gates of the Tartar city, and fights are of constant occurrence. The metropolitan Censorate are required to arrest such characters, in order to the maintenance of quiet and order.
(2) Ching Hsin appointed Reader of the Grand Secretariat.
(8) A decree acknowledging the finding, of the Board of Punishments which hai been directed to investigate certain official irregularities in the province of Heh-lung Chiang. Hui An, Military Governor of th town of Hulan, who vacated his post without leave and disappeared; 'T'o-shih-na, Manchu Captain, who was guilty of wrong: ful extortion of confession from witnesses and other irregularities; and Yang-ho-pa-K'o-tang-ah, who forged a sick certificate for the absconding Governor, are to be cashiered. Feng Shen, Military Governor of Heh-lung Chiang,' is punished with deprivation of rank and retention in office, for his share of the transaction.
(4) Li Hung-chang submits a list of officers upon whom he solicits the bestowal of honorary rewards for their exertions in the distribution of famine relief. When the famine was raging in Ho-chien Fu, memorialist deputed the Taotais Wu Ta-cheng and Sheng Hetianhwai, etc., to go about inviting subscriptions, and ordered them to call a number of zealous and earnest workers to the aid of the local authorities and gentry. These helpers in the field are all gentry from other provinces, who, regardless of distinct tions of locality, have given all their energies to the work before them, have toiled in the blazing sun, and moved promiscuously in the midst of pestilence, disease and death, inspecting the condition of different households, and, by the aid they have furnished to the sufferers, have enabled many to live and provided them with the wherewithal to sow their fields. To the sick they have given medicine and raiment, and have performed the office of burial for the dead; they have established refuges for the support of the old, the young and the forlorn, and have given nal attention to every matter, hurrying to the aid of distress wherever it was found really to exist, For eight months these men have engaged in this charity able work, saving the lives of many people at the expense of labour and hardship that is by no means comparable to that of ordinary official work. The memorial concludes with a list of these persons, and the rewards it is suggested they should receive. Granted by rescript.
(6) The Governor of Shansi forwards a return of the amounts subscribed by himself and other officials in the province on behalf of the sufferers by famine from May, 1877, to December, 1878. The following are the totals reported Ts. 61,698 Rice Piculs '400 Strings 1,950
Grain of other kinds... 2,400
By a rescript appended to the memorial, the contributors are to be committed to the proper Board for the bestowal of the customary rewards.
April 1at.—(2) A decree noticing amemorial from a minor official on probation in Kiangsi, forwarded through the Court of Censors, and containing twelve suggestions for the better administration of the Empire. Most of these, such as the increase of land tax, the temporary removal of the prohibitions against opium, the institution of a silver coinage, etc., etc., are set aside, either because they would necessitate a change in systems already complete, or be injurious to the constitation, Some' other of his suggestions have earlier been given effect to, and need not therefore be considered, but his remarks on the improvement of water communication are deemed worthy of consideration, and the attention of provincial high authorities is directed to the subject. His views on the subject of frontier defence are also commended to the notice of those concerned.
(2) A decree inflicting the penalty of deprivation of three steps of commutative rank, with removal to another post, upon Ho Shou-tz'i, President of the of Works, this being the punishment allotted by the Board of Civil Office, (8) The kitchens for the issue of gruel to the poor of Peking are to be kept open for a further period of two months beyond the extra month already granted.
(4) Kwang Shou, President of the Board of War, and his colleagues submit the penalties which they consider should be His Majesty's command before proceeding to consider the penalty which ho has thereby incurred.
