(2) Wang Shang-te was a native of the Chiang-tu dis Kiangsu. On the death of his father his mother again married a man named P'an Wen-li, by whom she hada son, P'an Chih-lin, Before his death Pan Wen-li divided his little farm of 2 ainu equally between his son and his ste son, and expressed a wish that they should live together in the three mud huts which formed the farm-howse. Some time afterwards P'an Chih-lin went away from home to engage in trade, and was absent for a long time. He left behind " young girl whom he was rearing to be his future wife, and during his absence she was sold and betrothed to another by Wang Shang-te. On his return he taxed Wang with having wronged him, but the only satisfaction he received was bitter abuse and denial of the act. Having mortgaged his share of the farm for $3, he went away again and enlisted. During his absence Wang Shang-te redeomed the property and let it to a tenant, P'an Chih-lin's regiment having been paid off towards the end of last year, Lo returned home to find Wang Shang-te in enjoyment of his property. Having no support of his own he settled down in the old place, and lived with Wang and his wife. The latter having objected to this arrangement, he demanded back possession of his share of the farm, as also a refund of the rent which had accrued during his absence. Some friends tried to arrange matters between the brothers, but Wang Shang-te was unyielding, said that P'an was not his full brother, and threatened to drive him away altogether. Exasperated by the fraudulent sale of the girl he had hoped to make his wife, by the loss of his property and the threatened eviction, P'an determined to have his brother's life. To effect his purpose he made use of a knife which he was in the habit of carrying as a weapon of protection during his career as a soldier. Taking Wang Shang-te in an unguarded moment one dark night, he stabbed him to death in his own compound. The wife of the deceased, who came to her husband's rescue, met with the same fate. Three children of the deceased couple and a baby they were rearing for a foundling establishment were all sound asleep in the house, and to complete his revenge, P'an resolved to burn down the building. Collecting some bundles of straw, he poured kerosene oil over them and set fire to the ace. There happened to be a wind lowing at the moment and the house and its inmates were soon consumed. The law is that the murderer of three or more persons in one family is to suffer death by the slow process, and that the sentence is to be carried out immediately after the trial, _Chiang-tu, the place of the commission of the crime, being more than 300 li from the provincial capital, the criminal has been beheaded in the latter place and his head sent back for exposure in the usual way. His share of the family property has, as the inw prescribes, been handed over to the representatives of his victim, Wang October 24th.—The Military Governor at Moukden denounces the Sub-Prefect and Pt i department nals to escape from the jail under afford reasonable grounds for suspecting connivance on the part of the authorities. The prisoners, most of whom had been sentenced to death for grave offences, took an opportunity when the jailers were asleep one night to make a hole in the wall of their cell, through which they managed to make their Four of them have since been inder are still at large. The police master has been cash-lered and placed upon his trial, but the sub-prefect, though deprived of his rank, will be retained at his post for a year to give him an portunity be capture the whole of the absconders, failing which he be further dealt with -according to
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.