The Acting Viceroy of the Yiinkuei pro-inces submits a renewed application on behalf of the civilian officers who distinguished themselves in the operations of the year before last against the Lohei and Muka tribes of aborigines in Yunnan, When some time ago the late Viceroy Ch'en Yii-ying forwarded lists of the more particularly deserving of the military and civilian officers engaged in the expedition in question, rewards were assigned by the Board of War to the former class of officers onthe scale of specially meritorious services, but in the case of the civilians the Board of Civil Office would only grant rewards as for ordinary services, and sent memorialist a copy of their representation to the Throne on the subject, which had been approved by His Majesty. Memorialist would, however, submit the following rea sons for taking a more favourable view of the services rendered by the civilian officers in question. The Lohei and Muka aborigines against whom the operations were Tndertaken, dwell among the recesses of the mountains and have for years past been the bane of the frontier, the diftioult nature of the country, their poisoned weapons, and their numerical strength all combining to afford them immunity from attack. The capture of each of their fortified strongholds presents difticultiesfar greater than would-be the ease with any of the walled cities of China, owing to the overhanging cliffs and sheer precipices which have to be passed and which can only be scaled by hand over hand elimbso that it is impossible to turn the gun carriages round in order to train the guns in the desired direction. The climate moreover is pestilential and deadly in the extreme, so that hardly a day passes without some one dying of sickness, and the water is so poisonous that it causes the hoofs of horses to drop off, and produces ulcers on the feet of those who step into it. Were it not that theoflicers engaged in the the operations were utterly regardless of their lives, it would not have been possible to achieve success under such conditions. Within a couple ofmonthstwodistricts which forbears past have been a regular frontier scourge, have been reduced to complete subjection at the first sound of the drum, so to say, their inhabitants becoming civilised mem. bers of the community, with officials, civil and military, in authority over them. Under these circumstances the services rendered by the officers in question are none the less meritorious because the operations were not directed against regularly fortified places. If those who went to almost certain death, and by good fortune emerged with their lives, are to receive no better reward than for services of ordinary merit they will certainly consider themselves unjustly treated. Memorinlist therefore trusts that His Majesty will sanction the grant of rewards as originally requested on the scale for services of exceptional merit.—Sanctioned by rescript.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.