Joint Report of Wu Chih-hsun, Prefect of Chenchou, and of Ch'en Hsi-nien, District Magistrate of Yuanlinhsien, Hunan, The city of your petitioners has had for some time an English chapel, called the "Fu Ying-tang," located in Fuch'ang-hsiang street. The premises are in Chinese style and are rented from a native of the city. There were two missionaries on the premises, namely, Hu Shou-tsu and Lo Kuo-chuan (Messrs. Bruce and Lewis), both of whom were Britishers. 'These two missionaries came here in February, 1901, to open their chapel and had been' therefore over a year here. All that time they had been always very law abiding, never interfering in the official business of the locality and were greatly respected by the petitioning protect. Your petitioning prefect successively ordered the previous district, magistrate of Yuaulinhsien, Tsien Pao-kan, and his successor the acting district magistrate, Wan Chao-hsin, to' always bestow the greatest caro in giving substantial protection to them. Previous to the 15th day of the 6th moon, this year (before the 19th of July last) this prefecture was suffering from the fatal epidemic of the season by which persons attacked in the morning died in the evening. Eventually the ease became more virulent and the num bers of those who died from it were very great. On the 11th and 12th of August there arose on all sides rumours created by local rowdies and desperadoes saying that the epidemic had been caused by the people in the chapel who had hired natives to cast medicines into the wells to poison the inhabitants. Ignorant people hearing this spread the news to others and their anger was thus fanned alive to fever heat. The petitioning prefect hearing of thi personally instructed the Police Inspector of streets, Ts'o Ch'ung-chien, and the former acting district magistrate, Wan Chao-hsin, to go and exhort: the inhabitants to desist and the latter to issue a proclamation strictly prohibiting the spreading about of rumours and declaring that the chapel must be protected from attack. On the 1th of the same month (August) Wan Chao-hsin, the acting district magistrate, gave up his post. to the substantive district, magistrate, the joint titiener Ch'en Hsi-nion. When' the fatter took over the seals the petitioning prefect explained to him what had passed and the pri ion. The petitioning ma; cordingly obeying the prefect's instructions at once issued 2 stern proclamation prohibiting the bandying about of rumours. The petitioning refect further instructed the Police inspector of streets, Ts'ao Ch'ung-chuen, to proceed to the chapel and explain mat= ters to the missionary, Hu Shao-tso, telling the latter of the proclamation and that he would be protected.
A few days before this the Imperial Chinese Post Office people of Ch'angtéfu city sent over to this city two postal clerks, Hsueh Hang, a native of Kuangtung province, (who possesses a high nose, 2 strange articulation and a face' resembling a foreigner) and Hsiao Tse, a native of "Chiangsha, this province. The two postal clerks took up their quarters in the Lung He-shun Inn, located in front of the district magistrate's samen. At noon of the 15tk of the month the two clerks came to the prefect's yamen and reported that they had rented for a post office a house out side the West-gate of this city and intended to open the Post office on the next
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.