Liu Chin-tang, has been on leave of absence for over year attending on his grandmother at the family home in Hunan. The Viceroy of the Shenkan provinces recently suggested that Liu Chin-t'ang's brother, Liu Ting, an expectant Taotai in Honan, should be ordered to relieve the former in his attendance on the grandmother thus enabling Liu Chin-tang to return to his post free from all anxiety on her account. His Majesty having approved of this suggestion orders were sent to Liu Chin-tang to return to Turkestan immediately, the remainder of his leave being cancelled, whilst the Governor of Honan was at the same time directed to instruct Liu Ting to ceed to Hunan in the place of his brother.
The Governor of Honan now reports that Lin Ting, whose services he is very sorry to lose, left accordingly for Hunan on the 16th of July last.
FREE EXPORT OF RICE DESTINED FOR FOOCHOW.
The prohibition last autumn of the export of rice from the province of Kiangsu, on account of the foods in the country round Soochow, caused a great increase in the price of that article of food throughout Fukien, which draws most of its supplies from the neighbouring provinces and principally from Kiangsu. In anticipation of a probable scarcity. in the market the authorities of Fukien had previo. taken steps to procure additional supplies of grain from other quarters, and further issued sume 40,000 piculs purchased in the course of the winter, which were sold at the usual rates. In' spite of these measures, however, the price still continued to rise until at length it stood at over Tls. 3 per picul. "Towards the end of May the government granaries were thrown open to the public, it having been found that out of 127,800 piculs, which had been in store for over twenty years, more than 2,860 piculs were mildewed or otherwise spoilt, the remainder being also more or less damaged, and likely to. become totally unfit for consumption if left in store any longer. In the course of three weeks some 67,300 piculs were thus disposed of at alow price. In the middle of June the occurrence of floods at Foochow led the Viceroy to telegraph to the Governor-General_at Nanking, requesting him to remove the embargo on the export of rice, which had been in force since Septembei 1889. From that date until the prohibi= tion was cancelled in June last its effect on the rice market in Fukien had been very marked and considerable uneasiness had pré~ vailed in spite of the measures taken by the authorities to meet the demand, Fukien has always relied mainly on Shanghai for its supplies of rice and in a lesser degree on Formosa; latterly however the extended cultivation of the tea-plant in that island coupled, with the increased requirements of the additional garrison troops now stationed there, have left so little surplus. that the expert has practically eenved, For this reason the Viceroy's predecessors have frequently requested that no export duty should be levied on rice destined for Fo chow, and in 1884 an arrangement was sanctioned by the Governor-General at Nanking under which 200,000 piculs of rice per annum were allowed to be exported from Shanghai duty-free, "duty ing however collected on all quantities in excess of that amount. This arrangement has been in force ever since, until the recent prohibition came into effect, the result of which was that in October-November last the price of rice in Fukien was actually higher than in the flooded di tricts round Soochow. Being himself a native of Kisngsu the Viceroy knows that such enormous quantities of rice are produced in Kiangnan and Kiangpei that the export of 200,000 piculs would be hardly appreciable. "He begs therefore that this quantity may hereafter be allowed every year duty-free, as a permanent arrangement, and that no prohibition of the export sanctioned for the future.
Memorialist adds in conclusion that he informed by the Prefect of Yenping that the recent floods have not caused any extensive damage in the districts under his jurisdiction, His Majesty's rescript in reply directs that instructions in the sense above indicated be conveyed to the Viceroy at Nanking.
INSPECTION OF RIVER-WORKS IN HUPEH, The great embankment at Chingehow in Hupeh known as the Wan cheng ta ti, which protects an enormous area of the province is visited every year during the summer and autumn freshets by either the Viceroy or the Governor, who takes the duty in turn, If any important, business prevents their going in person, the Taotai or Prefect of Chingchow is usually deputed
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.