May 1dth.—Millet stalks are the all-im-River embenkmont, and the plan which portant article for the repair of the Yellow
has been adopted for procuring them is to send a special officer to each district, where he and the local authority act together, and are required to purchase a specified quantity at a specified rate. The Governor of the province now represents that at the resent moment, just when the new em-ment is being rapidly constructed, and the demand for materials is specially great, some of the officials are failing to do their duty in the matter of purchasing and fo warding millet stalks. Thus the official sent to Yii Chou, instead of sending the proper quantity in the given time, is alway making pretences to get advances of money, and has been purchasing stalks not in Yi Chou but in the neighbourhood of the works, with the result that the officers told. off for the latter district cannot find anyone sell to them. Also the officers charged with making purchases in Jung-tse Hsien originally forwarded seventy stacks, and reported that they would be able to supply thirty more, not a large total, considering the local production, the proximity of the place to the works, and the convenience of the water carriage. But they have since sent in a supplementary statement to the effect' that the remaining: stock available only amounts to 194,000: bundles, or less than -the equivalent of four stacks. And in addition to trifling and dawdling they have committed a distinct breach of the regulations: by undertaking themselves the work of piling up their stacks, and leaving hollows inside them so as to make the amount seem greater than it really is, in order that they may be paid more money for purchase and.freight. These matters having been reported to the Memorialist he requests that the first mentioned offender may be. dismissed from the public service, and that, the others may be temporarily deprived of their rank, but retained at their post in order that it may be seen how they will behave themselves in future.—Apted come from the same source, and therefrom Tls. 30,000. As soon as proposes in the first instance to set proved by Rescript.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.