Hung-chang calls attention to the services rendered by a Chekiang expectant sub-
Prefect named Shih Tse-ching, who with a few friends has collected at different times in Southern China as much as three hundred thousand taels for the relief of sufferers from floods in the province of Chibli, In addition, he has for several years in succession given his assistance in superintending works and. distributing charity in Shantung, and has more than once been recommended by the governor there for special marks of His Majesty's favour. Last autumn he came North with a supply of funds, and the Memorialist directed him to proceed to the neighbourhood of Pao-ti, where the most serious inundations had taken place that year After personally visiting all the villages and relieving their inhabitants, he took part last spring in superintending the co1 struction of important river s in the same neighbourhood." Shrinking from neither toil nor trouble he hurried about from plice to place, and worked harder than any lobo On one occasion he fell into th river and narrowly. escaped drowning.
He further induced his father the benefit of those whose lands were inundated by the Peiho above Tungchow. By this means Tls. 40,000 were collected and the lives of many starving villagers were preserved. The extraordinary zeal and benevolence which he a perfect stranger has manifested, are not only most commendable in them: golves, but cannot fail to exercise " happy also, The ities he has disp and the acntanee he has acquired with the country rend about, would make hin a most useful o the government Memorialist's province. humbly requested that Shih Tse-ching be retained as sub-prefect in the Pro of Chi TITLE REQUESTED FOR A SPIRIT AT JEHO, 2) The Military Lieutenant-Guvernor at Jeho requests that an honorific title may be bestowed on a spirit, who recently appeared la living form and proved responsive to the prayers offered to him. There are two streams at Jeho, one coming fre the North-East, called the Wa-lich River, and another, which exeeptafter rain is only adry bed, runui o it from the West. In the grounds of the palace is aw: spring, from whose waters the town takes its name. Owing to the formation of the country the streams run with great violence; but thanks to the protecting care of the River God, the Palnco has never suffered since the day it was built more than two hundred years ago. This fact was recorded in verse' by the Emperor Chien Lung, who composed a poem on the subject. In the reign of Tao Kuang the great sluice, had' long been left unrepaired, was overflowed on several occasions, but still the Place escaped serious damage. At the beginning of last August, while the great sluice was being repaired, rain fell incessantly for three days. The river spread beyond its bed and rose ten feet in height. A temporary weir which had been buile was overwhelmed, and the danger at the moment was very great. At the suggestion of the inhabitants the Memorialist repaired to the Temple of the River Gods and offered up earnest prayers to the General of the Wuelieh River. The waters fell immediarely, and the danger passed away entirely. More than this, the constant rains during the summer had brought the roads to sue! acundition that it was impossible to convey along them the materials required for the river works, and operations had therefore been almost suspended. But from_ this time onwards the Wu-lich River continued to carry such a body of water that, as very rarely happens, it was practicable to bring things to the town in boats. The river thus took the place of the roads, and a second debt of gratitude was due to the deity. Again, in September, just when the works were arrested' by another freshet, it was announced to the Memo-
{rialist that the spirit had appeared in living form in front of the tablet of the Golden Diagon Prince. The Memorialist, attended by the officers and labourers of the river works hastened to the temple and offered prayers and sacrifice; which being done, the water at once decreaseil in height by a whole fuct. Tt is the desire of both officials and. people that a title may be bestowed on the spirit as a grateful acknowledgment of the protection Which it has afforded in recognition of His Majesty's virtues.—Referred by Rescript to the Board of Ceremonie:
GOVERNOR OF KUANGSE RETURNS FROM, November 4th.—(1) The Acting Governor of Kuangsi reports that in accordance with the Emperor's orders he left Lungchow on the 24th July and returned to the provincial capital, He travelled by water, rid Ttaiping, Nanning, Hsun-chou, and P*ing-lo, reaching Kuei-lin Fu on the 25th August, While at Nan-ning he received " despatch Yamnén concerning frontier eign trade, and immediately communicated it to the officers concerned. The new Chief Justice Chang Lien-kuei has arrived at Kuei-lin, The Memorialist is retaining him there to clear off some arrears of work before despatching him to Lungchow to superintend arrange: ments for foreign trade,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.