A private dispatch from' one of the secretarial staff of the Grand Council in Poking to a relative residing in Shan; hai states that in spite of more pacific reports regarding Manchuria, warlike preparations are still being persistently pressed forward in the armies of Viceroy Yuan Shih-kai (36,000 men of all arms), the Tartar troops of the so-called Peking General Ma Yii-kun (26,000 men) and Field Force (24,000 men). In other words, all.~se 80,000 to 90,000 men are being furnished with the mewest pattern Mauser magazine rifles (infantry og well as cavalry) so as to make one homogeneous force. Contrary, to the customary way among Chinese mow-2- days there has been no' undue tremor of excitement evident nor unnecessary fuss made this time in making all these preparations for war, but' there is apparent a certain grim determination amongst the officers and, men, especially of Viceroy Yuan and General Ma's troops which makes a close observer somehow feel that if there is to he fighting this time the troops will prove themselves nor to their predecessors of 1900 and before. Given the proper arms and instruction together with a fair proportion of modern educated officers it is felt amongst most of us in the North, that we need not fear any equal number of foreign foes, lot alone the fact that we shall, and are able to outnumber our enemies any day ten to one. The troops need very little; they only want honest paymasters and they will soon show the world the real material they are made of. At the present moment and in a crisis like this. we may trust the high authorities (Viceroys Yuan, Chang, and Tsen especially) of the Crown to act honestly to their armies and they are quite able to exercise care and diligence for the comfort and welfare of the soldiers whom they desire to lead against the Russian invader, well Imowing that upon their troops alone and not diplomacy will the future integrity of China depend. One may safety guarautee this while the country is threatened with extinction, but when peace has been mestered and a new condition of things exists it may be different for the oe ed at the reappearance of Russian and saying that the stay of the latter was only temporary—threo days at most As a matter of. fact it is claimed in a private dispatch received from Moukden that when the former Russian occupation had become more lax and only a tow of the invaders remained in Moukden the gentry of the city demanded and obtain from Tseng Chi, 2 large number of breech-loading rifles' and a quantity of ammunition which were distributed to the able-bodied of the various wards of the city ostensibly to defend themselves and their families from the rowdies and who had followed into Moukden in the train of the Russians. Those arms were still in the hands of the people of Moukden—6,000 stand—besides private stores, which the Tartar General could easily have used to prevent the Russian reoccupation, if he and his colleagues hud been brave enough to attempt it.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.