On the 22nd ultimo, the Chief Eunuch of the Palace handed an Edict of the Throne to the Silk Treasury of the Household Department, commanding that department to issue a large quantity of rolls of silks and satin of every variety of hue, for the purpose of distributing them to the princes and ministers of the Presence, the princes and ministers of the various Boards and Departments and to some of the higher officers of the Imperial Household Guards. It appears that this is the usual custom observed at Court, on the approach of such festivals as that of the present Autumnal Equinox, ete. Notwithstanding the fact that BLE. Li Hung-chang has given permission to the grain merchants of the southern over 8,000 scholars who will disperse and carry its poison over the whole province.
""T the writer your mean friend wish you to know that England is the most slippery, deceitful, and venomous of the-nations on the earth. She forced into China her opium in order to cleverly rob people. of their wealth. England has emptied our purses, but after impoverishing, she injured us. And now to add insult to injury She comes to disseminate a depraved religion so as to lead their minds captive and taking away the hope of the poor, Every vile means is used; eyes are gouged out, hearts cut out for making medicine to befool the people. Now an attempt is-made to hoodwink-scholars by examining them on bad subjects. But I exhort you not to listen to such pratings and so injure your consciences." Here follows a polished quotation from the Sacred Edict—always Rud Tentsin la the China. Merchants eld up. s the Imperial "estimate of provinces to ship rice and cereals to Pekin; steamers free of duty, as an encouragement to rice speculators, so far it has had no effect on the price of this grain in Peking markets which still remains at famine quotations. Something must be wrong, as cargo after cargo of trade rice is being poured into private granaries, ostensibly for the benefit of the respectable poor. Now that the cold weather is on the point setti people are commencing to think of their fur outfits for winter wear. An enquiry at the Fur Guild, as to the state of the market, announces the fact that the us for sheep's skins, emi such like, so far main firm; but that the price of squirrel skins is double what it was Inst year. The recent destruction of considerable forest land in Northern Manchuria and on the Russian borders by Chinese squatters ix one of the reasons of the present fabulous prices demanded for squirrel skins. This, of course, may be a blind, as it is said that the agents of two large fur dealers have bought up all the squirrel skins hound for the Capital and there seems to ho some intention of trying a corner in the commodity.
2nd October.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.