Whereas on the French side some houses caught fire and the populace assembled in multitudes to witness' it, I th out mandarins with seals (the Chihsien and Waiyuen or official deputy of the Taotai) to lead soldiers to put out the fire and to restrain the mob, The Ningpo merchants of Shanghai and" people generally should attend to their own affairs and keep order, If there should be any found inventing idle stories and inflaming the minds of the populace, or laying hold of causes to create a: listurbance, they must be regarded as vagabonds and ruffians, who have no respect for the law, and will be at once arrested and dealt with summarily, It is proper that I should inform the soldiers and people by proclamation, that they must one and all respect, and not disobey, the laws, On the same day appeared the following proclamation (by the Taotai) which is dated the 18th of the moon (3rd May), the day of the fire, but (it is said) was not issued till the following day.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.