A Chengtu, capital of Szechuan province, dispatch states that much surprise has boon censed to the official classes regarding the attitude of the Szechuan gentry vis-A-vis the scheme of H. E. Viceroy Hsi Liang to construct a Sz0- chuan-Hupeh railway with local funds, When the scheme was first proposed there wae considerable enthusiasm among the Szechuan gentry to subscribe towarils the capital of the concern, but to the surprise ofeveryonethis hassnddenly ovolod down, with the result there are no enquiry for shares at 'The reason for this has now transpired, and it hasbeen found that the Szechuan gentry are jealous of the officials. It appears that a cortui member of the gentry i who has complained to the Shangpu that the proposed railway is entirely' the hands of the officials and that the gentry and merchants of Szechuan, who are called upon to tunish theee-fourths of the capital of the railway, wre not allowed any say in the matter or repre-presentation on the Directorate, which is most distasteful to them. This Szochuan notable has farther presented a petition to the Shangpu, stating that if the proposed railway be given to the gentry and merchants of Szechuan to build, he has nearly six million taels in hard cash already guaranteed by his fellow provincials, and work eau be commenced at once, since the survey of the proposed line has already been made. The Shangpu, on receipt of this offer, formed Viceroy Hsi Liang as to how matters stand and a reply is now being awaited.
Anti-Foreign Opposition in the pro-tal of Hunxn, that a number of the gentry of that city have memoralised Peking protesting against permission being granted foreigners to open hange lo the city, as a settlement has already been set apart for them outside the city walls for purposes of trade and commerce,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.