Sin Nicholas Hannen is to leave Shanghai for Bangkok on the 14th proximo.
Mr. H. P. Wilkinson has received by wire the substantive appointment of Crown Advocate and Legal Adviser to the Lega-tiens; an appointment the news of which Be received with general satisfaction in Shanghai.
Gexenat Duhoffskoi, Governor-General of the, Amur province, left Nagato for Shanghai in the Khabarorka, and will go on home from this in the French mail on Saturday. General Kuropatkin will act as Governor-General during his absence, with General Grodelkoff as_his deputy.
Tae latest. report as to the Belgian loan is that the negotiations have finally broken down.
A LocaL correspondent. points out that the Chinese in the settlements are getting excited over the present aspect of affairs, and in-the suburbs are beginning to express their feeling towards foreigners in anything but a pleasant manner. A few lays ago s lady was passing by the West Gate on her bicycle, when a Chinese stepped up to her and deliberated spat in face, On Wednesday a gentleman was Passing along the same road, also on a cycle, when a Chinese soldier belonging to aw' official procession that was coming from the opposite direction, tried to thrust stick in the hind wheel of his bicycle. Last Sunday morning -while a lady was ing along Yangtzepoo Road by the aper Mills, some boys from the village opposite ran after her calling her indecent names. This sort of thing is getting very common, and unless. it is quickly put a stop to, serious trouble may ensue.
Our French contemporary, the Echo de Chine, discusses in its, Wednesday's issue the claim: Englishmen complacently: make, if China is to partitioned, to the Yangtze Valley, Tgnoring altogether the fact that it was England that threw China open to the commerce of the world, it points out that English interests in China are pri cipally concerned with imports, commi: sions, and transport. The two chief Chi-nero products, tes and sill go to Russia and France respectively. As to im the principal coes in which Boglond. interested are cotton goods, iron manufactures, and opium, and a fatal blow has been atruck at this trade by the development of [industries in China, the depreciation.of silver, and, the formidable competiti on Germany and the United States, The commissions England has hitherto earned as broker between the European seller and the native buyer are being more and more threatened by German competition, and by the Chinese taking direct trade into their own hands; and so the English houses in the small ports are one by one disappearing. Even a large part' of the: capital employed in the transport business~ native. To take the river ports, for instance; at Chinkinng there dre two" English houses of no -importance;. at Wuhu, none; at Kiukiang, one agency vegetating under the shadow of tio great Russian tea-firms. At. Hankow British, trade plays only 'a suppressed and, sub-* ordinate part, The Russians have, the whole of the tea business, and the trade" in skins is entirely in the hands of six German firms, and two French firms. who have in a very short time acquired an excellent position in the market. All this shows, says the Echo, the baselessness of British pretensions to pre-gray in the trade of the Yangtze ut we. fear our contemporary will be. disay ited. if is thinks; that this ex-story will discourage the ment from warning any. ler off the. valley: of. the.
Ox Christmas Eve a very pleasant smoking concert,. arranged by Miss Elsie Adair, was given inthe Lyceum Theatre, Several Shanghai amateurs gave their ser vices to help the thing along and there were instrumental quartets, plantation dances, topical songs, banjo solos, for the. apace of three hours. Miss Adair, however, Dare the burden of the evening, dancing, singing, and generally making herself agree able. She is a bright little actress, with plenty of verve and, sparkle nnd. gay chatter. Mr. A. E. Stewart made an, admirable chairman, and at midnight "God Save the Queen" was sung, and the audience went home.
Mr. Lrxcotx gave his second entertain. mont to a well-filled and well-warmed house on Monday. He kept them again in continuous fits of Inughter by his, droll tories, his humorous remarks, and his witty imitations, for his mimetic powers and his control over his facial: muscles are. really remarkable, 'The. only: criticism to made: is.that he was occasionally not quite audible in the remoter parts of the house; but this did not interfere with the' general boundless enjoyment.
AN enquiry was held at the U.S, Consulate-General on Monday morning into the. circumstances attending the death of a man named Mackenzie, who died rather suddenly in his house in Hongkew on Friday. A post-mortem was hold by Dr., Cox, who certified that death wns due to acute. pneumonia and a finding in accordance with his report was returned, Tae Cable Companies have sent out notice that a new tariff will come into force on the Ist: prox., in which the franc is calculated at 40 dollar cents.. This raises the rate from Shanghai to Europe to $2.80, per word; to North America $3.30 to $3.5: to Australis, South and West, $2; to Victoria $2.05 j and to Japan $0.60, Tax annual election of Engineers of the Shanghai Fire Department took place yesterday afternoon. Mr. L. Moore was re-elected Chief Engineer. and, Messrs. Ottomeer and. Gaillard Jeune, district engineers for, the English Settlement and French Concession respectively. The following officers have been elected to Lo Torrent, No. 6 Company, of the Fire Brigade for 1898:—Messrs. V. Duval, Fore-A. Berthet, Ist Assistant; E.- L. Wilson, 2nd Assistant; L. Boccheciampe, Hon, Secretary.
Tae, China, Branch of the, Royal Asiatic, of Society have sent out a circul dae asking replies to a large number of questions
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.