Carty, on Saturday morning a landing party from the French cruiser U'Eelaireur marched up to the Ningpo Joss House and. took possession, on behalf. of the French Municipality, of the vacant piece of ground opposite the Ningpo Joss: House on the. West side of the Rue Palikao and. the. south. side of the Rue de Ningpo. The. French: municipality, supported. by. Count; de, Bezaure, the Consul-General, aro.acting on ithe principle that if a foreigner requires the Concession belonging to. Chinese,.. he has the right to buy it, and they are pre pared to pay the, owners the, nssessed. value jforit. The land is wanted for a School, a Hospital,.. and possibly an Abattoir, all tutions for the benefit of the Chinese, residents in the Concession and its vicinity. No trouble was experienced on Saturday morning, because care had been taken, to have a sufficient force at hand.to preserve order. It is intended hereafter to take possession of the Ningpo Joss House, itself on the same terms, and the much-required extension of the Rue de Ningpo to the Quai dela Broche will then be, made by the Municipality. It will be found duly marked on the map in our Desk Hong List, bue it has as yet no existence except a on paper.
Our readers, will be aware of the fact that the French. Municipal Council six months ago notified the native authorities that it was their intention to efface the existence of what is known as the Ningpo Joss. House near the Rue clu Consular. Every facility, and indeed encouragement, was offered to the patties interested for move coffins or bodies, which it has bes the disgraceful custom to deposit in the area named, pending removal to the parish or district in which the departed. were horn, but the notification was disregarded, Saturday, however, was the Inst day. and our friends in the Concession resolving to take no half measures set about the task of obliterating what has been held to pestilence-breeding institution. The serious results of their summary action we do not for a moment think were anticipated, but it is sufficient to say that they carried their point.
day a large gang of men in the employ:
Commencing ut six oclock on Satur of the French Municipality entered. upon the work of demolition, and: portions of the walls surrounding the cemetery were rased in the course of less than half-auhour. It was then that the natives realised. that earnestness was the keystone, of the Frenchmen's action, and large. and angry. crowds of Chinese gathered vituperating, and questioning the foreigners' right. to interfere with their ancient usages:. The filthy moat separating the city from the French town had its Chinese bank lined with a frenzied mob whilst the walls. were alive with screaming, vengeance-vowing strangers at the shrine of Hygeio, and only consistent in their' superstition, Still the work progressed but the Council, pre for any contingency, had.the whole of their. police, native and foreign, close at hand whilst a detachment of eighty odd men, fully armed: and equipped, from the French cruiser l'Edaireur landed to assist in case of any outbreak, with fifty men. from. the Messageries' steamer: Océanien. As the morning wore on it was evident that trouble was.in store. Shouting and -idle threats gave- place to. stone-throwing initiated, we.were..informed,. by boys from the city: wall. This -example of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.