An enterprising French interviewer, who had " conversation the other day with the Chinese Mizister, has credited Hix Excellency with some very extraordinary statements. The Minister ix reported to have said that the pence negutictions hitherto had been mere empty talk; that the eppolutment. of Li Hung-chang and his fellow plenipotentiaries was " diplomatic fiction; and that all they could do would b- to deovive the Powers, vain time, and save their own heads; thet " treaty, even if concluded in due form, would be nothing more than a piece of official humbug, and soon, Tam ashet to say that the Minister made use of no such—languag-. His Excellency merely said that the Empress was) unlikely 10 change her line of ow the Emperor ought to be free interference, and shat it would bendvi to protect the Chinese plenipotentiaries against future repriala (on the part of rheic own Government); but he made no remark on the j-ropesed peace condition-, except that the Boxers could not be abolished by a mere stroke of the pen, and that foreigners were more likely than Chinese to object to the stoppage of the import of "rms.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.