We translate the following despatch received Ly Huang Taotai of this port, from HE. Liu K'un-yi, Viceroy of the Liang Kiang provinces. The mouth of the Woosung River is the chief amongst the Treaty ports and a most important thoroughfare for vessels trading by sea and river. In recent times the bar at Woosung has been gradually growing to be more and more obstructive by the settling of the silt, so that the huge steamers of the great companies and trading vessels which carry heavy tonnage above the general run are all compelled to anchor in the vicinity of Woosung, since they cannot go up to Shanghai. Tu process of time the silt will become greater and the depth of the river more shallow, in which case Woosung will, of necessity, become the Commercial Emtorium of the place. Indeed foreigners of all nations are unanimous in their belief that this will be the case. The prices demanded for land at Woosung, at the present moment, are not inferior to those demanded in the district of Shanghai. Woosuny will also be the great starting point for the railways of the fature and through it the goods for other provinces will natural-have to pass, en route overland. Ona former occasion I instructed deputies to survey the foreshore accretions of the two districts of Shanghai and Paoshan, and the result was that it was reported to me that the foreshore of Shanghai was valued at from $200,000 to $250,000 while that of Paoshan was from $80,000 to $90,000. Tt seems therefore in fact that in process of time the foreshores of Shanghai and Paoshan will keep on rapidly accreting. But, again, the land within Paoshan district cannot be rented to foreign merchants, and precedents for this can be found in' the records It is, however, important to provide against the possibility that as time passes there will be certain persons who may be tempted to sell their land on their own responsibility. Hence you are instructed to order the magistrate of Paoshan district to make a careful survey of the whole country in his jurisdiction and also to command the landowners there to obey the Tresty regulations and not rent or sell land [to outsiders]. You are also required to look into the matter carefully yourself, and should it turn out that there have been cases where the natives have rented land to foreign merchants, you are commanded to refuse granting the usual title deeds emanating from your office. You are then to look around' you to sce whether you can collect sufficient menied Jinde'" If, by these monns, foreigners are yo ple, to form companies to buy up such
prevented from acquiring land in Paoshan, the native companies will then be able to utilise their property when the railways are laid. Tt would then simplify matters in the future.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.