Last autumn a small number of strangers settled in the district of Hsin-yang and began to till some of the waste lands there. They were natives of distant parts of China, who had left the places where they were settled on account of the failure of the harvest. As they were only a few score in number and they had already sown the land, the Magistrate of the district did not like to turn them out. Afterwards certain disreputable individuals, with an eye to the profits which they hoped tu make, inaugurated a regular system of introducing immigrants; and the strangers whom they brought in spread not only
ug, Chetwyang, Ch'ang-but also through the The old inhabitants with mitch alarm, as there had never before been any columieation of this part of the country by people from a distance, but the bringing of the wastes into revultivation had been carried out by the people of the locality themselves. The Governor of the Province therefore instructed certain trustworthy officers to take the matter in hand in conjunction with the local authorities. They found that the immigrants consisted of men originally from Honan and Hupeh, but who had for some time past been settled on deserted lands near Chia-hsing and Hu-chou in Chekiang, or near Kuang-te Chou in southern An-hui they had migrated to the present locality on the invitation of the disreputable individuals above mentioned. They were about thi hundred in number, and were living in mat sheds which they had built. They had brought with them cattle, implements" and seed corn, and carried no unlawful weapons. The Govern or, seeing the danger of doing either too much or too little, sent officers to reason with them and urge them to return home now while the ground was still unsown. At the same time he sent a small military force into the district to reassure the inhabitants, The immigrants roved obedient and amenable to reason, Those who wished to return to their origi homes were provided with a liberal sum of money toenablethem to do so; and those who preferred to go back to the settlements from which they had recently come were allowed todo so instead. Theirnumbers were, all ages and both sexes included, nine hundred in Hasin-yang, one hundred and fifty in Ch'ang-shu and Chao-wen, and two hundred and forty in T'ai-tsang and Chen-yang, Boats were hired and travelling expenses furnished for all of them; and, as they passed in detachments through Soochow, they were supplied with food. In conclusion the Governor requests that punishment ma; be inflicted on the individuals who for their private gain introduced the immigrants and gave them certificates to hold land,—
24th June.
GOVERNOR OF CHAHAR PUNISHED, A Decree was published in the Gazette of the 10th June by which an official at Kalgan was cashiered for extortion, and orders were issued to the Board of War to determine what punishment should be inflicted on the official's superior, the Governor of Chahar, for not keeping a proper check on his subordinate. The Board named as the penalty for the Governor, the loss of three steps of rank and removal to another posts This the Emperor now commutes to the {loss of three steps without removal from present office.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.