An Imperial Rescript has been issued through the Grand Council stating that the Emperor will receive Sir Robert Hart, Inspector-General of the Imperial Maritime Customs, who will shortly leave China on a well-earned furlough, audience in the Chingchén Throne-Hall General Chiang Kuei-ti, Commander of the Northern troops now stationed in in the Yangtze towns to keep " special watch over the secret societies and salt smugglers of this Viceroyalty, has received instructions from Peking to send four battalions of his troops into Chekiang province in order to assist the local forces there to search for salt smugglers and other bodies of pirates and brigands. A Tientsin dispatch further reports that H. E. Yang Shih-hsiang, Acting Viceroy of Chihli, has instractthe Major-Generals of the Chénting and Tientsin Military Circuits to proceed in force to the district of Lung-ninghsien in order to crush the des-paradoes and bandits in that region. Lastly, owing to the activity of Hunghutze, or mounted bandits, in the Chahar region, Mongolia, General Lei of the Tungyung! Military Circuit, of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.