Szechuan states that the Examination Hall in the provincial capital contains 13,700 apartments for the accommodation of candidates and that last year the number of those who presented themselves for the degree examination was nearly 17,000. Temporary quarters were provided for a considerable portion of the excess but over 2,000 candidates had to be refused admission on account of want of accommodation. During the present year a special examination has been granted in honour of the Emperor's accession, and as it is expected that there will be a large number of candidates, it is proposed to add 1,000 more apartments to the examination hall, the expense of which will be defrayed from the provincial funds. It is also asked at the same time that two more assistant examiners should be appointed and that the taft of copyists and essay readers should be increased. Rescript.—Referred to the consideration of the Board of Ceremonies.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.