20th Sept. Ever since May last the Foreign Office in London has had it in contemplation to replace Sir Claude Macdonald at Peking by Sir Ernest Satow, the present Minister at Tokio, and it is now an open secret that these two Ministers are to exchange posts at once. Though Sir Ernest began his career in China, he has spent the greater part. of his diplomatic life in Japan, with inter-Indes at Bangkok, Montevideo, and Tangier. A charming and most cultivated man, Sir Ernest will be a welcome addition to society at Peking, if Peking is to remain the capital; whether he is a strong enough man for the new conditions in China remains to be seen. We congratulate Sir Claude on the pleasant place in which his lines are to be cast; at the moment to go from Peking to Tokio looks like Irish promotion; but we understand that there is some probability of the Legation at Tokio being converted into an Embassy, and this will make a considerable difference.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.