age 2th December.
More than once since the death of the late Viceroy Lin Kun-yi we have Ireferrel to a supposed" death-bed memorial in which Baron Lin designated tone officials from whom his successor might be chosen, Chang Chih-tung, Wei _Kuang-tao, Nich Chih-kuei, ad En Shou; and we died that, as it was generally accepted at Nanking that the Viceroy there must be a Hunan man, Wei Kuang-tao would almost certainly receive the substantive appointment, conclusion which has been verified. But we learn now on the highest authority that the story is a pure invention, the death of Baron Liu having been so sudden that he left no death-bed memorial of any kind. It is evident now in whose interest the Hunan party at Nawking promulgated this invention.
It seems too that H. E. Chang Chih-tung's statement to Dr. Griffith John that had he his own he would return as soon as possible to Wuchang was somewhat of the nattire of the proverbial Nolo episcopari. It can be well understood th fong as ELE. Chang does not prefer Wuchang to Nanking. it is hing but a compliment to him on the part of the Government at Peking t" send him back to the former port after having twice put, him in temporary charge of the Kiangnan provinees: and as Gir as foreign interests are concerned, and the bess interests of the Chinese, which are ind's<o'ubly bonnd up with the true interests of foreigners in China, the appointment of H. Chang to Nanking could not be bettered. To those foreigners who know the state of affairs in thes: provine.s during the latter part of the late Viceroy's tenure of office, the news that HE, Chang is to replacel by H. E. Wei has raised great disappointment, We have not always felt ourselves justified in approving everything t H. E.. Chang Chih-tung has done in the pas*, bat he and his colleague at Tentsin are the only high officials in the country who have not only shown that they genuinely believe in reform, but have the courage and determination to put their ideas into execution, and there cent be no better field for H. E. Chang than the province we live in. Above all, H_E. Chang is incorruptible.
Of ILE. Wei Kuang-tao very little is known, He is an old man, and according to gen-ral report an official of high personal character, as most of the high officials are who come from Hun: as we have already mentioned, it is in his favour that he was removed from Kansu to Yunnan because he had no sympathy with Tang Fa-hsiang and his anti-foreign proclivities. But the posts he has hitherto held cannot have given him a very large experience of foreign affairs. In any case, it seems that he owes his appointment to the powerful influence of the Hunan clique in Nanking, and it is, therefore, hardly to be expected that he will endeavour to remedy the principal abuse of which, under the late Vicerdy's rule, the unfortunate inhabitants of Kiang-ssu had n.ost reason to complain, that is, the monopoly of all the lucrative subordinate posts by Hunanese, who have the credit of being, until they attain high rank, among the most corript'and inefficient officials in the empire outside Peking. That H.E. Chang Chih-tung's efforts to reform the local civil and military administrations have had much to do with his removal from Nanking seen is certain. His energy in insisting on reforms brought him into direct conflict with the Hunan clique, and this clique has proved too powerful even for him, As one of our correspondents pointed out not long ago, it was impossible to suppose tl.at the man who has so successfully for some years ruled the two provinees of Hunan and Hupeh, could not control the Hunanese in the Kiangnan provinces. It is because he showed that he could and wou'd control them that they have worked to get him removed, So far the only objection made to ELE. Wei Kunang-tao's appointment, as far as we have heard, apart from its necessitating H.E. Chang's return to Wuchang, is that he has had no experience of dealing with foreign atiairs, But those who remember the chorus of disapproval with' which Baron Lin's appoint ment to Nanking was received, and how amply he justified the appointment when he was called upon to dent with serious issues, will be very slow to condemn the new Viceroy in advance, Opportunity evoked the man in Baron Lin's case, and knowing the capacity of the Hunan men when they are given high office, we have good reason to hope that he will not fall short of his great' predecessor; but he has a hard task before him to dissipate our regret that the substantive aplutment was not given to H.E hang Chih-tung, and that the latter has not been allowed the opportunity to curry out the numerotis beneficial reforms which he had in contemplation.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.