CANAL, Hei Chen-yi, the Director-General of the Yellow sr, in intimating his intention of starting soo to pay. visit to the Grand Canal in Shantung, takes occasion to submit a statement of his views respecting the general work of river administration which has been committed to his care. Of the Grand Canal he has as yet had no practical experience, and cannot spon with certainty until he has completed his present visit isit, "Six thousand workmen are. at fashion of the River Board recently established in. Honan. The functions of this Board, which would have its headquarters at Chi-ning Fu and would be composed of officers of standing and tried merit, would comprise a careful supervision of the work on the embankments of the Canal, the honest disbursement of the funds and the constantdrilling of the troops under its control. It would be expected to set an example to the Canal authorities and would form a Medium between them and the Director-General to whom it would be directly Tu conclusion, the memoriliat has one reble.
quest to make. ' The troops will be insufficient to perform the new duties thrown upon them, but he hopes to be able to augment their' number either by making s contribution out of his.own salary or by some other means at his disposal. "As regards, however, the deepening of the Canal and the Maintenance of embankments. in. proper state of repair, these are questions of deep ational conasin for which the Goverament provide... All.he can do at. present is to ask that the Shantui should be directed to payin ful tie somal ly which it was formerly obliged to provide for the: benefit of the Canal... Without material support.of this kind all his efforts will be all. thet he hae: written present: engaged in strengthening: the new mere waste,'paper,:..He. proposes $9. start of transporting materials and. erecting buildings in"such a remote corner of the Empire can scarcely be exaggerated. Within a space of two years the whole scheme assumed a definite shape. In 1889 the out-it of gold amounted to 19,000 ounces, and juring the first eight months of 1890 no less than 18, 000ouncesof gold were obtained, The difficulties of working the mines are very great. In summer they are flooded with water which in winter becomes frozen over with layers of ice. At first the miners ran away in great numbers and it was only with the utmost trouble that two or three thousand men were eventually induced to stop. A disciplined force of troops has now been raised and the attraction of the mines has. brought together a colony of traders, with the result that' what was formerly bleak and barren -wilderness ander the present system of administration become a strong outpost on: the frontier of the Empire. The Viceroy concludes asking that Li Chin-yung's services shot be duly recorded by the State Historian and that s temple should be built to per-equate his memory in his native town.—Granted by Rescript.
6th January.
FANERAL CEREMENTES OF PRINCE CH'ON,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.