The Director-General of the Yellow River submits an application in which he solicits the bestowal of posthumous honours upon Ni Wen-wei, the late Governor of Honan, whose distinguished services are considered deserving of a permanent record in the annals of his country. The deceased Governor is described as a man of great rectitude and loyalty, whose career from first to last was one of an unblemished character. As long as he ruled over a place he made no attempt to gain a reputation for himself and when he left it he invariably carried with him the regrets of the whole community. He spared himself no trouble in grappling with difficult. questions of administration, but was wont from a feeling of modesty to refrain from claiming the success he had attained. He started his official career as a subordinate member of the Hanlin and served for some time as a secretary of a Board in Peking. He was subsequently transferred to Honan, where he assisted the Governor, Yen Shu-sen, in suppressing the Nienfei rebellion and served with great distinction under the same high official in a similar capacity in Hupeh. The Grand Secretary Tseng Kuo-fan frequently alluded to him asa very promising officer and wished to make him his private secretary, but he was obliged to decline the offer on account of the great age of his grandmother. At this period of his life be taught school for some time at Nanking, and many of his pupils attained conspicuous success in after fifo." After the death of his grandmother he joined Li Hung-chang in his amy against the rebels and was promoted for his services to be prefect of Chéngchou in Hupeh. During the eight years of his administration there, he reformed many abuses and thoroughly repaired the great embankment which serves as a protection against floods to some ten departments and districts along the course of the Yangtze. He com-led a treative on this embankment which as since served as an admirable guide to all his successors. Eight years ago he was promoted to be Governor of Kuangsi and in the following year he was transferred to Canton, Whileat the latter place he enforced the prohibition against the illegal enclosure of foreshore land, and organised the system of dealing with this question which prevails till the present day, He was scarcely a month in Honan when the great breach occurred in the Yellow River at Chéngchou, He had previously been Taotai of the adjoining circuit and had advocated a system of breakwaters the wisdom of which was amply justified by this deplorable calamity. The most conflicting opinions were expressed at the time on the subject. The majority thought that the breach was too wide to be closed; some believed that the river had found its natural course southwards; others were for adhere ing to old precedents and distributing the work over a number of years; while not a few who had the general interests at heart wished to have the bed of the river cleared out before measures were taken to stop the breach, The Governor adhered firmly to his own opinion and commenced preparations for the stoppage of the breach, His hair grew white before his task was completed and when memorialist arrived in Honan early in the present year the broken-down condition of his old companion quite alarmed him. After Ni Wen-wei gave over charge of the Yellow River he went to conduct a military inspection and falling very ill had to be brought back in a chair never to rise again. His death has already received the sympathetic notice of the Throne and memorialist would only venture to suggest that the materials for the compilation of his biography, should be furnished to the Court Historians' office, 19th October.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.