Towards the end of last year the Governor of Shantung submitted a scheme for embanking buth sides of the Yellow River for sume distance from its new mouth at Hanchiat'ao. The proposal, which included the damming up of the old bed so as to prevent the water reaching the sea_in two sluggish channels, was duly approved by the Throne, and sum of Tls. 98,000 was pi at the "Governor's disposal for carrying out the project, Tts execution was entrusted to Li Hsi-chieh and Wei Lun-hsien, two Taotais on the Shantung staff, who made plans and estimates of the work. The bed of the old river, measuring 216 chan breadth, was dammed up first, and early in May work was started on the embankments along the course of the new bed which on the southern side were canied for a distance of 3,973 chan from the sea, and extended for a length of 4,690 chang on the northern side. The configuration of the ground rendered it necessary to make some slight modifications in the measurements originally submitted to the Throne, The whole undertaking was completed on the 13th of June last and on ins) ion the work was found to have been done in an honest and substantial manner, the only deviation from the original plan that was of any importance being the necessity of making the embankments end some little distance from the mouth of the river owing to the danger they would incur from the action of the tides. The current is now running freely in the new channel and asa proof of the efficacy of the work, it is stated that very shortly after its com: pletion, the rise in the river below P'iut'ai was only four feet while in the upper reaches it had risen six feet. The Governor concludes by submitting for various forms of reward or promotion a number of officials who, as he puts it, had moved about through mud and mire inthe prosecution of such an arduotis enterprise.
The recommendations in favour of the officers mentioned are approved by a Rescript appended to the Memorial, 25th August.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.