The new county magistrate, Nu Ho, has now assumed the reins of office. As he has formerly acted as Police Magistrate on the English Concession in Hankow, he is familiar with Western ideas, and has already shown himself friendly to the foreigners residing in Hanchuan, Mr. Chuang, who hus just left Hanchuan, to take up his former post of county Magistrate of Yiu-tseng, in Tean Prefecture, was very different in his attitude to foreigners. When he passed along the street, on his way to the river, An Interesting Ceremony took place which wax evidently a survival of the ancient ceremony of offering a feast to passing travellers; as we find recorded in Genesis, where Melchizedek entertained Abraham. At many houses along the street, small tables were placed before the dyer: upon each table was an embroidered cloth, and a tray of cakes. The only thing, however, in which any resemblance to Melchizedek was shown by the people of Hanchuan was in the receiving of tithes. Each happy. possessor of a table and cake tray received a voucher, redeemable for 200 cash! In former days Hanchuan possessed an official who was s0 much esteemed that when he left the City, the i stopped his chair outside the gate, and presented their favourite with a new pair of boots, hanging his old boots over the city gate, as an exhortation to coming officials to tread in the steps of the righteous man. Mr. Chuang was by no means esteemed so highly as this.
This Year's Cotton Crop is " good. The heavy rains in the carly summer interfered with the growth of the plants and the bolls of cotton are small. Four different varieties of the cotton plant are grown around here. Each requires its own particular kind of soil to grow in, That grown on the south side of the Han River, in low-lying ground which is really the bed of an old lake, is the best. The fibre is loose, and spins easily. More cotton is exported from here than is used on the spot. The cloth made round here is almost entirely woven from imported yarns, the trade in which is Peactically in Japanese hands entirely. The yarn spun in Shanghai and Wuchang fails to sell as well as the Japanese, which is much esteemed. That of the Osaka Mill Company appears to have the best sale.
Japanese Influence is strongly in evidence in Central China. Here as elsewhere, Japanese cotton gins are largely used." A few weeks ago, I happened to be on the River Han, in Hankow, just as the passenger launch uj the Han was starting. She was, as usual, crowded with. Chinese passengers going as far as the first stage, Tsaitien, while on
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.