sth February.
The Secret Societies in the Yangtze Provinces.
With the advent of every new year and its attendant festivities in China, it has been the custom time and again in the j history of this coun: ry for malcontents to attempt some sort of coup upon the powers that are, and alive to this fact the Vicer-ys and Governors of the Yangtze provinces have not failed to make every preparation each year at that period; to suppress the least sign of such disturbances within their several jurisdictions. There have been no exceptions to the usual rule this year inNauking, Neanking (Anch'ing) Wuebsxng and Ch'angsha, the provincial capitals of Kiangsu, Anhui, Hupeh, avd Hunan; on the contrary, dispatches received from those cities all report that owing to the war in the North the high authorities of the Yangtze provinces here united in taking extraordinary precautions against riotous disturbances—vspecially anti-foreig consequence of which Jarge bodies of troops have been collected at varies strategic points of importance 80 as to be ready to give mutual assistance to one another in the event of any serious risin< of the secret societies, such as the Kolav Hui, Grext and Little Sword Societies, and the like. These movemente of Chinese troops in the Yangtze Valley have probably given ris to various rumours of expected trouble ay it the Yangtze treaty por inland towns, but with the precautions taken by the high provincial auth. verned there present fear of any anti-foreign disturbances, nor will there be any so tony s these precautions ure not relaxed. The lessons learnt in 1900, with the great Progress in enlightened views amongst the high mandarins throughout the Empire, will be a sufficient deterrent to their countenancing any further anti-foreign movements just now. From Szechuan province also comes ne Viceroy Hsi Liany, who has " very etticient and enlightened lieutenant in Taotai Tsai Nai-huang—formerly of the Bureau of Foreign Afsirs of Hunav,—has also been taking extra precautionary measures against likely risings of Boxer adherents and followers of the notorious Yd Man-tze, so that with proper care peace can also be secured in that usually riotous province during the present disturbances in the North.
The Mounted Bandits of Manchuria.
A dfspatch from a reliable source in the North reports that there are no less than 82,000 mounted bandits in the three Manchurian provinces, of which number 20,000 are in Fengtien' province (Lower Manchuria), 8,006 in Kirin (Central Manchuria), and about 4,000 in Heilungehiang or Northern Manchuria. Of the Fengtien mounted bandits 14,000 were enrolled and armed by the Russians, but no sooner was the news of Japanese success—vaturally eatly enlarged—at Port Arthur received than nine-tenths of these bandits deserted, carrying with them their arms and am. munition, and large qu-tities of food plies and loot besides. There is naturally great hatred entertained by these bandits ayainst the Russiss, especially the Cossacks, and with the arrival of the Japanese armies in Manchuria we may probably hear of bodies of Cossicks and East Siberian sharp shoot-rs being cut off by these mounted freebooters, who are not only splendid horsemen, but very hardy and brave when properly led.
20th February.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.