to go on a most important mission to a place fifty miles distant from his own capital, ''I cannot protect you" coming from him means: 'TI can and will do the opposite of all that is meant by the word protect." Put into plain English his message really reads: Let them go if they date, and they will never come back alive". The Consuls did right in forbidding the expedition till something more satisfactory tome ome will ay tore was no need for us to was obtained than that. But perhaps
g0, seeing he was sending himself to have the bodies brought. To that the answer this. If without any steam launch (they forbid the use of these to foreigners on the inner waters of the Yangtze) we could go and come in three days, his agents could certainly do it in less. Yet it has not been done till now, and no one can say when it will be done," We would naturally expect, in such a case as this, he would issue orders to his agents to hurry forward to the scene without delay, and by the most direct route. But the Viceroy's "at once" covered a delay of four and twenty hours in making the start. His special steam launch was the s.s. Taiwo, and the destination his agents went to was Huangchow, a place which is further away from Sungpu than Hankow is. From Hankow Sungpu can be reached in twenty-four hours, and it takes eight and forty to get there from Huang-chow by the quickest route. On Tuesday, our Consuls again renewed their represent tions. and at last
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.