The Viceroy Tsen Kuo-ch'iian reports another case of the contribution of a large sum of money to a charitable object by tated in his former positi In the a disgraced official, who hopes to be reiti-
present instance the donor is a former sub-prefect on the staff of the Kiangsu province. He has presented the Anhui and Kiangsu Relief Fund with ten thousand wadded clothes, which are considered as taels of silver. The officers of the Relief the equivalent of the same number of
Board represent that the sub-prefect had a younger brother, a manager in the service of the China Merchants' Steamship Company, and by mistake he was considered implicated in some affair in which this younger brother had become involved, conssgwonee hie. ai danounoell to: thd Throne by The Viceroy Li Hung-chang and dismissed from the public service. Afterwards the Company laid a_statement of the facts before the Viceroy, who thereupon ordered that the case should be closed and no further proceedings taken. Apart from this affair there was nothing whatever against the sub-prefect. Under these circumstances, as his contribution is more than would suffice to secure for an ordinary donor promotion to such a position ashe held, it is suggested that he should be restored to his former dignities, as has been done with other persons who subscribed similar sums to the Honan Relief Board or the Yellow River Works Fund, Granted.
16th April.
GRAIN EXPORT FROM MANCHURIA TO CHTMLI, account of the distress caused by floods last year the Emperor allowed the authorities of Sheng-ching m Manchuria to forbid any in's leaving the province. The Viceroy i Hung-chang now reports that numerous representations have been made to him by the territorial officials under his jurisdiction, begging that he will obtain the removal of the prohibition so far as to permit the resumption of the export trade to Chibli from Chin-chow and neighbouring; place in Western Sheng-ching. It is statec that on account of the want of fertility in the land, even in good yeats Chihli doe not produce enough corn for its own neces: attic It depends on Manchuria for a portion of its supply, and the exchange of corn for money which thus takes place is a great benefit to both districts. Last year the export from Manchuria was stopped on account of the distress in the southern part of Sheng-ching. This has caused a rise of rice in Chihli, which is severely felt by the inhabitants. The difficulty, moreover, is aggravated by the failure in the harvest throughout a part of Shantung, which has made the people from there come to chihli to buy food. It is feared that in a very short ime the question will be not merely one of high or low prices, but the stocks in Chili will be entirely exhausted and the poor people there will have nothing to eat. In endorsing the truth of the above statements, the Viceroy remarks that the ordinary insufficiency of the food supply in Chihli has Deen increased of late years by floods and droughts. Though the crop last year was an average one in most parts of the province, still there were low-lying districts, which suffered severely from floods. Rice from the south is dear and the copie are not in the habit of eating it.
hey have always been accustomed to fall back on the cheap grain from Honan and Manchuria. The supply from Honan has been cut short by the great calamity which occurred there, and matters are aggravated by the prohibition in Manchuria, In southern Sheng-ching the inhabitants come almost entirely from Chibli and Shantung, and rely on the assistance of labourers from those provinces to aid in tilling the soil. Much the same is the case in the west and beyond the frontier. The extent of fertile land is so vast in proportion to the population, that there are immense stores of fire stocks. All export was forbidden in. Even small farmers hold very
order to accumulate a supply in the country; but in view of the mutual inter-fan Chihli, it would be well to withdraw dependence existing between Sheng-ching
the order as far as the latter province is concerned. The memorialist has hea that distress only exists in the south of the province, and that there is a surplus in all the west as well as throughout Ki This is especially the case with the Chi chou district, which lies close upon the frontier and is the depdt for the country outside, A similar prohibition was relaxed in 1875 in consequence of a representation then made; and now government steamers are allowed to transport corn to Shantung. It is hoped that the same favour may be accorded to the metropolitan province in order to preserve its people from a scarcity of food.
The Emperor's Rescript notes that there was an average harvest in Chili last year calamity. He doures Li Hung-chang to while Sheng-ching suffered from a great
communicate with the Sheng-ching Government, and find out whether his proposal can be carried into effect.
17th April.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.