Kiang, reports that, owing to the bad harvests and the dearness of rice in the prefectures of Ningpo, Shsoshing, "and Wenchow in that province, during the summer of this year, he anticipated that there would be considerable suffering and distress among the poorer ¢lasses in that portion of Chekiang and desiring to be prompt in meeting the evil was just on the point of devising measures for the purchase of rice from other provinces in order to sell it at cost price to the people, when, much to his Togret, he received urgent dispatches from the civil and military officials of Wenchow and Ningpo giving details of attacks made upon the constituted authorities by large mobs, led by unprincipled and crafty persons, who demanded rice and food. In Doth cities the mobs wrecked the newly established opium tax offices, and the yamens of the Taotais, prefects and district magistrates aforesaid, while the merchants and shopmen were forced to close them places. The mobs were gathered together by beat of gong and then thinking themselves numerous and strong enough they attempted to break down and plunder the rice granaries, but were prevented from doing so by the troops. Many of the rioters were armed and utterly lawless in their actions. The memorialist further reports that his subordinates are now engaged in investigating the matter and are search ing for the ringleaders of the mobs. We hereby command that, when captured, these men be tried and sentenced to the utmost limit of the law, while the local authorities of the cities above named whose incapability and stupidity caused the riots must be cashiered and dismissed in punishment thereof. The Ningpo district. magistrate, Liu Yi-chi, who has some extenuating circumstances in regard to his case is hereby only handed to the
mination of an adequate penalty.
Board of Civil Appeinemente for the deter-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.