(6) Mei Ch'i-chao, Governor of Chol in a postscript memorial, points out that in consequence of the extent of the coast lino of the provines of Chekiang and the number of islands situated in its waters, the maintenance of an effective cruiser service is rendered a matter of special importance. The late Governor, Yang Ch'ang-chun, had two vessels, the Fu Po and Yuan-lai, built at the Foochow arsenal, for service in his jurisdiction, but as Wén-chow has uow been created a purt of open trade, it becomes necessary to station a steam vessel there also, In February last memorialist received a letter from Wu Tsan-ch'éng, Superintendentofthe Foochow Arsenal, informing him that the Chao Wu, a newly built, armour-plated, steam vessel, Captain Yeh-fu, had already been furnished with her complement of men, engineers, stokers, ete, as well as the neces sary flags and other fittings, and he suggested that she should be retained for Service in the Chekiang waters. Seven guns were still required for the vessel, but as [the Arsenal] was short of money these must be supplied by the Chekiang province. The wages and rations were on the scale allotted fo 150 horse power vessels, that is to say, a complement of 84 mon at a cost of is, 1,770 for the longer months and Tls. 1,710 for the shorter ones. Since-the 12th of the 12th moon of last year, the day upon which the Captain entered on his command up to the end of the year, the cost of maintaining the vessel was Tis, 1,000, which had been advanced by the Fohkien Government, and this eum memorialist would be requested to repay. The Captain left the docks on the 16th January and anchored in Ningpo at noon on the 20th, where the vessel was inspected by the Commander-in-chief, the Taotai and the Prefect. They reported her to be strong, durable and fast, and well adapted for cruising purposes. Memorialist accordingly gave orders that she should proceed to Wenchow and take up her station at that port, where the Taotai would take delivery of her and purchase the necessary guns for her use. As the coal she might require was a fluctuatin inflicted upon Pao Ch'ao, late Commander- arti ole as to value, and the quantity us in-chief in Chekiang, who allowed certain depended on the number of days she Imperial gifts to be destroyed on the occa-might be at sea, which were also undetersion of a fire in his house. Reference to mined, it was arranged that the allowances the law on the subject shows that members for coal and wages should be issued from of the official class who shall so carelessly time to time according to the actual bestow Imperial patents, orders, letters, amount spent. The necessary funds, as or other things, as to allow of their being in the case of the Fu Po and Yuan K'ai, eaten by insects, rubbed, or otherwise injured by damp, breakage, stains, or dirt, were to be topplied from the lekin office. tholi be fined six months salary. But that Roser: Moko a motte are. genie Prasidost of the April 2nd.—(1) The following appoint-where satisfactory evidence shall be forthcoming, that the loss of these articles is Board of Works, P'an Tsu-yin JAN IS 5 caused by theft, robbery, fire, or water, the President of the Court of Censors, Tung penally shall be remitted, and it_shall permitted for the holder to make Hua Hi 3; Vice-President of the Board application for the gifts to be bestowed a of Civil Office, Hwang Cho PIN Afi. Hsin second time. Again, it is laid down that Tung-shan is transferred to the Vice-when Commanders-in-chief or Brigade-Gen-Presidentship of the Board of Civil Office, erals shall be the honored recipients of the "<yermilion endorsement," they shall take and Chu Chih is appointed Senior the opportunity of the next occasion upon Vice-President of the Board of War. which they memorialise the Throne to re-(2) Li Hung-chang reports a case turn such documents, the penalty for delay triple murder. Liu Hai, a native of Pain the performance of this duty being de-chow in Chihli, lived in the same village privation of official rank. In the present as a married woman called Wang. case, although Pao Ch'ao himself reported year and a half ago improper relations the loss of the Imperial gifts and solicited were established between them, which con-punishment, to the remission of which, as tinued several months unknown to the fre was the cause, he would be entitled, husband of the woman or other members Inege to admit of comparison with ordinary the number of articles destroyed is too of her family. 'The man, however, failed to supply her with money enough, and she cases of loss. They suggest, therefore, that broke off relations with him, and though his case shall be treated as' one of destrache continued to come to the house and anna; tion by insects, etc., the penalty for which her, she refused to have anything to do wi is fine of six months' pay. In retaining him, and ordered her two boys to join her possession of " vermilion endorsements" in in cursing and insulting him, forbidding his library, he has transgressed the law re-him entry into the house. Mortified and ferred to above; but as he manifestly erred stung by this treatment, the man deter-through ignorance, memorialists will await mined to revenge meal? by poisoning the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.