November 28th and 29th.—In a Memorial which occupies two numbers of the zette the Tmperial Commissioners Eu-cheng and Hsueh Yun-sheng report the result of their investigation into a very sei ous case which occurred at Loyang Hsien in Honan, In Loyang the farmers are wired to pay their land tax in copper cash, the sum being fixed according to the number of pints of grain at which their land is assessed; and a dispute concerning the way in which the commutation of money or grain should be fixed was the original cause of all the trouble. According to the official story, the year before last " treasury clerk, Chao Wen, complained to the magi trate that two farmers, Li Yen-hua and Li Yen-yung, would not pay the sum required by the rules in force, but wished to esta: Dlish a scale of payment of their own; and abused him when he declined to take upon himself to alter the authorized system. The magistrate sent for the men, but they wore not forthcoming, and Li Yen-hua went to the higher authorities and laid a complaint that Chao Wen would not accept the proper amount of tax and set a number of men on him, who assaulted and robbed him, According to custom the complaint was remitted to the Magistrate for investiation. Next Chuo Wen charged the two brothers with defaming his character by random: accusations, and with preventing other people from paying their tax with view to making money by contract do it for them. On the other han Yen-hus again appealed to the h authorities, reiterating his former chan; and declaring that he had waited fe fifty days, but the Magistrate would not give shim' a bean Aguin the case was remitted; and this time it was heard. Li Yen-hua was found to have brought false charges, and to have been constantly recalcitrant concerning the payment of taxes, for which he was beaten on the hand. Next year Li Yen-hua appealed again to the Governor, while the clerks reported to the Magistrate that the brothers Li were assembling crowds and exciting the popple to refuse to pay their taxes. The Magistrate sent out officers with warrants and when they failed to arrest the men, he went in person with a strong force and seized Li Yen-hua and another brother named Li Yen-i, The same afternoon they were brought before hu in the Court. Li Yon-hua would not acknowledge his name, and Yen-i supported him in denying it. Chao Wen, who had been engaged in litigation with him the year before, was called into the witness box, and had no difficulty in identifying him, For this concempt of court, which was aggravated by their making a considerable disturbance, the Magistrate had them beaten and put in irons. Two days after, the Magistrate ported that Li Yen-hua had died of sickness, and requested that an independent officer might be sent to hold an inquest. A neighbouring magistrate was forthwith despatched to Loyang to act as coroner. It was decided by him that the man had died from the effects of his Hoyging, because he had Jain down and gone to sleep afterwards instead of being walled about, and this had caused a rush of blood to his heart. It appeared that he was punished on the 9th, grew sick on the 10th, and expired on the Ath. The prescription written on the second day, and the gauler's report of the fellow prisoners, were all put in as evident Buta few days had passed when the Magistrate WangYao-lung heard that thedeceased's relations were inciting the farmers in all the villages round to go in a body to the city and hand over their agricultural implements to the authorities, asa sign that they would not till their land any longer. In company with his superior, the Prefect, and followed by strong body of men, the Magistrate went out to repress the disturbance. He found merely about 100 persons with farming tools in their hands, who dispersed immediately they were ordered; except that a few old men} who knelt round in a. circle and prayed' fur merey, while the deceased's son came forward and besought justice for his father. It was promised that his plaint should be heard in the Prefect's court, and the apprehended di turbance was at an end. Two enquiries were held one after anther, and though the Magistrate had meanwhile been removed from his post, the result was just the same as before. When the report of the second enquiry was laid before the Chief Justice, he animadverted on the unsatis-fa nature of the tind 1d the absence lence in proof of donee more sent the case to the lower court again, this stage of the proceedings, the case took estrange tun had not died in the all. Fe sor
name, a Loyang man, h an appeal the pape that the to Peking, where he died in the care of the city guard. The Emperor ordered the Governor of Honan to sev to the case. Another judge was entrusted with the charge of it, the defendants were again summoned, and once more the s: i dence was given. But now, before the decision was published, a censor rpresented that the case would not be properly handled by the Governor, who was himself involved in it on account of his responsibility for the acts of his subordinates. He therefore be; ged that it might be put into the hands of the present Memorialists, the two Tupe Commissioners. After a searching enquiry the Commissioners discovered that it was true that Li Yen-hua had not died at Loyang. The men seized by the magistrate were his brothers Li Yen-yung and Li Yen-i. The former was mistaken for Li Yen-hua, and because he persisted in denying that name and his brother Li Yen-i supported im in refusing to acknowledge it, the their contempt of court ing them each 400 blows. Li Yen-i recovered. But Li Yen-yung was carried senseless down the steps before the judgment seat, and expired immediately in the court-yard below. All this was proved by the warders and Li Yen-i himself, who came forward voluntarily. The former also denied all knowledge of the prescription or the report of the death said to have been made Ly one of them. After a severe cross-examination the Magistrate was compelled to acknowledge that this all true, and further to admit that in order to screen himself he had forged the prescription and the other documents showing the pretended date of the man's death. The Commissioners further found that the system of levying the laud-tax was unjust, as the sum collected under it was auch larger than was required to be paid in the Provincial Treasury. But as it had been in force for a hundred years and more, the blame for it could not now be attached to any one. The injustice was an excuse for the conduct of the brothers Li, though they certainly behaved illegally. The Commissioners censured the Magistrate in the warmest terms on account of his intemperate wrath, which had caused the death of unfortunate man. The magistrate acted indeed under a misapprehension; but even had his belief been well founded, there was nothing sufficient to justify his conduct. They recommended that he should be condemned to penal servitude, and that the clerk Chao Wen be dismissed from the government service. (Fur Decree see Gazette of 15th November).
TARTAR GENERAL FOOCHOW, November 30th and December Ist.—(1)
Shan-ching, who was some time since Tartar General at Nanking, is appointed Tartar General at Foochow, in place of Mu-t'u-shan decreased.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.