The chronicles of this region have for a Tong season been "the short and simple annals of the poor," wild rumours, comparative quiet, and a bitter winter of want for the plundered and occasionally houseless Christians, relieved to some extent by funds from Tientsin, received from abroad. There appears to be a wide belt running north-east and south-west, of which Linch'ingchou is the northern boundary, where the crops failed entirely. In this area the people are undergoing an absolute famine, and whole villages are almost deserted. It probably extends a long way to. the west, and possibly is connected with the terrible dearth in Shensi. The Magis. trate of the county of Enksien where the mission station of Ptangchus situated, is a most hostile anti-foreign fossil, who has let it be known that he was in favour of driving us all out long ago, Nothing was to he expected from him but obstruction, and he has entirely fulfilled all expectations, and even left margin! No relief worth the name has been given, although orders have been issued from Gov. Yuan to have it done. He is known to have told the Roman Catholic Christians who pressed for the arrest of the Boxer leaders in accordance with the proclamations of the Governor, that he is a Chinese official himself, and will undertake no such work; if they want that done they can wait until the "Foreign Magistrate" (Yang-kuan) arrives, when perhaps it may be attended to for them! In strict accordance with this policy of nourish. ing the viper of last year, the Boxers are bestirring themselves. The man who has done most mischief in this country is ar present at his home unarrested and unthreatened, proclamations offering Tls. 100 for information about leading Boxers and Tls. 300 for their capture are fluttering in rags on the village temples about. Not only so, but there is a reassembling of the clans to hear the words of the Great Fairy who directs their move: ments. G.F. has informed them that last thet year Boxers went in for profit, a proceeding not confined to them, but characteristic of other Chinese performances. This year it shall he otherwise. This time there is to be no ransom, no chicken nor dog is to be left alive when all the Christians are exterminated. In pursuance of this plan, set variously for the middle of the first moon, now long since past, the end of the moon, the "second moon," ete.. ete... a preliminary gun-drill (** pai-pao" HEH) was held ata village just over the Hsiachin county line on the 23rd of February. This performance last year at this time announced the coming storm, as the wind precedesthe rain. The guns are set up, discharged at persons who display their invulnerability, the Boxer heart is fired, and all is made sure for the preparation, to get ready to begin to prime up to de something. It is this deliberate ness which saved the lives of all the foreigners who escaped last year, but there is no certainty that it will continue, as they have long practice by this time. The Christians, knowing the signs of the times, are much alarmed, and write urgent appeals for something to be done. In connection with this Boxer recrudescence, there is a military revival in the air to match. This scenes to hare been hatched bz the refusal of the Court to accept the terms of punishment as laid down in the ultimatum of the Powers. It is well understood that the camps had orders to be ready to start north, and as one company of soldiers is st: ying in the premises of the Boys' School at P'angchuang it is not difficult to know the talk of the camps. There was to be a great move north in "the second mouth," just like the talk of last year, the Chinese military Bourbon having neither learned nor forgotten anything in the interval. There were said to "about 400 regiment? of southern troops somewhere south of Linch'ing. As this would be about 200,000 men, it might readily be deducted from, but no one is able to assert of his own knowledge where there are any regiments, though the stories persist. A trustworthy Christian saw 53 cart-loads of bullets and powder unloaded from boats at. Chengehiak'ou, on the Grand Canal be~ tween Téchou and Linch'ing. It was unily believed that there was to be a ly straggle with foreign troops in the immediate future, and all soldiers, those of Yuan's personal army as well as the others, were thirsting for the fray. If they did not win victory, they would at least have a "great anarchy," which seems be as attractive to many as yana to Buddhasts—or perhaps should be likened to the Valhalla of the Norsemen. These dark tales come from regions hundreds of miles apart, and fill the tea-shops of Tientsin as well as elsewhere, The attention of the Provisional Government was called to the existence of the rumours as a sign, and the Commander of one of the Six Powers is said to have beamed with delight, and remarked that it is "almost too good to be true!" Some military men spoiling with min desire a free hand to exterminate all enemies of true civilisation and the rights of man. The U. Consul is telegraphing to Governor Yuan the main facts as to the Boxer revival, and pressing for immediate action, On the tenour of his reply and the subsequent acts will depend the future of a large area. It should) be said that the unti-foreign Magistrate referred to above (as well as another well matching him in Hsiachin), goes to the capital for re-employment, on the expiration of his year, and the friend of foreigners comes back to Enbsien. But while friendly he is weak in action, and has no initiative of his own. It is just at this juncture that a large party of missionaries are arranging to leave Chefoo for the interior under protection of Yuan's troops. It may be perfectly quiet in other parts of Shantung, but we know from the experience of the past that this is im itself-no security whatever. Tt carlot be too often" recalled that taken as a whole the Boxer movement has not only not been put down, but that nothing has yet—occurred to prevent it from making greater headway than before. Military occupation of a few cities, expecially with the accompanying exasperations and not infrequent do nothing more than to make n clearer than ever to the Chinese mind that the Boxer movement was right and truly patriotic. When the Court returns (if it does) there will be a crucial time in the history of this melancholy business. If we cannot make the junction between foreign theoretical rule and Chinese actual rule a tight joint, it will be a volcano from which will issue fire, ashes, and blood.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.