For the last week all sorts of reports have been going around about the doings of the "rebels" at Linchowfu. What the real truth is I do not venture to say, but simply try to piece together the most credible items into a connected whole. But whatever the actual facts are there must be some substratum of truth in the persistent reports..
There were, it seems, three. regiments of troops at Liuchoufa, ie., rare than a thousand men. Their loyal ty seems to have been suspected, but way I cannot say. Possibly some official deal. Anyway they were ordered to ¢ so to Kuangtung for the purpose, it is said, of being quietly got rid of. This they flatly refused todo. Then it was proposed to disband them and send them back defenceless through the rebels' districts, which are certainly dangerous, to Kueilin. This they objected to. Lastly there were two months' pay due to them. and here we have, I think, the real Key to the situation, looking at it from both sides. The disbanding of troops, when pay is overdue, has already been done so many times in Kuangsi that doubtless it may have been attempted again. Itis from this source that the ranks of the rebels are so continually being replenished.
This was probably imminent, when another event brought matters to a crisis, According to reports, Viceroy sin has made overtures to' one of the rebel leaders, offering him and his men froe pardons, immediate enlistment in the last government troops, good rifles, and fifty cents each, The leader accepted with ninety of his men. As soon as they wore disarmed they were all killed, as has boon dono so many times before, under similar circumstances. Perhaps, however,. only tempt was made to kill them. But the not result was that the throo rogiments broken loote, killed all the officials, according to some reports, wounded them, according to others, sacked two banks, but left the populace alone. The telegraph operators wore first reported killed, but now seem to have been able to escape in a small boat. The soldiers, of course, took all the military stores, amounting to over three thousand rifles, and quantities of ammunition, and also quiokfirers, but I do not know If the above true it means pretty serious state of affairs
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.