The Acting Governor-General of Yunnan resents a memorial on behalf of a certain officer, who is a native of Yunnan, held the eneral Hsia of the Szechuan army. Th
command of a body of troops there from the year 1857 onwards. He took part in Tecapture of many towns, and three times he marched to the relief of the besieged capital. The officers and men who fell while serving under him have had their names inscribed among those in whose honour a temple was erected at Yunnan Fu. But in the year 1869 he was sent in command of a force from Fu-min Hsien to attack the rebels in the rear andcutoff their retreat. After many days of continuous fighting his troops were encamped upon the Chi. plan mountain. While they were there, eight commanders on the opposite side, who had been forced against their will to join the rebels, came voluntarily with their men and surrendered themselves. Being convinced of their sincerity General Hsia accepted their services; and the Governor-General, Liu Yeu-chao, the Governor, Yen Yii-ying, and the Commander. in-Chief, Ma Ju-lung, allowed them to be enrolled among the Imperial troops. They were then placed as the advance guard of the army, and encamped on the reler of the lake near the capital. Here they were attacked by the rebels, who knew of what they had done, and came against them in great force,'a hundred thousand strong. They held out from before dawn till late inthe afternoon. But they were not accustomed to fighting on the water, the reinforcement sent to them were too few, their powder was exhausted, and they were finally annihilated. Eighteen hundred men perished and their corpses were buried at the foot of a hill near the scene of the fight. Twenty years have elapsed, but the unfortunate band has not been forgotten by General Hsia. He was unable to include their names among those to whom a temple has already been erected, because their rolls were lost upon the field of battle. He now desires to purchase a Niece of ground at the place where they fell, and build a separate temple in their honour, where the usual services may be performed.—Approved.
MURDER CASE. ORIGINAL FINDING REVERSED, Some time ago the Magistrate of Ch'ang-shu Hsien in Kiangsu was denounced to the Emperor by a member of the Censorate. Among the various causes for whicl used was the miscarriage of j certain murder case which was tried before i '@ memorial now presented by the nor, there were formerly two cousins living in Ch'ang-shu, both of whom were workers in bamboo by trade. Six years ago one of the two cousins, who belonged to an elder genera tion, died of sickness, leaving a widow and children, As the. sons were all young, the widow asked the surviving cousin to teach them his business. This led to frequent communication between the two, and not long afterwards he made love to her and succeeded in seducing her. This illicit intercourse was continued for some time, without being known to any tone. The Woman, who was in poor circum stances, frequently borrowed money from the man, her debt finally amounting to forty and more strings of cash; but on count: of their intimacy he never asked repayment. One of her relatives afterwards discovered the unlawful connection, and told other members of the family; but being afraid of the scandal they all held their peace about it. After two years had passed, the man, who was unmarried, wished the widow to become his wife, and gained her consort to the proposal. Bring afraid that the friends would object, he asked the tipao to act as intermediary. The latter did so, but found the family altogether opposed to the marriage. They even represented the matter so strongly to the widow that she recalled her promise. The cousin told the woman that as she had broken off the match, she must. repay. the mon borrowed from him. A quarrel ensued, but the parties were separated. One day soon afterwards the man, who had gone out on business, was returning home excited by some wine which he had been drinking, fe saw the widow alone in a cotton fid and, putting down his basket, went up to her. He began by asking her to marry him and went on to threaten her with the cape debt. The woman lost her temper and tried to strike him, upon which he pushed her, and she fell down, She cursed him as she lay on the ground and said that she would have his life, Under the influence of momentary passion he tonk a knife from his basket and cut her throat before she could rise. He then threw away the knife and fled. An inquest on the body was held by the Magistrate. The expert in attendance examined the wound and reported that it was self-inflicted. The Magistrate therefore found a verdict of suicide; but the cousin was found guilty of having persecuted the deceased, and ae: cordingly wis sentenced to be beaten and ut in the cangue. But a new trial having n ordered to be held, the facts above narrated were proved beyond any dispute. The murderer is condemned to be executed at the usual time, The expert is acquitted
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.