_-A memorial from the Governor of Kuangsi states that last March the authorities concerned reported to him the existence of an insurrection in the district of Hsilin, which is in the extreme west of the province near the frontiers of Yunnan and Kueichou.
The matter was of special importance because of the proximity of the place to some of the Miaotze country. But the local troops were at the moment all engaged at Pinchow and other places where outbreaks had previously occurred. The memorialist therefore telegraphed to the ' Yuchiang' General, Chang Ch'un-fa, to proceed at once with his men to the scene of action, and asked the Provincial Commander-in-Chief to send a force from the army stationed on the frontier. It appears that the trouble commenced with a man named Lu_A-lung, who went mad and called himself the Alnighty King. His mother asked a priest Wei Pu-cheng to exorcise him but this Wei Pu-cheng who was a Miaotee of Kueichou origin declared that Lu A-lung really was divinely inspired. Wei Pu-cheng and several others then made a pretence of worshipping the saint, and induced a number of the neighbouring Miaotze to believe in him and follow him. Before anything had actually occurred, the gentry reported the matter to the petty civil and military authorities, and they in their turn requested the magistrate of Hsilin to employ force against the fanatics. The magistrate being ill could not go himself, but he desired his informants to take the local militia and arrest the lawbreakers. But Wei Pu-cheng and his friends assembled between one and two thousand Miavtze, calling each other Generalissimo and such names. The prefect therefore sent Captain Liao with a force of regular troops. When approaching the place he was met by the insurgents, who opened fire upon him; but his men replied and a slight success. Three days afterwards he was surrounded on all sides by Wei Pu-cheng and more than a thousand men. The weakness of his force prevented him from assuming the offensive; but he sent information to his superiors, and General Chang Ch'un-fa, with the prefect and magistrate, hurried to the rescue, After trying in'vain to induce the insurgents to submit, on the fifth day they determined to: divide their force into four and attack them on all sides. The enemy met them with as many bands, and the fighting went on from early morning till nearly evening, when the victory was at last won. Thirty of the insurgents were killed and twelve were taken, the loss to the troops being nine men wounded. Wei Pu-cheng himself escaped; but he was tracked to the Napang Hills, whence he fled to the Kueichou frontier. There however he was discovered and captured.
The memorialist remarks that in these remote districts in the neighbourhood of the igotze, the preservation of order depends on the skill with which the authorities keep the people quiet. The two petty officials who sent for troops before they were tieeded, therein manifestly failed in their duty, and therefore it is proposed that they should cashiered. "The magistrate who' was sick when his presence was wanted, distinguished himself by his energy afterwards, though the ill success of his administration demands that he should be punished in some way. It is proposed that he be removed from his post and be eligible for new appointment. With regard. to the officers who took part in' the fighting, it requested that the most deserving may be recoinmenided for promotion.—Dectee issi previously.
5th June.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.