Tue temporary sensation caused by the changes'at the head of the Imperial Customs Service, and the real or supposed results that they will have on the service itself, and more especially on the Inspectorate General, temporarily diverted public attention from the announcement made by Reuter on Thursday that Sir John Newell Jordan has been selected to succeed Sir Ernest Satow as British Minister at Peking, The news reached here telegraphically coincidently with the arrival of Sir Ernest himself, on his way homeward, and while it was generally understood that the retiring Minister was desirous of laying down his duties, after forty-five years of strenuous work in the Consular and Diplomatic services in the Far Enst, the knowledge that it is really farewell will add ut once to the warmth and regret of the speeding he will receive at Shanghai. In the long and distinguished roll of the British Ministers at Peking it has fallen to few to win and to hold more firmly the unqualified esteem of the commercial community at Shanghai, whose views necessarily on many questions are limited by their immediate interests, while the Minister at Peking must take a wider outlook. Sir Ernest Satow has the satisfaction of leaving Peking at time when British prestige in China has largely recovered from a temporary eclipse, which was perhaps after all niore apparent thin real, He has guided British interests through' six years of special difficulties, consequent on the enormous changes which followed the Boxer up. heaval and his successful conclu. sion in very brief time of the negotiations with China over the Tibetan question, negotiations which had been dragging intermirably ut Calcutta, has won him a final laurel. He will leave with the good wishes of all in this part of the world for the long enjoyment of his rest at home.
When writing under this present heading five weeks ago, we stated that the name most frequently suggested for the succession to Sir Ernest. Satow was that of Sir John Newell Jordan, ex-Minister to Corea, The future Minister is nine years younger than his immediate predecessur and did not enter the Chinese Consular Service as student-interpreter in China till 1876, fifteen years later than the beginning of Sir Ernest's career in the Jupanese consular service, For seven years, frore 1889 to 1896, he was, however, successively assis'- aut and actual Chinese Secretary at Peking, and during that period his valuable translations of the "Peking Gazette" were made. He key intimate
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.