Dollars are beginning to penetrate into this region. But there are strange vagaries s to their relative value in the eyes of the common people. The "standing man," as the British one is called, is most popular. Mexicans are at s discount. The new Chili dollar comes next in favour to the British, bat the old Peiyang cannot find any favour at all. The new copper coins are unknown, and we have still to. burden ourselves and soil our hands with the old copper cash. A. tael now buys 1,200 cash, or, more accurately, 591 for each new cash counts two, and ing of 1,000 has only 490 pieces in this town, and 480 in an adjoining city.
Side by side with the advent of new currency I must unhappily report that, there has been much poverty owing to the failure of crops for three years in succession. Near Peking there is a famine owing to floods, but here, 200 miles away, it has beea due to drought. We have' heard of s fow cases of death from starvation, but there are many families where nothing but tree eaves and grass made into cakes is the daily fare, with very little millet as luxury. An official prophesied the other day that another year such as the last three would mean ® general rising against the authorities, as the people would be desperate, and starving people pay little regard to right and wrong. The wheat harvest, fortunately, is very promising, and the recent fall of snow is an augury of better times this spring.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.