Peking's High-Sounding Schemes for Reform Peking, Feb. 2.
It is announced that the Government required $12,000,000 to tide it over the Chinese New Year, and that this amount has been secured, half of it from an octroi. It is also stated that the Chinese Bankers' Association has arranged a plan with the Inspectors-General of Customs and the Salt Tax whereby no further domestic loans will be issued while arrangements are being made to raise the money required to meet the interest and amortization of ihe domestic bonds already marketed.
It is pointed out that military expenditure at present amounts to $400,000,000 annually, as compared with $100,000,000 under the Manchus. The Government intends to reduce this expenditure by $200,- 000,000 a year. Revenues under direct control of the Central Government amount to $500,000,000, and the Government would thus have a balance of $300,000,000. which would be sufficient to support the central administration. The Government thinks the provinces should be self-supporting.
When the domestic bonds have been fully restored and the public convinced that there is to be no further indiscriminate issuing of bonds, the Chinese banks are to issue another loan for which the whole of the Central Government's surplus revenues will be pooled; and this will be used for disbanding the troops.* It is admitted that the Chinese banks are following the lines adopted by the Consortim, and the Government are optimistic regarding results.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.