I bad the honour to receive s note from the Graod Council on January 12, stating that on December 31 an Imperial Edict was issued as follows certain person has petitioned the Throne as to the official management of newspapers, and the private use of public foods therefor, requesting Imperial commands that the concerned be punished, aod that repayment of these fnndn be sought, and the issue of the newspapers stopped. Chang Jen-is commanded to investigate the enb jects of the petition and reply by ial according to the facta impartially, and without the least bias in favour of the concerned. It is cow-manded that the original petition be copied and handed to him for perusal Such i the Imperial wi Ta accordance with the note of the Grand Council di-patched in ani have scanned the original petition, which inticares and refers especially to the matter of purchase of pewapayern at Shanghai. In the first place thin question was the subject of a report by the Shanghai Taotai, Tsai Navbnaog, in April, 1908, la the|° following terms "The newspapers at Shanghai bring dextro tion to the Goverament of the day, raise agitation, noder the outward pretext of public iodigoation on the part of the people of this country, act ae mcret abrttora in the conspiracies of the rev lotionnry portion, Their utterances ar given ea-i'y and unsparingly ie motives for the fartherancs of private interest. And fall these papers the worst is the universal (nzette." It is requested that funds be appropriated for the]; parchano of this pap rand that one asks " Public dito the "Shen Pao," and the be purchased ona by ne, and that " Pablic Opinion" and th-"Ha Pao" be then amalgam ted under one name.
The ewpital to be for Tha 183,698.82
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.