Dispatches from Liuchou and Wuchou pref-ctures, Kuangsi province, report that the whole region in their ity is now wily flooded and that a number of lives have been lost in the inundation. On. the 2nd and wrd of July last the West River suddenly rose to abnormal height in Liuchou prefecture, burying from sight over thirty villages outside the prefectural city. "Bodies of drown ed human beings and cattle carried down stream are seen daily, and as an instance of the suddenness of the calamity a number of corpses floating on the river were clothed in the garb of the orthodox Chinese cost of the previous Ming dynasty, show that while theatricals, in honour of were proceeding in ouw of the vill the banks of the West River, the flood rose so sudanly and so rapidly that the actors had no time to change into their usual -day Mancha costumes of the present period, and were accordingly involved the general catastrophe, dressed as they wore.
Tu Yunghsien also, the water is up to the eaves of the houses and the whole region is one grent expanse of water. Outside Wachou city, the high roads are covered to the height of several feet, bl ing communieat'on by land with interior towns, The fool, whi als" inundated the rural parts of she districts of Sanshui (Coll:—Sambhui), Namhoi), Shunté (Coll Hsienbui (Coll:—Sunvwei (Coll:—-Siuhing) prefecture, tung province, subsided on the 23 couple of fect, much to th inhabitants, who thou: to see dry land again and grief the river began to rapidly rise in on the 28th and 24th ultimo, til the whole region round vas hut an expanse of water. in some parts of the city of Canto: the water has remained for post up to the lintels of dwelling-houses on higher grounds.
The R. C. Indemnity in Shuntien fu, A Peking vernacular paper states. that the balance of Tle. 70,000 due to the R. Prefectire "f Peking, on account of Boxer Missions in Shuntienfa, or the Imperial
depredations in 1901), was recent! paid to Bishop Favier, which theref.re closes the matter heiween the Cuineso ernment and the R. C. Missin. 1 was at first I. should paid by a levy on the people of the Im perial pref. cture, which consists wanty-four distrie!s (hsien) and. sub-prefeetures (chou), namely, Tahsing, Wanping, Hsiangho, Yungte'ing, Lianghsiang, Man, sth nho, Pac g, Miyun, Ptingko, Paoting, Wenan, han, and Tach'eng hsiens, and (North) T'ungehou, Ch'angpinzehou, Chochou, Pachou and Chtichou, sub-prefectures, that is te say, nineteen hsiens and five chous. The recent risi in the south-western portions of Chihli province, such as those of Chilu and Kuangping, which were really protests gainst the levying of an Indemmity tax to satisfy the R.C. claims on the Government, taught the latter a good lesson, with the result that that Viceroy Yuan Shih. strongly protested ayainst any further attempts at trying to bleed an impoverished people, and finally persuaded the Empress Dowaver to consent to the payment by Government of whatever amounts [were s ill due to the R. C. Mi i Chin province, instead of forcing ency from uni The Removal of Viceroy K'uei Chun.
It is now stated from Peking that it was the Emperor who procured the removal of K'uei Chun, the recent Manchu Viceroy of Szechuan, who true to the traditions of his race favoured Boxerism and_ therefore searcely attempted anything to. suppress it when the movement began in his province a short half year ago. It is also known that Censors, natives of Szechuan, had denounced K'vei Chun, and further that Sir Ernest Satow demanded the man's removal at the Chinese Foreign Office. In spite of them, however. it is reported the Palace that the Empress Dowager, influenced by the Grand Secretary Yung her own friendly feelings towards had no intention of removing K-nei the apathy and apparent incapability of the man roused even the Emperor from his semi-comate" jon, xnd his Majesty spoke so forcibly upon the importance of preventing any repetition of a second Imperial flitting to the inhospitable of the North-western provinces hho finally gave way and appointed Chinn-hsuan to Szechuan, whom she rightly admires as a very strong and energetic officer.
The New Governor of Kuangsi. is stated in local mandarin circles that while in Peking lately, H.E. Wang Chih-chun became quite friendly with the French in the Capital. H E.'s well-known friendliness towards the Rassians made it an easy matter for him to fall in line with his Gallic friends, who are to be his neigh-hours in south for some time to come, and it might have been due to policy to conciliate, if he could, his powerful neigh-hours the south-ewtern boundaries of Kuangsi. Hence there cannot be much in the rumour which H-E.'s enemies seem to wish to put upon the circumstance.
The Chinese Minister to Tokio, Ts'ai Chun, formerly Taotai of Shanghai, Init better known to Chinese in general as 2 er of a syndicate of unscrupulous capitalists who made a corner during the had years" of 1898-9, thereby forcing up the price of to an abnormal degree (which almost troduced a riot), according tya Peking telegram, has been bitterly denounced memorial to the Throne by the Cer Shih-hsing. The animus of the is said to he the late student in Tokio, in ¢ msequenee of which Chan so far lowered the dignity of is high office as to appeal for help from the Jap nese Police.
18th August. H.LM. Kuang Hsu may have an Heir.
According to a recent private letter from am authoritative source in Peking to a native official of high rank, temporarily reding in Shanghai, it is reported in Court reles that her Majesty the Empress is en-comte. Her Maje-ty's name is Yeh-ho-na-'i, and she is the daughter of Kuei Hsiang, Duke of Ch'éngén, and also a cousin of the Emperor, whom she married on the 6th of February, 1889. Being of a uniformly [quiet and setting disposition, ne withal shrewd person, her Majesty' never openly concerned herself with politics nor opposed the Empress Dowager in any way as to make an enemy of the latter as did the Emperor; hence the peaceful current of her life in Court.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.