December 5th.—(1) Yen Ching-ming states that about three months ago caught a cold, which brought back a return of his old liver complaint. He has been treated by a number of doctors, has taken over a hundred doses of medicine, and yet he does not feel the least improvement in his health. The giddiness continues so bad that he becomes unconscious at times, and his hands and fect are benumbed. ' The strong medicines which he took for the benefit of his liver have impaired the functions of his heart and kidneys, He lies awake the whole night, and can take little or no nourishment.—His tongue is stiff and his articulation impeded. He can only} move about supported by a staff, or resting on the arm of an attendant. " He is incapable of the least mental exertion, and his memory is so bad that he forgets everything the moment he has read it. His! the repair of the Yellow River, and anticipate good results from the collective wisdom of a multitude of counsels. The present calamity affects the well-being of three provinces, and will entail an expenditure of Ts, 6,000,000 or Ti. 7,000,000.
jean-handed officers are required to check the accounts, and in the execution of the work the advice of clear-headed and ex-Perienced men will prove of great service, he Memoralist does not mean to assert that such men are to be found in Honan, He himself, however, is new to office, and has had no opportunity of testing the capacity of his subordinates for work, which, after all, does not fall specially with: in his province as governor, Who manage. ment of such a task may be compared to navigating a ship. Men are as necessary in the one case as sails are in the other. There is an expectant Taotai in Hupei, Ch'én Chin-hou, and a Department Magistrate in Kiangsu, Ho Ssti-kun, both' of whom are men of good parts and' excellent character, and old friends of the writer. The first-named served with Memorialist in Honan in the campaign of 1861, and they were afterwards stationed together in Hupei, where river works engaged thei attention. The latter was formerly Secretary to Chang Shu-sheng, and some seven year ago when Memorialist was Judge in Canton, he had an opportunity of witnessing this officer's management of the distress caused by the floods of the North River. He concludes by asking that both atticers may be sent to Honan for service under his orders.—Decree published separately.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.