October 12th.—The Viceroy of Chibli remarks that the ironclads and steel vessels which have been procured for the Northern squadron are too large and draw too much water to allow of their entering the Tientsin River. It became necessary therefore to find some other suitable place for docking them, and Port Arthur was selected as possessing the most natural situation for the purpose, The one great drawback to it was the narrowness of the entrance and the silting bottom, which rendered excavation on a large scale an indispensable necessity for facilitating the anchorage and movement of vessels. Dredging machines have been at work for some time, and much trouble has been taken to clear out the harbour but to prevent its being blocked up again, it is necessary that the mud should be carried right out to sea. Hitherto, only one small launch, the Li Shun, has been vailable for this service, but recently the Taku dockyard was ordered to construct a pow screw steamer for towing purposes named the Yii Shun. The new vessel was to be 120 Chinese feet long and 20 feet broad and was to draw 8} feet of water. The hull was to be of steel plate and the deck of pumelo wood. She was to have 3 boilers and a complete set of compound engines; her horse power was to be 350, and her speed 12 knots an hour. In case of need she could be converted into a gun-vessel and could be employed in laying down read, slating that" ating 'September. he Markets—the Inspector is torpedoes. She carried two sampans and a small steam-launch, and her gear and fittings visited the markets and butchers' shops were complete in every respect. Exclusive daily and always found them well supplied of the wages of the workmen which were with good and wholesome articles of food. paid from the dock-yard funds, the total The cattle kept in the sheds at Pah-sion-jao cost of the materials used in her construc-and those brought to the grease-shops to be tion amounted to a fraction over Tis. slaughtered were always found in good 34,108, Six iron lighters were built separ-health and most of them in fair condition, ately for the same work at a cost of Tis.
The number of animals killed to supply the 39,497. The annual expenditure of the foreign market during the month has been vessel for coal, oil, repairs, ete., will be a—Oxen 548, sheep 1,039, calves 148, pigs Yariable quantity which itis impossible to fix beforehand. Her complement consists 16 and at the grease shops for native use—Oxen 237, water buffaloes 283, sheep 7 of 20 officers and men, drawing a total and pories $0. monthly allowance of Ts. 414. As the The ponies at the native livery stables engines were of entirely new design, it was are healthy and in fairly good condition, deemed advisable to. engage @ Foreign The number of carriages licensed for engineer named Makéng (Malcolm) for a October is 241, against 261 last month, and period of three months to give directions as 218 for October, 1887. to the proper mode of working them. He 2,741 jinrickshas and 2,194 wheelbarrows received a salary of Tls. 280 a month, and have also been licensed. was to be got rid of at the end of the three lowing letter is submitted and ordered to Consul for Austro-Hungary.—The fol-months. The time has already expired, and he has been sent away. be published
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.