Kansuh requests that Colonel Li Chi sheng may be cashiered for having opened a gambling establishment in the city of Ssu-chow in Kansuh, He has already been sent under arrest to his native place in Huyeh, to be there released on bait, January Gth.—(1) Sun Yi-ching (Ff is appointed Vice-President of the Board of Works, (2) The Court of Censorate requests that investigation may be ordered into a ease which has been appealed from Shantung, the petitioner, a man named Chany Hwa-peng, a native of the An-din trict, relates the following story:=Hi father died in the summer of 1875, and was buried in the family cemetery, In the following spring, a man named Chao Tsung-yuan and others spr the report that the body of the deceased had been changed into a "drought goblin," and} presented a petition to that effect to the district Magistrate, who, however, refused to entertain it. Subsequently, Chao Tsung-yuan got together a band of over a thousand men, who went armed with guns and other weapons to the grave of the petitioner's father, whose body they disinterred and placed on the top of a heap of straw and wood which they set on fire, After the mob left the petitioner put out the fire and rescued his father's remains and buried them once more on the following day. A complaint was made before the Magistrate, who put the rioters nominally under ar: rest, but really allowed then to remain at liberty." The following month the grave was again desecrated, and the repeated appeals made for justice by the petitioner's brother brought upon him such persecution that hie eventually died. The constant state of fear in which his mother lived eventually proved fatal, and she also died, Appeals to the Prefect and Governor have been of no avail, and in despair Chang Hwa-peng has come to the capital to implore for justice, The Censors express their opinion that this is an affair. that should be sifted to the bottom, and bey Eat instructions may be sent to Shantang to that effect. [A Decree has already appeared calling for an inquiry.
(3) Ming An, the Military Governor of Kirin, who with Peng Y-chi, Vieo-President of the Board of Punishments, has been ordered to proceed to the Amur to inquire into a certain matter, requests that he may, charge his travelling expenses and that of his suite and escort, amounting in all to Us, 2,960, to the Kirin Government, instead of allowing the authorities of various ets through which he passed to provide for his wants. This latter course is always made an excuse for levying illegal exact tions, and is the source of many abuses.
January 7th.—(1) A Decree, At the request of tite Governor of Honan, instructions are given to Yt Kw'an, formerly Financial Commissioner of Honan, but lately named Governor of Fuhkien, to remain in his present post while famine matters still engage attention. Td Hsing, recently appointed Judicial Commissioner of Honan, is directed to repair to his post without delay.
(2) Lhe officers who have charge of the fands appropriated to the maintenance of the Eastern tombs apply for the sum of Els. 30,000, to be provided from the Chihli treasury. ' Between the years 1730 and 1828, certain stins were periodically invested! in land, the revenue from which intended ty meet the expenses connected with the tombs. the revenue from this land comes to Us. 10,600 annually. Formerly this was found sufficient, hi since 1865 the establishment has been gradually yetting into debt; and in view of the large outlay which will shortly be me curred when the late Emperor's remains are laid to rest, the Superintendents feel compelled to apply for a luan, to be repaid as son as better harvests come to swell the fund, The Governor-General of the two requests that a certain ay be reduced one step. 'Lhe person in question was acting temporarily Jonel of a battalion, in which position ned to remain, Upon learning that the titular Colonel was about to return, he trumped up charges against him, such that the soldiers' were resigning sequence of his return, An investigation proved that this was merely a device to re-ain in the post. The Commuander-in-Chief in Kwan.si having reported the incident, the Governor-General requests that the peccant official may be punished by the lus of one step.—Granted.
Janay 8th.—(1) A Decree, The interrupted expenditure of nine, which ent on sv Jong as military operations eyn emotive but to hi recense tw the sale of olfiee. OF kite years, those why have purchased vtlice, there as been no lack of men whose eum potence and abilities rendered them emin~ ently serviceable; while, on the other hand, there have not been wanting those who were no better than charlatans or ciphers; or still worse, those who brought disgrace on the publi service. At first, the agencies for the sale of rauk earnestly strove to do their best, and did contribute to the revenues of the State; but as time went on, the misapplication of the sums contributed, the devices resorted to by the candidates, and the malpractices of the official agents, became so common, that while these results proved to be an el stade in the way of an honest administration, tNe income derived from this source existed more in name than in reality, In the interests of a pure form of Government it then becomes necessary to abolish the system as soon as practicable. We command the Board of Revenue, and the Governor-General and Governors of the respective provinces, to examine into the whole question, to' ase certain exactly what amount is annually received at the agency in the capital and at the agencies in the provinces; to inquire in what way these sums are expended, and substitute some other method of obtaining the money, At the same time, let them report the abolition of the system, without making the difficulty of finding the money a pretext for delay or evasion, (2) Feng K'un, Military Governor of Hei-lung Kiang (the Amut province), proposes @ reorganization of the Military Government of the cities of Hulan, Payensusu and Pei-tian Lin-tzt, the population in that part of the country having increased so much latterly that the present. force is insufficient to maintain order. The suggestions axe referred to the proper Board for their consideration, (3) Peng Ch'u-han, the Admiral on the Pubkien coast, reports his return from hu annual visit to all the stations within his jurisdiction, (4) The Tartar General at Sin-an Fu reports that in December last he received communication from the Governor of Shensi, stating that now that the taxes had been collected, it was possible to give the Manchu troops their whole pay in money. Owing to the want of funds, sanction lad been previously obtained to the men being paid half in cush and half in paper.
january 9th.—(1) The Censor Kun; Hsien-k'o referring' to the dispute which has arisen in connection with the embankment at Fan-know in Hupeh, criticises the avoree ordering the embankment to be rebuilt, and requests that the whole question may be thoroughly studied before action is taken, The decree, based on the report of Peng Yit-lin, directed the Governor-General of Hu-lwwany to have the dyke repaired and a stone lock constructed, adding that when the work was completed, it would be for the Governor-General to watch the results, and report as to their success. the opinion of the Censor, when two high officials such as Peng Yii-lin and Li Han-chang hold opposite views as to the advisability of reconstructing the embankment, it would be preferable to give the whole matter the most careful" consideration, especially as the consequences involved are of stich" magnitude. What the Censor would suggest is that Preng Vu-lin, whose acquaintance with all matters appertaining tu the Yangtsze is undoubted, should be called upon' to answer Li Han-chang's nal report, clause by clause, and the end these' two high Authorities still hold different views, that Yang Yo-pin, who duval of the Yanstsze for_ many years, and is now in retirement in Hupeh, should be directed to report upon the matter.
(2) The same Censor denounces Fang Tashih (7 KY HE), the Prefect of Wuch'ang Fu, as an unscrupulous corrupt
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.