From advices from Poking, dated as late as the 8th inst., the sentence of Ch'ung How to decapitation is confirmed. That the sentence will be carried into effect seems to be the general opinion of those in a position to judge of the wiliness of the Chinese, and one of the reasons which give rise to this belief is that the edict is issued by the Empresses themselves and not by the Emperor. This alone is a significant fact inasmuch as all the previous decrees in connection with the affair came from the Emperor. The edict is somewhat to this effect:—Having received a memorial in report from Prince Li, (the fifth Prince), that the degraded official Ch'ung How has boon guilty of grave offences against the statutes, it is recommended that he should be punished by decapitation after the next assizes. The next assizes, we understand, will be held next December, so there is ample time for a re-consideration of the case, We are informed on the best
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.