We learn that the Jubilee, one of the largest _end_most_commodious hoose-boats of the Shanghai eet (now some eighty in all), built of teak throughout and finished in avery first-class style, less than two years has been sold by her builders the Orient pany for Ths. 1,500, a sum greatly below the present value and cost of building such a vessel. The purchaser, Mr. Goodhart of the Customs, ha we are told, arranged—as soon as the Dock Ca. ud housed in the boat ayains un bad weather—to have the Jubilee tawed to Hankow by the new ful lit mtn lately built by the Oriental Duck in Shanghai to the onder of Messrs. L, Vrard & Ca. Hankow, amd which in charge of an experienced foreign pilot will leave shortly for up river, after which, one of the numerous local Taunches has when engaged to take the Jubilee to Tebans, th i of nearly one thous at Ichang, after sli intended to serve the purpose of a floating residence, The Eyfie, late Adu, x mo expensive craft and slightly larger than th Jubilee ison the market and rumour says inay eventually find: mooring or elsewhere up river.
A nome paper says that Mir, Gi president of the International Navigatic Company, has settled with the underwriters for the repairs of the Paris, and has turned the ship over to Messrs. Harland and Wolff, of Belfast, with carte Ulanche to repair and restore liber, and to fit her with new engines and boilers of the power of the St. Louis and St. Paul. Tt is expected that she will be ready for service in the merican Line in about twelve months, practically a new steamship. The policy of the International Navigation Company ix to name the steamships of the New York-Southampton Service after important American cities, and it is said that the company will take this opportunity. to rechristen the Paris.
Tae following amusing note is from the Times:—
A New "War Game."—The Towyn (Merioneth) magistrates had before them last week six school-hoys, all under 14 years of age, on " charge of d ous damage to' a house. Ir was stated in idence that all the boys of Llanegryn, a age at the foot of Cader Idris, recently formed themselves into a "commando of Boers" and a regiment of British troops." They then marched to the top of an adjoining mountain (Dundee), by different routes, and a desperate conflict ensued, resulting in the defeat of the "commando." Being unable to retain the position, howerer, the "British" to the foot of the mountain and occupied a i vacant house (representing Ladysmith), the property of a neighbouring farmer named Davies, and when the Boers" arrived they bombarded the house so effectively with stones that every window was smashed and the house generally dun aged. The evidence caused much merriment in Court, in which the m trates joined, but, feeling tha must be maintained, they decided upon the infliction of a small Tur issue of Commerce of the 13th ultimo contains a full report of the recent dinner of the Article Club, of which our London lady correspondent has already given us an account, with a large but very unattractive photograph of H.E, Lo Feng-luh, " sketch map of China, and small hut very and photographs of Lord Sutlield, Lord Chis. Beresford. Lord Morris, Mr. G. Jamil Mr, Justice Kekewich, Mr. Byron Brew: and H. E. M. Chedomille Mijatovieh. Mr. Brenan's speech in the debate that followed the dinner is so much to the point that we reproduce it here Consul-General at Shanghai, was the next speaker, ing to the wise words of their distinguished Chairman that evening he was reminded of the maxims of the ancient sage of Chins, Confucius. There was at least a resemblance to this extent, that so far as China was concerned no practical effect was likely ts be given to the words of either. In either case be was afraid that the valuable counsel would serve no more useful purpose than 10 Squre as the headines of copy-bucks in China, or to serve texts to be hung on schoolroom walls, In China, he was sorry to say, his own taught him that tice was the re s excellent the prac-He would in the first place take exception to the tide of deln The Chairman had called i ment of British Trade in Chin required no development. Ax he understand it, it only needed non-interference, When he wished to develop his biceps, he went ta Sandow and lit a set of dumbbells. Commerce in China d not. require that treatment. The condition of commerce in was more that of " man prostrate on his huck over whom a house had fallen, with the timber lying across his ribs and debris and bricks and mortar smothering him, Phot man did not ask to be developed, he asked to be rescued, and if British trade with foreign trade in general were only given an opportunity of growing freely it would require no assistance at all, It would develop by itself. And what was the reason why it had not developed hitherto? It was simply because in every district where trade entered there were hundreds of poor oficinls whose only dience of getting money and keeping body awl al together was to prey upon commerce They did not prey upon the foreigner because they were afraid to, but the moment our goods passed into the hands of the Chinese, then they picked and took all they could." And the diticulty of remem dying this evil, that of giving foreig merce in China a fair chance, was that in the course of years the officials had acquired a vested interest in these predatory raids on trade, Ie was almost as difficult, deed, to remove a Chinese official who merely lived on the merchandise passing the country, ax to remove some of in England who were in the enjoy sinveures, (Lauyhter.) He would not weary them by giving instinees, but anybody atoll acquainted with China could wit minutes show half-a-dozen ways in which the revenue of the country could be doubled without incrensing taxation. The foreign trade in which they were interested was of course wily hampered by these abuses. But thet was not all they had to complain of, The volume of foreign trade after all, whether the profits were on a large of small scale, depended on the wealth of the country traded with, and the wealth of the country depended on when ther its domestic trade was allowed free scope. Forty years ago, when our trouties were made, our envoy merely made provision for protecting our British goods, No thought was given to developing the resources of the country. So now we had not only ' complain that our treaty rights were infringed, but we had to submit to see this domestic trade strangled. Native goods sent from one province to another were taxed out of all existence on the way. Well, he was warned that his time was almost_up, but he would say in conclusion that if the Chinese Government greatly desired to increase the revenue and trade, there was a simple way to do it, That was leave trade to work out its own salvation, d to have an_ honest judiciary to whom, in ease of need, merchants could appeal with confidence. ' Let China turn to account what her long experience had taught her
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.