We (Duily Press) have received the following Japanese account of the rebellion in Formose. The information was forwarded in "letter sent by the Viceroy of Formosa to Mr. R. K. Kimura, who is at present in Hongkong. Mr. Kimura is the chief of one of the Japanwe Government departments in Formosa, and the object of his visit to Hongkong is to make definite arrangements with the Hon. A.M. Thomson (Acting Postmuster-General) respecting the tail service.between this colony-and'For-moss Several.causes have brought about. the native insurrection now raging in the Hoo nim district of mid-Formosa, but the following two are the chief causes (1) Hoonim district originally (before the island was ceded to Japan) was the hereditary resort of robbers and thieves, Since Formoun was ceded to Japan, the measures taken by our garrison in this district were too mild, so that that gave the opportunity to the robbers to increase their boldness.
The resort or haunt of these native rebels is amongst the precipices of the steepest mountains,.so that we might say one man can' keep the path even' against a hundred thousand," and this mountain range leads towards the aborigines' country. It is stated that the Chinese Governn had had many troubles about this place for a long time and also that-it had' been the custom of this district for the. rich families of Hoonim to pay taxes to the robbers for the sake of keeping their lives. and property in security.; thus the people tried to keep always on good terms with the robbers. This bad custom is still existing at the present time. This. fact' explains that the native insurgents in Hoonim at present are not people turned out of their homes, that the bands are not. composed of good people, but that they are rabbes: who Have. been taki ig shelter the Hoonim mountainous district for many years. The leaders of the native insurgents. are " Chinese military officer and a hereditary robber chief.
'This spring the few Japanese soldiers garrisoned in this district were sent out for' the purpose of clearing away the robbers, but the defence the latter were able to make by availing of the good conditions of their topographical situation rendered this purpose ineffective and a few soldiers were. wounded in the enterprise. If this' enterprise had been pursued to successful end,: the forces being increased by sending reinforcements, we should not have the present trouble, but the enterprise was abandoned rather prematurely. The robbers, thinking we.could not do. anything more about them, and-dis jing our forces, commenced to: plunder through the villages around Hoonim,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.