have commenced, and business is practically suspended. The advent of the New Year was celebrated in the usual manner, though perhaps fewer crackers were exploded on the festive day. Accounts were squared up somehow without any disasters, but the Chinese declare that last year was a bad year for them generally, far worse them 1894 in spite of the plague. The effects of the war were more felt than last year,. Prospects for the present year, however, are thought t" be somewhat brighter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.