Fu_Yiin, holding the Brevet rank of a Board' President and Governor of Shantung, states that two years ago, His Majesty was graciously pleased to confer, on the recommendation of the Boards of Civil Appointments and of War, the here-diary rank of the 8h Order of Nobility upon the descendants of an expectant pre-
life while engaged in dangerous work connected with the breaching of a gap in the Yellow River. At the same time the heirs of a military Provincial graduate named Ma Chun-liang and Sergeant Ch'én Pao-yunn, who also lost their lives contemporaneanly with that of the above-named prefect, were given the sum of Tls. 150 each, equal 0 the Government grant given to the heir of a First-lieutenant who, lad dove some service to his country, together with the privilege of bearing the rank of an expectant Second-lieutenant in the army. These grants were given at the end of the government of the late Governor of the province, Chang Yao, but owing to this atticer's sudden death at the time, the smallness of the above grants has not been brought to the notice of the Throne. Now, however, that memorialist has had time to Took' over the matter, he also holds the opinion bore by the Provincial Treasurer of Shantung and the Taotais connected with tle Yellow River works, that the grants mentioned above were' not proportionate to the circumstances under which the said officers lost their lives. As a precedent for the matter in view, ten years ago when the Vice-President Yeu Peh-chuan was in charge of the Yellow River Ss, A sergeant named Chin Yii-si lost his life under similar cireumstances to those in which the above-named Ma Chun-liang and Ch'én Pao-yuan lost theirs; in other words, at a time of great danger when but for' their daring" and devotion it would have been impossible to breach a gap in the river, and but for these officers, many tens of thousands of taels would have had to be used to consammate the work in hand. In such instances," to quote the memorial of the said Vice-President Yen Peh-chuan on the subject, the death of Chin Yiisi must be considered in every way equal to that of having met his death on the battle field, fighting against the enemies of his country." Hence the said memorialist considered that the Sergeant Chin Yii-si, deserved the recognition of the govern: ment for his heroic death, and that in consideration of his rank, which was a small one, the least the government could do, in order to stimulate the energies of others, was to give the heirs of the deceased Sergeant the hereditary rank in perpetuity of the military division of the 7th Order of Nobility. "As has been already stated, the subjects of this memorial coincide in every detail with the case quoted above, and the memorialist asks that His Majesty will reconsider the former grants and ennoble the heirs of Ma Chun-liang and Ch'én Pao-yuan.—Rescripb: Let the Board of War wuter thereon.
18th September.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.