A Nanking letter states that important dispatches have been received in that city from Lanchou, the provincial capital of Kansu, via Hsian, to the effect that Prince Tuan with a numerous following of Mongol horsemen, variously estimated at from 6,000 to ' 2v,000 in number, had passed through the district of Héngeh'éng, an important place just touching the Great Wall, about 90 miles due east of Ninghsia, bound eastwards through the grass country or *Ts'ao-ti" en route, 50 it is alleged, for Peking via Shansi province. "The dispatches further state that the majority of the Mongol horsemen are from the Alashan league and are under the immediate command of their own Princes, 'I'sa-sak (chieftains) and Wai-chi (nobles). The Alashan Mongols inhabit the vast grasslands outside the t Wall to the North-west of Ninghsix prefecture, and thole chiefs cordially received Prince Tuan and his followers when they sought refuge Inst autumn in that part of the Empire. It is also reported in the Lanchou dispatches that the Alasban Mongols have boasted that they have asked for and received assurances of help from all the Mongol leagues outside the Great Wall from East to West, and therefore will be able to bring'by the autumn of this year to the battlefield a million warlike Mongols, inured to hardship and fighting, to assist Prince Tuan in vetting his revenge on the foreign enemies of China. There seemed to by considerable warlike enthusiasm amongst the Mongol horsemen as they passed through Héngch'éng, songs praising the warlike exploits of Genghis Khan the Great' Mongol Conqueror being constantly sung by band after band of these horsemen on the march. Sv far as could be soco at the time there did not appear to. be any concerted movement between Prince Tuan and Tung Fu-hsiang. The latter is still (May sth) at Kuyuan, the headquarters of the Provincial Com: 0 nder-in-chief of Kansu, about 150 miles east of Lanchou, and it would be impomitie in the scattered state of Tung 'u-hsiang's adherents, as well as the distance to be marched over, a very mountainous route, for the Kansu forces to reach even the Shansi borders within three months at the very least. Ti Tung Fu-hsiang desires to join forces with Prince Tuan in the grass country, outside the Great Wall, it will take him much longer to get to shansi or Chibli. The main object of these North-western rebels, however, seems to be Peking rather than Taiyuan.
aN "'OFricIaL ORGAN" is contemplated by Prince Ching, to be established in Peking, says the "Tniversal Gazette," and with this end in view, the Prince has ben. communicating with. the various Foreign Ministers asking for advice and suggestions in the matter. It is intended, at the beginning, tu distribute this Official Organ" or Kuan Pao" free of charge, so as to encourage people to read it.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.