The Messenger for April has three different notes on the Reform Association scattered through its notes and comments.
bined. Like all its contemporararies it ese ight have been profitably com-seems to have been led astray about the Hankow railway. It contains a curious note on Mr. von Brandt who, it says, has been appointed adviser to the Chinese Government on foreign affairs. He will be provided with a residence in Peking. "The Emperor has said to the Ministers that they ought to recommend for.employment persons of ability who are acquainted with foreign affairs, Failing to obtain Chinese answering to this description, the Ministers -have recommended Mr.' von Brandt who was for twelve years Minister for Germany." As the late German Minister is now on his way to self ling this appointment. His in-it might be well to ask His Excellency
formation is likely to be more trustworthy than the correspondence of irresponsible writers in the native Press from which these, among other inaccurate and unreliable statements, are apparently continually emanating. The period of the Minister's term of office at Peking wants investigation. A note in the same Messenger regarding currency is quite new to us in Peking. We have not heard that "gold, eat copper coins are to be minted in Peking. 1e necessary apparatus for Als mint will be obtained from Shanghai, The English sovereign is to be the model for gold coins, The provinces will each have its own mint, but Governors are at liberty to have coins made for them at the Wuchang and Canton mints if they prefer it. Viceroy Liu at Nanking has already sent to Shanghai for the required machinery to supply the needs of his viceroyalty." All this is most interesting, if true. We were not aware that matters had gone so far a8 is here stated. There has been some talk but we did not know that it was anything else.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.