I am ina sense sorry to have to state that the initiative of the Provisional Government in this direction his been stopped by orders from the Field-Marshal commanding in Peking. It happily does not mean that the scheme is to be abandoned, but postponed to be taken up on a urger Scale. A comprehensive financial plan was recently prepared by the Chamber of Commerce and submitted to the Consular body: this was approved d sent up to Peking for Ministerial sanction. There is no great love lost at the best of times between the Civil and Military bigwigs and every chance that the ons gets of giving a snub to the other is seized with avidity. The Provisional Goveroment is military and the Min saw their chance and took it: P.G. was de facto reminded of its rodeness in beginning a policy that was still under consideration by its superiors. News hes been received in Tientsin of the death by asphyxiation (2) of the GALLANT COL. P. DE KELLER, the chief railway engineer of the Russians in Eastera Asia. The late officer was a very able as well as amiable man and did fine service here during our crisis last year. Hecommanded universal esteem, He his carriage on the Viadivostock-Nikolovsk section. There is s"ne doubt whether he was suffocated by the smoke of his car on fire or whether he fell a victim to carbonic acid fumes.
We are also losing two highly esteemed officers in Col. Waroneff and Major-General Wogack, both of whom are onered home on that' sort of promotion which is akin to Pyrrhic victory. The Gallant general goes to the military side of the Eastern Asia Department in St. Petersburg.
COLONEL AOKI, one of the most able of an able lot of Japanese officers here, goes to Peking to replace the hero of the siege, Col. Shiba, The Tientsin Government will the chief loser by this arrangement. It is pleasant to state that the gallant colonel's colleagues and the staff of the City administration gave him a complimentary banquet as a mark of their esteem and admiration.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.