December 4th.—Some time ago P'au-lu, the Director of the Nanking Arsenal, was commissioned to procure from abroad the requisite machinery for the establishment of a foundry for smelting iron in Kueichow. The machinery, which weighed 1,780 tons came to Shanghai in three separate consignments, whence it was forwarded by oat to Nanking. Owing to the rapids and shallows in the river between Ch'ang-te in Hunan and its destination, it had to be placed on fromes and transhipped piece by piece. The first consignment reached its destination early in the eighth month of the present year, and the remainder followed closely afterwards. A number of workmen and artisans accompanied it, and avrangements having been made for putting it together and setting it up at once, itis expected that the furnaces will be in working order within the year. The undertaking being on a very large scale, the funds rai by the issue of shares have not yet sufficed to cover the expenditure, and the Governor has been asked to take steps to meet the urgent demand which exists for more money. Kueichow, the Governor explains, is one of the very poorest provinces, and its only natural production is iron. Accordingly permission was obtained from the Throne for sending officers abroad to procure machinery for establishing a smelting furnace in the Ch'ing district, within the prefecture of Chen-yuan, and thus develop the only resource the province possesses. The great difficulty of inaugurating such an enterprise is shown by the fact that two years have elapsed Before the machinery could be procured from abroad, It has over, the quality of the coal and iron obtained in the district is excellent, and the seams in the hills are exceedingly rich. The only drawback experienced has been the difficulty of raising the money at once by shares, which is no doubt due to the fact that the mercantile classes have suffered severely in the past from the insecurity attaching to scrip issued by similar companies, and will not be enthusiastic in subscribing to the present undertaking until they see the furnaces actually at work, and the iron turned out. The purchase of the machinery, the erection of the buildings and other expenses have hitherto been defrayed by loans contracted from merchants, or by temporary appropriations from the likin revenue, to be repaid on the receipt of the money from the shares, which, itis expected, will shortly be forthcoming now that there is every prospect of the foundries being in full operation before the end of the year.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.