Kiangchow, Oct. 21.
The autumn crops have been gathered in, and the wheat has been sown under most favourable conditions. The Shansi folk, therefore, look round for opportunities of business, as, taken on the whole, the year is none too good, and the spring will mean for most folks a good deal of "living on short commons."
In the country bordering on the Yellow river, the first thought is opium from Kansuh for Honan and the south. Now everybody knows that dire disaster attended great many smugglers last season, but in China laxity invariably follows @ period of severity, and the forthcoming winter promises to be 8 lucrative one for the fortunate. Though there are no opium shops everybody knows where to get opium at Tls. 2.50 per ounce, and if the knowledge possessed by "the man in the street" is as readily gained by the "man in the yamen" the banks of the Yellow river should some conflicts and captures toon, Meanwhile the most unsus-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.