(Brom the Chinese Times.)
is Excellency the Viceroy retarned to Tientsin on Monday, the 14th April, as originally arranged, the order issued for his second visit to the capital in company of the Emperor, which would have detained him two days longer, having been subsequently cancelled. His Excellency is much the better for the outing he has had.
The news we gave in our last issue respecting the tour of inspection to be made by Prince Eh ing we have to retract, it having been resolved by the Board of Admiralty (probably in consideration of the backward state of the Port Arthur harbour works) to defer the inspection until spring next year, when the Seventh Prince hopes to be able to attend to that important duty in person.
The river is in a parlous state, and navigation of even light draught craft is attended with difficulty. The high tides at the Bar during the past week (Lift. 6in.) only gave '7ft. Gin. in the Tientsin Reach.
The influenza epidemic has made rapid progress in this part of China, A full half of the native population in and about Tientsin and in Peking are suffering from the disease, which continttes also to spread among the foreign residents.
The Imperial journey to the Tombs wi accomplished without any cent" temps whatever. The Emperor had a chair, a cart, and a horse, 80 that he could vary his mode of travel. His Majesty is rather a handsome young man, somewhat pale, but with avery intelligent face. The Empress-Dowager is a person of extraordinary fore very well preserved, her features denoting great strength of will.
The most striking characteristic of the whole cortéye was the irreproachable freshness of everything, so different from ordinary Oriental processions. Everything was bran new, or at least newly done up: chairs, carts, harness and accoutrements, the uniforms of the troops, &e. The mules and horses were also very elegant. The procession, which numbered more than 10,000 men, had an air of brilliancy and splendour which we are little accustomed to.
During the absence of the Imperial family the care of the palace was entrusted to the Governor of the City, Fu Chung-tang, and the outer walls were surrounded by Tartar soldiers who lived under tents.
The Railway question was brought up in the conferences which took place between. the Seventh Prince and Viceroy Li, but only to receive the coup de grice for the time being. The death of the Marquis Teéng is alleged to be the immediate occasion of the postponement of the further consideration of the subject, and one pretext may serve as well as another.
The Imperial Decree referring to the death of the Marquis Tseng expresses appreciation of his services and character in terms of unusual force and fairness.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.