We have received the memorial of Sung Fan, Viceroy of the Yun-Kuei provinces, denouncing certain military officers under him and praying that the punishment of Toss of rank and dismissal for ever from the service be pronounce-d against certain military delinquents. With reference rosen Shih-lung, Major commanding the Chung battalion of Yunnan, who has been found guilty of using dummies on his battalion roll, we hereby confirm Sung Fan's suggestion and cashier and dismiss for ever the ssid delinquent. The same punishment is also to be meted out to Ting Yao-lung, Major commanding the Wan battalion, but as for Ku Hung, Colone! commanding the several battalions of the T'éng brigade, fas all his battalions appear to have '*dum-in the regimental rolls the rimple punishment of being cashiered and dismissed for ever from the service is too light for him and ho is therefore further ordered to be sent to work on the military post roads and banished to the country beyond the Great Wall. This punishment will in future be adhered to in regard to all officers found guilty of commandingeuch "skeleton" battalions, thereby pocketing for themselves the pay of the said dummies." We wish here to record our commendation of the conduct of the memorialist who had the courage to make such wholesale denunciations in the face of the "precedents" which we know to exist under such conditions, and would exhort all our Viceroys and Governora to to do their duty by us and denounce severely all attempts at lowering the strength of our military organisation.
12th February.
No papers of interest.
18th February.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.