The-enemy (Boxers) is supposed to be in considerable numbers to the South and West of Tientsin. He may be, but it is ridiculous to think he will make any attempt here under present conditions, Lieutenant Wright, of H.MS. Orlando, who was at first in charge of the marines and seamen, has done splendid service in organising the defence. He has the hearty ce-operation of the American, German, Italiun, Russian, and French guards in the place; and, should a pinch come, the Japanese would, of course. join in. There are over 500 men from the fleet here, with two field guns and over " dozen machine guna. Within five hours, pace the Taku forts, an additional force of 3,000 or 4,000 could be up. The non-volunteers have formed a Home Guard, and measures have been taken so that we may be ready even for the most unlikely contingencies. Commander Granville, of the Centurion, is now in charge and communication is actively kept up with the flagship. There are 26 war vessels at Taku; omitting 6 Chinese ships, we may say there are 100,000 tons, 400 guns and
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.