A despatch dated May 27 has been received from Sir J. Walsham, Her Majesty's Minister at Peking, transmitting the second part of a report by Mr. F. S.A. -Bourne, the Acting British Consul at Chungking, relating to his journey in Southwest China. The following particulars respecting the commercial capabilities of the district of the city of Yumman Fu are ex-fructed from the report in question Yunnan-Fu occupies a central position admirable asa seat of Government, supplied is with abundant food from the dr part of the ancient lake. If there were water communication, or even fair roads across the plateau, there would doubtless be a great entrepot at Yunnan-Fu, but an inspection of the altitudes observed on this journey must make an exchange of products across this district, " prion very unlikely. Actually 1 found that the different sides of this plateau are supplied from the nearest lowland, Thus, to take two examples, cotton and tobacco; both absolute necessities to Chinese existence which the plateau does not produce; cotton is supplied to North Yunnan from Ssu-chuan, to West Yunnan as far east as Yunnan-Fu from Burmah, to South-west Yunnan as far east as Meng-tau Hsien from the Shan States and Siam, to South-east Yunnan from Canton, at Kuei-chou from Hankow by the Yuan River. Tobacco is supplied to the north of
south from Canton. Salt, another neces-the earinee from Sau-chuan, and to the sary, of which the plateau' does not afford.
ident supply, enters the province from Ssu-chuan, Burmah, Tonquin (before the new treaty), and the Kwangsi province, jut there are adventitious circumstances which make Yunnan-Fu more important asa trade centre than it deserves, or is likely to remain, The whole of theta consumed inthe province, and a large share of the better quality of tea consumed in Ssu-ch-nan, together with a small quantity sent to Thibet, come from the Shan States, outside Ssu-mao, and of this trade Yunnan-Fu is the depot. Excepting small quantities consumed locally, and a few caravans that go direct to Western Yunnan and Thibet by the Ching-tung valley, the whole out-tarn of this tea—P'u-erh tea asit is called—gues to Yunnan-Fu; this tea may be valued at about £50,000 per annum. A great part goes to Western Yunnan, for the supply of which we may expect our Assam planters to provide in the future.
Again, the exhaustion caused by twant) years of indiscriminate slaughter and pillage, involving the destruction of the old industries of the province: mining, silk rearing, manufacture, &e., with which increased demand for opium in Ssu-chuan and the eastern provinces happened to coincide, led to the adoption of poppy eultivation as the great industry of the plateau. Yunnan and Kuei-chow now pay for the whole of their foreign imports in opium, the merchants of Nanning-fu and Hongkong having often to wait.for their money until the Cantonand Kwang-siprovinceshave paid for the Yunnan and Kuei-chou opium crop. Yunnan-fu is a depot of the opium trade of Eastern Yunnan, and of the foreign and Canton goods that are received in exchange.
Exports from Yunnan-fu are opium, P*a-exh tea, drugs, and copper, and imports are cotton, tobacco, and foreign goods, Saw Reports. gence. He might have adduced the evil lence in the court below. That he might have shaped his case better in the Court
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.