6th January.
Our German friends are to be gratulated on the appointment of one of their fellow-countrymen, Herr Base, now in Nankiny, as Director of the Kiangnan Arsenal, As soon as Admiral Yeh arrived in his flagship Haichi at Nanking, the arrangements in this connection were to be completed. This means eventually, of course, the appointment of German assistants, and the substitution Kropp for Armstrong; and with German managers and assistants in Shan'ung, and at Hankow, Shanghai, Nanking, and Tientsio, it may be said that, to a certain extent, the Arsenals of China are in German bands.
This last appointment throws some light on the reasons for the recent diss mination at Nanking of an utterly unfounded story reflecting on Mr. Cornish, the English Director of the Ordnance and Prajec.ite Department at the Kiangnan Arsenal, Phe story, which was sent down to Shanghai by a Chinese official at Nanking, was that some guns had been sent to Nanking from the Arsenal here, only half rifled, and that Mr. Cornish had pissed them in that condition; the story being! obviously intended to prejudice that gentleman in the eyes of the Viceroy, who was naturally well-disposed towards the Germans after his pleasant experiences as Governor of Shantung. The true story is that four years ago, during the Boxer troubles, one gun was hurriedly sent to Woosung by the Chinese Director of the Arsenal, Mr. Cornish not being consulted, that was imperfectly rifled. As soon as Mr, Cornish saw it, he condemned it and ordered it to be returned to the Arsenal, but Chinese red-tape intervened, and it was explained that agrin could not be sent out of the Woosung forts without a written order from the Viceroy. This is the fact, and it was" puzzle at first to know why the highly exag, erated und libellous story that we have mentioned was being suddenly circulated among the officio's at Nanking.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.