Tt is stated from Peking that on the occasion of the 60th birthday anniversary of the Grand Secretary Yung Lu on the 30th of March last, none but presents of intrinsic were accepted from H.E.'s "well-wishers" For instance, such as storks and deer of solid pure gold, each a foot high and beautifully chased; gold buddhas; green jadestone vases of the most beautiful shades; diamond and precious stone belts, rings, ete., ete. The most valuable present was from a certain Manchu Vice-President of one of the Six Boards. It was a foot-high "God of Longevity" of solid pure gold, ensconced in & miniature temple of the finest jadestone of the purest white colour, encrusted with diamonds and precious stones of great value. All other "tribute" such as ser-lis and tablets unless of great anti-Secretary's underlings without even the nity, were uniformly refused by the Grand usual word of thanks.
The Crafty Manche.
It will be remembered that one of the conditions of pence was the stopping of literary, examinations for degrees for five 3 ry city where there was a riot against foreigners, during 1900. mention had been particularly made of the interdict extending to Manchus—the P®! real Boxer instigators and perpetrators—an attempt was recently made "to get round" the matter by the Manchus la Peking by saying that they had nothing to do with the prohibition of literary competitions. in consequence of which they would hold their examinations "as usual" The Chinese Party, however. did not see it in this light and prevailed up the Board of Rites' make sure" by asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to question the Foreign Representat the Capital about The reply was of course "Manchus as well as Chinese prohibited."
A Deserved Promotion.
A Wuchang dispatch to hand states that Governor Tuan Fang (Manchu) of Hupeh has Jately received a private telegram from the Grand Secretary Yung Lu informing, him that it had been proposed in the Gran Council to promote the former to the Tartar Generalship of Foochow, and that probably an Imperial decree would be issued on the subject soon after the Court's return from the Southern Hunting Park Military insections.
Reported Projected Sanitarium.
The "*Sinw€pao" hears that a certain Britisher has recently bought, or leased one of the innumerable islands of the Chusan Archiyelag, near the celebrated slond of Pootoo, the island dedicated to Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Merey and Hearer of Prayers," with the object of establishing a sepitarium of large size, and making the plac" a general health resort for this part of China, Tt is stated that the island in question contains an area of about twenty odd square miles.
"To Him Who Waits."
'A Nanking dispatch states that Viceroys Liu Keungi and Chang Chih-tung having recently denounced to the Throne in severe terms Ch'éng Wen-pin, Admiral of the Yangtze, it is now rumoured that General Pive Ts'u-han, 2 Hunanese officer, will probably be made Admiral of the Yangtze interim, pending enquiries into the charges made by these two powerful semi-independent satraps of the Yangtze Valley. Admiral Ch'éng Wen-pu, who is a native of Hupeh, wasin 1900Provincial Commander-i Chief of the Land forces of Fukien, and when itbecameeventually evident thatthe Imperial troops in Chili and their Boxer allies were efting the worst of it at the hands of the foreign forces, Ch'tng Wen-pin volunteered to lead a Fukien territorial army to "the Tescue of the Empress Dowager from the clutches of the Barbarians." By the time he and his men got up as far as the northeastern frontiers of Shantung the Empress Dowager and her Boxers and Reactionaries had fled to Taiyuen, Shansi, and were on the point of making for Hsian, Shensi. Cheo, Wen-pin therefore started for Honan, where he was told to encamp in the region Tordering between Honan and Shevsi to serve as a buffer and defensive force against the Foreign Allies, should the latter attempt to invade Shensi. Ch'éng Wen-pin from the very commencement identified himself, for obvious reasons, with the Reactionary Party, which was even then—winter of 1900—Ied by the notorious Lu Ch'uanlin. All this time, owing to the success of the Yangtze Compact made by the Yangtze and Min-Che Viceroys and the Governor of Shantung with the Consuls at Shanghai for the preservation of peace, had created for the former, especially Viceroys Liu and Chang, the bitter enmity of the reactionaries, insomuch that there was hot intrigue among the latter to get these Viceroys removed from office on the charge of sedition and currying favour with the Forei Powers, while China was yet at war with them. Even the Empress Dowager, it is rumoured, became imbued with fear and suspicion of her two loyal Viceroys, and it was thought best for the safety of the dynasty to appoint some one as 2 counter-ise to these two powerful officials. Vice~ foy Liu K'un-yi was considered to be too powerful, as the then Admiral of the Yangtze, Marshal Huang, was a fellow provincial of H.E., and therefore sure to be on the latter's side "should anything turn up." So it was decided by the reactionaries to send their "pet General," Cheng Wen-pin, to the Yangtze to take over the post held by Marshal Huang, transferring the latter to Fukien to take the former's post. This was done in spite
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.