Having never seen anything in your paper about Southern Hunan, and having myself just moved hither I' thought you might publish a few lines from here. Chenchoufu is not a large city, nor is it at present a very prosperous city bat the prospects are yood for a very bright future. In the first plice bureau' of mines and mining is being established which ought to bring good results, secondly the proposed null-road will go through or very near the city that will make Chonchou the important centre of Southern Hunan, as it was in former years before the great' river traffic began. Since then, of course, Hankow has flourished as all other cities on the Yangtze while Chen. chou and other Hunan cities have gone back. Killing the Goose that Laid the Golden Egg.
One of the reasons of the present unprosperous condition of Chenchou is the change Of duties on salt brought over from Kuanytung. Formerly there was a large trade in sult but the extra tax has made it unprofitable so that it his nearly ceased. Thousands of mules were used in transferring sult from Kuangtung and in returning Hunan goods such "as incense wood, fire-crackers, etc. Now there is a very small trade either way. A Populous, Picturesque and Quiet City.
Chenchou is a city of thirty or forty thousand and has many well-built houses, great many two and three stories high: Tam told in former days the guests used to sleep upstairs and their cargoes were lodged below, this being the transfer centre from the Hunan rivers across the Chiling Pass to the Kuangtung rivers on the other side. It isa very picturesque city situated as it is between the mountains and on the little Lei River. Looking in any direction one would think he was hemmed in by mountains and they fare not small mountains either. The people are a quiet steady easy-going people, no curious mob came to welcome us, though many predicted a foreign woman would have a very warm reception. It was quite the contrary; many came but they were perfectly quiet and law-abiding. When "we took a walk through the streets no shouting mob followed us, though of course there were many spectators. We heard no un. complimentary remarks such as I have heard in other cities more accustomed to foreigners. It was in the early autumn that the first and only. disturbance took place in Chen-chen and this was over some unjust taxation, which caused the people much discomfort. An old resident told us that it was the first one he ever heard of in this city. Above I spoke of The Mining Bureau that is to be established here. We are told that ood coal is found in large quantities the mountains near the city and that silver in some quantities had been discovered close by; there is also antimony, and back from the rivers there are large forests of fine hard wood. With all these resources Chenchou ought to become a large and prosperous city in the very wear future, Missionary Work.
At present the Presbyterians have the only foreign worker resident in the city; the London Missionary Society has a chapel here and is the only one with any baptised members. The Wesleyans have a chapel also but it has been opened a short time only so the work in this section has scarcely more than begun. Quite a little dispensing, of medicines has already been done, thong! we are not quite ready for it, some in-patients have presented themselves and been, put off till we can properly treat them. Only yesterday a man with a very lange tumor come, and is to come back for openition in twenty days. So the medical work Promises not to be long in making a goo Military Protection.
Here as in all other places in Hunan, we have the soldiers looking after us. When we have our house repaired and in order, we expect to ask the military official to take the whole force away for we think them unnecessary here.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.