The matter hias assumed a magnitude which precludes all hope of success attending any efforts made by the Consular Body without the suppnct of the Peking authorities, and consider we have a right to know why that support appealed for by both the Consular Body and the whole community is not forthcoming. Were the affair one of mere local importance this apathy would, though inexcusable, be comprehensible; but the welfare of trade and the safety of the ports of Chefoo and Tientsin, as well as of the whole Manchurian province, are at stake. Already the import of skins and furs from this port into Shanghai is prohibited. Tientsin, port receiving the bulk of the skins and furs of the province, must in the logical course of events also come under the ban when once the plague has extended beyond the precincts of this port, and that it hus so extended is beyond question, natives reporting that ciges of plague have been discovered in Hnichéng, 35 miles from the port, while it is known that there have been several cases in Kaichou.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.