Peking, Dec. 17.
Mr. Hioki, the Japanese Minister has erated to an interviewer of the "Peking Daily News', that till the end of the war only' military control can be exercised at Tsingtao. China cannot therefore appoint any officials there without consulting the Japanese authorities. But he hopes, that any differences will be satisfactorily adjusted. Japan will endeavour to follow the German precedent, though she is not bound to do so.
The "Kuochuanpao" reports that a certain high official—probably the Emperor's Guardian, Shih Hsit—has recommended President Yuan Shih-kai to reappoint twenty former officials of the Ching Dynasty two-fifths of whom should be Manchus, amongst them Prince Ssu, late Minister of Interior, Duke Tsai Tee, Minister of Finance, Tieh Liang, Tartar General at Nanking, and Hsi Liang, Governor of Manchuria.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.