When the intimation first reached the public that the Hankow authorities had prohibited the establishment of new "Benevolent Halls," some surprise was naturally evinced, but upon enquiry into the cause of this step, it was found that pro menaure was adopted for the real geod of the The new regulation, besides prohibiting the opening of vow institutions of this kind, further requires the existing ones to furnish trust worthy guarantees for future gued conduct, or else they will also be clused. In recent years many of these benevolent institu-tious" as they xre called, have turned out to be nothing but organisations through which hypocrites, in the garb of philan-thrapists, carried on systematic swindling. Under the pretext of collectivg funds for some imaginary good projects, the philanthropic gentlemen at the head of these institutions have been most successful in imposing upon the public, from wont they obtained money which only yeng, to
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.