Sung Chun, Governor of Chekiang, reports that in accordance with the instructions he had received from the Admiralty Board through the Northern Superintendent of Trade, Li Hung-chang, that the annual quota of Chekiang province towards the fund for building and arming the forts at Weihaiwei and 'Talienwan Bay was Ts. 50,000, which also includes the expenses for maintaining the proper number of troops there, and that this sum was to be provided from the extra Customs' duties on opium, he, the me-monalist, had notified the above instructions to the Custians Taotai at Ningpo to that effect, and that the said quota should be regularly paid each year without delay of any sort to the Suikung Treasury and Pay Department of the Peiyang Administration. A despatch, however, has now been received from Wu Ying-sun, Customs Taotai of Ningpo, stating that he had received an intimation from the ove-named Pay Department, informing him that the Peiyang Administration had contracted with the German firm of Krapp to supply the Northern forts with some heavy guns costing Tls. 200,000, which were to be delivered at Weihaiwei by 1893, and that the said guns were expected at the taid place towards the end of May. Furthermore as the said Pay Department ha not enough funds on hand to meet th demand, it was necessary to call upon Chekiang Administration for its quota
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.