Without question this year will see many important changes in this'place.. Word has come from home that the west end of Liu-Kungtao is to be appropriated for Government use. The Chinese living in the town are to be bought out anda site much further to the east is to be set apart for them, that the business population will be well removed from the Naval Depdt, Docks, etc. It will be no easy task to settle up these matters satisfactorily all the way around. I understand that Consul Hopkins, who is already acquainted with the place, having acted as a Joint Commissioner at its taking over, is to come down for this business. Those who havea right to speak say that Weibsiwei will be worse than useless in time of war until breakwater has been constructed for the protection of ships against being torpedoed. though not especially 0, as such things go, will be a rather costly affair, I suppose, but if the place is to be held it will have to be done, and Great Britain can afford it better than any other Power in the world. The island at least must be fortified. It is well-known that if war had been declared a few weeks ago the ships could not remained in the Bay at night with safety, and if fortune had so favoured them the Bessiaus might have taken possession of i—how long they could have held it is another matter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.